Updated Aug. 4, 2026, 12:56 p.m. ET
From the standpoint that actual football will be played on college campuses in less than a month, the arrival of the preseason US LBM Coaches Poll is good news indeed. Whether the position of your favorite team in the rankings is good news is a matter of perspective. Consider the case of Ohio State, voted No. 1 overall in preseason balloting for the first time since 2015.
The Buckeyes were picked first by 38 of the 72 coaches on the panel. But while Ohio State fans might appreciate the respect, it’s a historical fact the team voted No. 1 in the preseason rarely ends up winning the national championship.
Just four teams since have started and finished the season at top of the rankings since USA TODAY took over administering the Coaches Poll in 1991. Oregon, one of the teams expected to challenge the Buckeyes for Big Ten supremacy, will open in the No.
2 spot, its highest starting point in program history. The Ducks received six first-place votes. A pair of SEC contenders follow in the rankings after the Big Ten squads at the top. Georgia will enter the season at No.
3, picking up seven first-place nods. Texas, last year’s preseason No.
1, will start off this time at No. 4, though the Longhorns were voted first by two panelists. Notre Dame edges out defending national champion Indiana for the No. 5 position by a mere two poll points, though the Fighting Irish received just five first-place votes and the Hoosiers claimed 14 — the second-most among all teams.
Six schools receiving multiple first-place votes in the preseason poll last occurred in 2008. Miami (Fla.), last year’s national runner-up, opens at No. 7 with the SEC holding down the next four positions, starting with No. 8 Texas A&M and followed by Oklahoma and Mississippi. Alabama checks in at No. 11, though it’s the first time since 2008 the Crimson Tide are not in the preseason top 10. Though the Big Ten holds the top two positions, the SEC leads all conferences with nine ranked teams, thanks to Missouri edging out Louisville for the No.
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25 spot. The Big Ten has eight in the opening poll. No. 12 Texas Tech heads a group of four ranked Big 12 members. The ACC has only three, with No.
23 Clemson in its lowest starting position since 2011. 2026 US LBM Coaches Poll preseason Top 25 rankings Ohio State (38 first-place votes) Oregon (6) Georgia (7) Texas (2) Notre Dame (5) Indiana (14) Miami Texas A&M Oklahoma Mississippi Alabama Texas Tech LSU Southern California Brigham Young Michigan Penn State Tennessee Washington SMU Utah Iowa Clemson Houston Missouri Others receiving votes: Louisville; Florida; TCU; Illinois; Arizona; South Carolina; Virginia; Vanderbilt; Auburn; Georgia Tech; Boise State; Oklahoma State; UNLV; Florida State; North Carolina State; Nebraska; Virginia Tech; Memphis; Arizona State; Duke; James Madison; New Mexico; Pittsburgh; Navy; Western Michigan; San Diego State; California; Hawaii; Jacksonville State; Kansas State.
