It’s time. We can overreact to an actual official poll, y’all. The Coaches Poll Preseason Top 25 was released on Tuesday, so let’s dive in.
The Poll
1. Ohio State
2. Oregon
3. Georgia
4. Texas
5. Notre Dame
6. Indiana
7. Miami (FL)
8. Texas A&M
9. Oklahoma
10. Ole Miss
11. Alabama
12. Texas Tech
13. LSU
14. USC
15. BYU
16. Michigan
17. Penn State
18. Tennessee
19. Washington
20. SMU
21. Utah
22. Iowa
23. Clemson
24. Houston
25. Missouri
Initial Takeaways: Don’t start with the bias talk
This isn’t a media poll. This isn’t a poll from ESPN or their computer metrics. It’s a poll from coaches around the country. So, before anyone in Big Ten country starts in about “SEC Bias,” just realize that ESPN wasn’t holding a gun to the heads of coaches in the Big 12 and ACC to make the SEC have nine teams ranked in the initial poll.
The nine teams from the SEC were the most of any conference finishing with one more than the Big Ten who had eight. The five teams in the top ten were also the most of any conference. What’s been wild to watch this offseason is the echo chamber of the usual suspects crying over SEC bias while time and time again it’s been proven wrong. The conference has the most teams in most every preseason top 25. That’s not media bias. That’s a consensus in assumption and evaluation. This year, like every other year, has yielded the same results in the preseason polls. Will the season end that way? Who knows. But, that’s where we will begin 2026.
Who’s too high?
Off the bat, at least one team in that No. 8 through No. 11 group is going to end up much lower at the end of the season. Some of that is simply because of how the schedule sets up. There are 17 games this season between teams in the initial top ten of these rankings. There’s almost zero percent chance those wins and losses are spread out in a way that will result in those teams remaining ranked at or above where they currently are in the polls. Remember that before anyone freaks out about the over-ranking of certain teams at the end of the season.
Still, here are three teams that are ranked too high in the preseason poll: Texas A&M, Alabama, and Missouri.
Missouri will begin the season without its star player because of a gunshot wound. Alabama’s talent and depth in the trenches is a shell of its former self. And, Texas A&M lost four starters on the offensive line along with their offensive coordinator and first round pick at wide receiver.
Who’s too low?
In keeping with the theme of picking three teams, here are three teams picked too low in the preseason poll: Indiana, LSU, and Penn State. These are all included for very different reasons to be clear.
Indiana should not be outside the top five. No team coming off a season like they had, winning a national championship, and keeping so much continuity among the staff and key players should ever be listed outside of the top five. LSU is far too low, and placing them that many spots behind Ole Miss despite having most of the reasons for their success seems a bit absurd. Finally, Penn State plays a schedule that rivals Notre Dame teams from the 1910s. There’s no one with a pulse in almost the entire 12 game regular season, and it wouldn’t be shocking if you slipped in Ace Hardware A&M in their non-conference slate. It’s too soon to tell if their copy paste attempt at building a roster from Iowa State to Happy Valley will work, but they have one of the easiest schedules in all of the Power Four.
How predictable
I posted a satirical Top 25 on January 27. I’m just going to leave this right here because it’s entirely too accurate if we are being honest.
