10 Bold College Football Predictions for the 2026 Season
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The 2026 college football season kicks off in a few days and as last year demonstrated, some crazy things can happen in the fall. From an unexpected national champion capping off an undefeated run to some chaos on the field, the unpredictability of college football Saturdays makes the sport that much more entertaining.
Let’s dive into our bold 2026 college football predictions for the upcoming season.
Michigan Wolverines Bench Bryce Underwood
We are trying to be bold with a few of our college football predictions, so why not go as far as saying the Michigan Wolverines bench quarterback Bryce Underwood during the regular season. It does not mean that the former five-star recruit will lose the job for good and have to enter the college football transfer portal, but Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham and offensive coordinator Jason Beck will want to try something different and give their young signal-caller a mental breather. Underwood had a 7-5 TD-INT line with a 62.4 percent completion rate against Big Ten defenses in his freshman year with a 2-3 TD-INT line and a 48.5 percent completion rate versus SEC opponents. We think he will struggle mightily versus Oklahoma (Sept. 12), Iowa (Sept. 26), Penn State (Oct. 17) and Indiana (Oct. 24), resulting in a multi-week benching.
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UCLA Bruins Win 8 Games
The UCLA Bruins football team won eight combined games over the last two seasons under Deshaun Foster and interim coach Tim Skipper. We think head coach Bob Chesney will match that total in his first year on campus. Chesney might not be able to deliver a Curt Cignetti-like turnaround, but he was outstanding at James Madison (21-6 in two seasons) and Holy Cross (39-15 in final five seasons). We feel a lot better about the UCLA offensive line than a year ago, and that should allow quarterback Nico Iamaleava to truly excel in this system. Chesney also brought over a lot of his top players and coaches from James Madison, which should result in more cohesion. Ultimately, we think UCLA can deliver wins over San Diego State, Purdue, Maryland, Wisconsin, Michigan State and even stun USC at home in the final week of the regular season. We have the Bruins winning seven games and then hitting their eighth with a bowl game victory.
Alabama Crimson Tide Lose 4 Consecutive Games
We are not feeling as strong about this bold prediction now that Keelon Russell has been named the starting quarterback for the Alabama Crimson Tide, but we are sticking with it. Kalen DeBoer has a very exciting signal-caller, but there are questions around him. Offensively, the Crimson Tide ground game remains a concern, as does the fact that there are so many new starters on the offensive line. We are also not convinced that Alabama’s defense has the experience or depth it needs right now. This young team will build confidence early with a 4-0 start and then lose at home to Georgia, get rattled at Neyland Stadium versus Tennessee, and see its woes spiral the next weekend against Texas A&M. Facing a team on the ropes, Lane Kiffin’s LSU Tigers will hand Alabama its fourth consecutive loss.
Oklahoma State QB Drew Mestemaker Finishes Top-5 in Heisman Trophy Voting
Last season at North Texas, Drew Mestemaker completed nearly 69 percent of his passes with 4,379 passing yards, a 34-9 touchdown-to-interception ratio, and he averaged 9.5 yards per attempt. He made the transition to the Oklahoma State Cowboys with head coach Eric Morris, setting up the cohesion for a program that could surprise some people in 2026. We expect to see one of the most impressive one-year turnarounds in college football this season from the Cowboys. A season after Oklahoma State went 1-11, losing 11 consecutive games, Mestemaker will approach the 40-touchdown mark and put Oklahoma State in position to win seven or eight games. The numbers paired with the six-plus win improvement for the program will land him top-five in Heisman Trophy voting.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish Go Undefeated in Regular Season
There is a temptation to pick Marcus Freeman and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to win it all this year. Back-to-back losses to Miami and Texas A&M to open the season sunk Notre Dame’s College Football Playoff hopes early. One year later, quarterback CJ Carr now has a season of starting experience to pair with the talent and football IQ that could make him a top-15 pick in the 2027 NFL Draft. Notre Dame also boasts one of the best offensive lines in the country and arguably the nation’s number one defense on paper. With how the schedule sets up this year, we have Freeman’s team going undefeated all the way to the CFP National Championship.
Bill Belchick ‘Voluntarily’ Retires, Luke Fickell Fired in October
The North Carolina Tar Heels will admit this season that the decision to hire Bill Belichick was a costly blunder. It doesn’t help Belichick that several of the people responsible for bringing him to Chapel Hill or who were a part of his braintrust are gone. It’ll become an even more dire situation when the Tar Heels enter November with a 1-7 record, prompting the program and the NFL legend to ‘mutually part ways’ in a firing that is labeled as a retirement. The PR headline won’t be quite as kind to Luke Fickell. The Wisconsin Badgers dramatically increased their financial investment into Fickell’s program in a prove-it year, a questionable decision given the head coach’s 16-21 record through three full seasons. After the Badgers lose their fifth game of the season on Halloween, an ugly defeat at Iowa, Fickell will be fired.
Related: Why the Michael Malone Hiring Could Spell Trouble for Bill Belichick at North Carolina
Arch Manning Puts up 40+ TDs, 3,800 Total Yards of Offense
The Arch Manning hype was let out of the gates far too early in 2025; that falls on the national media. What matters for the Texas Longhorns is that Manning looked a lot more like the prince that was promised late in the season. What matters even more is that All-American candidate Trevor Goosby (bone bruise) avoided a major knee injury earlier this month, giving Manning a top-five offensive line to pair with the second-best receiver (Cam Coleman) in the nation. Manning will make it to New York City for the Heisman Trophy presentation after sending Texas to the College Football Playoff with 40-plus touchdowns and nearly 3,900 total yards of offense. He will also demonstrate why he will be the first pick in the 2027 NFL Draft.
Virginia Tech Hokies Make College Football Playoffs
The Virginia Tech Hokies made the best hire in the college football coaching carousel in landing James Franklin. We will see the program rewarded for it immediately this fall. With the help of offensive coordinator Ty Howle, the Hokies’ offense will be one of the most improved units in 2026. Virginia Tech is also going to be well-rounded, boasting one of the best defenses in the ACC. Thanks to great coaching and some much-needed player development throughout the Hokies’ roster, Virginia Tech will finish the regular season with a 10-2 record and then punch its way into the College Football Playoff.
Dante Moore Wins the Heisman Trophy
It will take a lot for someone else to take the Heisman Trophy away from Arch Manning this season, given the numbers we expect him to put up. So it should speak volumes about Dante Moore that we have the Oregon Ducks‘ signal-caller taking home the hardware at the end of the year. Moore will lead a program that loses a single game during the regular season, a shootout at Ohio Stadium in which Moore puts up 5 total touchdowns but the Ducks’ defense hands the game to Ohio State. With numbers that rival Manning’s and Oregon finishing with a better record than Texas, Moore finishes just ahead of Arch in the Heisman voting.
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Indiana Hoosiers Win Back-to-Back National Titles
It almost feels like people are underrating the Indiana Hoosiers coming into the season. Yes, Curt Cignetti’s team suffered soem losses during the offseason with Fernando Mendoza, Omar Cooper Jr, D’Angelo Ponds and Kaelon Black now in the NFL. However, the Hoosiers had the No. 1 class in the college football transfer portal and we truly believe this roster could be just as talented as it was last season. We do think Indiana loses once in the regular season, but it makes it into the College Football Playoff and that’s when CIgnetti’s coaching staff flips a switch that ends in back-to-back national titles for the Hoosiers.
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