10 college football teams poised to bounce back this season
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Last season's College Football Playoff consisted of an array of teams that responded to a disappointing 2024 with a rousing 2025 campaign.
James Madison snuck into the field, courtesy of some ACC madness but also because it reverted back to its double-digit-win pedigree. Alabama threw its hat in the ring following an underwhelming nine-win season. Oklahoma, too, re-inserted itself, increasing its win total from the year before by four while making it into the 12-team bracket.
Texas Tech went from an eight-win squad to a 12-win juggernaut. Similarly, Texas A&M catapulted itself into the realm of the elite.
Things change quicker than they ever have in college football (hello, NIL, transfer portal and revenue sharing!). Microwaved rosters are hit or miss, and there's always bound to be teams that surprise and let down.
Here are 10 that are poised for some level of revitalization.
LSU (2025: 7-6, 3-5 SEC)
Come for the soap opera. Stay for championship-caliber football? I think so. The Tigers are one of the more polarizing teams this preseason. Out went Brian Kelly. Enter, Lane Kiffin, LSU's next controversial head-coaching hire. Kiffin's bringing with him a stench of drama that's probably not going away anytime soon. But he's also giving the program a much-needed offensive facelift. The Tigers ranked 103rd nationally with 22.8 points per game last season. In each of Kiffin's six seasons leading Ole Miss, the Rebels averaged north of 33. Kiffin helped turn Jaxson Dart into a first-round pick and Trinidad Chambliss into one of college football's better underdog stories. Now he's working with Sam Leavitt, the former Arizona State quarterback who's looking to spark his NFL Draft prospects after a lingering foot injury disrupted his 2025 campaign and ultimately required season-ending surgery. Leavitt notably quarterbacked the Sun Devils to a CFP appearance during the 2024 season and threatened an upset against Texas in the quarterfinals.
He'll be throwing to a fleet of intriguing receivers, including Hawaii transfer Jackson Harris and Kansas State transfer Jayce Brown. They combined for 17 receiving touchdowns last season. Kiffin dipped into the portal for reinforcements up front. That's always a game of chance, but the haul he received includes potential first-round prospect Jordan Seaton, a former Colorado left tackle. There's some stabilizing continuity on the other side of the ball, where defensive coordinator Blake Baker stood pat amid the coaching change. Baker's been crafting quite the résumé. He's equipped with plenty. The defensive line is imposing, in part due to the transfer of former Ole Miss standout Princewill Umanmielen. Beyond that group is proven linebacker Whit Weeks, and on the outside is emerging cornerback DJ Pickett.
We'll likely find out who LSU is early. Of the Tigers' first four games, three are against Clemson, Ole Miss and Texas A&M.
Florida (2025: 4-8, 2-6 SEC)
The Gators haven't won more than eight games in a season since 2019, when they piled up 11 victories and took home the Orange Bowl trophy. Billy Napier couldn't stave off the hot seat forever. Jon Sumrall is the next Group of Six darling to take over the reins in Gainesville. He just led Tulane to the CFP. Before that, he piloted Troy to back-to-back double-digit win campaigns. Sumrall has posted a 43-12 record as a head coach. The SEC is a different beast than the Sun Belt and the American, of course, but it's hard to argue with those results.
Now for the team he's sculpting in Year 1: Well, the Gators are still figuring out their starting quarterback. But if former Georgia Tech backup Aaron Philo or Tramell Jones Jr. can gel with offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner, they'll be well-positioned for success in an offense that returned 1,000-yard rusher Jadan Baugh and features a tantalizing collection of wideouts. Maybe more exciting is the defense. That crew spotlights linebacker Myles Graham, the team's leading tackler from a year ago, and consists of its fair share of beefy defensive tackles. Watch out for edge rusher Jayden Woods, who registered 3.5 sacks as a true freshman, in addition to forcing a fumble and nabbing an interception.
There's a runway for a speedy start to the season. Consecutive games against Texas, Georgia and Oklahoma look daunting. But perhaps with some momentum, Florida's always stacked slate appears more affable.
Virginia Tech (2025: 3-9, 2-6 ACC)
James Franklin may not have been good at winning games against top-10 opponents in his last job; however, he's a renowned program architect. In Year 2 at Vanderbilt, he delivered the Commodores their first nine-win season since 1915. Then he guided them back to that same win total the next year. At Penn State, he finished what Bill O'Brien started in the post-Joe Paterno years, ushering the Nittany Lions back to prominence. Whether Franklin can elevate Virginia Tech to an ACC championship contender is yet to be seen. That said, odds are he turns things around in Blacksburg. The Hokies haven't won eight games in a season this decade. That mark is achievable in Franklin's inaugural go-around at the helm.
Road games against Clemson, SMU and Miami will provide stiff tests down the stretch. By the time that ACC gauntlet kicks off, though, Virginia Tech might be conjuring some first-year magic. The Hokies could be taking flight after opening the season versus VMI, Old Dominion, Maryland, Boston College, Pitt, Cal and Georgia Tech.
Franklin brought quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer with him. Grunkemeyer took over for an injured Drew Allar last season at Penn State and capped that run by accumulating 260 passing yards to go along with a pair of scoring strikes in a Pinstripe Bowl victory over Clemson. He located tight end Luke Reynolds a couple times that day. Reynolds is in his arsenal at Virginia Tech, too. Don't be surprised if the Hokies lean on a run game, in which running back Marcellous Hawkins could pop. He accrued 6.3 yards per carry last season. Defensively, Franklin turned to, well, Brent Pry, his former DC at Penn State and the Hokies' head coach for the past three-plus seasons. Pry can discover some cathartic redemption in that role.
Penn State (2025: 7-6, 3-6 Big Ten)
Speaking of Penn State, Franklin's old team could enjoy immediate success in its new chapter. Similarly, former Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell is handing the keys to the offense to a familiar face at quarterback. Rocco Becht, a fourth-year starter for Campbell who racked up 3,505 passing yards and 25 touchdowns through the air two seasons ago, is now piloting an Iowa State-coded unit in State College. The offense is littered with former Cyclones players. The receiver room is home to Chase Sowell and Brett Eskildsen. They each hit the 500-yard receiving mark last season. In the backfield, bruises are going to be handed out by the program's latest two-headed running back monster: James Peoples (transfer from Ohio State) and Carson Hansen (transfer from Iowa State) are hard to take down.
D'Anton Lynn is in town to coordinate a defense led by Franklin holdover linebacker Tony Rojas. Nickel Zion Tracy is still there as well. Altogether, the Nittany Lions are hoping to maintain the sturdiness that's long been part of their brand in that phase of the game.
Here's the kicker: Penn State doesn't have to play Ohio State, Oregon or Indiana. The schedule has gifted Campbell's cohort with a red carpet to Big Ten title contention.
South Carolina (2025: 4-8, 1-7 SEC)
Any program as volatile as South Carolina's is difficult to predict, particularly in a rigorous conference such as the SEC. Still, the Gamecocks should rebound from a putrid 2024 campaign. That outcome would follow the topsy-turvy pattern established during the Shane Beamer era. South Carolina went 8-5 in 2022 (placing as high as No. 19 in the CFP rankings), then plummeted to 5-7 in 2023. After that, the Gamecocks strung together a 9-4 campaign (maxing out with a No. 14 CFP ranking), highlighted by six straight wins to end the regular season, followed by a humbling 2025 that saw them crash back down to Earth with a 4-8 record.
Luckily for South Carolina, it's an even year. In all seriousness, get ready for the latest pendulum swing in Columbia. LaNorris Sellers is an imperfect NFL prospect, yet he's strapped with one of the most potent arms in college football. His dual-threat ability affords him an exalted status. Consistency is his issue — his completion rate dropped to 60.8% in 2025 — but a shoddy offensive line was undoubtedly at the root of the Gamecocks' offensive headache a year ago. South Carolina overhauled its offensive line this offseason. It also made over its running back room. The hope is, more protection up front and production in the run game will aid Sellers and, in turn, set the stage for Nyck Harbor's star turn.
The Gamecocks' 2026 fortune also hinges on the recalibration of explosive edge rusher Dylan Stewart. Now a junior, Stewart needs to harness the pass-rushing chops that landed him 6.5 sacks as a true freshman. He's joined at the position by Tennessee transfer Caleb Herring. There are other enticing pieces of the defense, like cornerback Vicari Swain, who ran back three punts for touchdowns, picked off two passes and forced a pair of fumbles last season. The South Carolina roster is oozing with talent. Granted that potential hasn't been realized at times under Beamer, but if it comes together, the Gamecocks could be a force. Their first half of the season seems relatively manageable, with games against Kent State, Towson, Mississippi State, Alabama, Kentucky and Florida on the calendar.
Kansas State (2025: 6-6, 5-4 Big 12)
Collin Klein is in his rightful spot as Kansas State head coach. If there's anyone who can squeeze the most out of quarterback Avery Johnson, it's probably Klein, the Wildcats alum who ascended to Heisman Trophy finalist in 2012. Klein was a fine passer. Where he shined the most was on the ground, especially in the red zone. There are idiosyncrasies in Johnson's game that separate him from Klein, naturally. Even so, the small sample size of them working together is encouraging. In 2023, Klein's final season as Kansas State's OC before he took that same gig at Texas A&M, Johnson glimmered with 12 total touchdowns in limited duty.
Klein doesn't have to rebuild K-State. He just needs to build on what the Wildcats constructed in the final sequence of Chris Klieman's tenure. They went 5-3 in their last eight games in 2025, after all. Aside from Johnson being more dependable as a passer, and the Wildcats' run game being awesome, Klein will need his takeaway-hungry defense to step up. That unit could be headlined by its pass rush, thanks to the arrival of Oklahoma State transfer Wendell Gregory and Kennesaw State transfer Elijah Hill, the latter of whom is coming off a nine-sack season. There's a lot to like in the back end as well. Kansas State will have to shore up its run D. If things break right for Klein in Year 1, though, the Wildcats could leap right back into Big 12 title contention.
Oklahoma State (2025: 1-11, 0-9 Big 12)
It's been about 1,000 days since the Cowboys' most recent Big 12 win. Now that's a drought. Oklahoma State petered out in the final act of Mike Gundy's run as head coach. This season, Eric Morris is in charge, and he's got the bones of a North Texas offense that got him the job, namely quarterback Drew Mestemaker. Last season, no team scored more points (45.1) than the Mean Green, and no player passed for more yards (4,379) than Mestemaker.
That's a good starting point for a Cowboys group that can really go nowhere but up in 2026. The offense is chock-full of dudes who have produced. Caleb Hawkins, who rushed for 1,434 yards and 25 touchdowns last season at North Texas, is among them, and so is former Mean Green wideout Wyatt Young, who amassed 1,264 receiving yards and 10 touchdown grabs in 2025. There's more uncertainty surrounding a defense that's coordinated by Skyler Cassity, who was part of that 10-win Sam Houston season in 2024 before teaming up with Morris at North Texas.
Syracuse (2025: 3-9, 1-7 ACC)
The glow of the Fran Brown experience faded faster than a sunset, as the Orange nosedived into the cellar of the ACC amid an injury-riddled 2025 campaign. After a reset, Brown has an opportunity to show that his program's 10-win season in 2024 wasn't a one-off. Although Kyle McCord isn't walking through that door again, Syracuse does have a healthy Steve Angeli. The former Notre Dame backup came in last season and impressed before going down with a season-ending Achilles injury in his fourth game with the Orange. By that point, he had thrown for 1,317 yards, 10 touchdowns and only two interceptions. Syracuse was 3-1. It didn't win again.
An offensive line with some solid experience is a nice bounce-back recipe, as is a receiving corps with size that incorporates former Western Kentucky tight end Noah Meyers and some heralded high school recruits looking for a chance, like former four-star prospect and Florida State wideout Elijah Moore. Possibly more convincing is the defensive transformation overseen by new coordinator Vince Kehres, who took over following six years at Toledo, where he was responsible for a unit in 2025 that allowed the fourth-fewest points per game nationally. Ten wins probably aren't on the board for the Orange, but a resurgence resulting in bowl eligibility is realistic.
UCLA (2025: 3-9, 3-6 Big Ten)
It's time to buy Bob Chesney stock before it's too late. The man turned Holy Cross into an FCS power, and Matthew Sluka into a recognizable name, and then directed James Madison to the CFP while its quarterback Alonza Barnett III became the Sun Belt Player of the Year. At UCLA, he retained another dual threat, Nico Iamaleava, plus other Bruins, including guard Eugene Brooks and cornerback Rodrick Pleasant. In came an influx of former JMU stars: running back Wayne Knight (1,770 scrimmage yards and 10 total touchdowns in 2025) and defensive end Sahir West (seven sacks in 2025) are chief among them.
In total, Chesney's UCLA welcomed more than 40 transfers. Ideally, Iamaleava doesn't have to wear a cape as often as he did last season, and the defense upgrades enough to give the Bruins a chance in a slew of Big Ten games. They don't have to play Ohio State or Indiana. Their schedule the first two months of the season is quite favorable, actually.
Clemson (2025: 7-6, 4-4 ACC)
Ah, Clemson. The Tigers were a trendy national title pick this time a year ago. After a trip to the CFP, Clemson was supposed to be back and ready to play with the big boys. The wheels fell off before the bandwagon could leave Death Valley. Following Dabo Swinney's worst season since 2010, he finally took the portal plunge (kind of). Clemson reeled in a group of them that includes former SMU running back Chris Johnson Jr. Plus, Swinney wound back the clock and hired Chad Morris as OC again. Morris coordinated the Tigers' offense from 2011-14, when the program adopted its hulking presence in the ACC.
Whether it's true freshman Tait Reynolds or Christopher Vizzina running the show, the quarterback play will be aided by uber-talented wideouts Bryant Wesco Jr. and T.J. Moore. The defense will have to pull its weight. The Tigers lost a trio of top-50 NFL Draft picks on that side of the ball. But backfield-wrecking defensive end Will Heldt is back and so are linebackers Sammy Brown and Kobe McCloud. This isn't Clemson's best roster. It could be satisfactory enough for ACC championship consideration, though. The Tigers could enter that conversation early, with five of their first seven games taking place at home.
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