ESPN Model Predicts Country's 25 Best Teams In 2026
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The 2026 college football regular season will be here before you know it.
College basketball season has ended, baseball is in full swing and in just a couple of short months, the preseason will be starting for football.
Who will be the country's top teams in 2026? Will Indiana be able to repeat or will another college football powerhouse take the throne?
ESPN's SP+ model has predicted the country's top 25 teams for the 2026 season as we head into the summer.
ESPN's SP+ model has predicted the country's Top 25 teams for 2026:
- Ohio State
- Oregon
- Notre Dame
- Georgia
- Indiana
- Texas
- Texas Tech
- Miami
- Texas A&M
- LSU
- Alabama
- Oklahoma
- USC
- Michigan
- Tennessee
- Ole Miss
- Penn State
- BYU
- Florida
- Missouri
- Washington
- Iowa
- Clemson
- South Carolina
- Utah
The ESPN model values three main things
ESPN's SP+ model from Bill Connelly values three main things:
- Returning production
- Recent history
- Recent recruiting
"The returning production numbers are based on rosters I have updated as much as possible to account for transfers and attrition. Combine last year's SP+ ratings and adjustments based on current returning production numbers, and you're pretty far down the projections road," ESPN writes.
Who do you see reigning supreme in the college football world in 2026?
This story was originally published by The Spun on Apr 12, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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