ESPN's Computer Has 8 College Football Playoff Frontrunners
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The 2026 college football regular season is right around the corner.
In less than a month, games will have kicked off. Indiana is of course coming off a dominant College Football Playoff national championship season. The Hoosiers dominated the college football world from start to finish in 2025. But will Curt Cignetti's team be able to repeat as champions?
ESPN's computer model, the Football Power Index, has outlined its College Football Playoff favorites in 2026. The Football Power Index sees eight teams as legitimate College Football Playoff frontrunners right now.
According to ESPN's computer model, the Football Power Index, the following eight teams are considered College Football Playoff frontrunners heading into the 2026 season:
- Ohio State
- Notre Dame
- Texas
- Oregon
- Georgia
- Miami
- Texas Tech
- Indiana
The Hoosiers are down at No. 8, after losing a lot of talent to the NFL, but few people – if any – should be doubting Cignetti's program heading into the fall.
How ESPN's computer model works
The FPI is a projection-based system.
"The Football Power Index (FPI) is a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of a team's performance going forward for the rest of the season. FPI represents how many points above or below average a team is. Projected results are based on 20,000 simulations of the rest of the season using FPI, results to date, and the remaining schedule. Ratings and projections update daily. FPI data from seasons prior to 2019 may not be complete," ESPN's computer model states.
Who do you see reaching the College Football Playoff at the end of the 2026 college football regular season?
This story was originally published by The Spun on Aug 9, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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