Nicole Auerbach and Joshua Perry’s 2026 preseason College Football Playoff predictions and Heisman picks
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Heading into the third year of the 12-team College Football Playoff era, we’ve learned to expect the unexpected. We now live in a world where Indiana — Indiana! — is capable of winning a college football national championship. This time last year, the Hoosiers were the losingest program in college football history. Now, they’re the reigning national champs.
What’s next for Curt Cignetti and Co.? Will the Big Ten remain atop the sport, or will the SEC reclaim supremacy after three years without a title game appearance? What did Texas Tech learn from its first Big 12 title and CFP appearance? Will Miami finally win an ACC title — and more? What will the new Pac-12 actually look like on the field? All these questions (and more) will finally be answered in the coming weeks as the 2026-27 college football season gets underway.
But that doesn’t mean we can’t make our preseason predictions in the meantime. Considering how spot-on we were with our crystal balls a season ago — Nicole picked Clemson to win the national championship, and Joshua took Penn State — be sure to take these picks with a grain of salt.
Or a whole shaker’s worth!
Nicole Auerbach’s preseason CFP picks
My bracket reflects my overall philosophy heading into this college football season: I trust the Big Ten’s big three, and I trust Notre Dame. I believe Miami is head and shoulders above the rest of the ACC (and that the Hurricanes’ only loss heading into the CFP will come to the Irish), and I believe Texas Tech is in a similar position in the Big 12, even without quarterback Brendan Sorsby.
I also trust Georgia to win the SEC — Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs are still the gold standard in the conference, even if they’ve stumbled in their last couple of CFP appearances — though I do expect Texas to get to the SEC title game once again.
The hardest part about filling out my bracket was deciding which team I think will win the Big Ten this season. You can make a case for Ohio State. You can make a case for Indiana. You can make a case for Oregon.
But I’m rolling with the Hoosiers, because Curt Cignetti hasn’t given me any reason to doubt him yet. He retained both coordinators and built an impressive portal haul, which makes me confident that the Hoosiers will again be one of the best teams in the country even after losing Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza (and D’Angelo Ponds and Co.).
I expect Josh Hoover to do well in the Indiana system and cut way down on turnovers. He’ll have an offensive line and run game that will help with that, plus some of the best receivers in the conference in Charlie Becker and Nick Marsh to throw to. I’ve penciled them in as the Big Ten champion, with Oregon falling a little after a loss in the Big Ten title game. Ohio State, a victim of its incredibly challenging schedule, slots in a little lower behind Texas (who I project to beat the Buckeyes in Week 2).
I’ve got LSU, USC and BYU making the Playoff as the final three at-large selections mostly because the committee has shown it respects the SEC and Big Ten. It’ll be hard for either the Big 12 or ACC to get its second-place team into the field, but this will be the year the Cougs break through.
Their schedule helps. I project them to have just one loss (to Notre Dame) heading into the Big 12 title game, where they’ll face Texas Tech once again. I think a close loss to the Red Raiders and a respectable loss to the team I’m putting at No. 1 in my bracket won’t keep BYU out. Not this time.
LSU is my wild-card pick. I really don’t know what to expect from Lane Kiffin’s group — especially after he tried to get former pros to come back and play for him this fall, which leads me to wonder about the state of his roster — but I think as long as the Tigers beat Clemson in Week 1 and then handle their emotional trip to Oxford in Week 3 alright, they should be formidable against the rest of the SEC. They also avoid Georgia in the regular season, which should help. I’ve got LSU finishing ahead of Alabama, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Tennessee and the rest of the second tier of the SEC.
I’ve said this before, but I believe in USC. This will be the year Lincoln Riley finally takes the Trojans to the promised land of the College Football Playoff. Gary Patterson is a great defensive mind and perhaps even better teacher. Jayden Maiava should be on of the best quarterbacks in the country. USC has a challenging schedule, but I’ve got the Trojans going 10-2 with a win over one of Oregon, Ohio State and Indiana. That’ll be impressive in the committee’s eyes and enough to get USC into the field.
I’ve got Boise State coming out of the new-look Pac-12 as my Group of 6 representative. The Broncos are not only talented, but they’ll benefit from strength of schedule and strength of record metrics in comparison to champions of other conferences (like the Mountain West). The American lost so many of its best coaches and best players this offseason; otherwise, I would have considered Navy or Memphis a little more seriously.
As you can see with my game picks, I believe the SEC may have its usual great depth but the Big Ten’s best have a higher ceiling. I like Miami in the trenches (even where it’s replacing first-round picks) and believe that the ‘Canes have upgraded at the quarterback position.
But, overall, I like Notre Dame best. The Irish have the best defensive player in the country in cornerback Leonard Moore. They have what could be the best quarterback in the country in CJ Carr. They feel good about every level of their defense and are confident that they can have a productive run game, even after losing the special Jeremiyah Love–Jadarian Price duo.
Notre Dame needs Moore to stay healthy, and it needs Carr to take the passing game to a new level. But there are few questions that need answering for a team that knows just how good it can be. I think the Irish are going to be the ones lifting that trophy on the final Monday of the season.
Plus, it’d be pretty intriguing if they have to beat Indiana in order to win it all. Especially now that that previously scheduled in-state series got taken off the books. — Auerbach
Joshua Perry’s preseason CFP picks
Well, I guess I’ll start by reiterating Nicole’s point about our predictions from last year — take all of these predictions with a grain of salt. My bracket was a total flop, but that’s not stopping me from running it back with another one this year! Much like a football team finishing up training camp, I’m full of hope and optimism, so let’s get into it.
In terms of my selection process, I went heavy on Big Ten and SEC teams. Those two conferences are the clear top two, and the committee has proven that it trusts teams from those conferences. As such, I’ve chosen Georgia to win the SEC championship and earn the No. 1 overall seed, with Texas, Oklahoma and Texas A&M as the at-large bids from that conference.
Ohio State wins the Big Ten and an auto-bid but receives the 3-seed. My at-large teams from the Big Ten are Indiana, Oregon and USC. The ACC, Big 12 and Group of 6 all receive one bid for their conference champ (or highest-ranked champ in the G6’s case). That led me to Miami as a No. 7 seed, Texas Tech as a No. 8 seed and UNLV as a No. 12 seed. Notre Dame is also in as an at-large, and I have them earning the No. 2 seed.
Among the conference champions, I felt more confident in selecting the SEC over the Big Ten. I have a strong belief in Kirby Smart and the program he’s built at UGA. It feels to me that college football consumers are a little down on the Bulldogs after a couple of early exits in the CFP, but all they do is win the SEC. I like Gunner Stockton and his resolve, I believe in the Georgia staff, and I think they will have the line of scrimmage play to be a contender.
The Big Ten was tougher. I think any of Ohio State, Indiana and Oregon can win the conference. Even though I went with the Buckeyes, it wasn't without reservations. They have a tough schedule, and the offensive line, wide receivers (outside of Jeremiah Smith) and the defense will all be questions to start the season. However, I think they have an advantage with two coordinators that are former NFL head coaches.
The ACC feels clear-cut with Miami head and shoulders above the rest of the conference. Their Big Three of Darian Mensah, Malachi Toney and Mark Fletcher Jr. could be as good as any in college football. My projected Big 12 champ, Texas Tech, suffered through an offseason of off-field storylines surrounding Brendan Sorsby, but I think this team still has the best roster in the conference even without him. As for UNLV, I like what Dan Mullen is building and some of the reinforcements that were brought in on defense this offseason should help them take the next step.
As for the at-large picks, Notre Dame is a no-brainer. They have an extremely manageable schedule, and CJ Carr will be a Heisman contender. Indiana and Oregon have opposite situations. Indiana and Curt Cignetti returned both coordinators but had to find a portal quarterback. Oregon and Dan Lanning, on the other hand, had to replace both coordinators while retaining quarterback Dante Moore. I’m expecting a lot from both, regardless.
Texas is under pressure. Arch Manning returns, and Steve Sarkisian surrounded him with a better offensive line and more weapons. Meanwhile, their rival, Oklahoma, just extended Brent Venables after their CFP appearance last year. It feels like they broke through last year, especially with Venables taking over defensive play-calling. This is probably my least-confident at-large pick because I see them in a lot of toss-up games, but I think they can build off of a season ago. Texas A&M feels like the most dangerous of the at-large group. Quarterback Marcel Reed is dynamic, and Mike Elko is known for disruptive defenses.
Rounding out with USC, the pressure is on for Lincoln Riley. He’s got his quarterback, Jayden Maiava, back, plus plenty of talent and a coaching veteran in Gary Patterson running the defensive side of the ball. The time is now if USC is going to return to the top of college football under Riley.
My game picks were pretty much chalk, mostly because I’m not going to pick against myself right now. I’m really high on Notre Dame, and that’s my championship pick. Marcus Freeman has built a strong program, and when you combine that with a schedule that virtually guarantees them a playoff bid and all of his roster talent, the Irish will be in position to be the last team standing. Hopefully this goes better than last year! — Perry
The 2026 Heisman Trophy winner will be …
Auerbach: QB Darian Mensah, Miami (FL). The Hurricanes went all the way to the national title game a year ago … and I think they’ve significantly upgraded at the most important position on the field. Miami will be favored in every game it plays this fall (except when it travels to South Bend to play Notre Dame), and the Hurricanes are heavy favorites to win the ACC.
In short, we’ll be watching Miami beat a lot of teams pretty handily over the course of the regular season, and we’ll be watching Mensah put up video-game numbers — and put together a lot of highlight-reel moments with stud receiver Malachi Toney. He’ll have our attention. He’ll also have the opportunity for Heisman Moments — against the Irish, at Clemson and, presumably, in the ACC title game.
That’s a combination that will get Mensah to New York City for sure, and if Miami does what I expect it will this season to secure its first ACC title and a top-four CFP seed, Mensah will have a great shot to hoist the trophy.
Perry: WR Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State. I’m not going to overthink this. Jeremiah Smith is the best player in college football and has been for a couple of seasons now. I know there is more context to the award that goes to the most outstanding player in the sport, but sometimes, it’s just that simple.
I don’t care about moments. I don’t need campaigns, PR packages or highlight reels. Give me the player that has been the most consistently dominant over the span of a couple of years.
The 2026 National Coach of the Year will be …
Auerbach: Eric Morris, Oklahoma State. Consider this: Oklahoma State went 1-11 last season. The last time the Cowboys beat a Power 4 opponent was Sept. 7, 2024. They haven’t beaten a Big 12 foe since Nov. 25, 2023.
Now, all of that is going to change. Morris was one of my favorite hires of the offseason, and I love that he is doing what Curt Cignetti did when he first got to Indiana after leaving James Madison. Morris brought a bunch of key players with him from North Texas (including prolific quarterback Drew Mestemaker) to help set the culture of his program and speed up the rebuild.
This year’s Oklahoma State roster looks nothing like last year’s, with extreme churn but also an emphasis on bringing in players with a great deal of prior experience. I think this is going to work. I think we’re going to see the biggest year-over-year improvement in terms of wins and losses this season in Stillwater, and that’s going to earn Morris this honor.
Perry: Jon Sumrall, Florida. Sumrall has done about everything right this offseason. He reenergized a roster and fanbase while making necessary changes to the program. Florida has an opportunity to double its win total from four to eight. If that happens, Sumrall feels like a no-brainer for COY.
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