Ranking College Football's Rosters for 2026

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Ranking College Football's Rosters for 2026

Ranking the college football rosters for the 2026 season provides a unique window into the talent level for all teams and how that compares to win totals, conference championships, and success on a national level. Player movement through the transfer portal has added another layer to roster building and directly impacted the four-year high school recruiting foundation. However, while immediate help can come via the portal, recruiting still remains the foundation for winning national championships, competing for College Football Playoff berths or performing at a high level.

Since the start of the CFB Playoff era, eight of the 12 champions have come from teams ranked inside of the top six in overall roster talent. Indiana’s national title in ’26 certainly scrambled what’s possible in this sport. Although Michigan (tied for No. 11) and Clemson (No. 14) were outliers in that equation previously, the Hoosiers are down the rankings a bit at No. 44. However, all three of those teams used a good mix of talent development and solid all-around recruiting at the high school level or in the transfer portal to build a championship squad.

While recruiting rankings aren’t 100 percent accurate, there is plenty of truth in the rankings and evaluations by the experts. Additionally, with advances in technology to watch more prospects, along with more offseason camps, the rankings for prospects and classes as a whole are more accurate than they were just a few years ago. Also, the transfer portal and change in eligibility rules have allowed all teams another avenue to add more talent to the roster. Bolstering the roster with transfers is now a key cog in the chase for a championship, but most programs will always want to build through the freshman ranks.

It’s no secret what a program needs in order to win big at this level. Great coaching, support staffs, state-of-the-art training facilities, finding the right fits through the transfer portal and luck certainly help, but talent on the roster (and player development) provides a significant head start in the race to win it all each season.

Below are the national recruiting ranking averages for the Power 4 schools (and Notre Dame) schools over the last five (2022-26) classes, according to 247Sports’ Composite Team Rankings. Obviously, this doesn’t take into account attrition or transfers, but, over time, this should be considered relatively even across the conference.

Roster Rankings by Power Conference: ACC I Big 12 I Big Ten I SEC

Ranking College Football’s Rosters for 2026

Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer Brett Davis-Imagn Images

’26

‘25

’24

’23

‘22

Five-YearAverage

1

Alabama

2

3

2

1

2

2

2

Georgia

6

2

1

2

3

2.8

3

Ohio State

4

4

5

4

4

4.2

4

Texas

7

1

6

3

5

4.4

5

Oregon

3

5

3

9

13

6.6

6T

LSU

11

10

7

5

12

9

6T

Notre Dame

5

12

9

12

7

9

8

Miami

9

13

4

7

16

9.8

9T

Oklahoma

15

17

8

6

8

10.8

9T

Texas A&M

10

9

19

15

1

10.8

11T

Tennessee

8

11

14

10

17

12

11T

Michigan

12

6

16

17

9

12

13

Florida

16

8

13

13

18

13.6

14

Clemson

20

26

11

11

10

15.6

15

Florida State

14

19

12

20

20

17

16

Auburn

30

7

10

18

21

17.2

17

South Carolina

17

18

22

16

24

19.4

18

Ole Miss

22

16

21

23

27

21.8

19

USC

1

14

17

8

70

22

20

Penn State

64

15

15

14

6

22.8

21

Missouri

31

20

20

35

15

24.2

22

North Carolina

18

43

26

31

11

25.8

23

Mississippi State

24

28

29

27

26

26.8

24

Kentucky

50

29

24

32

14

29.8

25

Arkansas

44

32

30

22

28

31.2

26

Texas Tech

18

48

25

28

43

32.4

27T

TCU

43

24

34

21

45

33.4

27T

Iowa

26

38

32

41

30

33.4

29

Maryland

47

25

38

36

31

35.4

30

Stanford

36

49

31

44

19

35.8

31

Virginia Tech

29

39

45

39

35

37.4

32

Utah

33

40

59

19

37

37.6

33

Michigan State

45

56

42

24

23

38

34

West Virginia

25

42

46

49

34

39.2

35

Rutgers

38

33

36

57

33

39.4

36

Illinois

23

45

49

38

46

40.2

37

Washington

13

23

47

26

95

40.8

38T

Nebraska

100

22

18

25

41

41.2

38T

Minnesota

27

50

35

45

49

41.2

40

Georgia Tech

42

21

33

61

54

42.2

41

NC State

49

34

28

43

64

43.6

42

Wisconsin

73

27

23

59

44

45.2

43

Vanderbilt

34

75

40

53

32

46.8

44

Indiana

32

47

65

68

25

47.4

45T

Arizona

41

51

84

40

22

47.6

45T

BYU

21

59

44

58

56

47.6

47

Baylor

71

36

62

34

36

47.8

48

Kansas State

54

35

57

33

63

48.4

49

Iowa State

55

55

53

42

39

48.8

50

Louisville

48

68

58

29

50

50.6

51

Houston

39

53

60

51

55

51.6

52

Oklahoma State

68

54

56

55

29

52.4

53

Pitt

44

52

41

52

76

53

54

Duke

68

31

61

56

51

53.4

55

Syracuse

35

41

37

88

68

53.8

56

Colorado

67

37

95

30

47

55.2

57

Arizona State

37

44

48

46

103

55.6

58

Wake Forest

40

62

52

54

71

55.8

59

UCF

62

77

39

50

52

56

60

Purdue

53

98

27

70

38

57.2

61

Cincinnati

58

61

51

75

42

57.4

62

Northwestern

51

65

80

47

48

58.2

63

UCLA

63

46

90

37

61

59.4

64

Boston College

52

58

96

63

40

61.8

65

SMU

27

30

106

72

82

63.4

66

California

57

69

55

79

59

63.8

67

Kansas

60

72

43

73

117

73

68

Virginia

101

57

88

65

65

75.2

*Note: Recruiting team rankings above compiled from 247Sports. These rankings do not take into account transfer portal class rankings or departures. 

Way-Too-Early 2026 Rankings: Top 25 | ACC | Big 12 | Big Ten | SEC

*The SEC takes three of the top five spots in roster rankings. Alabama (No. 1), Georgia (No. 2), and Texas (No. 4) headline the top recruiting teams in the SEC entering ‘26. Ohio State (No. 3) and Oregon (No. 5) from the Big Ten round out the top five.

*The SEC’s dominance in recruiting continues into the next tier. LSU (tied for No. 6), Oklahoma (tied for No. 9), Texas A&M (tied for No. 9), and Tennessee (tied for No. 11) headline the next range of teams.

*Texas Tech is the first Big 12 team (No. 25) in the roster rankings. The Red Raiders have thrived in the NIL and portal era at acquiring talent. Coach Joey McGuire’s team landed the No. 18 class in ‘26, which was the program’s highest over the last five seasons.

*Despite landing the No. 1 recruiting class for ’26, USC ranks No. 19 nationally in roster talent from the high school ranks entering this season. The No. 1 class was just the Trojans’ second top-10 haul over the last five years.

*Clemson has dropped from No. 7 nationally in roster talent in ’23 to No. 14 entering ’26.

*In ’23, Notre Dame ranked No. 10 nationally in roster talent. However, the Fighting Irish have climbed into a tie for No. 6 nationally thanks to two top-10 classes over the last three years under coach Marcus Freeman.

*Coach Curt Cignetti’s ability to develop and get the most out of the roster is magnified even more with Indiana ranking No. 44 nationally in recruiting rankings over the last five years. The Hoosiers are having a ton of success in the transfer portal, but Cignetti’s program is the first national champion since expansion to four (and later 12 teams) to rank outside of the top 15 in the five-year recruiting window.

*SMU’s ranking (No. 65) is weighed down a bit by a No. 106 haul in ’24. But since that class, the Mustangs have reeled in back-to-back top-30 classes. Expect coach Rhett Lashlee’s team to move up the roster rankings over the next couple of years.

*Four of the lowest rosters per recruiting rankings over the last five seasons come from the ACC. Also, just four programs from the ACC – Miami, Clemson, Florida State, and North Carolina – are recruiting at a top-25 level per the 247Sports Composite.

*All 16 of the SEC’s programs rank inside of the top 45 nationally.

Most Talented Group of 6 Rosters

’26

’25

’24

’23

’22

’21

Five-YearAverage

Boise State

53

67

64

67

62

313

62.6

Memphis

77

60

68

62

58

325

65

Tulane

66

74

67

71

74

352

70.4

Oregon State

110

63

87

48

53

361

72.2

South Florida

86

64

50

76

91

367

73.4

Arkansas State

81

75

77

74

67

374

74.8

San Diego State

80

79

72

78

66

375

75

East Carolina

88

77

73

66

85

389

77.8

Washington State

131

71

63

64

60

389

77.8

Colorado State

73

105

70

69

81

398

79.6

Related: The 8 Most Intriguing Teams in College Football for 2026

Related: 10 Biggest Winners in College Football’s Transfer Portal for the 2026 Season

Related: 6 Must-See College Football Revenge Games in 2026

This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Feb 17, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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