College football coaches poll: Ohio State and Oregon lead the 2026 preseason top 25

The Big Ten has the top two teams in the 2026 preseason coaches poll.

Ohio State got 38 first-place votes and sits ahead of Oregon and Georgia to start the season. After winning the College Football Playoff at the end of the 2024 season, the Buckeyes lost to Miami in the College Football Playoff a season ago.

Oregon, which lost to defending national champion Indiana in the Peach Bowl, got six first-place votes and finished 46 points ahead of the Bulldogs. Georgia got seven first-place votes.

Indiana got the second-most first-place votes with 14, but sits at No. 6, behind Texas at No. 4 and Notre Dame at No. 5.

While the Big Ten has three of the top-six teams in the poll, the SEC has five teams in the top 10 and seven teams in the top 13 of the coaches poll. After Miami at No. 7, the top 10 is filled out by SEC teams in Texas A&M, Oklahoma and Ole Miss. Alabama is at No. 11 and Lane Kiffin's LSU is at No. 13.

Overall, the SEC has nine teams in the top 25 and the Big Ten has eight. The Big 12's highest team is Texas Tech at No. 12, and the Red Raiders might have been in the top 10 if Brendan Sorsby was still on the team's roster. There are four Big 12 teams in the top 25, while the ACC has three.

Below is the full top 25 ahead of the season, which unofficially begins with Week Zero on Aug. 29.

2026 preseason coaches poll

1. Ohio State Buckeyes (38 first-place votes)

2. Oregon Ducks (6)

3. Georgia Bulldogs (7)

4. Texas Longhorns (2)

5. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (5)

6. Indiana Hoosiers (14)

7. Miami Hurricanes

8. Texas A&M Aggies

9. Oklahoma Sooners

10. Ole Miss Rebels

11. Alabama Crimson Tide

12. Texas Tech Red Raiders

13. LSU Tigers

14. USC Trojans

15. BYU Cougars

16. Michigan Wolverines

17. Penn State Nittany Lions

18. Tennessee Volunteers

19. Washington Huskies

20. SMU Mustangs

21. Utah Utes

22. Iowa Hawkeyes

23. Clemson Tigers

24. Houston Cougars

25. Missouri Tigers