Yahoo Sports' Preseason College Football Top 25: LSU, Michigan and USC just miss out on our top 12
With the 2026 college football season just weeks away, it's time to start counting down our top 25 teams. After revealing teams Nos. 13-25, we'll go deeper on who we think are the 12 best teams ahead of Week Zero on Aug. 29.
25. Virginia Tech Hokies
2025 record: 3-9
James Franklin's first-year track record says the Hokies are at least getting to a bowl. He led Vanderbilt to just its second bowl game in nearly 30 years in his first season with the Commodores in 2011 and it's easy to envision a similar bounce back for the Hokies here. Former Penn State quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer will be Virginia Tech's starter after his offseason transfer and the passing game should be better by default. Did you know it's been five seasons since Virginia Tech quarterbacks completed more than 60% of their passes?
The defense retains four of its top six tacklers and there's not much of a scheme turnover with former head coach Brent Pry staying on as the coordinator. The schedule is manageable too. The Hokies should go undefeated in September before a home game against Pitt and a cross-country trip to Cal.
24. Washington Huskies
2025 record: 9-4
After a flirtation with the transfer portal, QB Demond Williams is back for another season with the Huskies. He completed nearly 70% of his throws for more than 3,000 yards and was also the team's second-leading rusher with 611 yards on the ground. The offensive line features four seniors and potentially four-star freshman Kodi Greene at left tackle. Ex-Kennesaw State WR Christian Moss joins Dezmen Roebuck and Decker DeGraaf as Williams' top options.
The Huskies have a trip to USC on Oct. 3 before the schedule really gets going in November. Penn State visits in Week 11 before the season ends with back-to-back games at home against Indiana and on the road against Oregon.
23. Tennessee Volunteers
2025 record: 8-5
The Vols have to figure out their starting quarterback between Faizon Brandon and George MacIntyre. The former is a five-star true freshman, while MacIntyre was a four-star recruit in 2025 who redshirted a season ago.
Running back DeSean Bishop is back for 2026 after rushing for 1,076 yards and 16 TDs in 2025. Wide receivers Braylon Staley and Mike Matthews each had over 800 yards receiving last season.
Longtime college football assistant Jim Knowles is now in charge of Tennessee's defense. The unit should be one of the best in the SEC if what's basically a revamped defensive line can play well in conference play. The Vols bring back their four leading tacklers including LB Arion Carter. He's suspended by the NCAA for the first two games of the season, but he'll be back in plenty of time for a Sept. 26 home game against Texas.
22. Houston Cougars
2025 record: 10-3
It's hard to call the Cougars a sleeper for the Big 12 title and a playoff berth after a 10-win season. But Houston should be just as good or even better in 2026. And it'll have chances to prove it in September and October, too. Houston visits Texas Tech in Week 3 and then plays at Utah on Oct. 24. A split of those games would be massive in the conference title race.
QB Conner Weigman is back after he threw for 2,705 yards, rushed for 700 and had 36 total touchdowns. Former Oregon and Tulane RB Makhi Hughes is now a Cougar as he hopes to recapture the form he showed at Tulane when coach Willie Fritz was with the Green Wave. The defensive line is the biggest question mark on that side of the ball after the losses of Carlos Allen and Eddie Wells.
21. Louisville Cardinals
2025 record: 9-4
Can Lincoln Kienholz be more like Tyler Shough than Miller Moss for the Cardinals? The former Ohio State quarterback transferred to Louisville in the offseason and gets his first real chance to be a starter in college. Moss struggled in November as Louisville lost three straight before blowing out Kentucky to end the season.
Running back Isaac Brown is one of the most dynamic rushers in college football. Brown rushed for 884 yards and seven scores on just 101 attempts in 2025. He and Keyjuan Brown (96 carries for 704 yards) are one of the best RB duos in the country. The defense is again set to rely on a host of transfers both up front and in the secondary.
September is no joke for Louisville, either. The Cardinals open with Ole Miss in Week 1 and then host SMU in Week 3. After that, running the table is possible, if a bit unrealistic.
20. Clemson Tigers
2025 record: 7-6
This season could be the most pivotal of Dabo Swinney's tenure. The Tigers have to show that their massively disappointing 2025 was a blip and not the glaring sign that Clemson is much closer to being a middling ACC team than a playoff team.
Christopher Vizzina spent 2025 as Cade Klubnik's backup and has been named the Week 1 starter, though Swinney has noted that freshman Tait Reynolds is pushing Vizzina for that job. Would Clemson really go to LSU to start the season with a true freshman QB?
No matter who starts at QB, revitalizing a run game that averaged fewer than four yards a carry is key. The defense returns leading tackler Sammy Brown and DE Will Heldt along with safety Ronan Hanafin. After playing LSU in Week 1, Clemson hosts Miami in Week 5. Yes, that could mean a 3-2 start, but things get a lot easier from there.
19. Utah Utes
2025 record: 11-2
Morgan Scalley gets his chance to be Utah's head coach after Kyle Whittingham's departure (and subsequent hire at Michigan). The longtime defensive coordinator has been on Utah's staff since beginning his coaching career as a grad assistant in 2007.
Scalley hired Utah State offensive coordinator Kevin McGiven to run the offense after Jason Beck followed Whittingham to Utah. The Utes averaged over 41 points per game in 2025 along with six yards a play. That was 2.1 yards per play more than Utah's offense gained in 2024.
Utah retained QBs Devon Dampier and Byrd Ficklin. The QB run game should still feature heavily in the offense with RB Wayshawn Parker. They combined to score 26 TDs on the ground last season. The defense lost John Henry Daley to Michigan, but brings back leading tacklers Johnathan Hall and Jackson Bennee. Plus the schedule is very manageable. A Nov. 7 game against BYU could be for a spot in the Big 12 title game.
18. Penn State Nittany Lions
2025 record: 7-6
Penn State rebounded to finish with a winning record after the midseason firing of James Franklin. Now former Iowa State coach Matt Campbell is in charge and he brought a host of Cyclones with him. QB Rocco Becht is in State College for his final season of eligibility. Becht's 2025 season was the worst of his three years as a starter, but he's thrown 64 TDs and completed nearly 61% of his passes.
Running backs Carson Hansen (Iowa State) and James Peoples (Ohio State) will be asked to help replace Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen, while Becht's main receiving options will also be former ISU teammates in TEs Gabe Burkle and Ben Brahmer and WRs Chase Sowell and Brent Eskilden. The Nittany Lions also avoid Ohio State, Indiana and Oregon and could be 5-0 before hosting USC on Oct. 10.
17. USC Trojans
2025 record: 9-4
Lincoln Riley is extremely confident in his team entering 2026. And if the Trojans can conquer their conference schedule, Riley will have every right to crow. The Trojans have one of the toughest slates in the country, with games against Oregon, Washington, Penn State, Ohio State and Indiana occupying half of their Big Ten schedule.
Jayden Maiava enters his third season in Riley's system after throwing for over 3,700 yards in 2025. RBs Waymond Jordan and King Miller are back too; Jordan was averaging 6.5 yards a carry before suffering a midseason injury that ended his season.
We know the offense will be reliable. How good will the defense be? It's the eternal question that's haunted Riley's teams. If it's as good as Riley thinks it can be, USC is a playoff team.
16. Michigan Wolverines
2025 record: 9-4
The Wolverines also have a Big Ten gauntlet coupled with a non-conference game against Oklahoma in Week 2. Michigan gets Penn State and Indiana at home in back-to-back weeks in October along with road trips to Oregon and Ohio State over the final three weeks of the season.
Michigan's season may be defined by how much of a leap Bryce Underwood takes in Beck's offensive system. Underwood rushed for fewer than 400 yards and threw for just 11 TDs as a freshman a season ago. He should post far better numbers, especially if Andrew Marsh can emerge as a true No. 1 threat. Marsh led Michigan with 45 catches for 651 yards and four TDs as a freshman.
The secondary brings back Rod Moore and Jyaire Hill, while the defensive line is bolstered by Daley's transfer. He had 12.5 sacks in 2025. Whittingham might not be the young hot-shot coach any longer, but he could be perfect for Michigan after a tumultuous last two seasons.
15. BYU Cougars
2025 record: 12-2
Coach Kalani Sitake spurned Penn State to stay at BYU, and after 23 wins over the past two seasons, you can see why. The Cougars have a great shot at making the Big 12 title game again. Running back LJ Martin is back after rushing for ver 1,300 yards and 12 TDs, while QB Bear Bachmeier should take a leap. Bachmeier threw for over 3,000 yards and completed 65% of his passes, but BYU's two losses to Texas Tech showed that asking him to carry the offense with his arm was a tall order for a freshman.
The Cougars will need someone to step up at wide receiver; Martin is the team's leading returning receiver and no other player on the roster had more than 14 catches at BYU in 2025. The defense brings back a ton of talent, though it needs to replace Jack Kelly's 10 sacks. An Oct. 17 home game against Notre Dame will be a good referendum on BYU's status among the nation's best.
14. SMU Mustangs
2025 record: 9-4
SMU has reached the point under Rhett Lashlee where a four-loss season and a failure to make the conference title game can be considered a disappointment. In 2026, the Mustangs have a clear path back to their second ACC title game in three seasons.
QB Kevin Jennings returns for his third season as the team's starter after throwing for over 3,600 yards a season ago despite dealing with an ankle injury for most of the season. Ex-Cal RB Kendrick Raphael is the presumptive starter in the backfield, and the offensive line should be one of the best units in the conference.
The schedule also lines up extremely well for the Mustangs. After a Week 3 trip to Louisville, SMU's toughest conference game may be a home game against Virginia Tech on Nov. 7. A Week 13 trip to Notre Dame is a good test, but it won't have any bearing on SMU's conference title hopes. Heck, SMU could feasibly have a championship game berth locked up by then.
13. LSU Tigers
2025 record: 7-6
The playoff pressure arrived as soon as Lane Kiffin was hired as LSU's coach. The Tigers have added former Arizona State QB Sam Leavitt, Ex-Colorado OT Jordan Seaton and ex-Ole Miss edge rusher Princewill Umanmielen as part of a transfer portal class that was one of the best in the country. Kiffin also retained defensive coordinator Blake Baker and brought Charlie Weis Jr. with him from Oxford to be the OC.
Leavitt missed much of the 2025 season because of a foot injury after leading ASU to the Big 12 title and a College Football Playoff appearance in 2024. After LSU averaged 8.4 yards a play in Jayden Daniels' Heisman-winning season in 2023, the Tigers dipped to 6.2 yards a play in 2024 and averaged just 5.3 yards per snap in 2025 as LSU QBs were sacked 29 times.
We'll get a great idea of how far LSU has come already or how far it still has to go to be a real contender in September. After hosting Clemson in Week 1, Kiffin heads back to Oxford in Week 3 and Texas A&M visits Baton Rouge on Sept. 26.
