Ohio State edged Oregon to give the Big Ten the top two slots in the 2026 preseason US LBM Coaches Poll, which was unveiled Tuesday afternoon.
Locally, BYU landed at No. 15 and Utah came in at No. 21. Texas Tech is the highest-ranked Big 12 team at No. 12.
The Buckeyes are the first Big Ten squad to debut as the coaches’ No. 1 team since 2015, when Ohio State was coming off a College Football Playoff title. Either an SEC team or Clemson has opened the coaches poll at No. 1 every season the last 10 seasons.
Ohio State garnered 38 first-place votes, by far the most of any team in the poll. Six different teams received No. 1 votes, with defending CFP champion Indiana collecting the second-most (14) despite only coming in at No. 6 in the rankings. Oregon (six), Texas (seven), Georgia (two) and Notre Dame (five) also received first-place votes and rounded out the top five in that order.
BYU finished the 2025 season at No. 12 in the coaches poll, following a 12-2 season that included a Big 12 championship game appearance. Utah ended last season No. 14 in the coaches poll after an 11-2 campaign.
2026 Preseason Coaches Poll
| Ranking | Team | 2025 record |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio State | 12-2 |
| 2 | Oregon | 13-2 |
| 3 | Georgia | 12-2 |
| 4 | Texas | 10-3 |
| 5 | Notre Dame | 10-2 |
| 6 | Indiana | 16-0 |
| 7 | Miami | 13-3 |
| 8 | Texas A&M | 11-2 |
| 9 | Oklahoma | 10-3 |
| 10 | Ole Miss | 13-2 |
| 11 | Alabama | 11-4 |
| 12 | Texas Tech | 12-2 |
| 13 | LSU | 7-6 |
| 14 | USC | 9-4 |
| 15 | BYU | 12-2 |
| 16 | Michigan | 9-4 |
| 17 | Penn State | 7-6 |
| 18 | Tennessee | 8-5 |
| 19 | Washington | 9-4 |
| 20 | SMU | 9-4 |
| 21 | Utah | 11-2 |
| 22 | Iowa | 9-4 |
| 23 | Clemson | 7-6 |
| 24 | Houston | 10-3 |
| 25 | Missouri | 8-5 |
The coaches poll hardly serves as a predictor of the upcoming football season. Last year, only 14 preseason top-25 teams were ranked in the final polls, after only 12 appeared in both editions during the 2024-25 season. Alabama was the last team to open at No. 1 in the coaches poll and win that season’s College Football Playoff title, in 2017.
For the third consecutive season, the SEC landed nine teams in the preseason poll, with five other SEC teams appearing in the top 13 behind Georgia and Texas. Georgia will open the season ranked in the coaches poll top five for the ninth consecutive year. Other SEC teams in the poll include 2025-26 CFP participants Texas A&M (No. 8), Oklahoma (No. 9), Ole Miss (No. 10) and Alabama (No. 11), plus LSU (No. 13), Tennessee (No. 18) and Missouri (No. 25).
The Big Ten landed eight teams in the poll, including defending CFP champion Indiana at No. 6. Other teams include USC (No. 14), Michigan (No. 16), Penn State (No. 17), Washington (No. 19) and Iowa (No. 22). Ohio State has opened in the top five every season since 2015.
The two other Power 4 conferences totaled seven representatives in the rankings. The Big 12 had four: Texas Tech (No. 12), BYU (No. 15), Utah (No. 21) and Houston (No. 24), while the ACC had three: CFP runner-up Miami (No. 7), SMU (No. 20) and Clemson (No. 23). It’s the lowest preseason ranking for Clemson since 2011.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.