Josh’s College Football Rankings 2026–Week 1

The first week (or technically two weeks since we had games the week before) had some crazy moments. I mean, usually the games are fairly lackluster since almost everyone is playing a weaker opponent. But there were still upsets, and there were still exciting games. We had Michigan coming back with a Hail Mary (and an extra play from the replay crew) against Western Michigan. SMU winning with a last second field goal against Florida State. And Oregon surviving the attack of Boise State. College football is back!!!

1. Ohio State (1-0)–#1–W 56-3 Ball State. Not much to say about this one. Sayin and Smith look deadly.
2. Texas (1-0)–#4–W 59-7 Texas State. I think this team is where we thought they would be at this time last year.
3. Georgia (1-0)–#2–W 63-3 Tennessee State
4. Notre Dame (1-0)–#5–W 41-13 Wisconsin. The Irish defense is tough. I thought this game was going to be closer, but ND tightened up in the second half and held the Badgers to just three points and just 141 total yards. I gave the Irish a quality win for this game since it was at Lambeau Field, at night, and I think Wisconsin will be a better team than people expect.
5. Miami (1-0)–#8–W 45-6 Stanford. Okay, this team did not like my disrespectful #8 ranking to start the season. Darian Mensah with 401 yards passing, while Malachi Toney exploded for 234 receiving and 3 TDs.
6. Oregon (1-0)–#3–W 34-27 Boise State. The Ducks defense did not look nearly as elite as people thought, and it took the offense awhile to get going, but they will be just fine. Too much talent on this team.
7. Indiana (1-0)–#6–W 52-16 North Texas. The defense looked a little shaky.
8. Alabama (1-0)–#7–W 48-10 East Carolina
9. LSU (1-0)–#14–W 51-10 #25 Clemson. I doubted Lane! I did not think he could turn the Tigers around this quickly, but after that slaughter of Clemson, I am a believer.
10. Ole Miss (1-0)–#9–W 41-38 #22 Louisville. It was a tough fight against a good Louisville team. The secondary better get their act together quickly before they get ripped apart by some of the more experienced QBs (unless Lincoln Kienholz is just THAT good).
11. Oklahoma (1-0)–#10–W 51-0 UTEP
12. Texas A&M (1-0)–#11–W 50-0 Missouri State
13. Texas Tech (1-0)–#12–W 33-10 Abilene Christian
14. USC (2-0)–#13–W 42-26 San Jose State, W 39-0 Fresno State. The Trojans defense looked suspect yet again during that game against San Jose State, but they pitched a shutout against Fresno State. Not really sure if that answers any questions about them or not.
15. BYU (1-0)–#15–W 63-7 Utah Tech
16. Washington (1-0)–#16–W 24-10 Washington State. They beat their biggest rival in the Apple Cup. Was it pretty? Not at all, but rivalry games are different, so I will hold off and judging the Huskies.
17. Utah (1-0)–#18–W 66-14 Idaho
18. SMU (1-0)–#19–W 27-24 Florida State. I think the Mustangs will be just fine. The Seminoles are better than people expect (not saying they are going to win the ACC or anything, but they are not awful).
19. Penn State (1-0)–#24–W 45-0 Marshall. I was not going to jump them five spots after a win against Marshall, but there was definitely something different about this opening game than previous years (obviously a new head coach). They came out and looked more electric…more prepared…just better.
20. Tennessee (1-0)–#20–W 56-9 Furman
21. Houston (1-0)–#21–W 33-20 Oregon State
22. Louisville (0-1)–22–L 41-38 #9 Ole Miss. I am not dropping the Cardinals at all after that game. They played well, and they are going to be a team to be reckoned with in the ACC this season.
23. Missouri (1-0)–#23–W 54-14 Arkansas-Pine Bluff
24. Virginia (1-0)–#27–W 34-8 North Carolina State
25. Iowa (1-0)–#26–W 40-0 Northern Illinois
26. Pittsburgh (1-0)–#31–W 59-14 Miami OH
27. Michigan (1-0)–#17–W 13-12 Western Michigan. I am sorry Wolverine fans, but this team has way too many question marks after that game. They need to figure out the offense, or it will be a long season.
28. South Carolina (1-0)–#29–W 57-0 Kent State
29. Arizona (1-0)–#30–W 35-7 Northern Arizona
30. Florida (1-0)–#32–W 66-21 Florida Atlantic
31. Auburn (1-0)–#33–W 17-16 #38 Baylor
32. Illinois (1-0)–#34–W 42-23 UAB
33. Kansas State (1-0)–#35–W 71-3 Nicholls State
34. Nebraska (1-0)–#37–W 49-21 Ohio
35. Arizona State (1-0)–#39–W 70-7 Morgan State
36. Virginia Tech (1-0)–#40–W 73-3 VMI
37. Vanderbilt (1-0)–#28–W 28-9 Austin Peay. I think I had Vandy a little too high to start the season. I think this feels more correct.
38. Duke (1-0)–NR–W 17-3 Tulane. I honestly thought Tulane would win this game. Duke is being written off because they lost Mensah, but do not count out Manny Diaz.
39. Syracuse (1-0)–NR–W 66-3 New Hampshire
40. Boise State (0-1)–HM–L 34-27 #3 Oregon. Boise State is a good team, and most likely one of the best in the G6…as long as they can avoid any conference stumbles, they should be in the CFP…

Honorable Mentions
Baylor (0-1)–#38–L 17-16 #33 Auburn. Lagway continues to be a frustrating QB, he has the talent, but makes too many costly mistakes.
Colorado (1-0)–NR–W 14-13 Georgia Tech. Not even close to ready to get on the Coach Prime Hype Train, but this was a good win for the Buffaloes.
Florida State (1-1)–HM–W 34-17 New Mexico State, L 27-24 #19 SMU
Tulsa (1-0)–NR–W 24-10 Oklahoma State. I mentioned in my AAC preview post that Tulsa would be good this year…they did not let me down.
Western Michigan (0-1)–NR–L 13-12 #17 Michigan. A tough loss, but that defense proved they can play with the big boys, and they should have no problem stopping the MAC.

Oh man, we have #1 vs. #2!!! Ohio State heads to Austin to take on Texas. This should be a bit better than last year when these teams met in week one. We also have #11 Oklahoma traveling to #27 Michigan. The Wolverines have a chance to silence their critics by shutting down the Sooners. The #12 Texas A&M Aggies host the #35 Arizona State Sun Devils, while #29 Arizona heads to #15 BYU.

There are two other matchups that I find very intriguing. The first one is UCF at #26 Pittsburgh. It pains me to say this, but I think Pitt is a good team this year, but I also like Alonza Barnett at UCF, and could see him giving the Panthers a tough time. 

The other game that I am circling is Old Dominion at #36 Virginia Tech. Ricky Rahne versus his former mentor, James Franklin. The Monarchs won this battle last year 45-26.

Tiny But Mighty
My favorite part of the first few weeks is G6 schools beating P4 teams, or FCS upsets over FBS programs. This week we saw a few of each.
UMass (MAC) destroyed Rutgers (Big Ten) 37-21
Tulsa (AAC) beat Oklahoma State (Big XII) 24-10

And over in the FCS ranks, we had three teams win.
Tarleton State over Bowling Green 20-13 (Hey, I predicted this one!)
The Citadel over Charlotte 43-41 3OT
Idaho State over Utah State 29-17

Coaching Hot Seat
Mike Norvell (Florida State)
Dave Aranda (Baylor)
Mike Locksley (Maryland)
Luke Fickell (Wisconsin)
Dabo Swinny (Clemson)

These are the five coaches I want to keep an eye on this year. There are other coaches who will be fired, but I think this group in the most intriguing. I know most people think Dabo is 100% safe, but that blowout by LSU really hurt. I am not saying he ends up being fired, but I could see him retiring at the end of the year (you know, the Board of Regents forces him out with some dignity). 

Heisman Watch
It is too early to start a watch list for the Heisman. But after the first week, I think you have to put Malachi Toney and Jeremiah Smith at the top of the list, followed by their QBs.