Being ranked in the top 25 is always a goal for coaches and players. But not all are the same.Â
In 2019, LSU dominated all their opponents on a destructive run to the National Championship. That year, it was clear that no one besides LSU was going to win.
In other years, like 2007, there were questions up to the final week of the season whether West Virginia, USF, or the eventual two-loss champion LSU was going to win.
This season, it looks to be closer to 2007 than it does 2019 no dominant juggernaut and plenty of potential contenders in the top 25. But who are those teams with a real chance to win the National Championship after the first month of the year?
Tier Three: Hey, we’re ranked
Boise State: No. 22
So far, Boise State is the best team among the rest of the conferences. Despite their close loss to Oregon, they manhandled both Memphis and Western Michigan to show what they are at this level. Although the Broncos are considerable favorites to be the group of six representatives in the playoffs, their ability to win a national title is not there.
BYU Cougars: No. 10
BYU has a solid team and a good, young quarterback in Bear Bachmeier. They also get lucky by not having to take on Texas Tech, the only team to defeat them in 2025.
But the Cougars will take on Notre Dame and Utah. While the Notre Dame contest will not count against the conference rankings, it will be a test of how far the Cougars have come, and of how far they still must go. While NIL has flattened the talent gap for most, it has yet to fully hit Big XII and until it does, don’t expect a team from the conference in the national title game. Not even the No. 10 ranked BYU.
Houston Cougars: No. 20
Houston under Willie Fritz is good. But good in the Big XII is different from good nationally.Â
With the only loss of the Cougars being against Texas Tech, Houston still has a chance to make it to the Big XII title game and with a win, the playoffs. But that is as far as it goes in terms of their ability to win.
Texas Tech, with a much more talented roster in 2025, made it to the playoffs and were immediately beaten 23-0 by Oregon in their first game. This is the same path a team like Houston would take if they made it that far.Â
 Iowa Hawkeyes: No. 14
Phil Parker is the best defensive coordinator in the country and has been for many years. While it is easy to drag someone into an Iowa game for one week in the Big Ten, it is different to do so weekly against teams like Notre Dame, Georgia or Florida.
Iowa does not have the offense to compete. Even if their defense is as boring and nasty as it is. The Hawkeyes will have fun ruining the playoff hopes of a team like Michigan. But for themselves, they have a lot to do before winning more of these games becomes routine.
Kentucky Wildcats: No. 24
Will Stein came in and rejuvenated the Wildcats team.Â
After flipping transfer quarterback Kenny Minchey from Nebraska, Stein had the guy he needed to start his tenure with at Kentucky. This led to an upset win over Texas A&M, a team which was thought to be good at the time. Although time has shown us differently, it is still a big win for Kentucky, especially with the game being on the road in front of 100,000 fans at Kyle Field.
As Kentucky continues to ascend, they will be trouble for others in the SEC. But they are still far from being a contender nationally.Â
Mississippi State Bulldogs: No. 16
Mississippi State was not supposed to be here. They were supposed to be happy at the bottom of the SEC and getting beaten as a bye game for the real contenders. Quarterback Kamario Taylor has made sure this is not the case, and it is helping to save the job of Jeff Levy.
After defeating South Carolina last week, Mississippi State blew a 14-point lead in Missouri before coming back to gain the win.Â
Taylor has been incredible for the Bulldogs and he will be a Heisman Trophy front-runner in 2027. If Mississippi State can build more around him for 2027, it might be special. But this season will not be the breakthrough year for the perennial worst team in the SEC.
Missouri Tigers: No. 25
Quarterback Austin Simmons has been better than expected upon his arrival from Ole Miss. It has been good to see but it will not be enough for the Tigers, who held on with a ranking of 25 due to the need for an SEC team to finish out the ranks. This team always seems to be Missouri, and it has happened again this week. The Tigers have failed to show themselves worthy of this rank and with that, a selection any higher than the lowest tier.Â
Oklahoma State Cowboys: No. 19
After going 1-11 in 2025, it was good to see Oklahoma State come out and defeat Oregon and West Virginia to show they are on the path to improvement. There are not any Big XII teams in 2026 who look like a real contender. Oklahoma State is fun under Eric Morris with Drew Mestemaker at quarterback. But that is as far as it goes.Â
SMU Mustangs: No. 21
SMU has already lost to Louisville, who took a bad loss to Wake Forest on Saturday. Add to this a trip left to South Bend to face Notre Dame and a struggle to beat Florida State in Week 1 and the Mustangs are not a legitimate contender for a national title in 2026. Kevin Jennings is fine. But Rhett Lashlee needs better than fine if this team wants to compete.Â
Tennessee Volunteers: No. 17
Tennessee played well against Texas on Saturday. Even in the loss, the Volunteers made a comeback and almost pulled off a victory. But, with games left against some great teams like Alabama, LSU and even a Texas A&M team which could surprise them, Tennessee is not set to make the playoffs. They look more like a 9-3 team who will look to 2027 and the sophomore season of Faison Brandon to improve.Â
Texas Tech Red Raiders: No. 12
The worst move Texas Tech made this off season was going after Brendan Sorsbey in the transfer portal. This is not just because he is no longer on the team, it is also because it left them without a quarterback in case Will Hammond struggled — which he has.
A close win against Oregon State and a bad-looking first half against Sam Houston State have shown that even the best roster in the Big XII is not ready to compete for a championship. This means that Texas Tech does not even make the second tier, even if they make the playoffs at the end of the season.
UCLA Bruins: No. 23
Bob Chesney is doing miraculous things at UCLA, this includes beating Maryland 52-3 on Saturday. But Maryland is not Alabama and they are not Notre Dame. UCLA is having the start of a renaissance in 2026, but this does not mean it will end with a title right away.
Utah Utes: No. 13
Utah is always good. Whether it be Kyle Whittingham or Morgan Scalley, the Utes know what they are. It is a solid team — but not one who will compete for a title.Â
Tier Two: With some help, we can do it
Florida Gators: No. 8
These Gators are fun to watch. Some might say finally. Billy Napier may not have been a good on-field coach, but he was a great recruiter with his 250-person strong staff.Â
Unlike a lot of fired coaches, he left the cabinets far from bare and Jon Sumrall has put the talent together to succeed in a way Napier was unable to. This includes Jadan Baugh and Duke Clark, the running back duo who went for 302 yards and 6 touchdowns against Ole Miss on Saturday in the 52-28 win. The only reason Florida is not in the top tier is their defense.
They have yet to shut down any good opponents, allowing 39 and 28 points in their first two SEC games, respectively. With games still ahead against Texas and Georgia, along with this week at Missouri, the defense can be their downfall.
Being ranked at No. 8 and having a great offense with offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner will be great for the future of the team. But this is not the season for Florida to make a full-fledged championship run.Â
Indiana Hoosiers: No. 6
After Fernando Mendoza left for the NFL draft, Curt Cignetti was forced to find a new quarterback. He found one in TCU transfer Josh Hoover. Or at least he found someone to fill the spot.
Hoover has not been as good in the Hoosiers offense as Mendoza and the turnover problems he had with the Horned Frogs have followed him to Bloomington. Despite having both Nick Marsh and Charlie Becker at the wide receiver positions, he is consistently inaccurate and either over- or under-throwing them. This has hurt the offense on several occasions, including a close 29-23 win over Northwestern on Friday in their conference opener.
With the defense being shakier then 2025 and running back Turbo Richardson being dinged up, this is not the same quality of team as they were in 2025. While this is not a shock, it does mean that a slight step back has occurred and a repeat for Indiana looks unlikely.
Ole Miss Rebels: No. 9
Trinidad Chambliss is special. But we saw on Saturday against Florida that he cannot do it alone.
Running back Kewan Lacy has missed time in every game this season. This includes missing the Rebels game against Charlotte and Florida entirely. If Lacy continues to miss time, Ole Miss will continue to lose more games and can finish 8-4. If he can get back on the field and remain healthy, they can still go 11-1 and make the playoffs.
Even if the Rebels do make the playoffs, their defense has been underwhelming, something seen under the bright lights of Gainesville as they allowed 52 points to the Gators. Ole Miss is better than they used to be. But they are not up to elite level just yet.
Oregon Ducks: No. 15
The Ducks are the top team in this tier. The only reason they are not in the higher tier is the devastating injury to Dante Moore. Had not Moore been viciously and illegally taken out of the game Saturday, the Ducks are easily higher then here.
Dylan Raiola comported himself nicely in leading the Ducks to a win over USC, throwing for 289 yards and 2 touchdowns. If he continues to play in this manner during any time Moore misses, Oregon can be excellent. If he starts to revert to his days at Nebraska, Oregon will be forced again to wait for next year.
USC Trojans: No. 18
The last team in this tier alphabetically — the USC Trojans have a lot of talent, and a lot of flaws.
Lincoln Riley came into the season with the No. 1 recruiting class and a lot of promises at Big Ten media days. Thus far, the only thing we know is that he still does not have a defense capable of winning it all.
If the defense can find their way against a challenging finish to their schedule, the Trojans are a contender. If they can make the playoffs with the schedule they have, they should be given the respect of being a contender. But these are both things which do not seem likely. They are still in the second tier, though, simply due to their ability if they get in.Â
Tier One: At the championship level right now
Alabama Crimson Tide: No. 7
Quarterback Keelon Russell has been stellar thus far in his first season as a starter for Alabama. If not for the Mississippi twins — Trinidad Chambliss and Kamario Taylor — Russell would be getting a lot more recognition for his play.
The offense is looking to score 50 every week and the defense is looking to keep teams in the 20s. While this is not the traditional way that Alabama wins games, in this new era of college football, this might be the way they need to from now on.Â
The winner of Georgia at Alabama in two weeks will be favored to be the SEC Champions and this will give them a top two seed and a first-round bye to heal.
Georgia Bulldogs: No. 2
Kirby Smart is still waiting for the Bulldogs to get challenged. Frankly, so are we.
Oklahoma was supposed to be that game. Unfortunately, quarterback John Mateer had a different idea and decided to fumble the game away. The Oklahoma defense was still good. But being down so much, all they could do was attempt to limit what Georgia could do on short fields.
The first test for Georgia will come in two weeks when the Bulldogs travel to Tuscaloosa to take on the Crimson Tide. If they make it through the game with a dominant victory, the Bulldogs need to be the favorite to win it all.
LSU Tigers: No. 11
Sam Leavitt has been up and down this season. But with the offense he is surrounded with added to the exceptional defensive players recruited and brought in through the transfer portal, LSU can compete with anyone in the country.Â
If Lane Kiffin doesn't get in the way, the Tigers can defeat Alabama and head into the playoffs with just one loss.
Miami Hurricanes: No. 4
Through four games, quarterback Darian Mensa has more touchdowns (14) than he has total incompletions (12). He has been incredible finding wide receiver’s Malachi Toney and Cooper Barkate, leading to the undefeated record and a game against Clemson this week which should be another 20-point win.
The only thing that can stop Miami from competing is the current injury to running back Mark Fletcher. If he misses significant time, or cannot return healthy, the team will find it challenging to win having a pass-only offense with all teams knowing how to prepare.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish: No. 3
CJ Carr is playing wonderfully for what Marcus Freeman needs out of him. The Irish are also aware that, with their limited schedule, they will be forced to beat every opponent by as many points as possible. This team is all gas and no brakes and if they can beat the Miami Hurricanes in November in their most difficult game, they are set to make a run at the top seed. It also helps that the Wisconsin win is looking better each week.
Ohio State Buckeyes: No. 5
Ohio state, despite losing to Texas 21-20, is still the best team in the country right now.
With wide receiver Jeremiah Smith being the best player in the country and the Heisman Trophy favorite at +300, the offense is as dangerous as they ever were. Quarterback Julian Sayin is only getting better and the offensive line has done well in protecting him and blocking him for the running game.
On defense, the secondary still has elite players and the line is starting to develop. If the line can continue to progress, this can turn into a repeat of 2024 when Ohio State lost in the regular season before turning it on in December.
Texas Longhorns: No. 1
Although ranked No. 1 in the AP poll, the Longhorns are not the clear favorite to win the national championship. In fact, I do not think they are. Arch Manning has been solid. But, for Texas to win the entire thing, he will need to improve immensely before the playoffs.Â
Despite the comeback win over Ohio State in Week 2 at home, the Buckeyes are still the better team and they are improving.
We just saw Texas sack freshman quarterback Faison Brandon 10 times in their win over Tennessee and Collin Simmons collected five of those himself but, the offense is still having a bit of issues at times, and this could be the weak point for an otherwise elite roster.
Add us as a preferred source on Google