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Ohio State is ranked No. 1 in the CBS Sports 138 post-spring college football rankings, edging out Texas. The rankings reflect expert opinions as teams prepare for the 2026 season.

CBS Sports Graphic
Spring practice has wrapped up across the country, and now teams are entering a summer period focused on individual development for the players and the recruiting trail for the coaches. Since we no longer have a spring transfer portal, the rosters are mostly set, so now seems like a good time to check in with our experts to see how they view the college football landscape heading into the 2026 season.
The CBS Sports 138, which has grown this season by two teams with the additions of North Dakota State and Sacramento State, is a comprehensive ranking of every FBS team. Experts from CBS Sports and 247Sports submit ballots weekly during the season, but we haven't reshuffled the deck since the confetti fell on Indiana's national championship win against Miami back in January. With a full offseason of player movement and additional information coming out of spring practice, we wanted to know what teams are competing for what spots in the rankings and how the picture has changed since the end of last season.
What our balloting revealed was a wide array of opinions for the No. 1 team in the land and very little consensus on how some of the top six or seven teams stack up against each other. Ohio State is our No. 1 team to start the 2026 rankings cycle of the CBS Sports 138, but the Buckeyes had an average ballot ranking of 2.0 from our experts.
There is some agreement among the top five teams with Ohio State, Texas, , and all carrying average ballot rankings of 4.6 or better, but the wide dispersion of votes for the group leaves us with a clear tier of contenders but almost no agreement on the order. Those five teams, plus reigning national champion Indiana and last year's runner-up Miami (who also got a first-place vote), are the teams our group has collectively found to be the true top tier in the sport.
Ohio State ranked No. 1 due to an average ballot ranking of 2.0 from CBS Sports experts, indicating strong support despite varying opinions.
North Dakota State and Sacramento State were the two teams added to the CBS Sports 138 rankings this season.
The CBS Sports 138 rankings influence team perceptions and recruiting efforts as teams prepare for the upcoming season.
Factors include expert opinions, team performance during spring practice, and offseason player movements.
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Beyond the seven-team top tier are a collection of familiar faces, starting with teams that made the CFP last year, such as Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Alabama and Ole Miss. Three of those five return their quarterback after making the College Football Playoff in 2025, though each has enough questions that they never really threatened for any of the spots at the top of the rankings. If our voting behavior is any indication, this group has "returning customer" status at the cafe when it comes to playoff contention and gets included just ahead of teams with more to prove.
There's a new head coach bump powering big moves from LSU, Florida and Penn State when it comes to changes since last year's final ranking. The Tigers and Nittany Lions both landed inside the top 20 of our rankings, along with a new-look Michigan now led by Kyle Whittingham. Coaches leaving led to some colossal drops in our rankings as well, as a couple Group of Six squads have seen their expectations adjusted following double-digit win seasons in 2025 and a subsequent coaching change.
We have broken down some of the big and notable adjustments in the Mover's Report, which you can find below the top 25 table.
College football experts from CBS Sports and 247Sports contribute ballots each week, which are averaged together for our rankings. You can see the top 25 below and 26-136 on our rankings page.
| Rank | Team | 2025 Record | Final 2025 Ranking |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio State | 12-2 | 3 |
| 2 | Texas | 10-3 | 13 |
| 3 | Oregon | 13-2 | 5 |
| 4 | Notre Dame | 10-2 | 8 |
| 5 | Georgia | 12-2 | 6 |
| 6 | Indiana | 16-0 | 1 |
| 7 | Miami | 13-3 | 2 |
| 8 | Texas A&M | 11-2 | 9 |
| 9 | Texas Tech | 12-2 | 7 |
| 10 | Oklahoma | 10-3 | 12 |
| 11 | Alabama | 11-4 | 11 |
| 12 | Ole Miss | 13-2 | 4 |
| 13 | LSU | 7-6 | 53 |
| 14 | USC | 9-4 | 16 |
| 15 | BYU | 12-2 | 10 |
| 16 | Michigan | 9-4 | 20 |
| 17 | Tennessee | 8-5 | 32 |
| 18 | Penn State | 7-6 | 46 |
| 19 | Washington | 9-4 | 26 |
| 20 | SMU | 9-4 | 27 |
| 21 | Missouri | 8-5 | 34 |
| 22 | Utah | 11-2 | 14 |
| 23 | Iowa | 9-4 | 21 |
| 24 | Louisville | 9-4 | 35 |
| 25 | Florida | 4-8 | 71 |
Check out the rest of the CBS Sports 138: Teams ranked 26-138
Could I go into detail about Ohio State's roster talent and the well-oiled recruiting machine they've had in Columbus that makes me confident that, despite all the losses, Ohio State will once again be the best team in the country? Sure. I could also just point at Jeremiah Smith and mumble "real good," and that might justify it.
However, while all of that plays a role in putting the Buckeyes No. 1, my simple explanation is this ...
There are a lot of good teams in college football, and it's harder than ever to differentiate the top programs as they've all bunched up a bit, so I'm just going with the best track records. It's why I have Ohio State at No. 1 and Georgia No. 2. Will they play for a national title? Maybe! But even if they don't, I'm fairly confident both will be in the running come Jan. 1, 2027! -- Tom Fornelli (also John Talty, Chip Patterson, David Cobb, Cody Nagel)
This time last year, you could look at Texas' roster and question a reworked offensive line, an unproven wide receiver room and how Arch Manning would fare as a first-year starter. Despite all that, the Longhorns ranked No. 1 in the preseason.
But I can confidently say the 2026 version of Texas is better. There are no obvious holes on the roster for Texas in an all-in year for the program. The offensive line and wide receiver rooms made huge strides in the portal. Manning should be much better in Year 2. And on defense, Texas returns arguably the sport's top defender (Colin Simmons) to go along with the addition of defensive coordinator Will Muschamp. This is the best roster the Longhorns have fielded in the Steve Sarkisian era. -- Chris Hummer (also Brandon Marcello, Shehan Jeyarajah)
A veteran -- yet somewhat unproven -- offensive line does give me pause, but the skill position groups and fearsome defensive front are enough for me to be extremely high on Oregon coming out of spring practice. We never got to see what this offense can be at full strength, and the complexion will be different under new coordinator Drew Mehringer as will the defense under new coordinator Chris Hampton. But I'm confident in Oregon's current status as the team to beat in college football. -- Richard Johnson
The assumption from those outside of Coral Gables is that Miami's roster has weakened since last season's national championship game appearance. But in actuality, the Hurricanes enhanced their starting lineup at quarterback, wideout and in the secondary. Personnel departures to the NFL Draft at the line of scrimmage were addressed in the transfer portal, along with the addition of five-star freshman offensive tackle Jackson Cantwell, the top-rated player at his position this cycle. -- Brad Crawford