New No. 1 leads college football too-early Top 26 after spring practice

Yahoo Sports3h ago28 min readOriginal source →

TL;DR

Ohio State is now ranked No. 1 in the college football too-early Top 25 after spring practice, overtaking Texas. The rankings reflect significant changes, with teams like Notre Dame and Miami improving their positions.

Key points

Ohio State is ranked No. 1 in the college football Top 25.
Texas held the top spot in January but has now dropped.
Key players returning for Ohio State include Julian Sayin and Jeremiah Smith.
Notre Dame and Miami improved their rankings.
Texas A&M and Clemson fell in the rankings.

Ohio StateTexasNotre DameMiami

Spring practice has wrapped up for most of the college football teams across the country, so it's time to revisit our too-early Top 25 teams ahead of the 2026 season.

Indiana was winning its first national title the last time we published our rankings of the national title contenders. How much has changed in the last three months? Well, there's a new No. 1 after Texas held the top spot in January.

It's Ohio State now leading the field with the returns of quarterback Julian Sayin and wide receiver Jeremiah Smith giving the Buckeyes one of the nation's top offenses. The Longhorns are still in the top-five mix, while Notre Dame, Miami improved its place near the top. Mississippi also gained ground with the return of Trinidad Chambliss. Texas A&M and Clemson were among the teams falling back.

So how does it all shake out? Below is our post-spring Top 25, once again heavily slanted toward the Big Ten and SEC. Rankings from January in parenthesis:

1. Ohio State (12-2) (2)

Ohio State is the favorite to win its second national title in three years and the Big Ten’s fourth in a row. The offense should be virtually unstoppable thanks to the combination of Sayin, Smith, running back Bo Jackson and more. New coordinator Arthur Smith should bring new and dynamic ideas to the table that broaden the Buckeyes’ ability to attack defenses. On the defensive side, Ohio State bring back just three starters. But that’s nothing new: Last year’s defense also brought back three starters and ranked first nationally in yards and points per game. The key will be maintaining a furious pass rush without standouts such as Arvell Reese and Caden Curry.