Preseason polls are just the latest sign that it won’t be long before the arrival of football season, and a major one just dropped this week — USA Today revealed the preseason edition of the Coaches Poll.

BREAKING: College Football Preseason Coaches Poll👀https://t.co/gnEe967fmH pic.twitter.com/W2xBYGZWYe

— On3 (@On3) August 4, 2026

In a year where there are a number of teams that could win the national title, it’s the Ohio State Buckeyes who take the top spot in the nation, trailed by the Oregon Ducks — two schools from the Big Ten. To punctuate the point, the SEC has half of the top-ten in Georgia at No. 3, Texas at No. 4, Texas A&M at No. 8, Oklahoma at No. 9 and Ole Miss at No. 10.

Interestingly, Alabama just missed the cut of the top-ten, coming in at No. 11 in a sight fans are not quite used to seeing.

Auburn, meanwhile, did not crack the top-25 — though notably it did receive votes to be ranked along with programs like South Carolina, Vanderbilt, Florida and Louisville.

Defending national champion Indiana comes in ranked at No. 6, ahead of the team they defeated in the title game, the Miami Hurricanes at No. 7.

All in all, the SEC has nine teams ranked, with LSU at No. 13, Tennessee at No. 18 and Missouri at No. 25. The Big 10 has eight, with schools like USC, Michigan, Penn State and Iowa joining the top dogs of their conference in the poll.

Ultimately, preseason polls don’t mean a whole lot and results on the field will dictate things as they always do, but fans love to see where coaches and media think they sit before the season begins. Most importantly, major polls dropping means the season is coming, something everyone will love to hear.