David Pollack unveils way-too-early Top 5 college football teams for 2026 season

Within hours of the Hard Rock Stadium game clock hitting all zeros to cement No. 1 Indiana‘s perfect 16-0 season with a 27-21 win over No. 10 Miami in Monday night’s College Football Playoff national championship game, college football pundits everywhere were already looking ahead to 2026.

What followed were dozens of way-too-early projections for what next season’s Top 25 could look like, usually filled by familiar superpowers. Former ESPN analyst and legendary Georgia alum David Pollack joined in on the fun during Monday night’s See Ball, Get Ball podcast when he revealed his Top 5 teams in 2026, albeit with a slight nod to the ridiculous nature of making predictions seven months before the start of the regular season next Aug. 29.

“You know what time it is? It’s time to do the Top 5 for next year. Because why not?” Pollack joked. “It’s way too early to do a Top 5, way too early. It makes no sense to do a Top 5 for next year. But really quickly, we’ll do a Top 5.”

Texas Longhorns

Pollack admittedly committed the sin of again picking disappointing 2025 preseason favorite Texas as his early 2026 favorite. And while some might be gun-shy given how the Longhorns fell flat last season, Pollack is a believer in what Steve Sarkisian is building in Austin. That includes Year 2 with Arch Manning as QB1 and a rebuilt roster filled by some of the top portal additions, including top transfer WR Cam Coleman and two of the Top 5-ranked transfer RBs in Raleek Brown and Hollywood Smothers.

Pollack: “I’m going Texas (at) No. 1. … Arch Manning looked really, really good last year, by the way. I feel more confident about Arch Manning next year than I did this year, that’s a fact. … And they are spending plenty of money (in the transfer portal) … Hook ‘Em has plenty of green and they’re spending that green. The biggest thing too is having Muschamp edge and that culture.”

Ohio State Buckeyes

Next, Pollack turns his attention toward the 2024 national champion Buckeyes, which returns a strong contingent of young but experienced players on both sides of the ball, including superstar WR Jeremiah Smith and rising sophomore Julian Sayin at quarterback. Ohio State should once again have one of college football’s most explosive offenses, especially with the addition of 2026 Five-Star Plus+ WR Chris Henry Jr., as well as returning sophomore Bo Jackson at RB.

Pollack: “From what I saw from Julian Sayin (in 2025), I’ve 100-percent got Ohio State in my Top 5. … Is 4 (Jeremiah Smith) still there? … Ok, offense is going to be easy. … Bo Jackson is back, the offensive line is back. … Chris Henry Jr., I played with his dad, he looks like the next freak (at OSU), so that’s another 1-2 punch (at receiver). They’re going to lose a lot of guys, but I trust Ohio State to be back in the Top 5.”

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

After getting snubbed out on this year’s CFP 12-team field on Selection Sunday, the Fighting Irish should be highly motivated entering 2026, and they’ll have a favorable schedule that should make a potential undefeated regular season all the more possible next season. Add in another season with rising sophomore QB CJ Carr playing behind one of the top offensive lines in college football and a Marcus Freeman-led defense, Pollack believes Notre Dame will be in the Playoff mix once again.

Pollack: “I think CJ Carr showed you a lot, I don’t know what they’re going to be at running back, but their offensive line is going to be good, I know their defense will be really, really good. I know they’ll be pissed off, and I like their schedule. Their schedule is going to be fan-freaking-tastic. It’s going to be fortuitous.”

Oregon Ducks

Pollack is also quite high on Oregon, which received welcomed news last week after redshirt sophomore QB Dante Moore — a projected top pick in April’s NFL Draft — announced he was returning to school. And while his coaching staff underwent a bit of a shakeup, head coach Dan Lanning is still in charge after leading the Ducks to the CFP semifinals in 2025 just a year removed from winning the Big Ten in 2024.

Pollack: “Dante Moore coming back, all the young weapons, the people that are going to grow up, the way they’ve hit the transfer portal. Absolutely love the Ducks. I would have the Ducks in (my) Top 5, 100-percent. … The way they ran the ball this year, the way Dante Moore grew throughout the season, I think he’s only going to get better.”

Georgia Bulldogs

And what’s a Pollack preseason Top 5 without the Bulldogs, which are coming off back-to-back SEC championship-winning seasons and one-and-done exits in the Playoffs. Still, Pollack sees plenty to like about next year’s Georgia squad, which will include a second season with rising senior Gunner Stockton at quarterback and young defense that finished second in the SEC in scoring defense in 2025.

Pollack: “I think Georgia’s got to be your next-best bet. Gunner Stockton, remember, was in his first year as a starter (in 2025). That team was super young, super young defensively. And they came on obviously throughout the season. They’ve got some things to replace, but Georgia’s kind of like one of those teams every year that you go, ‘Ok, I’m going to plug them into the Playoff, because they’re really, really good.’ The trust factor is very high.”