Josh Pate reveals Way-Too-Early Top 25 for 2026 college football season

The 2025 college football season has come and gone, and plenty of pundits are already making predictions for what next year will look like. That includes college football insider Josh Pate, who dropped his “Way-Too-Early” Top 25 rankings on Sunday evening’s episode of Josh Pate’s College Football Show.

Pate included plenty of surprises in his rankings, including ranking Notre Dame at No. 1 despite the Fighting Irish missing the College Football Playoff this past season. He also had defending national champion Indiana at No. 3.

Ultimately, there will be plenty that fans do and don’t agree with to come from Pate’s top 25 rankings for next college football season. You can check it out below.

1. Notre Dame Fighting Irish

The Fighting Irish were one of the top storylines to end this season after being snubbed of a College Football Playoff spot when Miami leapfrogged them to take the final at-large bid. They declined to play in a bowl game as a result after finishing 10-2 in 2025.

Notre Dame is set to lose running back Jeremiyah Love, who rushed for 1,372 yards and 18 thouchdowns,. However, they return starting quarterback CJ Carr and Aneyas Williams should take on a larger role after the departure of Love. That plus the addition of several impact transfers on defense has the Fighting Irish as the preseason No. 1 in Pate’s book.

2. Texas Longhorns

Like Notre Dame, Texas also did not make the CFP this past season. The Longhorns finished the season 10-3 after entering the preseason as the No. 1 team as quarterback Arch Manning struggled to begin the year in his first season as starter.

Manning is back for another year and will hope to carry over his solid performance from the second half of this past season, where he finished with 3,161 yards and 26 touchdowns to seven interceptions. Texas brings back his top receiver, Ryan Wingo, and also adds Cam Coleman from Auburn through the transfer portal to give him another weapon.

3. Indiana Hoosiers

Indiana went 16-0 and won the first national championship in program history this past season in what was one of the best stories of the year for sports. However, the Hoosiers have to replace Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza at quarterback as well as receiver Elijah Sarratt.

Coach Curt Cignetti already has Mendoza’s replacement line up in TCU transfer Josh Hoover, who headlines On3’s No. 1-ranked trasfer class in the country. We’ll see if Indiana can find repeat success with a first-year transfer at QB this season as it has its sights set on a repeat.

4. Ohio State Buckeyes

Ohio State was the favorite to win the national championship for most of this season after claiming the title in 2024. But the Buckeyes lost to Indiana in the Big Ten Championship and then went out quickly in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals against Miami.

They still look great on paper next season thanks to the returns of quarterback Julian Sayin, receiver Jeremiah Smith and running back Bo Jackson. The question marks are mostly on defense, where they will lose starters such as safety Caleb Downs and linebackers Arvell Reese and Sonny Styles.

5. Oregon Ducks

The Ducks are set to return starting quarterback Dante Moore as well as several starters on defense from a team that advanced to the CFP semifinals this past season. That has many, including Pate, projecting them as a top five team to open up 2026.

Oregon’s only two losses from this past season both came against Indiana, including 56-22 in the Peach Bowl. But perhaps next season will be a different story as the Ducks should be at the top of the Big Ten race once again.

6. Miami Hurricanes

Miami finished just one win short of a national championship this season, losing 27-21 against Indiana in the title game. They lose many of their key players, however, including starting quarterback Carson Beck.

They brought in Duke transfer Darian Mensah, who led the ACC with 3,973 yards passing and 34 touchdowns to six interceptions, to be his replacement. They also return 1,000-yard rushing Mark Fletcher Jr. and should remain a contender to reach the playoff once again.

7. Georgia Bulldogs

The Bulldogs won the SEC Championship for the second straight season but again bowed out in the quarterfinals of the CFP to Ole Miss. They’ll return quarterback Gunner Stockton but have to replace three of their top four receivers.

The defense should once again remain one of the top units in the country thanks to a number of key transfer additions in the secondary. Georgia has been a familiar face in the College Football Playoff race in recent years and will likely continue to be in 2026.

8. Texas A&M Aggies

Texas A&M is coming off of the first College Football Playoff appearance in program history and comes in at No. 8 in Josh Pate’s Way-Too-Early Top 25 for the 2026 college football season. The Aggies began this past season 11-0 before ending the year with losses against Texas to close out the regular season and then Miami in the CFP.

Starting quarterback Marcel Reed is back and brings dual-threat ability after throwing for 3,169 yards and rushing for another 493 with 31 total touchdowns. However, consistency was an issue for him at times and he’ll need to be better in that regard if A&M hopes to have a real shot at a title.

9. Oklahoma Sooners

Oklahoma reached the CFP for the first time in four seasons under coach Brent Venables after he took over in 2022. The Sooners defense looked like one of the best in the country, but the offense was up-and-down after a hand injury to quarterback John Mateer midway through the season.

Mateer is returning for 2026 and hopeful to return to the form that he was playing at pre-injury, when many pundits had him labeled as a Heisman Trophy candidate. OU also brought in some transfers at receiver, including Parker Livingstone from Texas and Trell Harris from Virginia.

10. LSU Tigers

LSU rounds out the top 10 of Josh Pate’s Way-Too-Early Top 25. The Tigers are coming off of a 7-6 season and made the biggest splash of the coaching cycle by hiring Lane Kiffin away from Ole Miss.

Kiffin has lived up to his nickname of “Portal King” by bringing in the No. 2 transfer class in the country according to On3, featuring 40 new players. That includes Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt and former Ole Miss receiver Winston Watkins, among others.

Josh Pate Way-Too-Early Top 25: 11-25

11. USC Trojans
12. Texas Tech Red Raiders
13. Alabama Crimson Tide
14. BYU Cougars
15. Penn State Nittany Lions
16. Ole Miss Rebels
17. Michigan Wolverines
18. Houston Cougars
19. Utah Utes
20. SMU Mustangs
21. Missouri Tigers
22. Iowa Hawkeyes
23. Vanderbilt Commodores
24. Louisville Cardinals
25. Washington Huskies