The long wait of the college football offseason is finally upon us after Indiana vanquished Miami in the national title game one week ago, which means it is time to look ahead to the 2026 season as it begins to approach. The parity in the sport has never been higher than it is right now, as talent continues to spread out across the country via the transfer portal, which is a blessing and a curse for certain teams.
With questions abounding about team after team looking ahead to the upcoming year, it's time to do some projecting. Who will rise with new coaches or solid returners? Who will fall after good seasons? Let's jump into the top 25 and see how it shakes out.
Way-too-early top 25 for college football in 2026: 25 - Florida
I don't mean to get caught up in the moment, but I think that Jon Sumrall has quietly had a great initial run here as the head coach down in Gainesville, putting together a team that could make some noise in his first year. A key factor there is retaining the Gators' high-level skill talent in Dallas Wilson and Jadan Baugh, both of whom were projected at some point or another to hit the portal.
Sumrall was able to keep them in the boat, and he'll bring his tough-nosed style of defense to Gainesville to complement them on the other side of the ball. Sans DJ Lagway, there will be a quarterback battle between Georgia Tech transfer Aaron Philo and redshirt freshman Tramell Jones Jr., and if either of those players takes a step, it could be huge for the Gators.
The coordinator hires for Sumrall will help him out a heck of a lot, especially Buster Faulkner. Philo could have the upper hand since he has experience in Faulkner's system, but either way, this won't be a fun team to play against next season. This is a projection based on potential rather than production, which has played out poorly for Florida before, but I think they'll justify it this season against a much easier schedule.