Ranking all 138 FBS teams in tiers: Who rises to the top?

The college football landscape is shifting as the preseason AP Top 25 poll approaches, and a tiered assessment of every Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) program has been released. At the same time, multiple outlets have begun publishing their own predictions of the official poll, with Yahoo Sports reporting that Notre Dame is slated to open the season at No. 4. Coverage of the upcoming poll is broad. The State ran a piece on where Clemson and South Carolina landed in the preseason rankings, while AP News offered live updates as the poll neared release.

Predictive columns appeared in Maize n Brew, Bleacher Report, Yahoo Sports and Sports Illustrated, each presenting their own Top 25 forecasts. The Sun Sentinel featured a personal ballot by Lichtenstein, explaining his placement of Miami within the Top 25. Together, these stories illustrate a crowded media environment dissecting the same set of rankings. The AP Top 25 poll, compiled by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters, has long served as the benchmark for measuring preseason expectations and shaping early‑season narratives.

Tiered rankings such as ESPN’s provide a broader view, sorting programs beyond the Top 25 into groups that reflect perceived strength, schedule difficulty and recent performance. Fans and analysts use both formats to gauge which teams might exceed or fall short of projected standings as the 2026 season unfolds. Observers will compare the published poll against the various predictions and ESPN’s tier list to identify consensus and outliers. Subsequent weeks will reveal whether teams like Notre Dame, Clemson, South Carolina and Miami align with their projected slots, offering early indicators of the accuracy of the preseason forecasts.