Preston Hiefield's Post-Spring Top 10 College Football Teams!

By Preston Hiefield

With all power conference Spring games finally in the books - UW, UCLA and UCF hosted theirs this past weekend - the college football offseason is officially here!

(Dante Moore and the Ducks check-in at #1 on Preston Hiefield’s Top 10 list).

Let’s skip the “here’s how to save college football” content for now. Saban and Cap Hill are working on it. You can hear some Athletic writers blab about it on their latest podcast. Hell, I’ll get to it myself at some point.

But for now, it’s X’s and O’s baby.

Lots of college football in this brain, let’s dump it here.

Here are my Top 10 teams in college football as we head into the Summer.

1. Oregon. The returning talent on this roster is remarkable: QB Dante Moore, RB’s Dierre Hill Jr. and Jordon Davison, WR’s Evan Stewart, Dakorien Moore and Jeremiah McClellan, TE Jamari Johnson, plus the entire front four on defense. Stewart and Moore REALLY popped in the Spring game. The offensive line and kicking game looked a little shaky, but the defensive line might also just be that great. Two-time first team All-Ivy League OT Michael Bennett III transferred in from Yale this offseason and should help shore up the offensive line with his final year of eligibility. O-Line coach A’lique Terry has options to replace both tackles with Bennett, Fox Crader, Gernorris Wilson and true freshman five-star Immanuel Iheanacho, among others. My guess is that Crader starts at LT, Bennett starts at RT, and Wilson and Iheanacho both see the field this year. Poncho back at center for his senior year is huge.

   Dan Lanning needed to replace coordinators Will Stein (Kentucky) and Tosh Lupoi (CAL) this offseason and did so with internal promotions (Drew Mehringer and Chris Hampton). Moore spoke really highly of new Safety Koi Perich, comparing him to last year’s Midwest-transfer-turned-first-rounder Dillon Thieneman. This team is kind of giving me the vibe of the Ohio State national title team from two years ago whose defensive vets anchored the path to a national title. Can Matayo Uiagalelei, Amauri Washington, Teitum Tuioti and Bear Alexander do the same? It’s year five for Lanning. Phil Knight is 88. Is THIS the year? Will it be a fourth straight natty for the Big Ten, from a fourth different program?

2. Indiana. Until further notice, Curt Cignetti is the best coach in college football and Indiana is the gold standard of the sport. The defending national champions didn’t just win the national title last year, they beat Oregon twice (once at Autzen followed by an absolute bludgeoning in the CFP Semis), beat then-undefeated Ohio State in Indy, and demoralized a solid Alabama team 38-3 in the Rose Bowl before knocking off the other hottest team in college football besides themselves, Miami.

   Or as Cignetti likes to say, “We don’t just beat Top 25 teams, we beat the shit out of ‘em.”

   I’ve seen new IU QB Josh Hoover in-person a few times when he was quarterbacking TCU. He’s really mobile and has a big arm, vintage dual-threat. Kind of a shorter Mendoza. He’ll be 23 years old and a fifth year senior this season, which is the Cignetti QB recipe. You can keep your five-star recruits. He’ll take the developed, mature, team first guy all day. It’s a proven winning strategy and I wonder if other programs will try to adopt this moving forward. IU did lose soooo many important players from last year’s team: Mendoza, WR’s Elijah Sarratt and Omar Cooper Jr., RB’s Roman Hemby and Kaelon Black, LB Aiden Fisher, DB De’Angelo Ponds, etc. For my money, Fisher was the best LB in college football last year.

   IU does return important DT’s Tyrique Tucker and Mario Landino this year, along with reliable LB Rolijah Hardy. One of the most impressive parts of IU’s run last year was how truly dominant their rush defense was: they held Ohio State to 58 rush yds (2.2 YPC) and Alabama to a historically low 23 rush yds (1.4 YPC). They stuffed the Buckeyes on multiple “short yardage, gotta have it” situations. They forced Bama to abandon the run altogether.

   WR Charlie Becker and Michigan State transfer Nick Marsh will form a dynamic WR duo for Hoover this season. As long as Cig is in charge and he has an experienced QB, we should never doubt the Hoosiers.

3. Miami. The ACC tiebreaker was so whacky last year that Miami didn’t even qualify for the ACC title game, yet the ‘Canes nearly won the national title. Is the ACC back? Danny Kannell, your thoughts? The conference has since vowed to update its tiebreaker policies in the wake of 7-win Duke edging out 10-win Miami for a Charlotte bid last season (both had identical 6-2 ACC records at the end of the regular season). Speaking of the ACC title game, I love Miami’s new QB Darian Mensah. He set multiple Duke records last year (passing yards, total yards, and total touchdowns) en route to leading the Blue Devils to their first outright ACC football championship since 1962. He’s the real deal. Fellow Duke WR Cooper Barkate was part of that Prime 112 recruiting dinner as well, and he too has taken his talents to South Beach.

   With Miami needing to buy-out Mensah from his reported two-year, $8M Duke NIL deal, Mensah might be CFB’s first ever $10M QB: Miami reportedly paid Duke $4M to break the deal and Mensah another $6M+ for this season.

   Cha-ching!

   As steady as Carson Beck was last year, did you notice Miami basically never threw the ball further than 15 yards down the field? I believe that conservative approach was the result of Beck recovering from surgery due to the violent hit he sustained on his throwing arm while chucking a Hail Mary just before halftime of the 2024 SEC title game against Texas. In other words, Miami was a bit limited throwing the ball downfield last year. That won’t be the case this season with Mensah, Barkate and Malachi Toney.

   Rueben Bain Jr. and Ahkeem Mesidor are off to the league, so Jason Taylor and Mario Cristobal will need to re-stock the D-Line that helped lead them to the national title game. They did bring in Damon Wilson (former Missouri and UGA edge), but he’s a bit of a wildcard.

4. Texas. Arch Manning and the Longhorns ended last year strong by bullying Vanderbilt, previously undefeated Texas A&M and Michigan down the stretch to finish 10-3. Texas hung in there with Georgia in Athens, but ultimately caved in the fourth quarter with an inability to run the ball or protect Manning properly. That was precisely THE issue with Texas last year: a poor offensive line. There’s new skill everywhere with WR Cam Coleman (Auburn) and RB’s Hollywood Smothers (NC State) and Raleek Brown (Arizona State), but the ‘Horns season will likely come down to improving up front on the line. New DC Will Muschamp takes over for Pete Kwiakowski, who was somewhat bizarrely dismissed after a solid season last year. Muschamp, the former HC at Florida and South Carolina and a former DC at Texas under Mack Brown, has the pedigree of a legendary defensive mind. He was also a defensive assistant last year, so I imagine the plan to elevate him was on Sark’s mind. You’d think the Texas defense will take another step forward this year with Muschmap in charge, even with Anthony Hill Jr. departing early for the league. Ohio State comes to Austin on Sept. 12. Oh boy. DKR will be unhinged.

5. Ole Miss. Trinidad Chambliss nearly put together one of the craziest postseason runs in college football history last year. Your head coach departs and you still win the natty? Now that would’ve been storybook, and nearly was. I’ve said this in the past, but I’ve never seen a QB torch a Kirby Smart coached UGA defense quite like “Trinidaddy.” He did it twice last year, including in the Rebs’ 39-34 win over the ‘Dawgs in the CFP Quarterfinals. That was an epic game.

   Trinidad almost didn’t get a final year of eligibility for 2026, but a February court room ruling somewhere in Mississippi helped get that right. Ain’t nothin’ like the SEC, baby.

   He is my favorite QB to watch in college football. If I was starting a CFB team from scratch this year, Chambliss would be my QB1 without a doubt. Let’s see what he does for an encore under new HC Pete Golding.

6. Georgia. Georgia brings back a lot of big names. Perhaps none more important than fifth year senior QB Gunner Stockton. In terms of snaps played with the same school, Stockton has to be up there as one of the most experienced quarterbacks in college football. In a NIL era where QB’s in particular are constantly transferring to chase a bag or new job, Stockton’s longevity at one school should serve UGA well in 2026. He has been in Athens since ‘22 and was a stud in his first full year as a starter last year. Ironically, it was an uncharacteristically inconsistent defense that prevented Georgia from a national title run. Stockton’s toughness is really remarkable, and his RB helmet/visor combo just exemplifies his mindset perfectly. Always putting his body on the line. I wonder if UGA opts to run the damn ball a bit more this year with Frazier and Bowens back, along with TE Lawson Luckie. Some big names return in the secondary like KJ Bolden and Ellis Robinson.

7. Oklahoma. I was higher than most on Oklahoma last year given their impressive talent level on defense. The Bowen bros, R Mason Thomas and Kip Lewis were all nasty and Brent Venables is a defensive mastermind. Thomas’ strip-sack-TD rumble in Knoxville was maybe the single best defensive play in college football last season. He’s off the league now, but the Bowen bros, Lewis, Taylor Wein and others are back. The injury to John Mateer rocked the Sooners season in ‘25, and I hope Mateer can stay healthy all year. He’s a treat to watch, very Stockton-ish with putting his body on the line. It’s tough to be a running QB in the SEC. I’m fascinated by the addition of former Texas WR Parker Livingstone, famously Arch Manning’s favorite target and roomate last year in Austin. Livingstone and the speedy Isaiah Sategna will be tough for defenses to handle.

8. Ohio State. The Buckeyes’ defense was so insanely loaded last year that it really felt like the title was theirs to lose. The offense just couldn’t hold up its end of the bargain, ultimately scoring 10 points against Indiana and 14 against Miami in postseason losses. Does Ryan “Third Base” Day (Jim Harbaugh’s words) find a way to fix things on that side of the ball this year? New OC Arthur Smith should help, as legendary Buckeye Brian Hartline is off to be the head coach at USF. WR Jeremiah Smith is considered one of the best WR prospects in a long time. Perhaps the most important recruit of all for Day was retaining DC Matt Patricia. The former Patriots DC put on clinic after clinic last year in Columbus. With so many elite starters now gone from the defense, I feel like Day has to open up the offense in 2026. It was downright ugly at times last year even in wins. Definitely a prove it year for Day, QB Julian Sayin, and the program as a whole after underperforming in last year’s postseason.

9. Texas A&M. Mike Elko just coached Texas A&M to one of its best seasons in school history. The Aggies started 2025 a perfect 11-0, with a memorable last-second win at Notre Dame. QB Marcel Reed was magical last year, and WR Mario Craver returns to AggieLand this season. Key losses include dominate DE Cashius Howell, WR KC Concepcion, and underrated LB Taurean York. According to ESPN, Texas A&M had 13 NFL Combine invites this year which was more than any program in college football. The talent level there is absolutely real. Haters will point to an easier schedule for A&M last year, but there won’t be any denying their schedule this year: @ LSU, @ Missouri, @ Alabama, @ Oklahoma, home against Tennessee and Texas. This is the first year the SEC will play a nine game conference schedule.

10. LSU. Anyone hear that LSU has a new head football coach? Anyone? Bueller? The expectations for Lane Kiffin are national championship-sized after the LSU administration had to beg a booster (or multiple) to buy-out Brian Kelly for $54M. It actually may have been a booster just demanding Kelly’s mid-season firing in ‘25, but regardless, big bucks were tossed around in Baton Rouge to bring Kiffin to office in one of the wildest December’s in college football history. Now that the dust has settled, Kiffin + QB Sam Leavitt + all that talent should dazzle on the field. The self-proclaimed “Portal King” landed ESPN’s #1 Portal class, which boasts Leavitt, speedy WR’s Jayce Brown (K-State) and Eugene Wilson (Florida), and former Ole Miss star DE Prince Umanmielen. Notoriously highly compensated DC Blake Baker, who came over from Missouri before last seaon in the most lucrative DC deal in college football history, is back on the Bayou to lead the defense. There will be no shortage of drama in this Kiffin-led, money flowing, talent rich program.