Previewing the 2026 college football season from A to Z

Ryan O'Halloran, Jacksonville Florida Times-UnionSun, August 23, 2026 at 9:02 AM UTC

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Welcome to our second annual preview of the college football season, A-to-Z style:

A is for Ashton. Florida State went back to the Quarterback Transfer Portal Drawing Board and signed Ashton Daniels, ex of Stanford and Auburn. He was named the Seminoles’ starter after spring practice and the hope is the talent around him is better than he had with the Cardinal and Tigers (5-18 record as a starter with 24 touchdowns and 22 interceptions).

B is for Baugh. The best way for Florida to be better-than-just-competitive this year? Give the football to running back Jadan Baugh. A lot. Coach Jon Sumrall was able to retain Baugh (and keep him away from Texas) and the expectation should be workhorse-type numbers (only 220 carries in 12 games last year). Baugh averaged 5.3 yards per carry and also caught 21 passes.

C is for Colorado. Buffaloes coach Deion Sanders’ records with CU are 4-8, 9-4 and 3-9 and a combined 9-18 in league play. Not enough wins to justify his $10 million salary. The Buffs have new play-callers on offense and defense (again) after ranking Nos. 115 and 118, respectively, in yards gained and allowed per play.

D is for Duce. Florida State receiver Duce Robinson is all over the preseason award lists and was named first-team all-ACC this summer after catching 53 passes for 1,021 yards and six touchdowns in his first FSU season. He could have left for the NFL, but opted to stay. FSU should prioritize Robinson for a minimum of 10 targets per game.

E is for ESPN. The Worldwide Leader doesn’t appear to be a fan of playoff expansion; it sold off first-round games of the 12-team format in the last two years. How it will handle the bidding process/inventory distribution of a 16- or, gulp, 24-team tournament will be interesting. Netflix, Amazon and Apple, for example, will have no interest in opening-round games.

F is for Florida State. The last time FSU had three consecutive non-bowl seasons was 1972-76. Bobby Bowden was hired in ’76 turned the thing around. The current streak is two years after seasons of 2-10 and 5-7 (including 3-13 in ACC play). The tone for this year will be set on Labor Day Night (Sept. 7) home against SMU and Sept. 19 (at Alabama). Split? Great. Sweep? Excellent. Lose both? Disaster. I don’t see more than five wins.

MORE FROM RYAN O'HALLORAN: Jon Sumrall: Florida Gators have 2 starting QBs. They need 1 by Auburn

G is for Gators. It’s another New Era for Florida, which has four losing seasons in five years for the first time since 1945-49. Expectations should be modest, but if the Gators can win at Auburn on Sept. 19, they could head to Texas on Oct. 17 with at least a 4-2 record.

H is for Heisman. As of early August, the top six in the odds were quarterbacks, but what about Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith? A 20-year old junior, Smith has 163 catches for 2,558 yards and 27 touchdowns in 29 games, remarkable production that, if matched, should put him high on the Heisman ballot.

I is for Indiana. Curt Cignetti has overtaken former Kansas State coach Bill Snyder as owner of college football’s best-ever reclamation project. Cignetti is 27-2 in two seasons, the first two times in program history the Hoosiers have won double-digit games (11-2 and 16-0). The Hoosiers belong in the conversation to repeat.

J is for Jon. Florida coach Jon Sumrall made the television, radio and podcast rounds during the offseason. Now it’s time to lead the Gators back to respectability. Going 8-4 this year would be a positive step forward.

K is for Kirby. In non-COVID seasons, Georgia coach Kirby Smart has won eight, 13, 11, 12, 14, 15, 13, 11 and 12 games and two national titles. But the Bulldogs haven’t won a playoff game since the 2022 season. Expect that drought to end this year.

L is for Lane. LSU coach Lane Kiffin is so polarizing, he basically has a section of the proposed Protect College Sports Act named after him that bans coaches from leaving their schools before the season ends, like Kiffin did in December (Ole Miss to LSU).

M is for Mensah. Miami quarterback Darian Mensah succeeds Cam Ward and Carson Beck and brings an 18-9 career record at Tulane and Duke (56 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions) with him to The U.

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N is for Norvell. Florida State coach Mike Norvell’s buyout is $51 million after the season, which may still be too rich for boosters to pick up. Norvell has re-assumed the offensive play-calling in an attempt to revive the program.

O is for Ohio State. If the Buckeyes reach the College Football Playoff, they will earn it. They play at Texas (Sept. 12), Indiana (Oct. 17) and USC (Oct. 31) and host Oregon (Nov. 7). They are my pick to win the CFP.

P is for Playoffs. Talk about an event that takes too long. Selection Sunday is Dec. 6, the first-round Dec. 18-19, quarterfinals Dec. 30 and Jan. 1 and semifinals Jan. 14-15 and the championship game Jan. 25. Yuck.

Q is for Quarterbacks. There are a bunch of ‘em who will be monitored by quarterback-needy NFL teams. Texas’ Arch Manning and Oregon’s Dante Moore could be two of the top three picks and Oklahoma State’s Drew Mestemaker, Notre Dame’s CJ Carr, and USC’s Jayden Maiava could go in the top 25.

R is for Replay. Let’s have fewer replay reviews. Please.

S is for Shane. South Carolina coach Shane Beamer may have the hottest seat in the SEC entering the season after going 1-7 in league play (4-8 overall) last year. Beamer hired Kendall Briles as offensive coordinator to direct quarterback LaNorris Sellers. South Carolina opens with Kent State, Towson and Mississippi State. Anything less than 3-0 is a disaster.

T is for Texas. The Longhorns are 35-8 in the last three years, which is great, but also kind of underwhelming, right? Texas added arguably the top non-quarterback transfer in receiver Cam Coleman, who had 13 touchdown catches for Auburn in 2024-25. Texas hosts Ohio State on Sept. 12.

U is for UCF. The sledding has been difficult for the Knights since moving up to the Big 12 (7-20 league record), but there should be positive expectations because of quarterback Alonza Barnett, who transferred from James Madison. He went 20-6 the last two years with 49 touchdown passes and 22 touchdown rushes.

V is for Vicari. I thought about Florida receiver Vernell Brown III here, but let’s go with South Carolina cornerback Vicari Swain. He has only three starts in three years, but had two interceptions and two forced fumbles last year.

W is for Wilson. Florida receiver Dallas Wilson’s legend continues to grow in his absence. He had six catches for 111 yards and two touchdowns in last year’s upset win over No. 9 Texas, but sustained a foot injury a month later against Georgia. If he’s healthy and as good as people think, he will be a dynamic player.

X is for Xavier. Florida State left tackle Xavier Chaplin continues to make the rounds after playing three years for Virginia Tech and one year for Auburn.

Y is for Yhonzae. Alabama edge Yhonzae Pierre had eight sacks for the Tide last year and enters the season getting some first- and second-round draft buzz.

Z is for Zach Zollers. This is the toughest letter to account for, but Z.Z. double-checked the box. A redshirt junior linebacker for Pittsburgh, he has appeared in 30 career games.

Contact O’Halloran at rohalloran@gannett.com or on X at @ryanohalloran. Listen to Ryan on 1010AM on Tuesdays (6:35 p.m. on “Into The Night"), Thursdays (1:15 on "XL Primetime") and Fridays (4-6 p.m. on "The Lead").

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Previewing the 2026 college football season from A to Z

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