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Edge Labs · College football · Power ratings

College football power ratings for 2026. Our number on the FBS field.

These are our college football power ratings for the 2026 season. The EL Preseason Rating v1 is our own composite: last season's performance, four years of blue chip recruiting, returning production, transfer class quality, and coaching continuity, fit to what actually predicts wins. Tested on two held out seasons it missed actual win totals by 1.88 wins on average against 1.97 for a rating built on last season's performance alone. Below it sits the talent layer the rating drew from. The rating's own inputs are frozen at its 2026-08-13 build, while the talent layer keeps refreshing to the current recruiting snapshot, so a team's live blue-chip number can sit a little off what the frozen rating used.

There are 138 FBS teams in 2026. We rate the 136 with FBS-comparable history; North Dakota State and Sacramento State moved up from the FCS this season and are listed unrated at the bottom of the table until they build FBS data.

2026 season · 138 FBS teams · 136 rated · model v1 · inputs frozen 2026-08-13
The Edge Labs number EL Preseason Rating v1 · 2026
n=136 · rated of 138 FBS
Rk Team Rating Expected wins
1 Ohio State 25.9 10.4
2 Notre Dame 24.1 10.8
3 Texas A&M 23.1 9.8
4 Miami 21.7 10.1
5 Oregon 21.5 10.1
6 Georgia 21.3 9.9
7 Texas 21.2 7.8
8 LSU 19.5 7.2
9 Indiana 19.2 8.6
10 Alabama 18.7 7.6
11 Ole Miss 16.7 8.1
12 Oklahoma 16.4 7.6
13 USC 16.0 8.7
14 Penn State 15.0 8.6
15 Florida 14.1 6.6
16 Washington 14.0 8.0
17 Tennessee 12.1 7.6
18 South Carolina 12.1 6.6
19 Texas Tech 11.8 10.3
20 Utah 11.7 9.4
21 Iowa 11.5 7.7
22 Michigan 11.3 7.8
23 SMU 10.5 8.5
24 Auburn 9.9 6.9
25 Nebraska 9.4 6.3
26 Missouri 9.3 6.6
27 BYU 9.2 8.3
28 Louisville 9.0 7.5
29 Florida State 8.7 7.9
30 Clemson 7.5 8.6
31 Pittsburgh 7.0 7.3
32 Virginia 6.8 7.0
33 Vanderbilt 6.6 6.7
34 Arizona 6.2 7.4
35 Mississippi State 5.8 4.8
36 Boise State 5.5 6.2
37 Illinois 5.5 6.8
38 Kansas State 4.8 7.8
39 San Diego State 4.3 7.6
40 Houston 4.3 7.9
41 Baylor 3.6 5.9
42 Western Michigan 3.1 7.5
43 Washington State 2.8 6.4
44 Duke 2.6 6.0
45 Memphis 2.5 7.2
46 UTSA 2.5 7.6
47 Iowa State 2.3 6.6
48 Minnesota 2.0 5.8
49 Wake Forest 1.9 5.8
50 Maryland 1.3 5.9
51 TCU 1.2 6.7
52 Army 1.0 7.4
53 New Mexico 0.8 7.1
54 Northwestern 0.7 5.8
55 South Florida 0.6 8.0
56 Georgia Tech 0.6 6.5
57 Louisiana Tech 0.2 7.1
58 Michigan State 0.2 4.2
59 Kansas 0.2 6.0
60 UNLV 0.1 7.5
61 Arizona State 0.1 5.5
62 Cincinnati 0.1 5.2
63 Kentucky 0.1 3.6
64 North Carolina -0.1 4.5
65 Navy -0.1 6.8
66 James Madison -0.2 8.1
67 Toledo -0.7 9.0
68 North Texas -0.8 7.5
69 UCF -0.9 6.0
70 Texas State -1.0 6.1
71 Arkansas -1.0 3.7
72 East Carolina -1.4 7.6
73 Louisiana -1.5 7.5
74 UCLA -1.7 3.6
75 Colorado -1.7 4.7
76 UConn -1.8 7.1
77 Air Force -1.9 7.6
78 NC State -2.2 7.3
79 Nevada -2.5 5.7
80 Tulane -3.0 6.7
81 Old Dominion -3.3 7.0
82 Purdue -3.8 4.0
83 Wisconsin -4.1 4.7
84 Virginia Tech -4.2 4.5
85 App State -4.5 6.3
86 Syracuse -4.6 3.9
87 Delaware -4.6 6.3
88 South Alabama -4.7 6.0
89 Fresno State -4.7 5.8
90 Southern Miss -4.8 5.3
91 Marshall -4.8 7.4
92 Temple -4.9 5.5
93 Kennesaw State -6.3 6.0
94 Stanford -6.4 3.4
95 Colorado State -6.5 3.7
96 West Virginia -6.5 4.8
97 Tulsa -6.9 5.6
98 Georgia Southern -7.2 4.6
99 Liberty -7.5 6.6
100 New Mexico State -7.6 4.7
101 Western Kentucky -7.7 7.7
102 Troy -7.9 6.4
103 Hawai'i -8.0 8.3
104 San José State -8.0 5.0
105 Ohio -8.1 7.1
106 Florida International -8.2 6.4
107 Rice -8.2 3.7
108 Missouri State -8.3 5.0
109 Florida Atlantic -8.4 5.1
110 Oregon State -8.9 3.8
111 Arkansas State -9.6 5.8
112 Middle Tennessee -9.7 5.1
113 Miami (OH) -9.8 6.6
114 California -10.1 5.5
115 Rutgers -10.5 5.5
116 Boston College -10.5 3.6
117 Akron -10.7 6.0
118 Georgia State -10.8 4.1
119 UAB -10.9 4.3
120 Jacksonville State -11.5 7.2
121 Utah State -11.6 4.8
122 Eastern Michigan -11.6 6.2
123 Central Michigan -12.2 6.4
124 Buffalo -12.2 6.0
125 Northern Illinois -12.3 5.2
126 Coastal Carolina -12.3 4.7
127 Kent State -13.0 4.5
128 Ball State -13.1 3.8
129 UTEP -13.3 4.3
130 Oklahoma State -14.4 3.0
131 UL Monroe -14.6 4.4
132 Wyoming -15.0 5.7
133 Sam Houston -15.7 3.4
134 Massachusetts -16.7 2.6
135 Bowling Green -16.8 5.2
136 Charlotte -19.4 2.8
· North Dakota State
Moved up from the FCS (Mountain West) this season. No FBS history for the model’s components yet.
 FBS newcomer, not yet rated
· Sacramento State
Moved up from the FCS (MAC) this season. No FBS history for the model’s components yet.
 FBS newcomer, not yet rated

The talent layer

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national rank kept
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Composite is the four-year rolling recruiting talent score · higher is more talent signed. Blue-chip is the share of the roster that came in as a four- or five-star. National rank is always the all-FBS rank, even inside a conference filter.
National scope All FBS talent ranking
n=137 · FBS teams
Most talent on paper in All FBS: Ohio State · composite 85.4 · national rank #1 of 137.
Rk Team Conference Composite Talent Blue-chip Conf rank
1 Ohio State Big Ten 85.4
67.6% Big Ten #1
2 Alabama SEC 84.1
64.1% SEC #1
3 Texas SEC 84.1
67.2% SEC #2
4 Texas A&M SEC 83.6
76.5% SEC #3
5 Georgia SEC 82.7
70.2% SEC #4
6 Miami ACC 82.2
56.9% ACC #1
7 Notre Dame Independent 81.1
59.2% Independent #1
8 Florida SEC 80.6
63.0% SEC #5
9 LSU SEC 80.6
63.7% SEC #6
10 South Carolina SEC 80.5
54.8% SEC #7
11 Oregon Big Ten 80.4
60.6% Big Ten #2
12 Oklahoma SEC 79.8
39.0% SEC #8
13 Penn State Big Ten 79.6
45.4% Big Ten #3
14 Florida State ACC 79.4
45.0% ACC #2
15 Clemson ACC 79.1
54.4% ACC #3
16 Michigan Big Ten 78.7
54.1% Big Ten #4
17 Auburn SEC 78.6
51.7% SEC #9
18 Ole Miss SEC 78.2
44.0% SEC #10
19 USC Big Ten 76.5
50.0% Big Ten #5
20 Missouri SEC 75.8
31.8% SEC #11
21 TCU Big 12 75.5
15.8% Big 12 #1
22 Maryland Big Ten 75.1
16.9% Big Ten #6
23 Wisconsin Big Ten 75.0
18.2% Big Ten #7
24 Virginia Tech ACC 74.9
12.5% ACC #4
25 Baylor Big 12 74.4
11.0% Big 12 #2
26 Vanderbilt SEC 74.2
11.7% SEC #12
27 North Carolina ACC 74.2
21.1% ACC #5
28 Tennessee SEC 74.2
45.1% SEC #13
29 Mississippi State SEC 74.0
21.0% SEC #14
30 UCF Big 12 73.9
13.6% Big 12 #3
31 Colorado Big 12 73.8
31.4% Big 12 #4
32 Nebraska Big Ten 73.8
27.1% Big Ten #8
33 Kentucky SEC 73.7
25.3% SEC #15
34 Washington Big Ten 73.7
26.3% Big Ten #9
35 Stanford ACC 73.4
7.8% ACC #6
36 Indiana Big Ten 73.3
16.7% Big Ten #10
37 SMU ACC 73.2
16.7% ACC #7
38 Houston Big 12 73.0
12.5% Big 12 #5
39 Georgia Tech ACC 72.8
12.3% ACC #8
40 Kansas State Big 12 72.7
13.1% Big 12 #6
41 Texas Tech Big 12 72.7
20.9% Big 12 #7
42 Pittsburgh ACC 72.4
6.0% ACC #9
43 Rutgers Big Ten 72.4
9.3% Big Ten #11
44 Boston College ACC 72.3
3.9% ACC #10
45 Iowa Big Ten 72.3
20.5% Big Ten #12
46 Louisville ACC 72.2
18.9% ACC #11
47 UCLA Big Ten 72.0
13.9% Big Ten #13
48 Arizona Big 12 71.9
11.9% Big 12 #8
49 Oklahoma State Big 12 71.8
2.4% Big 12 #9
50 Michigan State Big Ten 71.8
14.8% Big Ten #14
51 Kansas Big 12 71.6
8.1% Big 12 #10
52 Minnesota Big Ten 71.5
12.3% Big Ten #15
53 Iowa State Big 12 71.5
3.3% Big 12 #11
54 Utah Big 12 71.5
11.9% Big 12 #12
55 Syracuse ACC 71.4
13.3% ACC #12
56 Arkansas SEC 71.3
16.3% SEC #16
57 Arizona State Big 12 71.0
10.0% Big 12 #13
58 Northwestern Big Ten 70.9
5.0% Big Ten #16
59 Tulane AAC 70.8
1.4% AAC #1
60 NC State ACC 70.8
14.0% ACC #13
61 Cal ACC 70.6
6.6% ACC #14
62 South Florida AAC 70.6
5.8% AAC #2
63 Wake Forest ACC 70.3
5.6% ACC #15
64 Duke ACC 70.2
8.2% ACC #16
65 BYU Big 12 70.2
12.6% Big 12 #14
66 East Carolina AAC 69.9
3.6% AAC #3
67 Cincinnati Big 12 69.9
1.1% Big 12 #15
68 West Virginia Big 12 69.6
7.5% Big 12 #16
69 Toledo MAC 69.5
1.3% MAC #1
70 Memphis AAC 69.4
4.6% AAC #4
71 Charlotte AAC 69.4
2.0% AAC #5
72 Louisiana-Lafayette Sun Belt 69.4
3.6% Sun Belt #1
73 Purdue Big Ten 69.3
6.0% Big Ten #17
74 Miami (OH) MAC 69.1
3.7% MAC #2
75 Southern Miss Sun Belt 68.8
1.5% Sun Belt #2
76 Florida Atlantic AAC 68.6
1.6% AAC #6
77 UAB AAC 68.5
0.0% AAC #7
78 Oregon State Pac-12 68.4
1.4% Pac-12 #1
79 Virginia ACC 68.4
1.3% ACC #17
80 Colorado State Pac-12 68.4
2.5% Pac-12 #2
81 Troy Sun Belt 68.2
0.0% Sun Belt #3
82 UConn Independent 68.2
0.0% Independent #2
83 Ohio MAC 68.1
0.0% MAC #3
84 Jacksonville State C-USA 68.0
1.6% C-USA #1
85 UTSA AAC 67.9
9.7% AAC #8
86 South Alabama Sun Belt 67.7
1.2% Sun Belt #4
87 Liberty C-USA 67.7
1.5% C-USA #2
88 Middle Tennessee C-USA 67.6
1.7% C-USA #3
89 Western Kentucky C-USA 67.0
0.0% C-USA #4
90 Rice AAC 66.9
0.0% AAC #9
91 Georgia State Sun Belt 66.6
5.2% Sun Belt #5
92 Illinois Big Ten 66.6
9.1% Big Ten #18
93 Washington State Pac-12 66.2
0.0% Pac-12 #3
94 North Texas AAC 66.2
3.3% AAC #10
95 UMass MAC 66.1
0.0% MAC #4
96 Boise State Pac-12 66.1
1.1% Pac-12 #4
97 Appalachian State Sun Belt 66.0
1.5% Sun Belt #6
98 Akron MAC 65.9
0.0% MAC #5
99 James Madison Sun Belt 65.9
0.0% Sun Belt #7
100 Arkansas State Sun Belt 65.8
1.1% Sun Belt #8
101 Georgia Southern Sun Belt 65.8
1.3% Sun Belt #9
102 Buffalo MAC 65.7
0.0% MAC #6
103 Tulsa AAC 65.6
2.9% AAC #11
104 Wyoming Mountain West 65.5
1.4% Mountain West #1
105 Marshall Sun Belt 65.3
4.2% Sun Belt #10
106 Florida International C-USA 65.2
3.3% C-USA #5
107 Ball State MAC 65.0
0.0% MAC #7
108 Navy AAC 65.0
0.0% AAC #12
109 Texas State Sun Belt 64.9
0.0% Sun Belt #11
110 Eastern Michigan MAC 64.9
0.0% MAC #8
111 Utah State Pac-12 64.8
0.0% Pac-12 #5
112 UNLV Mountain West 64.8
3.7% Mountain West #2
113 Louisiana Tech C-USA 64.8
1.4% C-USA #6
114 San Diego State Pac-12 64.8
2.6% Pac-12 #6
115 Temple AAC 64.6
0.0% AAC #13
116 Sam Houston C-USA 64.3
0.0% C-USA #7
117 Coastal Carolina Sun Belt 64.3
3.1% Sun Belt #12
118 Western Michigan MAC 63.9
1.3% MAC #9
119 Nevada Mountain West 63.7
1.3% Mountain West #3
120 Louisiana Monroe Sun Belt 63.7
0.0% Sun Belt #13
121 Army AAC 63.6
0.0% AAC #14
122 Bowling Green MAC 63.1
0.0% MAC #10
123 Air Force Mountain West 63.1
0.0% Mountain West #4
124 Missouri State C-USA 63.1
0.0% C-USA #8
125 Northern Illinois Mountain West 62.7
0.0% Mountain West #5
126 UTEP Mountain West 62.6
1.3% Mountain West #6
127 Hawaii Mountain West 62.5
1.7% Mountain West #7
128 Central Michigan MAC 62.5
0.0% MAC #11
129 Kent State MAC 62.4
0.0% MAC #12
130 Sac State MAC 61.9
3.0% MAC #13
131 New Mexico State C-USA 60.7
2.2% C-USA #9
132 San Jose State Mountain West 60.5
0.0% Mountain West #8
133 Old Dominion Sun Belt 60.4
0.0% Sun Belt #14
134 New Mexico Mountain West 58.4
0.0% Mountain West #9
135 Fresno State Pac-12 58.2
0.0% Pac-12 #7
136 Kennesaw State C-USA 57.1
0.0% C-USA #10
137 Delaware C-USA 57.1
2.1% C-USA #11

This is talent on paper, not a prediction. The composite is a leading indicator of the roster · it is the talent a team signed, not what it will do on the field. We do not attach a record, a ranking, or a bet to it, because recruiting talent does not beat the spread and we tested that. Every number carries its sample · 137 FBS programs · 2026 season · research, not advice · 21+.
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