College Football Week 1 Rankings: ESPN Top 25 and Schedule (2026)

The 2026 college football season moves into its first full week with Ohio State holding the No. 1 spot in ESPN’s updated Top 25, followed by Texas, Notre Dame, Oregon, and Georgia.

There was limited movement following Week 0 because relatively few teams played. USC was the notable exception among the ranked teams in action, opening its season with a 42-26 win over San Jose State before turning around to face Fresno State in Week 1. ESPN’s updated ranking has USC at No. 18.

Week 1 brings a much deeper schedule, including Clemson at LSU, Wisconsin against Notre Dame at Lambeau Field, Louisville against Ole Miss, Boise State at Oregon, and a full slate of highly ranked national-title contenders making their 2026 debuts.

College Football Week 1 Rankings

Here are ESPN’s updated college football rankings entering Week 1 of the 2026 season.

1. Ohio State
2. Texas
3. Notre Dame
4. Oregon
5. Georgia
6. Indiana
7. Miami
8. Alabama
9. LSU
10. Texas Tech
11. Texas A&M
12. Oklahoma
13. Ole Miss
14. Michigan
15. Tennessee
16. Penn State
17. Florida
18. USC
19. Clemson
20. BYU
21. Missouri
22. Auburn
23. South Carolina
24. SMU
25. Iowa

Ohio State remains at the top after also holding the No. 1 position in ESPN’s preseason rankings. The Buckeyes are projected by ESPN’s power index to go 10-2 despite facing a challenging schedule that includes six opponents ranked in the preseason AP Top 25.

Texas checks in at No. 2, followed by Notre Dame at No. 3 and Oregon at No. 4. Georgia rounds out a top five that contains several of the leading College Football Playoff contenders entering the first full weekend.

USC Moves Into Week 1 After Week 0 Win

USC is different from almost every other team in the Week 1 rankings because the Trojans have already played.

Southern California opened the season Aug. 29 with a 42-26 victory over San Jose State. ESPN now has USC at No. 18 in its updated rankings, with an 8-4 projected record. The ranking analysis highlighted quarterback Jayden Maiava as a major reason for optimism while identifying the defense under Gary Patterson as the larger question entering the season.

The Trojans return to action Friday, Sept. 4, when Fresno State visits USC at 9 p.m. ET on FOX.

That gives USC a chance to move to 2-0 before most of the ranked teams have completed their first game.

College Football Week 1 Ranked Team Schedule

The Week 1 college football schedule runs from Thursday, Sept. 3, through Monday, Sept. 7. Using ESPN’s Week 1 rankings, these are the ranked-team games included in the supplied schedule.

• No. 21 Missouri vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff — Thursday, Sept. 3, 8:00 p.m. ET
• No. 12 Oklahoma vs. UTEP — Friday, Sept. 4, 8:00 p.m. ET
• No. 7 Miami at Stanford — Friday, Sept. 4, 9:00 p.m. ET
• No. 18 USC vs. Fresno State — Friday, Sept. 4, 9:00 p.m. ET
• No. 6 Indiana vs. North Texas — Saturday, Sept. 5, 12:00 p.m. ET
• No. 8 Alabama vs. East Carolina — Saturday, Sept. 5, 12:00 p.m. ET
• No. 1 Ohio State vs. Ball State — Saturday, Sept. 5, 12:30 p.m. ET
• No. 5 Georgia vs. Tennessee State — Saturday, Sept. 5, 3:00 p.m. ET
• No. 2 Texas vs. Texas State — Saturday, Sept. 5, 3:30 p.m. ET
• No. 16 Penn State vs. Marshall — Saturday, Sept. 5, 3:30 p.m. ET
• No. 15 Tennessee vs. Furman — Saturday, Sept. 5, 3:30 p.m. ET
• No. 4 Oregon vs. Boise State — Saturday, Sept. 5, 3:30 p.m. ET
• No. 25 Iowa vs. Northern Illinois — Saturday, Sept. 5, 4:15 p.m. ET
• No. 11 Texas A&M vs. Missouri State — Saturday, Sept. 5, 7:00 p.m. ET
• No. 10 Texas Tech vs. Abilene Christian — Saturday, Sept. 5, 7:00 p.m. ET
• No. 14 Michigan vs. Western Michigan — Saturday, Sept. 5, 7:30 p.m. ET
• No. 19 Clemson at No. 9 LSU — Saturday, Sept. 5, 7:30 p.m. ET
• No. 20 BYU vs. Utah Tech — Saturday, Sept. 5, 8:00 p.m. ET
• No. 3 Notre Dame vs. Wisconsin — Sunday, Sept. 6, 7:30 p.m. ET
• No. 13 Ole Miss vs. Louisville — Sunday, Sept. 6, 7:30 p.m. ET
• No. 24 SMU at Florida State — Monday, Sept. 7, 7:30 p.m. ET

The supplied schedule does not include Week 1 matchups for every team in ESPN’s Top 25, so games for No. 17 Florida, No. 22 Auburn, and No. 23 South Carolina are not listed here rather than being inferred.

Biggest Games in the Week 1 College Football Rankings

The most important matchup from a rankings perspective is No. 19 Clemson at No. 9 LSU on Saturday night.

LSU enters the season inside ESPN’s top 10, while Clemson begins at No. 19 after a 7-6 season. ESPN projects LSU at 8-4 and Clemson at 8-4, making the opener an immediate opportunity for one program to outperform its preseason position.

No. 3 Notre Dame vs. Wisconsin is another major Week 1 game. Notre Dame enters with an 11-1 projection, the best projected record among the teams near the top of ESPN’s rankings, and will meet Wisconsin at Lambeau Field on Sunday night.

No. 4 Oregon vs. Boise State also stands out. Oregon begins the season as one of ESPN’s four highest-ranked teams and is viewed as a legitimate threat to extend the Big Ten’s run of national championships.

Sunday also features No. 13 Ole Miss against Louisville, while Monday closes the extended opening weekend with No. 24 SMU at Florida State.

Who Is No. 1 in College Football for Week 1?

Ohio State is No. 1 in ESPN’s Week 1 college football rankings.

The Buckeyes remained in the same position they held before Week 0 and carry a projected 10-2 record. ESPN’s underlying power-rating model also views Ohio State as roughly four touchdowns better than an average opponent on a neutral field. 

Texas is No. 2, Notre Dame is No. 3, Oregon is No. 4, and Georgia is No. 5.

That group enters Week 1 without much movement at the top because the opening Week 0 slate offered very little evidence capable of reshaping the rankings.

Which Ranked Teams Have the Toughest Week 1 Games?

Clemson and LSU clearly face the most direct rankings pressure because they play each other. One ranked team is guaranteed to leave Baton Rouge with a loss, and a Clemson upset would immediately challenge the existing Top 25 order.

Notre Dame also faces a notable test against Wisconsin, while Oregon's matchup with Boise State carries more intrigue than many of the opening games involving top-five teams.

By comparison, Ohio State, Georgia, Texas, Alabama, Indiana, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech open against opponents outside the ESPN Top 25 listed here.

USC occupies a different position because the Trojans already have a result on their résumé. Their Week 1 game against Fresno State is effectively their second evaluation point of the season while most of the country is just getting started.

What Changed in the College Football Rankings After Week 0?

Not much changed at the very top.

Only a small portion of the country played during Week 0, limiting the amount of new information available to ESPN’s ranking model. Ohio State stayed No. 1, while the rest of the leading national contenders largely maintained their preseason positions.

USC provided the most relevant ranked result by beating San Jose State 42-26. The Trojans enter the first full week at No. 18 with a 1-0 record.

The much larger rankings test comes during Week 1. With nearly the entire Top 25 in action and Clemson-LSU providing a ranked-vs.-ranked matchup, the results from Sept. 3-7 should give the next set of college football rankings considerably more information to process.

College Football Week 1 Rankings Outlook

The first full week of the 2026 season begins with Ohio State, Texas, Notre Dame, Oregon, and Georgia occupying the top five, but Week 1 provides the first real opportunity for those preseason evaluations to be tested on a broad scale.

USC already has its first victory. Clemson and LSU immediately face a high-leverage ranked matchup. Notre Dame gets Wisconsin at Lambeau Field, Oregon hosts Boise State, and SMU travels to Florida State to close the extended weekend.

Our sports betting research app predicts that most of the highest-ranked teams will be expected to take care of business. The bigger question is which results force the first meaningful reshuffling of the 2026 college football rankings once Week 1 is complete.