While college football may not begin for a little less than six months, there is still much offseason drama from the 2025 season and the offseason to predict what could happen. Every college football program has different circumstances compared to others, however some are in more dire situations than others. Today, we will be looking at the top five programs that are under the most pressure to win in the 2026-27 season.

5. Texas Longhorns

2025 was a disappointing year for Texas fans, as many had hoped that Texas would be in the National Championship game. There were also high expectations placed upon QB Arch Manning. These expectations placed on Manning were so high that they were nearly impossible to reach as a first time starter in college football and it made fans upset at his early struggles. However, not all the struggles were on Manning as the team had one of its worst offensive line performances in school history, along with a struggling run game and receiver room that was still developing throughout the season. That along with a defense that dipped dramatically from the 2024 season, showed that this team was never going to maintain their No.1 ranking from the preseason. The team still finished 9-3, and two of those losses were to No.2 ranked Ohio State and No.3 ranked Georgia. On a positive note, Texas was still in competition to make the playoffs at the end of the season and had handed Texas A&M their first loss in the final week of the season, along with beating a ranked Michigan team in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl. In those games and many others at the end of the season, Manning and the rest of the offense had exploded, giving hope to Texas fans for the future. 

While there were signs of an elite offense at the end of the season, there are still questions about whether head coach, Steve Sarkisian, can lead Texas to a National Championship win. He has gotten close countless times, but has never even made it to the big game. With a revamped team in 2026 he can be much better equipped for a run than in 2025, however people will wonder if he can’t make the National Championship game this year can he ever make it. We saw a similar scenario play out with Penn State head coach, James Franklin, who many believed even if he couldn’t make it to the game he would still keep his job. Halfway through the season he was fired. If Sarkisian doesn’t reach the heights Texas fans are hoping for, he could meet a similar fate. 

4. USC Trojans

This will be head coach, Lincoln Riley’s, fifth year at USC and it has not lived up to the expectations that many have asked of him. USC is unequivocally the best football school in California, and with a rich history of winning national championships. This put high expectations on Riley from day one. In his first four years at USC, Riley has been able to consistently put together top tier offenses that can go up against any defense in the FBS. He has also produced high level offensive players that have gone as first round picks in the NFL such as QB, Caleb Williams, and WR, Jordan Addison. However, his role coaching the defense has been a struggle as the last few years USC has had one of the worst defenses in the FBS. This is one of the main concerns with Riley, along with his struggle against ranked opponents where he is 6-13.

Now his tenure at USC has not been bad by any means, as USC has consistently been in playoff conversations. However, USC has not been able to fulfill those heights of making the playoffs. Things could change for USC in 2026 though, after a very inspiring showing from the team in 2025. The team went 9-3 over the course of the season in a competitive Big Ten conference, and nearly beat top ranked teams such as Oregon and Notre Dame. Take this along with the fact that USC leads the nation in returning starters from 2025, such as QB, Jayden Maiava, and the entire offensive line. USC also brings in the No.1 recruiting class from 2026, putting USC in a  position to win immediately. Now the two main questions going into this season will be if Riley can keep a defense that has been steadily improving afloat, and can he win the big games. This will be vital since USC will be going up against opponents such as Ohio State, Oregon, and Indiana, all of which will have top tier offenses in 2026. 

Riley is set up for success in 2026 with one of the best rosters he has had since getting to USC. However, if he can’t take his team to the playoffs with this team, this may be his last season coaching at USC.

3. Florida State Seminoles

In late 2023, Florida State was on top of the world as they had gone undefeated that season and were looking to make the college football playoffs for the first time since the 2014 season. However, after a controversial decision by the college football committee to leave Florida State out of the playoffs due to losing both their No.1 and 2 QB’s to injury, everything has been downhill for the team. Over the past two seasons they have gone 7-17, after a terrible 2-10 record in 2024 and a 5-7 record in 2025.

This all coming after a season where Florida State ranked in the top 10 in offensive yards, and a more than competent defensive unit. They also managed to beat top 25 ranked team Alabama in week one. Then they proceeded to lose to the Florida Gators (4-8), Stanford (4-8), and Clemson (7-5). This coming with the fact they could not get a record above .500, makes it more surprising that the team had statistically a good offense and defense. The issue for them was turnovers. Turnovers and regression from the offense in the back end of the season. 

Now over these last two years many coaches have been fired by the FSU coaching staff, yet nothing has worked yet. This includes changes to major coaching positions such as offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator. The one position that has not changed has been head coach, Mike Norvell.

After these two seasons many fans were already calling for Norvell’s job. The team decided to keep him along for the upcoming 2026 season, however FSU is not a program that wants to be in a rebuild. They want to be competing for National Championships every single year. So while Norvell’s undefeated 2023 season was impressive, football is a “what have you done for me recently” sport, and recently Norvell has allowed a top ranked program to not even see a .500 record the last two years. For Norvell to save his job, he would not only need an above .500 record, but a chance to make the playoffs. If he cannot show FSU any sign of hope for the future, he may lose his job before the 2026 season is over.

2. LSU Tigers

Louisiana State University had one of the most drama filled seasons we have seen from a college team in years. LSU first fired their head coach, Brian Kelly, after going 5-3 in 2025. The school then proceeded to poach Ole Miss head coach, Lane Kiffin, to be their next head coach. This was hit with much controversy as Kiffin had guided Ole Miss to their best season in school history, just to leave only a few weeks prior to the college football playoffs. Once Kiffin was implemented as the head coach, he immediately made a mark, spending 40 million dollars in the transfer portal for players such as former ASU’s QB, Sam Leavitt, and former Ole Miss edge rusher, Princewill Umanmielen. This is more than any other program has spent in the transfer portal this year.

Now LSU is a school that is looking to compete for National Championships every single year, so anything less than perfect is considered a failure to them. So similar to Texas, expectations are high for Kiffin. The reason LSU is higher on the list than Texas, USC, and FSU is due to the fact that LSU is still currently paying the contracts of Kiffin and their last two previous head football coaches. Taking that along with the fact that they have spent 40 million dollars on the transfer portal, there better be big signs of success pretty early on in the Kiffin tenure at LSU. Now it is unlikely that Kiffin will get fired after only one season if he doesn’t live up to expectations, however his seat as a head coach would be raised so high that it would take him nothing short of a National Championship in 2027 for him to keep his job.

1. Alabama Crimson Tide

This will be the third season of Kalen Deboer’s tenure at Alabama, and it has not been what most fans were expecting. In his first two seasons, he has gone 20-8, and for other programs a coach with this record would be praised. However, he is taking over for the greatest college football coach of all time, Nick Saban. Saban won seven national championships at his time at Alabama, and made Alabama the most feared team in the nation for decades. With Deboer, that fear at Alabama has completely disappeared. In their losses they have completely been dominated by opposing teams, and have not shown nearly as much fight as they have had in the past. Where Saban would have had his team looking as a National Championship contender, Deboer has kept Alabama at most a playoff contender.

Many were suspicious of Deboer’s job security at the end of the 2025 season, after he barely got Alabama into the playoffs in 2025 and was unable to get them into the playoffs in 2024. He was able to quiet those suspicions with a 34-24 win over Oklahoma in the first round of the 2025 playoffs. However, after a terrible 38-3 loss to Indiana two weeks later, a game in which Alabama showed zero fight whatsoever, the entire coaching staff was put on the hot seat for the 2026 season. 

For Debeor and the rest of the Alabama staff to keep their jobs, they need to not only be competitive, they need to be dominant and truly look like they are a title contender. They need to be the full rounded team they were in the past, otherwise Deboer and the Alabama staff will be long gone from Tuscaloosa.