2026 Teams & Tiers
Tiers are set from preseason projected strength. Projected wins come from
simulating each team's actual schedule, so strength of schedule is already accounted for.
A win by a tier N team is worth N points.
Beat a team's projected wins by one and you get +5, once per team.
Tiers, ratings and win projections are calculated by PickemSports
using our own model. Underlying game data is provided by CollegeFootballData.
1 Tier 1
· 1 point per win · 3 teams
Team Conference Proj wins
Games Ohio State Big Ten
9
12 Oregon Big Ten
9
12 Georgia SEC
9
12
2 Tier 2
· 2 points per win · 4 teams
Team Conference Proj wins
Games Notre Dame FBS Independents
10
12 Miami ACC
9
12 Texas A&M SEC
8
12 Texas SEC
8
12
3 Tier 3
· 3 points per win · 4 teams
Team Conference Proj wins
Games Texas Tech Big 12
10
12 Utah Big 12
9
12 Indiana Big Ten
8
12 Alabama SEC
8
12
4 Tier 4
· 4 points per win · 4 teams
Team Conference Proj wins
Games USC Big Ten
8
12 Ole Miss SEC
8
12 Michigan Big Ten
7
12 Oklahoma SEC
7
12
5 Tier 5
· 5 points per win · 15 teams
Team Conference Proj wins
Games SMU ACC
8
12 Penn State Big Ten
8
12 Clemson ACC
8
12 BYU Big 12
8
12 Iowa Big Ten
7
12 Washington Big Ten
7
12 Arizona Big 12
7
12 Tennessee SEC
7
12 Florida State ACC
7
12 Vanderbilt SEC
7
12 LSU SEC
7
12 Florida SEC
7
12 Missouri SEC
7
12 Auburn SEC
6
12 South Carolina SEC
6
12
6 Tier 6
· 6 points per win · 20 teams
Team Conference Proj wins
Games Toledo Mid-American
9
12 South Florida American Athletic
9
12 Kansas State Big 12
8
12 NC State ACC
8
12 Virginia ACC
7
12 Houston Big 12
7
12 Pittsburgh ACC
7
12 San Diego State Pac-12
7
11 Louisville ACC
7
12 TCU Big 12
7
12 Illinois Big Ten
7
12 Georgia Tech ACC
6
12 Washington State Pac-12
6
11 Arizona State Big 12
6
12 Baylor Big 12
6
12 Northwestern Big Ten
6
12 Nebraska Big Ten
6
12 Wisconsin Big Ten
6
12 Mississippi State SEC
5
12 Arkansas SEC
5
12
7 Tier 7
· 7 points per win · 20 teams
Team Conference Proj wins
Games East Carolina American Athletic
8
12 UTSA American Athletic
7
12 UNLV Mountain West
7
12 North Texas American Athletic
7
12 Memphis American Athletic
7
12 Tulane American Athletic
7
12 Iowa State Big 12
6
12 Boise State Pac-12
6
11 Duke ACC
6
12 Kansas Big 12
6
12 Rutgers Big Ten
6
12 California ACC
6
12 Texas State Pac-12
6
11 Minnesota Big Ten
6
12 UCLA Big Ten
6
12 Maryland Big Ten
6
12 Wake Forest ACC
6
12 Kentucky SEC
5
12 Purdue Big Ten
5
12 Michigan State Big Ten
5
12
8 Tier 8
· 8 points per win · 21 teams
Team Conference Proj wins
Games North Dakota State Mountain West
8
12 Marshall Sun Belt
8
12 Western Michigan Mid-American
8
12 James Madison Sun Belt
7
12 Western Kentucky Conference USA
7
12 Hawai'i Mountain West
7
12 Ohio Mid-American
7
12 Old Dominion Sun Belt
7
12 Louisiana Sun Belt
7
12 Southern Miss Sun Belt
7
12 Louisiana Tech Sun Belt
6
12 UCF Big 12
6
12 Fresno State Pac-12
5
11 Cincinnati Big 12
5
12 Virginia Tech ACC
5
12 Colorado Big 12
5
12 West Virginia Big 12
5
12 Utah State Pac-12
5
11 Stanford ACC
5
12 Syracuse ACC
5
12 North Carolina ACC
5
12
9 Tier 9
· 9 points per win · 21 teams
Team Conference Proj wins
Games Liberty Conference USA
7
12 Florida International Conference USA
7
12 Jacksonville State Conference USA
7
12 Miami (OH) Mid-American
7
12 New Mexico Mountain West
7
12 UConn FBS Independents
6
12 Troy Sun Belt
6
12 Central Michigan Mid-American
6
12 Arkansas State Sun Belt
6
12 Eastern Michigan Mid-American
6
12 Navy American Athletic
6
12 Coastal Carolina Sun Belt
6
12 Tulsa American Athletic
6
12 Akron Mid-American
6
12 South Alabama Sun Belt
6
12 Florida Atlantic American Athletic
6
12 App State Sun Belt
6
12 Temple American Athletic
6
12 Oregon State Pac-12
5
11 Boston College ACC
4
12 Oklahoma State Big 12
4
12
10 Tier 10
· 10 points per win · 26 teams
Team Conference Proj wins
Games Air Force Mountain West
6
12 Kennesaw State Conference USA
6
12 Wyoming Mountain West
6
12 Buffalo Mid-American
5
12 Georgia State Sun Belt
5
12 San José State Mountain West
5
13 Middle Tennessee Conference USA
5
12 Sacramento State Mid-American
5
12 Missouri State Conference USA
5
12 Nevada Mountain West
5
12 UAB American Athletic
5
12 Georgia Southern Sun Belt
5
12 Bowling Green Mid-American
5
12 Kent State Mid-American
5
12 Delaware Conference USA
5
12 Northern Illinois Mountain West
5
12 New Mexico State Conference USA
5
12 Sam Houston Conference USA
5
12 Army American Athletic
4
12 Ball State Mid-American
4
12 UTEP Mountain West
4
12 Rice American Athletic
4
12 UL Monroe Sun Belt
4
12 Colorado State Pac-12
4
11 Charlotte American Athletic
4
12 Massachusetts Mid-American
3
12