Indiana’s 2025-26 national championship changed the conversation around college football’s long-running “who’s next?” debate.
The Hoosiers became the first program to win its first title since Florida did it in 1996, and that left one simple question hanging over the sport: which team will be the next to break through for the first time? ESPN’s Bill Connelly took a swing at that answer Friday morning, ranking the top five potential first-time national title winners.
Oregon led the way, as expected. The Ducks have spent years carrying the label of the best program never to win it all, and they’ve been a steady presence in the College Football Playoff hunt over the last decade.
Two SEC programs cracked Connelly’s top five, with Ole Miss checking in at No. 3 and Mizzou at No. 5.
Connelly pointed out that Ole Miss claims three national titles from 1959-62, but the Rebels never finished No. 1 in the AP Poll. His bigger question for the Rebels is whether Pete Golding can do what Lane Kiffin did and keep the program on a championship path.
“Is a Pete Golding program as capable of said run as Lane Kiffin’s program was? Kiffin was Ole Miss’ best head coach of the past half-century, and while Golding might have the best backfield in the country at his disposal with quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and running back Kewan Lacy, they’ll each be gone after 2026, and Golding’s program will have to stand on its own. We’ll see what the Rebels have to offer moving forward.”
Mizzou came in at No. 5 after a strong stretch under Eli Drinkwitz. The Tigers have averaged nine regular-season wins per year over the last three seasons, though they still haven’t reached the College Football Playoff.
Connelly said Drinkwitz has lifted the program’s recruiting profile and handled the portal well, which has pushed Mizzou’s ceiling higher. He also noted that staying sharp in the SEC is tough, and the Tigers have dipped a bit since their 2023 spike. Even so, Connelly still has them projected as a top-20-ish team this season, with Austin Simmons arriving as one of the portal’s highest-upside quarterbacks, even if his floor is lower than most.
Week 0 starts Saturday.
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