Greg McElroy is wasting no time getting ahead of the 2026 college football season.
With the opener still nine days away, the Alabama legend used the latest episode of his “Always College Football” podcast to lay out his full College Football Playoff forecast, and he didn’t just name a few contenders. McElroy went conference by conference, sorted out what he thinks the Selection Committee will value, and mapped out the field the way he sees it unfolding.
At the top of his board sits Notre Dame, which he believes will be the only unbeaten team in the country.
“I have Notre Dame going 12-0. When forecasting the College Football Playoff and looking way in advance, they are going to be my No. 1 overall seed and my only undefeated team on the board,” he said.
McElroy’s other major centerpiece is Ohio State, even with a loss on the schedule. He has the Buckeyes falling on the road to Texas on September 12, then winning their next 11 games and finishing the regular season at 11-1 before taking the Big Ten title in Indianapolis.
“I have Ohio State sitting there at 11-1 during the regular season, and they win it in Indianapolis. They’re my No. 1 team, they’re the AP’s No. 1 team, … (so) they’re No. 1 for me for a reason.”
Texas also made the cut in McElroy’s field, even though he sees the Longhorns finishing 10-3. In his view, that résumé would still be strong enough for the committee to keep them in because of the schedule they survived.
Reigning national champion Indiana is another team McElroy expects to take a step back from last season’s unbeaten run, but not enough to fall out of the playoff picture entirely. He has the Hoosiers going 10-2, and he pointed to the defensive front as the reason they remain dangerous.
“I still look at what this team has… their D-line is still outstanding, and I have them at 10-2, but I had the likelihood of them winning a national championship slightly higher just a couple of days ago,” McElroy said of the Hoosiers.
His own program also earned a spot. McElroy has Alabama in the playoff at 10-2, with newly minted starter Keelon Russell under center.
“I have Alabama in at 10-2, … with a quarterback that’s thrown 15 passes in his entire college career… I think the offense will be… very dynamic with Keelon Russell at quarterback.”
As for the teams just on the outside looking in, McElroy’s first four out were Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Ole Miss and Penn State.
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