As the preseason AP Top 25 starts setting the tone for college football, a few teams look positioned a little lower than their upside suggests. The rankings are only a starting point, sure, but they do matter. Getting into the preseason mix can make the road to the College Football Playoff a whole lot cleaner than trying to claw your way up later.
Miami, Louisville and Texas Tech all fit that bill.
Miami has the kind of resume and roster that should keep people talking about the top five. The Hurricanes reached the national championship game last season, and they backed that up with major offseason work. The biggest addition came at quarterback, where Duke transfer Darian Mensah gives Miami another dynamic playmaker.
That’s why the Hurricanes feel like more than just a solid preseason name. They have enough talent to compete at the highest level, and the transfer portal additions only strengthen the case. Based on the ceiling this roster carries, Miami’s ranking may not fully capture what it could become.
Louisville is in a similar spot, even if the path looks a little different. The Cardinals came painfully close to changing their season last year, dropping three conference games by one possession. That kind of margin leaves plenty of room for what-ifs, and it also hints at how close Louisville was to being part of the ACC title race.
With another year of growth and experience, the Cardinals look ready to take a step. If those tight losses swing the other way, Louisville could move into the ACC Championship Game picture and even start making noise in the College Football Playoff chase.
Texas Tech rounds out the list, and the case here is simple: the Red Raiders still have enough talent to belong in the top 10 conversation, even with quarterback Brendan Sorsby gone. They enter the season as one of the favorites in the Big 12, and there’s real momentum behind the program.
That combination gives Texas Tech a legitimate playoff path if it plays to its level. The Red Raiders have the roster to make a run, and if they meet expectations, they could end up being one of the conference’s biggest surprises.
In Other News...
Joey McGuire Just Gave Texas Tech A New Edge For 2026
Joey McGuire used a recent podcast appearance to push back on the criticism that followed the Brendan Sorsby gambling controversy, and he didnt sound like a coach eager to move on quietly. Texas Techs head coach suggested that some of the loudest voices, especially in coaching and college sports administration, ought to think twice before piling on, since similar situations could eventually land in their own orbit.
For the Red Raiders, the bigger takeaway may be the tone McGuire has set heading toward the 2026 season. His comments framed the backlash as something his team can carry with it, turning outside noise into a source of motivation as Texas Tech keeps building for what comes next. [Read more 🡒]
Houston Just Got Its First National Reality Check
The preseason AP Poll gave the Big 12 a familiar kind of attention, and Texas Tech came out of it in the best possible light as the leagues highest-ranked team at No. 12. BYU followed at No. 14, Utah landed at No. 21 and Houston checked in at No. 23, giving the conference four teams in the Top 25 and underscoring how much national respect the league has collected before a snap has been played. Arizona and TCU were close behind just outside the poll, a sign that the Big 12s depth is already being treated like one of the defining storylines of the season.
For Texas Tech, the broader takeaway matters almost as much as the ranking itself. Preseason polls have a way of setting expectations that the league spends the fall trying to confirm or upend, and the Big 12 has increasingly lived in that space where early respect can turn into weekly pressure. If the Red Raiders are going to justify being the conferences highest-ranked team, they will have to do it while navigating a league that already has several teams positioned to make noise in the Top 25 race. [Read more 🡒]