Phil Steele dropped his 2026 preseason poll this week, which means it’s time for the annual reminder that preseason polls are mostly meaningless.
They’re not built on anything that’s happened on the field. They’re stitched together from last year’s results, returning production, transfer additions and whatever gut feeling a voter has about a team’s trajectory.
History backs that up. LSU opened last season as a top five team and ended the year searching for a new coach. That’s not exactly a smooth landing.
Every year, at least a handful of preseason top 10 teams fall apart, and a few unranked teams crash the party by October. The sport is too chaotic for summer predictions to hold up for long.
But here’s the twist. Preseason polls also matter a lot.
They create the starting point. And once that starting point exists, voters tend to adjust from it rather than rebuild their rankings from scratch every week.
A team that starts high has a much easier path to finishing high. A team that starts low has to fight the narrative, the speculation and the weekly debate about whether the polls are wrong and what it’ll take to fix them.
So the best advice is simple. Look at preseason polls with a little bit of salt. They’re not gospel, but they’re not completely useless either.
With that in mind, Ole Miss showing up at No. 8 in Steele’s preseason poll is a good place to be.
It’s a little awkward to see the Rebels behind Oklahoma, a team they beat last season, and ahead of Miami, the team that knocked them out in the CFP semifinal.
But based on what we know about the 2026 landscape, No. 8 feels about right.
It’s a sign of respect. It’s a sign of expectation. And it’s a sign that Ole Miss enters the season with a national profile that won’t require a month of convincing.
Of course, all of this is temporary.
Once the games start, these rankings will get shaken like a snow globe. Someone will rise. Someone will fall. Someone will surprise everyone.
So enjoy this while it lasts.
It may not survive September, but it’s still a pretty good place to start.
Phil Steele’s Preseason Poll
- Notre Dame
- Oregon
- Georgia
- Ohio State
- Texas
- Indiana
- Oklahoma
- Ole Miss
- Miami
- USC
- Alabama
- Texas A&M
- Texas Tech
- Michigan
- Washington
- South Carolina
- BYU
- Tennessee
- Penn State
- Iowa
- LSU
- SMU
- Florida
- Clemson
- Florida State
- Utah
- Wisconsin
- Pitt
- Auburn
- UCLA
- Houston
- Nebraska
- Missouri
- Vanderbilt
- Minnesota
- Louisville
- TCU
- Arizona
- Virginia
- Virginia Tech
- Illinois
- Maryland
- Baylor
- Georgia Tech
- UCF
- Rutgers
- Boise State
- Kansas
- Northwestern
- UTSA
- Mississippi State
- NC State
- Duke
- Fresno State
- Arkansas
- Kentucky
- West Virginia
- Wake Forest
- Kansas State
- North Carolina
- Texas State
- Colorado
- Michigan State
- Oklahoma State
- Purdue
- James Madison
- Syracuse
- New Mexico
- Navy
- Stanford
- San Diego State
- Florida Atlantic
- Arizona State
- Old Dominion
- Cal
- Western Michigan
- Cincinnati
- Tulane
- Army
- UNLV
- Tulsa
- USF
- Liberty
- Air Force
- Marshall
- East Carolina
- Memphis
- Miami (OH)
- Louisiana
- Louisiana Tech
- Boston College
- Utah State
- Eastern Michigan
- Jacksonville State
- Washington State
- Colorado State
- North Texas
- Toledo
- Hawaii
- Iowa State
- North Dakota State
- Western Kentucky
- Arkansas State
- Temple
- Wyoming
- Troy
- Appalachian State
- Delaware
- FIU
- Ohio
- Kennesaw State
- Nevada
- Rice
- Oregon State
- Georgia Southern
- New Mexico State
- Akron
- Coastal Carolina
- Bowling Green
- South Alabama
- Central Michigan
- Charlotte
- Louisiana-Monroe
- Middle Tennessee State
- UAB
- UTEP
- Buffalo
- UConn
- Georgia State
- Kent State
- San Jose State
- Sam Houston State
- Missouri State
- Northern Illinois
- UMass
- Ball State
- Southern Miss
- Sacramento State
