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Edge Labs · College football · Power ratings

College football power ratings for 2026. Our number on the FBS field.

These are our college football power ratings for the 2026 season. The EL Rating v1 starts every team at its preseason composite: last season's performance, four years of blue chip recruiting, returning production, transfer class quality, and coaching continuity, fit to what actually predicts wins. Tested on two held out seasons it missed actual win totals by 1.88 wins on average against 1.97 for a rating built on last season's performance alone. Once a team plays, its rating moves one game at a time on opponent adjusted margin (the in-season layer, refit after each week's finals; currently through week 4, written Sep 29, 2026). Expected wins still come from the preseason schedule walk and are not re-walked in season. Below it sits the talent layer the rating drew from, which keeps refreshing to the current recruiting snapshot.

There are 138 FBS teams in 2026, and every one of them carries a rating below. North Dakota State and Sacramento State moved up from the FCS this season with no preseason history, so each starts from a transition prior instead (the median rating of the bottom 10 preseason teams) and walks the season one game at a time from there, same as everybody else, just without an expected wins number, since that comes only from the preseason schedule walk they never had.

2026 season · 138 FBS teams · 138 rated · model v1 · in-season through week 4, written Sep 29, 2026
The Edge Labs number EL Rating v1 · 2026 · through week 4
n=138 · rated of 138 FBS
Rk Team Rating Expected wins
1 Georgia 24.5 9.9
2 Ohio State 23.4 10.4
3 Alabama 23.1 7.6
4 LSU 22.5 7.2
5 Notre Dame 22.5 10.8
6 Texas 22.0 7.8
7 Florida 17.5 6.6
8 Miami 17.2 10.1
9 Utah 16.2 9.4
10 Indiana 15.3 8.6
11 Tennessee 15.0 7.6
12 Oregon 14.5 10.1
13 Texas A&M 12.7 9.8
14 Ole Miss 12.5 8.1
15 Mississippi State 12.5 4.8
16 Michigan 12.2 7.8
17 BYU 11.4 8.3
18 Penn State 11.0 8.6
19 Nebraska 10.8 6.3
20 Auburn 10.3 6.9
21 Oklahoma 10.3 7.6
22 USC 10.1 8.7
23 Iowa 10.1 7.7
24 Texas Tech 9.8 10.3
25 Missouri 9.0 6.6
26 Boise State 9.0 6.2
27 UCLA 8.5 3.6
28 Florida State 7.8 7.9
29 Clemson 7.5 8.6
30 Louisville 7.3 7.5
31 Northwestern 6.9 5.8
32 Kansas State 6.7 7.8
33 Kentucky 6.7 3.6
34 Duke 6.5 6.0
35 Arizona 6.5 7.4
36 South Carolina 6.4 6.6
37 SMU 6.3 8.5
38 James Madison 6.2 8.1
39 Houston 5.9 7.9
40 Washington 5.8 8.0
41 Virginia 5.5 7.0
42 Pittsburgh 5.3 7.3
43 New Mexico 5.2 7.1
44 Vanderbilt 5.1 6.7
45 Baylor 4.9 5.9
46 Wake Forest 4.0 5.8
47 Iowa State 3.9 6.6
48 Wisconsin 3.5 4.7
49 Illinois 3.4 6.8
50 UTSA 3.3 7.6
51 Minnesota 3.0 5.8
52 TCU 2.6 6.7
53 UCF 2.4 6.0
54 Virginia Tech 2.4 4.5
55 Toledo 2.4 9.0
56 Texas State 1.8 6.1
57 North Texas 1.6 7.5
58 Fresno State 1.6 5.8
59 Cincinnati 1.5 5.2
60 Michigan State 1.3 4.2
61 North Carolina 0.8 4.5
62 South Florida 0.7 8.0
63 Arizona State 0.6 5.5
64 Louisiana 0.5 7.5
65 NC State 0.3 7.3
66 Army 0.2 7.4
67 Memphis 0.1 7.2
68 Oklahoma State -0.5 3.0
69 Arkansas -0.5 3.7
70 UNLV -0.7 7.5
71 Western Michigan -1.3 7.5
72 North Dakota State -1.4 ·
in-season rating from a transition prior; no preseason walk
73 Oregon State -1.5 3.8
74 Washington State -1.8 6.4
75 East Carolina -1.9 7.6
76 UConn -1.9 7.1
77 Florida Atlantic -2.1 5.1
78 Maryland -2.2 5.9
79 Louisiana Tech -2.8 7.1
80 Kansas -2.9 6.0
81 Georgia Tech -3.0 6.5
82 Liberty -3.3 6.6
83 Tulane -3.9 6.7
84 Temple -4.3 5.5
85 Air Force -4.4 7.6
86 West Virginia -4.5 4.8
87 Navy -4.5 6.8
88 Colorado -4.6 4.7
89 Miami (OH) -5.1 6.6
90 Purdue -5.2 4.0
91 App State -5.4 6.3
92 Utah State -5.6 4.8
93 Western Kentucky -5.6 7.7
94 Georgia State -5.8 4.1
95 Colorado State -6.1 3.7
96 San Diego State -6.2 7.6
97 Missouri State -6.2 5.0
98 Rutgers -6.2 5.5
99 Ohio -6.4 7.1
100 California -6.4 5.5
101 Syracuse -6.6 3.9
102 South Alabama -6.9 6.0
103 Massachusetts -6.9 2.6
104 Delaware -6.9 6.3
105 Stanford -6.9 3.4
106 Florida International -7.3 6.4
107 Troy -7.3 6.4
108 Rice -7.4 3.7
109 Marshall -7.5 7.4
110 Jacksonville State -7.7 7.2
111 Georgia Southern -8.2 4.6
112 Kent State -8.4 4.5
113 UAB -8.5 4.3
114 Tulsa -9.2 5.6
115 Middle Tennessee -9.4 5.1
116 Arkansas State -9.4 5.8
117 Nevada -10.1 5.7
118 Boston College -10.4 3.6
119 Kennesaw State -10.4 6.0
120 Old Dominion -10.7 7.0
121 San José State -10.7 5.0
122 Hawai'i -10.7 8.3
123 Southern Miss -10.8 5.3
124 Central Michigan -11.4 6.4
125 New Mexico State -11.5 4.7
126 Coastal Carolina -11.9 4.7
127 Sam Houston -12.8 3.4
128 Eastern Michigan -13.0 6.2
129 Wyoming -13.0 5.7
130 UTEP -14.3 4.3
131 Buffalo -14.4 6.0
132 Akron -15.5 6.0
133 Ball State -16.0 3.8
134 Bowling Green -16.0 5.2
135 Northern Illinois -17.5 5.2
136 Charlotte -17.9 2.8
137 UL Monroe -20.0 4.4
138 Sacramento State -20.8 ·
in-season rating from a transition prior; no preseason walk

The talent layer

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national rank kept
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Composite is the four-year rolling recruiting talent score · higher is more talent signed. Blue-chip is the share of the roster that came in as a four- or five-star. National rank is always the all-FBS rank, even inside a conference filter.
National scope All FBS talent ranking
n=137 · FBS teams
Most talent on paper in All FBS: Ohio State · composite 85.4 · national rank #1 of 137.
Rk Team Conference Composite Talent Blue-chip Conf rank
1 Ohio State Big Ten 85.4
67.6% Big Ten #1
2 Alabama SEC 84.1
64.1% SEC #1
3 Texas SEC 84.1
67.2% SEC #2
4 Texas A&M SEC 83.6
76.5% SEC #3
5 Georgia SEC 82.7
70.2% SEC #4
6 Miami ACC 82.2
56.9% ACC #1
7 Notre Dame Independent 81.1
59.2% Independent #1
8 Florida SEC 80.6
63.0% SEC #5
9 LSU SEC 80.6
63.7% SEC #6
10 South Carolina SEC 80.4
54.8% SEC #7
11 Oregon Big Ten 80.4
60.6% Big Ten #2
12 Oklahoma SEC 79.8
39.0% SEC #8
13 Penn State Big Ten 79.6
45.4% Big Ten #3
14 Florida State ACC 79.4
45.0% ACC #2
15 Clemson ACC 79.1
54.4% ACC #3
16 Michigan Big Ten 78.7
54.1% Big Ten #4
17 Auburn SEC 78.6
51.7% SEC #9
18 Ole Miss SEC 78.2
44.0% SEC #10
19 USC Big Ten 76.5
50.0% Big Ten #5
20 Missouri SEC 75.9
31.8% SEC #11
21 TCU Big 12 75.5
15.8% Big 12 #1
22 Maryland Big Ten 75.1
16.9% Big Ten #6
23 Wisconsin Big Ten 75.0
18.2% Big Ten #7
24 Virginia Tech ACC 74.9
12.5% ACC #4
25 Baylor Big 12 74.4
11.0% Big 12 #2
26 Vanderbilt SEC 74.2
11.7% SEC #12
27 Tennessee SEC 74.2
45.1% SEC #13
28 North Carolina ACC 74.2
21.1% ACC #5
29 Mississippi State SEC 74.0
21.0% SEC #14
30 UCF Big 12 73.9
13.6% Big 12 #3
31 Colorado Big 12 73.8
31.4% Big 12 #4
32 Nebraska Big Ten 73.8
27.1% Big Ten #8
33 Kentucky SEC 73.7
25.3% SEC #15
34 Washington Big Ten 73.7
26.3% Big Ten #9
35 Stanford ACC 73.4
7.8% ACC #6
36 Indiana Big Ten 73.3
16.7% Big Ten #10
37 SMU ACC 73.2
16.7% ACC #7
38 Houston Big 12 73.0
12.5% Big 12 #5
39 Georgia Tech ACC 72.8
12.3% ACC #8
40 Kansas State Big 12 72.7
13.1% Big 12 #6
41 Texas Tech Big 12 72.7
20.9% Big 12 #7
42 Pittsburgh ACC 72.4
6.0% ACC #9
43 Boston College ACC 72.3
3.9% ACC #10
44 Rutgers Big Ten 72.3
9.3% Big Ten #11
45 Iowa Big Ten 72.3
20.5% Big Ten #12
46 Kansas Big 12 72.3
8.1% Big 12 #8
47 Louisville ACC 72.2
18.9% ACC #11
48 UCLA Big Ten 72.0
13.9% Big Ten #13
49 Arizona Big 12 71.9
11.9% Big 12 #9
50 Oklahoma State Big 12 71.9
2.4% Big 12 #10
51 Michigan State Big Ten 71.8
14.8% Big Ten #14
52 Iowa State Big 12 71.5
3.3% Big 12 #11
53 Minnesota Big Ten 71.5
12.3% Big Ten #15
54 Utah Big 12 71.5
11.9% Big 12 #12
55 Syracuse ACC 71.4
13.3% ACC #12
56 Arkansas SEC 71.3
16.3% SEC #16
57 Arizona State Big 12 71.0
10.0% Big 12 #13
58 Northwestern Big Ten 70.9
5.0% Big Ten #16
59 Tulane AAC 70.8
1.4% AAC #1
60 NC State ACC 70.8
14.0% ACC #13
61 Wake Forest ACC 70.6
5.6% ACC #14
62 Cal ACC 70.6
6.6% ACC #15
63 South Florida AAC 70.6
5.8% AAC #2
64 Duke ACC 70.2
8.2% ACC #16
65 BYU Big 12 70.2
12.6% Big 12 #14
66 Cincinnati Big 12 70.0
1.1% Big 12 #15
67 East Carolina AAC 69.9
3.6% AAC #3
68 West Virginia Big 12 69.6
7.5% Big 12 #16
69 Toledo MAC 69.5
1.3% MAC #1
70 Memphis AAC 69.4
4.6% AAC #4
71 Charlotte AAC 69.4
2.0% AAC #5
72 Louisiana-Lafayette Sun Belt 69.4
3.6% Sun Belt #1
73 Purdue Big Ten 69.3
6.0% Big Ten #17
74 Miami (OH) MAC 69.1
3.7% MAC #2
75 Southern Miss Sun Belt 68.8
1.5% Sun Belt #2
76 Florida Atlantic AAC 68.6
1.6% AAC #6
77 UAB AAC 68.5
0.0% AAC #7
78 Oregon State Pac-12 68.4
1.4% Pac-12 #1
79 Virginia ACC 68.4
1.3% ACC #17
80 Colorado State Pac-12 68.4
2.5% Pac-12 #2
81 Troy Sun Belt 68.2
0.0% Sun Belt #3
82 UConn Independent 68.2
0.0% Independent #2
83 Ohio MAC 68.1
0.0% MAC #3
84 Jacksonville State C-USA 68.0
1.6% C-USA #1
85 Liberty C-USA 68.0
1.5% C-USA #2
86 UTSA AAC 67.9
9.7% AAC #8
87 South Alabama Sun Belt 67.7
1.2% Sun Belt #4
88 Middle Tennessee C-USA 67.6
1.7% C-USA #3
89 Western Kentucky C-USA 67.0
0.0% C-USA #4
90 Illinois Big Ten 67.0
9.1% Big Ten #18
91 Rice AAC 66.9
0.0% AAC #9
92 Georgia State Sun Belt 66.6
5.2% Sun Belt #5
93 North Texas AAC 66.2
3.3% AAC #10
94 Washington State Pac-12 66.2
0.0% Pac-12 #3
95 UMass MAC 66.1
0.0% MAC #4
96 Boise State Pac-12 66.1
1.1% Pac-12 #4
97 Appalachian State Sun Belt 66.0
1.5% Sun Belt #6
98 Akron MAC 65.9
0.0% MAC #5
99 James Madison Sun Belt 65.9
0.0% Sun Belt #7
100 Arkansas State Sun Belt 65.8
1.1% Sun Belt #8
101 Georgia Southern Sun Belt 65.8
1.3% Sun Belt #9
102 Buffalo MAC 65.7
0.0% MAC #6
103 Tulsa AAC 65.6
2.9% AAC #11
104 Wyoming Mountain West 65.5
1.4% Mountain West #1
105 Marshall Sun Belt 65.3
4.2% Sun Belt #10
106 Ball State MAC 65.0
0.0% MAC #7
107 Navy AAC 65.0
0.0% AAC #12
108 Florida International C-USA 64.9
3.3% C-USA #5
109 Texas State Sun Belt 64.9
0.0% Sun Belt #11
110 Eastern Michigan MAC 64.9
0.0% MAC #8
111 Utah State Pac-12 64.8
0.0% Pac-12 #5
112 UNLV Mountain West 64.8
3.7% Mountain West #2
113 Louisiana Tech C-USA 64.8
1.4% C-USA #6
114 San Diego State Pac-12 64.7
2.6% Pac-12 #6
115 Temple AAC 64.6
0.0% AAC #13
116 Sam Houston C-USA 64.3
0.0% C-USA #7
117 Coastal Carolina Sun Belt 64.3
3.1% Sun Belt #12
118 Western Michigan MAC 63.9
1.3% MAC #9
119 Nevada Mountain West 63.7
1.3% Mountain West #3
120 Louisiana Monroe Sun Belt 63.7
0.0% Sun Belt #13
121 Army AAC 63.6
0.0% AAC #14
122 Bowling Green MAC 63.1
0.0% MAC #10
123 Air Force Mountain West 63.1
0.0% Mountain West #4
124 Missouri State C-USA 63.1
0.0% C-USA #8
125 Northern Illinois Mountain West 62.7
0.0% Mountain West #5
126 UTEP Mountain West 62.6
1.3% Mountain West #6
127 Hawaii Mountain West 62.5
1.7% Mountain West #7
128 Central Michigan MAC 62.5
0.0% MAC #11
129 Kent State MAC 62.4
0.0% MAC #12
130 Sac State MAC 61.9
3.0% MAC #13
131 New Mexico State C-USA 60.5
2.2% C-USA #9
132 San Jose State Mountain West 60.5
0.0% Mountain West #8
133 Old Dominion Sun Belt 60.4
0.0% Sun Belt #14
134 New Mexico Mountain West 58.4
0.0% Mountain West #9
135 Fresno State Pac-12 58.2
0.0% Pac-12 #7
136 Kennesaw State C-USA 57.1
0.0% C-USA #10
137 Delaware C-USA 57.1
2.1% C-USA #11

This is talent on paper, not a prediction. The composite is a leading indicator of the roster · it is the talent a team signed, not what it will do on the field. We do not attach a record, a ranking, or a bet to it, because recruiting talent does not beat the spread and we tested that. Every number carries its sample · 137 FBS programs · 2026 season · research, not advice · 21+.
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