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Edge Labs · CFB · Talent vs Record

The talent a roster signed vs what it did.

Every FBS team's recruiting talent (the 4-year composite, and its national rank that season) lined up against its actual record. The gap is the story · who outran the roster they had, and who left blue-chip talent on the field. National rank, record, and the sample behind each, on every team.

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Talent is a leading indicator and records drift back toward the roster. In our point-in-time test (2020·2025, n>150 each side), teams that outran their recruiting talent fell about 15 win-percentage points the next season, and the ones that underachieved rose about as much. So these gaps tend to close next year. That is a direction the data leans, not a guaranteed pick and not a bet.

+74gap · pts Biggest overachiever · 2026
Fresno State
Pac-12 · talent #135 of 137 · 3-1 (4 g)
thin talent (#135 of 137), went 3-1. Outran the roster.
-49gap · pts Biggest underachiever · 2026
Charlotte
AAC · talent #71 of 137 · 0-4 (4 g)
thin talent (#71 of 137), went 0-4. Left it on the field.

Filters

season · league
Overachiever · won more than the talent rank implied. Underrated roster.
Underachiever · blue-chip talent, thin record. Wasted talent.
Gap = win% minus where the talent rank sits in the field, in percentage points.
All FBS · 2026 · underachievers Talent vs record · biggest gaps first
n=48 teams · 129 ranked
Team Talent rank Composite Record Win% Gap (pts) ▼
CharlotteAAC #71 / 137 69.4 0-4 (4g) 0% -49
Texas A&MSEC #4 / 137 83.6 2-2 (4g) 50% -48
Georgia TechACC #39 / 137 72.8 1-3 (4g) 25% -47
RutgersBig Ten #44 / 137 72.3 1-3 (4g) 25% -43
South CarolinaSEC #10 / 137 80.4 2-2 (4g) 50% -43
OklahomaSEC #12 / 137 79.8 2-2 (4g) 50% -42
Florida StateACC #14 / 137 79.4 2-2 (4g) 50% -40
TCUBig 12 #21 / 137 75.5 2-2 (4g) 50% -35
MarylandBig Ten #22 / 137 75.1 2-2 (4g) 50% -35
KansasBig 12 #46 / 137 72.3 1-2 (3g) 33% -34
ColoradoBig 12 #31 / 137 73.8 2-2 (4g) 50% -28
SyracuseACC #55 / 137 71.5 1-2 (3g) 33% -27
Ohio StateBig Ten #1 / 137 85.4 3-1 (4g) 75% -25
StanfordACC #35 / 137 73.4 2-2 (4g) 50% -25
PurdueBig Ten #73 / 137 69.3 1-3 (4g) 25% -22
Southern MissSun Belt #75 / 137 68.8 1-3 (4g) 25% -21
LSUSEC #9 / 137 80.6 3-1 (4g) 75% -19
Boston CollegeACC #43 / 137 72.3 2-2 (4g) 50% -19
OregonBig Ten #11 / 137 80.4 3-1 (4g) 75% -18
LouisvilleACC #47 / 137 72.2 2-2 (4g) 50% -16
Penn StateBig Ten #13 / 137 79.6 3-1 (4g) 75% -16
ClemsonACC #15 / 137 79.1 3-1 (4g) 75% -15
MichiganBig Ten #16 / 137 78.7 3-1 (4g) 75% -14
North CarolinaACC #28 / 137 74.2 2-1 (3g) 67% -13
AuburnSEC #17 / 137 78.6 3-1 (4g) 75% -13
Michigan StateBig Ten #51 / 137 71.8 2-2 (4g) 50% -13
Iowa StateBig 12 #52 / 137 71.5 2-2 (4g) 50% -12
Ole MissSEC #18 / 137 78.2 3-1 (4g) 75% -12
Bowling GreenMAC #122 / 137 63.1 0-4 (4g) 0% -11
MissouriSEC #20 / 137 75.9 3-1 (4g) 75% -11
Western KentuckyC-USA #89 / 137 67.0 1-3 (4g) 25% -10
ArkansasSEC #56 / 137 71.3 2-2 (4g) 50% -10
WisconsinBig Ten #23 / 137 75.0 3-1 (4g) 75% -9
RiceAAC #91 / 137 66.9 1-3 (4g) 25% -9
Northern IllinoisMountain West #125 / 137 62.7 0-4 (4g) 0% -9
BaylorBig 12 #25 / 137 74.4 3-1 (4g) 75% -7
TulaneAAC #59 / 137 70.8 2-2 (4g) 50% -7
USCBig Ten #19 / 137 76.5 4-1 (5g) 80% -7
Washington StatePac-12 #94 / 137 66.2 1-3 (4g) 25% -7
NC StateACC #60 / 137 70.8 2-2 (4g) 50% -7
VanderbiltSEC #26 / 137 74.2 3-1 (4g) 75% -7
TennesseeSEC #27 / 137 74.2 3-1 (4g) 75% -6
AkronMAC #98 / 137 65.9 1-3 (4g) 25% -4
UCFBig 12 #30 / 137 73.9 3-1 (4g) 75% -4
KentuckySEC #33 / 137 73.7 3-1 (4g) 75% -1
East CarolinaAAC #67 / 137 69.9 2-2 (4g) 50% -1
Georgia SouthernSun Belt #101 / 137 65.8 1-3 (4g) 25% -1
WashingtonBig Ten #34 / 137 73.7 3-1 (4g) 75% -1
National talent rank is across all 129 FBS programs with a composite this season · record is regular season from game results · gap = win% minus the talent-rank percentile, in points · a frequency and a direction, never a pick or a bet.

This is talent intelligence, not a betting edge. The recruiting composite does not beat the spread · we tested it and it lands near a coin flip against the number in every bucket. What it does do is show where a roster's talent and its record pulled apart, and that gap tends to regress. Every number ships with its sample (games behind the record, programs behind the rank). Research, not advice.