Ohio State tops seven post-spring polls as offseason chaos keeps building
With no AP poll in the offseason, this week's digest covers Ohio State atop seven post-spring consensus rankings, the NFL Draft's final grade verdicts, spring portal elimination fallout, and early 2027 Draft buzz headlined by Jeremiah Smith.
Week of May 11–17, 2026 | College football is on pause but the churn never stops
No games. No official AP Top 25 — the Associated Press doesn't run a weekly college football poll between January and August 1. What the past week did produce: seven major post-spring power rankings from national analysts, four months of NFL Draft grades converging into a clear verdict, a flurry of rule-change debates at ACC spring meetings, and a Missouri running back recovering from a gunshot wound while his teammates wait on word.
This is what the college football offseason looks like in 2026 — no scores, but no shortage of news.
Post-spring rankings: Ohio State is the only consensus No. 1
Seven major outlets published their post-spring college football rankings between April 27 and May 13. The only team that appeared in the top three of every single one: Ohio State.
| Poll | No. 1 | No. 2 | No. 3 | Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| USA Today | Ohio State | Notre Dame | Texas | Apr 27 |
| Bleacher Report | Ohio State | Georgia | Indiana | May 5 |
| Sports Illustrated / CFB HQ | Ohio State | Oregon | Georgia | May 4 |
| Sporting News | Indiana | Ohio State | Georgia | May 8 |
| Joel Klatt (FOX) | Oregon | Notre Dame | Ohio State | May 4 |
| FOX Sports official (RJ Young) | Indiana | Ohio State | Georgia | May 12 |
| CBS Sports 138 | Ohio State | Texas | Oregon | May 13 |
Ohio State's average ranking across all seven: 1.6. Georgia appeared in every top five (range: No. 2 to No. 5, average 3.6) 23456.
The two teams with the widest spread are where it gets interesting.
Indiana (No. 1 to No. 9, a range of 8): Sporting News and FOX Sports (RJ Young) put the defending national champion at the top, pointing to head coach Curt Cignetti's 27-2 record over two seasons. SI/CFB HQ dropped Indiana to ninth after new quarterback Josh Hoover (a TCU transfer) completed just 6 of 13 passes for 94 yards in the spring game. The debate over whether Hoover — replacing Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza, who went No. 1 overall to the Las Vegas Raiders in April's NFL Draft — can maintain Indiana's dominance starts now and won't be resolved until September 24.
Oregon (No. 1 to No. 8, a range of 7): Joel Klatt, FOX Sports' lead college football analyst, made Oregon his personal top pick and was emphatic about why. "When you look at the teams that have won the last three national championships, Oregon fits the blueprint those teams followed to a tee," he wrote 7. USA Today dropped the Ducks to eighth, citing coordinator turnover — both coordinators left — and questioning whether returning quarterback Dante Moore can carry the offense alone. Those two poles sum up the Oregon debate heading into fall.
The most eyebrow-raising individual placement: Alabama at No. 16 in Klatt's poll. The Crimson Tide quarterback room has zero combined college starts between Austin Mack and Keelon Russell, and Alabama's rushing attack ranked 126th nationally in yards per carry in 2025. "I know I'm going to get some flak for this, but I couldn't put Alabama higher than 16th," Klatt wrote 7. Every other analyst has Alabama somewhere in the 10-to-16 range, so the consensus on the Tide is more "firmly in the top half" than "still elite" — a meaningful demotion from their recent standard.
One other notable move: Texas Tech fell three to five spots across rankings after confirmation that transfer quarterback Brendan Sorsby (the No. 2 overall portal player from Cincinnati) is under an NCAA investigation for alleged gambling violations. Backup Will Hammond is still recovering from a torn ACL. SI dropped the Red Raiders from No. 9 to No. 12 2; sportsbooks have already moved Texas Tech's national title odds from +800 to as wide as +2,500 depending on the book — the widest variance of any team in the futures market.
2026 NFL Draft fallout: who won, who lost, and the picks that will be debated for years
The 2026 NFL Draft took place April 24-26, with 257 players selected. The grades trickled in through early May and by now the grading consensus has settled.
The winners
New York Giants earned the best grades of any team across the major outlets. The Associated Press's Rob Maaddi handed out only two A+ grades this entire draft — the Giants were one of them 8. NFL.com's Gennaro Filice also gave them an A. In the first three picks, the Giants landed EDGE Arvell Reese (No. 5, rated the draft's top overall prospect by multiple boards), offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa (No. 10), and cornerback Colton Hood (No. 37 — ranked as the No. 21 overall prospect by DJ's board, making him the highest-value Day 2 pick per NFL Next Gen Stats 9). Filice called the Giants' first three picks providing "immense value" 10.
Cleveland Browns built around a gaping hole at quarterback and got high marks for doing it smartly. The Browns traded down from a higher slot, accumulated picks, and landed offensive tackle Spencer Fano (No. 9), receivers KC Concepcion (No. 24) and Denzel Boston (No. 39), and safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren (No. 58 — DJ's No. 15 overall prospect, drafted 43 spots after his consensus grade). Filice graded the Browns an A and described their class as "setting the table for whoever plays quarterback in 2026 and beyond." 10.
The Kansas City Chiefs were CBS Sports' Pete Prisco's sole A+ recipient. "The Chiefs just crushed the NFL Draft. In doing so, they earned the only A+ grade I am giving out," Prisco wrote 11. Neither Filice nor Maaddi went quite that high (A- and B, respectively), but the Chiefs landed in every analyst's top ten on Warren Sharp's Draft Capital Over Expectation (DCOE) metric — Sharp ranked the Washington Commanders as the single most valuable class overall, with the Carolina Panthers second 12.
The losers
Los Angeles Rams took quarterback Ty Simpson at No. 13. Most draft boards had Simpson as a late first- or early second-round grade. Every major grading outlet gave the Rams a C- or D, and Sharp's DCOE ranked them 31st out of 32 teams. Prisco put it plainly: "This is a year where they seemed to be all-in, with perhaps Stafford playing his last season. But the draft said otherwise." 11.
Jacksonville Jaguars received a D+ from Filice and a C from Maaddi. New general manager James Gladstone went repeatedly off his anticipated board — taking tight end Nate Boerkircher at pick No. 56 (PFF had him ranked No. 158) and safety Jalen Huskey at No. 100 (expected around No. 187). "When a new general manager takes over and goes completely off the board, it could either be very good (and very interesting) or very bad," Sharp wrote 12. The jury is out. The grades are not.
San Francisco 49ers traded out of the first round — a decision that immediately drew scrutiny when they used the No. 33 pick on wide receiver De'Zhaun Stribling, who was ranked No. 112 on PFF's board. "Niners kick things off with a reach at the top of Round 3: WR De'Zhaun Stribling entered the draft at No. 112 on the PFF board but was selected at No. 33," PFF noted 13. Sharp's DCOE ranked the 49ers dead last at No. 32.
Notable UDFAs
The Baltimore Ravens signed the most undrafted free agents (21), including quarterback Diego Pavia and defensive tackle Aaron Graves 14. NFL.com's Chad Reuter ranked Baylor's Sawyer Robertson as the top undrafted quarterback and Texas A&M's Le'Veon Moss as the top undrafted running back — Moss landed with the Miami Dolphins, Robertson with the Green Bay Packers 15.
Offseason news: the spring portal is gone and everyone is feeling it now
No spring portal: the holes coaches can't fill
The NCAA eliminated the spring transfer portal window in fall 2025, leaving January 2-16 as the only period players can enter the portal 16. That decision looked tidy in January. After spring practice, it's looking painful for at least eight Power Four programs.
- Clemson — lost four starting offensive linemen, added only 10 transfers total; can't reinforce the OL now
- Iowa — defense has the fewest career FBS snaps among all Power Four programs (4,995 total)
- Iowa State — projected starting safety Braden Awls (24 career starts, 1,400+ defensive snaps) tore his ACL in spring practice and is out for the 2026 season; first-year head coach Jimmy Rogers has no spring portal to fill the gap
- LSU — cornerback Aidan Anding and edge Gabriel Reliford both suffered season-ending spring injuries with no portal remedy available
- Ohio State — three projected starting offensive linemen sat out spring with injuries, thin depth behind them
- Tennessee — missed on three transfer QB targets (Sam Leavitt, Beau Pribula, Ty Simpson); settled for Colorado's Ryan Staub
- Texas — backup center has zero FBS experience
- Texas Tech — Sorsby gambling investigation + backup Will Hammond on ACL recovery = the only roster-qualified QB is Tulsa transfer Kirk Francis
LSU head coach Lane Kiffin has been the most publicly vocal in pushing for the spring window's return. After finishing his first spring in Baton Rouge: "There's no portal to go to. So we've got to develop our guys and get the most out of them. This is your roster. This is what you're set with." 17.
Rule changes on the table
The NCAA Oversight Committee is considering replacing the traditional 15-practice spring football format with 21 NFL-style OTAs on a flexible calendar — no fixed five-week window, allowing coaches to spread practices across the offseason as they see fit. The proposal was shared with coaches at the ACC spring meetings on May 13 and could take effect as soon as 2027 18. The main tension: the current spring schedule doubles as a prime recruiting window, with high school prospects visiting campuses during spring break.
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day used an appearance on the Josh Pate College Football Show on May 13 to push a different structural change — a two-year transfer rule requiring athletes to stay at one school for two years after signing out of high school. His argument is developmental: "During that freshman season, typically, they're not playing as much as they'd like. They're going through challenges. They're failing. But that's part of being a freshman. You've got to fail. You've got to fail to learn. That's how it works." 19.
Analyst Andy Staples, appearing on the Paul Finebaum Show, offered a more pragmatic read on what coaches actually want from any reform: "The coaches care about the calendar. That's all they care about. They would prefer the transfer portal; the tampering area would not be when they are trying to play playoff games." 20.
Spring standouts worth tracking
A few players who turned heads during spring practice 21:
- Nick Marsh, WR, Indiana (transfer from Michigan State) — led the Spartans in catches (59), yards (662), and touchdowns (6) in 2025. Quickly built chemistry with new QB Josh Hoover; projected as one of the Big Ten's best receivers next fall.
- Cree Thomas, CB, Colorado (transfer from Notre Dame) — recorded five interceptions in his first two spring practices. Colorado head coach Deion Sanders called Thomas "the No. 1 guy right now. He's that guy." 21. Locked in as a Week 1 starter.
- Damon Wilson II, EDGE, Miami (transfer from Missouri) — 9 sacks, 9.5 tackles for loss, and 24 pressures in 2025. Miami's most disruptive spring player, filling the void left by first-round draft picks Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor.
Ahmad Hardy update
Missouri running back Ahmad Hardy — who led the SEC and all of Power Four football with 1,649 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns in 2025, setting a Missouri single-season program record — was shot in the upper leg while attending a concert in Laurel, Mississippi 22. He was an innocent bystander, according to Laurel police. Hardy underwent surgery, was transferred to a hospital in Columbia, Missouri on May 12, and as of May 16 is walking and completing physical therapy three times daily. He is expected to be discharged on Monday, May 18. A suspect was arrested in Paducah, Kentucky on May 15 and is awaiting extradition. The Missouri athletics department said in a statement: "Ahmad is deeply loved by his teammates, coaches, friends, family and fans." No timetable for his return to football activities has been given 22.
Season outlook: schedule, playoff format, odds, and the 2027 draft class already making noise
The 2026 schedule takes shape
ESPN and ABC announced TV assignments for 16 featured 2026 college football matchups at the Disney Upfront presentation on May 12 23.
Week 0 (Aug. 29) opens with two international games: North Carolina vs. TCU at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland (the Aer Lingus College Football Classic, noon ET on ESPN) and NC State vs. Virginia in the inaugural College Football Brasil game in Rio de Janeiro (3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN).
Week 1's headliner is Clemson at LSU on Sept. 5 (7:30 p.m. ABC) — Lane Kiffin's debut as LSU head coach, with ESPN's College GameDay broadcasting from Baton Rouge. The following Saturday, Ohio State travels to Texas (Sept. 12, 7:30 p.m. ABC) for what will be a de facto early-season CFP statement game, with GameDay moving to Austin 24.
The full Weeks 0-3 TV schedule is set for release on May 27.
CFP stays at 12 teams — for now
The College Football Playoff Management Committee confirmed in January that the 12-team format will continue through the 2026-27 season after conference commissioners could not agree on expansion 25. The format: five conference champions (Power Four automatic bids plus the highest-ranked Group of Six champion) plus seven at-large bids. The top four seeds receive first-round byes; seeds 5-12 play at the higher seed's home field. The national championship is Jan. 25, 2027 in Las Vegas 26.
The expansion debate isn't dead. At ACC spring meetings on May 13, ACC commissioner Jim Phillips formally endorsed the Big Ten's push for 24 teams, citing the precedent of unbeaten Florida State being snubbed in 2023 and Notre Dame getting left out in 2025. "When you're leaving national championship-contending teams and schools out of the playoff, you don't have the right number. We lived through it," Phillips said 27. Three of four Power Four conferences now support a 24-team field. The SEC, which controls expansion decisions alongside the Big Ten, prefers 16 and will not budge easily — its conference championship game generates more than $80 million annually, a figure that expansion could dilute. ESPN told stakeholders it prefers staying at 12, "maybe 14, but no higher than 16." The Dec. 1, 2026 deadline for changes to the 2027 season is what this debate is actually racing toward 27.
Futures odds and early Heisman watch
Ohio State opens as the consensus national championship favorite at +550 to +650 across major books 28. Defending champion Indiana sits at +725 to +800 — third in the market despite going 16-0 and winning the 2025 title, reflecting the uncertainty around replacing Fernando Mendoza at quarterback. Notre Dame at +600 to +700, Texas at +650 to +750, and Oregon at +700 to +800 round out the top five.
For the 2026 Heisman Trophy, Notre Dame's CJ Carr (a quarterback entering his junior season) and Texas's Arch Manning are co-favorites at +750 on DraftKings as of May 5 29. Manning opened as the pre-season Heisman favorite in 2025 before Texas went 4-2 through October; 2026 adds transfer wide receiver Cam Coleman (the No. 1 overall portal player, valued at $2.9 million in NIL) and a rebuilt offensive line. Ohio State's Julian Sayin — who finished fourth in 2025 Heisman voting — comes in at +1,000, with Oregon's Dante Moore also at +1,000.
2027 NFL Draft: already stacked
The 2026 season hasn't started, and multiple mock drafts are already stacking up for 2027. ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. put it simply: "That draft is potentially loaded. You've got a lot of talent in next year's draft. If those guys all play up to the level of their talent — then that is a loaded draft." 30.
Sporting News's Bill Bender has Jeremiah Smith (wide receiver, Ohio State) as the No. 1 overall prospect — a receiver hasn't gone first overall since the New York Jets took Keyshawn Johnson in 1996. Bender wrote: "A receiver has not been selected with the No. 1 pick since the New York Jets took Keyshawn Johnson with the No. 1 pick in 1996. Smith will challenge that." 30.
The rest of the consensus early top five: Arch Manning (QB, Texas), Colin Simmons (edge, Texas), Dante Moore (QB, Oregon), and Leonard Moore (cornerback, Notre Dame). PFF's way-too-early mock draft projects four quarterbacks — Sayin, Moore, Manning, and others — in the top ten 31. Texas has six players in Sporting News's top 50, Ohio State four, Notre Dame five, Oregon four. The 2027 draft will be held in Washington, D.C.
Cover image: ESPN College Football 2026 promotional graphic via ESPN / ABC — FBSchedules.com (Imagn Images / USA TODAY NETWORK)
References
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- 6B/R's Updated CFB Top 25 after Spring Practices and Games
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- 11Prisco's NFL Draft 2026 grades for every team
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- 122026 NFL Draft Steals & Reaches: Most Valuable Draft Classes
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- 23ESPN sets TV for 16 college football matchups in 2026
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- 282026-27 NCAA Football Futures | College Football Playoff Futures
vegasinsider.com
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