Five Programs Set to Make Major Strides in the 2026 College Football Season

In all of college football this upcoming season, it’s highly doubtful any team is expected to take more of a leap than LSU.

After missing the College Football Playoff for the sixth straight season, the Tigers ended Brian Kelly’s ineffective tenure and paid out to the tune of seven years and $91 million to bring Lane Kiffin over from Ole Miss to take over as head coach.

LSU also paid up for its roster, landing the No. 1 high-school recruiting class and No. 1 transfer portal class according to 247Sports’ rankings.

They brought in one of the best quarterbacks in the portal in Arizona State’s Sam Leavitt and a host of other top players who should immediately improve the roster drastically.

LSU hasn’t won more than 10 games since its last national title in 2019 -- high standards, I know -- but this roster looks poised to break through with a playoff berth this fall.

Here’s four other teams that appear ready to make the leap in 2026:

Auburn

Elsewhere in the Southeastern Conference, Auburn is also introducing a new coach this season in Alex Golesh, who left South Florida after a successful three-year stint to helm the Tigers.

Perhaps the biggest immediate win for Golesh is that his USF quarterback, Byrum Brown, followed him to Auburn. Brown arrives as one of the most experienced quarterbacks in college football, throwing for 7,286 yards, rushing for 2,086 yards and scoring 84 total touchdowns (56 passing, 28 rushing) over the last three seasons.

That’s the production the Tigers have been badly missing the last decade. At the least, it should lead them to their first eight-win season since 2019.

UCLA

The move from the Pac-12 to Big Ten has been challenging for UCLA.

The Bruins are a combined 8-16 (6-12 in Big Ten) in their two years in the conference. They’re coming off a 3-9 season, tied for the least wins in program history since 1971. They’ve made just two bowls in the last eight years.

Bob Chesney is hoping to fix that. The new Bruins coach has a 132-52 career record as a head coach over his unique career, which has taken him from D-III Salve Regina to UCLA. He led James Madison to a 21-6 record the last two seasons and a 2025 CFP appearance.

It may take some time for UCLA to peak under Chesney, but his track record indicates an immediate improvement is coming.

Wisconsin

It’s not that long ago that Wisconsin was a perennial fringe Big Ten contender.

The Badgers, like UCLA, have fallen on hard times of late. After making 22 straight bowl games from 2002-23, Wisconsin has finished the last two seasons below .500.

While Luke Fickell was seen as an ace hire from Cincinnati ahead of the 2023 season, something hasn’t clicked yet as expected. Instead of firing him this offseason, the Badgers announced they would be giving the football program more money to improve its roster.

We’ve seen a similar move pay off for other schools. We’ll see if it does in Madison.

Boise State

Boise State is finally getting what it’s been after for decades in 2026.

It is joining a conference which could increase its legitimacy. Given, the new-look Pac-12 the Broncos are joining isn’t the Pac-12 of two years prior given the vast and recent conference realignment.

But still, it’s an upgrade in conference branding and a conference the Broncos could have immediate success with as a competitor.

They’re less than two years removed from a CFP berth and followed with nine wins last season despite significant roster overhaul.