Week 2 reshapes the early 2026 College Football Playoff race

Texas's 24-23 comeback over Ohio State gives the Longhorns the strongest early résumé, while predictive models can still favor Ohio State. Week 3 tests including LSU-Ole Miss, Florida State-Alabama, SMU-Louisville, and Houston-Texas Tech could materially reorder an unsettled field involving Miami, Georgia, Notre Dame, Indiana, BYU, Michigan, Oklahoma State, and Boise State; LSU-Ole Miss is the first top-10 meeting between the programs since 1962.