The first SP+ rankings of the 2026 football season are here!
The first SP+ rankings of the season have been posted by ESPN’s Bill Connelly.
MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA - JANUARY 19: Head coach Mario Cristobal of the Miami Hurricanes looks on prior to a game against the Indiana Hoosiers in the 2026 College Football Playoff National Championship at Hard Rock Stadium on January 19, 2026 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images) | Getty Images The first set of SP+ rankings for the 2026 college football season are here. ESPN’s Bill Connelly has created an algorithm that ranks teams without putting emotion into the rankings.
There are no bonus points for helmets, hedges, or past Heisman heroes in the SP+. Much like Wins Above Replacement ( WAR ) in baseball and Win-Shares in basketball, the SP+ attempts to measure efficiency and ability while removing garbage time from the equation. Indiana finished the 2025 season no.
1 in SP+ while finishing ranked 2nd in FBS on offense and defense. As Connelly said: “As a reminder, SP+ is a tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency. It is a predictive measure of the most sustainable and predictable aspects of football, not a résumé ranking.
” Connelly bases the SP+ on four factors: 1- returning production, 2- recent history , 3- recent recruiting (including transfers of course), and 4- coaching change effects (Eric Morris leaving North Texas should see them drop, while his arrival atOklahoma State should see the Cowboys improve). The transfer portal has swung a few of these metrics in other directions I’m assuming but these base four factors are what creates the SP+. So where do the Miami Hurricanes and their schedule fit in the SP+ preseason mold?