College football 2026 roundtable: Who will win the national title? What will be the game of the year? - ESPN

Week 1 is just days away, and our writers are here to make their predictions about the teams, players and coaches who will stand out this season. Yes, they'll be picking national title and Heisman winners, but they'll also give their picks for game of the year (not everybody chose LSU-Ole Miss) and sleeper teams outside of the current AP Top 25.

Here's the 2026 college football preseason roundtable.

Andrea Adelson: Notre Dame. This team has veterans across the board and is motivated after the CFP snub last year.

Kyle Bonagura: Ohio State. The Buckeyes have a brutal schedule, but I think they'll silence the annual Texas offseason hype Sept. 12 and never look back.

Bill Connelly: Notre Dame. They have the perfect combination of talent, opportunity (read: navigable schedule) and a boulder-sized chip on their proverbial shoulder.

Heather Dinich: Texas. Nobody in the country has a more complete team in terms of roster and staff, and when your quarterback isn't the best player on the team — and he's still a Heisman contender — you should be playing for it all.

David Hale: Notre Dame. CJ Carr flashed signs of greatness last year. This is the season he puts it all together and becomes one of the best players in the sport. The Irish also have perhaps their best receiving corps of the Marcus Freeman era, a defense capable of going toe-to-toe with anyone and a big, bruising O-line. Yes, they need to replace a pair of elite running backs, but if there's one thing I'm not worried about, it's Notre Dame finding good runners.

Eli Lederman: Notre Dame. Quarterback CJ Carr makes another jump, elite line play powers the Irish through a (relatively) manageable schedule and All-America cornerback Leonard Moore — perhaps the most dominant