CBS Sports, Brandon Marcello's Post Spring Top 25

Posting maestro, NJ Duck, previously posted CBS Sports, Brandon Marcello's 2026 Top 25 post-Spring College Football (CFB) Poll Rankings.

Thank you, NJ.

I re-post the article to open things up for comment.

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/college-football-rankings-2026-top-25-post-spring/

My comments on Marcello's ranking follow. More importantly, what are your thoughts on this ranking from a Big Ten broadcast partner site?

I'm using the Massey 2026 College Football Rankings as a comparison to Marcello's rankings and for a team's strength-of-schedule (SOS) ranking for all 138 FBS teams.

Massey's ratings are one of the more respected and detailed computer rankings available to the public, with none of the arguably biased rankings associated with broadcast entities' rankings, such as ESPN's FPI and SP +.

https://masseyratings.com/cf/fbs/ratings

Massey ranks Oregon No. 4, one spot below Marcello. Ohio State is No. 1 per Massey, Marcello's No. 1 Texas is ranked 9th by Massey.

Marcello ranks 10 SEC teams and eight Big Ten teams in his top 25. The comparison between Marcello's and Massey's rankings of nine SEC teams and eight Big Ten teams, with my comments, for what little they may be worth, includes the Massey SOS rankings:

CBS - No. 1 Texas, 4 Georgia, 8 Texas A&M, 9 LSU, 10 Oklahoma, 13 Ole Miss, 14 Alabama, 16 Tennessee, 20 Missouri, 23 Florida

Massey - No. 5 Georgia - SOS 26/ 6 Ole Miss - 18/ 7 Alabama - 24/ 9

Texas - 1/ 17/, Oklahoma - 5/ 18, Texas A&M - 19/ No. 19 Tennessee - 23/ 21, Missouri - 20/ 23, LSU - 13/ 34 - Florida - 8

Both rankings are understandably bullish on the SEC. But Massey has Texas, Texas A&M, LSU, Oklahoma, and Florida ranked significantly lower than CBS, with Ole Miss and Alabama ranked significantly higher.

CBS - Is this another No. 1 Texas rope-a-dope? Especially with the Longhorns having the most difficult, per Massey, 2026 schedule.

I agree with Massey that No. 8 A&M, with 10 players drafted by the NFL, and with a more difficult conference schedule than last season, is overranked by CBS.

Both No. 10 Oklahoma and No. 9 LSU have more difficult schedules than last season. LSU QB Sam Leavitt and John Mateer were both injured last season. Will Leavitt be an improvement over QB Garrett Nussmeier?

Even when healthy, the Sooners' offense under Mateer was not that productive. And will Lane Kiffin be able to assemble the new parts into a greater whole?

Florida ranked by Marcello at No. 23? With the No. 8 SOS and a new coach from the G6 replacing a coach who was hired from the G5?

Georgia Tech transfer QB, Aaron Philo, and a new OC, Buster Faulkner, who is also joining the Gators from Georgia Tech, are going to morph Florida into a top 25 team? Hmmmm.

I believe Massey's No. 22 Louisville with the 55th SOS should have been ranked by CBS.

Both Massey and Marcello have Texas Tech, post QB Sorsby's gaming issues, ranked 11th.

Even with questions at QB, with the nation's 69th SOS and a decided B12 roster advantage, I think Texas Tech will finish 11-1 at the worst and with a good chance of going 12-0.

Massey has Alabama, a team that could not run the ball last season, and is breaking in a new starting QB, ranked 7th. I think DeBoer's seven-year contract extension was premature.

Ole Miss at Massey No. 6?

Pete Golding led Ole Miss to a home win over G6 Tulane last season and defeated a Georgia team coming off a lengthy 1st round bye.

In the two years of a 12-team playoff, the eight teams coming off a 1st round bye are 1-7; the only win was authored by Indiana coach Curt Cignetti, on the way to a 16-0 season.

Superstar QB Trinidad Chambliss, courtesy of some judicial home cooking, is back, but does Golding have the chops to succeed in the SEC?

SEC sleeper? South Carolina. But USC(e), with an SOS ranked 17th, has a hard row to hoe.

Tomorrow, a look at the Big Ten rankings.