An OutKick article previews the 2026 college football season by identifying three teams currently ranked outside the top 12 of the USA Today Coaches Poll that the author predicts will nonetheless qualify for the College Football Playoff. The piece frames this as a notable preseason call, since the release of the Coaches Poll each year is treated as a key marker that the season is approaching, and rankings snapshots taken before a ball is kicked are often proven wrong by the time playoff spots are decided.

The available text confirms the preseason Coaches Poll was released earlier in the week and had generated debate among fans, and references separate commentary from Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt naming LSU, under new head coach Lane Kiffin, as a team he expects to improve significantly this season. However, the specific three teams the headline promises were not included in the supplied article text, so they cannot be confirmed here.