It’s hard to believe, but conference media days have already begun ahead of Week 0 in late August. That means college football is just around the corner — a time of year filled with excitement, renewed hope, and heightened expectations.
With that in mind, here are three teams that underachieved in 2025 but appear primed to climb the rankings during the 2026 college football season.
Baylor Bears | Big 12
As head coach Dave Aranda enters his seventh season in Waco, questions surrounding the Baylor Bears’ stability and consistency continue to linger.
During Aranda’s first six seasons, Baylor has endured four losing campaigns, including last year’s disappointing 5-7 finish. However, he also guided the Bears to one of the greatest seasons in program history in 2021, when Baylor finished 12-2 and captured just its third Big 12 Championship.
Still, Aranda’s overall record of 36-37 simply isn’t good enough, especially after benefiting from Texas and Oklahoma leaving the conference for the SEC prior to the 2024 season.
As a result, the seat is already warming beneath Aranda.
Fortunately for Baylor fans, Aranda understands the magnitude of this season. He and his staff landed one of the biggest transfer additions in the country by securing former five-star quarterback DJ Lagway. The Willis, Texas, native returns home after two rollercoaster seasons at Florida.
At 6-foot-3 and 247 pounds, Lagway is a physical specimen under center. Between a fresh start in Waco and a noticeable drop in week-to-week competition after leaving the SEC for the Big 12, expect the former Gator to lead Baylor back into the AP Top 25 while helping cool Aranda’s hot seat.
Who knows? The Bears may even find themselves competing for the Big 12 Championship once again come early December.
Clemson Tigers | ACC
Moving to the ACC, the Clemson Tigers are coming off their worst season since 2010.
Ranked No. 4 in the preseason AP Poll, Clemson shockingly stumbled to six losses in 2025.
Despite the disappointing campaign, the Tigers still produced one of the nation’s top NFL Draft classes. Clemson had nine players selected in the 2026 NFL Draft, tied for the third-most of any program.
As the 2026 season approaches, head coach Dabo Swinney once again has a roster loaded with elite talent, which raises an obvious question: has Dabo lost his edge when it comes to maximizing that talent on Saturdays?
Recent results certainly suggest that possibility.
Over the past three seasons, Clemson has lost 16 games — the same number of losses the Tigers accumulated during the previous nine seasons combined. More importantly, Swinney continues to recruit at an elite level, consistently landing blue-chip prospects.
On paper, Clemson appears favored in nine of its 12 regular-season games. The biggest obstacles are road trips to LSU and home contests against Miami and South Carolina.
With that in mind, I expect Swinney to rally this team behind one of the nation’s most explosive receiving corps, led by future NFL talents Bryant Wesco Jr., T.J. Moore, and Naeem Burroughs. A talented running back trio of Gideon Davidson, Chris Johnson Jr., and Jay Haynes should provide balance while easing the burden on likely first-year starting quarterback Christopher Vizzina.
Defensively, former five-star linebackers Sammy Brown and Jeremiah Alexander, along with defensive tackle Amare Adams, should anchor a unit that finished No. 33 nationally in scoring defense and No. 55 in total defense last season, according to TeamRankings.com.
Expect Death Valley to once again become one of the nation’s toughest road environments as Clemson climbs back into the national spotlight and the AP Top 25.
South Carolina Gamecocks | SEC
Staying in the Palmetto State, the South Carolina Gamecocks round out my list of 2025 underachievers poised to rise in 2026.
Led by Shane Beamer — the son of Virginia Tech legend and College Football Hall of Fame coach Frank Beamer — the Gamecocks desperately needed a reset after last season. Following a No. 19 finish in the final 2024 AP Poll, South Carolina stumbled to an ugly 4-8 record in 2025.
The good news?
Beamer successfully retained the core of his roster, including quarterback LaNorris Sellers, wide receiver Nick Harbor, defensive end Dylan Stewart, and defensive tackle Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy. Aside from Sellers, each was a former five-star recruit, according to 247Sports.
Beamer also strengthened the trenches by landing the nation’s top interior offensive lineman in the 2026 recruiting class. Five-star Darius Gray, the No. 15 overall prospect according to 247Sports, chose South Carolina over several powerhouse programs.
Gray’s arrival could prove transformative.
Standing 6-foot-3 and 302 pounds, he should make an immediate impact on a retooled offensive line that struggled throughout 2025 and prevented Sellers from fully showcasing his immense potential.
For those reasons — and despite a brutal schedule featuring games at Alabama, at Florida, home against Tennessee, at Oklahoma, home against Texas A&M, home against Georgia, and at Clemson — I believe this version of Beamer Ball is ready to bounce back.
Mark it down: South Carolina will finish the 2026 season ranked in the AP Top 25.
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