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Who faces more pressure than LSU coach Lane Kiffin in 2026?
Last season, Kiffin left Ole Miss for LSU before the College Football Playoff. Now he takes a job at a place where three of the last four coaches – Nick Saban, Les Miles and Ed Orgeron – won national championships. LSU has the eighth-most wins among FBS schools since 2000.
Kiffin's reputation as the "Portal King" will be tested – and the Sept. 19 matchup against Ole Miss is an early defining moment. He can't lose that one, but the schedule also includes home games against Clemson and Texas A&M in September, and a three-week stretch against Alabama, Texas, and Tennessee in November.
Kiffin will face that for the entirety of his tenure at LSU – but he's not the only coach, quarterback or even conference who will be subject to the weight of expectations heading into the 2026 season. Here is a look at the Sporting News pressure index:
MORE: Order SN's 2026 College Football Preview magazine
Coaches
1. Lincoln Riley, USC
In 2021, Riley left Oklahoma for USC and Brian Kelly left Notre Dame for LSU. Kelly had a 34-14 record – a .708 winning percentage – when he was fired and is in the studio now with CBS Sports. Riley is 35-18 – a .660 winning percentage – and the Trojans are 16-10 with an 11-7 conference record since joining the Big Ten. Is new defensive coordinator Gary Patterson the answer? It feels like a playoff-or-bust year in Troy.
2. Dabo Swinney, Clemson
It's a show-me year for Clemson with new offensive coordinator Chad Morris – who was the offensive coordinator for the Tigers from 2011-14. Clemson is 26-14 the last three seasons – the same record as defending ACC champion Duke. Swinney's press conferences still get a lot of run – but the question remains whether the program can truly get back to national title contender status.
3. Kalen DeBoer, Alabama
This is life for Nick Saban's successor heading into Year 3. Alabama won a game in the CFP last season and won 10 games – but the last memory is the 38-3 blowout against Indiana in the Rose Bowl. It's about identity, and Alabama ranked 125th in rushing offense in 2025. The Crimson Tide brought in offensive line coach Adrian Klemm from USC to address that issue.
MORE: Ranking the 138 FBS coaches ahead of the 2026 season
Hot-seat coaches
1. Bill Belichick, North Carolina
General manager Michael Lombardi is on administrative leave. Defensive coordinator Steve Belichick is on medical leave. All this comes after a disastrous 4-8 season in which the Tar Heels ranked 120th in the FBS with 19.2 points per game. Will the six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach turn around what looks like a failed experiment? Week 0 was a good start, but a daunting schedule awaits.
2. Mike Norvell, Florida State
Florida State is 7-18 since the infamous playoff snub at the end of the 2023 college football season. Norvell has a considerable buyout – but is that enough to protect the coach for one more year? The Seminoles have had losing seasons six of the last eight years – and they face the top four teams in the ACC preseason poll in Miami, SMU, Louisville and Clemson; not to mention non-conference matchups with Alabama and Florida.
3. Dave Aranda, Baylor
Wisconsin's Luke Fickell could go here, but there might be even more pressure for Aranda, who coaches in a state that has five schools in the AP Preseason Top 25. The 2022 Sugar Bowl victory against Ole Miss is a distant memory – and the Bears are 15-21 in Big 12 play since. Will Florida transfer quarterback DJ Lagway be the answer?
Quarterbacks
1. Bryce Underwood, QB, Michigan
The five-star quarterback stirred up controversy when he said Ohio State, "was just another game," in an interview with NBC Sports. The sophomore quarterback had 2,428 passing yards, 11 TDs and nine interceptions in his first season as a full-time starter – but the talent is there for a breakout season with new offensive coordinator Jason Beck.
2. Arch Manning, QB, Texas
It comes with the territory of the last name, but how will Manning handle Year 2 as a starter – when the national championship, Heisman Trophy and NFL Draft expectations have not changed? Manning is the one FBS quarterback where every throw is over-analyzed, and he will have to improve on a 133.2 passer rating against ranked teams. The Ohio State rematch on Sept. 12 is the next main event.
MORE: Sporting News 2026 Preseason All-America team | SN's All-Decade All-America teams
3. Will Hammond, QB, Texas Tech
Hammond will be the Red Raiders' starting quarterback when he is cleared from a torn ACL – and the pressure isn't limited to starting for the Big 12 champions. The Brendan Sorsby case dominated the news cycle in June. How long will that linger into the season? The Friday night matchup against Houston on Sept. 18 will be Hammond's national close-up.
Transfer QBs
1. Josh Hoover, QB, Indiana
Fernando Mendoza is an impossible act to follow, but Hoover will be held to the same high standards for the defending national champions. Mendoza and Kurtis Rourke – Indiana's starting quarterback in 2024 – totaled 70 TDs and 11 interceptions the last two seasons. Hoover had 56 TDs and 24 interceptions with TCU in the same stretch. Will Hoover experience the same production increase with Curt Cignetti and offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan?
2. Darian Mensah, QB, Miami
Mensah's last-minute transfer from Duke, where he passed for 34 TDs and six interceptions and led an ACC championship run, had a lot to do with a reported $8 million NIL deal. Mensah has proven he can play at Tulane and Duke – but the pressure that comes with a deal like that will carry over at Miami – which still hasn't won an ACC championship.
3. Sam Leavitt, LSU
Leavitt is the key to Kiffin's first season. Will he bounce back from season-ending foot surgery? How does the Arizona State transfer make the adjustment to life in the SEC? Five of the top six receivers on the depth chart also arrived in the transfer portal. We like the pairing with offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr.
MORE: The seven most compelling transfer QBs for 2026
Conferences
1. SEC
The SEC hasn't played for a national championship each of the last three seasons. The conference is 3-6 in CFP games in the 12-team era not counting head-to-head matchups between Oklahoma-Alabama and Georgia-Ole Miss. The Big Ten is 8-3, not counting head-to-head matchups between Ohio State-Oregon and Indiana-Oregon. For all the talk about non-conference scheduling and strength-of-schedule metrics – those are the games that resonate most.
MORE: Comparing the 2026 preseason AP, coaches polls
2. ACC
Miami made a CFP championship appearance – which was part of a fantastic 2025-26 bowl season. Yet the constant realignment speculation continues with the conference being a target. The Nov. 7 matchup between the Hurricanes and Notre Dame is the best game this season involving a team from the ACC. The Notre Dame relationship will generate more questions if the Irish win a national title this season.
3. Pac-12
Can you name all eight teams in the Pac-12? It's a much different look than the original with the exception of Washington State and Oregon State – and the addition of Boise State gives the conference a school that made the 12-team College Football Playoff in 2024. The Broncos play at Oregon – a former Pac-12 juggernaut – in the opener. It's good to have those late-night games back.
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