Yahoo Sports’ preseason College Football Top 25 leaves LSU, Michigan and USC just outside its top 12

Yahoo Sports kicked off its preseason College Football Top 25 countdown with another step on the calendar, publishing teams ranked 13 through 25 and teeing up an Aug. 29 reveal of the top 12. In that setup, the outlet’s preview specifically flags LSU, Michigan, and USC as programs that “just miss out” on its top 12, meaning they are considered close contenders to the very top but not in the first tier for this projection.

The timing matters because the College Football season effectively begins in the first wave of early games sometimes called Week Zero. With less than four weeks to go, preseason rankings are primarily a framework for expectations: not a forecast of results, but an early read on how teams stack up entering the year.

The headline implication for the teams named in the preview is reputational as much as it is numerical. Being just outside a preseason top 12 suggests an expectation that they can contend for major goals, but also that there are multiple programs viewed as having a stronger overall profile for 2026. It also sets a spotlight on what those teams will need to prove quickly once games start.

From a matchup-planning perspective, a top-12 ranking (or lack of one) tends to influence public conversation about strength of schedule, style of play, and where a team fits into the national title picture. While preseason lists do not directly determine playoff positioning, they shape how fans and media frame early-season performance, especially for teams with national-brand schedules and high expectations.

The preview language also underscores the nature of these lists. Yahoo Sports is describing a countdown format, rather than a single authoritative metric. Without additional context from the outlet on its evaluation process, the safest takeaway is that LSU, Michigan, and USC are viewed as credible contenders, yet not the clear frontrunners that make up the top dozen in its view.

For fans of college football, what to watch next is the Aug. 29 publication of the top 12, which will clarify which programs the outlet considers the closest to “best in the country” entering Week Zero. It will also reveal how the list treats teams that might be volatile because of coaching continuity, roster turnover, or the difficulty of replacing key production.

If the teams in question are indeed positioned just below the top tier, early-season games will likely become a measuring stick for whether they can climb into the conversation quickly. Conversely, if they struggle early, that could validate the outlet’s current placement and widen the gap between the preseason top group and the rest of the field.