Which games on the 2026 college football schedule could match No. 1 vs. No. 2?

A viewer named Garrett asked a fantastic question this week:

Do you think we will have a No. 1 versus No. 2 matchup this season? Love to hear your ideas and what games could potentially be 1v2.

It hasn’t been that long since No. 1 played No. 2 outside the College Football Playoff. Last year’s Indiana–Ohio State Big Ten title game matched the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the Associated Press poll. But it’s been a little longer since two such teams met in the regular season.

In 2022, No. 1 Georgia beat Tennessee, which entered the game tied with Ohio State for No. 2*. In 2019**, No. 1 LSU beat No. 2 Alabama in Tuscaloosa. The eventual national champ won both of those games.

*The College Football Playoff selection committee rankings, which debuted before this game, had Tennessee ranked No. 1 and Georgia ranked No. 3.

**This game was No. 2 (LSU) vs. No. 3 (Alabama) in the CFP rankings.

The next-most-recent No. 1 vs. No. 2 predates the CFP rankings, but also involved LSU playing Alabama in Tuscaloosa. That came in 2011, when the Tigers beat the Crimson Tide 9-6 in overtime. Alabama would win the rematch in the national title game.

This doesn’t happen often, but given the way the games this season are clustered in the Big Ten and the SEC, it feels like there are an unusually high number of candidates in 2026.

Will we get a No. 1 vs. No. 2 game this season? Let’s examine the schedule week-by-week to determine the top candidates.

Week 1

None. The teams are already ranked.

Week 2

Ohio State at Texas
Preseason ranks: Ohio State — No. 1, Texas — No. 5

This is highly unlikely, even though one of the teams (Ohio State) is ranked No. 1. Texas would need to jump three spots in the polls after week one. That doesn’t necessarily require the teams ranked above the Longhorns (Oregon, Georgia, Notre Dame) to lose, but it probably would. Oregon opens with Boise State and Notre Dame opens with Wisconsin at Lambeau Field, so it’s theoretically possible. Tennessee State beating Georgia, however, would be the biggest upset in college football history.

Maybe it’s possible if Texas looked great in its opener against Texas State — which returns an excellent quarterback in Brad Jackson — and the Ducks, Bulldogs and Fighting Irish all looked sloppy in wins. But most voters aren’t that willing to punish or reward without actual losses.

Week 3

LSU at Ole Miss
Preseason ranks: LSU — No. 11, Ole Miss — No. 9

This will be No. 1 versus No. 2 in terms of offseason drama, but there is virtually no chance enough happens in the first two weeks of the season to move these two teams to the top of the poll.

Week 4

Oregon at USC
Preseason ranks: Oregon — No. 2, USC — No. 14

If Texas beats Ohio State but the Ducks look great the first few weeks, it’s possible Oregon enters this game at No. 1 (provided the Texas win isn’t so impressive that the Longhorns don’t simply jump to No. 1). The tricky part is getting USC up to No. 2. The Trojans should be undefeated going into this game, but they play San Jose State, Fresno State, Louisiana-Lafayette and Rutgers before Oregon. None of those wins would give the Trojans enough juice — especially considering there would be other undefeated teams with better wins at that point.

Oklahoma at Georgia
Preseason ranks: Oklahoma — No. 8, Georgia — No. 3

If Oklahoma goes to Ann Arbor and crushes Michigan in week two, that could generate a big ranking jump. Voters tend to be willing to let their ballots fluctuate pretty wildly early. But getting both to the top of the poll probably requires the winner of Ohio State-Texas to lose. That would mean Ohio State lost to Ball State or Kent State or Texas lost to Texas State or UTSA.

Texas at Tennessee
Preseason ranks: Texas — No. 5, Tennessee — No. 20

The Longhorns can get there with a convincing win against Ohio State. Tennessee faces Georgia Tech in week two, but that’s probably not enough to inspire that big of a jump.

Week 5

Ohio State at Iowa
Preseason ranks: Ohio State — No. 1, Iowa — No. 22

The Buckeyes already sit at No. 1, so if they can beat Texas they probably do get to this game in the top spot. Iowa would need a few things to happen. Obviously, the Hawkeyes would need to be undefeated. But they’d probably also need Michigan to beat Oklahoma in week two to make a theoretical Iowa win at Michigan in week four strong enough to vault the Hawkeyes to No. 2.

Week 6

Georgia at Alabama
Preseason ranks: Georgia — No. 3, Alabama — No. 13

The winner of Ohio State-Texas probably needs to lose to open up No. 1, but the Buckeyes will have played Illinois and Iowa and Texas will have played Tennessee. So it’s possible. An undefeated Alabama would have beaten Kentucky, Florida State, South Carolina and Mississippi State to get here. Georgia would have wins against Oklahoma and Vanderbilt.

Oklahoma vs. Texas
Preseason ranks: Oklahoma — No. 8, Texas — No. 5

We reach our first truly plausible No. 1 vs. No. 2 game, and it would come in the Cotton Bowl. The Red River Shootout has had two No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchups (1963 and 1984), so this would be a historic clash. If both teams are undefeated going into the game, there is a great chance they’d be ranked No. 1 and No. 2. Texas would have beaten Ohio State at home and Tennessee on the road. Oklahoma would have road wins against Michigan and Georgia.

Week 7

Ohio State at Indiana
Preseason ranks: Ohio State — No. 1, Indiana — No. 6

If the Sooners and Longhorns don’t give us No. 1 vs. No. 2 a week earlier — which would require a Texas win against Ohio State — then a Buckeyes win in week two could set up a No. 1 vs. No. 2 rematch of last year’s Big Ten title game on Oct. 17 in Bloomington. Indiana would need to obliterate its first six opponents (certainly possible) and would need some help clearing the way. But the good news is Georgia could get knocked off by Oklahoma or Alabama. Notre Dame might not be viewed as having a strong enough schedule at that point. Texas would have lost to Ohio State. The Hoosiers probably would still need USC to beat Oregon and then lose to either Washington or Penn State.

Week 8

Ole Miss at Texas
Preseason ranks: Ole Miss — No. 9, Texas — No. 5

Texas A&M at Alabama
Preseason ranks: Texas A&M — No. 8, Alabama — No. 13

We’re at the point of the season where if any of these teams are undefeated, there’s a great chance they’re ranked No. 1 or No. 2 because they’ll have stacked a decent number of quality wins. Of course, that also means it’s more likely that everyone has taken a loss or two at this point.

Week 9

Ohio State at USC
Preseason ranks: Ohio State — No. 1, USC — No. 14

If these two teams meet with zero losses between them, this likely will be No. 1 versus No. 2. It also would deliver smashing ratings and delay trick-or-treating in neighborhoods across the West Coast.

Week 10

Oregon at Ohio State
Preseason ranks: Oregon — No. 2, Ohio State — No. 1

This is literally the current No. 2 team visiting the current No. 1 team. That probably means there is no chance these teams remain in these spots (or the reverse) come Nov. 7. But if you haven’t already picked up on this by now, the Big Ten is going to be an absolute bloodbath this season.

Miami at Notre Dame
Preseason ranks: Miami — No. 7, Notre Dame — No. 4

If we’re relying on voters to be lazy enough to just keep moving up undefeated teams without regard for schedule difficulty — they do this quite frequently — then there is a solid chance this one matches undefeated teams. The first CFP ranking comes out Nov. 3 (five days before this game), but the AP poll will be set the previous Sunday. So the annual adjustment won’t come until the day after this game.

Georgia at Ole Miss
Preseason ranks: Georgia — No. 3, Ole Miss — No. 9

These two played two nail-biters last season — one in Athens and one in the Sugar Bowl in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals. It seems unlikely that both would reach this point unblemished, and as noted above, there still is likely a Big Ten team or two at the top.

Week 11

Texas at LSU
Preseason ranks: Texas — No. 5, LSU — No. 11

By this point in the season, it’s possible everyone at the top has a loss. Just look at some of the opponents the top teams have had to face so far. The AP poll will also have adjusted to the CFP rankings this week. The only way this matchup winds up No. 1 versus No. 2 is if LSU outperforms expectations. Texas might be at the top even with a loss (provided one of its wins is Ohio State). With games against Clemson, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Auburn and Alabama before this matchup, the Tigers probably would be in the top two if they’re undefeated and might have a chance with a loss depending on how much the Big Ten teams are beating up on one another.

USC at Indiana
Preseason ranks: USC — No. 14, Indiana — No. 6

USC is so interesting because the Trojans could be in free fall at this point or knocking on the door of the CFP. If Indiana beat Ohio State and Michigan in the two weeks before the open date that precedes this game, the Hoosiers probably would be No. 1 or No. 2.

Week 12

None. The SEC is almost done with the FCS games in this slot, but the week before rivalry rank doesn’t look sexy at this point. That could change, or we could get some crazy drop-out-of-the-sky upsets in games that look easy for the favored team.

Week 13

Texas at Texas A&M
Preseason ranks: Texas — No. 5, Texas A&M — No. 8

If these two teams are undefeated or each 10-1 (Texas A&M’s record before last year’s game), then it’s possible they’re No. 1 and No. 2. If they are, it’s almost a certainty that they’ll meet the following week in Atlanta again.

Michigan at Ohio State
Preseason ranks: Michigan — No. 16, Ohio State — No. 1

I feel like I could copy and paste what I wrote about Texas-Texas A&M here. It’s a bitter rivalry that would be incredible as a No. 1-versus-No. 2 matchup. But if it happens that way, the game is getting replayed a week later in Indianapolis.