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College football teams, ranked by academics: Who’s No. 1?
Austin CurtrightUSA TODAY NETWORK
July 15, 2026, 3:09 p.m. ET
Most fans tapped into the college football landscape know which programs are the best athletically. But what about the schools that are both impressive on and off the field?
The Best National Universities Rankings by U.S. News & World Report has been released for 2026, and there are a few college football powers higher ranked on the list than most may realize. The Big Ten and the SEC are both well-represented, with multiple schools inside the top 200 rankings
It’s no surprise, though, that the Big Ten’s premier universities were a step above the rest of the competition, with 11 universities among the top 50 in the country (including ties). The ACC, meanwhile, was the only conference with two top-10 universities (courtesy of Duke and Pac-12 castaway Stanford), while the SEC, led by Vanderbilt, had four top-50 universities. The Big 12 had no top-50 universities, per the release
Stanford, Northwestern and Duke are the highest-ranked schools in Power Four. Here’s a look at where some of college football’s most storied universities rank academically:
College programs ranked by academics in Power Four, independents
Big Ten
- Northwestern: No. 7
- UCLA: No. 17
- Michigan: No. 20
- Southern California: No. 28
- Illinois: No. 36 (tie)
- Wisconsin: No. 36 (tie)
- Ohio State: No. 41
- Rutgers: No. 42 (tied)
- Maryland: No. 42 (tie)
- Washington: No. 42 (tie)
- Purdue: No. 46 (tie)
- Penn State: No. 59 (tie)
- Minnesota: No. 59 (tie)
- Michigan State: No. 64 (tie)
- Indiana: No. 73 (tie)
- Iowa: No. 102 (tie)
- Oregon: No. 110 (tie)
- Nebraska: No. 158 (tie)
- Vanderbilt: No. 17
- Florida: No. 30 (tie)
- Texas: No. 30 (tie)
- Georgia: No. 46 (tie)
- Texas A&M: No. 51 (tie)
- Auburn: No. 102 (tie)
- Missouri: No. 102 (tie)
- Tennessee: No. 102 (tie)
- Oklahoma: No. 110 (tie)
- South Carolina: No. 127 (tie)
- Kentucky: No. 143 (tie)
- LSU: No. 169 (tie)
- Alabama: No. 169 (tie)
- Mississippi: No. 169 (tie)
- Arkansas: No. 183 (tie)
- Mississippi State: No. 208 (tie)
ACC
- Stanford: No. 4
- Duke: No. 7
- California: No. 15 (tie)
- North Carolina: No. 26 (tie)
- Virginia: No. 26 (tie)
- Georgia Tech: No. 32
- Boston College: No. 36 (tie)
- Florida State: No. 51 (tie)
- Virginia Tech: No. 51 (tie)
- Wake Forest: No. 51 (tie)
- NC State: No. 64 (tie)
- Miami: No. 64 (tie)
- Pittsburgh: No. 69 (tie)
- Clemson: No. 75 (tie)
- Syracuse: No. 75 (tie)
- SMU: No. 88 (tie)
- Louisville: No. 158 (tie)
Big 12
- Baylor: No. 88 (tie)
- Texas Christian: No. 97 (tie)
- Colorado: No. 97 (tie)
- BYU: No. 110 (tie)
- Arizona State: No. 117 (tie)
- Iowa State: No. 117 (tie)
- Central Florida: No. 117 (tie)
- Arizona: No. 127 (tie)
- Houston: No. 132 (tie)
- Kansas: No. 143 (tie)
- Utah: No. 151 (tie)
- Kansas State: No. 158 (tie)
- Cincinnati: No. 158 (tie)
- Oklahoma State: No. 198 (tie)
- Texas Tech: No. 198 (tie)
- West Virginia: No. 222 (tie)
Independents
- Notre Dame: No. 20
- Connecticut: No. 69 (tie)
