The 2026 college football Preseason Coaches Poll was just published on USA Today, and there are some interesting placements. Most of the top half makes sense — the top heavyweights from the Big Ten and SEC occupy most of the top 10 spots.However, there are seven teams which ended 2025 in the AP rankings and are absent from this coaches poll — Vanderbilt, TCU, Tulane, James Madison, North Texas, Navy and one massive surprise. Here is the poll:BREAKING: College Football Preseason Coaches Poll👀https://t.co/gnEe967fmH pic.twitter.com/W2xBYGZWYe— On3 (@On3) August 4, 2026Virginia is unranked in this coaches pollThe Cavaliers are the only Power Four team to win 11-plus games in 2025 and be unranked in this coaches poll.After finishing 2025 as the No. 16 team in the country, the Cavaliers are left without a prefix before their name in these rankings. Virginia is spotted all the way down at No. 32 (40 votes), behind the likes of Louisville (153), Florida (147), TCU (63), Illinois (62), South Carolina (50) and Arizona (50).Missouri, the team the Cavaliers beat in their bowl game, is ranked at No. 25. Tennessee is ranked No. 18 even though it finished 32nd in the final 2025 AP Poll. Clemson is ranked No. 23 even though it went 7-6 and finished .500 in ACC play.South Carolina finished 2025 with a mediocre 4-8 record — yet it is ranked ahead of a Virginia team that boasts the most experience in the country and some continuity from its historic campaign last year.What about the rest of the ACC?In order, here is how the coaches ranked the ACC. Several teams did not receive any votes, but 12 teams did — and the conference rankings come with some surprises. Miami (No. 7)SMU (No. 20)Clemson (No. 23)LouisvilleVirginiaGeorgia TechNC StateFlorida StateVirginia TechDukePittsburghCaliforniaMost notably, California and Pitt are likely way too low, while Florida State and Duke are probably too high. It is also important to note that none of these rankings carry any tangible value other than as a reflection of what coaches are thinking about the college football landscape.What’s next?The AP Preseason Poll has not been released yet. Perhaps that poll will feature a higher ranking for a Cavaliers team that is contending for a spot in the ACC Championship game. But even if pollsters underestimate Virginia as well, the Cavaliers will have an opportunity to change some minds by beginning 2026 on a winning streak.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow