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Closing in on the College Football Playoff quarterfinals and rest of bowl season, it's almost time to ring in the new year. Resolutions are personal promises for notable change, whether that's eating healthier, saving money or professional development in other areas.

Across college football, New Year's resolutions for 2026 primarily involve roster enhancements, coaching hires or solving areas of struggle -- all potentially leading to playoff appearances next December.

With this year's final CFP rankings as a guide, here's what every top 25 team must address over the next few months to ensure 2026 is a success.

1. Indiana

New Year's resolution: Pick the right transfer QB for third straight offseason 

Curt Cignetti struck gold the last two portal cycles with Kurtis Rourke and Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza, signal callers who led the Hoosiers to a pair of playoff appearances and 24 wins -- and counting. Cignetti voiced his frustration this month with college football's recruiting calendar given his focus on an upcoming quarterfinal appearance against Alabama, but chances are he already has his eyes on his 2026 pick to lead under center.

2. Ohio State

New Year's resolution: Sign an offensive coordinator who keeps the train moving

Ryan Day will call plays for the Buckeyes in the College Football Playoff while Brian Hartline splits his time with Ohio State and South Florida, but his pending pick for next year's leader on offense is paramount to success. Day pulled the right strings in 2024 with Chip Kelly leading to a national championship and Hartline's side of the football was prolific this fall with Julian Sayin and Jeremiah Smith as headliners. Both of those stars are back, making this the most attractive OC opening in the sport. Last offseason, Day didn't replace outgoing defensive coordinator Jim Knowles with Matt Patricia until late February, so there's time.

3. Georgia

New Year's resolution: Pay closer attention to tight end production

At its best, Mike Bobo's offense targets its tight ends and does so with third-down and red-zone precision. Georgia loses Oscar Delp next season, but is expected to bring back Lawson Luckie, Elyiss Williams and Ethan Barbour along with three talented freshmen. Based on what the Bulldogs lose at the wideout spot, tight ends should have an expansive role in next year's offense. We're not saying any of those guys are Brock Bowers, but when Georgia won back-to-back national titles during the 2021 and 2022 seasons, production at the position was tops in the country.

4. Texas Tech

New Year's resolution: Generate a carbon copy of its NIL-driven roster

The Red Raiders are here to stay in college football's revenue share and NIL era as long as Cody Campbell and Joey McGuire come together and hit another lineup's worth of home runs in the transfer market. Player retention is key, along with finding players who are immediately impactful and top-notch talents at their respective positions. It worked out beautifully in 2025 and the resources are there to follow the same blueprint.

5. Oregon

New Year's resolution: Plug coaching staff holes with elite-level hires

One coach who will earn his sizable paycheck in January is Dan Lanning, whose offensive and defensive coordinators are leaving him for head jobs after the playoff and taking a host of analysts and graduate assistants with them. The loss of Will Stein to Kentucky and Tosh Lupoi to California doesn't gut the program, but it does pose a difficult task for Lanning given their substantial impact since the Ducks' entry into the Big Ten.

6. Ole Miss

New Year's resolution: Keep roster in tow while establishing new culture, quickly

This one's easier said than done given the sharks in the water who will be going after several of the Rebels' prized possessions, including quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, who is lobbying for a sixth year of eligibility with the NCAA. This is a strange time for Pete Golding, who must hold 1-on-1 meetings with players at some point over the next week ahead of the portal opening on Jan. 2 to assess how his roster looks for 2026 -- in the middle of playoff quarterfinal prep.

7. Texas A&M

New Year's resolution: Determine a definitive offensive identity 

With four offensive line starters running out of eligibility, wideout KC Concepcion declaring for the NFL Draft and running backs Le'Veon Moss, EJ Smith, Amari Daniels all departing as seniors, Texas A&M has several positions to evaluate offensively this spring. Quarterback Marcel Reed and pass-catcher Mario Craver are signed to return, but the January portal window will be vital toward the Aggies getting back to where they want to be on that side of the football after two stinkers to end the season following their 11-0 start.

8. Oklahoma

New Year's resolution: Upgrade the wideout, running back rooms

Brent Venables has made it clear he wants quarterback John Mateer to return in 2026 despite inconsistent play this fall for the Sooners. If he does, Oklahoma will have its signal caller and system in place for the second straight year, which puts the onus on weapons in the backfield and on the outside. Should Oklahoma retain WR1 Isaiah Setagna III, a former transfer from Arkansas who could be an early-round pick in 2026, that's a great start to next season's plan following the graduation of Deion Burks and Keontez Lewis. Oklahoma's offensive production was wretched down the stretch, much of that coming as a result of no rushing attack and the lack of explosion in the passing game outside of Setagna.

9. Alabama

New Year's resolution: Identify run game failures, fix them

The Crimson Tide have had no luck on the ground under Kalen DeBoer and losing ballcarrier Justice Haynes last offseason to the transfer portal left first-year offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb without a true bell-cow option in 2025. With a banged up Jam Miller for much of the campaign, Alabama finished 15th in the SEC at 109.9 rushing yards per game, its lowest average since 2006 under Mike Shula. If this offense is one-dimensional again next season without a reliable passer like Ty Simpson back there, returning to the playoff will be arduous.

10. Miami

New Year's resolution: Find QB1 in transfer portal

Who's behind door No. 1 for the Hurricanes following the exit of Carson Beck at quarterback? OC Shannon Dawson needs another sharpshooter back there, like he's had the last couple of years with Beck and Cam Ward for Miami to be an ACC title and playoff threat once again. Cincinnati's Brendan Sorsby, former North Texas star Drew Mestemaker or TCU's Josh Hoover would make a ton of sense in terms of a scheme-fit addition. At the very least, a top priority is getting Malachi Toney more touches.

11. Notre Dame

New Year's resolution: Locate reinforcements along offensive line

With Billy Schrauth and Aamil Wagner off to the NFL, the Fighting Irish lose a good bit of veteran leadership in front of quarterback CJ Carr. Offensive line coach Joe Rudolph has returning talent in the room, but a couple spots will be unproven. Evaluate what's needed and address in the portal are the next steps.

12. BYU

New Year's resolution: Continue developing Bear Bachmeier 

There's not many true freshman starters in college football history who can say they won 12 games in their first season, but Bachmeier did following the Cougars' fourth-quarter comeback against Georgia Tech in the Pop-Tarts Bowl. He made a few careless throws and wasn't always precise with decision-making, but those are correctable issues that will improve with experience. It's imperative BYU builds around Bachmeier so he can be one of the nation's best at the position next fall.

13. Texas

New Year's resolution: Accumulate talent around Arch Manning

After seeing a bevy of running backs enter the transfer portal and there being several unknowns on the wideout depth chart behind Ryan Wingo, this is where Steve Sarkisian can be at his best this portal cycle. The Longhorns have money to spend and should be an attractive program for free agent playmakers given Manning's rise down the stretch. Speed on the outside and size up front is needed for Texas.

14. Vanderbilt

New Year's resolution: Keep coaching staff intact and unlock five-star QB Jared Curtis

This was a massive December flip for the Commodores, who persuaded a local baller from Nashville to nix Georgia and stay home. Vandy OC Tim Beck did great things each of the past two seasons with Diego Pavia and Curtis has a higher ceiling as a passer. Getting Sedrick Alexander back as chief ballcarrier along with several top-flight options at wideout will keep the offense humming as long as Curtis is ready and Vanderbilt answers numerous questions in terms of personnel at the line of scrimmage from a protection standpoint.

15. Utah

New Year's resolution: Beware of major changes after coaching switch

Akin to Nick Saban's departure from Alabama following the 2023 season, the changing of the tide at Utah will take some getting used to following Kyle Whittingham's exit to Michigan. Morgan Scalley comes with rave reviews from his former boss and is expected to take the same, physicality-first mindset to the table in the Big 12. He must ensure the Utes don't lose that edge at the line of scrimmage they've had for years under Whittingham.

16. USC

New Year's resolution: Go all-in on roster with playoff-or-bust mentality 

It didn't work out for Brian Kelly and LSU, but USC needs to push all its chips to the center of the table in the coming weeks. The Trojans have announced the retention of several critical starters -- highlighted by quarterback Jayden Maiava -- toward the plan for 2026, a sign of the times in college football. However, All-American wideout Makai Lemon and star ballcarrier Eli Sanders will not be part of that group. Always active in the portal, this is another critical cycle for Lincoln Riley, who is still trying to get to the playoff for the first time with the Trojans. 

17. Arizona

New Year's resolution: Promote Noah Fifita as face of program

If Fifita plays another season with the Wildcats in 2026, he's going to leave the program as its most-decorated passer from a statistical standpoint of all-time. He was terrific in 2025 at Arizona despite offensive coordinator Seth Doege's new scheme and losing program great Tetairoa McMillan to the NFL Draft. If Arizona has any shot at winning the Big 12 next season or getting to the playoff as an at-large selection, Fifita will be its facilitator.

18. Michigan

New Year's resolution: Convince Bryce Underwood to stick around

Kyle Whittingham said Sunday he had a 45-minute conversation with Michigan's five-star freshman quarterback and wants him to be a part of change in Ann Arbor under a new regime. He's the most important piece of Michigan's future offensively since the reported plan is for Whittingham to bring Utah OC Jason Beck with him. The scheme suits a talented player like Underwood and losing him to the transfer portal could make others look in a different direction as well.

19. Virginia

New Year's resolution: Wipe slate clean, set new goals

This is commonplace for every coach nationally, but at Virginia, an unprecedented 11-win season in 2025 and ACC runner-up finish for Tony Elliott showed the Cavaliers can play with the big boys and officially extinguishes the cloak of anonymity. Elliott will need to keep his head on a swivel in January given his program's success, from the possibility of staffers being poached to potential returning starters signing with a different team. These exit meetings -- and subsequent new contracts -- will shape what Virginia looks like in a few months.

20. Tulane

New Year's resolution: Put Will Hall in position to succeed

The Green Wave did what was necessary to compete for a playoff spot in 2025 with Jon Sumrall. They put resources toward roster-building after losing quarterback Darian Mensah to Duke and must do the same for the coaching staff on the way in. Hall was Sumrall's passing game coordinator this season and last called plays for the Green Wave during the 2019-20 campaigns. He knows what it takes to win in Louisiana, but must encourage buy-in elsewhere.

21. Houston

New Year's resolution: Make it a portal cycle to remember

The best news for the Cougars coming out of bowl season wasn't their 38-35 win over LSU on Saturday night. It was the re-signing of quarterback Conner Weigman, wide receiver Amare Thomas and defensive end Khalil Laufau, starters who may have had opportunities elsewhere had they dipped into the portal. Retention is the first item on the agenda for Willie Fritz and there's more talent to go after doing so.

22. Georgia Tech

New Year's resolution: Find the next Haynes King

So, there might not be another King in Atlanta, but getting close is the goal. After topping the 10,000-yard mark in his career during his final start for the Yellow Jackets, King moves on leaving a gigantic vacancy at the most important position on the field for Brent Key, who lost his OC Buster Faulkner and wideout coach Trent McKnight (both to Florida), too. Key won't reinvent the wheel with his physicality-first program, but identifying his next quarterback is top priority after backup Aaron Philo entered the portal.

23. Iowa

New Year's resolution: Build on Tim Lester's progress offensively

And the Hawkeyes are going to have to do it without quarterback Mark Gronowski, offensive linemen Logan Jones, Beau Stephens and Gennings Dunker, along with wideouts Jacob Gill, Sam Phillips and Seth Anderson. Sophomore tailback Kamari Moulton should return as the team's leading rusher (783 yards, four touchdowns) along with pass-catcher Reece Vander Zee, but they're going to need a consistent option at the helm for maximum production. Gronowski was the perfect fit for Lester's scheme, so the Hawkeyes must find a quarterback who is a run threat.

24. James Madison

New Year's resolution: Simplify the plan, Billy Napier

Too many times during his previous stop at Florida, personnel packages and a litany of staffers disrupted opportunities at success for Napier. Now at JMU, which suffered catastrophic portal losses following its playoff loss to Oregon, Napier must start from the ground up again and try to take another Group of Five program back to prominence. He's already done it once at Louisiana and is confident he can do so again.

25. North Texas

New Year's resolution: Focus on career resurgence with talent base

First-year coach Neal Brown receives a program in good hands following the departure of Eric Morris to Oklahoma State and all-everything quarterback Drew Mestemaker to the transfer portal. There's a strong nucleus expected to return for the Mean Green and in a recruiting-rich area of Texas, Brown should be able to find talent to accommodate his offensive system. He won big previously at Troy before suffering a series of unfortunate seasons in the Big 12 at West Virginia. Like Napier, Brown hopes to strike fire again in the Group of Five.