College football turnarounds used to require patience. New coaches often needed multiple recruiting cycles to build a roster in their image. Now, a right coach with the right vision can completely reshape a roster in a single offseason using the transfer portal.
Earlier this month, we looked at the teams FanDuel Sportsbook expects to regress the most in 2026 based on the gap from last year's regular-season win total to the preseason projections for this upcoming campaign. Now, it's time to look at the other side: teams with the biggest opportunity for improvement.
Of the nine teams with a preseason win total at least 2.5 games higher than their 2025 regular-season mark, seven have a new head coach. The only two exceptions? Ironically, programs with coaches that are already facing some of the hottest seats in the country.
Most of the teams on this list finished with losing records last season, meaning the runway for improvement is much wider than it is for teams coming off strong campaigns.
Below are the nine teams FanDuel projects to have the largest increase in win totals from last season to 2026.
Arkansas
2025 regular-season wins: 2 | FanDuel win total: 4.5
At first glance, the projected win total definitely doesn't scream improvement for Arkansas. But as always, context matters. The Razorbacks enter a new era with Ryan Silverfield becoming the program's fourth different coach in a decade. Since 1990, eight coaches have led Arkansas, and only one -- Houston Nutt in 1998 -- posted a winning record in Year 1. So expectations are tempered.
Silverfield arrives with a winning track record from his six years at Memphis, where the Tigers posted the fifth-best winning percentage among Group of Six teams during his tenure. The Razorbacks obviously want to be bowl-eligible by the end of the year, but simply knocking on that door would mark real progress from a 2-10 collapse.
Wisconsin
2025 regular-season wins: 4 | FanDuel win total: 6.5
The Badgers better find a way to turn things around, or it could mean the end for Luke Fickell in Madison. Wisconsin hasn't shown any improvement since he arrived, posting fewer wins in each of the past two seasons -- from 7-6 in 2023 to 5-7 in 2024 to 4-8 last fall. Fickell needs to get back on track, and even seven wins would only return the Badgers to where they stood in his first season.
The schedule should help. No Indiana. No Ohio State. And no Oregon. A considerably lighter slate still includes Notre Dame at Lambeau Field but skips several of last year's toughest tests.
South Carolina
2025 regular-season wins: 4 | FanDuel win total: 6.5
The Gamecocks face a similar situation as the team above them on this list, with Shane Beamer facing his own hot seat entering Year 6. South Carolina managed just one SEC win in 2025, and getting back to the SEC's middle class should mean a couple more than that in 2026.
The offense wasn't where it was expected to be, either, finishing 104th nationally in scoring at 22.7 points per game. But quarterback LaNorris Sellers is back, and Kendal Briles -- who has built high-scoring offenses everywhere from Baylor to Arkansas to TCU -- takes over as coordinator. If that marriage clicks, South Carolina's floor will rise.
Kansas State
2025 regular-season wins: 6 | FanDuel win total: 8.5
Chris Klieman retired following the 2025 season as Kansas State's second-winningest coach behind only Bill Snyder. Collin Klein, the former Wildcats quarterback who finished third in the 2012 Heisman Trophy voting, takes over after two years as Texas A&M's offensive coordinator. His track record of developing quarterbacks fuels the optimism in Manhattan.
Avery Johnson, who Klein once coached as Kansas State's playcaller, took a step back in 2025 with his passing touchdown total dropping from 25 to 18. Reuniting with Klein could be the fix. The schedule certainly helps too, avoiding BYU, Texas Tech and Utah (the three teams given better odds to win the Big 12).
Penn State
2025 regular-season wins: 6 | FanDuel win total: 8.5
Matt Campbell couldn't have asked for a better schedule for his first season at Penn State. The Nittany Lions avoid Indiana, Ohio State and Oregon this fall, and the opportunity is there to reach 10 wins if all the new pieces mesh. Twenty-four transfers followed Campbell from Iowa State, where he conducted one of the sport's best turnaround stories over his decade in Ames. The Cyclone transfer haul includes quarterback Rocco Becht, the centerpiece of an offense Campbell hopes translates quickly to the Big Ten.
After last year's abrupt end to the James Franklin era, expectations have been reset, but the pieces are in place for a substantial jump in the win column.
Virginia Tech
2025 regular-season wins: 3 | FanDuel win total: 6.5
Which team improves its win total more in 2026, James Franklin's old program or his new one? Virginia Tech has more runway to make a significant jump after bottoming out with just three wins last season.
At ACC Media Days, Franklin declared that the Hokies won the offseason, and as dangerous as that proclamation can be, it's hard to argue otherwise. From the potential home-run hire to an aggressive influx of talent and renewed investment across the program, Virginia Tech has embraced a full-scale reset. The Hokies are betting those moves can finally awaken the sleeping giant that dominated the ACC throughout much of the Frank Beamer era.
UCLA
2025 regular-season wins: 3 | FanDuel win total: 6.5
This is not to say Bob Chesney is about to engineer the same meteoric turnaround Curt Cignetti pulled off after leaving James Madison for Indiana, but there are enough similarities to believe UCLA can make a substantial leap. Chesney has won everywhere he's been, from Division III to the FCS and, most recently, leading James Madison to the College Football Playoff. His arrival has brought renewed energy to Westwood, where belief in the program feels higher than it has in years.
If the Bruins can win on the road against California and first-year coach Tosh Lupoi in the opener, they will have a chance to start 3-0 and match last year's win total before the end of September.
Florida
2025 regular-season wins: 4 | FanDuel win total: 7.5
If the Gators are able to hit the over on their projected win total with eight regular-season victories, it would be the first time in six years that they have reached that mark. Even with the juice on the under, those are lofty expectations for first-year coach Jon Sumrall in Gainesville. The jump from the Group of Six to the SEC is significant -- just ask Billy Napier how that went. But Sumrall has built a résumé few first-year SEC coaches can match, averaging 9.75 regular-season wins over four seasons at Troy and Tulane.
Florida also returns nine starters from last season despite losing seven players to the 2026 NFL Draft. Running back Jadan Baugh and edge rusher Jayden Woods are among the key pieces back after the Gators were able to keep them out of the transfer portal.
Oklahoma State
2025 regular-season wins: 1 | FanDuel win total: 6.5
The Cowboys own the third-worst record in the FBS over the past two seasons, but the arrival of Eric Morris brings renewed optimism to Stillwater.
Morris brings his high-scoring, tempo-driven offense and explosive North Texas trio with him to Oklahoma State. Quarterback Drew Mestemaker has the tools to develop into a future first-round NFL Draft pick, while running back Caleb Hawkins and receiver Wyatt Young were among the most productive players in the country last season.
The roster has also undergone a dramatic transformation, going from 134th in returning production to one of the most experienced teams in the country, ranking third in career FBS snaps. That combination of proven talent and a new offensive identity gives the Cowboys a legitimate path to a major bounce-back season.
