College football 2026 Hope-O-Meter survey: How optimistic are you about your team?

This time a year ago, Indiana fans were already feeling quite good about the 2025 college football season. Ninety-eight percent of Hoosiers supporters who took The Athletic’s annual survey said they were optimistic about their team.

What followed was arguably the most astonishing championship run in the sport’s history.

Pessimism can also be a harbinger of the season ahead. The six most pessimistic fan bases in the Power 4 last August went on to cheer for teams that finished with losing records.

So as camps begin and another season awaits in a few weeks, we ask again: How are you feeling about your team?

The Athletic’s college football Hope-O-Meter is back, and we want to hear from you below. We’ll share which fan bases are most optimistic — and which enter 2026 in a cloud of pessimism — before the first week of the season. (Here’s how everyone was feeling ahead of 2025.)