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College Football 2026

Erik Tracy said:
With all of the LSU chatter I had a "where are they now" moment about Les Miles and Coach "O".

Wonder what Kiffin was thinking on that one...:idea:
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I am surprised LSU agreed to that move....they paid MILLIONS to "O" when he was let go. He has a great defensive mind.
 
Other rule changes

Pass Interference is now 10 yards instead of 15 yards

Unsportsmanlike penalties will now include any weapon type hand gestures

Teams get 2 play review challenges per game - up from only one
 
Playoff format for 2026 will still be a 12 team bracket, like the last 2 years.

So last year, the seeding was to take the top 4 ranked conference champions and put them 1,2,3, and 4 in the quarter finals with a bye.

Then there were 8 "at large" teams that came from the next highest ranked teams, which included the highest ranked Group of 5 conference champion.

For 2026
  • Format: 12 teams. The five highest-ranked conference champions earn automatic bids; seven at-large teams fill out the field.
  • Seeding: straight seeding. The four highest-ranked teams overall get the top 4 seeds and first-round byes, whether or not they won a conference.

This makes for some interesting 'what ifs'.
 
That 10 yards for pass interference seems like a bad move to me. Now it will be even more worth it to hack the receiver with a very small penalty. If anything they should have changed to rule to the NFL penalty.
 
Some conference changes that will be interesting to follow.

The PAC-(1)2 is now the Pac-8 ;)

They poached (lawsuits involved) some teams from the Mountain West - notably Boise St and the San Diego State Aztecs (known locally as the Spaztecs)

So, the G5/Group of 5 conferences is now known as the G6/Group of 6:
American, Conference USA, Mountain West, Mid-American Conference, Sun Belt and now the PAC-12(the old/official name, but really only 8 teams this year)

An interesting addition to the Mountain West is North Dakota State Bisons - who dominated in the FCS, but now have moved up to the FBS.

T-minus two weeks! :thumbsup:
 
Hot off the press

The AP Top 25 rankings just came out
IMG_0486.png

Looks very close to the Coaches Poll, but with some teams swapped around a position or two.

Notable: Clemson is not ranked here - instead we have Louisville.

[edit] BYU and USC both at 14 is not a typo - on another site it is actually shown as a tie.
 
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I hate when we start out at #1. I think it goes to their young developing brains. Would much rather they have a chip on their shoulders for being "disrespected", we always do better with that.
 
GChief said:
I hate when we start out at #1. I think it goes to their young developing brains. Would much rather they have a chip on their shoulders for being "disrespected", we always do better with that.
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When you're ranked #1 you always have a target on your back.
 
I am a Penn State fan and think they are ranked too high....and Ole Miss will not do well this year with the anointed best QB in football. When Kiffin left he took their balls with him...I don't think Tenn will be in the top 25 by the end of the year. Bama is going to show me something...they may be too high too.
 
I'm a PSU fan too and I think they might just end up being a lot better than some people think. It's a whole new system at Happy Valley this year so no one really knows for sure but it would be hard objectively for me to leave them out of the top 25 to start the season.
 
Penn St has a shot, for sure.

According to ESPN analytics, they are #62 on strength of schedule, so 'middle-ish' for a tough schedule.

And they are 'middle-ish' for recruitment ranking at #64.

I don't really have a team - I love the tradition and the chaos.

Well, for some reason, I do quietly pull for the Wyoming Cowboys. I have no idea why - I didn't go to school there, I've never been to Wyoming (yet).

Oh - and I do root for Army as I have a son on active duty.
salute.JPG
 
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OK...let me revise my Penn State prediction....did you see their schedule?? Who made this SOFT azz schedule!! They may be number 1 or 2!!!
Screenshot 2026-08-18 135024.jpg
 
djwhy60 said:
OK...let me revise my Penn State prediction....did you see their schedule?? Who made this SOFT azz schedule!! They may be number 1 or 2!!!
View attachment 3820759
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Currently sitting at #18 pre-season, their schedule certainly looks like they could maybe possibly go 10-2?

I don't think they will go to the Big 10 Conference championship, but for the CFP, they could be ranked high enough to be one of the seven "at large" teams to get seeded.
 
GChief said:
So pretty much every year somebody does a college football thread, and then the same handful of people will have to come in here and say how they don't like college football anymore.:crazy:
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I think you skewed the result and pre-empted that type of post! :thumbsup:

Kalshi had the over/under at 7 posts before the first naysayer polluted the fun.

;)
 
You can never tell what will happen in college football. Who thought Indiana was going to win the national championship last season?

Also if you recall, there was one game during the regular season that Indiana definitely should have lost but miraculously won. That game was against PSU after James Franklin was fired.

Penn State was 3-6 and reeling from their worst start ever. Indiana came into Happy Valley undefeated and Penn State dominated them most of the game and it sure looked like the game was over. Penn State went into a loose prevent defense and let Indiana march right down the field in the final minutes of the game (a big mistake) and put the Hooiers in a position to make this miraculous (lucky as hell) play with 30 seconds left in the game.


After that, PSU came real close to scoring on the final 30 second drive but fell short as time expired. It was a devastating loss for PSU because they had it in the bag and it was the game that Indiana came the closest to losing in all of 2025. They should have lost it but the gods wanted them to win. If Penn State would have played their normal defense it's hard to imagine any chance of them losing that game but they basically gave Indiana a chance and the Hoosiers took full advantage of it.

That showed though that Penn State did have the talent last year but for some reason just couldn't get it together and it cost James Franklin his job.

It reminds me of this year's New York Mets baseball team. They have the talent to be #1 but just can't seem to put it all together. Sometimes it takes more than having the most-talented players. It takes the best team!

After that game PSU ran the table and went to a bowl game. I was sad to see Ethan Grunkemeyer leave to rejoin James franklin at VT because he is an awesome quarterback. Probably better than Drew Allar was. He was also a red shirt freshman with a very bright future. He was Big 10 offensive player of the week the final 6 weeks of the season. Now PSU gets the Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht in his final season of eligibility. He's good but this is his final year.

What's really going to be interesting to see is how good Virginia Tech is this season. I wouldn't be surprised if they are a lot better than people thought they would be.
 
Anyone want to make predictions for this year, or have an outrageous wish or outcome?

My predictions:
North Dakota St will be in the Mountain West conference championship

Navy will win the American Conference

USC will face Indiana in the Big10 conference championship

Wishes:
Army beats Navy this time :)

Auburn beats Alabama in the Iron Bowl and knocks them out of the CFP with 4 losses
 
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Go Ducks. I think the Pac 1-2-3-8 whatever, should just fade away. Boise State is the only real powerhouse they have now. Not one other team even worth watching.
My thoughts on college football are less interested than it used to be.

I do hate the way I need to work out a super complicated system of streaming services just to watch most of the games. We can't get local tv where we are and don't have cable. It is hardly worth it to pay 90 bucks a month for 6 months of streaming, just to watch, almost, all the games that matter.
 
Week 0 starts Saturday, baby! :)
Week0.JPG

All "home" teams are favored.

First (FBS) game of the season is in Dublin, again. Last two years they have been exciting games. I hope that's the case for this year, too. But, I dunno.

UNC and TCU played Week 1 last year and it was a stinker.

Let the chaos begin!
 
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