There’s no telling how it will all end, but I think it’s safe to say that 2026 is going to go down as “one of those years” in college football history. That’s not including all the nonsense that plagues the sport off the gridiron. On the field we are watching one of the wildest campaigns in some time. It evokes memories of 2007’s insanity, where number one couldn’t avoid taking a loss for weeks on end. A lot can change week to week in football and it feels like we’re at warp speed right now.

Two weeks ago BYU had beaten Notre Dame and was on their way to the playoff. This week they went to the “bounce house” and lost to UCF in a thriller. A month ago Shane Beamer was dead and buried. But now three straight wins later, including ones over ranked Florida and Tennessee, has Beamer off the hot seat and the Gamecocks balling out. 6 months ago we all said Luke Fickell was finished at Wisconsin. Now the Badgers are 5-2 and Camp Randall has its voice back.

With so much changing, what do we actually feel like we know? Honestly it feels like we know more about individual players than we do entire teams right now. For example, we can say with certainty that Jeremiah Smith and Malachi Toney are not the best receivers in America, but perhaps the best players in the nation. In a year that we all were so excited for Arch Manning and Dante Moore and CJ Carr, Trinidad Chambliss has been the best QB in the country wire to wire.

Too boot we know an awful lot about who’s not very good this season. I don’t mean the obvious teams like Maryland and Michigan State. I mean Michigan and their embarrassment of an offense. I’m talking about Texas A&M who was a one-year wonder last season. NC State finally pushed Dave Doren out the door and with good reason. The bottom of the Big Ten even features trendy preseason picks Penn State and Washington, who have become complete disasters.

If there is one final takeaway from the season so far it’s the value of finding a great coach to take over your program. Last year Jake Dickert took over the reigns in Winston Salem and now he has Wake 6-1. Right alongside them in ACC who nailed it when they brought James Franklin in to run the show, posting a 6-2 record so far. Bob Chesney has stolen the show in LA, as his Bruins are 7-0 on the season and look to be a real playoff threat along with Northwestern led by David Braun and his OC Chip Kelly, at 6-1. The icing on the cake, Will Stein, who has Kentucky’s big blue nation dreaming big at 7-1 to lead the SEC…so much for Lane’s immense genius in LSU. All of these coaches are honestly trying to replicate the success PJ Fleck has had at Minnesota, who manages to compete year in and year out. This year is PJ’s best in a while, but it’s never the less very impressive in the modern age.

So what should we expect the rest of the way? In all likelihood, more chaos as the top teams continue to meet. We’ll continue to collect the data points and attempt to sound smart when we talk about the games that are played…probably unsuccessfully. But that’s alright, my best advice is to have fun with the games because of the nonsense that comes out of the networks, the playoffs, and Pat McAfee to deal with otherwise. November 7th is one of those stay in the house and watch kind of days, with Miami at Notre Dame, Utah hosts BYU, UCLA is at Minnesota, Georgia takes on Ole Miss, Bama visits LSU and Kentucky is in Knoxville to face the Vol’s. There’s plenty more where that came from, so do your chores during the week and tell your better half you earned this day.

The Picks

Before we go, check out the picks for this week below and play along with us.

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