2025-26 College Football Thread

[VaqueroTD]

I swear, every time they change the College Football Playoffs, they just make it more confusing.

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

I hope they do not cut BYU out of the CFP.


Also someone on youtube was making a devils advocate type of argument.

When the CFP left off FSU even though they won their conf champ and was undefeated due to the selection committee saying the loss of their QB hurt them too much.

Will they say the same thing for Ole Miss? Even though they were not undefeated and are not part of their conference championship...Will losing Lane would hurt them too much and cause them to vote them out of the CFP...I think we know the answer to this one. It was a crap excuse when they did that to FSU.

 

[gtb1943]

The auto bids need to go
this year the ACC is pathetic and does not deserve a bid
and trying say they have to have one from the G5 is total garbage

just pick the 12 best teams no matter what

 

[gtb1943]

If I was picking the 12 I would have OSU, TT, IU, GA as the top 4
Then ND, Bama, TAM, Miami, probably Oklahoma though their offense is really bad. Oregon I guess. After that? meh

 

[jterrell]

He's plenty athletic. He needs a better OL and WRs. He doesn't have elite NFL prospects at WR or TE. Texas needs a much better group. A better OL wouldn't hurt either.

He's big with a strong arm and decent straight-line speed. But he is not a true 2-way threat that has vision or can make anyone miss or rely on his running ability at all.
He has 244 yards rushing on the year but at a 2.4 yards per carry clip.
That's 20 yards per game.

The OL is plenty talented but needed experience.
UT needs to fire whoever evaluates WRs for them.
The Golden get out of the portal saved them last year but the high 4 and even 5-star kids are largely whiffs.

 

[jterrell]

The auto bids need to go
this year the ACC is pathetic and does not deserve a bid
and trying say they have to have one from the G5 is total garbage

just pick the 12 best teams no matter what

Absolutely not.
The playoff will expand to at least 16 and should have been 16 this year.
But it's never going to be about just a few conferences without losing a lot of eyeballs.

90% of the country will tune in and root for the 11 or 12 seed G5 team.

 

[jterrell]

I hope they do not cut BYU out of the CFP.


Also someone on youtube was making a devils advocate type of argument.

When the CFP left off FSU even though they won their conf champ and was undefeated due to the selection committee saying the loss of their QB hurt them too much.

Will they say the same thing for Ole Miss? Even though they were not undefeated and are not part of their conference championship...Will losing Lane would hurt them too much and cause them to vote them out of the CFP...I think we know the answer to this one. It was a crap excuse when they did that to FSU.

BYU should absolutely be in, 1 regular season loss to a top 5 Texas Tech on the road.
Wins over BYU, Arizona, Cincy.
A CCG loss shouldn't put them out.

ND has the shakiest case of 2 loss teams to me because no conf tie and 13th data point. Zero top 15 wins. Late season losses by USC and Pitt really hurt them.
Then of course head-to-head loss to Miami which was followed by Miami having a larger margin of victory versus Pitt.
To me you cannot have a SOS outside the top 40 and lose 2 games and not make a conf champ game for an extra data point.
BYU has a SOS 7 slots higher and 1 fewer loss. BYU should have been ranked 1 spot below Ole Miss all along.

Bama is the most interesting one.
If they lose by more than 7 I leave them out. But a win and they are a 4 or 5 seed.
Their entire argument for being good is beating Georgia.
3 losses and 1 really bad one and they'd be out for me. I don't rate wins over LSU, Missou, Tenn. Neither Missou or Tenn had a win over a bowl eligible P4 team this year.
Wisc was a legit P4 team at one point but this year they were hot garbage. Scored less than the 14 they scored on Bama 7 times in the Big 10!!! That's truly anemic offense.

Vandy tops my list of overrated teams. Weren't really competitive with Bama or UT. Lived off beating many overrated SEC schools.
Pavia is a stud but Vandy is a big 12 caliber team at best. They'd get murdered in the trenches in the CFP.

 

[viman96]

It will be interesting to see how all the coaching changes impact the playoffs.

 

[gtb1943]

BYU should absolutely be in, 1 regular season loss to a top 5 Texas Tech on the road.
Wins over BYU, Arizona, Cincy.
A CCG loss shouldn't put them out.

ND has the shakiest case of 2 loss teams to me because no conf tie and 13th data point. Zero top 15 wins. Late season losses by USC and Pitt really hurt them.
Then of course head-to-head loss to Miami which was followed by Miami having a larger margin of victory versus Pitt.
To me you cannot have a SOS outside the top 40 and lose 2 games and not make a conf champ game for an extra data point.
BYU has a SOS 7 slots higher and 1 fewer loss. BYU should have been ranked 1 spot below Ole Miss all along.

Bama is the most interesting one.
If they lose by more than 7 I leave them out. But a win and they are a 4 or 5 seed.
Their entire argument for being good is beating Georgia.
3 losses and 1 really bad one and they'd be out for me. I don't rate wins over LSU, Missou, Tenn. Neither Missou or Tenn had a win over a bowl eligible P4 team this year.
Wisc was a legit P4 team at one point but this year they were hot garbage. Scored less than the 14 they scored on Bama 7 times in the Big 10!!! That's truly anemic offense.

Vandy tops my list of overrated teams. Weren't really competitive with Bama or UT. Lived off beating many overrated SEC schools.
Pavia is a stud but Vandy is a big 12 caliber team at best. They'd get murdered in the trenches in the CFP.

It is pathetic to think a conference is some kind of security blanket

the ACC was crap this year so that alone makes your claims about conferences meaning anything garbage

SEC gets way over rated because they play each other.

you spread the SEC out to play outsiders and see just how much better they really are

the conferences are a joke; truly ridiculous but some there still act like they mean something

 

[gtb1943]

Absolutely not.
The playoff will expand to at least 16 and should have been 16 this year.
But it's never going to be about just a few conferences without losing a lot of eyeballs.

90% of the country will tune in and root for the 11 or 12 seed G5 team.

I think you claim about conferences meaning anything is outdated and dying steadily. People look for big matchups; now for the playoffs.

Conferences are less and less important in any measurable way

Just look how many teams have switched conferences to show that even THEY understand its all smoke and mirrors

 

[DFWJC]

It is pathetic to think a conference is some kind of security blanket

the ACC was crap this year so that alone makes your claims about conferences meaning anything garbage

SEC gets way over rated because they play each other.

you spread the SEC out to play outsiders and see just how much better they really are

the conferences are a joke; truly ridiculous but some there still act like they mean something

ACC was crap but Miami beat your team

I’ve heard from various sources this week that teams should quit playing ND until they join a league

 

[gtb1943]

ACC was crap but Miami beat your team

I’ve heard from various sources this week that teams should quit playing ND until they join a league

wet your bed all you want but ND will be in and will give all you conference shills the middle finger

 

[DFWJC]

wet your bed all you want but ND will be in and will give all you conference shills the middle finger

Calm down (and grow up)
Nobody is wetting beds

Im fine with ND making it

 

[cowboyec]

notre dame should not join a conference.
at this point....its one of the few traditions left in college football.
i believe they will and should be in because they pass the eye-ball test.
they are...right now...one of the best teams in the country.
but i'm a notre dame homer.
put'm in.
give love his heisman.
and.
go♧irish.

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

Yeah...make no mistake. ND will be in.
Their spot is about as guaranteed as a conference champ since ND will almost always be the highest rated non conference/p4 team.

I do not like it. I have never liked ND having a say in Big East or ACC votes with no total membership either but it is what it is.

 

[atlantacowboy]

He's big with a strong arm and decent straight-line speed. But he is not a true 2-way threat that has vision or can make anyone miss or rely on his running ability at all.
He has 244 yards rushing on the year but at a 2.4 yards per carry clip.
That's 20 yards per game.

The OL is plenty talented but needed experience.
UT needs to fire whoever evaluates WRs for them.
The Golden get out of the portal saved them last year but the high 4 and even 5-star kids are largely whiffs.

He's not Lamar Jackson but he can tuck and run if he has too. He seems to be hell bent staying in the pocket this year. He's more like Josh Allen or Joe Burrow but faster. He just had that TD run against A&M last week which was pretty great. It's been a tough year for him and some of it is on him but his , as you pointed out, WR core was not any good. Nobody is open or making catches for him. You put him at OSU with the compliment of WRs and TE's they put on the field and his year might have looked a lot better. Personally, I think he should transfer to LSU and go work with Lane Kiffin.

 

[jterrell]

It is pathetic to think a conference is some kind of security blanket

the ACC was crap this year so that alone makes your claims about conferences meaning anything garbage

SEC gets way over rated because they play each other.

you spread the SEC out to play outsiders and see just how much better they really are

the conferences are a joke; truly ridiculous but some there still act like they mean something

lol man just stop.
We all get you love Notre Dame but in zero universes is it better to play 12 games without a 13th against top 25 competition in a CCG.
Losing 2 of 12 games against a non top 40 schedule is really all there is to say about it.
Especially when competing another 2-loss team that beat you head-to-head but couldn't win the sad sack ACC.

The entire ND argument was based on Miami and TAMU being great and neither are great. Both good but not top 5 great.

ND appears to be a pretty good team now as the season has worn on but it is honestly impossible to say because they haven't played the kinds of teams that test that.
A Pitt team that lost to West Virginia is their 2nd best win of the season. Thats truly abysmal stuff.

 

[cowboyec]

Yeah...make no mistake. ND will be in.
Their spot is about as guaranteed as a conference champ since ND will almost always be the highest rated non conference/p4 team.

I do not like it. I have never liked ND having a say in Big East or ACC votes with no total membership either but it is what it is.

if they ever do join a conference...as a notre dame fan i hope its the big 10 with almost all of their traditional rivals in one house...michigan,michigan st,penn st,purdue and from the freeman era...ohio st.
plus historic rival usc.
i don't like the association with the acc...the big 10 just seems a natural fit.
and i'd love to see the return of notre dame/michigan st....and notre dame/penn st.

 

[jterrell]

He's not Lamar Jackson but he can tuck and run if he has too. He seems to be hell bent staying in the pocket this year. He's more like Josh Allen or Joe Burrow but faster. He just had that TD run against A&M last week which was pretty great. It's been a tough year for him and some of it is on him but his , as you pointed out, WR core was not any good. Nobody is open or making catches for him. You put him at OSU with the compliment of WRs and TE's they put on the field and his year might have looked a lot better. Personally, I think he should transfer to LSU and go work with Lane Kiffin.

He is a solid QB and has potential to be very good, but I was just saying the part of his game that was massively overrated was his raw athleticism.
Playing a bunch of Christian school kids in Louisiana wasn't exactly 5-star competition. He ran through them with ease, but he hasn't run it very effectively this year even versus teams like UTEP.
Which doesn't matter much if he gets his reads down pat and uses the arm which is definitely a major weapon.
He has the 12th most rushing yards of the 16 starting SEC QBs.

Joe Burrow as a runner comp makes sense. Josh Allen does not. Josh is significantly more athletic.
Arch is significantly more polished as a passer than Josh was.

 

[gtb1943]

Yeah...make no mistake. ND will be in.
Their spot is about as guaranteed as a conference champ since ND will almost always be the highest rated non conference/p4 team.

I do not like it. I have never liked ND having a say in Big East or ACC votes with no total membership either but it is what it is.

I can see your point about having a say but those conferences went to ND and made that deal so in the end it is on them
ND just playing from a strong hand
I mean look at the influence OSU has in the Big Ten and Alabama in the SEC
you are always going to have some universities with more clout then others