Monthly Archives: November 2026

This Weekend in College Football: Week 10

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Noon:

  • Brigham Young @ Utah (“Holy War”; ABC): This has to be the most anticipated edition of this rivalry… ever, so naturally it’s kicking off at 10am local time. Good job, ESPN! As for the actual game, I think the Utes are a bit better, but expect to be one of the most physical games of the day.
  • California-Los Angeles @ Minnesota (FOX): The Gophers could certainly do the thing here (UCLA has a pretty big “ain’t played nobody” problem), and it’s on the road with an early game (think “body clocks”). That said, I still like the Bruins.
  • Texas @ Missouri (ESPN): I’m back to not really believing in Mizzou, and with the SEC being such a mud pit of a conference, it’ll make sense for the Horns to find their footing again and win.
  • Clemson @ Syracuse (ESPN2): The Orange (as in, Syracuse) are on a nice run right now, with narrow wins over North Carolina and SMU. This could bit an inflection point for the Tigers, where 9-3 is probably good for Dabo and 8-4 not so much. I think they’ll figure it out.
  • Iowa State @ Baylor (FS1): Getting a win immediately after firing their coach feels like a bit of a dead cat (bear?) bounce for Baylor, even if it was a pretty emphatic 41-9 drubbing of UCF. I’ll take the Cylcones here.
  • Tulsa @ Tulane (ESPNU): It’s been a weird season for both of these teams, but Tulane has mostly lost to anyone with a pulsa, and Tulsa’s got a pulse this year.
  • Florida State @ Boston College (ACCN): Speaking of dead cat bounces, FSU should win this game going away regardless, but still.
  • North Carolina @ Connecticut (CBSS): UConn is fun this year, but they’re not winning this game.

12:30:

  • Duke @ North Carolina State (The CW): IT HAPPENED! And I called it! Yes, that’s right, the week after BC beat us 49-27 and racked up 399 yards rushing, Duke thumped them 47-2 (the two game on a blocked PAT return) and only allowed 78 yards rushing. Naturally, of course, one of Duke’s two losses this season was… to us! Anyway, they’ll be fine here against a listless NC State team.
  • Maryland @ Purdue (BTN): You’ve gotta get this one, Boilermakers.

12:45: Arkansas @ Auburn (SEC): Speaking of random stuff happening, how have the Tigers followed up their monumental upset of Georgia? How about a 38-17 loss to LSU and a 45-15 loss to Mississippi? Yeah, oof. That said, the schedule softens up a bit there and next week against Miss State. (And they could well have a chance to go 3-0 against Bulldogs this season if they beat Miss State and SEC-Socon Challenge foe Samford.) I like their chances here, too.

1:00:

  • Oklahoma State @ Kansas State (TNT): The Pokes are definitely a “score a lot and hold on for dear life” sorta team, but they’ll probably be able to swamp to the Cats.
  • Old Dominion @ Coastal Carolina (ESPN+)

2:30: Georgia State @ Appalachian State (ESPN+)

3:00:

  • Texas A&M @ South Carolina (ESPN): Is South Carolina… good? They managed to dodge a letdown after upsetting Tennessee by putting up 45(!) on Oklahoma, and they have a chance to get bowl eligible against a hapless A&M. I suspect they’ll be aiming a lot higher than that after this.
  • Delaware @ Kennesaw State (ESPN+)
  • Louisiana-Monroe @ Arkansas State (ESPN+)

3:30:

  • Alabama @ Louisiana State (ABC): I have a LSU as a favorite on paper here, but it’s worth noting they’ve lost to the two best teams they’ve played. Does Lane have it figured out here?
  • Oregon @ Ohio State (CBS): I just did bowl predictions, so I can tell you that Ohio State’s win over Indiana gives them a crucial tiebreaker and the inside track to win the Big Ten. So, yeah, the Buckeyes aren’t dead yet. Oregon may’ve figured some things out against Northwestern last week, but it’ll be a little bit different on the road in the Shoe. I’m taking the Bucks.
  • Cincinnati @ Houston (FOX): The burst of competence that got the Bearcats past Texas Tech may’ve been a mirage. Houston will be more than happy to continue proving the point.
  • Pennsylvania State @ Washington (FS1): I’m actually taking UDub here. It’s been very uneven in Big Ten play for Penn State, add in a trip west and a Huskies team that’s playing well, I don’t see it going well for the Nittany Lions.
  • Merrimack @ Wake Forest (ACCN)
  • Temple @ Navy (CBSS):
  • Marshall @ Georgia Southern (ESPN+)
  • Charlotte @ Alabama-Birmingham (ESPN+)
  • Western Kentucky @ Middle Tennessee State (ESPN+)

3:45: Central Florida @ Kansas (ESPN2): Speaking of post big upset let downs, UCF got demolished by a coach-less Baylor last week. It’s been a struggle for Kansas this season, but this looks like a good opportunity at home for the Jayhawks.

4:00:

  • Rice @ North Texas (ESPNU): Mean Green all the way here.
  • Northern Illinois @ San Jose State (NBCBA/MWN)
  • Louisiana Tech @ Troy (ESPN+)
  • Missouri State @ Florida International (ESPN+)

4:15:

  • Rutgers @ Wisconsin (BTN): Wisky all the way here.
  • Vanderbilt @ Mississippi State (SEC): It’s a lost season for both these teams, but I’m leaning Miss STate.

5:00: South Alabama @ Louisiana (ESPN+)

6:00: Boise State @ Colorado State (USA): Colorado State is playing better on defense, mostly because it’d be hard for them to play worse. It won’t matter here.

6:15: Kentucky @ Tennessee (ESPN): While no one was looking, Kentucky got to 7-1 and has been making real hay in the second tier of the SEC. Add in Tennessee still being relevant, and you have perhaps the most important edition of this rivalry ever? I certainly didn’t see that coming. At any rate, Kentucky’s friskiness could well carry the day here. This is one to watch.

7:00: Sam Houston State @ Jacksonville State (CBSS): Jax State all the way here.

7:30:

  • Georgia @ Mississippi (ABC): A Rebel win here would throw the SEC into chaos, but unfortunately I have a feeling Georgia will be fine here.
  • Air Force @ Army (CBS): Air Force has a chance to take the Commaner-in-Chief’s trophy for the first time since 2022, and they’re slightly favored. But this will be a fun one to watch, with CBS at Mitchie Stadium in prime time.
  • Iowa @ Northwestern (FOX): It’s been a fun season for Northwestern, which means it’s time for Iowa to come and do what they do best: just shut all the nonsense down.
  • Miami @ Notre Dame (NBC): Game of the Century material here, though unfortunately the best player in the game won’t play. Malachi Toney injured his ankle in practice, which may be fatal for Miami’s chances. I suspect this will turn into a signature win for the Irish, even if there’s an asterisk,
  • Colorado @ Arizona State (ESPN2): Arizona State figures to likely bring the Deion era to an end.
  • Louisville @ Georgia Tech (ACCN): There’s nothing left to be said at this point. We effectively don’t have a defense, and the offense isn’t good enough to at least make games a shootout. 2-10 is the most likely possibility.
  • Michigan State @ Michigan (Peacock/NBCSN): This is one of those rivalries where weird stuff does happen. That said, while the Wolverines are a disaster on offense, but their defense is legit. This could end 3-0, Michigan.

7:45: Oklahoma @ Florida (SEC): Welcome back to the SEC mudpit, where maybe Florida scores enough to eek out a win, or Oklahoma sits on them and they win 15-9 or something. This is a coin flip to me.

8:00: Liberty @ New Mexico State (ESPNU): It’s been a tough week for the folks at Liberty. I would love if the Aggies could really give them the dagger, but alas.

9:30:

  • West Virginia @ Texas Tech (ESPN): Texas Tech should win this game, WVU remains squarely.
  • Fresno State @ Utah State (USA): Fresno all the way here.
  • Hawaii @ Texas-El Paso (FS1): Neither of these teams is very good, but UTEP is just bad bad.

10:30:

  • Texas State @ Oregon State (The CW): I like the Beavers here.
  • Wyoming @ Nevada-Las Vegas (CBSS): UNLV’s had a weird couple of weeks. They lost to Air Force, which was unexpected but reasonable. But, uh, they struggled with Northern Illinois, a team that is in the running for “worst team in FBS” this season. I still think they should beat Wyoming, but they’re definitely looking wobbly.

 

Bowl Predictions 2026: Week 1

Hey folks, welcome to… probably the last edition ever of bowl predictions? I’ve been at this since 1999. (“all 23 Division I-A bowls”, how quaint!) The explosion of bowl games made this harder, but at least until the last few years there were rules. It’s been harder, but at least I still had some things to go on. However, the expansion of the playoff to 24 teams next year will drastically re-shape the bowl landscape.

To give you an idea, these are the teams I essentially had on my playoff bubble based on my predictions for the rest of the season:

  • Alabama
  • Mississippi
  • Houston
  • Wake Forest
  • Iowa
  • New Mexico

Suffice it to say, I didn’t really bother trying to figure out the other 8 teams to get to 24. This expansion will kill off the current top tier of bowl games. I doubt conference tie-ins will be a thing after this. The bowls are trying to save themselves, but it’s still unclear for what. I suspect the ESPN Events bowls, especially ones that already mostly or only invite G6 teams, will continue. I guess we can see what that’s going to look like when we get there next offseason,

As far as this season goes, this weekend will go a long way toward setting the final top 12. More on that in the next post. For now, here’s the 2026 predictions. I had to use 4 5-7 teams (indicated by the “^^”).