The Power 4 is in books and that only leaves Notre Dame and the non power conferences to look into who has a chance. I know last year the “Group of Six” got 2 teams into the playoffs with Tulane and James Madison. Don’t look for that scenario to happen again. The ACC changed their rules to protect their conference and the “conference championships matter” crybabies; and of course the committee changed their rules to satisfy the whinny Notre Dame contingent. The Irish remain to arrogant to join a conference and keep a weak schedule, but will now get in automatically if they are ranked in the top 12. Don’t misunderstand, I don’t believe a Tulane or James Madison ever belongs in a playoff championship, but then I think 12 teams is too many. Well, that is another argument for another time.
I do have to mention 2 FCS schools moving up to the big boy ranks. North Dakota State (who has won 10 of the last 15 FCS Titles) will be a member of The New PAC 12 conference. Sacramento State will be in The MAC. That is correct the Mid American Conference is adding a California School so their cash strapped teams can travel cross country. Hey, far be it from me to judge what is going on in College Football.
The only 2 Independent schools left are Notre Dame and Connecticut. The Irish have a legit shot at the playoffs. Their schedule is set up for them to finish in the top 12 and that gets them in. The team strength will be on defense where 10 starters return from a good group last year. The road games are games in which Notre Dame will be favored by double digits in every one. The only tricky road tilt is at BYU. The Irish catch their other capable opponents at home; Wisconsin, Miami, and SMU. If they avoid 2 upsets, Notre Dame is a lock for a playoff.
The remaining teams in the other non Power 4 Conferences must finish in the top 16 and then the one that is ranked higher gets in the playoffs. No more 2 “little guys” crashing the party. First up is The AAC. That is a 12 team league that got Tulane in last year, but the coach left and most of the team either graduated or transferred. The teams with the best chance to make any noise Navy. This was an 11-2 team last year. The Midshipmen will need to find a way to upset Note Dame and avoid the upset themselves. Coach Jeff Traylor continues to do an outstanding job that major colleges can’t ignore. Don’t count his UTSA out of the AAC title. The rest of the top tier teams Tulane, Army, and East Carolina, however each has some massive rebuilds on the defensive side of the ball.
The new PAC 12 is mostly the old Mountain West plus the 2 old teams that never found a home, Oregon State and Washington State. This will be a 8 team league. The best chance for this conference to get a representative in are either Boise or Fresno State. Boise will have a good opportunity to make a statement to the committee in week one with a road game at Oregon. If they can keep that one close, The Broncos will get a ton of mileage out of that game without having to win it. The same is true of The Bulldogs of Fresno. Their first game is at Southern Cal. Same set up as Boise versus Oregon, keep it very respectable. Then it becomes which of these teams can win their game at Boise and probably a second meeting in their conference championship game.
The Mountain West Conference is mostly the portion of the league not in the new PAC 12. This 10 team league only has a slim chance of making a playoff run. Look for these teams to beat each other up. Newcomer North Dakota State will be strong in this league.
The Sunbelt Conference is where James Madison snuck in the playoffs from last year. They went 12 and 1 and got in. I don’t think this league will pull that minor miracle off again. The Dukes may again be the class of the league, but with only 5 returning starters and no Power 4 team on the schedule, that will be a tall order. Same for Old Dominion. The remainder of this 14 team conference will once again beat each up and with not much of a shot to get an upset over a good Power 4 school.
The now 13 team MAC Conference by adding Sacramento State will have plenty of opportunities to knock off some “big boys” as they do every year by scheduling several Big schools. They rarely beat the bottom of The Big Conference much less spring a monumental upset against the upper tier. Look for Western Michigan and Miami to be the strength of this league.
The final conference to look at is CUSA. It is unlikely someone from this 10 team league can make a run at a playoff spot. Liberty may be the best team but does not have a marque game on their schedule. Western Kentucky could be better than Liberty but unless they beat Georgia or Indiana on the road; or play them really close, The Hilltoppers will be finished before they get started.
That is the last of the previews. Saturday is week zero and the start of the 2026 College Football Season. Check back Friday on this blog to look at the 8 games that are scheduled. Maybe we can find a couple of strong stats or trends to play. Strictly for entertainment purposes only of course.
simple man, simple ideas 
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