As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong. Noon: Texas A&M @ Missouri (ABC): Unfortunately I just haven't had time for the post this week, and I'm going to do what I can. Expect a good sprinkling of lightning round picks throughout this. That said, this game is a great example of SEC hype for SEC hype's sake. I think it's pretty likely that the middle-to-bottom of the SEC will eat itself alive again, but also that everyone will forget that's more proof a lot of those teams are pretty mid and not because they should all be in the playoff.

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong. Noon: Alabama @ Mississippi State ("Battle for Highway 82"; ABC): One of Bama's few weaknesses, dating back to the Saban era, has been mobile, dynamic quarterbacks. Miss State has one of those in Kamario Taylor, and the game is in Starkville. This could be a fun one to start the day, and I'll take the home team.

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong. Noon: Texas @ Tennessee (ABC): The battle for the "real UT" gets us underway. That said, I really lean Texas here, they seem better all around. Neyland is a tough road environment for sure, but I think the Horns can get it done. Illinois @ Ohio State (FOX): Ohio State has some issues, and Illinois is good...

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong. 11:30: Coastal Carolina @ Delaware (CBSS): Both schools are 1-1 with losses to P4 teams, but the details matter. Delaware gave Vanderbilt all they wanted, Coastal gave West Virginia all they wanted. This favors the Blue Hens. Noon: Georgia @ Arkansas (ABC): It figures to be a long season for the Hogs.

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong. Noon: Arizona State @ Texas A&M (ABC): SELECTED LIGHTNING ROUND. TAMU! Oklahoma @ Michigan (FOX): Remember when Michigan couldn't block Western Michigan last week? Brent Venables is licking his chops. OU by a reasonable amount, but this may not be as close as the score. Oregon @ Oklahoma State (ESPN): Oregon is going to work some stuff out here.

We have come down from the plateau and are in a new world

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong. Saturday Noon: East Carolina @ Alabama (ABC): As has been noted in many other spaces, this isn't the most action-packed Week 1. There's a lot of games like this with huge point spreads and not much to talk about. I guess it's a good weekend for me to be at PAX. Also, Bama by a lot.

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong. Thursday 6:00: Massachusetts @ Rutgers (BTN): Rutgers would like to remind you that they are, in fact, still in the Big Ten, and that as such they will absolutely grind UMass into a fine powder. 7:00: Akron @ Wake Forest (ACCN): The gap between the "group of" conferences and the Power 4 is greater than ever, but there are still some teams from the lower rungs of FBS that can still threaten mid-to-bad ACC schools.

About the Ratings Each offseason, my brother and I rate every Power 4 team on the basis of how excited you’d be to see that team on your non-conference schedule. The possible ratings are “no rating”, 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, and 1. “1” is the best, as evidenced by the list of 21 teams that earned a 1 this year: Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Indiana (new for 2026), LSU, Miami, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Penn State, Southern California, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Washington, and Wisconsin.

The final results are... finally here! After a dreadful start, I eventually recovered to equal last year's record of 27-19. This also improved my lifetime record to 516-420, an overall 55% win rate. Hey, it's better than a coin flip, at least. We're gradually getting the cobwebs out. Look for the out-of-conference preview soon. The season starts with Week 0 on August 29th. See you then!

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The truth of our 250 years of history is not "somewhere in between."