Jim Weber
School’s out for summer, July 4th is just around the corner and the countdown to college football season stands at just 79 days.
With that in mind, here are the Top 10 Storylines of college football’s upcoming season to keep an eye on this fall:
10. Pac-12 Back From The Dead
After a two-year hiatus, the Pac-12 conference is back from the dead for the 2026 season and it’s going to look drastically different. The only holdovers from the old Pac-12 conference are Washington State and Oregon State, as the conference adds five new members from the Mountain West Conference (Boise State, Fresno State, Colorado State, San Diego State, Utah State) and a Sun Belt squad (Texas State) to create a Frankenstein conference that stretches from San Marcos, TX, to Pullman, WA.
9. College Football Playoff Expansion Looms
After just two years of the 12-team playoff, there is no rampant speculation about expanding the field to either 16 or 24 teams. While fans are overwhelming opposed to more expansion that will further water down the regular season, three of the four power conferences (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12) are pushing for expansion and it feels inevitable at this point. But when expansion is approved and how big the playoff field will ultimately be is anyone’s guess.
8. Florida State Facing Existential Crisis
Since an incredible 13-1 season in 2023, Mike Norvell’s time in Tallahassee has turned into a nightmare. The Seminoles are just 7-17 over the last two seasons as this once-proud program faces a crossroads. Will Norvell rediscover his magic from the 2023 season to save his job or will FSU flounder again and give Norvell the boot? Projected by most to be a middle-of-the-pack ACC team at best, Norvell is on the hottest seat in the nation.
7. Michigan Moves On From Soap Opera
The end of Michigan’s 2025 season was stranger than fiction, as head coach Sherrone Moore was fired for having an affair with his assistant and then arrested for barging into her house and threatening to kill himself. Enter Kyle Whittingham, who spent the last 20 years as Utah’s head coach and built a reputation for overachieving. All eyes will be on Michigan QB Bryce Underwood to see if a functional coaching staff can help the former No. 1 recruit in the nation improve on an inconsistent freshman season in Ann Arbor.
6. Ohio State’s Offensive Explosion
Ryan Day is been known for high-octane offenses in Columbus and this might be his best one yet. Led by all-world WR Jeremiah Smith, Heisman hopeful QB Julian Sayin and rising star RB Bo Jackson, the sky is the limit for this Buckeyes offense. After a historic performance by the Buckeyes defense during the 2025 season, expect the 2026 offense to shatter record books with an abundance of riches at the sill positions.
5. Big Ten vs. SEC Battle Royale
The Big Ten and SEC have established themselves as the Godzilla and King Kong of college football. And after the SEC dominated college football by winning 13 national titles in 17 years, the Big Ten has now won three straight national titles in the transfer portal and NIL era. Will the empire strike back in the form of another SEC national title for its ultra-rabid fans or will the Big Ten make it four national titles in a row backed by its deep-pocketed boosters?
4. Indiana’s National Title Encore
Curt Cignetti pulled off the most incredible turnaround in college football history by winning a national title at Indiana in just his second season in Bloomington. With most of last year’s stars now off to the NFL including QB Fernando Mendoza, college football fans are fascinated to see if Cignetti can make the playoff for the third year in a row. With another influx of transfer portal studs like former TCU QB Josh Hoover and ex-Michigan State WR Nick Marsh, we wouldn’t bet against Coach Cig this fall.
3. All Eyes on Arch Manning, Texas Longhorns
Led by QB Arch Manning, Texas is all-in on winning the school’s first national title since 2005. Hauling in huge transfer portal additions like Auburn WR Cam Coleman and NC State RB Hollywood Smothers, the Longhorns are absolutely loaded on both sides of the ball. After a slow start to the 2025 season in which he was written off by the Internet, Manning finished last season strong and now is his chance to live up to all the hype with a potential national title and Heisman Trophy.
2. Lane Kiffin’s LSU Debut
Lane Kiffin’s return to Ole Miss on Sept. 19th is the most anticipated game of the entire season. Leaving the Rebels right before the College Football Playoff for a $91 million contract with LSU, Kiffin is currently the most hated man in the state of Mississippi after the way he left and more recently saying it’s easier to recruit at LSU because there is more diversity on campus. Kiffin has preached patience to LSU fans but he will be expected to win immediately with a roster that is estimated to cost up to $40 million in NIL money.
1. Texas Tech’s Brendan Sorsby Saga
Texas Tech’s transformation from lovable underdog to college football villain happened in record time. With oil money fueling their NIL efforts, the Red Raiders reportedly signed former Cincinnati QB Brendan Sorsby to a $5 million NIL deal. And then things took a bizarre turn when Sorsby admitted to rampant sports gambling, went to rehab and was banned by the NCAA only to receive a court injunction to play this fall. Will Sorsby lead Tech to its first-ever national title or make the school a college sports pariah — or both?
