Jon Joseph

Tuesday, November 3rd, is Election Day and the College Football (CFB) Playoff Committee's 1st Top 25 Selection Day. Final rankings will be released on December 6th at 7 PM Eastern/ 4 PM Pacific on ESPN. The CFB Committee, unlike the College Basketball Committee, does not specifically reveal the metrics it uses in determining the Top-25. A handy tool to compare what the CFB Committee gives us versus specific metrics is ESPN's Strength of Record (SOR) rankings, updated after a given Saturday's games. In addition to SOR, this site provides current Strength of Schedule (SOS) rankings, SOS rankings for remaining games, Game Control rankings, and Average Win Percentage (AVWP): the average results for a game as predicted by ESPN's FPI compared to a game's final score. Post-Week 8, the top 12 teams in the SOR ranking: 1 Kentucky/ 2 UCLA/ 3 Miami/ 4 Ohio State/ 5 Indiana/ 6 Utah/ 7 Alabama/ 8 BYU/ 9 Ole Miss/ 10 Georgia/ 11 Wake Forest/ 12 Texas. No. 12 Texas would be knocked out of the 2026-27 12-team PO field by AP Poll No. 21 and Strength of Record No. 24, Pac-12 Boise State. The Texas Longhorns being bucked out of the PO by the G6 Broncos would make 2026 24-team PO holdout Greg Sankey and his constituents happy, right? 😁 SOR No. 1 Kentucky is off in Week 9, more time for Will Stein and his youngsters to go trick-or-treating on Halloween. On Tuesday, no matter how much candy Will and the kids score, I don't believe 7-1 Kentucky will be the CFB Committee's No. 1 ranked team. Week 9 Big Ten Games - All games on Halloween, Saturday, November 31st. All game times are Pacific. AP Poll rankings used. BTN = Big Ten Network. And if you aren't in Arizona, make sure to turn the clocks back. No. 20 Northwestern +3.5 vs. Oregon - Autzen Stadium 12:30 PM Pee, er, Peacock Oregon's opponent on Halloween is AP Poll No. 20 ranked, 6-1 Northwestern. The Wildcats are ranked 17th in SOR: SOS 53/ Remaining SOS 12/ Game Control 20/ AVWP 14. This is a darn good and AP Poll underranked football team. Oregon is ranked 31st in SOR/ SOS 18/ Remaining SOS 28/ Game Control 39/ AVWP - an abysmal 83 out of 138 FBS teams. At UCLA, Chip Kelly went 0-4 against the Ducks. Twice in 2026, Northwestern QB Aiden Chiles, who struggled at Oregon State and lost his starting job at Michigan State, has received Pro Football Focus's highest QB grade in the nation, including his Week 8 performance in the 42 to 14 win over Rutgers. For the 3rd week in a row, Northwestern gets the Peacock Trick, instead of NBC's Prime Time Treat. No. 25 5-2 Wisconsin +3.5 at No. 26 5-2 Iowa - 9 AM Fox The 36.5 Over/Under is Week 9's lowest total score. This is a playoff elimination game; the 100th meeting of the two teams, with Wisconsin barely in the lead, 49-48-2. It's a B1G weekend, so there has to be a Trophy Game. Iowa and Wisconsin play every year for the Heartland Trophy, a statue of a Bronze Bull, awarded to the team that played the game with the Biggest Bronze B ... let's leave it at the team that plays with the most brass gets to keep the Bronze. In the last four meetings, Iowa has bagged the Bull. Ole! 4-3 Illinois -2.5 at 2-5 Maryland - 9 AM FS1 Frankly, Dame Maryland, I don't give a damn about this game. 🥸 I've seen more than enough of Jabba the Hut Bielema. 4-3 Michigan -14 at 2-5 Rutgers - 9:30 AM BTN If the Wolverines can't get right in Jersey, tell Whit it's no Utes; take the motorcycle back to Salt Lake. Plus slide, Whit: Slightly better downhill skiing than in Michigan. No. 31 5-2 Minnesota +19.5 at No. 4 Indiana - 12:30 PM Fox After USC traveled to Mad City in Week 8 and ran for -14 yards (REVERSE!😁), College GameDay couldn't find the way to LA for the Halloween Buckeyes blast. After being (obscurely) insulted in Salt Lake City, the prepubescent Pat McAfee insisted on being sent back home again to Indiana. Folks at the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party are dazed and confused that the game is being played indoors and Mercedes-Benz dealer Nick Saban isn't joining the arm-bending in the parking lot. Cig is so excited over Rece and friends visiting Bloomington that he cracked a grin. I think the Hoosiers are likely to score more than 13 points against the Gophers. The last time the Gophers visited the great state of Indiana, Purdue buried Minnie in a 41-13 hole. 3-4 Nevada +22.5 at 7-0 No. 7 UCLA - 1:15 PM BTN If in Reno, take the Bruins and lay the points. UCLA's strength of schedule to date is ranked 63rd, with a remaining strength of schedule ranked 56th. This is Halloween scary stuff similar to Indiana's 2024 strength of schedule when Curt Cignetti moved from James Madison to Indiana, took many of his JMU players with him, and Indiana made the 12-team playoff field. Unlike Indiana in 2024, UCLA does not play Ohio State. After the Nevada win, the Bruins' remaining games- at Minnesota, Illinois, at Michigan, and USC are all very winnable. Perhaps the JMU gone B1G boys will match up against No. 3 Ohio State or No. 4 Indiana in what is likely to be the Big Ten's last Conference Championship Game. 3-4 Purdue +7.5 at 3-4 Penn State - 1:15 PM BTN If ever a game deserved the Bird or a Blackout ... 6-1 No. 2 Ohio State -6.5 at 6-2 USC - 4:30 PM NBC With a 6-2 record and No. 32 AP Poll ranking, SC is the lowest 2-loss Power 4 football team. Lincoln Riley says he is exactly where he is supposed to be, and if he is only given a little more time, the Trojans' blood will again run Blue instead of blew lunch. I think the ink in South Central will turn red with what it will cost to send Linc missing, but like any divorce, AD Jen Cohen will feel like it's worth every penny. Speaking of missing, how good will the Buckeyes be able to compete without injured Heisman finalist QB Julian Sayin, a SoCal guy who took his talents to Columbus? Sayin's likely replacement is another SoCal guy, 3* QB true freshman Luke Fahey, straight out of Mission Viejo High School. I imagine the Buckeyes DC Matt Patricia, noted SC QB Jaden Maiava, being intercepted twice in the 1st quarter, while being battered and Badgered for four quarters in Mad City. Cry Havoc! and Unleash the Bucks! After a Week 10 nap, SC's next game is at Indiana. 😁 4-3 Washington +6.5 at 5-2 Nebraska - 5 PM BTN 5-2 Nebraska is coming off a bye week after two tough losses to No. 4 Indiana in Lincoln and on the road at Oregon. Washington is also coming off a bye week after its first Power 4 game win in Week 7 at Purdue. Like its neighbor to the south, the UW O has been missing in action. UW is not ranked, so the Cornhuskers win the game, right? If USC AD Jen Cohen sends Linc missing, does Jedd Fisch, who Cohen hired when she was the AD at UW, get an interview for the Trojans job? It wouldn't be a splash hire, but with SC's resources, Fisch would put a competitive team on the field. Forget Georgia Tech and Florida State; for Forum Friends GatOrlando and Nevada Dawg, the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party is the rivalry game. No. 3 6-1 Georgia -12.5 vs. No. 17 5-2 Florida - Mercedes-Benz Stadium - Atlanta, Georgia - 12:30 PM ABC The Gators are coming off a bye week after upsetting Texas in Austin in Week 7, behind the play of dual-threat backup QB Tramell Jones, Jr. The Dawgs are coming off a bye after doing everything but putting up more points in a rare home loss to old foe Auburn, in the South's oldest rivalry game. Against Auburn, the usually reliable UGA QB Gunner Stockton turned the ball over three times. Florida has been one of the SEC's 2026 yo-yo teams; terrific wins followed by puzzling upset losses. Sorry, Gat, but I like the Dawgs to win this game, return to Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and win its 3rd SEC title in a row in the SEC's last Conference Championship Game, before winning a game or three in the playoffs. On3's Top 10 Week 9 College Football Games - On3Top 10 games for Week 9 of the college football seasonGeorgia-Florida and Ohio State-USC highlight the top 10 games on Week 9 of the college football schedule. Forget the Gipper! Win (another) One Against the Chipper!

Smile! I come bearing good news! Oregon Ducks On SIOregon Ducks Finally Get Positive News On Injury Report...A major storyline heading into the Oregon Ducks matchup with the Illinois Fighting Illini was the receiver availability. Four of the Ducks’ five leading receive

Thank you, Duck NV. It would ruin the delicious Dixiecrat flavor, but you could include (sigh) Oregon, Michigan, UW, Penn State, and coming soon, USC fans into the mix. Add Chip Kelly in Northwestern gear with a chain saw in hand coming through the front door and not miss a beat. Or, a beat down. Some much needed and appreciated humor. 😁😎😍

Under tthe coaching of Chip Kelly and Jerry Neuhesiel, NW QB Aiden Chiles is having a honey of a season - https://nusports.com/news/2026/10/26/aidan-chiles-named-big-ten-offensive-player-of-the-week-again

Jeff, thanks for getting off the Island and posting. 😁 Seriously, I echo Charles's welcome. It's great to have you here and posting. (BTW, I doubt she'd have me but I'm a Ginger kind of guy 😍)

Will Linc Go Mi$$ing? On310 questions that will define the 2026 college football c...The college football coaching carousel is officially spinning with three Power Four jobs opening in the last week. But from there, questions are aplenty

QB Tommy Carr is odds on to start for Michigan in Autzen on 11/14. On3Michigan expected to start Tommy Carr at QB vs. RutgersMichigan is expected to start Tommy Carr instead of Bryce Underwood vs. Rutgers following making a change last week for the Indiana game, On3's Pete Nakos

Yes, most of the 'experts' perdicted that the AFL would fold up. Then, Joe Namath signed with the Jets. 🤑

Thanks for the terrific post. In 2026, transfer QBs have started games for Rutgers, Penn State, Ohio State, Indiana, Purdue, Illinois, Northwestern, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Iowa, Washington, Oregon, UCLA, and USC, 77.77% of conference programs. In 2026, the only Big Ten team with two or fewer losses and playing a home grown QB is Minnesota. In the SEC, Georgia's Matthew Stafford, Texas's Archie Manning, A&M's Mercel Reed, and both of Tennessee's starting freshmen qbs are home grown. In 2026, transfer QBs have started games for Auburn, Florida, Kentucky, LSU, Missouri, Ole Miss, Oklahoma, and Vanderbilt. In 2026, transfer QBs have started for 42 of the 68 FBS football programs, 61.8%. 2024-25 champion Ohio State, and 2025-26 champion Indiana, started transfer QBs. Will Howard and Fernando Mendoza were in the middle, not the top, of their respective group of QB transfers. Spot on noting that roster management today is a full time, year round job.

In 1960, my Dad and I attended the then Boston Patriot's opening game played at BU's Nickerson Field. The Pats QB was Babe Parilli, The Sweet Kentucky Babe, who won an SEC title playing for Bear Bryant at Kentucky. As you noted, the stadium's gone. It was replaced by dormitories. BS - before Schaffer Stadium in Foxborough opened, I also watched the Boston Pats play at Harvard and Boston College. My Dad's friend, Billy Sullivan, bought the AFL Football League Boston franchise for $25,000. (Not a typo.) Notre Dame plays Navy on Saturday in today's New England Patriots Gillette Stadium.

The team has suffered from complacency and entitlement from the get-go. As Mike West has observed, the team is not talented at every position and does not have the same talent as the teams that blew out Oregon in the Rose and Peach Bowls and won titles. Unlike Chip Kelly's far less talented team that was so close to winning a BCS title, this team has no schematic advantage on either side of the ball. Marcus Mariota's squad was an awesome group, and Marcus was a run threat when needed. The Ohio State team that defeated Oregon in the title game had one of the most talented squads in CFB history. The loss was sad but understandable. Without a QB who presents an 11-on-11 threat on offense, Oregon's offense is predictable and not difficult to defend. Especially so when the O-line is mediocre at best. But all of these issues can be overcome by a kick-butt attitude and a desire to kick the whey out of the other guy. Of course, better coaching helps the cause, but ultimately it's not generals but the soldiers who have to hit the beach. From the opening game against a G6 opponent, where in Hades has been the desire to kick butt and win? A talented QB was decapitated, and I thought, with the way the team battled in LA after Dante's injury, this team was ready to fight and run the table. I thought leaders would step up in the locker room and on the field. I was wrong. Stuff happens. Bad seasons happen. I hope this isn't a Clemson-like, top-down, long-term endemic problem. We'll soon see. Next year's in-conference schedule is more difficult than this season's Big Ten schedule. BTW, $50 million? Bull Manure.

Caption? Huh? You can't arrest me! I didn't do it! 😁

Trick or Treat?

Gat, good luck to your Gators and Nevada Dawg's Dogs in the World's Largest Indoor Cocktail Party game on Halloweenie. And GameDay's in Bloomington for the Hoosiers vs. the Gophers? After his trip to Salt Lake City, I guess Pat McAfee needed to head home for a hug. 😁

At what?

On3's Ari Wasserman's thoughts on Week 8. Not good for the guy standing in the middle of the photo. On315 thoughts after Week 8: Oregon's frustration, Texas' re...A lot happens on college football Saturdays. It’s hard to keep up with everything. So this season, in an attempt to bring everybody up to speed – while

DC - I'd go with Pete Kwiatkowski, now a D-line coach with the AZ Cardinals, who had a top-20 D at Texas and was fired by Sark because someone had to go from a team that didn't make the POs. Locksley? Zero experience recruiting the West Coast and an offense and team at Maryland that disappeared after September. Aranda? A California guy but not a great recruiter by any means.

It's JJ! What could go wrong? (🤬😧🥸) This guy has more CFB frequent-flyer miles than a United Airlines pilot. He doesn't seem to be at the apogee of his career. (DUH!) Chip brought back the Winged T, and Northwestern and QB Aiden Chiles are lighting it up. Win one for the Gipper and bring back the Single Wing? No place is finer on December 22nd than Shreveport, Louisiana, and it's only a 40-hour drive from Eugene. 😁

Best of fortune to Dante Moore. A fine young man. I'd do a thorough review of the offseason and the errors made that translated into a very disappointing, bordering on a historically disappointing, regular season. In today's CFB, you cannot lose the offseason and compete for championships. Texas A&M, with its starting QB not injured, made the same kind of offseason mistakes and is also experiencing a season out of Hades. Conversely, Will Stein perfectly mined the portal, including the O-line position, and has Kentucky winning the closest of games and is on top of the SEC. As Urban Meyer and many others have noted, O-line today is the toughest position to recruit to and develop, and quality O-line starters out of the portal are gold. Three O-line players who transferred to Oregon were part of a 2025 Joe Moore Award finalist line and are on NFL rosters. Accordingly, and as others have noted above, a dual-threat QB, or at least a QB who can run the ball when necessary, is more of a necessity than a luxury. Dylan Raiola was not the answer at Nebraska, and he's not the answer in Eugene.

Pro Football Focus Week 8 Top QB Grade Goes to Northwestern's Aiden Chiles - https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/northwesterns-aidan-chiles-earns-highest-190036017.html

In South Central, with Linc's missing O, the natives are restless. https://trojanswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/trojans/football/2026/10/26/oregon-failed-offensive-coordinator-41-points-lincoln-riley/92445725007/ https://trojanswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/trojans/football/2026/10/26/wisconsin-mess-showed-usc-football-fire-lincoln-riley/92438805007/

It's the rock, not the sculptor. Raiola would stump Michelangelo. Cornhuskers OC Dana Holgerson has QB Colandrea playing better ball than Raiola did at Nebraska. Colandera was the 2025 Mountain West Player of the Year; he's an athlete. Raiola is not. Raiola was one of the many offseason foul-ups.

A 12:30 Pacific body clock start for OBD in Columbus on November 7th. CBS, not the Big Noon crew, is broadcasting the game. Oregon is a -3.5 favorite vs. Northwestern on Halloween. https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/2026-college-foortball-schedule-big-ten-cbs/

In Week 9, College GameDay will be in Bloomington, Indiana, for the No. 31 Minnesota Gophers, traveling by rowboat, vs. No. 4 Indiana. Hard to believe, but there is no trophy, Floyd, Jug, Brown, or otherwise, associated with this game. Coach Cig is still giving thanks to Wolverines OC Joe Beck, with a true frosh starting his first game at QB, calling a pass play on 3rd and goal at the Hoosiers one, which resulted in a 13-yard loss and a missed FG attempt. After checking in at the Ann Arbor Unemployment office, Beck should FaceTime with Meh for a shot and a beer. Beck is the highest-paid OC in the nation. He followed Whit East, so there is no pink slip, as of yet, in the offing. With SC notably gaining -17 yards rushing against No. 25 Wisconsin, and with Julian Sayin injured and out, Rece and friends decided to skip a Halloween trip to LA. With the game in Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Gators and Dawgs fans will be tipping a few at The World's Largest Indoor Cocktail Party, while pointing the finger North in the direction of Pat McAfee, back home again in Indiana. Speaking of The Bird, are Northwestern games required to be shown (and not watched) on Peacock? 🤬 https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/espn-college-gameday-location-announced-162125644.html

Oregon -3.5 vs. Northwestern and the CBS Sports simulated results like Oregon to cover. https://www.cbssports.com/betting/news/college-football-odds-picks-predictions-week-9-2026/