For those who have an "X" account, (sign up and just ignore it but be able to view these) you can see some questions answered about whether Fox Crader can pass-protect!

I don't know which tier surprised me the most!

4 hours ago, Charles Fischer said:

I don't know which tier surprised me the most!

On the top line, two teams stand out for having the easiest schedule and the easiest paths to the PO. Mario and Miami, and Marcus and Notre Dame.

Ken Massey SOS Rankings - Ohio State 11, Oregon 25, Georgia 26, Miami 64, Notre Dame 67. There are 68 FBS P4 teams.

This is not an aberration. Massey SOS rankings are consistent with all 2026 preseason SOS rankings.

Think the CFB PO Committee will consider this when counting wins and losses? How about: NO!

1. How does OBD only have the 25th ranked SoS when they play five teams on this list?

2. Nice subtle dig at the SUC coaching staff by ranking them for roster only.

3. Swap in Penn St for a dark horse and send the purple mutts back to the dog house.

50 minutes ago, The Kamikaze Kid said:

1. How does OBD only have the 25th ranked SoS when they play five teams on this list?

2. Nice subtle dig at the SUC coaching staff by ranking them for roster only.

3. Swap in Penn St for a dark horse and send the purple mutts back to the dog house.

Good question. SOS varies depending upon how a given site ranks teams in the preseason. For example, in the SP+ rankings, every SEC team plays a top 25 schedule with Georgia coming in 25th and Texas 1st.

Eleven SEC teams are ranked in the SP+ top 25, and SOS rankings follow suit. SP+ does have Ohio State ranked first, Oregon second, and Indiana fifth.

Good call on Penn State. PSU misses Ohio State, Oregon, Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana, and plays USC in Happy Valley. On the road at Michigan and Washington look like the two most difficult games.

QB Rocco Becht and 19 other Iowa State players followed coach Matt Campbell to Penn State, as did the OC and DC. Becht has 39 starts under his belt. Same coach, same offense, no learning curve for Rocco.

Washington has road games at USC and Oregon, plays Penn State and Indiana in Seattle, and misses Ohio State, Iowa, and Illinois.

PSU and UW do not play a P4 team out of conference.

CLEATZ

College Football SP+ Rankings for the 2026 Season

College Football SP+ rankings for the 2026 season — updated weekly. Offensive and defensive ratings for all 130+ teams, plus the biggest gaps between SP+ and the AP Poll.

7 hours ago, Jon Joseph said:

every SEC team plays a top 25 schedule with Georgia coming in 25th and Texas 1st.

And the Big Ten who have won the last three national championships isn't seen as a difficult conference by comparison.

It's the SEC and the self-fulfilling prophecy. If they are all ranked then they play all these ranked teams. As we have seen time and time again you don't get dinged too bad when you lose to ranked teams. So even in defeat they often stay ranked far longer than they should because hey now... They only lose to ranked opponents.

Thus.... The SEC plays the hardest schedule and are the hardest conference.

Does reality match this prophecy? No! But that doesn't matter.

The times I saw Fox Crader play I thought he looked pretty solid. In particular he seemed much more mobile than Isaiah World and Alex Harkey, especially moving laterally. Even at the tackle spot there's such a thing as being too large since faster DEs can cause problems if you're just too slow.

1 hour ago, kirklandduck said:

The times I saw Fox Crader play I thought he looked pretty solid. In particular he seemed much more mobile than Isaiah World and Alex Harkey, especially moving laterally. Even at the tackle spot there's such a thing as being too large since faster DEs can cause problems if you're just too slow.

Agreed. When we ran outside zone plays to his side, he pulled and blocked in open space superbly...and that was as an inexperienced RS freshman. He has a high upside, IMHO.

3 hours ago, David Marsh said:

And the Big Ten who have won the last three national championships isn't seen as a difficult conference by comparison.

It's the SEC and the self-fulfilling prophecy. If they are all ranked then they play all these ranked teams. As we have seen time and time again you don't get dinged too bad when you lose to ranked teams. So even in defeat they often stay ranked far longer than they should because hey now... They only lose to ranked opponents.

Thus.... The SEC plays the hardest schedule and are the hardest conference.

Does reality match this prophecy? No! But that doesn't matter.

David, in summary, I agree with your well-made point. I know you are busy, so stop reading now if you so desire. 😁

The SEC went 2-8 in the 2025-26 postseason. In 2024-25 and last season, the middle of the Big Ten more than held its own against the SEC.

Because of its emphasis on recruiting, and to your point, David, SP+ ranks 11 SEC teams in the top 25. FPI has 12 SEC teams ranked in its top 25.

Where is the coaching factor in these rankings? Based on recruiting and portal rankings, the SEC is doing less with more. Vice versa for the B1G.

Three very interesting games coming up: Ohio State at Texas, Oklahoma at Michigan, and Mississippi State at Minnesota. Mainstream media has the SEC going 3-0. I don't see it.

FPI No. 18 Florida, which did not win six games in 2024 and 2025, is in the top 25. Why? Because Coach Sumrall, whose Tulane team was destroyed twice by Ole Miss last season, is now the head man in Gainesville? Or because Georgia Tech backup QB Aaron Philo (?) is now the QB in Gainesville?

No. 21 Missouri did not defeat a team that won more than six games last season and lost 13-7 to UVA in its bowl game. No. 8 Bama defeated No. 12 Oklahoma in Norman before suffering a historic bowl loss to Indiana. No. 16 Tennessee was defeated by Illinois in Nashville. Miami shut out No. 11 A&M on its home field. A+M defeated seven SEC teams that did not win more than six games before losing badly at Texas.

No. 23 South Carolina lost to Illinois in 2024-25 and was not bowl-eligible last season. No. 22 Auburn has not been bowl-eligible the last two seasons.

Of course, if 25 teams are ranked, many SEC teams will be ranked. But the middle of the SEC should not, for the most part, be ranked above Michigan, Penn State, USC, Iowa, and Illinois. And Minnesota, Nebraska, and Northwestern went bowling last season and won their bowl games.

Half of the SEC will have one more loss this season. It will be very interesting to review these SP+ and FPI preseason rankings when the PO committee's final ranking is revealed on 12/6/25.

Play Ball! And Beat Boise!

Athlon Sports is Paying Attention - Kind of. The B1G ahead of the SEC does not square with Athlon's prediction of five SEC teams in the 2026 PO field.

But consistency is the hobgoblin of mediocre minds, right? 🤪

https://athlonsports.com/college-football/ranking-conferences-big-ten-sec-acc-big-12

FIVE SEC teams making the Playoff out of 12 teams?

REALLY?

3 hours ago, Jon Joseph said:

Where is the coaching factor in these rankings? Based on recruiting and portal rankings, the SEC is doing less with more. Vice versa for the B1G.

We're on the same page here Jon.

But it doesn't matter how good or bad the SEC's results are because it's the SEC and they are compared to their over rated counterparts.

What is interesting is that the nature of recruiting has changed. The portal and NIL have made it that our metics of what makes a good or bad roster need to change though they are not wholely wrong.

Love your comments Jon.

8 hours ago, Charles Fischer said:

Agreed. When we ran outside zone plays to his side, he pulled and blocked in open space superbly...and that was as an inexperienced RS freshman. He has a high upside, IMHO.

And I believe Genorris Wilson played better than both tackles last year as well. In fact, I am at a complete loss over that. I actually believe Wilson is better than transfer Michael Bennet.

Did anyone know that both tackles were injured in the Peach Bowl? How about this fact, massive depth along the defensive line hit the portal before that game. That may have been a significant factor in OBD's inability to stop Indiana from running as well as they did in January. I like our backup DE's, but the amount of talent lost inside concerns me. Notre Dame, LSU and Ole Miss picked up some huge talent at our expense.

As far as the Tier ratings-I only see Ohio State and Georgia in Tier 1. Until OBD implements a passing attack that defeated Ohio State TWICE this decade, we are Tier 2 in my book. In my outlandish opinion, we will have to actually outscore the elite teams-and I am talking dropping at least 35-in order to win the Natty. Lanning wants his defense to win the title. I don't see that happening. Even with the amount of experience coming back. OBD have to score more than 21 on elite defenses. That has been our ceiling since DL has been here-and it won't cut it.

OBD have had some massive misfortune on our playoff runs. Injuries bit us hard. NIL has leveled the playing field, and OBD have massive talent this year. But execution has lagged behind in my opinion. And despite the fact Georgia and Ohio State disappointed last year (and in 24 for UGA), I watched their Spring Games thoroughly. The eye test looks better than OBD. Both of their defenses CAN win them a title.

Outside the topic of this thread: Dante Moore absolutely must deliver NFL caliber performances this year. Right now I see OBD defense holding elite offenses to 28 points. Moore is going to have to throw like we have never seen him throw before. And yes, that is probably hyperbole (didn't take that as offensive-I am emphasizing the extreme on purpose. It is very, very difficult to win a national title).

I love every aspect of where this team is at. Dan Lanning is going to win a national title for us. I hope it will happen this year.

6 hours ago, Charles Fischer said:

FIVE SEC teams making the Playoff out of 12 teams?

REALLY?

I don't like the SEC. I hate their marketing narrative. But they DID get five playoff teams last year. I argued for a sixth-Texas. One thing the sESPNc has that the B1G does not is second tier programs good enough to win 10 every year. I'm calling out USC, Michigan and Washington for sure. Iowa needs to pull off an upset. Penn State, Wisconsin and Nebraska need to live up to their past glory. Michigan State and UCLA could return to past excellence as well. That's eight programs with reputations as good as Florida, Tennessee, Auburn, LSU in years past. Until those programs elevate to the degree Ohio State truly risks losing to them, we will have a problem like NASA has routinely in space. The B1G needs five programs winning 10 games a year and another 3 winning 9.

That's how the B1G gets 5 teams in the playoffs.

Despite what Josh Pate and SEC enthusiasts say-YOU ARE WHAT YOUR RECORD SAYS YOU ARE.

On 7/15/2026 at 2:39 PM, Charles Fischer said:

For those who have an "X" account, (sign up and just ignore it but be able to view these) you can see some questions answered about whether Fox Crader can pass-protect!

One of the things I really like about Crader as LT is his mobility and bend at 6'6" #315. Jumbo sized but not a lot of extra weight and it pays off in quickness to stay with a twitchy edge player. He'll go up against Matayo, Tatum and Nasir (and now Tank) every day in practice to hone that skill. I see him taking a big step forward this year.