Power 4 football kicks off tomorrow in Dublin, Ireland. On yesterday's eponymous show, Paul Finebaum named UNC's Bill Belichick the worst coach in college football history.

Considering Charlie Weis coached college ball, this is a heck of an accomplishment for Billy.

The twelve teams with the best Playoff Championship odds:

1. Ohio State - 13.5%

Four O-line starters return for Ohio State; if improved from last season, Ohio State will be awesome on offense. But can DC Matt Patricia, after losing quality players to the NFL, be able to reload the defense against a brutal schedule ranked the fourth most difficult by SP+?

2. Notre Dame - 10.4%

With a lightweight SP+ 62nd-ranked strength of schedule, the Irish should finish 12-0 or 11-1 and, without having to play a 13th conference championship game, be well-rested for a playoff run.

3. Oregon - 10.1%

SP+ ranks Oregon's 2026 schedule as the 21st most difficult in CFB. Considering the disparity in competition, .03 behind the Domers is a dead heat, if not a nod in favor of the Ducks.

4. Indiana - 9.6%

If transfer QB Josh Hoover improves under the coaching of Cig and OC Mike Shanahan, as has every QB who played for these two over the last decade, and with the Ohio State and USC games in Bloomington, if the Hoosiers can handle Michigan and Washington on the road, a second 16-0 season is possible.

5. Georgia - 9.2%

Before NIL, direct payment to athletes, and unregulated free agency, I doubt you would see three Big Ten teams and Notre Dame with better odds to win it all in 2026 than the SEC team with the best odds.

6. Miami - 7.3%

Quite the drop-off from the top 5 to No. 6 Miami. SP+ has the Hurricanes' schedule ranked 49th.

If Mario can avoid in-game coaching errors and Miami can finish better than a woeful 86th in penalty yards, the November 7th game at Notre Dame could decide which team will finish 11-1 or 12-0.

However, that's two big IFs for M&M.

7. Texas - 6.1%

Mock's Playoff Predictor programming is not buying the Archie and the stellar players Sark picked from the portal hype.

'But in 2025, Archie improved so much later in the season,' right? Manning finished the 2025 season with the 38th-best QB rating.

WR Cam Coleman is being compared to Jeremiah Smith.

With Auburn in 2025, Coleman was targeted 87 times, finished with 56 receptions, 708 yards, and 5 TDs.

When considering Auburn's QBs, these are good stats. But what was not good was a 6.7% drop rate on catchable balls. Jeremiah Smith played two more games than Coleman and finished 2025 with a sterling drop rate of 1.8%.

And the two stud RB transfers predicted to light up the SEC in 2026 racked up big yardage in the Lesser 2 ACC and the B12.

Texas finished with the 25th-best defense in 2025. Sark hired former Texas head coach-in-waiting Will Muschamp as his new DC. Can Muschamp improve the defense against a schedule that SP+ ranks as the nation's most difficult?

The next time Sark gets Smart will be the first time. With a more seasoned team in 2026, I think Georgia will repeat as the SEC champion.

Something new in 2026 gives the teams with the four first-round byes the opportunity to pick the second-round bowl site. If UGA wins the SEC and if it's not taken, you can count on Georgia picking the Peach Bowl in Atlanta and not the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.

8. Texas Tech - 4.9%

There are 68 teams in the Power 4, including Notre Dame. Tech has the 71st-ranked strength of schedule and the top-rated roster in the B12.

Next case.

Round up some of the usual SEC suspects for the next four teams:

9. Alabama - 3.4%; Oklahoma - 3.2%; LSU - 2.3%; and Texas A+M 2.1%.

PLAY BALL! And Zero In on Bashing Boise in Week 1!

I understand how on paper the Buckeyes look great....but I was blown away talking to a VERY informed Ohio State fan...a former FishDuck editor who is incredibly knowledgeable.

She is a little depressed at losing the former OC, and having Arthur Smith replace him. She feels that his track record is not impressive, and doubts that he has the chops to duplicate what has been done on offense at Columbus in the past.

She stated that if the Buckeyes disappoint this year--it will be due to him! Something to watch for...

39 minutes ago, Charles Fischer said:

Something to watch for...

Since it doesn't involve a player injury, I'll go ahead and hope for it.

49 minutes ago, Charles Fischer said:

I understand how on paper the Buckeyes look great....But I was blown away talking to a VERY informed Ohio State fan...a former FishDuck editor who is incredibly knowledgeable.

She is a little depressed at losing the former OC, and having Arthur Smith replace him. She feels that his track record is not impressive, and doubts that he has the chops to duplicate what has been done on offense at Columbus in the past.

She stated that if the Buckeyes disappoint this year--it will be due to him! Something to watch for...

With the tools he has on Ohio State's 2026 offense, new OC Arthur Smith better put up a lot of points.

Many Ohio State fans criticized Day's hire of Matt Patricia as DC. A coach with NFL experience and next to no college coaching experience. In 14 games, Ohio State held opponents to an average of 9.3 points a game.

It was OC Brian Hartline's offense that no-showed in the two most important games of the season against Indiana and Miami. As was the case with Stein and Tosh, Hartline had to focus on recruiting and portal picking at his new job as HC of USF.

With the game shortened by the clock not stopping for 1st downs except in the final two minutes of a half, Day, like many college coaches, has slowed the game down on offense. Fewer possessions also mean more teams going for it on 4th down.

The hiring of NFL guy Arthur Smith to replace Hartline has been roundly criticized. But I think Smith, who was the Titans HC and most recently the OC with the Steelers, fits Day's more NFL-oriented game plan.

The Patricia hire worked out, and I think it will be the same with Smith.