October figures to scramble the college football board in ways that could make the first playoff rankings look like a carnival mirror. By the end of the month, Notre Dame and Miami are projected to be unbeaten, sitting at No. 1 and No. 2 and heading toward a Nov. 7 meeting that would be the biggest between the programs since “Catholics vs. Convicts” in 1988.
Notre Dame’s path to the top spot runs through a road win at BYU on Oct. 17, a game that would put the Irish at No. 1 for the first time since 2012. The selling point is simple: the nation’s best defense.
Miami, meanwhile, would ride the nation’s top offense past Clemson and Florida State before handling Pittsburgh at home on Oct. 24.
That would leave the Hurricanes at No. 2 and set up a matchup with all the old baggage attached.
If the rankings do fall that way, the old grievances will come roaring back. Cleveland Gary will be there to say he did not fumble at the goal line.
Notre Dame defensive backs will be there to insist Andre Brown did not have control of the ball when he was given the late touchdown that cut the margin to one. And yes, people will still want to talk about the pregame tunnel fight and the T-shirts.
Elsewhere, the unbeaten club will not last long. By Halloween night, the Big Ten and SEC are expected to be without any perfect teams.
Right now there are nine unbeaten teams, with Texas, Georgia, Florida, Alabama and Mississippi State in the SEC and Indiana, UCLA, Iowa and Nebraska in the Big Ten. The source of all the future yelling is obvious: strength of schedule debates that will warp brains and make the Nov. 3 unveiling of the first College Football Playoff Top 25 on ESPN almost impossible to watch.
Still, people will watch. The other thing on the day’s menu might be even messier: the 2026 midterm election results.
Do you want Hunter Yurachek stumbling through answers to Rece Davis, or Steve Kornacki at the big board? That’s the choice.
Texas Tech is another team headed for a reckoning. The Red Raiders are projected to drop their first Big 12 game in more than a year, with Cincinnati on Oct. 24 the latest place it could happen.
The issue is the offense, which has been sloppy and ordinary, ranking 11th in the Big 12 in yards per game and yards per play while already coughing up eight turnovers. Against Sam Houston, they threw three interceptions and put the ball on the ground five times, though they recovered four of those fumbles.
Cincinnati is 4-0, and while Scott Satterfield has a reputation for surprise, the Bearcats are due for some losses too.
Quarterback drama is coming to Oregon and Oklahoma, but for very different reasons. At Oregon, Dante Moore is still coming back from the concussion he took on a vicious hit against USC, so Dylan Raiola gets the first start and leads the Ducks past UCLA on Oct.
- After that, Dan Lanning will have a problem on his hands, because Raiola’s work in relief against USC - 19 of 25 for 289 yards and two touchdowns - leaves the coach with a decision before Nebraska comes to Eugene on Oct.
Oklahoma’s situation is far more desperate. The Sooners, now 2-2, have an open date before the Red River Rivalry and need to figure out whether John Mateer can be fixed or whether a new starter has to be thrown into the fire against Texas. Whitt Newbauer, who has thrown five passes at Oklahoma after arriving from Mercer, and freshman Bowe Bentley, who has thrown one college pass, are the names in the mix.
Mateer’s recent run has been brutal: five touchdowns and six turnovers over the last three games. At Georgia on Saturday, he turned it over three straight possessions in the second quarter during the blowout loss.
Before that came a two-interception slog against New Mexico, and before that a game-turning interception at Michigan. Oklahoma’s running game has not helped, with none of the top four backs averaging four yards per carry.
Mateer has run for just 76 yards this season, but his mobility and experience may still make him the best option against a Texas defense that has been battering opposing quarterbacks.
Colorado is another program that could be sliding into a full October conversation about the future. Deion Sanders is facing a brutal stretch with Texas Tech, Utah, Oklahoma State and Kansas State all on the schedule, and the Buffaloes’ two-game losing streak could grow to six by November. If they go 0-for-October, Sanders would be 5-15 since 2024, with one Big 12 win.
The bigger issue around Colorado is that the program still looks like it’s searching for an identity after the departures of Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders to the NFL. Offensive futility is about the only consistent trait: the Buffs haven’t scored 25 points against a power-conference opponent since Nov. 29, 2024, and haven’t scored more than 17 since Nov.
8, 2025. Even so, Sanders is not underperforming compared with recent Colorado history.
His nine-win season in ’24 was a rarity there, matched only once since 2002. The question is less about whether pressure builds and more about whether he wants to keep dealing with the physical toll.
And if October does turn into a coaching carousel, two familiar names are ready to circle back in. Brian Kelly and Jimbo Fisher remain on buyout money and TV duty, but both seem interested in coaching again.
Kelly has 21 seasons with at least nine wins across five stops. Fisher had nine such seasons in 11 years at Florida State and Texas A&M and won a national title.
Both were fired at playoff-aspiring SEC jobs because the expectations were higher than the results, and both are now in their 60s with the NIL and transfer portal changing the rules around them. As the market settles this month, their names figure to surface with the rising mid-major coaches and the hot coordinators.
In Other News...
Clemson Just Got A Tougher Miami Test Than Expected
Miami got a welcome update heading into its matchup with Clemson, with coach Mario Cristobal saying running back Mark Fletcher Jr. and defensive tackle Ahmad Moten Sr. are expected to be available. Both had been held out of the previous game after picking up minor injuries against Wake Forest, leaving the Hurricanes a little thinner than usual in two important spots.
Now, those absences appear to be short-lived, and that matters in a game where Miami will want as much stability as possible on both sides of the ball. Fletcher gives the Hurricanes another option in the backfield, while Motens presence up front helps a defense that will be tested in a big way, even as Cristobal says both players are healthy and ready to go. [Read more 🡒]
Miami Suddenly Has A Real RB2 Debate Before Clemson
Chris Wheatley-Humphrey gave Miami something to think about in the win over Central Michigan, turning 11 carries into more than 100 yards and a touchdown while Mark Fletcher Jr. was held out to get ready for Clemson. The timing matters because the Hurricanes have been searching for clarity behind their feature back, and the latest outing only sharpened the conversation. When a reserve back puts together that kind of performance, it changes how a depth chart looks heading into a much bigger stage.
Mario Cristobal said Fletcher was rested with Clemson in mind, and Miami appears headed toward a committee approach for the RB2 role anyway. Wheatley-Humphrey, Girard Pringle and Jordan Lyle are all in the mix, which gives the Hurricanes options but also leaves the pecking order unsettled. Against a defense like Clemsons, the question is not just who gets the next carry, but who can earn the staffs trust when the game gets tight. [Read more 🡒]
Cristobal Put Miamis Clemson Focus On Two Issues After Blowout Win
After Miamis 52-3 rout of Central Michigan, the focus inside the program quickly shifted from the lopsided final to the details that matter next. The Hurricanes piled up 572 yards and forced three turnovers, with Darian Mensah sharp through the air and Malachi Toney continuing to give the offense a big-play presence, but head coach Mario Cristobal spent his media time zeroing in on how the game was managed and how the roster was rotated.
Clemson is the real measuring stick ahead, and Cristobals message after the win centered on two issues that will shape how prepared Miami looks when that one arrives. The matchup is already looming as a major test for a team that handled Central Michigan with ease, and the attention now is on whether the Canes can keep the same edge while tightening the pieces that matter most in a bigger game. [Read more 🡒]