College football is back, and the first Saturday already brings a stack of questions that could shape the season.
For the last eight months, the conversation has been all transfer classes, recruiting rankings and quarterbacks flashing in red practice jerseys. That’s over now. The real thing starts Saturday, and before the opening whistle, there are five issues hanging over the sport.
The first is the strangest ranking on the board: why is Indiana sixth?
This is not a team that merely crashed the playoff and stole a game. Indiana went undefeated, beat Ohio State for the Big Ten title and won the national championship. And yet Ohio State sits at No. 1 while Indiana is placed behind five teams that were watching the title game from home.
Sure, the Hoosiers lost talent. Every champion does.
Maybe they take a step back. But until someone actually beats them, sixth still feels like voters are having a hard time fully accepting what happened last season.
Ohio State, meanwhile, has a different burden: can it handle being the favorite?
No one is questioning the talent. The Buckeyes are loaded, and they have two legitimate Heisman candidates in Julian Sayin and Jeremiah Smith. But they’re also being asked to finish a job they didn’t finish a year ago.
Oregon is right there. Georgia is, as always, in the mix.
And Indiana has already beaten Ohio State on the biggest stage in the conference. The Buckeyes can win the whole thing.
They can also go 11-1, drop one massive game and leave the entire fan base furious. That’s life in Columbus.
Then there’s Arch Manning, who is back in the spotlight whether he’s ready or not.
This was the same conversation last summer, when Manning was treated like a Heisman winner before he had actually done anything to earn that kind of hype. He wasn’t bad. He just wasn’t the weekly must-watch force people had promised.
Now his name is near the top of the odds again. Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr opens as the favorite, with Dante Moore and Sayin close behind him.
Manning has the arm, the team and the famous last name. Once Texas starts playing, only the first two should matter.
Another question: who becomes this year’s Indiana?
Indiana shattered the idea that only the usual powers can win a championship. But that doesn’t make the next surprise contender easy to spot.
Texas Tech is the obvious name after winning the Big 12. Boise State will get mentioned.
Louisville has a path in the ACC. And the real answer might be a team nobody is talking about yet.
Last August, hardly anyone was drawing up an Indiana championship parade either.
Finally, there’s the uncomfortable one: who gets fired first?
Mike Norvell has the early edge.
Florida State opens against New Mexico State on Saturday, and the range of outcomes is pretty simple. Win comfortably, and nobody thinks twice.
Labor through three quarters, and the noise starts. Lose, and the season turns sideways before most ranked teams have even played.
Wisconsin’s Luke Fickell and Baylor’s Dave Aranda aren’t far behind him.
That’s the beauty of Week 1. Every team starts undefeated and convinced something special is possible. Somebody is about to lose and wreck that feeling before dinner.
Predictions are fun because nobody has been proven wrong yet. That changes Saturday. One player will come out of nowhere, one favorite will look shaky and at least one fan base will start panicking before the weekend is over.
The five questions won’t all be answered right away. But college football can start blowing up our best guesses immediately.
In Other News...
Steve Sarkisian Is Still Trying To Explain Ohio State Away
Steve Sarkisian is still circling back to Texas College Football Playoff loss to Ohio State, and the explanation he offered on a podcast did little to make the defeat feel any smaller. The Texas coach pointed to a mental fatigue his team carried into that 2024 game, a night when the Buckeyes controlled the matchup well enough to leave no real doubt about the gap between the programs.
For Ohio State, that game became part of a championship run, the kind of win that lingers because it was followed by even bigger stakes and a trophy at the end of the road. Texas, meanwhile, is trying to move forward with a new offensive system and the kind of confidence that comes from players like Jeremiah Smith, even as the Longhorns continue to deal with questions about a pass defense that was vulnerable a season ago. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio States Most Dangerous Offensive Duo Might Be Even Better Now
Julian Sayin and Jeremiah Smith are back together for a second season, and the early signs around Ohio State suggest the pairing may be even more dangerous now. The quarterback has taken on a more vocal presence as a leader, and that matters for a Buckeyes offense built around timing, trust and the kind of connection that can stress a defense on every snap.
Ryan Day has already pointed to Sayins leadership as one of the things standing out as the team gets ready for the upcoming season. For Ohio State, the appeal is obvious: if the chemistry between Sayin and Smith keeps sharpening, the Buckeyes could be looking at a passing game that is far harder to slow down than it was a year ago. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Backfield Need Puts This In-State Target In Focus
Ohio States search for help in the backfield has put an in-state target on the radar after a strong high school performance drew fresh attention to Jordan Hall. The 2027 running back from Ohio is already committed to Miami (Ohio), but his recruitment has begun to pick up, with Penn State recently stepping in with an offer and the Buckeyes keeping a close eye on him because of their need at running back.
Hall is set to come to Columbus for a game-day visit next weekend when Ohio State hosts Ball State, giving the Buckeyes a chance to make a stronger impression in person. There is still no offer from Ohio State, but the interest is real enough that this trip could become an important checkpoint in a recruitment that is starting to move. [Read more 🡒]