ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit is already looking ahead to 2026, and his Coach of the Year watchlist comes with four familiar names at the top of the college football food chain.
For The Herbies, Herbstreit went with Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman, Vanderbilt’s Clark Lea, Georgia’s Kirby Smart and Indiana’s Curt Cignetti.
Freeman, 40, has been steady from the jump in South Bend. He has won at least nine games in each of his four seasons leading the Fighting Irish, took Notre Dame to the College Football Playoff title game two seasons ago, and followed that up with a 10-2 finish last season that left the Irish just outside the CFP field.
Lea, 44, put Vanderbilt on a different level in 2025. The Commodores finished 10-3, marking the first 10-win season in program history, and Lea’s work carried the Nashville native’s team to a No. 15 spot in the final AP poll.
Smart’s résumé needs little introduction. The 50-year-old Georgia coach is a two-time national champion and has also delivered four SEC titles. Since 2017, the Bulldogs have lost three or fewer games every season, and last year they went 12-2 and earned a CFP berth.
Cignetti, 65, has Indiana rolling at a pace the program has never seen. He led the Hoosiers to an undefeated season and the program’s first national title last year, and he enters 2026 with a 27-2 record at Indiana. Cignetti is also a two-time AP Coach of the Year.
Each coach will open the season with a different test. Notre Dame starts against Wisconsin, Vanderbilt hosts Austin Peay, Georgia welcomes Tennessee State, and Indiana opens at home against North Texas.
In Other News...
Vanderbilt Opens With An Early Tight End Problem To Watch
Vanderbilt is already facing an early wrinkle at tight end before the season even gets rolling. Cole Spence will miss the opener against Austin Peay after getting hurt earlier in the week, and Clark Lea said the sophomore was questionable but unlikely to play as the staff takes a careful approach to his recovery.
Jayvontay Conner, the transfer, is now positioned to carry the load in Spences absence, giving the Commodores an immediate test at a spot that can matter in both the passing game and the run game. It is an early-season adjustment, but one Vanderbilt will have to sort through quickly as it prepares for the opener. [Read more 🡒]
Vanderbilt Won But One Big Concern Showed Up Immediately
Vanderbilt got the result it needed in the opener, handling Austin Peay 28-9 and moving to 1-0, but the larger question coming out of the game was less about the final score than how the offense arrived there. The Commodores were deliberate from the start, leaning on possession, field position and a low-risk approach as they prepared to turn the page toward Delaware, and that style left observers watching closely to see what it might mean once the schedule stiffens.
Blaze Berlowitz was steady in his first start, but the passing game did not exactly announce itself as a source of big-play threat. The concern now is whether Vanderbilt can pair that kind of control with enough explosiveness to keep opponents from crowding the box and forcing longer drives, because the opener suggested the Commodores may need more from the quarterback spot if they want this season to feel different from the last few. [Read more 🡒]
Vanderbilt Fans Finally Got Their First Glimpse Of Life After Diego Pavia
The first step into life after Diego Pavia looked encouraging for Vanderbilt, even if the opener came against an FCS opponent that provided a more manageable test. The Commodores handled Austin Peay 28-9 and got contributions from across the roster, with Blaze Berlowitz helping at quarterback, Sedrick Alexander adding to the ground game and Josiah Broxton chipping in on defense as the team opened a new chapter without its former centerpiece.
There was also a first look at the future in the form of five-star freshman quarterback Jared Curtis, whose debut gave fans an early glimpse of what the next wave might look like. The game settled in Vanderbilts favor after halftime as the defense kept Austin Peay off the board in the final two quarters, which is exactly the kind of steadiness the Commodores will want as the schedule stiffens and the questions around the post-Pavia offense keep coming. [Read more 🡒]