2026 College Sports: Season Recaps, Picks and Final Four Contenders

WHO:

ESPN - Jay Bilas selected Tyler Tanner of Vanderbilt, Braylon Mullins and Silas Demary Jr. of UConn, PJ Haggerty of Texas A&M, Robert Wright III of BYU, Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje of Duke, John Blackwell of Duke, Juke Harris of Tennessee, Pryce Sandfort of Nebraska, David Mirkovic of Illinois, Joseph Tugler of Houston, Josh Hubbard of Mississippi State, Nigel James Jr. of Marquette, Braden Huff of Gonzaga, and several other players for his 2027 preseason All-America, All-Defensive, All-Freshman or All-Transfer teams.

Yahoo Sports - Wake Forest, coached by Jake Dickert, was second in the ACC; James Madison was 7-0 under Billy Napier, and running back George Pettaway was among the nation’s top 10 rushers.

Yahoo Sports - Oregon State freshman wide receiver Jesse Legree led the nation with 1,040 receiving yards and 14 touchdown catches.

Yahoo Sports - Penn State coach Matt Campbell was 0-4 in Big Ten play; quarterback Rocco Becht joined Campbell from Iowa State.

Yahoo Sports - The article identified Braden Atkinson as having moved from Mercer to Oregon State and said Montana’s Brooks Davis could attract transfer suitors.

CBS Sports - David Cobb picked Notre Dame to win the national championship.

CBS Sports - Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr was cited as inaccurate in the team’s loss to BYU.

CBS Sports - Kentucky quarterback Kenny Minchey transferred from Notre Dame after being recruited by Will Stein; CBS Sports described Stein’s move to flip him from Nebraska as an offseason coup.

CBS Sports - The article names Virginia’s Thijs De Ridder as preseason ACC Player of the Year and identifies USC players Rodney Rice and Alijah Arenas and UCLA freshman Nikola Krustica as players to watch.

Pro Football Network - Army topped PFN’s midseason college football offensive-line rankings, ahead of Houston, Missouri, Iowa and Ole Miss.

Pro Football Network - Darian Mensah led PFN’s midseason quarterback rankings based on its QB Impact grades.

CBS Sports - Georgia, Miami, Ohio State and Notre Dame were selected by at least one expert as 2026 national-champion picks.

CBS Sports - Bob Chesney of UCLA and Will Stein of Kentucky were named midseason Coach of the Year frontrunners.

CBS Sports - Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith was identified as the Heisman Trophy frontrunner.

Bleacher Report - Michigan was weighing whether to bench Bryce Underwood in favor of Tommy Carr.

Bleacher Report - Sam Leavitt was identified as needing to protect the ball for Auburn.

Bleacher Report - Arch Manning’s subpar play and Colin Simmons’s ankle injury were cited as problems for Texas; Simmons was sidelined.

colts.com - Troy Sausaman resigned as John Glenn’s head football coach after one season; he finished 1-7 with the Falcons.

colts.com - Athletic director Eric Stephens took over John Glenn’s coaching duties for the remainder of the season.

colts.com - Springs Valley relieved head coach Jason Lowe of his duties; he was 48-15 in his sixth season with the Blackhawks.

Bleacher Report - The Week 8 predictions cover No. 6 Indiana (6-1), Michigan (4-2), No. 18 LSU (5-2), Auburn (4-2), No. 11 Tennessee (6-1), South Carolina (3-3), No. 7 Ole Miss (5-1), No. 19 Texas (4-2), No. 14 Houston (6-1) and No. 10 Utah (6-0).

CBS Sports - The preseason AP Top 25’s top four were Florida, Duke, Illinois and UConn; CBS identified them as the teams with the best odds to win the 2027 national title.

CBS Sports - Florida’s returning players named in the article are Thomas Haugh, Rueben Chinyelu, Alex Condon, Boogie Fland and Urban Klavzar; Denzel Aberdeen returned after playing at Kentucky.

CBS Sports - The article identifies Jeremy Fears Jr. as Michigan State’s preseason Player of the Year and names JT Toppin, Tyran Stokes and Flory Bidunga as preseason All-Americans.

WHAT:

ESPN - Bilas named Jeremy Fears Jr., Tyler Tanner, Tyran Stokes, Thomas Haugh and Flory Bidunga to his first-team preseason All-America team; Fears recorded 328 assists the prior season, Tanner was the only player averaging 19 points, 5.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game, and Bidunga led the Big 12 with 91 blocks.

ESPN - Bilas’s second-team picks were JT Toppin, Braylon Mullins, PJ Haggerty, Robert Wright III and Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje; his third-team picks included Elliot Cadeau, Silas Demary Jr., John Blackwell, Juke Harris and Pryce Sandfort.

Yahoo Sports - Only six teams were undefeated: Miami, BYU, Texas Tech, UCLA, Utah and James Madison.

Yahoo Sports - Texas lost consecutive games to unranked Oklahoma and Florida; the article said it was the first time since 1990 that the No. 1 team had lost to unranked opponents in consecutive weeks.

Yahoo Sports - Five of the top seven AP-ranked teams lost in Week 7, and every SEC team had lost a conference game.

Yahoo Sports - Wake Forest had four road wins and outscored its previous three opponents 136-24.

Yahoo Sports - William & Mary defeated Villanova after trailing by 10 with 53 seconds remaining; Idaho scored with one second left against Montana State and converted a two-point play after Montana State called timeout.

Yahoo Sports - The article attributed increased parity to NIL and player transfers, which it said had changed college sports since 2021.

CBS Sports - CBS Sports’ midseason predictions included Georgia, Miami, Ohio State and Notre Dame as national-championship picks; it said Texas and Oregon were more likely to miss the playoff than receive a first-round bye.

CBS Sports - CBS Sports said nine experts made preseason playoff predictions, and all but Brad Crawford and the article’s writer picked Oklahoma for the field.

CBS Sports - The article said Miami quarterback Darian Mensah was a major upgrade over Carson Beck and receiver Malachi Toney was among the sport’s most dangerous players.

CBS Sports - Notre Dame’s loss to BYU involved a fumbled spike, a touchdown catch by BYU’s quarterback and two late officiating errors, according to the article.

CBS Sports - Arkansas was described as having its most talented roster since John Calipari became head coach; Jordan Smith Jr. was projected as a top-three pick in the 2027 NBA Draft.

CBS Sports - CBS Sports’ forecasting model gave Oklahoma, which was 3-3, a 0.4% chance of making the College Football Playoff; Michigan had a 1% chance.

CBS Sports - Chris Hummer, Tom Fornelli and John Talty picked Georgia to win the national championship; Shehan Jeyarajah, Richard Johnson and Brad Crawford picked Miami; Brandon Marcello and Chip Patterson picked Ohio State.

CBS Sports - Ohio State ranked fifth in scoring defense and eighth in total defense, while its rushing offense ranked seventh nationally; quarterback Julian Sayin’s return from a shoulder injury was a key uncertainty.

CBS Sports - Kentucky was 6-1 and ranked No. 12 after first-year head coach Will Stein took over a team that had gone 5-7; Kentucky had wins over top-10 opponents Texas A&M and LSU.

CBS Sports - UCLA lost quarterback Nico Iamaleava to a season-ending injury and continued with Ty Dieffenbach.

Bleacher Report - Michigan had allowed an FBS-low 4.1 yards per snap.

Bleacher Report - Texas faced three Top 25 opponents later in its schedule; a loss to Ole Miss would effectively remove Texas from College Football Playoff consideration.

colts.com - Portage ended a 19-game losing streak by defeating LaPorte 20-19.

colts.com - The article lists 30 Indiana high-school teams’ records before and after the season, including Northridge improving from 2-7 to 9-0 and Danville from 5-4 to 9-0.

colts.com - The article lists conference champions, regular-season unbeaten records, win and loss streaks, and head-coach career win totals. It reports Brownsburg’s winning streak at 28 games, South Putnam’s at 17, and Bellmont’s losing streak at 51.

Bleacher Report - Predictions: Indiana 23, Michigan 13; LSU 24, Auburn 20; Tennessee 27, South Carolina 21; and Ole Miss 26, Texas 23. The article also says Utah should hold on at home against Houston but that an upset would not be surprising.

CBS Sports - The article assigns Final Four contender tiers: S—Florida, Duke, Illinois, UConn; A—Arizona, Michigan State, Texas, Tennessee, Louisville, Arkansas, Kansas, Texas Tech; B—Virginia, Houston, St. John’s, Miami, Gonzaga; C—Michigan, Iowa State, Alabama, USC, UCLA, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, BYU.

CBS Sports - Kansas is ranked No. 17 and Texas Tech No. 19 in the preseason poll. Eligibility decisions could affect players seeking fifth years; Trey Kaufman-Renn of Kansas is seeking a sixth year.

CBS Sports - Michigan is the reigning national champion but ranked No. 16. The article says head coach Dusty May is coaching the Dallas Mavericks, Brandon McCoy Jr. tore his ACL, and Michigan returns one starter, Elliot Cadeau.

WHERE:

Yahoo Sports - Wake Forest had remaining games against Virginia, FCS Merrimack, SMU, Georgia Tech and Duke.

Yahoo Sports - The article said UCLA was 6-0 and described the Bruins as the only unbeaten team in the SEC or Big Ten.

colts.com - Springs Valley’s Class 1A Sectional 48 quarterfinal was scheduled to be played at West Washington.

Bleacher Report - The Indiana–Michigan game was listed at Michigan; the Houston–Utah game was listed at Utah.

CBS Sports - The Final Four tiers concern reaching the final weekend in Detroit.

WHEN:

CBS Sports - The article said Ohio State was scheduled to travel to USC on Halloween and Notre Dame was scheduled to play No. 1 Miami on November 7.

Bleacher Report - The Indiana–Michigan game was listed for noon ET; LSU–Auburn and Tennessee–South Carolina for 3:30 p.m.; Ole Miss–Texas for 7:30 p.m.; and Houston–Utah for 10:15 p.m.

CBS Sports - The article discusses the 2026-27 college basketball season and the 2027 national title.

WHY:

ESPN - Bilas said players are staying in college longer and that the game’s talent level, play, popularity and ratings have continued to improve.

Yahoo Sports - Oregon’s struggles were linked to Dante Moore’s concussion and the departure of offensive coordinator Will Stein; the article said the team’s offense had underperformed.

Yahoo Sports - The article said NIL compensation and player mobility had weakened traditional recruiting advantages, contributing to greater competitive parity.

CBS Sports - Notre Dame’s predicted title path depended on beating Miami at home; the article said that victory would secure Notre Dame’s playoff place.

CBS Sports - The article attributed UCLA’s defensive improvement and ability to absorb Nico Iamaleava’s injury to Bob Chesney’s program changes.

Bleacher Report - Turnovers, including turnovers on downs, had significantly affected results for both LSU and Auburn.

CBS Sports - Arizona’s potential S-tier case hinged on RJ Godfrey’s eligibility; he could address the Wildcats’ power-forward weakness.

CBS Sports - Kansas was also seeking eligibility clearance for Tre White and Melvin Coucil Jr.; Texas Tech was seeking fifth-year eligibility for Donovan Atwell, Darrion Williams and Jamichael Stillwell.

CBS Sports - Malik Reneau’s eligibility could strengthen the case for placing Miami in A tier; Iowa State and BYU were also awaiting eligibility decisions for players.

colts.com - Springs Valley dismissed Jason Lowe because of an incident involving players on the team.

CBS Sports - The article says preseason basketball rankings may change because at least a dozen ranked teams have players seeking additional eligibility.

CBS Sports - Michigan’s lower preseason ranking is attributed to Dusty May’s departure, McCoy’s ACL injury and the challenge of replacing three lottery picks.

HOW:

CBS Sports - The article said Ohio State quarterback Luke Fahey had attempted 13 college passes and was set to replace Julian Sayin while Sayin recovered; Jeremiah Smith worked to build chemistry with Fahey.

CBS Sports - Florida’s frontcourt trio of Thomas Haugh, Rueben Chinyelu and Alex Condon had played together for two seasons, contributing to a 2025 national title and consecutive No. 1 NCAA Tournament seeds.

CBS Sports - Michigan was expected to rely on transfers J.P. Estrella and Moustapaha Thiam to help replace departed frontcourt talent, while awaiting Roddy Gayle Jr.’s eligibility decision.

colts.com - The pairings for the 54th annual IHSAA state football tournament were available at www.ihsaa.org.

CBS Sports - The Final Four tiers define S as legitimate national-title favorites; A as teams that can win if circumstances break right; B as talented teams with roster questions; and C as second-weekend teams with Final Four upside.

College football is seeing major upheaval: five of the top seven teams lost in Week 7, and only six remain undefeated. Texas dropped consecutive games to unranked Oklahoma and Florida, the first such collapse by a No. 1 team since 1990. Experts still picked Georgia, Miami, Ohio State and Notre Dame as national-title contenders, while Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith emerged as the Heisman frontrunner. Kentucky is 6-1 under first-year coach Will Stein, with wins over Texas A&M and LSU; UCLA, meanwhile, lost quarterback Nico Iamaleava for the season. Coaching changes also reached the high school ranks, as John Glenn’s athletic director took over after Troy Sausaman resigned, and Springs Valley dismissed Jason Lowe. In men’s basketball, Jeremy Fears Jr. headlines Jay Bilas’s preseason All-America first team, alongside Tyler Tanner, Tyran Stokes, Thomas Haugh and Flory Bidunga.