Over the past weekend, Zech Fort, a five-star safety from IMG Academy 2026 in Bradenton, Florida, one of the best underclassmen in the country, visited Ann Arbor.
The gifted child had visited campuses previously, but watching Michigan take on Ohio State was a completely different experience. The visit exceeded his expectations and will remain in his memory forever.The College Football Playoff selection committee uses a process “that distinguishes among otherwise comparable teams by considering” conference championships won, strength of schedule, head-to-head competition, comparative outcomes of common opponents and other factors, including injuries and availability of coaches. That means there are still a lot of possible scenarios for the playoffs, but conference championship week should make things much clearer.Before conference championship week, BCSKnowHow.com’s simulated rankings were updated using the old BCS formula, which combined computer selection techniques and polling to determine college football teams that would play in the national championship game from 1999 to 2013. This caused some upheaval. That model is a reliable guide for how teams should be positioned in terms of power rankings going into the weekend, having correctly predicted the final four in each of the previous six seasons.
Under head coach Mike Gundy, Tennessee finished the regular season with three straight losses but managed to win at least seven games for the third time in as many years. The Rockets play Miami (Ohio) at Ford Field in Detroit on Saturday, with Toledo looking to win back-to-back MAC titles under head coach Jason Candle. Toledo would win its third conference championship since 2017. Is Dave Doeren among college football’s most underappreciated coaches? Under his direction, NC State won at least eight games for the fourth straight year and the seventh time in 11 seasons.
After all, James Madison will be attending a bowl game. Because there weren’t enough bowl-eligible teams to fill all 82 spots, the Dukes were able to secure a postseason trip. As the regular season came to an end, Oregon State witnessed its head coach, Jonathan Smith, leave his alma mater to take a position at Michigan State, potentially causing a rift in the process. After Mike Gundy won conference coach of the year, Oklahoma State will make its second trip to the Big 12 Championship Game in three years. After being destroyed by the transfer portal a year prior, the Cowboys now have the chance to eliminate Texas’ hopes of qualifying for the College Football Playoffs and kick them out of the Big 12.
