8/7/2026

Josh Pate had a good segment on his show earlier in the year where he picked a game each week that he would want to go to each week of the regular season, but the catch was that you could only choose a team once. Once that team is picked, they cannot be chosen again. Sounds simple at first but once you get down the stretch of the weeks and available teams start to dwindle, you really need to get creative. So here I am going to try my hand at it with what I would personally do.

Some things to note. Around here we do acknowledge Week 0 as separate from Week 1, so we are starting with Week 0. I will have “GOTY” (Game of the Year) notated next to a few games below, which indicates that those are games I picked first and then built the rest of my schedule around those choices. For example, commonly the biggest game Week 1 will likely be Clemson at Louisiana State however Louisiana State @ Ole Miss was one of my GOTY picks and seeing that game outweighs the Week 1 matchup. I will also not be predicting any games, just speaking as to why I chose this game and what makes it exciting to me. 

Week 0 – NC State @ Virginia

Pretty slim pickings this Week 0 as we expected. This is one of two P4 matchups we will see this week, both of which are overseas which I hate (different conversation). However I believe this to be the best one that we will see between the two and Vegas agrees with a tighter point spread and higher point total. The other reason I picked this game was CJ Bailey, buddy is fireworks with the football. 

Week 1 – Baylor @ Auburn

As I mentioned prior, I am forgoing the Clemson/LSU matchup, to save LSU for a later game (along with Clemson but I will not spoil that pick). The next best game to me will be this matchup and I truly think this will be an underrated game. We see new beginnings for each team that is very different from last year’s matchup. Baylor sees DJ Lagway now at the helm. He was once considered one of the most promising prospects at Florida but after a disappointing 2025 season he transitioned over to Baylor. A lot of Baylor’s season rides on which QB they are getting. 

Auburn sees almost as close as you can get to a reset with the firing of Hugh Freeze and hiring of Alex Golesh They return a whopping three starters to the team, which honestly isn’t the worst thing in the world from a rebuilding standpoint due to Golesh being able to start creating his roster with his own players and recruits, however it does create massive amounts of instability needing to piece together a team. Natural for first year coaches and this will be a test for his new team. However he did bring Byrum Brown with him from USF and he is a stud. 

I expect this game to be much better than people anticipate it being. It will also tell us as fans a lot about what we should expect from each team this season, it is a classic early season “prove it” game, which we will also see in our next matchup. 

Week 2 – Oklahoma @ Michigan

I promise I am not going on a theme where I pick a non-conference game where they played the prior season and one team has a new coach. However we do see the same situation here, Oklahoma bested Michigan 24-13 in Norman, and Michigan has a new coach Kyle Whittingham. Unlike Auburn, Michigan is still in a fantastic spot, arguably even better than they were last year. 

Whittingham brings to Michigan an unapologetic physicality, bruteness, and discipline that he led Utah with for 21 seasons where he accumulated an 177-88 record. He truly was an underrated coach in a landscape where modern offensive flashiness dominates the sport. I expect Michigan to come out in amazing fashion this season. I am very excited to see Whittingham and Jason Beck (Michigan’s new Offensive Coordinator) with this Michigan team. Utah last year was one of the best offensive teams in the country and now they have an elite QB to build around. Regarding the defense I am going to give them the benefit of the doubt and say that they will have a great defense, the day Kyle Whittingham has a defense that is lazy and undisciplined is the day someone is lying to you. 

Oklahoma is fresh off a playoff appearance where Brent Venables saw a massive improvement from his team led by John Mateer who was leading the Heisman race before he got sidelined. However the biggest advantage is that they return eight players on offense, including all five O-Lineman. Additionally their offensive identity is already proven, they won’t be looking to rebrand as Michigan is needing to, which provides more continuity. 

I expect this game to be one of the best non-conference games we see all year, and will provide a ton of insight into what we should see from these teams down the line which both very well have teams that could make the CFP. 

Week 3 – Louisiana State @ Ole Miss GOTY

I don’t really need to explain much about why this game is going to be a lighter and gasoline do I? This is going to be a long one. As soon as Lane Kiffin made his choice to be the head coach of Louisiana State and leave Ole Miss everyone had this game circled on their calendar. And as previously mentioned, I could not pass this up. When it was announced this was going to be a night game, Oxford Police Department tweeted a meme that they were “excited” about that.

Beyond the Kiffin drama, this game could seriously be one of the best SEC games we see. LSU absolutely loaded up in the transfer portal. 247 Sports reports they have the best transfer portal class in the nation. Led by QB Sam Leavitt (ASU) and OL Jordan Seaton (Colorado), they brought in a whopping 40 transfers, however that could lead to chemistry issues. They replaced almost 40% of their roster, and brought in an entirely new coaching staff. I do not care who you are, managing all that and playing a highly efficient team such as Ole Miss in Week 3 is a very daunting task. But I am excited to see how he does. 

Ole Miss is also a fascinating team in a similar way. They essentially also have a first year, and first time, head coach with it being Pete Golding’s first full year at the helm. They also had the second best transfer portal class with 29 new players coming in. The biggest pieces that Golding was able to keep were his offensive core QB Trinidad Chambliss and RB Kewan Lacy. They did lose some other offensive weapons in the portal, but overhauled their line of scrimmage, and backfield. They went really heavy on getting more lineman which tells me they are going to focus on establishing the line of scrimmage rather than be pass heavy as they were during the Kiffin era. Not very surprising with Golding being a defensive coach. 

I am so excited for this game and all that it brings, the talent, the drama, and the CFB implications. This will be one of those few games that we get all season that even your Grandma who can’t even work Youtube TV will call you and ask you for help to get the game on.  

Week 4 – Oregon @ USC

The SEC has some great matchups this week, and we are skipping games such as Texas/Tennessee, Oklahoma/Georgia, and Texas A&M/LSU. But getting out of the SEC, we go to a classic blue blood Big 10 rivalry for Week 4. That’s right, the two teams you think of when you think of the Big 10, Oregon and USC! Just kidding, but in all seriousness this should be another great game, and likely a top-10 matchup. 

Oregon brings a very talented roster back led by QB Dante Moore. Dan Lanning is a coach that I will always trust to have things figured out. He has produced a talented team year over year and I expect this year to not be different. They bring back the entire defensive line and eight total defensive starters. I expect that defense to be extremely disciplined, and offensively they have a ton of firepower with one of the deepest WR groups in all of CFB. 

This is a do or die year for Lincoln Riley. Some teams build for a year they really want to go for it, and this is that year. He brought on legendary TCU coach Gary Patterson to run the defense, and get this, they return the highest numbers of starters out of any P4 team. They bring back QB Jayden Maiava who led the Big 10 in passing last season, the entire offensive line, and multiple other starters to total nine out of 11 returning on offense. 

This game will need to be a must watch. We see two of the most talented rosters in the sport on one field. For all you SEC-Homers this is like a Texas at Alabama level matchup. Expand your horizons and turn this game on, it could be a classic. 

Week 5 – Navy @ Air Force

Not the most Top-25 matchup heavy week this week, which is totally okay, some of the best weeks in the sport come off these weeks. Instead of picking some random SEC or Big 10 game to go to, we travel to Colorado to watch a service academy matchup. I genuinely want to go to one of these games in my lifetime. These games are made for the sickos of the sport. Who wants to go see two teams run the ball a thousand times per game? Who wants to see both teams run the triple option or Wing-T? This game is going to get weird, and I absolutely love it. We are going to see like 20 pass attempts, the game will be under 2.5 hours, and we are going to see each team run it on 4th down where the game is likely going to come down to a 4th and three. 

Inject that into my veins. 

Week 6 – Georgia @ Alabama

Do I really have to explain this one? This is a game people circle on the calendar every single year. Last year Alabama marched into Athens and beat Georgia in their own home to hand them their first home loss in years. 

Georgia will come into this game battle tested, they will have faced OU and Vanderbilt the previous two weeks, whereas you could argue this is Alabama’s first true test of the season. As we know from years past, if you want to beat Georgia, you have to really beat them. They will not beat themselves. They force you to sustain drives and win down after down. The key to this game is how aggressive the Alabama offense will be against them. Will the Alabama QB (still not announced at the time of writing) have enough time in the pocket to go through his reads or will the Georgia defensive line break through early and often? Seeing the Kirby Smart Kalen DeBoar strategic minds faceoff is something I will never tire of seeing. This is an SEC matchup that provides marquee moments year after year. 

Week 7 – Ohio State @ Indiana GOTY

This game has a chance to be the best game we have seen to date. We saw them face off in the Big 10 championship last year in a 13-10 win for Indiana. Hand up here for me, I doubted Indiana all season last year. I knew they were good, but surely they could not stop a team that would have 4 first round draft picks in the top 11 spots right? I was proven wrong, and frankly I lost my pick-em pool over this game. But nonetheless, this will be an amazing matchup.

What is interesting about this is that both teams almost switch identities. We saw an Ohio State team led by their defense with a whopping 7 players drafted in last year’s draft, but this year the offense are the leaders of the team. They return 7 starters including 4 offensive lineman, their star QB, and arguably the best WR in the country in Jeremiah Smith. 

Last year Indiana was loaded on offense, but similar to OSU’s defense, they lost a lot of their production, and now the defense is the highlight. They brought back a ton of talent, and will have Kellan Wyatt back who got injured last year against Michigan State. They also got back one of their best defensive players last season after Stephen Daley was granted another year of eligibility. He led the Big 10 in TFL at 19. They also added a slew of stars from the portal in Edge rushers Tobi Osunsanmi and Chiddi Obiazor from Kansas State, along with AJ Harris who is a multi year starter. They will have the ability to rotate their defensive front to keep everyone fresh. 

This game will be the first true test for Indiana, we will get to see how their revamped identity holds up against what could be one of the best offenses in the country.  

Week 8 – Houston @ Utah

On paper, not what you would think is a very intriguing matchup, but I believe these teams have the meat to create a great game. You have two talented rosters who are just outside of the top contenders in the Big 12. 

We saw Connor Weigman have much better success under Willie Fritz than we did with him at Texas A&M. Their HC continues to build up the program into what could be a conference contender for years to come. 

Utah comes in trying to prove their whole identity was not centralized around current Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham. Not a dig towards them, but when you have the same head coach for 21 years, people are going to question who you are going to be going forward. 

The draw for me for this game isn’t so much what this specific game means around these players as many of my recent weekly picks have, this game shows me what identity these teams are going to have. Both are teams trying to reach the upper echelon of their conference, and I want to see their style of play that will get them there. Will Houston continue with building a dynamic offense? Will new HC Morgan Scalley want to continue with the disciplined and efficient defense? 

Week 9 – Bowling Green @ Western Michigan

This is one of the weeks I just decided to pick a random game. Many great matchups, but why be boring and go to some random Power-4 game when I can go see some MACTION. I chose this specific game for one reason, and that is because of my good friend and fellow football sicko Max Beffel. He was a Western Mich grad and spoke highly about Waldo Stadium and said I needed to go. I don’t have much to comment on the game besides that. S/o Beffel and roll broncos 

Week 10 – Miami @ Notre Dame GOTY

I’m not gonna spend a lot of time on this one because we all know why this is exciting. Besides the fact that both rosters and teams are heavily reloaded and that both genuinely have a chance to win the national championship, just the drama from last year’s final CFB Rankings make this game a must watch. 

Miami is absolutely loaded and I believe they have the best QB they have had in the last three years in Darien Mensah, and keeping Mark Fletcher along with Malachi Toney. They had to reload at offensive line so that is one part I am curious to see if they can hold up against elite talent. 

Notre Dame comes in as one of the most complete teams in college football. They are built around quarterback CJ Carr, and a roster built in the trenches, and one of the nation’s top defenses under Marcus Freeman. Their physical offensive line, improved receiver talent, and aggressive defensive front give them the ability to compete with any team in the country. The biggest question is replacing star running back Jeremiyah Love, but if the running game remains productive, they have the talent to contend for a championship. These two rosters are absolutely loaded, and this will be such a fun game to watch, it is no shock it is around $600 to get into the stadium for the game. 

Week 11 –  Georgia Tech @ Clemson

This is going to be a fun matchup between two fringe ACC teams rebuilding. At the top of the ACC you have Miami, SMU, and Louisville, and you have these two right outside that elite tier. 

Both teams lost very key pieces of their teams, Clemson lost a ton of players to the NFL draft, and Georgia Tech lost their soul in their team in Haynes King. Georgia Tech looks to find their way again with Fernando Mendoza’s little brother Alberto. Clemson is starting a new QB in Christopher Vizzina however they return TJ Moore and Bryant Wesco Jr, who are both very capable playmakers. 

Similar to the Houston/Utah game, these are two teams looking to build an identity. How does Georgia Tech fare without Haynes King, and how does Clemson respond after losing so many veteran players. 

Week 12 – Texas @ Texas A&M GOTY

I have a personal stake in this as a Texas A&M fan, and sadly I have been on the losing side for the last two years. As a former Austin, TX resident with most of my friends either going to Texas, or Texas A&M, I can tell you with first hand knowledge that these teams hate each other. It isn’t just a fabricated rivalry to appease people for football entertainment. These two fan bases genuinely do not like each other. And I absolutely love how this final regular season game has similar implications to how Michigan and Ohio State have had in the Big 10.

The Aggies are built around Marcel Reed and defensive physicality. With Reed being a dual threat, that opens the playbook to allow him to beat you in multiple ways. Defensive coordinators will often need to add in a QB spy which alleviates some pressure off other facets of the offense. Longhorns bring in (and I hate to say it) SUCH a good offense. And adding on Cam Coleman from Auburn only bolsters that roster. Him paired opposite Ryan Wingo is going to create such a hard duo to cover. 

I am scared of this game, I know anything can happen in a rivalry, but throw all logic out the window. We saw last year Texas A&M get beat by a lower ranked Texas team, I am excited, I am scared, but most of all, I am happy this game has so much meaning as this is truly what makes this sport wonderful.