One more week to go! We’re giving away a $150 Amazon gift card to the winner of our final pick’em game. The catch is that it’s an abbreviated slate of Saturday games, with just five on the docket. All Certified and Premium members of our Patreon are eligible. Joining up gets you access to the game, supports the show and unlocks these Verballer perks:

👉 Run The Board
Weekly pick’em for prizes

👉 Ad-Free Episodes
Every show, no ads

👉 Bonus Shows
Exclusive content

👉 Early Access
Hear us first

👉 Discord Community
CFB talk, 24/7

👉 Verballer Top 12 Poll
Vote every week

Join today, unlock the perks, and know you’re helping keep show going strong. And yes—you’ll also be in the mix for this week’s prize!

While Indiana and Ohio State will feel like equals under the lights of Lucas Oil Stadium on Saturday night in the Big Ten Championship game, the two programs couldn’t be more different.

Indiana hasn’t been here—in the Big Ten title game—for almost 60 years. The Hoosiers were used to being a punching bag for the rest of the league. If the old Indiana were part of a prize fight night, they would’ve been the guy mopping up the blood. The Hoosiers were afterthoughts.

Ohio State, on the other hand, is the main event. The Buckeyes are the big, bad bullies of the Big Ten. It’s an anomaly when they aren’t on this stage. There are only two hits in a fight with Ohio State—them hitting you, and you hitting the floor.

But this version of Indiana is different. The Hoosiers aren’t just happy to be here. Neither is their coach. Everything Curt Cignetti touches turns to gold. Don’t believe me? Google him.

A year ago, Indiana felt like a feel-good story. The 2024 Hoosiers won ballgames, but didn’t meet the moment in the College Football Playoff against Notre Dame. But this time around? This version of Indiana isn’t showing up to clap for the main event—they’re here to fight back.

Soon, the Hoosiers will get their shot in the ring. They’ve got arguably the best quarterback in college football. An offense full of weapons. A defense that takes no shit. And a coach you’d go to war for.

It won’t be easy. Ohio State knows what it takes to win on this stage. But Indiana is sharper. Hungrier. Unafraid. And when the bell rings Saturday night, anything can happen.

Nothing is normal about the new college football coaching cycle.

Novembers are like Shark Week in the coaching world. Smaller programs build momentum, while the big programs circle, waiting for the moment to strike. That moment to strike has come earlier than ever this season. Take the American Conference, for example.

Less than 24 hours after the regular season ended, Tulane’s Jon Sumrall signed up to be the next Florida coach. USF’s Alex Golesh left Tampa for Auburn. Memphis head coach Ryan Silverfield went to Arkansas. And before all of them, North Texas head coach Eric Morris agreed to take over at Oklahoma State. (His quarterback, Drew Mestemaker, might be headed with him.) And James Madison’s Bob Chesney is headed to UCLA.

This level of coaching movement feels unprecedented. And I think it’s fair to question whether coaches moving up in the world could impact the on-field product.

Sure, Sumrall and Morris will play for the American Conference on Friday night and are sticking around to see out the season. (That’s something you can’t say about former Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin.) But I genuinely wonder how distracting it might be to have your coach have one foot out the door while trying to coach a championship game.

Would you blame Morris and Sumrall for being distracted? I sure wouldn’t. They’re spinning 100 plates right now. Building out a game plan for Friday. Thinking about moving their families, juggling the portal, new donors, and new expectations… the list goes on and on.

Either Morris or Sumrall will walk out of Friday night’s game victorious and, in all likelihood, position their program for a College Football Playoff berth. And that’s very cool in its own right. But I just can’t help but wonder if both teams’ level of preparedness and focus would be a little bit better if college football had a better grip on its own coaching carousel and calendar.

The ACC makes no damn sense. There, I said it.

No, I’m not talking about how the “Atlantic Coast Conference” actually stretches from coast to coast. Or how the conference feels bloated with confusing schedules. Or even that the on-field product was as topsy-turvy as ever in 2025, with powers like Clemson and Florida State bowing out for, you guessed it, the Virginias of the world.

As fun as it is to poke fun at the ACC and its volatility, what could transpire next Sunday is no laughing matter if you care about the league or its member schools.

The ACC could be facing a nightmare scenario. One where, if Duke defeats Virginia in the ACC title game, the league could get left out of the College Football Playoff entirely.

Don’t believe me?

The system only guarantees spots to the five highest ranked conference champions. If Duke, a five loss team with two losses outside of the Power 4, knocks off Virginia and hoists the ACC crown, there's a good chance they’d finish ranked behind both champions from the American and Sun Belt. Though G5 hipsters would rejoice with two CFP bids, ACC officials most certainly would not. Especially if Miami, the highest ranked ACC team, is left hanging on the bubble on Selection Sunday.

Of course, none of this may happen. Just a few weeks ago, Virginia whipped Duke. The Cavaliers could easily do it again. But if Duke somehow wins the ACC… phew boy, do things get interesting.

Kalen DeBoer’s tenure at Alabama has been rocky at best, downright tenuous at worst.

DeBoer joined Alabama after the GOAT, Nick Saban, traded in his headset for a microphone, which was obviously an impossible act to follow.

His first season was a mixed bag. The jet engine legs of Jalen Milroe carried the Crimson Tide past the likes of Georgia and LSU. But his arm and decision-making abilities led to key faceplants against little ole Vanderbilt in the Loss of the Century, rival Tennessee, and a stunner on the road at Oklahoma, which ultimately kept Alabama out of the 2024 College Football Playoff.

The 2025 season didn’t start much more promisingly. In fact, it got worse. Alabama dropped a clunker to Florida State, which was trying to wash the stench off a two-win season of its own. But then the Crimson Tide started to figure things out. Quarterback Ty Simpson came into his own. The defense worked out some kinks. And little by little, DeBoer started to look a little more comfortable in his own skin.

On Saturday, DeBoer—notably not a Southerner, not from Alabama, and perhaps most notably, not Nick Saban—has a chance to buy himself some goodwill if he and the Crimson Tide can pull off a win against Georgia. Is it a must-win game?

Every game is a must-win if you’re the coach at Alabama. Let’s start there. Beyond that, I think a win of this magnitude could ingratiate DeBoer with Tide fans.

Pleasantries aside, Alabama might need this win to ensure its spot in the College Football Playoff. Would it be silly to leave out the SEC runner-up? Of course. But stranger things have happened.

DeBoer will never be Saban. Not now, not ever. But notching another win over Kirby Smart and Georgia, this time for the SEC title? That’s the kind of victory that will make DeBoer feel a little more like his own man.

On November 8, BYU and Texas Tech squared off in the Big 12 regular season Game of the Year. At least that’s how it was billed.

Instead of a prize fight or back-and-forth affair, it was one-way traffic. Texas Tech punched BYU in the mouth, and the Cougars never recovered. Texas Tech won 29-7, but it could’ve been by more if not for a few drops, failed red zone trips, and a stingy BYU defense.

Fast forward to now, and these two teams are set to duke it out once again, this time for the Big 12 Conference title. Narratives aside, my big question with Round 2 of this Big 12 fight is about physicality, and whether the Cougars can match what Texas Tech brings to the table.

It’s no secret the Red Raiders were aggressive in last year’s transfer portal, boosting their roster with a healthy supply of oil money. The plan has worked famously well as new additions and old stalwarts have combined for a banner season. We saw this on display in the first meeting. David Bailey was a force off the edge. All-American caliber linebacker Jacob Rodriguez had a Herculean 14-tackle day. And running back Cameron Dickey ran over, through, and around the BYU defense for 121 yards and a score.

What’s done is done. That game is in the past. But if BYU can’t match Texas Tech’s physicality this time around, I don’t see the result being any different.

If BYU can rise to the occasion, fight fire with fire up front, and punch back, the Cougars should have a fighting chance to defy the odds, beat Texas Tech, win a Big 12 title, and earn a spot in the College Football Playoff.

Fight or fold, BYU. The choice is yours.

Championship Week is here, and we're asking the important questions about all nine games on Friday and Saturday. Can BYU avenge an earlier loss to Texas Tech and rally behind their newly re-upped coach? Will Georgia snap a three-game losing streak against Alabama and earn a first-round CFP bye? What's the formula for a five-loss Duke to worm its way into the playoff? How big is the gap between Ohio State and Indiana? With a playoff spot on the line, should we favor North Texas or Tulane? And James Madison is gonna try to score like 70 points, right?

Plus, a look at the latest news as the coaching carousel continues to spin, with Will Stein taking the job at Kentucky, Collin Klein taking over at Kansas State, and Brian Hartline making the move to USF. And, naturally, Ty has a rant on Penn State's pursuit of Kalani Sitake and the state of Pat Kraft's coaching search.

Finally, a look at the latest CFP rankings and the scenarios (and fuzzy math) that is most interesting heading into the final weekend.

▶️ Listen on Apple Podcasts

▶️ Listen on Spotify

▶️ Watch on YouTube