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Last season, we were treated to two renditions of the Texas-Georgia game, with the Bulldogs coming out victorious on both occasions.

In the first installment, Georgia waltzed into No. 1 Texas’ backyard and walked out with a 30-15 win. Round 2 came in the SEC title game, with Gunner Stockton replacing an injured Carson Beck and leading the Bulldogs to a slim overtime victory.

Everything feels different this time around. Stockton is the main man in Athens, having led the Bulldogs to an 8-1 record and proving he belongs on the big stage. Across the field, Arch Manning, the prodigal heir to the Manning throne, has endured what feels like a lifetime of learning in a nonlinear Year 1 as the starter in Austin. Both teams will square off on Saturday. Georgia hopes to keep its hot streak alive and ride that to Atlanta for yet another SEC title game appearance.

There are storylines aplenty with this one, chief among them being the improved performances in recent weeks of Manning. Despite being an early-season punchline, with social media pundits insisting he was a bust or broken, he’s shown real growth over the last few weeks. He’s playing with confidence, poise, and at least a few times per game, shows flashes of talent that few signal-callers across college football possess.

Is his improved play enough for Texas to knock off Georgia?

I wouldn’t bet on it, but never say never. The Longhorns managed to score enough to knock off a top ten Oklahoma team a little over a month ago. And then after a slim win against Kentucky, Texas survived a flurry of haymakers from Mississippi State and put the smackdown on Vanderbilt in a game where the scoreline probably isn’t an accurate reflection of how the game went. The eye test tells us the Longhorns are finding ways to win in big spots.

Texas is playing better football right now. In addition to Manning’s improvement, the defense has shown the ability to disrupt, and Steve Sarkisian is known to have some big-game wrinkles. But… if I had to make a pick, I’d bet on Georgia to win and push Texas toward the outskirts of the CFP picture.

The ACC standings are a total mess.

Georgia Tech, Virginia, SMU, Pitt, and Duke sit tied atop the league with one ACC loss apiece. The next tier includes two-loss teams, Louisville and Miami.

Over a span of 14 days, the league’s top four teams—Miami, Virginia, Georgia Tech, and Louisville—all lost to unranked teams. Some of the losses are explainable. Miami lost on a crappy late interception. Virginia lost after starting quarterback Chandler Morris went down with an injury. And Louisville went down at the hands of the CALgorithm without dynamite tailback Isaac Brown.

With only a few games remaining...is there a favorite to win the ACC?

Here’s a quick snapshot of the remaining schedules for contenders:

Clear as mud, right?

One thing is clear: The ACC wheel of fortune keeps spinning, and every week seems to land on a different result. My bet? Chaos comes out on top.

Speaking of the crazy ACC title race... when looking at the remaining schedules, I can’t help but wonder if Pat Narduzzi’s Pitt team is assuming the role of kingmaker and contender at the same time.

Since making the quarterback switch to Mason Heintschel, Pitt has rolled to five straight wins and is shaping up to play a major factor down the stretch of the ACC season.

The Panthers have a huge non-conference tilt against Notre Dame this week, before a road game against title frontrunner Georgia Tech and two-loss lurker Miami. Even if Pitt loses to Notre Dame on Saturday, the Panthers have a chance to win out and make a run at the ACC title game. And even if they fade down the stretch, winning one against either Georgia Tech or Miami is sure to shake up the standings.

In a messy, slightly toxic way, I can’t wait to watch the ACC down the stretch run of the season. A whole heap of pretty good-but-not-great teams, bizarro conference tiebreakers, and Pitt playing kingmaker...just like we all expected!

Entering the 2025 season, you would’ve been remiss not to have many strong opinions about the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors.

In three years under head coach (and former gunslinger quarterback) Timmy Chang, the ‘Bows were 13-25 and languishing near the bottom of the Mountain West. If it weren’t for the nostalgic quarterbacks (like Chang and Colt Brennan, RIP), it would be, what many consider, a fairly unremarkable program, one that exists with some pretty hefty challenges ranging from geographic isolation to budgetary concerns. But despite all of that, Chang has this version of Hawaii humming, and the 7-3 (4-2) ‘Bows are still hanging around for Mountain West title contention.

Why the sudden rejuvenation? It starts and ends with quarterback Micah Alejado, who has injected some serious juice into this offense and program. Through 10 games, Alejado has completed over 65% of his passes, has thrown for over 2,300 yards, has an 18:7 TD to INT ratio, and most importantly, brings all sorts of swagger, vibes, and the type of shaka brah mentality that makes you want to run through a wall for him.

This past weekend, the proof was in the pudding for how much this team has improved in Year 4 under Chang, when Hawaii clobbered fellow Mountain West contender San Diego State, 38-6. Hawaii is now comfortably bowl eligible and in the hunt for something more.

The rest of the way, the ‘Bows will play UNLV in Vegas and Wyoming at home. It might be a stretch too far to expect Hawaii to knock off UNLV, but eight wins is within reach. Regardless of how things go the rest of the way, Chang and this team deserve a ton of credit for, against all odds, putting Hawaii football back on the map.

When the latest installment of the College Football Playoff rankings was released Tuesday night, my eyes immediately lit up when I saw where Miami stood.

The 7-2 (3-2) Hurricanes currently slot in at No. 15, but when you see how other teams stack up around Miami, it's understandable if the fine folks from Coral Gables feel like they have an axe to grind.

First and foremost, Notre Dame is ranked ninth, while Miami is ranked 15th. How soon the committee forgets that Miami beat Notre Dame in Week 1. Both Miami and Notre Dame currently have two losses, as well. The whole thing makes no sense.

The CFP committee also has Texas and Utah ahead of the Hurricanes. Let’s unpack that a bit. Texas has a horrible loss on its résumé to a Florida team that Miami beat on September 20. What about Utah? The Utes, for as solid as they’ve looked all year, have just two wins against ranked opponents this season. Miami has wins against three ranked teams in 2025. Again, it doesn’t make a ton of sense.

I’m not saying Miami is a world-beater or that I think they are a team worthy of making a national title run. But it feels strange that a team with two losses by a combined nine points is being wildly discounted by the committee down the stretch run of the season. Perhaps the committee is banking that Miami drops another stinker, which is entirely possible. But that’s not the point. The committee’s job isn’t to prognosticate wins and losses. Do your job, CFP committee, and start ranking teams based on résumé, not whether you think you can predict how a team will fare the following week.

Week 12 is already here... try to keep up! On this episode, we react to the second batch of College Football Playoff rankings and an official "projected bracket" that includes Miami, leaves out Oklahoma and BYU, and teases the possibility of the first-ever Solid Verbowl. Then, we work our way through a loaded Week 12 slate, starting with lingering thoughts on Notre Dame vs. Pitt and Texas vs. Georgia and diving deep on Alabama's home test against Oklahoma, Iowa's trip to USC, and an important ACC showdown between Virginia and Duke. Plus, 11 other rapid fire previews, your Week 12 Window of Opportunity, an important Pat League Lightning Round, and much more!

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