10 biggest College Football storylines heading into the 2026 season

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Perhaps no sport in the country has a close relationship with music in the way that college football does. College football has iconic fight songs like Michigan’s “Hail to the Victors” and the “Notre Dame Victory March,” legendary bands performing live like LSU’s “Neck” and Texas’ “The Eyes of Texas,” and timeless jams that play in stadiums like Wisconsin playing “Jump Around” and Florida playing “I Won’t Back Down.” 

This season, ESPN recently announced their seasonal anthem as “High Noon” by Shaboozie (to mixed reviews), but who can forget previous ones like  “Centuries” and “Something Real”? As the page turns to 2026, we’re going to continue that link between football and music, as we discuss the 10 biggest storylines heading into the season and 10 songs to go with them!

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1. Lane Kiffin begins his first season at LSU after a bitter exit from Ole Miss

September 19, 2026. It is a date that every Ole Miss fan will have circled on their calendars. That is when Lane Kiffin and his new-look LSU Tigers have to travel to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium to take on Ole Miss.

The Rebels will be ready for this one, as it was only 8 months ago when Kiffin left the program right before they played in their first-ever College Football Playoff game. Worse, some Rebels players and coaches headed there with him, while many stayed. There will be no love lost here. Queue up one of the best break-up songs of all-time.

Song: “Good Riddance (time of your life)” by Green Day

2. Notre Dame looks to avoid a second CFP snub

Last year, Notre Dame started off the season 0-2 before rattling off 10 dominant wins to end the season 10-2. They had the same record as Miami, who beat them in their first game of the season. Even though Notre Dame was ahead of Miami in each edition of the CFP rankings, the Hurricanes leapfrogged the Irish at the 11th hour, and Notre Dame’s snub from the CFP became the biggest national headline from the reveal.

This year, Notre Dame returns Head Coach Marcus Freeman (after dodging NFL rumors), QB CJ Carr, and numerous starters on defense and will aim to squarely put themselves in the bracket without any shenanigans.

Song: “Won’t Get Fooled Again” by the Who

3. Indiana aims to sustain the incredible success of the Curt Cignetti era

Three years ago, if I were to ask you to name a Power 4 program that’s historically bad at football, Indiana probably would have been in the first 5 programs you named. Known nationally as a basketball school, Indiana had never been able to sustain any kind of success in football. All it took was Curt Cignetti to come in as head coach for them to not only experience back-to-back double-digit win seasons and CFP berths, but their first football National Championship.

What makes this feat even more shocking is that Cignetti built his championship upon a bunch of transfers from James Madison and other Group of 5 programs. Now, most of them are gone, but in come players with more pedigree, such as QB Josh Hoover and WR Nick Marsh. Can Cignetti sustain Indiana at its new normal? He seems to think so – just Google him.

Song: “All I do is Win” by DJ Khaled

4. What does Texas Tech do at quarterback?

The biggest battle of College Football’s offseason happened in a Lubbock courtroom. After discovering that he had bet on his own team while at Indiana, the NCAA suspended new Texas Tech QB Brendan Sorsby indefinitely. In a decision that became a national story and set a new precedent, a Lubbock judge filed an injunction that made Sorsby eligible to play. After backlash from national media members, other athletic programs, and the Big 12 conference, Sorsby and Texas Tech mutually agreed to part ways, leaving a huge gap at quarterback.

The NIL era has been very good to Texas Tech, which has spent to acquire elite portal hauls in each of the last two offseasons, but the portal has been long closed. It will either be last season’s backup, Will Hammond, who is coming off of a torn ACL, or Tulsa transfer Kirk Francis leading the way for the Red Raiders this season, who look to have more than a one-game stay in the CFP this year.

Song: “The Gambler” by Kenny Rogers

5. The time is now for Arch Manning and the Texas Longhorns

2025 was a disappointment for the AP Preseason #1 Texas Longhorns. The season began with a loss at Ohio State, which preceded a slump so bad that The Athletic deemed Arch Manning as “college football’s first flop.” Texas would be all but eliminated from the CFP after their 3rd loss, but Arch bounced back and ended the season by averaging over 300 total yards per game in wins over Texas A&M and Michigan.

In a somewhat surprising move, Arch decided to return to Texas as opposed to declaring for the NFL Draft. What followed was a money splurge by the Texas NIL collective to give Arch the best supporting cast possible, acquiring Cam Coleman, Hollywood Smothers, and others. This squarely puts Texas in “win now” mode in what is likely Arch Manning’s final season on the 40 acres.

Song: “Now or Never” by Kendrick Lamar featuring Mary J Blige

6. Whose hot seat tips over first?

In the NIL era, it has become common for head coaches to receive a longer leash before getting fired, because it makes more sense economically to avoid paying a multi-million dollar buyout that could be sent towards paying players. But that doesn’t mean that there won’t be coaches who enter the season on the hot seat, or coaches who get fired midseason.

The most notable? Perhaps it’s FSU’s Mike Norvell, who has been unable to shake the stink from 2024’s 2-10 debacle and failed to reach a bowl game last season. Perhaps it’s Wisconsin’s Luke Fickell, who has been unable to meet the high expectations that he set for himself after making the CFP while at Cincinnati.

Song: “Under Pressure” by Queen and David Bowie

7. Movement of Head Coaches has transplanted entire rosters

In the era of the portal, it is not uncommon for many players from a program to follow their fired/hired head coach to a different school – it’s part of what built Curt Cignetti’s empire at Indiana. But this offseason, we saw this trend hit as hard as ever. When James Franklin was fired at Penn State and hired at Virginia Tech, QB Ethan Grunkemeyer, TE Luke Reynolds, and many offensive and defensive linemen followed.

When Matt Campbell filled the void at Penn State, he took QB Rocco Becht, RB Carson Hansen, WR Chase Sowell, TE Benjamin Brahmer, and more with him from Iowa State. Meanwhile in the SEC, Alex Golesh brings over QB Byrum Brown and much of his offense from South Florida with him to Auburn, and Eric Morris brings almost an entire starting lineup from North Texas to Oklahoma State. It will certainly require a double-take when watching most of these teams to know that they are indeed their new programs and not their old ones.

Song: “Double Vision” by Foreigner

8. The SEC moves to 9 conference games

It might not sound like a big deal on the surface, but the SEC moving from 8 to 9 conference games could have a wide range of ramifications. For starters, it’s going to literally add 8 losses to the conference in total, and the CFP committee has never given a 9-3 team an at-large bid to the College Football Playoff. A team picking up their 3rd loss could go from sitting pretty to sitting at home. This would most likely impact the “upper-middle class” of the SEC, teams like Ole Miss, Oklahoma, and Texas A&M, who benefited from easy conference schedules and qualified for the CFP with 2 or fewer losses. This year, they’ll have to beat one more quality opponent – there’s no walkovers in the SEC. It just means more.

Song: “The Pretender” by Foo Fighters

9. Jeremiah Smith looks to add to the list of non-quarterback Heisman winners

When discussing the best players in the sport, everyone will naturally gravitate towards quarterbacks. It’s the sport’s most important position, after all. But Jeremiah Smith is simply on another level at the wide receiver position. He is the best NFL prospect at the position since Julio Jones, and he can thoroughly dominate a game. He very legitimately could win a Heisman trophy playing only the wide receiver position, something that only DeVonta Smith has done in the last 20 years.

Song: “Superstar” by Lupe Fiasco

10. Can Miami FINALLY win their First ACC Championship?

The Miami Hurricanes were the National runners-up last season and were one stop away from beating Indiana and being the Champion. Yet, they didn’t even win the ACC. Heck, they didn’t even play in the ACC Championship game! In fact, in their 20+ years in the league, the Hurricanes have never won an ACC Championship in football. They may be losing key defensive linemen Rueben Bain and Akheem Mesidor and QB Carson Beck, but they retain WR Malachi Toney and broke the bank to go out and add QB Darian Mensah. They’re clearly the most talented team in the conference, but will they be able to actually win it?

Song: “Feels Like the First Time” by Foreigner

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