We've finally made it to the end of a long and miserable college football offseason, and after eight months of local judges granting temporary restraining orders to eighth-year seniors and threats of a 24-team Playoff, I think I speak for all of us when I say "let the games begin."
But before we commence with the season, it's time to do some pigskin prognosticating, and what better way to put my neck on the line than to predict each of the Power 4 conference winners for the 2026 season?
After taking into account returning production, coaching, strength of schedule, and overall team talent, among other things, I'm ready to make my picks.
And if you don't see your team on this list, just remember, I had Texas winning the national championship and Penn State making a deep CFP run last year, so don't get too discouraged if I don't have your team on here.
With all that preamble out of the way, let's make some picks!
Upon first glance, this almost seems like a default pick.
The Miami Hurricanes are the most talented team in the conference by a significant margin, and they were a Carson Beck interception away from potentially winning the whole enchilada back in January.
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But picking the Canes to win the ACC is also making a bet against history, as the bad boys from Coral Gables have infamously never won a conference title since joining the league back in 2004.
History aside, if there was ever a year Miami was practically preordained to win the ACC, it would be this year.
The Hurricanes return an absurd amount of talent on offense, headlined by transfer quarterback Darrian Mensah, who very well might be the best quarterback to rep The U since head coach Mario Cristobal took over in 2022.
Other familiar faces like running back Mark Fletcher and wide receiver Malachi Toney will give offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson a ton to work with, but it's not all sunshine and rainbows.
A ton of production needs to be replaced on both lines of scrimmage, and although the Canes have recruited well enough at offensive and defensive line, we still need to see them in action before anyone can make any declarative statements about this team.
With all that said, the schedule is very favorable and there isn't another team in the conference that can match Miami's firepower, so I'm taking the Canes to win the ACC in 2026.
This was a lot more of a surefire pick back in January before the Brendan Sorsby debacle occured, but I still think Texas Tech is the leader in the clubhouse as presumptive Big 12 champs.
The Red Raiders may have found a potential replacement for Sorsby in FSU transfer Thomas Castellanos, but even with his veteran leadership, the drop off from Sorsby to Castellanos is significant.
Quarterback isn't what I'm basing my pick on, though, as the Red Raiders will be the most talented team top to bottom in the conference.
Texas Tech signed a top-ten transfer portal class this offseason and have the most returning production of any Big 12 team, which leads me to believe they have the horses to outlast any potential contenders trying to snatch the crown from them.
Speaking of contenders, the Red Raiders avoided having to play BYU in the regular season, and get to play Houston as well as both Arizona teams at home this year.
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That favorable schedule could be both a blessing and a curse, as Texas Tech will rarely be tested through much of the regular season.
Still, that early showdown with the aforementioned Houston Cougars should set the tone for Texas Tech's season, as a win there will give the Red Raiders an inside track to the Big 12 title game over a sneaky good conference foe.
Give me Texas Tech regardless of how lines up under center.
Believe it or not, the Ohio State Buckeyes haven't won the Big Ten since the Covid year in 2020.
That was only a seven-game slate, too, so it's not exactly a foregone conclusion that Ohio State should be the heavy favorite this year.
Of every Power 4 conference, the Big Ten was the one that gave me the most trouble in trying to pick a winner.
This was essentially a three-horse race between the previous two winners (Indiana and Oregon) and the Buckeyes.
I ultimately gave the nod to the Buckeyes because they just have an embarrassment of riches on both sides of the ball.
They return quarterback Julian Sayin as well as perhaps the best overall player in college football in junior wide receiver Jeremiah Smith.
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Though they lost a ton of production on the defensive side of the ball, they addressed it with a big time haul in the transfer portal and a top-five recruiting class.
The Buckeyes will never be without talent, it will just be a question of whether they are able to reload rather than rebuild, and returning Matt Patricia as defensive coordinator from a season ago can only help.
The margins were thin, but I like the Buckeyes to come out on top when the dust settles in the Big Ten.
I really wanted to pull the trigger and pick the Texas Longhorns to win the SEC.
I was so close to doing it, but the Georgia Bulldogs have reached Bill Belichick/Tom Brady-era Patriots levels of trust in my book, meaning that until I see them actually lose the SEC crown, I can't pick against them.
Texas might be the most talented team in the league, and other programs like Ole Miss, Oklahoma, and LSU will be nipping at the Dawgs' heels, but I still have to give the nod to Kirby Smart and his squad.
That's not to say this Bulldogs team is lacking in talent, though.
Georgia is a top-ten team in the country with regard to returning production and have a veteran signal caller in Gunner Stockton back in the fold.
The defense will be fierce, featuring a pair of preseason All-Americans in the secondary in Ellis Robinson IV and KJ Bolden.
The schedule is fair but not exactly a cakewalk (then again, most SEC slates aren't), and I certainly can't see Georgia coming out of it completely unscathed, but in a league that has cannibalized itself a ton these last few years, I expect the Dawgs to come away with the least amount of flesh wounds.
