Around CFB: 2026 is already off to an insane start

Generally speaking, college football season is always crazy. Some seasons are crazier than others.

College football coaches, players, fans and probably the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) remember 2007 as the craziest ever.

It was the Britney Spears of college football seasons. That’s full-scale, bat crap crazy Britney Spears.

In 2007, Spears stayed in a Caribbean drug rehab facility for less than a day, shaved her head, got divorced, re-entered rehab, lost physical custody of her children and got sued.

College football looked at all that and said, “Hold my beer.” Spears presumably shot-gunned said beer and drove — impaired — to the nearest rehab facility.

As for college football, LSU won the national championship despite having two overtime losses because — I kid you not — the BCS bought the argument of coach Les Miles (another nut job) that the Tigers were undefeated in regulation.

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Les Miles and LSU defeated Ohio State, 38-24, to win the national title on Jan. 7, 2008.

In that year, a nationally ranked team lost to a lower-ranked or unranked team 62 times. The No. 1 ranked team lost four times. The No. 2 ranked team lost seven times — all in the final nine weeks of the season.

That includes No. 2 USC, a 41-point favorite, losing to Stanford, 24-23, in the LA Coliseum.

The insanity started with fifth-ranked Michigan losing its season opener to Appalachian State, 34-32.

Crazy.

Yet, if the first weeks are any indication, this 2026 college football season may be just as straightjacket-worthy, if not more so.

And, of course, Michigan again is involved.

Everyone saw Western Michigan upset the Wolverines, 12-7 last week. Well, everyone except Big Ten replay officials.

You saw it. The game clock hit 0:00 with the football still in the air on an incomplete Hail Mary pass.

However, the Big Ten claimed the time broadcasted on TV wasn’t official. They found a fraction of a second actually remained.

Michigan, of course, scored a winning touchdown on an ensuing Hail Mary pass.

Afterward, Western Michigan University president — and perhaps soon-to-be-ex president — Russ Kavalhuna didn’t question the call.

“It is just a discrepancy,” Kavalhuna said. “What the viewing public sees and what the reviewing officials see are different. I used to be a federal prosecutor. I’ve looked into this pretty closely, and I don’t discern anything unfair or untoward in this process.”

But the Mid-American Conference filed an appeal to the NCAA to overturn the outcome.

The NCAA, of course, rejected the appeal, but established a new policy that mandates the clock on the broadcast is official.

So, basically, the NCAA said Western Michigan won.

Then, there was Monday night in Tallahassee. A national television audience tuned in at 6:30 p.m. CT to watch Florida State vs. SMU for the only game of the night.

Instead, the game kicked off almost two hours later because of a power outage.

Turns out the power outage was the highlight for the Seminoles.

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After kicking off 105 minutes late, Florida State lost to SMU, 27-24.

They lost even though SMU committed four turnovers, had more turnovers, less time of possession, twice as many penalties and fewer rushing yards.

According to OptaSTATS, SMU is the only FBS or NFL team in the last 30 years to win under those circumstances.

The loss led to increased calls from Florida State fans for the firing of coach Mike Norvell, whose buyout is reportedly $51 million.

TCU coach Sonny Dykes is having a bad start to the season, too.

First, TCU (presumably under Dykes’ direction) rescinded the credentials of a Fort Worth Star-Telegram reporter for publishing an accurate story about a locker room incident that led to the dismissal of a star player.

Perhaps Dykes put more focus on taking on the First Amendment more than the first opponent.

The reporter still traveled to Ireland and covered TCU’s opening 15-10 loss to North Carolina.

By the way, the reporter's credentials have been restored.

There are now calls for Dykes’ dismissal.

Those calls aren’t nearly as loud as the noise coming from Clemson.

Yes, Dabo Swinney led frequently-underachieving Clemson to prominence and national championships in 2016 and 2018, but the Tigers were thrashed 51-10 by LSU.

This after going 7-6 has some Clemson fans demanding a coaching change. Swinney’s buyout is reportedly  $57 million.

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Dabo Swinney is 187-55 as he begins his 19th season at Clemson.

Oh yeah, speaking of LSU…

You know the story. Lane Kiffin wanted to add two players who had signed NFL contracts despite SEC rules against it.

Then, during a halftime interview during the blowout win over Clemson, he said: “Imagine if we had pro players.”

The SEC isn’t amused with Kiffin’s and LSU’s antics.

The conference set up a Thursday meeting with presidents and counselors to vote on whether to oust LSU from the SEC.

How crazy is that?

And just like for Spears in 2007, somewhere there’s probably overly emotional Tigers fans crying in bed and imploring everyone the SEC to just “Leave LSU alone.”

Heisman watch (If my ballot was due today)

1. Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss, QB: Opened the season by throwing for 336 yards and three touchdowns in a 41-38 victory over then-No. 24 Louisville. He also rushed for 60 yards and a touchdown. Further, he led a last-minute drive for a game-winning field goal.

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Trinidad Chambliss’ heroics helped the Rebels win Week 1’s only ranked vs. ranked contest.

2. Sam Leavitt, LSU, QB: The transfer from Arizona State rushed for 113 yards and two touchdowns and passed for 230 yards and a score in a 51-10 annihilation of Clemson.

3. Dante Moore, Oregon, QB: His brilliance saved the Ducks from becoming an upset victim. Moore passed for 378 yards and three touchdowns in a 34-27 victory over Boise State. His 62-yard scoring strike to Dakorien Moore with 7:51 remaining provided the winning points.

4. Malachi Toney, Miami, WR: Think of all the great receivers to come out of Miami. Now, consider Toney set a school record with 234 receiving yards (on 12 catches) in a 45-6 victory over Stanford. Three of Toney’s catches resulted in touchdowns from 23, two and 47 yards.

5. Darian Mensah, Miami, QB: Making his debut at Miami, Mensah completed 27 of 30 passes for 401 yards and five touchdowns. Aside from the three he threw to Toney he threw a 34- and 5-yard touchdown passes.

Games to watch

No. 1 Ohio State at No. 4 Texas: The Longhorns sped up and down the field last week vs. Texas State. They probably won’t be able to do that on the Buckeyes. Also, they have to keep Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith from speeding up and down the field.

No. 11 Oklahoma at Michigan: The Wolverines could again have the home clock save them this week...but probably not. Based on their “win” over Western Michigan, they have no offense to challenge OU’s sturdy defense.

Iowa State at No. 21 Iowa: A big in-state rivalry game in the Cy-Hawk Series. Iowa State has won three of the last four. Each game was decided by a touchdown or less.

Georgia Southern at Clemson: Just watch to see if Clemson is as bad as it appeared last week vs. LSU.

Arizona State at No. 10 Texas A&M: Contenders in the Big 12 and SEC square off. Arizona State scored 70 points last week, while A&M posted a shutout. Neither opponent was impressive, so this game will reveal more about who’s for real.