CFW Week O Forecast – Irish coffee for breakfast
‘These are the good old days’
“Anticipation, anticipation.”
It’s only appropriate to say that this week is the prelude to the college football season. It’s the appetizer before the entre. It’s the calm before the storm. It’s Week 0.
The traditional and official start of the college football season is Labor Day Weekend. Labor Day Weekend is Week 1. That’s when everybody plays. But several years ago, a handful of games, usually five or six, began appearing on the weekend before Labor Day Weekend. They had to give the week a name. Maybe because most of the five or six games were zero games, they called it Week 0. No, not really.
“Anticipation, anticipation
Is making me late
Is keeping me waiting”
But, what else are you going to call the week before Week 1? It’s Week 0. Although looking at this week’s slate of games, maybe it should be Weak 0.
That’s not quite true. One of this week’s games matches two Top 25 teams. And it so happens that it is the game being played in Dublin, Ireland. The Dublin-based game – known as the Aer Lingus College Football Classic – has become a tradition of Week 0. Who can forget last year’s game? Georgia Tech’s Aidan Birr kicked a 44-yard field goal as time expired. Georgia Tech upset Florida State, 24-21. Talk about luck of the Yellow Jackets.
This year at the 47,988-seat Aviva Stadium on Lansdowne Road in Dublin, Ireland, it’s #17 Kansas State vs. #22 Iowa State. I’d say, that’s a pretty good matchup. And it’s the first game of the day – 12 noon EST, Saturday on ESPN.
“We can never know about the games to come
But we think about them anyway”
Another good matchup Saturday takes place in Lawrence, Kansas – the Fresno State Bulldogs take on the Kansas Jayhawks. These aren’t Top 20 teams, but both Fresno State and Kansas have potential. The game is at 6:30 pm ET on FOX.
Then there are the three Weak 0 games. Two are on TV and one isn’t. The two TV games are Sam Houston at Western Kentucky, 7 pm ET on CBSSN, and Stanford at Hawaii, 7:30 pm ET on CBS. The one game that isn’t being televised is Idaho State at UNLV, 4 pm ET. The Idaho State-UNLV game marks the return of former Mississippi State and Florida coach Dan Mullen. Mullen is the new head coach at UNLV.
By the way, next year, the Aer Lingus Classic in Dublin, Ireland, will match TCU against North Carolina. And in 2027, it will be Pitt vs. Wisconsin.
“And I wonder if I’m really with it now
Or just chasing after some finer day”
We haven’t even expanded to a 14 or 16-team College Football Playoff, and already the Big Ten Conference is floating the idea of a 24 or 28-team CFP. And wouldn’t you know it; the Big Ten wants to be guaranteed seven automatic spots in the 28-team playoff; six automatic spots in the 24-team playoff. The Big Ten really does suffer from an inferiority complex.
In the delusional world of Tony Petitti, the Big Ten and SEC would be guaranteed seven spots each in the 28-team format (six spots each in the 24-team format). The ACC and Big 12 would be guaranteed five spots each in the 28-team format (four spots each in the 24-team format). The Group of Five teams would be guaranteed two spots in both the 24 and 28-team formats. They would be the two highest-ranked Group of Five teams. The remaining two spots in both formats would go to the next two highest-ranked teams, regardless of conference.
I would be vehemently opposed to expanding to anything more than 16 teams in the CFP. And the only automatic spot in the 16-team format should go to the highest-ranked Group of Five team. The other 15 spots should go to the highest ranked 15 teams, regardless of conference affiliation. A 24-team or 28-team playoff would all but destroy the importance of the regular season in college football. Not to mention that you would have a number of teams in the playoff that have no business being there.
Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti has no background for and no appreciation for the college football game. Fortunately, reaction to the 24-team/28-team CFP from other conferences has been negative. Let’s hope it stays that way.
“So, I’ll try and see into your mind right now
And stay right here cause these are the good old days”
And speaking of the Big Ten, the NCAA finally handed down its long-awaited ruling in the Michigan sign-stealing saga. Basically, Michigan received severe financial punishment, but very little else. Michigan will pay fines totaling $30-35 million, maybe more. The money for the fines – to be paid over the next two years – will come from any post-season revenue that Michigan receives and from other football and athletic department revenue sources. The Wolverines have been placed on a four-year probation but will not be banned from participating in post-season bowl games. Michigan will not have to forfeit any victories, nor will the Wolverines have to relinquish their national championship crown. On an individual basis, former head coach Jim Harbaugh was hit with a 10-year show-cause penalty and assistant coach Connor Stations got an 8-year show-cause order. That says that Harbaugh and Stations have effectively been banned from any association with college sports for 10 and 8 years, respectively. Current Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore received a three-game suspension – two games this season and one game next season.
Effective July 1, 2026, Tennessee Tech will leave the Ohio Valley Conference and become a member of the Southern Conference.
“Anticipation, anticipation.”
Enjoy the prelude. Enjoy the appetizers. Enjoy the calm before the storm. The anticipation is growing for Labor Day Weekend.
“These are the good old days
These are the good old days”
May your troubles be less and your blessings be more. Slan libh.
Touchdown Tom
August 21, 2025
https://collegefootballweek.blogspot.com
“Anticipation” is a song that was written and recorded by Carly Simon. It was the lead single and opening track on Simon’s 1971 album of the same name. The song peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the winter of 1972. Simon wrote the song on a guitar in 15 minutes, as she waited for Cat Stevens to pick her up for a date. The song was used in commercials for Heinz Ketchup in the late 1970s and early 1980s. My apologies for taking liberties with the lyrics.
Touchdown Tom’s Predictions for
Week 0’s Two Biggest and Most Intriguing Games…..and then none
1. #22 Iowa State vs. #17 Kansas State – (Big 12 vs. Big 12) – 12 noon ET, Saturday, ESPN – This game is not only the season opener for both teams, but also, the opening conference game for both teams. That’s right. It’s a Big 12 vs. Big 12 encounter. Both teams have experienced solid quarterbacks. Iowa State is led by junior Rocco Becht. Kansas State counters with junior Avery Johnson. Becht is the better passer. Johnson is the better runner. Both teams have experienced running backs. For Iowa State, it is junior Carson Hansen. Kansas State has junior Dylan Edwards. Generally, these two teams have no problem scoring. It’s their defense that can be soft. Iowa State is under 10th-year coach Matt Campbell. Kansas State coach Chris Klieman is in his 7th year. So, here we go – the Cyclones vs. the Wildcats. There could be lots of points put on the scoreboard. Cy can’t hold his Jameson – Kansas State 30, Iowa State 27.
2. Fresno State at Kansas – (MWC vs. Big 12) – 6:30 pm ET, Saturday, FOX – Kansas should win this game. But if the Jayhawks aren’t careful, Fresno State could cause some problems – serious problems. A lot depends on how Fresno State senior quarterback E.J. Warner plays. Fresno State is Warner’s third team. Last year he quarterbacked Rice. Two years ago, he was the quarterback at Temple. The son of former NFL quarterback Kurt Warner, E.J. can be good. And when he’s good, he’s really, really good. But he can be bad – really bad. Kansas is set with senior quarterback Jalon Daniels and senior running back Daniel Hishaw. The experience is there. Daniels can pass and run. Fresno State is under first-year coach Matt Entz. Kansas is coached by Lance Leipold in his 5th season. The Bulldogs get Rocked and Chalked – Kansas 27, Fresno State 17.
Quotes of the Week
“Coach Cignetti has had a lot of success everywhere he’s been. He’s an incredibly gifted coach,” Illinois coach Bret Bielema, on Indiana coach Curt Cignetti.
“I don’t know where he got that from. He texted me to apologize about that. I’m really just taking it day by day right now,” Texas quarterback Arch Manning, on his grandfather’s comment that he would not enter the NFL draft after this season. Archie Manning recently told reporters that his grandson would be back playing for Texas next season.
The Teams – 2025 (Touchdown Tom’s Consensus Top 40)
Every year, I record the results of all the legitimate preseason polls – AP, Coaches, CBS, ESPN, Sporting News, College Football News, Athlon, Lindy’s, Phil Steele, etc. etc. I then combine the results of the polls to produce a consensus agreement on the top teams. This year, I recorded the results of 15 preseason polls.
Here then are the combined results of those 15 polls – Touchdown Tom’s Consensus Top 40.
Drum roll please. The consensus of the polls says that (1) Texas is the No. 1 team in the country. The Longhorns were ranked No. 1 in eight of the 15 polls. None of the polls ranked Texas lower than 4th. The strongest challenger to Texas was (2) Penn State. Just seven points behind Texas, the Nittany Lions were No. 1 in four of the polls. None of the polls ranked Penn State lower than 5th.
The remainder of the Top 5 are (3) Ohio State, (4) Georgia and (5) Clemson. None of the polls ranked Ohio State No. 1, but Georgia was ranked No. 1 in one poll, while Clemson was 1st in another poll. Clemson is followed by (6) Notre Dame and (7) Alabama. The Crimson Tide garnered the remaining No. 1 ranking. However, Alabama was ranked as low as 12th in one poll, while Notre Dame was ranked no lower than 8th by any of the polls.
Th rest of the Top 10 are (8) Oregon, (9) LSU and (10) Miami. Among the Top 10 teams, four are from the SEC, three from the Big Ten, 2 from the ACC and one team is an Independent.
The second 10 is led by (11) Michigan, followed by (12) Florida, (13) Arizona State, (14) Texas A&M and (15) Illinois. Rounding out the Top 20 are (16) Oklahoma, (17) South Carolina, (18) Ole Miss, (19) SMU and (20) Indiana. Bringing up the bottom of the Top 25 are (21) Kansas State, (22) Tennessee, (23) Texas Tech, (24) Iowa State and (25) USC.
The Top 25 teams consist of 10 teams from the SEC, seven from the Big Ten, four from the Big 12, three from the ACC and one Independent. Closing out the Top 30 are (26) Utah, (27) Baylor (28) Louisville, (29) Boise State and (30) Iowa.
The final 10 in the Top 40 begins with a three-way tie (31) Auburn, (31) BYU and (31) Nebraska followed by (34) Missouri and (35) Georgia Tech. The Top 40 is filled out by (36) TCU, (37) Washington, (38) Florida State, (39) Minnesota and (40) Pitt. That says the consensus Top 40 teams in the country represent 12 teams from the SEC, 11 from the Big Ten, 8 from the Big 12, seven from the ACC, one from the MWC and one Independent. Boise State was the only Group of Five team to break the Top 40.
Just missing the Top 40 were (41) Arkansas and (42) Duke.
Four of the five Group of Five conferences – AC, Sun Belt, MAC and C-USA – placed no teams in the Top 40. The highest ranked team from the American Conference is (44) Tulane. From the Sun Belt Conference, it is (60) James Madison. The highest ranked team from the Mid-American Conference is (61) Toledo, and from Conference USA is (71) Liberty.
And that’s Touchdown Tom’s Consensus Top 40 for 2025.
The next posting of College Football Week – CFW Week 0 Results – will be released Monday morning, August 25.
Touchdown Tom
https://collegefootballweek.blogspot.com
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