The 2026 college football season is down to three undefeated teams at the Bowl Subdivision level: Miami, UCLA and Utah.
Congrats to all who predicted that trifecta.
If it seems like three undefeated teams entering Halloween weekend is a little low, you’re not alone. The last time only three teams were perfect entering trick-or-treat fun was 1977.
Why is that?
During Wednesday afternoon’s Southeastern Conference teleconference, Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz was able to list plenty of reasons.
“I think it’s harder to have an established culture or an established program just because of the transition you’re facing every year with the players,” Drinkwitz said. “It’s tougher to get a consistency of message and consistency of expectations. Obviously you’re dealing with more distractions than ever before. There is NIL during the week. Players have to go and perform tasks in order to get paid, and that’s consistently something they have to go do on top of attending class and getting ready for a game.
“Also, as coaches, we spent time during the bye week talking about rosters and dealing with agents. Obviously tampering season is in full force, so players and coaches are getting bombarded by what the possibilities could be at the end of the year. It’s hard to have elite focus and elite concentration due to the uncertainty of what’s next, and that’s for everybody on your team, because every player is a free agent. It’s just the new nature of what college football has become.”
That may seem like a very glass half-empty response, but there was a glass half-full element to his comments as well.
In other words, it’s about to get worse.
“People are becoming more aware of their options based on how they’ve played or what the needs of other teams are,” Drinkwitz said. “This is just a prediction, but I think this will be the most volatile transfer portal we see this year. I think we’ll have more people in the portal than we’ve had previously, because it’s just the nature of what it is.
“There are more agents involved with players than there has ever been, and there are going to be more people in the portal than there has ever been.”
Pasquali’s Pix
Auburn at Ole Miss: The Rebels are seeking their third straight series victory after losing 33 of the previous 39 meetings. Rebels 31, Tigers 20.
VMI at UTC: The Keydets have, without question, one of the 10 best teams in the SoCon. Mocs 34,Keydets 7.
Florida vs. Georgia: The Bulldogs are seeking their first six-game winning streak over the Gators since the days of Vince Dooley and Charley Pell. Bulldogs 27, Gators 24.
South Carolina at Oklahoma: The home team has never won in this longstanding rivalry that dates to 2024. Gamecocks 20, Sooners 17.
Mississippi State at Texas: No Kamario Taylor. No fun. Longhorns 29, Bulldogs 10.
Georgia Tech at Pittsburgh: This time last year, the Yellow Jackets were 8-0. Panthers 31, Yellow Jackets 24.
Missouri at Arkansas: Tickets for this Battle Line Rivalry in Fayetteville are as low as $10. Tigers 30, Razorbacks 17.
Other picks:
Notre Dame 42, Navy 9
Texas Tech 29, Arizona 28
SMU 35, Syracuse 22
N.C. State 31, California 26
Duke 38, Boston College 25
Michigan 26, Rutgers 17
Louisville 37, Stanford 10
Indiana 30, Minnesota 13
BYU 47, Arizona State 24
Cincinnati 34, Utah 31
Wake Forest 41, Virginia 16
UCLA 45, Nevada 6
Oklahoma State 29, Iowa State 24
Florida State 22, Clemson 17
Miami 23, North Carolina 20
USC 17, Ohio State 16
Memphis 31, Army 22
Boise State 35, Texas State 20
Winners — 14
Vols TDs called back — 11
Pasquali is 153-47 overall (76.5%) this season.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@thayestimesfreepress.com.