Daily Notes and Thoughts on College Football Every Day in 2026

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January 1st:

  • Someone I know well did not get the New Year’s present that he was hoping for last night. Seeing the Miami (FL) - Ohio State result this morning surprised me. Michigan is a physical team, but when the Buckeyes went up against Indiana and Miami (FL) they got punched in the mouth.

  • Jumping ahead a few days…how about a Miami - Oregon matchup for the National Championship?

  • As Indiana prepares to meet Alabama for the first time, lets think about this - the Hoosiers won their third-ever Big Ten Championship (1967, 1945) and first out-right title since 1945 and today’s game marks Indiana's first appearance in the Rose Bowl Game since 1968!

  • The Crimson Tide made its inaugural appearance in Pasadena on Jan. 1, 1926, when the Tide downed the heavily favored Washington Huskies by a score of 20-19 to claim the program's first national championship.

  • Texas Tech's dominance this season has placed the Red Raiders in a rare category in college football history. The Red Raiders are only the fifth team in the Associated Press era (since 1936) to record 12 or more wins by 20-plus points in a season, joining the likes of Nebraska (1971), Florida State (2013), Alabama (2018) and Clemson (2018).

  • The Ducks lead the nation with 91 plays of 20-plus yards this season; Texas Tech is second with 90.

  • This will be the eighth ranked meeting between Ole Miss and Georgia, with UGA leading such games 5-2 …and it’s the third meeting all-time with both teams in the top-10. Lastly, this will be the 50th meeting all-time between the Rebels and Bulldogs (UGA leads 34-14-1), but the two teams are meeting in the postseason for the first time.