College Football is back! Week 0 begins on August 23 with a slate of 5 games that opens with a ranked matchup in Dublin, pitting Iowa State against Kansas State, and finishes in Hawaii with the Rainbow Warriors hosting Stanford. 17 more games follow on Thursday, August 28, 11 games on Friday, and a plethora of games on Saturday with the crown jewel in Columbus between Ohio State and Texas. But wait!, there's more. Sunday has two more games and TCU and UNC wrap up the Labor Day Weekend on Monday.
For some teams, this could be their only chance for a win against FCS team, and that could be the case for one of the newest members of the FBS, Delaware. The Blue Hens host their instate rivals, the dreadful Delaware State which ranks 111th in the FCS. How do I know? Well, that's because I've added FCS rankings too and I'm adding it to 136 so that teams aren't rewarded for playing bad FCS teams. Missouri State will also be joining the FBS, unfortunately, they begin their quest at the Coliseum against USC.
26 new head coaches enter the fray with Bill Belichick as the headliner taking over for Mack Brown at UNC. Rich Rodriguez makes his return to West Virginia after building up Jacksonville State. The other Power 4 hire was Barry Odom who moves on from UNLV to replace Ryan Walters at Purdue.
Now it's time to look at the bottom feeders of the early season:
136.) Kent State
Last Year Finish (134, 0-12)
A Quick Note: The Golden Flashes have lost 21 games in a row, but that could change in Week 1 with a visit from Merrimack (FCS, 213). That losing streak isn't what got Kenni Burns fired in April, but his apparent lack of payment towards a $20,000 credit card bill on a school issued credit card.
Prediction: 2-10
134. Delaware
LYF (N/A, played in FCS)
A Quick Note: The Blue Hens look to take CUSA by storm under Ryan Carty who led Delaware to a 9-2 finish in 2024.
Prediction: 3-9
133. Missouri State
LYF (N/A, played in FCS)
A Quick Note: The Bears went 8-4 under Ryan Beard as they transitioned into FBS play in CUSA.
Prediction: 4-8
132. Kennesaw State
LYF (128, 2-10)
A Quick Note: Jerry Mack takes over as head coach after Brian Bohannon didn't make it through the first full season of the FBS.
Prediction: 3-9
131. Tulsa
LYF (119, 3-9)
A Quick Note: Tre Lamb takes over as the head coach after promising tenures at Gardner-Webb and ETSU.
Prediction: 4-8
LYF (125, 3-9)
A Quick Note: Why is it that when I was researching UTEP, I came across several articles hyping up the Freshman class coming into El Paso? Maybe it's the Miners year.
Prediction: 4-8
129. Southern Miss
LYF (133, 1-11)
A Quick Note: Charles Huff takes over at Southern Miss after having a falling out with administration at Marshall despite great success.
Prediction: 4-8
128. Ball State
LYF (121, 3-9)
A Quick Note: Mike Uremovich takes over as the new head coach and makes the short move from Butler.
Prediction: 3-9
127. FIU
LYF (112, 4-8)
A Quick Note: Willie Simmons is back in Florida after helming Florida A&M recently.
Prediction: 4-8
126. New Mexico State
LYF (124, 3-9)
A Quick Note: For just the low price of $72, you can watch the Aggies get lambasted by the Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville.
Prediction: 3-9
125. Middle Tennessee State
LYF (126, 3-9)
A Quick Note: Derek Mason is hoping that year two goes a lot better.
Prediction: 5-7
124. Temple
LYF (120, 3-9)
A Quick Note: KC Keeler was 97-30 at Sam Houston State and hopes to bring that success to Philadelphia.
Prediction: 3-9
123. Purdue
LYF (132, 1-11)
A Quick Note: Barry Odom might have stumbled at Missouri, but he built a name for himself again by bringing UNLV up from the doldrums into college football relevance. The Boilermakers hold one of the longest droughts without being ranked for a Power 4 team at 58 weeks (Nov. 8, 2021).
Prediction: 3-9
122. Georgia State
LYF (115, 3-9)
A Quick Note: The Panthers are trying to get the sour taste of eight losses in their last nine games out of their mouths but will have to wait with trips to Ole Miss and Memphis to start the season.
Prediction: 3-9
121. San Diego State
LYF (122, 3-9)
A Quick Note: The Aztecs are set to play their last season in the Mountain West before heading off to the Pac-12 in 2026.
Prediction: 4-8
Prediction: 3-9
Prediction: 3-9
Prediction: 3-9
Prediction: 3-9
Prediction: 5-7
Prediction: 4-8
Prediction: 3-9
Prediction: 4-8
Prediction: 5-7
Prediction: 7-5
Prediction: 7-5
Prediction: 3-9
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