The 1990 college football season kicked off with chaos off the field and a sense of familiarity on it. Miami and Notre Dame had gone a combined 22-1 against the rest of the nation in 1989, and the Hurricanes' 27-10 win over the Irish on Nov. 25 had basically decided the national title. In 1990, they predictably began the season ranked No. 1 and 2, respectively; Florida State, the only team to beat either in 1989, began the year ranked fourth, and the others in the preseason top 10 had all finished the previous season 12th or better. Though each year produces its own upstarts, the sport's balance of power seemed crystal clear heading into the 1990s.
Off the field, everything was as blurry as could be. With Penn State's impending move to the Big Ten, the first major run of conference realignment was underway, and people were envisioning a world that might feature as few as three superconferences. Sports Illustrated's Austin Murphy wrote about a possible Super SEC (with Florida State, Miami, South Carolina and the SWC's Arkansas, Texas and Texas A&M) and a Pac-14 with Colorado, BYU, San Diego State and Utah. It began to seem as if anything were possible regarding the future of the sport.
Those vibes unexpectedly made their way onto the field. The season started with a wild 31-31 tie between No. 5 Colorado and No. 8 Tennessee -- the Vols scored 21 points in the final eight minutes to erase a two-score deficit -- and the temperature never went down. Miami lost to BYU in Week 2, Colorado suffered a second blemish the next week, and the upsets came so hot-and-heavy that Virginia found itself No. 1 for the first time by mid-October. By the end of the year, 18 teams had appeared in the AP top five, the most ever. Colorado ended up splitting the national title with Georgia Tech even though the Yellow Jackets hadn't entered the polls until October and the Buffaloes had suffered the aforementioned multiple blemishes. Colorado had also famously benefited from the sport's most famous clipping penalty and, of course, a fifth down.
(Charles Johnson didn't score on fifth down either. The Missouri grad in me is obligated to endlessly remind you of this.)
The Buffaloes and Yellow Jackets didn't play each other for the title, of course, because in 1990 we were still letting poll voters and half-informed and self-interested bowl officials decide who had a shot at a ring. Georgia Tech had to play No. 18 Nebraska in the Citrus Bowl because the Sugar Bowl had locked up Virginia in early November, right before the Cavaliers fell apart following a loss to ... Georgia Tech. The Orange Bowl, having already landed Colorado, could have selected Tech for a 1-versus-2 battle but decided to go with big brand Notre Dame instead. Television ratings were more important than merit, after all.
Thirty-five years later, on the first Friday night of the season, Colorado and Georgia Tech will meet for the first time. That Sunday, Miami and Notre Dame will face off as well. The sport is facing unprecedented change off the field -- so much so that I wrote a book about it -- but any 1990 vibes we can channel on the field are welcome because in these parts we love chaos. College football is at its best when (again, on the field) it makes the least possible sense.
Messy seasons take on lives of their own, but really, college football's superpower is that it's far too big to contain. There are always messes, and there is always a close game on, a funky offense to watch and small-school madness to follow. Each year I create a road map for getting the most out of the season. Here's how to enjoy yourself to the fullest this fall.
Watch the big games (duh)
Sometimes you have to search for the fun, and other times it's staring you in the face. The spectacle of a big game is one of college football's best draws. Here are three games from each week that feature (A) the highest combined projected SP+ ratings from the two teams and (B) a projected scoring margin (per SP+) of less than 10 points. (Games between teams in the preseason AP Top 25 are in bold.)
Week 1: Texas at Ohio State, LSU at Clemson, Notre Dame at Miami (Sunday)
Week 2: Michigan at Oklahoma, Baylor at SMU, Iowa at Iowa State
Week 3: Georgia at Tennessee, Texas A&M at Notre Dame, Florida at LSU
Week 4: Florida at Miami, Michigan at Nebraska, Auburn at Oklahoma
Week 5: Alabama at Georgia, Oregon at Penn State, LSU at Ole Miss
Week 6: Texas at Florida, Miami at Florida State, Kansas State at Baylor
Week 7: Alabama at Missouri, Oklahoma vs. Texas, Georgia at Auburn
Week 8: Tennessee at Alabama, Ole Miss at Georgia, Penn State at Iowa
Week 9: Alabama at South Carolina, Texas A&M at LSU, Ole Miss at Oklahoma
Week 10: Penn State at Ohio State, Florida vs. Georgia, Oklahoma at Tennessee
Week 11: LSU at Alabama, Oregon at Iowa, Texas A&M at Missouri
Week 12: Texas at Georgia, Florida at Ole Miss, South Carolina at Texas A&M
Week 13: Tennessee at Florida, Missouri at Oklahoma, Kansas State at Utah
Week 14: Ohio State at Michigan, Texas A&M at Texas, Alabama at Auburn
Granted, Week 2 is a bit of an alternative programming week -- allow me to petition for "College GameDay" to pass on Michigan-Oklahoma in favor of the resumption of the Mizzou-Kansas Border War in Columbia -- but big games are distributed nicely throughout the season.
Irish Farmageddon, baby!
We get a fun and important game even before Week 1 arrives: This Saturday, No. 17 Kansas State and No. 22 Iowa State will meet for the 109th iteration of Farmageddon -- and in the farm-iest of locales: Ireland. ISU has won four of the past five to take a 54-50-4 lead in the series, and the winner of this one will enter Week 1 as a favorite to reach the Big 12 championship game. I really should have pushed to cover this game in person.
Week 5 is incredible
I'm not sure we've ever seen a September weekend as big as Week 5 might shape up to be. Preseason No. 2 Penn State hosts No. 7 Oregon, while No. 5 Georgia attempts revenge at home against No. 8 Alabama. Meanwhile, the undercard is endless. No. 9 LSU visits No. 21 Ole Miss in one of the SEC's more spirited old rivalries, No. 7 Notre Dame visits Arkansas for the first time in a Lou Holtz Bowl of sorts, No. 3 Ohio State visits an ambitious Washington, and Auburn visits No. 19 Texas A&M in a rivalry that frequently produces silliness.
Plus, two Big Ten games that might not catch the eye in some years -- USC at No. 12 Illinois, No. 20 Indiana at Iowa -- take on a lot of playoff relevance, and I haven't even mentioned TCU at No. 11 Arizona State on Friday night, a great Group of 5 showdown between Appalachian State and Boise State or an FCS top-five matchup between South Dakota and North Dakota State! There's almost too much to keep track of in Week 5. Clear your schedule.
Bask in wild conference title races
In last week's SP+ projections, the top eight teams in the Big 12 were separated by only 6.0 points, and 10 teams were within a touchdown of the projected top two. In the SEC, the top six were separated by 6.1 points. In the American, the top five were separated by 6.1. In the Sun Belt, Nos. 2 through 9 were separated by 6.7.
In the ACC, Big Ten, Conference USA, MAC and Mountain West, there are pretty clear hierarchies at the top. Surprises are always possible, but we know who should be (and is) favored. In these four other conferences, however, we could be in for spectacular plot twists. Irish Farmageddon should give us an early taste of this, followed by Georgia at Tennessee in Week 3, but things will kick into overdrive in Week 5 and include a good number of midweek games. Some particularly big weeks:
Week 8: Ole Miss at Georgia, Tennessee at Alabama, Texas Tech at Arizona State, Utah at BYU, Baylor at TCU, Army at Tulane, Coastal Carolina at App State, Texas State at Marshall
Week 9: James Madison at Texas State (Tues.), Marshall at Coastal Carolina (Thurs.), Texas A&M at LSU, Ole Miss at Oklahoma, BYU at Iowa State, Colorado at Utah, Kansas State at Kansas, South Florida at Memphis, Louisiana at South Alabama
Week 11: UTSA at South Florida (Thurs.), Georgia Southern at App State (Thurs.), LSU at Alabama, BYU at Texas Tech, Iowa State at TCU, Tulane at Memphis, James Madison at Marshall, Texas State at Louisiana
Week 14: Navy at Memphis (Fri.), Texas A&M at Texas, LSU at Oklahoma, Colorado at Kansas State, Utah at Kansas, Army at UTSA, James Madison at Coastal Carolina, South Alabama at Texas State, Georgia Southern at Marshall
Which new/young SEC quarterback takes control?
It was easily one of the most interesting storylines I pieced together as I was writing my conference previews: The SEC is overflowing with new or young starting quarterbacks with massive upside and incomplete résumés, so much so that they got their own section in my most important players of 2025 list. For that matter, six of the top eight teams in the preseason AP poll have new starting QBs.
Most of these guys are athletic and exciting, which is to say that they're capable of making tons of big plays and/or taking lots of hits. A couple of them will underachieve or battle injuries that impact their teams significantly. A couple could break through and lead top-five charges. Figuring out who's who will be both entertaining and integral to the playoff race.
Year 2 on Lake Michigan
Five Home Games at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium. See you next Fall 🌊 pic.twitter.com/Mh2pHonQvJ
— Northwestern Football (@NUFBFamily) December 13, 2024
Northwestern is spending almost a billion dollars on its Ryan Field rebuild, and this is the last season the Wildcats will play in their temporary home at Martin Stadium on Lake Michigan. It's an incredible, aesthetically pleasing venue, and it will host at least one pretty big-time game: the Wildcats' Week 3 matchup against Oregon. (Their late-season home games against Michigan and Minnesota will be at Wrigley Field, unfortunately.)
The Pepto-Bismol All-Stars
Certain teams will be playing in an inordinate number of close games. According to my final preseason SP+ projections, there are a whopping 25 teams with at least eight games projected to finish within one score (approximately 7.5 points), including eight schools with nine such games. (Perhaps not surprisingly, four of these teams are from the Big 12.) You will be watching the fourth quarter of many of their games.
10 tight games: UTEP
9 tight games: Baylor, Colorado State, Iowa State, Middle Tennessee, San Diego State, TCU, West Virginia
8 tight games: Akron, Appalachian State, Delaware, Florida, Hawai'i, Houston, Iowa, Jacksonville State, Kansas, Louisiana Tech, New Mexico State, North Texas, Oklahoma, Pittsburgh, Sam Houston, Texas A&M, Utah
UTEP is a heavy underdog against Texas in Week 3 and a two-touchdown dog against Liberty in mid-October. But from the Utah State game in Week 1 to the trip to Delaware in Week 14, the other 10 games are projected within five points. Guhhhh. Stock up on antacid, Miners fans.
Embrace the option
Army and Navy enjoyed sudden surges in 2024 thanks to new interpretations of their good, old option offenses. Army surged from a combined 12-12 in 2022-23 to 12-2 last fall -- with an American conference title -- thanks to a combined 2,794 rushing yards and 42 TDs from quarterback Bryson Daily and fullback Kanye Udoh. Navy, meanwhile, left behind four straight losing seasons with a 10-3 campaign and defeated both Army and Oklahoma in December. And although Daily and Udoh are gone, Navy quarterback Blake Horvath returns in 2025.
Neither service academy will sneak up on anyone this year, but they're still going to run their own versions of sexy option offenses. Air Force has maintained its own variety of the option and has been rewarded with five 10-win seasons in 11 years, though the Falcons fell off course after heavy turnover in 2024.
I'm not telling you anything you don't know. These three schools have long annoyed the hell out of opponents with their increasingly unique attacks. But we're welcoming someone new to the FBS option party this year: Rice, which enjoyed a few winning seasons in the 1990s with Ken Hatfield's option offense, decided to give it another go, hiring Davidson's Scott Abell to replace Mike Bloomgren.
At Davidson, Abell's Wildcats drew attention with gaudy rushing totals at the FCS level, and in his very first season, they pulled off one of the most unusual accomplishments you'll ever see, rushing for 789 yards in one game ... and losing. I don't expect many wins from Rice in 2025, but the Owls are virtually guaranteed to find a rhythm against an insufficiently prepared opponent and produce some delightful numbers. You'll want to keep an eye out for it.
Watch the midweek games
BYU's Darius Lassiter sends the crowd into a frenzy after hauling in a miraculous touchdown catch in the waning moments against Oklahoma State.
Midweek games are great for giving us opportunities to catch up on interesting teams, dive into fun locales (and maybe slide down a muddy hill) and, quite frequently, enjoy some silly football. Last season alone, the midweek slate gave us BYU's incredible last-second win over Oklahoma State, Virginia Tech's overturned Hail Mary against Miami, Duke's overtime win over Northwestern on Lake Michigan, wild Arizona State wins and UNLV thrillers, Kennesaw State's first win as an FBS team (a shocking upset of Liberty) and a number of zany comebacks. November's MACtion slate gave us a weekly classic, and Week 4 gave us maybe the wildest Friday night of all time, featuring a big Stanford upset of Syracuse and two overtime games (Illinois over Nebraska and Washington State over San Jose State). Whew.
The 2025 midweek games have a high bar to clear. Not including Black Friday after Thanksgiving, here's one Tuesday-to-Friday game to pay particular attention to each week. (I made an exception for the start of MACtion.) We'll inevitably gravitate toward whichever wild games go down to the wire, but these will be worth paying attention to regardless.
Week 1: Georgia Tech at Colorado (Fri.)
Week 2: James Madison at Louisville (Fri.)
Week 3: NC State at Wake Forest (Thurs.)
Week 4: Iowa at Rutgers (Fri.)
Week 5: TCU at No. 11 Arizona State (Fri.)
Week 6: West Virginia at BYU (Fri.)
Week 7: East Carolina at Tulane (Thurs.)
Week 8: Louisville at No. 10 Miami (Fri.)
Week 9: California at Virginia Tech (Thurs.)
Week 10: James Madison at Texas State (Tues.)
Week 11: Miami (Ohio) at Ohio (Tues.), Northern Illinois at Toledo (Wed.), UTSA at South Florida (Thurs.), Tulane at Memphis (Fri.)
Week 12: No. 4 Clemson at Louisville (Fri.)
Week 13: Florida State at NC State (Fri.)
Week 14: Navy at Memphis (Thanksgiving)
Watch as much smaller-school football as you can
Think about it this way: As breathless as the 1990 season already was, it was even wilder if you followed the sport at all levels. In the I-AA (now FCS) playoffs that year, newcomer UCF upset Jim Tressel's second-ranked Youngstown State team in the first round, and Nevada erased a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat Furman in three overtimes in the quarterfinals before beating rival Boise State 59-52 in another three overtimes in the semis. Eventual champ Georgia Southern had to survive a 28-27 epic against Idaho in the quarters before hitting fifth gear.
At the Division III level, Allegheny and Lycoming, each making their first (and, for Allegheny, only) title-game appearances, played a Stagg Bowl epic, with Ken O'Keefe's Allegheny Gators winning 21-14 in overtime. In NAIA, Billy Joe's Central State Marauders embarked on one of the greatest modern runs by an HBCU program, winning three playoff games by a combined 127-40 to claim their first national title.
Small-school football is the ultimate world builder. On a given Saturday, there's always a bitter rivalry you hadn't heard of and an unforgettable finish you'd never seen before. Every week provides title stakes of some sort before the breathless beast known as the smaller-school playoffs gets underway in November. The more you see, the happier you become, and you can watch just about any game in the country via either a streaming service or a school's website.
Here are three huge smaller-school games for each week of the regular season, plus a choice selection for Week 0. Top-10 matchups are in bold.
Week 0: No. 7 UC Davis vs. No. 11 Mercer (FCS Kickoff Classic)
Week 1: No. 9 Pittsburg State at No. 1 Ferris State (D-II) (Thurs.), No. 4 Morningside at No. 3 Benedictine (NAIA), No. 14 Sacramento State at No. 3 South Dakota State (FCS)
Week 2: No. 3 South Dakota State at No. 2 Montana State (FCS), No. 3 Benedictine at No. 1 Grand View (NAIA), No. 9 Pittsburg State at No. 5 Central Oklahoma (D-II)
Week 3: No. 3 Grand Valley State at No. 9 Pittsburg State (D-II), No. 2 Mount Union at No. 23 Grove City (D-III), No. 6 Colorado State-Pueblo at No. 22 Central Missouri (D-II)
Week 4: No. 3 Johns Hopkins at No. 4 Susquehanna (D-III), No. 8 Georgetown (Ky.) at No. 6 St. Thomas (Fla.) (NAIA), No. 4 Incarnate Word at No. 18 Northern Arizona (FCS)
Week 5: No. 5 South Dakota at No. 1 North Dakota State (FCS), No. 18 Ouachita Baptist at No. 2 Harding (D-II), No. 17 Jackson State at Southern (FCS)
Week 6: No. 1 North Dakota State at No. 6 Illinois State (FCS), No. 5 St. John's at No. 12 Bethel (D-III), No. 17 Wheaton at No. 1 North Central (D-III)
Week 7: No. 8 Mary Hardin-Baylor at No. 6 Hardin-Simmons (D-III), No. 19 Northern Arizona at No. 7 UC Davis (FCS), No. 15 UW-Platteville at No. 19 UW-River Falls (D-III)
Week 8: No. 6 St. Thomas (Fla.) at No. 2 Keiser (NAIA), No. 4 Morningside at No. 10 Northwestern (Iowa) (NAIA), No. 5 Montana Western at College of Idaho (NAIA)
Week 9: No. 1 North Dakota State at No. 3 South Dakota State (FCS), No. 3 Grand Valley State at No. 1 Ferris State (D-II), No. 6 Illinois State at No. 5 South Dakota (FCS)
Week 10: No. 6 CSU-Pueblo at No. 10 Western Colorado (D-II), No. 8 Tarleton State at No. 16 Abilene Christian (FCS), East Tennessee State at Chattanooga (FCS)
Week 11: No. 3 South Dakota State at No. 5 South Dakota (FCS), No. 6 Hardin-Simmons at No. 8 Mary Hardin-Baylor (D-III), No. 7 UC Davis at No. 12 Idaho (FCS)
Week 12: No. 7 UC Davis at No. 2 Montana State (FCS), No. 6 Illinois State at No. 3 South Dakota State (FCS), No. 12 Valdosta State at No. 8 West Florida (D-II)
Week 13: No. 2 Montana State at No. 9 Montana (FCS), No. 14 Sacramento State at No. 7 UC Davis (FCS), No. 15 Lehigh at Lafayette (FCS)
Better yet, adopt a small-school team
Want the full smaller-school experience? Follow a team (preferably a good one) from start to finish. Here are five particularly choice options.
Incarnate Word. The Cardinals have averaged 39.5 points per game in the 2020s, and their defense has improved significantly of late. Third-year coach Clint Killough, still only 32, has been aggressive in the transfer portal, and with lots of powerful FCS teams in flux because of an increase in transfers to FBS, UIW might have a shot at a return to the FCS semifinals or better. A good team that doesn't mind a track meet every now and then? Yeah, watch UIW.
Slippery Rock. The Rock made the Division II semifinals last year, and they were the only team to stay within 34 points of a rampant Ferris State in the playoffs, falling 48-38. They've been elite at both offense and defense at some point recently, they could have the best line play of any D-II team outside of Ferris, and the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference is really fun to follow. And, I mean, they're called The Rock! You want to root for The Rock!
Pittsburg State. Division II's MIAA is a blast, with at least two teams -- Central Oklahoma and Central Missouri -- thirsting for track meets on a weekly basis. Pitt State actually plays defense, but the Gorillas are on this list both because they should be very good and because they're absolutely masochistic: They're starting the season at No. 1 Ferris State, at No. 5 Central Oklahoma and at home versus No. 3 Grand Valley State. They could be toast by the end of September, or they could be a national title contender.
A Division III Wisconsin team of your choice. The 2024 WIAC race was one of the sport's best, featuring weekly heart-stoppers and plot twists and finishing with six of eight teams within two games of the title. All six of those teams -- UW-La Crosse, UW-Platteville, UW-River Falls, UW-Whitewater, UW-Oshkosh and UW-Stout -- rank between 11th and 32nd in the national preseason poll at D3football.com.
River Falls and Stout haven't won a conference title since the turn of the century; La Crosse was a 1980s and 1990s power but hasn't made the D-III semis since 1996; Oshkosh came within three points of the 2016 national title but hasn't won a playoff game since 2017; Platteville has beautiful orange-and-blue jerseys and is hunting for its first playoff win in 14 years; and Whitewater, the D-III standard-bearer for so long, has fallen off a bit but still defends like heck.
Pick your fighter and buckle in.
Montana Western. Last year I suggested adopting College of Idaho, and the Yotes were track meet kings until a late-season slump. This season your points-loving, NAIA team of choice in Big Sky country should be Montana Western. The Bulldogs topped 40 points seven times before dropping a 31-24 heartbreaker to NAIA power Morningside in the playoffs. Quarterback Michael Palandri has thrown for 6,213 yards and 58 TDs in the past two years. This team should be excellent and ridiculously entertaining.