Who runs college football? Can Indiana repeat as national champions? Which team is ready to make the leap? And is LSU officially college football’s new villain?
The 2026 college football season is here, and the biggest questions in the sport are waiting to be answered.
FOX Sports lead college football analyst Joel Klatt has plenty of thoughts. On the latest episode of “The Joel Klatt Show,” Klatt tackles 10 burning questions heading into Week 1, including which teams can actually win it all.
Klatt’s Thoughts: “I think this is the biggest question in college football. ⦠The last three National Championships have come out of the Big Ten: Michigan, Ohio State and Indiana. But it’s been even more than that because, for so long, the SEC dominated. They were the premier conference in college football by a wide margin. They won everything. ⦠It was also that way in the NFL Draft, every single year, it was the SEC with the most players drafted in the first round ⦠Over the last few years, we’ve seen the shift happen, not just at the top winning the championships, but also in the records in these bowl games, and, last year, in the first round of the NFL Draft.
“In the last three seasons, the SEC is 0-4 against the Big Ten in the College Football Playoff. ⦠Every single metric you used to hear about and, candidally, the ones that matter, these games that matter, the first-round draft picks, the elite talent, the Big Ten has overtaken the SEC. ⦠I predict that the Big Ten is going to win another championship this year.”
Klatt’s Thoughts: “This is an emphatic Yes. Indiana is a powerhouse right now. Curt Cignetti, I think, is the best coach in college football. That was proven last year. That roster was not as expensive as all the rosters that they were beating in the College Football Playoff. ⦠Cignetti retained all of his staff. This is the one thing that I think is going to be hard to wrap your minds around. They were 16-0 and national champions last year, and the conversations that I’m having with people around the program at Indiana is that they’re quietly ahead of where they were each of the last two years right now with this team. There is a chance this is a better team. â¦
“Josh Hoover is further along in the offense and with his comfort in the offense than Fernando Mendoza was last year or Kurtis Rourke was two years ago. That’s something that they point to. The offensive line is further along. ⦠Their front seven on defense might be better than last year, and this was one of the best defenses in college football.”
Klatt’s Thoughts: “I think the quarterback class is outstanding. You’ve got Dante Moore, Arch Manning, CJ Carr, Julian Sayin, Darian Mensah, Jayden Maiava, Sam Leavitt and John Mateer. It is littered with guys who could potentially become that guy in college football ⦠Oh, by the way, I haven’t even mentioned the guy who is widely considered the best skill position player we’ve seen in college football, maybe in our lifetimes, but certainly in over a decade in Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith. The potential is limitless for college football this year.
“It could be an unbelievable year, and the guy that grabs the sport and brings it down and becomes the face of the sport is going to be the one that plays the best in high-leverage moments and on big stages. That’s what it becomes, and that guy’s ultimately going to be the Heisman Trophy winner. ⦠My pick to win the Heisman Trophy is Jeremiah Smith.”
Klatt’s Thoughts:Â “I think that [new defensive coordinator] Will Muschamp is going to have a huge impact on this season because if he fixes that defense, then, yes, Arch, Sark and Texas can raise their ceiling, but that’s really where it lies. It’s not with Arch and Sark. It’s with Will Muschamp, the offensive line and the defense. Those are the areas for Texas that have got to change. Obviously, they have a d
