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Tensions are rising across the country, and not because it's election night. Well, OK, tensions are probably rising in parts of the country because of the elections, too. After all, every politician currently running is the most evil human being on the planet, according to the political ads that have been shown ad nauseam during college football games over the last two months.
But I digress. While there's tension politically, there's as much tension in college football. It's one thing when the first couple of months of a season are crazy, as the 2026 season has been. It's new, it's exciting, and it's fun. But when the calendar flips to November, and you can see the end of the line off in the distance, that humor seems to disappear when your team is still in contention.
Now it feels like the stakes are raised a bit, and any late-season loss could derail things in a way that September's slip-up didn't. You're also much more familiar with your team, and since every team in the country has a problem spot, you're much more aware of what it is now. And you know that, if it hasn't been fixed by now, it's not going to get fixed. You're scared that it's going to cost you at some point. In fact, you know it is; you just don't know when.
Then you look at this Saturday's slate of games and realize, "Oh, it'll probably be this weekend." So, yeah, if you're feeling nervous or tense about your team right now. Don't worry. You're not alone.
Maybe turn on some election night coverage to distract yourself!
2025 Preseason Fornelli Power Ratings
| 1 | |
| I've caught some heat from Georgia fans lately over my criticism of Gunner Stockton, but I'm only telling you what I've seen. He's been bad the last two games, even in this week's blowout win over Florida. It doesn't mean he won't get his act together down the stretch, but if Georgia wants to win a national title, it needs Stockton to perform better than he has against Auburn and Florida. You aren't winning three playoff games with performances like those from your QB unless your defense goes on a generational run. Last Week: 1 | Title Odds: +350 | |
| 2 | |
| So if you're a Miami fan, you're definitely getting a bit nervous about your defense right now. Miami didn't allow more than 20 points in any of its first five games this season, but has now allowed 35 to Florida State, 23 to a Pitt team with a backup QB and 35 to North Carolina. No offense to those three teams, but any offense the Hurricanes face in a playoff game will probably be better than those three. It's great that the offense continues to ball out, but you'd like to have the confidence in your defense to carry you in case that offense has an off day. Last Week: 2 | Title Odds: +620 | |
| 3 | |
| Notre Dame did not escape the Navy game unscathed. Linebacker Drayk Bowen, the team's leading tackler, has already been ruled out of this week's game against Miami. Defensive linemen Francis Brewu and Jason Onye are questionable for the game, too. The timing is pretty awful, seeing how the Irish essentially have a two-game season, and they already lost the first leg. They might need that offense to have a good night against that struggling Miami defense. Last Week: 4 | Title Odds: +550 | |
| 4 | |
| The greatest feeling in the world for a college football fan these days is to know your team has a bye week, because it means that your team won't be the one having a bad day this week. I hope Alabama enjoyed their time off as it prepares to hit the road to face LSU in one of four games between teams in this week's power ratings. There wasn't much change this week, but odds are we'll see some next week! Last Week: 5 | Title Odds: +1100 | |
| 5 | |
| I'm not an anthropologist, but I have enjoyed studying the behavior of Ohio State fans since Saturday's loss to USC. They are in an extremely unfamiliar position, and they're acting like they have no idea how to deal with it. In truth, Saturday night's game wasn't great. You had a true freshman making his first start; he didn't play all that well, and you lost. However, the way Buckeyes fans have responded, there isn't a person in the entire city of Columbus who should still have their job right now. Fire the coaches, fire the players, fire the mayor! Everybody has got to go! Last Week: 3 | Title Odds: +1000 | |
| 6 | |
| Trust tree? I'm kind of shocked that LSU was on a bye last week and Lane Kiffin didn't find a way to get his name out there in some kind of stupid news story. It makes me wonder if Kiffin has truly turned a corner now that he's in Baton Rouge. Perhaps he's looking at his team, the environment of the 2026 season, and towards this week's game against Alabama and understands what's possible. Or maybe he's saving it for something really big this week? Last Week: 6 | Title Odds: +810 | |
| 7 | |
| I was impressed by what I saw from Ole Miss against Auburn. They were in a bit of a dogfight in the first half, but the Rebels did not let a sluggish start linger into the second half. They scored on every possession they had after halftime except when they were bleeding out the clock to end it in the fourth quarter. It was businesslike, and it's the kind of thing you want to see from a team with a huge game looming. Last Week: 8 | Title Odds: +1800 | |
| 8 | |
| I know the Indiana injury report is empty, but you know, golly gee, I just don't believe this team isn't a little dinged up! It certainly seemed like Josh Hoover was hurting before he took that final hit and didn't return to the game in the second half! Seriously, this is a team that really needs the bye this week. They have played nine straight games to open the year without a week off, and you could tell it was taking a toll on them the last few weeks. Last Week: 7 | Title Odds: +1000 | |
| 9 | |
| Listen, Mississippi State is an awful football team without Kamario Taylor, so there wasn't a whole lot to take away from Texas' 31-3 win over the Bulldogs. That being said, it was nice to see the Longhorns just dominate an opponent from start to finish for once. They hadn't done so since the 30-6 win over UTSA in September. The fans needed a nice, relaxing Saturday and got one. Last Week: 9 | Title Odds: +1050 | |
| 10 | |
| Kudos to the Utes. They were coming off an important win over Houston, and were in the perfect sandwich spot on the road against Cincinnati with BYU looming this weekend. Plenty of teams would've had a letdown and found themselves in trouble, but not the Utes. It was 42-6 at halftime! Morgan Scalley may be a first-time head coach, but you can't tell by the way this team is prepared every week. I don't know that he's going to win any coach of the year awards, but he deserves to be considered. Last Week: 10 | Title Odds: +3000 | |
| 11 | |
| I would like to thank Oregon for its 34-26 win over Northwestern. I cannot tell you how much crap I've been taking the last few weeks, keeping Oregon in the top 12 of my power ratings for months now, and I've even mentioned how tempted I was just to ignore the data and punt them out of here to save myself the grief. Then they had that performance against Northwestern and gave us all a glimpse of how good this team can be when it actually plays to its potential. It's crazy how much better the offense looked in its first game with a new playcaller. It turns out that sometimes it really is as simple as "get the ball to your incredibly talented players." Last Week: 11 | Title Odds: +35000 | |
| 12 | |
| The Vols had the week off to recover from their loss to South Carolina and get ready for a massive game against Kentucky this week. Seriously, all offseason college football fans talked about how incredible Week 10 was going to be. Just imagine if, in early August, someone told you that the Week 10 game between Kentucky and Tennessee would be a battle of top-16 teams while only one team in the Ohio State/Oregon game would be ranked. Last Week: 12 | Title Odds: +6400 | |
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