Forde-Yard Dash: Six Bold Predictions for College Football in October

Forty names, games, teams and minutiae making news in college football, where a SEC officiating crew is still learning the rules about onside kickoffs after an illegal one in Knoxville. First Quarter: The Day the Big Ten Turned Upside Down. Second Quarter: September Superlatives.

Third Quarter: Airtight, Foolproof, Indisputable October Predictions

By the end of the month, Notre Dame (21) and Miami (22) will be undefeated and ranked 1-2 heading into a Nov. 7 showdown. This will be the biggest meeting between the two powers since the famous/infamous “Catholics vs. Convicts” game of 1988, when the Fighting Irish defeated the reigning national champions on their way to the most recent natty in Notre Dame history.

Former Miami running back Cleveland Gary will be available for interviews to say that he did not fumble at the goal line. Various Notre Dame defensive backs will be available for interviews to say that Andre Brown did not have control of the ball when he was granted a late touchdown that made it a one-point game. Everyone will be available to talk about the pregame tunnel fight and the T-shirts.

Notre Dame will be ranked No. 1 for the first time since 2012 on the strength of the nation’s best defense and a victory over otherwise undefeated BYU on the road Oct. 17. Miami, with the nation’s top offense, will be No. 2 after gliding past former ACC titans Clemson and Florida State. The Canes’ toughest October test will be Oct. 24 at home against Pittsburgh.

The Irish and Hurricanes will be ranked 1-2 because …

Both the Big Ten (23) and SEC (24) will be out of undefeated teams by Halloween night. Currently there are nine: Texas, Georgia, Florida, Alabama and Mississippi State from the SEC; Indiana, UCLA, Iowa and Nebraska from the Big Ten. A Dash stab at when each will taste defeat for the first time:

Oct. 3: Iowa loses to Ohio State, Mississippi State loses to Alabama.
Oct. 10: Nebraska loses to Indiana; UCLA loses to Oregon; Alabama loses to Georgia.
Oct. 17: Indiana loses to Ohio State; Florida loses to Texas.
Oct. 24: Texas loses to Mississippi.
Oct. 31: Georgia loses to Florida.

The ensuing strength of schedule hollering will melt everyone’s brains and render the Nov. 3 airing of the first College Football Playoff Top 25 on ESPN unwatchable. But people will tune in anyway because the other news of the day might be more unwatchable: the 2026 midterm election results. Do you prefer Hunter Yurachek flailing through answers to Rece Davis or Steve Kornacki working the big board? You decide.

Texas Tech (25) will lose its first Big 12 game in more than a year, at Cincinnati on Oct. 24—at the latest. The Red Raiders are pedestrian and sloppy offensively, ranking 11th in the Big 12 in yards per game and per play while committing eight turnovers to date. (In addition to three interceptions against lowly Sam Houston, they put the ball on the ground five times but recovered four of them.) The Bearcats are 4–0 and due for some losses of their own, but Scott Satterfield moves in mysterious ways and has been known to pull some upsets.

There will be quarterback controversies at Oregon (26) and Oklahoma (27). But they’re nothing alike.

With Dante Moore still working his way back from a concussion suffered on a vicious hit against USC, Dylan Raiola gets his first start with the Ducks and leads them to victory over UCLA on Oct. 10. Combined with his relief work against the Trojans (19 of 25 for 289 yards and two touchdowns), Oregon coach Dan Lanning has a situation to handle by the time Nebraska comes to Eugene, Ore., on Oct. 17.

Meanwhile in Norman, Okla., the Sooners (2–2) have to be using this open date before the Red River Rivalry showdown with Texas to figure out how to fix John Mateer or prepare a new starter. That would be an incredibly high-payload game in which to introduce the world to Whitt Newbauer (five passes at Oklahoma last year and this year after arriving from Mercer) or freshman Bowe Bentley (four-star recruit who has thrown one college pass).

With five touchdowns and six turnovers in the last three games, Mateer is as much a hindrance as a help to the Sooners. He had a second-quarter meltdown in the blowout loss at Georgia on Saturday, turning the ball over three times on successive possessions. That followed a two-interception performance in a slog past New Mexico, and prior to that a game-turning interception at Michigan.

Oklahoma’s greatest offensive probably is a puny running game, with none of its top four ballcarriers averaging four yards per carry. That’s another area in which Mateer’s game has seemingly diminished, as the dual-threat QB has run for just 76 yards this season. But his mobility and experience still might make him the Sooners’ best hope against a Texas team that has waylaid opposing quarterbacks.

Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer runs the ball against Georgia safety Khalil Barnes. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Speculation will increase about how much longer Deion Sanders (28) wants to coach at Colorado. With an October slate of No. 12 Texas Tech, No. 13 Utah, No. 19 Oklahoma State and Kansas State, the Buffaloes’ two-game losing streak could stretch to six by November. If they go 0-for-October, that would make Sanders 5–15 since 2024, with one Big 12 victory.

As he’s churned through players and staff since the departure to the NFL of Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders, Coach Prime’s program seems to have no identity. Unless offensive futility counts: The Buffs haven’t scored 25 points against a power-conference opponent since Nov. 29, 2024, and haven’t scored more than 17 since Nov. 8, 2025.

Sanders is not underperforming compared to recent Colorado history. Winning nine games there, as he did in ’24, doesn’t happen often—just one other time since 2002. So it remains to be seen whether there would be any legitimate pressure on Prime if this season continues to skid. The bigger question might be his desire to continue after a number of physical challenges.

As losses and fan displeasure mount through October in various locales, Brian Kelly (29) and Jimbo Fisher (30) will remind everyone they’re available. Both are reclining on mountains of buyout cash while doing TV work, but they also seem interested in coaching again for some reason.

The question could be how choosy they believe they can be. Their résumés carry some heft.

Kelly had 21 seasons of nine wins or more at five different locations. Fisher had nine such seasons in a span of 11 years at Florida State and Texas A&M and won a national title. Both were fired because more was expected at playoff-hungry SEC schools, but they have been consistent winners. They’re also both in their 60s and had declining returns as the NIL/transfer portal era took hold.

As the market begins to clarify through October, expect their names to bubble up alongside the rising mid-major coaches and hot coordinators.

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