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Welcome to our State of the Program Series! This is our annual preview series where we dive into the teams that don’t receive much preseason coverage. This series is not intended to give predictions, but rather to tell the story of the program in advance of the 2026 season. Thank you for reading!

Head Coach: Aaron Best is entering his 10th season as the head coach of the Eagles with a 57-47 record. He's reached the FCS playoffs 3 times, including a run to the FCS Championship in 2018 where they lost to North Dakota State. Best also has a Big Sky championship to his name. He is about as Eastern Washington as it gets, he's a former player and basically his entire coaching career has been with the program.

Program Outlook: Eastern Washington is a fascinating program, they've gone through a lot of highs and lows. Currently it's been a struggle for this program. Eastern Washington faces the most financial challenges of any Big Sky program and that's something they must battle. It hasn't always been this way. In the 2000s this program gained momentum and started making more appearances in the playoffs. Then they did something wild. In 2010 Eastern Washington installed the INFERNO TURF, a bright red field that would intimate opponents and it captured headlines immediately.

What followed is one of the greatest stories the FCS level has ever seen as Eastern Washington won their first ever FCS National Championship. Eastern Washington was one of the most feared FCS programs from that point on, star players like Cooper Kupp came through the program and they were a constant problem for FBS teams. Eastern Washington gave tough battles to programs like Washington and Oregon while also beating a ranked Oregon State team to open the 2013 season and in 2016 they beat an 8 win Mike Leach Washington State team 45-42 in a game that featured maybe one of the most hilarious snippets I've ever seen.

Eastern Washington has seen success even as recently as 2021 which is their last appearance in the playoffs. Eastern Washington has a lot of positives and this is certainly a program with a lot of rich history.

How does the 2026 Roster look?: Eastern Washington’s roster is mostly composed of returnees and there are not a lot of new incoming players. Key players for the Eagles actually starts on defense. Safety Jaylon Jenkins is the leader of this defense, he was First Team All-Big Sky last year and is an absolute playmaker. Next to him is Drew Carter and an overall experienced group makes this the biggest strength. Isaiah Perez and Ben Voigtlaender lead the way up front while Myles Mayovsky leads the way at Linebacker and is joined by Samarai Anderson who seems poised to step up as a leader in this room. This is actually one of the few areas where the portal was utilized also. LJ Roberts (Portland State/Sac State) is a Big Sky veteran that was a huge addition to this group. The offense will be a fascinating case. There's great news up front as plenty of experience returns on the Oline which could set the tone for better offensive consistency. They will have a QB competition; Nate Bell and Jake Schakel both have starting experience. Bell is a fantastic runner, but the pass game improved a lot when Schakel was pressed into action last year. The challenge is that RB is up in the air they will need key contributors to emerge here, there is not much experience to speak of and only 3 RBs on the roster. Receiver might be less of a concern because history indicates the Eagles will find great receivers and there's a few good ones returning. Wesley Garrett and Cole Pruett are contributors that are next in line while Jamai East (Oregon State) was a portal pickup that the Eagles hope will add more big plays to the offense. It's possible the Eagles next emerging star receiver isn't any of those 3 receivers, it could be sophomore Jaxon Branch who got his feet wet last season but was absolutely unstoppable in spring ball, including a massive spring game performance.

2026 Schedule Thoughts: Eastern Washington faces a difficult schedule this season. They go on the road 3 of their first 4 games. Washington as their FBS foe will be really difficult, so will South Dakota on the road. Northern Iowa is a proud program but is undergoing a new regime for the first time in a while so that's an unpredictable game. The Eagles will miss Idaho State, Weber State and newcomer Southern Utah on their Big Sky slate. That also means they draw a lot of the heavy hitters like Montana, Montana State and UC Davis. Fortunately Eastern Washington does get both Montana programs on the Red Turf. They generally play a lot better at home compared to on the road so there's definitely some opportunities to create chaos here.

Final Thoughts: 2026 is a big year for Eastern Washington, financial constraints made it a long road back but they're slowly working their way back with their record steadily improving since 2022s collapse. It's not an optimal era for finances to be tight but this program with one of the most unique venues in the country could certainly figure it out. Continuing their forward momentum in 2026 would be huge.

Welcome to our State of the Program Series! This is our annual preview series where we dive into the teams that don’t receive much preseason coverage. This series is not intended to give predictions, but rather to tell the story of the program in advance of the 2026 season. Thank you for reading!

Head Coach: Pat Narduzzi is entering his 12th season with the Panthers with an 80-61 record. Prior to Duke's wild conference championship last season, Narduzzi was the only non-Clemson or Florida State coach to win the ACC since 2010. The Panthers have been bowl eligible in all but 2 seasons under his watch. He also has 2 Top 25 finishes with the program.

Program Outlook: Pitt is a program rich with history. They have multiple national championships and have played in several major bowl games. It's a program that has a fantastic reputation of getting players into the NFL. Legends like Dan Marino, Tony Dorsett, Larry Fitzgerald and even more recently Aaron Donald have all come from here. Traditionally you'll see multiple Pitt players get drafted each year, a great recruiting appeal for sure.

Pitt does face its challenges, they're located in thin recruiting territory with a lot of competition around them. They also play in an NFL stadium shared with the Pittsburgh Steelers. NIL resources are a little behind but they are working to catch up.

Pitt doesn't get enough credit because this program is usually in the top half of the ACC each season and no opponent can take a matchup against them for granted.

How does the 2026 Roster look? (Returning Production & Snaps data from Punt & Rally) Pitt ranks 25th with 71% returning production with a total of 14,796 snaps returning. It's mostly homegrown talent as the Panthers added only 4,389 snaps via the portal.

Key players for Pitt starts with a youth movement. QB Mason Heintschel and RB Ja’Kyrian Turner were both electric as freshmen last year, they could be even better with more experience. They are a lot of fun in this air raid offense. Cataurus Hicks will lead the receiver room, but it's a deep group overall. Pitt is often a defensive line factory and this year should be no different. Isaiah Neal and Zach Crothers lead a deep experienced group up there. Braylan Lovelace is a steady presence in the middle of the defense behind the line also. This was one of the better run defenses in the ACC last year and experience suggests they could continue that. Transfers will be filling in at LB next to Lovelace with DeMarco Ward (Memphis) poised to make an immediate impact and Alex Sanford Jr (Purdue) joining the rotation. The bigger question marks on the team will be the offensive line, it's a group with experience, 91% of their snaps from last year are back but the Panthers had to rely on passing last year because the line couldn't open run lanes effectively so they will be hoping that experience helps that improve. On defense the secondary is frequently asked to do a lot in Narduzzi’s scheme and they are young back there which could lead to some headaches.

2026 Schedule Thoughts: Pitt’s schedule has its challenges but isn't the worst draw. It starts with their non-conference slate, Pitt will face Miami, UCF and Bucknell. UCF is finding their footing under Scott Frost and Miami hasn't threatened ACC teams a lot but it's a team Pitt can't take lightly. Bucknell tends to struggle at the FCS level. There are some good and maybe bad things about the ACC slate. Pitt misses a lot of heavy hitters and the home schedule is nice but they may end up playing their 4 toughest ACC foes on the road. Miami FL for sure will be tough, Virginia Tech could be much improved under James Franklin, Louisville will be difficult and Cal also might be a good team plus that is out West. Throw out the records when that intense Pitt-Cal rivalry is played!! We're also going to see Pitt a lot on weeknights with 3 weeknight games. Overall the schedule might be difficult for ACC title contention, but on the surface looks easier than last year's.

Final Thoughts: There doesn't ever seem to be much excitement for Pitt during the offseason and I'm not sure why. At a minimum this looks like a really solid team and they're only a few breaks from being able to contend for the ACC. At a minimum, this looks like a really fun team to watch on multiple weeknights this season. Pitt will need to remain tenacious on defense, they did a great job getting stops. On offense maintaining drives will be critical, Pitt was 112th in 3rd down conversion % last year and allowed too many sacks.

Welcome to our State of the Program Series! This is our annual preview series where we dive into the teams that don’t receive much preseason coverage. This series is not intended to give predictions, but rather to tell the story of the program in advance of the 2026 season. Thank you for reading!

Head Coach: Trevor Andrews is in his 4th season as the coach of the Flyers with a 17-16 record. The Flyers have steadily improved under his watch from 4-7 in his first year to 7-4 last season. Andrews is a Dayton football alum, he played defensive back for the Flyers but actually spent most of his college coaching career at William & Mary.

Program Outlook: Dayton football faces some obvious challenges, the first and foremost being that they play non-scholarship football compared to much of their FCS peers that offer scholarships. They have a fascinating stadium arrangement as Welcome Stadium, once the host of the 1961 Aviation Bowl is their home stadium. It is on campus and yet it doesn't actually belong to the university! It is a property of Dayton Public Schools and is used for a lot of state playoff matchups. When I say it's on campus, I mean it is right there the overhead shot is dizzying because it looks like the stadium is sitting in the parking lot of UD Arena.

We've been on the sidelines of Welcome Stadium and can verify it is a lot different inside the stadium.

Welcome Stadium recently received upgrades and the Flyers overall have very good facilities.

Dayton's location sets them up very favorably compared to their Pioneer League peers, there is a lot of underrated talent right within town and all throughout Ohio that they are able to recruit. Dayton is able to offer both a strong academic reputation and a great student experience to those who want to stay close to home but still play football. Dayton has a proud football tradition too, they have the most Pioneer League titles since the conference was founded. Their funding infrastructure is stronger compared to most Pioneer League teams and their fanbase does a great job showing up for games. The Pioneer League is often unpredictable but Dayton consistently stands near the top.

How does the 2026 Roster look?: Dayton is always going to be a team built on home grown talent that is developed. Their non-scholarship nature means that they aren't hitting the portal often. Key players has to start with WR Gavin Lochow, he is a senior that has spent all 4 years with the program. He is also one of the most versatile players in all of College Football. We saw this first hand on the sidelines when they took down previously undefeated Presbyterian. With the Flyers down to a backup QB Lochow was used extensively as a wildcat QB and Presbyterian had no answer he finished with 135 rushing yards that day. He's not the only great receiver on the team Dominic Vrbancic is a great leader and Michael Mussari is a big play guy. Getting them the ball is QB Bryce Schondelmyer, he started for the first time last season and while he missed some games because of injury he played very well. Schondelmyer threw 16 TDs and not a single interception all year! RB Luke Hansen leads an experienced group of backs, they share carries but Hansen is the lead back. The offensive line will be a massive advantage in conference play, the Flyers are experienced and have impressive size which isn't what you would usually expect from a non-scholarship team. Defense will carry less certainty. The defensive line will be anchored by All-Pioneer League DL Mirko Jaksic and Owen Trick on the inside and Joe Kingsbury is a versatile pass rusher. At LB Sam Schmiesing, a reliable tackler returns to lead the way. Dayton was tremendous on this side of the ball last year, especially in the secondary. Safety Dan Calicari returns to lead the way but they had multiple players from this unit transfer to FBS teams which shows the tremendous player development going on here. Finding replacements will be the next challenge and will be a key element that shapes this season.

2026 Schedule Thoughts: Being in the Pioneer League, Dayton's schedule won't rate as difficult as some others but it's not without its challenges. Dayton has a couple lower division foes in Fairmont State and Thomas More to open the season before their big non-conference challenge against Eastern Kentucky who is always difficult to face on the road. Dayton's conference schedule isn't the most favorable. The Flyers get potentially challenging games against Drake, Butler and Presbyterian all on the road. It's hard to tell what to expect with both Drake and Presbyterian hiring new coaches but Drake hired Matt Walker who just led Wisconsin - Rivers Falls to their first ever D3 title so I suspect Drake will remain a wagon despite yet another coaching change. Dayton does get a key home game against San Diego who will definitely be a contender as well. Dayton misses Marist and St. Thomas in conference play.

Final Thoughts: This really feels like the season Trevor Andrews has been building towards. Players from his first two recruiting classes are now all seniors and could lead this team on a special season. The only losses from those classes were guys that went to play at the FBS level which is a massive compliment to the player development that goes on here. The road schedule is tough but Dayton is a top contender in the Pioneer League.

Welcome to our State of the Program Series! This is our annual preview series where we dive into the teams that don’t receive much preseason coverage. This series is not intended to give predictions, but rather to tell the story of the program in advance of the 2026 season. Thank you for reading!

Head Coach: Tim Polasek is entering his 3rd season as the coach of the Bison with a 26-3 record. To say his teams have been a wagon under his watch would be an understatement. Polasek won a FCS National Title in his first season with the program, a great way to start to say the least. Now he leads them on a brand new venture.

Program Outlook: North Dakota State to FBS feels like an unprecedented move, that's because it is. There has never been a program as dominant at the FCS level as NDSU was. In 15 seasons at that level, North Dakota State won 10 National Titles. For context the next leading team is Georgia Southern with 6, North Dakota State won 5 in a row at one point. North Dakota State's 2019 team is 1 of only 3 D1 College Football teams to go 16-0, and they also won 39 games in a row at one point. North Dakota State also had a lot of success playing FBS teams and came closer to being ranked in the AP Top 25 than any other FCS team. I can keep going with all of the ridiculous accolades of this program, we have never seen such a dominant culture.

North Dakota State comes into FBS with facilities that are mostly FBS ready and with such a strong fanbase they have a lot of resources at their disposal, although a lot of them will be tied up with the cost of this transition. The FargoDome is considered one of the best home field advantages in the sport because NDSU fans know exactly when to get loud. The Bison are positioned in a region of the upper Midwest that was previously untouched at the FBS level, it's not the richest recruiting territory but they have a stronghold over it. It's going to be a fascinating new endeavor to say the least, this team will draw a lot of interested College Football fans.

How does the 2026 Roster look? (Returning Production & Snaps data from Punt & Rally) North Dakota State ranks 68th with 64% returning production with a total of 9,143 snaps returning. It's almost exclusively homegrown talent, the Bison only added 4 snaps via the portal! Only the service academies added less.

Key players for the Bison starts up front, what you need to know is this program does an incredible job finding and developing talent up front. In recent years multiple offensive linemen have been drafted early in the NFL. OT Ryan Babatz and OG Nate Tastad lead the way up front for a line that returns 99% of their snaps from last year. On the defensive line the Bison have Keenan Wilson as a dominant disruptor on the inside of the Dline and is joined by Logan Larson. The Bison have Victor Isele and Kelton McCaslin on the outside to form a dominant Dline. LB Donovan Woolen was last year's leading tackler and is joined by Noah Taylor in a loaded group. Safety Darius Givance leads the way on the backend of the defense.

On offense the Bison will turn to QB Nathan Hayes who feels like he's next in the lineage of great NDSU QBs. TE Reis Kessel was an FCS Freshman All-american last year and they have the dynamic Jackson Williams at receiver along with Mekhi Collins. There aren't a ton of question marks, the offense will need to avoid stalling out and find additional receiving options, outside of Williams and Collins there's not much experience. Defense has a few concerns, young corners in particular will see trial by fire at a new never. In general this is still a rather young team which is something to monitor.

2026 Schedule Thoughts: There is a lot of new with North Dakota State's schedule this year. They really aren't familiar with any of these opponents. The non-conference schedule is headlined with a week 0 opener against Jacksonville State, a program that moved up not long ago and has been very successful. NDSU will also play Fordham and will go on the road to face fellow FBS call up Sac State. The strangest part is that they will play San Jose State, the only Mountain West team NDSU wasn't scheduled to play, as a non-conference foe. The Mountain West schedule features its challenges. It's not a stretch to say that UNLV, New Mexico, Hawaii and Air Force are the 4 toughest Mountain West foes for NDSU, yet the Bison will face all of them on the road. It's nothing they can't overcome, but if they're going to win this conference in year 1 they will have to work for it.

Final Thoughts: It is happening, NDSU is finally at this level and the nation is captivated to see what the Bison do in year 1. Recent teams that have moved up from FCS have seen immediate success, and yet NDSU is a completely different animal. It's possible they see early struggles but at the same time it feels like the same bet is that NDSU will find immediate success. The closest FCS call-up to this was James Madison who has been ranked at some point in 3 of their first 4 seasons, never had less than 8 losses and crashed the playoff 4 years in. It wouldn't be at all unprecedented for the Bison to succeed and even dominate immediately.

Welcome to our State of the Program Series! This is our annual preview series where we dive into the teams that don’t receive much preseason coverage. This series is not intended to give predictions, but rather to tell the story of the program in advance of the 2026 season. Thank you for reading!

Head Coach: Scott Abell is entering his 2nd season as the head coach of the Owls with a 5-8 record. In his first season he established a new identity with a creative spread option attack. It led to massive progress with the Owls winning at Louisiana, winning a double OT home thriller against a 9-win UConn team and reaching a bowl game. Now he looks to build on that momentum.

Program Outlook: Rice is a program that faces challenges. They're more well known for their academics which can be a differentiator in recruiting but the rigorous standards will often narrow the pool they can recruit from. Rice has a smaller alumni base which can limit the resources available. It's also a unique situation, Rice is one of the few programs that was once in a “Power Conference” that isn't in one any longer. Long ago they were in the Southwest conference with most everyone else in Texas. Rice, TCU and Houston all found themselves on the outside when the Southwest fell apart, TCU and Houston gave since found their way into the Big 12.

For Rice getting into the American Conference was huge, it's helped with funding to allow them to make needed upgrades to their facilities. Those will help immensely because Texas is extremely rich recruiting territory, there's a lot of competition but also a lot of players to go around.

This isn't Rice’s first endeavor with the option. In 1994 the Owls hired Ken Hatfield (from Clemson!) to install the option and in his first season they beat Texas on national TV and ended up being a part of the incredible 5 way tie for the conference title. The Owls had some other strong seasons even after the Southwest conference folded.

How does the 2026 Roster look? (Returning Production & Snaps data from Punt & Rally) Rice ranks 118th with 53% returning production with a total of 10,857 snaps returning. Considering the academic restrictions, Rice was pretty active in the portal with 3,921 snaps added.

Key players for Rice starts with RB Quinton Jackson returns he is a small but elusive back who is a key for this offense. The portal will factor in some here. UCF transfer Jacurri Brown transfers in, he's a good runner who brings experience and has at least run some option concepts. Brown was in a QB competition but locked down the job quickly. The lead returning receivers are Payton Matthews and Braylen Walker who contributed a few catches last year. Barry Jackson Jr transfers in from Cincinnati to bring another high upside threat along with some other transfers. Davis Lane comes in from Virginia as a versatile weapon for this offense. One of the most intriguing things Rice did was convert the 6’3” 294lb DD Oliver from DE to TE, not sure how it will go but this is something you absolutely need to know about. Rice returns some experience up front, a total of 3,718 snaps on the Oline and 1,468 of those come from the portal, there isn't much depth to speak of. On defense Chibby Nwajuaku returns up front and LB Beau Barton returns as well. This was an area they hit the portal hard for, some potentially impactful additions are DL Matthew Aribisala (Sam Houston), LB Jesus Machado Jr (Houston), DB AJ Brown (UAB), along with corners Zach Cody (Coastal Carolina) and Tariq Watson (UAB.) The major key is going to be how these new pieces integrate together.

2026 Schedule Thoughts: On the surface this schedule looks pretty brutal for the Owls. It starts with the non-conference, they open with a regional game against Houston Christian who struggled at the FCS level last year but it immediately gets more difficult. The Owls have to face Notre Dame, Western Michigan (one of the top teams in the MAC) and Fresno State (a team that is always good). That alone will be difficult. It's a fun group of games though, Notre Dame is always a big one, Western Michigan is a rematch of the 2008 Texas Bowl (a 38-14 Rice win) and former WAC foe Fresno State. This will be a theme in the American but the difficulty of the conference schedule is a little tougher to predict with so much turnover on top and teams that struggled in the past having more portal pickups. Rice will miss Navy, UAB, Charlotte, USF, and Memphis. This is a mixed bag missing Navy, USF and Memphis feels favorable but it also would have been really helpful for Rice to face UAB and Charlotte. This schedule, especially the non-conference will make it difficult to make progress.

Final Thoughts: We said this last year and we'll say it again this year. Make sure to watch Rice football! This creative option offense makes this team a lot of fun to watch. They will face a lot of challenges in 2026. The Redzone will be a fascinating area to monitor, the Owls didn't get there often in 2025 but they took advantage when they did. Unfortunately the downside is their opponents got to the Redzone frequently and Rice allowed a perfect 100% Redzone conversion rate, they must find a way to get more Redzone stops in 2026.

Welcome to our State of the Program Series! This is our annual preview series where we dive into the teams that don’t receive much preseason coverage. This series is not intended to give predictions, but rather to tell the story of the program in advance of the 2026 season. Thank you for reading!

Head Coach: Brent Brennan is entering his 3rd year with the Wildcats with a 13-12 record. The record is weighted down by a rough debut season but the Wildcats rebounded tremendously to a 9-4 record last year. Brennan was previously successful at San Jose State where he won a Mountain West title, he is 0-4 in bowl games however. There were some doubts after year 1 but last year showed he is the right person to lead this program.

Program Outlook: Football has always been a challenge for Arizona, the program is better known for their basketball dominance. The best string of seasons for Arizona was the “Desert Swarm” era in the 90s under Dick Tomey. They even were featured on the 1994 SI Newsletter as the preseason #1 team.

Since then Arizona has seen inconsistent success. The Wildcats made a Fiesta Bowl under Rich Rodriguez and won 10 games in 2024 only for Jedd Fisch to leave. Still, the high marks show what this program is capable of.

Arizona's facilities lagged behind their peers for a while but now with the stability of the Big 12 they are working to upgrade those to get on the same level. Basketball again becomes a challenge when it comes to resources, Arizona has to dedicate a lot of them to remain a championship contender and that limits what they can do on the football side of things. Arizona carries a lot of potential because they are well positioned in a recruiting hotbed, their home state, and nearby California are a great pipeline but Texas is nearby as well, the Wildcats new life in the Big 12 gives them more games in that state too. With some better stability we could soon see Arizona football thrive.

How does the 2026 Roster look? (Returning Production & Snaps data from Punt & Rally) Arizona ranks 50th with 66% returning production with a total of 16,709 snaps returning. Arizona once again hit the portal hard with 7,653 snaps added.

Key players for Arizona absolutely starts with Noah Fifita, outside of a challenging 2024 season he has been a star for Arizona. Fifita can frustrate defenses with his mobility. Things do get interesting around him, the offensive line has some experience (57% returning snaps) and is deep. Chris Hunter returns at receiver but the portal will once again make up the rest of Fifita’s weapons. Jordan Ross (Colorado State) was a reliable target in a struggling offense, I think he will thrive here and Antwan Roberts (Marshall) brings some more production to the RB room. Kedrick Reescano is another RB that has been involved the last couple years, he is still around. On defense the Wildcats took a huge step forward last year and return a lot of key pieces to keep that going. Defensive lineman Tre Smith and LB Taye Brown will lead the way up front. Taye Brown especially is a player to watch, he's one of the preseason favorites to win the Lott Trophy this year. Dominic Lolesio is another name to watch on the defensive line. There are a lot of portal players on defense, a combination of small school producers like DL Victory Johnson (Cal Poly) and high upside talents like Daylen Austin (Oregon) in the secondary.

The biggest question marks will have to be how all the new portal weapons mix in, they brought in a lot of mismatch weapons with great upside but haven't quite produced yet. Special teams is another major concern, this was an area that held Arizona back last year. They must improve.

2026 Schedule Thoughts: Arizona's schedule is a mixed bag, it's good for reaching a bowl but bad for Big 12 title hopes. The Wildcats non-conference includes a in-state game against Northern Arizona, Northern Illinois who can't be overlooked even under difficult circumstances for them and their headliner is a road trip to Washington State which isn't an easy place to play but not an unwinnable game. The Big 12 schedule is where it really hurts. Arizona has to face Texas Tech and BYU, the two teams that played for last year's Big 12 title on the road. Kansas State and West Virginia aren't easy places to play either. Getting TCU, Iowa State, Cincinnati and Utah at home is favorable, Utah might be the toughest of those teams but Arizona has traditionally played well at home against them. The regular season ends with the Territorial Cup which Arizona will host.

Final Thoughts: This is a big year for Arizona, with a strong season the Wildcats can establish themselves as a top team in the Big 12 pecking order. Stringing together multiple good seasons has been a struggle for this program but 2026 gives them a shot at breaking that mold. Arizona will need to work on improving in the Redzone, they were too inefficient (the aforementioned special teams woes played a part here) and they need to reduce penalties as they ran into trouble with them too often. Those two key areas along with the portal pieces meshing will be key to the Wildcats season.

Welcome to our State of the Program Series! This is our annual preview series where we dive into the teams that don't receive much preseason coverage. This series is not intended to give predictions, but rather to tell the story of the program in advance of the 2026 season. Thank you for reading!

Head Coach: Bill O'Brien is entering his 3rd season as the head coach of the Eagles with a 9-16 record. His tenure started promising with 7 wins in year 1 but last year the Eagles capsized to a 2-10 season. Bill O'Brien has previous college experience with 2 years at Penn State where he went 15-9 following Joe Paterno’s departure, he was also the OC at Alabama and even had a cup of coffee at Ohio State. What O’Brien might be most famous for is his NFL tenure partnering with Tom Brady on the Patriots and his time as the Texans head coach. His time with the Texans was initially extremely successful, going to the playoffs 4 times but eventually it came apart. There's still rumors out there that he “tried” to get fired from the Texans but as it was happening he continued to receive more power.

Program Outlook: It's no secret that Boston College has seen its struggles in recent years as they contend with apathy from a fanbase that is more focused on pro sports and hockey. As a private academic institution, BC faces inherent challenges competing with bigger-budget, rich-recruiting-footprint programs.

It wasn't always this way. Most have forgotten but Boston College took the ACC by storm when they first joined. In their first 4 seasons Boston College won at least a share of 3 Atlantic Division titles and their worst result was a 9 win season. This is highlighted by a 2007 season where they spent time 2nd in the polls with Matt Ryan at QB. Controversy unfolded at the end of the 08 season, Jeff Jagodzinski was warned by the AD to not interview for the Jets but he did so anyway and was infamously fired for it. Frank Spaziani took over and went 8-5 in 2009, they dropped to 7-6 in 2010 and have yet to do better than 7 wins since.

As part of O'Brien's hire, BC planned to increase their investment into the program. Building momentum will be key.

How does the 2026 Roster look? (Returning Production & Snaps data from Punt & Rally) Boston College ranks 41st with 68% returning production with a total of 13,475 snaps returning. Bill O'Brien hit the reset button in a lot of areas this offseason to try to revamp the roster. There's an influx of transfers coming in, 6,110 snaps in total.

Key players starts with the Eagles secondary safety KP Price is the cornerstone of the team he's exactly what you want in a BC defender. He is a physical box safety with strong awareness, tackling, and run support. Corners Max Tucker and TJ Green round out an experienced unit. WR Jaedn Skeete is the lead returning target, he missed most of last year because of a shoulder injury. The portal is going to be key for a lot of areas. The RB room will be led by Liberty transfer Evan Dickens who gives the Eagles a proven producer at the position. The QBs are inexperienced. The lead candidate is an intriguing one Mason McKenzie a transfer from Saginaw Valley State is a talented passer with a good arm and mobility, early signs in the spring indicate he's acquainted himself well to this level. They also added more receiver help in Reed Swanson (Colgate) along with some others. On defense they have additions like LBs Anthony Palano (Washington State) and Justin Medlock (SMU.)

The Eagles biggest areas of concern are in the trenches the Oline had massive issues run blocking and the defensive line struggled to provide resistance to opposing offenses, both areas were hit hard in the portal. The defensive line took some gambles on high upside portal additions like KJ Sampson (Florida State) and Kris Jones (Georgia.)

2026 Schedule Thoughts: This schedule is absolutely brutal. They play Cincinnati and Rutgers in legacy Big East non-conference games (although BC & UC barely missed each other in the Big East.) The Eagles also have a brutal road matchup with Notre Dame. Boston College will wrap up their non-conference schedule with Maine as their FCS foe, the Black Bears are a cool regional opponent. The ACC has the silliest conference schedule in the country, some teams play 8 conference games while others have 9, BC will play 8. The draw is honestly as bad as it gets, BC has to play Miami FL, SMU and Georgia Tech all on the road. The only teams they face that didn't reach bowls last year are Florida State and Syracuse. Even then, FSU has a strong talent base and Syracuse is a good rebound candidate.

Final Thoughts: Boston College faces a major uphill climb in 2026 following a disaster 2025 season. Bill O'Brien made a few interesting portal adds that could really boost this roster if they work out. The schedule is my biggest concern, it's possible the Eagles could play 11 bowl eligible P4 teams this year. QB along with the trenches are maybe the most important positions and they are the ones that carry the most variability on the roster, this season hinges on those portal additions working out.

Welcome to our State of the Program Series! This is our annual preview series where we dive into the teams that don’t receive much preseason coverage. This series is not intended to give predictions, but rather to tell the story of the program in advance of the 2026 season. Thank you for reading!

Head Coach: Travis Bush is in his 2nd season with the Vaqueros with a 9-3 record. Given the program's young history, he is the only coach they've ever had. Travis Bush is Southern Texas to his core, he played as a receiver at Texas State and spent most of his college coaching career in Texas and prior to taking this job he was a high school coach in Texas.

Program Outlook: UTRGV is a rapidly rising program. It is situated in Edinburg, Texas in the Rio Grande Valley. It's an area that is heavily populated and yet until last year the closest College Football program was UTSA which is around 2 hours away. Its a market that hasn't been reached enough until now and it's clear the fan support has responded. Prior to the football team's arrival the Valley mostly focused on high school football. There's a lot of great talent in the area and now they have a home team to showcase their talents at the college level.

UTRGV plays in Robert and Janet Vackar Stadium which was originally a soccer stadium but UTRGV has repurposed it for football. In just their 2nd season they already expanded the capacity showing just how popular College Football already is in the Valley. The Vaqueros facilities are already among the best in FCS football. Truly this program is program has the resources to continue to immediately succeed. It may only take a few more years to get into the title hunt at the FCS level.

How does the 2026 Roster look?: For being a startup, UTRGV actually had a lot of veterans on last year's team. This means a lot of key contributors are gone and there's a lot of newcomers. There are some key returnees LB Jaiden Haygood, last year's leading tackler returns along with LB Spencer Rich to lead this unit. Last year's leading sack artist Ian Box returns along with DB TJ Neal, DB Alijah Prosser. Haygood and Prosser are both exciting players because they starred immediately as freshmen for the Vaqueros. On offense there's a group of 3 RBs who had carries last year who are all back led by TJ Dement. WRs Tavion Cord and Kyran Lee are poised for a bigger role. There's a lot to like about the experience on the defensive side of the ball. Most of the remaining key players will be made from the portal. At QB Garrett Rangel comes in, he had experience playing at Oklahoma State but he could be challenged by Aidan Jakobsohn who got his feet wet occasionally as a freshman last year. Djouvensky Schlenbaker (Washington State) provides experience at RB. Braden Baize (Oklahoma State) is an athletic receiver who could thrive and Hunter Luke (Kansas) has some upside too. On defense Ife Ohalete comes in with championship pedigree from Montana State and he will partner will Neal and Prosser in an experienced secondary. Overall there's a lot of new faces but this is an athletic team. Unlike what you would usually see from start-ups this team has a ton of depth also. Bush and Co have been signing large freshman classes and it wouldn't be a surprise to see some of the younger guys get immediate roles.

2026 Schedule Thoughts: The Vaqueros schedule has some challenges but the draw isn't the worst. They open the season with UT Permian Basin, a D2 opponent before facing UTSA as their first ever FBS foe. They wrap up the non-conference at a very random time, on 10/24 at Central Arkansas on the purple and gray turf. The Southland Schedule is pretty favorable for the Vaqueros. Last year they had to face all 3 teams that made the playoffs (SFA, Southeastern and Lamar) all on the road, this year all 3 have to come down to the Valley along with McNeese. UIW is their closest but likely their most challenging road opponent knowing the history of that program.

Final Thoughts: UTRGV has taken FCS by storm with how quickly they've run out of the gates. Now we find out what they will do next. Last year their record was good enough to make the playoffs but 3 wins against non-D1 foes meant they only had 6 FCS wins, they would need 7 FCS wins to reach the playoffs most seasons. I can only imagine the electricity down in the valley if UTRGV crashes the playoffs this season.

Welcome to our State of the Program Series! This is our annual preview series where we dive into the teams that don’t receive much preseason coverage. This series is not intended to give predictions, but rather to tell the story of the program in advance of the 2026 season. Thank you for reading!

Head Coach: Brian Wright is entering his 3rd season with the Lumberjacks with a 15-10 record. He has one playoff appearance in 2024, the first appearance for the Lumberjacks in 7 seasons. Wright has an interesting career path. He spent a lot of time at Youngstown State but eventually was at Florida Atlantic. In 2013 he took over as the interim head coach after Carl Pelini was fired following a messy situation. FAU was 2-6 at the time with very little hope, yet somehow Wright rallied the Owls for a 4-0 finish, all wins were by double digits. Despite that he got passed up for the job which didn't work out well for any party. Years later Wright got a head coaching opportunity for the Pittsburgh State Gorillas where he found success with 2 top 5 finishes.

Program Outlook: Northern Arizona has always felt like a program that carries a lot of potential. Flagstaff is a beautiful city that sits at a high elevation near the mountains and also is the gateway to the Grand Canyon. It's actually a pretty ideal setup for NAU as Flagstaff has a sizeable population yet there isn't much sports competition in town, really the biggest challenge is that it's a very “outdoorsy” town so residents are more likely to do outdoor activities rather than pay attention to sports. It's situated in a good recruiting state that includes plenty of under the radar talent.

NAU plays in one of the most unique venues in the country, the Walkup Skydome. All of the mini domes are unique but this is one that stands out. In particular it's situated at a high elevation which can impact opponents even indoors and they also utilize the Skydome for basketball as well!

NAU faces it's challenges, however. They operate with a budget that is smaller than some of their competitors in the Big Sky but things are improving. NAU is making constant facility improvements including a state of the art High Performance Center which specializes in altitude training. That momentum is helping to boost recruiting as well.

How does the 2026 Roster look?: NAU has some experience back but they are going to be infused with a lot of key additions. The Lumberjacks have both a highly rated portal class and high school class coming in. Northern Arizona’s key players has to start with QB Ty Pennington, he was this team's star last year and it is really cool that he decided to stick with the program for his senior year. The Lumberjacks have a lot to replace at receiver, although Joey Stout returns to lead the way. With portal additions like WR Deuce Zimmerman (Western New Mexico and TE Nason Coleman (BYU) it feels like there will be plenty of weapons, watch for freshman Khalil Bender who could make an immediate impact. RB Quran Gossett is the favorite to lead that room. The defense is where you really see the impact of the portal. They brought in proven producers such as DL Nikhil Webb-Walker (Colorado), DL Ziggy Loa (Juco), LB Jaiden Letua (Northern Colorado), LB Matthew Cooks (Texas Southern), and S Shoes Brinkley (McNeese) to go along with returning LB Ammon Allen. Allen is expected to be the leader of this defense, he missed significant time last year due to injury. With so many new pieces there's a question of how long it will take for them to play well together, that same question will especially exist for the Oline which lost all 5 starters from last year. In general the run game could make or break the offense with the new Oline and this was a general struggle last season.

2026 Schedule Thoughts: As you'll see with a lot of programs in the Big Sky, NAU will face a challenging schedule. Their FBS foe will be Arizona, I've always found it really awesome that NAU plays Arizona or Arizona State basically every year. Their non-conference headliner will be UIW which is an interesting game, UIW has constantly been a great program in recent years but completely collapsed last year. Due to having them previously on the schedule, Utah Tech is on here as a “non-conference” game. The timing of the Utah Tech game isn't great, the Lumberjacks will have to endure 3 straight road games including a trip to Bozeman. This schedule isn't all bad, the Lumberjacks avoid UC Davis and Idaho which is very favorable for them. Still, by October 10th we'll know a lot about this team.

Final Thoughts: It was disappointing for NAU to take some close late season losses that cost them a spot in the playoffs, but that also goes to show the foundation Brian Wright and co have laid. The program was coming off a long streak without an appearance in the playoffs and now in year 2 it already felt expected. Now, it's time to build on that foundation. This team is definitely aiming to make another run at the playoffs and maybe even win a game or two.

Welcome to our State of the Program Series! This is our annual preview series where we dive into the teams that don’t receive much preseason coverage. This series is not intended to give predictions, but rather to tell the story of the program in advance of the 2026 season. Thank you for reading!

Head Coach: Ed Lamb is entering his 4th season with the Bears with a 5-30 record. The record doesn't tell the story, this is a challenging job and 4 of those wins came last season showing positive trajectory. Lamb actually won a Big Sky title before, he won it with Southern Utah in 2015. He coached the Thunderbirds for 8 seasons before becoming a staffer at BYU.

Program Outlook: It's been a struggle for the Bears. Northern Colorado has actually been better known for basketball success since moving up to D1. Football has been a struggle. The Bears only have 2 winning seasons at the FCS level, they went 6-5 in 2015 and 2016. Last year was their best season since 2016.

Northern Colorado is very limited resource wise compared to their Big Sky peers and their history makes it a difficult long climb to winning games in such a tough conference. There's no such thing as a quick rebuild here.

Northern Colorado has seen success before, they have two D2 championships and produced some good players, most notably Vincent Jackson. Their location in Colorado allows for access to good underrated recruits and last year was huge for momentum. In their first 7 games they were 3-4 with all 4 losses by one score. They got their biggest win in years taking down Idaho (who was 11th at the time) in the Kibbie Dome. It could have been even better, Northern Colorado led cross highway FBS rival Colorado State most of the game before a late touchdown allowed the Rams to escape. To put it lightly, it's a touchdown that will always be debated, and your stance on it is likely dictated by which side of I-25 you're on. Still, those early results show progress is being made. It's a small step but it's providing hope for the Bears football program.

How does the 2026 Roster look?: Being in a state with good talent like Colorado provides but it also takes. Northern Colorado is mostly defenseless to hold on to the talent they unearth each year but their enhanced player development allows them to give roles to players who want to return to their home state. Defense is going to lead the way once again for the Bears. Safety Nathaniel Gillis leads the way for a veteran secondary. They're also bigger and more physical in the front seven led by defensive linemen Ezra Ekuban and Makur Abram Jr. Brooks Maile (BYU) is expected to make an impact immediately on the Dline while Hudson Voggesser (New Mexico State) gives them a potential leader at linebacker. The offense is beginning to set a tone with the Oline, they are getting bigger and more physical up front to compete with the physical teams of the Big Sky. Jack Ziebell is a 1st Team All-Big Sky lineman that returns up front. The Bears have a good mix of returnees and portal upgrades to continue to get better and create run lanes for returning RBs Mathias Price and Aliou-Rocco Traore. Fresno State transfer Justin Guin will factor in the room as well. The Bears biggest roster concern is at QB and WR, they are nearly starting over in both positions after multiple portal losses. Dylan Evans is one receiver to be excited about. Keegan Patterson is the most experienced QB, he comes in after starting most of last year for an overmatched Indiana State team. The stats don't pop a lot but he had a really solid performance in a shocking road win at South Dakota State.

2026 Schedule Thoughts: Every Big Sky Schedule will be challenging but there's some things I like about this schedule. In particular, 4 of the Bears first 5 games are at home. Their FBS game is the only road game but even that is a less than 2 hour trek to Laramie. The Bears other non-conference games are at home against South Dakota who they nearly beat last year but lost a heartbreaker in OT on the road, and they also play a D2 opponent in Northeastern State who won 9 games last year and can't be taken lightly. In Big Sky play the Bears avoid both Idaho teams and also Portland State. The road games are really difficult, but I circle back to the start which really gives them a shot at building early momentum.

Final Thoughts: It's all about positive momentum for Northern Colorado, and they are on their way to that. 2025 was a huge step forward and now they'll look to build upon that. There is a lot up in the air that can make or sink the season but if the Bears find the right answer at QB (whether that is Patterson or someone else) they have a shot at getting some massive early wins and continuing to improve.