It's Year 6 of Final Thoughts! And so much to get to: -- Lee Corso's triumphant exit and Arch Manning's rough "debut." -- FSU's remarkable 180 and Kalen DeBoer's crisis point. -- Brian Kelly has a defense now. -- Did Tennessee win the QB swap? And more. www.nytimes.com/athletic/658...

New Audible: We had a fascinating conversation with Syracuse coach Fran Brown talking about the realities of NIL, the portal and much more; plus we discuss the UCLA-Tennessee QB swap: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

Really think you'll enjoy this week's Audible. A convo w/ the retiring @dennisdoddcbs about his career covering CFB. We reminisce about the late '90s "What is this Internet thing?" era of reporting. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sta…

Stanford fires Troy Taylor. www.nytimes.com/athletic/621...

Every year, Bruce and I each do our own Top 25 coach rankings and let you decide who did it better. It will definitely be me this year, because he somehow still has Lincoln Riley ranked. Mine: www.nytimes.com/athletic/618... Bruce's: www.nytimes.com/athletic/619...

This week's Mailbag: Did FSU/Clemson "win" their ACC settlement? Did Ohio State lose too much to reload? And why I'm pretty ticked off about spring games going away (thanks, Matt Rhule.) www.nytimes.com/athletic/617...

People ask me all the time. "What do you write about in the offseason?" Now I can tell them: 2,000-word takeouts on the origins of the Pop-Tarts Bowl. This was a fun one.

Folks, we have a developing crisis. Starbucks has changed to compostable lids, which is admirable but *you cannot drink out of them.* (I tried.) Who wants to drink hot coffee with a straw?

And you can listen to that full interview here! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...

New Mailbag: How NIL/portal lessened the SEC's grip on college football Is this Notre Dame's once-a-decade chance? Does Will Howard not get enough credit? More. www.nytimes.com/athletic/606...

Thanks! ... Teams like Miami, Iowa State, South Carolina and BYU were in the conversation to the end. Lots and lots of people watched their bowl games.

What is the best account to follow on here for LA fire updates?

After 25 years of covering BCS/CFP meetings, listening to commissioners/presidents/ADs tell us why an "NFL-style playoff" in college could never happen, writing this essay was quite cathartic. It's really here. www.nytimes.com/athletic/600...

Last weekend's Army-Navy game drew its biggest audience (9.4M) on record and nearly cracked the Top 10 this season. These were the 25 most-watched games. www.nytimes.com/athletic/600...

I have a few thoughts on UNC hiring Bill Belichick. www.nytimes.com/athletic/598...

So we're really going to do this?

Family group chat is CRAZY TODAY

This was a lot of work and a lot of fun. Especially naming honorary captains. www.nytimes.com/athletic/597...

This year's committee has placed less emphasis on strength of schedule than any I've seen. Warde Manuel was outright dismissive of it a couple weeks back. "If that’s the case, then play the easiest schedule. If you’re 11-1 or 12-0, you’re golden." www.nytimes.com/athletic/597...

New Mailbag.

Mario Cristobal came on The Audible today to talk about Miami's rankings snub. "Never once were we in a blowout loss against a .500 team.” www.nytimes.com/athletic/596...

Updated Bowl Projections with the domino effect of tonight's rankings. Miami to Pop-Tarts. South Carolina to Citrus. Ole Miss to ReliaQuest. And almost every ACC team moves down one rung. www.nytimes.com/athletic/591...

I'm not generally a believer in the ESPN/SEC conspiracy theories, but the repeated insistence by Joe Tess and Jesse Palmer that UGA would lock up a CFP berth with the win -- Jesse called it "guaranteed" -- was semi-reckless. Casual fans watching might assume UGA formally clinched something.

"When I was playing for (Brian) Kelly the last two years, I didn’t talk to him. I started every game for him," said recent LSU center Charles Turner. Quite a story from my colleagues on the issues at LSU. www.nytimes.com/athletic/594...

20 Final Thoughts from Upset Saturday: -- After all that, Indiana may be just fine. -- The SEC, not so much. -- The seas part for a 2-bid ACC -- An Arizona State-Iowa State Big 12 title game?? More. www.nytimes.com/athletic/594...

New Audible: On Indiana-Ohio State, and the CFP ramifications if the Hoosiers lose (but by how much?) Will Deion still be coaching Colorado in 2025? Will Norvell be coaching FSU? More. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/l...

20 Final Thoughts from Week 12. -- Georgia turns the SEC standings into a marvelous mess. Good luck ordering 2 loss teams! -- Oregon No. 1 for a reason. -- Travis Hunter makes history (again) -- Arizona State-BYU: The Unlikely Big 12 Game of the Year? www.nytimes.com/athletic/592...

The main impetus for the 12-team CFP is that it was the same brands every year. Next week, the three biggest games in the country involve Indiana, Army, BYU and Arizona State.

I can already tell one of the ESPN storylines Tuesday night is going to be Boise State ahead of the Big 12 champ. That's probably not going to last. Whoever wins the Big 12 is going to add one, possibly two Top 25 wins. Also, Boise's one Top 25 win, Wazzu, may fall out Tuesday.

New Audible! We talk SEC tiebreakers, Oregon's escape, Travis Hunter, ASU and Brian Kelly proving to be a plain old bad fit at LSU. Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/w... Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/42am...

People are joining faster than I can keep up ...

Did a thing ... let me know who to add. go.bsky.app/C9LhAkB

Random thoughts: -- If UGA played Indiana's schedule, it would be in the top-5. -- If it had played a Sun Belt team instead of Clemson, it would be no lower than now. -- If SMU played a G5 team instead of BYU, it would be 9-0 and ranked 5-7. -- Why would anyone voluntarily play a tough game?

It's feeling like Twitter circa 2009 on here. Fun vibes. Let's enjoy it before the masses descend.

This week's Mailbag: -- Where does 2024 rank on the parity scale? -- Is Indiana legit or "smoke and mirrors?" -- Does Diego Pavia's lawsuit have a chance? -- The Holy War fallout -- And yes, I still think Georgia should be ranked higher than Texas. www.nytimes.com/athletic/591...

Hey I wrote this.

Weekly College Football Bowl Projections: www.nytimes.com/athletic/591...

In the AP poll, Texas, with 0 Top 25 wins, is 8 spots above a Georgia team that has 2 Top 25 wins (and lost to two others). Also, UGA beat them by 2 TDs at home. It's up to the committee to break our 80-year old tradition of "1 loss is better than 2." www.nytimes.com/athletic/591...