Tom Fornelli

This Week in the Offseason: Why you should embrace 24-team CFP proposal as next step in evolution Also, Tom Fornelli dives into players getting tax breaks on NIL money and South Carolina's injury woes

It's the CFB offseason, and while the sport never stops, you might have other things to do. But, don't worry, I've got you covered! Here's everything that you may have missed this week.

This Week In Offseason:

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Fornelli's 2026 NFL mock draft 2.0: Jets, Cowboys spice up first round with top 10 trades New York doubles down on Ohio State defenders in Year 2 under Aaron Glenn.

My first post-combine mock draft sees some players climb, others fall, and the Jets get aggressive with their picks.

Fornelli Mock 2.0:

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Big Ten QB rankings entering 2026 season: Dante Moore leads the way after Oregon star spurns NFL Draft The Big Ten is loaded with returning experience this season, while also welcoming in some high-profile newcomers via the transfer portal

Nine of the B1G's 18 schools have a returning starter at QB in 2026. Seven are bringing in experienced transfers. Two will have first-time starters.

I have ranked all 18.

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Fornelli's 2026 NFL mock draft 1.0: Two first-round QBs, surprise WR1 headline class light on elite talent Could teams approach this draft differently with few star prospects at premium positions?

IT'S NFL DRAFT SZN

Fornelli Mock 1.0

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Fans know modern college football is a business, but they also feel the growing distance NIL and the transfer portal have dramatically shifted how college football fandom works in the 21 century

Fans understand that modern college football is big business, but what kind of impact is it having on being a fan?

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Indiana's CFP title cements Curt Cignetti as college football's No. 1 coach In just two seasons, the Hoosiers coach has ascended to the very top of college football

You no longer need to Google him. Curt Cignetti is the best college football coach in the country.

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CFP National Championship: 5 keys for Indiana winning first title in school history Here's how Curt Cignetti and the Hoosiers could put the ultimate stamp on their dominant run through the CFP field

How does Indiana beat Miami and win its first national title?

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College Football Playoff National Championship odds, picks for Miami vs. Indiana Trust The Process as the Hurricanes and Hoosiers close out the season on Monday night

The final game of the college football season is Monday night and I have a play involving the spread, a total, and a player prop. #TrustTheProcess

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Lopsided loss to Indiana continues troubling rematch trend for Oregon's Dan Lanning For the third-straight year, Dan Lanning's Ducks lost a rematch -- and the last two have come in blowout fashion in the College Football Playoff

Dan Lanning has a rematch problem.

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The SEC has lost the benefit of the doubt after another humbling CFP showing With every SEC team watching the CFP title game from home for the third straight year, it's time to reexamine the conference's place in the college football hierarchy

The SEC no longer deserves the benefit of the doubt.

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Oregon's key adjustment in Indiana rematch is clear: Solve the Hoosiers' pass rush puzzle If the Ducks want a chance at coming out on top in this much-anticipated rematch, Dante Moore must stay off the ground in Atlanta

It's tough to beat a good team twice, but it's just as tough to block Indiana, which is precisely what Oregon needs to do a better job of if it hopes to beat Indiana.

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College Football Playoff semifinal odds, picks for Miami-Ole Miss, Indiana-Oregon Trust the Process as the College Football Playoff hits the semifinal round

My picks for the Peach Bowl and the Fiesta Bowl. Don't know if you've heard about those games, but they're happening this week between all the transfer portal announcements.

#TrustTheProcess

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So you don't want to answer the question then? It's pretty simple. What was it about the Big Ten that made it more attractive to USC than the Pac-12?

Debunking the narrative College Football Playoff byes are alarming issue in CFP format Teams with byes are 1-7 in the first two years of the 12-team CFP format, but let's add some context to that record

Are byes a bad thing? Wrote about it.

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So then why did USC join the Big Ten? For the academic prestige?

College Football Playoff odds, picks for Ohio State-Miami, more quarterfinal games Trust The Process as the College Football Playoff hits the quarterfinal round

The CFP quarterfinals are this week and I've got a pick for each game.

🏈 Ohio St/Miami
🏈 Texas Tech/Oregon
🏈 Indiana/Alabama
🏈 Georgia/Ole Miss

#TrustTheProcess

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College Football Playoff naughty, nice list: Good, bad for quarterfinal teams in bracket The good and bad for each squad still vying for the national championship

I made a list. I checked it twice. i went through the eight teams remaining in the playoff to find what's naughty and what's nice.

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Notre Dame vs. USC breakup -- while regretful -- understandable through CFP lens We're losing yet another traditional rivalry in the name of the almighty College Football Playoff

Wrote about the end of Notre Dame/USC. It's a regretful decision that can only make sense in a college football landscape that no longer makes any at all

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h/t @tomfornelli.bsky.social for bringing this to my attention, A&M's radio announcer being completely flabbergasted by a clear incompletion being called an incompletion is cracking me up.

Why the College Football Playoff system isn't to blame for lopsided postseason The College Football Playoff isn't broken -- it's college football as a whole that needs to be completely revamped

How do you fix the College Football Playoff? Well, the first thing you need to do is realize it's not the playoff that's broken right now.

It's the sport.

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Why Pat Fitzgerald poaching Iowa coordinator is key move to begin Michigan State tenure Fitzgerald didn't make splashy headlines with the move, but it could be looked back upon as one of the more crucial hires

I wrote about the most impactful coordinator hire of the offseason.

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College Football Playoff odds, picks for Alabama vs. Oklahoma, more first-round games Trust The Process as teams face win-or-go-home games in the College Football Playoff

This week's Six Pack is more a four pack of tallboys. Picks for:

🏈 Oklahoma/Alabama
🏈 Texas A&M/Miami
🏈 Ole Miss/Tulane
🏈 Oregon/James Madison

#TrustTheProcess

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Notre Dame's CFP opt-out is further proof bowl games won't last much longer Teams opting out of bowl games is another symptom of a fatal disease killing the bowl system

The bowls are dying, and bowl eligible teams opting out of playing in them are just the latest symptom

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Penn State hiring Matt Campbell was perfect outcome to bungled Nittany Lions search There were bizarre twists and turns along the way, but Matt Campbell should have been Penn State's target from the beginning

After a long, overly-complicated process that I wouldn't recommend for anybody, Penn State finally landed on the coach it should've gone after from the very start.

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College football odds, picks for Georgia vs. Alabama, Texas Tech vs. BYU Trust The Process as the college football season reaches conference championship week

It's a Championship Week edition of the Six Pack with picks for:

🏈 Ohio State/Indiana
🏈 Georgia/Alabama
🏈 Texas Tech/BYU
🏈 Virginia/Duke
🏈 Tulane/North Texas
🏈 Western Michigan/Miami OH

#TrustTheProcess

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College football power ratings: Ole Miss drops out after Lane Kiffin departure The Rebels still deserve to be in the College Football Playoff, but Kiffin's decision affects their power rating

In this week's power ratings I had to figure out how to answer a question I never thought I'd ask:

How do I adjust the power rating of one of my top 12 teams after their coach leaves?

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Big Ten Championship Game 2025: Ohio State, Indiana playing more than just a trophy Plus, a pick for the Big Ten Championship Game

I wrote about what's on the line in Indianapolis Saturday, an Irishman in green, and how the west coast teams are bringing more than frequent flyer miles to the league in this week's B1G Time: www.cbssports.com/college-foot...

The Six Pack: Picks for Texas-Texas A&M, Ohio State-Michigan and lock of the week Trust The Process with these college football picks for the Week 14 slate

It's Rivalry Week and the Six Pack really wants to throw out the record books.

This week we've got picks for:

🦃 Ohio St/Michigan
🦃 Texas A&M/Texas
🎩 Northwestern/Illinois
🦃 Kentucky/Louisville
🦃 UCF/BYU
🦃 Army/UTSA

#TrustTheProcess

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Big Ten storylines, picks: Ohio State, Michigan poised for encore in Indianapolis? Plus, coaching malpractice was on full display at Michigan State over the weekend

Wrote about the 7 "different" B1G Championship Scenarios (there's really 5) this weekend, as well as Terry Smith's viability at Penn State and plenty more in B1G Time.

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College Football Power Ratings: Notre Dame vaults into top 4 on pure domination Plus, Miami continues to climb after a midseason slump threatened to derail its season

Everybody is talking about Notre Dame and Miami as if the season-opener is the only game either team has played this season. Wrote about that and more in this week's power ratings.

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