Forty names, games, teams and minutiae making news in college football, where a million coaches have been fired and Hugh Freeze somehow isn’t one of them. First Quarter: How Is Your Second-Year Head Coach Doing? Second Quarter: Brian Kelly Is the Latest, But Not the Last, to Go. Third Quarter: Curt Cignetti Stands Alone.
Fourth Quarter: November Needle Movers
We’re into the final month of the regular season, which means it’s time for College Football Playoff positioning to heat up. The first selection committee rankings come out next Tuesday, which means this is the last Saturday for teams to make a good—or bad—first impression on the committee. (Expect a resurgence in strength of schedule discussion in the month ahead.)
The Dash identifies seven intriguing teams positioned to make a major impact on the playoff race, either on their own behalf or by upsetting opposing apple carts. They’ll move the needle in November, one way or another.
Texas and Oklahoma (31)
The second-year SEC teams are sitting on a seasonal fault line—they could make a push into the bracket or fall apart, or something in between.
The Longhorns are 6–2 and just a game out of first place in the loss column, yet their fan base has spent most of the season outraged. That’s largely understandable the last couple of weeks, given the near-disasters against SEC bottom-dwellers Kentucky and Mississippi State. The Athletic’s Saturday report about Steve Sarkisian being shopped to NFL franchises was swiftly and vigorously shot down by his agents, but it adds to the What the Hell Is Going on in Austin? vibe.
Texas is nowhere near as good as its preseason billing, and that’s only partially due to Arch Manning. Do the Longhorns have it anywhere within themselves to do some damage with three Top 10 opponents—No. 9 Vanderbilt, No. 5 Georgia and No. 3 Texas A&M—in their final four games? Even if they can’t make a playoff push of their own, they could spoil the season for a couple of opponents.
Oklahoma is in a similar position, 6–2 but leaving its fans disappointed in how October went. Are the Sooners spoilers or contenders? They are at No. 14 Tennessee on Saturday, at No. 4 Alabama on Nov. 15 and home against No. 19 Missouri on Nov. 22, then finish up with LSU.
Oklahoma’s most glaring statistical shortcoming: just four defensive takeaways, tied for 132nd nationally. The Sooners have produced zero takeaways in six of their eight games. That’s shocking for a Brent Venables team.
Iowa (32)
At 6–2 and 4–1 in the Big Ten, the Hawkeyes are hanging around as the potential fourth-best team in what looks like a three-bid league. They have a chance to upset the established order of things Nov. 8, when No. 6 Oregon comes to Iowa City, then follow that up with a trip to No. 23 USC. They close the regular season against Nebraska in a game that could take on added weight by then.
Iowa’s pummeling of Minnesota on Saturday was classic FerentzBall: a defensive touchdown, a special-teams touchdown, a plus-three turnover margin, 41 points with just 274 total yards. The Hawkeyes have produced eight takeaways in their current three-game Big Ten winning streak.
Iowa’s losses are by a total of eight points to Iowa State and Indiana. Now it needs some quality wins. Get a couple, and the conversation about this team becomes more interesting.
Georgia Tech (33)
The Yellow Jackets keep stacking wins, now 8–0, and are favored by nearly a touchdown at NC State on Saturday. After that is 1–7 Boston College, then back to Atlanta for a couple of intriguing ones: hot Pittsburgh on Nov. 22, and perhaps the most consequential Georgia–Georgia Tech game ever on Black Friday.
If Tech reaches 11–0, it will be playing in the ACC championship game. If it reaches 12–0, it should be assured of a playoff spot no matter what happens in that game.
King does it all 👑
— ACC Digital Network (@theACCDN) October 25, 2025
Haynes King threw for 309 YDs on 25-31 passing for 3 TDs while running for 91 YDs on 12 carries for 2 TDs@GeorgiaTechFB | @GTAthletics | #StingEm | @DrPepper pic.twitter.com/HTtp9ArMUE
Quarterback Haynes King has been great all season, but he’s cranked it up after a needed open date to start October. He’s produced 993 yards of total offense and nine total touchdowns in his last three games. The more Tech wins, the more likely King is a Heisman Trophy finalist—at least.
BYU (34)
For the second straight year, the Cougars enter November undefeated—a ringing endorsement of Kalani Sitake’s ability to have the program ready for Big 12 life after years as an independent.
They are a wild ride, undefeated but hardly unchallenged. They’ve trailed in the second half of four of their last five games, including the last three in a row. They are the definition of statistical mediocrity, ranking seventh in the 16-team Big 12 in total offense and eighth in total defense in league games. But they are first in survival instinct.
And so now the road to the conference title game runs through Provo, Utah—or, more accurately, through BYU on the road. After an open date this week, the Cougars are at Texas Tech on Nov. 8 and at Cincinnati on Nov. 22. Those games will tell us a lot about who is going to JerryWorld, and ultimately to the CFP.
Navy (35)
The last unbeaten from the Group of 6 conferences has a loaded closing slate, with games at North Texas (7–1), Notre Dame (5–2) and Memphis (7–1) and a home game against South Florida (6–2). The Midshipmen have an explosive offense that is capable of scoring on anyone, but also a defense that is capable of being scored upon—they’ve given up at least 31 points in the last three games, while still finding a way to win.
Navy should have a lot of Catholic fans this month, given the status of …
Notre Dame (36)
Wait until that first committee rankings show next week—the debating over the Fighting Irish will launch immediately. They have great losses (by a total of four points to Top 10 Texas A&M and Miami). They have no great wins, but are winning impressively. They have a name brand. Be prepared.
The Irish need a few things to happen to buff up their résumé—for No. 23 USC to have a great month, for Navy to win its games before and after Nov. 8, and for 6–2 Pittsburgh to keep winning ahead of their Nov. 15 game. They would also benefit from some carnage in the SEC, where playoff contenders are stacked like planes circling O’Hare. Anything that helps reduce the ACC and Big 12 to one-bid leagues would also play in their favor.
Mostly, Notre Dame needs to win the rest of its games. Controlling what it can control is all that matters at this point.
Literary Corner
The Dash is pleased to recommend Buckeye Brotherhood (37), which chronicles Ohio State’s quite dramatic 2024 national championship season. It’s written by Friend of Dash Bill Rabinowitz, an authoritative writer on the Buckeye beat for a long time. If you’re an Ohio State fan and want to relive that season—including the crash and burn against Michigan, and the rise from those ashes—this is a great read.
Coach Who Earned His Comp Car This Week
Jake Dickert (38), Wake Forest
The Demon Deacons were picked to finish 16th in the 17-team ACC, and that was only because Stanford appeared to be in even worse shape. But Dickert, in his first year on the job after arriving from Washington State, has put a shockingly competitive team on the field.
Wake Forest is 5–2 and on a three-game winning streak, angling for its first bowl bid since 2022. The Deacons are coming off an upset of SMU and had Georgia Tech all but beaten on Sept. 27 before losing in overtime, or this season really would be taking on a miraculous tone. Regardless, Dickert has proven to be a shrewd hire by athletic director John Currie.
Coach Who Should Take the Bus to Work
Deion Sanders (39), Colorado
His Buffaloes trailed 43–0 at halftime to a Utah team that was without its starting quarterback. That’s really all you need to know about how Year 3 is going for Coach Prime. Colorado is 3–5 and will need to pull an upset or two to make a bowl game. This season was bound to be a regression after going 9–4 and losing Heisman winner Travis Hunter and quarterback Shedeur Sanders, but Prime clearly didn’t have the roster adequately stocked to avoid a pretty severe drop-off.
Point After
When hungry and thirsty in the SEC melting-pot city of Nashville—currently a Vanderbilt hotbed—find yourself a hot chicken sandwich (it won’t be hard) and pair it with a Homestyle IPA from Bearded Iris Brewing (40). If an IPA isn’t your thing, they make plenty of other good beers. Sample a couple and thank The Dash later.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Forde-Yard Dash: Seven Teams That Can Make a Major Impact on the CFP Race.