Three Storylines To Watch For The Second Half Of The College Football Season
Ring the bell and get ready for round two.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, when it comes to college football, the minute you feel like you know everything, you realize that you know nothing.
While this is the case even in the most mundane and milquetoast of seasons, 2025 has proven to be one of the most topsy-turvy years in recent memory.
The first half of the season has been absolute pandemonium, so if the second half is anything like that, we are in for a real treat.
With that in mind, let's take a look at some storylines to keep an eye on as we come down the home stretch of the college football season.
Does Anyone Want To Win The Heisman?
Coming into the season, we thought the path to the Heisman trophy ran through Austin, Texas.
Arch Manning was the favorite of favorites and it was almost a forgone conclusion that the sophomore signal caller was going to be the next great Manning.
While he hasn't been awful, Arch has hardly lived up to his billing.
All that is to say, who will be the last man standing on stage in New York City in December?
According to oddsmakers, the Heisman is now Alabama QB Ty Simpson's to lose, but it's never that simple.
If you want a Heisman finalist preview, look no further than this weekend in Norman, as Ole Miss's Trinidad Chambliss and Oklahoma's John Mateer will face off in a defacto playoff game.
The winner of this game should have an inside track at the College Football Playoff, and the winning quarterback might be my favorite to win that bronze trophy at the end of the season.
Year Of The Interim Coach?
I discussed this earlier in the month, but 2025 might go down as a historic year with regard to big-name coaching changes.
We have already seen vacancies at places like Penn State, Florida, UCLA, Oklahoma State, and more, with that number likely growing exponentially as the season trudges along.
But with these coaching changes taking place, someone has to steer the ship in the absence of the former head coach.
Could 2025 be the "Year of the Interim Coach?"
It's already happening at UCLA, where interim coach Tim Skipper and offensive coordinator Jerry Neuheisel have the Bruins looking like a completely different team in the month of October.
In addition to that, Arkansas is playing inspired football thanks to the efforts of a familiar face in Bobby Petrino "temporarily" taking the reins in Fayettville.
Finally, the Florida Gators may have actually achieved "addition by subtraction" by jettisoning their stubborn head coach, Billy Napier, in favor of wide receivers coach Billy Gonzalez.
Offense was the problem in Gainesville, so it will be interesting to see if removing their inept play caller of a head coach will bear fruit.
The Gators will be tested early – their first game of the Gonzalez regime will be in Jacksonville against a top-five Georgia team – so we will know soon whether this experiment has legs.
Regardless, it is fun to see these guys get a shot and creating a memorable season for teams replacing their head coaches in an otherwise forgettable year for them.
Can Anyone Challenge The Buckeyes?
There have been plenty of debates raging about who the elites of college football are this season.
If you ask me, I'd say there are none.
Well, let me take that back (sort of).
I think the Ohio State Buckeyes are playing some of the most elite, technically sound defense we've seen in the modern/NIL era, and have just enough firepower on offense to compliment that side of the ball.
Other than O-H-I-O, though, it's hard to say anyone else in college football is playing at their level.
If you're looking for teams that match up with Ohio State's "Jimmies and Joes," the old guard of teams like Georgia, Alabama, and Oregon fit the bill.
But we can't leave out the Hoosiers of Indiana.
Coach Curt Cignetti and his merry band of misfits may not have the talent profile of the Buckeyes, but they just proved they can hang with anyone in their physically dominant win over the Oregon Ducks.
I don't know how that one-game sample will translate over the course of the entire playoff bracket, but if you are praying someone other than Ohio State wins it all this year, the Hoosiers (in addition to the teams I listed above) might be your only shot.