Tom Fornelli's CFP Vibe Check, Week 1: Big Ten shows cracks, while LSU sends a loud message

The industry consensus heading into the 2026 season was that there were seven teams in contention to win the national title. The best reflection of this belief was in the preseason AP Top 25. Not only did five different teams ( Ohio State , Oregon , Indiana , Notre Dame and Miami ) receive first-place votes, but when all the votes were tallied, No. 1 Ohio State was separated from No. 7 Miami by only 293 points [1].

Sources

1. cbssports.com · Tom Fornelli's CFP Vibe Check, Week 1: Big Ten shows cracks, while LSU sends a loud message Sep 8, 2026

This is the neutral brief the press writes once, for everyone, before each reader’s paper adds its own so-what. It links out; it does not republish. 1 article clustered.

Print your own paper