by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 8/25/2026 Photo Credits to Ricardo B. Brazziell/The Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images College Football will return this Saturday with the Aer Lingus College Football Classic in Dublin, Ireland between TCU and North Carolina at Noon. The rest of the schedule for "Week 0" is only 7 more games in the FBS including only 1 consensus Top-25 team. Even though we won't see most of the teams we are most excited about this week, let's give the

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 8/19/2026 We are 3 weeks away from the start of the 2026 season and if it's anything like last year, the only thing we know for sure is that making predictions like this are almost useless and more often wrong than not. Just to make my case, let's look at my predictions for the 2025 season that I made the same time last year: MVP - Baker Mayfield Super Bowl MVP - Lamar Jackson Coach of the Year - Todd Bowles Comeback POY - Christian McCaffrey OP

by Zak Drapeau and Will Gilhooly Sportz Nation - 8/16/2026 Photo Credits to James Lang via Imagn Images All Odds courtesy of DraftKings on 8/13 Starting tomorrow we can officially say, "College Football is back." The season won't actually start until August 29th when TCU and UNC play in Dublin for the College Football Classic. But the first official, AP Top-25 poll will release tomorrow at Noon. Before the coaches' poll becomes official, Sportz Nation's Zak Drapeau and Will G

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 8/13/2026 Photo Credits to Kevin Sabitus via Getty Images Tier 1 Guarantees 1. Bijan Robinson 2. Jahmyr Gibbs _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Tier 2 Still Elite 3. Jonathan Taylor 4. Christian McCaffrey 5. Saquon Barkley 6. De'Von Achane 7. James Cook 8. Derrick Henry _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Tier 3 Breakouts 9. Ashton Jeanty 10. Kenneth Walker 11. Chase Brown 12. Kyren Williams 1

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 8/9/2026 Photo Credits to Todd Kirkland via Getty Images 10. Bijan Robinson Falcons Running Back Last Year's Rank: 24 Bijan spent 2 days as the highest-paid RB in NFL history and it was well-deserved. Robinson had just under 2,300 yards of total offense this season along with 11 TDs all while rushing for 5.1 yards per carry. Robinson's true value and reason he cracks the Top-10 list is his dual threat ability. Robinson's 287 carries and 79 catc

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 8/5/2026 Photo Credits to Sam Greene/ The Enquirer/ USA Today Network via Imagn Images Tier 1 Guarantees 1. Ja'Marr Chase 2. Amon-Ra St. Brown 3. Puka Nacua 4. Jaxon Smith-Njigba Tier 2 Almost Elite 5. Justin Jefferson 6. Ceedee Lamb 7. Rashee Rice 8. Zay Flowers 9. George Pickens 10. Malik Nabers 11. Nico Collins Tier 3 Still Unproven 12. AJ Brown 13. Chris Olave 14. Devonta Smith 15. Tetairoa McMillan 16. Drake

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 8/4/2026 Georgia Odds to Win SEC: +260 Photo Credits to Hyosub Shin via AJC Transfer Grade: B+ Recruiting Grade: A 2026 Schedule: B+ Georgia has firmly established themselves as the favorites in the SEC this year with not only the easiest schedule in the conference but the most returning starters from 2025 as well. Their defense returns 2 All-American level defenders at each level of their defense including top players Ellis Robinson V, Chris Co

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 7/26/2026 Photo Credit to Stephanie Scarbrough via Associated Press 20. Matthew Stafford Rams Quarterback Last Year's Rank: N/A Does Matthew Stafford have one of the best arms in the league? Absolutely. Is he surrounded by one of the best rosters and Head Coaches in the league? Yes. Has he shown to be inconsistent year-by-year? Yes he has. Stafford was rightfully given the MVP award last year and showed that when healthy and put with the right

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 7/30/2026 Photo Credits to Mark J. Rebilas via Imagn Images Indiana Odds to Win B1G: +310 Transfer Grade: A+ Recruiting Grade: B- 2026 Schedule: A- Indiana has made a habit of molding their roster around the Transfer Portal and 2026 will be no different with 17 incoming players including their starting Quarterback, Josh Hoover from TCU. The Hoosiers' miracle 2025 Championship season was one you could only dream of as a Hoosiers fan. When looking

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 7/19/2026 30. Jared Goff Lions Quarterback Last Year's Rank: 55 Photo Credits to Peter Casey via Imagn Images Jared Goff had another outstanding season last year in Detroit in the midst of one of the worst teams Dan Campbell has ever produced and for that reason I'm seeing a LOT of people that are really underrating Goff this year. 4564-34-8 was his line last season and it was a statistical down year for him some how as he continues to show tha

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 7/12/2026 Photo Credits to Eric Hartline via Imagn Images 40. Cooper DeJean Eagles Defensive Back Last Year's Rank: N/A DeJean is one of the new school DB's that are all the rage now because of their versatility. DeJean could be a lockdown, boundary corner one play and a soul taking, Box Safety the next in the blink of an eye and the way he showed improvement from his rookie season to his sophomore makes me really excited for his 3rd. DeJean is

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 7/5/2026 Photo Credits to Mitchell Leff via Getty Images 50. Saquon Barkley Eagles Running Back Last Year's Rank: 2 After Barkley was debatably snubbed for the 2024 MVP award due to his 2,000-yard rushing season and Super Bowl winning season, we all thought Barkley and the Eagles were the best rushers in the league. With their 2025 season looking to be their Championship run part 2, both the team and the superstar fell well short of expectatio

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 6/21/2026 70. Deommodore Lenoir 49ers Cornerback Last Year's Rank: Not Ranked Here's a guy that if you're not a 49ers fan you may never had heard of but has become the backbone of San Francisco's secondary. Lenoir signed a 5-year extension with the 49ers worth up to $88 million and immediately paid dividends for the niners with his best season to date. A rare Cornerback in the league who is considered elite at both zone and man coverage, Lenoir

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 6/14/2026 Photo Credits to Eric Hartline via Imagn Images 80. Jalen Hurts Eagles Quarterback Last Year's Rank: 35 The Eagles offense is under transition after the departure of A.J. Brown and the replacement of Kevin Patullo for the new OC Sean Mannion. Hurts had a statistical better season in passing the ball but all around some what of a disappointment as the team's offense severely regressed from the 2024 Super Bowl group. Hurts has shown tha

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 6/7/26 90. Cedric Gray Titans Linebacker Last Year's Rank: Not Ranked Gray is one of the most underrated players coming into the season and likely one of the least known. His reputation has definitely been hindered by being in Tennessee but the work speaks for itself. After a shoulder injury caused him to miss the first 10 games of his 2024 rookie season, he was never 100% until the offseason. When he came back healthy for 2025, he instantly be

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 6/2/2026 Photo Credits to Mark Konezny via Imagn Images It's FINALLY happened Patriots fans, A.J. Brown is now the new Patriots, no. 1 receiver. After the June 1st distinction of the new season, the Eagles have traded their 28-year old receiver for a 2027, 5th-round pick and 2028, 1st-round pick. After 4 seasons in Philadelphia including a win at Super Bowl LIX, Brown and his team had mutually decided to part ways after Brown became cryptic on s

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 5/24/2026 Photo Credits to Kevin Richardson via Baltimore Sun/Tribune News Services via Getty Images 100. Olaivavega Ioane Ravens Guard Last Year's Rank: Unranked And we start the Top 100 Players of 2026 with an immediate hot take as I have rookie Guard Vega Ioane with the #100 spot. As the clear #1 Guard in the 2026 NFL Draft and being drafted by one of the best running offenses in the league, I'm confident that Vega belongs on this list and I

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 5/18/2026 Photo by NFL via draftcountdown.com Quarterback Joe Burrow - CIN Let's get the big one out of the way first; IF JOE BURROW CAN STAY HEALTHY, I believe he can have the best season of any QB in the league. Flanked by Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Chase Brown and a much improve offensive line, Burrow could easily throw for 5,000 yards and 40 TDs. Burrow has been a Top-3 thrower in the league for years now but hampered by injuries and bad O-

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 5/15/2026 Quarterback Fernando Mendoza - LV This one's easy, Mendoza may not get the start until a few weeks into the season but either way he'll easily be the #1 Quarterback in the class' first year and possibly the only one that sees actual playing time HM: Carson Beck - ARI Running Backs Jeremiyah Love - ARI Jadarian Price - SEA Photo by Mark J. Rebilas via Imagn Images Another group that was easy for me, Love is the only Day 1 starter I see

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 4/27/2026 Photo by Sue Ogrocki/ Associated Press 1. New York Jets The Jets and the Giants had the best classes of all to me but I think the Jets just topped their cross-town rivals. With 4 picks in the Top-50, the Jets hit home runs with all of them including filling the 3 biggest needs of the team. David Bailey will be a force on the Edge for years to come. D'Angelo Ponds is a feisty leader on the outside or at slot corner. Then you get two dyn