SEC football 9-game schedule, College Football Playoff format, strength of schedule (SOS) models, and our 2025 college football overrated/underrated teams headline tonight’s Unafraid Show LIVE. We also react to the week’s biggest personnel news—new starting QBs named in CFB (Notre Dame football, Syracuse, BYU, Cal, UTEP)—plus Michigan AD Warde Manuel vs the NCAA and the Pat Fitzgerald/Northwestern hazing settlement. If you care about how the SEC, Big Ten, ACC, Big 12 and the CFP committee will shape the playoff race, this is the stream you can’t miss.

1) SEC to 9 games + CFP math: Ross Dellenger reports momentum to move the SEC from 8 to 9 league games—final step is presidential approval. We break down how a 9-game slate and the revived 5+11 / 4-4-2-2-1 playoff conversation interact with SOS to all but guarantee multiple SEC bids. Then we unpack why SOS isn’t one number: Sagarin (bowl-eligibility difficulty), FPI (expected losses), FEI (difficulty for elite/good/average). If the CFP won’t disclose which metric it leans on, committees risk misusing data.

2) Overrated/Underrated (2025):

Overrated: Tennessee, South Carolina, Texas, Indiana, BYU—due to OL turnover, QB questions, front-loaded slates, portal attrition, and inflated preseason narratives.

Underrated: Utah, Washington, Auburn, Oklahoma, Pittsburgh—athletic QBs (Devon Dampier), home-field swings (UW), blue-chip depth (AU), a rising defense (OU), and Pitt’s QB/RB/LB core make them buy-low stock.

3) New starting QBs named: CJ Carr (Notre Dame), Steve Angeli (Syracuse), Bear Bachmeier (BYU’s first true-frosh opener), Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele (Cal over Devin Brown), and former 5-star Malachi Nelson at UTEP. What it means for Week 1 and beyond.

4) Michigan vs NCAA: On Warde Manuel’s watch—Harbaugh suspensions, show-cause penalties, the Connor Stalions saga, and more. Why blasting the NCAA plays with your base but won’t erase national skepticism.

5) Pat Fitzgerald/Northwestern: Settlement reached. No evidence he directed hazing—but why “you must know” remains the standard for head coaches paid millions to lead. Leadership, compliance, culture.

 

Drop your takes in chat: Which SOS model should the CFP show its work with? Which teams did we nail/miss in over/under lists? And which new QB makes the biggest splash in Week 1?

 

Chapters:

00:00 Welcome + tonight’s agenda

01:32 SEC moving to 9 conference games—why now

08:15 CFP format (5+11 / 4-4-2-2-1) and SOS math explained

12:38 Overrated 2025: TENN, SCAR, TEX, IU, BYU

23:19 Underrated 2025: UTAH, UW, AUB, OU, PITT

32:06 New starting QBs: ND, SYR, BYU, CAL, UTEP—fit & ceilings

37:45 Michigan AD Warde Manuel vs NCAA—what matters, what doesn’t

43:53 Pat Fitzgerald/Northwestern: settlement, accountability, culture

#CollegeFootball #SECFootball #BigTen #CFBPlayoff #StrengthOfSchedule #APPoll #CoachesPoll #Overrated #Underrated #TransferPortal #NIL #Quarterbacks #TexasLonghorns #TennesseeVols #SouthCarolina #IndianaHoosiers #BYU #UtahUtes #WashingtonHuskies #AuburnTigers #OklahomaSooners #PittFootball #MichiganFootball #Northwestern

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.