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By Owen Pannell | KZA Sports The first 2 weeks of the season have certainly lived up to the hype, and I definitely expect week 3 to as well. Let’s get y’all ready for a packed weekend of football. Biggest Games 1. Georgia (-3.5) at Tennessee - 3:30 pm ET Whoever wins this game will be universally recognized as a top 3 team in the SEC. If Georgia goes on the road and beats the Vols, we’ll have to talk about them as a major contender. They did struggle vs Austin Peay, and Tennessee has looked pretty good so far. It’s going to be a great game. 2. South Florida at Miami (-16.5) - 4:30 pm ET It might be crazy to put this at 2, but I am SO excited for this game. If South Florida wins, there is 0 argument for them not to be a top 5 team. Miami is definitely beatable, but it will certainly be a tough task for USF, which is reflected by the spread. 3. Clemson (-3.5) at Georgia Tech - 12:00 pm ET Clemson has certainly been shaky so far, while the Yellow Jackets have been good. The Tigers are favored by 3.5, but on the road vs a Georgia Tech team who fears nobody will be very difficult. I don’t love this matchup for GT, but sometimes that doesn’t matter in games like these. 4. Texas A&M at Notre Dame (-6.5) - 7:30 pm ET When this game is number 4, you know you’re in for a treat. A&M goes to South Bend after 2 decent G6 victories. Their defense doesn’t look great, but the Irish are beatable for sure, as demonstrated in week 1. This is a must win for Notre Dame, starting 0-2 would be detrimental, and coming off of an early season bye week, they’ll be hard to stop. 5. Vanderbilt at South Carolina (-5.5) - 7:45 pm ET South Carolina looked rough vs SC State, and the Commodores are coming off of a great win over Virginia Tech. The spread is a lot closer than I would have expected. It’s going to be a great game, and if Vandy wins, they have a shot for a playoff spot honestly. HM. Florida at LSU (-7.5) - 7:30 PM ET This matchup lost a lot of it’s luster after Florida lost, but it’s still going to be a good one. LSU needs to get a big win to secure themselves as one of the top teams in the country, and if Florida loses it will be very hard to see a path to the CFP for them. Weekday Games Thursday: NC State (-6.5) at Wake Forest - 7:30 pm ET This is a solid game for all the die hard college football fans who would rather watch this than the Thursday night NFL game. NC State is coming off of an impressive win over Virginia, and Wake Forest is a team that they should definitely beat, but Thursday night in Winston-Salem could be a little crazy. Friday: Colorado at Houston (-4.5) - 7:30 pm ET I honestly don’t know what the QB situation is with Colorado, the report came out that it was going to be Ryan Staub, but then Coach Prime sort of rebutted that. Either way, this Colorado team really needs a road victory, and Houston is off to a good 2-0 start, and they want to make that 3-0. Kansas State (-1.5) at Arizona - 9:00 pm ET Kansas State is trash, but Arizona is a team they could beat. The Wildcats (Arizona) have looked impressive in their first 2 wins, but Kansas State is far superior to their opponents. If they get this win, that will be a huge boost of confidence for this squad. Kansas State however, needs this win ore else they are at huge risk of not even making a bowl game, which would be atrocious. Biggest Storylines - Is Clemson actually terrible? Clemson needs to win this game against Georgia Tech or else I, along with most of the country, is completely out on them. They need to look at this as a must win game, and it certainly will not be an easy task to get this done. - South Florida National Title contenders? It’s just a fact that if South Florida wins on Saturday, they will be recognized as National Title contenders. Beating Miami is going to be very tough, but honestly not impossible. We could witness something legendary folks. - Has Notre Dame fallen off? Notre Dame looked pretty mid vs Miami, and now they’ve got a massive game vs Texas A&M. If they lose, Irish fans should start to panic because an 0-2 start without a conference could be deadly. - Vandy legit? In a huge game vs South Carolina, Diego Pavia and Vanderbilt have a chance to show that they meant what they said all offseason. I’m not saying this win would make them contenders, but it would show that they are a very good football team. Players to watch - Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia Like I just mentioned, Pavia has a chance to prove that he is a legit top 10 QB in the country. Going on the road vs big time competition is always a chance to shine, and we’ll see if he does. - Georgia Tech QB Haynes King King is certainly a threat as a runner, but going against the Clemson defensive line will make it very tough for him. For Georgia Tech to win this game, he needs to be able to do his thing. - Tennessee QB Joey Aguilar So far it’s looked like the Vols have won the QB trade, but how will Aguilar preform against an elite defense? If he goes out and balls, we might have a serious playoff team on our hands. - Florida RB Jadan Baugh On the road in Death Valley, having a run game is very important for success. Jadan Baugh needs to be great to take the load off of Lagway’s shoulders, or the Gators have no chance. - Texas A&M LB Taurean York York will be crucial in stopping the lethal Notre Dame rushing attack. The leader of that A&M defense, without him being great, it’ll be very hard for the Aggies to get the win. Game Predictions - NC State (-6.5) at Wake Forest: NC State NC State should easily be able to take care of the Demon Deacons, I don’t think the spread should be this close. - Colorado at Houston (-4.5): Colorado No matter who they’ve got at QB, I like the Buffs' roster a lot more than I like Houston’s. Give me Colorado to reverse cover. - Kansas State (-1.5) at Arizona: Arizona I actually have no idea how Kansas State is favored, but I’ll still take Arizona. - Oklahoma (-21.5) at Temple: Oklahoma This spread has been shrinking fast, but I’m still not worried. The Sooners will dominate Temple, and cover. - Oregon (-27.5) at Northwestern: Oregon The Ducks will easily win this, but it’ll be interesting to see if they can cover the spread, 28 points is a lot. - Clemson (-2.5) at Georgia Tech: Clemson I know the popular pick would be Georgia Tech, but I still believe Clemson is a talented team, and Dabo will have them ready for this game. - Wisconsin at Alabama (-20.5): Alabama Wisconsin is not a good team and, coming off a huge win, I expect the Tide to be rolling. - Georgia (-3.5) at Tennessee: Georgia I think Kirby Smart and Georgia will go on the road and get a big win over the Vols. It’ll be a great game though. - USC (-20.5) at Purdue: Purdue This is a stunner. Purdue has looked solid so far, and I think the Trojans might go into Lafayette sleep walking a little. Give me the 21 point dawgs. - Washington State at North Texas (-5.5): Washington State Wazzu has looked solid so far, and with the Mean Green stumbling a little last week, I think the Cougars can get this win. - Pittsburgh (-6.5) at West Virginia: Pittsburgh West Virginia looked pretty bad vs Ohio last weekend and I don’t expect them to be better against a good Pitt team in the Backyard Brawl. - South Florida at Miami (-17.5): South Florida Another big upset, I think the Bulls will finish the magical run with a MASSIVE win over Miami, that’ll put them in the top 5. - Arkansas at Ole Miss (-7.5): Ole Miss Austin Simmons needs to take care of the football, but I think the Rebels will just beat Arkansas with pure talent. - Florida at LSU (-7.5): LSU LSU had a mid game vs Louisiana Tech, but Florida lost to USF. Give me the Tigers. - Texas A&M at Notre Dame (-6.5): Texas A&M I don’t love the Notre Dame team this year, and I think the Aggies might be solid. I’ve got A&M in an upset. - Vanderbilt at South Carolina (-4.5): South Carolina Vandy will keep it close for a minute, but I think South Carolina will pull away in the 2nd half. - Duke at Tulane (-1.5): Duke Darian Mensah will have a huge game against his former team, and after the embarrassment they took vs Illinois, they’re ready for revenge. - Minnesota (-2.5) at California: Minnesota Minnesota has been solid so far, and a 3-0 start would be great. I’ve got the Gophers to cover. - Boston College (-13.5) at Stanford: Boston College Stanford is just very trash. Boston College will dominate this one even though they are on the road. - Memphis (-3.5) at Troy: Troy Troy looked good against Clemson, and I think Tae Meadows will have a great game and lead them to victory. - Florida Atlantic at Florida International (-2.5): FIU FAU is not great this year, but I actually think FIU is decent. I think they can get a good win in a rivalry game. - Old Dominion at Virginia Tech (-7.5): Virginia Tech I love Old Dominion and they could keep it close for a while, but Virginia Tech is just the better team. - App State (-2.5) at Southern Miss: Southern Miss Southern Miss almost beat Mississippi State, who we now know is a solid team, so give me the Golden Eagles. - Central Michigan at Michigan (-27.5): Michigan Michigan needs a big bounce back game, and I think they get the win but do not cover. - Jacksonville State at Georgia Southern (-3.5): Jacksonville State Jacksonville State should definitely be favored in this game, but I guess I’ll take it as an upset pick. KZACFBpicks scoring system: -35+ = 0.5 points -21.5-34.5 = 1 point -15.5-21 = 1.5 points -11-15 = 2 points -7-10.5 = 2.5 points -3.5-6.5 = 3 points -0.5-3 = 3.5 points +0.5-3 = 4.5 points +3.5-6.5 = 5 points +7-10.5 = 5.5 points +11-15 = 6 points +15.5-21 = 6.5 points +21.5-34.5 = 7.5 points +35+ = 10 points You can find Owen Pannell on X here. Shop our collegiate apparel  here.

By Owen Pannell | KZA Sports After a very entertaining Week 2, there’s a lot to unpack and recap. Time to analyze the weekend. Most Important Results Oklahoma 24 – Michigan 13 - In the game of the week, Oklahoma took care of business vs the Wolverines. The defense looked great, and so did the offense. The final score was closer than the game felt; OU was a few mistakes away from winning this game 38-3. The Sooners look to be a problem after what we saw in this game. Oregon 69 – Oklahoma State 3 - This was such a bloodbath it’s almost unbelievable. Oregon might be very, very good this year, or Oklahoma State is one of the worst teams in the country. It’s probably some of both, but the Pokes better prepare for a 2–3 win season. Illinois 45 – Duke 19 - Illinois is a real playoff contender this year. Duke is a decent team that I had in my preseason top 25, and Illinois went on the road and demolished them. Illinois has a shot to really compete in the Big Ten. Mississippi State 24 – Arizona State 20 - This is a massive win for Jeff Lebby and the Bulldogs. Arizona State was ranked as the 12th team in the country, and they are in position to make a top 25 appearance with a couple of wins over Alcorn State and Northern Illinois. This is major trouble for the Sun Devils; they had huge aspirations for this season and this is definitely a setback. Baylor 48 – SMU 45 (OT) - This game was nutty. SMU led by 2 touchdowns with 5 minutes left, but Baylor forced overtime and proceeded to win. The ACC is looking rough, with SMU and Clemson both looking poor. Florida State and Miami are carrying that conference. Sawyer Robertson is a stats maniac; he could find himself in the Heisman conversation if they win some games. Iowa State 16 – Iowa 13 - In the annual CyHawk game, the Cyclones were able to pull out another victory with a game-winning field goal. After ASU lost, the Big 12 could be up for grabs, and the Cyclones have a good shot at that. Iowa’s offense is still terrible, and QB Mark Gronowski is terrible. USF 18 – Florida 16 - In a crazy upset, the Bulls improve to 2-0 with 2 top 25 wins. Their resume is as good as anybody’s right now, and with a win next week they will be a top 10 team. Florida is in trouble now; there was an insane amount of hype going into the season and this is not the way to start. Upset Alert (This includes almost-upsets, and doesn’t include games previously mentioned) Clemson 27 – Troy 16 - Troy was up 16-3 at halftime. Clemson was able to dominate the 2nd half, but this is not a good look for them. With LSU struggling vs La Tech, both those teams that played each other Week 1 could just be mid. South Carolina 38 – South Carolina State 10 - The Gamecocks were losing after the 1st to this FCS team. They ended up winning comfortably, but this was not a great performance for them. Syracuse 27 – Connecticut 20 (OT) - Syracuse going into OT with UConn isn’t a great look. Clearly, Orange head coach Fran Brown agrees, as he made the players run sprints on the field after the game. Ohio 17 – West Virginia 10 - Ohio is a good football team, but West Virginia should’ve won this game for sure. This is a pretty tough blow for the Mountaineers, who I thought might have been able to contend in the Big 12. Missouri State 21 – Marshall 20 - Most folks probably don’t care about Missouri State vs Marshall, but this was a big win for the Bears. Their first-ever FBS win, after a beatdown vs USC last week, is cool, but this is definitely a red flag for Marshall, who might be pretty bad after losing a bunch of their players. Army 24 – Kansas State 21 - Kansas State is looking ROUGH this year. Loss to Iowa State, almost-loss to North Dakota, and now a loss to Army, who just lost to an FCS team. They might be a bottom feeder in the Big 12 this season. Best Games (This does not include previously mentioned games) North Carolina State 35 – Virginia 31 - This game was crazy. The Wolfpack picked off Chandler Morris in the end zone with seconds remaining to give NC State the win. This is a great W for them, and they might be a solid team this year. UNLV 30 – UCLA 23 - Nico threw a pick in the final seconds to seal the win for UNLV. The Rebels look pretty decent. However, the Bruins look atrocious. Paying Nico all this money was not worth it, and I’m pretty confident he won’t be sticking around after this season. Missouri 42 – Kansas 31 - Kansas started this game looking amazing, but the Tigers were able to win the last 3 quarters 36-10. That’s not a recipe for success for the Jayhawks; this would have been a massive win for them. Missouri despises Kansas, and this gets them into the top 25, so great for the Tiger fans. Best Players Baylor QB Sawyer Robertson - Robertson had 440 yards and 4 TDs while leading the Bears to a massive win over SMU. If he keeps this up, he’ll find himself in the Heisman conversation. Oklahoma QB John Mateer - The stats weren’t as good as Robertson’s, but Mateer led the Sooners to a massive win over Michigan, while having 3 TDs and winning SEC Offensive Player of the Week. Jacksonville State RB Cam Cook - Cook had 195 yards and 2 TDs in a massive win over Liberty. Jacksonville State are definitely contenders in the Sun Belt, and a big part of that is thanks to him. Oklahoma WR Deion Burks - 7 catches for 101 yards and a TD in a big game vs a team Burks wanted revenge on. That’s certainly a performance he’ll remember for the rest of his life. Oregon DB Peyton Woodyard - 5 tackles and a pick-6 in a BLOWOUT win vs Oklahoma State. Good day for Woodyard. Mississippi State WR Brenen Thompson - Thompson had 6 catches for 133 yards and 2 TDs, including the game-winner. Hard to have a better Saturday than him. Baylor WR Josh Cameron - 9 catches for 151 yards and 2 TDs. Cameron was also elite, maybe even better than Thompson. A huge role in the big victory over SMU. Iowa State S Jeremiah Cooper - Cooper was great vs Iowa: 4 tackles, a PD, a TFL, and an interception. He was a massive part of the amazing performance for the Cyclone defense. My Predictions Weekly record: 14-11 (56%) Total record: 31-24 (56%) Weekly points: 36 Total points: 76 Things are not going great for my predictions, but it’s alright—there’s still a lot of the season left. We need a big week this weekend, but I’m very confident. Stay tuned. Also, feel free to play along! Just pick 25 games each week and post them using #KZACFBpicks and use the scoring system down below. The winner each week gets a cash prize! Scoring System -35+ = 0.5 points -21.5 to -34.5 = 1 point -15.5 to -21 = 1.5 points -11 to -15 = 2 points -7 to -10.5 = 2.5 points -3.5 to -6.5 = 3 points -0.5 to -3 = 3.5 points +0.5 to +3 = 4.5 points +3.5 to +6.5 = 5 points +7 to +10.5 = 5.5 points +11 to +15 = 6 points +15.5 to +21 = 6.5 points +21.5 to +34.5 = 7.5 points +35+ = 10 points You can find Owen Pannell on X here. Shop our collegiate apparel  here.

By Owen Pannell | KZA Sports The 3rd AP poll of the season is here, and after a very interesting week of college football, I’m excited to take a look at it. 1. Ohio State (57) 2-0 - 2. Penn State (5) 2-0 - 3. LSU (2) 2-0 - 4. Oregon (1) 2-0 +2 5. Miami 2-0 - 6. Georgia 2-0 -2 7. Texas 1-1 - 8. Notre Dame 0-1 +1 9. Illinois 2-0 +2 10. Florida State 2-0 +4 11. South Carolina 2-0 -1 12. Clemson 1-1 -4 13. Oklahoma 2-0 +5 14. Iowa State 3-0 +2 15. Tennessee 2-0 +7 16. Texas A&M 2-0 +3 17. Ole Miss 2-0 +3 18. South Florida 2-0 UR 19. Alabama 1-1 +2 20. Utah 2-0 +5 21. Texas Tech 2-0 +3 22. Indiana 2-0 +1 23. Michigan 1-1 -8 24. Auburn 2-0 UR 25. Missouri 2-0 UR Others receiving votes: Arizona State 94, BYU 92, Georgia Tech 78, Florida 70, USC 64, TCU 58, Mississippi State 52, Louisville 49, SMU 26, Nebraska 10, Tulane 9, Baylor 7, UNLV 5, Pittsburgh 3, Navy 2, Vanderbilt 1, Memphis 1 Dropped from rankings: Arizona State 12, Florida 13, SMU 17 What jumps out - 11 SEC teams !?!? There is 11 SEC teams in the top 25, you might call that SEC bias, but honestly it’s valid. The SEC isn’t as good as the Big Ten in terms of the top talent, but it is way deeper and far better overall. There’s also an argument to be made for Florida, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, and maybe even Arkansas could be in it. In a not so distant world, 14-15 SEC teams could be ranked. - Tennessee jumps up 7 I do not think a team should jump 7 spots for killing an FCS team, that’s what’s supposed to happen. However apparently the voters were extremely impressed that the Vols were able to beat East Tennessee State by 55. - OU only up 5, Michigan still ranked After the game of the week, I would have expected OU to jump higher, or Michigan be unranked. Oklahoma looked pretty convincing, and if the voters think the Wolverines are still a top 25 team, the Sooners should be in the top 10. Who got left out? - BYU BYU has looked good through the first 2 weeks, they should definitely be ranked in my opinion. They’re 27th in voting, but if they beat ECU on the road this weekend, they should get in. - Mississippi State I’m fine with them not being in, I have them 26th in my rankings, but a win over Arizona State should get them recognition at least. They’re 32nd in voting, which is somehow still below Arizona State. - Georgia Tech No idea how these guys still aren’t ranked, they certainly deserve it. They play Clemson on Saturday, and that will be a MASSIVE game for both teams. - Vanderbilt The Commodores had a nice win vs Virginia Tech, and that should be enough to get them into the top 25. Their roster is a top 25 roster in my opinion, but they need to prove more I suppose. Who is overrated? - Texas The Longhorns are 0% the 7th best team in the country, but they are overrated by the committee like always. - Notre Dame The Irish looked pretty bad against Miami, and after playing nobody they move up 1 spot. Just doesn’t make sense. - Michigan After a terrible showing vs the Sooners, Michigan should not be ranked. They stay at 23, and there is teams below them that deserve that spot more. Who is underrated? - Texas Tech Tech is a top 10 team in my eyes, and they are all the way down at 21. They’re the best in the Big 12, but Utah and Iowa State are above them. - Oklahoma If Michigan is still a top 25 team, OU should definitely be in the top 10. Other than a few mistakes, they put the belt to the Wolverines. - South Florida 2 top 25 wins in 2 weeks should get you into the top 15 in my opinion. I get they’re a G6 team, but still they should be higher than 18. If they win on Saturday vs Miami, they will jump into the top 10. You can find Owen Pannell on X here. Shop our collegiate apparel  here.

By Owen Pannell | KZA Sports OU- 24 UM- 13 The Sooners get a huge non conference win vs the 15th ranked Michigan Wolverines, with the eyes of the nation upon them. It was FAR from perfect, many mistakes that need to be fixed. However, this team looked amazing, they are certainly capable of making a playoff run. If OU didn’t make the special teams mistakes, and the other simple errors that shouldn’t happen, this could have been legitimately a 38-3 ballgame. I loved what I saw from the boys in crimson tonight, we’re in for a great season. Key Takeaways - Special Teams must be fixed The errors on punts were absolutely unacceptable. We almost allowed Michigan straight into the game, but we were able to hang on. A missed field goal also isn’t great, but overall I 100% expect our ST to be much better next week in Philly. - Run blocking is still an issue The last drive was great, but overall we need to get this run blocking thing figured out. Mateer was far an away our best rusher, and we can’t rely on that throughout the season. - Our defense is elite It’s safe to say that the defense is elite. Other than the one rushing TD by Haynes, they were stellar all night. Now that we have a good offense, it’s gonna be a lethal combo. - Found a way to win I know Michigan didn’t look like a great team, but the fact that we found a way to win, while they were trying to make a comeback, is very encouraging to me. Last years team would have certainly gave it away, but we’ve leveled up. - We’re a playoff team This team is a playoff team, there’s no doubt about it to me. If we cut out these mistakes, I truly believe that we can beat anybody in the country. Buckle up Sooner fans, it’s gonna be a great season. Best Players - WR Deion Burks (7 catches 101 yards 1 TD) Burks wanted revenge against the Wolverines, and he got it. Burks and Mateer clearly have chemistry, and they’ll be a nightmare duo all year long. - QB John Mateer (21/34 344 total yards 3 total TDs 1 int) This dude is special. No other words for it. He missed on a couple throws, one that turned into a pick, but he made some nutty plays, and was a key part of the run game. He puts himself clearly into the Heisman picture after 2 games, which is huge. - TE Jaren Kanak (5 catches 69 yards) Kanak made some huge plays tonight. He missed out on that TD catch on the flea flicker, but the one handed catch on 3rd and 9 in the first drive were clutch. The Sooners might not win without Kanak. - LB Owen Heinecke (7 tackles 1 TFL) Heinecke was elite tonight, making plays left and right. He led the Sooners in tackles, and he was a crucial part of neutralizing the Wolverine offense. - CTH Kendal Daniels (4 tackles 2.5 TFL) The hit Kendal Daniels put on Justice Haynes was just crazy, and other than that Daniels once again had a spectacular day. He is certainly getting the attention of NFL scouts over these first 2 games. - CB Courtland Guillory (3 tackles great coverage) Guillory was great in coverage tonight, he was the Sooner’s best corner, and he’s still a true freshman. He had some mistakes, but overall he was amazing. This dude is gonna be special. - S Peyton Bowen (6 tackles) Bowen looked like a very high draft pick tonight. He might finally be breaking out, and showing why he was such a coveted 5 star out of high school. We need him to keep playing like this throughout the season. - OT Michael Fasusi In his debut, Fasusi did not disappoint at all. He was one of, if not the, best lineman for OU. He came off the field late with what appeared to be an ankle injury, and let’s hope he’s alright because we need him the rest of the season. Positives - We’ve got a team This team is so much better than last year’s team, it’s just absurd. We can finally have confidence that we can score points and win games again. The sky is the limit for this squad. - OLine is getting better Although it needs to improve, the offensive line looked solid against a really good Michigan defensive line. Hopefully once we get to Red River, they’ve really come along. - 2-0 Starting 2-0 was crucial. We are now in good position for a playoff birth, just need 7-8 more wins and we’re in. Losing this game would have put us in a hole that would have been hard to climb out of. Negatives - Special Teams I mentioned this earlier, but the special teams need to be fixed or we’re in trouble. 2 messed up punts that gave them field goal opportunities is unacceptable. Has to be cleaned up. - Jaydn Ott? I don’t get the Ott situation. He was hyped up like crazy all offseason, and so far he has 5 carries for 6 yards this year. He did not make a difference this game, and he actually fumbled a kickoff, so he is a big disappointment so far. - Finishing We had multiple opportunities to finish this game, and we couldn’t capitalize. We have to seize those and end the game when we can, better teams like Texas, South Carolina, and LSU will take advantage of us leaving the door open. BOOMER!! You can find Owen Pannell on X here. Shop our collegiate apparel  here.

By Owen Pannell | KZA Sports Week 1 is in the books, and the playoff race is already taking shape. Every conference has its own storylines—whether it’s the AAC battling the Mountain West for the G6 spot, the SEC’s unmatched depth, or the Big Ten’s loaded top tier. These rankings look beyond records, weighing performance and potential to show where each team stands after the opening week. AAC 1. USF Bulls 1-0 (0-0) 2. Tulane Green Wave 1-0 (0-0) 3. Memphis Tigers 1-0 (0-0) 4. Navy Midshipmen 1-0 (0-0) 5. UTSA Roadrunners 0-1 (0-0) 6. North Texas Mean Green 1-0 (0-0) 7. Temple Owls 1-0 (0-0) 8. East Carolina Pirates 0-1 (0-0) 9. Tulsa Golden Hurricane 1-0 (0-0) 10. Rice Owls 1-0 (0-0) 11. UAB Blazers 1-0 (0-0) 12. Florida Atlantic Owls 0-1 (0-0) 13. Army Black Knights 0-1 (0-0) 14. Charlotte 49ers 0-1 (0-0) The AAC is battling with the Mountain West for the G6 playoff spot, and I would say so far they’re winning. There’s 3-4 teams in this conference that I think have a chance to make the playoffs, with USF leading that group. ACC 1. Clemson - 0-1 (0-0) 2. Miami 1-0 (0-0) 3. SMU 1-0 (0-0) 4. Georgia Tech 1-0 (0-0) 5. Florida State 1-0 (0-0) 6. Duke Blue Devils 1-0 (0-0) 7. Pittsburgh Panthers 1-0 (0-0) 8. Louisville Cardinals 1-0 (0-0) 9. Virginia Cavaliers 1-0 (0-0) 10. Virginia Tech Hokies 0-1 (0-0) 11. California Golden Bears 1-0 (0-0) 12. Boston College Eagles 1-0 (0-0) 13. Syracuse Orange 0-1 (0-0) 14. NC State Wolfpack 15. North Carolina Tar Heels 0-1 (0-0) 16. Wake Forest Demon Deacons 1-0 (0-0) 17. Stanford Cardinal 0-1 (0-0) I know I’m going to get flamed for this, but Clemson is still the best team in the ACC in my opinion. However, Clemson and Miami are interchangeable to me, along with SMU, Georgia Tech, and Florida State.  Big 12 1. Texas Tech Red Raiders 1-0 (0-0) 2. Arizona State Sun Devils 1-0 (0-0) 3. Iowa State Cyclones 2-0 (1-0) 4. Utah Utes 1-0 (0-0) 5. TCU Horned Frogs 1-0 (0-0) 6. Kansas Jayhawks 2-0 (0-0) 7. West Virginia Mountaineers 1-0 (0-0) 8. BYU Cougars 1-0 (0-0) 9. Baylor Bears 0-1 (0-0) 10. Colorado Buffaloes 0-1 (0-0) 11. Arizona Wildcats 1-0 (0-0) 12. Cincinnati Bearcats 0-1 (0-0) 13. Kansas State Wildcats 1-1 (0-1) 14. Houston Cougars 1-0 (0-0) 15. Oklahoma State Cowboys 1-0 (0-0) 16. UCF Knights 1-0 (0-0) The Big 12 is the most entertaining conference in my opinion. 3-14 are so close in talent level, a game between any of those schools could legit go either way. Texas Tech and Arizona State are the clear top 2 in my opinion, and Oklahoma State and UCF the clear bottom 2. Big Ten 1. Ohio State Buckeyes 1-0 (0-0) 2. Penn State Nittany Lions 1-0 (0-0) 3. Oregon Ducks 1-0 (0-0) 4. Illinois Fighting Illini 1-0 (0-0) 5. Michigan Wolverines 1-0 (0-0) 6. Washington Huskies 1-0 (0-0) 7. Indiana Hoosiers 1-0 (0-0) 8. Nebraska Cornhuskers 1-0 (0-0) 9. USC Trojans 1-0 (0-0) 10. Iowa Hawkeyes 1-0 (0-0) 11. Rutgers Scarlet Knights 1-0 (0-0) 12. Wisconsin Badgers 1-0 (0-0) 13. Maryland Terrapins 1-0 (0-0) 14. Michigan State Spartans 1-0 (0-0) 15. Minnesota Golden Gophers 1-0 (0-0) 16. UCLA Bruins 0-1 (0-0) 17. Purdue Boilermakers 1-0 (0-0) 18. Northwestern Wildcats 0-1 (0-0) The Big 10 has a great argument for the best conference in college football. They have 7 teams I considered putting in my top 25, and 6 teams that are in the AP top 25. The top 3 is not up for debate, but you could make a case for OSU, Oregon, and Penn State to all be at the top. Conference USA 1. Western Kentucky Hilltoppers 2-0 (1-0) 2. Florida International Panthers 1-0 (0-0) 3. Liberty Flames 1-0 (0-0) 4. Louisiana Tech Bulldogs 1-0 (0-0) 5. Kennesaw State Owls 0-1 (0-0) 6. Jacksonville State Gamecocks 0-1 (0-0) 7. Delaware Blue Hens 1-0 (0-0) 8. New Mexico State Aggies 1-0 (0-0) 9. UTEP Miners 0-1 (0-0) 10. Sam Houston Bearkats 0-2 (0-1) 11. Missouri State Bears 0-1 (0-0) 12. Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders 0-1 (0-0) Western Kentucky looks to be clearly the best team so far, but I could see FIU or Liberty making some noise. However, Conference USA is the weakest conference in CFB. MAC 1. Toledo Rockets 0-1 (0-0) 2. Ohio Bobcats 0-1 (0-0) 3. Central Michigan Chippewas 1-0 (0-0) 4. Buffalo Bulls 0-1 (0-0) 5. Miami (Ohio) RedHawks 0-1 (0-0) 6. Western Michigan Broncos 0-1 (0-0) 7. Bowling Green Falcons 1-0 (0-0) 8. Northern Illinois Huskies 1-0 (0-0) 9. Akron Zips 0-1 (0-0) 10. Kent State Golden Flashes 1-0 (0-0) 11. Eastern Michigan 0-1 (0-0) 12. Ball State Cardinals 0-1 (0-0) 13. UMass Minutemen 0-1 (0-0) The only teams who have a real shot to win the MAC is Toledo and Ohio. Both almost pulled off great wins last weekend, but fell just short. The rest of the conference will all be pretty mid, with most just trying to make a bowl game. Mountain West 1. UNLV Rebels 2-0 (0-0) 2. Colorado State Rams 0-1 (0-0) 3. San Diego State Aztecs 1-0 (0-0) 4. Boise State Broncos 0-1 (0-0) 5. Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors 1-1 (0-0) 6. Utah State Aggies 1-0 (0-0) 7. Fresno State Bulldogs 1-1 (0-0) 8. Wyoming Cowboys 1-0 (0-0) 9. Air Force Falcons 1-0 (0-0) 10. New Mexico Lobos 0-1 (0-0) 11. San Jose State Spartans 0-1 (0-0) 12. Nevada Wolf Pack 0-1 (0-0) This conference is super deep. I'm not exaggerating when I say every single team has a shot to win it. UNLV looks the best so far, but they definitely have flaws that can be exploited. Whoever wins the conference will be in good position to snag a playoff spot. SEC 1. LSU Tigers 1-0 (0-0) 2. Georgia Bulldogs 1-0 (0-0) 3. Oklahoma Sooners 1-0 (0-0) 4. South Carolina Gamecocks 1-0 (0-0) 5. Texas A&M Aggies 1-0 (0-0) 6. Texas Longhorns 0-1 (0-0) 7. Auburn Tigers 1-0 (0-0) 8. Florida Gators 1-0 (0-0) 9. Alabama Crimson Tide 0-1 (0-0) 10. Ole Miss Rebels 1-0 (0-0) 11. Tennessee Volunteers 1-0 (0-0) 12. Vanderbilt Commodores 1-0 (0-0) 13. Missouri Tigers 1-0 (0-0) 14. Arkansas Razorbacks 1-0 (0-0) 15. Mississippi State Bulldogs 1-0 (0-0) 16. Kentucky Wildcats 1-0 (0-0) The best conference in college football, I’d say there’s at minimum 11 teams with a shot to make the playoffs. They should get 4-5 spots, which is absolutely nuts. LSU looks to be in the drivers seat right now, but anything can happen. Sun Belt 1. James Madison Dukes 1-0 (0-0) 2. App State Mountaineers 1-0 (0-0) 3. Southern Miss Golden Eagles 0-1 (0-0) 4. Texas State Bobcats 1-0 (0-0) 5. Old Dominion Monarchs 0-1 (0-0) 6. Troy Trojans 1-0 (0-0) 7. Arkansas State Red Wolves 1-0 (0-0) 8. UL Monroe Warhawks 1-0 (0-0) 9. Louisiana Ragin Cajuns 0-1 (0-0) 10. Marshall Thundering Herd 0-1 (0-0) 11. South Alabama Jaguars 1-0 (0-0) 12. Georgia State Panthers 0-1 (0-0) 13. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers 0-1 (0-0) 14. Georgia Southern Eagles 0-1 (0-0) The Sun Belt is very unpredictable this year. James Madison seems to be ahead of the pack, but App State, Southern Miss, Texas State, and Old Dominion all look to be solid. It’ll be interesting to see who comes out on top. You can find Owen Pannell on X here. Shop our collegiate apparel  here.

By Owen Pannell | KZA Sports Week 2 doesn’t have the eye-catching games that Week 1 had, but I’m just as excited for it. There’s a lot of quality football that’s going to be played, and I can’t wait. Here’s all you need to know to be ready for Week 2. Biggest Games 1. Michigan at Oklahoma (-2.5) - 7:30 pm ET The game of the week. Norman is hosting College Gameday, it’ll be weird without Lee, and the eyes of the college football world will be on this primetime game. A true freshman QB going against one of the best defensive minds in college football, in the Palace on the Prairie, will be an absolute madhouse. The cards play in the Sooners’ favor, but it certainly won’t be easy. 2. Iowa at Iowa State (-3.5) - 12:00 pm ET This rivalry is one of the most underrated in college football. The battle for Iowa is always a good one, and I expect nothing less on Saturday. The Cyclones are favored, but just slightly, as the Hawkeye defense will surely challenge Rocco Becht and the Iowa State offense. 3. Kansas at Missouri (-6.5) - 3:30 pm ET A rivalry reinstated. The Jayhawks look to go 3-0 in non-conference play, but it won’t be easy. Playing at an SEC school is always very tough, especially for a team like Kansas. Missouri is definitely beatable, though, and Kansas has looked pretty solid so far this season. It could really go either way. 4. Illinois (-3.5) at Duke - 12:00 pm ET Illinois is a potential playoff team, but Duke is not a pushover. Led by Darian Mensha, the Blue Devils look to make an attempt at the playoffs. Both teams must win this game to achieve their CFP aspirations, so it’ll definitely be some high-level football. 5. South Florida at Florida (-17.5) - 4:15 pm ET South Florida looked great last Thursday vs. the Broncos, but going into one of the hardest places to play, against a very good Florida team with aims to make a playoff run, the deck is stacked against them. If Byrum Brown and his squad can pull off a major upset, they would certainly be the frontrunner for the G6 playoff spot. Friday Night Football There are only a few games not on Saturday this week, and they’re all on Friday, so let’s take a look at Saturday’s appetizer. James Madison at Louisville (-12.5) - 7:00 pm ET Yeah, it’s not the greatest Friday slate when this is the best game. But it’s football, we’ll take it. Louisville has a decent squad this year; they can definitely make some noise in the ACC. However, JMU is one of the best Group of 6 teams, and they want that playoff spot. This is a huge game for the Dukes, and they could definitely pull off an upset. Northern Illinois at Maryland (-17.5) - 7:30 pm ET The only other game really worth watching on Friday. Maryland is looking to avoid an upset to the Huskies, who took out Notre Dame a year ago. True freshman QB Malik Washington makes his 2nd career start, but with Northern Illinois barely beating Holy Cross, I don’t see this game being an issue for the Terps. Biggest Storylines How good is Bryce Underwood? Underwood is going to be tested a lot on Saturday, and if he delivers, the college football world should be pretty scared. I expect he’ll definitely have some freshman moments, but he has the talent to bring the Wolverines to victory. Is Kansas good enough to win the Big 12? If Kansas beats Missouri, we have to consider them a potential playoff team. They are good enough to beat most of the Big 12 if they take out Mizzou. Is Oklahoma State hot garbage again? If Oklahoma State goes out and loses by 35+, they are in trouble. They don’t even have to win the game, but a single-digit loss would honestly be huge for them. QB Hauss Hejny, who emerged last Thursday night, is unavailable in a huge blow for the Pokes. Players to Watch USF QB Byrum Brown Brown looked great vs. Boise State last week, and if he looks great vs. the Gators, that’s an amazing sign for South Florida. Troy RB Tae Meadows Meadows had a great Week 1. It’ll be extremely difficult to do that again vs. one of the best defensive lines in college football, but it’ll be interesting to see how he does. Oklahoma WR Keontez Lewis Lewis was Mateer’s top target last weekend vs. Illinois State. Whether or not he remains that vs. better competition remains to be seen. SMU QB Kevin Jennings In a huge matchup vs. Baylor, the Mustangs need Jennings at the top of his game. 250 yards with a couple TDs and no turnovers would be a massive success in my opinion. Oklahoma DE R Mason Thomas Thomas wants to make Bryce Underwood feel pain on Saturday night. If he gets multiple sacks, that will be an elite game for him and will give the Sooners a great chance to win. Michigan RB Justice Haynes An amazing Week 1 performance has the Sooners, who struggled to stop the run, pretty worried. Haynes must be a difference-maker for the Wolverines. Duke QB Darian Mensah This is Mensah’s time to shine. A big game vs. a good Illinois defense would be the perfect time to go off—he needs to be great for a Blue Devil victory. Game Predictions James Madison at Louisville (-12.5): Louisville Northern Illinois at Maryland (-17.5): Maryland Michigan at Oklahoma (-2.5): Oklahoma Illinois (-2.5) at Duke: Illinois Iowa at Iowa State (-3.5): Iowa State Baylor at SMU (-2.5): SMU Virginia at NC State (-2.5): Virginia Oklahoma State at Oregon (-29.5): Oregon Ole Miss (-10.5) at Kentucky: Ole Miss Kansas at Missouri (-6.5): Kansas West Virginia (-3.5) at Ohio: West Virginia South Florida at Florida (-17.5): Florida North Carolina (-13.5) at Charlotte: North Carolina Army at Kansas State (-17.5): Kansas State Houston (-13.5) at Rice: Houston Arizona State (-6.5) at Mississippi State: Arizona State Vanderbilt at Virginia Tech (-1.5): Vanderbilt Boston College at Michigan State (-4.5): Michigan State UCLA (-2.5) at UNLV: UNLV San Diego State at Washington State (-1.5): San Diego State Sam Houston at Hawai’i (-6.5): Hawai’i Fresno State at Oregon State (-3.5): Oregon State UConn at Syracuse (-6.5): Syracuse Western Kentucky at Toledo (-6.5): Western Kentucky Tulsa (-3.5) at New Mexico State: Tulsa KZACFBpicks Scoring System 35+ = 0.5 points 21.5–34.5 = 1 point 15.5–21 = 1.5 points 11–15 = 2 points 7–10.5 = 2.5 points 3.5–6.5 = 3 points 0.5–3 = 3.5 points +0.5–3 = 4.5 points +3.5–6.5 = 5 points +7–10.5 = 5.5 points +11–15 = 6 points +15.5–21 = 6.5 points +21.5–34.5 = 7.5 points +35+ = 10 points You can find Owen Pannell on X here. 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By Owen Pannell | KZA Sports The AP Poll has arrived after a long and splendid weekend of football. Let’s take a look at it and give some thoughts. Ohio State (55) 1-0 +2 Penn State (7) 1-0 - LSU (3) 1-0 +6 Georgia 1-0 +1 Miami 1-0 +5 Oregon (1) 1-0 +1 Texas 0-1 -6 Clemson 0-1 -4 Notre Dame 0-1 -3 South Carolina 1-0 +3 Illinois 1-0 +1 Arizona State 1-0 -1 Florida 1-0 +2 Florida State 1-0 UR Michigan 1-0 -1 Iowa State 2-0 +6 SMU 1-0 -1 Oklahoma 1-0 - Texas A&M 1-0 - Ole Miss 1-0 +1 Alabama 0-1 -13 Tennessee 1-0 +2 Indiana 1-0 -3 Texas Tech 1-0 -1 Utah 1-0 UR Others receiving votes: BYU, Auburn, Georgia Tech, USC, Louisville, TCU, Missouri, South Florida, Tulane, Nebraska, Kansas State, UNLV, Liberty, James Madison, Duke, Navy, Virginia, Baylor, Memphis, Pittsburgh Dropped from rankings: Kansas State 17, Boise State 25 What jumps out? Texas, Clemson, Notre Dame all top 10 The three teams that lost the marquee matchups of the weekend all stay in the top 10, which is fine, I guess, because they did play a hard nonconference game while most teams played a cupcake. Personally, I don’t put them there, but I get it. Oregon with a #1 vote The fact that someone voted Oregon at 1 is very odd. They’re slotted at 6 in the poll, but someone went against the grain and put them at the very top. Props to them, I guess. Miami… overrated? Miami is 5th in the poll, jumping up 5 spots. I get them jumping up 5 for beating Notre Dame, but are they really the 5th-best team in the country? Personally, I don’t think so. We’ll see how they do against USF, Florida, and Florida State in a few weeks. Michigan above Oklahoma for the game of the week Michigan had a relatively close game vs. New Mexico last week, but OU didn’t look insane vs. Illinois State. It’s gonna be a fun one on Saturday, where we’ll see who deserves the higher ranking. (Check out my game preview) Who got left out? South Florida I get that they are a G6 team, but dominating a top 25 team like that deserves some recognition. They had Boise State in the top 25, so they should have USF. Auburn After a great win vs. Baylor, Auburn should be ranked, in my opinion. Honestly, if the Iron Bowl happened right now, I would take Auburn. There’s an argument to put them above Alabama. Georgia Tech Yes, they got off to a really rough start, but a win at Colorado is an impressive feat. They should certainly be ranked, in my opinion, especially when teams like Utah got the nod and they didn’t. Who is overrated? Miami As I mentioned earlier, Miami is overrated, in my opinion. They didn’t look that good against Notre Dame, and Notre Dame might not actually be such a good team. They are not the 5th-best team in the country, so they shouldn’t be ranked there. Notre Dame Notre Dame still being at 9 is a bit crazy to me. They did not look like a top 10 team on Sunday, and I see multiple teams below them who I would easily pick in a game right now. Florida State Alabama might just be pretty bad, so FSU getting the 14th spot is a little too high. They have to win a couple more games for me to really believe they deserve that. Michigan I do not see the top 15 appeal to Michigan. It’s hard for me to put them in the top 25, let alone the top 15. We’ll see who they truly are on Saturday, though. Who is underrated? Oklahoma You might think this is bias, but there’s just no way there are 17 teams better than Oklahoma. The world will see how talented the Sooners are when they dominate the Wolverines. Texas A&M They struggled a bit against UTSA defensively, but I think this is the best chance the Aggies have to make the playoffs in a while. They play Notre Dame in a couple of weeks, which should be a good one. Texas Tech In my opinion, Tech at 24 is just plain crazy. They are the best team in the Big 12. I’ve got them all the way at 11 in my poll. You can find Owen Pannell on X here. Shop our collegiate apparel  here.

By Owen Pannell | KZA Sports In the biggest OU nonconference game in years, the Oklahoma Sooners host the Michigan Wolverines. College Gameday will be present, and the eyes of the nation will be upon Norman. This is a must-win game. Keys to Victory - Stop the run Michigan is a heavy run-first offense. Last week, they racked up over 200 yards on the ground, including 159 from star RB Justice Haynes. The Sooners gave up 117 to Illinois State, so if the Wolverines can run all over this OU defense that’s supposed to be great at stopping the run, it might be trouble. - Running the ball Running the ball was an issue on Saturday, on top of stopping it. Only 103 yards on 32 carries is atrocious, and Michigan’s run defense is a whole lot better than Illinois State’s. Hopefully, we get Jaydn Ott at full health, but Blaylock and Tatum will likely not play. Jovantae Barnes had a very poor performance. The Sooners will need Jaydn Ott and Xavier Robinson to be good. - Winning the turnover battle Michigan forced New Mexico QB Jack Layne into 3 interceptions last week, and John Mateer threw one against the Redbirds. If we turn the ball over multiple times, it’s going to be much harder to get a victory. On the other side of the ball, OU forced 0 turnovers in Week 1, which, personally, I was very disappointed about. Winning the turnover battle would go a long way in this one and is certainly a key to victory. - Hucking the pigskin Mateer needs to be the difference-maker on Saturday. Throwing for an amazing 392 yards vs Illinois State, if he can get to 300 this week (which certainly won’t be easy), then I really like our chances. WRs Keontez Lewis, Deion Burks, and Isaiah Sategna will all get their fair share of targets, and there are many more guys who could get into the action. - Make Bryce Underwood’s head spin A freshman QB on the road in his 2nd career start against a Brent Venables defense is a recipe for disaster. The Sooner crowd should make a huge difference, and the defensive game plan will be unlike anything Underwood has ever seen. If OU can hold him under 150 passing yards and force him into a few mistakes, it’ll be very difficult for the Wolverines to win this. However, Michigan will surely be leaning on the run game even more, which makes it imperative that we stop the run. Biggest Storylines - Michigan LB Jaishawn Barham Barham is suspended for the first half of this game thanks to a targeting penalty last weekend. He is definitely a big part of their defense, and we’ll see what not having him will do to the Wolverines. - How good is Bryce Underwood? As mentioned earlier, Bryce Underwood is going into extreme conditions, and it’s a mystery if he will perform well. Personally, I do not think so, but we will see. - Is Mateer legit? If John Mateer goes out and tears up the Michigan defense, he will be proven to be legit. It will be a huge test, but I certainly think he’s up to the challenge. - Sooner O-Line The offensive line was not great in Week 1, but getting Dereck Simmons and Michael Fasusi available will definitely help. The Michigan defensive line is great, so it will be difficult for this Bill Bedenbaugh-led group. Key OU Players - QB John Mateer Once again, Mateer is the player to watch for the Sooners. An electric performance in Week 1 has the fanbase hyped, and if he balls out this week, we might have another Sooner QB win the Heisman. - RB Jaydn Ott Essentially making his debut for the Sooners, he needs to be a difference here. I want to see him spring some big runs, something that didn’t happen vs Illinois State. - WRs Deion Burks + Keontez Lewis These were the two best pass catchers for the Sooners. With a much better defense, it’s even more important that they make their impact. If they both get 75+ yards, I love our chances. - Entire O-Line This is pretty cheap by me, but every single one of the men up front has to be great. I cannot overstate the importance of winning the line of scrimmage on Saturday. If we don’t, I don’t see us winning. - DE R Mason Thomas This man needs to be in Bryce Underwood’s nightmares for weeks. We didn’t hear his name called much in Game 1, but he must make an impact vs the Wolverines. - CB Gentry Williams Williams had a really good performance, and with the health of Eli Bowen still very questionable, he needs to step up and be lockdown. - CTH Kendal Daniels Daniels was as advertised last weekend. I want to see him be even better. He will be everywhere Saturday, and I cannot wait for it. - PR Isaiah Sategna He’ll make a difference as a receiver, but he is so electric as a returner, and if he can get loose on a couple, that’ll give the Sooners a ton of momentum. Michigan Top Players - RB Justice Haynes The Alabama transfer went off last week: 159 yards and 3 (!!!) TDs. He will be impossible to stop completely, but if we hold him under 80 yards, I’ll consider that a huge win. - TE Marlin Klein One of the top tight ends in the country, Underwood will certainly be looking to him a ton here. We have to have a game plan to take him away and make the wideouts beat us. - LB Ernest Hausmann Hausmann is a very talented linebacker. He’s crucial in stopping the run and will make it much harder for the Sooners to do what they want to do on the ground. - LB Cole Sullivan Cole Sullivan had an amazing season debut with a sack and interception. With Barham out for the first half, Sullivan will be even more important for the Wolverines. Prediction OU – 34 UM – 13 I really think we’re gonna dominate on Saturday. Our offense will hit its stride, and our defense will absolutely stifle Bryce Underwood and the Michigan offense. The world will know we’re legit after this one. You can find Owen Pannell on X here. Shop our collegiate apparel  here.

By Owen Pannell | KZA Sports It’s been a great couple days of football, and before we get to the rest of the weekend's games, let’s discuss our biggest takeaways from Thursday and Friday. - USF can be a playoff team After giving the belt to #25 Boise State yesterday, we have to discuss if USF is a playoff team. They play Florida, then Miami the next 2 weeks, and if they win just 1 of those games, I don’t see how they wouldn’t be the front runner for the group of 5 bid. Byrum Brown is absolutely electric, and their defense looked phenomenal. - Nebraska… is confusing There were certainly positives and negatives for the Huskers vs Cincinnati. They got the win, but even with Raiola having a pretty good game, their offense didn’t look great. I don’t see how they can be a playoff team like some people predicted, but a win is a win. They just need to get better. - Boise State won’t win the Mountain West After looking like hot garbage, I just don’t see how the Broncos will come out on top of the stacked Mountain West this year. They have a lot of soul searching to do. - Oklahoma State and UCF are trash These 2 teams will undoubtedly be the worst in the Big 12. Both looked very mid against what should be far inferior competition, and it doesn’t help that the Pokes promising QB Hauss Hejny went down with an injury. - Duke needs to lock in The Blue Devils were tied at halftime vs Elon. They ended up winning 45-17, but it wasn’t pretty. They have a very talented roster, I even had them in my preseason top 25, but if they don’t lock in, it could be a wasted season after giving all that money for Darian Mensah. - Big 12 in trouble? Not a single Big 12 team looked good yesterday. Based off that, and not an insane week 0, the Big 12 could be pretty bad this year. They are already the worst power 4 conference, but if Arizona State, Texas Tech, etc. don’t preform well, it could be a big down year for the Big 12. - Missouri is cooked Yeah they won by basically 60, but their offensive line looked absolutely terrible against an FCS team. Beau Pribula is the guy, especially after the Sam Horn injury, but it wouldn’t shock me if this team is worse than Oklahoma was last year. - Ohio is a good football team They fell just short of pulling off the upset vs Rutgers, but they proved that they are certainly MAC contenders, maybe even favorites. I wouldn’t say they are a playoff team, but led by Parker Navarro they can definitely have a great year. - Army isn’t what they were The Black Knights lost to FCS opponent Tarleton State last night, clearly they aren’t the playoff contender that they were last year. - Wake Forest is terrible Wake Forest beat Kennesaw State 10-9. That is awful. It’s going to be a rough year for the Demon Deacons, 2-3 wins I expect. - Sawyer Robertson is good, Baylor isn’t Robertson had a good performance, throwing for over 400 yards and 3 TDs. However Baylor just did not look good. They should have won that game vs Auburn, but they just couldn’t. Might be a disappointing year for the Bears. - Will Auburn use their receivers? The Tigers got the win, but it was solely because of their running game. They have one of the best receiver rooms in the country, but they barely utilized it, only throwing for 108 yards. If they want to win games this year, they need to involve their best playmakers. - Colorado should have won Georgia Tech had 3 turnovers in the first 8 minutes of the game, but Colorado only yielded 7 points from those. Their defense was decent, but their offense just wasn’t good enough. They have some things to figure out. - Georgia Tech is a playoff contender It sounds crazy because of the result of the game, but playing that bad an still finding a way to win is exactly what playoff teams do. If they can limit those mistakes, they can beat almost anybody. - UNLV looks better UNLV looked better vs Sam Houston, but they still need to improve. The Mountain West looks to be open with Boise State looking very poor, so it ca be the Rebels if they lock in. You can find Owen Pannell on X here. Shop our collegiate apparel  here.

By Owen Pannell | KZA Sports Oklahoma - 35 Illinois State- 3 The Sooners come out with a week 1 victory, but it honestly wasn’t great. Hopefully they learn from this and come into week 2 a much better team. Key Takeaways - Mateer is a great player, and he will be better Mateer had a great day, outside of a few plays. He threw an interception, which was pretty disappointing against an FCS team, and missed some easy throws. But the talent is CLEARLY there, and he knows he needs to be better, and he will. - Offense? The offense was clearly very bland, as they don’t want to give up much info to the Wolverines next week. However, they were just straight disappointing if we’re being honest. They will surely be 100x better than last year, but they need to be better to win next week, and going forward. - Defense is great The Illinois State offense is solid, and the defense shut them down for the most part. The run defense could have been better, but the passing defense was outstanding. Next week it will definitely be tested on the ground. - We’re good at RB Only Blaylock really looked good, but Ott got 1 carry, Robinson looked alright, and Barnes will be better. Blaylock certainly looks like RB2 to me, and if Ott can’t stay healthy he’ll win that starting job. - Receiver is stacked We saw a ton of playmakers at receiver tonight, we’ll get to a couple of them later, but 3 players had 80+ receiving yards, and we’ve got even more coming. - O-Line needs to be better Against Illinois State it was alright, but the offensive line has to be better against better competition. If they can get healthier, I believe they’ll be fine next week. Top players - WR Keontez Lewis (9 catches 119 yards 2 TDs) Lewis was a massive playmaker tonight, catching 2 TDs and bringing in over 100 yards. He’ll be a big part of this offense in 2025. - QB John Mateer (30/37 436 total yards 4 total TDs 1 int) Mateer was great, wish he didn’t commit the turnover but it doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. Not a bad night for a vanilla gameplan. - TE Jaran Kanak (5 catches 90 yards 1 fumb) Other than the fumble, Kanak had a great game in his first career game at TE. He’s gonna be a nice playmaker this year, and an upgrade over Bauer Sharp. - WR Deion Burks (7 catches 88 yards 1 TD) Burks was as advertised, having a good performance, and he should be a good reliable target for Mateer this season. Also that 1 handed catch was NASTY! - RB Tory Blaylock (8 rushes 44 yards 1 TD) Blaylock has earned RB2 for now, and he can potentially be RB1 by the end of the season. Dude is a STUD, but the O-Line needs to block better for him. - LB Sammy Omosigho (8 tackles 1 sack) The leading tackler, and he got to the QB. Good game for Omosigho, it’ll be interesting to see who plays more at MIKE this year, him or McKinzie. - LB Owen Heinecke (4 tackles 1 TFL) Heinecke’s impact goes beyond the box score tonight, he was all over the place. Plus, all of his tackles were solo, which is nice. - CTH Kendal Daniels (3 tackles 0.5 TFL 1 PD) Just as expected, Daniels was everywhere tonight. Making plays on and off the ball, I’m so excited for what he can do this year. - PR Isaiah Setegna (4 returns 63 yards) Setegna was electric on the returns, he had his longest one called back, but he can certainly make a difference in the field position battle. He was alright as a receiver, but nothing crazy. Positives - Offense is better The offense is clearly better than last year. Yes, that is extremely easy to do, but it’s still a positive.  - Defense is just as good, if not better It’s hard to tell early, but this defense is at the very least as good as last years. Paired with a good offense, that could make a very good football team. - Passing game is ELITE 392 yards from Mateer, that’s more than a 6th of the entire teams passing yards last season. This is going to be fun. Negatives - Offense wasn’t great The offense made a lot of mistakes tonight. They showed flashes, but flashes won’t be good enough in most of these games. They need to clean up before next Saturday. - O-Line was mid The offensive line needs time to gel, but it wasn’t a great performance. Hopefully as they get healthier, they’ll get better. - Running game was poor The team only had 3.2 yards per carry, which is very bad against an FCS team. Without a running game, it’s hard to have success in this league. You can find Owen Pannell on X here. Shop our collegiate apparel  here.

By Owen Pannell | KZA Sports The Sooners kick off their 2025 season vs. the Illinois State Redbirds on Saturday. It’s not the biggest game, but it’s kickoff nonetheless. Here’s everything you need to know. Keys to Victory Don’t turn it over - There’s really no way we can lose this game, so the real test will be to see if we turn the ball over. I’d be very happy to exit this game with 0 turnovers by the offense. Force turnovers - On the opposite side of that, I think the goal is to force the Redbirds into at least three turnovers, which would be a solid start for what should be a good defense. Rack up stats early - We’ve got some dudes shooting for postseason awards, but the starters won’t play much in this game. By halftime, we should have put up at least 40 points, and if the defense allows more than three, I’ll be disappointed. NO INJURIES - Please, please, please don’t get injured in this game. We’re going to need all hands on deck next week vs. Michigan. Getting hurt against Illinois State is not the move. Key Players JR QB John Mateer - Every Sooner fan is dying to see this man finally get on the field. We’ve heard the hype all offseason—now it’s time to really see what he can do. FR CB Courtland Guillory - Guillory is atop the depth chart at left corner, and the buzz around this dude has been nuts all offseason. I want to see him strap up whoever the Redbirds’ top receiver is, and an interception in his first career game would be astronomical. FR WR Elijah Thomas - Similar to Guillory, we’ve heard great things about Thomas in camp. Against Illinois State he should dominate, and he could get a lot of snaps. I want some big plays from him in his career opener. FR RB Tory Blaylock - Third freshman in a row—crazy—but against an FCS opponent, freshmen are the biggest storylines. Blaylock might be the best freshman of them all, and he could get the bulk of the carries on Saturday. FR OL Ryan Fodje and Michael Fasusi - Same as the other freshmen, these guys will be a huge part of this line in the future, and it’ll be good for them to get experience here. DE Marvin Jones Jr. - If Jones Jr. makes some plays, he could lock himself in as the edge rusher opposite Thomas. There are a bunch of talented rushers battling for that spot, and hopefully we have a good idea who the second-best one is after this game. S Peyton Bowen - Is this the year Bowen actually breaks out? We hope so. He needs to get his 2025 campaign off to a good start, especially against poor competition. TE Jaren Kanak - We know Kanak is going to be a playmaker, but can he handle the other duties a TE has to have? Next week vs. Michigan, he is going to need to be able to block if he wants to get many snaps. Hopefully he gets some good reps in here. Illinois State Best Players I’m going to be honest, I don’t know a lot about Illinois State’s roster, but I’ll do my best to identify some players that could be big for them. WR Daniel Sobkowwicz - Sobkowwicz has the potential to set Illinois State school records this season. He was an All-American last year, and he could be a threat vs. OU’s banged-up secondary. RB Wenkers Wright - Wright is a playmaker in the Redbirds’ backfield. He is going to have a big year in 2025, and the Sooners can’t let him get going. QB Tommy Rittenhouse - Rittenhouse is a veteran QB who might be able to do something early, but his life is going to be miserable vs. the OU defense. If the Sooners can get to him early and keep him from getting into a rhythm, that’ll go a long way toward taking over this game quickly. Prediction OU 72 – ISU 10 I believe the Sooners will get off to a very hot start—guessing somewhere around 45-3 at halftime. The Illinois State offense is solid, and I think they can find the end zone in the second half. The Redbirds will be able to compete for the FCS title, but they won’t be able to compete in this one. You can find Owen Pannell on X here. Shop our collegiate apparel  here.

By Owen Pannell | KZA Sports The full college football season is upon us, and CFB fans couldn’t be more excited. Here is all you need to be ready for Week 1 of the 2025 college football season. Biggest Games 1. Texas at Ohio State (-1.5) - 12:00 pm ET This game has been talked about since it was announced: No. 1 Texas at No. 3 Ohio State. The defending champs vs. the wannabe champs. Arch Manning’s first real test as a starter—if he balls out, the hype will be proven true. The Shoe will be absolutely nuts, and the Buckeyes are not willing to lose this game. Their elite defense, led by top CFB safety Caleb Downs, will be all over Manning and the unproven Texas offense. I expect it to be a defensive battle—we’ll see who I pick later. 2. LSU at Clemson (-4) - 7:30 pm ET In my opinion, the winner of this game is the best team in the country. Yes, that’s an unpopular opinion, but I think Clemson is currently the best team, and if LSU goes into Clemson and gets a win, they’ve earned the No. 1 spot in my eyes. They’re 1 and 4, respectively, in my personal top 25, but in the AP they are 4 and 9. It’ll be the battle of top QBs—both Cade Klubnik and Garrett Nussmeier can make a case for being the best. It’s gonna be a great game and a great nightcap to an already loaded slate. 3. Notre Dame (-2.5) at Miami - 7:30 pm ET Sunday Traditional Sunday game on Labor Day weekend—this one will be fun. In my opinion, Miami is fraudulent, but they have a chance to prove they aren’t against a very good Notre Dame team coming off a National Title appearance. CJ Carr will have a nice test in his first start; it’ll be interesting to see if they made the right choice picking him over Kenny Minchey. Miami lost a lot of talent, but they believe Carson Beck will have a big year and finally get them a playoff appearance. 4. Alabama (-13.5) at Florida State - 3:30 pm ET I fully expect Alabama to run away with this game, but Bama at Florida State is a big game no matter the talent of the teams. FSU QB Thomas Castellanos has been doing a lot of talking about this game, and it’s time to put his money where his mouth is. If the Seminoles make this a game, maybe last year was just a fluke—or Alabama just isn’t the same in the DeBoer era. 5. Auburn (-2.5) at Baylor - 8:00 pm ET Friday This will be a great appetizer to the Saturday slate. We’ve been hearing a lot of negative buzz about Auburn recently, and it’s time to see what their QB situation is all about. Baylor could be one of the best Big 12 teams, and this is a huge game for them to win to prove that. It’s gonna be a fun environment in Waco and should be a great game. Best Non-Saturday Games If you’re like me, you love college football on days that aren’t Saturday, so here are the best games on each day to hold you over until we get there. Thursday: Nebraska (-7) vs. Cincinnati - 9:00 pm ET This game will be played in Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, and it’ll show us a lot about these teams. Nebraska has been getting a ton of hype, but Cincinnati isn’t a cupcake. It’ll be a good win and a great Thursday night game. Friday: Georgia Tech (-4) at Colorado - 8:00 pm ET I mentioned the Auburn-Baylor game already, so I’m talking about this one here. Colorado could have a good team this year—I really like the addition of Kaidon Salter. They have good skill-position guys and a solid O-line. However, there are questions about the defense, and going against a good Georgia Tech offense could be trouble. Sunday: Virginia Tech at South Carolina (-8) - 3:00 pm ET Similar to the Friday game I picked, I already talked about Notre Dame vs. Miami. South Carolina looks to make a CFP appearance, and that starts here vs. the Hokies. They are clearly the better team, but Kyron Drones is an experienced playmaker at QB who could cause some trouble. Monday: TCU (-3) at North Carolina - 8:00 pm ET The first game of the Bill Belichick era in Chapel Hill, and they’ve got a tough opponent in TCU. The Horned Frogs are one of the more underrated teams in the Big 12 in my opinion, and Josh Hoover is an experienced QB who could definitely light up this UNC secondary. It’ll be a good one, and it could really go either way. Biggest Storylines Is Arch Manning legit? Obviously you’ve heard the hype surrounding Texas redshirt sophomore QB Arch Manning—but is it legit? He is very unproven, starting in two games in 2024 against very poor teams. Ohio State’s defense will be all over him, and in Columbus it will be really hard for him to get going. If he plays well, the Longhorns might actually have a Heisman-caliber QB. How good is the LSU O-line? One of the biggest question marks about LSU entering the season is their offensive line. Going up against potentially the best D-line in CFB, they need to play well to have a chance to win this game. If they aren’t good this season, LSU’s great roster could be wasted. Bryce Underwood. The true freshman plays in his first-ever college football game on Saturday. He should look good against New Mexico, but he goes to Norman in Week 2. He needs to get good reps this week, or he’s going to be in for a rude awakening next Saturday. Bill Belichick. Coaching in college is a whole different animal than coaching in the NFL. Coach Belichick will have a big test in his first-ever college game, and it’ll be interesting to see how he handles it. Colorado. Coach Prime is going into his third year at Colorado, and this time he doesn’t have his son or Travis Hunter. How will he perform without stars? The roster is still very good, and I like what they got in the portal, but with a good Georgia Tech team coming to town, it’ll really show what they’ve got. Players to Watch Arch Manning – Texas QB - We’ve talked about this dude ad nauseam so far, but he’s arguably the biggest part of Week 1. I expect him to be pretty bad against the Buckeyes, but we’ll see what happens. Cade Klubnik – Clemson QB & Garrett Nussmeier – LSU QB - Just like in the Week 0 preview, I’m combining two QBs who play each other. The battle between these two is going to be cinema, and whoever comes out on top will likely be an early leader in the Heisman race. Jeremiyah Love – Notre Dame RB - Widely viewed as the best back in the country, the Irish will need Love to go nuts vs. the Hurricanes. In a run-first offense, Love should have a great season—potentially first-rounder level—and it all starts Sunday. John Mateer – Oklahoma QB - Mateer is considered a top-5 QB, transferring to OU from Washington State, and even though it’s against Illinois State, it will be interesting to see how he performs. I want to see at least five TDs from the guy, who will likely only play 2–3 quarters. Caleb Downs – Ohio State S - Downs is the best safety in college football—there’s no doubt about that. If he can disrupt the Texas passing game, get a couple of deflections, and maybe an interception, that would go a long way in getting the Buckeyes a win. True Freshman Starting QBs - Bryce Underwood, Bear Bachmeier, Malik Washington, and Jaron-Keawe Sagapulotele are all true freshmen starting at QB for a Power 4 school. Watching them in their first-ever game will be interesting. Cal plays Oregon State, so it’ll be a good test for Sagapulotele, but the rest of them play cupcakes. Jeremiah Smith – Ohio State WR - Obviously, I have to mention the best player in CFB. Smith is going against one of the best defenses in the country, and with a new starting quarterback it won’t be easy. If he can rack up over 100 yards, everyone should be very scared of this man. Anthony Hill Jr. – Texas LB - Already the fourth member from this game I’ve mentioned, Hill needs to be a game-changer for the Horns. He should be flying all over the field, wrecking plays in the run and pass game. Texas needs him to be elite for them to win. TJ Parker – Clemson DE - Parker should go nuts against this LSU offensive line. They are expected to be the weakness of that team, so if Parker can take advantage and make life miserable for Nussmeier, that would go a long way. Zach Calzada – Kentucky QB - The Wildcats are only 7.5-point favorites vs. Toledo. Recently named starter Zach Calzada must be good for Kentucky—losing to Toledo would be a very bad look. He’s on his fourth team, and this is his final chance to make an impression on the CFB world. Game Predictions After going a terrible 2-3 with 3 points in Week 0, I need to bounce back. I keep track of my record and points each week. If you want to play along, all you have to do is pick 25 games each week (you can do the same ones I do, or pick your own) and use #KZACFBpicks  and post on X/Twitter. The winner each week gets a cash prize! The scoring system will be at the bottom of this article. Nebraska (-7) vs. Cincinnati: Nebraska - This will be a good game, but I think Nebraska will pull away with a good performance by Dylan Raiola. Boise State (-6.5) at South Florida: Boise State - South Florida is solid, but I just don’t believe they are on the same level as Boise State talent-wise. Auburn (-2.5) at Baylor: Baylor - Auburn has too many questions, especially at QB, for me to be comfortable picking them on the road vs. a good Baylor team. Georgia Tech (-4) at Colorado: Georgia Tech - Colorado will make this a game for sure, but I think the Yellow Jackets just outmatch them in the fourth quarter. Texas at Ohio State (-1.5): Ohio State - Texas is extremely unproven. I don’t feel as if they deserve the No. 1 spot, and Ohio State returns good talent from their National Title team. Syracuse at Tennessee (-13.5): Tennessee - It might be a rough start for the Vols, but I expect them to be able to pull it together in the second half and get this win. Northwestern at Tulane (-6): Northwestern - Tulane is a very good team, but I like Northwestern’s roster. Tulane lost some important pieces, so I’ve got the Wildcats in a road upset. Toledo at Kentucky (-7.5): Kentucky - Toledo might be one of the better G6 teams, but I don’t think they have the talent to beat the worst SEC team. Kentucky pulls away in the second half. Alabama (-13.5) at Florida State: Alabama - The Seminoles are surely going to be better than last year, but still not good enough to beat Alabama. Bama covers. LSU at Clemson (-4): Clemson - Clemson is the best team in the nation in my opinion, and at home I think they take care of the Tigers, who also have a top-5 roster in my eyes. California at Oregon State (-2): Oregon State - Cal lost a ton from last year, and I like this Beavers team. A true freshman on the road for his first career start isn’t great either. Hawai’i at Arizona (-17.5): Arizona - I don’t think they cover, but I do think Arizona will be able to beat a solid Hawai’i team coming off a good win vs. Stanford. Utah (-6.5) at UCLA: UCLA - Utah is overhyped in my opinion, and led by very talented QB Nico Iamaleava, I think the Bruins get this win at home. Colorado State at Washington (-22.5): Washington - This is gonna be closer than people think, but Colorado State doesn’t have the talent to hang with the Huskies. Virginia Tech at South Carolina (-8): South Carolina - The Gamecocks are in for a big year, and I’ve got them covering here vs. the Hokies to start it off right. Notre Dame (-2.5) at Miami: Notre Dame - The Irish are a better team than the Canes. Even at Miami, I think ND gets a great win to start off their quest for a championship. TCU (-3) at North Carolina: TCU - TCU will spoil Bill Belichick’s debut—UNC doesn’t have the roster to match the Horned Frogs. It’ll be a good game though. Ohio at Rutgers (-14.5): Ohio - A pretty big upset here—Parker Navarro and the Bobcats will pull off a big upset win at Rutgers. East Carolina at NC State (-14): NC State - I don’t love this NC State team, but they are still good enough to beat East Carolina. UNLV (-10) at Sam Houston: UNLV - This will be a tough game for the Rebels, but coming off a poor showing vs. Idaho State, I believe they can beat the Bearkats. Mississippi State (-12) at Southern Miss: Mississippi State - Jeff Lebby needs to have success in Year 2 with the Bulldogs, and I don’t see a way they lose to Southern Miss. Temple (-2.5) at UMass: Temple - Temple is plain better than UMass, so I think they’ll cover vs. the Minutemen. UTEP at Utah State (-6): Utah State - Veteran QB Bryson Barnes will bring the Aggies to a good Week 1 win vs. UTEP in the first game of the Bronco Mendenhall era. Georgia Southern at Fresno State (-1): Georgia Southern - I did not like what I saw from Fresno State last week, and I think they fall to 0-2 with a loss to Georgia Southern. Florida Atlantic at Maryland (-14.5): Maryland - Even though they have a true freshman at QB, Maryland will win this game. KZA CFB picks Scoring System -35+  = 0.5 points -21.5–34.5  = 1 point -15.5–21  = 1.5 points -11–15  = 2 points -7–10.5  = 2.5 points -3.5–6.5  = 3 points -0.5–3  = 3.5 points +0.5–3  = 4.5 points +3.5–6.5  = 5 points +7–10.5  = 5.5 points +11–15  = 6 points +15.5–21  = 6.5 points +21.5–34.5  = 7.5 points +35+  = 10 points You can find Owen Pannell on X here. Shop our collegiate apparel here.