College Football Playoff discussion tends to dominate the sport's discourse these days, especially with a 12-team field and additional expansion likely on the horizon. However, at its core, college football is about bragging rights,

The Flames had an extraordinarily easy schedule last year, and it hasn't changed much for 2025, except they're a much stronger unit. If they can beat both state rivals, James Madison and Old Dominion, in back-to-back weeks in late September, there simply isn't another team on their schedule who's on their level.

With rising expectations in competitive conferences, money flowing directly to players and unforgiving fan bases, the pressure has never been higher across college football.