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.

The gap between No. 7 Miami and No. 8 Texas A&M was 248 points.

It turns out the consensus was wrong. There aren't seven national title contenders this season. There are eight.

Welcome to the party, LSU. Their 51-10 win over Clemson reflected two programs heading in different directions. One continued its freefall from the world of the sport's elite, while the other re-established itself as a genuine threat.

Lost in all the ridiculousness surrounding LSU this offseason, and its quest to turn the sport on its head just to see if it can, was the fact that Kiffin put together a very good roster for his first campaign on the Bayou. A team so good that you can't help but wonder what the damn point of going…

Original source: https://www.cbssports.com/