College football fans might want to cancel whatever plans they have Saturday. The latest AP Top 25 has created one of those rare slates where turning the television off for even a couple of hours could mean missing something significant.
Six games on Sept. 26 will feature ranked teams facing ranked opponents, something college football has not produced on a Saturday since 2023.
The chaos starts immediately. No. 1 Texas travels to No. 14 Tennessee for a noon kickoff at Neyland Stadium, giving the country’s top-ranked team a major road test before most fans have finished lunch. Then the 3:30 p.m. window brings two more ranked matchups, with No. 4 Ole Miss visiting No. 21 Florida and No. 17 Iowa traveling to face No. 18 Michigan.
College Football Hasn’t Seen a Saturday Like This Since 2023
It only gets more crowded once the sun goes down. No. 23 Texas A&M visits No. 10 LSU at 7:30 p.m., while No. 20 Oregon travels to No. 12 USC in another matchup carrying major national implications. No. 19 Missouri and No. 24 Mississippi State then complete the ranked-versus-ranked lineup with a 7:45 p.m. SEC matchup.
The last comparable Saturday came in 2023, when six games also featured ranked teams facing one another. That slate included Ohio State-Notre Dame, Ole Miss-Alabama, Colorado-Oregon and Iowa-Penn State, among others. It was one of those Saturdays where flipping between games became part of the experience.
Saturday now gets its chance to join that conversation. That was also when the legendary ‘this game ain’t going to be played in Hollywood’ speech came from Oregon head coach Dan Lanning.
Saturday Could Reshape the College Football Season
What makes this slate even better is that these are not simply ranked teams meeting because the poll happened to line up correctly. Texas is defending the No. 1 ranking in Knoxville. Ole Miss is sitting inside the top five after beating LSU, while Michigan and Iowa enter their matchup separated by one spot in the poll.
Then there is an evening window capable of creating complete chaos. LSU is trying to bounce back from its loss to Ole Miss, Texas A&M needs an answer after falling to Kentucky, and Oregon-USC gives the Big Ten another matchup that could shake up the national picture. There are only so many college football Saturdays every year. This one deserves the entire day.
Cancel the errands, locate the remote and make sure the second screen is active. College football has not handed fans six ranked-versus-ranked games on the same Saturday since 2023. It is finally doing it again.
College Football Fans Better Clear Their Saturday After Rare AP Top 25 Development Not Seen Since 2023