EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsWe are now less than a month from the first games of the 2026 college football season. From then, the games won't end until the College Football Playoff national title game on Jan. 25.What are the must-see games? Bill Connelly has picked five games from every Power 4 conference that feature (A) the highest combined SP+ ratings for both teams, and (B) a projected scoring margin under eight points.Jump to a conference:ACC | Big 12 | Big Ten | SECACCSept. 19: SMU at Louisville. We don't have to wait long for the conference hierarchy to establish itself, especially considering Week 0's Virginia-NC State game in Brazil. This Week 3 encounter will be Louisville's first Saturday game of the season -- the Cardinals play Ole Miss on Sunday in Week 1, then Villanova on Friday in Week 2 -- and it's a big one.Oct. 3: Miami at Clemson. After last season's epic skepticism, SP+ is actually more optimistic about Clemson's potential this season than most prognosticators seem to be. And after a Week 1 trip to LSU comes this huge game. If the Tigers are to produce a redemption arc in 2026, we'll likely know it after Week 5.Oct. 24: Virginia Tech at Clemson. Franklin's first Tech team gets this far into the season before playing a projected top-30 team. That offers the Hokies quite a bit of runway to figure things out, and it could make this game awfully important.Oct. 31: Clemson at Florida State. Clemson is evidently the ACC's hinge team -- either the Tigers will make a run back to the ACC title game, or they'll help to determine who does instead. And if you told me right now that FSU was going to produce a top-20-caliber surge or finish under .500 for a third straight season, I'd believe you.Nov. 7: Miami at Notre Dame. Yes. YES. I want it.Big 12Sept. 12: Arizona at BYU. With Texas Tech missing most of the top projected teams in conference play (and starting out so far ahead in the projections), the Red Raiders won't play a role on this list. But both BYU and Utah face a run of challenges, starting early with Arizona's visit to Provo. BYU stole an overtime win over the Wildcats last season, and this game, along with Houston's Week 3 trip to Tech, should serve as a solid tone-setter.Oct. 3: BYU at TCU. TCU has won nine games for two straight seasons, and a new offensive coordinator-quarterback combination could make the Horned Frogs wild cards in the title hunt.Nov. 7: BYU at Utah. You don't need me to tell you to watch the Holy War, but just in case, let's relive last year's.Nov. 14 and 21: Utah at Arizona and Utah at TCU. Morgan Scalley's first Utah team faces a couple of enormous late challenges; these results might eliminate the Utes from title contention -- or they might knock out a couple of other hopefuls instead.Big TenOct. 10: USC at Penn State. Maybe the first huge conference game of the season is an elimination game of sorts. PSU could announce itself as a dark horse with a win here, and USC, coming off home games against Oregon and Washington, will either be trying to stay in the title race or simply stay afloat.Oct. 17: Ohio State at Indiana. For a conference desperately trying to ditch conference title games, the Big Ten sure had a great one last season.Oct. 24: Indiana at Michigan. Curt Cignetti's champs survived midseason trips to Iowa and Penn State last season and will face another tricky one here against Kyle Whittingham and his potentially chest-puffing, chip-on-their-shoulder Wolverines.Nov. 7: Oregon at Ohio State. Only two Big Ten teams have winning records against Ohio State in this decade: Michigan (4-1) and Oregon (2-1). The Buckeyes -- who lost their last home game to each -- will host both of them within the last four weeks of the regular season.Nov. 21: Indiana at Washington. Washington is a bit of a mystery this season, but amid all the customarily huge late-season Big Ten games, this one could be sneaky big.SECSept. 26: Texas A&M at LSU. Granted, LSU's Week 3 trip to Ole Miss might be the biggest SEC game of the season thanks to last winter's Lane Kiffin soap opera. But by the criteria set above, the Tigers' next game, back home in Baton Rouge, might be even bigger as far as the SEC chase is concerned.Oct. 10: Georgia at Alabama. We can only pray that this one's as good as the last Bama-Georgia game in Tuscaloosa.Nov. 7: Georgia at Ole Miss. These teams played twice last season. The first game decided who would make the SEC title matchup. The second decided a spot in the CFP semifinals. And hey, for the moment at least, Ole Miss' Pete Golding is unbeaten all time against Georgia's Kirby Smart.Nov. 14 and 27: Texas at LSU and Texas at Texas A&M. Texas plays eight games against projected top-20 teams, and the last three are all on the road. The Longhorns will have to hit the ground running thanks to early games against Ohio State and Tennessee, but they'll have to finish even stronger.
