We are officially over a week removed from the college basketball season, and now enter a period where teams are battling in the transfer portal to shape their rosters for the upcoming year. While this is an exciting time for many, there’s an itch I’ve been meaning to scratch this week in Lato’s Lens: college football.
Unlike basketball, the NCAA’s transfer portal window for college football closed in January, meaning teams already have their rosters set as they gear up for the long season ahead.
So, being the college football junkie that I am, I took a look ahead at some of the most intriguing matchups on the 2026 slate. And without further ado, here are a few games you should already have circled on your calendar.
Week 1: Clemson at LSU – Saturday, Sept. 6 at Tiger Stadium (Baton Rouge, La.)
What a way to kick off the season.
This ACC-SEC crossover matchup is a repeat of last year’s season opener, where the Garrett Nussmeier-led LSU Tigers narrowly held on to defeat Clemson on the road by a score of 17–10, giving LSU proper rights to call their own stadium “Death Valley.”
Although that highly touted LSU squad would go on to finish the season with a disappointing 7–6 record, a lot has changed since their bowl loss to Houston. The firing of head coach Brian Kelly led to the hiring of former Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin, causing controversy across the college football world. He has since flipped the roster, landing several of the transfer portal’s highest-rated prospects to bring the struggling SEC school back to where it belongs.
The stakes are also huge for Clemson. Many have recently doubted the ability of head coach Dabo Swinney to adapt to the new landscape of college football. However, opening the season with a win over a stacked LSU roster could easily regain a lot of people’s faith in both the Clemson Tigers and Swinney.
Week 2: Ohio State at Texas – Saturday, Sept. 12 at Darrell K. Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium (Austin, Texas)
Similar to the Clemson-LSU game, an early-season out-of-conference bout between Ohio State and Texas was marked on everyone’s calendar for months last season. Despite the Buckeyes winning in a 14–7 defensive slugfest, the Longhorns had several opportunities to score and ultimately win the game.
The 2026 Longhorns are out for revenge. After controversially missing the playoffs with one of, if not the toughest, schedules in college football, Heisman Trophy hopeful Arch Manning returns with sky-high expectations. Joining him is Auburn transfer Cam Coleman, who was one of the most explosive playmakers in the SEC last season at wide receiver. In simpler terms, the Longhorns are stacked.
The same can be said about Ohio State, which returns several key cogs from its 2025 squad that fell short in the Cotton Bowl to Miami. With Julian Sayin back at signal caller and Jeremiah Smith at wide out, the Buckeyes’ offense is shaping up to be downright scary. Defensively, the Buckeyes are a big question mark, having to replace eight starters.
Without a doubt, this has the potential to be the regular-season game of the year.
Week 3: LSU at Ole Miss – Saturday, Sept. 19 at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium (Oxford, Miss.)
As I said earlier, Lane Kiffin’s departure from Ole Miss to LSU was not seamless, especially after leading the Rebels to an 11-1 regular season and their first College Football Playoff appearance in school history. Because of this, thousands of Rebels fans were left frustrated, viewing it as the ultimate betrayal.
Immediately after leaving, Ole Miss promoted defensive coordinator Pete Golding to the role of head coach, leading the Rebels on an improbable run to the CFP semifinals.
On top of that, Golding managed to retain starting quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and star running back Kewan Lacy, keeping the core of the Rebels’ 2025–26 success together. At the end of the day, this year’s Ole Miss–LSU matchup looks to be one for the ages, with thousands of soured Rebels fans eager for a revenge victory over their former head coach.
Week 7: Ohio State at Indiana – Saturday, Oct. 17 at Memorial Stadium (Bloomington, Ind.)
The Indiana Hoosiers stunned the world last season, putting together a perfect 16–0 record and winning the school’s first-ever national championship—despite being widely known as a basketball state. They even produced a Heisman Trophy–winning quarterback in Fernando Mendoza, who is favored to be drafted first overall in just one week.
This year, however, the Hoosiers are an enigma, with head coach Curt Cignetti tasked with replacing a roster that was filled to the brim with talent. TCU transfer quarterback Josh Hoover looks to take over Mendoza’s spot at quarterback and has the potential to be “the guy” in Bloomington.
On the other side, arguably more is at stake for the Buckeyes, who lost to the Hoosiers 13–10 in the Big Ten Championship Game after a missed field goal by kicker Jayden Fielding. Although Ohio State looks to be the favorite, I’ve learned one thing about watching Indiana: never doubt Cignetti.
Week 9: Oregon at Ohio State – Saturday, Nov. 7 at Ohio Stadium (Columbus, Ohio)
Stationed in the latter half of Oregon’s brutal Big Ten schedule is a matchup with this year’s favorite to win the conference: Ohio State.
All-time, the Ducks are 2–10 against the Buckeyes, most recently falling to them in the 2025 Rose Bowl, 41–21, which knocked them out of the College Football Playoff.
Unlike Indiana, this year’s Oregon team is no enigma, returning the projected top pick in the 2027 NFL Draft in Dante Moore. They also bring back a seasoned defense led by edge rushers Matayo Uiagalelei and Teitum Tuioti, both of whom have CFP experience.
Needless to say, this marks the first time in five years that the Ducks travel to Columbus to play in “The Shoe”—a hostile environment, to say the least. Watching how they handle that stage should make for such a compelling game.