Why do we love college football? One of the big reasons, especially in recent seasons, has been the shock of teams rising and falling that nobody had projected in the preseason. Over the last two seasons, we've seen the rise of Indiana, the fall of Penn State, the journey back for Notre Dame, the ups and downs in Tuscaloosa and certainly our fair share of coaching drama.

This season, there's been no shortage of surprises and we're only just past the halfway point of the 2026 regular season. Some things we believed to be true in the offseason have come to fruition while others have taken a turn. This has been an exceptionally fun year of college football and we haven't even gotten to the month of November yet. Here are my biggest surprises of the 2026 college football season through the middle of October.

UCLA IS ROLLIN'

The Bruins haven't had a double-digit winning season since 2014 back when they were in the PAC-12. First year head coach Bob Chesney came to Los Angeles to change that narrative and through six games, it's looking promising. The former James Madison coach has UCLA off to a 6-0 start and undefeated in conference play with wins over Purdue, Maryland on the road, Oregon on the road and Wisconsin at home. We expected there to be a turnaround under Chesney's leadership, but nobody saw it coming this early.

The remainder of their schedule is favorable, and they have a fighting chance at playing for the Big 10 championship. They're currently the 9th-ranked team in the country with games against Michigan State, Nevada, Illinois and USC at home and Minnesota and Michigan on the road remaining on their schedule. It's not unrealistic that they run the table, but even with one loss, they remain a contender for the Big 10 title game and an at-large CFP bid.

BYU IS FOR REAL

Would this be the year that head coach Kalani Sitake gets BYU over the hump? Their 28-24 win at home against the then-ranked No. 2 Notre Dame Fighting Irish certainly makes it seem that way. Since the start of 2024, the Cougars had a 28-4 record heading into their matchup with the Irish, but they needed that signature win to show to the college football world that they were legitimate contenders. Now, the Cougars are ranked 2nd in the country with a massive matchup on November 7 in the Holy War against Utah.

Last season, they weren't able to beat Texas Tech, twice, which led to them being left out of the College Football Playoffs. With that win over Notre Dame, BYU now has room for error and could be looking at their first bid to the playoffs since its origin. We had questions about this team's top-level talent and ability to win 'the big one' and they proved on October 17 that they could compete with the best.

OREGON'S STRUGGLES

Not all surprises are positive, and one of the biggest ones of the season has been the Oregon Ducks. Obviously, losing quarterback Dante Moore is a blow. He was one of the top rated signal callers entering the season and was set up to be an early pick in the first round of the ensuing NFL Draft. Unfortunately, the Duck's struggles began before he was knocked out of the USC game on a dirty hit. They struggled against a good Boise State team at home, lost to Oklahoma State on the road, battled back against USC and lost to UCLA the following game.

Head coach Dan Lanning and Oregon's playoff hopes are hanging on by a thread. As they enter the second to final week of October, they remain unranked and their offense has looked terrible. But with games against a ranked Northwestern team and a major matchup against No. 3 Ohio State still coming up, their season isn't completely over, but any more slip ups for Lanning and the Ducks, they'll be watching the CFP from their living rooms.

KENTUCKY IS LEGIT

One of my favorite hires of the offseason was former Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein heading to Lexington to coach Kentucky. It was a hire that generated a lot of questions, but many believed he had the chops for the job. Well, through the first month and a half of the season, Stein has proven he's the guy for the job. Behind an offense led by Notre Dame transfer Kenny Minchey, the Wildcats have wins over Texas A&M on the road, South Carolina on the road, LSU at home and Oklahoma on the road.

Kentucky went from a surprising, feel-good story about a first year head coach to a legitimate playoff contender. They'll have to earn it down the stretch with games against Tennessee on the road, Florida at home, Missouri on the road and Louisville at home coming down the pipe. But if Kentucky is able to run the table, they're in. One more loss and things get dicey, but it's still not out of the question with some of the wins on their resume.

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