Joel Klatt's 10 Burning Questions Going Into The 2026 College Football Season

Who runs college football? Can Indiana repeat as national champions? Which team is ready to make the leap? And is LSU officially college football's new villain? The 2026 college football season is here, and the biggest questions in the sport are waiting to be answered.

FOX Sports lead college football analyst Joel Klatt has plenty of thoughts.

On the latest episode of "The Joel Klatt Show," Klatt tackles 10 burning questions heading into Week 1, including which teams can actually win it all.

Klatt's Thoughts: "I think this is the biggest question in college football. … The last three National Championships have come out of the Big Ten: Michigan, Ohio State and Indiana.

But it's been even more than that because, for so long, the SEC dominated.

They were the premier conference in college football by a wide margin.

They won everything. … It was also that way in the NFL Draft, every single year, it was the SEC with the most players drafted in the first round … Over the last few years, we've seen the shift happen, not just at the top winning the championships, but also in the records in these bowl games, and, last year, in the first round of the NFL Draft.

"In the last three seasons, the SEC is 0-4 against the Big Ten in the College Football Playoff. … Every single metric you used to hear about and, candidally, the ones that matter, these games that matter, the first-round draft picks, the elite talent, the Big Ten has overtaken the SEC. … I predict that the Big Ten is going to win another championship this year." Klatt's Thoughts: "This is an emphatic ‘Yes.’ Indiana is a powerhouse right now.

Curt Cignetti, I think, is the best coach in college football.

That was proven last year.

That roster was not as expensive as all the rosters that they were beating in the College Football Playoff. … Cignetti retained all of his staff.

This is the one thing that I think is going to be hard to wrap your minds around.

They were 16-0 and national champions last year, and the conversations that I'm having with people around the program at Indiana is that they're quietly ahead of where they were each of the last two years right now with this team.

There is a chance this is a better team. … "Josh Hoover is further along in the offense and with his comfort in the offense than Fernando Mendoza was last year or Kurtis Rourke was two years ago.