We’ve officially hit the halfway mark of the 2026 college football season. Time flies when you’re having fun!
We’ve seen our fair share of excellent football so far, but there are still plenty of enticing matchups to go. With conference title races heating up, there’s no better time to look ahead at the rest of the college football schedule.
Here are the 10 best games remaining over the second half of the 2026 college football season.
10 Best Games of the Second Half of the 2026 College Football Season
Week 9 – Florida vs. Georgia
There’s something nostalgic about seeing Florida and Georgia square off in the game formerly known as The World’s Largest Cocktail Party.
This game always comes with stakes. This season is no different. Florida will enter this game with an outside shot at the College Football Playoff still on the table. Georgia only has one loss on its resume and should still be considered the conference title favorite.
Both teams have shown a propensity to show up in big games and falter in letdown spots. The Gators stunned college football by picking off Ole Miss before Missouri throttled them. Georgia, by comparison, knocked off Alabama two weeks ago and lost last week to Auburn.
The difference in this one might come down to Florida’s run game keeping them in the game against a vaunted Georgia defense.
Clear your calendars for this one. You won’t want to miss it.
Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
Week 9 – Ohio State vs. USC
Don’t look now, but this game just got a whole lot more interesting.
Despite knocking off defending national champs Indiana, the Buckeyes lost starting quarterback Julian Sayin for the foreseeable future and possibly the rest of the season. That opens the door for the possibility that Lincoln Riley and the Trojans could spring an upset and put Ohio State’s CFP plans in serious jeopardy.
Under Riley, the Trojans have struggled in primetime matchups against top-tier opponents. The losses are piling up, and something has to give, quickly. Might this be the week the Trojans finally notch a program-altering win against one of the sport’s juggernauts?
Keep an eye on the Ohio State run game in this one. With Sayin out, the Buckeyes will likely need to lean on their run game and offensive line to win ugly moving forward.
Week 10 – Alabama vs. LSU
Alabama-LSU might just shape up as a College Football Playoff eliminator.
Alabama has two losses to its name after back-to-back defeats against Georgia and Tennessee. LSU also has two losses and likely has no wiggle room the rest of the way.
We’ve been treated to some doozies in this rivalry, and now Lane Kiffin gets his first shot at the Crimson Tide as LSU’s head coach. Can he work his magic again?
Alabama quarterback Keelon Russell will be squarely in the spotlight against Blake Baker’s nasty defense. He’s had some truly great games, but has faltered in big spots as of late. If Alabama hopes to keep up in the CFP race, the Crimson Tide will likely need their young quarterback to play an excellent game against a good defense.
Week 10 – Georgia vs. Ole Miss
Two-week stretches don’t get much tougher than Georgia squaring off with Florida and Ole Miss in back-to-back weeks.
If the Bulldogs manage to take care of business against the Gators, they’ll be treated to another extremely difficult test in the form of this Ole Miss team.
In a strange way, Ole Miss has sort of flown under the radar after getting thumped by Florida early in SEC play. But the Rebels have the best quarterback in the sport, and the defense might have turned a corner after a dominant display against Missouri last week.
The matchup to watch in this game is the Georgia defense against Trinidad Chambliss. Chambliss seemingly lights up any defense he comes across, but the Bulldogs will likely be the best he’s played all season.
If Georgia gets past both Florida and Ole Miss, the Bulldogs will likely secure a CFP spot with ease. If Ole Miss wins another massive home game, we might see coach Pete Golding do what his predecessor never could: bring an SEC title to Oxford.
© Michael Clubb/South Bend Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Week 10 – Miami vs. Notre Dame
Games don’t get much bigger than this.
On one side stands Miami, a team that sits atop the ACC with a flawless record, a killer QB-WR combo in Darian Mensah and Malachi Toney and a point to prove in a rematch of an excellent game from a season ago.
Then there’s Notre Dame, a team that’s played only one top-flight team all season in a losing effort. The Fighting Irish haven’t been challenged much this season, and due to that light schedule, have likely had this one scheduled for a long time.
This game has serious stakes, even if both teams are extremely likely to make the College Football Playoff. The winner of this one likely cements its status as a top four team at the end of the regular season.
It should be wildly entertaining to see the Miami defense go up against CJ Carr and the Fighting Irish offense. Miami’s defensive unit played with fire against Florida State last Saturday, but came out alive. I’m not sure a repeat performance will get it done against Notre Dame.
Marcus Freeman’s bunch needs a big win to feel good about its postseason hopes. This will be a great opportunity to get one in a primetime spot.
Week 10 – BYU vs. Utah
Could this be the biggest Holy War ever?
BYU will likely enter this game undefeated as one of the top-ranked teams in all of college football. If things break correctly for Utah, the Utes might also be undefeated, setting up a mammoth clash against hated rivals.
BYU silenced the doubters last week with an authoritative win over Notre Dame in Provo. Cougars’ quarterback Bear Bachmeier was particularly great despite being down his best ball-carrier, LJ Martin.
Utah has done some incredibly creative things offensively, at times utilizing a two-quarterback system with Devon Dampier and Byrd Ficklin. The Utes defense has held serve too, and has largely been untested through most of the season.
Big 12 conference title stakes. A heated rivalry. What’s better than that?
Week 11 – SMU vs. Wake Forest
Don’t look now, but the winner of SMU-Wake Forest might represent the ACC as the conference’s second-best team in the conference title game. Just like we all predicted at the start of the season, right?
SMU will likely enter this game riding a four-game win streak behind the strong play of quarterback Kevin Jennings. The Mustangs have rebounded nicely after a shootout loss to Louisville.
Then there’s Wake Forest, a team that’s undergone an offensive renaissance led by quarterback Gio Lopez. The Demon Deacons are one of the best stories in all of college football right now, and should not be taken lightly. This offense is scoring points in bunches and should do a nice job of stress-testing this Mustangs’ defense in a big-time spot.
This game might fly under the radar to the untrained eye, but should not be taken lightly in the grand scheme of the ACC conference title game race.
Week 11 – USC vs. Indiana
USC’s path to a potential CFP berth is paved with many potholes. The game against Indiana in Bloomington might be the biggest one of all.
If USC manages to go unscathed against Wisconsin and Ohio State (two big asks in their own right), the Trojans will be tasked with going on the road to try and knock off the defending national champions.
The Trojans appear to have rebounded nicely after a tough loss at home to Oregon. But playing Indiana is a different animal.
It should be fascinating to watch Indiana’s offense, led by Josh Hoover and Charlie Becker, go up against a Trojans’ defense that is anything but convincing right now.
Week 13 – Mississippi State vs. Ole Miss
The Egg Bowl is often anything but ordinary. This season’s game could have real stakes with Ole Miss knocking on the door of another CFP berth.
This matchup is often filled with absurdities, ranging from poorly timed celebrations to brawls and big plays. Despite suffering two SEC losses, Mississippi State, when healthy, feels like a team that can compete with most teams in the SEC.
If Kamario Taylor and Fluff Bothwell are fit and firing, this could be a potential upset spot for Jeff Lebby and the Bulldogs to knock off Ole Miss.
Week 13 – USC vs. UCLA
All offseason, the college football world speculated on whether USC would be good enough to compete for a College Football Playoff berth. But at the halfway mark of the season, it’s the Trojans’ crosstown rivals who are undefeated.
UCLA is down its starting quarterback, but still possesses an excellent rushing attack. It might be too much to ask for the Bruins to go undefeated without Nico Iamaleava, but perhaps UCLA could enter this game with only one loss.
On the other side of this one stands USC, a team with an incredibly difficult stretch to close out the regular season, a coach on the hot seat and a team living and dying by every week’s result.
You almost have to throw out the record books when rivalry week rolls around. Could we see USC play spoiler and knock UCLA out of the CFP conversation with a win in the final game of the regular season?
Honorable Mention
- Week 10 — Kentucky vs. Tennessee
- Week 11 — Texas vs. LSU
- Week 13 — Michigan vs. Ohio State
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