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College football’s season has turned delightfully strange. A projected 12-team playoff would, for now, include Memphis and Virginia via guaranteed spots for top conference champions, while Ohio State, Indiana, Texas A&M and Alabama hold the byes. Indiana, 9-0 under Curt Cignetti and buoyed by transfer QB Fernando Mendoza, owns a road win at Oregon and is tracking toward a Big Ten clash with the Buckeyes. Off the field, Penn State fired James Franklin amid a skid, part of a wave of high-profile dismissals. Hyped quarterbacks have sputtered, while Mendoza, Ohio State’s Julian Sayin and Alabama’s Ty Simpson have surged.

Prepared by Emily Rhodes and reviewed by editorial team.