WAYYYYYY too early look at 2026 schedule

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nikeykid
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11:38p, 11/29/25
according to fbsschedules

2026 OOC: UCLA, @BYU, Wagner, @UNLV
2026 Home: Clemson, Stanford, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
2026 Away: North Carolina State, SMU, Syracuse, Virginia

not an easy OOC schedule at all but the conference schedule doesn't look intimidating again.
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nikeykid
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11:44p, 11/29/25
also of note, 2027 is where we pay the piper with a hellish schedule:

https://fbschedules.com/2027-california-football-schedule/

@UCLA, BYU, FSU, Lousville, SMU, @GTech, @MIA, @Pitt, @Furd

hopefully by then JKS will be a heisman candidate with a bunch of stud talent around him.
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PAC-10-BEAR
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11:46p, 11/29/25
The home opener against UCLA should be rocking.
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Strykur
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In reply to PAC-10-BEAR • 2:58a, 11/30/25
PAC-10-BEAR said:
The home opener against UCLA should be rocking.

The bear runts are a mess and if we have Tosh and/or Rolo plus JKS we should floor them, BYU will be tough but after tonight there is some optimism we can go into Provo and be competitive, after eating Wagner cupcakes we should take care of business in Vegas, after that if we can make a push against another middling ACC schedule at 5-3/6-2 + 3-1/4-0 OOC, can think of sneaking into playoff contention, which if we had the coaching tonight could have done this season
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concordtom
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In reply to Strykur • 3:46a, 11/30/25
Strykur said:
PAC-10-BEAR said:
The home opener against UCLA should be rocking.

The bear runts are a mess and if we have Tosh and/or Rolo plus JKS we should floor them, BYU will be tough but after tonight there is some optimism we can go into Provo and be competitive, after eating Wagner cupcakes we should take care of business in Vegas, after that if we can make a push against another middling ACC schedule at 5-3/6-2 + 3-1/4-0 OOC, can think of sneaking into playoff contention, which if we had the coaching tonight could have done this season


Lol!
Here we go again!

This board was full of 2025 Easy Schedule talk that led to CHAMPIONSHIP talk.

The Bear will not quit.
The Bear will not die.

I'm reading at 3 in the morning - thanks for the laugh, Strykur.
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CALiforniALUM
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4:17a, 11/30/25
If only our success was so simple as changing a coach.

Every team in America would National Champions with somebody else's coach.
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RedlessWardrobe
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7:05a, 11/30/25
If I got this right, one of the reasons its too early to look is because there's going to be a 9th ACC game added with one of the OOC games being dropped. I guess its 50/50 on whether it will be a home game.
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93Bear
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In reply to CALiforniALUM • 7:10a, 11/30/25
CALiforniALUM said:
If only our success was so simple as changing a coach.

Every team in America would National Champions with somebody else's coach.


I think last nights game showed it is that simple if the outgoing coach is Wilcox.
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nikeykid
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In reply to RedlessWardrobe • 7:23a, 11/30/25
RedlessWardrobe said:
If I got this right, one of the reasons its too early to look is because there's going to be a 9th ACC game added with one of the OOC games being dropped. I guess its 50/50 on whether it will be a home game.

well it was nice knowing you Wagner!
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chazzed
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In reply to 93Bear • 7:29a, 11/30/25
93Bear said:
CALiforniALUM said:
If only our success was so simple as changing a coach.

Every team in America would National Champions with somebody else's coach.


I think last nights game showed it is that simple if the outgoing coach is Wilcox.


Unless the head coach we take a chance on does not pan out at the next level, much like Wilcox.
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concernedparent
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In reply to nikeykid • 10:20a, 11/30/25
nikeykid said:
also of note, 2027 is where we pay the piper with a hellish schedule:

https://fbschedules.com/2027-california-football-schedule/

@UCLA, BYU, FSU, Lousville, SMU, @GTech, @MIA, @Pitt, @Furd

hopefully by then JKS will be a heisman candidate with a bunch of stud talent around him.

Absolutely no one in the ACC strikes fear in me like the Carroll Trojans, early-mid Shaw Furd, 10s Ducks, or playoff UW teams.
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Strykur
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In reply to concernedparent • 3:22p, 11/30/25
concernedparent said:
nikeykid said:
also of note, 2027 is where we pay the piper with a hellish schedule:

https://fbschedules.com/2027-california-football-schedule/

@UCLA, BYU, FSU, Lousville, SMU, @GTech, @MIA, @Pitt, @Furd

hopefully by then JKS will be a heisman candidate with a bunch of stud talent around him.

Absolutely no one in the ACC strikes fear in me like the Carroll Trojans, early-mid Shaw Furd, 10s Ducks, or playoff UW teams.

Who is favored to win the ACC on Saturday, freaking Virginia, there are no juggernauts in this league right now who are serious playoff/title contenders, we had to play a whole bunch of teams of that caliber over the last 20+ years, until someone like that emerges in the ACC we have a shot with JKS
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BearGoggles
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4:33p, 11/30/25
If JKS and Bear stay put, the BYU game should get a ton of publicity and a good tv slot.
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smh
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In reply to nikeykid • 5:00p, 11/30/25
nikeykid said:
also of note, 2027 is where we pay the piper with a hellish schedule:
https://fbschedules.com/2027-california-football-schedule/
@UCLA, BYU, FSU, Lousville, SMU, @GTech, @MIA, @Pitt, @Furd
hopefully by then JKS will be a heisman candidate with a bunch of stud talent around him.

thanks, and from your lips to oski's butt, yet statistically some of us ain't gonna live that long
# things change / eat dessert first / happy new year(s)
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calumnus
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In reply to RedlessWardrobe • 8:38p, 11/30/25
RedlessWardrobe said:
If I got this right, one of the reasons its too early to look is because there's going to be a 9th ACC game added with one of the OOC games being dropped. I guess its 50/50 on whether it will be a home game.


My bet is we drop BYU at Provo and keep the FCS game, UNLV in Vegas and Bruins at home as our "P4" game.
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Strykur
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In reply to calumnus • 12:17a, 12/1/25
calumnus said:
RedlessWardrobe said:
If I got this right, one of the reasons its too early to look is because there's going to be a 9th ACC game added with one of the OOC games being dropped. I guess its 50/50 on whether it will be a home game.

My bet is we drop BYU at Provo and keep the FCS game, UNLV in Vegas and Bruins at home as our "P4" game.

We may have to pay a hefty termination fee if that's the case since we are BYU's P4 OOC opponent, but the ACC is going nuts and some teams will play a 9-game conference schedule while some will stick around with 8
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calumnus
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In reply to Strykur • 2:42a, 12/1/25
Strykur said:
calumnus said:
RedlessWardrobe said:
If I got this right, one of the reasons its too early to look is because there's going to be a 9th ACC game added with one of the OOC games being dropped. I guess its 50/50 on whether it will be a home game.

My bet is we drop BYU at Provo and keep the FCS game, UNLV in Vegas and Bruins at home as our "P4" game.

We may have to pay a hefty termination fee if that's the case since we are BYU's P4 OOC opponent, but the ACC is going nuts and some teams will play a 9-game conference schedule while some will stick around with 8

Then I'd say UCLA if it were Knowlton/Wilcox in charge, trying to keep the annual FCS boost to 6 wins (since the B1G does not require a P4 game) but with Rivera in charge, and a new coach, it could well be Weber State, making our home schedule more attractive and not having to pay an FCS school to travel across the country.
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juarezbear
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In reply to Strykur • 2:52a, 12/1/25
Strykur said:
concernedparent said:
nikeykid said:
also of note, 2027 is where we pay the piper with a hellish schedule:

https://fbschedules.com/2027-california-football-schedule/

@UCLA, BYU, FSU, Lousville, SMU, @GTech, @MIA, @Pitt, @Furd

hopefully by then JKS will be a heisman candidate with a bunch of stud talent around him.

Absolutely no one in the ACC strikes fear in me like the Carroll Trojans, early-mid Shaw Furd, 10s Ducks, or playoff UW teams.

Who is favored to win the ACC on Saturday, freaking Virginia, there are no juggernauts in this league right now who are serious playoff/title contenders, we had to play a whole bunch of teams of that caliber over the last 20+ years, until someone like that emerges in the ACC we have a shot with JKS


Miami is the best team in the ACC, but this stupid tie breaker iced them out.
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SLTX Bear
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In reply to juarezbear • 6:31a, 12/1/25
You are probably right. However with the power conferences getting so huge now after the Pac-12 was blown up, these 5-way ties become more likely than ever before. Unfortunately, there just aren't any great ways to set up a 5-way tie breaker. All the more reason for realignment again in the near future. A super league where an NFL style standing-based system seems like the only way out of this mess long-term.
Also Miami has no one to blame but themselves. Cal beat both Louisville and SMU, Miami is unable to say the same. If they would have beat at least one of those teams, they'd be in and a heavy favorite against Virginia.
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RedlessWardrobe
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In reply to Strykur • 7:15a, 12/1/25
Strykur said:
calumnus said:
RedlessWardrobe said:
If I got this right, one of the reasons its too early to look is because there's going to be a 9th ACC game added with one of the OOC games being dropped. I guess its 50/50 on whether it will be a home game.

My bet is we drop BYU at Provo and keep the FCS game, UNLV in Vegas and Bruins at home as our "P4" game.

We may have to pay a hefty termination fee if that's the case since we are BYU's P4 OOC opponent, but the ACC is going nuts and some teams will play a 9-game conference schedule while some will stick around with 8

Not sure if this is correct. If the league is going to a 9-game schedule it is no longer a choice to stick with 8.
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concernedparent
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In reply to SLTX Bear • 7:26a, 12/1/25
SLTX Bear said:
You are probably right. However with the power conferences getting so huge now after the Pac-12 was blown up, these 5-way ties become more likely than ever before. Unfortunately, there just aren't any great ways to set up a 5-way tie breaker. All the more reason for realignment again in the near future. A super league where an NFL style standing-based system seems like the only way out of this mess long-term.
Also Miami has no one to blame but themselves. Cal beat both Louisville and SMU, Miami is unable to say the same. If they would have beat at least one of those teams, they'd be in and a heavy favorite against Virginia.

Highest ranked team absent a head-to-head win seems the most fair.
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MinotStateBeav
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7:28a, 12/1/25
If you lose 2 conference games, you really don't have room to complain. You know how you fix it? Don't lose 2 games in conference. If Miami is 7-1, they are in the ACC championship game.
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SLTX Bear
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In reply to concernedparent • 7:40a, 12/1/25
concernedparent said:
SLTX Bear said:
You are probably right. However with the power conferences getting so huge now after the Pac-12 was blown up, these 5-way ties become more likely than ever before. Unfortunately, there just aren't any great ways to set up a 5-way tie breaker. All the more reason for realignment again in the near future. A super league where an NFL style standing-based system seems like the only way out of this mess long-term.
Also Miami has no one to blame but themselves. Cal beat both Louisville and SMU, Miami is unable to say the same. If they would have beat at least one of those teams, they'd be in and a heavy favorite against Virginia.

Highest ranked team absent a head-to-head win seems the most fair.

I'd argue that human decided rankings are incredibly subjective and biased toward bigger names and in some ways not fair. If there was a more objective ranking out there, then perhaps. In fact the tiebreaker after the one that decided it this year is some sort of metric based rating, beyond that just a random draw.

In many ways, rankings like AP are a popularity contest and can be swayed on a whim, see Cal/Texas 2004.
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SLTX Bear
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In reply to RedlessWardrobe • 7:45a, 12/1/25
RedlessWardrobe said:
Strykur said:
calumnus said:
RedlessWardrobe said:
If I got this right, one of the reasons its too early to look is because there's going to be a 9th ACC game added with one of the OOC games being dropped. I guess its 50/50 on whether it will be a home game.

My bet is we drop BYU at Provo and keep the FCS game, UNLV in Vegas and Bruins at home as our "P4" game.

We may have to pay a hefty termination fee if that's the case since we are BYU's P4 OOC opponent, but the ACC is going nuts and some teams will play a 9-game conference schedule while some will stick around with 8

Not sure if this is correct. If the league is going to a 9-game schedule it is no longer a choice to stick with 8.

If I recall correctly full implementation won't be until 2027 and even then I thought the whole 17 team league made it impossible for every team to get get 9 conference games. For 2026, last I read was that "most" teams would go to 9, but some would keep 8 and then require 2 OOC P4 games to get to 10 P4 minimum. It was light on detail and more will be revealed in the next couple months.
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Anarchistbear
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7:45a, 12/1/25
Miami isn't necessarily out especially if Duke is ACC champ. The committee doesn't have to take Duke
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concernedparent
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In reply to SLTX Bear • 7:47a, 12/1/25
SLTX Bear said:
concernedparent said:
SLTX Bear said:
You are probably right. However with the power conferences getting so huge now after the Pac-12 was blown up, these 5-way ties become more likely than ever before. Unfortunately, there just aren't any great ways to set up a 5-way tie breaker. All the more reason for realignment again in the near future. A super league where an NFL style standing-based system seems like the only way out of this mess long-term.
Also Miami has no one to blame but themselves. Cal beat both Louisville and SMU, Miami is unable to say the same. If they would have beat at least one of those teams, they'd be in and a heavy favorite against Virginia.

Highest ranked team absent a head-to-head win seems the most fair.

I'd argue that human decided rankings are incredibly subjective and biased toward bigger names and in some ways not fair. If there was a more objective ranking out there, then perhaps. In fact the tiebreaker after the one that decided it this year is some sort of metric based rating, beyond that just a random draw.

In many ways, rankings like AP are a popularity contest and can be swayed on a whim, see Cal/Texas 2004.

Definitely. No tiebreaker is perfect but any system that has 7-5 Duke in the conference championship game is DOA. There are 4 ACC teams more deserving of being in the game than Duke.
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RedlessWardrobe
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In reply to SLTX Bear • 7:55a, 12/1/25
SLTX Bear said:
RedlessWardrobe said:
Strykur said:
calumnus said:
RedlessWardrobe said:
If I got this right, one of the reasons its too early to look is because there's going to be a 9th ACC game added with one of the OOC games being dropped. I guess its 50/50 on whether it will be a home game.

My bet is we drop BYU at Provo and keep the FCS game, UNLV in Vegas and Bruins at home as our "P4" game.

We may have to pay a hefty termination fee if that's the case since we are BYU's P4 OOC opponent, but the ACC is going nuts and some teams will play a 9-game conference schedule while some will stick around with 8

Not sure if this is correct. If the league is going to a 9-game schedule it is no longer a choice to stick with 8.


If I recall correctly full implementation won't be until 2027 and even then I thought the whole 17 team league made it impossible for every team to get get 9 conference games. For 2026, last I read was that "most" teams would go to 9, but some would keep 8 and then require 2 OOC P4 games to get to 10 P4 minimum. It was light on detail and more will be revealed in the next couple months.

What you say sounds real. Which leads to the next big controversy. 2nd place team finishes 7-2 while 3rd place team finishes 6-2, but 3rd place team beat 2nd place team head to head. Sounds like fun, doesn't it?
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SLTX Bear
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In reply to concernedparent • 7:55a, 12/1/25
Agree, but nobody complained about the tiebreaker process before now. When they added 3 more teams last year would have been the time to adjust or at least review. All you can do is adjust when a seemingly bad outcome reveals your system doesn't make sense. See former conference "division" formats, or even last year's Boise 3 seed in playoff. I'm sure it'll get looked at this offseason, unless Virginia wins and then everyone forgets about it again.
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SLTX Bear
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In reply to RedlessWardrobe • 8:00a, 12/1/25
RedlessWardrobe said:
SLTX Bear said:
RedlessWardrobe said:
Strykur said:
calumnus said:
RedlessWardrobe said:
If I got this right, one of the reasons its too early to look is because there's going to be a 9th ACC game added with one of the OOC games being dropped. I guess its 50/50 on whether it will be a home game.

My bet is we drop BYU at Provo and keep the FCS game, UNLV in Vegas and Bruins at home as our "P4" game.

We may have to pay a hefty termination fee if that's the case since we are BYU's P4 OOC opponent, but the ACC is going nuts and some teams will play a 9-game conference schedule while some will stick around with 8

Not sure if this is correct. If the league is going to a 9-game schedule it is no longer a choice to stick with 8.


If I recall correctly full implementation won't be until 2027 and even then I thought the whole 17 team league made it impossible for every team to get get 9 conference games. For 2026, last I read was that "most" teams would go to 9, but some would keep 8 and then require 2 OOC P4 games to get to 10 P4 minimum. It was light on detail and more will be revealed in the next couple months.

What you say sounds real. Which leads to the next big controversy. 2nd place team finishes 7-2 while 3rd place team finishes 6-2, but 3rd place team beat 2nd place team head to head. Sounds like fun, doesn't it?

Yup, I was thinking about that actually. Good times!
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BearSD
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In reply to concernedparent • 9:36a, 12/1/25
concernedparent said:
SLTX Bear said:
You are probably right. However with the power conferences getting so huge now after the Pac-12 was blown up, these 5-way ties become more likely than ever before. Unfortunately, there just aren't any great ways to set up a 5-way tie breaker. All the more reason for realignment again in the near future. A super league where an NFL style standing-based system seems like the only way out of this mess long-term.
Also Miami has no one to blame but themselves. Cal beat both Louisville and SMU, Miami is unable to say the same. If they would have beat at least one of those teams, they'd be in and a heavy favorite against Virginia.

Highest ranked team absent a head-to-head win seems the most fair.

The tiebreaker should go something like this.

In a two team tie, if one team beat the other head to head, that team wins the tiebreaker.

In a 3+ team tie, if one team beat all of the other tied teams, that team wins.

In any other tie, the first tiebreaker is best overall record, and every team that isn't at least tied for best overall record is eliminated from the tiebreaker.

I would allow one exception: If a team with a worse overall record is the conference's highest-placed team in the committee's CFP rankings, and is only one overall win behind the record of any other team in the tiebreaker, then that highest ranked team wins the tiebreaker.
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MrGPAC
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In reply to SLTX Bear • 5:56p, 12/1/25
SLTX Bear said:
concernedparent said:
SLTX Bear said:
You are probably right. However with the power conferences getting so huge now after the Pac-12 was blown up, these 5-way ties become more likely than ever before. Unfortunately, there just aren't any great ways to set up a 5-way tie breaker. All the more reason for realignment again in the near future. A super league where an NFL style standing-based system seems like the only way out of this mess long-term.
Also Miami has no one to blame but themselves. Cal beat both Louisville and SMU, Miami is unable to say the same. If they would have beat at least one of those teams, they'd be in and a heavy favorite against Virginia.

Highest ranked team absent a head-to-head win seems the most fair.

I'd argue that human decided rankings are incredibly subjective and biased toward bigger names and in some ways not fair. If there was a more objective ranking out there, then perhaps. In fact the tiebreaker after the one that decided it this year is some sort of metric based rating, beyond that just a random draw.

In many ways, rankings like AP are a popularity contest and can be swayed on a whim, see Cal/Texas 2004.


Rankings aren't the fairest way to choose which team goes to the championship game.

But a very real scenario exists: Duke beats Virginia and the ACC gets ZERO teams in the playoffs. I have a hard time believing that they would leave out the winner of a Virginia Miami championship game, but I don't see them giving a spot to Duke and Miami is currently on the outside looking in ranked 12.

This could potentially cost the ACC a LOT of money having no representation in the playoffs, not to mention the damage to the image of the conference being left out.

That being said, if Miami were somehow ranked, say, 9 right now, this would increase the odds of the ACC getting two teams.
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calumnus
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In reply to MrGPAC • 7:45p, 12/1/25
MrGPAC said:
SLTX Bear said:
concernedparent said:
SLTX Bear said:
You are probably right. However with the power conferences getting so huge now after the Pac-12 was blown up, these 5-way ties become more likely than ever before. Unfortunately, there just aren't any great ways to set up a 5-way tie breaker. All the more reason for realignment again in the near future. A super league where an NFL style standing-based system seems like the only way out of this mess long-term.
Also Miami has no one to blame but themselves. Cal beat both Louisville and SMU, Miami is unable to say the same. If they would have beat at least one of those teams, they'd be in and a heavy favorite against Virginia.

Highest ranked team absent a head-to-head win seems the most fair.

I'd argue that human decided rankings are incredibly subjective and biased toward bigger names and in some ways not fair. If there was a more objective ranking out there, then perhaps. In fact the tiebreaker after the one that decided it this year is some sort of metric based rating, beyond that just a random draw.

In many ways, rankings like AP are a popularity contest and can be swayed on a whim, see Cal/Texas 2004.


Rankings aren't the fairest way to choose which team goes to the championship game.

But a very real scenario exists: Duke beats Virginia and the ACC gets ZERO teams in the playoffs. I have a hard time believing that they would leave out the winner of a Virginia Miami championship game, but I don't see them giving a spot to Duke and Miami is currently on the outside looking in ranked 12.

This could potentially cost the ACC a LOT of money having no representation in the playoffs, not to mention the damage to the image of the conference being left out.

That being said, if Miami were somehow ranked, say, 9 right now, this would increase the odds of the ACC getting two teams.

If you don't win it outright based on conference record, head to head or overall record then everyone involved has to just accept that all the tied teams are "deserving" or "not deserving" and it would be entirely in everyone's interest to have the team that is best for the conference go to the game.

Of course, it is best to have everyone agree to that as the rule before the season begins, before anyone knows how that affects them personally.
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PAC-10-BEAR
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2:15p, 1/21/26
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C6Bear
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In reply to calumnus • 3:33p, 1/21/26
calumnus said:
RedlessWardrobe said:
If I got this right, one of the reasons its too early to look is because there's going to be a 9th ACC game added with one of the OOC games being dropped. I guess its 50/50 on whether it will be a home game.


My bet is we drop BYU at Provo and keep the FCS game, UNLV in Vegas and Bruins at home as our "P4" game.

I thought I read this was already a done deal. Cal will be one of the teams on the 9 game conference schedule next year and dropped the series with BYU. Notre Dame and BYU announced a home and home series shortly after that so BYU could fill the schedule vacancy from the loss of the Cal game.
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In reply to C6Bear • 3:36p, 1/21/26
C6Bear said:
calumnus said:
RedlessWardrobe said:
If I got this right, one of the reasons its too early to look is because there's going to be a 9th ACC game added with one of the OOC games being dropped. I guess its 50/50 on whether it will be a home game.


My bet is we drop BYU at Provo and keep the FCS game, UNLV in Vegas and Bruins at home as our "P4" game.

I thought I read this was already a done deal. Cal will be one of the teams on the 9 game conference schedule next year and dropped the series with BYU. Notre Dame and BYU announced a home and home series shortly after that so BYU could fill the schedule vacancy from the loss of the Cal game.

That's right. The cancellation of the Cal-BYU series was announced in December, and a few days later the BYU-ND series was announced.
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