Hello, everyone! Commish here with the end of the regular season recap, Sickos style. I wanted to write something to accompany our Sickos Give Back 2025 Food Drive. When we started the Sickos Committee as an inside joke for about 20 people, we never thought we’d get this big via social media. We mainly just thought we’d be making terrible jokes for ourselves. Well, we decided we wanted to use our growing platform for some good instead of just bad internet jokes. Having some committee members who’ve experienced food insecurity and other members who actually work in the non-profit food bank industry, a food drive was a natural fit.

In 2021, while we were a much smaller committee, Nebraska was our first official Sickos National Champion, and our first food drive raised around $2,200 for Lincoln, Nebraska. The next year, in 2022, the Iowa Hawkeyes won the title, and we raised about $5,500. The total raised basically matched our account’s following growth. In 2023, the Iowa Hawkeyes became back-to-back champions, and with the help of your donations and a kind $1,000 donation from the Up with Adams TV Show, we raised nearly $20,000 for the Iowa City Food Bank. Last year 2024, for Florida State, we raised $11,470 for food banks in the Big Bend Region. It’s incredible we were able to do something like this, and we are going to continue the tradition.

We are doing a food drive for State College, PA. We will be sending out something special if you hit the minimum donation of $25.00. The item will likely be a helmet shaped bottle opener with out logo on it with some stickers from us. Follow the instructions to donate here and if you send us proof of your donation along with your name and address and Commish aka myself will be mailing so many things probably starting in January.

#30 MACCOON - The Maccoon, a viral YouTube comment about MACtion, we make a logo for it, Eastern Michigan uses it and wears T-shirts for it, and does a final MACCOON-themed night. Just a magical thing that didn’t exist before this year, and it makes the poll.

#29 New Mexico - The Lobos lost everyone in the offseason, including their AD, with about 73 players and coaches. Their new AD, Fernando Lovo, hired HC Jason Eck from Idaho, and they just had a phenomenal season to finish 9-3 upsetting UCLA. They nearly made the Mountain West title game if not for stupid computer tiebreakers. It's a joy to watch the Lobos, and they finished 6-0 at home, plus they brought back their sweet turquoise uniforms.

#28 Ole Miss - Their team was not really what we call sickos football, 11-1 and making the College Football Playoff. But the Lane Kiffin drama helped get them in here, I think. Also, them surrounding the airport as Lane left Oxford is a truly memorable thing that happened this season.

#27 Tulane - Tulane’s propensity for playing games that entered the chaos zone was nearly unmatched. It resulted in a College Football Playoff berth, angering many folks who say the G5 shouldn’t make it, but hey, they won the American Conference. Also, they did this with Coach Jon Sumrall leaving for Florida after this season. On top of that, they get to play Ole Miss again this weekend. RMFW.

#26 Bill Belichick - The offseason experiment by taking a legendary NFL head coach with (tries to put it nicely so she doesn’t sue me) a heavily involved girlfriend. It did not work well, and he finished 4-8.

#25 North Texas - Probably the best season in Mean Green history happened this year. They went 11-2, losing the American Conference title game to Tulane. However, they put up points in bunches, and their QB, Drew Mestemaker, set program records with passing yards. They were ranked in the AP Poll for the first time since 1959. Just a phenomenal and unforgettable season for the Mean Green.

#24 Cal - Agents of ACC Chaos. Cal fits right in the ACC by knocking out SMU from the ACC Championship game with a win on the last week, allowing Duke to make it. Cal was fun, and you didn’t know what to expect from them week to week. Get blown out by Stanford and then upset SMU? That’s Cal football, baby, and that’s why they’re here.

#23 Wisconsin - There was a point in the season where Wisconsin couldn’t score at all, and we had a running tracker. Then they announced Luke Fickell would come back in 2026. How did they react to that news? Upsetting Washington with their punter Sean West leading them in passing with 24 yards. On Wisconsin, and welcome to the poll!

#22 Pudge the Cat - A viral TikTok after long snapper George Carlson brought his cat Pudge into the Bowling Green locker room took off on a Jet 2 Holiday. Pudge was declared the unofficial mascot of Bowling Green this year. They held up Pudge like the Lion King, allowed Pudge to be in all the social media, and even let him graduate. Love you, Pudge, and I’m glad you’re forever immortalized in the final poll.

#21 Oklahoma State - The Cowboys had a really rough season, finishing 1-11, losing 11 straight. And they fired their legendary coach, Mike Gundy, after in-state Tulsa upset them early in the season. Towards the end of the season, the Cowboys nearly upset some Big XII mates of Kansas State, UCF, and Iowa State.

#20 Hawaii - A magical bounce-back season for the team and program. Finishing 8-4 and making the Hawaii Bowl. Just staying up late to pass the Hawaii Test is always admirable. Also, this year they had a kicking sensation, Kansei Matsuzawa, a Japanese kicker who learned how to kick from YouTube, nicknamed "The Tokyo Toe." Kansei made First Team All-American on many polls and nearly took home the Lou Groza (I voted him #1) and matched the NCAA record with 25 straight made field goals. Just beautiful Hawaii football vibes all this year.

#19 Illinois State - Our only FCS team in the Top 30, and it is well deserved. The plucky Redbirds snuck into the FCS playoffs at 8-4. Then they pulled off the upset of the year by going to North Dakota State and winning 29-28 while their quarterback, Tommy Rittenhouse, threw 5 interceptions. The Redbirds are improbably in the FCS Playoff Semifinals. One final thing: they’re coached by Brock Spack, the best mustache in all the NCAA.

#18 Arkansas - I’m pretty shocked to see the Razorbacks this low. They were 2-9 and had a positive point differential until the last loss against Missouri. Factor in the return of Bobby Petrino as interim head coach, and I thought they’d be Top 5 or Top 10 for sure. But hey, nearly 1,200 people voted, so ah well, I can't predict them all.

#17 Oregon State - Oregon State started out with so many losses that you didn’t know how they actually lost the game. Their special teams unit was depleted after their long snapper was injured earlier in the year, and they just never got back on track all year. Couple this with the weird Pac-2 Championship two games and their strange schedule due to conference realignment. It wasn’t the Beavs year, but they were entertaining, as anything could happen at any time for them.

#16 UConn - I’m sorry; that should say “Undefeated in Regulation UConn.” They finished 9-3, with all three of their losses in overtime. Their QB, Joe Fagnano, was the last QB to throw an interception in FBS and only threw one all year. Plus All-American wide receiver Skyler Bell. They went undefeated at home. They beat ACC Champion Duke in THE RENT. An amazing turnaround from a few years ago.

#15 Vanderbilt - This team was setting records no team at Vandy had touched since the 1910s. They had a Heisman runner-up in Diego Pavia. They finished 10-2, the most wins in program history. Clark Lea won coach of the year awards. Their tight end, Eli Stowers, won awards. This is Vanderbilt football. This hadn’t happened either in 100 years or ever in their program. Just a record-setting year for the Commodores. I mean, I remember the Vandy vs. UConn thriller in 2021 in a game no one really watched & you could get in for $1. Look at both of you, UConn and Vandy. Amazing jobs here.

#14 UCLA - From starting 0-4 and firing their coach. Then upsetting Penn State when their offensive coordinator was not used to using a headset. A truly strange season that had them alive for the Big Ten title if they could win out, but Indiana decided to put out those long-shot hopes.

#13 James Madison - A Sun Belt team that wrecked shop against all Sun Belt competition by blowing them out in the second half. Except Georgia State, I have no clue what happened there. The team of halftime adjustments. The team was a beneficiary of some chaos and got to go to the College Football Playoff this year. A Sun Belt team in the College Football Playoff. What a season, Dukes.

#12 ACC - Hey, it’s the conference that allowed James Madison into the playoff. A 17-team Mega Conference that came down to tiebreakers and allowed a 7-5 team into their championship game to win it. I want to say I love the ACC so much. It’s fantastic football with chaos mixed in. Teams had chances to separate themselves, but the other conference teams wouldn’t allow it. Boston College was taking people to the brink, NC State grabbed one or two, and the Hokies got one in OT. It was just an extreme pleasure to watch this conference all year. You just couldn’t predict what would happen week to week in the ACC.

#11 LSU - Ah yes, the always high expectations. The feast or famine season was upon Schrödinger’s Tigers. They fired Brian Kelly without cause, then apparently never sent him a document showing he was fired. The Louisiana governor apparently fired the athletic director, and they finished 7-5, still making a bowl. Then they poached Lane Kiffin from Ole Miss. All this Louisiana drama is making me homesick. Geaux Tigers.

#10 Kennesaw State - HOOTY HOO!!!!! From 2-10 to 10-3 with a Conference USA Championship. No one could see this Kennesaw State season coming, and I enjoyed every moment of it. Head Coach Jerry Mack did a phenomenal job and took home the conference Coach of the Year award. Enjoy your first-ever bowl game, Owls!

#9 Indiana - We’re living in the upside down as Indiana is #1 in the polls, just won the Big Ten, their QB won the Heisman and their Coach Curt Cignetti. When the Hoosiers get rolling, they are a ruthless killing machine of a football teams. Incredible catches and setting program records and best season in program history by FAR. Also, they get their first Rose Bowl since 1967! Go Hooiser!

#8 Iowa - Our perennial Sickos Committee powers the Hawkeyes. They put up points this year in bunches, and their QB, Mark Gronowski, set a program record for QB rushing TDs in a season and consecutive games with a TD. Their special teams unit was led by the dangerous return man Caden Wetjen, who had Michigan State’s QB start pooch punting to avoid kicking to him. A classic Iowa season resulting in another fun bowl game.

#7 Notre Dame - They were left out of the College Football Playoff, which is a decision you can agree or disagree with. I mainly think the Irish’s choice to opt out of the Pop-Tarts Bowl, accompanied by their AD’s press tour, helped them find their way up this high. Also, Notre Dame was only 5-9 on FGs this year and had a costly extra point miss in a loss to Texas A&M by 1.

#6 North Carolina - The Tar Heels were hyped by some to be an ACC threat, but that was gone after the first game of the season. They played some close games, losing by 1 to Virginia, and along with the Belichick drama off the field, got them up this high. I personally didn’t find the team that “Sickos,” and I feel this one was just due to all the circumstances in the program, not too much of it on the field except for the Cal, Virginia, and Stanford games.

#5 Florida State - The defending champs from 2024 with a strong showing this year. I thought we would say goodbye to them in the poll after the first three games of the season. The upset of Alabama to open the year was seemingly improbable, but there go the Noles. However, a trip to Charlottesville derailed their season in OT, which started a four-game losing streak. The loss to Stanford was due to them ruling the runner short due to a lineman’s booty blocking the camera. A punt doinked off a Florida State up man on a punt return, which sent the ball backwards to the line of scrimmage to get recovered by the NC State punter. They lost to their rival Florida 40-21, losing out on a shot at a bowl. Finally, they're bringing Mike Norvell back for next year.

#4 Lane Kiffin - The drama surrounding Lane Kiffin and his decision to stay with Ole Miss or leave for LSU was one that overshadowed the games on the field during rivalry week. When Lane finally made his decision to go to LSU, he still wanted to coach Ole Miss during their playoff run. The justified reaction from Ole Miss fans and the spilling of all the details of Lane’s tenure involving the dog, hot yoga, and random DMs came out. All while Lane continued to post through it like a wine mom on Instagram. Live. Laugh. Lane.

#3 UMass - The Minutemen had an incredibly rough season, at 0-12. They lost their FCS game against Bryant by 1 and got blown out by Kent State 42-6. They had one moment of potential victory that hurts me still. UMass was up 21-20 on Buffalo and got an INT with a minute left, with Buffalo having all three timeouts. I celebrated like it was over, and maybe so did the players. Buffalo forces a three and out, then gets the go-ahead TD to win 28-21. Gut-wrenching. Their best moment of the season was them shooting off fireworks after making a field goal to cut the NIU lead down to 45-3 in the 4th quarter. After that moment, I started my UMass dynasty in EA CFB ‘26. One more thing, they led FBS in total punting yards, another UMass positive.

#2 Duke - The Chaos Bringers, the Blue Devils. What can you say here? They won the ACC at 8-5 and are likely the main reason James Madison snuck into the College Football Playoff. They lost to Illinois, Tulane, and UConn out of conference. In conference, they only lost to Georgia Tech and Virginia. But since SMU lost to Cal, the ACC tiebreaker allowed them to sneak into the ACC Championship game and a rematch with Virginia. They beat Virginia in overtime, and Manny Diaz won the ACC Championship before Miami did. Now they’re going to the Sun Bowl in El Paso to play Arizona State. Without Duke, this postseason would be ho-hum, but thank you, Duke, for causing the chaos. The ACC still got a team into the College Football Playoff, but I am sure the conference tiebreaker will be changed to never allow something like this to happen again.

#1 Penn State - Looking back at things, this was likely a do-or-die year for James Franklin. They paid over $3 million for defensive coordinator Jim Knowles from Ohio State. It started great at 3-0. Then Oregon came for the White-Out and edged a win out in double OT. The wheels fell off in the Rose Bowl against interim-coached UCLA, and the final nail in the Franklin tenure occurred when Northwestern upset the Nittany Lions, 22-21. Then they lost to Iowa and Ohio State but nearly stole one from Indiana, falling to 3-6. Penn State corrected themselves and rattled off three straight wins against Michigan State, Nebraska, and Rutgers to become bowl eligible. I thought they'd stabilized themselves, and they’d not be able to hang on to the #1 spot from November's poll. However, one thing was still missing. They hadn’t found a replacement for James Franklin, and a rather quiet non-public coaching search became public quickly when Crumbl Cookies CEO got involved, then Penn State lost most of their recruits on signing day to James Franklin at Virginia Tech, and they still didn’t have a coach! They finally hired Matt Campbell from Iowa State after the dust settled, which is a good hire, but who knows if it will work? You roll all these things on the field plus the off-the-field situation, and Penn State earned the title. I’m sure plenty of Nittany Lions wanted a National Championship for Penn State this year, most likely they didn’t want this one. Congrats Penn State!

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