Yes, we have real, live college football this weekend, which I’ll get to in a moment.But it’s only fitting that the last mailbag of the offseason would include more offseason lawsuits.Why is the NCAA willing to die on the hill of not allowing the Class of 2022 a fifth year? Lawsuits were inevitable once they approved the 5-to-play-5 rule in June and retroactively applied it to the 2023, 2024 and 2025 classes who were still within the new five-year window. I’m afraid I have no sympathy left for the NCAA at this point. — RobThe simple answer is it’s completely impracticable to reverse course now.I know most fans focus solely on football or basketball, but these rules apply to every athlete in every Division I sport. That’s an estimated 20,000-25,000 athletes you’d be dumping back into the pool, all while roster limits (which were imposed as part of the House settlement) remain in place. Had they decided in June to include the 2022 class, how many coaches would have revoked scholarships from incoming freshmen to make room for less-proven players? Not to mention a sudden spike in “medical retirements.”That’s why it remains highly unlikely the NCAA will cave and grant a blanket waiver to all 2022 players. Especially after it succeeded in getting that nationwide Colorado injunction stayed. Administrators would much rather have small pockets of athletes winning state-court injunctions here and there than unleash 20,000-25,000 of them at once.In hindsight, the NCAA should have announced in June 2026 that the new age-based policy would go into effect in August 2027. By then, the 2022 class would be long gone, and every class after them would be eligible for a fifth year. Mind you, it might have decimated the high school class that would arrive at the same time, but there’s no way to implement something this consequential without some repercussions.But it’s important to remember why the new policy came to be. It was a direct response to the crisis of pro basketball players either beginning college for the first time (Baylor’s James Nnaji, Santa Clara’s Thierry Darlan) or winning an injunction to return to college (Alabama’s Charles Bediako). That’s why the new model specifically starts players’ five-year clocks no later than age 19. The NCAA felt that if it waited another year, there would be even more geezer pros in the meantime.They may have also naively thought — like I did — that even if the 2022 players sued, they wouldn’t have much of a case. Their eligibility had already expired before the new rule was even passed, which seemed like a clear dividing line to me. But obviously the courts don’t see it that way. The players’ attorneys have done a great job framing a narrative that these athletes were “excluded” from the new rules by those incompetent meanies at the NCAA rather than just suffering from unlucky timing.And so, on Monday, I took a stab at songwriting and channeled Alanis Morissette.The NCAA … devised a new pol-i-cyPro athletes … would no longer be freeTo play college ball when they’re past 22But now a Browns tight end … can play for L-S-UIsn’t it ironic? Don’t you think?It’s like raiiiiin …Mercifully, the Big Ten and SEC quickly passed rules Tuesday that rendered my lyrics moot before I could publish them. Just thought you oughta know I tried.Stew, Rodger Sherman said the following about former Browns TE Dae’Quan Wright committing to LSU: “My take that is going to get me booed off the internet is that it’s basically fine that the small batch of players in this specific class whose careers would have been lengthened by the 5-in-5 eligibility ruling that came down shortly after they graduated have the option to return to college sports.”Do you agree? How many more years of this do we have to endure? — Luigi M.If you could guarantee me that a tiny handful of “failed professionals” (Charlie Baker’s words) returning to college this year would truly be a one-off, then I’d say sure, no biggie. But I can already predict with 99.9 percent accuracy that a new group will sue next year to do the same thing, citing this year’s decisions as precedent. Given the NCAA’s current winning percentage in these cases, who would you bet on?That’s why it’s particularly notable that the Big Ten (and later the SEC) took matters into their own hands Tuesday and invoked their own rules prohibiting guys on NFL rosters from playing for their schools. Individual conferences have a much better chance of defending their eligibility rules in court because they don’t hold power over the entire market like the NCAA. Players still have other options to play college football. The SEC’s new policy is particularly notable because it bans not just NFL players (sorry, Lane Kiffin) but also NBA (sorry, Will Wade) and WNBA players.But now that the longstanding NFL/college firewall has cracked, you just know there will be all-new challenges using all-new legal arguments.NIL has forever changed how the courts view legal issues in college athletics. Judges have shown little regard for NCAA arguments about the competitive harm these decisions will have on current players. They’re much more concerned about the financial harm to former players if they’re denied the opportunity to maximize their earnings. I could see the next wave of players expanding on that argument to say they should have the option to turn pro and still come back before the season if it becomes clear they stand to make more money from a college team.If I’m the NFL’s lawyer, I’d start taking a vested interest in the current situation immediately. The league’s worst nightmare would be a future with an annual preseason competition between NFL and college teams for free agents. Perhaps they should start filing supporting testimony in the NCAA’s cases as to why these injunctions would cause them “irreparable harm” as well. I’m thinking judges would take the NFL far more seriously than they do the NCAA.Will former NFL players play college football this season?Justin WilliamsStew, Week 0 is here! Whether it be the eight FBS matchups or the full slate of FCS games, what storylines and games will you be following most closely? — Nicholas R.Glad you asked. Here are my top five.1. Bill Belichick Year 2. We all remember how last year’s opener against TCU went for UNC. Will the Tar Heels look more competent this time? I’m not all that confident — they have the second-least-experienced Power 4 team in the country, per Sam Khan Jr. and David Ubben — but perhaps they’ll surprise us. (But probably not.)2. TCU’s Ivy League QB. When Sonny Dykes lost three-year starter Josh Hoover to Indiana, he plucked replacement Jaden Craig from an unlikely place: Harvard. The grad student was a Walter Payton Award finalist last season, when he threw for 2,869 yards, 25 TDs and seven INTs in 11 games. Belichick raved about him this week.3. NC State: Surprise team? My colleague Bruce Feldman has been talking up the Wolfpack all offseason, due in large part to stud QB CJ Bailey and RB Duke Scott, who had 947 all-purpose yards as a freshman. But the defense was pretty bad last season and underwent considerable turnover.4. Virginia: Still good? I previously mentioned I went from assuming the Cavs, 11-3 last year, would regress because you can’t win three overtime games every year. But then I familiarized myself with their roster. They are, in fact, the oldest team in college football. But that doesn’t guarantee ACC title contention.5. UNLV: Playoff contender? Dan Mullen won 10 games in Year 1, but the Rebels were never a real contender to be the Group of 6 Playoff team. Now trotting out ex-Oklahoma and Auburn QB Jackson Arnold, they have a chance to start 2026 with a quality win over one of the top G6 programs, Memphis — though Charles Huff’s Tigers are breaking in an entirely new lineup.Also of note: Florida State’s Mike Norvell begins his last stand (vs. Duquesne), the Tavita Pritchard era begins at Stanford (vs. Hawaii) and North Dakota State (vs. Jacksonville State) and Sacramento State (vs. Eastern Michigan) are making their FBS debuts.Hello Stewart. There have been suggestions this summer that Texas Tech fans are acting like Tech has been unfairly targeted by national media “because they are Tech.” While I believe the Brendan Sorsby reaction would’ve been the same regardless of school, you specifically called Texas Tech “the Fighting Cody Campbells,” and that it will “get its comeuppance” this season and go 9-3. How do you square that Texas Tech is not being unfairly targeted by national media while also writing something inflammatory towards that same team? — Anonymous U.I’ve gotten a whole lot of comments like this one from Tech fans since my Big 12 predictions story ran last week. I guess I have two responses:I’m not personally rooting for Texas Tech to get its comeuppance, but I know several million college football fans who are.C’mon. “Fighting Cody Campbells” was funny.How often do coaches who are firmly on the hot seat actually have a bounce-back season to save their jobs? Thinking about Mike Locksley and Mike Norvell this season and if they can dig themselves out. The only coach I could think of was Jim Harbaugh. — Mike J.It doesn’t happen often, but I can think of a few other instances over the last decade.Notre Dame’s Brian Kelly went 4-8 in 2016. He remade his staff, hiring Chip Long as OC and Mike Elko as DC, and jumped to 10-3 the following year before making two Playoff appearances.In 2017, Auburn’s Gus Malzahn looked good as gone after blowing a 20-0 lead at LSU in mid-October. But the Tigers caught fire, beat two No. 1 teams in three weeks and earned him a new seven-year contract (that lasted three years.)Vanderbilt’s Clark Lea (himself a former Kelly DC) was feeling the heat after starting 9-27 (2021-23) before importing New Mexico State OC Tim Beck and his quarterback, Diego Pavia. You know the rest.Virginia’s Tony Elliott began his tenure 11-23 before the Cavaliers soared from 5-7 to 11-3 last season. Mind you, he’d at least shown signs of improvement in 2024 when UVA won three ACC games.Finally, Brent Brennan’s first year at Arizona in 2024 went so badly (the Wildcats slipped from 10-3 to 4-8) there were rumors he might get fired before Year 2. But he returned and led the Wildcats to nine wins last season.I wouldn’t put it past Locksley to be this year’s redemption story. He’s got a legit stud quarterback in Malik Washington. They just have to figure out how to win games after September.Could Mike Locksley and Maryland put together a season that saves him from the hot seat? (Tommy Gilligan / Imagn Images via Reuters Connect)Who and why did someone decide that the first weekend of college football should be called “Week 0?” As far as I can tell, quite a few games are being played. “Zero” implies nothing. It should be Week 1. What’s the convoluted logic in calling it Week 0? — John D.I don’t know who came up with Week 0, but keep in mind there was a decade or so, after the Kickoff/Pigskin Classic/Eddie Robinson Classic games died off in the mid-2000s, when no one played that weekend. And when it did come back in 2016, there was only one FBS game (Cal vs. Hawaii). It would have been a slight to Week 1 to associate it with such an anticlimactic weekend.More teams began utilizing the “Hawaii exemption” in 2017, which is likely when Week 0 originated. The NCAA has occasionally made exceptions for one-offs like the 2019 Florida-Miami game to kick off ESPN’s “CFB 150” campaign. We peaked in 2022 with 11 FBS contests. I would not have blamed anyone for calling that Week 1. But by 2024, it was back down to four games.This year’s slate is meatier, though, and not just because of eight FBS games. This is the first time in Week 0 history (2016-present) with two P4 vs. P4 matchups: North Carolina vs. TCU in Dublin and NC State at Virginia (relocated from Brazil). It’s also the first time ESPN, NBC (USC-San Jose State) and Fox (Memphis-UNLV) have all had games. Throw in Stanford-Hawaii on ACC Network, and it’s almost like a regular Saturday with games at Noon, 3:30, 7 and 10 p.m. ET.But I still don’t consider it Week 1.Stewart — Last week, a national CFB writer said Texas Tech will get a “comeuppance” in the 2026 season. The definition of comeuppance is “a deserved punishment, penalty, or fair retribution for someone’s bad actions.” Why would a national CFB writer who is supposed to be unbiased think Texas Tech “deserves punishment or retribution” when Texas Tech did not do anything wrong in the offseason? Robert P.Fortunately, I’ve been accused of bias against so many different schools — like, all of them — that the biases cancel each other out.But as long as you have a dictionary handy, please look up the definition of gaslighting.Could the South Carolina Gamecocks be a dark horse to crash the College Football Playoff? If they can’t this year, will they ever? New OC Kendall Briles will be light-years better than Mike Shula was last year, and they have a veteran defense that can compete with the best in the nation. — Jack P.Sure, why not? We’re knee-deep in that time of year when all of us who make predictions for a living engage in a nationwide bout of groupthink. It’s hard to go out on a limb with something as crazy as “South Carolina to the CFP” because if you’re wrong, you’re going to look really wrong.But I did have the Gamecocks, 4-8 last year, at No. 22 in my spring Top 25. I expect a big rebound season from LaNorris Sellers, thanks in large part to that OC change. Freaks List staple Nyck Harbor should be a beast at receiver. Dylan Stewart is an All-American pass rusher. Vicari Swain can take any punt return to the house, and NC State transfer Jacarrius Peak should be a rock at left tackle.According to the aforementioned research by Sam and David, South Carolina ranks 10th in the country in career snaps (43,292), second in the SEC, behind only Ole Miss.So, Shane Beamer has all that going for him. But here’s why both Jack and I could be terribly wrong.The Gamecocks ranked 129th in the country last year in rushing yards per attempt (3.2) and it’s uncertain whether they’ve upgraded. Sophomore running back Matt Fuller has reportedly shined in preseason camp, but he averaged only 3.6 yards per carry as a freshman. And the offensive line can’t allow Sellers to be constantly suffocated the way he was last year when South Carolina allowed 43 sacks.Do I see Beamer’s team making the Playoff? No, not really. But he’ll continue his annual zig-zag by going from 4-8 to at least 7-5.South Carolina is looking for a bounce-back season after going 4-8. (Jeff Blake / Imagn Images via Reuters Connect)Football is better with a villain: The team that everyone outside their fan base loves to root against. Alabama has probably surrendered that crown, so who do you think is most likely to wear the curled mustache and devil horns now? — Harrison J.I think a couple of the questions in this mailbag make the answer fairly obvious.If you aren’t covering a game, what is your normal routine for a college football Saturday? — Nick D.For the record, I rarely cover games on Saturdays anymore because it makes it too difficult to write Final Thoughts on Saturday nights, so I’m very much a fan of Friday night games.My routine is:• Sleep in until 8 a.m. Pacific. (Yes, this is considered late at my age.)• Watch the last half hour or so of “GameDay” while eating breakfast.• Go up to my office, shut the door, and watch 14 consecutive hours of college football, breaking only to grab lunch or dinner, say hello to my family, or take a quick walk around my cul-de-sac to say I got “exercise.”• Start writing Final Thoughts a little bit in the afternoon, write a little bit more during the prime-time Eastern games and crank out most of it during #AfterDark.• Text with Bruce and Ralph about what we’re going to talk about on the podcast Sunday morning.• Try to fall asleep by 1 a.m. Pacific.I can’t believe they pay me to do this, either.