Rivals national columnist Mike Farrell is here with five-year projections for certain ACC programs, smart and dumb things from the CFB Playoff release and ranking the open Power Five jobs.

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Let’s continue our look into the future as I predict where these programs will stand in five years against each other.

Miami vs. Florida State — I start with this one because it’s the most fun. No need to compare Florida State with divisional rival Clemson, the Seminoles need to surpass Miami in their own state. And they will barring an incredible hire by The U. Mike Norvell may or may not be there but he’s a solid bridge in my opinion at the very least while Miami continues to stumble.

Clemson vs. North Carolina — Why did I pick North Carolina? I still think it is a sleeping giant in the ACC. The problem? The Tar Heels have been sleeping forever and no way anyone surpasses what Dabo Swinney has built at Clemson by 2026 despite this poor season.

Virginia Tech vs. Virginia — Gone are the days of Frank Beamer and UVa has been surprising here and there, but I still believe the better and more consistent program will lie in Blacksburg as long as Justin Fuente is gone.

Pitt vs. Wake Forest — An odd paring, right? Well they lead their respective divisions so why not? Dave Clawson will be gobbled up by a bigger program sometime soon while Pat Narduzzi could still be at Pitt. And despite the moans from the Pitt faithful, that’s not so bad.

Boston College vs. Syracuse — Jeff Hafley appears to be a rising star in coaching although this season has been a disappointment. We’ve seen Dino Babers have a good year and then some awful ones so give me BC in 2026.

The first College Football Playoff ranking was released Tuesday night and, as expected, there were smart and dumb decisions up and down the top 25.

SMART

1. Oregon over Ohio State — With both teams having one loss, it’s only right that Oregon be ranked ahead with the head-to-head win. Would Oregon beat the Buckeyes now? I’m not sure but they did already and that’s what matters.

2. Cincinnati outside the top four — The Bearcats have a nice win at Notre Dame but they haven’t impressed me enough especially lately to be including as one of the four playoff teams this early. Put them there now and they would likely be a lock.

3. Michigan State tops the Big Ten teams — This may seem like a no-brainer but with the favoritism towards Ohio State we’ve seen from the committee in the past this was not a sure thing.

4. Oklahoma State ahead of Baylor — Oklahoma State lost more recently but it has the head-to-head win over Baylor so once again this was the right call.

5. Wake Forest over Notre Dame — I’m not impressed with Wake’s resume but I was worried that Notre Dame would be put ahead of it even with a loss to a Group of Five team. Until the Demon Deacons lose, they should be ahead.

DUMB

1. Alabama at No. 2 — I am rethinking what I defended in my column Tuesday night. We all know the Alabama brand is worth backing. But a one-loss team shouldn’t be ahead of Michigan State or some others.

2. Oklahoma at No. 8 — This is too low. Have the Sooners passed the eyeball test this season? Nope. But they are undefeated in a Power Five conference and being down this low is ridiculous. Who has Michigan beat to be ranked ahead of them? At least OU has a win over a Top 25 team (at the time) in Texas.

3. Auburn ahead of Texas A&M — How does this make sense? A&M beat Alabama and Auburn has beaten who? Ole Miss? I’d take the Alabama win. Auburn is getting too much credit for a close loss to a Penn State team that lost to Illinois.

4. Wisconsin ranked at all — The Badgers have three losses. End of story. Yes, I know the committee wanted Iowa ranked so they had to rank Wisconsin since they just blew the doors off the Hawkeyes, but c’mon? The losses are to solid teams (Penn State, Notre Dame and Michigan) but they are still three losses.

5. UTSA not ranked at all — An 8-0 record is nothing to sneeze at and there’s no way it should be left out of the rankings. At least throw it in at No. 25.

Finally, I’m going to rank the five job openings in the Power Five as it’s an interesting debate at the top — and at the bottom.

1. LSU

Record since 2000: 211-68 (.756)

Conference titles since 2000: 5

National titles since 2000: 3

LSU edges USC as the best job available for a couple of reasons. The first of these is the conference – the SEC is unquestionably the best college football conference, and there's no real argument to be had any other way. And because LSU plays in the stronger division, if you win the division you've got a pretty darn good shot at making the playoff. And if you win the conference, you're a lock.

Secondly, Louisiana routinely pumps out a ton of high-level talent on a yearly basis, and as the only Power Five game in town, the Tigers have the upper hand when it comes to keeping these kids in-state. They have the biggest home-state recruiting advantage in college football.

There's a long tradition of winning and success and they are only a season and a half removed from one of the greatest runs we've ever seen from a team.

Finally, the university has shown that it is willing to pony up the funds necessary to sustain a high level of excellence. You've got first-rate facilities, a deeply passionate fanbase, and recent success. This is one of the most desirable openings we've had in a long time.

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2. USC

Record since 2000: 197-76 (.722)

Conference titles since 2000: 8

National titles since 2000: 2

There is definitely a case to be made for USC being a better job than LSU. California produces more D-I football players than any other state and USC is still the top dog by reputation. It wasn't that long ago that the Trojans were winning back-to-back national titles and were the premier program in the country. The glitz and glam of Hollywood will always be a draw for student-athletes, and when that team is humming it breaks through in a way that no other team in that conference can (sorry Oregon).

Additionally, the Pac-12 schedule is an easier one to navigate with Oregon as the only team that will compete at that level on an annual basis. No matter what our friends in Westwood say, USC will always own Los Angeles. But we've also seen the Pac-12 shut out of the playoff since Washington's appearance in the 2016 season. So the same thing that makes it easier to run the table also gives USC much less margin of error than LSU.

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3. TCU

Record since 2000: 191-80 (.705)

Conference titles since 2000: 7 (1 WAC, 1 CUSA, 4 MWC, 1 Big 12)

National titles since 2000: 0

Gary Patterson's firing was definitely a bit of a shock. He ranked second in tenure coach in FBS (behind only Kirk Ferentz at Iowa), and was 181-79 at the school. But the team was trending down since 2017, and this opening will undoubtedly attract some quality candidates. Located in Fort Worth, TCU obviously is surrounded by tons of top prep talent, but also a lot of other Power Five programs, which makes recruiting more difficult than you would imagine. When you're trying to compete with Texas, Texas A&M, Baylor, Texas Tech, Houston, SMU, and more in your home state, not to mention Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Arkansas, LSU and others that use Texas as a recruiting base, it can be tough to hold on to high end talent.

Furthermore, with the exodus of the Longhorns and Sooners to the SEC, the Big 12 will no longer have the same caché. Despite that, TCU has a winning tradition and has been one of the more successful programs in the past two decades. It will be able to compete at the top of the revamped Big 12.

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4. TEXAS TECH

Record since 2000: 114-118 (.566)

Conference titles since 2000: 0

National titles since 2000: 0

Texas Tech tops Washington State for the simple reason that it's in Texas, a much more fertile recruiting ground than Eastern Washington. And with Oklahoma and Texas moving to the SEC, there is now an easier path to the conference title game and potentially the playoff. That doesn't mean it's going to be easy, but it's definitely more feasible.

Lubbock will always be an outpost, so getting players there is going to be tough, but we've seen coaches have success there – most notably Mike Leach, who went 84-43 over a span of 10 seasons. Leach had the Red Raiders undefeated and ranked No. 2 into late November in 2008, and he never suffered a losing season. So it is possible to win consistently in Lubbock with the right coach.

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5. WASHINGTON STATE

Record since 2000: 124-135 (.479)

Conference titles since 2000: 1

National titles since 2000: 0

Washington State has a couple of things working against it. First, it's one of the most geographically isolated Power Five schools. It is not easy to get to Pullman and there is not a lot of prep talent in the state or even regionally. It's hard to get high-level recruits even on campus, much less to get them to commit to Washington State.

Secondly, even though it's in a less competitive Pac-12, historically the Cougars are in the bottom third of the conference in terms of football tradition, having only gone to 15 bowls in 102 seasons of football.

So while it's possible to have success (Mike Price and Mike Leach both had strong runs on the Palouse), it's definitely one of the toughest jobs in all of Power Five.