In this college football podcast episode, we continue our 2026 Group of Six conference previews by breaking down the resurrected Pac-12, the new-look Mountain West and a wide-open Conference USA. We start with Boise State’s move into the Pac-12 and discuss whether the Broncos are truly a College Football Playoff threat or simply the best team in their new neighborhood. From there, we examine the cases for Fresno State, San Diego State, Texas State and Washington State, along with the conference’s unusual plan to flex matchups during the final week of the regular season.

The Mountain West has undergone an even more dramatic transformation, with North Dakota State making the jump to FBS and Northern Illinois and UTEP entering the league. Can NDSU immediately contend with UNLV and New Mexico? Does Hawaii have enough around Micah Alejado to make a run? And can Air Force, Wyoming or one of the conference’s rebuilding programs force its way into the race? We also venture into Conference USA, where Western Kentucky may be the preseason favorite, but Jacksonville State, Kennesaw State, Liberty and several recent FBS arrivals give us plenty of reasons to question the established order.

Finally, we bolt independent UConn onto the end of the preview and explore Jason Candle’s attempt to rebuild a roster that lost nearly everything from last season.

Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro
5:05 - Pac-12 Conference Preview
38:44 - Mountain West Conference Preview
1:09:55 - CUSA Conference Preview
1:27:24 - UConn Football Preview