Three college football storylines to focus on INSTEAD of LSU coach Lane Kiffin this offseason

We have reached what is, perhaps, the trough of the college football offseason.

This is partly due to the time in between the end of last season and the start of next season being nearly identical and is also due to the fact that there is next to nothing of substance happening right now.

Spring games for most if not all teams are over and official visits for recruits won't start until after Memorial Day.

Hell, even media days seem like they might as well be decades away.

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That hasn't stopped people from talking, though. And the main topic on everyone's tongue is LSU head coach Lane Kiffin.

Most of that is his own doing, but I have to say even I am guilty of mentioning the man's name when I maybe could have refrained.

What can I say, he's an easy target.

OLE MISS LEGEND DESCRIBES 'HURT' CREATED BY LANE KIFFIN'S DECISION TO JOIN LSU: 'THERE’S ANGER'

Lane Kiffin of the Mississippi Rebels before the game against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on Nov. 01, 2025 in Oxford, Mississippi. (Justin Ford/Getty Images)

Today, I'm here to tell you that offseason discourse doesn't have to center around the Lane Train.

There are plenty of engaging storylines to dive into this summer that won't include the Bayou Bengals and their carnival barker of a head coach even in the slightest.

Let's talk some college ball sans Kiffin, shall we?

FIVE SEC TRAP GAMES IN 2026 THAT COULD UPEND THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF RACE, FROM LSU TO GEORGIA

Playoff Expansion

Miami head coach Mario Cristobal and Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti pose with the trophy during a news conference ahead of the College Football Playoff national championship game in Miami on Jan. 18, 2026. (Chris Carlson/AP)

If it wasn't for he-who-shall-not-be-named, I can almost guarantee the big talking point this offseason would be about whether the College Football Playoff should expand to 24 teams.

I'm sure you all know my thoughts on the matter at this point, but I was shocked to see that the discourse on social media wasn't quite as lopsided against expansion as I thought it would be.

The argument seems to splinter into two factions: people who view the regular season as sacred and people who want more programs to get a bite at the apple.

ESPN IS REPORTEDLY PREVENTING THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF FROM EXPANDING TO 24 TEAMS

While it's noble to want to include everyone in the postseason, it does reek of "participation trophy" vibes, and if you want college football to be this egalitarian society, you're probably new here and you shouldn't hold your breath.

College football has always been an aristocracy, and most fans like it that way.

Besides, NIL has done far more to level the playing field than an expanded playoff ever could.

Look at my darlings out in Lubbock, Texas Tech.

You're finally legally allowed to pay players, and all the Red Raiders have done is summon their bottomless pit of billionaires to start purchasing five-star edge rushers and offensive tackles.

Arch Manning Redemption Tour

Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning throws a pass during the first half against the Texas A&M Aggies at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on Nov. 28, 2025. (Scott Wachter/Imagn Images)

Last year was supposed to be Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning's coronation.

ARCH MANNING, TEXAS SIT ATOP PRESEASON AP COLLEGE FOOTBALL POLL

Many fans thought he should have been starting over Quinn Ewers a season earlier, and bemoaned the fact that the prodigal nephew had to wait his turn in this instant gratification society we have.

2025 arrived, but Manning took a little time to morph into even a shell of what Texas fans expected him to look like.

By the end of the season, though, Arch had put together a hell of a second half of the season, ending with a brilliant performance against Michigan in their bowl game in which the Longhorns signal caller posted a QBR of 99.2 (they measure those bad boys on a scale that goes to 100, by the way).

Now that we've seen what Manning is truly capable of, the pressure will be on for him to deliver in 2026.

The redshirt junior is already the presumptive Heisman favorite heading into this season, and the Longhorns will be viewed as one of the teams with the shortest odds to win it all.

Will Manning's 2026 resemble the first half of 2025, where he looked like a deer in the headlights at times? Or will he look more like the version of himself during the second half of last year, throwing darts all over the field and knocking off top-ten teams like Vanderbilt and Texas A&M?

WHICH TEAMS HAVE THE TOUGHEST STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE HEADING INTO COLLEGE FOOTBALL SEASON?

There's only one way to find out.

Changing Of The Guard In Recruiting

Jacob Rodriguez of the Texas Tech Red Raiders celebrates with his wife Emma Rodriguez after the Big 12 Championship game against the BYU Cougars at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Dec. 6, 2025. (John E. Moore III/Getty Images)

I wrote about this a little earlier with UCLA's surprising jump into the top ten of recruiting rankings, but the talent acquisition landscape as a whole is starting to look a lot different than it has in years past.

Aside from UCLA, you have "new blood" Texas Tech knocking on the door of the top ten and boasting one of the highest class averages in the country, with three five-stars already in the fold.

What's even more noteworthy than who is in the top ten is who isn't, as traditional recruiting powers like Georgia, LSU, Alabama and Clemson are all comfortably sitting outside of the top 20!

Hell, even Texas finds itself on the outside looking in on the top ten.

LSU and Alabama are fine, both already having at least one five-star commit in their class and their issue being more of a quantity than a quality thing, but Georgia specifically may have some self-evaluating to do.

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The Dawgs lost three blue-chip commits in the last month, including five-star cornerback Donte Wright, who flipped to the Miami Hurricanes less than a week ago.

Georgia still has a pair of five-stars in the fold and plenty of room to grow, but this is an uncharacteristic spot for them to be in this far into the cycle.

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Does this represent a changing of the guard? A new era of recruiting where non-traditional powers will start to rise up and shrink the talent gap?

It's too early to tell, but it's definitely something to keep an eye on as the recruiting season soldiers on through the doldrums of summer.