Connor O'Gara

Orlando

Senior National Columnist at Saturday Down South

Dad. Senior National Columnist for Saturday Down South (@SatDownSouth). Host of @TheSDSPod. Heisman voter. '90s NBA forever. Joshua 1:9.

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Articles

Predicting the 2025 Playoff: No. 10 Texas Tech

2 days ago | saturdaydownsouth.com | Connor O'Gara

Not since The Pirate swooped in and robbed Texas has Texas Tech played in a bowl game that a national audience cared about. The irony of that legendary Michael Crabtree catch from 2008 is that while it ultimately knocked the Longhorns out of the BCS National Championship Game and pushed the Red Raiders to their highest AP Top 25 ranking in program history (No. 2), Mike Leach and Co. missed out on the chance to play for a title.
Predicting the 2025 Playoff: No. 11 Louisville

3 days ago | saturdaydownsouth.com | Connor O'Gara

It may not seem like it now, with May only on its 12th day. But I promise you… before we know it, the leaves will be changing, a chill will be in the air and we’ll be gearing up for the second year of the 12-team College Football Playoff. On Sunday, I predicted that Boise State would earn the No. 12 seed in this year’s field.
Predicting the 2025 Playoff: No. 12 Boise State

4 days ago | saturdaydownsouth.com | Connor O'Gara

Whoever said that May is the worst month of the college football calendar has never predicted the 12-team Playoff at an appropriate time. An appropriate time to lay out the 12-team field is indeed May. After all, the transfer portal window closed and for the most part, rosters are locked in for fall. That’s why May is when we predict the Playoff. A few things are worth noting before we break down individual Playoff paths.
The SEC fanbases that should actually be disappointed if their teams miss the 2025 College Football Playoff

5 days ago | saturdaydownsouth.com | Connor O'Gara

SEC Football By Connor O'Gara Published: May 10, 2025 · 8:00 AM EDT Last year, I can say in hindsight that it was ambitious for me to say that 8 SEC teams deserved to have College Football Playoff expectations. Don’t get it twisted. I didn’t say that 8 SEC teams were going to make the Playoff. That would’ve been insane.
The stat that shows just how horrendous the ACC has been in the 2020s

6 days ago | saturdaydownsouth.com | Connor O'Gara

It’s truly baffling. Even the biggest ACC loyalist (Danny Kanell) couldn’t fathom just how brutal the first half of the 2020s has been to the conference. We’re halfway through the 2020s, and an ACC team has yet to win a New Year’s 6/Playoff bowl game. Not even a random Orange Bowl has gone to an ACC team. None of them. That’s almost impossible.
Watch: Predicting the 12-team Playoff, David Hale talks Clemson's return, Mike Norvell's last stand & ACC relevance

1 week ago | saturdaydownsouth.com | Connor O'Gara

On the latest episode of The Saturday Down South Podcast … it’s a Playoff prediction pod! For Part 1 of the 2-part Playoff prediction squad, Connor lays out his 12-team field for 2025. Who gets left out? Who gets the No. 1 seed? The guys dig into that. ESPN’s David Hale joined the show to discuss his Buc-ee’s bet, Clemson’s return, Mike Norvell’s last stand, ACC relevance and more.
5 SEC players who are getting too much love in way-too-early 2026 mock drafts

1 week ago | saturdaydownsouth.com | Connor O'Gara

SEC Football By Connor O'Gara Published: May 8, 2025 · 8:00 AM EDT I know that way-too-early mock drafts aren’t meant to be taken as gospel. Despite my knee-jerk reaction to dunk on every single obscure projection that I come across on the internet, I take them with a grain of salt. At the same time, I still have opinions. Most of my opinions are about guys who I don’t think will be first-round picks. To be fair, it’s a tough business.
Why it feels like Jimbo Fisher has coached his last game at the FBS level

1 week ago | saturdaydownsouth.com | Connor O'Gara

Texas AM Aggies Football By Connor O'Gara Published: May 7, 2025 · 10:26 AM EDT Jimbo Fisher has 76 million reasons to never coach another football game. That buyout is not only a defining element of his time as a head coach, but it’s a defining element of the buyout boom in college football. While that buyout is still the ultimate outlier in the sport — it’s more than $55 million richer than any other paid buyout at the FBS level — it serves as a cautionary tale.
SEC indictment or just coincidence? A trend worth remembering when assuming Texas's long-term success

1 week ago | saturdaydownsouth.com | Connor O'Gara

I’d consider myself a Texas believer. I believe Texas will win a national title during the Steve Sarkisian era. I believe Texas deserves to start as the No. 1 team in college football in 2025. I believe Arch Manning will be a star as a Year 1 starter in what’ll be the Longhorns’ Year 2 in the SEC. I believe that Texas will be a regular SEC contender, and if you don’t, I’d be more inclined to talk some sense to you as opposed to nodding my head.
5 numbers that the anti-Kalen DeBoer crowd will conveniently ignore

1 week ago | saturdaydownsouth.com | Connor O'Gara

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but I’ll say it anyway. Kalen DeBoer isn’t getting fired in Year 2. He’s not. Despite the lazy takes that’ll surface in the offseason or even into the season if he — wait for it — loses a game, the Alabama football coach isn’t getting the boot in Year 2 unless it’s an unprecedented collapse in Tuscaloosa. I’m not banking on that for a team that’s won at least 9 games in each of the last 17 seasons, especially after Ryan Grubb reunited with DeBoer.