Though the 2025 college football season is just a few days away, hope still springs eternal among most fanbases.

California teams have been named disputed or undisputed national champions for eight years in a row and countless times before that.

If there is a player from the defensive side of scrimmage who could make a run at the Heisman, Downs is that player.

The college football season begins Saturday with five games on the Week 0 schedule.