New G6 playoff blood is a real investment
Context
Ty excludes familiar names like Boise State, Tulane, and JMU and asks whether a new G6 team can crash the playoff. The answer is a strong yes relative to June uncertainty, with Dan and Andy landing around 50-65% emotional investment.
Andy immediately identifies USF as the overlooked answer because Brian Hartline inherits strong institutional support, a better NIL setup than most of the league, and Michael Van Buren at quarterback. He also treats North Dakota State as a fascinating waiver-dependent case: unlike most move-up programs, the Bison would bring decades of playoff-stage credibility with them.
This is the positive companion to the vault's G6 access critique. The show still knows the committee's credibility filter can be arbitrary, but the race itself is alive enough to be worth emotional capital.