Good morning, and welcome back to CFB Roundup from CFB Home – the first daily newsletter that’s all college football, all the time with no bias, no slant, and no fluff.

TODAY’S SCHEDULE:

Betting Information as of time of writing

Consensus 4-Star QB Deuce Knight Flips from Notre Dame to Auburn

Consensus 4-star QB Deuce Knight flipped his commitment from Notre Dame to Auburn yesterday after originally committing to Notre Dame back in September of 2023.

Knight visited Auburn multiple times this fall, and at a certain point, this seemed like an inevitability.

He is ranked as high as 31st nationally and 2nd at his position, with the On3 industry composite ranking placing him 36th nationally and 7th at his position.

Auburn’s 2025 class now has 18 Blue Chip commitments out of 25 commitments overall for a 2025 class which now ranks 4th nationally and 3rd in the SEC.

Notre Dame drops to 13th nationally after the loss of Knight, but the Irish still have 12 4-stars and 22 total players committed for the 2025 recruiting class.

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey on Downside of NCAA’s Current Redshirt Rule and Portal

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey recently went on The Triple Option podcast and discussed the four-game redshirt rule and the transfer portal.

The redshirt rule allowed players to play any four games of the season and retain a redshirt, but since the age of NIL and the proliferated use of the transfer portal, Sankey believes it might be time to reevaluate the transfer portal.

Sankey, in the interview, advocated for Congressional assistance acknowledging the litigation and impending settlement in the House case, also stating “we have state attorney generals who have filed some lawsuits that limit transfer regulation and have limited NIL oversight. That puts you into this congressional conversation. Congress is a place where you can set a national standard… Without a national standard, I think that’s going to become more difficult.”

Sankey also pointed out the protections that could be created for athletes, touching on some of the recent stories, primarily the Matthew Sluka situation, stating: “some of these stories that we’ve seen over the last few weeks indicate that promises were made that weren’t fulfilled. There’s no protection for a young person in this system. They have no idea the credibility of the so-called ‘agent’ representative. Those are not healthy environments.”

Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz on Eligibility: 5 Years Total, No Redshirting

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz recently shared that he’s on board with the growing movement of changing eligibility rules so every player gets five years, regardless of if the player plays or not.

Currently, the system is that players have, in theory, four years with the opportunity to play fewer than four games in any season during their eligibility window to have an additional “redshirt” year. Now, however, players have taken the power of the situation and are using the redshirt opportunity to opt out of a majority of the season to get another year of college and utilize the portal.

Coach Ferentz is on board with scrapping the current method and adopting a blanket rule of 5 years in college no matter what: “I still feel the same way. I think it would make sense just to give players the option to have five years. … I think guys should have five years. Do whatever you want, play as much as you want or as little as you want, and the only way you get an extra one is if you have two season-ending injuries and miss the whole season. I think it should be that plain and simple and be done, and then nobody’ll have to worry about this other crap about how many games you’ve played and all that. I understand why it’s there, but I still think it’s a little bit behind the times.”

4-Star DB Byron Baldwin Decommits from Indiana

Consensus 4-star DB Byron Baldwin decommitted from Indiana yesterday after originally committing to the Hoosiers back in April.

On3’s Hayes Fawcett shared that Colorado, Missouri, UCLA, and Penn State are all schools to watch for Baldwin. According to the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine, Minnesota (52.7%), Rutgers (16.3%), and West Virginia (14.0%) are also in play.

Baldwin is ranked as high as 134th nationally and 14th at the safety position, and the On3 industry composite ranks him 188th nationally and 17th at the safety position.

Baldwin was Indiana’s lone 4-star commitment for the 2025 class, so that’s a tough break for the Hoosiers. The 2025 class does still contain 20 commitments for a class which ranks 55th nationally and 15th out of 18 in the Big Ten.

Steve Sarkisian Credits Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning’s Humility for His Development

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian was recently on The Jim Rome Show, where the topic of Arch Manning obviously and inevitably came up.

Rome asked about what Manning is like on a personal level and how he has taken advantage of the opportunity presented with starter Quinn Ewers sidelined for a couple games with an oblique injury.

Coach Sarkisian was effusive in his praise of Manning, saying “he came in with a ton of humility. Extremely humble young man. He’s a great teammate. If his name wasn’t Manning on the back of his jersey, you wouldn’t know it, by the way he carries himself. … I think the rapport that he and Quinn have with one another has led to a lot of his success. Because I think he’s very coachable. He wants to learn. He can learn from others.”

LaNorris Sellers Should Be Good to Go vs. #12 Ole Miss, But is Listed Questionable

#12 Ole Miss is headed to Columbia, SC to face South Carolina after a tough home loss to unranked Kentucky.

QB LaNorris Sellers missed Week 4 due to an ankle injury, but coach Shane Beamer said he practiced Wednesday after having a bye week in Week 5.

On Monday’s released depth chart, Sellers was listed as QB1, so between that and the fact that he’s practiced, he should be good to go. According to the official, SEC-mandated injury report, Sellers is listed as questionable, though.

Texas A&M QB Conner Weigman Still Questionable for Game Against #9 Missouri

Texas A&M takes on #9 Missouri in the weekend’s only ranked-on-ranked matchup in college football, and the first SEC-mandated injury reports have been shared.

Texas A&M’s Conner Weigman has been missing some time lately due to an injury to his throwing shoulder, so backup QB Marcel Reed has been playing (and fairly well).

Weigman is currently listed as questionable, as is OG Ar’maj Reed-Adams. Those two injuries will be injuries to starters worth monitoring throughout the week.

2026 Composite 4-Star QB Oscar Rios Decommits From Purdue

2026 4-star QB Oscar Rios decommitted from Purdue yesterday after originally committing back in June.

This decommitment closely follows Purdue firing OC Graham Harrell this week.

Rios originally committed to Purdue over other P4 programs like Utah, Washington, Nebraska, Kansas, Michigan State, and others.

Rios is the second decommitment from Purdue this week, as Lebron Hill decommitted yesterday.

Rios ranks 306th nationally and 20th at the QB position for the 2026 class according to the On3 industry composite.

Purdue is now down to 1 commitment for the 2026 class – 3-star CB Zyntreacs Otey.

Biggest Movers for EA Sports Game Ratings

EA Sports College Football 25 released some ratings updates, which means some players have gone up and done noticeably since the game came out over the summer.

With the updates, Colorado DB/WR Travis Hunter is up to a 97 overall (+2) and is the highest rated player in the game. Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty is up to a 96 overall (+4) and is also one of the highest rated players in the game.

For a larger list of changes click the link above, but some of the biggest changes:

• Buffalo LB Shaun Dolac: 89 (+7)

• South Carolina Edge Dylan Stewart: 87 (+9)

• Michigan RB Kalel Mullings: 87 (+6)

• Iowa RB Kaleb Johnson: 87 (+13)

• Rutgers C Gus Zilinskas: 86 (+7)

• Duke S Terry Moore: 86 (+10)

• Oklahoma CB Kani Walker: 85 (+9)

• Texas TE Gunnar Helm: 85 (+8)

• Navy RB Eli Heidenreich: 85 (+7)

• Troy WR Devonte Ross: 84 (+6)

• UConn WR Skyler Bell: 82 (+10)

• Buffalo CB Marquis Cooper: 80 (+27)

• Memphis LT Chris Adams: 80 (+9)

• South Carolina WR Mazeo Bennett: 80 (+16)

• Texas A&M TE Tre Watson: 80 (+11)

3-Star DL Makhi Williams-Lee Commits to Clemson

3-star DL Makhi Williams-Lee committed to Clemson yesterday over offers from, among others, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Mississippi State, and NC State – where he was once committed.

Williams-Lee shared that the culture of Clemson really stood out to him and is a large part of why he wants to go there.

Williams-Lee ranks 793rd nationally and 77th at his position according to the On3 industry composite rankings.

For Clemson, this is its 14th commitment for the 2025 class, a class which ranks 15th nationally and 2nd in the ACC, behind only Miami.

Other Commitments/Decommitments

3-Star (85) ATH Mason McKnight decommits from Georgia Southern