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.

Every “Big Game” Starter Based on Recruiting Rankings

Later today “The Big Game” will be played, but before they made “The Big Game,” or even made the pros, they were all* once college football recruits (* with the exception of Jordan Mailata).

Point Spreads for Some 2025 Games Already Available

It’s only February but FanDuel already has some point spreads available for games in 2025!

Below is the list available, in case anyone has an early hunch:

• Iowa State @ Kansas State (-3.5)

• Texas @ Ohio State (-3.5)

• Alabama (-8.5) @ Florida State

• LSU @ Clemson (-2.5)

• Auburn (-1.5) @ Baylor

• Georgia Tech (-4.5) @ Colorado

• Syracuse @ Tennessee (-14.5)

• South Carolina (-9.5) @ Virginia Tech

• Notre Dame (-2.5) @ Miami

• TCU @ North Carolina (-2.5)

• Ohio State (-5.5) @ Michigan

3-Star TE Edward Whiting Commits to Michigan State

3-Star TE Edward Whiting committed to Michigan State yesterday over offers from Alabama, Michigan, Florida, Missouri, Auburn, Colorado, and others.

For Whiting, he felt like the bond he has with TE Coach Brian Wozniak and Head Coach Jonathan Smith is better than any of the bonds he has with coaches at other places. He also felt like the experience Coach Wozniak has having played the position will help in his development.

Rivals ranks Whiting the highest, ranking him as the 12th ranked TE, with the On3 industry composite a little more modestly ranking him 409th nationally and 22nd at the TE position.

For Michigan State, this is the 3rd commitment in the 2026 class, a class which currently sits at 37th nationally and 13th in the Big Ten.

3-Star DL Amontre Harris Decommits from TCU

3-Star DL Amontre Harris decommitted from TCU yesterday after having committed to the Frogs recently on January 28th.

Of note, cross-town rival SMU has recently turned up the heat on recruiting Harris after a big Junior Day recruiting event.

Harris currently ranks 50th at the DL position according to 247Sports – the only recruiting service which has currently rated Harris. He rates as an 87, a slightly above average 3-star rating from 247Sports.

With the decommitment, TCU is now down to 8 commitments for the 2026 class, only 3 of which are rated, for a 2026 class which currently ranks 33rd and 5th in the Big 12.

SMU AD Rick Hart Stepping Down

SMU announced Friday that Athletic Director Rick Hart will step down from his position near the end of the current academic year.

“It is with tremendous pride, heartfelt love, and yes, mixed emotions, that I share I have made the decision that this academic year will be my last at SMU. After the honor of leading the Department of Athletics for thirteen years, it is time for a new challenge for me and for a new voice to lead the Mustangs, allowing President-Elect Hartzell to move forward with his own vision and leader as SMU moves forward in this new landscape of collegiate athletics.”

Hart was hired by SMU in 2012 after serving as the AD for UT-Chattanooga, as well as in other adminsitrative roles at Oklahoma, North Carolina, and East Carolina.

Hart has had some notable successes in his time, including helping find the Mustangs in the initial AAC before playing a role, along with several key boosters and influential people, in guiding SMU’s Athletic Department into the ACC.

He also made multiple coaching hires, like Chad Morris, Sonny Dykes, and most recently, Rhett Lashlee, who all had moderate to high levels of success, including a CFP appearance in the program’s first season in the Power 4.

Hart also oversaw the fundraising and construction of the $100 million upgrade to the stadium which also serves as the new football operations building, which created more space for the football program, as well as the other athletic teams which had more space with the previous space the football team vacated.

Finally, as of writing this, new basketball hire Andy Enfield has the Mustangs at 18-5 record and a current placement of 4th in the ACC with a Mustangs program firmly on the bubble after having not made the tournament since the 2016-17 season.

Other Commitments/Decommitments

None!