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.

YESTERDAY’S RESULTS:

#6 Penn State Stymies #11 SMU, Advances to CFP Quarterfinals with 38-10 Blowout

#6 Penn State blew out #11 SMU with a 38-10 win where this game was more or less over in the 2nd quarter.

The story of this game was SMU QB Kevin Jennings throwing 3 picks, including 2 pick-sixes early in this one, as Penn State blew out an SMU team it only somewhat outgained in terms of total yardage (325-253).

Jennings finished the game 20/36 for 195 yards, a touchdown, and 3 INTs, with Dominic DeLuca finishing the game with 2 of those interceptions (Tony Rojas had the other).

RB Brashard Smith finished with 18 rushes for 62 yards, with LJ Johnson adding 26 rushing yards on 6 carries. The Mustangs, including the yardage from the 3 sacks, finished with just 58 rushing yards on 36 carries. Technically, the Mustangs did show some life at the end, with a 28-yard receiving touchdown to Roderick Daniels Jr., who actually led all pass catchers in this game with a statline of 4/64/1.

For Penn State, QB Drew Allar had a fairly quiet game, finishing 13/22 with 127 yards. Harrison Wallace III (4/48) and Tyler Warren (4/33) were his main targets, while the real stars of the offense were RBs Nick Singleton (14/90/1) and Kaytron Allen (11/70/2).

With the win, Penn State earned the right to face off against Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl.

#5 Texas Runs Past #12 Clemson 38-24 Thanks to 4 Rushing Touchdowns

#5 Texas gave up a touchdown on its first defensive drive, but then proceeded to score 21 unanswered points. Even though the Longhorns had a 31-10 lead after a 14 play, 71 yard, 7 minute drive to open the 3rd quarter, Clemson was able to make this a one-score game early in the 4th quarter. However, Texas RB Jaydon Blue took a rush off tackle 77 yards to retake a two-score lead that would be the final score.

Blue led all rushers in this one, largely thanks to the 77-yard rush, finishing with a statline of 14/146/2. RB Tre Wisner finished with a statline of 15/110/2, but he did not play in the 2nd half after evidently suffering some sort of injury.

QB Quinn Ewers finished 17/24 for 202 yards, a touchdown, and an interception, with TE Gunnar Helm (6/77/1) his favorite target.

For Clemson, QB Cade Klubnik performed fairly well, finishing 26/43 for 336 yards, 3 touchdowns, and an interception, with TJ Moore (9/116/1) being, by far, his favorite target, but Jake Briningstool (4/69) and Antonio Williams (4/66/1) also had good games.

With the win, Texas now faces off against the 4-seed Arizona State Sun Devils in the quarterfinals.

#8 Ohio State Starts Hot, Stays Consistent to Beat #9 Tennessee 42-17

#8 Ohio State put up a few quick scores to have a 21-0 lead over #9 Tennessee early. Tennessee did put up 10 points in the 2nd quarter to make the score 21-10 at the half. However, Ohio State scored 3 unanswered touchdowns in the 2nd half to take a 42-10 lead before a late touchdown made the score 42-17 after this one was comfortably out of reach.

The Buckeyes finished with almost 500 yards compared to Tennessee’s 256. It’s hard to pick an MVP for the Buckeyes because of how well-rounded the performances were, but some candidates are QB Will Howard, RBs TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins, WR Jeremiah Smith, or DEs JT Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer.

Tuimoloau finished with 8 tackles, 2 sacks, 2.5 tackles for loss, and a pass deflection, while Sawyer finished with 5 tackles and 1.5 sacks, and 2 pass deflections. True freshman Jeremiah Smith had a few big plays last night, finishing with 6 catches for 103 yards and 2 touchdowns.

As for the RBs, TreVeyon Henderson (10/80/2 rushing; 4/54 receiving) and Quinshon Judkins (10/34/2 rushing; 2/9 receiving) were also big contributors for the Buckeyes. QB Will Howard finished an efficient 24/29 for 311 yards, 2 touchdowns, and an interception while also finishing with 37 rushing yards.

The Ohio State defense also did a good job holding Tennessee relatively in check, but RB Peyton Lewis did an alright job, finishing with 10 carries for 77 yards. QB Nico Iamaleava was the second leading rusher for the Vols, finishing with 20 carries for 47 yards and 2 rushing touchdowns while completing 14 of 31 passes for 104 yards.

With the win, Ohio State will get another crack at the top-ranked, undefeated Oregon Ducks after losing to them by only a single point earlier in the season.

Miami Transfer WR Isaiah Horton Commits to Alabama

Miami transfer WR Isaiah Horton has committed to Alabama following a redshirt sophomore season where he had 56 receptions for 616 receiving yards and 5 receiving touchdowns. Horton has two years of eligibility remaining.

In three seasons with Miami, Horton has appeared in 29 games and has a career statline of 70/790/6.

Horton transfers to Alabama, joining a wide receiver room which currently has the duo of Germie Bernard and Ryan Williams, who combined for a little over 1,500 yards in 2024. The Tide have lost Caleb Odom, Kobe Prentice, and Kendrick Law, however.

Arkansas RB Braylen Russell Withdraws Name from Portal for Second Time

Arkansas RB Braylen Russell is withdrawing his name from the transfer portal for a second time.

For those confused, the timeline is this: Russell entered the portal on 12/10, but withdrew his name a few hours later. Russell then re-entered the portal on 12/15, sharing on Twitter that he had to do what was best for him. However, on 12/21, he again took to Twitter (above) to announce that he was returning to Arkansas.

Russell is entering his true sophomore season having finished his true freshman campaign with 47 carries for 304 yards (6.5 ypc). Russell committed to Arkansas as a 4-star and then immediately made an impact as a true freshman, so this should most likely be seen as good news for the Razorbacks, even if it was a circuitous path to get here, especially because 2024’s leading rusher Ja’Quinden Jackson has declared for the NFL Draft and fellow RB Rashad Dubinion is in the portal.

Virginia Tech Transfer OL Braelin Moore Commits to LSU

Former Virginia Tech starting center Braelin Moore has committed to LSU out of the transfer portal.

Moore started every game for the Hokies each of the last two seasons, having graded out well according in 2024 according to PFF (21st/80 in the P4 in 2024).

For the more traditional statistics, Moore was the brains behind the OL that saw Virginia Tech (and mainly star RB Bhayshul Tuten) total over 2,000 yards, with Tuten picking up almost 1,200 yards.

Louisiana Tech Transfer DL David Blay Commits to Miami

Louisiana Tech DL transfer David Blay has committed to Miami after having one of the most productive seasons for a defensive lineman in the transfer portal this season, which makes it no wonder he is one of the highest rated DL according to the On3 industry portal rankings.

In 2024, Blay finished with 46 tackles, 10.5 TFLs, and 6.5 sacks for the Bulldogs, an effort which earned him First-Team All-CUSA honors.

Blay spent 2021 and 2022 with Division II West Chester before transferring to Louisiana Tech and redshirting in 2023. This means Blay will have one more season of eligibility with Miami.

Blay was hearing from the likes of Penn State, USC, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Florida State, Illinois, Arkansas, and Mississippi State, among others, so this is a big win for the Hurricanes.

Arkansas State Transfer S Dontay Joyner Commits to Maryland

Former Arkansas State S Dontay Joyner committed to Maryland out of the portal over portal recruiting efforts from North Carolina, Michigan State, Houston, Georgia Tech, and West Virginia, among others, for a safety who is one of the top rated safeties in the transfer portal according to the On3 portal industry rankings.

Joyner finished the 2024 season with 50 tackles, 7 passes defended, and 2 interceptions (one against Michigan, one against Iowa State), while also earning a 82.3 grade from PFF.

Joyner was also supposed to visit North Carolina, however, due to his commitment to Maryland, that visit is now cancelled.

Michigan State Transfer CB Charles Brantley Commits to Miami

Michigan State transfer CB Charles Brantley has committed to Miami out of the portal after a productive 2024 and four total seasons at Michigan State.

Most of Brantley’s college production has come in 2022 and 2024, having finished 2024 with 27 tackles, 2 TFLs, 3 interceptions, and 7 passes defended. In 2022, he had 48 tackles, 2 TFLs, 1 sack, 1 interception, and 6 passes defended.

In his career, Brantley has recorded a stat in 30 games with 103 tackles, 5 TFLs, 1 sack, 5 interceptions, and 18 passes defended. This production, coupled with his 2024 production, helps explain why On3 ranks him 28th nationally and 6th at the CB position, while the On3 portal composite ranking places him 48th nationally and 6th at the CB position.

2026 4-Star TE Caleb Tafua Commits to Texas A&M

2026 4-Star TE Caleb Tafua committed to Texas A&M over USC, Washington, Cal, and others.

Tafua’s first visit to A&M came on Nov. 30 for the Aggies’ game against Texas. At the game, Tafua’s takeaway is that the atmosphere was just different in College Station: “it felt like that was where I needed to be. It’s where I felt everybody around me getting hyped up. I see myself those stadiums and playing for A&M.”

Tafua is nearly a consensus 4-star, but ESPN does him as a 3-star. According to the On3 industry composite, he ranks 244th nationally and 12th at the TE position.

For Texas A&M, this already marks seven 4-stars in the 2026 class, a class which is still young, but one in which Texas A&M has laid a good foundation for already.

Other Commitments/Decommitments

3-Star (85) DL Terry Nwabuisi-Ezeala commits to North Carolina

2026 Unrated OT Xavier Payne commits to Florida State

Unrated OT Chace Straford commits to Arkansas State