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.

Final College Football Playoff Rankings Announced, Playoff Bracket Set

Following the conference championship games, the final playoff rankings were announced and the bracket was set:

1. Oregon (1 seed)

2. Georgia (2 seed)

3. Texas (5 seed)

4. Penn State (6 seed)

5. Notre Dame (7 seed)

6. Ohio State (8 seed)

7. Tennessee (9 seed)

8. Indiana (10 seed)

9. Boise State (3 seed)

10. SMU (11 seed)

11. Alabama

12. Arizona State (4 seed)

13. Miami

14. Ole Miss

15. South Carolina

16. Clemson (12 seed)

17. BYU

18. Iowa State

19. Missouri

20. Illinois

21. Syracuse

22. Army

23. Colorado

24. UNLV

25. Memphis

Alabama HC: Strength of Schedule Not Rewarded

Alabama Head Coach Kalen DeBoer weighed in on the decision to include SMU in the Playoff over Alabama, more specifically weighing in on what it might mean for scheduling moving forward.

Coach DeBoer shared on The Next Round: “as far as like the future, you know that’s kind of something that I’ll let (AD) Greg (Byrne) lead the charge on. He has an understanding and kind of we’ll figure that out moving forward. But that’s not really, I mean I want to play competitive games. We want to play in the best games.”

In speaking on if Alabama’s schedule was rewarded, Coach DeBoer shared, “it didn’t feel like that. Definitely wasn’t rewarded, it felt like, with our schedule and the wins we had against teams that were ranked, or now ranked, or even ranked at the time.”

CFP Chairman Warde Manuel did counter this line of thinking by pointing out the 2-loss teams Alabama was ahead of with comparatively worse strengths of schedule, like Miami, BYU, Iowa State (before the conference championship loss), and even Arizona State (though, the Sun Devils are in the Playoff due to winning the Big 12).

But, going forward, Coach DeBoer shared, “I’ll let Greg (Byrne) administratively kind of lead the charge and better understand what needs to be done for the future, if anything at all.”

Coach DeBoer did acknowledge, “I know we’ve got some, when you consider higher profile games against programs that traditionally have been very successful, we want to be a part of that. We want that to happen. That’s the exciting thing about college football, is being in as many big games as possible. We don’t want to back down on that, we want to be a part of that. That hopefully will be rewarded down the road.”

Alabama AD: Need to Assess How Many P4 Non-Conference Games Make Sense; Gets Community Noted on Twitter

Alabama’s Athletic Director Greg Byrne shared on Twitter recently that he was “disappointed” with the CFP Committee’s decision to leave Alabama out of the first 12-team College Football Playoff, instead choosing SMU for the final spot.

Byrne’s main point of contention is that it is his belief that this devalues the challenging strength of schedule the SEC faced, something he believes is bad for the overall health of the entire sport, as it disincentivizes playing a tougher schedule, which will lead to an overall re-assessment of how many tough non-conference games each program should play.

Fans of programs other than Alabama, primarily, were quick to point out, however, that Alabama’s losses came in conference, while the non-conference slate for Alabama consisted of Western Kentucky, USF, Wisconsin, and Mercer. Members of the Twitter platform even went so far as to use the Community Notes feature to point out, “All of Alabama’s losses came in conference play. Alabamas non conference schedule was one of the easiest in the country playing two Group of 5 schools, WKU and USF, one FCS school and one Power 4 team, the 5-7 Wisconsin badgers who finished 12th in the Big Ten.”

In actuality, this non-conference schedule was reportedly the 29th ranked strength of schedule for the non-conference. In comparison, SMU’s non-conference strength of schedule was 20th, as the Mustangs played Nevada, Houston Christian, BYU, and TCU in the non-conference. SMU fans would also be quick to point out that SMU had a Week 1 game scheduled against Vanderbilt before Vanderbilt bought SMU out of that scheduling agreement for the three games the teams were supposed to play.

SMU, ACC, and other fans would also be quick to point out, that though SMU’s final strength of schedule rating sits at either 60th or 57th (depending on when you checked ESPN’s website yesterday), the Mustangs did play 11 consecutive games against Power 4 programs, winning the middle 9 and only trailing for a total of 6 minutes in those wins, combined.

CFP Committee Chairman on Alabama over Miami, but not SMU; Defends SMU

For the final spot in the College Football Playoff, the Committee had a real Sophie’s Choice, seemingly, between SMU and Alabama. Ultimately, the Committee chose SMU for the final spot over the Crimson Tide.

A team that also came up was 10-2 Miami, with only close losses to Georgia Tech and a now-ranked Syracuse team.

In discussing why Miami was not considered more strongly, CFP Chairman Warde Manuel shared, “the difference in terms of how we saw SMU was, going into (the ACC championship), they were undefeated in their conference. They had been playing very well in terms of what they were doing on the field, in the conference. So for us, as we looked at it, (SMU) lost to two ranked teams in terms of BYU by three and Clemson (also, by three). But it was just the performance. It was just their total body of work. We felt as we examined SMU, undefeated in the conference versus when we looked at Miami, losing two of the last three (regular season games), we just felt they were different teams going into that championship weekend, and that’s why we had SMU slightly ahead of Alabama.”

Manuel also spoke on the difference between SMU and Alabama, more specifically, sharing “(the television debate) really summed up the debate had in the room. We looked at the number of wins Alabama had against ranked opponents. We looked at SMU’s schedule and they were undefeated in-conference. Their losses were to ranked teams. But we also looked at Alabama’s losses to unranked teams. And it was quite a debate.”

Manuel continued, “We value strength of schedule. That’s why Alabama, as a three-loss team, is ranked ahead of other teams that have two losses. It’s something that we talked about quite a bit. But in the balance of it, the way SMU played in that game, losing on a last-second field goal, great win by Clemson, great game. We just felt that in this particular case, SMU still had the nod at 10 above of Alabama. And that’s no disrespect to Alabama’s strength of schedule. It’s merely looking at the entire body of work for both teams.”

UCF Announces Scott Frost Returning as HC

UCF and Scott Frost have made it official – Coach Frost will be the Head Coach of the Knights for the second time in his career.

Coach Frost was the coach of the Knights from 2016-17, including for the National Championship winning season in 2017.

Coach Frost then left UCF to be the coach of Nebraska, where he was 16-31 across parts of 5 seasons. Coach Frost spent this season as an analyst with the Los Angeles Rams in the NFL.

Athletic Director Terry Mohajir shared, “today marks an exciting reunion for UCF Football we welcome back Scott Frost, a coach who ignites the spirit and passion of Knight Nation. Scott’s love for his players, along with his leadership, enthusiasm, and vision were pivotal in making the decision to bring him back to UCF. Throughout this national search, his passion for UCF was clear. I believe no one wanted to lead our program more than Scott.”

Purdue Hires UNLV’s Barry Odom as HC

Purdue is hiring UNLV’s Barry Odom as its next HC after going 19-8 in his two seasons with UNLV.

Coach Odom also brings with him 4 years of experience at Missouri, where he went 25-25 with 3 seasons at or above .500 where the Tigers appeared and lost in two bowl games that he coached in.

Purdue’s Athletic Director said in a statement, “this is an exciting day as we announce HC Barry Odom as the new leader of the Purdue Boilermakers. As both a leader and person, Coach Odom personifies the qualities that our football program and university value. During our interactions with Coach Odom, it became clear that he possesses the belief, tenacity, and competitive drive necessary to return Purdue Football to the standard of excellence we all expect.”

Coach Odom was also being considered for the UCF and West Virginia jobs. He shared, “it is with tremendous honor and gratitude that I accept this opportunity to serve as the head football coach at Purdue University. To coach at an institution like Purdue, in a community like Greater Lafayette and for a proud, tradition-rich and hungry football program like the Boilermakers is a dream come true for me and my family. Their trust will be rewarded with a football program that will reflect the personality and excellence that Purdue is widely known for; character, intensity, and a no-excuses winning attitude will be the foundation of what we will build at Purdue, and I can assure you it will be built to last.”

Tulane’s Jon Sumrall Announces He’s Not Pursuing Other Jobs

Tulane Head Coach Jon Sumrall informed Tulane University officials that he is not going anywhere.

Coach Sumrall was believed to be a top candidate for the North Carolina job, as well as being a top candidate for other programs that may have opened up in the event that Coach Sumrall were open to leaving Tulane.

Earlier, Coach Sumrall did say, in part, “Look, people call. They call my agent. I don’t talk to them very often. … Like almost nothing gets to me. … When it gets to me, it’s usually because I’m like, ‘this is something that could be really… something I need to consider.’ Nothing’s getting to me right now. I can say that. Nothing’s getting to me.”

Coach Sumrall has shut down the idea of leaving during this cycle, also, after receiving an increased salary pool for his assistants and an increased commitment of revenue sharing money available for athletes from the university.

Miscellaneous Coaching / Asst Coaching Hires

Kyle Whittingham announces he will return to Utah for 2025 season.

Charlotte reportedly targeting Ohio HC Tim Albin as next HC.

Appalachian State hires South Carolina OC Dowell Loggains as next HC.

Marshall closing in on hiring of NC State DC Tony Gibson as next HC.

Central Michigan targeting Army OL Coach Matt Drinkall as next HC.

FIU finalizing deal to hire Duke RBs Coach and former Prairie View A&M and Florida A&M HC Willie Simmons as next HC.

Oklahoma State to hire former Florida DC Todd Grantham as new DC; also has worked at UGA, Louisville, MSU (both P4 MSU’s), and VT.

Wisconsin hiring Kansas OC Jeff Grimes to same position, Kansas elevating Jim Zebrowski from Co-OC to OC.

Bryan Harsin has emerged as a top candidate for Cal OC position.

Florida State hiring Nebraska’s Evan Cooper as safeties coach.

2026 5-Star EDGE Zion Elee Commits to Maryland

2026 5-star EDGE Zion Elee committed to Maryland yesterday over offers from Oregon, Penn State, Texas A&M, Florida, Tennessee, and dozens of others.

Elee shared that he did not want to wait, because he wanted to choose somewhere to go and make connections as early as possible. When visiting Maryland, he said he always liked the environment and thought the coaches and visits were always nice, and when considering what he really wanted to do, staying home somewhere like that was the most appealing option.

In the 2026 class, Elee ranks 1st according to On3, 2nd according to 247, and 8th according to ESPN. Rivals ranks him 69th and rates him as a 4-star, which is the clear outlier of the bunch, but the On3 industry composite places Elee 5th nationally and 1st of the EDGE position.

That’s Maryland 4th commitment for the 2026 class and only their first Blue Chip commitment, but what a big first Blue Chip commitment it is. Maryland’s class is currently ranked 13th nationally, though, it is still extraordinarily early for the 2026 team class rankings.

2026 4-Star LB Tristan Phillips Commits to Oregon

4-Star LB Tristan Phillips committed to Oregon yesterday over Oklahoma, Washington, Utah, Wisconsin, Arizona State, and plenty of other offers.

Phillips was not originally planning on committing this early, but after visiting and getting his offer, he realized that they recruited him the way he wanted to be recruited, and he checked the boxes he was looking for in a program.

Phillips is ranked as high as 206th nationally and 13th at the LB position according to 247, but he is ranked 306th nationally and 24th at the LB position according to the On3 industry composite.

For Oregon, the 2026 class already has 10 commitments – 9 of which are Blue Chip commitments – for a class which currently ranks 1st nationally. It’s still early, but Oregon is clearly setting the pace for next year’s class already.

Other Commitments/Decommitments

3-Star (88) WR Bryson Baker commits to Utah

3-Star (87) DL Evan Powell commits to West Virginia

3-Star (87) S Tavares Murray flips from Central Michigan to Old Dominion

3-Star (86) RB Grayson Rigdon flips from NC State to Wyoming

3-Star (83) QB Chase Herbstreit commits to Michigan

2-Star (78) ATH Elijah Andersen commits to Idaho State

Unrated DL James Steel commits to Toledo