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.

New AP Top 25

The AP released a new Top 25 rankings after Week 8, and there’s a new Number 1 in town:

1. Oregon, 7-0 (59 first place votes, +1)

2. Georgia, 6-1 (2 first place votes, +3)

3. Penn State, 6-0 (-)

4. Ohio State, 5-1 (-)

5. Texas, 6-1 (-4)

6. Miami, 7-0 (-)

7. Tennessee, 6-1 (+4)

8. LSU, 6-1 (-)

9. Clemson, 6-1 (+1)

10. Iowa State, 7-0 (-1)

11. BYU, 7-0 (+2)

12. Notre Dame, 6-1 (-)

13. Indiana, 7-0 (+3)

14. Texas A&M, 6-1 (-)

15. Alabama, 5-2 (-8)

16. Kansas State, 6-1 (+1)

17. Boise State, 5-1 (-2)

18. Ole Miss, 5-2 (-)

19. Pitt, 6-0 (+1)

20. Illinois, 6-1 (+2)

21. Missouri, 6-1 (-2)

22. SMU, 6-1 (-1)

23. Army, 7-0 (-)

24. Navy, 6-0 (-)

25. Vanderbilt, 5-2 (NEW)

Dropped: Michigan (24)

RV: WAZZU (46), SYR (15), UNLV (5), DUKE (2), SCAR (1), LIB (1), NEB (1)

ECU Fires HC Mike Houston

East Carolina announced yesterday that has fired Coach Mike Houston after going 27-38 (15-28 in AAC play) in his six seasons with ECU.

Houston took over ECU back in 2019 rebuilding from 4-8 in 2019 and 3-6 in 2020 to 7-5 in 2021 and 8-5 in 2022. However, after losing longtime lefty QB Holton Ahlers, the Pirates took a step back to 2-10 in 2023 and fell to 3-4 in 2024 before Houston got the axe.

Houston’s contract was set to pay him $2.3M through 2026. According to Stephen Igoe of Hoist the Colours, ECU’s 247 site, ECU is due to owe Houston roughly $3M in total, as $1.4M of the $2.3M was his base pay (the other $900k being marketing and Pirate Club appearance compensation). Houston will be paid in monthly installments through 2026, but what ECU owes may be reduced in the event Houston lands a new coaching job, as his contract has a dollar-for-dollar offset in the event he takes a new coaching job.

ECU will turn to Blake Harrell as its interim coach; Harrell has been the Pirates’ defensive coordinator since 2020.

Southern Miss Fires HC Will Hall

Southern Miss announced yesterday that it has fired coach Will Hall.

With Hall’s firing, AHC and GM Reed Stringer will be the Interim HC for the Golden Eagles.

Hall was fired following a 14-30 record in his 4 seasons with Southern Miss, with a pair of 3-9 seasons in 2021 and 2023 and a 1-6 start to 2024. A 7-6 season in 2022 with a win in the LendingTree Bowl is the lone winning season in Hall’s tenure in Hattiesburg, MS.

According to Hall’s contract, he will be owed nearly $860k from the university. Including Larry Fedora getting the Golden Eagles up to 20th in the final AP Poll of 2012, there have been 7 people to act as head coach of Southern Miss (which means Stringer makes the 8th).

Including Interim HC Stringer, whoever is hired as the next Head Coach will mark the 9th person to be a Head Coach for Southern Miss over a period of just 15 seasons.

Oklahoma Fires OC Seth Littrell

Oklahoma has announced that it has fired OC Seth Littrell following a 35-9 blowout loss to South Carolina and a start to the season that has inspired little confidence offensively.

Littrell was just hired as OC this offseason after being promoted from an analyst position when former OC Jeff Lebby was hired as Mississippi State’s head coach. However, this season, Oklahoma ranks 128th in average yards per game thus far.

QB Jackson Arnold started the first four games before being benched in favor of true freshman Michael Hawkins. However, Hawkins also struggled, turning the ball over on each of Oklahoma’s first 3 possessions against South Carolina.

Co-OC Joe Jon Finley will take over playcalling duties on an interim basis, and senior offensive analyst Kevin Johns is being elevated to Co-OC and QBs Coach.

Utah OC Andy Ludwig Steps Down

It has been announced that Andy Ludwig has stepped down from his position as Utah’s offensive coordinator.

Ludwig has had several OC stints dating back to 1997, including being the OC for Utah from 2005-08 and again being the OC for Utah from 2019-24.

During these eras, Utah has seen much success, however, with an offense that currently ranks 95th in scoring and 72nd in yards per game, he has decided to step down for the sake of the Utes’ program.

Utah Head Coach Kyle Whittingham released a statement following the announcement: “Assistant coach Andy Ludwig has made the decision to step down from his position with Utah Football. Andy is the consummate professional and we want to thank him for his complete dedication to our program during his 10 total seasons with us. Coach Ludwig has been instrumental to our success here at Utah and personally, I have a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for Andy as both a coach and a person. We wish him nothing but the best in all of his future endeavors.”

Sarkisian on Benching Ewers: Did What Was Best for Both Team & Him in that Moment

As was covered in yesterday’s game recap, Texas struggled offensively against Georgia, especially in the first half.

In the first half, QB Quinn Ewers was just 6-for-12 for 17 yards, and the Longhorns only earned 29 yards on Ewers’ first 6 drives at the helm. Georgia had a 20-0 lead late in the 2nd quarter, and so Sarkisian removed Ewers from the game in favor of redshirt freshman Arch Manning.

After two poor drives, including a fumble lost, the Longhorns limped to halftime and Ewers came back out in the 2nd half. In the 2nd half, Ewers went 19-for-31 for 194 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Of this decision, Coach Sarkisian said, “I thought we saw the competitor in Quinn really come out in the 2nd half. I’m sure he wasn’t the happiest guy with me that he got taken out for a couple series. I’m sure he wanted to stay in there and try to work his way through it. I had to make a decision for what I felt was best for the team in that moment but also best for him in that moment. … I think when he takes a step back and looks at it, he’ll understand I was trying to do what was in the best interest of him.”

Coach Sarkisian also stated postgame that Ewers is still the starting quarterback. The decision to play Manning for two drives should do nothing to jeopardize that.

Indiana QB Kurtis Rourke Update: Out for Indefinite Period, Expected to Return in 2024

Indiana Football officially announced that QB Kurtis Rourke is injured and out for an “indefinite period of time” with a thumb injury suffered during this past game against Nebraska.

Indiana did share that Rourke is expected to return in 2024, so there’s at least that bright spot for Hoosiers fans.

Rourke appeared to suffer a hand injury during the 2nd quarter of the Nebraska game, and the FOX Sports broadcast showed Rourke’s hand bleeding; he finished the half for the Hoosiers. Coming out of the half, Coach Curt Cignetti told sideline reporter Jenny Taft that Rourke’s thumb was “fine,” but then Tayven Jackson was Indiana’s QB for the rest of the game.

Rourke has already been announced as out against Washington this week. After Washington, Indiana heads to Michigan State before hosting Michigan. The Hoosiers then have a bye before traveling to Ohio State, and then finish the season hosting Purdue.

SEC Punishes Texas for Bottle Throwing; Tennessee for Field Storming

The SEC announced a pair of notable fines after this weekend’s games, including a $250,000 fine against Texas for throwing trash and other debris onto the field during the game against Georgia. Texas must also use all available resources to track down individuals who threw things onto the field and ban those individuals from Texas events for the rest of the 2024-25 athletic year.

This trash throwing was a result of a questionable defensive pass interference call against Texas DB Jahdae Barron who intercepted Carson Beck on the play. In the process of cleaning the debris off the field, the referees got together, and overturned the call effectively changing it from an automatic first down for Georgia to an interception for Texas.

A $250k fine and requiring the offending school to make an effort to hold fans accountable by banning the perpetrators is consistent with precedent, as that was the punishment when Tennessee fans threw mustard bottles and golf balls (among other debris) on the field at Ole Miss and Lane Kiffin in his return to Neyland Stadium.

The SEC also fined Tennessee $100,000 for field storming, a fine which is to be paid to Alabama, following Tennessee storming the field. The policy fining teams for field storming went into effect in summer of 2023, and this is Tennessee’s first offense since then. According to the policy, the school must pay $250,000 to the opponent for a second offense and the school must pay $500,000 for a third offense.

3-Star OL/DL Juju Marks Flips from Kansas to Nebraska

3-star OL/DL Juju Marks flipped his commitment yesterday from Kansas to Nebraska after originally committing to the Jayhawks back in early June.

Marks plays both OL and DL, but is expected to play OL for Nebraska.

Marks rates as a 4-star according to Rivals, but is a high 3-star according to the other recruiting services. According to the On3 industry composite, ranks 417th nationally and 36th at his position, and is just shy of a 4-star rating.

This is Nebraska’s 20th commitment of the 2025 class for a class which ranks 24th nationally and 7th in the Big Ten. Kansas is now down to 14 commitments for the 2025 class, a class which ranks 62nd nationally and 14th out of 16 in the Big 12, ahead of only BYU and Colorado.

Updated ESPN FPI

Following Week 8, ESPN updated its computer-generated FPI power rankings. Here’s the new Top 25 below:

1. Ohio State, 27.5 (+1)

2. Texas, 27.2 (-1)

3. Alabama, 23.2

4. Georgia, 22.9

5. Ole Miss, 22.1

6. Tennessee, 21.0 (+1)

7. Notre Dame, 21.0 (-1)

8. Oregon, 20.5

9. Penn State, 18.6

10. Miami, 18.3

11. Indiana, 17.4 (+4)

12. LSU, 16.9 (+2)

13. Clemson, 16.9 (-2)

14. Texas A&M, 15.7 (-2)

15. USC, 14.4 (-2)

16. SMU, 14.4 (+2)

17. Louisville, 13.8 (-1)

18. Kansas State, 13.8 (+3)

19. Iowa State, 12.3 (-2)

20. Missouri, 12.2 (-1)

21. Boise State, 11.8 (+1)

22. Florida, 11.3 (+5)

23. South Carolina, 11.1 (+3)

24. Colorado, 10.0 (+6)

25. Wisconsin, 9.7 (+3)

Other Commitments/Decommitments

2026 3-Star (89) IOL Brandon Anderson commits to Tennessee

3-Star (88) CB Kaylib Singleton decommits from Rutgers

3-Star (87) LB Brennan Johnson commits to Virginia Tech

2026 3-Star (87) OT Mason Bandhauer commits to Iowa State

3-Star (86) DL Drayden Peavy decommits from Purdue

3-Star (84) IOL Bol Bol commits to Boise State

3-Star (84) WR Kayin Booker commits to Portland State

2026 Unrated RB Qwantavius Wiggins commits to USF

Unrated WR Aidan Wyzard commits to Northern Illinois

Unrated ATH Caleb Haack commits to Northern Illinois