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:

Colorado’s Travis Hunter Wins Heisman in Closest Vote Since 2009

Colorado’s sensational WR/CB Travis Hunter won the Heisman Trophy last night, narrowly edging out Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty, with the other finalists being Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel and Miami QB Cam Ward.

The difference in voting points was only 214 – the narrowest margin since 2009 when Mark Ingram narrowly edged out Toby Gerhart by just 28 points, the closest voting margin ever.

Hunter finished with 552 first place votes to Jeanty’s 309, but Hunter also had a narrowly higher percent of ballots that he did not appear on, as a little over 93% of ballots had Hunter on it somewhere, while Jeanty appeared on a little over 95% of ballots in one of the three voting positions.

Further down the ballot, Gabriel finished with 24 first place votes, and Ward received 6 votes. Arizona State RB and Army QB Bryson Daily also received 3 votes, Penn State TE Tyler Warren and Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders received 1, and Indiana QB Kurtis Rourke got 2.

Navy Sings 2nd, Wins Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy with 31-13 Win Over #22 Army

Navy pulled away from #22 Army to win the 125th iteration of the Army/Navy game 31-13, as well as securing an outright win of the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy.

Navy received a heroic effort from QB Blake Horvath, who threw for over 100 yards and 2 touchdowns while also rushing for 204 yards and 2 touchdowns on just 25 carries.

Horvath’s counterpart on the other sideline, Army QB Bryson Daily, had a tough day at the office, finished 7/16 for 65 yards, a touchdown, and 3 interceptions. Daily also only ran for 52 yards on 19 carries, with a longest rush of just 5 yards.

Navy also kept RBs Kanye Udoh (14/53, long of 12) and Noah Short (5/9, long of 9) in check all day, as the Black Knights only found the end zone once and finished with 179 total yards.

Navy, on the other hand, finished with 384 yards (7.38 per play).

Having beat both Army and Air Force during the season, the Midshipmen won the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy outright, the 17th time Navy has won it, and was the first outright win since 2019.

Since the Trophy was established in 1972, Air Force has won it 21 times, but only twice in the last decade, with Navy having won it 17 times, and Army having won it 10 times. It’s been shared 5 times.

Navy also now leads Army 63-55-7 all-time in the Army/Navy game rivalry all-time.

South Alabama Picks Up Over 500 Yards To Win IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl 30-23

Western Michigan jumped out to a 10-0 lead over South Alabama before the Jaguars rallied to put up over 500 yards and win 30-23.

By the end, South Alabama had finished with 537 yards to just 317 for Western Michigan, as South Alabama averaged over 11 yards per pass and 7 yards per rush.

QB Bishop Davenport was 15/24 for the Jaguars, throwing for 271 yards, 2 touchdowns, and a pick. Davenport also ran for 85 yards on 11 carries, plus a touchdown – a 50-yard scamper.

WR Jeremiah Webb led all receivers in this game with a monstrous performance of 6/182/2 while Kentrel Bullock led all rushers in this game with a strong 17/130/1.

For Western Michigan, QB Hayden Wolff finished 17/27 for 196 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. RBs Jaden Nixon (11/45), Zahir Abdus-Salaam (9/33), and Jalen Buckley (8/26/1) did what they could to get the rushing game going, but the Broncos only combined for 121 yards and a touchdown on 34 total rush attempts. Kenneth Womack led all Broncos with 5/89 receiving.

Jackson State Beats South Carolina State 28-7 to Win Cricket Celebration Bowl Behind Strong Defensive Performance

Jackson State held South Carolina State to just 178 total yards and 2/13 on 3rd downs (3/16 on conversion downs) to win the Cricket Celebration Bowl 28-7.

Jackson State ran for just 152 yards on 51 rushing attempts, but considering South Carolina State was held to 3.36 yards per play in total, this was a pretty dominating effort once Jackson State took a two-possession lead into halftime.

The Tigers won the turnover battle 2-1 and controlled the ball, allowing South Carolina State to possess the ball for just 23 minutes and change.

Jackson State QB Jacobian Morgan finished 15/21 for 233 yards, 2 touchdowns, and an interception, with both touchdowns going to Joanes Fortilien (6/43/2) and Isaiah Spencer (3/123) also excelling in the passing game. On the ground, Irv Mulligan found the end zone twice (25/71/2), with Emari Matthews (11/55) and Morgan (10/24) also getting a good number of the carries.

For South Carolina State, QB Eric Phoenix struggled to keep the ball moving, finishing 13/31 for 143 yards and an interception. He was also South Carolina’s leading rusher with just 17 yards (8/17/1). The Bulldogs’ leading receiver was Nigel Johnson (1/64), with no one else getting more than 25 receiving yards.

Marshall Opts Out of Independence Bowl vs. Army, Louisiana Tech Will Play Instead

Marshall has had almost 30 players enter the transfer portal this offseason after Head Coach Charles Huff was not extended and made the decision to leave for Southern Miss.

As a result, Marshall has decided to withdraw from the Independence Bowl vs. Army. Very quickly, the Independence Bowl announced that Louisiana Tech, at 5-7, would be the team to replace the Thundering Herd.

Louisiana Tech will have just about 2 weeks to prepare as the game kicks off the night of December 28th.

Purdue Transfer DB Dillon Thieneman Commits to Oregon

One of the top DBs in the entire country, Dillon Thieneman, has committed to transfer to Oregon from Purdue.

Thieneman currently ranks 5th nationally and 1st at the safety position for all players that entered the transfer portal according to the On3 portal industry composite.

Thieneman put up monster production in 2024, leading the Boilermakers with 104 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, a sack, 7 passes defended.

That also followed an impressive 2023, where he won Big Ten Freshman of the Year after finishing with 106 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 6 interceptions, and 2 forced fumbles.

This is Oregon’s first transfer portal pickup – and a big one at that – as the Ducks’ focus remains on the College Football Playoff and its #1 ranking.

Nebraska Transfer EDGE Princewill Umanmielen Commits to Ole Miss

Nebraska transfer EDGE Princewill Umanmielen has committed to Ole Miss, the same program his brother Princely played for in 2024.

Princewill Umanmielen spent two years with Nebraska after committing to the Huskers as one of Coach Matt Rhule’s first big recruiting wins.

For Umanmielen, he chose Ole Miss over some programs like LSU, Texas A&M, Florida State, Auburn, and others. When his brother transferred in from Florida, he put up 10.5 sacks and 13 tackles for loss, some major production.

Ole Miss has been crushing it in the portal, yet again, as Umanmielen joins some other big names like Patrick Kutas, Luke Hasz, and others.

Kentucky Transfer WR Barion Brown Signs with LSU

One of the top WRs in the transfer portal, Kentucky’s Barion Brown, has signed with LSU according to On3’s Pete Nakos.

Brown was with Kentucky for 3 seasons, where he finished with 1,528 yards and 11 touchdowns on 122 catches in 37 games and 27 starts.

In 2024, Brown put up a career low 29 catches for 361 yards and 3 touchdowns as Kentucky’s passing offense was abysmal. He also holds the SEC record with 5 career kick return touchdowns, making him a dynamic option in the return game.

After playing in an offense that lacked passing production, Brown now heads to LSU, which had the #1 offense in 2023, the #8 passing offense in 2024, and returns QB Garrett Nussmeier for 2025.

4-Star JUCO CB Keshawn Davila Commits to Arkansas

4-Star JUCO CB Keshawn Davila committed to Arkansas yesterday over UCLA and Virginia Tech, among other offers.

For Davila, he was impressed with how comfortable his family felt on their visit there, which is what, specifically, made it feel like home.

This is a big win for the Razorbacks, as Davila is one of the top players in JUCO this season, ranking as the top CB on On3, 247, and ESPN, and ranking as the 2nd ranked JUCO prospect overall according to On3. The On3 industry composite ranks Davila 5th nationally and 1st at the CB position.

For Arkansas, this is the 25th commitment for a nearly finished 2025 class that currently ranks 29th nationally and 15th out of 16 in the SEC.

2026 4-Star DL Anthony Kennedy Commits to Missouri

2026 4-Star DL Anthony Kennedy committed to Missouri over Arkansas, Georgia, Texas, SMU, and others yesterday.

Kennedy has visited Columbia, MO on five different occasions and has decided to committed due to his “great connection with the coaches.” Kennedy also loves “the atmosphere and how it feels like home.”

Kennedy ranks as high as the 20th ranked DL according to ESPN, with the On3 industry composite ranking Kennedy 261st nationally and 29th at the DL position.

For Missouri, Kennedy’s commitment kicks off the 2026 class, as this is the Tigers’ first commitment for 2026.

Other Commitments/Decommitments

2026 Unrated DL Seven Cloud commits to Georgia

Arkansas TE (92) Luke Hasz transfers to Ole Miss

Mississippi State WR (92) Kevin Coleman transfers to Missouri

Missouri EDGE (91) Jaylen Brown transfers to South Carolina

Oklahoma QB (90) Jackson Arnold transfers to Auburn

Florida CB (90) Ja’Keem Jackson transfers to LSU

Ball State TE (90) Tanner Koziol transfers to Wisconsin

USC QB (90) Miller Moss transfers to Louisville

ECU WR (90) Chase Sowell transfers to Iowa State

UConn RB (88) Durell Robinson transfers to Auburn

NIU DL (88) Skyler Gill-Howard transfers to Texas Tech

Oklahoma CB (86) Kani Walker transfers to Arkansas

Nebraska LB (86) Stefon Thompson transfers to Florida State

UAB CB (86) Kelvin Hill transfers to Georgia Tech

Mississippi State IOL (85) Makylan Pounders transfers to Louisville

Wake Forest IOL (85) Nick Sharpe transfers to South Carolina

UNLV RB (84) Michael Allen transfers to Marshall

Rutgers S Thomas Amankwaa transfers to Delaware

Oklahoma State P Hudson Kaak transfers to Auburn

San Jose State CB DJ Harvey transfers to USC

LSU S Jordan Allen transfers to Houston

New Mexico OT McKenzie Agnello transfers to Houston

USC EDGE Sam Greene transfers to Kentucky

Marshall LB Landyn Watson transfers to Kentucky

Rutgers EDGE Wesley Bailey transfers to Louisville

Nevada IOL Tyson Ruffins transfers to Stanford

Tulsa DL RJ Jackson Jr. transfers to UCF

Northwestern State EDGE Chancellor Owens transfers to Arizona

ECU EDGE Demoris Jenkins transfers to Austin Peay

NIU QB Ethan Hampton transfers to Wake Forest