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:

TODAY’S SCHEDULE:

Betting Information as of time of writing

#24 UNLV Holds Cal Scoreless in 2nd Half to Win 24-13

#24 UNLV beat Cal 24-13 as the Rebels were able to hold the Cal offense from scoring in the 2nd half despite being outgained and outconverted during this one.

The Bears finished with 21 first downs (to UNLV’s 12) and 348 yards (to UNLV’s 291), and yet, Cal only found the end zone once while UNLV’s Hajj-Malik Williams threw a pair of touchdowns and RB Kylin James ran in another.

Williams finished just 5/18 for 96 yards and 2 touchdowns, but he threw a 49-yard touchdown to Kayden McGee, and a 29-yard pass to Jacob De Jesus, who finished with 2 catches for 38 yards and a touchdown. Williams also added 27 yards on the ground, while Jai’Den Thomas (18/72) and Kylin James (7/37/1) led the Rebels in terms of the ground game.

There was also a big trick play, as Punter Marshall Nichols threw a pass that went for 52 yards to senior DB Cameron Oliver.

De Jesus also added another 102 return yards on a kick return and 3 punt returns combined, including a 38-yard return. 3 Rebels finished with at least 10 tackles (Marsel McDuffie: 13, Jett Elad: 12, and Jackson Woodard: 11).

For Cal, it was without QB Fernando Mendoza, who hit the transfer portal recently. Instead, QBs CJ Harris (13/20; 109) and EJ Caminong (6/19; 57) led the charge for the Bears. Including the 4 sacks, the QBs also combined for 41 rushing yards on 22 rush attempts.

Jaydn Ott led all rushers in this game (11/84), with the only Cal touchdown of the game coming from WR Josiah Martin, who finished with the one 29-yard rush and 4/40 in the receiving game. Jack Endries led all receivers in this one, though, with 7/61.

For UNLV, the win brings the Rebels to 11 wins for the second time in program history (1984) and will almost definitely end the season ranked for the first time in program history after even entering the rankings for the first time in program history earlier this season.

James Madison Uses Big 2nd Half to Get Past Western Kentucky 27-17 to Win Boca Raton Bowl

Western Kentucky entered halftime with a 14-7 lead, but James Madison finished strong, outscoring Western Kentucky 20-3 in the 2nd half to win the Boca Raton Bowl 27-17.

The game was tied as late as about 10 minutes left in the game, though, before James Madison scored a touchdown to make it 24-17.

Where James Madison excelled was in limiting rushing yards, as Western Kentucky finished with less than 1 yard per carry after factoring in sack yardage lost (20 att, 16 yds). Western Kentucky’s leading rusher was Elijah Young, who did finish with 11 carries for 37 yards, which is not necessarily a poor day. But considering his long rush was for 17, that means he averaged 2 yards per carry on his other 10 carries.

QB Caden Veltkamp finished 25/39 for 302 yards and 2 touchdowns, with one going to Dalvin Smith (2/76/1) and one going to Moussa Barry (2/26/1). Kisean Johnson (9/70) and Easton Messer (3/68) also were reliable targets for Veltkamp.

Where Western Kentucky really hurt themselves was in losing 3 fumbles (and not forcing any turnovers of their own). All three fumbles happened either in James Madison territory or resulted in Western Kentucky points on the following drive.

James Madison QB Billy Atkins made his first start in a couple years, throwing for 181 yards and a touchdown on 16/23 passing. George Pettaway (14/100) and JC Evans (10/64/1) were the leading rushers in this game, while Omarion Dollison (6/82) was the leading receiver. Yamir Knight (4/38) and Wayne Knight (4/25) also were consistent contributors for the Dukes.

Wake Forest Hires Washington State’s Jake Dickert as HC

According to The Athletic, Wake Forest is set to hire Washington State’s Jake Dickert as its new Head Coach.

This move quickly comes after a surprising resignation from previous coach Dave Clawson, who is now moving into an advisory role.

With Washington State, Coach Dickert is 23-20 at Washington State, and has taken the Cougars to three bowl games. This is Coach Dickert’s first stop on the east coast, as his career has been on the midwest (North Dakota State, Minnesota State) and out a little more west (Wyoming, Washington State).

While with the Cougars, Coach Dickert has also overseen some highly sought after QBs, as both Cam Ward and John Mateer performed well in his offense before transferring to larger programs of Miami and Oklahoma, respectively.

Vandy QB Diego Pavia Gets 6th Year of Eligibility

Diego Pavia is being granted an additional year of eligibility after Judge William Campbell issued a ruling in favor of Pavia – and other JUCO players – that states that JUCO players cannot lose the 4 years of eligibility that other NCAA players have by playing in JUCO.

In other words, time in JUCO does not count towards the eligibility clock. And that means players like Pavia can now have more eligibility than they previously were expecting.

Pavia spent 2 seasons at the New Mexico Military Institute, before spending another 2 seasons at New Mexico State and the most recent season at Vanderbilt. Pavia will now be able to return for the 2025 season at Vandy.

Zach Arnett, Former Mississippi State HC, Expected to Be New DC at UNLV

Former Mississippi State Head Coach Zach Arnett is set to UNLV’s next Defensive Coordinator according to Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports.

Coach Arnett is currently with Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss as an analyst, and has no experience working directly with Coach Mullen despite each having extensive experience and ties in Mississippi State.

Arnett is going to be taking over a defensive unit that had a very strong 2024, allowing just 21.9 points per game, though, the Rebels may be losing some of their top players on defense, as players like LB Jackson Woodard are seniors.

Former Wisconsin and UNC OC Phil Longo is Named Sam Houston’s Coach

Sam Houston is hiring former Wisconsin and North Carolina OC Phil Longo to be its new Head Coach.

Longo did spend some time at Sam Houston, being the Bearkats OC from 2014 to 2016. More recently, though, Longo was fired as the Wisconsin OC during this most recent season where he worked for a couple seasons after leaving North Carolina for the Badgers.

Of the move, Coach Longo shared in a statement, “my family and I feel that a part of us has never left Sam Houston, and it feels like we are returning home. I am elated and honored to become the next head football coach at Sam Houston State University.”

This will be Coach Longo’s first stint as an FBS head coach, as his only other head coaching experience comes at LaSalle in 2004 and 2005.

Former Washington State QB John Matter Commits to Oklahoma

Washington State QB John Mateer has committed to Oklahoma out of the portal. Mateer’s decision follows his former Cougars’ OC, Ben Arbuckle, being hired by Oklahoma.

Mateer has been with Washington State for 3 seasons, but took a redshirt year in 2022, so he has 2 more seasons of eligibility with the Sooners.

In 2024, Mateer finished with a 64.6% completion percentage, 3,139 passing yards, and 29 passing touchdowns (to just 7 interceptions). He also added 826 rushing yards and 15 rushing touchdowns.

With Oklahoma, QB Jackson Arnold has already transferred out of the program, but Michael Hawkins – who started for some time in 2024 before being benched for Arnold – is still with the program and will be the main competition for Mateer, most likely.

Former Arkansas OL Addison Nichols Signs with SMU

Arkansas OL Addison Nichols has signed with SMU after visiting the Mustangs last week.

Nichols has spent 3 seasons in the SEC, with 2 years at Tennessee and one season at Arkansas. After using one of those years at Tennessee to redshirt, Nichols comes to SMU with 2 years of eligibility left.

SMU earned Nichols’ services over Florida State, who was also heavily pursuing the Razorbacks’ starting center.

Nichols is one of the top-rated IOL in the transfer portal, as the On3 industry portal rankings places him 4th at his position.

Former Alabama WR Caleb Odom Commits to Ole Miss

Caleb Odom has committed to Ole Miss out of the portal after being one of the top rated recruits for Alabama in the 2024 recruiting class that was ranked 2nd nationally for the Tide.

Odom was ranked 30th nationally in the 2024 class, however, Odom only caught 7 passes for 65 yards – all in non-conference play – as a true freshman, but did play in every game.

Nevertheless, Odom was one of the top talents available in the portal, so this is definitely a big win for Ole Miss and Coach Lane Kiffin, no stranger to winning in the transfer portal.

Odom has four seasons to play his final 3 years of eligibility with Ole Miss.

Former Liberty QB Kaidon Salter Signs with Colorado

Liberty QB Kaidon Salter signed with Colorado yesterday for his final season of eligibility after spending four seasons with the Liberty Flames.

Salter also received a lot of interest from Syracuse, the other school Salter was mainly considering. But with Colorado, Salter could make some sense as a one-season stop-gap QB to bridge the gap between Shedeur Sanders and Blue Chip recruit Julian Lewis.

Salter has thrown for 5,889 yards and run for another 2,006, while passing for 56 touchdowns and rushing for another 21 across all four seasons.

Other Commitments/Decommitments

3-Star (86) DL Jaden Roper commits to Georgia State

3-Star (83) IOL Andrew Dudley commits to Marshall

3-Star (83) QB Ethan Drumm commits to Wofford

Unrated TE Jacob Nye commits to BYU