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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:

Akron Upsets Toledo in OT As Toledo Misses Multiple Opportunities that Could’ve Won Game

Akron pulled off a 9.5-point upset last night as the Zips beat Toledo in overtime in a game where Toledo had plenty of chances and capitalized on basically none of them.

Toledo K Dylan Cunanan finished 03 kicking field goals, including a 29-yard attempt as time expired that would have won Toledo the game in regulation.

He also missed a 45-yarder and 26-yarder at other points in the game.

Toledo did outgain Akron 465-328, but the yards per play difference was actually in Akron’s favor (5.75-5.41).

The Zips finished with 221 passing yards and 2 touchdowns on 12/23, while also rushing for 107 yards and a touchdown on 34 attempts. RB Charles Kellom led all Akron rushers with 69 yards, as well as 3 catches and 33 yards plus the game-winning, 25-yard touchdown in overtime. Ahmarian Granger posted a statline of 2/106/1 to lead all receivers for either time.

For Toledo, QB Tucker Gleason finished 31/44 with 289 yards and 2 touchdowns. RB Connor Walendzak led all rushers in this game with 87 yards, just crossing 100 yards total as he also had 14 receiving yards. Three Toledo receivers had at least 80 yards, as Junior Vandeross III (11/84), Anthony Torres (6/82/1), and Jerjuan Newton (8/81/1) all were steady contributors to the passing attack.

Akron LBs Gage Summers and Bryan McCoy had some eye-popping numbers in the box score as they combined for 36 total tackles.

For Toledo, this ends an up-and-down season that included a blow-out win over Mississippi State and Miami (OH)’s only loss in conference play. However, it’s a season where the Rockets otherwise could not get over the hump against the other top conference contenders, losing to Buffalo, Bowling Green, and Ohio – all by multiple scores – while also ending with a loss to Akron to finish 7-5. For Akron, this was a solid win for the Zips to hang its hat on after only having beat Colgate, Kent State, and Eastern Michigan – all teams which are currently under .500 (Eastern Michigan could get to 6-6 with a win over Western Michigan, though the Eagles are underdogs of about a touchdown on the road at Western Michigan).

Buffalo Destroys Kent State 43-7 to End Kent State’s Season 0-12 and Maintain Minimal Chance in MAC Championship Picture

Buffalo scored on each of its first two drives to take an early 13-0 lead, it was pretty much over from that point forward.

Buffalo fumbled the Kent State punt following a 3-and-out to open the 2nd half which Kent State was able to recover and score a few plays later. But otherwise, Kent State only had two drives that went more than 20 yards, with one ending in a turnover on downs and the other ending in an interception with less than 2 minutes to go.

Looking at the overall statistics in this one, Buffalo did lose the turnover battle 2-1, but that might have been the only area where Buffalo did not outperform the Golden Flashes. Kent State finished 1/13 on conversion downs, while Buffalo was 9/16. Buffalo also finished with 446 yards to Kent State’s 209.

Buffalo QB CJ Ogbonna finished with 2 rushing touchdowns and 3 passing touchdowns as he ran for 51 yards and threw for 193 on 14/22 passing. RB Al-Jay Henderson ran for 185 yards and a touchdown, though, on 30 carries. WR Victor Snow was the only Bull to catch more than one pass, but he did catch 8 for 99 yards and a touchdown. He also finished with 84 punt return yards as he ran one back 59 yards and another 25 yards.

For the Bulls defense, LBs Shaun Dolac and Red Murdock – who are two of the nation’s top tacklers but were not finalists for the Best LB Award – finished 21 combined tackles, 1.5 sacks, and 3.5 combined TFLs.

For Kent State, only two players caught passes, as Jay Jay Etheridge led all Golden Flashes with 6 catches for 64 yards, while Luke Floriea finished with 4/38/1.

With the loss, Kent State finishes the season as the only winless team and also finishes dead last in the country in terms of margin of victory. By how much is yet to be seen, but considering Southern Miss is almost 9 points ahead of Kent State in this category and Purdue is almost 10 points per game ahead of Kent State in this category, it would take more than a 103 point loss from Southern Miss and/or a roughly 120 point loss from Purdue for Kent State to not hold this dubious distinction.

It also means that Kent State is 1-23 in the Kenni Burns era, with the 1 win coming in September of 2023 against Central Connecticut State. The Golden Flashes were also last in the nation in margin of victory last season.

For Buffalo, this win technically keeps the Bulls (6-2 in MAC play) alive in the MAC conference championship race, but it needs some help in the way of Ohio losing to 3-8 (2-5) Ball State, which is probably fairly unlikely. This may not even be enough, as both Miami and Bowling Green are 6-1 in conference, and the loser may still get in ahead of Buffalo on a tiebreaker in the event Ohio also loses.

New College Football Playoff Rankings Released

The College Football Playoff Committee came together last night to rank the teams:

1. Oregon

2. Ohio State

3. Texas

4. Penn State

5. Notre Dame (+1)

6. Miami (+2)

7. Georgia (+3)

8. Tennessee (+3)

9. SMU (+4)

10. Indiana (-5)

11. Boise State (+1)

12. Clemson (+5)

13. Alabama (-6)

14. Ole Miss (-5)

15. South Carolina (+3)

16. Arizona State (+5)

17. Tulane (+3)

18. Iowa State (+4)

19. BYU (-5)

20. Texas A&M (-5)

21. Missouri (+2)

22. UNLV (+2)

23. Illinois (+2)

24. Kansas State (NR)

25. Colorado (-9)

Dropped: Army (19)

North Carolina Fires Coach Mack Brown

North Carolina announced yesterday that it was firing Head Coach Mack Brown after the season ends.

A press release from the University reads: “this season will be Mack Brown’s last as the University of North Carolina’s head football coach. Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham on Monday informed Brown, who coached from UNC from 1988-97 and then returned to Chapel Hill in Nov., 2018, that he will not return as head coach. Brown will coach the team Saturday in its season finale against NC State at Kenan Stadium; a decision has not been reached on whether Brown will coach in a Bowl game.”

This decision comes one day after Coach Brown explicitly said that he intended to return to coach in 2025, though, he did also explicitly admit that he had yet to discuss this with AD Cunningham.

Cunningham also released a statement, which reads, in part:

“Mack Brown has won more games than any football coach in UNC history, and we deeply appreciate all that he has done for Carolina Football and our University. Over the last six seasons – his second campaign in Chapel Hill – he has coached our team to six bowl berths, including an Orange Bowl, while mentoring 18 NFL draft picks. … We thank Coach Brown for his dedication to Carolina, and wish him, Sally, and their family all the best.”

College Football Awards Finalists Announced for Several Top Awards

Finalists were recently announced for several top awards for the 2024 season:

Bednarik (DPOY):

• Travis Hunter, Colorado

• Abdul Carter, Penn State

• Caleb Downs, Ohio State

Biletnikoff (WR)

• Travis Hunter, Colorado

• Tetairoa McMillan, Arizona

• Nick Nash, San Jose State

Lou Groza (K)

• Kenneth Almendares, Louisiana

• Ryan Fitzgerald, Florida State

• Alex Raynor, Kentucky

Ray Guy (P)

• Alex Mastromanno, Florida State

• Brett Thorson, Georgia

• Eddie Czaplicki, USC

Maxwell (Player of the Year)

• Ashton Jeanty, Boise State

• Travis Hunter, Colorado

• Dillon Gabriel, Oregon

Davey O’Brien (QB)

• Dillon Gabriel, Oregon

• Shedeur Sanders, Colorado

• Cam Ward, Miami

Outland (IOL)

• Kelvin Banks Jr., Texas

• Mason Graham, Michigan

• Walter Nolen, Ole Miss

Jim Thorpe (DB)

• Jahdae Barron, Texas

• Caleb Downs, Ohio State

• Malaki Starks, Georgia

Doak Walker (RB)

• Omarion Hampton, North Carolina

• Ashton Jeanty, Boise State

• Kaleb Johnson, Iowa

CFP Committee Chair Punts Question on Projecting Texas With Loss to Texas A&M

Last night, CFP Committee Chair Warde Manuel was asked a question regarding #3 Texas’ chances in the event that the Longhorns lost to Texas A&M this weekend, which would mean not making the SEC Championship game and effectively having to wait to find out if they would secure an at-large spot in the Playoff.

Whether a resume with a best win of Vanderbilt but with only two losses – and both to ranked teams in the SEC Championship – would be good enough for an at-large spot is left to be seen, but CFP Chair Warde Manuel did not really give an answer one way or another:

“Thanks for your question. We don’t, I don’t, get into projections. We don’t talk about projections when we get in the room, about the what-ifs, if people lose games then where will it put them. Obviously you can see from the number of losses we had this week, it just depends on what happens. There was a lot to sort out this week with seven of the Top 25 losing, two big upsets in the top 10. So, we don’t project what will happen. We just look at what happens overall amongst the teams this weekend to make our decision over the next two weekends really.”

2026 4-Star EDGE Zavion Griffin-Haynes Decommits from North Carolina

2026 Consensus 4-Star EDGE Zavion Griffin-Haynes decommitted from North Carolina yesterday.

Griffin-Haynes decommitted from the Tar Heels shortly after the news was announced that Mack Brown would be relieved of his coaching duties at the end of this season.

Griffin-Haynes is ranked highest by On3, where he ranks 135th nationally, while Rivals ranks him highest of edge rushers, ranking him 11th at his position. According to the On3 industry composite, Griffin-Haynes ranks 170th nationally and 15th at the edge rusher position.

With his decommitment, North Carolina is now down to 2 commitments, for now, for the 2026 class, including only one recruit – QB Zaid Lott – ranked on the On3 industry composite.

4-Star RB Byron Louis Flips from Florida State to Florida

4-Star RB Byron Louis flipped his commitment from Florida State to Florida yesterday after committing to Florida State back in late September.

Louis has spent each of the last couple of weekends in Gainesville after unofficially visiting a couple weeks ago before officially visiting last week for the Ole Miss game.

Louis is rated a 3-star by 247 but is a 4-star according to the other recruiting services. He ranks 237th nationally and 16th at the RB position according to the On3 industry composite.

Florida is now up to 9 Blue Chip commitments and 19 commitments overall for a 2025 class which ranks 17th nationally and 10th in the SEC, while Florida State is down to 6 Blue Chip commitments and 12 commitments overall for a class which has fallen to 31st nationally and 5th in the ACC, as the Seminoles now also have fallen behind SMU’s 2025 class.

4-Star EDGE London Merritt Decommits from Ohio State

4-Star EDGE London Merritt decommitted from Ohio State yesterday after committing to the Buckeyes back in March.

Merritt visited Colorado earlier this month, and there is now some speculation and recruiting inside predictions which are pointing towards Merrill committing to Colorado in the future.

Merritt is a high 3-star according to On3’s rankings, while every other major recruiting service places Merritt as a 4-star. According to the On3 industry composite, which has him as a 4-star, ranks him 260th nationally and 30th at the edge rusher position.

With the decommitment, Ohio State is now down to 19 Blue Chip commitments and 25 commitments overall for a class which ranks 3rd nationally and 1st in the Big Ten.

2027 ATH Alexander Ward Commits to Alabama

2027 ATH Alexander Ward committed to Alabama yesterday while already holding offers from Georgia, Auburn, Florida State, South Carolina, and plenty of other programs.

Ward is already 6’2”, 175 pounds and can play either in the secondary or at wide receiver.

Ward chose the Tide because of the stadium, environment, campus, and player development.

Despite it being 2 classes away, Ward is already the 3rd commitment for Alabama in the class of 2027, as he joins edge rushers JaBarrius Garror and Ba’Roc Willis.

Other Commitments/Decommitments

3-Star (88) RB Jace Clarizio flips from Michigan State to Alabama

2026 3-Star (88) S CJ Bronaugh commits to Nebraska

3-Star (87) TE Bear Tenney decommits from Nebraska

3-Star (87) DL Perry Cole commits to TCU

3-Star (87) CB Tyrell Russell commits to West Virginia

3-Star (87) ATH Terris Dudley flips from Toledo to NC State

3-Star (87) S Ian Williams decommits from App State

3-Star (87) WR Deion Deblanc commits to Wyoming

3-Star (86) TE Austin Simmons commits to Washington

3-Star (86) QB Chris Denson flips from Coastal Carolina to Clemson

3-Star (86) EDGE Cameron White commits to Louisville

3-Star (86) EDGE Rashod Bradley commits to Oklahoma State

3-Star (86) DL Alexander McPherson decommits from Oklahoma State

3-Star (86) WR Jacobi Moore commits to Coastal Carolina

3-Star (86) RB Lucas Farrington commits to Jacksonville State

3-Star (85) DL Christopher Johnson decommits from Mississippi State

3-Star (85) OT Maddox Conway commits to Oregon State

3-Star (84) LB Tristan Jackson decommits from South Alabama

3-Star (82) ATH Caleb Reese commits to Sacramento State

3-Star (80) P Luke Goater commits to USF

3-Star (80) CB Khalif Brown decommits from North Dakota State

Unrated RB Trey Dudley decommits from James Madison

Unrated OT Breyden Turnage decommits from Memphis

Houston S Teagan Wilk enters transfer portal

Charlotte LB Aidan Kaler enters transfer portal

Harvard DL Tyler Huenemann enters transfer portal

Yale EDGE Tamatoa McDonough enters transfer portal

Cal Poly RB Aiden Ramos enters transfer portal

FAU RB Zuberi Mobley enters transfer portal

Weber State IOL Terrance Caldwell enters transfer portal

Lafayette OT Ryder Langsdale enters transfer portal

Holy Cross TE Jacob Petersen enters transfer portal

Western Carolina OT Derek Simmons enters transfer portal