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

Georgia Tech Beats NC State 30-29 With a Last Minute Touchdown

Georgia Tech beat NC State 30-29 last night in an Instant Classic that featured two lead changes in the last 1:30 and a missed 58-yard field goal attempt by NC State at the buzzer after NC State fought back from being down 2 scores going into the 4th quarter.

QB Aaron Philo scored the game winning touchdown on an 18-yard scramble with just 22 seconds left. Philo is the second quarterback Georgia Tech has been using in more obvious passing situations, whereas Haynes King is more of a true option QB for non-throwing plays.

Philo finished 19/33 for 265 yards and an interception, while King finished 3/3 for 7 yards.

Rushing, Philo actually outgained King, as Philo finished with 7 attempts for 57 yards and the decisive touchdown, while King finished with 18 yards and a touchdown on 9 carries. 4 receivers caught at least 4 passes: Eric Singleton Jr. (5/106), Bailey Stockton (5/54), Avery Boyd (4/45), and Jamal Haynes (4/34).

The final unaccounted for touchdown came from LB EJ Lightsey, who kicked off the scoring for the game with a 21-yard pick-six.

Georgia Tech actually was outperformed in some key indicators, like yards (400-391), yards per play (6.78-5.43), and conversion downs (38.46%-33.33%). But the 3 interceptions NC State threw really hurt the Wolfpack as one was returned for a touchdown, one resulted in a 3-yard Georgia Tech touchdown one play later, and one came right before halftime as the Wolfpack were looking to cut the Georgia Tech lead down from 6 to 3.

It was NC State QB CJ Bailey who threw those interceptions, finishing 17/30 with 147 yards and 3 picks. Bailey did a great job rushing the ball, though, as NC State finished with 253 yards and 4 touchdowns on just 29 rush attempts. CJ Bailey (9/83/3), Hollywood Smothers (7/79/1), and Kendrick Raphael (9/78) got a majority of the rushing work for the Wolfpack.

NC State falls to 5-6 with the loss, needing a win on the road against North Carolina next week to get to bowl eligibility, while the win brings Georgia Tech to 7-4 on the season before traveling to Georgia to end the Yellow Jackets’ season.

5-Star QB, Near Consensus #1 Prospect, Bryce Underwood Flips from LSU to Michigan

Consensus 5-Star and Near Consensus #1 prospect in the 2025 class, QB Bryce Underwood flipped his commitment from LSU to Michigan yesterday.

Underwood originally committed to LSU in early January and had shared that he was not leaving that commitment behind for $10.5M in NIL from Michigan and its collective(s). However, Underwood now flips that commitment to stay home.

Underwood is ranked as the top recruit on On3, 247, and ESPN, with Tavien St. Clair as the only prospect ranked ahead of Underwood on Rivals. On the On3 industry composite, Underwood is ranked 1st nationally and at his position.

For Michigan this is the 2025 class’ 2nd 5-star commitment, 13th Blue Chip commitment, and 19th commitment overall. Its class now ranks 8th nationally and 3rd in the Big Ten, but Underwood is the type of prospect that can alter a program for half a decade (or longer, indirectly) more than the typical 5-star.

For LSU, its 2025 class still has 2 5-star commitments, 18 Blue Chip commitments, and 25 commitments overall. Its class now ranks 6th nationally and 5th in the SEC, falling one spot behind Auburn after Underwood’s decommitment.

Notre Dame Coach Marcus Freeman on Reports Linking Him to NFL Openings

Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman has been getting connected to jobs in the NFL recently. But yesterday, Coach Freeman shared that he isn’t worried about thinking about that right now, and he admittedly would have no idea where to even begin with coaching at the NFL level yet.

Said Coach Freeman: “as for me, I never even – I try not to waste time thinking about an uncertain future. I tell our players all the time, your future is uncertain. So I try not to waste time thinking about things that aren’t in the moment. And so I haven’t spent any time really thinking about what the future will provide.”

Coach Freeman also said, “do I ever want to coach in the NFL? I have no clue. I don’t even know what that entails really right now because I’ve never done it. But I’m just focused on staying here in the present and getting this team ready to have a great Thursday practice and hopefully putting in the work to achieve the outcome that we want on Saturday.”

Colorado’s Deion Sanders on Speculation He Might Leave Colorado: I’m Comfortable Where I Am

With QB Shedeur Sanders and WR/CB Travis Hunter leaving Colorado after this season, there has been some speculation that Coach Sanders might leave Colorado, too.

However, Coach Sanders has been consistent in his messaging that he has no plans to leave, saying yesterday, “I’m good. I’m comfortable where I am. I mean, I don’t know how many times I can say it, I can only speak one language. I wish I spoke several languages so they would understand it more candidly. But I am happy and content with where I am.”

The speculation on Coach Sanders leaving has been for a few different positions between college and the pros, but the Cowboys impending coach opening is the one which has been generating the most noise of late.

4-Star QB Julian Lewis Commits to Colorado

High 4-star Julian Lewis committed to Colorado on The Pat McAfee Show yesterday after having decommitted from USC this past Sunday.

With Shedeur Sanders leaving after this season, the opportunity to play early for a coach like Coach Sanders was very appealing to Lewis.

Lewis is ranked as high as 2nd nationally and 2nd at the QB position according to ESPN, but the On3 industry composite ranks Lewis 39th nationally and 6th at the QB position.

This is Colorado’s 4th Blue Chip commitment and 11th commitment overall for the 2025 class, a class which is quickly ascending in the recruiting rankings. Currently, the Buffs are ranked 47th nationally and 9th out of 16 in the Big 12.

Colorado’s Travis Hunter Confirms He Will Be in 2025 Draft, Plans to Play Both Ways

If there was any question about if Travis Hunter was going to go pro after this season, Hunter went ahead and made it clear that he intends to go pro.

During an interview yesterday, Hunter shared that he is “definitely, for sure” going pro. He also shared that he intends to play both ways at the next level.

There had been plenty of questions if he would look to be a wide receiver or a cornerback in the NFL, but he believes he can and will play both.

Florida LB on Why They’re Playing So Hard Still: We Love Coach Napier

Florida’s Billy Napier has been on one of the hottest seats for pretty much the entire season, and the early results from this season made it look like he was a dead man walking.

But since then, Florida has been playing tough, beating LSU and having a lead against Georgia before losing QB DJ Lagway for the game.

Recently, LB Shemar James shared why Florida has been playing so hard throughout what looked like it could have very easily been a lost season: “We’ve kind of seen it in ourselves first, knowing that we can compete with some of the best in the country. We love Coach Napier. We love the job that he’s doing here, and we ultimately believe in him. I’d be lying if I said we weren’t seeing the tweets and the blogs and all the rumors. I would say, just wanting Coach to be here and just playing for a coach that you can stand behind. I would say that’s why we play so hard and just wanting to keep Coach Napier.”

Matt Rhule on Dana Holgorsen’s Play Calling in Loss to USC

Nebraska’s Dana Holgorsen called plays for the Huskers for the first time this past weekend in a 28-20 loss to USC.

Coach Matt Rhule spoke with reporters recently to discuss how he felt like Coach Holgorsen did as a play caller.

Coach Rhule said, “I just think we get better and better and better. As I pointed out to the guys, there are no new plays … I think Dana has done a really great job with coming and telling the guys this is what we’re going to do and we’re going to practice them this way.”

Coach Rhule also shared that Coach Holgorsen did a great job preparing at a high level and that he felt encouraged seeing how the team responded to him.

As for room for improvement, Coach Rhule felt like the team “left a lot out there offensively. There weren’t a lot of big plays, there could’ve been more big plays. There were field goals in the red zone, not touchdowns. We had some opportunities for guys to score in the red zone, but we just didn’t make it happen. I’m encouraged by how much cleaner it looked, but also expect more. We’re going to have to score more points to win games.”

3-Star QB Kevin Sperry Flips from Oklahoma to Florida State

3-Star QB Kevin Sperry flipped from Oklahoma to Florida State yesterday after committing to Oklahoma back in March.

This commitment comes after Florida State lost its commitment from 4-star Tramell Jones who is now planning on heading to Gainesville and Billy Napier’s Gators.

Sperry is rated as a 4-star according to ESPN and Rivals, but the On3 industry composite has him as a high 3-star that is ranked 448th nationally and 31st at his position.

Florida State is up to 13 commitments for the 2025 class, a class which ranks 25th nationally and 4th in the ACC. Oklahoma, on the other hand, is down to 20 commitments for a 2025 class which ranks 13th nationally and 8th in the SEC.

2026 3-Star TE Tayveon Wilson Commits to Clemson

2026 3-Star Tayveon Wilson committed to Clemson yesterday while also holding offers from Miami, Penn State, Arkansas Louisville, and others.

Clemson offered Wilson over the summer, and now he plans to join Coach Swinney and the Tigers.

Wilson ranks 475th nationally and 22nd at his position according to the On3 industry composite.

Looking at Clemson’s 2026 class, Wilson is the 4th commitment for a class which currently ranks 16th nationally early on in the recruiting cycle.

Other Commitments/Decommitments

3-Star (86) OT Danilo Guberinich commits to Texas Tech

3-Star (86) RB Javin Gordon decommits from Duke

3-Star (86) RB Jaylin Brown decommits from Louisville

2-Star (79) OT Andy Silverthorn commits to Old Dominion

2-Star (78) WR Carter Pabst flips from North Dakota to South Dakota State