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

Minnesota Controls Duke’s Mayo Bowl, Beats Virginia Tech 24-10

Minnesota won the Duke’s Mayo Bowl 24-10 over Virginia Tech in a game where Virginia Tech’s offense came out firing before Minnesota was able to slow the Hokies down and control the game.

By the end, Minnesota had outgained Virginia Tech 403-223, had more than twice as many first downs (22-9), and dominated time of possession 35:23-24:37.

The Hokies split QB snaps between William Watson III and Collin Schlee.

Watson finished 8/12 passing for 81 yards and a pick. Schlee finished 2/6 passing for 68 yards, but did contribute 7 yards and VT’s only touchdown on the game. Tyler Mason (7/33) and Jeremiah Coney (7/10) received the bulk of the snaps at RB.

At WR, Ayden Green (6/115) was pretty much the only target the Hokies looked to, as he finished with almost 80% of the Hokies’ receiving yards and 60% of the receptions.

For Minnesota, QB Max Brosmer finished 18/29 for 211 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. WR Elijah Spencer (6/81/2) caught two touchdowns, including one from RB Darius Taylor. Taylor also ran for 113 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries, while Jaren Mangham (9/57) also received a fair share of carries, especially down the stretch, as Minnesota went into a 4-minute offense.

The Gophers defense finished with 5 sacks, as Jack Henderson had 3 tackles on the night – 2 of which were sacks.

With the win last night, Minnesota is now 8-0 in bowl games dating back to 2015.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, there were also plenty of mayonnaise based shenanigans worth checking out, including Matt Barrie spitting out an ice cream bar dipped in mayo.

Texas State Beats North Texas 30-28 in First Responder Bowl For Bobcat’s 2nd Bowl Win

Texas State and North Texas combined for 999 yards of total offense and 700 yards of passing as Texas State won the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl 30-28.

With UNT QB Chandler Morris in the transfer portal, freshman Drew Mestemaker had the opportunity to make his first start since 2020 – his freshman year of high school on his high school’s B Team.

And Mestemaker made the most of the opportunity, finishing 26/41 for 393 yards, 2 passing touchdowns, 2 interceptions, a fumble lost, 55 rushing yards, and a rushing touchdown which went for 70 yards.

Damon Ward Jr. (5/133) and Miles Coleman (6/104/1) both crossed the century mark receiving, with Landon Sides (5/89/1) also contributing plenty.

For Texas State, though, QB Jordan McCloud finished 26/35 for 307 yards, a touchdown, an interception, and a fumble lost. Jaden Williams (8/155/1) had a game-high 155 yards, with RB Lincoln Pare having a big game. Pare finished 21/143/2 rushing and 4/32 receiving. Kicker Mason Shipley was also 3-for-3 on both field goals and extra points for 12 points contributed.

For Texas State, winning this game gives the Bobcats consecutive 8-win seasons for the only 8-win seasons in program history (at the FBS level). 16 wins is also the most across two seasons combined in program history (again, at the FBS level).

Northern Illinois Expected to Accept Mountain West Invite as Football-Only Member

Northern Illinois called a board meeting for this upcoming Tuesday regarding their invitation to join the Mountain West in 2026, according to a public meeting report.

The expectation is Northern Illinois will accept the invitation to join the Mountain West as a football-only member.

NIU’s board will have to approve the $2M membership fee, which can be paid out in six annual installments. NIU would have a one year ramp up before it would receive full revenue payments from the Mountain West.

Oregon QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele Expected to Enter Transfer Portal Before His First Oregon Practice

QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele was committed at one point to Cal, but then he flipped to Oregon and signed with the Ducks.

However, roughly one month later, Sagapolutele is planning to hit the portal, and then take his talents elsewhere.

He was rated as a 5-star by On3, and a 4-star on the On3 industry composite where he ranked 50th nationally and 7th at the QB position.

It’s unclear where he is leaning now, as no national reporters have shared any intel (as of the time of writing) rooted in fact on where he might be interested in heading, though Cal would be a logical conclusion given how long he was committed to their program.

NCAA Considering 5-Year Eligibility Rule for All Sports

College basketball insider Jon Rothstein shared that the NCAA is considering allowing for five years of eligibility in all sports moving forward.

The current system is a five-year clock that provides four seasons of competition with certain redshirt opportunities depending on play time.

It is unclear if the new consideration from the NCAA is to just create a five-year window to play as much as the athlete wants, or if it would add an extra year to the current situation, meaning a six-year window to play five seasons.

Tennessee WR Mike Matthews Returning to Tennessee in 2025

Former 5-star recruit and freshman WR Mike Matthews has decided to not enter the transfer portal, and will instead stay with Tennessee.

Matthews was announced to have intended to enter the portal, but never actually did. With the window for him to enter the portal closed, Matthews is therefore staying with the Vols.

Matthews finished the season with 10 games played and logged 7 catches, 90 yards, and 2 touchdowns in those games.

Changes to CFP Seeding & Byes Unlikely for 2025

ESPN’s Heather Dinich is reporting that changes to the College Football Playoff in 2025, specifically pertaining to seeding and byes are unlikely.

Dinich shared on ESPN’s Get Up, “as far as changes being made moving forward, it is critical that people understand that in order for any changes to be made next season regarding the seeding or home games or whatever it might be, everyone involved in the College Football Playoff who has a position of power has to agree to it. We’re still in a period where it has to be unanimous. So, we’re talking about Group of Five commissioners, including the Mountain West, where you’ve got Boise State, not only in it, but with a first-round bye, conceding that possibly. I don’t think that’s going to happen. So, my sources are telling me, changes for next year? Probably unlikely.”

Indiana QB Kurtis Rourke Played 2024 on Torn ACL

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero shared yesterday morning that Indiana QB Kurtis Rourke played through 2024 on a torn ACL. Rourke will get ACL revision surgery Wednesday, according to his agent.

Rourke received Heisman votes for his performance in 2024, which included taking a non-power like Indiana to the College Football Playoff and an 11-1 regular season record. Now, it’s made all the more impressive to know that Rourke did it all on a torn ACL.

UConn HC Jim Mora Specifically Calls out Washington State for Tampering

Earlier this week, UConn HC Jim Mora made some headlines for calling out programs for tampering, saying that he would pursue all avenues to hold programs accountable.

Well, a few days later, Coach Mora has called out Washington State as a program that has been engaging in tampering.

Coach Mora shared in the tweet above, “I was originally content with my decision with coming to UConn I feel like I allowed Washington State to get into my head when I could have just ignored them I expressed to them that I was signed but I continued to conversate.

Why do grown men continue to manipulate @NCAAFootball tampering rules and put players in the uncomfortable position this young man was put in! I promised to call out those tampering with our players and threatening what our players are working so hard to build. I intend to continue to do so and hope more college coaches will join me in fighting the blatant tampering take place.”

It should be noted, Washington State has not added any transfers and only very recently hired Coach Jimmy Rogers from South Dakota State.

Alabama Co-DC, DB Coach Colin Hitschler Not Returning to Tide in 2025

Alabama Co-DC and DBs Coach Colin Hitschler is not returning to Alabama in 2025 according to a report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

Hitschler was hired by Kalen DeBoer aftering spending 2023 with Wisconsin, having also spent time with Cincinnati and South Alabama. Hitschler actually got his start as a defensive position coach while Kane Wommack, his fellow Alabama DC, was the DC at South Alabama.

From the sounds of it, Coach Wommack will be back for 2025, but Coach Hitschler will be done after just one season of his initial two-season contract.

Other Commitments/Decommitments

3-Star (87) IOL Peter Langi decommits from Washington

3-Star (82) LB Martin Rhyne commits to Idaho

3-Star (81) RB Julius Gillick flips from Montana to Fresno State

2-Star (79) EDGE Lincoln Stueve commits to Arkansas State