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

#19 Missouri Beats Iowa in Music City Bowl 27-24

About halfway through the 3rd quarter, Iowa took a 24-14 lead, the largest lead of the day, with ESPN giving the Hawkeyes nearly an 80% chance to win the game.

However, Missouri battled back and played the rest of the game nearly perfectly, scoring a touchdown, getting an interception, kicking a field goal to tie the game, forcing a 3-and-out, kicking a field goal to take the lead, getting another 3-and-out, going 3-and-out, and then forcing a 4-and-out turnover on downs on Iowa’s last chance with the ball.

By the end, Missouri finished with 376 yards to Iowa’s 297 and won the turnover battle 1-0.

Iowa QB Brendan Sullivan was efficient but did not really push the ball, finishing 14/18 for 131 yards, a touchdown, and that crucial interception, with his 4 leading receivers being Jarriett Buie (3/30), Addison Ostrenga (1/29), Jacob Gill (3/29), and Terrell Washington Jr. (3/26/1). RBs Kamari Moulton (14/96/1) and Jaziun Patterson (9/74) had the most and second most rushing yards, respectively, in the game. Iowa also got a valuable touchdown from Kaden Wetjen, who returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown, with DL Deontae Craig also having a good game, where he finished with 5 tackles, 2 sacks, and 4 TFLs.

For Missouri, QB Brady Cook finished 18/32 for 287 yards and 2 touchdowns while also leading the Tigers with 54 rushing yards. RBs Marcus Carroll (6/17) and Nate Noel (6/14) really struggled to consistently get anything going on the ground against that Hawkeye defense. Marquis Johnson (7/122/1) and Theo Wease Jr. (5/75/1) led all receivers in this one despite Wease suffering an upper body injury in this one and missing the entire second half. Defensively, Toriano Pride Jr. had a couple tackles, but his interception was really his most impactful play from the game, while DE Johnny Walker Jr. impacted the game with 2 of his 4 tackles being sacks.

For Missouri, this is their second consecutive 10-win season, the first back-to-back 10 win seasons for the Tigers since 2013-14 and only the third ever in 123 years of the program’s existence as a major college program (with 2007-08 being the first).

NC State Reportedly Hiring DJ Eliot As DC

ESPN’s Pete Thamel is reporting that NC State is expected to hire DJ Eliot as its next defensive coordinator. Eliot would come to NC State most recently having been the LBs Coach for the Philadelphia Eagles, but he has stops as a DC in college at Kentucky, Colorado, Kansas, and Temple. With those 4 programs, he spent 9 combined seasons as their DC.

Dave Doeren needs to replace both coordinators, and Eliot will come in for a defense that finished 88th in yards allowed per game and 103rd in points allowed per game.

Clemson QB Cade Klubnik Returning for 2025

Clemson QB Cade Klubnik will return for the 2025 season after an announcement on his Twitter account.

Klubnik has been with Clemson for three seasons, making him draft eligible. 2024 was his best season to date, finishing with a career-high 3,629 yards and 36 touchdowns with just 6 interceptions in a season that included winning the ACC and making the CFP before losing in the first round to Texas in the first round’s most competitive 60 minutes of football for the losing team.

Klubnik came to Clemson as the #1 QB in the class, but then struggled a little to find his footing in his first couple of seasons as Clemson’s starter. On his career, he has thrown for 7,180 yards, 57 touchdowns, and 18 interceptions with another season yet to come.

Penn State OC Andy Kotelnicki on Growth of QB Drew Allar: Allar’s At A High Level

Penn State OC Andy Kotelnicki is in his first season with the Nittany Lions’ offense, and he shared that he’s seen a lot of growth from QB Drew Allar since he took the OC job this offseason.

Coach Kotelnicki shared, “there’s a much greater understanding on his side for sure of what we’re doing offensively. … His understanding, his mastery of the offense, has grown every week since I’ve been here. … He’s at a high level with it.”

Coach Kotelnicki also said, “When we put game plans together, he’s real quick to communicate with myself and Coach O’Brien about what he sees and what he thinks. … He knows what’s happening. He knows his reads. He knows what the defense is doing. And he’s just at a high level of understanding right now from where he was 13 months ago.”

UConn HC Jim Mora Threatens Teams Tampering with Action

UConn Head Coach Jim Mora issued a threat to the other programs looking to poach UConn players through illicit means:

“A simple note to the schools and coaches that have blatantly broken @NCAAFootball rules by tampering with our players in the last 24 hours. We do know who you are, we will pursue all avenues to hold you accountable. We are excited that we’ve built a program where coaches have to cheat to beat us and we will protect that program. Think hard before you tamper with our players. #justgettingstarted”

Georgia’s Kirby Smart on New QB Gunner Stockton: Players Play Harder For Him

Before Gunner Stockton’s first start for Georgia in the CFP Quarterfinals against Notre Dame, Georgia Head Coach Kirby Smart raved about Stockton and the reaction the team has had to Stockton since it was announced Carson Beck was out for the rest of the season due to a UCL injury.

Coach Smart said, “all the players play harder for him. Do you make the players around you better is what you look for in a quarterback. I think he raises the skill level of everybody around him because of who he is. So that’s my reason for believing he’s a good quarterback.”

Coach Smart also spoke on his physical abilities, sharing that the top 3 things for a QB are decision-making skill, accuracy, and athletic ability and talent, and Stockton has all three in droves in Coach Smart’s opinion.

OL Tate Ratledge also gave his thoughts on why the team has rallied around Stockton, saying, “the way he steps in, calls the plays, and just goes about his business. I mean, I walked in here the other night at 10 o’clock because I forgot something, Gunner’s sitting in there watching film. Just his buy-in right now is what’s huge, and just the respect he has from everybody. Gunner’s just a guy you want to block for. I mean, he’s just a great guy. Like I said, plays with emotion, brings everybody with him, and now he has the whole team behind him, ready to roll.”

Alabama OT Kadyn Proctor Expected to Play in ReliaQuest Bowl Today Against Michigan

Alabama Coach Kalen DeBoer shared recently that he expects OT Kadyn Proctor to play against Michigan in the ReliaQuest Bowl today.

Proctor is not eligible for the NFL Draft, needing to play one more year, and he has not missed a game with injury since Week 2. However, it was evidently relevant to bring up that Proctor is expected to play today. With Proctor in the lineup, Alabama is much better, as Proctor is one of the better OTs in the country and was one of the top prospects in his recruiting class just a couple years ago.

UNC’s Bill Belichick: My Instagram Has Been Busy

During an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show yesterday, new North Carolina Head Coach Bill Belichick shared that Instagram has been a key part of his acclimating to being the new HC of the Tar Heels, sharing that it’s helped a lot with recruiting and the transfer portal.

Coach Belichick shared, “A lot of people contacting us, want to come to Carolina. My Instagram account has been busy. So, scrolling through that. I never thought I’d be saying that, but here I am, joining the 21st century. That’s been good.”

Texas QB Arch Manning Confirms He Has No Plans to Hit Portal or Leave Texas

Texas backup QB Arch Manning has shared that he has no intentions of entering the transfer portal and leaving Texas after the season ends.

For two seasons, Manning has sat behind QB Quinn Ewers, who has gotten most of the playing time during that stretch.

Entering the season, it looked clear that Ewers would be a 1st round pick in the upcoming NFL Draft, but as it looks more and more likely that Ewers could be back in college for another season, there are many who are speculating that one of the QBs could be transferring out, with many fans calling for Arch to be made the starting quarterback regardless.

Coach Steve Sarkisian shared that he tries not to focus on that and instead focuses on the task at hand, which is what is in the best interest of the team win the game.

CFP to Have Discussion on Who Gets Guaranteed Byes

The CFP will reportedly have in-depth discussions about the first round byes, according to Brett McMurphy of the Action Network.

As it stands, the first round byes go to the four highest rated conference champions, which included Boise State and Arizona State this season despite neither team being ranked near the Top 4 (ranked 9th and 12th, respectively).

McMurphy shared that “there’s momentum to do something for next season,” with the most likely outcome being to provide guaranteed spots for the Top 5 conference champions, but to just let the first round byes be decided by the teams the Committee determines are the Top 4.

Whatever changes are made are likely to be temporary, though, as next season is the last guaranteed season of 12 teams in the Playoff, as there is a lot of open speculation that it is a foregone conclusion that the Playoff will expand to at least 14 teams starting in 2026.

Other Commitments/Decommitments

3-Star (86) EDGE Lucan Amituanai decommits from Washington State

3-Star (82) LB Jackson Cahoon commits to Sacramento State

Unrated RB Jariel Cobb commits to North Carolina