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.

Newest AP Top 25 Poll

The 62 voters of the AP Poll submitted their ballots following Week 11 with plenty of changes – only #1 Oregon and #15 Texas A&M are in the same spot they were last week.

1. Oregon (62)

2. Ohio State, +1

3. Texas, +2

4. Penn State, +2

5. Indiana, +3

6. Tennessee, +1

7. BYU, +2

8. Notre Dame, +2

9. Alabama, +2

10. Ole Miss, +6

11. Georgia, -9

12. Miami, -8

13. Boise State, -1

14. SMU, -1

15. Texas A&M (-)

16. Army, +2

17. Clemson, +2

18. Colorado, +3

19. Washington State, +1

20. Kansas State, +2

21. LSU, -7

22. Louisville, +3

23. South Carolina, NR

24. Missouri, NR

25. Tulane, NR

Dropped: Iowa State (17), Pitt (23), Vanderbilt (24)

RV: ISU (92), ASU (35), PITT (18), ULL (14), UNLV (10)

Kennesaw State Coach Brian Bohannon Fired

Kennesaw State coach Brian Bohannon is out with the Owls, though the university has announced it as a stepping down, while Coach Bohannon has called it a firing.

Brian Bohannon was the head coach at Kennesaw State for 10 years, where he made the FCS playoffs 4 times and was in the process of building the Owls in its first season in the FBS.

Bohannon’s Owls went 71-30 while in the FCS, and were 1-9 in the FBS. He was the lowest paid FBS coach this season, according to USA Today, at just $376,000. He will be owed a buyout of $605,333.

Florida State Fires Both Coordinators and WR Coach

Florida State announced yesterday that it has fired OC Alex Atkins, DC Adam Fuller, and WRs Coach Ron Dugans.

Coach Mike Norvell released a statement on the changes: “I appreciate the work these three men have provided over the last five years with me at Florida State. They are all great men with families who also have poured into our program. We had many great moments together here, and I have never doubted their passion for our players and for Florida State. Unfortunately, we have not upheld the Florida State standard with our results on the field this season. I did not many any of these decisions lightly, but I felt changes needed to be made to elevate our program back to where we all desire it to be.”

2026 4-Star CB Dorian Barney Decommits from Alabama

2026 consensus 4-star CB Dorian Barney decommitted from Alabama over the weekend after committing to the Tide back in May.

Barney has also taken multiple visits to Georgia, South Carolina, and others, with some Colorado fans pointing out on social media that Barney follows a high number of Colorado accounts on Instagram.

Barney is a consensus 4-star that is ranked highest by 247, which has him 66th nationally and 9th at his position. According to the On3 industry composite, he is ranked 113th nationally and 11th at his position for the 2026 class.

With Barney’s decommitment for the 2026 class, the Crimson Tide have just one other commitment, a consensus 4-star: DL Vodney Cleveland.

4-Star TE Vander Ploog Flips from Washington to Oregon

Consensus 4-star TE Vander Ploog flipped from Washington to Oregon yesterday after originally committing to Washington in June.

Ploog shared that the staff at Oregon is a huge reason to jump to the Ducks for him, as he liked seeing the connection that the staff had with the players. Ploog also liked that Oregon is a Nike school and is a tight end heavy system, both big positive check marks for the Ducks.

Ploog is ranked highest by On3, who ranks him 153rd nationally and 8th at the TE position. According to the On3 industry composite, however, Ploog ranks 219th nationally and 12th at the TE position.

Ploog is Oregon’s 14th Blue Chip commitment and 16th commitment overall for the 2025 class, a class which ranks 7th nationally and 2nd in the new Big Ten behind only Ohio State. For Washington, the Huskies are now down to 7 Blue Chip commitments and 26 commitments overall for the 2025 class, a class which ranks 23rd nationally and 6th in the Big Ten.

Big 12 Fines Utah AD $40,000 Following His Comments About Officiating After Loss to BYU

The Big 12 has fined Utah Athletic Director Mark Harlan $40,000 for his comments on the officiating following Utah’s 22-21 loss to BYU.

Harlan said that the game was “stolen” when the referees called defensive holding on the Utes on a 4th down play where it looked like the game would be over after a should-be sack would’ve given Utah the ball back to end it.

His full comments were, “this game was absolutely stolen from us. We were excited about being in the Big 12, but tonight I am not. We won this game. Someone else stole it from us. Very disappointed. I will talk to the commissioner. This was not fair to our team. I’m disgusted by the professionalism of the officiating crew tonight.”

Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark shared a statement while announcing the fine of Harlan: “Mark’s comments irresponsibly challenged the professionalism of our officials and the integrity of the Big 12 Conference. There is a right way and a wrong way to voice concerns. Unfortunately, Mark chose the wrong way. Accordingly, this violation warrants a public reprimand and financial penalty. The Big 12 Conference prioritizes professionalism, integrity, and fairness, and will continue to do so.”

Notre Dame DL Howard Cross Injury Update

Notre Dame crushed Florida State, winning 52-3 over the Seminoles, but in the first half of the game, DL and multi-year starter Howard Cross suffered a lower leg injury and did not return.

After the game, we now know that Cross suffered an ankle sprain, according to Coach Marcus Freeman.

Coach Freeman’s full quote is, “they said it was an ankle sprain. I don’t know if he could’ve come back. He didn’t tell me that. He just said he’s out right now with an ankle sprain. I think by the time there was a possibility that maybe he could’ve came back, it was over.”

Cross currently has 4 sacks on the season and 11 in his career. He also has 23 total tackles in 9 games, while having a career number of 164 tackles in 60 total games played in his veteran collegiate career.

3-Star EDGE Mandrell and Darryll Desir Commit to Florida State

Florida State landed commitments from 3-star twins Darryll Desir and Mandrell Desir after they both decommitted from UCF a day earlier.

Darryll shared with On3’s Florida State affiliate that they have a great relationship with the staff, and he really loved the environment of the Seminoles program.

Darryll is the slightly higher rated player, ranked 589th nationally and 55th at the EDGE position according to the On3 industry composite, while Mandrell is ranked 778th nationally and 67th at the EDGE position according to the industry composite.

Florida State is now up to 13 commitments in the 2025 class, a class which ranks 18th nationally and 3rd in the ACC.

2026 3-Star QB Michael Clayton Commits to Illinois

2026 3-star QB Michael Clayton committed to Illinois over the weekend over offers from Ole Miss, Nebraska, Auburn, Missouri, and others.

Clayton is a product of Seminole HS in Orlando, FL, not exactly a pipeline for players to choose the Illini over SEC offers, but Clayton kicks off the 2026 commitment cycle for Illinois nonetheless.

Clayton ranks highest on Rivals, as Rivals rates him a 4-star and ranks him 183rd nationally and 11th at his position. According to the On3 industry composite, Clayton is ranked 391st nationally and 26th at the QB position.

As mentioned, this is Illinois’ first commitment of the 2026 class, still a young class with plenty of time to be built out for the Illini, especially now that the quarterback of the class has committed.

Updated ESPN FPI Top 25

With Week 11 in the books, ESPN’s computer generated power rankings (FPI) has been updated:

1. Alabama (26.9, +2)

2. Texas (26.8, -1)

3. Ohio State (25.9, -1)

4. Notre Dame (24.1, +1)

5. Ole Miss (22.8, +1)

6. Georgia (22.2, -2)

7. Oregon (21.4)

8. Penn State (20.1, +3)

9. Tennessee (20.0, -1)

10. Indiana (18.1)

11. Miami (17.9, -2)

12. Clemson (15.4, +1)

13. Louisville (15.1, +1)

14. South Carolina (15.0, +4)

15. Texas A&M (14.7)

16. LSU (14.3, -4)

17. SMU (14.3, -1)

18. USC (13.7, -1)

19. Kansas State (12.0, +3)

20. Tulane (11.8, +4)

21. Boise State (11.6, -2)

22. Colorado (11.5, +1)

23. Iowa (11.5, -3)

24. Iowa State (10.6, -3)

25. Missouri (10.6, +1)

Other Commitments/Decommitments

2027 4-Star (90) ATH Layton Von Brandt commits to Penn State

3-Star (88) WR Jamien Little decommits from Wake Forest

3-Star (88) RB Tylik Mitchell commits to Old Dominion

3-Star (87) EDGE Chaz Coleman commits to Penn State

3-Star (87) WR Lebron Hill commits to Vanderbilt

3-Star (87) WR Jordan Scott commits to Arizona State

3-Star (87) WR Chance Ables flips from TCU to Arizona State

3-Star (87) WR Harold Mack commits to Eastern Michigan

2026 3-Star (87) LB Wassie Lugolobi commits to Washington

3-Star (86) WR Bryson Hayes flips from Nebraska to Kansas

3-Star (85) Gil Jackson flips from Texas Tech to TCU

3-Star (85) S Jonathan Carter decommits from FAU

3-Star (84) DL Josiah Victor decommits from Boston College

Unrated QB Dalton Anderson commits to Utah State

2026 Unrated WR Cooper Reid commits to Arizona State

Nebraska CB Syncere Safeeullah enters transfer portal

Georgia Tech TE Christian Burkhalter enters transfer portal

Georgia Southern QB Dexter Williams II enters transfer portal