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.

Notre Dame Injury Updates for RB Love, WR Collins

At the media days or the National Championship, Notre Dame fans got some good news as both RB Jeremiyah Love and WR Beaux Collins shared they are 100% good to go.

Collins has 37 catches for 458 yards and 3 touchdowns on the season, and he said that “about three days ago it started to truly feel better. I was able to run, do some skips, and things like that.” Getting Collins back is big, in his own words, because “we got to take some shots downfield to loosen them up a little bit, and it’s the most important thing in this game for sure.”

For Love, he shard, “I’m good, I’m 100 percent. I’m ready to go. It’s been a challenge. But if it ain’t hard, it ain’t good. I’ve been just going along with the ride. I feel like God’s got me. I got my complete trust in this team.”

Big Ten, Wisconsin Accuse Miami of Tampering for S Xavier Lucas

S Xavier Lucas finished his true freshman season with Wisconsin this past year and announced his intentions to enter the transfer portal. However, Wisconsin refused to enter his name into the portal due to “credible information” that Miami had tampered with Lucas.

Lucas then withdrew from classes at Wisconsin and enrolled at Miami despite not actually entering the portal, a move the NCAA stated it could not prevent.

Wisconsin has threatened legal action as a result of this, with the Big Ten releasing a statement supporting Wisconsin.

“The Big Ten Conference stands in full support of the University of Wisconsin regarding the contractual agreement between student-athlete Xavier Lucas and the Wisconsin football program. As student-athletes became active participants in revenue sharing, it is critical that agreed-to obligations be respected, honored, and enforced. In light of current laws and association rules, information suggesting tampering and contract interference in this case by the University of Miami is very troubling. These actions undermine the efforts of its own conference as the ACC continues its collaboration with the other A4 conferences in developing a sustainable framework for college sports. This situation is just the latest example of the critical need for substantive governance reform.”

Texas, Steve Sarkisian Agree to Contract Extension After Sark Turned Down NFL Interviews

According to the Action Network’s Brett McMurphy, Steve Sarkisian has agreed to a new contract extension with Texas.

Coach Sarkisian also recently turned down multiple NFL interviews, a clear sign that Coach Sarkisian is committed to the Longhorns long-term.

Dating back to 2021, Coach Sarkisian is now 38-17 with the Longhorns.

Ohio State S Caleb Downs on Nick Saban Retiring, Did Not Really Want to Leave Alabama

When Nick Saban announced his retirement around this time last year, it led to a lot of Alabama players hitting the portal, including safety Caleb Downs.

For Downs, he shared, “I didn’t know right away that I was going to hit the portal. I tried to give every opportunity to stay. I stayed for like an extra like six days, five days, just to feel out the new coaching staff, see who they were going to hire and see if I could stay, because at that time I didn’t really want to leave, and I wanted to stick to my choice that I made in high school to stay there. And it didn’t turn out that way.”

Downs continued, “that came as a huge shock to me. I didn’t see it coming at all, and even when he said it, I was still like, did this really just happen, because that was one of the main reasons I went there to Alabama. And it was a really difficult time for me.”

CFP Director Rich Clark: Goodell, NFL Committed to Collaborating in Future Scheduling

According to Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger, the CFP Director and NFL Commissioner have spoken about avoiding future conflicting schedules, and that Goodell is committed to working with the expanded Playoff in the future.

This past season, Penn State and SMU overlapped with the Texans and Chiefs, while Clemson and Texas overlapped with the Steelers and Ravens.

The NFL does dominate the ratings, though, so it will be interesting to see how much of this is a collaborative effort between the CFP and NFL, and how much of this is the NFL giving more advanced notice to the CFP so the CFP can figure out its scheduling around the NFL.

Troy Transfer OT Daniel King Commits to North Carolina

Troy transfer OT Daniel King committed to North Carolina yesterday.

King is one of the top OTs in the portal and was the top available OL in the portal. He has been All-Sun Belt multiple times in his career, and was originally going to enter the 2025 NFL Draft before entering the transfer portal earlier this week.

King also ranked in the Top 4 for pass blocking grade in the Sun Belt, according to PFF while allowing just 2 sacks all of last year. According to the On3 transfer portal rankings, King ranks 68th nationally and 7th at the OT position.

Washington Transfer CB Thaddeus Dixon Commits to North Carolina

Washington transfer CB Thaddeus Dixon committed to North Carolina yesterday.

Dixon was the second ranked CB still available in the portal, committing to UNC over Michigan, Tennessee, Ole Miss, or a return to Washington.

Dixon played in 26 games with Washington, finishing his time with 66 tackles, 18 passes defended, 2 interceptions, 1.5 tackles for loss, and a forced fumble. He ranked 89th nationally and 11th of all CBs in the portal during this cycle.

2026 Consensus 4-Star EDGE Jesse Ford Commits to TCU

2026 consensus 4-star EDGE Jesse Ford committed to TCU yesterday over Texas, Texas A&M, Nebraska, and others.

Ford shared, “the coaches treat me so well and this is somewhere I would want to be for the rest of my college career. We are building something no one’s ever going to expect! I just wanted to stay home and put on for my city.”

Ford ranks as high as 116th nationally and 13th at the EDGE position, according to ESPN for both. According to the On3 industry composite, Ford ranks 155th nationally and 15th at the EDGE position.

For TCU, this is the second Blue Chip commitment and 3rd commitment overall in the 2026 class.

Bears to Interview Tennessee State’s Eddie George For HC Position

FOX Sports’ Jay Glazer is reporting that Tennessee State’s Eddie George is going to interview with the Bears for its open HC position.

This is a surprising name to hear, but Coach George has been the head man at Tennessee State since 2021. He went 5-6 in 2021, but has turned the Tigers around to a 9-4 record and FCS Playoffs appearance in 2024. He has a 24-22 overall record in his four seasons.

Marshall Faulk a Top Candidate to Be Colorado RB Coach

Colorado sports writer Brian Howell is reporting that NFL Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk is reportedly the top candidate to be the next RBs Coach for Colorado.

Sanders and Faulk worked together for 12 years on the NFL Network, so the two are evidently acquainted. The opening comes after Gary Harrell was announced to no longer be with the program.

Other Commitments/Decommitments

2026 3-Star (86) ATH Emoni Smith commits to Louisville

2026 3-Star (86) OT Malik White commits to San Diego State

2026 3-Star (86) ATH Isaiah Ene commits to Sacramento State

2027 Unrated CB Jaylen Scott commits to Florida State