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

#7 Notre Dame Wins Thrilling Orange Bowl 27-24 to Advance to National Championship

Notre Dame beat Penn State in a thrilling Orange Bowl by a final tally of 27-24.

Penn State took a 10-0 lead in the 2nd quarter before Notre Dame did manage to put up a field goal as the first half ended. Notre Dame scored another couple touchdowns to make the score 17-10.

Penn State would then score a touchdown, get an interception one play later, and then score another touchdown to flip the momentum and the lead 24-17. But a big scoring drive, capped off with a massive 54-yard touchdown pass to Jaden Greathouse knotted the game up with 4:38 left.

After a pair of punts and just 40 seconds left, Penn State QB Drew Allar made his one and only major mistake in the game, throwing an interception with just roughly 30 seconds to go, with the interception returning getting to the Penn State 42.

Notre Dame advanced the ball over the next handful of plays, including a big 3rd and 3 reception to Greathouse to go from being on the Penn State 35 to being in much better field position for a field goal. But with about 7 seconds left, Notre Dame kicker Mitch Jeter made a 41-yarder to give Notre Dame the win.

Penn State QB Drew Allar finished 12/23 for 135 yards and the one interception, with none of his receptions going to a WR. TE Tyler Warren led all Nittany Lions with 6 catches for 75 yards, while RB Nicholas Singleton also had 2 catches for 33 yards and TE Khalil Dinkins had 2 catches for 21 yards. RBs Singleton (15/84/3) and Kaytron Allen (19/82) were fairly effective in the run game throughout. Zakee Wheatley finished with an astonishing game-high 16 tackles to go with one sack and an interception as the Penn State defense finished with 5 sacks and 8 tackles for loss.

For Notre Dame, QB Riley Leonard finished 15 for 23 for 223 yards, a touchdown, and 2 interceptions. Leonard also ran for 35 yards and a touchdown on 18 rush attempts. Backup QB Steve Angeli did come in and go 6 for 7 for 44 yards as Leonard did have to come out for much of the final drive of the first half to go through concussion protocol.

Running the ball was fairly challenging for the Irish, as Jeremiyah Love finished with just 45 yards and one touchdown on 11 carries, while Jadarian Price finished with just 13 yards on 7 carries. WRs Jaden Greathouse (7/105/1) and Mitchell Evans (5/58), as well as RB Aneyas Williams (5/66) were all key contributors in the passing game, though. Christian Gray was the game’s defensive MVP as Gray made the big interception late which set up the game-winning Mitch Jeter kick.

With the win, Notre Dame has secured a spot in the CFP National Championship against the winner of tonight’s Cotton Bowl between Ohio State (-6) and Texas.

Georgia QB Carson Beck Expected to Enter Transfer Portal

Georgia QB Carson Beck is reportedly expected to enter the transfer portal.

Beck had previously announced plans to enter the 2025 NFL Draft, but evidently is also exploring options to remain in college for at least one more season. He injured the UCL in his right elbow during the SEC Championship game, forcing him to miss the second half of the game and then the Sugar Bowl, where Georgia was a one-and-done in the CFP.

In 2024, Beck’s performance could be most aptly described as up and down, as he finished with 3,485 yards passing with 28 touchdowns to go with 12 interceptions. Perhaps the most important context for those 12 interceptions, though, is that he had three different games with three interceptions.

Beck has one year of eligibility remaining, and could get one of the most lucrative transfer portal deals thanks to his experience and talents.

There have been a few schools rumored as possible landing spots, with Miami being a notable given his girlfriend – one of the Cavinder twins – currently attending Miami, Miami’s need at quarterback as Cam Ward is projected to be a top pick in the Draft this spring, and Miami’s willingness to shell out for a big name QB in the portal.

North Carolina GM Michael Lombardi on Belichick NFL Return Reports: Complete Falsehood

North Carolina GM Michael Lombardi took some time on The Pat McAfee Show to unequivocally shoot down reports that new UNC Head Coach Bill Belichick might have any interest in returning to the NFL.

Lombardi shared that Coach Belichick is “completely committed. 1,000% committed. I know for Coach Belichick and myself those conversations – look, guys that do the insider stuff for the NFL, they’ve got to put stories out there. That one was a complete falsehood. … That story just had no legs. … There’s been no conversation about anything anything and we drive from this office, this football field behind me, to where we’re staying. We commute each day together and we talk about how messed up the NFL is and how thankful we’re in college football because we’re shaking our heads.”

Texas OT Cameron Williams Good to Go

Texas OT Cameron Williams missed the Peach Bowl last week, but ESPN’s Pete Thamel is reporting that he will be back in tonight’s Cotton Bowl against Ohio State.

Thamel shared on Twitter: “Texas starting right tackle Cameron Williams is expected to return and start for the Longhorns against Ohio State in the College Football Playoff semi-finals on Friday.”

Williams has been dealing with a right knee sprain, with Trevor Goosby playing in his place. This is a big benefit for the Texas OL, though, who has looked like one of the best OLs in the country with Williams healthy as they get ready to face one of the most talented DLs in the country.

Outgoing Boise State OC Claims Oregon Tampered with Broncos After Fiesta Bowl

Outgoing Boise State OC Dirk Koetter recently shared in an interview with Mike Prater and John Mallory of KTIK Idaho Sports Talk earlier this week that Oregon attempted to lure away one of Boise State’s top defensive players with an offer of $700,000.

Koetter shared, “I know for a fact that just last week, after the Fiesta Bowl, one of the key starters on defense got a call from the Oregon Ducks offering him $700,000.”

Koetter also spoke on the challenges of being at Boise State, saying, “let’s get some numbers out there. Our salary cap is $2M. And that’s up from maybe something like $1.6M last year, but it’s around $2M. Every calendar year, that’s what it is right now, and trying to grow it. But the people we’re competing against, maybe not in our current conference, but where we’re going and who we’re expected to compete against, it’s as high as $20M. … that same coach told me that every starter that started significant games for Boise State would be able to get at least $200,000 a man on the open market.”

Notre Dame QB Riley Leonard Shares Marcus Freeman’s Halftime Message

The Irish headed to halftime down 10-3 to Penn State, but clearly went on to play more inspired football in the second half, winning 27-24.

Leonard shared in the postgame what Marcus Freeman said to the team in the locker room:

“History is written by conquerors and we’re holding the pen. We decide how we want to write our history. And I’m a firm believer in whether you think you can or you can’t do something, you’re right. We believe that we can do it, and we went out there and did it.”

Mega Agent Drew Rosenhaus Calls for NIL Transparency and Structure Amid Chaos

Rosenhaus Sports, owned by the Rosenhaus brothers, has already negotiated more than $7 billion (with a B) in NFL contracts over the last few decades. And Drew Rosenhaus was recently on The Pat McAfee Show calling for transparency and structure in the NCAA landscape.

Rosenhaus shared, “it’s so different from when we recruited you guys. We started recruiting guys out of college their junior or senior years, now we’ve got to start with high school guys. Mason Graham is a great football player that we signed this year and started representing Mason as a freshman at the University of Michigan. He’ll be a top (NFL Draft pick). … Just NIL when we started and when his season ended he hired us to represent him in the Draft. Look, NIL contracts are year-to-year. So players right now are professional football players in college, and they get a new contract every year. There is free agency every year. There is no salary cap. There are no rules. The ability to transfer is almost unlimited. Guys getting paid coming out of high school. I love it. I’m for the players, I love it.”

However, Rosenhaus agreed with McAfee when McAfee suggested the NCAA needed a standardized system, saying, “Absolutely, in any system we need structure. Every other professional league has rules. (The NFL has) a cap, we have a structure, we have a draft order, we have waivers, we have trade deadlines. This doesn’t exist in college football, so it is very chaotic. … Let’s have transparency, let’s know what guys are being paid, what the schools are working with. I think transparency is huge and sharing information is a big deal … Let’s do it the right way. Let’s have legit contracts, let’s know what everybody is making, and let’s work for the players and colleges and make it a good system for everyone.”

Adam Schefter Elaborates on Interest in Texas’ Steve Sarkisian

Last week, it was revealed that there were NFL teams with possible interest in Texas Head Coach Steve Sarkisian, an interest level that apparently could only ratchet up if he continues to lead the Longhorns further in the CFP.

On Get Up yesterday morning on ESPN, Schefter shared, “Well I think there are a couple of teams that have some interest in speaking with Sark after the season ends. So, if Texas were to lose this week, then that would free him up to go do that if that’s what he wanted. And, if they win and go on and somehow find a way to win the national championship, I would think there might be even more teams that would be interested in talking. It just looms out there as a possibility that I think there are some NFL teams that do have some level of interest and we’ll see what that translates into during this interview process with six NFL teams currently having head coach openings.”

Worth noting, Schefter never named any specific franchises that might have interest in interviewing or hiring Coach Sarkisian.

Vanderbilt TE Eli Stowers Returning in 2025

Vanderbilt TE Eli Stowers will be back for Vanderbilt for the 2025 season.

Per ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Stowers is now planning on returning to the Commodores rather than entering the 2025 NFL Draft. Stowers transferred in to Vanderbilt from New Mexico State with Diego Pavia, a relationship that worked out well for both Pavia and Stowers. Stowers was first-team All-SEC in his first season with Vanderbilt. Stowers previously spent time in the SEC at Texas A&M before transferring to New Mexico State.

Stowers was reportedly projected as a mid-round pick, but has decided to stay because “we’re building something special” at Vanderbilt.

San Jose State Transfer DB Robert Rahimi Signs with SMU

San Jose State transfer DB Robert Rahimi has signed with SMU out of the transfer portal after having committed to transfer to the Mustangs a couple years ago before not transferring to SMU.

Rahimi spent 3 seasons at Liberty, where current SMU DC Scott Symons and CBs Coach Rickey Hunley were coaches. Rahimi then spent 2 seasons at Saddleback Community College before transferring to spend one season at San Jose State.

In 39 games, between his time at Liberty and San Jose State, Rahimi has 160 tackles, 11 interceptions, 7 passes defended, and 1.5 sacks. His stats in 2024 were incredibly impressive, finishing with 82 tackles, 5 interceptions, 5 passes defended, and a sack en route to an All-Mountain West Second Team finish.

Other Commitments/Decommitments

2026 3-Star (85) QB Gavin Owens commits to Memphis

Unrated DL Leroy Palu commits to Arizona