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

#6 Penn State Is First Team to Reach CFP Semifinals with 31-14 Win Over #3 Boise State in Vrbo Fiesta Bowl

#6 Penn State got out to a quick 14-0 lead before Boise State settled into the game and made it a respectable game before Penn State pulled away. Nicholas Singleton would put the nail in the coffin with about 5 minutes left to reach the final score of 31-14 for the Nittany Lions.

Boise State actually outgained Penn State 412-387 and was 8/16 on 3rd down to Penn State’s 5/13, but the Nittany Lions took advantage of winning the turnover battle 4-1. Plus, Boise State kicker Jonah Dalmas did miss a pair of kicks when the score was close, where making both would have made it a 1-point game at one point.

By the end of it, Boise State QB Maddux Madsen was 23/35 for 304 yards, a touchdown, and 3 interceptions. Madsen’s most popular target was TE Matt Lauter (4/96/1), with Cameron Camper (3/66) also having a strong performance. RB Ashton Jeanty hit 100 yards for the 14th time this season, the first RB to ever have 14 different 100 yard games in one season as he ran for 104 yards on 30 carries.

For Penn State, the story of the offense was yardage from the RBs of Kaytron Allen (17/134) and Nicholas Singleton (12/87/1), but it was primarily the passing game where Penn State scored. QB Drew Allar finished 13/25 for 171 yards and 3 touchdowns, with 2 of them going to TE Tyler Warren (6/63/2) and the other going to Omari Evans (2/55/1).

With the win, Penn State heads to the Orange Bowl for the CFP Semifinals to face off against the winner of the Notre Dame and Georgia game today.

Michigan Holds On to Early Lead to Beat #11 Alabama 19-13 in the ReliaQuest Bowl

Michigan finished with just 2.88 yards per play and only found the end zone once, but perhaps the only stat the Wolverine faithful care about is that Michigan scored 19 to Alabama’s 13 and beat Alabama (again) to bookend 2024 following last season’s January 1st Rose Bowl.

Neither team looked particularly polished on offense, as Alabama was 4/16 on conversion downs, with Michigan going 5/17. Including turnovers on downs, all 19 of Michigan’s points and 5 scoring drives all came off of Alabama turnovers.

For Alabama, QB Jalen Milroe was pressured all game. Michigan finished with 5 sacks, but that does not begin to explain how all over the place Milroe was. Milroe finished 16/32 passing for 182 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. He did also run for just 7 yards, but that’s incorporating sack yardage; his longest rush on the game was a game-high 41 yards. Milroe did also lose 2 fumbles, so he was responsible for all three Alabama turnovers.

Rico Scott was Alabama’s leading rusher on just one rush: 28 yards. With 29 rush attempts, only going for 68 yards is fairly indicative of how Alabama did, as Jam Miller finished with 27 yards on 10 carries. Miller did also finished with 36 receiving yards on 3 catches as Germie Bernard led all receivers in this game with 4 catches for 80 yards.

For Michigan, QB Davis Warren was 9/12 for 73 yards and a touchdown, while backup QB Alex Orji was 2/3 for 2 yards and a pick. On the ground, Jordan Marshall (23/100) led all rushers, while Benjamin Hall (16/28) also got a bunch of carries.

Michigan’s lone touchdown was a 15-yard strike from Warren to Fredrick Moore, who led all Wolverines with 3 catches for 37 yards and that touchdown.

With the loss, Alabama does not finish with at least 10 wins for the first time since 2007, an insane streak for the Crimson Tide coming to an end. For Michigan, 8-5 with wins over Ohio State and Alabama is a great result after it looked like the Wolverines could be a bad game away from missing a game. With #1 QB recruit Bryce Underwood coming in soon, it will be interesting to see if the Wolverines parlay this momentum into 2025 well.

#20 Illinois Upsets #15 South Carolina 21-17 in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl

#20 Illinois beat #15 South Carolina in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl yesterday afternoon in a game where the Illini were outgained 390-357 and lost the turnover battle 2-1. Illinois did have a better yards per game result (6.26-5.73), though.

Ultimately, South Carolina needed QB LaNorris Sellers to make one or two more plays than he did, but he had several opportunities to take advantage and give the Gamecocks the decisive advantage, but he just couldn’t make enough plays to overcome Illinois.

Sellers finished 24/34 for 260 yards and a touchdown, while also adding 11 rushing attempts for 19 yards (which do include negative yards for the two times he was sacked). Sellers’ most common target was the checkdown, as RB Oscar Adaway had a game-high 7 catches. Adaway finished with 7/37 receiving and 14/69/1 rushing, while TE Joshua Simon (6/69/1) and Nyck Harbor (4/61) were the Gamecocks’ leading receivers.

For Illinois, QB Luke Altmyer was 13/22 for 174 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. Hank Beatty (4/90) and Zakhari Franklin (4/39/1) did most of the work in the receiving department for the Illini. But it was the ground game that won it for Illinois, as game MVP Josh McCray (13/114/2) and Aidan Laughery (16/67) were the main ball carriers.

Finally, for Illinois, a shoutout for Gabe Jacas, who finished with 8 tackles and 3 tackles for loss, an impressive statline considering those were the only tackles for loss on non-sacks from the Illinois defense. This is also Illinois’ 10th win, which is the first time Illinois has hit 10 wins since 2001 when Ron Turner led Illinois to a 10-2 record and Sugar Bowl appearance.

Louisville Beats Washington 35-34 in the Sun Bowl After Washington’s 2 Point Conversion to Win Fails

Louisville and Washington played an exciting, back-and-forth game that came down to the final seconds, as Washington scored a touchdown with an opportunity to tie the game at 35 if Washington were to kick the extra point.

However, Washington went for the extra point, but was unsuccessful and would go on to lose the game.

Washington finished with over 100 more yards gained on the day, with both teams finishing 7/16 on conversion downs.

For the Huskies, QB Demond Williams Jr. was an efficient 26/32 passing for 374 yards, 4 touchdowns, and an interception while also leading the Huskies in rushing yards with 48 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries. Jonah Coleman (9/42) was the other RB to get consistent carries.

Washington WR Giles Jackson finished with an astounding 11/161/4 in a performance that might have been worthy of the game’s MVP award in spite of the loss.

However, that honor was bestowed upon Louisville QB Harrison Bailey, who finished 16/25 for 164 yards and 3 touchdowns. Those touchdowns went to Nate Kurisky (3/30/1), Antonio Meeks (1/28/1), and Caullin Lacy (3/17/1; 2/10/1 rushing). Chris Bell (6/60) led all Cardinals, though, as Bailey’s most common target.

With the win, Jeff Brohm and Louisville have won 19 games in his only 2 seasons with the Cardinals. With the loss, Washington falls below 0.500, joining TCU as another team to finish below 0.500 after appearing in the National Championship the year before.

LSU Beats Baylor 44-31 in the Kinder’s Texas Bowl

LSU scored touchdowns on 3 of its first 4 drives (as well as scoring on a pick-six on Baylor’s first drive) to take a 28-7 lead about halfway through the second quarter.

Baylor outgained LSU 507-418 (including a 36 yard loss for the Bears on a messed up 4th and 1 snap), but the Bears were a mediocre 5/13 on 3rd down and a paltry 1/6 on 4th down

A scary moment in this game happened as LB Whit Weeks suffered an ankle injury that required his ankle being popped back into place on the field and placed in an air cast, as he subsequently needed to be carted off the field.

In the losing effort, Baylor QB Sawyer Robertson looked great, going 30/51 for 445 yards, 2 touchdowns, and an interception. RB Dawson Pendergrass led all rushers in this game with a statline of 21/63/2, and Josh Cameron finished with a great receiving statline of 8/111/1, while Monaray Baldwin (4/79) and Ketron Jackson Jr. (3/71) also contributed well.

For LSU, though, QB Garrett Nussmeier was impressive, going 24/34 passing for 304 yards, 3 touchdowns, and an interception. RBs Caden Durham (13/60) and Josh Williams (9/42/1) had a solid game with the lion’s share of the carries for LSU.

Chris Hilton Jr. (4/113/1), Aaron Anderson (8/91), and Trey’Dez Green (6/53/2) were the main pass catchers for LSU who all contributed well.

Davhon Keys was the LSU Tiger to return the interception for a touchdown, as Zavion Thomas also ran a kickoff back 95 yards to score a touchdown, a pair of pivotal scores as LSU won by 13.

Miami Fires DC Lance Guidry

Miami DC Lance Guidry is being fired, according to several sources.

Guidry was with the Hurricanes for two seasons, for a defense that ranked 69th in terms of total defense in 2024, allowing 327.2 yards per game, and 70th in terms of scoring defense, allowing 25.3 points per game.

Coach Mario Cristobal shared in a statement that he wanted to thank Coach Guidry for his contributions, but that he decided to make a chance on defense “in a continuous effort to always improve all aspects of our program…”

The issue was not so much the final averages for the season (which were still fairly average despite well above average talent), but that in the final 9 games, Miami’s defense allowed an average of 32 points per game and 369.1 yards per game, while finishing those final 9 games with a 6-3 record in spite of having the #1 offense in the country and one of the top 2-3 (or best) QB in the country, averaging 537.2 yards of offense and almost 44 points per game.

Arizona State and Kenny Dillingham Agree to New Contract, Big Raise for Coach Dillingham

ESPN’s Pete Thamel is reporting that Arizona State and Coach Kenny Dillingham have agreed to a new five-year contract with a raise and several incentives, which could lead the contract to being as long as 10 years.

Thamel is reporting that the contract will put Coach Dillingham in the “top tier” of Big 12 coaches, with an understanding that Arizona State will also commit to the full 105 roster limit for the football program when those limits expand amid the House v. NCAA settlement. The plan is also for Arizona State to be a full participant in the revenue-sharing portion of the settlement with an additional increase in commitment to the football staff alongside Coach Dillingham.

In short, Arizona State is maximizing the opportunity now of this CFP run by re-investing in the program in a big way.

Penn State Star Abdul Carter Questionable for Orange Bowl After Exiting and Not Returning to Fiesta Bowl with Injury Last Night

Penn State star edge rusher Abdul Carter left the Fiesta Bowl last night, favoring his left arm, and did not return.

Following the game, Coach James Franklin gave the following quote: “With Abdul, I don’t know a whole lot. We’ll get that checked out and see. Obviously, number one, the safety and health and welfare of our guys is priority number one. But then, I know Abdul will want t play next week and he’ll do everything in his power to play next week, if he’s able to. We’ll find out more. I don’t have a whole lot more information than that.”

From the sounds of it, it will be a little before anyone knows more on if Abdul Carter will play against the winner of Georgia/Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl for the CFP Semis, but that will be one of the biggest storylines leading up to the game, regardless of who wins between Georgia and Notre Dame.

Former Texas WR Johntay Cook Takes Shot at Quinn Ewers

In a now deleted tweet reply, Johntay Cook said that tampering in the portal to offer Texas QB Quinn Ewers $6M to transfer to their team would be “wasting yall money fr”

This comes amid reports from On3’s Pete Nakos that Ewers is receiving an offer of $6M to return to college football for one final season and enter the transfer portal. There have been questions about Ewers’ future, as he was once projected to be a first round pick. However, this is a projection that now looks less likely to come to fruition, and returning to college might be the smarter decision for Ewers.

In two seasons with Ewers as Cook’s quarterback, Cook finished with 16 catches for 273 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Ole Miss Coach Lane Kiffin Tweeted Support for Penn State During Last Night’s Fiesta Bowl

After not being included in the College Football Playoff, largely due to a home loss to 4-8 Kentucky, Lane Kiffin has been fairly active on Twitter to comment on the lopsided losses taken by non-SEC teams.

That included last night, when Coach Kiffin quote tweeted the official Penn State Football Twitter account with a simple, “LFG PSU!!!!”

Coach Kiffin has also tweeted “way to keep us on the edge of our seats Committee … Riveting.” during one of the first round blowouts.

He did, evidently, lose his Twitter login during the Tennessee blowout and the bowl losses of Alabama and South Carolina as double digit favorites, or perhaps this is when he works on his game plan for Duke and the Gator Bowl on January 2nd.

Other Commitments/Decommitments

3-Star (85) LB Aj Tuitele decommits from Washington State

3-Star (84) DL Josiah Pratt flips from Washington State to Wake Forest