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.

Note: Due to international travel, CFB Roundup is being shortened for the week, and there may be a day missed here or there.

YESTERDAY’S RESULTS:

TODAY’S SCHEDULE:

Betting Information as of time of writing

James Madison Explodes for 22 Point 2nd Quarter to Beat Coastal Carolina 39-7

James Madison and Coastal Carolina both entered the evening 4-1, but it was a convincing 39-7 win from James Madison over Coastal Carolina.

The Dukes outgained the Chanticleers by a final tally of 421 to 181, as Coastal Carolina finished a combined 9-for-26 passing for 102 yards, one passing touchdown, and 2 interceptions. The Chanticleers similarly struggled running the ball, finishing with 79 rushing yards on 26 carries. Ultimately, Coastal Carolina finished with a paltry 3.48 yards per play, compared to James Madison’s 6.01 yards per play.

James Madison QB Alonza Barnett III finished 16-for-28 with 199 yards and 3 passing touchdowns, with RB George Pettaway contributing a game-high 89 rushing yards on 13 carries. He also caught a 9-yard pass for a touchdown. Taylor Thompson led all pass catchers in this game with 58 receiving yards and a touchdown in his 2 receptions. DL Lloyd Summerall III also took back a pick-six for the Dukes defense.

Louisiana Tech Scores 34 Unanswered to Rout Middle Tennessee 48-21

In what started as a 14-7 lead for Middle Tennessee, Louisiana Tech scored 34 unanswered points to score touchdowns on 7 of its first 8 drives en route to beating up on Middle Tennessee 48-21.

Louisiana Tech QB Evan Bullock finished an impressive 18-for-25 with 290 passing yards, 5 passing touchdowns, and a rushing touchdown. RB Marquis Crosby also got in on the throwing action, throwing for a 19 yard touchdown.

Tru Edwards led all receivers with 127 yards and a touchdown on 6 catches. In all, five different Bulldogs scored receiving touchdowns, with Solo Lewis, Jay Wilkerson, Omiri Wiggins (x2), and Jimmy Holliday rounding out the list.

Ultimately, 336 yards of offense from Middle Tennessee is not necessarily a poor day, but it pales in comparison to the 553 yards of offense from Louisiana Tech. QB Nicholas Vattiato finished with 276 passing yards, 2 passing touchdowns, and an interception on 24-of-39 passing for the Blue Raiders. Omari Kelly eclipsed the century mark for Middle Tennessee, finishing with 8 catches and 103 receiving yards. No one from the Blue Raiders was able to rack up more than 30 yards, though, as the team finished with 60 rushing yards on 21 rush attempts.

Western Kentucky Makes Routine Work of Winless UTEP 44-17

Western Kentucky and UTEP exchanged scores and then interceptions early last night, before Western Kentucky put up 20 unanswered points before halftime. UTEP did score 10 points to open the 3rd quarter to cut the lead to 10, but Western Kentucky finished with three scoring drives, while UTEP got no points out of drives of 9, 9, and 12 plays, respectively, as the first two ended with turnovers on downs, and the third ended with the game clock hitting 0:00.

UTEP QB Cade McConnell got the start, where he finished 3-for-7 with 96 passing yards, a touchdown, and an interception. After the interception, however, Skyler Locklear played in relief and finished 11-for-17 for 82 yards and no touchdowns, but no interceptions. RB Ezell Jolly was the main source of offense for the Miners, finishing with 119 rushing yards on 27 carries.

Western Kentucky QB Caden Veltkamp had a strong showing, finishing with 264 passing yards, 3 passing touchdowns, and an interception on 18-for-27 passing. The leading receiver on the game was WR Easton Messer, who finished with 106 receiving yards on 6 catches RB Elijah Young had a fairly quiet night, finishing with 60 rushing yards on 16 carries.

WR Michael Mathison was possibly the player of the game, as he finished with 3 touchdowns on 4 total touches. Mathison finished with 2 catches for 17 yards and 2 rushes for 16 yards, with both of the catches and one of the rushes resulting in touchdowns.

Consensus 4-Star WR Daylan McCutcheon Flips from Florida State to Texas

Consensus 4-star WR Daylan McCutcheon has flipped his commitment from Florida State to Texas after originally committing to the Seminoles back on July 13th.

Texas already has commitments from five-star WRs in Jamie Ffrench and Kaliq Lockett, and continue to add elite talent at the position with McCutcheon.

McCutcheon is ranked highest by On3, who places him 69th nationally and 12th at his position.

According to the On3 industry composite, McCutcheon ranks 105th nationally and 14th at the WR position.

This Texas’ 14th Blue Chip commitment and 21st commitment overall for the 2025 class, a class which ranks 6th nationally and 5th in the SEC. For Florida State, the Seminoles are down to 9 Blue Chip commitments and 11 commitments overall. Florida State now ranks 18th nationally and 3rd in the ACC for the 2025 class.

4-Star OT Mario Nash Commits to Florida State

After previously decommitting from Mississippi State back on October 7th, Nash now commits to Florida State.

For Nash, the relationship he has with offensive line coach Alex Atkins is a big part of why he is deciding to commit to Florida State over some other solid offers like Ole Miss and LSU.

Nash ranks as high as 183rd nationally (Rivals) and 7th at his position (ESPN). However, according to the On3 industry composite, Nash ranks 270th nationally and 22nd at his position.

Florida State’s 2025 class currently has 9 Blue Chip commitments and 11 commitments overall for a class which ranks 18th nationally and 3rd in the ACC.

Other Commitments/Decommitments

3-Star (89) CB Jacob Bradford decommits from Houston

3-Star (88) WR Sam Turner flips from Georgia Tech to Auburn

3-Star (87) Dyllon Williams decommits from Missouri

3-Star (85) Edge Zion Lawson decommits from Vanderbilt

3-Star (81) Edge Ty Watkins commits to Akron