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.

TX Senator Ted Cruz Predicts Donald Trump Will Rescind Title IX Guidance for House Payments

Texas Senator Ted Cruz responded to the Department of Education’s recent memo clarifying that the House settlement payments (otherwise known as the ~$20.5M salary cap for all college athletes) will be viewed as financial assistance and therefore be subject to Title IX rules. Cruz believes the incoming administration will rescind this.

Cruz shared in a statement that was re-shared by Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger, “This is a great idea if Biden’s intent is to kill both men’s and women’s college sports. Mandating so-called equal pay when not all sports generate equal revenue will force some colleges out of athletics altogether. Everyone wants to be paid like Michael Jordan, but that’s not the way the world works. I predict this scheme will die on January 20th.”

Former Wisconsin S Xavier Lucas Withdraws from Wisconsin, Enrolls at Miami Without Entering Portal

Xavier Lucas attempted to transfer from Wisconsin, claiming to have gone through the process of submitting the proper paperwork, paperwork he claims Wisconsin never processed despite NCAA rules requiring schools to process the paperwork within 48 hours. And therefore, Lucas was unable to enter the transfer portal. He retained Darren Heitner, one of the most popular NIL lawyers and commentators on social media.

Ross Dellenger reported that Lucas allegedly signed a two-year revenue-sharing agreement with Wisconsin, pending approval of the House settlement, and that is why Wisconsin would not process the paperwork to enter Lucas’ name into the portal.

Lucas, however, has decided to just bypass the transfer portal process altogether, unenrolling/withdrawing from Wisconsin, and enrolling at Miami.

The NCAA released a statement confirming the interpretation of the rules his attorney provided: “NCAA rules do not prevent a student-athlete from unenrolling from an institution, enrolling at a new institution and competing immediately.”

Deion Sanders on His Mindset for 2025 Amid Swirling Rumors

Coach Deion Sanders took to Twitter to describe his mindset or attitude as we head into 2025 and rumors swirl about his future in coaching, whether that be at Colorado, with the Cowboys, or another D1 program or NFL team.

“So what! That should be your attitude in 2025 ‘SO WHAT’! They gon talk about u, lie on u, Hate on u, Underestimate u, Count u out, Steal from u, Use u to come up & Sit right in yo face all the while. ‘SO WHAT’! What God has for u is still for u! They can’t stop God! #CoachPrime”

This comes shortly after former ESPN reporter Ed Werder shared, “Regarding Deion Sanders: I’m being told that he would almost certainly accept if Jerry Jones offers to make him the next Cowboys head coach, that those around him are encouraging him to pursue it and that Jones is enamored with the idea.”

National Championship Ticket Prices Shattering Previous Records

According to TickPick and Front Office Sports, the prices to get in to the National Championship between Notre Dame and Ohio State are higher than they ever have been.

The average purchase price for the title game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium is $2,637 per ticket, with the cheapest ticket being around $1,830.

For perspective, the average last year was $1,934, which shattered the previous record set in 2020 between Alabama and Ohio State of $1,626 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.

NFL Insider Tom Pelissero Doubles Down on Belichick Contract Report, Provides Context

NFL insider Tom Pelissero recently went on the Rich Eisen Show to further discuss and defend his report about Bill Belichick not having a signed contract with North Carolina and what it could mean if the NFL were still an open door for Coach Belichick.

“I am acutely aware of what Michael Lombardi continues to post on every social media operation, saying, ‘The NFL is not an option. Bill doesn’t want to go to the NFL. We laugh about the NFL. It’s a joke to us. He only wants to be at the University of North Carolina.”

“I also know Bill Belichick, who for years, with players and coaches, kind of had a rule – you’re supposed to speak about yourself only. We’ve not heard directly from Bill Belichick on any of these things.”

“The facts right now are, he’s gotten calls from teams, he did get a call from Tom Brady at one point. He has not signed a contract – I know that’s not unusual at North Carolina. But when I referenced a couple of weeks ago the questions about whether Bill Belichick or a new team would even have to pay that $10M buyout, that’s what I was referring to, which there’s not a memorandum of understanding or a contract that’s been signed by all parties here. So there’s a little bit of gray area in terms of how exactly that would apply.”

“I would say if you, Rich, using all your years – I know you talked with Bill a number of times through the days at NFL Network and you’ve followed his career. And I would just say, when you look at all the photos of Bill Belichick wearing a dark suit and having his arm around some 16-year-old in a high school cafeteria while driving around the East Coast in a van, does that seem like what Bill Belichick wants to be doing right now?”

“If he had his option, do you think he wants to be on the recruiting trail and trying to talk kids into coming to North Carolina? Or, do you think he wants to be the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys?”

“I’m not saying that’s the focus. I’m not saying what he’s doing at North Carolina is not real – and I’m sure Michael Lombardi will respond to this video the first chance he gets the chance to. What I am saying is, if that call comes from Jerry Jones, ‘we need you here for 2-3 years,’ I think that Bill Belichick would pick up the phone. We’ll see if that call comes.”

Texas TE Amari Niblack Plans to Enter Transfer Portal

Texas TE and former Alabama transfer Amari Niblack plans to enter the transfer portal according to On3’s Pete Nakos.

Niblack appeared in 9 games for the Longhorns in 2024, finishing with just 5 catches for 33 yards. Niblack joined Alabama as a 4-star recruit and the #3 TE recruit in the country in 2022, making a decent impact in his time with the Tide.

With Alabama, he appeared in 24 games and made 5 starts, finishing with 20 catches for 327 yards and 4 touchdowns in 2023.

EDGE Chinedu Onyeagoro No Longer Signed with SMU, Commits to North Carolina

3-star EDGE Chinedu Onyeagoro signed with SMU last month, but was granted a release from his National Letter of Intent on Thursday and is now set to head to Chapel Hill to play for North Carolina.

North Carolina’s 2025 class was fairly slim, as it now stands with one 4-star and 11 3-stars. The Tar Heels 2025 class ranks 69th nationally and 17th out of 17 ACC programs. Only Purdue’s 2025 class ranks lower than North Carolina’s 2025 class.

Onyeagoro ranks 516th nationally and 48th at the EDGE position according to the On3 industry composite, but he ranks as high as 27th at the EDGE position according to 247.

Pat McAfee Show CFO Reveals Over $1M Was Donated During 2024 Kicking Contest

Pat McAfee Show CFO Phil Mains shared on Twitter yesterday morning that $1,150,000 was donated to charities during the 2024 season just from Pat McAfee’s kicking contest.

Most of that money was to support Hurricane Helene relief, with another $620,000 also being paid out to the fans for actually making the field goals.

ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit also would occasionally agree to put up money for those who could successfully kick a 33-yard field goal.

Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty Speaks on How Faith Carried Boise State in 2024

Reflecting on his 2024 season, Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty shared, “first of all, glory to God, you know, for bringing us this far [the Fiesta Bowl], for helping us restore the order this year. We couldn’t do it without Him. You know, keeping God first is what’s got us here. But you know, this season’s been a blessing. You know, God’s favor has been upon me and all my teammates this year. I’m just thankful.”

“Obviously, didn’t come away with the result that we wanted, but you know – not just me, but you know, a lot of guys on this team did special things all year.”

Marshall Fined $100k from Sun Belt for Opting Out of Independence Bowl

The Sun Belt has fined Marshall $100,000 for backing out of the Independence Bowl vs. Army due to, supposedly, too many players entering the transfer portal.

The Sun Belt also released a statement explaining the decision to fine Marshall, sharing, “while the conference acknowledges the medical model and best practice guidance adhered to by Marshall, as well as their fundamental concern for the health and safety of the remaining eligible student-athletes to compete in a safe and viable manner, the nature and timing of this decision was detrimental to the Sun Belt Conference and its membership, to Army, the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl, the American Athletic Conference, and ESPN. The Sun Belt Conference considers this matter concluded and will have no further comment.”

What the Sun Belt is referring to, of course, is how Marshall decided on December 14th, only two weeks prior to the game, that it would not play in the Independence Bowl due to nearly 30 players having entered the transfer portal. Ultimately, 37 players hit the portal and Louisiana Tech of the CUSA would replace Marshall.

The most recently reported bowl payout for the Independence Bowl was back in 2019, when Louisiana Tech beat Miami (FL), and it was at $2.2M. It is unclear from a Google search if those numbers are consistent or change as the conference tie-ins rotate every year. Either way, it was likely a substantial amount of money the Sun Belt did not receive due to Marshall’s decision, which might further justify a fine, giving the time of the decision.

Other Commitments/Decommitments

3-Star (85) CB Mumu Bin-Wahad commits to UNLV

3-Star (83) WR Ty Olsen decommits from San Jose State

Unrated WR Daveon Walker decommits from West Virginia

Unrated OT Richard Grigg decommits from Air Force