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

Kennesaw State Ends Liberty’s 17-Game Regular Season Win Streak to Get First FBS Win in Program History

Kennesaw State entered yesterday’s game 27-point underdogs to previously unbeaten Liberty, but no one told the Owls that they were supposed to get blown out, because they went on to win 27-24.

This is also Kennesaw State’s first win over a Division 1 team – FBS or FCS – since November of 2022 after only beating teams in Division 2 or lower last season. There are tons of other notes after this game to just how special this game was within the context of college football history, like how this is the first time since 1998 that a team who was 0-5 or worse beat a team 5-0 or better.

Liberty jumped out to a 7-0 lead, but after Kennesaw State put up 14 unanswered points, the Owls never trailed again. With a 21-17 lead, Kennesaw State kicker Austin Welch made both 31- and 41-yard field goals that proved to be pivotal in ultimately holding on to win 27-24.

Owls QB Davis Bryson finished 16-for-20 with 189 yards and a touchdown, plus an additional 20 rushing yards. Running backs Michael Benefield and Qua Ashley both ran for a touchdown and combined for 106 rushing yards for a balanced attack. For Kennesaw State, Tyler Hallum also earned an interception, the game’s lone turnover for either team.

For Liberty, QB Kaidon Salter finished 22-for-40 with 206 yards, 3 touchdowns, and an interception. He also led all rushers in this game with 87 yards on 9 carries, including a long of 32 yards. RBs Billy Lucas and Quinton Cooley also added a combined 89 yards on 20 carries.

Jacksonville State Has Big 3rd Quarter to Beat Middle Tennessee 42-20

Jacksonville State won the 3rd quarter 21-3 and dominated in the 2nd half, scoring on every complete drive, to beat Middle Tennessee 42-20 and improve to 4-3 overall and 3-0 in the CUSA.

Jacksonville State dominated offensively, finishing with 577 total yards, including 440 rushing yards, and going 9/14 on conversion downs. The Gamecocks finished with 8.13 yards per play, an obviously massive number.

Middle Tennessee’s offense also was not bad, finishing with 365 yards of total offense, including 297 passing yards. Blue Raiders QB Nicholas Vattiato finished 25-for-36 with 297 yards and 2 touchdowns. Both Omari Kelly and Holden Willis finished with over 100 yards, with Kelly finishing with 128 yards on 8 catches, while Willis finished with 109 yards and a touchdown on 6 catches.

For Jacksonville State, QB Tyler Huff finished 10-for-18 passing with 137 yards and a touchdown while also adding 151 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns on 18 carries. RB Tre Stewart also added 210 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries, good for 10 yards per carry. Andrew Paul also added a pair of rushing touchdowns in just 5 carries.

NC State QB, former Coastal Carolina QB, Grayson McCall Medically Retires from Football

NC State QB and former Coastal Carolina star QB Grayson McCall announced that he has medically retired from playing football after dealing with a concussion.

McCall was best known for his 5 seasons with Coastal Carolina where he threw for over 10,000 yards in a Jamey Chadwell offense that burst the Chanticleers onto the scene nationally.

Now, McCall is shifting his focus to what’s next, ending his Instagram post about his retirement football by saying, “I look forward to taking my passion and love for the game into the coaching space to serve and lead the next group of kids with a dream.

Thamel: Missouri QB Brady Cook Doubtful Against Alabama

According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Missouri QB Brady Cook is doubtful against Alabama with the ankle injury he suffered against Auburn.

According to Thamel, Cook has been “extremely limited” in practice. Against Auburn, he injured his ankle and went to the hospital, but returned to the game late to lead the Tigers to a 14-point comeback win, 21-17.

Coach Eli Drinkwitz was asked if he’d participate in workouts, to which he said, “I don’t know if I’d say participate. I anticipate that he will be out at practice, but that’s why I’m not letting the media at practice so that y’all can’t worry about what he’s doing or not doing at practice.”

Missouri heads to Tuscaloosa to take on #15 Alabama at 3:30 PM. Missouri has a bye week after.

4-Star WR Adrian Wilson Decommits from Arizona State

Near consensus 4-star WR Adrian Wilson decommitted from Arizona State yesterday after committing to the Sun Devils back in April.

Wilson has also been committed to Oregon and TCU in the past, and now adds Arizona State to the list of schools he was once committed to but is not any longer. According to recruiting insiders with On3, like Steve Wiltfong and Chad Simmons, Wilson is trending towards Colorado, who is about to have a Travis Hunter-sized hole in its receiving corp, so this could make sense from a talent and need perspective for both sides.

Wilson ranks as high as 152nd nationally and 27th for the WR position in the 2025 class according to Rivals. According to the On3 industry composite, Wilson ranks 267th nationally and 35th at his position.

Arizona State is now down to 2 4-star commitments and 18 commitments overall for a 2025 class which ranks 50th nationally and 9th out of 16 in the newly expanded Big 12.

Louisville WR Caullin Expected to Redshirt

Louisville WR Caullin Lacy is anticipated to redshirt for the 2024 season. Lacy broke his collarbone in fall camp and has returned, but has not been 100% healthy this year. Lacy appeared in 4 games this season, preserving his opportunity for a medical redshirt.

Lacy’s agent David Ben-Zaken provided a statement to On3, notably stating “This is not an NIL decision and at this time, Caullin anticipates returning to Louisville for another season. Both parties are working tirelessly to make this happen.”

Ben-Zaken also stated that this decision to redshirt was agreed upon between both parties, and that Lacy has not been healthy, so to come back next season fully healthy would be in everyone’s best interest moving forward.

4-Star TE Mikkel Skinner Commits to Kentucky

Near consensus 4-star TE Mikkel Skinner committed to Kentucky last night over South Carolina, Georgia, and Ohio State, among others after having spent some time previously as a Cincinnati commit.

For Skinner, what appealed to him was having the opportunity to play early at a program he believes is trending in the right direction.

Skinner ranks as high as 182nd nationally and 11th at his position according to 247, while the On3 industry composite ranks him more modestly at 403rd nationally and 24th for his position in large part due to a significantly and noticeably lower rating from Rivals.

Kentucky’s class now has 6 4-star commitments and 21 commitments overall for a 2025 class which ranks 22nd nationally and 11th in the SEC.

Auburn Coach Hugh Freeze: Need to Be Myself, Start Coaching Harder

Auburn has been going through it this season, and something Coach Hugh Freeze has been having to deal with is what to do about coaching his players in this era of college athletics, where he could run the risk of hurting the locker room and players hitting the transfer portal.

But Coach Freeze has recently decided that he needs to be himself: “I kind of made up my mind going into that open week and the week leading up to the Missouri game, told our staff this, that, ‘Look, I’ve made up my mind. I’ve got to be who I am and we’ve got to coach them hard.’”

Coach Freeze also shared, “and the good players throughout my career, and I would think most coaches would agree, they want discipline. They want to be coached hard. They want to be developed. If someone chooses to leave me because of that or someone else, we’re probably not going to win long-term with that anyway, because if you can’t coach the mistakes out of them in practice because you’re afraid to coach them or whatever, those mistakes will continue to happen in the game, and we’ve seen that on tape.”

Finally, Coach Freeze was clear to state that this was not going to be too rough or with the goal of culling the bottom of the roster, stating “we don’t demean kids, but we’re going to coach them hard. … I don’t want to lose players. I don’t care for the new transfer world, because I think people need to learn to stick with something and go through the hard. But you know what, if they don’t want to go through the hard and they don’t want to be developed, then you’re probably not going to win with them long-term anyway.”

Oregon WR Traeshon Holden Available vs. #20 Illinois

Traeshon Holden will be playing for the #1 Oregon Ducks this weekend, according to James Crepea of The Oregonian.

Holden currently has 306 receiving yards for the top-rated Ducks this season, but he did not record any stats in last week’s game against Purdue. He was at the game and in pads on the sideline.

Holden was ejected in Oregon’s previous game against Ohio State for spitting on Ohio State DB Davison Igbinosun. Going into the Ohio State game, he was the Ducks 2nd leading receiver, so his absence was notable.

Coach Dan Lanning said that they would handle the punishment internally, and it would appear not playing against Purdue was at least part of that punishment. But, Holden will be back against #20 Illinois at 3:30 this Saturday.

UCF EDGE Kaven Call Will Enter the Transfer Portal; Writes Fiery Letter “To Set the Record Straight”

Reading the entire letter would be well worth everyone’s time, but UCF Edge Kaven Call intends to enter the transfer portal and, in announcing his intention, has written a fiery, scathing letter with the intention of setting the record straight.

Call ended his letter stating, “I didn’t want to clean out my locker, but I was told to do so, and I did. I didn’t want to leave the team, but I was told to do so, and I did.”

In the letter, Call alleges the plan for him to redshirt was something that was discussed with his position coach and all seemed well. However, Call then alleges that things changed later when the Chief of Staff of UCF, Ross Newton, told Call that if Call were to redshirt, he would effectively be cut and would share with any other coaches that inquired about Call that Call had bailed on the team, and that there would be a stigma that would follow Call for being a quitter that Newton would help perpetuate.

Other Commitments/Decommitments

3-Star (88) TE Isaiah Butler-Tanner decommits from Oklahoma State

3-Star (87) S Jovan Clark flips from Wyoming to Washington State

3-Star (86) TE Cross Nimmo decommits from Minnesota

3-Star (84) IOL Daniel Boyd decommits from Fresno State

3-Star (83) TE Tayte Crable flips from Toledo to USF

3-Star (83) LB Carter Jones decommits from Cal