About two hours north of Philadelphia is the small town of Macungie, with a population of less than 4,000. And two weeks ago — Macungie and specifically Emmaus High School — had something big to celebrate.
Indiana University starting Defensive Lineman Mario Landino, who played football at Emmaus High School, is now a College Football National Champion.
Indiana may have been known primarily for its basketball program, with legendary Coach Bobby Knight, and for the 1986 film Hoosiers starring Gene Hackman. Not anymore.
And while 65 NCAA Football Teams have been undefeated since the AP started polling in 1936, Indiana is only one of two teams to finish 16–0. The other — the 1894 Yale Football Team. Indiana ran through their 2025 D1 College Football season, including a 13–10 win over Ohio State.
Things started relatively slow for both sides, as Indiana took just a 10-0 lead into halftime with Miami’s offense getting nothing going on the ground or over the top.
But, as usual in low-scoring college first halves, the script flipped in the final two quarters. Miami woke up to put the pressure on the Hoosiers, but Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza stepped up and Hurricanes QB1 Carson Beck couldn’t.
Beck had the chance to deliver a game-winning drive, but forced a deep pass that was picked off. Indiana held on 27-21, winning the program’s first ever football title in its debut appearance while Miami’s wait since 2001 persists, despite being at home in Hard Rock Stadium.
Let’s analyze the game further with winners and losers as Indiana ends the season unbeaten at 16-0:
WINNER: Fernando Mendoza, Indiana
The Heisman winner and potential No. 1 pick had all the eyes on him tonight. It wasn’t a perfect performance, but he displayed the grit and poise needed at the next level.
Mendoza threw for 186 yards on 16 of 27 completions, while also rushing for the key 12-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
He’ll still need to polish his game more to truly thrive in the NFL, especially if the Las Vegas Raiders believe he’s the QB1 that can elevate their trajectory. But for now, he can bask in the moment.
LOSER: Carson Beck, Miami
On the other hand, it was a slightly different story for Miami’s QB1. Carson Beck, 23, could’ve had his moment to change the narrative on his college career — and boost his potential draft odds in the process.
He overcame a slow start and displayed much better command in the second half, finishing with 232 passing yards and a touchdown on 19 of 32 completions. But the lone pick might just summarize his five-year collegiate run best — a competitive college option but not at the level required to win the majors.
WINNER: Mark Fletcher Jr., Miami
Most eyes were on Mendoza’s legitimacy to go No. 1, but Miami had an opportunity to show off some of its skill players as well.
Malachi Toney, a rising 18-year-old wideout, seized his moments and will be one to watch for the future. Junior running back Mark Fletcher Jr. also stood out, and he could even be NFL ready if he declared.
Fletcher Jr. reflected Miami’s stagnant offense in the first half but helped open it up in the second, ending the game with 112 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries. He enjoyed a career-best 57-yard run, also the second-longest touchdown in a BCS final.
LOSER: Third-down efficiency
Indiana’s defense ranked among the top in several defensive statistics this season, and getting off the field on third downs was a major reason why.
The Hoosiers at one point limited Miami to being 0-for-6 on third downs. Miami finished with a 3-for-11 rate, while Indiana went 6-for-15. Miami’s defense delivered an underrated performance, but Mendoza helped chip at the margins where Beck couldn’t.
Had the Hurricanes improved their rate in the first half, apart from the doinked field-goal try, this could’ve been a different ball game.
WINNER: Curt Cignetti, Indiana
In an era where there’s a power vacuum at the college football summit, Indiana might have something brewing. The Hoosiers are far from a football powerhouse, but they’ve flipped from being terrible to national champs in two years under Curt Cignetti.
The 64-year-old is revered by his players and has built a sturdy culture beyond Mendoza, with more youngsters hoping to develop through the program now.
If the Hoosiers can capitalize off this success, they can be a dominant figure for years to come. It’ll start with getting their next QB1 right, though.
CNBC senior sports reporter Michael Ozanian explains why the University of Texas’ athletic program is valued at $1.48 billion.
Things started relatively slow for both sides, as Indiana took just a 10-0 lead into halftime with Miami’s offense getting nothing going on the ground or over the top.
But, as usual in low-scoring college first halves, the script flipped in the final two quarters. Miami woke up to put the pressure on the Hoosiers, but Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza stepped up and Hurricanes QB1 Carson Beck couldn’t.
Beck had the chance to deliver a game-winning drive, but forced a deep pass that was picked off. Indiana held on 27-21, winning the program’s first ever football title in its debut appearance while Miami’s wait since 2001 persists, despite being at home in Hard Rock Stadium.
Let’s analyze the game further with winners and losers as Indiana ends the season unbeaten at 16-0:
WINNER: Fernando Mendoza, Indiana
The Heisman winner and potential No. 1 pick had all the eyes on him tonight. It wasn’t a perfect performance, but he displayed the grit and poise needed at the next level.
Mendoza threw for 186 yards on 16 of 27 completions, while also rushing for the key 12-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
He’ll still need to polish his game more to truly thrive in the NFL, especially if the Las Vegas Raiders believe he’s the QB1 that can elevate their trajectory. But for now, he can bask in the moment.
LOSER: Carson Beck, Miami
On the other hand, it was a slightly different story for Miami’s QB1. Carson Beck, 23, could’ve had his moment to change the narrative on his college career — and boost his potential draft odds in the process.
He overcame a slow start and displayed much better command in the second half, finishing with 232 passing yards and a touchdown on 19 of 32 completions. But the lone pick might just summarize his five-year collegiate run best — a competitive college option but not at the level required to win the majors.
WINNER: Mark Fletcher Jr., Miami
Most eyes were on Mendoza’s legitimacy to go No. 1, but Miami had an opportunity to show off some of its skill players as well.
Malachi Toney, a rising 18-year-old wideout, seized his moments and will be one to watch for the future. Junior running back Mark Fletcher Jr. also stood out, and he could even be NFL ready if he declared.
Fletcher Jr. reflected Miami’s stagnant offense in the first half but helped open it up in the second, ending the game with 112 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries. He enjoyed a career-best 57-yard run, also the second-longest touchdown in a BCS final.
LOSER: Third-down efficiency
Indiana’s defense ranked among the top in several defensive statistics this season, and getting off the field on third downs was a major reason why.
The Hoosiers at one point limited Miami to being 0-for-6 on third downs. Miami finished with a 3-for-11 rate, while Indiana went 6-for-15. Miami’s defense delivered an underrated performance, but Mendoza helped chip at the margins where Beck couldn’t.
Had the Hurricanes improved their rate in the first half, apart from the doinked field-goal try, this could’ve been a different ball game.
WINNER: Curt Cignetti, Indiana
In an era where there’s a power vacuum at the college football summit, Indiana might have something brewing. The Hoosiers are far from a football powerhouse, but they’ve flipped from being terrible to national champs in two years under Curt Cignetti.
The 64-year-old is revered by his players and has built a sturdy culture beyond Mendoza, with more youngsters hoping to develop through the program now.
If the Hoosiers can capitalize off this success, they can be a dominant figure for years to come. It’ll start with getting their next QB1 right, though.
CNBC senior sports reporter Michael Ozanian explains why the University of Texas’ athletic program is valued at $1.48 billion.
Things started relatively slow for both sides, as Indiana took just a 10-0 lead into halftime with Miami’s offense getting nothing going on the ground or over the top.
But, as usual in low-scoring college first halves, the script flipped in the final two quarters. Miami woke up to put the pressure on the Hoosiers, but Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza stepped up and Hurricanes QB1 Carson Beck couldn’t.
Beck had the chance to deliver a game-winning drive, but forced a deep pass that was picked off. Indiana held on 27-21, winning the program’s first ever football title in its debut appearance while Miami’s wait since 2001 persists, despite being at home in Hard Rock Stadium.
Let’s analyze the game further with winners and losers as Indiana ends the season unbeaten at 16-0:
WINNER: Fernando Mendoza, Indiana
The Heisman winner and potential No. 1 pick had all the eyes on him tonight. It wasn’t a perfect performance, but he displayed the grit and poise needed at the next level.
Mendoza threw for 186 yards on 16 of 27 completions, while also rushing for the key 12-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
He’ll still need to polish his game more to truly thrive in the NFL, especially if the Las Vegas Raiders believe he’s the QB1 that can elevate their trajectory. But for now, he can bask in the moment.
LOSER: Carson Beck, Miami
On the other hand, it was a slightly different story for Miami’s QB1. Carson Beck, 23, could’ve had his moment to change the narrative on his college career — and boost his potential draft odds in the process.
He overcame a slow start and displayed much better command in the second half, finishing with 232 passing yards and a touchdown on 19 of 32 completions. But the lone pick might just summarize his five-year collegiate run best — a competitive college option but not at the level required to win the majors.
WINNER: Mark Fletcher Jr., Miami
Most eyes were on Mendoza’s legitimacy to go No. 1, but Miami had an opportunity to show off some of its skill players as well.
Malachi Toney, a rising 18-year-old wideout, seized his moments and will be one to watch for the future. Junior running back Mark Fletcher Jr. also stood out, and he could even be NFL ready if he declared.
Fletcher Jr. reflected Miami’s stagnant offense in the first half but helped open it up in the second, ending the game with 112 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries. He enjoyed a career-best 57-yard run, also the second-longest touchdown in a BCS final.
LOSER: Third-down efficiency
Indiana’s defense ranked among the top in several defensive statistics this season, and getting off the field on third downs was a major reason why.
The Hoosiers at one point limited Miami to being 0-for-6 on third downs. Miami finished with a 3-for-11 rate, while Indiana went 6-for-15. Miami’s defense delivered an underrated performance, but Mendoza helped chip at the margins where Beck couldn’t.
Had the Hurricanes improved their rate in the first half, apart from the doinked field-goal try, this could’ve been a different ball game.
WINNER: Curt Cignetti, Indiana
In an era where there’s a power vacuum at the college football summit, Indiana might have something brewing. The Hoosiers are far from a football powerhouse, but they’ve flipped from being terrible to national champs in two years under Curt Cignetti.
The 64-year-old is revered by his players and has built a sturdy culture beyond Mendoza, with more youngsters hoping to develop through the program now.
If the Hoosiers can capitalize off this success, they can be a dominant figure for years to come. It’ll start with getting their next QB1 right, though.
CNBC senior sports reporter Michael Ozanian explains why the University of Texas’ athletic program is valued at $1.48 billion.
The new college football landscape is dictated by the transfer portal.
Indiana and Miami have shown they can master the transfer window, and they will now battle for the College Football Playoff national championship on Jan. 19 at Hard Rock Stadium.
24 hours ago, Steve Sarkisian’s Texas program was on the verge of being overrun by angry Longhorns fans demanding a change. Arch Manning had committed to stay for what is likely his last year of college ball, but they’d whiffed on numerous top transfer talents and were bleeding out in terms of roster depth.
But personifying how wacky and wild the transfer portal can be, there might not be a bigger winner of the 15-day transfer window thus far than Sarkisian after Sunday’s bombshells.
Not only did the Longhorns lock down the consensus best wide receiver of the portal, Cam Coleman, formerly of Auburn, but they then went out and pulled off an even greater coup.
Kalen DeBoer, like Sarkisian, was having a rough transfer portal season. Still, he had recruited top running back Hollywood Smothers from NC State and was seen as a favorite for the wideout Coleman.
Then, on Sunday, not only did Coleman go to Austin, but Smothers, in a crazy move, flipped his recruitment from Alabama to Texas. Over the course of a few hours, Texas landed what could be the best wide receiver and the best running back to pair with Arch Manning going into the 2026 season.
After this move, the Longhorns now possess a significant amount of sway heading into the second week of the 15-day window, with three offensive stars to attract more talent.
In Tuscaloosa, however, the heat is now directly under DeBoer, who is coming off the worst point differential loss Alabama has suffered in a quarter-century while also watching their prized signing flip to an SEC rival.
The transfer portal officially closes on Jan. 16, 2026.
The No. 10-seeded Hurricanes (13-2) will take on the unbeaten No. 1 Indiana Hoosiers (15-0) in the 2025-26 College Football Playoff national championship game at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
Curt Cignetti‘s Hoosiers are looking to complete a perfect season to secure the program’s first-ever national championship. Indiana previously hadn’t won a bowl game since the 1991 season, but it’s picked up two bowl victories in this CFP — and both were one-sided affairs.
The only team standing between Indiana and a perfect championship season is Miami, which is trying to cap its debut CFP appearance with a national title triumph on its home field. The Hurricanes were awarded a controversial CFP bid, but they’ve put together quite the résumé on their path to the championship game.
So, with the matchup set, here’s a look ahead to the national title game:
When is the CFP national championship game being played?
This season’s national champion will be crowned on Monday, Jan. 19.
Where is the CFP national championship game being played?
The Hurricanes will get to play for the national championship at their home venue, as Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, is hosting the title game.
This will be the second national championship game played at Hard Rock Stadium in the CFP era, with the first in 2020-21.
What time will the CFP national championship game start?
The national title game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT/4:30 p.m. PT.
What TV channel is the CFP national championship game on?
ESPN will air the national championship.
Where to stream the CFP national championship game live online
The transfer portal promised chaos, madness, and more, and it only got crazier on Thursday night as the College Football Playoff semifinals kicked off in Glendale, Arizona.
While Ole Miss and Miami began their battle to see who would go to the national championship, a major bombshell broke a few hours away in Los Angeles.
One of the best young quarterbacks in the nation is officially entering the transfer portal with a little over a week before it closes.
The USC Trojans and Lincoln Riley are a school that knows how to produce superstar quarterbacks, and they re-signed their starter, Jayden Maiava, for the 2026 season. The junior decided to stay for one more year to challenge for a spot in the College Football Playoff and develop before declaring for the NFL Draft.
This left five-star freshman QB Husan Longstreet on the bench for one more year, at least that’s what Riley and USC thought.
Longstreet will not be on the bench in 2026, as he is leaving the Los Angeles quarterback factory behind to play for a new program this spring and into the fall.
In limited time this year, Longstreet was brilliant for the Trojans, showing off his elite legs and arm, which make him one of the best dual-threat prospects in college football, even as a freshman.
This move comes days following his brother Kevin’s announcement of leaving USC and entering the transfer window.
It also coincidentally coincides with the announcement that Demond Williams, the young star QB of Washington, has withdrawn his name after a 24-hour period where it appeared as if he could be linked to Lane Kiffin’s LSU Tigers. Williams will stay in Seattle, and Kiffin is still looking for his superstar prospect.
Longstreet will have no shortage of programs looking for him to start in 2026 if he chooses do so, and Kiffin might be at the top of the list following the failed connections to Texas Tech’s Brendan Sorsby and now Williams.
The transfer portal officially closes on Jan. 16, 2026.
For Georgia players like freshman AJ Kruah from Philadelphia — the Eagles current compliment of former Bulldogs on the the roster — helping them to shape a Super Bowl assortment of players —is the possibility of the opportunity of getting a chance to play for one of the best organizations in the NFL is the chance of a lifetime. And one thing is clear — the Eagles recruit talent from everywhere.
Last week in the Sugar Bowl — Georgia’s had one last chance. Actually — they had several. Georgia was trailing Ol’ Miss 37–34 with six seconds left. On the ensuing kickoff — Georgia attempted a lateral after running the ball out of the end zone — a play that concluded with the ball being thrown out of bounds in that same end zone for a safety to make the score 39–34. As both teams stormed the field — the officials regained order as time had not expired — forcing the trophy and the stage back off of the field.
Georgia then kicked the ball onside — and recovered it seemingly as the game ended. But the clock had not started-forcing the stage and trophy off of the field again. Finally after one last gasp for the Georgia offense from their own twenty-nine yard line and a series of laterals — Gunner Stockton was tackled to end the game — allowing the stage and the trophy to finally get onto the field.
Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss put his stamp on the College Football Playoff, leading the Rebels to an impressive win over Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs in the Sugar Bowl. However, his NCAA eligibility remains a significant question, leaving him with an uncertain future.
He’s currently waiting on an appeal decision with the NCAA, which would allow him to play another season of college football beyond what the association is counting as his limit for eligibility.
During his team’s postgame press conference, also attended by his current coach, Pete Golding, Chambliss responded to questions regarding his eligibility situation.
“I am. I think the NCAA is closed right now. I’m pretty sure they open tomorrow. So hopefully we hear an answer soon,” Chambliss said when asked if he was still waiting on the decision.
In a follow-up question, he shared more about the situation and his current focus. Unsurprisingly, it’s on continuing to advance towards a national championship with Ole Miss.
“I’m not the one that’s working on it. You know, my job right now is to focus on football and focus on this team and focus on, you know, being one-and-0 in the next game. So that’s my main focus right now,” he told reporters.
Per ESPN, he filed a waiver in November with the NCAA seeking a retroactive medical redshirt for his 2022 season at Ferris State. He only played in two games that season due to a respiratory illness, and if the waiver or appeal is approved, he’ll get a sixth season of college football.
Chambliss’s eligibility doesn’t apply to the upcoming semifinal game against Miami or playing for the championship. Still, it could set up an interesting situation for the Ole Miss Rebels heading into next season.
He spent his first three years of college football with the Ferris State Bulldogs, a Division II program. He entered the transfer portal after leading the Bulldogs to a national championship and joined Ole Miss in April 2025.
Obviously, there was a much different coach leading Ole Miss then, with Lane Kiffin coaching throughout most of Chambliss’s season, before deciding to take the job at LSU as their new head coach.
That said, if Chambliss stays eligible for another season, he may believe in head coach Pete Golding and the program after achieving their massive CFP upset over Georgia.
There is nothing that can be done about the Big Ten’s shameless power grab, but something can be done about its efforts to corner more spots in a playoff bracket of any size.
College football is awash in problems, including the Big Ten’s unrivaled arrogance, and its never-ending list of demands that would make Notre Dame blush. There is Ohio State. There is Oregon. The end.
On Wednesday night, Miami evicted defending national champion Ohio State from the playoff by winning the Cotton Bowl, 24-14, in the quarterfinals. No. 10 Miami came in as 7.5-point underdog to No. 2 Ohio State, and at no point was Miami the inferior team.
After the game, on the field amid the celebrations from Miami players and coaches current and past, Hurricanes linebacker Wesley Bissainthe was asked if mighty Ohio State was any better than any of the other quality teams they have faced this season.
“No way, baby,” Bissainthe said.
Succinct. Brutally honest.
Ohio State’s status as one of the top programs in the nation merits zero debate. The Buckeyes are some combination of Big Pharma and Wal-Mart.
But the idea that the rest of that league merits special exception is absurd, a creation of Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti and ratings-craved executives who desperately need the likes of Rutgers and UCLA to be “in the mix.”
As college football evolves, and tinkers with its playoff format, granting any exceptions, or potentially guaranteeing more teams from the Big Ten to be included in this lucrative postseason bracket, needs to be tossed into the “God Awful Ideas” dumpster.
Miami’s identity was built on dominating teams in the ‘80s and ‘90s, and its reputation has taken a hit over the past 15 years for a variety of reasons, including its spot as a member of the little ACC. From the moment Ohio State took the field it was evident the players underestimated Miami.
“Obviously, I’m not in the opposing locker room and can’t confirm or deny that statement, but probably,” Miami quarterback Carson Beck said in the locker room after the game. He sat before a few reporters wearing his Miami jersey, which features an ACC logo.
I asked him if that patch read “BIG10,” would his team would be viewed differently.
“Honestly, probably, and I don’t know, it’s just that’s kind of the world of college football that we live in,” said Beck, who started his college career at Georgia before transferring to Miami in the offseason. “I’ve been in the SEC, so I understand the different viewpoints on different conferences, and it’s a real thing.
“There’s 100% bias in certain areas. And again, if we had a different patch on our [jersey], there would probably be a different viewpoint, but we are in the ACC. But I would assume that people would look at us a little bit differently now.”
They should.
Doesn’t mean they will.
In this world of super conference consolidation, there is too much appeasement of all things Big Ten and the SEC. Those leagues did grab the biggest brands, and markets, and many of the traditional powers exist in those two leagues.
The BIGSEC10 is not a monopoly in the traditional sense, but what the leadership of these leagues did would at least merit a quality discussion in a graduate-level business class. This is some upper-tier marketing.
And just because they wear the same patch doesn’t mean Maryland and Minnesota merit the same level of consideration as Oregon and Ohio State.
The Big Ten has tried to create a discussion, and a debate, that its strength of schedule, and depth, merits more spots in a playoff. It doesn’t. If anything, its teams merit more scrutiny. Did anyone watch what happened to No. 16 USC against unranked TCU in the Alamo Bowl?
“There are certain programs that want certain narratives, and we can’t control them. The play on the field controls it and the honest answer to your question is, our league is probably from top to bottom, is the best league in the nation,” Miami offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson said after the game.
Not sure everyone is going to sign off on the ACC as the top league in the nation, but every coach claims his conference is the football version of the Bataan death march.
“There are teams that are at the lower part of our league that can beat you, if you don’t play well,” he said. “There are a couple other conferences out there that people like to talk about that are top-heavy; there are teams that win eight games in those conferences, but don’t beat the team with the winning record.”
He’s talking about you, Missouri.
“When the game is played it’s pretty revealing,” Dawson said.
What Miami’s win at Texas A&M in the first round of these playoffs and now the ‘Canes’ win over Ohio State revealed is that the top team in the ACC can whip the best from the SEC and the Big Ten.
Neither A&M nor Ohio State was ready for Miami’s defense.
“I feel like everybody thinks they are [ready] until they gotta see us,” Miami defensive lineman Rueben Bain said. “Everybody got a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”
No one doubts that the three Big Ten teams that made these playoffs — Indiana, Ohio State and Oregon — deserve to be here. They do.
But any effort to lobby for guaranteed spots for teams just because they play in the Big Ten should be handled by Miami’s defensive line.
This story was originally published January 1, 2026 at 1:07 AM.
Mac Engel is an award-winning columnist who has covered sports since the dawn of man; Cowboys, TCU, Stars, Rangers, Mavericks, etc. Olympics. Movies. Concerts. Books. He combines dry wit with 1st-person reporting to complement an annoying personality. Support my work with a digital subscription
There is nothing that can be done about the Big Ten’s shameless power grab, but something can be done about its efforts to corner more spots in a playoff bracket of any size.
College football is awash in problems, including the Big Ten’s unrivaled arrogance, and its never-ending list of demands that would make Notre Dame blush. There is Ohio State. There is Oregon. The end.
On Wednesday night, Miami evicted defending national champion Ohio State from the playoff by winning the Cotton Bowl, 24-14, in the quarterfinals. No. 10 Miami came in as 7.5-point underdog to No. 2 Ohio State, and at no point was Miami the inferior team.
After the game, on the field amid the celebrations from Miami players and coaches current and past, Hurricanes linebacker Wesley Bissainthe was asked if mighty Ohio State was any better than any of the other quality teams they have faced this season.
“No way, baby,” Bissainthe said.
Succinct. Brutally honest.
Ohio State’s status as one of the top programs in the nation merits zero debate. The Buckeyes are some combination of Big Pharma and Wal-Mart.
But the idea that the rest of that league merits special exception is absurd, a creation of Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti and ratings-craved executives who desperately need the likes of Rutgers and UCLA to be “in the mix.”
As college football evolves, and tinkers with its playoff format, granting any exceptions, or potentially guaranteeing more teams from the Big Ten to be included in this lucrative postseason bracket, needs to be tossed into the “God Awful Ideas” dumpster.
Miami’s identity was built on dominating teams in the ‘80s and ‘90s, and its reputation has taken a hit over the past 15 years for a variety of reasons, including its spot as a member of the little ACC. From the moment Ohio State took the field it was evident the players underestimated Miami.
“Obviously, I’m not in the opposing locker room and can’t confirm or deny that statement, but probably,” Miami quarterback Carson Beck said in the locker room after the game. He sat before a few reporters wearing his Miami jersey, which features an ACC logo.
I asked him if that patch read “BIG10,” would his team would be viewed differently.
“Honestly, probably, and I don’t know, it’s just that’s kind of the world of college football that we live in,” said Beck, who started his college career at Georgia before transferring to Miami in the offseason. “I’ve been in the SEC, so I understand the different viewpoints on different conferences, and it’s a real thing.
“There’s 100% bias in certain areas. And again, if we had a different patch on our [jersey], there would probably be a different viewpoint, but we are in the ACC. But I would assume that people would look at us a little bit differently now.”
They should.
Doesn’t mean they will.
In this world of super conference consolidation, there is too much appeasement of all things Big Ten and the SEC. Those leagues did grab the biggest brands, and markets, and many of the traditional powers exist in those two leagues.
The BIGSEC10 is not a monopoly in the traditional sense, but what the leadership of these leagues did would at least merit a quality discussion in a graduate-level business class. This is some upper-tier marketing.
And just because they wear the same patch doesn’t mean Maryland and Minnesota merit the same level of consideration as Oregon and Ohio State.
The Big Ten has tried to create a discussion, and a debate, that its strength of schedule, and depth, merits more spots in a playoff. It doesn’t. If anything, its teams merit more scrutiny. Did anyone watch what happened to No. 16 USC against unranked TCU in the Alamo Bowl?
“There are certain programs that want certain narratives, and we can’t control them. The play on the field controls it and the honest answer to your question is, our league is probably from top to bottom, is the best league in the nation,” Miami offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson said after the game.
Not sure everyone is going to sign off on the ACC as the top league in the nation, but every coach claims his conference is the football version of the Bataan death march.
“There are teams that are at the lower part of our league that can beat you, if you don’t play well,” he said. “There are a couple other conferences out there that people like to talk about that are top-heavy; there are teams that win eight games in those conferences, but don’t beat the team with the winning record.”
He’s talking about you, Missouri.
“When the game is played it’s pretty revealing,” Dawson said.
What Miami’s win at Texas A&M in the first round of these playoffs and now the ‘Canes’ win over Ohio State revealed is that the top team in the ACC can whip the best from the SEC and the Big Ten.
Neither A&M nor Ohio State was ready for Miami’s defense.
“I feel like everybody thinks they are [ready] until they gotta see us,” Miami defensive lineman Rueben Bain said. “Everybody got a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”
No one doubts that the three Big Ten teams that made these playoffs — Indiana, Ohio State and Oregon — deserve to be here. They do.
But any effort to lobby for guaranteed spots for teams just because they play in the Big Ten should be handled by Miami’s defensive line.
This story was originally published January 1, 2026 at 12:07 AM.
Mac Engel is an award-winning columnist who has covered sports since the dawn of man; Cowboys, TCU, Stars, Rangers, Mavericks, etc. Olympics. Movies. Concerts. Books. He combines dry wit with 1st-person reporting to complement an annoying personality. Support my work with a digital subscription
The College Football Playoff is the talk of the sports world right now as 12 teams compete for the national title, but the NFL wanted to remind everyone this past weekend who is still the king when it comes down to it.
On Saturday, college football and the NFL went head-to-head on broadcast with two games each, and the viewership results, like many of the CFP games, were blowouts by the final whistle.
In the opening contest, 15.46 million people watched the Eagles take hold of the NFC East crown against divisional rival Washington, a game that was close until it wasn’t.
For the CFP, 6.2 million watched as Ole Miss beat down the Tulane Green Wave for the second time this season in a laugher that felt over following the first quick Mississippi drive for a touchdown.
At night, it was more of the same: a whopping 21.34 million watched the Bears take down the Packers in one of the more entertaining regular-season games of the year. Caleb Williams and company came back in the final minutes, aided by an onside kick, to push the game into overtime before throwing a deep shot into the endzone for a dramatic walk-off victory.
Oregon vs. James Madison, which was another Group of Five team getting smacked around by a perennial powerhouse, had no chance. 4.4 million tuned in to watch as the Dukes tried their best to hang on in a game where the Ducks scored at will at home in Eugene.
For college football fans, however, they will argue that Saturday’s biggest game was on first, which was the back-and-forth defensive battle between Texas A&M and Miami. It was the highest by far on the day for the CFP, with 14.8 million watching as Miami won on the road at College Station to set up a quarterfinal against defending champion Ohio State.
Ohio State enters “The Game” unbeaten and ranked No. 1 in the nation, with an 11-0 overall ledger and an 8-0 Big Ten mark.
The Buckeyes lead the nation in scoring defense (allowing just 7.6 points per game) and score at a high clip (37.9 points per game, 11th in the country).
In Ryan Day’s eighth season, the Buckeyes’ balance and depth have been consistent themes all year, and public models generally peg them as the stronger team on paper.
Yet, college football analyst Josh Pate delivered a contrarian pick on Tuesday, boldly predicting that Michigan will win and cover, despite models and books heavily favoring the Buckeyes.
“I think Ohio State’s the better team,” Pate said. “The model thinks Ohio State wins and wins comfortably. Everything about my breakdown of the game leans me towards Ohio State. I couldn’t care less until further notice. Michigan will win this game. Michigan covers. Michigan money line.”
Michigan is 9-2 (7-1 Big Ten) and ranked No. 15 in the AP Top 25, just on the edge of the College Football Playoff.
After finishing 8-5 a year ago, this season reflects steady progress under third-year head coach Sherrone Moore.
Freshman QB Bryce Underwood has thrown for 2,166 passing yards, nine touchdowns, and five picks, along with 322 rushing yards and five rushing scores, while RBs Jordan Marshall and Justice Haynes each have over 850 rushing yards and 10 rushing TDs.
Early market consensus opened Ohio State as a near two‑touchdown favorite; FanDuel showed Ohio State around -10.5 on Tuesday, while other books listed similar spreads and moneyline gaps.
As a result, almost everybody has leaned in favor of the Buckeyes to win, and many have chosen them to cover as well.
Pate acknowledged his model favors Ohio State but said he’s taking Michigan because of the rivalry’s history of “void of reason” outcomes and his own track record of being burned by Michigan surprises.
And once again — across America’s nearly 136 collegiate programs — talent from the Philly region can be felt from coast to coast.
At the head of that list are the Villanova Wildcats (9–2), who learned on Sunday afternoon that they would be the #12 seed in the Football Championship Subdivision and would face Harvard in the first round.
For Villanova , it’s another chance to highlight a great rushing attack.
Credit: Villanova Football-Twitter/X
Villanova’s football program has had plenty of great talent over the years. Perhaps it’s finest — running back Brian Westbrook — whose career as an all-purpose player led him to a 1,000-yard rushing and receiving year in the same season (the first player in college to do so), the Walter Payton Award, and FCS Player of the Year. His contributions would land him in the Villanova Hall of Fame before playing six seasons with the Eagles.
Former Villanova running back Kevin Monangai earned All-CAA Honors while a Wildcat and went on to play in the NFL for the Eagles and the Vikings. In the 1960s — running back Billy Joe was the only Villanova athlete ever inducted into the Varsity Club Hall of Fame for two sports — and would go on to play professionally for the Miami Dolphins, Denver Broncos, Buffalo Bills, and was a World Champion with the New York Jets.
Now the Villanova Wildcats have a sophomore running back named David Avit. And they almost lost him.
After a freshman season with 923 yards rushing and nine touchdowns, Avit has followed up so far this year by breaking out against Monmouth with 135 yards. He followed up that performance with 102 yards against the University of New Hampshire and 63 yards against Elon.
But that isn’t all of the talent. In the season finale against Scared Heart on Saturday, that included a mesmerizing performance on the ground from Ja’briel Mace, including 165 yards and two scores on nine carries, including an 80-yard scamper and a receiving touchdown in the 34–10 win.
A week before, in an overtime win against Stony Brook with David Avit out due to a knee injury , Isaiah Ragland ran the ball for nearly 100 yards.
For Villanova , late-season playoff football is bolstered by an elite running game.
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(CNN) — First the disclaimer: it’s early November. There is no need to overreact.
Well, let’s be serious. The entire purpose of releasing the College Football Playoff rankings 33 days before it counts is to encourage fomenting, handwringing and angst.
What else are we supposed to do? Let it play out, for heaven’s sake? How rational. How dull.
There would be neither armchairs from which to quarterback nor watercoolers from which to debate if we simply opted to wait and see. Besides, this is college football, where governors insert themselves into the decision making. Melodrama reigns.
Were the season to end tomorrow, the rankings released on Tuesday night combined with the rules – the five highest-ranked conference champions make the 12-team field via a straight seed model – would mean Ohio State, Indiana, Texas A&M and Alabama would receive first-round byes. The first-round games would feature Memphis at Georgia, Virginia at Ole Miss, Notre Dame at BYU and Oregon at Texas Tech.
So have at it. Screech your outrage, ACC schools disrespected by just one bid and pound your shoes on a desk somewhere, Notre Dame haters, especially those in the commonwealth of Kentucky and in the sunny setting of Miami.
The Irish have two losses, Louisville has one and one of the two Notre Dame Ls came at the hands of Miami, which the Cardinals beat. (There has to be a transitive theory argument in there somewhere.) The Hurricanes, in the meantime, also have two losses and beat Notre Dame and they are a very distant 18th in the standings.
Then exhale because there are, to paraphrase Robert Frost, still miles to go before we sleep on this college football season.
The actual bracket will be created on December 7 and if this sport has taught us anything this season, things escalate quickly.
It was, in fact, just one month ago to the day that Penn State made Jerry Neuheisel look like the second coming of Bear Bryant, losing to UCLA and beginning a downward spiral that cost a coach his job, the school millions and has no signs of finding rock bottom just yet.
Because, to borrow from another great poet – one Theodor Geisel – these first rankings ought to come with a dramatic reading of ‘Oh, the Places You’ll Go!’ It is not entirely about where you start, as where you might end up.
From the next great QB to the next big bust, Arch Manning has found something of a sweet spot of normalcy, having steered Texas to wins against Oklahoma and Vanderbilt in the last month. With Georgia, Arkansas and Texas A&M left on the docket, the Longhorns can make their own case.
Georgia Tech is similarly on the outside looking in, currently sitting at No. 17. But if the Yellow Jackets were to win out, that would include a season-ending win over Georgia and just one loss, which could overcome the ranking clunker of a loss to N.C. State.
The inherent problem with rankings is whether you have four teams, 12 or 16, someone always has an argument that they’ve been overlooked. Just ask the folks who’ve made the college basketball committee which is currently pondering expanding its beautiful bracket to 76 teams. Whoever is 77th will be sure to be offended.
The CFP selection committee this year has made a big deal about its adherence to new metrics to better evaluate strength of schedule which will, according to a release issued in August, “reward teams defeating high-quality opponents while minimizing the penalty for losing to such a team.’’
They have not, however, come out and said exactly what those metrics look at, nor have they said how they’ll be weighted versus the eye test. In reality, they can’t.
Analytics and metrics have offered all sorts of advances in sports. Kick the point after touchdown or go for two in football? Foul a player up three points or let it play out in basketball? Better to bunt or swing away in baseball? There’s a statistical answer for all of it.
Yet, asked specifically about the fine hairs separating the top three undefeated teams in this first ranking, Mack Rhoades, the committee chair and athletic director at Baylor, sounded like a man torn between numbers and gut feelings.
He explained that the committee had “robust” conversations about the trio but that ultimately they split the hair based on the fact that Ohio State “when we looked at the tape, and we looked at the metrics, we felt that Ohio State was a little better up front on the offensive line and we thought they were better defensively.’’
Because no matter what the numbers say, eventually very real humans have to make the very hard decisions. And well, going back to the poets, to err is human.
Of course, Alexander Pope also suggested the follow up – to forgive divine.
But then again, the Englishman’s football team probably wasn’t sitting 13th in a 12-team playoff.
When college football announced they were expanding the playoff from four teams to 12 teams a couple years ago, I was probably in the minority of fans who were not very excited about the idea. It wasn’t that I thought an expanded playoff would cheapen the regular season. Instead, I just enjoyed the exclusivity and debate that came with a four team playoff, whose constituency was decided by a committee.
Here we are, though, in Year 2 of the 12 team playoff, and, as I suspected I would, I’ve done a 180 degree turn. I love the expanded playoff! I love the format, the first round on college campuses, but mostly, I love how we have playoff relevance for so many teams here in Texas.
The most recent AP Top 25 poll came out on Sunday morning, with four teams from the state of Texas cracking the Top 25, all of whom can have some say in the playoff field, if they keep winning. So as the calendar flips to November on Saturday, here is a state of the state, when it comes to college playoff chances for our Texas teams:
3. TEXAS A&M (8-0)
REMAINING SCHEDULE: @ #19 Missouri, vs South Carolina, vs Samford, @ #20 Texas
The Aggies are in awesome shape right now to make the SEC title game, which is a de facto clinching of a playoff spot. It would take a monumental collapse for the Aggies to cough up a playoff spot at this point, especially with one of their out of conference wins being the 41-40 thriller in South Bend over Notre Dame. Given all the emotion surrounding last week’s trip to Baton Rouge, though, the Aggies need to keep their collective head on a swivel heading to Mizzou this weekend.
13. TEXAS TECH (7-1)
REMAINING SCHEDULE: @ Kansas State, vs #10 BYU, vs UCF, @ West Virginia
Despite the loss to Arizona State earlier this month, Texas Tech (and the bets roster money can buy) are in decent shape for the playoff, based on their remaining schedule. The game in Lubbock against BYU in a couple weeks looms as the game of the year in the Big XII, as the winner would be in the driver’s seat for one of the spots in the Big XII title game. It’s unlikely the Big XII gets two teams in the dance, so staying on track for the conference title game is crucial.
20. TEXAS (6-2)
REMAINING SCHEDULE: vs #9 Vanderbilt, @ #5 Georgia, vs Arkansas, vs #3 Texas A&M
Texas finishes the season with one of the toughest November schedules in the country, with three Top 10 teams, all in conference. A tough schedule represents extreme opportunity, though. Also, you could argue that Texas has the best loss of any team in the country, an ugly 14-7 loss to number one Ohio State in Week 1. However, style points have not been plentiful these last few weeks with ugly wins over Kentucky and Mississippi State. Texans might be the one team who can afford to go 9-3, and still have an argument, depending on how the three November wins look.
22. HOUSTON (7-1)
REMAINING SCHEDULE: vs West Virginia, @ UCF, vs TCU, at Baylor
Because they started the year kind of off the radar, the Coogs are kind of paddling upstream. Their path to the playoff likely runs through the Big XII title game. Right now, the Coogs would obviously need to win out, and the best case scoreboard-watching scenario would be for BYU to win out and remain undefeated. Both Texas Tech (who beat Houston head to head) and Cincinnati (undefeated in the Big XII) are on BYU’s schedule, and if BYU and Houston both win out, there is your likely Big XII title game.
Georgia Tech quarterback Ben Guthrie (18) looks back to the bench to see if he should down the ball while running for a 28-yard touchdown during the second half of Georgia Tech’s 27-18 victory over Duke at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, N.C., Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025.
Ethan Hyman
ehyman@newsobserver.com
Two months ago, if someone had proposed that Georgia Tech would be the ACC’s top candidate for the College Football Playoff, the gloom and doom would be palpable. And maybe, as the end of October nears, it is.
The Rambling Wreck went into Saturday’s home game against Syracuse a perfect 7-0, even if they have played only one ranked team, and that was middling Clemson. There’s more than a little buzz around the Yellow Jackets, who have taken care of business and grasped the opportunity the rest of the ACC has presented them by — and there’s no other way to say this — stinking it up.
Miami tripped over its own shoelaces weeks ahead of schedule, dropping an eminently winnable home game to Louisville. Congratulations, Canes: You’re the ACC’s only other at-large contender at the moment.
In a little over a week, after next weekend’s games, the CFP selection committee will release its first set of rankings, a generally useless exercise in terms of predicting how things will actually end up, occasionally offering some insight into the thinking of that year’s committee but usually just a shiny object to occupy a news cycle or two.
Beyond Georgia Tech and Miami, the ACC is unlikely to be a major topic of conversation.
Georgia Tech wide receiver Isiah Canion (4) pulls in a 30-yard reception while defended by Duke cornerback Kimari Robinson (5) during the second half of Georgia Tech’s 27-18 victory over Duke at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, N.C., Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025. Ethan Hyman ehyman@newsobserver.com
Virginia’s path to 11-1 and the ACC title game is wide open, the early loss to N.C. State technically a nonconference game, but has a lot of work to do. Louisville has the win over Miami to its credit, but lost to Virginia and still has to play Clemson and SMU. As for the Mustangs, early losses to Baylor and TCU probably make an at-large berth a bridge too far, although wins over Miami and Louisville would go a long way toward making committee members forget.
Pittsburgh, Duke and California each went into the weekend with one ACC loss, but their only path to the CFP is by winning the ACC title. There’s not much meat left on those bones.
As for the rest of the usual suspects? Florida State beat Alabama and decided it was done for the season. (As far as the CFP is concerned, the Seminoles are.) Clemson is struggling through another season of ordinariness. The aura Dabo Swinney built around the program is gone. Howard’s Rock is just a rock. And the 33rd NFL team went into the weekend tied for the 15th — and last — ACC team. Only North Carolina boosters with more money than sense expected anything else.
North Carolina coach Bill Belichick talks with Clemson coach Dabo Swinney prior to their game on Saturday, October 4, 2025 at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill, N.C. Robert Willett rwillett@newsobserver.com
Meanwhile, early season contenders elsewhere have fallen apart. Penn State. Texas. LSU. Basketball schools like Indiana and Vanderbilt have seized the opportunity. So has Georgia Tech. But there’s an unusual power vacuum at the top the ACC hasn’t fully exploited.
So once again, the ACC is facing the possibility of another year at the CFP kids’ table. SMU and Clemson were 11th and 12th out of 12 last year, and one stumble from Georgia Tech or another stumble from Miami could leave the ACC with only its champion. Analytically speaking, the ACC is more likely to get two teams into the field than one or three, although things would get really interesting if both Virginia and the Louisville-SMU winner won out.
Pre-expansion, the ACC champion in a year like this was going to be fighting not to be the fifth wheel in a four-team playoff, as happened in the final three years of that format. Even this 12-team playoff may not have much room for the ACC if its teams aren’t going to step forward and claim spots. The deck is already stacked in favor of the SEC and Big Ten as they try to secure superior status in future expansions; if the ACC can’t make a more competitive case for itself, it risks playing itself right into football irrelevance.
JoJo Evans Jr. (27) of the Louisville Cardinals celebrates his interception with Justin Agu (13) against the Miami Hurricanes during the second half at Hard Rock Stadium on October 17, 2025 in Miami Gardens, Florida. Carmen Mandato Getty Images
This was always a pivotal season in that respect, amid the simmering debate over the future of the CFP and whether the SEC and Big Ten will be able to lock down multiple automatic bids at the expense of the ACC and the Big 12, and while the fight goes on in the boardroom, the ACC has not done itself any favors on the field.
Clemson, Miami and SMU all went into the season with the kind of hype and expectations that pave the way toward the playoff. Only Miami has come close to meeting those expectations, and still dropped a home game as the No. 2-ranked team. Georgia Tech gets eternal credit for forcing its way into the conversation, but no one else in the ACC has come close yet. The ACC still needs someone else — Virginia, Louisville, SMU — to make a case.
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Sports columnist Luke DeCock joined The News & Observer in 2000 and has covered nine Final Fours, the Summer Olympics, the Super Bowl and the Carolina Hurricanes’ Stanley Cup win in 2006. He is a past president of the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, was the 2020 winner of the National Headliner Award as the country’s top sports columnist and is a three-time North Carolina Sportswriter of the Year.
SEATTLE (AP) — A University of Washington football player has been arrested and charged with raping two women in Seattle and court documents say he played in two College Football Playoff games for the school after at least one of the allegations was known to the university.
Seattle police officers arrested 18-year-old Tylin “Tybo” Rogers on Friday and booked him into King County Jail, KING-TV reported. He was charged Tuesday with second-degree rape and third-degree rape and his bail was set at $150,000 in each case, according to court documents.
It wasn’t immediately known if Rogers, of Bakersfield, California, has an attorney to comment on his behalf. Jail records show he was released on bond. Efforts to contact him by The Associated Press weren’t immediately successful.
Rogers has been suspended from all team activities until further notice, the University of Washington athletic department said in a statement Tuesday. The university will continue to gather facts and cooperate with police, as requested, the statement said.
A Seattle Central Community College student told police she was raped in the city’s Capitol Hill neighborhood last year. According to court documents, Rogers and the 19-year-old woman met and started messaging each other after matching on the Tinder dating app in August 2023. Rogers went to her apartment to hang out on Oct. 23 and assaulted her, according to court documents.
Authorities said in court documents that the woman reported the alleged rape to police on Oct. 28, and completed a sexual assault kit at Harborview Medical Center.
A 22-year-old University of Washington student reported that she was raped in November 2023 in the University District, police said.
The woman met Rogers at a Halloween party at the university and then matched with him on Tinder, according to court documents. Police said the two made plans a couple weeks later to hang out and that upon entering her apartment Rogers was immediately forceful and assaulted her. The woman told police at one point Rogers “used one of his hands to strangle her.”
The second woman reported the alleged rape to the university on Nov. 28, police said. Rogers allegedly called her on that date to confront her about the allegations, police said in court documents.
He was also suspended from team activities around late November 2023, according to court documents. The freshman running back did not travel with the team for its victory over the Oregon Ducks in the Pac-12 Championship game on Dec. 1.
At the time, offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb said during a news conference that Rogers was “working through some things, some challenges he’s had off the field,” court documents said. Rogers returned to team practices by mid-December, documents said.
Multiple emails were also sent within the University of Washington athletic department confirming Rogers should be taken off the team’s travel roster for the Pac-12 championship game, but no documentation of reasons for such an action were given, the documents said. He was allowed to appear in the Huskies’ two College Football Playoff games a month later, however.
Rogers recorded five carries for 19 yards in the Huskies’ semifinal win over the Texas Longhorns on Jan. 1. The 18-year-old rushed for two yards in the National Championship Game against the Michigan Wolverines on Jan. 8.
Washington was coached last season by Kalen DeBoer, who left following the national championship game to take the head job at Alabama. Jedd Fisch is now Washington’s head coach.
After practice Tuesday, Fisch told local news media that nothing about Rogers being suspended last year, or the reasons for it, had been brought to his attention.
“I wasn’t here for that,” Fisch said. “As soon as I found out about the allegations, as soon as it was brought to our attention, he’s been suspended indefinitely. I have no comment about what happened in the past. That has nothing to do with me.”
Blake Corum ran for 134 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdowns as Jim Harbaugh and No. 1 Michigan — undeterred by suspensions and a sign-stealing case that shadowed the program — completed a three-year climb to a national championship by beating No. 2 Washington 34-13 Monday night in the College Football Playoff title game.
The Wolverines (15-0) sealed their first national title since 1997 when Corum, who scored the winning touchdown in overtime to beat Alabama in the Rose Bowl semifinal, blasted in from the 1-yard line with 3:37 left to put Michigan up by 21 and set off another rousing rendition of “The Victors.”
After nine seasons coaching his alma mater and in his third consecutive playoff appearance, Harbaugh delivered the title so many expected when he took over a struggling powerhouse in 2015 — despite missing six regular-season games this season while serving separate suspensions.
And he did it with a team his old coach, Bo Schembechler, would have adored. The Wolverines ran for 303 yards against Washington (14-1), and their defense held Michael Penix Jr. and the Huskies’ prolific passing game to just one touchdown while intercepting the Heisman Trophy runner-up twice.
Penix’s remarkable six-year college career ended with maybe his worst performance of the season. Usually unfazed by pressure, Penix’s passes were not nearly as precise against a Michigan defense that took away his signature deep throws.
Penix finished 27 for 51 for 255 yards and a touchdown.
Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy had a modest game, throwing for 140 yards and running for 31. But it was enough for him to improve to 27-1 as a starter for the Wolverines.
NEW YORK (AP) — LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels won the Heisman Trophy on Saturday night, becoming the first player since 2016 to win college football’s most prestigious player of the year award as part of a team that did not play for a conference championship.
The fifth-year player, who transferred from Arizona State to LSU in 2022, received 503 first-place votes and 2,029 points. Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. was the the runner-up with 292 first-place votes and 1,701 points and Oregon’s Bo Nix was third (51, 885), putting transfer quarterbacks in each of the top three spots. Ohio State receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. finished fourth.
Daniels is the fifth quarterback in the last seven seasons to win the Heisman after transferring, joining former LSU star Joe Burrow in 2019 and USC’s Caleb Williams last year. He is also LSU’s third Heisman winner overall, along with running back Billy Cannon in 1959.
Burrow led LSU to a national championship and Cannon’s team came close, finishing No. 3 in the country.
Daniels’ Tigers (9-3) slipped out of that race with two losses in the first six weeks, but he certainly wasn’t to blame.
Week after week he fueled the best offense in the country with his passing and running. Daniels finished the regular season with 3,812 yards passing and 1,134 yards rushing and 50 total touchdowns in 12 games. He leads the nation in total offense at 412 yards per game and is averaging an astounding 10.71 yards per play.
No. 13 LSU is set to face Wisconsin in the ReliaQuest Bowl on Jan. 1, though Daniels has not yet decided if he will play.
Louisville’s Lamar Jackson was the last player to win the Heisman on a team that lost three games and didn’t play for a championship — and Daniels’ production surpassed his.
LSU was eliminated from the Southeastern Conference race when it lost to Alabama in early November, despite 382 yards and three total touchdowns from Daniels.
While Daniels slipped from the playoff picture, his performance continued to demand attention. Against Florida, he became the first major college football player with at least 350 yards passing and 200 rushing in a game, going for a total of 606 yards against the Gators.
His teammates goaded him into flashing a Heisman pose during the game in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Daniels said it was after that performance he started to believe winning the Heisman could be a reality.
Heisman Trophy finalists, from left, LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels, Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., Oregon quarterback Bo Nix and Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. pose with the trophy after attending a news conference before the award ceremony, Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)
Daniels’ evolution this season have been a revelation.
He began his career at Arizona State as a four-star recruit from Southern California under then-coach Herman Edwards. Daniels started all three seasons for the Sun Devils, proving capable but inconsistent. After a coaching change, he left for LSU to play for coach Brian Kelly.
Daniels led the Tigers to an SEC West title last year and when he decided to return for a fifth season of college football it was clear he could be part of the Heisman discussion.
He ended up dominating that conversation even though his team was out of the spotlight down the stretch of the season as LSU ran an aggressive campaign for its quarterback.
Daniels and the Tigers finished their season against Texas A&M on rivalry weekend, with Nix, Penix and Harrison playing high-stakes games with playoff implications.
Daniels was the leader in the clubhouse on championship weekend as Nix and Penix squared off in the Pac-12 title game.
Both played well in a dramatic game that decided on playoff spot, but —- much like opposing defenses — neither could chase down Daniels.
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