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  • Bill Connelly, ESPN Staff WriterNov 24, 2023, 07:00 AM ET

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      Bill Connelly is a staff writer for ESPN.com.

Accusations of spying. Counter-accusations of hiring private investigators. Counter-counter-accusations of … I don’t know … something. Michigan’s recent Spygate adventure, which got Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh suspended for three games, has significantly ramped up what was obviously the most hostile and important game of the 2023 college football season — Ohio State at Michigan. The tension and intensity that followed a complete reversal in rivalry dynamics two years ago — when Michigan suddenly became the rivalry bully, winning two games by a combined 87-50 after losing 15 of the previous 16 — has been amplified by off-the-field shenanigans and message board warfare.

The fact that Harbaugh won’t be on the sideline adds an extra story line to a game that doesn’t need anything else. This was always going to be the biggest game of the season. In the more than two decades between 1997 and 2021, the Wolverines and Buckeyes met as mutual top-five teams just three times. They’re now doing it for the third year in a row. Ohio State heads into the game ranked second in the AP poll and was No. 2 in the most recent CFP rankings; Michigan is third in both. Michigan is first in SP+, Ohio State first in FPI. The winner is nearly assured of a spot in the College Football Playoff, and the loser will need lots of good luck to get there.

For about 117 different reasons, this one’s huge. It’s easily the most highly anticipated game of a 2023 season that featured quite a few big headliners. Is it one of the most anticipated games ever? To gauge that, we have to compare it to the best of the best.

College football has been producing high-stakes, battle-of-the-century type games since the start of its existence. As the hype around the sport itself grew, starting in the late-1920s and 1930s, the hype around its biggest games did, too. Going decade by decade, let’s look at some of the regular-season college football games that had the highest stakes, the most buildup and the most on the line. Let’s set the bar that Michigan-Ohio State has to clear. And let’s see how frequently these games actually live up to the billing. Here are 20 of the most anticipated games in college football history.

The background: Ohio State had built mighty Ohio Stadium in the 1920s and, by the mid-1930s, had built the mighty team to fill it. Coming off of a 7-1 season, the Buckeyes hosted college football’s marquee program, a Notre Dame team that was beginning to rebound after falling into a relative funk following Knute Rockne’s death. The Irish were 6-0, the Buckeyes 4-0; in the year before the AP poll came into existence, these teams might have been No. 1 and No. 2.

The game: It lived up to hype and then some. Ohio State took a 13-0 lead into the fourth quarter, but the Irish charged back. They scored to make it 13-12 in the final minutes, and while the Buckeyes recovered an onside kick, Notre Dame recovered a fumble near midfield. Andy Pliney bulled his way inside the Ohio State 20, suffering a career-ending injury in the process, then Bill Shakespeare threw a game-winning touchdown pass to ​​Wayne Millner for an all-time comeback win.

1943: No. 1 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 14, No. 2 Iowa Pre-Flight Seahawks 13

The background: College football continued during World War II, but under relatively unique circumstances. A lot of programs fielded mainly freshman teams with upperclassmen enlisted, and many of the enlisted played on teams like Great Lakes Navy or any number of Pre-Flight teams in different states. The best of the wartime squads was the 1943 Iowa Pre-Flight team led by Missouri coach Don Faurot. They were 8-0 with a chance at a national title when they visited South Bend to face a loaded Notre Dame team. Thanks to an affiliation with the Navy, the Irish hadn’t suffered much roster drain. The 1943 team, in fact, featured both the eventual 1943 Heisman winner (Angelo Bertelli) and the 1947 winner (Johnny Lujack). This was a winner-take-all matchup.

The game: In front of 45,000, Faurot’s Seahawks led 7-0 at halftime. With the score 7-7, a Lujack fumble set up a Dick Burk score. Iowa missed the PAT. But however, Notre Dame took a late 14-13 lead that held up after a missed field goal and a late fourth-down stop.

1946: No. 1 Army Black Knights 0, No. 2 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 0

The background: Thanks again to wartime rosters and loosened eligibility rules, Army, Navy and Notre Dame fielded the best teams in the country in 1945. Army might have had the best team ever, though, and beat the Midshipmen and Irish by a combined 80-13. A year later, the Cadets still had back-to-back Heisman winners Doc Blanchard and Glenn Davis, but Notre Dame was ready for the challenge. Every major sportswriter in the country was among the capacity crowd of 74,121 at Yankee Stadium.

The game: Notre Dame coach Frank Leahy told the media he was predicting a 27-14 Army win. Whether that was earnest or a motivation tactic for his team, his projection was pretty far off the mark. Rainy conditions (and a Lujack injury) turned this into a rock fight — the teams combined for 10 turnovers and six turnovers on downs, and the tie ended up a win for Notre Dame: They would take the No. 1 spot in the final polls after a blowout of No. 6 USC.

The background: The 1950s saw regional powers sprout up, from Michigan State early to Oklahoma, during its famous 47-game winning streak, in the middle of the decade. But with interconference play limited by segregation, we didn’t get all that many marquee matchups. That changed in 1959, when the two best teams in the South peaked around the same time. LSU won the 1958 national title thanks in part to coach Paul Dietzel’s brilliant, multiplatoon system, but by 1959 John Vaught’s Rebels were ready to move from top-15 program to top-two. A chaotic, Halloween night crowd of 67,500 awaited in Baton Rouge.

The game: The Rebels might have had the best team in the country, but LSU had Billy Cannon, who won the Heisman that year. Ole Miss had chances but managed just a field goal before Cannon fielded a fourth-quarter punt at his 11.

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0:41

Cannon’s Halloween run

GameDay 100: Billy Cannon’s punt return for a touchdown gave LSU a late victory over Ole Miss.

Ole Miss’ last-gasp drive came up 1 yard short. The Tigers survived in an absolute classic.

1966: No. 1 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 10, No. 2 Michigan State Spartans 10

The background: They had 25 All-Americans and 10 future NFL first-round draft picks between them. Four Michigan State players would go in the top 8 of the 1967 NFL/AFL draft. Notre Dame had outscored eight opponents by a combined 301-28. The teams met in late-November in front of 80,011 fans and a national TV audience of 33 million. This might have been the Game of the Century … of the Century.

The game: Michigan State led 10-7 at halftime, but the Irish tied the score early in the fourth quarter despite an injury to quarterback Terry Hanratty. They got the ball one last time deep in their territory, but coach Ara Parseghian played things safe to avoid potential disaster, and they didn’t advance the ball far. Sports Illustrated’s Dan Jenkins, maybe the greatest college football writer ever, dryly raked Parseghian over the coals — “Old Notre Dame will tie over all. Sing it out, guys.” — but the pragmatism paid off when the Irish smoked USC and took the national title over MSU and unbeaten Alabama.

1967: No. 4 USC Trojans 21, No. 1 UCLA Bruins 20

The background: Led by new starting running back O.J. Simpson, USC bounced back from a 7-4 season in 1966 and, freshly named the No. 1 team in the country, stomped Notre Dame in South Bend. A shock loss to Oregon State dropped the Trojans to fourth overall and promoted UCLA, fresh off of a 48-0 humiliation of Washington, to No. 1. Bruins quarterback Gary Beban would beat out Simpson for the Heisman that year. This was the biggest game ever between two of the West’s defining programs.

The game: Early in the fourth quarter, Beban, battling a rib injury but on his way to 301 passing yards, connected with Dave Nuttall to give UCLA the lead, but a missed PAT made it only 20-14. That would loom large when Simpson bolted 64 yards for one of the sport’s most famous touchdowns.

It was a title-winning run. The Trojans would knock out Indiana in the Rose Bowl and finish No. 1.

The background: In terms of hype and anticipation, it’s hard to top “the president announces he’s attending the game and will declare the winner the national champion.” But Richard Nixon did just that (to the dismay of Joe Paterno and unbeaten Penn State). Billy Graham gave the pregame invocation. A record television audience watched at home. It was college football’s 100th birthday, and Fayetteville was the center of the universe.

The game: Arkansas took a 14-0 lead early in the third quarter, but two bold (and analytics-friendly!) decisions by Texas coach Darrell Royal turned the game. First, after a James Street touchdown run, Royal elected to go for two. They converted, making it 14-8. And after a Danny Lester interception prevented Arkansas from putting the game away, Royal elected to go for it on fourth-and-3 in Texas territory with about five minutes left. Street and Randy Peschel connected for 44 yards, Jim Bertelsen scored, Happy Feller made the go-ahead PAT and Tom Campbell made the game-clinching interception in the final minute. Texas was the champ.

The background: Nebraska and OU were clearly the two best teams in the country in 1971, outscoring 23 other opponents by an average of 29 points. The Sooners had the best offense in the country, and the Cornhuskers had the best defense. A packed house in Norman, and 55 million TV viewers at home, took this one in.

The game: One of the most famous plays in college football history — Johnny Rodgers’ epic 72-yard punt return — happened just four minutes into the game, and both teams tried their hardest to one-up that moment for the next 56 minutes.

First, the return:

play

0:54

Rodgers’ return TD in ‘Game of the Century’

On Nov. 25, 1971, Johnny Rodgers takes the punt, dodges several would-be tacklers and rolls 72 yards for a Nebraska TD.

That would pace an early 14-3 Nebraska lead, but OU charged back to steal a 17-14 advantage at the break. Then came the same dance: NU scores twice to go up 11, and OU scores twice to go up three. But a 33-yard run by NU quarterback Jerry Tagge set up Jeff Kinney’s game-winning touchdown with 1:38 left. Two sacks finished off the win.

1973: No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes 10, No. 4 Michigan Wolverines 10

The background: The fifth game in what would be known as the Ten Year War between Woody Hayes’ Ohio State and Bo Schembechler’s Michigan was the closest and most bitter of them all. The teams entered the game a combined 19-0, and in front of 105,223 fans, then an NCAA record, Ohio State set the tone before kickoff, attempting to tear down the M Club banner Michigan’s players ran under.

The game: Somehow the game topped that buildup. Ohio State took command with a 10-0 halftime lead, but Dennis Franklin’s 10-yard, fourth-down score tied it in the fourth quarter. Franklin was hit and injured on a late drive, but the Wolverines still got opportunities to try a couple of long field goals. Mike Lantry barely missed them both, from 58 and 45 yards, and after the tie, with Franklin’s injury looming large, Big Ten athletic directors voted for Ohio State to attend the Rose Bowl. Schembechler never got over it.

1987: No. 2 Oklahoma Sooners 17, No. 1 Nebraska Cornhuskers 7

The background: By the late-1980s, college football’s balance of power was starting to shift south, toward Miami and Florida State. But while Miami would eventually win the national title in 1987, Barry Switzer’s Sooners and Tom Osborne’s Cornhuskers were the shining lights late in the season. They were a combined 19-0 and ranked 1-2 when OU trekked up to Lincoln on Nov. 21. But with quarterback Jamelle Holieway and fullback Lydell Carr both injured — and with OU coming off of a narrow 17-13 win over Missouri — the Sooners looked vulnerable. After so many close calls, this was another golden opportunity for NU to win Osborne a national title.

The game: OU defensive end Darrell Reed summed it up to the media after the game: “We played a basic offense and a basic defense, and they got a basic butt-kicking.” Fill-in QB Charles Thompson rushed for 126 yards, two other Sooners backs hit triple digits, and two third-quarter scores, including a 65-yard burst from Patrick Collins, charged a 17-7 Sooner win.

1988: No. 4 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 31, No. 1 Miami Hurricanes 30

The background: Defending national champion Miami headed up to South Bend to face the first elite Notre Dame team since the 1970s. “Catholics vs. Convicts.” A fight in the tunnel before the game. It was the stuff 30-for-30s were made for https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/3216512.

The game: It was also the stuff instant replay was made for. With Miami down 31-24 and facing a fourth-and-7 midway through the fourth quarter, an apparent Cleveland Gary touchdown was ruled a fumble on the field, and Notre Dame recovered. Then, with under a minute left, Miami’s Andre Brown was given a touchdown even though replay showed he never controlled the pass. But all the controversy led to a classic ending: Pat Terrell breaking up Steve Walsh’s 2-point pass attempt.

The Irish held on and won the national title 2½ months later.

1989: No. 2 Colorado Buffaloes 27, No. 3 Nebraska Cornhuskers 21

The background: The “rising upstart has to conquer a blueblood to get all the way to the top” genre of big game is one of my personal favorites. The buzz it can create is almost unparalleled. We needed one on this list, and the Colorado-Nebraska rivalry of the late-1980s might have been the best example of it. (Another candidate: Kansas State-Nebraska a decade later.) Bill McCartney had slowly built a powerhouse in Boulder and had pulled a shocking upset to get the Huskers’ attention in 1986, but now the 8-0 Buffaloes harbored national title hopes, and 8-0 NU stood in the way.

The game: The teams traded big-play touchdowns early (including the greatest “option pitch many yards downfield” maneuver you’ll ever see), and CU took a 24-14 lead after a controversial pass interference call in the third quarter. It was 27-21 when CU made a fourth-down stop, then batted down a Hail Mary attempt to prevail.

The background: This was the most hyped game of the most hyped rivalry in the sport at the turn of the 1990s. The Noles began 1991 at No. 1 after four straight top-five finishes, and they were 10-0 with two wins over top-10 teams (Michigan and Syracuse) by a combined 52 points. But other than a close call against Penn State, the 8-0 Hurricanes had been equally dominant. The New York Times called this the most anticipated game since 1971 NU-OU.

The game: Miami went ahead early, but FSU blanked the Canes for the next three quarters. The Noles settled for a number of field goals while taking a 16-7 lead, and Miami cut the lead to 16-10 in the fourth quarter. A 1-yard plunge by fullback Larry Jones made it 17-16 Miami with three minutes left, but after a fourth-down conversion and a pass interference penalty, FSU got into field goal range.

play

0:58

Wide Right I

On Nov. 16, 1991, Florida State kicker Gerry Thomas missed a potential go-ahead 34-yard field goal attempt, as the No. 1 Seminoles fell to the No. 2 Hurricanes.

It became Wide Right I.

1993: No. 2 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 31, No. 1 Florida State Seminoles 24

The background: After also losing via Wide Right II in 1992, FSU finally cleared the Miami hurdle in 1993, and Bobby Bowden seemed poised to finally win his first ring. But unbeaten Notre Dame was ready to win its second title in six years. The unbeaten Irish hosted the top-ranked Noles in their second-to-last regular-season game. It was a big enough game that, for the first time ever, ESPN’s “College GameDay” was on location for the proceedings. (“GameDay” has made just a few more trips since then.)

The game: FSU scored early, but Notre Dame went on a 24-0 run to take a commanding lead into the final 20 minutes. FSU charged back, cutting the lead to 31-24 and getting the ball back in the closing seconds. But on the final play of the game, Shawn Wooden broke up a Charlie Ward pass at the goal line, and the Irish moved to No. 1…

…until the very next week, when they were upset by Boston College. FSU won out and took the national title.

1996: No. 2 Florida State Seminoles 24, No. 1 Florida Gators 21

The background: With Miami fading, Bowden found a new chief rival within the state. Steve Spurrier’s ascendant Gators had enjoyed five straight top-10 finishes and played for the national title the year before, falling to Nebraska. The Noles and Gators were a combined 20-0 and occupied the top two spots in the polls heading into Thanksgiving weekend. The winner was guaranteed a shot at the national title. Huge. Very huge.

The game: “If we didn’t have the best defense in the country,” Bowden said after the game, “we don’t win.” FSU knocked eventual Heisman winner Danny Wuerffel around all game (legally and illegally) and limited him to 23-for-48 passing with three picks. The Seminoles surged to an early 17-0 lead, and it just barely held up. Florida’s Bart Edmiston missed a late field goal wide right, and FSU survived.

Florida didn’t have to wait long for revenge, however. The two teams were paired in the Sugar Bowl, and the Gators blew out the Noles to secure their first title.

2001: No. 3 Nebraska Cornhuskers 20, No. 2 Oklahoma Sooners 10

The background: OU disappeared into the wilderness for part of the 1990s, and Oklahoma-Nebraska lost some luster. But when Bob Stoops’ Sooners surged back into national prominence, so did this rivalry. OU won a surprise national title in 2000, and the Sooners had won 20 games in a row when they traveled to Lincoln. NU, meanwhile, had soon-to-be Heisman winner Eric Crouch and a typically dominant Blackshirts defense.

The game: Nothing came easily for either offense in this one. The Sooners outgained the Huskers but were undone by negative plays and turnovers, and the score was 13-10 when Nebraska opened things up with some fourth-quarter trickeration.

Crouch’s long catch and run gave Nebraska a comfortable lead in an uncomfortable game, and despite a late-season loss to Colorado the Huskers would go on to play for the national title. They were shellacked by Miami, however, and haven’t been back to the promised land since.

2006: No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes 42, No. 2 Michigan Wolverines 39

The background: When The Game is big, it just feels like the biggest thing in sports, and in 2006 the Buckeyes and Wolverines had their first ever 1-versus-2 matchup. The teams were absolutely loaded, boasting six consensus All-Americans between them. And on top of everything else, Bo Schembechler died the day before the game, creating an almost unfathomable layer of emotion around the proceedings. The Game drew 105,708 in Columbus and boasted the highest regular-season TV ratings since 1993 FSU-Notre Dame.

The game: These two defenses were outstanding, but the offenses were even better. Michigan scored early, but a 21-0 run helped to give the Buckeyes a 14-point halftime lead. The Wolverines kept charging, but Ohio State kept responding. When Michigan cut the lead to 28-24, Antonio Pittman scored on a 56-yard run. When U-M cut it to 35-31, Brian Robiskie scored. Michigan scored one last time, but Ted Ginn Jr. recovered an onside kick, and the top-ranked Buckeyes prevailed. They couldn’t match these emotional heights in the BCS championship, however, getting blown out by No. 2 Florida.

The background: At the turn of the 2010s, the college football world belonged to the Southeastern Conference. An SEC team won every title from 2006-12 as part of a larger run of 14 titles in the past 20 years. And you could say that the SEC’s aura was never stronger than it was for this game, which pitted two teams with 49 future pros in front of 101,821 and CBS’ largest regular-season TV audience in 22 years.

The game: Over time, an impression has formed that this was an unwatchable rock fight. Absolutely not. The rematch, a dire 21-0 Bama win in the BCS championship, was, and the ratings for that one were poor enough that it finally got us a playoff. But despite the low score, the original meeting was a classic. Alabama constantly threatened on offense, but with help from four missed field goals (OK, that part wasn’t great), LSU constantly held the Tide at bay before winning — via field goal, naturally — in OT. A classic of its own kind.

2016: No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes 30, No. 3 Michigan Wolverines 27

The background: Jim Harbaugh has been Michigan’s coach for nine years, but he’s packed in about three decades’ worth of plots and story arcs. Before a seven-year losing streak to Ohio State really took root, before the back-to-back CFP appearances flipped his reputation 180 degrees, and before Spygate muddied the waters all over again, he was a second-year head coach achieving huge things at his alma mater. The Wolverines hadn’t been in the top 10 in nine seasons before they began 2016 at 10-1, and a win over Ohio State would get them to within one game of a first CFP appearance.

The game: It came down to The Spot.

play

1:58

Ohio State extends game on fourth-down gain

J.T. Barrett runs for a 1-yard gain to the Michigan 15 for a first down.

Michigan’s 17-7 third-quarter lead almost held up, but the Buckeyes sent the game to overtime with a last-second field goal and won it when, after this spot went the Buckeyes way, Curtis Samuel scored from 15 yards out.

2019: No. 1 LSU Tigers 46, No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide 41

The background: Heading into 2019, Alabama and Clemson had split the past four national titles, playing four times in the CFP in the process. Oklahoma was typically good to make a brief appearance too. We needed a little bit of variety. Ed Orgeron’s LSU Tigers obliged. Fielding one of the best offenses we’ve ever seen, they beat three top-10 teams during an 8-0 start, but surely beating Mighty Bama in Tuscaloosa was too much to ask, right? Another crowd of 101,821 plus CBS’ biggest regular-season audience since the 2011 LSU-Bama game, sure wanted to find out.

The game: All the stars came out to play. Joe Burrow threw three touchdown passes and Tua Tagovailoa threw four. LSU’s Clyde Edwards-Helaire scored four times, and Bama’s Najee Harris and DeVonta Smith each scored two. Fourteen points in 20 seconds allowed LSU to take a 33-13 halftime lead, but Bama cut it to one score three separate times in the fourth quarter. It wasn’t over until Justin Jefferson recovered an onside kick with 1:21 left.

LSU’s monotony-breaking continued as the Tigers rolled to 15-0 and won the national title.

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Stanford hires former Nike CEO Donahoe as AD

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August 2, 2025

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Stanford hires former Nike CEO Donahoe as AD

  • Seth Wickersham

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    Seth Wickersham

    ESPN Senior Writer

    • Senior Writer for ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine
    • Joined ESPN The Magazine after graduating from the University of Missouri.
    • Although he primarily covers the NFL, his assignments also have taken him to the Athens Olympics, the World Series, the NCAA tournament and the NHL and NBA playoffs.

Jul 31, 2025, 11:10 PM ET

Stanford has hired former Nike CEO John Donahoe as the school’s new athletic director, the university announced Thursday.

Donahoe, 65, will arrive in the collegiate athletic director space with a vast swath of business experience, as Stanford officials viewed him as a “unicorn candidate” because of both his business ties and history at the school. Stanford coveted a nontraditional candidate for the role, and Donahoe’s hire delivers a seasoned CEO with stints at Nike, Bain & Company and eBay. He also served as the board chair of PayPal.

He also brings strong Stanford ties as a 1986 MBA graduate. He has had two stints on the Stanford business school’s advisory board, including currently serving in that role.

“My north star for 40 years has been servant leadership, and it is a tremendous honor to be able to come back to serve a university I love and to lead Stanford Athletics through a pivotal and tumultuous time in collegiate sports,” Donahoe said in a statement. “Stanford has enormous strengths and enormous potential in a changing environment, including being the model for achieving both academic and athletic excellence at the highest levels. I can’t wait to work in partnership with the Stanford team to build momentum for Stanford Athletics and ensure the best possible experiences for our student-athletes.”

Donahoe replaces Bernard Muir, who announced in February that he was stepping down after serving in that role since 2012. Alden Mitchell has been the school’s interim athletic director.

The hire is a head-turning one for Stanford, bringing in someone with Donahoe’s high-level business experience. And it comes at a time when the athletic department has struggled in its highest-profile sports, as football is amid four consecutive 3-9 seasons and the men’s basketball team hasn’t reached the NCAA tournament since 2014.

In hiring Donahoe, Stanford is aiming for someone who can find an innovative way to support general manager Andrew Luck and the football program while also figuring out a sustainable model for the future of Stanford’s Olympic sports.

“Stanford occupies a unique place in the national athletics landscape,” university president Jonathan Levin said in a statement. “We needed a distinctive leader — someone with the vision, judgment, and strategic acumen for a new era of college athletics, and with a deep appreciation for Stanford’s model of scholar-athlete excellence. John embodies these characteristics. We’re grateful he has agreed to lead Stanford Athletics through this critical period in college sports.”

Stanford’s Olympic sports remain the best in the country, as Stanford athletes or former athletes accounted for 39 medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics. If Stanford were a country, it would have tied with Canada for the 11th-most medals. Stanford has also won 26 of the possible 31 director’s cups for overall athletic success in college, including a 25-year streak from 1995 to 2019.

School officials approached Donahoe in recent weeks about the position, with both Levin and former women’s basketball coach Tara VanDerveer among the chief recruiters. Donahoe has a long-standing relationship with both, as he maintained strong ties to the school throughout his career.

Sources said Luck will report to Donahoe. Luck spent time with him in the interview process and is excited to work with him, sources said. It’s also a change from the prior structure, as upon Luck’s hiring he had been slated to report to Levin.

“I am absolutely thrilled John Donahoe is joining as our next athletic director,” Luck said in a statement. “He brings unparalleled experience and elite leadership to our athletic department in a time of opportunity and change. I could not be more excited to partner with and learn from him.”

Stanford is set to begin a football season in which it is picked to finish last in the 17-team ACC. Former NFL coach Frank Reich is the interim coach, and both sides have made clear this is a definitive interim situation and that he won’t return after the 2025 season.

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Iowa State extends Campbell, bumps pay to $5M

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  • Max OlsonAug 1, 2025, 04:59 PM ET

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    • Covers the Big 12
    • Joined ESPN in 2012
    • Graduate of the University of Nebraska

Iowa State and coach Matt Campbell have finalized a contract extension through 2032 after the winningest coach in program history led the Cyclones to their first-ever 11-win season in 2024.

Campbell will earn $5 million per year in total compensation, according to a copy of the contract obtained by ESPN on Friday. The three-time Big 12 Coach of the Year honoree took a discount on the deal, sources told ESPN, to ensure that his staff salary pool increased and to allow Iowa State to allocate an additional $1 million to revenue-sharing funds for its football roster.

Campbell earned $4 million in 2024 while leading the Cyclones to a Big 12 championship game appearance, an 11-3 record and a No. 15 finish in the AP poll. He’s entering his 10th season in Ames and has won a school record of 64 games during his tenure.

Colorado coach Deion Sanders will be the Big 12’s highest-paid head coach this year at $10 million after landing a five-year, $54 million contract extension in March. Campbell’s new salary will not rank among the top five in the conference, but he prioritized maximizing Iowa State’s ability to invest in its football roster following a historic season.

Campbell, 45, told ESPN in July at Big 12 media days that “probably our top 20 guys took a pay cut to come back to Iowa State” for 2025, relative to what they could’ve earned in NIL compensation by entering the transfer portal.

The head coach’s deal includes performance incentives based on the Cyclones’ regular-season record, starting at $250,000 for seven wins and climbing to $1.5 million for a 12-0 season. He’ll earn at least $100,000 for a Big 12 title game appearance and up to $500,000 for a Big 12 championship. The deal also permits him to distribute up to $100,000 of his performance incentive earnings each year to his football staff.

If Campbell accepts another Power 4 head coaching job before the end of his contract, his buyout would be $2 million. He would not owe liquidated damages if he departs for an NFL coaching opportunity. Campbell interviewed with the Chicago Bears in January during the organization’s head coaching search.

Campbell surpassed Dan McCarney as the program’s winningest head coach last season and has led the Cyclones to bowl games in seven of the past eight seasons, including a Fiesta Bowl victory and a top-10 finish in 2020.

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What you missed from college football recruiting this summer

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August 2, 2025

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What you missed from college football recruiting this summer

  • Eli LedermanAug 2, 2025, 07:33 AM ET

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      Eli Lederman covers college football and recruiting for ESPN.com. He joined ESPN in 2024 after covering the University of Oklahoma for Sellout Crowd and the Tulsa World.

The busiest 60 days of the annual recruiting calendar are officially behind us. And while another four months still remain before the December early signing period, college football’s top programs have already wrapped up the majority of their business in the 2026 cycle.

Per ESPN Research, a total of 155 prospects in the 2026 ESPN 300 made commitments in an avalanche of summer recruiting business from June 1 to July 31. In the wake of that, only 16 uncommitteds remain in the ESPN 300 as of Saturday morning. Within that group are just nine top-100 recruits, with five-star defensive end Jake Kreul, No. 2 running back Savion Hiter and No. 2 defensive tackle Deuce Geralds among those expected to come off the board in August.

More settled by this point of the cycle than any other in recent memory, college football’s 2026 class is unfolding against the backdrop of yet another moment of change in the sport. The House settlement and earliest ebbs of college athletics’ revenue sharing era have already shaped the 2026 cycle, and their effects will continue to ripple across the class until February’s national signing day.

As the recruiting trail prepares to take a (relative) back seat to fall camp practices, here’s a look at how the cycle played out this summer and what could come next for the class of 2026:

Revenue sharing and a new era in recruiting

The House settlement, which now permits schools to pay their athletes directly, among other sweeping changes, officially took effect July 1.

But according to personnel staffers, agents, recruits and parents surveyed by ESPN this month on the condition of anonymity, byproducts of college football’s new reality and the initial revenue sharing cap of $20.5 million across all sports have been steering the 2026 cycle for months. “In the past, collectives would always say we’re only going to offer what we know we can pay you,” a player agent told ESPN. “Now programs know what the budget will be, and harder numbers were discussed earlier than usual. The ability for programs to get those numbers out there early was huge.” As schools prepared roster budgets and braced for post-settlement oversight this spring, a number of Power 4 programs began front-loading their 2025 rosters in the lead-up to July 1.

In some cases, that meant negotiating updated, pre-settlement contracts with transfers and current players, deals that will not count against the post-July 1 revenue share cap. In others, sources told ESPN that programs and collectives found workarounds on the recruiting trail, doling out upfront payments as high as $25,000 per month to committed recruits in the 2026 class, primarily through advantageous high school NIL laws that exist in states such as California, Oregon and Washington.

Those front-loading efforts helped several programs jump out to fast starts in the 2026 cycle. Per sources, the impending arrival of revenue sharing also played a significant role in speeding up the 2026 class this spring. With programs in position to present firmer financial figures, a flurry of elite prospects committed to schools on verbal agreements before July 1.

“People rushed to get deals done pre-House,” a Power 4 personnel staffer told ESPN. “You know there’s only so much money available, and schools let kids know that. The first one to say yes gets it.”

Friday loomed especially large in the short-lived history of the House settlement.

Per the settlement, Aug. 1 was the first official date rising seniors could formally receive written revenue share contracts from programs and NIL collectives, the latter of which will now operate under looser regulation from the newly founded College Sports Commission, per a memo sent to athletic directors on Thursday. Put another way, Aug. 1 was the first day committed prospects and their families could officially learn whether terms they had agreed to earlier this year were legit.

“We’re going to see how serious these schools are,” said the parent of an ESPN 300 quarterback. “I think we might see some kids decommit and find new schools this fall.”

Across the industry, sources believe programs will, for the most part, deliver on the verbal agreements. Multiple agents and personnel staffers told ESPN that a number of programs have also generally ignored the Aug. 1 stipulation across the spring and summer, presenting frameworks of agreements to prospective recruits or flouting the rule entirely. Another question hovering over the months ahead: How much will these agreements do to contain the annual shuffle of flips, decommitments and late-cycle drama in the 2026 class?

“These deals should keep things more in check,” another Power 4 personnel staffer said. “But I’m not naive to think some won’t flip. There’s some snakes out there.”

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No. 1 overall prospect Lamar Brown commits to LSU

No. 1 overall prospect Lamar Brown stays home and commits to play for the LSU Tigers.

Where do things stand with the 2026 five-star class?

Oregon offensive tackle commit Immanuel Iheanacho, No. 13 in the 2026 ESPN 300, initially planned to announce his commitment Aug. 5. But, like many of the 2026 five-stars who entered late spring still uncommitted, Iheanacho felt the heat of an accelerated market in June.

“There were a couple of schools I was looking at that asked me to commit early, really wanting to get me in their class,” Iheanacho told ESPN. “Oregon didn’t rush me at all.”

Even so, Iheanacho eventually shifted his commitment timeline forward more than a month. ESPN’s second-ranked offensive line prospect picked the Ducks over Auburn, LSU and Penn State on July 3, landing as one of 11 five-star recruits to commit between June 14 and July 20.

As of Saturday morning, only one of the record 23 five-star prospects in ESPN’s class rankings for 2026 remains uncommitted. LSU secured a class cornerstone and the highest-ranked pledge of the Brian Kelly era in No. 1 overall recruit Lamar Brown on July 10. Meanwhile, Florida (McCoy) and Texas A&M (Arrington) each landed a top-15 defender, Ojo landed a historic deal with Texas Tech, and Texas closed July with the most five-star pledges — four — in the country.

With Kreul, the skilled pass rusher from Florida’s IMG Academy nearing a decision from among Ole Miss, Oklahoma and Texas, ESPN’s 2026 five-star class could be closed out before Week 0.

No matter how it plays out from here, the cycle’s five-stars are already historically settled. As of Saturday morning, 95.6% of the five-star class is committed among 14 schools across the Power 4 conferences. Per ESPN Research, it’s by far the highest Aug. 1 five-star pledge rate in any cycle since at least 2020. Just over a decade ago, only six of the 20 five-stars (30%) in the 2015 cycle were committed on Aug. 1, 2014; nearly half the class committed after New Year’s Day.

Highest rate of five-star pledges by Aug. 1 since the start of the 2020 cycle

  • 2026: 95.6%

  • 2024: 76.1%

  • 2025: 72.7%

  • 2021: 66.6%

  • 2020: 58.8%

A number of factors — the early signing period, NIL, transfer portal, new rules around recruiting windows and on-campus visits — explain why elite recruiting continues to inch further and further from the traditional February signing day. Amid the fallout of the House settlement, the latest five-star class seemingly received another nudge this summer.

What’s left for the 2026 QB market after summer moves?

The last major quarterback domino in the 2026 class fell July 18 when four-star Landon Duckworth (No. 178 overall) committed to South Carolina. More than four months from the early signing period, the quarterback market in 2026 is effectively closed.

After Ryder Lyons (BYU), Bowe Bentley (Oklahoma) and Jaden O’Neal (Florida State) found homes in June, Duckworth was the last uncommitted ESPN 300 quarterback. Further down the class, several major programs across the Big Ten and SEC dipped into the flip market or outside the top 300 to secure their 2026 quarterback pledge(s) this summer.

Notable quarterback moves since June 1:

Oregon ended its monthslong chase for a quarterback pledge June 25 with former Boise State commit Beaver. One of the cycle’s top summer risers after a standout Elite 11 finals showing, Beaver landed with Ducks coach Dan Lanning and offensive coordinator Will Stein over interest Alabama, Auburn, LSU and Ole Miss in whirlwind, 13-day rerecruitment.

Alabama has five-star freshman Keelon Russell. But still repairing the program’s quarterback pipeline under coach Kalen DeBoer, the Crimson Tide added two pledges this summer between Thomalla — an Iowa State flip — and Kaawa. Across the state, Auburn and coach Hugh Freeze made their move June 26 flipping Falzone from Penn State before Ohio State (Fahey) and Kentucky (Ponatoski), another pair of quarterback-needy programs, landed pledges in July.

For now, the quarterback class is settled and only so many major programs are still searching in 2026.

Among the 68 Power 4 programs and Notre Dame, only 10 reached August without at least one pledge among the 106 quarterback prospects rated by ESPN: Colorado, Georgia Tech, LSU, Iowa, Iowa State, Maryland, Stanford, UCLA, Virginia Tech and West Virginia.

Who might still be looking within that group?

Colorado (Julian Lewis), Maryland (Malik Washington) and UCLA (Madden Iamaleava) each signed a top-300 quarterback in the 2025 class. With all three programs in the midst of roster rebuilds, none is likely to make a serious push at the position this fall.

With Garrett Nussmeier out of eligibility in 2025, and after the LSU lost No. 1 overall recruit Bryce Underwood to Michigan last fall, the Tigers remain a program to watch in the coming months.

What did ESPN’s top five classes do this summer?

The Trojans got the bulk of their work done on the trail this spring and began June with the most ESPN 300 pledges of any program nationally. That remains the case as USC has bolstered its top-ranked incoming class with five more ESPN 300 pledges over the past eight weeks, adding defenders Talanoa Ili (No. 54 overall), Luke Wafle (No. 104) and Peyton Dyer (No. 269), a July 4 pledge from No. 3 wide receiver Ethan “Boobie” Feaster (No. 25) and the commitment of highly regarded four-star offensive guard Breck Kolojay (No. 198) on Friday.

Can USC hold on to secure its first No. 1 class since 2013? Time will tell. Sources told ESPN that the Trojans’ biggest moves in the cycle are likely finished while the program continues to target the tight end and safety positions, but there’s still time for plenty more to unfold this fall.

The Bulldogs went for volume and quality this summer, collecting 19 commitments including 12 from inside the ESPN 300. Georgia continued to build around five-star quarterback Jared Curtis with five-star tight end Kaiden Prothro, top-50 offensive tackle Ekene Ogboko, running back Jae Lamar and pass catchers Brayden Fogle and Craig Dandridge. On the other side of the ball, defensive backs Justice Fitzpatrick, Chase Calicut and Caden Harris, and defensive tackle Pierre Dean Jr. rank among the newest arrivals in an increasingly deep Bulldogs defensive class.

Georgia’s summer wasn’t without a few major misses. Losing out to Texas on No. 1 outside linebacker Tyler Atkinson — a priority in-state target — stung. Top running back Derrek Cooper’s subsequent pledge to the Longhorns marked another blow, as did wide receiver Vance Spafford‘s decision to flip to Miami in late June. But the Bulldogs are loaded up once again on top during this cycle and will hit the fall in line to secure the program’s 10th straight top-three signing class for 2026.

The Aggies landed a key local recruiting win over Texas on June 17 with a commitment from No. 5 running back K.J. Edwards, the state’s No. 6 prospect in 2026. But Texas A&M’s summer of recruiting was defined on defense, where coach Mike Elko is building another monster class.

Five-star athlete Brandon Arrington, who will play defensive back in college, became the program’s top-ranked 2026 pledge on June 19. Behind him, the Aggies have added top-150 defenders Bryce Perry-Wright, Camren Hamiel and Tristian Givens, and top 300 linebacker Daquives Beck since June 1 to a defensive class that features nine ESPN 300 pledges.

Even after narrowly missing on top defenders Lamar Brown (LSU) and Anthony Jones (Oregon) in July, Texas A&M holds one of the nation’s deepest classes and appears poised to contend later this year for its first top-five class since the Aggies went No. 1 in 2022.

It was a five-star bonanza for coach Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns this summer.

It began with a late-June pledge from Oregon decommit Richard Wesley, ESPN’s No. 3 defensive end. From there, Texas went on to secure its latest pair of recruiting wins over Georgia last month, swooping in to land Atkinson on July 15 before earning Derrek Cooper’s commitment five days later. With No. 1 quarterback Dia Bell already in the fold, the Longhorns have as many five-star pledges in 2026 as the program signed across 11 classes from 2011 to 2021.

Top-50 offensive lineman John Turntine III marked a key addition July 4, and the Longhorns got deeper on defense with commitments from cornerback Samari Matthews and former Georgia defensive tackle pledge James Johnson. But the five-star moves have been the story for Texas this summer, and Sarkisian & Co. might not be done yet with the Longhorns heavily in the mix for Jake Kreul, the last remaining five-star in the 2026 class.

After a productive spring, the Irish landed five ESPN 300 pledges after June 1, plugging the few remaining holes in the program’s 2026 class with a series of elite high school prospects.

Notre Dame landed its top two defensive back commitments within hours of each other on June 20 with pledges from cornerback Khary Adams and Joey O’Brien. On June 26, the Irish secured their highest-ranked tight end commit since the 2021 class in four-star Ian Premer. And in early July, Notre Dame bolstered its wide receiver class with an infusion of talent and NFL pedigree, adding Kaydon Finley (son of Jermichael Finley), Brayden Robinson and Devin Fitzgerald (son of Larry Fitzgerald).

Notre Dame’s trip to last season’s national title game arrived amid the program’s steady rise on the recruiting trail under coach Marcus Freeman. That has continued in 2026, where the Irish are poised to sign more ESPN 300 pledges — 17 — than in any cycle since at least 2006.

Five programs poised to push for a top-five finish this fall

Current ESPN class ranking: No. 6

Only one program can match USC’s count of nine top-100 pledges in 2026: Alabama.

The Crimson Tide’s second class under coach Kalen DeBoer boomed in June and July as the Crimson Tide secured a slew of commitments on defense with five-star safety Jireh Edwards (No. 23 overall), No. 3 outside linebacker Xavier Griffin (No. 30) and defensive ends Nolan Wilson (No. 53) and Jamarion Matthews (No. 92). Priority in-state offensive targets Ezavier Crowell (No. 31) and Cederian Morgan (No. 47) marked two more key additions this summer.

Alabama whiffed on another major in-state recruit Thursday when four-star outside linebacker Anthony Jones, the state’s No. 1 prospect in 2026, committed to Oregon. Jones represented one of the last elite targets on the Crimson Tide’s board. But Alabama has already flipped four Power 4 commits this summer and could continue to climb this fall as long as DeBoer and his staff remain active within the class from now to the early signing period.

Current ESPN class ranking: No. 11

LSU enters the month with ESPN’s No. 1 overall recruit, a five-star wide receiver in Tristen Keys (No. 10 overall) and 10 total ESPN 300 commits in the program’s incoming recruiting class.

How can the Tigers climb into the upper reaches of the 2026 cycle this fall? First and foremost, they have to hang onto Keys, ESPN’s No. 3 wide receiver. He has been committed to LSU since March 19, but that didn’t keep him from taking multiple official visits in the spring or shield him from serious flips efforts from Miami, Tennessee and Texas A&M this summer.

The Tigers’ battle to keep Keys could stretch all the way to the early signing period.

Sources expect LSU to ramp up its own flip efforts with in-state safety and Ohio State pledge Blaine Bradford (No. 34 overall) in the coming months. The Tigers are also finalists for Deuce Geralds and remain top contenders in the recruitments of offensive linemen Darius Gray (No. 73) and wide receiver Jase Mathews, both of whom are set to commit in August. LSU can’t be counted out from renewing its work in the 2026 quarterback this fall, either.

Current ESPN class ranking: No. 7

The defending national champs had a relatively quiet summer atop the 2026 cycle, adding only four ESPN 300 pledges highlighted by the in-state pledges of outside linebacker Cincere Johnson (No. 82 overall) and running back Favour Akih (No. 160). Fahey, ESPN’s No. 28 pocket passer, will pad Ohio State’s future quarterback depth after Air Noland‘s offseason transfer, too.

One priority target who could help push the Buckeyes over the edge is four-star prospect Bralan Womack (No. 32). Ohio State has been consistent a leader in the recruitment of ESPN’s No. 3 safety through the spring and summer, and coach Ryan Day & Co. will have to hold off late pushes from fellow finalists Auburn, Florida and Texas A&M from now until Womack’s Aug. 22 commitment date. The Buckeyes also remain involved in the recruitments of No. 2 running back Savion Hiter and Darius Gray, the nation’s 10th-ranked offensive lineman.

Current ESPN class ranking: No. 8

Wolverines coach Sherrone Moore has filled out his class with nine ESPN 300 pledges since June 1, headlined by top-100 defender Carter Meadows (No. 88 overall), who trails only quarterback Brady Smigiel (No. 44) among the top prospects pledged to Michigan in 2026.

Who could be next for the Wolverines? Michigan are finalists for ESPN 300 defenders Davon Benjamin (No. 63) and Anthony Davis Jr. (No. 299) with each set for a decision Saturday. More prominently, the Wolverines remain focused on Hiter (No. 24 overall), a top priority for the Michigan staff this summer whose commitment date is set for Aug. 19. The Wolverines also continue to be linked with Syracuse wide receiver pledge Calvin Russell (No. 28). ESPN’s No. 4 wide receiver closed a narrowing process with a commitment to the Orange on July 5, but sources expect Michigan and Miami to remain involved with Russell this fall.

Current ESPN class ranking: No. 10

No. 2 outside linebacker Anthony Jones committed to the Ducks on Thursday, joining five-stars Immanuel Iheanacho and Jett Washington in a string of high-profile pledges for Oregon this summer.

Insiders believe the Ducks have backed off at the very top of the 2026 class after spending in the 2025 cycle, but Jones’ pledge could be the first move in a late-summer surge for coach Dan Lanning. Oregon is viewed as the front-runner for both Deuce Geralds and Davon Benjamin as the pair of top-65 prospects prepare to announce their commitments Saturday afternoon. If the Ducks land both, Lanning & Co. could be in position to sign another top-five class by December.

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