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  • David Hale, ESPN Staff WriterNov 26, 2023, 02:25 AM ET

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    • ACC reporter.
    • Joined ESPN in 2012.
    • Graduate of the University of Delaware.

Think back on a rainy Saturday in Tampa, Florida, way back in September, when Nick Saban had benched his starting QB and Alabama‘s season appeared lost. We’ve all learned — many times over — not to doubt Saban, never to write off his Crimson Tide teams, but this felt different. This was Alabama at its nadir. And yet, it was also an inflection point.

Think back to a chaotic Saturday in Seattle in mid-October, when Rome Odunze delivered one final, stunning blow in a heavyweight bout between Washington and Oregon. Through the blowouts that preceded it, the Huskies had flexed their muscle, but it was in this back-and-forth slugfest they forged their identity.

This is the beauty of college football’s regular season — the way the seeds are laid in moments big and small, and sometimes hardly noticed at all, and then in this final, dizzying chapter, it all becomes clear.

On Saturday, the QB who emerged from Alabama’s listless September delivered a throw that will be remembered in the same breath with the Kick-Six, an Iron Bowl miracle.

On Saturday, Kalen DeBoer, survivor of so many narrow victories in the past two months, made the most brazen decision in Apple Cup history, and the brilliant Odunze delivered magic once more.

At Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn was poised to pull off a miraculous upset and, just a week removed from a blowout loss to New Mexico State, deliver a playoff dagger to Saban’s Tide.

A muffed punt gave Alabama the ball back with less than five minutes to play, and Jalen Milroe erased a sack with a 19-yard scramble; but an illegal forward pass and an errant snap threatened to undo it all, setting up a fourth-and-goal from the 31. And then history. During a timeout, Auburn devised a defense in which two players rushed the QB, eight guys crowded the end zone and one guy wandered aimlessly. Milroe took the snap and, after maneuvering through a vacant pocket for long enough that every fan in the stadium had a chance to say their share of Hail Marys, heaved a bomb into the back corner of the end zone where, astonishingly, Isaiah Bond waited to make the game-winning catch.

Afterward, Milroe celebrated by shouting that he wanted the Heisman Trophy. He actually won something better — a place in Iron Bowl lore forever.

At Husky Stadium, with the clock ticking toward a seemingly inevitable overtime, Washington faced a fourth-and-1 at its own 29. Any reasonable coach would’ve played it safe and punted. But DeBoer has seen enough of this team to know it is at its best with its back against the wall, that it thrives in those places lesser men fear to tread. And so he sent QB Michael Penix Jr. to the line of scrimmage with “some options,” DeBoer said afterward.

Penix surveyed the defense, considered his options and chose to inflict unimaginable pain on Washington State. He took the snap, flipped the ball to Odunze and watched the best player on the field dash 23 yards for a first down. And still, it could’ve gone haywire. Needing just a field goal to win, Penix tossed two deep balls into heavy coverage, but the Cougars failed to corral either. It was either luck or destiny or both. Washington is like the bus in “Speed” — incapable of slowing down long enough to realize how dangerous its journey has been.

If there has been a reasonable criticism of the 2023 season, it is that the script has included too few twists, no genuine surprises that upend everything we thought we understood as fact. On Saturday, Alabama and Washington proved the status quo can be entirely shocking too.

Alabama is alive for a championship, just as it has been nearly every other year of Saban’s tenure. But this is not the norm. This is, perhaps, the least dynamic Alabama team in more than a decade. But it also has given Tide fans something they’ve rarely had — a chance to be the underdog, a chance to be surprised, a chance to feel elated rather than relieved by something unexpected. For so long, there was no mystery in Alabama’s game plan. The Tide were simply better than everyone else. This time, Saban has provided genuine magic. It would be foolish to see his latest trick and assume he cannot make Georgia‘s playoff hopes vanish in the SEC championship game too.

Washington’s win might not have convinced any of its doubters, but it did serve notice, once more, that the Huskies will not depart the playoff chase quietly. They are like the last car running in a demolition derby — battered and dented and smoldering, but still alive. Their past three wins have all come by a touchdown or less, as did games against Arizona, Oregon and Arizona State before that. And yet Washington understands what all great showmen must: The trick is only fun if it doesn’t look too easy.

This latest magic from Alabama and Washington was a necessary end to this regular season, one that tied up so many of the narrative threads from September and October while teasing the best of what’s still to come. The playoff, by design, elevates the stakes. But what makes this ridiculous sport so wonderful is the way the best storylines and the most heart-pounding drama blossoms organically over the course of 13 weeks, guaranteed to deliver something entirely ridiculous and unexpected.

And on some distant Saturday in March or April or June, when all that awaits is a lawn to be mowed or engine oil to be changed, when our day is measured by beach traffic or dinner reservations, we’ll think back on all that transpired on this Saturday, this final, beautiful, delirious Saturday of college football’s 2023 regular season, and our hearts will be full.

Well, maybe not Hugh Freeze’s.

Michigan delivers a knockout with far-reaching implications

There will be so many moments from Saturday’s latest installment of The Game that warrant reflection and debate, but in a battle between teams whose seasons would be defined by the outcome, the most evocative and most significant stretch of heroics was a long slog of a drive, 12 plays and 56 yards, that ticked seven grueling minutes off the clock and ended with a field goal.

There was nothing sexy about Michigan‘s final drive. The Wolverines had danced with the devil enough by this point — gone for it on fourth down three times, had its tailback sling the deep ball, rallied behind an O-line down its best player — but this was pure, bare-knuckle toughness.

For three-and-a-half quarters, Michigan had toyed with Ohio State. The Wolverines never trailed, but neither could they pull away. They landed haymakers and jabs, but Ohio State kept getting back up off the mat. It might’ve seemed a valid question to ask whether this meant the teams were evenly matched or whether the Wolverines had simply refused to fully flex their true strength until it mattered. That drive provided an answer.

Ohio State’s frustrated fan base will cling to its share of explanations for how its once-dominant program has been so clearly superseded by its rival — Ryan Day’s incompetence, Michigan’s alleged cheating, some sort of monkey’s paw curse — but the truth comes down to this: When everything was on the line, the Wolverines were relentless, and the Buckeyes folded.

The field goal at the end of that 12-play drive gave Michigan a six-point lead, which proved enough when Rod Moore picked off Kyle McCord to seal the 30-24 win. J.J. McCarthy was fine — 148 yards and a touchdown, the third straight game Michigan has won while its QB threw for less than 150 yards — and Blake Corum once again owned short-yardage situations. The defense was stout, picking off McCord twice, but Ohio State still out-gained the Wolverines in the game. Marvin Harrison Jr., Ohio State’s Heisman contender, caught five balls for 118 yards and a touchdown, and yet Michigan never let him take over the game.

This was, in so many ways, death by a thousand paper cuts for Ohio State — slow, painful, torturous. All the better for Michigan fans.

This was, if not an emphatic win for the Wolverines, proof that there’s no magic formula to beat this team because, even when nothing seemed to work particularly well, everything worked well enough.

This was a game — the sixth this year — that Michigan didn’t have its head coach on the sideline, and yet Jim Harbaugh’s dominance over Ohio State has never felt more certain. Somewhere, deep within the confines of his secret headquarters at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, he must’ve been fiendishly petting a cat and laughing maniacally as he watched the final seconds tick away.

What comes next is perhaps even more interesting.

Michigan will be eager to move forward. Harbaugh’s suspension ended with Moore’s INT, and the Wolverines’ quest for a national title begins anew with the Big Ten title game.

Ohio State will wallow in this for days or months or generations. Did the officials — and the replay booth — get Roman Wilson‘s touchdown catch right or did they steal an INT from the Buckeyes that might’ve swung the game? Would things have been different if Day had played as aggressively as Sherrone Moore? The Michigan interim coach was three-for-three on fourth down tries and called a brilliant trick play for Donovan Edwards, who launched a 34-yard completion to Colston Loveland. Day, perhaps with his legacy as a head coach on the line, took few risks, punting on fourth-and-1 near midfield early in the game, then watching the clock wind down for a long (and ultimately fruitless) field goal try to end the half.

The win was certainly something short of redemption for Harbaugh, who has been suspended twice this season and still faces an ongoing NCAA investigation, but none of that matters in the eyes of Michigan fans, who’ve now won three straight vs. the Buckeyes after having dropped 15 of the prior 16. If Harbaugh had been caught using the transfer portal to run a Ponzi scheme, it wouldn’t have mattered. He’s built a monster that has eaten the hopes and dreams of those fools down south, and that is all that counts.

The loss further solidifies Day’s place in the rivalry’s land of broken toys. Day’s career is astonishing in its successes — a 56-7 record, with every loss coming against a ranked foe — but defined by three straight failures in the only game that really matters. He is college football’s Salieri, brilliant in his own right, but destined to forever be remembered as the foil to his more remarkable rival.

In each of the past two years, the elation of Michigan’s win over its bitter rival was enough to sustain the program after losses in the College Football Playoff semifinal. This year, amid so much off-field chaos surrounding Harbaugh, there must be a demand to follow The Game with something more. Michigan will be the story of the playoff this year — either as Harbaugh’s self-described redemption story, America’s team waving off all the metaphorical slings and arrows or as the villains who couldn’t finish the job, even with the deck stacked in their favor.

The past two years, Ohio State could fall back on the idea that it had lost but was, perhaps, not truly all that far behind. But if two’s a coincidence, three’s a trend, and it’s impossible not to wonder what lengths a place like Ohio State will go to in hopes of shifting that trend before next November.

But before all those scripts are written, there is this: The Game, once more, lived up to the hype. It was a perfect cap to a season in which the status quo has rarely shifted more than a few centimeters and a reminder that, for all the often ugly narrative threads sewn away from the field, the magic always comes from the work done on it.

Noles stay undefeated

It would be fair to say Florida State proved Saturday that there is far more to this Seminoles team than Jordan Travis. Trey Benson ran for three touchdowns. Jared Verse played havoc with Florida‘s O-line. Tate Rodemaker was far from dazzling, but he avoided any catastrophic mistakes. In all, the 24-15 win over the Gators suggested FSU warrants its place in the playoff pecking order.

It would also be fair to say Florida did everything possible to hand Florida State the win.

The Gators blew a 12-0 lead by allowing TD drives to Florida State on the Noles’ last drive of the first half and first drive of the second half. They missed two field goals. They extended FSU’s game-clinching touchdown drive twice with penalties. They had a player ejected for spitting. In the fourth quarter, Florida had no plays that gained more than 1 yard, they gave up 50 yards in penalties, and QB Max Brown was sacked four times and threw an interception. If Billy Napier showed up to the postgame press conference wearing a Darth Vader mask, it wouldn’t have been much worse.

On the other hand, there was Mike Norvell’s Noles, who never flinched in their first effort without Travis at the helm. Even when Rodemaker went down after a targeting penalty on Florida, the Noles kept their cool behind third-stringer Brock Glenn. Florida State outscored Florida 17-3 in the second half and outgained the Gators 139-48.

Every day before practice, Norvell sprints down the field of FSU’s indoor practice facility. He runs 100 yards, usually racing a few of his players. He’s in his 40s now, and he said the hamstrings aren’t what they used to be. But the point of the race for him isn’t to make it 100 yards as fast as he can, but rather to make it 100 yards no matter how he feels.

Whether Florida State can win a national championship without its star QB is a valid question, even after a 12-0 start. But what Norvell and the Noles proved against Florida is the same thing Norvell proves every day before practice — that the race ultimately goes to the guy who keeps running.

Iowa: An appreciation

Before the season, OC Brian Ferentz was tasked with a simple enough goal: Score 25 points per game. Not even just on offense. If his defense chipped in a few touchdowns, that was fine, too. How low was this bar? Entering Saturday, 79 teams averaged 25 points or better (or 86 if we’re rounding up decimals).

But Iowa didn’t sniff that mark. After Friday’s 13-10 win over Nebraska, the Hawkeyes are averaging exactly 18 points per game — a full touchdown shy of the number that would’ve saved Ferentz’s job.

It’s been easy to joke about Iowa this season, starting with the famed Drive for 325 through this latest ridiculous stretch of games in which the Hawkeyes have won five of six despite scoring more than two touchdowns in a game just once.

The forecasters in Las Vegas have turned Iowa’s point totals into college football’s best limbo contest, including a record-low 24.5-point total against Nebraska, and Iowa has delivered the under again and again and again. In all, six of the lowest totals on record have come from Iowa games in the past two years.

Iowa’s offense is so mind-bogglingly inept, it’s impossible to write it off as mere incompetence. It must be part of a bigger plan.

And so it is that Iowa is 10-2. Iowa is but a dubious fair catch call away from being 11-1. Iowa will play for a Big Ten title and, at this point, is anyone really doubting the Hawkeyes can achieve the impossible?

There is a valuable lesson for all of us in what Iowa has achieved in the past 12 games.

While the rest of the nation scoffed, Iowa fans rejoiced, finding true joy in the most mundane moments of the game.

While bettors giggled over yet another seemingly impossible under wager, Iowa lined the pockets of everyone who believed.

While the rest of the Big Ten West — a collection of drifters, cast-offs and Nebraska — wasted weeks plotting a game plan that would result in points, Iowa set its entire focus a formula to actually win games by executing the college football equivalent of the iTunes user agreement, just waiting for an opponent to get bored with the minutia and click “Accept.” Not since Muhammad Ali has anyone executed the rope-a-dope so perfectly.

Just consider Friday’s game, where Iowa stole another victory by picking off a Chubba Purdy pass late before drilling a field goal for the win. The outcome seemingly hung in the balance for the entirety of the second half, the advantage swinging from drive to drive, and yet we all knew where this would end.

Iowa thrives on the brink of disaster.

Nebraska, on the other hand, slinks from every opportunity, a perpetual loser in a game of chicken, swerving off the road and into a ditch at the first sense of danger.

Iowa has 13 wins over the past two years in games in which its offense failed to score more than two touchdowns.

Nebraska has 30 losses since 2018 in one-possession games.

At some point, repetition can no longer be explained away by luck or coincidence. At some point, we must admit Iowa has figured out the secret to the universe, identified the glitch in the matrix, gone to a crossroad in the middle of endless corn fields and sold its soul to the devil in exchange for the ability to punt its way into a 10-win season.

Soon enough, Brian Ferentz will be gone, and the Hawkeyes will risk going from sublime to dull. Indeed, it took Iowa for us all to learn just how thin the margin between those two points can be. Perhaps the next playcaller will discover mystical offenses never before seen in Iowa City, like the RPO or tempo or the forward pass. But will he serve so perfectly as the yin to DC Phil Parker’s yang? Who is Superman without Lex Luthor?

So let us all bask in the glory of this Iowa team just a little longer. We may never see its kind again.

After all, what Iowa has given college football fans — or, perhaps, the world — in 2023 is something special: A lesson that there is more than one way to win, that joy is best found in its simplest forms and that every punt is simply another chance to believe, against all evidence and common sense, that the next drive will be better.

Rivalry Week rewind

Checking in on some other big rivalry matchups in Week 13 …

The Governor’s Cup

Louisville took a 17-7 lead early in the second half, and then the wheels came off. Kentucky returned the ensuing kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown then scored 10 points off back-to-back Louisville fumbles to take a 31-24 lead.

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Syracuse D comes up with huge 4th-and-goal stop

Wake Forest’s Jason Simmons Jr. breaks up Michael Kern’s pass attempt to get a big fourth and goal stop at the two minute mark.

Louisville then turned the ball over on downs, only to have Kentucky return the favor with a Devin Leary interception that set up a game-tying touchdown.

As it turned out, Ray Davis ensured the worst of outcomes for the No. 10 Cards. He opened the ensuing drive with a 15-yard run and capped it with a 37-yarder for a touchdown. Jack Plummer‘s final pass was picked off, and Kentucky topped Louisville for the fifth straight year — nixing the Cardinals’ slim playoff hopes.

The Territorial Cup

If we had a 12-team playoff this year, the most interesting team in the country might be Arizona. The Wildcats have won six straight after Saturday’s 59-23 thrashing of Arizona State.

Arizona’s success coincided with the emergence of QB Noah Fifita, who put on a show against the Sun Devils, throwing for 527 yards and five touchdowns in the win.

Fifita’s stat line since taking over the offense: 73% completions, 306 pass yards per game, 23 touchdowns and five picks.

The Commonwealth Cup

Virginia Tech became bowl eligible by demolishing Virginia 55-17. Kyron Drones threw for 244 yards and three touchdowns, including two to Da’Quan Felton.

On one hand, it was some comeuppance for Virginia freshman QB, Anthony Colandrea, who promised a win over the Hokies earlier in the week.

On the other hand, Virginia did get the last laugh.

Chancellor’s Spurs game

Texas Tech lamented losing this rivalry when Texas moves to the SEC. Texas was surprised to find out this was a rivalry game.

In any case, the Red Raiders may be glad Texas is leaving after the Longhorns delivered a dominant 57-7 win Friday. Arch Manning made his debut in mop-up time, completing 2-of-5 throws. Quinn Ewers threw for 196 yards and a touchdown.

Jimbo Fisher’s Nephew’s Knuckle Sandwich Trophy

We’re not sure if there’s an actual nickname for the LSU–Texas A&M rivalry, but we like to think it honors Fisher’s nephew, who picked a fight after a seven-overtime loss to the Tigers in 2018.

This time, it was just Jayden Daniels throwing haymakers. The Heisman hopeful threw for four touchdowns and totaled 355 total yards.

On the upside, Fisher’s nephew is still in line for a $12 million buyout from the A&M administration.

North Carolina–NC State rivalry

NC State opened the season 4-3, and fans were ready to move on to basketball. Instead, Dave Doeren’s Wolfpack rallied to win their final five games, finishing the regular season 9-3 after beating North Carolina 39-20 Saturday.

Brennan Armstrong, who was benched midway through the season, threw for 334 yards and three touchdowns in the win, while freshman receiver Kevin Concepcion had seven catches for 131 yards and 11 rushes for 55 more.

Afterward, Doeren cracked a small smile, then immediately chastised himself for the brash display of happiness.

Farmageddon

Abu Sama III finished with 287 yards and three touchdowns in Iowa State‘s 42-35 win in the snow.

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Tyler Batty’s hurdle attempt goes wrong on fake punt

Tyler Batty catches the pass from BYU’s punter and gives the Cougars a first down.

Rocco Becht threw for three touchdowns, Jaylin Noel had 160 yards receiving and two TDs, and Beau Freyler finished with 15 tackles for the Cyclones, too.

The good news for Kansas State fans, however, is there’s plenty of time for snow angels on Sunday.

Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate

Before the season, Georgia Tech head coach Brent Key lamented his school’s lack of competitiveness in its rivalry with Georgia.

“What pisses me off is to look at lists of the 10 or 20 best rivalries in the country,” Key said, “and, not to have [Georgia-Georgia Tech] on there, that’s bulls—. But at the present time, they’re probably right.”

Well, the Yellow Jackets didn’t win Saturday, but they did make it a competitive game, and perhaps that’s a good step back toward relevance.

Instead, it was Kendall Milton who stole the headlines, racking up 156 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries.

Under-the-radar play of the week

Oklahoma had no problem demolishing TCU 69-45 behind 436 yards and four touchdowns from Dillon Gabriel, 12 catches from Drake Stoops and 130 yards and three scores on the ground from Gavin Sawchuk. Indeed, all went splendidly after the game started.

Before kickoff though? That was a bigger issue for the Sooners, who somehow managed to flub the entrance, trampling their head coach in the process.

Given that Venables spent 10 years running down the hill at Clemson (learning from the Usain Bolt of college football in Dabo Swinney), it’s hard to fathom how he could allow this to happen.

Of course, Venables was just as frustrated, as he explained after Friday’s win.

“I was thinking, ‘You’ve got to be f’ing kidding me. This is really happening now,'” Venables said. “I was pissed. Not at anybody. Just pissed.”

In fairness though, this is also the exact response Venables gives when he orders a Coke and the server asks if Pepsi is OK.

Under-the-radar game of the week

Ollie Gordon II ran for 166 yards and five touchdowns in Oklahoma State‘s 40-34 double-OT win over BYU, which still didn’t guarantee him the best highlight of the game. That belongs to Tyler Batty, who we hope was wearing proper protection when he made this hurdle attempt.

Still, it was a huge win for the Pokes, who’ve been something of a rollercoaster all year.

A quick recap of Oklahoma State’s season:

Struggled to beat Central Arkansas and Arizona State.
Blown out by South Alabama.
Lost to Iowa State.
Reeled off five straight wins including a shocker against Oklahoma.
Blown out by UCF.
Erase a 23-9 deficit to beat Houston by 13.
Erase a 24-6 deficit to BYU to win 40-34 in double overtime to secure a berth in the Big 12 title game.

All of this ensures the Cowboys will either end Texas’ playoff hopes next week or lose by so much they’re banished to what remains of the Pac-12.

So long, Pac-12

The end came, as was foretold by the prophets (or at least Larry Scott), with Cal becoming bowl eligible, UCLA tripping over its own shoe-strings, and three-quarters of the country long since asleep.

Cal beat UCLA 33-7 to cap Week 13 and put a final bow on the Pac-12’s existence.

UCLA moves on to the Big Ten, where its offensive ineptitude will be welcomed with open arms.

Cal moves on to the ACC, where its academics and mediocrity will burnish that league’s well-established reputation.

We’d say the Golden Bears should turn off the lights on their way out, but honestly, Oregon State has to pick up the electric bill anyway, and there’s virtually no chance Cal was getting its security deposit back regardless.

Ultimately, the league’s demise recalls the words of the great poet, Brian Flanagan, in the movie “Cocktail.” Everything ends badly. Otherwise, it wouldn’t end.

Cue Sarah McLachlan’s “I Will Remember You” or Johnny Paycheck’s “Take This Job and Shove It.” Your choice.

Fin.

Bowl bound

After Eastern Michigan and Utah State locked up their sixth wins earlier in the week, Saturday’s slate kicked off with 13 bowl spots still needing to be filled, lest the nation be subject to the horrors of a transitioning FBS school like James Madison or Jacksonville State playing in a postseason game.

Syracuse locked up one of those spots with an interception on fourth-and-goal from the 3 with two minutes to play.

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Old Dominion becomes bowl-eligible after incredible comeback

Down seven and without the ball with under two minutes remaining, Old Dominion uses a safety and a TD on the final play to beat Georgia State and become bowl-eligible.

The win gets Syracuse a bowl game despite the firing of coach Dino Babers after last week’s loss to Georgia Tech. It was joined by Virginia Tech, which walloped rival Virginia, in getting to 6-6, giving the ACC 11 bowl-eligible teams.

Meanwhile, Rice finished the regular season with two more wins than JT Daniels had schools played for, getting victory No. 6 with a 24-21 decision over FAU.

It marks the first time in a decade that Rice has gotten to six wins, and we believe its postseason game will be called a poké bowl.

No one had a wilder path to bowl eligibility on Saturday than Old Dominion, which trailed Georgia State by 10 with less than two minutes to play. But ODU finished a long drive with a field goal to pull to within seven, and as Georgia State worked to run out the clock, a high snap resulted in a safety with 1:17 to go. Down by five points, ODU connected on a 43-yard completion then found the end zone as time expired four plays later. Final score: ODU 25, Georgia State 24.

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Penix can’t watch as Washington prevails on 42-yard winning FG

After Washington converts on fourth down, Michael Penix Jr. cannot bear to watch the game-winning kick, which Grady Gross nails from 42 yards.

Kudos to USF coach Alex Golesh, who has the Bulls bowl eligible after beating the sleeves off of Charlotte, 48-14. The six wins through 12 games under Golesh are more than USF had in its past 39 games under three coaches prior to his arrival.

Northern Illinois, Marshall, Louisiana and UCF also locked up bowl eligibility with easy wins on Saturday.

Cal’s victory and Colorado State’s late-night defeat mean there are exactly 79 six-win teams eligible for a bowl, and 82 spots to fill.

That means 5-7 Minnesota goes bowling, too, as will JMU and Jacksonville State, which feels like a real failure of oversight. How will those schools learn not to be really good right away in the FBS if they don’t face consequences for their actions?

And, somewhere in Indianapolis, an NCAA bureaucrat looked out his window and found JMU and Jacksonville State fans singing — and his heart grew three sizes that day.

Utah sinks Coach Prime

With Bryson Barnes (injured), Nate Johnson (in the portal) and Cam Rising (shooting “John Wick 5”) all unavailable for the regular-season finale Saturday, Utah was forced to dig a little deeper into its QB repertoire, finding walk-on Luke Bottari in between the couch cushions in Kyle Whittingham’s office.

On the other side, Colorado was without its star QB, Shedeur Sanders, turning instead to Ryan Staub to serve as tackling dummy behind the traffic cones working on the Buffs’ O-line.

The outcomes: Utah 23, Colorado 17.

It was a shocking finish to a once-promising season for Colorado with the Buffaloes losing eight of their last nine.

Prime now turns his attention to the offseason, where he’ll be cutting three-quarters of his roster, including possibly several of his own children.

They’re not in the playoff hunt, but the Flames wrapped up a 12-0 regular season with a 42-28 win over UTEP on Saturday.

Liberty QB Kaidon Salter completed just four passes for 22 yards, but the Flames ran for 441 yards on 62 carries in the win.

Afterward, Liberty coach Jamey Chadwell had a Mariachi band celebrate the perfect record.

The Not-Heisman Five

The Heisman may be a two-man race now between Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix, and only one of them has a game left to play before the trophy is awarded. But this week, we’re not interested in the best players on the field. We’re handing out our award for the best contributor to college football’s 2023 season away from the action.

1. Former Michigan staffer Connor Stalions

Every sport has its controversies, from Spygate in the NFL to the Houston Astros scandal in Major League Baseball to the fact that the Winnipeg Jets are actually just a figment of Gary Bettman’s imagination and everyone in the NHL just lets him keep pretending.

But college football doesn’t have scandals. It has performance art. And this year, no one delivered the sheer ridiculousness that fuels this sport better than Stalions.

The entire ordeal was two parts Watergate, one part murder mystery dinner theater and three parts ideas you come up with at 3 a.m., all set to the “Benny Hill” theme song. It’s impossible to unpack all the ridiculousness of this story, from his name — Connor Stalions would’ve only been funnier if he spelled it $talions, like Ke$ha — to the fact that he was ex-military to his allegedly dressing up like a Central Michigan staffer for a game.

So, Mr. Stalions, take your place among the legends of the game. This sport remains absolutely ludicrous and utterly perfect.

2. The Mississippi State ATV

Bulldogs interim coach Greg Knox led his team onto the field for the Egg Bowl riding a four-wheeler because he wanted to teach his team a life lesson. What is that life lesson? Something about adversity or opposition. Either way, it was enough to motivate former Ole Miss Rebels QB Bo Wallace to get into some Twitter beef with a local coffee shop during the game.

The important thing is, Knox provided yet another bit of circus-like flair to a rivalry that has historically been scripted like a fourth grader filling out a Mad Libs.

3. Tyler from Spartanburg

A man named Tyler called into Dabo Swinney’s radio show after Clemson started 4-4 and berated the Tigers’ coach for making a lot of money and winning too few games.

Swinney responded with an eloquent monologue, echoing the Buddha, that in fact suffering is cleansing, and it is only through our defeats that we learn to accept success, and that a man is only so rich as the friends he keeps. Either that or he ripped Tyler a new one, said he was “part of the problem,” and reminded the world that he doesn’t need anyone’s bullcrap.

Either way, it worked splendidly for the Tigers, who went on to upset Notre Dame the next week then reel off three more victories, including Saturday’s 16-7 rivalry win over South Carolina.

4. Davidson Bulldogs backup center Barclay Briggs

Not all Heisman candidates rack up dozens of highlights or dominate the opposition or, you know, play. Indeed, one of college football’s true heroes of the 2023 season is a little known backup O-lineman from a non-scholarship FCS school who gave the world an absolutely epic NFL draft announcement.

In a perfect world, this joke will escalate in a game of college football one-upsmanship just like turnover props or walk-on scholarship announcements until it reaches its obvious zenith when Arch Manning turns pro while relaxing in a hot tub with a unicorn in the back of a limo as it jumps the Grand Canyon.

5. The Texas Tech-TCU opossum

No great show is complete without an animal, and so it was with the 2023 season.

The little guy looks just like us, clinging to what’s left of college football season with all the strength we can muster.

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Stanford hires former Nike CEO Donahoe as AD

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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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August 2, 2025

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Iowa State extends Campbell, bumps pay to M

  • 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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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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