Derek Voss
Play-by-Play
Play-by-Play
·
Renee Castellan
Analyst
Analyst
SEGMENT 01
Conference Champions
SEC
Alabama over Texas A&M
19-7.
Big 12
Texas Tech over Kansas St.
42-31 — the same Texas Tech team that would go on to reach the national title game.
Big Ten
Penn State over Ohio St.
50-26.
ACC
Miami over Clemson
34-32.
American
Navy over Tulane
42-23.
SEGMENT 02
The Bracket That Crowned Notre Dame
Voss
Play-by-Play
Welcome to the very first National Desk recap on record, Renee. Notre Dame closes it out 34-31 over Texas Tech for the national championship. Walk me through how they got there.
Castellan
Analyst
All four byes made the final four, which tells you how chalky this first field actually was. No. 11 Indiana knocked out No. 6 Alabama 49-38 in the first round, the No. 4 seed Miami handled No. 12 Wisconsin in the Orange Bowl, and the No. 2 seed Notre Dame needed a semifinal win over the No. 3 seed Penn State, 52-28, before finishing off top-seeded Texas Tech in the title game. Texas Tech, the No. 1 overall seed, beat No. 9 Oklahoma 39-33 in the Sugar Bowl and then Miami 35-23 in the Fiesta Bowl semifinal just to get to that final.
ON SCREEN: NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP — NOTRE DAME 34, TEXAS TECH 31
College Football Playoff2025 CFP Field
12-Team Field
Round 1
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Championship
#2 Notre Dame
#10 Texas41
#7 Clemson21
Winner's next class: Unranked (Clemson: No. 10)
#3 Penn St.
#11 Indiana49
#6 Alabama38
Winner's next class: No. 24 (Alabama: No. 6)
#1 Texas Tech
#9 Oklahoma46
#8 Texas A&M39
Winner's next class: No. 2 (A&M: unranked)
#4 Miami
#12 Wisconsin28
#5 Navy21
Winner's next class: No. 18 (Navy: unranked)
Cotton Bowl
#2 Notre Dame27
#10 Texas23
Winner's next class: No. 1
Rose Bowl
#3 Penn St.31
#11 Indiana28
Winner's next class: No. 21
Sugar Bowl
#1 Texas Tech39
#9 Oklahoma33
Winner's next class: No. 3
Orange Bowl
#4 Miami35
#12 Wisconsin28
Winner's next class: No. 23
Peach Bowl
#2 Notre Dame52
#3 Penn St.28
Fiesta Bowl
#1 Texas Tech35
#4 Miami23
National Championship
#2 Notre Dame34
#1 Texas Tech31
Winner's next class: No. 1
#CFP Seed
★Bye, Top-4 Seed
WGame Winner
Notre Dame won the national title and turned around to sign the No. 1 recruiting class in the country that same cycle — the cleanest possible confirmation that winning it all is worth exactly what recruiting departments always claim it's worth. Texas Tech, the runner-up, landed at No. 3. But look at the four Round 1 upsets more closely: in two of them, the team that actually lost the football game (Clemson, No. 10; Alabama, No. 6) carried a better recruiting class into the next cycle than the team that beat them (Texas, unranked; Indiana, No. 24). Winning the game and winning the recruiting battle that follows it are not the same contest, and for half of this bracket's first round, they went to different teams entirely.
SEGMENT 03
The Full Bowl Slate
Gold note: winner's record going into their next recruiting cycle, where tracked.
| Bowl | Winner | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Bowl | New Mexico St. | San Jose St. | 28-21 |
| StaffDNA Cure Bowl | Virginia Tech | Cincinnati | 36-22 |
| 68 Ventures Bowl | Georgia St. | Ball St. | 27-17 |
| Myrtle Beach Bowl | Toledo | Sam Houston St. | 31-24 |
| Gasparilla Bowl | USC | Colorado | 44-41 |
| Famous Idaho Potato Bowl | Memphis | Purdue | 40-27 |
| New Orleans Bowl | James Madison | Liberty | 35-33 |
| Guaranteed Rate Bowl | Florida St. | Arizona St. | 34-28 |
| GameAbove Sports Bowl | Utah St. | Old Dominion | 34-7 |
| Hawai'i Bowl | Jacksonville St. | Syracuse | 21-14 |
| Pop-Tarts Bowl | Kansas St. | Ole Miss | 28-26 |
| Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl | Western Michigan | New Mexico | 42-35 OT |
| Gator Bowl | Arizona | North Carolina | 29-26 |
| New Mexico Bowl | Southern Miss | Hawai'i | 24-14 |
| Birmingham Bowl | Tulane | Michigan St. | 49-23 |
| Independence Bowl | Iowa St. | Western Kentucky | 49-16 |
| Music City Bowl | Georgia Tech | Illinois | 24-6 |
| Alamo Bowl | LSU | Kansas | 42-7 |
| ReliaQuest Bowl | Iowa | SMU | 31-28 |
| Sun Bowl | California | Central Michigan | 29-17 |
| Cheez-It Citrus Bowl | Vanderbilt | Ohio St. | 30-22 |
| Las Vegas Bowl | Oregon | West Virginia | 36-15 |
| Armed Forces Bowl | Baylor | Louisiana Tech | 35-17 |
| Holiday Bowl | San Diego St. | USF | 17-12 |
| Liberty Bowl | Utah | Michigan | 34-21 |
| Dukes Mayo Bowl | NC State | North Texas | 27-21 |
Two results stand out against the rest of this list. USC's Gasparilla Bowl win (44–41 over Colorado) is one of the higher-scoring finishes on this board. And LSU's Alamo Bowl blowout (42–7 over Kansas) is the most lopsided result among this year's ranked-team bowl trips.
SEGMENT 04
National Awards: The Full Board
| Award | Winner | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Heisman Trophy | Fernando Mendoza, QB | Indiana |
| Maxwell Award | Behren Morton, QB | Texas Tech |
| Davey O'Brien Award | Behren Morton, QB | Texas Tech |
| Doak Walker Award | Jeremiyah Love, HB | Notre Dame |
| Fred Biletnikoff Award | Elijah Sarratt, WR | Indiana |
| John Mackey Award | Terrance Carter Jr., TE | Texas Tech |
| Chuck Bednarik Award | Stanquan Clark, OLB | Louisville |
| Dick Butkus Award | Dion Crawford, OLB | Buffalo |
| Jim Thorpe Award | Zechariah Poyser, FS | Miami |
| Lombardi Award | Cole Brevard, DT | Texas |
| Outland Trophy | Brady Small, C | Army |
| Rimington Trophy | Brady Small, C | Army |
| Lou Groza Award | Bert Auburn, K | Miami |
| Ray Guy Award | Mitch McCarthy, P | Indiana |
| Hornung Trophy | Bryant Wescos Jr., WR | Clemson |
| Best HC Award | Mike Uremovich (9-4) | Ball St. |
Voss
Play-by-Play
Mendoza wins the Heisman without reaching the national title game — Indiana lost in the Round 2 Rose Bowl to Penn State. And that Best HC Award result is one to note: Mike Uremovich goes 9-4 at Ball State, a program that didn't sniff the championship bracket, and still takes the sport's top coaching honor.
Castellan
Analyst
And the quietest storyline on the whole board: Army's Brady Small becomes a two-award lineman, sweeping the Outland and the Rimington in the same season — the country's best center and its best offensive lineman are the same person, on a program that finished the year unranked.
Voss
Play-by-Play
Texas Tech also walks away with three trophies without lifting the actual title — Morton takes Maxwell and Davey O'Brien, Carter takes the Mackey. A runner-up finish with that much individual hardware is rare.
SEGMENT 05
National Statistical Leaders
| Category | Player | Team | Stats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passing Yards | Behren Morton | Texas Tech | 3,965 yds |
| Passing TDs | Behren Morton | Texas Tech | 48 TD |
| Rushing Yards | Maurice Turner | Tulane | 1,767 yds |
| Rushing TDs | Jeremiyah Love | Notre Dame | 18 TD |
| Receiving Yards | Raphael Williams Jr. | Pittsburgh | 1,380 yds |
| Tackles | Jaylen Wester | Western Kentucky | 131 tkls |
| Sacks | Pierce Oppong | Northern Illinois | 15 sks |
SEGMENT 06
The Coaching Carousel Starts Spinning
Castellan
Analyst
Six programs made coaching changes this offseason, and this is where the carousel we've been tracking ever since actually starts: Arkansas moves on from Sam Pittman for Jake Spavital, Florida swaps Billy Napier for Dana Dimel, Maryland brings in Andy Kotelnicki, Oklahoma State hires Ryan Walters, UAB goes with Tom Stepsis, and Virginia turns to Adam Fuller. All six take over for the 2026 season.
Voss
Play-by-Play
Six new coaches, six programs betting on a turnaround. We'll be tracking every one of them from here.
SEGMENT 07
National Recruiting: The 2026 Cycle
Voss
Play-by-Play
While the bowl games were wrapping up, the 2026 recruiting cycle closed out too. Notre Dame — fresh off the national title — landed the No. 1 class in the country.
Castellan
Analyst
And it's a transfer-heavy haul that did it: their top recruit is Zayden Walker, a 5-star linebacker transfer in from Georgia. Champions reloading through the portal instead of high school recruiting alone is becoming the norm.
Top 5 HS Recruits, 2026 Cycle
| Rank | Name | School | Position | Height | Weight | State |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Deavin Cheney | LSU | ATH (OLB) | 6'2 | 216 | FL |
| 2 | Derek Moore | Notre Dame | TE | 6'3 | 235 | AL |
| 3 | Tanner Ridgeway | Penn St. | OLB | 6'3 | 217 | NJ |
| 4 | Khalil Davis | LSU | LE | 6'6 | 259 | TX |
| 5 | Charles Davidovicz | Air Force | CB | 5'11 | 168 | CA |
Top 10 Transfers, 2026 Cycle
| Rank | Name | School | Prev Team | Position - Class | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jordan Hall | Oklahoma | Georgia | DT - SR | NFL |
| 2 | Jamal Anderson | UNC | Clemson | OLB - JR (RS) | NFL |
| 3 | Stephiylan Green | Clemson | Clemson | DT - JR (RS) | NFL |
| 4 | A.J. Turner | UCF | Minnesota | HB - SR (RS) | NFL |
| 5 | Boo Carter | Tennessee | Tennessee | CB - JR | NFL |
| 6 | Joenel Aguero | Purdue | Purdue | FS - JR (RS) | NFL |
| 7 | Zayden Walker | Notre Dame | Georgia | OLB - SO | NFL |
| 8 | Justin Williams | Oklahoma St. | Georgia | MLB - JR | NFL |
| 9 | Terrance Green | Texas Tech | Oregon | DT - JR (RS) | NFL |
| 10 | Barion Brown | ECU | LSU | WR - SR (RS) | NFL |
Top 25 Recruiting Class Rankings, 2026 Cycle
| Rank | School | Signings | Avg | 5★ | 4★ | 3★ | Top Recruit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Notre Dame | 29 | 92.77 | 4 | 10 | 13 | Zayden Walker (Transfer) |
| 2 | Oklahoma | 29 | 90.03 | 3 | 7 | 12 | Aidan Gousby (Transfer) |
| 3 | Texas Tech | 29 | 89.35 | 3 | 6 | 10 | Terrance Green (Transfer) |
| 4 | South Carolina | 27 | 90.57 | 2 | 8 | 10 | Ben Daniels (HS) |
| 5 | Michigan | 28 | 90.62 | 1 | 8 | 15 | Elijah Daniels (HS) |
| 6 | Alabama | 27 | 89.18 | 2 | 7 | 8 | D.J. Taylor (HS) |
| 7 | LSU | 26 | 91.08 | 1 | 8 | 11 | Marvin Holliday (HS) |
| 8 | UNC | 29 | 87.45 | 3 | 4 | 9 | Jamal Anderson (Transfer) |
| 9 | Mississippi St. | 30 | 89.72 | 1 | 6 | 18 | Marvin Peters (HS) |
| 10 | Clemson | 29 | 89.54 | 0 | 9 | 10 | Stephiylan Green (Transfer) |
| 11 | Iowa St. | 28 | 89.93 | 1 | 6 | 14 | Jaray Rask (HS) |
| 12 | Ohio St. | 30 | 89.25 | 0 | 8 | 13 | Javan Robinson (Transfer) |
| 13 | Vanderbilt | 29 | 90.75 | 0 | 8 | 13 | Jamarion Wilcox (Transfer) |
| 14 | Florida St. | 29 | 87.36 | 2 | 5 | 9 | Derek Johnson (HS) |
| 15 | California | 28 | 86.96 | 2 | 5 | 9 | Myles Finley (Transfer) |
| 16 | NC State | 29 | 87.77 | 2 | 4 | 11 | Tyreke Hiestand (HS) |
| 17 | Ole Miss | 29 | 88.59 | 0 | 7 | 12 | Tony Mitchell (Transfer) |
| 18 | Wisconsin | 29 | 87.32 | 1 | 7 | 6 | Rasheed Penniston (HS) |
| 19 | Georgia | 29 | 88.01 | 1 | 7 | 6 | Sam Williams (HS) |
| 20 | UCF | 27 | 88.46 | 1 | 7 | 5 | A.J. Turner (Transfer) |
| 21 | Penn St. | 28 | 90.2 | 1 | 4 | 14 | Mike Guidry (HS) |
| 22 | Oregon | 30 | 88.39 | 2 | 2 | 12 | Ali Tofilau (HS) |
| 23 | Miami | 28 | 90.15 | 1 | 3 | 15 | Willie Taylor (HS) |
| 24 | Indiana | 30 | 87.68 | 1 | 4 | 10 | Allen Hekking (HS) |
| 25 | Michigan St. | 30 | 86.45 | 1 | 3 | 12 | Chase Odaniel (HS) |
SEGMENT 08
What To Watch
Voss
Play-by-Play
Notre Dame enters 2026 as the reigning champion. Does that carry? And with six new head coaches starting fresh, who's the first one to make real noise?
Castellan
Analyst
One season in the books. A lot more to come.
Next Read
2026 Season Recap