National Desk: 2026 Season Recap

Derek Voss
Play-by-Play

Renee Castellan
Analyst

SEGMENT 01

Conference Champions

SEC

Georgia (13-0) over Texas (12-1), 41-34

Big 12

Texas Tech (12-1) over Cincinnati (9-4), 35-23

ACC

Miami (11-2) over Pittsburgh (10-3), 44-42 OT

Big Ten

Michigan (11-2) over Michigan St. (11-2), 26-24 OT

American

Tulane (10-3) over Southern (8-5), 38-31

Mountain West

UNLV (11-2) over Nevada (8-5), 23-7

Sun Belt

Appalachian St. (9-4) over Georgia Southern (8-5), 48-31

CUSA

Jacksonville St. (9-4) over Delaware (8-5), 31-24

PAC-12

Colorado St. (9-4) over Oregon St. (5-8), 21-17

MAC

UMass (8-5) over Buffalo (6-7), 35-27

Two overtime championship games this year (ACC, Big Ten), and Georgia's SEC title-game win over Texas is the only meeting between these two CFP finalists before the championship itself — Texas got the rematch, and the result flipped completely.

SEGMENT 02

The Bracket That Ended In A Blowout

Voss

Play-by-Play

54-14, Renee. After a bracket full of tight finishes, the national championship game itself wasn't one of them. Walk me through how Texas and Georgia both got there.

Castellan

Analyst

Georgia entered unbeaten at 13-0 and the CFP's No. 1 overall seed, and their path there was a survival act — a 37-35 semifinal escape over No. 12 Alabama in the Fiesta Bowl after Alabama had just knocked off No. 4 seed Michigan 31-28 in the Orange Bowl. The No. 2 seed Texas's road ran through No. 11 Clemson, 27-24 in the Peach Bowl semifinal, after Clemson had upset No. 3 seed Texas Tech 48-34 in the Rose Bowl. Two semifinal classics setting up a title game that wasn't close at all.

ON SCREEN: NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP — TEXAS 54, GEORGIA 14

Voss

Play-by-Play

And Georgia's only loss of the entire season came in that one game, at the worst possible time.

College Football Playoff2026 CFP Field

12-Team Field

Round 1

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Championship

#2 Texas

#10 Notre Dame44

#7 Pittsburgh37

Winner's next class: No. 7

#3 Texas Tech

#11 Clemson51

#6 Miami31

Winner's next class: No. 13

#1 Georgia

#9 LSU52

#8 UNLV14

Winner's next class: No. 11

#4 Michigan

#12 Alabama35

#5 Michigan St.21

Winner's next class: No. 23

Cotton Bowl

#2 Texas39

#10 Notre Dame34

Winner's next class: No. 16

Rose Bowl

#11 Clemson48

Texas Tech34

Winner's next class: No. 13

Sugar Bowl

#1 Georgia38

#9 LSU35

Winner's next class: No. 5

Orange Bowl

#12 Alabama31

Michigan28

Winner's next class: No. 23

Peach Bowl

#2 Texas27

#11 Clemson24

Winner's next class: No. 16

Fiesta Bowl

#1 Georgia37

#12 Alabama35

Winner's next class: No. 5

National Championship

#2 Texas54

#1 Georgia14

Winner's next class: No. 16

#CFP Seed ★Bye, Top-4 Seed WGame Winner

A completely different pattern from the year before: Texas won the national title and only signed the No. 16 class the following cycle — a real, measurable step down for a defending champion, not a reload. Georgia, the runner-up, jumped from No. 19 the previous cycle to No. 5 — a 14-spot climb for a team that didn't actually win it all. And Pittsburgh, bounced in Round 1, still landed a No. 3 class nationally the following cycle — proof a first-round playoff exit doesn't automatically sink a program's recruiting trajectory either.

SEGMENT 03

The Full Bowl Slate

Bowl	Winner	Opponent	Score
Los Angeles Bowl	Arizona (8-5)	Nevada (8-6)	24-20
StaffDNA Cure Bowl	Duke (7-6)	Arkansas St. (7-6)	45-28
68 Ventures Bowl	Georgia St. (9-4)	San Diego St. (7-6)	42-35
Myrtle Beach Bowl	Kennesaw St. (8-5)	Western Michigan (7-6)	24-16
Gasparilla Bowl	Tennessee (7-6)	Southern (8-6)	44-31
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl	Florida (7-6)	New Mexico St. (7-6)	31-28
New Orleans Bowl	Appalachian St. (10-4)	Delaware (8-6)	46-43
Guaranteed Rate Bowl	Iowa (7-5)	Colorado (7-5)	48-7
GameAbove Sports Bowl	Charlotte (7-6)	Marshall (7-6)	59-42
Hawai'i Bowl	California (7-6)	Kansas St. (6-7)	45-21
Pop-Tarts Bowl	Ole Miss (10-3)	Cincinnati (9-5)	52-10
Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl	UMass (9-5)	Northern Illinois (7-6)	38-21
Gator Bowl	South Carolina (8-5)	Baylor (8-5)	31-13
New Mexico Bowl	Georgia Southern (9-5)	Fresno St. (7-6)	28-21
Birmingham Bowl	UCF (8-5)	Tulane (10-4)	31-28
Independence Bowl	Jacksonville St. (10-4)	UNC (7-6)	34-14
Music City Bowl	Ohio St. (8-5)	Stanford (7-6)	49-21
Alamo Bowl	Iowa St. (10-3)	Boise St. (9-4)	28-21
ReliaQuest Bowl	Texas A&M (9-4)	Wisconsin (8-5)	34-10
Sun Bowl	Virginia (8-5)	Houston (7-6)	27-21 OT
Cheez-It Citrus Bowl	Florida St. (10-3)	Washington (9-4)	38-35
Las Vegas Bowl	UCLA (8-5)	Auburn (7-6)	21-17
Armed Forces Bowl	Florida Atlantic (8-5)	Utah (6-7)	35-28
Holiday Bowl	Nebraska (10-3)	Colorado St. (9-5)	42-39
Liberty Bowl	Arizona St. (9-4)	Oregon (9-4)	41-37
Dukes Mayo Bowl	Boston College (8-5)	ECU (8-5)	31-21

Iowa State's Alamo Bowl win capped a nine-game winning stretch, by the numbers the most sustained run this desk has tracked all season. Virginia's Sun Bowl title was the signature result of Adam Fuller's debut year, the best first season of any 2025 hire. And Southern's Gasparilla Bowl loss to Tennessee was the program's first bowl trip on record — the same bowl USC had won over Colorado the year before.

SEGMENT 04

National Awards: The Full Board

Award	Winner	Team
Heisman Trophy	Arch Manning, QB	Texas
Maxwell Award	Arch Manning, QB	Texas
Davey O'Brien Award	Arch Manning, QB	Texas
Doak Walker Award	Jordan Molinich, HB	Southern
Fred Biletnikoff Award	Joshisa Trader, WR	Miami
John Mackey Award	Jack Endries, TE	Texas
Outland Trophy	Trey Akana, LT	Air Force
Rimington Trophy	Zo'Maryon Bryan, C	Texas A&M
Lombardi Award	Tunmise Adeleye, DE	Kansas St.
Chuck Bednarik Award	Maddox Marcellus, OLB	Virginia
Dick Butkus Award	Maddox Marcellus, OLB	Virginia
Jim Thorpe Award	Marcus Ramon-Edwards, SS	Texas Tech
Lou Groza Award	Peyton Woodring, K	Georgia
Ray Guy Award	Dylan Lenners, P	Texas
Hornung Trophy	Omari Hayes, WR	Tulane
Best HC Award	Joey McGuire (12-1)	Texas Tech

Castellan

Analyst

Manning sweeping Heisman, Maxwell, and Davey O'Brien is about as clean as an award season gets for one player. And a name worth flagging for anyone following the local broadcast: Jordan Molinich winning the Doak Walker as a true freshman, on a Southern team that didn't come anywhere near this bracket.

Voss

Play-by-Play

And Maddox Marcellus sweeping the Bednarik and the Butkus, on a Virginia team that didn't make this field either, is as complete a defensive season as this board has shown yet. Individual dominance and team success keep splitting apart at the top of this board.

Castellan

Analyst

The number that jumps out, though, is Texas walking away with five of these sixteen trophies in a championship season — Manning's three, plus Jack Endries at Mackey and Dylan Lenners at Ray Guy. And Joey McGuire's Texas Tech picks up a second straight year of hardware even without a title, Best HC on top of Marcus Ramon-Edwards's Thorpe Award.

SEGMENT 05

National Statistical Leaders

Regular-season leaderboard, the snapshot used for end-of-year awards voting before bowl season. Molinich's full-season total, bowl included, is higher — see the local broadcast's full recap for that number.

Category	Player	Team	Stats
Passing Yards	Dermaricus Davis	San Jose St.	3,897 yds
Passing TDs	Julian Lewis	Colorado	41 TD
Rushing Yards	Jordan Molinich	Southern	2,127 yds
Rushing TDs	Jordan Molinich	Southern	20 TD
Receiving Yards	Joshisa Trader	Miami	1,400 yds
Receiving TDs	Yamir Knight	SMU	17 TD
Tackles	Maddox Marcellus	Virginia	134 tkls
Sacks	Maddox Marcellus	Virginia	15 sks
Interceptions	Chance Barron	New Mexico St.	8 ints

Voss

Play-by-Play

Molinich leads the entire country in both rushing categories as a true freshman — the production that eventually became the Doak Walker case. And Marcellus doubling up on tackles and sacks is a rare two-way dominance stat line.

SEGMENT 06

The Coaching Carousel

Castellan

Analyst

Three jobs changed hands this cycle, all set up to debut in 2027: Oklahoma moves on from Brent Venables for Will Stein, promoted up from Oregon's offensive coordinator role. USC parts ways with Lincoln Riley for Jesse Minter, coming over from the Chargers' defensive staff. And Kentucky replaces Mark Stoops with Bob Surace out of Princeton.

Voss

Play-by-Play

Three job openings at three very different tiers of the sport — a blue blood in Oklahoma, a resurgent power in USC, and a rebuild in Kentucky. All three of those hires get their first test in 2027.

SEGMENT 07

What To Watch

Voss

Play-by-Play

Texas is the reigning champion heading into 2027, and Arch Manning's decorated season means he's exhausted a huge chunk of his eligibility clock already. What's the one thing carrying into next year for you?

Castellan

Analyst

Whether Georgia's response to a 40-point championship loss is a step forward or a step back — that's historically a real fork in the road for a program. And keep an eye on Southern's Molinich: a Doak Walker season as a true freshman on a team that lost its bowl game is an unusual data point, and how the national conversation treats him going into year two is worth tracking.

Next Read

2027 Season Recap