NIL
Who wins 2025 national title?
College Football Playoff format changes in 2025-26
The 12-team CFP format is a little different this season, and Dan Wolken explains the biggest change with Before The Snap.
The college football season kicks off this weekend with Week 0 games. A full slate of games is scheduled for Week 1 on Labor Day weekend.
The 12-team College Football Playoff begins with quarterfinals Dec. 31 and Jan. 1. Semifinals are Jan. 8-9, and the championship game is Jan. 19 in Miami.
Des Moines Register sports staffers took their best shot at predicting the national champion. Check back in late January to see how we did.
Travis Hines (Cyclones columnist): Ohio State — The NIL area may have opened access to national relevance across the sport, but it’s also concentrated talent in the sport’s top brands. The Buckeyes make it two in a row.
James Kramer (sports editor): Penn State — The Nittany Lions capture their first national championship in nearly four decades (1986), running the table except for an Oct. 18 stumble at Kinnick Stadium.
Chad Leistikow (Hawkeyes columnist): Clemson — Quarterback play is always crucial when deciding a national champion, and the defending ACC champs bring back one of the best in Cade Klubnik to go with a star-studded receiving corps in a very winnable ACC. Dabo Swinney’s Tigers should enjoy a top-four playoff seed on the path to becoming college football’s third straight non-SEC national champ.
Gus Martin (sports digital producer): Texas — The obvious and most likely team to win it all. With top-end talent at every level of its defense, a dynamic running back and Arch Manning, who’s been waiting for his chance to take over the sport, the Longhorns seem poised to reclaim the CFP trophy for the SEC.
Eugene Rapay (Cyclones beat reporter): Texas — History has shown that the preseason No. 1 doesn’t always go all the way. USC (2004) and Alabama (2017) were the only preseason No. 1-ranked teams to win the national title, but the Longhorns have been knocking on the door with back-to-back CFP semifinal appearances. Predicting Arch Manning to live up to the hype and help the Longhorns get over the hump, while Michael Taafe, Anthony Hill Jr. and Colin Simmons lead a tough Texas defense.
Tyler Tachman (Hawkeyes beat reporter): Georgia — Kirby Smart is the only coach to win back-to-back national titles in the College Football Playoff era. It has now been two seasons since the Bulldogs accomplished the feat. It feels like only a matter of time before Georgia climbs the mountaintop again. I trust that Smart can get it done this season.
NIL
Minnesota Football: Kerry Brown and three other Gophers to return for 2026
Safety Kerry Brown, cornerback John Nestor, and offensive linemen Greg Johnson and Nathan Roy all announced their return to Minnesota next season through the NIL collective Dinkytown Athletes on Tuesday. All four were starters this season and represent key returnees for the Gophers next season.
The announcements are part of Cub Foods’ contribution to Dinkytown Athletes.
These types of announcements have become commonplace in college football today, driven by the introduction of NIL and revenue-sharing agreements, as well as the transfer portal.
More announcements are expected in the coming days and weeks, so stay tuned.
NIL
Unexpected college football program among favorites for $2 million transfer QB
Florida quarterback DJ Lagway, a former five-star recruit and two-year starter, is now in the transfer portal after a 2025 season defined by inconsistency and organizational change in Gainesville.
In 2025, Lagway completed 213 of 337 passes (63.2%) for 2,264 yards, 16 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions, while adding 136 rushing yards and a rushing score.
However, the turnovers and a string of uneven performances contributed to a 4–8 season (2-6 SEC) for Florida and intensified scrutiny on the program’s direction.
Florida dismissed fourth-year head coach Billy Napier on October 19 following a 3–4 start and later hired Tulane’s Jon Sumrall to lead the program forward, a change that has prompted several top players to explore fresh starts.
Several Power Five programs have emerged as early fits for Lagway, with Baylor, LSU, and Miami frequently mentioned by national outlets.
Recently, On3’s Pete Nakos singled out Baylor, noting that home-state proximity and family ties to Waco could make the Bears an appealing landing spot.

A five-star dual-threat quarterback from Willis, Texas, Lagway entered college as one of the top prospects in the 2024 class, ranking as 247Sports’ No. 1 quarterback before signing with Florida in December 2022.
Lagway threw for 4,605 yards and 59 touchdowns as a senior, adding 953 rushing yards and 16 scores on the ground to earn Gatorade National Player of the Year honors.
He drew more than 30 offers from several Power Five programs, including Baylor, Alabama, Georgia, LSU, and Clemson, before committing to the Gators.
From a marketplace standpoint, Lagway arrives in January’s portal with considerable commercial value.
On3’s NIL tracker lists Lagway with an estimated valuation near $2.0 million, and the quarterback already has multiple reported brand partnerships, including Hollister, Red Bull, and Mercedes-Benz of Gainesville.
For Baylor, Lagway would offer a marketable, high-upside option who can start right away, with 2025 starter Sawyer Robertson expected to enter the 2026 NFL Draft.
Read More at College Football HQ
- Major college football team reportedly does not have ‘any interest’ in $2.4 million QB
- No. 1 college football team predicted to sign $2.1 million transfer QB
- Major college football program loses 15 players to transfer portal
- College Football Playoff team has ‘significant interest’ in 4,000-yard QB
NIL
$2.4 million transfer QB reportedly down to three college football programs
Bevies of college football players have made the decision to enter the NCAA transfer portal in the 2026 offseason.
In the weeks leading up to the portal’s opening, quarterbacks have dominated the headlines surrounding the entrants in the 2026 offseason. DJ Lagway, Brendan Sorsby, Dylan Raiola and Josh Hoover are among the most recent entries into the portal at quarterback.
The first well-known entry into the portal at quarterback was Sam Leavitt of Arizona State. Leavitt is entering the portal with two seasons of eligibility left.
The next school Leavitt transfers to will be his third in his college football journey. The 6-foot-3, 225-pounder began his collegiate career at Michigan State for his redshirt freshman season in 2023.
He has passed for 4,652 yards, 36 touchdowns and 11 interceptions while rushing for 810 yards and 10 touchdowns in three seasons. He earned Second Team All-Big 12 distinction and Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year in 2024.
While the portal has not officially opened, three schools have begun to separate themselves in the race for Sam Leavitt. Below is a look at the three schools that appear to be the final choices for Leavitt in the coming weeks.
LSU

Only two of the four quarterbacks to start for Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss were recruited by the Rebels out of high school. Both Jaxson Dart (USC) and Trinidad Chambliss (Ferris State) arrived in Oxford via the transfer portal.
LSU also has a strong track record with quarterbacks transferring in over the last decade, as both Joe Burrow and Jayden Daniels won Heisman Trophies two years after transferring in. As it relates to Leavitt, Daniels came to Baton Rouge by way of Arizona State in the 2022 offseason.
Oregon
Oregon has established itself as a destination for quarterbacks out of the transfer portal. Anthony Brown (Boston College), Bo Nix (Auburn), Dillon Gabriel (Oklahoma), and Dante Moore (UCLA) have all transferred to the Ducks and have each won 10 or more games in each season.
Adding to Leavitt’s interest in Oregon is its proximity to his hometown. He is from West Linn, Oregon, a suburb located just south of Portland.
Indiana

Indiana is the final school Leavitt is eyeing. The transfer portal has been crucial to Indiana fielding successful quarterbacks under Curt Cignetti.
The Hoosiers grabbed Kurtis Rourke from Ohio in the 2024 offseason and immediately went to a College Football Playoff the following season. California transfer Fernando Mendoza immediately won a Big Ten Championship and a Heisman Trophy and clinched the No. 1 seed in the 2025 College Football Playoff.
NIL
Missouri DE Damon Wilson II countersues Georgia, setting up a potentially major NIL legal battle
A messy player-school NIL dispute just got messier.
Less than a month after Georgia sued Damon Wilson II for transfer damages, Missouri’s star pass rusher filed a countersuit against Georgia, setting up a potentially precedent-setting NIL legal battle between an athlete and school.
“Recent court decisions have changed the landscape of college football and paved the way for NIL payments,” Bogdan Susan, one of Wilson’s attorneys, told PowerMizzou.com. “What has not changed is that college football players still have only four years of competition to realize their potential and try to achieve their dreams of playing in the NFL. A lot of trust is put into the colleges and coaching staffs. Coaches are not limited to four years of competition. The University of Georgia has been playing football for over 133 years. Damon has four years to play and he spent half of that time at Georgia. Decisions to transfer are not always about money. Stopping a young man from pursuing his dreams by forcing him to pay money that he has not received is just wrong.”
Wilson filed a 42-page complaint in Boone County, Mo. on Tuesday morning, an action first reported by The Athletic, alleging a civil conspiracy involving Georgia and its collective for trying to “penalize Wilson for his decision to transfer.” The defendants named in the suit are the University of Georgia Athletic Association, the Classic City Collective and former Classic City CEO’s Matt Hibbs and Taylor Potts.
The suit alleges Georgia didn’t immediately put Wilson’s name in the transfer portal last January and also lied about his buyout, telling multiple unnamed Power 4 programs that they’d owe Georgia $1.2 million if Wilson transferred to their school.
“UGAA’s actions signal that it is stuck in its old ways. The era of universities exerting total control over the career trajectories and rights of their student-athletes has been dead for nearly half a decade. Nonetheless, UGAA has demonstrated that, left to its own devices, it will attempt to exploit every loophole to deprive student-athletes like Wilson of the ability to reap the benefits of full and fair competition for their NIL rights. 23. No longer willing to endure UGAA’s harassment campaign and ready to hold UGAA and CCC accountable for their tortious interference with his business expectations when he entered the portal and chose to transfer, their breach of the Term Sheet’s Confidentiality Agreement, and UGAA’s efforts to tarnish his reputation as he pursues his lifelong dream of playing in the NFL, Wilson brings this action.”
Wilson’s claim hinges largely on the document signed by the player, the Classic City Collective and Hibbs and Potts. The involved parties signed a term sheet. Wilson’s suit claims the term sheet is not binding.
“The Term Sheet stated that it ‘preced[es]’ a ‘full License and Option Agreement,’ and specifically provided: ‘In the event the parties agree to this Term Sheet, then they shall work cooperatively to set forth these terms in a full legal contract including all the standard provisions of NIL licensing agreements.’ The Term Sheet further stated that Wilson ‘should seek legal counsel before finalizing the full License and Option Agreement.'”
The suit claims that Wilson, as part of a group of Georgia players, “without counsel present and with UGAA employees telling him that time was of the essence.” The suit alleges not only that Wilson signed the term sheet under pressure, but that the full binding contract was never presented, much less signed.
“The parties thus never executed a legally binding agreement containing any of the provisions in the Term Sheet,” the suit states.
The suit further claims that UGAA and the Classic City Collective violated the term sheet’s confidentiality agreement “by disclosing one or more of the Term Sheet’s provisions to sympathetic news outlets and affiliates to tarnish Wilson’s reputation.”
This is believed to be the first time a school and an athlete have taken each other to court over an NIL issue. The resolution could depend on whether or not Wilson’s NIL agreement with Georgia’s collective was a binding contract.
The UGAA lawsuit against Wilson recently filed seeks liquidated damages of $390,000. Wilson’s countersuit claims those funds are not liquidated damages, but instead penalties for transferring from Georgia.
“A penalty provision masquerading as a “liquidated damages” provision is unenforceable,” the filing reads. “It makes no effort to reasonably quantify damages that are difficult to ascertain, and it serves only to penalize Wilson for his decision to enter the transfer portal.”
Wilson’s suit also alleges defamation against UGAA, referencing a statement from Chief Marketing Officer Steven Drummond made to ESPN: “When the University of Georgia Athletic Association enters binding agreements with student-athletes, we honor our commitments and expect student-athletes to do the same.”
The suit clams “UGAA’s statement implies that Wilson is dishonest in his business dealings and his profession, impairing his ability to enter into future NIL agreements, and harms his reputation.”
Wilson was one of the top edge defenders in the SEC in 2025, recording 9 sacks, tied for third-most in the SEC, and 49 total pressures, second-most in the SEC. He is currently expected to play for Missouri in the Taxslayer Gator Bowl on Saturday. He has not declared his intent for next season. He has until January 14 to enter his name into the NFL Draft as an underclassman.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
Cody Goodwin covers the Missouri Tigers for PowerMizzou and 247Sports. Follow him on Twitter/X at @codygoodwin.
PowerMizzou.com publisher Gabe DeArmond contributed to this report.
NIL
Georgia, Ex-Football Player Suing Each Other in NIL Dispute
NIL
Georgia football: Missouri LB Damon Wilson II sues Bulldogs
Missouri linebacker Damon Wilson II is suing the University of Georgia’s athletic association and its Classic City Collective, which he says is attempting to “punish” him through a “coordinated campaign” for his decision to transfer. Earlier this month, Georgia sought $390,000 in damages citing a clause in Wilson’s NIL contract after his departure to another SEC program.
The lawsuit initiated what appears to be a landmark case in college football, which now includes the plaintiff fighting back with his own legal documents. Highlighting a 42-page complaint filed Dec. 23 in Boone County, Missouri, Wilson’s attorneys claim Georgia tried to sabotage their client’s potential destinations after employees “falsely” told “at least three programs that — if Wilson left Georgia and joined their programs — Wilson would be subject to a $1.2 million buyout.”
The complaint claims Georgia “continued to assert similar demands in an effort to harass Wilson and impair his on-field performance for a conference rival” throughout the 2025 regular season.
Wilson signed a new deal with Georgia’s NIL collective in December 2024 during the College Football Playoff, but entered the transfer portal and moved to Missouri weeks later. While documents show Georgia paid Wilson $30,000 under the terms of the new deal before his departure, the athletic department states Wilson owed a $390,000 lump sum within 30 days of his exit.
The contract was a 14-month agreement worth $500,000, which was set to be paid in monthly $30,000 increments. Georgia would have also paid Wilson two $40,000 retention bonuses at the end of the NCAA transfer portal windows. The exit clause states that Wilson would owe a lump-sum payment worth the total he would have received if he remained with the program through the duration of the contract.
“The era of universities exerting total control over the career trajectories and rights of their student-athletes has been dead for nearly half a decade,” Wilson’s complaint said. “Nonetheless, UGAA has demonstrated that, left to its own devices, it will attempt to exploit every loophole to deprive student-athletes like Wilson of the ability to reap the benefits of full and fair competition for their NIL rights.”
The previous term sheet signed by Wilson, his representation argues, was not a “legally binding document” as Georgia states.
“CCC failed even to present Wilson what it promised in the Term Sheet — a “full License and Option Agreement,” the lawsuit said. “The parties thus never executed a legally binding agreement containing any of the provisions in the Term Sheet.”
Wilson appeared in 26 games at Georgia from during the 2023 and 2024 seasons and projected to be an impact starter prior to his decision to leave the program.
Georgia’s NIL collective’s two now-former CEOs — Matt Hibbs and Tanner Potts — were named in the lawsuit. Wilson seeks a “fair and reasonable amount of damages” for “financial and reputational harm he has suffered” in the aftermath of playing at Missouri this season.
-
Motorsports2 weeks agoSoundGear Named Entitlement Sponsor of Spears CARS Tour Southwest Opener
-
Rec Sports3 weeks agoBlack Bear Revises Recording Policies After Rulebook Language Surfaces via Lever
-
Motorsports2 weeks agoDonny Schatz finds new home for 2026, inks full-time deal with CJB Motorsports – InForum
-
Rec Sports3 weeks agoHow Donald Trump became FIFA’s ‘soccer president’ long before World Cup draw
-
Rec Sports2 weeks agoDavid Blitzer, Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment
-
Motorsports2 weeks agoJR Motorsports Confirms Death Of NASCAR Veteran Michael Annett At Age 39
-
Sports2 weeks ago
Elliot and Thuotte Highlight Men’s Indoor Track and Field Season Opener
-
Motorsports2 weeks agoRick Ware Racing switching to Chevrolet for 2026
-
Sports2 weeks ago
West Fargo volleyball coach Kelsey Titus resigns after four seasons – InForum
-
Sports2 weeks ago#11 Volleyball Practices, Then Meets Media Prior to #2 Kentucky Match





