Jack Sawyer #33 of Ohio State scores a touchdown after recovering a fumble in the fourth quarter against Texas during the Goodyear Cotton Bowl. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
NIL
Bluebloods, Billion
Michael Cohen College Football and College Basketball Writer
In the immediate aftermath of Jack Sawyer’s stunning scoop and score during the national semifinals of last year’s College Football Playoff, as half the crowd at AT&T Stadium screamed loudly enough to shake the television cameras and the other half stood frozen in disbelief, mouths collectively agape, it was difficult to parse through all the layers of deeper-seated meaning crammed into one unforgettable play.
On the surface, Sawyer had single-handedly manufactured the clinching touchdown in an enthralling victory over Texas that propelled Ohio State to the national championship game. His 83-yard fumble return extended the Buckeyes’ lead to double digits with 2:29 remaining at a juncture when the Longhorns were deep in the red zone and threatening to level the score.
But there was so much more to that sequence, and to that game, that would help contextualize the enormity of such a high-stakes moment between Ohio State and Texas — two programs that are unquestionably among the sport’s biggest, richest and most recognizable brands, even though they’d combined to capture just a single national title in the preceding 20 years.
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For the Longhorns to maintain their blue-blood status despite only winning one championship since 1970 — thanks, Vince Young — speaks to how enmeshed Texas really is in the double helix of college football lore. The Buckeyes, meanwhile, could at least claim two national titles in the 21st century going into that January evening, but none since 2014.
“We’ve been close,” Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said at SEC Media Days this summer. “We’ve been there. We’ve been knocking on the door [for] the last two years. But to go do that [and win it all], we need to take it one step at a time as we embark on the summit that we’re looking for. And that’s going to take great discipline.”
Texas’ quarterback that fateful night against Ohio State was none other than Quinn Ewers, a former No. 1 overall recruit in the country who began his career with the Buckeyes before transferring back home, swiftly elevating the Longhorns to consecutive CFP appearances for the first time in school history. Sawyer, meanwhile, was a former five-star prospect in his own right and a player who, on Feb. 3, 2019, became the first high schooler to commit to newly promoted head coach Ryan Day, igniting an otherworldly recruiting run for the Buckeyes that has since produced six consecutive classes ranked among the top five nationally. That Ewers and Sawyer had previously been roommates at Ohio State, albeit relatively briefly, offered yet another delicious plot twist.
For Texas and Ohio State to have met with so much pomp and circumstance and talent seven months ago only to climb atop the rankings again in 2025, when they are Nos. 1 and 3, respectively, in the preseason AP poll and Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, in the coaches poll, only reinforces the hypothesis that these two schools, perhaps more than any others, are uniquely positioned for long-term success in this new era of college football. An argument can be made that Saturday’s mouthwatering season opener at Ohio Stadium, where the Buckeyes will host the Longhorns in the premier game of Week 1 (noon ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app), is a matchup between the sport’s current and future preeminent powers.
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“If you look at last year’s game,” Sarkisian said at a news conference earlier this week, “26 players got drafted off the two teams into the NFL. If you include free agents, 32 players that were playing in that game a year ago are now playing in the NFL. And the fact that both teams are coming back as 1 and 2 in the country [in the coaches poll], I think speaks volumes to the quality of programs that both of us have, quite frankly.”
Once perennial contenders in the Big 12, a conference Texas seemingly co-chaired with rival Oklahoma, the Longhorns stormed the SEC last fall with a dream-like debut that flashed enough coaching guile, spending power and depth to send shock waves of staying power across the league. And the Buckeyes, long considered the class of the Big Ten on the shoulders of coaching icons like Jim Tressel, Urban Meyer and now Day, each of whom won a national title, swiftly responded to archrival Michigan’s championship ascension in 2023 by mobilizing with the kind of multi-comma fundraising and ruthless roster construction necessary to reach the pinnacle one year later, fortifying the program’s infrastructure along the way.
All of which serves as the necessary preamble for a game that is rather historic: It’s the first time since 1988 that the defending national champion will open against the preseason No. 1 team in the country. It’s just the second time in the history of the AP poll, which dates to 1950, that two teams ranked among the top three nationally will face each other in Week 1. And there are no teams in college football with better odds of winning this year’s national championship than the two that will face each other in Columbus on Saturday afternoon, according to DraftKings Sportsbook.
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“I think it’s great for college football playing a game like this opening weekend,” Day said at a news conference earlier this week. “And we’re excited to play these guys. It’s rare that you would kind of play someone like this toward the end of the season [in 2024] and then start the regular season with them [in 2025], but here we are. And I think it’s going to give us a great barometer coming out of the first game.”
Though each team’s barometer will be subject to short-term change in the aftermath of Week 1 — with the winner likely anointed by the national media as the true national championship favorite — the long-ranging prospectuses for both could hardly be more encouraging, be that over the course of the 2025 marathon or in future seasons to come. There are plenty of reasons why the Wall Street Journal labeled Ohio State ($1.957 billion) and Texas ($1.897 billion) the two most valuable college football programs in the country earlier this year.
Beyond Ohio State’s perch as the defending national champion, its claim to be considered the strongest program in the sport begins with an incredible record of player acquisition and the capital needed to both procure and retain such talent year over year. When it comes to recruiting, where Day has entrenched himself as the only Big Ten coach capable of competing with traditional SEC powers on an annual basis, the Buckeyes enter 2025 ranked third behind Alabama and Georgia in the 247Sports Team Talent Composite, a metric that assesses the overall quality of each roster. And when it comes to the transfer portal, which provided Ohio State with a handful of high-level contributors ahead of its title-winning season last fall, the Buckeyes have ranked sixth, first and fifth in the country for average prospect score over the previous three years.
Head coach Ryan Day of the Ohio State Buckeyes enters Ohio Stadium prior to the Ohio State Spring Game. (Photo by Ben Jackson/Getty Images)
In the NIL and revenue-sharing world, stringing together those kinds of high school and transfer classes requires supreme organization between Ohio State’s personnel department and the financial arm of its athletic department, the blending of which can be largely credited to football general manager Mark Pantoni and athletic director Ross Bjork. Together, they were two of the leading figures behind last year’s aggressive financial packages that simultaneously retained the core of Day’s senior class and augmented it with an elite transfer portal haul that included quarterbacks Will Howard and Julian Sayin, center Seth McLaughlin, running back Quinshon Judkins and safety Caleb Downs, among others — all at the lofty price of “around $20 million,” as Bjork later acknowledged.
“I think it was four years ago that I was here when I said, ‘I think in about five years we won’t recognize what college football looks like,’” Day said earlier this summer at Big Ten Media Days. “I think that I was right off the field. I think I was wrong on the field. I think the product is as good as it’s ever been. I think the athletes are better than they’ve ever been.
“But off the field it’s just very, very different. It’s constantly changing. And so that’s where great alignment will be very, very important. I think we’re very well-positioned here at Ohio State moving forward.”
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The same is certainly true for Sarkisian’s outfit, which has increased its win total every year since he took over in 2021. Not only is Texas the only FBS team to make the CFP each of the last two years — it lost in the national semifinals both times — but the Longhorns are also coming off the winningest two-year stretch in school history, matching the 25 victories amassed by former coach Mack Brown in 2008-09. Yet not even Brown, who previously brought home a national title with Young in 2005, could guide Texas to No. 1 in the preseason AP poll, something the Longhorns had never experienced until this summer. Now, Sarkisian just needs a title of his own.
To get this close to the summit, Sarkisian has authored a recruiting heater of his own that underwrote the program’s relatively seamless transition from the Big 12 to the SEC, even with an obvious jump in the level of competition. His last four recruiting classes have ranked fifth nationally in 2022, third in 2023, sixth in 2024 and first in 2025 to land at No. 4 overall in the Team Talent Composite. The current Longhorns’ roster is tied with Alabama for the most former five-star prospects in the country with 14, which is three more than Ohio State and nine more than any other Big Ten program. One of those recruits, former No. 1 overall prospect Arch Manning, makes his highly anticipated debut as the team’s starting quarterback this weekend.
Assembling such a group was anything but cheap. In April, a report from The Houston Chronicle said Texas was going to spend “between $35 million and $40 million” on its 2025 roster alone, widening eyes and loosening the jaws of college football fans across the country. And even though Sarkisian later rebuffed that number — he called it “irresponsible reporting” during an appearance on SiriusXM — nobody is questioning the depths of the Longhorns’ coffers relative to their competitors. Especially when Sarkisian’s weekly news conference is broadcast on the Longhorn Network, the school’s own television channel and streaming service, because everything is bigger in Texas.
So, while there could certainly be viable cases for Georgia and Alabama as the preeminent powers in college football — after all, those two schools have combined to win eight of the last 16 national championships — it’s beginning to feel more and more like Texas’ moment in time, especially if Manning lives up to the hype. And there waiting for him and Sarkisian at the apex of college football are the Buckeyes of Ohio State.
“Pretty epic matchup when you think about No. 1 versus No. 2 — in at least one of the two major polls — for the first game of the season,” Sarkisian said. “As much as I’m going to talk about, ‘the rankings don’t matter’ — [and] I believe that — but I think for college football, the fanfare, the excitement around this game, I think is great for our sport.”
Michael Cohen covers college football and college basketball for FOX Sports. Follow him at @Michael_Cohen13.
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The NCAA transfer portal is nearing the end of its two-week window for college football players to enter in hopes of finding better situations at new programs in 2026. The portal opened its doors on Jan. 2 and will officially close on Friday.
No fewer than 4,000 players from across college football entered the portal in the weeks after the 2025 regular season ended. Much of the discussion about the 2026 portal cycle revolves around quarterbacks shifting to different Power Four programs in search of better situations.
One of these quarterbacks is former Cincinnati signal-caller Brendan Sorsby, who entered the transfer portal and committed to Texas Tech. He will have one season of eligibility for the Red Raiders.
The 6-foot-3, 235-pounder began his college football journey under Tom Allen at Indiana in 2022. He used his redshirt that season, completing only three of six passes and throwing an interception in a blowout loss to Penn State.
Sorsby played in 10 of the Hoosiers’ 12 games in the 2023 season. He threw for 1,587 yards, 15 touchdowns and five interceptions while rushing for 286 yards and four more touchdowns. Allen was fired that offseason, and Sorsby entered the portal for the first time.
Cincinnati landed Sorsby from the portal in the 2024 offseason. He started all 12 games for the Bearcats that season, passing for 2,813 yards, 18 touchdowns and seven interceptions and rushing for 447 yards and nine touchdowns. The Bearcats were 5-7 in 2024, losing each of their last five games.
Sorsby passed for 2,800 yards, 27 touchdowns and five interceptions and ran for 580 yards and nine touchdowns in his last season with the Bearcats. Cincinnati was 7-5 in the 2025 regular season, losing each of its last five games. Sorsby entered the portal ahead of the Bearcats’ bowl game.
Schools scouring the portal for quarterbacks had Sorsby near the top of their wishlist. Max Olson of ESPN released rankings for the best transfers in the 2026 portal cycle, with Sorsby coming in at No. 1 overall.
“He was the Plan A all along for coach Joey McGuire and his staff, a proven Big 12 starter and Texas native that who can elevate an offense who ranked No. 2 nationally in points per game this season before the loss to Oregon in the CFP quarterfinal. The Red Raiders return a lot of players around Sorsby entering 2026 and should be the preseason Big 12 favorite,” Olson wrote.
“Sorsby’s arrival also allows backup Will Hammond to recover from his torn ACL and prepare to take over as (Texas) Tech’s starter in 2027.”
1. Las Vegas Raiders: Fernando Mendoza – QB, Indiana
It’s hard to rethink this after a brilliant Peach Bowl performance from Mendoza. Raiders fans should be excited for the opportunity to select this talent at the quarterback position.
2. New York Jets: Dante Moore – QB, Oregon
The big question over the next week or two is whether or not Moore will return to school. His struggles against pressure in the Peach Bowl may warrant more development. If Moore declares it would be hard for New York to pass on him.
3. Arizona Cardinals: Francis Mauigoa – OT, Miami
Mauigoa’s impressively clean year of pass protection has mattered greatly on Miami’s national championship run. The Cardinals with this selection have locked down both tackle positions for the future.
4. Tennessee Titans: Arvell Reese – EDGE, Ohio State
It’s a shame we didn’t get to see more of Arvell Reese, but he put enough on tape to be a top five selection. Tennessee lacks an identity on defense and this pick might create an energetic pass rush.
5. New York Giants: Carnell Tate – WR, Ohio State
Tate opposite Nabers creates headaches for any defense looking to play man coverage. This gives Jaxson Dart multiple targets who can win downfield and above the rim.
6. Cleveland Browns: Jordyn Tyson – WR, Arizona State
The quarterback position will be a question mark in Cleveland, but at least they can improve the situation. Tyson has the route running ability and body type of a true number one receiver.
7. Washington Commanders: Caleb Downs – S, Ohio State
The Commanders need impact players of any kind on defense. Caleb Downs is the closest thing to this definition in the draft. It’s a slam dunk if he’s available here.
8. New Orleans Saints: Rueben Bain – EDGE, Miami
With Chase Young’s late season emergence and Cam Jordan’s age, the Saints look to build out a reliable edge duo with Bain. Led by Bain’s efforts, Miami’s pass rush has dominated in 2025.
9. Kansas City Chiefs: Jeremiyah Love – RB, Notre Dame
The Chiefs need another mismatch weapon on offense as Travis Kelce ages. Jeremiyah Love adds formational versatility and an explosive element in the run game.
10. Cincinnati Bengals: David Bailey – EDGE, Texas Tech
Cincinnati has a bunch of bigger bodies at edge and need to add a pure pass rusher. Bailey’s relentless use of hands and pursuit to the quarterback charges up this defense.
11. Miami Dolphins: Spencer Fano – OT, Utah
Austin Jackson is under contract for another year in Miami, but Fano could be an immediate upgrade. Regardless, Miami can invest in the position long term and give Fano a chance to bulk up in the meantime.
12. Dallas Cowboys: Sonny Styles – LB, Ohio State
Dallas needs a communicator in the middle of their defense to tie both ends together. Sonny Styles supplies a floor against the run game while improving their ability to cover tight ends.
13. Los Angeles Rams: Jermod McCoy – CB, Tennessee
The Rams could use more physicality at the cornerback position. McCoy is rehabbing a torn ACL from late last season and would benefit from slotting in on an already talented roster.
14. Baltimore Ravens: Makai Lemon – WR, USC
If Isaiah Likely walks in free agency, the Ravens need another reliable weapon for Lamar Jackson. Makai Lemon was a consistent chain mover this season at USC and brings some toughness to the middle of the field.
15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Olaivavega Ioane – OG, Penn State
When the Buccaneers’ offense was at its best in 2024, they were consistently able to run the football. Depth issues and injuries killed this offensive line in 2025, and it can’t happen again.
16. New York Jets: Peter Woods – DT, Clemson
After trading Quinnen Williams the Jets have a massive hole at defensive tackle. Woods immediately slots in on early downs to provide some stoutness up front while he develops as a pass rusher.
17. Detroit Lions: Mansoor Delane – CB, LSU
There’s not much Detroit can do about their defensive depth issues other than continue to throw darts at key positions. Delane could end up getting selected much higher than this after an excellent season in the SEC.
18. Minnesota Vikings: Kenyon Sadiq – TE, Oregon
There’s a chance the Vikings release TJ Hockenson and they’d need a pass catching tight end to replace him. JJ McCarthy gets a physical target over the middle of the field to develop with.
19. Carolina Panthers: Cashius Howell – EDGE, Texas A&M
This Panthers’ defense finished the season flying around on their way to a near playoff upset of the Rams. Howell brings similar energy with his “see ball carrier, get ball carrier” attitude from the edge position.
20. Dallas Cowboys: Avieon Terrell – CB, Clemson
The Cowboys like cornerbacks who can move in and out of the slot when formations shift. Terrell has that ability, and adds more versatility to a secondary that already has Da’Ron Bland.
21. Pittsburgh Steelers: Denzel Boston – WR, Washington
If there’s a chance Aaron Rodgers is back in Pittsburgh in 2026, they need to add more size at pass catcher. Right now, Rodgers favorite weapons are all big bodied targets.
22. Los Angeles Chargers: Emmanuel Pregnon – OG, Oregon
Pregnon is a late riser in this draft process as a mauling run blocker. The Chargers invested in Omarion Hampton last season and can’t seem to keep Justin Herbert upright. They need more security along the offensive line.
23. Philadelphia Eagles: Kadyn Proctor – OT, Alabama
Jordan Mailata entered the league as a hulking offensive tackle before rounding into one of the league’s best. The Eagles take pride in their size up front, and Lane Johnson’s inconsistent health warrants foresight.
24. Cleveland Browns: Kayden McDonald – DT, Ohio State
McDonald would be the final piece of a truly dominant Cleveland defensive line. Right now, Myles Garrett is the best defensive player in football. It never hurts to make his job easier.
25. Chicago Bears: Colton Hood – CB, Tennessee
The cornerback room in Chicago operates solidly when fully healthy, but there’s a massive dropoff to their first backup. Hood gets to step in as an elite athletic talent with the opportunity to learn and develop.
26. Buffalo Bills: Keldric Faulk – EDGE, Auburn
The Bills like big bodies like Faulk who can rotate to 3-technique on passing downs. Faulk has the ability to add weight and fit in wherever the Bills need a boost of talent along the defensive line.
27. San Francisco 49ers: CJ Allen – LB, Georgia
The 49ers need a player who can freelance in the box against the run. CJ Allen has the necessary range and blockshed ability to apply support behind this pass rush against the league’s best offensive lines.
28. Houston Texans: Caleb Lomu – OT, Utah
Houston’s run game is showing signs of growth in 2025 but still needs more talent. Caleb Lomu comes from a Utah offense predicated on outside zone and immediately adds athleticism to the Texans’ run blocking unit.
29. Los Angeles Rams: Trevor Goosby – OT, Texas
The Rams offensive line is essential to keeping an older Matthew Stafford and an eventual young replacement upright. They need more depth at tackle and have the time and resources to invest in developing a young toolsy player.
30. New England Patriots: Caleb Banks – DT, Florida
The Patriots found consistent pass rush from their interior in 2025 but could use more size on early downs. If Banks hits his ceiling as a disruptive mismatch nose tackle, the defense would have extra versatility to disguise pressures with three massive defensive linemen on the field.
31. Denver Broncos: Romello Height – EDGE, Texas Tech
Nik Bonitto’s ability to get after the quarterback is an incredibly important part of the Broncos defense. Height has the ability to step in and become Bonitto’s understudy while providing personnel depth for one of the league’s best units.
32. Seattle Seahawks: Brandon Cisse – CB, South Carolina
Mike Macdonald’s time in Baltimore shows the importance of constant investment at the cornerback position with this defensive scheme. Cisse has the versatility to play in the slot and adds more physicality to this already ferocious secondary.
The stage is set for the 2025 College Football Playoff National Championship. No. 1 Indiana (15-0, 9-0) will face No. 10 Miami (13-2, 6-2) in Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida, on Jan. 19 (7:30 p.m. EST, ESPN).
The national championship matchup will feature a pair of programs that have not reached this level of success in quite some time. Indiana has never seen this amount of success, as it did not win more than 10 games in a regular season until Curt Cignetti’s arrival. As for Miami, 2025 has been about a return to national relevance that has been missing for nearly two decades.
Retired seven-time national champion head coach Nick Saban is buying into Miami’s return to national relevance. He discussed the importance Hurricanes’ run in the 2025 College Football Playoff at halftime of the Peach Bowl on the ESPN set Friday.
“I’m happy for them too. I think this is great for the city of Miami. The U is back, and that’s really, really good. Glad they’re going to be playing in Hard Rock (Stadium), that’s all great,” Saban said. “But, I tell you what, they helped Ole Miss a lot in the game last night. But what impressed me the most was the resiliency they showed to keep playing the next play and overcome the adversity that they created themselves.”
Saban has a professional connection with Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal. After Florida International fired Cristobal in the 2013 offseason, Saban hired him to his Alabama staff. Cristobal served as an associate head coach, recruiting coordinator and offensive line coach for four seasons before departing for Oregon in 2017.
Cristobal spent a season as the Ducks’ co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach before taking over for the outgoing Willie Taggart as head coach. He was in the role for four seasons before accepting the head coaching job at Miami.
Under Cristobal’s leadership, the Hurricanes are playing in their first national championship since 2002. Following the national championship loss to Ohio State and their eventual movement to the ACC, the Hurricanes gradually regressed to the point where they fired Larry Coker in the 2007 offseason.
Between Coker and Cristobal, the Hurricanes employed Randy Shannon, Al Golden, Mark Richt and Manny Diaz as head coaches. All four finished with winning records as head coaches, but only Richt won 10 games in a season (2017). Richt retired from the post after three seasons, while the other three were relieved of their duties by the university.
Indiana enters the College Football Playoff national championship game on January 19, riding one of the most improbable runs in modern college football.
The Hoosiers finished the regular season unbeaten, captured the Big Ten title, and earned the No. 1 seed in the expanded playoff before dismantling No. 9 Alabama (38–3) and No. 5 Oregon (56–22) in the first two rounds of the postseason.
Indiana’s dominant Peach Bowl victory over the Ducks cemented the Hoosiers’ place in the national title game, marking the program’s first appearance in a national championship and representing the pinnacle of head coach Curt Cignetti’s rapid rebuild.
At the center of Indiana’s historic 2025 campaign is quarterback Fernando Mendoza, the Cal transfer who arrived in Bloomington after spending his first two seasons with the Golden Bears.
In his lone season at Indiana, Mendoza has delivered elite efficiency and command of the offense, throwing for 3,349 yards with a nation-best 41 touchdowns against just six interceptions, while completing 73% of his passes across 15 games.
That breakout campaign helped guide Indiana to a 15–0 record, earning Mendoza widespread national recognition, becoming Indiana’s first Heisman Trophy winner, adding AP Player of the Year honors, and sweeping the major national quarterback awards.
With Mendoza widely expected to declare for the NFL Draft following the season, speculation has intensified regarding his draft position and potential landing spot.
ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. added fuel to that conversation on Monday by placing Mendoza No. 1 overall on his latest 2026 NFL Draft Big Board following the CFP semifinals.
“Mendoza transferred to Indiana after playing two seasons at Cal, and his game has taken off,” Kiper wrote. “The key? He has cut down on sacks, with 22 so far this season after taking 41 in 2024.”
“Mendoza is getting the ball out quicker. And while he doesn’t have a huge arm, he can make all the necessary NFL-level throws. His ball placement is fantastic. I wouldn’t consider him a dual threat, but Mendoza also has enough mobility to pick up first downs as a scrambler.”
Kiper’s Big Board places Mendoza ahead of other highly regarded quarterbacks expected to headline the 2026 NFL Draft class, including Oregon’s Dante Moore and Alabama’s Ty Simpson.
While those passers bring different physical profiles, Mendoza’s combination of efficiency, decision-making, and a proven winning resume has increasingly separated him from the pack in early evaluations.
He has also emerged as one of the sport’s most marketable stars, ranking eighth nationally in NIL valuation at an estimated $2.6 million, a figure that reflects both his on-field success and national profile.
Indiana’s season is not yet complete, as a national title win over Miami would cement the Hoosiers’ campaign as one of the most memorable in college football history and further strengthen Mendoza’s case as the top overall prospect.
Regardless of the outcome, his ascent from transfer addition to Heisman Trophy winner and projected No. 1 pick stands as one of the most notable quarterback rises in recent college football history.
The 2026 NFL Draft is scheduled for April 23–25 in Pittsburgh, but Mendoza’s trajectory suggests the conversation surrounding the first overall selection may already be taking shape.
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A college football champion will be crowned on Jan. 19 after the No. 10-seed Miami Hurricanes and No. 1-seed Indiana Hoosiers face off at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
As many fans have noticed and have thoroughly enjoyed pointing out online, the SEC does not have a representative in the title game for the third consecutive year. Many in the sport have attributed this to NIL and the transfer portal, which allow non-traditional programs like Texas Tech or Indiana to contend, while programs like Georgia or Alabama no longer have significant talent advantages.
When it comes to the Bulldogs, Fox’s Joel Klatt revealed on a recent episode of “The Next Round” that Georgia can’t even say they have the best coach in college football anymore, going as far as to say that Indiana’s Curt Cignetti has surpassed him.
“It leads into this idea of Kirby (Smart) is the best coach in college football,” Klatt said in reference to the SEC being the best conference narrative. “Well no he’s not. He hasn’t even played in the final four in the last three years with good teams by the way. And in some cases based on the composite, the most talented team.
“So Curt Cignetti is doing more with less than anybody,” Klatt said. “And he’s doing it on a stage and at a pace right now that is fairly unprecedented. He did it at Indiana. Guys Indiana is likely to win the national championship. That blows my mind. It just does.”
While it seemed extremely brash or arrogant at the time when Cignetti told college football fans to Google him at his introductory press conference, that appears to have been a legitimate warning that no one was really ready for.
In his four years as an FBS head coach, which include his final two seasons at James Madison, Cignetti has compiled a 45-6 record. At Indiana alone, he has put together a record of 26-2, leading the Hoosiers to the program’s first outright Big Ten title since 1945, the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff and also helped Fernando Mendoza have a breakout year that saw him win the Heisman trophy.
Arguably the most interesting part about Cignetti’s success outside of his one-liners and otherworldly confidence is the fact that he isn’t chasing someone else’s legacy at another program, he is working to build his own.
Despite being the hottest coach on the market this coaching cycle, Cignetti inked an 8-year extension worth around $93 million that will keep him in Bloomington.
So, for those college football traditionalists who are struggling to accept the new reality of what this sport has become, it appears that accepting Indiana as a powerhouse is another thing they’ll have to add to the list.
Pat McAfee remains one of the more polarizing voices in the college football media landscape, and it appears the College GameDay personality is losing some of his base of support among fans, according to a new survey.
McAfee’s approval ratings among college football fans have fallen to an all-time low coming out of the 2025 season, according to a poll taken by The Athletic this week.
How do you feel about Pat McAfee?
Fans were asked a simple question: “How do you feel about Pat McAfee on College GameDay?” And the answers definitely tilted one way.
Nearly half of those who answered the question said they “Don’t like it,” with 49.5 percent of fans who took part saying they didn’t approve of McAfee’s contribution to the weekly College GameDay program.
That contribution has been noteworthy from the beginning, capped off by his bombastic (and often shirtless) game predictions that helped give the program a transition from Lee Corso’s famous headgear picks as a method of closing out each show on Saturday.
The field-goal kicking contest that McAfee hosts on GameDay, which includes him paying out serious money to the winners, is also highly-regarded among fans who watch.
Those who do like what McAfee brings to the table? That number is down to 31.6 percent of those who were surveyed by The Athletic.
Just under 20 percent of those asked, 18.9 percent, said they had no opinion of him.
Previous polls agree on McAfee
This marked the third year that The Athletic polled fans on McAfee, but this edition of the vote saw the highest mark among those who answered negatively about him.
Last year, 42.5 percent of respondents said they didn’t like McAfee, and in 2023, that number swelled to 48.9 percent.
Two seasons ago, the negative conversation around McAfee’s performance on College GameDay even resulted in viral speculation that he considered leaving the program.
Last offseason, it was revealed that McAfee did not have a contract to appear on College GameDay that fall and it was an open question for a time whether or not he would return.
Those rumors were put to bed about a month later, when McAfee revealed that he signed a new deal with ESPN to appear on the show that season.
College GameDay is still very popular
Whatever fans may think of McAfee, they are very clear on the College GameDay program overall: they love it.
The overwhelming majority of those fans polled, 83.6 percent of them, said they prefer College GameDay to the Fox pre-game program Big Noon Kickoff.
That confidence was expressed in the TV ratings this season, as College GameDay established viewership records in the 2025 season averaging 2.7 million viewers per show, up 22 percent from last year.
(Athletic)
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