Jon Joseph

USA Today's Look at the Peach Bowl - https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2026/01/02/peach-bowl-indiana-vs-oregon-rematch-in-cfp-semifinal-college-football-playoff/87993782007/

USA Today calls out Bama and the SEC https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/sec/2026/01/02/alabama-football-embarrassed-kalen-deboer-indiana-rose-bowl-sec-big-ten-record/87939308007/

Yahoo for this Final 4! https://sports.yahoo.com/college-football/article/college-football-playoff-finally-being-settled-on-field-instead-of-behind-closed-doors-and-the-results-are-glorious-164734764.html

No surprise here. Iowa State QB Rocco Becht transfers to Penn State. https://sports.yahoo.com/college-football/breaking-news/article/former-iowa-state-quarterback-rocco-becht-transfers-to-penn-state-214500388.html

Cig signs his 2026 season QB - Hoover goes from the Horned Frogs to the Hoosiers SIIndiana Lands Fernando Mendoza's Likely Replacement in Tr...Curt Cignetti and Indiana have found Fernando Mendoza’s replacement.

I've searched Google and B1G and cannot find an answer for the Peach and the Fiesta Bowls.

On the other hand ... https://sports.yahoo.com/article/refs-indiana-vs-oregon-facing-214555733.html

The ACC.

Mercedes-Benz Stadium roof closing - Hopefully, OBD will drive off with a win over the Hoosiers and a 1-1 record in this stadium. Dan's head coaching debut in MBS Smarted. 🤬 But it's better than the Canes 0-4 in the Fiesta Bowl. Mario, Give Me Five! A Time-Lapse of the Roof Closing at Mercedes-Benz Stadium...Atlanta, GA | Jul 27, 2017

The refs had a plane to catch? A dinner reservation? Wanted to watch the Rose Bowl from the start? Bet the under? Many suspect calls and noncalls in both CFB and the NFL this season.

I'm hoping for Miami going 0-5 for the Fiesta Bowl. 😁 https://collegefootballnews.com/college-football/miami-ole-miss-cfp-semifinal-fiesta-bowl-prediction

Dilly doesn't dally before grabbing Will's QB. Rolo to KY? ESPN.comSource: Kentucky QB Boley transfers to Arizona St.Arizona State has landed a commitment from Kentucky quarterback Cutter Boley, a source confirmed to ESPN.

Putting the Big Ten on notice! The Badgers have landed QB Joseph! 😁 ESPN.comBadgers land dual-threat QB Joseph as transferWisconsin has landed quarterback Colton Joseph, the team's top QB target for 2026. Joseph was eighth in the nation in total offense while helping lead Old Dominion (10-3) to its second winning season

Excellent article by Bruce Feldman is available on The Athletic ($ wall) 'The SEC's dismal bowl record this season points to a fundamental truth: money matters.' Why, with what we witnessed from the PO committee this season, isn't Tony Petitti's AQ 16-team PO format receiving unanimous support? One fewer G6 team in the field, but one more ACC, Big Ten, B12, and SEC teams would have been in the field along with Notre Dame. Plus, no more 1st round byes, more home games, and the PO starting and ending a week or two earlier than now.

The North Texas QB is following his coach to OK State - Next season, the Cowboys will be a much tougher out. YardbarkerDrew Mestemaker's move to Oklahoma State shows how transf...We saw one of the first big dominoes in the 2026 transfer portal fall on Saturday afternoon when former North Texas quarterback Drew Mestemaker committed to Oklahoma State.

Bowl Winners and Losers. SC's (Missing) Linc Riley is among the losers. Riley is also losing DC D'Anton Lynn. Lynn is returning to his alma mater, Penn State. OT - I like what Matt Campbell is building at PSU, and I see Campbell having more success at PSU than Franklin will have at VA Tech. No OBD vs. Penn State in 2026. PSU visits Autzen in 2027 along with Ohio State and Iowa. Saturday BlitzBiggest winners and losers of college football bowl seaso...This year’s college football bowl season has wrapped up, with only the two College Football Playoff semifinal matchups and the national championship game remain

Next season, OBD will see a rebuilt team when it travels to Stillwater, OK, to play OK State. Saturday BlitzPortal Pile-Up: The 5 college football programs losing th...The College Football Transfer Portal will open up in two days, creating a 14 day window of chaos from January 2nd through the 16th. Oftentimes, everyone always

It's Portal Picking time. In the midst of the playoffs? 🤪 https://duckswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/ducks/football/2026/01/02/oregon-football-2026-transfer-portal-needs/87990127007/?utm_source=smg-duckswire-strada&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=SMGbaseline&utm_term

Mike, I so enjoy pouring my first cup of coffee and then finding an article from you up on the Forum. You, Charles, David Marsh, The Coach, and other Forum Friends have an in-depth appreciation of the game I do not have; it's wonderful when you all share your insights. I'm not being critical of either coach, Dan or Will, when I ask if Will has a free hand when it comes to game management. It was apparent early on to this amateur that Texas Tech's offense was outmatched and not a threat to score against the Ducks' defense. Why not dominate time of possession and dominate the game by playing smaller, not small ball? Especially when your QB is under siege, and your O-line is not playing like a Joe Moore finalist. Of course, eight 4th down attempts and a successful fake punt are not in the generally accepted definition of 'small ball.' I'm an amateur armchair analyst, but I can see why experts don't 'get' the seemingly inconsistent game plan. However,15 new starters and the team is 13-1, I am entertained. And, I have to remind myself that it took Kirby Smart and Ryan Day six seasons to win a title. How much do Dan, Will, and Dante himself trust Dante? Against TT, Dante had Sadiq wide open for a TD and missed the opportunity. He had receivers open against Indiana and missed them. He's twenty years old and has nowhere close to the experience of Bo Nix and Dillon Gabriel. The game isn't going to slow down when you are on your back. The defense and a very good, not perfect, kicking game won the Orange Bowl game. The defense shut down Penn State, Iowa, and Indiana until late in the games against these three opponents. I don't see OBD versus Indiana, and hopefully, Miami or Ole Miss, winning shootouts. I do see OBD winning if, like against TT, OBD dominates the TO battle and holds the opponents below their season scoring average. I don't expect to breathe easy for sixty-plus minutes. Thanks again, Mike, for another terrific take. PS - My Old Man was one of the farm boys who destroyed the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy. 👌👍😁 There isn't a Cig that cannot be extinguished. HOSE THE WHO, WHO, WHO HOOSIERS!

You need a better OC. (On-Line Coordinator.) 🤪

Not so fast on the SEC's title chances. I wouldn't count out a super-motivated Ole Miss team with a magician playing QB. Trinidad Chambers presents a different challenge for the Miami D than the far less mobile Julian Sayin. Miami is 16-12 in its bowl games and won national titles in 1983, 1987, 1989, 1991, and 2001. Miami is 0-4 in the Fiesta Bowl with losses to UCLA, Penn State, Arizona, and Ohio State. The U comes into Thursday night's game with the added pressure of winning and playing for a title on its home field. I expect Ole Miss will have more fans in attendance than Miami, unified by a robust hatred of Lane Kiffin. Miami lost its last bowl game, the Pop-Tarts Bowl, to Matt Campbell and Iowa State, 42-41, with Cam Ward, with Mario's consent, taking a second-half nap. (The folks who wagered on Miami were not happy with Mario's undisclosed bowl game 'strategy.' 🤬) Ole Miss, +3 to +3.5, comes into the Fiesta Bowl 13-1 with rematch wins over Tulane and Georgia, and with the better QB, a guy who can escape pressure. I like Ole Miss to cover and win. The SEC's dominance was more about recruiting local talent and poaching players of need, such as Tua and Brock Bowers. There were few, if any, squeaky clean programs before NIL. Where there is a transactional free market for any endeavor, deep pockets will step up, and talent will be disbursed. HO$E THE HOO$IERS!

And the B12 dropped another one last night. SMU 24 - No. 17 Arizona 19 Prior to the semifinals, here's a detailed breakdown of bowl performance game by game for every conference. https://www.ncaa.com/news/football/article/2025-01-02/track-which-conferences-are-winning-2025-26-college-football-bowl-season Monday, January 5th, our friends and first game foe Montana State play Illinois State in the FCS champ game. 7:30/4:30 ESPN ESPN's Bill Connelly's analysis of this matchup. ESPN.comFCS national championship preview: Illinois State, Montan...Will the Bobcats break through or can the Redbirds cap their amazing run in style?

CBS Sports has an early look at portal winners and losers. EARLY is the word. Makhi may be back in town, but not in Eugene. https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/college-football-transfer-portal-day-1-winners-losers-2026/

Here's an excellent look at the semifinals from Saturdays Down South, Connor O'Gara. Note- Broyles finalists, Indiana DC Bryant Haines, and Miami DC Corey Heatherman, both worked for Curt Cignetti at JMU. Mario's hire of Hetherman from Minnesota was one of this season's best. I've dumped on Cristobal, whose game management is still suspect, but he has stopped micro-managing and is giving his coordinators more leeway. Somehow, someway, Trinidad Chambliss must be related to Houdini. Saturday Down SouthEarly thoughts on 2 improbable College Football Playoff s...With an extremely unique field left, the College Football Playoff semifinals are loaded with intriguing storylines.

Great comment, DM. I think Dan might also have wanted to make certain that Dante lived to see another day. The D coach in him saw TT's offense being dominated, and he also saw Dante take some vicious hits. Running the ball shortened the game as intended.