A new college football season is underway, and it promises to be different from any that came before.
For the first time, schools are legally paying players, thanks to the House v. NCAA settlement finalized in June. High-level Division I schools can spend up to $20.5 million per year on their athletes, allocated across all of their varsity sports.
Of course, much of that money will go toward football.
The culmination of schools and conferences gaining control over their own television rights has also created a new world in which college football is a minor league, with coaches, executives and now players earning sums similar to – or even exceeding – what they would receive from the NFL.
This influx of cash has changed every aspect of the sport, but much of it remains the same. After all, college football has been heading in this direction for a long time.
NFL COACHES HEAD BACK TO SCHOOL
Everything old is new again in college football at two Atlantic Coast Conference schools.
For two very different reasons – and with two different outcomes – both North Carolina and Stanford recently hired coaches with long track records in the NFL.
Mostly notably, the Tar Heels brought in Bill Belichick. Considered by many to be the greatest coach of all time, Belichick won eight Super Bowls with the New York Giants and New England Patriots.
He left New England two years ago but was unable to find another job in the NFL. So he took the college route for the first time in his five-decade career in the sport.
Belichick isn’t the only established NFL voice back in school. Former Indianapolis Colts head coach Frank Reich is Stanford’s interim coach following the messy spring firing of Troy Taylor.
Former Stanford star quarterback and current general manager Andrew Luck brought in Reich, his former NFL coach, to steady the Cardinal ship for the time being. How long Reich is on the job remains to be seen.
Here are some coaching moves since last season:
- Appalachian State Dowell Loggains for Shawn Clark
- Ball State Mike Uremovich for Mike Neu
- Bowling Green Eddie George for Scot Loeffler
- Central Florida Scott Frost for Gus Malzahn
- Charlotte Tim Albin for Francis “Biff” Poggi
- Florida International Willie Simmons for Mike MacIntyre
- Fresno State Matt Entz for Tim Skipper
- Purdue Barry Odom for Ryan Walters
- Sam Houston Phil Longo for K.C. Keeler
- Stanford Frank Reich for Troy Taylor (interim)
- New Mexico Jason Eck for Bronco Mendenhall
- North Carolina Bill Belichick for Mack Brown
- Ohio Brian Smith for Tim Albin
- UNLV Dan Mullen for Barry Odom
- Utah State Bronco Mendenhall for Nate Dreiling
- Wake Forest Jake Dickert for Dave Clawson
- Washington State Jimmy Rogers for Jake Dickert
- West Virginia Rich Rodriguez for Neal Brown
COLLECTIVE FUTURE
Texas Tech could be a sleeper team in the Big XII and a test case for this latest chapter of college football’s new era. Led by their swashbuckling collective, the Matador Club, the Red Raiders have invested heavily in football and other sports.
Famously, Tech swiped Stanford softball’s star pitcher, NiJaree Canady, for a reported sum of $1 million. She reupped for another million in June after carrying the Red Raiders to their first-ever College World Series championship series appearance.
According to reports, Texas Tech boosters plan to spend around $55 million on athletes for the 2025-26 school year. Much of that money is going to football, and the Red Raiders have landed multiple impact transfers and high-profile recruits this offseason.
It’s the new frontier in college football – spending your way to titles. Ohio State did it in 2024-25, when its roster, which the Buckeyes’ athletic director said cost $20 million, won OSU its first national championship in 10 years.
While Texas Tech is trying to leverage its deep-pocketed, oil-rich boosters to elevate on the national scene, schools like Cal are on the other side of the equation.
The Bears lost multiple star players this offseason, which many attributed in part to being unable to compensate them as well as other schools.
Star running back Jadyn Ott transferred to Oklahoma. Returning leading rusher Jaivian Thomas, an Oakland native and McClymonds High grad, transferred to UCLA. Starting tight end Jack Endries, a Monte Vista High alum and the favorite target of quarterback Fernando Mendoza, joined Texas. Mendoza is now at Indiana.
It’s hard to see a path to success for Cal – also Stanford for that matter – in the ACC. Both schools had their rosters raided again by richer programs and those with more revenue certainty moving forward.
Here is a look at some of the top players who utilized the portal.
- David Bailey edge Texas Tech from Stanford
- Carson Beck QB Miami from Georgia
- Zachariah Branch WR Georgia from USC
- Xavier Chaplin OT Auburn from Virginia Tech
- Kevin Concepcion WR Texas A&M from NC State
- Thaddeus Dixon CB North Carolina from Washington
- Tacario Davis CB Washington from Arizona
- Makhi Hughes RB Oregon from Tulane
- Nyziah Hunter WR Nebraska from Cal
- Nico Iamaleava QB UCLA from Tennessee
- John Mateer QB Oklahoma from Washington State
- Fernando Mendoza QB Indiana from Cal
- Darian Mensah QB Tulane from Duke
- Jaydn Ott RB Oklahoma from Cal
- Patrick Payton edge LSU from Florida State
- Duce Robinson WR Florida State from USC
- Eric Singleton Jr. WR Auburn from Georgia Tech
- Dillon Thieneman S Oregon from Purdue
- Damon Wilson II edge Missouri from Georgia
- Isaiah World OT Oregon from Nevada
HEISMAN HOPEFULS
The 2025 quarterback pool looks likely to take back the Heisman mantle a year after Travis Hunter’s two-way exploits for Deion Sanders and Colorado saw him edge past Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty for the trophy.
Arch Manning of Texas is the favorite as he takes over the Longhorns offense on a full-time basis. He has plenty of competition in the SEC, as LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier and South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers, both 2024 standouts, are expected to be in the mix.
Even John Mateer, Oklahoma’s transfer gunslinger from Washington State, could find his way to New York for the ceremony.
Here are some of the top names to watch:
- Drew Allar, QB, Penn State
- Arch Manning, QB, Texas
- Cade Klubnik, QB, Clemson
- Dante Moore, QB, Oregon
- Garrett Nussmeier, QB, LSU
- LaNorris Sellers, QB, South Carolina
- Jeremiah Smith, WR, Ohio State
- Julian Sayin, QB, Ohio State
- John Mateer, QB, Oklahoma
- Ryan Williams, WR, Alabama
- Sam Leavitt, QB, Arizona State
GAMES OF THE YEAR
A year after the college football landscape received a facelift with the breakup of the Pac-12, conference affiliations are unchanged. At least for this season. The new-look Pac-12 debuts next fall, with moves that will alter the membership of multiple other conferences.
The biggest traditional game in the Bay Area – The Big Game between Stanford and Cal – will be played for the second time as an ACC game and the 128th time overall. The first was a classic — in what turned out to be his final game with the Bears, Mendoza led Cal on a 98-yard game-winning drive in the final minutes to rally for a 24-21 victory. This year it’s at Stanford on Nov. 22
The Bill Walsh Legacy game between Stanford and San Jose State will be played in consecutive seasons for the first time since they played three in a row from 2011-13. Last season was the first time the teams met in 15 years. The Spartans won 34-30 in San Jose last season, their first victory over the Cardinal since 2006. This year’s game is Sept. 27 at Stanford.
Walsh, the former 49ers coaching legend, played and got his start in coaching at SJSU in the late 1950s and concluded his coaching career at Stanford from 1992-1994.
Here’s a look at some of the national games of the year:
- Aug. 30 Texas at Ohio State
- Aug. 30 LSU at Clemson
- Aug. 31 Notre Dame at Miami (Fla.)
- Sept. 6 Michigan at Oklahoma
- Sept. 13 Georgia at Tennessee
- Sept 13 Texas A&M at Notre Dame
- Sept. 20 Illinois at Indiana
- Sept. 27 Alabama at Georgia
- Sept. 27 Oregon at Penn State
- Oct. 11 Ohio State at Illinois
- Oct. 18 SMU at Clemson
- Oct. 18 Utah at BYU
- Oct. 27 Oregon at Penn State
- Nov. 1 Arizona State at Iowa State
- Nov. 1 Penn State at Ohio State
- Nov. 8 LSU at Alabama
- Nov. 15 Texas at Georgia
- Nov. 29 Ohio State at Michigan
- Nov. 29 Oregon at Washington
- Dec. 13 Army vs. Navy in Baltimore
- Dec. 19-20 First-round playoff games (4 in all)
- Dec. 31-Jan. 1 Quarterfinals (Cotton, Orange, Rose and Sugar bowls)
- Jan. 8-9 Semifinals (Fiesta and Peach bowls)
- Jan. 19 National Championship Game (at Miami Gardens)