Championships Won, Grievances Filed

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Indiana did not just beat Ohio State 13–10, it rewrote the job description for “playoff contender,” turning Lucas Oil Stadium into a three-hour therapy session for every playoff doodler with a dry-erase board. One minute the Buckeyes are the 14-week wire-to-wire No. 1, the next they are watching Fernando Mendoza float a 17-yard dagger to Elijah Sarratt and realizing the sport’s new power center might be Bloomington, which sounds like a misprint. While the Big Ten traded crowns, Duke and Virginia staged an overtime fever dream in Charlotte, complete with blown leads, fourth-and-goal desperation and a walk-off pick that handed Duke its first outright ACC title since 1962. The ACC champion then discovered its prize was not a playoff berth but a starring role in everyone else’s strength-of-schedule argument, which honestly feels on brand for this league. Somewhere in the background Georgia methodically shoved Alabama off its familiar SEC throne, Notre Dame found out 10–2 and skipping bowl season is a thing now, and quality-loss apologists across the country had to update their talking points in real time.

If it felt like the weekend turned the new 12-team bracket into a live-action personality test for every fanbase’s tolerance for perceived disrespect, that is because conference championship season has officially become group therapy for the mathematically aggrieved.

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📰 2-Minute Drill: Where Logic Goes to Die

Indiana Stuns Ohio State, Grabs Big Ten
Indiana knocked off No. 1 Ohio State 13–10 in the Big Ten title game, riding Fernando Mendoza’s 222 passing yards and a 17-yard third-quarter strike to Elijah Sarratt. The Hoosiers snapped a 31-game skid against the Buckeyes and captured their first conference crown since 1967 as the playoff’s top seed. The Big Ten’s chaos agent has officially moved to Bloomington.
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Georgia Finally Flattens Alabama, Reclaims SEC Throne
Georgia pummeled Alabama 28–7 in the SEC championship, finally ending the Tide’s dominance in Atlanta behind Gunner Stockton’s three touchdown passes and MVP performance. The Bulldogs held Alabama to minus-3 rushing yards and secured back-to-back league titles plus a College Football Playoff quarterfinal in the Sugar Bowl. Alabama’s résumé suddenly looks a lot flimsier without that usual SEC trump card.
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Texas Tech Blasted BYU, Buys Big 12 Title
Texas Tech blasted BYU 34–7 for its first Big 12 championship, forcing turnovers, strangling the Cougars to 200 total yards and ripping off 34 unanswered points. Built on 22 transfers and a $25 million-plus roster, the Red Raiders keep winning games by three touchdowns or more. If you are going to buy a team, get one that breaks the league.
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Duke Breaks Virginia, Nukes ACC Playoff Hopes
Duke stunned Virginia 27–20 in overtime to win its first outright ACC title since 1962, with Darian Mensah hitting Jeremiah Hasley on fourth-and-goal before Luke Mergott’s game-sealing interception. The unranked Blue Devils finished 8–5, survived a five-way tiebreaker to reach Charlotte and likely knocked the ACC out of the playoff. The conspiracy-board string crowd just found a new favorite exhibit.
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James Madison Smothers Troy, Claims Sun Belt
James Madison overpowered Troy 31–14 in the Sun Belt championship, riding Wayne Knight’s 212 rushing yards and a 73-yard touchdown burst in Harrisonburg. The Dukes held Troy to minus-26 rushing yards and finished things off with Sahir West forcing a fumble that Drew Spinogatti returned for the clinching score. For a so-called “Group of 5,” that felt pretty power-conference.
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📼 Instant Classic

Indiana 13, Ohio State 10 – Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis

For most of their lives, Indiana fans have watched this movie end in heartbreak; this one flipped the script. The Hoosiers slugged out a 13–10 win over No. 1 Ohio State, riding Fernando Mendoza’s 15-of-23, 222-yard, one-touchdown night and a defense that held the Buckeyes scoreless after halftime. Indiana allowed just 58 rushing yards, racked up five sacks and nine tackles for loss, and turned Lucas Oil Stadium into a four-hour anxiety lab for the sport’s reigning bully.

The signature stretch came in the third quarter: backed up at their own 12, Mendoza hit Charlie Becker for a 51-yard gut punch, then dropped a 17-yard corner shot to Elijah Sarratt for the go-ahead score. Later, Julian Sayin was ruled short on fourth-and-1 at the Indiana 5, and Jayden Fielding’s 29-yard field goal sailed wide left with 2:48 to play. In a game of Heisman-caliber quarterbacks, it was Indiana’s front — led by disruptors like Isaiah Jones — that stole the stage.

This wasn’t just an upset; it was an exorcism. Indiana snapped a decades-long skid against Ohio State, claimed its first Big Ten title since 1967, and likely locked up the No. 1 playoff seed while ending the Buckeyes’ 16-game win streak. For a program built on “maybe next year,” this was the night they broke the glass ceiling and left Ohio State holding the what-ifs — exactly the kind of tectonic, nerve-shredding stake-swap that earns Instant Classic status.

🎙️ Coach Speak Decoder Ring

What they said: "We love it. Doomsday scenario, nightmares, this, that, and the other. Our guys deserve to be here." — Manny Diaz, Duke, on the ACC champ getting squeezed in the Playoff debate after beating Virginia

What they meant: We know the committee is going to tie itself in knots, so we’re preemptively embracing the chaos and daring them to leave us out. Diaz is trying to turn Duke into the sympathetic main character of Championship Weekend, framing the Blue Devils as the team that stared down everyone’s “nightmare scenario” and won anyway. It’s a savvy little power move: talk like you love the mess, then make it politically expensive for the suits to treat you like background noise.

🎠 Coach Carousel: Who’s Up, Who’s Out

Kentucky Bets Big on Oregon Play-Caller Stein
Kentucky moved on from Mark Stoops and turned to Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein, a Louisville native with a five-year deal and a top-five CFP offense on his résumé. He’ll finish Oregon’s playoff run before fully taking over in Lexington, where he grew up in the Kroger Field stands. Nothing says “modern SEC ambition” like renting your new coach out for one more playoff ride.

Cal Brings Tosh Lupoi Home to Fix the Bears
Cal finally picked a direction by hiring Oregon defensive coordinator and alum Tosh Lupoi, betting on his recruiting chops and West Coast ties to stabilize life as an ACC transplant. After NFL stops and national-title runs elsewhere, he returns to Berkeley with a mandate to toughen up a program that’s drifted for a decade. It’s the classic Cal move: hire the guy who actually wanted the job all along.

North Texas Reboots With Veteran Builder Neal Brown
North Texas handed the keys to Neal Brown, signing the former West Virginia and Troy coach to a five-year deal loaded with “grown-up head coach” energy. Brown brings a 72–51 career record and a 5–1 bowl mark into a program that just flirted with the CFP under Eric Morris. The Mean Green basically traded “upstart” for “known quantity” and are hoping the floor rise is worth the ceiling risk.

Iowa State Snags Rising Star Jimmy Rogers
Hours after losing Matt Campbell to Penn State, Iowa State moved aggressively to grab Washington State’s Jimmy Rogers on a six-year deal. The 38-year-old already owns an FCS national title at South Dakota State and just dragged Wazzu to a bowl in Year 1. The Cyclones doubled down on their brand: quiet Midwestern guy who keeps upsetting richer programs’ long-term plans.

Colorado State Hands Jim Mora a Mountain of Promises
Colorado State fired Jay Norvell midseason and turned to Jim Mora, who’d been quietly eyeing the job for years while grinding at UConn. In his intro, Mora promised Pac-12 titles, national-title contention and even climbing all fifty-four of Colorado’s 14,000-foot peaks. It’s either visionary ambition or the most high-altitude sales pitch in coaching, and Rams fans are along for the hike.

Kansas State Crowns Favorite Son Collin Klein
Kansas State gave the headset to Collin Klein, the 2012 Heisman finalist who already lived in the playbook as offensive coordinator. He gets a five-year deal to follow Chris Klieman and keep the Wildcats in the Big 12 title conversation without blowing up the blueprint. It’s the rare hire where the statue candidate just skipped a step and went straight to the sideline.

Penn State Finally Lands Longtime Crush Matt Campbell
After firing James Franklin and swinging past a few other candidates, Penn State locked in Matt Campbell on an eight-year contract. The winningest coach in Iowa State history arrives with three Big 12 Coach of the Year awards and a reputation for squeezing every drop out of developmental rosters. This is the move every message board has been fantasy-booking since 2017, now with actual buyout math attached.

James Madison Rebounds With Billy Napier Rehab Tour
The moment Bob Chesney bolted for UCLA, James Madison pivoted to Billy Napier, giving the recently fired Florida coach a high-ceiling reboot spot. He inherits a Sun Belt champion that just punched a ticket to the 12-team playoff and has proven it can play above its weight. From The Swamp to Harrisonburg, this is the soft-landing version of the coaching portal.

UCLA Swipes Playoff Coach Bob Chesney From JMU
UCLA hired James Madison’s Bob Chesney, the first sitting head coach the Bruins have poached since 1971, bringing in a 132–51 lifer with eight conference titles on his record. Chesney will juggle a CFP run with JMU and a program reboot in Westwood, where patience has not exactly been a core value. For once, UCLA looks like it wants to be a football school on purpose.

🏆 Heisman Watch: The “Up and Down” Section

The Headliners

📈 Fernando Mendoza (Indiana) [-1600] – Fresh off 222 yards, a TD and the Big Ten title over No. 1 Ohio State, Mendoza turned Indiana into a 13–0 blue-chip. His Heisman stock isn’t just rising, it’s basically a closed-end fund.

📈 Diego Pavia (Vanderbilt) [+800] – Vandy’s QB stacked 3,000+ passing yards and a 10-win season, torching Tennessee with 268 passing and 165 rushing yards. His chart still points up, but Mendoza just cornered the market.

The Lurkers

📈 Jeremiyah Love (Notre Dame) – Nearly 1,400 rushing yards and 18 TDs on a 10–2 Notre Dame team scream old-school Heisman, but no playoff and no bowl hurt. Great dividend player, limited upside exposure.

The “Can They Sustain It?” Crew

📈 Gunner Stockton (Georgia) – Three TDs and SEC title-game MVP vs Alabama is peak “late rally” energy. He’s rock-solid on a 12–1 Georgia machine, but this surge feels more like a year-early breakout IPO.

The “We Need to Talk About…” Section

📉 Julian Sayin (Ohio State) [+165 before title game] – Elite season numbers, but a 13–10 loss to Indiana with no signature Heisman moment cooled everything. Once a co-favorite, he’s now trading like a great stock in the wrong sector.

📉 Diego Pavia (Vanderbilt) [from near co-favorite to +800] – His résumé didn’t get worse; Mendoza’s narrative just detonated the room. Pavia’s still a premium asset, but voters may treat him like a solid ETF, not a moonshot.

Penny Stock to Watch

💰 Jacob Rodriguez (Texas Tech) – A tackle vacuum with triple-digit stops and a Big 12 title, plus viral crossbar and Heisman-pose moments. Defensive long-shots rarely cash, but this is the cult meme coin everyone secretly owns.

So there you have it: Indiana just evicted Ohio State from the Big Ten penthouse, Duke won the ACC only to watch the league get ghosted by the committee, and the coaching carousel somehow spun fast enough to fling Billy Napier from The Swamp to Harrisonburg while UCLA discovered it can poach an active playoff coach. Next week the bowl schedule will arrive dressed up as "meaningful opportunities" while half the depth charts quietly file portal paperwork. Never trust quality loss narratives, always remember the playoff committee watches different games than you, and treat every December certainty like a punt into a very stiff wind.

— The Convert on Fourth Down Team

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