#2026-heisman-candidates

#2026-heisman-candidates

Okay, I'm going to say it. Okay. Okay. St. John's fans...I was rooting for St. John's [in the tournament]. Do I want to play them? Probably not, but I didn't want to play Duke either, so we were rooting for St. John's, and then when we went to the [Elite Eight] game, all those St. John's fans were rooting against us, and that broke my heart.

Indiana's magical run to a College Football Playoff championship was keyed by an exceptional season from transfer quarterback Fernando Mendoza. The Oregon Ducks, who the Hoosiers beat in the semifinals, had a transfer (Malik Benson) as their leading receiver while two freshmen running backs, Jordon Davison and Dierre Hill Jr., were core cogs in the rushing attack.

For the first time ever, the St. John's Red Storm are back-to-back Big East champions after defeating UConn in a wire-to-wire 72-52 win in the conference title game on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden. When these teams last met, the Huskies handed the Johnnies a humbling 32-point loss, snapping the team's 13-game winning streak and leaving them eager for redemption.

Zuby Ejiofor scored 21 points and withstood foul trouble as No. 18 St John's clinched at least a share of the Big East regular-season title and the top seed in the conference tournament by outlasting Seton Hall in a physical 72-65 victory Friday night in Newark, N.J.

Henderson arrives with elite production against top Texas competition and a feel for the game that can't be coached. With Conner Weigman returning, Henderson doesn't need to be "the guy" on Day 1, but he's too talented to keep off the field. Expect Henderson to be involved in situational packages, red zone wrinkles and some possible momentum-swing snaps.

Increasingly, the nation's top recruits are also stepping onto campus as some of the highest-paid members of their respective rosters, some with six- and seven-figure financial deals before they've played a single college snap. Whether it's providing instant impact or showing early signals of future promise, the pressure is rising on college football's highest-rated (and best-compensated) freshmen to deliver immediate return on investment.

Offense is always where draft hype gets out of control first. Arm strength, body type, and "tools" start carrying more weight than what actually happened on Saturdays. Before long, we're projecting guys into stardom they haven't earned yet.