CFB's smallest independents list since 1869, plus Texas Tech pressure

New York Times

11-07-2025

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Today in college football news, happy Clipse day to all who are celebrating.
About halfway through this newsletter's conference previews countdown, it feels natural to lump the Pac-12 and the independents together, if for no reason other than these few stray bodies need to bundle up together for the coming autumn.
Though the independent ranks have been slowly dwindling for over a century as conferences have sprouted and bloated, FBS had seven as recently as 2022 (the current two, plus Army, BYU, Liberty, New Mexico State and UMass, which is now back in the MAC).
In case you'd like to see how many major indies there were in each previous decade, even though 'major indies' would be a music-industry oxymoron, here's a chart that starts around the time the proto-Big Ten began as the first major conference in 1896:
Maybe you also want to know which season had the most independents playing at whatever level was equivalent to FBS at the time? In 1905, there were 73 indies among the 82 teams recognized by CFB historian James Howell as majors. Everyone who wasn't in the proto-Big Ten, basically.
Anyway, back to 2025. I had one question each for four people who know a lot about these four teams — one objective beat writer and three knowledgeable fans. First, on the two conference-less holdouts:
Last season, a lot of neutral fans fell (begrudgingly) in love with Notre Dame's blunt-force offense. With Riley Leonard gone — and yet to officially be replaced — how do you see the offense changing this season?
Pete Sampson, The Athletic's Notre Dame beat writer: In an ideal world for Marcus Freeman, the offense should be able to beat teams without beating them over the head with the run game. Sophomore CJ Carr likely takes over for Leonard, and his skill set is more pro-style passer than battering ram. Running back Jeremiyah Love is back, but the pass game could be a lot better with Carr and the incoming receivers.
At UConn, Jim Mora just had a 9-4 season that called to mind Randy Edsall's 2000s glory years, and various computers are projecting another winning record. Seems like independence is actually working fine?
No Escalators, a longtime UConn social media presence: It's great. They've been able to set schedules that have a much more attractive mix than what they had in the AAC. Mora has done a great job steadying the ship, and NIL has helped a lot too. UConn doesn't have P5 TV money (yet), but it has as many resources as anyone else in the G5, and it is using them.
Those two teams are not scheduled to meet in any upcoming season. The Huskies remain 1-0 against the Irish, having won in 2009 — Charlie Weis' final South Bend game. As for the Pac-12's remnant:
Halfway through the Pac-12's two-year limbo era, what does this … feel like?
Ashtyn Butuso, Oregon State alum and editor-in-chief of Flagrant, a hoops magazine: I worked at the Pac-12 Network (RIP), and I see the same mismanagement in the conference today. I'm still mourning the loss of the best conference. CFB used to bring me so much joy, and now I'm almost dreading September. I hope the Big Ten and the SEC enjoy buying 10,000 more championships. They will mean nothing. The magic is gone, and money ruins everything. Go Beavs forever.
Brian Floyd, director of strategy for USA Today Sports Media Group and former CougCenter writer: Sadness has mostly replaced anger. Starting over can be exciting, but that feeling is offset by seeing the cuts to the athletic department, departure of athletes and coaches, and worries about how Pullman may change without big home-game weekends. Wazzu's athletic department has long pushed the boulder up the hill, but this time, the rock took out all the people pushing it and flattened a village, too.
Absolutely, it sucks to feel like the most pressing things to ask OSU and WSU knowers are questions about tribulations instead of actual ball. (The Beavers might have stopped the roster bleeding! Washington State is FBS South Dakota State now!) And now I'm mad all over again at Pac-12 leadership and Big Ten greed for the feeding frenzy that gutted the old conference.
This year, the Pac-2 meet in Corvallis on Nov. 1, then in Pullman on Nov. 29. Last year, 5-7 OSU took the theoretical league crown over 8-5 Wazzu.
🎮 Is College Football 26 worth the upgrade, for those who already have last year's game? Chris Vannini's detailed review lands on the same grade as Until Saturday's mini-review. Consensus.
🏆 Why the Big 12 would rather get one automatic bid than two, explained by commissioner Brett Yormark.
💰 Deion Sanders called for a salary cap in college sports. The 'revenue-sharing' thing is as close as it's ever gonna get, but in a world where coaches (like Deion) make $10M while top QBs make less than half that, maybe there are some salaries that should be capped.
🥶 ICYMI, second-time UCF coach Scott Frost said he regrets leaving the Knights in 2017 for his alma mater, Nebraska. There's a lot going on there.
🧢 Texas Tech's recruiting weekend was an even bigger success than just that one headline, as Grace Raynor explains in this national recruiting catch-up from earlier this week.
💰 'A new college sports enforcement arm charged with regulating name, image and likeness payments to athletes issued guidance Thursday that could make it extremely difficult for school-affiliated collectives to get their deals with athletes approved.'
Speaking of Texas Tech's acquisitions (a common thing to speak about, these days), here are just a few of the quotes in this story on what Big 12 coaches think about the billionaire-boosted Red Raiders' roster:
Actually, that last one was by Joey McGuire, Tech's own head coach. Guess we're all on the same page.
The Big 12 isn't releasing official media predictions this year (after last year's were just about the most upside-down predictions I've ever seen, led by Arizona State going from No. 16 to No. 1), but Tech is in a five-way tie for the conference lead in BetMGM's odds (while also being No. 3 in SP+ and No. 7 in FPI).
How fascinating is Texas Tech right now? Here's one of the two Red Raider questions Stewart Mandel fielded in his mailbag this week:
Seeing a non-blue blood program like Texas Tech make splash after splash in recruiting is wild. Am I wrong in thinking the powers-that-be are going to do everything they can to stamp this out? — Houston
As I wrote a few weeks ago, people in college athletics have earnestly convinced themselves that the House settlement is going to 'level the playing field.' In fact, it's the exact opposite.
If the CSC/Deloitte succeeds in eliminating pay-for-play booster deals and the only thing schools can offer is that $20.5 million in rev-share, good luck to the Texas Techs of the world ever beating the likes of Texas or Ohio State again. Sure, you might beat one of them out for a specific prospect, if you're willing to devote more of your rev-share budget than they are. But that's just going to leave you with less for guys further down your roster, who, if the dollars are comparable, are probably going to pick the blue blood over the upstart nine times out of 10.
Again, this is why Texas Tech fascinates me. I think it's safe to say no billionaire booster has ever spent more on talent acquisition than Cody Campbell. Indeed, Phil Knight (Oregon) and Boone Pickens (Oklahoma State) helped their programs gain relevance before him, but most of their money was spent on buildings.
So far in the NIL era, football has not been a strictly 'rich get richer' proposition. In some cases, like Texas Tech, it's been the rich lifting their favorite school out of poverty. But I realize many of you find the whole thing icky. If the new model holds up, we can all go back to the more innocent days of recruits picking their schools based on coaching relationships, academics, development, secretly paid-for unofficial visits, McDonald's bags and a hush-hush job and/or apartment for mom or dad.
More Mandel mailbag.
That's a wrap for this week. Email me at [e-mail] with your recommendation on which school should buck the trend and go independent.
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