-
6 days ago | 
essentiallysports.com | Rahaan Mazumder
“Fernandomania.” Halfway through the 2023 season, the California Golden Bears’ offense was stuck in the mud, a predictable and punchless unit spiraling towards irrelevance. Then, out of sheer desperation, HC Justin Wilcox handed the keys to a complete unknown: a redshirt freshman QB, Fernando Mendoza. Now, keep in mind that this wasn’t some 5-star golden boy destined to “magically uplift” the Bears mid-season. Going on a 1,708-yard and 14 TD run in 8 games, Mendoza showed he had the spark.
-
6 days ago | 
essentiallysports.com | Rahaan Mazumder
“It sounds like he’s gonna make an announcement on Tuesday.” In the high-stakes chess match for 5-star QB Ryder Lyons, Oregon’s Dan Lanning looked to have the checkmate move lined up. Fresh off a weekend visit to Eugene, the Ducks, a program synonymous with high-flying offenses and Nike-fueled swagger, felt like the obvious choice.
-
6 days ago | 
essentiallysports.com | Rahaan Mazumder
From the high-profile drama of Jordan Addison‘s move from Pitt to USC, which had Pat Narduzzi publicly fuming about alleged tampering, to countless other players suddenly entering the portal with a new destination pre-arranged… In the wild west of modern college football, the line between recruiting and outright theft has become so blurred it’s practically invisible.
-
1 week ago | 
essentiallysports.com | Rahaan Mazumder
“I wasn’t very good my sophomore year, but I just stuck with it. And what Clemson’s done with me is develop me. They’ve got me better.” The 2025 Heisman narrative was set: On corner A, you had SEC royalty, Texas’s Arch Manning. Corner B? Well, an underdog but deserving candidate, Garrett Nussmeier. But then something changed. An ACC dynasty with a 10-win haul 2024 campaign put their knight on the board, and suddenly the college football world had one name on their lips: Cade Klubnik.
-
1 week ago | 
essentiallysports.com | Rahaan Mazumder
A disastrous 5-7 2024 campaign marking the program’s first losing season since 2001—what was arguably supposed to be a home-run hire, ended up dog-walking the Badgers straight into the abyss. To say Luke Fickell is on the proverbial “hot seat” of CFB coaching would be an understatement. Year three is now a referendum on his entire tenure—zero margin for error and pressure so immense it can put Hugh Freeze’s situation to shame.
-
1 week ago | 
essentiallysports.com | Rahaan Mazumder
“The focus is on [Bryce] Underwood, but it should be on finding new backs to go with him.” Sherrone Moore’s entire conquest of landing and perfecting Bryce Underwood might have been the saving grace for the Wolverines’ 2025 conquest. However, there still is a big question flying around: Is putting a national title defense on the shoulders of a true freshman with no safety net truly the way?
-
2 weeks ago | 
essentiallysports.com | Rahaan Mazumder
“We ain’t about to panic!” This mantra became the battle cry of Notre Dame’s 2024 run to the national title game. It defined Marcus Freeman’s culture: steel-nerved, defiant, anchored in the belief that chaos is just the fuel the Fighting Irish need. Yet fate laughs at best-laid plans. The ghost of Mercedes-Benz Stadium still chokes South Bend. Six starters in street clothes. A national championship stolen by Ohio State while Notre Dame’s depth chart bled out on the sideline.
-
2 weeks ago | 
essentiallysports.com | Rahaan Mazumder
“It’s a resurrection job for a coach walking into the SEC’s worst roster outside of Vanderbilt.” Now we wish we were joking, but being 124th nationally on third downs, a 48–0 shellacking by Arkansas (the worst loss in the rivalry’s 78-year history), and a fanbase that watched ten opponents hang 30+ points on the scoreboard points to one simple thing: Jeff Lebby didn’t inherit a rebuild—he took custody of a dumpster fire. 2024 was hopeless with the roster ending the year on a miserable 2-10 run.
-
2 weeks ago | 
essentiallysports.com | Rahaan Mazumder
“You know, like we said from the jump, he is a generational talent, he’s a special player.” Imagine hopping onto the gridiron in your freshman season, Cris Carter’s 40-year record, then going on to completely redefine what it means to be “NFL ready” at just 19 years old. Ryan Day’s comment on Jeremiah Smith being “a generational talent” wasn’t something far-fetched.
-
2 weeks ago | 
essentiallysports.com | Rahaan Mazumder
The confetti hadn’t even been swept from Ohio State’s national championship parade when Jim Knowles dropped a grenade on Ryan Day’s dynasty… Now, while Day was successful at dog-walking the Nittany Lions on a miserable 20-13 game, James Franklin and Co.’s $3+ million paycheck managed to outweigh and shadow the win. With this simple defect to Penn State, Ohio State’s defensive soul evaporated into thin air. “But then they asked me not to come to the parade.
