Own the group chat with The Weekender, highlighting the biggest stories in college sports, standout writing from Eleven Warriors, and a glance at what’s next.
THE POP-TART BOWL: THE PEOPLE’S NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Everyone’s favorite bowl game returned on Saturday, Dec. 27, as No. 12 BYU and No. 22 Georgia Tech met in the Pop-Tarts Bowl in Orlando, Florida.
This game had everything: a massive fourth-quarter comeback, late-game heroics, and two life-sized Pop-Tarts sacrificing themselves to be eaten by the winning team. Ultimately, it was BYU that erased a 21-10 fourth-quarter deficit to emerge victorious, 25-21, and claim the Pop-Tarts Bowl Trophy, which also doubles as a functioning toaster.
Entering this year’s game, the Pop-Tart Bowls dubbed itself “The People’s National Championship.” And BYU certainly celebrated like a team that found itself at the top of the college football mountaintop.
BYU coach Kalani Sitake inhales an entire Pop-Tart after winning the Pop-Tarts Bowl.
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) December 28, 2025
pic.twitter.com/I5uT2vhSA0
LOL, Kalani Sitake ate one of the Pop-Tarts poured on him pic.twitter.com/pvEZ9iNXRh
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) December 28, 2025
BYU true-freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier brought home Pop-Tarts Bowl MVP honors behind a stellar performance, in which he threw for 325 yards and a touchdown while completing 27 of 38 pass attempts.
BAYLOR MEN’S BASKETBALL ADDS A FORMER NBA DRAFT PICK
Baylor received quite the Christmas miracle from the NCAA.
On Christmas Eve, the Baylor men’s basketball team added the services of 7-0 center James Nnaji, who is immediately eligible to join the team for the stretch run of the 2025-26 season. Nnaji’s addition represents a shifting tide across college basketball when it comes to former professionals stepping down to the college ranks, as Nnaji is just two years removed from his selection in the 2023 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons.
Nnaji was taken No. 31 overall by the Pistons before his rights were traded to the Charlotte Hornets, and most recently, the New York Knicks. The 21-year-old Nigerian native never came stateside, however, opting to remain in Europe while playing for FC Barcelona.
Nnaji was primarily a bench piece for FC Barcelona, averaging just 8.3 minutes per game during his last season with the team. With those limited minutes, Nnaji produced just 2.3 points and 2.2 rebounds per game while shooting 64.9 percent from the field.
Longtime Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo took particular exception to Nnaji’s addition to college basketball in one of his classic rants about the state of college basketball.
“Now we're taking guys that were drafted in the NBA?" Izzo said. "Come on, Magic (Johnson) and Gary (Harris), let's go baby, let's do it. Why not? I mean, if that's what we're going to do, shame on the NCAA. Shame on the coaches, too. But shame on the NCAA, because coaches are gonna do what they gotta do.”
Tom Izzo was asked about James Nnaji enrolling at Baylor. Nnaji, 21, was selected 31st in the 2023 NBA Draft but he never signed an NBA contract, choosing instead to play professionally in Europe, before appearing with the Knicks in the 2025 Summer League. Here's Izzo's answer: pic.twitter.com/yPWHLyy6Sw
— Spartans Illustrated (@Spartans_Illo) December 27, 2025
QUINTREVION WISNER ENTERS THE TRANSFER PORTAL
Texas will be without its leading rusher from each of the last two seasons in 2026.
Star running back Quintrevion Wisner, who led the Longhorns in rushing in 2024 and 2025, will enter the transfer portal when it opens on Jan. 2. Wisner is one of four Texas running backs to enter the transfer portal this cycle, joining CJ Baxter, Jerrick Gibson and Rickey Stewart Jr.
Wisner was a leading force in Texas’ run to the College Football Playoff Semifinals in 2024, rushing for 1,064 yards while scoring six total touchdowns on the season. In the Cotton Bowl against Ohio State, Wisner rushed for 46 yards on 17 carries and hauled in six receptions for 42 yards.
In 2025, Wisner battled injuries throughout the first half of the regular season, sustaining an injury during Texas’ 14-7 loss to Ohio State in the season-opener. In that game, Wisner rushed for 80 yards on 16 carries.
Despite missing three games, Wisner rushed for 597 yards and three touchdowns on the season.
ICYMI
After offensive coordinator Brian Harline spent much of the year calling plays for the Buckeyes, head coach Ryan Day will return as the primary offensive play caller during Ohio State’s playoff run.
THE SITUATIONAL: A REASON TO SEE YOU AGAIN
Ohio State ended a period of dominance from Miami after its victory in the Fiesta Bowl in 2003, claiming the national championship in the process. In 2025, the Buckeyes and Hurricanes meet at the Cotton Bowl with similar stakes on the line.
FIVE KEYS TO VICTORY FOR OHIO STATE IN THE COTTON BOWL VS. MIAMI
There will be several factors at play during Ohio State’s Cotton Bowl contest with Miami, with a spot in the College Football Playoff Semifinal on the line.
WHAT’S NEXT
- Women’s Basketball: vs. No. 4 UCLA, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2 p.m. ET on BTN
- Men’s Basketball: @ Rutgers, Friday, Jan. 2, 8 p.m. ET on Peacock
- Cotton Bowl: vs. Miami, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN
