Football

Star ratings explained: who assigns 2-5 stars, how the composite works, how rare five-stars are, and how predictive the system really is.

Verbal commitments bind nothing; signatures bind everything. What replaced the Letter of Intent, and why flips happen right up to the fax.

Signing day explained: the early December period that became the real signing day, February’s fading role, and what replaced the Letter of Intent.

Why Notre Dame stays independent: the NBC deal since 1991, the ACC arrangement, its own CFP path and the money that makes it all work.

NIL collectives explained: donor-funded organizations paying players for name, image and likeness – and how the House settlement changed their job.

Coach buyouts explained: guaranteed contracts, offset and mitigation clauses, who pays, and how firings became eight-figure transactions.

The 2026 CFP access rules: P4 champion auto-bids, one Group of Six spot, Notre Dame’s top-12 path, and straight-seeded byes for the top 4.

Conference championship games explained: top-2 matchups after divisions died, tiebreaker math, and the 2026 auto-bid stakes that changed everything.

Buy games explained: power programs pay reported $1-2M guarantees for one-off home games – why both sides sign up for the mismatch.

How bowl games select teams: the 6-win rule, conference tie-ins, bowl agreements and where the payout money actually goes.