Maryland: True Freshman Standouts from Week 10 of College Football.
Maryland · PurdueConference championships were front and center amid discussions about CFP expansion. ESPN held the rights to three of those games – the SEC, Big 12 and ACC – while FOX held the rights to the Big Ten’s title game.
Because those games would go away, ESPN would get roughly $140 million back under the new media rights deal, ESPN’s Pete Thamel previously reported. That means the network will essentially pay $205 million for the expanded bracket.
News of the CFP’s deal to expand to 24 teams comes ahead of the third installment of the 12-team bracket, which will get underway in December. If Notre Dame is in the Top 12 of the final rankings, it would also get in the bracket.
First- and second-round games would still take place at campus sites under the expanded College Football Playoff. From there, they would shift to bowl sites for the quarterfinals and semifinals before the national championship game.
KEY POINTS
- On3 highlights true freshman standouts from week 10 of the college football season, led by Maryland EDGE and former five-star, Zion Elee.
- A loaded slate of marquee games across week 10 of the 2026 college football season delivered some big performances from true freshmen.
- Two former blue-chip prospects had three sack outings, a pair of true freshman pass-catchers on College Football Playoff hopefuls went for over 100 yards with a touchdown, and a 345-pound nose tackle was disruptive in a SEC win.
- The true freshman finished with eight pressures, 3 sacks, and 2 stops, according to Pro Football Focus.