I don’t think I’m alone in the thinking that 2026 will be the year that USC returns to be one of the elite football powers. And if they do, a big part of the credit is going to go to a guy you may not have ever heard of. USC head coach Lincoln Riley and Athletic Director Jen Cohen spent most all of 2024 interviewing and finally hiring a general manager—Notre Dame’s Chad Bowden. The need for a general manager got its start beginning in 2018 with rule changes that eliminated the eligibility penalty a player incurred when they wanted to change schools—allowing for greater player freedom. Starting in 2021 players were also able to get paid for their Name, Image and Likeness (NIL). Adding to that was a lawsuit brought by Arizona State swimmer Grant House and Texas Christian University basketball player Sedona Price against the NCAA and five collegiate athletic conferences. In the suit they sought NIL damages and asked the court to force the NCAA and conferences to allow revenue sharing with student athletes from the broadcast rights. That suit was eventually granted class action status which the NCAA chose to settle and now allow each member institution to distribute annually up to $20.5 million dollars to Power 5 programs per year. Add all of those changes up and there’s no way a head coach can handle NIL, compliance, and revenue sharing while at the same time be responsible for recruiting, teaching and developing players, hiring and supervising qualified coordinators and coaches, researching film and putting together game plans, handling player substitutions due to injury, and the list goes on.
Eli Lederman tells us about Bowden in his article for ESPN entitled, How the USC Trojans landed the top 2026 recruiting class. Regarding Riley and Cohen’s search he wrote, “Eventually, USC honed in on a brash, intensely energetic 30-year-old with front office pedigree and a grasp of the sport’s evolving landscape: Notre Dame’s Chad Bowden.” According to Lederman’s article Bowden was the Director of Recruiting when Cincinnati got into the CFP in 2021. He worked with head coach Marcus Freeman at Notre Dame to overhaul the program’s personnel setup and overhaul the roster that played for the national championship this past January.” Besides that, Texas Tech and Alabama’s general managers were interviewed but chose to stay where they were. By the way, both of those teams will be playing for conference titles this coming Saturday, December 6th—not a coincidence.
As far as what General Managers of college football teams are responsible for, well it can be a lot which David Evans, Sports Editor for Sports Casting, points out in his article entitled, “What Does a GM do in College Football? NIL, Transfers, Payroll and More Explained.” Here’s the laundry list that he provided:
- Roster forecasting: GMs maintain scholarship charts across multiple seasons. They track eligibility, anticipate departures, and balance the depth chart so no position group collapses. This includes coordinating with academics and medical staff on player availability.
- Recruiting operations: They oversee both high school recruiting and transfer portal scouting. Many manage the recruiting staff outright. They assign evaluations, schedule visits, maintain internal ratings boards, and align recruiting with current roster gaps.
- NIL strategy: GMs manage relationships with collectives, sponsors, and donors. They help direct NIL funding where it has the biggest impact — keeping a star quarterback, sealing a top transfer — while keeping deals compliant and sustainable. They also educate players on what’s permissible.
- Revenue share management: With the House settlement taking effect in 2025, GMs are now involved in planning how to distribute shared revenue fairly across the roster. Some will act as payroll managers, working with compliance and legal teams to build allocation models for guaranteed pay.
- Staffing strategy: Many GMs are involved in hiring assistant coaches and analysts. They help plan salary structures, approve staff roles, and keep the program’s support personnel aligned with competitive goals.
- Donor and external relations: GMs often handle booster engagement, especially when collectives are directly funding NIL deals. Some serve as public-facing figures — explaining strategy, managing expectations, and representing the program in media or events.
If all of that sounded like big business that’s because it is. As far as this game goes, USC won but still gave their fans fits along the way. After taking a 7-0 lead in the first quarter they were shut out in the second and trailed 10-7 at the half. In the second half they returned the favor, shutting out the Bruins in both quarters while scoring 22 more points of their own to win it 29-10 and now sit in fourth place in the Big Ten Standings, right behind No. 5 Oregon. UCLA was still ahead with just five minutes left in the third quarter. But then the Trojans scored on back-to-back-to-back TD’s in about ten minutes of actual playing time and ended up making it look kind of easy.
For USC, Junior QB Jayden Maiava connected on 21-of-29 for 257 yards, 2 TD’s—one to Junior WR Makai Lemon and the other to Senior TE Lake McCree—and no interceptions while also rushing 4 times for 10 yards. On the ground, Freshman RB King Miller led the way again for the Trojans picking up 124 yards and 2 TD’s on 17 carries. For UCLA, Sophomore QB Nico Iamaleava was 27-of-38 for 200 yards, 1 TD to Sophomore WR Kwazi Gilmore, and no interceptions while also picking up 15 yards on the ground. Collectively the Bruins rushed for 108 yards on 26 carries without ever finding the end zone. The Trojans led in first downs, 21-20; total yards of offense, 388-308; had only 3 penalties for 30 yards; picked up 3rd downs at a 67% clip and recorded 4 sacks, 5 tackles for loss, and 4 pass disruptions. For UCLA, that’s it for 2025. For USC, more than one has speculated that the Trojans’ most likely post season destination will be the Volero Alamo Bowl, December 30th at 9:00pm on ESPN.
No. 6 Oregon at Washington
It was an up and down year for Washington and I can’t remember a season over the past eight where they lost two games at Husky Stadium, although at least those losses were to No. 1 Ohio State and this past Saturday’s 26-14 loss to No. 5 Oregon. Last year, head coach Jedd Fisch’s first, they finished 6-7 overall and 4-5 in conference with all those wins coming at home. This year they finished 8-4 overall, 5-4 in conference and were able to win two of those conference games on the road. They played their most complete game at home in a 42-25 win against No. 23 Illinois and suffered their most embarrassing loss on the road against Wisconsin. At times they have really struggled offensively as Jared Tucker points out in UW’s The Daily when he writes; “There’s been a common theme in the Washington football team’s four losses this season. It was found in scoring zero touchdowns against No. 1 Ohio State, or in its 40 yards rushing against No. 15 Michigan. It’s evident in scoring just 10 points against Wisconsin, and again Saturday in just a 14-point outing against No. 6 Oregon. When the offense doesn’t show up, neither does Washington.”
Without the mistakes, the Huskies had a chance to actually win this one but it just wasn’t to be. But there’s always next year, right? Speaking of that, Washington expects to be better and are looking to get pen-to-paper on Wednesday, December 3rd, for some of their early commits like 5-star 6’ 6” 320lb offensive tackle Kodi Greene from Mater Dei HS in Santa Ana, four-star defensive linemen 6’ 5” 245lb Derek Colman-Brusa from Kennedy Catholic in Seattle and 6’ 2” 270lb JD Hill from Mission Viejo as well as 6’ 1” 193lb QB Derek Zammit from DePaul Catholic in Wayne New Jersey. All to that seven other 4-star recruits and twelve 3-stars including 6’ 3” 302lb defensive lineman Tufanua Umu-Cais from Cherry Creek in Colorado and 6’ 7” 360lb offensive tackle Dominic Harris from Las Vegas. Then, there’s the transfer portal where Fisch will look to fill any holes or maybe find a more experienced player or sometimes even the best players in the game. After all Oregon’s Dante Moore was originally with UCLA and Cam Ward started out as a zero-star recruit with Incarnate Word before he went to Washington State and then landed with Miami out of the portal before being picked No. 1 in the NFL draft.
This wasn’t the first time that the Husky offense seemed to be missing at the beginning of a game and even though the Ducks were only able to get three points on the board in the first quarter Washington was far worse with two three-and-outs, another punt, and an interception to end the period. Fourteen plays and eighty yards later, helped along by a Husky pass interference penalty, Oregon’s Sophomore QB Dante Moore would take it into the end zone to go up 10-0. After holding Washington to a three-and-out the Ducks would add three more on Senior Place Kicker Atticus Sappington’s second field goal of the game—this one from 32 yards out. Washington finally got it together on their sixth possession of the game and found the end zone after a 12 play 75 yard drive—also helped along with a pass interference penalty—and 3 yard TD pass from Sophomore QB Demond Williams Jr. to Junior WR Denzel Boston to make it a 13-7 game with time expiring in the half.
The Ducks would hold Washington scoreless in the third quarter while sending Sappington out for his third and fourth field goals of the game—one from 37 yards and the other from 51—to extend their lead by six to 19-7. After holding Oregon to a three-and-out to start the fourth, Washington would get within a single possession at the end of a drive consisting of seven consecutive runs and then back-to-back-to-back passes including a 13 yard TD pass from Williams to Boston—their second of the game to close within five, 19-14. The Ducks took one second less than a minute to get those seven points back on a 64 yard TD pass from Moore to Senior WR Malik Benson, now 26-14. On Washington’s next possession and sitting 4th and 3 at their own 32 yard line Fisch decided to go for it and ended up turning the ball back over to Oregon. Nine plays later the Ducks were sitting 4th and 1 at the Husky four yard line. Instead of sending Sappington out again for what would have been his fifth field goal, they went for it, didn’t make it and had to turn the ball back over. With just over two minutes to play and after a 24 yard pass completion from Williams to Sophomore TE Decker DeGraaf, Williams would be intercepted by Oregon’s Junior DB Dillon Thieneman with the Ducks running the clock out from there.
For Oregon, Sophomore QB Dante Moore connected on just under 70% of his throws for 286 yards, 1 TD to Senior WR Malik Benson, and no interceptions while also rushing seven times for the Ducks only rushing TD. On the ground they collectively rushed 42 times for 106 yards. On the defensive side Oregon recorded four sacks, six tackles for loss, and three pass disruptions. For Washington, Sophomore QB Demond Williams Jr was just 15-of-30 for 2 TD’s—both to Junior WR Denzel Boston—and two picks while also rushing 10 times for 27 yards. On the ground, Sophomore RB Adam Mohammed did the bulk of the work, rushing 14 times for 105 of the team’s 154 yard total. The only two categories Washington led in when it was over was first downs, by just one, and turnovers—two compared to none for the Ducks. Oregon out-paced the Huskies in total yards of offense, 392-to-283; converted their fourth down attempts 67% of the time compared to 50% for Washington; had twice as many yards-per-pass, twice as many sacks, three pass disruptions to none for the Huskies, and possessed the ball four seconds shy of ten extra minutes.