College football’s money race still matters, but 2026 is giving us a reminder that spending big does not guarantee the best return. A recent report from On3’s Pete Nakos pointed to three teams making the most of what they have - and each one has opened the season by punching well above its financial weight.
Kentucky is the clearest example so far. In preseason NIL valuations, Texas A&M and LSU sat among the sport’s biggest spenders, yet Kentucky has outplayed both while working with a reported $22-25 million budget.
That’s a striking number in a league full of heavy hitters, especially considering the Wildcats are doing it under a new coach. Their 5-1 start has turned heads, and the payoff has shown up in the AP poll, where Kentucky is now No.
- If this run keeps going, the Wildcats could end up in the College Football Playoff conversation while A&M and LSU are left on the outside.
Wake Forest is carving out a similar lane in the ACC. Miami remains one of the conference’s biggest NIL players, with the high-profile addition of QB Darian Mensah standing out as a prime example.
Even so, it’s Wake Forest that currently sits second in the league and has the best chance to give the ACC a second CFP team. The reported NIL budget there is just $13 million, less than a third of what Miami was estimated to be spending.
At No. 21, Wake Forest also has a schedule that leaves room for a finish well above expectations.
The Demon Deacons have only one ranked team left, No. 24 SMU, which means 10-2 or even 11-1 is on the table.
If that happens, they’ll be doing it while spending barely $1 million in NIL funding per win.
Then there’s Oklahoma State, which may have found the shrewdest formula of the bunch. After a brutal 1-11 season in 2025, the Cowboys reset by hiring Eric Morris away from North Texas.
Morris didn’t come alone, either, bringing pieces of his old roster with him. The result has been an apparently budget-friendly roster built for immediate impact, with Oklahoma State reportedly spending just $18 million.
The payoff has been obvious. At 4-1 and ranked No. 18, the Cowboys have already logged a win over an Oregon team estimated to carry one of the sport’s highest payrolls.
The road is still there for Oklahoma State, with Houston and Texas Tech remaining on the schedule, but the Cowboys have put themselves in position for a surprising College Football Playoff push. If there’s a blueprint here, it may be this: importing Group of Five talent into a Power Conference job can be the smartest bargain in the sport.
In Other News...
Oklahoma State Faces A Bigger Test Than Just Another Big 12 Game
Eric Morris just reached the 50-win mark in his head-coaching career, a milestone worth noting even in a conference where the week-to-week pressure never really lets up. Ahead of Oklahoma States next matchup, he also took a moment to acknowledge the much longer road Willie Fritz has traveled, pointing to the Houston coachs 266 career victories and the steady climb that has defined Fritzs career.
For a Cowboys team preparing for a demanding Big 12 test, the contrast in experience adds another layer to the matchup. Morris clearly has respect for the work Fritz has put in over the years, and it frames this game as more than just another conference date on the schedule, with two programs that have both earned their way into the national conversation now measuring themselves against a coach whose rsum stands far above the rest. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma State Faces Its Biggest Big 12 Test Yet At Houston
No. 18 Oklahoma State heads to Houston for a showdown that suddenly carries real weight in the Big 12 race, with both teams sitting inside the AP top 20 and the conference-championship picture very much in play. The trip to TDECU Stadium brings together a Cowboys team that has put together four straight wins and a Cougars group that just knocked off Kansas State, a reminder that this is not just another late-season league game.
For Oklahoma State, the bigger story has been how quickly the program has steadied itself after a major roster overhaul, with first-year coach Eric Morris guiding a group that looks far more settled than it did in the fall. Houston has its own momentum and its own offensive playmakers, so this one has the feel of a true measuring-stick game for the Cowboys, with the result likely to say plenty about where they fit in the conference hierarchy. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma States Surprising Run Faces Its Biggest Test Yet
Oklahoma States rebound from a season-opening loss has turned into one of the more encouraging early stretches in the Big 12, with four straight wins capped by the upset of Oregon. Now the Cowboys head into a matchup with No. 20 Houston, a team that has found its footing too with three consecutive victories, setting up a game that feels like a real measuring stick rather than just another step in September.
Houston has been getting production from tight end Patrick Overmyer, who leads the Cougars in receptions and yards and comes in as one of the leagues more intriguing mismatches. For Oklahoma State, the challenge is clear: keep the momentum alive against a ranked opponent that is also in form, and do it on the road where small mistakes can quickly tilt a game like this. [Read more 🡒]