Jan. 5—No. 1 Michigan and No. 2 Washington will write the closing chapter on the four-team College Football Playoff Monday in Houston as they compete for a national championship. Its a game that features the last two undefeated teams in FBS, but which one will finish the season unblemished? News Press sports reporters Marcus Trevino and Ryan Breeden make their …

LSU football coach Brian Kelly is set to bring back a familiar face to fans to his coaching staff. Per multiple reports, Missouri defensive coordinator Blake Baker is expected to be take the same position at LSU. Baker, who coached linebackers in 2021 in Baton Rouge on former coach Ed Orgeron’s staff, will replace Matt House, who was relived of …

LSU has found its defensive coordinator. On Friday night, the team announced that it had poached Blake Baker away from SEC foe Missouri. Baker has spent the last two seasons with the Tigers, elevating a defense that was one of the worst in the nation in 2021 to one of the best this past fall. Before joining Eli Drinkwitz’s Missouri …

On Thursday, former Rutgers football defensive lineman Stanley Dennis II received an offer from Sacred Heart University. Dennis entered the transfer portal in December. The 5-foot-11, 285-pound defensive tackle leaves Rutgers football with two years of eligibility. He played his high school football at St. Peter’s Prep, the parochial powerhouse program in downtown Jersey City. Dennis performed well in the …

AUBURN — Auburn football may be losing a key piece in the secondary. Less than a month after announcing his intention to return to the Tigers, veteran defensive back Keionte Scott is expected to enter the transfer portal, according to multiple reports Friday evening. Scott had potential to move on to the NFL after his second year on the Plains, …

LSU made its defensive coordinator hire on Friday night, bringing in Blake Baker from Missouri. But that’s a move that will not come cheap. Baker recently signed an extension with the Tigers that made him one of the SEC’s highest-paid assistants at an average of $2 million per year. According to Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger, Baker’s deal at LSU will …

Michigan State football continues to fill out their staff under new head coach Jonathan Smith, and with the primary on-field coaches nearly all accounted for, the Spartans will now look to complete their support staff. On Friday, the Spartans updated their support staff directory, and Christian Pawola Jr. was added as a defensive backs graduate assistant. Pawola was at Minnesota, …

Blake Baker’s time as Missouri football’s defensive coordinator — one that not so long ago looked to have become extended and more lucrative — is over. The defensive play-caller who led Missouri from the 106th-ranked unit in total defense in the FBS to Nos. 33 and 34 in 2022 and 2023, respectively, will take the same role at LSU, a team spokesperson …

Oklahoma rising-sophomore quarterback Jackson Arnold enrolled early and will enter 2024 as the starter in Norman. Arnold ranked as a five-star quarterback by 247Sports and as a top 10 player nationally in the 2023 recruiting class and was heavily pursued by Tommy Rees and Notre Dame. It was almost Notre Dame that landed the talents of Arnold too, but something …

Jan. 5—PULLMAN — If Washington State’s football team has any intentions on slowing down in the transfer portal, the Cougars haven’t shown it yet. They added two more players Friday, both of whom previously played at Oregon: receiver Kris Hutson, who spent the past four seasons with the Ducks, and linebacker Keith Brown, who played his first two seasons at …

A spot in the NFL playoffs will be on the line when the Indianapolis Colts and Houston Texans collide in a win-and-you’re-in Week 18 matchup on Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium. The Texans and Colts enter the game tied at 9-7 and would earn at least a wild card berth with a victory. If the Jaguars (also 9-7) lose to …

Michigan football is finally playing for a national title. For the first time in the 21st century, the Wolverines have a shot to take control of the college football world in an outright title game. It’s cinema, really. Though Michigan already vanquished Nick Saban and his Crimson Tide, there remains an equally, if not more, talented squad in the title …

HOUSTON, Tx. — After years and years of hand-wringing, underachievement, close calls, questionable plays, and disappointing seasons, Michigan football is finally one game away from winning a national championship for the first time since 1997. It will face off against a hungry Washington team that hasn’t won it all since 1991, when the Huskies were in their heyday. Both teams …

NEWARK, N.J. — Chicago Blackhawks rookie Connor Bedard departed Friday night’s game against New Jersey after he was leveled by Devils defenseman Brendan Smith in the first period. Bedard was selected by Chicago with the No. 1 overall pick in last year’s draft. The 18-year-old center has 15 goals and 18 assists in 38 games. Bedard was hit by Smith …

Bengals receiver Ja’Marr Chase becomes eligible for a contract extension this offseason. He has one year left on his rookie deal, and it’s certain the Bengals will exercise his fifth-year option, putting him under team control through 2025. But Chase hopes for a new deal with the Bengals sooner than later. “Lord knows, I want to do that. I mean, …