NEW ORLEANS — Maybe it was because of Arizona State (15-7). Or Stanford (42-33). Or Southern California (52-42), Oregon State (22-20) or Washington State (24-21). Maybe it was because Washington was the champions of a disintegrating league, the Pac-12, which is set to exist in any form for just one more game before becoming a college football footnote. Not even …

Quarterback J.J. McCarthy celebrates after the Wolverines beat Alabama to earn a berth in the US College Football Playoff championship game (Sean M. Haffey) Undefeated Michigan and unbeaten Washington will meet next Monday in the US College Football Playoff championship game after capturing dramatic semi-final thrillers on Monday. Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy threw three touchdown passes and Blake Corum ran for the …

NCAA Football: Sugar Bowl-Texas at Washington NEW ORLEANS — Michael Penix Jr. passed for 430 yards and two touchdowns, and Washington held off Texas 37-31 in the Sugar Bowl on Monday night to advance to the College Football Playoff championship game, earning both the sixth-year quarterback with two surgically repaired knees and the beleaguered Pac-12 one more game this season. …

Welcome to the Michael Penix Jr. bandwagon — we’re glad to see you. If you missed out on the Washington Huskies’ quarterback over the last two years because he plays mostly on the West Coast, or you minimized his NFL potential due to his medical history (injuries ended all four of his seasons at Indiana before he transferred to Washington, …

Welcome to 2024 where the Pittsburgh Steelers are still playing meaningful football. It’s a new year so it’s time for a new seven-round mock draft update. This time we opted to pass on a quarterback thanks to the inspired play of Mason Rudolph. Instead, we load up on both sides of the football at the team’s top positions of need …

A miracle fourth-down conversion in the Iron Bowl against Auburn kept No. 4 Alabama in the College Football Playoff mix, but a failed fourth-down play in the 27-20 overtime loss to No. 1 Michigan in the Rose Bowl semifinal ended the Crimson Tide’s season.  It was a simple call, with quarterback Jalen Milroe being stopped short of the goal line on a …

The fateful two-point play in Lions-Cowboys that was wiped out due to a penalty over eligibility continues to be one of the biggest stories in the NFL. Plenty of Lions fans believe the officials screwed up the situation, either accidentally or deliberately. But there continues to be one very important question that hasn’t been answered. Did coach Dan Campbell review …

Few, if any College Football Playoff games all-time came with the hype that No. 1 Michigan against No. 4 Alabama in the Rose Bowl did this season. And as it turned out, the game lived up to the hype, going into overtime before being decided. Michigan scored on their possession of overtime while Alabama moved the ball inside the Wolverines …

The Miami Dolphins limped out of Baltimore and right into an AFC East championship game they didn’t want. It’s not all doom and gloom for the Dolphins — they certainly could win a home game against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday night, after all — but a regular season that was so promising just a few weeks ago looks like …

PASADENA, Calif. − Sitting hunched over in the chair next to his locker, Alabama safety Caleb Downs kept giving the same answer to each question. What changed the last drive and in overtime? “We didn’t finish as a team.” Was there anything Michigan did differently? “We didn’t finish as a team,” Downs said again. “Alabama didn’t finish as a team.” …

PASADENA, California − Sitting hunched over in the chair next to his locker, Alabama football safety Caleb Downs kept giving the same answer to each question. What changed the last drive and in overtime? “We didn’t finish as a team.” Was there anything Michigan did differently? “We didn’t finish as a team,” Downs said again. “Alabama didn’t finish as a …

Although the Rose Bowl did not end the way the Alabama Crimson Tide would have hoped for with a 27-20 loss to Michigan in the College Football Playoff semifinal matchup, it’s always important to recognize those who made a positive impact on the game. For Alabama, it wasn’t an offensive or defensive player, instead, it was punter James Burnip. Burnip …

Alabama had an interesting 2023 college football season. The team steadily improved and eventually won the SEC championship and found its way into the playoffs. The Rose Bowl semifinal performance did not live up to the expectations of many. Jalen Milroe did not have his best game, the offensive line was arguably the least consistent its been all season and …

The only better thing than a touchdown in a huge game is a touchdown by a huge man in a huge game. With 10:08 left in the first half of the Texas Longhorns’ CFP Semifinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl game against the Washington Huskies, Texas was down 14-7, and defensive lineman Byron Murphy II took care of that with …

The Los Angeles Rams are making a last-minute kicker change before the playoffs. The Rams — after waiving Lucas Havrisik following their 26-25 win over the New York Giants on Sunday — have signed Brett Maher, who started the season with the Rams. Havrisik missed two extra points at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. Maher spent the first seven weeks of …