Fifteen days ago, Alabama football coach Kalen DeBoer preached commitment. The Crimson Tide was stunned, having just finished a 24-3 road loss to Oklahoma, a game intended to be a tune-up before an Iron Bowl that decided Alabama’s SEC championship fate, a game that had the Crimson Tide as a multiple-touchdown favorite. DeBoer was disappointed. He was frustrated. But he …

Hufanga’s return forms strong duo alongside 49ers rookie Mustapha originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area SANTA CLARA — Talanoa Hufanga’s return in the 49ers’ 38-18 win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday at Levi’s Stadium lifted the team emotionally, while also elevating San Francisco’s play on the field. Coach Kyle Shanahan was excited to see the veteran safety in …

Dec. 8—PULLMAN — Washington State will be making a second trip to southern California this season. WSU will play Syracuse in the Holiday Bowl, which is set for 5 p.m. on Dec. 27 at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, the site of the Cougars’ win over San Diego State on Oct. 26, the bowl announced Sunday afternoon. For the Cougs, …

Taylor details ‘next man’ up mentality in 49ers’ win vs. Bears originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area Patrick Taylor Jr. made the most of his on-field opportunities. The 49ers running back explained his mindset stepping in for an injured Isaac Guerendo in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s 38-13 victory over the Chicago Bears. “Just preparing throughout the week,” Taylor …

BYU coach LaVell Edwards holding conference championship trophy with punter Lee Johnson (No. 10) on Nov. 24, 1984. | Mark Philbrick, BYU Photo In 1953, the population of the United States was 158 million and on Nov. 26, that year, Thanksgiving Day, the BYU-Utah football game televised nationally on NBC, drawing 60 million viewers. That’s more than last year’s No. …

How 49ers’ message of desperation, urgency fueled big win vs. Bears originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area SANTA CLARA — Desperate times oftentimes call for desperate measures. However, that wasn’t quite the case for the 49ers this week. Yes, the times indeed are desperate. No, drastic measures were not taken in the week leading up to the 38-13 win …

Scott Frost paused for a moment and looked down. Then, he delivered the line of the night with a little nod of his head. “Yeah, it was hard for me to leave. It was emotional,” he said of departure from UCF after the 2017 season. “When you’re climbing the ladder of success in life, sometimes they forget to tell you …

How 49ers’ Week 14 win over Bears impacts NFC playoff picture originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area Welcome to the wild, wild West. The 49ers kept their very slim playoff hopes alive … for now. With a 38-13 win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday at Levi’s Stadium, San Francisco ended its three-game skid and improved to 6-7 with …

When the Texas Tech football team tangles with Arkansas in the Liberty Bowl later this month, Tech coach Joey McGuire will be on the opposite side of the rivalry than he might’ve imagined himself as a kid. McGuire was born in Texarkana on the Texas-Arkansas border. He told the Avalanche-Journal shortly after Texas Tech hired him in 2021 how he …

Caleb Williams bordered on shifting the blame. Then he thought better of it. The Chicago Bears rookie quarterback wasn’t denying he lost a third-quarter fumble. But for a moment, he didn’t display comfort owning it. What happened on the pass he started to throw and instead lost in a motion sufficiently backward to warrant a fumble? “Timing wise we were …

The Huskies are going bowling. In his first season at the helm, head coach Jedd Fisch leads “U-Dub” to a bowl berth. A 6-6 record, enough to earn the Huskies an invitation to the “Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl”. Washington will face the Louisville Cardinals in the 91st edition of the bowl. That game will be played in El Paso, …

Subscribe to Inside Coverage In this week’s Inside Coverage, Jason Fitz and Frank Schwab react to every game from the Week 14 NFL Sunday slate. Fitz and Frank start with some of the more interesting outcomes, including the Kansas City Chiefs escaping with a close win on Sunday night and the Buffalo Bills’ stunning loss to the Los Angeles Rams, …

INDIANAPOLIS – Penn State was seeded sixth and will face 11th-seeded SMU at Beaver Stadium in the first round of the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff, it was announced Sunday. The Nittany Lions (11-2) and the Mustangs (11-2) will play at noon on Saturday, Dec. 21, on TNT. It will be their first meeting since Penn State’s 26-21 win in …

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) passes under pressure from Chargers linebacker Khalil Mack (52). (Charlie Riedel / Associated Press) After rallying from a 13-point halftime deficit, the Chargers were left with a familiar, unwelcome sight. Patrick Mahomes leading a game-winning, clock-bleeding drive. The Kansas City Chiefs kicked a game-winning field goal off the upright to clinch their ninth consecutive AFC …

Dec. 8—Is intercollegiate football at the highest level worth continuing at the University of New Mexico? Probably not, but good sense has little to do with the politics of running an institution of higher learning. No university president wants to be remembered for disbanding the football team. No member of the board of regents can abide an angry earful about …