With a chance to advance to the quarterfinals, who will step up in the first round of the College Football Playoff? Whether it’s at the quarterback, receiver or defensive position, there are plenty of stars that will take part in the inaugural first round of the expanded 12-team playoff. But as the road to a national championship gets tougher against …

Meet the coach who helped turn a question mark into an Eagles’ strength originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia Zack Baun was about to walk through the double doors into the Eagles’ locker room this week when he urged Oren Burks to share Bobby King’s favorite expression. And Burks came through. “When in doubt, choose violence,” he said. It’s something …

The Tennessee Volunteers make their College Football Playoff debut on Saturday as they travel as the No. 9 seed to take on No. 8 seed Ohio State in the first round. The Vols last won a national title in the 1998 season under the BCS system and they never made the four-team CFB playoff field. They rode a strong defense …

Rams Bobby Brown II (95), Kobie Turner (91), Byron Young (0) and Michael Hoecht have been creating a bond since camp. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers is the NFL’s oldest player. At 41, he has shown flashes of the skill that helped him win four NFL most-valuable-player awards. So young Rams defensive players …

Donovan Hinish and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish will play the Indiana Hoosiers in the College Football Playoffs this weekend, here’s how to watch. (Melinda Meijer/ISI Photos/Getty Images) No. 10 Indiana will head to No. 7 Notre Dame for a first-round College Football Playoff game this Friday; it will be the first meeting between the two teams since 1991. Notre …

The Chargers celebrate a 34-yard catch and run for a touchdown by Hassan Haskins’ (28) that clinched a comeback victory over the Broncos. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) How was Justin Herbert able to make the cross-body throw on the run that resulted in Derius Davis’ go-ahead touchdown? How was Joshua Palmer able to get his right hand on …

The on-campus first-round matchups of the 2024 College Football Playoffs get rolling this weekend and the No. 12 Clemson Tigers (10-3) and the No. 5 Texas Longhorns (11-2) will square off in the second of three Saturday matchups. The Longhorns were defeated by No. 2 Georgia 22-19 in overtime in the SEC Championship Game. Meanwhile, Clemson picked up a 34-31 win …

Jim Harbaugh spent nine seasons away from the NFL. It takes much less time than that for the NFL to completely turn over. The personnel had almost totally changed since Harbaugh went to Michigan. Schemes evolved too as coaches moved in and out. It should have taken at least a season to readjust to the pros. But through all of …

Although Louisville football didn’t make the College Football Playoff, two former Cardinals could face one another this season. Defensive linemen Jeff Clark and Jermayne Lole left Louisville for Arizona State and Texas, respectively, prior to the 2024 season. The Sun Devils won the Big 12, earning the No. 4 seed, and await the winner between the fifth-seeded Longhorns and 12th-seeded …

The Broncos will clinch a playoff berth with a victory over the Chargers on Thursday night and they have started the game playing like it. After forcing a quick three-and-out on defense, Denver put the ball in the box with Audric Estime’s first career touchdown. That gave the club an early 7-0 lead over Los Angeles. The Broncos converted third-and-2 …

North Carolina football’s hiring of Bill Belichick as its new head coach just set a standard of what it will take to be competitive, and the ripple effects will be felt in the commonwealth and all of college football. It has little to do with Belichick’s stature as arguably the greatest coach in NFL history with his six Super Bowl …

The Broncos scored first on Thursday night, but it didn’t take the Chargers long to respond. Gus Edwards powered his way into the end zone on Los Angeles’ second possession, capping an eight-play drive with a touchdown to tie the score at 7-7. Running back Kimani Vidal had one of the big plays on the drive, running 19 yards down …

BLOOMINGTON — Indiana football’s defense has left chaos in its wake this season. That’s the biggest takeaway Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman had when scouting the Hoosiers ahead of Friday night’s game in the first round of the College Football Playoff between the teams. The stats back Freeman up — Indiana finished the regular season with the No. 3 rushing defense …

Denver has had two possessions in Los Angeles on Thursday night. So far, the Broncos have executed them perfectly — scoring another touchdown to go back up 14-7. Quarterback Bo Nix tossed a 1-yard score to cap the 12-play, 70-yard drive. Nix prevented a three-and-out and moved the chains with a 10-yard scramble on third-and-9. Then a few plays later, …

SOUTH BEND — Notre Dame’s path to Friday’s College Football Playoff opener against Indiana was lined with a series of teachable moments, if not outright blessings from on high. In several cases, going all the way back to Beaux Collins’ shove at Texas A&M and including Jordan Clark’s headbutt against Louisville, penalty flags for unsportsmanlike conduct could have been thrown, …