ATLANTA – Injuries decimated the one unit on Ohio State’s team that seemed least equipped to handle it. The most important test is Monday, of course, but the Buckeyes’ offensive line has held up better than almost anyone outside the Woody Hayes Athletic Center believed. When left tackle Josh Simmons and then center Seth McLaughlin were lost for the season …

ATLANTA — Jim Knowles is at his most comfortable hiding in an office, door closed, with a cup of coffee as he dissects plays and draws up game plans. He’s not a mystery in the Ohio State football facility, but when that door is closed, there’s plenty of intrigue outside the defensive coordinator’s office. “I always called him Batman,” Buckeyes …

Lou Holtz appears to be back at it again. Someone alert Ryan Day. Last week, the former Notre Dame coach renewed his “friendship” with Day with a jab in a quote tweet from ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show.” Holtz also appeared to announce his plan to be in attendance for Monday’s CFP championship game vs. Ohio State. “If Notre Dame …

Ohio State and Notre Dame battle Monday in Atlanta in the 2025 College Football Playoff National Championship. The 7-seed Fighting Irish and 8-seed Buckeyes had to play three rounds of playoffs to reach the finale. Either Marcus Freeman or Ryan Day will capture their first national championship as a coach. The Buckeyes lost two regular-season contests and missed the Big …

Tennessee football landed Duke running back Star Thomas out of the transfer portal to help reload its backfield. Thomas made the announcement Sunday on X, formerly known as Twitter, writing “Rocky Top! Let’s do it.” The Vols must replace SEC Offensive Player of the Year Dylan Sampson, who declared for the NFL Draft, and rebuild their depth after reserve running …

ATLANTA — If you’ve watched any Ohio State football this fall, you know about phenom Jeremiah Smith and you’re probably familiar with his running mate Emeka Egbuka.  The 1-2 punch at wide receiver makes the Buckeyes difficult on most days, impossible on others. But think about this: If you would have told any Texas Longhorns fan that Smith would finish …

ATLANTA — There have been performances throughout the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff that should remind us all that players want to play on the biggest stages and at the biggest moments.  In an age where the prevalent theme of December and January in the sport is complaining about who isn’t playing — opt-outs of the full-game and halftime variety …

This story was updated to add new information OXFORD — Ole Miss football coach Lane Kiffin has added another weapon from the transfer portal to his offense next season. Former Penn State wide receiver Harrison Wallace is transferring to Ole Miss. He announced the move in a social media post Sunday. Wallace was Penn State’s top statistical wide receiver this …

ATLANTA — Pete Bevacqua, first-year athletic director for Notre Dame, inherited Marcus Freeman as the school’s football coach. Not that anyone is complaining about that with the Irish (14-1) one win from ending a 36-year national championship drought. Notre Dame faces favored Ohio State on Monday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in the College Football Playoff title game. “He’s the perfect …

If you’ve ever been to the Jersey Shore, you can feel it. The breeze coming off the shore. The smells of cotton candy and funnel cakes wafting through the air. A Bruce Springsteen song playing over the loudspeakers. For Al Golden, this is paradise. This is the place that shaped him, that made him into one of the best defensive …

Memphis football has a new defensive line coach. Joe Cauthen will replace Spence Nowinsky, coach Ryan Silverfield announced Sunday afternoon. Nowinsky is expected to be the next defensive coordinator at New Mexico. That opened up the spot for Cauthen, who spent 2024 as a defensive analyst with the Tigers and now earns a promotion. He has a long career in …

ATLANTA — Coming off its first appearance in the national championship game in 12 years, independent Notre Dame football faces an “unbelievably great” schedule in 2025, according to first-year athletic director Pete Bevacqua. It includes two teams ranked in the most recent College Football Playoff committee deliberation: No. 9 Boise State at home on Oct. 4 and No. 13 Miami …

With Penn State’s football season now officially in the books, now is a good time to start putting the whole season into perspective. Although the season ended with the Nittany Lions coming up just short of playing for a national championship, there were a lot of good moments to reflect on positively from the 2024 season that ended with a …

ATLANTA — Somewhere on the field Monday evening inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Ohio State linebackers coach James Laurinaitis will roam the field, searching for a fellow Buckeye legend. He’ll shake his best friend’s hand, embrace him with a hug and remind him how proud he is of his friend’s accomplishments. Their exchange will be briefer than usual, but that’s the nature …

ATLANTA — Over the final month of the regular season, one college football team endured more criticism than any other: Indiana. They played nobody! Their strength of schedule stinks! They shouldn’t even be considered for the playoff! Well, as it turns out, the Hoosiers weren’t so bad after all. Their only two losses of the season came against each of …