College Football

It isn’t often that true freshmen grace the two-deep at Iowa. When it happens, it means an individual has been incredibly impressive early on. It can also indicate that the situation presented an opportunity. Both are true in the case of true freshman wide receiver Reece Vander Zee. The 6-foot-4, 207 pound freshman out of Central Lyon High School has …

STILLWATER — Through the first 12 games of last season, Sesi Vailahi prepared like he was going to play, but never expected it. As Oklahoma State’s fourth-string running back, he knew his time would only come in a massive blowout. So the freshman watched and waited. Then, as the Cowboys prepared for the Big 12 Championship Game against Texas, attrition …

From the very beginning, the brains behind the development and implementation of the College Football Playoff wanted to hit the sweet spot of “a generic name that was catchy,” said playoff executive director Bill Hancock. One suggestion was “College Bowl,” which was discarded for any possible confusion between the longtime radio and television quiz show of the same name. Another …

Sept 19, 2009; Auburn, AL, USA; Auburn Tigers receiver Darvin Adams (89) catches a touchdown pass as West Virginia Mountaineers defensive back Robert Sands (2) makes the tackle during the second half at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn. Mandatory Credit: John Reed-USA TODAY Sports College football, in its entirety, gets underway this weekend. To celebrate, USA TODAY Sports’ Erick Smith has …

Lansing State Journal columnist Graham Couch breaks down Michigan State’s football opener vs. Florida Atlantic, 7 p.m. Friday. TV: Big Ten Network. Betting line: MSU 14 1. Aidan Chiles There are a lot of factors that’ll determine this MSU football season beyond Aidan Chiles. But if the Spartans are going punch up this fall, it’ll likely mean their sophomore quarterback …

College football made it just one game into the 2024 season before a top-10 team went down. Georgia Tech pulled off an upset to open the college football season on Saturday, when it beat ACC foe and No. 10 ranked Florida State, 24-21, with a game-winning 44-yard field goal as time expired in Dublin, Ireland. It added insult to injury …

Offensive linemen usually aren’t the high school football players who receive the most attention, but there are times when one sets himself apart. That is the case for Westerville North’s Jake Cook, a senior who has committed to Ohio State. Cook originally committed to Louisville, but Ohio State hosted him for multiple summer recruiting camps. When he announced his commitment …

The cover of this football special section has an obvious musical concept with illustrations of LPs, CDs and even an old-school cassette tape. If you were to plug that cassette into your tape deck, you would undoubtedly hear David Bowie singing the theme song for the 2024 college football season. “Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes, Turn and face the strange ch-ch-changes.” The chorus of …

UCF, as it stands now, has its highest-rated class in Gus Malzahn’s tenure. Currently ranked 28th overall by 247Sports for the 2025 recruiting cycle, the Knights boast four, four-star recruits and have flipped high-level talent from other Power Four schools. Now in their second year in the Big 12, the Knights are looking to finish in the top-25 for the …

INDIANAPOLIS – Purdue football improved since last season, raising its across-the-board talent level — and by extension its depth — and further buying into Ryan Walters’ system. Will its record improve? On the eve of the season, those two questions seem only marginally related. Based on historical precedent, the Boilermakers face understandable skepticism as to whether they can beat projected …

There’s a problem with playing Murray State in your opening game of the season. Missouri football coach Eli Drinkwitz addressed it Sunday, as he previewed the Tigers’ opening game of the season, which comes Thursday evening in Columbia against the FCS Racers. There just ain’t a whole bunch of tape for this new-look Murray State team. More: How to buy …

Let me take you to a more realistic time, when hoity-toity Michigan football was beside itself over a coach steering the spotless football program deep into NCAA violation waters. By practicing too much. Now here we are, some 15 years and what seems like a lifetime of mediocre football later, and Michigan is protecting its long-awaited national championship of 2023 …

The opening week of Ohio State’s season has finally arrived. The Buckeyes are a 50-point favorite over Akron for Saturday afternoon’s game at Ohio Stadium, so the level of anticipation is nothing like the 2022 opener against Notre Dame or even last year’s opener at Indiana. Aug 27, 2024; Columbus, OH, United States; Ohio State football coach Ryan Day speaks …

Aug. 27—Football season began like the first few drops of a rain shower last week but this week the floodgates are open. Last Saturday, I was, thanks to the Dish Network DVR able to keep up with the action, downing a few snacks along the way. This weekend, we add the first weekends of the high school season. It seems …

What once appeared to be fading into the background has been thrust into the spotlight once again. That would be the sign-stealing allegations that are currently pointed at the Michigan Wolverines football program. This time, it involves the Iowa Hawkeyes and a game that took place against Michigan. In 2022, Michigan took down Iowa 27-14 in Kinnick Stadium. At the …