College Football

Free Press sports writers share their predictions for the College Football Playoff national championship game between Michigan football and Washington in Houston on Monday: Tony Garcia Washington enters play with the nation’s longest winning streak (21 games) and one of the nation’s most prolific offenses. That said, U-M’s offense is better compared to Washington’s defense than the other side of the ball. It’s …

The last time an SEC school didn’t make the College Football Playoff national championship game was the first time the CFP was held. Ohio State won that year. The Buckeyes beat Oregon. But then you probably don’t need a reminder about the SEC’s dominance. The conference reminds us plenty. So do the results. Since that first year — 2014 — …

HOUSTON — The spotlight is usually reserved for Jim Harbaugh. But on Saturday morning, roughly 57 hours before Michigan football faces Washington in the College Football Playoff championship game for the greatest prize of all, the Wolverines’ young brigade of assistants received a little shine as well. One by one, they took their turn on the dais inside Hall A …

No. 2 Washington is set to play in its first national championship game in program history against No. 1 Michigan on Monday night. The Huskies missed a bowl game and went 4-8 two years ago but have been unstoppable since hiring coach Kalen DeBoer. Washington is 25-2 under DeBoer’s watch, including a perfect 14-0 in 2023. Still, Vegas considers the …

ORLANDO — In each of Gus Malzahn’s three seasons as head coach, and boosted by the Power Five move into the Big 12 Conference, UCF has upped the ante on the recruiting trail. The Knights signed their most accomplished high school class in history last month, cracking the top-35 on all four major recruiting services’ team rankings (247Sports, On3 Sports, …

SOUTH BEND — Before riding north out of El Paso with a Sun Bowl victory in his saddle bag, Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman smiled at a questioner’s premise. Thirteen years earlier, in the only other Irish appearance at the Sun Bowl, a 2010 win over Miami launched Brian Kelly’s rebooted program to an eventual national title appearance in …

It all comes down to this as the Michigan Wolverines and Washington Huskies square off in the 2024 College Football Playoff National Championship game Monday at 7:30 p.m. The top-seeded Wolverines took down the No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide with a 27-20 overtime victory in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day in Pasadena, California. Later that night, the No. …

Clemson wide receiver signee T.J. Moore may not be the highest-rated pass-catcher in the 2024 recruiting cycle, but he has the potential to be the best. Playing in the All-American Bowl on Saturday, Moore had two touchdown grabs and 180 yards on 11 receptions, one of which was an impressive one-handed catch, as Team East came up short against Team …

After two consecutive losses in the College Football Playoff semifinals, the No. 1 Michigan Wolverines (14-0) finally got over the hump and now take on the second-ranked Washington Huskies (14-0) on Monday in the 2024 CFP National Championship game. Michigan was trounced by Georgia in the semifinals in 2021 and suffered a six-point loss to TCU the following year before …

Florida State football added its second addition from the NCAA Transfer Portal and the fourth player in the winter portal Saturday evening. Former Alabama defensive back Earl Little Jr. announced his commitment to the Seminoles on social media. Little finished off an official visit to Tallahassee this week, which began Thursday and spanned into Saturday morning. He played in just three …

In an interesting move on Friday, Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovaiola entered the transfer portal. However, as of Friday, Tagovaiola has no available eligibility to use at another school. The former four-star quarterback and Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback spent his true freshman season at Alabama in 2019 before spending each of the last four seasons with the Maryland Terrapins. During his …

Ask, and you shall receive! Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko has been on fire this past week, already landing 14 confirmed transfer portal additions, including two confirmations on Saturday. Just minutes after former Troy offensive tackle Derrick Graham announced his commitment, former Florida veteran cornerback Jaydon Hill followed suit, further adding to the Aggies’ now respectable secondary. With one …

Jan. 6—PULLMAN — The quarterback room at Washington State gained a member on Saturday. The Cougars added Zevi Eckhaus, a junior transfer from FCS Bryant, who will be a senior next season. Eckhaus, the reigning Big South-OVC Offensive Player of the Year, originally signed with Jacksonville State out of the transfer portal. But because portal players don’t enter binding agreements …

Offensive line coach Jack Bicknell Jr. talks with Wisconsin players during practice on Aug. 6, 2023. MADISON – Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell clearly was not satisfied with the performance of UW’s offensive line this season. A source close to the program confirmed an ESPN report that Jack Bicknell Jr. will not coach the line in 2024. He could remain in …

SDSU’s Mark Gronowski (11) runs with the ball during a game against Missouri State on Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023 at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium in Brookings, South Dakota. South Dakota State quarterback Mark Gronowski was named the 2023 Walter Payton Award winner Saturday at the Stats Perform FCS National Awards Banquet. The Walter Payton Award honors the national offensive player …