College Football

Have more comments, questions? Reach out to me at bwhite1@dispatch.com. Letters are lightly edited for clarity. On Ohio State football To Mr. White: Please advise your staff that OSU football players have been making “jump-up-worthy” memorable plays for generations. Your recent voting contest included only three out of 16 total plays that were from prior to 1990. I understand the bias towards …

Somewhere between trips to College Station, Texas, and West Lafayette, Indiana, or New York’s Yankee Stadium and the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Chris Absher admits he’s lost track of how many miles his family has traveled following the Notre Dame football team this fall. “Outside of the one in East Rutherford, New Jersey, when they faced Navy, we’ve been to …

The Texas Tech football team picked up its third commitment for the 2026 recruiting class on Saturday, getting a pledge from New Braunfels Canyon defensive back Luke Bell. Bell, listed at 6-foot and 175 pounds, played in five games this season for a Class 6A team that finished 8-5. He was credited with 38 tackles, including four tackles for loss. …

It all comes down to this. Ohio State. Notre Dame. A chance to win a College Football Playoff national championship. The Buckeyes’ last title came in 2014. The Fighting Irish? 1988. One of these storied programs will get to hang another banner following Monday’s title game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta (7:30 p.m., ESPN). Despite Notre Dame being seeded ahead …

Clemson football quarterback Cade Klubnik revealed why he returned to the Tigers for his fourth season. “I wanted to be at a certain spot (in the NFL draft), and I don’t think I was quite there, so I want to come back for another year and really have a great fourth year,” Klubnik said Thursday on the Field Talk Podcast. “That’s kind of …

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 …

Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian and the university have agreed to terms on a contract extension, a source confirmed with the Austin American-Statesman. The news was first reported by the Action Network. A high-ranking official told the Statesman on Saturday that Sarkisian’s current contract was extended to seven years through the 2031 season. Sarkisian also received an increase from his …

Illinois football added size and physicality to the interior of its offensive line this week, landing a commitment from high school lineman Landen Von Seggern of Nebraska, he announced on social media. The 6-foot-3, 280-pounder is a three-star recruit from Omaha Millard South, ranked No. 59 nationally among interior linemen and No. 4 in Nebraska, according to 247Sports.com. He chose …

Syndication: Shreveport Times/The Times HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — The Sun Belt fined Marshall $100,000 on Friday for opting out of the Independence Bowl last month. Marshall withdrew from the Dec. 28 game in Shreveport, Louisiana, after a coaching change resulted in much of its roster jumping into the transfer portal. Louisiana Tech replaced Marshall in the game against Army, which beat …

OXFORD — The likely starting quarterback for Ole Miss football is 2025 is no longer a dual-sport athlete, according to a report from 247Sports. Austin Simmons will not be on the 2025 Ole Miss baseball roster, according to the report. Simmons is entering his redshirt sophomore season. He was a left-handed pitcher for Ole Miss baseball team as well as …

ATLANTA – Notre Dame football wide receiver Beaux Collins offered positive updates on two fronts Saturday at the College Football Playoff media day. Listed as questionable with a strained calf, Collins expects to play in Monday night’s CFP championship game against Ohio State. The Clemson graduate transfer ranks second on the team with 37 receptions for 458 yards, and his …

ATLANTA – They will be opponents on Monday, but for James Laurinaitis and Marcus Freeman, it will be a brief pause in a deep friendship. Their bond formed as Ohio State linebackers two decades ago. Freeman was the new Notre Dame coach when he gave Laurinaitis his first coaching job as a graduate assistant in 2022. Laurinaitis is now the …

MADISON – Up until Saturday the discourse in the ongoing battle between Xavier Lucas and the University of Wisconsin has been one-sided with Lucas and his attorney offering their side of the story. That changed Saturday. Wisconsin issued a statement on the situation involving the freshman’s departure from the school, and it offered some interesting details. * On Dec. 2, …

ATLANTA — Notre Dame’s athletic director said “I think there’s a chance” for tweaks to the way the College Football Playoff awards byes next year — an issue that will be discussed this weekend but that would need unanimous approval from the 10 conferences and the Fighting Irish. Speaking at media day Saturday in advance of the national title game, …

When it comes to Monday’s College Football Playoff championship game between Ohio State and Notre Dame, former Florida football coach Urban Meyer has mixed emotions. Meyer was a wide receivers coach at Notre Dame from 1996-2000, but grew up in Ashtabula, Ohio, and worked as a graduate assistant at Ohio State from 1986-87 under Earle Bruce. After leaving Florida, Meyer …