Author: nfltalk

Florida football will be without several key players, and could be missing even more, when it hosts Mississippi State on Saturday, according to the initial SEC Availability Report released Wednesday night.

Six Gators are officially out heading into the Week 8 matchup, including running backs Treyaun Webb and Duke Clark, edge rusher LJ McCray, defensive backs Aaron Gates and Dijon Johnson and defensive lineman Caleb Banks.

All six were expected absences, with most dealing with injuries that have sidelined them for multiple weeks.

The bigger story is the group of questionable players, which features several key contributors on both sides of the ball.

Starting safety Jordan Castell, one of Florida’s top defensive players, is uncertain to play. Defensive back Cormani McClain is also questionable, as is defensive lineman Brien Taylor Jr.

Offensively, tight end Tony Livingston, who’s caught six passes for 47 yards and a touchdown this year, and offensive lineman Devon Manuel are both questionable.

Running back Ja’Kobi Jackson was a game-time decision last week against Texas A&M, but did not play. He’s currently listed as questionable for this week.

Here’s the full initial SEC Availability Report for the Florida Gators.

The SEC Availability Reporting Policy

“In accordance with the Student-Athlete Availability Reporting Policy, teams must submit initial reports on Wednesday by 7:00 pm Central time / 8:00 pm Eastern time for a Saturday game (or, for any non-Saturday game, three nights before the game by 7:00 pm Central time / 8:00 pm Eastern time) … and update the Availability Report once per day on Thursday and Friday (after the conclusion of practice and before 7 pm Central time / 8 pm Eastern time).”

Each player must receive one of four designations:

Out (i.e., will not play/0% chance to play);Doubtful (i.e., unlikely to play/25%…..

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When the College Football Playoff expanded to 12 teams, Bracketology fully entered the sport. With the CFP now using a straight-seeding model — giving the top four teams in the rankings first-round byes — the battle for at-large bids and the committee’s bubble decisions have started to reshape how we view the second half of the season.

Before the year, we each took our shot at predicting the first 12-team Playoff and the eventual national champion. Some of those picks couldn’t have aged worse — I was one of three who tabbed Penn State as the No. 1 overall seed and national champion.

Thankfully, our editors are giving us a midseason mulligan to re-pick our CFP bracket and national champion. We’ve also updated our Heisman Trophy and Coach of the Year selections. 

And while it’s unlikely our new champion pick will have fired its coach by season’s end, college football in 2025 has proven that just about anything is possible when it comes to the sport’s elite programs.

College Football Playoff predictions

Top four seeds get first-round byes

Rest of field (No. 5-12) 

2025 national champion

Ohio State: As other contenders stumble in the first half of the season, Ohio State’s almost made it look easy in cruising to 6-0. Yes, Texas and Washington pushed the Buckeyes a bit, but those games were never in any serious doubt. And a very good Illinois team couldn’t do anything against OSU until garbage time. The Buckeyes have a top five defense and a top 20 offense, and it really does feel like that offensive unit can hit another gear or two. Given the path for Ohio State to the playoff (no remaining Top 25 opponents on the schedule) and its talent, I think Ohio State is the obvious pick at the midway point to win the…

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Texas A&M’s 2027 recruiting class is on the cusp of landing one of the most explosive players in the cycle after hosting four-star wide receiver Tre Moore during last weekend’s 34-17 win over the Florida Gators, which impressed several fellow visitors in the cycle, including five-star cornerback John Meredith, who is now predicted to land with the Aggies.

After landing four-star defensive lineman Elijah Patmon less than an hour before the game, head coach Mike Elko and his staff are looking to land their first playmaker in the cycle, and Tre Moore fits all the boxes, as he is already having a breakout junior season at Weiss in Pflugerville (TX). In seven games, the 6’3″, 200-pound pass catcher has already reeled in 53 receptions for 923 yards and 13 touchdowns.

On Tuesday, Rivals recruiting insider Steve Wiltfong released his interview with Moore, who discussed his trip to Kyle Field on Saturday night.

“The environment was electric,” Moore stated.” I could sense the excitement of the Aggies about how the season is going and how Coach (Mike) Elko and staff is moving things forward. 

For any recruit, watching the team in pursuit dominate on both sides of the ball has, and will result in future commitments, and for Moore, the team’s potential, paired with Mike Elko’s focus on “development and family,” has made Texas A&M the current favorite in Moore’s recruitment this early in the process.

According to Rivals, Tre Moore is currently positioned as the No. 19 receiver and No. 96 prospect overall in the 2027 cycle.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Cameron on X: @CameronOhnysty.

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Every big-time school with a football opening is going to be interested in Curt Cignetti.

Indiana made the best coaching hire this decade when it plucked a 62-year-old out of James Madison. The son of a coach, Cignetti took the long, hard path to coaching stardom. To casual fans, he might seem like an overnight sensation, but he grinded his way up the ladder to now leading the No. 3 team in the country. He’s the best story in college football. 

Predictably, his name has already been prominently mentioned with the Penn State opening. If other big jobs like Florida, Auburn and Wisconsin open up, he’ll get mentioned for those, too. 

It seems to be as much about Cignetti’s ability as the notion that, of course, a football blue blood would be able to coach steal from Indiana. That outdated thinking would be ignoring what Indiana has done to give Cignetti the necessary resources to maintain a sustainable winner. 

What Cignetti decides to do with the attractive options that will come in spades at the end of the season is up to him, but Indiana has smartly done everything it could in less than two years to show he doesn’t have to leave to win big. 

Let’s start with the fact Cignetti already makes $8.3 million annually before bonuses, will receive a $1 million retention bonus in November and will surely get another raise in the coming months. This after the school already doubled his salary in less than a year on the job. Indiana is committed to making sure Cignetti is very, very well compensated to be its football coach. 

It doesn’t stop at just the head coach level, either. 

Indiana stepped up to keep defensive coordinator Bryant Haines and strength and conditioning coach Derek Owings, fending off top Big Ten programs to hold on to both. In…

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