Author: nfltalk

Welcome back to College Football Saturday!

While your Miami Hurricanes are on a bye, there are a couple great marquee matchups tonight in Primetime.

While you watch games from coast to coast today, hop in the comments and talk about the action as it happens. And, in case you needed to know who to root for in games with ACC teams, we’ve got you covered on that front:

I’ll post a couple highlight games in this window, but here’s a watchgrid graphic from TrigDraws, a contributor with another network.

Other games on during primetime and late night

Big, big games tonight. Which one gets the big screen: Oregon-Penn State or Alabama-Georgia?

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The hype was already building for the first top-10 battle between Miami and Florida State in over a decade as the No. 8 Seminoles traveled to play Virginia on Friday night. All they had to do was get past a UVa team that hadn’t beaten a top-10 opponent at home in 30 years and the stage would be set.

Unbeaten Miami would be traveling to take on unbeaten Florida State next week in a rivalry showdown that would be the talk of college football. After all, the last time Miami and FSU met in a top-10 matchup, FSU used its win over the Hurricanes as a springboard on its way to the 2013 BCS national title.

But if anyone from the ACC is going to contend for the national championship this season, it will be Miami. 

While Florida State’s stunning 46-38 loss to Virginia on Friday night didn’t completely disqualify the ‘Noles from College Football Playoff contention, it recalibrated expectations for a team that saw its stock soar following a Week 1 upset win over Alabama. 

Florida State may be light-years better than it was last season, when it finished 2-10. But it proved against Virginia that it’s not as great as its stunning upset of the Crimson Tide suggested.

That’s bad news for the the ACC, which is down to one legitimate national-title contender before the end of September.

It’s also bad news for college football, which could have benefitted from the nostalgia provoked by a week of anticipation leading up to a top-10 showdown between Miami and Florida State. Next week’s game at FSU’s Doak Campbell Stadium will still be significant, but Florida State’s loss to Virginia reduces the buzz. 

FSU can reclaim some momentum by beating Miami next week, but such an outcome would only further muddy the ACC’s aspirations of winning its first…

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Could Vanderbilt’s rising star be the answer in Blacksburg?

Virginia Tech’s search for a new head coach has taken an intriguing turn. While names like Shane Beamer and Michael Vick generate headlines, one candidate has quietly gained momentum: Vanderbilt’s Clark Lea. Hokie fans may remember him well, Lea’s Commodores have beaten Virginia Tech in back-to-back seasons, and his track record of building programs speaks volumes.

Lea’s resume is hard to ignore. He rebuilt Vanderbilt, a program that was once the SEC’s punching bag. In 2024, the Commodores shocked Alabama in one of the biggest upsets of the season. Now in 2025, they’re off to a 4-0 start, including a key win over South Carolina. That kind of turnaround proves Lea knows how to change culture and win games.

His defensive pedigree stands out. Before returning to his alma mater, Lea coordinated Notre Dame’s defense, turning the Irish into a College Football Playoff contender. Virginia Tech, long known for its defensive identity, could see Lea as the right fit to restore that reputation.

Virginia Tech finally has the resources to lure a coach of Lea’s caliber. With an increased budget, they can compete with SEC-level contracts. Landing Lea won’t be easy, as he’s a Vanderbilt alum deeply tied to Nashville, but Blacksburg has the pull of tradition and opportunity.

If the Hokies want a proven program builder with SEC toughness, Clark Lea might just be the man to lead them forward.

MORE COLLEGE FOOTBALL NEWS: 

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Former Wisconsin offensive lineman Bill Ferrario, a two-time All-Big Ten selection and a key contributor on two conference championship teams, died Wednesday, according to the Scranton Times-Tribune. Ferrario turned 47 on Monday, just days before his death. The Wisconsin football program confirmed Ferrario’s death Thursday. 

Ferrario, a native of Scranton, Pennsylvania, shined with the Badgers from 1997-2000. He started every single game of his career and in the process became just the third player in Big Ten history to reach 50 starts. The 50 consecutive starts remains the second-longest streak by a Wisconsin player.

Ferrario was a model of consistency throughout his college career and a terrific blocker. He helped pave the way for running back Ron Dayne on his way to the Heisman Trophy and was a stalwart in the trenches for Badgers teams that won two Big Ten titles and the 1999 and 2000 Rose Bowls. In turn, he earned a first-team All-Big Ten honor in 1999 and second-team nod in 2000.

The Green Bay Packers selected Ferrario in the fourth round of the 2001 NFL Draft, keeping him in the state of Wisconsin for the start of his professional career. Ferrario played in all 16 games during the 2002 season before the Packers waived him the following year. He signed with and was released by both Washington and Carolina and did not see game action for either franchise before leaving the league in 2005.

Ferrario moved back to Wisconsin at the end of his NFL career and embarked on a career in the medical sales industry. He also sold real estate and worked with high school…

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