Author: nfltalk

This year’s meter seeks to make up for last year’s poor bowl placement decision by the college football committee. The Orange looked poised to participate in the Pop-Tarts sweepstakes like we predicted, but the rug got pulled out from under them during the selection show. I still think about Fran Brown eating a victory toaster pastry from time to time, but we must move on.

Alas, there’s already some positive juju flowing with the Go Bowling Military Bowl O’Meter. Just over two weeks ago, NASCAR driver J.J. Yeley raced at Watkins Glen in a Syracuse football D.A.R.T. car. The sponsor of that event? Go Bowling. Coincidence? I think not.

Our meter will be ready to rock for Syracuse’s Week 1 clash against Tennessee on Saturday. Speaking of which, check out the updated tracker for 2025:

We’re not even in September, but the “experts” are already out in full force with their bowl predictions. Here’s where they stand:

Not much optimism to start. Bonagura has Duke in the Military Bowl, which could easily flip to SU if the Orange take care of business against the Blue Devils at home on Sept. 27.

A rematch of 2022? Our meter is setting the bar a little higher than that. However, I wouldn’t mind exacting some revenge on Goldy Gopher in the Bronx.

Well, we got the military involved, just not the way we planned. Let’s switch the game, keep the opponent and call it a deal.

Obviously a December 29th game in Alabama wouldn’t be the ideal vacation destination for Orange fans, but we can’t be too picky.

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How do you like this year’s Nunes Meter? What bowl game do you think Syracuse will end up in?

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Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola knows the comparisons are inevitable. Fans, media and young kids alike see Patrick Mahomes when they see him — the same hairstyle, the same athleticism, the same pregame flair. But Raiola insists it’s not about imitation, it’s about circumstance.

“Everybody be like, ‘Oh, he wants to be like him,’ and all this stuff,” Raiola said on CBS Sports Confidential Conversations. “It just so happens he played baseball, I played baseball. He plays quarterback, I play quarterback … I can’t get mad at God for making me look like him.”

Raiola has developed a personal relationship with the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback and three-time Super Bowl champion, even visiting the locker room during last season’s AFC Championship celebration. Both share the same personal quarterback trainer Jeff Christensen.

That bond only adds to the intrigue as Raiola opens the 2025 season on Mahomes’ home turf. Nebraska kicks off against Cincinnati on Thursday night at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

For Raiola, the Mahomes connection is less about mimicry and more about mentorship. He has compared it to the relationship Kobe Bryant once shared with Michael Jordan — an opportunity to absorb lessons from one of the best while still carving out his own identity.

“It ain’t cap. It’s real love,” Raiola said. “… [Mahomes] is cool, bro. He knows what it is.”

The sophomore quarterback’s network of mentors doesn’t stop there. Raiola, the godson of Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, said he has also begun recently connecting with seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady.

Nebraska coach Matt Rhule, who has defended Raiola amid the constant comparisons, said fans should recognize the difference between influence and…

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Wisconsin football class of 2026 quarterback commit Ryan Hopkins shone in Mater Dei’s 26-23 victory over St. Thomas Aquinas on Saturday. 

In a nationally-televised matchup on ESPN, the future Badger flashed his offensive brilliance, completing 13 passes for 272 passing yards and three touchdowns. A bulk of his production arrived in the second quarter, a period during which Mater Dei scored 26 unanswered points to take a 26-3 edge before intermission.

Specifically, Hopkins completed eight of his 14 first-half tosses for 232 yards. All three of his touchdowns arrived in the second quarter as well.

The California product ignited Mater Dei’s surge with a 22-yard score to five-star wide receiver and future Ohio State Buckeye Chris Henry Jr., who showed out with four catches for 135 yards and two touchdowns. Hopkins would complete another deep ball, this time an 81-yard strike, to Henry for another score roughly five minutes later, ballooning his crew’s advantage to 17.

The four-star pass-thrower’s most impressive throw arrived with just 30 ticks to spare in the second frame. Hopkins fielded a snap in shotgun, stepped back and zipped a 62-yard ball over the middle of the field to Monarchs’ receiver Gavin Honore for the score.

While he didn’t produce at the same clip in the second half, Hopkins showcased why a bevy of programs have extended him collegiate offers. Hopkins committed to Wisconsin back in April over top contenders Missouri, Cal and Duke.

He remains the one quarterback committed to a class that currently ranks No. 61 in the nation and No. 16 in the Big Ten. 247Sports currently considers Hopkins as the No. 555 overall player in the class of 2026, the No. 31 quarterback and the No. 42 player from his home state. 

Hopkins did receive an offer from hometown program UCLA earlier this month, but he has yet to offer…

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In college football’s playoff era, only five programs have notched perfect seasons en route to a national championship with Michigan being the most recent in 2023. But now, the parity playoff expansion has brought to the sport — and the possibility of a team playing as many as 16 games on their way to the title game — the likelihood of an unblemished campaign is considerably low.

If it happens during the 2025 season, that team may go down as the new “best-ever.” 

Courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook, here’s a look at the 10 teams with odds at +800 or better for going unbeaten during the regular season, along with the potential path for each:

Toughest games: vs. Oregon, at Ohio State

Expectations are other-worldly for Penn State this season, perhaps at their highest levels since the 1980s when Joe Paterno won both of the program’s national championships over a five-year stretch. James Franklin’s roster is the best he’s ever had in Happy Valley. He’s averaging 9.6 wins per season since the 2016 campaign with five top-10 finishes during that stretch. If Penn State snaps an eight-game losing skid to the Buckeyes, there’s a great chance the Nittany Lions get to Indianapolis without a loss.

Ohio State Buckeyes…

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