Category: College Football

On Thursday’s edition of “Hey Coach & The Nick Saban Show,” the namesake Alabama coach provided a heartfelt message for legendary football player Dick Butkus after being informed the linebacker died on Thursday at 80 years old.

Butkus was the No. 3 overall draft pick for the Chicago Bears in the 1965 NFL Draft and is widely regarded as one of the greatest linebackers of all time. He was named first-team All-Pro five times and racked up 22 interceptions over the course of his professional career. He is a member of both the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame following his three-year career for Illinois in 1962-64.

“Great player. Great person. He’s legendary,” Saban said of Butkus (via Mike Rodak of Alabama’s 247Sports site). “He was one of the guys that made the linebacker position kind of ‘the man,’ so to speak, that made the whole defense be what it is. Great competitive character, great toughness.”

REQUIRED READING: Dick Butkus dead at 80: NFL, college football pay tribute to Illinois, Chicago Bears great

Saban has rostered three Butkus Award winners at Alabama: Rolando McClain in 2009, C.J. Mosley in 2013 and Reuben Foster in 2016. The award is given to the most impactful linebacker in the game every year.

Saban was also complimentary of Butkus in that he sat down with each of McClain, Mosley and Foster when they won his namesake award:

“[He] Sat down with every player and gave them the [Butkus] Award and spoke with them, spent time with them,” Saban said. “I thought that was fantastic.”

Butkus played out his collegiate career at Illinois, winning the Chicago Tribune Silver Football as the Big Ten’s Most Valuable Player and the American Football Coaches Association Player of the Year in 1964. The former Fighting Illini center and linebacker was a two-time consensus All-America selection in…

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Who’s Playing

FIU Panthers @ New Mexico State Aggies

Current Records: FIU 3-2, New Mexico State 2-3

How To Watch

When: Wednesday, October 4, 2023 at 9 p.m. ETWhere: Aggie Memorial Stadium — Las Cruces, New MexicoTV: CBS Sports NetworkLive Stream: CBSSports.com or fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)Follow: CBS Sports AppWatch on Connected TV: CBS Sports App on Roku and Fire TV

What to Know

After three games on the road, New Mexico State is heading back home. The New Mexico State Aggies and the FIU Panthers will face off in a Conference USA battle at 9:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday at Aggie Memorial Stadium. Given that the pair suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this match.

Last Sunday, it was a hard-fought match, but New Mexico State had to settle for a 20-17 loss against Hawaii.

Nobody from New Mexico State had a standout game, but they still got scores from Star Thomas and Monte Watkins.

Meanwhile, FIU took a serious blow against Liberty last Saturday, falling 38-6.

Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, the Panthers weren’t very productive on the ground and finished the game with only 64 rushing yards. They were smoked by their opponents in that department as Liberty rushed for 364.

New Mexico State’s defeat last Sunday dropped their record down to 2-3, while FIU’s dropped theirs down to 3-2.

In addition to losing their last games, the two teams failed to cover the spread. Looking ahead, New Mexico State is the favorite in this one, as the experts expect to see them win by six points. FIU might be worth a quick bet since they’re sitting on a three game streak of covering the spread when playing as the underdog.

New Mexico State ended up a good deal behind …

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Michigan wide receiver Roman Wilson may have had the catch of the weekend in the Big Ten when he pinned a football against a Nebraska defender’s helmet to come down with a touchdown catch in the endzone. But it should not be surprising how Wilson scores anymore, as he leads the Big Ten with 8 receiving touchdowns this fall, which is twice as many as the next receiving touchdown leader in the conference after one month of football. Three players in the Big Ten are tied for second with four receiving touchdowns, so Wilson has a nice cushion when it comes to leading the Big Ten in receiving touchdowns.

But Wilson is still working his way up the top 10 receiving yardage leaderboard in the conference. That top spot is still held by Illinois receiver Isaiah Williams, who has zero touchdowns this season.

Penn State’s KeAndre Lambert-Smith sits third among Big Ten receiving leaders after passing the idle Marvin Harrison Jr. of Ohio State this past weekend. Harrison will get a chance to climb back up the Big Ten receiving yardage leaderboard this week when Ohio State returns to action and Penn State and Lambert-Smith get the week off.

Here is a look at the top 10 receiving yardage leaders in the Big Ten through Week 5, the end of September. Here is a look at the top 10 passing yardage leaders in the Big Ten.

Isaiah Williams, Illinois

Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

Receiving yards: 446

Receiving touchdowns: 0

Deion Burks, Purdue

Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

Receiving yards: 377

Receiving touchdowns: 4

KeAndre Lambert-Smith, Penn State

Michael Reaves/Getty Images

Receiving yards: 372

Receiving touchdowns: 3

Marvin Harrison Jr., Ohio State

Columbus Dispatch

Receiving yards: 336

Receiving touchdowns: 3

Roman Wilson, Michigan

Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports

Receiving yards: 326

Receiving touchdowns: 8

Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Receiving…

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With Week 5 of the college football season officially underway, CBS Sports Network is back with extensive, wall-to-wall coverage. Among the five games over a three-day span, the Mountain West, American Athletic Conference and Conference USA will all feature league games. The party got started Thursday evening when Western Kentucky defeated Middle Tennessee 31-10. 

The action returns with UTEP hosting Louisiana Tech under the Friday night lights before three games air on Saturday. First up is a nonconference battle between Utah State and UConn in the noon window as the Huskies look to avoid an 0-5 start to the season. After that, it’s back-to-back games with service academies hosting conference opponents. Navy welcomes South Florida as part of AAC play in the afternoon window, and then an undefeated Air Force hosts San Diego State in a Mountain West evening clash.

CBS Sports Network will have you covered every step of the way from Bowling Green, Kentucky, to the United States Air Force Academy outside of Colorado Springs, Colorado. In the meantime, get caught up on viewing information, storylines and other key details surrounding each of the five matchups. 

All times Eastern | Odds via SportsLine consensus

Utah State at UConn

Date: Saturday, Sept. 30 | Time: Noon 
Location: Pratt & Whitney Stadium — East Hartford, Connecticut 
TV: CBS Sports Network [Channel finder] 
Live stream: CBSSports.com | Mobile: CBS Sports App (Free)
Spread: Utah State -6 | Will the Aggies cover? Check out SportsLine’s Week 5 projections here

Utah State is off to a lackluster 1-3 start, but the Aggies now head east for a visit to a UConn squad that remains winless in its second season under coach Jim Mora Jr. The Huskies are 0-4 after a blowout home…

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We are at the midpoint of the 2023 Alabama high school football season and Tuscaloosa area programs have displayed exciting football throughout the first five weeks.

The 10 players listed have put up some stellar stats so far this year. As listed by The Tuscaloosa News, here are the breakout players we did not see coming this season in the Tuscaloosa area.

VOTE MIDSEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Vote now for your Tuscaloosa area midseason football player of the year

HOLT GETS FIRST WIN SINCE 2021: Holt football gets first win since 2021: What clicked for the Ironmen

Brody Clark

Sulligent, Class of 2024

Analysis: In his debut football season as the Sulligent quarterback, Clark has stepped up for the Blue Devils in their 5-0 start. So far this season, he has gone 51-for-81 for 654 yards and eight touchdowns,

Bryson Kimbrough

Hillcrest, Class of 2025

Analysis: Kimbrough has had big shoes to fill after all-state quarterback Ethan Crawford graduated. However, Hillcrest has not missed a beat with Kimbrough at the helm. So far this season, Kimbrough has gone 34-of-51 for 644 yards and four touchdowns. He also has rushed for 122 yards and six touchdowns on 21 carries.

David McNeil

Central, Class of 2024

Analysis: At the helm of the Central offense, McNeil has thrown 60 passes for 553 yards along with six touchdowns. He has also rushed for 212 yards and three touchdowns on 29 carries.

Derrion Cousette

Aliceville, Class of 2026

Analysis: The sophomore has had a good start to the season for the Aliceville defense. He has racked up 40 tackles along with six sacks.

Dominic Myles

Central, Class of 2024

Analysis: Myles not only leads the Central defense, but he also leads 6A-Region 4 with three interceptions. He has also racked up 18 tackles, 15 of those being solo, along with two sacks and a forced fumble.

Ellis Hamiter

Tuscaloosa Academy, Class of…

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Despite the rash of conference realignment this offseason, it is expected that agreed-upon 12-team College Football Playoff format will maintain its structure at least for the 2024 season, sources told CBS Sports.

The main reason: It would take an unanimous vote of the CFP Management Committee — 10 commissioners and Notre Dame’s athletic director — to make any change to the 12-team format at this point, sources confirmed.

The 12-team structure in place for 2024 will include see the six highest-ranked conference champions populate the field as automatic qualifiers with six other at-large teams receiving playoff bids.

With the sport in a state of flux and it up in the air how many FBS conferences will even exist once next season rolls around, it would be almost impossible to find consensus on the subject of which conferences deserve AQ status.

The original idea behind guaranteeing spots to the six highest-ranked conference champions was that, most years, not only would the Power Five league champions have access to the playoff but so would at least one champion from a Group of Five conference.

Maintaining the 6+6 structure for 2024 would put off speculation that the number of automatic qualifiers will decrease with the expected loss of the Pac-12. The two other structures that have been informally suggested are 5+7 with five AQs (accounting for the expiration of the Pac-12) and the 12 highest-rated teams — regardless of conference championship status — earning CFP bids.

The committee will gather for a regularly scheduled two-day meeting beginning Tuesday in Chicago. Even if alternate models are proposed at the meeting, it will only take one dissenting vote to keep the agreed-upon structure in place.

American commissioner Mike…

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OXFORD − There were obvious concerns prior to what transpired Saturday evening at Mallory Field.

West Lafayette football players had been out late the night before watching Purdue’s home game against Wisconsin.

An undefeated Tippecanoe Valley team is visiting the Red Devils on Friday in a Class 3A top-10 showdown.

It would’ve been easy to overlook a one-win Benton Central team on Friday night.

Instead, the Red Devils scored on six straight possessions and led 42-0 by halftime and Class 3A No. 4 West Lafayette cruised to a 49-14 victory.

More: IHSAA football: Greater Lafayette area Week 6 scoreboard

“We had more energy pregame and leading up to the game and even at halftime than we’ve had maybe all season,” West Lafayette coach Shane Fry said. “I hope that’s trending in the right direction. The guys played hard and with a lot of energy and a lot of focus.”

West Lafayette Red Devils Cooper Kitchel (14) catches a pass during the IHSAA football game against the Benton Central Bison, Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023, at Benton Central High School in Oxford, Ind.

Speaking of trending in the right direction, let’s talk about West Lafayette’s offense.

Some had written the Red Devils off after it took until the fourth quarter in the season opener to find the end zone, a 42-6 loss to Harrison.

A week later, the offense got off to another slow start against McCutcheon.

But now, four straight games scoring at least 37 points.

“Week 1 we had a ton of new guys getting their first start, including me,” quarterback Carson Kitchel said. “It was a little shaky at first and we had to push through that. Each week, we’re gaining confidence and we’re getting more comfortable with each other and I feel like our connections are very good now.”

Kitchel’s first half numbers on Saturday night read like this: 18-for-22, 222 yards, four touchdowns to three…

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A group of Louisville football players rendered assistance to victims of a car crash that occurred Monday near L&N Stadium, Louisville Metro Police announced on social media. LMPD thanked members of the Cardinals program for helping right an overturned vehicle before authorities and emergency services arrived to the scene. 

“UofL Football to the rescue … On Monday afternoon, 4th Division police officers responded to a rollover accident in the intersection of Central and Floyd,” the video message read. “Prior to the arrival of first responders, several nearby University of Louisville football players and some passing motorists helped flip the car back over. One person from the accident had minor injures, but will be O.K.!” 

The video went on to show footage of the collision — the aforementioned vehicle was blurred out — before an unfiltered video showed the group of Cardinals players and other motorists coming to the aid of the vehicle.

The video then concluded with the message “TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK.”  

LMPD did not identify which players aided the rescue, though a school spokesperson told the Associated Press that junior wide receiver Jadon Thompson, a Cincinnati transfer, was among them. 

Louisville is off to a 3-0 start in its first season under coach Jeff Brohm. The Cardinals next host Boston College at 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday. 

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