Category: College Football

Colorado coach Deion Sanders sounded off on the NCAA’s decision to deny immediate eligibility to offensive lineman Tyler Brown. Brown began his career at Louisiana and transferred to play last season at Jackson State under Sanders. Citing mental health issues, he sought a waiver for immediate eligibility with the Buffaloes, but was denied last week.

“It don’t make sense,” Sanders said during his Tuesday press conference. “Some things just don’t make sense. You say you really care about mental health, but when you have someone really dealing with mental health, there’s a problem. Then, ostracizing him and not allowing him to do what he’s blessed and gifted to do and the thing that presents him peace, that’s trying for a young man.”

The NCAA voted earlier this year to limit waivers for second-time transfers. Under the new guidelines, players are only permitted to receive immediate eligibility on their second transfer if there is a physical or mental health reason or “exigent circumstances.”

Brown offered a detailed explanation of his mental health struggles in a video he released this week. 

“I don’t want to go into a dark place again because I don’t have football,” he said.

Brown shined last season at JSU, earning first-team All-SWAC honors and third-team All-American designation from the Associated Press before opting to follow Sanders to Colorado. He looked to be in line for playing time with the Buffs, who open the season Saturday at TCU. Sanders is merely the latest prominent college football figure to voice frustration with the NCAA’s recent crackdown on two-time…

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The recruiting grind continues for Florida football despite the start of the season, which lies just a couple of days away. Billy Napier and Co. have been busy preparing their team for the season opener this coming Thursday, but have also kept an eye on the prep prospects in the nation as well.

One of the coveted members of the 2025 recruiting class who has shown a keen interest in the Gators is four-star offensive tackle Matty Augustine out of Greenwich (Connecticut) Brunswick, who recently divulged his fall visit schedule to 247Sports’ Brian Dohn. The 6-foot-7-inch, 290-pound lineman included the Orange and Blue on his itinerary, as well as a trio of other schools.

“I am thinking of going to Wisconsin versus Buffalo, Tennessee versus Florida, Notre Dame versus Ohio State and Michigan versus Ohio State,” he told Dohn.

The Gators are slated to host the Vols in the Swamp for the Southeastern Conference schedule opener on Sept. 16.

Augustine is rated at four stars and ranked No. 340 overall and No. 28 at his position nationally according to the 247Sports composite while the On3 industry ranking rates him at three stars and has him at Nos. 345 and 25, respectively. On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine has Notre Dame on top with an 85.5% chance of signing him, followed by Vanderbilt (3.7%) and Ohio State (2.1%).

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Story originally appeared on Gators Wire

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USATSI

Michigan offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore will miss the Wolverines’ Week 1 game vs. East Carolina as part of the university’s self-imposed penalties stemming from NCAA violations within the program. The single-game suspension is tied to the same self-imposed punishment facing coach Jim Harbaugh, who will miss the first three games of the 2023 season due to a Level I violation, along with multiple Level II violations.

An analyst will be promoted to fill Moore’s spot, per Harbaugh, though a name has yet to be announced. Moore will still serve as acting coach during Michigan’s Week 3 game against Bowling Green on Sept. 16.

In all, four assistants will lead the No. 2 Wolverines during Harbaugh’s suspension. Defensive coordinator Jesse Minter will lead the team against the Pirates in the season opener. Special teams coordinator Jay Harbaugh will act as the team’s coach in the first half of the Sept. 9 game against UNLV; running backs coach Mike Hart will then take over after halftime. Harbaugh will return to the sidelines against Rutgers on Sept. 23. 

“I’ve heard people comment it’s a slap on the wrist,” Harbaugh said Monday of his suspension. “It’s more like a baseball bat to the kneecaps.”

Harbaugh is accused of providing false or misleading information to the NCAA, which is considered a Level I violation. The NCAA initially launched an investigation into alleged Level II violations made by Michigan’s staff during an NCAA-mandated COVID-19 recruiting dead period 2021. Harbaugh is believed to have…

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AMES – We’ll likely see Iowa State’s first football depth chart Tuesday. Analyze it at your own risk, considering depth charts everywhere have about as much credibility as recruit ratings.

In the Cyclones’ instance, don’t be shocked if the starting running back is Cartevious Norton OR Eli Sanders. Ditto the quarterback: Rocco Becht OR J.J. Kohl. Kicker? Jace Gilbert OR Chase Contreraz OR Keegan Shackford.

Based on conversations with some coaches, and on which players have been made available to the media, here’s an unofficially unofficial starting lineup projection (not the entire depth chart) for Saturday’s 1 p.m. game against Northern Iowa at Jack Trice Stadium.

Quarterback

(Projected starter in bold)

Who starts at quarterback for Iowa State, true freshman J.J. Kohl (pictured) or redshirt freshman Rocco Becht?

Rocco Becht, a 6-foot-1, 205-pound redshirt freshman has at least played, albeit just three games and 15 pass attempts. True freshman J.J. Kohl will play in as many games as possible, but starting a college rookie in a season-opening game (and a week later against Iowa, even) might be asking a lot.

Running back

(Projected starter in bold)

More: Peterson: Iowa State needs tailback Cartevious Norton to stay healthy this season

This is a tossup, so let’s give Cartevious Norton the smidge of a starting edge. He wasn’t totally healthy during the spring, after coming off a hamstring injury, but he’s had a strong fall. Eli Sanders, a 6-foot, 205-pounder, has flashed in camp, too. He had 91 yards on seven carries in the 2022 season finale against TCU, and he played in the spring game. Interestingly, both were available for interviews two weeks ago. Flip a coin.

Offensive line

(Projected starters in bold)

Who will join Jarrod Hufford on Iowa State’s starting offensive line?

The projected starters have 73…

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Week 0 of the 2023 college football season provides an appetizer for the barrage of gridiron action to come. On Saturday, seven games are on tap across the FBS landscape, including a matchup between the UMass Minutemen and the New Mexico State Aggies. The non-conference battle takes place at Aggie Memorial Stadium in Las Cruces. UMass looks to improve on a 1-11 showing in 2022, while New Mexico State aims to reach another bowl game after a 7-6 campaign last season.

For this game, SportsLine consensus lists the Aggies as 7-point favorites for this 7 p.m. ET kickoff. The total number of points Vegas thinks will be scored, or the over/under, is 45 in the latest UMass vs. New Mexico State odds. Before locking in any New Mexico State vs. UMass picks, you need to see the college football predictions and betting advice from SportsLine’s advanced computer simulation model.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every FBS college football game 10,000 times. Since its inception, the proprietary computer model has generated a stunning profit of almost $2,500 for $100 players on its top-rated college football picks against the spread. Anyone who has followed it has seen huge returns.

Now, the model has set its sights on UMass vs. New Mexico State and just locked in its picks and CFB predictions. You can head to SportsLine now to see the model’s picks. Now, here are several college football odds and betting lines for UMass vs. New Mexico State:

UMass vs. New Mexico State spread: New Mexico State -7 UMass vs. New Mexico State over/under: 45 points UMass vs. New Mexico State money line: NMSU -268, UMass +216UMASS: The Minutemen were 5-7 against the spread in 2022 NMSU: The Aggies were 8-5 against the spread in 2022 UMass vs. New Mexico State picks: See picks at…

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BATON ROUGE, La. — LSU football defensive tackle Maason Smith will not be available to play in the Tigers’ season opener against Florida State in Orlando on Sept. 3, according to The (Baton Rouge) Advocate.

Smith will be suspended for one game after the NCAA determined that he had received an “improper benefit,” despite cooperating in the investigation, according to the report.

The improper benefit took place before the start of NIL, according to the report, as Smith could have been suspended for a game last season for the offense had he not torn his ACL in the first game of the year.

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When broached with the subject, an LSU spokesperson declined to comment.

Smith tore his ACL on the opening drive of LSU’s season opener against the Seminoles in New Orleans last season. This year’s rematch against Florida State was supposed to be Smith’s return to the field.

With Smith out of the lineup, LSU will have to rely on veteran defensive tackle Jacobian Guillory and transfers Jordan Jefferson and Jalen Lee.

Guillory is entering his fourth season with the Tigers. Jefferson transferred from West Virginia and Lee transferred from Florida this past offseason.

Koki Riley covers LSU sports for The Daily Advertiser. Email him at kriley@theadvertiser.com and follow him on Twitter at @KokiRiley

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: LSU’s Maason Smith suspended for Florida State game, per report

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The whirlwind hit Jordan Travis right between the eyes — the ones he could barely keep open the early morning of Feb. 6. When Florida State’s quarterback pulled into his driveway at 4:30 a.m., the exhaustion weighed on him like a 300-pound defensive lineman.

In the space of less than 40 hours he had been whisked cross country in a private plane to the Super Bowl LVII in Glendale, Arizona — courtesy of an NIL benefactor — rubbing elbows with celebrities and athletes before flying right back to Tallahassee, Florida, in time for … what?

“Sociological Theory,” Travis recalled of that first-thing-Monday class. “It’s a tough class, especially to sit through.”

So he didn’t. The leader of the Seminoles’ breakthrough 2022 season — a Heisman Trophy hopeful and tireless worker aiming to lead one of the best stories of the season — deserved to sleep in this once.

He couldn’t be blamed.

Already holder of a bachelor degree when he graduated last May with Jameis Winston (among others), Travis had earned the trip. It was a brief glimpse at the NFL’s biggest party after turning around FSU and his own career last season.

He couldn’t be excused, either.

“I had to do bear crawls,” Travis told CBS Sports of his punishment for missing class.

The quarterback smiled the whole time as he crawled length of the field and back at the command of coach Mike Norvell. It was Travis’ way of telling his coach that nothing would break him.

“I irritate [Norvell] a little bit because I’m always smiling,” Travis recalled. “He doesn’t watch many people do bear crawls. But he wanted to watch me. I just sat there with a smile on my face every single yard I did.”

Norvell got it. He knew what was happening but still needed to enforce the accountability factor. If he…

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PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Shawn Bowman could certainly become an important piece for the Rutgers football offense. A transfer portal addition, Bowman has the size and strength Rutgers is lacking at the tight end position. He also has a strong experience level as well as good production at his previous stop.

All of which points towards Bowman potentially being able to help an offense that struggled to move the ball last year.

The outlook on the 6-foot-5 and 263-pound Bowman is positive as his build and skillset should enhance a position group that is talented but lacking in depth. Outside of senior Johnny Langan, there isn’t a proven or reliable tight end at this level.

Bowman certainly has experience. While at Maine, he became one of the most versatile tight ends in the FCS. Last season, Bowman had career-highs in receptions (30), receiving yards (455) and touchdowns (5).

At Boston College, Bowman had three catches for 34 yards and a touchdown last season in a loss for Maine.

Following Saturday’s scrimmage, Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano talked about Bowman’s addition and what it has meant this summer during camp.

“He’s a big guy. He’s a strong physical player,” Schiano said after the scrimmage.

“He’s got good, really good hands. I think Shawn’s gonna help us in several ways.”

Bowman and Langan give Rutgers two solid options at tight end, options that should be able to help in terms of blocking but also receiving.

When asked his thoughts on the offense following Saturday’s scrimmage, the second of summer, Schiano seemed a bit more upbeat and positive.

“Improved and then we went in and tried to do a couple of different things,” Schiano said.

“And I thought defensively we played better today than we did the first scrimmage. So, thought it was a pretty stout defensive effort. Our offense slugged it out…

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