Category: College Football

What’s happening at Florida State is a perfect illustration of how fluid the idea of job security is in college football’s new era. 

The Seminoles were an early-season darling after a convincing Week 1 win over Alabama and raced off to a 3-0 start — exactly what coach Mike Norvell needed coming off a 2-10 2024 campaign. 

Then came an overtime loss to Virginia. Then Miami. Then Pittsburgh. At that point, the heat had turned up to about medium on Norvell — no immediate firing, but perhaps in danger after this season if all hell broke loose, and if nothing else the lead face of all 2026 hot seat content. 

But now things are at a scalding temperature. In the early hours of Sunday morning, on the East Coast at least, Florida State lost 20-13 to lowly Stanford, a game the Seminoles were favored to win by 17.5 points. 

The fourth straight loss (the fourth time Norvell’s had a four-game losing streak in Tallahassee) was, in the words of one industry source, when Norvell’s seat went from warm to “legit fire hot.”

It’s a long flight from Palo Alto to Tallahassee. Many boosters, per sources, spent those trips back commiserating and planning. Conversations in Tallahassee about Norvell’s status have continued throughout the day; Norvell even acknowledged during a Sunday staff meeting that conversations about his future were happening, sources tell CBS Sports. His buyout of around $55 million, per Noles247, no longer seems like a major roadblock to making a change many around the program view as necessary. 

🏈 💰Most Expensive Buyouts in College Football History

1

Jimbo Fisher

Texas A&M

$76.8 million

2

James Franklin

Penn State

$49 million

3

Gus Malzahn

Auburn

$21.4 million

4

Charlie…

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What a game. No. 4 Texas A&M (7-0, 4-0 SEC) escaped Fayetteville with a 45-42 win over Arkansas (2-5, 0-3 SEC) in one of the craziest games of the weekend, as the Aggie defense surrendered over 500 yards and all head coach Mike Elko could say after the game that this was a bad day for his defense to play poorly.

However, Texas A&M’s offense had another breakout game, scoring on every drive outside of two, and after leading by just one point going into halftime. In contrast, Arkansas had all the momentum, and the Aggies came out determined with their fourth touchdown, highlighted by a massive run from starting quarterback Marcel Reed. Again, these games happen, but focusing on the good aspects of the win is what matters moving forward.

Texas A&M produced 497 yards, including Marcel Reed’s 280 yards and three touchdowns, while running back Rueben Owens finished with 69 yards and two touchdowns, leading a group that ran for 217 yards, collectively averaging 6.2 yards per carry. Two of Reed’s best throws went to sophomore wide receiver Ashton Bethel-Roman, who led the group with 83 yards and his first touchdown of the season.

Defensively, the Aggies failed to contain quarterback Taylen Green, who is by far one of the hardest quarterbacks to tackle, resulting in the senior running for 85 yards and two of his five touchdowns on the night. Next week, Texas A&M will face a 5-2 LSU team and QB Garrett Nussmeier, who is not a running threat and is playing behind a shaky offensive line.

Before facing the Tigers in Baton Rouge, here are five key takeaways from Texas A&M’s 45-42 win over Arkansas in Week 8.

Texas A&M’s defense had a no-good, awful day

Well, that was not ideal. Outside of several early third-down stops in the first half, Texas A&M’s defense, which allowed 527 yards, including 268 rushing yards, was abysmal in the…

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The No. 13 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (4-2) are set to host the No. 20 USC Trojans (5-1) on Saturday in one of college football’s most bitter rivalries. The Irish dropped their first two games of the season, but have won four straight since. Notre Dame notched a 36-7 blowout win over N.C. State in its last outing. The Trojans’ lone loss came on the road against Illinois on Sept. 27. USC was dominant in its most recent game, blowing out Michigan 31-13 on Oct. 11. Notre Dame leads the all-time series 52-37-5. Both teams are 3-3 against the spread this season.

Kickoff from Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend is set for 7:30 p.m. ET. The Irish are 10.5-point favorites in the latest Notre Dame vs. USC odds, while the over/under for total points scored is 59.5. Before making any USC vs. Notre Dame picks, make sure you check out what SportsLine college football expert Jimmie Kaylor has to say. 

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Kaylor is an NFL, college football and DFS expert for SportsLine, who has covered the NFL and college football for close to a decade as a member of the Pro Football Writers of America. His background as a former college football All-American and NFL player gives him a unique perspective when building his fantasy lineups and locking in his betting picks. He has his finger on the pulse of the college football landscape and has been cashing in big for the last two years. 

Kaylor has destroyed the sportsbooks in college football the last two seasons, posting a 252-179-7 record since Week 1 of the 2023 season. His 2024 college football futures picks included Travis Hunter winning the Heisman at 40-1 odds, bringing his net profit up…

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MORGANTOWN — The second half of the season starts this Saturday for West Virginia with another road game against UCF. WVU’s season hasn’t gone according to Rich Rodriguez’s plan so far, and it has lost the last three games, which were all against Big 12 opponents. 

It’s time to see if Rodriguez can turn this season around and create the momentum WVU athletic director Wren Baker said he was looking for in Rodriguez’s first season back in August.

Luckily, Rodriguez fared well off of a bye week with a 21-8 record over his four head coaching stops, and was recently 6-0 at Jacksonville State. 

UCF is one of the few remaining winnable games on WVU’s schedule. TCU is a hard out, Houston’s looked better, Arizona State has some big wins, and Texas Tech is solidifying itself as the top team in the Big 12. 

The Knights are in a similar situation to WVU. Scott Frost is back at UCF as the head coach after he couldn’t find success at his alma mater, Nebraska. Frost led the Golden Knights to a 19-7 record over two seasons, and the undefeated 2017 season, where the school claimed the 2017 National Championship. 

Like Rodriguez, Frost is hoping to pick up UCF where he left off the first time, after a 4-8 season in 2024. 

Frost’s squad has a slightly better record than the Mountaineers at 3-3, but has lost its last three games, all in conference. UCF won all three non-conference games, including a big win over North Carolina. 

UCF also had a quarterback question heading into the season, like WVU. Frost has used three separate quarterbacks, and most recently went with quarterback Cam Fancher, who had a close game against now-ranked No. 24 Cincinnati. He threw for 222 yards, rushed for over 100 yards and rushed for a score. 

Frost started the first couple of games…

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Penn State quarterback Drew Allar underwent successful surgery on Wednesday to address his broken left ankle, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel. Allar sustained the injury — the extent of which had not been divulged — last Saturday in the Nittany Lions’ 22-21 loss to Northwestern, and former coach James Franklin announced at the time that the fourth-year quarterback would miss the rest of the season.

Allar is reportedly on track to make a full recovery, and he could be cleared to return to workouts in the coming months.

The injury occurred in the closing minutes of Penn State’s third straight loss, one that led the program to fire Franklin in the highest-profile and most surprising coaching change of the 2025 college football season. Allar tucked the ball for a scramble with just over three minutes left in the fourth quarter, and he fell awkwardly upon contact with two Northwestern defenders. He spent several minutes on the turf before trainers assisted him to the sideline and eventually carted him into the locker room.

The failure to develop QB Drew Allar sealed James Franklin’s fate at Penn State

Brian Dohn

Allar, a three-year starter who led Penn State to the College Football Playoff semifinals last season, finished the year as a 64.8% passer with 1,100 yards, eight touchdowns and three interceptions. He ran into trouble in the final weeks of his season with a…

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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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