Category: College Football

Every big-time school with a football opening is going to be interested in Curt Cignetti.

Indiana made the best coaching hire this decade when it plucked a 62-year-old out of James Madison. The son of a coach, Cignetti took the long, hard path to coaching stardom. To casual fans, he might seem like an overnight sensation, but he grinded his way up the ladder to now leading the No. 3 team in the country. He’s the best story in college football. 

Predictably, his name has already been prominently mentioned with the Penn State opening. If other big jobs like Florida, Auburn and Wisconsin open up, he’ll get mentioned for those, too. 

It seems to be as much about Cignetti’s ability as the notion that, of course, a football blue blood would be able to coach steal from Indiana. That outdated thinking would be ignoring what Indiana has done to give Cignetti the necessary resources to maintain a sustainable winner. 

What Cignetti decides to do with the attractive options that will come in spades at the end of the season is up to him, but Indiana has smartly done everything it could in less than two years to show he doesn’t have to leave to win big. 

Let’s start with the fact Cignetti already makes $8.3 million annually before bonuses, will receive a $1 million retention bonus in November and will surely get another raise in the coming months. This after the school already doubled his salary in less than a year on the job. Indiana is committed to making sure Cignetti is very, very well compensated to be its football coach. 

It doesn’t stop at just the head coach level, either. 

Indiana stepped up to keep defensive coordinator Bryant Haines and strength and conditioning coach Derek Owings, fending off top Big Ten programs to hold on to both. In…

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MOSCOW, Idaho – As Idaho seeks to rehabilitate its season against Eastern Washington following a disappointing and unexpected homecoming loss to Northern Colorado, the Vandals are focused on what they did right, as well as what went wrong.

“We did some things right on both sides, but we were not complementary,” said Idaho coach Thomas Ford Jr. “Our group is very resilient. They are very hungry still.”

The Eagles (2-4, 1-1 Big Sky) are coming off a bye and yet to lose at Roos Field, where they will host the Vandals (2-4, 0-2) Saturday at 4 p.m..

Idaho did put up 33 points on Northern Colorado, which is enough to win many games. But they also gave up 49, which could have easily been 56, since the Bears had first and goal at the 6-yard line with 1 minute, 18 seconds to play but elected to kneel out the clock.

“We needed to play our best football to beat those guys,” said Ford. “We did not play our best football.”

Idaho was without starting quarterback Joshua Wood, who suffered a sprained knee against Montana Sept. 27.

“He has been attacking his rehab,” said Ford on Monday, adding that Wood’s participation against the Eagles will be a game -time decision. “It would be 50-50 if he had to play today.”

If Wood can’t play, Idaho will likely go with the duo of Jack Wagner and Rocco Koch who gave the Vandals a facsimile of Wood’s dual -threat ability against the Bears. Wagner completed 21 of 33 passes with two interceptions and a touchdown for 237 yards, and Koch was the Vandals’ leading rusher with 81 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries.

After starting quarterback Jack Layne got hurt last season, Wagner played in 11 games for the 10-4 Vandals and threw for 1,389 yards and 12 touchdowns.

He looked rusty in this year’s first outing against UNC. His first pass was…

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Week 7 of the 2025 college football season was, largely, disastrous for top-25 teams on the road against unranked opponents. Few programs felt that pain more than Michigan, which dropped to 4-2 on the season in its 31-17 loss at USC. 

The Wolverines also dropped out of the AP Top 25 poll for the first time this season, as they are now 1-2 against Power Four conference opponents with a record above .500. Sherrone Moore is also just 11-7 in his 18 games as Michigan’s coach. 

As a result of Saturday’s clash between Michigan and USC, the Trojans climbed back into the AP poll at No. 20. This is their second time in the top 25 this season, as they spent one week ranked before their Sept. 27 loss to Illinois. USC coach Lincoln Riley hopes it sticks this time around. The Big Ten fallout continued with Indiana jumping all the way up to No. 3 by beating Oregon. And the Hoosiers landed multiple first-place votes, too. 

A pair of Big 12 teams in Arizona State and Iowa State also plummeted out of the rankings after their respective road losses to unranked programs. Though Oklahoma wasn’t a true road team in its Red River showdown against Texas, the Sooners also fell prey to a Longhorn team that previously sat outside the top 25. 

Texas climbed all the way back to No. 21 after beating its top rival for the third time in the last four seasons. 

Below is the full AP Top 25 poll for Week 8. First-place votes are in parentheses.

Week 8 AP Top 25 poll 

Ohio State (50)Miami (13)Indiana (3)Texas A&MOle MissAlabamaTexas TechOregonGeorgiaLSUTennesseeGeorgia TechNotre…..

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Indiana moved up to No. 3 in The Associated Press college football poll Sunday for its highest ranking in program history and Texas was among five teams entering the Top 25 after eight ranked teams, three of them previously unbeaten, lost over the weekend.

Ohio State and Miami remained the top two teams while the Hoosiers earned a four-spot promotion for their 10-point win at then-No. 3 Oregon. No. 4 Texas A&M and No. 5 Mississippi traded places after the Aggies’ 17-point home win over Florida and the Rebels’ three-point home win over Washington State.

The Buckeyes strengthened their hold on No. 1 with a solid road win against then-No. 17 Illinois and received 50 first-place votes, 10 more than last week. Miami, which was idle, earned 13 first-place votes and Indiana got the other three.

Alabama moved up two spots to No. 6 and was followed by Texas Tech, Oregon, Georgia and LSU. Oregon dropped five spots and has its lowest ranking in 20 polls since it was No. 8 in September 2024.

Indiana’s groundbreaking run under second-year coach Curt Cignetti has been one of the biggest stories in college football since last season. The Hoosiers went into the Oregon game 0-46 on the road against top-five teams and, before Sunday, had never been ranked higher than No. 4. Their three first-place votes are their most in a poll since they got the same number when they were ranked No. 6 on Nov. 5, 1945.

Oklahoma plunged eight spots to No. 14 with its first loss, 23-6 to Texas. The Longhorns were the preseason No. 1 team, but a season-opening loss at Ohio State and Week 6 loss at Florida dropped them out of the Top 25. In beating the rival Soooners, they held a top-10 opponent without a touchdown for the first time since 1979 and re-entered the poll at No. 21.

Missouri, which…

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No. 9 Texas Tech quarterback Behren Morton is out for the rest of his team’s game against Kansas with an apparent lower leg injury. Morton is on Texas Tech’s sideline in street clothes and backup Will Hammond handled the first snaps of the second half. 

Morton initially exited the game early in the second quarter after he was sacked by Kansas edge rusher Leroy Harris III. Harris landed on Morton’s lower leg as he brought Morton to the ground for a three-yard loss. 

Prior to suffering the injury, Morton had Texas Tech’s offense humming while completing seven of his 12 pass attempts for 91 yards and one touchdown as the Red Raiders jumped out to a 21-0 lead. The Red Raiders struggled the rest of the half with Morton on the bench, however, and Kansas cut the lead to 21-17 by halftime. 

Believe in Indiana: Hoosiers cement themselves as true force in college football with key win over Oregon

Tom Fornelli

During Kansas’ late second-half surge, Hammond threw an interception that led to a Kansas touchdown and has completed just six passes for 35 yards with an average of just 3.2 yards per attempt. He started the second half on a better note, running for a 20-yard touchdown to cap a 63-yard scoring…

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The undefeated Missouri Tigers are going for their sixth consecutive win of the season when they host the No. 8-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide at Faurot Field in Columbia, Missouri this weekend. While the Crimson Tide may outrank their hosts, who are No. 14 at the moment, Mizzou is averaging the most yards per game (547.6) in the SEC so far this season and Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer isn’t underestimating them, saying “I mean, they’re 5-0,” adding that his team needs to be ready to “shut up and do the work” when they meet their SEC foes.

The two teams meet Saturday; kickoff is scheduled for 12 p.m. ET and the game airs on ABC and will stream on ESPN unlimited. Here’s how to watch the Alabama vs. Missouri game and what to know about how to watch the entire NCAA football season.

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How to watch the Alabama vs. Missouri game:

Date: Saturday, Oct. 11

Time: 12 p.m. ET

TV Channel: ABC, ESPN3

Streaming: ESPN unlimited, DirecTV, Fubo, and more

Where to watch the Alabama vs. Missouri game on TV:

You can watch coverage of this week’s Alabama vs. Missouri game starting at 12 p.m. ET on Saturday.

Where to watch the Alabama vs. Missouri game without cable:

You can tune into the Alabama vs. Missouri game on ABC as part of ESPN on ABC and on ESPN3. ABC and ESPN3 are available on streaming platforms, including DirecTV, Fubo, and YouTubeTV, but for the most comprehensive college football coverage, you can also watch this game and hundreds more this season on the ESPN App with an ESPN unlimited subscription.

ESPN’s new streaming service is divided into two tiers: the ESPN unlimited package and the ESPN select package.

For $29.99, the ESPN unlimited package includes access to all of ESPN’s linear networks: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN, ESPNews and ESPN Deportes, plus access to programming on ABC, ESPN+, ESPN3, SECN+ and ACCNX. That…

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The 2025 college football season rolls into Week 7 with another full slate of action on CBS Sports Network — seven games spread across five days, featuring everything from midweek Conference USA battles to pivotal Mountain West showdowns out west.

It all kicks off Wednesday night deep in the heart of West Texas, where Liberty visits UTEP in a matchup between two teams desperate to end losing streaks. Thursday brings more C-USA drama as Jacksonville State heads to Sam Houston under the lights.

You can bet college football games this week at FanDuel Sportsbook, where new users get $300 in bonus bets with a winning $5 wager. Click here:

Saturday delivers a wall-to-wall lineup highlighted by Mountain West contenders and service-academy showdowns. Army hosts Charlotte at Michie Stadium to start the day before Air Force takes on unbeaten UNLV in Las Vegas. Later, Fresno State travels to Colorado State looking to stay perfect in league play, followed by a high-altitude duel between San Jose State and Wyoming. The weekend wraps in Reno as San Diego State visits Nevada for a late-night cap to an action-packed Week 7.

CBS Sports Network will carry all seven games, with full viewing info, betting lines and key storylines to follow as Week 7 unfolds.

All times Eastern | Odds via SportsLine consensus

Fresno State vs. Colorado State

Date: Friday, Oct. 10 | Time: 9 p.m.
Location: Canvas Stadium — Fort Collins, Colorado
TV: CBS Sports Network [Channel finder] 
Live stream: CBSSports.com | Mobile: CBS Sports App 
Spread: Fresno State -6.5 | Will the Bulldogs cover? Check out SportsLine’s Week 7 projections here

Fresno State (5-1) puts its unbeaten Mountain West record on the line when it travels to Colorado State (1-4) for the first time since…

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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — They start sailing up days or even weeks before kickoff, a blaze-orange armada of watercraft packed with beverages, Tennessee regalia and Volunteer fans who have turned a bend in the Tennessee River into one of the finest tailgating — sorry, sailgating — venues in college football. Sure, you could just tailgate on your school’s quad, surrounded by academic buildings … or you could enlist in the Vol Navy.

Every weekend the Vols are in town, massive yachts, tiny bass boats, stuffed-full houseboats and one-sailor dinghies tie up just outside Neyland Stadium, a massive flotilla dedicated to all things Rocky Top. It’s a magnificent tradition, one that’s either an every-game must-do or a one-and-done, depending on how hard you go at it before, during and after the game. If you haven’t yet been, you’re always welcome, long as you’re piloting something seaworthy.

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The Vol Navy’s origins: Parking is hell

The Vol Navy’s origins spring from that most relatable of gameday challenges: beating the traffic to the stadium. Neyland is one of only two college football stadiums beside a body of water — Washington’s Husky Stadium, on the shores of Lake Washington, is the other — which makes for a scenic vista but hellish traffic access.

In 1962, George Mooney, the longtime play-by-play man for the Vols in the ‘50s and ‘60s, hit on an innovative idea to get to the stadium: by sea rather than by land.

“All the games back then were at 2:30 in the afternoon,” says Bud Sherrod, a Knoxville insurance executive. “We didn’t have lights on the stadium. So he and a friend of his decided that traffic was such a pain in the butt that they would come up to a game in his little boat, a little runabout with probably a 30-horsepower on the back. And then he joked about it on the air,…

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