Category: College Football

Penn State may be ranked in the updated national polls, including the US LBM Coaches Poll, but the Nittany Lions are at the top of one ranking of every FBS prorgam this season. USA TODAY Sports has Penn State taking the top spot in the latest NCAA re-ranking of all 136 FBS programs.

Compiled by Paul Myerberg, the USA TODAY Sports re-rank is updated weekly throughout the season. Myerberg ranked Penn State at the top of his Week 1 ranking going into the start of the season. Penn State handled its business at home with a 46-11 victory against Nevada, which ranks No. 122 in the updated ranking. That was enough to keep the chair warm on the top ranking from Myerberg.

Georgia sits one spot behind Penn State as the Bulldogs also saw no change in their ranking this week. Ohio State, who jumped over Penn State to be the No. 1 in this week’s AP Top 25 along with the US LBM Coaches Poll, moves up to No. 3 in Myerberg’s NCAA re-rank after moving up three spots following its big home win against Texas in Week 1.

Penn State hosts FIU in Week 2. The Nittany Lions are a heavy favorite going into the second game of the season. FIU ranks 117th in Myerberg’s NCAA re-rank. Kickoff is set for 12:00 p.m. ET, and the game will air on Big Ten Network.

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CHAPEL HILL, North Carolina — The University of North Carolina made an unprecedented investment in football with the hire of Bill Belichick and the additional financial support that has been poured into the program. It was a true experiment to see if the Tar Heels could achieve different results on the field, and possibly shake loose from the “sleeping giant” moniker that has followed the program for decades. 

Belichick brought with him a spotlight that had the Tar Heels discussed nationally before they had even played a game. The Monday night stage against TCU set up for a moment that could have been transformative for the program and the school. 

But instead of a transformative evening in Chapel Hill, North Carolina delivered a performance that for fans (who had mostly cleared out by the end of the 48-14 smacking) felt was all too familiar. North Carolina football history in the 21st Century has been mostly good, but rarely great and rarely terrible. In fact, with Monday night’s loss the program has a 157-157 record since 2000. But while that historical average will get you to plenty of regionally-based bowl games and deliver enough home wins to keep the fans entertained until basketball season, the outside view of North Carolina football has been shaped by how the Tar Heels have performed on big stages. 

Since 2000, North Carolina is 4-12 in bowl games and has gone 1-8 in bowl games since 2014 with the only win coming against Temple in the 2019 Military Bowl. College football fans are used to seeing the iconic interlocking NC in the postseason, but also used to seeing the Tar Heels on the losing end. 

It’s not just bowl games, either. Since 2000, North Carolina has also fallen to 4-12 in season openers against power conference…

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MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Miami hadn’t beaten a top-10 team in nearly eight years. The opponent that night was Notre Dame.

It happened again Sunday night — and once again, at Notre Dame’s expense.

Carter Davis made a 47-yard field goal with 1:04 left for the go-ahead score, Carson Beck threw for 205 yards and two touchdowns in his Miami debut, and the 10th-ranked Hurricanes beat the sixth-ranked Fighting Irish 27-24 in the opener for both teams.

“It’s just an unbelievable night,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said after the Hurricanes snapped an eight-game slide against top-10 opponents. “Unbelievable night for so many people that poured so much into this.”

CJ Daniels made a spectacular one-handed touchdown grab and Rueben Bain had an interception on a thrice-deflected pass in the fourth quarter for the Hurricanes, who outgained Notre Dame 324 yards to 314. Malachi Toney had a touchdown catch and Marty Brown added a TD run for Miami.

CJ Carr, in his first start for Notre Dame, finished 19 of 30 for 221 yards with two touchdown passes and an interception — plus a rushing score with 3:21 left that tied the game, capping a rally from 14 points down. Micah Gilbert and Jordan Faison had the scoring grabs for the Irish.

“The effort was there,” Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said.

Miami went 46 yards on 10 plays on the ensuing drive, with Davis — a transfer from FAU — delivering for the lead. Notre Dame got the ball at its own 25, out of timeouts, and went nowhere before time expired.

“Gosh, I was nervous.” Beck said. “But we got it done.”

Miami won the coin toss and deferred, which proved relevant — since the Hurricanes essentially ran out the clock on the first half with a 75-yard TD drive, then started the second half with another 75-yard TD…

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No. 6 Notre Dame and No. 10 Miami are facing off the first time since 2017 in a Sunday evening spotlight game that will shape the narratives surrounding two national brands with College Football Playoff aspirations. The Fighting Irish will be seeking their first road victory over the Hurricanes since 1977.

Miami has won six straight home games in the series, but it enters as an underdog against a Notre Dame team coming off an appearance in the CFP National Championship. With both teams breaking in new quarterbacks and defensive coordinators, the showdown features plenty of uncertainty.

After getting left on the doorstep of the CFP last season, the Hurricanes are looking for a Year 4 breakthrough under coach Mario Cristobal with the help of Georgia transfer Carson Beck at quarterback. He’ll have big shoes to fill as he replaces No. 1 overall draft pick Cam Ward.

Notre Dame should again be anchored by an elite defense and premier running game, as backs Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price return. But the Fighting Irish will need redshirt freshman CJ Carr to be poised and ready to go as he makes his first career start on the road in a high-stakes situation.

All the ingredients for a blockbuster Week 1 showdown are there as the old “Catholics vs. Convicts” rivalry gets new life in what will be just the fifth meeting between the teams since 1990.

How to watch Notre Dame vs. Miami live

Date: Sunday, August 31 | Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Location: Hard Rock Stadium — Miami, Florida
TV: ABC | Live stream: Fubo (Try for free)

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You can pick Notre Dame vs. Miami at DraftKings and get a $300 bonus plus over $200 off NFL Sunday Ticket by clicking here:

Notre…

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There’s no way to sugarcoat how the Alabama Crimson Tide began their season Saturday in Tallahassee. The first drive of the game was absolutely beautiful—but after that, everything went downhill fast. Alabama ended up on the wrong side of program history, and it wasn’t even close.

“For the first time in 24 years, Alabama is 0–1 to start the season, and for coach Kalen DeBoer, more losses are coming for his program unless major corrections are made across several areas,” CBS Sports’ Brad Crawford wrote.

This marks Alabama’s second season without Nick Saban at the helm, and with performances like this, it’s clear he’s no longer patrolling the sidelines.

“If No. 8 Alabama needed any reminder that the Nick Saban era is over, they got it Saturday during their 31–17 loss to Florida State. The Crimson Tide not only began the season with a loss, but to an unranked Seminoles team by two possessions. The Seminoles, who went 2–10 a season ago, held control for much of the game over Alabama,” SI’s Eva Geitheim wrote. 

So far, DeBoer hasn’t exactly won over the Crimson Tide faithful. After the loss, he pointed to himself, the coaching staff, and the players as being responsible.

“I choose to believe we’ve got a good football team,” DeBoer said. “But we can’t play on our heels. We’re not going to be what we think we can be, what we want to be, if that’s the case. And that falls on everyone. I don’t just point the finger at the players.”

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If Alabama continues down this path, the cost of change won’t come cheap.

“Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer has one of college football’s largest buyouts this season at approximately $63 million following a multi-year contract he signed in January 2024 to succeed Nick Saban with the Crimson Tide,”…

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College Football is officially back in full swing, and this weekend there are no shortage of exciting games, including a Week 1 FBS-vs.-FCS matchup between No. 7 Oregon and Montana State. 

Both teams went through serious changes this offseason and lost key players to the NFL Draft, including quarterbacks. Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel was drafted by the Cleveland Browns. Hours before the opener on Saturday, sources confirmed to CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz that sophomore Dante Moore is being tabbed as Gabriel’s successor. Montana State’s quarterback Tommy Mellott is now with the Las Vegas Raiders, and the Bobcats offense this year will be led by Justin Lamson. 

Both teams are without their top running backs from last season, too, with Oregon RB Jordan James going to the San Francisco 49ers and Montana State running back Scottre Humphrey to New Mexico.

The Ducks are the clear favorites here, but that doesn’t mean the Bobcats are a team to overlook. This is an FCS power with a historic national championship pedigree.

Where to watch Oregon vs. Montana State live

Date: Saturday, Aug. 30 | Time: 4 p.m. ET
Location: Autzen Stadium — Eugene, Oregon
TV: Big Ten Network | Stream: Fubo (Try for free)

Oregon vs. Montana State: Need to know

Dante Moore named starter: Last year’s backup, Moore has earned the starting QB job. This will be offensive coordinator Will Stein’s third QB in as many years in the program, but Moore has already been around the team. The downside is lack of experience. Moore has five starts as a freshman at UCLA, and Austin Novosad, the other option, has just 13 pass attempts. 

Oregon has faced Montana State’s QB before: New passers on each side is a major storyline for this matchup and can provide a challenge as the team’s…

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It’s finally time for the moment you’ve all been waiting for! The first predictions of the year are upon us, so let’s get to what each of our writers thinks will transpire at 8 PM on Saturday!

The Huskies are currently 21.5 point favorites according to Fanduel Sportsbook. Terms and Conditions apply. See https://sportsbook.fanduel.com/navigation/ncaaf for more details.

Andrew Berg (0-0 SU, 0-0 ATS)

Jay Norvell has turned Colorado St into a consistently respectable team. They bring back QB Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi for his third year as the starter. He tallied almost 3,500 yards in ‘23, but also threw 16 interceptions. His numbers regressed last year due to a receiving corps that was injured and underperforming. With UW’s secondary strength, it will not be easy for a sub-par receiving group to make big plays. CSU will also start a RB who got benched last year behind five new offensive line starters. The Dawgs have legitimate questions along the defensive front, but this is a gentle start for that group. Unless the Rams suddenly perform much better than their component pieces have in the past, it should be a good introduction for Ryan Walters as the DC. The alignment of strengths and weaknesses is not as favorable for the UW offense. Some of the most interesting players on the defense line up on the edge and the Rams should be able to get pressure on the QB. UW starts a converted LT and a RT who did not play well last year in front of a QB who is still calibrating his internal pressure clock. The Huskies should be able to run the ball, but if Demond Williams takes too many ill-timed sacks, it could cause promising drives to stall out. Based on the reports through the fall, I expect the defense to look better than the offense in Week 1, but I think the offense should be able to put up numbers nonetheless. It’s…

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Kevin Jairaj

LSU starting safety A.J. Haulcy will miss the first half of Saturday’s top 10 clash against Clemson because of an ejection for fighting last season, an NCAA official told CBS Sports.

Haulcy, while playing for Houston last season, was ejected late in the fourth quarter of the Cougars’ regular-season finale against BYU. While the ejection was initially listed as unsportsmanlike conduct — which would not come with any additional penalty — it was later changed after the game to fighting. With that designation comes a required first-half suspension of the next game which just so happens to be in a different season with a different team.

LSU coach Brian Kelly said Thursday that LSU wasn’t aware of the situation until Wednesday, though an NCAA official told CBS Sports that Houston’s “coaching staff was made aware of the suspension and clarification of the fighting foul in a formal letter from the Big 12 conference in early December 2024.” It appears that message wasn’t passed along to the LSU coaching staff after Haulcy left for the Tigers. 

“We were informed of his situation on Wednesday,” Kelly told reporters before the news broke. “We’re practicing him, preparing to play him and we’ll wait for further guidance. It’s a little bit of conference and certainly NCAA rulings in terms of what the circumstances are at the end of the game. Our conference has been great, providing the support and we’ll wait for a decision and plan accordingly.” 

NCAA rules do not permit appeals for fighting so LSU and Haulcy have no recourse less than 48 hours away from Saturday’s game at…

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