Category: College Football

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A second wave of College Football Playoff expansion is potentially around the corner, and Nick Saban is on board with the idea of constructing a larger postseason bracket. The legendary former Alabama coach said further expansion “is probably a good thing” as the sport continues to map its path forward into uncharted waters. Despite the CFP having already expanded three-fold from four teams to 12 just last season, stakeholders are in the process of determining a possible new format for 2026 and beyond.

Leaders from the SEC and Big Ten in particular are proponents of a 14- or 16-team playoff with multiple automatic bids divided among the conferences. Those two leagues could receive as many as four automatic bids apiece under the proposed models.

“Back in the years, I was never for expanding the playoff because I thought bowl games were really important to the history and tradition of college football, but now that we have expanded the playoff, now the bowl games have taken a less significant role,” Saban Tuesday said at a charity event. “So I think expanding the playoff and having as many teams involved as we can without playing too many games for the players — I think that’s a little bit of a concern — is probably a good thing.”

A Big Ten/SEC College Football Playoff takeover is inevitable, but what if it’s actually the best solution?

Tom Fornelli

SEC and Big…

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Michigan State football has extended an offer to a big-time cornerback prospect in the 2027 class.

Xavier Hasan of Raleigh, N.C. announced earlier this week that he has received an offer from the Spartans. Hasan posted about the offer from Michigan State on his social media X account.

Hasan is a high-end four-star prospect in the 2027 class, according to 247Sports. He holds a recruiting rating of 95.42 in 247Sports’ composite system.

Hasan ranks as the No. 8 cornerback in 247Sports’ rankings for the 2027 class. He is also listed as the No. 46 overall prospect and No. 2 player from North Carolina in the class.

Michigan State is one of more than 30 schools to extend an offer to Hasan, according to 247Sports. He also holds notable offers from Georgia, Florida, Florida State, Notre Dame, Penn State, Tennessee, Duke, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisville, Maryland, NC State, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ole Miss, Rutgers, SMU, South Carolina, Virginia Tech, Wisconsin, Wake Forest and Oklahoma State.

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on X @RobertBondy5.

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Leaders from the Power Four conferences are circulating a binding document that would radically transform rules enforcement in college football, according to Yahoo Sports. 

The contract would create the College Sports Commission, a new entity geared toward rules enforcement. Power Four schools would be required to sign the contract or risk being expelled from their leagues and having member schools refuse to play games against them. Additionally, it would limit the ability for schools to sue over enforcement decisions, radically transforming the outlook of the new era of college athletics. 

If the document is signed, it would create legitimate enforcement power that would put an end to the largely unregulated market that exists in the present environment. Notably, it would make schools subject to decisions by an NIL clearinghouse, which would judge whether outside NIL contracts represent true “market value.” It would also ensure that all power conference schools fully comply with the upcoming House v. NCAA lawsuit settlement, which is expected to be finalized in the coming days and will allow direct pay-for-play for the first time in history. 

CEO to oversee college sports rules enforcement after House v. NCAA settlement is finalized, per report

Carter Bahns

The potential agreement comes in the wake of a wave of legal complications at the state level. Multiple states have considered legislation that would prevent the settlement from being legally enforceable in their states. Notably, Tennessee passed a law last week that would…

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The UNC basketball program watched a few different prospects over the weekend

2026 5⭐️ Toni Bryant had the following schools into watch him this weekend, source told @LeagueRDY:

Missouri (head coach)
LSU (head coach)
Miami (head coach)
Kansas State (head coach)
Kentucky
Cal
USF
Kansas
North Carolina
Duke
NC State
Ole Miss
Ohio State
Texas
Gonzaga… pic.twitter.com/Wf8lONvCAJ

— Sam Kayser (@247HSHoops) May 18, 2025

This past weekend was a big one in the evaluation period in college basketball as the AAU circuit ramped back up.

For the North Carolina Tar Heels, they were busy on the recruiting trail. We saw Hubert Davis keep an eye on a pair of 2027 recruits on Friday and now we know UNC was in to watch another top prospect in the 2026 class.

The Tar Heels were among a lot of teams that were watching five-star recruit Toni Bryant on the AAU circuit this past weekend. Among those teams that were watching Bryant were blue bloods Duke, Kansas, and Kentucky as well as programs like Purdue, NC State, Arizona, Ohio State, Texas, LSU, Kansas State, and Miami.

Bryant has a total of 21 offers in his recruitment, including one from North Carolina back in February. His recruitment is starting to pick up as the AAU circuit rolls on and he will have heavy interest from a lot of other programs as we move on.

The 6-foot-9, 215-pound Bryant is ranked No. 10 nationally, the No. 3 power forward and the No. 1 player in the state of Florida per the 247Sports recruiting class.

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.

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When the 12-team College Football Playoff format was revealed nearly four years ago, there were plenty of detractors. Could the FBS really produce more than four true national title contenders? Would it devalue the regular season? Can the sport deliver a consistently compelling postseason product?

After an exciting super-sized season of college football, the answer is a resounding yes. Ohio State battled back from a devastating loss to Michigan to produce one of the most impressive four-game runs in college football history. The championship game against Notre Dame went down to the wire and legends were born.

Neither Ohio State nor Notre Dame would have even made the four-team playoff under the previous rules. Instead, the pair combined to beat every other member of the top eight head-to-head and plow their way to an undisputed national title game that was decided on the field.

And even among the teams that didn’t contend for a championship, returns were incredible. SMU, Tennessee, Boise State and Indiana all elevated themselves after earning trips to the CFP. Arizona State cemented itself as a rising program by taking Texas to double-overtime. Even teams like South Carolina and BYU benefitted from major chatter during breakout seasons. In a four-team playoff world, all those teasm would have been deemed irrelevant down the stretch. Instead, America got a good, hard look at around two-dozen playoff contenders.

Granted, Ohio State and Notre Dame were hardly plucky underdogs despite entering the field as the 7- and 8-seeds. 

“The only CFP Cinderella you’ll ever get is a Goliath being given a third chance posing as a lower seed,” As CBS Sports’s Josh Pate wrote in a social media post after the game. 

In terms of winning a national…

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Which state of Michigan prospects could end up in East Lansing?

Michigan State football is gearing up for the biggest recruiting month of the calendar year, with June being set up for official visits and trying to lockdown various prospects in the 2026 recruiting class.

One thing is for certain under the Jonathan Smith regime in East Lansing, the Spartans are going to prioritize the Midwest, along with the state of Michigan. The Spartans currently hold two commitments from the state of Michigan in 2026, and that number appears that it could be growing.

Over the course of the last week, Michigan State coaches have made their way around the state of Michigan, talking to various prospects and making their presence known within the state’s recruiting scene.

Check out the various in-state prospects that the Spartans are gearing up to pursue in the 2026 recruiting class:

MSU commits

Michigan State currently holds the commitments of QB Kayd Coffman and OL Eli Bickel, both of which are from the state of Michigan.

4-star RB Kory Amachree

The No. 1 running back on MSU’s big board, Haslett running back Kory Amachree is getting the full court press from the Spartans coaching staff.

3-star OL Khalief Canty

The No. 1 offensive lineman left on MSU’s big board is Detroit Cass Tech’s Khalief Canty. A 6-foot-5 offensive tackle, Canty has garnered national attention, and comes from one of the best high schools in America at producing pro talent.

4-star DB Marcello Vitti (Iowa commit)

An in-state prospect that is currently committed elsewhere, Michigan State and Michigan are both making runs at Dearborn Divine Child’s Marcello Vitti. As of now, though, Iowa is holding strong in their commitment. Vitti is a 6’0″ athlete that can play either side of the ball, but most likely projects to defensive back.

3-star WR Samson Gash

The Spartans offered the…

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You’ll have to forgive Illinois football fans for wincing when the words “playoff contender” or “this year’s Indiana” are tossed about as liberally as they have been this offseason. Not because the comparison to Indiana is misguided — it is, as the Hoosiers were coming off a 3-9 record last season with a first-year coach while Illinois won 10 games in 2024 — but because Illinois and expectations have gone together like oil and vinegar.

You’ll hear a lot about how Illinois returns nearly every key starter from last year’s team. You’ll also hear about third-year starting quarterback Luke Altmyer, who hasn’t posted gaudy numbers the last two seasons but has routinely found ways to make big plays when his team needs him most.

What you don’t hear much about is this: the last time Illinois both started and ended a season ranked in the AP Top 25 was 1990.

Back in 1990, Illinois was coming off a 10-2 season under John Mackovic that ended with a win over Virginia in the Citrus Bowl. That team was led by Jeff George, and although he left to become the No. 1 pick in the 1990 NFL Draft, the Illini began 1990 ranked at No. 11. They barely clung on, finishing the season 8-4 and ranked No. 25.

While they’d be ranked for a few weeks in 1991, Illinois wouldn’t enter the AP Poll again until 1994 when it began the season at No. 21. The Illini would finish 7-5 and only spend three weeks in the poll that year. And it’s been a common theme for them since.

Illinois began the 1994, 2000, and 2008 seasons ranked and finished those three seasons with a combined record of 17-18. An inability to sustain success has dogged the program since the late 1950s, which is precisely what Bret Bielema was brought in to fix ahead of the 2021 season.

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It’s an age old debate. Which state produces the most football talent?

It’s not an easy question to answer because the change in demographics and population in this country has changed significantly over the last few decades. Yes, Ohio has historically been a football hotbed. I mean, there’s a reason the NFL Hall of Fame is in the Buckeye state, right?

As the population of this country has moved south and west, however, is Ohio still the football state it used to be? Has Texas, Florida, and California — even Georgia and Louisiana — surpassed Ohio in high school talent?

Obviously, it’s hard to take the bias out of question like this, and doing it on the campus of THE Ohio State will probably get you different answers than, say, Florida State, but the OSU football creative team decided to put that debate out there in the universe, or at least in the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.

Watch as current Ohio State football players walk by the question of which state produces the most football talent and how they respond. The answers vary from Ohio to Florida, to California, to even South Dakota and Wisconsin (you can probably guess who raised that false flag).

Look, I’d love to say Ohio is king here, but it’s simply not true anymore. Florida is the right answer, followed closely I’d say, by Texas and California. More people equals more people playing football. It’s simple, right?

Tell me I’m wrong and back it up.

Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.

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