Category: College Football

CBS Sports Network’s continued coverage of the 2024 college football season features five games for the Week 13 slate, with just one weeknight game ahead of a Saturday quadruple-header. The week kicks off with some MACtion Tuesday night as Akron travels to Kent State. This will be the third midweek game in a row for both teams, who haven’t seen the Saturday spotlight since late October. 

After a three-day break, coverage returns Saturday afternoon with a pivotal Conference USA clash between Sam Houston and Jacksonville State. Both the Bearcats and the Gamecocks have their eyes firmly set on the conference crown, with this game serving as a huge stepping stone to that point. 

Viewers will get their Mountain West fill Saturday as the rest of the CBS Sports Network slate features a MWC triple-feature. Notably, Boise State is in action at 7 p.m. ET with a road game at Wyoming as the Broncos look to continue their standout season. In the nightcap, Colorado State will try and protect its unblemished conference record against Fresno State. 

CBS Sports Network will be with you every step of the way once the Week 13 games begin. In the meantime, get caught up on viewing information, storylines, betting odds and more for each matchup. 

All times Eastern | Odds via SportsLine consensus

Akron at Kent State

Date: Tuesday, Nov. 19  | Time: 7 p.m. 
Location: Dix Stadium — Kent, Ohio
TV: CBS Sports Network [Channel finder] 
Live stream: CBSSports.com | Mobile: CBS Sports App (Free)
Spread: Akron -10 | Will the Zips cover? Check out SportsLine’s Week 13 projections here

Bottom 25 enjoyers rejoice. Akron and Kent State are in second-to-last and last place in the MAC, respectively. They’re a combined 1-11 in conference play, with the Zips…

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MADISON, Wis. — Phil Longo has been fired as Wisconsin’s offensive coordinator one day after the Badgers fell 16-13 to No. 1 Oregon for their third straight loss.

“This morning, I informed Phil Longo that he will no longer serve as our offensive coordinator,” Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell said Sunday in a statement released by the university. “After continuing to evaluate the program, I decided we are not where we need to be and believe this decision is in the best interest of the team. I appreciate Phil’s commitment to helping us build our program over the past two seasons and wish him well moving forward. This team still has a lot in front of us, and I am committed to doing everything we can to close out this season with success.”

The move comes after a slide that has dropped Wisconsin’s record to .500 and has put the Badgers’ streak of 22 consecutive winning seasons in jeopardy. Boise State is the only Football Bowl Subdivision program with a longer active streak of seasons finishing above .500.

Longo came to Wisconsin after a successful four-year stint as North Carolina’s offensive coordinator working with current NFL quarterbacks Sam Howell and Drake Maye, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft. He also had been Mississippi’s offensive coordinator from 2017-18.

Longo’s arrival at Wisconsin before the 2023 season garnered plenty of attention because his background operating Air Raid-style offenses was unusual for a program known primarily for running the ball.

Wisconsin’s offenses have been unable to match the success Longo had at his previous stops.

Last year, Wisconsin went 7-6 and compiled 23.5 points per game for its lowest scoring average since 2004. The Badgers also threw the ball on 50.8% of their snaps last year, the first time they had attempted more passes than runs since at…

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After flirting with disaster last week, BYU embraced it late Saturday night in a 17-13 loss at home to 4-6 Kansas. That result has given the College Football Playoff portion of the bowl projections an unexpected look. I now have Colorado winning the Big 12 over the Cougars, but I also have the Buffaloes topping out in the final rankings at No. 13. That is one spot below where I have projected Mountain West champion Boise State, which means the Broncos earn a first-round bye as they land at the No. 4 seed.

Colorado would still automatically qualify as the fifth highest-ranked conference champion and get seeded 12th in the CFP field.

However, BYU may be playing Iowa State back into the picture. The Cougars are at Arizona State this week, and a loss there could create a three-way tie for second at the end with the Cyclones and Sun Devils. Iowa State would win that and get to face Colorado for the Big 12 title.

That knocks a team off the bubble. Specifically, Ole Miss misses out in this projection, while Tennessee is the last team in the bracket.

The Volunteers joined the list of two-loss SEC teams after a 31-17 loss at Georgia. I will be curious to see how the CFP Selection Committee ranks them compared to the Rebels and Notre Dame this week. Barring an upset of one of those three teams in the last few weeks of the season, that order will likely stay the same going forward.

The Big Ten and SEC each have four teams in this week’s CFP projection with one each for the ACC, Big 12 and Mountain West, along with Notre Dame.

Coming up this week, we finally see Indiana get the test we have all been waiting for. It has taken 12 weeks, but the Hoosiers will finally face a team that is already bowl eligible when they travel to Ohio State. Indiana’s…

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Florida pitched the decision to bring back coach Billy Napier as one focused on the program’s future. The reality of the situation is that paying Napier’s $27 million buyout made less sense at a time when a fraction of that total can be used to develop a roster that can compete on a weekly basis with the best teams in the SEC.

This decision may end up being one of the smarter economic allocations in recent Bowl Subdivision history. In a dream scenario, Napier’s program turns a corner over the next year. If not, the Gators fire him next November or December and pay a smaller buyout number.

The future is uncertain, basically. But the present isn’t all that bad: Florida beat No. 22 LSU 27-16 for what may be the hallmark win of Napier’s tenure. And with freshman quarterback DJ Lagway back in the lineup after missing last week’s loss to Texas, the Gators seem poised to earn a bowl berth and potentially post a winning season for the first time since 2020.

Lagway largely outplayed LSU junior Garrett Nussmeier in completing 13 of 26 passes for 226 yards and a score. Nussmeier threw for 260 yards but averaged a season-low 5.5 yards per attempt.

Crucially, Lagway avoided any turnovers in a game that went back and forth until freshman running back Jadan Baugh’s 55-yard touchdown pushed Florida ahead by two possessions with just under four minutes to go.

Florida defensive back Dijon Johnson (27) reacts after a defensive stop against LSU during the first half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

The Gators will be heavy underdogs in next week’s game against No. 11 Mississippi but are poised to capture bowl eligibility in the season finale against rival Florida State. Given the drama of this season — from Napier’s job security through quarterback Graham Mertz’s season-ending injury through the nastiest schedule…

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CBS Sports Network’s continued coverage of the 2024 college football season features seven games for the Week 12 slate, including a trio of weeknight battles ahead of a Saturday quadruple-header. The action kicks off Tuesday night as Ball State travels to Buffalo in an intriguing Mid-American Conference clash. 

Louisiana Tech and Western Kentucky get a loaded Saturday slate started at noon, followed by a game between Oregon State and Air Force. At 7 p.m. ET, No. 12 Boise State is in action against San Jose State, and in the nightcap, UNLV has a chance to keep its Mountain West hopes alive with a home game against San Diego State. 

CBS Sports Network will be with you every step of the way once the Week 12 games begin. In the meantime, get caught up on viewing information, storylines, betting odds and more for each matchup. 

All times Eastern | Odds via SportsLine consensus

Louisiana Tech at Western Kentucky

Date: Saturday, Nov. 16 | Time: Noon
Location: Houchens Industries – L.T. Smith Stadium — Bowling Green, Kentucky 
TV: CBS Sports Network [Channel finder] 
Live stream: CBSSports.com | Mobile: CBS Sports App (Free)
Spread: Western Kentucky -13.5 | Will the Hilltoppers cover? Check out SportsLine’s Week 12 projections here

Western Kentucky is in good shape to make the Conference USA Championship Game for the second time in coach Tyson Helton’s six-year tenure. The Hilltoppers are currently tied with Jacksonville State atop the conference standings with a 5-0 record, having taken advantage of the power vacuum left by preseason favorite Liberty’s disappointing season. All five of WKU’s league wins have come by at least 13 points. It has a good chance to keep its march going against Louisiana Tech, though the Bulldogs have…

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When the NCAA announced it was expanding the College Football Playoff, the purists out there shared a collective groan.

It will diminish the regular season, they said. It will hurt the bowl system, they said.

Wrong on both counts.

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian has the Longhorns within three wins of playing for the SEC championship. Texas will play at Arkansas on Saturday.

As we enter the final stretch of the 2024 regular season, the opposite effect has happened. College football has never been sexier than it is right now.

The No. 3 Texas Longhorns will play Saturday at Arkansas and know that a 3-0 finish to the regular season will guarantee them a spot in the SEC championship game. Head coach Steve Sarkisian, a self-admitted college football junkie, could not hide his excitement at what’s happening right in the game while speaking during Thursday’s media availability.

“I love it,” Sarkisian said. “I’ve been banging for this playoff for some time. I used to always say, we’re the only sport that didn’t have a true playoff. We have March Madness. We have the NCAA baseball tournament and the College (World) Series, the NBA and NFL. For us to finally get it now, I think is awesome.”

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This is a weekend of must-win matchups

One glance at this weekend’s slate of games reveals the playoff has already started for some big-name programs. The Tennessee-Georgia matchup of two-loss teams has a crucial aspect to it because the loser’s chances to make it to the SEC title game will take a critical hit. Pittsburgh, at 7-2, knows that if it loses to Clemson, it’s probably finished as an ACC title contender, which would kill its CFP hopes.

Then you have Notre Dame and Washington State, a pair of 8-1 independents that are…

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Heading into the season, it felt like Purdue had some real promise. Safety Dillon Thieneman was an All-American. Talented quarterback Hudson Card was in his second year with the program. Running back Devin Mockobee is one of the more underrated rushers in the Big Ten. Even a 49-0 decimation of FCS Indiana State seemed to portend good things. 

Instead, the Boilermakers are cratering. In their first FBS game of the year, Purdue lost 66-7 against Notre Dame, the worst loss in the 128-year history of the rivalry. They were shut out against both Ohio State and Oregon. Purdue’s minus-28.4 point margin is 133rd nationally, only ahead of Kent State. Next up is, gulp, No. 4 Penn State on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET, CBS). 

Purdue took a chance in 2023 by hiring Ryan Walters, a young defensive coordinator who excelled at Illinois and was the 247Sports Defensive Coordinator of the Year in 2022. Walters’ energy was a welcome addition and translated into a top-30 recruiting class in his first season. However, the on-field product is well below expectations. According to a panel of CBS Sports and 247Sports college football writers, Walters faces a critical November to stay off the wrong end of the hot seat.  

Coaching at Purdue comes with challenges. Since 1981, only two coaches have finished with career winning records at Purdue: Joe Tiller and Jeff Brohm. The program has won only one Big Ten championship since 1967, a split title in Drew Brees’ final season in 2000. The program’s NIL situation sits near the lower end of the Big Ten, a matter only complicated by Purdue’s newfound focus on basketball after a Final Four run. 

At the same time, the runs of Tiller and Brohm show there are ways to win at Purdue. The school is misdiagnosing the problem….

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