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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Michael Alford might have the best seat in college athletics. From a field-level box that he personally reimagined at Dick Howser Stadium, Florida State’s athletic director might be sitting closer to the batter than either dugout-bound coach. Alford is able to watch this weekend’s NCAA baseball super regional surrounded by food, drink, boosters and praise. 

This is part of the third-year AD’s kingdom. As the baseball season winds down, the former Mississippi State outfielder is basking in more than sunlight. Mike Norvell has stopped by, a sign that football is back but also a reminder of the hurt that still lingers from being left out of the College Football Playoff following the 2023 season.

“It just wasn’t right,” Alford grumbles between pitches.

It wouldn’t be fair to label Alford as the primary force behind Florida State’s push to exit the ACC, but he is the leader of a powerful athletic brand making news almost daily at this point. And Alford, thankfully, has been available on the subject since the exit attempt became public during a live-streamed board of trustees meeting in February 2023. 

Since then, Florida State has arguably committed enough words, effort and documents to provide a legal walk-through for any school that wants to follow its path.

“I’d say there’s a lot of people interested in the formula, the blueprint,” Alford told CBS Sports. “[There have been] a lot of questions about how we got to this point. It’s really looking at the analytical side of where this business is going, making sure we are positioning ourselves for the future.”

That formula/blueprint is still in the development. FSU sued the ACC last December. Clemson followed with its own suit in March. The ACC has counter-sued. 

That’s…

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The USC-LSU college football season opener is one of the best games in Week 1 of the season, just before Labor Day. We joined the Powers On Sports podcast, hosted by Jason Powers, to discuss that game plus a few other Week 1 showcase games.

We also talked about non-college football topics, just so you know, but college football was very much a part of our menu of items with Jason.

The USC-LSU game is fascinating for a number of reasons. One is that the two programs have a lot in common. They both had terrible defenses last season and completely revamped their defensive coaching staffs. They both had Heisman Trophy winners at quarterback the past two seasons. They both have coaches who left elite programs for other elite programs. They both underachieved last year. They both have failed to win conference championships this decade. They both have inadequate depth on their defensive lines. They both have uncertain quarterback situations entering the 2024 season.

It will be fascinating to see how that game plays out.

Here’s the Powers on Sports podcast below:

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Story originally appeared on Trojans Wire

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The transfer portal has revolutionized roster building across college football, and the Big 12 is no exception. Every team in the conference experienced turnover and hopes a newcomer can quickly slide into a new role. Four schools looked to the transfer portal for starting quarterbacks, while four more return a former transfer as a starter in 2024. 

At times, the transfer portal has lifted a team’s ceiling. TCU slapped together a defense with key transfers and reached the national title game in 2022. Other times, overreliance has tanked programs. Look no further than BYU and Houston, both of which took more than 20 transfers last season and finished a combined 4-14 in Big 12 play. 

While Big 12 teams added a handful of star players, others opted to lean on internal improvement. Five schools added 10 or fewer transfers. Among them were Iowa State and Oklahoma State — two of the top three teams in the country in returning production. 

Here are the top transfers entering the Big 12 in 2024, headlined by a handful of key offensive targets. 

Utah WR Dorian Singer

Revamping a miserable passing game was a top priority for Kyle Whittingham and his staff entering 2024, and Singer adds immediate firepower. The fourth-year player caught 66 passes for 1,105 yards and six touchdowns in 2022 at Arizona and impressed with 16.7 yards per catch. He adds a downfield threat for returning quarterback Cameron Rising.

Singer is the headliner, but Utah added three receivers overall, including Washington’s Taeshaun Lyons and Syracuse’s Damien Alford. The Utes finished last place in the Pac-12 in passing offense last season, but the new additions should revamp the unit and potentially key a Big 12 title run. Singer ranked as the No. 29 receiver in the…

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2024 is a big year for college sports. Major realignment has changed the face of the sport forever. The Pac-12 as we know it is gone, and the remainder of the Power Five, now Power Four, will be accepting new members.

One thing remains constant amid the newness: the Oklahoma Sooners are looking for that elusive eighth national title. And as they head to the sport’s toughest conference the Sooners are having a revolution of sorts themselves.

Dillon Gabriel is no longer the starting quarterback. He’ll hold that role at Oregon. Jackson Arnold is now the man on campus for the Sooners. With just months away from his first full campaign, projecting what Arnold will look like is fool’s gold. We don’t know. We saw a young quarterback making his first collegiate start in the Valero Alamo Bowl.

ESPN writer David Hale ranked every FBS team’s quarterback situation into tiers (subscription required.). While there is no Caleb Williams or Drake Maye level of surefire quarterback, there is talent throughout the nation. Jackson Arnold was placed in Tier 4, deemed “The Young and the Restless.”

It features names like Avery Johnson (Kansas State), Dylan Raiola (Nebraska), Nico Iamaleava (Tennessee), and USC‘s Miller Moss.

There’s a lot of recruiting pedigree among these names. Multiple four – and five-star quarterbacks, but they only have a combined four starts. Raiola is a true freshman this year and has yet to take a snap in a real college game.

Hale believes that there’s a real possibility that a couple of the players in this group could rise to Tier 1. Oklahoma’s hoping and banking on that. Arnold’s arm talent is second to none. Still, he needs the repetitions and the experience to materialize into the quality of quarterback that people have come to expect in Norman.

For all of Lincoln Riley’s deserved praise…

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