Sep 1, 2022 Doug KezirianESPN Close ESPN Sports Betting Analyst Host of Daily Wager Behind The Bets podcast host The college football season began in earnest this weekend and what an opening night to greet gamblers. Thursday’s two main games (Penn State over Purdue and No. 17 Pitt over West Virginia) came down to the
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12:38 AM ET For the second time in four years, Virginia Tech lost on the road to Old Dominion, falling Friday night 20-17. Old Dominion fans stormed the field to celebrate their second win over a Power 5 team. The first also came against the Hokies in 2018, a 49-35 victory. This was not exactly
3:08 PM ET Heather Dinich Close ESPN Senior Writer College football reporter Joined ESPN.com in 2007 Graduate of Indiana University Pete Thamel The College Football Playoff’s board of managers unanimously voted Friday to expand the CFP to 12 teams in 2026 but is encouraging the sport’s commissioners to try to implement it as soon as
7:57 AM ET Top-ranked Alabama kicks off its campaign Saturday as one of the biggest preseason national title favorites of the past 20 years. The Crimson Tide are around +180 to win the College Football Playoff at sportsbooks around the nation. Since 2001, only USC (+160) in 2005 and Alabama (+175) in 2018 had better
11:46 PM ET ESPN News Services STILLWATER, Okla. — Spencer Sanders passed for a career-high 406 yards and accounted for six touchdowns as No. 12 Oklahoma State beat Central Michigan 58-44 on Thursday night to give Mike Gundy his 150th coaching victory. Sanders matched a career high with four touchdown passes and set a career
7:30 AM ET ESPN staff After an offseason filled with coaching feuds and conference realignment, the first full slate of college football is here. The Week 1 schedule is filled with top matchups, from the defending champions going against their former defensive coordinator to a top-five showdown in Columbus, Ohio. The Backyard Brawl is officially
7:00 AM ET DAVE WANNSTEDT NEEDED his team to do some studying. The Pitt football coach was leading the 4-7 Panthers into the 2007 edition of the Backyard Brawl against No. 2 West Virginia in Morgantown as a 28.5-point underdog. But he wasn’t concerned with showing his players blitzes or screen passes. Instead, he showed
9:54 PM ET Pete Thamel Heather Dinich Close ESPN Senior Writer College football reporter Joined ESPN.com in 2007 Graduate of Indiana University The College Football Playoff’s board of managers will hold a virtual meeting on Friday that could accelerate playoff expansion as early as 2024 if the 11 presidents and chancellors who comprise the sport’s
7:30 AM ET Week Zero and the Bottom 10 are a marriage made in confusing, loser heaven. Just where did Nebraska land after their Big Ten opening loss to Northwestern? And where do the annual Bottom 10 powerhouses rank in the preseason standings? Inspirational thought of the week: I can’t say that I’m sorryFor the
7:00 AM ET RALEIGH, N.C. — Ruffin McNeill steels himself before walking through the door to see his father. He has no idea whether it’s a good day or a bad day for “Pops,” but he will know soon enough. McNeill enters the nursing care facility in Lumberton, North Carolina, about an hour and a
6:02 PM ET ESPN News Services Jackson State football coach Deion Sanders on Tuesday said in an Instagram video that his program and players are now “in crisis mode” when it comes to grappling with the multiple water problems that have afflicted Mississippi’s capital city in the past week. Parts of Jackson were without running
10:35 PM ET In their first public comments since a civil lawsuit was filed last week accusing former San Diego State punter Matt Araiza and two of his then-teammates of gang raping a 17-year-old girl last year, athletic director John David Wicker and football coach Brady Hoke reemphasized the university’s position that its response followed
Aug 29, 2022 Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh referenced the Bible and Solomon when explaining his decision to use different starting quarterbacks in the team’s first two games. The eighth-ranked Wolverines will begin with Cade McNamara, who started at quarterback throughout last season, for this week’s opener against Colorado State. Sophomore J.J. McCarthy will make his
7:30 AM ET Matt Leinart is no longer the baby-faced quarterback leading USC to national championships. During a phone interview this summer, the 39-year-old who now works as a college football analyst for Fox was driving between appointments while trying to keep his kids quiet in the car. He could have said it wasn’t a
8:15 AM ET The NFL draft will take place in late April, and any player who has been at least three years removed from high school is eligible. But what if we had a draft featuring all college football players? We polled four writers — Andrea Adelson, David Hale, Adam Rittenberg and Alex Scarborough —
6:20 PM ET Associated Press RICHMOND, Ky. — Eastern Kentucky athletic director Matt Roan said football coach Walt Wells is hospitalized in stable condition after having a cardiac episode at work Sunday morning. Roan said in a statement Sunday night that Wells was in intensive care at UK Albert B. Chandler Hospital in Lexington. The
12:38 PM ET T.J. Finley has won Auburn‘s starting quarterback job. The Tigers open the 2022 season on Saturday against Mercer. The 6-foot-7, 250-pound Finley had been competing this preseason with Oregon transfer Robby Ashford and Texas A&M transfer Zach Calzada for the starting job after Bo Nix transferred to Oregon this offseason. Finley started
8:00 AM ET HIS HIRING WAS viewed as a breakthrough, long overdue and something college football desperately needed. That was nearly two decades ago, and Sylvester Croom isn’t convinced that much, if anything, has changed for Black head coaches in college football, particularly those in the Deep South. “It’s not like anybody is asking for