College category, Page 26
Former NFL great Michael Vick introduced as Norfolk State’s football coach
NORFOLK, Va. — To shouts of “Coach” and “Let’s go Spartans,” Michael Vick was introduced Monday as Norfolk State’s football coach, a homecoming for the former NFL star and a splashy, attention-grabbing hire for a program that has struggled in recent years. Vick, who grew up about 30 minutes away...
Tennessee and Auburn remain 1-2 in AP Top 25 poll featuring 10 SEC teams
Tennessee and Auburn remained Nos. 1-2 atop The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll. It’s a fitting spot for a pair of Southeastern Conference teams considering the league put 10 teams into Monday’s AP Top 25. The Volunteers (11-0) and Tigers (11-1) spent a third straight week in the same...
Georgia Tech defense takes big leap in 1st season under Valley grad Tyler SantucciVideo
After Georgia Tech finished with the ACC’s worst defense in 2023, coach Brent Key decided something needed to be done to improve that unit. Andrew Thacker, who had been Tech’s defensive coordinator since 2019, already had been assigned a new role midway through the 2023 season. Kevin Sherrer, the Yellowjackets’...
College playoffs looks for good matchups after snoozy first round of blowouts
For those who dozed through it, or flipped to more compelling fare in the NFL, here’s a brief recap of the rollout of the much-anticipated College Football Playoff. Average final score: Winners 36, Losers 17. In four games, not a single one was closer than a 10-point margin, and even...
When 2025 arrives, so will the end of the amateur athlete in college sports
When the page turns on 2024, it will be time to say goodbye, once and for all, to the amateur athlete in college sports. In theory, the concept held on stubbornly via the quaint and now all-but-dead notion that student-athletes played only for pride, a scholarship and some meal money....
USC beats UConn in marquee matchup between JuJu Watkins, Paige Bueckers
HARTFORD, Conn. — JuJu Watkins and Paige Bueckers both showed out in a primetime matchup between two of the brightest stars in women’s basketball. Watkins got the best of the rematch from last season’s Elite Eight that UConn won, helping No. 7 USC to a 72-70 victory over the fourth-ranked...
Ohio State routs Tennessee to set up rematch with Oregon
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Will Howard threw two touchdown passes to freshman Jeremiah Smith and Ohio State routed Tennessee, 42-17, on Saturday night in a first-round College Football Playoff game, setting up a New Year’s Day rematch with No. 1 Oregon at the Rose Bowl. Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson rushed...
Texas beats Clemson, advances to face to Arizona State in College Football Playoff quarterfinals
AUSTIN, Texas — Jaydon Blue ran for 146 yards and two touchdowns, the last a 77-yard burst in the fourth quarter, and Texas beat Clemson 38-24 on Saturday in the first round of the expanded College Football Playoff. Blue’s fourth-quarter touchdown came after Clemson rallied from down 31-10 to 31-24...
Tim Cowlishaw: SMU-Penn State matchup signals a strange new world for college football
DALLAS — The SMU Mustangs are venturing into the unknown Saturday, and I don’t just mean trying to find University Park on a map, which is a challenge of its own. This is something completely different. For years, one loud chorus of voices shouted that college football needed a real...
DJ Lagway helps Florida trounce Tulane in Gasparilla Bowl
TAMPA, Fla. — DJ Lagway shrugged off a couple of first-half turnovers and threw for 305 yards and a touchdown to lead Florida to a sloppy but dominating 33-8 victory over Tulane in the Gasparilla Bowl on Friday. Trey Smack kicked a Gasparilla Bowl-record four field goals for the Gators...
Former NFL star Michael Vick officially hired by Norfolk State on FridayVideo
NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk State officially named Michael Vick its football coach Friday, the latest hire of a talented NFL player with no college coaching experience to lead an HBCU program. Vick’s addition was unanimously approved by the school’s board of visitors, Norfolk State athletic director Melody Webb said in...
Parker Navarro’s big 1st half helps Ohio win Cure Bowl
ORLANDO, Fla. — Parker Navarro ran for three touchdowns and passed for a fourth in the first half, and Ohio held off Jacksonville State, 30-27, on Friday in the Cure Bowl, the only bowl game featuring two conference champions. The Mid-American Conference champion Bobcats (11-3), who won their seventh straight...
Jaylon Jimmerson, Hunter Watson help Sam Houston to win over Georgia Southern at New Orleans Bowl
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Jaylon Jimmerson returned the first of his two interceptions 28 yards for a touchdown in the opening minutes, Hunter Watson accounted for three touchdowns and Sam Houston beat Georgia Southern, 31-26, on Thursday night at the New Orleans Bowl. Brad Cornelsen served as acting head coach...
Tim Benz: For the College Football Playoff, let’s hope the games overcome the planning
The 12-team College Football Playoff begins Friday. I’d like to be more excited about it than I am. That’s probably because three of the first-round CFP contests are occurring on a Pittsburgh Steelers’ game day. The lone game I’ll definitely get to watch is the Friday night opener between No....
Notre Dame-Indiana playoff game a twist for those with dual loyalties in the Hoosier StateVideo
INDIANAPOLIS — Jim O’Donnell’s legacy will be felt inside Notre Dame Stadium on Friday night. His son, Jim, will attend the first playoff game in major college football to be played at a campus site, dressed in the cream-and-crimson color garb of his dad’s alma mater, Indiana. The younger O’Donnell’s...
Playoff QBs include a hometown recruit, a prep title rematch and some 1-year hired gunsVideo
Kevin Jennings wasn’t even the player Rhett Lashlee was going to watch when he went to his first Texas high school playoff game a week after becoming SMU’s coach. Three years later, Jennings is the only quarterback starting for his hometown team in the debut of the expanded 12-team College...
Ohio State wants redemption, Tennessee seeks respect in 1st-round CFP matchupVideo
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Coach Josh Heupel doesn’t much care for the narrative that No. 7 Tennessee, with its checkered history over the past 15 years, is content just to have reached the College Football Playoff. The fourth-year coach knows that mindset won’t work facing a team like No. 6 Ohio...
Heavyweights Texas, Clemson meet for 1st time in College Football PlayoffVideo
AUSTIN, Texas — No. 13 Clemson got into the College Football Playoff on a thunderous kick in the final seconds of the ACC championship. No. 4 Texas limped in after a great regular season was deflated by a frustrating overtime loss to Georgia in the SEC title game. Now these...
James Madison secures its 1st bowl win after topping Western Kentucky in the Boca Raton
BOCA RATON, Fla. — Backup Billy Atkins threw for 181 yards and a touchdown in his first start since 2022, leading James Madison to the program’s first bowl win after topping Western Kentucky, 27-17, on Wednesday night in the Boca Raton Bowl. JMU was without starting quarterback Alonza Barnett III,...
Hajj-Malik Williams throws 2 TDs passes to help No. 24 UNLV beat Cal in the LA Bowl
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Despite losing its starting quarterback after three games and head coach 10 days ago, UNLV had its best season in the Football Bowl Subdivision. The 24th-ranked Rebels picked up their 11th win and first bowl victory in 24 years Wednesday night when they pulled away in the...
Notre Dame and Indiana get 1st taste of playoff football under the Friday night lightsVideo
Marcus Freeman spent his first two seasons as the Notre Dame coach chasing the playoff dream. This year, he’s living it at home. After closing the regular season on a 10-game winning streak and getting two weeks to prepare for the most meaningful postseason game of his career, Freeman is...
Clemson’s Dabo Swinney once again defies, dismisses critics
CLEMSON, S.C. — Clemson coach Dabo Swinney doesn’t see this season much differently than others in his long, successful career: criticism over his philosophy, his team counted out early before celebrating another season on top. “The way I’ve been taking shots since I got the job,” Swinney said. “Yeah, what’s...
Ivy League football to compete in FCS playoffs beginning next season
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — The Ivy League will compete in the FCS playoffs beginning next season, the conference announced on Wednesday, ending a century-long postseason ban originally aimed at allowing the athletes to focus on their schoolwork. “It’s a monumental day in the Ivy League and a special day to be...
Reports: Greensburg Salem grad Brennan Marion to become Sacramento State head coach
Greensburg Salem graduate Brennan Marion is finalizing a deal to become the head coach at Sacramento State, according to multiple reports and first reported by Matt Zenitz of 247Sports. Marion was the offensive coordinator at UNLV for the last two seasons. Dan Mullen was hired after UNLV head coach Barry...
‘Better than going to Disney World’: Fans revel in CFP debuts at campus sitesVideo
Forget the cost, the frenzied planning and the timing around the holidays. SMU fan Will Howard is living the dream: His beloved Mustangs are in the 12-team hunt for a national championship, and he’s going to ride it to the end. “It’s better than going to Disney World,” Howard said....
