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
NCAAF
7:00 AM ET ATHENS, Ga. — One day this summer, Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett knocked on an apartment door, wearing a mock U.S. Postal Service uniform. He handed a package to a woman who answered the door. “Hey, here you go,” Bennett told her. “This place is nice.” “Excuse me, why is Stetson Bennett actually
8:00 AM ET Anthony OlivieriESPN.com WHEN DAN LANNING walks out onto the field at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where his Oregon Ducks will face Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday, it’ll be hard to forget from where he came: a $1,200-a-month job under Nick Saban just seven years ago. Lanning remembers the eyebrows that were raised when
1:30 AM ET PITTSBURGH — Finally, blessedly, the Backyard Brawl returned to college football on Thursday night. Fans saw a game to tell their grandkids about, but were also reminded of the emotion, hatred and yes — profanity-laced chants — that go hand-in-hand with this lost rivalry. Eleven years separated the most recent matchup between
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
5:52 PM ET Associated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. — Upon further review, South Carolina’s live, crowing mascot will go back to his old name, “Sir Big Spur.” The school announced the rooster’s status Thursday, just three days after choosing “The General” as a new name due to a dispute between the old and new owners. But
4:58 PM ET Pete ThamelESPN Kansas has extended the contract of football coach Lance Leipold by a year, sources told ESPN. Leipold’s first season was highlighted by a win at Texas, as the Jayhawks went 2-10 and showed tangible signs of progress. Leipold was hired in late April 2021, taking over one of the most
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