A week after Nick Saban and Pat McAfee practically did an infomercial for the Protect College Sports Act during College GameDay, one of the bill's co-sponsors, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), was given the chance to make a full-throated defense of the bill and why it needed to be passed by the Senate and House, with Cruz previously saying that if passed, President Donald Trump would sign it into law on a future episode of ESPN's flagship college football show.
Even by the standards of College GameDay, which has been known to put its thumb on the scale when it wanted, this whole affair has been wildly inappropriate. It's one thing for Kirk Herbstreit to chastise football players for opting out of meaningless bowl games; it's another thing for the show to put its full weight behind a Congressional bill without providing ample time to those proponents and opponents, especially when those who oppose the bill do so on the grounds that it will negatively impact the earning ability of the athletes who make the sport work.
However, it helps you understand this all-out blitz when you realize where ESPN's parent company is putting its money.
Joedy McCreary at OpenSecrets recently laid out the fight surrounding the PCSA, spelling out which entities are pushing for it and which are pushing back.
Per McCreary, several major broadcasting and cable companies are putting their money where their mouth is. The National ****** ociation of Broadcasters (NAB) and NCTA – the Internet and Television ****** ociation lobbied for the legislation. Amazon, Paramount Skydance, and Disney (which owns ESPN) listed the college sports measure among the dozens of bills they worked on between April 1 and June 30.

#bill #sports

Mississippi State football news: Nick Saban a believer in 'real deal' KaMario Taylor appeared first on ClutchPoints. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
KaMario Taylor showcased promising potential as a freshman last year. His ceiling presented an optimistic take for Nick Saban to express about the Mississippi State Bulldogs quarterback.
Taylor is preparing for the second year of his collegiate career with the Bulldogs. He made 11 appearances that included two starts in 2025, throwing for 629 yards with five touchdowns and one interception. Taylor also finished third on the team in rushing yards with 458 on just 82 carries while leading the team in rushing touchdowns with eight.
Saban talked about Taylor's skillset during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show. He believed that the quarterback will exceed expectations and surprise a lot of people as a player in the SEC.
Watch sports LIVE with fuboTV (free trial)

#saban #state #kamario

Deion Branch's advice to his group of Louisville wide receivers for this week is to keep the noise outside and stay off the internet.
Turn off the TV — not even SportsCenter — or any kind of media. No "rat poison," as Nick Saban would say.
"The spreads and what we're favored by, that stuff doesn't matter," Branch told the Cardinals, who are favored by 36.5 points against Villanova. "You still have to go out and play the game. We have to go out and execute our plays. I need my guys to perform at a very high level for the team and also for themselves. ... So that's my message to the guys. Don't pay any attention to it. Just come in here and continue to work and push forward."
Louisville won't be overlooking the Wildcats tonight in its 2026 home opener. There was too much to work on in the team's 41-38 season-opening loss to No. 11 Ole Miss. Defensively, the Cards need to limit big plays and prevent completions up the seam. Offensively, they need to make sure that quarterback Lincoln Kienholz settles in sooner and doesn't jump out of the pocket before necessary. Having a full game under his belt will help the Ohio State transfer do that. In his first start, Kienholz completed 62.1% of his passes (18-29) with two touchdowns and became the first Louisville starting quarterback to throw for at least 300 yards in his debut (307 yards) since Kyle Bolin, then a redshirt freshman, threw for 300 yards in a 37-14 loss to Georgia in the 2014 Belk Bowl.
The Courier Journal is bringing you live updates, scores and highlights from Friday night's game. Follow along:

#need #yards

On September 3, VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) reported its results for the third quarter ended July 31, 2026.
The quarter marked another period of record credit **** ets, revenue, and net interest income. Strong growth was supported by continued momentum in the company's Structured Receivable Program (SRP) in the United States and steady growth in Canada.
Fiscal 2026 is proving to be a breakout year for the company in terms of top-line growth and the company expects the momentum to accelerate further in fiscal 2027 based on continued expansion of its US SRP business and the launch of its Real-Time SRP, which the company describes as a breakthrough in point-of-sale industry funding.
After the quarter ended, VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) also achieved a very noteworthy milestone as it surpassed $7 billion in total **** ets for the first time. The company's business continues to expand and it said it is increasingly realizing the operating leverage of its cloud-based, branchless, business-to-business model. Net income rose 53% year-over-year, while adjusted (core) net income increased 27%.
A key part of the bullish case for VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) is the continued expansion of its SRP portfolio in the US. The company set a fiscal 2027 target of at least $3 billion in new SRP fundings on its own balance sheet and also pointed to significant additional upside potential.

#versabank #business #fiscal

ESPN's "College GameDay" was back last weekend for Lane Kiffin's LSU debut, and in Week 2, it will air live from one of the most anticipated regular-season games of the 2026 season. GameDay will be at Ohio State vs. Texas in Austin, Texas.
GameDay starts at 9 a.m. ET on ESPN and runs until noon on Saturday, Sept. 12. The crew consisting of Desmond Howard, Kirk Herbstreit, Nick Saban and Pat McAfee will have their game picks and all the Week 2 ****** ysis.
In recent years, GameDay has been criticized for prioritizing SEC games over traveling across the country to showcase other college game-day atmospheres. This week, however, GameDay did not mess around, selecting the marquee matchup of the week between the Longhorns and Buckeyes. Other options included Kentucky hosting Alabama and Oklahoma at Michigan, but even those aren't top-4 battles like Texas-Ohio State.
Actor Glenn Powell, who completed his undergraduate degree at Texas, will be the celebrity guest picker.
The show also already announced that it will attend the LSU at Ole Miss game in Week 3.

#gameday #ohio

Mike Norvell's tenure as Florida State football's head coach has been nothing short of a roller coaster.
The Seminoles have gone 39-35 in seven seasons under Norvell and are currently in a multi-season stretch in which the program is 8-18. That run includes a 2-10 season in 2024 and a 5-7 season in 2025. A far cry from the heights of 2023 when FSU went 13-0 in the regular season and won the ACC ****** le before being snubbed from the College Football Playoff.
It's altered the trajectory of Norvell's career, who was once considered to replace Nick Saban at Alabama following his retirement and was widley considered one of the sports best young coaches. The now 44-year-old sits on arguably the hottest seat in the country and is fresh off a 27-24 loss to No. 19 SMU, where he and his team were routinely greeted with boo's from fans at Doak Campbell Stadium.
Sitting at 1-1, FSU faces a stretch of games that will see the program visit the Crimson Tide before games against Virginia, Louisville and Miami in October.
The road doesn't get easier for Norvell, so if the Seminoles elect to part ways with the embattled head coach, here's what it'll cost.

#coach #stretch #program #games

The FSU Seminoles fell to the SMU Mustangs 27-24 on Monday in Doak Campbell Stadium, and their fans are fed up with the team and Mike Norvell. It was a winnable game for Florida State, but they once again found ways to lose.
Since their 13-1 season in 2023, when they won the ACC and nearly made the College Football Playoff, FSU has gone 8-18 overall and 3-17 in conference play under Norvell. That has caused numerous fans to call for his job, but that is not an easy move.
While their performance over the past two-plus seasons has been well below FSU's standards, it will be expensive to move on from Norvell. According to Craig Myers of USA TODAY Sports, his buyout is $46.7 million if he is fired before Dec. 1, 2026.
If FSU does decide to fire Norvell, his buyout would be the third-biggest in college football history, behind only the $76.8 million the Texas A&M Aggies paid Jimbo Fisher and the $54 million the LSU Tigers paid Brian Kelly. The Seminoles paid Willie Taggart $18 million when they fired him during the 2029 season.
FSU signed Mike Norvell to an eight-year contract worth around $84 million ahead of the 2024 season and guaranteed him that his buyout would be 85% of his remaining salary if he was fired. The deal seemed like a smart move at the time. Not only were they coming off their 13-1 performance in 2023, but the Alabama Crimson Tide were considering hiring him to replace Nick Saban.

#paid #mike

It's not the first time, nor will it be the last. This past Saturday, College GameDay devoted a segment to the upcoming vote on the Protect College Sports Act this week in Congress. Regardless of your political leanings, a college football pregame show devoted time at the official kickoff of the season to publicly support national legislation with no representation of the opposing view.
Is this the new normal? Is this the expectation moving forward? Without question, college football needs some sort of reform. But is this act the fix? And should it be debated on a college football pregame show to kick off a new season of Saturdays in the fall? If Saturday was an example, where was the debate? There was none.
I'm not naive enough to believe sports and politics have never mixed on sports television programming. I've always argued that if there is a direct connection between sports and a political debate, then engage. But engage properly. Except, Saturday provided a moment where the intersection was direct. However, the forum was not open to the other side.
Instead, this was lobbying. Not discussion. This was advocacy, not debate.
Yes, Nick Saban is a staunch supporter of the act proposed in Congress. In fact, he testified before a Senate committee in support of the bill and appears in a commercial supporting it. Yes, Pat McAfee is also a supporter of the act. He's said as much on his daily sports talk program.

#sports #debate #political #pregame

If Washington is going to succeed, Demond Williams needs to have a high usage rate as both a passer and runner. He is at his best when he's on the move, and the Huskies are as well. That's my primary takeaway from Washington's frustrating, but earned, season-opening Apple Cup victory.
On the one hand, Washington's performance for most of the afternoon was frustrating because it looked as lethargic as it had at times in the previous two seasons. On the other hand, if you watched other Week 1 games, there were a handful of victorious teams that looked stuck in the mud. None of which battled their in-state rival.
There's a reason Nick Saban referred to headlines as rat poison. Washington was highly regarded throughout the offseason. It kicked off the season with a shiny No. 17 next to its name and is led by a quarterback who many believe could be a Heisman Trophy finalist. Overall, the consensus is that Washington is the popular pick to be 2027's sleeper team. Those elements added to the discomfort of UW's slow start.
Though it eventually gave up a touchdown in the fourth quarter, Washington's defense was sensational. It shot itself in the foot by picking up unnecessary penalties, but overall it was dominant. Defensive backs Jeron Jones and Alex McLaughlin both logged interceptions while Isaiah Ward forced a fumble, then recovered it. Washington would've had four takeaways, but Rylon Dillard-Allen picked up a questionable targeting penalty after thumping Wazzu quarterback Caden Pinnick.
Speaking of penalties, UW must be better in that area, without question. Washington racked up 130 penalty yards to Wazzu's 50. Washington had 12 fewer penalty yards than Pinnick had passing.

#washington #frustrating #season #quarterback

Is Lane Kiffin married? What to know about LSU coach's relationship with ex-wife Layla originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Is Lane Kiffin married?
It's a question that has followed the high-profile coach for years. And one that has resurfaced as he again dominates the college football news cycle amid his future at LSU.
The Tigers new coach enjoys hot yoga but also spent the New Year with his ex-wife, Layla, who is his partner in life.
MORE:'Keep him away from the sorority girls': Lane Kiffin story from Nick Saban's Alabama days reveals surprising side of LSU coach

#wife

Country music singer Lainey Wilson will serve as the guest picker on College Gameday for LSU football vs. Clemson on Saturday. The two sides meet for a Week One clash under the lights in Iger Stadium for the back half of a home-and-home set.
Wilson, a Louisiana native, made an appearance on SEC Nation in Baton Rouge last season. During an interview with Laura Rutledge, Wilson talked about her small town roots as well as her love for LSU. Now, she'll be sitting alongside Nick Saban, Pat MacAfee and Kirk Herbstreit before the Tigers open the 2026 season.
Soon after the announcement, Wilson joined The Pat McAfee show to talk about her selection as the guest picker and said she plans to perform on College Gameday. She follows in the footsteps of some of the most famous LSU alumni, such as Paul Skenes and Livvy Dunne.
Callin' Baton Rougelaineywilson is the Guest Picker for the 500th CollegeGameDay show pic.twitter.com/VrGbyBkKCV
"I'm just fired up to go back home," Wilson said. "I cannot tell you the amount of fun I have had at LSU football games."

#picker #gameday #baton #back

'Keep him away from the sorority girls': Lane Kiffin story from Nick Saban's Alabama days reveals surprising side of LSU coach originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The LSU football program has remained one of the biggest topics ahead of the 2026 season. Since Lane Kiffin was picked up on the tarmac in Oxford, Miss. by Tigers officials, he's been public enemy No. 1 in several circles. Now that he's preparing for his high-profile debut at LSU, the heat has simmered down a bit. That was until Wednesday morning and the timing for Kiffin's haters is golden.
In a Vanity Fair excerpt from author John Talty's book "Lane Being Lane: The Story of Lane Kiffin," which is available on Sept. 15, 2026, we get to see the longtime coach's true colors from a different time in his life. A portion of the book details his time at Alabama on Nick Saban's staff in the mid-2010s.
Kiffin was suspected to be in the midst of a rough patch in life. He was accused of having an affair with his wife, Layla, who divorced him a decade ago, leaving Lane alone as a bachelor-type in Tuscaloosa. But they're back together after their 2016 divorce.
"While Kiffin would not be fired for "banging," off-field behavior did reach Saban's desk. Terry Saban, Nick's wife, had heard through friends that Kiffin, then living separately from his wife Layla and his children who were in California, was out and about on the town trying to pick up women. It led Saban to tell at least one staff member to give Kiffin some helpful advice.

#lane #saban

Kalen DeBoer quieted some outside skepticism about him last season by leading Alabama to its first College Football Playoff appearance in the post-Nick Saban era.
The Crimson Tide not only reached the CFP, but also secured a first-round road victory over SEC rival Oklahoma. That success was rewarded this offseason when Alabama handed DeBoer a new seven-year contract that keeps him in Tuscaloosa through 2033, making him the third-highest-paid coach in college football, according to USA TODAY's salaries database.
So, as the 11th-ranked Crimson Tide enter the 2026 season, is DeBoer facing any hot seat chatter? ESPN's Paul Finebaum believes it's not out of the question.
What we're hearing: CJ Carr is 'unbelievable', Jimbo Fisher wants back in
Hayes: Alabama, Kalen DeBoer are SEC media days afterthought. How the mighty have fallen

#Football

Lee Corso retired at the beginning of the 2025 college football season, leaving the show in the hands of Rece Davis, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, Nick Saban and Pat McAfee. One of the most beloved figures in college football media, Corso had been with the show since its inception in 1987.
Herbstreit joined the show as a sideline ***** yst in 1995 and replaced Craig James on the desk the next season. Three decades later, it's clear ESPN made the right choice, but early in Herbstreit's run with the show someone at the network apparently didn't think it was working as well as it could.
Herbstreit shared the story on The Press Box podcast (via Awful Announcing):
MORE: College football ***** yst says college sports don't need NCAA anymore
"I remember about the middle of the year, a guy came up to me at ESPN who worked on GameDay [and said], 'You'll never last if you don't figure out how to aggressively go after Corso,' because that's what Craig had done," Herbstreit said. "I just didn't think that I could do that."

#Football #espn

ESPN and Words + Pictures announced on Thursday that Saban, a "landmark multi-part ESPN Original docuseries chronicling the life, legacy and extraordinary career of Hall of Fame coach Nick Saban," will premiere on Thursday, October 8, with all six episodes being made available on the ESPN app at launch.
The first episode will debut on ESPN's network on October 8 at 6 p.m. ET, with the remaining five episodes airing throughout October and early November.
Directed by Russell Dinallo and produced by Words + Pictures' Connor Schell, Libby Geist, Aaron Cohen, and Alexa Conway, along with Tom Rinaldi, with Gabe Honig serving as co-executive producer and showrunner, Saban will chronicle Saban's 17-season coaching career as the head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide, during which he won six National Championships.
Via his own reflections and the insights of those around him, Saban "peels back the curtain on the long, closely guarded world of the legendary coach, featuring hundreds of hours of never-before-seen footage from locker rooms, practice fields and behind-the-scenes moments throughout his tenure at Alabama," while also touching on his coaching stops with LSU, the Miami Dolphins, and Michigan State.
The docuseries will feature interviews with over 70 people throughout Saban's life and career, including Bill Belichick, Lane Kiffin, Steve Sarkisian, Kirby Smart, Tim Tebow, Jalen Hurts, and Tua Tagovailoa, as well as present-day interviews with Saban and his wife, Miss Terry Saban.

#saban #Career #coach #thursday

An entertainment industry group that includes Hollywood producers Haim Saban, Lawrence Bender and Teddy Schwarzman has released a statement condemning the alleged "antisemitic tropes" underpinning Mark Ruffalo's opposition to Paramount's leadership amid its proposed merger with Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD).
The statement comes from a group calling itself The Brigade, which describes itself as "a group of nearly 1,000 members, friends, and allies of the Jewish community who are proud to be working in film, television, music, Broadway, social and digital, and other platforms in and around the entertainment industry."
More from The Hollywood Reporter
Hannah Einbinder Defends Mark Ruffalo From Paramount "Antisemitism" Claim: "All of Us Artists Could Stand to Be More Like Mark"
Simon Wiesenthal Center CEO Calls Out Mark Ruffalo's Paramount Remarks: "Obsession and Demonization"

#industry #statement #itself

Jane Fonda has released a statement in support of Mark Ruffalo after Paramount slammed the four-time Oscar nominee as "antisemitic" for a recent post denouncing Larry Ellison's ties to Israel and David Ellison's planned merger with Warner Bros.
"Especially as a Jewish American, I find it deeply troubling to see false accusations of antisemitism used to silence legitimate political criticism in this country," Fonda wrote in a statement shared to the Committee for the 1st Amendment Instagram. "Antisemitism is real and dangerous, which is precisely why the charge should never be used as a cudgel against people whose political views you dislike, in this case as dedicated a crusader for democracy as Mark, whom we are proud to have as a Committee member and to be in this fight with us."
More from Variety
Iowa Attorney General Says She's Taking California to the Supreme Court Over Paramount-Warner Bros. Lawsuit
Haim Saban, Teddy Schwarzman and Lawrence Bender Among Those Condemning 'Antisemitic' Tropes in Mark Ruffalo's Paramount Discourse: It 'Puts Our Community in Grave Danger'

#warner #bros

The Big Ten is trying to control the chaos.
Via Pete Thamel of ESPN, the conference is expected to pass a rule on Tuesday barring anyone who has been on an NFL team from being on a Big Ten roster.
It's unclear whether the rule will be enforceable. If the players have secured an injunction that allows them to return to college for a year, collective action to ban them from a group of college programs would potentially amount to the same kind of antitrust violations that have created the current ripple effects.
Of course, the Big Ten may not care. With the return of NFL players to college programs instantly becoming a widely unpopular development, the dynamic becomes an opportunity to try to build more momentum to get the Protect College Sports Act passed — thereby giving the NCAA the antitrust exemption it craves, along with the ability to partially pick the pockets of players who have leveraged the reckoning into revenue that would otherwise go directly to the schools.
In other words, it's more performative than substantive. Like the outcry after Brendan Sorsby won an injunction to play at Texas Tech. People don't like the idea of NFL players returning to college programs (never mind the fact that Nick Saban invited former NFL players to practice with current Alabama players), and that disdain can be used to help the system get what it so badly wants.

#rule #injunction

There's little debate about who the greatest college football coach of all time is. It's none other than former Michigan State, LSU, and Alabama head coach Nick Saban, but as is often the case, failure to launch came before the rise to glory.
Not many know that Saban was once an ***** istant under former Ohio State head coach, the late, great Earle Bruce, from 1980-81. Saban started his coaching career as a graduate ***** istant for his alma mater, Kent State, in 1973 and was promoted to the linebackers coach in 1975. He also had stops as an ***** istant at Syracuse and West Virginia before Bruce hired him as a defensive backs coach in 1980. Amazingly enough, Saban was hired to replace another famous coach, Pete Carroll, on the Buckeye staff.
However, Saban's time with a scarlet and gray wardrobe was short-lived. He was fired after a 31-28 Ohio State win against Navy in the 1981 Liberty Bowl as part of a housecleaning of some of the defensive staff because of a reported disagreement in philosophy.
While appearing on the Pat McAfee Show, right out of the gate, McAfee -- with former Ohio State linebacker A.J. Hawk sitting in tow -- asked Saban if he was ever fired, and Saban was quick to point out his time in Columbus.
"Yeah, I talked to you about that. I got fired when I was a defensive backs coach at Ohio State," Saban said.

#assistant #bruce

This time 15 years ago, now-NFL quarterback Jameis Winston was still deciding where he wanted to spend his college career.
In December of 2011, he took an official visit to Alabama after two unofficial visits earlier that fall. It wasn't a long trip.
Winston is from Hueytown, just about 45 minutes east of Tuscaloosa. That distance was "too close," Winston said during a round of golf in a soon-to-be-released episode of his YouTube podcast "Wonder In Authority."
According to Winston, though, that didn't stop then-coach Nick Saban from seeing if he had a trick in his straw hat to sway him toward the Crimson Tide. Baseball was the defining factor in Winston's college decision, and Winston claims that Saban made a bold request to Alabama's baseball coach at the time.
REQUIRED READING: Inside the $42M stadium renovation that reshaped Alabama baseball's future

#college

The college football world will descend on Baton Rouge for Week 1 of the 2026 season. LSU football hosts Clemson in the back half of a home-and-home. College GameDay, ESPN's morning show, will tape live on LSU's campus to ring in the season.
LSU always brings one of the most lively crowds to College GameDay. There will be a lot of buzz around the state on September 5. Lane Kiffin will lead the Tigers onto the field for the first time as LSU's head coach. The team is filled with highly-touted newcomers, such as quarterback Sam Leavitt.
One of the most exciting parts of College GameDay comes toward the end when the guest picker takes the table alongside Nick Saban, Pat McAfee and Kirk Herbstreit to cast votes for that day's slate of games. The picker typically has a connection to the host school.
Recent guest pickers for LSU include Paul Skenes and Livvy Dunne. Other schools dip more into the entertainment **** e of celebrities who are fans of the school and not necessarily alumni.
Here are five potential College Gameday guest pickers for LSU vs. Clemson.

#college #clemson #season #picker

Lane Kiffin's time at Ole Miss was often marred by the troubles he faced while he was leaving the program. But when it came to choosing his destination, there can be few to argue that LSU was the right place for him. As Kiffin puts it himself, the LSU move was simply too hard to resist.
Speaking on the SEC Network, Kiffin made it clear that it was the right decision to leave Ole Miss for LSU, and highlighted conversations with Nick Saban and Pete Carroll that only reiterated that fact.
"To speed up their (Nick Saban and Pete Carroll) lengthy conversations on it, it was to take the (LSU) job. One of them had the perspective of being the LSU head coach, the other one had the perspective of what would your dad say to do," Kiffin said.
"It was the right decision to take the job, there's never a minute, second in the day that I'm in LSU and I don't feel the power of LSU…We've talked about the handling of it, could have definitely been better but those calls (with Saban and Carroll) were "go for it"."
While this was a snapshot of what Pete Carroll advised Lane Kiffin about moving to LSU, the former Ole Miss coach did talk a bit in detail earlier about Carroll's advice to him while deciding about the move.

#miss

Lane Kiffin climbed the college football ranks on offense, holding the offensive coordinator role under Nick Saban at Alabama and staying involved on that side of the ball as a head coach. In his first season with LSU football, Kiffin feels comfortable decreasing his involvement to focus more on the big picture.
When Kiffin took the LSU job, he brought offensive coordinator Charlie Weis with him from Ole Miss. The pair spent time together at other stops and are in lockstep on what the offense needs to look like. He kept Blake Baker, as Baker prepares for his third year at LSU.
"I try to really let people, coordinators, do their job," Kiffin said. "I've been a part where [the] head coach comes in that's at the other side of the ball and tells you to do things and sometimes it doesn't always work like that because they understand this part of it and not what all that means when you change this one thing, so I try not to do that very much on defense and let them coach."
Settling in at LSU for Kiffin meant striking a balance between on-field preparations, proper staffing, along with recruiting in the transfer portal and on the high school trail. Getting coordinators he trusts, such as Weis, makes a huge difference in Kiffin's day-to-day.
"[Weis'] progression to where he's at now from when we first got him has been amazing, been awesome to watch, but it frees me up so much," Kiffin said. "Spending 30 minutes on the call, which I couldn't have done because there was an offensive meeting going on years ago, and now I can go do that because it's an immediate thing that might be happening that I'm dealing with, knowing that everything's done the exact right way. The Charlie benefit is huge for our program."

#baker #offense #coordinator

With Indiana hoisting the College Football Playoff trophy last season, the Big Ten Conference further cemented its dominance in college football, claiming a third consecutive national championship.
Can the league make it four consecutive crowns this season?
That question won't be answered until January, but the Big Ten received an encouraging vote of confidence on Tuesday, Aug. 4, as three of its teams landed in the top 10 of the preseason US LBM Coaches Poll, led by Ohio State at No. 1 overall.
REQUIRED READING: Big Ten drops the mic on SEC football and Nick Saban
Oregon, which returns Dante Moore at quarterback, came in at No. 2 in the Coaches Poll, while Curt Cignetti and the Hoosiers, who will look to TCU transfer Josh Hoover as Fernando Mendoza's successor, came in at No. 6 in the poll.

#poll #playoff

August is here and college football is right around the corner. We can practically feel it in the air. FCS coaches and players gathered to share their thoughts on the upcoming season (amongst other things) over the last few weeks at various media days across the country. Here are some of the things they had to say:
"I never say that I came back, I always say that I never left." – Chris Parson, Austin Peay
When Chris Parson was asked at UAC Media Day why he decided to return with Austin Peay after a breakout year in 2025, the star signal caller was was quick to correct the notion that he came back and cited his teammates at coaches as a major reason why he chose to stay instead of transferring. He is expected to be one of the top FCS quarterbacks this year and the Governors are picked by several to be a playoff team in 2026 largely because of his decision to remain with the team heading into his senior year.
"It's almost like you're recruiting but you're de-recruiting. I may not have all the answers. I'm not Nick Saban or Kirby Smart." – Will Healy, ETSU
During SoCon Media Day, second-year ETSU head coach Will Healy was asked by The Bluebloods how he and his staff approach the challenge of getting the right guys for their culture in Johnson City out of the transfer portal with so little time to actually get to know most of the players. Healy's answer was insightful and candid as he spoke about what he pitches to potential Buccaneers. He talked of the importance of players' willingness to be held to a high standard at his program and the importance of figuring out what a prospect player is looking for when they come to East Tennessee State. Healy's Bucs went 7-5 in his first season.

#Media #healy

Nick Saban spoke, and everyone shook their heads. Or rolled their eyes. Or, they barked in laughter.
And, let's just say we weren't laughing with Saban when he recently made the case the SEC retains conference supremacy despite not sending a team to the national championship game in any of the past three seasons.
"First of all, whoever wins the national championship doesn't define who has the best conference," Saban said on ESPN. "I think the best conference gets defined by how many good teams you have from top to bottom."
The GOAT retired and became a shill. Sad.
Speaking of the bottom, did anyone get a look at Arkansas last season? Not pretty.

#best #first

For the better part of two years, it has felt like every conversation surrounding Alabama football has centered around what Kalen DeBoer isn't.
He's not Nick Saban.
He doesn't coach like Nick Saban.
He doesn't have Nick Saban's personality.
He doesn't carry himself the way Saban did on the sideline.

#deboer

Texas A&M coach Mike Elko, quarterback Marcel Reed, linebacker Daymion Sanford, and safety Marcus Ratcliffe spoke to the local and national media during SEC Media Days, previewing the 2026 season at length, especially for those outside the Aggie media sphere who have not paid attention until now.
Entering his second full starting season, Marcel Reed is on track to match his career-high 3,169 passing yards and 25 touchdowns in 2025, while his 12 interceptions were tied for the second most in the SEC; but after adding former Alabama wide receiver Isaiah Horton this offseason, Reed is well equipped to take more shots down the field given Horton's size advantage, especially in the red zone.
However, after offensive coordinator Collin Klein departed to take over as Kansas State's head coach, and instead of hiring outside the program, Mike Elko elevated wide receivers coach Holmon Wiggins, who, despite his lack of play-calling experience, served as Klein's Co-OC over the last two seasons, and was former Alabama head coach Nick Saban's long-time WR coach and AHC before making his way to College Station.
On Wednesday, Austin, Texas-based reporter Cory Mose asked Marcel Reed how the transition from Collin Klein to Holmon Wiggins has been just over 40 days before Texas A&M's season-opener vs. Missouri State, citing his strong relationship with new quarterbacks coach Joey Lynch and Wiggins' experience in the program.
"Hasn't been a crazy transition...I'm in the room with coach Wiggins and my quarterbacks coach, coach Lynch a lot this offseason. Just trying to pick their brains a little bit, let them pick mine. So we're on the when it comes to each and every weekend"

#texas #elko

With the conclusion of Texas A&M's appearance at SEC Media Days on Wednesday afternoon, the Aggies are full speed ahead towards the 2026 season opener vs. Missouri State on Saturday, Sept. 5, and for third-year coach Mike Elko, building on last season's immense success after making it to the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history remains the primary focus.
Already establishing a strong culture, Elko's decision to elevate wide receivers coach Holmon Wiggins as the new offensive coordinator received plenty of skepticism from both the fan base and national media alike, but during Wednesday's press conference, Elko continued to cheerlead his decision, which should pay off given that Marcel Reed returns at quarterback for his second full starting season.
Among the national media, ESPN and Amazon Prime Video college football and NFL ****** yst Kirk Herbstreit, one of the hardest-working men in the sports broadcasting landscape, shares a history with Marcel Reed after his sons played with the redshirt junior signal-caller at Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville, Tennessee.
However, that doesn't mean Herbstreit has avoided criticizing the Aggie QB when warranted, especially after his poor performance against Texas and Miami in the first round of the CFP, but he remains one of the few, now including former Alabama coach Nick Saban, who fully believe Marcel Reed, similar to Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss, to be one of the best overall athletes in the country.
During his appearance on the Pat McAfee Show, Herbstreit stated that he believes Texas A&M could "make a run" towards a national ****** le this season with Marcel Reed leading the way.

#herbstreit

Texas A&M's appearance at SEC Media Days has come and gone, as third-year coach Mike Elko, alongside quarterback Marcel Reed, linebacker Daymion Sanford, and safety Marcus Ratcliffe, spoke to the media at length, covering nearly every topic imaginable related to the upcoming 2026 season's goals, while Sanford, who suffered a lower-body injury this spring, stated that he could return "soon."
While much of the focus geared towards Marcel Reed's goals of taking the "next step" in his development after his career year under center, the redshirt junior signal caller will be working with new offensive coordinator Holmon Wiggins, who, despite his lack of play-calling experience, received an overwhelming vote of confidence from Mike Elko, who decided against an outside hire after Collin Klein departed to take over as Kansas State's head coach after two seasons.
Before taking over as Texas A&M's wide receivers coach ahead of the 2024 season, Wiggins served as former Alabama coach Nick Saban's WR coach and ******* istant head coach, while developing Heisman-winning wide receiver DeVonta Smith during the 2020 season and, most importantly, serving as Klein's Co-OC during the last two seasons.
On Wednesday, during Elko's Q&A portion of the event, the New Jersey native stayed true to his decision in elevating Wiggins, remaining highly confident that, with Marcel Reed back under center, paired with an elite wide receiver room and an equally talented running back rotation, Wiggins' transition should be much smoother than many expect.
"We ran a national search and talked to a lot of guys. One of the mistakes we make is that we ******* ume new is always better," Elko said. "He has a lot of experience at Texas A&M and in this conference. … I have a ton of confidence in who he is as a football coach."

#marcel #wide