NCAAF

2:22 PM ET The AP Top 25 college football poll is out after a wild weekend of games. Week 1 saw USC return three interceptions for touchdowns, Michigan and Ole Miss keep their quarterback competitions open, the return of the Backyard Brawl, a triple-overtime thriller, then-unranked Florida upsetting a then-top-10 Utah team and much, much

11:30 PM ET ESPN staff The Week 1 college football slate was loaded with top-tier matchups to officially kick off the season while ushering fans back into stadiums and onto message boards. Some games lived up to the hype — No. 5 Notre Dame went toe-to-toe with No. 2 Ohio State for three quarters and

1:50 AM ET ATLANTA — Clemson closed out an uneven performance on Monday in its opener against Georgia Tech with a thrilling 10-play, 66-yard touchdown drive led by freshman Cade Klubnik, but following the 41-10 win, coach Dabo Swinney said there isn’t a quarterback controversy for the Tigers. Offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter reiterated that DJ

7:58 PM ET Star LSU defensive tackle Maason Smith will miss the remainder of the season after tearing the ACL in his left knee during the team’s season-opening loss to Florida State on Sunday, sources confirmed to ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg. Smith underwent additional testing Monday on his knee, which he injured in the opening quarter

11:58 AM ET Michigan’s starting quarterback has not been finalized yet, as Cade McNamara and J.J. McCarthy continue to battle for the job, but coach Jim Harbaugh says he has explained the situation and will continue with his strategy. “We’ve plowed this ground about as thoroughly as it can possibly be plowed,” Harbaugh said. “Dating

12:40 AM ET NEW ORLEANS — Brian Kelly’s debut as LSU‘s head football coach didn’t lack for drama. After rallying from 14 points down in the fourth quarter Sunday night against Florida State — and needing only an extra point to send the game into overtime — the Tigers saw their comeback bid come to

7:04 PM ET Jayden Daniels, a transfer quarterback from Arizona State, started for LSU Sunday night in the season opener versus Florida State. LSU’s Brian Kelly, making his debut as Tigers coach, told reporters last week that the staff had made its decision as to who will start against the Seminoles, but believing it might

9:30 AM ET BATON ROUGE, La. — Give Brian Kelly this: He operates from a position of strength. The man played club football at Assumption College — not FBS or FCS but club football — and one of his first jobs was coaching softball at the school. Eight years later, he climbed all the way

12:45 AM ET To endure an offseason as a college football fan is to live within an ecosystem of daily panic, nearly constant tumult and, on the plus side, the occasional heated debate over what to name a chicken. These are fraught times for the sport, when each day brings the possibility of a star

4:29 PM ET ATLANTA — SEC commissioner Greg Sankey isn’t confident a 12-team College Football Playoff will make its debut before the 2026 season. Sankey, speaking to reporters Saturday before No. 3 Georgia‘s contest against No. 11 Oregon at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, said there is too much to do before the expanded playoff can take place

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

6:30 PM ET ESPN staff Tired of waiting for the commissioners to make a decision about expanding the College Football Playoff, the 11 presidents and chancellors who comprise the CFP’s board of managers took control on Friday with a unanimous vote to expand the field to 12 teams in 2026. The presidents have strongly urged

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

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

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

7:00 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

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