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On the 10th anniversary of Nebraska‘s entrance into the Big Ten, interim athletic director Garrett Klassy officially began his term overseeing the Huskers’ program.

The irony isn’t lost on those who have lived through a jagged first decade in the conference.

Athletic director Bill Moos’ abrupt retirement last month isn’t the most surprising nor the most damaging thing Nebraska has absorbed since its celebrated Big Ten arrival on July 1, 2011. But Moos’ exit epitomizes the turbulence for a football program on its third coach, Scott Frost, and that is welcoming its fourth athletic director, Trev Alberts, since 2012. Alberts, a former All-America linebacker at Nebraska, officially begins his term Monday. But leadership instability has hurt Nebraska in a league, and especially a division, defined by long coaching and administrative tenures.

Other factors have contributed to the Huskers’ subpar results. The recruiting adjustment has been rocky at times. The Big Ten also is stronger than when Nebraska arrived, both financially and on the field.

Still, few expected Nebraska to complete its first Big Ten decade at 68-55, 43-41 in conference play. Since 2011, Nebraska ranks 54th nationally in win percentage (.553) and eighth among Big Ten teams. The Huskers have yet to win a league title (their last was in 1999). Their lone division championship came back in 2012, which preceded a 70-31 loss in the Big Ten championship game against Wisconsin, a team only in the game because both Ohio State and Penn State were ineligible.

The extended stretch of mediocrity is jarring for a Nebraska program that won five national titles between 1970 and 1997. From 1963 to 2001, the Huskers captured 22 conference championships (outright or shared) and logged 28 AP top-10 finishes and 22 seasons with 10 or more wins. During the span, Nebraska had only 11 seasons with three or more losses, none with more than four and none with more than three between 1969 and 2001.

The Huskers now have lost five or more games in five of the past six seasons.

“Nebraska is struggling to find its foothold from a leadership standpoint, a style standpoint, a recruiting standpoint,” said Damon Benning, a former Huskers I-back who played on national title teams in 1994 and 1995, and now hosts a daily sports talk radio show in Omaha. “Meanwhile, the conference just keeps getting better and better.

“A double whammy.”

The question is how much of Nebraska’s struggles can be attributed to joining the Big Ten, and how much can be tied to internal reasons. To find out, ESPN spoke to people in and around Nebraska’s program since the Big Ten arrival. Some were granted anonymity to speak freely about what they observed. Attempts to interview Frost and Moos were unsuccessful.

Those who spoke describe a program still searching for its identity in an improving conference. Nebraska is rightfully proud of its championship tradition but also somewhat hamstrung by the past, especially as the program navigates recruiting realities and other areas where it no longer holds clear advantages.

The Big Ten has provided the stability Nebraska needed, and the affiliation is still celebrated in academic circles. But others cling to Big Eight nostalgia and haven’t embraced Nebraska’s position in its newest league.

“You’ve got to have a plan, and the plan can’t be: ‘We’re going to win a national championship, we’re going to get back to national contention,” a source said. “The plan has to be: ‘Now that we are in the Big Ten, what are the challenges?’ I’m not saying temper expectations, but you have to get to: What are we all about, and how are we going to get there?”

Nebraska’s arrival in the Big Ten was greeted with excitement and exhales.

The Huskers needed a permanent home. The Big 12 had nearly been pillaged by the Pac-12, and teams such as Missouri and Colorado were looking to leave. Plus, the league had become increasingly Texas-centric.

“There was concern at the time as to whether the Big 12 would survive,” said Harvey Perlman, Nebraska’s chancellor from 2001 to 2016. “I wouldn’t call it desperation, but there was certainly some uneasiness about where Nebraska was going to find itself athletically. Finding a stable home in the Big Ten was certainly a relief.”

Nebraska’s academic community celebrated the move. The Big Ten’s Committee on Institutional Cooperation, an academic consortium between top research institutions, provided “a boost to our reputation,” Perlman said.

“On the academic side, it’s been great; there’s a lot of research and collaboration,” said Jo Potuto, a constitutional law professor at Nebraska and the faculty athletics representative since 1997. “On the athletic side, for everybody it has been a surprise Nebraska has not been more competitive, certainly not in football.”

The football struggles haven’t translated to other programs. Nebraska’s powerhouse volleyball team won national titles in 2015 and 2017, and owns three Big Ten titles. The baseball team has made five NCAA tournament appearances since 2014 and this spring won its second conference title.

Before the Big Ten move, Potuto attended a meeting athletic director Tom Osborne held with the school’s head coaches. Osborne, the Hall of Fame Huskers coach from 1973 to 1997, wanted the coaches’ input. Some mentioned recruiting and how it would change in a Midwest-based league. Ideally, they would have liked longer to prepare for the move. But none stated direct opposition, Potuto said.

Nebraska football entered the Big Ten following consecutive appearances in the Big 12 championship, losing second-half leads both times. The Huskers were 29-12 (17-7 Big 12) with two AP top-20 finishes under coach Bo Pelini. They didn’t dominate recruiting but had signed ESPN’s No. 17 class in 2011, and they did well in key talent areas such as Texas and California.

“We were pretty well into the Top 25 and went to a bowl game every year,” Osborne said. “We weren’t where we were in the ’90s, but we were in pretty good shape at that time.”

As a new Big Ten member, Nebraska received a smaller revenue share — $10 million-$11 million less than others for the first three years. This angered some key people around the university, sources said. But money never has been a major impediment at Nebraska. The football team, meanwhile, went 9-4 in its Big Ten debut season, finishing third in the Legends division and No. 24 in the AP poll.

Nebraska won the division the next year, and continued to compete. The Huskers had good to decent records against Penn State (3-0), Iowa (3-1), Michigan (2-1), Michigan State (2-2) and Ohio State (1-1) during their first four years in the Big Ten. They struggled with Wisconsin, going 1-3, including the drubbing in Indianapolis, but went 37-16 overall (22-10 Big Ten) with three top-25 finishes.

Was Nebraska a national contender? No. The team got blown out too often, and Pelini’s fiery nature got him in trouble, ultimately leading to his firing after the 2014 regular season. But these days, the Huskers likely would take those records in a heartbeat.

Why has Nebraska backslid so much since 2014, despite being in a division without any teams that match its championship tradition? The answer starts with recruiting.

Nebraska entered the Big Ten with some recruiting momentum, but Pelini had built his team for the Big 12, largely with players from the Big 12 footprint. The Huskers’ designed their two-gap defense to stop the spread offenses of the Big 12, not the bigger, power-based units of the Big Ten. Nebraska no longer was a national recruiting heavyweight, but the program still knew where to go to find the players it needed.

The Big Ten move has thrown Nebraska’s recruiting “out of whack,” a former assistant said. Nebraska has tried to pivot toward recruiting the Midwest and East Coast, but hasn’t achieved significant traction.

“There’s a little bit of a void in terms of a recruiting home,” he added. “Where are you located?”

When Mike Riley arrived at Nebraska from Oregon State to replace Pelini, he spent time studying “how to recruit for Nebraska in the world of the new conference.” Riley and his staff focused on a 500-mile radius from Lincoln, which included Big Ten hub markets such as Chicago and Minneapolis, but also Kansas City and Denver.

They also prioritized Texas, which Riley had recruited for years while at Oregon State.

“That part of it wasn’t the same because you didn’t have those yearly games down in Texas, where you could sell that to the parents,” Riley said. “The players are so great and there had been a history. But it’s hard to keep that history going when you don’t have that old connection.”

Coaches say Nebraska’s location, its conference and an accelerated recruiting cycle all have magnified obstacles. Nebraska isn’t the easiest campus to access, and most recruits make their college choices before taking official visits.

“They play in the Big Ten at [11 a.m. Central time]. If [a recruit] played on Friday night, how does he get there for kickoff?” a former assistant said. “You’re not flying into Lincoln directly. When you’re in the Big 12, you can recruit Texas and Oklahoma and get kids to come.”

The coach added that recruits based in areas with other Power 5 schools must elect to “fly over everybody” to reach Nebraska. There are recruiting challenges within the Big Ten, too, being located in the least populated of the league’s 11 states.

“You’re not going to out-recruit Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan,” another former assistant said. “You’re not going to out-recruit Michigan State. Minnesota has access to more kids faster because they have a national hub airport. Wisconsin is closer to more population bases.”

Riley, who went 9-4 in 2016, thought his recruiting strategy would pay off with Nebraska’s 2018 class, which initially included commitments from four-star prospects such as wide receiver Joshua Moore and cornerbacks Brendan Radley-Hiles, Mario Goodrich and Chase Williams. All four would decommit — they signed with Texas, Oklahoma, Clemson and USC, respectively — as Nebraska in 2017 endured its worst season (4-8) since 1961, leading to the ousting of athletic director Shawn Eichorst and then Riley.

New hope arrived with Frost, a native Nebraskan and a quarterback for Osborne’s final national championship team in 1997. Frost engineered a historic turnaround at UCF, which went 13-0 with a Peach Bowl victory in 2017, two years after going winless. He also had cut his teeth as an Oregon assistant under Chip Kelly. After spurning Florida to come home to Nebraska, Frost was widely seen as a potential program savior.

Many believed Frost could bridge what worked in the past with what Nebraska needs now, even though he hadn’t recruited the Big Ten region.

Frost has generated some recruiting wins. Nebraska signed ESPN top-25 classes in 2019 and 2020. But the Huskers have logged four consecutive losing seasons and three under Frost (12-20 overall), which seemed to impact the most recent class (39th nationally).

“What draws a kid there?” a former assistant said. “When’s the last time they won a conference championship? No kid in high school has any idea that they ever won.”

Before his time on local Nebraska sports radio, Benning played for Nebraska during the end of the Osborne glory era. He also has closely observed the program’s path ever since.

His conclusion: What Nebraska became from the early 1960s through the 1990s, capitalizing on two Hall of Fame coaches — Osborne and Bob Devaney — and some structural advantages to become a national force, was not sustainable.

“More of a geographic anomaly than built for the long haul as a blue blood,” Benning said. “Nebraska’s got a great fan base, they print money, they’ve got great facilities. They’ve got to evolve with the times. It’s been really hard for me to reconcile that in my head — what they once were versus what they’re capable of being. There’s a real fine line between understanding history and embracing it but not being held captive.

“Nebraska’s still held captive by the success they’ve had. They need to be comfortable in their own skin. They have to have peace with it.”

Nebraska undoubtedly can perform much better in the Big Ten. But part of the path toward future success is acknowledging realistic goals and adjusting to achieve them.

“At a place like Nebraska, you’re not going to beat Ohio State every year,” one source said. “You don’t have the same recruiting base. Iowa’s more of a model at Nebraska than Ohio State is, with where you’re located and where you’re recruiting. You’ve got to be realistic. At some point, you’ve got to not be delusional.”

The philosophical shift remains difficult for some, especially after decades of competing nationally.

“A state of 1.8 million people, where they’re located, and you look at just the West [Division]. Where do you fit with Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Northwestern or Purdue?” one person said. “They didn’t want to judge themselves against that group. They wanted to judge themselves against Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State. The sky’s falling when you lose to Purdue.

“They have to get self-awareness as to who they are, where they fit.”

Osborne thinks Nebraska still can be distinctive, despite its new reality.

“We don’t have to be a copycat program,” he said. “If you continue to do what everybody else is doing, what the leaders in the league like Ohio State are doing, and you don’t have the same talent level, then it’s not going to work out well.”

The process unquestionably requires more continuity. Between 1962 and 1997, Nebraska had two football coaches and did not have a losing season, winning nine or more games in all but two seasons (1967 and 1968). Since 2002, Nebraska has had five (plus two interim). Pelini and Frank Solich were fired with a combined record of 125-46.

Between 1962 and 2002, the school had three athletic directors. Since 2003, Nebraska has had five (plus three interim).

“That’s not a reputation for stability,” Potuto said. “I’m pretty sure if I was a coach, it wouldn’t be a situation that gives me confidence in what I was doing. I don’t know that moving to the Big Ten Conference triggered any of that. I still think the conference was absolutely the right move.”

Nebraska’s frequent leadership changes stand out in a division where continuity is king. Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz is the longest-tenured coach in the FBS (1999), while Northwestern’s Pat Fitzgerald ranks seventh (2006). Iowa has had the same athletic director (Gary Barta) since 2006. Wisconsin just made its first athletic director hire since 2004, and Northwestern made its first since 2008.

“The West has the poster programs for stability,” said Big Ten Network analyst Gerry DiNardo, the former coach at Indiana, LSU and Vanderbilt. “Iowa, Wisconsin and Northwestern: What other three teams in any division of college football have that kind of stability? The SEC certainly doesn’t. I don’t think the Pac-12 does.”

DiNardo added of Nebraska: “Their identity right now is lack of stability.”

Nebraska’s fluctuation has coincided with improvement around the West Division. Big Ten television revenue has helped every school make facilities upgrades and invest in coaches and staff.

Since 2011, Wisconsin has logged six 10-win seasons and five AP top-13 finishes, while Iowa has posted four AP top-25 finishes in the past six years. Northwestern is enjoying its best post-World War II stretch (three 10-win seasons, two division titles, five AP top-25 finishes). Minnesota recently has posted two of its three highest wins totals — 11 in 2019, nine in 2016 — since 1905.

“That Western part, early on, before we got there, wasn’t really that strong of a division,” Riley said. “Now you look at that division, all those guys are great coaches. Every program has improved. The football gained a top-to-bottom competitiveness.

“It’s not easy to step in [at Nebraska] and say, ‘Let’s win like we did in the old Big Eight.’ It’s quite a chore.”

Nebraska’s Big Ten move affected recruiting and other areas of the program, but how much of the team’s performance is because it changed conferences?

“It’s been a bad thing,” a former assistant said.

Others don’t think the Big Ten factored nearly as much in the program’s downturn.

“Our football program was transitioning before we went to the Big Ten,” Perlman said. “We came off of an extraordinary period of time with an extraordinary head coach, and an environment that was amenable to Nebraska building a great program. We underestimate what a great coach Tom Osborne was. Also, the world has changed. Nebraska’s a small state. We’ve only got 1.8 million people, and with the change in eligibility, the change in number of scholarships, the other things that have impacted our program, I think it’s taken time to adjust.

“That would have happened regardless of what conference we were in.”

Another person described the Big Ten as “the least of their problems,” stressing a need for self-assessment and tackling present-day hurdles, rather than living in the past.

“Their struggles in the Big Ten are exacerbated by the strength of the Big Ten,” a former Big Ten athletic director said. “I think Nebraska could have continued to do a little bit better in the Big 12, but I don’t know if they would have done appreciably better.”

As Nebraska begins its second decade in the Big Ten, those familiar with the first say a refined plan is needed. Before Alberts’ hiring, Benning said the athletic director vacancy represents the school’s most important hire in 15 years, noting that Nebraska “needs to find stability in the message.” Benning and others say Nebraska must stop throwing money at its problems and instead outline a clear philosophy and commit to it.

“It has to be earned,” Alberts said at his introduction last week. “We’ll go to work. We’ve got great people. We can do this. But it isn’t going to be overnight, and it isn’t going to be easy, but we’re really going to focus on the fundamentals and mechanics of how we operate. Attention to detail. Work habits.”

Part of the shift could involve fully embracing Big Ten culture. Nebraska historically hasn’t been a program to bite its tongue, whether about Texas’ increasing influence in the Big 12 or the Big Ten’s initial decision to cancel the fall football season in 2020. Although Ohio State and other programs also voiced displeasure with the Big Ten last summer, Nebraska’s approach drew the most attention (and criticism). Frost floated playing as an independent before the Big Ten officially canceled, and Nebraska’s leadership then issued a joint statement expressing disappointment with the league’s decision. Eight parents of Nebraska players sued the Big Ten over the decision to cancel. When the Big Ten revived the fall season, Moos expressed frustration about a schedule front-loaded with Ohio State, Penn State and Wisconsin.

Longtime Omaha World-Herald columnist Tom Shatel calls this Nebraska’s “independent spirit,” borne from years in the Big Eight and Big 12. But the Big Ten historically has settled disputes internally and projected unity. A Big Ten coach said of Nebraska, “It’s almost like them against the world, everybody’s out to screw ’em.”

Frost, speaking last month during Nebraska’s Big Red Caravan event, said that while his views haven’t changed, he might not have been so bold in expressing them, saying, “It put the crosshairs on us.”

“You can tell the relationship is strained,” Benning said. “I don’t feel like Nebraska has a really firm seat at the table. It’s twofold: Nebraska has to do a better job of keeping in-house business in-house. When they have these conversations with the conference, they have to find the happy medium between personalizing what’s best for a university and not alienating the conference. It’s been quite the juggling act.”

Nebraska has plenty of work ahead, but a Big Ten breakthrough remains possible. DiNardo, who faced Nebraska in the Big Eight as a Colorado assistant, knows the program’s potential when properly aligned.

“It’s a big jump to go from Big Eight to Big 12 to Big Ten,” he said. “None of those historic, successful programs have gone through what Nebraska’s gone through. But at the end of the day, the right coach and right administration puts them in position to win the Big Ten, which gives them a chance to win nationally.”

Osborne, who helped recruit Frost back to Nebraska, attended several spring practices and likes what he sees: an experienced quarterback (Adrian Martinez), capable wide receivers and an ascending defense. He thinks areas that defined Nebraska’s dynasty, such as the walk-on program, will start paying off more.

“There’s always an ebb and a flow with programs, and we’ve gone through a difficult stretch, but the basics are pretty good,” he said. “We hope we can be long-term Big Ten, and we can be competitive. I don’t have a crystal ball. I can’t predict what’s going to happen five, 10 years from now, but I have a little bit of an idea of what’s going to happen this fall, and I think we’ll be improved.”

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GameDay Kickoff: Sounds, storylines and players to watch ahead of Week 3

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September 12, 2024

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GameDay Kickoff: Sounds, storylines and players to watch ahead of Week 3

After an exciting Week 2, we look ahead to a Week 3 slate with a battle involving the Wildcats on Friday night, as new Big 12 member No. 20 Arizona faces No. 14 Kansas State. Elsewhere, a Tulane wide receiver will make his return to his original college stomping grounds.

Can Tulane’s Mario Williams continue his trend of at least 100 receiving yards per game in his first visit back to Oklahoma? Can Kansas State’s defense stop Arizona WR Tetairoa McMillan? Both Arizona and Kansas State go into Friday’s matchup 2-0, so one Wildcats team is bound to lose their first game.

And for an extra dose of excitement, Colorado and Colorado State face off, and Deion Sanders had something to say as the Buffaloes are 1-1 going into Saturday’s matchup.

Our college football reporters give insight on big storylines and players to keep your eyes on in Week 3.

Jump to a section:
Journey to UNLV | Returning to old stomping grounds | New conference rivals
Freshman QB shines | Five freshman to know
Quotes of the week

Jacob De Jesus’ journey to UNLV

In high school, Jacob De Jesus left recruiting camps feeling discouraged and unsure.

Not of himself. He shined at those camps and dominated some, but coaches never talked to him afterward. De Jesus knew why.

“I used to question myself, I used to question God and be like, ‘Why did you give me this dream to play football? Like, why do I love football so much? I’m so small,'” De Jesus told ESPN. “Nobody wants me to be on their team.”

Fortunately for De Jesus, he was wrong about the last part. As he neared a future without football, probably working as a UPS driver and caring for his 2-year-old daughter, UNLV reached out. Three years later, he’s an All-American returner and productive wide receiver for the Rebels, who aim for a 3-0 start and their second win against a Big 12 opponent Friday at Kansas.

De Jesus is often the smallest player on the field, at 5-foot-7, 175 pounds. He’s also one of the best, leading the FBS in total return yards last season (1,079), finishing second on the team in average yards per runback, behind All-American Ricky White.

“I knew I was good enough to play at this level,” De Jesus said. “I just didn’t know if anybody was going to give me a chance.”

UNLV wide receivers coach, Del Alexander, seemed unlikely to be that person. Alexander’s history is with big wide receivers. Only once had he taken one as small as De Jesus, in Wisconsin‘s Kenzel Doe, a 5-8 dynamo who finished second in team career kick-return average.

But then Nelson Fishback, a staff member who initially discovered De Jesus while working at Morehead State, alerted Alexander about De Jesus.

“I honestly believed that he was going to be exactly who he was on film,” Alexander said. “I just knew that his speed was not an accident.”

De Jesus had amassed 2,550 yards for Modesto Junior College, near his home in Manteca, California. But as the 2022 season ended, he appeared to be out of options. He had been working at UPS as a package handler and was close to becoming a driver. The money would’ve been good. De Jesus had just turned 21.

“I was really close to being done with it,” he said.

UNLV’s new coaching staff, led by Barry Odom, needed a returner. As the coaches surveyed options, Alexander became more convinced about De Jesus, who received an offer from UNLV on New Year’s Day 2023.

Days later, De Jesus was on campus, working out with the team.

“He did everything full speed,” Alexander said. “He won every race, he won every agility [drill], he was ultra competitive. It was just noticeable. It just made everybody else look bad.”

De Jesus’ life changed. After UNLV’s spring game that April, he proposed to his girlfriend, Kirsten Lopez, on the field at Allegiant Stadium.

He had 208 all-purpose yards, 158 on kickoff returns, in his Rebels debut. He earned All-Mountain West honors at both return spots, the first Rebel to be recognized for two positions since quarterback Randall Cunningham, who also punted, in 1984. De Jesus was a finalist for the Jet Award, given to the nation’s top return specialist. Alexander heard from friends on opposing coaching staffs, such as Michigan and San José State, all with the same message: “Man, that 21 is special.” The coach who was leery of small receivers now wants to get De Jesus to the NFL.

There are immediate goals, too, namely a scoring return. UNLV hasn’t had a punt return touchdown in 23 years, the longest drought of any FBS team, and no kickoff return touchdowns since 2011.

“We’ve been close, so close,” De Jesus said. “I know how my team feels about it. They know that I can and I’m capable.” — Adam Rittenberg

Returning to old stomping grounds

Tulane’s Mario Williams was supposed to be the next great Oklahoma Sooners wide receiver.

That was the plan, at least, when Williams arrived at the school as ESPN’s No. 1 high school pass catcher in early 2021. It was all so clear to Williams at the time, too.

He’d settle in at Oklahoma, carve a role in Lincoln Riley’s high-scoring offense and quickly become a key piece within a program competing for Big 12 titles and national championships. A few years after that, perhaps, Williams would be in a position to jump to the NFL.

“I was going to have a career at Oklahoma and that was going to be that,” he told ESPN this week. “But God took me on another path and I’m thankful for every moment.”

Williams caught 35 passes for 380 yards and four touchdowns in his lone season at Oklahoma in 2021, then followed Riley to USC. Now on his third school in four seasons this fall, Williams has become a playmaker in the Green Wave passing game during the initial weeks of his debut season with Tulane.

On Saturday, he returns to Oklahoma Memorial Stadium as one of 2024’s early transfer portal gems under first-year head coach Jon Sumrall when the Green Wave visit the No. 15 Sooners in Norman.

Williams caught four passes for 124 yards in Tulane’s season opener against SE Louisiana on Aug. 29, then followed with six catches for 128 yards in a narrow loss to Kansas State in Week 2 to mark the first back-to-back 100-yard receiving games of his college career.

Through two weeks, he leads all FBS transfer wide receivers with 252 total receiving yards. Williams’ 126 yards per game rank 10th in the country and his 25.2 yards per catch sit 18th nationally with Williams playing the best football of his college career in a Green Wave offense poised to make an upset bid in Week 3.

“I’m just having fun,” Williams said. “Getting back to my groove and getting in my groove. Going out there and enjoying the game with my teammates.”

Williams is having fun again on a path that has exposed him to some of the college football’s rough edges: the pressure of being the nation’s No. 17 overall prospect, the uncertainty of a sudden coaching change after Riley left for USC in 2021 and two trips through the transfer portal leading to stops at USC and now Tulane.

“I’ve just been able to experience a lot about how college football works and the business side of the game,” Williams said. “I’ve gotten to experience playing high-level football and everything that comes with it.”

After two seasons at USC, Williams hit the transfer portal looking for a fresh start last December. Alabama and UCF emerged as early contenders. So did Tulane through a connection with Green Wave offensive analyst Collin D’Angelo, who had recruited Williams in high school. A visit with Sumrall’s staff helped seal Williams’ decision.

“They’re player-first driven — they love their players,” Williams said. “They’re going to make sure the players are good and that’s what I really like about them.”

Williams doesn’t have any expectations for what it will feel like to be back at Oklahoma on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).

He plans to rekindle connections with former teammates Danny Stutsman, Billy Bowman Jr. and Woodi Washington, three of the Sooners’ four remaining Riley-era holdovers. Past that, Williams is approaching the Week 3 matchup with the even-keeled mentality he has brought in his early games at Tulane, a perspective honed through the experience of his modern college football journey.

“Just keep going and have fun,” Williams said. “The story didn’t get written how I expected. But that’s the best part about it. Just keep going and keep proving people wrong.” — Eli Lederman

Get to know your new conference rival

Arizona’s trip to Manhattan, Kansas, on Friday is a Big 12 test run of sorts. The game was scheduled before Arizona’s move from the Pac-12, so for scheduling purposes, it was easier to keep it as a nonconference game to prevent the schools from both having to try to find a new opponent with not much lead time. That dynamic lessens the stakes a bit because it effectively gives the loser a mulligan in conference play, but with the teams ranked in the top 20, the outcome will still set the tone for both schools as conference play begins the following week.

After Michigan’s loss last week, Arizona’s nine-game winning streak is the longest active one in the country, but after a subpar showing last week against FCS Northern Arizona, ESPN BET installed Kansas State as a 7.5-point favorite in this battle of Wildcats. There might not be a more intriguing quarterback matchup in college football this week with Arizona’s Noah Fifita and Kansas State’s Avery Johnson both emerging last season after starting the year on the bench.

After throwing for 422 yards and four scores — with 304 of those yards and all four touchdowns to Tetairoa McMillan — in the opener against New Mexico, Fifita was more pedestrian against NAU last week, throwing for just 173 yards. For any team Arizona plays this season, the defensive focus will be on McMillan, the likely first-round pick who arrived in Tucson as one of the most celebrated recruits in school history.

K-State’s start has been similar. After a ho-hum win against UT Martin to start the season, it was fortunate to escape last week’s trip to Tulane after trailing by a touchdown in the fourth quarter. Johnson was solid in both games, but Friday’s game will be more revealing about what to expect in conference play. — Kyle Bonagura

DJ Lagway shines in the spotlight

Trent Miller had a small gathering at his house to watch Florida play Samford last weekend, his eyes trained on true freshman quarterback DJ Lagway and his every move.

Miller coached Lagway at Willis (Texas) High, watching Lagway make the impossible plays possible. In the third quarter against Samford, Lagway dropped back to pass, then scrambled back toward the line of scrimmage as he felt the pressure around him. He did a little jump hop, shot-putting the ball toward the corner of the end zone, for a 41-yard touchdown pass to Aidan Mizell.

Back in Texas, Miller could not help but flash back to the moment he knew Lagway would be one of the top quarterback recruits in the country. It was during the first day of spring practice, a few months after Miller got the job at Willis. Lagway was a sophomore.

“We were doing 7-on-7 against our defense,” Miller told ESPN in a recent phone interview. “He rolls out, hits that little jump throw, hits the receiver in the back corner of the end zone, and I was like, ‘Oh wow. 16-year-old kids don’t make that throw.'”

Lagway became the No. 1 quarterback in the class of 2024, with Miller by his side through it all. When he chose Florida, Lagway knew the spotlight would not only be on him but on his coaches to deliver, too. When he got his opportunity to start last week in place of injured Graham Mertz, he made the most of it, setting a school record for passing yards by a freshman with 456 yards, while adding three touchdowns in a 45-7 win.

The question moving forward is how Florida plans to use Lagway, as he starts Saturday against Texas A&M in the SEC opener, especially as coach Billy Napier faces increasing pressure to win this season. Napier has been mum on how he plans to handle the rotation with a healthy Mertz in the mix, saying only he would play both quarterbacks moving forward.

“For DJ to go out there and do what he did, it puts a lot of pressure on the coaching staff this week to be very strategic on how they roll out the two quarterbacks, but I don’t think there’s any denying that he’ll get out there at some point and play meaningful reps,” Miller said. “What that is, and what that looks like, I don’t know. But what I do know is Coach Napier has never lied to him about what the process looks like.”

Miller said Napier was honest from the beginning about sharing time with Mertz. Miller also said the coaches did a great job during the recruitment process of acknowledging the elephant in the room — that they had to get the Gators turned around in short order.

“They did a great job of getting DJ to commit early to help the process of building that brand with recruits and everybody else around him,” Miller said.

Lagway committed to Florida in December 2022 and held firm a year later, after USC made a final push to flip him. Miller said, Lagway is in a good head space and committed to getting the job done with the Gators — no matter what that looks like moving forward.

“Whatever DJ’s role is, big or small, he’s going to do it to the best of his ability,” Miller said. “You’ll never hear him say anything negative about his playing time, the coaching staff, whatever it is. He made a decision to go there. He’s committed to being there and he’s going to do whatever he can whenever his number’s called to benefit that football team.” — Andrea Adelson

Five freshman running backs to know

Nate Frazier, Georgia: Frazier made the most of his opportunities in his college debut against Clemson, rushing for 83 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries in the Bulldogs’ 34-3 blowout win. The No. 3-ranked running back recruit and No. 62 overall recruit in the 2024 ESPN 300 has impressed Georgia coaches since he arrived from California powerhouse Mater Dei and should continue to have a key role in their rushing attack alongside Florida transfer Trevor Etienne.

Jerrick Gibson, Texas: Gibson, the No. 2-ranked running back and No. 59 overall recruit in his class, is showing he’s ready to step up and help a Texas run game that lost CJ Baxter and Christian Clark to season-ending injuries. The 5-10, 205-pound back from IMG Academy leads the team with 103 rushing yards and has scored in each of his first two games, including a 7-yard touchdown run against Michigan in the Longhorns’ 31-12 rout at Ann Arbor.

Isaac Brown, Louisville: Peny Boone reentering the transfer portal in April opened the door for Brown and several young backs to help power Louisville’s run game. The four-star signee from Florida leads the team with 187 yards from scrimmage, including a 77-yard touchdown in his debut against Austin Peay, and is also returning kicks. Fellow true freshman Duke Watson has gained 137 yards and scored two TDs on only 10 carries and redshirt freshman Keyjuan Brown has put up 116 rushing yards and two scores for a Cardinals offense that’s No. 2 in the ACC and 14th nationally in rushing.

Wayshawn Parker, Washington State: The three-star back from Sacramento, Calif. has teamed with quarterback John Mateer to give Washington State a surprisingly dangerous rushing attack. Parker has produced 219 yards from scrimmage over his first two college games and has scored touchdowns of 54, 52 and 43 yards. The Cougars burned Texas Tech for 301 yards on the ground in their 37-16 upset win Saturday, their second-most rushing yards in a game in more than a decade.

Antwan Raymond, Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights currently have college football’s second-leading rusher in Kyle Monangai and found a steal in Raymond to complement him. The 5-11, 202-pound back hails from Canada and reclassified from the 2025 class to join the program this summer. Raymond has turned 23 carries into 126 yards and two touchdowns, has seven rushes of 10 or more yards and has forced nine missed tackles, according to TruMedia. — Max Olson

Quotes of the week

“The rivalry, the energy in the air. It’s not just one day. It’s bragging rights for the year and for the rest of time. … Other people are looking forward to games against Ohio State or Michigan down the road, but this is my Super Bowl.” — Oregon senior linebacker Bryce Boettcher on playing Oregon State one last time in his career.

“When you lose, you’re going to be ridiculed, you’re going to be prosecuted and persecuted and I’m good. I’ve been on the cross for a long time, and I’m still hanging.” — Colorado coach Deion Sanders after the team’s 1-1 start.

“This is not a statement win. Washington State has played at the highest level forever. We beat another team that plays at the highest level. That’s it. We’ve done that hundreds of times,” — WSU coach Jake Dickert on the win against Texas Tech.

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Boise State among 4 joining Pac-12 for 2026-27

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September 12, 2024

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Boise State among 4 joining Pac-12 for 2026-27

  • Kyle Bonagura

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    Kyle Bonagura

    ESPN Staff Writer

    • Covers college football.
    • Joined ESPN in 2014.
    • Attended Washington State University.

  • Pete Thamel

Sep 12, 2024, 12:46 AM ET

Boise State, Colorado State, San Diego State and Fresno State will join the Pac-12 in the 2026-27 academic year, they announced Thursday.

The Pac-12 board of directors unanimously approved applications from the four Mountain West schools, which will join Oregon State and Washington State, the conference’s two remaining schools following the league’s collapse in the summer of 2023.

“For over a century, the Pac-12 Conference has been recognized as a leading brand in intercollegiate athletics,” Pac-12 commissioner Teresa Gould said in a statement. “We will continue to pursue bold cutting-edge opportunities for growth and progress, to best serve our member institutions and student-athletes. I am thankful to our board for their efforts to welcome Boise State University, Colorado State University, California State University, Fresno, and San Diego State University to the conference. An exciting new era for the Pac-12 Conference begins today.”

Mountain West commissioner Gloria Nevarez released a statement late Wednesday to address reports the four schools were leaving the conference.

“The Mountain West Conference is aware of media reports regarding the potential departure of several of our members, and we will have more to say in the days ahead,” Nevarez said. “All members will be held to the Conference bylaws and policies should they elect to depart. The requirements of the scheduling agreement will apply to the Pac-12 should they admit Mountain West members. Our Board of Directors is meeting to determine our next steps. The Mountain West has a proud 25-year history and will continue to thrive in the years ahead.”

Mountain West bylaws require departing schools to pay an exit fee of roughly $18 million with two years’ notice, which is what the four schools expect to pay, a source said. (That number would jump to $36 million with one year’s notice.)

The Pac-12 is expected to be in position to help the schools with the exit fees, in part, due to withheld media-rights distribution fees to departed members and other conference assets. The conference would also be subjected to $43 million in poaching fees, as outlined in the scheduling agreement between the conferences this year that resulted in Oregon State and Washington State playing six Mountain West opponents.

“We are ecstatic to be joining the Pac-12 Conference,” San Diego State athletic director John David Wicker said. “While we are grateful to be a founding member of the Mountain West with 26 years of success in the conference, we are excited at what lies ahead with these new opportunities.”

The six members will collaborate to decide which schools to target for further expansion, as the conference still needs to add two more schools to reach the NCAA minimum requirement. The conference is in the first year of a two-year grace period afforded by NCAA bylaws to exist below the minimum in the case of departures.

It is unclear how many schools the new-look conference expects to have by 2026.

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MLB most exciting player bracket: Who is baseball’s most electrifying star?

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September 12, 2024

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MLB most exciting player bracket: Who is baseball's most electrifying star?

Sep 12, 2024, 07:05 AM ET

Major League Baseball is packed with electrifying players. Whether you prefer five-star talents, powerful sluggers or pitchers throwing triple-digit heat, there are stars bringing excitement to this 2024 MLB season on a daily basis.

But who is the most exciting player in baseball this year? To find out, we put together a 32-player bracket and asked our MLB experts to vote for a champion.

The process was simple: We chose the most exciting player from each of the 30 teams (by virtue of having the best record in their leagues at the time of our voting, the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers each got two entries), seeded them by the standings and let our voters decide each matchup.

The result? One superstar who can proudly wear the crown as MLB’s Mr. Excitement.

Jump to: 1st round | 2nd round | 3rd round | Final Four | Championship

First round

Why Judge is here: Judge is the closest player we’ve seen to Barry Bonds since, well, Barry Bonds. His numbers are staggering. His power is immense. His plate discipline is remarkable. Every at-bat is a must-watch. What’s more exciting than that?

Why Crochet is here: The White Sox might be the worst team in MLB history, but Crochet morphing from full-time reliever to All-Star starter has at least been one exciting development on the South Side in 2024.

Winner: Judge

Why Duran is here: Duran is a triple waiting to happen whenever he comes to the plate. This is especially true given the deep center field and unique angles at Fenway Park. His ability to defend that space, whether in center or the corner, doesn’t hurt, either.

Why Skubal is here: The state of starting pitching being what it is, when a pitcher develops into an old-school ace, you have to tune in. Skubal has become the complete package for the Tigers, the kind of pitcher whose turn in the rotation you circle on the calendar when figuring out which game to attend.

Winner: Skubal

Why Ramirez is here: He has provided nearly a decade of consistent quality. He hits for power, steals bases, never strikes out and plays with a crackling sort of energy that makes him feel like he’s far bigger than 5-foot-9.

Why Seager is here: Seager’s version of excitement stems from his excellence. It’s not flashy. It’s not aggressive. He’s just the guy who hits massive home runs in vital moments and goes out and wins World Series MVP trophies. Plural.

Winner: Ramirez

Why Lewis is here: We’re talking about the real-life Roy Hobbs here. No matter how grueling the injury, or how much time he misses, Lewis keeps magic in his bat, consistently providing elite-level production with an absurd knack for belting grand slams. He does it all with a radiant smile, too.

Why Guerrero is here: Blue Jays manager John Schneider calls Guerrero a line-drive hitter with power, a term that has evolved into a cliché but in this case qualifies as the most accurate description. Few players, if any, hit baseballs harder and more frequently.

Winner: Guerrero

Why Soto is here: There might not be a better showman in all of New York City than Juan Soto. He blasts home runs to all fields. He takes balls out of the strike zone with shuffles. He stares pitchers down. He trash-talks catchers. He’s pure entertainment.

Why Joyce is here: Because he throws baseballs very, very hard. Velocity has skyrocketed over the past decade, and Joyce is pushing the boundary to another level. 106 mph? Ridiculous — and exciting.

Winner: Soto

Why Witt is here: Everything Witt does is explosive, whether it’s on the bases, at the plate or in the field. Perhaps more than any player in the majors right now, you walk away from every game Witt plays knowing you have watched someone with transcendent talent and emergent skill.

Why Kirby is here: The major leagues are filled with pitchers who wow you with raw stuff, but Kirby does it with precision and, in this day and age, that makes him special.

Winner: Witt

Why Henderson is here: Henderson does it all. He combines his raw power (36 HRs) and speed (18 SBs) with deft hands while playing the most important position on the diamond outside of pitcher. He has a Rookie of the Year Award and a Silver Slugger Award, and he was an All-Star this year for a reason.

Why Miller is here: With well more than 400 pitches thrown at or over 100 mph this season, it’s not hard to understand why Miller is on this list. On average, nearly every other pitch out of his hand hits the century mark.

Winner: Henderson

Why Alvarez is here: Put it this way: He might be the guy you most want up there in a big moment, especially in the postseason. And if you’re rooting against the Astros, he’s the guy you don’t want up there in a big moment. With his ability to hit for power and average and avoid strikeouts, sometimes he feels impossible to get out, and he’s capable of hitting the ball 450 feet any time he swings the bat.

Why Caminero is here: This is as much about future potential as present ability, but the game’s top prospect is already flashing the skills that should soon make him one of the game’s top hitters, spraying rocket-propelled line drives all over the field.

Winner: Alvarez

Why Ohtani is here: Ohtani has unmatched raw power and has evolved into a complete hitter. He boasts elite speed and is using it to steal bases more frequently than ever. And next year, he’ll resume reeling off triple-digit fastballs and mind-bending splitters from the pitcher’s mound. What more do you want? A cute dog, perhaps? He’s got that too.

Why Doyle is here: Hit the ball practically anywhere in center field, and Doyle will catch it. Try to take an extra base, and there’s a pretty good chance Doyle will throw you out. If you want outfield defense, it doesn’t get any better. Oh, and he can hit too.

Winner: Ohtani

Why Lindor is here: Lindor is a dynamic leadoff hitter, elite shortstop, first-rate base stealer and consummate leader with a magnetic personality. Want to see exciting? Head on over to Citi Field, watch him impact games in every way, and listen to those MVP chants showering Lindor every night.

Why Crow-Armstrong is here: We all knew Crow-Armstrong had the tools to play an excellent center field and wreak havoc on the bases. The question was whether he could hit at the major league level. He’s proving he can, and that has been a big deal on the North Side.

Winner: Lindor

Why Chourio is here: Because he is doing the sorts of things in his rookie season done by only the very best players in MLB. The last 20-year-old as good as Chourio? Fernando Tatis Jr.

Why Skenes is here: In a game that has deemphasized starting pitching to the point that the ace is an endangered species, Skenes is a hulking, sneering strikeout machine with an unmatched ability to create an undeniable buzz around his starts.

Winner: Skenes

Why Merrill is here: Merrill waltzed into a clubhouse filled with exciting players and snatched the bid with a propensity for the dramatic. He’s still only 21, but he is already the guy you want up in clutch moments.

Why De La Cruz is here: He hits tape-measure home runs. He leads MLB in stolen bases. He throws 100 mph across the diamond. His entire tool set is a starter kit for excitement.

Winner: De La Cruz

Why Betts is here: Betts can do just about anything. He can bowl. He can ball. He can podcast. More specific to this exercise, though: He can throw you out from right field or rob you of a hit at shortstop. He can work a count and spray a base hit the other way or he can take you deep on the first pitch. And whatever he does, he’ll look so cool doing it, it seems unfair.

Why Edwards is here: Edwards was called back up by the Marlins in early July and hasn’t stopped hitting. He has elements of Luis Arraez‘s bat-to-ball skills but with significantly more speed. And he has been playing a pretty decent shortstop, too.

Winner: Betts

Why Sale is here: Ronald Acuna Jr. might have won this bracket a year ago, but he’s injured, so we turn to Sale and his funky sidearm delivery that earned him the nickname “The Condor” as Atlanta’s rep. He’s also back to being one of the best starters in the majors, with a chance to win the NL pitching Triple Crown (leading in wins, ERA and strikeouts).

Why Winn is here: With potential future Hall of Famers Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado both on the downslide, Winn feels like the guy to represent the Cardinals. Hey, everybody loves rookies, and Winn’s flashy defense and rocket arm at shortstop make him a regular on highlight reels.

Winner: Sale

Why Harper is here: As beloved as any player is by his hometown fans, Harper’s at-bats remain must-watch TV, and when he hits one out in Philly, there are few moments in the sport as electrifying. Go watch his series-clinching home run against the Padres in the 2022 NLCS.

Why Wood is here: In his short time in the majors, Wood has established himself as an intimidating presence at the plate with top-end exit velocity numbers. At 6-7, 234 pounds, he hasn’t even filled out yet. Dream on that power potential, Nationals fans.

Winner: Harper

Why Carroll is here: The reigning Rookie of the Year has shown he can do everything: He had 25 home runs, hit a league-leading 10 triples and stole 54 bases in his first season, and he is in double digits in all three categories again this year.

Why Snell is here: Snell was having a ho-hum season after winning the 2023 NL Cy Young Award, but after coming off the injured list in July, he showed up in a big way. A no-hitter last month wowed the baseball world, as he has a 1.30 ERA since healing up from a groin ailment. His second-most-thrown pitch — his curveball — has produced a .100 batting average against and is one big reason he’s on this list.

Winner: Carroll

Second round

Aaron Judge vs. Tarik Skubal

Skubal’s dominance on the mound pushed him past Duran in our closest opening-round matchup, but the AL Cy Young favorite was no match for the AL MVP favorite.

Winner: Judge

Jose Ramirez vs. Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Five-tool player vs. power-packed slugger is a question our voters had to answer often in our voting. Ramirez’s all-around talent kept this one close, but the Blue Jays’ biggest bat survived.

Winner: Guerrero

Juan Soto vs. Bobby Witt Jr.

The bracket gave us one of the most intriguing early AL showdowns. Soto’s brilliance at the plate couldn’t sway our voters against Kansas City’s five-tool superstar.

Winner: Witt

Gunnar Henderson vs. Yordan Alvarez

Alvarez is the current-day Big Papi, and that was just enough to get him past Baltimore’s do-everything shortstop in our closest matchup of the second round.

Winner: Alvarez

Shohei Ohtani vs. Francisco Lindor

Who has the edge in a meeting of the two NL MVP favorites? When it comes to excitement, Ohtani’s 50/50 quest proved to be the difference.

Winner: Ohtani

Paul Skenes vs. Elly De La Cruz

Expect to see these two compete in our bracket for years to come, but even the game’s most exciting young starting pitcher couldn’t stop De La Cruz here.

Winner: De La Cruz

Mookie Betts vs. Chris Sale

Sale had some supporters in a battle of former Red Sox teammates. Betts had more.

Winner: Betts

Bryce Harper vs. Corbin Carroll

Carroll’s all-around ability garnered him multiple votes, but not enough to take down the face of the Phillies.

Winner: Harper

Third round

Aaron Judge vs. Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

The battle of AL East sluggers belonged to Judge, in unanimous fashion.

Winner: Judge

Bobby Witt Jr. vs. Yordan Alvarez

Two AL semifinal matchups, two unanimous outcomes. Many of our voters circled Witt vs. Judge when our bracket was released — and both players have cruised through to make that AL final a reality.

Winner: Witt

Shohei Ohtani vs. Elly De La Cruz

The excitement De La Cruz brings at shortstop was just enough to get him past the Dodgers’ DH (for 2024) — but this result could look a lot different when Ohtani returns to the mound next season.

Winner: De La Cruz

Mookie Betts vs. Bryce Harper

Betts’ ability to do a little bit of everything, including handle multiple positions, swayed our voters in a meeting of former MVPs.

Winner: Betts

Final Four

Aaron Judge vs. Bobby Witt Jr.

An AL championship matchup so close we had to turn to our emergency tiebreaking panel, which opted for Witt’s dynamic skill set over Judge’s unmatched power.

Winner: Witt

Mookie Betts vs. Elly De La Cruz

The NL final pitted two players who can wow at the plate, on the basepaths and in the field — but only one does it while standing 6-5 at shortstop.

Winner: De La Cruz

Championship

Bobby Witt Jr. vs. Elly De La Cruz

De La Cruz can do everything. Witt can do everything. But Witt’s ability to do it all while hitting .333 put our 2024 MLB Mr. Excitement over the top, according to our voters.

Winner: Witt

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