Connect with us

Published

on

For all of the twists and turns and surprises and upsets the college football season invariably delivers, it’s easy to still assume the final chapters have been prewritten, and in the end, the same heroes will emerge victorious.

Just think what life has been like for Tennessee fans who, through 15 years of futility against Alabama, have seen their SEC brethren win 11 national titles, including six by these Crimson Tide, while the only bit of hardware they’ve scored for themselves was a lone championship of life.

Think of what it must’ve felt like to see Lane Kiffin’s surreal exit and Derek Dooley’s tenure and Butch Jones’ sideline trash can and Jeremy Pruitt’s bags of cash (and also those three days when Greg Schiano was going to be the coach before Twitter nixed the deal) and know that the man on the other side of the field on Saturday had never lost on the Third Saturday of October.

Think of what it must be like to slip into a pair of orange overalls and chug cheap beer on a flotilla and sing “Rocky Top” for the 200th time, only to stare down a scoreboard that shows another blowout loss at the hands of the mighty Tide.

Who, faced with such horror, could still have hope?

And yet, on the 16th try, the story had a new ending.

To see that sea of orange pour onto the field after Tennessee’s 52-49 win on Saturday, razing the goal post and hoisting it in the air in a moment of mass catharsis was part celebration and part exorcism, a shedding of the demons that have made this program one of the most consistent punchlines in college football for the past 16 years.

On Saturday, the joke was on Alabama.

When Tennessee jumped out to a 28-10 lead, it was an emphatic show of strength, serving notice that Alabama was hardly invincible, and Nick Saban wanted to speak to the manager.

play

0:57

Nick Saban was livid on the sideline after Alabama muffed a punt in the second quarter.

When Alabama roared back in the second half and took a 35-34 lead following a controversial pass interference call, there would’ve been every reason for Tennessee to assume this would be yet another kick in the face, and yet Jalin Hyatt refused to roll over. Instead, he hauled in second-half scores of 60, 78 and 13 yards in a remarkable show of resilience.

When Alabama’s late field-goal try sailed wide right, what remained among the nearly 102,000 in attendance was not resignation but hope.

Bryce Young returned from injury and was dazzling, throwing 455 yards, but when Hendon Hooker delivered a dagger to Bru McCoy with 2 seconds left on the clock, the game-winning field goal was little more than deus ex machina. The tide had turned, and the Tide wouldn’t survive.

Tennessee’s win, in some ways, offered a spark for so many upstarts. As the Volunteers marched toward that game-winning kick, TCU was completing a frenetic comeback to beat Oklahoma State in overtime. Syracuse moved to 6-0 for the first time since the Reagan administration with an emphatic win over NC State and now has a showdown with undefeated Clemson up next. Ole Miss and UCLA are undefeated, too, and either would represent a stark departure from the college football status quo if they can keep winning through the next seven weeks, too.

None of this is to suggest that the kings have been dethroned. Clemson flexed its defensive muscle against Florida State. Georgia demolished Vanderbilt. Michigan and Ohio State again appear to be the class of the Big Ten. Even Alabama remains the clear favorite in the SEC West, and the best Tennessee might hope for is a rematch in Atlanta in December.

But for one Saturday at least — the third Saturday in October, as it were — it felt like there could be a new conquering hero at the end of this story.

And hey, don’t worry too much, Alabama. That coveted championship of life is still up for grabs.


Michigan’s old-school domination

In the Big Ten, Ohio State is a unicorn. It’s a hard-living, fast-driving, take-no-prisoners action flick. The Buckeyes are strobe lights and glow sticks. The rest of the league is a Tupperware party.

Except maybe Michigan.

The Wolverines thumped No. 10 Penn State 41-17 on Saturday, and that makes it hard to lump them into the rest of the Big Ten pack. They’re something different — even if we’re still not quite sure exactly how different. That Michigan was the better team Saturday is unquestionable. That Penn State managed 17 points was a near miracle. The Nittany Lions held the ball for just 18:04, and roughly 17:50 of that time was spent in third-and-long.

Instead, it was the Michigan ground game that offered true fireworks. Donovan Edwards ran for 173. Blake Corum ran for 166. Both had runs of 60-plus yards. It has been a winning formula for the Wolverines to run their monster backs into a brick wall again and again and know that, ultimately, the wall will give up.

And yet, cast against Ohio State’s seemingly unstoppable offense and suddenly rejuvenated D, it’s fair to ask if Michigan’s formula is ultimately good enough to win at the highest level.

Ohio State is dynamic and flashy. Michigan feels a bit like its coach’s preferred pants — not quite formal, not quite casual, completely functional and so bland it’s oddly interesting.

Last year, that was enough. Ohio State’s flash was impressive when it worked and a train wreck when it didn’t. Good or bad, it was interesting.

Michigan could be dull and predictable, but it rarely disappeared in big moments, and that was enough to punch a playoff ticket. And even after that, it was still clear that improvement was needed, and so Jim Harbaugh went through the motions of a QB battle perfectly designed to achieve the desired result. And now with JJ McCarthy, Michigan is again good and reliable and… mostly using the same formula it did a year ago.

To look down the Big Ten standings at teams like Penn State, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin or Purdue is to sift through a freezer full of vanilla ice cream. To look at Ohio State is to see a bottomless tub of 31 flavors with sprinkles and hot fudge. And what is Michigan? Not vanilla, clearly. But perhaps French vanilla?

Saturday’s dominance of Penn State was a statement. In the country’s second-richest (and, therefore, second-best) conference, Michigan stands out from the crowd. It is a team that made the College Football Playoff just a year ago, then seemed almost an afterthought all offseason, returned to the field with a plethora of wins against cupcakes that all added up to… what? Even after Saturday, are we ready to include Michigan on the same tier as the Buckeyes?

Perhaps the problem is us. Perhaps we’re fools, constantly dazzled by the shiniest object, and Ohio State polishes its chrome with the best of them. Perhaps we simply cannot appreciate the physical, run-it-down-your-throat-then-keep-running approach of the Wolverines.

After all, the Big Ten is about to cash a $1-billion-a-year TV check in exchange for long field goal drives (15-, 19-, 15- and 14-play efforts in Illinois’ 26-14 win Saturday) and Brian Ferentz ruining nepotism for a generation of spoiled rich kids. Certainly there’s an audience, and perhaps we simply lack the refined palette.

Maybe the takeaway from Michigan’s dominance of Penn State isn’t to suggest that the Wolverines are fun or ready for a showdown with that team down south to decide who makes the playoff. Perhaps all that needs to be said is that Michigan is 7-0, and we’re all going to have to keep watching.


Midseason Awards

We’re seven weeks into the season — the official halfway point — and that means it’s time to take stock of some of the storylines that have defined the 2022 campaign. So, put on your tuxedo t-shirt, pour yourself a tall Miller High Life (the champagne of beers) and settle in for our very formal presentation of the midseason’s best.

Best second-string QB: TCU’s Max Duggan

Could Duggan go from opening the season on the bench to earning an invite to the Heisman ceremony at season’s end? After losing the starting QB job to Chandler Morris, Duggan has emerged as one of the country’s most prolific players, with 16 passing TDs, four more on the ground and just one interception on the season. Saturday, Duggan helped TCU erase a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit against Oklahoma State to win 43-40 in double overtime.

Best renaming of a stadium: JMA Wireless Dome

After years of frigid performances at the Carrier Dome, Syracuse changed the name of its home stadium, and in doing so, changed its fortunes. The Orange thumped NC State 24-9 at the now-JMA Wireless Dome on Saturday, moving to 6-0 for the first time since 1987. Coincidentally, JMA Wireless is also the only company that will provide service for Jim Boeheim’s brick Motorola mobile he first bought in 1987 and still uses. Time is a flat circle.

Best party guest: Sam Pittman

Pittman lectured us on the need to bring top-shelf beverages to parties earlier this year, but BYU is prohibited by the school’s code of conduct from serving up any of Pittman’s favorites. KJ Jefferson returned to action to throw for 367 yards and five touchdowns in a 52-35 win over the Cougars. On the upside, Pittman left a case of O’Douls in visiting locker room because he’s just that good a party guest.

Worst preseason prediction: Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea

Lea said the Commodores would eventually become the best team in America.

Vandy lost to Georgia on Saturday 55-0, as Stetson Bennett IV threw for 289 yards and two touchdowns. There’s still time for Clark to be proven correct, we suppose, but by the time it happens, there’s a decent chance Stetson Bennet V is ready to take over the Bulldogs’ offense.

Best new trend: Firing your coach

Colorado nixed Karl Dorrell on Oct. 2, took a week off, and returned to pick up win No. 1 on Saturday (the last FBS team to get its first win of the year) with a 20-13 overtime victory over Cal. Five teams have axed their coaches so far this season. Before the firings, those teams were a combined 1-15 vs. FBS foes. Since firing their coaches, they’re a far more respectable 7-5. Then look back at teams that parted ways with coaches before October concluded last year, and nearly every one is in a better place, including USC and TCU among the nation’s best teams. So, the evidence is clear. Write a very big check, fire your coach, win a bunch of games. Someone tell Auburn.

Most disappointing twist: Sun Belt Cinderellas

The season began with Appalachian State in the role of America’s favorite Cinderella, but James Madison stole that crown with a Week 4 shocker in Boone. JMU then ran its record to 5-0 and garnered a top-25 ranking, but the Cinderella run came to an end Saturday. Georgia Southern scored with 1:01 to play to take a 45-38 lead then picked off JMU QB Todd Centeio to secure the win. The loss marked both the first of the season for the Dukes, as well as James Madison’s most embarrassing moment in Georgia since the Treaty of Ghent.

Best feel-good story: DJ Uiagalelei’s re-emergence

Perhaps no player in the country took more heat last year than Uiagalelei, who entered the season as a Heisman contender and an NIL darling, starring in a national ad campaign, and finished it with nine TD passes and 10 interceptions. Despite the struggles, Dabo Swinney stuck by his QB this offseason, and Uiagalelei has rewarded that trust by leading the Tigers to a 7-0 start, while accounting for 21 touchdowns on the season, including four in the Tigers’ 34-28 win over Florida State on Saturday. And the truly good thing about all this is that there’s no chance Swinney will rub it in anyone’s face that he was right and everyone else was wrong.

Best team in Mississippi: Jackson State

Ole Miss is 7-0 after beating Auburn 48-34 on Saturday. Still, giving up 34 points to Auburn is actually the same as a loss, so they’re scratched from winning this honor. Meanwhile, Mike Leach’s Mississippi State was demolished by Chris Rodriguez (196 yards and two TDs) and Kentucky, so the Bulldogs are out, too. That leaves Coach Prime’s squad, which may not be SWAC enough for some people’s standards, but after a 48-8 win over Bethune-Cookman in which Shedeur Sanders threw for five TDs, the Tigers get the prize basket, which includes a six-pack of Barq’s root beer and a complementary interview for the soon-to-be-vacant Auburn head-coaching job.


No D for USC

There was a simple formula for Lincoln Riley during his years at Oklahoma: Take a great QB, mix him with some terrific skill position guys, then take away any semblance of a competent defense, and — voila! — you’ve got yourself a team capable of losing by 20 in the semifinals of the College Football Playoff.

Well, the formula might be slightly more complicated at USC.

Yes, Riley has his superstar QB. Caleb Williams was exceptional. And yes, he’s got a ton of talent on offense, from Travis Dye to Mario Williams to Jordan Addison. And yes, he’s still decided it’s defense optional. And against Utah on Saturday, that turned out to be a big problem.

USC jumped out to a 14-0 lead, didn’t trail until the Utes converted a 2-point try with 48 seconds remaining, and yet, it wasn’t enough.

Utah’s final six drives included five touchdowns and a fumble at the USC 3-yard line. The four drives in the second half included 43 plays, 18 minutes, 32 seconds of possession time, six third-down conversions and two fourth-down conversions and a seemingly endless string of self-inflicted wounds by the Trojans’ defense.

Credit certainly goes to Cameron Rising, who came through again and again, including the touchdown run and two-point try to win the game. He threw for 415 yards, ran for 60 and accounted for five touchdowns in the win, while receiver Dalton Kincaid caught 16 balls for 234 yards.

The bad news for USC is that the loss puts them at the bottom of the Pac-12’s top tier, behind UCLA, Oregon and, now, Utah. The good news is, if USC can just expedite its realignment plans, this defense is still plenty good enough to win the Big Ten West.


Heisman Five

1. Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker

Late in 2020, Hooker was benched at Virginia Tech and essentially shown the door. Since then, he’s blossomed into one of the most prolific QBs in the country, throwing for 385 yards and five touchdowns on Saturday, and is now deserving of his spot atop the Heisman rankings. And what’s happened to Virginia Tech, you ask? Well, rumor has it the program folded, all records of its existence have been erased by the government, and Frank Beamer and Bud Foster now travel the country in a van solving mysteries.

2. Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud

Ohio State was off this week. Stroud still spent his Saturday making crank calls to Mel Tucker, just to continue to assert his dominance.

3. Alabama QB Bryce Young

It’s almost impossible to overstate just how good Young is, and how much he means to Alabama. But even in a game in which he threw for 455 yards and led the Tide back from down 18, he wasn’t the most impressive QB on the field.

4. USC QB Caleb Williams

The Trojans lost at Utah, but it’s hard to blame Williams. He threw for 381, ran for 57 more, and had five TD passes on the game. USC’s defense, on the other hand, couldn’t get off the field in the second half. Reminder to Lincoln Riley: You need to spend NIL money to get transfers on *both* sides of the ball.

5. UCLA QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson

UCLA was off Saturday, so Chip Kelly spent the day critiquing the technique of a guy twirling a sign outside a cash-for-gold business in West Hollywood.

Others receiving votes: Max Duggan, Blake Corum and whoever survives film study with Nick Saban on Sunday


Sooners bounce back

Brent Venables finally got a Big 12 win Saturday. It probably felt a bit like getting your dinner free because you finished a 96-ounce steak. Yeah, it’s a win, but there’s bound to be some vomit soon afterward.

With Dillon Gabriel back in the saddle at QB, the Oklahoma offense was exceptional, racking up 701 yards of offense — the Sooners’ most in a Big 12 game since 2018. That’s the good news.

The bad news for Venables, the defensive mastermind, is Oklahoma surrendered 42 points to Kansas, the fourth straight game the Sooners have allowed 40 or more.

This season has served as something like a “Twilight Zone” episode, where Venables rubbed the lamp of some diabolical genie. After a decade leading Clemson’s staunch defense, he finally landed his dream job, returning to Oklahoma as head coach. The cost? His defense will make Jason Bean look like Joe Burrow.

But hey, a win is a win, and Oklahoma now has one in conference play, and no matter what happened last week, at least Sooners fans can still remind Texas that they actually beat Kansas.


Under-the-radar play of the day

Coastal Carolina entered Week 7 as one of just two remaining undefeated teams outside the Power 5. Unfortunately, no one told the Chanticleers’ defense.

Grayson McCall threw for 358 yards and three touchdowns in the loss, but it was not nearly enough.

Old Dominion running back Blake Watson carried 18 times for 256 yards and three touchdowns, including scoring runs of 25, 58 and 67 yards.

On the 67-yard run that put ODU up 42-21, Watson hits a crowd of Chanticleers defenders, who each stumble and flail like a guy trying to make his way to the bar at Ocean Annie’s at 2 a.m.

play

0:40

Blake Watson crosses goal line for 67-yard touchdown


The most college football thing to happen Saturday

A quarterback who looks like he played base for Foreigner in the early 1980s threw a touchdown pass to a receiver who looks like he played rhythm guitar for .38 Special on that same tour, then the receiver, Jordan Whittington, celebrated with a really big cow — as one does.

play

0:26

Jordan Whittington scores the Texas touchdown and celebrates with Bevo the mascot.


Big bets and bad beats

  • Iowa State had its share of chances to knock off No. 22 Texas on Saturday, with QB Hunter Dekkers turning the ball over once in the end zone and, on the Cyclones’ final drive, fumbling deep into Texas territory. In the end, Iowa State lost 24-21, but for bettors who had the Cyclones +15.5, it was of little concern. Matt Campbell’s run of success as a touchdown (or more) underdog in Big 12 play continues to be a near lock. Iowa State has now covered in 15 of its last 16 games when a dog of seven points or more in conference play.

  • With their 24-9 win over NC State, Syracuse is 6-0, bowl eligible and, with a preseason win total of five, have officially hit the over at the season’s halfway point. Syracuse joins UConn (2.5), Kansas (2.5), Vanderbilt (2.5) and Duke (3) as teams to have already eclipsed preseason predictions.

  • It wasn’t just Knoxville where Tennessee fans were celebrating. One BetMGM bettor laid down a cool $100,000 on the Volunteers to win outright at +240. That return will buy a really nice victory cigar.

Continue Reading

Sports

Week 4 preview: Key matchups, quarterbacks who aren’t meeting their preseason hype and more

Published

on

By

Week 4 preview: Key matchups, quarterbacks who aren't meeting their preseason hype and more

If there’s an overriding storyline through three weeks, it has been about the winners and losers of some big bets on quarterbacks.

Miami bet on Carson Beck reviving his NFL prospects after a down year at Georgia. So far, he has delivered, averaging nearly 10 yards per pass with eight total touchdowns, and the Canes are ranked in the top five.

Oklahoma wagered Brent Venables’ future on John Mateer, and the Washington State transfer has been electric, leading the Sooners past Michigan in a Week 2 showdown and earning Heisman front-runner status.

Auburn felt sure former five-star recruit Jackson Arnold still had plenty of untapped potential, and through three weeks, he has looked like the superstar he once was, getting the Tigers to 3-0.

Ohio State, Georgia and Oregon all bet on in-house QBs rather than dipping into the transfer portal, and all have been rewarded.

Florida State, Indiana and Tulane hit pay dirt in the portal.

That’s the good news.

On the flip side, so many quarterbacks who were expected to provide massive dividends — Arch Manning, Cade Klubnik, DJ Lagway, Nico Iamaleava, LaNorris Sellers — have wavered between average or awful.

Week 4 offers some chances for redemption, with Lagway getting another big test against Miami, Klubnik hoping to right the ship against Syracuse and UNC‘s Gio Lopez going on the road against UCF in the Tar Heels’ first real test since a blowout loss to TCU.

Some of the nation’s most talented young players have a chance to break through, too. CJ Carr can earn win No. 1 against woeful Purdue. Michigan’s Bryce Underwood, coming off a strong performance against Central Michigan, has a much bigger test against Nebraska. Ole Miss’ Austin Simmons hopes to return from injury in time to make his mark in a showdown with Tulane.

The story is just beginning to be written, so there’s plenty of time for Manning, Klubnik and other preseason darlings to find their footing. But it has been a cold September for some of the nation’s most renowned passers, and Week 4 could be another opportunity for others to grab their share of the spotlight. — David Hale

Jump to:
Auburn-Oklahoma | Utah-Texas Tech
Quarterbacks who are falling short
Breakout players | Quotes of the week

What do each of these teams need to do to win?

Auburn: The Tigers have to disrupt Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer and make him pay for running the ball, and they have the ingredients to do so. Auburn is tied for sixth nationally in sacks per game (3.67) and tied for 12th in tackles for loss per game (8.7). Although Keldric Faulk is the headliner, Arkansas State transfer Keyron Crawford has been the team’s most disruptive pass rusher so far with three sacks and a forced fumble. The defense and run game, which ranks 16th nationally at 240 yards per game, ideally must reduce the pressure on quarterback Jackson Arnold in his highly anticipated return to Oklahoma. Arnold is completing nearly 70% of his passes, running the ball effectively and limiting mistakes, but the more Auburn’s other playmakers can take off his plate, the better the chances for a key road win. — Adam Rittenberg

Oklahoma: Arnold started nine games for the Sooners last fall. If anyone knows his weak spots, it’s Oklahoma coach Brent Venables. As Adam points out, Arnold (eight turnovers in 2024) has played efficient, mistake-free football in his first three games at Auburn. A Sooners defense that’s creating pressures on 44.6% of its snaps this season — 10th nationally, per ESPN Research — is built to change that and make Arnold uncomfortable, although Oklahoma will be without 2024 sack leader R Mason Thomas for the first half Saturday following a Week 3 targeting ejection. Mateer will have his own work cut out for him against the Tigers’ defensive front, but he should be able to find holes in a secondary that ranks 85th in yards allowed per game (220.0). The difference, ultimately, could come on the ground where a still-figuring-out Oklahoma rushing attack meets Auburn’s 10th-ranked run defense (67.0 yards per game) on Saturday. Freshman Tory Blaylock (5.4 yards per carry) has been the Sooners’ most effective running back through three games. — Eli Lederman


How do each of these quarterbacks need to perform?

Utah: Through three games a year ago, Utah had gone without a first down on nearly a quarter of its drives. This season, it has happened only three times in three games. The difference is Devon Dampier, who has looked as at ease running his brand of dual-threat football in a Power 4 backfield as he did a year ago at New Mexico. Dampier has racked up more than 800 yards of offense and accounted for eight touchdowns, and he has yet to turn the ball over. His skill set has made him particularly effective. He has already accumulated 80 yards on scramble plays, and three of his seven TD passes have come from outside the pocket. This will be his biggest test to date, but he’ll also be, by far, the biggest challenge for Texas Tech’s defense. — Hale

Texas Tech: Behren Morton hasn’t taken a snap after the third quarter across three straight 30-plus point victories to open the season. Still, Texas Tech’s senior quarterback enters Week 4 tied for No. 1 nationally in passing touchdowns (11) and ranks ninth in passing yards (923), leading the nation’s highest-scoring offense (58.0 PPG). Utah, with the nation’s 20th-ranked pass defense (134.0 yards per game), should present Morton with his toughest test yet in 2025. He’ll have to be accurate against an experienced Utes secondary, and Morton’s decision-making will be key, too, in the face of a Utah front seven that features the nation’s joint sack leader in John Henry Daley — five in three games — and blitzes on 42.6% of its snaps, the 10th-highest rate among FBS defenses, per ESPN Research. Most of all, Texas Tech will hope Morton’s experience (27 career starts) can keep its offense steady in the Red Raiders’ first visit to a notoriously hostile Rice-Eccles Stadium. — Eli Lederman


Three quarterbacks who aren’t meeting their preseason hype

1. Arch Manning

Anyone can have a rough outing in a Week 1 matchup against the defending champs, and Manning looked fine a week later against San José State. So, nothing to worry about, right? Ah, not so fast. A dismal first half against UTEP ignited a full-on inferno of criticism of the preseason Heisman favorite, and for good reason. Manning is completing just 55% of his throws and has turned the ball over three times, and Texas has gone without a first down on nearly a quarter of its drives so far. Add the sideline grimace that coach Steve Sarkisian chalked up to — well, we’re not quite sure — and it would be enough reason for concern even if Manning didn’t carry a legendary name and a ton of hype. That this all comes on the heels of such high expectations means Manning will be fighting critics for the foreseeable future.

2. Cade Klubnik

What’s wrong with Clemson‘s offense? The answers are everywhere, but none appear bigger than Klubnik, who has at times looked lost, frustrated or intimidated in the pocket. His 37.5 QBR through three games ranks 121st out of 136 FBS passers, and his miserable first-half performances — no passing touchdowns, two turnovers — have put Clemson in some early holes. Klubnik is completing less than 60% of his throws on the year, but the bigger issue is the number of open receivers he hasn’t even targeted in key moments. He has been sacked just three times this year, but he has gotten moved off his position too often, and abandoned ship even more frequently. So, what’s wrong with the Tigers? The better question is what’s wrong with the Tigers’ QB?

3. DJ Lagway

After last year’s hot finish, the assumption was that Lagway would take the next step in 2025 to becoming one of the best quarterbacks in the country. Through three weeks, he’s nowhere close. Not only is Florida off to a 1-2 start, Lagway has been the primary culprit. He’s completing 71% of his throws, but nearly one-third of his throws are behind the line of scrimmage. He has done nothing to extend the field, attempting just seven throws of 20 yards or more. On those throws, he has one completion and two picks. Lagway’s six interceptions overall are tied for the second most nationally through three games. If Florida wants to turn things around amid a brutal schedule, it has to start with Lagway looking more like the player he appeared to be down the stretch in 2024. — Hale


Five early breakout players

Rueben Bain Jr., DL, Miami: The 6-foot-3, 275-pound pass rusher is performing at an All-America level so far this season with 15 stops, 11 pressures, 2.5 TFLs, 1.5 sacks, an interception and a forced fumble through three games. Bain was a top-100 recruit and a Freshman All-American in 2023, so there’s nothing shocking about his rise, but he’s making the leap as a junior and proving he’s a no-doubt NFL draft first-round pick. As ESPN draft expert Jordan Reid put it, no other draft-eligible player in the sport is having a greater down-to-down impact than Bain.

Taylen Green, QB, Arkansas: Green is off to an incredible start to his second season under OC Bobby Petrino, leading the country in total offense with 866 passing yards, 307 rushing yards (most among all FBS QBs) and 13 total touchdowns. Last week against Ole Miss, he became the first QB in program history to surpass 300 passing yards and 100 rushing yards in a single game. The Razorbacks came up short in their SEC opener but have seven more top-25 opponents on the schedule, which should give Green every opportunity to play his way into Heisman contention.

Mario Craver, WR, Texas A&M: The Aggies faced Craver last year during his freshman season at Mississippi State and knew he could be a dangerous playmaker. He has been an absolute game changer for Marcel Reed and Texas A&M’s passing game with an FBS-leading 443 receiving yards and four TDs on just 20 receptions. The 5-foot-9, 165-pound wideout isn’t flying under the national radar anymore after burning Notre Dame’s secondary for a career-best 207 yards on seven catches, and his 279 yards after catch are nearly 100 more than any other pass catcher in the country.

Ahmad Hardy, RB, Missouri: Hardy had a prolific freshman season at UL Monroe and hasn’t slowed down one bit since making his move to the SEC. He’s now the second-leading rusher in the FBS with 462 yards and five TDs after a ridiculous 250-yard day against Louisiana last week. The sophomore has played in only 15 career games, yet he already has three 200-yard performances on his résumé, and he leads all FBS backs with 29 forced missed tackles, according to ESPN Research.

Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, QB, Cal: The true freshman from Hawaii was a late riser in the recruiting rankings as a high school senior, and we’re quickly learning why he became so coveted. Sagapolutele signed with Oregon but flipped back to Cal in early January, believing he’d have a chance to start right away for the Golden Bears. The 6-foot-3, 225-pound lefty has flashed big-time arm talent and exciting potential with 780 passing yards and seven total TDs while leading a 3-0 start. He’s becoming must-see TV on a Cal squad that looks poised to exceed expectations. — Max Olson


Quotes of the Week

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney on speculation about his job security:
“Hey, listen, if Clemson’s tired of winning, they can send me on my way. But I’m gonna go somewhere else and coach. I ain’t going to the beach. Hell, I’m 55. I’ve got a long way to go. Y’all are gonna have to deal with me for a while.”

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian on quarterback Arch Manning:
“Here’s a guy who’s had an awesome life, the way he’s grown up, the people he’s been surrounded by. I think you learn a lot about yourself through adversity and overcoming adversity. … When he gets on the other side of it, I think all of this is going to serve well not only for him, but for us as a team.”

LSU coach Brian Kelly:
“LSU won the football game, won the game. I don’t know what you want from me. What do you want? You want us to win 70-0 against Florida to keep you happy?”

Michigan fill-in coach Biff Poggi on Bryce Underwood:
“He might actually be Batman. We need to do a DNA test on him.”

Georgia Tech coach Brent Key addressing his team after beating Clemson:
“Enjoy the s— out of it, man. Guess what? Next week is going to be bigger.”

Continue Reading

Sports

Sources: ACC closing in on new schedule format

Published

on

By

Sources: ACC closing in on new schedule format

The ACC is closing in on a change to its scheduling format that will require all league teams to play at least 10 games against Power Four competition, though the number of intra-conference games played — eight or nine — remains a sticking point, according to multiple sources.

Athletics directors are scheduled to meet Monday in Charlotte to discuss the details of what will either be a move to a nine-game conference slate with one additional Power Four game required out of conference or an “8+2” model that would provide more flexibility to schools who already have an annual non-conference rival.

“The ACC committing to go to 10 Power Four games is a big step forward,” Clemson athletics director Graham Neff said. “It’s indicative of where college football is and leans into emphasizing the importance of strength of schedule and more Power Four matchups.”

Neff is among the handful of ADs concerned that a nine-game conference slate would be problematic in limiting schools’ ability to play marquee non-conference games, as Clemson did this season against LSU in Week 1.

The Tigers play South Carolina annually and, beginning in 2027, will also have a yearly game against Notre Dame.

A straw poll of 13 of the ACC’s 17 athletics directors showed nine supported or were amenable to the nine-game slate, while Clemson and Florida State are among the others with concerns about the impact on non-conference scheduling.

The SEC announced last month it would move from an eight-game to a nine-game conference slate — a decision that has spurred the ACC’s interest in adjusting its scheduling model, too.

Multiple sources said ACC commissioner Jim Phillips wants to see the conference play nine league games annually plus require each school to schedule one out-of-conference game against another Power Four school, essentially matching the SEC’s new strategy. ACC schools are already supposed to have at least one Power Four non-conference game each year, but that rule has not been enforced and several programs have avoided playing a more difficult schedule. Sources told ESPN that the current conversations have reached a consensus that 10 Power Four games must be an enforced minimum moving forward.

One administrator said it felt inevitable the league was going to go to nine league games. Duke coach Manny Diaz agreed.

“I think it’d be awfully strange to be the only conference not at nine conference games,” Diaz said. “Usually when you’re the only one doing something, it’s either really good or really bad. It just feels like you’d want continuity in what everybody does in college sports.”

The SEC’s move coincided with the College Football Playoff committee’s revised guidelines that emphasize strength of opponent. SEC schools are also expected to see an increase in revenue from its TV partner, ESPN, for adding the additional conference game.

ACC ADs were briefed on the various plans during a call Wednesday, though several said there remains little understanding of how potential changes would be accepted by ESPN or considered among the College Football Playoff committee. Indeed, as Radakovich noted, the ideal formula for a 12-team playoff vs. an expanded playoff might not be the same, but the ACC will need to decide its scheduling fate before knowing what the future playoff might look like.

“Hopefully Jim [Phillips] will give us some insight into that when we get together Monday, and help set the table that, hey, nine is going to be really important for us to keep a very good seat at the table as it relates to the other CFP commissioners and the Power 4 conferences,” Miami athletics director Dan Radakovich said. “It all depends on how big the CFP gets. That’s another driving factor we won’t know. We’re going to have to make this decision without that knowledge and try to project it the best way we can.”

No additional revenues are expected to come from ESPN if a change is made. The ACC also changed its revenue-distribution model starting in 2025, awarding a higher percentage of revenue to schools based on TV ratings.

“It’s important we continue to be strategic in providing value to our media partner, ESPN,” Neff said. “And with how the ACC has adapted our financial distribution model, that has direct school revenue implications unlike any other conference.”

The ACC has wrestled with how many league games it should play for more than a decade. In 2012, the ACC agreed to play nine league games, but decided to stay at eight after adding Syracuse and Pittsburgh and coming to a scheduling agreement with Notre Dame the following year. The intra-state nonconference rivalry games that Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech and Louisville play annually against their SEC rivals have always been a sticking point in any of these discussions.

For those four specific teams, their rivalry games coupled with a nine-game conference slate would provide a full inventory of 10 Power Four matchups — with more in years in which those schools play Notre Dame as part of the league’s agreement that requires five games per year against the Irish. That leaves little room for marquee matchups like Clemson-LSU or Florida State-Alabama, two games that did monster ratings in Week 1 of this season, each drawing more than 10 million viewers.

But future marquee non-conference matchups like those could disappear once the ACC moves to a nine-game conference slate, Neff said, which could diminish the overall product and inhibit revenue opportunities, given the ACC’s new distribution model that provides more money to schools with better TV ratings.

Radakovich noted that games like this week’s showdown with Florida are unlikely to be played moving forward due to the constraints of a larger conference schedule, but he will continue to have conversations with Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin.

“It’s going to be a real tough sell because Florida has their nine SEC games and their rivalry game with FSU,” Radakovich said. “Scott and I will have some chats to see if it can happen but it’s going to be some tough sledding.”

Louisville athletics director Josh Heird said his school would still schedule top non-conference competition, even if that means an 11th Power Four game. The Cardinals currently have future games scheduled against Georgia in 2026 and 2027 and Texas A&M in 2028 and 2029.

“Play good teams,” Heird said. “We’ll play Kentucky every year, and we’ll have Notre Dame every once in a while. And we absolutely want to still play the home-and-homes with Georgia and Texas A&M. I think the kids want to play those games, too.”

Several ADs expressed concern, however, that series like Louisville’s with Georgia and Texas A&M would disappear regardless, as the SEC bows out of such matchups now that its teams will play nine league games. Others suggested the SEC and Big Ten — the two leagues with the most financial clout — could work together for non-conference scheduling, leaving the ACC and Big 12 with few options to fill out their schedules, particularly if the ACC has two Power Four non-conference games required.

“You’re not guaranteed 10,” one AD in favor of a 9+1 model said. “That’s the issue. Who’s to say the other Power four leagues want to schedule ACC schools?”

One alternative could be for ACC teams to schedule non-conference games against each other, as NC State and Virginia did in Week 2. Several ADs expressed skepticism about that plan, however, suggesting it would be extremely confusing for fans to understand which ACC vs. ACC matchups counted in the league standing and which did not.

Regardless, the ACC will have to figure out a way around a more basic problem of math. With 17 football-playing members, there’s no way for all schools to play nine conference games.

One initial plan involved games vs. Notre Dame — an ACC member in all sports except football — to count as conference games. Multiple ADs told ESPN that plan has been shelved for the time being, likely in favor of an imbalanced model in which at least one team will play just eight conference games while the rest play nine.

Monday’s meetings in Charlotte are expected to move the league closer to a final decision, but several sources said they did not expect an official vote to happen for a few weeks and were similarly dubious a change would take effect for the 2026 season.

“Let’s look to try to set our course,” Radakovich said. “The discussions will happen Monday but decisions will hopefully happen shortly thereafter. Hopefully we’ll come out of that with a consensus that leads the ACC to a final conclusion.”

Continue Reading

Sports

Witness in 2006 Miami murder case found alive

Published

on

By

Witness in 2006 Miami murder case found alive

Florida prosecutors have repeatedly told a court that a key witness in their murder case against a former Miami Hurricanes football player accused in the 2006 killing of teammate Bryan Pata was dead.

However, with the long-delayed murder trial of Rashaun Jones only weeks from its scheduled start in Miami, ESPN reporters knocked on an apartment door in Louisville, Kentucky, recently and found the witness, Paul Conner, alive.

Conner told ESPN that he wasn’t aware anyone from Miami was looking for him and said he rarely leaves his apartment.

Prosecutors told Florida 11th Circuit Court Judge Cristina Miranda as recently as July that Conner was dead. A spokesperson for the state attorney’s office, Ed Griffith, told ESPN on Thursday that police relied on a public database that “seemed to indicate” Conner was deceased and that police asked officers in Louisville to knock on Conner’s door. He offered no documents of such a visit nor details of when an officer visited or what happened.

Griffith also pressed a reporter for the address ESPN visited — the same address that was listed on the database report Griffith cited. The lead detective in the case, Juan Segovia, also texted an ESPN reporter asking for Conner’s contact information.

It’s unclear how the revelation about Conner will affect the trial, currently set to start Oct. 6. “Is there an impact of that on the case? I would have to say yes, potentially,” Griffith said.

Jones’ attorney, Sara Alvarez, said ESPN’s finding raises further questions about the state’s case.

“I’m not shocked, but appalled,” she said by telephone Thursday. “This is a bigger issue. This is just blatant lies. Bald-faced lies.

“It’s a shame and it’s disgusting that you would be willing to send a man to prison for the rest of his life without any evidence and then not be honest about what evidence exists and doesn’t exist.”

In a conversation with an ESPN reporter and in questioning by police, Jones has said he did not kill Pata. He has pleaded not guilty.

Conner, a retired University of Miami writing instructor, once lived in the apartment complex where Pata, a likely high draft pick in the 2007 NFL draft, was shot once in the head in November 2006.

Conner contacted police soon after the shooting, saying he heard a “pop” and saw someone “jogging” away from the parking lot entrance near where Pata was shot. Conner picked Jones out of a photo lineup.

Some 13 years later, Conner was reinterviewed in 2020 and again picked Jones out of a lineup, according to Jones’ arrest warrant. And Conner recounted what he saw at a 2022 bond hearing and in a 2023 deposition with attorneys.

Conner, now 81, told ESPN in his Aug. 25 interview that he now doesn’t recall what happened in Miami, and he seemed unfamiliar with his prior statements.

“I’m getting up in years,” he said. “My memory comes and goes. How long ago was this court case?”

With Jones’ trial date looming, Miami assistant state attorney Cristina Diamond told Miranda in a July 17 hearing that officials believed Conner to be dead after multiple failed attempts to contact him and a third-party commercial database indicating he was deceased. Miranda accepted the efforts to find Conner and ruled to allow his prior testimony from the hearing and deposition to be used at trial. Jones’ attorneys had initially objected on grounds of their inability to cross-examine his statements but conceded to accept the state’s evidence during that hearing.

ESPN’s interview with Conner was actually the second confirmation that he was alive. After a reporter contacted Conner’s last known employer, a former colleague asked Louisville police to conduct a welfare check. On July 22, Conner answered and confirmed his identity, according to police bodycam images reviewed by ESPN.

The Miami-Dade Police Department’s inability to find Conner is the latest in a long string of official missteps that have dramatically prolonged the case and frustrated Pata’s still-grieving family. According to information obtained by ESPN through a lawsuit against Miami-Dade Police and other interviews and records, Jones was among the first suspects considered by police, but they didn’t arrest him until 2021, nine months after ESPN first published its findings. Jones, now 40, has remained in custody for the past four years amid court delays and changes in attorneys on both sides.

In March 2022, Miranda agreed to grant Jones an $850,000 bail and allow him out, pending trial; however, Jones has not paid the amount — typically 10%, or $85,000 — needed for release, sources told ESPN.

That bond hearing included in-person testimony from Conner. Police had no eyewitness to the shooting, so Conner was a key element to a case that relies heavily on testimony from friends and teammates that Jones and Pata fought verbally and physically before the killing and that Jones possessed a gun similar to the one likely used to kill Pata (although police never recovered the weapon).

Conner told the court he was walking to the Colony Apartment Complex, where he and Pata lived, just before 7 p.m. on Nov. 7, 2006. He was near the parking lot entrance when he heard a “loud bang.” About 15 to 20 seconds later, Conner testified, he came “face-to-face” with a man walking at a brisk pace. “He smiled at me. He had a clean set of white teeth,” Conner said. “I described him to the forensic artist.”

On the photo lineup from which Conner picked out Jones’ photo, Conner had put his signature, date and the phrase “90 percent,” and a defense attorney asked him what that meant.

“One of the detectives asked me, how sure I was that that was the defendant. And I answered 90%,” he said.

The attorney later asks, “So, if I understand you correctly, there is a 10% error in your calculation of whether or not this person is the person that you saw on that night?” to which Conner responds, “It could have been.”

The defense attorney also noted that when Conner, several years later, picked Jones out of a lineup, Jones’ picture was in the same location on a page as the first time — the top middle photo.

In building their case against Jones, prosecutors also have cited Jones’ actions that night, including his failure to attend a mandatory team meeting called after the shooting and efforts to borrow money to leave the area. They also cite cell phone records they say contradict where Jones told officers he had been.

According to a state motion filed July 8 to request the use of Conner’s prior testimony, Det. Segovia said he had been in touch with the FBI and local police in Ohio, where Conner last worked at the University of Toledo. Segovia said he learned that Conner had moved to Kentucky.

Segovia then reached out to the Louisville Police Department, and according to the motion, “contact was made with the leasing office of that address, and they indicated that Mr. Conner did not live there.” Records show prosecutors were planning to subpoena a homicide detective from Louisville. No such officer has testified in the case.

ESPN requested records from the Louisville Police Department and connected with a spokesperson multiple times to inquire about any efforts made to locate Conner and any efforts by the officer who had been subpoenaed to testify. The spokesperson there said there were no records of any officer going to Conner’s address until the welfare check requested by the university colleague and ESPN’s inquiries. Conner said he has lived at his Louisville address for about a couple of years. A family member said they knew of no reason the leasing office would say Conner didn’t live there. A call to the leasing office was not returned.

ESPN made multiple requests to police and the Miami-Dade State Attorney for records of their efforts to find Conner. After initially claiming they had no documents, they eventually provided an email exchange in which Segovia wrote that he left 15 voicemail messages with Conner since May. Segovia added that he also sent emails to an address that officers had used with him previously. They also provided a copy of a June 6 letter addressed to Conner at his Louisville address that asked him to contact their office.

During ESPN’s visit, Conner allowed a reporter to review his phone. There were dozens of unanswered calls, and he appeared unfamiliar with how to check his voicemail. Several calls came from Miami-area phone numbers, including at least one that matched a phone number for Segovia. At a prior hearing, prosecutors said they had been aware Conner struggled with “technology” and had been difficult to reach.

Miami-Dade officials and the judge did not have a death certificate, mortuary record, obituary or any other official record of death, but instead relied on a commercial third-party information provider. Such companies often provide factual background information, but their terms of use disclose that information might contain errors, and they do not guarantee accuracy.

Conner’s cousin Steve Fahey, who said he was familiar with Conner’s prior role in the case, said he sees Conner frequently. He told ESPN in a phone interview that Conner has struggled lately with memory issues. He said Conner never mentioned anyone from Miami trying to reach him, and Fahey said no one from Miami tried to contact him, either.

Miami-Dade officials noted they spoke to a “distant cousin” of Conner’s who they said was unaware of Conner’s whereabouts, but they did not name the individual.

Alvarez, Jones’ attorney, said she should be able to question Conner in front of a jury about what she said were contradictions in details he gave police at various times. Whether Conner testifies, Alvarez said she plans to question Segovia about what she calls lies and misrepresentations of evidence.

Among other issues affecting the case recently, police told the court this summer that they had lost Pata’s student judicial records from the University of Miami. Pata had been involved in — although sometimes as just a bystander — a few misdemeanor-level altercations, according to the records, which ESPN acquired years ago through a public records request.

During a July 9 hearing, Jones’ attorney asked for a copy of an unredacted “lead sheet,” which was a four-page document with all the leads officers were looking into and a list of 39 individuals. The Miami-Dade Police Department used the lead sheet in the public records litigation with ESPN to assert the case was still active.

But during the hearing, the two main detectives who had worked the case said they didn’t know where the lead sheet was, and Segovia said it likely was discarded.

Florida law governs what documents agencies may destroy and which must be kept. Part of the statute applies to “summary information on … suspects or accomplices in crimes” and says records in that category must be retained “until obsolete, superseded, or administrative value is lost.”

Officials have not provided a reason as to why Jones wasn’t arrested until 2021, other than to say the case got a “fresh set of eyes” after Segovia was assigned as lead detective in 2020. That was around the time ESPN sued the Miami-Dade Police Department over the redacted investigative file. The last dated entry in the police report before the arrest was from 2010.

In a deposition last year, Segovia testified that police did not uncover any new evidence in the ensuing years that gave them probable cause to arrest Jones in 2021. “It was there all along,” Segovia said, but in 2007, the state attorney did not believe the case was strong enough to make an arrest.

In testimony during the records lawsuit hearings, law enforcement officials argued that they had a prime suspect and that there could be an arrest “in the foreseeable future,” which they said justified that the case was still active and its records not subject to disclosure; under Florida law, records from closed or adjudicated cases are subject to release.

In a pretrial hearing July 11, ASA Diamond offered a plea agreement to Jones of 18 years with credit for time served, but Jones — who attended the hearing via video conference — and his attorney rejected the offer.

In Florida, a conviction for second-degree murder could carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

ESPN’s original investigation into the case revealed a multitude of leads that police pursued, including a dispute Pata had over stolen car wheels, an angry ex-girlfriend, a nightclub fight involving possible gang members and two alleged jailhouse confessions. Nothing came of the tips.

The investigation also found multiple inconsistencies in police statements, leads that weren’t pursued to the end and people connected to Pata who were never interviewed.

Pata’s family members have, over the years, expressed frustration and disappointment in what they see as a lack of interest and effort by police.

Leading up to the trial, Edwin Pata, Bryan’s brother, said they were ready to finally see Jones on trial.

“It’s good that we’re actually going to put it behind us,” he said. “It’s constantly on our minds … we just got to be ready for it and know what to expect and be able to handle it.”

ESPN producers Scott Frankel and Gus Navarro contributed to this report.

Continue Reading

Trending