Georgia becomes latest college football team to win consecutive national titles
The Georgia Bulldogs are again on top of the college football world after winning the 2023 College Football Playoff National Championship.
UGA defeated the TCU Horned Frogs 65-7, fueled by an outstanding performance from Stetson Bennett. He finished with 304 yards passing, four passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns. Bennett’s sensational outing helped Georgia secure its second straight national title — quite the turnaround after going 40 seasons without winning a championship (1981-2020).
According to ESPN Stats & Information research, only a few teams have won back-to-back titles in college football since 1990. Georgia’s consecutive championships put the school on a shortlist of programs who have achieved the feat.
Alabama Crimson Tide – 2011-12
Bama went 11-1 in the 2011 regular season, with its only loss against the LSU Tigers in overtime on Nov. 5, 2011. When the two teams met again in the BCS Championship Game, Alabama beat LSU 21-0 to win the national title.
In 2012, Bama again finished with an 11-1 regular-season record, the lone blemish was a loss against the Texas A&M Aggies on Nov. 10, 2012. The Crimson Tide outscored their opponents 172-42 the rest of the year, which included a 42-14 thrashing of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish for the championship.
USC Trojans – 2003-04
The 2003 Trojans offense was a machine, scoring 30 or more points in 11 of their 13 games that season. USC finished the regular season 11-1, its only defeat against the California Golden Bears in triple overtime.
After a 28-14 win against the Michigan Wolverines in the Rose Bowl, USC ended up splitting national championship rights with LSU. The Tigers defeated the Oklahoma Sooners in the BCS national title game and earned the No. 1 spot in the coaches poll. But USC was ranked No. 1 in the AP poll, which produced the co-championship outcome.
In 2004, USC logged a 12-0 regular-season record and a place in the BCS title game. The Trojans trounced the Oklahoma Sooners 55-19, becoming the first team since the 1994-95 Nebraska Cornhuskers to repeat as AP national champions.
Nebraska Cornhuskers – 1994-95
Speaking of Nebraska, the Cornhuskers put together a historic two-year stretch. In 1994, they compiled a 12-0 regular-season record, scoring 40 or more points in six of 12 games, while the defense gave up 15 points or fewer in seven contests. In the national championship game at the Orange Bowl, the Cornhuskers were down 17-9 to the Miami Hurricanes in the fourth quarter, but Nebraska orchestrated a memorable comeback to win 24-17.
Read more: Epic Miami-Nebraska games
The Cornhuskers had an 11-0 regular-season record in 1995. They faced little resistance from their opponents, winning by an average of 38.7 points per game. According to Nebraska’s 1995 team page, it led the country in rushing yards (399.8) and scoring (52.4).
In the national championship at the Fiesta Bowl, the Cornhuskers’ offense reigned supreme, scoring 62 points en route to a 62-24 win against the Florida Gators. The 86 combined points was a game record until the TCU Horned Frogs and Michigan Wolverines scored 96 in the 2022 CFP semifinal at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl. Nebraska’s 25 straight wins from 1994-95 became a school record.
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Eli Lederman
No. 22 Missouri will be without star tight end Brett Norfleet (shoulder) when the Tigers host undefeated No. 3 Texas A&M on Saturday in Columbia.
Norfleet, a junior from O’Fallon, Missouri, has started in each of the Tigers’ eight games this fall and enters Week 11 leading all SEC tight ends with five touchdown receptions. His 26 catches on the season rank third-most among Missouri pass catchers, trailing only wide receivers Kevin Coleman Jr. and Marquis Johnson.
Tigers coach Eli Drinkwitz told reporters that Norflett sustained a separated shoulder in Missouri’s 17-10 loss at Vanderbilt on Oct. 25. Drinkwitz later described Norfleet as “day-to-day” during the Tigers’ bye in Week 10, and the veteran tight end was listed as questionable in Missouri’s student-athlete availability report Thursday night.
Norfleet’s absence comes with Drinkwitz and the two-loss Tigers essentially facing a playoff elimination game against the Aggies on Saturday. Missouri will also be without starting quarterback Beau Pribula in Week 11 after the Penn State transfer dislocated his ankle at Vanderbilt. Freshman Matt Zollers, ESPN’s No. 6 pocket passer in the 2025 class, is set to make his first career start Saturday, facing Texas A&M coach Mike Elko and an Aggies defense that ranks 18th nationally in defensive pressures (137), per ESPN Research.
“For our team, it’s really about us focusing on helping Matt execute at the highest level possible,” Drinkwitz said this week. “We’re excited about Matt’s opportunity and what he’s earned. He has done a really good job in practice of leadership, stepping up, embracing the moment, embracing the opportunity.”
Missouri (6-2) kicks off against Texas A&M at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC.
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Jake Trotter
Kansas State running back Dylan Edwards has left the Wildcats and is expected to enter the transfer portal, sources confirmed to ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
Edwards has been hampered by injuries this season and has played in just four games. He has only 34 carries for 205 yards.
In 2024, Edwards finished with 546 rushing yards while averaging 7.4 yards per carry with seven total touchdowns.
He began his career in 2023 at Colorado before transferring to K-State.
The Wildcats (4-5, 3-3 Big 12) are off this weekend.
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Mark Schlabach
Kentucky quarterback Zach Calzada apologized Friday for sending a video to someone on social media in which he boasted about the amount of NIL money he has received from the Wildcats this season.
The video, which was posted to X by a different person, showed Calzada counting a large stack of $100 bills.
Calzada, who turns 25 on Saturday, said he sent the video to someone who had apparently criticized his play this season.
In the video, Calzada tells the fan, “Hey, what you need to do, Garrett, is your ass needs to stop hatin’ and go get you some money. But since you ain’t got nothing, you go ahead and you can count mine.”
“Let’s count,” Calzada said, as he fanned the $100 bills.
“Don’t lose count, Garrett,” Calzada continued. “Straight hundreds.”
A Kentucky spokesman told the Lexington Herald-Leader on Friday, “Zach has taken responsibility for his actions. He has done the right thing and apologized. Now, it’s time to move forward.”
Calzada, who is playing his seventh season of college football, started the first two games for the Wildcats in 2025. He was ineffective, completing 47.2% of his attempts for 234 yards with no touchdowns and one interception.
Calzada injured his throwing shoulder in the fourth quarter of a 30-23 loss to Ole Miss on Sept. 6.
Freshman Cutter Boley took over and has started the past six games, throwing for 1,376 yards with 10 touchdowns and 7 interceptions.
Calzada, from Buford, Georgia, started his career at Texas A&M in 2019. His best season came in 2021, when he replaced injured Haynes King and went 6-4 as the starter. He completed 21 of 31 passes for 285 yards with 3 touchdowns and 1 interception in the Aggies’ 41-38 upset of then-No. 1 Alabama on Oct. 9, 2021.
Calzada transferred to Auburn in 2022 but never played in a game after undergoing surgery on his non-throwing shoulder.
He spent the past two seasons at FCS program Incarnate Word, where he was named the Southland Conference Newcomer of the Year in 2024 and Player of the Year last season, when he threw for 3,744 yards with 35 touchdowns and 9 interceptions.
The Wildcats (3-5, 1-5 SEC) host Florida (3-5, 2-3 SEC) on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network).
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