Alabama and West Virginia mutually agreed to cancel their home-and-home series that had been scheduled for 2026 and 2027, the schools announced Tuesday.

Alabama said it was making adjustments to its nonconference schedule in response to last week’s announcement that the Southeastern Conference would go from playing eight to nine league games starting in 2026.

West Virginia said it wanted to align with the scheduling philosophy followed by many teams contending for a College Football Playoff berth. That means playing a fellow power-conference opponent, one from the Group of Five and one from the second-tier Football Championship Subdivision.

Alabama will now play East Carolina on Sept. 5, 2026, as well as South Florida on Sept. 12 and Florida State on Sept. 19. West Virginia now plays Coastal Carolina on Sept. 5, UT-Martin on Sept. 12 and Virginia on Sept. 19.

Colorado coach Deion Sanders named Kaidon Salter the Buffaloes’ starting quarterback on Tuesday, ahead of the team’s opener Friday against Georgia Tech.

“The kid has a ton of experience, dual threat, can throw the heck out of the ball as well,” said Sanders. “He’s the guy. He’s the guy at this point.”

Salter, who transferred to Colorado after three years as a starter at Liberty, was the presumed starter but had been competing with five-star true freshman Julian Lewis.

“He’s done it before,” said Sanders. “This is not his first time running out the tunnel and getting the start. … I like what he did in the spring, and he’s growing and growing and growing.”

Sanders credited offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur and volunteer assistant coach Byron Leftwich for their work with Salter.

“I defer to those two coaches to allow me to understand what I see as valid,” said Sanders, who added that he is hopeful Lewis will also get game reps.

Salter appeared in two games for Liberty in 2021, before starting most of the team’s games of over the next three years. During that span, he threw for 5,889 yards with 56 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. He also ran for 2,006 yards.

He will replace Shedeur Sanders, who started the past two years for Colorado, before being drafted in the fifth round by the Cleveland Browns.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State coach Ryan Day has one message for freshman quarterback Julian Sayin, who will be making his first career start for the No. 3 Buckeyes against top-ranked Texas on Saturday.

“Just win,” Day said Tuesday. “Find a way to win.”

All eyes will be on Sayin and new Texas starting quarterback Arch Manning in the showdown at Ohio Stadium. It’s a rematch of last year’s College Football Playoff semifinal when both players watched from the sideline as Will Howard and Ohio State eliminated Quinn Ewers and Texas on the way to winning the national championship.

Both Sayin and Manning were five-star recruits coming out of high school. Manning started two games in Austin last season when Ewers suffered an injury; Sayin attempted only 12 passes last year in mop-up duty.

Day said the Buckeyes aren’t putting “crazy expectations” on Sayin, who beat out Lincoln Kienholz for the starting nod in the preseason.

“Take care of the ball. … If you need to throw it away, throw it away,” Day said of his discussions with Sayin heading into Saturday. “Don’t worry about anything else other than winning the game. That’s the most important thing — that’s the job of the quarterback.”

Ohio State will debut eight new starters after losing the bulk of last season’s championship defense to the NFL. Day said facing Manning will pose a “tremendous” challenge for the revamped defense.

“Athletic; a big, strong arm; smart; quick release; accurate — all of the above,” Day said of Manning. “I mean, he checks every box.”