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OXFORD, Miss. — Lane Kiffin’s coffee looks like someone shoveled dirt in a pot and set it to boil. Mysterious clumps float on top. It’s best not wondering what’s sunk to the bottom. “It’s some digestive thing that’s supposed to make you lose weight,” Kiffin says, gesturing to the Styrofoam cup atop his desk, unsure if it’s meant to reduce bloat, increase metabolism or both.

Kiffin is committed to living a healthy lifestyle these days, so over the course of an hour-long conversation about everything from his vision for Ole Miss football to how Auburn tried to lure him away last fall to the impact the transfer portal and NIL have had on the sport, he sips the brownish concoction until it’s gone.

“I tried hard this week,” he says. “I was in California on spring break and didn’t work out that much. So I went this morning to hot yoga for the” — he closes his eyes, counting in his head — “ninth time.”

Nine times since Monday, and it’s only Friday afternoon. “Two-a-days,” he says, as if he too is a player in the middle of spring practice. The first class is at 6:15 a.m. It’s 105 degrees and as humid as a sauna inside thanks to a steam machine Kiffin bought the studio out of his own pocket. “A lot of coaches obviously have addictive personalities,” he admits, “so when they do get into something, they go full speed.”

The weight loss is nice, but it’s the mental health boost that Kiffin craves. The workout is so demanding, he says, that he has to shut off his brain to get through it. Thoughts of career paths and roster management and the upcoming season are set aside. There’s only the sound of the instructor’s voice and Kiffin’s own labored breathing.

“How you are on your mat, like your presence, your ability to deal with things and push through, is going to be equivalent to how the rest of your day is going to be,” he says. He fancies himself an outside-the-box thinker, but he realizes this is all a bit much. “Most coaches wouldn’t admit they buy into yogi teachings.”

No, they certainly would not. But then again, most coaches wouldn’t still be here. They would have left when presented with an opportunity to go from a program that has never competed for a national championship during the modern era to one that has competed regularly on the sport’s biggest stage.

Kiffin, who at 47 has already been part of two dynasties and had several stops in between, signed a massive six-year contract extension to stay at Ole Miss. He bought the steam machine soon after turning Auburn down, figuring, “All right, I’m going to be here longer, so let’s get this thing fixed.”

It may look strange and maybe even a little unbelievable from the outside, but Kiffin trusts that Oxford has everything he needs both personally and professionally. He believes he has the tools to build a program that can capitalize on the way college football has changed, the science of assembling a roster becoming more reminiscent of the NFL.

Maybe it would be easier to win elsewhere, maybe even at Auburn with its tradition and vast resources. But he’s fine sweating it out at Ole Miss and doing things differently.

KIFFIN IS BLUNT in his assessment of the Auburn job. Ten years ago, he admits, “I don’t know that decision would’ve gone the same way.”

Back then, he says, he would have seen the opportunity in simplified terms. He would have run the numbers, found that the Tigers’ four head coaches before Bryan Harsin all had teams ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in the final Associated Press poll, and that would have been enough for him to sign on the dotted line.

All four of those coaches were also fired with multiple years left on their deals, but Kiffin says he wasn’t overly influenced by the high rate of turnover. Nor was he swayed by Auburn’s reputation for meddlesome boosters. He believes he could have navigated those murky waters if he had to.

So why not leave Ole Miss? What exactly changed in his thinking and caused him to stay?

Kiffin says he’s in a different place mentally, more mature.

Granted, he still enjoys trolling people on Twitter, but he’s already lived a lifetime in the sport and wisdom was bound to sink in along the way. An offensive wunderkind on Pete Carroll’s USC staffs in the 2000’s, Kiffin’s first head coaching job was in the NFL with the Oakland Raiders, which ended after 1½ seasons with owner Al Davis firing him and then holding a bizarre news conference explaining his decision in excruciating detail. Kiffin then went to Tennessee where he pissed off pretty much the entire SEC, left after one season to replace Carroll at USC, and was let go midway through his third season.

In the 10 years since being fired on a Los Angeles tarmac, he picked up the pieces by joining Nick Saban’s staff at Alabama, overhauling the offense and learning how the greatest coach of all time created and maintained a dynasty. They were an oddly fascinating couple, and they had a messy split, but Kiffin’s three years in Tuscaloosa led to him becoming a head coach again at Florida Atlantic, which in turn led to him finding his way back to the SEC at Ole Miss.

It’s been a long road to get back here, to a place where he has options. So instead of looking at one thing and making a decision about whether to go to Auburn, he looked at the situation in totality. He considered those firings and those boosters. Of course he did. But he also had to consider his personal situation. Was he really ready to start over again? Did he really want to tell his daughter, a senior in high school with plans on going to Ole Miss next year, that he was moving again?

And another part of the equation changed: the sport itself. With NIL and the transfer portal at his disposal, did Kiffin really believe Auburn was that much better positioned to win than Ole Miss? Maybe not. He had confidence in the program before, but, he says, “I have more confidence than I would’ve prior to this system.”

Again, he runs the numbers. Careful not to offend anyone, he says the record shows that Ole Miss doesn’t have a history of fielding top-five high school recruiting classes.

“Really,” he says, “it’s only happened once. So because of the portal and the one-time transfer, that helps your ability outside of those programs that you would put in that group that signs top-five classes every year.”

See: Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, etc. Blue bloods.

“Outside of them, this helps because this allows you to have a good year, lose players [to the NFL] and not go like whoosh,” he says, mimicking a nosedive, “because you can plug in players [from the portal].”

To be clear, Kiffin doesn’t love the current structure of NIL and the portal, and how intertwined they’ve become. He calls it like it is: semi-professional sports, albeit with almost no oversight, no salary cap and no contracts to keep players in place. The only limit is your imagination and the strength of your school’s NIL funding.

“The current system, even though I have issues with parts of it and wish it was set up better,” Kiffin says, “I like the current system, especially the one-time transfer, for Ole Miss.”

By going all in on the portal, Kiffin has tried to turn a traditionally developmental program — one that’s capable of competing at a high level in short bursts — into one that minimizes down cycles and strives to get rid of them completely. Instead of waiting on three- and four-star high school recruits to develop, hoping they pan out, Kiffin can go out and sign established players from Power 5 schools.

This offseason, Ole Miss brought in linebackers from Louisville and UCF, an offensive lineman from Washington, a tight end from Memphis, a defensive lineman from NC State and a cornerback from Georgia Tech. Kiffin already had a 2,900-yard passer returning in Jaxson Dart — who transferred from USC a year ago — and still he went into the portal and signed former All Big 12 selection Spencer Sanders from Oklahoma State and former five-star prospect Walker Howard from LSU.

Kiffin used to preach to players about having a “pro mindset” so they would prepare like pros. But now it’s taken on a different meaning, including how they think about roster management.

A few days ago, Kiffin says, he was talking to his coaches about this very thing.

“These coaches sell parents on — especially in the south — come here, it’s family, we’re gonna treat you like family,” he says. “I’m like, ‘No, they’re not.’ If it was family, then why do coaches bring kids in and say, ‘Hey, we want to help you transfer, it’d be better for you to transfer.’? You don’t do that to your family. So the whole family thing, I said, ‘We have to teach some reality that there’s a business side.'”

The quarterback situation is a perfect example, Kiffin says. Because if they can go out and make a position group better, they can’t hesitate. Maybe it appears redundant to have Dart, Sanders and Howard sharing space. All three can’t play at once. But it’s also insurance at the most important position in football.

Kiffin tells players that competition ultimately makes everyone better, and, “Just like the pros, we can’t not sign players based off your feelings.”

“That’s not my job to make you happy,” he says. “My job is to make the best roster for our fans, for our [athletic director], for our chancellor that hired me.”

Jordan Watkins, a former transfer receiver from Louisville, feels for the high school players who are fighting for an opportunity. But, he says, “I would probably prefer the college guy too because of the competitive factor and they’ve been in a college system before.”

If Kiffin was at a place that traditionally recruited highschoolers at a higher level, such as Auburn or Alabama, he might think differently. It’s a challenge to build a roster this way; there’s no such thing as continuity when some players are on campus for only one semester. Watkins says it takes time for a team of transfers to gel. They have to break old habits and form new ones.

But Kiffin enjoys the problem-solving it requires. He has to think ahead: If he signs a transfer at a certain position, how will it impact the rest of the depth chart? Will younger players, sensing their reps are about to be cut, pack up and leave? It’s a high-wire act, balancing immediate needs with long-term stability.

Kiffin doesn’t claim to have the answer when it comes to how many high school recruits he should sign versus transfers. It’s a moving target, he says, but one he’s interested in trying to figure out.

He gestures to a sign outside his office. It has the Oakland A’s logo on it and “MONEYBALL” underneath, a nod to the groundbreaking way former baseball general manager Billy Beane exploited inefficiencies in scouting and changed the sport forever.

Kiffin doesn’t compare himself to Beane, although Beane had a chance to leave for a bigger market and never did. Kiffin’s point is that he and his staff strive to be ahead of the curve.

Another sign nearby puts it differently: “Change the way people think. We don’t think outside the box, we create a new one.”

IT’S NOT SOMETHING he picked up from his neighborhood yogi, granted, but Kiffin wants to talk about a self-help concept he found in the book “The Obstacle is the Way” by Ryan Holiday. To sum it up, Kiffin says, “Things happen that appear to be bad in your life and then really they’re not, and the obstacle was the way to improve.”

Case in point: Auburn came calling and Kiffin says Ole Miss fans saw it as a “distraction” and “probably wish it never happened.” Fine. That’s understandable considering the way the season ended with four straight losses, including to in-state rival Mississippi State. But step back and look at the timeline.

On Oct. 31, Auburn fires Harsin and Kiffin is immediately linked to the opening. Kiffin has already made it known that he believes Ole Miss’ collective is lagging behind those of the rest of the conference, and any coach considering a job should take into account a collective’s funding. Not doing so would be like a general manager in the NFL ignoring a prospective team’s cap space, he says.

The very next day, while Kiffin’s name is appearing on every Auburn candidate board online and in print, Ole Miss’ Grove Collective reports “unprecedented membership traffic.” Their website crashes. Thousands of people join and donate.

A few weeks later, on Nov. 23, the collective announces it has topped $10 million in funding.

That night, before the Mississippi State game, Kiffin tells his team he’s staying.

“So you can look at it and say, all right, there’s something we wish wouldn’t have happened and the whole Auburn thing was a distraction,” Kiffin says. “But you can also look at it and say, if that didn’t happen, what would the collective be? And not just in what we signed in the last portal and recruiting class, but the future? Or, more importantly, keeping our own players.”

Yes, Ole Miss retained Kiffin by giving him a raise to roughly $9 million per year. But its collective also raised the money needed to retain its best players. Tampering, Kiffin says, is happening “nationwide” with players being lured elsewhere with promises of a better situation (read: $).

So add one more date to the post-Auburn vacancy timeline: Dec. 1. Four days before the postseason transfer window opened and eight days after the Grove Collective’s $10 million announcement, running back Quinshon Judkins announces that he’s signed a deal with the collective to “continue my football career here at Ole Miss.” The SEC Freshman of the Year who set the school single-season record for rushing yards (1,567) and rushing touchdowns (16), Judkins was called “a lot” by other schools trying to get him to leave, Kiffin says.

“If you don’t have a good collective, you’re going to lose your own players and then you’re really in trouble,” Kiffin says. “I don’t care, you can pick an all-star coaching staff, if they don’t have a collective, they’re not going to win. So when you find a guy that wasn’t a five-star recruit — Quinshon — and you lose that, you can forget about it. How are you ever going to sign really good players? Because they’re going to say, ‘Wait, your own guy that was there and had all this success, he’s not even going to stay. Why am I going to go there? Why transfer and then when I get there all the good players are going to leave?'”

Or, in the case of the head coach, why stay when you’re worried you can’t retain your best players?

Time will tell whether Ole Miss’ collectives can continue this level of fundraising. Sustainability is a question on the mind of a lot of coaches and athletic directors these days. But for now, Kiffin feels good about the situation. He feels good about where he is and what they’re building for the future.

Ten years ago, he drove home from the airport unemployed. He thought he’d get another head coaching job quickly. Surely, people would remember that he inherited a program on probation, down 30 scholarships. And unlike Miami, which suffered similar penalties and struggled to reach .500, the Trojans were 28-15.

Kiffin understood he might not get a big-time Power 5 job, more likely something along the lines of Conference USA. “Not at all,” he recalls. “I’m not getting any calls.” It was a painful reminder, he says, “because we think differently of ourselves.”

So he went to Alabama and FAU. He didn’t lose faith. But he did gain perspective.

“I always had confidence in myself that I’d be back, but I don’t know that I would have said I’d have an SEC job and having another SEC school talk to me,” Kiffin says. “I don’t know that I would have said that. And I really don’t think there’s any way I would have bet I’d be in Oxford, Mississippi.”

He laughs. It’s actually become part of his sales pitch to players from the West Coast. He knows the idea they have in mind when they picture Ole Miss because he had the same idea himself. So he tells them, just come and visit, and then judge for yourself.

“I went from L.A. to Boca,” he says. “I never would have put Lane Kiffin in Mississippi.”

But this place, he says, is so much better than he thought.

“And I certainly wouldn’t have told you I’d ever been the head coach of the state of Mississippi and choosing to stay.”

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Ted Williams’ 1946 MVP award sells for over $500K

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1 hour ago

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November 17, 2024

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Ted Williams' 1946 MVP award sells for over 0K

  • Associated Press

Nov 17, 2024, 06:55 PM ET

A rare souvenir postcard picturing Hank Aaron as a rookie with the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro Leagues sold for nearly $200,000 at a baseball memorabilia auction that also included Ted Williams’ 1946 AL MVP award, which went for $528,750.

The Aaron postcard from the scrapbook of scout Ed Scott, who discovered Aaron, went for $199,750 following a bidding war that soared past the pre-sale estimate of $5,000-$10,000, Hunt Auctions said.

The auction included 280 items from Williams’ personal collection that had been held by his daughter, Claudia, who died last year. Among the other items were a silver bat awarded for his 1958 batting title, which sold for more than $270,000, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom presented to him by fellow naval aviator George H.W. Bush, which went for $141,000.

The sale also included items from the collection of Rutherford Hayes Jones, the business manager of the Washington Giants, one of the earliest Black baseball teams. The trove was discovered in 2001 in a suitcase, where it had been unseen for 40 years.

A first batch of items from Claudia Williams’ collection went up for auction in 2012 at Fenway Park and garnered more than $5 million.

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Power Rankings: Oregon remains on top, LSU drops out of top 25 after Week 12

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4 hours ago

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November 17, 2024

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Power Rankings: Oregon remains on top, LSU drops out of top 25 after Week 12

Nov 17, 2024, 12:00 PM ET

Was something in the air in Week 12? We are now down to three undefeated FBS teams following No. 6 BYU’s loss to Kansas on Saturday night, and in total, five AP Top 25 teams lost to unranked opponents.

With BYU suffering its first loss of the season and now tied with Colorado in the Big 12 standings, what do the Cougars need to do in the last few weeks to reach the conference title game?

Georgia gained a much-needed win over Tennessee at home Saturday. The Bulldogs are well positioned to make a College Football Playoff appearance, but injuries have taken a toll on their roster depth. How can Georgia prepare for the playoff over the next few weeks, should it gain one of the 12 spots?

How did Saturday’s action affect our Power Rankings?

Here’s the latest top 25 from our college football experts, who provide their insight on each team following Week 12.

Previous ranking: 1

The 11-0 Ducks escaped Wisconsin with a 16-13 comeback victory in the fourth quarter. But again, Oregon couldn’t stifle the opposing team’s running game, as Badgers running back Tawee Walker kept the Ducks offense off the field with 97 yards on 20 carries. Oregon now ranks 71st nationally in EPA (expected points added) on run defense (minus-8.99), and 12th in the Big Ten. The league’s other playoff contenders — Ohio State, Indiana and Penn State — all rank in the top 11 nationally in EPA run defense. Oregon is sure to face prolific rushing attacks in the playoff. Getting key stops against the run — and getting its high-powered offense back on the field — will be paramount, if the Ducks are going to make a run to their first national championship. — Jake Trotter

Previous ranking: 2

The Buckeyes’ defense has responded very well from its loss to Oregon, holding its past four opponents to under 20 points and fewer than 275 yards per game. But the Buckeyes (9-1) will need to be a bit sharper on third down this coming week against Indiana, which entered Week 12 ranked 10th nationally in third-down conversions (49.1%). Northwestern converted five of its first 11 third-down chances against Ohio State on Saturday at Wrigley Field, and could have made the game more competitive if it had finished drives in Buckeyes territory.

Coach Ryan Day noted the early third-down struggles and the defense’s improvement as the game went along, saying, “We settled down a little bit.” Ohio State will need its veteran defensive line to pressure Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke, who has been sacked only 10 times this season, and fluster a Hoosiers offensive line that struggled against Michigan. — Adam Rittenberg

Previous ranking: 3

The 9-1 Longhorns avoided a major pothole on their road to a showdown with Texas A&M that could have SEC championship game implications, fending off a pesky Arkansas team. Texas still couldn’t get its vertical passing game on track due to the Hogs’ three-safety approach on defense, and Texas players admitted it was frustrating. But in a road game against old rivals who anxiously awaited a chance to break Texas’ hearts the way the Longhorns had done to them for years, Steve Sarkisian’s team adjusted and was able to grind out the 20-10 win. The star was the defense, which was smothering all day, holding an offense that averaged 484 yards per game to just 231. Texas has Kentucky on Saturday before the Aggies on Nov. 30. — Dave Wilson

Previous ranking: 5

Areas of improvement are tough to find for an Indiana team that leads the nation in scoring margin (301) and is 10-0 for the first time. But the Hoosiers’ offensive struggles in the second half on Nov. 9 against Michigan sounded some alarm bells, especially since they will face an Ohio State team with a lot more talent this week. IU had only 17 net yards on 24 plays in the second half against the Wolverines, as reliable quarterback Kurtis Rourke threw an interception near the goal line and a banged-up offensive line showed cracks for the first time.

The second open week came at a good time, as Rourke is still recovering from surgery on the thumb on his throwing hand, while wide receiver Myles Price and others had a chance to rest up. Indiana’s line-of-scrimmage play has been overlooked with all the other highlights, but the Hoosiers must hold up there against Ohio State to have a chance in Columbus. — Rittenberg

Previous ranking: 6

Penn State thrashed Purdue 49-10, as expected. But if the Nittany Lions are going to make a playoff run, they’re going to need to be sharper in the red zone. Coming into the weekend, Penn State (9-1) ranked just 48th in red zone scoring percentage (87.2%). Missed opportunities in the red zone doomed the Nittany Lions in their Nov. 2 loss to Ohio State.

Twice, Penn State had first-and-goal at the Buckeyes’ 3-yard line, but both times it came up empty. Ohio State’s Davison Igbinosun wrestled the ball away for an interception just before halftime. Then, with a chance to tie the game late in the fourth quarter, Penn State couldn’t punch the ball into the end zone. Had the Nittany Lions converted both of those opportunities, they’d still be undefeated. Penn State can’t afford to come up empty on deep drives if it wants to advance in the playoff. — Trotter

Previous ranking: 8

It wasn’t supposed to be close, and it wasn’t Saturday in Alabama’s 52-7 rout of outmanned FCS foe Mercer. It was a scrimmage of sorts for the Crimson Tide (8-2, 4-2) before diving into their final two games of the season and what would almost certainly be a berth in the SEC championship game if they can win out against Oklahoma on the road this coming weekend and then Auburn at home on Nov. 30.

Turnovers will be key for Alabama the rest of the way. The Crimson Tide hurt themselves with turnovers in their two losses, so taking care of the ball will be critical. Quarterback Jalen Milroe was done midway through the third quarter after piling up 229 total yards of total offense and accounting for three touchdowns (two passing, one rushing). He has also been better at limiting his turnovers. Alabama’s defense forced three turnovers in what was the Tide’s third straight dominant performance. Since the 40-35 loss to Vanderbilt on Oct. 5, Alabama has not given up more than 25 points in a game. — Chris Low

Previous ranking: 10

After what might end up being a season-defining win over Georgia, Ole Miss (8-2) enjoyed a bye in Week 12 in anticipation of a manageable but anxious home stretch. Lane Kiffin’s Rebels will wrap the season with a trip to Florida and an Egg Bowl visit from Mississippi State. They will be comfortably favored in both games, and at 11th in the CFP rankings, they’ll have a solid shot at ending up in the playoff if they win out. But it’s not a guarantee, and Florida, who just beat LSU on Saturday, is a pretty dangerous underdog at the moment. The Gators will test Ole Miss’ big-play prevention capabilities: On six of 43 snaps against LSU, Florida gained at least 20 yards. MSU can bite off chunk plays as well, and if Ole Miss is to win out, discipline in the back will be a must. — Bill Connelly

Previous ranking: 13

Now that the sky is no longer falling in Athens, Georgia, after the Bulldogs took down Tennessee 31-17 on Saturday night, they need to focus on trying to get healthy for the stretch run. Tailback Trevor Etienne missed the game with a rib injury, leaving freshmen Nate Frazier and Chauncey Bowens to carry the load against the Volunteers. Receiver Dillon Bell went down with an ankle injury; coach Kirby Smart didn’t know the severity of the injury. Georgia’s depleted receiver corps, which was missing suspended Colbie Young, was already razor thin in terms of depth.

The Bulldogs (8-2) were forced to play only five offensive linemen the entire game because starting tackle Earnest Greene III is battling a shoulder injury. The starting unit of left tackle Monroe Freeling, left guard Dylan Fairchild, center Jared Wilson, right guard Tate Ratledge and right tackle Xavier Truss didn’t allow a sack and gave quarterback Carson Beck plenty of time to work. He completed 25 of 40 passes for 347 yards with three total touchdowns. Georgia had four scoring drives of 75 yards or more. With non-SEC games remaining against UMass and Georgia Tech at home, Georgia is well-positioned to make the CFP. — Mark Schlabach

Previous ranking: 11

The Irish (9-1) continued their dominance of the ACC, walloping Virginia 35-14 and finishing 5-0 against their part-time conference for the year. Since beginning a scheduling agreement with the ACC that guarantees five games against the conference each season in 2014, Notre Dame has finished without a regular-season loss six times and is 50-11 overall against the ACC. In the win over Virginia, Riley Leonard threw for three touchdowns, and Jeremiyah Love ran for two more. Notre Dame’s playoff hopes likely come down to next week’s game against undefeated Army. — David Hale

Previous ranking: 9

The 9-1 Hurricanes had an open date to prepare for their final two regular-season games, with an ACC championship game berth on the line. There is little doubt Miami spent that time focusing on its defense, and ways to ensure the breakdowns we have seen in recent weeks — especially in a loss to Georgia Tech — are fixed. While the Miami secondary had shown inconsistency throughout the season, what was particularly galling in the loss to the Yellow Jackets was a run defense that simply was out of position and unable to adjust — allowing 271 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Up next is Wake Forest and running back Demond Claiborne, one of the better rushers in the league. The matchup will provide a good test to see whether Miami has fixed one of its bigger issues. — Andrea Adelson

Previous ranking: 12

With BYU’s loss to the Kansas Jayhawks, Boise State (9-1) is inching closer toward the possibility of receiving a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff. The Broncos got off to a slow start at San José State on Saturday, but after falling behind 14-0, they closed the game on a 42-7 run to win convincingly as Ashton Jeanty broke the single-season school rushing record. With 1,893 yards through 10 games, Jeanty is sure to be a Heisman Trophy finalist and could soon be within striking distance of Barry Sanders’ single-season FBS rushing record of 2,628 yards from 1988. — Kyle Bonagura

Previous ranking: 4

The Volunteers’ eighth straight loss to Georgia didn’t necessarily knock them out of the CFP, but they’re going to face an uphill battle to get back into the top 12 unless there are some upsets in the final two weeks of the regular season. Tennessee (8-2) had a great win over Alabama at home, but victories over struggling NC State and Oklahoma won’t do much to help its chances. Against the Bulldogs, the Volunteers couldn’t protect quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who returned after suffering a concussion last week, and couldn’t get enough pressure on Georgia quarterback Carson Beck.

Iamaleava was sacked five times. He completed 20 of 33 passes for 167 yards. The UT defense didn’t have a sack and had only two tackles for loss, allowing Beck to throw for 347 yards with two scores. Georgia went 8-for-14 on third down and 5-for-5 in the red zone. If the Vols beat UTEP and Vanderbilt in their final two games, they’ll be in the CFP discussion. They’ll probably be wondering if they’ve done enough. — Schlabach

Previous ranking: 14

Certainly, there is plenty to clean up after a 38-28 win over Boston College in which the Eagles took the Mustangs (9-1) down to the wire. BC was able to run the ball for 180 yards and three touchdowns and held the ball for nearly 11 more minutes than the Mustangs — not a huge surprise, given the Eagles clearly planned to slow down SMU and limit its possessions. But SMU’s defense made the plays it needed to in the end, sacking Grayson James on consecutive plays late in the game to help secure the win.

SMU heads to Virginia next to keep its undefeated league mark intact and move one step closer to an ACC championship game appearance. Kevin Jennings and Brashard Smith were spectacular once again, combining to score all four of the Mustangs’ touchdowns. — Adelson

Previous ranking: 7

Another late game-winning drive wasn’t in the cards for BYU, which dropped its first game of the season, 17-13 at home vs. Kansas. The Cougars (9-1) remain tied with Colorado atop the Big 12 standings at 6-1, but are in a position now where they will likely need to win at Arizona State (5-2) on Friday to reach the conference title game. Their 13 points against Kansas were the fewest they have scored in a game this season, as Jake Retzlaff completed 18 of 28 passes for 192 yards with a touchdown and an interception. — Bonagura

Previous ranking: 17

The Aggies (8-2) needed a get-right game after getting shut out in the second half of a 44-20 loss at South Carolina on Nov. 2 that snapped their seven-game winning streak. They worked out some kinks against New Mexico State, including allowing just 50 yards to the other Aggies in the first half. Marcel Reed further solidified his place as A&M’s starter with two passing touchdowns and a rush for another.

In the first game without leading rusher Le’Veon Moss, Amari Daniels had five carries for 84 yards, including a 71-yard touchdown, and A&M was able to empty the bench and even get the all-walk-on 12th Man kickoff team some time. The Aggies will have to lock in for a dangerous night game at Auburn on Saturday before returning home to defend Kyle Field against the Longhorns on Nov. 30. — Wilson

Previous ranking: 15

Army (9-0) watched Tulane clinch the other spot in the AAC championship on Saturday; the Green Wave and Black Knights will face off for the title on Dec. 7. But first comes maybe the biggest (non-Navy) Army game in decades Saturday, when the Black Knights head to Yankee Stadium to face Notre Dame in a game that could determine their CFP viability. With a win, they would almost certainly rise into the teens in the CFP rankings. To pull off the upset, though, the Black Knights might have to find their inner disruptor. They are great at the bend-but-don’t-break routine, forcing few negative plays but allowing no big plays and making stops in the red zone. But Notre Dame can run the ball (and finish in the red zone) with ruthless efficiency, and if Army can’t knock the Irish off-schedule, it might not make enough stops. — Connelly

Previous ranking: 16

The Buffaloes (8-2) are on a four-game winning streak and could legitimately win a Big 12 title in Deion Sanders’ second season. But a 49-24 rout of Utah on Saturday left their head coach wanting more from the rushing attack. Arkansas transfer Isaiah Augustave broke a 37-yard touchdown run against the Utes, but the Buffs’ backs combined for 32 yards on 11 carries over the rest of the game. “We can do some remarkable things if we have a more balanced offense,” Sanders said. Colorado has gained 1,017 yards on non-sack rushes this season, fewest among all Power 4 offenses. — Max Olson

Previous ranking: 20

The Gamecocks are one of those teams that nobody is lining up to play right now, and one of the things that will make them even more formidable the rest of the way will be holding on to leads. They’re finding different ways to win, growing up in key areas and smothering opposing offenses with a defensive line that’s right up there with any in college football. The Gamecocks (7-3, 5-3) rallied past Missouri in the final minute for a 34-30 win on Saturday, giving them their fourth straight victory and marking only the second time in the past 11 seasons they have finished with a winning SEC record.

The only real snag is that the Gamecocks had a two-touchdown lead early and couldn’t hold on. That could come back to bite them down the road. Quarterback LaNorris Sellers, a redshirt freshman, is blossoming at just the right time. He passed for 353 yards and five touchdowns, with the final one being the game winner to Rocket Sanders on a 15-yard shovel pass. Two nonconference games remain for South Carolina: against Wofford at home this coming weekend and then at home vs. bitter in-state rival Clemson on Nov. 30. The Gamecocks are one of the more improved teams in the country from a year ago and a couple of close losses to LSU and Alabama away from being right in the middle of the playoff conversation. — Low

Previous ranking: 19

The Tigers are done with ACC play with two weeks to go in the regular season, going 7-1 (8-2 overall), and still have a slight chance to make it to the ACC championship game after an up-and-down 24-20 win over Pitt on Saturday. The easiest route would be for Miami to lose again. No matter what happens, Clemson suddenly has issues on its offensive line, which lost another player Saturday. The Tigers are down multiple starters, and it showed in a ragged effort against the Panthers in which they were unable to run the ball until Cade Klubnik‘s late touchdown; Klubnik was harassed for the majority of the game. The Citadel is up next, and then a huge matchup against rival South Carolina at home as the Tigers seek to notch another 10-win season. — Adelson

Previous ranking: NR

Kenny Dillingham and his coaching staff continues to pull off one of the best turnarounds in the country. The 8-2 Sun Devils notched another statement win on Saturday with a 24-14 road stunner over No. 16 Kansas State. Redshirt freshman QB Sam Leavitt is playing at a high level, Jordyn Tyson burned the Wildcats for 176 receiving yards and two scores on 12 catches and the Sun Devils’ defense didn’t allow a score until late in the third quarter. One area where they’ll need to improve if they hope to win out: the kicking game. Former USC and Ohio State transfer Parker Lewis has taken over the kicking duties and converted a 47-yard field goal against K-State. — Olson

Previous ranking: 25

It’s difficult to nitpick a Green Wave team that has won eight straight games by an average margin of 28.8 points and clinched a spot in the AAC title game with a 35-0 win over Navy on Saturday. However, if Tulane (9-2) wants to make the most of its outside shot at a playoff berth, it could use an uptick in the passing game. Freshman quarterback Darian Mensah delivered another efficient performance in Week 12 (10-of-14, 138 yards, two TDs), while Tulane’s 10th-ranked rushing attack totalled 220 yards. The Green Wave offense is rolling, but Mensah has eclipsed 14 completions just twice over the past eight games and 200 yards only three times during that stretch. The Tulane run game has carried Jon Sumrall’s program this fall, but it will need a passing attack when it meets Army — and the nation’s No. 3 run defense (82.6 yards per game) entering Week 12 — in the AAC championship game on Dec. 6. — Eli Lederman

Previous ranking: NR

The Cyclones (8-2) snapped a two-game skid Saturday with a 24-point second half powered by a pair of Rocco Becht touchdowns. But the biggest hitch in Iowa State’s slim Big 12 title game (and playoff) hopes remains a run defense that was gashed for 287 rushing yards in a 34-17 road win over Cincinnati on Saturday night. The injuries that have ravaged Iowa State’s defense in the back half of the season have shown up on the ground, where Jon Heacock’s unit has now given up 200-plus yards in five of the Cyclones’ past eight games. Can Iowa State improve against the run with a depleted and inexperienced defense in the coming weeks? Unclear. But it’s the area in which the Cyclones need to improve if they’re going to scrap back into the conference title race ahead of a visit to Utah and a home game vs. Kansas State to close the regular season. — Lederman

Previous ranking: 18

The Cougars escaped a number of close calls throughout the season, but their luck finally caught up with them in a poor road performance at New Mexico. Wazzu led 28-14 at halftime, only to collapse in a 38-35 loss, with New Mexico scoring the game-winning touchdown with 21 seconds to play. If the Cougars (8-2) win out, they can still tie their single-season school wins record (11), but there’s no sugarcoating this: It was a terrible loss to take this deep in the season. — Bonagura

Previous ranking: NR

There’s not much to nitpick about the 8-2 Rebels following their 41-20 win over San Diego State late Saturday night. UNLV was never in much danger in this one, pulling away with a 21-point second quarter and surpassing 250 yards both passing and rushing. The Rebels have a top-10 scoring offense in the FBS but haven’t been among the nation’s best in third-down efficiency, ranking 86th entering Saturday with a conversion rate of 38%. They boosted that percentage against the Aztecs by going 8-for-16, but coach Barry Odom knows it’s going to take excellent situational football to win the Mountain West. — Olson

Previous ranking: 24

For the first time since a loss to Kentucky in November 2022, Missouri lost a one-score game. The Tigers’ nine-game winning streak in such games came to an end at the hands of LaNorris Sellers, Raheim Sanders and the South Carolina offense. Mizzou got a gutty performance from quarterback Brady Cook, who started despite being listed as doubtful for much of the week because of a wrist injury; the senior threw for 237 yards and got 150 rushing yards from Nate Noel and a glorious late touchdown from Luther Burden III to give the Tigers the lead with 1:10 left. But the Gamecocks scored 55 seconds later, and Mizzou fell to 6-3. The biggest challenge for the rest of the season: remaining focused. Mizzou entered the season with playoff hopes, and those are out the window, but the Tigers will be favored in each of their last two games and could still finish 9-3. That’s never bad in Columbia. — Connelly

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Sources: No. 2 ’25 QB Lewis decommits from USC

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November 17, 2024

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Sources: No. 2 '25 QB Lewis decommits from USC

  • Pete Thamel

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    Pete Thamel

    ESPN

      College Football Senior Writer for ESPN. Insider for College Gameday.

  • Eli Lederman

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    Eli Lederman

    ESPN Staff Writer

      Eli Lederman covers college football and recruiting for ESPN.com. He joined ESPN in 2024 after covering the University of Oklahoma for Sellout Crowd and the Tulsa World.

Nov 17, 2024, 02:11 PM ET

Julian Lewis, the No. 2 player and quarterback in the 2025 class, decommitted from USC on Sunday, sources told ESPN, sealing a seismic development for one of the nation’s top prospects in the closing weeks of the recruiting cycle.

Lewis’ decommitment, which had been expected, comes the day after the 6-foot-1, 195-pound quarterback took an unofficial visit to Georgia for the game against Tennessee. He also visited Colorado on Oct. 26 and expressed interest in Indiana throughout his recruitment.

The plan remains for Lewis to commit in the upcoming weeks and enroll early in school, according to sources. He’s the top uncommitted player in the class of 2025 and his choice looms as one of the biggest stories of the early signing period with Colorado, Georgia and Indiana expected to contend for his signature before the signing period opens Dec. 4.

Sources also told ESPN on Sunday that four-star Texas A&M quarterback pledge Husan Longstreet, No. 47 in the 2025 ESPN 300, has flipped his pledge to USC in the wake of Lewis’ departure from the Trojans’ incoming class.

USC quarterbacks coach Luke Huard attended Longstreet’s playoff game at Corona Centennial High School in California on Friday night, and ESPN’s No. 4 pocket passer visited the Trojans during their game against Nebraska on Saturday.

Lewis had been verbally committed to the Trojans since Aug. 22, 2023. Yet questions had swirled over his recruitment from the summer into the fall and all the way through to his decommitment from USC on Sunday.

Lewis’ move marks the latest blow to a USC class that has now lost six commitments from the 2025 ESPN 300 in this cycle.

That list of high-profile departures from Lincoln Riley’s incoming class includes five-star defenders Justus Terry and Isaiah Gibson, and Lewis’ exit stands as USC’s third recruiting loss in the past seven days following the flips of defensive lineman Hayden Lowe (Miami) and cornerback Shamar Arnoux (Auburn).

The Trojans sat ninth in ESPN’s latest class rankings for the 2025 cycle prior to Lewis’ decommitment.

With the move, Lewis instantly regains status as the one of nation’s most sought-after uncommitted prospects. He first entered that realm in 2022 when he burst onto the national scene with 4,118 yards and 48 touchdowns while leading Carrollton to the Georgia 7A state title game in his freshman season.

That debut campaign earned Lewis a place as the No. 1 prospect in the 2026 class before he reclassified into the 2025 cycle earlier this year, several months after his commitment to USC last August.

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