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College football fans have several unmistakable traits. Patience is not one of them.

Fans and other stakeholders around every program want results without the wait. Their reasoning varies — from long-term history and status, to recent investments, to increased postseason access with a larger College Football Playoff field. Is there a degree of entitlement that triggers impatience in the sport? Absolutely. But college football teams aren’t created equal, and the factors that drive success are pretty clear to those who care the most.

The goal here is to index teams according to impatience entering the 2025 season. Some appear below because they haven’t reached the CFP recently — or at all — despite having the resources to do so.

For years (decades even), a team like Georgia would have appeared below. The Bulldogs couldn’t break through nationally despite baked-in advantages as the only SEC program in a talent-rich state with widespread fan support. Then, coach Kirby Smart came along and delivered back-to-back national titles. Now, Georgia fans are getting impatient for another.

But the Bulldogs have accomplished enough in recent years to stay off of the Impatience Index. Other notable programs, meanwhile, are under pressure to deliver.

I’ve sorted the Impatience Index into four tiers. Let’s get started.

Jump to a tier:
Big money investors | Need a playoff run | Title or bust | Hot seat coaches

Return on investment tier

Coach: Mario Cristobal (22-16 overall, fourth season)

2024 results: 10-3, 6-2 in ACC, No. 18 in final AP poll

Last national title: 2001

Last conference title: 2003

CFP appearances: None

Assessing the impatience: Miami’s lull without even a conference title remains bewildering for those drawn to college football in the 1980s, when the U sat firmly at the top. But there’s context around a large portion of Miami’s drought, namely that the school fell behind with its program investments. Miami simply wasn’t spending like a national contender, which isn’t good enough, even for a program in a major city, surrounded by top talent. The Hurricanes fell behind rival Florida State, but also ACC programs like Clemson and, at times, Virginia Tech, Louisville and Georgia Tech. But the hiring of Cristobal in December 2021 marked a seismic change.

Despite Cristobal’s ties to the school and the city, he wasn’t going to leave an Oregon program with incredible resources and two recent conference titles for a cash-strapped situation back home. Miami answered those critiques and lured him back with greater resources, which have translated into transfer additions such as quarterback Cam Ward and running back Damien Martinez. But the Canes have yet to break through on the field under Cristobal, going 6-10 in ACC play during his first two seasons. Last fall, Miami had the nation’s top offense, led by Ward, the eventual No. 1 NFL draft pick, but couldn’t hold a lead at Syracuse and fell out of the ACC championship game (and, essentially, the CFP).

The team once again has a high-priced transfer quarterback addition in Georgia’s Carson Beck, and a roster that, talent wise, projects among the best in the ACC. Miami’s patience for a CFP appearance should be thin, as there is real pressure on Cristobal to deliver in Year 4.


Coach: Brian Kelly (29-11 overall, fourth season)

2024 results: 9-4, 5-3 in SEC, unranked in final AP poll

Last national title: 2019

Last conference title: 2019

CFP appearances: One (2019)

Assessing the impatience: LSU is always among the most fascinating programs to evaluate because of its volatility. There have been low moments on the Bayou, both in the program’s long-term history and even more recently. LSU is no stranger to dysfunction, but the potential to not just rise up, but reach the apex of the sport, always exists for the Tigers and their fans, who rightfully demand excellence. Before firing Ed Orgeron in 2021, LSU became the only program with three consecutive coaches — Orgeron, Les Miles and Nick Saban — to win national titles during the BCS/CFP era. Athletic director Scott Woodward fired Orgeron less than two years after he had coached LSU’s best team, the 2019 juggernaut led by Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow at quarterback.

In hiring Kelly, LSU aimed for sustained excellence. The school had never hired such an accomplished head coach, as Kelly twice led Notre Dame to the four-team CFP and won two Division II national titles with Grand Valley State. Kelly helped LSU to the SEC championship in his first season and coached Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels in 2023. But LSU hasn’t reached the CFP nor finished inside the AP top 10 under his leadership. The roster build has been a bit slower than expected, especially at historically strong position groups like defensive back. But LSU brought in a monster transfer class, which included big groups at defensive back and defensive line, and earned ESPN’s top spot as having the best offseason in the FBS. Kelly should have the personnel to at least reach the CFP by the end of Year 4, a point by which each of his three predecessors had won national championships.

“Every program I’ve taken over, I’ve never walked in there and said, ‘We’re winning a championship,'” Kelly told ESPN’s Andrea Adelson. “I want to leave that program in elite status. I’ve done it wherever I’ve been. We’ll do it here. We’ll get this program back to elite status. Everybody’s going to put a time restraint on, but there is really no time restraint. This is about working towards that.”


Coach: Brent Venables (22-17 overall, fourth season)

2024 results: 6-7, 2-6 in SEC play, unranked in final AP poll

Last national title: 2000

Last conference title: 2020

CFP appearances: Four (2015, 2017, 2018, 2019)

Assessing the impatience: Sooner impatience falls into several buckets. The program is one of the sport’s historic heavyweights, owning seven national championships and 50 conference crowns, including a stretch of 14 straight from 1946 to 1959 that likely will never be matched. More recently, OU won six consecutive Big 12 championships from 2015 to 2020, reaching the four-team CFP four times during that span. What has transpired since coach Lincoln Riley’s shocking exit to USC — two 6-7 seasons, the program’s lowest wins totals since it had three consecutive losing seasons under coach John Blake in the mid-1990s — has left Sooners fans understandably restless. Venables waited longer than most top-rate coordinators to take a head coaching job and returned to Oklahoma with hero status after Riley left. But his homecoming has hit several snags.

Oklahoma has stepped up to help Venables behind the scenes. The school hired Jim Nagy, previously the executive director of the Senior Bowl, to serve as general manager, and built an NFL-style front office around him that includes senior assistant GM Lake Dawson and others. After slipping to 97th nationally in scoring offense last season, OU landed the top available quarterback-coordinator package in John Mateer and Ben Arbuckle from Washington State. The Sooners’ investments also showed up in constructing the 2025 roster, which includes several key retentions and new players such as Mateer, running back Jaydn Ott (Cal) and safety Kendal Daniels (Oklahoma State). Venables has a favorable contract situation, and longtime athletic director Joe Castiglione is retiring from his role during the upcoming school year. Although Venables isn’t entering a CFP-or-bust situation this fall, he must show tangible progress after all the money Oklahoma has put into his program.


Coach: Joey McGuire (23-16 overall, fourth season)

2024 results: 8-5, 6-3 in Big 12 play, unranked in final AP poll

Last national title: None

Last conference title: 1994

CFP appearances: None

Assessing the impatience: Texas Tech doesn’t have the historical profile to match the other three teams in this tier. The Red Raiders last won a league title 31 years ago, in the old Southwest Conference, and haven’t claimed an outright championship since 1955 in something called the Border Conference. The team has just one 10-win season since 1976, zero AP Top 25 finishes since 2009 and zero AP top-10 finishes in its history. But this is 2025 and the NIL engine has allowed programs like Texas Tech, spurred by deep-pocketed super booster Cody Campbell, to dream bigger. Grander dreams bring less patience, though, and Campbell and the top Texas Tech stakeholders aren’t going to wait around for stronger results. Texas Tech had a monster offseason, addressing both lines with transfers including UCF’s Lee Hunter, Stanford’s David Bailey, Georgia Tech’s Romello Height and North Carolina’s Howard Sampson. McGuire’s staff retention and additions helped Texas Tech earn the No. 2 spot behind LSU in ESPN’s top offseason rankings.

The money pouring into the program makes expectations for 2025 extremely clear.

“To really grow this program, we need to be in AT&T in December,” McGuire told ESPN, referring to the Big 12 championship game. “That’s the last box that we need to check off.”

McGuire mentioned Texas Tech’s softball team, which this spring made its first trip to the Women’s College World Series and played for a national title thanks largely to pitcher NiJaree Canady, a Stanford transfer who became softball’s first million-dollar player. As a top high school coach in Texas, McGuire understands the pressure to win and chooses to embrace it, saying, “How lucky are we to be at a place that you can win? Because there’s places that you are optimistic but you’re not going to win. … I’d rather be at a place that you have the opportunity to win, versus man, you’re just hoping and praying that the ball bounces the right way.”

Texas Tech players share in the urgency, as the team will be very senior heavy in 2025.

“This is everyone’s last year,” quarterback Behren Morton said. “All the marbles are in the bag.”

Seeking a CFP breakthrough tier

Coach: Billy Napier (19-19 overall, fourth season)

2024 results: 8-5, 4-4 in SEC play, unranked in final AP poll

Last national title: 2008

Last conference title: 2008

CFP appearances: None

Assessing the impatience: Florida’s impatience with Napier rightfully dipped late in 2024, as the team displayed impressive fortitude and growth with a signature win against CFP hopeful Ole Miss and four consecutive victories to cap a season that began ominously. The Gators bring back arguably the nation’s top young offensive backfield in quarterback DJ Lagway and running back Jadan Baugh, as well as national awards candidates like center Jake Slaughter and defensive tackle Caleb Banks. Napier continues to recruit well, as Florida signed ESPN’s No. 10 class for 2025. But when Gator fans zoom out and see a program without an AP top-10 finish or a season of nine or more wins since 2019, and zero playoff berths in the first decade of the CFP, their impatience meter surely will rise. Florida doesn’t have as much long-term elite history as others in the SEC, but the team dominated college football in the 1990s under coach Steve Spurrier, and had two national titles and three AP top-3 finishes under Urban Meyer between 2006 and 2009.

The Gators’ goals for 2025 might not be limited to a CFP appearance, especially with another taxing schedule that includes one of the sport’s toughest four-game stretches from Sept. 13 to Oct. 11 — road games against LSU, Miami and Texas A&M, and a home contest against Texas. Florida also faces Georgia, Ole Miss and Tennessee later in the fall. However, continued progress toward the playoff is necessary for Napier, whose contract with Florida runs through the 2028 season. The school just won its third men’s basketball national title and competes nationally in many sports. Florida would have reached the 12-team CFP a few times if it had existed earlier, and the team must soon be among the SEC group that competes annually for a spot.


Coach: Lincoln Riley (26-14 overall, fourth season)

2024 results: 7-6, 4-5 in Big Ten play, unranked in final AP poll

Last national title: 2004

Last conference title: 2017

CFP appearances: None

Assessing the impatience: From 2002 to 2008, USC and Florida were college football’s most dominant teams, combining for four national championships. Coach Pete Carroll’s Trojans didn’t finish outside the AP top 4 in any of those seasons, going 82-9 during that span. Although the program had backslid before Carroll’s arrival from the NFL, USC had produced other elite stretches, including four national championships and 16 consecutive AP top-20 finishes under coaches John McKay and John Robinson from 1967 to 1982. The Trojans haven’t come anywhere near sustained success since Carroll left. They made a string of insular coaching hires — including Lane Kiffin and Steve Sarkisian, who are better and more mature leaders now than they were when they guided USC — and bad athletic director choices. The program fell behind in facilities and overall infrastructure, which allowed Oregon to emerge as the top West Coast power and Washington to make two CFP appearances.

USC’s bold hire of Riley was supposed to be the inflection point, showing that the program had a willingness to bring in an accomplished outsider — and pay big for coaches and players. Riley led Oklahoma to four, including three consecutive, CFP appearances. But after a debut in 2022 where the Trojans reached the Pac-12 championship behind Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams, USC is just 15-11. Last season was bookended by wins against SEC opponents LSU and Texas A&M but didn’t go well in the Big Ten, especially away from home, where the Trojans lost four games by seven points or fewer. USC hired Chad Bowden from Notre Dame to be its general manager and has built out more of a front office to oversee personnel, which has shifted away from the portal and toward high school recruiting. The team has ESPN’s No. 1 recruiting class for 2026. Riley’s massive buyout likely provides job security beyond 2025, but he needs to start delivering CFP appearances soon.

Championship or bust tier

play

1:25

Why Penn State has the best shot at winning the CFP

Heather Dinich and Harry Douglas explain why they believe Penn State has the best chance at winning its first college football national title since 1986.

Coach: James Franklin (101-42 overall, 12th season)

2024 results: 13-3, 8-1 in Big Ten play, CFP semifinalist, No. 5 in final AP poll

Last national title: 1986

Last conference title: 2016

CFP appearances: One (2024)

Assessing the impatience: Penn State isn’t the only college team pining for championships this season. Others have waited longer and endured more prolonged struggles than the Nittany Lions. But what team has accomplished more in the past eight seasons without winning a title? Franklin has had five 10-win seasons and five AP top-10 finishes. He has repeatedly beaten the teams he should beat, including Penn State’s first two opponents in its CFP debut, SMU and Boise State. While most of last season’s CFP participants are replacing starting quarterbacks and large NFL draft classes, Penn State returns QB1 Drew Allar, the nation’s top running back tandem in Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen and a defense with national awards candidates at all three levels. Penn State has the most win-now roster in the Big Ten.

When the NCAA imposed historic sanctions on Penn State before the 2012 season, some initial predictions stated the program wouldn’t recover for a decade. But Franklin won the Big Ten just four years later in his second season as Lions coach. The quick recovery perhaps created unrealistic expectations in Happy Valley, but after being so close for so long, Penn State must deliver in the biggest moments, which have hurt Franklin so often since 2016. In Franklin’s defense, he hasn’t often entered the season with the Big Ten’s top roster, but Ohio State and Oregon are replacing a combined 24 NFL draft picks. (Penn State had five, including No. 3 selection Abdul Carter.) Penn State isn’t a program that enters every season with a championship-or-bust mentality, but it certainly applies for 2025.

Coach must deliver soon tier

Coach: Mike Norvell (33-27 overall, sixth season)

2024 results: 2-10, 1-7 in ACC, not ranked in final AP poll

Last national title: 2013

Last conference title: 2023

CFP appearances: One (2014)

Assessing the impatience: Florida State fans have really been through it since the team’s last national title. They saw the end to Jimbo Fisher’s tenure, where the coach wanted more resources and left for a deeper-pocketed program (Texas A&M) with nowhere near FSU’s historic level of success. They went through the Willie Taggart disaster and a tough start to Norvell’s tenure. Then, the team started to cook, mining the transfer portal for game-changing players. In 2023, Florida State seemed truly back, bullying through the ACC. The Seminoles won the league title and finished 13-0, but quarterback Jordan Travis’ broken leg led to a CFP snub and nothing good happened in the ensuing year. FSU endured its first 10-loss season in 50 years, and a 52-3 setback against Notre Dame tied for the worst loss in team history.

Norvell is back for a pivotal sixth season, leading a coaching staff with two new notable coordinators in Gus Malzahn (offense) and Tony White (defense). FSU’s high school recruiting efforts are improving, but the team once again will rely on a group of transfers, including quarterback Tommy Castellanos (Boston College). Norvell is 71-42 as a coach, and was among Alabama’s initial targets to replace Nick Saban, but he has more losing seasons than winning seasons in Tallahassee. Most coaches don’t survive what happened last fall. Norvell doesn’t need to deliver a CFP appearance this season, but meaningful improvement is needed with a schedule bookended by Alabama and Florida and featuring Miami and Clemson in ACC play.


Coach: Hugh Freeze (11-14 overall, third season)

2024 results: 5-7, 2-6 in SEC, not ranked in final AP poll

Last national title: 2010

Last conference title: 2013

CFP appearances: None

Assessing the impatience: Freeze is the type of coach who generates a range of reactions, mostly for things he has said or done away from the football field. He also made sense for Auburn when the school hired him in late 2022. Despite an initial SEC exile, Freeze was always coming back to the conference, where he recruited well and won big at times with Ole Miss, even taking down Nick Saban’s Alabama teams in 2014 and 2015. The only unknown was which SEC team would give him a second chance. Auburn made sense after the Bryan Harsin tenure went sideways. The team needed a coach who knew the SEC, could win recruiting battles and capitalize on the NIL resources that Auburn assembled. Freeze came to the Plains with a 103-47 record and a track record of big-time recruits and exciting offenses.

But his first two seasons have been rough, not only in SEC play (5-11), but outside of it as Auburn endured home losses to New Mexico State in 2023 and to Cal last year. Quarterback Diego Pavia has led New Mexico State and Vanderbilt into Jordan-Hare Stadium in each of the past two years and beaten Freeze’s teams. The areas where Freeze traditionally thrives, particularly offense, haven’t truly taken off. Auburn ranks 70th nationally in scoring and 89th in passing yards during Freeze’s tenure. Freeze flexed his recruiting reach with the 2025 class, which ranked No. 6 nationally, and has made clear upgrades at spots like wide receiver. But Auburn’s 2026 class doesn’t currently rank in ESPN’s national top 25. His situation also isn’t helped by the success of Auburn’s other coaching target, Lane Kiffin, who is 21-5 with two AP top-11 finishes during the past two seasons. Freeze understands the SEC climate and that three seasons without a major bowl appearance or a CFP push could mean the end. Auburn hasn’t won more than six games since 2019 and expects better, given its investment.


Coach: Luke Fickell (13-13 overall, third season)

2024 results: 5-7, 3-6 in Big Ten, not ranked in final AP poll

Last national title: None

Last conference title: 2012

CFP appearances: None

Assessing the impatience: Wisconsin is generally a patient place. Fans are willing to give coaches time there, at least when they have clear visions for their teams. In 1990, Barry Alvarez took over a Wisconsin program that had won just nine games in the previous four seasons. Alvarez went 1-10 in his debut and had two more losing campaigns before breaking through in 1993 with his first Rose Bowl team. Fickell inherited a much healthier program after the 2022 season, as Wisconsin had made 21 consecutive bowl appearances and finished outside of the final AP Top 25 just three times between 2004 and 2017. He was hired with a clear purpose — to get a somewhat stale program under Paul Chryst into the expanded CFP, which Fickell had reached with Cincinnati in 2021. His hire represented a detour from the Wisconsin way, which Bret Bielema continued after Alvarez and Chryst built upon. If Fickell could elevate Wisconsin, even with a different style and philosophy, most Badgers fans were willing to go along with him.

The problem is that Wisconsin has gotten worse under Fickell, and last fall missed the postseason for the first time since 2001. Wisconsin also doesn’t look like Wisconsin with its approaches toward scheme and roster-building. Fickell’s attempt to bring the Air Raid to Madison with coordinator Phil Longo went poorly, as many Big Ten coaches predicted it would. Wisconsin signed the No. 25 recruiting class in 2024 and the No. 31 class earlier this year, but it has largely looked farther away for prospects. Three of the top four in-state prospects for 2024 signed with Penn State, and the top two in-state prospects in 2025 signed with Notre Dame. Fickell might not face immediate hot-seat pressure this fall, especially since athletic director Chris McIntosh hired him. But he needs better results on the field and also must show a product that better connects with the Wisconsin tradition.


play

1:22

Why Alabama poses the biggest threat to Texas in SEC

Roddy Jones discusses why he believes Alabama poses the biggest challenge to Texas within the SEC.

Coach: Kalen DeBoer (9-4 overall, second season)

2024 results: 9-4, 5-3 in SEC, No. 17 in final AP poll

Last national title: 2020

Last conference title: 2023

CFP appearances: Eight (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2023)

Assessing the impatience: There are few places, if any, across the college football landscape where patience runs thinner than at Alabama. Any season that doesn’t end with a Crimson Tide championship (SEC or national) will result in some degree of discord. Even Bear Bryant and Nick Saban, two of the sport’s most successful and iconic coaches, saw and felt the criticism when seasons didn’t meet expectations. DeBoer didn’t have history on his side when he took over for arguably the sport’s greatest coach ever in Saban. He recorded a signature win early on against Georgia, but then lost the following week at Vanderbilt, which had lost 23 consecutive games to the Tide. After opening his Alabama tenure with four straight wins, DeBoer didn’t win consecutive games again until the Tide blew out Missouri, LSU and Mercer, only to lose inexplicably at Oklahoma in a game where they didn’t reach the end zone. A bowl loss to a significantly undermanned Michigan team amplified the angst around DeBoer.

Should Alabama fans be a bit more patient with DeBoer, or anyone who took over for Saban? Probably. But it doesn’t work that way at a program with the most CFP appearances (8) and six national titles since the 2009 season, three times as many as any other program during that span. DeBoer has more ownership of the roster, and has had time to groom Ty Simpson and the other quarterbacks to take over. He brought back longtime offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb and kept the rest of his key staff members. The Tide must perform better away from home, as they visit Georgia, South Carolina, Missouri, Florida State and Auburn. DeBoer likely doesn’t need a title to ensure a third season in Tuscaloosa, but if Alabama misses the CFP again, any remaining patience among the Tide faithful will vanish.

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GameDay Kickoff: Expectations for Jeremiah Smith, LSU-Clemson and more ahead of Week 1

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GameDay Kickoff: Expectations for Jeremiah Smith, LSU-Clemson and more ahead of Week 1

Week 1 is finally here and there’s plenty to know about ahead of this weekend. Top 25 matchups will be played, and many freshmen will have the chance to show if they can shine under the bright lights for the first time.

All eyes will be on No. 1 Texas-No. 3 Ohio State as the Longhorns travel to the Horseshoe Saturday. What can we expect to see from Texas quarterback Arch Manning and Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith in Week 1? No. 9 LSU travels to No. 4 Clemson in a tough road matchup to start off the season. While Brian Kelly and LSU have yet to win a Week 1 matchup the past three seasons, will this be the game that changes that? As we look forward to a jam-packed weekend, we take a look back at some of the best quotes of the offseason.

Our reporters break down what to know entering Week 1.

Jump to:
Expectations for Arch and Jeremiah
LSU-Clemson | Freshmen to watch
Offseason quotes

Texas-Ohio State preview

What do we need to see from Arch Manning Week 1?

We can expect Manning to take some deep shots, especially to receiver Ryan Wingo, who Manning has raved about all offseason. The Longhorns weren’t great at stretching the field last season with Quinn Ewers, but whenever Manning got in, he looked to make big plays. Texas’ offensive staffers said this spring they keep reminding Manning that he just needs to keep the offense moving forward and to take the easy throws when he can, especially while breaking in four new starters on the offensive line. Similarly, Manning, who has open-field speed, has been reminded by everyone — including his grandfather, Archie, who liked to run around a little bit — to get down or get out of bounds, and not to drop his shoulder and try to run anyone over. Manning doesn’t have to be “superhuman” or “do anything that is extraordinary,” Steve Sarkisian said on Monday. But a solid performance on the road at No. 3 Ohio State to open the season would set the Longhorns on a national championship trajectory. — Dave Wilson

What can we expect from Jeremiah Smith in his sophomore debut?

Smith noted during Big Ten media days last month that with a year of experience behind him, he expects to play even faster this season. That’s a scary proposition for the rest of college football, considering Smith put together one of the greatest true freshman seasons in college football history, capped with his game-clinching reception that lifted Ohio State to a national championship. The Longhorns were one of the only teams to keep Smith in check last year, holding him to just one catch for three yards. Of course, the attention on Smith allowed Carnell Tate and Emeka Egbuka to thrive, combining for 12 receptions in the 28-14 Buckeyes win. Still, Smith said he has been waiting for this opportunity to face Texas again. How new quarterback Julian Sayin performs could dictate the quality of Smith’s opportunities. Either way, Smith is primed to put on a show on the big Week 1 stage. — Jake Trotter


What each team needs to capitalize on to win

LSU: Four starters from last year’s starting offensive line were selected in the 2025 NFL draft, but that doesn’t mean LSU was elite up front. The Tigers ranked last in the SEC in rushing offense and mustered just 1.5 yards before contact on dropbacks, ahead of only Vanderbilt. This year’s unit will need to improve dramatically on that clip if LSU wants to contend for a playoff berth and that starts with the opener against Clemson. Clemson’s defensive front, manned by Peter Woods and T.J. Parker, is stout, and new coordinator Tom Allen will have his sights set on making LSU one-dimensional. The key to getting the ground game going will be a youth movement in the backfield led by Caden Durham and five-star freshman Harlem Berry. — David Hale

Clemson: As Hale mentioned, Clemson needs to dominate up front — as much as that sounds like a cliché. LSU coach Brian Kelly said he planned to rotate as many as eight offensive linemen in the opener, which is a nod to team depth, but may not be conducive in the type of environment they will be playing in. Clemson is eager to show that it has vastly improved in its front seven under new defensive coordinator Tom Allen, who brings a far more aggressive approach with his scheme. That aggressiveness was missing a year ago, as Clemson struggled to stop the run and consistently get after the quarterback with its best pass rushers. Clemson ranked No. 85 against the run a season ago while Penn State, where Allen coached, ranked No. 9. The same can be said on offense, where a veteran offensive line must help Clemson get the ground game going. Cade Klubnik was more effective as a passer last season because the Tigers had balance in their ground game. Converted receiver Adam Randall gets the nod at running back, and true freshman Gideon Davidson is expected to play. — Andrea Adelson


Five freshmen to watch in Week 1

Bryce Underwood, QB, Michigan, No. 1 in 2025 ESPN 300

Underwood shook the recruiting world with his late-cycle flip from LSU to the in-state Wolverines last November. Ten months later, ESPN’s top 2025 recruit is set to be the program’s Week 1 starter when No. 14 Michigan hosts New Mexico on Saturday.

Underwood’s elite arm talent, pocket awareness and mobility has impressed the Wolverines’ coaching staff since he arrived on campus in January, as has his accelerated knowledge of the game. The young quarterback will get his first chance to flash that talent alongside fellow Michigan newcomers in running back Justice Haynes (Alabama transfer) and wide receiver Donaven McCulley (Indiana) in Week 1 before Underwood and the Wolverines stare down a much stiffer challenge against an experienced, Brent Venables-led Oklahoma defense on Sept. 6.

Elijah Griffin, DT, Georgia, No. 3 in 2025 ESPN 300

For the first time since 2021, the Bulldogs landed the state of Georgia’s top-ranked prospect in the 2025 cycle, and Griffin already appears poised to be a Day 1 contributor for the No. 5 Bulldogs.

Like many of the elite defensive line talents before him at Georgia, Griffin possesses top-end traits — speed, physicality and SEC-ready size at 6-foot-4, 310 pounds — that have had onlookers drawing comparisons to former Bulldog Jalen Carter throughout the spring and summer. Griffin’s maturity and ability to pick up the defense has also stood out as he vies for snaps along a revamped Georgia defensive line that returns multiple starters from a year ago. Whether or not he starts against Marshall on Saturday, Griffin is expected to play early and often in a significant role within coordinator Glenn Schumann’s defense this fall.

Dakorien Moore, WR, Oregon, No. 4 in 2025 ESPN 300

Moore has been one of the nation’s most productive high school playmakers in recent seasons, and his elite speed and playmaking talent are expected to earn him early opportunities this fall as he steps into an unsettled Ducks wide receiver group.

Missing top 2024 pass catchers Tez Johnson (NFL), Traeshon Holden (NFL) and Evan Stewart (injury), No. 7 Oregon is screaming for fresh downfield producers in 2025. The Ducks have plenty of experienced options between Florida State transfer Malik Benson and returners Justius Lowe, Gary Bryant Jr. and Kyler Kasper, but none offer the brand of electricity Moore presents. One of ESPN’s highest-rated wide receiver prospects since 2006, Moore should be an asset for first-year starting quarterback Dante Moore as soon as Oregon takes the field against Montana State on Saturday.

Demetres Samuel Jr., DB/WR, Syracuse, No. 223 in 2025 ESPN 300

Samuel reclassified into the 2025 class to enter college a year early. At just 17 years old, the 6-1, 195-pound freshman is set to feature prominently for the Orange this fall starting with Syracuse’s Week 1 matchup with No. 24 Tennessee on Saturday in Atlanta.

A speedy tackler from Palm Bay, Florida, Samuel has legit two-way potential, and the Orange intends to make the most of it in 2025. Syracuse coach Fran Brown announced earlier this month that Samuel will start at cornerback against Tennessee while also taking snaps at wide receiver, where the Orange are replacing their top two pass catchers from a year ago. With Travis Hunter in the NFL, Samuel stands as one of the most intriguing two-way talents across college football.

Jayvan Boggs, WR, Florida State, No. 284 in 2025 ESPN 300

Boggs joins the Seminoles after hauling in 99 receptions for 2,133 yards and 24 touchdowns in a wildly productive senior season at Florida’s Cocoa High School last fall. Listed as a starter in Florida State’s Week 1 depth chart, he has an opportunity to pick up where he left off in 2025.

Boggs combines a thick build with sudden route running and knack for yards after the catch. Alongside transfers Gavin Blackwell (North Carolina), Duce Robinson (USC) and Squirrel White (Tennessee), he’s positioned to emerge as a reliable downfield option from the jump within a new group of Seminoles pass catchers around Boston College transfer quarterback Tommy Castellanos, starting with Florida State’s Week 1 meeting with No. 8 Alabama (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC). — Eli Lederman


Notable offseason quotes

“I depend on Depends. … I’m making a joke out of it, but it is real. It is real. It is real. If you see a port-a-potty on the sideline, it is real, I’m just telling you. You’re going to see one at practice, on the sideline [in games].” — Colorado coach Deion Sanders, joking about his cancer recovery.

“But since we’re in Vegas, it seems like the right time to say it, our theme for this team is double down.” — Oregon coach Dan Lanning, on expectations coming off last year’s undefeated regular season.

“We figured we would just adopt SEC scheduling philosophy, you know? Some people don’t like it. I’m more focused on those nine conference games. Not only do we want to play nine conference games, OK, and have the [revised] playoff format [with automatic qualifiers], we want to have play-in games to decide who plays in those playoffs.” — Indiana coach Curt Cignetti on criticism of the Hoosiers’ light nonconference schedule.

“The recent NCAA ruling to not punish players that weren’t involved is correct. However, this ruling also proves that the NCAA as an enforcement arm no longer exists.” — Former Ohio State coach Urban Meyer, on the sanctions against rival Michigan.

“They don’t have Nick Saban to save them. I just don’t see them stopping me.” — Florida State QB Tommy Castellanos to On3 in June about the opener vs. Alabama.

“I’m 21 so I can do shots at a bar.” — Texas quarterback Arch Manning, joking after being asked about how he has to carry himself in public.

“They can have their opinion. We’re going to handle all that on Aug. 30.” — Clemson DE T.J. Parker on the battle over the stadium nickname “Death Valley” between Clemson and LSU.

“I still have the [Catholics versus Convicts] shirt. I do. It’s well documented that’s as intense if not the most intense rivalry that at that time it felt like the national championship went through South Bend or Coral Gables. Intensity was high, physicality, the edge that game was played with was next level.” — Miami coach Mario Cristobal on the Notre Dame rivalry. Cristobal played in the game and will now coach in it as Miami opens vs the Irish.

“Be delusional … It means no cap on the jar, no limitations, dreaming big. With the College Football Playoff where it is, as Indiana showed last year, anybody can get there. If we’re delusional enough to know we can do that, we can get there … Take the cap off the jar. Limitless.” — Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck, speaking at Big Ten media days.

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East Carolina-NC State and other under-the-radar rivalries really pack a punch

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East Carolina-NC State and other under-the-radar rivalries really pack a punch

Let’s start with a personal memory, shall we?

Saturday, Sept. 10, 1983. Night had fallen and traffic was moving slowly as our aircraft carrier Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale was sitting in line attempting to leave Raleigh’s Carter-Finley Stadium. My mother had a white-knuckled grip on the polished wooden steering wheel. I was riding shotgun, dressed head-to-toe in North Carolina State red and white. My little brother was in the backseat, donned in East Carolina purple and gold. He loved the Pirates because our father was an alum and had pitched for the East Carolina Teachers College baseball team back in the day. But I loved the Wolfpack because we were living in Raleigh in the Jimmy Valvano era and, did I mention it was 1983?

ECU had just defeated State for the first time in six years and did so by stopping the Pack on fourth down deep in Pirates territory in the waning seconds, preserving a 22-16 victory in front of 57,700 fans, at the time the largest crowd to ever witness a college football game in the state of North Carolina.

My brother was very happy. I was not. Mom, flying solo because Dad was away officiating another game in another town, had to physically separate us as we walked through the gravel parking lot to the car. Now we all watched as no one was bothering to separate a pair of bourbon-soaked gentlemen throwing hands in that same parking lot right beside our car. They were also dressed in opposing colors. When the guy in red had enough, he got back into his car and power-locked the doors. So the guy in purple walked around behind the car, ripped the license plate off with his bare hands and threw it like a frisbee into the dark pine trees that lined the lot.

“Just so you know, that’s what you two looked like walking to the car,” Mom said to us, our preteen faces still flushed. “If you’re still doing that when you’re their age, don’t come home.”

My brother mouthed silently at me from the backseat: “Go Pirates.”

I responded in kind, perhaps even with a middle finger extended: “Go Pack.”

Army-Navy, the Iron Bowl, The Game, the Big Game and more Cups than you would find at a Bed Bath & Beyond going out of business sale. College football, far more any other sport, is built atop a foundation of rivalries. But while we as a helmeted nation tend to focus on the biggest brand-name showdowns — the ones that determine conference titles, steer national championship pushes and have long held down prime network time slots on late November weekends — they aren’t always the most fun or even the most furiously fought football fracases on the calendar.

That’s why my personal favorite rivalries are the ones that set fire to their particular corner of the map with a crazed college football intensity but are games that people who live outside that immediate area might not fully understand or appreciate.

The contests when towns, counties, particular pages of state atlases and individual homes are divided by laundry. When autumn Saturday evenings aren’t just a football game, but rather a fistfight at a family reunion. And who doesn’t want to watch that?

It’s Akron and Kent State, stars of the Bottom 10 Cinematic Universe, located only 10 miles apart, who have a snafu in the snow every November over the possession of a Wagon Wheel. It’s North Dakota State vs. South Dakota State, Bison vs. Jackrabbits, in a contest that almost always has huge FCS national title implications and also almost always ends with postgame finger-pointing that will last for the next 364 days. It’s basically the entire Sun Belt Conference, where divisions still exist, teams still ride buses to games, bad blood has flowed through reluctantly shared veins of the likes of Georgia Southern vs. App State and where soon-to-be member Louisiana Tech is resuming the Rivalry in Dixie against Southern Miss. Football feuds that reach back through years gone by in lower divisions and long-abandoned small college conferences.

Central Michigan vs. Western Michigan for the Victory Cannon. Kansas vs. Missouri, a rivalry that next weekend will be reinstated as the Border Showdown, formerly called the Border War, a title with roots back to an actual border war between the two territories. Montana vs. Montana State in the Brawl of the Wild. Even the big brand likes of Clemson vs. Georgia, stadiums only 80 miles apart, and the game we just watched in Ireland to open the 2025 season, Iowa State vs. Kansas State, aka Farmageddon.

Why do I so relish these raucous regional rivalries? Because as you are now aware, I grew up right in the middle of one — maybe the best example there is. East Carolina versus North Carolina State, who will meet for the 34th time Thursday at 7 p.m. ET on the ACC Network.

Will the nation be riveted? No. But will my neighborhood of that nation be hotter than a bottle of Texas Pete? Oh, hell yes.

“I call them cookout games because if there is ever an argument at the family cookout, then it’s probably about a game like this one.” That’s how it was once explained to me by Ruffin McNeill, a Lumberton, North Carolina, native and former all-star ECU defender who became the coach at his alma mater in 2010 and led the Pirates to four bowls in six years before he was controversially dismissed. Now Ruff is a special assistant at … wait for it … NC State. “To me, it’s what makes college football the best sport in the world. When you look at your brother or your cousin and you say, ‘You know I love you, but for a few hours this weekend I’m not going to love you as much as I usually do.'”

That’s how a lot of North Carolina families will be rolling Thursday night, especially those who reside between the state capital and the Outer Banks, what we call Down East. From Nags Head to New Bern and Scotland Neck to Smithfield, one giant barrel of red and white and purple and gold, all swirled together in the same living room. And man, do those colors clash.

“So, I’m from Texas, right? We have a lot of really intense rivalries that mean a lot inside the state of Texas but that people outside of Texas don’t really understand,” USC coach Lincoln Riley said earlier this year. He was East Carolina’s offensive coordinator for five years, 2010 to 2014, coaching under McNeill. “When NC State came to our place in 2010, I remember in pregame, it was already so tense. I said, ‘Oh man, this is how this is?’ Ruff said, ‘Yes, it is. Now imagine what it’s going to be like when we go there. Buckle up.'”


BACK TO THE memory banks.

Jan. 1, 1992. The final Peach Bowl was played in Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. It was a drizzly day, but that didn’t prevent nearly 60,000 people from attending the last college football game played at the home of the Braves, soon to be replaced by the Georgia Dome. Both ECU and NC State were in the Top 25. After nearly two decades of annual contests, they hadn’t played since 1987. Why? Because after another win in Raleigh, Pirates fans stormed NC State’s home field and pillaged the goalposts. By this time Valvano was NCSU’s athletic director and, angered by the damage done to his football stadium, he immediately discontinued the series. So, when it came time for the Peach Bowl to send out its invites, the powers-that-be wisely made phone calls to two schools located only 80 miles apart and only a day’s drive down I-85 to their stadium.

There, in the stands, sitting with my family and surrounded by ECU fans, I began openly gloating about State’s imminent victory. After all, the Pack led by 17 points with less than nine minutes remaining. It was over, right? Wrong. Pirates quarterback Jeff Blake, amid chants of “We … believe!” and a sea of foam yellow buccaneer swords, orchestrated a comeback that made him not merely an East Carolina football legend, but the forever Pirates football deity.

I was so bitter about that day for so long that it pained me the first time I finally interviewed Blake, and he was such a genuinely nice guy.

“Everywhere I go, it’s about the ’92 Peach Bowl,” he said to me for a 2014 story about bowl games. Blake threw for more than 21,000 yards over 14 NFL seasons and is now director of the IMG QB Academy in Florida. “If I had won a Super Bowl ring, it would still be second in [Greenville, NC] to people wanting to see my Peach Bowl watch. At a big school, those moments might not mean so much. For the rest of us, those are the moments.”

ECU vs. NCSU has provided so many of those moments.

That game that Lincoln Riley spoke of in 2010 began with a 21-0 ECU lead in the first quarter, but Wolfpack QB Russell Wilson led a comeback of his own, sending the game into OT. But in that extra frame, Wilson was intercepted to secure the victory for the Pirates. It was a revenge game for their last meeting two years earlier, when it was NC State who celebrated at the end of the series’ first-ever overtime contest.

In 2022, ECU had a chance to tie and win the game late but missed a PAT and field goal as time expired, preserving NCSU’s 1-point win. And, oh yeah, there’s their last meeting, only eight months ago in the Military Bowl, where a sellout crowd in Annapolis got a red-hot game and a bloody ref as the result of a fight at the end of the game, à la those drunk dudes in the parking lot in ’83.

Speaking of, I failed to mention this when I shared that story, but those guys totally knew each other. They looked similar. Had the same nose. One even called the other by name. So, it should come as no surprise that the prize awarded for winning this game is directly based on that kind of kinship. The Victory Barrel, which wasn’t introduced until 2007 but has been retroactively marked to represent every result since the series began in 1970, was rolled out with a backstory about two ultracompetitive brothers who grew up on an Eastern North Carolina farm but attended the two different schools. Eventually, they donated the pork barrel that they had once kept in a barn, whittled with the results of their own hometown competitions, for the schools to keep track of their football games.

“Those games are the ones where you look at the other guy and you know that guy, or you at least recognize that guy, because that guy either lives in your neighborhood, or hell, he might be your brother,” explained Jerry Kill when asked about the intensity of overlooked rivalries. Now he’s a special consultant at Vanderbilt. Prior to that, he was the coach at New Mexico State, one half of the Rio Grande Rivalry versus New Mexico, aka the Game When The Diego Pavia Logo Urination Video (ahem) Leaked, which holds its115th edition later this season. “If you like western movies, you know how it works. This town ain’t big enough for the both of us.”

North Carolina has never been big enough for all its college football teams. Tobacco Road has long belonged to what used to be called the Big Four. Beginning at the western edge of the middle region of the state, aka the Piedmont, with Wake Forest, then moving east into the Triangle, with Duke and UNC in the middle and NC State on the eastern flank. But as Appalachian State began to gather steam, it challenged from the mountains after East Carolina did the same from the coast. Both have always coveted the power conference ACC membership of the Big Four, but both have also proudly owned the little brother chip on their shoulder pads. All while Wake and State have done the same, as they’ve had to watch the nation become obsessed with the Blue Devils and Tar Heels during hoops season.

NC State head coach Dave Doeren, who made headlines this summer at ACC media days when asked about ECU and replied, “I want to beat the s— out of that team,” has never shied away from the perceived “haves vs. have-nots” syndrome when it comes to UNC. See: When he also made headlines in 2022 saying, as paraphrased by a TV crew, that NC State is blue collar and UNC is elitist. On the flipside, ECU coach Blake Harrell recently suggested that his entire roster was making less NIL money than Pack QB CJ Bailey.

“Whatever you need to motivate yourself, you do it,” Torry Holt said, laughing, prior to his induction into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 2022. The former NC State All-America wide receiver grew up in Gibsonville, North Carolina, just off Tobacco Road. He even picked tobacco as a kid. He also went 1-1 versus East Carolina during his four years with the Pack, highlighted by a backbreaking 68-yard TD catch to open the second half in Raleigh in 1997 that paved the way to a 37-24 win. “The important thing for me is that the last time I played them, we won. We lost the first one. But you don’t want to lose the last one. That was the last time I played them and the last time I will ever play them.”

He laughed again. “So … scoreboard.”


ONE MORE FROM the memory bank. It’s all you need to know about ECU vs. NCSU, and it easily applies to all those other underappreciated pigskin passion plays throughout this great college football nation.

It was spring 1997 and I was a young feature producer for ESPN. My primary beat was NASCAR, and I was covering a race at my hometown Rockingham Speedway. That’s when the governor of North Governor, Jim Hunt, who was an NC State graduate and former NCSU student body president, wandered into the media center during a rain delay, making small talk. He said to us, “You guys are with ESPN? Well, I have a story for you. Our state legislature is introducing a bill to try and mandate that East Carolina plays State every year. Y’all ever been to one of those games?”

I told him that, yes, I had, growing up in Raleigh in the 1980s. My camera operator said he had been a Wolfpack athlete, a swimmer. What we know now is that the bill never passed, but it did lead to more frequent Tobacco Road bookings for the Pirates.

That ’97 day in rainy Rockingham, Hunt sighed. “If that bill passes, then y’all know what I’m going to have to do?”

We looked at the governor, quizzically. He winked. Then he joked. At least I think it was a joke.

“We’re going to need to hire a lot more state troopers for Down East. Or wrestling referees.”

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Deion’s pitch: Pay players NFL-style playoff bonus

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Deion's pitch: Pay players NFL-style playoff bonus

Leave it to Deion Sanders to come up with an idea for the College Football Playoff that nobody has really mentioned yet: Pay the players for making the tournament, and pay them more when their teams win.

If they do that, then “now it’s equality, now it’s even and every player is making the same amount of money,” the Colorado coach said.

Sanders and former Alabama coach Nick Saban talked to The Associated Press as part of their unveiling of a new Aflac commercial that rolls out this week with a storyboard ripped from today’s headlines: It opens with Sanders complaining: “This game has gotten out of control. All the money. All the unpredictability.”

He is talking about health insurance, of course, and the commissioner he wants to see run it isn’t Saban, but that kooky duck who wears the same powder-blue sportscoat as the two football legends.

It’s an endorsement that Sanders says hits home some two years after his diagnosis with bladder cancer, from which he says he is fully recovered.

“I’ve been walking with my coaches over a mile” after practice, he said ahead of Friday night’s season opener against Georgia Tech. “Exercising, lifting.”

Saban will be back on the set with ESPN in his second year of “retirement” after leaving the Crimson Tide, where he won six national titles. He insists he wants to help college sports find its footing, but not via a commissioner job that was floated last year with his name coming up as the ideal fit.

“I don’t want to be in that briar patch of being a commissioner, but I do want to do everything I can to make it right,” he said.

He and Sanders agreed that there needs to be more structure around the deals players sign. Since July 1, schools have been able to start paying up to $20.5 million each to their athletes over the next year under the House settlement alongside third-party NIL deals that have turned some players into millionaires.

Saban said he believes that forgotten amid all the hype about name, image and likeness deals — deals Sanders says are a joke because “there are only three or four guys who you might know their NIL, and the rest you’re just giving money to” — is what happens to the vast majority of these players after they leave school.

“For years and years and years as coaches, and when we were players, we learned this, we’re trying to create value for our future,” Saban said. “That’s why we’re going to college. It’s not just to see how much money we can make while we’re in college. It’s, how does that impact your future as far as our ability to create value for ourselves?”

Currently, conferences whose schools advance to the 12-team playoff receive $4 million for making the bracket, with payments increasing for every round they win.

Saban said Sanders’ idea about spreading the wealth with an NFL-style playoff bonus structure for players (winners of the Super Bowl got $171,000 last year) sounded like a good idea to him. He also had no love for proposals coming out of the Big Ten that would give that league and the Southeastern Conference multiple automatic bids.

“The NFC East has the Cowboys, Eagles and Giants, they have the biggest fan bases of anyone and they have to play their way in,” Saban said. “Everyone should play their way in. One year, a conference might get five teams in, another it might get three. But there’s no [scenario] in any competitive venue where you get a guaranteed playoff spot.”

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