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3 years ago

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7:50 AM ET

  • John N. Minton III

ON FEB. 7, 2018, 33-year-old Randel McCoy sits in his car, alone, in an empty parking lot. He’s processing the life-changing news he has just heard, contemplating a world in which he will slowly lose everything — his strength, his freedom, his life. Through tears, he reaches for his cellphone. He calls his brother. Then he dials the person he knows he can’t do this without, despite having known her for only six months.

Brianna LaFontaine, a daughter of New York Islanders legend and Hockey Hall of Famer Pat LaFontaine, grew up in the seaside hamlet of Cold Spring Harbor, New York. Randel was raised by his mother, a hairdresser in a nearby town. Their paths converged after college: He was an assistant coach on the high school wrestling team where Brianna grew up, and she was a special education teacher at a neighboring school. They met in a chance encounter through a mutual friend and soon became inseparable.

For six months, it has never been difficult for Randel to pick up the phone to call Brianna. It’s the best part of his day. But this call, from the parking lot, is different. When Brianna answers, Randel is beside himself. She can’t understand him as he struggles to catch his breath. When he finally finds the words, it still isn’t much more than three letters.

ALS.

WRESTLING MEETS ARE loud. You can hear everything and nothing at the same time. The shouts of parents trying to will their children to victory bounce off the walls and merge with the grunts of athletes exerting themselves to their limits. For Randel — Coach Rans, as his wrestlers call him — the symphony can be a challenge. His voice isn’t as crisp as it used to be, but it’s as purposeful and impactful as ever.

“He would say ‘You got six minutes in a match. You don’t know how much time you have in your life, but you got to give it your all, all the time,” says Jacob Bruno, a former Cold Spring Harbor wrestler who graduated in 2020. “You’ve got to keep fighting. You’ve got to keep pushing.'”

Randel attained that wisdom at an early age.

His mother, Evelyn McCoy, raised him and his older brother, Tahid, in a small house in Huntington Station, New York. Her lessons on morals and manners have never left her sons. “She raised gentlemen,” says Tahid, a 42-year-old father of four who works as a custodian in the Cold Spring Harbor Central school district.

Randel’s grandmother and two uncles were fixtures in his upbringing, almost as much as sports. Whether it was lacrosse, track, football, basketball, baseball or wrestling, Randel had the natural talent to be the best athlete on any team. His mother was a constant at all his games, always cheering him on, until she no longer could.

Randel did not know that his mother was living with HIV. She was diagnosed with the virus in 1993, when he was 8 years old. Soon, her trips to the field to watch Randel play were replaced by doctor’s appointments. But in his young mind, they were just checkups, even when the appointments turned into hospital stays.

“I had no idea. And even telltale signs, as a kid, I didn’t recognize,” recalls Randel, who learned the truth in his mid-20s. “There was a slow transition of us moving from our house to my grandmother’s, which was supposed to be until Mom gets better.”

Randel’s grandmother would take him to the hospital to see his mother often. He would climb into the hospital bed and lie next to her. On one visit, he was startled as his mother kneeled down to vomit into a nearby garbage pail. She was just sick, he thought.

Randel’s last day with his mother isn’t a vivid memory for him; he never expected it would be the last. He can’t remember whether his mother said goodbye as he left her hospital room. It’s possible he was too distracted by the excitement of his 9th birthday that was just a few days away.

His mother wouldn’t be there to see it. Evelyn McCoy died on Jan. 21, 1994. She was 36 years old.

THERE WERE ALWAYS blueprints for home remodeling projects strewn around Brianna LaFontaine’s house. It’s part of the reason she believed that her father was an architect growing up, one who just happened to play hockey in his spare time. Brianna’s father didn’t fight that narrative. He didn’t want his kids to feel different because of his real profession. As parents, Pat and Mary Beth LaFontaine made it a priority to be nothing more than Mom and Dad to Brianna, her older sister, Sarah, and her younger brother, Daniel. But at some point, the kids started to notice the random requests from fans when they were out in public, like the time a man asked their father for an autograph on a Chinese takeout menu.

Pat was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2003, with 1,013 points and 468 goals scored over his 15-year career. Hockey provided a comfortable life, but Pat and Mary Beth always pushed compassion over privilege.

“I always would always say, ‘Listen, guys, score your goals when you’re young, because in life, it’s about the assists, the assists are bigger and they matter more,'” Pat says now.

That left an impression on Brianna, who was an assertive child with a quiet confidence. Her parents called her an M&M, hard on the outside but soft on the inside. She graduated from Marist College in 2014 and became a special education teacher in the neighboring town of Huntington.

Of the three or four aides she worked with, she grew especially close to Melissa Sarducci. On Aug. 18, 2017, they were at Melissa’s house baking cupcakes for her niece and looking at pictures of Melissa’s recent birthday party. Brianna was scrolling through when she stopped on a picture featuring a handsome man with an athletic build and a charming smile.

“Oh, that’s Randel,” Melissa told her. “He’s like my brother. We’ve been best friends forever.”

Melissa jumped at the chance to play matchmaker after she saw the look on Brianna’s face and invited Randel over. “I had never met someone who was able to just make me laugh like that,” Brianna says. “He took all the pressure off. He was hilarious.”

The next day, Randel and Brianna followed each other on Instagram. She waited about 24 hours for Randel to send her a message before she slid into his DMs with a note to Melissa that she accidentally sent to him.

“I knew what I was doing,” Brianna says with a smile. “I thought he would believe it [was meant for Melissa], and he never did. He knew right away.”

The two have talked every day since.

WHEN JACOB BRUNO first joined the Cold Spring Harbor wrestling team, Coach Rans served as his wrestling partner. Randel saw his potential and was eager to build his skill set. For Bruno, it was mostly a beginner’s class full of technical lessons on grappling and takedowns. On occasion Randel would show a burst of speed or strength that would instantly remind Jacob of who the man across from him actually was, a former all-county wrestler and football player on Long Island.

By 2017, Bruno was captain of the team, and Cold Spring Harbor was one of the top-ranked programs in New York State. Brianna hardly ever missed a meet.

During one practice, Bruno and Randel were grappling when the coach suddenly stopped. He joked that he was just getting old and needed to go get a drink. But then Bruno saw Randel struggle with his hands to open the bottle cap.

It had happened before. In 2015, Randel was reaching for a fork at breakfast when his hand began to tremble. He shrugged it off and set some new goals in the weight room to help build back some strength he figured he was losing with age. After all, he was in his 30s now.

But the tremble didn’t go away. It wasn’t constant, and it wasn’t overt. But it would happen, a feeling of weakness that was progressing. At a weekly Tuesday dinner with some friends, Randel reached for his coffee mug and the tremble returned. Randel assured the group he was fine. Perhaps it was an early sign of the diabetes that ran in his family. But he wasn’t keen on finding out anything more.

A few months after they’d begun dating, Brianna caught on that something was wrong, and that Randel needed a push to seek answers. It was a difficult conversation; she knew he didn’t want to talk about it. Randel had worked so hard after the loss of his mother. He put himself through school and built a career. Randel felt that whatever was happening to him could threaten all of that, and much more. He was in love with Brianna.

He told her one October night in 2017, while they waited for an Uber after a party in New York City.

He glanced over to her and just said it.

“You know I love you, right?”

“My heart just fluttered. I felt it,” Brianna says.

“I love you, too.”

Brianna approached Randel with a pact. She had picked up smoking, and she wanted to stop. She knew it bothered Randel, so she made him a promise. She would quit cigarettes cold turkey if he would just go to the doctor for an examination. He agreed. She quit, and he went.

Test results came flooding in from bloodwork and MRIs. Everything was normal. News that might have been comforting instead only heightened the anxiety. Randel knew the progressive weakness wasn’t normal. He began seeing multiple doctors, then multiple neurologists. Then, one day after practice, Randel was on his way to Brianna’s apartment around the corner from the school when his phone rang. It was a nurse with information about his next appointment, and a suggestion that this time, he bring someone with him for support.

“That’s when I knew it was serious,” Randel says.

Randel disregarded the advice and went to the appointment by himself. When the doctor came into the room, Randel had already made up his mind that whatever the news, he would remain calm. He was stoic and attentive as he received his diagnosis. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a progressive neurodegenerative disease. ALS attacks motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord. When the cells die, muscle control and movement are lost, eventually including the ability to breathe on one’s own. There is no cure.

The appointment ended, and he walked to his car.

Brianna was at home, waiting by her phone. When it rang, she was met with an unfamiliar sound. Randel was sobbing. She went numb.

She called her parents crying. Randel was 33, 22 years younger than the average age of diagnosis. Brianna was convinced there was a mistake.

There were second and third opinions, but still, only one diagnosis.

“It’s me being cut short,” Randel says. “The same way I felt about my mother was the same way I felt about me. With ALS, the only word that you see is ‘terminal.'”

In the days that followed, Randel went back to work. Coaching was his passion, and he needed it now more than ever. It wouldn’t help him forget the diagnosis, but it did allow him to suppress the fear, however briefly. The first day he walked back into the gym, his childhood friend and fellow coach, Anthony Servidio, greeted him with a huge embrace. Every wrestler in the program followed suit. They wanted him to know, above all, that he wouldn’t be fighting alone.

“The kids help you to realize that there was more to live for,” Randel says.

Later that month, Randel and Brianna decided to escape the harsh New York winter and headed to St. Maarten in the Caribbean for a vacation. On the surface, the trip was purely for rest and relaxation, but Randel had the future in his thoughts. He was nervous.

He was in love with everything about Brianna. Their families got along famously. But he had been diagnosed with a terminal disease just 16 days before. Their future was now a much more challenging path.

Impossible questions and answers occupied his mind. What am I going to subject her to? How much will she be able to handle? But Randel found clarity on that trip. He was not going to allow ALS to dictate how he lived out the rest of his days.

It was a serene Tuesday night on the island. Randel didn’t want Brianna to miss it, so he coaxed her out for a walk down to a small rock wall alongside the white sand beach. Randel took a deep breath and spoke from a part of his body that ALS would never touch.

“I’m offering myself to you,” he told her. “You understand where I am, where I will be. If you can accept that, then I want you to be my bride.”

There was no hesitation. It was yes. It was always yes.

“We need each other,” Brianna says. “ALS stands for A Love Story to me.”

They were married on Nov. 8, 2019, in front of family and friends at a vineyard on Long Island. A framed picture of Randel’s mother was on the aisle seat of the front row.

“At the end of the day, all we have is love,” says Brianna’s father, Pat. “It conquers all.”

THE LaFONTAINES’ DRIVEWAY is lined with white and silver stone bricks that wind some 100 yards before revealing a stunning 6-bedroom, 6½-bath home on a 2-acre lot. As you approach the house, the driveway forks. To the right, a three-car garage sits adjacent to the combined basketball court and hockey rink. Above the garage is the apartment Brianna and Randel call home.

Every morning, just after he opens his eyes, Randel gingerly walks to the beige and brown bathroom and finds his toothbrush sitting on the edge of the sink. It’s already coated with the perfect amount of toothpaste, straight out of a Colgate commercial.

“She’s always one step ahead of me,” Randel says.

It’s January 2020, and every gesture, no matter how small, can become a memory. It’s how Randel and Brianna choose to live — not in years, but in moments. Randel’s arms and hands have grown weak, and his balance is suffering. A month earlier, he suffered a serious fall that scared everyone. Cognitively, Randel is who he always was, but now Brianna helps him get dressed, from his shirt down to his shoes and socks. She doesn’t want him struggling with the toothpaste tube, either. Today, Brianna is helping him get ready for a big meet against a rival school, Manhasset, coached by Randel’s childhood friend Stephon Sair. The meet had been scheduled for some time, but it has turned into something much more: a celebration of Randel and a fundraiser for the New York chapter of the ALS Foundation.

“He deserves to be honored,” Sair said. “What better way to do that than around kids that love him, coaches that love him and his family that loves him.”

The gym is adorned with lights of blue and orange — Manhasset’s school colors — and wrestlers and spectators wear white T-shirts with blue and red letters that read “Takedown ALS” on the front and “Wrestle for Rans” on the back. Randel is in his red Cold Spring Harbor coaching polo, sitting on a folding chair with his feet on the wrestling mat as the meet begins.

Cold Spring Harbor’s younger wrestlers fall behind early. At one point, it looks as if the night will end early. Cold Spring Harbor head coach Mike Ferrugiari pulls his team off to the side.

We can still take this match back, he tells them. And you know who you’re wrestling for. … This is about something bigger than yourself.

Before the meet continues, Bruno and co-captain Ethan Burdo walk to the center of the mat with a microphone. They address Randel in front of the few hundred people in attendance.

“Coach Rans, you’ve decided to make every minute count. Tonight, so are we,” Bruno says. “Let’s all come together to raise some awareness, watch some great wrestling, support our friend, brother, coach, and inspiration, Coach Randel McCoy.”

The crowd rises and showers Randel with applause. He smiles and nods his head in appreciation. Brianna stops clapping only to wipe the tears streaming down her face. Another moment, another memory.

Moments later, Burdo takes to the mat and pins his opponent to finally change the tide. Soon after, Burdo’s teammate Greyson Meak earns a huge pin against a tough opponent before Jackson Polo seals the match with a victory of his own.

“It’s the best high school athletic experience that I have,” Bruno says. “It’s more than a comeback win. We were wrestling for someone who meant so much to all of us.”

THE AVERAGE LIFE expectancy for an individual diagnosed with ALS is two to five years. This February will mark four years since Randel’s diagnosis.

His voice continues to strain, which on occasion, can lead to some misunderstandings. He once mentioned to Brianna how much he loved “C.C.,” as in Sabathia, the former New York Yankees pitcher. Brianna misheard him and instead gifted him a jersey signed by “Didi,” as in Gregorius, the former Yankees shortstop. Randel smiles thinking back on it.

This journey is not what he or Brianna had imagined it would be, far from it. Still, the two feel a heightened recognition of everything that makes life worth living.

Brianna still marvels at the energy that brought them together the afternoon they met. A part of her believes it was Randel’s mother, her spirit, seeking her out with Cupid’s arrow. But cherished memories aside, the pair doesn’t spend too much time mulling the past. Or the future, for that matter. They choose to spend their time in the present.

“We don’t have time to get upset over dumb things or to dwell on the past,” Brianna says. “It’s just he and I.”

“Everyone eventually perishes. I’m just getting a better view of my clock,” Randel says. “Nothing is on the disease. We won’t allow that to weigh in on our decisions. That’s how we live.”

Living on their own terms, in spite of the disease, provides a kind of satisfaction in the daily fight for their future. About a year ago, they bought their first house, just as they always dreamed they would. It’s a quaint ranch on a quiet street in Huntington. The single-floor living makes the day-to-day a little bit easier on everyone. Recently, Randel received a motorized wheelchair but would rather fight to walk on his own. Although it can be a struggle, it’s much easier with Brianna by his side.

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Branch Bros. commit to Georgia after USC exit

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January 5, 2025

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Branch Bros. commit to Georgia after USC exit

  • Pete Thamel, Senior College Sports InsiderJan 5, 2025, 04:31 PM ET

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

Former USC wide receiver Zachariah Branch and safety Zion Branch have committed to Georgia, the brothers told ESPN on Sunday.

The brothers are former top-100 recruits who loom as significant additions for the Bulldogs in 2025. They both have two seasons of eligibility remaining.

Zachariah Branch is the No. 9 overall player and No. 4 wide receiver in ESPN’s transfer portal rankings. He earned first-team All-American honors in 2023 while emerging as one of the most electric players in college football.

“I chose Georgia because I felt like the culture was something special,” Zachariah Branch told ESPN. “They have a great coaching staff, the brotherhood within the program, their will to win, being prepared for the next level and being as successful as possible on and off the field was important to me.”

Zachariah Branch can boost a Georgia receiving room that was beset this season by off-field issues and inconsistent play. Georgia led the country with 36 wide receiver drops, per ESPN Research.

“I see their potential as a contender for the national championship and to defend their SEC title in 2025,” Zachariah Branch said.

He accounted for 1,863 all-purpose yards during his two seasons at USC, including two kicks returned for touchdowns in 2023. As a receiver he caught 78 passes for 823 yards and three touchdowns. He tied for the team lead in receptions this season with 47. He rushed for 87 yards and another touchdown during his two seasons in coach Lincoln Riley’s offense.

Zion Branch played in all 12 games for USC as a redshirt sophomore safety this season, recording 19 tackles, 3 pass breakups and 1 sack in a reserve role. He’s the older of the two brothers and dealt with season-ending injuries in both 2022 and 2023.

“I chose the University of Georgia because of its great coaching staff, their pedigree, and the history of the program,” Zion Branch told ESPN. “Georgia has consistently been one of the best programs in college football, and the culture of excellence they’ve built is something I want to be a part of. The coaches are not just about winning games; they’re about building character, fostering growth and pushing players to be their absolute best both on and off the field.”

The brothers joined the Trojans after starring at Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas. Zachariah was the No. 7 overall recruit in the ESPN 300 for 2023, and Zion was No. 76 in 2022.

The Georgia receiving room was full of steady players but with no true standout; nobody finished in the SEC’s top 10 for receiving yards. Senior Arian Smith, who accepted an invitation to the Senior Bowl but still has a season of eligibility left, led the Bulldogs with 817 yards. Receiver/punt returner Anthony Evans III entered the transfer portal, and Dominic Lovett, who is out of eligibility, led the team with 59 catches.

Zachariah Branch offers rare dynamism and downfield speed that will make him a candidate to be Georgia’s top target in 2025. He scored just one touchdown for USC in 2024 after scoring five as a true freshman — two in the return game, two receiving and one rushing.

The brothers see themselves as contributors toward the program’s bigger goals.

“This team is poised to do something truly special — competing for championships and setting a standard of excellence that few can match,” Zion Branch said. “With the talent that’s already there and the elite-level recruits coming in, the future is incredibly bright. I have no doubt Georgia will not only win a lot of games but also continue to lead the nation in innovation and performance on the field.”

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FCS title game preview: Can North Dakota State knock off undefeated Montana State?

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January 5, 2025

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FCS title game preview: Can North Dakota State knock off undefeated Montana State?

  • Bill Connelly, ESPN Staff WriterJan 3, 2025, 08:00 AM ET

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      Bill Connelly is a staff writer for ESPN.com.

On Dec. 15, 1984, Montana State completed a worst-to-first run for the ages. One season after going 1-10, Dave Arnold’s Bobcats began the season 2-2 but caught fire offensively, beat a top-10 Boise State team in October and even upset Fresno State 35-31 late in the season. They charged into the 12-team playoff with the No. 3 seed, beat Arkansas State and Rhode Island by a combined 29 points, then unleashed hell on Louisiana Tech in the title game. Quarterback Kelly Bradley threw for 334 yards and two touchdowns, Tech didn’t score until the final minute of the game, and MSU cruised 19-6.

Montana State has been chasing that title feeling for 40 years. And Monday night in Frisco, Texas (7 p.m. ET on ESPN), the Bobcats have their best chance yet of earning a second ring. All that’s left is to defeat FCS’ ultimate final boss.

After ceding control of FCS to rival South Dakota State for a couple of years, North Dakota State defeated the Jackrabbits twice in 2024; the Bison are back in the final for the 11th time in 14 years. They knocked Montana State out of the playoffs in 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2023, and after winning eight of nine titles between 2011 and 2019, they’re looking for their second title of the 2020s.

Will we see another North Dakota State coronation or will Montana State conjure the spirit of 1984?

How they got here

Record: 15-0

SP+ rankings: first overall, first on offense, second on defense

Key regular-season results: def. New Mexico 35-31, def. Idaho 38-7, def. UC Davis 30-28, def. Montana 34-11

Playoff run: def. UT Martin 49-17, def. No. 8 Idaho 52-19, def. No. 4 South Dakota 31-17

Defeating FCS royalty comes with its own set of challenges, but there should be no doubting who the best team in FCS has been through 15 games. Montana State has been devastating from start to finish. Despite handing New Mexico a pair of defensive touchdowns, the Bobcats still overcame the FBS Lobos, dominating statistically (total yards: 567-324) and scoring 21 fourth-quarter points to win their season opener.

They’ve barely wobbled since. Their only tight game to date against an FCS opponent was only sort of tight: On Nov. 16, they went on a 30-0 run to take a commanding lead at eventual quarterfinalist UC Davis before the Aggies scored three late touchdowns (thanks in part to an onside kick recovery) to make it close. No one has had the ball with a chance to take a late lead on MSU since the New Mexico game. South Dakota played an awesome game against the Bobcats in the semifinals and still couldn’t get closer than 14 points down the stretch.

Record: 13-2

SP+ rankings: third overall, second on offense, fifth on defense

Key regular-season results: lost to Colorado 31-26, def. North Dakota 41-17, def. South Dakota State 13-9, def. Missouri State 59-21, lost to South Dakota 29-28

Playoff run: def. Abilene Christian 51-31, def. No. 7 Mercer 31-7, def. No. 3 South Dakota State 28-21

NDSU took on a tougher schedule and came within six points of an unbeaten record. The Bison led Colorado at halftime but couldn’t quite overcome a pair of Travis Hunter touchdowns in the second half, falling 4 yards short on a game-ending Hail Mary.

They had to survive an early 38-35 thriller against East Tennessee State, recovering an onside kick and scoring twice in the last two minutes, but once the defense found its rhythm, NDSU started looking like NDSU again. Over their past 11 games, only three have been close: the two wins over South Dakota State and the tight loss at South Dakota.

MSU offense, first-team all-conference selections: QB Tommy Mellott (6-foot-0, 208 lbs., Sr.), RB Scottre Humphrey (5-11, 210, So.), TE Rohan Jones (6-3, 235, Jr.), RG Marcus Wehr (6-4, 300, Sr.), LT Conner Moore (6-5, 310, So.), PR Taco Dowler (5-9, 175, So.)

In his first collegiate game in 2021, he ripped off a 44-yard run. In his fourth, he scored from 74 yards. In his first three playoff games, he threw for 449 yards and rushed for 411 while leading MSU to the national title game.

For most of four years now, Montana State quarterback Tommy Mellott has been a unicorn, combining ultra-efficient passing with downright reckless rushing, throwing his 208-pound frame around with abandon and doing whatever it takes to get the job done. He got injured early in the 2021 title game against NDSU, and he has been dinged up at some point basically every year since. But if he’s in the game, he’s probably doing something ridiculous. He has five career 150-yard rushing games (including a 273-yard, three-touchdown performance against Weber State in 2022), and he has five career 225-yard passing games (including a 300-yard, four-touchdown performance against UT Martin in the second round of this year’s playoffs).

In 2024, Mellott and his supporting cast have produced the most brilliant offense in FCS. Scottre Humphrey and Adam Jones have combined for 2,494 rushing yards and 29 touchdowns, with Mellott chipping in 915 yards and 14 more scores in less than eight carries per game. Meanwhile, Mellott has completed 69% of his passes at 13.5 yards per completion with a downright unfair 29-to-2 TD-to-INT ratio. He doesn’t have a go-to receiver — he has three: Wideouts Taco Dowler (also an ace punt returner) and Ty McCullouch and tight end Rohan Jones have combined for 100 catches, 1,494 yards and 23 scores.

A case could be made that elite line play was the last piece of the puzzle in head coach Brent Vigen’s four-year building project — it’s where the Bobcats most noticeably were lacking in their first few meetings against NDSU and SDSU. But despite starting three sophomores up front, the Bobcats boast an abundance of both talent and raw size up front, averaging 6-4, 305 pounds across the line with a pair of first-team all-Big Sky performers. MSU averages 41.3 points per game and hasn’t been held under 31 all season. It was jarring when South Dakota forced four straight punts in the second half of the semifinals, but it didn’t help all that much since MSU had scored on five of its first six drives.

NDSU defense, first-team all-conference selections: DT Eli Mostaert (6-3, 289, Sr.), LB Logan Kopp (6-1, 220, Jr.)

NDSU’s defense took a little while to shift into gear in 2024. Including the loss to Colorado and the near-upset against ETSU, the Bison allowed at least 24 points and at least 367 yards in three of their first four games. But in the 11 games since, they’ve allowed only 15.7 points and 299.1 yards per game despite playing over half their games in that span against playoff teams.

Veteran linemen Eli Mostaert, Loshiaka Roques and Kody Huisman have combined for 24 tackles for loss, 10.5 sacks and 12 QB hurries up front (Huisman also has blocked two kicks), and linebacker Logan Kopp is the prototypical tackling machine. But as has been customary over the last 15 years or so, the Bison’s biggest strength is depth. Nine NDSU defenders have recorded at least four tackles for loss, nine have at least two sacks, 12 have defended (intercepted or broken up) at least three passes, 13 have forced a fumble and 14 have recovered one. MSU has the best offense they’ve faced, but in two games against SDSU (No. 3 in offensive SP+) the Bison allowed an average of just 333 yards and 19 points. They aren’t likely to give up too many easy yards, even to Mellott & Co.

A mistake-free Bison attack

NDSU offense, first-team all-conference selections: QB Cam Miller (6-1, 212, Sr.), WR Bryce Lance (6-3, 204, Jr.), RT Mason Miller (6-7, 305, Sr.), LT Grey Zabel (6-6, 305, Sr.)

The bar is high in Fargo, and compared to the absurd talent that has rolled through town over the past 15 years, this NDSU offense is not the most explosive this FCS dynasty has produced. Backs CharMar Brown and Barika Kpeenu have combined for 1,825 yards and 21 touchdowns, but they average just 5.1 yards per carry — good but not elite. Cam Miller has thrown for 3,052 yards and 31 TDs, but his 12.8 yards per completion is less than you’d expect.

The Bison can still ground teams down with mistake-free efficiency, however. They convert 54% of their third downs and 68% of their fourth downs, and you just can’t take the ball away from them: They’ve committed an FCS-low six turnovers in 15 games. (Granted, there’s some luck involved in that — they’ve lost only one of 10 fumbles. But 10 fumbles in 15 games is minimal too.) The line is still huge, averaging 6-5 and 304 pounds, the backs are still hard to bring down (Brown and Kpeenu are 214 and 209 pounds, respectively), and if your safeties bite on a run fake, they can still go deep with breakout star wideout Bryce Lance (964 yards, 16 TDs), whose unreal, one-handed grab sent NDSU to the title game.

While Miller’s upside probably doesn’t match that of Carson Wentz or Trey Lance (Bryce’s older brother), there’s nothing you can throw at him that he hasn’t seen before: The reigning Missouri Valley offensive player of the year will play in his 67th career game Monday night.

If you aren’t careful, the Bison will score on you with special teams too. For as good as MSU’s Taco Dowler is in returns, NDSU can get you with either a punt return (Jackson Williams: 10.8 yards per return and one TD) or a kick return (Williams and TK Marshall: 29.9 yards per return and two scores).

MSU defense, first-team all-conference selections: Edge Brody Grebe (6-3, 250, Sr.), LB McCade O’Reilly (6-0, 220, Sr.), SS Rylan Ortt (6-1, 210, Sr.)

When MSU got mauled by NDSU in the 2021 title game, the Bobcats’ defense had only two players on the depth chart listed at more than 270 pounds. The Bison did what they do against all overmatched foes and road-graded MSU for 380 rushing yards.

MSU still doesn’t exactly have Georgia’s mammoth defensive front, but the 2024 Bobcats are bigger than they were in 2021. Starting tackles Paul Brott and Alec Eckert are listed at 290 and 280 pounds, respectively, and Brody Grebe is a sturdy 250 at end. New Mexico averaged 262.8 rushing yards per game against FBS opponents but managed only 152 against MSU, and only Eastern Washington topped 152 on the Bobcats.

To move the ball on them, teams typically have to do it through the air. UC Davis’ Miles Hastings, Idaho’s Jack Layne and South Dakota’s Aidan Bouman combined to go 62-for-92 for 795 yards, 5 TDs and 2 interceptions against the Bobcats, and while a lot of that yardage came when these opponents were down double digits, it’s still solid work. Of course, it also came with a cost: MSU sacked those three quarterbacks 10 times. Led by ends Grebe and Kenneth Eiden IV (combined: 16.5 sacks) and linebackers McCade O’Reilly and Neil Daily (combined: 15 TFLs), the Bobcats have recorded 36 sacks among 85 TFLs this season. You might be able to hit them for a big play here and there, but only if you get them before they get you.

Projecting the title game

MSU’s Brent Vigen and NDSU’s Tim Polasek both earned their figurative coaching degrees at the University of Craig Bohl — Vigen coached for Bohl at NDSU from 2003-13 and at Wyoming from 2014-20 (mostly as offensive coordinator), while Polasek joined Bohl’s NDSU staff in 2006, stayed in Fargo until 2016 and rejoined Bohl at Wyoming after a stint as Iowa’s offensive line coach. The paths of these two coaches have crossed constantly. So, too, have the paths of these teams, and every time they’ve met in the playoffs, NDSU has prevailed.

Vigen is 47-9 in four seasons at Montana State: 1-2 against FBS teams, 2-2 against rival Montana, 1-4 against NDSU and SDSU and 43-1 against everyone else. He and his Bobcats have been building toward this exact run for a while, and it feels like this is their time to break through. It wouldn’t be a surprise, however, if North Dakota State wrecked the Bobcats’ plans — it’s what dynasties do, after all.

Three years ago, MSU wasn’t quite ready. Mellott got hurt, the Bobcats had no chance of stopping the NDSU run game, and Miller and the Bison rolled. It might be a different story this time around.

ESPN Bet projection: MSU 30.0, NDSU 26.5 (MSU -3.5, over/under 56.5) | SP+ projection: MSU 30.2, NDSU 26.7

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QB recruit back to Cal after portal flip from Ducks

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January 5, 2025

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QB recruit back to Cal after portal flip from Ducks

  • Eli Lederman, ESPN Staff WriterJan 5, 2025, 02:11 PM ET

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      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.

Quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, who first committed to Cal in July before his Dec. 4 flip to Oregon, has signed with Golden Bears, he told ESPN on Sunday, after entering the NCAA transfer portal over the weekend.

Sagapolutele becomes the top-ranked member of the Bears’ 2025 recruiting class. The No. 1 prospect from Hawai’i and ESPN’s No. 18 pocket passer will be eligible to play immediately next fall. His decision marks the latest twist in a dramatic cycle for the talented 2025 high school quarterback class, as well as a significant recruiting win for Cal coach Justin Wilcox.

Sagapolutele’s move comes just 32 days after he spurned the Bears and signed with the Ducks’ top-ranked class during the early signing period. He enrolled at Oregon last month and joined the program for its Rose Bowl preparations, even standing on the sideline during the Ducks’ loss to Ohio State in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal on Jan. 1.

Sagapolutele, who placed a heavy emphasis on early opportunity and development throughout his recruitment, told ESPN that the bowl season experience with Oregon gave him a view of the Ducks’ future outlook at quarterback. With 2024 starter Dillon Gabriel out of eligibility, the Ducks are expected to lean on Dante Moore and Austin Novosad next fall. Behind them, 2025 quarterback signee Akili Smith Jr. (No. 87 in the ESPN 300) is also set to arrive on campus this month as an early enrollee after participating in practices during bowl season.

As Sagapolutele’s confidence over his future at Oregon wavered, he found a pathway back to Cal. Given his December enrollment, he was permitted to use the transfer portal in the five-day window granted to Ducks players following the Rose Bowl defeat, formally entering the transfer portal Saturday.

“I just felt that there was another school in particular that was right for me,” Sagapolutele told ESPN. “I’m excited to be a priority over there and to get to work. I’m ready to see what God has in store for me at Cal.”

Sagapolutele capped his career at Campbell (Hawai’i) High School with 3,404 yards, 46 touchdowns and just three interceptions this season, surpassing Gabriel as the state’s all-time passing leader with 10,653 yards. With his return to the Bears, Sagapolutele can expect a much clearer path to contend for early snaps under center.

After former Cal quarterback Fernando Mendoza‘s offseason transfer to Indiana and the graduation of veteran Chandler Rogers, the Bears are thin at the quarterback position heading into 2025. While Cal is expected to remain active in the transfer passer market this cycle, Sagapolutele will have a chance to compete immediately in a position room that currently holds just 13 games of college experience between returners CJ Harris and EJ Caminong.

Wilcox and the Bears were among the earliest Power 4 programs to recruit Sagapolutele, a late riser in the 2025 class whose stock soared after an impressive performance at the 2024 Elite 11 Finals in June. That early investment paid off over the summer when Sagapolutele committed to Cal over finalists Oregon State, Boise State and Utah State.

The Bears, however, struggled to hold off late recruiting pushes from Georgia and Oregon in the fall after both schools offered Sagapolutele following the start of his senior season.

Sagapolutele left his October visit with the Ducks blown away by the offense under coordinator Will Stein and encouraged by the time he spent with Gabriel, a fellow Hawaiian who coached Sagapolutele during the Elite 11 event last year. Sagapolutele ultimately canceled a pair of scheduled November visits to Georgia, but he gave the Bulldogs strong consideration before pulling his pledge from Cal and joining the Ducks’ latest stockpile of high school talent.

Sagapolutele said the connection that he developed with Cal’s coaching staff never faded. As he experienced a change of heart with the Ducks, it was Sagapolutele’s relationships with Wilcox, Bears offensive coordinator Mike Bloesch and quarterbacks coach Sterlin Gilbert that pulled him back to Cal, stamping a critical victory for a Bears recruiting class that ranked 65th by ESPN.

“It’s the right environment for me,” Sagapolutele said. “Coach Gilbert is going to develop me and it’s a place where I’m going to be able to go in and compete early on.”

Sagapolutele’s move comes in a cycle that saw nine of ESPN’s top 16 quarterback prospects flip their pledges.

While Sagapolutele’s move through the transfer portal before ever playing a college game represents a feature unique to this modern age of college football, it is not entirely unprecedented. He follows 2024 five-star passer Julian Sayin, who transferred from Alabama to Ohio State last year following Nick Saban’s retirement, as the second high-profile quarterback prospect in as many cycles to enroll with a school in December before entering the transfer portal just weeks later.

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