While trying to push the most unpopular playoff expansion format possible, Big Ten commissioner Tony Pettiti and the league’s coaches did add their respective voices to something that should resonate with many college football fans – dumping the top 25 preseason polls. 

You aren’t going to find too many arguments from here about why the preseason polls are necessary, and it’s good that one of the top superpower conferences is saying what most of us feel – let’s play some games first. 

The conference had already done away with the league media preseason poll, which inspired the Big XII to follow suit. I would expect the ACC to also jump behind the efforts to eliminate preseason polls, although they didn’t speak much about it publicly or otherwise during Media Days last week. 

Fact is, in this new college football world of NIL deals and the transfer portal, it’s much harder to predict which teams are going to be good because many of them are so different from one year to the next. At a certain point, the pollsters can’t make an educated guess, so they simply start voting for logos.

Kansas State coach Chris Kleiman told Brandon Marcello of CBSSports,com that the AP and Coaches’ top 25 polls shouldn’t be released until the time that the College Football Playoff committee releases their first poll. 

“When the CFP comes out, that’s when the first AP and USA Today poll should come out,” Kleiman said. “The narrative tells you everything, and unfortunately, that’s not great for the Big 12. It’s probably not great for the ACC. You know, it’s just not.”

It seems unrealistic to wait so long for the first top 25 polls to be released. In a perfect world, the final Sunday in September would be an ideal time. By then, many teams will have started conference play.

This isn’t to say preseason polls will go away even if the AP and coaches decide to do away with then. The magazines will continue to have polls and don’t be surprised if the TV networks use the opportunity to create more discussion around where ‘Team X’ might appear in the first poll. The lack of a poll before the end of September should only serve to feed the debate television. 

There is still no perfect system to “get it right” in college football, but there should be greater efforts to get it less wrong. 

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Miami Hurricanes junior defensive lineman Rueben Bain, Jr. has been named to the preseason watch list for the 2025 Bronko Nagurski Trophy, presented annually by the Football Writers Association of America and the Charlotte Touchdown Club to the top defensive player in college football.

Coming off a sophomore season in which he recorded 23 total tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks despite missing nearly four full games due to injury, Bain, Jr., earned All‑ACC honorable mention honors.

During an impressive 2023 freshman campaign, the Miami native posted 44 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks over 13 games, earning ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year, third-team All‑ACC distinction and multiple Freshman All‑America team selections.

Miami has produced two past winners of the Nagurski Trophy: Warren Sapp in 1994 and Dan Morgan in 2000.

Bain, Jr., becomes the second Hurricane to be recognized to a major preseason watch list; Carson Beck was named to the Maxwell Award watch list earlier in the week.

The FWAA and the Charlotte Touchdown Club will announce four finalists for the 2025 Bronko Nagurski Trophy in mid-to-late November, and the winner will be revealed at the Bronko Nagurski Awards Banquet on Dec. 8 in Charlotte, N.C.

Founded in 1941, the Football Writers Association of America consists of 1,300 men and women who cover college football. The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key executives in all the areas that involve the game.

NY Racing announced a landmark partnership with SU Football NIL and the Syracuse University football team ahead of the Go Bowling at The Glen NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday, August 10. The Orange will take center stage as a primary sponsor on the No. 44 Chevrolet, driven by veteran racer J.J. Yeley.

The collaboration marks a unique crossover between college football and motorsports, bringing the identity and legacy of Syracuse University into the NASCAR spotlight.

“I’m excited to be a part of this NASCAR race,” said Syracuse football head coach Fran Brown. “I can’t wait to see the NY Racing Team compete while repping the Orange No. 44 DART.”

The Orange football program is riding momentum from a breakout 2024 campaign, which saw the team finish inside the top 20 of the national polls under Brown’s leadership in his first year at the helm. Syracuse competes in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).

The partnership carries deep symbolic significance. At Syracuse, the No. 44 is more than a jersey — it’s a revered part of the university’s athletic history. Legendary running backs Jim Brown, Ernie Davis, and Floyd Little all wore the number, embedding it into the school’s identity. Even the university’s zip code, 13244, reflects the importance of 44 to the Orange.

This tribute comes full circle for NY Racing Team owner John Cohen, who selected the No. 44 for his NASCAR team in honor of Ernie Davis, the first African American to win the Heisman Trophy and a Syracuse icon.

The race at Watkins Glen International promises to be more than just another entry in the NASCAR Cup Series — it’s a celebration of sports legacy, pride, and a partnership that connects the track to the turf.

FingerLakes1.com is the region’s leading all-digital news publication. The company was founded in 1998 and has been keeping residents informed for more than two decades. Have a lead? Send it to [email protected].

Last month, EA Sports announced its long-awaited return to the college basketball video game space now that players can be in the game thanks to NIL rule changes. The new installment is set to come out in 2028, according to the company.

During a quarterly earnings call Tuesday, EA CEO Andrew Wilson received a question about the game’s return. While he didn’t provide too many details, he confirmed the goal is to include every men’s and women’s team.

Wilson also pointed out the “opportunity” presented to EA Sports, especially after the success of College Football 25. It became one of the biggest sports video games ever, and Wilson said basketball could get a boost as a result. In fact, he sees “momentum” in the college hoops space.

“We can’t say too much about it yet, but if I think about the opportunity, going back to where we are on College Football, college sport has one of the most vibrant fanbase in the world,” Wilson said, via Insider-Gaming’s Mike Straw. “And that trickles over to basketball certainly.

“We’re seeing momentum of fandom in college basketball also continue to grow. Fans, athletes, universities pour their passion into these sports. And it is that passion that makes it special, that makes the games different.”

EA Sports saw its return to the college football video game pay off in a big way last year as College Football 25 became one of the top-selling games of the year. Quick math shows EA brought in more than $400 million in sales from the game.

And while 2K Sports is also reportedly planning to challenge EA with a college basketball video game of its own, Wilson made it clear his company would maintain a commitment similar to what it did with football. That includes “capturing the action on the field or the court, representing the energy, pageantry, the traditions and celebrating the unique sights and sounds and stories of every school and rivalry,” he said.

“We feel like we deliver that incredibly well with College Football,” Wilson said. “We’d love to do the same for basketball. All 350 programs, men’s and women’s teams, the iconic traditions and rivalries, and of course, March Madness.

“So for us, college sports broadly is an exciting opportunity. We feel like we’ve done a really strong job, and remain committed to doing that in the context of college football. We believe that with what we’ve done with the teams, the technology, and our commitment around College Football, we’d have a great ability to do the same for college basketball, and as we look to try and activate against that opportunity, we’ll be able to share more.”

News of EA’s pending return to the college basketball space came in late June when Extra Points’ Matt Brown reported details of what could be coming. He said three companies filed formal bids to create a game, and the College Licensing Company recommended EA’s.

Saniyah Hall, ESPN’s No. 1 women’s basketball prospect in the high school class of 2026, has committed to play at Southern California.

Hall, a 6-foot-2 guard from northeast Ohio, announced her decision last week on ESPN’s “NBA Today.”

USC has landed three of the last four No. 1 recruits, with Hall joining JuJu Watkins in 2023 and Jasmine Davidson in 2025.

Watkins is expected to miss most of the upcoming season with a torn ACL that she suffered during the women’s NCAA Tournament. She would most likely return for the 2026-27 season, which would be Hall’s freshman year.

Hall, who turns 17 on Wednesday, recently helped the United States win gold at the FIBA U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup. She averaged 19.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists and was named MVP of the tournament.

Hall will play for SPIRE Academy in Geneva, Ohio, for her senior season after transferring from Montverde Academy in central Florida.

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball