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College football Week 1 highlights

Published

4 months ago

August 31, 2025

David HaleAug 31, 2025, 02:10 AM ET
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- College football reporter.
- Joined ESPN in 2012.
- Graduate of the University of Delaware.

During the long, dark months between the end of one season and the beginning of another, we tell each other stories, because we need something to fill the void. We dress those stories up, calling them things like “way too early” rankings, preseason predictions or scalding hot takes, and we sustain them with statistics, data and historical perspective. But ultimately, they are at best educated guesses and, at worst, outright lies.

Then Week 1 comes along and college football delivers us a heaping dose of the truth, exposing our deceptions to the world like the kiss cam at a Coldplay concert.

On Saturday, college football’s truth still seemed hard to believe.

We’ve spent months burnishing the image of our next Heisman Trophy winner, Arch Manning. Only, in Week 1, Manning’s offense was overwhelmed by the defending champs, as Ohio State dumped Texas 14-7.

We’ve spent the summer laughing incredulously at Florida State‘s Tommy Castellanos, seemingly the only player foolish enough to poke the bear by taunting Alabama when, in fact, he was a fortune-teller. Nick Saban couldn’t bail out the Crimson Tide on Saturday, and the Seminoles, buried after a 2-10 season a year ago, toppled Bama in convincing fashion 31-17.

We’ve heard all offseason Clemson was the class of the ACC, a nearly perfect team built around loads of returning talent that, after Dabo Swinney lost a bet with Tom Allen on who’d win the three-legged race at the team’s annual team picnic, even added players from the transfer portal. On Saturday, however, Clemson’s offense looked woefully similar to those stagnant offenses of years past. LSU‘s defensive front steamrollered its way to a 17-10 win in what used to be Clemson’s Death Valley, which must now be referred to as Critical-but-Stable Condition Valley due to the stakes of this matchup between two teams with the same nicknames for their stadiums.

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Yes, Saturday’s results revealed that all our offseason narratives were no different than the description on a John Mateer Venmo transaction: dangerous, hilarious and completely made up.

In Columbus, the preseason No. 1 Longhorns couldn’t crack the scoreboard for the first 56 minutes of action. This was to be Manning’s coming-out party after two years in waiting behind Quinn Ewers. Instead, the day belonged to new Ohio State defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, a man hired only so Ryan Day wouldn’t have the weirdest-looking beard on staff. Patricia’s defense had an answer for everything Texas threw at it, holding Manning to just 17-of-30 passing, picking off a critical third-quarter pass to set up the decisive touchdown and stuffing the Horns on fourth down four times — including twice inside the 10-yard line.

It’s not that Ohio State’s offense wowed. A unit that proved deadly in last year’s College Football Playoff en route to a national championship mustered just 203 total yards — the Buckeyes’ worst regular-season output since 2015. But new quarterback Julian Sayin avoided any catastrophic mistakes and delivered a 40-yard dagger to Carnell Tate in the fourth quarter despite no one even knowing who his uncles are. If it wasn’t an emphatic endorsement for the 2025 version of Ohio State, it was a reminder the Buckeyes will not be swept aside without a fight.

In Tallahassee, Kalen DeBoer took another huge step toward having the word “tarmac” appear on his Wikipedia page. Since toppling Georgia last September and climbing to No. 1 in the AP poll, the Tide are just 5-5 overall, and Saturday’s loss to Florida State — a team that finished 2-10 a year ago — marks a new nadir.

In the aftermath, DeBoer was left scrambling for answers, saying, “There’s no excuse about what happened. We’ve got to play our style of ball. Last year isn’t this year. You’ve got to focus on the moment …” and there’s a long run past midfield by Castellanos.

Castellanos had promised a win, saying in June he saw no way Alabama could stop him. Lo and behold, he was right. The signal-caller who was benched at Boston College in November ran all over an Alabama defense that seemed utterly flustered at times, despite FSU’s game plan including just 14 pass attempts, nine of which were completions.

Fewest completions in a win over Alabama since 2008:
FSU – 9, today
Okla – 9, Wk13, 2024
LSU – 10, Wk10, 2011
Mich – 11, bowl, 2024
Aub – 11, Wk14, 2013
Aub – 13, Wk14, 2010

So, 3 all-time Saban classics (Cam, 9-6, Kick 6) and 3 of DeBoer’s 14 games as Bama HC.

— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) August 30, 2025

But it was FSU coach Mike Norvell who delivered his own truth in the fourth quarter. After a year in which he aged on the sideline the way a president does over two terms, Norvell promised he wouldn’t let this team roll over in the face of adversity. After Alabama charged back to within one score, FSU faced a fourth-and-1 at its own 36 — and Norvell decided to go for it. It was a decision that would have been lambasted if it had failed and the Tide tied the score. But Alabama transfer Roydell Williams plunged ahead for 4 yards, FSU capped the drive with a touchdown and Norvell’s message to his team couldn’t have been more clear. This year is different.

Things are different at LSU too. So much of the college football world had grown to love Brian Kelly’s annual Week 1 postgame news conferences in which he’d raise a podium over his head while decrying his lack of a ground game and yelling, “Hulk smash!” But this year’s Bayou Bengals actually played hard from start to finish and finally snagged a season-opening win.

In what was billed as a showdown between arguably the two best QBs in college football, it was LSU’s defense that stole the show, tormenting Cade Klubnik throughout and holding Clemson to 31 rushing yards. Clemson’s last 19 plays were all passes, and Klubnik was under pressure on nearly all of them. Swinney may insist on bringing his own guts, but he keeps leaving his rushing attack at home.

So here we are, still not quite through with the opening scenes of the 2025 season and we’ve already upended the Heisman race, slayed a giant and left Kelly with a smile on his face. What were the odds?

Of course, that’s the point, right? After an offseason in which conference commissioners tried to codify their own stories in the form of scheduling metrics, guaranteed playoff bids and TV revenue splits, a real Saturday of games is the respite from the narratives, a reminder that the games remain blissfully unpredictable.

After all, to paraphrase Lester Bangs from “Almost Famous,” the only true currency in this bankrupt world of college sports is the jokes you share with someone else when watching Alabama lose as a 14-point favorite again.

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Trends | Under the radar
Heisman five | Notes from the road

Week 1 vibe check

Each week, major upsets, emphatic wins and stellar performances grab the headlines around the college football ecosystem, but there are also many smaller storylines that matter just as much. We try to capture those here.

Trending up: Trendy fashion choices

Georgia Tech upended Colorado on Friday 27-20, but the real buzz was all about the attire of return man Eric Rivers, who took the field dressed as though he was the lead singer of Talking Heads during the “Stop Making Sense” tour or had just been selected sixth overall in the 1999 NBA draft.

Pierrot, by Jean-Antoine Watteau, 1718-19 pic.twitter.com/dHRfgGYzPP

— ArtButMakeItSports (@ArtButSports) August 30, 2025

If the Yellow Jackets have any sense of humor at all, Rivers should line up for his first scrimmage play next week rocking a pair of parachute pants.

Trending down: Bad fashion choices

To honor the city of New Orleans on the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, Tulane had hoped to don its 2005 uniforms for its game against Northwestern on Saturday. The Wildcats denied the request, which led to a 23-3 whooping by the Green Wave and some spicy comments from Tulane coach Jon Sumrall afterward.

“When you disrespect the city of New Orleans, you’re going to run into it,” Sumrall said. “I’m not trying to be a jerk, but don’t disrespect the city of New Orleans.”

In contrast, after Florida State’s QB disrespected the city of Tuscaloosa this offseason, Alabama responded by writing a sternly worded letter to its commissioner insisting that, instead of a nine-game slate, the SEC move to a 12 conference games so this can’t happen in the future.

Trending up: In-game ad revenue

Deion Sanders delivered on his promise to have a portable toilet on the sideline for Colorado’s game against Georgia Tech, and he even got it sponsored by Depend.

Deion Sanders indeed has a portable toilet next to Colorado’s bench, to accommodate him following bladder reconstruction surgery.

And it’s sponsored. pic.twitter.com/GegvViVJQC

— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) August 29, 2025

While we’re certainly glad to see Sanders is feeling better, the Buffs’ loss makes this sponsorship feel as though it’s one of the worst on-field marketing disasters since Red Lobster sponsored Les Miles’ ill-fated sideline seafood tower during the 2015 Texas Bowl.

Trending up: Utah‘s offense

Last season, Utah averaged just 23.6 points per game (good for 102nd nationally) and posted a 39.5 Total QBR (113th) while cycling through four different starting quarterbacks.

On Saturday, its offense looked far more dynamic in a 43-10 win at UCLA in which New Mexico transfer Devon Dampier threw for 206 yards, ran for 87 and tallied a total of three touchdowns. It was just Utah’s second time cracking 40 points versus a power-conference opponent since the start of the 2023 season.

And somewhere along a dark and desolate highway, former Utah quarterback Cam Rising shed a single tear and nodded his head with pride. Then he hopped back into his van, rolled down the windows and turned his attention once again to the hard work of traveling the country solving mysteries with his pet Great Dane.

Trending down: The middle seat from ATL to SYR

Tennessee‘s offense certainly didn’t look any worse off after waving goodbye to Nico Iamaleava. Transfer Joey Aguilar threw for 247 yards and three touchdowns in a 45-26 win over Syracuse.

This, of course, was bad news for whichever member of the Orange had to sit next to Syracuse coach Fran Brown on the flight home, as Brown famously refuses to shower after a loss. Luckily, for just an additional $29.95, Spirit Airlines will furnish the team with one of those “new car smell” air fresheners to hang above Brown’s seat.

Trending up: Short road trips

UConn packed the house at Rentschler Field with its largest crowd since 2013.

A total of 37,594 in attendance today at The Rent!

The largest crowd since 2013 🫡 pic.twitter.com/FTGYFP1Spa

— UConn Huskies (@UConnHuskies) August 30, 2025

This could certainly be in response to fans getting excited after last year’s 9-4 campaign. Or it could be that the opponent, Central Connecticut State, drove up attendance. CCSU is actually closer to Rentschler Field (12 miles) than is UConn (24 miles).

Trending down: The Group of 5

On Thursday, the Group of 5’s playoff picture was upended when No. 25 Boise State — the lone ranked team outside the Power 4 — was stomped by USF Bulls 34-7. Then on Friday, the defending American champion, Army, fell in embarrassing fashion to FCS Tarleton State.

This could leave the door wide open for a surprise team from the Group of 5 to make a playoff run, but unfortunately Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti already called dibs on the spot and invoked the “no take backs” clause of his proposed playoff plan, so … congratulations Maryland. You’re in now.

Trending up: Upstaging celebrities

Much was made of the engagement of Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift earlier this week, but the Kansas City Chiefs tight end didn’t manage the most romantic proposal of Week 1. That honor goes to this guy, who popped the question in the only truly romantic way possible: with mayonnaise.

LOVE HAPPENS IN MAYO LAND 💍 pic.twitter.com/WBLqschvhb

— Duke’s Mayo Classic (@DukesMayoBowl) August 30, 2025

We assume the wedding will be officiated by an anthropomorphic Pop-Tart, they’ll exit the reception by riding on the back of the Wake Forest Demon Deacon’s motorcycle, and they’ll honeymoon at the Bahamas Bowl which, this season, is probably being played in Little Rock, Arkansas for some reason.

Trending up: Lincoln Riley’s job security

USC thumped Missouri State 73-13, racking up nearly 600 yards of total offense and rushing for six touchdowns.

Riley would like to remind everyone that even if they get shut out against Georgia Southern next week, he would still be averaging 36.5 points per game, and that’s pretty good.

Trending down: Life expectancy for K-State fans

One week after seeing their team fall to rival Iowa State in the verdant hills of Ireland, Kansas State fans nearly suffered an even bigger indignity at the hands of a school mostly surrounded by cornfields, as North Dakota took a 35-31 lead into the final minute of the game.

Avery Johnson rode to the rescue this time, however, engineering a 10-play touchdown drive capped by a 6-yard completion to Joe Jackson to escape with a 38-35 win. Johnson threw for 318 yards and three touchdowns in the game and is now listed as the emergency contact on 86% of Kansas residents’ medical forms.

Trending up: The First State

Delaware toppled Delaware State 35-17 on Thursday, the Blue Hens’ first game as an FBS member.

With fellow newcomer Missouri State getting blown out by USC, that means that Delaware alone has the best winning percentage in FBS history (minimum one game). It’s the most exciting thing to happen in to the state since the new Hot Topic opened at the Concord Mall.

Under-the-radar game of the week

Entering Saturday’s action, Kent State had lost 21 straight games. The program was in shambles, and its last head coach, Kenni Burns, had been fired and (possibly) replaced by an AI program developed by some MIT dropouts who thought they were playing Minesweeper and accidentally coded a football algorithm.

And yet, the football gods smiled upon the Golden Flashes in Week 1, delivering a win in truly epic style.

Trailing 17-14 to Merrimack, a school that exists only in a child’s imagination, a player named — this is true — Da’Realyst Clark ran back a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown, putting Kent State up 21-17 with 5:28 to play.

Merrimack Warriors vs. Kent State Golden Flashes: Full Highlights

Sure, Kent State has Texas Tech, Florida State and Oklahoma — all on the road — in its next four games, but that’s of little importance today because, for the first time in nearly two full calendar years, the Golden Flashes are victorious. Turns out, that AI that thinks the Greek god of wisdom is Toyotathon knows a little something about football after all.

Under-the-radar play of the week

During pregame celebrations in Eugene on Saturday, the famed Oregon Duck took a nasty spill and lost his duck head, exposing the human underneath. While that was good for a laugh, the mascot’s reaction was truly impressive, as he sprinted a solid 25 yards at full speed wearing feet made out of felt, all while (we assume) screaming, “Look away! Look away! I’m hideous!” before returning to his secluded lair beneath an opera house.

Oregon Duck loses his head and scampers off

Heisman five

On one hand, Arch Manning saw his Heisman odds tumble after struggling in a 14-7 loss to Ohio State. On the other hand, at least he’s unlikely to have the Heisman stolen from him by Charles Woodson now, so he has got that going for him. Which is nice.

1. Oklahoma QB John Mateer

The Washington State transfer completed 30 of 37 passes for 392 yards and accounted for four touchdowns in a 35-3 win over Illinois State, a performance so impressive his friend sent him $50 bucks with the note: “Definitely not because of sports gambling.”

2. Florida State QB Tommy Castellanos

Some would call it ego. Some would call it cockiness. Castellanos would call his offseason commentary facts. After talking smack on Alabama in June, Castellanos backed it up with 230 total yards and a touchdown to take down the Tide 34-17. Given that head coach Mike Norvell is superstitious, we recommend Castellanos keep this up by insisting the Noles will hang 300 on East Texas A&M next week.

3. Georgia QB Gunner Stockton

Stockton threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more in a 45-7 win over Marshall on Saturday, then we assume he drove his F-150 over to the Burger King parking lot, sat in the back and listened to John Mellencamp cassettes while wearing a denim jacket and promising he’ll never waste his life working in the factory like his old man.

4. LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier

After throwing for 230 yards and a touchdown in a win over Clemson, Nussmeier now looks like the odds-on favorite to be the No. 1 pick in next year’s NFL draft. His dad, Doug Nussmeier, just so happens to be the offensive coordinator of the Saints, and he was in attendance for Saturday’s win. After the game, the younger Nussmeier responded to his dad’s enthusiasm that he could be drafted by the Saints by saying, “Oh, wow, yeah. That sounds great, but really, it’s OK. You don’t need to go to all that trouble. Really. I’m sure there are lots of other quarterbacks who need a good home and, honestly, just focus on them. I’ll go to the Rams. It’s fine. That’ll be fine.”

5. Iowa State QB Rocco Becht

One week after upending Kansas State in Ireland, Becht delivered the Cyclones a dominant victory over FCS power South Dakota, throwing for 278 yards and three touchdowns in a 55-7 win. By federal law, South Dakota now needs to add Becht’s image to Mt. Rushmore in place of Thomas Jefferson.

Notes from the road

How FSU pulled the upset

Florida State coach Mike Norvell talked for months about wanting his team to play with an edge, with desperation, with heart — three key intangibles missing last year during a miserable 2-10 season.

The college football world saw all of that on display in a 31-17 win over Alabama. But perhaps most jaw-dropping was the physical way in which the Seminoles dominated the Crimson Tide up front. After allowing an opening 75-yard drive, the Florida State defense clamped down from there — and allowed just 3 yards per rush for the game.

The revamped offensive line, with four veteran transfers, dominated in its own right — not only opening up holes, but pushing defenders backward at nearly every turn. Florida State rushed for 230 yards, a year after averaging 89.9 yards per game — ranking No. 128 in the country.

“We wanted to be the aggressor, and we were,” Norvell said. “Our players, they rose to the challenge. We talked all year, and I’ve used the buzzwords of edge and desperation. That goes to the heart, and you saw heart tonight. We saw a team that absolutely loves playing this game together and were physically dominant, emotionally together, and they responded. This is a first step, but it’s a big step.”

Florida State fans storm field after Noles upset Alabama

Florida State fans storm the field after opening the season with a 31-17 win over No. 8 Alabama.

It is a big step because of what happened a year ago. Florida State came off a 13-1 ACC championship season with one of the worst performances in school history. Those outside the program questioned Norvell, questioned the program’s direction. He needed a win like this to remind the general public the Florida State is not what it showed a year ago.

On the flip side is Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer, who already went into the season with Crimson Tide fans skeptical about him and the direction of the program after a 9-4 debut that ended with a bowl loss to Michigan.

You will remember DeBoer got the Alabama job over Norvell, and now the pressure is rising as the successor to Saban. Alabama lost a season opener by two touchdowns for the first time since 1970.

“There’s no excuses about what happened,” DeBoer said. “Last year isn’t this year, and it’s going to be an uphill climb for us, but you can’t think of it in the big scope of things. You’ve got to focus on the moment. And the next moment is, ‘What happens tomorrow?’ And we’ll find out. We’ll find out.” — Andrea Adelson

Ohio State’s defense came ready

Ohio State opened its national championship defense with a dominating defensive effort. And for the second straight season against Texas, the Buckeyes produced a game-clinching stop.

Despite eight new defensive starters, the Buckeyes flew around all afternoon and flustered hyped Texas quarterback Arch Manning into a stunningly erratic performance.

The Buckeyes did not surrender a play longer than 15 yards until late in the fourth quarter. They also came up huge in the red zone.

In the first half, the Buckeyes stuffed a Manning quarterback sneak on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line. Then in the fourth quarter, cornerback Davison Igbinosun swatted away a Manning fourth-down pass to the corner of the end zone.

“Every time you get a fourth-down stop, it’s like a turnover,” Day said after the game.

After a Texas touchdown with 3:28 to play, the Longhorns got the ball back again with a chance to tie.

But just like last season — when Jack Sawyer’s strip sack and score propelled Ohio State to victory over Texas in the CFP semifinals and to the national championship game — the Buckeyes got the key final stop — as Caleb Downs tackled Jack Endries short of the marker on fourth down.

The Buckeyes’ defensive performance allowed them to ease quarterback Julian Sayin into his first start. Sayin was 13-for-20 for 126 yards and a score in his first start. Unlike Manning, however, Sayin avoided turnovers.

“We were fairly conservative [offensively] because we felt like our defense was playing well,” Day said. — Jake Trotter

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This college football team is creatively approaching NIL like NFL free agency

Published

28 minutes ago

December 20, 2025

Your Sports Nation

The way college football operates in the NIL/revenue-sharing era has moved a lot closer to the NFL model, and one high-profile program is acknowledging that in a very public way.

USC has been announcing on social media that players have “re-signed” with the program, essentially acknowledging that all college football players are free agents each year now, thanks to the transfer portal and the ability to chase better compensation elsewhere.

A big one for the Trojans this week was quarterback Jayden Maiava’s decision to return to USC rather than pursue the NFL draft this year or a bigger payday from another school, but USC has publicized the return of more than two dozen players in this way — from starters to little-used freshmen and even its kicker.

Jayden Maiava has re-signed with the USC Trojans. pic.twitter.com/jLI0S6hPKh

— USC Football ✌️ (@uscfb) December 16, 2025

Coach Lincoln Riley was asked about this new approach for his program.

“I think that’s something that should be celebrated. In this day and age, it’s almost more like an NFL team. Like, it’s an accomplishment to be welcomed back, and then on top of that, when you do have that option, it’s something that should be celebrated by a school or a program that somebody wants to continue on what’s being built or what they’ve already started at that place,” Riley said.

“… It’s changed so much on all accounts. It’s changed a lot for the players. It’s obviously changed a lot for us.”

USC overhauled its player personnel/recruiting department a year ago by hiring general manager Chad Bowden away from Notre Dame and building a new staff for him. Bowden has a reputation for thinking outside the box, so this was likely an idea that he and his staff came up with for the Trojans.

College football analyst Adam Breneman chimed in with his thoughts on USC’s “creative” approach to roster management.

“To me, USC has always been known for creativity. They’re in Los Angeles, the creative capital of the world, that’s where great things happen, and a great job here by USC’s creative department, having this idea. I think we’ll see teams around the country copy this, announcing the re-signing of players to new contracts for the upcoming season with NIL and rev-share deals,” Breneman said.

“Chad Bowden, the USC general manager, is ahead of his time. He’s innovative, he thinks forward, he’s proactive, and his staff clearly has something here, really great with announcing the re-signing of the roster at USC. What a great idea.”

USC may have indeed started something with this, as Missouri announced the return of star running back Ahmad Hardy in the same way.

More schools are following USC’s lead with re-signings https://t.co/ri5GnwgqjJ

— Ryan Kartje (@RyanKartje) December 20, 2025

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College Football Playoff is here, but sport’s soul is gone

Published

1 hour ago

December 20, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Amid the spectacle of the College Football Playoff’s opening weekend — and the nagging sense that we’re watching a sport we no longer love — here’s the uncomfortable question no one in power seems eager to answer:

Is college football slowly turning off the very fans who built it?

The other day on our radio show, we asked a simple poll question: “What’s your excitement level for this year’s College Football Playoff?” The result wasn’t close. The runaway winner was: “Mild at best.”

No, it wasn’t a scientific poll by any means. But it was taken in a college-football-crazed state, in a city that hosts three bowl games, from listeners who have spent decades scheduling fall Saturdays around kickoff times. These are not casuals. These are the lifers.

And they sound tired.

College football has always thrived on passion — irrational, inherited passion. We fell in love with this sport because we were loyal to our hometown or home-state schools. Because our dads and moms went there. Because our grandparents wore the colors. Because even when our teams were bad, they were ours. We believed players loved our schools the way we did. We believed coaches were stewards of something bigger than themselves.

That belief is gone.

What we’re left with now is a sport that feels increasingly transactional, untethered from its own history, and openly hostile to the idea of loyalty. The transfer portal and NIL didn’t just change college football — they rebranded it. Players are no longer student-athletes growing into men within a program; they’re year-to-year contractors shopping their services to the highest bidder. And coaches are no longer culture builders; they’re free agents with obscene contracts and super-agents who are already negotiating new deals with new teams by midseason.

Lane Kiffin didn’t even wait for the College Football Playoff selection committee to put his Ole Miss team in the 12-team field before bolting for his next big job. Think about it: the head coaches from three CFP teams will be elsewhere next season, meaning in the most important tournament in the sport that a quarter of its leaders already had one foot out the door before the playoff even started.

That’s not continuity. That’s chaos.

And the collateral damage is everywhere. Bowl games — once the measuring stick of success — are now disposable. This year alone, Notre Dame opted out because it got snubbed by the CFP committee while Kansas State and Iowa State opted out because they lost their coaches. Bowls used to mean something. They were a reward, a destination, a final chapter. Now they’re an inconvenience.

Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz didn’t mince words when he said earlier this week: “College football is sick.” He warned that the sport is “cracking” — not metaphorically, but structurally. Rules without consequences. Participation agreements nobody honors. Tampering without punishment. Freedom without guardrails.

UCF coach Scott Frost went even further. He said the quiet part out loud: “It’s broken.” And for that honesty, he was attacked. Not because he was wrong — but because he threatened those who benefit from the disorder. Frost described a world where participation agreements are ceremonial, salary caps are fiction and booster money determines competitive balance more than coaching or development ever could.

That’s not college football. That’s the NFL without contracts, unions or rules.

Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck summed it up best: “College football does not have any of what the NFL has in place. … I don’t think the general public actually knows what it looks like when you peel back the onion.”

And that’s the point. Fans (and coaches) are finally peeling it back — and they don’t like what they see.

Conferences now stretch from coast to coast, stripping the sport of its regional soul. Rivalries that once defined generations are disappearing in favor of television windows. Which brings us to a fair question for UCF fans: With USF no longer on your schedule, who’s your big rival? Answer: You don’t have one.

A sense of place used to matter in college football. Geography mattered. Identity mattered. Tradition mattered. Now everything is optimized for TV inventory and gambling markets.

Don’t get me wrong, college football is still idiot-proof. It will march on. ESPN needs the programming. Sportsbooks need the content. Saturdays will still be filled with games, spreads and parlays. The machine will not stop.

But what happens when the true fans — the ones who stayed and cheered through the losing seasons, NCAA sanctions and decades of irrelevance — start checking out emotionally? When excitement becomes obligation? When loyalty feels foolish?

We’re already seeing the signs. Fans less invested in bowls. Fans less connected to rosters that turn over annually. Fans who no longer recognize their own conferences. Fans who watch out of habit, not hope.

This isn’t about opposing player compensation. Players deserve to be paid. It’s not about nostalgia for unpaid labor or closed systems. It’s about structure, fairness and meaning. A sport without rules isn’t freedom — it’s anarchy. And anarchy is exhausting.

College football was never supposed to be perfect. It was supposed to be personal. It was supposed to mean something beyond the scoreboard. It was supposed to connect campuses, communities and generations.

Right now, it feels like a sport in disarray where even coaches and administrators are just hopeless spectators to its unraveling. It’s so bad that they are begging the federal government to get involved. Can you name another multi-billion-dollar business that actively seeks governmental regulation?

The scariest part isn’t that coaches like Frost and Drinkwitz are speaking up.

It’s that we longtime fans are starting to quietly nod along and wonder why we’re still watching.

Yes, the College Football Playoff arrived this weekend and it’s never been bigger.

But, sadly, the sport itself has never felt emptier.

Email me at mbianchi@orlandosentinel.com. Hit me up on social media @BianchiWrites and listen to my new radio show “Game On” every weekday from 3 to 6 p.m. on FM 96.9, AM 740 and 969TheGame.com/listen

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$2.1 million transfer portal QB predicted to join College Football Playoff team

Published

2 hours ago

December 20, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Aftter helping propel Arizona State to its first College Football Playoff run in 2024, quarterback Sam Leavitt is officially preparing to test the transfer market.

Multiple outlets report Leavitt intends to enter the portal when the window opens in January, and early lists of suitors already include Oregon, Indiana, LSU, and Miami.

Leavitt’s 2025 season was cut short by a persistent foot injury that required surgery and ended his year after seven appearances.

Despite limited time, he finished the campaign with 1,628 passing yards, 10 touchdowns and three interceptions, and leaves Tempe with a two-year body of work that includes a 2024 breakout season (2,885 passing yards, 443 rushing yards, 29 total TDs).

ASU closed 2025 at 8–4 under coach Kenny Dillingham, going 6-3 in Big 12 play.

On Wednesday, Mike Golic Jr. weighed in on potential transfer portal destinations, explicitly linking Leavitt to Miami as a natural schematic fit.

“Sam Leavitt, to me, would be a fascinating fit at the University of Miami. We reckon Carson Beck is going to be out after this playoff run, and when I look at Sam Leavitt’s game, I think about the Miami offense they ran with Cam Ward, an offense predicated on the quarterback’s ability to drop back, create, and make plays with both his arm and his legs. That feels like a very easy comparison.”

Arizona State Sun Devils quarterback Sam Leavitt. — Tempe, Arizona, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils quarterback Sam Leavitt (10) against the Houston Cougars in the second half at Mountain America Stadium. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Hurricanes went 10-2 this season and enter the postseason with a quarterback (Beck) who posted 3,072 passing yards and 25 passing touchdowns with a 74.7% completion rate.

However, despite Beck’s productive year as the starter and Miami’s CFP berth, the senior quarterback is widely expected to move on after the season, opening a potential vacancy at one of college football’s biggest brands.

Leavitt combines a CFP start, redshirt-sophomore eligibility, mobility, and a nationally ranked NIL valuation (estimated at $2.1 million), positioning him as one of the portal’s most attractive quarterbacks.

NIL

ESPN’s Pete Thamel: ‘Tip-top’ of transfer portal quarterback market could reach $5 million

Published

3 hours ago

December 20, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Although the transfer portal doesn’t open until Jan. 2, the quarterback market is starting to take shape. Multiple high-profile signal-callers announced their plans to hit the portal, and ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported how much the top QBs could make.

Thamel reported the “tip-top” of the quarterback market could reach $5 million. For comparison, Duke quarterback Darian Mensah was one of the highest-paid players in the country this past season at $4 million, On3’s Pete Nakos previously reported.

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Multiple big-name schools are expected to be looking for a quarterback in the portal this year, and names such as Brendan Sorsby, Dylan Raiola and Josh Hoover are already front-and-center. As a result, the market could surge, Thamel said.

“This market looks robust already, guys. … I made some calls today. Sources told me the tip-top of this quarterback market, financially, could reach $5 million for one season,” Thamel said Friday on ESPN College GameDay. “Look, it’s supply and demand. You have all those guys. Sorsby’s been linked early to Texas Tech. Dylan Raiola, there’s some smoke to Louisville, although maybe a playoff team jumps in late there. There’s been early links between Indiana and Hoover, assuming that [Fernando] Mendoza goes pro.

“Look, this is what’s going to drive the market. Oregon may lose Dante Moore, Miami’ll be in the quarterback market, so will LSU. So when you really take a look at what’s going to drive this quarterback market, it’s going to be the most expensive in the history of college football.”

Quarterback remains one of the biggest positions in the transfer portal, especially considering the recent success. Seven of the last nine Heisman Trophy winners have been transfers, including Mendoza this year. DeVonta Smith and Bryce Young are the only ones to stay with their own program at Alabama and win the award during that time.

Last year’s transfer quarterbacks were also among the highest-paid players in college football, On3 previously reported. Mensah’s $4 million payday was part of a two-year, $8 million deal at Duke. At Miami, Carson Beck inked a deal worth between $3 and $3.2 million, but up to $6 million with incentives.

The NCAA transfer portal window officially opens Jan. 2, meaning that’s when players’ names will start to appear. It will stay open for two weeks, closing Jan. 16.

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College football team set to be without nearly 20 players for upcoming bowl game

Published

4 hours ago

December 20, 2025

Your Sports Nation

The perception of bowl games and their significance to college football programs and players has undergone a rapid shift over the last decade.

In the current age of the sport, teams are turning down postseason bids while the transfer portal is filling up before most bowl games even kick off.

That’s just the reality of the situation. Normally, it’s the needy who are hit the hardest as G6 schools and poorly constructed FBS programs have their rosters raided.

Just take a look at what’s happening at UTSA.

UTSA’s Jeff Traylor: ‘I Hate What’s Going On In College Football’

Since transitioning to the FBS over a decade ago, UTSA has established itself in the Conference USA and the American Conference.

Head coach Jeff Traylor has led the program to six consecutive bowl games. That includes an up-and-down campaign in 2025, when the Roadrunners started 0-2 and won two of their final three games to finish 6-6.

UTSA is a week away from taking on FIU in the First Responder Bowl on December 26.

Going into the matchup, the Roadrunners could be without as many as 20 players. Many of those losses are due to the portal.

“We’ll be a shell of ourselves, but whoever we got out there, we’re going to go out there and play the best we can,” Traylor said, according to KENS 5’s Vinnie Vinzetta. “It’s just the numbers are so big with all the tampering. All the agents, it’s coaches too, it’s all of them. Our kids are being promised such incredible numbers, they’re getting lured into the portal.

“I just hope all the things those coaches and agents are promising they’re going to do for my kids. I hate it because I really want to coach them in a bowl game, but they’re getting leveraged out of it,” Traylor continued. “Their agents are telling them, they’ve got to not play in the bowl, they’ll get this number, they don’t play in the bowl [they’ll get this number].”

“I hate what’s going on in college football. I just think the numbers have gotten so large. You’re talking about teams that have $26 million to $40 million, and the number’s just too big, and who knows if they’re being told the truth? It’s sad, it really is sad,” Traylor added. “I never thought we’d be punished for making a bowl game by being leveraged, that if you don’t give them a certain number, they’re not going to play in a bowl.

UTSA Roadrunners head coach Jeff Traylor | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

Traylor is focused on the players still with the team, but he couldn’t help but recognize that college football looks a lot different than it did in his first season on the job.

“I’m going to celebrate the kids we have left, whoever that is, we’re going to go out there and play our tails off, and I’m very grateful for them,” Traylor said. “Again, I hate we’re talking about the 10 to 15 that probably are not going to play in the game, or 20, whatever that number ends up being. We should be talking about the 90 to 85 that are going to play with their teammates.”

“It’s like I just woke in another world as compared to where we were six years ago,” Traylor added.

Is there a way to combat what’s going on? Not really. There have been calls for coaches to report instances of tampering.

Most of the time, it’s hard for the people in charge to get the specifics of whose saying what.

“There’s no such thing as tampering. Coaches talk to players, agents talk to players,” Traylor said. “Oh, then turn them in, coach. You think those players are going to give me the coach that’s actually talking to them? Why? It’s driving the price up. The more they get driven up, the price goes up higher and higher.

“As long as there’s people gonna pay it, who’s going to stop it? What’s going to stop this? What’s going to stop it? Only the freedom of process is going to stop because when there’s no money left, what are we going to all do?”

As of December 19, four players who started multiple games for UTSA have announced plans to enter the transfer portal, including cornerbacks Davin Martin and KK Meier, defensive end Kenny Ozowalu, and defensive tackle Chidera Otutu.

More attrition is possible in the next seven days.