After bottoming out at 1-11,
#Colorado
has become the talk of the CFB offseason, thanks to Deion Sanders. I went to Boulder to find out why.
"There's a tremendous need, and I don't just think it's all about football."
Reporting with
@BonaguraESPN
:
The Packers had 42 yards on their final drive with no timeouts and only 37 seconds left to win.
#DaBears
had 47 yards for the entire game against the Browns.
Getting some texts about Marcus Freeman’s age (35) as a potential concern for
#NotreDame
.
Dabo Swinney was 39 when promoted Clemson.
Lincoln Riley was 33 when promoted at Oklahoma.
Ryan Day was 39 when promoted at Ohio State.
If Freeman is the right guy, age won’t matter.
Missouri coach Eliah Drinkwitz, to
@ReceDavis
and others, about facing Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl.
"Hey guys, I got a quick phone call. Connor Stalions beeping in right here. I gotta take it."
😂😂
Just got my Heisman Trophy notification that voting has opened. Brief rant time.
1. There are too many Heisman voters
2. There are too many lazy Heisman voters
3. If you vote before champ games begin, you are a lazy Heisman voter and don't deserve a vote.
Have a great week.
Very sorry to report that
@theTylerTrent
passed away earlier today, a
#Purdue
spokesman confirmed to ESPN. He was 20 years old. He was a true inspiration and everything that embodies a
#Boilermaker
.
#Irish
coach Brian Kelly says he told team in today's walk-through that when they beat Clemson, the fans would storm the field and they needed to get to the tunnel as soon as possible because of Covid. Kelly says he was the first to the tunnel.
#IowaState
's Gabe Kalscheur (22 points): "I've never liked Wisconsin, to be honest. I have family from there, but I'm a Minnesota-raised man. ... It fueled my fire for sure."
ISU coach T.J. Otzelberger: "We didn't set out for a certain win total or based on anything . What we set out to do is restore pride to a program I love so much."
Interesting perspective from Dan:
"Which would you rather have? Raw cell phone footage that still needs to be broken down, or highly experienced coaches just handing over their work?Everyone would choose the Purdue option."
Michigan and Purdue broke the exact same rule - they used advanced scouting to steal a future opponent’s signals.
Why does the NCAA and B10 only care about one of them?
From the Yahoo Sports Read & React newsletter.
Hawai'i announces it has withdrawn from playing Memphis in the Hawai'i Bowl because of a recent increase in COVID-19 cases as well as injuries and transfers. Game is scheduled for Friday and Memphis is already on the island. Brutal.
#Kentucky
rapidly becoming a program like Iowa, Utah and Wisconsin -- outperforming the recruiting rankings on NFL draft weekend. Really good player development by Mark Stoops and his staff.
After a pre-game skirmish, referee announces that every Texas and Oklahoma player has been issued an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. A second unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for ANY player after the game kicks off will result in an ejection.
#Purdue
coach
@JeffBrohm
has put together a very detailed and thoughtful proposal for spring football in the
#B1G
and how it would work in fall 2021. Will have more later but here’s the overview.
The former Northwestern player sent ESPN a screenshot of a whiteboard, which he says was in the middle of the locker room. Image is headlined "SHREK'S LIST" and includes a list of players' names and several bulleted items, including "naked slingshot" and "naked bear crawls."
Could not disagree more with Paul on this point. If the committee feels this way, just blow up the whole system. No one really has a chance. Football people know how good Utah is this year.
Source:
#Purdue
is set to hire Graham Harrell as its offensive coordinator, under new coach Ryan Walters. Harrell spent this season as
#WestVirginia
's OC after a three-year run in the same role at
#USC
.
Can't understate the significance of tonight's win for Michigan, which had struggled to translate Big Ten success to the national stage under coaches Bo Schembechler (2-8 in Rose Bowls) and Jim Harbaugh (1-6 in bowls). To take out the SEC champ like that is massive on many levels
Clay Helton, the first FBS coach fired in 2021, delivers the win that results in Scott Frost being the first FBS coach fired in 2022.
Can't make this stuff up.
University of Michigan police confirmed to ESPN that the FBI has joined its investigation of former football assistant Matt Weiss for computer access crimes. Investigation is "extensive, ongoing, and is of the utmost priority," per deputy chief.
@RealTonyGarcia
first reported.
#Clemson
is set to hire
#TCU
offensive coordinator Garrett Riley to be its next OC, after firing Brandon Streeter today, sources tell
@ClowESPN
and me. A deal could be finalized shortly. Riley won the Broyles Award as the nation's top assistant coach this season.
#Buckeyes
coach Ryan Day on Dwayne Haskins: "Just the way that he was 11 years old walking through this facility and said, 'This is what I'm going to do.' And then he did it. That's the legacy he's gonna leave behind."
Central Michigan is investigating photos that show a man who resembles Michigan staff member Connor Stalions, standing on the CMU sideline with the Chippewas coaches for the team's opener Sept. 1 at Michigan State.
Story from
@PeteThamel
and me:
"He was the best football player in the United States that year, and I'll take that to my grave."
My look back at Ndamukong Suh's historic 2009 season, with comments from Bo Pelini, Mack Brown, Tom Herman, Tom Osborne, Warren Buffett and others
#Huskers
Sources to
@TomVH
and me: B1G received documents from Michigan that U-M says show Ohio State, Rutgers and Purdue communicated about U-M's signals in 2022. Docs show Purdue, which faced U-M in B1G champ game, got offense signals from Ohio St + D signals from Rutgers, per sources.
Tell me how many SEC teams would agree to play home-and-homes in the Big Ten. Kudos to Auburn, but they’re a huge exception. SEC has shown almost zero desire to leave its territory.
News from Pete last night. Pressure is rising on first-year commissioner Tony Petitti. As one source told me this morning, "He is going to have to act or he will lose the coaches and ADs."
Sources: On a Big Ten coaches call on Thursday, a vast majority of the league’s coaches encouraged commissioner Tony Petitti to punish Michigan amid its NCAA sign-stealing investigation. “Collectively, the coaches want the Big Ten to act,” per ESPN source.
#Browns
Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah earned a 93.9 overall grade yesterday, the highest single-game grade for any LB (minimum 20 snaps) since Week 17 of 2019.
He also leads all 2021 NFL LBs in overall grade (90.1), pending Week 3 review.
#PennState
AD Sandy Barbour on
#B1G
decision: "It is unclear to me whether or not there was a vote. No one’s ever told me there was. I just don’t know whether there actually was a vote by the chancellors and presidents."
Wow.
#RollTide
coach Nick Saban to
@ClowESPN
: "I know I'll be criticized no matter what I say, that I don't care about player safety. Look, players are a lot safer with us than they are running around at home."
#B1G
is aware of Justin Fields' (
@justnfields
) petition but has no comment at this time, per league spokesman. Fields'
#WeWantToPlay
petition has topped 150,000 signatures in six and a half hours.
UTSA has a bye next week.
UTEP (6-1) has a bye this week and FAU next week.
If the Miners get past the Owls...
11/6: An 7-1 UTEP hosting 8-0 UTSA in the Sun Bowl would be a very interesting site for
@CollegeGameDay
...
#BirdsUp
#PicksUp
#Spartans
RB Kenneth Walker III now has two performances of more than 230 rushing yards. Walker now up to 913 rush yards and nine touchdowns on 129 carries.
Heisman Trophy candidate, for anyone paying attention.
#SMU
quarterback Tanner Mordecai entered the transfer portal earlier tonight and is expected to land at
#Wisconsin
, according to sources. Would be a huge pickup for Luke Fickell and OC Phil Longo.
The most precious commodity of this football season is flexibility. The Big Ten lost it Aug. 11. Why there wasn't more of a desire within the league to simply pause and push back the initial start date 3-4 weeks is why we are where we are.
A Michigan official has confirmed to ESPN that the school received formal notification from the Big Ten of potential disciplinary action. This is a step stated in the league’s sportsmanship policy.
What I'm hearing on Alabama's staff, per sources, following Ryan Grubb's departure.
- OL coach Scott Huff expected to join Seahawks
- Nick Sheridan (TEs) and JaMarcus Shephard (WRs) both likely to stay as co-OCs, which is significant. Sheridan could be playcaller, move to QBs.
Statement from Northwestern’s entire team pushing back against the allegations of hazing, which they call “exaggerated and twisted.” They also say coach Pat Fitzgerald had no knowledge or involvement in the allegations.
Sister Jean: "I filled out my bracket. I may change it before I go down there. I don't see Kentucky any place. I see a few new names."
Trolling Kentucky!
Hope everyone enjoys the games today. I'll have the rare fall Saturday off after the latest addition to our family (just trying not to fumble her). I'll be back with power rankings and more next weekend!
Michigan announces linebackers coach Chris Partridge has been fired. No reason given. Rick Minter, father of defensive coordinator Jesse Minter and a longtime college coach, will serve as linebackers coach going forward.
Michigan's administration has not heard from the Big Ten as of this hour, per sources. The team will begin its preparations to leave for Penn State around 1 p.m. ET. Really going down to the wire with any discipline, which, as several sources noted, isn't really fair to players.
Eight parents of
#Nebraska
football players today filed a lawsuit against the Big Ten Conference. Aiming to declare invalid the league's decision to postpone fall football season, seeking "nominal damages for breach of contract and tortious interference."
Life moves quickly in the coaching world. Before Jim Harbaugh's Vikings interview Wednesday, I heard Josh Gattis had some internal support to replace Harbaugh as Michigan HC. Four days later, Gattis is Miami's offensive coordinator.
Six Northwestern faculty members are asking university leaders for the hazing investigation report to be revealed publicly, according to a letter obtained by ESPN. They also want the $800 Ryan Field rebuild project put on hold "until this crisis is satisfactorily resolved."
Source:
#UCF
is expected to hire
#Miami
's Travis Williams as defensive coordinator. Deal should be finalized soon. Williams worked for Gus Malzahn from 2014-20 at Auburn, the last two seasons as co-DC and linebackers coach. He then joined Miami's staff as linebackers coach.
OSU findings: Meyer's first reaction to learning of Brett McMurphy's report from ops director Brian Voltolini was to adjust settings on cell phone so texts older than a year would be deleted (FOIA requests). Investigators called response "concerning" but found no cover-up.
League sources tell ESPN that
#Nebraska
,
#OhioState
and
#Iowa
are the three schools that voted against postponing the fall season. This will surprise absolutely no one who has followed the story.
NEWS: Big Ten players who test positive for COVID-19 will only be required to miss 17 days, a reduction from 21, according to a document obtained by ESPN showing new policy from B1G's return to competition task force medical subcommittee. Same cardiac protocols will remain.
Can confirm per sources that
#NotreDame
offensive coordinator Tommy Rees will remain. Notre Dame stepped up to keep him as OC. Could be a package deal with Marcus Freeman as head coach. Stay tuned …
Scott Frost says
#Nebraska
estimates $80-120 million hit if there's no football season. "The biggest factor is if we don't play football, we're not going to be able to pay for anything here until we start making money again."
#B1G
presidents meeting continues this afternoon. No news yet on a vote, although there's optimism around a return to play. The big change from first time, sources say, is the confidence from Big Ten's medical community that competition is doable, especially with rapid testing.
Howard Schnellenberger has passed away at 87,
#FloridaAtlantic
announces. Coached Miami to a national title in 1983 and also coached Louisville, Oklahoma, Florida Atlantic and the Baltimore Colts. Went 158-151-3 as a college coach.