Brian Kelly became the latest college football coach to get a pink slip before the 2025 season’s end.
LSU informed Kelly of its decision to part ways with him on Sunday following the team’s blowout loss to Texas A&M on Saturday night, ESPN reported. The team is expected to inform Tigers players of the decision and talks about the terms of his impending departure were ongoing, according to the report.
LSU head coach Brian Kelly walks on the sideline in the second half of an NCAA college football game against Texas A&M, Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Associate head coach Frank Wilson was expected to be named interim head coach, according to On3 Sports. Wilson is also the team’s running backs coach.
Kelly was a high-profile hire by the Tigers, poaching him from Notre Dame following the 2021 season. He led the Tigers to a 10-4 season in 2022 and a win in the Citrus Bowl.
LSU head coach Brian Kelly yells to an official during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Vanderbilt, Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025, in Nashville, Tennessee.(AP Photo/George Walker IV)
The team made appearances in the ReliaQuest Bowl and Texas Bowl in 2023 and 2024 respectively but was never able to make the College Football Playoff.
The 2025 season was supposed to change that as Garrett Nussmeier was considered to be a Heisman Trophy favorite going into the season. The Tigers were ranked as high as No. 3 in the nation but losses to the Aggies, Vanderbilt Commodores and Ole Miss Rebels sent the Tigers tumbling.
LSU head coach Brian Kelly stands on the sideline during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Vanderbilt, Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025, in Nashville, Tennessee.(AP Photo/George Walker IV)
LSU has now lost three out of their last four games with a matchup against the Alabama Crimson Tide on their schedule in less than two weeks. Winning out could still salvage the season but it will be an uphill climb.
Kelly’s dismissal follows Penn State’s James Franklin, who was dumped earlier this month. There are some major openings in college football heading into the 2026 season.
On Saturday, the Tigers dropped their second game of the season in a 31-24 loss to then-No. 17 Vanderbilt on the road. LSU’s first loss of the season came to then-No. 13 Ole Miss on Sept. 27.
Pressure is mounting on Kelly’s squad to get a win over No. 3 Texas A&M in Week 9. A loss would put the Tigers out of the race for the College Football Playoff and would invite more scrutiny about Kelly’s future in Baton Rouge.
LSU appeared ready to take the next step under Kelly with a win over then-No. 4 Clemson in Week 1, but that victory looks less impressive as Clemson now has a 3-4 record.
On Monday, Kelly seemed aware of the outside noise surrounding his program.
Per Scott Rabalais of The Advocate, Kelly told reporters during his news conference that he realizes fans and the media don’t think he’s getting his job done during his fourth year with the Tigers.
“Some are saying I’m not getting my job done now,” Kelly said. “I get that. But we are working hard every single day to get our football team better.”
Loading twitter content…
The team has been not been good enough against top-tier competition in the SEC, at least for a program that expected to enter the CFP. Kelly’s squad was unable to finish against the Rebels and Commodores.
The next two games could define Kelly’s future at LSU. Following Saturday’s game against the Aggies, LSU has a bye and then will travel to play No. 4 Alabama on Nov. 8. The Tigers need to win both to stay in the CFP conversation, but Kelly needs to win at least one to show he can coach in big games.
Even going 1-1 against Texas A&M and the Crimson Tide could be problematic for Kelly, as his record against ranked teams in the SEC would be inconsistent at best.
Following Saturday’s loss, Kelly told the media that he warned his team to be play mistake-free football against Texas A&M, believing the Tigers can win in Week 9 and fight to make it to the SEC championship.
“Then it’s a four-game race to the SEC championship,” Kelly said. “It’s a disappointing loss. There’s no doubt (about) it. But they’ve got to bounce back right to reality and know that they’ve got to play mistake-free against their outstanding A&M team.”
Lane Kiffin’s daughter, Landry, announced she is dating LSU star linebacker Whit Weeks, and the Ole Miss head coach had a hilarious, three-word reaction to the news.
Landry, a 20-year-old sophomore at Mississippi, posted a photo of herself and Weeks in an Instagram carousel with the caption, “Happy,” which included a smiley face.
Weeks also reposted the story, commenting with, “Nice dude,” to which Landry replied, “Thanks bud.”
Florida wide receiver Dallas Wilson (6) is hit by LSU linebacker Whit Weeks (40), who was penalized for targeting on the play, and safety Tamarcus Cooley (0), in the first half Sept. 13, 2025, in Baton Rouge, La.(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
While their new romance is going strong, Weeks and Lane will not be seeing eye to eye on Saturday when No. 4 LSU travels to No. 13 Ole Miss for a highly anticipated SEC clash. So, when one football fan posted the picture of the couple on X saying, “The Kiffin household must be in shambles,” the coach gave his take on the game to come.
“Take the over,” he replied, predicting a high-scoring bout would be incoming between the Tigers and Rebels. And Kiffin obviously wants most of those points to be from his squad in Oxford.
Weeks is going to try his best to get the ball back to Garrett Nussmeier and the Tigers’ offense. He’s one of the best defenders in the SEC, leading the conference in solo tackles last season with 61. Weeks also tallied 125 combined tackles, 3½ sacks and an interception.
Weeks has 11 total tackles through four games this season, including five solo. He has recorded a half-sack as well.
Both teams are looking to stay perfect with 4-0 records to begin the 2025 campaign.
After a close battle against Clemson on the road to open the season, the Tigers went on a run that included a 56-10 beatdown on Southeastern Louisiana last week after beating the Florida Gators, 20-10.
Meanwhile, Lane’s offense has been cooking as the Rebels have scored at least 30 points and at least 41 in three of their four wins this season. The latest was a 45-10 dominant win over Tulane, while they outscored Arkansas, 41-35, the week prior.
The 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff will be one of the best games of the week on the college football slate, and now there’s some extra bragging rights considering this budding relationship.
The LSU Tigers are aiming to get back to the mountaintop, and their start couldn’t have gotten much better.
In their season opener, they took down then-No. 4 Clemson on the road, 17-10. With two more wins since then, LSU has gone from No. 9 at the beginning of the season up to the third-ranked team in the country.
“Can’t complain starting off 3-0,” LSU wide receiver Chris Hilton Jr. said in a recent interview with Fox News Digital.
LSU wide receiver Chris Hilton Jr. (3) scores on a long touchdown reception during a game against Baylor on Dec. 31, 2024, at NRG Stadium in Houston.(Ken Murray/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Hilton said the Tigers have a “go 1-0 each week” mindset, but it had been six years since LSU began its season with a victory, which he said was a “good feeling.”
The expectations, though, were automatically higher. Garrett Nussmeier is in his second full season as a starter after replacing Jayden Daniels. Nussmeier had to wait his turn, and Hilton himself, in his fifth season with LSU, has 22 career receptions, albeit with crazy big-play ability.
“I’m pretty sure it was kind of understood, when you come to a place like this, you expect competition in those rooms. That’s what you come to LSU for,” Hilton admitted.
But Hilton’s new NIL deal with Popeyes reflects patience and hard work. The restaurant’s new campaign, by loading up a roster with 10 college athletes, is setting out to celebrate college football athletes who embody the pursuit of “better” this football season.
Chris Hilton Jr. of LSU in action against Louisiana Tech at Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge, on Sept. 6, 2025.(Ella Hall/LSU/University Images via Getty Images)
“I really partnered with Popeyes in pursuit of being better on and off the field. It’s me and nine other guys, and we’re just celebrating that coming into the season. It’s their pursuit of being better. Being an athlete, that’s what we take pride in, and constant improvement. So it means a lot to me,” he said.
That same characteristic, though, can be said for Nussmeier, Hilton said.
“Me and Nuss, we’ve been together since our freshman year, so we’ve got that chemistry. He’s really good. The biggest thing for him is the role he’s taken as a leader. Just seeing him take that step as a leader aspect, it’s been nice to watch,” he said.
One quarter of the regular season is already complete, and barring unforeseen circumstances, the Tigers will be competing for a national championship in the 12-team playoff this year.
But Hilton doesn’t want to look ahead just yet.
Chris Hilton Jr. of the LSU Tigers celebrates his touchdown with Garrett Nussmeier during the second quarter against the Oklahoma Sooners at Tiger Stadium on Nov. 30, 2024, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.(Gus Stark/LSU/University Images via Getty Images)
“I say the biggest thing for us right now, obviously, the team morale is high being 3-0 right now. I would say, you just can’t look too far ahead into the future,” he said. “You gotta block out all the outside noise. There’s gonna be people saying good things and bad things about teams. That just comes with the sport. But we have to focus on the task at hand, which is one game each week.”
Another top-10 bout on Saturday night was a defensive showing, but this time, it was the road team getting it done, as No. 9 LSU earned a 17-10 victory over No. 4 Clemson in South Carolina.
Offense did not come easily in this one, as there were four punts, a fumble, and two field goals on the first seven drives. Late in the second half, Clemson found a groove and went on a 13-play drive that ended in the game’s first touchdown. LSU answered back with a healthy drive of their own, but they lost a fumble on 4th and 2 from inside the red zone just before the half ended.
Clemson missed a field goal on their first drive out of the half, and LSU responded with a touchdown to tie things up at 10. Momentum seemed to be in LSU’s hands, as they picked off Cade Klubnik and Garrett Nussmeier found Zavion Thomas for a score.
However, Thomas did not maintain control through the catch, and it was ruled incomplete. Almost immediately, Damian Ramos pull-hooked a 46-yard field goal attempt.
Garrett Nussmeier #18 of the LSU Tigers celebrates after a play during the third quarter against the Clemson Tigers on Aug. 30, 2025 at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina.(Gus Stark/LSU/University Images via Getty Images)
But LSU forced a three-and-out, and they took advantage with a touchdown drive that ended in Nussmeier finding Trey’Dez Green for the lead score with 12:18 left in the game.
Clemson’s offense continued to stall, as they turned the ball over on downs with roughly nine minutes to go, but had another chance with 4:26 to go. However, each of Klubnik’s first two passes fell incomplete, and a false start backed them up even more, forcing them to punt.
The Clemson defense forced a three-and-out, giving Clemson one more shot with 1:46 to go at their own 43 and a timeout.
Garrett Nussmeier #18 celebrates with Caden Durham #29 of the LSU Tigers after scoring a touchdown during the third quarter against the Clemson Tigers on Aug. 30, 2025 at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina. (Kristen Young/LSU/University Images via Getty Images)
They quickly got inside the red zone, but on 4th and 4, LSU forced Klubnik to shorten his throw on a rollout, preserving their 17-10 victory.
Nussmeier impressed to begin his second year as a starter, completing 28 of his 38 passes for 230 yards.
Klubnik went 19-for-38 for 230 yards, and their rushing was non-existent. Lead rusher Adam Randall tallied only 16 yards on five carries, albeit one of them being a touchdown.
Garrett Nussmeier #18 of the LSU Tigers celebrates after scoring a touchdow in the fourth quarter against the Clemson Tigers on Aug. 30, 2025 at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina. (Kristen Young/LSU/University Images via Getty Images)
On the heels of two of the more riveting weeks of college football in recent memory comes a jam-packed Saturday that features a trio of SEC headliners, including a top-five clash between blue bloods. There’s also multiple rivalry games that feature boots (sort of), and a potential College Football Playoff showcase in Bloomington, Indiana, of all places.
Bless this sport.
Let’s rank the top 10 games of Week 8, starting with honorable mentions and counting down.
Honorable Mention: Oklahoma State at No. 13 BYU, Ohio at Miami (Ohio), Virginia at No. 10 Clemson, Auburn vs No. 19 Missouri, Louisiana at Coastal Carolina, Toledo at NIU, Colorado at Arizona, James Madison at Georgia Southern, UCF at No. 9 Iowa State.
(All point spreads come from BetMGM; click here for live odds. Stream college football on fubo. All kickoff times are Eastern and on Saturday unless otherwise noted.)
Let’s give flowers to two teams that have exceeded expectations in the Big 12. Both were projected to finish near the bottom of the conference, but the winner on Saturday will have played its way into the conference title conversation. Arizona State and wrecking-ball running back Cam Skattebo have been proving the doubters wrong for weeks. But the Sun Devils will be without starting quarterback Sam Leavitt due to a rib injury; fifth-year journeyman Jeff Sims will start in his place. The Bearcats and gunslinging transfer QB Brendan Sorsby will try to take advantage of a depleted ASU crossing two time zones for an early kickoff.
Line: Cincinnati -4.5
9. UNLV (5-1) at Oregon State (4-2), 10 p.m., Fubo, The CW
The Rebels rebounded from an overtime loss to Syracuse by hanging a 50-burger on Utah State last week, keeping pace with Boise State in the Mountain West standings. It sets up a massive game in Las Vegas next week against the Broncos that will have huge implications on the conference race and battle for the Group of 5’s spot in the CFP. But a win this Saturday in Corvallis would add a nice bullet point to UNLV’s resume in the meantime. Oregon State, looking to recover from a surprising loss to Nevada, should eventually make for an instructive common opponent between the two. The Beavs play at Boise State next month.
Line: UNLV -7
8. No. 17 Kansas State (5-1) at West Virginia (3-3), 7:30 p.m., Fubo, Fox
There are intriguing matchups involving the Big 12’s three ranked teams this week, including Oklahoma State at No. 13 BYU and UCF at No. 9 Iowa State. But K-State has the most at stake. It is the only of those three ranked squads going on the road, and the only one with a loss. Of the teams in the top five of the Big 12’s preseason poll, the Wildcats are also the only one that hasn’t been a disappointment thus far. A second defeat, however, would quickly put their conference title and CFP hopes on life support, even in the ever-chaotic Big 12. Kansas State can’t afford to stumble in Morgantown against a streaky but resilient West Virginia, in a face-off of two proficient rushing attacks.
Line: Kansas State -3
7. No. 24 Michigan (4-2) at No. 22 Illinois (5-1), 3:30 p.m., Fubo, CBS
A bit surprising for a ranked matchup to be this low on the list — except for the fact that Michigan has one of the worst offenses in college football (and maybe shouldn’t be ranked?). Illinois just needed overtime to beat a terrible Purdue team that scored 40 points second-half points. Still, hat tip to the Illini, who are 5-1 and playing the first ranked matchup at Memorial Stadium since 2000. Illinois will also honor legendary halfback Red Grange — the Galloping Ghost — a century after his epic 402-yard, six-touchdown game against the Wolverines. The Illini will sport throwback uniforms and hand-painted helmets that took 18 months to create.
Line: Michigan -3.5
GO DEEPER
What does Michigan-Illinois mean? Previewing a sneaky big game for Wolverines, Illini
Expect this one to play out differently than the 55-0 shutout that Notre Dame pitched when these teams last met in 2021. Unfortunately, injuries will be a storyline. The Irish lost All-American cornerback Benjamin Morrison to a season-ending hip injury, and Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King will be a game-time decision after suffering a knock in last week’s win over North Carolina. If King can’t go, the job will fall to sophomore backup Zach Pyron, who has completed 5 of 7 passes and rushed for four touchdowns in limited action. Either way, the Irish can’t take this one lightly, with a remaining schedule that looks a lot tougher than we all expected, including ranked games against Navy and Army ahead of the regular-season finale at USC.
Line: Notre Dame -12.5
5. Nebraska (5-1) at No. 16 Indiana (6-0), Noon, Fubo, Fox
I have thoroughly enjoyed the Indiana and Curt Cignetti media blitz this week, including this stellar profile of Cignetti by Joe Rexrode. The Hoosiers are basking in the glow of their first 6-0 start since 1967, and rightfully so. They’ve been one of the biggest surprises this season in Year 1 under Cignetti, and have yet to trail through six games. Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff is headed to Bloomington as IU faces Nebraska and freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola, who is acting wise beyond his years. Big-time game featuring a pair of top-10 defenses (and a top-five offense for Indiana). The Huskers, who have lost 25 straight to ranked opponents, will get two cracks in a row at Indiana and then at Ohio State. On the other side, another win for the Hoosiers will shift the chatter from fast start to legit Playoff contender.
It’s the Battle for the Golden Boot, one of the more underappreciated rivalry names and trophies in college football. LSU has won seven of the last eight matchups, but both teams are coming off mammoth victories.
The Tigers won a classic in overtime against Ole Miss despite never leading until the game’s final play, and Arkansas popped the first leak in Tennessee’s balloon a couple of weeks ago. The Razorbacks are better than anticipated — and Sam Pittman may have saved his job — while LSU has clawed back into the top 10 and CFP picture after the season-opening loss to USC. The Tigers will need more consistency out of Garrett Nussmeier to make some noise in the SEC, but his performance at the end of the Ole Miss victory showed how high his ceiling can be.
More top-notch rivalry hardware — and footwear: The Schnellenberger Trophy, which was introduced last season and currently resides with the Cardinals. Battle for the Golden Boots???
The Louisville Sports Commission announces Louisville and Miami will play annually for The Schnellenberger Trophy: “Which features the actual western dress boots, now bronzed, worn by Coach Howard Schnellenberger when he led both programs to national prominence.” pic.twitter.com/khBoFZOpHQ
This game is flying under the radar thanks to a loaded SEC slate, but it should be a fun, high-scoring barnburner. Miami desperately needed a bye after a pair of close calls against Virginia Tech and Cal, but Heisman hopeful Cam Ward and the Hurricanes remain one of 11 unbeaten teams in college football. Louisville ended a two-game skid last Saturday with a win at Virginia, with a top-15 offense (7.2 yards per play) led by quarterback Tyler Shough. Miami has the top offense in FBS at 8.2 yards per play, and Ward leads all FBS quarterbacks in passing yards per game (369.8).
An almost top-10 matchup between two teams that are either national title contenders or complete frauds, depending on which message board thread you read. Either way, the Third Saturday in October should provide some insight, and it’s a critical one as both teams try to avoid a second loss and spiraling fan bases. This is a tough game to handicap: Alabama has a top-10 offense, Tennessee has a top-two defense, but both teams have been mercurial on the field. David Ubben did a nice job digging in on that variability for an anonymous coaching confidential on the game, and Kennington Smith III examined how first-year Alabama head coaches have fared in the Tennessee rivalry.
Line: Alabama -3
GO DEEPER
What’s going on with Alabama and Tennessee? Coaches who faced them weigh in
Praise be: It’s our third top-five showdown of the season. The first two — Georgia vs Alabama and Ohio State vs Oregon — resulted in two of the best games of the year to this point. This is the sixth all-time meeting between Georgia and Texas and first since the 2019 Sugar Bowl.
The Dawgs are underdogs for the first time in the last 50 games (!), and might need a road win over the top-ranked team in the country to preserve their CFP hopes. Texas, meanwhile, has been stellar on both sides of the ball and is arguably in a class of its own right now, though it has yet to face an opponent as good as Georgia. Quinn Ewers did look a tad rusty in his return from injury against Oklahoma last week, so we’ll see if that lingers. But coaches we spoke with for our coaching confidential on the game see Texas having the upper hand.
Another win for the Longhorns would cement them as the clear national title favorite. But if the chaos timeline of this college football season continues, we’ll see a slightly diminished Georgia take down the Horns in Austin, and the top of the sport will officially look as vulnerable as it has in years.
Line: Texas -4.5
GO DEEPER
Coaching confidential: Texas has the edge against Georgia in SEC showdown
DETROIT — LSU quarterback and the 2023 Heisman Trophy winner, Jayden Daniels, was drafted by the Washington Commanders with the number two pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. It was the highest selection Washington made at the quarterback position since Robert Griffin III was picked with the second pick in 2012.
Washington also considered quarterbacks Drake Maye and J.J. McCarthy during their pre-draft process.
“It just starts with I’m just coming in to compete,” Daniels said. “I’m coming in and trying to play my role whatever that is. I just want to be the best teammate, help the team win and we can bring back some victories to Washington and we can have some fun.”
During his press conference, Daniels highlighted his optimism regarding joining the fraternity of African-American quarterbacks currently playing in the NFL.
“You know, I’ve been watching those guys perform at a high level,” Daniels said. “You know, guys like CJ Stroud, Lamar Jackson and Jalen Hurts, those type of guys. And now to be a part of the family and to be able to compete against them, it’s amazing for me to be a part of that. We’re in a tight knit community.”
The Washington Commanders has not had a winning season since 2016 and Daniels is tasked ignite a fan base and city that is itching for a winner. Also, this is the first draft pick made by newly-minted head coach Dan Quinn.
“Dan Quinn is a great guy and a lot speak highly of who he is as a person and how he cares about his players,” Daniels added. “Their track record speaks for itself. Kliff Kingsbury was with Kyler [Murray], and for a time he had Kyler in the MVP conversation so I was excited to chop it up and talk ball with him.”
SHE HAS BECOME A SUPERSTAR, BEING COMPARED NOW TO THE LIKES OF MICHAEL JORDAN, SPORTS BUSINESS EXPERTS LIKE PROFESSOR MICHAEL MCCANN OF THE UNH, FRANKLIN PIERCE SCHOOL OF LAW SAY A BIG PART OF THE SHIFT HAS TO DO WITH THE LARGER CHANGES WITHIN THE WORLD OF COLLEGE SPORTS, NAMELY INDIVIDUAL ATHLETES LIKE CLARK CAN NOW MONETIZE THEIR NAME, THEIR IMAGE AND THEIR LIKENESS. MEANING FANS ARE GETTING A LOT MORE OF THEM. SHE STILL WOULD BE VERY FAMOUS IF SHE PLAYED BEFORE FOR THE NCAA, KIND OF RELUCTANTLY ALLOWED PLAYERS TO MAKE MONEY ON NAME, IMAGE AND LIKENESS IN 2021. BUT I THINK SHE’S NOW IN AN ERA WHERE THE ATHLETE HERSELF OR HIMSELF IS REALLY CELEBRATED IN A WAY THAT IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT FROM WHAT WE’VE SEEN IN COLLEGE SPORTS OVER THE YEARS, WHERE IT’S BEEN MORE KIND OF TEAM CENTRIC. AND SO IN TERMS OF WHAT’S NEXT FOR CLARK, WELL, MCCANN SAYS HE BELIEVES THE EXPECTATION IS THAT CLARK IS GOING TO CATAPULT NEXT. THE WNBA TO A LEVEL THAT IT HAS NEVER SEEN. FIRST, OF COURSE, TRY TO WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP. YOU CAN SEE THE WNBA, THE WOMEN’S NCAA FINAL FOUR, STARTING TONIGHT AT SEVEN ON ESPN, AND THEN THE WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP GOING TO
Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese are headed to the WNBA. Are they also destined for a pay cut?
Updated: 4:43 PM EDT Apr 16, 2024
Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese have both decided to forgo their final year of college eligibility and enter the WNBA Draft, though there aren’t multimillion dollar WNBA rookie contracts awaiting them.Clark, Iowa’s record-setting guard, is expected to be the No. 1 pick by the Indiana Fever, and rival from LSU should be selected later in the first round. The base salary for the first pick in the WNBA draft is $76,000, unlike the millions in rookie contracts for their NBA brethren.Video above: What Caitlin Clark’s rise to stardom means for the future of women’s sportsClark and Reese became millionaires during their college careers, and despite the WNBA salary range, going pro doesn’t doesn’t mean the collegiate standouts will take a dramatic pay cut — or any pay cut for that matter.The pair had the top two name, image and likeness (NIL) valuations for women’s basketball players and those deals are expected to carry over into their pro careers.Clark’s NIL deals are valued at just over $3 million and Reese at $1.8 million, according to On3.com. Clark’s deals include Nike, Gatorade, State Farm and Buick; Reese, who has built her own brand over the past few years, has a long list of sponsors that includes Reebok, Coach and Sports Illustrated. If Clark is the top pick in the WNBA as expected, she will earn around $76,000 in base salary. The 10th overall selection earns about $70,000, and Reese will get somewhere in between — depending where she is drafted. Both players also could earn hundreds of thousands dollars in league and team marketing deals as well as bonuses for performances on the court — boosting their WNBA earnings to potentially $500,000. The top salaries for WNBA players are much less than the minimum salary of about $1,119,563 for NBA players (excluding those on two-way contracts) for various reasons. The primary one is the difference in profit margins for each league, driven in part by media rights. The NBA’s revenues topped $10 billion for the first time in 2022 and the league has a $24 billion, nine-year television deal. Its next one, set to kick in around 2025, is expected to be worth significantly more. The WNBA makes about $60 million a year in broadcast deals and its season is also half as long as the NBA season. The WNBA does not publicly release its revenue numbers. The WNBA’s new TV deal will begin in 2025 and that contract should be for significantly more money than previous ones. That could result in a huge salary bump for players like Clark and Reese. Right now, the top current base salary is $242,000.If Clark and Reese are able to bring their college fan base with them to the WNBA, it would only boost the league’s TV deal negotiations. All salary increases would have to be negotiated in the next collective bargaining agreement that runs through 2027. The mutual opt-out date is Nov. 1 this year. If either side decides to opt-out, the current CBA would end after the 2025 season.
CLEVELAND —
Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese have both decided to forgo their final year of college eligibility and enter the WNBA Draft, though there aren’t multimillion dollar WNBA rookie contracts awaiting them.
Clark, Iowa’s record-setting guard, is expected to be the No. 1 pick by the Indiana Fever, and rival from LSU should be selected later in the first round. The base salary for the first pick in the WNBA draft is $76,000, unlike the millions in rookie contracts for their NBA brethren.
Video above: What Caitlin Clark’s rise to stardom means for the future of women’s sports
Clark and Reese became millionaires during their college careers, and despite the WNBA salary range, going pro doesn’t doesn’t mean the collegiate standouts will take a dramatic pay cut — or any pay cut for that matter.
The pair had the top two name, image and likeness (NIL) valuations for women’s basketball players and those deals are expected to carry over into their pro careers.
Clark’s NIL deals are valued at just over $3 million and Reese at $1.8 million, according to On3.com. Clark’s deals include Nike, Gatorade, State Farm and Buick; Reese, who has built her own brand over the past few years, has a long list of sponsors that includes Reebok, Coach and Sports Illustrated.
If Clark is the top pick in the WNBA as expected, she will earn around $76,000 in base salary. The 10th overall selection earns about $70,000, and Reese will get somewhere in between — depending where she is drafted. Both players also could earn hundreds of thousands dollars in league and team marketing deals as well as bonuses for performances on the court — boosting their WNBA earnings to potentially $500,000.
The top salaries for WNBA players are much less than the minimum salary of about $1,119,563 for NBA players (excluding those on two-way contracts) for various reasons. The primary one is the difference in profit margins for each league, driven in part by media rights. The NBA’s revenues topped $10 billion for the first time in 2022 and the league has a $24 billion, nine-year television deal. Its next one, set to kick in around 2025, is expected to be worth significantly more. The WNBA makes about $60 million a year in broadcast deals and its season is also half as long as the NBA season. The WNBA does not publicly release its revenue numbers.
The WNBA’s new TV deal will begin in 2025 and that contract should be for significantly more money than previous ones. That could result in a huge salary bump for players like Clark and Reese. Right now, the top current base salary is $242,000.
If Clark and Reese are able to bring their college fan base with them to the WNBA, it would only boost the league’s TV deal negotiations.
All salary increases would have to be negotiated in the next collective bargaining agreement that runs through 2027. The mutual opt-out date is Nov. 1 this year. If either side decides to opt-out, the current CBA would end after the 2025 season.
You know the lore behind many men’s basketball greats: Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Hakeem Olajewon, Allen Iverson, Wilt Chamberlain…I could go on. We talk about shoe deals and the dominance of iconic brands like Nike and Converse thanks to the success of basketball.
I could name almost every team in the men’s National Basketball Association off the top of my head. I know star players like Joel Embiid, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jayson Tatum, LeBron James, Steph Curry. I can argue with the best of them that Embiid is a better center than Nikola Jokic…but what about the WNBA?
Women’s basketball has scandalously been a fourth-world sport for close to 30 years. The salaries barely above a livable wage, the game attendance often lackluster at best, the buzz behind jersey sales and star players is minimal. In fact, you rarely see many front-page stories on women basketball professionals.
All it takes is one…as Nike told Michael Jordan: it’s not about the shoe, but who’s wearing the shoe. Over the past few years, it hasn’t been the WNBA that’s drawing attention to women’s basketball…but the NCAA Women’s Basketball League.
“The One” in question is Iowa Hawkeye, Caitlin Clark. During the month of March, NBA devotees ripped their attention away to the NCAA March Madness tournament. And while the men’s teams generally dominate our screens, the women have recently stolen the show.
Who Is Caitlin Clark?
Caitlin Clark
AP Photo/Abbie Parr
Hailing from Des Moines, Caitlin Clark quickly became one of the most talked about players in college basketball. This past season, the 6-foot guard averaged 32 points per game, 7 rebounds, and 9 assists. She’s widely regarded as one of the greatest female basketball players of all time, and she’s only 22 years old.
As a senior with another year of eligibility due to the pandemic, Clark has options. She can continue to eviscerate all competition in her path and continue working towards an NCAA championship…or she can test her luck in the WNBA. And then there are the multi-million dollar offers from 50 Cent and Barstool’s Dave Portnoy to play in their respective leagues.
Clark is set to become the highest paid female basketball player, and for a good reason. A first team All-American, the recipient of the John Wooden Award, an NCAA Division I all-time leading scorer among both men and women — I could go on…
She’s making women’s basketball not only cool, but she’s had an effect similar to the one Taylor Swift had on football. The Caitlin Clark Effect knows no boundaries: the 2023 NCAA Championship game versus Coach Kim Mulkey’s LSU Villainesses was the most-viewed women’s college game in history. Each team that Iowa played saw their highest attendance ever, and Iowa’s home games were seeing equally sold-out successes.
Celebrities are suddenly flying to Iowa just to see Clark play. During April 1’s LSU-Iowa rematch, Jason Sudeikus cheered on Clark. Her fan base includes Travis Scott, Tom Brady, Billie Jean King, and Ashton Kutcher. A game in Iowa City now resembles the courtside section of Madison Square Garden.
Clark is a joy to watch. A true anomaly of a human whose basketball prowess borderlines on the robotic, it’s that impressive. She makes an NCAA game look like the prime Golden State Warriors…and she’s not alone in women’s college basketball superstardom.
Who Are The Women’s NCAA Basketball Stars?
Angel Reese taunting Caitlin Clark in the 2023 NCAA Championship
Tony Gutierrez/AP
It feels like there’s a superstar on every team in the women’s 2024 March Madness tournament. This made the tournament a thrill to watch, because every game has been a head-to-head matchup of some of the hottest young talent heading into the WNBA.
Caitlin Clark’s next matchup are the UConn Huskies, who have their own star in guardPaige Bueckers. Bueckers has garnered a host of awards and accolades throughout her college career: the 2021 Wooden Award recipient, Big East player of the year and freshman of the year, etc.
Bueckers and the Huskies just knocked off USC’s Trojans led by true freshman guard JuJu Watkins. Watkins is yet another thrilling name in the realm of women’s hoops and the face in Nike and AT&T Wireless commercials alongside NBA stars like Joel Embiid.
And then there’s the aforementioned “villainesses” at Louisiana State University. Led by power dresser and controversial coach, Kim Mulkey, the LSU women’s basketball team is constantly the talk of the town.
After LSU lambasted Iowa last year in the tournament, all eyes were on the trash-talking, bold LSU Tigers. Guard Angel Reesebacked up her trash talk with a killer performance on the court, and off the court, she embraces the villain role with open arms.
She’s not wrong. The LSU team undoubtedly gets a majority of the heat from the public. It’s not lost on me that it’s often a bunch of grown men trolling the women’s physical appearance on social media and harping on their “unladylike” behavior rather than their commanding presence on the court.
One more point Angel Reese wasn’t wrong about: they’re like The Beatles. There’s fervent support and a cult-like following surrounding women’s college basketball. And as these powerhouses progress in their careers, there’s been a WNBA resurgence. Men are opting to watch 22-year-old Caitlin Clark over 39-year-old LeBron James.
Welcome To The Women’s Basketball Takeover
Don’t believe me? The proof is in the numbers. Games featuring Iowa and Caitlin Clark during her final season are reported as the most-viewed women’s college basketball games of all time across platforms like ABC, Fox, and NBC. Clark’s final regular season game – when she broke the scoring record – was the second most-watched game (men or women) of the season.
Tickets for the Iowa-UConn matchup are currently going for over $1000, and the Iowa-LSU matchup on April 1 recorded 12.6 million viewers. That smashes last year’s previous record of 9.9 million…but, before that the record was in 2002, at 5.6 million.
To put that in perspective, they’re not that far behind men’s basketball – the NC State-Duke game peaked at 15.1 million viewers. The game was more viewed than the 2023 World Series and NBA Championship. And although you can’t yet bet on women’s basketball, I would say we aren’t far behind.
It’s a new era for women’s basketball. A new investment. And we can’t wait to see what happens next.
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Angel Reese had 20 points and 11 rebounds and third-seeded LSU responded to a nine-point third-quarter deficit with a dominant finish to defeat upstart No. 11 seed Middle Tennessee 83-56 in the second round of the women’s NCAA Tournament on Sunday.
Flau’Jae Johnson scored 21 for the Tigers (30-5) and played central role in helping LSU surge to a comfortable second-half lead that ended the Blue Raiders’ 20-game winning streak.
The decisive victory came one day after LSU coach Kim Mulkey railed against the Washington Post — and threatened potential legal action — for what she described as an impending “hit piece” against her and promised that it would not derail her team’s preparation for NCAA Tournament games.
MTSU (30-5) led 41-32 and looked primed to widen the gap when Reese tripped over a fallen teammate on an attempted layup and crashed hard to the court, sending the Blue Raiders on a 5-on-4 fast break the other way.
But Jalynn Gregory’s open 3 bounced off the back rim to LSU guard Last-Tear Poa, who fired the ball down court, where Reese had just gotten to her feet and made an uncontested layup.
That play spawned a 10-0 run, fueled in part by Mikaylah Williams’ pull-up jumper in transition and her left corner 3, which put the Tigers back in front, 42-41.
Later in the quarter, Johnson forced a turnover by tying up MTSU’s Ta’Mia Scott, followed that up with a 3, and later hit a bail-out, fall-away jumper as the shot clock expired.
LSU wound up outscoring Middle Tennessee 27-8 during the final 8:22 of the third quarter to take a 59-49 lead on Reese’s layup and pulled away from there, going up by as many as 30 points.
MTSU 6-foot-6 starting center Anastasiia Boldyreva scored nine points and blocked three shots, but was challenged constantly by LSU’s physical play in the paint and fouled out just before the end of third quarter. The Tigers turned the game into a rout after that.
Savannah Wheeler, the Conference USA Player of the Year, scored 21 and Scott scored 15 for Middle Tennessee, which lost for the first time since Dec. 30.
Aneesah Morrow scored 19 points and Williams added 16 for LSU, which jumped out to a 24-15 lead that got the Pete Maravich Assembly Center crowd roaring early.
In the second quarter, however, Middle Tennessee seemed unfazed by either the crowd or the Tigers’ prowess in the paint.
LSU is rarely outrebounded, but the Blue Raiders managed more than once to steal rebounds from Reese and outrebound the Tigers 25-18 in the first half to take a 36-32 lead.
BIG PICTURE:
MTSU: The Blue Raiders gave LSU all it could handle for nearly 32 minutes, but lacked the depth to withstand the Tigers’ relentless second-half surge. After Boldyreva fould out, MTSU was outscored 28-7 and fell to 0-5 all-time in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
LSU: LSU proved too much for MTSU inside, outscoring the Blue Raiders 30-18 in the paint. The Tigers also shot 41.7% (5 of 12) from 3-point range.
UP NEXT:
LSU heads to Albany, New York, for the Albany 2 Region semifinals. One more victory could potentially pit the Tigers against Iowa and NCAA all-time leading scorer Caitlin Clark in a rematch of last year’s national title game.
Jim Harbaugh did everything Michigan fans could’ve hoped the former Wolverines star quarterback would do when he returned to Ann Arbor to take over his alma mater’s football program. He ended hated arch-rival Ohio State’s dominance in their series and flipped it around; he turned Michigan into the bully of the Big Ten; and then he led Michigan to its first national title in almost 30 years.
And now, not surprisingly, after three years of flirting with returning to the NFL, Harbaugh is back meeting with NFL teams. He is beginning by meeting with the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday, opening up the very real possibility that he will now leave behind a storied program and one of the best jobs in college sports. If he leaves, who could Michigan turn to next?
The obvious path
That would be promoting Wolverines offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore.
Moore has emerged as a strong candidate, especially after the last month of the regular season. The 37-year-old is still young, but he proved more than capable of the job when he stepped in and coached Michigan late in the 2023 season after the Big Ten suspended Harbaugh during the toughest stretch of the Wolverines’ schedule. Moore led the team to a win over top-10 Penn State in a very hostile environment, managed the road trap game against Maryland and then continued Michigan’s dominance over the Buckeyes. The team loves Moore; spend some time around the program and you see that his impact is significant.
“I was pretty close to leaving,” offensive lineman Trevor Keegan, one of the team leaders, told me about an hour after Michigan won the national title. “The recruiting process is a dangerous thing. Everybody tells you how good you are. That you’ll start as a freshman. As an 18-year-old kid, I wasn’t the most mature guy. I wasn’t playing. I kinda stopped loving football. Coming into Schembechler Hall was kind of a drag for me. Coach Moore came in and changed my whole outlook on life and football. He made me fall in love with football again. I can’t thank him enough. He’s just a guy who puts his head down and works as well. He started here as a tight ends coach and now he’s an OC getting head coaching offers.”
Moore, a Kansas native who played at Oklahoma, is beloved by his players and his coaching peers. I’d be surprised if he doesn’t get the job. There have been some relatively similar situations to point to — most notably Ryan Day taking over at Ohio State after Urban Meyer left for the NFL and Marcus Freeman taking over at Notre Dame after Brian Kelly left for LSU. Day is 56-8, although Buckeye fans are not happy about the losing streak with Michigan these days. Freeman is 19-8 and it’s still a little too soon to get a real sense of whether this was the right move for the Irish. Continuity and how the players felt about the move were big factors, but both have had to grow into the jobs.
The overall results of big jobs promoting from within after the head coach moves on are mostly positive, though.
Florida State promoted Jimbo Fisher after Bobby Bowden retired, and that worked out very well for the Seminoles — Fisher led them to a national title. Stanford promoted David Shaw after Harbaugh left for the NFL a decade ago. That also worked out well, although the program backslid later on under Shaw. Bret Bielema took over for Barry Alvarez at Wisconsin and that went well. Lincoln Riley took over for Bob Stoops at Oklahoma and the Sooners kept winning at a very high level.
Chip Kelly took Oregon to another level after Mike Bellotti stepped down, and then Mark Helfrich got the Ducks to the national title game, although the Ducks tailed off shortly thereafter. Conversely, Bob Davie taking over for Lou Holtz at Notre Dame a generation ago didn’t go so great (one top-20 season in five years). Neither did Jimmy Lake getting promoted after Chris Petersen retired at Washington a few years ago.
The only thing that may give Michigan brass some pause is if Moore is tied to the ongoing NCAA investigation into the sign-stealing scandal. If the investigation finds that Moore — who has not been tied to the scheme — was somehow involved, Michigan might want to start over with a clean slate.
Lance Leipold led Kansas to its first Top 25 finish since 2007. (Joe Camporeale / USA Today)
External candidates
Kansas’ Lance Leipold has worked miracles in Lawrence. He won six Division III national titles at Wisconsin-Whitewater, led Buffalo — one of the toughest FBS jobs — into the Top 25 and then resurrected Kansas, the worst Power 5 program. The Jayhawks went from 2-10 to 6-7 to 9-4 over three seasons. They ranked No. 23 in the final AP poll of the 2023 season and beat Oklahoma for the first time in a generation. The 59-year-old has Midwestern roots, having grown up in Wisconsin. He knows how to build a culture, play physical football and do much more with less. Kansas hadn’t won more than three games in a season in 11 years before Leipold arrived.
The fact that he’s still in Lawrence should make Kansas the biggest winner of the year’s coaching carousel thus far. The Athletic reported on Sunday that Leipold withdraw from the Washington head coach search before Jedd Fisch was hired.
Kansas State’s Chris Klieman, like Leipold, came from winning big in the lower divisions of football. He won four FCS titles at North Dakota State. The 56-year-old led the Wildcats to the Big 12 title in 2022, going 10-4. This past year, the Wildcats were 9-4 and had a second consecutive top-20 finish. Klieman has a good situation at K-State under athletic director Gene Taylor, with whom he worked previously, but the chance to jump to a better-resourced, blue-blood program in the Big Ten might be very tempting.
LSU’s Brian Kelly jumped from South Bend to Baton Rouge to try to better his chances at winning a national title. Kelly had an impressive debut season in Baton Rouge in 2022, going 10-4 and winning the SEC West. This past season, expectations were much higher and the Tigers went 10-3, but it felt disappointing given they had Heisman winner Jayden Daniels at quarterback and a ton of key players back. They were dreadful on defense, got blown out by Florida State in the opener, gave up 55 in a loss to Ole Miss and had only one win over a ranked opponent, Missouri.
Kelly, 62, is a really good coach, but the bar in Baton Rouge is incredibly high. The last three coaches there all won national titles. Making it to a 12-team College Football Playoff but not winning a title won’t cut it. The fit with him in Louisiana has seemed odd, even bizarre, from the moment he arrived. He now has to overhaul his coaching staff. Top recruits still want to come to LSU, but I’ve heard lots of chatter that if he could get in on Michigan, he’d probably go for it. Kelly spent almost two decades in the state of Michigan while coaching at Grand Valley State. How attractive would he be relative to Michigan’s other options? I’m a little skeptical at this point.
Harbaugh may not have been for everybody, but all the people inside Michigan — especially his players — love him for his authenticity. With Kelly, it seems like you might be talking about the polar opposite.
(Top photo of Sherrone Moore: Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)
In seven outings this season, Jalen Milroe has connected on 99 of 153 throws, amassing 1,617 yards. Milroe leads the SEC and sits third nationally, with 16.33 yards per completion.
Alabama has excelled in the red zone, converting on 22 out of 24 scoring opportunities.
Jermaine Burton is a dynamic playmaker for the Crimson Tide, leading UA with 508 yards and five touchdowns on 23 receptions.
Alabama’s defense is a tough nut to crack, allowing a mere 16.5 points per game, putting them at 16th nationally and second in the SEC.
Away: LSU Tigers
LSU has been lighting up the scoreboard with a four-game streak of 48 or more points, setting a school record.
QB Jayden Daniels is a dual-threat playmaker, rushing and passing for touchdowns in the same game 10 times during his 22-game LSU career. The Tigers hold an impressive 9-1 record when Daniels accomplishes this feat.
LSU’s offense boasts a top-10 national ranking in seven categories, including first place in scoring (47.4), total offense (552.9), passing touchdowns (26), 3rd-down conversions (57.8), and first downs (217).
LSU’s receiving corps has been on fire, featuring a 100-yard receiver in seven consecutive games. Brian Thomas and Malik Nabers both reached this milestone against Army.
Alabama Crimson Tide Home Feed:
SiriusXM channel 84 in your vehicle
Channel 84 on the SiriusXM app
LSU Tigers Away Feed:
SiriusXM channel 192 in your vehicle
Channel 963 on the SiriusXM app
Want to listen to more games? Throughout the 2023 College Football season, SiriusXM listeners get access to dozens of game broadcasts each week involving teams from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, SEC, and other conferences — plus Army, Navy, HBCU football and more. For more information about SiriusXM’s college football offerings, click here.
Every Saturday night, Ari Wasserman and David Ubben react to the weekend’s slate of games on “Until Saturday.” On Mondays, they revisit the biggest takeaway from Saturday night’s instant reaction. This week: Ari and David examine the 10 fan bases that should be most disappointed with the start of the 2023 season.
College football Saturdays can be filled with happiness. But not for everyone. The beauty of the sport is that horror is waiting around the corner for more than a few teams every fall, too.
No matter what Ted Lasso says, it truly is the hope that kills you. And for many fan bases, preseason hopes have given way to the crushing reality of the 2023 regular season. Which fan bases are most disappointed with what they’ve seen?
We examined the top 10.
Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman and the Irish are coming off a loss at Louisville. (Jamie Rhodes / USA Today)
Call the Tigers overhyped if you must, but coach Brian Kelly and the Tigers beat Alabama and won the SEC West in his first year on the Bayou. Kirby Smart played for a national title in his second year at Georgia, so why couldn’t Kelly see the year two bump that coaches like Smart, Alabama coach Nick Saban and former Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops have seen in the past?
Instead, LSU gave up a 38-3 run to Florida State in an embarrassing Week 1 loss that was only a preview of what was to come. Ole Miss scored 55 in a Week 5 win over the Tigers, and LSU needed a 15-point comeback to survive a trip Saturday to Mizzou. And superstar defender Harold Perkins’ misuse throughout the first month of the season has been maddening for anyone watching.
In a season that began with national title chatter, the Tigers look certain to take a step back this season under Kelly and need something borderline supernatural just to win the division again. Quarterback Jayden Daniels has improved, but the defense ranks an embarrassing 127th nationally in yards per play allowed.
2. Texas A&M
Maybe Texas A&M wasn’t supposed to win the SEC at this point in its build. After all, it spent the entire offseason trying to fix its dysfunctional offense, and it moved to a new quarterback. But we entered the weekend with many thinking the Aggies could (or should) win at home against Alabama.
With a win, Texas A&M would have earned the notch on its belt teams get for beating Alabama, and it would have been the favorite to go on to win the SEC West. Texas A&M has been dying to get to the SEC Championship Game, and this year should’ve been an opportunity to get there.
Instead, Texas A&M played the exact game it wanted to play and lost. Now, the Aggies have two losses — one to Miami in nonconference play — and we’re heading into mid-October with more of the same stuff from coach Jimbo Fisher. Because of Fisher’s enormous buyout of around $77 million, making a change in leadership is more complicated in College Station than it would be at other places. The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman has reported that A&M will “find that money” if Fisher doesn’t get things going.
Notre Dame nearly had Ohio State. It was the Irish’s time to go out and beat a team loaded with talent, something they were incapable of doing under Brian Kelly. For the majority of the game in South Bend, Ind., Notre Dame was in control. But Ohio State mounted a comeback and won on the last play of the game. Infamously, there were only 10 players on the field on the final two plays of the game. Ohio State barely got the ball into the end zone running to the area where the defender was absent. Torture.
Two weeks later, Notre Dame’s offense appeared completely broken in a loss at Louisville. Coach Marcus Freeman may still be in the building portion of his tenure, but there are real questions about his ability to manage the game on Saturdays. If Notre Dame can’t do it with Sam Hartman at quarterback, what’s it going to take?
GO DEEPER
Sampson: Notre Dame, Marcus Freeman must do more to help Sam Hartman
4. Clemson
Clemson has been sliding out of the same tier as Georgia and Alabama for the past few years, but this season seemed to promise a return. Coach Dabo Swinney hired Garrett Riley to run his offense, the Tigers boasted one of the most talented rosters in the country and quarterback Cade Klubnik came in with some game experience.
Clemson began the year with an embarrassing loss to Duke — one where its offensive deficiencies from a year ago were still present — and the season began in a way that was too similar to the past two years.
After Clemson lost a hard-fought game to Florida State at home, the Tigers are sitting with two losses and are out of the College Football Playoff picture before October. It also has a head coach who seems to have a fundamental misunderstanding of how important the transfer portal is in 2023 and beyond.
The Red Raiders were a trendy pick to contend for their first Big 12 title and send Texas and Oklahoma off to the SEC looking up at those in Lubbock. Instead, Texas Tech lost at Wyoming after racing to a 17-0 first-quarter lead and dropped to 0-2 with a home loss to Oregon a week later in a game it led by nine in the fourth quarter.
It fell to 1-3 two weeks later with a road loss to West Virginia in which it mustered just three points in the first three quarters and never led. And making matters worse, quarterback Tyler Shough might be out the rest of the year with a broken fibula.
The offseason was full of such promise, but Joey McGuire’s team didn’t need to wait long to be humbled.
It’s never a good sign when the head coach deletes his social media and the first-year offensive coordinator on his second run at the program gets in hot water for sending snarky emails in response to angry fan mail.
But this is where Arkansas currently resides. The Hogs were replacing both coordinators this offseason but still had quarterback KJ Jefferson and running back Rocket Sanders returning, one of the best and most experienced one-two punches among any offensive backfield in the SEC. Coach Sam Pittman had won 16 games and two bowls in his last two seasons, but the Razorbacks’ big step back has put plenty of sudden heat underneath Pittman’s seat.
Arkansas lost at home to Liberty last season, lost at home to BYU this year and is mired in a four-game losing streak as it prepares to travel to Alabama. The Hogs coughed up a winnable game at LSU, too. Despite all the experience and proven ability on offense, Arkansas under coordinator Dan Enos ranks last in the SEC in offensive yards per play, in part because of major struggles along the offensive line. That doesn’t play well with fans when the head coach is an offensive line coach by trade. Arkansas’ only FBS win is over a depleted Kent State team that hasn’t beaten an FBS team this season. A loss to Alabama would mark Pittman’s first five-game losing streak in Fayetteville.
Two years ago, Dave Aranda was hoisting a Sugar Bowl trophy and celebrating a Big 12 championship. Now, the Bears have a case as the Big 12’s worst team. Uncompetitive losses to Texas Tech and Texas followed a lopsided loss to Texas State and a fourth-quarter home debacle against an injury-riddled Utah team. It’s already been a nightmare on the Brazos, but the slow decline of the program has been curious — and a concern, especially in a year Baylor was picked to finish sixth in the 14-team league.
In the only win over an FBS team this season, Baylor needed to erase a 35-7 deficit against a UCF team that has yet to win a Big 12 game and is in its first year in the league.
Baylor has missed bowl games only twice since 2010, in the first seasons under former coach Matt Rhule and Aranda. But this Bears team looks a lot like some of the Baylor teams that became accustomed to being the Big 12 doormat in the early years of the league and didn’t play in a bowl game from 1994 to 2010.
The Roadrunners won 23 games the past two years and were a trendy pick to compete for a New Year’s Six bid after moving up to the AAC this season. Star receiver Zakhari Franklin’s late defection to Ole Miss came as a surprise and a huge blow, but Jeff Traylor’s team is 2-3 with losses to Houston and Army and a 31-point loss at Tennessee where the Roadrunners were barely competitive. Star senior quarterback Frank Harris missed the Army and Tennessee games, and the reasons the year has gone awry are easy to pinpoint. But this was a young program’s first and best shot to break through to mainstream success, and it’s clear it won’t be happening this year.
9. Miami
Can someone explain how coach Mario Cristobal had a hard-fought win over Georgia Tech in the bag and single-handedly blew it for his team and fan base? Instead of taking knees to end the game, Cristobal ran offense and handed the ball off. His running back fumbled the ball with fewer than 30 seconds remaining. Georgia Tech recovered. A few defensive breakdowns later, Georgia Tech found the end zone and a win.
It’s inexcusable.
Miami started 4-0, which included a win over Texas A&M, and it was about to go to 5-0. But fundamental misunderstanding of how the QB kneel works (he hasn’t kneeled all year) cost it a win and derailed all of its momentum.
Miami is dying for a winner. It may have been on the way to getting one. Then its head coach lost a game in inexcusable fashion.
GO DEEPER
Miami’s mind-numbing loss to Georgia Tech defies explanation. Now what?
10. Pitt
Former Notre Dame and Boston College quarterback Phil Jurkovec came to Pitt to reunite with offensive coordinator and QBs coach Frank Cignetti Jr. Instead, Jurkovec is exploring a move to tight end.
Coach Pat Narduzzi had won 20 games and an ACC title in the past two seasons and finished in the Top 25 in both seasons. It was a bit lofty to expect to compete for an ACC title this year, but no one expected the Panthers to be flirting with the basement of the league. The Panthers don’t have an FBS win but did lose to first-year Cincinnati coach Scott Satterfield and rival West Virginia. They also suffered a pair of 17-point conference losses to North Carolina and a meager Virginia Tech team.
Pitt skidded into its idle week on a four-game losing streak, but the program’s face plant has been hard to believe. The ACC preseason media poll had Duke and Pitt tied for sixth place.
USC is 6-0, what do Trojans fans have to be upset about? Well, they know the bear is coming for them.
They may feel a little sense of comfort in the fact that USC is undefeated, but after barely skirting by Arizona in triple overtime late Saturday in Pac-12 After Dark action, it is clear yet again that the Trojans don’t play defense. Heck, if Arizona coach Jedd Fisch would have gone for it at the end of the first overtime, there is a legit chance Arizona would have won.
Go look at the back half of USC’s schedule. Five of its last six games in the regular season are against opponents that came into the weekend ranked. Notre Dame, Utah, Washington, Oregon and UCLA are all waiting. And they are salivating watching coordinator Alex Grinch’s defense give up big play after big play.
Everyone loves to talk about how awesome Lincoln Riley is with quarterbacks, and it’s true. But is there a bigger waste of talent than what USC is bound to do with Caleb Williams? He’s a generational quarterback prospect, and he’s likely going to miss the College Football Playoff in both years in Southern California.
Williams won a Heisman Trophy and will be the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft, but what could USC have been this year or last with a semi-functional defense?
(Photo of LSU coach Brian Kelly and quarterback Jayden Daniels: Michael Chang / Getty Images)
College rivalries just don’t go away once you leave school. That’s true in the NFL, too. New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara and defensive back Tyrann Mathieu were on opposite sides of one last weekend.
Kamara played for the Tennessee Volunteers, and Mathieu was a Heisman finalist for the LSU Tigers. LSU was on the wrong end of a 40-13 loss to the Vols, who are now ranked No. 6 in the AP poll.
Mathieu seems to have lost a bet and had to wear orange Tennessee gear at the Saints facility on Wednesday.
Kamara is one of four former Tennessee players on the New Orleans roster; Mathieu and wide receiver Jarvis Landry are the only former Tigers.
Tennessee will host College GameDay on Saturday ahead of a huge SEC showdown with the No. 3 Alabama Crimson Tide in another rivalry game.
Kamara could make a bet with fellow running back Mark Ingram, who won the Heisman Trophy with the Tide. But Kamara should be careful. The Vols haven’t beaten the Crimson Tide since 2006 — a year before Nick Saban arrived in Tuscaloosa.
That was the message wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase got from Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow the morning of the 2021 NFL draft. During the 2019 season at LSU, Burrow and Chase formed one of college football’s most potent combinations. When Chase got the text from Burrow on draft day, it indicated a reunion in Cincinnati might be his future.
“I don’t know if that was a hint or not, but when I saw that text I said, ‘OK, I’m ready,’” Chase said after the Bengals selected him with the fifth overall pick. The move paid off handsomely for Cincinnati. Chase had a record-setting year with 81 catches for 1,455 yards and 13 touchdowns. Chase was named the NFL’s top offensive rookie. The connection between Burrow and Chase helped push the Bengals to the brink of winning the franchise’s first Super Bowl last season.
Burrow and Chase aren’t the only quarterback-receiver combinations who went from being college teammates to linking up in the NFL. They will face two of their former college rivals when Cincinnati hosts the Miami Dolphins on Thursday night (8:15 p.m. ET, Amazon Prime Video).
One pick after the Bengals drafted Chase, Miami reunited Alabama wide receiver Jaylen Waddle with his former college quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. They’re two of six NFL teams that have reunited quarterbacks with their college receivers, hoping to mimic the spark teammates showed before they turned pro.
So far, the results seem to be paying off for Cincinnati, Miami and teams that made similar moves across the NFL.
Stats together with LSU, 2018-19: 107 receptions, 2,093 yards, 23 TDs Stats together with Bengals, 2021-22: 100 receptions, 1,641 yards, 15 TDs
The moment Chase realized Burrow was a special quarterback didn’t happen on the field.
Ahead of the LSU Tigers’ game against the Florida Gators in October 2019, Burrow approached Chase about watching film together. Burrow pointed out all the weaknesses he saw in the opposing defensive backs as they plotted an attack for the upcoming Saturday. Chase finished with seven catches for 127 yards and two touchdowns in a 42-28 win.
The two were prolific members of one of the best college teams in recent history. LSU went undefeated and won the national championship that season. Burrow won the Heisman Trophy while Chase earned the Biletnikoff as the nation’s top receiver, finishing with 1,780 yards and 20 touchdown receptions.
When Chase first arrived at LSU in 2018, the instructions from Burrow were simple but powerful.
“He was just telling me, ‘Bro, if I see one-on-one, I’m going to throw it up to you,’” Chase recalled in August ahead of his second NFL season. “That right there let me know that he believes I’m a great receiver and that I can make plays. When he told me that, it’s just my part to make the play and let him keep believing that I can do it.”
That belief didn’t waver when the pairing reunited in the pros. One year after the Bengals drafted Burrow with the No. 1 overall pick in 2020, they selected Chase at No. 5. And again, it ended up being a special connection. Chase set Cincinnati’s franchise record for most receiving yards in a single season and was named the Associated Press’ Offensive Rookie of the Year.
That on-field connection was exemplified in a Week 17 win over the Kansas City Chiefs that clinched the AFC North and the Bengals’ first playoff berth since 2015.
On a pivotal third-and-27, Burrow found Chase for a 30-yard completion down the right sideline. It worked for the same reason Burrow told him when they started playing together at LSU.
“Everybody knows the meme: ‘Eff it, Ja’Marr’s down there somewhere,’” Burrow said in his postgame news conference. “I’m gonna just throw it up to him and he’s gonna make a play.” — Ben Baby
Stats together with Oklahoma, 2017-18: 77 receptions, 1,425 yards, 11 TDs Stats together with Cardinals, 2022: 23 receptions, 249 yards, 1 TD
Before they became one of college football’s most dynamic duos during the 2018 season, Murray and Brown forged their relationship behind closed doors in 2017 at the expense of one of college football’s best teams.
While both were backups for the Oklahoma Sooners that season, they joined forces on the scout team. Over the course of the season, they built a bond, a friendship and a connection on the field that they’re rekindling five years later.
The show they put on back then set the stage for 2018 and, again in, 2022.
“It was hell,” former Oklahoma cornerback Jordan Thomas said. “It was almost like I’d rather play our starting offense versus our scout team.”
Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury can see the comfort that Murray has with Brown.
“The flashes are there,” Kingsbury said. “And as the season goes on, I expect it to be a pretty good combination.”
From Kingsbury’s experience, which includes college football, if a quarterback and receiver work in college, “it usually has a chance — if they’re talented enough — to continue that chemistry on the next level.”
It’s safe to say Murray and Brown are that type of talented. Both were first-round picks in 2019.
Murray and Brown remained close after college, working out together during offseasons. In fact, they were throwing together when Brown got the call he was traded to the Cardinals in April.
“Just knowing him on a personal level, just knowing the person like, who they really are, just helps you on the field because I know how he thinks, I know how he’s wired, he knows how I’m wired, and sometimes it clicks for people and sometimes it doesn’t,” Brown said.
“With me and Kyler, I think it clicked know from Day 1 and then it’s just something that we just got.”
Brown had a career-high 14 catches in just his third game with Murray for 140 yards, the second most of his career. — Josh Weinfuss
Stats together with Alabama, 2018: 7 receptions, 125 yards, 1 TD Stats together with Eagles, 2021-22: 79 receptions, 1,165 yards, 6 TDs
Hurts and Smith are both electric on the field, but it’s their unspectacular lifestyles off of it that helped forge their initial bond.
Hurts was Smith’s host when Smith took his visit to the Alabama Crimson Tide’s campus. Asked what they did together outside of the obligatory functions, Smith said: “We didn’t do nothing. I went back to my hotel room. We didn’t hang out or nothing like that. That’s just the type of guys we are. We don’t want to be out. We just want to keep to ourselves.”
It’s all about business for both of them. When one wanted to meet up to get extra reps in, the other was always game. It became clear pretty quickly that they were like-minded when it came to their serious approach to their crafts.
“I always kind of draw towards a guy that’s willing to put the work in because I know I’m going to put the work in,” Hurts said. “I was able to build a relationship with DeVonta just because he was willing to work. We didn’t like to party much or do too much — we’d hang out with our friends and do things like that — but we were about the grind. There’s a few guys I remember being willing to do that: Minkah Fitzpatrick being one of them, DeVonta being one of them. We were able to build a great relationship just through our work ethic, and kind of tracked ourselves back here to Philly.”
Hurts and Smith were teammates at Alabama during Smith’s freshman and sophomore years (2017-18), when Smith was sharing the field with other standouts like Calvin Ridley, Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs III. Smith and Hurts connected for 12 receptions, 207 yards and two touchdowns during their time together in Tuscaloosa before Hurts transferred to Oklahoma.
When Smith first arrived to the Eagles practice facility in April 2021 after being selected with the 10th overall pick in the draft, Hurts was there to greet him, just like he did at Tuscaloosa. This time around they went a little wild and headed down the street to take in a Sixers game before calling it a night. — Tim McManus
Stats together with Clemson, 2018-20: 71 receptions, 811 yards, 7 TDs Stats together with Jaguars, 2022: 8 receptions, 81 yards, 0 TDs
Lawrence and Etienne have been teammates for five years, so naturally they’ve become close.
And as friends do, they share things. Memories. Maybe a few secrets. And hand towels.
It’s easier to let Etienne explain:
“So he wears his towel in the front and I wear my towel in the back,” he said. “After the first quarter my towel was drenched so I can’t wipe [my hands] on my towel. He keeps his towel fresh and clean because he’s got to keep his hands dry. So he’s right here. So I just use his.”
That started when Lawrence arrived at Clemson in 2018 (Etienne got there in 2017). At any moment during a game or a practice Etienne could reach over during the huddle and clean his hands on Lawrence’s towel. It has become an inside joke between the two that carried over into the NFL when the Jacksonville Jaguars drafted the pair in the first round in 2021. Etienne missed his first NFL season with a a Lisfranc injury.
South Florida coach Jeff Scott, who was Clemson’s co-offensive coordinator from 2015-19, said it’s not surprising that Lawrence and Etienne got along so well there and continue to do so now because they are similar people.
“High character [and] they love football,” Scott said. “Not a lot of distractions off the field. They’re very focused and really are all about the right thing. You saw them together a lot on the field, and off the field and they always had great communication.
“It was a very kind of professional [relationship] among them even at the college level. It was just a little bit of a higher level of maturity from them than maybe most guys at that point in their college career.”
Etienne was a little more flashy, however, wearing his towel out of the back of his pants for a little style. So Lawrence had to unwittingly help keep his hands dry. “It doesn’t bother me,” Lawrence said. “I just have to switch out my towel more often than normal.” — Michael DiRocco
Stats together with Fresno State, 2012-13: 233 receptions, 3,037 yards, 39 TDs Stats together with Raiders, 2021: 17 receptions, 189 yards, 3 TDs
It was after the first four routes Carr saw Adams run at Fresno State when the quarterback made a beeline to then-Fresno State Bulldogs coach Pat Hill.
“Why are we redshirting him?” Carr asked Hill of the new guy in 2011. “What are we doing?”
Adams, Carr said, might have been a better basketball player coming out of high school, yet he was already better than any other receiver on the Bulldogs’ roster. The two became fast friends in California’s Central Valley and as their chemistry grew for Fresno State, so, too, did their success. In 2013, when Carr passed for more than 5,000 yards, Adams caught 24 of his 50 touchdown passes. Carr was drafted 36th overall by the Raiders in 2014 and Adams went 17 picks later to the Green Bay Packers.
“We were working out together for the first six years of our NFL career anyway because we lived right down the street from each other once I moved up to Danville [California],” Adams said in training camp. “So, we were probably throwing three times a week for five, six years. Had about a two-year gap when the [Raiders] moved [to Las Vegas from Oakland], but basically picked up where we left off.”
And then some. After the megatrade that landed Adams in Las Vegas in March, they showed their chemistry was real. In Week 1 of the 2022 season, their first game as NFL teammates, Carr targeted Adams 17 times and Adams had 10 catches for 141 yards and a TD.
“We both are so committed and obsessive over our craft to where … I messed something up at the end of practice, just a subtle thing, and we go back out there after,” Adams added. “I just want to feel that and do it because that’s the way we did it before. Anytime if he didn’t like a ball he threw in a period, he had me go stand in the spot that I would have been catching the ball and then he’ll fire it until he liked how he threw it, which is usually one more pass.
“But when you got two dudes that have worked together and already built up a lot of camaraderie and have a close friendship, I feel like that makes it so much easier kind of getting back and jelling the way you were before.”
Yes, their lockers are next to each other in the Raiders facility. — Paul Gutierrez
Stats together with Alabama, 2018-19: 48 receptions, 798 yards, 7 TDs Stats together with Dolphins, 2021-22: 91 receptions, 1,100 yards, 9 TDs
Tagovailoa and Waddle spent two seasons together at Alabama, winning a national championship game and losing in another.
Their connection might not have been as prolific as the other duos on this list, but that didn’t stop the Dolphins from reuniting the former college teammates .
Neither was known for being particularly vocal, but Tagovailoa said he noticed a growth in Waddle during the time between their final game at Alabama on Nov. 16, 2019, and their first with the Dolphins on Sept. 12, 2021.
“His biggest improvement is his communication,” Tagovailoa said last season. “In college, Jaylen would speak up here and there, but you really see him now. You come to the sideline after a series and he’s out there telling me, ‘Hey, this is why I’m running this route. I’m running it because of this and that, and this is where I’m expecting the ball.’ He’s telling me ‘do this.’
“And it’s not asking — it’s more so telling.”
Miami’s idea to reunite them in the NFL paid off immediately. Waddle was the team’s leading receiver last season, setting an NFL rookie record for receptions with 104 on a team-high 140 targets. And they’ve picked up where they left off, particularly during an explosive win over the Ravens in Week 2 as both players set career highs for yards and touchdowns.
They generally like to downplay their success in the NFL having much to do with their relationship at Alabama, and that’s their prerogative. But Tagovailoa trusts Waddle implicitly, and that trust goes both ways.
During their game-winning drive against the Ravens, Waddle said Tagovailoa addressed the huddle, telling his teammates “it’s either us or them right now.”
“That got me going, man,” Waddle said after the game.
Immediately after Tagovailoa’s message to the team, he and Waddle connected for the game-winning touchdown. — Marcel Louis-Jacques
