On3 senior insider. Father. Grandfather. Husband. Christ follower (Titus 2:11). Born in Missouri. Raised in South Carolina. Settled in Tennessee.
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In 30-plus years in the business, I haven't been more touched in writing a story than this one on brave little Landrey Eargle and her wonderful family, her family at home, her @AustinPeayFB family and her college football family. #ForTheLoveOfLandrey espn.com/college-football/st…
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Nick Saban is retiring, sources tell ESPN. He won six national titles at Alabama.
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Somebody got into Davis Wade Stadium and put up a pirate flag that is flying at half mast.
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Veteran Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables has emerged as the top target for the @OU_Football head coaching job, and the two sides could finalize a deal as early as today. Ole Miss’ Jeff Lebby is Venables’ top choice as offensive coordinator, sources tell ESPN.
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Kirby Smart and Lane Kiffin catching up after the game. They weren’t talking about hot yoga, although Smart joked that Kiffin gave him some hot yoga tickets.
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One of the greatest runs in college football history is over. Nick Saban informed his team today that he's retiring, sources tell ESPN. He won six national championships at Alabama and one at LSU.
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Alabama QB Bryce Young and OLB Will Anderson Jr. have told Nick Saban they plan to play in the Sugar Bowl and Saban told ESPN that @AlabamaFTBL isn’t expected to have any opt-outs for the game.
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Am I allowed to step away from college football for a moment? Rick Barnes has Tennessee's basketball team playing lights out. For a guy his critics claimed was looking for a place to cruise into retirement, he's building one heck of a program on Rocky Top. #coachingmatters
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Nick Saban will get an office in Bryant-Denny Stadium in his new support role for the university. But by the end of the day Thursday, his old office at the Mal Moore football complex had already been cleared out. He did hit a few golf balls at the golf facility before leaving.
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Dan Mullen is out as Florida’s head football coach, sources tell ESPN. The Gators have lost five straight to Power 5 opponents.
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Tennessee has reached out to David Cutcliffe about the Vols' head coaching job, but Cutcliffe informed UT officials that he wasn't interested and plans to finish his coaching career at Duke. The Blue Devils are bowl eligible for the 5th time in the last 6 years.
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Sources tell me that @RickBarnesUT has decided to remain as @Vol_Hoops’ head coach after UCLA came after him with a lucrative offer that would have paid him $5 million per year. Barnes finalized his decision to stay at Tennessee on Monday after the Vols countered with a new deal.
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Imagine somebody telling you in August that Indiana might be the best team in the country, FSU would beat Bama by two TDs and then start 0-3 in ACC, Mike Gundy would be fired three games into the season, Bobby Petrino would be coaching the Hogs again and Texas, Penn State and Clemson would all fall out of the polls at one point. College football!
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Nebraska has zeroed in on former Carolina Panthers coach Matt Rhule as @HuskerFBNation’s next head coach, and the two sides hope to finalize a deal in the coming days, sources tell ESPN.
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So let’s get this straight. There’s a world where Indiana, Georgia Tech, Ole Miss, Texas Tech and Vanderbilt could all be ranked into the top 10 next week. Has the sport changed or what?
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The deal is done. Brent Venables is the new head football coach at @OU_Football, sources tell ESPN.
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As @HailStateFB grieves Mike Leach’s death, interim AD Bracky Brett tells ESPN that the Bulldogs will play in their ReliaQuest Bowl game on Jan. 2 against Illinois. “The players are 100 percent behind playing this bowl game and doing what coach Leach would expect them to do.”
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“Every day I wake up, I try to be a better version of me, always having a purpose.” — @JalenHurts
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The new Auburn head football coach will be the Tigers’ fourth in seven years with a total of $52.5 million in buyout money paid to three coaches not to work. Buyout U.
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Vol legend Tony White, aka the Wizard, is fighting leukemia and doing so with @Vol_Hoops very near and dear to his heart. He sent this video to the team prior to the Vols’ Sweet 16 matchup with Purdue. Keep the Wiz in your prayers. #51 🙏
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Tee Martin is returning to Rocky Top. The former @Vol_Football quarterback has agreed to a deal to join @CoachJPruitt's staff and is scheduled to be on campus Tuesday, sources told ESPN. espn.com/college-football/st…
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Incredibly sad day here in Starkville. Fans still coming by despite the wind and rain to pay their respects to Mike Leach.
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Kalen DeBoer has agreed to a deal to replace Nick Saban as @AlabamaFTBL’s head coach, sources tell ESPN. DeBoer led Washington to a Pac-12 title and the CFP title game in his second season at UDub. He’s won 11 or more games in seven of his nine seasons as a head coach.
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Safe to say Kim Caldwell has her signature win. Tennessee upsets UConn 80-76, Lady Vols’ first win over Huskies since 2007.
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Don’t care who you root for. That’s heartbreaking to see @henhook2 gingerly walking to the locker room. That kid is everything that’s right about college sports.
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On this holiest of nights, I'm reminded that the message of Christmas has remained unwaveringly the same for 2,000-plus years. Even during a pandemic, His light burns as brightly as it ever did. From my family to yours, may Jesus' light shine in your life this Christmas season.
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Final thought of the day: Alabama and Kalen DeBoer’s response from the FSU debacle in the opener is why football is the ultimate developmental game. Tide are playing with a harder edge and are the first ever in the SEC to win four straight vs. ranked teams in four weeks. DeBoer is now 19-3 vs. ranked teams as a head coach.
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A 9 p.m. CT team meeting has been called tonight for the @AlabamaFTBL players.
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Nick Saban now owns eight wins over No. 1-ranked teams, the most of any coach in the AP poll era, which dates back to 1936.
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Something Saban told me last month rings pretty loud now: "Fourteen-hour days are a lot harder at 72 than they were at 62 when you want to make sure you're on top of everything, which is more difficult than ever now as a head coach with everything you have to manage ..."
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Talk about being in the zone. Alabama defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt turned to me as he was walking off the field and asked, “Who won the other game?”
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Mike Gundy spoke to the Oklahoma State football team Tuesday after not being able to tell his players initially that he had been fired. He told them how much they had meant to him and how he would always be there for them and urged them to finish out the season the right way.
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Nobody enjoyed the LSU beatdown more than Texas A&M strength coach Tommy Moffitt, who was LSU’s strength coach for three national championship teams before not being retained by Brian Kelly. “Last two years in second half against LSU, we outscored them 60-6. Says a lot about Coach Moffitt,” Mike Elko said.
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Not that anyone should be surprised, but @henhook2 was at practice, crutches and all, today and yesterday to support his @Vol_Football teammates. He's kept a strong presence in the football building after getting the tough news Sunday that he was out with a torn ACL. #leader
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On his first day of retirement, Nick Saban did what he’s always done — go to the office.
“I want to be there for the players, for the coaches, anything I can do to support them during this transition,” Saban told ESPN on Thursday. espn.com/college-football/st…
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Sources tell ESPN that @GeorgiaFootball coach Kirby Smart has agreed to a new 10-year deal worth a total of $112.5 million, making him one of the highest paid coaches in college football.
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Lane Kiffin has reiterated to @OleMissFB officials and staff members that his plan is to remain as the Rebels’ head coach and that he’s not going to @AuburnFootball, sources tell ESPN.
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Jeff Brohm and @LouisvilleFB are in the process of finalizing a deal to bring Brohm back to his alma mater as head coach, sources tell ESPN. The deal would be for six years in the $35 million range. Brohm has been at @BoilerFootball the past six seasons.
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Mario Cristobal continues to assemble an impressive staff at @CanesFootball. Sources tell ESPN that Charlie Strong, the former Texas, Louisville and USF head coach, is finalizing a deal to coach LBs at The U. Strong has deep recruiting ties in South Florida.
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Kalen DeBoer's staff at @AlabamaFTBL is continuing to take shape. Ryan Grubb (OC), JaMarcus Shephard (WR) and Jerret McElwain (director of scouting) expected to follow DeBoer from Washington. Freddie Roach (DL) and Robert Gillespie (RB) expected to be retained.
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Jeremy Pruitt already putting together Tennessee staff. As reported by Volquest, USC passing game coordinator and QBs coach Tyson Helton will join him along with Colorado State OC/OL coach Will Friend, Colorado State DB coach Terry Fair and Tennessee RB coach Robert Gillespie.
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Kalen DeBoer has zeroed in on South Alabama head coach Kane Wommack to be @AlabamaFTBL’s DC and a deal is in the process of being finalized, sources tell me and @ESPNRittenberg. Wommack was previously the DC at Indiana.
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“No amount of money could buy me away from Alabama and my legacy here.” — All-SEC guard Tyler Booker
The @AlabamaFTBL players who’ve stayed rally around Kalen DeBoer and his vision. espn.com/college-football/st…
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Nick Saban passed on responding to Jimbo Fisher's scathing comments today when I visited with Saban, but added, "A lot of people are silent (on using NIL to pay players to go to school.) But, you know, at this stage of my career, I’m not worried about what people think of me.”
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Indiana AD Scott Dolson and president Pamela Whitten celebrate an epic IU win and Curt Cignetti’s latest masterpiece. “Cig is a little bit of a unicorn. Cig’s different. He’s been a perfect fit for us,” said Dolson, adding that Cignetti is “paranoid about complacency.”
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Pete Golding is leaving @AlabamaFTBL to replace Chris Partridge as defensive coordinator at @OleMissFB, sources tell ESPN. Golding has been with Nick Saban at Alabama since 2018, the last four seasons as defensive coordinator.
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Just filed to ESPN: Tennessee has parted ways with AD John Currie on the heels of what has been a disastrous Tennessee coaching search. He met with university officials on Friday morning, and the decision was made then.
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Got one of the best and longest hugs of my life tonight from middle son Adam. Incredibly blessed to be here with wife Julie and see Adam’s hard work pay off in his first full year on the @Vol_Baseball staff and soak in the Vols’ first national title.
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Similar to what Bob Stoops did in his first season at @OU_Football when he brought in a cutting-edge offensive coordinator in Mike Leach, Brent Venables is following a similar model with his plans to bring in Jeff Lebby.
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Bobby Petrino has agreed to return to @RazorbackFB as offensive coordinator and a deal is being finalized, sources tell ESPN. Petrino won 10 games in 2010 and 11 in 2011 as the Hogs’ head coach, but was fired following the motorcycle accident scandal.
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That loss to South Carolina stung mightily at the time for @Vol_Football. But after seeing both USC and TCU lose in their conference championship games, gotta be nauseating on Rocky Top to see how much the pathway to the playoff has opened in the last two days.
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A priority for new @OU_Football coach Brent Venables was bringing in @Coach_Leb as offensive coordinator. Oklahoma has finalized that deal, and sources tell ESPN that Lebby will earn in the $2 million range annually, making him one of college football's highest-paid coordinators.
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Who would have ever thought that Phillip Fulmer, who reveled in beating Alabama and is despised by Alabama fans to this day, would turn to an Alabama native, Alabama grad and Alabama assistant coach to lead the Vols' program? Not sure this search could have a more fitting ending.
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Twenty years after quarterbacking @Vol_Football to a national title, @coachtee17 has agreed to return to his alma mater as an assistant coach, sources told ESPN. Contract details and his specific title are still being finalized. He had several other options, some in the SEC.
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It’s been a while since Mississippi State has been able to party like this after a football game. Been a tough, emotional last few years in Starkville after Mike Leach’s death. Jeff Lebby told me he had a group of guys who were hungry and eager to bring some joy back to the program. You saw that tonight.
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For Nick Saban to win 5 national titles in 9 years already tells you the caliber of coach he is, but to have the guts to play a true freshman QB — who hadn’t played any meaningful snaps all year — in the title game only cements his place as one of the greats to coach in any sport
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Angel. Campos. You play all season, ups and downs, emotions all over the place, great plays and head-scratching plays, good breaks and bad breaks — and some dude in blue tries to steal the show in the first inning of a World Series elimination game? Nauseating.
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Good for you Alex. In good times and bad. He’s always there.
Auburn kicker Alex McPherson, who went 6-6 on field goals in today's win at Arkansas, says he saw the video this week of Barstool's Dave Portnoy criticizing him for thanking God following a missed kick against Missouri.
Here was McPherson's response:
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Haven’t been many of these moments for @Vol_Football over the last two decades when @GatorsFB has come to town. Rocky Top was rocking.
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What a great day for the Low family. Few things are better than a fall Saturday on a college campus and being able to share the stories that make college football unique. Honored to join the talented and growing team at On3. See you in Death Valley, the Clemson version, tomorrow!
BREAKING: Former ESPN College Football Insider Chris Low has joined On3🚀
on3.com/news/chris-low-joins…
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My Thanksgiving prayer is simply that we do our best, even in the simplest of ways, to spread the light of Jesus Christ and that amid all the division, chaos and hate out there that we’re more consumed with making a difference than we are making a point. Grateful.
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Lot of tears went into writing this with colleague @aadelsonESPN. There are those people in our lives who touch our hearts, but @AschoffESPN left an indelible mark on our hearts that we will cherish. espn.com/espn/story/_/id/283…
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Jimbo Fisher is finalizing a deal to hire Bobby Petrino as @AggieFootball’s OC and Petrino will take over play-calling duties, sources tell ESPN. Petrino, one of the top offensive minds in football, was briefly OC at UNLV after spending last three seasons at Missouri State.
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Closest thing I had to a baby brother in this business. I learned a lot more from @AschoffESPN than he ever did from me. What a light he was to all of us. God bless you ATL Kid.
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The QB trade is complete. Joey Aguilar plans to sign with Tennessee after transferring to UCLA from App. State in the winter portal, sources tell ESPN. He trades places with Nico Iamaleava, who transferred from Tennessee to UCLA in the current portal. Back to business as usual.
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Three former Vols back on campus and working on Jeremy Pruitt’s staff at Tennessee — Terry Fair, Kevin Simon and Montario Hardesty.
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As promised, @will_levis has game and vocals. The @UKFootball QB does a little Hall & Oates in an eighth-grade concert. The video was shot by his proud grandmother Barbara Kelley.
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What a surreal day here on Tennessee’s campus. It was 9 years and 27 days ago to the date that Phillip Fulmer was pushed out as head coach, and now he’s back as AD at a time when his alma mater needs him in the worst way.
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Don’t usually do this, but somebody (lotta somebodies) owes @petenakos an apology.
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This will be the first time since 1985 that we’ll have a Final Four without at least one of these traditional hoops blue bloods — Duke, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, North Carolina or UCLA.
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DeSean Bishop was a preferred walk-on when he came to Tennessee. Saw him play in high school at Karns several times and he put up incredible numbers. Never understood why he wasn’t more highly recruited. Strong. Tough. Fast. Getting his chance to show it now.
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Jordan also knew there was some guy in the arena making $50,000 a year who drove four hours to the game with his sons to see the greatest player who ever lived play. My dad did the same for me to see Hank Aaron when I was a kid, and Aaron was toward the end of his career.
Michael Jordan played 82 games nine times and missed only 64 games in 15 seasons.
Guys today miss that in two years just to “recover.”
Jordan didn’t need load management.
He was the load. He showed up every night.
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Former USC quarterback Jaxson Dart tells ESPN he will play at @OleMissFB next season and is enrolled in school. The 6-3, 215-pound Dart passed for 1,353 yards and nine TDs in six games as a freshman. He’s a great fit for @Lane_Kiffin’s system with his arm strength and mobility.
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Bobby Petrino is returning to the FBS ranks as the offensive coordinator at UNLV under new coach Barry Odom, sources tell ESPN. Petrino was head coach at Missouri State the last three seasons. He’s widely regarded as one of the top offensive minds/play-callers in the game.
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Happy dad and even happier son. Jalen Milroe and his father Quentin Milroe embrace after Jalen’s miraculous fourth-and-31 TD pass to beat Auburn in the Iron Bowl.
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We don't celebrate team like we once did in college sports (coaches/players fixated on cash, opt outs, portal hopping, pro stock), but Liam Doyle, projected top-5 pick, coming back after throwing 104 pitches Friday and closing out @Vol_Baseball's win over Wake is epitome of team.
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Travaris Robinson interviewed with new @AlabamaFTBL coach Kalen DeBoer for several hours Sunday for the defensive coordinator job, but has decided to remain at Georgia, sources tell ESPN.
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Lane Kiffin said he left former Alabama QB Blake Sims a message last week telling him, "I just want to thank you. You probably don't know how much you helped my career." Kiffin said he had been too hung up on always wanting a pro-style QB. Sims passed for 3,487 yards in 2014.
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Of the 32 first-round picks in Thursday's NFL draft, 14 were 3-star prospects or lower coming out of high school, including three former walk-ons.
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Was making my way down the tunnel when this happened and reminding myself how much restraint players show when fans are berating them (at all places, not just Ohio State). Been a tough year for the Lions, but this is what being there for everybody on your team is all about.
While being heckled by Ohio State fans, 330-pound Penn State OL Vega Ioane jumped a wall to … help a struggling equipment guy.
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At long last, the mother of all coaching searches is over. Tennessee has finalized the deal with Alabama defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt, and the Vols plan to introduce the 43-year-old Pruitt as head coach Thursday evening at a press conference, sources tell ESPN.
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I get that polls are polls, but no way @VandyFootball should drop out of the Top 25 after this tough loss to Texas. If anything, Commodores should move up. Georgia State loss understandably hurts resume. But Vandy is a really good, tough, resilient football team.
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A decade later, @Lane_Kiffin's 13-month mini-odyssey on Rocky Top still resonates. As former defensive lineman Marlon Walls said, "It was a helluva ride, a short-lived one, but the most fun a lot of us have ever had playing football." espn.com/college-football/st…
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Yes, Dabo Swinney really does get to the practice field via the slide in @ClemsonFB’s Reeves Football Complex. He sticks the landing, too.
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Still time before Heisman ballots are due, but few players have meant as much to their team as @corral_matt has to @OleMissFB. Only FBS player with more than 3,000 passing yards and 500 rushing yards entering this week, and Rebels have 10 regular-season wins for first time ever.
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There are legends, and then there’s No. 33, the great Tony Dorsett! Led @Pitt_FB to an unbeaten national championship 49 years ago.
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Deal should be finalized soon. DeBoer has won 11 or more games in seven of his nine seasons as a head coach. Was always right at the top of @AlabamaFTBL and AD Greg Byrne’s targets. espn.com/college-football/st…
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Talking with someone who knows Kalen DeBoer well, he's what you want in a modern-day coach in that he understands the challenges of maximizing the talent of today's players and has the ability to get those players to buy in. Important qualities because coaching has changed.
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What a tribute by Alabama to Nick Saban and the perfect voice to make it sing. None any better than Tom Rinaldi.
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Josh Heupel, who led @Vol_Football to its first 11-win season since 2001, has received a new deal that will pay him $9 million a year and extend him through the 2028 season, sources tell ESPN.
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Iamaleava notified Tennessee OC Joey Halzle late Friday night he had completed his paperwork and was entering the portal next week, sources told ESPN. This after Josh Heupel and multiple staffers had tried to reach Iamaleava and/or his reps to no avail for a day and a half
Breaking: Tennessee is moving on from starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava. Tennessee coach Josh Heupel informed the team of the decision at a team meeting. Iamaleava missed meetings and practice on Friday, which was the driver of this decision, sources told @PeteThamel.
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It also shouldn't surprise anybody that Saban was working and interviewing potential assistants an hour before he told the team he was retiring. He told me last month: "I'll know when it's time, but I won't scale back. I only know one way to do it. I can't do it any other way."
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There will be a lot of talk about Hugh Freeze’s missteps at Ole Miss, but everyone has a past. He’s coached in the SEC, recruited in the SEC and won in the SEC. He’s also beaten Nick Saban in back-to-back seasons. In other words, he checks a lot of boxes for @AuburnFootball.
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I'd always heard game day at Nebraska was football nirvana. Now I know. Super atmosphere and better people. Thanks!
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Very few of us will ever make a dime playing sports, but I think God every day for having had the chance to play sports growing up and soak in the life lessons sports teaches us about team, selflessness, sacrifice and giving more than you take. God bless these kids.
This will be the best thing you see all weekend. A young man helps his teammate score a basket.
The power of sports...beautiful.
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