Matt Baker

Buster Faulkner and Georgia meet again. “He’s got a great future ahead of him. I think he’s going to be a great head coach when he decides to do it.” www.nytimes.com/athletic/772...

NEWS: Dan Lanning announces that QB Dante Moore is not expected to return this season. He has not yet been cleared to play in games. Moore hasn't played since the concussion against USC on Sept. 26.

Fantastic

“It’s definitely more than smoke.” Could Philip Rivers replace Dave Doeren at NC State? Candidates for the Wolfpack’s opening Free story link: www.nytimes.com/athletic/772...

New Mexico turquoise unis are now tied with just about every Tulane combination for No. 1 in my uniform power rankings.

So, uh, here's a quick, initial summary of ... whatever the heck UCF-BYU was! www.nytimes.com/athletic/772...

Breaking News: Dale Brown, the basketball coach who took LSU to the Final Four twice and discovered a young Shaquille O’Neal, has died. He was 90.

If you're wondering how litigation between the SEC and LSU officials is going...A recent LSU filing said the SEC negligently supplied/hallucinated citations. SEC just filed something back saying those charges are "baseless, inflammatory, and wholly improper." So not cooling off?

Please read our midseason predictions, but then politely put it in the memory hole so we don't have to revisit how wrong we will inevitably be. www.nytimes.com/athletic/771...

I’m sorry that I just now learned New Mexico State has a D-lineman named Jordan-Lebron Downey.

The natural follow-up question to who is college football's all-time biggest underachiever...who is CFB's all-time biggest OVERachiever? Partially inspired by BYU's big win, I used math and vibes to come up with this definitive, inarguable ranking: www.nytimes.com/athletic/770...

NEWS: Maryland has fired head coach Mike Locksley, @theathletic.com has learned. The first head coach firing of the cycle. Maryland is 2-5 this season.

News: Ohio State coach Ryan Day says QB Julian Sayin is out indefinitely, and they’re putting together a plan in case he doesn’t return at all this season. Massive news that could change the college football season.

“There are a lot of places with big buyouts, and you have people thinking, ‘All this money to go get who?’” What’s the latest on Lincoln Riley; Mike Norvell; Deion & Bill Belichick? Our Hot Seat Temperature Check: www.nytimes.com/athletic/770...

Our weekly Heisman straw poll will run later, per usual, but my ballot was all WR

Seen at the Austin airport

Blame Arch if you want for Texas' offensive ineptitude against Florida. But there are plenty of other high-priced people to point fingers at, too, from Sark on down. www.nytimes.com/athletic/769...

My first trip to Austin in ~16 years. Hoping we get a good one

A beautiful mess at the end of the first half for Memphis-Tulane. Tulane throws a bad INT with <15 seconds left to put Memphis in FG range. Memphis throws a pick-six on the final play of the half. College football!

JMU's very formal formal application to apply to the American

You have questions about the impending 24-team College Football Playoff. So do I! I tried to answer some of the downstream thoughts here, such as: What does this mean for the coaching carousel? How does this change what qualifies as a successful season? www.nytimes.com/athletic/769...

Our weekly college football picks are here! I thought about picking Miami as my wildcard but bailed. www.nytimes.com/athletic/769...

SEC QBs listed as questionable on the Wednesday night availability report: - Mississippi State’s Kamario Taylor - Florida’s Aaron Philo - Tennessee’s Faizon Brandon Also: - Alabama WR Ryan Coleman-Williams is out - Georgia S KJ Bolden is questionable

How much does a college football team’s roster budget matter? We're tracking the results! So far, teams with a $5M+ advantage have won 68% of the time. When it’s at least $10M, they have won 80% of the time. And we're updating live through the season: www.nytimes.com/athletic/int...

The SEC-Lane Kiffin/LSU legal spat could have died down. It hasn't, as evidenced by a court filing last night. The conference is still/again accusing LSU of lacking institutional control and pulled out this analogy. Gift link to the full story: www.nytimes.com/athletic/768...

What should we make of JMU's move to the American for JMU? The American? The G6 as a whole? The wave of realignment? Digging in with @chrisvannini.com & @williamsjustin.bsky.social (gift link) www.nytimes.com/athletic/768...

Looks like something out of Saved by the Bell, which is one of the highest compliments I can give

Arch Manning just isn't getting better. That pick-six was inexcusable for someone in his 20th start. The offense is always clunky, and it starts with the guy calling it: www.nytimes.com/athletic/767...

Thoughts and takeaways on Georgia's down-to-the-wire win over Bama: www.nytimes.com/athletic/767...

We're chatting Georgia-Bama here. Join us if you'd like! www.nytimes.com/athletic/liv...

Feel like it comes earlier and earlier every year

What should we make of Bill Belichick's first win over a ranked opponent? Quick thoughts on UNC beating Pitt in what feels like a "Yeah, but..." game www.nytimes.com/athletic/767...

Our weekly college football picks are here (after my scorching 8-1 run last week, not that I noticed because I'm so focused on the process and all). No chance two of these in particular come back to haunt us collectively at all! www.nytimes.com/athletic/766...

I reviewed ESPN's 6-part docuseries, Saban. I still think Nick Saban the coach was a joyless robot. But now I know *why* he was a joyless robot, what a program looks like when it's led by a joyless robot and what is won and lost by being a joyless robot. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/athletic/766...

And yet, some people - including some in my own home! - chose to watch playoff baseball over this masterpiece smh

I can't decide if this is surprising or completely obvious, but: EVERY one of our 25 staffers who participated in our weekly Heisman poll put Jeremiah Smith No. 1. www.nytimes.com/athletic/766...

I hate these updates this time of year. Hoping this ends up being nothing more than a minor, rainy inconvenience for all and that we return to what's been a quiet hurricane season (knocking on every piece of wood within arm's length) www.nytimes.com/athletic/766...

Winning the Heisman has always meant prestige. Now, for some college football stars, it could also mean a six-figure payday. Inside the contracts that could make the Heisman race worth even more than the trophy itself. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/athletic/766...

Last winter Lane Kiffin was the hottest commodity on the coaching carousel. LSU landed him. Florida ended up with Jon Sumrall. Gators fans should be thrilled how this played out: www.nytimes.com/athletic/764...

NEW: UNC’s investigation into Bill Belichick’s football program is over. So… now what? Reporting with @brendanmarks.bsky.social and @mattbakercfb.bsky.social on where the Tar Heels stand, and where Belichick’s tenure goes from here: Free story link: www.nytimes.com/athletic/764...

NEWS: The Senate has passed the Protect College Sports Act, 77-22 It will go to the House, which likely won't take it up until after the midterm elections, making its passage chances TBD. But a historic step. Here's a basic rundown of what's in the bill: www.nytimes.com/athletic/749...

Four games into the Lane Kiffin era, what do we know about LSU and Lane? My thoughts, after covering the Tigers' 3 biggest games thus far (Clemson, Ole Miss, Texas A&M): www.nytimes.com/athletic/763...

LSU is four games into the Lane Kiffin Era. I’ve covered three of them, including last night’s takedown of Texas A&M. Here’s what I’ve seen and where I think the Tigers are going. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/athletic/763...

Initial takeaways on LSU 35, Texas A&M 6 www.nytimes.com/athletic/763...

A couple seen at LSU-A&M