#Power Five

The new model for turning a college football program around is the transfer portal. All of a sudden, a four-win USC team can compete for Playoff berths in just a year and two-win Colorados can become overnight national attention-grabbers. While not everyone agrees with the portal, it's become important for player mobility. With mobility comes…

Few things in life are close enough to perfect that trying to improve upon them has been well established as folly. The first sip of good whiskey after five minutes in crushed ice. The precise chord progression in the first two signature bars of a great song. The inimitable sound of ocean waves breaking on shore. Trying to revise or expand on them…

If you had to pick a well-known phrase to sum up Eli Drinkwitz's ethos, what do you think it would be? "Look twice before you leap," may be one. "Slow and steady wins the race," could be another. "May The Force be with you," might also fit, though you could potentially sub it out for, "I've got a bad feeling about this," depending on the game…

College football's 2022 season came to an end last week when Georgia walloped TCU in the national championship game, giving the Bulldogs back-to-back titles. Immediately following that game, several publications released "Way-Too-Early" Top 25 projections for the 2023 season. Not surprisingly, the Michigan State Spartans were not included among…

Everybody loves a feel good story. Last season couldn't have gone much worse for the TCU football program, finishing with a disappointing 5-7 record. Under-pressure head coach Gary Patterson (the longest-serving coach in the school's history) resigned mid-season after two decades in the role. But that's what made this season all the more special as…

Though most college football fans have turned their attention to next season, I want to take one final look back at 2022 to continue my annual tradition of exploring what I got right and wrong - with a heavy emphasis on the last part. I called my preseason ballot the "most perplexing jumble" I've experienced because rosters were so fluid. That was…

10 best predictions for another huge Saturday of college football. What games appear to be the best bets and best picks for the Week 8 games? Results So Far: 43-37-1 I am freaking off. Usually the mid-October lack of REM sleep makes everything more focused, but that sure as shoot wasn't happening last weekend. Colorado beat Cal outright? Eastern…

Has Georgia surpassed Alabama as the best program in college football?Dan Wolken looks at if Georgia can now be considered the team to beat in college football. Big 12 football has come a long way in 18 months. From possible extinction to viability. From newfound parity to newfound prosperity. And then on a stormy Monday night in Inglewood,…

Inches separated TCU from perfection. After coming up just short in the Big 12 championship game against Kansas State, the Horned Frogs and first-year coach Sonny Dykes will settle for the most unexpected College Football Playoff berth in the history of the postseason format. And now the really hard part begins: third-seeded TCU enters the Vrbo…

The 2022 college football season is sadly behind us, as Georgia repeated as national champions by clobbering TCU 65-7 on Monday night. Now that another season has ended, let's evaluate the year as a whole by looking at how each college football conference did in 2022. To gauge how each conference performed this season, we'll take a look at a…

Now that the college football season is over, the offseason hype for the 2023-24 Florida State team has officially begun. Preseason top 10. The next ACC champions. Appearing in the College Football Playoff for the first time since its inception in 2014. Those are among the lofty expectations that the Seminoles have already received from national…

Before getting to the main event, a quick recap of this season's post-season games: None of the Power Five Conferences performed particularly well in bowl games. The SEC was 6-5, the Big Ten and the ACC were both 5-4, the Pac-12 was 3-4, and the Big-12 brought up the rear at 2-6. These records were prior to the Championship Game between Georgia…

With the 2022 college football season officially over, it's time to direct attention to the 2023 season. There's no better way to do that than to talk about "way-too-early" top 25 rankings and look at Big Ten Championship and College Football Playoff championship odds, so we decided to do just that. We took a look at where Ohio State falls in the…

Monday's college football championship between Georgia and TCU is a showcase for some of the best prospects entering this year's NFL draft (and also for Stetson Bennett IV). If you're curious which of the players in Monday's championship will be awkwardly hugging Roger Goodell in April and then dominating in the Sundays to come, here is a guide to…

Georgia will chase a third consecutive national championship in 2023 as the favorite in the USA TODAY Sports way-too-early Top 25 for next season, ahead of the familiar run of teams that have come to dominate the Bowl Subdivision. The Bulldogs are followed by No. 2 Michigan, No. 3 Alabama, No. 4 Florida State and No. 5 Penn State. After an…

During the college football season, the Stadium staff will provide weekly betting picks and advice in this roundtable. Here are our thoughts on the Week 7 slate. podcast. Spotify and Apple for episodes and follow Stadium Bets on Twitter for more sports betting content. Alex Symonds, Stadium Senior Producer: Southern Miss -4 over Arkansas…

South Alabama vs WKU prediction, game preview, odds, how to watch. R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, Wednesday, December 21 Date: Wednesday, December 21 Game Time: 9:00 pm ET Venue: Caesars Superdome, New Orleans, LA How To Watch: ESPN Record: South Alabama (10-2), WKU (8-5) - - South Alabama might be the best Power Five team you didn't pay any…

The noise was deafening at State Farm Stadium on Saturday night. It was a blend of ecstasy and incredulity, withhands lifted in praise and tears of despair drowned by an interminable chant: T-C-U! T-C-U! T-C-U! Before the giant taco dropped on New Year's Eve - it's an Arizona tradition - fans from across the country gathered in Glendale for just…

The college football bowl season gives us a chance to celebrate teams that flew under the radar in the regular season. The Duke Blue Devils were not in the national conversation much, but they were one of the most surprising teams in the ACC. Duke plays the UCF Knights in the Military Bowl on Dec. 28. That game serves as an example of what the Blue…

New Zealand sprinter Eddie Osei-Nketia figured he'd "try something new." He already holds the 100-meter record in his country. Plus, he's got some rugby experience. "I reckon the boys will hit harder and the tackling technique in American football is going to be way different compared to rugby," he told The Associated Press. "I've just got to be…

This is the first installment in a mini-series I've written about some parts of the 2022 football season that stood out to me. I hope you enjoy reading and come back for part 2. On October 8, 2022, for a few hours shortly after 10 PM, a new sport briefly existed. It was called footballball. The goal of the game was simple. Two teams try to play…

The clock may have struck midnight on 2022, but Cinderella is still dancing. TCU football continued its magical season on New Year's Eve, defeating Michigan 51-45 in the Fiesta Bowl. Few pundits gave the Horned Frogs a chance against the Wolverines, who came into the game as 7.5-point favorites, but they proved that they are no fluke. Despite TCU's…

Whether it's the Astros' hunt for a second straight World Series title, the UH Cougars' pursuit of another deep NCAA tournament run or the continued rebuilding efforts of the Rockets and Texans, 2023 is shaping up to be an intriguing year in the Houston sports scene. Chron's Josh Criswell and Michael Shapiro tackled the top 10 questions facing the…

Penn State vs Utah prediction, game preview, odds, how to watch. Rose Bowl, Monday, January 2, 2023 Date: Monday, January 2, 2023 Game Time: 5:00 ET Venue: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA How To Watch: ESPN Record: Penn State (10-2), Utah (10-3) - - Utah keeps on rolling. This might not be quite the team the 2021 version was, but it matched last year's…

In last season's Citrus Bowl, Kentucky beat Iowa 20-17 when both teams struggled on offense for the first three quarters before finally putting things together in the fourth quarter to provide some offensive fireworks. The good folks at the Music City Bowl watched it and thought to themselves, "We need to get us some of that." Now here we are with…

This season I have been breaking down a few of college football's biggest games each week and giving out at least one bet I like from each matchup. Let's take a look at the Rose Bowl matchup between Penn State and Utah. Penn State vs Utah Spread, current line: This looks like an even matchup, so I'll take the points and play Penn State against the…

With Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams virtually the last man standing for the Trojans, our Cotton Bowl betting picks expect Tulane to put the finishing touches on an impressive Group of Five season - read more below. One win away from making the 2022 College Football Playoff, the USC Trojans (11-2) also fell short in the Pac-12 title game and…

After weeks of more or less meaningless bowl games, we finally get to the part of the postseason schedule when things really matter: Saturday's College Football Playoff semifinals. That, along with two other bowl games on New Year's Eve, makes for a fun day of college football. Here's a look at Saturday's matchups, including any players and coaches…

No. 5 Alabama faces off against Big 12 champions No. 9 Kansas State in the Sugar Bowl in one of the most intriguing matchups of bowl season. The Crimson Tide entered the year as the consensus No. 1 team but struggled in losses to Tennessee and LSU and nearly dropped other games against Texas and Texas A&M. Former Heisman winner Bryce Young also…

Each day, one of our experts at Bet.NOLA.com will offer up a best bet (or two or three) that mobile sportsbooks in Louisiana are offering. It might be a traditional spread bet, a player prop or one of the various odds boosts that books offer. A reminder for those who haven't signed up yet: New users can get a risk-free bet at Caesars Sportsbook,…

An 8-6-1 slate of picks last week improved my overall mark to 13-14-1 for the bowl game season against the spread. Arkansas imploding and winning by 2 hurt, as did Syracuse getting a late touchdown to spoil another spread, but that's gonna happen any time you pick that many games at once. And now, on with this week's picks... December 30 Duke's…

The Book of Bielema has been an intriguing mix of the classics in 2022. The no-nonsense style of play employed by the Illinois defense-first philosophy hits you in the throat like a Beat Generation masterpiece. The defense itself, led in part by Devon Witherspoon, Quan Martin, Gabe Jacas, Calvin Avery, Taz Nicholson, Johnny Newton, Tarique Barnes,…

And just like that, the Iowa football season is coming to a close. In typical Hawkeye fashion, Iowa gave fans a reason for optimism. Heading into a Black Friday showdown with a reeling Nebraska team, the Hawkeyes needed to just not completely trip all over themselves to return to Indianapolis as Big Ten West Champions for the second straight…

Sometimes, it's better not to overthink things. The College Football Playoff Selection Committee got it right earlier this month. No ifs, ands or but-we-would-have-been-favored-over-everybodies about it. Talking to you, Mr. Saban. The 2022-23 College Football Playoff is the first to be played without either Alabama or Clemson. TCU went from…

The Tulane Green Wave (11-2) take on the USC Trojans (11-2) in the Cotton Bowl, a New Year's Six bowl game in Bowl Season. Kickoff comes from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Monday, Jan. 2, at 12:00 p.m. CT. Can Tulane continue the recent trend of Group of Five upsets over Power Five powers in New Year's Six Bowls? Or does the Heisman Trophy…

The #3 TCU Horned Frogs and #2 Michigan Wolverines are set for a New Year's Eve clash in the Fiesta Bowl College Football Playoff Semifinal. It's the first ever meeting between the two programs, with Big Blue entering as back to back Big Ten Champions and returning to the Playoff looking for a win after falling to eventual National Champion Georgia…

The lowest total of any bowl game is the Music City Bowl, where Iowa and Kentucky have second and third-string QBs starting. Our free college football picks, however, are scared of the low full-game total... so we're keying in on the first 15 minutes. One year after playing against each other in the Citrus Bowl, Iowa and Kentucky will square off…

We have an interesting bowl schedule Thursday, with three games featuring Power Five teams. Here's a look at the matchups, including any players and coaches who have departed via the transfer portal or are opting out. Spreads and totals were taken Wednesday from the consensus odds at VegasInsider.com. Minnesota (-10.5) vs. Syracuse Syracuse (7-5)…

Two high-profile quarterbacks square off in the Alamo Bowl Thursday in a game with a total slowly creeping toward 70. Read on for our top Washington Huskies vs. Texas Longhorns college football pick based on the best NCAAF odds. Texas (8-4) and Washington (10-2) featured two of college football's most high-octane offenses this season. With…

Arkansas and Kansas meet in the Liberty Bowl on Wednesday, and plenty will be on the line for at least one of these upstart programs. The Jayhawks are playing in their first bowl game in nearly 15 years under second-year coach Lance Leipold after finishing 3-5 in Big 12 play. Kansas' dynamic wide-zone offense finished No. 3 in the Big 12 in scoring…

College football bowl season continues on Wednesday with another quartet of games, all featuring Power Five competition. The highest billing is the Holiday Bowl between Oregon and ACC runners up North Carolina doing battle, but the three other games have plenty of intrigue, namely Kansas' first bowl game since 2008 against Arkansas in the Liberty…

Total wise, the game opened at 46 and has been bet up slightly to 46.5. Kickoff for this contest is set for Noon ET at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC, with ESPN providing the coverage. A major reason for why the spread has shifted in NC State's favor is due to the overwhelming amount of Maryland players that won't suit up. 13 Terrapins…

The 2022 college football bowl season has rolled along with a handful of entertaining and feel-good storylines. In the early window of matchups, the focus is largely on Group of Five programs. Teams that typically don't land a ton of national attention during the regular season are owning the spotlight right now. That's provided us a chance to fly…

IOWA CITY, Iowa - Iowa and Kentucky are running it back in the New Year's Eve Music City Bowl in Nashville. It's a rematch of last year's Citrus Bowl in Orlando. It's not often we see Power 5 schools meeting up in back-to-back bowl games. And this one is being frowned upon by college football fans outside of the fan bases, especially by the folks…

Oklahoma State football is hoping to end the 2022 season on a positive note and continue its historic success in bowl games when it takes on Wisconsin at the Guaranteed Rate Bowl in Phoenix on Tuesday. Kickoff is scheduled for 9:15 p.m. CT and will air on ESPN with Beth Mowins, Kirk Morrison and Stormy Buoantony on the call. Here is a look at the…

Oklahoma State faces Wisconsin in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl Tuesday in a game that features two programs going through different transition periods. Wisconsin is in the midst of a transition with Luke Fickell taking over the program after being lured away from Cincinnati. Interim coach Jim Leonhard will coach the bowl game after the Badgers went 4-3…

The 2022 Holiday Bowl promises to provide plenty of excitement as this year's game features two of the top offenses in the country led by two of the most dynamic quarterbacks in the nation as No. 15 Oregon squares off with North Carolina. While the game serves as an exciting conclusion for two nine-win teams in 2022, the battle also serves as a way…

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Welcome, By-Godders, to The Shotgun/Throwdown, WVU's best place for sports links, information, sophomoric humor, and daily distractions. The West Virginia men's basketball team is ranked in the top 25 of both the Associated Press and USA Today Sports Coaches polls at #24. The Mountaineers are 10-2 after their latest win over Stony Brook. After…

Kansas vs Arkansas prediction, game preview, odds, how to watch. AutoZone Liberty Bowl, Wednesday, December 28 Date: Wednesday, December 28 Game Time: 5:30 ET Venue: Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, Memphis, TN How To Watch: ESPN Record: Kansas (6-6), Arkansas (6-6) - - Whatever happens in this, Kansas has already won. Lance Leipold took the woeful…