NCAAF

2:30 PM ET North Carolina has hired former Auburn football coach Gene Chizik as assistant head coach for defense, the school announced Saturday. Chizik had been out of coaching, spending the past several years working at ESPN for SEC Network. Before that, he was defensive coordinator at North Carolina from 2015 to 2016, helping the

3:44 PM ET ESPN News Services FRISCO, Texas — Hunter Luepke ran for three touchdowns in the first half and North Dakota State won its ninth FCS national championship in 11 seasons with a 38-10 victory over Montana State on Saturday. The Bison (14-1) have never lost when making the trip from Fargo to Frisco

12:12 PM ET INDIANAPOLIS – For the last month, Georgia players have been asked repeatedly about what it is going to take to get past Alabama. So predictably, the questions came again Saturday during virtual media day, as the Bulldogs prepare to play the Crimson Tide once again — this time in the CFP national

10:39 AM ET Former Northwestern safety Brandon Joseph announced that he is transferring to Notre Dame on Saturday. Joseph, a consensus All-American for the Wildcats in 2020, entered his name into the transfer portal on Dec. 30. He was third on the team in total tackles in 2021 with 80 and also had three interceptions,

7:30 AM ET Editor’s note: This story was originally published in October 2020. It has been updated. BLACKSHEAR, Ga. — When Stetson Bennett III moved his family from suburban Atlanta to southeast Georgia in the summer of 2004, he took his eldest son and namesake to see the small town’s high school football stadium while

7:00 AM ET Aaron Murray had already committed to Georgia in 2008, but he’d never been to a game at Sanford Stadium before the Bulldogs’ regular-season showdown with Alabama that year. Murray was among the top recruits in the country, and his No. 1 priority that Saturday was convincing a few other big names to

10:53 PM ET Associated Press CORVALLIS, Ore. — Oregon State has imploded part of Reser Stadium, beginning the next phase of a project to renovate the facility. Athletic director Scott Barnes set off the explosives that brought down the west side of the building Friday morning, with a crowd of watching from a safe distance.

5:54 PM ET Associated Press BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Members of a 410-person Alabama high school marching band that led off this year’s Tournament of Roses Parade with “Yankee Doodle Dandy” have tested positive for COVID-19 since returning home from California. Now the entire school has switched to virtual classes this week because of an outbreak.

9:42 PM ET Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS — Coach Nick Saban walked off Alabama’s team plane Friday night to a cold, harsh reality. When he returns to the airport for the final time this season, the Crimson Tide will either be celebrating another national championship or heading home disappointed. Saban’s top-ranked team received a warm welcome

5:49 PM ET The point spread on the College Football Playoff National Championship game dropped Friday, with influential money showing up on underdog Alabama and moving the line across the U.S. betting market. Multiple sportsbooks reported receiving bets on the Crimson Tide +3 Friday afternoon, driving the line back down to +2.5, where it opened

7:04 PM ET Paolo UggettiESPN Washington State quarterback Jayden de Laura has entered the transfer portal after one season with the Cougars. De Laura started 11 games during his first season at Washington State and threw for 2,798 yards and 23 touchdowns while completing 63.2 percent of his passes. He was the first true freshman

4:39 PM ET Former Texas quarterback Casey Thompson, who started 10 games in 2021, is transferring to Nebraska. Thompson announced his decision Friday on Twitter after visiting Nebraska’s campus earlier in the week. He led the Longhorns with 2,113 pass yards and 24 touchdowns with nine interceptions, while completing 63.2% of his passes. The junior

4:39 PM ET INDIANAPOLIS — As the College Football Playoff management committee prepares to continue its discussions on Saturday about expanding the current four-team format, Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren told ESPN he remains steadfast in his belief that the Power 5 conference champions should automatically qualify for a spot in the future. Saturday’s meeting

2:34 PM ET Kansas State has promoted Collin Klein, a former Heisman Trophy finalist at the school, to offensive coordinator. Klein, who played quarterback at Kansas State from 2008 to 2012, has been the team’s quarterbacks coach since 2017. He served as Kansas State’s interim offensive coordinator for Tuesday’s TaxAct Texas Bowl, a 42-20 win

12:35 PM ET INDIANAPOLIS — The College Football Playoff is considering Las Vegas and Miami as future host cities for the national championship, sources told ESPN on Friday. The CFP is currently finishing its eighth season of a 12-year contract, which runs through the 2025 season, and hasn’t yet finalized where the national championship game

10:33 AM ET Jay Bateman is out as defensive coordinator at North Carolina following the Tar Heels’ struggles on that side of the ball this season, sources confirmed to ESPN on Friday. Bateman spent the past three seasons with the Tar Heels after defensive coordinator stints at both Army and Ball State. UNC’s defense struggled

7:00 AM ET ESPN staff The college football season has finally dwindled down to the final game — Monday’s national championship between Alabama and Georgia. With the 2021 season nearly in the rearview mirror, it’s time to look at the questions facing college football’s postseason as we forecast its future. What will the playoff field

7:11 AM ET ATHENS, Ga. — Sonny Smart remembers taking his youngest son, Kirby, to the city pool in Bainbridge, Georgia, in the summer of 1983. Kirby, only 7 years old, was trying out for the Bainbridge Barracudas swim team. There was just one requirement to make it: A child had to swim the length