NCAAF

2:05 PM ET There’s not a more accomplished pair of corners in the country than Cincinnati‘s Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner, the 6-foot-3, 200-pound lockdown consensus All-American, and Coby Bryant, the 6-1, 198-pound winner of the Thorpe Award as the nation’s best defensive back. Gardner has never allowed a single touchdown catch in more than 1,000 coverage

12:07 PM ET The San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl was officially canceled Wednesday morning — one day after UCLA pulled out of the game due to COVID-19 concerns, leaving NC State frustrated about the way the entire situation was handled. UCLA on Tuesday announced it could no longer play the game a little

11:50 AM ET MIAMI — Georgia coach Kirby Smart said the Bulldogs were dealing with COVID-19 issues a couple of weeks ago, but he expects his team to be near full-strength when it plays No. 2 Michigan in a College Football Playoff semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl on Friday. Smart wouldn’t disclose which

7:00 AM ET ORLANDO, Fla. — Dabo Swinney knows full well what everyone outside Clemson is saying about his program, and really, they can talk all they want about whether the end is near now that the Tigers have missed the College Football Playoff for the first time in seven years. Here is what Swinney

7:00 AM ET On Nov. 28, a bad weekend for Oklahoma football fans turned even worse. A day after losing to Oklahoma State in Stillwater and getting eliminated from Big 12 title contention, head coach Lincoln Riley made a swift, stunning departure for USC. For the first time since 1947, a Sooners coach had left

7:15 AM ET Paolo UggettiESPN ATHENS, Ga. — Nakobe Dean‘s eyes are glued to the TV above him. Fresh off football practice and film sessions, the Georgia linebacker is in the middle of Pauley’s, a loud restaurant in downtown Athens. The Monday night game in late November is on every screen, but tonight Dean’s the

8:23 PM ET LSU is hiring Kansas City Chiefs assistant Matt House as its new defensive coordinator. House, who coaches the Chiefs’ linebackers, will join LSU following the NFL season. He becomes the first coordinator hired by new LSU coach Brian Kelly. “Matt checks every box we’re looking for in a defensive coordinator,” Kelly said

5:56 PM ET Paolo UggettiESPN Alabama offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien rejoined the team Tuesday after isolating for a period of time following a positive COVID-19 test. Both O’Brien and offensive line coach Doug Marrone tested positive and were forced to attend every staff meeting virtually. “Coach [Nick] Saban made everything normal,” the former Penn State

3:48 PM ET UCLA was forced to pull out of the Holiday Bowl only hours before Tuesday’s scheduled game against NC State in San Diego because of COVID-19 problems within the Bruins program. The school announced its decision around 3:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday. The Bruins and Wolfpack were scheduled to play at Petco Park

4:52 PM ET Paolo UggettiESPN San Diego State punter and Ray Guy Award winner Matt Araiza announced Tuesday that he will be entering the 2022 NFL draft after putting together one of the best punting seasons in college football history. “These past four years have been a blessing,” Araiza wrote on Twitter. “Thank you to

3:48 PM ET UCLA was forced to pull out of the Holiday Bowl only hours before Tuesday’s scheduled game against NC State in San Diego because of COVID-19 problems within the Bruins’ program. The school announced its decision around 3:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday. “We are extremely grateful to the Holiday Bowl, students, fans, sponsors

10:36 AM ET Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett said he hasn’t spent a moment thinking about his job security as he prepares to face Michigan in the Capital One Orange Bowl on Friday. In fact, he said, he’s barely aware of the debate. “I don’t have social media, so I don’t wallow in it,” Bennett said

6:40 AM ET Jordan ReidESPN This is a different group of quarterbacks in the 2022 NFL draft. Over the past three draft classes, there have been clear top options at the position, including eventual No. 1 picks Kyler Murray, Joe Burrow and Trevor Lawrence. That isn’t the case with this crop of signal-callers, as there’s

7:00 AM ET College football bowl games sometimes create uncomfortable dance partners, whether it’s a coach facing his former team, schools playing for a second time in a single season, or one-time rivals finally meeting again after tradition was shoved aside for conference realignment. But perhaps no bowl matchup has been as uncomfortable as Mississippi

7:00 AM ET THERE’S A SAYING in boxing that styles make fights. If that’s the case, Michigan offensive coordinator Josh Gattis said, then expect the Capital One Orange Bowl to be a “heavyweight matchup” of “smashmouth” football teams — the No. 18 rushing offense vs. the No. 2 rushing defense. Michigan makes no secret that

8:40 PM ET Central Michigan will now play Washington State in the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl on Friday, a move that allows both teams to play in a bowl game. Both teams lost opponents to COVID-19 issues. Miami withdrew from the Sun Bowl on Sunday, sending the bowl scrambling for an opponent for the

12:43 PM ET Jordan Davis knows what he’s supposed to say now — that the SEC championship game was weeks ago, that Georgia‘s loss was a setback but hardly the end of the journey, that the Bulldogs’ date with Michigan in the College Football Playoff (Friday, 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN App) has nothing at all

4:36 PM ET Cincinnati’s players and coaches on Monday downplayed any role the underdog label may play for the Bearcats against heavily favored Alabama in the College Football Playoff Semifinal game at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic. The Crimson Tide are a 13½-point favorite against the Bearcats, who went 13-0 this season and have won