Player Notes

By Matt Stahl |The youngest of Alabama football’s three candidates for starting quarterback in 2023 is Ty Simpson. The redshirt freshman threw just five passes for the Crimson Tide last season before entering the competition for the starting job with Jalen Milroe and Tyler Buchner this offseason.Nick Saban still hasn’t named a starting quarterback for Saturday’s season opener. When about Simpson’s ...

MADISON – How will Luke Fickell fare in his first season as Wisconsin’s head football coach?History isn’t always an accurate barometer but in this case Fickell has history on his side.Fickell is UW’s fourth full-time head coach since Barry Alvarez stepped down after the 2005 season.Bret Bielema followed Alvarez and coached for seven seasons. Gary Andersen followed Bielema and coached for two seasons. ...

Maybe it was the Cougars’ 24-point underdog status against unbeaten and No. 1-ranked UCLA. Or maybe it was simply budget issues.In any event, the columnist who normally traveled with me to Washington State road games was grounded. And I was assigned to fly solo to Los Angeles to cover what most of those in a Rose Bowl crowd of 59,000-plus believed would be a third straight loss for the Cougars, who ...

UW Huskies Football Insider, Seattle SportsFor the record, I’m already in the hole.Yes, I foolishly missed my prediction for USC in its Week 0 opener against San Jose State (we made our picks on Ep. 66 of Say Who, Say Pod). While the Trojans won comfortably, they allowed four touchdowns and took their foot off the gas late in a 56-28 victory.No. 10 UW Huskies face early test vs Mountain West favorite ...

Michael Penix Jr.’s imperfection is an attribute.It’s not a weakness.It’s a weapon.Ryan Grubb and Rome Odunze saw this inside the Rose Bowl, on a night both would otherwise rather forget. In a 40-32 prime-time loss to UCLA on Sept. 30, 2022, Penix cratered in a calamitous second quarter — completing 4 of 13 passes with a pair of picks. The Bruins outscored UW 17-3 in the quarter and entered the locker ...

STAFF WRITERAUG. 31, 2023 5:30 AM PTThe Three Amigos. A modern triumvirate. A three-headed monster.Call it whatever you want, but what’s been described as a friendly competition is about to take a dramatic turn. Starting Saturday night, UCLA’s top three quarterbacks no longer will battle it out exclusively in the comfort of closed practices.A Rose Bowl crowd and a national television audience will ...

Coach Prime, it’s your time.Deion Sanders’ coaching debut with Colorado comes Saturday against No. 17 TCU in Fort Worth, Texas, and it wouldn’t be hyperbole to say this is the most anticipated opener in the Buffaloes’ history.CU made the splashiest of the splash hires during the 2022-23 coaching cycle, bringing in the charismatic Sanders from Jackson State after he turned the Tigers into the premier ...

 UPDATED: August 31, 2023 at 3:05 p.m.STANFORD – A new coach, a new offensive identity and 16 new starters, including a QB making his first-ever start.After an offseason full of change – including the breakup of the Pac-12, which has left Stanford’s future conference affiliation in doubt – the new-look Cardinal finally take the field Friday night at Hawai’i to open its 2023 season.The changes started ...

Aug. 31, 2023As Karsyn Pupunu fought back tears at his locker stall, his Hawaii teammates gathered around him and prayed for his family.News reports were rippling through social media about a Maui wildfire that had destroyed Pupunu’s hometown of Lahaina. Within hours, Pupunu would learn the unthinkable: His aunt, uncle and two cousins were among the 100-plus people killed.Such tragedy brought new meaning ...

PUBLISHED August 31, 2023 at 6:15 a.m. | UPDATED: August 31, 2023 at 3:22 p.m.SAN JOSE — The last time San Jose State appeared on a nationally-televised regular season game on CBS, the No. 1 song in America was “Abracadabra” by the Steve Miller Band and the highest grossing movie was “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.”The Spartans play No. 18 Oregon State on Sunday in their first nationally televised regular ...