They might not be in the College Football Playoff, but No. 8 Notre Dame and No. 7 Ohio State seem ready to put on a championship-caliber showdown in Friday's Fiesta Bowl. The contest has a little bit of everything. Both teams feature some of the nation's best players, such as Ohio State's Ezekiel Elliott and Joey Bosa, and Notre Dame's Jaylon Smith and Ronnie Stanley. Both share negatives, too. Ohio State watched a field goal by then-No. ...

Streaking programs kick off the new year when the No. 13 Northwestern Wildcats encounter the No. 23 Tennessee Volunteers in the Outback Bowl.Like any good Big Ten-SEC showdown, both programs will look to run the ball well and play solid defense to secure a much-needed win.Pat Fitzgerald has the Wildcats thinking about the program's first 11-win season, a completion of one of the nation's most impressive turnarounds. The Volunteers' Butch Jones knows a thing or ...

Top-seeded Clemson and fourth-ranked Oklahoma kick off the 2015 College Football Playoff with what should be a highly entertaining clash Thursday afternoon. Both offenses are capable of putting up monster numbers, as they've illustrated all season. A quick glance at the stats shows this is an even matchup almost across the board. In turn, a few key battles and one or two critical plays will likely make all the difference. The only surprise would be if ...

The Wisconsin Badgers blew a 13-point lead late, but they kept their poise, marched back with a go-ahead drive of their own and held off the USC Trojans, 23-21, to capture a Holiday Bowl victory. For coach Paul Chryst, it was a showcase game for his play-calling acumen as well as for defensive coordinator Dave Aranda's ability to draw up a shutdown game plan on a national stage. Neither disappointed. The Badgers were in control the majority of ...

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. — If Bob Stoops has any interest in coaching anywhere else, this is the time to jump. It's his last chance. You buy low, sell high, and Stoops' stock is high again. And he's 55 years old. Stoops has brought Oklahoma back for the second time, and he also has brought himself back. Not long ago, Oklahoma was Alabama and Stoops was Nick Saban. Then times changed, the game moved on and Stoops ...

While the rest of us are committing to eating better, exercising more and spending less, the nation's best college basketball teams should be making New Year's resolutions of their own. For example, Purdue should make it a point to become less reliant on the long ball, while Oklahoma ought to attempt even more triples than it currently is. Kentucky needs to play its struggling freshman more often, and Texas A&M needs to feed the rock to its ...

Soon. The 2015-16 College Football Playoff starts Thursday, New Year's Eve, at 4 p.m. ET with the Orange Bowl between No. 1 Clemson and No. 4 Oklahoma. Following that game at 8 p.m. ET will be the Cotton Bowl between No. 2 Alabama and No. 3 Michigan State. Both games will be broadcast on ESPN. As one would expect, there is no shortage of storylines. Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield might consider himself the most disrespected former high school recruit ...

Since appearing in a Powerade commercial with Carmelo Anthony as a sixth-grader, Allonzo Trier has embraced the attention that comes with being a basketball star. Still, as accommodating as he’s always been with the media, there’s one topic Arizona’s freshman guard won’t discuss. It involves where he went to high school. Or rather, where he didn’t. Years before becoming a McDonald’s All-American as a senior at Findlay Prep in Las Vegas, Trier was home-schooled as a ninth- and ...

Of course Woody McCorvey remembers the first time he saw Dabo Swinney. Everyone remembers the first time they see Dabo Swinney. For McCorvey, it was 1990. He was an assistant coach at Alabama, and Swinney a walk-on receiver, dreaming of getting playing time someday and maybe a scholarship, too. So what was it? Swinney's great speed? His fantastic hands? His toughness?          "He was always taking notes," McCorvey said. "He was in the room ...

Auburn announced Wednesday that Sean White will get the start over Jeremy Johnson in the Birmingham Bowl, according to Brett McMurphy of ESPN. Johnson, a junior, threw for 1,043 yards, nine touchdowns and seven interceptions while rushing for 111 yards and five touchdowns this season. White, a freshman, threw for 1,064 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions in six appearances this year. Johnson is also expected to play in the contest, per Charles Goldberg of AuburnTigers.com. "Both the guys have had ...