Army at Temple (Friday) - 4pm ET start
Navy at UAB (Friday)
Northwestern at Indiana (Friday) - Battle of unbeatens
Clemson at Cal (Friday)
Ball State at Kent State
Colorado at Baylor
Colorado State at UTSA
Illinois at Ohio State
San Diego State at Toledo
Texas at Tennessee - Battle of unbeatens
Virginia Tech at Boston College
Wake Forest at Louisville
UCLA at Maryland
Notre Dame at Purdue
Hawaii at Wyoming
Boise State at Western Michigan
Iowa at Michigan - Battle of unbeatens
Ole Miss at Florida - Battle of unbeatens
New Mexico at New Mexico State
Oklahoma at Georgia
TCU at UCF
UConn at Miami (OH)
Utah at Iowa State
Vanderbilt at Auburn
Nebraska at Michigan State
Wisconsin at Penn State
James Madison at Old Dominion
Kansas State at Cincinnati - Battle of unbeatens
Oklahoma State at West Virginia
South Carolina at Alabama
App State at NC State
Arizona at Washington State
Oregon at USC
Troy at Utah State
Texas A&M at LSU
Missouri at Mississippi State - Battle of unbeatens
UMass at Sacramento State
Air Force at Nevada
Georgia Tech at Stanford
Minnesota at Washington
September 24, 2026
Impressive win tonight by the Atlanta Falcons on the road against the Green Bay Packers. Michael Penix Jr. has potential if he can stay healthy, and Bijan Robinson reminded everyone why the Falcons gave him that lucrative contract extension.
As for Jordan Love, his throwing looked unusually erratic. Green Bay had a tough timing stopping the Atlanta pass rush, and it seemed to affect Love all night.
September 23, 2026
It was a brutal weekend for injuries in college football and the NFL. Ole Miss' victory over LSU last Saturday was an exciting win, but the game had injury implications for both sides.
Things can change quickly in the NFL. Week one saw the Chicago Bears pour on the offense in Carolina, but that was countered by a 9-3 home loss to the Minnesota Vikings this past Sunday in a game where Bears QB Caleb Williams suffered a hamstring injury.
It's too early to draw conclusions on the season, but no one wants to start 0-3 and there are several teams staring it down.
September 19, 2026
Texas Tech's 28-26 win over Houston last night was a tremendous back-and-forth game. Houston has a legit chance at 11-1 or 10-2, though the stretch run has a brutal travel element (trips to Utah, Colorado, and West Virginia in a four-week span) which won't be easy.
In other action, Miami QB Darian Mensah broke the ACC record for consecutive completions (24 in a row to start the game) en route to a 33-20 win at Wake Forest.
It's not all good news for the Canes, though. Here's hoping the best for Miami RB CharMar Brown, who suffered what looked like a devastating right knee injury in the first half.
There's also the issue of Miami not recording a single tackle for loss or sack against Wake. But it's tough to look at the Hurricanes schedule and not think of how things might be on November 7 when Miami plays at Notre Dame.
It's unfortunate that Miami doesn't play SMU or Louisville or Virginia this year. The bloated conferences were a bad idea, but we're stuck with them, even though that means there's a very real possibility that Miami, Virginia, and Louisville will all be unbeaten in ACC play at the end of the regular season.
That probably won't happen, but the fact that it could and people are okay with it puzzles me.
To that end, SMU at Louisville on ESPN2 will be overshadowed by other games in the 3:30p ET window like Florida State vs. Alabama and USC vs. Rutgers, but that's the one which really interests me.
Just an incredible finish in today's Vanderbilt's 35-31 win over NC State. The Wolfpack were trying to get the clock to hit zero before conceding a safety, only for QB CJ Bailey to have the ball knocked loose and recovered by the Commodores in the end zone. It's a Vandy victory in a highly-improbable situation.
Watch this video if you haven't seen it yet.
What an incredible turn of events in Nashville moments ago. NC State was up 31-28 on @VandyFootball and trying to run out the clock in the end zone, but then the seemingly impossible happened.
In their regular-season debut at their brand-new home stadium, the Buffalo Bills had a strong showing on Thursday night with a 41-31 win over the Detroit Lions.
Detroit's secondary and offensive line have been impacted by injury, but to their credit the Lions kept fighting even when they were down bad early.
In an update to yesterday's story, word comes tonight that Sam Leavitt is off the injury report and expected to start at QB for LSU at Ole Miss on Saturday. Yet another subplot twist!
There are people in Oxford who feel disrespected by what happened at the end with Lane Kiffin last year. The fact it's a night game means the crowd at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium should be extra-rowdy, not that this matchup needs any additional heat.
In a surprising turn of events, LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt is listed as doubtful for the Tigers this week in their road game at Ole Miss due to an unspecified upper body injury.
Scott Rabalais of The Advocatewrote: "Leavitt was scheduled to come to interviews Tuesday, but at the last minute SID Michael Bonnette told us he had left the building. Leavitt did interviews after the game and appeared fine. Draw your own conclusions."
Peter Nakos reports (per On3) that Leavitt is dealing with a sore throwing shoulder.
In the SEC, the doubtful designation is defined as "Unlikely to play due to significant concerns."
Should be a really good NFL game tonight as the Detroit Lions travel to Buffalo to take on the Bills. While the piecemeal nature of the NFL broadcasting schedule isn't exactly fan-friendly, the Amazon Prime games are fun to watch on Twitch with live chat.
If you see me in there (under my NashvilleLou name), please say hello in chat or shout-out the DKDB.
September 16, 2026
Notable college games this week include:
Syracuse at Pitt (Thursday)
Miami at Wake Forest (Friday) - Battle of unbeatens
Houston at Texas Tech (Friday) - Key early-season Big 12 matchup
Coastal Carolina at Delaware - Saturday 11:30a ET early start time
North Texas at Texas State
North Carolina at Clemson - Bill Belichick vs. Dabo Swinney, part 2
Arizona State at Kansas
NC State at Vanderbilt - Jared Curtis debut start at QB for Vandy
Wyoming at Central Michigan
Temple at Toledo
Florida State at Alabama
Kentucky at Texas A&M
SMU at Louisville - Deserves more attention than it's receiving
Stanford at Duke
Mississippi State at South Carolina - Battle of unbeatens
SE Louisiana at Louisiana Monroe
East Carolina at Old Dominion
Florida International at Florida Atlantic
Marshall at Missouri State
UConn at Southern Miss
Ohio at South Alabama
Western Michigan at Rice
Nevada at Middle Tennessee
Georgia Southern at Jacksonville State
Florida at Auburn - Rivalry~!
LSU at Ole Miss - Lane Kiffin returns to Oxford
Virginia Tech at Maryland - Battle of unbeatens
Colorado at Northwestern
West Virginia at Virginia - Battle of unbeatens
UAB at Louisiana
UTSA at Texas - Battle of unbeatens
James Madison at San Diego State
Montana at Oregon State
Fresno State at San Jose State
Purdue at UCLA
It was the most points ever scored against Carolina, going all the way back to 1995. Cue up this song (or another synthwave track) as that game film feels destined for a future Jon Bois Scoragami update and/or a JaguarGator9 recap video.
Rough first game out of the gate with the Tennessee Titans losing 23-10 at home to the New York Jets. Just an unpleasant game to watch, especially the wide shots revealing so many empty seats, with the biggest intrigue at the end being whether the Jets would finally break their interception drought. But even that didn't happen.
At least they wrapped it up in time for the local CBS affiliate here to show the finish of the Buffalo Bills' 36-31 road win over the Houston Texans.
Did I sell Jacoby Brissett short in Arizona? Hard to know after just one week. The Cardinals' early schedule is brutal, or at least that's how it appeared entering the season. But they looked good in a 26-14 victory at the Los Angeles Chargers.
Detroit's 31-30 OT win over the New Orleans Saints was a thriller, but the Lions giving up 410 passing yards to Tyler Shough is a concern.
September 14, 2026
What ESPN did with College GameDay this past Saturday in support of the regressive Protect College Sports Act was absolutely disgusting. I've already gone over this at length, particularly in the August 2026 News Updates, explaining why it's terrible for fans and college athletes alike.
Read this from Open Secrets for more on why ESPN's activity was especially repulsive.
As Awful Announcingnoted, "The all-out effort on ESPN's College GameDay to promote the Protect College Sports Act makes sense when you know Disney is lobbying for it."
Private equity is driving this. This is about protecting their investment. They're hoping you'll be stupid enough to believe their lies.
If this were about protecting college sports, they'd be talking about automatic bids for all FBS conferences, not protecting the mega conferences with downside guarantees. They'd be talking about the ridiculous suspension of Tennessee linebacker Arion Carter over an airplane ticket payment.
Notice that the players aren't included in the process at all.
Unfortunately, there's nothing we can do to stop this. If it doesn't go through, it will be because of the slow-motion nature of the legislative process, not because of pushback.
Texas rallied from down 20 in the fourth quarter to beat Ohio State 24-23 last night in an absolute thriller in Austin. For those looking for an early signature moment for Texas QB Arch Manning, there you go.
Oklahoma State bounced back from a loss to Tulsa last week to stun #6 ranked Oregon 39-31. Strong showing for OkSt QB Drew Mestemaker, the highly-touted transfer from North Texas who gained his first win with the Cowboys in impressive fashion.
What this means for Oregon remains to be seen. One loss does not sink a season, which is one way where the modern FBS product is far superior to the old days.
But a week after struggling against Boise State at home, Oregon losing in a shocker on the road isn't an encouraging sign for a Ducks team that is loaded with talent -- and big expectations for 2026.
Michigan looked very good defensively in its 17-10 win over Oklahoma. Likewise, Mississippi State's defense impressed in a decisive victory over Minnesota.
Brace yourself for the hype coming this week for LSU at Ole Miss. LSU head coach Lane Kiffin returns to Oxford for the first time since abruptly leaving the Rebels prior to last year's playoff. It will be a battle of top ten teams in the ABC Saturday prime time game.
September 12, 2026
Impressive win by Missouri at Kansas last night. That one really felt like a rivalry game. It's unfortunate that they won't play again until 2031.
Big game tonight as #1 Ohio State plays #4 Texas in Austin. There will be a lot of talent on display. Should be a good matchup.
We'll see what the season holds for Michigan, but the more I see of Wolverines EDGE John Henry Daley, the more I think he's got a strong chance at being a first-round selection. His 40-yard dash time likely won't be high-end, but it doesn't need to be.
Daley is an elite pass-rusher, and his instincts are really strong. Anticipating a screen pass in time to get there to tip the ball for an incompletion, the sort of innate talent that can be tough to quantify.
September 11, 2026
25 years later. Hard to believe it's been so long.
On 9/11, I produced the first hour of the last morning show for WTSP-TV 10 News in the Tampa/St. Petersburg/Sarasota, Florida market before the world changed forever.
Somber. Very somber. That first night, the only rule we had was not to show any bodies or anyone falling from the towers.
The thing that haunts me the most is the fast busy signal as I desperately kept trying to call back my buddy Brook in New York City after the second plane hit the World Trade Center and our call was cut. Over and over, that eerie sound.
I try not to think about it.
Something I've never addressed is Delta Flight 2315 from Hartford to Tampa. It came within 300' of colliding with United Flight 175 that morning.
But we didn't know about that at the time, not at WTSP-TV, nor did any other news outlets as best I can tell. To this day, I'm not sure what the people on that flight even knew in the aftermath.
If those planes had collided, no one on board the flight heading to Tampa would've survived. But it would've also meant the WTC south tower not being hit. That's a difficult emotion to process.
One other addendum: at the Oakland Raiders/Miami Dolphins game I attended in Miami less than two weeks later (in the first group of games to happen after the tragedy), I remember my buddy Gary wearing Raiders gear and him being jeered relentlessly by Dolphins fans as our crew left the game.
In those moments, for the first time since the attack, things felt normal again, if only for a little while. But it was a start.
Tomorrow I'll get back to writing about football. But not today. RIP to the victims and sympathy to those who still miss them. NEVER FORGET.
September 10, 2026
Good opener last night with the Seattle Seahawks holding on for a 13-10 victory over the New England Patriots.
Tonight the NFL debuts in Australia with the L.A. Rams (without Aaron Donald) taking on the San Francisco 49ers in Melbourne. The logistics of this have been particularly intriguing, from the mid-morning local start time to the secretive Rams being coy about their travel plans.
The game is airing on Netflix (meaning limited reach) and I'm surprised the only college football competition tonight is Florida A&M at Miami.
There are some big/interesting college games lined up for this weekend, though.
• Rutgers at Boston College (Friday)
• Missouri at Kansas (Friday)
• Arizona State at Texas A&M
• Appalachian State at East Carolina
• Oklahoma at Michigan
• USF at Army
• Wake Forest at Purdue
• Oregon at Oklahoma State
• Arizona at BYU
• Alabama at Kentucky
• Cal at Syracuse
• Duke at Illinois
• Mississippi State at Minnesota
• UTSA at Texas State
• UCF at Pittsburgh
• UNLV at North Texas
• Jacksonville State at Ohio
• Memphis at Boise State
• Georgia State at Kennesaw State
• Illinois State at Northern Illinois
• Tennessee at Georgia Tech
• Iowa State at Iowa
• Navy at FAU
• Ohio State at Texas
• North Dakota State at Air Force
• Arkansas at Utah
• Montana State at Nevada
• New Mexico State at Hawaii
It's finally here, the start of the 2026 NFL season. On a Wednesday this time around, but we've waited long enough by now, haven't we?
People here in Nashville who know what I do are coming out of the woodwork to ask me about the Tennessee Titans. I think they need another year, I have concerns about the offensive line giving Cam Ward time to throw, there are the unknowns with new pieces in place on offense, the secondary has questions, etc.
But there's hope, and that's what the NFL sells exceptionally well.
New England Patriots CB Christian Gonzalez has signed a new four-year, $135M contract extension ($102M guaranteed) that makes him the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL.
Gonzalez, 24, was the #17 overall selection by New England in 2023. He was a second-team All-Pro in 2024 and a Pro Bowl selection last year.
At a glance, it might seem strange to give such a massive extension to a corner with zero interceptions in the 2025 regular season.
But the major value with the nearly 6'2" Gonzalez is that he is the embodiment of an elite shutdown defensive back. Tremendous combination of size and speed. A great tackler, too.
It went down to the wire, but now the Pats have Gonzalez under contract for the long-term.
September 7, 2026
Week 1 of the 2026 NCAA college football season concludes tonight with SMU at Florida State. At least this one is a real home game and not a neutral-site gimmick.
It really makes no sense for universities to maintain these massive, expensive stadiums that only host a handful of games per year as-is and then arbitrarily play neutral-site games, but logic and reason aren't the motivating factors behind Division I revenue sports.
Things that are horribly annoying to me that I'm not sure bother others as much include:
• The lighting special effects at night games that often ruin what should be a powerful visual with thousands of screaming fans going berserk. This must be the bane of every still photographer in the biz. I've only seen it done well once in my life and that one wasn't intentional because it was actually real. I lived it.
• As noted yesterday, dark jersey vs. dark jersey football games make me irrationally annoyed. We used to have standards. I blame USC and UCLA (among others) for unleashing this nuisance on the sport.
• Football teams with players wearing the same number. You have 100 numbers to use and that should be your active roster for a game. Want to retire a number? That's your choice, but you should lose a spot if you do that. It makes so much more sense to have special numbers given as an honor to recognize greatness from the past than to arbitrarily park a number forever.
I've gotten dirty looks for saying this one out loud before so I've learned to keep my mouth shut about it, and they're not going to change the rule so there's no point in fighting it. You have to pick your battles in life.
• The hypocrisy of schools facing big fines because fans swarmed the field after a big upset or thrilling finish to a game while, at the same time, their TV broadcast partners show the incredible visuals when it happens.
Spectators should stay off of the playing surface, full-stop. Allowing it is terrible risk management and potential liability galore. But glorifying it on television is evidence of the power of strength in numbers.
Why is it bad to show one drunken buffoon doing a run-in, but if it's thousands at once then it's shown with impunity?
Here's something positive. Behold: the tornado kick!
Florida State's Daniel Hughes is a 28-year-old punter from Australia who got his signature move over on national TV tonight. Impressive.
The NFL has given Commissioner Roger Goodell a four-year contract extension.
We're just three days away from the start of the NFL season, with the New England Patriots at Seattle Seahawks game taking place on Wednesday 9/9.
Washington State kept it close with Washington in the Apple Cup well into the fourth quarter, though the Huskies ultimately came out on top.
The scourge of dark jersey vs. dark jersey is present in the Notre Dame vs. Wisconsin game. The NCAA never should've overturned the rule that required one team to wear white jerseys. Alas.
September 5, 2026
It was great seeing everyone up at Sewanee this weekend. I'll be back later this month for a men's lacrosse scrimmage.
This was my first time working an event at Juhan Gymnasium, which is named for Frank Juhan, a Sewanee grad and member of the College Football Hall of Fame.
There is something special about Sewanee. Well worth a visit if you've never been. The novelty still hasn't worn off for me and I've been going up there for years now.
Every preseason wide receiver scout ranking I could find had Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith at number one. I wonder if it might be similar for Toney next summer. He certainly impressed people in the Hurricanes' victory at Stanford last night.
Miami has been masterful in the NIL era in ways that no one likes to talk about because it exposes the business. This is a compliment: it's impressive. They've had their act together on this since the beginning.
Interesting things thus far include Tulsa's win over Oklahoma State, Oregon having to rally at home to beat Boise State, and the incredible Hail Mary TD pass for Michigan to beat Western Michigan.
This won't silence the people I've had in my ear questioning why Michigan was rated so highly to enter the season. It's not like I have a vote, or even care that much about preseason polls (many voters are easy marks for the top QB prospects), but I hear about it nonetheless.
Michigan has a very difficult schedule. The Wolverines will have their chance to prove the naysayers wrong. But today wasn't exactly a confidence booster.
LSU is walloping Clemson after a lengthy weather delay as I write this. Normaly a weather delay dampens a crowd's enthusiasm, but we're talking about a night game in Baton Rouge.
I don't quite understand why they started the Labor Day weekend game tradition in Nashville before the forthcoming new Titans stadium with the closed roof was ready, but Ole Miss vs. Louisville tomorrow should be a good game. It will likely be miserably hot/humid, though.
September 3, 2026
Labor Day Weekend is almost here. And while the FBS college football schedule has a lot of enhancement match tier games, there are some interesting options on the docket.
• Colorado at Georgia Tech (Thursday)
• Toledo at Michigan State (Friday) - Pat Fitzgerald MSU coaching debut
• James Madison at Liberty - Billy Napier JMU coaching debut
• Tarleton State at Bowling Green - Intriguing FCS vs. FBS matchup
• Tulane at Duke
• Boston College at Cincinnati
• Baylor vs. Auburn (neutral-site game in Atlanta)
• Oklahoma State at Tulsa - Drew Mestemaker OSU debut
• Wyoming at Colorado State
• Clemson at LSU - Lane Kiffin LSU coaching debut
• UNLV at Hawaii
• UCLA at Cal
• Washington State at Washington (Sunday)
• Louisville vs. Ole Miss (Sunday in Nashville)
• Wisconsin vs. Notre Dame (Sunday in Green Bay)
• SMU at Florida State (Monday)
Miami at Stanford on Friday night will draw some curiosity viewership with the debut of transfer QB Darian Mensah for the Hurricanes, but Miami is a heavy favorite to win so I didn't include that game in the list. I'll likely end up watching that at the hotel after producing Sewanee's volleyball broadcasts during the day tomorrow.
In a related note, I've had "Southern Nights" by Glen Campbell stuck in my head after hearing it on the radio on my drive home from working Sewanee's soccer double-header on Tuesday evening. Seems fitting.
September 2, 2026
The contempt that some SEC football bigwigs are showing toward federal judges is rather telling. Read my blog from last month if you want to learn my take on this whole sordid mess with the NCAA's wronging of the Class of 2026, but you'll notice things I predicted there (like the demonization of LSU head coach Lane Kiffin) are already coming true.
We need new nomenclature for describing Division I athletes with the new five years of eligibility in a five-year window. If someone refers to a senior, I'm not sure if they mean Year 4 or Year 5.
Maybe that's the best way to handle it: just Year and Number. Don't make me use a term like super senior that I'll have to constantly resist the urge to mock.
