In the 1970s, college football was pretty predictable and coaches were larger than life. The Bear was at ’Bama and JoePa was the man in Happy Valley. The Big Ten actually had 10 teams and the best of them was always coached by Woody or Bo. There was a conference called the Big Eight that [...]
There are big college football games and then there are those that rise to the level of being called Game of the Century. To be one of those games, what’s needed is a No. 1 and No. 2. The Associated Press poll has been ranking college football teams for 80 years, helping to set the [...]
By the 1950s, college football’s balance of power had drifted from the elite Eastern schools to the Midwest, where Bud Wilkinson’s Oklahoma Sooners dominated the polls and set a record winning streak that still stands. Over the decade, the Sooners appeared in nearly 95 percent of The Associated Press polls, with their 26 weeks at [...]
WEST POINT, N.Y. — When Army coach Jeff Monken kicks back in his office chair, he can stare out the massive side window at Michie Stadium and the sign that hangs above Blaik Field on the home side — “National Champions 1944, 1945, 1946” — and imagine Mr. Inside and Mr. Outside running rampant. “I [...]
COLUMBUS — J.T. Barrett was beaten out by Cardale Jones last year in one of the most intriguing training-camp quarterback races in the nation. Now, he is Ohio State’s undisputed starter and leader of a team that’s reloading after the departure of 16 starters. Barrett’s value to the team can’t be overstated. The Buckeyes’ fortunes [...]
If you can only watch six games this college football season, well, you should probably consider changing jobs or something because that is no way to live. If that truly is your plight, though, we’re here to help. Out of the more than 700 FBS regular season games (conference championships not included) scheduled to be [...]
COLUMBUS (AP) — Ohio State coach Urban Meyer has reason to feel a little unsettled as his team begins preparations for the 2016 season. He has to find replacements for his best offensive player, his best defensive player and other key parts of a squad that finished 12-1 last year and ranked No. 4 in [...]
The big change in the Big Ten is the move to the nine-game conference schedule. What doesn’t figure to change is the dominance of the East Division. Ohio State, Michigan and defending champion Michigan State all are positioned to make runs at being national top-10 teams, if not College Football Playoff contenders. Iowa’s amazing 12-0 [...]
OXNARD, Calif. — Ezekiel Elliott leaves the field to screams of “Zeeeeeke!” from autograph-seeking fans who haven’t even seen him carry the ball in a game yet for the Dallas Cowboys. The fourth overall pick in this year’s draft opened his first training camp taking first-team snaps before a mild hamstring strain put him on [...]
Ohio State reminded us all last season that sometimes what seems like a good problem is really just a problem. There is no doubt who the quarterback of the Buckeyes will be to start this season. Barring injury, J.T. Barrett is the man and considering all the retooling being done around him, he might just [...]