Articles written by Ralph D. Russo
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AP Top 25 Takeaways: Turns out, Oklahoma's back after rousing Red River win; Tide rising in West
Actually, it's Oklahoma that's back. Of course, the Sooners haven't been gone for long. The final Red River Rivalry in the Big 12 before it moves to the Southeastern Conference felt like a chance for No. 3 Texas to lay claim to being the best team in...
SEC to play 8-game conference football schedule in 2024; long-term model still TBD
DESTIN, Fla. (AP) — The Southeastern Conference will play eight league games in 2024 when it expands to 16 teams with the additions of Oklahoma and Texas, but beyond that the schedule model is to be determined. Commissioner Greg Sankey announced...
New antitrust lawsuit against NCAA seeks millions in damages
The attorneys who beat the NCAA in the Supreme Court have filed a new class-action antitrust lawsuit against the association and the five wealthiest college sports conferences that seeks millions of dollars in damages for thousands of athletes. The...
EXPLAINER: What's at stake in concussion case against NCAA?
The NCAA has been defending itself in court against a lawsuit brought by a former college football player's widow, who accuses the governing body of being responsible for the concussions that led to her husband's death. Matthew Gee died at age 49 in...
AP Top 25 Reality Check: Good win? Bad loss? Resume check
Beating Oklahoma has been a way to get ranked in the Big 12 — which is odd considering how poorly the Sooners have played lately. No. 22 Texas became the third Big 12 team in the last three weeks to defeat Oklahoma on Saturday and end up in the AP...
AP Top 25 Reality Check: Unbeaten Kansas left out again
Not quite, Kansas. A 4-0 start put the Jayhawks atop the others receiving votes pile Sunday in The Associated Press college football poll presented by Regions Bank, 41 points behind No. 25 Kansas State. The Jayhawks have not been ranked since...
No. 1 Alabama tops preseason AP Top 25; Ohio St, 'Dawgs next
With two of the best players in the country leading the way — and a championship game loss as motivation — Alabama is No. 1 in The Associated Press preseason college football poll for the second straight season and ninth time overall. Heisman Tro...
AP Top 25 Reality Check: Final rankings and future prospects
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A season notable for upsets and highly ranked teams losing ended with a No. 1 team in the AP Top 25 that was not particularly surprising. Georgia finished No. 1 in The Associated Press college football poll presented by Regions...
Oklahoma QB Williams enters portal, says Sooners an option
Oklahoma quarterback Caleb Williams said Monday he is entering his name in the transfer portal so he can speak with other schools. The freshman added he had not ruled out staying with the Sooners, but within hours of Williams' announcement, Oklahoma...
College Football Picks: Sooners start pivotal Big 12 stretch
The season is about to get serious for No. 4 Oklahoma and the Big 12. The Sooners come off a open date to play the first of what could be their four toughest games of the season. They visit No. 18 Baylor, which is coming off an upset loss but is...
College Football Picks: Neutral sites for 2 ranked matchups
Last week, college football gave fans one of its tastiest, and unfortunately rare, treats when Auburn visited Penn State. Good teams. Great setting. Entertaining game. What college football is all about. This week, not so much. The weekend's two...
Big 12 accuses ESPN of trying to 'destabilize' conference
Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby accused ESPN of encouraging other conferences to pick apart the league so Texas and Oklahoma can move to the Southeastern Conference more quickly and without paying a massive buyout. "I have absolute certainty that the...
SEC invites Oklahoma and Texas to join conference - in 2025
Southeastern Conference university presidents voted Thursday to invite Texas and Oklahoma to the league and create a 16-team powerhouse on the field and at the bank. But how soon? The latest step in a move that has potential to help reshape college...
With eye on SEC, Oklahoma, Texas move toward leaving Big 12
Oklahoma and Texas took the first formal step Monday toward moving to the Southeastern Conference, notifying the Big 12 they would not be renewing an agreement that binds the league's members through 2025. The schools sent out a joint statement that...
Kansas hires Northwestern administrator Goff as next AD
Kansas has hired Northwestern administrator Travis Goff, a Sunflower State native who graduated from the school, to be its next athletic director during a crucial moment for its football program and high-profile men's basketball program. The school...
Carson Palmer, Bob Stoops lead college Hall of Fame class
Heisman Trophy winner Carson Palmer and former Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops are among the 13 former players and coaches who make up the latest College Football Hall of Fame class. The National Football Foundation announced the newly elected hall of fame...
Shrunken bowl season makes it more important to watch'em all
Well, hope you're happy, Mr. (or Miss) There Are Too Many Bowls guy (or gal). This long season through a pandemic has whittled the bowl lineup from the 43 games that were originally scheduled to fewer than 30. That's a lot less college football and...
Takeaways: Playing through pandemic predictably frustrating
The college football Saturday started with another game being postponed, the 18th of the week, and a dispute between Clemson and Florida State. Clemson wanted to play, even though it brought a player to Tallahassee who ended up testing positive on...
Week 12: Big Ten unbeatens, Bedlam and Lawrence returns
The Big Ten's four unbeaten teams square off Saturday in two games that could go a long way toward settling the division races. No. 9 Indiana faces No. 3 Ohio State in a top-10 matchup featuring the conference's overwhelming favorite against its...
Texas-Kansas among 6 major college games postponed by virus
No. 22 Texas at Kansas was among six games postponed Wednesday by COVID-19 problems as the virus took another chunk out of this weekend's major college football schedule. Overall, 14 out of 62 games involving Bowl Subdivision teams scheduled for...
AP Top 25 Reality Check: Clemson shows staying power in poll
Clemson lost at Syracuse on Oct. 13, 2017, and fell five spots to No. 7 in the AP Top 25 the following day. The Tigers needed a few weeks to climb back into the top-five and settled in at No. 4 after winning at No. 20 North Carolina State in early No...
AP Top 25: Alabama is on top again; Notre Dame up to No. 2
Alabama is No. 1 in The Associated Press college football poll for the first time this year, extending its record of consecutive seasons with at least one week on top of the rankings to 13. Notre Dame moved up two spots to No. 2 on Sunday after...
AP Top 25 Reality Check: Big Ten powers down, out of poll
The Big Ten is kind of upside down early in this strange and abbreviated season. Indiana is No. 10 and Northwestern No. 23 in the latest AP Top 25. Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska and Penn State are nowhere to be found. The last time that foursome...
Week 10: Pac-12 begins in first monster schedule of season
The final major college football conference to begin its season gets going Saturday. The Pac-12 kicks off at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) with Arizona State at No. 20 Southern California. Instead of Pac-12 after dark it's Pac-12 for lunch. The Trojans are the...
AP Top 25 Takeaways: Heisman race begins as Fields enters
Now that Justin Fields has arrived, the Heisman Trophy race can begin. Though the front-runner might not be the quarterback you think. Fields made up some ground Saturday with a spectacular season debut for No. 5 Ohio State against Nebraska. He went...
