UNDATED (AP) — The Boise State Broncos could be on the cusp of ceding their Group of Five supremacy to the team that just beat them. Alex Golesh has been quietly building South Florida since 2023 when he took over a program that had won a total of 15 games over five years. He put together back-to-back 7-6 seasons that ended with bowl wins and will go into Saturday’s game at No. 13 Florida with a dymanic quarterback in Byrum Brown, a retooled defense and the boost of confidence that comes with last week’s 34-7 win over Boise State.
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — New North Carolina coach Bill Belichick says his Tar Heels need to move past the TCU blowout loss “as fast as we can” entering a short turnaround before playing at Charlotte. The Horned Frogs beat the Tar Heels 48-14 on Labor Day in Belichick's college debut. It marked the most points ever given up in an opener for UNC and more than any Belichick-coached team in the NFL ever allowed. The six-time Super Bowl winner as an NFL head coach says the Tar Heels “need to learn some lessons” from the loss but move on to Saturday's game.
UNDATED (AP) — Friday night football has become a growing part of the schedule for the Atlantic Coast Conference and the rest of the power conferences. The ACC has 12 regular-season games on Friday nights this season to tie last year's league record. ACC commissioner Jim Phillips says it's part of an effort to “modernize” the TV schedule amid increased competition for viewership on Saturdays. Louisville coach Jeff Brohm says Friday night games are “a great venue” to showcase a program. The Cardinals have three. One is this week against James Madison. The others are against No. 5 Miami and No. 8 Clemson.
UNDATED (AP) — All those top-10 matchups last week left college football fans wanting more. They’ll have to wait. It could be three weeks until there’s another one. That’s not to say there aren’t compelling matchups in Week 2. No. 15 Michigan at No. 18 Oklahoma is the only Top 25 matchup. Other games worth watching are Oklahoma State at No. 6 Oregon, South Florida at No. 13 Florida and Iowa at No. 16 Iowa State.
UNDATED (AP) — While a heart-pounding weekend of college football unfolded in the South and neighboring Ohio and more chaos is likely to come, all was and should continue to be tranquil in central Pennsylvania for the next three weeks. Penn State won its opener against Nevada by five touchdowns and is favored to beat Florida International by six TDs on Saturday and FCS Villanova by at least that many the following week. The nonconference schedule is so soft that it makes the Nittany Lions’ hold on No. 2 tenuous even if they win by the expected large margins.
UNDATED (AP) — Ohio State is back at No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 college football poll ahead of No. 2 Penn State and No. 3 LSU, which was joined this week by No. 5 Miami in the top five. Florida State is back in the poll for the first time in a year at No. 14 and Alabama plummeted to its lowest ranking in 17 seasons at No. 21. The defending national champion Buckeyes received 55 of 66 first-place votes. They are No. 1 in a regular-season poll for the first time since 2015. Preseason No. 1 Texas dropped to seventh.
UNDATED (AP) — Clemson Coach Dabo Swinney says wide receiver Antonio Williams is day to day with a hamstring injury. Williams left in the first quarter of Clemson's 17-10 loss to LSU on Saturday and did not return. His head coach doesn't believe the injury is severe but is concerned it could linger. If Williams can't play in Saturday's game against Troy, Tyler Brown will start in his place. Brown had four catches for 43 yards against LSU and missed most of last season with an injury. Safety Khalil Barnes is also day to day with a hamstring injury.
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — In his first game as a college coach, Bill Belichick’s North Carolina team started fast only to get blown out. TCU beat UNC 48-14 on Monday night. The Tar Heels scored a touchdown on the first possession, but then the Horned Frogs scored 41 straight points. That sent much of North Carolina's sellout crowd fleeing for the exits long before the start of the fourth quarter. The 73-year-old Belichick is a first-time college coach. He won six Super Bowls as a head coach with the NFL's New England Patriots.
