Matt Baker

NCAA football rules committee proposes changes for targeting penalties, uniform violations and more (Gift Article) Under the proposal, players penalized for targeting wouldn't be suspended for part of the next game if they are for first-time offenders.

Sunday Read: College football's new proposed game rules include:

- No carryover targeting suspension (for first offense)
- Pants/socks must cover the entire leg
- Offensive PI reduced to 10 yards
- Fair catch kick

And more. Free story: www.nytimes.com/athletic/707...

Who will be coaching your school in 2030? Predicting every Power 4 football program’s head man The idea: Project the head coach for each Power 4 school, plus Notre Dame, in 2030. A truly impossible (but very fun) task.

Our @ralphdrussoath.bsky.social predicted who will be the head coach at every Power 4 team in 2030. As fun as I hoped it'd be!
www.nytimes.com/athletic/706...

Will Muschamp, Bobby Petrino and 25 fascinating assistant hires of the 2025-26 coaching carousel (Gift Article) From up-and-comers to familiar faces, a lot happened in the assistant ranks while 30-plus FBS schools made head coaching changes.

Gary Patterson is back, Chip Kelly is in the Big Ten, and Ohio State hired another former NFL head coach.

The 25 most interesting assistant coach hires in college football: www.nytimes.com/athletic/705...

✍️ The 25 most interesting assistant coach hires from the carousel

- Will Bobby Petrino fix Bill Belichick's offense?
- Brent Pry moves from Virginia Tech head coach to DC
- Longtime Iowa STC LeVar Woods jumps to Michigan State
+ A lot more:

www.nytimes.com/athletic/705...

"I don't see the problem here." - Les Miles

"Per Flavor Flav" is an amazing way to start a sentence

Jeff Monken interested in moving Army-Navy game to Thanksgiving weekend The Army-Navy game has been played on the second Saturday of December since 2009 to stand apart from conference championship games.

One of the obstacles to moving the CFP up is Army-Navy being protected the Saturday after conference championship weekend.

Army coach Jeff Monken wants to remove that obstacle, and move Army-Navy game to Thanksgiving weekend:

www.nytimes.com/athletic/706...

College football had 34 head coaching changes. Here are 10 lessons from a bizarre carousel (Gift Article) What coaches, agents, athletic directors and search firms are taking away from one of the busiest college football coach carousels ever.

College football had 34 head coaching changes. Here are 10 lessons from a bizarre carousel.

Good analysis here from @chrisvannini.com and @davidubben.bsky.social on the most recent coaching cycle @theathletic.com: www.nytimes.com/athletic/706...

Jaden Rashada saga shows NIL chaos in college football is at least better than it once was Three final thoughts after 21 months of Rashada and Florida litigation and conversations this week with a handful of NIL agents

21 months after it was filed, the Jaden Rashada lawsuit ended this week, closing the book on an 8-figure dispute and the first massive legal case of the NIL era. So what’d we learn from it? Some final thoughts: www.nytimes.com/athletic/705...

Those things were so awesome. I never found a great way to write about them when I covered the race for the Tampa Bay Times, but they were so very cool

I don't know how many times a show cause order has been given *TO* the NCAA (or, more specifically, its attorneys), but here we are.

Midnight showing of the third Matrix movie on a school night in HS. It was awful. Absolutely awful. Then my stupid friend's stupid car ran out of gas because he was stupid, so we had to push it to a gas station, so I got home even later after seeing a stupid, awful movie that was stupid and awful.

Will North Dakota State fans miss winning FCS titles? Here’s what the FBS move means After winning 10 FCS titles in 15 seasons, North Dakota State is joining the Mountain West in the FBS. There are pluses and minuses.

NDSU will go from competing (and winning!) FCS national titles to competing for trips to the Potato Bowl. How will the fans handle that? We asked some and got insight from folks who saw it w/ Georgia Southern and App State.
Story with @byameek.bsky.social:
www.nytimes.com/athletic/705...

From Napier's attorneys, Hank Coxe and Michael Lockamy:
“The parties have reached a confidential resolution of the litigation. The case will be dismissed, and all parties are moving forward.”

Jaden Rashada settles NIL suit against Billy Napier, Florida booster

A settlement has been reached* in the first major legal dispute of the NIL era: Jaden Rashada v. Billy Napier et al.
*Per a mediation report filed in federal court
www.nytimes.com/athletic/705...

Kansas State has denied a public records request for Jerome Tang's termination letter. I was curious what, exactly, was cited. Kansas law says agencies "shall not be required to disclose" "personnel records." Contracts are separate from other personnel records here.

I see the Irish ducked Indianapolis Heavy Artillery that year

MAC plans to add Sacramento State from FCS for 2026 season: Source (Gift Article) Sacramento State, which has desired to move up for years, makes its move after the Mountain West announced it's adding North Dakota State.

Source: The MAC will add Sacramento State as a football-only member for 2026, @TheAthletic.com has confirmed.

A huge entrance fee and a cross-country league in the latest bit of conference realignment. Yahoo first reported. www.nytimes.com/athletic/704...

Trinidad Chambliss granted preliminary injunction, clearing way for him to return to Ole Miss (Gift Article) Chambliss, who led Ole Miss to the College Football Playoff semifinals, sued the NCAA last month after it denied his waiver request.

Free story on the Trinidad Chamliss ruling and what it means: www.nytimes.com/athletic/704...

New-look Pac-12’s 2026 football schedule features unique ‘flex’ games Each school will have a “flex” rematch game on the final weekend that will not count toward conference standings but serve league interests.

News: The Pac-12 football schedule has been released, and it includes a "flex" rematch game for everyone on the final weekend that won't be determined until six days prior.

More details here: www.nytimes.com/athletic/704...

WR Jahmal Edrine charged with rape, abduction; no longer on Virginia roster Edrine was arrested and charged following a five-month investigation, police said.

An update on this story from last week: Per the court system, now-former UVA receiver Jahmal Edrine was released from custody today
www.nytimes.com/athletic/702...

Tiger Woods' son Charlie Woods commits to Florida State golf program

Charlie Woods has committed to play golf at Florida State. You might have heard of his father, Tiger.
That seems pretty notable! www.nytimes.com/athletic/703...

Noble Roman's ftw

The Michael Jordan flu game makes an appearance in the latest filing in the Trinidad Chambliss case.

Source: North Dakota State is in discussions to join the Mountain West as a football-only member this upcoming season, @theathletic.com has confirmed.

Not a done deal, but deep conversations. Yahoo first reported.

Story: www.nytimes.com/athletic/702...

The 5 issues with college football’s calendar, including one with ‘a lot of traction’ Here's a primer on the calendar issues, including momentum for moving the start of the season up a week for most teams.

The idea of starting the CFB season in "Week 0" is gaining traction, says Georgia's AD, who co-chairs an NCAA committee on the calendar.

We go back to one-bye seasons this year, and schedule-makers tell me they much prefer 14 weeks to play 12 games. www.nytimes.com/athletic/702...

Montana coach retires amid CFB changes: 'I kind of got tired of all that'

The retirement of Montana coach Bobby Hauck feels, to me, like another canary-in-the-coal-mine moment for the coaching industry. When agents, transfers, $, etc. have made coaching CFB less enjoyable at MONTANA...we've got an issue here.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/702...

NEWS: The NCAA has denied Ole Miss’ appeal for a sixth year of eligibility for Trinidad Chambliss.

The QB’s future now is in the hands of a Mississippi court.

More details: www.nytimes.com/athletic/702...

College football transfer portal rankings: LSU, Indiana, Texas lead The Athletic’s top 25 Lane Kiffin switched jobs — jumping from Ole Miss to LSU — and proved once again why he's the Portal King.

The top 25 transfer portal classes, per @skhanjr.bsky.social:

2. Indiana
5. Miami
13. Auburn
18. Colorado
25. Wisconsin

Full list: www.nytimes.com/athletic/701...

LSU will not be disciplined after investigation into its NIL reporting The first publicly known inquiry by the College Sports Commission, which did not involve football, lasted just two and a half weeks.

The first specific inquiry into a school or its players by the CSC is complete. LSU says no disciplinary action was taken against the Tigers, and all deals that must be sent to NIL Go have been submitted.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/701...