Scott Dochterman

College Football Playoff 2025 bracket prediction: Hello Alabama! Goodbye Penn State! Right now, three of the SEC’s four unbeatens are in — Oklahoma, Ole Miss and Texas A&M. Alabama, Georgia and LSU are also in the field.

College Football Playoff 2025 bracket prediction: Hello Alabama! Goodbye Penn State!

www.nytimes.com/athletic/669...

What we learned about the Big Ten after the conference’s most consequential Saturday yet The Big Ten’s first major weekend of conference games provided clarity on which teams have championship potential and which have work to do.

What we learned about the Big Ten after the conference’s most consequential Saturday

Oregon, Ohio State, Indiana pass major road tests
Concern, yes, but not all bad for Penn State
The league's "mushy middle"
QBs making strides
What if ... play-in edition

www.nytimes.com/athletic/667...

What we learned about the Big Ten after the conference’s most consequential Saturday yet The Big Ten’s first major weekend of conference games provided clarity on which teams have championship potential and which have work to do.

What we learned about the Big Ten after the conference’s most consequential Saturday

Oregon, Ohio State, Indiana pass major road tests
Concern, yes, but not all bad for Penn State
The league's "mushy middle"
QBs making strides
What if ... play-in edition

www.nytimes.com/athletic/667...

College Football Playoff 2025 bracket prediction: A wide-open field after a chaotic Saturday Welcome to the impossible task of selecting the College Football Playoff field after Week 5.

College Football Playoff 2025 bracket prediction: A wide-open field after a chaotic Saturday

(And good luck choosing among the SEC teams)

www.nytimes.com/athletic/666...

Indiana’s gut-check win at Iowa could form backbone of special season: ‘Now we know’ Winning in gutsy fashion at Iowa could help the Hoosiers form positive recall for future away games at Oregon and Penn State.

Indiana’s gut-check win at Iowa could form backbone of special season: ‘Now we know’

www.nytimes.com/athletic/666...

‘Is this real?’ At Indiana, Curt Cignetti is forcing fans to embrace a football frontrunner Cignetti's direct approach to turning Indiana from a basketball school into a perennial CFP hopeful, one blowout at a time, is taking root.

‘I had to find out if the fan base was dead or just on life support.’

At Indiana, Curt Cignetti stepped out of his comfort zone and now is forcing fans to embrace a surprising football frontrunner. The infrastructure says IU could stay there.

www.nytimes.com/athletic/665...

Haha, thanks!

Illinois and Indiana share a history of losing. That’s why their matchup is so intriguing Indiana and Illinois are both ranked heading into their matchup for the first time since 1950.

Illinois and Indiana share a history of losing. That’s why their matchup is so intriguing

www.nytimes.com/athletic/663...

Big Ten football mailbag: Illinois optimism, Oregon concerns as conference play ramps up Also, why Penn State played a weak conference schedule and thoughts on Big Ten schedule discrepancies.

Big Ten football mailbag:
Penn State’s schedule
Disparities on Friday night games
Illinois optimism
Oregon concerns
And more here ⬇️

www.nytimes.com/athletic/663...

From 2-18 to No. 206: Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz breaks Woody Hayes’ Big Ten wins record With a 47-7 win against UMass, Ferentz collected his 206th win as a Big Ten coach.

Iowa's Kirk Ferentz set the Big Ten wins record without fanfare. Iowa's governor didn't hand him a cake, like with Hayden Fry in 1991. No B1G official was on hand to celebrate it.

Instead, Ferentz joined The Swarm & kissed his wife, which was perfect for him.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/662...

Thanks and (I wanna puke after seeing that). Getting it changed now.

The only dancing to AC/DC songs should involve a pole, lol.

From 2-18 to No. 206: Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz breaks Woody Hayes’ Big Ten wins record With a 47-7 win against UMass, Ferentz collected his 206th win as a Big Ten coach.

From 2-18 to 206: Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz breaks Woody Hayes’ Big Ten wins record

www.nytimes.com/athletic/662...

Iowa State is no longer looking up at Iowa (or Kansas State). It's the other way around

Iowa State once looked up to Kansas State and Iowa. After winning 3 straight against the Wildcats and 3 of 4 against the Hawkeyes, it’s now the other way around.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/660...

The Belichick effect and the money-sucking machine of college football College football has become a money-sucking machine, with schools spending every dollar possible to keep up in an athletics arms race.

This week, The Broadside tackled… what else? The Belichick effect.

Big thanks to @scottdochterman.bsky.social and @themhartman.bsky.social for explaining the money-sucking machine behind college athletics. And why winning may not matter when you can’t lose in college football.

A Cy-Hawk would-you-rather: Is it better to be Iowa or Iowa State in 2025?

In college football’s new era, is it better to be Iowa or Iowa State? A breakdown of the pros and cons ranging from financial data to CFP access.

www.nytimes.com/athletic/659...

10 things you need to know about the Big Ten before 2025 kicks off

10 things you need to know about the Big Ten as mega-conference kicks off 2025

www.nytimes.com/athletic/657...

Ranking the Big Ten's conference schedules, from Wisconsin to Michigan

Who has the easiest, hardest Big Ten schedules? Ranking all 18, from Wisconsin to Michigan

www.nytimes.com/athletic/657...

How college football players spend NIL money, from cars to fishing gear to wedding rings This summer, The Athletic asked 57 current football players about their first major purchase funded by an NIL check.

How college football players spend NIL money, from muscle cars and fishing gear to wedding rings and long-term investments.

www.nytimes.com/athletic/657...

Big Ten vs. SEC challenge: Who would win a 16-game showdown? If the sport's two premier conferences played a nonconference series, who would prove to have more depth? We played it out.

What if there were a Big Ten vs. SEC challenge: Who would win a 16-game showdown?

For the second straight year @scottdochterman.bsky.social and I draw up matchups and make picks, and don’t always agree:

www.nytimes.com/athletic/656...

Why is Iowa State-Kansas State in Ireland? How ‘Farm O’ Geddon’ went international How did a rivalry with so much importance to America's breadbasket end up in Ireland?

Why is Iowa State-Kansas State in Ireland? How ‘Farm O’ Geddon’ went international

www.nytimes.com/athletic/656...

That looks cool, kind of like the Festhalle Barn in Amana for Oktoberfest. I do need to get a hold of you for something coming up.

There’s no longer any pretense this has anything to do with crime (there are cities or parts of cities in SC and Ohio that have higher crime rates than DC — send the troops there!). This is about establishing a precedent for Trump seizing control of the nation’s capital when he wants to.

You in the morning after learning of your decision.

Former Wisconsin women’s basketball players file lawsuit against former coach, alleging psychological abuse The University of Wisconsin declined to comment on the lawsuit, filed Friday.

More details ⤵️

www.nytimes.com/athletic/655...

Why didn’t Michigan vacate wins? What’s a show-cause penalty?

@chrisvannini.com dives into the nitty-gritty details of the Wolverines’ punishment ⤵️

www.nytimes.com/athletic/655...

Yeah, he struggled that day. But as @marcmorehouse.bsky.social said, it was arrogance in protection. Never helped him out with a chip or a double team.

Unanswered questions remain after the NCAA released its ruling on Michigan's sign-stealing investigation.

◽ Is the punishment enough to discourage others from cheating?
◽ Who paid for Connor Stalions’ operation?
◽ Did Jim Harbaugh and other coaches know about the sign-stealing as it was happening?