TEXAS SMOTHERED OHIO STATE’S JEREMIAH SMITH LAST YEAR AND THE REMATCH AWAITS
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith is the most feared wide receiver in college football.
For most teams, anyway. When No. 1 Texas and No. 3 Ohio State meet Saturday, Smith will face the one team that shut him down last season.
Texas held Smith to just one catch for 3 yards in a College Football Playoff semifinal. The Buckeyes won the game 28-14 and went on to win the national title as Smith scored a touchdown and set up the game-clinching field goal in the final minutes with a 56-yard catch.
Smith is ready for the rematch against Texas and looking for some personal redemption.
“I’m definitely hyped about this one, especially with how things went last year, people saying things about me, about that game I had last year,” Smith said during Buckeyes training camp. “I’m definitely hungry for this one, for sure.”
Texas wouldn’t expect him to be any other way. Smith is among the early Heisman Trophy contenders along with Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning.
“He has all the hype right now.,” Texas cornerback Malik Muhammad said Monday. “He’s the guy everyone is looking at in college football. I’m sure he’s overly motivated, especially coming out of that game last year.”
Reloading the Texas secondary
Smith had 76 receptions for 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns last season, with all three marks Ohio State freshman records. Yet the Longhorns smothered him with cornerback Jahdae Barron, last season’s Thorpe Award winner, and safety Andrew Mukuba. Both of them are now in the NFL.
But while Texas has some holes to fill in the secondary, it’s hardly a rebuild. It’s more like a reload.
Texas senior safety Michael Taaffe, like Smith a preseason All-American, and Muhammad will anchor a unit that has plenty of experience. Some analysts rate the position group among the best in the country.
Texas also adds the return of Duane Akina as safeties coach and passing game defensive coordinator. Akina spent 13 seasons at Texas from 2001-2013 when he coached two Thorpe Award winners (Michael Huff in 2005 and Aaron Ross in 2006) and two more finalists. He spent the past two seasons at Arizona.
The physical mismatch amid the chess match
In a straight physical matchup, Smith towers overs most defensive backs at 6-foot-3, 223 pounds. Muhammad is 6-0, 181. Taaffe is 6-0, 189.
Smith also had the speed to lead the nation last year with six catches longer than 50 yards.
“What he does on the football field, it doesn’t seem like a real human’s doing that … It’s going to be really fun going against him because he’s a freak of nature,” Taaffe said. “The best thing about him is going up and getting the football. You can put three DBs on him, but if you get it up in the air, he’s going to go get it.”
Texas made sure Smith was always covered by multiple defenders on almost every play last season. But that also opened the field for the rest of the Buckeyes. Carnell Tate had seven catches for 89 yards against the Longhorns in the playoff.
The same scenario could play out Saturday as Akina and Texas defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski draw up a game play to neutralize Smith again.
“Ideally you’ve got multiple people with eyes on him and guarding him, but you still have to play great team defense,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “And you’ve gotta cover the two other wideouts they have or two other really good players, too.”
But Smith is the Buckeyes’ ultimate playmaker.
“I do think, at the end of the day, (Smith) is where your attention needs to be,” Sarkisian said. “You better know where No. 4 is at all times.”
NO. 8 ALABAMA MIGHT BE DOWN A STARTING OFFENSIVE LINEMEN IN ITS SEASON OPENER AT FSU
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — No. 8 Alabama might be without starting guard Jaeden Roberts for its season opener at Florida State on Saturday.
Roberts, a fifth-year senior who has started 21 games over the past two seasons, missed the last two weeks of practice and remains in the NCAA concussion protocol.
“(Jaeden)’s in question with what he’s going through with the protocol,” coach Kalen DeBoer said Monday. “He’s progressing, so we’ll kind of see here.”
If Roberts can’t play, Alabama would turn to senior Geno VanDeMark. VanDeMark played in all 13 games last season for the Crimson Tide, including one start. He has appeared in 31 career games, with nine starts.
“We threw him out there for a couple series a game last year,” DeBoer said. “And he did a great job. We’ve referred to him as a Swiss army knife guy so he’s really valuable to us. So you feel like you don’t skip a beat, and he was competing for (a starting spot) in the first place.”
VanDeMark and Texas A&M transfer Kam Dewberry had been vying for the starting guard spot opposite Roberts.
The only other injury of note for the Tide: running back Jam Miller will miss several weeks with a dislocated collarbone sustained in the team’s second scrimmage of training camp. He is expected to return for the team’s Southeastern Conference opener against Georgia in late September.
Alabama’s offensive line — four of five projected starters have at least 20 games of experience — is expected to be a strength this season even though the unit was part of an offense that finished 47th nationally in rushing yards in 2024, 61st in sacks allowed and 90th in tackles for loss allowed.
“Feel like they’re in a good spot,” offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb said. “A lot of starts with the guys on the field.”
QB SAM LEAVITT DRIVING AS NO. 11 ARIZONA STATE BEGINS BIG 12 REPEAT BID
No. 11 Arizona State kicks off the 2025 season at home in Tempe against Northern Arizona, and head coach Kenny Dillingham has heard all he can handle about how difficult it will be to repeat in the Big 12.
History does support the idea of the steep degree of difficulty in going back-to-back in the conference. Only Oklahoma, now in the SEC, has ever done it.
“We’ve used that quite a bit this year. I explain to our guys just the challenge that we have ahead of us. Only one team in the great history of the conference, but no other team has had this guy (Sam Leavitt) as their quarterback, and that’s what gives me some peace,” Dillingham said in a recent appearance on ESPN.
In their debut Big 12 Conference campaign, the Sun Devils went on a late-season, six-game winning streak that carried them to the league title. It was the first outright championship for an Arizona State team since 1996. The championship resulted in a first-ever College Football Playoff appearance for ASU, which ended its season with a quarterfinal overtime loss to Texas.
The Sun Devils enter the 2025 season replacing the breakout star of last year’s surprise finish, running back Cameron Skattebo. Skattebo rushed for 1,711 yards and scored 21 touchdowns with another 605 yards and three scores receiving.
While the All-Big 12 back will now run for the New York Giants, his departure for the NFL leaves a significant void in the Sun Devils’ offense. In the conference preseason poll, Leavitt was selected preseason Offensive Player of the Year.
Leavitt passed for 2,885 yards and 24 touchdowns, threw only six interceptions, and rushed for 443 yards with five scores.
Leavitt will also have his top target back, Jordyn Tyson. Tyson had a late-season injury that sidelined him in the Big 12 Championship Game and Peach Bowl matchup with Texas, but he earned the league’s Newcomer of the Year award with 1,107 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Tyson heads into 2025 as a preseason All-American, an honor Sun Devils coach Kenny Dillingham spoke of with guarded optimism.
“He deserves it. He’s earned all that, he worked for all that. But he didn’t work for the preseason,” Dillingham said. “He’s worked for the postseason.”
Northern Arizona had an impressive 2024 season in its own right. The Lumberjacks reached the FCS Playoffs for the first time since 2017 after finishing tied for third in the Big Sky Conference.
Coach Brian Wright, who came to NAU from Div. II powerhouse Pittsburg State, heads into his second year at the helm with the Big Sky’s 2024 Newcomer of the Year and 2025 preseason first-team pick at quarterback, Ty Pennington, running the offense.
Pennington completed 65.2 percent of his 287 pass attempts for 2,288 yards and 13 touchdowns against just two interceptions. He was also the Lumberjacks’ second-leading rusher at 437 yards with seven touchdowns.
“Obviously he is a great player, and we’ve got him surrounded with great players,” Wright said of Pennington during an appearance on the “Roc & Manuch with Jimmy B.” show on 620 AM radio in Phoenix. “Ty is really comfortable. As an offensive unit, we’ve had a lot of learning moments. … We’re still developing in some areas.”
NAU owed much of its success a season ago to a stifling defense. The Lumberjacks’ 18.8-point per game yield was the 15th-lowest in FCS play.
Lineman Miach Carreon and linebacker Brandon Wong, key contributors to the NAU defense in 2024, were named First Team All-Big Sky in the preseason.
The Lumberjacks have their work cut out for them slowing down the Arizona State offense, however. Not only did the Sun Devils rank No. 30 in FBS last season at 32.9 points per game, but Arizona State has scored at least 30 points in every meeting with Northern Arizona since 1947.
Northern Arizona has not beaten an Arizona State team since 1938, though the 2021 Lumberjacks opened the season knocking off the Sun Devils’ bitter rival, Arizona.
NO. 15 FLORIDA PLANS TO EASE QB DJ LAGWAY INTO THE OPENER AFTER MONTHS OF INJURY ISSUES
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Florida plans to ease quarterback DJ Lagway into the season after he missed spring practice and most of fall camp.
Coach Billy Napier said Monday that Lagway will start the team’s opener against Long Island University on Saturday and hinted that the 15th-ranked Gators will try to keep the sophomore out of harm’s way while he works his way back from shoulder and calf injuries.
“Probably wouldn’t say those things publicly,” Napier said. “You’re obviously thinking the right way. I think there’s a gamesmanship to that part. There’s no question about it. In general, I don’t know that we’re going to disclose our approach with game plan. But I do think it is what it is.”
It makes sense for Florida to be cautious with Lagway, who has been slowed all year following core muscle surgery, a right shoulder issue and then a strained left calf. He fully returned to practice last week, although he still wore a noncontact jersey.
So facing Long Island will be the first time Lagway had been in a position to be hit since Florida’s bowl game against Tulane in mid-December.
“He gets better every day,” Napier said. “He’s having a lot of fun playing football and competing. He’s smiling a lot more often now. He truly enjoys practicing, preparing. It’s the opportunity to get better. I think the kid is consumed with improvement, and he knows the value of practice, so him getting to do that, I think he’s happy.”
Lagway completed 60% of his passes for 1,915 yards, with 12 touchdowns and nine interceptions in 2024. He took over the starting role after Graham Mertz tore a knee ligament in a game at Tennessee in October. He went 6-1 as a starter, including four consecutive victories to close out the season.
“He’s in a different place from a leadership standpoint because of what he experienced last year,” Napier said. “It’s been his team since January, so his ability to influence others, to say encouraging things, to be a good example.
“Obviously he knows what the games are like. He knows what an in-season prep is like. Those things eliminate some of that anxiety or the unknown. Last year, at this point in time, he had no clue what he was walking into. Until you run out there, you don’t quite understand.”
The Gators are counting on Lagway, who is the centerpiece of what they believe is a team talented enough to make the College Football Playoff. But keeping him healthy is the key, especially since Napier insists the backup job remains up for grabs among former Yale transfer Aidan Warner, freshman Tramell Jones Jr. and college journeyman Harrison Bailey.
“We’ll see. I think we’ll see,” Napier said. “So I think big week coming up, we’re not ready to make any declarations — there should hopefully — there’s still more you want to see from them. Yeah, competition, more to see.”
NO. 25 BOISE STATE TO FEATURE 1-2 RB PUNCH AT USF
No. 25 Boise State is out to show there’s plenty of life in the program after Ashton Jeanty.
Moving on from the Heisman Trophy runner-up who recorded one of the top running back seasons in college football history is no easy task, but the Broncos start the process Thursday night when they play South Florida at Raymond James Stadium at Tampa, Fla.
Jeanty’s spectacular 2,601-yard rushing season helped the Broncos (12-2 in 2024) reach the College Football Playoff where they lost 31-14 to Penn State in the quarterfinals.
Jeanty’s signature long runs and leaps over defenders can now be found on NFL television outlets, while Malik Sherrod and Sire Gaines try to lessen the impact of his loss.
Sherrod transferred from Fresno State and is in his sixth season of college football. He had a stellar 2023 season with 966 rushing yards and six scores before being limited to four games last season due to injury.
Now he’ll be part of the one-two punch with Gaines, a redshirt freshman who had 156 yards in three games last season before sustaining a season-ending injury.
Broncos coach Spencer Danielson insists his team will still run the football.
“Just because Ashton isn’t here, that does not change,” Danielson told reporters. “We will run the football here, we will establish a run game on offense and first and foremost on defense, stop the run. That’s championship football.”
Quarterback Maddux Madsen is back after passing for 3,018 yards, 23 touchdowns and six interceptions in 2024.
The Broncos are also preparing for the humidity on the West Coast of Florida.
“We don’t control the environment and how many tickets get sold,” Danielson said. “Like how many fans are there? Is there going to be lighting, rain, hot, humid? We prepare for all things.
“As a coach, I’ve got to make sure our players are ready for the battle that is waiting for them. We don’t control the environment, but we do control how prepared we are.”
USF (7-6 in 2024) has won consecutive bowl games in coach Alex Golesh’s first two seasons.
But the Bulls are opening this campaign with a very arduous trio of games — the Boise State game is followed by road games at No. 15 Florida and No. 10 Miami.
Yes, Golesh actively sought the tough gauntlet.
“People were like, ‘What are you guys thinking?’” Golesh told reporters. “And I told them, ‘Those guys have to play South Florida.’ And I’ll tell you the same thing now. Boise State has to come to Tampa and play South Florida at Ray-Jay on a Thursday night on national TV in the heat.
“For who we are, for us to take the next step, we’ve got to go win a marquee game. That happens to be the first one. It’s right there for us.”
Bulls star quarterback Byrum Brown is healthy after being lost to a lower-leg injury in late September last season. He missed the rest of the regular season but did get in for two snaps during a five-overtime 41-39 victory over San Jose State in the Hawaii Bowl on Christmas Eve.
In 2023, Brown had a top-notch season. He passed for 3,292 yards and 26 touchdowns against 11 interceptions and also rushed for 809 yards and 11 scores. He’s eager to regain his star status.
“I’m ready. I’m more than ready,” Brown told reporters. “I can’t wait to get out there and go. I feel with the talent we have on this team, we have great things ahead.”
DABO SWINNEY RECALLS THE NEAR-FIRING MOMENT THAT SHAPED HIS CLEMSON COACHING CAREER
CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Dabo Swinney appears destined for the College Football Hall of Fame.
He has won eight Atlantic Coast Conference championships in the last 10 years and two national championships, and now his fourth-ranked Clemson Tigers look poised for another run at glory as they kick off the 2025 season Saturday night at home against No. 9 LSU.
Swinney is first to admit it’s been one heck of a ride — and he’s been “blessed” beyond words.
But it wasn’t all trophies and celebrations for the Birmingham, Alabama, native when he took over the Tigers 17 years ago as an interim head coach.
There were tense moments for Swinney early on, none more so than in the moments following the Tigers’ lopsided 29-7 defeat to in-state rival South Carolina in November 2010 in front of more than 81,000 mostly dejected fans at Clemson’s Memorial Stadium. The loss dropped the Tigers to 6-6 in the regular season and Swinney to 19-14 since taking over as head coach.
As he emerged that day from his news conference, Swinney found his wife, Kathleen, in tears in the hallway.
“I walk out and she’s crying and I just thought she was just sad, you know, that she feel bad for me,” Swinney recalled.
He gave her a hug and assured her everything was going to be all right.
That’s when she looked at him in the eyes and told him that Terry Don Phillips, Clemson’s athletic director at the time, was waiting to see him in his office.
“Oh,” is the only thing Swinney could muster, and the tension in his body mounted.
“I mean, I think I’m getting fired — and my wife thinks I’m getting fired,” Swinney recalled at the Atlantic Coast Conference championship media days.
Knocked back by the news, Swinney took a few minutes to gather his thoughts before reminding himself that “God’s got me.”
He walk down the hallway to find the door cracked open. He peered inside and found Phillips sitting on the couch.
So this is how it ends, Swinney thought to himself.
He entered the room.
But the pink slip never came.
Swinney wasn’t fired that day.
Instead, he was surprised when Phillips offered his wholehearted, unconditional support.
“I go from thinking I’m getting fired to Terry Don Phillips telling me how much he believes in me,” Swinney said. “He said to me, ‘Hey there’s going to be a lot of criticism and there’s going to be a lot of this and that, (but) I want you to keep doing what you’re doing. I want you to know that I’ve got your back. I believe in you more now than even when I hired you.’”
With that, Phillips got up from the couch and prepared to walk out of his office before turning back to Swinney and saying “and if it doesn’t work you can come help me pack — and I’ll come help you pack.”
Phillips then hugged Swinney on his way out.
“Terry Don Phillips is not a man of a lot of words, but he had a lot of conviction in his words and he meant what he said,” Swinney said.
Swinney sat in stunned silence for a few minutes before his wife walked into his office, worried about her husband’s job security.
“I told her didn’t get fired, and she’s like, ‘What?’” Swinney said.
Tim Bourret, who was Clemson’s sports information director, witnessed the event unfolding. He said it was tense time given the way the regular season had ended. But he felt that Swinney had earned some stock from Phillips by leading the Tigers to the ACC championship game in 2009 before losing to Georgia Tech.
“Terry Don just had a sixth sense about Dabo and his ability to lead the program,” Bourret said. “I didn’t think he was going to get fired, but then again I had been around long enough to know that people make decisions based off what happens against South Carolina.”
Bourret said Phillips had come to admire Swinney’s tireless work as an assistant coach at Clemson before hiring him as the interim head coach in 2008. He said Phillips took notice of how players, even those who played positions other than the one Swinney coached, could be found hanging out in Swinney’s office between practices.
“He had a way with players — and he was a great recruiter,” Bourret said. “And Terry Don took notice of that.”
Swinney, of course, never did have to pack up his things at Clemson.
The Tigers bounced back to go 10-4 the following season, earning a trip to the Orange Bowl. It was the first of 13 double-digit win seasons over the next 14 years for Swinney, who has built the Tigers into one of the most successful and consistent programs in college football.
Since 2011, the Tigers have won a remarkable 84.3% percent of their games (161-30) under Swinney, including nine ACC championships. He is the winningest coach in ACC history with 180 victories.
The lessons Swinney learned that day have shaped his coaching career.
Two years ago after Clemson failed to win 10 games, Swinney had a decision to make when it came to struggling young quarterback Cade Klubnik. Like Swinney, Klubnik had found himself under intense scrutiny and many Tigers fans were urging the him to explore the transfer portal and find a replacement.
But Swinney showed the same faith in Klubnik that Phillips once showed in him.
Klubnik responded last season by leading the Tigers to a second straight ACC championship and a return to the College Football Playoff after a two-year absence. Klubnik enters this season as a first-team Associated Press preseason All-American and is viewed as one of the favorites to win the Heisman Trophy. He’s s projected first-round NFL draft pick.
All because Swinney believed in him.
“I experienced that too, right?’” said Swinney, a three-time winner of the Paul “Bear” Bryant Award given to college football’s best head coach. “I know what it means to have someone believe in you.”
Bourret, who worked at Clemson until 2017, said it’s hard to imagine where the program might be had Phillips not kept Swinney.
“There could not be a better fit for this program,” Bourret said. “Dabo would probably be successful at any program, but it is amazing what he has done at Clemson. He’ll be in the Hall of Fame someday, no doubt. Terry Don’s sixth sense certainly proved right.”
