Natrone Means first arrived at North Carolina to play for Mack Brown as a promising running back, then went on to an NFL career that included a touchdown-scoring appearance in the Super Bowl.
More than three decades later, he's again working to help Brown’s Tar Heels, though now in the kind of supporting role expanding across the Atlantic Coast Conference and the sport.
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Quarterback Drew Pyne has given Notre Dame's offense exactly what it needed.
Hope amid change.
He is 2-0 since replacing the injured Tyler Buchner, has the Fighting Irish back at .500, is leading a major midseason turnaround and seems to be winning over coach Marcus Freeman.
Seeing top-ranked Alabama firmly among the national leaders defensively isn’t shocking considering its steady influx of top talent and grooming under Nick Saban.
The pleasant surprise is having some of the Crimson Tide’s West Division brethren representing the Southeastern Conference as well.
So, about that game of the year ...
The much-anticipated matchup between Texas A&M and Alabama, after an offseason feud between the team's championship-winning coaches, is not nearly as interesting as expected.
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Recent meetings between Texas and Oklahoma have been shootouts.
Both teams have scored at least 40 points in four of the past six regular-season meetings, with Oklahoma breaking 50 in victories the past two years.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Dorian Thompson-Robinson has been answering questions about his play and UCLA's turnaround in the same fashion as he deals with opposing defenders.
By hurdling over them.
The fifth-year senior quarterback and the Bruins both made huge statements about respect with a 40-32 victory Friday over No.
Adrian Martinez, Dillon Gabriel, Quinn Ewers and JT Daniels understandably topped the preseason lists of players transferring to Big 12 schools. They're quarterbacks, after all.
While Kansas State's Martinez might be the conference's most celebrated transfer after the first month of the season, it's been lesser-known transfers who have been big difference-makers for the surprise teams at the top of the Big 12 standings.
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Texas A&M’s offense has sputtered all season, remaining stagnant despite a quarterback change.
As the Aggies prepare to visit top-ranked Alabama on Saturday, coach Jimbo Fisher is adamant that they can turn things around if every player simply makes a commitment to doing things right on every play.
CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — DJ Uiagalelei looked so confident and smooth that crisp fall afternoon in 2020 in his first college start against Boston College.
Nearly two years later, with the fifth-ranked Tigers (5-0, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) heading to play the Eagles (2-3, 1-2) again on Saturday, Uiagalelei is just as poised — although these days he's armed with the experience of coming through difficult times on the field.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia running back CJ Donaldson is in concussion protocol and will miss next week's home game with Baylor after he was injured in a loss to Texas, coach Neal Brown said Tuesday.
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The long-suffering football fans at Kansas mostly thought it flattering when Nebraska fired Scott Frost and rumors began that the Huskers would be interested in hiring the Jayhawks' Lance Leipold as their next coach.
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa was able to visit his brother, Tua, last weekend after the Terrapins' game against Michigan State, he said Tuesday in his first comments to reporters since Tua left the Miami Dolphins' game against Cincinnati last Thursday with a frightening head injury.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Louisville coach Scott Satterfield says quarterback Malik Cunningham’s status is being evaluated daily for concussion-like symptoms after he was injured Saturday’s loss at Boston College.
The Big Ten West is a mess. It's also mesmerizing.
Wisconsin and Nebraska already have fired their head coaches. Minnesota took up the mantle as West favorite, only to be upset at home. Illinois, picked sixth, is one of the hottest teams in the nation after outscoring two nonconference opponents and Wisconsin by a combined 89-13.
CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said starting defensive tackle Bryan Bresee won't play at Boston College on Saturday night.
Swinney said Tuesday that Bresee was continuing to recover from a kidney infection diagnosed last week and would be out for the fifth-ranked Tigers (5-0, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference).
Jim Leonhard would have preferred much different circumstances, but the former Wisconsin safety and NFL veteran has been given the opportunity to lead his alma mater’s football program.
Alabama quarterback Bryce Young's sprained throwing shoulder has usurped the offseason coaching spat as the big story heading into the top-ranked Crimson Tide's grudge match against Texas A&M.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said Monday that Tennessee wide receiver Cedric Tillman had surgery to speed up recovery from an injury.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Two rivals, two quarterback injury conundrums.
Texas and Oklahoma are preparing for this weekend's annual matchup in Dallas with big questions at the most important position on the field.
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Auburn edge rusher Eku Leota could miss the rest of the season with a pectoral injury, coach Bryan Harsin said Monday.
Leota will have surgery on Tuesday for the injury sustained early in last weekend's loss to LSU, Harsin said.
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Back-to-back unimpressive wins over Kent State and Missouri did more than knock Georgia from the top spot in the AP Top 25.
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — LSU starting quarterback Jayden Daniels is expected to be back this week against No. 8 Tennessee as he recovers from a knee injury that forced him out of last Saturday's victory at Auburn, Tigers coach Brian Kelly said Monday.
This was reset week for Associated Press college football poll voters.
A season-high 10 teams that entered the weekend ranked in the AP Top 25 presented by Regions bank lost. That included five ranked teams losing to unranked opponents.
Cincinnati wasn't even the American Athletic Conference leader in sacks before Saturday. With one big night against Tulsa, the Bearcats begin this week at the top of the national chart.
Cincinnati tied a conference record with 11 sacks against the Golden Hurricane, matching the most in a Bowl Subdivision game in three seasons.
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Colorado fired football coach Karl Dorrell after an 0-5 start in which the Buffaloes have been blown out by more than 20 points in each game.
The school announced the decision Sunday, a day after a 43-20 loss at Arizona.
Wisconsin fired head coach Paul Chryst on Sunday after a 2-3 start to his eighth season leading the school where he played, in the city where he grew up.
The surprising move comes a day after Wisconsin lost at home 34-10 to Illinois and former Badgers coach Bret Bielema.
Alabama reclaimed No. 1 from Georgia in The Associated Press college football poll in one of the closest votes in the recent years, and six teams — including Kansas — made their season debut on Sunday.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Anthony Richardson looked quite comfortable playing on a Sunday for the first time in his college career.
Richardson threw for 240 yards and two touchdowns as Florida handled lower-division Eastern Washington 52-17 in a game delayed a day by Hurricane Ian.
CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — No. 5 Clemson entered the season with several questions and doubters galore. Less than halfway through the season, the Tigers are in control of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Clemson knocked off its second straight ranked ACC Atlantic opponent with a 30-20 victory over No.
Neyland Stadium is selling out again and fans already are trying to plan how to paint a visiting stadium orange and white to cap Tennessee's regular season.
That's how good things are going for eighth-ranked Tennessee in coach Josh Heupel's second season.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Illinois coach Bret Bielema had a triumphant return to Camp Randall Stadium because he’s helped make the Fighting Illini physical enough to beat Wisconsin at its own game.
Chase Brown rushed for 129 yards, Tommy DeVito had three short touchdown keepers and Illinois trounced Wisconsin 34-10 on Saturday to give the Illini their first win at Madison since 2002.
Can't hide problems when conference play starts.
The second month of the college football season often reveals issues that nonconference play might have masked and which teams could be in for long seasons.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Brent Key held the ball given to him by his new boss and pointed to the gold “GT” logo on it, a symbol the former Georgia Tech lineman turned interim head coach tasked with holding his alma mater's struggling program together has held close for a quarter century and counting.
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — When Oregon quarterback Bo Nix took off running in the third quarter, teammate Chase Cota was cheering for him to keep going.
Nix indeed kept going, and going — all the way for an 80-yard touchdown.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — After Bryce Young was knocked out of the game with a shoulder injury in the second quarter, No. 2 Alabama turned to Jahmyr Gibbs and backup quarterback Jalen Milroe to pull away from No.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Although Caleb Williams and No. 6 Southern California never trailed against Arizona State, the Trojans also couldn't pull away during a fairly average first half by their newly ambitious standards under coach Lincoln Riley.
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Jayden de Laura tied a school record for touchdown passes in a game, Dorian Singer and Jacob Cowing were the receiving beneficiaries of that huge passing performance and Arizona enjoyed an easy victory on Saturday night.
CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — DJ Uiagalelei played well as he has all season to power No. 5 Clemson's offense. The Tigers' defense finally looked like the stellar group it was projected to be.
The result was Clemson's most complete game of the season: a 30-20 win over 10th-ranked North Carolina State on Saturday night.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Casey Thompson threw for two touchdowns and ran for another and Nebraska beat a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent for the first time in 364 days with a 35-21 victory over Indiana on Saturday night.
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Riley Leonard ran for two touchdowns and threw for another and Duke snapped a 13-game Atlantic Coast Conference losing streak in beating Virginia 38-17 on Saturday night.
Duke (4-1, 1-0 ACC) scored three touchdowns during an 11-minute span of the first half.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Hudson Card passed for three touchdowns, including two to Xavier Worthy, to lead Texas to a 38-20 win over West Virginia on Saturday night.
Card, who has started three straight games but may be replaced next week week if freshman Quinn Ewers returns from a clavicle injury, finished with 303 yards passing.