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WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca (Monterrey, Calif.) — Scott McLaughlin had not won in two years, so he’d take a win any way he could get it. The Team Penske driver delivered a dominating performance, leading 87 of the 95 laps Sunday to capture the INDYCAR season finale and snap his 35-race winless streak. McLaughlin noted it was his first win since his daughter, Lucy, was born 23 months ago. “[It’s] a little bit of relief because I’ve been promising Lucy a long time a race win,” McLaughlin said in his post-race news conference. “She has no idea. She gave me nothing on FaceTime [earlier]. That’s part of it.” Here are my takeaways. 1. Palou Has Human Day Alex Palou clinched his fifth series title (and fourth consecutive) a week before Laguna Seca, and the prevailing wisdom was he would be the one dominating at one of his best tracks — especially because he had no points on the line. But his team opted for used, soft tires for its first two stints, and that didn’t seem to be the right call. He wound up eighth. But he’s still the champion, by 86 points over Kyle Kirkwood. Kirkwood ended up 10 points ahead of Christian Lundgaard and 23 points ahead of Pato O’Ward in the battle for second. Palou won six of the 18 races this year, and the Chip Ganassi Racing driver was set to be honored at the year-end awards banquet Sunday night. “We made some mistakes on our tire decisions,” Palou said in his post-race news conference. “We wanted to gamble a little bit. … It’s tough to win even when you have nothing to lose.” 2. McLaughlin Feels Good McLaughlin had a new engineer and strategist, albeit his strategist is long-time Penske employee (and former executive) Tim Cindric. It took a while for them to mesh, and McLaughlin saw the victory as a culmination of their work. “Basically, since June, July — I think we’ve been really, really good,” McLaughlin said. “It’s just getting some car pace to control like we did today. It was awesome.” McLaughlin finished sixth in the season standings, while his Penske teammate David Malukas was fifth and Josef Newgarden was eighth. 3. Dixon’s Emotional Last Day At Ganassi Scott Dixon won six titles over 25 years driving cars for Chip Ganassi Racing, now he’s heading to Arrow McLaren for 2027. His final season at Ganassi was not a fun one. He finished 17th on Sunday and wound up 12th in the overall standings. Dixon admitted he was close to tears before the race. Earlier this week, he was given a Rolex desk clock by Ganassi, who had offered him a contract extension. But Dixon opted to leave. “Close [to tears] a couple of times for sure,” Dixon told me and other reporters on pit road. “The pre-race and in the team meeting. [It was] not too bad. … How Chip has dealt with it has been amazing.” 4. Schumacher Falls Short Before Moving On Former Formula 1 driver Mick Schumacher had a chance to win the Rookie of the Year award when Dennis Hauger got taken out by Sting Ray Robb on the opening lap. But Schumacher finished 22nd to end up 23rd in the overall standings (out of 25). He will move from Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing to Meyer Shank Racing in 2027. “Today was not amazing, but overall it’s all about learning and that’s what we did this year,” Schumacher told me and other reporters on pit road after the race. “Ultimately, I’m very grateful to RLL. … I’m looking forward to 2027.” Schumacher said MSR and his management had conversations earlier in the season and when RLL sold a charter, and it appeared he likely wouldn’t have a ride, it was clear that was the best place for him to go. “I’m just so excited to start working with that group next year,” Schumacher said. 4 ½. What’s Next — Testing The 2026 season is over. The testing, though, for the new 2028 INDYCAR will continue. Alexander Rossi will test Wednesday on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval, while Alex Palou will test Thursday. They both tested on the road course last month and will be able to give feedback with the knowledge of how the car handled on the road course. “The oval test is a hugely different program and a different set of goals they want to accomplish because, obviously, that’s the most important place that car is ever going to race,” Rossi told me and other reporters Friday. “Some more performance metrics will be analyzed.”​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Every college football season produces a moment that, years from now, will make people look at one another and say, “I remember where I was when that happened.” For Kyle Whittingham, Bryce Underwood and Michigan football fans everywhere, that moment came Saturday night at the Big House. The Wolverines trailed in-state foe Western Michigan, 12-7, with one second remaining on the clock. Their season opener, one in which they entered as 27.5-point favorites, was slipping away. Underwood, Michigan’s highly touted sophomore quarterback, took the snap at midfield and rolled left. He backpedaled, bought himself a moment and heaved a Hail Mary pass into the outstretched arms of wide receiver JJ Buchanan to lift the Wolverines to an unfathomable 13-12 victory over the Broncos. But should the play have even been allowed to take place? That is the question that will undoubtedly be on the minds of Western Michigan coaches and players after Underwood’s first Hail Mary attempt sailed out of bounds as the clock hit zero. Western Michigan players had already begun celebrating what they believed to be a historic victory. Then the officials went to review the play. TV replays appeared to show the clock reaching zero before the ball touched the hands of a Western Michigan defender. But after the review, the officials ruled that one second remained. The Big Ten Conference released a statement explaining the decision, saying that “following video review, it was determined Western Michigan’s No. 18 started his jump from an established out of bounds position (left foot) and made contact with the ball with one second remaining on the clock.” The Mid-American Conference and Western Michigan contacted the Big Ten office to seek clarification regarding the replay video and the placement of one second back on the game clock. MAC commissioner Dr. Jon Steinbrecher said the Big Ten explained that “the ball touched a player who was out of bounds before the clock reached 0:00, resulting in one additional play.” That one additional play changed everything. “The extra second was huge,” Whittingham said in his postgame news conference. “As I watched the first Hail Mary and the ball sailed out of the back of the end zone, as I glanced at the clock, I was pretty sure there was one second left. But that obviously is not up to me.” And so Underwood did it again. This time, his Hail Mary found Buchanan, sending the Big House into bedlam and lifting the Wolverines to a victory that, for several minutes, had seemed impossible. “This game will go down in Michigan history,” Whittingham said. “I don’t know if it’s in a positive way, but it will go down in history for certain.” For most of Saturday night, it looked as if Michigan was headed toward the wrong kind of history. Underwood started the game strong, leading the Wolverines on an 11-play, 75-yard opening drive that ended with his 1-yard touchdown run. But Lance Taylor’s Western Michigan team refused to give up. The defending MAC champions kicked four field goals and forced three turnovers, including a costly fourth-quarter fumble by Underwood. The Broncos took their first lead early in the fourth quarter and remained composed until the final whistle, threatening to hand Michigan its most stunning upset loss since Appalachian State walked out of the Big House with a victory in 2007. Instead, Michigan got one second. And a miracle to follow. Somewhere from Ann Arbor to college campuses across the country, plenty of people now have a story that begins the same way: “I remember where I was when I saw it.”​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

They say it never rains at Tiger Stadium. They were wrong. On an evening where a torrential downpour pushed kickoff back nearly 90 minutes, LSU showered Clemson with points over the course of 51-10 throttling to kick off the Lane Kiffin era in Baton Rouge. “Imagine if we had pro players,” Kiffin quipped in his halftime interview with ESPN’s Holly Rowe — a nod to LSU’s ongoing legal fight with the SEC and its attempt to add former NFL players to its roster. Imagine, indeed. Here’s how it all went down, along with my takeaways from LSU’s commanding season-opening win against Dabo Swinney’s struggling Clemson squad. 1. Forget Sam Leavitt’s Arm — His Legs Carried LSU To Victory It feels like it’s been a decade since Sam Leavitt led Arizona State to the College Football Playoff. Two years and one transfer later, onlookers were reminded what makes Leavitt so dangerous — and why he might just be the perfect fit for Kiffin’s offense — as he dashed for a pair of first-half scores and carved up Tom Allen’s Clemson defense. The former Sun Devils signal-caller was fleet of foot for a player coming off season-ending foot surgery that, even as he walked into the stadium on Saturday night, appeared as though it might still be hobbling him. Leavitt finished the evening with 113 yards on 12 carries. But it was his acrobatic scampers of eight and 13 yards in the first half that pushed LSU’s lead at the break up to 28 points and put the hopes of any kind of Clemson Magic being stirred up on the bayou to bed. LSU will see stiffer competition than the Clemson squad it saw on Saturday night — we’ll get there in a second — but the way the Tigers ran the ball (309 yards on 58 carries) and, especially via their new starting quarterback, provide this offense with a dynamic we may have underrated coming into the campaign. 2. LSU’s Legal Clash With The SEC Lingered Over This Game Let’s take a moment to discuss who didn’t play on Saturday evening. In a week when football kicked off in earnest across the country, the most compelling storyline in the enterprise played out in a Baton Rouge courtroom. LSU has been fighting its own conference over the last three weeks in an effort to bring back a handful of players — including Ole Miss transfers Dae’Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris — who had signed with NFL teams. LSU’s persistence in pressing the matter drew its share of ire from around the college football and political world, including barbs from attorneys general in Oklahoma, South Carolina and Mississippi — who each shared messages backing the SEC in its efforts to enforce its own rules. The proceedings came to a head on Thursday as a hearing was held just a few miles from Tiger Stadium and where Judge William Jordan sided with LSU and paved the way for Kiffin’s crew to add Wright and Harris to the roster. But rather than move forward with adding Wright and Harris and risk a slew of severe penalties from the SEC — which included suspending Kiffin for half the season, a fine that equaled 50% of the program’s annual budget, or even the threat of being kicked out of the league — the Tigers brass stood down. “LSU has made a measured decision to keep these two young men off the roster for now while preserving a path for them to be added later,” plaintiff attorney Ryan Downton told me in a statement on Saturday morning. “Everyone should use that space to lower the temperature and look at the facts.” To Downton’s point, there is still a world where LSU does add Wright and Harris, among others, to its roster down the line. The SEC, too, filed a suit in federal court that leaked, coincidentally, while conference commissioner Greg Sankey was on the stand in Baton Rouge. Will the suit proceed? Or will LSU move forward with adding a pair of NFL cuts? Stay tuned. 3. Lane Kiffin’s Offense Isn’t The Only Strength In Baton Rouge LSU’s offense might move at warp speed, but the Tigers defense set the tone on Saturday night. They barely gave an inch — 40 yards, to be precise — over the game’s first 17 minutes, capped off by defensive end Jordan Ross leaping in front of Clemson quarterback Christian Vizzina’s first-quarter pass and dashing to pay dirt. A 30-yard pick-six at the end of the first quarter to be exact. Clemson looked completely overwhelmed throughout the early stages of Saturday’s proceedings as the LSU front swarmed Vizzina in just his second start in four years at Clemson — albeit it was no better when he was replaced by freshman Tait Reynolds. Purple and white pass-rushers Ross and Princewill Umanmielen were as persistent a presence in the backfield as Vizzina and Reynolds themselves, combining for seven tackles, 2.5 for a loss and two hurries in the first half alone. Defensive Coordinator Blake Baker was among the few holdovers from Brian Kelly’s staff and spurned heavy interest from Tulane for its head coaching job to return to LSU. Keeping Baker around sure looks apt on Kiffin’s part after at least one game. 4. Clemson Is Running Out Of Answers And so we’re here, again. Already. It’s hard to completely overreact to Saturday night’s shellacking in Death Valley — it’s a long season after all — but Dabo Swinney may squarely be on the clock. These are bizarre times in the Upstate. Swinney’s resume is genuinely glimmering. Two national titles. Four championship game appearances. Nine ACC titles. Thirteen (!!) 10-win seasons. Hall of Fame stuff. The more uncomfortable reality is what should we really expect under Clemson and Swinney in 2026 and beyond? The Tigers have been stubbornly slow at adapting to modern roster-building. The hiring of Garrett Riley and the return of Chad Morris also haven’t exactly been boons for a Clemson offense that has been largely listless since Trevor Lawrence was rushing past Howard’s Rock (In fairness, we’re only one game into the Morris experience Part II). Clemson isn’t close to being a national title contender. That much was abundantly clear during Saturday night’s throttling under the lights in Baton Rouge. But, given the way the Tigers looked for the bulk of the night, are we sure they’re even an ACC or bowl game contender? Breakups are painful. They’re even messier when they involve a coach who, frankly, deserves a statue outside Memorial Stadium. But it’s nights like Saturday that make the uncomfortable questions about Swinney and the future of this program increasingly prescient. Perhaps the Tigers lick their wounds and rip through the rest of their schedule. I’m not holding my breath.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Indiana unveiled its national championship signage before Saturday’s season opener, officially putting the 2025 Hoosiers’ perfect 16-0 season on display at Memorial Stadium. Then the defending champions put on another show. Quarterback Josh Hoover and the Hoosiers began their title defense with a resounding 52-16 win over North Texas. Curt Cignetti’s team did it under sweltering conditions, with temperatures reaching 90 degrees and reportedly feeling closer to 150 on the field. The heat didn’t faze the Hoosiers as they cruised in Week 1, reminding everyone why expectations should remain sky-high in Bloomington. Here are my takeaways from “Big Noon Saturday.” 1. Josh Hoover Has Arrived — Expect the Bloody-Face T-Shirts Next It’s no secret that for most of this season, new Indiana quarterback Josh Hoover will be compared to his predecessor, Fernando Mendoza. This is the reality when you follow a star like Mendoza, who won the Heisman Trophy, led the Hoosiers to the program’s first-ever national title, and then went on to become the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft. The standards are high. And after one game, Hoover — who transferred to IU from TCU — looks like the real deal. He completed 13 of 16 passes for 231 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. He delivered several quality throws, including a stellar 9-yard touchdown strike to Charlie Becker in the back of the end zone to give Indiana a 21-3 lead. Blood was dripping down Hoover’s face after North Texas defensive lineman Udoka Ezeana grabbed his facemask while sacking the quarterback. Hoover got up, finished the drive and capped it with the well-timed ball to Backer. You can bet that there will be T-shirts with Hoover’s bloody face on them for sale in Bloomington by tomorrow. “I thought he played with a lot of confidence today,” Cignetti said of Hoover when speaking with FOX Sports’ Jenny Taft after the game. 2. Hoosiers’ Passing Attack Steals The Show Before the start of the season, Cignetti was asked about Hoover’s tendency to turn the ball over. He threw 33 interceptions in three seasons at TCU, a stat former Horned Frogs coach Sonny Dykes referenced in the spring. Upon transferring to Indiana, Cignetti joked that his quarterback’s two new best friends would be a “great defense and a really good run game.” The running game was solid, with Boston College transfer Turbo Richard rushing for 58 yards and two touchdowns. But the passing game stole the show. Hoover didn’t turn the ball over and his favorite target on Saturday was Becker, who he targeted six times. The junior — who was a star for Indiana during last year’s title run — led all receivers with four catches for 64 yards and two touchdowns. Michigan State transfer Nick Marsh — one of the most coveted players in the transfer portal this offseason — also scored a touchdown in his first game as a Hoosier. 3. Indiana’s Defense Has Plenty to Clean Up Last year, Indiana had one of the best defenses in the country. The Hoosiers ranked second behind Ohio State in scoring defense, limiting opponents to just 11.7 points per game. Yes, Indiana lost some important pieces from that unit, including middle linebacker Aidan Fisher, but plenty of talent remains. And defensive coordinator Bryant Haines is back after winning the Broyles Award, which honors the nation’s top assistant coach, in 2025. Still, the defensive line looked shaky at times in the opener, allowing North Texas to average 4.0 yards per rush. While the Mean Green scored just 16 points, Indiana’s defense struggled to get off the field in the first half. North Texas actually held the ball longer than the Hoosiers, winning the time of possession battle, 37:22 to 22:38. The Hoosiers lost starting cornerbacks A.J. Harris and Jamari Sharpe to injuries before halftime, which certainly didn’t help matters. Still, Haines and Cignetti likely won’t be thrilled with the defense’s overall performance and will have some things to clean up ahead of next week. “There are a lot of corrections to be made,” Cignetti told Taft following the game. “There’s some good, some bad, some ugly.” 4. What’s Next? Indiana has a relatively manageable path to start the season and won’t face a ranked opponent until Oct. 17, when it hosts No. 1 Ohio State in a rematch of last season’s Big Ten Championship Game. After that, we’ll learn a lot more about the Hoosiers, because the schedule gets significantly more difficult. After hosting the Buckeyes, IU will immediately travel to Ann Arbor to face Michigan the following weekend. The Hoosiers don’t have a bye until Nov. 7, and things get even tougher in mid-November with matchups against USC at home and Washington in Seattle. IU is a favorite to win a second consecutive national championship and become the first team to repeat since Georgia in 2021 and 2022 — but it won’t be easy.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

“Efficient” is defined as being “productive of desired effects,” especially “capable of producing desired results with little or no waste.” A thesaurus says that Josh Hoover’s debut for the Indiana Hoosiers suffices. Making his first start at quarterback for the defending-champion Hoosiers on Saturday afternoon against the North Texas Mean Green, Hoover threw for 231 yards and four touchdowns, posted a 285.0 passer rating and completed 81.2% of his passes (13 for 16). According to FOX Sports Research, it’s the first time in the 21st century a quarterback threw for four-plus touchdowns in their first start for Indiana. Hoover even played through blood gushing out of his face following a second-quarter sack. “Our goal today was to come out, operate, just compete and play our game at a high level, not hurt ourselves and take advantage of the opportunities we got, and I thought we did that today,” Hoover told FOX Sports Reporter Jenny Taft after the 52-16 Indiana win. “Obviously, there’s going to be things to clean up, like there is every week, but I thought it was a good start for our guys. And I’m happy for everybody.” So, who is the fifth-year senior quarterback? Hoover, who grew up in Heath, Texas, was a consensus three-star recruit in the Class of 2022. He ranked 42nd among quarterbacks in his class, per 247Sports. Ironically, Hoover originally committed to play for Indiana in 2021 before ultimately going to TCU. Hoover transferred to Indiana in January after four years with the TCU Horned Frogs (2022-25). After sitting behind Max Duggan in TCU’s run to the national championship in 2022, Hoover became the Horned Frogs’ primary quarterback for three seasons in the wake of starter Chandler Morris suffering a knee injury in Oct. 2023. Last year (2025), Hoover totaled 3,472 passing yards, 29 passing touchdowns, 13 interceptions and a 153.4 passer rating, while completing 65.9% of his passes. Over Hoover’s three seasons as TCU’s starting quarterback, he averaged 3,209.0 passing yards, 23.7 passing touchdowns, 11.0 interceptions and a 147.8 passer rating per year, while completing 65.1% of his passes. The Horned Frogs went a combined 19-12 in the games Hoover started. In each of Curt Cignetti’s three seasons as Indiana’s head coach (2024-26), the Hoosiers found their starting quarterback in the transfer portal, a pattern that Hoover’s arrival continues. In 2024, Indiana had Ohio Bobcats transfer Kurtis Rourke under center for a season that saw the Hoosiers go 11-2 and reach the College Football Playoff. Rourke led the Big Ten with a 176.0 passer rating and was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Then, Indiana turned to former California Golden Bears quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who went on to win the 2025 Heisman Trophy, lead the Hoosiers to their first-ever national championship and become the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL draft.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Is the Big Ten or the SEC the best conference in college football? Urban Meyer has coached and won national championships in both conferences. And when it comes to which one is better, he has a pretty definitive answer. “For close to 20 years, the SEC, we all knew it, dominated the country and the Big Ten Conference,” Meyer said on Week 1’s edition of “Big Noon Kickoff” when asked about the Big Ten vs. SEC debate. “They won 13 of 17 national championships. You know what? That all changed three years ago when the Michigan Wolverines, then the Ohio State Buckeyes, and then the Indiana Hoosiers won the national title.”It’s not just at the top of the league. Yes, the Big Ten is 4-0 against the SEC in College Football Playoff games, but they’ve also won four of five in the non-College Football Playoff bowls. So, as of now, it is the best conference.” That debate goes beyond results on the field. “The SEC has dominated the NFL Draft for so many years,” Meyer added. “You know what happened last year? The Big Ten had more first-round picks than the SEC. The Big Ten Conference is the strongest conference in college football. That was last year. We’ll see [what happens] this year.” The Big Ten sent four teams to the 2024 College Football Playoff, which was the first year of the 12-team format. Then, last season (2025), it sent three teams to the playoff, with Indiana and Ohio State each earning first-round byes as the No. 1 and 2 seeds, respectively. The Big Ten also had two teams reach the semifinal round: eventual-champion Indiana and the Oregon Ducks. As for the NFL Draft, Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza was selected by the Las Vegas Raiders with the No. 1 pick, marking the first time a Big Ten player was selected with the top overall pick since Michigan offensive tackle Jake Long was taken by the Miami Dolphins in 2008. Even more, four of the top-10 selections in the draft were players from the Big Ten: Mendoza, Ohio State wide receiver Carnell Tate (No. 4) and Ohio State linebackers Arvell Reese (No. 5) and Sonny Styles (No. 7). Before 2023, a Big Ten team hadn’t won the national championship since Ohio State captured the title in 2014 with Meyer as head coach, his third season in Columbus. Over Meyer’s seven seasons at Ohio State (2012-18), the Buckeyes went a combined 83-9, winning at least 10 games in every season. Meyer’s SEC coaching stint came at Florida, where he served as head coach from 2005-10. Across six seasons in Gainesville, Meyer went 65-15, won two SEC titles and captured two national championships, in 2006 and 2008. Entering Week 1 of the 2026 season, the Big Ten has three teams ranked in the top 10 of the AP Top 25 and eight teams in the Top 25 altogether: Ohio State (one), Oregon (two), Indiana (six), USC (T-14), Michigan (16), Washington (17), Penn State (18) and Iowa (22).​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Everything’s bigger in Big Ten country. Literally. There are 18 teams in the conference. And when it comes to college football’s biggest stage, the Big Ten has been hard to beat. One of its schools has won the national championship in each of the last three seasons, while three Big Ten teams made last season’s College Football Playoff and two advanced to the semifinals. But which Big Ten team reigns supreme heading into the 2026 college football season? Dave Portnoy unveiled his Big Ten power rankings on “Big Noon Kickoff.” 2025 Record: 3-9Portnoy’s thoughts: “I was going to put Wisconsin on here, but I’m going to be unbiased [and go with] UCLA and [Bob] Chesney at No. 10.”Win total odds: Over 6.5 (+110), Under 6.5 (-132)Odds to win Big Ten: +17000 (12th) 2025 Record: 9-4 Portnoy’s thoughts: “I’m going with the Pac-12 invaders and Washington at No. 9.” Win total odds: Over 7.5 (-170), Under 7.5 (+140)Odds to win Big Ten: +2400 (seventh) 2025 Record: 9-4 Portnoy’s thoughts: “We don’t like the soft schools at the bottom. The West Coast. We don’t like the cold weather schools down there.” Win total odds: Over 8.5 (+115), Under 8.5 (-136)Odds to win Big Ten: +1500 (fourth) 2025 Record: 9-4Portnoy’s thoughts: “I like Illinois at No. 7.” Win total odds: Over 7.5 (+134), Under 7.5 (-160)Odds to win Big Ten: +14000 (10th) 2025 Record: 7-6 Portnoy’s thoughts: “Matt Campbell. It’s a new era there. They got rid of James Franklin.” Win total odds: Over 8.5 (-166), Under 8.5 (+130)Odds to win Big Ten: +2100 (sixth) 2025 Record: 9-4 Portnoy’s thoughts: “It doesn’t matter what year it is. You can pretty much put Iowa there [in the middle of the Big Ten]. They’re the same team every year.” Win total odds: Over 7.5 (-140), Under 7.5 (+120)Odds to win Big Ten: +5000 (eighth) 2025 Record: 13-2 Portnoy’s thoughts: “A lot of people say they are the No. 1 team in the country. I respect them.” Win total odds: Over 10.5 (+100), Under 10.5 (-120)Odds to win Big Ten: +260 (third) 2025 Record: 12-2 Portnoy’s thoughts: “Every single person here could win 10 games if they coached Ohio State with their talent.” Win total odds: Over 9.5 (-180), Under 9.5 (+150)Odds to win Big Ten: +180 (first) 2025 Record: 9-4 Portnoy’s thoughts: “Michigan and Kyle Whittingham” (met with boos from the Big Noon Kickoff crowd). Win total odds: Over 8.5 (+140), Under 8.5 (-180)Odds to win Big Ten: +1600 (fifth) 2025 Record: 16-0 Portnoy’s thoughts: “Hey Indiana, you’re No. 1. You are No. 1 until you’re beaten. Period.” Win total odds: Over 10.5 (+105), Under 10.5 (-125)Odds to win Big Ten: +255 (second)​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

The Colorado Buffaloes helped kick off college football Week 1 by going into Atlanta as underdogs and shocking the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. With a packed slate of games this weekend, should fans and bettors anticipate more upsets? Let’s take a glance at five matchups to watch this weekend, with odds via DraftKings Sportsbook as of Sept. 4. This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. If you sign up or place a wager, FOX Sports may be compensated. Read more about Sports Betting on FOX Sports. (All Times ET) Saturday, Sept. 5 Spread: Indiana -40.5Moneyline: N/AO/U: 56.5 What To Know: Indiana’s title defense begins this weekend. Led by their bold head coach Curt Cignetti and by eventual Heisman winner and NFL No. 1 draft pick Fernando Mendoza at quarterback, the Hoosiers’ championship run in 2025 was absolutely magical. Based on the odds, they shouldn’t run into any road blocks in Week 1 as 40.5-point favorites. Last season, Indiana opened up its year by cruising past Old Dominion, 27-14. Spread: Oregon -24.5Moneyline: Oregon -2400, Boise State +1200O/U: 51.5 What To Know: The pressure is on for head coach Dan Lanning and the Ducks. Not only are they the No. 2 team in the country, they’re fourth on the board to win the College Football Playoff. Starting QB Dante Moore is also one of the Heisman favorites, sitting third on that board behind Notre Dame’s CJ Carr and Texas’ Arch Manning. FOX Sports betting analyst Geoff Schwartz explained that Oregon’s defensive line is one of the best in the sport, and that could spell trouble for Boise State in this game as the Broncos rely heavily on the run game. Spread: Texas -29.5Moneyline: Texas -9000; Texas State +2500O/U: 59.5 What To Know: The Texas Longhorns have high expectations going into 2026. They’re third on the oddsboard to win the championship and starting quarterback Arch Manning is neck-and-neck with CJ Carr at the top of the Heisman oddsboard. Texas opened up last season with a loss at Ohio State, but the Longhorns get to play an over-matched Texas State squad to open up 2026. Based on the odds, the heavily favored Horns should hook ’em without much trouble. Spread: Penn State -23.5Moneyline: Penn State -3200; Marshall +1400O/U: 52.5 What To Know: Penn State’s 2025 took a turn for the worse, as the Nittany Lions went on a six-game losing streak after winning their first four. They ultimately fired head coach James Franklin, but the damage had already been done in a year when they opened as one of the favoirtes to win it all. FOX Sports betting analyst Will Hill noted that, even though they failed to meet expectations last season, they’re still a good bet to at least make the College Football Playoff in 2026. They are No. 18 in the AP Poll currently and are favored to win big in Week 1. The showdown against Marshall should give Penn State a chance to start getting back on track with an easy non-conference win. Sunday, Sept. 6 Spread: Ole Miss -6.5Moneyline: Ole Miss -270; Louisville +220O/U: 55.5 What To Know: The Sunday night, primetime game features two ranked squads — one of which is coming off a solid College Football Playoff showing. After defeating Georgia in the CFP quarterfinal round, the Rebs fell 31-27 to Miami in the semis. Now, veteran Trinidad Chambliss is back as the starting QB for Ole Miss, while Louisville will be trotting out Ohio State transfer Lincoln Kienholz. However, FOX Sports betting analyst Will Hill is backing underdog Louisville to cover the spread, as the Cardinals and their “new-look” roster try to bring down Ole Miss in Nashville.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

The smile said it all. Gathered in a conference room just outside Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson’s office, offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan, athletics director Jeramiah Dickey and Danielson made their pitch to star tailback Ashton Jeanty. The opportunity. The legacy. The paycheck. All of it was part of the equation. “We love you, Ash. We know you love this place,” Dickey said. “Where are you at?” Jeanty looked up and smirked. “I’m a Bronco,” he said. It’s been almost three years since Jeanty reaffirmed his commitment to Boise State for the 2024 season. Almost every program in America hoped the eventual Heisman Trophy runner-up would depart the school that landed him as an under-recruited running back out of Texas. The world has since changed. Dramatically. College football spending has ballooned, and the financial pressures on schools outside the Power Four have never been more exacerbated. But around these parts, on the blue turf and within a program Danielson has been part of for nearly a decade, that history set a precedent for a team fixated on a second College Football Playoff berth in three years. The Broncos return a pair of All-Pac-12 candidate tailbacks in Sire Gaines and Dylan Riley. Quarterback Maddux Madsen is headed for his third consecutive year as a starter. Defensive end Jayden Virgin-Morgan spurned outside interest to return for a chance at another postseason run. Those hopes start on Saturday against No. 3 Oregon, boasting one of the costliest rosters in America — and one that is likely more than three times more than the $13 million Boise State is spending in revenue share across its entire athletics department. “Do we have what everybody else has? No, but I do know we have more than enough,” Danielson told me.” … We play Oregon. We play Washington. We play Penn State, Notre Dame. On paper, do they have more resources? Probably. But, in those games, there’s still 11 dudes on the field. We’ve got 11. They’ve got 11 — and there’s not going to be any excuses made from us.” There is no long-term planning in college football these days. Administrators quip strategic initiatives have shrunk from a decade to six months. Coaches are worried about the 10 or 11 months in front of them, rather than developing talent over the course of four years. Stockpiling talent? That’s reserved for the biggest brands in college football. But even those with endless pockets are rebooting their rosters by the offseason as player acquisition prices seemingly double each winter. Those realities have been magnified tenfold in the Group of Six, where stalwarts like Boise State have become staunch outliers in their ability to retain and recruit talent, while mitigating outside factors that have made retention an outsized and unfortunate lesson in capitalism. There are, however, a handful of programs that have managed to pitch culture, development and, when possible, cash to ensure the diamonds they discovered continue playing in the rough. “We’re choosing to be here,” Dickey told me. “You burn the boats, right? We’re all in on this, and it’s worth fighting for these kids, what our industry represents, and, specifically, what our brand and department represents.” “We Know That We’re Gonna Have To Recruit Him Again” New Mexico’s Jason Eck almost starts to chuckle as he thinks back to his last Idaho team. The Vandals took Oregon to the brink in 2024, falling by 10 points in Eugene before the Ducks rolled to a 13-1 record and the No. 1 overall seed in the College Football Playoff. Three of Eck’s sophomores that fall earned All-Big Sky honors. Two will suit up for Power Four programs this fall: Andrew Marshall at Nebraska and Dallas Afalava at Wake Forest. The only one that followed Eck to New Mexico? That’d be his son, Jaxton. “Thankfully, it’s my son,” Jason told me, tongue-in-cheek. “If he wasn’t my son, he probably would be at a Power Four school as well.” Every Group of Six coach has a similar story. Tulsa’s Tre Lamb saw a linebacker head to Texas A&M, while his tight end will play for Louisville — decisions that were made related to offers well into the six figures. Boise State — the poster child for stability within the Group of Six over the last decade — watched its top cornerback, Ty Benefield, leave for LSU. Eck, too, had a tight end leave for Cal, a punter depart for Florida State and a long snapper dip for Texas. All three decisions, he said, were motivated by cash. But for each player that walked out the door, there are those programs — few and far between as they might be at the Group of Six level — who’ve been able to steady their rosters amid wayward seas. “I think everybody in this era just kind of assumes the best players are looking to leave all the time,” said Delaware head coach Ryan Carty, who returns as much production as any school in the country after a 7-6 debut season in FBS. “Our players, most of them, do recognize that they might already have what other players are searching for.” There’s a broad belief among coaches that Power Four programs’ reliance on the portal has opened up more talented high school options for the Group of Six. That change has put more of an onus on evaluation. Schools outside the Power Four are working judiciously to occupy not only talent they can sign, but that they might be able to keep. “[Bigger programs] go off the measurables,” New Mexico general manager Beau Davidson told me. “I almost go backward. Let me find the good football players, then I’m gonna pick the one with the better measurables. “Just look at our roster — we’re not gonna win any games getting off the bus, that’s for damn sure.” Schools have also had to be more pointed in their spending, while working ahead of time to address players who might be poaching targets. Two years ago, the market for Western Michigan quarterback Broc Lowry was nonexistent. The one-time Indiana signal-caller had been cast off by the staff in Bloomington after just a season. Outgoing Hoosiers offensive coordinator Walt Bell eventually landed at Western Michigan, providing enough comfort and familiarity for Lowry to follow. Lowry took over the starting spot four games into last season. He never relented, finishing the year with more than 1,800 yards and nine touchdowns, while adding just shy of 1,000 yards rushing and scoring 14 times on the ground. The conversations between Lowry and the Western Michigan staff started early. Head coach Lance Taylor recognized the ex-Big Ten passer might have options. But keeping Lowry in Kalamazoo, Michigan meant stability — and the potential for others to follow suit. The staff took time between its win over Miami (Ohio) in the MAC title game and the Myrtle Beach Bowl to communicate with agents, parents and others involved in the re-signing process across the roster. Lowry was among the first to recommit to the program. Then came the avalanche. Taylor said the program retained 26 of 27 players it hoped to keep. The only departee — long-snapper RJ Todd — landed at Oregon. Lowry, meanwhile, becomes the first MAC Offensive Player of the Year with eligibility remaining to return to the league since Northern Illinois’ Jordan Lynch won the honor back-to-back years in 2012 and 2013. But next season also looms. “Absolutely we’re already thinking about it,” Taylor conceded. “… Being able to bring him back and knowing he has two years of eligibility was really neat to be able to do. But looking into the crystal ball, we know we’re gonna have to recruit him again.” How Corporate Partners Bolster College Football Programs The conversations started at the top, months ago. Before a sudden death. Before the corporate world around Memphis stood still. Tigers athletics director Ed Scott’s pitch to FedEx founder and chairman Fred Smith — who died in June 2025 — was simple: Why put your name on a building when you could get an international commercial for three hours every Saturday during the fall? “If you name a stadium, most of the people that see the name of the stadium are the people who are local,” Scott said at the time. “But if you look at our football field, anywhere that football is within 100 yards, you will see the word ‘FedEx.’” Memphis has been among those non-Power Four programs that have pushed beyond preconceived financial restraints. It’s believed to be among the biggest spenders in the Group of Six, while Scott said in an interview with local radio this summer the plan is to grow its football revenue share allocation to $10 million by 2027. (It’s spending almost that much on men’s basketball as well.) That growth in resources has correlated directly to varying commercial initiatives the school has taken on over the last two years. Memphis is slated to open a roughly $225 million renovation of the Liberty Bowl that includes the construction of a new tower of suites on the west side, LED board and logo boxes this weekend. The end zones, too, will be branded with FedEx’s logo, while it has agreed to a significant deal with Lowe’s. The school has also seen an uptick in fundraising from $20-plus million prior to Scott’s arrival to $35.3 million in 2025, while it’s on pace to bring in around $100 million in revenue this year. “$78 million of that comes from revenue that we create personally,” Scott explained to me. “That’s better than a lot of Power Four schools, right? … If I had another $40 million — I’m not even talking SEC, Big Ten numbers — we’d become extremely formidable right away.” That schools are capitalizing on corporate opportunities has spread far beyond the American Conference as athletics departments look to offset the growing cost of roster retention and construction. Pac-12 membership has seen massive commercial growth across its schools in recent months. Utah State landed a slew of gifts ranging from $750,000 to a pair at $2.5 million. Fresno State is already pushing $750,000 ahead of its sponsorship goals, while San Diego State is on track to set a school record in fundraising this year. The Mountain West, too, leads all FBS conferences with seven schools that have agreed to corporate jersey patch deals — including UNLV, which inked the nation’s first such agreement with Acesso Biologics. More broadly, data provided by NIL deal platform Opendorse showed average Group of Six NIL spending jumped from $1.9 million to $7.5 million over the last two years. “The team with the most money doesn’t guarantee you that you will win or doesn’t guarantee that you will get all the players,” said Tulsa athletics director Justin Moore, a former football operations staffer at Texas A&M and Houston. “But not being in the ballpark guarantees that you won’t.” Visiting with a friend on the Colorado State staff ahead of the 2024 Arizona Bowl, Miami (Ohio) head coach Chuck Martin and his old pal traded insights on their respective spending. Colorado State, the colleague revealed sheepishly, had just $2.5 million and would hopefully get up to $5 million the following season. Martin grinned. “I’ve got three guys on my roster getting paid,” he told me. “One guy’s at $40,000, and two guys at $20,000. That’s it.’” Times have changed. Martin declined to share exact specifics, but the RedHawks are expected to be among the most resourced programs in the MAC this fall. “I retained 14 guys that played a ton of football,” he said. “… If I had the money I had before, I would have retained none of them — like, zero.” Will The Group Of Six Benefit From CFP Expansion? Maybe… There’s a popular refrain in college football circles these days: For all the money that has flooded into the system, the postseason should reflect as much. Expansion discussions between the 10 FBS commissioners and Notre Dame’s athletics director have remained stagnant for months. The SEC and Big Ten still reside on opposite sides of the former’s preference to expand to 24 teams. That’s unlikely to change in the immediate future. That said, as expansion has been contemplated, stakeholders across the Group of Six have been quietly pushing for an additional spot for non-Power Four programs to be guaranteed as part of a 24-team field. “We’re supportive of an expanded playoff so long as it provides more access for every conference,” said American Commissioner Tim Pernetti, who has been a leading voice in such conversations. “… I feel strongly that it should double in size for everyone, including the Group of Six.” “We have multiple teams in our conference that absolutely could be in a position to vie for a CFP spot,” Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould told me. “And we shouldn’t be limited by the format or by the structure. We should have that opportunity.” “If you’re not playing for something, you’re not playing for anything,” echoed Mountain West Commissioner Gloria Nevarez. “Having that access point has always been a priority, and, if the field expands, I would 100 percent favor more access for the Group of Six.” This, of course, doesn’t quell the issues that persist at a player-level. Virgin-Morgan was among those sought by Power Four programs in recent offseasons. He stopped those conversations before they even started. Contacting his trainers back home in Southern California, Virgin-Morgan communicated that, no matter who reached out, he wasn’t interested in leaving Boise State. He also generally stayed off social media to avoid more direct overtures. “I’ve seen a lot of guys that think that the grass is going to be greener when they transfer, and it just doesn’t work out, and it ends up kind of messing up their career,” Virgin-Morgan told me. “I love it here, and I feel like the culture just fits the type of player and the type of person that I am.” Saturday, he’ll lead Boise State into Eugene for a matchup with an Oregon team that Jeanty narrowly missed upsetting two years ago — the type of opportunity for which Virgin-Morgan returned. How many more players might make the same decision even a year from now? “That’s the million-dollar question,” Martin said. “I wish I had the answer.”​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

At long last, the NFL season is right around the corner. We are less than a week away from kickoff, and as initial 53-man depth charts take shape, final roster moves and tactical shifts are making noise across the league. The Los Angeles Rams officially revealed their Week 1 depth chart, listing rookie Ty Simpson as the third-string quarterback. Meanwhile, the NFC West news gets even more intriguing with the Arizona Cardinals agreeing to a massive multi-year extension with wide receiver Michael Wilson. Staying in the NFC, the Chicago Bears are managing practice injuries with wide receiver Rome Odunze and running back D’Andre Swift. Following that, it turns out New York Giants running back Cam Skattebo briefly considered retirement while recovering from last year’s season-ending ankle injury. Here’s the latest NFL news around the league on Thursday. After a strong preseason showing, the Los Angeles Rams have released their depth chart for the start of the 2026 season. With Week 1 on the way, head coach Sean McVay has opted for Stetson Bennett as Matthew Stafford’s backup quarterback. That means Ty Simpson, who the team took with the 13th overall pick in April’s draft, will be the third-string quarterback. The Rams had been adamant about Simpson sitting and learning this season, especially as Stafford nears the end of his career. Stafford’s timeline remains uncertain, but he has been at the center of retirement rumors over the last couple of years. Simpson and Bennett were in lockstep all camp, but Bennett ultimately took the edge. After watching both get extensive preseason reps, McVay appears to agree, favoring Bennett for the backup job. “Stetson Bennett being named the No. 2 QB by the Rams over Ty Simpson should not be surprising,” our Eric D. Williams noted. “He was clearly the better player during training camp. But Simpson showed steady improvement.” The Rams are set to head to Australia to face off against the NFC West division rival San Francisco 49ers for Week 1. The Arizona Cardinals reached an agreement Thursday on a three-year contract extension with wide receiver Michael Wilson, according to reports from ESPN and NFL Network. The deal keeps the 26-year-old receiver under contract with the franchise through the 2029 season. Originally selected by Arizona in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft out of Stanford, Wilson has established himself as a primary target in the Cardinals’ offense alongside Trey McBride. Wilson is expected to officially sign the contract on Thursday ahead of Arizona’s regular-season opener against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sept. 13. New York Giants running back Cam Skattebo shared that he briefly considered retiring from the NFL after suffering a severe ankle injury last year. Skattebo, who suffered a dislocated ankle, open tibia fracture, and ruptured deltoid ligament in Week 8, shared during an appearance on “Up & Adams” that he contemplated stepping away about a month into his rehabilitation. “The first month was kind of like, ‘Damn, do I really want to do this?’” Skattebo said. “I think [the injury] gave me an extra step of finding that deep place and coming out of a hole that I didn’t know I could come out of. I’m appreciative of it, and I’m excited to see what I can build on it.” Skattebo noted he had a personal rule in college to retire if he suffered a major injury, but ultimately decided to return after showing promise over seven full games as a rookie. Before the injury, he compiled 410 rushing yards, 207 receiving yards, and seven total touchdowns. The second-year back returned to the field during the preseason on Aug. 15 and is projected to lead a Giants backfield rotation that features Najee Harris, Tyrone Tracy Jr., and Devin Singletary. The Chicago Bears had a pair of injury scares right before Week 1. Wide receiver Rome Odunze and running back D’Andre Swift were both reportedly sidelined during practice Thursday. According to reports, Odunze exited with a member of the training staff near the beginning of practice and appeared to be dealing with a right leg or foot injury. Odunze, who missed five games last season with a foot fracture, enters the 2026 campaign expected to serve as Chicago’s top receiver alongside Luther Burden III following the offseason trade of DJ Moore. Swift’s injury reportedly occurred near the end of practice during a full-team drill. With backup Kyle Monangai currently sidelined with a hyperextended knee, Swift’s exit leaves Chicago’s running back room rather thin heading into the holiday weekend.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports