Latest news with #DavidHale
USA Today
09-08-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
ESPN says 'luck' will be key to Auburn football's 2025 CFP run
The Auburn Tigers enter the 2025 season with dreams of making the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history. The Tigers experienced another losing campaign in 2024 by finishing with a 5-7 record, with most of those losses being by 10 or fewer points. Auburn was not the only team to miss most lucky breaks last season, which is why they were placed in Tier 9 of ESPN's preseason College Football tier rankings. ESPN's David Hale sorted all 136 FBS College Football programs into 20 tiers, and feels that Auburn is bet suited for Tier 9, which includes teams that were just plain unlucky last season. Auburn joins a trio of ACC teams in Florida State, NC State, and Virginia Tech in this slot, and Hale feels that the Tigers have the best chance to change their fate in 2025. Jackson Arnold takes over at QB for an offense loaded with skill-position talent. The defense should be solid. Then look at the luck-based numbers: Auburn was 124th in turnover luck and dead last in close-game luck, which covered up the fact it was among the best teams in the country in success and explosive play rate differential. The pieces are in place, the Tigers just need a little more luck to make a run at 10 wins. Auburn was one of the worst teams in the nation last season in turnover margin, with a -9, and was 1-3 in games decided by one score. Those two stats played a significant role in Auburn winning just five games last season, particularly when analytics suggested the team would win eight games. Bill Connolly of ESPN points out that Auburn had more explosive plays than opponents last season, and a "modest turnaround in fortune" could propel the Tigers to a great season. Will last season's "unluckiest team" catch the necessary breaks this year? Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Taylor on Twitter @TaylorJones__
USA Today
08-08-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Oregon Ducks among ESPN's top-tier teams going into 2025
With the help of the transfer portal and an expanded College Football Playoff format, there is now more parity than ever before. Gone are the days where the same few teams dominate the field and everyone else is vying for a measly Bowl Game win. One of the many teams these rule changes have helped is the Oregon Ducks, who made the playoffs for the first time in a decade last season en route to the Rose Bowl. Now, after one of the most successful years in program history, the Ducks are hungry for more. David Hale of ESPN recently ranked every FBS program by tiers and Oregon was placed in the 1b tier with three other teams, which is named the best of the rest. There are only two teams in a tier above the Ducks and that is the Ohio State Buckeyes and Georgia Bulldogs. Although Oregon has some teams placed above them, Hale mentioned that when an elite SEC coach was questioned about how many true championship contenders there are, he responded with, 'Four. Maybe five.' Conveniently, the Ducks were ranked among the five best teams in the nation, so realistically, they have a great shot at winning the National Championship. After losing so much talent this offseason, they will need to dig deep if they want to win it all. But one thing we've learned since head coach Dan Lanning took over three seasons ago is to never count out these Ducks. Contact/Follow @Ducks_Wire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oregon Ducks news, notes, and opinions.
Yahoo
07-08-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Where is Texas A&M positioned in ESPN's FBS Tier rankings?
ESPN writer David Hale did not mince words in his latest article for the site, which ranked all 136 FBS teams in 20 tiers with the 2025 college football season set to begin in a mere three weeks. Trusting himself, various coaches and analysts, Hale believes that, outside of computer models doing all the work, this is the best preseason ranking for every program that has and will be released before the season begins. For every fan base that will rapidly scroll down to find their team's positioning, Texas A&M isn't too far down, coming in at Tier 3, joining five other SEC teams, including Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee, Oklahoma, and Ole Miss, as all 16 SEC programs are ranked in the Top 20 of the most demanding schedules. Florida, which USA TODAY believes will face the most challenging schedule nationally, will be led by sophomore quarterback DJ Lagway and an experienced O-line that will need to produce a lot of points each week. Texas A&M's schedule is not a picnic either, traveling to South Bend to face No. 5 Notre Dame in a rematch after last season's opener in Kyle Field, where the Aggies lost 23-13, which came back to haunt them at the end of the year. After facing the Fighting Irish, road tests against Arkansas, Missouri, LSU, and Texas await, while hosting Florida and South Carolina, two games the Aggies split on the road last season, will likely be must-win games down the stretch. Hale is correct in stating that no road is easy in the SEC in terms of racking up enough victories to make the College Football Playoff, starting with No. 1 Texas and new QB Arch Manning traveling to face defending National Champion Ohio State on the road to open the 2025 season on Saturday, August 30. "Now, others might parse the data differently, but the bottom line is inarguable: No one in the SEC has an easy ride to the playoff, which makes Tier 3 likely to include at least two playoff teams and at least two schools that fire their coaches, and the difference between those camps will be a few plays one way or the other. The SEC is designed to eat itself, which is one of the reasons it has pushed so hard for increased playoff access. There's simply not a scenario in which every school that invests in winning, has a playoff-caliber roster and features fans who expect to make a playoff run will actually do so." Texas A&M is undoubtedly talented enough to make a run this season, but has yet to win meaningful games in SEC play in late November since the 2020 season. Still, coach Mike Elko's second season, barring any setbacks regarding roster health, should be his best yet based on what we've witnessed during the first two weeks of practice, including notable improvement from starting quarterback Marcel Reed. Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Cameron on X: @CameronOhnysty. This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: ESPN places Texas A&M in Tier 3 of the latest preseason FBS rankings
Al Arabiya
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Iran-Israel ceasefire holds amid doubt over extent of damage to Iran's nuclear sites
In this episode of Global News Today, presented by Tom Burges Watson, we bring you the latest as the Iran-Israel ceasefire holds after 12 days of war. We also look at competing claims over whether US and Israeli strikes caused real damage to Iran's nuclear facilities. Guests: General Joseph Votel – Former Commander of U.S. Central Command and Retired Four Star General David Hale – Former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs and former US Special Envoy for Peace in the Middle East
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Iranian Regime at "Existential Moment of Truth": Ambassador
Ambassador David Hale served as a Special Envoy for Middle East Peace, was former US Under Secretary of State and the former US Ambassador to Lebanon and Jordan. He gives his outlook for the Middle East region with anchors Haidi Stroud-Watts and Shery Ahn in "The Asia Trade" . Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
