Latest news with #PeteThamel
USA Today
3 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Big Ten team loses key playmaker to potential season-ending injury
Big Ten team loses key playmaker to potential season-ending injury One of the top teams in the Big Ten has potentially lost a key offensive playmaker with a season-ending injury. ESPN college football insider Pete Thamel reported on Friday that Oregon wide receiver Evan Stewart has suffered a knee injury that is expected to "impact his availability" for the 2025 season. On3's Pete Nakos later added that Stewart's exact injury is a "torn patellar tendon" which can range to from three to 12 months for recovery. Stewart caught 48 passes for 613 yards in his first season with Oregon last year. He was a five-star prospect out of high school and originally played for Texas A&M before transferring to the Ducks. Michigan State doesn't play Oregon this upcoming season so the loss of Stewart doesn't have a direct impact on the Spartans. But it could impact the Ducks' ceiling this fall, which was Big Ten title contender. Should Michigan State surprise some folks and be in the mix for a Big Ten title this year, then the Stewart injury would have an impact on the Spartans. Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on X @RobertBondy5.
USA Today
09-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Big Ten and SEC lead vharge for 16-Team College Football Playoff format
Big Ten and SEC lead vharge for 16-Team College Football Playoff format The four power conference commissioners held an in-person meeting in New York on Thursday to discuss several issues, including a future playoff format, sources tell @YahooSports. Big Ten & SEC - they control future format - continue to favor multiple AQs for their conferences. — Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) May 8, 2025 The College Football Playoff (CFP) could soon see a major overhaul, with the Big Ten and SEC gaining momentum for a 16-team bracket starting in 2026. According to Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger, power conference commissioners met in New York on May 8, 2025, to discuss future CFP formats, and the 16-team model is picking up steam. This comes just one year after the CFP expanded to a 12-team format in 2024, which introduced campus-site games and byes for top conference champions. Under the proposed 16-team bracket, the SEC and Big Ten would each secure four automatic bids, reflecting their dominance in college football. The ACC and Big 12 would each receive two spots, while the Group of 5 would get one, leaving three at-large berths to round out the field. Dellenger also noted the potential for 'inner-league play-in games,' where, for example, a conference's third-place team would face its sixth-place team to determine playoff eligibility. This idea aims to add competitive balance but has sparked debate about fairness. ESPN's Pete Thamel reported that 16 teams is emerging as the 'preferred' number, though no final decision was made at the meeting. The current ESPN deal ends in 2026, aligning with the timeline for these changes, and a new extension will kick in afterward. The Big Ten and SEC, which hold significant sway over CFP decisions, will likely finalize the format at their spring meetings later this month in Destin. With the Power 4 commissioners meeting today in New York, sources said there's continued focus on a 16-team CFP starting in 2026. "I would say that 16 is becoming more preferred," said an industry source. "It seems like 16 may be the preferred number, but there's no format… — Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) May 8, 2025 The 12-team format, while a step forward, has already drawn scrutiny. Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark, who initially supported it, cautioned against 'artificial championships' created by too many automatic qualifiers, emphasizing that teams should earn their spots. CFP executive director Rich Clark added that commissioners have been exploring various ideas for months. Expanding to 16 teams could intensify scheduling conflicts with the NFL in December, as it would add four more first-round games. Many changes could be in the future including the discussions about a nine-game SEC schedule. College football's postseason evolution continues to spark heated debates.
USA Today
05-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Timeline for NCAA ruling on Michigan sign-stealing allegations beginning to form
Timeline for NCAA ruling on Michigan sign-stealing allegations beginning to form After what seems like a timeline longer than a major highway construction project, we're starting to get a timeline on a potential NCAA ruling stemming from the Michigan advanced scouting (aka, sign-stealing) allegations. For starters, news broke today via ESPN's Pete Thamel and Dan Wetzel that Michigan will be self-imposing a two-game suspension for head coach Sherrone Moore because of his involvement in the ordeal. He deleted 52 text messages between him and Stalions on the day the news of the allegations dropped, and was on staff during the timeline the alleged cheating took place. On the heels of that, Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated has cited sources that the hearing between Michigan and the NCAA's Committee on Infractions is set to take place on June 6 and 7. A quick look at the calendar tells us all that's just about a month away, so things should move quickly after that. In fact, we may even expect to hear a final ruling and any further sanctions for the Wolverines before the start of the 2025 season. For those counting, the season begins in less than four months. Yes, that's right. We can hopefully, finally, put this thing to bed and report whether or not Michigan is going to receive any significant penalties from college athletics' governing body, or if the NCAA will simply be a paper tiger, declawed and defanged for the world to see. If one thing is clear to anyone outside of Ann Arbor, the language the NCAA has used thus far should at least point to an effort to lay out some fairly significant sanctions and/or penalties, we just don't know what yet. We also don't know if and what the NCAA will be able to do if this thing ends up in a messy court battle. I'm not a betting man (not always at least), but if I were, I would put money down on a self-imposed two-game suspension falling way short of what Michigan will have to deal with -- especially since it sure looks like a cherry-picked two games with little meaning. Hopefully, someone starts talking on this and we get some pre-hearing juicy nuggets before early June, but if not, we'll have more when the NCAA comes out of the witness protection program to render a verdict. Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
REPORT: Tennessee ‘moving on' from quarterback Nico Iamaleava
Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK Tennessee is reportedly 'moving on' from starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava. Days after a reports involving Iamaleava and NIL negotiations surfaced and one day after Iamaleava no-showed at the Vols' final spring practice, ESPN's Pete Thamel reported Saturday that Josh Heupel informed the team that Iamaleava was no longer part of the program. Advertisement TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM Iamaleava is expected to enter the transfer portal when the spring window opens on Wednesday. Tennessee is set to play its annual Orange and White Spring Game at Neyland Stadium at 2 p.m. ET. Initially, Thursday saw a report from Pete Nakos claiming that Iamaleava was in 'active contract negotiations' regarding his NIL deal. The post breaking the news also said it was 'unclear if the negotiations will impact whether he enters the spring transfer portal.' Then, Iamaleava's father, Nic, took to his Twitter/X to claim he 'had no idea on what he's talking about.' Advertisement On Friday, Pete Thamel reported that Iamaleava was absent from Tennessee's practice on Friday morning. Iamaleava is coming off his second season with Tennessee and first as the starter. He led the Vols to a College Football Playoff berth before falling on the road to Ohio State in the opening round. It was the second double-digit win season under Josh Heupel. Iamaleava finished the year with 2,616 passing yards on 64% completion. He threw for 19 touchdowns and five interceptions. He also ran for 364 yards and three touchdowns. He was the first Tennessee true or redshirt freshman quarterback to lead the Vols to 10 regular season wins. He also notched a Tennessee record by being named SEC Freshman of the Week four times, breaking Tyler Bray's old record of three Advertisement As a true freshman, Iamaleava started in the Citrus Bowl. He led the Vols to a dominant win over Iowa. On the year, he threw for 314 yards and two touchdowns while scampering for 71 yards and three scores. He did not throw an interception. Iamaleava was a five-star recruit and No. 2 overall player in the 2023 class. He was the top player out of California and No. 2 at his position. The only player in front of him was Arch Manning, the current Texas signal caller. – TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM. – ENJOY VOLREPORT WITH A PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION. – SUBSCRIBE TO THE VOLREPORT YOUTUBE CHANNEL. – FOLLOW VOLREPORT ON TWITTER: @TennesseeRivals, @ByNoahTaylor, @RyanTSylvia, @Dale_Dowden, @ShayneP_Media.
Yahoo
09-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Report: Former OSU star named head coach at Ohio college
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (WKBN) – ESPN's Pete Thamel is reporting that former Ohio State Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George has agreed to a five-year deal to become the new head football coach at Bowling Green. George spent the past four seasons as the head coach at Tennessee State, a program that competes at the FCS level. This past season, he led the program to the FCS playoffs for the first time since 2013. TSU also won a share of the OVC-Big South title which was the school's first league title in football since 1999. George won the Heisman Trophy in 1995 at while playing for Ohio State. In four seasons with the Buckeyes, he rushed for 3,768 yards. George then played nine years in the NFL with the Oilers, Titans and Cowboys, rushing for 10,441 yards and 68 touchdowns. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
