Latest news with #PinstripeBowl
Miami Herald
30-07-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Meet Mo Toure, a ‘fast, violent, physical' linebacker ready to elevate UM's defense
Corey Hetherman was caught by surprise at first when he saw linebacker Mohamed 'Mo' Toure had entered the transfer portal. Hetherman, entering his first season as defensive coordinator for the Miami Hurricanes, had coached Toure for two seasons when the two were both at Rutgers. The coach knew his former player would be a perfect fit in Coral Gables. 'He's a guy that obviously I have a previous relationship with,' Hetherman said, 'and a guy that knows the defense, knows the style of coaching that we have and fits what we're doing defensively.' Toure in early May committed to UM over Penn State, Indiana and North Carolina. As the Hurricanes begin fall practice Thursday and start their monthlong countdown to their marquee Aug. 31 season opener against Notre Dame at Hard Rock Stadium, Toure looks to be a pivotal piece in part of Miami's revamped defense. And Toure comes in with something to prove. He's entering his seventh and final season of college football. That journey started in 2019 and has been extended once by virtue of players getting an extra season due to the COVID-19 impacted 2020 season and then twice more due to ACL injuries that wiped out his 2022 and 2024 campaigns. Last year, he was named to the watch list for the Butkus Award, given annually to college football's top linebacker, before the second of those ACL injuries negated his chance to build on a breakout 2023 season — his final with Hetherman. He's full go now, and ready to leave his mark on the Hurricanes. 'I feel great,' Toure said Wednesday at the Hurricanes' media day ahead of fall practices, adding that Hurricanes director of football rehabilitation Peter Galasso and head football trainer Adam Bennett have helped get him settled in at the end of his rehab after transferring in. 'I've been doing everything. I've been running and cutting, changing directions, lifting with the boys.' And now the Hurricanes hope he will be a tackling machine once things start up for real. Toure had a breakout 2023 season, playing in all 13 games for Rutgers with eight starts. He was second on the team with 93 tackles and led the Scarlet Knights with nine-and-a-half tackles for loss. He had at least eight tackles five times, including in Rutgers' Pinstripe Bowl win against Miami. 'He's got tons of experience,' UM senior linebacker Wesley Bissainthe said of the 6-2, 236-pound Toure. 'He's big. He knows how to get to the ball. I feel like we're going to make an impact on the young guys in the room. That's the goal.' Toure's style of play? 'Fast, violent, physical,' he said. 'You'll hear me every time. Trust me.' But there came a time after that second ACL injury where Toure thought his football career might be over. The mental grind of having to go through the rehab process a second time was agonizing. 'When it first happened, I almost hung my cleats up,' Toure said. 'I felt like I was having bad luck, like 'Damn. Why me? Is God trying to tell me that this isn't for me?'' After that, Toure said he had 'a reality check.' 'I had to remember who I was,' Toure said. 'Remember you have a purpose in this life. You can't give up on your dreams. What kind of tone am I setting for my son, for my brothers, for younger kids that look up to me just to give up when things get tough? Nah. You've got to keep going. Keep pushing through hard times. You can't let anything break you.' And now Toure finds himself front and center with a prime opportunity at Miami. The Hurricanes beefed up at the position following spring practices, adding Toure and N.C. State transfer Kamal Bonner through the portal to stabilize a position led by Bissainthe and followed from there by the likes of Raul 'Popo' Aguirre, Jaylin Aldermin, Chase Smith and Bobby Pruitt. 'It's always about competition,' Hetherman said. 'Competition is going to push everyone to always get better. I think we had a very good room. I think that [the additions of Toure and Bonner] just continues to expand that room. No one's going to take anything for granted. No one's going to stay where they are now. Everyone needs to constantly step up and improve their game.' Toure certainly isn't taking this final chance for granted. He sees a chance to make an impact on a team with national championship aspirations. He knows how effective Hetherman's defense can be because he has seen it work. 'He's a guru,' Toure said of Hetherman. 'That man is smart. Even when I was at Rutgers, me and him used to meet for hours and hours and hours during the season, so it's definitely a blessing to be back with him and just be in a scheme that I'm familiar with.' Now, it's just a matter of all the pieces falling into place. Toure, Hetherman and the rest of the Hurricanes defense has a month to get that done before the season begins. 'It's all about everybody being on the same page,' Toure said. 'Literally all the best defenses in the country, you look back from years and years and years, everybody was on the same page, whether it was the ones, the twos, the threes. Everybody knew how to communicate. They knew what they were doing, and they knew their job. Everybody did their job, and everybody played fast and physical. ... We've been taking the right steps in the right direction, and we just gotta continue to use camp to build on what we've started.'
New York Times
29-07-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Five things to know about Nebraska as Huskers open camp
LINCOLN, Neb. — Minus the triple-digit heat index, it felt like fall Monday at Nebraska. Before the first practice of preseason camp, some 120 football players awoke at Selleck Hall. They were reintroduced last weekend to the dorm life that has become tradition for Matt Rhule-coached teams in Lincoln. Advertisement A difference this year? The Huskers voted their coaches out. 'They want it to be their thing, their team,' Rhule said. 'So as much as I love staying in the dorm, I was happy to oblige.' The Day 1 revelation advances a player-driven push toward independence. 'It's been a long offseason of not just football, but also of learning and understanding my teammates,' said sophomore QB Dylan Raiola, the returning starter. 'And in order for that to happen, it's a two-way street. I commend them for putting up with me.' Nebraska is 12-13 in two seasons under Rhule. It punctuated 2024 in the Pinstripe Bowl, the Huskers' first appearance in the postseason — a victory against Boston College — since 2016. They're intent in 2025 to take a big leap. The primary offseason storyline at Nebraska has involved one question: Does this group possess the ability to jump similarly to Rhule's former teams in this spot at Temple and Baylor in 2015 and 2019, respectively? Both programs added four victories from their second seasons led by Rhule to the third. The coach believes. 'We've got enough good players,' Rhule said. 'We have an excellent roster. We're fast. We're explosive. We've got veterans where we need them. We're good on the lines. We've got great coaches. But we're going to have to go perform.' One month ahead of the Nebraska opener against Cincinnati, here are five more of the most interesting storylines about the Huskers as they begin training camp: Nebraska started camp Monday with 125 players. That's 20 over the eventual limit of 105 negotiated as part of the House v. NCAA settlement terms. Pressure applied by the judge in the case this spring forced the NCAA and power conferences to allow programs to grant exemptions to all players who would have been cut if roster limits had been implemented this year. Advertisement 'I don't know how I could have told some of these guys, 'Hey, you're not on the team,'' Rhule said. 'They're paying to go to school … and a lot of them are good players, developing into good players.' The roster exemptions allow Nebraska, which carried approximately 150 players last year, to ease into the era of roster limits. In the meantime, its depth fosters competition and practice flow, Rhule said. The last time Holgorsen spent an entire season focused solely on coordinating an offense, it was 2010 at Oklahoma State. Brandon Weeden threw for a Big 12-best 4,277 yards. Justin Blackmon led the FBS with 20 touchdown receptions. And the Cowboys scored 44.2 points per game. They scored 41 apiece in their lone losses — against Nebraska and Oklahoma. Holgorsen, 54, spent the next 13 seasons as a head coach. He joined the Huskers in November last year as OC. In his second game, Nebraska beat Wisconsin 44-25, posting its highest point total in more than three years against a Big Ten opponent. After an offseason to get comfortable with the personnel and implement his offense, Holgorsen looks set to push Nebraska to a new level after it averaged 5.19 yards per play over two seasons, ranking 104th nationally in 2023 and 2024. The bar is not especially high. USC coach Lincoln Riley described the Holgorsen addition as a 'big win for Nebraska.' 'He's a phenomenal offensive coach,' said Riley, who worked alongside Holgorsen at Texas Tech and matched wits with him when Riley coached at Oklahoma. 'It was a home run offensive hire for Matt, and Matt knows it.' No tight end in two years under Rhule at Nebraska has caught more than 36 passes or four touchdowns in a season. The Huskers' returning production is limited, with three tight ends back who combined for 31 catches and one TD in 2024. Advertisement But look deeper. 'I'm not going to spoil the eggs on what we're going to do with those guys,' Raiola said, 'but they're all special athletes.' Holgorsen is bullish on the position group, perhaps the Huskers' deepest and most talented on offense. And despite his history with the Air Raid offense, the coordinator plans to make use of a four-pronged weapon at tight end for Nebraska that includes Luke Lindenmeyer, Heinrich Haarberg, Carter Nelson and Mac Markway. According to Lindenmeyer, Nebraska's ready to take the throne as 'Tight End U.' That's a bit aggressive, but Haarberg and Nelson likely deliver as much talent at the spot as any duo in the Big Ten. Haarberg, a converted quarterback, rates as impressive as any athlete Rhule has coached, he said. Nelson, who played receiver as a freshman last year, is a former top-100 recruit with high-end skills. Markway, the LSU transfer, and Lindenmeyer are equally adept on the edge in the run game and as pass catchers. Observers on Monday at practice caught a first glimpse of Archie Wilson, the rugby-style freshman punter from Australia who arrived in Lincoln this summer. The Huskers changed course on their punting plans under the direction of first-year special teams coordinator Mike Ekeler, who used rugby-style punter Jackson Ross at Tennessee over the past two seasons. Like Ross, Wilson can punt traditionally or while rolling out — and with both legs. He was booming kicks with his left leg on the turf in the shadow of the Osborne Legacy Complex early Monday. And there's more. 'I think what he can do is fantastic,' Rhule said. 'He can roll left. He can roll right. He can really run. He's fast. He can throw. … That could put defenses really, really at a disadvantage.' For a program that's struggled to win with special teams and has lost 23 of 28 games decided by one score over the last four seasons, Wilson can flip the field in more ways than one. Advertisement Nebraska teams for longer than a generation established a standard of greatness on the offensive line. The Huskers produced 18 first-team All-Americans on the O-line over 20 years. But since 2001? Not one. And worse yet, the Huskers have rarely leaned on their line to set a physical tone in 14 seasons of Big Ten play. 'I want to walk through the hallways and be a little bit physically intimidated by our O-line,' Rhule said. 'That's how it's supposed to look — and not by their height, but their girth.' Could this be the year? Left to right, Nebraska features Alabama transfer Elijah Pritchett, Henry Lutovsky, Justin Evans, Notre Dame transfer Rocco Spindler and a battle at right tackle that includes Tyler Knaak, Gunnar Gottula and Teddy Prochazka. The line has experience, size, strength, depth and versatility. 'That's a group I'm extremely proud of,' running back Emmett Johnson said. 'They're really buying in. They're probably the hardest-working group on the team.' Lutovsky represented Nebraska last week at Big Ten media days. A fifth-year senior, he switched in the spring from right guard to the left side. He said he'd play anywhere up front that best suits the squad. This season marks the final opportunity for Lutovsky to realize a dream from before his time at Nebraska arrived. 'I fell in love with the idea of bringing it back.' (Photo of Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola: Dustin Satloff / Getty Images)
USA Today
28-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Indiana ups ante on pathetic schedule. Will College Football Playoff committee clap back?
Here's the irony in Indiana canceling games against Virginia in two upcoming seasons and replacing the Cavaliers with even meeker opponents: If the Hoosiers aren't good enough to beat Virginia, they aren't good enough to make the College Football Playoff. Heck, if they can't beat Virginia, they're probably not good enough to make the Pinstripe Bowl. This decision isn't just pathetic. It's unnecessary. By ducking Virginia, and flaunting its scheduling choice at Big Ten media days, Indiana is begging the selection committee to treat it like gimcrack the next time it builds something resembling a playoff résumé – if there is a next time. And for what? Virginia last tasted a winning season six years ago. Curt Cignetti's upstart Hoosiers could beat Virginia when they were scheduled to play in 2027 and 2028. He just doesn't see the point in trying. 'We figured we would just adopt SEC scheduling philosophy,' quipped Cignetti, who fancies himself the cleverest man in the North. By swapping Virginia for chum opponents, Indiana will join the many SEC teams that schedule only nine Power Four opponents. SEC schools protect Championship Subdivision games like they're gold doubloons. Unlike SEC teams, though, Indiana won't play a single Power Four non-conference opponent this season, or the next, or the next, and so on. The Hoosiers, like some other Big Ten schools, decided the surest path to contention is scheduling the easiest possible collection of non-conference opponents. Washington coach Jedd Fisch said Cignetti's strategy to avoid Power Four non-conference opponents is "dead-on right." Herein lies the great pitfall of the committee's selection of Indiana to the playoff last season as the No. 10 seed, despite its flimsy strength of schedule. Coaches saw Indiana's strategy work, and now they wonder if they should mimic it, at the expense of playing compelling games. The 2024 Hoosiers capitalized on a soft schedule draw from the Big Ten, and they avoided any opponents from the SEC, ACC or Big 12. They reached 11-1 without a signature victory, but no bad losses. The committee did not err by admitting Indiana. It lacked superior alternatives. Never mind the nonsense that Alabama, with its 9-3 résumé including two losses to 6-6 teams, built more deserving qualifications than the Hoosiers. If you believe that, you must have 'It Just Means More' tattooed on your bicep. The committee judiciously chose the Hoosiers, but, this being a copycat sport, now we've got teams from Indiana to Nebraska trying to game theory their way into the playoff by ducking any non-conference opponent with a pulse. The issue isn't confined to the Big Ten, either. The SEC won't dare add another conference game to its schedule, because why welcome another tussle when you could cream some flotsam from the MAC? Programs that knew they'd never sniff a four-team playoff wonder if they can emulate Indiana and qualify for this expanded playoff by following a Hoosiers recipe that calls for construction of the feeblest schedule possible. The twist of it is, if a few bubble teams with superior schedule strength had not gotten upset in the season's final two weeks, the committee might have rejected Indiana from the field. Because, contrary to what the SEC's propaganda campaign would have you believe, the committee cares about strength of schedule. Enough bubble teams lost, though, so the Hoosiers slipped in, and the industry accepted Indiana's scheduling method as foolproof, rather than foolish – until the committee reverses course, or the bubble strengthens in a future season. Cignetti jabbed at the SEC at media days, but his quip and scheduling moves also mock the committee and its selection of the Hoosiers. He's acting as if he outwitted the committee. Beware, because the committee is an evolving organism, unbound by past selection strategies. The committee never barred an undefeated Power Four team from the four-team playoff – until it shunned 13-0 Florida State to make room for the SEC's one-loss champion. What's to stop the committee from rejecting the next 11-1 team that slinks into Selection Sunday touting three triumphs against non-conference lackeys that can't spell football, and not a single win against a ranked opponent? Nothing. Committee membership changes. Its chairperson changes. Situations change. No two seasons unfold the same way. If the committee believes it's being played for a fool by Cignetti and others like him, perhaps it will stiffen its spine against a team that uses a weak schedule as a catapult to a strong record. The persistent reluctance to schedule tough non-conference games remains an anchor preventing college football from ascending to a higher perch. The committee wields power to spur some evolution on that non-conference scheduling strategy. If the committee starts rejecting bubble teams that play nothing but slappies in September, I suspect we'll begin to see fewer schedules devoid of Power Four non-conference opponents. Until then, if Cignetti fears a game against Virginia, then he must not believe he's built one of the nation's top 12 teams. Maybe, the committee will learn to trust his judgment. Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@ and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.
USA Today
23-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Iowa football 2025 schedule preview: Week 4 vs Rutgers
Following a home contest against UMass in Week 3, the Iowa football team will pack their bags for Piscataway, New Jersey, for the Big Ten opener against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. This isn't your parents' Scarlet Knights football program. Greg Schiano has found a way to breathe new life into a program that needed a spark. After an 8-5 record and a bowl win in 2014, their first season in the Big Ten, Rutgers went 13-47 across the next five seasons, including a disastrous tenure for Chris Ash. Following the 2019 season, Rutgers fired Ash and brought back Schiano, who had previously coached the Scarlet Knights from 2001-2011 and won five bowl games. The move has paid off. Since Schiano returned to Piscataway, Rutgers is 26-34 with three bowl game appearances and a victory in the 2023 Pinstripe Bowl over Miami (FL). And the hype around the team is high entering the 2025 season. After back-to-back seven-win seasons, Rutgers is looking to take the next step. And they return some really talented players. Let's take a deeper dive into the 2025 Rutgers football team. Who are some of the key returners for Rutgers? Who are some exciting newcomers for the Scarlet Knights? History between the Hawkeyes and Scarlet Knights Iowa and Rutgers have played each other four times on the gridiron, with the Hawkeyes winning all four games. In those games, Iowa has outscored Rutgers 96 to 17, including a 22-0 victory in the last matchup between the two teams on November 11, 2023. The closest game in the series was the first game between the two back in 2016, a 14-7 Iowa victory on the road. While Rutgers lost star running back Kyle Monangai to graduation, they still have a talented team that will provide Iowa with a great test to begin their 2025 conference slate. Kick-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT on September 19 at SHI Stadium. Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes and opinions. Follow Zach on X: @zach_hiney
USA Today
19-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Nebraska predicted to win eight games by Sports Illustrated
The ever-present offseason debate has begun as to what a successful season for Nebraska football would look like in 2025. Matt Rhule has been known to have teams make their jump in his third year. Now, the Huskers are at that point, and Sports Illustrated's Jeremy Purnell believes that eight wins is the minimum for the program. This would not be an unreasonable ask. Nebraska finished 7-6 last season, including a win in the Pinstripe Bowl against Boston College. Now, quarterback Dylan Raiola has another year under his belt, and an improved offensive line could make things easier for the program. Purnell believes that how they get to that eight-win mark is going to matter, as he wrote in his column earlier this week. "A 7-5 regular-season probably results in another lower-tier bowl game and a possible eighth win over an average opponent. That feels a lot like last season. I'm not debating it would still represent incremental progress, but in order to capitalize on momentum, the perception has to be different." This is certainly a reasonable expectation given the talent on the roster. Anything less would be a difficult pill for Husker fans to swallow, given that the schedule works in their favor. Contact/Follow us @CornhuskersWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Nebraska news, notes, and opinions.
