JIMBO FISHER

Southern California has hired Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley to be its next coach in a stunning and rare move of one traditional college football powerhouse swiping the another’s highly accomplished head coach.

Florida was added to the lengthy list of schools looking for a head football coach that already includes LSU and USC.

A.

Top-ranked Georgia and No. 3 Alabama appear headed for a showdown in the Southeastern Conference championship game.

Seth Small made a 28-yard field goal as time expired and Texas A&M stunned top-ranked Alabama 41-38 to end the Crimson Tide’s winning streak at 19 games.

Will Rogers threw for 408 yards and three touchdowns and Nathan Pickering sacked Zach Calzada in the end zone late for a safety to lead Mississippi State to a 26-22 win over No. 15 Texas A&M Saturday night.

For about 45 minutes late Saturday afternoon, college football was on overload.

Coach Jimbo Fisher certainly wasn’t congratulating his team for a job well done after the seventh-ranked Texas A&M Aggies blanked New Mexico 34-0 Saturday. “We’re playing very average,” Fisher said. “We’ve got to get better in all aspects and we’ve got to grow up across the board in everything we do and play with much more consistency as a team and learn to play off each other.”

Texas A&M quarterback Haynes King is out indefinitely after having surgery to repair his broken right leg, suffered early in the seventh-ranked Aggies' 10-7 win at Colorado over the weekend. Coach Jimbo Fisher said Monday that King’s surgery to repair a broken tibia went well but that there is no timeline for his return. “When you’re healed, you’re healed," Fisher said.

After slogging through an uninspired first half, Texas A&M needed a spark to get going. The Aggies found it in Leon O’Neal Jr., whose 85-yard interception return for a touchdown helped sixth-ranked Texas A&M pull away in 41-10 win over Kent State on Saturday night. “He’s an Energizer Bunny,” coach Jimbo Fisher said.

The preseason AP Top 25 college football is out and Alabama will pick up where it left off as No. 1 in the country.

Alabama is No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 preseason college football poll for fourth time in the past six seasons.

Bobby Bowden may have been known across the country for winning two national championships at Florida State, but the coach was eulogized Saturday as a man with three guiding principles: faith, family and football.

Texas and Oklahoma have had discussions with the Southeastern Conference about leaving the Big 12.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF CENTRAL -- In college football’s playoff discussion, four teams are always there. On The College Football Playoff Show, a new weekly podcast debuting today, we’ll delve into those two points about the playoff each week. I’m Doug Lesmerises, and I’ve covered college football since 2005 and have hosted a podcast about college football since 2015. Shehan Jeyarajah, who covers college football in the entire state of Texas for Dave Campbell’s Texas Football, joins me as the co-host of this new pod. Thanks for giving The College Football Playoff Show a chance.

Texas A&M football coach Jimbo Fisher jabbed Alabama coach Nick Saban on Wednesday, claiming the Aggies would defeat Saban's Crimson Tide in 2021.

(AP Photo/Vasha Hunt, File)AUSTIN, Texas – Fresh off a national title with Alabama, Steve Sarkisian plans big changes to Texas' football program. Sarkisian said that while discussion about "The Eyes of Texas "and other issues are welcome, “'The Eyes of Texas' is our school song. Texas, without a conference championship since 2009, is itching to see if Sarkisian can produce similar results in Austin. Texas expects quick results from Sarkisian, recent winner of the Broyles Award given to college football’s top assistant coach. Asked about scheduling A&M again, Sarkisian said “I would love to play that game.”Sarkisian is Texas’ fourth head coach since 2009.

Texas A&M head coach Jumbo Fisher raises his hands during the trophy presentation at the Orange Bowl NCAA college football game, Saturday, Jan. 2, 2021, in Miami Gardens, Fla. Texas A&M defeated North Carolina 41-27. 14 North Carolina 41-27 on Saturday night — capping a winless bowl season for the Atlantic Coast Conference. He tied the Tar Heels' career TD passing record of 68 with his three scoring throws, all of which gave North Carolina leads. North Carolina: The Tar Heels gave up 24 points in the fourth quarter, after allowing just 17 points in the first 45 minutes. North Carolina still could finish ranked for only the fourth time in the last 27 seasons.

13 CFP) in the 87th edition of the Orange Bowl. “I always say this: The Orange Bowl is as good as it gets,” Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher said Friday. Thing is, neither of those running backs — Michael Carter and Javonte Williams — chose to play in the Orange Bowl. “That’s 4,000 yards worth of offense and our leading tackler on defense and two captains,” North Carolina coach Mack Brown said. With them gone, it means even more pressure will be on North Carolina quarterback Sam Howell.

An Orange Bowl spot against North Carolina will be its consolation prize. It will be North Carolina’s first time in the Orange Bowl, and the first meeting between the schools. This will be just the seventh January bowl game for North Carolina. BOWL WINNERSThe Orange Bowl coaches certainly know how to end seasons with victories. WELCOME BACKFor Fisher, it’s a return to a stadium where he’s gone 6-0 — including a pair of Orange Bowl victories.

Notre Dame was picked Sunday over Texas A&M for the final spot, ending what little drama there had been. Alabama, Notre Dame, Clemson and Ohio State have also held the first four spots in the AP Top 25 since Oct. 25. The Atlantic Coast Conference is the second league to have two teams in the playoff, joining the SEC in 2017. After sitting second in the CFP rankings for a month, Notre Dame was blown out 34-10 by Clemson in the ACC championship. Barta said the disparate number of games played by contenders — along with far fewer cross-conference games than usual —- was a challenge for the committee all season.

5 Texas A&M to close its case for a spot in the College Football Playoff with a 34-13 victory over Tennessee. 5 CFP) finished their regular season and hoped for an upset or two within the CFP’s top four. Texas A&M's advantage went to 17-7 when the Aggies turned a Bailey fumble into a 23-yard field goal by Seth Small. Tennessee: After the second game of the season, the Vols were tied with Notre Dame for the longest winning streak among FBS teams. A victory over winless Vanderbilt ended the skid, but the loss to Texas A&M ended the regular season on a sour note.

Kellen Mond passed for two touchdowns and ran for a third and the fifth-ranked Aggies scored 17 points in the fourth quarter of a come-from-behind 31-20 victory over Auburn on Saturday. Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher wasn't interested in speculating on how the win might affect his team's playoff chances. He completed 18 of 23 for 196 yards, highlighted by two TDs to Jalen Wydermyer, and ran for 60 yards. The Aggies ran for a season-high 313 yards and held a 16-minute advantage in time of possession. Auburn: Was outgained 168-21 in the fourth quarter.

The number of games across major college football scheduled for this weekend that have already been called off is up to six, after three went down Monday, including Mississippi at No. So we can complain about this and this and that but, listen, we’re still getting to play football,” Fisher said. Major college football conferences have been tweaking policies to provide their schools flexibility to schedule games on short notice. That probably won't work for LSU-Alabama, which was among four SEC games postponed last week. __Follow Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and listen at https://westwoodonepodcasts.com/pods/ap-top-25-college-football-podcast/___More AP college football: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

Among the three SEC games still on for this Saturday, Arkansas will visit No. Orgeron said he expects most of his players in quarantine due to contact tracing back next week. Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher said his team only had two positive cases as of Wednesday afternoon, but contact tracing had taken a toll. “Candidly, the numbers around contact tracing have emerged as one of our biggest challenges to playing. “The contact tracing has the potential to magnify even one positive test,” Sankey said.

The conference on Monday postponed Saturday’s game between No. 20 Auburn and Mississippi State because of positive COVID-19 cases and quarantining within the Bulldogs’ program. 5 Texas A&M paused in-person activities after a player and a staff member tested positive for COVID-19 after returning from a win at South Carolina. LSU is battling an outbreak that could put Saturday's game against No. ___More AP college football: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25.

(AP Photo/Michael Woods)The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:___Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo has tested positive for COVID-19. 20 Auburn and Mississippi State because of positive COVID-19 and quarantining within the Bulldogs’ program that the school says left the team below the minimum threshold of 53 available scholarship athletes. 5 Texas A&M paused in-person activities on Monday after a player and a staff member tested positive for COVID-19 after the team returned from its weekend trip to South Carolina. ___Arkansas football coach Sam Pittman has tested positive for COVID-19 and could miss the Razorbacks’ game at No. Pittman was tested Sunday as part of the team’s regular protocol and learned Monday that his test came back positive.

“Now I want to see what do you follow up with?”Isaiah Spiller rushed for 174 yards and two touchdowns, and No. 21 Texas A&M beat fourth-ranked Florida 41-38 on Seth Small’s 26-yard field goal as time expired Saturday. Spiller helped get the Aggies get into position for Small’s decisive kick, sending A&M to its first win over a top-five team since a 41-38 victory over No. Florida led 28-24 early in the fourth when Spiller struck again, running 19 yards for a touchdown on a fourth-and-2 play. Spiller bounced off several defenders before waltzing into the end zone and then hitting the Florida fan section with a Gator chomp.

At the top of USA Today's most recent revenue rankings for college athletic departments are Texas and Texas A&M. Texas and Texas A&M have everything needed to put out a national championship-level football program. The Aggies and Longhorns refuse to play each other but combine to form an Axis of Underachievers in the Lone Star State. In three games against Alabama under Fisher, the Aggies are 0-3 by a combined 144-75. For now, though, Texas and Texas A&M continue to prove the adage that money can't buy happiness.

Briefly threatened early, Jones and the Crimson Tide (2-0) flexed their considerable big-play muscle in the passing game to put away the Aggies (1-1). “Our guys stayed the course and kept competing in the game,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said. “We won, so it's a good game,” Jones said, when asked if it was his best performance. Smith, a converted receiver, emerged as another needed threat in the passing game. Alabama: Any questions about production of the Tide's passing game after Tua Tagovailoa, Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs III have been answered.

Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher, left, talks with quarterback Kellen Mond (11) during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Vanderbilt Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020, in College Station, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

including the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry, highlights the fifth week of the college football season. 4 Georgia on Saturday night as the second month of the season starts, but only the second week of SEC play. The first of three games that decide the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy might have sneaked up on college football fans. The Falcons will play six conference games to go along with Navy and Army. ___Follow Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and listen at http://www.westwoodonepodcasts.com/pods/ap-top-25-college-football-podcast/___More AP college football: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

The Aggies will try to continue their winning ways and keep the offense moving when they come out of a bye and host South Carolina on Saturday. "Well, this is a results business," South Carolina coach Will Muschamp told reporters. "It's about winning games at the end of the day and we haven't won enough games. South Carolina WR Bryan Edwards (3,045 yards) broke Alshon Jeffery's school record for receiving yards last week. PREDICTION: Texas A&M 24, South Carolina 17

"Starts with practice," Aggies quarterback Kellen Mond told reporters. I thought that he managed the game extremely well, UTSA coach Frank Wilson told reporters of Narcisse. We give him a lot of freedom, Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher told reporters of Mond. The Roadrunners rank fourth in Conference USA with an average of 180.1 rushing yards. Mond is one of four FBS QBs with at least 6,000 career passing yards and 1,000 career rushing yards.

Mississippi State committed 13 penalties in last week's 36-13 home loss to LSU and saw junior running back Kylin Hill held to fewer than 100 yards for the third consecutive game. "Right now, on offense, defense and special teams, it is not the ability," Mississippi State coach Joe Moorhead told reporters Monday. Texas A&M freshman TE Jalen Wydermyer (four) and freshman WR Ainias Smith (three) are the highest-scoring freshman receiving duo in FBS. Mississippi State has won three in a row over Texas A&M and four of the past five meetings, including a 28-13 home triumph last season. PREDICTION: Texas A&M 34, Mississippi State 14More college football scoresCopyright 2019 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit - All rights reserved.

- Texas A&M has done what it could against a schedule filled with national powers and looks to begin piling up victories against unranked teams when it pays a visit to Ole Miss for an SEC contest on Saturday night. We got better (last) week than we were the week before, and we'll hopefully line up and get better this week. ," Ole Miss coach Matt Luke told reporters. Ole Miss DL Tariqious Tisdale and LB Jacquez Jones must sit out the first half Saturday after being called for targeting infractions last week. PREDICTION: Ole Miss 31, Texas A&M 28More college football scoresCopyright 2019 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit - All rights reserved.

(Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)ARLINGTON, Texas - Texas A&M cannot afford to wonder what might have been with a better offensive performance against Auburn last week, as the Aggies face Arkansas on Saturday in Arlington, Texas, knowing a difficult late-season schedule looms. LINE: Texas A&M -23"We don't have a bad football team," Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher told reporters after the game. ABOUT TEXAS A&M (2-2, 0-1)Junior quarterback Kellen Mond completed 31-of-49 passes for 335 yards and two touchdowns 146 yards and both scores coming in the fourth quarter. The Aggies have won the past seven meetings against Arkansas, recording seven-point victories in 2017 and 2018. PREDICTION: Texas A&M 44, Arkansas 27More college football scoresCopyright 2019 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit - All rights reserved.

The Aggies' run defense allows only 83.7 yards per game but faces its biggest challenge in stopping sophomore running back JaTarvious Whitlow (341 yards, three touchdowns). ABOUT TEXAS A&M (2-1)Mond has completed 64.9 percent of his passes with five touchdowns but has thrown an interception in each game. Texas A&M RB Isaiah Spiller (two touchdowns) leads FBS true freshmen with 246 rushing yards. Auburn is 3-0 at Kyle Field since Texas A&M joined the SEC in 2012, including a 42-27 victory in 2017. PREDICTION: Auburn 27, Texas A&M 20More college football scoresCopyright 2019 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit - All rights reserved.

(Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)COLLEGE STATION, Texas - After losing at top-ranked Clemson last week, No. 15 Texas A&M returns home to host an FCS opponent, Lamar of the Southland Conference, on Saturday night. LINE: None"It's the first time since we've been here, we've gone against the No. Lamar is 2-0 to start a season for the first time since 1985. PREDICTION: Texas A&M 59, Lamar 10More college football scoresCopyright 2019 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit - All rights reserved.

Clemson is looking for its third straight win over the Aggies, including a thrilling 28-26 win last year at Texas A&M. The Aggies held Texas State to 219 total yards and recorded four interceptions, but they aren't likely to get such gifts from star Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Clemson's defense was typically outstanding, albeit against an overmatched Yellow Jackets offense, allowing just 294 total yards and forcing four turnovers that led to three touchdowns. Texas A&M has compiled at least 400 total yards in six consecutive games and 11 of 14 under Fisher. PREDICTION: Clemson 38, Texas A&M 27More college football scoresCopyright 2019 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit - All rights reserved.