Latest news with #AlwaysCollegeFootball
USA Today
20 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
ESPN's Matt Barrie questions Bryce Underwood's ability to lead U-M to elite status in 2025
One of the big questions this offseason across college football has been: How good can Michigan football be this season, especially if true freshman Bryce Underwood is the quarterback right out of the gates? Analysts look back at 2024, and some say, OK, you can see the building blocks, evidenced by the late-season success with wins over Ohio State and Alabama. Others just downplay it all, look at a schedule that only features three teams with a winning record from last year, and decries it as tough -- with the expectation that there will be little-to-no improvement for the Wolverines on the field. On ESPN's Always College Football podcast hosted by Greg McElroy, Matt Barrie first discusses Underwood and his reservations, but also gives a series of caveats to go along with his concerns. "Bryce Underwood -- I mean, you want to think that (he could have a good first year), right?" Barrie said. "I mean, because Jim Harbaugh, when he was there, you just saw little by little what he was trying to build, and it all culminated in the national championship season, because he had the right guys returning at the right time to make a run. And I point that out because it's hard right now. Yeah, you'd like to think Bryce is everything he's advertised and more. You'd like to think the new offense -- you'd like to think Sherrone Moore's figured it out, and you would like to believe that Michigan's now going to get back to where they belong among the, not only the conference, but the country's elite. I just always have a hard time, Greg. I have a hard time finding a true freshman quarterback that can not only wow us, but in a power program like Michigan, from day one to day and game 14, 15, 16 nowadays, be the guy that elevates them back to the national championship conversation. "I'm not saying it can't be done, and I'm not saying he's not capable of it. It's just hard to do. It's hard to do in a league that's won the last two national championships. And so Michigan will be a problem. Hell, they've beaten Ohio State how many years in a row? Three, four, five years? Whatever the case might be, they've beaten them even when Ohio State went on to win the national championship. So it's tough. And I believe that Michigan, at some point, under Bryce Underwood, is going to be back here at the top. For me, for true freshmen, to do it from snap one to the final snap of the season, it's just so tough to do. But I wouldn't balk at a 9-3, 10-2 season." McElroy was a little hesitant, given what happened last year, with Michigan losing games to Texas, Washington, Illinois, Oregon, and Indiana. But Barrie says that those who expected the Wolverines to reload entering 2024 after losing the bulk of the 2023 national championship team, were deceiving themselves. He doesn't say this as a knock, but more optimistically about the trajectory of Sherrone Moore's maize and blue squad given the late-season rebound. "I disagree. I think Michigan -- and we can go on a whole tangent about preseason rankings," Barrie said. "Look at who Michigan lost to the NFL. So there was 8-5, 7-5, six -- there was no way they were going to do better than that. None. Because of everything that they lost. And so to assume that they were just going to be the Michigan that won the national title before, that was just short-sighted and naive. Now you give them a chance to rebuild, it took Harbaugh how many years to get it to that? Doesn't just happen overnight. So I think just like the Napier situation, the record was impressive considering what was going on." Fans will get an opportunity to see for themselves on August 30 when Michigan opens up the season at The Big House against New Mexico before taking the show on the road to face Oklahoma in Norman in Week 2.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Greg McElroy Reveals College Football Team as a 'Legitimate' National Championship Contender
Greg McElroy Reveals College Football Team as a 'Legitimate' National Championship Contender originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Alabama Crimson Tide are desperately hoping to return to competing for national titles, a common occurrence during the Nick Saban era. Kalen DeBoer is now the head coach and is fresh off a 9-4 season in his first year in Tuscaloosa. DeBoer took the Washington Huskies to the national championship in 2023, and Greg McElroy thinks the same can happen for the Crimson Tide in 2025. McElroy called Alabama a "legitimate" national championship contender on a recent episode of "Always College Football." Alabama's last national title of the Saban era was in 2020, when the team defeated the Ohio State Buckeyes 52-24. "I think Alabama has a big year," McElroy said. "I'm a believer. I'm buying. I think they are a legitimate national championship contender in year number two for Kalen DeBoer." The Crimson Tide missed the College Football Playoff last year after going 9-3 during the regular season. The 2024 season was the first time that the 12-team format was used for the playoff. Alabama had the third-best odds to make the CFP among SEC teams, at -180, according to Circa Sportsbook. The Crimson Tide's trip to the playoff in 2023 ended with a 27-20 overtime loss to the Michigan Wolverines, and Saban retired shortly after. The team returns top talent on both sides of the ball, including quarterback Ty Simpson, receiver Ryan Williams, linebacker Deonte Lawson and cornerback Domani Jackson. Simpson was named the starting quarterback after being the backup for the last three seasons. The former five-star prospect brings 16 games of experience with him into the 2025 season. An elite prospect from the 2026 class named Alabama as a finalist recently. Four-star in-state edge rusher Jaquez Wilkes included the Crimson Tide in his final five schools, but went with the Auburn Tigers instead. Alabama opens the 2025 season with the Florida State Seminoles on August 30. Kickoff is at 3:30 p.m. ET on story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 22, 2025, where it first appeared.
Canada News.Net
18-07-2025
- Sport
- Canada News.Net
Johnny Manziel believes NFL would have been 'pay cut' if NIL available
(Photo credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images) Johnny Manziel believes he would have put the NFL off longer if Name, Image, and Likeness had been available during his career at Texas A&M. Manziel declared for the 2014 NFL Draft after his redshirt sophomore season with the Aggies. He went on to sign a four-year, $8.2 million rookie contract with the Cleveland Browns, who selected the polarizing quarterback with the 22nd overall pick. Dubbed 'Johnny Football,' Manziel believes he would have stood to earn considerably more in NIL over his final two years of eligibility than going to the NFL. After becoming the first-ever freshman to win the Heisman Trophy, the Manning Award and the Davey O'Brien Award while throwing for 3,706 yards and 26 touchdowns as a freshman, Manziel threw for 4,114 yards and 37 touchdowns the next season. 'I tell people this all the time, and they asked me this, I really feel like I would have taken a pay cut had I gone to the NFL,' Manziel said on Always College Football, per 'I mean, that's really what it would have been. I mean, it is crazy times that we're living, and I think, you know, in a lot of areas, still figuring out exactly how to make it work the right way, where it's not just the biggest boosters and the richest schools. If you look at A&M, you know, I feel like we've put a ton of money in it to our NIL, and it hasn't necessarily translated onto the field. 'So, you know, I feel guys who are playing at a high level, who are really noticeable and really marketable, are making a great amount of money off the field, to the point where guys have the opportunity to stay in school rather than having to go to the NFL early.' Following two controversy-laden seasons, Manziel was released by the Browns and did not throw another pass in the NFL. After being out of football for two years, he played for Hamilton and Montreal in the Canadian Football League in 2018 and spent time with the AAF's Memphis express in 2019. Manziel later played two seasons in the Fan Controlled Football League from 2021-22.
Miami Herald
15-07-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Johnny Manziel believes NFL would have been ‘pay cut' if NIL available
Johnny Manziel believes he would have put the NFL off longer if Name, Image, and Likeness had been available during his career at Texas A&M. Manziel declared for the 2014 NFL Draft after his redshirt sophomore season with the Aggies. He went on to sign a four-year, $8.2 million rookie contract with the Cleveland Browns, who selected the polarizing quarterback with the 22nd overall pick. Dubbed "Johnny Football," Manziel believes he would have stood to earn considerably more in NIL over his final two years of eligibility than going to the NFL. After becoming the first-ever freshman to win the Heisman Trophy, the Manning Award and the Davey O'Brien Award while throwing for 3,706 yards and 26 touchdowns as a freshman, Manziel threw for 4,114 yards and 37 touchdowns the next season. "I tell people this all the time, and they asked me this, I really feel like I would have taken a pay cut had I gone to the NFL," Manziel said on Always College Football, per "I mean, that's really what it would have been. I mean, it is crazy times that we're living, and I think, you know, in a lot of areas, still figuring out exactly how to make it work the right way, where it's not just the biggest boosters and the richest schools. If you look at A&M, you know, I feel like we've put a ton of money in it to our NIL, and it hasn't necessarily translated onto the field. "So, you know, I feel guys who are playing at a high level, who are really noticeable and really marketable, are making a great amount of money off the field, to the point where guys have the opportunity to stay in school rather than having to go to the NFL early." Following two controversy-laden seasons, Manziel was released by the Browns and did not throw another pass in the NFL. After being out of football for two years, he played for Hamilton and Montreal in the Canadian Football League in 2018 and spent time with the AAF's Memphis express in 2019. Manziel later played two seasons in the Fan Controlled Football League from 2021-22. --Field Level Media Field Level Media 2025 - All Rights Reserved
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Sam Leavitt Filled With Regret Reliving Heartbreak From Playoff Loss to Texas
Sam Leavitt Filled With Regret Reliving Heartbreak From Playoff Loss to Texas originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt didn't hold back while reflecting on the Sun Devils' heartbreaking 31-27 loss to Texas in last season's College Football Playoff semifinal. Appearing on ESPN's "Always College Football" with Greg McElroy, Leavitt spoke candidly about the missed opportunities that still haunt him months later. Advertisement "If you go back and watch the tape. We had so many red zone possessions where we should've scored. A missed field goal. So many points left off the board," Leavitt said. "To put it in perspective, it's not (just) that we can go play against these guys. We should go play against these guys and win. So I'm trying to instill that in the guys and in myself. To go play with the best and be the best." Leavitt, who threw for 289 yards, two touchdowns with one interception against the Longhorns, also rushed for 54 yards in the game. However, Arizona State went just 2-for-5 in the red zone and missed a crucial 41-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter that would have tied the game. Arizona State Sun Devils quarterback Sam Leavitt (10).© Brett Davis-Imagn Images One key moment came in the second quarter when the Sun Devils drove to the Texas 7-yard line but settled for a short field goal after three straight incompletions. Later, a third-down sack at the Texas' 19-yard-line forced another field goal attempt—one that clanked off the left upright. Those missed chances proved costly. Advertisement The loss marked the end of a remarkable season for Arizona State, which surprised many by reaching the playoff in Kenny Dillingham's second year as head coach. With Leavitt returning under center and a core of veteran playmakers back on both sides of the ball, expectations are sky-high in Tempe heading into 2025. But for Leavitt, the focus remains sharper than ever: finishing what they started. Related: Kenny Dillingham Reveals the Biggest Challenge in Replacing Cam Skattebo Related: Kenny Dillingham Makes Strong Case for Sam Leavitt to be Part of Elite List This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 9, 2025, where it first appeared.
