The Tigers and the Crimson Tide were listed second and third in the first weekly CFP ranking on Tuesday behind Ohio State, but the pair occupy the top two spots in the Associated Press Top 25 poll and in USA Today coaches’ poll. LSU tops the former with Alabama second, while the Crimson Tide is number one in the latter with the Tigers in second place. Saturday’s matchup in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, marks the first time in the AP Top 25 era that the top-two ranked programs have collided in the regular season since 2011....

Bowl season returns in 2021-22 with a schedule that includes 42 bowl games between FBS teams. This year’s College Football Playoff championship game is Jan. 10 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The semifinals are Dec. 31 at the Capital One Orange Bowl and Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic. These matchups are projections of how SN sees the regular season shaking out. This differs from our weekly College Football Playoff Picture, which is based on how the playoff field would look if bids were handed out after each week....

Sporting News’ Playoff picture has not changed despite the season-ending injury to Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, but the scramble among the one-loss teams for that final Playoff spot is too close to call. We have unbeaten teams Ohio State and Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl semifinal, and undefeated LSU is still in the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl semifinal. Which one-loss team do we have playing the Tigers? For now, it’s still Oregon ahead of Georgia, Oklahoma and Alabama....

While some teams have have a tiny chance of being selected, others need to clinch their conference titles to remain in the discussion (looking at you, Washington). Meanwhile, a few star players have this weekend to show off their skills and make another push as Heisman contenders. MORE: College Football Playoff scenarios Here are five storylines to watch for this weekend: Everything riding on Pac-12 win for Washington, Jake Browning: It’s simple: If No....

The date was announced Thursday. The opening of the 94,000-square-foot facility was timed to coincide with two games at the Georgia Dome to begin the college football season: Mississippi vs. Boise State on Aug. 28, followed two days later by Alabama vs. West Virginia. The hall was previously located in South Bend, Indiana, but was plagued by poor attendance. Five years ago, the National Football Foundation announced a deal to move it to Atlanta, on a site near the Georgia Dome and overlooking Centennial Olympic Park....

Two weeks from today, college football season will be in full swing, as bettors will be treated to games on five days, from Thursday, Sept. 3 through Monday, Sept. 7. We can’t wait! Ohio State, the clear favorite to win the national championship for the second straight season, opens at Virginia Tech that Monday night. It’s a big revenge spot for the Buckeyes, whose only loss last year was to the Hokies....

Ohio State has been ranked No. 1 the last two weeks, and they beat No. 8 Wisconsin, 34-21, for the Big Ten Championship. Then there’s No. 2 LSU who beat No. 4 Georgia, 37-10 in the SEC Championship. Meanwhile, No. 3 Clemson won the ACC Championship, 62-17, over No. 23 Virginia. The top three teams finished the season with identical 13-0 records and all will make the CFP, but the order is uncertain....

No. 2 Clemson (13-0) meets No. 3 Notre Dame (12-0) in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic at 4 p.m. on Saturday, and No. 1 Alabama (13-0) faces No. 4 Oklahoma (12-1) in the primetime matchup at the Capital One Orange Bowl. MORE: Tagovailoa vs. Murray could be all-time classic duel The winners advance to the College Football Playoff championship game at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Jan. 7....

The third College Football Playoff rankings will be released Tuesday, and there are only two regular-season weeks remaining. What does that Playoff picture look like now? MORE: Week 12 highlights, scores Tua Tagovailoa’s season-ending hip injury could impact how the committee stacks Alabama with the rest of the one-loss teams. That list includes Minnesota, which lost 24-19 at Iowa on Saturday to fall from the ranks of the unbeaten. That preceded Baylor’s collapse in a 34-31 loss to Oklahoma....

The Playoff in 2021 returns to some semblance of normalcy, a year after the COVID-19 pandemic not only forced the relocation of a semifinal game from its traditional, historic venue, but also necessitating half-empty stadiums for the semifinals and championship game. With that in mind, perhaps fans won’t mind the four-team venue for another season or so. Or maybe not. MORE: How proposed 12-team College Football Playoff would work...

Who is out now? No. 5 Tennessee got smashed 63-31 by unranked South Carolina, and No. 13 North Carolina went scoreless in the second half and fell to Georgia Tech 21-17. MORE: First look at Ohio State-Michigan Those stunning losses will knock the Volunteers and Tar Heels completely out of playoff contention. So how many one-loss teams are still in the mix? No. 7 USC and No. 9 Clemson are the best bets now, and No....

“Even though the outcome did not lead to a recommendation for an early expansion before the end of the current 12-year contract, the discussions have been helpful and informative,” Hancock said. “I am sure they will serve as a useful guide for the Board of Managers and for the Management Committee as we determine what the Playoff will look like beginning in the 2026-2027 season.” An expansion of the CFP within the next several years could have been worth up to an estimated $450 million for college football, which would have been divided among the conferences....

With spring football in the rear-view mirror, it’s time to think about the preseason top 25. The top will be no surprise, as most publications will have either Alabama or Clemson in that No. 1 spot. Those two teams have played each other in the College Football Playoff each of the last four seasons, including three championship games. MORE: 19 predictions for 2019 season Sporting News updated its top 25 after spring football heading into the summer....

That’s reflected in the top three teams (No. 1 Alabama, No. 2 Ohio State and No. 3 Georgia) signing a combined 15 of 34 five-star recruits. But five-star players do not a complete class make; hundreds of blue-chip recruits signed in the first 60 hours of the 72-hour early signing period, including 89 of 100 top-100 recruits from the 247Sports Composite (naturally, 69 of those went to the top 10 teams)....

The Southeastern Conference is back in action. There are three matchups with ranked teams this week, including No. 23 Kentucky at No. 8 Auburn, No. 24 Louisville at No. 21 Pitt and No. 22 Army at No. 14 Cincinnati. No. 12 Miami, which has been an early-season darling, resumes its rivalry with Florida State. MORE: Week 4 bowl projections After three weeks of struggling against the spread, it’s time to get back on track....

Some media outlets were incorrectly reporting that Bristol University had launched a gender pronoun guide with “catgender” and “emojiself”—which refers to the use of emojis to express a pronoun—as options. In the university’s “using pronouns at work” document, it included a link to a separate web page not affiliated with the university, that says that some people may identify using as catgender or “emojiself” pronoun. “Emojiself” pronouns are only meant for online use and are not meant to be pronounced out loud, according to the website, called LGBTA....

Around 11:05 p.m., Houston Police Department (HPD) responded to a shooting at an apartment complex near Texas Southern University (TSU) campus in Houston, a statement from the HPD said. The victim, whose identity has yet to be released, was reportedly at a friend’s apartment with his roommate near the campus on Thursday night. The police stated, “While in the apartment, the victim’s roommate was handling a gun he believed to be unloaded....

Hancock's second straight 20-point game helped Rick Pitino's Cardinals (14-3, 3-1 American Athletic Conference) get the final word in his first collegiate matchup against Larry Brown and his Mustangs (11-4, 1-2). MORE: Box score/stats | Full scoreboard | Video Making his first start despite dealing with a left Achilles issue, the senior guard made 8 of 15 from the field — 4 of 9 from 3-point range — to help keep Louisville ahead in a tense game that Montrezl Harrell finally settled with a dunk and a block after Hancock's free throws....