CFB

AP College Football WriterRed River revival with Herman, Riley can turn around Big 12By RALPH D. RUSSOFor the sake of the Big 12, Lincoln Riley and Tom Herman better live up to the hype.Following a season in which Big 12 football bottomed out, and with speculation about the long-term...

Associated PressPaterno family drops lawsuit against NCAA over Freeh reportBy MARK SCOLFOROHARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) The family of Penn State ex-football coach Joe Paterno is dropping a lawsuit against the NCAA over its use of a report into the Jerry Sandusky child molestation scandal.Paterno's estate, his son Jay and...

STATS Writer=NC A&T's Parker working toward NFL dreamBy TAYLOR BECHTOLD(STATS) - Brandon Parker has always gotten a thrill out of breaking stuff down to get a closer look at how he can make it better.It's what led the North Carolina A&T incoming senior to become an electrical engineering major....

Associated PressPenn State's Franklin 3rd-highest paid coach in Big TenBy TRAVIS JOHNSONSTATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) Penn State football coach James Franklin has signed a contract extension that guarantees him $34.7 million through 2022, putting him third in average annual compensation in the Big Ten.According to terms released by...

AP College Football WriterAlabama starts atop AP poll for 2nd straight yearBy RALPH D. RUSSOAlabama is No. 1 in The Associated Press preseason college football poll for the second straight season and third time in five years.The Crimson Tide, coming off a last-second loss in the national championship game...

STATS Editor=NAU QB Cookus eager to returnBy MATT BECKER(STATS) - Hours before kickoff of Northern Arizona's season opener inside an empty stadium, Case Cookus will experience a sensation he hasn't felt in almost a year."You're in your shorts and T-shirt, just throwing the ball around," he explained. "Then people...

Jury finds former Vanderbilt football player guilty of rapeNASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) A jury on Friday convicted a former Vanderbilt University football player charged along with three of his teammates in the 2013 gang rape of an unconscious female student.After about 15 hours of deliberation over two days, the...

AP Sports WriterQB Lagow has new message, confidence boost to lead HoosiersBy MICHAEL MAROTBLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) The offseason message to Richard Lagow was succinct: Don't be a hero. Just be a quarterback.Indiana's new offensive coordinator, Mike DeBord , remembers having the same conversation with Brian Griese in 1997,...

AP Sports WriterPurdue hits the road for matchup against SEC foe MissouriBy DAVID GINSBURGSome things to watch in the Big Ten this weekend:GAME OF THE WEEKPurdue at Missouri. The Boilermakers (1-1) take to the road for a matchup with Missouri, Purdue's first game against a Southeastern Conference foe since...

AP Sports WriterNo 2-a-days means early start for Mississippi State practiceBy DAVID BRANDTSTARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) Mississippi State quarterback Nick Fitzgerald isn't mourning the death of two-a-day practices, even if it means an earlier start to preseason practice.The Bulldogs opened camp Tuesday with several days left in July, which...

AP Sports WriterBIG 12 SPOTLIGHT: Youngest power league with oldest coachBy STEPHEN HAWKINSMaybe Oklahoma State was just well ahead of a trend when making 37-year-old former Cowboys quarterback Mike Gundy their head coach.Now 13 years after Gundy became the man at Oklahoma State, the Big 12 has three 30-something...

STATS FCS Senior Editor=Jacksonville State, Thomas handle Mocs in FCS KickoffBy CRAIG HALEY(STATS) - Jacksonville State coach John Grass talked this past week about the difficulty of playing a season-opening game against a rival, Chattanooga, whose new coaching staff might utilize an unfamiliar game plan.But he added, almost reminding...