Football Writers Association of America

James Madison’s Patrick Rea is this week’s nominee for the 2026 Capital One Orange Bowl-FWAA Courage Award. Rea, a fifth-year punter, uses his position to help raise funds for childhood brain cancer after losing his younger sister to the disease. “This is something that’s very personal to me,” Rea said at the beginning of the season. “And I’m hoping that anyone that wants to be involved in donating and promoting this cause, it’d be much appreciated.”

Your 2026 #JetAward Finalists are here! Voted on by members of the FWAA. Jaylon Hawkins, San Diego State Easton Messer, FAU Michael Scott, James Madison Vicari Swain, South Carolina Javon Tracy, Minnesota The winner will be honored April 8, 2027 at the Jet Award Gala in Omaha.

Texas-Mizzou on ESPN beating the Holy War on ABC in the same time slot will not go unnoticed.

At last, data showing what was widely believed to be happening: multi-time transfer athletes are graduating at significantly lower rates than those who don't transfer, or transfer only once. ncaaorg.s3.amazonaws.com/res…

NEW: Memphis head coach Charles Huff on coaches recruiting against him: "Every time a coach says, 'Coach Huff ain’t going to be there,' it actually works in my favor. Because if I’m leaving Memphis, I ain’t going to high school. I’m going to something bigger. So I tell the kids, 'you're going with me,' just like the 31 did at the other place." (h/t @TheJonahDylan)

Voting for All-Americans today! @TheFWAA

Central Michigan defensive back Darrell Bryant Jr. has won the 2026 Armed Forces Merit Award, presented by the @TheFWAA! Unlike other college athletes, Darrell served as an infantryman in the U.S. Army for four years. Thank you for your service, Darrell! #LMAFB |#BowlForTheBrave

November 🔟 #CFP Top 25 🏆

Sources: The American Conference, its presidents and ADs met on Tuesday to discuss shelving the league's title game, but no final decision was made. Conversations are ongoing and the hope is to make a decision in December or January. foxsports.com/stories/colleg…

NEW: CFP executive director Rich Clark tells @AndyAriOn3 the committee took fans' sentiment toward a 24-team playoff into account: "We also listened to what they did like about the playoffs, and we tried to add more of those things that the fans wanted into the format that we have. Ultimately we have to make it so spectacular that fans are just going to love it."

Eli Drinkwitz asked about Playoff expansion/CFB changes: "We've devalued some of the things that made college football so special." "We've made a lot of decisions, and we've asked a lot of people their opinions, but have we cared about the fan? "I don't know that."

Arion has been named the @NagurskiTrophy Defensive Player of the Week. read more → 1tn.co/4BWv0ao #GBO 🍊

Drinkwitz on the end of the SEC (and others) championship game: "Why are we associated with conferences anymore if we're not playing for a conference championship?"

A very smart thought best not said too loud

A year after storming to an 8-0 start, Georgia Tech's season has imploded into a 2-7 nightmare, dead last in the ACC. The catastrophic spiral cost four assistants their job Monday. "Damn pissed off. The way we coach, the way we play, it’s embarrassing. It’s a joke," Brent Key said Saturday. Free: nytimes.com/athletic/7768606…

I'll weigh in here. Football announcers in both college and the NFL in today's world are far more knowledgeable about rules than they have ever been in my lifetime. They are also more supportive of officiating than they have ever been. The three announcing crews I regularly work with are incredibly strong on their knowledge of the rules, which (fortunately?) minimizes the times I need to speak. Sometimes the rules get very complex and announcers do get it wrong, but sometimes the officials, including Replay, get it wrong and announcers are obliged to point it out especially when rules are involved rather than real-time judgments. Judgments are always open for debate, but as I said, today's announcers are very deferential to judgments by officials and almost always extremeley fair. If Commissioner Sankey and the SEC believe announcers are treating SEC officiating unfairly, I would suggest reaching out and working with their broadcast partners on rules/officiating would be far more effective than a broadside attack such as this.