Blake Toppmeyer

6 days ago | usatoday.com | Blake Toppmeyer

• Where's the love for Josh Heupel and Brian Kelly? Hey, don't blame me• I think think Dan Mullen is a top-25 coach. Maybe I'm the only one. • No Bill Belichick in top 25. Check back next year. My phone rang Monday with a call from a steadfast supporter of my work, but this time, he had a bone to pick: How could Josh Heupel be ranked 17th nationally in USA TODAY’s ranking of top-25 coaches? Why wasn't Heupel ranked higher? Well, I responded, I voted Heupel higher on my ballot.

1 week ago | usatoday.com | Blake Toppmeyer

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – You can think you know what it's like to coach Alabama, as an SEC newcomer, and replace Nick Saban. You can think you know, but do you really know until you've experienced it? Well, anyway, Kalen DeBoer's experienced it now. He endured a bumpy debut season, highlighted by wins against LSU and Auburn, but marred by losses to Vanderbilt and Oklahoma, en route to a 9-4 finish. DeBoer shoots it straight.

1 week ago | knoxnews.com | Blake Toppmeyer |John Adams

Texas football does it up big, and that includes the payroll for its roster. Are Arch Manning's Longhorns the national championship frontrunner? Opinions vary. Looking for an alternative to Texas from the SEC that can win national championship? Try LSU. Did Texas just assemble the best team money can buy? Maybe. Alternatively, it spent big for a playoff-caliber roster that will come up short of the national championship game once again, after two straight years bowing out in the semifinals.

1 week ago | newschief.com | Blake Toppmeyer |John Adams

Texas football does it up big, and that includes the payroll for its roster. Are Arch Manning's Longhorns the national championship frontrunner? Opinions vary. Looking for an alternative to Texas from the SEC that can win national championship? Try LSU. Did Texas just assemble the best team money can buy? Maybe. Alternatively, it spent big for a playoff-caliber roster that will come up short of the national championship game once again, after two straight years bowing out in the semifinals.

1 week ago | usatoday.com | Blake Toppmeyer

Nick Saban thinks college football needs to be fixed and that the federal government should become involved in the fixing. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., shares that belief, and he warns that the sport is “in danger.”In danger of what, exactly? Also, how and why should the federal government be involved in fixing college football's problems, insomuch as they exist? And, goodness me, why should President Donald Trump insert himself into this situation?