Atlantic Coast RUMORS & NEWS

CBS Sports "Willie Taggart tip-toed the line of salvation on Monday. As you may have noticed, things have not gone well through his first 15 games as Florida State's coach. Saturday marked the latest clunker, a 31-24 loss at ranked Virginia. For the third straight..." September 18

ESPN "Virginia coach Tony Bennett declined to take a raise while extending his contract by another year. The Cavaliers announced the extension Monday, saying Bennett asked for the money to be used to pay his staff more and for improvements to both his program as well as other Virginia..." September 16

Tallahassee Democrat "You have heard of that new-old proverbial phrase, right? When Florida State football gives you lemons, make lemonade to help pay for Seminoles coach Willie Taggart’s $17 million buyout. That’s what four-year-old Grayton Grant did early Sunday, setting up a..." September 16

The Score "RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) The Atlantic Coast Conference said Saturday the replay official erred on the final play of the North Carolina-Wake Forest game by failing to initiate a review that would have put one second back on the clock. League supervisor of football officials Dennis Hennigan..." September 14

The Big Lead "A bizarre week of ACC football continued in Saturday afternoon’s early slate of games. Less than 24 hours after North Carolina was denied a potential winning second, Virginia Tech was taken to the brink by FCS Furman. Georgia Tech got pushed off entirely by fellow former..." September 14

College Football Talk "In the midst of one of the worst weekends in recent memory for the ACC, this may represent rock bottom. Georgia Tech entered Saturday’s game against The Citadel as upwards of a 27-point favorite.  Exiting the contest, the Yellow Jackets have fallen to 1-2 on the season as..." September 14

The Big Lead "Liberty coach Hugh Freeze has been continuing to show up on game days even though he’s dealing with major health issues. On opening night he literally worked from a hospital bed up in the home press box in a shutout loss to Syracuse. Last week he employed a..." September 14

College Football Talk "An injury suffered in the season opener will impact Louisville in Week 3. Jawon Pass (pictured) suffered what’s only been described as a lower-extremity injury in the season-opening loss to Notre Dame.  It wasn’t severe enough, however, to keep the starting..." September 14

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette "Six minutes into his Thursday media availability, Pat Narduzzi was surprised: No one had asked him about James Franklin’s comments from earlier in the week. You know, when Franklin explained that the Nittany Lions changed their offensive and defensive signals immediately after safety John..." September 13

12 Up "Over the last 4-5 years, the top two college football programs have been the Clemson Tigers and Alabama Crimson Tide, with everyone else far behind. You can imagine, then, that each school is raking in serious revenue befitting such success. And yes, both programs are...." September 13

Tallahassee Democrat "Officials aren't specifying why Florida State punter Logan Tyler is indefinitely suspended from the football program, but the move follows an August DUI crash under investigation by the Tallahassee Police Department.  FSU coach Willie Taggart confirmed during his..." September 12

Sportsnaut "Willie Taggart and the Florida State Seminoles need all of the help they can get after a sluggish 1-1 start to the season. Florida state lost to Boise State in its season opener and barely eked by Louisiana-Monroe by the score of 45-44 last week. It’s in this..." September 11

USA Today "November was normal. October was optimistic. September seemed impossible. Clemson receiver Amari Rodgers tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during practice on March 25. After reconstructive surgery, Clemson doctors and trainers estimated he could return to action in..." September 11

247 Sports "Florida State tight end Tre' McKitty went viral Saturday when he lined up backwards for a play in the Florida State victory over Louisiana Monroe. While the game was full of mishaps in a near upset of the Seminoles, that play was not one of them, McKitty said. The intention was a..." September 10

USA Today "Former Louisville coach Bobby Petrino said he still wants to coach, praised quarterback Lamar Jackson and apologized for the scandal that cost him his Arkansas job during his first public comments since he was fired at Louisville last November. Petrino, in his first visit back to..." September 10

247 Sports "North Carolina starting senior cornerback Patrice Rene is out for the season, UNC announced on Monday morning before head coach Mack Brown's press conference. Rene suffered a torn right ACL in the first half of Saturday's win over Miami. A 6-foot-2 native of Canada,..." September 09

CBS Sports "If Week 1 was the college football appetizer, Week 2 is going to provide fans a feast of epic proportions. Why? Because we get two of the biggest nonconference games of the year spread out for your afternoon and evening viewing pleasure. No. 1 Clemson will host No...." September 07

Larry Brown Sports "Dabo Swinney is not here for the rat poison the media is trying to give his team. Swinney’s Clemson Tigers began the year as the preseason No. 1 team. His squad maintained its spot atop the rankings after the first week of the season. " September 05

Sportsnaut "Year 2 of the Willie Taggart era at Florida State got off to a horrendous start when the Seminoles gave up a massive lead in the second half, losing Boise State in Week 1. On Monday, Taggart made a shocking statement that shows he and his staff failed to prepare the players..." September 03

The Big Lead "Ian Book rocked a Louisville cheerleader in the face with a football Monday night and apparently she’s not in great shape. Book threw a pass away during the fourth quarter of Notre Dame’s 34-17 win, and it happened to light up Cardinals cheerleader right in the..." September 03

CBS Sports "Joe Namath is famous for predicting that his New York Jets would upset the Indianapolis in Super Bowl III, and it sure feels like Texas A&M offensive lineman Jared Hocker is attempting to do his best Namath impersonation.  The 6-foot-5, 323-pound junior guard of the No. 12..." September 02

Larry Brown Sports "Willie Taggart is asking for fans to stick by him despite another tough loss by Florida State. Taggart’s Seminoles were looking great to start their game Saturday against Boise State. They scored on their first four possessions and were up 24-6 in the second quarter. They held a..." September 01

Orlando Sentinel "Unless Hurricane Dorian takes a sharp right turn in the next several hours, officials from Florida State, Boise State, the city of Jacksonville and the state of Florida need to do the right thing and either move up the game from Saturday night to Friday night or early Saturday afternoon —..." August 29

Total Pro Sports "Paul Finebaum just knows how to incite anger with his words, and he was back at it again talking about college sports. On Tuesday, the ESPN analyst was in the midst of discussing the University of Miami football team, when he was asked about the incident where the Florida Gators band..." August 27

ESPN "ESPN radio host and pesonality Dan Le Batard is demanding that ESPN college football analyst Paul Finebaum clarify his comment on Monday that the University of Miami has a "third-world program," an assessment Finebaum made in response to an alleged attack on the University of Florida..." August 27

Tallahassee Democrat "Florida State coach Willie Taggart has named redshirt sophomore quarterback James Blackman the starting quarterback for the 2019 season.  The Seminoles will open the season at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, Fla. on Aug. 31 at 7 p.m. Blackman, 6-foot-5, 195 pounds,..." August 26

Miami Herald "The Miami Hurricanes bedazzled their regular-season opener against the No. 8 Florida Gators by introducing the third iteration of their Turnover Chain on Saturday at Camping World Stadium.  Hurricanes who force turnovers this season will don the city of Miami around their necks,..." August 25

Miami Herald "University of Miami cornerback DJ Ivey has been suspended for the Hurricanes’ season opener against the Florida Gators for a violation of team rules. Although University of Miami football coach Manny Diaz said twice this week that he expected all his players to travel to Orlando..." August 24

College Football Talk "So there you have it.  Sort of. Instead of bringing it on and competing with Georgia transfer Justin Fields for the starting quarterback job, Tate Martell hightailed it out of Ohio State earlier this offseason and ultimately landed at..." August 21

Atlanta Journal-Constitution "  Georgia Tech wide receiver Marquez Ezzard’s request for an immediate-eligiblity waiver was turned down. Ezzard, a Stockbridge High grad who transferred from Miami, made the announcement from his Twitter account Tuesday. “The NCAA has decided to not..." August 21

The Score "Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence headlines The Associated Press preseason All-America team, and he has two teammates from the top-ranked Tigers with him on the first team. Lawrence, the first freshman to quarterback to lead a team to a national championship in more than 30 years,..." August 20

USA Today "For every head coach with rock-solid job security — Dabo Swinney and Nick Saban, to name two — there are a couple of dozen firmly on the hot seat heading into the 2019 season. One name in particular stands out: Southern California coach Clay Helton. On the heels of last..." August 19

The Score "The Associated Press released its annual preseason Top 25, and the defending national champion Clemson Tigers will enter the season ranked No. 1, just ahead of the team they beat in the title game, Alabama. Georgia comes in at the No. 3 slot, with Oklahoma and Ohio State rounding out..." August 19

Sun Sentinel "After losing out on the Miami Hurricanes starting quarterback job, Tate Martell is now experimenting with a move to wide receiver. Martell has begun practicing at receiver for UM, a source confirmed to the South Florida Sun Sentinel on Friday night. The source was uncertain..." August 17

Total Pro Sports "It has not been a great 2019 so far for Tate Martell. It was just earlier this week when the news came down that head coach Manny Diaz announced the team’s starting quarterback for the upcoming game against Florida will be Jarren Williams. Immediately after the..." August 17

CBS Sports "Florida and Miami (FL) will open the 2019 season on Aug. 24 in a neutral site showdown in Orlando, but could be visiting each other in the future. Brett McMurphy of Stadium reported Saturday that the two rivals have agreed to a home-and-home series. McMurphy reports..." August 17

Bleacher Report "Heading into the 2019 season, there is a general consensus on the top players in college football. However, the order changes a bit when thinking about the most noteworthy. We've highlighted 25 names you should prepare to hear constantly this campaign. Many of them are..." August 15

Atlanta Journal-Constitution "Georgia Tech quarterback Lucas Johnson will get another season of eligibility, it appears. Johnson sent out a tweet Tuesday announcing that he has received a sixth season of eligibility from the NCAA, which will give him another year of competition to replace the one he lost to a..." August 15

Sportsnaut "In the decade since Dabo Swinney became head coach of the Clemson Tigers football team, the entire program has skyrocketed in many ways. Among the biggest changes is Clemson’s budget for recruiting players. According to The Greenville News, Clemson spent $292,595 in its..." August 15

Sporting News "Tate Martell did not win the starting job at Miami, and the question now becomes, ''What's next?" Martell, a former four-star recruit, transferred from Ohio State after two seasons and received a transfer waiver to play right away with the Hurricanes. When news broke..." August 14

Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel "Miami Hurricanes junior safety Derrick Smith announced he has left the football program and entered his name into the transfer portal. After missing Tuesday’s practice due to a personal matter, according to a UM spokesperson, Smith, one of several safeties competing for playing..." August 14

Larry Brown Sports "Miami’s starting quarterback competition did not go Tate Martell’s way, and the Ohio State transfer apparently took the news hard. Martell did not attend the Hurricanes’ practice on Monday, the school confirmed to Inside the U, which first reported the news. The..." August 13

South Florida Sun Sentinel "Eight months after nearly transferring out of the University of Miami, redshirt freshman Jarren Williams has been named the starting quarterback for the Hurricanes, the team announced on Monday morning. Williams won the training camp competition to be UM’s starter over redshirt..." August 12

The Big Lead "Jarren Williams will start for Miami in the season opener against Florida, meaning he won the quarterback competition against Tate Martell, the high-profile transfer from Ohio State. An elite recruit, Martell has been running his mouth since high school and in the spotlight ever since QB1 found..." August 12

Newark Star-Ledger "  Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney is getting a national championship ring, but he’s definitely not putting a ring on everyone who was on the team last season. Former quarterback Kelly Bryant left the team midseason after being replaced by Trevor Lawrence and Swinney feels..." August 12

The Score "Kelly Bryant says he harbors no ill will toward Clemson for not offering him a national championship ring as a result of his decision to leave the team during the season. "A ring is a ring," the senior quarterback said Friday, according to Peter Baugh of The Athletic...." August 10

CBS Pittsburgh "One of Pitt’s best defensive players is now on the shelf for the entire 2019 season. The Panthers announced Friday that defensive lineman Rashad Weaver tore his ACL in practice on Thursday morning. “Not good news for Pitt… one of the Panthers best..." August 09

The Duke Chronicle "With Duke's 2018 starting wide receiver trio of T.J. Rahming, Johnathan Lloyd and Chris Taylor all not coming back to Durham this fall, experienced pass-catchers were already few and far between for the Blue Devils.  And on Friday afternoon, the options for new starting..." August 09

Larry Brown Sports "Dabo Swinney has a very simple explanation for why Kelly Bryant won’t be receiving a ring for Clemson winning the national championship last season: Bryant left the program. Bryant played four games at Clemson last season and split the quarterback reps with true freshman Trevor..." August 08

CBS Sports "If anyone still thinks that Alabama lost the national championship 44-16 because of fatigue, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney would like a word.  Swinney took issue with the notion that the Crimson Tide entered the national championship game in January more banged up because of the..." August 07

Tallahassee Democrat "Quarterback battles are nothing new to James Blackman. The redshirt sophomore has been in three quarterback battles of varying degrees of legitimacy in his three seasons at FSU. The difference is that this time, Blackman is the frontrunner and most experienced..." August 03

Bleacher Report "Former Florida State quarterback Deondre Francois is now a member of Division I-FCS Hampton University, according to Dave Johnson of the Daily Press.  Per Johnson, the ex-Seminole has two years of eligibility remaining. "It's a blessing to be..." August 02

CBS Sports "After 33 years serving as an assistant coach at Virginia Tech, famed defensive coordinator Bud Foster announced Thursday that he will hang up his whistle following the 2019 season. Foster, who initially joined VT as a member of Frank Beamer's first staff in 1987, is also serving as the..." August 01

Tallahassee Democrat "Florida State has picked up a commitment from four-star Deerfield Beach (Fla.) running back Jaylan Knighton. Knighton committed to the Seminoles during his multi-day visit to FSU for Saturday Night Live. "My heart told me to come here and that's what I'm..." July 31

The Spun "Former top quarterback recruit Tate Martell transferred from Ohio State to Miami this offseason, following Urban Meyer’s decision to retire and Justin Fields’ move from Georgia to to OSU. Martell, a former top recruit coming out of high school, has been made eligible for..." July 29

CBS Sports "The Clemson-South Carolina rivalry is one of the fiercest intra-state rivalries in the country, and the Gamecocks just dipped into enemy territory to nab a high-profile graduate transfer. Senior running back Tavien Feaster announced on Instagram on Monday that he will transfer to..." July 29