MACK BROWN

The Atlantic Coast Conference gets a chance in September to bolster the perception of the league's strength with multiple matchups against other power conferences.

Drake Maye threw four of his five touchdown passes in the first half in his first collegiate start and North Carolina beat undermanned Florida A&M 56-24 to open the season.

The Atlantic Coast and Southeastern Conferences are welcoming plenty of transfers bouncing between throughout their Southern-footprint leagues.

The Atlantic Coast Conference has four new coaches for this season, all in the same division.

North Carolina quarterback Sam Howell is forgoing his senior season to enter the NFL draft.

For the first time since it began in 2014, the College Football Playoff won't include a team from the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Ty Chandler ran for career highs of 213 yards and four touchdowns and North Carolina overcame an 18-point deficit to beat No. 10 Wake Forest 58-55 on Saturday, handing the Demon Deacons their first loss in a nonconference matchup of instate Atlantic Coast Conference teams.

It seems parity has arrived in the Atlantic Coast Conference, just look no further than the results on scoreboards.

Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson and Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett headline The Associated Press' list of midseason football honorees for the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Atlantic Coast Conference coaches are counting on high program COVID-19 vaccination rates to minimize risks of illnesses or lineup-depleting contact tracing for the upcoming college football season.

Alabama is No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 preseason college football poll for fourth time in the past six seasons.

College coaches are trying to get a handle on the recruiting impact of athletes' ability to profit off their fame.

North Carolina's Sam Howell is a Heisman Trophy candidate and the headliner of the Atlantic Coast Conference's class of experienced returning quarterbacks.

The NCAA has officially approved a plan that will allow all college athletes to transfer one time as an undergraduate without having to sit out a season.

North Carolina now faces the challenge of finding Roy Williams’ successor.

The move comes just a few hours after Texas announced the firing of Tom Herman after four seasons with no Big 12 championships. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt, File)AUSTIN, Texas – Texas was tired of waiting for Tom Herman to deliver a Big 12 title and turn the Longhorns back into national championship contenders. Texas fired Herman on Saturday after four winning seasons, then hours later announced it was giving the job to the Alabama offensive coordinator. He will be Texas’ fourth head coach since the program’s last Big 12 championship in 2009. Of note, Sarkisian was a USC assistant when Texas beat the Trojans for the national championship in the epic 2006 Rose Bowl.

13 CFP) in the 87th edition of the Orange Bowl. “I always say this: The Orange Bowl is as good as it gets,” Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher said Friday. Thing is, neither of those running backs — Michael Carter and Javonte Williams — chose to play in the Orange Bowl. “That’s 4,000 yards worth of offense and our leading tackler on defense and two captains,” North Carolina coach Mack Brown said. With them gone, it means even more pressure will be on North Carolina quarterback Sam Howell.

It will be North Carolina’s first time in the Orange Bowl, and the first meeting between the schools. You want to be in it but at the same time, we're in the Orange Bowl, man." BOWL WINNERSThe Orange Bowl coaches certainly know how to end seasons with victories. Brown is 14-8 in the postseason, plus has been part of the Orange Bowl twice as an assistant coach. WELCOME BACKFor Fisher, it’s a return to a stadium where he’s gone 6-0 — including a pair of Orange Bowl victories.

23 North Carolina State 48-21 on Saturday in the first meeting with both rivals ranked in the AP Top 25 since 1993. And it came two weeks after Carter and Williams powered the Tar Heels to 399 yards rushing in a win against Virginia Tech. But N.C. State managed 34 yards rushing and had four turnovers. UNC: The Tar Heels had won six straight games before last weekend’s loss at FSU. UNC: The Tar Heels visit Virginia next Saturday.

The Tigers had been ranked in 43 straight polls, dating to Nov. 5, 2017. Following Cam Newton's departure the Tigers spent much of the '11 season outside the Top 25, finishing 8-5 and unranked. POLL POINTSThis is the second straight week that one of college football's traditional powers has fallen from the rankings, with LSU following Oklahoma. 25 Southern California is the latest of the teams still waiting to start their seasons to re-enter the Top 25. RANKED vs. RANKEDThe only game matching ranked teams this week is the most anticipated regular-season game of the year.

At the top of USA Today's most recent revenue rankings for college athletic departments are Texas and Texas A&M. Texas and Texas A&M have everything needed to put out a national championship-level football program. The Aggies and Longhorns refuse to play each other but combine to form an Axis of Underachievers in the Lone Star State. In three games against Alabama under Fisher, the Aggies are 0-3 by a combined 144-75. For now, though, Texas and Texas A&M continue to prove the adage that money can't buy happiness.

FILE - In this Oct. 7, 2019, file photo, Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott speaks to reporters during the Pac-12 Conference women's NCAA college basketball media day in San Francisco. The Mountain West is trying to do the same and there even is some movement in the Mid-American Conference toward reconsidering a fall season. “The board has asked for a plan,” Mountain West Commissioner Craig Thompson said. The San Jose Mercury News reported, citing unidentified sources, that the Pac-12’s athletic directors were targeting Oct. 31 to start football season. But some MAC players have followed the lead of their peers in Power Five conferences by pushing for a fall season on social media.

There will be several erasers on the field during the College Football Playoff championship game between No. The increased emphasis on the passing game has given rise to a Golden Age of wide receivers. “You get open with your route running,” LSU receivers coach Mickey Joseph said. And with players such as Chase, Ross and Marshall returning for next season there are plenty more erasers ready to fill any void. ___Follow Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and listen http://www.westwoodonepodcasts.com/pods/ap-top-25-college-football-podcast/___More AP college football: https://apnews.com/APTop25CollegeFootballPoll and https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

Miami head coach Manny Diaz (left) and North Carolina head coach Mack Brown, who once coached together, will be on the opposite sidelines when the Hurricanes take on the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill. PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. - Mack Brown and Manny Diaz first worked together in 2011, when Brown hired Diaz from Mississippi State to be his defensive coordinator at Texas. Seventeen days after being introduced as Temple's head coach, Diaz was officially introduced as Richt's replacement. "We needed to win," Brown said Monday during his weekly radio show. To that end, Brown hired former Army defensive coordinator Jay Bateman to be his co-defensive coordinator (along with Tommy Thigpen, who previously coached safeties) this season.

The Tigers won their last national championship in 2010 by holding off Oregon 22-19 in the pre-playoff era. These two have been going at it annually since 2010, when Fisher succeeded Bobby Bowden at Florida State. 8 Florida at MissouriAP Photo/Jeff Roberson Missouri Tigers quarterback Kelly Bryant throws during practice, Aug. 12, 2019, in Columbia, Missouri. In fact, Alabama is only team to participate in every College Football Playoff since it began during the 2014 season. The Gators snapped a five-game losing steak to Florida State with a 41-14 win in Tallahassee last year.

These college football coaches are likely to make headlines this season, for better or worse. Diaz's charge in 2019 will be to orchestrate an offensive turnaround after last season's underachieving 7-6 mark. Les Miles, KansasAP Photo/Orlin WagnerDavid Beaty won just six games in the four seasons before Les Miles got to Kansas. Willie Taggart, Florida StateAP Photo/Mark WallheiserIt's rare to think of a Florida State football coach on the hot seat. Chris Klieman, Kansas StateAP Photo/Orlin WagnerChris Klieman takes over for Bill Snyder, who retired again after his second stint at Kansas State.