NCAA

The Gators won their last three games, had the 11th-ranked recruiting class and has several upperclassmen returning in 2025. Plant City's Mario Williams and the Tulane Green Wave hope to end that run.

The ReliaQuest Bowl on New Year's Eve afternoon will feature two of college football's most storied programs, while the Gators earned a postseason spot after closing the season with three straight wins.

The Bulls, who finished the regular season at 6-6, will spend part of the holidays 4,200 miles away in Honolulu for the Dec. 24 matchup. ESPN will televise the game, the only bowl played on Christmas Eve.

Mayfield, who planted an Oklahoma flag at midfield of Ohio State’s stadium following a win by the Sooners in 2017, responded to several similar incidents over the weekend — including the Gators.

The invitation came as the Pac-12 looks to relaunch after losing most of its schools during a dramatic round of realignments. American and Mountain West teams were its top targets.

The Crimson Tide were locked in a struggle with the Bulls most of the way before scoring 28 points in the final 10 minutes.

For programs not among the Power 5 athletic programs, like USF, it could make it harder to compete and pay recruits. But athletic director Mike Kelly says the school is well-positioned for the future.

The Atlantic Coast Conference has asked an appeals court to put on hold a lawsuit filed by FSU against the conference while a similar case plays out in North Carolina.

The proposed legal settlement by the NCAA and its Power Five conferences would allow schools to directly pay athletes. But questions remain, including whether men and women will be paid equally.

The monumental decision sets the stage for a groundbreaking revenue-sharing model that could start directing millions of dollars directly to athletes as soon as the 2025 fall semester.

Unseeded Florida, which has won 20 in a row, plays top-seeded and defending national champion Northwestern in the first semifinal game Friday in Cary, North Carolina.

Weatherford Capital is one of two firms creating a platform to help athletic departments find funding with college sports on the verge of sweeping change that could have long-term financial implications.