The Scarlet and Gray

[toysoldier00]

No Jermaine Matthews?

can't tell if he ranks 11th, wasn't included because it's unlikely he leaves, or if I just forgot about him. tbd I guess lol

Even with the ability to replenish, it’ll be tough to replace those first few guys with round one grades

zero chance the defense is gonna be as good next year. It's going to be the Jeremiah Smith/Julian Sayin show for sure.

[toysoldier00]

Week 9 Recap: Chaos in Norman, Pavia’s Party Rolls On, and the Playoff Picture Tightens

Marissa Bleday
October 26, 2025


Week 9 didn’t just shuffle the contenders, it bruised them. Oklahoma lost more than a game on its opening snap, Vanderbilt turned another ranked opponent into evidence that this season is real, and the playoff races in the SEC, Big 12 and ACC all narrowed into something sharper. By Saturday night, the national story wasn’t just who won. It was who could survive what happened.

#7 Ole Miss Rebels 28 at #9 Oklahoma Sooners 7
It started in Norman, where the biggest game of the weekend changed instantly. Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer left with a concussion on the first play from scrimmage, and the air came out of the stadium before the crowd had time to exhale.

“You never want to see that,” Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin said afterward. “Mateer’s a competitor. But when you’re playing a game like this, you have to adjust fast and keep playing.” Ole Miss did. Oklahoma couldn’t.

The Sooners’ defense fought, but the math of the game became impossible without their engine. Backup Michael Hawkins Jr. competed, 23-of-37 for 194 yards, but he didn’t look comfortable in the timing windows Oklahoma’s offense depends on, and Ole Miss’ pass rush made sure he never got to reset. Hawkins was sacked eight times, fumbled once, and Oklahoma’s offense never found enough third-down answers to keep the game from tilting. Ole Miss didn’t blow the doors off early, but the constant pressure added up. By the second half, the Rebels’ volume of possessions finally broke Oklahoma’s resistance, and Ole Miss pulled away to a 28–7 win with 21 second-half points.

Trinidad Chambliss looked like a veteran, throwing 32-of-47 for 285 yards and two passing touchdowns while adding a rushing score. De’Zhaun Stribling was the finisher, 10 catches, 113 yards, two touchdowns, and Ole Miss left Norman with a win that felt like a pivot point in the SEC race.

“We didn’t play perfect,” Chambliss said, “but we played steady. In games like that, steady wins.”

#13 Missouri Tigers 38 at #24 Vanderbilt Commodores 35
If Ole Miss survived a crisis, Vanderbilt kept sprinting into the spotlight. The Commodores beat No. 13 Missouri 38–35 in Nashville behind another high-wire performance from Diego Pavia, who continues to play like the sport’s most entertaining quarterback. He was efficient when he needed to be (21-of-28, 220 yards, two passing touchdowns) and just chaotic enough to be impossible to script against, adding a rushing touchdown that felt like it came from pure confidence.

Missouri didn’t play badly. Beau Pribula was efficient (20-of-25, 226 yards, three touchdowns). Ahmad Hardy ran with real bite (115 yards on 14 carries). But Vanderbilt’s offense simply kept winning the down that matters most. The Commodores racked up 23 first downs, converted 12 of 18 on third down, and even went 2-for-2 on fourth down, a stat line that reads like a team that never panicked.

“That’s what good offenses do,” Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea said. “They stay on the field. They finish drives. And they believe they’re going to get it done.”

#2 Texas A&M Aggies 29 at #15 LSU Tigers 21
In Baton Rouge, Texas A&M delivered the type of win that looks bigger every week: a road victory over LSU, 29–21, powered by quarterback Marcel Reed, who threw for 261 yards and two touchdowns. It wasn’t a masterpiece. It was a statement. A&M didn’t need fireworks, it needed control, and it got it.

“We’re learning how to win different kinds of games,” Aggies coach Mike Elko said. “That’s what good teams do when the season gets heavy.”

For LSU, already carrying scars, the loss tightened the vise on a season that has swung wildly from week to week.

#8 BYU Cougars 21 at Iowa State Cyclones 11
The Big 12 race continued to clarify around one simple truth: BYU is still standing. The Cougars moved to 8–0 with a 21–11 win over Iowa State, extending a season that keeps looking less like a surprise and more like a plan. Bear Bachmeier threw for 278 yards and two touchdowns, and BYU’s defense did the rest, holding off a Cyclones team that was once 5–0 and now sits at 5–3 after a month of hard lessons.

#3 Indiana Hoosiers 36 at UCLA Bruins 33
In Bloomington, Indiana’s season remained one of the sport’s most compelling stories, and quarterback Fernando Mendoza kept adding chapters. The Hoosiers beat UCLA 36–33 behind another Mendoza showcase, 310 passing yards, 58 rushing yards, and four total touchdowns, the kind of production that doesn’t just win games, but builds a Heisman case. Indiana didn’t win pretty. It won under pressure, again, and the Hoosiers’ belief now looks permanent.

Houston Cougars 21 at #23 Arizona State Sun Devils 24
Two more results added depth to the national picture. Houston went on the road and upset Arizona State 24–21, moving to 7–1 and forcing the Big 12 conversation to make room for them.

Virginia Cavaliers 27 at North Carolina Tar Heels 24
And Virginia continued its improbable rise, winning 27–24 in Chapel Hill to reach 7–1 and put itself firmly in the ACC threat category.

“We’re not trying to be a nice story,” Virginia coach Tony Elliott said. “We’re trying to win. That’s it.”

Week 9 was messy, physical, and unforgiving, exactly what October is supposed to be. It also did what October always does: it narrowed the list. Some teams survived. Some teams broke. And as the calendar turns, the sport is starting to feel like it’s headed toward a finish where poise matters as much as talent

[toysoldier00]

Wisconsin Fires Luke Fickell After Sixth Straight Loss, Ending Tenure at 15–19

Marissa Bleday
October 27, 2025


Wisconsin fired head coach Luke Fickell on Monday, ending his tenure in Madison in less than three seasons after a slide that left the Badgers staring at another bowl-less fall.

Fickell finishes 15–19 at Wisconsin. The breaking point came Saturday in Eugene, where Wisconsin lost 34–12 to Oregon, the Badgers’ sixth straight defeat. With four games remaining, all against teams with winning records, including a road trip to No. 4 Indiana in Bloomington, Wisconsin administrators determined the program’s trajectory required immediate change.

Following the Oregon loss, Fickell spoke in blunt terms about the team’s position and the urgency surrounding it.

“We’ve got to be honest about where we are,” Fickell said postgame. “It’s not good enough. We’re not finishing drives, we’re not making enough plays, and when you’re playing good teams, you don’t get away with that. This is on me to get fixed.”

It didn’t get fixed. Instead, the losses stacked, and Wisconsin’s season slipped toward the same place it ended last year: on the wrong side of bowl eligibility. The Badgers have struggled to find offensive consistency, battled injuries and depth issues, and too often played from behind. The defense has been forced to defend short fields and extended drives, and the confidence that typically defines the program has been hard to locate during the skid.

Fickell arrived in Madison with major expectations after building Cincinnati into a national brand. He still owns a 78–44 overall record as a head coach and famously guided the Bearcats into the four-team College Football Playoff, a résumé that made him one of the most coveted hires in the country at the time. But the transition to Wisconsin never stabilized, and the program’s leadership chose not to wait for another offseason reset.

Wisconsin has not yet announced an interim replacement.

Power Four Head Coaching Vacancies

School	Former Coach	Reason
Stanford	Troy Taylor	Fired
Florida	Billy Napier	Fired
Oklahoma State	Mike Gundy	Fired
Florida State	Mike Norvell	Fired
Wisconsin	Luke Fickell	Fired

[Count]

Norvell got fired?! I wish this was my reality

[toysoldier00]

Norvell got fired?! I wish this was my reality

preach

[ShireNiner]

Fickell and Wisconsin never seemed like a good fit. The names keep growing for coaches getting the sack.

[toysoldier00]

Fickell and Wisconsin never seemed like a good fit. The names keep growing for coaches getting the sack.

I've seen him get the Ole Miss job in this game before and that really felt like a bad fit.

This job opening is gonna come around to bite me though.

[toysoldier00]

CFP Committee Puts Texas A&M at No. 1, Ohio State No. 2 in First Playoff Rankings

Marissa Bleday
October 28, 2025


The College Football Playoff committee released its first Top 25 rankings Tuesday night, and the headline landed immediately: Texas A&M (8-0) debuted at No. 1, ahead of Ohio State (7-0) at No. 2, despite the Buckeyes holding the top spot in both the AP and Coaches Polls since Week 2.

A&M’s résumé boost came Saturday in Baton Rouge, where the Aggies beat LSU 29-21 to remain unbeaten entering their bye week. Head coach Mike Elko said after the win the focus isn’t the ranking, but the consistency behind it.

“We’ve earned this by stacking weeks,” Elko said. “If you want to be in the conversation in November, you have to play with discipline every Saturday. We’ve done that so far, and now we have to keep doing it.”

Ohio State, idle last week, now gets an immediate chance to answer the committee’s pecking order when Penn State comes to Columbus this weekend. The Buckeyes are unbeaten with wins over Texas, Washington and Illinois, but the committee opted for A&M’s clean record and recent road win as the top line.

The rest of the top tier reflects a season that’s widened quickly beyond the usual brands. Ole Miss (7-1) is No. 3 after winning at Oklahoma, followed by Indiana (8-0) at No. 4, as Curt Cignetti’s Hoosiers continue their perfect start. Alabama (7-1) sits No. 5 and BYU (8-0) is No. 6, giving the Cougars a prime spot as they head into a bye week still unbeaten. The next group features Georgia (6-1) at No. 7, Oregon (7-1) at No. 8, Georgia Tech (8-0) at No. 9, and Miami (6-1) at No. 10.

The rest of the Top 25: Texas (No. 11), Louisville (12), Notre Dame (13), Texas Tech (14), Vanderbilt (15), Tennessee (16), Michigan (17), Missouri (18), Oklahoma (19), USC (20), Nebraska (21), Tulane (22), Houston (23), Virginia (24), Utah (25).

The committee’s first release also sharpened the Heisman picture. It’s still early, but three veteran quarterbacks are separating themselves while leading programs that weren’t supposed to be here: Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza, Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia, and Georgia Tech’s Haynes King. Mendoza has been flawless statistically while piloting an unbeaten Hoosiers run, Pavia has Vanderbilt in the Top 15 with zero turnovers, and King’s dual-threat production has turned Georgia Tech into a top-10 story.

Now the sport moves into the portion of the calendar where rankings stop being conversation pieces and start becoming weekly pressure. Ohio State-Penn State, Texas-Vanderbilt, and Oklahoma-Tennessee all loom as immediate opportunities for teams to validate, or puncture, the committee’s first snapshot.

Rank	Team	Record	Last Week	Up Next
1	Texas A&M	8-0	29-21 Win at LSU	Bye
2	Ohio State	7-0	Bye	vs Penn State
3	Ole Miss	7-1	28-7 Win at #19 Oklahoma	vs South Carolina
4	Indiana	8-0	36-33 Win vs UCLA	at Maryland
5	Alabama	7-1	28-14 Win at South Carolina	Bye
6	BYU	8-0	21-11 Win at Iowa State	Bye
7	Georgia	6-1	Bye	vs Florida
8	Oregon	7-1	34-12 Win vs Wisconsin	Bye
9	Georgia Tech	8-0	43-19 Win vs Syracuse	at N.C. State
10	Miami (FL)	6-1	28-10 Win vs Stanford	at SMU
11	Texas	6-2	27-7 Win at Mississippi State	vs #15 Vanderbilt
12	Louisville	6-1	39-7 Win vs Boston College	at Virginia Tech
13	Notre Dame	5-2	Bye	at Boston College
14	Texas Tech	7-1	47-13 Win vs Oklahoma State	at Kansas State
15	Vanderbilt	7-1	38-35 Win vs #18 Missouri	at Kansas State
16	Tennessee	6-2	45-6 Win at Kentucky	vs #19 Oklahoma
17	Michigan	6-2	37-26 Win at Michigan State	vs Purdue
18	Missouri	6-2	38-35 Loss at #15 Vanderbilt	Bye
19	Oklahoma	6-2	28-7 Loss vs #3 Ole Miss	at #16 Tennessee
20	USC	5-2	Bye	at #21 Nebraska
21	Nebraska	6-2	34-6 Win vs Northwestern	vs #20 USC
22	Tulane	6-1	Bye	at UTSA
23	Houston	7-1	24-21 Win at Arizona State	vs West Virginia
24	Virginia	7-1	27-24 Win at North Carolina	at California
25	Utah	6-2	38-14 Win vs Colorado	vs Cincinnati

[toysoldier00]

Bobby Jackson-Ruud Lives on Football’s Fastest Track — and He’s Ready for Ohio State’s
By Colten Brooks on October 28, 2025


Bobby Jackson-Ruud's St. Thomas Aquinas is the best team in America according to MaxPreps.



At St. Thomas Aquinas, you learn quickly that “big-time” isn’t a label. It’s the default setting.

The campus hums differently in-season. The practices have a rhythm that feels more like a college program than a high school one. The depth chart is stacked with names that already have futures attached to them. And the expectations don’t change based on age, you’re either ready to play at St. Thomas Aquinas, or you aren’t.

Bobby Jackson-Ruud has been ready for a while.

The 6-foot, 195-pound defensive back is a four-star prospect, the No. 85 player in the country and the No. 4 safety in the 2026 class, and he’s doing his recruiting life in the most South Florida way possible: starring for the best high school program in America, running with the best 7-on-7 team in the country, and committing to the program that currently sits on top of college football.

St. Thomas Aquinas. South Florida Express. Ohio State.

“It’s kind of crazy when you say it like that,” Jackson-Ruud said. “But it’s also why I love it. I want to be around the best. I want to compete with the best every day. That’s what makes you better.”

If you want to understand why Ohio State made Jackson-Ruud such a priority, start with two things: speed and versatility. Jackson-Ruud can fly. He’s already a verified 4.4-type runner, and people around South Florida football will tell you, without blinking, that he has 4.3 in him when everything lines up. That kind of speed shows up in every rep: how quickly he closes space, how he erases cushion, how he turns a “safe” throw into a contested one.

But his value isn’t just straight-line speed. It’s that he can play different roles without looking like he’s learning them.

At Aquinas, Jackson-Ruud has played safety, rotated down into the slot, and taken reps at corner depending on the matchup. In South Florida Express settings, where everything happens faster and space is the entire point, he’s been asked to cover, communicate, and survive on an island. That background is exactly what Ohio State’s defensive staff wants in modern defensive backs: someone who can line up in multiple spots, play with eye discipline, and still run well enough to recover if the picture changes post-snap.

“They’ve talked to me about all of it,” Jackson-Ruud said. “Safety, nickel, corner, wherever they need me. Coach Walton, Coach Guerrieri, both of them, they tell me the same thing: if you can do more than one thing at a high level, you’ll play.”

That relationship with Ohio State’s defensive back coaches is a big part of why this commitment has stayed solid. Cornerbacks coach Tim Walton and safeties coach Matt Guerrieri have recruited him like someone they can build around, not just as a “take,” but as a piece that fits different plans depending on how the roster evolves.

Jackson-Ruud feels that.

“They don’t talk to me like I’m a star on a graphic,” he said. “They talk to me like a player. Like, ‘Here’s what you do well, here’s where you can grow, here’s how we see you fitting.’ That’s what I wanted. Real coaching. Real development.”

It also doesn’t hurt that Ohio State is the defending national champion, undefeated, and still sitting at No. 1 in the AP poll. South Florida recruits don’t need convincing that Ohio State is big-time, they see the receiver room, the NFL pipeline, the lights. What they need is belief that they’ll be developed properly and used in the right role. Jackson-Ruud believes that’s exactly what Walton and Guerrieri offer.

And the pipeline matters.

Ohio State has always recruited Florida, but what’s changed in the modern era is how intentionally the Buckeyes have mined South Florida, not just for one-off stars, but for a steady flow of speed, confidence and defensive backs who’ve already played in pressure environments. That’s why the South Florida Express connection is worth more than a fun detail. SFE is essentially a proving ground for the kind of football IQ and competitive edge Ohio State wants in its secondary: lots of reps, lots of matchups, lots of accountability.

“You can’t hide in Express,” Jackson-Ruud said. “Everybody’s good. Everybody’s fast. If you mess up, it’s a touchdown. That’s what I like. That’s how you sharpen your game.”

St. Thomas Aquinas is the same way, just with pads.

Aquinas is loaded again, and the roster makes it obvious why people treat them as the best program in the country. In the 2026 class alone, they’ve got five-star linebacker PJ Orlando III (Georgia), five-star corner Sidney Hobert (Notre Dame), and five-star tackle Bent Pepper Jr. (Miami), plus blue-chip pieces like defensive tackle Trevor Brown (Texas A&M) and Jackson-Ruud himself. That’s not “one great player.” That’s an assembly line.
Jackson-Ruud is quick to point out that living inside that kind of environment changes how you view your own future.

“Here, you’re going against dudes every day who are going Power Four,” he said. “So when I think about Ohio State, it doesn’t scare me. It excites me. It’s the same idea, just bigger, faster, stronger.”

That’s the core of his story: he’s been living on football’s fastest track for years, and he’s choosing the next fastest one on purpose.

For Ohio State, Jackson-Ruud is also part of a bigger picture in the 2026 class. The Buckeyes already have another safety committed in four-star Landon Bishop out of Toledo Whitmer, plus two corners in Teion Cherry (Huber Heights Wayne) and Tremayne Shepley (Greenville, South Carolina). They love the group, but they’re still hunting.

The major prize is five-star Erasmus Hall safety Sterling Hodel, a recruitment Ohio State continues to treat like a top priority. If the Buckeyes can add one more defensive back, ideally Hodel, or another national-level DB, this class starts to look like a full reload in the secondary.

Jackson-Ruud doesn’t talk like someone worried about that competition, either. He talks like someone who expects it.

“That’s what I’m going for,” he said. “If it’s easy, it’s not Ohio State. I want to earn it. I want to be pushed. I want to come in and compete with guys who are trying to go to the league too.”

That’s the Aquinas mentality showing through. That’s the South Florida Express mentality too. And now it’s the Ohio State mentality he’s ready to adopt.
The best high school program. The best 7-on-7 program. The best college program, at least right now.

Bobby Jackson-Ruud has picked a lane where the standard never drops.

And that’s exactly why Ohio State wants him.

Rank	Pos	Name	Height	Weight	High School	Home Town
	QB	Tyree Figurs	6'3"	190 lbs	Mission Hills	Mission Hills, CA
	WR	Ashton Ramsey	6'3"	190 lbs	Loyola Academy	Chicago, IL
	TE	Jordan Ivory	6'5"	235 lbs	Culver Academies	Culver, IN
	OT	Marcus Okam	6'7"	285 lbs	Pickerington Central	Pickerington, OH
	OT	Grady Austin	6'6"	305 lbs	Princeton	Cincinnati, OH
	OT	Derron Merriman	6'6"	300 lbs	Hilliard Bradley	Marysville, OH
	OT	Alex Jordan	6'7"	280 lbs	Paramus Catholic	Paramus, NJ
	IOL	George Crecelius	6'4"	285 lbs	Cy-Fair	Cypress, TX
	IOL	Thaddeus Roe	6'4"	290 lbs	Avon	Avon, IN
	IOL	David Weeks	6'4"	300 lbs	Janesville Parker	Janesville, WI
	DE	Deontae Savage	6'6"	240 lbs	Avon	Avon, IN
	DE	Ornell Mack	6'5"	240 lbs	Winton Woods	Cincinnati, OH
	DT	Vondree Eagles	6'3"	345 lbs	Reynoldsburg	Reynoldsburg, OH
	DT	Dillon Bridges	6'3"	290 lbs	Snider	Fort Wayne, IN
	LB	Pauly O'Dwyer	6'5"	215 lbs	Washington	Massillon, OH
	LB	Emmanuel Wooden	6'2"	210 lbs	Westerville South	Columbus, OH
	LB	Jaylen Smalls	6'2"	210 lbs	Glenville	Cleveland, OH
	LB	Avondre Lincoln	6'1"	200 lbs	Princeton	Cincinnati, OH
	CB	Teion Cherry II	6'1"	175 lbs	Wayne	Huber Heights, OH
	CB	Tremayne Shepley	6'1"	185 lbs	Greenville	Greenville, SC
	S	Bobby Jackson-Ruud	6'1"	190 lbs	St. Thomas Aquinas	Fort Lauderdale, FL
	S	Landon Bishop	6'0"	195 lbs	Whitmer	Toledo, OH
	P	David Procter	6'5"	170 lbs	Elder	Cincinnati, OH

[toysoldier00]

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