For the latest around the college football landscape, we have an extension in Knoxville for Josh Heupel, Ohio State getting extra petty ahead of its season-opening kickoff on Saturday, plus a pair of make-or-break seasons for two high-profile head coaches. Let’s get to it.
Josh Heupel Inks Extension
For the third consecutive year, Tennessee Head Coach Josh Heupel has inked a contract extension with the Volunteers. On Tuesday, the Vols head coach signed a one-year deal with the school to extend his contract through the year 2030. While the annual salary of $9 million will remain the same, Heupel’s buyout clause has been tweaked, and he will also get more private plane access for recruiting.
While Heupel has yet to win the big one with the Vols, there’s no doubt he’s turned the program around and brought it back into relevance. Before his arrival, the likes of Jeremy Pruitt, Butch Jones, and Derek Dooley, just to name a few, had Tennessee wallowing in mediocrity, or even just below it at times. Though Heupel hasn’t quite hit the highs of the 1998 National Championship season, he’s brought them back to conversation, very similarly to what Brian Kelly did for Notre Dame. Having said that, I don’t see Heupel bolting the big orange anytime soon, given the SEC money and resources and the school’s dedication to winning.
Tennessee opens up its season ranked as the No. 24 team in the country against Syracuse in a neutral-site game in Atlanta.
Brian Kelly & Lincoln Riley Enter Big Seasons
Speaking of Brian Kelly, it’s kind of a big year for him at LSU, as well as Lincoln Riley at USC. When browsing the internet for college football items today, I came across a piece from The Athletic in which Brian Hamilton checked in with both Brian Kelly at LSU and Lincoln Riley in Los Angeles. Both highly successful head coaches stunningly left their previous jobs a few seasons ago (Kelly at Notre Dame, Riley at Oklahoma) just days apart for mega-contracts at their new schools.
Now, both coaches, three years into their tenures, have the pressure turned up on them a bit. Kelly has been successful, but not nearly to the standard that LSU holds its head coaches to, which is SEC titles and national titles. Riley had a great first year with Caleb Williams, but ultimately fell short of the playoffs, and the following two seasons have been pretty big letdowns.
On the turns Brian Kelly and Lincoln Riley take at the crossroads: t.co/GEAaOgtWGO
— Brian Hamilton (@_Brian_Hamilton) August 27, 2025Neither program was where they necessarily wanted to be when each coach took over, obviously. However, they weren’t exactly in desperation mode either. Entering year four for each coach, the pressure is mounting. Kelly has said this is the most talented team he’s had at LSU and has a Heisman hopeful at quarterback. Riley has next season’s second-best recruiting class and brings back a talented group.
It might not be ‘now or never’ quite yet, given the magnitude of each coach’s potential buyout, but the clock is ticking on both Kelly and Riley to start winning in a big way, and watching them this year should be fascinating. I won’t dive too much into the piece, but Hamilton talked with both head coaches in the offseason and in preseason camp to get a look into each’s approach for the upcoming campaign.
Bill Belichick Names Starting Quarterback
Lastly, one of the final quarterback battles of summer camp has concluded. Bill Belichick announced that South Alabama transfer Gio Lopez will get the starting nod for the Tar Heels on Monday night against TCU in the team’s season opener. Lopez beat out Max Johnson, who won the job last year but broke his leg in Week 1, and true freshman Bryce Baker.
While Belichick and the Tar Heels have been the subjects of several offseason headlines, this is one of the legendary head coach’s first major decisions for UNC’s on-field product. In 11 starts for South Alabama last season, Lopez led the Jaguars to a 6-5 record. He threw for 2,559 yards, 18 TDs, and 5 INTs while running for 154 yards and a pair of scores.
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