Colorado named its replacement for departed quarterback Shedeur Sanders, with Liberty transfer Kaidon Salter set to take over under center for the Buffaloes.

Salter passed for 1,886 yards and 15 touchdowns, six interceptions in 11 games during his fourth season at Liberty last year. He also rushed for 579 yards and seven more TDs.

Colorado head coach Deion Sanders used his son Shedeur at quarterback in 24 of the 25 games since he arrived to lead the Buffaloes program. Shedeur Sanders, who was a fifth-round draft pick for the Cleveland Browns, completed 74.0 percent of his passes last season for 4,134 yards and 37 touchdowns with 10 interceptions.

Salter’s best season at Liberty came in 2023 when he completed 61.0 percent of his passes for 2,876 yards, 32 touchdowns and six interceptions. He guided the Flames to a 13-1 record that season with a spot in the Fiesta Bowl where they lost 45-6 to Oregon.

“Kaidon is off the chain,” Deion Sanders said at Big 12 media day. “He’s been there, done that. He can get the job done. I wouldn’t have brought him here if I didn’t trust him.”

Colorado begins its 2025 season against Georgia Tech at home on Friday.

–Field Level Media

With new coaches and teams looking for bounce-back seasons, Kennesaw State and Wake Forest have plenty in common going into their opener Friday night in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Jake Dickert has taken charge at Wake Forest, moving across the country from Washington State. Jerry Mack is the new coach at Kennesaw State.

Both teams had losing records in 2024 and will go with well-traveled quarterbacks as the season begins.

Dickert’s assignment follows Dave Clawson’s 11 seasons as Wake Forest’s head coach before Clawson resigned. The Demon Deacons are coming off back-to-back 4-8 seasons.

“I think since Day 1 the guys have really embraced the change,” Dickert said.

Robby Ashford — formerly of Oregon, Auburn and South Carolina — will start at quarterback for Wake in the opener, but the Demon Deacons will rely heavily on running back Demond Claiborne, who had 1,049 rushing yards, 254 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns last year.

Ashford completed 23 of 32 passes for 324 yards and two touchdowns last season for South Carolina, with no interceptions. He ran for 227 yards and two scores on 41 carries.

“It isn’t going to be one player; it’s going to be us as a collective,” Dickert said.

Kennesaw State is turning to Dexter Williams II as its starting quarterback, making his debut with the team and after stops at Indiana and Georgia Southern.

“He has played and he has been in college before,” Mack said of Williams, who passed for 248 yards and three touchdowns at Georgia Southern last year. “… He has led teams to victory. He just has a lot of experience, being on the field. He understands what it’s supposed to look like.”

Another area to watch for Kennesaw State will be Davis Bryson, who started 11 games at quarterback last year and has shifted to receiver.

“I love myself with the ball in space,” Bryson said. “That’s what I pride myself on.”

The Owls, who went 2-10 last year in their first FBS season, will have plenty of questions going into the opener, especially along the offensive line.

“Whenever you get so many men in a room that have never played together, come from all different backgrounds … has been really a challenge,” Mack said.

Mack most recently was running backs coach with the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars. Until he was hired by Kennesaw State in December, his only previous job as a head coach came from 2014-17 at North Carolina Central, where his teams won three Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championships.

–Field Level Media

Virginia Tech junior linebacker Caleb Woodson is scheduled to appear in court Sept. 9 after his arrest on a charge of misdemeanor driving while intoxicated.

Woodson, 21, was arrested Saturday in that incident.

He also has a Sept. 16 court date for a reckless driving citation in which he reportedly was going 96 mph in a 70-mph zone on July 30.

“We are aware of an incident involving Caleb Woodson,” Virginia Tech said in a statement on Tuesday morning. “We take this matter seriously and will handle it according to athletic department policy and university policy. As this is a legal matter, we will have no further comment until the process is complete.”

Hokies head coach Brent Pry told reporters on Tuesday that there has yet to be a determination about the status of Woodson, a captain, for the team’s season opener against No. 13 South Carolina on Sunday in Atlanta.

“We removed his captain status with the opportunity to earn it back,” Pry said.

Woodson recorded 72 tackles, two sacks and an interception in 13 games (11 starts) last season.

–Field Level Media

When Michigan State kicks off its season Friday night in East Lansing against visiting Western Michigan, it won’t just be the start of another fall campaign. It’ll be a litmus test for Jonathan Smith, who kicks off his second year as head coach of the Spartans.

After his team lost four of its last five games and finished 5-7 in 2024, Smith is embracing the challenge of goals that include bowl eligibility and beyond for a program hungry for relevance.

“Our guys are focused in their prep of Western Michigan,” Smith said. “This is our first opportunity. We’re only guaranteed 12 of those (games). Obviously, we want to be playing more than 12, but we’re only guaranteed 12.”

A great deal of the Spartans’ success will depend on the improvement of quarterback Aidan Chiles. He followed Smith from Oregon State and became the Michigan State starter in 2024. He completed 59.4 percent of his throws for 2,415 yards and 13 touchdowns — with 11 interceptions — and rushed for 225 yards and three scores, with four lost fumbles.

Chiles showed flashes of promise last season but struggled with ball security — something Smith hopes will improve with another offseason in the system.

“I want (Chiles) to operate and trust what he sees, and take what they give you, get us in the right play and compete,” Smith said of his expectations in the opener.

Chiles will face a Broncos team that brought in 33 transfers and 14 freshmen during the offseason after finishing 6-7 last season.

“It’ll be a great challenge and opportunity for us on Friday night, one that we’re looking forward to embracing,” said Western Michigan coach Lance Taylor. “Our focus has really just been on worrying about the process of getting better every single day, and not trying to get too high or too low, riding that emotional roller coaster.”

With Hayden Wolff gone, the Broncos will rotate two quarterbacks: redshirt sophomore Broc Lowry and JUCO standout Brady Jones. Lowry, last year’s backup, brings familiarity with the system. Jones arrives from Riverside Community College, where he lit up defenses with 4,456 yards passing, including 44 touchdowns.

“They’ve both done an excellent job really commanding the offense, being great teammates, being great leaders, and when they’ve had opportunities, they’ve been efficient, they haven’t put the ball in jeopardy, and really done a nice job leading our offense,” Taylor said.

Western Michigan has lost 13 straight games to the Spartans.

–Field Level Media

With 17 new starters and an opponent Oregon last played in the 1940s, Ducks head coach Dan Lanning is embracing the novelty factor around the opening game of the 2025 season on Saturday in Eugene.

The last time he prepared for a game, Lanning and the Ducks were undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the College Football Playoff, headed to the Rose Bowl to face Big Ten rival Ohio State.

After a 20-point blowout to the eventual champions and immense roster turnover, Lanning and the Ducks are pining for another shot at the playoff.

“I think regardless of result or whoever we are on Saturday, I hope it’s not remotely close to who we become, right?” Lanning said Monday. “And you always talk about becoming, you know, the best version of yourselves. And I think we’re a long ways away from what we could become, but I think this would be a good starting point to assess exactly where we’re at.

It won’t be an easy start for No. 7 Oregon.

The Ducks open the season Saturday against Montana State — ranked No. 2 in the most recent AFCA FCS coach’s poll — while trying to reset their own identity.

The Ducks were an offensive powerhouse in 2024 scoring at least 30 points in all but three games. They finished 13th in the FBS in passing offense, and 22nd total offense with Heisman Trophy finalist Dillon Gabriel at quarterback.

Lanning still has yet to officially name his starting quarterback for Saturday, but all signs are pointing toward Dante Moore.

A transfer from UCLA, Moore hasn’t started a game since his true freshman season. In 14 career games Moore has 1,659 yards with 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

Lanning and Moore will be keen to extend their nation-leading non-conference home winning streak, but will have to do so against a stout Montana State team.

“I think there’s a lot of respect for this team that we’re about to play,” Lanning said. “There’s some unknowns about the opponent, because it is game one, and they have some changes just like we have. So can you make sure that you have sound rules again for your players and let them execute at a really high level.”

While Oregon was on a dominant run last season, the Bobcats were on an equally explosive tear at the lower tier of college football.

Montana State is coming off of a 15-1 season which ended in a heartbreaking three-point loss in the FCS national championship game. The Bobcats had just three games decided by fewer than 14 points, and are looking to continue that dominance.

Fifth-year Montana State head coach Brent Vigen remains focused on a ground-and-pound offense. The Bobcats led the FCS in rushing offense in 2024, finishing with nearly 1,200 yards more than the next closest team.

Vigen has a strong running back room, headlined by 1,000-yard rusher Adam Jones and a smash-mouth starting quarterback.

Vigen deploys Stanford transfer Justin Lamson, a run-first quarterback with more career rushing attempts than passing, as the Bobcats’ starting QB on Saturday.

“From the time (Lamson) got here late spring his work ethic has been his biggest priority,” Vigen said Monday. “When you have that and you don’t assume anything in our culture you’re going to fit in just fine.”

Lamson started a game against Oregon in 2023, a 42-6 Ducks win. He was 11-for-20 passing for 106 yards and had 22 rush attempts for 32 yards.

Jones is one of 30 players on the Walter Payton Award watchlist, an honor given to the top FCS offensive player each season.

He was the 2024 Big Sky Freshman of the Year and 2025 Preseason Big Sky MVP honors, and gained 1,172 yards on the ground last season.

These teams last played in 1947.

–Field Level Media

The Bryce Underwood era of Michigan football begins Saturday night in Ann Arbor when the Wolverines begin their season against New Mexico.

Considered by many recruiting services as the top player in the current freshman class, Underwood originally committed to LSU. When Michigan offered a better NIL deal, reportedly $3 million annually, Underwood chose to stay close to home.

A four-year starter at nearby Belleville High School where he threw 152 touchdown passes, Underwood was officially named the starting quarterback by head coach Sherrone Moore this week after celebrating his 18th birthday on Aug. 19.

“Bryce took the necessary steps and really took the position,” Moore said. “Took ownership of his abilities and took ownership of the team and became a leader on the team and a guy that guys look to. Just did things the right way. Used his skill and never tried to do too much. For a young guy, very mature beyond his years, and he’s still only 18 years old.”

Moore was convinced Underwood should start the opener midway through camp.

“You put him in adverse situations and he responds. Never makes the same mistake twice,” Moore said. “Even if he makes a mistake, it doesn’t come back and it’s the same thing. … When you feel like somebody gravitates and has got the team, then you feel like you’ve got your quarterback.”

Subpar quarterback play, and instability at the position, was one reason the Wolverines lost five games last season. They salvaged their season with an upset of archrival and eventual national champion Ohio State, followed by a victory over Alabama in the ReliaQuest Bowl to end up 8-5.

Jordan Marshall, who played sparingly as a freshman, and Crimson Tide transfer Justice Haynes are expected to lead the rushing attack. Indiana transfer Donaven McCulley, wearing the coveted No. 1 uniform, is projected to be Underwood’s top receiving target.

Edge rushers TJ Guy and Derrick Moore headline the defense that Moore believes has plenty of depth.

“There’s just so many guys that could play. You don’t blink if this guy’s out there versus this guy’s out there,” he said. “We’re going to roll guys. There’s going to be a lot of different numbers, different people out there.”

The Lobos have a new head coach and quarterback after a 5-7 season. Jason Eck, who led Idaho to three consecutive winning seasons, will try to revive a program that hasn’t had a winning season since 2016.

Jack Layne, the Vandals’ starting quarterback, followed Eck to New Mexico and earned the Lobos starting job. Layne started six games last season, throwing 14 touchdown passes compared to four interceptions. He was sidelined for nearly two months due to a collarbone injury.

“He’s probably the smartest quarterback I’ve ever been around in 27 years of coaching,” Eck said.

The Lobos have plenty of running back depth. Transfers Damon Bankston (Weber State), Scottre Humphrey (Montana State), D.J. McKinney (Sam Houston) and Deshaun Buchanan (Idaho) led their former teams in rushing last season.

“It’s a talented room,” Eck said. “We’re blessed at that position and we’ve got to be creative. We’ve got to find a way to use those guys a lot.”

–Field Level Media