Pat Forde is a senior writer for Sports Illustrated who covers college football and college basketball as well as the Olympics and horse racing. He cohosts the College Football Enquirer podcast and is a football analyst on the Big Ten Network. He previously worked for Yahoo Sports, ESPN and The (Louisville) Courier-Journal. Forde has won 28 Associated Press Sports Editors writing contest awards, has been published three times in the Best American Sports Writing book series, and was nominated for the 1990 Pulitzer Prize. A past president of the U.S. Basketball Writers Association and member of the Football Writers Association of America, he lives in Louisville with his wife. They have three children, all of whom were collegiate swimmers.
Michigan football’s latest scandal—a head coach fired for misconduct—underscores how far the program has drifted in the last five years amid highs on the field.
The Fighting Irish have spent the last 48 hours pointing the finger at everyone else and neglecting a key participant in their CFP exclusion—themselves.
The Tide were rewarded after a blowout loss in the SEC title game, even as BYU’s Big 12 defeat reshaped the rankings and pushed Miami past Notre Dame without either team playing.
Pat Forde and Bryan Fischer make their picks for all four rounds and 11 games including picking which of the 12 teams will win the national championship.
Alabama, Notre Dame and Miami each have a case for the final at-large bid, while ACC champion Duke could be left out of the field in favor of a second Group of 5 team.