THIS WEEK ON THE ROSTER
27 AiC athletes play for 14 teams in this week’s AP Top 25.
NO. 22 ARIZONA COMES BACK ON TCU.
Arizona (7-2) trailed 28-20 late and won 29-28.
Noah Fifita threw for 313 yards and 2 touchdowns and ran for a 9-yard score.
With 1:45 left, Fifita found Quincy Craig for a 15-yard touchdown to make it 28-26.
Arizona recovered an onside kick, and a 37-yard field goal with 39 seconds left won it.
It’s Arizona’s seventh straight home win, its longest streak since 1993-94.
NO. 4 UCLA IS 9-0.
UCLA won 34-20 at Minnesota and is still unbeaten. Scooter Jackson III had an interception, his third of the season.
NO. 14 HOUSTON BEATS CINCINNATI.
Latreveon “Tre Tre” McCutchin had 4 tackles as Houston (7-2) beat Cincinnati 31-24.
DILIN JONES VS. ALABAMA.
Dilin Jones ran for a 5-yard touchdown that put No. 24 LSU ahead 13-10 in the third quarter. He finished with 17 carries for 56 yards and 7 catches for 36 yards. On the season he has 713 rushing yards and 7 touchdowns, with zero fumbles.
QUINTEN JOYNER SCORES IN A SHOOTOUT.
Quinten Joyner ran in a 1-yard touchdown as No. 10 Texas Tech (8-1) beat West Virginia 53-48.
MORE WINS ACROSS THE ROSTER
No. 18 Oregon won 41-28 at Ohio State.
No. 11 Wake Forest moved to 8-1 with a 77-0 win over Merrimack.
No. 23 New Mexico won 31-3 at Nevada and sits at 8-1, first in the Mountain West.
No. 20 South Carolina’s defense held Texas A&M without a touchdown in a 17-9 win.
Baylor, UCF, Florida State, Oklahoma, Auburn, Arizona State, North Carolina and Jacksonville State all won.
Rankings: AP Top 25, Nov. 8, 2026.
BRADEN ATKINSON: 3,000 YARDS AND BLUE RIBBON ELITE
Braden Atkinson passed 3,000 yards this weekend. Braden’s 3,169 passing yards still leads the country.
He also ended a school-record streak of eight straight 300-yard games, the longest in Oregon State history.
Off the field, Nike added Braden and wide receiver Jesse Legree to Blue Ribbon Elite, its new NIL program, as part of a partnership extension with Oregon State through 2031.
“Being part of Blue Ribbon Elite is an honor, and it means even more because Nike’s roots are right here in Oregon.” – Braden Atkinson
Two AiC quarterbacks sit in the top 5 nationally in passing yards: Braden Atkinson leads all of FBS with 3,169, and Noah Fifita is No. 4 with 2,794.
NIL NEWS: THE 2027 CALENDAR IS OFFICIAL
The NCAA Division I Cabinet has approved a new FBS calendar, starting Jan. 1.
Transfer portal: The January window drops from 15 days to 10. It opens Jan. 4, 2027. The 10 days are to enter the portal, not to find a new school.
Season: Teams can start games the Thursday of Week 0, the weekend before Labor Day. The regular season ends the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
NFL-style offseason: Teams get 21 practices split into two sessions. Neither session can run more than five weeks, and both together no more than seven. Teams must also set aside nine weeks that are voluntary only.
Preseason camp: 21 practices over 27 days, replacing 25 over 29.
What it means for athletes: with five fewer days in the portal, decisions come faster. Know your value, your options and your contract before Jan. 4.
PERSONAL BRANDING: BRING VALUE TO EVERY ROOM
Most people walk into a room asking, “What can this team, company or brand do for me?”
Flip it. Walk in asking, “What can I do for them?”
Solve problems. Find what’s not working and bring a fix.
Bring solutions, not complaints. Anyone can point out an issue. Few show up with the answer.
Be valuable in more than one room: on the field, in the locker room, in the community, in a meeting with a brand.
Coaches notice it. Teammates notice it. Brands notice it most. A brand isn’t just paying for your followers. It’s paying for what you bring to their business. The athletes who get the second deal and the extension are the ones who made the first partnership better.
Value is the best personal brand there is.
WELCOME TO AiC
Six new athletes join the AiC roster.
EJ Smith, LB, Nevada
Joseph Mutombo, DL, Rice
JT Lindsey, RB, Ole Miss
Jerome Myles, WR, Texas A&M
Ian Mitchell, LB, Jacksonville State
O’Lontae Dean, RB, Iowa
Welcome to the Tribe.
BEFORE YOU SIGN
The portal window is getting shorter. Don’t sign anything you haven’t read.
2 DAM GOOD
Rep the campaign. The official 2 DAM GOOD tee is live.
THE FRONT OFFICE
Overwhelming? Too much information? Good. That’s our job.
Opportunities, contracts, deliverables and your schedule, all handled. You focus on football.
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