FWAA

DALLAS (FWAA) — The Football Writers Association of America, in partnership with Pop-Tarts and Florida Citrus Sports, will celebrate the 25th season of its National Team of the Week in 2026 with the return of the Pop-Tarts Crazy Good National Team of the Week.

Blaudschun By Mark Blaudschun FWAA.com Columnist College football opened its season (sort of) with an assortment of games in Week 0 (ridiculous), which included Coach Hoodie (Bill Belichick) opening his second season at North Carolina over a poorly prepared TCU team. We'll see how that turns out. Let's cut to the chase with the most intriguing story lines for Week 1. 1. LIU at Kansas, Arkansas- Pine Bluff at Missouri. We use these two games for our annual Cupcake U. rant.

By Jack Leo DALLAS (FWAA) – The Football Writers Association of America has released a list of top candidates for the 2026 Offensive Freshman of the Year, Defensive Freshman of the Year and Special Teams Freshman of the Year. They will be members of the FWAA's 2026 Freshman All-America Team presented by Chris Doering Mortgage. The recipients of the awards will be honored at a special dinner on Monday, Feb. 22 at Spurrier's Gridiron Grille in Gainesville, Fla.

FORT WORTH, Texas - Nominations for the 2026 Armed Forces Merit Award presented by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) will be accepted through October 1. Nominations with supporting documents and recommendation letters for the Armed Forces Merit Award must be submitted to Tim Simmons (bfishinc@aol.com, 720/244-6580), the award’s coordinator. Nominations are also being accepted on the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl website.

By Jack Leo DALLAS (FWAA) – The Football Writers Association of America has released a list of top candidates for the Steve Spurrier First-Year Coach of the Year Award, Freshman Player of the Year and the 2026 FWAA Freshman All-America Team. The Steve Spurrier First-Year Coach Award, presented by Chris Doering Mortgage, goes to the best first-year coach (at his current school) in FBS football.

Finally, it has arrived: The long-awaited, much anticipated sportswriters.net store. With hundreds of items that are fully customizable. And, to celebrate the launch, we are giving award free t-shirts. You just pay for shipping. Visit the store at https://shop.sportswriters.net/. We also have gear for the U.S. Basketball Writers Association and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.

By Mark Blaudschun Deion Sanders is again making headlines. The Colorado football coach who has faded from a shooting star to also ran yesterday's news status in four years has stirred the pot once again. Sanders has been holding open practices--a rare occurrence inl at the collegiate and National Football League level--with restrictions. Only there is a hitch.

Max Olson By Max Olson When you're a veteran college quarterback transferring to your fourth school in six years, you know what to expect if you check the internet comments. He's still around? Geez. Isn't he like 30 years old? He needs to move on with his life. He isn't going to the league. It's time to hit LinkedIn and get a job. And yet, despite the haters, we've reached a peak moment for journeyman quarterbacks across college football.

Ira Gorawara By Ira Gorawara PASADENA, Calif. — A broad-mouthed ladle tapped the rim of a gleaming steel pot heavy with pozole, sending steam into the last cobalt streaks of the evening. The smell of hominy and pork wound through this chilled pocket of Lot H, curling around the regulars in a memory they’d worn for years. On Saturday night, that comfort doubled as something warm, trying to cling to something slipping away.

Harry Minium By Harry Minium NORFOLK, Va. – When Tony Lucas walks into his Ocean View home after a long day, and his wife, Natasha, and 5-year-old daughter, Sage, rush to greet him, he often says a silent prayer of thanks. Life is good for Tony, Old Dominion’s running backs and assistant head football coach, and for the longest time, he wondered whether he would feel anything more than grief and pain. “I love my wife so much,” he said.