As James Franklin becomes the next leader at Virginia Tech, there is one college football program who could not land the former Penn State coach.

ESPN insider Pete Thamel has been playfully nicknamed “the Authority” by fellow College GameDay colleague Pat McAfee given his wealth of insight into what’s happening behind the scenes in college football.

While on ESPN's College Football Live, Thamel expressed disbelief that Lane Kiffin would return to Ole Miss for the 2026 season.

ESPN’s Rece Davis and Pete Thamel both picked Notre Dame to beat Pittsburgh on Saturday. Thamel expects a low-scoring, grind-it-out game, predicting Pitt will cover the spread. Davis warned of a “danger spot” for Notre Dame if its young quarterback struggles early.

Ex-Penn State football coach James Franklin is on the verge of a new landing spot in the ACC. Franklin and Virginia Tech “are engaged in the early stages of talks about him becoming the next Virginia Tech head coach,” per ESPN’s Pete Thamel on SportsCenter.

R Mason Thomas was listed doubtful on Friday night's injury report. ESPN's Pete Thamel gave another update Saturday morning.

Virginia quarterback Chandler Morris, who is currently in the concussion protocol, is progressing toward playing Saturday against Duke, sources tell ESPN's Pete Thamel.

For the first weekend in five weeks, and just the fourth weekend out of eleven total this season, a head coach wasn’t fired anywhere in the FBS. However, that doesn’t mean that the coaching carousel is spinning any slower,