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11/11: Raise a Glass to the Hall of Famers!

Good morning, football fans! Congratulations to Bismarck State College, which has announced the return of its football program for the 2027 season after a 40-year hiatus!

Grab a glass and raise a toast to the 2025 NFF College Football Hall of Fame Class!
The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame have announced a new partnership with the James B. Beam Institute for Kentucky Spirits at the University of Kentucky Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment. The collaboration will annually celebrate the NFF College Football Hall of Fame Class through the creation of a commemorative bourbon, which will be auctioned as a collector's item during the NFF Annual Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas.
🏈 CLICK HERE to learn more about the new partnership
NFF National Scholar-Athletes in the NFL
Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix continues to lead the 8-2 Broncos atop the AFC West. He threw for 150 yards and a touchdown in a 10-7 home win over the Raiders on Sunday. Nix, who played at Oregon, was the recipient of the NFF Campbell Trophy® in 2023.
New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart recorded 242 passing yards while adding 66 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns against Chicago. Dart is the only rookie quarterback in NFL history to record a rushing touchdown in five consecutive games. The Ole Miss graduate was a finalist for the NFF Campbell Trophy® last season.
Detroit Lions linebacker Jack Campbell led the team with nine tackles in a 44-22 win at Washington. Campbell has 73 tackles on the season, ranking No. 18 in the NFL. The Iowa standout was the 2022 recipient of the NFF Campbell Trophy®.
Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert guided the Chargers to a 25-10 home win over the Steelers this weekend. Herbert passed for 220 yards and a touchdown in the victory and currently ranks second in the league with 2,610 passing yards through Week 10. The Oregon product was the 2019 recipient of the NFF Campbell Trophy®.

In the latest episode of the Good in the Game Podcast, host LaVar Arrington is joined by national champion head coach & 2018 NFF College Football Hall of Famer Mack Brown. LaVar and Coach discuss the famous Rose Bowl between USC & Texas, the current state of college football, some solutions and what the game means to him.

Join us to celebrate college football legends at one of the sport's grandest traditions!
The highlight of the Awards Dinner will be the induction of the 2025 College Football Hall of Fame Class, where 18 legendary players and four acclaimed coaches take their place amongst the greatest of all time. The inductees proudly represent every region of the country, 28 collegiate institutions, 11 conferences, and seven decades.


The National Football Foundation Hall of Fame On-Campus Salutes Presented by Fidelity Investments — A Hallowed Tradition Stretching Back to 1951!
. . .
Steve Slaton — running back, West Virginia

. . .
Antonio Langham — defensive back, Alabama


Michael Strahan — defensive line, Texas Southern

He may be more famous than he's ever been, going from "Good Morning America" to "Fox NFL Sunday," traveling from New York to Los Angeles and airing on your TV screen wherever you may be. But for Michael Strahan, none of this is possible without the work he put in at Texas Southern.
🏈 CLICK HERE to read Michael Strahan’s 2025 College Football Hall of Fame Spotlight
. . .
Dennis Thurman — defensive back, USC

In some ways, Dennis Thurman's college journey makes total sense. He was a Southern California kid who had wanted to stay close to home, with USC and UCLA both vying for his services. In other ways, well, we'll just let him explain from here.
"Bob Toledo and Norv Turner were my position coaches, and I laugh because they were my position coaches, but neither one of them had ever coached a defensive back," Thurman said. "But those were my position coaches, because they were part of John Robinson's staff, and they were known for their offense. But hey, we made it work."
🏈 CLICK HERE to read Dennis Thurman’s 2025 College Football Hall of Fame Spotlight

The late W.C. Gorden, a 2008 NFF College Football Hall of Fame inductee who coached at Jackson State from 1976 to 1991, has been named the recipient of the 2025 AFCA Trailblazer Award!
🏈 CLICK HERE to read more about Gorden’s honor from the AFCA
📰: How is Vanderbilt doing this? An Aussie rules football team traveled 9,000 miles to find out
The Athletic


Woodrow Lowe, the 2009 NFF College Football Hall of Fame inductee who starred as a linebacker at Alabama from 1972-75, has passed away. He was 71.
The second player in Alabama history to be a three-time First Team All-American (1973, 1974–consensus, 1975), Lowe led the Crimson Tide to the 1973 national title. Named the 1973 Churchman's National Defensive Sophomore of the Year, Lowe set an Alabama single-season record with 134 tackles. That season, the Crimson Tide played in the Sugar Bowl, claiming the national championship.
🏈 CLICK HERE to read more about the life and legacy of Woodrow Lowe
Paul Tagliabue, the commissioner of the NFL for 17 seasons from 1989-2006 who oversaw the expansion of the league from 28 to 32 teams and a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, has passed away. He was 84.
Robert Sizemore, who played football at Utah in the late 1970s, passed away Oct. 29. He was 72.
Marshawn Kneeland, a defensive end for the Dallas Cowboys who played collegiately at Western Michigan, has passed away. He was 24.
John F. McKay, who played football at the University of Pittsburgh, passed away Nov. 2. He was 77.
Keith Browner, who played linebacker at USC and was the 30th overall pick in the 1984 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, has passed away. He was 63.
Tony Shaw, a defensive back at Nevada from 1980-83 and the Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year in 1983, has passed away. He was 63.
Earl Cochran, who played collegiately at Alabama State before spending time in the NFL with Green Bay, Minnesota and Houston, has passed away. He was 44.

Name: Gene DeFilippo
College: Springfield College (Mass.)
Occupation: Athletic Director at USC Upstate (1984-87), Villanova (1993-97), Boston College (1997-2012)
Share your football story with us! We want to know what football means to you, the lessons you learned, and the opportunities it provided.


For only the second time in the history of the FWAA-NFF Super 16 Poll, the nation's top five teams remained in the same order for the third consecutive week.

December 9 — 67th NFF Annual Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas at Bellagio Resort & Casino
December 9 — Announcement of the winner of the 36th NFF William V. Campbell Trophy® during the 67th NFF Annual Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas
January 19, 2026 — CFP National Championship at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida
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