Whether you love him or hate him, Al Davis stands out among our generation of football fans for his tenure as the owner the Oakland Raiders. Somehow forgotten amid the 45 years he spent with his organization, he also managed to drastically impact the NFL we watch today. TheGP Football breaks down his role with both the American Football League and, specifically, the NFL-AFL merger.

It wasn’t supposed to be easy for Jim Harbaugh stepping in as the head coach of the disappointing San Francisco 49ers, especially not with the lockout-shortened offseason stunting his transitionary period coming over from nearby Stanford. How, then (at 3-1 and atop the NFC West), have they made it look so simple?

The tides of NCAA conferences are changing, to nobody is that a surprise. Most recently Texas A&M has relocated for a better position on the college football landscape. As the Aggies play out their final year in the Big-12, speculation abounds over the impact of the decision on the program, the conference and even the sport. Andrew Bucholtz explains.

The Lions: One of two undefeated teams remaining in the NFL, just years after finishing 0-16.
The Switch: The 2009 decision to bring in rookie head coach Jim Schwartz to champion the turnaround.
The Wardrobe: Redesigned uniforms symbolizing new culture and serve as visual disconnect from anything pre-2009.

The Auburn Tigers’ 17-game winning streak was snapped Saturday by the other band of Tigers from Clemson, and it may be a while before they’re able to get anywhere close to another one. It’s not unusual for title-winning teams to take a step back in the next season, particularly in college football where success often […]

The Oklahoma Sooners have been college football’s top-ranked team in the Associated Press poll from the preseason on this year, but Saturday marked their first real chance to live up to the hype. Week 1’s 47-14 win over Tulsa was impressive, but it was the Week 2 road clash against No. 5 Florida State that […]

One of the most unique things about college sports is the schools themselves have the power to remake their environment, and that’s led to the chaotic round of conference realignment we’ve seen lately. The recent decisions by Nebraska and Colorado to leave the Big 12 for the Big 10 and the Pac-12 respectively, while noteworthy […]

For much of the last decade, the AFC North has been dominated by the Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers have been the more prominent of the two, claiming division titles in 2007, 2008 and 2010, advancing to the Super Bowl in 2010 and winning the Lombardi Trophy outright in 2008. But while […]

One of the most intriguing stories of the summer in college football didn’t focus on player movement, conference realignment or institutional scandal, but rather a journalist’s treatment by his employer. Renowned ESPN journalist Bruce Feldman’s apparent suspension for editing the Swing Your Sword book (by former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach), that included troubling comments […]

One of the clear perils of the No. 3 and No. 4-ranked teams facing off in a season opener is that one of them has to lose. This past week, that was the case with the third-ranked Oregon Ducks, who fell 40-27 to the depleted but still dangerous fourth-ranked LSU Tigers in their first game […]