College Football

Stephen Gostkowski is sure patience with Bill Belichick at UNC will be rewarded ... telling TMZ Sports this week if the Tar Heels give him time, the head coach "will figure it out."

The former Patriots star -- who played under Belichick for 14 seasons in New England -- called the 73-year-old "the best coach" ... while making it clear he has no concerns about The Hoodie's ability to win, despite a slow start in Chapel Hill.

"I can't really say too much bad about him," the ex-All-Pro kicker said. "I enjoyed working with him every minute of the day. I used to be scared to death of him. Maybe not so much anymore. But I'm pulling for him."

Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt is hoping to bury a team tradition once and for all ... begging fans to stop throwing tortillas on the field on gamedays.

The TTU official implored his school's backers to do away with the craze on Monday ... just after the Big 12 promised hefty repercussions -- including fines and 15-yard flags -- if it continued.

"We need to help, not risk, penalizing our team for throwing tortillas," Hocutt said. "Simply, let's not do it."

The Big 12 has issued a penalty on the University of Kansas after an investigation into Saturday's weird pocket knife controversy ... with the conference announcing video evidence paints a different picture than what the Jayhawks coach claimed after the game.

ICYMI, Lance Leipold stated after his Jayhawks lost in a blowout to the Red Raiders that a sharp object hit one of his staff members while standing on the away team sideline.

"It's ridiculous. It's supposed to be for safety and things like that, and it's a culture that's been accepted to a point, and it hasn't changed," he said. "Eventually, somebody's going to be seriously hurt, unfortunately."

The NFL never seems to go through a shortage of fresh talent ... and it looks like the New York Giants found a keeper with rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart.

And get this ... even though the athlete just started his NFL career earlier this year, he's already been bumped up to the position of starting quarterback!

We're going to take a look at how the football player went from dominating the field in high school and college to playing against some of the heaviest hitters in the game.

Jaxson's football career started gaining attention during his days at Corner Canyon High School in Draper, Utah, where he also played baseball.

His skills on the field earned him the title of 2020 MaxPreps National High School Football Player of the Year, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.

And Jaxson got the title for good reason -- because the Corner Canyon Chargers went undefeated during their 2020 season.

The accolades kept coming, too, as the athlete was named the 2020-21 Gatorade National Football Player of the Year.

Jaxson naturally earned plenty of attention from colleges, and he received offers from several schools, including Arizona State University and UCLA, according to 247 Sports.

He committed to the University of Southern California in 2020, and he spent the 2021 season with the Trojans, who finished the year with a 4-8 record.

Jaxson ended up entering the transfer portal in 2022, and he transferred to Ole Miss the same year.

The athlete spent the rest of his college career with the Rebels, and he helped lead the team to victory at the Peach Bowl in 2023.

Jaxson's career in the NFL kicked off in 2025. He was a first-round pick by the New York Giants.

He received a serious boost of responsibility early into the season, as he was named as the Giants' starting quarterback after Russell Wilson was benched by the team in the season's fourth week.

Ethan Pritchard -- the Florida State University linebacker who was shot in the head in August -- has been released from the hospital.

The footballer's Seminoles team announced the positive update on Thursday ... revealing the former four-star recruit is now on his way to continue his recovery at Brooks Rehabilitation in Jacksonville, FL.

Pritchard's teammate, star quarterback Tommy Castellanos, captured his departure from Tallahassee Memorial Hospital minutes ago, showing Pritchard being cheered on by the Seminoles as he was stretchered from the facility.

11:09 AM PT -- Court documents, obtained by TMZ Sports, show Julian Fleming is facing nine total charges ... including one count of homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence, one count of homicide by vehicle and one count of aggravated assault by vehicle while driving under the influence.

Additionally, the docs note Fleming allegedly had a BAC of .118 shortly after the crash.

9:54 AM PT -- Julian Fleming's attorney, David Bahuriak, tells TMZ Sports ... one of the charges his client is facing is homicide by vehicle -- and he's convinced the prosecution's filing is "wrong."

"In my view," the lawyer said, "the prosecution here took a tragic and unavoidable accident and turned it into a crime when the facts don't support that. The facts don't support criminal homicide."

Bahuriak added Fleming "lost the love of his life" during the crash ... and "this prosecution does nothing to advance the interests of anyone."

Former Penn State wide receiver Julian Fleming is facing multiple criminal charges related to the tragic ATV accident that killed his girlfriend earlier this year.

Glen Powell is teaming up with Peyton and Eli Manning on their "Monday Night Football" simulcast for the Kansas City Chiefs vs. Jacksonville Jaguars next week ... meaning the OG and new Chad Powers are coming face to face!!

TMZ Sports has learned the actor will be joining the Mannings as they watch Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and the rest of the Chiefs take on Travis Hunter and the Jags in their Week 5 matchup.

Of course, Powell's new series "Chad Powers" dropped on Hulu earlier this week -- which was inspired by a character Eli debuted during an episode of his "Eli's Places" series.

On October 3, 1995, the jury in O.J. Simpson's murder trial walked into the courtroom in Downtown Los Angeles and announced they'd found the former football standout not guilty.

Thirty years later, the evidence in the case, the spectacle of it and the controversial verdict are still ingrained in the public consciousness ... and, we've got all the photos of the trial for you to review each and every moment.

O.J. and Nicole Brown Simpson were married from 1985 to 1992 ... two years later, Nicole and the man she was dating, Ron Goldman, were brutally murdered outside her condo in Brentwood in L.A., by a suspect with a knife.

9:15 AM PT -- Tyreek Hill just released a video statement from his hospital bed ... thanking his fans and asking for prayers as he gets set for surgery.

"I love you guys so much," he said. "Hope to see you soon."

Tyreek Hill was rushed to the hospital on Monday night ... after he sustained a significant knee injury during the Dolphins' game against the Jets.

The gruesome scene unfolded in the third quarter of the "Monday Night Football" matchup ... after Hill caught a pass from Tua Tagovailoa.

As the receiver was being tackled out of bounds, he landed awkwardly on his leg -- and very clearly dislocated his knee in the process.

Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco might have a few haters on their big day, including one big-time celebrity ... the feisty Oregon Duck!

Here's the deal ... the University of Oregon is facing off against Penn State University Saturday afternoon in Happy Valley, PA with kickoff set to take place at 4:30 PM PT.

However, attendees got an early start on the festivities because the popular college football pregame show "College Gameday" set up on PSU's campus to preview the exciting matchup ... and The Oregon Duck whipped out a sign while in the crowd.

Alabama Barker's got a lot of team spirit ... and, not a lot of clothes -- baring nearly all in a tiny take on an Ole Miss cheerleader outfit!

The model and rapper shared several snaps in a cleavage and tummy revealing baby blue top -- with the Nike symbol on one side of her chest and "Ole Miss" written out on the other side.

She added a tiny skirt and knee-high white boots to the look ... while giving the camera a seductive look from Vaught Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Mississippi.

Zachariah Branch has had a pretty interesting career in sports, as he's taken his talents all the way across the country to play college football.

The wide receiver started out playing for one of the nation's most notable football teams before he pulled a complete 180 and switched coasts to pursue his interests.

We're going to take a look into the background of the college athlete and see what led up to his switch from one school to another.

Football coach Shawn Clark died after he experienced what was described as a "medical emergency" earlier this month.

The sports figure, who formerly served as an assistant coach for the University of Central Florida's offensive line, was hospitalized after suffering the emergency on September 9th, according to ESPN.

Although he was initially believed to have been in "stable condition," UCF announced he'd "unexpectedly" died on Sunday.

Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin isn't sweating his daughter's allegiances after hard-launching her relationship with LSU star Whit Weeks just days before the teams square off ... saying despite her beau being a Tiger, she's still pulling for pops!

Coach Kiffin got in on the social media buzz after his daughter, Landry, shared a cozied-up photo with the junior linebacker this week.

"Happy :)," the caption read.

Former UNC star Devontez Walker's got no issues with Bill Belichick's relationship with Jordon Hudson ... in fact, the ex-Tar Heels wideout tells TMZ Sports he's all for it!

The 24-year-old, who now plays for the Baltimore Ravens, chatted with us this week about how Belichick's doing at his alma mater ... and when the topic of the head coach's young girlfriend came up, he said he's a fan.

He did admit Belichick and Hudson's nearly 50-year age gap is "a little crazy" ... but he added the spark between the two is apparent to him.

Jordon Hudson's in her football-lovin' era ... 'cause she wore a sweater with a clear message about her feelings to the University of North Carolina's game to cheer on Bill Belichick.

The head coach's better half walked the sideline before UNC's matchup against the Univeristy of Richmond Saturday ... shaking hands with several men while standing alongside Bill.

Her sweater -- featuring a large tiger face on the front with the words "Blind For Love" written underneath it -- might look familiar to any Swifties out there ... 'cause it's exactly like the one Taylor Swift wore in the "Look What You Made Me Do" music video.