{"id":1031166,"date":"2026-08-29T15:12:30","date_gmt":"2026-08-29T15:12:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1031166\/"},"modified":"2026-08-29T15:12:30","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T15:12:30","slug":"college-football-is-back-with-all-eyes-on-bill-belichick-as-courtroom-drama-heats-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1031166\/","title":{"rendered":"College football is back with all eyes on Bill Belichick as courtroom drama heats up"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"speakable\">Can you feel it? The temperature is starting to change, the leaves are slowly turning, and we have finally reached <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_outkick-sports_article_main-content_article-body_6_5481745\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/sports\/ncaa-fb\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">college football<\/a> season \u2014 even if this weekend is only an appetizer.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"speakable\">The long seven-month offseason has been filled with congressional legislation, eligibility lawsuits, CFP expansion and plenty of other storylines that have distracted from the product on the field.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">But don\u2019t worry. When <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_outkick-sports_article_main-content_article-body_6_5481746\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/person\/bill-belichick\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Bill Belichick<\/a> leads North Carolina onto the field in Dublin, Ireland, for a matchup against TCU, it will signal that \u2014 at least for one day \u2014 all is right in the world.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_outkick-sports_article_main-content_article-body_6_5481747\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/outkick-sports\/matt-rhule-sounds-alarm-nfl-returnees-45-million-rosters-college-football-payroll-problem\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"><strong>MATT RHULE SOUNDS ALARM ON NFL RETURNEES, $45 MILLION ROSTERS AND COLLEGE FOOTBALL&#8217;S PAYROLL PROBLEM<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Sure, the constant debate over whether athletes with professional experience will be allowed to play this season is not going away anytime soon. But I know we could all use a break from the exhausting subplots that have consumed college athletics.<\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Greg-Sankey.jpg\" alt=\"Greg Sankey at SEC title game\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey looks on prior to the SEC Championship game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Georgia Bulldogs at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on December 02, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Kevin C. Cox\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p><strong>It&#8217;s time to play college football, and Bill Belichick is feeling the pressure<\/strong><\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">If you can&#8217;t get excited for Saturday, I don&#8217;t know what to tell you.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Sure, it might not be the most intriguing slate of action, but it&#8217;s also worth noting that you&#8217;ve likely spent the past seven months clamoring for the opportunity to dive back into your search for where exactly to watch these games.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">As for North Carolina, the pressure is on Belichick to win this weekend. The <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_outkick-sports_article_main-content_article-body_6_5481748\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/sports\/ncaa\/north-carolina-tar-heels\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Tar Heels<\/a> cannot afford to come out of the gates looking anything like they did in last season&#8217;s opener against the same team.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_outkick-sports_article_main-content_article-body_6_5481749\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/outkick-sports\/virginia-cavaliers-release-week-zero-injury-report-shocking-number-hurt-players\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"><strong>VIRGINIA CAVALIERS RELEASE WEEK ZERO INJURY REPORT FEATURING A SHOCKING NUMBER OF HURT PLAYERS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/UNC-football-Michael-Lombardi-Bill-Belichick.jpg\" alt=\"Michael Lombardi and Bill Belichick talk before UNC football game\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>North Carolina Tar Heels general manager Michael Lombardi talks with head coach Bill Belichick before a college football game against the Richmond Spiders at Kenan Memorial Stadium on Sept. 13, 2025, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Lance King\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">But don&#8217;t you worry, we have plenty of other games this weekend to scratch that itch. Here&#8217;s a look at the slate.<\/p>\n<ul data-layout-index=\"5\">\n<li>NC State vs. Virginia (3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN)<\/li>\n<li>Jacksonville State vs. North Dakota State (4:30 p.m. ET on CBSSN)<\/li>\n<li>Memphis vs. UNLV (9:00 p.m. ET on FOX)<\/li>\n<li>New Mexico State vs. Florida State (7:00 p.m. ET on CW)<\/li>\n<li>San Jose State vs. USC (3:00 p.m. ET on NBC)<\/li>\n<li>Hawaii vs. Stanford (7:00 p.m. ET on ACC Network)<\/li>\n<li>Sacramento State vs. Eastern Michigan (6:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">There\u2019s your Saturday slate, with a few FCS matchups thrown into the mix.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">So sit back and enjoy college football. And please, don\u2019t complain about the appetizer we\u2019re being given. You\u2019ve been craving this since January.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Lawsuits, TRO&#8217;s, Injunctions: All eyes on the courts as eligibility issues continue<\/strong><\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Just because the season has officially started doesn\u2019t mean the court system won\u2019t dictate a number of athletes potentially seeing the field.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Right now, a battle is brewing in courtrooms in Texas and Louisiana involving college football players who have been granted the right to play this season by local judges.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">The problem is that those court orders conflict with guidelines enacted by conferences such as the SEC and Big Ten.<\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/lane-kiffin-11026.jpg\" alt=\"Lane Kiffin\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>L-R: LSU president Wade Rousse, LSU new head coach Lane Kiffin and LSU athletic director Verge Ausberry stand together at South Stadium Club at Tiger Stadium. (Matthew Hinton\/Imagn Images)<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">How does this shake out?<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">On Friday, attorneys representing the athletes added the SEC to their amended lawsuits, which could force conference counsel to appear before a Louisiana judge in order to explain their reasoning behind not allowing an athlete to obey a legal order.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">No, I wouldn\u2019t expect SEC commissioner Greg Sankey to get within 100 miles of the Baton Rouge courtroom next week, but that doesn\u2019t mean the situation won\u2019t present problems if the judge were to grant the plaintiffs an injunction that allows them to play on Saturday.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_outkick-sports_article_main-content_article-body_6_5481750\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/outkick-sports\/governor-landry-backs-lane-kiffin-lsu-fight-sec-dont-hate-player-hate-game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"><strong>GOVERNOR LANDRY BACKS LANE KIFFIN, LSU IN FIGHT WITH SEC: &#8216;DON&#8217;T HATE THE PLAYER, HATE THE GAME&#8217;<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">If that were to happen, the SEC&#8217;s next move is the one to watch.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Does the conference punish LSU under its new guidelines that schools are not allowed to play athletes who have professional ties? Would the SEC file some sort of lawsuit against the athletes to prevent them from playing?<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Or, would Greg Sankey take aim at LSU specifically?<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">These are all questions that are going to present themselves over the next week, and there are plenty of other schools paying attention to what transpires in both Louisiana and Texas court rooms.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">But, that can wait a few days. Finally, College Football has returned with a nice weekend slate to hold us over until next Thursday.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">You earned it folks, because it&#8217;s been one chaotic offseason.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a href=\"https:\/\/foxnews.onelink.me\/xLDS?pid=AppArticleLink&amp;af_dp=foxnewsaf%3A%2F%2F&amp;af_web_dp=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Fapps-products\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"><strong>CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Enjoy the day!<\/p>\n<p>Trey Wallace is the Sr. College Sports Reporter for OutKick.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Can you feel it? The temperature is starting to change, the leaves are slowly turning, and we have&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1031167,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[43],"tags":[4442,1318,119,1317,182579,1315,1316,3910,306237,2973,62,22503,67,132,68],"class_list":["post-1031166","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ncaa-football","tag-bill-belichick","tag-football","tag-ireland","tag-ncaa","tag-ncaa-fb","tag-ncaa-football","tag-ncaafootball","tag-north-carolina-tar-heels","tag-outkick-sports","tag-sec","tag-sports","tag-tcu-horned-frogs","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117179448621817054","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1031166","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1031166"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1031166\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1031167"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1031166"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1031166"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1031166"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}