Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for the USA TODAY Sports Network. An APSE award-winning writer, he has covered college football for three decades. Listen to him daily, from 12-2 p.m., on 1010XL-Jacksonville.
Our journalists adhere to the USA TODAY NETWORK Principles of Ethical Conduct For Newsrooms.
My Recent Work
The high cost of Oklahoma's coaching gamble.
The Brent Venables disaster is Oklahoma’s own expensive creation
Florida State insists it isn’t broke. Its next football hire will prove it
Notre Dame’s CFP fate vs. Miami isn’t as simple as it looks
Indiana is living off last year. CFP committee just made it official
Tennessee embarrassed Alabama. CFP committee embarrassed itself
Welcome to college football’s last November when losing actually matters
Love it, like it, no thanks: Weighing in on Florida State candidates
Our CFP rankings prediction has Miami No. 1. Real drama starts below
Hayes: Curt Cignetti's timeout gaffe nearly cost IU: 'How many things you can do wrong'
Cignetti got away with one. Indiana’s CFP hopes nearly paid the price
Georgia gave college football a reality check nobody wanted
Live CFP rankings predictions: Projecting first Playoff bracket
The Salesman saved the Big 12. His final deal sold out college football
College football Week 9 bold predictions: Ohio State, Georgia on upset alert
LSU dared the SEC to fight back. It may regret what comes next
Welcome to college football in 2026, where everyone eventually sucks
Pat McAfee can dish it out. His Utah meltdown shows he can’t take it
Texas Tech billionaire draws a line: Spend millions, expect results
Playoff Predictor: The superteam is dead. Welcome to chaotic CFP race
Why the SEC and Big Ten deserve a CFP snub this year
No sympathy for SEC, Big Ten. They made this CFP mess, now live with it
Ryan Day must make one bold move to save Ohio State’s season
Arch Manning's time at Texas may be coming to an end | Opinion
Bryce Underwood or Tommy Carr? Don't follow the Michigan NIL money
Notre Dame promised to 'leave no doubt.' So, about that ...
Miami arrives at No.1 in Playoff Predictor. But for how long?
IU’s dream run finally cracked. Why this loss actually sold me on Hoosiers
Indiana waited 100 years for this game. The CFP made it mean nothing
Would coaches rank Ohio State No. 4 with Indiana football’s résumé? Please
Why the SEC is 'fumbling' its college football legacy.
Indiana gets disrespected for one reason: It’s Indiana | Opinion
SEC lost grip on college football leadership, we're all paying price.
Notre Dame, UCLA on upset alert in Week 7 college football bold predictions
Rules for thee, not for me. Dan Lanning hypocrisy on player's punch embarrassing Oregon
Anonymous misfits at Alabama, Kentucky ruining fandom for everyone.
Notre Dame gains from weak schedule in rigged CFP system -- built by SEC, Big Ten.
We're talking about refs after Georgia-Alabama, and that's a problem
Playoff Predictor: Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State -- and everyone else Even in loss, why Alabama under Kalen DeBoer are closer to Georgia than ever
Oklahoma, UCLA upsets leads Week 6 carnage that showcases college football's beauty
Shane Beamer should stop engaging with online critics, focus on wins
South Carolina coach Shane Beamer can't feed social media frenzy.
Nebraska sold the urinals. Now it must flush away a decade of failure
Texas, Tennessee on upset alert in bold predictions for Week 6 schedule
Indiana’s weak schedule is a CFP problem, not an Indiana problem
The rich got richer, and college football lost something priceless
College football fans' obsession with failure is out of control
Georgia, Alabama square off amid SEC chaos in weekly CFP Predictor
Ohio State just fired a warning shot at Indiana | Opinion