Big Ten football is used to grabbing the spotlight on Saturdays during the fall. However, it is putting a new spin on maximum exposure and going prime time. The Big Ten's seven-year deal with Fox, CBS and NBC begins this week, marking the first time a college conference sold its rights to three broadcast networks. NBC's "Big Ten Saturday Night" also gives the conference its first weekly prime-time package on a broadcast network. The first game is Saturday when No. 7 Penn State hosts West Virginia. Even though there is an increased focus on streaming, 27 of the 30 most-watched college football games last year were on one of the four broadcast networks.

The conference commissioners who manage the College Football Playoff have met for the first time since a wave of realignment tore apart the Pac-12. The changing landscape raises the possibility that the number of automatic bids in the 12-team format could be tweaked. This is the final year of the four-team playoff. Southeastern Conference Commissioner Greg Sankey says more clarity is needed. Mid-American Conference Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher called honoring conference champions in the new format a 'bedrock principle.'

The Big Ten's prestige and power has been firmly grounded in the East Division with all nine conference champions in the current format and eight participants in the College Football Playoff. The West Division has been the place to be for competitive balance with four different winners in the last four years. That makes this season a unique opportunity for Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Purdue and Wisconsin and their inviting path to the Big Ten title game. The divisional format will disappear next season when Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington are admitted to what will be an 18-team super conference.

No one in college football has bigger shoes to fill than Carson Beck. His predecessor as Georgia's starting quarterback was Stetson Bennett, who guided the Bulldogs to consecutive national championships and was always at his best in the biggest games. Now, after three years spent watching mostly from the sidelines, Beck is finally getting his chance to lead the No. 1 Bulldogs. Coach Kirby Smart is confident that he's got the right man for a daunting job. But Beck knows if the Bulldogs slip the least bit offensively, it will be easy to pin the blame on the new guy.

A digital platform where college athletes can alert their administrations anonymously to improper or illegal conduct by coaches, teammates or others is expanding to allow them to report suspected gambling activity. RealResponse's partnership with U.S. Integrity will come at no additional cost to some 150 athletic departments that are clients. The service builds on a tip hotline U.S. Integrity and RealResponse unveiled in May and will give college athletic administrators a direct line to investigators.

New Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell often says that he doesn't want to build a program by relying on the transfer portal. Yet the Badgers' success this year ould depend largely on how well Fickell can integrate the 17 transfers he has brought in since coming over from Cincinnati. The 19th-ranked Badgers open Fickell's debut season Saturday by hosting Buffalo. Former SMU quarterback Tanner Mordecai is one of six projected Wisconsin starters who played at a different school last season.

Two years after the NCAA cleared the way for college athletes to earn money off their fame and celebrity, digital technology is allowing some of them to get paid by their fans without having to do very much in return. Most deals struck by athletes under name, image and likeness guidance from schools or states are in exchange for something — an athlete endorsement on social media, for example, or an appearance at an event.

The NCAA football rule change that drew the most notice in the offseason might go mostly unnoticed by fans once the season is underway. Coaches’ opinions vary on how much it will impact games. 

Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh will serve a three-game suspension to start this season as part of self-imposed penalties for NCAA recruiting infractions. The school's move means Harbaugh will not be on the sideline for the second-ranked Wolverines home games against East Carolina, UNLV and Bowling Green. He will be permitted to coach the team during the week, as per NCAA rules. The infractions case is tied to improper contact with recruits.