The Jacksonville Jaguars didn’t just make a move at the NFL Trade Deadline - they made a statement.
Under coach Liam Coen, the Jaguars pulled off a pair of blockbuster additions in Jessie Bates III and Jordan Davis, and the message was impossible to miss: this team is pushing chips to the center of the table for 2026. The deals came during a record-setting deadline, and the Davis acquisition in particular had fans doing a double take after Jacksonville had been tied to Jalen Carter before landing the Eagles defender instead.
Pat McAfee weighed in on the frenzy, and he framed it as the payoff for a plan that’s been building for a while.
“Trevor Lawrence has been stupendous, he has been everything we hoped he would be coming out of Clemson, when they were saying he was maybe the next John Elway or Andrew Luck. You find the right coach, find the right motivator, good things start to happen, and that's been Liam Coen…They've been waiting, and waiting to go all-in…Now they add Jessie Bates III, who (has) a Hall-of-Fame resume, you get Jordan Davis from the Eagles moments ago…They're goin' all-in.”
He didn’t stop there.
“They've given up a lot, but they can see it, they can say it, and the AFC South and the NFL as a whole might be in trouble.”
The Bates deal drew a strong grade, and the Jaguars are now set to see how the new pieces fit on the field. That could start Sunday, November 15, in Tennessee against the Titans, their next game.
With Lawrence in place and Coen steering the operation, Jacksonville suddenly looks built for a serious run - one that could carry the franchise toward its first Super Bowl since joining the NFL in November of 1993. McAfee isn’t alone in waiting to see how it unfolds.
In Other News...
WVU Offense Is Earning Serious Buzz Ahead Of A Big Test
Kansas heads into Saturday evenings matchup with West Virginia still searching for traction, but the bigger conversation around this game has been the Mountaineers offense and the problems it can create. After a close loss to UCF left the Jayhawks at 3-6, Lance Leipold spent part of the buildup acknowledging just how difficult this trip could be, pointing to West Virginias quarterback and the other playmakers around him as the kind of group that can stress a defense in a hurry.
For West Virginia, the buzz is coming at a useful time, because this is the sort of test that can either validate the momentum or expose the gaps that still need cleaning up. Kansas will have to deal with the pace, the versatility and the overall explosiveness that has made the Mountaineers a tougher opponent to prepare for, and ESPNU will have a good one to follow when the teams kick off Saturday night. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas Faces A Brutal Test With Bowl Hopes On The Line
The stakes are clear when Kansas heads to Milan Puskar Stadium on Nov. 14, 2026, with bowl eligibility still hanging in the balance. The Jayhawks are 3-6 overall and 1-5 in Big 12 play, which means they need to win out to reach a postseason berth, while West Virginia enters at 5-4 and needs one more victory to lock up its own bowl spot.
That setup gives this one a late-season edge that should make it feel bigger than a mid-November conference game. West Virginia has the more comfortable path, but not by much, and Kansas is walking into Morgantown with no margin left for error. ESPNU will carry the game, with kickoff set for 4:30 p.m. CT, and both teams know exactly what is at stake. [Read more 🡒]
West Virginias Hot Start Just Set Up A Huge Reality Check
West Virginias early run has given the program a real boost, and the bracket buzz is starting to follow. ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi currently projects the Mountaineers as a No. 10 seed in the Midwest Region, a sign that the strong start has already put them on the national radar and given fans reason to think bigger about March.
The next stretch should tell a lot more about where this team actually stands. A tougher tournament in Las Vegas is coming up, along with a neutral-court meeting with North Carolina, and those games will offer a far sharper read on whether West Virginias opening success is the start of something lasting or just a fast start before the schedule tightens up. [Read more 🡒]