NC State has held serious discussions with Philip Rivers about its head coaching vacancy, sources told ESPN on Friday, though a deal is not considered close. The former Wolfpack star went on to a long NFL career, most of it as the Chargers' starting quarterback, before moving into coaching at the high school level.

Rivers has reportedly "emerged as the focus" of the Wolfpack's search, per NBC Sports and Yahoo Sports, but the quarterback himself tapped the brakes on the timeline. "Nothing's imminent," he said. Hiring a program legend with no college coaching experience would be a bold swing, and NC State appears to be weighing exactly that trade-off before committing.

Elsewhere on Saturday's college slate, Kansas State visits Colorado in a game Yahoo Sports framed as near must-win territory for the Wildcats — the outlet suggested that if K-State can't beat the Buffaloes, there may not be another winnable game left on its schedule.