Category: Football

Former Michigan TE selects transfer destination

The former Wolverine is returning home.

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One former Michigan player is headed home.

Earlier this season, prized four-star tight end Mustapha Muhammad announced that he would be making a change, and that he decided to transfer out of the program. And finally, months later, it looks like he’s made his decision as to where he’ll continue his playing career.

Hailing originally from Missouri City (TX) Ridge Point, in the suburbs of Houston, Muhammad was injured throughout his freshman season in Ann Arbor, and didn’t dress for the first time until Michigan’s turn in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl to end the 2018 season.

Finally healthy, Muhammad got to dress in 2019, having participated in the season opener against Middle Tennessee, but not again until Week Five’s contest against Rutgers. He didn’t register any stats and ultimately chose to transfer, entering the portal before the Penn State game — ironic, given he committed on the eve of the 2017 game against the Nittany Lions.

On Sunday, Muhammad announced he’s transferring back to his hometown, to play for Dana Holgorsen’s Houston program.

Muhammad has at least three years of eligibility remaining, and possibly a fourth, depending on if he applies for and is approved for a medical redshirt, given 2019 is also a redshirt year. It’s also not known whether or not he’ll be eligible immediately.

Three Takeaways from Wisconsin’s 45-24 Victory over Purdue

Three takeaways from Wisconsin’s 45-24 senior day victory over Purdue. Jonathan Taylor RB, Kendric Pryor WR, Rachad Wildgoose CB

Wisconsin beat Purdue for the 14th straight time winning 45-24 on senior day as it also marked the Badgers third straight victory after dropping two straight games. Here are our top three takeaways from the game for the Badgers.

1. Wisconsin’s offense needs to fix their turnover problem

Over Wisconsin’s last five games the Badgers have committed a total of 12 turnovers.

In order for Wisconsin’s season to end on a high note, the Badgers offense will need to revert back to the beginning of the season in terms of valuing the football as over the first six games Wisconsin only turned the football over a combined five times.

The four turnovers Wisconsin had against Purdue was a season high as the Badgers fumbled the football five times losing three of them and Jack Coan also threw an interception. Although Wisconsin turned the football over four times against Purdue the Boilermakers only were able to cash Wisconsin’s mistakes into seven points.

Wisconsin’s defense may not have had its best day against Purdue but they did come up with some timely defensive drives. Considering turnovers can be momentum changers and with Purdue needing a win just as badly as Wisconsin to make sure Purdue couldn’t capitalize off of Wisconsin’s mistakes is a sign of a good defense.

Jonathan Taylor dealt with fumbles as a true freshman and at the beginning of his sophomore season too. Taylor appeared to have put the fumbling issues to bed this season although he did have a costly fumble against Illinois was responsible for two of the three fumbles lost yesterday.

With how much Wisconsin feeds Taylor as he’s averaging 23.7 carries a game opposing teams are going to try and rip the football out of his arms. Making it important that he keeps the football high and tight in order to avoid fumbling the football. If Taylor is successful it should allow for Wisconsin’s offense to continue to move the football effectively down the field.

2. More touches for Kendric Pryor

Pryor against Purdue showed what he’s capable of doing once you get the football in his hands as he registered 103 yards of total offense. Pryor was able to hurt Purdue’s defense either on the ground or through the passing game as he rushed for 56 yards on two carries and caught four passes for 47 yards.

Pryor over the last two games has become more active in the passing game as he has caught a combined seven passes for 77 yards. That will need to continue considering prior to Wisconsin’s wins over Purdue and Nebraska in the five games previous he caught only one pass in each game.

Pryor has shown that he’s capable of creating chunk plays in the passing game considering against Kent State he had one catch for 33 yards and against Illinois, he hauled in a 35-yard pass. The chunk plays have been missing from Wisconsin’s offense through the air and if Pryor can help stretch the field it will only help Wisconsin’s offense become more balanced.

3. Wisconsin’s finding ways of breaking up passes

Over the last three games, the Badgers have faced teams who are capable of throwing the football. Although the Badgers have allowed chunk plays through the passing game at times the Badgers have been able to break up 15 passes and have registered two interceptions over the last three games.

Wisconsin’s secondary has been responsible for eight of the 15 pass breakups as Rachad Wildgoose has registered four over the past three games. Wisconsin will certainly get a test against Minnesota and the secondary will be counted on to help slow down the Gophers talented wide receivers.

Although Wisconsin’s pass defense has been up and down over the last three games the Badgers will need to be able to continue to give themselves a chance of making a play on the football when it’s in the air. Not to mention Wisconsin’s linebackers are also more than capable of defending the pass as between Wisconsin’s starting linebackers they have combined to pick off four passes and have broken up 12 passes this season.

Kirby Smart addresses Georgia football’s offensive woes

Georgia faithful still wonder how the much longer the Dawgs’ D can bail out the struggling offense.

Georgia’s 2019 defense is a statistical anomaly. The Junkyard Dawgs will enter their final regular season game ranked fifth in total defense, second in rushing defense, seventh in passing efficiency defense, and have only allowed one rushing touchdown.

The Bulldog Nation thoroughly enjoys watching a defense that can guarantee a win requiring only 21 points. Georgia is one of two teams (Clemson being the other) that hasn’t given up more than 20 points thus far this season.

That said, Georgia faithful still wonder how the much longer the Dawgs’ D can bail out the struggling offense.

Head coach Kirby Smart acknowledged the fans’ echoed concerns after the Silver Britches’ lackluster offense.

“There were things [against Texas A&M] that we missed that were there. That’s the frustrating thing.”

He continued: “You get an opportunity on first and ten to make the plays that we had, and you’ve got to make those.”

Smart, obviously aware of the situation, added that “some of that had nothing to to with the calls…it had to do with execution.”

“[The defense] got tired toward the end of the game. We’re going to have to overcome that, because two weeks in a row now, we’ve kind of lost momentum late and struggled on a couple drives.”

Quarterback Jake Fromm has thrown under 50% for three consecutive games. Compared to his career percentage of 65.5%, the current trend is surprising.

“Offensively, we’ve got to improve. There’s no bones about it.” Smart The message this week is that the next step is the most important step.”

Alabama still No. 5 in latest AP Poll

LSU is still in the NO. 1 spot in the AP Poll Top 25 with Alabama also still in the No. 5 spot after beating Western Carolina 66-3.

On Sunday, the latest AP Top 25 poll was released. LSU was still in the NO. 1 spot with Alabama also still in the No. 5 spot after beating Western Carolina 66-3 on Saturday.

Alabama has now been ranked for 209 consecutive weeks, which is currently the third-longest streak in poll history.

Here’s the top AP Poll Top 25 rundown:

1. LSU 11-0
2. Ohio State 11-0
3. Clemson 11-0
4. Georgia 10-1
5. Alabama 10-1
6. Utah 10-1
7. Oklahoma 10-1
8. Florida 9-2
9. Minnesota 10-1
10. Michigan 9-2
11. Baylor 10-1
12. Penn State 9-2
13. Wisconsin 9-2
14. Oregon 9-2
15. Notre Dame 9-2
16. Auburn 8-3
17. Memphis 10-1
18. Cincinnati 10-1
19. Iowa 8-3
20. Boise State 10-1
21. Oklahoma State 8-3
22. Appalachian State 10-1
23. Virginia Tech 8-3
24. Navy 8-2
25. Southern California 8-4

The College Football playoff rankings will be released on Tuesday night on ESPN at 6PM CT.

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SEC Power Rankings Before Rivalry Week

The SEC played numerous cupcakes this past week. Now, the SEC Championship is officially set: the LSU Tigers will face the Georgia Bulldogs in Atlanta. SEC Mike released his week 14 SEC Power Rankings after last week’s action. Is the criteria of …

The SEC played numerous cupcakes this past week. Now, the SEC Championship is officially set: the LSU Tigers will face the Georgia Bulldogs in Atlanta.

SEC Mike released his week 14 SEC Power Rankings after last week’s action. Is the criteria of these rankings the best team now? Or the best bodies of work?

Florida over Alabama is an interesting choice, especially since the Crimson Tide only have one loss. Even without Tua, Alabama would beat Florida on a neutral field. Both schools are playing excellent football with their back-up quarterbacks, but haven’t done enough to make the SEC Championship.

If Georgia loses to LSU, then the Crimson Tide may make the playoff despite SEC Mike’s low power ranking. Alabama will need to defeat Auburn and look impressive to make the playoff. It’d be the Crimson Tide’s only ranked win of the season. If the favored teams win out, then Alabama’s resume would be compared with the Utah Utes and the Oklahoma Sooners, who would boast conference championships.

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Notre Dame Football: Hamilton Earns National Honors Again

Another week has come and gone and more hardware is headed towards freshman safety Kyle Hamilton.

Another week has come and gone and more hardware is headed towards freshman safety Kyle Hamilton.

After recording his fourth interception of the season and three tackles versus Boston College, Hamilton was named to the Pro Football Focus College Football Week 13 Eckrich Team of the Week.

Pro Football Focus summed up Hamilton’s week with the following:

The Fighting Irish have a bright future with Hamilton roaming the backend of their defense. He recorded four total tackles against bost College and saw three passes come his way as the primary coverage defender. Allowing just one reception for seven yards, Hamilton broke up another and intercepted the third pass his way to see just a 2.8 passer rating into his coverage.

Hamilton’s four interceptions are tied for the most by any freshman in the nation, unfortunately that target he allowed after his interception evened up his totals for the year between personal interceptions and receptions allowed – an absurd stat to consider.

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With Isaiah Pryor committed to play in the secondary next year you can’t help but feel good about the future of Notre Dame’s secondary as Hamilton appears to be one of the schools all-time greats in the making.

Kirk Herbstreit predicts playoff teams if Georgia beats LSU

ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit released his top-six earlier today and also predicted who’s in the 2019 College Football Playoff if Georgia defeats LSU in the SEC Championship. He assumes all the favorites win out in this situation: …

ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit released his top-six earlier today and also predicted who’s in the 2019 College Football Playoff if Georgia defeats LSU in the SEC Championship. He assumes all the favorites win out in this situation:

I would have to agree with Herbstreit here. Even if UGA wins big over LSU, then the Tigers should make the playoff over Alabama. LSU’s head to head victory should all-but eliminate the Crimson Tide in this situation.

There are still several chaos scenarios possible including: Minnesota, Michigan, or Wisconsin defeating Ohio State. The Buckeyes may be banged up after facing a stretch of Penn State-Michigan-Minnesota/Wisconsin.

Georgia fans would love the scenario mentioned above. As long as the Dawgs win versus LSU, then Georgia fans will be happy. With rivalry week coming, there’s a considerable chance of another upset this week. Auburn will have a decent chance to beat Alabama, Texas A&M should put up a fight against LSU, and South Carolina has already pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the season.

Who do you think would make the playoff in this scenario? What about a one-loss PAC-12 Champion in Utah? The Utes played a soft non-conference schedule, but have played nine conference games.

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Latest Bowl Projections: Upsets Effect Notre Dame at All?

So what does it mean for Notre Dame? Are the chances of getting to a New Years Six Bowl different after last week?

With potential College Football Playoff teams Oregon and Penn State losing over the weekend some folks at Alabama, Baylor and Oklahoma got excited about their potential chances for making the playoff.

So what does it mean for Notre Dame? Are the chances of getting to a New Years Six Bowl different after last week? Here’s what the experts have happening for Notre Dame after the conclusion of week 13.

The eight sources we get them from don’t all have them posted yet but here’s what we have as of early Sunday evening:

247Sports (Brad Crawford):

Camping World Bowl vs. Texas

CBS (Jerry Palm):

Camping World Bowl vs. Texas

College Football News (Pete Fiutak):

Camping World Bowl vs. Oklahoma State

ESPN (Bonagura & Schlabach both):

Camping World Bowl vs. Oklahoma State

Sporting News (Bill Bender):

Camping World Bowl vs. Kansas State

It wouldn’t appear what happened yesterday was good for Notre Dame’s chances at a New Year’s Six Bowl. The way things sit now it would appear they’re headed to Orlando for the former Blockbuster turned Carquest turned MicronPC turned Mazda turned Champ Sports turned Russell Athletic turned Camping World Bowl.

How does Notre Dame get to Dallas instead? Douglas Farmer from NBC Sports did a good job creating a path.

It’s possible no-doubt but with the CFP Committee making clear last week how much they value results against common opponents (something I hate) I have trouble seeing how Notre Dame gets past Penn State who won against Michigan compared to the Irish who got rolled in Ann Arbor.

College Football Playoff projections following Week 13

Predicting the College Football Playoff rankings after Week 13.

Week 13 saw Georgia football beat a talented Texas A&M team to advance to 10-1 on the season.

Georgia looked like it has all season – unable to finish a drive on offense but smothering on defense.

That’s been Georgia’s recipe this season, but how much longer will it work? We will find out in two weeks when the Dawgs take on LSU in Atlanta.

Right now, Georgia is sitting at No. 4 in the College Football Playoff rankings behind LSU (1), Ohio State (2) and Clemson (3).

Right behind the Bulldogs is Alabama, hoping that it can not only win next week vs Auburn but also that LSU will take care of business in the SEC Championship, thus eliminating Georgia from playoff contention.

Behind Alabama currently is Oregon, but that won’t last long after the Ducks lost to Arizona State. The best part about Oregon losing is that now we don’t have to hear about how Rob Mullens, the Oregon AD and the chair of the CFP selection committee, is “recused from the room” when the committee discusses the Ducks. Is it just me, or has that been mentioned way too many times this season?

Ohio State definitely had the most impressive win of the weekend among the teams near the top of the rankings (Arizona State probably had the best win, though, in beating Oregon). I would not expect the committee to swap LSU and OSU, however. LSU’s beaten plenty of top-ten teams itself.

Then there’s Utah, which is 10-1 and needs some help to make it into the final four. The Utes have not really beaten anyone, but if Georgia and Alabama both fall and Utah wins its conference, then it has a much better argument.

Oklahoma, however, assuming it wins out, will be right there with Utah vying for that last Playoff spot if both Alabama and Georgia lose before the final rankings reveal after the conference championship games wrap up.

Here’s our College Football Playoff projections:

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MSU Football routes Rutgers: Three Key Takeaways

Michigan State football handled Rutgers in a 27-0 victory yesterday. Here are three key takeaways from this game for the Spartans.

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Michigan State Football took care of business against Rutgers yesterday in a 27-0 victory. On paper, this score may offer up some positive sentiments. Upon further review, I’m not quite sure I feel all that great about this victory.

Here are three key takeaways from this game:

Summary Of The Season

Michigan State put up 395 yards total in this game against Rutgers. Again, this seems impressive on the surface, but they only scored 27 points on that 395 yard total. That is not good. The Spartans strung together long drives that often ended with punts or field goal attempts.

The Spartans defense showed up to play, per usual. One sequence, in particular, was a perfect representation of this MSU football season. Sophomore Xavier Henderson snagged a nice interception and set up the offense with a rather favorable field position. Unfortunately, the Spartan’s offense could not score. Instead, Matt Coghlin came out and missed a field goal.

This sequence represents MSU’s consistent defensive success and offensive woes. I’m still on the Mark Dantonio coaching train, he should not go anywhere. His staff, on the other hand, must go. There should be significant turnover within the coaching staff before the start of next season.

Cody White Looked Like A Pro

Cody White had two touchdown catches coming into this game. He tallied three touchdown receptions against Rutgers for five on the year and 11 in his career. White was walking human highlight reel. He made catch after catch, ending the game with 11 receptions and 136 yards.

White went above and beyond against Rutgers. A few catches were made on really bad passes from QB Brian Lewerke. MSU WR Darrell Stewart is out with injury. So, the Spartans really needed Cody White to step.

Here are all three of his touchdown receptions:

Hope For The Future?

Freshman RB Elijah Collins had a solid game against Rutgers. Granted, he has suffered from offensive line injuries. Nonetheless, Collins makes the most of every play. He is certainly the RB option of the future for Michigan State and that is a positive takeaway from this season.

Freshman Tre Mosley, sophomore Jalen Nailor, and Julian Barnett are incredibly intriguing for Michigan State’s future. Mosley has looked great so far when given chances. Barnett is rather impressive as a WR and has 10 receptions on the year. Lastly, Nailor returned from injury against Rutgers and played well. Nailor ended the game with 5 receptions and 27 yards.

Why bring them up? They are Michigan State’s future WR core. It is possible that MSU loses both Darrell Stewart and Cody White next year to the draft. This leaves MSU with the aforementioned players and WR C.J. Hayes. I think Dantonio should give all the younger receivers some snaps as the season winds down.

Michigan State Football is back in action next weekend on Nov. 30. The game kicks off at 3:30 P.M. and you can catch all the action on FS1.

Stay locked on SpartansWire for coverage of this game and all things MSU Football.

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