Category: Football

Sam Pittman’s departure a big blow for Georgia football

Sam Pittman leaving Georgia for Arkansas is a big blow for Kirby Smart and UGA football.

Georgia offensive line coach Sam Pittman accepted the position of head coach at Arkansas over the weekend, piling on to what was already a sad few days for Bulldog fans.

For Pittman, it’s a heck of an upgrade, though. To go from offensive line coach to head coach at another SEC school is not something that you see often.

There’s no arguing that losing Pittman won’t hurt the Bulldogs. People may say that we’ll be fine, which we will, but the loss of Pittman will be noticeable. The guy is a recruiting mastermind and did something never seen before in Rivals’ recruiting history, according to Nikki Chavanelle, who covers Arkansas for Rivals.

You don’t just replace that kind of recruiting.

While at Georgia, Pittman put an emphasis on size.

Georgia’s entire line this season weighs in heavier than the average NFL offensive lineman (314.8 lbs) and allowed just 12 sacks all season.

Whoever replaces Pittman will be fortunate to inherit arguably the best returning offensive line in college football next season, but it’s hard to imagine there is anybody out there who reel in the big-hitters that Pittman did on a consistent basis each year.

For 2020, Pittman is the No. 3 ranked recruiter in all of college football, according to 247Sports’ recruiter rankings.

The other thing Pittman emphasized was depth. And this season at Georgia, the Dawgs had a group of second-stringers who could start just about anywhere in the country. And thank God we did.

Injuries happen on the line. A high volume of 300+ men in a congested space. Yeah, injuries will happen.

But Pittman prepared for that, and that’s why we were so deep at offensive line. Whoever we hire next as offensive line coach, if there’s one thing I hope he focuses on its depth.

In Pittman, Arkansas gets more than a great recruiter and teacher. They also get some of the greatest videos to ever hit social media.

I’ll miss a lot about Pittman, but none more than these classics.

Every Big Ten voter in the Amway Coaches Poll put Ohio State at No. 1

Six Big Ten coaches had votes in the Amway Coaches Poll this year. All of them put Ohio State at No. 1.

The Amway Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports is decided by 65 FBS coaches. These 65 voters are split up relatively evenly between the ten conferences, to avoid potential bias. Not only is there possibly an incentive for coaches to make their opponents look stronger, but familiarity breeds respect, and coaches are generally most familiar with the teams in their own conferences.

Usually, the ballots for the Coaches Poll are kept private. No one knows which coach voted which way. However, in a tradition that came from the BCS, the poll does release the ballot of each coach for the final rankings. USA Today published those ballots, which contain some interesting nuggets.

An important takeaway, though, is that all sseven Big Ten coaches will ballots put Ohio State at No. 1. The Buckeyes received 14 first-place votes in the final poll, and a full half those 14 came from Big Ten coaches. Chris Ash of Rutgers, Jeff Brohm of Purdue, Michigan State’s Mark Dantonio, Ohio State’s own Ryan Day, Northwestern’s Pat Fitzgerald, Penn State’s James Franklin, and Nebraska’s Scott Frost all put the Buckeyes in the top spot. (Even though Ash was fired partway through the season, his vote isn’t transferred to a different school or coach.)

This is not too unexpected. The trends for years have indicated that teams are slightly overrated (relative to the rest of the poll) by coaches in their own conference–which is why the bias is spread out the way the poll does it. Still, it’s noteworthy that the Big Ten coaches all think that Ohio State is the best in the land, while the vast majority of others had the Buckeyes at No. 2. A few coaches did have Ohio State at No. 3 behind both LSU and Clemson, but no one had the Buckeyes lower. In fact, astonishingly, every single coach (and every single AP voter) had the Oklahoma Sooners at No. 4–not a single voter had them higher or lower.

Super 25 Regional Football Rankings: Week 16

Check out the Week 16 Super 25 Regional High School Football Rankings… See who made it!

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USA TODAY High School Sports’ Super 25 regional rankings in football is selected by the HSS staff with weekly rankings in five regions — East, Southeast, Midwest, Southwest and West.

SUPER 25: TOP 25

EAST

Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, District of Columbia, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Vermont, Virginia, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Maine

  1. St. Frances Academy, Baltimore, Maryland (11-1)
  2. St. Joseph’s Prep, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (12-2)
  3. St. Peter’s Prep, Jersey City, New Jersey (11-1)
  4. Southern Columbia, Catawissa, Pennsylvania (16-0)
  5. Good Counsel, Olney, Maryland (9-3)
  6. Mount St. Joseph, Baltimore, Maryland (10-2)
  7. Central Catholic, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (12-2)
  8. Varina, Richmond, Virginia (11-2)
  9. St. Joseph, Trumbull, Connecticut (11-0)
  10. St. John’s Prep, Danvers, Massachusetts (12-1)

SOUTHEAST

Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and South Carolina

  1. Duncanville, Dallas, Texas (14-0)
  2. North Shore, Houston, Texas (13-1)
  3. Archbishop Rummel, Metairie, Louisiana (13-0)
  4. Katy, Texas (12-1)
  5. Owasso, Oklahoma (13-0)
  6. Lake Travis, Texas (13-1)
  7. Carroll, Southlake, Texas (13-1)
  8. Rockwall, Texas (12-2)
  9. Catholic, Baton Rouge, Louisiana (12-1)
  10. West Point, Mississippi (15-1)

MIDWEST

Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, West Virginia and Wisconsin

  1. East St. Louis, Illinois (14-0)
  2. Pickerington (Ohio) Central (14-1)
  3. Muskego, Wisconsin (14-0)
  4. Lincoln-Way East, Frankfort, Illinois (14-0)
  5. La Salle, Cincinnati (13-2)
  6. De Smet Jesuit, St. Louis (14-0)
  7. Trinity, Louisville, Kentucky (13-2)
  8. Wayzata, Plymouth, Minnesota (13-0)
  9. New Palestine, Indiana (14-0)
  10. Mentor, Ohio (13-1)

SOUTHWEST

Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas

  1.  St. Thomas Aquinas, Fort Lauderdale, Florida (13-0)
  2. IMG Academy, Bradenton, Florida (9-1)
  3. Lowndes, Valdosta, Georgia (14-0)
  4. Dutch Fork, Irmo, South Carolina (14-0-1)
  5. Thompson, Alabama (12-1)
  6. Vance, Charlotte, North Carolina (12-2)
  7. Central, Phenix City, Alabama (12-2)
  8. Armwood, Seffner, Florida (12-2)
  9. McEachern, Georgia (12-1)
  10. Lakeland, Florida (12-1)

WEST

Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming

  1. St. John Bosco, Bellflower, California (12-1)
  2. Mater Dei, Santa Ana, California (12-1)
  3. Saint Louis, Honolulu (12-0)
  4. De La Salle, Concord, California (12-1)
  5. Chandler, Arizona (13-0)
  6. Corner Canyon, Draper, Utah (14-0)
  7. Punahou, Honolulu (11-2)
  8. Corona Del Mar, Newport Beach, California (15-0)
  9. Eastside Catholic, Sammamish, Washington (12-1)
  10. Saguaro, Scottsdale, Arizona (11-2)

Paul Finebaum on Georgia football, Kirby Smart: ‘It’s not working’

Paul Finebaum discussed Georgia football, Kirby Smart and how ‘it’s not working.’

Paul Finebaum calls it like he sees it when it comes to college football and things that certain fans may not want to hear.

And on Monday, following Georgia’s embarrassing performance against LSU in the SEC Championship, Finebaum harshly discussed Georgia, Kirby Smart and how his style of football is not working anymore.

“Listen Kirby Smart is trying to run Alabama 2.0 and it’s not working,” Finebaum said while WJOX 94.5 FM out of Birmingham. “I say it’s not working because they’re not winning and competing seriously for national championships… You can’t end the season like that and you know I hear Georgia fans saying, ‘Well we didn’t have Cager, we didn’t have -‘. Hey, when you recruit at the level that Alabama and Georgia recruit, you don’t have excuses, because nobody else is in that league other than maybe Ohio State or Clemson and now LSU.

And listen, I think everyone talking right now is a fan of Kirby Smart but he’s going to catch a lot of heat, and you know it started with the bowl game (the Sugar Bowl loss against Texas) which everyone wrote off as they didn’t care and this season has been a roller coaster. And the one thing this season didn’t have until Saturday was that predictable one-off Kirby Smart blowout. Got that now!”

Well, Finebaum has a point. Smart does need to adapt to the times of college football. But I would not say it isn’t working. Three 11-1 finishes in a row. That’s not easy.

Bears place Roquan Smith on IR with torn pec

Chicago Bears linebacker and former Georgia Bulldog Roquan Smith will miss the rest of the 2019 season with a torn pectoral muscle injury.

Chicago linebacker Roquan Smith will miss the rest of the 2019 season with a torn pectoral muscle injury. The Chicago Bears defeated the Dallas Cowboys 31-24 earlier this week, but they lost one of their best players in the process. The second year linebacker out of Georgia is a key cog in Chicago’s dominant defense.

Chicago Bears coach Matt Nagy confirmed Smith is now being placed on IR:

It’s a big loss for the 7-6 Bears who are fighting to stay in the NFC playoff race. Chicago will miss Roquan especially after his historic Thanksgiving performance:

Smith will look to prepare for next season. Smith had 101 tackles on the season, two sacks and an interception. It’s a tough injury for Smith to recover from, but he has the talent and work ethic to return to the field for next season’s training camp.

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Your complete college football bowl game, playoff schedule

A complete list of the college football bowl game schedule for this year.

From Nassau, Bahamas to Hawaii, the 2019  college football bowl schedule features some intriguing matchups, a few newcomers and some teams in unexpected territory.

LSU, Ohio State, Clemson and Oklahoma round out the College Football Playoff. LSU makes its first appearance in the playoff while Clemson is in its fifth straight playoff. Ohio State, in the playoff for the third time, is hoping for a better performance after its beat down by Clemson in 2016. Oklahoma is in the field for its fourth playoff and third straight.

The state of Florida has the most teams in bowl games with six, followed by Michigan and Ohio with five teams each. California, Texas, Lousiana and North Carolina each have four representatives.

The states of Florida and Texas have the most bowl games, with seven each. Including the National Championship game, Louisiana is hosting four bowl games.

Ten ACC teams made a bowl this season. The SEC has nine teams going bowling, including three (Georgia, Florida and LSU) in New Year’s and CFP bowls.

Dec. 20 — Bahamas Bowl: Charlotte vs. Buffalo, ESPN, 2 p.m.

Dec. 20 — Frisco Bowl: Kent State vs. Utah State, ESPN2, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 21 — New Mexico Bowl: Central Michigan vs. San Diego State, ESPN, 2 p.m.

Dec. 21 — Cure Bowl: Liberty vs. Georgia Southern, CBSSN, 2:30 p.m.

Dec. 21 — Boca Raton Bowl: Florida Atlantic vs. SMU, ABC, 3:30 p.m.

Dec. 21 — Camellia Bowl: Florida International vs. Arkansas State, ESPN, 5:30 p.m.

Dec. 21 — Las Vegas Bowl: Boise State vs. Washington, ABC, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 21 — New Orleans Bowl: Alabama-Birmingham vs. Appalachian State, ESPN, 9 p.m.

Dec. 23 — Gasparilla Bowl: Marshall vs. Central Florida, ESPN, 2:30 p.m.

Dec. 24 — Hawaii Bowl: BYU vs. Hawaii, ESPN, 8 p.m.

Dec. 26 — Independence Bowl: Miami (Fla.) vs. Louisiana Tech, ESPN, 4 p.m

Dec. 26 — Quick Lane Bowl: Eastern Michigan vs. Pittsburgh, ESPN, 8 p.m.

Dec. 27 — Military Bowl: North Carolina vs. Temple, ESPN, noon

Dec. 27 — Pinstripe Bowl: Wake Forest vs. Michigan State, ESPN, 3:20 p.m.

Dec. 27 — Texas Bowl: Oklahoma State vs. Texas A&M, ESPN, 6:45 p.m.

Dec. 27 — Holiday Bowl: Iowa vs. Southern California, FS1, 8 p.m.

Dec. 27 — Cheez-It Bowl: Air Force vs. Washington State, ESPN, 10:15 p.m.

Dec. 28 — Camping World Bowl: Notre Dame vs. Iowa State, ABC, noon

Dec. 28 — Cotton Bowl: Penn State vs. Memphis, ESPN, noon

Dec. 28 — Peach Bowl: LSU vs. Oklahoma, ESPN, 4 p.m.

Dec. 28 — Fiesta Bowl: Ohio State vs. Clemson, ESPN, 8 p.m.

Dec. 30 — First Responder Bowl: Western Michigan vs. Western Kentucky, ESPN, 12:30 p.m.

Dec. 30 — Redbox Bowl: Illinois vs. California, Fox, 4 p.m.

Dec. 30 — Music City Bowl: Louisville vs. Mississippi State, ESPN, 4 p.m.

Dec. 30 — Orange Bowl: Virginia vs. Florida, ESPN, 8 p.m.

Dec. 31 — Belk Bowl: Virginia Tech vs. Kentucky, ESPN, noon

Dec. 31 — Sun Bowl: Florida State vs. Arizona State, CBS, 2 p.m.

Dec. 31 — Liberty Bowl: Kansas State vs. Navy, ESPN, 3:45 p.m.

Dec. 31 — Arizona Bowl: Wyoming vs. Georgia State, CBSSN, 4:30 p.m.

Dec. 31 — Alamo Bowl: Utah vs. Texas, ESPN, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 1 — Citrus Bowl: Alabama vs. Michigan, ABC, 1 p.m.

Jan. 1 — Outback Bowl: Minnesota vs. Auburn, ESPN, 1 p.m.

Jan. 1 — Rose Bowl: Wisconsin vs. Oregon, ESPN, 5 p.m.

Jan. 1 — Sugar Bowl: Baylor vs. Georgia, ESPN, 8:45 p.m.

Jan. 2 — Birmingham Bowl: Boston College vs. Cincinnati, ESPN, 3 p.m.

Jan. 2 — Gator Bowl: Indiana vs. Tennessee, ESPN, 7 p.m.

Jan. 3 — Idaho Potato Bowl: Ohio vs. Nevada, ESPN, 3:30 p.m.

Jan. 4 — Armed Forces Bowl: Southern Mississippi vs. Tulane, ESPN, 11:30 a.m.

Jan. 6 — Mobile Bowl: Miami (Ohio) vs. Louisiana-Lafayette, ESPN, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 13 — College Football Playoff title game: Semifinal winners, ESPN, 8 p.m.

Two Bulldogs make AP All-SEC first team

Two Georgia Bulldogs made the first team AP All-SEC first team. Safety J.R. Reed was snubbed and didn’t even make the second team.

Two Georgia Bulldogs made the first team AP All-SEC first team: left tackle Andrew Thomas and beloved kicker Rodrigo Blankenship. Numerous Bulldogs made the second team as well:

It’ll be interesting to see if UGA can keep up the excellent offensive line play moving forward. The Dawgs are losing their offensive line coach, Sam Pittman, who is now the head coach at Arkansas. Additionally, junior LT Andrew Thomas is expected to declare for the 2020 NFL early and may sit out the Sugar Bowl against Baylor.

Once again, Georgia’s defense is underrated. No UGA defenders made All-SEC First Team and only two (Monty Rice and Eric Stokes) made the second team. Perhaps the biggest snub of the entire conference is senior safety J.R. Reed.

J.R. Reed is nominated for several national awards including: the Bronko Nagurski Trophy. Reed is a finalist for this award, which is given to the best defensive player in the country, yet he didn’t make the All-SEC team? The AP voters can do better than that.

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Four new teams enter Super 25 Football Rankings

Check out the Super 25 Football Rankings for Week 16! See who made the list…

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The playoffs are a time for established teams getting knocked off and new solidifying places in the Super 25 Football Rankings.

This week, four teams suffered playoff losses that led to them dropping out of the Super 25, and four new teams entered due to big wins.

FULL RANKINGS: Super 25 Football Rankings, Week 16

Pickerington (Ohio) Central is the highest-ranked team that wasn’t on the list last week. Two games ago, the Tigers downed a Super 25 regular in Mentor (Ohio), by a score of 28-21. Last game, Pickerington Central took down Elder 21-14 to win the Division I Championship in Ohio. The Tigers cracked the rankings at No. 20 after those key victories.

Lake Travis (Austin, Texas) — another team that was unranked — came in at No. 21 this week. The team took down Judson (Converse, Texas) in a shootout to make it to the 6A D1 Semifinal game against No. 8 North Shore, (Galena Park, Texas).

Thompson (Alabama), a team that’s been in and out of the Super 25 this year, came in at No. 23 after knocking off Central (Phenix City, Alabama).

Lincoln-Way East (Frankfort, Illinois) made the list this week at No. 25. The team finished the season with a Class 8A State Championship in Illinois.

The teams that dropped out were Male (Louisville, Kentucky), Saguaro (Scottsdale, Arizona), Washington (Massillon, Ohio) and the aforementioned Central.

What LSU’s Ed Orgeron had to say about Oklahoma, College Football Playoff

After a 13-0 season with a high-flying offense opposed to the old-school football mindset, LSU climbed up to No. 1 and will be the top dog.

After a 13-0 season with a high-flying offense at a school known for its pedestrian offensive mindset, LSU climbed up to No. 1 and will be the top dog in the College Football Playoff.

The Tigers opponent will be No. 4 Oklahoma.

LSU head coach Ed Orgeron was joined on a teleconference by three Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl representatives and OU head coach Lincoln Riley.

Here is what Orgeron said about making the College Football Playoff and playing Oklahoma.

Opening comment: 

“On behalf of our football team, the great state of Louisiana, we would like to thank the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl for inviting us to such a great game.

Coach Riley, I’ve been following him all his career. He’s done a tremendous job at Oklahoma. Oklahoma has a great tradition, outstanding football team. It’s going to be an outstanding battle. We’re excited to go back to Atlanta and play the College Football Playoffs.”

On Jalen Hurts and the Oklahoma offense:

“Obviously, we’ve played against him before. He’s an outstanding player, and he actually beat us with his feet. He made big plays with his feet, and he threw the ball very well. I haven’t watched him at all this year, but I have watched Coach Riley’s offense, especially that counter read. I’ve asked him about it. I think they’re one of the best in the country in running what they do on offense. They’re very difficult to stop.”

On making the College Football Playoff the first time:

“You know, it says a lot about your team to get in the College Football Playoffs, especially playing in the conference that we play. So obviously, it’s an accomplishment, but it’s not the final destination.

“I know our team is taking it one game at a time. The next scheduled game is Oklahoma so that’s what we’ll focus on, just like Oklahoma is. One game at a time. Let’s see where it takes us.”

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A look at where Tennessee’s opponents will play in bowl games

A look at where Tennessee’s opponents will play in bowl games.

KNOXVILLE — Tennessee will be in college football’s postseason for the first time in three years.

The Volunteers accepted an invitation to play in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2020 against Indiana in Jacksonville, Fla.

UT enters the game with a 7-5 record and in the midst of a five-game winning streak. The Hoosiers are 8-4.

Here’s a look at where Tennessee’s opponents will play in their bowl games.

  • Georgia State (7-5) will take on Wyoming (7-5) in the Arizona Bowl on Tuesday, Dec. 31.
  • BYU (7-5) will play Hawaii (9-5) in the Hawaii Bowl on Tuesday, Dec. 24.
  • Florida (10-2) will take on Virginia (9-4) in the Orange Bowl on Monday, Dec. 30.
  • Georgia (11-2) will play Baylor (11-2) in the Sugar Bowl on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2020
  • Mississippi State (6-6) will play Louisville (7-5) in the Music City Bowl on Monday, Dec. 30.
  • Alabama (10-2) will play Michigan (9-3) in the Citrus Bowl on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2020.
  • UAB (9-4) will play Appalachian State (12-1) in the New Orleans Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 21.
  • Kentucky (7-5) will play Virginia Tech (8-4) in the Belk Bowl on Tuesday, Dec. 31.