247Sports Bowl Projections: Texas Back Into the New Year’s Six
247Sports has given their bowl projections before spring ball has begun and they have Texas as one of the at-large teams in the Big 12.
In what seems to be a yearly tradition surrounding the Texas program, expectations are once again extremely high going into the 2020 season. Not only are the Longhorns expected the compete for the Big 12 championship, but they are expected to play in one of college football’s most pristine bowl games, one of the New Year’s Six bowl games.
Usually, for the Big 12, that game is the Sugar Bowl, as the best team in the Big 12 and SEC face off against each other in New Orleans every year on New Year’s Day. However, for the upcoming season, the Sugar Bowl is one of the playoff venues this year, so Big 12 teams will be considered at large bids.
247Sports has given their bowl projections before spring ball has begun and they have Texas as one of those at-large teams in the conference. The projection also has the Longhorns playing their bowl game in the state of Texas, facing off against Boise State in the Cotton Bowl, held at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
If the two teams were to face off, it would be the first time the programs ever faced each other in football. While they may be stuck in a non-power five conference, the Broncos are one of the most dangerous teams in the country. Since 2000, they have had 16 seasons of 10 or more wins, including a 3-0 record in BCS /New Year’s Six Bowl games.
Both Texas and Boise State have only been to one NY6 bowl game since its rebranding in 2014. Each has a 1-0 record as the Broncos defeated Arizona in the 2014 Fiesta Bowl and the Longhorns upset Georgia in the 2019 Sugar Bowl.
As for the rest of the Big 12, Oklahoma is the only other team projected in an NY6 game, facing off against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. 247Sports does not project a team from the Big 12 to make the playoff, instead having two SEC teams (Alabama and Florida) playing Clemson and Ohio State respectively.
If the Longhorns can make a quality bowl game like the Cotton Bowl, it would be considered a successful season. While Boise State may not be the most flashy opponent to face, playing another game within the state of Texas would create an amazing atmosphere for another big-time bowl game under Tom Herman.
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Giants’ DeAndre Baker improved dramatically down the stretch
New York Giants rookie CB DeAndre Baker dramatically improved down the stretch according to the advanced analytics.
For those who are already writing off New York Giants cornerback DeAndre Baker as a bust, don’t be so hasty. The 30th overall pick in last year’s NFL Draft may have had a rough beginning to his pro career, but he settled down as the season unfolded.
For those who cling to advanced analytics, this one is for you…
Excellent stats below from @DBro_FFB on #Giants DB Deandre Baker.
I am still very high on him long term, mostly because in watching all of his All-22, the key takeaway is that he did an above-average job staying in phase in coverage.
The game will slow down for him, hopefully. https://t.co/nziqRhTRZJ— Dan Schneier (@DanSchneierNFL) February 23, 2020
Baker’s issue wasn’t that the game was too fast for him as a rookie. The speed of the game was fine. It was the way the Giants deployed him that was the issue. Defensive coordinator James Bettcher had his corners playing 10-12 yards off the line of scrimmage at times in an inexplicably passive approach to NFL defense.
Baker came out of Georgia as a press corner who confronted receivers close to the line of scrimmage and locked them down. In his final season in college, he did not allow a touchdown.
Bettcher basically had Baker roaming in coverage, leaving him to pick and choose the man he was supposed to cover. Once the Giants began utilizing Baker properly and playing to his strengths, his play improved dramatically.
Just point him to the receiver you want him to cover and leave him there. What was so difficult about that? Bettcher constantly overthought his coverages and confused the hell out of his secondary. With all the young players out on the field, the issue was compounded and the Giants gave up way too many easy yards and touchdowns through the air.
This coming season, you can expect Baker to play a more traditional corner role and he should be one of the players that makes a jump in his second season.
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16 new drills added to 2020 NFL Scouting Combine
This year in Indianapolis, the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine will feature 16 new on-field drills replacing a number of old ones at each position.
The on-field drills are one of the most anticipated events of the league’s annual scouting combine, which features hundreds of top NFL prospects vying to impress scouts, coaches and managers throughout the week.
This year, in addition to airing the workouts in primetime, 16 new drills have been added to the lineup and others have been eliminated, according to Around the NFL writer, Nick Shook.
Here’s a look at new drills added and old eliminated by position group.
Quarterbacks
Added: End zone fade, timed smoke/now route drill
Running backs
Added: Duce Staley drill, inside routes with change of direction
Eliminated: Pitch and cone drill, find the ball drill
Wide receivers
Added: End zone fade route
Eliminated: Toe tap drill
Tight ends
Added: End zone fade
Eliminated: Toe tap drill
Offensive line
Added: New mirror drill, new screen drill
Defensive line
Added: Run and club drill, run the hoop drill
Eliminated: Stack and shed drill
Linebackers
Added: Shuffle, sprint, change of direction drill, short zone breaks drill
Eliminated: Pass drop
Defensive backs
Added: Line drill, Teryl Austin drill, box drill, gauntlet drill
Eliminated: Close and speed turn, pedal and hip turn
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2020 NFL Scouting Combine measurements: CeeDee Lamb leads top wide receivers
2020 NFL Scouting Combine measurements: CeeDee Lamb leads top wide receivers
Speed is what the Raiders lack in their wide receiver corps. There are three receivers who possess the requisite speed who have at times been mocked to them at either pick 12 or 19 — Alabama receivers Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs III and Oklahoma’s CeeDee Lamb.
Of those three, the measurements portion of the combine belongs to Lamb.
Lamb’s measurements across the board were better than either Jeudy or Ruggs. Here are the measurements of some of the draft’s top wide receiver prospects. Though he has pretty close to the same body.
PLAYER | HEIGHT | WEIGHT (LBS) | ARM LENGTH | WINGSPAN |
---|---|---|---|---|
Brandon Aiyuk | 5-11 5/8 | 205 | 33 1/2″ | 80″ |
KJ Hamler | 5-8 5/8 | 178 | 30 3/4″ | 72 1/2″ |
Tee Higgins | 6-3 5/8 | 216 | 34 1/8″ | 81″ |
Justin Jefferson | 6-1 1/4 | 202 | 33″ | 78″ |
Jerry Jeudy | 6-1 | 193 | 32 1/8″ | 76″ |
CeeDee Lamb | 6-1 5/8 | 198 | 32 1/4″ | 76 5/8″ |
Henry Ruggs III | 5-11 | 188 | 30 1/2″ | 74 1/2″ |
Laviska Shenault Jr. | 6-0 5/8 | 227 | 31 7/8″ | 76 1/4″ |
Denzel Mims | 6-2 7/8 | 207 | 33 7/8″ | 78 1/2″ |
Donovan Peoples-Jones | 6-1 5/8 | 212 | 33 1/2″ | 79 2/8″ |
Michael Pittman | 6-4 | 223 | 32 1/2″ | 79 1/4″ |
Jalen Reagor | 5-10 5/8 | 206 | 31 3/8″ | 74 3/8″ |
The most impressive number of all belongs to Brandon Aiyuk, who despite being just 5-11 5/8 tall, has an 80-inch wingspan. That’s second among receivers to only Tee Higgins (81″) who is a solid four inches taller than him.
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2020 NFL Combine: Jordan Love steals spotlight as quarterbacks measure in
Chargers Wire gives their takeaways from the quarterback’s measurements at the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine.
The 2020 NFL Scouting Combine got underway on Monday as some of the positional groups started to measure and weigh in. Among the groups was the quarterbacks.
Here is a look at the measurements of some of the notable signal-callers:
LSU QB Joe Burrow
Height: 6-3 4/8
Weight: 221
Hand: 9
Arm: 30 7/8
Wingspan: 74
Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa
Height: 6-0
Weight: 217
Hand: 10 (left), 9 7/8 (right)
Arm: 30 4/8
Wingspan: 75 2/8
Oregon QB Justin Herbert
Height: 6-6 2/8
Weight: 236
Hand: 10
Arm: 32 7/8
Wingspan: 78 7/8
Utah State QB Jordan Love
Height: 6-3 6/8
Weight: 224
Hand: 10 4/8
Arm: 32 5/8
Wingspan: 80
Washington QB Jacob Eason
Height: 6-5 7/8
Weight: 231
Hand: 9 4/8
Arm: 32 7/8
Wingspan: 79
Georgia QB Jake Fromm
Height: 6-1 7/8
Weight: 219
Hand: 8 7/8
Arm: 31 1/8
Wingspan: 75
Oklahoma QB Jalen Hurts
Height: 6-1
Weight: 222
Hand: 9 6/8
Arm: 31 6/8
Wingspan: 77 5/8
Takeaways
- Jordan Love was the biggest winner out of the crop. At 6-foot-4 and 224 pounds, Love looks the part with a well-built, sturdy frame. The former Utah State product boasted the biggest hands at 10 1/2 inches.
- Justin Herbert came in as the tallest quarterback, by no surprise. Last month, Herbert weighed in at 226 pounds at the Senior Bowl, but is now up 10 pounds, but is still possessing an athletic frame. It’ll be interesting to see if the gain in weight effects his agility drills.
- Tua Tagovailoa measured in as one of the shorter quarterbacks, drawing comparisons to Seahawks’ Russell Wilson with his stature. However, Tagovailoa’s hands are among the biggest at his position, which is a plus.
- Both Joe Burrow, the projected No. 1 overall selection and Jake Fromm were both scrutinized for their small hands, as Burrow barely met the threshold and Fromm was slightly under. For Burrow, it doesn’t dock him as much, but it does for Fromm a little bit since his physical traits are below NFL standards.
UTSA Football Schedule 2020 Prediction, Breakdown, Analysis
UTSA football schedule 2020 prediction, breakdown, analysis, ranking every game.
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UTSA football schedule 2020 prediction, breakdown, analysis, ranking every game.
UTSA Football Schedule 2020
Sept. 5 at LSU
Sept. 12 at Texas State
Sept. 19 Grambling
Sept. 26 Memphis
Oct. 3 at UAB
Oct. 10 OPEN DATE
Oct. 17 Old Dominion
Oct. 24 Louisiana Tech
Oct. 31 at Florida Atlantic
Nov. 7 at Rice
Nov. 14 UTEP
Nov. 21 at Southern Miss
Nov. 28 North Texas
Conference USA East Teams Missed: Charlotte, FIU, Marshall, Middle Tennessee, WKU
UTSA Football Schedule 2020 Prediction, Best Case Scenario
8-4: The Roadrunners don’t get anyone hurt against LSU in the opener and come up with two straight wins right after to get the season going. They take care of home with wins over Old Dominion, UTEP and North Texas, they beat Rice on the road, and they pull off an upset somewhere for a no-problem winning season and bowl appearance.
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UTSA Football Schedule 2020 Prediction, Worst Case Scenario
3-9: There’s a problem on the road. They whiff against Texas State, and they lose every other road game, including to Rice. That’s six losses right there, throw in home losses to Memphis, Louisiana Tech and North Texas, and it’s another ugly campaign.
Get UTSA Tickets for the 2020 season with TicketCity
UTSA Football Schedule 2020 Ranking Hardest To Easiest
2020 preseason ranking of the UTSA football schedule from the hardest-looking games to the easiest.
1. Sept. 5 at LSU
2. Sept. 26 Memphis
3. Oct. 31 at Florida Atlantic
4. Oct. 24 Louisiana Tech
5. Nov. 21 at Southern Miss
6. Oct. 3 at UAB
7. Nov. 7 at Rice
8. Nov. 28 North Texas
9. Oct. 17 Old Dominion
10. Nov. 14 UTEP
11. Sept. 12 at Texas State
12. Sept. 19 Grambling
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Robert Neyland Jr. discusses Jeremy Pruitt embracing more steam
Robert Neyland Jr. discusses Jeremy Pruitt and UT football.
KNOXVILLE — Tennessee concluded the 2019 season with a six-game win streak and victorious in seven of its last eight contests.
Tennessee’s seven wins in the final eight contests of the season came after a 1-4 start and losing to Georgia State in Week 1.
Following the Vols’ 38-30 defeat to Georgia State, Jeremy Pruitt took part in his weekly appearance on The Vol Network’s “Vol Calls” radio show.
A caller told the second-year Tennessee head coach that Rome was not built in a day.
“It’s like I told the kids today, when things don’t go your way, what are you supposed to do,” Pruitt replied to the caller. “You’re supposed to put on more steam, right?”
Following the opening week loss to Georgia State is just one example of when Pruitt has embraced General Robert Neyland’s mantra of “if at first the game or the breaks go against you, don’t let up… put on more steam.”
This saying is listed as Neyland’s third Game Maxim that remains posted in Tennessee’s locker room.
Robert Neyland Jr. played on Tennessee’s 1951 national championship team and is the son of the legendary UT head coach.
“I am very pleased in the way they came back and I was very encouraged,” Neyland Jr. told Vols Wire of Tennessee’s 2019 season.
The Vols put on more steam during the final eight contests last season as players came together to find ways to win games.
“I think they thought they could walk out there on the field and beat Georgia State,” Neyland Jr. said. “I think along the way Coach Pruitt convinced them that they had the talent to win, but they just were not working hard enough.”
Neyland Jr. thinks “it is excellent” that Pruitt embraces his father’s Game Maxims, and especially making it a point to remind his team to put on more steam.
“He has really hung on to those (Game Maxims) and particularly that one,” Neyland Jr. said.”
As Tennessee is set to kickoff spring practices next month in preparation for the 2020 campaign, Pruitt’s message of his football team applying more steam is highlighted to season ticket holders.
“Everyone is energized about the way we finished last season,” Pruitt said in a Tennessee press release stating football season ticket prices will not increase in 2020. “When Neyland Stadium is rocking, it’s unlike anyplace else in the country. And it sure seems like our players block a little better and hit a lot harder when Vol Nation is revved up.
“We’ve got something special taking place here, and we’re putting on more steam every day to make sure the decade of the Vols starts strong. We need our fans to put on more steam, too.”
The Dye: Junior tournament to honor legacy of course designers Pete, Alice Dye
The Dye, a junior golf tournament, is set to honor the legacy of course designers Pete, Alice Dye later this year at Crooked Stick.
The legacy of famed golf course architects Pete and Alice Dye will live on forever in their countless courses across the world.
The two will also be honored with a new junior golf tournament set to debut in 2020 at the home to the Dyes’ “firstborn” championship course.
Announced by officials on Monday, the inaugural Pete and Alice Dye Junior Invitational, to be known as The Dye, will be held at Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, Indiana, May 25-27.
A field of the top 33 boys and girls junior players will compete in the 54-hole event and will receive points for the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR), National Junior Golf Scoreboard (NJGS) and Golfweek/Sagarin Junior Rankings.
Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings: Boys | Girls
Why 33? That’s the number of cars that race in the Indianapolis 500, held the day before The Dye just a few miles south of Crooked Stick. The field is highlighted by Golfweek/Sagarin No. 2 Alexa Pano, No. 7 Michael Brennan and John Daly Jr., son of 1991 PGA Championship winner at Crooked Stick John Daly.
“Pete and Alice Dye were both elite level amateur players and began winning tournaments as juniors,” said tournament chairman Wayne Timberman. “The Dye is the only national invitational where elite boy and girl golfers play for a major title on the same Top 100 course at the same time.”
The winners will receive a hand-carved award in the shape of the club’s iconic Crooked Stick.
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MMA Junkie Radio #3029: UFC Auckland and Bellator recaps, Fury-Wilder, Adesanya, more
Hosts “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” look back at the UFC and Bellator shows from Friday-Saturday and react to the latest MMA news and notes.
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Monday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with hosts “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here!
On Episode No. 3,029 of the podcast, the guys look back at a busy combat sports weekend with UFC Auckland, Bellator 239, Bellator Dublin and Fury vs. Wilder, and they react to the latest MMA news and notes.
THE RUNDOWN
- UFC on ESPN+ 26 went down in New Zealand with a killer main event between Dan Hooker and Paul Felder. We look back at the card.
- Bellator had back-to-back events with Bellator 239 in Oklahoma and Bellator 240/Bellator Europe 7 in Dublin. We go through the most important results.
- How did you score Hooker’s split decision win over Felder?
- Should Hooker get Justin Gaethje next? That’s whom he called out.
- Should Felder hang up the gloves after his loss? He said he was considering it, but his team says that was just in the moment.
- Did Jimmy Crute have his coming-out party with a big TKO of Michal Oleksiejczuk in Auckland?
- Should Karolina Kowalkiewicz call it quits after a fourth straight loss at UFC Auckland? We think she should.
- Angela Hill set the new bar in Auckland with six UFC fights in less than a year. Should she take a rest and slow down?
- UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya ruffled plenty of feathers with a 9/11 comment. He apologized after the fact and owned up to it. We break down the situation.
- How was the Tyson Fury win over Deontay Wilder on Saturday night different from a big UFC event?
- Submission Underground went down Sunday, and we recap the event.
Stream or download this and all episodes of MMA Junkie Radio over at OmnyStudio, or check it out above. You can also catch it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and more. A new episode of the podcast is released every Monday and Thursday.