Music City Bowl’s Scott Ramsey discusses Vols’ chances of playing in Nashville

2019 Tennessee football.

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NASHVILLE — Tennessee (7-5, 5-3 SEC) finished the 2019 regular season with five consecutive wins.

The five-game win-streak has provided momentum heading into the offseason under Jeremy Pruitt as he continues to rebuild the Vols’ program back to a championship contender.

Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl President and CEO Scott Ramsey discussed how Tennessee playing in Nashville for the postseason is a good fit.

“Obviously we would be very excited to have them,” Ramsey told Vols Wire of Tennessee. “I think it would be a good fit.”

Ramsey mentioned that each year is different and having the Vols play at Nissan Stadium is a better fit this bowl season with Tennessee carrying momentum into 2020.

“I think every year is different,” Ramsey said. “In talking to the Tennessee folks and Phillip (Fulmer), sometimes when you are really close you want to make it the right year when you are there.

“I know some of our counterparts have similar situations, sometimes it seems like it’s the right year and sometimes it works best if you go in a different direction, but this one certainly feels that if we have the opportunity then it will be really successful. Tennessee specifically, they did not play at Vanderbilt this year and no bowl game last year, so we feel like with a Monday afternoon game and a chance to really reach out and maximize the opportunity to the fans to participate in the program and the players to play in front of a full stadium, we think we have the right opportunity.”

Ramsey said that he and counterparts representing other bowl games have to wait and see how championship games play out before Sunday’s final College Football Rankings.

“I say that with a little bit of a pumping the brakes because we have to see how the system plays out and some things we can’t control and how many teams the SEC ultimately gets in the New Year’s Six — which could dictate the available teams in our pool and shuffle all of the cards,” Ramsey said of Tennessee playing in the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl. “We have been fortunate in Nashville, given the geographical proximity to most of the schools within at least a half-day drive, our flexibility with some teams are really good and we have seen some really great response.

“Our city is an exciting place for the players and fans. If we are fortunate enough to have Tennessee it will be a great, successful fit this year.”

Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl selection process

  • Agreement with the SEC to take on either the ACC or Big Ten (through a unique partnership with the TaxSlayer Bowl) each year.
  • Equally positioned with five other Bowl games (Outback, TaxSlayer, Advocare Texas, Belk, and Autozone Liberty) immediately following the College Football Playoff and Capital One Bowl.
  • The SEC office controls selection of SEC schools with input from both the Bowls and Universities within the above-mentioned six Bowl group.
  • Over the course of six years, the SEC will play an ACC team three times and a Big Ten team three times.
  • The Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl and TaxSlayer Bowl will jointly determine which Conference (ACC or Big 10) will play in each Bowl on “Selection Sunday.” The rotation is not pre-determined giving the Bowls maximum flexibility in creating the best match-ups for their respective SEC opponent.

Ramsey discussed which conference could matchup against an SEC team this season in the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl.

“We probably will go ACC this year,” he said. “Louisville, most logically, would be one of our options, Virginia Tech could fit in there as well. We will see how things play out and leads into Sunday.”

If Tennessee is not the team representing the SEC in Nashville, Ramsey views Mississippi State or Kentucky as “successful” options, as well.

As championship games unfold leading up to the final College Football Playoff rankings, Ramsey detailed what he will be watching for.

“What we are really watching are how many (SEC teams) are in the New Year’s Six,” Ramsey said. “It’s a dominio effect. We are all trying to make matchups work.

“We work more through the conferences for a better sense of all the matchups and not just two. So it might be a three or four bowl trickle like Tampa, Charlotte, Houston. Who you have on the other side of the game factors. We all do talk and we all share preferences, and ultimately now it centers with the conferences.”

Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl — December 30, 2019 — 3:00 p.m. CT

UFC DC preview with Rashad Evans: Overeem-Rozenstruik, Calvillo’s weight miss, more

UFC Hall of Famer Rashad Evans previews the top storylines around UFC DC with MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn.

WASHINGTON – UFC on ESPN 7 goes down Saturday, and the 13-fight card is filled with interesting fights and compelling storylines.

Much of the focus, of course, is on the main event between heavyweight contenders [autotag]Alistair Overeem[/autotag] (45-17 MMA, 10-6 UFC) and [autotag]Jairzinho Rozenstruik[/autotag] (9-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC), but the co-main event between [autotag]Marina Rodriguez[/autotag] (13-0-1 MMA, 2-0-1 UFC) and [autotag]Cynthia Calvillo[/autotag] (8-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) is getting its fair share of attention, too.

UFC on ESN 7 takes place at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. The card streams on ESPN+.

To give you insight into all the storylines around Overeem vs. Rozenstruik, Rodriguez vs. Calvillo and more, MMA Junkie senior reporter Mike Bohn and UFC Hall of Famer/ESPN analyst [autotag]Rashad Evans[/autotag] preview the event in the video above.

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Chargers defense needs to exploit Jaguars’ Gardner Minshew’s weakness

The Chargers need to make it a struggle for Gardner Minshew to get a grip.

In order to win on the defensive side of the ball, one of the things the Chargers will need to do is make it a struggle for Jaguars quarterback Gardner Minshew to get a grip, literally.

In eight games as the team’s starter, Minshew has been efficient, tossing 14 touchdowns and only five interceptions. But like any rookie, there’s going to be some growing pains and for Minshew it’s ball security.

The former Washington State product has fumbled the ball 12 times and has lost seven of them, which is tied for the second-most in the league.

There’s no denying the athleticism of Minshew. He will look to extend plays with his legs quite frequently, ranking sixth in yards rushing among quarterbacks this season. But while he can break some ankles from time to time, he will also run and lose the football.

Despite possessing one of the league’s best defenses, Los Angeles hasn’t been able to take the ball away out of their opponent’s hands. The unit is tied for last in forced fumbles this season with only six.

That could very well change this weekend.

It all starts with the pressure up front. They can’t allow Minshew to leave the pocket too soon, which is what he susceptible to doing. Defensive end Joey Bosa and company should benefit from facing an offensive line that gave up five sacks last weekend.

Next, they have to actively be looking to strip the ball by swiping it away and utilize hard tackling at the second level of the defense to dislodge the football if he does manage to escape the pocket.

If they can do that, they will keep Minshew and company off the field, eliminating their opportunities to score on Sunday.

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3 Jaguars to watch on offense vs. Chargers

Gardner Minshew II will return as the Jags starter against the Chargers and has a grand opportunity to show he can start in 2020.

The Jacksonville Jaguars will be taking on a Los Angeles Chargers team they’ve struggled against in the past and it’s almost a certainty that a win won’t come easy if the Jags prevail. However, the Chargers simply aren’t what they used to be on offense and have become more of a defensive group, which means the Jags’ defense will be the unit that has to step up the most in all probability this Sunday.

Here are three Jaguars to watch on offense this Sunday:

Gardner Minshew II

“Minshew Mania” has returned and the rookie quarterback should basically treat his opportunity as an audition to start at quarterback in 2020 as well. Gardner Minshew II was officially named the team’s starter after replacing a struggling Nick Foles midway through last Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Bucs, and many are beginning to wonder if it’s the last we’ll see of the veteran as a starter.

As for Minshew, he’ll be looking to continue where he left off earlier this season after winning six Rookie of the Week awards, a Rookie of the Month award (for September) and going 4-4 as a starter. He has a grand opportunity to make a huge statement upon his return by going toe-to-toe with veteran Philip Rivers and beating a Chargers franchise that has simply had the Jags number in the past with a 7-3 record against them.

RB Leonard Fournette

With the Jags season going terribly wrong, Leonard Fournette’s incredible season is going under the radar. The third-year rusher will enter Sunday’s game with 989 rushing yards, just 11 yards shy of the 1,000-yard mark.

With changes likely to come in terms of the staff, Fournette should be motivated to close the season right and prove to the next potential regime that he is a big part of the Jags’ young nucleus of talent. Additionally, with him having the fourth-most fan votes at the running back position in the Pro Bowl race, he could use a strong performance to close the gap between him and those in front of him. With the Chargers having the No. 18 ranked rushing defense, that shouldn’t be an issue for the bruising tailback.

WR DJ Chark Jr.

Like Fournette, receiver DJ Chark Jr. is closing in on the 1,000-yard mark with 881 receiving yards and only needs 119 yards to hit the mark. He’s been the Jags’ most improved player in 2019, and with Minshew back on the field, it could help the young receiver drastically as the two have a strong bond, especially on extended plays.

Chark will be up against an elite passing defense, which means he may have to flourish in the short passing game more. With players like Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram rushing the passer and Casey Hayward at the cornerback position, it would speak volumes if Chark had success Sunday because a lot of receivers haven’t been able to do so in 2019.

Antonio Brown: Unemployed WR issues another apology on Instagram

Antonio Brown wants back in the NFL badly.

Shortly after being cut by the Patriots after he had sexual assault allegations levied against him, Brown tweeted that he’d never be playing in the NFL again.

Fast forward a few months later and Brown is still out of work and looking for a new job in the league. Brown is apologizing again for his behavior in his previous stints with the Raiders and Patriots and asking for a second chance at football.

He posted his latest apology on Instagram saying he “never once” meant to make anyone feel like he was ungrateful for the “opportunity to play the game I love.”

View this post on Instagram

First and foremost, I’d like to apologize to my family, friends and anyone who I offended. I never once meant to make anyone feel like I wasn’t thankful and appreciative of the opportunity that I was afforded to play the game I love. I’ve worked hard over the years to earn a chance to compete in the greatest game on earth. Over the years I was met with challenges and I can honestly say I didn’t handle those challenges in the manner that I should have. Over the past few weeks I’ve had the opportunity to think about everything that’s transpired and I am deeply sorry to all who I’ve offended. While my behavior was inexcusable, sometimes when people are coming at you with false information and allegations, we handle ourselves in ways that we sometimes regret. I do take full responsibility for my actions and I’m working everyday to repair what I broke. I do know that if I’m ever given the opportunity to play the game that I love, I’m going to work extremely hard to show the world how much I appreciate another chance. To the organizations that I offended, I offer my sincere apology to you and my hope is that you forgive me and help me move on from this minor setback. I look forward to competing and helping a team reach their goals.

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That post was a follow up on one from the day before where he posted a picture of him and Tom Brady saying “Miss you big bro.”

View this post on Instagram

Miss you big bro

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It’s not the first time he’s apologized either. He apologized to Robert Kraft and the Patriots organization on Twitter and Instagram in November and got a little love from Tom Brady for it.

These apologies seem to be falling upon deaf ears (or blind eyes?) because he’s still out of the league and it doesn’t seem like anyone feels sorry for him.  Only time will tell if that changes.

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Eric Reed Jr. puts UGA in top-four, sets commitment time

The Georgia Bulldogs, Auburn Tigers, LSU Tigers and Notre Dame are in Eric Reed Jr.’s top schools. Reed will be making his commitment soon.

The Georgia Bulldogs are among the top four for Eric Reed Jr., who will be making his commitment soon. Reed Jr. has LSU, Auburn, Georgia, and Notre Dame in his top four schools.

Reed Jr. is four-star safety and plays high school at Calvary Baptist Academy. He is from Shreveport, Louisiana. He’s committing on the last day of the early signing period. I’d bet the SEC Championship Game will have a big impact on his decision. Georgia is currently considered the front-runner for Reed Jr.

He announced his top schools and his commitment time via Twitter:

Eric Reed Jr. is not to be confused current Carolina Panthers safety and former LSU Tigers safety Eric Reid. Reed may be the next great UGA safety. He may take the place of senior safety J.R. Reed, who is headed for the NFL after this season.

Junior safety Richard LeCounte may leave for the NFL as well, but his stock may drop after facing elite passing offenses to end the season. LeCounte must improve the angles he takes on certain plays, but has made numerous huge plays this season.

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