Tag: 2020 cfb season

Former Georgia QB Justin Fields creates petition to reinstate Big Ten football season

Former UGA QB Justin Fields, now with the Ohio State Buckeyes, created petition to reinstate the Big Ten football season amid coronavirus

Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields has created an online petition to reinstate the 2020 Big Ten football season.

The former Georgia Bulldog, who transferred to Ohio State following the 2018 season, has been very vocal about his desire to play for a championship this fall with the Buckeyes.

Related: Georgia Football: COVID-19 status tracker

On Sunday morning, the Heisman hopeful created and shared an online petition that seeks to reinstate the 2020 Big Ten football season. The campaign, addressed to Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren, Big Ten university presidents, and Big Ten athletic directors, asks that the Big Ten overturn its decision to postpone the fall football season in 2020.

“We, the football players of the Big Ten, together with the fans and supporters of college football, request that the Big Ten Conference immediately reinstate the 2020 football season. Allow Big Ten players/teams to make their own choice as to whether they wish to play or opt out this fall season. Allow Big Ten players/teams who choose to opt out of playing a fall season to do so without penality or repercussion,” the petition reads.

The petition also explains why the players believe it is safe to play and why it is important to sign it.

“We want to play. We believe that safety protocols have been established and can be maintained to mitigate concerns of exposure to Covid 19. We believe that we should have the right to make decisions about what is best for our health and our future. Don’t let our hard work and sacrifice be in vain. #LetUsPlay!”

As of 12:30 pm ET Sunday, the petition has already collected over 30,000 signatures.

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Georgia football legend Herschel Walker: “Let these guys play!”

Georgia Bulldogs legend Herschel Walker weighed in on the upcoming decision on the college football season

Georgia Bulldogs legend Herschel Walker weighed in on the NCAA’s and the Power Five conferences’ upcoming decisions regarding the college football season. The college football season is in jeopardy due to coronavirus.  The Big Ten allegedly may be cancelling the season, but nothing official has come out at the moment.

Herschel Walker, Georgia’s all-time rushing leader, thinks the college football season should go on despite the risk. The MAC and Mountain West have both already postponed their fall sports and Power Five conferences may be joining them soon.

College football Twitter has been buzzing following the news and rumors from the Big Ten. Programs are taking measures to protect their players, but this is before students arrive on campus. When students return, the risk of coronavirus spread will increase.

It is a messy situation for the NCAA, which is already a controversial organization. Athletes like Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields, and more want to play, even if it would be an unusual season without fans.

Athletes, Congressmen, and Coaches are among the many speaking out against cancelling the 2020 college football season. Among them is Herschel Walker who thinks that the football season should go on.

Walker, who will always represent the University of Georgia, summarized his opinion in the following Tweet:

Do you think a college football season will be played in 2020?

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Georgia football play of the day

Watch the Georgia football play of the day here.

It’s Thursday, July 9 and today’s play of the day comes from Georgia at Auburn in 2003.

Down 19-0, Auburn faced a critical fourth quarter third-and-goal from Georgia’s two yard line when Tigers quarterback Jason Campbell tried to make a big play. Instead, he threw over the middle of the end zone right into the hands of Georgia linebacker Odell Thurman, who returned the pass 100 yards for the Georgia pick-6.

Watch it here:

Georgia football play of the day

Watch the Georgia football play of the day here!

It’s Wednesday, July 8 and today’s play of the day comes from Georgia versus Florida in 2007.

DawgNation may remember this one as “the celebration”. It was third and goal for Georgia when running back Knowshon Moreno took a power-I hand-off over the top of the Florida defense for the first score of the game. As soon as Georgia knew Moreno had the score, the entire Bulldog sideline joined the offense on the field for one of the coolest moments in UGA vs. UF history!

Watch it here:

Underdog Georgia would go on to win 42-30 behind Moreno’s 33 carries for 188 yards and three touchdowns.

2020 CFB season countdown: 69 days until Georgia football

Join us as we count down the days until Georgia football kicks-off in Atlanta!

There are 69 days until Georgia kicks-off versus Virginia in Atlanta on Sept. 7.

Former Georgia guard, #69, Mack Burroughs (1984-1987) was a four-year letterman and team-captain of the 1987 Bulldog team that went 9-3. Burroughs, from Tiger, Georgia went 24-10-2 in his career in Athens and is remembered as one of the best offensive lineman in Georgia football history.

Georgia basketball star Anthony Edwards joins Lebron James, signs with Klutch Sports Group

Per Klutch Sports Group’s Twitter account, Georgia basketball star Anthony Edwards has signed with the agency who also represents Lebron.

Former Georgia basketball star, 2019-20 SEC Freshman of the Year Anthony Edwards, has signed with Klutch Sports Group, according to their Twitter.

Klutch Sports Group is a sports agency founded by Rich Paul – known most famously as agent to NBA superstar Lebron James – and has been in the news most recently for the signing of Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young and now Edwards, the potential No. 1 pick of this year’s NBA Draft.

Rich Paul and Klutch Sports Group also represents NBA players like Anthony Davis, John Wall, Ben Simmons and Draymond Green with Edwards now being the youngest athlete signed.

Edwards was a one-and-done at Georgia. In 2019, he was the nation’s leading freshman scorer at 19.1 ppg and was named second-team All-SEC by both the coaches and the AP.

DawgNation, mark your calendars for October 16, as Edwards looks to become the first Bulldog drafted No. 1 overall in the NBA Draft.

Report: NCAA to allow voluntary football, basketball workouts

According to Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports, the NCAA voted Wednesday to allow athletes back on campus. Dates and details here

According to Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports, the NCAA voted Wednesday to allow athletes back on campus starting June 1 for voluntary football and basketball workouts.

Thamel wrote:

“An NCAA vote Wednesday cleared the return of student-athletes to campus in football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball on June 1 through June 30, multiple sources told Yahoo Sports.”

The decision ends the COVID-19 lock-down on athletic activities on campuses through May 31 and is, though just a small step towards normalcy, great news for sports fans and athletes around the country.

Sources reportedly told Yahoo Sports that the Division 1 council will vote on other sports besides football and basketball as soon as possible.

As far as testing procedures, it will be up to the individual school’s and state’s procedures and guidelines, according to Yahoo Sports’ sources.

“It will be up to the schools and political decision-makers to develop protocols on the tests, which cost approximately $100 each,” Thamel added. ““No one wants to get into that,” said a source. “They want to leave it to your own campus and state.””

The 2020 college football season is set to begin August 29 and Georgia football is scheduled to start its season in Atlanta versus Virginia on Sept. 7. What that will look like remains to be known. Last week, NCAA President Mark Emmert said:

“All of the commissioners and every president that I’ve talked to is in clear agreement: If you don’t have students on campus, you don’t have student-athletes on campus. That doesn’t mean [the school] has to be up and running in the full normal model, but you have to treat the health and well-being of the athletes at least as much as the regular students. … If a school doesn’t reopen, then they’re not going to be playing sports. It’s really that simple.”

If the season does go on, most likely there will be a very limited number of people involved and judging by Emmert’s comments and the NBA’s reported plan of resuming their season without fans, we could also see a start to the football season without people in attendance.

Report: SEC presidents to vote on when players can return to campus

LSU executive said Thursday that the conference’s presidents and chancellors will vote whether to allow players to return to their campuses.

Per Brooks Kubena of The Advocate, LSU executive deputy athletic director Verge Ausberry said Thursday that the conference’s presidents will vote whether players will be able to return to campus on either June 1 or June 15.

The vote could take place as soon as next week.

From Kubena:

Ausberry, told the Louisiana Economic Recovery Task Force that the athletic department is aiming to return its players to campus on June 1, something athletic director Scott Woodward had also said in the department’s virtual Coaches Caravan Wednesday night.

“The presidents are going to take a vote in the SEC,” Ausberry told the task force, a unit of private sector business leaders who advise lawmakers on the economy’s recovery amid the spread of coronavirus. “Do we come back? Do we bring the students back on June 1 or June 15?”

Per 247Sports, SEC administrator Herb Vincent said,

“We are in continuous conversations about athletics activities related to COVID-19 and will make decisions appropriately.”

As states begin to reopen amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s only a matter of time before athletes and coaches are allowed back on campuses. The question is, will football be played in the fall?

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said,

“For us to have our football season our universities have to re-engage in a normal operating pattern.”

For now, it looks like we should be hoping for schools to reopen completely before we can expect a football season, or at least that is what SEC officials have led us to believe so far.

114 ADs predict whether or not we’ll have a 2020 CFB season

Brett McMurphy polled college ADs to determine how optimistic they are on if we will have a 2020 college football season. 

In recent weeks, there have been plenty of talks as to what the future holds for the 2020 college football season.

As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, we’ve seen multiple options presented regarding the 2020 season.

Delay the season, shorten the season, scrap the season altogether. We’ve heard it all, but for the time being all we can really do is just wait and see.

Quite honestly, I don’t care about your opinion on the matter and you probably don’t care about mine. If there’s a group of people who have an opinion worth caring about, it’s the college athletic directors — the ones actually faced with the task of making the best decision for the players, fans and coaches.

Thankfully, Brett McMurphy of Stadium reached out to all FBS collegiate athletic directors, receiving 114 out of 130 possible responses, to determine just how optimistic they are on if we will have a 2020 college football season.

Here are the numbers: 

99% of the FBS athletic directors do believe we will have a 2020 season in one form or another. Only one anonymous Power Five AD does not believe there will be any college football played this year.

That’s a nice number, but that does not mean they don’t think the season will be delayed.

Only 24% of the ADs think the season will actually begin as scheduled.

20% predict the season will begin in October or November and will include only conference play. 41% predict the same timeframe (Oct. or Nov.) for the season kickoff, but expect a full 12 game schedule. In total, 61% of the ADs predict the season won’t begin until October or November.

14% do not expect the season to begin until the spring semester in January or February.

“Given the medical and governmental leadership opinions, it is reasonable to believe some compromise to the start of the season lies ahead,” a Power Five AD told McMurphy.

To read the full story, click here….

Georgia football addition of Jamie Newman among CFB’s 5 biggest summer storylines

Georgia football adding Jamie Newman is one of the leading storylines heading into the 2020 CFB season, as well coronavirus.

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, it’s hard to find a college football storyline bigger than what’s going on at the moment.

Will we even have a 2020 college football season? Will there be fans if we do? How will recruiting be impacted? Will we have to push back National Signing Day? What about future player eligibility? Will the financial impact be too much to overcome?

Coronavirus will be at the center of college football storylines up until we kickoff the 2020 season (fingers crossed).

However, there’s only so much coronavirus that we can discuss before we drive ourselves crazy, if it’s not already too late.

That’s why I give props to Saturday Blitz, a Fansided college football website. Jake Mitchell wrote a story titled ‘College Football: 5 biggest storylines to follow during summer 2020,’ and did a nice job of talking about things other than the obvious – coronavirus.

Of course he had to make mention to the pandemic that is putting the season in jeopardy, but he touched on some of the storylines that would be front-page news if COVID-19 never came about.

In ranking his top-five storylines, how Jamie Newman will perform during his lone season at Georgia made the list.

Is Jamie Newman the Guy in Athens? — That’s what Mitchell ranked as the fourth biggest storyline heading into the 2020 season.

Right now there’s obviously no way of answering that, but after seeing Jake Fromm’s unexpected struggles in 2019, Georgia fans are hopeful that the offense can’t get any worse.

Newman is a dual-threat quarterback transfer from Wake Forest. He’s already receiving Heisman-hype and is considered one of college football’s top returning passers this year.

Mitchell wrote:

There’s never been a question about talent during Smart’s tenure in Athens. The thing that’s held the Bulldogs back has been an offense that stalls frequently and the lack of a quarterback who has the ability to make things happen on his own when these stalls occur. Fromm is a fine player, but he wasn’t that guy.

The one thing that will make this hard for Newman will be the shadow that hangs over him. Georgia already had the dynamic quarterback that could make things happen himself, and his name was Justin Fields. Smart chose Fromm, and Fields left for Ohio State.