Tag: 2024 College Football Season

UCLA football ends season with win over Fresno State

The Bruins end their season on a high note.

The UCLA Bruins finished the season the way they started. Taking down Fresno State 20-13, the Bruins closed out an eventful first season in the Big Ten with a win.

The Bruins secured Saturday’s victory with a 15-play, 78-yard drive. Late in the fourth quarter at the Rose Bowl, UCLA’s offense took command of the low-scoring affair to give the Bruins a two-score lead, 20-10. In the waking minutes of the game, the Bruins’ defense stiffened, and their special teams secured the win on the onside kick.

In what was likely quarterback Ethan Garbers’ final game in a Bruins uniform, the senior finished with 289 yards on 26-40 passing and the game-clinching drive.

Finishing 5-7 on the year, the Bruins weathered a difficult schedule under first-year head coach DeShaun Foster. Though the Bruins’ coaching staff often showed some inexperience, the marked culture shift in Westwood should follow them into 2025 and bear fruit down the line.

With a bevy of talented players joining the program next season, UCLA has set itself up for success in the future as they say goodbye to several key seniors. Though the sun sets for UCLA’s 2024 college football season, the future remains bright for the Bruins.

UCLA Bruins linebacker finalist for Butkus Award

The Bruins’ stud linebacker is a finalist for a big award.

Entering their first season in the Big Ten, questions swirled around the UCLA Bruins’ ability to play tough defense. One of their best players answered the call in 2024 and was named a finalist for one of college football’s most prestigious awards.

Redshirt junior captain and linebacker Carson Schewesinger was named a finalist for the Butkus Award. Named after one of the Big Ten’s best linebackers, Dick Butkus of Illinois, the award is given to the best linebacker in all of college football.

Joining Schewesinger on the finalist shot list are Barrett Carter of Clemson, Christ Paul Jr. of Mississippi, Danny Stusman of Oklahoma, and Jalon Walker of Georgia.

Schewesinger leads the nation in solo tackles with 79 and ranks third in total tackles with 121.

Given his lock-down tackling ability and chart-topping stats, Schewesinger boasts an impressive case for the Butkus Award, though the Bruins’ regular season woes could impact his ability to garner enough votes to win.

UCLA football falls to USC Trojans in Big Ten slugfest

The UCLA Bruins fell short against rival USC at the Rose Bowl.

The UCLA Bruins fell to the USC Trojans on Saturday night 19-13, losing to their biggest rival at the Rose Bowl. Dropping to 4-7 on the season, the Bruins are no longer eligible for a bowl game in the 2024 college football season.

Despite a strong performance by Bruins’ quarterback Ethan Garbers, who finished with 265 yards on 20-29 passing and a touchdown, the UCLA’s offense failed to convert at critical junctures and let the game slip away.

In Saturday night’s performance, the Bruins were an abysmal 3-11 on third down and 0-3 on fourth down, with playcalling and execution proving to be the deciding factor.

On the most crucial play of the contest, trailing 16-13 with just under five minutes remaining from their own 34-yard line, head coach DeShaun Foster opted to keep the offense on the field to extend the Bruins drive.

Offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy drew up a quarterback sneak for Ethan Garbers, who was stuffed at the line of scrimmage, turning the ball over to the Trojans and effectively ending the game.

Though the Bruins were competitive with the Trojans all night, UCLA was a dollar short and a day too late in all three phases. Scoreless in the fourth quarter, UCLA could not rise to the occasion in the game’s biggest moments.

Saturday’s loss marked the beginning of the end of the Bruins’ first season in the Big Ten and another example of how far the team still has to go. The Bruins look to regroup and reset for their final game next week against Fresno State.

Start time announced for UNC-NC State football regular season finale

You can now start planning for the UNC-NC State football regular-season finale.

No matter who the North Carolina Tar Heels beat in any given football season, there’s one opponent in recent years who they can’t seem to get past: NC State, their in-state rivals from just 30 minutes down the road in Raleigh.

Last year, UNC (6-3, 3-3 ACC) started 6-0 before its epic collapse put it back in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl. The Wolfpack (5-5, 2-4 ACC) were part of North Carolina’s late-season slide, stomping the boys in Carolina Blue by a 39-20 mark in Raleigh.

It’s now State’s turn to play in Chapel Hill this season – and you can bet it’ll be a loud, chippy game.

Earlier on Monday, we learned that the Tar Heels and Wolfpack will kick their regular-season finale off at 3:30 p.m. ET.

This is just late enough to have a nighttime atmosphere (it starts getting dark at 5:30 p.m.), but early enough as to where fans – and players – can celebrate afterwards.

If you remember NC State coach Dave Doeren’s infamous words about UNC after last year’s game, he said, “those pieces of **** haven’t beaten us in 1,460 days.” I have no issue with Doeren firing his players up and taking friendly jabs at North Carolina, but saying this about kids is crossing the line.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DChaVq2vp_Z/

The Tar Heels are playing their best football of 2024, winning their past three games behind a combination of Omarion Hampton and strong defense, to climb back into bowl contention. This comes after UNC’s coldest stretch, in which four consecutive losses had fans questioning how much longer Mack Brown would be coaching.

The Wolfpack, ranked in the preseason, are sitting at .500 overall after a quarterback switch and inconsistent play. They will travel to Georgia Tech on Saturday, Nov. 21 before heading up to Kenan.

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Will Hugh Freeze make a change at quarterback?

Auburn needs to win its final three games in order to qualify for a bowl game. Will a change be made?

Auburn football’s season and year two under head coach [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] is not going as many people thought it would, and if many questions were not already raised about this program, even more are coming up now.

The Tigers are currently 3-6 on the year and 1-5 in SEC play. As if that is not enough, Freeze is sitting at 9-13 in his Auburn tenure, similar to where Bryan Harsin was in his second season on the Plains.

One of the main questions that has surrounded the team, though, is the quarterback play on the field. While [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] has shown flashes of talent at moments this season, his play throughout his career with the Tigers has had many shaking their heads.

In two years, Thorne has recorded a 62% pass completion percentage, throwing 29 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. He was benched in the team’s week two loss to Cal after throwing four interceptions for backup [autotag]Hank Brown[/autotag], before returning to the starting job against Oklahoma.

Despite this season being Thorne’s final one of eligibility, Freeze said his staff is considering a change at the position during Wednesday’s SEC coaches teleconference.

“Payton’s played pretty solid, but at the same time you start thinking big picture and well, that’s a tough that’s a tough quandary for you as a coach,” Freeze said. “When you start thinking big picture, as opposed to one of your players that really hasn’t done anything wrong, but we certainly aren’t winning. And so we’re debating all of that this week and we’ll continue into next week, debating that.”

Outside of Brown, [autotag]Walker White[/autotag] has been working with the scout team for most of the year but is also in the running to earn some playing time here at the end of the season.

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UCLA football upsets Nebraska for second-straight Big Ten win

The Bruins survived on Saturday to take down their second-straight Big Ten opponent.

The UCLA Bruins have back-to-back wins for the first time in the 2024 college football season. Taking down their second-straight Big Ten opponent, UCLA upset Nebraska on the road 27-20 to improve to 3-5 on the season.

Behind a productive performance by all three units, the Bruins offense, defense, and special teams played in perfect unison, never trailing in the game for a second.

The Bruins started the day strong, owning the time of possession and holding Nebraska to only two yards in the first quarter. A pair of field goals and a touchdown pass later, the Bruins held a narrow but pronounced 13-7 lead.

In the second half, the Bruins kept piling it on. Linebacker Kain Medrano intercepted Cornhusker quarterback Dylan Raiola and returned it for a 38-yard pick-six, and shortly after, Bruins quarterback Ethan Garbers tossed his second touchdown to wideout Kwazi Gilmerpass to give the Bruins a 27-14 lead. Despite a late surge by the Cornhuskers, UCLA’s defense stiffened to secure the win with a game-sealing pick by cornerback Kaylin Moore.

Garbers put together another nice game through the air and on the ground, combining for 275 yards on 17-25 passing with two touchdowns.

Capitalizing on the over-aggressiveness of the Cornhusker defense, offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy’s use of play-action and misdirection proved to be a winning, on-the-fly strategy for the Bruins offense all game long.

But the most notable takeaway from the Bruins win was that head coach DeShaun Foster, for the second week in a row, had his players ready to go on the road. With four winnable games remaining for UCLA, bowl eligibility could be on the table for the surging 2024 Bruins.

Jarquez Hunter named Doak Walker Award Running Back of the Week

The weekly awards just keep piling up for Auburn’s top back.

Auburn football is trying to make an immaculate bounce back in the month of November, starting on the right track following a road win against the Kentucky Wildcats on Oct. 26.

The win was largely due to major contributions from the defense, while running back [autotag]Jarquez Hunter[/autotag] had a career day.

Hunter’s performance consisted of 23 carries for 278 yards and two touchdowns, earning him the Doak Walker Award National Running Back of the Week.

The senior’s most notable run came in the early stages of the fourth quarter when he broke through the right side for 45 yards and a touchdown, delivering the knockout punch and putting his team up 14. He also had a 50-yard run as well, serving as his longest rush of the night.

Hunter is extremely close to breaking the 1,000-yard mark on the year, sitting at 863 heading into this weekend. He only has five touchdowns however, and with two of those coming in last week’s victory, it seems apparent that getting him the ball will be a key to victory during the rest of the season.

Should Hunter break 1,000 yards, it will be his only season throughout his time on the Plains that reaches the milestone, capping off his career with a solid performance.

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Kirk Herbstreit names Jarquez Hunter a top performer of the week

Hunter’s 278-yard outing vs. Kentucky caught the attention of ESPN’s most respected analyst.

The Auburn Tigers finally got back in the win column on Saturday after they won on the road at Kentucky to end the month of October thanks to an impressive performance from star running back [autotag]Jarquez Hunter[/autotag].

Hunter put up 23 carries for 278 yards and two touchdowns, making noise nationwide and gathering the attention of many. That included catching the eyes of ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit, who named Hunter one of his week nine top performers.

Hunter made a large dent in the scoreboard when he broke off a 45-yard run in the fourth quarter of the victory, putting the Tigers up by 14 and helping finish the win. He also made a 50-yard carry as part of his explosive night.

The 278 yards by the senior marked the first time in his career that he surpassed 200 yards in a single game, inching him closer and closer to the 1,000-yard mark for the year. Should he break that mark, it will be the first time in his career to do so.

Hunter only holds five rushing touchdowns to his name in 2024, but with two of those coming against the Wildcats, he seems to be a clear component to success for Auburn.

He looks to make the same mark on Nov. 2 when the Tigers take on the Vanderbilt Commodores at home in Jordan-Hare Stadium.

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What did we learn from Auburn’s victory over Kentucky?

Auburn ended October on a high note by taking down Kentucky on the road.

Auburn football is finally finished with its month-long stretch of road games, but comes out of it with the sweet taste of victory that it has not felt since September.

The Tigers escaped Kroger Field with a 24-10 victory on Saturday, fulfilling a 10-point comeback and finishing the game in full, something they have not done in quite some time. The win puts Auburn at 3-5 on the year and 1-4 in the SEC.

This game started like recent ones, where the offense showed a very slow start while the defense gave the team somewhat of a chance. This time though, the offense turned things around throughout the action.

Here is what we learned about the Tigers after the win.

Starting quarterback [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] finally made necessary changes after yet another slow start, and his smart decisions helped drive a lot of momentum into the entire offense.

Thorne threw an interception in the first quarter, but overall, went 20 for 26 with 172 yards and one touchdown. His vision got better as the game went on, but things still have a lot of room to improve in that facet if the team wants a better start.

Senior running back [autotag]Jarquez Hunter[/autotag] needs to be handed the ball in order for Auburn to have success down the stretch. The star in the backfield rushed 23 times for 278 yards and two touchdowns, becoming a workhorse throughout the night and pushing the team towards the win down the stretch.

Hunter showed all night that he has the skills to break off big runs, which were evident in a 50-yard run and a 45-yard touchdown run that he had in the fourth quarter to put the dagger on the Wildcats.

As for the offensive line, things need to be reviewed with its blocking scheme, as Thorne took five sacks on the night. As tough opponents near at the end of this season, Thorne needs to have more time in the pocket than he does in order to make plays and stay healthy.

As for the defense, it was an all-around complete performance. Two interceptions and three sacks were a big reason why Kentucky’s offense was shut out after the first quarter, making big plays all night.

Freshman cornerback [autotag]Jay Crawford[/autotag] is going to continue to be a force for this defense… and he is only in his first season. Crawford made the first interception of the night for Tigers, arguably seen as the turning point of the game. He also only allowed a 33% completion rate on six targets for the night.

As for the special teams, [autotag]Alex McPherson[/autotag] made his way back into action for the first time in the 2024 season. While he missed and made one kick each, there is some optimism that he will make a steady return over the course of November.

Auburn returns home to Jordan-Hare Stadium on Nov. 2 to welcome Vanderbilt and former New Mexico State quarterback Diego Pavia to town. Kickoff is set for 11:45 a.m. CST and the game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.

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ESPN FPI projects the winner of Auburn vs. Kentucky

How does ESPN analytics project Saturday’s game between Auburn and Kentucky to play out?

Four consecutive losses are sitting on the back of the Auburn Tigers and head coach [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] as they prepare for their final game in October. While things may be looking up in some aspects of the game, the Tigers keep finding ways to lose when they can no longer afford it.

That luck must turn around on Saturday as Auburn takes on the Kentucky Wildcats, a game that looks to be fairly even according to the metrics.

According to the ESPN Football Power Index and matchup predictor, the Tigers are not currently favored to win, having a 48.7% chance to beat the Wildcats on the road. That is their highest favorability in a while, however, trying to use it to their advantage.

The numbers have stayed the same for the most part. BetMGM shows Kentucky as a 2.5-point favorite, not having changed since the line opened. The point total has increased, though, rising from 42.5 to 43.5, keeping the narrative that neither of these offenses will score much.

The Wildcats’ offense is currently ranked No. 15 in the SEC with just an average of 319.9 yards per game, while Auburn is sitting over a full 100 yards ahead at 421.9 (No. 9). It also sits dead last in passing offense and points scored not being able to move the ball down the field on many occasions.

Kentucky’s defense, however, has kept it in many games and is strong, similar to Missouri. The Wildcats rank in the top five in the conference in total defense, passing defense, and rushing defense, containing opponents and limiting yard production consistently throughout this year.

The Tigers will meet Kentucky in their final road game of this month-long stretch, kicking off at 6:45 p.m. CST at Kroger Field on Saturday. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.

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