Tag: Bowl Season

UNC’s Power Echols had the most ridiculous interception against Oregon and the internet loved it

You have to see this play to believe it.

The World Cup may be over, but we haven’t seen the last of the soccer skills. North Carolina’s sophomore linebacker Power Echols put the foot in football in the San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl with maybe the most incredible interception of the college football season.

Oregon’s Bo Nix targeted his big tight end, Terrance Ferguson, and it looked as though the play was dead as the ball caromed off the calf of the Tar Heel defending on the pass. Echols didn’t give up, however, sneaking a toe under the football and giving it just enough air to stay alive.

The ability to pop it back up, get your hands on it, AND stay on your feet for a lengthy return? Legendary. Not only was the interception incredible, it was huge for North Carolina’s momentum. The Ducks were driving inside the UNC 20-yard line, looking to break the 14-14 tie. Instead, it went the other way and Drake Maye tossed a 49-yard touchdown one play later to give the Heels the 7-point lead.

Unsurprisingly, the internet couldn’t get enough of the incredible play.

Ranking the 10 most exciting 2022 bowl matchups

Bowl season has no shortage of must-see matchups.

The 2022 college football regular season stale has come to an end as we officially gear up for postseason play.

43 bowl games are set to take place from the Bahamas Bowl on Dec. 16 all the way to the CFP National Championship on Jan. 9.

The College Football Playoff semifinals will take place at the Fiesta Bowl and Peach Bowl this year, with the title game being held in Los Angeles.

All eyes will be on No. 1 Georgia as they take on No. 4 Ohio State and No. 2 Michigan vs. No. 3 TCU. Georgia looks to repeat as national champs while the other playoff squads try to dethrone the Bulldawgs.

Outside of the College Football Playoff semifinals features a great schedule of New Year’s Six games at the Rose Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl.

This bowl season has no shortage of must-see matchups. Here is a list of the 10 most exciting 2022 bowl games.

Bowl season: Where every SEC team is headed this postseason

Mark your calendars! Here’s a guide to watching SEC teams play in their respective bowls.

The regular season is now behind us, and it is time to prepare for the joyous period that is bowl season.

In the SEC, eleven of its’ 14 member programs will be heading to bowl games, and one will be representing the conference in the College Football Playoff.

It was revealed Sunday morning that the Georgia Bulldogs will enter the College Football Playoff as the No. 1 seed, and will face the No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes in the Peach Bowl in its’ own backyard. The game will take place on New Year’s Eve at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta. It will mark the third time this season that the Bulldogs have played a game in that venue.

The conference was on the verge of having two teams in the College Football Playoff. Alabama had an outside chance of earning a playoff bid, but the committee elected to put Ohio State in, who has just one loss, over a two-loss Alabama team. This comes one day after Alabama head coach Nick Saban pleaded for his team to make the playoff on national television during the Big Ten Championship game.

The Crimson Tide did make a New Year’s Six Bowl, however. They will meet Kansas State in the Sugar Bowl.

Where is everyone else heading? Here’s a guide to watching SEC teams during bowl season.

Sooners offensive tackle Wanya Morris opts out of bowl game, declares for 2023 NFL Draft

Opting out of Oklahoma’s bowl game, Wanya Morris declares for the NFL draft. From @john9williams

After receiving a senior bowl invite, it seemed like this was inevitably the next step as Wanya Morris has opted out of Oklahoma’s bowl game to begin preparing for the 2023 NFL Draft.

After transferring from Tennessee in the 2021 offseason, Morris was mostly a rotational player before stepping into a starting role this season with the Sooners. Though injuries limited him to just nine games, he started eight games for Bill Bedenbaugh’s offensive line and played 580 snaps at right tackle.

Morris is the second player to opt out of the bowl game, following fellow offensive tackle Anton Harrison to the next level.

At 6-foot-6 305 pounds, Morris projects as an offensive tackle at the next level with a swing tackle floor. Attending the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala. will allow him to showcase his skills against the nations best seniors in front of every NFL team.

With Morris and Harrison out of Oklahoma’s bowl game, look for Tyler Guyton to get the start at one of the tackle spots and Aaryn Parks along with true freshmen Jake Taylor and Jacob Sexton to compete for the start at the other tackle spot. Whichever direction the Sooners go will provide valuable snaps for the guys who will be competing for a starting spot in 2023.

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USA TODAY Sports updated bowl projections for the Crimson Tide, CFP

Where is Alabama projected to play in the bowl season after LSU loss?

The Alabama Crimson Tide has not yet been officially eliminated from the college football playoff after suffering their second loss of the season to the LSU Tigers, but the chances are slim. With some help, the Crimson Tide could make the SEC championship game, however, no two-loss team has ever made the playoffs.

This would only be the second time since the inception of the playoffs in 2014 that the Crimson Tide will not take part.

Clemson also suffered a loss on Saturday that will likely keep them out of the playoffs. It would be the first time ever that we would have a playoff without either Alabama or Clemson in it.

USA TODAY Sports has released its updated bowl and playoff projections at the conclusion of Week 10 and ironically, they predict Alabama and Clemson to meet in Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida on Dec. 30.

Alabama and Clemson have previously met in the postseason during the 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 seasons – all in the college football playoffs, so the stakes will be a bit different this year. The two programs have split those four previous match-ups 2-2, but the Tide leads the all-time series 14-5

The door to the college football playoff remains wide open, especially after this weekend. Headed into Week 11 USA TODAYS Sports predicts the playoffs to be Georgia vs. TCU in Peach Bowl and Ohio State vs. Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl.

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Where and who the Crimson Tide are projected to play this bowl season?

After a big win over ranked Miss St have the Tide jumped back into a playoff spot?

The Alabama Crimson Tide has already been through a roller coaster of a season, and there are still four regular season games to play. Alabama survived two really close games against Texas and Texas A&M, but Tennessee finally bested the Tide after 15 seasons.

The four games the Tide have left will be no cake walk though as they are at No. 18 LSU, at No. 15 Ole Miss, host Austin Peay and end the year by hosting the Auburn Tigers. The Tide still controls its own destiny to play in the SEC championship game and make the College Football Playoff, but the team has no room left for error.

Georgia and Tennessee will meet on Nov. 5, the same day as Alabama vs. LSU and I think these could both be defacto play-in games for the conference championship.

USA TODAY Sports released its updated bowl projections and Alabama is projected to miss the college football playoff for only the second time under head coach Nick Saban. As of right now, USA TODAY Sports predicts that Tennessee will meet up with Georgia in the Peach Bowl. While Ohio State and Clemson will meet in the other semifinal, the Fiesta Bowl.

As for Alabama, the Crimson Tide is expected to take on the projected Big 12 Champion TCU Horned Frogs in the Sugar Bowl on Dec. 31. A Sugar Bowl appearance would be disappointing to a lot of Alabama fans, but that is why it’s important to note that there is still plenty of football left to play

Alabama fans have a chance to sit back and breathe this week as the Tide are on bye.

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Latest ESPN bowl projections pits Auburn against ACC program

ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura projects a sunny end to the season for Auburn in his latest bowl projection.

The Auburn Tigers regained life last Saturday by defeating SEC-foe Missouri, 17-14 in overtime. The victory moved Auburn to 3-1, with a 1-0 record in SEC play.

The win was important, as it pushed Auburn one game closer to receiving bowl eligibility. With three wins, the Tigers need just three more victories to solidify their place in the postseason.

The Tigers are well on their way to reaching that goal as one ESPN writer predicts, as Auburn has made the list in the latest bowl projections from the worldwide leader.

ESPN’s Mark Schlabach and Kyle Bonagura recently dropped their weekly bowl projections ahead of week five’s matchups. This week, Bonagura believes that Auburn will travel to Tampa to compete in the Gasparilla Bowl at Raymond James Stadium on Dec. 23, and will play Louisville of the ACC.

The Cardinals are currently 2-2 on the season, with losses to fellow ACC programs Syracuse and Florida State, and have wins over South Florida and Central Florida.

Auburn holds a 2-0 advantage over Louisville all time. The last meeting between these two programs took place at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta for the 2015 Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game. Peyton Barber rushed for 115 yards while Rudy Ford made a team-leading 12 stops in Auburn’s 31-24 win.

Bonagura has stayed true to his Gasparilla Bowl projection for several weeks now. Two weeks ago, he projected the Tigers to meet Duke in the same bowl game. If the projection comes true, this will mark the first time that Auburn will compete in the Gasparilla Bowl.

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ESPN projects Auburn’s bowl destination following week three’s action

Auburn’s bowl hopes are still alive despite a tough loss to Penn State last Saturday.

Despite an ugly home loss to then No. 23 ranked Penn State last Saturday, not all hope is lost for Auburn’s postseason future. Following the game, the Nittany Lions moved up to No. 15 in this week’s USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.

ESPN analysts Mark Schlabach and Kyle Bonagura each made their weekly bowl projections after week three’s action, and one member of the pair has Auburn traveling to Tampa at season’s end.

According to Bonagura’s prediction, Auburn will face Duke in the Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl on December 23 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.

Auburn has faced Duke a total of six times in history, with the series tied at 3-3. The Tigers and Blue Devils played most recently in 1980 when Auburn defeated Duke, 35-28 in Auburn.

If this projection were to come true, it would mark the first time since the 2013 Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game that Auburn has faced an ACC program in a bowl game. That season, Auburn fell to Florida State, 34-31.

Auburn has an all-time record of 122-80-9 against teams from the ACC.

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Texas two-step? New projection sends Auburn to the Texas Bowl

Auburn could meet this Big 12 team during bowl season according to the latest projection from USA Today Sports.

As the college football season begins its second official weekend, bowl scenarios are becoming more and more frequent.

In the latest projection for USA TODAY Sports’ Erick Smith, has Auburn heading to Houston, Texas for bowl season, matching up with the TCU Horned Frogs from the Big 12 conference at NRG Stadium on Dec. 28.

Auburn has a successful history against teams from the Big 12, holding a 14-11-1 record over teams currently occupying the conference. Among those 14 wins, three of those have come against TCU. Every game between Auburn and the Horned Frogs has taken place at home sites, with the Tigers winning the most recent game against TCU in 1981, 24-16 in Auburn.

These two programs also share a common person, Pat Sullivan. Sullivan won the Heisman Trophy as Auburn’s quarterback in 1971. He also served as Auburn’s quarterbacks coach from 1986-91. The next stop in his coaching journey led him to TCU, where he was head coach from 1992-97.

In Auburn’s history, they have played a total of five bowl games in the state of Texas. Most recently, Auburn defeated Nebraska, 17-14 in the 2007 Cotton Bowl. Running back Carl Stewart made the most of his small statline in the game. He only recorded one carry and one reception, but both would be for touchdowns.

Both teams carry a 1-0 record with them heading into week two. Auburn is set to host San Jose State this Saturday while TCU faces Tarleton State in Fort Worth.

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USA Today Sports’ Bowl Projections after week one

Arkansas is still expected to end the season by playing in a great bowl game. Where are they projected to go bowling?

The SEC found success in week one of College Football by going 13-1, with the lone loss going to LSU after a last-second point after try was blocked, giving Florida State the 24-23 win in New Orleans last Sunday.

Even though the season still has plenty of weeks remaining, it is never too early to project a team’s success by examining bowl game scenarios.

USA Today Sports’  Erick Smith recently dropped his updated bowl game projection list, which included 12 SEC teams reaching the postseason.

While Smith has updated the postseason destinations for several SEC squads, Arkansas projected bowl destination remains the same. He still expects Arkansas to meet Penn State in the Citrus Bowl at Orlando’s Camping World Stadium on January 2.

Where does he have the rest of the SEC heading this postseason? Take a look below: