Alabama with 18th toughest schedule in 2023 according to ESPN’s FPI

A look at Alabama’s strength of schedule for the 2023 college football season!

With just a little over 100 days until the Alabama Crimson Tide take the field for the first time in the 2023 college football season, it’s time to look at their strength of schedule.

According to ESPN’s Football Power Index, Nick Saban and the Tide have the 18th hardest schedule in 2023.

While having the 18th strength of schedule doesn’t seem too easy, it is relative to a number of other SEC programs.

Nine other SEC schools have tougher schedules than Alabama in 2023 according to ESPN.

In fact, SEC rival Ole Miss sits with the No. 1 hardest schedule which includes road games against Tulane, Alabama, Auburn, and Georgia.

Auburn, Arkansas, Tennessee, South Carolina, Kentucky, LSU, and Texas A&M join Ole Miss as SEC schools with tougher schedules than the Crimson Tide.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Stacey Blackwood on Twitter @Blackwood89.

Longest active home winning streaks in college football

What college football teams have won the most consecutive games at home? Three teams are ahead of Georgia.

College football fans love to see their teams win at home. Home wins just mean a little bit more. The best teams in the country don’t lost at home very often.

In fact, the last national champion to lose at home was the 2016 Clemson Tigers. The Tigers fell to the Pittsburgh Panthers in Nov. 2016 and have not lost at home since. Every national championship since then has finished the season undefeated at home.

Georgia, Alabama, Clemson and LSU represent the recent national champions to go undefeated at home. Not all of the college football teams with the longest active home winning streaks are national championship contenders.

A dozen Power Five teams in the country have won at least seven consecutive home games.

Which Power Five teams have the longest active home winning streaks in college football?

 

College Football News lists Georgia’s keys to 2021 season

College Football news recently listed Georgia football’s keys to a successful 2021 CFB season.

Expectations for the Bulldogs continue to grow as we get closer to kickoff versus Clemson in Charlotte. A large reason is quarterback J.T. Daniels, who went undefeated as the starter last season while putting up big numbers. Daniels threw for 1,231 yards (67.3%) and 10 touchdowns with only two interceptions in just four games.

College Football News’ Pete Fiutak recently listed Georgia’s keys to success for the 2021 college football season, and the first key has plenty to do with Daniels.

Georgia Bulldogs Biggest Key: Offense

Georgia, you know that downfield pass thing you discovered with JT Daniels …

Georgia went 17 straight games without averaging ten yards per pass. Daniels stepped in, and boom. The offense averaged well over ten yards per throw in three of the last four games, with the lone outlier a layup win over South Carolina when the ground game rumbled for well over 300 yards.

The running game will be terrific, the defense will be outstanding, and the pieces are there – even with George Pickens hurt – to keep pushing the ball deep.

Open it up and good things will happen.

Many of the Bulldogs top offensive weapons joined Daniels in California for offseason workouts, which should add continuity to an offense that is still new to some. Offensive coordinator Todd Monken is entering his second year after a bumpy first season. Players didn’t benefit from spring football and summer training in 2020, but the schedule is back to normal this year and Dawgs will have every opportunity to get reps.

This year, Georgia added another threat in LSU transfer Arik Gilbert, who will line up at wide receiver and lessen the blow of losing George Pickens to a torn ACL.

The second key revolves around Georgia’s defense….

Kirby Smart a fan of possible College Football Playoff expansion

Georgia football HC Kirby Smart talked about a potential expansion to the College Football Playoff.

The College Football Playoff currently allows four teams to play for a shot at winning it all, but it seems a majority of fans would like to see that number increase.

However, there may not be a group of people who would like to see an expansion more than head coaches themselves — Georgia’s Kirby Smart included.

While appearing on the Paul Finebaum Show on Wednesday, Smart spoke on that topic, saying it would be a ‘good thing’ to give more programs an opportunity.

“I think if you polled any coach it would be foolish to say you wouldn’t want playoff expansion,” Smart said. “The current system is working and being successful but to give more teams an opportunity is a good thing. You look in years past and how many times No. 4 beats No. 1 you could say the same thing could happen to six, eight or 10 teams.”

It makes perfect sense that Smart would like to see an expansion to the current system. He’s made it once, so he understands just how difficult it is to crack the top-four at season’s end. He’s also finished No. 5 twice, both in 2018 and 2019, so he certainly knows what it’s like to be on the outside looking in.

College football will have different overtime rules starting this season

College football approved these rule changes to its overtime rules.

The NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel has approved a change that will aim to shorten the length of games that go into overtime.

Everything remains the same, however, now, in the second overtime period, after scoring a touchdown you will be required to attempt a two-point conversion. Previously, the rule had stated that you must attempt a two-point conversion starting in the third period of overtime.

another rule that will be put into effect this year begins in the third overtime period. If the game reaches a third overtime, teams will run alternating 2-point plays instead of starting another drive at the opponent’s 25-yard line.This is a change from the previous rule, which started to use 2-point plays in the fifth overtime period.

All-time, Georgia is 8-7 in overtime games. Its most famous overtime win was a 54-48 Rose Bowl victory over Oklahoma in the 2018 College Football Playoff. Its most famous loss, you ask? That would be the following game, a 26-23 overtime heartbreaker to Alabama in the CFP Championship Game.

UGA Football Live with J.C. Shelton: S1, Ep. 20: Season Superlatives Part III and Roster Outlook: Linebackers

J.C. talks about recent Georgia football news, including some key returning talent, and breaks down the Bulldogs’ linebacker room.

Your friends at “UGA Football Live” and UGA Wire present your one-stop shop for all things Georgia football!

This offseason we will be releasing episodes each Thursday with interviews, news and rumors and more!

In this week’s episode, I talk about recent Georgia football news, including some key returning talent, and I breakdown the Bulldogs’ linebacker room. Who’s coming back? Who will start? Who could be a breakout star? I answer those questions and give out Season Superlatives Part III, featuring our 2020 defensive MVP.

Listen here on Spotify:

 

Or here, on Apple Podcasts:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/uga-football-live-with-j-c-shelton/id1533295384#episodeGuid=Buzzsprout-7819723

Also I talk:

  • CFB Roundup

I touch on news around the college football world and discuss the strength of schedule of the top returning teams in the country for 2021.

 


Make sure to subscribe, rate and review! And check out our other episodes featuring former Georgia greats like Tavarres King (Ep. 3)  Keith Marshall (Ep. 4) Arthur Lynch (Ep. 6) Malcolm Mitchell (Ep. 7) Drew Butler (Ep. 9) Aaron Murray (Ep. 17) and Brandon Boykin with Chris Burnette (Ep. 18).

Ode to joy — EA Sports makes huge college football announcement

EA Sports has announced the return of its hit video game, NCAA College Football.

The college football world and video game enthusiasts across the nation applauded EA Sports announcement this morning that the company will be releasing a college football video game in 2022.

Due to licensing and legal issues, EA Sports has not released a college football video game series since 2014. The producer of the ever-popular Madden NFL video game series, EA Sports has partnered with CLC, a collegiate licensing company, which will allow it to include specific details such as team names, mascots and uniforms, but not the real names and numbers of individual players.

EA Sports Executive Vice President Cam Weber told The Washington Post that the game’s rosters will be composed of players with randomly generated names, numbers and attributes, “thereby avoiding potential infringement on any current players’ name, image or likeness rights.”

EA Sports discontinued the college football series after the company and the NCAA were sued by former UCLA basketball player Ed O’Bannon on behalf of college athletes over the unpaid use of their likenesses. EA Sports settled the suit for $40 million. In 2020, the NCAA announced that it would allow athletes to be compensated from the use of their names, images and likenesses, just as long such deals come from a third party, as universities will still not be allowed to pay the athletes directly.

Now the million-dollar question – which college football great will grace the cover of the initial release of the new college football series? Herschel Walker, Tim Tebow, Bo Jackson, Peyton Manning…. let’s hear your opinion.

Throwback: Watch UGA QB JT Daniels throw for 400 yards in his Georgia debut

USC transfer JT Daniels stepped in versus Mississippi State on Nov. 21 and threw his way into UGA record books. Watch the highlights here.

Georgia football gained a quarterback in 2020. USC transfer JT Daniels stepped in versus Mississippi State on Nov. 21 and threw his way into UGA record books with the most prolific debut passing performance in Georgia history.

Daniels would go on to beat Mississippi State 31-24 and win three more games games as Bulldogs signal caller, but his night versus MSU will always be remembered.

Let’s throw it back for a moment and relive Daniels big night:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsN36paTZ2I

Daniels completed 28 of 38 passes for 401 yards and added four touchdowns with zero interceptions, boosting the Bulldogs passing game and winning DawgNation over all in one night.

The good news for Georgia is the Santa Ana, Calif., native has elected to return to Athens for the 2021 season, making the Bulldogs a serious title contender.

 


This week former Bulldogs Brandon Boykin and Chris Burnette joined UGA Football Live with J.C. Shelton to talk Dawgs, their new podcast and more! Listen here for lots of laughs!

 

Kirby Smart releases statement on UGA QB Jamie Newman’s decision to opt-out of the 2020 CFB season

Read Georgia coach Kirby Smart’s statement regarding UGA QB Jamie Newman’s decision to opt-out of the 2020 CFB season here.

In unexpected news Wednesday, Georgia quarterback Jamie Newman decided to opt-out of the 2020 college football season, due to concerns amid the covid-19 pandemic and to prepare for the 2021 NFL Draft.

The NCAA is allowing players who are not comfortable playing during the pandemic to opt-out for the 2020 season. They are allowed to remain on scholarship and do not lose their year of eligibility if they chose to return.

Newman’s official statement:

After practice Wednesday afternoon, Georgia coach Kirby Smart released a statement regarding Newman’s decision to opt-out, saying he supports players who decide to sit because of safety concerns.

“One of the guiding principles of both the SEC and UGA return-to-play protocols has been the health and safety of our student-athletes.  We have emphasized continually that any student-athlete who decides to opt-out because of health and/or safety concerns related to COVID-19 would be fully supported to include honoring scholarships, access to academic facilities, etc., and would remain in good standing with the team.  While we will miss him being part of our program, I fully support Jamie’s decision and we will continue to regard him as a Georgia Bulldog.  Certainly we wish him nothing but the best in his quest for an NFL career and he knows he will always have a home at UGA.”

Smart has always been a players coach. From his tenure at Alabama as defensive coordinator to now, head coach in Athens.

In that sense, he knows that he has to support his players and that it impacts not only how his team feels about him now but also recruiting in the future, so no surprise here that Smart is backing Newman’s decision.

 

 

Georgia football DC Dan Lanning gets contract extension

Georgia defensive coordinator Dan Lanning receives a one-year contract extension through 2023. Details here

Georgia football’s defensive domination hasn’t gone unnoticed as second-year defensive coordinator Dan Lanning receives a one-year contract extension through 2023. Marc Weizer of the Athens Banner-Herald was the first to report.

Lanning previously received a $500,000 raise in salary in March, which brought his annual salary to 1.25 million annually. That makes him Georgia’s highest-paid assistant coach .

New offensive coordinator Todd Monken is a close second at $1.1 million in 2020, $1.25 million in 2021, and $1.4 million in 2022.

Lanning was an outside linebacker’s coach before taking over the Georgia defense after former defensive coordinator Mel Tucker left to take the head coach position at Colorado after the 2018 season.

Under Lanning in 2019, the Bulldogs defense was one of the best Georgia units we’ve ever seen. They led the league both in scoring defense with 12.6 points per game, and in rushing yards allowed per game with 74.6.

 

 

 

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