Tag: CFB

Alabama football loses significant ground in way-too-early Top 25

In ESPN’s latest way-too-early Top 25 college football rankings, Alabama slides significantly in the wrong direction.

Since losing to Michigan in the Rose Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal, the Alabama football program has gone through a lot.

Nick Saban retired. The transfer portal produced some key departures. A few 2024 commits signed elsewhere. As a result, ESPN has grown wary of the Crimson Tide.

Though there have been plenty of negatives, it is important to remember  there has also been plenty of positive news. New head coach Kalen DeBoer is a proven winner. He has hired a strong staff. There have been some impressive pickups via the transfer portal and the recruiting trail.

ESPN’s original way-too-early Top 25 for the 2024 college football season had Alabama ranked No. 4, but that is no longer the case. In the latest rankings, the Crimson Tide have fallen to No. 9, which makes DeBoer’s team the fifth-highest-ranked SEC team.

No sense in complaining about a top-10 ranking, but being fifth in the conference the Tide just won last season is interesting.

Marco Schlabach of ESPN writes,

“Alabama’s transition under former Washington coach Kalen DeBoer has already been rocky, with Downs and highly regarded quarterback Julian Sayin transferring to Ohio State, Bond and tight end Amari Niblack jumping to Texas, offensive tackle Kadyn Proctor returning home to Iowa and several players leaving for the NFL. Then, making matters worse, offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb and offensive line coach Scott Huff took jobs with the Seattle Seahawks last week. Saban’s dynasty wasn’t built with Tinkertoys, so the Crimson Tide will be fine in the long run.”

The Crimson Tide’s 2024 season, and the DeBoer era, begins on Aug. 31 in Tuscaloosa against Western Kentucky. We don’t know where Alabama will be ranked to start the season. Neither do we know what to expect from this team. The standard, however, is to compete for the conference title and a national championship.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow Alabama football as the 2024 offseason progresses.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow AJ Spurr on X @SpurrFM. 

7 former NFL stars (Brian Urlacher!) with sons who committed to college teams on National Signing Day

It’s National Signing Day! Let’s feel old about it together

It’s National Signing Day in college football which means it’s once again time to argue about recruiting classes and last-minute flips.

For those of us of a, shall we say, certain age, it’s also a day to feel very, very old as the talented sons of NFL players we grew up watching choose where they will go to college.

These are the names you’ll hear next fall that jolt you out of your seat when you see them make a play that looks just like their old man.

Only in this case we are the ones who have aged significantly.

Here are a few sons of former NFL greats you should get ready to watch for at least the next few years.

Penn State DE mocks Michigan with sign stealing celebration

Dani Dennis-Sutton trolled the Wolverines sidelines with this celebration.

In case you haven’t heard, University of Michigan head football coach Jim Harbaugh is in some hot water right now. He’s currently suspended and wrapped up in a sign-stealing controversy. Something Penn State defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton decided to have some fun with and troll the Wolverines sideline on Saturday.

Dennis-Sutton decided to go with a celebration that included mimicking looking through binoculars and writing something down to troll Michigan over its current predicament. Too much or just right? This is one of those celebrations that definitely walks the line but was too much not to share.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Ole Miss celebrated beating Texas A&M on a blocked kick with another unhinged video

Jimbo Fisher had a bad day. Ole Miss’ social team made it worse.

The end of Ole Miss – Texas A&M was pure chaos on Sunday. Though, to be fair, things were pretty chaotic well before the final whistle.

Lane Kiffin started his day by getting booed off College GameDay and by early afternoon he was watching his offensive lineman get punched in the groin. But the pièce de résistance in the matchup between SEC rivals came during the final drive.

After Texas A&M battled back from a 28-14 deficit for a chance to win or force overtime with the clock expiring, quarterback Max Johnson tossed up a jump ball that went right into the hands of Ole Miss’ DeShawn Gaddie Jr.

What looked like a clear interception in real time was overturned upon review. Officials ruled Gaddie didn’t maintain possession before his momentum carried him out of bounds.

The Aggies were given new life. It amounted to just a few yards and a must-convert field goal attempt from 47 yards with two seconds remaining.

As Randy Bond’s kick went up for the Texas A&M, Ole Miss broke through the line and got a few fingers on the ball to deflect it safely away from the uprights.

Final score: Ole Miss 38, Texas A&M 35.

The Aggies dropped to 5-4 on the season and 3-3 in conference play. Jimbo Fisher’s job security will certainly be called into question again as he tries to navigate the final three games of the year.

But that comes later. First was another especially deep fried video from Ole Miss that will break your brain if the game didn’t already do so.

Of course they had to quote tweet Texas A&M in the video drop. It just means more.

Iowa fan’s obituary: Say a prayer for the Hawkeyes’ offense in lieu of flowers

Always support the team.

When Dr. B Eleanor Anstey died last month, her family was given a simple instruction for how her obituary should read:

“Dr. B. Eleanor Anstey born on June 9, 1926. She died on October 25, 2023.”

Her loved ones didn’t feel those two sentences were enough, so while honoring her wishes, they also filled in the gap between those years with highlights from her life — including her devotion to Iowa Hawkeyes football — which led to another simple instruction from her family:

“In lieu of flowers please make a donation to a charity of your choice,” the obituary read. “Or simply say a prayer for the Iowa Hawkeyes offense on her behalf.”

Iowa’s offense has been notoriously low-scoring for years, averaging at least 30 points per game just twice since 2016. It’s gotten even worse in 2023 with the Hawkeyes averaging 19.5 points. That ranks 120th out of 133 FBS teams. Earlier this year the Hawkeyes played a game with the lowest over/under total points line in college history at 30.5. They may top that record again in Week 10 with the over/under for the Iowa-Northwestern game reaching as low as 29.5 at some sportsbooks.

But it appears those prayers may have started working. On October 30, Iowa announced offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz will not return to the team in 2024. It’s a massive win for Hawkeyes fans who have long called for change within the program.

His father, head coach Kirk Ferentz, however, still plans to stick around. The call for prayer may not have been specific enough.

CFB Analyst gives Alabama a midseason grade of ‘B’

What grade would you give Alabama on a report card halfway through the season?

Alabama football has reached the halfway point of the 2023 season and ranks outside the top 10 with a record of 5-1. One college football analyst decided to grade the Crimson Tide’s first half of the season, along with the other 13 SEC teams.

Barrett Sallee of CBS Sports gave Alabama a ‘B’ for the first half.

“The one-loss Crimson Tide have dealt with issues, including an offensive line that has proven to be a liability. However, it has found a way to work through the issues up front due in part to an offensive scheme that evolved toward the strengths of quarterback Jalen Milroe as the season has progressed. Make no mistake, this is far from the Alabama juggernaut that we have seen in year’s past. However, it is one that can evolve into a championship-caliber team if it keeps taking steps forward.”

Sallee mentions how the Tide has improved over the course of the first six weeks. While that’s not something Alabama fans are all too used to, it’s very true. Nearly every player and positional group has appeared stronger and more cohesive as the season as progressed.

There are a few big-name matchups in the second half of the schedule, but none as difficult as the few the Crimson Tide already faced, like Texas A&M or Texas. The Iron Bowl will be the biggest test, as it takes place on the road at Jordan-Hare Stadium, which has seen some of the wildest moments of the in-state rivalry.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow Alabama football as the second half of the 2023 season gets underway.

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 AJ Spurr on Twitter @SpurrFM. 

Deion Sanders’ 60 Minutes answer to who is the best coach in college football was so perfectly Prime

This answer was so perfectly Deion Sanders, and it was great.

I would venture to say most college football coaches think highly of themselves, and Deion Sanders is no different.

However, coach Prime wears that confidence in himself on the outside, and he has a track record to support his belief; he’s 3-0 in his first season as head coach at Colorado after going 27-6 in three years at Jackson State. That’s before we get into his accolades as a player.

So, his answer on 60 Minutes, when asked who is the best coach in college football today, should surprise nobody. And, yet, it was still hilarious to hear.

“Let me see a mirror, so I can look at him,” Sanders said.

I’m sure 60 minutes got exactly what it was looking for with that answer. I also think most other coaches would have similarly said themselves, though they might not have done it with as much charisma as Sanders.

That answer will probably turn some people off, because for some reason, people hate when other people believe in themselves. But it’s hard to argue with the results. Sanders also still paid homage to his friend Nick Saban, who is probably the answer for most fans. So, good for him.

Tom Brady had the best response to Shedeur Sanders tapping into ‘Brady mode’ on Colorado’s game-tying drive

Shedeur Sanders went “Brady mode” and Tom Brady took notice.

Backs against the wall, facing defeat to a rival they were favored to beat by more than three touchdowns — a rival whose coach had given them fresh bulletin board material ahead of Saturday’s game — the Colorado Buffaloes went on a 98-yard drive in the final two minutes to force overtime.

The orchestrator of that drive was quarterback and Heisman candidate Shedeur Sanders, and after Colorado went on to win the game over Colorado State, he said all he was thinking in that pivotal moment was “Brady mode.”

“Brady mode, that’s it. They left too much time out there,” Sanders said in obvious reference to future Hall of Famer Tom Brady.

Sanders added that he talks to Brady after every game, and that the future Hall of Famer would likely have a message for him after this game as well.

He was right. Not only did Brady respond to the interview on Twitter with a couple of emojis, he posted the clip to his Instagram story with a very cool message.

“I just want to go Shedeur mode at some point in life,” Brady wrote.

With the way Sanders handled himself in those pressure-packed moments, it was a very fitting message.

Mississippi State coach Zach Arnett dropped an F-bomb in his postgame interview and immediately regretted it

Zach Arnett was a little too excited after Mississippi State’s overtime win over Arizona.

We love a good unfiltered interview where the interviewee forgets they’re actually being interviewed, and that’s exactly what we got after Mississippi State staved off a near-collapse to beat Arizona in overtime Saturday night.

Bulldogs head coach Zach Arnett could finally breathe once the game went final and let his relief show maybe a little too much during his postgame interview on SEC Network, casually letting an F-bomb fly on national TV.

I’ll be honest. I don’t understand the root of the banter between Arnett and interviewer Cole Cubelic, but it doesn’t make this slip-up and Arnett’s immediate face of regret any less funny.

That’s the face of a man who wished he could just vanish from the cameras — or “scramble” — in that moment. But ultimately, it just made for funny TV. And more importantly, Arnett’s team got the win.