Tag: Chris Low

ESPN breaks down the biggest overreactions for Alabama football heading into 2024

ESPN’s Chris Low says that a brewing quarterback controversy is the biggest overreaction from spring ball

As spring ball wraps up and the season is still about four months away, this is easily the worst time of the year on the football calendar. With nothing to preoccupy our minds, we tend to get wrapped up in overreactions from spring football such as position battles or transfer speculations. After a busy winter transfer portal window for the Alabama Crimson Tide due to Nick Saban’s retirement, the spring window was fortunately pretty slow with only a handful of departures, however, position battles are wide open.

Quarterback Ty Simpson had a really strong spring camp as well as transfer Austin Mack who came over with head coach Kalen DeBoer from the Washington Huskies. However, Chris Low of ESPN argues that the biggest overreaction in Tuscaloosa is that a QB controversy is brewing. Low says of the Tide,

“Let’s pump the brakes on a quarterback controversy looming in Tuscaloosa as Kalen DeBoer takes over for Nick Saban as Alabama’s coach. The Tide staff loved what they saw this spring from Ty Simpson and the steps he took. He was much more decisive in his decision-making and played with more confidence than he did last spring and preseason when he was competing for the starting job. But Alabama’s starter unequivocally remains Jalen Milroe, who was the key to Alabama’s transformation a year ago from an above-average team to a playoff team. Milroe should thrive in DeBoer’s system and has a year of experience to build on as a second-year starter. The best news for the Crimson Tide is that they have two quarterbacks they believe in, and that’s always comforting going into a season.”

It will take some time for Kalen DeBoer’s offense to be fully integrated to the Alabama players, but returning a starting quarterback like Jalen Milroe through the coaching transition is absolutely massive. Milroe is the highest-returning Heisman vote-getter from a season ago and looks to take a massive step forward in DeBoer’s QB-friendly offense.

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 Sam Murphy on Twitter @SamMurphy02.

Nick Saban was ‘disappointed’ with how players reacted to Rose Bowl loss to Michigan

Nick Saban was not pleased with his players following the Rose Bowl loss to Michigan

It has been a little over two months since Jim Harbaugh and the Michigan Wolverines defeated [autotag]Nick Saban[/autotag] and the Alabama Crimson Tide in the Rose Bowl overtime thriller.

Little did we know that the instant classic would be the final game of Coach Saban’s legendary career that brought seven national championships, six of which he won in his 17 seasons in Tuscaloosa.

Since his retirement, everyone has speculated as to why Saban abruptly retired and on Wednesday, thanks to Chris Low of ESPN, we have some answers.

According to Low’s report, Saban was not pleased with the reaction his players had following the gut-wrenching loss to the Wolverines.

“I was really disappointed in the way that the players acted after the game. You gotta win with class. You gotta lose with class. We had our opportunities to win the game and we didn’t do it, and then showing your ass and being frustrated and throwing helmets and doing that stuff … that’s not who we are and what we’ve promoted in our program.”

This is obviously not the sole reason for Saban’s retirement but it clearly made a lasting impact on his decision that rocked the college football world.

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

ESPN’s Chris Low shares his thoughts on LSU midway through the season

Chris Low sat down with Greg McElroy and Cole Cubelic on their show to discuss his thoughts on what is helping LSU and what is holding it back.

The LSU Tigers are off to a 4-2 start in the 2023 season.

The Tigers have suffered losses to Florida State and Ole Miss but they still have hopes of winning the SEC West. To do that, the Tigers will likely have to win every SEC game left on their schedule. LSU would have to beat Auburn, Alabama, and Texas A&M for a shot at Georgia in the SEC Championship Game.

This team has their positives and their negatives. Chris Low sat down with Greg McElroy and Cole Cubelic on their show to discuss his thoughts on what is helping LSU and what is holding them back.

“They’re dangerous because they can score. To beat these guys, you’re going to have to score. I don’t think you can beat them 21-17 or 24-20. … But the flip side of that is, for LSU, it’s hard when you have to beat people 42-41 every game… there’s a lot of pressure with that,” Low said, per On3. “As good as Jayden Daniels is playing right now, and their receivers, I mean they’re moving the ball up and down the field against everybody. At some point when you’re having to outscore everybody, it comes back to get you.”

LSU takes on the Auburn Tigers on Saturday night at 6 p.m. CT in Baton Rouge.

Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.

‘If this team loses two in a row…I don’t know how well that’s going to go over in Aggieland.’ ESPN’s Chris Low on the stakes for Jimbo Fisher and Texas A&M

If Texas A&M drops two games in a row, the noise in Aggieland may be too loud to overcome, according to ESPN reporter Chris Low.

Texas A&M’s (4-2, 2-1 SEC) road matchup at Rocky Top carries more stakes than simply getting back into the win column. According to one college football reporter, it could have ramifications for A&M’s head coach.

ESPN’s Chris Low appeared on McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning, where he expressed his belief that Texas A&M’s game against Tennessee will be critical for Jimbo Fisher:

“I think this is the difference in A&M still being a 9-plus win team and then flirting with .500…It’s that type of swing game for the Aggies because if you lose two straight, you lose on the road, you’ve still got some tough games remaining, you wonder where this team emotionally gets to.”

Low also dived into the further ramifications of Saturday’s final score. More specifically, he noted that if the Aggies drop two games in a row, it would undoubtedly leave a sour taste in the mouths of those in Aggieland, most notably those up top:

“If this team loses two in a row, they’re going to have a hard time having a winning record, or certainly flirting with that six, seven-win type season. And I don’t know how well that’s going to go over in Aggieland after having a losing record last year.”

Low’s comments come off the heels of ESPN, and SEC Network reporter Laura Rutledge echoing the same tune. Both agree that A&M’s matchup with Tennessee, however it ends, will likely determine the trajectory for the rest of the season. The fact that Jimbo Fisher has yet to win a true SEC road game since 2021, only magnifies the stakes at play at Neyland Stadium.

A College Football Playoff appearance may be off the table for A&M, but a run at the SEC title is still in play. Most imperative is the possibility of a winning season, which Fisher and the Aggies desperately need after their 2022 debacle.

There’s no way to sugarcoat it: an A&M loss to the Vols would very much put this football program in a frustrating spot, with the outside noise surrounding Fisher’s job security overwhelming the need to close out the season strong.

The only remedy for that problematic scenario is to have this team ready to execute in all three phases of the game against a raucous sea of orange at Rocky Top. Simply put, that falls on Jimbo Fisher.

Texas A&M and Tennessee kickoff from inside Neyland Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 14 at 2:30 p.m. CT, and the game will air on CBS.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Pete on Twitter: @PeteThreee.

Five takeaways from Chris Lows’ ESPN article detailing Jimbo Fisher’s future with Texas A&M

Here are five takeaways after reading Chris Low’s in depth ESPN article describing Jimbo Fisher’s future at Texas A&M, and more.

Throughout my time covering the Texas A&M Football program, and of course, Head Coach Jimbo Fisher’s widely discussed tenure, those outside of the Texas A&M media realm generally relied on the low-hanging fruit that was the free media fodder provided on the back of the Aggies’ dismal 5-7 (2-6 SEC) 2022 season.

Back in late December, Fisher, who (finally) saw the writing on the wall, took a big shot after hiring Bobby Petrino as the program’s new offensive coordinator, taking his first assistant job since 2002. Bringing some personal baggage, Petrino’s offensive acumen and extensive coaching resume completely outweighed any negative aspects of his hiring.

Throughout the summer, most of the outside skepticism was based on the potential animosity seen within the future Fisher/Petrino dynamic. Still, through a successful spring with notable changes to the offense, which continued into the fall, the Aggies opened the 2023 season with a bang, blowing out the vising New Mexico Lobos 52-10 behind starting quarterback Conner Weigman’s five touchdowns, three thrown to ascending sophomore wide receiver Noah Thomas.

On Wednesday, ESPN senior writer Chris Low released his highly anticipated article after spending time in College Station to interview Jimbo Fisher, Bobby Petrino, and Texas A&M Athletic Director Ross Bjork to finally bring some much-needed clarity regarding the general vibe around the football program, Fisher’s coaching future, and of course, predicting how the Petrino experiment will pan out during the rest of the 2023 season and beyond.

Here are my five takeaways from Low’s thought-provoking ESPN piece.

How far did the Aggies go in ESPN’s 64-team college football playoff?

In ESPN’s fictional yet realistic college football 64-game playoff tournament, just how far did Texas A&M go?

Stepping outside of reality for a second, imagine a world where the college football postseason was an exact replica of the 64-game NCAA Tournament college basketball graces us every March, and even though the forces that be will never let anything like this happen, at least we do know that the playoff will be expanding to 12 teams during the 2024 season and beyond.

ESPN Senior Writer Chris Low had some fun with the idea this week, following the exact same college basketball format with 16 seeds and four “first four out” for the 2023 college football season, as Texas A&M received a four seed, and faced the 13-seed West Virginia Mountaineers in the opening round. Alas, Bobby Petrino revived the Aggies’ anemic 2022 offense to become one of the more consistent units in the country, and apparently continued into the playoff against the Mountaineers, winning 31-20:

“Bobby Petrino’s stamp on Texas A&M’s offense is obvious from the beginning of the season. The Aggies are more consistent, more balanced and able to finish games. Sophomore quarterback Conner Weigman grows each week in Petrino’s offense and plays a mistake-free game in the win over West Virginia.”

Moving on to the quarterfinals, The Aggies would face a bigger challenge against high-flying UCLA, as the battle of offensive gurus in Bruins Head coach Chip Kelly and Bobby Petrino had the potential to light up the scoreboard, Texas A&M’s defense took control early, while the Aggies offense scored 30 plus points for their second straight game, winning 35-21:

“Texas A&M fans were restless after a losing season in 2022, and the grumbling was only getting louder. But Jimbo Fisher and the Aggies ease a lot of those concerns with their second straight convincing win in the tournament and their second straight game in which the defense is dominant in the second half.”

On to the Sweet 16, they go to face the one-seed Ohio State Buckeyes in the biggest game in recent program history if we were living in reality, but as they say, all good things come to an end. Texas A&M’s high-scoring offense and “bend but don’t break” defensive effort throughout the tournament finally succumbed to Ohio State’s deep running back unit, unable to go to toe late in the game, ending their 2023 season with a 40-31 loss in the semifinal round:

“Ohio State’s defensive secondary play has received its share of heat the past couple of seasons, and the Buckeyes again give up too many big plays in the passing game. The Texas A&M combination of Conner Weigman-to-Ainias Smith is especially effective, and Smith does a lot of his damage after the catch. The Buckeyes are able to withstand the Aggies’ offensive onslaught with a running game that wears down Texas A&M’s defense with a rotation that goes four deep.”

As fun as that simulation was in predicting just how good the Aggies can be next season if everything clicks early on, the Jimbo Fisher-Bobby Petrino play-calling issues need to be ironed out this spring if a Conner Weigman-led offense is truly going to live up to its incredible potential.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Cameron on Twitter: @CameronOhnysty

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=5]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01fvdd4pnb49trk727 player_id=01f5k5y2jb3twsvdg4 image=]

REPORT: Notre Dame offensive coordinator Tommy Rees emerging as top Alabama candidate

Could the Crimson Tide be poaching Rees from the Irish?

The off-season just isn’t about recruiting and getting your team prepped for next season, for [autotag]Notre Dame[/autotag] it’s turning out to be their effort to keep one of their coaches. There is a report that Irish offensive coordinator [autotag]Tommy Rees[/autotag] is now being looked at by [autotag]Nick Saban[/autotag] and Alabama as their next offensive coordinator.

The Crimson Tide lost [autotag]Bill O’Brien[/autotag] to the NFL and they have been unsuccessful in their search for a replacement. According to ESPN’s [autotag]Chris Low[/autotag], Rees is expected to be at Tuscaloosa today to discuss the job with Saban.

This would be a loss for the Irish, especially considering Rees made the proper adjustments to the offense after early season struggles after the injury to quarterback [autotag]Tyler Buchner[/autotag].

[listicle id=65973]

[lawrence-related id=68326]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbz1mmy7gev0xbr player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=]

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Mike on Twitter: @MikeFChen

ESPN projects two Notre Dame players to be All-American’s in 2023

No surprises here

The 2023 [autotag]Notre Dame[/autotag] Fighting Irish team looks to have some star power on its roster. Even though they lost their two best players from last year, tight end [autotag]Michael Mayer[/autotag] and defensive end [autotag]Isaiah Foskey[/autotag].

Like every season in college football, the next season brings a new set of stars and head coach [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] will be able to lean on two of them. ESPN released their projections for the 2023 All-American team and a pair of Irish players made the list.

It shouldn’t be too surprising who made the list for Notre Dame, as both of these players were stalwarts during the past season. Find out below which two made it.

Clemson noticeably absent from ESPN’s midseason All-America team

There was not a Tiger in sight in ESPN’s college football midseason All-America team, which was released on Wednesday.

There was not a Tiger in sight in ESPN’s college football midseason All-America team, which was released on Wednesday.

Despite a big breakout season for quarterback DJ Uiagalelei at the helm for No. 5 Clemson, third-ranked Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker was listed as ESPN Senior Writer Chris Low’s midseason All-American quarterback.

Running back Will Shipley, who earned his second ACC Running Back of the Week honors of the season this week following his performance at Florida State last weekend, was also not included.

The Tigers were the only team currently ranked within the top five to not have a player represented.

NC State’s kicker Christopher Dunn and Pittsburgh’s defensive tackle Calijah Kancey were the lone ACC pair included while the SEC and Big Ten both boasted eight players, the Big 12 had three, the Pac-12 had two and Notre Dame, Cincinnati and Louisiana each had one player listed.

Clemson will face off with another fellow undefeated ACC team in Syracuse this weekend at Memorial Stadium for the Tigers’ annual Homecoming weekend and Football Reunion Day. Kickoff is scheduled for noon on ABC.

Notre Dame loses to Cincinnati again in fictional ESPN matchup

This would be interesting to see

The Irish and Bearcats faced off against each other during the regular season, with Cincinnati coming out on top 24-13. The lone Notre Dame regular season loss ultimately hurt during Brian Kelly’s final season, the loss keeping the Irish out of the College Football Playoff.

It was a de facto play-in game and in ESPN’s March Madness style fictional CFP 64-team tournament, the two teams faced off against each other once again. Chris Low saw it the way it played out in real life, with the Bearcats again defeating the Irish in the semifinals of the Midwest region.

It was a bit closer this time, Cincinnati winning 24-20, with the difference being Marcus Freeman at the helm instead of Kelly as Low used 2022 rosters instead of last seasons. The Bearcats would then hypothetically go on to lose to Ohio State, who Low has winning the championship against Alabama.

It’s always fun to see how a larger style playoff would play out with college football teams, and unfortunately we are going to have to wait a bit longer for an expanded CFP. It was interesting to see how it could have turned out though.

[lawrence-related id=53463]

[listicle id=53449]

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Mike on Twitter: @MikeFChen