Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
It’s a good time to appreciate where the Texas Longhorns football program is at compared to its in-state rival.
It’s a good time to appreciate where the Texas Longhorns football program is at compared to its in-state rival. Continue reading “Social media reacts to Texas A&M’s new coaching hire”
It’s still very early in the season, but Texas appears to be a legitimate College Football Playoff contender.
After a statement road win over No. 3 Alabama in Week 2, many feel Texas is a legitimate contender for the College Football Playoff. Continue reading “Latest bowl projections have Texas in the College Football Playoff”
As Texas A&M hopes to return to the postseason, one outlet projects the Aggies will clash with a Big 12 foe in the 2023 bowl season.
There’s never a wrong time for early college football predictions, with topics ranging from contenders to probable playoff clashes.
247Sports laid out their projected postseason bowl matchups coming out of spring football, and while there are plenty of external factors (e.g. rights holders and bowl organizers) in play when it comes to where teams are situated, chances are if your team is deserving of a bid, you’ll get to play in the postseason.
And with that in mind, 247Sports projects Texas A&M will go head-to-head with TCU in this year’s iteration of the Texas Bowl.
The Aggies last played in the Texas Bowl in 2019, which resulted in a 24-21 win over Oklahoma State. Quarterback Kellen Mond completed 13-of-19 pass attempts for 95 yards and one touchdown. On the ground, he tallied 12 carries for 117 yards and one rushing score, while running back Isaiah Spiller chipped in with 19 carries for 77 yards and one rushing touchdown.
The Maroon and White have appeared in 42 bowl games throughout school history with a record of 20-22. Of those bowl appearances, only two have come by way of the Texas Bowl, with the other back in 2016 (a 33-28 loss to Kansas State).
The Texas Bowl has been held annually since its inception in 2006, and each year has taken place at NRG Stadium (previously known as Reliant Stadium), which is the home of the NFL’s Houston Texans. The bowl replaced the defunct Houston Bowl, which was played annually from 2000 to 2005, and before that the Bluebonnet Bowl. The game features one participating school each from the SEC and Big 12 conferences.
While the Aggies surely have their sets on a hopeful College Football Playoff appearance, a matchup between Texas A&M and TCU would represent a clash of two notable programs from the SEC and Big 12.
The Maroon and White boast one of the most talent-laden rosters in the country, led by an established head coach in Jimbo Fisher and one of the most innovative play-callers in offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino. The Aggies also boast a plethora of talent on the defensive side of the ball that ranked top 25 in opposing scoring last season (21.2 PPG allowed).
In facing the Horned Frogs, A&M would be matching up against a program that made a historic appearance in the national championship game in 2022. It’s safe to say the hype builds itself when pitting these two against each other.
With the season just months away, time will tell how the Aggies 2023 campaign plays out. Here’s to hoping it ends with a ticket back to the postseason for the Maroon and White.
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
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A few very intriguing matchups in here.
The 2022 college football season hasn’t even kicked off yet, but that hasn’t stopped many national media outlets from projecting bowl game matchups. Continue reading “Where every Big 12 team lands in College Football News’ updated bowl projections”
Which matchup would you prefer to see?
While some goals are now out of reach for Texas this season, there is still a slight chance that they can appear in the Big 12 championship game and/or receive a berth to a decent bowl game. Continue reading “Where Texas football lands in the latest bowl projections after Week 8”
LSU’s bowl hopes are on life alert.
LSU’s bowl aspirations took a big hit after the loss to Auburn last Saturday night.
Now, looking down the line, five straight top 25 teams stand in the way of LSU potentially getting three more wins. Past those five games are home games against ULM and Texas A&M. LSU should be favored in those two matchups.
This means that the Tigers will have to upset someone in their next five games to get to bowl eligibility. While the situation looks grim, there are quite a few experts that are projecting LSU to make it to the postseason.
Here are some bowl projections for LSU heading into week six of the college football season, starting with USA TODAY Sports.
ESPN predicts another Alamo Bowl appearance for Texas…
The Texas football program and its fans are expecting a big season with bountiful results from first-year head coach Steve Sarkisian.
However, in ESPN’s latest bowl projections for the 2021 season, they did not foresee Sarkisian’s squad making a significant jump this year. ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach predicted who would be playing in every bowl game, and when it came to Texas, it’s a song that Longhorn fans are all to familiar with at the moment.
Both Bonagura and Schlabach predicted that Texas would be making their third consecutive Alamo Bowl appearance against one of Steve Sarkisian’s former coaching stops in the Washington Huskies. This would not only be the third straight appearance, but also the sixth Alamo Bowl appearance for Texas since 2006.
Granted, the Longhorns have done well in the Alamo Bowl going 4-1 since 2006, but the program likely has their eyes set on a bigger picture. Texas lost three games last season by a combined 13 points. They were a fumble away against TCU, a decisive decision not to go for two against Oklahoma, and a missed field goal against Iowa State from the season being completely different.
Sarkisian is fresh off a national championship with Alabama that saw the Crimson Tide posses one of the most prolific offenses in the nation, and is hoping that his success will translate to Austin.
There is no margin for error, as the Longhorns are tasked with one of the toughest schedules in the nation, but the program and the fans are likely shooting for a New Year’s Six game at the very least in comparison to another Alamo Bowl appearance.
Does a win vs Maryland on Saturday lockup a bowl bid for the Spartans? It may not be a guarantee but a victory keeps their bowl dreams alive
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Should Michigan State get the opportunity to play another game in a bowl, Mel Tucker says the Spartans would certainly accept the offer. The real question is whether or not they’ll even get that offer — but there could be some hope if they win their season-finale on Saturday.
At 2-5, it’s understandable to think MSU is unlikely to get offered a bowl bid this year. I wrote last week that they’d most likely need to win their final two games to receive a bid so, after last week’s 39-24 loss to Penn State, it appeared MSU’s bowl dreams were dead. However, after analyzing all of the factors in play, there may still be a chance for the green-and-white.
Erick Smith of USA TODAY released his latest Bowl Projections on Tuesday, and once again the Spartans were left off the list. That came as no surprise after MSU lost last week, but what stood out to me was where he has the rest of the Big Ten. Here are the bowl games Smith has Big Ten teams playing in:
What’s notable in this projection is Indiana receiving an at-large bid for a New Year’s Six game — this frees up another Big Ten bowl tie-in for teams like MSU. If this holds true, then there will be one potential spot still up for grabs (I’m assuming Ohio State, Indiana, Iowa, Northwestern, Wisconsin and Penn State are all locks at this point).
Should MSU beat Maryland on Saturday, that would put both teams at three wins and give the Spartans the head-to-head victory. That doesn’t necessarily play a role in these bids as the bowls ultimately can choose whoever they want, but it wouldn’t hurt the Spartans’ case.
Assuming MSU wins (since a loss should rule out any chance of making a bowl), then it would come down to the Spartans, Rutgers, Maryland, Minnesota and Nebraska for the final bowl slot. I’m assuming Michigan (COVID-19 issues), Purdue (COVID-19 issues) and Illinois (recently fired head coach) are out of play for the postseason at this point.
Nebraska and Rutgers play each other this week so the loser is most likely out of play, and while it might not be fair, the Scarlet Knights have a slim chance anyway based on brand recognition. Minnesota has a tough rivalry game against Wisconsin so a loss to end the year could also knock them out of consideration. So while there are a lot of factors in play, it does still appear a win against Maryland would give MSU a chance to go bowling this season.
It’ll be extremely interesting to see how this plays out for the league, but at least it appears MSU has a lot to play for this Saturday in College Park. Kickoff for that game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET and can be seen on the Big Ten Network.
Fab Four: Selecting Michigan State football’s Mount Rushmore of all-time recruits
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For the first time this season, Michigan State fell out of Erick Smith’s latest bowl projections that were published on Tuesday.
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When you lose by 42 points to a team that some — including myself — thought you’d beat, odds are you’re going to get some blowback. That was the case in USA TODAY’s latest bowl projections.
For the first time this season, Michigan State fell out of Erick Smith’s latest bowl projections that were published on Tuesday. The Spartans had previously been pegged for the Guaranteed Rate Bowl against West Virginia for the past two weeks, but now it’s Purdue that Smith has playing the Mountaineers in Phoenix.
Here’s how the Big Ten teams are slated in Smith’s latest projections:
I said last week that MSU needed to win the toss-up games — Iowa, Indiana, Maryland and Northwestern — in order to get selected for a bowl game. The Spartans obviously didn’t achieve that in the first of those games, and now will need to make up for that in the next three weeks to get back into the bowl picture.
Another interesting element Spartan fans will need to monitor is whether or not the Big Ten lands a second team in a New Year’s Six game. Wisconsin was replaced by Oregon for one of the Fiesta Bowl at-large bids in this week’s projections, and that had a trickle-down effect. With Wisconsin no longer in a New Year’s Six bowl, they will take one of the Big Ten tie-ins — which results in one less bowl opportunity for the Spartans.
Certainly, MSU will need to win at least four games to beat out the likes of Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota and Nebraska for one of the lower-tier Big Ten bowls. But it would also be very helpful if Wisconsin — maybe even Indiana — move into one of the at-large spots of a New Year’s Six bowl.
Click here to check out the complete USA TODAY bowl projections.
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Texas will compete in the Texas Bowl against a familiar foe in ESPN’s latest bowl projections.
On Monday, a short clip surfaced on Twitter of Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman stating that Texas is more widely viewed as their main rival than Texas A&M is. Continue reading “ESPN Bowl Projections: Texas to face their apparent ‘rivals’ from the SEC”
