Tag: College Football National Championship

Washington’s Ja’Lynn Polk stayed and watched Michigan’s championship trophy ceremony creating a heartbreaking photo

This is gut-wrenching.

The Washington Huskies tried to take down the Michigan Wolverines, but Michigan’s defense was just too much for Washington to overcome. After the game, Ja’Lynn Polk was found watching Michigan’s championship trophy post-game, creating a painful sight.

Losing at any level is awful, but losing at the championship level is the worst and sometimes it helps to be around others to help ease the pain. Huskies quarterback Michael Penix Jr. put it all on the line for his team but was unable to help deliver what he so deeply coveted. Michigan’s Jaylen Harrell was there to comfort him after it was all over.

However, there was one player who chose to be by himself after the loss. Wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk went full Stefon Diggs and sat on the field as Michigan celebrated. Maybe it motivates him next season, but for now, this is one of the saddest photos from the game.

USC’s early 2023 title odds are a steal thanks to the best returning quarterback in college football

While other title favorites will have new quarterbacks under center, USC is returning Heisman winner Caleb Williams.

The Pac-12 hasn’t had a national champion since Reggie Bush mesmerized the world with his Heisman-winning moves as part of a star-studded USC team that claimed two titles in the early 2000s.

If that sounds like a long time, it is. Bush was just elected to the College Football Hall of Fame on Monday.

USC’s latest Heisman winner, quarterback Caleb Williams, has a chance to change that in what will be the Trojans’ final Pac-12 season in 2023.

USC has 13-1 odds to win the title next season, tied for fifth shortest at Tipico Sportsbook behind the usual suspects from the SEC and Big Ten: Georgia, Alabama, Michigan and Ohio State. USC has something those teams don’t, though, and that’s the best returning quarterback in college football. Williams’ odds to win next year’s Heisman are the best by a lot.

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That’s not all. USC’s rising junior class (2021) ranked eighth in the country, according to 247Sports, the school’s best recruiting class since 2017. In 2022, USC had the sixth-best overall class, including transfers. Between the two years, the program brought in four five-stars and 25 four-stars.

Many of those players will return after contributing to a team that had CFP hopes this past season, going 11-3 and reaching an AP rank as high as No. 4. The Trojans will also have key seniors returning at important positions like wide receiver and defensive back.

In the end, though, it all comes back to Williams. USC won’t out-talent the teams with better title odds at any position but quarterback. Georgia is losing Stetson Bennett, Alabama losing Bryce Young, Ohio State C.J. Stroud. Of the top teams, only Michigan is expected to return their starter, J.J. McCarthy.

Then, there’s Williams. The clear best quarterback in the country and enough to make USC’s early title odds a steal.

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John Williams composed a new theme for the College Football National Championship

The legendary composer has a new tune for the TCU and Georgia game.

There are a number of songs fans have come to associate with college football over the years, for better or worse. Tonight, the sport may finally get the iconic theme song it has long deserved.

Five-time Oscar-winner John Williams, the greatest movie score composer of all time (no, we will not be debating this point), has written a three-and-a-half minute theme for the College Football National Championship Game called “Of Grit and Glory” which will make its debut during tonight’s broadcast on ESPN. The theme marks just the second time Williams has composed music for live sports events, with the other being his iconic theme for the Olympics.

No clips from the theme are available online as of the writing of this post but ESPN director Martin Khodabakhshian told Variety that the theme conveys “the feeling behind the night, fear and anticipation, triumph and failure,” which we assume means it’s going to be awesome. Williams recently announced that his score for this summer’s Indiana Jones film will likely be his final major work as a composer so college football fans are being treated to one of the final pieces of music that the GOAT himself will likely ever create.

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21 For 2021 College Football Topics, No. 20: Best Programs To Not Make The College Football Playoff

21 for 2021 College Football Topics, No. 20: The five winningest programs who haven’t made the College Football Playoff.

21 for 2021 College Football Topics, No. 20: The five winningest programs who haven’t made the College Football Playoff.

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– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

21 for 2021 College Football Topics 
21: 21 Thoughts, Wishes, Hopes

Off the top of your head, how many teams have made the College Football Playoff?

There have only been seven of these things, and with four teams getting into each one, that means just 28 spots have been available.

However, only 11 teams were able to get past the bouncer, and only four schools – Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and LSU – have won it.

Florida State, Georgia, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oregon, Washington – that’s it. Those are the only seven schools outside of the four who won it to get in.

That means only 8% of the teams playing college football have been able to play for the national championship only the last seven years.

As the equivalent, imagine if only 28 college basketball programs played in the NCAA Tournament over the last seven years. (Actually, that’s how it should be, but that’s for another day.)

While expansion is an obvious necessity – it’s about getting the opportunity – the exclusivity makes the College Football Playoff the least-gimmicky post-season in all of sports.

Say what you will, but there’s no fluke factor. You can’t luck your way into a College Football Playoff national title, and that makes it so strong – there were a whole lot of great teams that weren’t able to get in.

Which programs have won the most games and had the most success in the seven-year College Football Playoff era without playing in the tournament?

NEXT: The Group of Five stars

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21 For 2021 College Football Topics, No. 21: Thoughts, Wishes, Hopes For The Season

21 for 2021 College Football Topics, No. 21: 21 thoughts, wishes and hopes for the 2021 season.

21 for 2021 College Football Topics, No. 21: 21 thoughts, wishes and hopes for the 2021 season.

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– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

21. Oh yeah, COVID.

I’m in the camp that believes that by late August, going into a CVS to get a COVID vaccination will be as simple as buying a package of M&M’s – at least until the person behind the counter refuses to accept that I’m not a rewards member and demands to look up a phone number from 12 years ago.

I’m also in the camp that believes everything isn’t going to be 100% normal yet by the time the football season rolls around. However, there was a 2020 college football season.

It was twisted, weird, and borderline immoral, but it happened. If we could have college football through that, we’re getting something stronger and better this time around.

And we deserve it.

However, I have but one humble request …

20. “It’s so good to have (insert fans/band/whatever) back.”

Week 1.

Announcers, social media heads, and those who’ll romanticize this with plinky piano music and reverent tones, you get one week to go overboard with the gushing about how wonderful it’ll be to have the fans back in the stands, the sounds of the bands, and the feelings that one gets after something so loved was taken away.

And then that’s it. Just like it became nails on a chalkboard every time some play-by-play guy mused about how awesome it would’ve been if fans were around for some big play, it’s going to start to ruin every moment when it gets pointed out over and over again that most things are back.

19. The top three American Athletic Conference head coaches vs. the three top new guys the SEC hired.

“Dan Hawkins is the PERFECT fit for Colorado.” – 2006 me.

I’ve given up making any assumptions on whether or not a coaching hire is or isn’t going to work, so I’m 1000% certain that five years from now this might seem like a moronic take …

You take Bryan Harsin (Auburn), Josh Heupel (Tennessee) and Shane Beamer (South Carolina) and I’ll take Luke Fickell (Cincinnati), Gus Malzahn (UCF) and your pick of Ryan Silverfield (Memphis), Ken Niumatalolo (Navy) or Sonny Dykes (SMU) and my American Athletic Conference coaches are probably stronger than three of your new SEC head men.

Speaking of Mr. Malzahn …

18. The free pass time for coaches is over.

The conventional wisdom in the 2020 offseason was that coaches would get a bit of a break as they tried to keep everything rolling through a global pandemic.

Not really.

From Tom Herman to Lovie Smith, and from Kevin Sumlin to Jeremy Pruitt to Will Muschamp to Doc Holliday, some schools didn’t mind the whole buyout thing and just wanted to move on. That’s not to say that coaches who had miserable years – Jim Harbaugh, James Franklin, Dino Babers, Jeff Brohm, Les Miles – were given a break only because of the 2020 issues, but it was totally fair to give coaches a mulligan.

Not in 2021.

Because of the fun rule that seniors can return for another year – more on that in a moment – and because everything might be 78% back to normal, it’s win-or-bust time for any and all hot seat coaches.

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17. A desperate prayer I know will go unanswered.

As social media gets worse and worse, and the stupid and jerky become more and more emboldened, here’s asking for any and all to realize that 1) college football is just a silly game 2) played by college kids who 3) are going to make college kid mistakes.

The missed the 37-yard game winning attempt, or the personal foul penalty on a linebacker doing a goofy dance or something, will be memory dumped almost instantly.

That suggestively-violent dillhole tweet pounding those guys will live forever.

16. The ACC world will be much better if Florida State and Miami are awesome.

I know, I know, North Carolina, but we know how this works. The Tar Heels are great, and then they lose to Duke or Wake Forest or some team it’s favored to beat by 39.

It wasn’t all that long ago when Florida State was a national championship-level superpower. It was that long ago when Miami ruled the world, but the ACC could and should be phenomenal if the Seminoles and Hurricanes – and Tar Heels – can really and truly be good enough to challenge Clemson.

That’s not going to happen in 2021, but it would be nice.

NEXT: Top 15 2021 College Football Thoughts, Wishes, Hopes

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Watch: Top NFL Draft prospects lighting it up in National Championship

In case you’re not watching the College Football Playoff National Championship between Alabama and Ohio State, you’re missing out on several potential Atlanta Falcons draft prospects playing in the biggest game of the year.

In case you’re not watching the College Football Playoff National Championship between Alabama and Ohio State, you’re missing out on several potential Atlanta Falcons draft prospects playing in the biggest game of the year.

Let’s catch up on some of the top highlights from first-round prospects, including Justin Fields, Mac Jones, Najee Harris and DeVonta Smith, as shared by ESPN’s Twitter account below.

Ohio State football releases player availability for national championship game, will be without three key starters

According to the player availability report released by Ohio State just prior to game time, the Buckeyes will be without three key starter.

After days of speculation of who was going to be available to play in tonight’s national championship game, the official report has finally been released from Ohio State. And it’s not exactly what we hoped for, but not as bad as initially assumed either.

As was rumored, both Tommy Togiai and Tyreke Smith are both listed as unavailable for tonight’s game. Both Togiai and Smith played huge roles in the Buckeyes win over Clemson in the Sugar Bowl. Their absence on the defensive line will for sure be felt.

Kicker Blake Haubeil will also not be available for this game leaving Ohio State without three starters. True Freshman, Jake Seibert will most likely handle kicking duties. Time for the next man up.

On the bright side of things, Master Teague and Harry Miller are both cleared to play on the offensive side of the ball while Tyler Friday and Zach Harrison are back on the defensive side. All four missed the Clemson game.

It’s just about game time. Let’s see what the Buckeyes are made of.

NEXT … Complete status report from Ohio State.

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How to watch the college football national championship without cable, TV channel, start time, streaming options

You won’t want to miss tonight’s CFP National Championship so we have you covered with all the streaming options and full schedule.

The 2020-21 college football national championship will be held on Monday night with the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Alabama Crimson Tide. If you have recently cut cable and are looking for a way to watch the national championship, look no further we have you all squared away on how to watch the college football national championship without cable.

You won’t want to miss this game, check out all the options to stream the action online tonight!

 CFP National Championship

#3 Ohio State vs. #1 Alabama

  • When: Monday, January 11
  • Time: 8:00 p.m. ET

NCAA Football Odds and Betting Lines

NCAA odds courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook. Follow SportsbookWire throughout the playoffs for tips and tricks.

Ohio State vs. Alabama (-8.5)

O/U: 74.5

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Ohio State vs. Alabama: How and where to watch and listen to the national championship game

Ohio State takes on Alabama in the CFP national championship Monday. Get all the information you need to watch and listen to the game.

We’ve finally reached the finish line of what has felt like a long, long season. Fresh off a dismantling of Clemson, Ohio State has its sights set on a national title. Only one obstacle stands between the Buckeyes and their ultimate goal… the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Questions still remain about the health of the team after reports of entire position groups rumored to be dealing with COVID-19. While it seems that many of those reports may have been overstated, there are sure to be a few who won’t play. We already know one who didn’t make the trip to Miami as Miyan Willams posted on Twitter that he wasn’t there. Either way, The Buckeyes and Tide have passed their final COVID-19 tests and the game will go on as scheduled.

So here we go. Sixty minutes for college football immortality. Only one can be crowned and it doesn’t get any bigger than this… Ohio State vs. Alabama. If you are looking for information on how to watch or listen to all the fun, we’ve got it for you.

NEXT … Television, streaming, and radio information

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Ravens 3-round mock draft selecting only players in the college football national championship

It is never too early for a mock draft and we’ve got this one chock full of LSU and Clemson National Championship players for the Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens are enjoying a bye week in the opening round of the NFL Playoffs after finishing the season with a franchise-best 14-2 record. They have the makings of a championship team but it’s never too early to look ahead at the 2020 NFL Draft.

We were dazzled over the weekend with some terrific efforts by the Clemson and LSU Tigers. Several of the players we will see in the national championship game will be starring in the NFL. It got us to thinking, can any of the LSU or Clemson athletes be on the Ravens roster next season?

While Baltimore will not be in the mix for most of the top athletes after making the playoffs and locking themselves in as one of the last eight picks in the draft, there’s still plenty of capable talent to check out.

Clemson had eight players drafted last year, while LSU had three. The orange Tigers expect to have a similar number of athletes make it to the next level, while the purple Tigers certainly anticipate more than three this season. So why not have some fun with an all-Tigers draft for the Ravens?

For the sake of this article, we will assume the absolute best scenario. The Ravens win the Super Bowl and select at No. 32.

So with the 32nd pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, the Baltimore Ravens select . . .

Round 1: Clemson WR Tee Higgins

Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images

LSU cornerback Kristian Fulton could have been in the discussion, but with the Ravens giving Marcus Peters an extension, they do not need secondary help in the first round. It allows general manager Eric DeCosta to draft another wide receiver to complement last year’s first-round pick Marquise Brown.

Higgins is the perfect addition to the receiving corps with his size and speed. He stands at 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds and will be faster than the 4.75 40-yard-dash he ran back in high school (likely to be in the 4.5-4.6 range now). Baltimore does not have a receiver with that combo on the roster, meaning Higgins would be able to make an immediate impact.

The more weapons for Jackson, the better, and adding more size and speed to this already dynamic offense would make them basically unstoppable.

Round 1 / Round 2 / Round 3

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