Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
The Coaches Poll places Texas one spot below the AP Poll to conclude the 2023 college football season.
The final US LBM Coaches Poll for the 2023 college football season was released on Tuesday. Continue reading “Texas finishes No. 4 in US LBM Coaches Poll to conclude 2023 season”
The final AP Top-25 Poll of the College Football season has a few interesting twists. See where Alabama finished the year.
Alabama’s season came to a close in the Rose Bowl at the hands of top-ranked Michigan, which went on to defeat Washington in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game. The final AP Top-25 Poll has been revealed.
To end the season, the Crimson Tide ranked No. 5 in the AP Poll, which means the team did not move from where they were last ranked.
The only change to the top five was the Georgia and Florida State swapped places. Those two programs met in the non-CFP Orange Bowl where the Bulldogs defeated the Seminoles 63-3.
These rankings will stand for a few months as the offseason gets underway and fans patiently await the preseason rankings to be revealed for the 2024 season.
There will be many changes in the upcoming season as the playoff format not only extends to 12 teams, but conference realignment takes place in all major conferences.
Roll Tide Wire will continue to cover Alabama football as the offseason gets underway.
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.
Greg McElroy and Rece Davis see Texas as a top five team if Quinn Ewers returns.
The Texas football program has endured plenty of roster attrition to the NFL draft and transfer portal over the last 72 hours. Some national college football analysts don’t seem too concerned.
ESPN’s Rece Davis and Greg McElroy can see the Longhorns returning to college football’s elite in 2024. McElroy had the following to say of the Longhorns for next season.
“Texas is in my top three next year, so yeah. I have a ton of respect for the program, and they’re in a great spot. I have tons of faith in Steve Sarkisian. And I’d be shocked, I mean, absolutely shocked if they’re not right back in a situation like they were in last week in the next year or two.”
Texas debuted at No. 3 in our way-too-early Top 25 for next season due in large part to what it brings back on the offensive line and with starting quarterback Quinn Ewers. The team figures to be particularly strong at edge and in the secondary. It could also return a linebacker room that includes David Gbenda, Anthony Hill and Morice Blackwell.
There is portal attrition in Austin, but it’s not isolated to Texas. Even fellow playoff squad Alabama is enduring its own fair share of transfer losses. Even so, we expect to see portal gains at positions of need.
The team has already addressed important positions in the portal with Clemson defensive back Andrew Mukuba and Houston receiver Matthew Golden. We could see more additions in the near future.
Texas will look to build a championship roster as it moves toward spring football as its next major milestone.
Texas football should continue to rise in 2024, ESPN analysts Davis and McElroy believe https://t.co/snq3U2Jxmr
— Hookem.com (@bevobeat) January 7, 2024
Way-too-early Top 25 projections for the 2024 college football season
Even SEC media members are believers in Texas football for 2024.
How will Texas fare in the SEC? One outlet that covers the conference seems confident in how the Longhorns will perform.
Saturday Down South, one of the more popular sites for SEC athletics coverage, has the Texas Longhorns ranked No. 2 in the conference for the 2024 football season. The ranking comes in stark contrast to the pervasive narrative that Texas would struggle in the SEC.
Texas is set to lose several contributors, but they return quite a few as well. Starting quarterback Quinn Ewers is likely to return behind an offensive line with several seasoned starters in Kelvin Banks, Hayden Connor, Devon Campbell Jr. and Cole Hutson. Several other players like Neto Umeozulu, Cam Williams and Malik Agbo could prove reliable as well.
The Longhorns have received significant help through two transfer portal additions in wide receiver Matthew Golden and defensive back Andrew Mukuba. We’ll see how much more help they add, but those two additions could be enough to contend again.
Here’s a look at Saturday Down South’s power rankings for 2024.
Quinn Ewers’ likely return ranks Texas highly in our 2024 way-too-early Top 25.
The 2023 college football season is a month from completion, but that’s not preventing us from looking ahead to what could happen in 2024. Continue reading “Way-too-early Top 25 projections for the 2024 college football season”
The Coaches Poll put Florida State as the No. 3 team in the country to close out the 2023 season.
It was a wild college football weekend. Continue reading “Final US LBM Coaches Poll places Texas at No. 4 behind Florida State”
Where Alabama stands in the latest US LBM coaches poll
The results are in and [autotag]Nick Saban[/autotag] and the Alabama Crimson Tide will once again be competing in the College Football Playoff as the Tide finish championship weekend ranked No. 4 in the CFP.
No doubt Alabama’s win over the Georgia Bulldogs played a pivotal role in the committee’s decision to place the Tide in the tournament and it appears the coaches from around the country felt the same about Alabama’s win over the back-to-back national champs as the Tide came in tied at No. 4 in the latest US LBM Coaches Poll with the Texas Longhorns.
Let’s take a look at the complete US LBM Coaches Poll:
| Rank | Team | Record | Points | Change |
| 1 | Michigan | 13-0 | 1535 (51) | +1 |
| 2 | Washington | 13-0 | 1,482 (8) | +1 |
| 3 | Florida State | 13-0 | 1358 | +1 |
| 4 (tie) | Texas | 12-1 | 1351 | +3 |
| 4 (tie) | Alabama | 12-1 | 1351 | +4 |
| 6 | Georgia | 12-1 | 12750 | -5 |
| 7 | Ohio State | 11-1 | 1187 | –1 |
| 8 | Oregon | 11-2 | 1092 | -3 |
| 9 | Missouri | 10-2 | 1023 | – |
| 10 | Penn State | 10-2 | 952 | – |
| 11 | Ole Miss | 10-2 | 932 | – |
| 12 | Oklahoma | 10-2 | 898 | – |
| 13 | LSU | 9-3 | 796 | – |
| 14 | Arizona | 9-3 | 642 | +1 |
| 15 | Louisville | 10-3 | 642 | -1 |
| 16 | Notre Dame | 9-3 | 633 | – |
| 17 | Iowa | 10-3 | 426 | – |
| 18 | North Carolina State | 9-3 | 423 | +2 |
| 19 | SMU | 11-2 | 375 | +5 |
| 20 | Liberty | 13-0 | 315 | +2 |
| 21 | Oklahoma State | 9-4 | 299 | -2 |
| 22 | Oregon State | 8-4 | 295 | -1 |
| 23 | Tennessee | 8-4 | 226 | – |
| 24 | Tulane | 11-2 | 139 | -6 |
| 25 | James Madison | 11-1 | 114 | – |
Clemson 107; Troy 66; Kansas State 64; Utah 36; Kansas 17; West Virginia 8; Miami (OH) 8; Toledo 7; Boise State 7; San Jose State 3; New Mexico State 1
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.
See where ESPN predicts where Alabama will be in the final College Football Playoff rankings.
No. 8 Alabama’s 27-24 win over No. 1 Georgia in Atlanta for the 2023 SEC Championship has the nation talking about how this impacts the College Football Playoffs. Does the Crimson Tide deserve to be in the top four?
Questions will be answered at noon ET when the College Football Playoff Committee reveals its final rankings, setting the stage for the two semifinal matchups and the eventual national championship.
Michigan and Washington are certainly in as the top two teams. However, no one is quite sure what to do with Alabama (12-1, SEC Champions), Texas (12-1 Big 12 Champions) and Florida State (13-0, ACC Champions). Only two of those three can make it. This means one team will be have their strong season abruptly ended.
Texas owns the head-to-head over Alabama, but the Longhorns lost to Oklahoma, and Florida State finished the season undefeated, but their best win was Alabama’s third-best win on the season. This is as tricky as it can get for the committee.
ESPN college football expert Heather Dinich put together her final College Football Playoff rankings projections (subscription required) and the top four are certainly some of the strongest teams in the nation, but one program will inevitably disappointed.
This projection puts Alabama in the playoffs and give the Tide an opportunity to compete for a national championship.
“The Crimson Tide now own the best win of the season after defeating No. 1 Georgia to win the SEC title,” writes Dinich. “It’s likely the committee keeps them behind Texas, though, because of the Week 2 loss to the Longhorns. Alabama should keep alive the SEC’s streak of having a team in the CFP every season since it started 10 seasons ago.”
The Seminoles would be upset, which is understandable. However, any team left out of the playoffs will be upset, as five of the aforementioned teams have legitimate arguments to be in the playoffs.
Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow Alabama football and the College Football Playoff race.
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.
It appears that the CFP committee is valuing Oregon’s wins against weaker teams over Texas’ wins against stronger opponents.
In the second to last College Football Playoff ranking, the committee still has Texas at No. 7. Continue reading “Why Texas should be ranked higher than No. 7 in latest CFP ranking”