Taking a look at who’s in and who’s out for the Gators ahead of their matchup vs. Ole Miss.
As Florida football gears up for a tough showdown with the Ole Miss Rebels this weekend, Wednesday evening’s release of the initial SEC availability report offers a closer look at the Gators’ health heading into the matchup.
This week’s list of players doesn’t seem as daunting when compared to the injury reports from previous weeks for the Gators.
Injuries have been a recurring theme for Florida throughout the season, forcing the team to navigate games without starters from both offense and defense across the field.
It all ties back to the “next man up” mentality that head coach Billy Napier and his players embrace. Florida has faced plenty of adversity this season, and stepping into bigger roles has become second nature for this team.
Here is the full availability report for the Gators.
The Gators play their final home game of the season against Ole Miss on Saturday, Nov. 23. Kickoff is set for noon ET and will be broadcast on ABC.
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Top edge rusher recruit pledges to Georgia, trolls Georgia Tech with his commitment
The Georgia Bulldogs are the new home for four-star edge rusher Chase Linton, who is a member of the class of 2025.
The talented edge rusher picked the Bulldogs over Florida State, Georgia Tech, LSU and Rutgers. During his commitment, Linton put on a Georgia Tech shirt and hat, but he said it felt too tight and then committed to UGA.
Linton is listed at 6 feet, 4 inches and 215 pounds. He plays football at North Atlanta High in Atlanta, Georgia. He is the fourth-ranked edge rusher nationally and the seventh-ranked player in Georgia, per 247Sports. Linton is the No. 45 recruit in the country, so he is not far from being a five-star recruit.
The Bulldogs offered Linton on July 28 and were favored to land a commitment from the four-star pass rusher since his decommitment from Rutgers in August.
Coach Kirby Smart and UGA hold the nation’s top ranked recruiting class. Georgia has 26 commitments in the class of 2025 recruiting cycle. The Bulldogs are now ahead the Ohio State Buckeyes and Alabama Crimson Tide.
Here’s who will be on the call for The CW Saturday when the Clemson Tigers welcome The Citadel to Death Valley.
Clemson football is making its first television appearance of 2024 on a network that isn’t under the ESPN umbrella of channels this week. That means there will be a new set of announcers for the Tigers’ Week 13 matchup against The Citadel Saturday.
The CW, which began televising ACC football games in 2023, is sending it’s No. 1 broadcast team to Death Valley for the Tigers-Bulldogs matchup. Veteran play-by-play announcer Thom Brennaman will call Saturday’s game with analyst Max Browne. Treavor Scales will report from the sidelines.
It’s Clemson’s first time appearing on The CW this year and just the second time overall. Last year, the network televised the Tigers’ 24-17 loss to NC State at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh.
Clemson (8-2, 7-1) stayed at No. 16 in this week’s US LBM Coaches Poll after wrapping up the ACC portion of its schedule with a 24-20 victory over Pitt last Saturday. The Citadel is 5-6 and coming off a 30-17 win over Wofford in the Southern Conference.
Kickoff for Saturday’s game is set for 3:30 p.m. ET. The Tigers won their last meeting against The Citadel, 49-0 in 2020. Dabo Swinney is 3-0 against the Bulldogs as Clemson’s coach.
Yes, though the Tigers’ chances are slim. Clemson trails the No. 12 SMU Mustangs (9-1, 6-0) in the ACC standings. The No. 10 Miami Hurricanes (9-1, 5-1) are currently behind Clemson in the standings but only because the ‘Canes have two conference games still to play while Clemson is already finished with conference play.
To reach the ACC Championship Game in Charlotte on Dec. 7, the Tigers will need the Hurricanes to lose against either Wake Forest or Syracuse in their final two regular season games — or for SMU to drop both of its final regular season games against Virginia and California.
The 125th Army-Navy college football rivalry game is next month, but we’ve already got a look at the custom uniforms both teams will be wearing for tha anticipated Dec. 14 clash.
Army will be honoring the 101st Airborne’s Rendezvous with Destiny at Bastogne in the Battle of the Bulge with “Screaming Eagles” jerseys.
Navy will be honoring the Jolly Rogers aviation unit with their custom uniforms.
Both of these designs do an excellent job with their commemorations while still nailing the aesthetics of what fans want out of custom jerseys.
It’s never a surprise to see Army and Navy rock some great customized uniforms for their annual rivalry game, and this year won’t be an exception.
This week, a new SEC team is in that spot. If the playoff started today, the Tennessee Volunteers would miss the cut after their 31-17 loss to Georgia over the weekend at Sanford Stadium.
While the Crimson Tide’s win over a Football Championship Subdivision opponent (Mercer) might seem relatively unimpressive, consider this: Not only did Alabama leap Tennessee and the BYU Cougars after those teams lost, but the Tide also jumped the 9-1 Miami Hurricanes, the highest-ranked ACC team.
Interestingly, one of biggest changes in the rankings was the selection committee showing us what it thought of the Big 12’s lack of a true conference power. After BYU was exposed in a 17-13 loss to the Kansas Jayhawks (4-6), the committee moved Boise State — the highest-ranked Group of Five team and projected Mountain West champion — ahead of the Cougars and, thus, into the No. 4 seed.
As a reminder, playoff rankings and actual seeding are two different things. Miami is the No. 8 team in the committee’s rankings, but they’re the No. 3 seed as the projected ACC champion. And as with last week, SMU may be one of the first teams out in the rankings, but the Mustangs still have a direct path to the ACC title game.
With that out of the way, here’s a look at what the bracket for the 12-team field would look like if the College Football Playoff started today, as well as who Alabama would face.
Projected Conference Champions, First-Round Byes
No. 1 seed: Oregon Ducks
Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard-USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Oregon College Football Playoff Ranking: No. 1
Oregon Current College Football Playoff Seed: No. 1
Oregon 2024 Record: 11-0 overall, 8-0 Big Ten
Barring an upset loss to Washington, Oregon will remain in this spot until at least the Big Ten championship game in Indianapolis.
No. 2 seed: Texas Longhorns
Wesley Hitt/Getty Images
Texas College Football Playoff Ranking: No. 3
Texas Current College Football Playoff Seed: No. 2
Texas 2024 Record: 9-1 overall, 5-1 SEC
Like last week, Texas is the projected No. 2 seed as the highest-ranked SEC team, though more college football analysts this week are trending in the direction of Alabama taking the conference crown. Part of that is how Texas and Alabama have looked in recent weeks. The Crimson Tide have been on a tear since their 24-17 loss at Tennessee. Texas lost by two scores to Georgia and looked largely uninspiring in a 20-10 win at Arkansas last week.
No. 3 seed: Miami Hurricanes
Matt Pendleton-USA TODAY Sports
Miami College Football Playoff Ranking: No. 8
Miami Current College Football Playoff Seed: No. 3
Miami 2024 Record: 9-1 overall, 5-1 ACC
Miami had a bye in Week 12 and closes the regular season with a home game against Wake Forest and a road trip to Syracuse.
No. 4 seed: Boise State Broncos
Ashton Jeanty runs for a touchdown against San Jose State at CEFCU Stadium. Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images
Boise State College Football Playoff Ranking: No. 12
Boise State Current College Football Playoff Seed: No. 4
Boise State 2024 Record: 9-1 overall, 6-0 MWC
Honestly? I think the selection committee got this one right. Can you name one Big 12 team that you’d feel 100% comfortable wagering on to beat Boise State? I can’t, and that’s why I’m fine with Ashton Jeanty and the Broncos surpassing BYU this week.
First Round CFP Matchups
No. 12 BYU Cougars seed at No. 5 seed Ohio State Buckeyes
Quinshon Judkins celebrates his touchdown against Northwestern at Wrigley Field. David Banks-Imagn Images
BYU College Football Playoff Ranking: No. 14
BYU 2024 Record: 9-1 overall, 6-1 Big 12
Ohio State College Football Playoff Ranking: No. 2
Ohio State 2024 Record: 9-1 overall, 7-1 Big Ten
The Buckeyes remain the highest-ranked at-large seed — and the biggest example of the difference between playoff ranking vs. playoff seeding. Ohio State still has a chance to take the No. 1 overall spot in the rankings when the final 12-team field is announced in December, but it will have to beat two current top five teams to do it.
No. 11 seed Georgia Bulldogs at No. 6 seed Penn State Nittany Lions
Matthew O’Haren-Imagn Images
Georgia College Football Playoff Ranking: No. 10
Georgia 2024 Record: 8-2 overall, 6-2 SEC
Penn State College Football Playoff Ranking: No. 4
Penn State 2024 Record: 9-1 overall, 6-1 Big Ten
TV executives, not to mention conference homers, would salivate over this potential matchup between an SEC heavyweight and a Penn State program looking to become one in the Big Ten.
No. 10 seed Ole Miss Rebels at No. 7 seed Indiana Hoosiers
Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
Ole Miss College Football Playoff Ranking: No. 9
Ole Miss 2024 Record: 8-2 overall, 4-2 SEC
Indiana College Football Playoff Ranking: No. 5
Indiana 2024 Record: 10-0 overall, 7-0 Big Ten
Can Ole Miss avoid the upset bug against a Florida Gators team that suddenly doesn’t seem that bad? Probably, but it’s an early kickoff in Gainesville against a team that just scored its first upset of 2024 and would love to ruin someone’s College Football Playoff hopes.
As for the Hoosiers, Curt Cignetti’s team faces what has to be the biggest game in the history of IU football when it heads to Columbus to face Ohio State. Indiana obviously wants to win, but even a close or competitive loss to the Buckeyes would keep the Hoosiers in the playoff conversation.
Ryan Williams and Germie Bernard celebrate a touchdown againsr Mercer at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Photo by Brandon Sumrall/Getty Images
Alabama College Football Playoff Ranking: No. 7
Alabama 2024 Record: 8-2 overall, 4-2 SEC
Notre Dame College Football Playoff Ranking: No. 6
Notre Dame 2024 Record: 9-1 overall
Last week’s rankings had Alabama on the road in the first round of the Playoff at another Indiana campus (Bloomington). But it would be the Crimson Tide at Notre Dame, if the playoffs began today. In terms of heavyweight college football programs that ooze tradition, this would be an epic matchup for an on-campus playoff game.
Alabama still needs to avoid any calamities at Oklahoma and against Auburn in the Iron Bowl, but the Crimson Tide are well-positioned for a trip to the SEC championship game in Atlanta entering Week 13. Meanwhile, Notre Dame will have to ruin one of college football’s biggest feel-good stories this week by beating an Army team that’s 9-0 and then beat USC at the Coliseum on Nov. 30.
On The Bubble/First Four Out
Josh Heupel walks off the field after Tennessee lost to Georgia 31-17 at Sanford Stadium. Imagn Images
No. 11 Tennessee Volunteers (8-2)
No. 13 SMU Mustangs (9-1)
No. 15 Texas A&M Aggies (8-2)
No. 16 Colorado Buffaloes (8-2)
CFP Quarterfinals
Rose Bowl: No. 1 Oregon Ducks vs. 8/9 Winner
Sugar Bowl: No. 2 Texas Longhorns vs. 7/10 Winner
Peach Bowl: No. 3 Miami Hurricanes vs. 6/11 Winner
Fiesta Bowl: No. 4 Boise State Broncos vs. 5/12 Winner
Legendary Florida defensive back Major Wright is returning to the Swamp this week to serve as Mr. Two Bits ahead of the Ole Miss game.
Former Florida safety [autotag]Major Wright[/autotag] is the latest Gators legend to earn an invite to serve as the honorary Mr. Two Bits in the Swamp.
Sixteen years ago, Wright cemented himself in Gators history by delivering one of the biggest hits the sport has ever seen during the 2009 BCS National Championship Game against Oklahoma. Now he’ll in the footsteps of Gators greats such as [autotag]Jevon Kearse[/autotag], [autotag]Emmitt Smith[/autotag] and [autotag]Rex Grossman[/autotag], all of whom have donned the yellow shirt and Orange and Blue tie this season.
“I’ve been wanting to do it,” Wright said. “Now that I’m getting the chance and it’s going to be amazing.”
Major Wright at Florida
Wright signed with Florida as a four-star prospect ranked No. 43 nationally, regardless of position, by 247Sports. He appeared in all 41 games over his three years in Gainesville, making 33 starts at free safety. He collected 165 tackles, eight interceptions, 10 pass breakups, four forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and a national championship with the Gators.
He decided to forgo his senior year and enter the 2010 NFL draft, where he was selected 75th overall in the third round by the Chicago Bears. Over 77 career games with the Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he made 242 total tackles and secured nine interceptions, peaking from 2012-2013.
What’s next for Florida?
The Gators play their final home game of the season against Ole Miss on Saturday, Nov. 23. Kickoff is set for noon ET and will be broadcast on ABC.
Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
Florida sits right outside of CBS Sports’ Week 12 rerank top 50 after a pivotal win over the LSU Tigers.
Florida football emerged victoriously from its Southeastern Conference rivalry game last Saturday inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium where they upset the LSU Tigers by a final score of 27-16.
The win was the fifth for the Gators this fall in 10 tries with just two games remaining on the 2024 schedule against the Ole Miss Rebels at home next weekend and the Florida State Seminoles in Tallahassee the Saturday after.
The triumph resulted in a nice bounce-back for Florida in CBS Sports writer Chip Patterson’s weekly re-rank update, rising from No. 65 to No. 52. The week prior to the Texas Longhorns loss, the Gators were ranked No. 50.
The Orange and Blue now sit between the No. 51 Rutgers Scarlet Knights and No. 53 Michigan Wolverines.
CBS Sports re-rank top 10
The top five schools remained unchanged, with the Oregon Ducks once again perched at No. 1 this week while the Ohio State Buckeyes held onto the second spot in the re-rank. The Longhorns stayed at No. 3 followed by the Indiana Hoosiers at No. 4 and Penn State Nittany Lions at No. 5.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish log in at No. 6 after rising two spots and the Alabama Crimson Tide also rose a pair of places to No. 7. The Ole Miss Rebels moved up three places to No. 8 followed by the Georgia Bulldogs — who gained four spots — at No. 9 and the Miami Hurricanes moving up two places to No. 10.
What’s next for Florida?
The Gators play their final home game of the season against Ole Miss on Saturday, Nov. 23. Kickoff is set for noon ET and will be broadcast on ABC.
Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
Here’s why Alabama football is getting ESPN’s ‘A-list’ treatment in Week 13.
After their 52-7 win over the Mercer Bears in Week 12, Alabama football is heading to Norman for the first time in over 20 years to face the Oklahoma Sooners this Saturday. Kickoff for Alabama-Oklahoma is set for 6:30 p.m. CT. The game can be seen on ABC.
On Monday, ESPN/ABC announced its weekly commentator assignments for Week 13 games. The network’s No. 1 broadcast crew of Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit will have the call of Crimson Tide vs. Sooners. Holly Rowe will report from the sidelines.
It’s the third time this season that Fowler and Herbstreit will call an Alabama game. The two called the Crimson Tide’s 41-34 victory over the Georgia Bulldogs back on Sept. 28 in Tuscaloosa, as well as Jalen Milroe and teammates’ 42-13 mauling of the LSU Tigers in Alabama’s latest victory lap inside Tiger Stadium on Nov. 9.
Needless to say, those games were much more anticipated on a national level than Alabama’s Week 13 contest against a struggling 5-5 Oklahoma team. So, why is Alabama getting Fowler, Herbstreit and ESPN’s “A-list” treatment this week against the Sooners?
For starters, there’s the fact that Alabama (8-2) is playing for a spot in the College Football Playoff and, should the Crimson Tide win out, a berth in the SEC Championship Game.
For another, the pickings are rather slim on Week 13 games that fall within ESPN/ABC’s broadcast umbrella. Only three games this week involve teams that are both ranked in the Top 25. The biggest of those is the No. 5 Indiana Hoosiers’ (10-0) matchup against the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes (9-1) in Columbus. That game will be televised on Fox in the network’s ‘Big Noon Saturday’ window at 11 a.m. CT.
ESPN pulled out of Big Ten media rights negotiations back in 2022, Sports Business Journal‘s John Ourand reported at the time. Two years prior to that, ESPN and the SEC agreed to a 10-year contract worth a reported $300 million+ annually to make the network (including ABC) the exclusive rights holder of SEC football and men’s basketball games beginning in 2024.
One of the only other matchups featuring two Top 25 teams this week is at Yankee Stadium, where No. 17 Army (9-0) plays No. 6 Notre Dame (9-1) in prime time. Since that game is considered a home game for Notre Dame, it will be televised on NBC, per the school’s longstanding football contract with the network to broadcast (or stream) all Fighting Irish home games.
No. 15 BYU is in Tempe to face No. 22 Arizona State. While one of those teams could reach the College Football Playoff as the Big 12 champion, they simply don’t drive the ratings needle the way Alabama does. So, from the standpoint of which games are most appetizing to ESPN/ABC that are within the network’s broadcast rights for Week 13, none rank as highly as Alabama vs. Oklahoma.
There’s also the rarity of the matchup and the brands of both schools — two of the all-time winningest college football programs in NCAA history. Saturday’s game will mark just the second time that Alabama has ever visited Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. The Crimson Tide lost 27-17 to the Sooners in the only other game that Alabama has played in Norman (Sept. 7, 2002).
Oklahoma leads the all-time series vs. Alabama, 3-2-1.
Alabama rose two spots to No. 7 in this week’s US LBM Coaches Poll following its win over Mercer. Kalen DeBoer and the Crimson Tide were ranked No. 10 in last week’s CFP rankings. The updated CFP rankings will be unveiled Tuesday at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN.
Oklahoma is coming off a bye week. Brent Venables’ Sooners lost 30-23 to the Missouri Tigers in their last game, Nov. 9 at Faurot Field in Columbia. Oklahoma has lost its last four games against SEC opponents and is 1-5 in conference play.
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The Irish have their work cut out for them on this side of the ball.
A common criticism by Notre Dame fans this season is that their team’s offense isn’t up to snuff with the best in college football. While the numbers don’t necessarily support that theory, at least when it comes to running and scoring, Irish fans have pushed it all the same.
Fans particularly have criticized [autotag]Riley Leonard[/autotag] for acting more like a running back than the gun-slinging quarterback they so desire. Never mind that Leonard has played very well lately.
If the Irish are to be exposed as a run-first offense, Army might be the opponent to do just that. The Knights are highly ranked in most defensive categories and even tied with Ohio State with the fewest points surrendered in the country.
Granted, the Knights haven’t played a ranked opponent all season, and the Irish will break that streak. Still, it’s something the Irish will need to keep an eye on as they prepare for this game.
Here’s how the Irish’s offense compares to the Knights’ defense nationally:
The vibes are trending up for Florida after a big upset win over LSU in Week 12, and The Athletic agrees.
The curse of Marco Wilson came to an end on Saturday when the Florida Gators defeated the LSU Tigers for the first time since 2018, and bowl eligibility appears almost certain for the Orange and Blue with Florida State still on the schedule.
The vibes in Gainesville are sky-high, so much so that The Athletic’s Seth Emerson was forced to move the Gators up four spots to No. 8 in his weekly vibe check rankings.
“A good case can be made for putting the Gators even higher,” Emerson wrote. “They’re playing well enough now that Ole Miss is on upset watch. And the trip to Florida State looks to be close to a gimme at this point. [autotag]DJ Lagway[/autotag] looks like the real deal. [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] is doing just enough to provide hope.
“Should Florida feel great about the overall future of the program? Eh, we’re not there yet. But should it feel much better than it did early in the season? Quite obviously.”
The future appears very bright for the Gators with Lagway at the helm, regardless of what Emerson thinks. There’s Heisman potential under center at Florida, and he’s still just a freshman. A win over Ole Miss next week would vault the Gators even further up these rankings and put a four-game win streak to close out 2024 on the table.
Week 11 SEC vibe check rankings
South Carolina Gamecocks (7-3, 5-3)
Ole Miss Rebels (8-2, 4-2 SEC)
Alabama Crimson Tide (8-2, 4-2)
Georgia Bulldogs (8-2, 6-2)
Texas Longhorns (9-1, 5-1)
Vanderbilt Commodores (6-4, 3-3)
Texas A&M Aggies (8-2, 5-1)
Florida Gators (5-5, 3-4)
Tennessee Volunteers (8-2, 5-2)
Missouri Tigers (7-3, 3-3)
Arkansas Razorbacks (5-5, 34)
Oklahoma Sooners (5-5, 1-5)
Auburn Tigers (4-6, 1-5)
Mississippi State Bulldogs (2-8, 0-6)
Kentucky Wildcats (4-6, 1-6)
LSU Tigers (6-4, 3-3)
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