Tag: College Football

Navy’s Brian Newberry subtly roasted Army’s Jeff Monken after his overconfident Midshipmen trolling

Brian Newberry didn’t forget!

Navy coach Brian Newberry didn’t forget Army coach Jeff Monken’s October slight after his team upset Monken’s team on Saturday at West Point.

The Midshipmen’s 31-13 road win over the archrival Black Knights was a shock after the latter’s excellent season. It was even sweeter after what happened earlier in the fall on ESPN.

Back in October, Monken was so confident in his surging Army team that he trolled Navy on The Pat McAfee Show.

“Do they still have a football program at that school?” Monken joked during the McAfee segment about why he wasn’t worried about Navy this year.

Well, those words came back to haunt Monken as Newberry threw them right back after Navy’s stunning Army upset.

“I’ll tell you what, we still got a football team in Annapolis,” Newberry quipped during his postgame interview with CBS Sports’ Jenny Dell.

Talk about a callback for the ages. We love rivalries!

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Travis Hunter gave a delightful shout-out to Lil Wayne in his fantastic Heisman speech

Travis Hunter’s Heisman Trophy acceptance speech was incredible.

Colorado two-way phenomenon Travis Hunter emerged victorious on Saturday night in New York City with this year’s Heisman Trophy.

Hunter is the first defender to win the award since Michigan legend Charles Woodson in 1997. His victory speech is already an all-timer for the ceremony.

During his emotional acceptance speech, Hunter gave a delightful shout-out to rap legend Lil Wayne (who sat with Hunter at the ceremony) and thanked those who helped him get to where he is now.

As far as Heisman speeches go, Hunter might as well be given another trophy. He knocked this one out of the park and then some.

Feature image courtesy of ESPN. 

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Travis Hunter embraced Deion Sanders after Heisman Trophy win in really sweet moment

This is such a cool moment between Travis Hunter and Deion Sanders.

Colorado two-way superstar Travis Hunter won this year’s Heisman Trophy on Saturday night in New York City.

Hunter joins a proud history of non-quarterbacks to win college football’s top honor and an even more exclusive club as the first defender to take home the trophy since 1997.

Right after his name was called as this year’s Heisman Trophy victor, Hunter shared a really sweet moment with his Colorado coach, Deion Sanders.

The two gave each other a big hug, with Sanders clearly proud of the wide receiver/cornerback sensation he coached at Jackson State and Colorado.

This is a really cool moment between player and coach, as you can tell how much this historic victory means to these two college football legends.

Feature image courtesy of ESPN. 

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2024 Heisman Trophy voting results: Travis Hunter is first defender awarded since 1997

Travis Hunter is the first college football defender to win the Heisman Trophy since Charles Woodson.

The 2024 Heisman Trophy has been awarded to a defensive player for the first time since 1997.

Two-way Colorado superstar Travis Hunter took home college football’s top prize on Saturday night in New York City, edging out the second-place finisher in Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty.

Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel and Miami quarterback Cam Ward finished third and fourth respectively with the Heisman voters this year.

Arizona State running back Cam Skattebo came in fifth place in the voting.

Hunter is a wide receiver and a cornerback for the Buffaloes, making him the first defender to win the award since legendary Michigan cornerback Charles Woodson in 1997.

While Colorado didn’t make the College Football Playoff this year, its best player is now a Heisman Trophy winner. Hunter is expected to be a top prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft.

Here are the full results from this year’s Heisman Trophy voting tally.

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You have to see Navy’s nose tackle successfully convert a fake punt play against Army

Landon Robinson showed why he’s one of college football’s signature freak athletes.

Fake punts are beginning to become a bit of a tradition in the Army-Navy game.

You remember Diego Fagot’s iconic conversion for the Midshipmen in 2021, right? When the snap surprised the linebacker and he stiff-armed a would-be tackler before scampering for a critical late-game first down? Indeed, that was pretty awesome.

And so was the fake punt Navy ran in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game, the 125th meeting between the Black Knights and Midshipmen. But this time, the man who got the ball was not a linebacker, or a fullback, or a receiver.

No, he was a bit heftier.

On a fourth-and-5 setup at midfield early in the fourth quarter, Navy called for a fake punt. The ball was snapped into the mitts of junior nose tackle Landon Robinson, who cut through a hole set up by blockers and rumbled down the field for a 29-yard run. Robinson fumbled at the end, but it was safely recovered by Navy and set up Blake Horvath’s second touchdown of the day – which, of importance to bettors, triggered a rare over (39 points) in the Army-Navy game.

Here’s the play:

It’s not a Thicc Six, but we should celebrate it the same way.

LANDOVER, MARYLAND – DECEMBER 14: Defensive tackle Landon Robinson #96 of the Navy Midshipmen celebrates a sack against the Army Black Knights during the first half of 125th America’s Game between the Army Black Knights and the Navy Midshipmen at Northwest Stadium on December 14, 2024 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

Robinson is listed as 6 feet tall and 285 pounds. He made an appearance on Bruce Feldman’s annual Freaks List at the Athletic. Robinson, according to Feldman, can bench 450 pounds and squat 650. He entered the Army-Navy game with four sacks on the season.

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Florida RG Damieon George Jr. transfer decision reversed, won’t enter portal

Things move quickly in the transfer portal. Florida offensive lineman Damieon George Jr. was expected to depart the program, but now he’s staying.

Florida offensive lineman [autotag]Damieon George Jr[/autotag]. won’t be leaving the program for the transfer portal after all.

Following reports of George’s decision to enter the portal earlier in the week, both 247Sports and On3 learned from team sources that the starting right guard is practicing with the team ahead of the Gasparilla Bowl and plans to return to the Gators in 2025.

On3’s Pete Nakos cited George’s agents Noah Reisenfeld and Adie von Gontard as sources for the initial report, so it’s possible this was a leveraging move that got resolved quickly.

George joined the Gators in 2023 as a transfer out of Alabama. He started 10 games at right tackle, one at left tackle and came off the bench in another throughout last season. He transitioned to guard over the offseason and started 10 games at right guard in 2024 for Florida.

Pro Football Focus gave him a 70.2 overall offensive grade, a 71.0 as a run blocker and a 73.4 as a pass blocker. He allowed just seven quarterback pressures and didn’t give up a sack this year.

With Florida losing Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson to graduation, the Gators could move George back to right tackle in 2025. That would allow younger guards, such as Bryce Lovett and Kamryn Waites, to remain in the rotation and give George a chance to prove himself again at his natural position.

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4 up-close photos of this year’s awesome Army-Navy game alternate uniforms

Yes, Nike and Under Armour cooked again with these.

People watch the Army-Navy game for a lot of different reasons. Some tune in for the patriotism and pageantry, while others are scheme sickos who love the triple-option and its variations.

Others watch on the second Saturday in December to see what kind of awesome uniforms Nike has cooked up for Army, and what Under Armour has unveiled for Navy.

It’s become part of the tradition of the long-running rivalry game that each team wears special one-off uniforms for the game, often which are nods to historic military history. In the past, Navy has paid homage to its ties with NASA and Army has given tribute to a unit that played a key role in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

This year was no different.

Army’s slick all-black threads commemorated the 101st Airborne’s role in the Battle of the Bulge, while Navy went with an all-white kit in a nod to the Jolly Rogers, the storied aviation unit.

Here’s a few up-close looks at the uniforms:

Image Courtesy of Army West Point Athletics
Image Courtesy of Army West Point Athletics
Image Courtesy of Navy Athletics
Image Courtesy of Navy Athletics

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Why No. 22 Army might not get a bowl game after its best season in decades

Someone find Army a bowl opponent, quickly.

Why Army might not play in a bowl game after its best season in decades
Regardless of how Saturday afternoon’s Army-Navy game plays out, this season has been one of the best for the Black Knights from West Point in decades.

It marks just the fourth time in Army’s 131 years of playing football that they’ll finish the season with double digit wins, it’s the first time in the College Football Playoff era that they’ve been obtained a spot in the final CFP rankings, and it’s the first time they’ve won a conference championship – capturing the American title in its first season in the league. Army quarterback Bryson Dailey leads the FBS in rushing touchdowns and finished sixth in Heisman Trophy voting, and the Black Knights’ defense ranks seventh nationally in points allowed per game.

And yet, Jeff Monken’s accomplished Black Knights might not play in a bowl game.

Because Marshall is scared.

OK – it’s a little more complicated than that.

The Herd, who won the Sun Belt, declined to renew the contract of former head coach Charles Huff and he left for Southern Miss. Yes, you read that right: things were so bad between this school and its former coach that Marshall let Huff walk to another Sun Belt team with no strings attached AFTER winning the conference title.

Marshall quickly then hired former N.C. State defensive coordinator Tony Gibson as its next head coach, but an exodus had begun. According to multiple reports, dozens of players have left Marshall in the past week via the transfer portal.

 

On paper, the Independence Bowl looked like one of the better non-CFP bowls, matching up the champions of the Sun Belt with the champions of the AAC. But Marshall is bowing out of the bowl because of a lack of players available.

 

The transfer portal has been a thing for a few years now. Players changing programs at the end of a regular season is no longer uncommon. Could Marshall pull together enough dudes to play Army? Apparently not.

It creates a scenario that could result in being a massive bummer for the Black Knights. If the Independence Bowl is played, it’s likely the last competitive football game that most of Army’s seniors will ever play in. Seniors for the Black Knights can’t enter the transfer portal and won’t be opting out.

So, let’s find an opponent for Army. Here are some suggestions.

3 teams to replace Marshall in the Independence Bowl

  • UL-Monroe went 5-7, its best season in five years. And first-year coach Bryant Vincent says the Warhawks are down to play.

  • App State is the only team in the country that went 5-6 this season. The Mountaineers didn’t have an opportunity to play a 12th regular season game this year because its matchup against Liberty in late September was canceled because of Hurricane Helene.
  • Oregon State went 5-7 but is a conference champion because it beat Washington State in the de facto Pac-2 title game.

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USA TODAY Sports ranks Florida-Tulane matchup in Gasparilla Bowl

The Gasparilla Bowl might be a bit of a mismatch — in Florida’s favor — according to USA TODAY Sports.

College football’s bowl season is finally here and this year the Florida Gators will face the Tulane Green Wave in the Gasparilla Bowl. For Billy Napier and Co., this game is the culmination of a monumental effort this season to get over the hump and back into the postseason.

The Orange and Blue finished with a 7-5 overall record thanks to three straight wins to wrap up the regular-season schedule — including two over-then-top-25 teams. The achievement ends a three-year losing streak, which was the longest the program had endured since the 1940s.

The Green Wave went 9-4 this fall including a blowout loss to the Army Black Knights in the American Athletic Conference Championship Game last weekend.

USA TODAY Sports writer Eddie Timanus recently put together his rankings of 35 non-playoff postseason matchups based on what he believes will have the highest entertainment value. His was pretty bearish overall.

Gasparilla Bowl ranking

According to Timanus’ rankings, the Florida-Tulane matchup in the 2024 Gasparilla Bowl comes in at No. 28 out of the 35 total games listed.

“The matchup here is a lot less attractive than the records might indicate,” he notes. “The Green Wave’s promising year wound up in a series of disappointments including transfer exits, while the Gators made a surprising push late and will now look to carry that momentum into the offseason.”

How to watch Gasparilla Bowl

The Gators will face the Green Wave in the Gasparilla Bowl held inside Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, on Dec. 20. Kickoff is slated for 3:30 p.m. ET and the game will be televised on ESPN2.

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.

The custom jerseys for 2024’s Army-Navy game are predictably excellent

These custom Army-Navy jerseys are pretty great.

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.

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