Tag: ESPN college football

Watch former Texas A&M QB Johnny Manziel surprise Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia on ESPN

One of Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia’s heroes is Texas A&M legend Johnny Manziel, who surprised the young signal caller during an ESPN segment

The 2024 college football season has found its annual darling. The Vanderbilt Commodores, the usual bottom dwellers in the SEC, have found life in head coach Clark Lea’s third season, mostly due to an aggressive defense and the play of senior quarterback Diego Pavia.

Pavia’s football life is fascinating, to say the least. The under-recruited journeyman transferred to Vanderbilt after two impressive seasons at New Mexico State under head coach Jerry Kill, who is now a consultant with the Commodores.

Developing into a true duel-threat option, Pavia has been a problem for defenses, already throwing for 973 yards and eight touchdowns while running for 335 yards and two scores through five games. Pavia and the Commodores made headlines last weekend after defeating the then-No. 1-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide, which was the program’s first win vs. a No. 1-ranked team since 1977.

Pavia is quickly becoming a household name due to his passion and love of the game. At the same time, several previous interviews have noted that his quarterback here is Texas A&M legend Johnny Manziel, whom Pavia learned from as a young man.

On Wednesday, during an ESPN College Football interview segment, Manziel surprised the quarterback by complimenting him on his play this season, as the 3-2 Commodores have an opportunity to take down another No. 1-ranked program in the Texas Longhorns later this month. Here is the full segment courtesy of On3 and ESPN.

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 Cameron on Twitter: @CameronOhnysty.

ESPN ranks Texas’ Quinn Ewers among college quarterbacks

Ewers is given a fair ranking from ESPN among the top quarterbacks in college football.

The key to success for the Texas football program is no secret. The Longhorns’ 2024 season, like the one before it, hinges on how well starting quarterback Quinn Ewers plays.

Last season’s playoff run proved Ewers capable of high caliber football over the course of a season, but the Longhorns’ title chances come down to whether or not he can improve to the same degree.

ESPN views the third year starter as one of its top quarterbacks in college football. It ranks Ewers No. 3 in the country. Here’s a look at the site’s Top 10.

  1. Carson Beck, Georgia
  2. Dillon Gabriel, Oregon
  3. Quinn Ewers, Texas
  4. Jalen Milroe, Alabama
  5. Noah Fifita, Arizona
  6. Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss
  7. Jalon Daniels, Kansas
  8. Shedeur Sanders, Colorado
  9. Cameron Rising, Utah
  10. Cameron Ward, Miami

The above list includes 10 proven quarterbacks. That Ewers is ranked so highly among them speaks to the respect he garnered in his 2023 campaign.

Ewers will look to grow from an impressive season the last time he took the field in which he completed 69% of his passes and put up just under nine yards per attempt.

Music City Bowl? A ranked SEC opponent? ESPN is making a big bowl projection for Rutgers football

ESPN made two projections for Rutgers football’s bowl game destination.

ESPN is projecting that Rutgers football is heading to the Music City Bowl. The opponent would be Tennessee.

The game would essentially be a road one for Rutgers, given that Nashville is in Tennessee. The Volunteers played at Nissan Stadium earlier this year.

It would be a fitting projection by ESPN for Rutgers. In 2005, the first year of bowl eligibility for Rutgers, the program played in the Insight Bowl (Phoenix, Arizona) against Arizona State. This is the first year of bowl eligibility for Rutgers under Schiano and would set up a similar scenario.

Tennessee went on the road and beat Kentucky this weekend. With the win, they are now 6-2 (3-2 SEC) and are ranked No. 16 in the nation in the US LBM Coaches Poll.

The projection from ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura likely means that Rutgers would need to win at least one if not two of their remaining four games.

The other projection is from ESPN’s Mark Schlabach and has Rutgers playing Boston College on Dec. 28 in the Pinstripe Bowl. The bowl game is the closest to Rutgers with the venue famed Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York.

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The common theme for both games? Jason Baum.

A long-tenured senior associate athletic director and chief communications officer at Rutgers, Baum recently was the senior associate athletic director at Boston College.

He is currently the executive associate athletics director of brand advancement and chief communications officer with Tennessee athletics.

Just call it the Baum Bowl and be done with it.

 

Where Wisconsin’s 2024 recruiting class ranks nationally

Where does the Badger class rank nationally?

ESPN’s Craig Haubert recently released an article detailing the top 25 college football recruiting classes in 2024.

Wisconsin ended up on the list, as the Badgers used a number of June commitments to climb into the top 25 nationally. It has been a solid past couple of months for the new Wisconsin regime as they look to build the foundation of a new era.

The top of the Big Ten recruiting rankings are dominated by the east, as Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State lead the way for the conference.

Here is where the Wisconsin Badgers landed according to the latest ESPN 2024 recruiting rankings:

Two Longhorns make ESPN’s list of best QBs since 2000

EPSN ranks Young as the No. 3 and McCoy as the No. 12 quarterbacks in the top 75. 

ESPN’s Bill Connelly conducted a list of the 75 best college football quarterbacks of the 2000s. College football fans have been treated to a few special talents this century. Two of the top names are former Longhorns.

Texas enjoyed a run of dominance from 2003-2009, led by the elite quarterback play of Vince Young and Colt McCoy. Young and McCoy were superstars for the Longhorns, helping Texas reach the heights of a national championship, conference titles and a handful of BCS bowl victories.

Young dazzled as a dual-threat quarterback who put it all together for a historic 2005 season. He lead Texas to a perfect 13-0 campaign, including a memorable performance against USC in the national title game.

McCoy had huge shoes to fill following Young’s career and he delivered in a major way. He guided Texas to a record 45 wins in his four-year career, finishing just shy of a national title in 2009.

EPSN ranks Young as the No. 3 and McCoy as the No. 12 quarterbacks in the top 75.

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How Texas can crash the College Football Playoff in 2023

Can Texas put the pieces together for a college football playoff run?

Texas football hopes to get back into national championship contention sooner rather than later. The Longhorns last played in the national title back in 2009 and have yet to qualify for the College Football Playoff in the nine years since its inception.

Steve Sarkisian hopes to end Texas’ playoff drought with a breakout season in 2023. ESPN highlighted what each of their way-too-early top 25 teams needs to do to make the CFP next year.

The Longhorns have the talent to contend for a Big 12 championship but will have a few key issues to solve. First, there’s the matter of replacing Doak Walker Award winner Bijan Robinson and running back Roschon Johnson. Then there’s the matter of the QB position, where Quinn Ewers showed some flashes in his first year as a starter but also had plenty of struggles. Will he be able to hold off all-everything recruit Arch Manning? With the addition of Adonai Mitchell from Georgia to pair with Xavier Worthy and Jordan Whittington, who could have a big year, the passing game has a chance to be stellar — with tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders as a budding superstar. The offensive line returns all five starters and will be a key. So if the defense can come together by Week 2 when the Horns travel to Alabama, there’s a chance for a huge statement that could set the tone for the rest of the season.

Texas is in a great spot on paper from a roster standpoint. A solid chunk of returning production comes back, along with some exciting newcomers in the mix.

Consistency is going to be the key for Texas to finally get over the hump. The Longhorns can not afford to play up or down to its competition as they have in years past. If Sarkisian can get the most out of his team each week, there is no reason Texas should not be in the playoff mix.

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ESPN reveals final 2022 college football power rankings

How many days until games start again?

The games are done until late August in major college football as the page now turns to the 2023 season.  Although we’re in the middle of “way too early” season where polls, depth charts, schedule predictions, and plenty of other thoughts get written about, it’s still worth taking a few final look backs at the 2022 season.

ESPN recently released their final top 25 power rankings for the season.  Georgia was obviously number one after dominating TCU in the title game and finishing 15-0.  Did TCU stay at number two, however?  And how high did Notre Dame finish after beating South Carolina in a thrilling Gator Bowl?

Here is ESPN’s full final 2022 college football power rankings.

ESPN shakes up their college football power rankings after Week 12

A look at the updated ESPN rankings

It was a wild Week 12 around the country and for the Wisconsin Badgers, and while Wisconsin didn’t sneak into ESPN’s power rankings after their road win, there were a number of major shakeups elsewhere.

TCU pulled out a clutch win, Michigan survived late, Ohio State had a big second half to restore order at Maryland, and Tennessee fell off a cliff in Week 12.

Where do the Big Ten powers stand in the latest ESPN power rankings? Michigan and Ohio State obviously lead the way as they get ready for their season-defining clash in Week 13.

Here is a look at the post-Week 12 ESPN power rankings:

Western Michigan vs. Michigan State, live stream, preview, TV channel, time, how to watch college football

The Western Michigan Broncos will meet the Michigan State Spartans in Week 1 of the college football season on Friday night.

The Western Michigan Broncos will meet the Michigan State Spartans in Week 1 of the college football season on Friday night at Spartan Stadium.

Western Michigan is coming off an 8-5 season and a 52-24 win over Nevada in the Quick Lane Bowl as they look to make some improvements this year. As for Michigan State, they finished 11-2 and knocked off Pittsburgh in the Peach Bowl by 10 points.

This will be a great night of college football, here is everything you need to know to watch and stream the action on Thursday.

Western Michigan at Michigan State

  • When: Friday, September 2
  • Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
  • TV Channel: ESPN
  • Live Stream: fuboTV (watch for free)

How to watch College Football this season

fuboTV has complete NCAA college football coverage (CBS, FOX, ESPN) as well as ACC Network, Big 10 Network, ESPNU, Pac12, and more. fuboTV includes every network you need to watch every college football game in your market.
fuboTV is available on your phone, tablet, desktop, TV, and connected TV devices including Roku. Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV plus many more.
*Regional Restrictions Apply*

NCAA Football Odds and Betting Lines

NCAA odds courtesy of Tipico Sportsbook. Odds were updated at 12:00 p.m. ET on Friday.

Western Michigan vs. Michigan State (-21.5)

O/U: 53.5

Want some action on college football? Place your legal sports bets on this game or others in CO & NJ.

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Additional college football coverage from USA TODAY Sports Media Group:

Alabama football / Auburn football / Arkansas football / Florida football / Georgia football / LSU football / Iowa football / Michigan football / Michigan State football / Notre Dame football / Ohio State football / Oklahoma football / Oregon football / North Carolina football / Nebraska football / Penn State football / Colorado football / Clemson football / Rutgers football / Tennessee football / Texas football / Texas A&M football / USC football / Wisconsin football

Where Wisconsin football lands in ESPN’s preseason power rankings

Where do the Badgers land?

We are just 17 days away from Wisconsin football beginning their 2022 campaign.

Preseason rankings are in their final stages with the AP Poll recently being released and other national outlets putting together their final thoughts.

ESPN recently released their final preseason rankings, and there were no surprises at the top. The rest of the list, however, could be up for debate. Wisconsin was included in the list of 25 teams with the Badgers’ biggest question mark being listed as the cornerback room.

The cornerbacks? Sure, Wisconsin has new transfer pieces in Justin Clark, Jay Shaw, and Cedrick Dort Jr., but Jim Leonhard’s history should have Badger fans feeling comfortable. The other side of the ball, however, still has a number of interesting question marks.

Here is a look at where the Badgers fell in ESPN’s top 25 power rankings: