Tag: ESPN College GameDay

No love for Clemson from GameDay Crew

ESPN’s College GameDay crew has made their picks for Saturday’s 3:30 p.m. game between Clemson and No. 23 Pittsburgh at Heinz Field. The Panthers (5-1, 2-0 ACC) are a 3.5-point favorite at home against the Tigers (4-2, 3-1). Desmond Howard, Lee …

ESPN’s College GameDay crew has made their picks for Saturday’s 3:30 p.m. game between Clemson and No. 23 Pittsburgh at Heinz Field.

The Panthers (5-1, 2-0 ACC) are a 3.5-point favorite at home against the Tigers (4-2, 3-1).

Desmond Howard, Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit all picked Pittsburgh to beat Clemson.

Howard: “I like Pitt big in this game. I think this is going to be when the nation really realizes how good Kenny Pickett actually is. I’m going Pitt, big over Clemson.”

Corso: “Pitt.”

Herbstreit: “I’m going to go Pitt, too. Back to you, Rece (Davis).”

Guest picker Bill Walton also went with the Panthers to win.

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Rece Davis: ‘It feels like the last stand for Clemson’

A significant ACC showdown is set to take place at 3:30 p.m. Saturday between Clemson and No. 23 Pittsburgh at Heinz Field. It’s a game that ESPN college football analyst Desmond Howard is really looking forward to watching. “I want to see Clemson …

A significant ACC showdown is set to take place at 3:30 p.m. Saturday between Clemson and No. 23 Pittsburgh at Heinz Field.

It’s a game that ESPN college football analyst Desmond Howard is really looking forward to watching.

“I want to see Clemson and Pitt,” he said on ESPN’s College GameDay show Saturday morning. “Clemson, I do believe, has a championship-style defense. The offense is going to have to possess the ball — no more three-and-outs — to keep the defense off the field. But Kenny Pickett and Pitt, explosive offense. I think he should start to get a little bit more Heisman buzz, too.”

Through six games this season, Pickett has completed 69.8 percent of his passes for 1,934 yards and 21 touchdowns with just one interception.

Pitt’s offense enters the contest ranked second nationally in points per game scored (48.3), while Clemson’s defense ranks second in the FBS in points per game allowed (12.5).

“I think we all can agree that Clemson has a championship-level defense with James Skalski in the middle,” Howard said. “You’ve got Nolan Turner on the back end. But now they’re going to go up against Kenny Pickett, and this is an offense that’s No. 2 in the nation, scoring 48 points a game. By far, the most talented quarterback they’ll see all season long. And Pitt, they run the ball pretty well, too.”

ESPN College GameDay host Rece Davis pointed out that Clemson is an underdog against an ACC opponent for the first time since 2016, snapping a 48-game streak of being favored against conference competition.

When he looks at the numbers, Davis doesn’t expect the Tigers’ offense (20.5 points per game, 113th nationally) to be able to keep pace with the Panthers’ high-powered attack.

Davis called this game “the last stand” for Clemson (4-2, 3-1 ACC), which will need to pull out a victory against Pitt (5-1, 2-0) to keep realistic ACC Championship hopes alive.

“Pitt, if their stats and their schedule are who they say they are, they will beat Clemson because the Tigers can’t score and score the way the Panthers do,” Davis said. “It feels like the last stand for Clemson.”

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LOOK: No. 10 Oregon Ducks announce ‘eggshell’ uniform combination for marquee game vs. UCLA

The Oregon Ducks unveiled a new ‘eggshell’ uniform combination for the marquee matchup vs. UCLA.

If you’re in tune with the subtle hat-tipping that goes on in the social media world, you might have seen this one coming. The Oregon Ducks released their uniform combination for the marquee matchup against the UCLA Bruins on Thursday evening, unveiling a different look than what we’ve seen before.

Oregon’s road combination in front of a College Gameday audience will include a ‘eggshell’ look that is white and black speckled, almost looking like a cookies and cream ice cream.

For anyone who was paying attention to the Ducks on Twitter this week, the speckled theme is no surprise. New Oregon merchandise was released recently with this pattern on the jersey, and as 247 Sports’ Jared Mack pointed out on Wednesday, the Oregon Ducks’ official Twitter account changed their main image to an Oregon ‘O’ with the same pattern.

Coincidence? Not for those who know where to look.

Regardless of if you were ready to the release or not, Oregon will once again be donning some state-of-the-art uniforms against UCLA on Saturday, with a national ESPN audience tuning in. After impressing with the all-black ensemble against Cal a week ago, we can hope that their play holds up to the level of swagger on the field.

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No. 10 Oregon Ducks vs UCLA Bruins: How to watch, listen, stream

Here’s how you can watch, listen or stream Oregon’s big game in the Rose Bowl to take on UCLA.

For the first time this season, ABC is sending their No. 1 crew to cover the Oregon Ducks. Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Holly Rowe will be at the Rose Bowl as the Ducks take on their former coach Chip Kelly and the UCLA Bruins.

Oregon has been on ABC and the ESPN family of networks several times already, but this game will also feature ESPN College Gameday being on-site in Pasadena. It also happens to be the first time Gameday has attended a Bruin home game. Of course, they’ve been there for the actual Rose Bowl on New Year’s, but this is their initial visit to the old venue during the regular season, which is kind of hard to believe.

Oregon and UCLA are scheduled for a 12:30 p.m. PST kickoff.

TV: ABC (Comcast 9 SD or 709 HD) (DirecTV 9) (Dish Network 9)
Play-By-Play: Chris Fowler
Analyst: Kirk Herbstreit
Sideline: Holly Rowe

RADIO: Oregon Sports Network, KUJZ-FM 95.3 (Eugene) KFXX-AM 1080 (Portland) Sirius: 133 XM: 197
Play-By-Play: Jerry Allen
Analyst: Mike Jorgensen
Sideline Reporter: Joey McMurry
Pre-Game Show: Terry Jonz

OPPONENT’S RADIO: UCLA Sports Network
Play-by Play: Josh Lewin
Analyst: Matt Stevens
Reporter: Wayne Cook

LIVE STREAM: fuboTV (try it free)

Ducks’ College Football Playoff chances drop to 13% after win over Cal

After an uninspiring win over the Golden Bears, Oregon saw their chances to make the College Football Playoff drop a few percentage points.

The Oregon Ducks’ uninspiring win over the Cal Golden Bears a week ago had some real effects on the College Football Playoff committee, with Mario Cristobal and his team seeing their chances at making the CFP dropping a few percentage points.

Not only did Oregon drop in both the AP Poll and ESPN Power Rankings, but they also saw their percent chances to make the CFP go from 16% to 13%.

If the Ducks can find a way to play up to their ceiling this coming weekend and beat UCLA on the road, it will go a long way to boost their resume going forward. With ESPN’s College Gameday traveling to Los Angeles for this game, in particular, the Ducks need a big performance from both the defense and QB Anthony Brown.

We will see if they can get the job done.

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Pollack hates on Clemson, has ‘seen enough’

ESPN college football analyst David Pollack expected a better performance from Clemson, following its bye week, than what he saw Friday night in the Tigers’ 17-14 win over Syracuse in the Carrier Dome. Now, after watching Clemson (4-2, 3-1 ACC) …

ESPN college football analyst David Pollack expected a better performance from Clemson, following its bye week, than what he saw Friday night in the Tigers’ 17-14 win over Syracuse in the Carrier Dome.

Now, after watching Clemson (4-2, 3-1 ACC) continue to struggle offensively against the Orange, Pollack is convinced that the Tigers’ won’t extend their streak of six consecutive ACC championships dating back to 2015.

Pollack also believes Clemson won’t be able to keep pace with Pittsburgh’s offense in next Saturday’s game between the two teams at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh.

The Panthers, who are 4-1 overall and 1-0 in the ACC entering their game game at Virginia Tech on Saturday, rank first in the FBS with 52.4 points per game going into Saturday’s action. Meanwhile, Clemson currently ranks 112th in the country, averaging 20.5 points per game.

“Here’s the thing,” Pollack said Saturday morning on ESPN’s College GameDay show. “We keep saying, and I hear y’all keep saying, Clemson’s the most talented team, they’re going to win the ACC. They’re not going to win the ACC. They’re not good enough to win the ACC. They’re not. I’ve seen enough now.

“I said to myself, bye week, ‘everybody doubting me,’ they’re going to be pissed off, they’re going to come out, they’re going to play. They’re just not very good. They’re not offensively going to scare anybody. I don’t see them beating Pitt. I think Pitt can score. I know Pitt’s going to give up points, but I don’t think Clemson can score enough.”

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ESPN’s College GameDay crew reacts to Clemson’s win over Syracuse

On ESPN’s College GameDay show Saturday morning, the GameDay crew reacted to Clemson’s 17-14 win over Syracuse on Friday night in the Carrier Dome. A highlight was shown of Joseph Ngata’s acrobatic catch in the end zone for a 19-yard touchdown …

On ESPN’s College GameDay show Saturday morning, the GameDay crew reacted to Clemson’s 17-14 win over Syracuse on Friday night in the Carrier Dome.

A highlight was shown of Joseph Ngata’s acrobatic catch in the end zone for a 19-yard touchdown reception from D.J. Uiagalelei in the second quarter.

“We found the only play in the first half besides the fake punt that we can show you, from Clemson’s offense,” David Pollack said.

After Ngata’s touchdown grab, the Tigers scored only one more touchdown the rest of the game. It came on a 2-yard run by Kobe Pace with nine seconds left in the first half, following a fake punt pass from Will Spiers to Davis Allen on fourth-and-5 that set the offense up at the Syracuse 24-yard line before Pace punched the ball in a number of plays later.

“Spiers, the punter, that was one of the best throws of the night,” Kirk Herbstreit said. “Clemson, it’s like they’re stuck in third gear. Between the offensive line and the issues in the vertical pass game, they’re struggling to move the ball down the field.”

Uiagalelei finished the game 21-of-34 passing for 181 yards and the touchdown pass to Ngata, while the Tigers ran for 116 yards on 37 carries, averaging 3.1 yards per attempt. Clemson went 5-of-15 on third downs and averaged 4.3 yards per play overall.

“I’m not sure Clemson’s offense is going to get fixed because the offensive line doesn’t look like it can dominate, and they just haven’t been accurate in the passing game,” Rece Davis said.

Added David Pollack: “The quarterback’s not playing great, either. I think you’ve got to put that on him, too.”

Clemson (4-2, 3-1 ACC) returns to action at 3:30 p.m. next Saturday against Pittsburgh at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh.

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Two ESPN College Gameday hosts like Illinois’ chances against Wisconsin

Two ESPN College Gameday hosts like Illinois’ chances against Wisconsin

ESPN College Gameday hosts give their ‘super dogs’ every week, picking big-time underdogs to cover the betting spread and maybe win outright.

Kirk Herbstreit and Desmond Howard both selected Illinois as their super dogs today. During their explanations, both said Illinois could win outright.

“I like Illinois outright,” Howard said about Wisconsin being 11-point favorites. “Somebody loves Wisconsin and I don’t get it.”

Wisconsin has been favored in every game thus far. They’ve obviously lost three of those contests, most recently at home against Michigan.

The Badgers still have an outside shot at continuing to be favored by Vegas in every game this season, especially if the team strings a few wins together while Iowa falters before the October 30 matchup between the two schools.

That all needs to start with a win today against Bret Bielema and Illinois.

All Betting Lines are Courtesy of Tipico Sportsbook

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Once again, the Texas Longhorns pose a significant challenge to Oklahoma’s Big 12 crown

After a rocky start to the season, the Texas Longhorns have reemerged as serious contenders for the Sooners’ Big 12 crown.

No, we’re not going to utter that phrase. You know the one that Sam Ehlinger so proudly pronounced after the Texas Longhorns beat the Georgia Bulldogs in the 2019 Sugar Bowl.

After a rocky start to the Steve Sarkisian era in Austin, the Texas Longhorns have come on strong in recent weeks to get to 4-1 and make the Red River Showdown a battle of top 25 teams.

The Longhorns started the season strong with a win over then-ranked Lousiana-Lafayette before dropping a tough one to Arkansas in Fayetteville. Texas went back on their Hudson Card is our starter pronouncement and made the switch to Casey Thompson, and the offense has looked much better since.

The Longhorns did what they were supposed to do and destroyed the Rice Owls 58-0 before putting a whooping on Texas Tech and dropping 70 points in the process. Things got a bit dicier against TCU, though they controlled the game against their Big 12 nemesis for much of the day.

Texas comes into the Red River Showdown, much like the Oklahoma Sooners, with a gritty road win against a team that has given them fits in recent years. Though they have a loss on the season, the Longhorns should be taken seriously this week and a serious contender for the Big 12 championship in 2021.

Though the Sooners will have to navigate a tough schedule that still has Iowa State, Oklahoma State, and TCU, this matchup with the Longhorns always sits as a significant hurdle to winning the Big 12.

Much of the rest of this season will ride on how the Sooners perform in the Red River Showdown. If they can go into the Cotton Bowl and get a win over their rival, the Sooners will have cleared another considerable obstacle to defending their crown.

With ESPN “College GameDay” heading to Dallas, the atmosphere will be rocking for a big-time matchup, renewing the best rivalry in college football.

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ESPN College Gameday heading to the Cotton Bowl for OU-Texas

ESPN College Gameday will be joining the Oklahoma Sooners & Texas Longhorns at the Cotton Bowl for the 117th meeting in the storied rivalry.

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One of the great rivalries in all of college football will commence again this week for the 117th time in the history of the two programs next Saturday as the Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns will meet at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, TX.

The Sooners and Longhorns will play host to another great tradition in college football when ESPN’s College Gameday joins them at the State Fair of Texas for the Red River Showdown.

The Oklahoma Sooners have won three games in a row against Texas, including the 2018 Big 12 Championship. The last time the Longhorns took home the “W” was the 2018 Red River Rivalry game.

In that game, Oklahoma was down 21 points entering the fourth quarter before Kyler Murray led them on a furious comeback that helped them to tie the game with just over two minutes remaining. That was more than enough time for Sam Ehlinger to lead Texas into field goal range for Michael Dicker’s game-winning field goal as time expired.

Last year’s game played out similarly, but it was Texas coming back from 14 points down in the last four minutes of the game to tie it and send it to overtime. Oklahoma would eventually win in the fourth overtime period after a 25-yard scoring strike from Rattler to Drake Stoops and sealed by a Woodi Washington interception in the end zone.

That game marked a turning point in the career of Spencer Rattler at Oklahoma. Rattler had entered the Red River Rivalry game with four interceptions in three games and had thrown another one before halftime against Texas. From the start of the second half through the rest of the 2020 season, Rattler threw just two interceptions.

Interestingly, through the first five games of the 2021 season, Spencer Rattler has thrown four interceptions. His interception against Kansas State was a “throw it up and hope your guy makes a play” type of throw that amounted to nothing more than a punt on third and long.

With a win this week, the Oklahoma Sooners can match the longest win streak in the Red River Rivalry game since 2010 at three.

It will be a raucous atmosphere as it always is and ESPN College Gameday will bring another level of fun and excitement to the Red River Rivalry this Saturday at the Cotton Bowl.

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