Welcome to a Thanksgiving edition of UT News, where the turkey is moist, the wonderful scents of the holiday permeate the room, and nobody fights at the table. There is not much on tap today to cover, though the Lady Vols volleyball team triumphed over Auburn for Senior Night and wet-head Erika Brown was named SEC Swimmer of the Week. So without further ado, on to the news.
Lady Vols grab Senior Night victory over Auburn
The Lady Vols volleyball squad defeated Auburn last night in four sets, in their final match of the season at Thompson-Boling Arena.
The cherry on top of the victory was that the win came on Senior Night, making it a suiting finale for the women who have played in their last home game in Knoxville. The triumph also gave the Volunteers their fourth victory in their last five matches. Tessa Grubbs’ 14 kills now places her at No. 8 all-time at Tennessee, with 1,405 kills in her four-year career.
Coach Eve Rackham had the following to say about the Senior Night win.
“You can’t hope for anything else other than to be able to play great at home and send your seniors out the right way. We gave them all a chance to start and they played so well. It’s kind of storybook ending, but that’s what you want to be able to do. And I just feel fortunate we were able to do that for them and to be able to repay as much as we can.”
The Lady Vols wrap up the season in Starkville, Miss. against the Mississippi State Bulldogs. UT has won four of their previous matches, including a sweep earlier this season. First serve is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET and will air on SEC Network+.
Sun Belt Heat Week 14: Thanks for Playing With the championship game already set, the Sun Belt will attempt to avoid merely going through the motions. Contact @astatefanrules Sun Belt Heat is sponsored by O’Doul’s. Premium content requires a …
Sun Belt Heat Week 14: Thanks for Playing
With the championship game already set, the Sun Belt will attempt to avoid merely going through the motions.
Sun Belt Heat is sponsored by O’Doul’s. Premium content requires a premium, non-alcoholic pilsner.
As it turns out, 2019 is the new 2018, with Louisiana and Appalachian State returning to the Sun Belt Championship game, to be held next week. Sure, the journey contained a few wrinkles, like Georgia State making a mini-run in the East and Troy producing its own Chernobyl mini-series. Otherwise, the new boss is the old boss in the Sun Belt.
Which leaves the remainder of the conference playing for the leftover trinkets. Two programs seek a sixth win for bowl eligibility– Troy and ULM. Neither are assured a post-season spot even if they scrape up the W. There are also a pair of genuine rivalry games on the table, with nothing more on the line than pride. The Red Wolves’ Omar Bayless will work to maintain his status as national receiving leader, and Appalachian State kinda needs a crushing victory to cement its place in the College Football Playoff Top 25.
Not exactly the most compelling storylines, but so what? It’s November, and any heat is welcome.
Arkansas State Red Wolves (7-4) @ South Alabama Jaguars (1-10), Friday, November 29, 4:00 PM on ESPN+
Red Wolves have an 11-point buffer
Musty, asbestos-y old Ladd-Peebles is a kind of second home to the Red Wolves, who played five straight GoDaddy Bowls in Mobile. Adding to Arkansas State’s plus column: the Jaguars are awful, losers of nine straight and without a single FBS win on the season. Yet, there is a sense of disquiet for Red Wolves fans, as 1) this feels like a letdown game after the win against Georgia Southern, and 2) this is Senior Day for the Jaguars. Don’t be surprised if the Red Wolves are caught looking ahead to whatever Bowl game comes knocking. Also, don’t be surprised if Arkansas State rolls by 50. Just do yourself a favor and leave surprise out of this.
VERDICT: Red Wolves with the win
#25 Appalachian State Mountaineers @ Troy Trojans (5-6), Friday, November 29, 5:00 PM on ESPN+
Mountaineers receive the 12.5-point nod of assurance
This is an important game for Troy, who with a win becomes bowl eligible, earns a victory over a Top 25 opponent, and besmirches the near-perfect season of a divisional rival. However, last week’s 53-3 pimp slap from Louisiana doesn’t inspire much confidence in the Trojans. Added to the dismay, the Mountaineers lost some footing in the polls after playing too cavalier with the Texas State Bobcats. On paper, this looks like a massive QB shootout between Zac Thomas and Kaleb Barker. In reality, it looks more like a Subway 5-inch tuna sub left in the sun.
VERDICT: Mountaineers grudge-pound the Trojans
Texas State Bobcats (3-8) @ Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (4-7), Saturday, November 20, 11:00 AM on ESPN+
Chants by 7 points because Bobcats
A popular self-help book written several years ago recommended that you “eat your frogs” first thing in the morning so you could enjoy the remainder of your day unfettered by dread. There’s no froggier game than Bobcats at Chants this week, played in the morning so as not to spoil the rest of an otherwise fine day.
VERDICT: Good work, Chants. Nice.
O’Doul’s “Maintain Your Edge” Sun Belt Game of the Week
Georgia State Panthers (7-4) @ Georgia Southern Eagles (6-5), Saturday, November 30, 5:00 PM on ESPN+
Eagles get the 7-point Edge
Behind dual-threat QB Dan Ellington, the Panthers enjoyed a potency of offense they had previously never experienced as a member of the Sun Belt. Ellington is tied for 2nd in the Sun Belt with 21 TD strikes, and has run it in for another five. It may come as a surprise to some that the Panthers’ Tra Barnett is the leading rusher in the Sun Belt, and that the team is behind only Louisiana and Troy for total offense. What makes Vegas nervous is that Georgia State surrenders 205 yards on the ground per game, and the Eagles love to burn you on the ground.
VERDICT: Panthers out-sling the Eagles
ULM Warhawks (5-6) @ Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns (9-2), Saturday, November 30, 6:30 PM on ESPNU
Cajuns enjoy a 19.5-point spread
Since losing to Appalachian State 17-7 early in the conference season, the Cajuns have stoically thumped the Sun Belt with a bruising mixture of power running and stifling defense. The punishment reached its climax with a 50-point spanking of Troy, and there’s no evidence to support that Billy Napier is going to ease the whip on the Warhawks. A funeral for ULM will be held immediately following the game.
VERDICT: Cajuns boil
A former notary public, Jeremy Harper is a professional writer and Chief Instigator for Storm the Castle Creative. He spends much of his free time staring blankly into space.
The Arena Football League announced Wednesday that it is ceasing all operations and has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
The Arena Football League announced Wednesday that it is ceasing all operations and has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
The announcement comes after the AFL suspended all local operations in October.
The AFL was founded in 1987 and launched the careers of some well-known NFL names included Pro Football Hall of Famer Kurt Warner, former Washington Redskins head coach Jay Gruden and current Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy.
The league had dwindled down to a mere six teams during its 2019 season — Albany, Atlantic City, Baltimore, Columbus, Philadelphia, and Washington.
“We simply weren’t able to raise the capital necessary to grow the League, resolve the substantial legacy liabilities and make it financially viable,” league commissioner Randall Boe said in a statement. “We’re all disappointed that we couldn’t find a way to move forward, and we wanted to thank our fans, our players, coaches, everyone who loved Arena League Football.”
USA Today reports that the league was mostly hurt by a lawsuit filed by one of its insurance carriers.
UT and TTU meet for the 69th time in their history on Friday. The road team has won four years in a row and Texas can snap that this year.
With the road team winning the last four games, Texas and Texas Tech meet for the 69th time on Friday. Playing every year since 1960, the Longhorns and Red Raiders go all the way back to the Southwest Conference. While neither team has anything to play for as far as bowl eligibility, Texas needs a win to avoid their sixth 6-6 or worse regular-season record this decade.
Here is the series history between the Longhorns and Red Raiders:
All-time series record: Texas leads 51-17-0
Largest wins: Texas 58-7 in 1999, Texas Tech 33-9 in 1994
Latest Texas win: Nov. 10, 2018
Last season’s game against Texas Tech was an offensive slugfest that saw 38 of its 75 points scored in the fourth quarter. Both teams had over 450 total yards, including huge days for both Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger and Texas Tech quarterback Jett Duffy.
The Red Raiders were able to both throw and run the ball, having 595 total yards on offense. Duffy was the main guy for Texas Tech, throwing for 444 yards, while also leading the team in rushing with 80. Completing 78.7% of his passes and throwing four touchdowns, Duffy found seven different receivers. Antoine Wesley caught two of Duffy’s touchdowns and also racked in 171 receiving yards.
For the Longhorns, Ehlinger had one of his best days of the year, going 22-34 with 312 yards and four touchdowns. Three different receivers had over 50 yards for Texas, as Lil’ Jordan Humphrey led the way with 159 and Devin Duvernay and Jerrod Heard followed with 66 and 54 receiving yards respectively.
The play of the game came with 0:21 left in the game, tied at 34. Ehlinger threw a ball down the right sideline toward Humphrey, who reached over his defender, snagged the ball away from him, and went into the endzone to win the game for the Longhorns.
Texas won 41-34, making them 7-3 on the year. It was the fourth year in a row the road team had won in the series and Texas’ fifth straight win in Lubbock.
Latest Texas Tech win: Nov. 24, 2017
Playing on the Friday after Thanksgiving in 2017, both teams really struggled to throw the ball, with Texas completing 57% of their throws and Texas Tech completing 44%. To make matters worse, both teams threw two interceptions, turning the ball over a total of six times.
Late in the fourth quarter leading 23-20, Texas had a 3rd and 2 from their own 42-yard line. With 2:18 left in the game, a first down would have sealed the game for the Longhorns as Texas Tech only had one timeout left. Ehlinger scrambled to his right, threw across the middle and it was intercepted by cornerback Justus Parker. He took the ball all the way to the Texas 15 yard line, setting the Red Raiders up with a chance to win it.
Two plays later, Texas Tech quarterback Nic Shimonek found Cameron Batson for the go-ahead touchdown. On the final possession for the Longhorns, Ehlinger threw another interception with 0:55 left in the game, giving the Red Raiders the 27-23 win in Austin.
Struggling all day offensively, Texas fell to 6-6 on the season, giving them their fourth straight season with at least six losses. For Texas Tech, they also went to 6-6 and gained bowl eligibility for just the fourth time in seven years.
Texas will play Texas Tech on Friday at 11:00 a.m. CST on Fox.
ESPN is projecting Texas to face Texas A&M in the Texas Bowl. It would be the first time they would play since the rivalry ended in 2011.
In ESPN’s latest bowl projection, Mark Schlabach projects one of the country’s best rivalry not only to come back but to be played in Houston, TX. Schlabach thinks the Longhorns will face off against former in-state rival Texas A&M in the Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl on Dec. 27.
A historic matchup that has been played 118 times, Texas has double the number of wins the Aggies do, leading the series 76-37-5. It was played for the final time in 2011 when Texas A&M decided to join the SEC. In the final game, Justin Tucker hit a game-winning field goal to give Texas a classic 27-25 win.
Since that moment, there have been continuous questions of when these two teams will play again. Either in a bowl game or scheduling a home and home series, the fans agree the Longhorns and Aggies need to play each other.
“Us not playing Texas A&M is not good for college football,” Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte said. “We’d love to play A&M.”
There were reports that Texas reached out to Texas A&M to renew the series with a home and home series in 2022 and 2023, but the Aggies “were already booked,” said Texas A&M athletic director Scott Woodward said.
Since being in the SEC in 2012, the Aggies have only had less than four losses once. Before leaving the Big 12, it had been since 1998 since they only had three losses. They agreed to play against Kansas State in the 2016 Texas Bowl but lost to the Wildcats 33-28.
While the basketball teams will play each other on Dec. 8, this rivalry will remain all talk until the two meet again on the football field. With both teams expected to end their season 7-5, the opportunity for the two schools will be there to play in the Texas Bowl. While there have been rumors that the Aggies would turn down that opportunity, the two schools need to find a way to face off against each other.
We have reached the middle of the week — and also the day before Thanksgiving — which means football is in the air, as the Volunteers gear up for their final regular-season game against the Vanderbilt Commodores. The Vols have been on a roll in the athletics realm, but they have also excelled in the classroom as well. Speaking of doing well, the Lady Vols basketball team continues to roll along after defeating the Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions last night, and their coach had a few things to say about the hot start. The hottest of them all might be quarterback Jarrett Guarantano, but let us discuss the academic accolades first.
Redshirt senior offensive lineman Brandon Kennedy, redshirt junior offensive lineman Ryan Johnson, junior defensive lineman Matthew Butler and sophomore punter/kicker Paxton Brooks were selected by CoSIDA in District 3 this month for their combined excellence both in athletics and academics. The four are also eligible for Academic All-American honors as well.
Johnson received his second consecutive selection — only the third Vol ever to earn the feat, with Parker Henry and Peyton Manning being the only other two. Overall, Tennessee now has 32 all-time CoSIDA Academic All-District honors.
Arkansas State’s Omar Bayless: The Most Disrespected WR On Earth The nation’s leading receiver is have trouble gaining the respect of the establishment. Contact @astatefanrules Four years ago, the following video appeared in my Twitter feed: …
Arkansas State’s Omar Bayless: The Most Disrespected WR On Earth
The nation’s leading receiver is have trouble gaining the respect of the establishment.
Omar Bayless, a freshman WR and 3-star recruit from Mississippi, executing a flatfooted backflip. At six-foot-three, that was pretty damned impressive. Right away, I became a fan of Bayless. The next season, I wrote this about him:
I had jumped the gun a bit. In 2016, Bayless recorded 117 yards and a single touchdown. In fact, for the next three seasons, Bayless would wait his turn, quietly doing his job while Kirk Merrit and Dijon Paschal and Justin McInnis received the spotlight. But then he did this against Georgia Southern:
#TBT to Omar Bayless' go ahead Touchdown with 1️⃣4️⃣ seconds left in the ball game to beat Georgia Southern. #WolvesUp
— Arkansas State Football (@AStateFB) May 30, 2019
In 2017, he did it again. The One Handed Catch became a Bayless speciality, reminding us that he was by far the most freakish athlete on the team. He has size. He has speed. He has strength. Most importantly, he has supernatural ability to power through the play after the catch, pushing the defenders aside the Black Friday shoppers at Walmart.
“𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙗𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙧𝙞𝙙𝙞𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙤𝙪𝙨” That’s just @omar_bayless making plays.
This season, Bayless put up the numbers (and circus catches) to catch the attention of the Biletnikoff Award List and even garner some goodnatured Heisman talk. As of today, Bayless leads the nation in receiving yards and is tied for the lead in touchdowns. As if that were not enough, he’s blocked two punts.
In recent years, I’ve seen a number of great receivers in the Sun Belt: J.D. McKissic, Penny Hart and Jaleel Scott come to mind. Bayless is better than all of them. Layne Hatcher, freshman QB for Arkansas State, merely has to toss the ball in his general direction. Bayless makes the plays.
And yet, the disrespect.
This week, the leading receiver in the NCAA was not a finalist for the Biletnikoff. This isn’t a surprise. Post season awards are for the Privileged Five. But the lack of invitation from the Senior Bowl has not only been puzzling – it’s been downright insulting.
Jim Nagy, Executive Director of the Senior Bowl, doesn’t see much talent in the nation’s leading receiver. He sees more talent in a whopping nine other candidates. The only G5 wide receiver with an invite is Antonio Grandy-Gordon from Liberty. Devin Duvernay from Texas has 8 fewer touchdowns than Bayless. Chase Claypool of Notre Dame has more than 700 fewer yards. And how do you justify Vanderbilt’s Kalija Lipscomb (468 yards, 2 TDs) on this roster? How is the nation’s leading receiver omitted from this team – and bad-mouthed by the bowl’s executive director?
By my count, eight players from the Group of Five have accepted invites to the Senior Bowl (including three from the Sun Belt). That’s about 9% of the roster. Aside from a few FCS invites, the rest belong to the nation’s wealthy programs. It’s clear where the Senior Bowl’s allegiances lie – not with talent.
Omar Bayless is the nation’s best wide receiver. Too bad being the best doesn’t mean much anymore.
A former notary public, Jeremy Harper is a professional writer and Chief Instigator for Storm the Castle Creative. He spends much of his free time staring blankly into space.
