Tag: gators football news

Twitter critical of Dan Mullen following his transfer comments

The NCAA will allow one time transfers and Twitter was not happy with Dan Mullen’s take on the subject.

The NCAA has adopted a new transfer portal rule for the future. Now, student athletes in more major sports like football and basketball can transfer once and be immediately eligible at their new school.

There are some drawbacks of the new rule. There will be more transfers, and players may be less patient while they wait to develop. More potential negatives of the rule change include:

Fewer scholarships available to high school recruits. Power programs poaching players from small schools. Rosters turning over quicker than coaches can keep up.

Penn State football coach James Franklin has a well-informed opinion on the topic. Like all college football coaches, he has seen the risks and rewards of the transfer portal. Franklin knows the old system was being taken advantage of and was not producing equitable outcomes for all, as Georgia football fans know from the Luke Ford transfer.

James Franklin weighed in on transfers:

“Let’s be honest, over the last two years everybody knew all the transfer policies and the requirement to get immediate eligibility and everybody was saying whatever they had to say to become eligible.”

Overall, the new transfer rule is necessary. Student athletes should have an option to change schools if they are unhappy. In fact, they should not need a reason at all. Transfers should not be punished and have to sit out one season. Instead, they should be able to play immediately. The new transfer rule makes the system better.

It is troubling that coaches will now be tempted to recruit players from rivals, but that already happens to an extent.

For example, Florida Gators head coach Dan Mullen recruited and landed a transfer from Georgia, outside linebacker Brenton Cox. Mullen has gone on to secure even more transfers, but he still argues for players to stay longer and develop at Florida despite the new rule.

Twitter was not happy with Mullen’s comments, especially since they can be interpreted as hypocritical. Remember, Mullen left Mississippi State partially because that program was developing slowly.

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Kirk Herbstreit releases his college football top six rankings: Gators out

Kirk Herbstreit releases his college football top six rankings: Florida Gators out, but how is Iowa State ranked over Georgia?

ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit released his latest rankings of the top six teams with hopes of making the College Football Playoff. There’s only one week left to go in college football, but this upcoming week will feature the SEC and ACC Championships, which both have CFP implications.

There weren’t  many top teams playing in Week 15’s action. LSU upset Florida behind a boot from kicker Cade York and a show throw from Florida defensive back Marco Wilson in the biggest game of the week.

Clemson, Notre Dame, Texas A&M, Iowa State, Cincinnati, and Ohio State all either had the week off or had their games postponed. The Cincinnati Bearcats haven’t played in nearly a month. Alabama cruised past Arkansas in another dominant victory. The Crimson Tide look like college football’s top team this season.

In the ACC, Notre Dame and Clemson are going to have a rematch in the ACC Championship. The winner of that game certainly makes the CFP, but if Notre Dame loses, then they are still going to make it.

Here’s who Kirk Herbstreit puts in his top six schools:

Notably, Herbstreit now ranks Iowa State over Georgia and Florida. Iowa State is one of the hottest teams in college football, but they opened the season with an embarrassing 31-14 loss to Louisiana. Yes, Louisiana is ranked, but they still blew out Iowa State.

Georgia has only lost to Florida and Alabama, which are much superior competition than Louisiana. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter because there’s essentially no path to the College Football Playoff for Georgia.

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Kirk Herbstreit updates his College Football Playoff rankings

Kirk Herbstreit updates his College Football Playoff rankings. Where is Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, and more?

ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit named his latest rankings of the top six teams with hopes of making the College Football Playoff. There weren’t many upsets in Week 14’s action. Coastal Carolina knocked off BYU in the biggest game of the week. Coastal Carolina now has a chance to make a New Year’s Six bowl.

Clemson and Ohio State won in convincing conference wins. The Florida Gators slipped by Tennessee and Texas A&M won against Auburn. Indiana defeated Wisconsin cementing one of their better seasons in recent memory. Alabama dominated LSU and the Georgia Bulldog game against Vanderbilt was postponed.

In the SEC, Alabama and Florida are now set to play each other in the SEC Championship. The SEC Championship winner will make the College Football Playoff and either Florida quarterback Kyle Trask or Alabama quarterback Mac Jones is expected to win the Heisman.

In the ACC, Notre Dame and Clemson are going to have a rematch in the ACC Championship. Ohio State looks like the only other serious College Football Playoff contender. Texas A&M could get in if Florida loses in the SEC Championship Game, but the Aggies will need more help than that.

Here’s who Kirk Herbstreit puts in his top six schools:

Notably, Herbstreit now ranks Texas A&M over Cincinnati. The Cincinnati Bearcats didn’t play on Dec. 5. They’ll face Tulsa in one of their last games to impress the College Football Playoff Selection Committee.

Cincinnati would need lot help going forward. They still could make the College Football Playoff if Florida and Clemson lose in their conference championships. Still, the Bearcats would need Texas A&M to lose to either Mississippi or Tennessee.

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Kirk Herbstreit names his College Football Playoff contenders

College football analyst Kirk Herbstreit ranks Clemson, Alabama, Florida, and more among his College Football Playoff contenders.

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ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit names his latest rankings of the top College Football Playoff contenders. There weren’t many upsets in Week 13’s action. Mel Tucker, a former Georgia Bulldogs assistant coach, helped the Michigan State Spartans defeat Northwestern to eliminate one of the Big Ten’s remaining undefeated teams.

Ohio State’s game against Illinois was postponed/canceled. Clemson crushed Pittsburgh in Trevor Lawrence’s return; the Tigers will be a tough to beat with Lawrence at the helm. Alabama dominated Auburn in an easy Iron Bowl victory without head coach Nick Saban. Florida won an SEC game against Kentucky, and Cincinnati’s game at Temple was canceled. Texas A&M won 20-7 over LSU.

Overall, Michigan State’s win and Alabama’s win were the two biggest storylines of the week. The Georgia Bulldogs do look like College Football Playoff contenders with J.T. Daniels at quarterback, but with two losses, their chances are slim at best.

In the SEC, Alabama and Florida are almost set to play each other in the SEC Championship. Will either team be tested in their next games? Florida plays Tennessee this week, and Alabama plays the LSU Tigers.

In the ACC, Notre Dame and Clemson are likely to play each other in a rematch in the ACC Championship. Ohio State looks like the only other serious College Football Playoff contender. Texas A&M could get in if Florida loses in the SEC Championship Game.

Here’s who Kirk Herbstreit puts in his top six schools:

Notably, Herbstreit doesn’t put the BYU Cougars or Texas A&M Aggies in the top six. Both teams need some help to make the College Football Playoff. BYU played too easy of a schedule for serious College Football Playoff consideration.

Cincinnati would need help in the form of a Texas A&M, Notre Dame, Clemson or Florida loss before the conference championship games.

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Kirk Herbstreit updates his top six college football rankings

College football analyst Kirk Herbstreit released his latest rankings of the top teams in the country including Notre Dame, Alabama and more

ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit released his latest rankings of the top college football teams in the country. There weren’t any upsets in Week 12’s action.

Ohio State narrowly defeated a pesky Indiana team, Clemson’s game at Florida State was postponed, Alabama dominated Kentucky in a sixty point victory, Florida won in a SEC game against Vanderbilt, and Cincinnati topped UCF.

Overall, Cincinnati’s win and Ohio State’s win were the two biggest storylines of the week.  Another interesting development was the incredible debut performance of Georgia Bulldogs quarterback JT Daniels. Daniels transferred to the University of Georgia after being a five-star recruit, who played at USC, then tore his ACL in a game for the Trojans last season.

In the SEC, Alabama and Florida are on a crash course to play each other in the SEC Championship Game. Will either team be tested in their remaining games? Florida plays Kentucky this week and Alabama plays the Auburn Tigers.

In the ACC, Notre Dame and Clemson are probably going to play each other in a rematch in the ACC Championship Game. Ohio State looks like the only other serious College Football Playoff contender.

Here’s who Kirk Herbstreit puts in his top six schools:

Notably, Herbstreit doesn’t put the BYU Cougars or Texas A&M Aggies in the top six. Both teams will need some help to make the College Football Playoff. BYU may not be able to make it at all after playing one of the easiest slates of games major college football has ever seen.

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UGA football drops in latest SEC power rankings

The Georgia Bulldogs drop in this edition of the SEC power rankings. Florida and Texas A&M jump UGA. Bama remains at the top.

The Georgia Bulldogs played decent in a sluggish 14-3 victory over the Kentucky Wildcats. The win featured a run-heavy attack. Perhaps the Bulldogs were keeping their cards close to their chest for next week, but UGA did not look like legitimate National Championship contenders.

Now, the Dawgs are dealing with a slew of injuries heading into Saturday’s game against the Florida Gators. That mixed with turnover-heavy quarterback play from Stetson Bennett is resulting in Georgia dropping in the latest edition of SEC power rankings.

At the top, the Alabama Crimson Tide are clearly the class of the conference. Can any team defeat or even challenge Alabama? Florida may have the best chance of any team in the conference. Kyle Trask and the Gator offense would score points against the Crimson Tide defense.

In fact, the Gators, despite their loss to Texas A&M, are moving up in the latest edition of the conference power rankings. The rankings are based on who would win in a neutral site at this point in time.

SEC power rankings are per SEC Mike:

The Georgia Bulldogs fall to fourth in the SEC power rankings and it is tough to disagree. Georgia has five turnovers and scored 19.0 points per game in their last two games.

Beyond Georgia, Auburn dominated the LSU Tigers in an impressive victory to showcase their potential. Auburn still could end up as the second best team in the SEC West. The Tigers have late season games against Alabama and Texas A&M.

Texas A&M will continue to have College Football Playoff hopes following the Aggies’ win over the Arkansas Razorbacks, who fall to fifth in the power rankings. There really isn’t much separation from ranking No. 5 to ranking No. 12 in the SEC.

Teams like Tennessee, South Carolina, LSU, Ole Miss, Missouri, and more can be a handful if they play up to their potential. They will try to play spoiler all season long.

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Kirk Herbstreit unveils his latest top six rankings

ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit released his rankings of the top college football teams including UGA, Bama, Clemson, and more

ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit released his rankings of the top college football teams who have played so far this season. His top six excludes top teams such as Ohio State, Penn State and Oregon because they haven’t played.

Herbstreit ranked his College Football Playoff contenders after the Georgia Bulldogs defeated the Tennessee Volunteers 44-21 in this week’s top SEC matchup. The Texas A&M Aggies upset the Florida Gators as well. Now, there are only two undefeated teams left in the SEC.

Clemson knocked off Miami, Alabama beat Ole Miss in a shoot out, and UNC outscored Virginia Tech in notable action from the weekend.

Below is who Kirk Herbstreit puts in his top six rankings. He ranks the Georgia Bulldogs second (remember no Pac-12 or Big Ten). He rated UGA fourth last week, so this is an upgrade for the Dawgs.

It is hard to disagree with the top three teams in Herbstreit’s rankings. The Clemson Tigers look strong, Georgia may have the best defense in the country, and Alabama has an explosive offense. Georgia and Bama square off this week, so that will settle any debate of which team is superior.

Notre Dame, who Herbstreit ranks fourth, beat FSU in a win on Saturday. The Fighting Irish have a fairly easy schedule until they host Clemson. They will also play UNC in November.

UNC and BYU round out Herbstreit’s rankings. BYU seems overrated considering who it has played and how unimpressive they were in a seven point win over UTSA. The Cougars face a this Friday against Houston.

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Kirk Herbstreit releases his updated top six rankings

ESPN College Football Analyst Kirk Herbstreit has updated his rankings of the top college football teams including Georgia, Florida and more

ESPN College Football Analyst Kirk Herbstreit has updated his rankings of the top college football teams who have played so far this season. His list excludes top teams like Ohio State, Michigan, Oregon and more because they haven’t played.

Herbstreit ranks his top six after the Georgia Bulldogs defeated the Auburn Tigers 27-6 in this week’s top match-up. The nightmare season for the Big 12 continued this Saturday. Texas lost to TCU for the seventh time in their last nine games. Oklahoma, a perennial contender, fell again for the second consecutive week.

UNC, Viriginia Tech, Clemson, Oklahoma State, and Florida all had big wins this past week.

Here’s who Kirk Herbstreit puts in his top six. He ranks the Georgia Bulldogs fourth (remember no Pac-12 or Big Ten).

It is hard to disagree with the top two teams in Herbstreit’s rankings. The Clemson Tigers and Alabama Crimson Tide look to be on course for another College Football Playoff appearance. Alabama toppled Texas A&M in a dominant performance at home.

Interestingly, Kirk Herbstreit ranks the Florida Gators above the Georgia Bulldogs. Dawgs fans won’t be happy about this, especially after their impressive win over Auburn.

Miami and BYU round out Herbstreit’s rankings. BYU seems overrated considering who they have played. The Cougars won’t face a real test until they face Houston.

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Georgia football recruiting offers 4-star OLB scholarship

The University of Georgia football program has also offered a scholarship to Travious Lathan

The Georgia Bulldogs are heating up on the recruiting trail. Kirby Smart and company recently got a commitment from a three-star wide receiver in Jackson Meeks.

The University of Georgia has also offered a scholarship to Travious Lathan. Lathan is a member of the class of 2022, so he’s currently a junior in high school at Gulliver Prep in Miami, Florida.

Lathan is a four-star outside linebacker, who has already received recruiting interest from Miami, Florida, Florida State, Oregon, Michigan, and more. The Gulliver Prep star is a versatile athlete, who can play safety as well as outside linebacker. Modern defenses covet versatility and fluid athleticism as much as any traits nowadays.

Can Georgia pull yet another talented recruit away from the Sunshine State? The past several recruiting classes, the typical in-state powerhouses in Florida (Miami, FSU, and Florida) have all struggled to keep the state’s best talent from leaving. Georgia, Alabama, and Clemson are among the top out of state schools at recruiting Florida.

Lathan announced his scholarship offer via his Twitter account:

Congratulations to Lathan and best of luck to him throughout his high school career. We’ll update you if he releases a list of top schools or makes a commitment.

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Georgia low, Florida even lower in Phil Steele’s preseason CFB top-25

Georgia football checked in lower than expected, but not as low as Florida, in Phil Steele’s preseason CFB top-25.

Phil Steele has released his annual preseason college football top-25, and this year he is not terribly high on Georgia.

Steele has the Dawgs sitting at No. 7 in America, by no means a bad a ranking. It’s just not necessarily where DawgNation would like to see their guys start the season — Most outlets have placed the Bulldogs anywhere from 4-6.

In these rankings, Steele has Georgia as the fourth best team in the SEC. Conference teams ranked ahead of the Bulldogs include Alabama, LSU and, surprisingly, Texas A&M.

You’ll have to scroll allll the way down to No. 13 to find the Florida Gators, a team that is receiving a ton of preseason hype by practically every analyst other than Steele.

Georgia returns 8 defenders from last year’s No. 1 ranked defense, added two elite quarterbacks, signed the nation’s No. 1 ranked recruiting class and got an upgrade at offensive coordinator.

We’ll see.

Here’s Steele’s full rankings:

  1. Ohio State
  2. Clemson
  3. Alabama
  4. Oklahoma
  5. Texas A&M
  6. LSU
  7. Georgia
  8. Notre Dame
  9. Oregon
  10. Penn State
  11. USC
  12. Texas
  13. Florida
  14. Wisconsin
  15. Michigan
  16. North Carolina
  17. Miami
  18. Virginia Tech
  19. Auburn
  20. Tennessee
  21. Kentucky
  22. UCF
  23. Iowa
  24. Oklahoma State
  25. Memphis