Notre Dame football: Irish offer local ’21 prospect

Could Notre Dame have just extended a scholarship offer to their next commitment to the 2021 recruiting class?

Notre Dame has been riding a heater in the recruiting game of late, gaining four commitments over the last week as their 2021 class has climbed into the top ten nationally.

Now might Brian Kelly and the Irish be about to add 22nd commitment to that list?

That isn’t certain by any means but Notre Dame did extend another offer to a 2021 prospect on Sunday, extending an offer to JoJo Johnson of Merrillville, Indiana.

Johnson is listed as a wide receiver on 247Sports but Notre Dame would be looking for him to be a defensive back.

Johnson is listed at 5-11, 180 pounds and is graded as a three-star prospect.

Johnson has 16 offers, largely from MAC schools like Northern Illinois, Ball State, Central Michigan, Miami (OH), Toledo and Western Michigan.

Big Ten schools Iowa, Michigan State and Purdue have all offered as well Cincinnati, Washington State, and a handful of others.

Related:  Meet Notre Dame’s 2021 Recruiting Class Commitments

Notre Dame’s 2021 recruiting class currently has four defensive backs committed in Philip Riley, Ryan Barnes, Chance Tucker and Justin Walters.

Michigan State Football vs. Indiana: Complete starting lineup

Here is the full starting lineup for Michigan State’s matchup against Indiana.

[jwplayer ThHMsta4-PROpJzTY]

On the rollercoaster ride of the college football season, there is always variance in the rosters as players get injured or underperform. For Michigan State, there was quite a bit of change in the lineup with key starters like Kalon Gervin and Tre Person out of the lineup. The formerly injured Antjuan Simmons has also made his welcome return to the starting lineup this week.

Below, we put together every player starting today vs. Indiana, as first reported by Chris Solari of the Detroit Free Press:

  • QB Rocky Lombardi
  • RB Jordon Simmons
  • WR Ricky White
  • WR Jalen Nailor
  • WR Jayden Reed
  • TE Trenton Gillison
  • LT AJ Arcuri
  • LG J.D. Duplain
  • C Nick Samac
  • RG Matt Carrick
  • RT Kevin Jarvis
  • DE Jacub Panasiuk
  • DT Jacob Slade
  • DT Jalen Hunt
  • DE Drew Beesley
  • LB Antjuan Simmons
  • LB Noah Harvey
  • CB Shakur Brown
  • CB Dominique Long
  • NB Angelo Grose
  • S Xavier Henderson
  • S Michael Dowell

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Michigan State Football vs. No. 10 Indiana: Where to watch, listen, stream

Here is everything you need to know to watch Michigan State take on Indiana.

[jwplayer ThHMsta4-PROpJzTY]

This has been a very unique season, in many ways, and that is heavily reflected in Saturday’s match-up between Michigan State and No. 10 (!) ranked Indiana.

The Hoosiers are coming off their first win against Michigan in 33 years, while Michigan State, well, I think we all know what happened last week against Iowa. No need to relive that.

While Indiana has been the hot team in the Big Ten this year, Michigan State is something of a wild card. They looked like legitimate contender against Michigan, but looked like they were playing a different sport entirely against Rutgers and Iowa. It’ll be interested to see what version of Mel Tucker’s squad we get on Saturday.

Below is everything you need to know to watch, listen, and stream the game:

Match-up: Michigan State vs. No. 10 Indiana

Kick-off: 12:06 p.m. ET, Saturday, Nov. 14

TV: ABC

Online stream: ESPN.com/watch

Online radioTuneIn

Satellite radio: Sirius channel 113, XM channel 210; SiriusXM.com 968

Radio: Complete list of Michigan State radio affiliates.

Betting odds: Indiana -7

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Could Notre Dame Play Its Final Home Game of the Season Without Fans?

Unless you’ve been living in a cave lately, you know COVID-19 is getting worse by the day.

Unless you’ve been living in a cave lately, you know COVID-19 is getting worse by the day. Despite the encouraging news that Pfizer’s vaccine could be available to everyone by spring, that’s still a long way off. So we continue to find ourselves bound to restrictions, including the type of people allowed inside Notre Dame Stadium for games. That might soon be affected again.

Over the weekend, Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb will sign an executive order that limits the number of people at gatherings in certain counties. Pete Sampson, Notre Dame’s beat writer for The Athletic, realizes what this could mean:

That final 2020 home game for the Irish will be played against Syracuse, so it won’t draw nearly the same interest Clemson did. Besides, after drawing the ire of social media and the Rev. John Jenkins, Notre Dame’s president, for storming the field after the upset of the Tigers, the students might be better off staying away. Why give them the temptation to ignore social distancing again? This would be the perfect opportunity to save the student body from itself, which should be happening at every college around the country.

Indiana cracks top ten, Michigan drops out of top 25 in latest Amway Coaches Poll

Michigan State received no votes in the Amway Coaches Poll after getting votes last week.

[jwplayer xwcRkXEd-PROpJzTY]

It was a tough weekend for Michigan State Football, but they weren’t the only Big Ten team to struggle this weekend. Michigan and Penn State were both upset by Indiana and Maryland, respectively.

The Michigan game, specifically, had a big impact on the Amway Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY. Michigan has now fully dropped out of the poll and only received a couple of votes. Indiana, on the other hand, is now No. 10 overall after beating Michigan for the first time in decades.

Northwestern has also asserted themselves in the top 25, placing at No. 23 after beating Nebraska. Ohio State stays put at No. 3 despite a shakeup at the top with Notre Dame beating Clemson and taking over the No. 2 spot. Alabama is your new No. 1 team in the country.

[vertical-gallery id=31860]

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Tennessee offers 2022 Indiana defensive end

The Vols ventured into Indiana to offer this defensive prospect.

The Tennessee Volunteers are searching for talent in Big Ten country.

The Vols extended a scholarship offer to defensive end Popeye Williams from Westfield, Indiana.

Williams is a 6-foot-3, 225-pound prospect that rates as a three-star and the No. 18 weak-side defensive end in his class per the 247Sports Composite. Williams is the No. 8 player in Indiana.

The junior at Westfield High School already has offers from several major Big Ten programs such as Michigan State, Penn State, Wisconsin and Nebraska.

A few SEC schools are also in the mix for Williams, including Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee.

The Vols have only one prospect committed to the 2022 recruiting class, three-star defensive end Jimmy Scott from New York.

College football winners and losers from Week 8 include Rutgers, Alabama and Indiana

USA TODAY Sports takes a look at the winners and losers from Week 8 of college football action this past Saturday.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published by USA TODAY Sports and has been republished in its entirety below. 

Ohio State helped usher the Big Ten into the regular season with a 52-17 victory against Nebraska, which hung around for much of the first half but proved unable to slow down quarterback Justin Fields and the Buckeyes offense.

Already one of three teams receiving first-place votes in this week’s Amway Coaches Poll, the Buckeyes showed little signs of the sluggishness that has hobbled even the nation’s best teams after a unique offseason.

Fields completed 20 of his 21 attempts for 276 yards and had a team-high 54 rushing yards with three combined touchdowns as OSU racked up nearly 500 yards of offense.

Stressed early by Nebraska’s tempo — the Cornhuskers have improved depth and overall talent up front, which bodes well for the offense in Scott Frost’s third season — the Buckeyes’ performance from late in the second quarter through the final whistle painted the picture of a team capable of running the table and reaching the College Football Playoff.

[lawrence-related id=26436,26430]

And Penn State?

The Big Ten’s second playoff contender lost 36-35 in overtime to Indiana, dealing a tough blow to the Nittany Lions’ playoff hopes. Ahead 28-20 with over a minute left in the fourth quarter, Penn State allowed the Hoosiers to score and convert the two-point conversion to force overtime. Indiana quarterback Michael Penix Jr. completed the two-point try in the bottom of the extra frame for one of the best wins in program history.

The loss removes much of the luster from next weekend’s prime-time matchup with the Buckeyes. It also seems to remove much of the intrigue: Ohio State will be the significant favorite on the road.

Finally, the loss opens up room for Michigan, Minnesota or Wisconsin to stake claim for second place in the conference, which dictates where teams fall in the postseason pecking order. But only second place seems up for debate after one week — Ohio State might be too good to unseat from atop the Big Ten.

SEC Roundup Week 5: Auburn slips by Ole Miss, LSU bounces back big

Here are the rest of Saturday’s winners and losers:

Winners

Oklahoma State

Quietly one of the few remaining unbeaten teams in the Bowl Subdivision heading into the weekend, Oklahoma State bolstered its credibility and took a step toward claiming the top spot in the Big 12 with a 24-21 victory against Iowa State. This could be the Cowboys’ year: Oklahoma, Texas and TCU have struggled and Baylor has taken a step back, almost paving a path for OSU to win the Big 12 and build a case for a spot in the national semifinals.

Michigan

For Michigan, the best development to come out of a 49-24 win at Minnesota was the play of first-year starting quarterback Joe Milton, who provided an immediate spark for an offense that has produced less-than-optimal results for much of Jim Harbaugh’s tenure. Milton finished with 277 yards of total offense and two touchdowns as the Wolverines made a case for slotting in behind Ohio State in the Big Ten power rankings.

Rutgers

It feels like the late 2000s again at Rutgers, which snapped a 21-game Big Ten losing streak in beating Michigan State 38-27 to kick off the Greg Schiano reunion in grand style. After leading Rutgers to the greatest heights in program history before leaving after the 2011 season, Schiano has quickly breathed life back into the perennial conference pushover since being hired in December.

North Carolina

UNC rebounded from last week’s ugly loss to Florida State with a 48-21 victory against rival N.C. State. After a strong start, the Wolfpack struggled with turnovers and in getting stops against the Tar Heels’ balanced offense: 252 yards passing, 326 yards rushing. Barring another inexplicably bad performance, UNC will beat Virginia, Duke and Wake Forest to have just one loss heading into games against Notre Dame and Miami.

Notre Dame

The situation seemed ripe for an upset: Notre Dame had looked listless and underwhelming in last week’s win against Louisville while Pittsburgh had lost three games in a row, the first two by a single point. Instead of salvaging their season, the Panthers were blown out by the Fighting Irish, who took a 28-3 halftime lead and cruised to a 45-3 victory. Now 5-0, the Irish take on Georgia Tech on Halloween before a crucial date with Clemson to open November.

Clemson

Speaking of the top-ranked Tigers, Clemson sleepwalked through a good portion of a 47-21 victory against Syracuse, which pulled within six points in the third quarter, before waking up to pull away and notch a pair of firsts: the first time winning its first six games of the year by 18 or more points and the first time opening a season by scoring 37 or more points in six straight games.

Indiana

Even had Penix not dove and caught just the barest whisper of the left pylon to secure the 36-35 victory, Indiana would’ve landed in this category just for having the guts to go for the win instead of safely kicking the extra point to force a second overtime. Is the victory itself that surprising? It really shouldn’t be. Indiana has played PSU tough the last few times out, narrowly losing last season, and has turned a corner under Tom Allen, one of the league’s more underrated head coaches. Still, Indiana had lost 43 games in a row against opponents in the top 10.

LSU

On the ropes after losing two of three to open the season, LSU rebounded to beat South Carolina 52-24 behind an offense led by freshman quarterback TJ Finley. As the replacement for an injured Myles Brennan, Finley threw for 265 yards and had three touchdowns (one rushing) as the Tigers gained 541 yards of offense. For one Saturday, at least, the Tigers resembled the team that dominated in 2019. With Auburn, Alabama, Arkansas and Texas A&M up next, this was a must-win game for LSU.

Cincinnati

The Bearcats whipped SMU 42-13 in the biggest game of the season in the Group of Five. The win makes Cincinnati the unquestioned leader in the American, if that wasn’t settled already, and gives it the inside track to claiming the access-bowl bid to the New Year’s Six given to the best team from outside the Power Five leagues. And given the issues in the Big 12 and the Pac-12’s late start, is it too much to consider a path for the Bearcats to crack the top four and reach the national semifinals?

[lawrence-related id=26414,26405]

Losers

Tennessee

The losing streak against Alabama sits at 5,117 days and counting after the Crimson Tide’s 48-17 victory, the latest blowout in a series that was once competitive — seriously, Tennessee used to beat Alabama — but is now an annual reminder of how far the Volunteers lag behind the best teams in the SEC. Alabama quarterback Mac Jones continued to build his Heisman Trophy case with 387 yards passing. In good news, relatively speaking, Tennessee cracked 300 yards of offense against the Tide for the first time since 2015. (The Volunteers gained 302.)

Alabama

The bad news: Alabama will be without wide receiver Jaylen Waddle for the rest of the season after he broke his ankle on the opening kickoff, Nick Saban said at halftime. Losing Waddle, a projected first-round draft pick, removes the most important piece from Alabama’s three-headed receiver corps and weakens the return game. He entered Saturday averaging 139.3 yards per game and 22.2 yards per catch. With Waddle out, the passing game will focus even more heavily on senior DeVonta Smith and sophomore James Metchie III while Alabama searches for a third option.

Michigan State

The Spartans lost to Rutgers. Along the way, coach Mel Tucker’s debut included seven turnovers, the program’s most in a game since 1981. Maybe this can be interpreted as a good sign: Rutgers’ 38 points were the most allowed by a Michigan State coach in his debut since Nick Saban lost 50-10 to Nebraska in 1995.

Kentucky

As seen in a 20-10 loss to Missouri, the inability to do anything on offense will end up keeping Kentucky outside the top three of the SEC East. The Wildcats completed 4 of 13 pass attempts for just 47 yards to go with 98 yards rushing on 23 carries as Missouri ran almost three times as many plays and had possession for more than 43 minutes. After wins against Mississippi State and Tennessee to even its record at 2-2, this is a major step back for Kentucky.

Minnesota

The Wolverines’ convincing win was also a flop by Minnesota, which broke through in 2019 under P.J. Fleck but is headed for a season more in line with program history — middle of the pack in the Big Ten, give or take a spot in the conference power rankings — unless answers can be found on defense. While a decline was expected given the losses off last year’s roster, the Golden Gophers’ room for error is small.

Dan Mullen, defense among five things Florida football fans should be thinking about

[lawrence-related id=26430,26412,26399,26366]

ESPN College Gameday staying in Big Ten next week

ESPN’s College Gameday will remain in the Big Ten next week despite the host school getting upset from their top ten ranking Saturday.

Lose your season opener to a team that hasn’t won against a top ten opponent in 33 years?

No big deal, you get to host ESPN’s College Gameday!

That will be the case next weekend as Penn State, fresh off a heart-breaking and plenty controversial loss at Indiana hosts the crew from College Gameday next Saturday morning, the second week in a row the Big Ten will play host to the show.

The Nittany Lions will fall from their number seven ranking after losing in overtime at Indiana on Saturday, 36-35.

Penn State will be playing host to No. 5 Ohio State who had no problem opening the season against Nebraska, beating the Huskers 52-17.

Ohio State has won seven of their last eight meetings with Penn State, dating back to 2012.  That one loss was the 2016 thriller between the two in which Penn State blocked a field goal late and returned it for a touchdown with just over four minutes to play as the Nittany Lions held on to win, 24-21 and eventually walked away as the Big Ten Champions.

The picks are in, ESPN’s GameDay crew makes their selections

Vince Vaughn joins the ESPN College GameDay crew (Lee Corso, Desmond Howard, Kirk Herbstreit and David Pollack) and pick today’s games.

The Big Ten returns this weekend and ESPN’s College GameDay took notice by traveling to chilly Minneapolis as the Michigan Wolverines are hosted by the Minnesota Gophers. As they always do, GameDay brings in a guest with a home-site flavor, actor Vince Vaughn.

Vaughn is famous for his roles in Rudy, Swingers, Old School, Wedding Crashers and many other fantastic films. He’s a huge sports fan, also roots for the Chicago Cubs. Here are Desmond Howard, David Pollack, Kirk Herbstreit, and Lee Corso’s plus Vaughn’s picks for the slate of games today.

Georgia Southern vs. Costal Carolina

Vaughn –  CC

Howard – CC

Pollack – Georgia Southern

Herbstreit – CC

Corso – CC

 

NC State vs. North Carolina

Vaughn – UNC

Howard – UNC

Pollack – UNC

Herbstreit – UNC

Corso – UNC

 

Auburn vs. Ole Miss

Vaughn – Ole Miss

Howard – Ole Miss

Pollack – Auburn

Herbstreit – Ole Miss

Corso – Auburn

 

South Carolina vs. LSU

Vaughn – LSU

Howard – LSU

Pollack – S. Carolina

Herbstreit – S. Carolina

Corso – LSU

 

Alabama vs. Tennessee

Vaughn – Bama

Howard – Bama

Pollack – Bama

Herbstreit – Bama

Corso – Bama

 

Notre Dame vs. Pittsburgh

Vaughn – ND

Howard – ND

Pollack – ND

Herbstreit – ND

Corso – ND

 

Baylor vs. Texas

Vaughn – UT

Howard – Baylor

Pollack – UT

Herbstreit – UT

Corso – UT

 

Cincinnati vs. SMU

Vaughn – Cincy

Howard – Cincy

Pollack – Cincy

Herbstreit – Cincy

Corso – SMU

 

Oklahoma vs. TCU

Vaughn – OU

Howard – OU

Pollack – OU

Herbstreit – OU

Corso – OU

 

Oklahoma State vs. Iowa State

Vaughn – Ok. St.

Howard – Ok. St.

Pollack – ISU

Herbstreit – Ok. St.

Corso – ISU

 

Penn State vs. Indiana

Vaughn – PSU

Howard – IU

Pollack – PSU

Herbstreit – PSU

Corso – IU

 

Nebraska vs. Ohio State

Vaughn – OSU

Howard – OSU

Pollack – OSU

Herbstreit – OSU

Corso – OSU

 

Michigan vs. Minnesota

Vaughn – Minnesota

Howard – UM

Pollack – Minnesota

Herbstreit – NO PICK

Corso – Michigan

Michigan State in Top 10 of Most Weeks Ranked No. 1 Since 2009-10

Michigan State has been the best team in the nation for 9 weeks since the 2009-10 season, which is good enough for the 8th most weeks.

[jwplayer vDCx2jju-PROpJzTY]

A few days ago, FOX College Hoops tweeted about how Tom Izzo is one of four active head coaches in college basketball to never have a losing season in 15+ years of experience.  Yesterday, they tweeted about the top 10 schools who have spent the most weeks ranked as No. 1 in the nation since 2009-10.  Michigan State comes in at No. 8 on the list with a total of 9 weeks as No.1 in the nation since 2009-10.

They are second in the Big Ten only behind Indiana who has spent 10 weeks atop the rankings.  Others schools ahead of MSU include, Kentucky, Duke, Kansas, Villanova, Gonzaga, and Syracuse.  Kentucky has been on the top of the rankings the longest with a total of 37 weeks.

Will we see MSU get back atop the rankings this season? The season starts next month on November 25th, but doesn’t start for MSU until November 27th.

[lawrence-auto-related count=1]