Tag: Jacksonville

Notre Dame concludes nonconference play with win over Jacksonville

This should at least inspire confidence going into full-time ACC play.

Notre Dame has to do a lot to prove it can stick with ACC competition. Having lost its first two conference games, confidence in this group is not exactly high. Still, it’s capable of doing good things, which were on display in a 59-43 win over Jacksonville to snap a three-game losing streak. It was not a bad way to end the nonconference portion of the season.

The Irish (8-5) had a rough first half, trailing for much of it and shooting only 9 of 31 (.290) from the field, including 2 of 16 from 3-point range. The struggles continued well into the second half, but they finally found their groove as they went on a 15-2 run to take a nine-point lead. That was as close as the Dolphins (7-4) would be the rest of the way as their field goal to stop that run with 7:31 to play was their last for the game.

[autotag]Marcus Hammond[/autotag] came off the bench to score a game-high 15 points for his performance with the Irish so far. [autotag]Dane Goodwin[/autotag] and [autotag]JJ Starling[/autotag] had identical shooting nights of 5 for 12 while scoring 12 and 11 points respectively. All three of the above players tied for the team lead with three assists, and Starling led the Irish with eight rebounds. As a whole, the Irish did perhaps their most damage with points off turnovers, holding a 17-5 advantage there.

Make no mistake: This was an ugly game that the Irish easily could have let slip away as has been the case throughout the nonconference schedule and the early part of the ACC schedule. Shooting 40.3% from the field won’t cut it against the best teams in the conference, and [autotag]Mike Brey[/autotag] appears to still be figuring out the right regular lineup for his patented seven-man rotation. That shouldn’t be the case at this point in the season, but here we are.

The big boys will be coming for the Irish soon enough, and no one is going to feel sorry for them if they’re unprepared. A strong conference showing is a must, especially in another down season for the ACC, which has no top-10 teams right now. If something is to happen for this Irish team, it would help to have an upset Friday against No. 14 Miami.

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Photos from last Gator Bowl to feature Notre Dame

If you don’t remember this game, you probably have blocked it from your memory.

The bowl matchups are out, and where Notre Dame is headed should come as no surprise. Almost every bowl projection before Sunday had the Irish in the Gator Bowl, and that’s exactly where they’re headed. The Irish will meet South Carolina, a program they have clashed with four times before but not at all since 1984. This year’s game will be played at 3:30 p.m. EST on Dec. 30 in Jacksonville, Florida.

This will be the Irish’s fourth Gator Bowl, and they have no place to go but up after their last appearance in the 2003 edition. [autotag]Tyrone Willingham[/autotag] had led the Irish to a 10-2 regular-season record in his first season, but that didn’t matter to Philip Rivers and NC State. Rivers threw for 228 yards and two touchdowns in a 28-6 trouncing of the Irish. It didn’t help that [autotag]Pat Dillingham[/autotag] threw three interceptions.

Here are some images from a game that proved to be a sign of things to come for the rest of Willingham’s tenure:

Survey says Jaguars fans are least rude in the NFL

Jaguars fans are pretty easy to get along with, according to a recent survey.

Jacksonville Jaguars fans are a pretty welcoming group. At least that’s what a survey conducted by NJ.Bet found this month.

According to a poll of 1,150 Americans who regularly watch the NFL, the Jaguars ranked 32nd on a list of the league’s rudest fanbases. The biggest complaint about Jacksonville fans was that they “heckle too much,” but evidently not nearly as much as fans of the Philadelphia Eagles, Las Vegas Raiders, and Dallas Cowboys, the top three rudest groups, per the survey.

The entire AFC South ranked as not very rude with the Tennessee Titans 23rd, the Indianapolis Colts 29th, and the Houston Texans 31st in the survey. The complaint about Colts fans was also that they “heckle too much,” while Titans fans “start fights” and Texans fans “get too drunk.”

The survey also ranked the top 10 thin-skinned NFL coaches and quarterbacks, but neither Doug Pederson nor Trevor Lawrence made the lists. Multiple-time Super Bowl champions Bill Belichick and Tom Brady sat at the top of those rankings, respectively.

TIAA Bank announces sale, Jaguars stadium name to change

The Jaguars’ home stadium is set to get another name change.

The Jacksonville Jaguars’ home won’t be called TIAA Bank Field much longer, although the new stadium name hasn’t yet been revealed.

On Thursday, TIAA announced it’s selling its bank to a group of investment funds and will focus on its retirement and management businesses, according to the Jacksonville Daily Record.

The Jaguars’ stadium became EverBank Field in 2010 and was renamed TIAA Bank Field when the company acquired EverBank in 2018. According to the Daily Record, the name change won’t happen during the 2022 NFL season.

In 2014, the Jaguars and EverBank agreed to a 10-year, $43 million extension to their stadium naming rights deal that runs through the 2024 season.

The original name of the Jaguars’ home was Jacksonville Municipal Stadium until it became Alltel Stadium in 1997. At the conclusion of that deal, it became Jacksonville Municipal Stadium for a few more years before EverBank purchased the naming rights.

In addition to being the home of the Jaguars, the stadium has also served as the site of the annual Florida vs. Georgia college football game.

Jacksonville vs Indianapolis Prediction, Game Preview

Jacksonville vs Indianapolis game preview, prediction, and breakdown for the Week 6 game on Sunday, October 16

Jacksonville vs Indianapolis prediction, game preview, how to watch. Week 6, Sunday, October 16

Jacksonville vs Indianapolis How To Watch

Date: Sunday, October 16
Game Time: 1:00 ET
Venue: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN
How To Watch: CBS
Record: Jacksonville (2-3), Indianapolis (2-2-1)
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Jacksonville vs Indianapolis Game Preview

Why Jacksonville Will Win

Can Indianapolis move the ball at all?

Jonathan Taylor isn’t able to go on his injured ankle. Even so, it’s like the O line is doing enough to pave the way even if the star is okay.

Matt Ryan has been … interesting. There are too many interceptions for an offense that has turned it over too many times, and Jacksonville’s defense needs to take advantage of it.

At least two takeaways are coming.

Yeah, the Jaguar offense hit a scoring wall against Houston last week, but the parts are there, Trevor Lawrence is progressing, and …

– Week 6 CFN NFL Expert Picks

Why Indianapolis Will Win

The Colt defense is playing great.

It might have been run on a bit too much by the Titans and Broncos, but it’s coming up with third down stops, it’s keeping the downfield plays to a minimum, and it should be good enough to put the pressure on Lawrence to be patient to keep things moving.

After last week’s 13-6 loss to the Texans, Jacksonville will want to come out firing and make up for it. Patience is the key here, and it might not be happening. However …

– Week 6 NFL Schedule, Predictions, Game Previews

What’s Going To Happen

It’s not like the Indianapolis offense is going to run away and hit in this.

The opener is the opener – everyone is getting their feet wet. After struggling against Washington, the Jacksonville defense was great with the one blip coming against a Philadelphia attack that’s humming.

Don’t expect a slew of points, and that’s where the turnovers kick in. Indianapolis has a much bigger problem with big mistakes than the Jaguars do.

Jacksonville vs Indianapolis Prediction, Line

Jacksonville 20, Indianapolis 16
Line: Indianapolis -2, o/u: 41.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 2
Jacksonville vs Indianapolis Must See Rating: 3

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Notre Dame bowl projections following Week 5

Where do you want the Irish to end up this bowl season?

A month into 2022 and Notre Dame is at a fork in the road for the season.  After the unexpected loss to Marshall the Irish have bounced back to be 2-2 headed to the Shamrock Series game on Saturday against BYU.

Win this one over the ranked Cougars and all of a sudden 2022 seems like it could end up being a good amount of fun despite that awful start.  Lose this one though and all of a sudden you’re looking at what probably at best ends up being a 7-5 season.

So where would any of those possible results leave Notre Dame at season’s end?

Here are what the expert outlets nationally see in terms of Notre Dame’s postseason destination as we make our way into Week 6 of the college football season.

Eagles C Jason Kelce’s 2021 diss of Jaguars fans making rounds ahead of Week 4

Jaguars fans haven’t forgot about Jason Kelce’s comments from 2021.

In October 2021, Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce spoke to reporters about what it takes to earn the respect of Philadelphia sports fans. In his answer, he took a shot at fans of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

“Everybody’s gonna go through a downturn or be struggling, right? At all times this city is going to keep you accountable to doing your job and performing,” Kelce, a five-time Pro Bowler, said of Philadelphia fans. “But if you stick to it and you fight through it and you get better, they’ll respect the hell out of you.

“I really don’t think this is a hard place to play at all, to be honest with you. I think a hard place to play is … I think it’d be miserable to play in a place like Jacksonville, where nobody cares.”

The answer made some waves at the time, but the Jaguars — who were 1-5 then — had plenty of other problems aside from a player from another conference throwing out a press conference diss.

But now that the red-hot Jaguars are set to visit the undefeated Eagles in a marquee Week 4 matchup, Kelce’s sound bite is getting attention again on Twitter. Here are just a few recent reactions, including one from former Jaguars offensive lineman Uche Nwaneri:

Kelce, 34, is 2-0 in his only two career games against the Jaguars with wins in 2014 and 2018.

Notre Dame announces nonconference schedule for 2022-23 season

Notre Dame is eager to build on the success it had during the 2021-22 season.

Notre Dame is eager to build on the success it had during the 2021-22 season. It won two NCAA Tournament games, and [autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] became the program’s first one-and-done player after being drafted by the San Antonio Spurs. For the 2022-23 season, the Irish are returning most of their players and have another freshman with high expectations in [autotag]JJ Starling[/autotag]. We now know how their season will start in that they have released their nonconference schedule.

After everything the Irish accomplished last year, opponents will know not to take them lightly. [autotag]Mike Brey[/autotag] has recaptured his old magic, and that means a team that should continue to get better. All of this means some quality basketball will be played, and that means a product worth the money paid by the fans who come out to see them. After a Nov. 2 exhibition against New Orleans-based NAIA opponent Xavier, here’s who the Irish will face before playing an ACC schedule that promises even more excitement:

Why does Kirby Smart want to move the Florida-Georgia game?

Billy Napier said he’ll wait until he coaches in the UF-UGA game to determine how he feels about moving it from Jacksonville, but why are we even talking about this in the first place?

One of the topics from this week’s SEC media days that is sure to come up in the future is the location of the annual Florida-Georgia game. Georgia head coach Kirby Smart got the ball rolling on Wednesday with his comments against the game being held in Jacksonville, but first-year Florida coach Billy Napier said he’d like to experience the game before handing out any definitive opinions to the media.

Before digging into who said what, it’s important to give a little background on the game itself. For starters, the game has been played in Jacksonville since 1933. Smart is talking about breaking an 89-year tradition that’s only seen two exceptions due to a stadium construction project in the 90s. Despite being physically in Florida, the crowd is usually well split and the event has been designated as the world’s largest outdoor cocktail party.

It’s not the atmosphere or location that Smart takes issue with, though. The problem is that Smart is losing a home game to recruit players every other year. For that matter, so is Florida.

“I’m competing against guys all across the SEC who host kids at their biggest game,” Smart said on the SEC Network. “When Auburn plays Alabama, guess where the recruits are. They’re at Auburn. When LSU and Alabama play, guess where the biggest recruits want to go. It’s an opportunity for us to bring these kids who fly in from all over the country. What game do they want to see? They’d like to see Georgia play Florida but they can’t do that.”

Smart’s point is valid, but is it enough to change a tradition that’s nearing nine decades of practice? As Napier put it, that decision is above their paygrade, but if the two sides held the same public opinion on the matter it could get the ball rolling in a year or so.

There’s no doubt that Napier will need to prepare an answer for the follow-up that inevitably comes during his second SEC media days appearance.

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Former Georgia DE Travon Walker on relationship with Jags teammate Josh Allen

Travon Walker soaking up as much knowledge as he can from the vet

The Jacksonville Jaguars used their No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft to select former Georgia defensive end Travon Walker.

In 2019, Jacksonville used their No. 7 overall pick on Kentucky pass rusher Josh Allen.

With Allen and Walker paired up in Jacksonville, Jaguars fans are hoping for a lethal pass rush off the edge.

Two SEC guys now in Jacksonville, their relationship seems to be off to a hot start in the short time since Walker joined the Jaguars franchise.

Earlier in June, Allen said that Walker has the potential to be a player who records double-digit sacks:

“Travon is a double-digit sack guy but he is a rookie, you know what I’m saying, and he has to adjust to the environment of the NFL,” Allen said.

“ […] Once he gets comfortable into this defense and knows the calls in and out and can just play and not think, I Travon is going to be a freak. I can’t wait to see what he does in training camp.”

Last week, Walker returned the compliment during the first day of mandatory minicamp. He said he is learning a lot from Allen, regarding both on the field adjustments and those off the field.

“Josh, he’s been a great help to me. He’s one of those guys always hitting me up. He likes to get extra work, so we like to get extra work as well,” Walker said, according to News4Jax. “So, I come out here and work with him. Every time he texts me, ‘go get that extra work.’ He’s been a great source for me, somebody who’s been there ever since I walked in the door just to try and help me improve as a player and help me grow and be a great NFL player that he wants to be and this team needs.”

Walker had an incredible combine performance and a dominant 2021 season. The Thomaston, Georgia, native became the first Bulldog taken No. 1 since Matthew Stafford in 2008.

In 2021, Walker had 6 sacks, 7.5 tackles for loss and a team-high 36 quarterback hurries. He logged more playing time than any other UGA defensive lineman (56% of total defensive snaps).

Georgia had five first round NFL draft picks, becoming the first school to have five defensive players selected in the first round.