Tag: Kentucky Wildcats

Looking at trap game candidates for the LSU Tigers

Who could be a potential trap game for the LSU Tigers on the 2021 schedule?

We have officially hit the three-week mark until the 2021 LSU Tigers hit the football field.

While there is plenty of excitement surrounding this team as we draw closer to the start of football, there are still plenty of questions. Will the new coordinator hires have a huge impact on the team? Well, it can’t be worse than last year’s campaign. Even opposing coaches saw that there was a disconnect on the sidelines.

The team has plenty of returning production in 2021, the most interesting player to watch has to be quarterback Max Johnson. He made two starts, both wins. Is that small sample size a preview of things to come or was it fools gold? We will soon

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First up an opponent the Tigers have never played

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Ranking future SEC opponents by most intriguing matchups

Ranking the most intriguing SEC matchups now that the Oklahoma Sooners have formally been invited to the conference.

On Thursday it all came to a head as expected, the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns were both given an invitation. The SEC presidents voted 14-0 in favor of the top two schools in the Big 12 coming over in 2025.

While no one expects it to take that long, the worst-case scenario would be for OU to join in time for the 2025 season. On Friday, they are expected to officially accept the invitation. The Oklahoma Board of Regents will make that decision during their meeting.

With that much behind us, there is the subject of SEC football to discuss. Thoughts of future matchups are already on the mind of many. What games will stand out? The return of Missouri-Oklahoma is on that list. Perhaps a return series for Oklahoma against Texas A&M?

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John Williams ranks the most intriguing matchups in the SEC for the Oklahoma Sooners.

Oklahoma Sooners win totals against SEC members from least to most

Taking a look at the SEC teams the Oklahoma Sooners have had the most success against in their 125 year history.

The Oklahoma Sooners are one of the most successful programs in the history of college football. All-time they rank sixth in winning percentage at .726. Only Boise State, Ohio State, Alabama, Notre Dame, and Michigan have a higher all-time win percentage.

In it’s 125-year history, few programs can boast the amount of success the Sooners have had. Over the course of college football’s existence, the Oklahoma Sooners have been one of the most recognizable names in the sport.

And as the team looks to be embarking on a new path down toward the Southeastern Conference, the Sooners will play some familiar and unfamiliar teams.

With that, let’s take a look at the Oklahoma Sooners’ win totals against SEC members starting with the least.

Where would Oklahoma and Texas rank in 2021 SEC power rankings?

Where would the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns rank among SEC schools heading into 2021?

After meetings took place between the Big 12 athletic directors Thursday evening, conference migration looks inevitable for the Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns. Athletic directors from both schools didn’t participate, signaling their positions.

Though nothing is set in stone, developments are trending toward a new conference home for the Sooners and Longhorns.

As they look to head east, where would OU and Texas rank among SEC teams heading into the 2021 college football season?

Ohio State basketball to play in CBS Sports Classic at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas

Is this a tempting venue and city to go to? Who’s planning on going for this matchup between Ohio State and one of the blue-bloods of the sport?

Ohio State basketball’s 2021-2022 schedule continues to come more into focus. We know what the Big Ten opponent breakdown will be (we just need dates and times), and we’ve also gotten a peek at the complete nonconference schedule lately, and it’s a doozy.

One of those early nonconference tests comes by way of the CBS Sports Classic, an event Ohio State has been a part of since its inception in 2014. It involves not only the Buckeyes, but blue-bloods Kentucky, North Carolina, and UCLA. And if you think OSU doesn’t belong in that crowd, we’re here to remind you that the Buckeyes have the second-best record among the four in the event, going 4-3, just a game behind Carolina’s 5-2 record.

And while we already knew OSU would be taking on Kentucky as a part of all the fun this season, we were waiting for a venue. Wait no longer my friends. According to a release Tuesday, the game will take place in Las Vegas at the T-Mobile Arena after the conclusion of North Carolina vs. UCLA at 3 p.m EST.

It’ll be another chance for Ohio State to get a quality win next season. The Buckeyes are expected to be a top ten squad again next year, even with the announcement by Duane Washington to remain in the 2021 NBA draft.

Kentucky is coming off of a very uncharacteristic  9-16 campaign that saw it miss the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2012-2013 season. It was the Wildcats’ first losing season since 1988-1989. However, head coach John Calipari made significant coaching and roster changes that have most believing Big Blue will be back among some of the best teams in college basketball this season.

The game has the potential to be a top-ten matchup, and fans interested in purchasing tickets can register to receive direct email alerts regarding ticket availability by logging on to cbssportsclassic.com/tickets. Tickets are set to go on sale next Wednesday, July 28, so set your alarms, mark your calendars, and make it happen.

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Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion.

Ohio State basketball to play in CBS Sports Classic at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas

Is this a tempting venue and city to go to? Who’s planning on going for this matchup between Ohio State and one of the blue-bloods of the sport?

Ohio State basketball’s 2021-2022 schedule continues to come more into focus. We know what the Big Ten opponent breakdown will be (we just need dates and times), and we’ve also gotten a peek at the complete nonconference schedule lately, and it’s a doozy.

One of those early nonconference tests comes by way of the CBS Sports Classic, an event Ohio State has been a part of since its inception in 2014. It involves not only the Buckeyes, but blue-bloods Kentucky, North Carolina, and UCLA. And if you think OSU doesn’t belong in that crowd, we’re here to remind you that the Buckeyes have the second-best record among the four in the event, going 4-3, just a game behind Carolina’s 5-2 record.

And while we already knew OSU would be taking on Kentucky as a part of all the fun this season, we were waiting for a venue. Wait no longer my friends. According to a release Tuesday, the game will take place in Las Vegas at the T-Mobile Arena after the conclusion of North Carolina vs. UCLA at 3 p.m EST.

It’ll be another chance for Ohio State to get a quality win next season. The Buckeyes are expected to be a top ten squad again next year, even with the announcement by Duane Washington to remain in the 2021 NBA draft.

Kentucky is coming off of a very uncharacteristic  9-16 campaign that saw it miss the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2012-2013 season. It was the Wildcats’ first losing season since 1988-1989. However, head coach John Calipari made significant coaching and roster changes that have most believing Big Blue will be back among some of the best teams in college basketball this season.

The game has the potential to be a top-ten matchup, and fans interested in purchasing tickets can register to receive direct email alerts regarding ticket availability by logging on to cbssportsclassic.com/tickets. Tickets are set to go on sale next Wednesday, July 28, so set your alarms, mark your calendars, and make it happen.

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Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion.

Penn State football’s all-time record against every SEC member

Penn State’s history against programs from the SEC goes back decades, but only two SEC schools have won every matchup against them.

Penn State will have a rare regular season contest against the Auburn Tigers in 2021. The home game in week 3 is one of the highlights of the regular season schedule, especially at home. The first regular-season meeting between the Nittany Lions and Tigers is the first in the series, although the two schools have previously faced each other in bowl game matchups.

It is not often Penn State plays a team from the SEC in the regular season, but Penn State has plenty of games against teams from the Southeastern Conference under their belts.

Here is a look at Penn State’s all-time records against every member currently in the SEC. For the purposes of this list, we are including all-time records against current SEC members. That includes games played against Texas A&M and Missouri before those schools were members of the SEC. All data referenced is credited to College Football Reference. Rankings referenced are Top 25 rankings where available.

Note: Penn State has never faced Arkansas, Mississippi, or Mississippi State in football.

Follow Nittany Lions Wire on Twitter and like us on Facebook for continuing Penn State coverage and discussion. 

Tegra Tshabola locked in as Buckeye, will no longer visit Kentucky

Ohio State 2022 commitment Tegra Tshabola has reaffirmed his commitment to Ohio State and will no longer visit Kentucky.

The high-stakes game of big-time college football recruiting is here to stay it seems. Many of you may not remember these days, but it used to be that recruiting more or less happened behind the scenes unless something earth-shattering occurred. That’s clearly not the case today where everyone follows teenagers, and teenagers look to capitalize (and rightfully so) on their newfound fame.

Take the case of four-star Ohio State football verbal Tegra Tshabola. He has been committed to the Buckeyes since April of last year, but that seemed to be teetering a bit early this week. That’s because news surfaced that Tshabola was looking to take a visit to Kentucky because of some urging from his parents and academic questions.

Queue the smoke because there must be fire, right?

The Kentucky message boards lit up, infighting occurred on Twitter, and then people started making runs on gasoline (oh wait, wrong news item). The point is, it ended up being a bigger deal than what the world deserves these days. Okay, maybe not, after all, it is a brave new everything in the open universe we live in now.

But calm down folks. It now appears as though we can all stand down, stop the intravenous administration of energy drinks, and get some shut-eye. That’s because Tshabola came out and said he’s locked in as a Buckeye now and will no longer entertain visiting Kentucky.

OK. Now that we got that out of the way, in all honesty, this is pretty good news because Ohio State has lost a little momentum in the recruiting department, at least from a perception standpoint. The Buckeyes may have gotten two very underrated DBs to commit last week, but that doesn’t hit a home run in recruiting circles.

Georgia has caught the Buckeyes for the mythical top spot in the recruiting rankings, and OSU hasn’t landed a consensus four or five-star prospect since February. That seems like a long time when your measuring football practice facilities among friends.

OSU would really not like to deal with a defection to a kid that seems like about as hard of a commit to Ohio State as you can find.

We’ll keep our eyes on this, but right now, thankfully, there’s nothing to see. At least not any longer. Now, back to your regularly scheduled programming.

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Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion.

Gators take series against Kentucky behind dominant performance from Barco

Hunter Barco had his best start of the season as UF held the Wildcats off the scoreboard for the first seven innings.

Things were pretty bleak through the first 17 innings of Florida’s series against Kentucky. It lost in Game 1 and trailed entering the final inning of Friday’s Game 2. But a four-run ninth inning from UF forced a rubber match, and Game 3 on Saturday was an all-Gators affair. Florida scored a 9-2 win behind shut-down play from starting pitcher Hunter Barco and the bullpen.

It was arguably the best performance of the season from Barco, whose record is now 8-2 after he earned the win. He barely flinched in his 6.2 innings of work, allowing no runs and just two hits while striking out 10 batters. He didn’t give up a single hit until the fourth inning.

Meanwhile, Florida’s offense managed to score in each of the first three innings. After a triple from Nate Hickey in the first, a Jud Fabian sac-fly got the first run across. With runners on first and second in the second inning, Jacob Young singled to score a run, and a single from Kendrick Calilao in the third scored Kris Armstrong, who reached base on a walk.

After Kentucky’s first hit led to nothing, starting pitcher Zach Lee led off the top of the fifth by walking Calilao, which ended his day. Reliever Alex Degen loaded the bases with a single from Josh Rivera and a fielding error that allowed Cory Acton to reach base. Another sac-fly, this time from Young, brought Calilao across to make it 4-0, Gators.

Barco was finally pulled in the bottom of the seventh after hitting Cam Hill with a pitch, and after walking his first batter, Christian Scott put the inning away with a strikeout. Florida managed some insurance in the eighth when Young led off with an RBI and was brought home by a single from Armstrong.

Scott ran into some trouble in the bottom of the inning, though. Cleanup hitter Coltyn Kessler hit a home run down the left-field line, and on the next at-bat, Oraj Anu sent another one yard to cut Florida’s lead to 5-2. After another walk, Scott was pulled for Jack Leftwich, who didn’t give up any more runs in the frame.

Any chance at a Wildcats comeback ended in the ninth, though. The Gators quickly loaded the bases, and a single from Young (his fourth of the afternoon) brought two of the runs across. Hickey stepped up to the plate next, and a gorgeous double that barely dropped fair in deep right cleared the bases and gave UF an insurmountable seven-run lead.

Leftwich returned for the final half-inning and struck out the first two batters he faced. UK managed to get a runner on base with a single, but a flyout from John Rhodes ended the game and gave Florida a much-needed series win.

The Gators will be back in action on Tuesday night when it takes on Stetson in Deland at 6:30 p.m. They will go for the season sweep of the Hatters in the final match of the four-game series. After that, UF returns to Gainesville for its penultimate SEC series against Georgia.

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Kendrick Calilao’s three-run shot lifts Gators past Kentucky in Game 2

The bomb broke a tie in the ninth inning and gave Florida an opportunity to win the series against Kentucky on Saturday.

Florida spent much of its Friday night game against Kentucky playing catch up. Heading into the ninth inning, the Gators looked poised to take a series loss against the Wildcats. But instead, a monster ninth inning (bolster by Kendrick Calilao, who crushed a three-run homer over the left-field wall during pinch-hitting duties) gave UF an equalizing 8-5 win, forcing a decisive Game 3.

Both starting pitchers in UK’s Sean Harney and Florida’s Tommy Mace were fantastic out the gate. They each progressed through the opposing lineup in order in the first inning. Though Harney gave up the first hit of the game at the top of the second, Mace was the first to flinch significantly, giving up three singles in the bottom of the inning. The latter one from Cam Hill brought two runs across to give the Wildcats the early lead.

UF (32-14, 14-9 SEC) quickly evened it up in the third, though, when Harney walked Nate Hickey and a homer from Jud Fabian cleared the bases. Not yet satisfied, he went yard again in the fifth for a solo shot that scored the next run of the game, giving the Gators a one-run lead.

That lead wouldn’t last, though. In the bottom of the inning, Mace allowed a pair of RBI singles as Kentucky (27-16, 11-12 SEC) regained the lead, albeit at a slim 4-3 margin.

Wildcats reliever Dillon Marsh and Mace both worked through the sixth inning cleanly, and neither allowed a hit in the seventh. Following the inning, rain caused the game to be briefly delayed, but Kirby McMullen led off the eighth with a double.

Calilao then entered as a pinch hitter, and his first hit was an RBI, as well, bringing McMullen home to tie the game. But the Gators couldn’t get anything else after three straight outs, and Kentucky responded at the bottom of the frame.

Trey Van Der Weide entered for Mace, and he gave up a lead-off single and allowed the runner to advance to second on a balk. Following a groundout, Ryan Ritter reached base on a fielding error from Josh Rivera and stole second. Van Der Weide hit a batter to load the bases, and with one out, a run came across on a fielder’s choice from Hill to take the lead.

Entering a do-or-die top of the ninth, Florida got a good start as Jacob Young walked to lead off. But after a strikeout from Hickey and a deep flyout from Fabian, the Gators were down to their final out. Kris Armstrong kept the game going with a single that advanced Young to second, bringing Calilao to the plate.

With one swing, he put three runs across and gave the Gators an insurmountable three-run lead. At the bottom of the ninth, Kentucky’s leadoff hitter Austin Schultz almost sent one over the wall himself on a ball that was just barely saved by Fabian. The Wildcats managed to put a single on the board, but a fielder’s choice and a strikeout from Jack Leftwich, who entered at the top of the inning, ended the game.

With the Game 2 win, UF salvages a chance to win the series heading into the final game on Saturday. First pitch for Game 3 is set for 2 p.m. EDT in Lexington.

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