Tag: NCAA football

Predicting the winner of each bowl game for the 2023-2024 season

With College Football postseason getting underway, here are predictions for every single bowl game (including the College Football Playoff)

The 2023 college football regular season was intriguing, to say the least. The controversy surrounding which programs should reach the College Football Playoff was the cherry on top. Despite the CFP-FSU debacle, the bowl game matchups are now fully set and fans across the country are ready for them to get started.

Several programs that were left out of the playoffs will meet in bowl games which creates even more intrigue. The bowl season is full of surprises from players deciding to sit out to coaching changes being made before bowl games are played.

Needless to say, this year’s bowl slate will be one to follow. Here predictions for each bowl game for the 2023-2024 season.

Texas A&M LB Edgerrin Cooper is named to the AFCA All-American First Team

Texas A&M LB Edgerrin Cooper is named to the AFCA All-American First Team

Edgerrin Cooper went on a tear this season and was the best Linebacker in the SEC and possibly the nation. He’s been racking up the accolades all year long and there might be a few more before Bowl season is over.

With this selection, Cooper is now officially a consensus All-American. His first team honors include the following:

  • American Football Coaches Association (AFCA)
  • Walter Camp Football Foundation
  • Associated Press
  • CBS Sports

Congratulations to Cooper on another well-deserved honor as he prepares for the 2024 NFL Draft.

Below, you can see the stats through 12 games:

  • 84 Tackles
  • 17 Tackles for Loss (Led the SEC)
  • 8 sacks
  • 2 forced fumbles

The Award: Members of the AFCA Coaches’ All-America First Team will receive a plaque commemorating their selection to the team, while members of the Second Team will receive a certificate.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Jarrett Johnson on Twitter: @whosnextsports1.

Notre Dame football: Why to get excited about new quarterback Riley Leonard

Will this finally be the answer at quarterback Notre Dame is looking for?

After a very adventurous early off-season, Notre Dame has officially landed big-bodied former Duke quarterback [autotag]Riley Leonard[/autotag] for the 2024 season. This will be Notre Dame’s third portal quarterback in four years.

Will this one truly be the one that can help the offense be more effective against top-flight defenses? Notre Dame fans hope so. Will the mobility Leonard offers help struggling play-caller Gerad Parker’s vision come to fruition?

While there are still more questions than answers about the Irish offense overall, the staff should be commended for how aggressively they have attacked the portal this year. They wasted no time identifying targets and seem to be operating in high gear. This intensity regarding player acquisition in the modern portal era is a necessity and the Notre Dame staff came to play this cycle.

Great job.

Let’s examine some of the key features Riley brings to South Bend.

Texas A&M LB Edgerrin Cooper is named to the Walter Camp All-American Team

Texas A&M junior LB Edgerrin Cooper is named to the Walter Camp All-American Team.

Edgerrin Cooper went on a tear this season and was the best Linebacker in the SEC and possibly the nation. He’s been racking up the accolades all year long and there might be a few more before Bowl season is over.

Below is a brief history of the foundation:

This is the 134th edition of the Walter Camp All-America team, the nation’s oldest college football All-America team.  Twenty-five players were selected to the first team by the 131 Football Bowl Subdivision head coaches and sports information directors.  In addition, 25 players were selected to the Second Team.

Congratulations to Cooper on another well-deserved honor.

Below, you can see the stats through 12 games:

  • 84 Tackles
  • 17 Tackles for Loss (Led the SEC)
  • 8 sacks
  • 2 forced fumbles

The 2023 Walter Camp All-Americans will be honored at the Foundation’s annual Awards Weekend on March 15-16, 2024, in New Haven.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Jarrett Johnson on Twitter: @whosnextsports1.

Texas A&M LB Edgerrin Cooper is named to the CBS Sports All-American Team

Texas A&M junior LB Edgerrin Cooper is named to the CBS Sports All-American Team

Standout Aggie Linebacker Edgerrin Cooper at some point throughout the year, was named to almost every All-“You Name It” team or defensive player finalist list. Well, almost every list, but we’ll leave that snub for another day.

With Cooper flying up the draft boards after his fantastic season it’s only right that he is named to the 2023 CBS Sports All-America team. The junior was tab to the first team with SEC defensive player of the year, Dallas Turner, and NC State’s Payton Wilson.

Congratulations to Cooper on another well-deserved honor.

Below, you can see the stats through 12 games:

  • 84 Tackles
  • 17 Tackles for Loss (Led the SEC)
  • 8 sacks
  • 2 forced fumbles

Adam Silverstein over at CBS gave a brief account of their process to curate the list and ultimately chose the teams:

With the 2023 college football season in the books, our panel of experts was faced with plenty of difficult decisions when convening to select the 2023 CBS Sports / 247Sports All-America team. Experts from CBS Sports and 247Sports joined forces once again to honor the players who shined the brightest on the gridiron over the last three months.

Unanimous selections generally play a significant role in building these teams; however, this year, only three players received that honor on the postseason team: Oklahoma State running back Ollie Gordon II, Notre Dame offensive lineman Joe Alt and Iowa punter Tory Taylor. In fact, Alt is the lone repeat first-team selection from the 2022 CBS Sports / 247Sports All-America team. Along with Taylor, they represent two of 10 players who were 2023 CBS Sports / 247Sports Preseason All-America first-team selections.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Jarrett Johnson on Twitter: @whosnextsports1.

Notre Dame football: Bouncing back after hectic week

What a week it was…now, about getting past it

Last week was a long week for Notre Dame fans. An assistant coach was indeed let go, just not the one people thought it’d be. As he left so did half of the able-bodied receivers leaving fans to ponder, what exactly is going on behind the scenes on the offensive side of the ball?

Is this just a typical portal cycle that is getting blown out of proportion due to fans’ frustrations with the offense in the toughest games of the year? Or is there truly some deeper issues to worry about with the mass pass-catcher exodus? How can the Irish “level the ship” entering national signing day and bowl season?

Let’s address some of these issues in more depth.

Notre Dame Football – As Season Ends, Questions Begin

Time for the Irish to get back to work…

It feels like just yesterday we were grinding through the dog days of summer begging for college football to start back up again. Just as fast as it all started, it’s now over, and Notre Dame has finished their regular season at 9-3 with more ups and downs than the newest roller coaster at your local Six Flags.

With the season complete, Irish fans are now asking what comes next. This applies to both bowl season this year and into next year as well. There are a lot of moving parts and I suspect more to come. This year featured lots of things to really appreciate and enjoy, it’s just unfortunate that in the big picture, the deficiencies that led to the 3 losses on the ledger weigh down the positivity, justifiably so.

Let’s examine the three big questions Irish fans have now that the regular season has concluded.

Notre Dame Football: Irish Down the Tree to Finish 9-3

What do we make of Notre Dame’s dominating end to the 2023 regular season?

After overcoming a bit of a slow start on the road, which was a worrisome trend all year, Notre Dame ended up doing just as they should and downed Stanford 56-23 in sleepy Palo Alto. The presentation of the game felt odd as it was occurring during the Pac 12 Network’s 3-hour funeral eulogy.

With the feeling of finality in the air and literally on it as well, Notre Dame fans were in their thoughts late last night as evidenced by the calls I took on the post-game show. Things quickly turned from Stanford to the big picture with Irish fans pondering where exactly the team finished, how they arrived there, and what comes next. All fair thoughts given a frustrating up-and-down year.

Let’s take a look at three major takeaways from the last game Notre Dame will likely ever play against a Pac 12 opponent.

Lots To Be Thankful For In Irish Nation

It doesn’t always feel like it but there is a lot for Notre Dame fans to be thankful for this year

I always like to think of Thanksgiving as a time for reflection. One for taking some time to ponder the blessings each of us have in our lives even amid our unique struggles in an increasingly seemingly busier world than ever before. This concept also applies to football fandom as well, a big part of many of our lives.

Certainly, this year didn’t turn out as well as Notre Dame fans had hoped it would, but I’ve still found plenty to be thankful for from my unique position as an Irish voice in print and video this season. Here are 3 specific items of note that jump out to me.

Notre Dame PLOWS Their Way Out of South Bend

ND Plows Way To L.A.

What a fun senior day it was in South Bend. Wild weather, great individual performances, record-setting stats, and most notably a dominant blowout win against a heated rival. This victory puts Notre Dame in a prime position to potentially end the year at 9-3 after a trip to Los Angeles next week. Quite the accomplishment after suffering three losses by October 15th.

Notre Dame has been very unpredictable at home and has played its’ worst football against bad teams. Boston College certainly earned that description throughout the year and most certainly did today as well. A dominant win such as this was the perfect way to send the Seniors off with a memorable win, comfort the chilly Irish faithful at home, and turn all focus to sunny Southern California. 

Let’s take a look at 10 aspects of this performance that the Irish can use to power them into LA next week to face the Trojans with major momentum.