Tag: NCAAF

4 key storylines to keep in mind for the College Football Playoff semifinals

A look at the bigger picture of this year’s College Football Playoff.

The two College Football Playoff semifinal games are set for New Year’s Day (Friday) with the national championship game scheduled for Monday, January 11. In the semis, No. 1 Alabama will play No. 4 Notre Dame in the Rose Bowl (4 p.m. ET, ESPN) — which is being held at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas and not the Rose Bowl — followed by No. 2 Clemson and No. 3 Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl (8 p.m. ET, ESPN).

We’ve made predictions, offered analysis of the matchups and highlighted three of the four Heisman Trophy finalists who will play in these games. But now we’re looking at the bigger picture of this year’s College Football Playoff.

So here’s a breakdown of four key storylines to keep in mind going into the semifinal games.

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A mayo bath? 5 foods college players have been dumping on coaches

Ew.

We are deep into college football bowl season, and although there are a lot of things very different in 2020, there is one trend that has continued: winning coaches getting a celebratory bath of whatever’s in those coolers (thanks to the sponsors of the bowls, of course), taking the Gatorade shower to another level.

And, as you’ll see in a minute, there’s a possibility we might get the grossest food bath ever thanks to the Duke’s Mayo Bowl (I guess that spoils it, but we’ll dive in anyway).

So let’s look back at some foods that have been dumped all over coaches in recent years.

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College Football Playoff: Title chances, predictions and what to watch for in New Year’s Day semifinals

Will we get another Alabama-Clemson national championship matchup?

Welcome to Before The Snap, For The Win’s college football series where we’ll break down the sport’s trending storylines, examine each week’s biggest matchups and track the College Football Playoff and Heisman Trophy races.

After a hectic and unpredictable season, the College Football Playoff semifinals are happening on New Year’s Day, starting with No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Notre Dame in the Rose Bowl (which is not actually at the Rose Bowl) and followed by No. 2 Clemson vs. No. 3 Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl. The undefeated Crimson Tide are heavy favorites against the Fighting Irish, while the spread for the Tigers and Buckeyes’ matchup is much smaller.

So ahead of this season’s CFP semifinals, here’s a quick breakdown of the teams (per ESPN’s FPI) and odds (according to BetMGM), what we’re looking for and, of course, our predictions for which teams end up in the national title game on January 11.

College Football Playoff semifinal: Rose Bowl

No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide (11-0)
  • Chance to win semifinal: 81.1 percent
  • Chance to win national title: 52.4 percent
  • Yards/game: 543.9
  • Yards allowed/game: 351.2
  • Average margin of victory: 30.2
  • Spread: Alabama -20 (as of Dec. 30)
No. 4 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-1)
  • Chance to win semifinal: 18.9 percent
  • Chance to win national title: 5.5 percent
  • Yards/game: 455.2
  • Yards allowed/game: 335.1
  • Average margin of victory: 16.6

College Football Playoff semifinal: Sugar Bowl

No. 2 Clemson Tigers (10-1)
  • Chance to win semifinal: 50.0 percent
  • Chance to win national title: 21.1 percent
  • Yards/game: 507.6
  • Yards allowed/game: 298.5
  • Average margin of victory: 27.4
  • Spread: Clemson -7 (as of Dec. 30)
No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes (6-0)
  • Chance to win semifinal: 50.0 percent
  • Chance to win national title: 21.0 percent
  • Yards/game: 529.2
  • Yards allowed/game: 358.0
  • Average margin of victory: 21.5

Which teams will advance to the national championship game?

As of Wednesday, December 30, per BetMGM:

  • Alabama vs. Clemson -250
  • Alabama vs. Ohio State +280
  • Notre Dame vs. Clemson +1000
  • Notre Dame vs. Ohio State +2800

Predictions?

Evan’s prediction: No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 2 Clemson

Michelle’s prediction: No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 2 Clemson

Sure, this is the easy pick, but it just feels like we’re headed toward the fifth Alabama-Clemson College Football Playoff matchup.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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Oklahoma State players hilariously struggled to give Mike Gundy his Cheez-It bath after bowl win

Nothing like running around carrying a Gatorade jug filled with Cheez-Its after a game.

No. 21 Oklahoma State jumped out to a 21-0 first-quarter lead over No. 18 Miami in the Cheez-It Bowl and never relinquished it, winning 37-34 Tuesday night.

Cowboys sophomore quarterback Spencer Sanders led the way, throwing for 305 yards and four touchdowns and was named the game’s MVP. Unfortunately on the other side, Miami quarterback D’Eriq King — who just announced his plans to stay with the team another year and play a sixth college football season — left the game in the first half with a right knee injury. The Hurricanes outscored Oklahoma State in the second half, but Miami was able to hold on for the victory.

But when it was time for the Cowboys to celebrate in traditional Cheez-It Bowl fashion, they encountered a little hiccup: They couldn’t find coach Mike Gundy.

Junior safety Tre Sterling and freshman wide receiver Brennan Presley — who led Oklahoma State with six catches for 118 yards and three touchdowns — hilariously ran and wandered around the field, while carrying a Gatorade jug of Cheez-Its, after the game in search of Gundy.

When they finally found him, he was finishing his post-game handshake with Miami coach Manny Diaz. And then showered him with Cheez-Its.

And — unlike last week when Nevada received a penalty for its french fry bath in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl — the Cheez-It bath happened after the game so there was no chance of another celebration penalty for food on the field.

Just some snacks this time.

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Watch Miami QB D’Eriq King announce his return to the Hurricanes with this hype video

Canes fans have to be happy about this decision.

Miami Hurricanes fans will be excited to hear that quarterback D’Eriq King plans to return to the program for the 2021 season.

For what will be King’s sixth season as a college player, he’ll capitalize on the NCAA offering an extra year of eligibility to all players, if they want it, because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

An electric and mobile quarterback, King transferred to Miami this season after playing four seasons for Houston, and Saturday morning on Twitter, the senior quarterback announced he’s sticking with the Canes for one more season, rather than declaring for the NFL Draft. And he did it with a hype video.

Tracing his journey to Miami, the video opens with a question from a video press conference with King being asked about his plans for next year before flashing back to his decision to transfer earlier this year.

It continues with a thrilling highlight reel and ends with “Let’s run it back!” being typed into a Twitter post.

Through Miami’s 10 games so far this season, King — who said he tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this year — has thrown for 2,573 yards, 22 touchdowns and five interceptions and has a 63.6 completion percentage. With 520 rushing yards and four touchdowns on the ground, he’s also the Hurricanes’ No. 2 rusher. He’s ranked 15th nationally in passing yards, and he was an early season Heisman Trophy candidate.

After blowout losses to Clemson in October and North Carolina earlier this month, Miami is 8-2 and ranked No. 18 in the nation and will play No. 21 Oklahoma State in the Cheez-It Bowl on Tuesday.

The Hurricanes finished third in the ACC this year behind Clemson and Notre Dame, but King’s return next season could give them a chance to fight Clemson for the ACC crown — and perhaps a spot in the College Football Playoff.

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PlayStation Fiesta Bowl wins for best gift for Oregon, Iowa State players: a PS5

Nothing was going to beat a PS5 this year.

If there’s one gift this holiday season that seemingly everyone desperately wants but can’t get their hands on, it’s a PlayStation 5. Ever since the console was released last month, people have been scrambling to try to get their hands on one — and many have failed.

But Oregon and Iowa State, the two PlayStation Fiesta Bowl participants this season, got lucky this year.

Each season, bowl games offer gift packages to players participating up to a $550 value (with the NCAA probably hoping this helps players forget everyone besides them is earning millions off their labor). The packages can be pretty valuable with gift cards, shopping sprees and a bunch of other things. Of course, there are some electronics in there as well, depending on the bowl game, and the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl is giving players the PS5, the Sports Business Journal reported.

For Oregon sophomore wide receiver Mycah Pittman, he knew exactly what he was looking forward to when he realized what bowl game the Ducks would end up in.

In fact, Pittman described himself as a big gamer and said he started thinking about a PS5 right after Oregon beat then-No. 13 USC, 31-24, in the Pac-12 title game last Friday. He explained:

“As soon as we won the Pac-12 championship, I instantly thought PS5, then ring. And then I was like, ‘I gotta think ring, then PS5.’ But it was just really cool, man, because those PS5s are impossible to find right now, and it’s gonna be a great Christmas gift from the PlayStation Bowl game.”

According to the Sports Business Journal, the Fiesta Bowl’s gift package also includes a Lululemon 22L Cruiser backpack. But obviously the big-ticket item is that wildly coveted PS5 console.

Although several bowl games did not share details about what they’re giving their participants this year, highlights from those that did include a Theragun Pro massager from the Guaranteed Rate Bowl, a $515 Amazon gift card from the Valero Alamo Bowl and a BBTEK Bluetooth waterproof speaker from the Arizona Bowl.

Still, not going to beat a PS5 from the Fiesta Bowl, and especially not this year.

The No. 25 Ducks take on No. 10 Iowa State in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl on January 2.

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Nevada comically penalized after french fry bath celebration in Famous Idaho Potato Bowl win

Too many fries on the field!

Regardless of what happens on the field, one of the best things about the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl is the french fry bath the winning team delivers to its winning coach. It’s exactly how Nevada celebrated its win over Tulane in the bowl game Tuesday at Albertsons Stadium.

With 17 seconds left in the game and Nevada up, 38-20, Wolf Pack players went in for the french fry bath for coach Jay Norvell — followed up by a splash of Gatorade, of course. But the celebration was dampened a little when they were dealt an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

The problem was that a bunch of french fries ended up on the field with officials standing nearby, making the potato-covered part of the turf near the 40-yard line hard to miss.

(Brian Losness-USA TODAY Sports)

And that led to a comical 15-yard penalty, which, lucky for Nevada, didn’t cost the Wolf Pack the game — although Tulane did score a garbage-time touchdown afterward for a 38-27 final score.

To the next participants of the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, keep the fry bath off the field to avoid a minor but really, pretty funny gaffe.

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Dabo Swinney shades College Football Playoff opponent Ohio State in final coaches poll

What’s this all about?

Ohio State will face off against Clemson for a college football playoff semifinal on New Year’s Day in the Sugar Bowl, but Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney seemed to indicate he doesn’t believe the Buckeyes should be a playoff squad.

According to the ballots printed by USA TODAY Sports in the Amway Coaches Poll, Swinney didn’t have Ohio State in his top three, four or five. Nope. He had them ranked all the way down to 11th! ELEVENTH!! That seems a little harsh on the surface when you consider Ohio State won all of the games it played. Of course, the Buckeyes only played six games in 2020.

It seems like this is definitely Swinney and not a member of the Clemson public relations staff, per The Athletic’s Grace Raynor:

Swinney’s vote is definitely an outlier:

We don’t know the reasoning yet, but Swinney has talked recently to Rich Eisen about how teams in the Big Ten played fewer games and that could be a factor in choosing who goes to the playoffs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rl6kx6l0tM

So is it a statement about how Ohio State played fewer games and that’s a penalty against them? Some shade and bulletin board material ahead of their game? Hmm.

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Clemson-Notre Dame: Twitter roasts Brian Kelly over playoff boycott stance after blowout

Clemson dominated Notre Dame in the ACC championship game.

Going into conference championship weekend with College Football Playoff invitations on the line, Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said, if his team makes the playoff, it might not compete if players’ families can’t attend.

Kelly was specifically referencing the Fighting Irish’s possible appearance in the Rose Bowl, which would keep parents and other fans out of the stadium because of COVID-19 restrictions at the state and local level in Southern California. But, as ESPN reported, the playoff committee is hoping California will loosen those before the New Year’s Day game.

Because of the restrictions, Kelly said Friday that Notre Dame may essentially boycott the playoff if players’ families can’t be there in person to cheer the team on. Via USA TODAY Sports:

“I’m not sure we’ll play in the playoffs if the parents can’t be there,” Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly told reporters Friday before the ACC championship game, referring to COVID-19 restrictions in Los Angeles County that for now mandate no fans at sports stadiums. “Why would we play if you can’t have families at the game? If you can’t have families at bowl games, why would you go to a game where your families can’t be a part of it? What’s the sense of playing a game in an area of the country where nobody can be part of it?”

Kelly also said the playoff committee “should spend a little less time on who the top four teams are and figure out how to get parents into these games,” calling it “a sham” otherwise.

Well, those quotes from Kelly didn’t age well by the time Saturday’s ACC championship game between Notre Dame and Clemson ended.

Unlike the first time these two played earlier this season when the Fighting Irish won, the Tigers had Trevor Lawrence and other key players on the field, and they dominated with a 34-10 victory that surely solidifies Clemson’s latest playoff berth.

So how does this impact Notre Dame and its national championship hopes?

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We have no real idea what the College Football Playoff committee will do about Clemson blowing out Notre Dame in the ACC title game because plenty of its decisions make zero sense.

The committee could penalize the Fighting Irish for this loss more severely than it penalized Florida for losing to an unranked LSU team last week and drop them at least two spots and out of the top-4 teams. Or it could give Notre Dame a lot of credit for beating Clemson earlier this year, still view it as a better team than Texas A&M, Florida or disrespected Cincinnati and put Kelly’s team in anyway.

Regardless of what Notre Dame’s playoff fate may be, the combination of his quotes Friday and the disaster loss opened the door for college football Twitter to roast Kelly over Notre Dame potentially keeping itself out of the playoff anyway.

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Jimbo Fisher argues ‘something’s wrong’ if Texas A&M doesn’t make the College Football Playoff

Jimbo Fisher lobbied one more time to get the Aggies into the College Football Playoff.

After Texas A&M beat Tennessee, 34-13, on Saturday, Aggies head coach Jimbo Fisher lobbied one more time to get his team in the College Football Playoff.

Going into this weekend, Texas A&M was ranked No. 5 by the College Football Playoff committee, sitting behind Alabama, Notre Dame, Clemson and Ohio State. Unlike many of Saturday’s games, the Aggies matchup against the Volunteers wasn’t for a conference championship. (Alabama and Florida will play for the SEC title.)

But with their eighth win of the season, Fisher argued that they should be among the top-4 teams when the committee announces the playoff bracket Sunday.

Related: Breaking down the potential College Football Playoff scenarios for conference title weekend

When asked after the Tennessee game why Texas A&M should be ranked among the top-4 teams and be invited to the playoff, Fisher said:

“You want me to tell you why? We played the best league in ball. We got beat by the No. 1 team in the country, who also had another superstar on the team when they played us named [Jaylen] Waddle. People ain’t even playing with him now. No team in SEC history has ever lost but one game and [not] been in it. The other leagues, I love ’em all. But if we can’t play in this league and be in the playoff, something’s wrong.”

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Fisher pointed to his team’s overall success against an all-SEC schedule this year as a reason why he thinks it should make the playoff. Including Texas A&M, four SEC teams are on the College Football Playoff’s rankings, and all four are in the top-10.

Texas A&M is now 8-1, and, as Fisher noted, its only loss this season was to top-ranked Alabama — 52-24 back in early October. Since then, the Aggies have been on a win streak, including beating now-No. 7 Florida. Georgia is the other SEC team in the rankings and did not play the Aggies this season.

Here’s more from ESPN:

“Seven straight SEC wins,” Fisher said after the game. “Some schools ain’t even playing seven games.

“I don’t care what league you’re in. If you’re gonna pick the best four teams, we’re one of them.”

As we explained earlier this week, the Aggies have a path to the playoff, but they’d likely need upsets in games played by the top-4 teams. Ohio State survived a close call against Northwestern in the Big Ten championship game, which may have been Texas A&M’s best chance to replace a top-4 team. The Buckeyes are now 6-0, and Fisher’s comment about the number of games some teams have played seems like a clear jab at Ohio State.

At the time this was published, the Clemson-Notre Dame game was still in progress, and Alabama and Florida don’t kick off until Saturday night.

Fisher continued, via ESPN:

“We do deserve to be in it,” Fisher said. “You’re gonna hear me say it now. We deserve to be in it. Now the committee, that’s their thing, but I believe that firmly. I’ve watched the games, I’ve seen everybody. We can play with anybody.”

Added Fisher: “Eight wins in the SEC, I wanna see somebody else do it.”

The four College Football Playoff teams will be announced Sunday, and the two semifinal games are on New Year’s Day.

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