Tag: NCAAF

Dwayne Haskins, Redskins fans are pumped about Chase Young’s draft decision

The Ohio State defensive end is expected to be one of the first NFL Draft picks.

Chase Young officially played his last game of college football.

The Ohio State defensive end declared for the 2019 NFL Draft on social media Friday, opting to forego his final year of NCAA eligibility. A Heisman Trophy finalist and unquestionably the best defensive player in college football this year, Young led the NCAA with 16.5 sacks in 12 games for the Buckeyes (he was suspended for two) and added 46 tackles this year, 32 solo, along with six forced fumbles.

His decision to declare is hardly a surprise after the 6-foot-5, 265-pound pass rusher was surrounded by draft buzz for most of the season. In posts on Twitter and Instagram, Young wrote, in part:

“I am excited for the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. I look forward to joining a new family in the NFL this spring and being part of something special. Thank you all again and see you soon on Sundays.”

View this post on Instagram

James 1:17…Buckeye For Life… ✌🏽❤️

A post shared by Chase Young (@chaseyoung_) on

While plenty of NFL teams are surely interested in drafting Young, it’s a good bet he won’t be available for long. The Cincinnati Bengals are expected to select LSU quarterback Joe Burrow with the No. 1 overall pick, which would give the No. 2 Washington Redskins, who just hired Ron Rivera, the opportunity to draft a local Buckeye in the first round for the second straight year. (Washington also drafted former Ohio State player Terry McLaurin in the third round in 2019.)

Young is from Hyattsville, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C. and could join his former teammate and D.C-area player Dwayne Haskins if the Redskins draft him — something Haskins, running back Derrius Guice and the team’s fans are pretty pumped about.

Here’s how some people among football Twitter reacted to Young’s NFL Draft announcement Friday.

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Joe Burrow said it was ‘kind of sad’ to see Ohio State lose to Clemson in CFP

Joe Burrow liked the idea of playing his former team for a national championship.

An LSU-Ohio State national championship game seemed like the matchup so many college football fans wanted — including Tigers quarterback Joe Burrow, who transferred from Ohio State in 2018.

The two teams are obviously among the best this season, they traded being No. 1 and No. 2 throughout the College Football Playoff rankings and they’re two squads that haven’t played in the title game in years. But while LSU rocked Oklahoma in the first playoff semifinal game, Ohio State lost to Clemson in a game with multiple controversial moments and a game-ending interception.

LSU and Clemson could still be a great game, but those who hoped the top-ranked teams would face off are surely a little disappointed.

During a conference call with the media Thursday, Burrow explained why he was looking forward to potentially playing his former team for a national title. The 2019 Heisman Trophy winner said, via ASAP Sports:

“You know, it would have been fun to play a lot of my old teammates and my old friends. There would have been some trash talk and some friendly trash talk and it would have been a lot of fun, but we’ll play whoever. We’re excited to get the opportunity to play.”

After throwing for a combined 287 yards and two touchdowns in the 2016 and 2017 seasons for Ohio State, Burrow transferred to LSU.

He followed up a forgettable 2018 campaign with an explosive season this year, and he enters the national championship game with a nation-leading 77.6 completion percentage. He’s also thrown for 5,208 yards so far this season, along with 55 touchdowns, including a record-breaking seven in the Tigers’ 63-28 win over Oklahoma in the Peach Bowl.

Ohio State and Clemson’s semifinal matchup followed, and Burrow said he watched. More via ASAP Sports:

“It was a fun game to watch. Everyone was battling their tails off, and I know a lot of those guys worked so hard to get to that moment, and being with them for three years, it was kind of sad a little bit to see their season end like that. But I know they worked really hard to get there, and we’re excited to get the opportunity to play in this game.”

The national championship game between LSU and Clemson is Monday, January 13 at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN. Both teams are undefeated this season, and Clemson is playing for its third title in four years while LSU is looking for its first since 2007.

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WATCH: Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa will announce NFL Draft decision on Monday

Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa tweeted, “I’ll be making my decision on the 6th… God bless and Roll Tide,” following Wednesday’s 35-16 season-ending victory.

Alabama’s football season is over following a New Year’s Day Citrus Bowl win over Michigan. Now Tide fans have to wait through the weekend for the news that could hold the team’s fate for the next football season.

Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa tweeted, “I’ll be making my decision on the 6th… God bless and Roll Tide,” following Wednesday’s 35-16 season-ending victory.

The 21-year-old’s season was cut short on Nov. 16 following a hip injury. Monday, Tagovailoa will either announce that that game versus Mississippi State was his last as a player under Nick Saban and that the quarterback plans to enter the 2020 NFL Draft, or the 2017 National Championship Offensive MVP will announce that he’s heading back to Tuscaloosa.

In taking the field for nine games this season, Tagovailoa threw for 2,840 yards and 33 touchdowns with only three interceptions. Alabama finished the year 10-1 in games with the Hawai’i native at QB, the lone loss at the hands of the College Football Playoff top-seeded LSU Tigers on Nov. 9. Tagovailoa played in the game versus the Tigers 20 days after undergoing surgery to repair a high ankle sprain.

Tagovailoa’s storybook college career took one of its worse turns this season, but his heights included navigating injury in 2018, too. As a sophomore, he earned the starting quarterback job for the season then left the SEC Championship during the fourth quarter and underwent surgery to repair a high ankle sprain (on the opposite leg as the injury was this season) before returning to help the team to an Orange Bowl win, earning MVP honors.

As a freshman, Tagovailoa memorably entered the second half of the National Championship after serving only as a backup and helped lift the Tide to the title.

Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa will announce NFL Draft decision Monday, Jan. 6

Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa tweeted, “I’ll be making my decision on the 6th… God bless and Roll Tide,” following Wednesday’s 35-16 season-ending victory.

Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa tweeted, “I’ll be making my decision on the 6th… God bless and Roll Tide,” following Wednesday’s 35-16 season-ending victory.

Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa will announce NFL Draft decision Monday, Jan. 6 (Rolltidewire)

Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa tweeted, “I’ll be making my decision on the 6th… God bless and Roll Tide,” following Wednesday’s 35-16 season-ending victory.

Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa tweeted, “I’ll be making my decision on the 6th… God bless and Roll Tide,” following Wednesday’s 35-16 season-ending victory.

Clemson picks off Ohio State QB Justin Fields to secure win in CFP thriller

Prior to the College Football Playoff, Justin Fields had only thrown one interception.

The No. 3 Clemson Tigers’ hopes of defending their national championship are still alive after they beat No. 2 Ohio State in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Playstation Fiesta Bowl on Saturday. Clemson extended its win streak to 29 games with the 29-23 victory.

Not only did the Tigers score the go-ahead touchdown with just shy of two minutes left in the fourth quarter, but they also secured the win by picking off Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields and silencing the hard-charging Buckeyes.

Going into the playoff game — the second of the night after LSU beat Oklahoma in the first — Fields had thrown just one interception the whole season, and it was against Michigan State in early October. However, the 2019 Heisman Trophy finalist threw two against Clemson with the second one effectively ending the game.

As wide receiver Chris Olave changed directions in the end zone, Clemson safety Nolan Turner was by himself and in perfect position for the interception.

The Tigers’ previous drive was four plays and 94 yards, capped off by quarterback Trevor Lawrence connecting with running back Travis Etienne for a 34-yard touchdown. They made it a six-point game with a two-point conversion.

With about four minutes left in the third quarter, Clemson linebacker Isaiah Simmons handed Fields his second interception of the season on 3rd-and-8, but the Tigers failed to score off the subsequent possession.

Lawrence completed 18-of-33 passes for 259 yards and two touchdowns while running for 107 yards and another score. Fields went 30-for-46 for 320 yards, one touchdown and the two interceptions.

In an all-Tigers matchup, Clemson will play LSU in the national championship game on January 13.

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Jalen Hurts reflects on devastating end to college career: ‘It hurts me in my heart’

Heartbreaking.

Jalen Hurts has had an exceptional college football career. After three years with Alabama, the dynamic quarterback transferred to Oklahoma for his final year of eligibility and led another team to the College Football Playoff.

But Hurts’ and the Sooners’ hopes for a national championship were quickly destroyed in the playoff semifinal game at the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl against LSU, which had a historically dominant first half on its way to a 63-28 win.

Although he had moments of brilliance, it was far from the Oklahoma quarterback’s best game. He threw 15-for-31 for 217 yards and one interception and ran for 43 yards and two touchdowns. He entered the game with a 71.8 completion percentage and was the Sooners’ leading rusher all season.

After the game, Hurts was clearly devastated about how his college career had just ended.

And when he was asked about it and his brief time with Oklahoma during his postgame press conference, he explained just how painful the experience was in this heartbreaking moment.

The 2019 Heisman Trophy finalist said:

“It’s hard to just sit here and reflect on four years, a whole year with my brothers this year, all of that right now. It hurts me. You talk about how much it means to you and the team — it’s supposed to hurt. This is not a good feeling. This is a feeling I’ve never felt before. It hurts me in my heart, you know. When I decided to come to this school, I told Coach [Lincoln] Riley, I’m going to go win you a national championship, and I failed to do that.

“And moving forward, I definitely hope — I’ve already told them — I hope that you guys learn from this. I hope everybody learns from this. And it hurts me the most because usually, when you come up short in something, you can come back and you can fix it. I can’t come back and fix it. I’ll never play college football again.”

Before going to Oklahoma, Hurts played for Alabama for three seasons and led the Crimson Tide to two College Football Playoff appearances. In the first one, they lost in the title game to Clemson but won the 2017-18 national championship — after Hurts was benched at halftime against Georgia in favor of then-freshman Tua Tagovailoa.

And then last season, he rode the bench for most of the year behind Tagovailoa, and when the starter was injured against the Bulldogs in the 2018 SEC championship game, Hurts took over and became the hero the team needed, leading the Crimson Tide to victory.

After Oklahoma’s loss in the Peach Bowl, LSU players congratulated Hurts on the end of his college career.

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Ohio State’s J.K. Dobbins torches Clemson as Tigers give up longest run in 3 years

Dobbins also made Ohio State history with two huge runs against Clemson in the first half.

No. 2 Ohio State and No. 3 Clemson are the two most balanced teams in college football this season, and they entered Saturday’s College Football Playoff semifinal at the Playstation Fiesta Bowl with top-5 offenses and defenses.

It was reasonable to think they’d make big plays on both sides of the ball, but Buckeyes running back J.K. Dobbins exploded with the first monster play of the game.

On 1st-and-10 from Ohio State’s own 32-yard line, Dobbins embarrassed Clemson’s defense with a stunning 68-yard touchdown, giving the Buckeyes an early 10-0 lead. Once he broke through a gap up front, he had nothing but open space in front of him and cruised to the end zone.

Clemson’s defense entered this playoff game No. 1 in the nation with 244.7 defensive yards per game and No. 9 with 106.2 rushing yards allowed per game. Dobbins came in with 1,829 yards on the season, averaging 140.7 per game.

But Dobbins’ run wasn’t just the one of the biggest the Tigers have given up all season. It was also the longest run they’ve allowed since October 2016, per ESPN Stats & Info, when former Florida State running back Dalvin Cook had a 70-yard run in Clemson’s win over the Seminoles.

That play gave Dobbins 75 rushing yards (in the first seven minutes of the game), which allowed him to pass Ezekiel Elliott for the second most rushing yards in a single season at Ohio State. And then with this wild 64-yard play in the final seconds of the first quarter, he passed Eddie George to be at the top of that category.

On 3rd-and-2 from Ohio State’s 28-yard line, Dobbins got the Buckeyes to the eight-yard line, but they had to settle for a field goal and a 13-0 lead.

At halftime, Dobbins had nine carries for 142 yards and one touchdown.

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Joe Burrow and LSU set so many CFP records in dominant first half vs. Oklahoma

Joe Burrow threw for seven touchdowns and more than 400 yards… in the first half.

No. 1 LSU redefined what domination in the College Football Playoff means Saturday in the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl game against Oklahoma and entered halftime with a 49-14 lead.

The Tigers defense largely suffocated Jalen Hurts and the Sooners’ offense, limiting them to just 160 first-half yards. And on the other side, Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow stunned, throwing seven touchdowns in the first 30 minutes while wide Justin Jefferson caught four touchdown passes for 186 yards.

LSU accumulated 497 total yards and went into halftime with an outrageous 49-14 lead, and Burrow had more touchdowns than incompletions — he was 21-for-27 for 403 yards — in that time.

But in addition to some jaw-dropping plays and stat lines that look like they should be from the end of the game rather than the end of the first half, LSU also broke a few records in the first 30 minutes against the Sooners.

In terms of the College Football Playoff, Burrow set the record for most touchdown passes in a game (seven) and most passing yards in a half (403). Jefferson’s four receiving touchdowns were also a new record in a playoff game, and overall, LSU’s 49 points are the most in a half of a CFP game, according to ESPN’s broadcast.

But there’s more.

Burrow’s seven passing touchdowns are an LSU single-game record and tie the SEC single-game record. He also tied the record for the most passing touchdowns in a half in FBS history, according to ESPN Stats & Info.

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