Tag: NCAAF

WATCH: Sooners prepare to take on LSU without dominant defenders

The Oklahoma Sooners have the toughest task of the college football playoffs on their hands as they prepare to take on top-ranked LSU and the Heisman Trophy winner.

The Oklahoma Sooners have the toughest task of the college football bowl season on their hands as they prepare to take on top-ranked LSU and the Heisman Trophy winner.

Now, we’re hearing that Lincoln Riley’s team will have to tackle Joe Burrow without one of its most dominant defenders.

Bruce Feldman of The Athletic reported Wednesday that defensive end Ronnie Perkins will not play in the peach bowl because of a suspension. Perkins may merely be a sophomore but the pass rusher leads his team in sacks with 6 and he also leads his team’s defensive line with 38 tackles, that’s seventh-most on the Sooners squad. He has 13 and a half tackles for loss this season and is second on the team in QB hurries.

If that weren’t bad news enough, SoonerScoop.com is reporting that two members of the offense will also miss the game Dec. 28. The Rivals.com network site reported Wednesday that running back Rhamondre Stevenson and wide receiver Trejan Bridges are also suspended.

Both players have played in all 13 games for Oklahoma this season.

Stevenson is third in team rushing yards and has six rushing TD this season, only quarterback Jalen Hurts has more scores on the ground for the team.

Bridges have seven receptions for 82 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Riley wouldn’t confirm the reports Wednesday, saying “I’m aware of the report that is out there. Unfortunately at this time, I cannot comment on it.”

When a reporter followed up by asking Riley if Stephenson would play, the Sooners head coach said: “Kennedy Brooks will play.”

Brooks, for what it’s worth, is second in team rushing yards between Hurts and Stephenson. Brooks has 976 rushing yards and five TDs this year.

The fourth-ranked Sooners (12-1) take on the undefeated top-ranked Tigers at 4 p.m. eastern time Saturday the 28th in the first College Football Playoff semi-final. No. 2 Ohio State and No. 3 Clemson play to face the winner at 8 p.m. eastern time the same day.

Sooners prepare to take on LSU without dominant defenders

The Oklahoma Sooners have the toughest task of the college football bowl season on their hands as they prepare to take on top-ranked LSU and the Heisman Trophy winner.

The Oklahoma Sooners have the toughest task of the college football bowl season on their hands as they prepare to take on top-ranked LSU and the Heisman Trophy winner.

Sooners prepare to take on LSU without dominant defenders (Soonerswire)

The Oklahoma Sooners have the toughest task of the college football bowl season on their hands as they prepare to take on top-ranked LSU and the Heisman Trophy winner.

The Oklahoma Sooners have the toughest task of the college football bowl season on their hands as they prepare to take on top-ranked LSU and the Heisman Trophy winner.

Longhorn Network camera perfectly captures Tom Herman flipping the double bird

Tom Herman had some impeccable timing on live TV to kick off the early signing period.

Texas football coach Tom Herman seemed excited about the start of the three-day early signing period for recruits Wednesday. Like, really, really excited — possibly about having one of the best 2020 recruiting classes in the country — because while sitting at the head of the table in a coaches’ conference room, he flipped off the Longhorn Network camera in the top corner with the double bird.

Judging by Herman’s body language, along with that of everyone else in the room, he was clearly joking and just having a good time.

Also, Herman had no way of knowing that the Longhorn Network, which is owned by ESPN, would cut to the live feed of the conference room at that exact moment. But his timing on live TV was impeccable to kick off the early signing period.

The Longhorns are currently 7-5 going into the Alamo Bowl game against No. 11 Utah to cap off an underwhelming season that fell far short of preseason expectations. They were even dark-horse College Football Playoff candidates.

But the good news for them is on the first day of the the early signing period — which ends Friday and has replaced February’s National Signing Day as the most important time for college football recruiting — Texas has the No. 10 2020 class, according to 247Sports’ composite rankings.

The Longhorns entered Wednesday with 16 commits: 12 four-star and three three-star players. They are also expected to sign five-star commit Bijan Robinson, a running back from Arizona.

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Baylor used puppets (!) to introduce its 2020 recruiting class

This is… something special.

Wednesday marks the start of college football’s early signing period, which has replaced February’s National Signing Day as the most important day of the year in the recruiting world. The early signing period is three days in December when the nation’s top recruits sign their letters of intent and pick a college.

Over the years, this period, along with the traditional signing day, has had some awesome and exceptionally odd yet memorable moments, from the way players announce their decisions to how programs (and their social media teams) officially announce the future members of their teams.

Remember Oklahoma’s musical welcome last year? Or what about the recruits from Florida and their Chucky dolls?

Well this year, Baylor is in a league of its own, welcoming its recruits to the program with… puppets.

Yes, the Bears have transformed their recruits into puppets for some totally bizarre but spectacularly ridiculous videos introducing the college football world to these players. Seriously, these videos are so absurd, but we can’t look away.

And to be fair, Baylor is also tweeting recruits’ highlights, but those are wildly overshadowed by the puppets.

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WATCH: Joe Burrow’s Heisman speech helps drive more than $100K in donations to food bank

Joe Burrow received the highest percentage of first-place votes and recorded the largest margin of victory in the award’s history.

Joe Burrow set records with his 2019 Heisman Trophy win over the weekend. The Louisiana State University quarterback received the highest percentage of first-place votes and recorded the largest margin of victory in the award’s history.

The Tigers quarterback turned the opportunity into a way to significantly impact the southeast Ohio community that he grew up in, too. Burrow’s award acceptance speech led to more than $100,000 being donated to the Athens County Food Pantry in Athens, Ohio.

“It’s a very, very impoverished area,” Burrow said in his Heisman Trophy acceptance speech Saturday night. “The poverty rate is almost two times the national average.

“There are so many people there that don’t have a lot, and I’m up here for all those kids in Athens and Athens County that go home to not a lot of food on the table, hungry after school. You guys can be up here, too.”

An Athens resident launched a Facebook fundraiser Sunday after Burrow’s speech made the nation aware of the problems in the area. More than 3,100 people donated a combined amount of more than $108,000 as of Monday morning.

According to The Athens County Food Pantry website, the pantry served 5,702 individuals in 2018, about a third of them children.

Entering the College Football Playoff, Burrow has completed 342 of 439 pass attempts for a 77.9% completion rate. The 23-year-old has 4,715 passing yards this season with 48 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. He is the first LSU athlete to win the Heisman since running back Billy Cannon won the award in 1959.

Burrow’s Heisman speech helps drive more than $100,000 in donations to southeast Ohio food bank

Joe Burrow received the highest percentage of first-place votes and recorded the largest margin of victory in the award’s history.

Joe Burrow received the highest percentage of first-place votes and recorded the largest margin of victory in the award’s history.

Joe Burrow wears SpongeBob socks to Heisman ceremony

The LSU quarterback dressed to impress.

Joe Burrow will mostly likely be named the 2019 Heisman Trophy winner Saturday night in New York. Although his competition — Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts and Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields and defensive end Chase Young — obviously includes some of the best players in the sport, Burrow has been considered the favorite, by far, for several weeks.

If the LSU quarterback wins the coveted award, he’ll be the school’s second Heisman winner, following Billy Cannon in 1959.

And Burrow looked stylish in a few photos of him getting ready tweeted by LSU football’s account. Especially his socks. The fifth-year senior is wearing SpongeBob SquarePants socks that are sure to stand out — at least while he’s seated during the Heisman ceremony.

Burrow, who transferred a couple seasons ago from Ohio State, has an incredible, nation-leading 77.9 completion percentage and threw for 4,715 yards and 48 touchdowns in the Tigers’ first 13 games this season.

He and LSU will face Oklahoma in the College Football Playoff semifinal in the Peach Bowl on December 28 for a shot at the national championship game.

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Navy QB Malcolm Perry torches Army on 55-yard TD run

Malcolm Perry is the best running quarterback in the nation.

The Navy Midshipmen entered the Army game Saturday with the nation’s best run game, averaging 360.8 yards on the ground with 48 rushing touchdowns on the season. Army is No. 2 with 311.7 yards per game and 44 touchdowns.

Navy’s rushing attack is led by quarterback Malcolm Perry, who had 1,500 rushing yards and 6.3 per attempt going into the rivalry game. He’s No. 6 in the nation in rushing yards and is the highest ranked quarterback in that category.

And the senior showed off exactly why that is early in the second quarter against the Black Knights at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

After Army ate nearly 11 minutes off the first-quarter clock before taking a 7-0 lead, Perry helped his team tie it up with a 55-yard touchdown run on 2nd-and-4 from Navy’s own 45-yard line.

From the first half of the game alone, Perry recorded his 20th career game with at least 100 rushing yards, per CBS’ broadcast. Navy had a 14-7 halftime lead, and Perry put up 154 yards on 13 carries and did not attempt a pass.

Perry had a season-high of 218 rushing yards in Navy’s 45-17 win over Tulsa in October, but he recently had one of his best games of the season against SMU. He ran for 195 yards and two touchdowns and went 9-for-15 for 162 yards and another touchdown in the Midshipmen’s 35-28 win in late November.

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Chase Young reflects on suspension: ‘I was a lot stronger than I thought’

Chase Young is the only defensive player among the 2019 Heisman finalists.

Ohio State defensive end Chase Young is one of four 2019 Heisman Trophy finalists, and he’s the only defensive player and non-quarterback. He’s joined by LSU’s Joe Burrow, also the favorite, Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts and Buckeye teammate Justin Fields, and all four players are in New York for the ceremony Saturday night when the winner will be announced.

Not only is it rare for a defensive player to be a finalist, but the odds are also against Young and any other defensive player hoping to win. Only one player, Michigan cornerback Charles Woodson, has won the Heisman, and that was back in 1997.

Still, Young’s domination is undeniable. He leads the nation with 16.5 sacks on the season, despite the NCAA suspending him for two games.

He missed Ohio State’s wins over Maryland and Rutgers for violating the NCAA’s arbitrary rules over a small loan he received (and paid back) reportedly so his girlfriend could travel to Pasadena to see Ohio State play in the Rose Bowl last season.

“I feel like, you know, that just helped me to prepare for, you know, my life and future,” Young told ESPN’s Marty Smith about the suspension. “I learned that mentally, I was a lot stronger than I thought I was because I mentally haven’t been tested to that extent.”

He also said this signature Chase Young moment this year at Ohio State was when the Buckeyes beat Penn State, 28-17, in Week 13. In his first game back following the suspension, Young destroyed the Nittany Lions, finishing with three sacks and nine total tackles, five solo.

When asked what it means for him to be a Heisman finalist, Young said:

“From the outside, it’s just, you know, like, ‘Oh my gosh, he’s a Heisman finalist.’ But when you’re actually in this position, all the hard work I’ve put in, I think everything falls into place. How my parents raised me — just everything plays a part in helping me get to where I’m at today.”

The Heisman Trophy ceremony is Saturday at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.

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