An Alabama wide receiver will play in the SEC once again next season.
After announcing his intentions to enter the NCAA transfer portal earlier this month, Alabama Crimson Tide wide receiver Caleb Odom announced that he would be committing to the Ole Miss Rebels on Wednesday night.
Odom is the second Alabama wide receiver to make a transfer commitment so far this cycle joining Kobe Prentice, who previously committed to Baylor.
A true freshman, Odom appeared in 12 games for the Crimson Tide in 2024 where he was one of the top names in Alabama’s wide receiver room late in the year. For the season, Odom hauled in a total of seven receptions, which he turned into 65 yards.
Prior to Alabama, Odom was a four-star, Top 100 overall prospect in the Crimson Tide’s 2024 recruiting class out of Carrollton High School in Georgia. Odom was also considered as the nation’s No. 2 overall tight end in the 2024 class according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.
BREAKING: Alabama True Freshman transfer WR Caleb Odom has Committed to Ole Miss, he tells @on3sports
The 6’5 227 WR will have 3 years of eligibility remaining
Duke football should know how to be an underdog on the football field, but USA TODAY Sports experts aren’t high on its chances vs. Ole Miss.
The Duke Blue Devils have never exactly fit the mold as favorites on the football field, but the expert panel at USA TODAY Sports seems especially pessimistic about their chances against Ole Miss.
All six writers picked the Rebels to dispatch Duke on Friday, one of just 12 sweeps among the 39 listed matchups.
The Blue Devils ended the regular season with nine wins, the same number as Ole Miss, but their SEC counterparts spent the entire year in College Football Playoff contention. If not for an overtime loss to the LSU Tigers or a Week 13 upset at the hands of the Florida Gators, both away from home, Lane Kiffin could very well have his team in the postseason bracket.
On top of that, Duke starting quarterback [autotag]Maalik Murphy[/autotag] announced his decision to enter the transfer portal on Monday with backup Grayson Loftis making the same choice one day later. Murphy threw for a program-record 26 passing touchdowns this season, and while Tulane’s Darian Mensah has already committed in his place, he won’t be eligible for the game.
Duke’s bowl battle kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time on January 2.
Duke football has pulled off some miracles this season, but the latest USA TODAY Sports bowl rankings doesn’t see many upcoming fireworks.
The Duke Blue Devils could put the finishing touches on their second 10-win season in school history at the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl next month, but USA TODAY Sports writer Eddie Timanus doesn’t see much to get excited about in the postseason battle.
Timanus ranked all 35 bowl games on the college football schedule on Friday, and he thinks Duke’s game against Ole Miss is the third-worst pairing on the slate.
He cited the absence of starting quarterback [autotag]Maalik Murphy[/autotag], who declared for the transfer portal on Monday, as a contributing factor. While the Blue Devils did grab a commitment from former Tulane star Darian Mensah on Wednesday, he won’t be eligible to play in Jacksonville.
Ole Miss also finished with a 9-3 record, but the Rebels finished within the top seven in scoring offense and defense as they remained in the College Football Playoff hunt until Week 13.
If the Duke faithful want some bragging rights, however, Timanus put the North Carolina Tar Heels game against the Connecticut Huskies at the lowest spot on his list.
Duke’s game against Ole Miss kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time on January 2.
The Blue Devils face Ole Miss in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl this January, and the ESPN Matchup Predictor isn’t on the Duke’s side.
The Duke Blue Devils and Ole Miss Rebels will enter the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl with the same record, but ESPN Analytics doesn’t see the two programs as evenly matched.
The ESPN Matchup Predictor gives Duke a 16.9% chance to upset the SEC program and win a 10th game for the second time in school history.
The Rebels remained in College Football Playoff contention for much of the season, knocking themselves down the ladder with a 20-17 loss to the Kentucky Wildcats and an overtime road defeat to the LSU Tigers, but a home win over the Georgia Bulldogs kept them alive with two games left on the schedule. The Florida Gators eventually closed the door on Ole Miss with a 24-17 upset in Week 13, dropping the Rebels down to 8-3 and ending their postseason hopes.
Despite the losses, it’s easy to argue Ole Miss rivaled the ceiling of any of its conference opponents. The Rebels finished seventh in scoring offense (37.5) points per game, ended up fourth in scoring defense (13.9), and led the nation with 52 sacks and 116 tackles for loss.
However, the Blue Devils have found ways to win almost every game on their schedule. Despite the ESPN Football Power Index projecting a 6-6 season, Duke erased four fourth-quarter deficits to finish 9-3. With quarterbacks [autotag]Maalik Murphy[/autotag] and Grayson Loftis in the transfer portal, however, they might need more magic for a final win.
After the Monday reveal that Duke QB Maalik Murphy will enter the transfer portal, he confirmed he won’t play in the upcoming bowl game.
For the first time this season, the Blue Devils will have to start a quarterback other than [autotag]Maalik Murphy[/autotag] at the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl.
The former Texas Longhorn threw for 2,933 yards and a program-record 26 passing touchdowns in his first season with the Blue Devils, completing 60.3% of his passes and averaging 7.0 yards per attempt. He was at his most productive at the end of the season, averaging 286.4 yards with 14 total touchdowns over his last five games.
The Blue Devils finished 14th out of 17 ACC teams in passing yards per attempt this season, but Murphy ended the year seventh among conference quarterbacks in yards and fourth in scoring throws. While he threw three interceptions against both Miami and Virginia Tech to end the year with 12 picks, he played clean football in four of the team’s eight ACC games.
Redshirt sophomore Henry Belin IV was the only other Duke player to throw a pass this season, completing his only pass against Northwestern in Week 2. He’ll serve as the top option against the Rebels as Duke seeks the second 10-win season in school history.
With an ACC and an SEC team in the game, the referees needed to come from one of the other conferences. The crew itself has not been determined yet, and with the Blue Devils close to the end of the bowl calendar, the exact officials will likely depend on the first few weeks of the college football postseason.
The Rebels started the year with College Football Playoff aspirations after a phenomenal transfer class, but a three-loss regular season ended Lane Kiffin’s chances to make the 12-team bracket. Despite the record, however, Ole Miss ended the year seventh in scoring offense (37.5 points per game) and tied for fourth in scoring defense (13.9 points per game), so it will provide a major obstacle for Duke’s second 10-win season in school history.
The final Duke football game of the season will kick off at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time on January 2 and will be broadcast on ESPN.
The Duke Blue Devils are headed to Jacksonville for a battle with the Ole Miss Rebels in January’s TaxSlayer Gator Bowl.
For the first time in program history, the Duke Blue Devils will play a bowl game in Jacksonville.
After the team’s 9-3 season under new head coach [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag], Duke drew the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl for a postseason battle against the Mississippi Rebels from the SEC.
The Blue Devils overcame three two-score fourth-quarter deficits in 2024, including a 20-point comeback against the North Carolina Tar Heels and a 14-point comeback against Wake Forest in the final game. Redshirt sophomore quarterback [autotag]Maalik Murphy[/autotag] threw a program-record 26 touchdown passes, including a walk-off score to Jordan Moore on the final play against the Demon Deacons, and Duke swept UNC, Wake Forest, and NC State for the first time since 2013.
Ole Miss started the year with playoff aspirations under head coach Lane Kiffin, and a 5-1 start to the season kept the Rebels in the thick of the hunt. An overtime loss to the LSU Tigers and a stunning road loss to the Florida Gators knocked them down to 9-3, however, and even a late win over the Georgia Bulldogs couldn’t move them back into the field.
The bowl game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday, January 2, and fans can watch on ESPN.
Many of us knew quarterback [autotag]Deuce Knight[/autotag] was wavering on his commitment to Notre Dame’s 2025 recruiting class, and in early October he flipped to the Auburn Tigers.
What we didn’t expect was the 247Sports composite’s No. 28 overall prospect would reconsider his most recent commitment. That could be the case. It is being reported by On3 that Knight will visit the Ole Miss Rebels they host Mississippi State on Friday afternoon.
It makes sense Knight might be looking at other options. The Tigers (5-6) have struggled and face a tough final opponent: the Alabama Crimson Tide.
The Rebels have an outside shot at making the College Football Playoff, which isn’t the case for the Irish. They are firmly in at the moment, and a win against USC will remove any doubt.
Also, don’t expect Knight to rekindle his relationship with Notre Dame, which has already found his replacement, Blake Hebert.
Lipscomb Academy junior quarterback Deuce Knight talks with position coaches on the sideline of their scrimmage against Blackman during the 615 Preseason Showcase Friday, August 11, 2023 at Oakland High School in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
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It’s no surprise Nick Saban is putting in overtime to push the Southeastern Conference’s narrative that it deserves four teams in the 12-team College Football Playoff.
If his first allegiance is to Alabama, his second is to its conference. And life is even easier for him when he can prop up both at the same time. That doesn’t mean other conferences are going to just let him get away with it.
At least, the Big 12 wasn’t about to become a punching bag to Saban and the SEC. When the former coach suggested to Pat McAfee a three-loss Ole Miss team would have a significantly better record playing in the Big 12, the conference responded with a harsh dose of reality.
Say what you want about bowl games — and it sure seems the SEC only says anything about the ones it wins — but the conference is 8-11 against the Big 12 since 2020.
Saban’s argument also ignores the fact the team currently atop the SEC is a No. 3 Texas program that barely changed its roster from last season in the Big 12 save for the typical graduation/NFL Draft turnover.
It’s foolish to expect Saban won’t cape for the SEC, but no one has to take it as gospel, either.
It took 13 weeks of play, but the Florida Gators have finally earned some support in the AP Top 25 Poll after beating Ole Miss.
The Florida Gators earned four poll points in the AP Top 25 voting after upsetting the Ole Miss Rebels in Week 13.
David Paschall of the Chattanooga Times Free Press ranked the Gators at No. 24 in his poll submission, while Brian Fonesco of the New Jersey Star-Ledger and Ian Kress of WLNS-TV (Lansing, Michigan) rounded out their top 25 with the Orange and Blue.
Florida had not earned any support in the AP poll since Aug. 14, 2023, when the Gators earned four points in the preseason rankings. The Gators are the unofficial No. 33 team in the voting.
Eight SEC programs remain inside the top 25 despite several shakeups. The No. 3 Texas Longhorns, No. 6 Georgia Bulldogs and No. 7 Tennessee Volunteers are all firmly within range of clinching a College Football Playoff berth.
The Alabama Crimson Tide are the closest SEC program outside of the top 12 at No. 13, followed by the Ole Miss Rebels and South Carolina Gamecocks at Nos. 15 and 16, respectively. The Texas A&M Aggies are at No. 20 but still have an outside chance at a CFP appearance with Texas on the schedule next week.
Missouri rounds out the group, with the Tigers staying put at No. 24 this week. In addition to Florida, the LSU Tigers earned two poll points in the voting.
AP Top 25 Poll Week 13
Rank
Team
Record
Points
Change
1
Oregon Ducks
11-0
1,525 (55)
–
2
Ohio State Buckeyes
10-1
1,463
–
3
Texas Longhorns
10-1
1,395
–
4
Penn State Nittany Lions
10-1
1,301
–
5
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
10-1
1,278
+1
6
Georgia Bulldogs
9-2
1,242
+2
7
Tennessee Volunteers
9-2
1,110
+3
8
Miami Hurricanes
10-1
1,096
+3
9
SMU Mustangs
10-1
1,001
+4
10
Indiana Hoosiers
10-1
998
-5
11
Boise State Broncos
10-1
984
+1
12
Clemson Tigers
9-2
789
+5
13
Alabama Crimson Tide
8-3
739
-6
14
Arizona State Sun Devils
9-2
727
+7
15
Ole Miss Rebels
8-3
661
-6
16
South Carolina Gamecocks
8-3
639
+3
17
Iowa State Cyclones
9-2
498
+5
18
Tulane Green Wave
9-2
446
+2
19
BYU Cougars
9-2
445
-5
20
Texas A&M Aggies
8-3
399
-5
21
UNLV Rebels
9-2
231
+2
22
Illinois Fighting Illini
8-3
188
+2
23
Colorado Buffaloes
8-3
161
-7
24
Missouri Tigers
8-3
142
–
25
Army Black Knights
9-1
133
-7
Others receiving votes:
Kansas St. 98, Memphis 46, Syracuse 37, Louisville 24, Washington St. 10, Duke 6, Louisiana-Lafayette 5, Florida 4, LSU 2, Georgia Tech 2.
Next up for Florida
The Gators wrap up the 2024 regular season schedule in Tallahassee for their annual rivalry game against the Florida State Seminoles. The game will take place inside Doak Campbell Stadium and will kick off at either 7 or 7:30 p.m. ET; broadcast details have yet to be determined.
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