Tag: Peach Bowl

Clemson vs. Oregon Peach Bowl in way-too-early College Football Playoff bracket

What would a Clemson-Oregon matchup in the 2024 College Football Playoff look like?

Clemson and Oregon are two college football programs that have never met on the gridiron.

The Tigers’ unprecedented run of six straight appearances in the four-team College Football Playoff coincided with the Ducks’ decline after reaching the 2014 national championship game against Ohio State. That was the only year Oregon made the four-team postseason, although they previously reached the 2010 BCS Championship Game against Auburn.

Clemson went on to make the College Football Playoff from 2015-20 in the years following Oregon’s lone playoff appearance.

Could the Tigers and Ducks meet this year? Anything is possible with the 12-team College Football Playoff, and a new, way-too-early playoff projection from CBS Sports’ Shehan Jeyarajah pits the two teams against one another in the Peach Bowl at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

That projection is based on Dennis Dodd’s recent post-spring Top 25 rankings, which has Clemson as the highest-ranked ACC team at No. 14. Oregon is ranked No. 3 behind No. 1 Georgia and the Ducks’ soon-to-be Big Ten counterpart Ohio State (No. 2 in Dodd’s rankings).

The 12-team model will grant automatic bids to Power Four conference champions, plus the top Group of Five champion. As the highest-ranked at-large team in Dodd’s rankings, Oregon would be a No. 5 seed and play host to No. 12 seed Boise State (the top Group of Five team in Jeyarajah’s projections) in an on-campus, first-round playoff game at Autzen Stadium in Eugene.

Jeyarajah sees Oregon beating Boise State in the first round. So, if Dodd’s rankings were to hold and the 2024 season ended tomorrow, Clemson would face Oregon in the quarterfinals despite the Ducks being ranked 11 spots ahead of the Tigers.

Utah, the highest-ranked Big 12 team in Dodd’s rankings at No. 11, is the No. 3 seed and would face the winner of a No. 6 vs. No. 11 seed first-round playoff game (between Penn State and Texas in Austin) in the quarterfinal round at the Fiesta Bowl.

Unlike the four-team playoff model, there’s a big difference between ranking and seeding.

As Jeyarajah notes:

“(G)et these words into your head: ranking and seeding. The committee will release a final ranking, but seeding is the only thing that matters. In this bracket, the No. 3 team in the country [Oregon] will enter as the No. 5 seed. The No. 14 team [Clemson] jumps up to the No. 4 seed. That’s how the system works.”

In Dodd’s rankings, Clemson landed one spot below SEC newcomer Oklahoma and one spot ahead of Arizona, which joined the Big 12 after the collapse of the Pac-12 last summer. Similarly, Utah ranked one spot behind LSU.

The Sooners and LSU may rank higher than Clemson and Utah in the eyes of Top 25 pollsters, but Oklahoma’s spot at No. 13 currently falls behind six other SEC teams ranked ahead of them.

Adds Jeyarajah:

“The Fiesta and Peach Bowls will be a fascinating first test of the auto-bid setup as Clemson faces an opponent projected to finish nine full spots ahead (of the Tigers) in the final rankings.”

Clemson opens its season on August 31 in Atlanta against Georgia in the Aflac Kickoff Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Kickoff is set for noon EDT. The game will be televised nationally by ABC.

Charlie Weis calls out Big Ten head coach following bowl flub

Is Charlie right about what was said?

A former Notre Dame head coach was quick to call out a current Big Ten head coach after that coach’s team was beaten as a favorite in a New Year’s Six bowl game last week.

No, it’s not what you’re thinking. [autotag]Lou Holtz[/autotag] didn’t say anything about Ryan Day (to our knowledge, anyway). Instead, it was what a different Big Ten head coach said following their recent loss to an SEC team that rubbed [autotag]Charlie Weis[/autotag] the wrong way.

Ole Miss, where Weis’ son is the offensive coordinator, beat Penn State, 38-25, in the Peach Bowl. Afterward, the Penn State head coach referenced there being too many moving parts for why the Nittany Lions lost.

Weis wasn’t too pleased and offered the following:

Sour grapes of sort or simply sticking up for his son in a way?

Either way, if anyone has experience in speaking to the media after losing a college football game as a head coach, the elder Weis certainly has a large file.

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Penn State gets hammered by Ole Miss as Big Ten bowl woes continue

Penn State lost one day after Ohio State lost. The Big Ten is taking some hits in the bowl season.

Friday night, Ohio State scored only three points in a high-profile Cotton Bowl loss to Missouri. Saturday afternoon, another prominent Big Ten football program stumbled. Penn State allowed 38 points to Ole Miss and lost to the Rebels by 13 in the Peach Bowl.

Nittany Lions Wire has more:

“Both teams scored twice in the second quarter with Penn State scoring a pair of touchdowns with a touchdown pass from Beau Pribula to Nick Singleton and a Drew Allar pass to Theo Johnson. But the half ended with Penn State trailing by a score of 20-17 after giving up 340 yards of offense to the Rebels. And of the 115 passing yards Allar had at the half, 75 of them came on one play at the end of the first quarter when Tyler Warren caught a pass and ran for a big gain.”

It got worse — much worse — for Penn State after halftime. What had been a close game was busted open by Ole Miss. The game ended without drama in Atlanta, and another top Big Ten program took it on the chin.

USC is entering a Big Ten which is not exactly putting its best foot forward. We’re going to have a full offseason exploring just how strong the Big Ten is … or isn’t.

Visit our friends at Fighting Irish Wire, Buffaloes Wire, and Ducks Wire.

5 takeaways from Penn State’s brutal loss to Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl

5 takeaways from Penn State’s brutal loss to Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl

It was a day to forget for the Nittany Lions, who came to Atlanta looking for a statement win, but it turned into a statement 38-25 loss to the Ole Miss Rebels. It was a struggle in all phases for Penn State, who couldn’t stop the run, the pass, and even had a fourth-quarter field goal attempt blocked.

Despite starting the game with a positive field goal drive and a few good runs, the offense never got into a rhythm. [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] and the passing game struggled mightily, only hitting on a big play on a fluke-tipped pass to Tyler Warren for 75 yards, which ironically ended up being Penn State’s longest play of the season.

The defense, missing its top two corners and best edge defender, was no match for the up-tempo explosive offensive that is the Rebels. Ole Miss had its way running and throwing the football, dicing up the Penn State secondary every which way.

It will be interesting to see how the Nittany Lions rebound from a now 3 loss season. All three losses will have happened against top-11 opponents where the Penn State offense looked absolutely anemic. No matter the fallout, Drew Allar and new offensive coordinator [autotag]Andy Kotelnicki[/autotag] will have an enormous amount of pressure on themselves to improve the offense going into next year.

After an all-around pathetic performance, here are five takeaways from Penn State’s Peach Bowl loss to Ole Miss.

Jaxson Dart couldn’t believe he missed an easy celebratory dunk on Ole Miss’ sideline after a TD

You can’t miss that, buddy.

Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart had a standout performance Saturday in his team’s 38-25 win over No. 10 Penn State on Saturday in the Peach Bowl, but he might want this “play” back.

After Dart ran in a two-yard touchdown in the middle of the fourth quarter to give Ole Miss a 38-17 lead over the Nittany Lions, he was celebrating with his team on the sidelines.

That celebration included some basketball, and as Dart dribbled toward the Penn State-themed basket, he made an attempt at a 360 slam dunk. It looked good at first — though we’re not exactly sure how high the basket was — but the ball bounced back out at the last second.

An uncontested shot like that? You gotta make it. But he did just score a touchdown so maybe he was a tad out of breath.

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Drew Allar’s terrible Peach Bowl interception sparked a meme-able reaction from a Penn State fan

The memes are coming.

Penn State quarterback Drew Allar made one of the strangest throws you’re going to see this college bowl game season.

In Saturday’s Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl, Allar threw an absolute duck on a deep bomb right into the hands of an Ole Miss defender for the easy interception.

The decision was so baffling that one of the ESPN game cameras caught a very confused Penn State fan openly questioning Allar’s throw with some seemingly NSFW language.

While we’re sure this fan didn’t realize they were being filmed, their reaction undoubtedly spoke for all Penn State fans who had no idea why Allar made that careless throw.

Some NSFW language to follow.

It’s never fun to watch a sequence play out like that on television when it happens with your team, and this Penn State fan gave the reaction of the day for Allar’s baffling pick.

Maybe this fan would have a better second half in the stands.

Feature image courtesy of ESPN.

James Franklin’s ideas for overhauling college football include a commissioner and NFL collaboration

James Franklin is calling for someone higher-up to fix several issues in college football because they’re becoming a headache.

ATLANTA — Penn State head coach James Franklin runs a traditional recruiting model that is the foundation for how he lands and develops top talent. Still, Franklin was fired up Friday over how the transfer portal has affected his ability to build his program.

The transfer portal has recently been a hot topic in college football circles. Tuesday, Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin lamented the transfer portal system, comparing it to free agency starting before the NFL playoffs.

Kiffin reinforced those thoughts when asked more questions about the portal on Friday during media availability ahead of Saturday’s Peach Bowl. Franklin was part of the joint press conference with Kiffin, and the Nittany Lions coach did not hold back when asked to comment.

Franklin seemingly agreed with Kiffin and echoed his thoughts that the current system is not great, despite having very different approaches to recruiting.

What’s more, Franklin didn’t appear convinced that a lot of thought went into how the portal currently runs and offered up his suggestion to start the process of fixing it.

Franklin explained how he thinks having a commissioner would help:

“Chip Kelly made some comments a few weeks ago, and I think he said some things publicly that a lot of coaches have been talking about privately for a while. I think Lane obviously brings up some really good points as well.

“I think at the end of the day, and I’ve said this before, I think the reality is a commissioner of college football would be valuable. I think there’s a reason for a commissioner of college football to be able to work with the commissioner of the NFL because I think the NFL should be working with college football.”

“Right now, the way I see it, the commissioners of the conferences are the best people to solve these problems. Get them all into a room together. You could have representation from the NCAA as well, the NFL, and sit down and really start from scratch, a whole new calendar, a whole new model, recommendations. I think that’s how this is really going to get done moving forward.”

Lane Kiffin loves Taylor Swift so much he couldn’t pick a favorite song

“I don’t know that I can pick just one.” Fair.

Like so many other millions of people around the planet, Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin is a Taylor Swift fan. A couple years ago, he described Swift’s All Too Well (10-minute version) as “Absolute 🔥”, and that pretty much confirmed his status as a fan of hers.

Friday during a press conference alongside Penn State coach James Franklin ahead of Saturday’s Peach Bowl matchup between Ole Miss and the Nittany Lions, For The Win’s Meghan L. Hall wanted to dig a little deeper into Kiffin’s status as a Swiftie.

She asked Kiffin what his favorite Taylor Swift song is and if he’d sing it for the group. While the Ole Miss coach declined to show off his vocals — “Lane, we all think you should though,” Franklin chimed in — Kiffin did offer a thoughtful answer about what he thinks makes her a great musician.

Kiffin said:

“I don’t know. She’s got a lot of great songs. I just think she’s really amazing that she can connect to so many people. And I kind of think a lot of times movies, songs nowadays, it’s like how fast can people pump them out and make money.

“And I feel like she takes a lot of time, and there’s a lot of meaning in them, and they can relate to a lot of people. So I don’t know that I can pick just one.”

Surely he’s not alone in not being able to pick one individual favorite Taylor Swift song.

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James Franklin weighs in on a heated Pennsylvania debate: Wawa or Sheetz?

“And I’m willing to negotiate if Sheetz or Wawa would like to work with our players,” James Franklin said.

Rivalries are one of the backbones of college football and part of what makes the sport great.

And Penn State coach James Franklin has thoughts. Not about any of the Nittany Lions’ rivals but about a very serious rivalry when it comes to convenience stores and gas stations, particularly in Pennsylvania and some Mid-Atlantic states. Specifically, Wawa or Sheetz?

During Franklin’s joint press conference Friday with Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin ahead of Saturday’s Peach Bowl matchup, For The Win’s Meghan L. Hall asked Franklin to weigh in on the convenience store rivalry, and he delivered a very thoughtful answer — though firmly holding onto his Wawa roots.

Franklin, while sitting next to Kiffiin, responded to Hall:

“Hmmm. You’re putting me in a tough spot. For everybody in here that maybe doesn’t cover Penn State closely, we’re in central Pennsylvania, so right in the middle of the Eagles and the Steelers. And I grew up just outside of Philadelphia, so I’m a Wawa guy. But now I live in central Pennsylvania, and it’s Sheetz.

“Lane’s looking at me like I’m crazy. He probably doesn’t know what Wawa or Sheetz is. But I think I’ve got to stay with Wawa. I’ve got to stay with my roots and kind of where I grew up. But I have really learned to appreciate Sheetz being in central Pennsylvania.

“And I’m willing to negotiate if Sheetz or Wawa would like to work with our players moving forward with some NIL opportunities. I’m willing to negotiate.”

And then Kiffin chimed in with his hilarious two cents:

“And if they don’t respond to his negotiations the way he wants, he’s not going to coach the game tomorrow. That’s what we deal with now.”

There you have it. Franklin is a Wawa guy for life, but he appreciates what Sheetz has to offer.

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Lane Kiffin lamented the transfer portal impacting Peach Bowl prep despite benefitting from it

Lane Kiffin is not a happy camper right now. His transfer portal success is interrupting his upcoming bowl game.

Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin showed off a little hypocrisy Tuesday ahead of Saturday’s Peach Bowl game against Penn State, as he expressed frustration about the timing of bowl season and the transfer portal frenzy.

The regular season college football stretch may be over, but activity hasn’t stopped. The transfer portal is buzzing. College recruits are signing early National Letters of Intent. Plus, it’s bowl season.

All those activities at once can put a lot of strain on a coaching staff — though you could argue that’s why they’re paid the big bucks. Still, some schools thrive in the chaos, including Ole Miss, which just landed the top player in the transfer portal, former Texas A&M defensive lineman Walter Nolen.

That colossal signing didn’t stop Kiffin from quietly (and rather calmly) slamming the system during a Tuesday media session where Max Ralph of All Penn State on Fan Nation asked him about the timing of schedules in December.

While noting that Ole Miss is on a normal week schedule with a game on Saturday, he expressed his frustration with the timing of recruiting from the transfer portal and likened it to the NFL having free agency start right before the playoffs. Kiffin said:

“Previous to this, it’s been a little chaotic, with not just
recruiting and flying around trying to get back for practice, a lot of the assistant coaches not at the practices, but then dealing with the portal, going to other universities to see kids and dealing with keeping our own kids.

“Again, it’s a terrible system, and no other — I wouldn’t think any other sports, professional sports have ever set up a system where free agency starts while the season is still going. It really makes no sense.

“You can leave. You can stay. You can go other places. Coaches can call you. And our season is still going. It would be like before the NFC or AFC playoffs start in a couple weeks, all of a sudden, hey, free agency the week before open, so you can start recruiting other people’s players and fly them on trips and get them to transfer. So really in a really bad system.”

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