The 2023 Ryder Cup gets underway Friday morning with a foursomes session. If you’re unfamiliar, foursomes is alternate shot. In the afternoon, the teams will battle in a fourball (best ball) session.
There are several star-studded tandems going out in the opening matches at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome, including Xander Schauffele/Patrick Cantlay, Rory McIlroy/Tommy Fleetwood and Jon Rahm/Tyrrell Hatton.
A surprise for the Americans: Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas are sitting for the first session (Brooks Koepka and Wyndham Clark are the other team members not participating in Friday foursomes).
Not that anyone would expect legendary Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn to pick against the Irish when they take on Ohio State this weekend, but just how certain is he of an Irish win?
During a radio interview earlier this week Quinn called his confidence level in a Notre Dame victory a “10”.
Quinn didn’t just play homer and not give reasons why he has such confidence in Notre Dame. He had plenty of things to back his confidence.
“Looking at their skill positions,” Quinn said. “they’re as long and as athletic and as skillful as I’ve seen in my lifetime.”
“This is a group that’s recruited well, they’ve developed well,” Quinn said. “They’ve been primed now to try to have that breakthrough, and I think Sam Hartman’s the guy that’s now opening so many things up for them on the outside at wide receiver.”
“This group feels very similar to Michigan as far as how this team is built,” Quinn said. “They’re still built through the running game, dominating you physically, but sound, solid defense. They can get pressure, they can get turnovers, but now they’ve got people to make the big plays, too, with the quarterback.”
Can the Oklahoma Sooners keep the good times rolling on the road against the Cincinnati Bearcats. Here are this week’s staff predictions.
The Oklahoma Sooners get ready for their last Big 12 opener as they travel to take on the Cincinnati Bearcats in week four. The Sooners are rolling and take on a Bearcats team looking to rebound after their first loss of the season.
Can Oklahoma continue its defensive performance on the road against a talented dual-threat quarterback? Can the offense keep hitting big plays through the passing game? Can the running game find some running room against one of the best defensive fronts in the country?
We’ll find out starting at 11 a.m. CT on Saturday.
Here are this week’s Sooners Wire Staff Predictions
When we first saw Oklahoma’s schedule, this game against the Bearcats was the one that worried me the most before the Texas game.
Cincinnati is a team that shouldn’t be overlooked.
That defensive line is nasty and physical. They can disrupt an entire game plan. My worry has only grown due to how well the Bearcats’ offense is playing, particularly running the football. Their run game is No. 8 nationally.
Combine that with the loss last week, and this might be a trap game for the Sooners. If they’re not careful, they could look past the Bearcats and come out flat because of Cincinnati’s loss to Miami (Oh.).
They can very well lose this game. I think they’ll win, but it’ll be a lot closer than people think.
Do the Irish pull it off Saturday night in the Bend?
This will be the kind of weekend that speaks exactly why some of the best high school football players nationally choose to attend Notre Dame or Ohio State each year. It’ll show why thousands upon thousands spend a significant amount of their disposable (or in some cases not-so-disposable) incomes on travel and game tickets.
Notre Dame vs. Ohio State.
What else do you really have to say? You put those two names together, strap on the helmets and a nation of football fans will follow.
Is this to be Notre Dame’s coming out party under Marcus Freeman and can the Irish show that the saying “closing the gap” is more than just a saying?
Or will Ohio State continue their streak against the Irish, having won the last five games in the series and having been the standard for major college football in the Midwest for the last few decades now?
It doesn’t get much bigger than this in the regular season and here is how the Fighting Irish Wire staff sees it going.
No doubt it should be a pretty easy weekend for the Gators, but it will be key how Napier and Co. utilize those 60 minutes to continue adjusting.
The college football season continues to roll along with Week 4 already upon us. For Gators fans, it has been a bit of an up-and-down campaign already, facing a heart-breaking defeat in Week 1 to the Utah Utes before a redeeming upset win over the Tennessee Volunteers in the SEC opener.
Next up for the Orange and Blue are the Charlotte 49ers, an American Athletic Conference member, who arrive in Gainesville with a 1-2 record and an underwhelming program overall. The two schools have never met before on the collegiate gridiron.
Ahead of the Week 4 matchup, the Gators Wire crew assembled to provide their expert opinions on what to expect this coming weekend. The composite score prediction shows a great deal of confidence in the Gators from across the board — which is to be expected with an opponent of the upcoming caliber.
The Oklahoma Sooners look to build on their 2-0 start against Tulsa on Saturday and here are this week’s Sooners Wire staff predictions.
The 2023 season is about stepping into what a Brent Venables team is going to look like moving forward. 2022 was an aberration. It wasn’t representative of what this team will look like this season or even when the Sooners move into the SEC in 2024.
Through two games, Oklahoma’s defense looks like a different animal. Most notably, the Sooners have missed 22 fewer tackles through two games than they did in 2022. That’s a significant difference.
Last year against Kent State and UTEP, the Sooners allowed 16 points. This year against Arkansas State and SMU, Oklahoma allowed 11. Not a huge difference, but it’s still an improvement.
They’ve graded out as a better run defense and even a better pass rush, according to Pro Football Focus.
The other notable difference is how successful they’ve been on third down. Through two games a year ago, the Sooners’ defense allowed a third-down conversion 35% of the time. Arkansas State and SMU were only able to convert 21% of the time against Oklahoma’s defense.
There’s a lot still to prove each and every week for the Oklahoma Sooners in 2023, and their next opportunity to prove that this team is “built different” is Saturday against Tulsa.
Here are this week’s Sooners Wire Staff Predictions.
Here are collective predictions for this Saturday along with a composite of Gators Wire’s staff takes.
The biggest game on the SEC’s conference-opening football schedule this Saturday is unquestionably the matchup between Florida and Tennessee, which takes place inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium this year.
Last season, the Volunteers tripped up a Gators squad that was still finding its identity early in Billy Napier’s debut campaign at the helm. The win in Knoxville snapped a five-game winning streak for the Orange and Blue in the series and was just the second in 18 tries.
While the rivalry has certainly languished as both programs have struggled to return to the top, it is still one that Gators and Vols fans alike look forward to every fall.
Ahead of the SEC opener, the Gators Wire crew assembled to provide their expert opinions on what to expect this coming weekend. The composite score prediction was one of the closest we have ever had, which suggests that Florida might have a better chance at the win than may expect.
Former Florida head coach Dan Mullen traded in his orange and blue visor for a suit and analyst chair, and he’s not afraid to pick against his old team.
Dan Mullen knows Florida football. He was in Gainesville for the Urban Meyer and Tim Tebow years, and he returned to coach the program from 2018-2021.
After losing the Florida gig (and pocketing a $12 million buyout), Mullen has transitioned to the analyst chair. He’s now doing work for ABC and Disney, which means he gets to weigh in weekly on his former team.
With one of Florida’s three major rivalry games coming up against Tennessee — Florida State and Georgia being the others — Mullen is once again picking against the Gators.
“I’m going Tennessee,” Mullen said without any reluctance on the Matt Barrie Show. “I’m still on the Tennessee bandwagon until they get me off of it. Josh Heupel, the offense has looked good. Joe Milton can make all the plays and I trust Josh Heupel, honestly, to put him in positions to succeed.”
Mullen isn’t expecting a blowout, though. He knows just how intimidating the atmosphere in the Swamp can be, and he noted in his analysis that momentum can shift at the drop of a dime.
“Florida might not be where they were a couple of years ago, but they’re still Florida. They’re still going to be a good team. It’s still the Swamp on a Saturday night in a huge game.”
While it’s strange that Mullen didn’t take any responsibility for Florida’s downfall over the past few years, he’s not wrong in his assessment. The Gators aren’t the favorite heading into this game, and it would be a massive upset. The Volunteers are ranked No. 9 on the US LBM Coaches Poll and No. 11 on the AP Poll.
“In the Billy Napier era, (the Gators) are still waiting for that first marquee win. This would certainly be it for them, and it would be a great challenge for them.”
It sounds like Mullen doesn’t count the Utah win last year as a “marquee” victory, but perhaps he’s just locked in on the SEC rivalries. The conference’s slogan is “It just means more,” after all.
Andy Marlette/Pensacola News Journal
Florida and Tennessee will clash at 7 p.m. on Saturday. The game will be televised on ESPN.
Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
Sooners Wire Staff Predictions for the Oklahoma Sooners week 2 matchup with the SMU Mustangs.
Week two is upon us, which provides another opportunity for the No. 17 Oklahoma Sooners to show what they’re working with in 2023.
It was a strong opening week for Oklahoma, who put up 73 points in a shutout win over Arkansas State. SMU also had a good performance against Louisiana Tech to open the season 1-0.
In Oklahoma’s first big challenge of the season, what can we expect from the Sooners when they host the SMU Mustangs on Saturday night at 5 p.m. CT on ESPN+.
Here are this week’s staff predictions from here at Sooners Wire.
Sooners Wire Staff Predictions
I think Oklahoma’s offense should have its way with SMU’s defense. But the offensive line will be tested. SMU had six sacks a week ago. Defensively the Sooners face one of the better offenses they’ll face all year.
If Oklahoma can hold them in the 20s, it’s a good performance. But if you hold them under 20, it’s a great one.
We predict all of Washington’s award winners for 2023, from offensive player of the year to breakout star. Tell us yours.
The Washington Commanders finally kick off the 2023 NFL season on Sunday. Washington hosts the Arizona Cardinals in what will be a sold-out crowd at FedEx Field.
There are many interesting storylines surrounding the Commanders in 2023. It’s the first year with Josh Harris and his group as the owners. No more Dan Snyder. There is new offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy. Will Bieniemy prove everyone made a mistake passing him over for head-coaching opportunities?
There’s the saga of defensive end Chase Young. Will he turn things back around? Or is he set to depart next offseason?
Is quarterback Sam Howell the answer?
As we continue our previews for the 2023 NFL season, we predict award winners for the Commanders, from team MVP to breakout star.
