How does it play out when Notre Dame welcomes Florida State on Saturday? The FIW staff takes their best bets as to what happens here!
No. 5 Notre Dame welcomes Florida State to South Bend on Saturday night in what for the Fighting Irish faithful feels like the first game in an eternity.
The Irish haven’t played since a 52-0 win over South Florida on September 19 while 1-2 Florida State enters after a comeback win over Jacksonville State last week where the Seminoles fell to a 14-0 deficit before rallying to pick up that first victory.
Will there be rust for the Irish and will things be interesting late Saturday night?
Or does Notre Dame roll to 3-0 with a dominating performance?
Here is what our staff sees happening in the game, starting with Geoffrey Clark:
Clemson didn’t play an ACC team ranked in the top 10 during the last three regular seasons on its way to making the College Football Playoff. That won’t be the case this year.
No. 7 Miami (Florida) visits the top-ranked Tigers in the first defining game of the ACC campaign. That it’s the Hurricanes providing the first big challenge for Clemson is a surprise. It was expected that Notre Dame would be the toughest opponent for the Tigers when they travel to South Bend, Indiana, in November. But Miami, which was unranked in the preseason Amway Coaches Poll, has been one of the season’s early successes with three impressive wins. Another victory Saturday would stamp the Hurricanes as playoff contenders.
There’s also a major showdown set for the SEC with No. 3 Georgia hosting No. 12 Tennessee. The Bulldogs impressed last week with solid play from quarterback Stetson Bennett and a ferocious defense overwhelming Auburn. The Volunteers have won eight in a row dating to last year and are looking to take a major step toward national relevance with an upset victory.
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Another ACC matchup of ranked opponents has No. 9 North Carolina getting a visit from No. 18 Virginia Tech as the Tar Heels hope to build off last week’s close win at Boston College. The Hokies have been slowed by COVID-19 off the field, but they’ve beaten North Carolina State and Duke. Now comes their first real test that should reveal if they have enough to beat of the conference’s upper-echelon teams.
Wrapping things up, No. 20 Texas A&M gets its second shot at a top five win when No. 3 Florida comes to town. The Aggies faltered at Alabama last week, but would get a boost from beating the Gators, who have established themselves as playoff contenders.
Here is the full list of picks for college football’s Week 5.
Locked on Longhorns Podcast discusses the latest odds plus Ari Temkin of SiriusXM’s Big 12 Show joins to discuss the weekend’s games.
With just two days before kickoff against the Texas Tech Red Raiders, Locked on Longhorns podcast discusses the latest odds before the game. The line for Texas moved to (-18), do we expect the team to cover the spread in Lubbock? Plus the latest betting odds on the Heisman and National Championship. Where does Texas sit in both situations? Also we discuss Michael Dickson winning NFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors.
Ari Temkin of the Big 12 Show on SiriusXM Radio joins to discuss the latest happenings in the conference. With the concerns over COVID-19, should the schools do what the University of Texas is currently doing? Plus we look ahead at the weekend slate of games. Which one has Ari intrigued? Which one outside of Texas should we be watching?
In the final segment, we breakdown the Texas vs Texas Tech game. Does Texas need to style point this game? Plus Ari gives his prediction, can the Longhorns cover the 18 point spread? Should you take the over in this one?
Could the Texas Longhorns make their College Football Playoff debut this year? Some think it is a possibility.
With another college football weekend in the books, ESPN has updated their playoff picks. With the Big Ten now in the fold for the playoff run, the Ohio State Buckeyes have jumped into the conversation. Of the 13 writers who weighed in on the CFP teams, the Buckeyes were named by all of the college football analysts. The Alabama Crimson Tide and Clemson Tigers were the other two teams to make it onto the ballot.
The final team on the ballot for the fourth and final spot in the CFP went to Oklahoma for 12 of the 13 writers. Adam Rittenberg is sticking with the Texas Longhorns as his team. So far Rittenberg and Kirk Herbstreit are leading the charge for the Longhorns into the playoff. Herbstreit stuck with his Texas pick on the most recent College Gameday show on Saturday.
According to the All State Playoff Predictor, the Longhorns have the best chance to make the playoff in the conference. The Longhorns are currently sitting at seventh with 22% and 3% to win the title. Not exactly great odds but better than zero. The Sooners meanwhile are 13th at 8% to get into the tournament and 1% to win it all. Texas Christian was just behind the Sooners as the only other Big 12 team listed.
The interesting part is that Oklahoma is usually the popular pick as seen by the 12 analyst that picked them to return to the playoff. However, the computers don’t seem to fall in line with the human opinion. That game on Oct. 10 at the Cotton Bowl could go a long way of proving one right and the other wrong. This coming Saturday the Sooners will host Kansas State and Texas travels to Texas Tech as Big 12 play opens.
On Sunday, ESPN released updated playoff and New Year’s Six Bowl predictions to reflect the Big Ten’s return leaving Florida out of the race
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The Big Ten came back into the fold this week, as it reversed its decision to postpone the fall college football season. Now, the league is eying a start date of Oct. 24, with the conference championship game scheduled for Dec. 19.
Presumably, this would be in time for the conference’s champion to be considered for a position in the College Football Playoff.
With the league back in contention, ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach no longer are predicting a Florida run to the playoffs. Now, though their seeding is different, they agree on a CFP field consisting of Alabama, Clemson, Oklahoma and Ohio State, each the favorite to win their respective conference.
College Football Playoff
College Football Playoff National Championship Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida
Jan. 11, ESPN Bonagura: Clemson vs. Alabama Schlabach: Clemson vs. Alabama
College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Rose Bowl Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California
Jan. 1, ESPN Bonagura: Alabama vs. Ohio State Schlabach: Clemson vs. Oklahoma
College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans
Jan. 1, ESPN Bonagura: Clemson vs. Oklahoma Schlabach: Alabama vs. Ohio State
They also both agree on the Gators’ new postseason destination: a return trip to the Orange Bowl to face off against Notre Dame, who is competing in the ACC this year. UF defeated Virginia in 2019’s Orange Bowl 36-28.
Here are the full New Year’s Six predictions.
Cotton, Peach, Fiesta and Orange Bowls
Goodyear Cotton Bowl AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas Bonagura: Penn State vs. Texas A&M Schlabach: Texas vs. Texas A&M
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta Bonagura: UCF vs. Wisconsin Schlabach: Georgia vs. Wisconsin
PlayStation Fiesta Bowl State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona Bonagura: Georgia vs. Texas Schlabach: Penn State vs. Cincinnati
Capital One Orange Bowl Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida Bonagura: Notre Dame vs. Florida Schlabach: Notre Dame vs. Florida
Analysts Jordan Rodgers, Roman Harper and Tim Tebow all shared their picks for who will win each respective division title – UF and Alabama.
Just a mere week away from the start of the Southeastern Conference’s 2020 football schedule, the “SEC Nation” television crew gave its opinions on the upcoming season in a preseason preview show broadcast on Saturday morning.
Analysts Jordan Rodgers, Roman Harper and Tim Tebow all shared their picks for who will win each respective division title, with the Florida Gators and Alabama Crimson Tide both unanimously selected to face off in the SEC Championship Game.
The Gators and the Tide have a rich and storied history against each other in the SEC Championship Game having faced each other 12 times, with the Tide holding a firm 8-4 edge in the series; UF has an overall 7-5 record in the title game.
The championship rivalry dates back to the inaugural matchup back in 1992, which ‘Bama won thanks to the infamous interception of Shane Matthews by Antonio Langham. Florida would face the Tide in four of five of the first title games — with the Gators appearing in all five of the first SEC title games — taking the next three against Alabama while winning four in a row themselves with a victory over the Arkansas Razorbacks sandwiched in.
Florida went on to win just one more SEC Championship Game battle with ‘Bama in 2008 en route to their third and last national championship. The last two matchups between the Crimson Tide and the Gators in the Georgia Dome came in 2015 and 2016, with ‘Bama winning by a combined score of 83-31 — 29-15 and 54-16, respectively.
Can Notre Dame do something they’ve only done 12 times the last 30 years? We’ll find out Saturday
When Notre Dame welcomes South Florida to South Bend on Saturday the Irish will be looking to do something for the third year in a row but for what would be just the 12th time in the last 30 seasons.
That is start the year 2-0.
Under Brian Kelly, Notre Dame has done exactly that five of his ten years, including the last two seasons. From 1990-2009 however the Irish did that just seven times in those 20 seasons under the watch of Charlie Weis, Tyrone Willingham, Bob Davie and Lou Holtz.
It’s not the most difficult of opponents coming to Notre Dame Stadium but then again, we said that in September of 2011 when South Florida visited, too.
So what happens this weekend? Here’s what the staff at Fighting Irish Wire thinks headed into the game weekend:
We are about to enter the last weekend without SEC football as the Gators and their peers gear up to start the season on Sept. 26.
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Thank goodness it is Friday! We are about to enter the last weekend without Southeastern Conference football as the Gators and their peers gear up to start the season on Sept. 26. In the meantime, there is plenty of gridiron action to hold us over.
The top story today is the bold predictions for Week 3 offered by the writers at USA TODAY Sports. Shocking disappointments and better-than-expected performances are anticipated each weekend in wild world of college football.
Eddie Timanus, also at USA TODAY Sports, takes a look at the Week 3 games that will impact the College Football Playoff. Yes, we’re all well aware that this whole thing could come crashing down thanks to this pesky virus. But for now, let’s make the most of what we have.
Here is the latest from the Gator Nation.
Around the Swamp
Day before Thanksgiving marks the start of NCAA basketball season: The change was made with the decision most schools made to send students home from Thanksgiving until January out of concern about a potential late-fall and early-winter flare-up of COVID-19 in mind.
Breaking down the best and worst case scenarios and predictions for the Green Bay Packers during the 2020 NFL season.
Whew. We made it. The 2020 season finally kicks off Thursday, so we’ve reached the point whereby we can dispose of the offseason roster-building theory and esoteric data debates. Now, the abstract becomes practical. The bell will ring whistle will blow, and Mike Tyson is throwing punches Za’Darius Smith is sacking quarterbacks.
So what will the Green Bay Packers look like in 2020? We’re going to take a quick dive into the machinations most likely to tilt this team in one direction or the other.
The floor (that doesn’t include a long-term injury at quarterback): 8-8
How it happens
While 2016 saw some of Aaron Rodgers’ best work during his run-the-table stretch, Rodgers’ gradual decline in play arguably began in 2015, a year removed from his 2014 MVP season. If you may recall, Rodgers, sans Jordy Nelson, found himself with few trustworthy weapons and, to survive, leaned heavily into sandlot-style football and some well-executed gimmickry via hard counts. That was all well and good when it worked, but it cast a mold Rodgers struggled to break. Aside from the magical stretch in ’16, Rodgers just hasn’t consistently played like his 2009-2014 self. His accuracy has dropped, his footspeed has declined; he’s been too quick to scramble, disrupting the rhythm of the play, and he all but avoids the middle of the field. He’s still a quality quarterback, but the Packers simply don’t have the horses to get by with above-average quality. They need elite quarterback play. If the trend continues, it’ll be the first and biggest red flag for a middling season.
The Packers also feature an offensive line that is, if we’re being pessimistic, volatile on the right side. While Billy Turner seems to be penciled in as the starter, neither Turner nor offseason signee Rick Wagner appeared to properly fill Bryan Bulaga’s shoes. Perhaps Rodgers improves, but if the right side of the line bleeds like a sieve, it might not matter.
Which brings us to the weapons. Davante Adams and Aaron Jones make for an excellent one-two punch, but every one after that is a giant question mark. If Allen Lazard, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, et al. can’t take advantage of what is expected to be lighter coverage, then offensive production will be an uphill battle.
On defense, there are a few areas to consider. First, it could be difficult to reproduce the 25 turnovers the team created last year. Combined with Rodgers’ tendency to protect the football, the Packers’ turnover differential was the third-best mark in the league in 2019. With that context alone, there’s reason to believe the Packers will regress in this all-too-important statistical category. From a personnel standpoint, Chandon Sullivan, one of the team’s greenest defensive backs, will replace their longest-tenured in Tramon Williams. The defensive line is thin after Kenny Clark. The edge rushers are excellent at the top, but they’re vulnerable given their lack of depth.
The Packers escaped injuries last year and also avoided Patrick Mahomes, Cam Newton, and Matthew Stafford, among others. They won a bunch of close games. Such luck is unlikely to repeat itself.
If a few of these dominos fall, the Packers could be looking at a disappointing season in 2020.
The ceiling: 12-4
Mark Hoffman, USA TODAY-NETWORK
How it happens:
I’ll be honest: I’m fairly bullish about this Packers team, and it centers on one tidbit of news during camp. After a slow start, Rodgers started to turn it on, When asked why that might be, he talked about how he went back and looked at some tape of himself in 2010. Since that point, he’s been razor-sharp in camp.
Though he didn’t say what he specifically worked on, his 2010 tape is a masterclass in playing quarterback, and the biggest digression between 2010 Rodgers and 2019 Rodgers is the quickness with which he played within the pocket. Peak Rodgers didn’t just play quarterback; he was the conductor of a well-timed, precise orchestra. Aside from heavier legs, there aren’t many other physical indicators that suggest Rodgers can’t rediscover a facsimile of his younger self. He’s the smartest player on the field, he can still throw the football over them mountains, and, he can be as accurate as any when he sets his feet and throws with conviction. The reality is that Rodgers is still the biggest change agent on this entire roster. If the Packers get pre-2015 Rodgers, it won’t matter much who the second or third wide receivers are. The offense will hum, in rhythm, on time.
Outside of Rodgers, there is a plausible argument that offensive improvement will come by way of having a second year in LaFleur’s system. It wasn’t the long ago that Kyle Shanahan (with LaFleur as his understudy), coordinated one of the most prolific NFL offenses in football in his second season with the Atlanta Falcons in 2016. Now, LaFleur is in his second season with an offense coordinated by a veteran quarterback with an established star wide receiver and multiple running backs with diverse skill sets.
The Packers’ offseason approach wasn’t well-liked by most of the media; regardless, their aims are transparent. They want to build a team similar to a Kyle Shanahan juggernaut, inspired (partially) by the ’16 Falcons, but specifically the current Niners squad. Josiah Deguara is their Kyle Jusczcyk. Aaron Jones, Jamaal Williams, A.J. Dillon, and Tyler Ervin are their Tevin Coleman and Devonta Freeman or Raheem Mostert, Matt Brieda, and, well, Tevin Coleman. They want to win with play-action. They want to beat you on the ground. In essence, a razor-sharp Rodgers should make defensive coordinators hesitate to load the box to stop the run. All in all, a sharper 12 and some maturity in the system can keep this team from regressing in any significant way.
12-4 is still very optimistic. Considering the difficulty of their schedule, if this team finishes 12-4, then Rodgers is playing MVP-level football and the defense never skipped a beat (and even improved against the run). In all likelihood, the 2020 Packers finish somewhere around 11-5, but they’re a better all-around team than the 2019 iteration. They just don’t catch as many breaks. Even so, they’re playoff-bound.
ESPN released its Week 1 College Football Playoffs picks with the Gators getting a strong mention in the mix of four-team predictions.
Now that the 2020 college football season is fully underway, the writing staff at ESPN released its Week 1 College Football Playoffs picks on Sunday, with the Florida Gators getting a strong mention in the mix of four-team predictions.
