Tag: SEC

Texas RB Jaydon Blue bounces back in huge way against Clemson

On Saturday night, in the first round of the College Football Playoff, Blue put all that in the rearview mirror and led the Longhorns to victory

For Jaydon Blue, the 2024 campaign has been full of frustration. The Longhorns running back has battled injuries and fumbling issues. On Saturday night, in the first round of the College Football Playoff, Blue put all that in the rearview mirror and led the Longhorns to victory.

On 14 carries, the Houston native recorded a team-high 146 yards. He averaged 10.4 yards a carry and found the end zone twice. The Longhorns star also made an impact in the air, hauling in two receptions for 31 yards. As the Longhorns rolled to a 38-24 win, Blue’s effort earned praise from his head coach Steve Sarkisian.

“I think about Jayden Blue,” Sarkisian told reporters Saturday night.” This guy fought through an ankle injury earlier in the year, fought through some fumbling issues this season, continue to work, continue to fight back. And he has this game tonight.”

While Blue gave fans plenty of reasons to celebrate, his best moment came in the fourth quarter. With the Longhorns up by seven points, he let out all of his frustration on a 77-yard touchdown run that put the game out of reach. During practice this week, running the ball was a main focus, and it paid off.

“It all starts in practice,” Blue said Saturday night. “Like I said, coming to this week, we made an emphasis that we were going to have to run the ball in order to win this game, and the O-line and us in the backfield took a lot of pride in working on that, so we’d be able to run the ball effectively.”

Following a game he will never forget, Blue will turn his focus to the quarterfinals against Arizona State. If Blue can replicate his performance, then the Longhorns will be hard to beat.

Steve Sarkisian named semifinalist for George Munger Award

With Sarkisian leading the way, the Longhorns have been one of the best teams in the SEC with an 11-2 record

Following another impressive regular season, Steve Sarkisian is getting national attention. On Wednesday, the Longhorns head coach was named a semifinalist for the George Munger College Coach of the Year Award, which is given annually to the top coach in college football.

With Sarkisian leading the way, the Longhorns have been one of the best teams in the SEC with an 11-2 record. Texas has back-to-back 11-plus win seasons for the first time since 2008-09. They are also one win shy of the fifth 12th-plus-win season in program history.

As the Longhorns have adjusted to a new conference, their offense has been hard to stop. Through 13 games, Texas ranks 13th in passing offense, 15th in team passing efficiency, and 16th in completion percentage. Regardless of who is under center, Sarkisian has put his team in the best position to be successful.

While the Longhorns offense has made headlines, the defense under Sarkisian has impressed. They lead the FBS in turnovers gained and passing yards allowed. Texas also ranks fifth nationally in first down defense, with veterans such as Jahdae Barron having career years.

For many in Austin, Sarkisian’s latest recognition comes as no surprise. He was also a finalist for the award last year and was named to the watch lists for the Dodd Trophy and Paul “Bear” Bryant Coach of the Year awards earlier this year.

The 2024 George Munger Award winner will be announced on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in less than a month.

Assessing Alabama’s national championship hopes after grueling non-conference schedule

Can Alabama basketball make a legitimate run at the 2024-25 national championship?

The Alabama Crimson Tide have two games remaining in their non-conference portion of the 2024-25 schedule after narrowly beating the North Dakota Fighting Hawks on the road Wednesday evening. The Tide will wrap up the month with home games against Kent State and South Dakota State before opening up SEC play against the No. 14 Oklahoma Sooners on Jan. 4 in Tuscaloosa.

Head coach Nate Oats has made it a massive priority to play the toughest non-conference schedule possible to test his teams for the post-season, and so far it’s paid dividends as Alabama earned the No. 1 overall seed in March Madness in 2023 and made the Final Four in 2024.

Alabama is currently ranked No. 6 in the country at 9-2 on the year with their only two losses coming against No. 16 Purdue on the road and vs No. 10 Oregon in the Players Era Festival Tournament Championship. However, the Tide do have some of the most impressive wins of the early part of the season against Illinois, Houston, North Carolina and Creighton.

With five teams ranked inside of the top seven and eight total teams in the top 25, the SEC is without a doubt the deepest conference in the country. I do believe that Alabama’s gauntlet of a non-conference schedule as well as their depth will be a massive advantage in the race for the conference title because I don’t think anyone will be running the table in a league this good. By the time March rolls around, an already veteran Crimson Tide team will also be the most battle tested team in the country.

To the surprise of none, Grant Nelson and Mark Sears have paved the way for the Tide, but Labaron Philon and Aden Holloway are quickly emerging as key pieces for Oats. Losing Latrell Wrightsell to a season ending injury obviously hurts a lot, but Alabama has other pieces to overcome it.

March Madness is all about who’s hot at the right time, but Alabama will have all of the pieces to make a legit national title run. There are still things to clean up as the Crimson Tide surrender nearly 80 points per game and average 12.7 turnovers a game. Alabama has also struggled a little bit more on the road this year so that will be something to monitor as conference play starts, but their high octane offense will be a problem for any team in the nation.

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Tennessee will be fourth team as SEC member to play at Ohio Stadium

Tennessee will become the fourth team as a SEC member to play Ohio State at Ohio Stadium all time.

No. 9 seed Tennessee (10-2, 6-2 SEC) will become the fourth team as a Southeastern Conference league member to play at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.

The Vols will play No. 8 seed Ohio State (10-2, 7-2 Big Ten) on Saturday in the first round of the College Football Playoff. Kickoff between Tennessee and the Buckeyes is scheduled for 8 p.m. EST and will be televised by ABC.

Saturday’s winner will advance to the Rose Bowl to play No. 1 seed Oregon on Jan. 1, 2025.

Ohio State has hosted three other games against teams as SEC members all time at Ohio Stadium: LSU (1988), Kentucky (1935) and Vanderbilt (1933). The first SEC football season was in 1933.

Ohio State’s game results versus SEC members at Ohio Stadium

  • 1988: Ohio State 36, LSU 33
  • 1935: Ohio State 19, Kentucky 6
  • 1933: Ohio State 20, Vanderbilt 0

PHOTOS: Tennessee-Ohio State football series through the years

Adam Cairns/USA TODAY Network

Will Texas Longhorns appear in the SEC Netflix Documentary?

Netflix and the Southeastern Conference will join forces to showcase the 2024 season.

Netflix is tapping into the world of College Football. The media company announced on Wednesday that they will have a new series that will feature the 2024 season of the Southeastern Conference.

The eight-episode series will offer viewers a 360-degree perspective on SEC football, taking them from the field to locker rooms, team buses, barbershops, and beyond. Each episode, running 45 minutes, will showcase the lives of players and coaches, offering unfiltered access to the stories behind the season.

“This behind-the-scenes docuseries will bring all the drama and pageantry of Southeastern Conference Football to a worldwide Netflix audience,” SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey told Netflix.

While the full slate of participating programs has been revealed, five prominent SEC schools — Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, and Texas — opted not to participate in the project, according to Brett McMurphy of Action Network.

The 11 programs featured in the series include Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi State, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas A&M, and Vanderbilt.

Among the highlights for fans will be the chance to witness Tennessee’s journey to the College Football Playoff (CFP), following a 10-2 regular season. Additionally, South Carolina’s impressive six-game winning streak to close out the season under head coach Shane Beamer will be highlighted.

It’s unfortunate that we did not get to see Texas’s first season within the Southeastern Conference. It is unclear whether the series will highlight additional years beyond the 2024 season.

The docuseries, executive produced by James Gay-Rees, Paul Martin, and Hillary Olsen for Box to Box Films, with Collin Orcutt serving as showrunner, is slated for release next summer. Fans across the SEC and beyond are eagerly awaiting this deep dive into one of the most electrifying seasons in college football history.

Florida football featured in new Netflix SEC docuseries

The Gators will be featured in Netflix’s SEC college football docuseries that will debut in the summer of 2025.

Netflix announced on Wednesday that it will capture the intensity and drama of the Southeastern Conference during the 2024 college football season in a new, eight-part documentary series featuring the Florida Gators and other SEC teams.

SEC spokesman Herb Vincent told The Athletic that all 16 conference teams were given the chance to participate in the series, but only 10 participated, including Florida football.

The series promises “behind-the-scenes” access, taking viewers inside the daily lives of players and coaches as they navigate the highs and lows of college football. From the locker rooms and team buses to less conventional settings like barbershops and fire pits, the series aims to deliver a holistic view of the collegiate football experience.

Florida football, who finished the 2024 regular season with a string of significant wins, including upsets over ranked LSU and Ole Miss teams, will be a focal point of the series. The series will not only highlight these key matchups but also delve into the team dynamics and individual stories that define the Gators’ season.

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey expressed enthusiasm about the partnership with Netflix.

“This behind-the-scenes docuseries will bring all the drama and pageantry of Southeastern Conference Football to a worldwide Netflix audience,” Sankey told Netflix.

“Football in the SEC will be presented in a way never seen before through the elite storytelling skills of Box To Box, the content studio that has produced numerous award-winning Netflix docuseries. We are excited about this new delivery of content for SEC fans everywhere.”

This marks the second time in three years that the Florida Gators have been spotlighted in a Netflix production, following the successful “Swamp Kings” documentary that covered the Urban Meyer era from 2006 to 2009, a golden period for Florida football that included two national championships and a Heisman Trophy awarded to Tim Tebow.

The docuseries will be released in the summer of 2025 and is being produced by Box To Box Films, the same company behind acclaimed series such as Sprint, Full Swing, Formula 1: Drive to Survive, and Break Point.

The SEC teams featured in the docuseries

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Former Longhorns DT commits to SEC school through transfer portal

With the Commodores, Bryant will be looking to take his game to another level

After three years with the Texas Longhorns, Aaron Bryant has a new home. The talented defensive lineman who had entered the transfer portal announced his commitment to Vanderbilt Tuesday night on social media. With the Commodores, Bryant will be looking to take his game to another level.

During his time with the Longhorns, Bryant played in 13 games and recorded two tackles. The Southaven High School product only appeared in four games this season, recording one tackle. While Bryant was unable to make much of an impact in Austin, he was a popular name during the recruiting process.

Coming out of high school, Bryant drew interest from some of the top programs in the country. The former four-star recruit received an offer from every SEC school except Vanderbilt and Missouri, according to 247Sports. He now has a chance to show why he belongs in one of the best conferences in the nation.

Although Bryant’s time with the Longhorns didn’t go as planned, there were a few memorable moments. In his freshman year, Bryant played against Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship Game. His first career tackle came that season against Baylor.

With the Longhorns now in the SEC, Bryant will not have to wait long to face his old team at some point during the 2025 campaign.

Former UCLA WR J. Michael Sturdivant eying Georgia Bulldogs visit

The former Bruin is close to visiting one of college football’s best.

After closing their season with a win over Fresno State, the UCLA Bruins roster has already seen several notable subtractions. Losing a bevy of players to the transfer portal, one recent ex-Bruin is eying a visit with an SEC powerhouse.

Rising redshirt senior wideout J. Michael Sturdivant entered the transfer portal in early December after an abbreviated season with the Bruins in 2024.

Dealing with injury, Sturdivant only appeared in seven games with UCLA last season, amassing only 22 catches for 315 yards and a pair of touchdowns. With one season of eligibility remaining, Sturdivant understandably entered the transfer portal, looking for a better opportunity.

This week, according to James H. Williams of USA TODAY, Sturdivant could potentially visit Georgia soon. Given the success of Georgia over the last several years and their appearance in the College Football Playoff in 2024, the Bulldogs present a compelling destination for Sturdivant.

As for the Bruins, they hope to continue to grow their team through the transfer portal as they reset for an important second season in the Big Ten.

Five Texas Longhorns earn AP All-Americans honors

That list includes Anthony Hill Jr., Jahdae Barron, Kelvin Banks Jr., Alfred Collins, and Michael Taaffe.

With the 2024 college football regular season in the books, the Longhorns have made headlines as awards have been handed out. On Tuesday, that continued when five players were named All-Americans by the Associated Press. That list includes Anthony Hill Jr., Jahdae Barron, Kelvin Banks Jr., Alfred Collins, and Michael Taaffe.

While all five have been key to the Longhorns’ success, only Barron and Banks earned first-team honors. During his fifth season with the Longhorns, Barron has started all 13 games and leads the conference in interceptions with five. As a senior, he has added 47 tackles to his resume.

On the offensive side of the ball, Banks has been one of the Longhorns’ best players and a model of consistency. The Texas native has started every game this season and helped protect quarterbacks Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning. He has also added two SEC Offensive Player of the Week honors to his resume.

Hill, Collins, and Taaffe earned spots on the second team. The talented trio were human highlight reels, making life difficult for offensive coordinators. Hill led the way with a team-high 90 tackles, including six for a loss.

He also got some help from Taaffe, who finished the season with 61 total tackles. The local star was also named the SEC Defensive Player of the Week and the Burlsworth Trophy National Player following the Longhorns win over Vanderbilt earlier this season.

Rounding out the list is Collins, who has taken his game to another level over the past few months. In 13 games, Collins set career highs in tackles with 43 and pass deflections with seven. For the Longhorns, his improved play was a welcome sign.

The Longhorns and this talented group will now focus on making a deep playoff run and building on a memorable 2024 season.

Joel Klatt believes Jackson Arnold can still have success

Joel Klatt thinks Jackson Arnold QB could still have a good career.

Former five-star quarterback [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag]’s short time with the Oklahoma Sooners came to an end on Saturday when he signed with the Auburn Tigers.

The young QB, who was supposed to be the face of the program for at least two seasons and lead OU into the Southeastern Conference, will now try to help Hugh Freeze and the Tigers improve upon their 5-7 season in 2024.

He started 10 games in an OU uniform after serving as the backup during his freshman season in 2023. He went 5-5 as a starter, but just two of those wins came against power conference teams and only one was against an SEC team. 2024 was supposed to be the year that he broke out on the scene, but it didn’t happen.

However, there are many who still believe in Arnold’s potential and what he can do at Auburn.

Fox Sports college football analyst Joel Klatt thinks that Arnold can still be successful, but he also has some questions. He appeared as a guest on “The Next Round” podcast and remarked it was hard to say for sure whether Arnold would live up to his potential with the Tigers.

“My biggest question is going to be his confidence,” Klatt said. “I’m wondering what happened to his psyche during the course of this year.”

Arnold’s confidence appeared shaken a couple of times in 2024, most notably against Tennessee and later in the season against Missouri. In some of the biggest moments for the Sooners, Arnold was turnover-prone and made mistakes that cost OU dearly.

However, he played very well against Alabama and looked more confident in his second stint as the starter for the final five games of the regular season.

“I think he can have a lot of success,” Klatt said. “It remains to be seen.”

Oklahoma’s quarterback room in 2024 consisted of five players. With Jackson Arnold and [autotag]Brendan Zurbrugg[/autotag] opting for the [autotag]transfer portal[/autotag] and Casey Thompson out of eligibility, it will undergo another makeover in 2025.

[autotag]Michael Hawkins Jr.[/autotag] will return, and the Sooners signed [autotag]Jett Niu[/autotag] as a part of their [autotag]2025 recruiting class[/autotag] earlier this month. Steele Wasel, a walk-on, could return, but OU will need to add at least one portal QB to fill out the room again.

That likely includes a player who will either be the starter or compete to be the starter under OC [autotag]Ben Arbuckle[/autotag] as Oklahoma tries to bounce back at the position in 2025.

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