Tag: Sports Illustrated

Notre Dame Football: Irish high in SI’s ‘Still Standing 16’

Sports Illustrated has adjusted their preseason rankings to a ‘Still Standing 16’, Just how high did Notre Dame end up? Find out here…

As the college football world adjusts to almost half the teams in FBS not playing this fall, we continue to adjust rankings nation-wide.

Earlier this week the Amway Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY announced that they were changing the way they went about business, making only coaches of teams playing this fall eligible to vote.

Earlier today we discussed a USA TODAY writer who went and ranked all 76 FBS teams that are playing football this fall, and how he had Notre Dame fifth.

Now Sports Illustrated has changed things up, going away from the traditional ranking of 25 teams and instead coming up with their own “Still Standing 16“.

In those rankings Notre Dame checked in at number six, as Pat Forde said the following about the 2020 Fighting Irish:

The Fighting Irish won at least 10 games for the third straight season in 2019, for only the second time in school history. While that’s partly an accounting trick (they played fewer games during the olden days), it’s also a testament to what coach Brian Kelly has constructed in his decade at South Bend. Notre Dame might not be winning national titles, but the program is consistently relevant. 

Continuing the current run could hinge on a new crop of skill-position talent. Among the returnees no running back had 50 carries last season, and no receiver caught a dozen passes. The Irish have intriguing freshman options (TE Michael Mayer, WR Jordan Johnson, RB Chris Tyree), but those players are coming in behind schedule. At least senior QB Ian Book will be operating behind a very good, very experienced line.

Third-year coordinator Clark Lea is a coaching star in the making, having produced the school’s two best scoring defenses since 2012. He’s retooling a bit, but senior rover Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (80 tackles, 5 1/2 sacks, four passes broken up) is a high-impact centerpiece. —P.F

In their rankings, Sports Illustrated included three Notre Dame opponents in their 16 with Clemson first, North Carolina 14th and Florida State 15th, the highest we’ve seen the Seminoles.

For the entire rankings and quick write-ups on all 16 teams, you can check out the Sports Illustrated link here.

Florida Gators football ranked 5th in Sports Illustrated’s preseason poll

The Gators rank fifth on these new rankings, behind SEC foes Alabama and Georgia, who are ranked No. 2 and No. 3, respectively.

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In response to the release of the AP Top 25, which notoriously featured teams from leagues that have canceled the fall football season (nine in total), Sports Illustrated narrowed its initial top 25 to a “Still Standing 16.”

The Gators rank fifth on these new rankings, behind SEC foes Alabama and Georgia, who are ranked No. 2 and No. 3, respectively.

Sport’s Illustrated’s Ross Dellenger wrote that while the Gators should be successful offensively with the return of redshirt senior quarterback Kyle Trask, their defense has to replace a multitude of starters.

Here’s what Dellenger said about UF heading into the third season of coach Dan Mullen’s tenure.

Dan Mullen and the Gators can’t get over the hump called Georgia. For three seasons the SEC East rival has stood in their way of the conference championship game, but for how much longer? Mullen became the first Florida coach to open his tenure with back-to-back double-digit-win seasons

It feels as if the Gators are this close to greatness—and achieving it will depend on a QB many believe is the SEC’s best. Senior Kyle Trask is good enough to send incumbent Feleipe Franks packing to Arkansas. Trask threw for 300 yards in three of his last four games and finished with 25 TDs and seven INTs, but many of his top targets are gone, including Freddie Swain and Van Jefferson. Trask’s sophomore backup, Emory Jones, is a powerful runner whom Mullen uses as he did Dak Prescott early in his career at Mississippi State.

Under coordinator Todd Grantham, Florida’s defense has been one of the best in the nation the last two years, carrying a sometimes sluggish offense to ugly victories. But 2020 presents problems … such as the departure of much of the front seven. At least senior safety Shawn Davis is back to anchor the secondary. —R.D.

Player to Watch: Miami transfer Lorenzo Lingard, a 6-foot, 200-pound sophomore, might be one of the best running backs no one has heard of. A former No. 2–ranked recruit at the position, he suffered a left knee injury in October 2018 that derailed his tenure as a Hurricane. Florida has other RB options, but Lingard intrigues.

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Notre Dame Football: 4 commits named to SI99

Sports Illustrated is getting more involved in the college football recruiting game. See their top 99 rankings for the 2021 class here.

Sports Illustrated has gotten more involved in the recruiting game of college football and has started the SI99, where they rank the 99 top high school senior football players.

They have released the 99 names to make that list and ranked them 1-99.  Although Notre Dame doesn’t have as many commitments in those 99 like the 10 Ohio State offers, the eight from Alabama, six from Clemson or five from Georgia, the four future Fighting Irish rank the Irish high on the list for most representation.

Here is where the Notre Dame commitments were ranked:

Y-TE Cane Berrong – 44th

QB, Tyler Buchner – 55th

DT, Gabriel Rubio – 66

OL, Blake Fisher – 68

Berrong checks in as the top rated tight end, one spot above Thomas Fidone, Jr. who is yet to announce his college decision.  Tight End U continues to be loaded not just today but in the years to come.

Buchner is ranked as the seventh quarterback on the list as he checks in at 55 overall.

Rubio checks in as the seventh overall interior defensive lineman in what appears to be a very strong class nationally at that position.

And Blake Fisher, fresh off getting his fifth star from Rivals, checks in 68th overall, 50 spots lower than he appears on the overall Rivals rankings.

Notre Dame is joined by Michigan, Oklahoma and Tennessee as having four commitments on the SI99 list.

Report: Multiple Florida Gators football players considering opt-out

WRs Trevon Grimes, Kadarius Toney and Jacob Copeland, as well as DE Zachary Carter, are considering opting out of the 2020 season.

When the Florida Gators began their fall practice schedule on Monday, they were without several key players.

According to a report from Sports Illustrated-AllGators, receivers Trevon Grimes, Kadarius Toney and Jacob Copeland, as well as defensive end Zachary Carter, are all holding out currently and considering opting out of the 2020 football season due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

It’s unclear at this time what conditions, if any, these players have for returning to the team.

Coach Dan Mullen addressed their absence and the possibility that they could opt-out of the season on Monday.

“We had a couple guys not practice today, but we’ll see how that goes moving forward for us. But, you know, I wouldn’t be surprised if you have guys opt out. I’m going to support them fully,” Mullen said on Monday. “Really wouldn’t be surprised if we had coaches opt-out, to be honest with you. Coaches are at such high risk because of the age group that they’re in. So statistically I think coaches are probably even at a higher risk. I think when you look at those things, but we’ll figure it out. We’re going to adapt to whatever happens as we continue to move forward.”

Mullen also said he has communicated with the players, though he didn’t mention them by name.

The three receivers were all expected to see starting reps this fall. Grimes and Toney both considered leaving after their junior seasons for the NFL Draft before deciding to return. If they aren’t a part of the team this fall, it would put Florida’s passing offense in a tough spot on short notice.

Defensively, Carter was expected to take over a starting role on the outside this season. Without him, defensive coordinator Todd Grantham would need to hope Georgia transfer Brenton Cox, Jr. is ready to shoulder that load.

It remains to be seen what will happen with those four players or if they will be joined by any other teammates, but it will be a story to watch over the next month as we progress toward a planned Sep. 26 start date.

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SEC Basketball Power Rankings: Where does Florida stack up?

Fittingly, Florida Gators men’s basketball is once again receiving a solid amount of offseason recognition based on their potential.

As we approach the fall and get closer to college basketball’s currently projected start in November, Sports Illustrated has released a power ranking of the 14 teams in the SEC.

Though Florida lost point guard Andrew Nembhard to the transfer portal, it retained Tre Mann, who decided to withdraw from the draft and return to Gainesville, as well as added a pair of talented transfers in Tyree Appleby and Anthony Duruji. Fittingly, the Gators are once again receiving a solid amount of offseason recognition based on their potential.

SI currently has Florida as the No. 2 team in the conference behind Kentucky, who may be vulnerable this season after returning just one player from last year’s rotation. Writer Jeremy Woo is optimistic about the talent that UF returns.

Keeping Scottie Lewis and Keyontae Johnson for another year was a major coup for Mike White, and the Gators should be able to build on last year’s 11–7 conference mark. Someone will have to step up at point guard, preferably Tre Mann, who had a slightly disappointing freshman season but should get the first crack at replacing Andrew Nembhard. Transfers Tyree Appleby and Anthony Duruji should step into the rotation, and the Gators should be sound defensively again. If a go-to scorer emerges from the group, Florida should have a real shot to win the league. To be fair, we said that last year.

Here is the full SEC power ranking.

  1. Kentucky
  2. Florida
  3. Tennessee
  4. LSU
  5. Arkansas
  6. Alabama
  7. South Carolina
  8. Ole Miss
  9. Auburn
  10. Missouri
  11. Texas A&M
  12. Mississippi State
  13. Georgia
  14. Vanderbilt

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Sports Illustrated launched a line of nutritional supplements and the internet had so many jokes

This is a sad day for fans of the once great magazine, Sports Illustrated.

Sports Illustrated, the once-great magazine which ran some of the most important and breathtaking sports journalism ever printed, hit its nadir this week when marketing images were released for new, SI-branded nutritional supplements. The supplements are also listed for purchase on Amazon.

Sports Illustrated was acquired by Authentic Brands Group in 2019, with the day-to-day operation of the journalistic arm handed off to another company, Maven. While Maven has done plenty to degrade the journalistic quality of SI in its time operating the journalism side, this would make sense that it was a move from the Authentic Brands Group, which spoke about utilizing the brand for money-making opportunities back when they bought it.

That strategy apparently has now led to SI-branded supplements such as INTESI-T and BRAIN POWER, and for people who grew up venerating the magazine, it has led to a deep, dark sadness to see what has become of a once-great magazine.

When the images broke, the internet went wild roasting them:

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Oscar De La Hoya vs. Canelo Alvarez in 2021?

Oscar De La Hoya told Sports Illustrated that he’s taking the steps necessary to return to the ring at 47 years old.

Oscar De La Hoya doubled down on the eyebrow-raising idea of returning to the ring for an actual fight.

De La Hoya last month followed the lead of Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield, who announced their intentions to take part in exhibitions. However, the Golden Boy took it a step further, saying he wanted to come all the way back at 47 years old.

He told Sports Illustrated that he’s serious, unlike like past instances when he teased a comeback. He hasn’t fought since he was stopped by Manny Pacquiao in 2008.

“I think it’s just a matter of pulling the trigger, of making that decision to go to the gym, to wake up in the morning, to make the sacrifice,” De La Hoya told the SI Boxing Podcast. “Before I wanted to do it, but I just couldn’t do it. I couldn’t pull the trigger. I couldn’t wake up in the morning. I couldn’t take myself to the gym and spar six rounds.

“Now it’s like I have this motivation to do it for myself, to prove to myself that I can do it. And so we’ll see what happens.”

De La Hoya told SI that he works out regularly in Pasadena, Calif., near his home. He said he spars up to six rounds and runs six miles a day. He wants to build up to 12 rounds of sparring by September, which would allow him to fight early next year.

“There are two or three levels I have to get by first,” he said.

De La Hoya said he would expect to fight at 154 pounds, where, he said, “I can do some damage.”

“Skill is involved, obviously,” he said. “My power, you never lose power. Maybe my timing might be off a little, but that’s something that I’m going to have to figure out. So there’s a lot that comes into play. And I just strongly feel that I can do it.”

He didn’t have to think twice about who he’d like to have in his corner: Floyd Mayweather Sr., who worked with him for years.

“Floyd Mayweather Sr. is the only trainer that can tell me to wake up at five in the morning, is the only trainer who can push my buttons and make me work hard and smart,” he said. “I would actually go to him and humbly ask him if he can do this favor for me.”

Who would he fight?

De La Hoya didn’t mention any names but SI threw one out: Canelo Alvarez, the Mexican star promoted by De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions. The two reportedly have a cold relationship these days. But a fight between them? C’mon.

“I don’t know,” said De La Hoya, laughing. “Canelo’s an amazing fighter. He’s the best, he’s a pound-for-pound champ. He hits like a mule. I don’t know. You’re throwing me in the fire here, but that’s a challenge that … I never backed down from anybody, but we’ll have to wait and see.”

Forde: Trump’s Poor COVID-19 Response Has Put 2020 Season in Jeopardy

Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated has blamed President Donald Trump’s handling of COVID-19 for the 2020 college football season at risk.

Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated has blamed President Donald Trump’s handling of COVID-19 for the 2020 college football season at risk. In a column published Thursday, Forde laid out how Trump has approached everything related to the pandemic since it began. The result is no packed stadiums at best and no season at all at worst. That’s not good for a President who has major support in areas where college football reigns supreme.

This column came out shortly after the NCAA released its latest report on resocialization of collegiate sport. A graphic in that report highlighted how far off the U.S. is from the downward trajectory that was projected when the NCAA began conversations about restarting sports at the end of April. That same graphic showed how much Europe, Canada and Japan have flattened the curve by comparison.

College athletics across the board are being forced to decide whether to let their student-athletes assume the risk if they want or to save those student-athletes from themselves. Fall sports, one of which happens to be responsible for the revenue that trickles down everywhere else, could not have been put in a more precarious situation. Many fingers, including that of Forde, are being pointed at Trump, while others blame Americans who have refused to sacrifice enough or anything in the name of keeping all of their personal freedoms. Whoever is responsible, what we’re seeing now is the result of four months of gross mismanagement all over the country.

Christian McCaffrey congratulates Olivia Culpo on Sports Illustrated cover

Earlier this week, McCaffrey took to Instagram to congratulate his girlfriend Olivia Culpo for gracing the cover of Sports Illustrated.

Things are going pretty well for Panthers star Christian McCaffrey, who recently signed a four-year extension that made him the highest paid running back in the history of the NFL. He also has made the ‘Madden’ 99 Club for the second year in a row. McCaffrey’s personal life isn’t too shabby, either.

Earlier this week, McCaffrey took to Instagram to congratulate his girlfriend Olivia Culpo for gracing the cover of Sports Illustrated.

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18 Florida Gators commits named to Sports Illustrated’s All-American watch list

Featuring recruits in the 2021 class from all 50 United States, Sports Illustrated released their first annual All-American watch list.

Featuring recruits in the 2021 class from all 50 United States, Sports Illustrated released their first annual All-American watch list on July 15.

John Garcia, Jr., SI’s Director of Recruiting, spearheaded this project and AllGators’ Demetrius Harvey composed the initial list of the 18 Florida Gators commits to make the cut.

A total of 1,000 prospects earned this preseason recognition, with more than 700 of them having already announced their collegiate destination.

10 of the future Gators to receive this honor project to contribute on the offensive side of the football in Gainesville, led by Ocala four-star wide receiver Trevonte Rucker.

The No. 33 wideout in the class, per the 247Sports Composite, Rucker stands just under six feet and tips the scales at a reported 157 pounds. He will need to add some muscle to withstand the physicality of the Southeastern Conference, but strength and conditioning coach Nick Savage should have little trouble accomplishing that.

Each of the other two other receiver commits, Seffner’s Charles Montgomery and Loganville, Georgia’s Daejon Reynolds, both fellow four-stars, made the cut, as well. While listed as a wideout in this exercise, the 5-foot-10, 185-pound Montgomery will likely line up in the backfield and see some carries at the collegiate level, too.

Both quarterback pledges, four-star Carlos Del Rio-Wilson and Burleson, Texas three-star Jalen Kitna, also earned the nod from SI.

Set to play his senior season at Grayson High School, where he will be teammates with Reynolds, Del Rio-Wilson has been steadily rising in the recruiting ranks after a strong showing at the Elite 11 Finals in Nashville, Tennessee from June 29-to-July 1.

Other offensive commits to receive this recognition were Tampa four-star tight end Gage Wilcox, and four three-stars, Jacksonville tight end Nick Elksnis, and Orlando’s Javonte Gardner, Stone Mountain, Georgia’s George Jackson, and Lynn Haven’s Adrein Strickland, all offensive tackle prospects.

On the defensive side of the football, Fort Lauderdale four-star defensive end Tyreak Sapp, Florida’s highest-rated player in the class, led the charge. He was joined by future linemates Justus Boone, another four-star from Sumter, South Carolina, and Fort Myers three-star Christopher Thomas.

Carrollton, Georgia four-star Chief Borders was the lone linebacker pledge to make the list, with the other four future defensive Gators, Baltimore, Maryland’s Clinton Burton, Jr. and Bradenton’s Kamar Wilcoxson, both four-stars, and Winter Park’s Dakota Mitchell and Tampa’s Jordan Young, each three-stars, all residing in the secondary.

This means all 18 of Florida’s current high school commits made the list, with the two other players in the cycle, four-star outside linebacker Diwun Black and three-star guard Deyavie Hammond, both being junior college transfers.

247Sports ranks the program’s 2021 class as the ninth-best in the nation, while ESPN is slightly higher on the group, pegging them at No. 7.

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