Tag: top 10

Autzen Stadium ranked as one of the top atmospheres in college football

Autzen has had the reputation of being one of the toughest places to play for opponents, but how does it rank with other stadiums?

Before the Autzen expansion in 2002, the stadium was figured to be one of the loudest stadiums in college football. When the capacity increased to 56,000, that noise level went to an 11.

But how does the home of the Oregon Ducks compare to other places in the country in terms of atmosphere? There are stadiums with a lot more people inside and the atmosphere of those places can’t hold a candle to Autzen.

According to CBS Sports, there are a few places that rank a bit higher than the friendly confines of Autzen Stadium, but not many. As expected, Autzen ranks as the best stadium on the West Coast, beating out the Rose Bowl.

Here are 10 college football stadiums around the nation with the best atmospheres.

Bucky Irving ranked among ESPN’s top 10 running backs in 2023

ESPN ranks Oregon’s Bucky Irving as one of the top running backs the college game has to offer for 2023.

When Minnesota running back Bucky Irving announced he was transferring to Oregon, it didn’t receive much fanfare.

Perhaps it should have.

Irving proved to be the tailback the Oregon Ducks needed in Dan Lanning’s first season in Eugene and now he’s finally getting some much-deserved recognition from the national media types.

According to ESPN, Irving is one of the top running backs in the country as the 2023 season quickly approaches. Irving gained just over 1,000 yards in his first season in Eugene and there’s no reason not to think he’ll spit out a similar year, if not better.

Irving, coupled with fellow transfer Noah Whittington, is half of what is most likely the best 1-2 punch coming out of the backfield in the Pac-12. The Golden Gophers’ loss has certainly been the Ducks’ gain.

Here is how Irving stacks up with the other top running backs in the nation.

Sooners make top 10 for 2024 4-Star OT Andrew Sprague

The Oklahoma Sooners were included in the top 10 for 2024 four-star offensive tackle Andrew Sprague.

In the midst of spring practice and a huge recruiting weekend, the Oklahoma Sooners are picking up momentum on the recruiting trail. Though they haven’t received a commitment in the 2024 class, the Sooners have been projected to land several commitments and, on Thursday afternoon, landed in the top 10 of four-star offensive tackle [autotag]Andrew Sprague[/autotag].

Sprague hails from Kansas City, Mo., where the Oklahoma Sooners had big-time recruiting success in their most recent signing class. Five-star EDGE [autotag]Adepoju Adebawore[/autotag] is the highest-rated prospect to come out of Kansas City in the modern recruiting era. Four-star offensive tackle [autotag]Cayden Green[/autotag] comes from the KC suburb of Lee’s Summit. The Sooners are also the trending favorite for another Lee’s Summit product, five-star defensive lineman [autotag]Williams Nwaneri[/autotag].

Though the Sooners have just recently joined in on the recruitment for Sprague, their influence in Kansas City and the success of Oklahoma offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh have already made significant headway.

“Oklahoma is in my top 10 because of how they develop their linemen,” Sprague told On3’s Hayes Fawcett. “Big-name guys like [autotag]Trent Williams[/autotag], [autotag]Creed Humphrey[/autotag], and [autotag]Orlando Brown[/autotag] all went to OU, and I believe Coach Bedenbaugh can develop me to be one of the next greats.”

Sprague’s top 10 is a who’s who of college football programs. It includes Oklahoma, USC, Michigan, Notre Dame, LSU, Oregon, Missouri, Penn State, Nebraska, and Stanford.

Prototype tackle frame. Basketball player who showed really good coordination and ability on the court as a sophomore. His junior year in football, he filled in and grew into his body more and started becoming even more of a dominant force. He finishes his blocks and plays with aggression. Has solid bend for a taller guy. Can still continue to work on his footwork and general explosiveness. Has a lot of raw ability and is trending in the right direction judging on the strides made between his sophomore and junior years. Either tackle side is a possibility at this time although right now, he has played more on the left side and is comfortable there. – Allen Trieu, 247Sports National Recruiting Analyst

Oklahoma appears well-positioned in Sprague’s recruitment, but with so many heavy hitters, it’ll be a battle to the end.

Andrew Sprague’s Recruiting Profile

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WATCH: The top 10 plays from the Commanders’ 2022 season

What were your favorite plays from Washington’s 2022 season?

The Washington Commanders’ 2022 season ended in disappointing fashion. After winning six of seven games to improve to 7-5 on Nov. 27, the Commanders went 0-3-1 over a critical four-game stretch that would see them eliminated from playoff contention after an embarrassing home loss to the Cleveland Browns in Week 17.

There were good moments for Washington in 2022. When Taylor Heinicke replaced the injured Carson Wentz in Week 7 and led the Commanders to some impressive wins, including giving the Philadelphia Eagles their first loss on Monday Night Football.

There was plenty of ugly, too, such as the Week 15 home loss to the New York Giants, coming off a bye week after having played the Giants before the bye. Or, the loss to the Browns, or allowing nine sacks to the Eagles in Week 3.

The Commanders ended the season with a blowout win over the Dallas Cowboys in quarterback Sam Howell’s first career start.

What were Washington’s top 10 plays from the 2022 season? Expect to see plenty of Heinicke, Terry McLaurin and Jahan Dotson.

Check it out:

Ravens 2022 season-in-review: Offensive line

We analyze the Ravens’ offensive line play in 2022

The Baltimore Ravens’ front five were faced with an impossible task in 2022, given the quarterback carousel that came to define the team’s fate at the end of the season. Despite achieving favorable pass-blocking grades via Pro Football Focus’ analysis of their film, quarterback Lamar Jackson was sacked 26 times in 12 starts, and Ravens backups hit the turf an additional 12 times over the course of Baltimore’s last five games.

The team would probably like those numbers to be lower, but despite that the team had much better offensive line play than in 2021, and multiple starters played very well over the course of the 2022 season.

Their offensive line was led by veteran tackle Morgan Moses, who graded out as the Ravens’ fourth-best offensive player on the season, per PFF. Fellow tackle Patrick Mekari received favorable grades as well, as did guard Kevin Zeitler and rookie center Tyler Linderbaum. All four of these core offensive linemen were in the Ravens’ top-10 graded offensive players according to PFF.

Left tackle Ronnie Stanley achieved a 69.4 grade from PFF, though he was active in only 11 games on the season. He regained his form that some thought he would lose after a long absence, performing admirably as he got back into game shape. Left guard Ben Powers stepped up and had a great year, likely earning himself a nice pay day in free agency.

The Ravens’ depth up front wasn’t an issue either. Like every other team in the league, they dealt with injuries over the course of the season and had to battle through some tough situations to punch their ticket to the playoffs. Players such as Trystan Colon-Castillo made an impact on the team and contributed to the Ravens’ effort despite less-than-ideal circumstances.

Heading into next season, Baltimore should be more focused on upgrading its skill position groups and extending their quarterback than on their offensive line, as the unit was their main focus during last offseason, paying off in a big way.

Chargers’ top 10 offensive performers in 2022, per PFF

These 10 Chargers were Los Angeles’ top performers in 2022, according to Pro Football Focus.

The Los Angeles Chargers’ season came to an abrupt end when they blew a huge lead to the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Wild Card round of the AFC playoffs, but it is said that in great attempts, it is glorious even to fail.

Though any glory the Chargers found over the course of the season pales in comparison to the sting of their playoff loss, with the offseason on the horizon, Pro Football Focus’ year-end offensive player rankings will become all the more important as Los Angeles looks to re-tool for 2023.

Here are the Chargers’ top-10 offensive performers by PFF’s metrics:

Brandon Miller named to Midseason Wooden Award Watch List

Brandon Miller’s outstanding play has landed him on the midseason Wooden Award watch list!

The Alabama Crimson Tide have been incredible out of the gate starting the season 12-2 with a handful of top-10 wins already. A large reason for that success is five-star true freshman [autotag]Brandon Miller[/autotag].

Coming out of high school, Miller was the No. 5 small forward in the country and the No. 14 player overall. Upon his arrival in Tuscaloosa, Miller has been nothing short of the best player for the Tide this season averaging 19 points, eight rebounds and two assists through his first 14 collegiate games.

For his outstanding efforts to start the Tide’s 2022-2023 campaign, Miller has been named to the Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 watch list. The Wooden Award is given out annually to the most outstanding men’s and women’s college basketball players.

If Miller continues to carry the Tide and push for a No. 1 seed come March, he will have a very legitimate case!

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Notre Dame opens ACC play with top-10 showdown at Virginia Tech

Should be a good one this afternoon!

Three weeks ago Notre Dame (8-1, 0-0) played a complete game in dominating UConn in a top-10 matchup at Purcell Pavilion.  Today the Irish are on the road for another top-10 showdown, this one to open ACC play for the year.

The fifth-ranked Irish return to the hardwood for the first time in eight days they open ACC play at No. 6 Virginia Tech (10-0, 1-0).  This game will be the first-ever top-10 matchup played at Tech’s Cassell Coliseum.

Due to finals week, Notre Dame hasn’t played in eight days.  Their last time out was a dominating win over Merrimack as Olivia Miles helped guide the Irish to an easy victory. The sophomore’s triple-double in the contest was the third of her career already which is now a program record.

Virginia Tech is led by the reigning ACC Player of the Year and the most recent ACC Player of the Week Elizabeth Kitley.  Kitley averaged 20 points and 11 rebounds in Tech’s two most recent victories which included a conference win over Boston College.

The showdown is set to tip-off at 4:00 p.m. EST and can be seen on ACC Network.

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Joel Klatt releases his new college football top teams rankings

Does Ohio State deserve to stay in the top 4?

On a day that saw four teams in the top 10 fall and plenty of drama and excitement, we’re left to shake out what’s going to happen in regards to the College Football Playoff and the rest of the postseason of the greatest sport on the earth.

Can Michigan possibly jump Georgia after the Wolverines routed Ohio State in the Horseshoe?

How high will TCU go after finishing their 11-0 regular season?  And is USC now a shoe-in for a top-four spot?

Fox Sports college football analyst Joel Klatt was quick to release his new top teams following the biggest games of Saturday.  Here is how Klatt ranked his top seven squads:

Joel Klatt reveals new college football top 10 as Week 11 concludes

Agree with Klatt’s top 10 or what is he getting wrong?

Perhaps crazy isn’t the right way to describe what Week 11 of the college football season was but intense certainly fits the bill.  Of the 25 ranked teams in the College Football Playoff rankings this week, eight were handed losses this weekend.

We took a guess at what that might mean to the next batch of rankings when they’re released this coming Tuesday night.  Other rankings from college football experts are starting to roll in as well.

After UCLA concluded by falling at home to Arizona, Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt weighed in with his new top 10 rankings.  As added bonus, he gave a handful of teams shoutouts who are on the cusp of entering his top 10, too.  Here is how Klatt’s newest rankings look with just two weeks remaining in the college football season.