Tag: top three

Alabama remains at No. 3 in USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll

Different week, the same ranking for Alabama.

Alabama had the week off, letting the rest of the college football world battle it out this weekend.

The Crimson Tide remained ranked No. 3 in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll. The top five were unchanged, with the other four teams winning on Saturday.

Within the SEC, Auburn (No. 14) made the biggest jump, moving up six spots after defeating Ole Miss (No. 15) at home. Georgia remained the top-ranked team in the country, with Texas A&M (No. 12) and Kentucky (No. 17) also in the poll.

Of Alabama’s final four matchups, Auburn is the only one ranked.

The Big Ten has been a mainstay inside the top 10, with No. 5 Ohio State and No. 6 Michigan State winning the biggest matchups of the weekend. Nov. 20 is when those two teams will meet up, most likely in a College Football Playoff play-in type matchup.

Full USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll:

Rank Team Record Points Change
1 Georgia 8-0 1,600 (64) –
2 Cincinnati 8-0 1,460 –
3 Alabama 7-1 1,453 –
4 Oklahoma 9-0 1,423 –
5 Ohio State 7-1 1,336 –
6 Michigan State 8-0 1,325 +1
7 Oregon 7-1 1,198 +1
8 Notre Dame 7-1 1,095 +3
9 Wake Forest 8-0 1,051 +4
10 Michigan 7-1 1,050 -4
11 Oklahoma State 7-1 922 +4
12 Texas A&M 6-2 910 +2
13 Baylor 7-1 815 +5
14 Auburn 6-2 802 +7
15 Ole Miss 6-2 680 -6
16 Iowa 6-2 512 -6
17 Kentucky 6-2 497 -5
18 Texas-San Antonio 8-0 401 +4
19 Houston 7-1 349 +10
20 BYU 7-2 310 +6
21 Coastal Carolina 7-1 301 +3
22 NC State 6-2 265 +3
23 Penn State 5-3 215 -6
24 SMU 7-1 192 -8
25 Pittsburgh 6-2 162 -6

Dropped from the rankings:

No. 20 San Diego State; No. 23 Iowa State

Others receiving votes:

UL Lafayette 156; Fresno State 73; San Diego State 65; Arkansas 65; Minnesota 29; Wisconsin 26; Mississippi State 20; Utah 10; Appalachian State 10; Air Force 9; Liberty 4; Iowa State 4; Clemson 4; Arizona State 1.

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Alabama makes four-star WR Chris Marshall’s top three schools

Four-star WR Chris Marshall cuts his list down to three schools.

The state of Texas has been one of Nick Saban’s pipelines over the past few recruiting cycles. Three migrated across the Mississippi River in the 2020 class and another seven during the historic 2021 class. All but one was ranked inside the top 200 on the 247Sports composite too.

While none have joined the 2022 class quite yet, there are plenty of targets Alabama is pursuing. Five-stars Evan Stewart (WR) and Denver Harris (CB) are the main two. Not too far behind is four-star wide receiver, Chris Marshall.

He announced his top three schools on Wednesday, with the Crimson Tide making the cut. Home state Texas A&M and USC were also on what should be Marshall’s final trim down list.

Auburn, Arizona State, Jacksonville State, LSU, and Oregon were cut from a top-eight released in early April.

Marshall did not start playing football until the beginning of his junior season. He finished with 45 receptions for 1,009 receiving yards and 18 touchdowns.

The insane numbers have continued into this season.

According to Maxpreps, he has 13 receptions for 454 yards and 11 touchdowns. Marshall has yet to play in the second half either with Fort Bend Marshall sitting at an 8-0 record.

Basketball is still in the works to play in college as well. That’s where the now four-star receiver intended on focusing his high school career before picking up the pigskin. According to Rivals, Houston, Ole Miss, Texas Southern, and Western Kentucky have offered on the basketball front.

As for his rankings as a football player, Marshall is the No. 86 overall player and the No. 12 wide receiver in the country. Within the state of Texas, he ranks as the No. 16 prospect on the 247Sports composite.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Griffin McVeigh on Twitter @Griffin_McVeigh.

Four-star wide receiver Brenen Thompson includes Texas in top three schools

On Friday afternoon, Thompson released his top three schools.

In case you have not heard, Steve Sarkisian is a big fan of speed at the wide receiver position. Lucky for the head coach, Texas is in the thick of it for one of the fastest players in the 2022 class.

Brenen Thompson has numbers to back up his speed, winning a state championship on the track in the 200 meters at 21.27 seconds. He also set a personal record in the 100 meters at 10.38 seconds.

Alongside five-star Evan Stewart, the two wide receivers should be at the top of Texas’ priority list. As mentioned before, speed is needed within the wide receiver room. Both guys will restructure what Tom Herman built over the past four years.

On Friday afternoon, Thompson released his top three schools of Oklahoma State, Texas, and Texas A&M. The first two hosted the four-star wide receiver on official visits during the summer, while the Longhorns are set to host Rice weekend.

Going on gut feeling, this feels like another Texas vs Texas A&M Lone Star Showdown. Sarkisian has already struggled to win these with big-time recruits in four-star safety Bryce Anderson.

Everyone knows how Thompson’s mother feels about staying within the state, especially to help the flagship university after five-star quarterback Quinn Ewers commented on top players not picking Texas.

If Sarkisian can impress the Thompson family during the official visit, Texas should be in a good position. Until then, all that can be done is stay the course.

On the 247Sports composite, Thompson is the No. 87 overall player and the No. 11 wide receiver in the country. Within the state of Texas, he ranks as the No. 15 prospect, just behind a trio of Texas A&M commits.

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Four-star WR Jordan Hudson announces top three schools, commitment date

Jordan Hudson cleared up who was remaining in his recruitment. As expected, SMU and Texas were included, but the wildcard is Alabama.

Lincoln Riley and Oklahoma recently lost a commitment from one of the top receivers in the country. Jordan Hudson was loyal to the Sooners’ soil for nearly 11 months before reopening his recruitment.

SMU and Texas quickly emerged as leaders for the four-star wide receiver. Both have gotten visits from Hudson, the Mustangs as an official, the Longhorns unofficially. 247Sports crystal ball predictions have flooded in for the hometown Dallas school as well.

On Saturday, Hudson cleared up who was remaining in his recruitment with a top-three school list. As expected, SMU and Texas were included, but the wildcard is Alabama. Yes, you can stop us if you have heard this one before. Nick Saban is going after the top prospects from the state of Texas.

Hudson simultaneously announced July 4 would be his commitment date.

If Texas is able to pull off the recruiting victory, flipping a prospect from across the Red River would be an incredible achievement. Rarely do recruits flip flop between the rivals. Hudson could be the second one within two cycles.

July 4 has the potential to be a massive day for the Longhorns. Four-star safety Bryce Anderson is possibly announcing his commitment as well. Texas A&M is the key opponent there.

Two wins over your main rivals in the recruiting field would be massive for Steve Sarkisian.

On the 247Sports composite, Hudson is the No. 113 player and No. 12 wide receiver in the country. Within the state of Texas, he cracks the top 25 at No. 23.

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Texas makes final three for Illinois State transfer Dusan Mahorcic

Illinois State transfer Dusan Mahorcic released his top three schools on Monday. Clemson, Texas, and Utah are the three schools involved.

Chris Beard has a decision to make regarding big men on his roster. Jericho Sims is hanging in the balance, still deciding whether or not he wants to go into the NBA. July 7 is the final day he can opt-out and return to Texas.

Until then, the Longhorns need to keep their options open in the transfer portal. Waiting around for Sims to make his decision could prove to be detrimental. If Sims decides to leave, other names in the portal could be snatched up.

Illinois State transfer Dusan Mahorcic could be the route Texas takes. The 6-foot-10, 230-pound big man released his top three schools on Monday. Clemson and Utah are the other two schools involved.

Mahorcic transferred to Illinois State from Moberly Community College for the 2020-2021 season. In 22 games, he averaged 9.9 points and 7.2 rebounds. The Serbian’s best performance of the season came early on against Ball State, recording a 14 point and 13 rebound double-double while shooting 70% from the floor.

Sims’ decision will impact not only Mahorcic’s transfer destination but how the starting lineup looks. Vanderbilt transfer Dylan Disu is another option at the five.

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5 Instant Takeaways from No. 3 Notre Dame’s win at Pitt

Notre Dame got bad injury news earlier in the week but came out firing on almost all cylinders in their rout of Pittsburgh. Takeaways here.

Good vibes were not being had by many after the injury report on wide receiver Kevin Austin came out early Saturday afternoon, but Notre Dame was able to answer the bell and cruise to a dominating win over Pitt, ______.

It wasn’t perfect but it was a pretty stellar showing for the third ranked Irish, one week after they were unimpressive in their win over Louisville.

What do you take away from the team that made a Pitt team that had started 3-0 before now dropping their fourth straight game, all in ACC play?

Here are five instant takeaways from the Notre Dame win, starting with Tommy Rees.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6

Arizona transfer Tony Fields announces top three

Seven teams offered Tony Fields to play for them. Texas, Minnesota, and Big 12 foe West Virginia have made the cut as the final three teams.

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It came as a shock when star linebacker Tony Fields announced he had entered the transfer portal. During his three seasons at Arizona, Fields recorded 287 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, five sacks, and two interceptions.

After the announcements, seven teams offered Fields to play for them. He is now down to his final three, with Texas making the cut. Minnesota and Big 12 foe West Virginia join the Longhorns.

Since arriving in Tuscon in 2017 as a true freshman, Fields played and started in all 37 games for the Wildcats. 89 tackles during his sophomore season are the fewest he has had in one year, ranking in the top 25 all-time in tackles for the Pac 12.

Fields has expressed his goal is to eventually play in the NFL. If the three-year starter were to choose Texas, he would join a unit that is expected to take a big jump in 2020. With a deep secondary and an improved defensive line around him, Fields could have better numbers than his time at Arizona.

Texas’ linebacking core is undergoing changes going into the 2020 season, switching to Chris Ash’s 4-3 system. Juwan Mitchell, another transfer, is currently the favorite to be the starting middle linebacker.

Fields could step right into the starting lineup and assure the Longhorns’ are set and have strong leadership in the front seven.

At the moment, the main competition seems to be P.J. Fleck and the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Another team hoping to take a step forward, Tom Herman and linebackers coach Coleman Hutzler must prove why the Longhorns would be a better option than the Golden Gophers.

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