Tag: trevor lawrence

Notre Dame Football: Thoughts on 2020 Home Kickoff Times

The only real double take upon seeing the release for me is that Stanford remains a night game.

Notre Dame’s home schedule for the 2020 season has long been known but kickoff times however were not. At least not until Friday when the team and NBC Sports announced the kickoff times for all seven home games this season.

Of those seven, six will be played at Notre Dame Stadium while the Shamrock Series makes a return at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, when Notre Dame takes on Wisconsin this October.

Here’s how the scheduled home slate looks time wise:

Sept. 12 – Arkansas, 2:30 ET

Sept. 19 – Western Michigan, 2:30 ET

Oct. 3 – Wisconsin (Shamrock Series, Green Bay, WI), 7:30 ET

Oct. 10 – Stanford, 7:30 ET

Oct. 31 – Duke, 3:30 ET

Nov. 7 – Clemson, 7:30 ET

Nov. 21 – Louisville, 2:30 ET

As expected the matchups with Wisconsin and Clemson will both be in primetime. The Shamrock Series game has always been a primetime affair while Clemson being far and away the biggest of home opponents for Notre Dame this season gets the evening kickoff.

The only real double take upon seeing the release for me is that Stanford remains a night game. I know there have been some classics in this matchup but with the Cardinal seemingly on the decline I’m surprised to see NBC having interest putting this game in primetime. Why it may make sense though is that the slate of national games for that October 10 day doesn’t appear great at night, meaning ratings could benefit despite a not great matchup:

Texas/Oklahoma is always a noon ET kickoff while Clemson/Florida State, Ohio State/Iowa, and Michigan/Michigan State all appear to be lopsided matchups from this far out.

The SEC has a couple big games that week with Auburn and Georgia doing battle and LSU taking on Florida but it is hard to imagine CBS not choosing its one primetime SEC game for the year to not include Alabama or LSU for a second consecutive season as that honor went to Notre Dame and Georgia in 2019.

Georgia football QB Jamie Newman projected top 5 in the 2021 Heisman Trophy odds

Georgia football’s new graduate transfer QB Jamie Newman is projected in the top 5 of the 2021 Heisman Trophy finalist odds.

Jamie Newman, the Georgia Bulldog’s graduate transfer quarterback from Wake Forest, has yet to throw a pass in a Dawgs uniform, but is already in talks of being a Heisman Trophy finalist.

Newman is the fifth ranked QB to win the 2021 Heisman Trophy with 16-1 odds (+1600), per FanDuel.  He trails only Clemson’s QB Trevor Lawrence, Ohio State’s Justin Fields (both at 4-1 odds to win) as well as Oklahoma QB Spencer Rattler (12-1 odds) and Miami QB D’Eriq King (14-1 odds).

Newman had an impressive year this past season with the Demon Deacons throwing for 2,868 yards, 26 touchdowns and 11 interceptions hitting his targets 60.9% of the time.

Georgia will need someone big to fill the shoes of former Dawgs QB Jake Fromm, who had one of the most illustrious careers ever at UGA and is leaving for the 2020 NFL Draft.  Kirby smart, as well as America believes Newman is that guy.

The addition of Todd Monken, former Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator, is massive for the Dawgs and Newman.  Monken coached some of the NFL’s top receivers last year and will add a high flying passing scheme to an already beefy Georgia running back corps.

Click here for the full list of 2021 Heisman Trophy odds from FanDuel sports book.

USA TODAY names Ohio State QB Justin Fields as Heisman co-favorite for 2020

According to USA TODAY, Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields is the co-favorite to win the Heisman Trophy in 2020.

Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields is back for another run at things in 2020. As a true junior, he’ll return behind a seasoned and talented offensive line, and skill position players that will give him plenty of options on the outside. Not only that, but he should be fully healthy after a leg injury made him less than 100 percent towards the tail-end of the year in 2019.

Simply put, he should be one of the most exciting and productive players to watch in college football next season. That’s all one year after already earning a trip to New York as a Heisman Finalist.

With all that’s going for him, maybe he can go to the Big Apple and actually win the whole thing next year.

In fact, according to USA TODAY, it sees Fields as the co-favorite for the bronze statue in 2020, along with Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Here’s what Paul Myerberg says about the OSU quarterback’s chances looking ahead.

The preseason Heisman field will have Lawrence and Fields — or Fields and Lawrence, depending on how you feel — and then a wide gap of space. Look for Fields to be even better as a second-year starter with the Buckeyes in 2020, though he’ll have less help in the backfield with running back J.K. Dobbins headed to the NFL along with several key receivers departed.

We’ve seen a lot of hype for players in the past that didn’t meet them, but with Fields in Ryan Day’s offense again in 2020, there’s good reason to think he’ll be right there again.

Shocker – Star Back Travis Etienne Returning to Clemson

Etienne is nothing short of a superstar in the college game as anyone who has watched Clemson is recent memory can attest.

It’s not a common thing these days to see star running backs stay four years in college if they’re seen as potential first or second day NFL Draft picks.

However, that will indeed be the case for one of the best in the game as Clemson running back Travis Etienne has announced he is returning Clemson for his senior season in 2020.

It’s certainly not unheard of but I wasn’t expecting this news today.

Etienne is nothing short of a superstar in the college game as anyone who has watched Clemson recently memory can attest.

In three years the Tigers running back has run for 4038 yards and 56 touchdowns while pulling in 54 receptions for 618 more yards and six more scores.

1614 of those rush yards and 19 rushing touchdowns came last season.

Etienne and the Clemson Tigers will enter 2020 as the number-one team in the nation barring something completely unseen and make just their second-ever trip to Notre Dame Stadium this November 7.

Trevor Lawrence supports Clemson backup QB’s decision to transfer: ‘Love you dude’

Clemson backup quarterback Chase Brice plans to transfer from Clemson for his final years of eligibility.

In the days since LSU beat Clemson in the national championship game, there have been significant changes to both teams’ rosters and coaching staffs. And that now includes Clemson backup quarterback Chase Brice moving on.

The Tigers’ backup, a redshirt sophomore, announced Thursday on Twitter than he plans to transfer to another program with two years of eligibility remaining. However, Brice is a grad transfer, meaning he’ll be eligible to play immediately in the 2020-21 season.

In a lengthy post on Twitter, Brice thanked his teammates, coaches, fans and family, calling his time at Clemson “the best three years of my life” and saying he’ll “always be proud to have been a Clemson Tiger.” He wrote, in part:

“During my time at Clemson, I’ve wanted to stay the course and be the best quarterback, best competitor, best student, best person and best teammate I could be and tried to represent the Clemson Family with as much class and character as I possibly could. And while it’s both exciting and sad to say, today, I’m announcing my intention to transfer from Clemson and continue my college football career elsewhere.”

Reacting to the news, Lawrence surely understands why Brice is transferring. Lawrence will be at Clemson for at least one more year, and, as one of the best quarterbacks in college football, it doesn’t seem like anyone can steal that starting position away from him.

So in response, Lawrence tweeted his support for Brice, even if he’s sad about the move.

After redshirting in 2017, Brice has been starter Trevor Lawrence’s backup for most of the last two seasons. (He was also behind former Clemson quarterback Kelly Bryant, who lost his starting job to Lawrence and transferred after the 2018 season.) And because of that, he really hasn’t played much.

He threw for a season-high 106 yards and ran for his only touchdown of the season in the Tigers’ dominant win over Virginia in the ACC championship game.

But perhaps his most memorable game in his brief time at Clemson is from 2018 when he stepped in to help lead the team to a four-point win over Syracuse. At that point, Bryant had announced his plans to transfer after the first four games of the season — he was still eligible to redshirt that year — and Lawrence was injured in the first half against the Orange. So Brice came in.

While it was far from a perfect game — he went 7-for-13 for 83 yards and an interception — he helped Clemson rally in the comeback win, as the Tigers remained undefeated in what turned out to be a 15-0 national championship year.

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What Was the Biggest Takeaway from the 2019 College Football Season?

But what did we learn about college football in 2019 that will apply in 2020 and beyond?

The 2019 season has come and gone and when we look back on it we’ll remember various things:

Nationally it was the Joe Burrow and LSU show as the Tigers reworked their entire offense in one off-season and came back with the best offense the game has ever seen.

For Notre Dame it was a year that saw 11 wins and a dominating bowl victory but it’s obvious the bar has been raised for the program after the lack of excitement from the fan base that would have killed for a season like this just a decade ago.

But what did we learn about college football in 2019 that will apply in 2020 and beyond?

Myself and Pete Fiutak of College Football News recorded our latest episode of the College Football News Podcast mid-week and discussed exactly that.

In this episode you’ll hear us discuss the LSU offensive overhaul, how the transfer portal improved college football in 2019 and how the importance of elite quarterbacks at the collegiate level has changed in recent years, a conversation that very-much applies to Notre Dame’s wishes for 2020.

Take a listen above or subscribe to the CFN Podcast on Apple now!

Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence just ended an incredible personal winning streak

He just lost his first football game since 2017.

Take a step back for a moment and marvel at Trevor Lawrence’s college football career so far, before you point out that he didn’t have a great game in Clemson’s national title loss to LSU on Monday.

The quarterback has one championship under his belt, one that came by taking down Alabama. He made another title game this year, and who knows what will happen with the Tigers next year.

And then there’s this much-cited fact that’s incredible: Monday marked the first time Lawrence lost a football game since … November 17, 2017, when he was in high school.

Can you imagine what that’s like? Dude hasn’t lost in over two years!

Thanks to The Athletic, we have footage from that night when Lawrence’s Cartersville High lost to Blessed Trinity late in the fourth quarter:

This quote from that article stood out to me:

“When I came to (Clemson), it was something where I was like, ‘I don’t want to lose anymore,’” Lawrence said Monday as a swarm of reporters surrounded him at Clemson’s on-campus media day. “Me and coach (Dabo) Swinney have had talks: It’s not in the rulebook that you have to lose.”

Unfortunately for him, he did have to lose. But what a run.

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Joe Burrow makes more history as LSU tops Clemson for national title

LSU quarterback Joe Burrow out-dueled Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence on Monday night, leading the Bayou Bengals to a national title

It wasn’t the start Joe Burrow or the LSU Tigers wanted Monday night, but it was a strong finish and a happy ending for the Bayou Bengals in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game.

After struggling in the first quarter, the Heisman Trophy winner found his rhythm and dominated the final three quarters, punctuating arguably the best season a quarterback has ever had in college football with a national title.

Burrrow finished the game with 463 yards and five touchdowns through the air, adding another 58 yards and a touchdown on the ground as LSU defeated Clemson, 42-25.

During the win, Burrow broke the single-season FBS record for touchdown passes, setting a new mark with 60.

The favorite to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft, Burrow out-dueled Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence, the early favorite to be the top pick in the 2021 draft.

With a masterful performance on the game’s biggest stage Monday night, Burrow proved once again he has all the attributes of an elite quarterback prospect, including the ability to overcome a slow start in a big game against an elite opponent. He should be locked in as the top target for the Cincinnati Bengals at the No. 1 overall pick.

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LSU vs. Clemson Buckeyes Wire national championship game predictions

We’ve done it all year, so we’re finishing off with our staff predictions for the big one Monday night between LSU and Clemson.

Yeah, yeah, we’re not an LSU or Clemson fan site. But hey, there’s a big one Monday night and we love football. So even if it’s being played in Alaska in a deep freeze in January we’re game. The national championship game is set to go unhinged in New Orleans Monday night and we’ll be watching and we’re sure you will be too. Unless that is, you’re still being triggered from what happened in the desert on December 28.

And really, who could blame you.

So, like we did during the season with all of the Ohio State contests, we’re opening it up to our contributors to provide their predictions for the national championship game between two dueling Tigers.

And we’re off.

NEXT … The Predictions

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Two 2020 Notre Dame Football Matchups Ranked Among Ten Most Exciting

It’s hard to argue that either belong, my only argument would be that the Clemson match-up should be higher, although I get why it isn’t.

With the season over for everyone who isn’t a Clemson or LSU fan you’re left with nothing to look forward to besides 2020.

Based off that 247Sports today ranked the ten games they’re looking forward to the most and to the surprise of nobody, Notre Dame finds itself on the list more than once.

The biggest game for Notre Dame fans is an obvious one, that being when Clemson comes to South Bend on November 7.  It will be just the fourth-ever meeting between the schools and Clemson’s first trip to Notre Dame since 1979.

Couple that with Trevor Lawrence and plenty of friends returning for the Tigers, who may be two-time defending national champions at that point and it could be the biggest game at Notre Dame Stadium since arguably the 2005 clash with USC.

247 Sports ranked that game the game they’re third most-excited for in 2020 with it trailing only Ohio State traveling to Oregon in September and Alabama and Georgia meeting in the regular season (non-SEC Championship) for the first time since 2015.

They also rank Notre Dame’s trip to Lambeau Field to take on Wisconsin in Week Five as the tenth most exciting matchup next season.

It’s hard to argue that either belong, my only argument would be that the Clemson match-up should be higher, although I get why it isn’t.