Tag: usa today sports

Sooners jump to No. 6 in Amway coaches poll after Alabama loss

Oklahoma and Utah, who moved to No. 6 and No. 5 respectively in the Amway Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports.

The race is on.

With Alabama’s 48-45 loss to Auburn in the Iron Bowl, the door has been blown wide open for Oklahoma and Utah, who moved to No. 6 and No. 5 respectively in the Amway Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports.

Without star quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama fell to Auburn, effectively ending their playoffs hopes.

Just a few hours later, Oklahoma and Utah were both handedly winning games of their own, each claiming their case for the fourth spot.

The Sooners beat the then-No. 21 Oklahoma state 34-16, using a combination of offense and defense to put the Cowboys away.  OSU fell out of the top 25 of the Amway Coaches poll following the loss and the Sooners vaulted to No. 6.

Now No. 5 Utah defeated unranked Colorado 45-15, and ended their regular season at 11-1 along with the Sooners.

Next weekend, Oklahoma and Utah will face-off in their respective conference championships, and look to earn the fourth playoff spot.

The Sooners will face No. 8 Baylor, who jumped Minnesota and Alabama this week. Utah will face No. 13-ranked Oregon. The Big 12 title game could be an auto-bid for the fourth spot, but Utah will need to win big for the Pac-12 to have a chance at the national championship.

The Sooners and Bears face off at 11 a.m. in Arlington, and the Utes and Ducks play at 7 p.m. in Santa Clara for their respective championships.

Virginia clinches ACC Coastal, snaps 15-game losing streak to Virginia Tech

With a 39-30 win on Friday in Charlottesville, Virginia knocked off rival Virginia Tech for the first time since 2003, snapping a streak of 15 consecutive losses to the Hokies in the Commonwealth Cup.

With a 39-30 win on Friday in Charlottesville, Virginia knocked off rival Virginia Tech for the first time since 2003, snapping a streak of 15 consecutive losses to the Hokies in the Commonwealth Cup.

Report: Eagles, Lane Johnson agree to record contract extension

The Eagles and Johnson have agreed to a record-setting contract extension, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo: four years, $72 million, including $54.595 million guaranteed.

The Eagles and Johnson have agreed to a record-setting contract extension, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo: four years, $72 million, including $54.595 million guaranteed.

Georgia football injury report ahead of UGA vs Tech game

Take a look at Georgia footballs injury status prior to UGA’s final game of their regular season before LSU at Georgia Tech.

Georgia defeated the Texas A&M Aggies this Saturday in a cold and rainy matchup by a final score of 19-13.  A win is a win, but man wouldn’t it be nice to close some teams out strong?

The Dawgs didn’t look bad in the first half, nearly covering the 13-point spread they were given prior to the game. It was the 2nd half that made Bulldog fans scratch their heads.

The Aggies outscored Georgia 10-6 in the 2nd half.  That is a pretty bad look for a No. 4 team, but give credit to a hard-fought, Jimbo Fisher coached team.

Now the Dawgs have just one more opponent left before facing LSU in the SEC Championship game, and that is Georgia Tech.

With LSU looming, the Dawgs will look to be as healthy as possible for that game.

Here is a look at the injured Bulldogs heading into week 14 at Tech.

Full injury report:

Probable: DB Eric Stokes

Stokes left the Texas A&M game just before halftime after he got a little dinged up on a hit.  Kirby Smart did not seem concerned about the matter.  Expect Stokes to be ready to go.

Probable: DB Tyson Campbell

Campbell has been playing through a toe injury for the past couple of weeks but is cleared to play against Tech.

Probable: OL Cade Mays

Mays has been nursing an ankle injury since the Missouri game.  He dressed against A&M but was very limited, as is expected next week in order to save him for LSU.

Questionable: WR Trey Blount

Blount is listed as questionable with an undisclosed injury.

Questionable: WR Lawrence Cager

Cager has been battling a left shoulder injury nearly the entire season.  Even missing a number of games, Cager is still the Dawgs leader in receptions and receiving yards.  Expect Cager to get minimal time if any to rest him up for the SEC Championship game vs LSU.

OUT: WR Tommy Bush

Bush has been recovering from a sports hernia and will likely be out for the year.

OUT: DT Tramel Walthour

Walthour is battling a lower-body injury and has no timetable for his return.

OUT: OL Owen Condon

Condon has been battling a lower-body injury all year and Saturday was seen in a sling.  Should likely be out for season.

OUT: OL Justin Shaffer

Shaffer was in a neck brace for the A&M game and has no timetable for his return.

OUT: QB D’Wan Mathis

Freshman quarterback D’wan Mathis is out indefinitely after undergoing surgery to remove a cyst from his brain this offseason.  There is no current timetable for Mathis’ return.

Oklahoma moves to No. 7 in Amway Coaches Poll

The Sooners narrowly escaped their final home game of the season versus TCU, escaping with a 28-24 victory over the Horned Frogs,

The Sooners narrowly escaped their final home game of the season versus TCU, escaping with a 28-24 victory over the Horned Frogs, moving to No.7 in the Amway Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports. With the win, the Sooners clinched their spot in the Big 12 Championship versus Baylor.

Oklahoma overcame two costly Jalen Hurts penalties to beat the Horned Frogs, as the defense stepped up in a big way down the stretch, getting multiple steps and finishing the game off with an interception.

Other than their win, several other pieces fell into place for a possible Sooners path to the College Football Playoffs. 

Two top-10 teams in Oregon and Penn State fell on Saturday, paving an easier way for the Sooners. Oregon was ranked No. 6, but after a loss to unranked Arizona State, they fell to No. 13. The Nittany Lions were No. 9, and lost a close bout with Ohio State for their second loss of the season, moving them to 12.

Next week, the Sooners take on No. 21 Oklahoma State in their final regular season game of the year. 

The Big 12 championship between Baylor and Oklahoma will be held on December 7. 

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Georgia Football Week 13: Expert picks and predictions (UGA vs Texas AM)

The UGA Wire staff has put together its weekly Georgia football game, stat and score predictions prior to Saturday’s matchup against TAMU.

[jwplayer awrcuYrl-er0jUifI]

The Georgia Bulldogs secured their trip to the 2019 SEC Championship game last week with a seven point victory at Auburn.  The #4 Bulldogs have just one more SEC matchup this Saturday in Athens against Texas A&M.

The un-ranked Aggies are not to be taken lightly.  They’ve had one of the hardest schedules in college football and will be playing four top 5 teams, including three #1 teams (Alabama, Clemson, LSU).

Jimbo Fisher’s squad has lost to Alabama, Auburn and Clemson, but have steamrolled just about everybody else.  Those are three very quality losses that make it harder to predict what the outcome of the Georgia game will be.

The two teams kickoff at 3:30 p.m. EST this Saturday on Dooley Field and should be the Dawgs last test before meeting LSU in Atlanta.

The UGA Wire staff has put together a list of score, stat and game predictions ahead of Saturdays matchup.

Here are the picks:

The money makers:

#4 Georgia (-13.5) vs Texas A&M

Game pick: If you think Georgia will win and cover, Georgia. If you think Georgia will win, but not cover, Georgia*. If you think Texas A&M will win, Texas A&M.  (Georgia -13.5)

Jackson Fryburger: UGAWire.com- Georgia

Joe Vitale: UGAWire.com-  Georgia

James Morgan: UGAWire.com- Georgia

Jackson Stone: UGAWire.com- Georgia 

Henry Sillen: UGAWire.com- Georgia

Garrett Shearman: UGAWire.com- Georgia*

Over/under (45.5) 

If you think the total will go over, over. If you think the total will go under, under.

Jackson Fryburger: UGAWire.com- Under

Joe Vitale: UGAWire.com-  Under

James Morgan: UGAWire.com- Over

Jackson Stone: UGAWire.com- Under

Henry Sillen: UGAWire.com- Over

Garrett Shearman: UGAWire.com- Under

Score prediction:

Jackson Fryburger: UGAWire.com- Georgia 31, Texas A&M 14

Joe Vitale: UGAWire.com- Georgia 30, Texas A&M 13

James Morgan: UGAWire.com- Georgia 29, Texas A&M 17

Jackson Stone: UGAWire.com- Georgia 34 , Texas A&M 10

Henry Sillen: UGAWire.com- Georgia 34, Texas A&M 17

Garrett Shearman: UGAWire.com- Georgia 27, Texas A&M 16

Odds via BetMGM. Access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Thursday at 5 p.m.

Want to get in on the action? Place your bet now at BetMGM.

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USA TODAY releases SEC power rankings – where’s Georgia football?

USA TODAY has releases their weekly SEC power rankings ahead of week 13. See where Georgia football ranks among the rest of the SEC.

The buzz around college football has been that after the South Carolina loss, Georgia controls its own destiny… and control it they have.

The Dawgs remain at No. 4 in the rankings following a 21-14 win over Auburn, and secured a ticket to the SEC Championship game.

USA TODAY’s SEC power rankings have Georgia at the No. 2 spot, dropping Alabama to No. 3 and LSU taking the No. 1 spot.

On Georgia, Horka said:

“It surely wasn’t an offensive exhibition from the Bulldogs in their big win over Auburn, but a win is a win regardless. It’s looks likely that Georgia will meet LSU in the SEC Championship game, but it doesn’t look like the Dawgs will be able to go blow for blow with Burrow and company.”

Here is his top-six in the SEC:

  1. LSU (10-0, 6-0 SEC)
  2. Georgia (9-1, 6-1 SEC)
  3. Alabama (9-1, 6-1 SEC)
  4. Florida (9-2, 6-2 SEC)
  5. Auburn (7-3, 4-3 SEC)
  6. Texas A&M (7-3, 4-2 SEC)

Georgia has one more SEC opponent in its way before the SEC Championship.

Texas A&M seems like it should be a Georgia win this Saturday at 3:30 p.m., but the Dawgs need to make sure they don’t play down to the Aggies’ level.

This game has trap game written all over it and if we’ve learned anything this year, it’s don’t take any team lightly.

For the full rankings, click here.

Photographer injured during Georgia football game shares pic she took just before hit

UGA student photographer Chamberlain Smith was knocked unconscious during freak accident this Saturday. See the pic she got moments before.

It was a scary moment this Saturday in Auburn, Alabama as Georgia running back Brian Herrien was pushed out of bounds, running into UGA photographer Chamberlain Smith and causing her to go unconscious.

There was about a 10 minute delay on the game as the whole stadium sat in silence praying for Smith’s wellbeing.

Obviously the incident was a freak accident with no one at blame.

Herrien, the Dawgs senior running back, showed his support and how concerned he was for Smith.

Herrien truly did show compassion in not wanting to go back to his sideline.  He cared more about Smith than he did the game.  Some things are bigger than football.

Thankfully Smith was alright, being diagnosed with a mild concussion.  Not only did Smith get out of there okay, she got one hell of a picture of the man who took her out.

Nothing but love here in Athens and thankfully Smith is alright.

USA TODAY re-ranks Ohio State back at No. 1 after some reconsideration

USA TODAY has put Ohio State football back on the top of the college football world after LSU temporarily holding the spot for a week.

The Ohio State football team is now the best team in the country according to Paul Myerberg of USA TODAY Sports. It’s not the first time the Buckeyes have been placed at the top of his weekly re-rank column. In fact, OSU had a multi-week run as the overall top program re-ranked each and every week.

But … like many analysts and media members, LSU’s win over Alabama just over a week ago changed Myerberg’s mind enough to put the Bayou Tigers into the top spot despite Ohio State scoring 73 points against Maryland. It was apparently resume over domination.

Well, apparently that has all now changed with LSU’s mediocre defensive performance against a rather dismal Ole Miss team this weekend. The Tiger offense looked fine enough, but the D gave up 614 total yards and 37 points. I’ve seen less numbers at an accountant convention.

Here’s what Myerberg said about Ohio State:

“Ohio State is back atop the heap after yet another breeze past a Big Ten opponent, this time Rutgers. With two weeks left in November, the Buckeyes lead the nation in scoring offense, scoring defense and yards allowed per play.”

You can get a look at the entire re-rank by visiting USA TODAY and giving it a gander yourself.

How Georgia football and TAMU match up: Statistical breakdown

See how Georgia football and Texas AM football matchup in our weekly head-to-head statistical breakdown ahead of Saturdays game.

The Texas A&M Aggies travel East this Saturday as the Georgia Bulldogs will host them in Sanford Stadium for what will be the Dawgs final SEC matchup of the regular season.

Georgia secured a ticket to its third straight SEC Championship Game this past Saturday with a 21-14 victory at Auburn.

The unranked Aggies (7-3, 4-2) are not a team to overlook.  Jimbo Fisher and company have lost games to previously ranked #1 Clemson, #1 Alabama and #8 Auburn. A&M has one of the toughest schedules in all of college football, still having #4 Georgia as well as #1 LSU the week after.

That will be a total of three #1 teams and four top five teams on the season.

That being said, let’s take a look at how these two teams matchup statistically this season.

On paper, the first matchup between the Bulldogs ands Aggies since TAMU joined the SEC in 2012 looks to be a Georgia win. But, hey, we said the same thing before South Carolina.

Here’s a look at how the two SEC programs match up statistically.

OFFENSE

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