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It’s good timing with a few days prior to the big Thanksgiving Week which includes plenty of NFL football and college football rivalry weekend.

Many wondered if and when ESPN might get into the sports betting business, and now we know it will take the form of a partnership with Penn Entertainment. Penn has been the owner and operator of the Barstool Sportsbook in recent years and announced in August that it was parting ways with the Barstool brand and pivoting its online sports betting app toward the ESPN brand. In a landmark partnership deal, Penn is paying Disney and ESPN for the rights to license the ESPN brand for its online sports betting app. As part of the deal, ESPN will be promoting the new app and odds from the app throughout the ESPN world of broadcasting and digital content. The new app will be called ESPN Bet.

And today, we also have received the first look at a TV spot that is and will run on ESPN. This one starring the well known Scott Van Pelt. Of course, SVP has been known for his sports betting content including his well known “Bad Beats” segment, so he was a natural fit to begin marketing the new ESPN Bet app.

ESPN has begun using betting odds provided by its new sportsbook — ESPN BET — across its content.pic.twitter.com/kMehstl30q

— Front Office Sports (@FOS) November 1, 2023

Stay tuned for more information on the forthcoming ESPN Bet app launch.

The post Here’s the first ESPN Bet TV spot starring Scott Van Pelt appeared first on Saturday Down South.

Our team at SDS, like you, has always been into fantasy football, so we figured, why not create a space specifically for us to talk about it leading up to and throughout the football season?

Most of you are on Facebook, so it’s an easy addition. Just click here and join the group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/940065120606201. The group is called “Fantasy Football Down South.” Come hang out with us.

What can you expect moving forward?

• Chat and conversation about who to pick where in your fantasy drafts.
• Some private drafts and leagues specifically for members of the group.
• Other fun stuff and giveaways.

It’s completely free, and if you hate it, you can always leave the group!

Check it out and join the conversation: https://www.facebook.com/groups/940065120606201.

See you there!

The post We have a new Facebook group for fantasy football fans appeared first on Saturday Down South.

O’Brien has been Nick Saban’s offensive coordinator over the last 2 seasons, and he’s set to make a return to the NFL in New England. Alabama fans have been frustrated at times with O’Brien as the team’s offensive coordinator during his tenure.

This offseason, Saban has now lost both coordinators. Former defensive coordinator Pete Golding left Alabama for the same job at Ole Miss to coach alongside Lane Kiffin. Now, O’Brien is also leaving.

Saban and Bill Belichick are close friends, and O’Brien returning to the Patriots has been speculated for some time. O’Brien was the Patriots offensive coordinator during the 2011 season before leaving for the Penn State head coaching job.

For Saban, O’Brien leaving marks the 6th different offensive coordinator Alabama will have in the last 8 seasons.

The post Bill O’Brien leaving Alabama for another job, per reports appeared first on Saturday Down South.

Thomas was charged with felony false imprisonment and misdemeanor battery family violence 1st offense, according to the online booking report seen below. The pass catcher was booked at 4:05 a.m. and remains in jail as of 8:45 ET.

Thomas transferred to Georgia from MSU this offseason. He recorded 44 receptions for 626 receiving yards and 7 touchdowns for Mississippi State in 2022. He’s considered to be an instant-impact-type of receiver for Georgia’s offense in 2023.

Below is a screenshot of Thomas’ online arrest record.

We will update this story when new details are released.

The post Georgia wide receiver arrested on 2 charges, including felony false imprisonment appeared first on Saturday Down South.

The Bulldogs leading wide receiver announced that he would return to Georgia for his redshirt junior season. McConkey, and his teammates, could accomplish more history in 2023 with a 3-peat.

McConkey announced the news on his Instagram page — “One last ride with my guys! No place I’d rather be #back2work”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ladd McConkey (@ladd.mcconkey)

McConkey recorded 58 catches for 762 yards and 7 touchdowns during the 2022 national championship season, including 2 touchdowns in the 65-7 win over TCU. He also added 134 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns.

McConkey signed with Georgia in the class of 2020, and he’s absolutely played above his star ranking. The elite pass catcher was rated a 3-star prospect exiting high school and ranked as the nation’s 169 overall wide receiver, according to 247Sports Composite Rankings.

With Stetson Bennett leaving Georgia, McConkey will catch passes from another quarterback in 2023; however, Todd Monken will continue to use McConkey in several different ways.

The post Ladd McConkey, Georgia’s leading WR, announces 2023 plans appeared first on Saturday Down South.

Bennett combined for 6 touchdowns, while Smart’s defense just suffocated TCU’s offense and quarterback Max Duggan. Bennett helped lead Georgia to back-to-back national championships, something college football rarely witnesses.

From walk-on to 2-time national champion, Bennett’s career has been well documented, and he will go down as the greatest Georgia quarterback of all-time — and one of college football’s most decorated signal callers ever.

Smart isn’t the only one who will miss Bennett in 2023 as Georgia embarks on a 3-peat.

Following the win, Smart shared a funny story about his son crying over Bennett leaving before the game.

“And tell you a quick story, I walked in my — they’ve got a nice head coach’s office in that room over there. I don’t know if Stetson knows this, but I walked in, my 10-year-old son, Andrew, is bawling. I’m, like, oh, no, somebody’s hurt his feelings; somebody’s thrown him down or done something to him.

“I said, ‘Why are you crying? You’re going to ruin my moment.’

“He said, (crying) ‘Stetson is leaving. He’s going to go.’

“I said, ‘He’s 25 years old. He’s got to go. He’s got to leave.’

“But he’s bawling about Stetson being gone.”

You can watch Smart’s comments below:

“He’s gotta go. He’s 25 years old!”

Kirby Smart shared a story of his son crying before the game about Stetson Bennett leaving ? pic.twitter.com/GnSxWtBYIP

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) January 10, 2023

The post Kirby Smart tells hilarious story of his son crying before the game about Stetson Bennett appeared first on Saturday Down South.

Stetson Bennett combined for 6 touchdowns, while Georgia’s defense suffocated TCU’s offense and Max Duggan.

Georgia started the season ranked No. 3 in the AP Top 25 Poll — behind 1. Alabama and 2. Ohio State. TCU started the season unranked.

Final AP Top 25 rankings

1. Georgia Bulldogs
2. TCU Horned Frogs
3. Michigan Wolverines
4. Ohio State Buckeyes
5. Alabama Crimson Tide
6. Tennessee Volunteers
7. Penn State Nittany Lions
8. Washington Huskies
9. Tulane Green Wave
10. Utah Utes
11. Florida State Seminoles
12. USC Trojans
13. Clemson Tigers
14. Kansas State Wildcats
15. Oregon Ducks
16. LSU Tigers
17. Oregon State Beavers
18. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
19. Troy Trojans
20. Mississippi State Bulldogs
21. UCLA Bruins
22. Pittsburgh Panthers
23. South Carolina Gamecocks
24. Fresno State Bulldogs
25. Texas Longhorns

Others receiving votes:
Duke 49, UTSA 45, Air Force 40, Boise State 38, Minnesota 35, Texas Tech 19, North Carolina 8, North Carolina State 6, Iowa 4, Louisville 3, Purdue 3, Maryland 2, Marshall 2, Cincinnati 1, Illinois 1

The post Final AP Top 25 rankings released following national championship game appeared first on Saturday Down South.

The result? Georgia destroyed TCU Monday night in the College Football Playoff national championship game 65-7. Stetson Bennett combined for 6 touchdowns, while Georgia’s defense suffocated Heisman Trophy finalist Max Duggan and TCU’s offense.

Following the game, TCU’s Duggan and linebacker Dee Winters were asked about the blowout loss to the Bulldogs.

Q. I know that this isn’t the result you wanted today. But when you look back on this season, after being picked seventh in the Big 12 and everybody kind of overlooked you guys, how do you put into words finishing 13-2 with the Fiesta Bowl championship win?

MAX DUGGAN: “I think Coach Dykes said it. Tonight did not go the way we wanted it to. Disappointed in that aspect. But tonight isn’t going to take away from this season and what we were able to do as a program.

“I don’t think that’s going to define all the good memories and all the success that we had this season to project and put this program in the right direction and moving forward. I think that was the biggest thing of this program’s moving in the right way in the right direction. There were so many great memories this year. Obviously we’re disappointed tonight, but not going to let this take away from a remarkable season.”

DEE WINTERS: “I think he pretty much hit the nail on the head. This is something we definitely weren’t looking forward to. But looking back, it was a long journey. And I think all the guys kind of appreciate Coach Kaz and Coach Dykes coming in and showing us the ropes of how to be a winner. And we’re excited to have them the next couple of years.”

Were they that much better than you? That outcome we were not expecting at all. Were they that much better than you?

DEE WINTERS: “You know, defensive flaws, they didn’t really do anything special. We just kind of beat ourselves up. Kind of just executed on our mis-alignments and kept scoring on those.

“We just kept beating ourselves up, just overthinking, trying to run too fast to the ball and things of that nature.”

MAX DUGGAN: “They’re a great team. Everybody knows how good they’ve been this year and prior years, and we knew that. I think tonight was one of those nights where at least offensively we couldn’t get anything rolling. They were playing well on defense. We were shooting ourselves in the foot. I was making bad decisions. I wasn’t executing well and not putting us in a position to score some points and move the ball.

“But they’re a great team. Obviously that’s not what we thought was going to happen or wanted to happen or what we worked for. But it was just one of those nights where we couldn’t really do much on our end.”

Q. Max, how much was Georgia’s pressure, was that the most pressure you’ve kind of seen all year in terms of how consistent and quick they were?

MAX DUGGAN: “I mean, they were good up front. I don’t know. I don’t really know compared to stuff coming up in this year or this season. They had some blitzes, some pressures they got through. I held onto the ball a little bit too long, wasn’t getting through reads, was kind of causing trouble for the O line myself. It was kind of on me.

“But they had some good schemes. Again, going back to the stuff we were doing that we weren’t executing well, and they were playing well on their end, and that isn’t a great recipe for success.”

Q. This hasn’t happened to you. How can you describe the feeling, the frustration early in the game when you figured out what you’re so good at wasn’t there tonight?

DEE WINTERS: “You know, it was just something that we really had to finish, like you said, but Coach Kaz did a great job just trying to tell us always have that next-play mentality, to come out and just compete. And you go from there.”

MAX DUGGAN: “I think when stuff like that happens you’ve got to go back to your roots, go back to your values, the culture that we set. It was frustrating. Haven’t been in a situation like that. But you’ve got to dig yourself out of a hole. You’ve got to believe.

“I know going forward, this program is going to get on this stage again. And if we’re ever in a situation like that, I know we’re going to be able to get out of it, have some success. And I’m pretty positive in that.”

The post What TCU players said after blowout national championship loss to Georgia appeared first on Saturday Down South.

Georgia beat TCU 65-7, and the Horned Frogs really never had a chance. TCU couldn’t stop quarterback Stetson Bennett, who combined for 6 touchdowns, and it couldn’t slow down the Bulldogs rushing attack, which racked up over 250 yards on the ground.

TCU finished just 2-of-11 on third down, 0-of-2 on fourth down and turned it over 3 times.

Following the the blowout loss, below is everything Dykes said about the Georgia Bulldogs.

Introduction comments

“Well, tough one tonight. I think anybody that saw that could see that we certainly didn’t play our best. You’ve got to give Georgia a ton of credit. They did a tremendous job of getting their team ready to play.

“Those guys came out and played exceptionally well. They’ve got a very good football team. Really talented. And the thing that, again, I was impressed about Georgia coming into the game is they played hard all the time and they played well, and really had a lot of pride in their performance in the way they played, and you could see it today.

“They did an excellent job. I thought their quarterback really played an outstanding game. Tight end obviously played an outstanding game as well.

“And we just, look, we’ve got a good football team and it was a tough one tonight.

“We’ll evaluate what happened. Couldn’t be more proud of our football team, though. And especially these two young men that are up here with me right now just for what they’ve meant to TCU football and just what kind of people they are. I think we’re all disappointed that we didn’t play better and we didn’t coach better and we didn’t represent our team better than we did tonight.

“But we’ll learn from it. And next time we’re on a stage like this we’ll handle it better.”

On looking back at a successful season

“I’ll say this to add to that, too. I think as Max said, a loss like this stings. But we talked about this a little bit in the locker room a second ago, just about how far we’ve come in a year and what these guys have been able to accomplish really when nobody outside of our locker room expected it or really believed in them.

“They always believed in themselves and they always rolled their sleeves up and worked incredibly hard and competed every single second of every day. And you couldn’t ask for more than that.

“Again, I’m disappointed we didn’t make a better show tonight because that’s not indicative of who we are. But we’ll look back — it’s going to take some time for the sting to go away, I assure you — but we’ll look back on the season and build on it from here.”

On preparing for Georgia

“Our preparation was really good. I thought we had two of the better practices, when we were in full pads, than we had had all year. And to be able to have those — and it was week 22 for us, I believe — for the players to practice like they did 22 weeks into the season, it’s a real credit to those guys.

“And, again, I don’t know what happened tonight. We ran into a really good team and we did some very uncharacteristic things and it snowballed on us. And that hasn’t happened to us one time this year that we haven’t been able to fight our way back and figure out a way to get back in the game or win the game. We weren’t able to do it tonight.

“So we’ll self-evaluate and make corrections and go from there.”

On TCU’s “uncharacteristic” play against Georgia

“It was interesting. You look at early in the game and we really protected the quarterback well when we dropped back to throw. It got worse as the game went along. Our threat of running the football consistently went away.

“But we felt pretty good after a series or two that we could drop back and throw the ball and we could create some things offensively. Felt like we could also run the ball.

“We just dug such a big hole for ourselves. We never could quite get them stopped defensively. We never could get out of our own way on offense.

“First play of the game for us was a false start. We probably have had three false starts all year. You know what I mean? And probably over a thousand plays, maybe had three false starts. First play of the game we have a false start tonight.

“Just things like that. That’s just not who we are. We’re not that kind of football team. If we make those mistakes we’re not going to win football games. We’re certainly not going to be playing for a national championship making those kind of mistakes.

“And I thought we had some busts defensively, some alignment busts, assignment busts. We cut some receivers loose. Again, that’s not something we’ve done.

“I think in some ways, our guys, we got in the locker room a little bit before the game. You could sense some tension in the room. And we’ve got to try to not have that. We haven’t had that in the past. We’ve been pretty loose.

“The guys were really excited to play, really fired up to play. I thought we were probably just a little too fired up, maybe a little too emotional. And as a result did some things that we don’t normally do. I just don’t think we were in the state of mind that we needed to be in.

“And we’ve got to do a better job trying to get our players there. And obviously failed in that regard. And, again, we’ll learn from this mistake and hopefully address it and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

The post What TCU coach Sonny Dykes said about Georgia after blowout loss to Bulldogs appeared first on Saturday Down South.

Quarterback Stetson Bennett finished an impressive 18-of-25 for 304 yards, 4 passing touchdowns and 2 rushing touchdowns. Ladd McConkey added 2 touchdown receptions, and Brock Bowers caught a team-high 7 passes for 152 yards and 1 touchdown.

Georgia’s defense suffocated TCU and quarterback Max Duggan. The Bulldogs defense forced 3 turnovers, held TCU to 2-11 on third downs and 0-2 on fourth downs.

Following back-to-back national championships, Smart smoke with ESPN on the field.

On Georgia’s dominance …

“A really aggressive plan. Not holding back anything. We wanted our kids to play without fear, and all year, I told them, ‘We ain’t getting hunted, guys. We’re doing the hunting. And hunting season is almost over. We only got one more chance to hunt.’ And we hunted tonight.”

On Georgia’s back-to-back national championships …

“They had a will to work. They didn’t listen to what everybody said about them. And everybody doubted them to start the year, and that chip on the shoulder was just big enough to create an edge for our team. Every time they got doubted, they came out fighting.”

On Stetson Bennett’s career …

“Well, he’s meant a lot to me personally because of what he’s gone through and what he’s put up with from the outside noise. But for this university for a kid who was told he wasn’t good enough to come back and win two national championships — and he’s really phenomenal. He did some things tonight that were just really electric. He’s one of a kind. He’s a special football player, and he should get many opportunities to keep playing.”

On Georgia becoming dominant …

“It’s hard work. We don’t run from work. Our kids don’t run from work. We go out there on Tuesday and Wednesday — we hit the other day. The kids were like, ‘Coach, we gotta keep doing this. It’s who we are.’ As long as you don’t have entitlement in your program, we got a shot. Right now, we don’t have that. Games like tonight make it that way, but we got a lot of humble guys.”

The post Kirby Smart reacts to Georgia’s national championship blowout win over TCU appeared first on Saturday Down South.

Georgia scored on every offensive possession in the first half. TCU finally forced a punt in the third quarter; however, that’s been it.

With over 9 minutes left in the fourth quarter, Georgia scored its 59th point of the game. That set a College Football Playoff national championship points record — breaking Alabama’s 52 point-record in 2020-21.

Looking back to the BCS era, USC’s 55 points vs. Oklahoma in the 2004-05 Orange Bowl was the previous record. Georgia also broke that record Monday night.

Bulldogs quarterback Stetson Bennett finished 18-of-25 for 304 yards, 4 passing touchdowns and 2 rushing touchdowns. Little doubt he’ll be the game’s Offensive MVP.

Receiver Ladd McConkey has caught 5 passes for 88 yards and 2 touchdowns. Brock Bowers has recorded 7 catches for 152 yards and 1 touchdown.

The post Georgia breaks national championship points record in blowout vs. TCU appeared first on Saturday Down South.

Georgia leads at halftime 38-7, and incredibly, it’s not even as close as what the score may indicate.

While Smart’s defense dominated TCU and Max Duggan, the Bulldogs offense torched the Horned Frogs early and often. In fact, Georgia scored on every offensive possession in the first half — 5 touchdowns and 1 field goal.

Quarterback Stetson Bennett finished the first half 13-of-17 for 213 yards and 2 passing touchdowns, and he also rushed for 2 touchdowns.

Tight end Brock Bowers was a massive part of the Bulldogs game plan, as he caught 5 passes for 102 yards.

Georgia offensive coordinator Todd Monken was absolutely brilliant.

At halftime, Smart was asked about the first half and looking ahead to the second.

“We were aggressive, but it’s a 60-minute game,” Smart told ESPN. “We have not had our best moments in the third quarter, and they have. So, we’ve got to challenge our team to come out and play really physical and play aggressive.”

The post What Kirby Smart said at halftime of national championship game appeared first on Saturday Down South.

The Bills safety made a tackle against Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins, and following the collision, Hamlin got back on his feet, took a couple of steps and collapsed on the field. It’s a terrifying situation in Cincinnati.

The officials immediately stopped play and medical personnel made their way quickly onto the field.

Below is a replay of the collision that involved Hamlin.

Video of #Bills Damar Hamlin’s injury. Praying for Damar Hamlin. ? pic.twitter.com/83FhPvlMNW

— NFL Unlimited (@NFLUnlimited) January 3, 2023

According to Joe Buck, CPR was administered to Hamlin for over 9 minutes as medical personnel were on the field.

According to Joe Buck, Damar Hamlin’s been getting CPR for the past two breaks that they’ve taken and has been down for 9+ minutes. Praying for him man! Hope he pulls through. pic.twitter.com/dibZKwhOeH

— ?????? @???????? (@FTBeard7) January 3, 2023

Hamlin was taken to the UC Medical Center via ambulance, and the Bengals and Bills game has been temporarily suspended.

Our prayers and thoughts are with Hamlin and his family during this time.

The post Damar Hamlin collapses during game, emergency personnel administer CPR on field appeared first on Saturday Down South.

Mississippi State honored Leach’s memory with special uniforms and a 19-10 win over the Illini.

Rogers completed 29-of-44 passes for 261 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions. However, he stepped up when his team needed it the most and led a 9-play 68-yard drive that ended in what would have been the game winning field goal with just seconds remaining. (Mississippi State recovered a fumble and returned it for a touchdown as time expired to extend its lead).

After the game, an emotional Rogers spoke to ESPN about the win without Leach on the sidelines.

“It’s been tough,” Rogers said choking up. “Coach and I were so close and to lose a coach like that, a friend like that, it hurt me for a really long time. It will continue to hurt, but to be able to come out here with this group of guys, my brothers, I can’t say enough about this team and this university.

“I definitely wanted to win this game for Coach. I think we all did,” Rogers continued. “I think if we would have come out here and really lost the game, I don’t think Coach would have been to happy with it. It says a lot about our team and a lot about these individuals and coaches that we were able to stick together and come out with nine wins.”

The post Emotional Will Rogers reflects on Mississippi State’s bowl game win without Mike Leach on sidelines appeared first on Saturday Down South.

Earlier Monday, Bryce Young, Will Anderson and Jahmyr Gibbs announced they would enter the NFL Draft, and Branch followed suit Monday afternoon with a social media post.

“After thoughtful conversations with my family and coaches, I’ve decided to forgo my senior year and enter the 2023 NFL Draft,” Branch’s statement said. “This has been a dream of mine since I could remember and I’m ready to embrace this next journey for my life.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Brian Branch ? (@beautyofitbb)

Branch, the junior from Fayetteville, Georgia, was named a first-team All-American in 2022 by multiple outlets and will be a high pick in the upcoming NFL Draft.

During his 3-year career, Branch racked up 172 tackles and 3 INTs. Ninety of those tackles came during his exceptional 2022 season.

Branch signed with Alabama in the 2020 recruiting cycle. He was rated a 4-star prospect and was ranked as the No. 3 overall safety for the class of ’20, according to 247Sports Composite Rankings.

The post Brian Branch, star Alabama DB, announces 2023 plans appeared first on Saturday Down South.

Yes, they’ve faced each other in practice, but it’s highly unlikely Alabama’s staff gave anyone, much less Anderson, a green light to tee off against its star quarterback.

However, with both Young and Anderson declaring for the NFL Draft on Monday, the now-former Alabama quarterback will play against Anderson at some point during their pro careers. Young may very well be the No. 1 overall pick, while Anderson will likely be a top 3-to-5 pick.

During Young’s press conference on Monday to announce his intentions to enter the NFL Draft, he was asked what he would tell Anderson ahead of playing against him in the future.

“Please take it easy. Remember all the good times we had,” Young said, via Chase Goodbread. “Before we play I’ll probably send him a picture of us from freshman year together.”

Not only is Young is a former Heisman Trophy winner and star quarterback on one of college football’s elite programs, he’s easily one of the most likable players in the country. It also speaks volumes that Young (and Anderson) elected to play in the bowl game with his teammates instead of opting out and conditioning for the NFL Combine and Draft.

Young leaves Alabama with 80 passing touchdowns and nearly 8,400 yards passing. It was a remarkable career for both Young and Anderson, and both should have long NFL careers, too.

The post Bryce Young shares hilarious reaction to what he’d tell Will Anderson ahead of first NFL meeting appeared first on Saturday Down South.

CJ Stroud and the Buckeyes put themselves in a position to pull the upset down 42-41 with just seconds remaining and a game-winning field attempt on the line.

Due to the game being pushed back until 8:20 p.m. ET, midnight was closing in just as the Buckeyes were attempting their game-winning drive and subsequent field goal attempt.

Timothy Burke synched a multi-cam view of the feed from ESPN’s simulcast, Georgia’s and Ohio State’s radio call, as well as the Times Square ball dropping on 2023.

By request, here is the multicam view of the feed from Times Square, All-22, and ESPN, Georgia, and Ohio State radio calls, as it happened onscreen live: pic.twitter.com/k775T4VNTo

— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) January 1, 2023

As the video shows, Noah Ruggles’ 50-yard game-winning field goal attempt started in 2022 and landed in 2023. In real-time as it happened, however, the missed field goal landed with just seconds until the New Year’s ball dropped; however, with TV delayed a few seconds, it landed in 2023.

With TCU’s thrilling win over Michigan and Georgia’s come-from-behind win over Ohio State, the College Football Playoff ratings may be massive. No doubt, it was the most exciting day of semifinals in Playoff history.

Georgia and TCU will play for the national title on Monday, January 9 at 7:30 p.m. ET.

The post Incredible synched video shows Ohio State’s field goal miss as Times Square ball drops appeared first on Saturday Down South.

At that time in the fourth quarter, Ohio State was up 11 points, and had the Buckeyes successfully executed the fake punt, they would have had the ball at midfield with the ability to milk more clock and potentially put the game away in the fourth quarter.

Instead, Smart’s heads-up timeout forced a punt, and the Bulldogs rallied to win 42-41 over the Buckeyes in one of the greatest games in Playoff history.

“They just were not in their traditional formation. A lot of teams carry that speed break,” Smart said after the Peach Bowl. “They come up the line quick. Everybody’s lined up tight. And we’ve seen it in the SEC. A lot of teams carry it, and you try to practice it, but it’s another thing when they actually do it and execute it.

“So it was one of those gut reactions that I didn’t think that we had it lined up properly to stop it, so we called timeout.”

Smart was later asked whether he saw the non-traditional formation or an assistant in the booth saw it.

“For me, I saw them lined up, and there’s a line that’s a special teams line, but I was on the defensive line because we had just come off of a defensive stop,” Smart continued. “So saw the formation, and apparently they were saying something on special teams line, but I wasn’t on that line. I was on the defensive line and was prepared to call a timeout, which I don’t like doing because it costs you possessions when you do that. You’ve got to be prepared and not burn them.”

Georgia will play TCU for the national title on Monday, January 9 at 7:30 p.m. ET.

The post What Kirby Smart said about calling timeout just before Ohio State executed fake punt appeared first on Saturday Down South.

Stroud had the best game of his career, throwing for 348 yards and 4 touchdowns. Stroud also damaged Georgia’s defense with 34 yards rushing at crucial moments and kept plays alive with his legs.

Following the loss to Georgia, Day and Stroud commented on the Bulldogs.

Ryan Day’s comments about Georgia

Opening statement …

“Not much to start with other than the fact that I thought our team came out and swung and played hard in this game, came up short. It came down to one play. It wasn’t just the last play. There were a lot of plays in the game that you wish you had back as coaches and players. That’s what happens in a game like this.

“But I told the guys I’m proud of the way they played. I’m proud of the way they competed. For the older guys, the seniors, proud of what they’ve done for the program. For the younger guys, the guys that are coming back, it’s an opportunity to learn and grow and see what it takes to win in the CFP.”

On the non-targeting call that injured Marvin Harrison Jr …

“I was told that it was not targeting, that he didn’t take a shot to the head, which is hard — I didn’t see it, so I don’t know. But to get a concussion and not get hit in the head, I’d have to see the replay.

“And they said that it happened after he got hit, but I’d have to take a look at the video. I wasn’t able to see the replay.”

On swinging for the fences and taking a shot at Georgia …

“Yeah. Like you said, it doesn’t mean anything if you don’t win though. And I think that’s probably what hurts the most is that, when you put that much work and that much energy and that much time into something and you’re right there and you just — you don’t get the victory.

“This is a performance business, and you win or you lose, and we lost the game. That’s just what hurts to our core. And that’s what it is. We’re here to win, and it didn’t happen.

“That being said, yeah, we came out. Guys were flying around. We were competing. In the end, we came up short. So we’ll have to figure out how to get it fixed in the off-season so that when we’re here again, we’re on top when it comes to it.

“This is the way that we need to play football. You can see the energy and passion on the sideline, and you can see the way guys were playing physical. I mean, listen, that’s a good team. Let’s call it for what it is there. They are defending national champs, undefeated. They’re a good team. But I don’t think there’s one guy in that locker room that doesn’t feel like we shouldn’t have won the game.

“Again, that’s a part of this thing that is going to sit in our stomachs for a long time.”

On Stetson Bennett’s ability to hit deep passes …

“It’s a team loss, and I thought the defense played gritty at times. They got that huge interception. They fought. They kept grinding. They had the fourth down call come back. They got the negative play. They forced a field goal.

“So, again, all we were talking about was just swinging as hard as we can. We did give up some explosive plays again. We did. And it was something that we spent a lot of time talking about is avoiding the big play. I think the difference was, in this game, it didn’t demoralize us in this game. We kept swinging and fighting, and we just kept going at it.

“But call it for what it is. If we’re going to win these games, we can’t give up those big explosive plays. They’re hard to come back from, but there was still a lot of positive things out there.”

CJ Stroud’s comments about Georgia

On the last drive vs. Georgia’s defense …

“First of all, I want to give all praise to my Lord and Savior, my Lord Jesus Christ. Just amazing to be out there in that atmosphere and have the opportunity to play my brothers again.

“Yeah. I just try to leave it all on the line. I honestly — games like this, it’s a loss for words when it comes down to one play. Honestly, it doesn’t come down to one play, so many things that line up to those plays.

“The last drive, man, I seen how much time we had with timeouts, and I knew we could do it. I tried my hardest to get us down here. I got to maybe split somebody else, make another move, just try to get a little more, but I tried my hardest.

“I think I left my heart out on that field. Of course, it’s something that’s heavy on the heart. It’s going to be tough, but I’d rather — I don’t want to go out there with anybody else. I love my teammates so much. We put everything on the line, and I would never want to do it with anybody else.”

On preparing for Georgia’s defense …

“Like I said, we had 1,500 reps. When we were out there, it was kind of like you knew what was going to happen. When you’re playing like that, you’re playing free. You’re having fun. I think that was one of the most fun games I ever played in my life. That probably was the most fun game I ever played in my life.

“It just sucks that it has to come down like that, but God’s plan, it’s something you don’t really understand in the moment. It’s something that you really won’t understand maybe ever, but He thinks greater than us. He knows greater than us, and He does greater than us. That was his plan for that to happen.

“Georgia’s defense, offense, they fought too. Helluva team, great team. Coach Smart, Coach Muschamp, D.C., did a helluva job. But I think we should have won the game of course. I definitely think we should have won the game.

“Just got to lick our wounds and keep going. Coach Day did a helluva job, man. His leadership — even though people would talk and talk and do this and do that, he just keeps showing up. When you see a man like that, that’s a true man, a man in the arena.

“Really everybody on our team, we didn’t splinter. We didn’t turn eye to eye or point fingers when we lost. We owned our mistakes and kept swinging, like our culture. I wouldn’t want to play for anybody else, with anybody else.

“Coach Day, helluva coach.”

The post What Ryan Day, CJ Stroud said about Georgia after Bulldogs beat Ohio State appeared first on Saturday Down South.

The Buckeyes defender slipped, and Smith and Bennett took full advantage.

The Buckeyes lead the Bulldogs just 38-35 with over 8 minutes left in the fourth quarter, thanks to Smith’s long touchdowns haul.

GEORGIA STRIKES QUICKLY! Stetson Bennett to a WIDE OPEN Arian Smith for the 76 yard TD!! #PeachBowl pic.twitter.com/sjVg1Eacnu

— ?????? @???????? (@FTBeard7) January 1, 2023

Following that touchdown pass, Bennett has completed 18-of-29 passes for 331 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. Smith has caught 3 passes for 129 yards and the 1 touchdown.

The post Stetson Bennett hits Arian Smith for long TD to cut Ohio State’s 4th quarter lead appeared first on Saturday Down South.

TCU currently leads Michigan 21-6 at halftime.

The Southeastern Conference officiating crew missed 2 huge calls in the first half, with a call going against both teams.

First, Michigan looked like it would score its first touchdown of the night on a long reception; however, after the review, the call was somehow overturned. The very next play, Michigan fumbled on the goal line to give the ball back to TCU.

Does this look like a touchdown? It does to us, too.

I don’t even like Michigan but the player literally bobbles it and gets possession in the end zone so it should’ve been a td . Can’t miss this call in a game with this high stakes pic.twitter.com/dcAU3bUJsr

— John (@iam_johnw) December 31, 2022

Later, the crew called a roughing the passer penalty on TCU against Michigan quarterback JJ McCarthy, and the call was very suspect at best.

Roughing the passer call on TCU… That’s a soft call imo. C’mon man. pic.twitter.com/I7FDYfRoXT

— ?????? @???????? (@FTBeard7) December 31, 2022

Needless to say, college football fans took to social media to discuss the first-half calls.

SEC officials on display at Fiesta Bowl

— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) December 31, 2022

Between the BS overturned TD call on Michigan and the BS roughing the passer call on TCU, it is evident that whatever conference the #FiestaBowl officials are from did not send their best.

Better effort needed from the 3rd team on the field.

— Mitchell Blair (@mblairYQR) December 31, 2022

Wow Fiesta Bowl officials have blown several big calls already. Terrible officiating

— Brian Kirk (@KreJakka) December 31, 2022

Let me guess..these are SEC Officials at the #FiestaBowl ?

— Daniel Butler (@68shooter) December 31, 2022

Roughing the passer? That’s teach tape on how NOT TO rough the passer. These officials SUCK #Michigan #TCU #FiestaBowl

— Jake Keller (@jakekeller1213) December 31, 2022

Good to see the NFL sending their officials down for the Michigan TCU game #FiestaBowl

— Sexy Krampus (@jsbuttram) December 31, 2022

These were the officials chosen for the College Football Playoffs? Good lord we have a serious reffing problem in football. #FiestaBowl

— Drew Bryant (@BrewDryant) December 31, 2022

Geez wonder where these officials came from in the UM – TCU game…oh yeah the SEC. Worst in America from the best conference. ?

— Jon Swafford ???? (@JonSwafford_) December 31, 2022

Well thanks, ESPN. Now I can sleep easily knowing that SEC officials suck too.

— Sean (@truferblue22) December 31, 2022

Oh damn sec officials getting highlighted by terrible calls from ESPN. That's how bad it's been because ESPN loves the sec.

— I Want The Smoke (@KingTurnerIII) December 31, 2022

The post SEC officials getting roasted for horrible calls during Fiesta Bowl appeared first on Saturday Down South.

And he was absolutely electrifying.

The Alabama quarterback completed 15-of-21 for 321 yards and 5 touchdowns against Kansas State. Yes, 6 incompletions and 5 touchdowns.

Midway through the fourth quarter with Alabama leading 45-13, Nick Saban pulled Young after the first play of the series, and the Alabama quarterback left the field to a loud ovation in the Sugar Bowl.

Bryce Young gets pulled, gets ovation. pic.twitter.com/V973dndlX0

— Aaron Suttles (@AaronSuttles) December 31, 2022

That’s MY QB!!!!! #BryceYoung #BryceYoungFinale #RollTide #RollBryceRoll #SugarBowl pic.twitter.com/rCRWaszCV7

— Robby-Obby (@FOURtunate1913) December 31, 2022

Young likely leaves Alabama with 80 career touchdown passes, and he’s destined to be an NFL starter. The 2021 season Heisman Trophy winner is one of the best signal callers in SEC football history.

The post Bryce Young receives Sugar Bowl curtain-call, leaves to loud ovation appeared first on Saturday Down South.

Already leading 3-0, Kansas State tacked on 7 more as Vaughn housed one from 88 yards. It was KSU’s first play of its third series on offense. The first series, the Wildcats threw an interception. The second, it kicked a field goal to take a 3-0 lead.

For Vaughn, it was a career-long rushing touchdown, his 9th of the season.

DEUCE VAUGHN!!! WHAT A RUN!

pic.twitter.com/8RYzWUXPOE

— PFF College (@PFF_College) December 31, 2022

Alabama quarterback Bryce Young got Alabama on the board on the very next drive with a 5-yard touchdown pass to receiver Isaiah Bond.

Kansas State leads Alabama 10-7 as the first quarter comes to a close.

The post Deuce Vaughn torches Alabama’s defense for 88-yard TD, as KSU opens early lead vs. Tide appeared first on Saturday Down South.

All year, teams have been gunning for the defending national champions; however, Smart’s Bulldogs have maintained their edge and rolled through the SEC schedule and conference championship game.

On Saturday morning, Smart was asked about how he motivates his undefeated Georgia team. UGA doesn’t want to be the hunted; it wants to be the hunter.

“You show them. You show them the tape. You show them the things we’ve done wrong. We didn’t have exactly the perfect SEC Championship Game,” Smart explain on College GameDay. “We had a lot of things to work on. We talk all the time about how the mighty fall, and what things bring people down. Our team is well connected. We don’t think that you have to have a loss to play your best. Sometimes that does help. I certainly think it helped our team last year. But for us, it’s about how we play and how we do things.

“Our guys have practiced really physical the last couple weeks, and I’m excited to see them go out and play tonight.”

Georgia and Ohio State kickoff Saturday night at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.

The post Kirby Smart explains how he motivates his undefeated Georgia team appeared first on Saturday Down South.

Prior to the start of Saturday morning’s College GameDay show, Kirk Herbstreit visited with Corso to discuss the Playoff games.

In the Fiesta Bowl between Michigan and TCU, Corso picked Michigan to barely beat TCU. He thinks the Horned Frogs will cover the 7.5 points.

“Michigan, but very very close,” Corso told Herbstreit. “TCU has a heart this big, and I tell you one thing — I wouldn’t bet against them. TCU will cover the spread. I don’t care how good Michigan is. TCU is that good.”

Herbstreit then asked Corso to make the pick between Georgia and Ohio State, and Corso picked the Buckeyes to pull the upset.

“Ohio State, and I don’t care who’s picking Georgia,” the analyst said. “Ohio State will redeem themselves for a bad loss they had against Michigan. Ohio State’s going to win the game and they’ll outscore them.”

Georgia enters Saturday’s Peach Bowl around a 6.5-point favorite over Ohio State. The Bulldogs and Buckeyes kickoff Saturday night at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.

You can watch Corso’s comments below:

It’s #CFBPlayoff Semifinal day!!

Had to get in my pre-show talk with the ? to get ready for the big day on @CollegeGameDay!! pic.twitter.com/P7KxjEPtJT

— Kirk Herbstreit (@KirkHerbstreit) December 31, 2022

The post Lee Corso makes surprising College Football Playoff upset pick appeared first on Saturday Down South.

Veikoso, 22, was a redshirt freshman with the Cougars who transferred from Arizona State this past summer. He played in one game during the 2022 season with BYU and one game with Arizona State in 2021.

BYU head coach Kalani Sitake offered his heartfelt condolences on Twitter Friday evening after speaking to Sione’s family.

We are extremely saddened to learn of the tragic death of one of our brothers, Sione Veikoso. His passing is heartbreaking to all of us. We offer our deepest condolences and prayers to his family as we share in their grief. Our love for you is forever, Sione! https://t.co/F2xSEynQpM

— Kalani F Sitake (@kalanifsitake) December 31, 2022

The 6-foot-7, 305-pound offensive lineman played high school football at Kailua High School in Hawai’i and served a full-time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Manaus, Brazil, from 2018-20.

Our heartfelt condolences go out to his family, teammates and friends during this time.

The post College football player tragically dies in construction accident while on holiday break appeared first on Saturday Down South.

Quarterback Joe Milton looked outstanding, finishing 18-of-27 for 241 yards and 3 touchdowns. Squirrel White, Ramel Keyton and Bru McCoy all caught touchdowns from Milton.

Tennessee’s defense, however, was the story of the game, as it suffocated freshman quarterback Cade Klubnik for much night. The Tigers signal caller finished 30-of-54 for 320 yards and 2 interceptions. Vols linebacker Aaron Beasley caused havoc all night for Klubnik. Beasley recorded 9 tackles and 2 sacks.

Following the win over Clemson, Heupel spoke to ESPN.

On this team winning 11 games …

“All of the adversity that this group has faced during their careers. What they’ve done the last 23 months, I couldn’t be prouder of a group of individuals. These players, our staff and Vol Nation — everybody’s been along for the journey. It’s been a fun climb. The best is yet to come. Really proud of what we did.”

On Joe Milton …

“He’s a great testament of today’s world of college football with the transfer portal. He’s a guy recognizing that there’s improvement he needs to make. He’s around coaches and players that love him and he can continue to progress. He did a lot of really good things tonight. I’m so happy for him. It was awesome to have Henson (Hooker) here. His legacy here is nothing short of being a champion. We’re not here without him. Absolutely love Hendon and this football team.”

On Aaron Beasley’s huge game …

“His best football is still ahead of him, man. The guy just continues to keep growing inside of what we’re doing defensively in daily habits and attention to the detail. He was dominant tonight. Absolutely great performance by our defense all night long.”

The post What Josh Heupel said after Tennessee beat Clemson in Orange Bowl appeared first on Saturday Down South.

Things took a turn in favor of the Gamecocks mid-way through the 4th quarter. Down 38-31 with Notre Dame driving, Gamecocks defensive back O’Donnell Fortune intercepted Tyler Buchner in the end zone and returned it for the touchdown. It was Buchner’s second interception of the game. The first was also returned for a touchdown in the first half.

That momentum changing interception just happens to the be longest interception touchdown return in Gator Bowl history.

PICK 6⃣!!!!

O’Donnell Fortune runs it back 100-YARDS to the endzone!

? ESPN pic.twitter.com/1fNEcDfGTe

— Gamecock Football (@GamecockFB) December 30, 2022

Why Notre Dame was even thinking about passing in that situation is beyond us.

Fortune’s pick-6 tied the game at 38 with just under 8 minutes left in the fourth quarter.

The post South Carolina records second pick-6 to tie Notre Dame in 4th quarter appeared first on Saturday Down South.

During the Mayo Bowl, however, Hahn made an on-air comment about “all the illegal aliens down in El Paso” while checking in on the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas.

“In the Sun Bowl and amongst all the illegal aliens down in El Paso, it’s UCLA 14 and Pittsburgh 6. That’s will 11:15 to go in the second quarter,” Hahn said.

Here’s what got NCSU announcer Gary Hahn immediately and indefinitely suspended after today’s broadcast: pic.twitter.com/4qkyQ1jzT2

— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) December 30, 2022

NC State immediately put out a statement of suspension after Hahn’s comment.

“LEARFIELD has suspended Wolfpack Sports Network Play-by-Play announcer Gary Hahn indefinitely following comments made during today’s Duke Mayo Bowl radio broadcast,” Annabelle Myers, NC State’s Associate Athletics Director, said in a statement.

The post College football broadcaster suspended indefinitely for comments during Duke’s Mayo Bowl appeared first on Saturday Down South.

Facing 2nd and 11 with the game tied at 24, Rattler dropped back, escaped pressure and somehow made a ridiculously accurate throw to Xavier Legette for a 42-yard touchdown. The catch was initially called a touchdown, and it was upheld after the review. There wasn’t enough definitive evidence that Legette’s foot was out of bounds to overturn the call on the field.

Instead, Rattler’s pass — and Legette’s catch — was ruled a touchdown.

THAT BALL WAS LAUNCHED ?@SpencerRattler throws a 42-yard dime to @XavierLegette for the TD!

? ESPN pic.twitter.com/bs7OwQnlbn

— Gamecock Football (@GamecockFB) December 30, 2022

The Gamecocks have used trick plays throughout the game; however, that strike from Rattler was the old-fashioned way. South Carolina also recorded a pick-6 in the first half.

The Gamecocks lead the Irish 31-24 with just over 7 minutes left in the third quarter.

The post Spencer Rattler makes NFL-like throw to Xavier Legette for 42-yard TD appeared first on Saturday Down South.

With the game tied 7-7 in the first quarter, the Gamecocks faced a 4th and 8 at the Notre Dame 23-yard line. South Carolina lined up for a go-ahead field goal; however, special teams star Kai Kroeger threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Hunter Rogers to make it 14-7.

Check out this thing of beauty.

. @kai_kroeger @Hrogers_26 #Gamecocks 14 | Notre Dame 7 pic.twitter.com/tzJdWppYFl

— Gamecock Football (@GamecockFB) December 30, 2022

Now, with momentum, South Carolina forced a huge turnover on the Irish’s next possession. On 3rd and 4, Notre Dame quarterback Tyler Buchner’s pass was tipped and picked off by freshman DQ Smith and returned for a 47-yard touchdown.

A beautiful thing to see! ? pic.twitter.com/YngpoHiLS7

— Gamecock Football (@GamecockFB) December 30, 2022

After the first quarter, South Carolina leads Notre Dame 21-7.

The post South Carolina scores TD on trick play, records pick-6 to open big lead vs. Notre Dame appeared first on Saturday Down South.

Starting defensive back and key playmaker Greg Brooks Jr. announced that he would be returning for the 2023 season instead of heading to the NFL Draft.

Brooks shared a social media graphic and explained his decision.

“This year did not end the way we wanted or expected, but it is part of the process of building a foundation,” Brooks wrote on social media. “Normally, this is where you hear the part about moving on to the next chapter, but I believe my story in Baton Rouge is not over. I will continue this Path to Greatness at LSU for one more year. I want to close this chapter the right way alongside my brothers and Tiger Nation.”

GeauxTigers pic.twitter.com/CRePt4QGOF

— Gregory Brooks (@Gbrooks5_) December 24, 2022

Brooks, who started his career at Arkansas and transferred to LSU for the 2022 season, started 12 games for the Tigers, making 61 tackles, 4 passes defended and 1 interception.

Brooks has started 43 games during his college career at Arkansas and LSU, and he’ll be a major staple for LSU’s defense in 2023.

The post LSU defensive starter announces he’ll return for 2023 season appeared first on Saturday Down South.

Florida starting defender Tre’Vez Johnson is the latest to enter the transfer portal. The Florida defensive back announced the news Friday night via his Twitter account.

Im entering the transfer portal thank you UF.

— Tre (@tjohnson__22) December 24, 2022

The Jacksonville native has appeared in 34 games over the last 3 seasons at Florida making 16 starts. During the 2022 season, Johnson appeared in 12 games and made 9 starts. He finished with 26 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 2 pass breakups and 1 interception.

Johnson had reportedly been considering a transfer for weeks, and he made known his intentions on Friday night.

The post Florida defensive starter announces he’ll enter the NCAA transfer portal appeared first on Saturday Down South.

Down 14-3 in the second quarter, Missouri got the ball just before halftime with 80 yards to go. On first and 10 at Wake Forest’s 38-yard line, Cook ripped off an impressive 36-yard run to the Demon Deacons 2-yard line.

Facing second and goal 2 plays later, Cook somehow handled the early snap, rolled out of the pocket and found Demariyon Houston for a one-yard touchdown. Cook did his best Patrick Mahomes impression.

Brady Cook with the fantastic play for Missouri pic.twitter.com/dJpFJ3OZZH

— Trey Wallace (@TreyWallace_) December 24, 2022

The Missouri signal caller is currently 13-of-19 for 122 yards and the 1 touchdown. He’s also added a team-high 43 rushing yards.

Wake Forest leads Missouri at halftime 14-10.

The post Brady Cook rips off long run, throws TD pass to cut Wake Forest’s lead 14-10 over Mizzou appeared first on Saturday Down South.

The Cougars were likely inspired by Hawk, too, as he stole the show by giving himself up to thrill the broadcast crew, players and fans during the team’s last game of the season.

This is dedication we all can appreciate. Hawk laid out — and came up a little bit short — while running onto the field to retrieve the tee. While running off of it, Hawk basically barrel-rolled to the sideline.

FOOTBALL GUY OF THE YEAR #HAWK pic.twitter.com/qmCRIazTAI

— no context college football (@nocontextcfb) December 23, 2022

Our favorite part of the entire episode was Hawk showing off his epic mullet at the very end. We certainly don’t know enough about him.

Hawk, however, was honoring the legendary tee retriever Bill “Mojo” Lackey. Mojo was an equipment manager with the Houston Oilers, and as the following tweet says, Mojo was selected to the All-Madden Team one year.

Nobody ran to get the kicking tee like Bill “Mojo” Lackey assistant equipment manager with the #HoustonOilers
He was selected to the All-Madden team one year#LuvYaBlue pic.twitter.com/UGenCQtK90

— Old Time Football ? (@Ol_TimeFootball) February 13, 2019

The post Mullet-donning kickoff tee retriever steals show during college football bowl game appeared first on Saturday Down South.

In addition to honoring Leach with a helmet sticker, Drinkwitz also donned a Leach-themed shirt with his photo on the front and the title of his book on the back of the shirt — Swing Your Sword.

Missouri shared the following photos from its social media account.

From one coach to another, @CoachDrinkwitz honoring Coach Leach pregame at the @GasparillaBowl.#HailState?‍ #MIZ ? pic.twitter.com/6Mjs4Q9bKd

— Mizzou Football (@MizzouFootball) December 23, 2022

Leach, the iconic college football coach and personality, tragically passed away on December 12 following a medical emergency. Leach was 61.

The college football world has been mourning Leach’s death and will continue to do so for many, many years. Leach was not only the father of the Air Raid offense, but he was one of the most honest, genuine and colorful personalities in football history.

The post Eli Drinkwitz honors Mike Leach with incredible t-shirt ahead of the Gasparilla Bowl appeared first on Saturday Down South.

Mertz was a multi-year starter for the Wisconsin Badgers, and he threw for 2,136 yards and 19 touchdowns during the 2022 season. The former Badgers signal caller announced his intentions to enter the transfer portal on December 4 amidst a coaching change in Madison, and he visited Gainesville earlier in December.

This is a key piece for Napier and the Gators offense, as Anthony Richardson is leaving for the NFL. Yes, Jack Miller returns and 5-star high school signal caller Jaden Rashada will sign with Florida Wednesday; however, adding a seasoned starting quarterback was crucial for Napier.

During 4 seasons at Wisconsin, Mertz completed 460-of-773 passes for 5,405 yards, 38 touchdowns and 26 interceptions.

Exiting high school in the class of 2019, Mertz was the No. 3 pro-style quarterback and the state of Kansas’ No. 1 overall prospect, according to 247Sports Composite Rankings. He was rated a 4-star by the recruiting service, as well as being touted as the nation’s No. 65 overall prospect for the recruiting class.

The post Big Ten multi-year starting QB transferring to Florida, per report appeared first on Saturday Down South.

Eleven SEC teams will go bowling this year. Auburn, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt are the 3 SEC programs that aren’t going bowling this postseason.

As everyone expects, the final College Football Playoff 4 will likely be 1. Georgia, 2. Michigan, 3. TCU and 4. Ohio State. Alabama and Tennessee will likely make New Year’s 6 bowl games.

Below are Jerry Palm of CBS Sports’ final SEC bowl projections ahead of Selection Sunday.

SEC Bowl Projections

College Football Playoff Peach Bowl: No. 1 Georgia vs. No. 4 Ohio State
College Football Playoff Fiesta Bowl: No. 2 Michigan vs. No. 3 TCU

New Year’s 6 Bowl Games

Sugar Bowl: Alabama vs. Kansas State
Orange Bowl: Tennessee vs. Clemson

Other Bowl Games

Citrus Bowl: LSU vs. Purdue
ReliaQuest Bowl: South Carolina vs. Illinois
Music City Bowl: Ole Miss vs. Iowa
Gator Bowl: Mississippi State vs. NC State
Texas Bowl: Kentucky vs. Oklahoma State
Liberty Bowl: Arkansas vs. Baylor
Birmingham: Missouri vs. Memphis
Las Vegas: Florida vs. Oregon State

The post CBS Sports predicts final SEC Bowl destinations appeared first on Saturday Down South.

Freeze’s past in Oxford has been well-documented and it’s been very public. However, the Tigers head coach rehabbed his image at Liberty — and kept winning, and now, he’s returning to college football’s top conference at a program that can win it all.

Auburn’s new head coach made the trip to Texas to be live on the set of College GameDay Saturday morning. Rece Davis first asked Freeze about his past missteps and how that will impact his future decisions at Auburn.

“Well, obviously, I think the best learning tool in life is probably when you didn’t get things right and had any type of failures. If you handled them in the right way with integrity of owning it and making the necessary changes and then, playing the next play,” Freeze said. “I think over the last 7 seven years that’s what it led to with me is to being a guy that wants to lead a passionate discipline life that has faith and family and friends as the forefront. Your commitment to those being evident in every action and in every decision. I think that leads into the team room with a coach that’s very transparent in saying, ‘Look, let me tell you when coach got it right. Let me tell you when he got it wrong.’ And I really liked it a lot better when I got it right, which has been most of my life.

“Obviously, the other times when we probably learned the most from, because the fruit is really grown in the valley, I think kids have responded to that in this day in time and the transparency.”

No doubt Freeze is a really good head coach and quarterback developer. His hiring caught some backlash from fans around the country, not just in Auburn.

With his winning history and recruiting prowess, Freeze will likely get Auburn turned around sooner rather than later.

The post Hugh Freeze asked about well-documented past on College GameDay, how it will impact Auburn future appeared first on Saturday Down South.

Since coming over from Alabama, Smart has instilled Nick Saban’s “process” on his UGA program, but he’s also obviously added his own personal touches. Every year — and more than anytime before — coaches at big-time programs have to figure out how to get talented former high school players to buy into a team-first mentality.

Aside from Saban, nobody has done it better in recent history than Smart. The Georgia head coach was asked by Kirk Herbstreit on College GameDay how he makes it happen each and every year.

“A lot of time in the offseason,” Smart told Herbstreit. “You know, we do a lot of structuring — make guys talk, make guys understand what the guys before them sacrificed, make it about the team. That’s what elite teams do. They worry about the next game, not the last game. They worry about the team, not the individual, and we sell that really hard in the offseason. I don’t know that it’s a perfect remedy; we have our issues, too, but our kids have been resilient.”

Georgia signs a top 5 recruiting class annually, and Smart being able to make elite players, who are obviously interested in individual accolades and future NFL careers, buy into the team-first mentality is impressive.

Georgia and LSU play for the SEC Championship Saturday at 4 p.m. ET on CBS Sports.

The post Kirby Smart explains formula for how Georgia gets elite individual players to buy into team first appeared first on Saturday Down South.

Kirk Herbstreit visited with Corso Saturday morning prior to the start of College GameDay, and the duo discussed the scenario where TCU loses to Kansas State in the Big 12 Championship Game. Corso actually predicted Kansas State will beat TCU, and if that scenario happens, who gets in?

“Michigan is No. 1,” Corso said. “No. 2 Georgia. No. 3 is Ohio State. No. 4 is Alabama. Alabama lost 2 games on the last play of the game and had their quarterback hurt. Alabama is terrific. They lost 2 games on the last play of the game!

“Think about that — 2 Big Ten teams and 2 SEC teams. The best there is,” Corso said.

If Corso is right and TCU loses to Kansas State, would a 2-loss Alabama get in over a 1-loss TCU? Chaos would ensue, and it would be a beautiful thing.

The final College Football Playoff rankings will be released Sunday afternoon.

You can watch Corso’s comments below.

LC is ready for some chaos today!! ??

Who’s on upset alert?? What happens now with the @CFBPlayoff? We are gonna break it ALL down on @CollegeGameDay!! pic.twitter.com/JOvWygDkjt

— Kirk Herbstreit (@KirkHerbstreit) December 3, 2022

The post Lee Corso makes shocking Championship Saturday, Playoff prediction appeared first on Saturday Down South.

ESPN insider Pete Thamel reported Friday night that Sanders is preparing to take the Colorado job, and he’s been recruiting potential players in the transfer portal, as well as potential on-field and off-field staff members.

Prior to Saturday morning’s College GameDay, Herbstreit was asked on SportsCenter about Sanders potentially taking the Power 5 head coaching job at Colorado.

“We were down in Jackson about a month ago, and there was speculation because of the success that he’s had that there might be opportunities for him down the road whether this year or next year,” Herbstreit said. “It’s not shocking at all because of what he’s been able to do. The energy that he brings and the way he’s able to put staff together. I’m sure right now, according to Pete (Thamel), he’s putting a staff together to give him that opportunity.

“Man, overnight, Colorado goes from a brand that’s honestly been forgotten and not talked about — and seems like over a decade, to almost all of a sudden a lot of attention and a lot of buzz. A lot of people are curious to see if Deion is going to take this job and become the guy at Boulder and get them back on the map.

“We all applaud it, look forward to it and hope it really happens.”

The former MLB and NFL star is a combined 26-5 in 3 seasons at Jackson State. Sanders getting a head-coaching gig in a Power 5 Conference would certainly be entertaining.

The post Kirk Herbstreit reacts to Deion Sanders potentially taking new coaching job appeared first on Saturday Down South.

Jackson State plays in the SWAC title game on Saturday, but Sanders has spent the last week making inquiries to potential on-field and off-field staff members at Colorado. Sanders has also been recruiting for Colorado via the NCAA Transfer Portal, according to Thamel’s report.

“They weren’t exactly hiding anything,” said the source to ESPN. “It seemed like it was a done deal.”

Sanders himself confirmed last week that Colorado offered him the head coaching job, and he’s apparently going to take it, unless things fall apart at the last minute.

The former MLB and NFL star is a combined 26-5 in 3 seasons at Jackson State. Sanders getting a head-coaching gig in a Power 5 Conference would certainly be entertaining. He’ll obviously recruit well, and by looking at his Jackson State record, he’ll probably win, too. The Pac-12 isn’t exactly the SEC.

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The Trojans were rolling in the first half up 17-3, but things quickly came to a halt when USC went for it on 4th and 8 and ended up turning it over on downs. The Utes really never looked back.

Utah outscored USC 44-7 for the remainder of the game to win back-to-back Pac-12 Championships.

Heisman Trophy frontrunner Caleb Williams suffered a lower-body injury at mid-game, and that absolutely changed the momentum. Utah bullied USC’s line of scrimmage the rest of the way, and it took over the game.

While the talk about the offense and Williams will get headlines, USC’s defense also struggled against a bigger, physical Utah offense. The Trojans defensive unit missed more than 20 tackles.

It has been a strong first year for USC under Lincoln Riley, but there are certainly problems he has to fix in Year 2. The Trojans aren’t big enough on the defensive line to match a physical team to consistently stop the run. There’s also an obvious lack of depth in the front 7.

USC was ranked No. 4 in the College Football Playoff rankings. Now that the Trojans lost, Ohio State (No. 5) and Alabama (No. 6) await their fate after Championship Weekend.

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However he may be interested in becoming a head coach again. According to Dean Blevins, the sports director for OKC-KWTV, Odom interviewed for the Tulsa head coaching job.

“I’ve learned Barry Odom interviewed Wednesday via zoom for the @TulsaFootball head coaching job w AD Rick Dickson. And is supported by Okla Coaches Assoc. Odom’s extensive background would make him a terrific hire,” Blevins tweeted.

Before attending Missouri, Odom starred at Ada High School in Oklahoma. Odom racked up an impressive 362 tackles with Missouri from 1996-1999.

Odom really came into his own coaching the defense at Memphis before leaving to coordinate Missouri’s defense in 2015. The Tigers hired Odom as their head coach to succeed Gary Pinkel, and he remained in Columbia from 2016-2019, posting a combined record of 25-25.

After getting fired at the conclusion of the 2019 regular season, Odom became Sam Pittman’s defensive coordinator at Arkansas in 2020.

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