Category: College Football

Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy fanned the flames of the program’s sign-stealing scandal and its rivalry with Ohio State on Wednesday by suggesting the No. 1 Wolverines were only trying to keep pace with the Buckeyes by engaging in a scheme that was ultimately deemed to violate the Big Ten’s Sportsmanship Policy. 

As part of an explanation into the messages given to the team by coach Jim Harbaugh, McCarthy alluded to the “unfortunate” sign-stealing scandal, adding that around “80%” of the teams in college football steal signs.

“It’s just a thing about football. It’s been around for years,” McCarthy said during Wednesday’s CFP teleconference. “We actually had to adapt because in 2020 or 2019 when Ohio State was stealing our signs, which is legal and they were doing it, we had to get up to the level that they were at, and we had to make it an even playing field.”

The sign-stealing scandal has been arguably college football’s most fascinating — even if absurd — story, but the effects are apparent at player level, according to McCarthy. 

“I just feel like it sucks,” he continued. “We do work our butts off. We do watch so much film and look for those little tendencies and spend like 10, 15 minutes on one clip alone just looking at all the little details of the posture, of the linebackers or the D-ends, the safeties off levels, the corner to the field is press but the corner to the boundary is off, little stuff like that where it’s like, you could say it’s all sign stealing, but there’s a lot more that goes into play, and a lot of stuff that gets masked, a lot of work that gets masked just because of the outside perception of what sign stealing is all about.” 

The elaborate sign-stealing scheme, allegedly perpetrated by former Michigan…

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Jan. 2—TALLAHASSEE- After a not so quiet search by the Seminoles for their next starting quarterback in the transfer portal, it has been announced that former Clemson and Oregon State QB DJ Uiagalelei will be with the Seminoles next season. This comes after Florida State suffered the largest defeat in bowl history in a 60 point loss to Georgia in the Orange bowl, a game that saw the Noles take the field with out 29 of their scholarship players.

Florida State’s quarterback woes began in the second to last game of the regular season against North Alabama where Jordan Travis suffered a season- ending leg injury. Backup Noles QB Tate Rodemaker took over and led the Noles to a victory over North Alabama and Florida before third stringer Brock Glenn had to take the reins after Rodemaker suffered a head injury. Glenn led the Noles to an ACC Championship victory and a perfect season, before the famous snub that seemed to derail Florida State’s entire football program for this season.

Since the Noles were snubbed from the College Football Playoff they have sued the ACC, suffered the largest margin of defeat in bowl game history and endured a vigorous search for the next great Seminole quarterback.

Now they have found their guy in DJ Uiagalelei. With only one season of eligibility left, Uiagalelei is being touted as a bridge for the Noles, someone to secure the program’s success while the coaching staff develops young Brock Glenn. Uiagalelei spent three seasons with Clemson and played well, though his performances were up and down. His stats were nice, throwing for 2,246 yards in his second season and over 2,500 in his last year with the Tigers. But turnovers and down performances plagued the young QB.

Uiagalelei’s turmoil at Clemson came to a head when he was benched early in the 2022 ACC title game against North Carolina and…

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No. 2 Washington is bound for the College Football Playoff National Championship after surviving a 37-31 thriller against No. 3 Texas in the CFP semifinal at the Sugar Bowl, giving the Huskies one last chance to represent the Pac-12 on the gridiron. The Huskies are among 10 Pac-12 teams set to depart for other conferences this summer — Washington is one of four headed to the Big Ten — and that looming exodus is still weighing heavy on Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff. 

Asked for his thoughts on Washington’s triumph, Kliavkoff, who was in attendance for the clash between the Huskies and Longhorns in New Orleans, didn’t hold back from airing his grievances yet again. Although Kliavkoff didn’t mention any schools by name, he made clear his frustration with Pac-12 members that defected amid the league’s struggle to land a new media rights deal. 

“Its surreal [for Washington],” Kliavkoff said, per 247Sports. “It’s upsetting that some of our schools weren’t more patient, because if they saw what we were building, it would have paid off.”

Although USC and UCLA kicked off the exodus two summers ago when they announced intentions to leave for the Big Ten in 2024, the Pac-12 was still in position to remain viable with 10 continuing members. However, hurdles in securing a new media rights deal — and a pileup of delayed deadlines in the process — resulted in eight additional defections ahead of the 2023 college football season. 

Colorado became the third school to defect when it announced a return to the Big 12 in late July. A tipping point then came in early August when Washington and Oregon opted to leave for the Big Ten on the same timeline as USC and UCLA. That move effectively triggered the collapse of the 108-year-old “Conference…

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College GameDay likes the Washington Huskies to defeat the Texas Longhorns in the College Football Playoff semifinal. Three of the four hosts predicted Texas to lose in the Sugar Bowl.

It’s reasonable to take the higher seed. Desmond Howard, Pat McAfee and Kirk Herbstreit leaned to the No. 2 Washington Huskies securing the win.

In Washington’s favor is a better and more experienced quarterback in Michael Penix. And while we think highly of Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers it’s difficult to overlook the production of his counterpart in addition to the Washington gunslinger’s experience edge.

If Texas loses to Washington it likely won’t be for lack of offense for the Longhorns. The Huskies’ No. 120 pass defense concedes a whole lot this season. They will need to play uncharacteristically well to slow the Texas passing attack.

Washington’s potent offense will be what wins the game on Monday if it ends up victorious.

Coverage for the game begins at 7:45 p.m. CT on ESPN.

Story originally appeared on Longhorns Wire

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College football’s two winningest programs will do battle with a spot in the national title on the line. It’s a clash so big that only one of the sport’s most iconic settings could play host. That’s exactly what we get when No. 1 Michigan and No. 4 Alabama meet up in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day. 

What more can you reasonably ask in a high-stakes college football game? Well, how about the fact that both teams enter under some controversial circumstances. Michigan is 13-0, but coach Jim Harbaugh wasn’t on the sideline for six of those games due to two different three-game suspensions — one for recruiting violations and another for a sign-stealing scandal that captivated the nation for most of the season.

It was captivating until another controversy grabbed everyone’s attention, however. This one came on CFP Selection Sunday after Alabama received the No. 4 seed ahead of a 13-0 ACC champion: No. 5 Florida State. The one-loss Crimson Tide were riding the strength of beating No. 6 Georgia the day prior in the SEC Championship Game, while the Seminoles were penalized for limping to an ACC title without starting quarterback Jordan Travis. 

Whether you’re a college football traditionalist or somebody who prefers chaos, there’s something for everybody here. 

Michigan vs. Alabama: Need to know

No team has more CFP experience than Alabama: The Tide are making their eighth appearance in the College Football Playoff, which is two more than the next closest team (Clemson, which has six). The Rose Bowl marks Alabama’s 14th CFP game, which is four more than Clemson’s 10 contests. Alabama has won the CFP three times and reached the championship game six times. The only time it failed to win its semifinal was the first year of the CFP era…

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Dec. 30—ATLANTA — Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin credited Penn State coach James Franklin a few days ago for the small amount of transfers and opt-outs he’s had in recent years.

But the 10th-ranked Nittany Lions wound up playing without four All-Big Ten selections, three on defense and one on offense. Their glaring absences led to a 38-25 loss to the 11th-ranked Rebels before 71,230 Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

“There were a lot of changes, but we’re not making excuses,” Penn State running back Nick Singleton said. “Everybody has to step up. Coach (Ty) Howle and Coach (Ja’Juan) Seider did a heck of a job (as co-offensive coordinators).

“We have no excuses. Ole Miss was a good team. They came ready to play. We just have to figure it out.”

Ole Miss (11-2) successfully attacked sophomore Cam Miller and freshman Zion Tracy, who saw extensive action in place of opt-out cornerbacks Kalen King and Johnny Dixon. Jaxson Dart passed for 379 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another for the Rebels, who won 11 games for the first time in school history.

“It’s tough as a freshman,” safety Jaylen Reed said. “Cam’s not a freshman but he’s still young. It’s hard going out there in a bowl game without as many reps as the older guys get. It’s a hard thing to do. They can learn from their mistakes and get better.”

Tight end Cade Prieskorn caught 10 passes for 132 yards and two touchdowns, and wide receiver Tre Harris made seven catches for 134 yards against Penn State (10-3), which also played without end Chop Robinson, a projected first-round pick who also opted out.

Two hours before the game, the Big Ten availability report revealed that King and All-American left tackle Olu Fashanu, who were expected to see limited action, would not play.

Without Fashanu, Ole Miss often pressured quarterback Drew Allar and hampered the Penn…

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The No. 5 Florida State Seminoles (13-0) attempt to overcome a plethora of absences and complete the third undefeated season in school history when they meet the sixth-ranked Georgia Bulldogs (12-1) in the 2023 Orange Bowl on Saturday. FSU, which has recorded 19 consecutive victories dating back to last season, will be missing many of its top players on both sides of the ball due to injuries, transfers and opt-outs. Georgia had its 29-game winning streak halted last time out as it dropped a 27-24 decision to Alabama in the SEC Championship Game on Dec. 2. The Bulldogs have gone 49-4 since the start of the 2020 season, with three of the losses coming against the Crimson Tide.

Kickoff at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET. The Bulldogs are 21-point favorites in the latest Georgia vs. Florida State odds, while the over/under for total points scored is 46. Before making any Florida State vs. Georgia picks, you need to see the college football predictions and betting advice from SportsLine’s proven computer model.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every FBS college football game 10,000 times. Since its inception, it has generated a strong profit of well over $2,000 for $100 players on its top-rated college football picks against the spread. The model enters bowl season a profitable 13-9 on top-rated spread picks. Anyone who has followed it has seen huge returns.

Now, the model has set its sights on Georgia vs. FSU and just revealed its picks and predictions. You can visit SportsLine to see the model’s CFB picks. Here are several college football odds and trends for FSU vs. Georgia:

Georgia vs. Florida State spread: Bulldogs -21Georgia vs. Florida State over/under: 46 points
Georgia vs. Florida State money line:…..

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LOS ANGELES — If you just watch the national media, you would think that Michigan football head coach Jim Harbaugh is an icy character, albeit a quirky one. But his players see him much differently than public perception.

On Friday, senior wide receiver Roman Wilson shared that he wished that more people knew what kind of person his head coach actually is.

“I wish I would be asked more about how good of a guy Coach Harbaugh is — I feel like I’ve never ever really got asked that,” Wilson said. “Is Coach Harbaugh really like his players? And is he really like a team guy? I think he really is.“

So what does that mean? What does Harbaugh look like behind the scenes?

Well, despite turning 60 on December 23, the ninth-year Michigan football head coach acts more like his players’ age than his own.

“He’s like a kid for real. He be cracking jokes like trying to get us with Deez Nuts jokes. He is out there having a good time,” Wilson said. “He really is a player, like one of us deep down.

“I told them out there, I went to his house for Christmas, and I thought he would just be inside chilling on the couch. He was just outside working on the chicken coop, chickens following him around. His actual kids were following him, and then chickens were just following him, and he was working on the chicken coop. I was, like, man, this is the most Coach Harbaugh thing I’ve ever seen.”

Harbaugh has found a way to relate more to his team in recent years than when he first came to Ann Arbor. Before 2021, it was rare to hear players discuss how much they loved their head coach. He started making a concerted effort to relate more to the Wolverine players in 2017, but it didn’t really catch on until the culture changed following the COVID year.

Story originally appeared on Wolverines Wire

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