Category: College Football

Upon his introduction as Miami’s new coach, former Hurricanes player, assistant and hometown favorite Mario Cristobal said he coudn’t wait to “compete for championships.” The Hurricanes flopped in his debut, however, finishing 5-7 for the worst season since 2007. Hoping for a Year 2 leap like he had at Oregon, Cristobal is pressing the reset button on his tenure with a pair of pivotal coordinator hires. 

Defensive coordinator Lance Guidry arrives from Marshall to replace Kevin Steele, who left for the same job with Alabama. Houston offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson is reportedly not far behind after the Hurricanes moved on from Josh Gattis. For Cristobal to surpass recent standards in Coral Gables, the three of them will need to mesh quickly. Not since the arrival of Howard Schnellenberger in 1979 has a second-year ‘Canes coach failed to reach at least seven wins. (Schnellenberger’s predecessor, Lou Saban, went 6-5 in his second and last year in 1978.) 

If Cristobal can’t reach that modest threshold, then it will raise serious questions over whether competing for championships is truly in the cards for the program under his direction.

Cristobal led Oregon to a Pac-12 championship and Rose Bowl victory with a final record of 12-2 in his second season in Eugene. He is also precisely 67-67 over 12 seasons at three different jobs, but that 2019 effort stands out as a beacon of hope on his résumé that perhaps good things are ahead for Miami. 

New identity on offense?

A Broyles Award winner in 2021 as Michigan’s offensive coordinator, Gattis guided the Wolverines to a Big Ten championship and College Football Playoff appearance. Those credentials seemingly made him a rockstar hire for Cristobal, but Miami’s offense flopped in…

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Michigan football and linebackers coach George Helow have mutually agreed to part ways, according to Fox Sports college football reporter Bruce Feldman.

A message seeking comment from the U-M football spokesperson has not yet been returned.

Last week, U-M brought back former assistant coach Chris Partridge to the staff in an undisclosed role. Partridge coached linebackers in Ann Arbor from 2016-17.

Helow, 26, was hired by U-M before the 2021 season from Maryland, where he was special teams coordinator and inside linebackers coach. Since then, the Michigan defense was ranked in the top five in points allowed in 2021 and last season. The Wolverines won the Big Ten and reached the College Football Playoff both years.

Last month, Michigan fired co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Matt Weiss days after he was placed on administrative leave while being investigated for possible computer crimes that took place at Schembechler Hall. The new quarterbacks coach is Kirk Campbell, who served as an off-field analyst for U-M last season.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football, LBs coach George Helow reportedly parting ways

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USATSI

No. 1 Alabama spent just two days atop the AP Top 25 college basketball rankings before taking a loss in the very next game, falling 68-59 at No. 10 Tennessee on Wednesday night in Knoxville. The loss drops Alabama to 22-4 overall, but more importantly marks the team’s first SEC loss of the 2022-23 season.  

While the win sours what has been a celebration of the Crimson Tide’s highest ranking in 20 years, the game also marks an impressive response from Tennessee after losing two straight games in buzzer-beating fashion. Even more notable is how the Vols dug deep despite being shorthanded. With senior Josiah Jordan-James and freshman forward Julian Phillips unavailable due to injury, Tennessee had just an eight-player rotation to battle a deep. talented and athletic Alabama side. But Tennessee relied on its elite defense to carry it, holding Alabama to just 35.4% shooting from the field. 

The Vols established an edge early with their defense, forcing Alabama into turnovers and then turning those errors into points. Of Tennessee’s 29 points at the half of a tied game, 22 came off turnovers. The Crimson Tide tightened up after halftime and finished with 19 turnovers, but they proved insurmountable when coupled with the poor shooting effort. 

For a rivalry between fanbases that extends through generations and recently included an iconic Tennessee win on the football field, there was already going to be plenty of jubilation for a home win against the hated Tide. When you factor in the buzzer-beater…

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Georgia football is projected at the top of college football in 2023, according to ESPN’s 2023 SP+ rankings.

ESPN states the SP+ measurements are based on returning production, recent recruiting and recent history.

The back-to-back national champion Bulldogs come in at No. 1, followed by Ohio State, Michigan, Alabama and Penn State.

Tennessee (No. 6) and LSU (No. 7) round out the SEC’s top selections.

The Bulldogs were ranked No. 3 at this time last year.

The SEC is projected as the top conference in college football in 2023, followed by the Big Ten and Big 12.

Georgia’s returning production on defense should help the offense’s transition as new offensive coordinator Mike Bobo replaces Todd Monken, who was hired by the Baltimore Ravens on Tuesday.

The Bulldogs return six starters on offense and seven on defense for 13 total, which is three more than Georgia returned from its 2022 national title team.

Story originally appeared on UGA Wire

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USATSI

Maryland has hired former Houston, Texas A&M and Arizona coach Kevin Sumlin to join the Terrapins as their co-offensive coordinator and tight ends coach according to multiple reports including InsideMDSports.com and On3 Sports. Sumlin, 58, was the head coach and general manager of the Houston Gamblers of the USFL in 2022.

Sumlin has plenty of experience in the college ranks as the head coach at Houston from 2008-11, Texas A&M from 2012-17 and Arizona from 2018-20. Legendary college quarterback and 2012 Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel was his signal-caller during Sumlin’s first two seasons with the Aggies. He was named the SEC Coach of the Year in 2012 after posting an 11-2 record and a No. 5 ranking in the final AP Top 25.

It’s unclear how much play-calling power Sumlin will have under Terps head coach Mike Locksley.

The tight ends coach role is a position Sumlin has had in the past. He held the title at Oklahoma from 2003-05, which included BCS Championship Game appearances in 2003 and 2004. However, none of his tight ends finished with 100 or more yards in any season during his final 11 seasons as a college head coach. With that said, the tight end position has evolved into more of a hybrid position over the last decade, which fits in with Sumlin’s style not only as an “Air Raid” guru, but as a coach with plenty of experience as a dedicated wide receivers coach during the majority of his time in the business.

This will be the first time that Locksley and Sumlin will work together on a…

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The Notre Dame offensive coordinator search will continue after news that Utah’s Andy Ludwig has been ruled out due to a buyout. This news was reported by ESPN’s Pete Thamel and it comes after a very much publicized visit to South Bend by Ludwig this weekend.

Head coach Marcus Freeman will need to find another play caller who fits what Notre Dame is looking for after it looked like Ludwig was prepared to make the lateral move. That obviously is not the case as a $2.8 million dollar buyout stood in the way from the Irish finding their next offensive coordinator.

The board isn’t clean and the Irish won’t have to start from square one, but on the peripheral, the inability to be able to buyout Ludwig is a very bad look.

More!

Notre Dame offers massive 2024 Missouri offensive lineman

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

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Story originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire

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Plenty of former college stars will play on the biggest stage in football in Super Bowl LVII, which features the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs in State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. One of the most intriguing players in the game is Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts. The third-year signal-caller started at Alabama as a true freshman in 2016, was benched in favor of Tua Tagovailoa in the College Football Playoff National Championship the next season, saved the season in the SEC Championship Game in 2018 when Tagovailoa suffered an injury and became a Heisman Trophy finalist in 2019 at Oklahoma. That is a roller-coaster ride of epic proportions. 

Patrick Mahomes II, formerly of Texas Tech and MVP of Super Bowl LIV, will take the snaps for the Chiefs in an attempt to hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy for the second time in his career. The former Red Raiders star has evolved from a star in the “Air Raid” offense in Lubbock, Texas, into one of the most dynamic signal-callers in a generation.

Where did each of this year’s Super Bowl players attend college? We break down every active player below based on school and conference. 

LIVE: Follow along with every moment of Super Bowl LVII here. 

Super Bowl players by college  

Where players on the official active rosters of the Chiefs and Eagles as of Monday played in college.   

Two players each: Middle Tennessee, Memphis, Old Dominion, Rutgers, SMU, Texas Tech, USC, Wisconsin

One player each: Clemson, Duke, East Carolina, Eastern Michigan, Fayetteville State, Georgia Southern, Georgia Tech, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, LSU, Marshall, Miami, Michigan State, Missouri, Missouri Southern, NC State, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Oregon State,…

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The 2024 rankings will be updated this week for the first time since August and there are plenty of prospects who will enter the national discussion.

Dylan Raiola moved up to the No. 1 in the 2024 Rivals250 in the previous rankings refresh but there are a handful of players who could supplant him. The national recruiting analysts – Clint Cosgrove, Adam Friedman, Adam Gorney, Nick Harris and Ryan Wright – give their takes on who they think is the most likely challenger to Raiola’s seat atop the Rivals250.

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RIVALS RANKINGS WEEK

Sunday: Who should be the No. 1 prospect in the 2024 Rivals250?

Monday: Five-Star Countdown | Meet the new five-stars

Tuesday: Rivals250 released | Biggest Movers | Gorney’s thoughts

Wednesday: Offensive position rankings released

Thursday: Defensive position rankings released

Friday: State rankings released

Saturday: Roundtable

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COSGROVE’S VIEW: Williams Nwaneri

From a projection standpoint, Nwaneri could be the biggest challenger to Raiola for No. 1 overall player in the 2024 class. He plays a high-value position, has every physical and athletic attribute you look for in a future No. 1 draft pick and is equally impressive in person as he is on film. You rarely find a young defensive lineman with the twitch, body control, and dominant display of hands at the “raw” stage of their career and I see Nwaneri being a player with generational upside.

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FRIEDMAN’S VIEW: Colin Simmons

Simmons is a terror off the edge of the defense. He can put his hand in the ground and beat almost any offensive tackle he comes across with either power or speed and he has very advanced hand techniques that allow him to slip into the backfield almost at will. Simmons also has the ability to stand up and play in space. That elite athleticism has made him one of the most heavily recruited prospects in…

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