Category: College Football

Nov. 13—PULLMAN — After completing a win over Utah State last weekend, maybe Washington State defenders figured they had seen all kinds of offenses: spread, run-and-shoot, pro-style, freshmen under center.

In fact, all the quarterbacks WSU has faced this season fashion themselves as pocket passers: Texas Tech’s Behren Morton, Washington’s Will Rogers, San Jose State’s Emmett Brown, Boise State’s Maddux Madsen, Fresno State’s Mikey Keene, Hawaii’s Brayden Schager, San Diego State’s Danny O’Neil and, most recently, Utah State’s Spencer Petras.

What the Cougars have yet to face this fall is a dual-threat quarterback. That’s the challenge No. 19 WSU gets this weekend in a road test against New Mexico and Devon Dampier, the Lobos’ leader in passing and rushing, giving the Cougars something they haven’t seen in more than a full calendar year.

“I think it is very unique,” WSU coach Jake Dickert said.

WSU will have its hands full with Dampier, who has totaled 100-plus rushing yards in three of his past four games, including a 207-yard outing in a loss to Wyoming earlier this month. At 5-foot-10, Dampier doesn’t have much size, so he makes up for it with quickness and elusiveness, forcing 44 missed tackles this season, tied for the most nationally among QBs — with WSU’s John Mateer.

Dampier is averaging 7.8 yards per carry, second in the country by only a hair, showing his inclination to tuck and run. Protected by an offensive line that has yielded only five sacks, Dampier has 35 rushes of 10-plus yard, second nationally among QBs.

“This quarterback is a problem,” Dickert said. “He has more yards from scrimmage than John does, and hopefully, that wakes everybody up, like, this guy is real. He’s shorter, he’s super fast. He has one of the highest explosive play rates in the country.”

The onus might be on the Cougars’…

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A midweek MACtion showdown has the Ohio Bobcats (6-3, 4-1 MAC) hosting the Eastern Michigan Eagles (5-4, 2-3 MAC) on Wednesday night. The Bobcats are coming off a 41-0 win over Kent State on Nov. 6 and they are involved in a four-way tie atop the MAC standings. Meanwhile, the Eagles are coming off one of the most exciting college football endings of the season, however, they ended on the wrong side of it. Eastern Michigan completed a 36-yard Hail Mary as time expired in its last contest but opted to go for a 2-point conversion for the victory. The pass fell incomplete and Eastern Michigan lost to Toledo, 29-28, on Saturday, Nov. 2.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET at Peden Stadium in Athens, Ohio. Ohio is a 10.5-point favorite in the latest Eastern Michigan vs. Ohio odds, according to the SportsLine consensus, while the over/under for total points scored is 50.5 points. Before making any Ohio vs. Eastern Michigan picks, you’ll want to see the college football predictions from the model at SportsLine.

The model simulates every FBS game 10,000 times. Since its inception, it has generated a betting profit of well over $2,000 for $100 players on its top-rated college spread football picks, and it is a strong 18-12 on all top-rated picks over the past seven weeks of this season. Anyone following at sportsbooks and on betting apps has seen strong returns.

The model has set its sights on Eastern Michigan vs. Ohio. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several college football betting lines for the Ohio vs. Eastern Michigan:

Ohio vs. Eastern Michigan spread: Ohio -10.5Ohio vs. Eastern Michigan over/under: 50.5 pointsOhio vs. Eastern Michigan money line: Ohio -413, Eastern Michigan +313Ohio vs. Eastern Michigan picks: See picks hereOhio vs. Eastern…..

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Staunton head coach Michael Bell, who led his team to a 7-3 regular season record and the Shenandoah District championship, was named the district’s coach of the year in voting results released Tuesday.

In his third season as the team’s head football coach, Bell has led Staunton into the playoffs. The Storm are the seventh seed in Region 3C and will play at Turner Ashby Friday night in the quarterfinals.

Fort Defiance quarterback Trey Miller was named the offensive player of the year while Stuarts Draft linebacker Landon Graber was named defensive player of the year.

Both players have led their teams into the postseason. Miller, who has played without either his star running back Bradley Hebb or star receiver Talyn Armentrout in all but three games this year, helped get Fort to a 5-5 record and the seventh seed in Region 2B. Graber, who was also named second-team quarterback, guided the Cougars to a 7-3 mark the the No. 6 seed in Region 2B.

Stuarts Draft led the district with players making 10 spots on either the first team offense or defense. Staunton was second with six, five of whom made the first team defensive team. Staunton’s Marc Geffrard was named first team at three different positions — all purpose offense, defensive back and punt returner.

Fort Defiance and Wilson Memorial placed five players each on the first teams, while Buffalo Gap had three, Riverheads two and Waynesboro one.

Staunton led the way on second team with seven players, Wilson had six, while Riverheads and Stuarts Draft both had five. Fort Defiance, Waynesboro and Buffalo Gap had three each.

Staunton coach Michael Bell

Buffalo Gap

FIRST TEAM

Shane Huffer, center

Carson Townsend, offensive line

Colby Yeago, running back

SECOND TEAM

Koltlei Rodriguez, offensive line

Bradley Shiplet, wideout

Isaac Goff, all purpose offense

Fort Defiance

FIRST TEAM

Trey…

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Former USC and Los Angeles Rams coach John Robinson died on Monday at age 89 after complications from pneumonia, the school announced. 

Robinson is best known in the college ranks for guiding the Trojans to their 1978 national title. He also coached the program to five Pac-10 titles and eight bowl game appearances, including a perfect 4-0 record in the Rose Bowl, in two different stints as coach. In all, he had a 104-35-4 record during his 12-year coaching career at USC from 1976-82 and 1993-97. 

He also oversaw the development of some of the program’s all-time greats, including two Heisman Trophy winners: Charles White and Marcus Allen. Robinson’s Trojans produced 24 All-Americans, 22 first-round picks.

Robinson served as the coach of the Rams from 1983-91 between his two stints at USC. Following his second stint at USC, Robinson accepted the UNLV job, where he coached from 1999-2004.

Robinson started his coaching career as an assistant at Oregon, his alma mater, from 1960-71 before taking the offensive coordinator job at USC. He then spent one year as an assistant for the Oakland Raiders before returning to Los Angeles to begin his first of two runs with the Trojans in 1976.

Following his college coaching career, Robinson served as UNLV’s athletic director from 2002-03. He was also a football senior consultant at LSU from 2019-21.

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Georgia is down, down, down in this week’s USA TODAY Sports NCAA Re-Rank 1-134 while Alabama and Mississippi climb the rankings after a consequential Saturday in the SEC.

The Bulldogs are down 10 spots to No. 13 after losing 28-10 to the Rebels, who move up five to No. 12. The Crimson Tide are also up five to No. 10 following a 42-13 win at LSU.

It’s not hard to put Georgia behind this pair. The Bulldogs lost to both teams, both times on the road. Last month’s win against Texas helps keep Georgia one spot ahead of another two-loss SEC team in No. 13 Texas A&M.

Mississippi running back Ulysses Bentley IV (24) runs the ball for a touchdown against Georgia during the first half at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

There’s still plenty of SEC representation near the top of the rankings. No. 1 Oregon and No. 2 Ohio State continue to lead the way, followed by the No. 3 Longhorns, No. 4 Penn State and No. 5 Tennessee. Next comes No. 6 Notre Dame, No. 7 Indiana and No. 8 Brigham Young.

Another contender dropping in this week’s re-rank is No. 9 Miami. The Hurricanes were able to escape against California, Virginia Tech, Louisville and Duke but ran out of magic in a 28-23 loss to Georgia Tech. Miami remains the highest-ranked team in the ACC, a couple steps ahead of No. 11 SMU.

WINNERS AND LOSERS: Georgia’s stumble leads Week 11 storylines

HEAT IS ON: Mississippi’s win puts pressure on CFP committee

Joining Miami in falling down the 1-134 are No. 22 Iowa State (down 10), No. 25 LSU (down 11), No. 35 Iowa (down 10) and No. 57 Florida (down 12).

Those moving up include No. 24 Colorado (up 10), No. 30 Georgia Tech (up 14) and No. 84 UCLA (up 16).

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: College football Week 11 Re-Rank: Georgia falling, Mississippi rising

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Georgia quarterback Carson Beck defended his play after a disappointing loss to No. 16 Ole Miss on Saturday. Beck threw for only 186 yards and turned the ball over twice as the Bulldogs lost their first game against a non-Alabama opponent since 2020, snapping a streak of 52 wins. 

“It’s not about how I play but how we play,” Beck told 247Sports. “Our identity is to run the ball. We just weren’t able to do that tonight. Maybe whenever that happens, I have to step up and we have to make some explosive plays in the passing game. Or maybe I got to start making some plays on the ground. Somebody has to step up and make a play whenever we’re not able to run the ball comfortably.” 

There is some truth to Beck’s comments. Last season, Georgia ranked No. 3 in the SEC in rushing offense at more than 191 yards per contest. After nine games in 2024, the Bulldogs are at a paltry 124, good enough for 15th out of 16 teams in the SEC and No. 104 nationally. During their championship runs, leaning on highly touted running backs and offensive linemen was a key part of the success. 

Regardless, Beck has gone from a potential first-round NFL draft pick in the eyes of NFL scouts to a vexing question mark for Georgia. Through his first 17 games as Georgia’s starting quarterback, Beck threw just six total interceptions. In the last six games alone, he has thrown 12. That includes three against Florida, Texas and Alabama. Beck threw an interception to no touchdowns in No. 3 Georgia’s loss at Ole Miss on Saturday.

“He’s definitely pressing,” an opposing defensive coach told CBS Sports last week. “Forcing it. Trying to do too much. Throw it away, scramble and slide or check it down (at certain points). Just feel like he’s for sure forcing it.”

Beck has…

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The trash came raining down Saturday at Texas Tech.

Water bottles. Tortillas. A vape. A beer bottle.

Much of it ended up on the sideline of the Colorado Buffaloes before they beat Tech, 41-27, in another big road win for one of the most upstart teams in college football. The Buffs (7-2) now control their own destiny in their bid to win the Big 12 Conference championship.

“They were throwing everything but my mama at me,” Colorado coach Deion Sanders said afterward.

Sanders shrugged it off for the most part, noting that he once played pro baseball and football, where the crowd sometimes had thrown batteries onto the field. Sanders also knew that Tech fans like to throw tortillas on the field, since that’s been a long-time tradition at games in Lubbock.

“But when they start throwing the water bottles and those other objects, that’s when you’ve got to alarm the officials, and say, `OK now, tortillas are one thing, but water bottles are another thing,” Sanders said. “That’s getting a little crazy.”

Texas Tech coach said it was ‘taking it too far’

At one point early in the fourth quarter, Tech coach Joey McGuire even took the microphone to address the home crowd of 60,229.

“Stop throwing stuff on the field!” McGuire told them early in the fourth quarter.

Afterward, he expressed relief it wasn’t worse.

“I got a vape brought over to me. I got a water bottle brought over to me. I got a beer bottle brought over to me,” McGuire said. “It’s great with tortillas and everything like that, but we got really lucky that we didn’t get a 15-yard penalty.”

He said Tech fans are “absolutely incredible, but when you get to that point, you know, that’s taking it too far.”

Yet Colorado didn’t seem to mind too much. Actually, they like such hostility. This was the Buffs’ fourth straight win on the road….

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Wisconsin football extended an offer to top-ranked class of 2027 offensive tackle Jake Hildebrand on Friday.

As a sophomore, Hildebrand is already considered a five-star recruit via 247Sports’ composite ranking. The outlet also pegs the Arizona native as the No. 24 overall recruit, No. 2 offensive tackle and No. 1 player from Arizona for the class of 2027.

On3, meanwhile, has Hildebrand as the No. 1 offensive tackle in the nation for his cohort.

The 6-foot-6, 285-pound recruit has already received a bevy of offers from some of the most prestigious programs in the nation. As of Nov. 8, that list includes Oregon, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Iowa State and Washington.

That list will likely balloon as Hildebrand progresses through the rest of his high school tenure.

After an amazing conversation with @BadgerFootball @CoachBlaz , I am so excited and blessed to have received an offer to continue @UWBadgers Thank you so much for believing in me! @CoachFick @CoachPhilLongo #onWisconsin #Badgers @bashagridiron @RecruitingBasha @CoachTKelly1… pic.twitter.com/pBmrMTMMrJ

— Jake Hildebrand (@JakeH_2027) November 8, 2024

On3’s recruiting prediction machine has Arizona State and Arizona as the most likely destinations for Hildebrand, but he has ample time to receive more offers and make his collegiate decision.

Wisconsin’s storied history in producing NFL-ready offensive linemen will certainly play a role in Hildebrand’s recruitment. UW’s interest at the stage of the process could help establish some ties as the sophomore continues to hone in on his craft at tackle.

Story originally appeared on Badgers Wire

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