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Tag: CFP National Championship

  • Chip Kelly lands new job as Northwestern’s offensive coordinator after firing by Raiders

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    Chip Kelly didn’t have to wait long to land his next job.

    The former Oregon and Philadelphia Eagles coach was hired as Northwestern’s offensive coordinator on Tuesday.

    The move comes on the heels of the Las Vegas Raiders firing Kelly as offensive coordinator late last month after just 11 games. But he has a history of overseeing explosive offenses, particularly at the college level.

    Kelly led Oregon to a 46-7 record and a national championship game appearance from 2009 to 2012 before spending four years as an NFL head coach — three with Philadelphia and one with San Francisco. He returned to the college ranks as UCLA’s coach from 2018-23, leading the Bruins to a 35–34 record. He was offensive coordinator at Ohio State under Ryan Day last year, helping the Buckeyes win the national championship.

    “This program and university are clearly on the rise, and the values of the people and this place align with my own,” he said in a statement. “I am grateful for the opportunity. There is tremendous potential under Coach Braun’s leadership, and I’m ready to contribute to this team.”

    Kelly was the most prominent assistant hired by Pete Carroll in his first season as Las Vegas’ coach after leading the Seattle Seahawks for 14 years. He reportedly received a $6 million contract, the highest for an NFL offensive coordinator. But he never lived up to the deal. Las Vegas’ offense ranked among the NFL’s worst when he was fired.

    “There was certainly an incredible amount of respect for the body of work that he’s put together, whether it be in the NFL, his time at Oregon, time at UCLA, time at Ohio State,” Northwestern coach David Braun said on a Zoom. “But through conversations and really getting to know him as a person and as a football mind, it was very evident to me that an opportunity to bring him on board and have him be a part of Northwestern football was something that could be an absolute game-changer for this program and specifically our offense here at Northwestern.”

    In a statement, athletic director Mark Jackson called it “a seminal moment for our program.” Jackson had a connection with Kelly through Carroll, having worked as an assistant coach on Carroll’s staff with the New England Patriots and later as an administrator at USC during the football team’s dominant run.

    “Mark’s relationship with Chip probably put us in a position to start the conversation, to see if this is an opportunity that Chip would be interested in,” Braun said. “Through those conversations — countless conversations — between Chip and I, it became very evident that this might be something that is of very strong mutual interest. The thing that excites me most about him coming onboard is, yes, his level of expertise, but also the level of passion that he has to get here and get to work and make this truly something special for Northwestern football going into the future.”

    The Wildcats are 19-19 in three seasons under Braun. They went 7-6 this year and beat Central Michigan in the GameAbove Sports Bowl even though the offense struggled. Kelly replaces Zach Lujan, who spent two years as coordinator. With the transfer portal opening Friday, Braun said it was “absolutely critical” to have the position filled.

    Northwestern is set to move into a new stadium next season after playing home games the past two years at a temporary lakefront facility and at Wrigley Field. Without the new Ryan Field, Braun doesn’t think he lands Kelly.

    “We talked about converging timing,” Braun said. “The converging timing is moving into a new Ryan Field in 2026, House settlement and a new landscape of college football, a program that is on the rise and an opportunity for us to really establish a new era of Northwestern football in the best football stadium in the world. For me to say that that isn’t a contributing factor to all this isn’t true. I think it absolutely is a factor.”

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  • LSU fires coach Brian Kelly in the 4th season of his 10-year, $100 million deal

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    NEW ORLEANS — LSU fired coach Brian Kelly during the fourth season of a 10-year contract worth about $100 million, athletic director Scott Woodward announced Sunday night.

    The move comes on the heels of Saturday night’s 49-25 loss to No. 3 Texas A&M in Tiger Stadium — a second straight loss, and third in four games for LSU (5-3, 2-3 Southeastern Conference).

    “When Coach Kelly arrived at LSU four years ago, we had high hopes that he would lead us to multiple SEC and national championships during his time in Baton Rouge,” Woodward said. “Ultimately, the success at the level that LSU demands simply did not materialize.”

    Associate head coach Frank Wilson, who also serves as a running backs coach, has been tapped as the interim head coach for the remainder of the 2025 season.

    Kelly was hired away from Notre Dame when his predecessor, Ed Orgeron, stepped down following the 2021 regular season.

    He has gone 34-14 with the Tigers, even taking LSU to the 2022 SEC title game. But LSU did not qualify for the College Football Playoff in his first three seasons, and was virtually eliminated from contention with its loss to the Aggies.

    The playoff was expanded from four to 12 teams for the 2024 season.

    “I will not compromise in our pursuit of excellence and we will not lower our standards,” said Woodward, an LSU graduate who was hired to his current post in 2019, the same year the Tigers won their last national title under Orgeron.

    Orgeron left after not posting a winning record during his final two seasons.

    While Kelly did not coach LSU to a playoff berth, he oversaw quarterback Jayden Daniels’ development into a Heisman Trophy winner in 2023.

    “I am confident in our ability to bring to Baton Rouge an outstanding leader, teacher and coach, who fits our culture and community and who embraces the excellence that we demand,” Woodward said.

    LSU could have to pay Kelly more than $52 million to not coach through 2031, but the precise figure was unclear on Sunday night.

    “We will continue to negotiate his separation and will work toward a path that is better for both parties,” Woodward said.

    The development is an awkward one for Woodward, who was Texas A&M’s athletic director when that university hired Jimbo Fisher, only to have to buy him out for a historic $77 million after he struggled to win consistently during his six seasons there from 2018 to 2023.

    Kelly, 64, has coached in the top tier of Division I college football since being hired by Central Michigan in 2004.

    In the 22 years since, he has gone 200-76, including a 34-6 record at Cincinnati and a 113-40 record at Notre Dame.

    He was lured away from Notre Dame by Woodward, who saw Kelly as a coach who could win a national title if he had access to the resources at an SEC power like LSU, where the previous three coaches — Nick Saban, Les Miles and Orgeron — all had won national championships.

    But Kelly’s arrival at LSU also overlapped with a major paradigm shift in the sport: the advent of the transfer portal, which allowed players to more freely jump to different schools from year to year without having to sit out a season, and the approval to pay players for the use of their name, image and likeness.

    Last offseason, LSU launched a campaign to dramatically increase funding available to pay players, and the Tigers brought in numerous transfers to step into starting roles, particularly on the offensive line, defensive line and secondary.

    The Tigers also were able to lure 2024 starting quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, who was eligible for the NFL draft, to return for his senior season, further raising expectations that LSU would contend for a CFP berth.

    Instead, LSU not only has lost to Ole Miss, Vanderbilt and A&M, but the three power conference teams the Tigers have beaten — Clemson, Florida and South Carolina — all currently have losing records.

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  • Overhauled Washington begins new era under Jedd Fisch and in Big Ten hosting Weber State

    Overhauled Washington begins new era under Jedd Fisch and in Big Ten hosting Weber State

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    Weber State at Washington, Saturday, 11 p.m. ET (Big Ten Network)

    BetMGM College Football Odds: Washington by 27 1/2.

    Series record: First meeting.

    WHAT’S AT STAKE?

    Less than eight months after playing for the national championship, Washington makes its debut under new coach Jedd Fisch with a completely remodeled program. Most of the stars from last year’s team have moved on either to the NFL or new schools. Fisch took control after Kalen DeBoer moved to Alabama and will unveil his overhauled roster against Weber State, highlighted by new quarterback Will Rogers and running back Jonah Coleman, and a defense under the command of Steve Belichick. Weber State returns nine starters from last year’s team that went 6-5 and the Wildcats begin the season ranked No. 22 in the FCS.

    KEY MATCHUP

    Washington returns only one full-time starter from last season’s team so the opener against the Wildcats will be a test of how well the remade roster can come together. Fisch said effort and fundamentals are the two of the things he’s most interested in seeing. There are also the concerns of complacency and making sure Washington isn’t looking past Weber State. It was only three years ago that Washington opened its season by losing to Montana at home.

    PLAYERS TO WATCH

    Weber State: DE Brayden Wilson has been the most honored player in the preseason for the Wildcats. Wilson was named a preseason all-Big Sky and preseason All-American by some outlets. He led the Big Sky last season with 16 1/2 tackles for loss, including 7 1/2 sacks. He could be a test for Washington’s new offensive line.

    Washington: Rogers and fellow QB Demond Williams Jr. Fisch made it clear that Rogers’ experience playing at Mississippi State in the SEC was a factor in naming him the starting QB. But Williams is a promising freshman who pushed Rogers in training camp and seems likely to get some amount of playing time this season.

    FACTS & FIGURES

    Washington’s first game as a member of the Big Ten. Weber State’s first game against a team from the Big Ten. … The Wildcats were picked to finish sixth in the Big Sky preseason poll. … The Huskies won’t leave Seattle for their first four games. After this week, Washington hosts Eastern Michigan, plays Washington State at Lumen Field and opens conference play at home against Northwestern. … CB Elijah Jackson is the only full-time starter to return from last season for Washington – and he might not even start the opener.

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  • Man who shot ex-Saints star Will Smith receives 25-year prison sentence for manslaughter

    Man who shot ex-Saints star Will Smith receives 25-year prison sentence for manslaughter

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    NEW ORLEANS — The man who fatally shot retired NFL star Will Smith during a confrontation following a car crash in 2016 received a 25-year prison sentence Thursday in a New Orleans courtroom.

    It was the second time Cardell Hayes, 36, had faced sentencing in Smith’s death. He was convicted of manslaughter in December 2016 and later sentenced to 25 years. But the jury vote had been 10-2 and the conviction was later tossed after the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed such non-unanimous verdicts.

    After a new trial, Hayes was convicted by a unanimous jury in January, rejecting defense arguments that Hayes had fired in self-defense, thinking that a drunken and belligerent Smith had retrieved a gun from his SUV.

    “This court has struggled with this case since the time I got it,” said state District Judge Camille Buras, who presided in both trials. Before sentencing Hayes, she acknowledged the strong support he received from friends and family, and testimony that he had been a model prisoner. But she noted that both Hayes and a companion were armed when they exited Hayes’ car after the crash. And she said Smith was unarmed as he retreated to his car “perhaps to arm himself, perhaps not.”

    Smith was shot eight times — seven times in the back — during the confrontation.

    Buras also noted the damaging force with which Hayes’ Hummer rammed Smith’s SUV on the night of the crash. Surveillance video from the night of the shooting showed Smith’s Mercedes SUV possibly bumping Hayes’ Hummer, then driving off. Hayes followed them. He has said he did not intend to ram Smith’s car and the jury acquitted him on a charge related to the ramming at the 2016 trial.

    Prosecutors had asked for the 25-year sentence, saying Hayes, while he has expressed sorrow, has never acknowledged wrongdoing. Defense lawyer Sarah Chervinsky didn’t directly ask for a specific sentence but noted strong community and family support for Hayes and, at one point in her argument, said “five years is enough.”

    Smith’s daughter Lisa, now a teenager, was among those who spoke in court before the sentencing. She said her mother had to relearn to walk after the shooting and she lamented not having her father around for major life events.

    “Mr. Hayes, you ruined my life,” she said. “You took my father away from me.”

    In testimony in support of Hayes, his mother, Dawn Mumphrey, expressed sorrow for the loss of Smith. “Our lives are forever changed as well,” she said, her voice shaking. She tearfully looked at the judge. “I ask for your mercy,” she said.

    Hayes has long said he fired in self-defense. During his first trial, he testified that he heard a “pop” before he started shooting and that he did not shoot at Smith’s wife, Racquel, who was hit in the legs.

    Evidence showed Smith was intoxicated at the time of the confrontation. But there was no witness or forensic evidence to back up Hayes’ claim that Smith had wielded or fired a weapon. At the January retrial, defense attorney John Fuller did not call Hayes to testify, but insisted prosecutors had failed to prove Hayes didn’t fire in self-defense.

    Hayes was released on bond in 2021 after having served more than four years of the original sentence. He was out of prison during multiple retrial delays, some due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But he was taken back into custody following the unanimous Jan. 27 verdict and had been awaiting sentencing at the New Orleans jail.

    The overturned verdicts from the 2016 jury also included an attempted manslaughter conviction in the wounding of Racquel Smith. Hayes was acquitted of that charge at January’s second trial.

    Hayes has already served more than four years in prison, for which he will receive credit. He has also been subject to strict supervision and home confinement. It was not immediately clear whether and how that would count toward his sentence. Buras said she would discuss that with prison officials.

    Before Thursday’s sentencing, about two dozen of Hayes’ family and friends formed a circle and prayed in the wide courthouse hallway.

    Smith, a 34-year-old father of three, was a defensive leader on the Saints team that lifted spirits in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina devastated the city in 2005. He helped carry the team to a winning season in 2006 and a Super Bowl victory in 2010. Smith attended Ohio State University and helped the Buckeyes win the 2002 national championship.

    Hayes, who owned a tow truck business, once played semi-pro and is the father of a teenager and a 2-year-old child.

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  • Jim Harbaugh set to meet with Chargers next week about their head coaching vacancy, AP source says

    Jim Harbaugh set to meet with Chargers next week about their head coaching vacancy, AP source says

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    The Jim Harbaugh derby for NFL teams is about to heat up.

    A week after leading the University of Michigan to a national title, Harbaugh will meet with the Los Angeles Chargers about their head coaching vacancy this week, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press.

    The person spoke to The AP on condition of anonymity Sunday because the person wasn’t at liberty to publicly discuss personnel moves.

    Besides the Chargers, Atlanta, Carolina, Las Vegas, Seattle, Tennessee and Washington have openings.

    Harbaugh, who went 44-19-1 in four seasons as San Francisco’s coach and took the 49ers to the Super Bowl after the 2012 season, has a prior relationship with the Chargers and the Spanos family that owns it. He played quarterback for the Bolts from 1999-2000 before retiring after the 2001 season.

    The Chargers are looking for a coach and general manager after Brandon Staley and Tom Telesco were fired on Dec. 15, a day after a 63-21 loss at Las Vegas.

    While Harbaugh is exploring his NFL options, he also is considering staying at Michigan, a person familiar with his thinking told the AP. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the discussions.

    When asked about possible interest in the NFL and then about the Chargers during an availability at Disneyland before the Rose Bowl on Dec. 27, Harbaugh gave the same answer to both questions.

    “Such a one-track mind. That’s the way we’re going about things. Literally, whatever day we’re in, looking to get the most out of it, dominate the day, then we’re going to sleep tonight and wake up tomorrow and see if we can’t dominate that day,” he said. “It’s a single-minded group. Just very focused on taking care of business today and see if we can’t do the same tomorrow.”

    Harbaugh has spent the last week decompressing after the Wolverines beat Washington 34-13 in the College Football Playoff title game last Monday. Michigan held a celebratory parade on Saturday.

    The 60-year-old Harbaugh has an 89-25 record in nine seasons at Michigan. Harbaugh’s tenure at his alma mater has lasted longer than some expected when he was hired in 2015. He coached San Diego University for three seasons (2004-06), Stanford for four (2007-10) and the 49ers for four (2010-2014).

    Harbaugh was offered a 10-year, $125 million contact by Michigan that included a clause stating he could not entertain NFL offers this offseason.

    To prepare for a possible NFL return, Harbaugh recently hired Don Yee as his agent. Yee is known for his representation of another famous Michigan quarterback — seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady — but the Pasadena-based agent also represents Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton, who was the most sought-after coaching free agent last year.

    Harbaugh has not hidden his interest in a possible return to the NFL. His brother, John, is the longtime coach of the Baltimore Ravens, who beat Jim Harbaugh’s 49ers in the Super Bowl after the 2012 season.

    Harbaugh interviewed with the Minnesota Vikings two years ago and had discussions with the Broncos and Carolina Panthers last year.

    Despite leading Michigan to its first national title since 1997, it was a frustrating year for Harbaugh. He was suspended for the first three games by the NCAA because the association concluded he misled investigators.

    Harbaugh then was suspended for the final three regular-season games by the Big Ten over allegations of sign-stealing and in-person scouting.

    Michigan has received a notice of allegations for NCAA violations related to recruiting during the pandemic.

    The Chargers have conducted six interviews about their vacancy. They interviewed interim coach Giff Smith and offensive coordinator Kellen Moore on Tuesday, Las Vegas Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham on Thursday and Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken on Friday. On Saturday, they interviewed two defensive coordinators — San Francisco’s Steve Wilks and Baltimore’s Mike Macdonald.

    Even though Monken, Wilks and Macdonald are part of playoff teams, they were allowed to interview virtually under the league’s revised policy for head coach interviews since their teams have byes this week as the top seeds in their respective conferences.

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    AP Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi contributed to this report.

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  • Tumultuous week leaves Washington trying to rebuild after title game loss, coach departure

    Tumultuous week leaves Washington trying to rebuild after title game loss, coach departure

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    SEATTLE — In five days, Washington went from the precipice of its first national title in more than three decades to a program in shambles.

    The championship game — lost to Michigan.

    Its head coach — gone to Alabama.

    Its roster — many players headed to the NFL draft, others already saying they’re headed to the transfer portal, including the presumptive next quarterback.

    What was as a devastating week for Washington came to a conclusion on Friday when Kalen DeBoer left the school to take the head job at Alabama and the chance at being Nick Saban’s replacement with the Crimson Tide.

    DeBoer walked away from the potential of a massive new contract with the Huskies for the opportunity of leading one of the premier programs in the country with resources and cachet that new Washington athletic director Troy Dannen couldn’t match.

    But by doing so, DeBoer left a program facing an uncertain future and major challenges headed to the Big Ten starting next season with a roster that could be picked apart by the time a new coach is in place.

    As edge rusher Zion Tuputola-Fetui posted on social media on Friday, “Sometimes we have to be reminded it’s all a business.”

    “We are sad to see him leave and we did all that we could to keep Kalen at UW,” Dannen said in a statement Friday night.

    It’s hard to find the downside in a 14-1 season that ended with playing for a national title. Even into the early moments of the fourth quarter of Monday’s 34-13 loss to Michigan, there were hopes that Washington could put together one more comeback and win the school’s first title since 1991.

    But the success of the season raised DeBoer’s profile to the point of being on Alabama’s short list when Saban decided to step away. Throw in that Dannen is new in Seattle — he was hired in October — and it created a circumstance where DeBoer leaving for a premier job was a possibility.

    None of that could have been expected when DeBoer was hired by former AD Jen Cohen and inherited a 4-8 program. The sudden turnaround of the past two years created rabid optimism from fans who hoped that DeBoer would be the next version of Don James, who regularly would have Washington in the national conversation.

    Instead, he’s headed for the Southeastern Conference, and Washington’s pending move to the Big Ten appears to be facing massive tests for whoever takes over next.

    The exodus after Washington played for a national title was going to include countless players with pro futures. And it has with the likes of Rome Odunze, Jalen McMillan, Bralen Trice and Dillon Johnson all declaring for the NFL draft. The Huskies won’t have Michael Penix Jr., their Heisman Trophy runner-up quarterback, either.

    It didn’t take long after the DeBoer news broke for some important pieces to Washington’s success this season to announce their plans to enter the transfer portal. And some of Washington’s future is now unknown, with expected reinforcements from the portal saying their commitment is now reopened. That includes quarterback Will Rogers, who was expected to take over for Penix, linebacker Ethan Barr and tight end Tre Watson.

    The easiest way for Washington to stop any potential flood of departures or decommitments and attempt to build on this season would be rapidly filling the opening. The likes of Arizona’s Jedd Fisch, Iowa State’s Matt Campbell and Kansas’ Lance Leipold will be floated as external options. Ryan Grubb will be an obvious in-house choice if he doesn’t follow DeBoer. JaMarcus Shephard should get similar consideration.

    But less than a week removed, it’s a far different place from where Washington expected to be when walking off the field in Houston.

    “We have one of the best head coaching jobs in all of college football, with our recent success, our upcoming entry into the premier intercollegiate athletics conference, the Big Ten, our passionate supporters and fanbase, and a world-class university,” Dannen said.

    It just won’t be under DeBoer’s watch. ___ AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

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  • Jim Harbaugh's Michigan thumps Washington 34-13 for national title, finishing 15-0 amid contentious sign-stealing case

    Jim Harbaugh's Michigan thumps Washington 34-13 for national title, finishing 15-0 amid contentious sign-stealing case

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    Jim Harbaugh’s Michigan thumps Washington 34-13 for national title, finishing 15-0 amid contentious sign-stealing case

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  • Over a decade after their Super Bowl matchup, Harbaugh brothers soaring again with Michigan, Ravens

    Over a decade after their Super Bowl matchup, Harbaugh brothers soaring again with Michigan, Ravens

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    OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Eleven years after turning the Super Bowl into one of ’s most memorable family reunions, John and Jim Harbaugh are again at the forefront of the sport.

    This time, the two coaches are chasing different prizes — and won’t be in each other’s way.

    John Harbaugh’s Baltimore Ravens have the NFL’s best record and have clinched the top seed in the AFC playoffs. Jim Harbaugh’s Michigan team faces Washington on Monday night in Houston for college ‘s national title, a game John said he’s planning to attend.

    “I’ve never seen either of them have as much fun with their team as they’re having now,” said Joani Crean, their younger sister. “It brings a pure smile to my face.”

    The family should be used to the publicity by now. At the end of the 2012 season, John’s Ravens defeated Jim’s San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl. Jim took over the Michigan program after the 2014 season and now has the Wolverines playing for the national championship.

    Of course, Jim has also been as polarizing as ever this season, suspended once by his school amid allegations of recruiting violations, and then by the Big Ten during the fallout from Michigan’s sign-stealing scandal. Through all of that, John Harbaugh was quick to support his brother, saying at one point that Jim had “come through this thing with flying colors” and that an investigation into Jim’s phones and computers had turned up nothing of substance.

    When Jim was suspended for a road game against Maryland, John had him over to watch.

    Lately, the mood at Michigan has been far more celebratory. After Monday’s semifinal victory over Alabama at the Rose Bowl, Jack Harbaugh and his wife Jackie — the parents of Jim, John and Joani — did an exuberant, endearing interview for WXYZ, a TV station in Detroit. Jack said at a key moment in the game, he and Jackie superstitiously traded seats.

    “That is so classic of them. … It probably did make the difference,” John Harbaugh said Wednesday. “My dad is fun, but he’s a little bit polished, he’s been interviewed before. My mom — you put a microphone in front of her face, or you hang out with her for a couple of minutes, you don’t even have to ask her what she thinks, she’s going to tell you what she thinks.”

    Jack was an assistant coach at Michigan under Bo Schembechler, and Jim played quarterback there during the mid-1980s. John was a defensive back at Miami of Ohio. The family’s saying — “Who’s got it better than us?” — is one Jim has made somewhat famous. And John has worn a Ravens-colored shirt with that question on it at practice.

    With the Harbaughs in charge, the ties between the Ravens and Michigan run deep. “The team, the team, the team” — one of Schembechler’s mantras — is on the wall at the Ravens’ facility.

    When Jim Harbaugh was on shaky ground at Michigan before the 2021 season, he hired Ravens linebackers coach Mike Macdonald as his defensive coordinator. After helping the Wolverines win a Big Ten title, Macdonald came back to Baltimore to be the defensive coordinator there. Now it’s Jesse Minter, who was on John Harbaugh’s staff with the Ravens from 2017-2020, who runs the Michigan defense.

    “Michigan and the Ravens is a very similar culture because of the men running it, Jim and John Harbaugh,” said Ben Mason, a former Michigan player who is now a fullback on Baltimore’s practice squad.

    The Ravens finish the regular season Saturday, then have a first-round bye in the playoffs.

    Mason said he could “potentially” go to the Michigan-Washington game Monday in Houston. John Harbaugh is heading down there with his wife Ingrid.

    Crean is married to ESPN analyst Tom Crean, the former basketball coach at Marquette, Indiana and Georgia. She lives in Florida but was at Michigan’s victory over Ohio State and the Ravens’ preseason game at Tampa Bay. Like John Harbaugh, she’s planning to be in Houston to watch Jim.

    “Everybody in a family has a different personality. They care about the same things,” she said. “Maybe they go about things differently, but I think that’s more of a perception than reality. They’re caring human beings. I know people don’t want to hear that, but that’s the truth. You can’t fake things in a locker room, or a building, in sports and there’s nothing fake about them and that’s part of why they’re successful.”

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    AP Sports Writer Larry Lage in Ann Arbor, Mich., contributed to this report.

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  • Picking the CFP semis: Alabama and Texas have the edge to reach the national championship game

    Picking the CFP semis: Alabama and Texas have the edge to reach the national championship game

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    The final four-team College Football Playoff promises to be one of the closest in the 10-year history of the event.

    The combined spread of the two New Year’s Day semifinals sits at six points, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. No. 1 Michigan is a 1 1/2-point favorite against fourth-seeded Alabama in the Rose Bowl. No. 3 Texas is a 4 1/2-point favorite over No. 2 Washington in the Sugar Bowl.

    That’s the smallest combined line for the CFP semifinals since the 2017 playoff, when Georgia beat Oklahoma in overtime at the Rose Bowl as a 2 1/2-point favorite and Alabama was favored by 3 1/2 against Clemson in the Sugar Bowl and rolled over the Tigers.

    The matchups that will decide each CFP semifinal, with the winners advancing to the Jan. 8 championship game in Houston.

    Alabama’s offense and quarterback Jalen Milroe have been a work in progress this season. Recent Crimson Tide teams have paired eventual first-round draft pick quarterbacks with a bevy of star receivers to create explosive offenses.

    This isn’t that. Alabama is 30th in the country in yards per play (6.36) and has allowed 43 sacks, a woeful 123rd nationally, while throwing only 302 passes (122nd nationally).

    “The big question will be which Alabama offensive line shows up because the one we saw against Georgia (in the SEC championship game) was dominant. There have been times this year where they have been a flat-out liability,” Cole Cubelic, who works as an analyst for ESPN and the SEC Network, said on the AP Top 25 College Football Podcast.

    Michigan doesn’t have one player up front defensively that stands out as a star — the way Alabama All-America edge rusher Dallas Turner does — but they are deep and committed to stopping the run, often with eight players close to the line of scrimmage.

    Michigan will want to put the game in Milroe’s hands. Early in the season that seemed like the way to beat Alabama, whose only loss was by 10 points at home to Texas. Now, less so.

    Milroe is 6-foot-2, 220 pounds with speed and a powerful arm. He is a player with difference-making skills, but his game has holes, especially as a mid-range passer. Milroe will miss some open throws, but he has thrown only six interceptions and Alabama has lost only four fumbles.

    Tide offensive coordinator Tommy Rees doesn’t call many designed runs for Milroe. He might need to dip into the bag in the Rose Bowl.

    “They’re going to have to do that to have some success on the ground,” said Mike Kuchar, the co-founder of the X&O Labs football research company. “I don’t see them lining up and coming downhill on Michigan’s defense at all.”

    Michigan allowed 4.28 yards per play, fourth in the nation. The numbers suggest an elite defense, but beware: The Wolverines saw few potent offenses in the Big Ten.

    On offense, Michigan is run-heavy and mistake-free. The Wolverines have committed only seven turnovers.

    But the Wolverines’ running game fell off this season. After averaging well over 5 yards per carry the last two years, they are down to 4.27. Blake Corum scored 24 touchdowns, tops in the nation, but his average per carry was 4.72 yards after being over 5.0 the previous two season.

    Michigan will also be without All-American guard Zak Zinter, who broke his left leg during the Ohio State game. The Wolverines have had some pass protection issues off the edge, too.

    What coach Jim Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore’s team has shown is a knack for being able to run when they needed to most in big games against Penn State and Ohio State.

    Alabama hasn’t locked down the run as well as most of Nick Saban’s best teams (3.7 yards per carry against, 31st in the country), but nobody is going to bully the Crimson Tide.

    “It’s going to take some creativity. It’s going to take some pre- and post-snap movement, whether that’s split-zone, jet-motion, different things like that,” Cubelic said. ”And Michigan carries some of that, but they don’t really make a living on that. What they do extremely well is formation you.”

    Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy is rarely asked to carry the offense. The third-year player has NFL tools, both with his arm and legs.

    In a game where yards are likely to be hard to get and points at a premium (the over/under is 44.5), he will need to be at his most efficient against an Alabama secondary that features two All-America defensive backs in Kool-aid McKinstry and Terrion Arnold.

    PREDICTION: Alabama 23-20.

    The nightcap of the CFP semifinal doubleheader figures to a very different game than Alabama-Michigan.

    Washington and Texas both have top-15 offenses, talented quarterbacks in Michael Penix Jr. and Quinn Ewers, multiple future NFL draft picks to throw to and problems stopping the pass.

    That’s a recipe for points.

    The one group that stands out on defense: The Texas defensive line, which features All-American T’Vondre Sweat and second-team All-American Byron Murphy II.

    “There’s not a lot of teams in the country that have the interior guys like Texas has, specifically Murphy and Sweat,” Cubelic said.

    Part of the reason teams attack the Longhorns secondary, especially their inexperienced safeties, is because they mostly give up on the running game. Texas is allowing 80.5 yards per game and 2.87 per carry, top-five in the country in each.

    Washington counters with an offensive line that was underappreciated much of the season, but ended up winning the Joe Moore Award as the best in the country. Led by second-team All-America tackle Troy Fautanu, the Huskies allowed only 11 sacks while throwing the ball 37 times per game.

    Washington doesn’t run it in volume, but coach Kalen DeBoer and offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb seemed to evolve as opponents adjusted to try to take away the deep throws the Huskies love. Running back Dillon Johnson’s role in the offense expanded later in the season, with Penix often lining up under center.

    “They have relied on (Johnson) the last few weeks, and he’s been very good downhill,” Kuchar said. “And I think their confidence is growing every week. I think he’s taking a lot of pressure off Penix.”

    Stops could be hard to come by for the Huskies, but Texas coach Steve Sarkisian’s red-zone offense has been a problem much of the season. The Longhorns have scored touchdowns on 49% of their opportunities, 120th in the country.

    Then again, tightening up near the goal line hasn’t been a strength for Washington’s defense. The Huskies have allowed 31 touchdowns in 44 red-zone trips (70.45%).

    Washington has scored touchdowns on 70% of its red-zone trips, 19th in the country. But when the field shrinks, Sweat and Murphy become even tougher to handle. Texas is 10th in the nation in red-zone defense, allowing touchdowns on only 46% of opportunities.

    PREDICTION: Texas 35-28.

    ___

    Follow Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and listen at http://www.appodcasts.com. Get alerts on the latest AP Top 25 poll throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

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  • Michigan vs. Alabama, Washington vs. Texas in College Football Playoff; unbeaten Florida St left out

    Michigan vs. Alabama, Washington vs. Texas in College Football Playoff; unbeaten Florida St left out

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    The final season of the four-team College Football Playoff turned out to be the most controversial with an unprecedented snub.

    Michigan, Washington, Texas and Alabama were selected Sunday and Florida State became the first unbeaten Power Five conference champion to be excluded from the field.

    Michigan will face Alabama in the Rose Bowl, Washington will play Texas in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1 and the winners will meet for the national championship Jan. 8 in Houston.

    Before the CFP grows to 12 next year — an expansion that was delayed by a year because of infighting among the conference commissioners who manage the postseason system — the selection committee faced the toughest decision in the 10-year history of the format.

    “Florida State is a different team than they were through the first 11 weeks,” explained Boo Corrigan, the selection committee chairman who is also the athletic director at North Carolina State, Florida State’s Atlantic Coast Conference rival.

    The Seminoles (13-0) lost star quarterback Jordan Travis to a season-ending injury two weeks ago, but continued to win with a backup and then a third-string quarterback. The committee, though, is instructed to judge teams for what they are heading into the playoff and decided FSU without Travis is not among the best four in the country.

    “I am disgusted and infuriated with the committee’s decision today to have what was earned on the field taken away because a small group of people decided they knew better than the results of the games. What is the point of playing games?” Florida State coach Mike Norvell said.

    He added: “What happened today goes against everything that is true and right in college football. A team that overcame tremendous adversity and found a way to win doing whatever it took on the field was cheated today. It’s a sad day for college football.”

    Travis is a sixth-year player whose development into one of the best quarterbacks in college football has fueled Florida State’s resurgence over the last three years.

    “Devastated. heartbroken,” Travis posted on the social media platform X. “I wish my leg broke earlier in the season so y’all could see this team is much more than the quarterback. I thought results matter. 13-0 and this roster matches up across any team in those top 4 rankings. I am so sorry.”

    Whichever team was left out had a good argument to get in. That created unprecedented controversy and the committee passed over FSU to pick Alabama, which upset Georgia to win the Southeastern Conference championship, and Big 12 champion Texas, which beat the Crimson Tide on the road in September.

    The SEC had never missed the playoff. Alabama, which is in for the eighth time, kept that streak alive. The Crimson Tide have won the playoff three times, most recently in 2020.

    Texas would have been just the second Power Five conference champion with only one loss to be left out. Instead, the Longhorns will be making their first appearance in the CFP in their last season as a member of the Big 12. Texas moves to the SEC next year.

    Texas and Alabama were ranked seventh and eighth, respectively, in the committee’s penultimate rankings and are now the first teams to jump from outside the top six in the second-to-last rankings into the playoff field. Georgia became the first team to enter championship weekend No. 1 and fail to make the field.

    “We’ve never had a year with eight teams at the top as good as these are. And the five conference champions (ranked) one through five, we’ve never had it come out that way,” CFP executive director Bill Hancock said. “My feeling is it probably was the toughest (decision ever for the committee).”

    Big Ten champion Michigan is making its third straight appearance in the CFP, still looking for its first playoff victory. The Wolverines, who have stayed unbeaten amid an NCAA investigation into allegations of in-person scouting and sign-stealing, are the favorites to win the national title, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

    Michigan, looking for its first national title since 1997, opened as a 1 1/2-point favorite against Alabama. The Tide have won six national titles under coach Nick Saban.

    “We’re not going to go in there saying, ‘Oh, this is Alabama, a team that’s won and won and won and won and won. No. We’re that team,” Michigan running back Blake Corum told reporters.

    Washington is in the CFP for the second time, breaking the Pac-12’s playoff drought after six years, and doing so the year before it leaves the conference for the Big Ten. The Huskies opened as a 4 1/2-point underdog to Texas and former Washington coach Steve Sarkisian. The two played last season in the Alamo Bowl and Washington won.

    Georgia’s slim hopes of trying for a third consecutive national title also came to an end. The Bulldogs (12-1) had a 29-game winning streak snapped by the Crimson Tide, but leaving them out of the CFP didn’t seem nearly as controversial as snubbing the Seminoles — even in a system ripe for criticism.

    In 2014, Ohio State, playing with its third-string quarterback, vaulted over Baylor and TCU and into the playoff with a Big Ten title game blowout of Wisconsin. The Big 12 teams still haven’t gotten over it, but the Buckeyes went on to win it all. Ohio State has been on the short end a couple of times, too, winning the Big Ten in 2017 and ’18 and not getting in. But this year, the committee faced a truly vexing problem.

    Florida State, which was No. 4 in the previous CFP rankings, appeared to be on the way to its second playoff appearance in mid-November when Travis suffered a serious injury in the first quarter against North Alabama and was lost for the year.

    The Seminoles beat rival Florida last week with backup quarterback Tate Rodemaker, who then missed the ACC championship game against Louisville with a concussion. Florida State stayed unbeaten with a strong defensive performance, but scored only one touchdown.

    “To eliminate them from a chance to compete for a national championship is an unwarranted injustice that shows complete disregard and disrespect for their performance and accomplishments. It is unforgivable,” Florida State athletic director Michael Alford said.

    ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips, who was among conference leaders who helped slow down the expansion process by a year after the SEC’s plan to add Texas and Oklahoma was revealed in 2021, called leaving out the ‘Noles “unfathomable.”

    “Their exclusion calls into question the selection process and whether the committee’s own guidelines were followed, including the significant importance of being an undefeated Power Five conference champion,” Phillips said.

    As the ACC champion, Florida State will head to the Orange Bowl for a showdown with Georgia.

    “It’s unfortunate that some good team had to get left out,” Saban said on ESPN, “but I really think that our team earned the right to be here.”

    ___

    Follow Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and listen at http://www.appodcasts.com. Get alerts on the latest AP Top 25 poll throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll

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  • Donald Trump will look to upstage Clemson grad Nikki Haley at her alma mater’s football rivalry game

    Donald Trump will look to upstage Clemson grad Nikki Haley at her alma mater’s football rivalry game

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    COLUMBIA, S.C. — COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Donald Trump is using a college football rivalry weekend to bask among his supporters in a state and region that are key to his presidential fortunes, while potentially upstaging his Republican opponent Nikki Haley on her home turf.

    The former president and current front-runner for the 2024 Republican nomination will be on hand Saturday as the University of South Carolina Gamecocks host the Tigers of Clemson University, Haley’s alma mater, in the annual Palmetto Bowl.

    Trump’s campaign has not detailed his itinerary. But if his visit is similar to his trip to Ames, Iowa for the Iowa State-Iowa game, he will visit pregame parties, perhaps stop by a fraternity house and then join 80,000-plus fans for the nationally televised matchup.

    “We do it bigtime in the South,” said Brandon Beach, a Georgia state senator and top Trump supporter who traveled with him in September for the game in Ames. “President Trump knows he can connect with people, and they are going to connect with him.”

    Haley, a Clemson alumna and member of its board of trustees, is an avid Clemson sports fan, but her campaign hasn’t said if she will attend the game. Asked about the coming primary matchup with Trump on her home turf, spokesperson Olivia Perez-Cubas called Haley “the only candidate with momentum” and referenced her previous come-from-behind victories in legislative and gubernatorial contests.

    “South Carolinians know their governor has what it takes to win because they’ve seen her beat the odds before — not just once, but twice,” she said.

    Haley was governor of South Carolina until Trump tapped her to be his United Nations ambassador in 2016. Trump continues to hold a wide polling lead over Haley and others in the state and nationally.

    “In 2016, South Carolina gave us 44 out of 46 counties – that’s not so bad,” Trump said at a state GOP dinner in August. “I can’t wait to win all 46. We want to win all 46.”

    South Carolina falls fourth in the GOP voting calendar after Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada, with the state’s first-in-the-South primary coming up on Feb. 24, 2024. Several Southern states follow on March 5 as part of the Super Tuesday slate that puts more delegates up for grabs than any other day in the primary campaign.

    Trump’s South Carolina and Super Tuesday romps in 2016 gave him a delegate lead he would never relinquish.

    Haley has answered Trump in recent weeks by emphasizing her roots as she campaigns in Iowa, which opens voting nationally with its Jan. 15 caucuses.

    “I’m not going anywhere,” she said recently in Ankeny, predicting a strong showing in the caucuses. “Then I go head-to-head with Trump in my home state of South Carolina. And we take it.”

    An appearance at the state’s biggest sporting event of the year will offer Trump friendly crowds.

    Flagship public universities, especially in the South, bring together much of a state’s business, civic and political leadership, spanning small towns to cities.

    Additionally, major college football games are replete with the kind of pageantry — giant U.S. flags on the field during pregame festivities, military flyovers piloted by alumni of the home team to conclude the national anthem — that Trump seeks out.

    “These are American values,” said Beach, noting he saw the same thing in Ames when some fans chanted “USA! USA! USA!” when they saw the former president. “They realize how much Trump loves our country. … They want what he wants: Good energy policy, a secure border, to be safe.”

    Trump, who tried to buy an NFL team in the 1980s and ended up part of a failed alternative league, has enjoyed sports cameos over the years. But college football has afforded him his most generous welcomes, including at the 2018 national championship game in Atlanta and the 2019 Alabama-LSU regular season game in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

    That Alabama game came just days after Trump was booed by professional baseball fans when he attended a World Series home game of the Washington Nationals.

    ___

    Barrow reported from Atlanta. Associated Press writer Hannah Fingerhut in Ankeny, Iowa, contributed to this report.

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  • AP Top 25 Takeaways: Should Georgia still be No. 1? Leaving Prime behind; Hard to take USC seriously

    AP Top 25 Takeaways: Should Georgia still be No. 1? Leaving Prime behind; Hard to take USC seriously

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    Time to talk about who should be No. 1.

    Georgia has held the top spot in 15 straight AP Top 25s, dating to the middle of last season when the Bulldogs won a second straight national title.

    Georgia (5-0) extended its school-record winning streak to 22 games at Auburn on Saturday, but yet again the Bulldogs didn’t look much like the clear best team in the country.

    For the second time in two Southeastern Conference games, Georgia trailed at halftime. This time against an Auburn team that simply does not have a functional passing game. Credit coach Hugh Freeze for working the quarterback run to keep the Bulldogs off balance, but again it took coach Kirby Smart’s team a while to find its offense.

    “I just think there’s a lot more parity in college football. I don’t think there’s a great separation between anybody,” Smart said. “The pro scouts that come to our place — I always trust their opinion — and they’re like, ’Well, we’ve been to this place, that place, that place. And everybody’s pretty similar. There’s not this great margin.’”

    The solution, not surprisingly, turned out to be getting the ball in the hands of the one of the best players in the country.

    If a tight end can make a run at a Heisman Trophy, it is Brock Bowers. The third-year star finished with eight catches for 157 yards and the winning touchdown.

    Georgia has been an overwhelming No. 1 since the preseason and the Bulldogs received 55 first-place votes last week. The other eight were sprinkled between five other teams.

    The door is open for another team to jump up and take to the top spot, but there is no obvious team to replace Georgia on Sunday when the poll is released.

    No. 2 Michigan hammered Nebraska, and have yet to be tested but the best opponent the Wolverines have faced is Rutgers (4-1).

    No. 3 Texas? Maybe. The Longhorns beat Alabama and other than a sluggish start against Wyoming the next week, have been rolling ever since. Kansas hung around on the scoreboard for a little while, but it really wasn’t close Saturday in Austin. Texas outgained the Jayhawks 661-260 and set up a battle of unbeatens next week against No. 14 in the final Big 12 edition of the Red River Rivalry.

    The Longhorns and Sooners will meet with both undefeated for the first time since 2011.

    No. 4 Ohio State won’t jump to No. 1 during an off week.

    No. 5 Florida State was also off Saturday and that impressive victory against LSU to start the season doesn’t look quite as good after the Tigers’ allowed 711 yards in a loss to No. 20 Mississippi.

    LSU, which started the season ranked fifth, has two losses before the calendar flipped to October.

    No. 6 Penn State slogged around against Northwestern. Drew Allar and the Nittany Lions need to find some explosive plays before going to Ohio State in three weeks.

    No. 7 Washington, which got a first-place vote last week, was at Arizona in Pac-12 after dark.

    Right now the difference between No. 1 Georgia and No. 11 Notre Dame, which got a clutch 95-yard touchdown drive from Sam Hartman to beat No. 17 Duke, seems relatively small.

    The Bulldogs are probably safe for now and they’ll have a chance next week against unbeaten Kentucky to re-assert themselves.

    But a month into the season, this Georgia doesn’t look nearly as dominant as the last two, which could make for a far more interesting last two months.

    PAST TIME

    The Colorado-centric portion of the college football season has now concluded.

    For the second straight week, Deion Sanders’ team could not handle one of the Pac-12’s big boys, though the Buffaloes acquitted themselves far better against No. 8 Southern California.

    Caleb Williams and the Trojans practically picked up where Oregon left off last week, going up 34-7 in the second quarter. Notably, though, Shedeur Sanders and the Buffs turned a blowout into a one-score game in the fourth quarter.

    “It was a pleasure for me to play against them and their head coach. I mean that was fun for me, it really was,” Deion Sanders told reporters. “Probably didn’t look like it but that was fun.”

    There will be no more pregame shows flocking to Boulder and the embrace-debate talking heads on cable will have far fewer segments dedicated to Coach Prime and his team over the next few weeks.

    The Buffaloes are 3-2 after five games, which is still pretty good for a team oddsmakers pegged to win three or four before the season.

    In many ways, Colorado has been about what it was expected to be, with the exception of that huge upset against TCU.

    Sanders’ program will now recede into the background. The Buffs have a couple more manageable opponents the next two weeks in Stanford and Arizona State. That puts 5-2 in reach.

    Getting to a bowl game would be a big deal for the Buffs a year after finishing 1-11. There is also no guarantee in a tough Pac-12 the Buffs will get six wins.

    As for USC, this was the second straight week the Trojans played with their food on the road after letting Arizona State hang around. Compare and contrast what Oregon — which smothered Stanford on Saturday — did to Colorado with how USC failed to put the Buffs away.

    Colorado had 564 yards, the most in 18 games under coach Lincoln Riley, who insists things have gotten better on that side of the ball.

    “When something doesn’t go our way, it doesn’t look like last year,” Riley told reporters. “Not to the trained eye.”

    As great as Williams is, it’s hard to take the Trojans seriously as a playoff contender with their sloppy defense and lack of attention to detail.

    AROUND THE COUNTRY: Making Duke’s night even worse, quarterback Riley Leonard injured his ankle on the Blue Devils’ final play from scrimmage. Leonard left the field on crutches after being treated in the injury tent, and Hartman waited after the game for him to emerge from the tent to wish his counterpart well. … Kentucky should be ranked on Sunday. Ray Davis and the Wildcats made a statement by pounding No. 22 Florida, which probably shouldn’t have been ranked. Davis went off for 280 yards rushing and four touchdowns. Kentucky has a three-game winning streak against Florida for the first time since 1951 when Bear Bryant was the Wildcats’ coach. … Texas A&M, you have our attention. The Aggies handled Arkansas with relative ease and now head into a home game with No. 12 Alabama on a three-game winning streak. A&M is one of the few teams in college football with a solid and experienced backup QB in Max Johnson, who isn’t that much of a fall off from injured Conner Weigman. The SEC West is very much up for grabs, and the Aggies host No. 12 Alabama next week. … The four new Big 12 teams are 1-7 in conference play after UCF blew a huge lead at home against Baylor and Houston was blown out by Texas Tech. The only victory came Friday night when BYU beat fellow newby Cincinnati. … One of the best teams outside the Power Five is not even eligible to play in a bowl. James Madison (5-0) stayed unbeaten against South Alabama, but the Dukes are still transitioning to FBS and are not eligible for the Sun Belt championship.

    ___

    AP Sports Writer John Zenor in Auburn, Alabama, contributed to this report.

    ___

    Follow Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and listen at http://www.appodcasts.com

    ___

    AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll

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  • ESPN announces ‘Pat McAfee Show’ will join afternoon lineup

    ESPN announces ‘Pat McAfee Show’ will join afternoon lineup

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    Pat McAfee’s show is moving to ESPN as part of a new multiyear deal announced Tuesday.

    McAfee first joined ESPN as a college analyst for its Thursday night games in 2019. He returned to the network last year and became part of the “College GameDay” crew as well as hosting some alternate presentations of ESPN games, including the CFP National Championship.

    That will continue, but it is McAfee’s show that has created the most buzz. It began on satellite radio in 2016 and picked up steam when it began streaming in 2019. The show has been mainly on YouTube the past three years, but will move to ESPN, the ESPN YouTube Channel and ESPN+ as part of the network’s afternoon lineup beginning in the fall. It will likely air after “First Take” and start at 12 p.m. ET.

    McAfee is exiting a four-year deal with FanDuel that the New York Post reported was worth $120 million.

    The McAfee show is known for weekly appearances by Aaron Rodgers during the season, including his announcement of his impending trade to the New York Jets, but also for a frequent use of profanity. McAfee said during ESPN’s presentation to advertisers Tuesday that he wouldn’t swear “nearly as much” but the substance and style of the show would not change despite its new home.

    “We ain’t changing a damn thing,” McAfee said. “Every other word is good to go. … We won’t be doing that because it’s the middle of the day, but everything else will be good.”

    ESPN also announced a documentary series on Serena Williams and four major matchups for the upcoming college football season.

    “In the Arena: Serena Williams” has started production and comes on heels of the 2021 “Man in the Arena: Tom Brady” series. The Brady series was 10 parts and focused on each of the seasons Brady took his team to the Super Bowl.

    ESPN has not announced how many parts there will be for the Williams series. Williams won 23 singles titles in grand slam tournaments, but ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro said the episodes won’t be dictated by that.

    “We’ll combine some things here, but it’s going to be fantastic. I’m probably as excited about that as I am any film that we have in development right now,” Pitaro said.

    Williams also appeared on stage during the presentation. The series will be directed by Gotham Chopra and is co-produced by ESPN, Religion of Sports, Brady’s 199 Productions, and Williams’ and Caroline Currier’s Nine Two Six Productions.

    The Labor Day weekend game between Florida State and LSU will air on ABC for the second straight season. The night game will be played in Orlando, Florida, on Sept. 3.

    Alabama will host Texas on Sept. 9 in a game airing on ESPN. ABC again will have the Red River Rivalry between Texas and Oklahoma from Dallas on Oct. 7 as well as Notre Dame’s game at Clemson on Nov. 4.

    The ESPN presentation was one part of the Walt Disney Company’s entire program for advertisers Tuesday. ESPN and other networks owned by Disney used to have separate programs before the move to a combined presentation a couple of years ago.

    Rita Ferro, president of Disney advertising sales and partnerships, noted the move from eight different events to one stemmed from a demand from advertisers to do fewer big events.

    The presentation came amid layoffs throughout the Walt Disney Company, including ESPN. Disney CEO Bob Iger announced in February that the company would reduce 7,000 jobs either through attrition or layoffs.

    ESPN went through the first of two rounds of reductions last month. There also will be a round of cuts involving on-air talent over the summer done through non-renewal of contracts, buyouts or cuts.

    “It has been a tough period, the past few weeks. I think folks are looking forward to getting through this month and regrouping,” Pitaro said. “We’re operating in a world where fewer households are subscribing to traditional television. That puts pressure on the business.”

    ___

    More AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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  • Georgia’s championship team declines White House invitation

    Georgia’s championship team declines White House invitation

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    Georgia’s national championship football team is declining an invitation to visit the White House

    ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia’s national championship team is declining an invitation to visit the White House.

    According to a statement released by the Georgia athletic association on Tuesday, the Bulldogs will not be able to attend a June 12 event with other college teams at the White House. The event is described by President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden as “College Athlete Day.”

    The statement from Georgia says the team’s schedule interferes with the suggested date which was provided in an invitation received earlier this month.

    “The University of Georgia first received on May 3 an invitation for the Bulldog team to visit the White House on June 12,” the statement from the athletic association said. “Unfortunately, the date suggested is not feasible given the student-athlete calendar and time of year. However, we are appreciative of the invitation and look forward to other opportunities for Georgia teams moving forward.”

    Georgia did not provide more specifics of the schedule conflict.

    Some professional championship teams, including the 2021 Atlanta Braves, have made White House visits during the Biden administration. This year’s NCAA men’s and women’s championship basketball teams from Connecticut and Louisiana State, respectively, are scheduled to visit the White House on May 26.

    Coach Kirby Smart and quarterback Stetson Bennett led Georgia to its second consecutive national championship with a 65-7 runaway win over TCU.

    ___

    AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

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  • NFL draft Day 3: All-Americans, Heisman finalists on board

    NFL draft Day 3: All-Americans, Heisman finalists on board

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    In today’s pass-happy NFL, you can never have enough cornerbacks.

    So the strategy on Day 3 often seems to be: If in doubt, take a corner.

    Heading into Saturday’s final four rounds, two of the best players on the board regardless of position are cornerbacks. One is a national championship game hero and the other an All-American.

    With only five quarterbacks off the board through three rounds, expect about that many more to go as teams try to find the next Brock Purdy.

    And even after a record nine tight ends were selected in rounds 1-3, there are a few more intriguing prospects in a deep class.

    QUARTERBACKS

    Five quarterbacks were selected in the first three rounds, with Kentucky’s Will Levis (second round to the Titans) and Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker (third round to the Lions) being selected on Day 2.

    Who is next?

    Fresno State’s Jake Haener has some Purdy-like characteristics: undersized playmaker who can be both exciting and exasperating.

    BYU’s Jaren Hall has a slender build, but plenty of athleticism. UCLA’s Dorian Thompson-Robinson has a similar profile.

    Also, still to be drafted are both starting quarterbacks from the College Football Playoff national title game. Georgia’s Stetson Bennett and TCU’s Max Duggan were also both Heisman Trophy finalists.

    IN THE CORNERS

    Georgia’s Kelee Ringo is a former five-star recruit who started every game on consecutive national championship teams. He returned an interception for a touchdown to seal the Bulldogs’ 2021 title in the championship game against Alabama. The physical tools (6-foot-2, 207 pounds, 4.36 speed) are there, but his inconsistent technique and ball awareness suggest maybe a move to safety in his future.

    At the other end of the spectrum is All-American Clark Phillips III of Utah. At 5-9, 194, Phillips is on the small side and his 4.5 speed is a couple steps below elite. But he had six interceptions last season and always seems to be in the right position.

    BIG MEN

    Ohio State tackle Dawand Jones is a mountain of a man at 6-8 and 374 pounds. There are concerns he might not be nimble enough to deal with NFL pass rushers, and his future is almost certainly at right tackle.

    Still, that size and power should make him a project worth taking on for some team.

    BYU’s Blake Freeland is a more athletic tackle who is also likely not to last long on Day 3.

    MORE TIGHT ENDS

    Eight tight ends were drafted on Day 2, including five in the second round.

    Another handful or more could come off the board during Day 3, led Cincinnati’s Josh Whyle, Clemson’s Davis Allen, Miami’s Will Mallory, Old Dominion’s Zack Kuntz and Purdue’s Payne Durham.

    RUNNING MEN

    After seven running backs were selected in the first two days of the draft, expect at least that many on Day 3.

    Choosing the best is a matter of preference, but Roschon Johnson of Texas particularly stands out.

    Johnson played behind first-rounder Bijan Robinson for three seasons, but put up 2,190 yards rushing, 56 catches for 420 yards and 26 touchdowns. He runs hard and was one of the leaders of the team at Texas, despite not being a starter.

    Other notable backs on the board are the Big Ten’s top two rushers in Illinois’ Chase Brown and Minnesota’s Mohamed Ibrahim, both second-team All-Americans, and Pitt’s Israel Abanikanda, who was the Atlantic Coast Conference’s leading rusher and a third-team All-American.

    STAT STUFFER

    Cincinnati linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. was a stat stuffer this past season for the Bearcats. Pace was third in the country in tackles for loss (20.5), sixth in total tackles with 136 and 10th in sacks with 10.

    Pace is a little short of 6-feet tall, but the All-American should hear his name called Saturday.

    ___

    AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL

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  • Defending champ Georgia vs. Cinderella TCU for CFP title

    Defending champ Georgia vs. Cinderella TCU for CFP title

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    After the best semifinal day in the nine-year history of the College Football Playoff, the title game will match the defending national champion against the closest thing the sport has had in years to a Cinderella team.

    It will be No. 1 Georgia (14-0) looking for its second straight championship against upstart and No. 3 TCU on Jan. 9 at Sofi Stadium in Inglewood, California.

    The four-team playoff has been littered with lopsided semifinal games, but Saturday — and into early Sunday and the new year — delivered two thrillers and a combined 179 points.

    The Bulldogs came from 14 points down in the second half to beat No. 4 Ohio State 42-41 in the Peach Bowl and advance to the CFP championship game for the third time under coach Kirby Smart.

    “If we want any chance of winning a national championship we have to play a lot better football than we played tonight but we have to keep the resiliency and composure along with us,” Smart said.

    The Bulldogs and Buckeyes played a classic that came down to a missed field goal by Ohio State with three seconds left. Amazingly, it was even better than the wild opener of the semifinal doubleheader between No. 3 TCU and No. 2 Michigan.

    The Horned Frogs (13-1) upset the Wolverines 51-45 in the Fiesta Bowl, the second-highest scoring CFP game ever.

    “We’re going to celebrate it,” TCU quarterback Max Duggan said. “Obviously, we’re excited, but we know we got a big one coming up.”

    TCU, the first Big 12 to win a playoff game, will be looking for its first national title since 1938. Under coach Dutch Meyer, the Horned Frogs beat Carnegie Tech 15-7 in the Sugar Bowl to complete a 10-0 season.

    The Southeastern Conference champion Bulldogs opened as a 13 1/2-point favorites, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, in what will be the fifth meeting between the schools.

    Georgia has won them all, including the last in the 2016 Liberty Bowl.

    Coming off a 5-7 season in 2021 and picked to finish seventh in their conference before the season, the Horned Frogs have embraced the underdog role and thrived on the being doubted.

    “We know we’re going to hear it again. It’s not going to stop now,” first-year coach Sonny Dykes said. “We got to do what we did this game (against Michigan). We’ve got to answer that criticism and show up and do what we’re supposed to do.

    “If we think that’s going away, I think you guys all know that’s not. That’s just the way it is.”

    TCU would be the first team to win a national championship the year after having a losing season since Michigan State in 1965.

    Georgia, No. 1 for most of the season, is looking for its third national title, trying to become the first back-to-back champions in the CFP era and the first since Alabama won the BCS in 2011 and ’12.

    It will be a matchup Heisman Trophy finalist quarterbacks, with Duggan and Georgia’s Stetson Bennett.

    Neither is a future first-rounder, and both had ups and down in the semifinal but came through in the biggest spots.

    Duggan ran for two scores and threw two TD passes as the Frogs held back a surging Michigan in the second half.

    Bennett threw for 398 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, including the game-winner with 54 seconds left.

    These Bulldogs rely more on Bennett and their offense than last year’s championship team, which fielded one of the best defenses college football has had in recent history. Georgia ranked fifth in the nation in yards per play (6.97) coming into the playoff.

    The Frogs have have a powerful offense, too, with Duggan and star receiver Quentin Johnston, who had 163 yards on six catches against the Wolverines.

    This is the penultimate season of the four-team version of the playoff before it expands to 12 teams in the 2024 season.

    Before Saturday, only three of 16 semifinals had been decided by single-digits, and all those blowouts helped fuel a desire to grow the field in the hope of creating some more interesting postseason games.

    This New Year’s Eve, the four-team playoff turned out to be an eight-hour college football party.

    After losing to TCU, Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh summed up his team’s game, and as it turns out, the day.

    “The winner,” he said, “was football.”

    ——

    Follow Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and listen at http://www.appodcasts.com

    ———

    AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/ap—top25

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  • Today in History SUN JAN 01

    Today in History SUN JAN 01

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    Today in History

    Today is Sunday, Jan. 1, the first day of 2023. There are 364 days left in the year.

    Today’s Highlight in History:

    On Jan. 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that slaves in rebel states shall be “forever free.”

    On this date:

    In 1892, the Ellis Island Immigrant Station in New York formally opened.

    In 1942, the Rose Bowl was played in Durham, North Carolina, because of security concerns in the wake of Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor; Oregon State defeated Duke, 20-16.

    In 1953, country singer Hank Williams Sr., 29, was discovered dead in the back seat of his car during a stop in Oak Hill, West Virginia, while he was being driven to a concert date in Canton, Ohio.

    In 1954, NBC broadcast the first coast-to-coast color TV program as it presented live coverage of the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California.

    In 1959, Fidel Castro and his revolutionaries overthrew Cuban leader Fulgencio Batista, who fled to the Dominican Republic.

    In 1975, a jury in Washington found Nixon administration officials John N. Mitchell, H.R. Haldeman, John D. Ehrlichman and Robert C. Mardian guilty of charges related to the Watergate cover-up (Mardian’s conviction for conspiracy was later overturned on appeal).

    In 1979, the United States and China held celebrations in Washington and Beijing to mark the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

    In 1984, the breakup of AT&T took place as the telecommunications giant was divested of its 22 Bell System companies under terms of an antitrust agreement.

    In 1985, the music cable channel VH-1 made its debut with a video of Marvin Gaye performing “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

    In 1993, Czechoslovakia peacefully split into two new countries, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

    In 2006, President George W. Bush strongly defended his domestic spying program, calling it legal as well as vital to thwarting terrorist attacks. The Medicare prescription drug plan went into effect.

    In 2014, the nation’s first legal recreational pot shops opened in Colorado at 8 a.m. Mountain time.

    Ten years ago: The Senate approved a compromise in the small hours to avert the “fiscal cliff” and sent it to the House, which approved it in a late-night vote; President Barack Obama announced he would sign the measure. In Maryland, same-sex marriage became legal in the first state south of the Mason-Dixon Line. No. 8 Stanford held off Wisconsin 20-14 in the 99th Rose Bowl. Singer Patti Page, 85, died in Encinitas, California.

    Five years ago: Former Fox News Channel anchor and 1989 Miss America Gretchen Carlson was named chairwoman of the Miss America Organization’s board of directors, with three other past pageant winners joining her on the board. In the first Rose Bowl to go into overtime, Georgia advanced to college football’s national championship game with a 54-48 win over Oklahoma. Alabama advanced by beating top-ranked Clemson, 24-6, in the Sugar Bowl. Peter Martins, the longtime leader of the New York City Ballet, announced his retirement in the midst of an investigation into accusations of sexual misconduct. California launched legal sales of recreational marijuana, with customers linking up early for ribbon cuttings and promotions.

    One year ago: A Louisiana federal judge ruled that President Joe Biden could not require teachers in the Head Start early education program to be vaccinated against COVID-19. A year after New Year’s Day passed without a Rose Parade due to the coronavirus pandemic, the floral spectacle marched on in Pasadena, California, despite a new surge of infections. Anglican Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu was remembered at a state funeral in South Africa for his Nobel Peace Prize-earning role in ending the country’s apartheid regime and for championing the rights of LGBTQ people. Chicago police said 2021 had ended as one of the deadliest years on record in the city, with 797 homicides. Former Denver Broncos and Atlanta Falcons coach Dan Reeves died at his Atlanta home at the age of 77.

    Today’s Birthdays: Documentary maker Frederick Wiseman is 93. Actor Frank Langella is 85. Rock singer-musician Country Joe McDonald is 81. Writer-comedian Don Novello is 80. Actor Rick Hurst is 77. Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., is 69. The former head of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, is 67. Rapper Grandmaster Flash is 65. Actor Renn Woods is 65. Actor Dedee Pfeiffer is 59. Country singer Brian Flynn (Flynnville Train) is 57. Actor Morris Chestnut is 54. R&B singer Tank is 47. Model Elin Nordegren is 43. Actor Jonas Armstrong is 42. Actor Eden Riegel is 42. Olympic gold medal ice dancer Meryl Davis is 36. Rock musician Noah Sierota (Echosmith) is 27.

    xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxToday in History

    Today is Sunday, Jan. 1, the first day of 2023. There are 364 days left in the year.

    Today’s Highlight in History:

    On Jan. 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that slaves in rebel states shall be “forever free.”

    On this date:

    In 1892, the Ellis Island Immigrant Station in New York formally opened.

    In 1942, the Rose Bowl was played in Durham, North Carolina, because of security concerns in the wake of Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor; Oregon State defeated Duke, 20-16.

    In 1953, country singer Hank Williams Sr., 29, was discovered dead in the back seat of his car during a stop in Oak Hill, West Virginia, while he was being driven to a concert date in Canton, Ohio.

    In 1954, NBC broadcast the first coast-to-coast color TV program as it presented live coverage of the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California.

    In 1959, Fidel Castro and his revolutionaries overthrew Cuban leader Fulgencio Batista, who fled to the Dominican Republic.

    In 1975, a jury in Washington found Nixon administration officials John N. Mitchell, H.R. Haldeman, John D. Ehrlichman and Robert C. Mardian guilty of charges related to the Watergate cover-up (Mardian’s conviction for conspiracy was later overturned on appeal).

    In 1979, the United States and China held celebrations in Washington and Beijing to mark the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

    In 1984, the breakup of AT&T took place as the telecommunications giant was divested of its 22 Bell System companies under terms of an antitrust agreement.

    In 1985, the music cable channel VH-1 made its debut with a video of Marvin Gaye performing “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

    In 1993, Czechoslovakia peacefully split into two new countries, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

    In 2006, President George W. Bush strongly defended his domestic spying program, calling it legal as well as vital to thwarting terrorist attacks. The Medicare prescription drug plan went into effect.

    In 2014, the nation’s first legal recreational pot shops opened in Colorado at 8 a.m. Mountain time.

    Ten years ago: The Senate approved a compromise in the small hours to avert the “fiscal cliff” and sent it to the House, which approved it in a late-night vote; President Barack Obama announced he would sign the measure. In Maryland, same-sex marriage became legal in the first state south of the Mason-Dixon Line. No. 8 Stanford held off Wisconsin 20-14 in the 99th Rose Bowl. Singer Patti Page, 85, died in Encinitas, California.

    Five years ago: The nation’s first legal recreational pot shops opened in Colorado at 8 a.m. Mountain Standard Time. Actress Juanita Moore, 99, died in Los Angeles. No. 4 Michigan State romped to a 24-20 victory over No. 5 Stanford in the 100th Rose Bowl. No. 15 Central Florida pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the bowl season by outlasting No. 6 Baylor 52-42 in the Fiesta Bowl.

    One year ago: A Louisiana federal judge ruled that President Joe Biden could not require teachers in the Head Start early education program to be vaccinated against COVID-19. A year after New Year’s Day passed without a Rose Parade due to the coronavirus pandemic, the floral spectacle marched on in Pasadena, California, despite a new surge of infections. Anglican Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu was remembered at a state funeral in South Africa for his Nobel Peace Prize-earning role in ending the country’s apartheid regime and for championing the rights of LGBTQ people. Chicago police said 2021 had ended as one of the deadliest years on record in the city, with 797 homicides. Former Denver Broncos and Atlanta Falcons coach Dan Reeves died at his Atlanta home at the age of 77.

    Today’s Birthdays: Documentary maker Frederick Wiseman is 93. Actor Frank Langella is 85. Rock singer-musician Country Joe McDonald is 81. Writer-comedian Don Novello is 80. Actor Rick Hurst is 77. Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., is 69. The former head of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, is 67. Rapper Grandmaster Flash is 65. Actor Renn Woods is 65. Actor Dedee Pfeiffer is 59. Country singer Brian Flynn (Flynnville Train) is 57. Actor Morris Chestnut is 54. R&B singer Tank is 47. Model Elin Nordegren is 43. Actor Jonas Armstrong is 42. Actor Eden Riegel is 42. Olympic gold medal ice dancer Meryl Davis is 36. Rock musician Noah Sierota (Echosmith) is 27.

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  • No. 1 Georgia still hungry as defending national champions

    No. 1 Georgia still hungry as defending national champions

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    ATHENS, Ga. — Kearis Jackson insists he and his Georgia teammates are not content even after adding this year’s Southeastern Conference championship to last season’s drought-breaking national title.

    The Bulldogs are motivated to keep winning.

    In fact, Jackson, a senior wide receiver, insists No. 1 Georgia is working harder than at this time last year as they seek a new goal — back-to-back national championships. The Bulldogs won their first national title since 1980 last season.

    Jackson says motivation isn’t an issue as the Bulldogs prepare for their Peach Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal against No. 4 Ohio State on Dec. 31. He says some observers will think Georgia players might be satisfied following their 50-30 win over LSU for the the SEC championship.

    It’s a change from one year ago, when Georgia players had extra incentive following a loss to Alabama in the SEC title game.

    “Last year after the SEC championship, it was like we came in with a chip on our shoulder because of the loss,” inside linebacker Smael Mondon said. “This year, I feel like we came with that same intensity, without coming off of a loss. We still have that same fire and intensity that we bring in practice.”

    Jackson also says winning the conference championship hasn’t taken away the team’s hunger as they enter another playoff.

    “I feel like this year coming off a conference win I think we will work harder than we did last year coming off a loss,” Jackson said. “It’s crazy because people can look at it and think they’re complacent, they’re happy about their win.”

    Jackson was thrilled and relieved after Georgia’s first SEC title since 2017. He was a member of three teams that lost in the SEC championship game.

    “Shoot, that’s just another checked box that we wanted as one of our goals,” he said. “I mean, our season is not complete yet. We still have goals we want to reach.”

    The win over LSU left the Bulldogs (13-0) undefeated and the top seed in the CFP. They will return to Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the site of the SEC championship game, for the Peach Bowl as they pursue their biggest goal.

    No Georgia team has won back-to-back national titles, and the Peach Bowl winner will earn a spot in the Jan. 9 national championship game in Los Angeles against No. 2 Michigan or No. 3 TCU.

    “We’re excited we get that opportunity to play in that game,” said Jackson of the Peach Bowl. “Just know that we’re motivated because we haven’t completed anything bigger than what we already want.”

    Georgia’s defense is motivated by the challenge of facing quarterback C.J. Stroud, a two-time Heisman Trophy finalist, and the high-scoring Ohio State offense.

    Coach Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs posted their second consecutive undefeated regular season despite losing a record 15 NFL draft picks, including five defensive players in the first round. Former walk-on quarterback Stetson Bennett became an unlikely Heisman Trophy finalist and the defense reloaded to rank second in the nation in points allowed.

    Defensive tackle Zion Logue said the Bulldogs avoided a letdown during the season by maintaining focus.

    “We treat every day like a game,” Logue said. “You try to make practice harder than the game so that by the time Dec. 31 gets here, we’ve seen everything and done everything to get ready for that moment.”

    ———

    AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/ap—top25. Sign up for the AP’s college football newsletter: https://tinyurl.com/mrxhe6f2

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  • No. 1 Georgia still hungry as defending national champions

    No. 1 Georgia still hungry as defending national champions

    [ad_1]

    ATHENS, Ga. — Kearis Jackson insists he and his Georgia teammates are not content even after adding this year’s Southeastern Conference championship to last season’s drought-breaking national title.

    The Bulldogs are motivated to keep winning.

    In fact, Jackson, a senior wide receiver, insists No. 1 Georgia is working harder than at this time last year as they seek a new goal — back-to-back national championships. The Bulldogs won their first national title since 1980 last season.

    Jackson says motivation isn’t an issue as the Bulldogs prepare for their Peach Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal against No. 4 Ohio State on Dec. 31. He says some observers will think Georgia players might be satisfied following their 50-30 win over LSU for the the SEC championship.

    It’s a change from one year ago, when Georgia players had extra incentive following a loss to Alabama in the SEC title game.

    “Last year after the SEC championship, it was like we came in with a chip on our shoulder because of the loss,” inside linebacker Smael Mondon said. “This year, I feel like we came with that same intensity, without coming off of a loss. We still have that same fire and intensity that we bring in practice.”

    Jackson also says winning the conference championship hasn’t taken away the team’s hunger as they enter another playoff.

    “I feel like this year coming off a conference win I think we will work harder than we did last year coming off a loss,” Jackson said. “It’s crazy because people can look at it and think they’re complacent, they’re happy about their win.”

    Jackson was thrilled and relieved after Georgia’s first SEC title since 2017. He was a member of three teams that lost in the SEC championship game.

    “Shoot, that’s just another checked box that we wanted as one of our goals,” he said. “I mean, our season is not complete yet. We still have goals we want to reach.”

    The win over LSU left the Bulldogs (13-0) undefeated and the top seed in the CFP. They will return to Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the site of the SEC championship game, for the Peach Bowl as they pursue their biggest goal.

    No Georgia team has won back-to-back national titles, and the Peach Bowl winner will earn a spot in the Jan. 9 national championship game in Los Angeles against No. 2 Michigan or No. 3 TCU.

    “We’re excited we get that opportunity to play in that game,” said Jackson of the Peach Bowl. “Just know that we’re motivated because we haven’t completed anything bigger than what we already want.”

    Georgia’s defense is motivated by the challenge of facing quarterback C.J. Stroud, a two-time Heisman Trophy finalist, and the high-scoring Ohio State offense.

    Coach Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs posted their second consecutive undefeated regular season despite losing a record 15 NFL draft picks, including five defensive players in the first round. Former walk-on quarterback Stetson Bennett became an unlikely Heisman Trophy finalist and the defense reloaded to rank second in the nation in points allowed.

    Defensive tackle Zion Logue said the Bulldogs avoided a letdown during the season by maintaining focus.

    “We treat every day like a game,” Logue said. “You try to make practice harder than the game so that by the time Dec. 31 gets here, we’ve seen everything and done everything to get ready for that moment.”

    ———

    AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/ap—top25. Sign up for the AP’s college football newsletter: https://tinyurl.com/mrxhe6f2

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