Connect with us

Published

on

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The only thing that stopped Tennessee fans from singing “Rocky Top” as time was expiring Friday night was the need to serenade Joe Milton with something else.

“M-V-P!” they chanted, over and over. With good reason.

Milton, who regained the starting job only after his close friend Hendon Hooker got hurt late in the year, led Tennessee to one of its finest moments in the past couple of decades.

He completed 19 of 28 passes for 251 yards and three touchdowns, and No. 6 Tennessee never trailed on its way to a 31-14 victory over No. 10 Clemson in the Orange Bowl.

“I trust myself, I trust my coaching and I just let it happen,” Milton said.

The Volunteers, who hadn’t had an 11-win season since 2001, finished 11-2 and capped a year in which they beat Alabama, LSU and Clemson, programs that combined to win six of the seven recent College Football Playoff national titles.

“All the adversity this group’s faced during their careers, what they’ve done the last 23 months, I couldn’t be prouder of a group of individuals,” said Tennessee coach Josh Heupel, who won a national title as an Oklahoma player in the Orange Bowl. “These players, our staff, Vol Nation, everybody’s been along for the journey.”

Squirrel White, Bru McCoy and Ramel Keyton had the scoring catches for the Volunteers. Jaylen Wright rushed for 89 yards and Jabari Small had a touchdown run for Tennessee.

Cade Klubnik, making his first start for Clemson, completed 30 of 54 passes for 320 yards with two interceptions. But Clemson (11-3) just kept coming up empty on prime scoring chances; the Tigers got into Tennessee territory on nine of their first 10 possessions and turned those trips into only two field goals.

Clemson finished with 484 yards on 101 plays, and still lost by 17.

“You don’t get any points for yards,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. “The name of the game’s points. … You have to finish and execute and we did not do that.”

Klubnik ran in from 4 yards out to get Clemson within 21-14 with 10:01 left, but Milton connected with Keyton for a 46-yard score on the next Tennessee possession. The Volunteers intercepted Klubnik on a desperation fourth-down heave about a minute later, just about sealing the outcome.

“Wish we could have sent out these seniors with a win,” Klubnik said. “I think we gave it all we had until the last play.”

Klubnik ran in from 4 yards out to get Clemson within 21-14 with 10:01 left, but Milton connected with Keyton for a 46-yard score on the next Tennessee possession. The Volunteers intercepted Klubnik on a desperation fourth-down heave about a minute later, just about sealing the outcome.

In this very orange Orange Bowl — both teams have it as their primary color — it was the Tennessee hue that was superior. Hooker was there, having flown in about a week ago to be with his team and help Milton prepare for the game.

“Blood can’t make us closer,” Milton said. “That’s my brother ’til the end.”

Milton opened the scoring with a 16-yard pass to McCoy, and Small’s 2-yard rush pushed the lead to 14-0 with 9:03 left in the half. The Vols’ offense, which led the nation this year in yards and points per game, wasn’t at its best, but it didn’t have to be.

Clemson got the ball seven times in the first half, getting inside Tennessee territory all seven times and getting to the Vols’ 25 on four occasions.

Somehow, that became only three points.

The other six possessions: a stuffed fake field-goal run by Drew Swinney, the son of Clemson coach Dabo Swinney; a punt; three missed field goals by B.T. Potter, the most prolific kicker in school history; and a brutal final drive when Klubnik was tackled on a keeper with 6 seconds left. Clemson was out of timeouts, couldn’t get the field-goal unit on the field and went into halftime trailing 14-3.

“Lot of missed opportunities,” Dabo Swinney said.

Potter opened the second half with a 40-yarder of the no-problem variety, the 73rd field goal of his career, a school record for the Tigers. But White caught a 14-yard pass with 5 seconds left in the third, giving the Vols a 21-6 lead going into the fourth.

When it was over, Milton took a knee, tucked the game ball under his left arm and simply would not let it go. He’ll enter 2023 as Tennessee’s presumed starter, and expectations will be high for a program that went 20-27 in the four seasons before Heupel’s arrival, went 7-6 last year under him and now won an Orange Bowl.

“It’s been a fun climb,” Heupel said. “The best is yet to come.”

Tennessee may climb a spot or two, depending on what happens in the College Football Playoff games. It’ll be the Vols’ best finish in at least 20 years; they were No. 4 in 2001 and No. 1 in 1998.

Clemson will be part of the final poll for the 12th consecutive year, extending the longest such run in school history. The Tigers were in six straight season-ending AP polls from 1986 through 1991.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Continue Reading

Sports

SEC outlines discipline for fake injury ‘nonsense’

Published

on

By

SEC outlines discipline for fake injury 'nonsense'

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey sent a memo Friday to league athletic directors and head football coaches outlining punishment if players continue to fake injuries in games.

“As plainly as it can be stated: Stop any and all activity related to faking injuries to create time-outs,” Sankey wrote in the memo, a copy of which was obtained by ESPN.

He ended the memo by writing: “Play football and stop the feigned injury nonsense.”

Increasingly over the past few years, coaches have repeatedly accused opposing teams and coaches of faking injuries to disrupt the rhythm and flow of offenses, especially those that are up-tempo and rarely huddle. Broadcasters have pointed out several obvious cases this season when players flopped to the ground near the sideline claiming to be injured just as the opposing offense was about to snap the ball.

Each play where a fake injury might have occurred must be submitted to the SEC for review. Steve Shaw, the national coordinator of football officiating, will determine what constitutes a fake injury. According to Sankey’s memo, those guidelines will range from Shaw determining that a feigned injury has occurred, that it is more likely than not that a feigned injury has occurred, that a player attempted to feign an injury or any other general statement from Shaw establishing the probability of a feigned injury.

Sankey wrote that creating injury timeouts, on offense or defense, is “not acceptable and is disrespectful to the game of football.”

Punishments laid out in Sankey’s memo include the following: for the first offense, a head coach receives a public reprimand and a $50,000 fine; for the second offense, another reprimand and a $100,000 fine; for a third offense, another reprimand and the coach will be suspended for his program’s next game.

Any staff member found to be involved in signaling or directing a player to feign an injury will face the same measures, including financial penalties and a suspension. A player cited for feigning an injury also may be subject to a public reprimand.

Sankey told reporters a few weeks ago at the Oklahoma-Texas game that he was concerned about the growing accusations of faking injuries.

“If somebody’s injured, we need to take that seriously,” Sankey said. “But creating the questions — and I mean this all across the country — needs to stop.”

Continue Reading

Sports

Sources: Top Michigan CB Johnson out vs. Oregon

Published

on

By

Sources: Top Michigan CB Johnson out vs. Oregon

All-American Michigan cornerback Will Johnson is out against No. 1 Oregon on Saturday, sources confirmed to ESPN, leaving the Wolverines without their top defensive player.

Johnson left the Illinois game on Oct. 19 with a lower-body injury and missed the Michigan State game last week. He’s still recovering from that lower-body injury, and his timeline to return is uncertain.

Michigan coach Sherrone Moore said this week that Johnson is expected back at some point this season “for sure” but didn’t specify when.

Johnson is considered the top cornerback prospect for the upcoming NFL draft. He has delivered two pick-sixes this year for the Wolverines, returning interceptions 86 yards against Fresno State and 42 yards against USC.

Last season, he snagged four interceptions for the Wolverines and earned defensive MVP honors for the 2023 national championship game.

247 Sports first reported Johnson’s expected absence.

Continue Reading

Sports

Baffert’s horses 1-2 in Breeders’ Cup Juvenile

Published

on

By

Baffert's horses 1-2 in Breeders' Cup Juvenile

DEL MAR, Calif. — Citizen Bull won the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile by 1½ lengths and Gaming was second at Del Mar on Friday, giving Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert a 1-2 finish and his record sixth career victory in the race for 2-year-olds.

Ridden by Martin Garcia, Citizen Bull ran 1¹⁄₁₆ miles in 1:43.07. He paid $33.80 at 15-1 odds.

Citizen Bull earned 30 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby, where Baffert will return next year for the first time since 2021. His three-year ban by Churchill Downs ended in July.

Gaming was the 6-1 third choice. Baffert’s other entry, Getaway Car, named for the Taylor Swift song, finished fourth at 25-1 odds.

“It’s exciting when your horses show up,” Baffert said. “I was hoping they’d run 1-2-3.”

It was Baffert’s 19th career Cup win and he broke a tie with D. Wayne Lukas for most Juvenile victories. Jockey Martin Garcia earned his fifth career Cup win.

“He always comes through. He’s a big-time rider,” Baffert said of Garcia. “He told me, ‘I’m going to win it.'”

East Avenue, the 8-5 favorite, stumbled out of the starting gate and nearly went down to his knees. He finished ninth in the 10-horse field. Chancer McPatrick, the 5-2 second choice, lost for the first time in four career starts and was sixth.

Racing resumes Saturday with nine Cup races, highlighted by the $7 million Classic.

In other races:

– Immersive won the $2 million Juvenile Fillies by 4½ lengths, giving trainer Brad Cox at least one Cup win in each of the past seven years. Ridden by Manny Cox, Immersive ran 1¹⁄₁₆ miles in 1:44.36 to remain undefeated. Sent off as the 2-1 favorite, she paid $6 to win.

– Lake Victoria overcame a challenging trip to win the $2 million Juvenile Fillies Turf by 1¼ lengths. The 2-year-old filly ran 1 mile in 1:34.28 and paid $3.40 as the 3-5 favorite. Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien and jockey Ryan Moore earned the win.

– Magnum Force rallied to overtake leader Governor Sam and win the $1 million Juvenile Turf Sprint by a quarter-length. The 12-1 shot ran five furlongs in 56.36 seconds and paid $27 to win. Irish trainer Ger Lyons and jockey Colin Keane earned their first Cup victories. Governor Sam, co-owned by Houston Astros free agent Alex Bregman, finished third.

– Henri Matisse won the $1 million Juvenile Turf, with Moore and O’Brien teaming for their second win of the day. Moore won his 16th career Cup race. It was O’Brien’s 20th career Cup win and seventh in the race. Sent off as the 7-2 favorite, Henri Matisse ran 1 mile in 1:34.48. Iron Man Cal was second and Aomori City third. There was a lengthy steward’s inquiry involving New Century, who finished fourth, and Dream On, who was fifth, but there was no change to the order of finish.

Continue Reading

Trending