Smart: Georgia still among ‘the best four teams’
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Mark Schlabach, ESPN Senior Writer
ATLANTA — After No. 8 Alabama ended two-time defending national champion Georgia‘s 29-game winning streak, 27-24 in Saturday’s SEC championship game, Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart had a strong message for the College Football Playoff selection committee.
Smart has no doubt his No. 1-ranked Bulldogs are one of the four best teams in college football.
“Look, Bill Hancock said, ‘It’s not the most deserving,'” Smart said. “He said, simply, ‘it’s the best four teams.’ So you’re going to tell me somebody’s sitting in the committee room and doesn’t think that that Georgia team is not one of the best four teams?
“I’m not sure they’re in the right profession because it’s a really good football team, it’s a really talented football team, it’s a really balanced football team. They have to make that decision. But it’s the best four teams, and that’s critical.”
Smart was referring to the CFP executive director’s comments to reporters Tuesday, when Hancock dismissed the idea that the selection committee’s job is to pick the four most deserving teams, rather than the four best teams.
“I appreciate your asking that question,” Hancock said Tuesday. “It is best. Most deserving is not anything in the committee’s lexicon. They are to rank the best teams in order, and that’s what they do. Just keep that word in mind: best teams.”
For Smart, there’s no question the Bulldogs are among the four best teams. Georgia finished unbeaten in each of the past two regular seasons. It has won 45 of its past 47 games. This season, it defeated No. 9 Missouri 30-21 and No. 11 Ole Miss 52-17 at home and No. 21 Tennessee 38-10 on the road.
“I think it’s the eye test,” Smart said. “When you look at what we’ve done this season, to go on the road and the teams we beat and the teams that were in the top 20 that we were able to beat. I don’t know if this is right or not, but in the CFP era the team that goes in as (No. 1) I don’t think has fallen out of that.”
Smart is correct in that no No. 1 team in the penultimate CFP rankings fell out of the top four after losing on championship weekend.
“Not that history says anything, but when you talk about the four best teams, watch the game,” Smart said. “Go ask NFL talent evaluators. Go ask NFL scouts. It’s about the best teams, and I have no question that it’s not one of the four best teams, like 100 percent.”
Undoubtedly, Georgia is going to need help if it’s going to be picked by the CFP selection committee on Sunday. No. 3 Washington likely punched its playoff ticket by wrapping up a 13-0 season with a 34-31 victory against No. 5 Oregon in Friday night’s Pac-12 championship game.
No. 2 Michigan can also finish unbeaten by defeating No. 16 Iowa in Saturday night’s Big Ten championship game. The same goes for No. 4 Florida State, which is playing No. 14 Louisville in the ACC title game. An undefeated champion from a Power Five league has never been left out of the CFP.
If either the Wolverines or Seminoles fall, Georgia would have an argument as one of best one-loss teams. So would Alabama and Texas, which upset the Crimson Tide 34-24 on the road Sept. 9 and took down No. 18 Oklahoma State 49-21 in the Big 12 championship game. The Tide and Longhorns captured conference championships, which is something the Bulldogs’ didn’t win.
“I don’t know the history of the other years,” Smart said. “It seems like this is the year that it should be the four best teams because you can make a case for ‘deserving’ for everybody. It’s unfortunate that these kids who give so much and play so hard-and not just at Georgia, all these schools-they don’t get to decide it really on the field. It’s sitting back with a committee who is going to determine who the four best teams are. If it’s truly the four best teams then let’s put the four best teams in.”
The SEC has never been left out of the CFP. The Bulldogs and Crimson Tide have both made the playoff in two previous seasons in 2017 and 2021. Alabama beat Georgia 26-23 in overtime in the CFP National Championship after the 2017 season. The Bulldogs defeated the Tide 33-18 after the 2021 season to end a 41-year drought without a national championship.
“Look at our teams in the playoffs and look at what they’ve done,” Smart said. “Y’all tell me the record of the SEC teams in the playoffs. It’s pretty spectacular. I know twice that two of them ended up playing each other. Who are the best teams?”
Of course, Georgia could have ended the debate by beating the Tide on the field Saturday. The Bulldogs made too many mistakes, blowing a defensive assignment on Alabama’s first touchdown, missing a 49-yard field goal after a false-start penalty and losing a fumble at their own 11-yard line, which led to a Tide field goal.
“You go through an SEC schedule, 12 games, and to win each and every one, this is not something easy to do,” Bulldogs quarterback Carson Beck said. “It’s not easy, but I’m proud of these guys. Obviously, to come into this game and not finish the way that we wanted to and kind of leave the destiny of our team in someone else’s hands rather than us handling it ourselves, that’s hard. I thought throughout the season we showed we were a really dominant team.”
But Georgia’s first loss in 728 days — it hadn’t fallen since losing to Alabama 41-24 in the 2021 SEC championship game — might end up pushing them out of the playoff.
“We didn’t win, so I mean that’s the bottom line,” Georgia center Sedrick Van Pran said. “We had our opportunity to make our case and we didn’t. We didn’t win the game. Whether or not they put us in is up to them. We’ll respect their decision either way.”
The 151st running of the Kentucky Derby is set to deliver yet another exhilarating race to the finish. From the field to the favorite, here is everything to know about the first leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown.
When is the 2025 Kentucky Derby?
The 2025 Kentucky Derby will take place Saturday at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.
What time does the 2025 Kentucky Derby begin?
The post time for the 2025 Kentucky Derby is 6:57 p.m. ET.
How can fans watch?
Coverage of the 2025 Kentucky Derby begins at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC. Peacock will stream early coverage beginning at noon ET.
How many horses run in the Kentucky Derby?
Twenty horses have the chance to compete in the Kentucky Derby.
How do horses qualify for the Kentucky Derby?
To earn a spot in the starting gate of the Kentucky Derby, a horse must compete in a series of designated races from September through mid-April. Points are awarded to the top five finishers in each race. The 20 horses with the most points, or the horses who win their international series, earn a spot in the starting gate in Louisville on the first Saturday in May.
Who is the favorite in the 2025 Kentucky Derby?
Journalism, trained by Michael McCarthy, opened as the 3-1 favorite.
What are the post positions for the 2025 Kentucky Derby?
Post 1: Citizen Bull (20-1 morning line odds)
Post 2: Neoequos (30-1)
Post 3: Final Gambit (30-1)
Post 4: Rodriguez (12-1)
Post 5: American Promise (30-1)
Post 6: Admire Daytona (30-1)
Post 7: Luxor Cafe (15-1)
Post 8: Journalism (3-1)
Post 9: Burnham Square (12-1)
Post 10: Grande (20-1)
Post 11: Flying Mohawk (30-1)
Post 12: East Avenue (20-1)
Post 13: Publisher (20-1)
Post 14: Tiztastic (20-1)
Post 15: Render Judgment (30-1)
Post 16: Coal Battle (30-1)
Post 17: Sandman (6-1)
Post 18: Sovereignty (5-1)
Post 19: Chunk of Gold (30-1)
Post 20: Owen Almighty (30-1)
Alternate: Baeza
Which post has produced the most Kentucky Derby winners?
Post 5 has produced the most winners, with 10.
What three races make up horse racing’s Triple Crown?
The Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes are the three races needed to accomplish the Triple Crown.
Who won the 2024 Kentucky Derby?
Mystik Dan, trained by Kenny McPeek, won last year’s Kentucky Derby at 18-1 odds.
What is the purse for the 2025 Kentucky Derby?
Since 2024, $5 million in prize money has been guaranteed for the Kentucky Derby.
Check out the ESPN horse racing hub page for the latest news and notes ahead of the big race.
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Ryan S. Clark
Add Rick Tocchet to the list of available coaching options on the open market with the Vancouver Canucks announcing Tuesday that Tocchet left the team.
There had been a belief that Tocchet’s time with the Canucks could be coming to an end. Last week saw the discussion of Tocchet’s future with the franchise come under greater focus, with Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford saying they weren’t exercising their option on Tocchet’s contract before adding that they offered him a new, more lucrative deal to remain in Vancouver.
But now? Tocchet joins the list of sought-after coaching candidates and the Canucks become the eighth NHL team that will use this offseason to go through a coaching search.
“After a very long and thorough process, unfortunately Rick has decided to leave the Vancouver Canucks,” Rutherford said in a statement. “This is very disappointing news, but we respect Rick’s decision to move to a new chapter in his hockey career. We did everything in our power to keep him but at the end of the day, Rick felt he needed a change.”
In the same news conference in which Rutherford said the team offered Tocchet a new deal, he also said that Tocchet “may have his mind somewhere else” before adding that he felt Tocchet and his staff did “a good job coaching this team this year” as they did in their first full campaign.
Tocchet was a midseason hire during the 2022-23 season. His first full year in charge saw the Canucks win 50 games, finish with 109 points and win the Pacific Division. He led the Canucks to their first postseason appearance since the 2019-20 season and was a win away from advancing to the Western Conference finals.
Entering this season, the Canucks had most of their players from their playoff team. They started strong with a 15-8-5 record but encountered numerous on-ice and off-ice problems that would prove too large.
Among them was the friction between star forwards J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson. The tension between Miller and Pettersson reached a stage in which Canucks captain Quinn Hughes publicly acknowledged there was an issue with Miller and Pettersson denying such issues.
Miller would be traded to the New York Rangers before the trade deadline, and the Canucks struggled to find someone who could replace his production. They would finish six points behind the St. Louis Blues for the final Western Conference wild-card spot.
Still, Tocchet had the support of Hughes, along with others within the organization who wanted him to stay.
As for what it all means going forward for both parties? Tocchet is among those who will join Mike Sullivan, who parted ways with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday after winning two Stanley Cups in 10 seasons, as one of the most attractive names for teams seeking a new bench boss.
Then there are the teams that need a coach. It’s a list that includes the Anaheim Ducks, Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Seattle Kraken, plus the Penguins and now the Canucks.
“I’m choosing to move on from the Vancouver Canucks,” Tocchet said. “Family is a priority, and with my contract lapsing, this becomes an opportune time. While I don’t know where I’m headed, or exactly how this will play out for me over the near term, I feel like this is the right time for me to explore other opportunities around hockey.”
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