Can Georgia keep winning without Brock Bowers?
-
Mark Schlabach, ESPN Senior Writer
During Georgia‘s current 24-game winning streak, in which it became the first team in the College Football Playoff era to capture back-to-back national championships, it has won at various times with a menacing defense, explosive offense and opportunistic special teams.
But since the start of the 2021 season, the Bulldogs have never had to try to win without star tight end Brock Bowers.
That’s the challenge No. 1 Georgia faces in trying to become the first team in The Associated Press poll era to win three consecutive national championships. Minnesota was the last team to accomplish the feat (1934 to 1936).
Bowers, the Bulldogs’ leading receiver and the 2022 Mackey Award winner as the top tight end in the FBS, underwent TightRope surgery on Oct. 16 to repair a high left ankle sprain. He is expected to miss at least four to six weeks, starting with Saturday’s game against Florida at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida.
“Obviously, this is not only one of the best players in America this year, last year,” Gators coach Billy Napier said. “I mean, this is one of the best players of all time, if that makes sense.”
Bowers’ importance in Georgia’s offense can’t be overstated. He leads the team with 41 receptions for 567 yards, ranking second among FBS tight ends in both statistics, with four touchdown receptions (and one more rushing). He has only two drops in 52 targets. On top of that, he’s one of the best blockers in the game.
Bowers isn’t a typical tight end in the open field, either. He is No. 1 among tight ends and No. 4 among all FBS players with 415 yards after contact. Bowers has 16 catches in which he’s made defenders miss tackles, which is fourth among all FBS players and twice as many as any other tight end.
It’s no wonder ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr. ranks Bowers as the fourth-best prospect eligible for next year’s NFL draft.
“This guy is a really, really unique matchup relative to his ability to run routes and get open, his ability to run after the catch,” Napier said. “They’re handing the guy sweeps. They were handing the guy the ball. He’s a terrific blocker. He’s tough. He’s got a really good set of fundamentals. Made him really hard to defend.”
The Gators are fortunate they won’t have to defend him Saturday. In Georgia’s 42-20 victory over Florida last season, Bowers had five catches for 154 yards and one touchdown, the most receiving yards a Georgia player has ever had against Florida. On Bowers’ 73-yard touchdown in the second quarter, he ran a wheel route down the left sideline. Gators linebacker Amari Burney tipped the ball in the air. It bounced off Burney’s helmet, and Bowers tipped the ball to himself before hauling it in. Napier could only shake his head in disbelief.
So how do the Bulldogs try to replace Bowers’ production? The good news for Georgia is it had an extra week to prepare after he was injured in the first half of a 37-20 victory at Vanderbilt on Oct. 14.
Georgia’s offense has mostly been built around 12 personnel (two tight ends, two receivers and one running back) the past three seasons. Sophomore Oscar Delp (13 catches for 160 yards with two scores) and freshmen Pearce Spurlin III (two catches for 29 yards) and Lawson Luckie are next in line at tight end. Each ranked in the top eight among tight end prospects nationally and were ESPN 300 prospects.
“If they think one guy is going to replace Brock Bowers, they’re wrong,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “If anybody thinks they have to be Superman, they don’t need to be on our team because they’ll be disappointed. Superman is not real. He’s dead. He’s not alive. He’s not real. You can’t try to be that guy.”
Bowers might as well have been wearing a cape the past two seasons. Without him, Georgia’s offense figures to employ more wide receivers. Junior Ladd McConkey has returned after missing the first four games with a back injury. He was second on the team in receiving last season, behind Bowers, with 58 catches for 762 yards with seven scores.
Receivers Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint, Missouri transfer Dominic Lovett and Mississippi State transfer Rara Thomas also could play bigger roles.
“Our offense is not built around, like, one person doing one thing,” Smart said. “It’s built around plug-in and you can do it in 10 personnel, you can do it in 11 personnel, you can do it in 13 personnel. I think every offense that’s a good offense is that way.”
One head coach who played Georgia during the past three seasons said the Bulldogs have enough playmakers to compensate for Bowers’ absence. Georgia might have schemed 12 to 15 plays a game in which the ball was supposed to go to Bowers. He was a human cheat code for dictating coverages and often attracted more than one defender.
“I’ll be honest, sometimes when you lose a great player like that, you end up becoming a little better on offense because you’re just not always trying to get him the ball,” the coach said. “Now you’ve got to spread it out and you become a little more dynamic.”
With Bowers sidelined, Georgia quarterback Carson Beck is going to have to get the ball to others.
“I’ve got one really good receiver and that’s the only guy my quarterback ever looks at,” the coach said. “That’s the only guy he tries to get the ball to. I have to hold [the receiver] out of practice because we play him every snap and he’s beat up. In practice, the quarterback has to give it to everyone else, and we end up looking better when he does that.”
A longtime SEC assistant whose team faced the Bulldogs this season said there’s no question they’re going to miss having Bowers on the field. Another SEC assistant added, “Losing Bowers is going to hurt them.”
“Man, he was a huge piece,” one of the assistants said.
When the Bulldogs needed a first down or a big gain, Bowers was the player Beck looked for more times than not. He was a safety net for the first-year starting quarterback, who has completed 73.6% of his passes for 2,147 yards with 12 touchdowns and 4 interceptions.
When Georgia struggled at Auburn on Sept. 30, Bowers had six catches on the last three scoring drives, including the winning 40-yard touchdown with 2:52 to play in a 27-20 victory. Bowers had eight receptions for 157 yards with one score for the game.
Smart won’t say when Bowers might be back. The Bulldogs are about to begin the most difficult stretch of their season. After playing the Gators, they face three straight ranked opponents: No. 16 Missouri and No. 12 Ole Miss at home and No. 21 Tennessee on the road.
It’s unclear if they’ll have Bowers back for any of them.
“There is no player that we’re asking to step up and do more than you can,” Smart said. “As a collective effort, every player is going to do more. That includes defense getting turnovers, special teams getting better field position. Other guys get the opportunity to touch the ball and make the most of it.”
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.
-
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.”
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway