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When Alabama football and the Oklahoma Sooners meet up in Orange Bowl Saturday, a lot of different things could happen that could shift the favor of the game to either team. Check out some Bama Hammer staff, bold predictions for the game. Will Bama pull out stops? How good will Oklahoma’s offense actually be? What could Alabama football do to really shift the game in their favor? In the world of college football, these are questions that can only be answered on the field. However, Lauri Springer, from the BH writing staff, and I took a crack at predicting what...

When you match up two top 30 defenses against two of the worst offenses in the Power Five, well, you shouldn’t expect many points to be scored. But you also shouldn’t expect the absurd — and hilarious — chaos that transpired in the Cheez-It Bowl. In TCU’s 10-7 overtime victory over California, the teams combined for nine interceptions. Yes, nine. That’s tied with the 1982 Liberty Bowl for the third-most ever in a bowl game and behind the 1942 Orange Bowl (10) and 1968 Sun Bowl (12) for bowl interception immortality. The ninth interception came courtesy of Cal senior Chase...

Oklahoma has the Heisman Trophy winner at quarterback, the best young offensive mind in college football calling plays and a unit that led the nation with 49.5 points per game this season. They are the country’s most dangerous, explosive and exciting team. And according to the oddsmakers, experts and coaches familiar with both teams, the No. 4 Sooners are hopelessly overmatched against No. 1 Alabama in the College Football Playoff semifinal. “Top to bottom,” said an opposing coach familiar with Alabama, “this is the best overall team that they’ve ever had.” That’s why Vegas has installed the Sooners as two-touchdown...

Clemson could be without three players in the College Football Playoff semifinal matchup with Notre Dame — including one of its best players. Upon the team’s arrival in Dallas on Monday, Tigers coach Dabo Swinney told reporters that defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence, offensive lineman Zach Giella and tight end Braden Galloway failed NCAA-mandated drug tests last week. According to Tiger Illustrated, the players tested positive for ostarine. Unless Clemson successfully appeals the failed tests, all three will miss Saturday’s Cotton Bowl. The biggest loss would be Lawrence, one of the top players at his position in the country. A three-year...

You could hear and feel the collective gasp from Alabama football fans across the country when Tua hobbled off the field in the SEC Championship. Going into the Orange Bowl, the game plan of a non-Tua led offense will not necessarily change. There are really only two scenarios in which Tua doesn’t see the field: he is ruled out from the start or gets hurt during the game. As shown from the SEC Championship game, the growth and development of Jalen Hurts were put on full display and ultimately led to the comeback to keep the undefeated season alive. For...

We all remember the Philadelphia Eagles were underdogs in each playoff game last season. We typically forget it’s because nobody believed in Nick Foles. That was justified, considering how bad he was late in the regular season. We also might temporarily forget that when Foles was cut by the Los Angeles Rams in the summer of 2016, he signed as the Kansas City Chiefs’ backup for a measly $1.75 million. He almost became a pastor the following offseason before the Eagles came calling, and it wouldn’t have been a big headline if he retired. He was out of our consciousness...

Punting is a thankless task in the modern NFL, with very little opportunity to make a true impact in a game beyond the chess match of field position. So when you get the chance to plant a dude in the turf, brother, you take that chance. Behold Matt Bosher, Atlanta Falcons punter/kickoff specialist and now dark-horse Defensive Player of the Year candidate, ruining Carolina’s Kenjon Barner’s stuff right there in front of the world. We’re comfortable saying this might be the greatest play ever pulled off by a punter. The Falcons were eliminated from the playoffs last week and don’t...

The Denver Broncos stand one loss away from the franchise’s first consecutive losing seasons since 1971-72. And that apparently will be enough to get G.M. John Elway to make a change. Unless Elway changes his mind (which is always possible), coach Vance Joseph’s tenure as the head coach is expected to end after only two years, per a league source.

It did not take long for Jeremiah Criddell to get involved in the Oklahoma-Texas rivalry. Right after Criddell, a four-star defensive back from California, announced his commitment to Oklahoma live on ESPN2, he flashed the “horns down” right to the camera.

Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany told the Athletic on Tuesday that he’s open to discussing expanding college football’s playoff from four to eight teams. Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby previously expressed similar interest. An eight-team playoff would almost assuredly include automatic bids for major conferences and thus end the Power Five leagues being left on the outside of the sport’s grandest stage. Still uncommitted though is Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott, and it is, perhaps, the most curious of opinions. It’s not just that for the third time in five years, the Pac-12 didn’t make the playoff. It’s what’s about to...

If freshman quarterback Justin Fields wants to leave Georgia and transfer to another school as USA Today’s Dan Wolken reported Monday night, the former five-star recruit from Kennesaw, Ga., could use the same new NCAA transfer waiver guidelines that helped Shea Patterson play this year at Michigan after transferring from Ole Miss. And Fields might have an even stronger case than Patterson did. In April, the NCAA’s Division I Council provided new guidance to schools regarding waivers for undergraduate transfers who felt they shouldn’t have to complete the NCAA-mandated year-in-residence before taking the field for their new team. Here are...

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, Md. (ABC7) — David Murray is one of seven school board members in Prince George’s County now calling for Colin Kaepernick to sign with the team. This week, they sent out an open letter to owner Daniel Snyder and other leaders. “Knowing that we have the most dire need for him, we want him signed right now,” said Murray. “He can do a lot of great work to support our schools and our county if he comes here.” “Signing Kaepernick would send an even more powerful message today; that a person can peacefully protest for causes that...

Quarterback Justin Fields is reportedly leaving Georgia after just one season. Rumors have swirled in recent days about whether Fields would return to Georgia next fall. And according to USA Today’s Dan Wolken, Fields indeed has informed UGA coaches of his intention to transfer from the program. Fields was Rivals.com’s No. 2 recruit in the 2018 class (behind Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence) coming out of Kennesaw, Georgia, but never had much of an impact for the Bulldogs with sophomore Jake Fromm entrenched as the starter. Fields saw the field in 12 games, but struggled to find a consistent role with sporadic...

There are only two more weekends of regular season NFL play after this weekend. However, for many teams Week 15 has become Weak 15, as many fans have once again decided to stay home. If the reaction of the fans is any indication, the most ridiculed team of the league for attendance this weekend is the Cincinnati Bengals. Many fans took to Twitter to comment on the sparse attendance at Cincy’s Paul Brown Stadium, when Oakland Raiders came to town:

Late last summer, near the conclusion of training camp, a reporter asked Chicago Bears General Manager Ryan Pace about his team's window of contention. How cognizant was Pace of not only building for the future with a second-year quarterback, but also attempting to win immediately, before Mitchell Trubisky's bargain rookie deal grew more expensive? "That is something we internally talk about," Pace replied. "There's no question, the obvious advantages to that, versus going out and signing. In a perfect world, any franchise would want to hit on a young, drafted quarterback, as opposed to maybe hitting on it in free...

When Bill Fralic was an eighth-grader in the Penn Hills school district, he worked at a local golf course over the summer. It was there that he first met Pitt coach Jackie Sherrill. “What college do you play for?” Sherrill asked the 6-foot-3, 235-pound Fralic. Fralic told him he was going into the ninth grade. Needless to say, Sherrill had his No. 1 recruiting target for the recruiting class of 1981, and he would not be disappointed as he followed Fralic throughout his storied scholastic career. Fralic, who went on to become an All-American lineman at Pitt and an All-Pro...

Alabama returns to practice today in preparation for a College Football Playoff semifinal with Oklahoma and before he takes the field, Tua Tagovailoa has snagged a cover of Sports Illustrated. The accomplished sophomore quarterback turned in an impressive season as a first-year starter, becoming the fourth signal-caller of the Nick Saban era to account for 3,000 yards passing (3,353) as he also totals 37 touchdown passes to four interceptions through 13 games. Tagovailoa guided the Crimson Tide’s offense to 50-plus points in eight matchups, while being responsible for two 60-point games versus Mississippi and Arkansas. He has 42 total scores...

NFL LIVE THREAD Week 15 THURSDAY, DEC 13, 2018 (All Times Eastern) L.A. Chargers at Kansas City 8:20 pm NFLN/Fox/Amazon Prime Arrowhead Stadium SATURDAY, DEC 15, 2018 Houston at N.Y. Jets 4:30 pm NFLN MetLife Stadium Cleveland at Denver 8:20 pm NFLN Broncos Stadium at Mile High SUNDAY, DEC 16, 2018 Dallas at Indianapolis 1:00 pm FOX Lucas Oil Stadium Miami at Minnesota 1:00 pm CBS U.S. Bank Stadium Oakland at Cincinnati 1:00 pm CBS Paul Brown Stadium Tennessee at N.Y. Giants 1:00 pm CBS MetLife Stadium Washington at Jacksonville 1:00 pm CBS TIAA Bank Field Arizona at Atlanta 1:00...

Last January, Case Keenum threw 20 incompletions, threw two picks, and threw away what felt like a Super Bowl in the cold of the NFC championship game in Philadelphia. The Minnesota Vikings saw their quarterback get outdueled by Eagles backup Nick Foles, dashing the dream of hosting the Super Bowl. Afterward, the franchise focused on a single thing – get a quarterback, just about any quarterback, at just about any price. All the other pieces were there, they believed. So they went out and got Kirk Cousins, for $84 million over three years, convincing him to come to Minnesota because...

Lamar Jackson will start as quarterback for the Ravens this Sunday when they face the Buccaneers, despite Joe Flacco being cleared to play. Coach John Harbaugh made the announcement Wednesday, saying Flacco will suit up Sunday, but that Jackson will start.