Free Republic

It was an uncharacteristic day for Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. It just also happened to be the biggest day of his collegiate career. In college football’s season finale, Michigan vitiated Washington and the usual magnificence of Penix to claim the College Football Playoff national championship for the first time and the program’s first title since the 1997 season. Penix went 27-of-51 passing for 255 yards and one touchdown — the only Washington TD on the night — against two interceptions. It was, statistically, a performance discouraging of complaints, but overthrown open passes and missed third-down conversions (2 for 14)...

Washington Huskies fans don't have much faith in beating No. 3 Texas in the Sugar Bowl to advance to the national championship. Washington is the only College Football Playoff team that has yet to sell all of its national championship ticket allotment. How do we know this? The Huskies sent out an email reminding donors and season-ticket holders that tickets are still available. Washington has a 20,000 ticket allotment for its fans if the Huskies reach hte national championship game. Fans can claim those tickets, which will be refunded if Washington fails to reach the national championship. It's pretty sad...

Florida State, per FSU Sports Info, was down 14 starters from its ACC Championship-winning roster. In the largest scoring margin in bowl game history, Florida State lost 63-3 to the Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday in the Orange Bowl. Florida State, per FSU Sports Info, was down 14 starters from its ACC Championship-winning roster with multiple players having opted out following FSU’s unprecedented exclusion from the College Football Playoff due to entrance into the NFL Draft or the transfer portal. Below, find some reactions from recruits, alumni, current players, coaches, officials and Florida State administrators — as well as FSU fans,...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The heartache won’t go away. Not anytime soon, anyway. Not for Florida State players and coaches who were driven to earn a spot in the College Football Playoff and play for another title. The Seminoles had to settle for the Atlantic Coast Conference championship, which followed a perfect regular season. “Nobody can take that from us,” senior defensive back Jarrian Jones said. The CFP selection committee dropped Florida State (13-0) from fourth to fifth and outside the four-team playoff, a move it justified because of star quarterback Jordan Travis’ season-ending broken leg. It prompted outrage from...

The final four-team College Football Playoff selection process has come under remarkable scrutiny after the controversial decision to include one-loss SEC champion Alabama over undefeated ACC champ Florida State, and now some powerful people in the Sunshine State are getting involved on an official basis. State Attorney General — and Florida Gators fan — Ashley Moody has launched an anti-trust investigation into the College Football Playoff to see if it engaged in anti-competitive conduct. "I'm a lifelong Gator, but I'm also the Florida Attorney General, and I know injustice when I see it," Moody said, via the Tampa Bay Times....

Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis took the College Football Playoff committee to task Tuesday, slamming its decision to exclude the undefeated Florida State football team from the four-team playoff. DeSantis, speaking at a news conference to detail his proposed $114.4 billion budget for Florida, said he is asking for $1 million to let Florida State sue the CFP committee even though the championship will be decided months before a budget is approved. The semifinals are set for Jan. 1, with the championship game to be played Jan. 8. "My first-grader, my fifth-grader and my preschooler ... they are all Noles and...

(Key stakeholders were intrigued by the possibility of a new FBS subdivision that could allow schools to pay players directly) LAS VEGAS -- If there is a college athletics revolution in the near future, the NCAA is now admitting it wants to be part of it. In a letter sent to membership Tuesday, NCAA president Charlie Baker proposed sweeping changes to his association's amateurism model that would essentially create pay for play between schools and athletes. Baker proposed a new subdivision consisting of schools "with the highest resources" that would likely separate itself from the rest of the Football Bowl...

Gov. Ron DeSantis is adding financial heft to the backlash from undefeated Florida State’s exclusion from the College Football Playoff. DeSantis announced Tuesday that his 2024-25 budget includes $1 million for “any litigation expenses that may come as a result of this really, really poor decision by the College Football Playoff to exclude an undefeated team” that won a major conference title. The Republican made his remark during a news conference to present his budget. DeSantis said the 13-0 Seminoles “earned a spot” in the playoff but were excluded in a “very, very controversial ruling.” FSU is the first undefeated...

The Michigan Wolverines were seemingly pulling hard for Florida State to get into the playoff. The 13-0 Seminoles were left out in favor of 12-1 Alabama. The Crimson Tide will meet the Wolverines in the first round. Michigan is currently a -1.5 favorite on DraftKings. It should be a great game. However, Michigan wasn’t happy about it. The team’s reaction to learning Alabama – not Florida State – is the four seed was muted at best and downright not happy at worst. There was some very light clapping after stunned silence and great disappointment. Those two videos really say it...

The Nightmare in Grapevine is upon us. What is often a formality — making four obvious choices for the four-team College Football Playoff — is anything but for the committee this year. The 13-member group, huddled in a hotel in Grapevine, Texas, will have to make the most consequential and controversial decision in its 10-year existence — and in the final season before the playoff expands to 12 teams. Their decision will be revealed at noon Sunday on ESPN. Big Ten champion Michigan (13-0) and Pac-12 champion Washington (13-0) are assumed to be safely in. They’ll almost assuredly be the...

I have no idea who Bud Elliot is, but I like this graphic.

Dr. Simon Goddek @goddeketal · 🚨JUST IN: Deception and Lies – Senator Babet's Bombshell Revelation on Covid Vaccination in Australia Senator Babet says that the Australian people were duped into believing that mRNA injections would protect them from Covid. But now, the data is showing that the vaccinated…

Ohio State’s missed field goal vs. Georgia timed up perfectly with the New York City ball-drop. Timing is everything, as illustrated by Ohio State kicker Noah Ruggles’ missed game-winning field goal attempt vs. Georgia in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. As the calendar flipped to 2023, the clock officially struck midnight on the Buckeyes’ season. The No. 4 seed in the College Football Playoff gave the No. 1-seeded defending national champions all they could handle in their national semifinal game. Ohio State may have outplayed Georgia throughout the Peach Bowl, but 2022 was truly the Year of the Dawg. Georgia improved...

Alabama quarterback Bryce Young and linebacker Will Anderson Jr. made headlines last week when they decided that they will play in the Crimson Tide's Sugar Bowl matchup against Kansas State. In doing so, the two projected top-five picks in this spring's NFL Draft bucked a recent trend in college football of draft prospects sitting out of non-playoff bowl games in increasing numbers. We now know why the two stars have decided to suit up for Alabama one final time. Anderson and Young told reporters on Monday that they're trying to set an example of leadership and accountability for their Alabama...

Ohio State won't have one of its best players for the Peach Bowl against Georgia on Dec. 31. According to ESPN's Pete Thamel, star wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba has declared for the 2023 NFL Draft and will not play for the Buckeyes again. "I want to be out there competing with my brothers more than anything," Smith-Njigba told Thamel. "The decision to turn pro was made after I was unable to come back on multiple occasions during the season and the doctors determined I would be unable to participate in the playoffs." Smith-Njigba has been battling a lingering hamstring issue...

There’s not exactly a silver medal ceremony after the College Football Playoff championship game. The confetti drops and the champion gets their trophy as the losing team trudges to a sad locker room. At some point, however, a rarely seen piece of hardware arrives for Team B...... “It’s a participation trophy,” he said bluntly. “You made it but you didn’t do anything. You didn’t win. I wouldn’t say we fully turned the page but there’s always going to be something that externally motivates us. Yeah, that’s all I’ve got to say.”..... In a video that quickly went viral, then-strength and...

First photos of Texas school shooter… He was transgender… (Kane links to other sites)

Bowl Season is a full season again in 2021.There are a total of 43 postseason games with 84 teams, starting with the Bahamas Bowl on Dec. 17 and ending with the College Football Playoff championship game on Jan. 10. This year’s CFP semifinals are on Dec. 31 with No. 1 Alabama taking on No. 4 Cincinnati in the Cotton Bowl Classic and No. 2 Michigan facing No. 3 Georgia in the Orange Bowl. The New Year’s Day Six slate is loaded, and there are more than enough bowl games to get through the holidays. MORE: Every FBS coaching change in...

Controversy will unfortunately be the story of Saturday’s marquee Michigan–Michigan State clash if the Spartans come back and win this afternoon’s game. Late in the second quarter, Michigan linebacker David Ojabo strip-sacked Michigan State quarterback Payton Thorne. The ball rolled into the end-zone before Wolverines star Aidan Hutchinson recovered it for a touchdown to make it a 26-14 Michigan lead. The refs reviewed the play to check whether or not Thorne was down before he fumbled the ball. Replay appeared to confirm it was a clean fumble before Thorne hit the ground. The replay center somehow saw otherwise. The officials...

Nice jab at the culture of fairness, worth the watch.