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In a tightly-contested defensive battle that saw preseason Sun Belt Offensive Player of the year Zac Thomas go down with a late injury, the Mountaineers edged past Georgia State 17-13 on Saturday at Kidd Brewer. 
“It was a big-time college football game here at The Rock,” App State head coach Shawn Clark said. “It’s never easy to win, but we’re going to celebrate this win and get ready for Coastal.” 
Later that drive after Thomas was injured, App State took its first lead of the game on a 10-yard touchdown run from sophomore running back Camerun Peoples with 4:55 to play. 
On Georgia State’s next drive, the Mountaineer defense held strong, forced a stop, and the offense was able to stay on the field for the rest of the game to secure the victory and remain undefeated against the Panthers all-time (7-0). 
Georgia State drew first blood in the game, converting on four third downs on its first possession before capping it off with a 19-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Cornelious Brown IV to wide receiver Sam Pinckney. Pinckney was alone in the corner of the end zone and made the catch to give the Panthers an early 7-0 lead. 
The Mountaineers offense went three-and-out on their first possession of the game, but senior defensive end Caleb Spurlin forced a fumble that junior linebacker D’Marco Jackson recovered to give possession back to App State at midfield. The Mountaineers had a first and goal from the 2-yard line following a defensive pass interference call, but couldn’t punch it in and settled for a 21-yard field goal from senior kicker Chandler Staton. App State forced three fumbles in the first quarter but only recovered one, and trailed 7-3 going into the second quarter. 

The Massachusetts football team lost its first game of the season, falling 41-0 to Georgia Southern. UMass (0-1) was unable to put together much success on either side of the ball, allowing the Eagles (3-1, 1-1 Sun Belt) to run away with the game early on.
“Obviously the results not what we wanted,” coach Walt Bell said. “But just for us to get to this point, I’m really proud of our kids, proud of our administration for giving us an opportunity to play football.”
The Minutemen defense forced a third-and-short on its first series of the game but were unable to stop the Eagles triple-option on third down. After moving the chains, Georgia Southern quarterback Shai Werts found receiver Malik Murray wide open for a 47-yard touchdown on a play-action pass.
Werts found success time and time again, throwing for 128 yards and three touchdowns, adding another 76 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
The Minutemen defense struggled with mishaps in pass coverage, allowing Eagles receivers plenty of open space on all three Werts passing touchdowns. By halftime, Werts’ four touchdowns allowed the Eagles to grow a plentiful 28-0 lead.
“There’s a speed aspect to it, you don’t catch up to until a drive or two into the game,” Bell said of the defensive performance. “You do everything you can to help survive it. We didn’t help the defense very much offensively, which kind of made matters worse knowing those guys were out there for a while.”
Redshirt senior Mike Fallon got the starting nod at quarterback for the Minutemen, providing most of their first half offensive production. Fallon looked comfortable at the helm, completing four of his seven first half passes for 27 yards. Heading into the half, Fallon also led UMass in rushing yards with 31.

ATHENS — Georgia receiver Kearis Jackson said two weeks ago that this “would be a Georgia offense that nobody has ever seen before.”
What the 6-foot, 200-pounder from Fort Valley, Ga., didn’t tell us was that he would play a lead role in it.
Jackson hauled in a career-high 9 catches for 147 yards, helping to get the No. 4-ranked Bulldogs on track early and often in their 27-6 win over No. 7 Auburn on Saturday night at Sanford Stadium.
“He deserved that game more than anybody,” Coach Kirby Smart said. “He made plays, and he did a great job with that.”
Georgia QB Stetson Bennett looked for Jackson on third-down throws on each of the first two scoring drives in the first quarter, and Jackson came through each time.
Jackson produced again in the fourth quarter, bailing UGA out on a third-and-21.
• Third-and-10 at AU 32, Bennett hit Jackson for 17 yards. Five plays later UGA opened the game’s scoring with a touchdown.
• Third-and-2 at AU 20, Bennett found Jackson for a 16-yard gain. Four plays later, UGA padded its lead with a field goal.
• Third-and-21 at UGA 23, Bennett completed a pass to Jackson for 22 yards.
Jackson, a state shot put champion at Peach County High School as well as a sprinter, was just getting warmed up.
Jackson hauled in a 49-yard rainbow pass from Bennett in the second quarter that, had it been on a line, would have gone for a touchdown.
Special teams is another area where Jackson contributes, though Auburn did a nice job keeping him bottled up in that area. Jackson had two punt returns for 6 yards.
“We want to be explosive and put points on the board every time we touch the ball,” Jackson said entering into the season-opening game.

Dillon Gabriel made sure Central Florida didn’t let another game slip away on the road.
The sophomore threw for a career-best 417 yards and four touchdowns, leading the No. 14 Knights to a 49-21 victory over Georgia Tech in their season opener Saturday.
It was a rewarding performance for UCF, coming off the uncertainty of the pandemic-affected summer and a bit of a disappointing season by its standards in 2019. The Knights lost three games — all on the road — by a total of seven points.
After falling behind 28-7, Georgia Tech closed within a touchdown early in the fourth quarter. But Gabriel led a dominating performance the rest of the way, finishing 27 of 41 to eclipse his previous career high of 365 yards in a game last season at East Carolina.
“We had so many guys making plays all over the field,” Gabriel said. ”When that happens, you see what we can do.”
UCF bounced back after giving up a long return on the opening kickoff and falling behind less than a minute into the game.
Tre Nixon and Marlon Williams each hauled in a pair of TD passes. Showing off its running back depth, UCF got touchdowns on the ground from Greg McCrae, Otis Anderson and Bentavious Thompson.
Gabriel, a left-hander from Hawaii who claimed the starting job early in his freshman year, is the one who makes the fast-paced offense go.

JOHNS CREEK — Georgia Tech’s Luke Schniederjans needed an extra hole, but his short birdie putt on the first sudden-death playoff hole at No. 18 was a winner at 99th Georgia Amateur Championship on Sunday at the Atlanta Athletic Club.
Schniederjans, of Alpharetta, entered the day three strokes back of the leaders, Johns Creek’s Deven Patel and Suwanee’s Brett Barron, who will be a fifth-year senior at Georgia Southern in 2020-21.
Following an even-par front nine, Schniederjans was one stroke behind Patel. Schniederjans went on to birdie the par-3 12th hole on the Highlands Course to move into a tie for the lead.
He grabbed the lead shortly after and made six straight pars following his birdie on the 12th hole to close out his round at even-par 71 and put a stamp on an even-par 213 total (72-70-71) for the scheduled 54-hole championship.
But there was still a little drama remaining.
Barron (70-69-74), playing one group behind Schniederjans, needed a birdie on the par-5 18th hole to force a playoff. The 2018 Georgia Amateur champion took care of business and drained his 10-foot birdie attempt to send the duo back to the 18th for the playoff.
Schniederjans found the fairway off the tee, while Barron was in a bunker and was forced to layup. Schniederjans took advantage of the opportunity and hit the par-5 in two strokes, leaving himself a long eagle attempt of about 40 feet. His eagle came up just short, but Barron was unable to sink his birdie attempt of about 12 feet, allowing Schniederjans to finish off his birdie putt from within 2 feet, and claim victory.

He has been a core special teams guy for a number of years, and he has been working at our stuff and practicing with us all along and been in all those meetings, and he has gotten tons of work.
I think we’re in a position to take the best player we can get, D’Alessandro said.
But they also have Bradley Chubb, the fifth-overall pick in the draft, rushing from the other side.
But I enjoy that I can be counted on to get the job done, and that the coaches trust me to move me and shift around to fill in the gaps we may have week to week.
And now Paulus is the guy in charge at Niagara.
Ex-Blueshirt Brian Boyle forged the game’s final tie in the third, while Vincent Trocheck, just back from a three-week injury absence, got the decider in the shootout right after Kakko had stylishly converted his first career attempt.
– Tight end Hale Hentges, who hauled in seven catches for 80 yards, as well as a two-point conversion, in four preseason games, including one reception for 18 yards Thursday against the Bengals.
I lived my dream and I got to keep living it.
The Braves signed the veteran to a one-year prove it deal last offseason that at the time seemed to make a great deal of sense for all involved.
Jun 8 2 AM Kyle Lowry remained levelheaded following the Toronto Raptors’ 105 win over the Golden State Warriors in game 4 of the NBA Finals to take a 3 series lead.
It’s true that there’s a scientific form to writing phonetics .
XI: Ederson; Wan-Bissaka, Otamendi, Soyuncu, Guilbert; de Bruyne, McGinn, Pepe; Aguero, Aubameyang, Sterling Overall position: 996th Gameweek 11 points: 42 Overall points: 732 Friday: Caglar Soyuncu Southampton have failed to score more one goal in their last six Premier League matches.

ATLANTA (AP) — Maori Davenport, who drew national attention over an eligibility dispute during her senior year of high school, is transferring to Georgia after playing sparingly in her lone season at Rutgers.
Lady Bulldogs coach Joni Taylor announced Davenport’s decision Wednesday. The 6-foot-4 center from Troy, Alabama will have to sit out a season under NCAA transfer rules before she is eligible to join Georgia in 2021-22. She will have three years of eligibility remaining.
“We are extremely happy to add Maori to our team,” Taylor said in a statement. “When you look at her, the first thing that jumps out is her size and athleticism. She was a highly recruited player coming out of high school who we have known for a really long time. Maori is a terrific young lady, and I can’t wait to welcome her to Athens.”
Davenport was one of the nation’s top prep prospects when her senior season at Charles Henderson High School was thrown into turmoil over an $867.20 stipend check she received from USA Basketball for playing at a youth tournament in Mexico City in the summer of 2018.
The check was not an issue for those players who were already heading to college because the NCAA allows such payments. But USA Basketball failed to check on whether it applied to high school players such as Davenport, who couldn’t accept any money under the amateurism rules of the Alabama High School Athletic Association.

The 2019 Georgia Football group finished 4th in a final AP rankings, and of a tip 25 teams, usually dual (Iowa Cincinnati) scored fewer points per game. So, to contend a Bulldogs’ success came around their invulnerability is an understatement. 

Of a 6 inhabitant championships given the College Football Playoff system was commissioned during a 2014-15 season, a winning group has scored an normal of 39.0 PPG. Needless to say, in today’s code of college football you’re going to need to measure to win. And measure a lot. 

So, how have teams left about scoring as many points as they have, and will a Georgia offense indeed change? 

There are a lot of contributing factors. Football traditionalists will censure a RPO, or a “Air Raid” offenses for a scoring increase. When in reality, today’s code of football is about space and pace. 

Time of Possession has turn irrelevant

Spread out a defense, play fast, and expostulate a round down a field. That is a complicated college football offense. In fact, Georgia was one of only dual Power-5 teams ranked in a tip 20 in Time of Possession this deteriorate that won during slightest 10 games. 

The box investigate for descent transformation is apparently LSU. In 2018 they ran a round 43.0 times per game. And were 14th in a republic in Time of Possession, using over 72 descent plays per game. 

In 2019, a Tigers ran a round 33.9 times per diversion and were ranked 53rd in Time of Possession this season. They increasing their offense prolongation by 166 yards per diversion and led a republic in scoring while using only 62 descent plays per game. 

Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm sits on the bench after the Southeastern Conference championship NCAA college football game against LSU, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2019, in Atlanta. LSU won 37-10. (AP Photo/John Amis)

When Jake Fromm, Georgia Bulldogs Quarterback, revealed his New Year’s resolution for 2020, the touching moment took ESPN reporter Holly Rowe by surprise. The Christian young man is dedicating his efforts to leading more people to Jesus!

As a junior at the University of Georgia, Jake Fromm is hailed as one of the top quarterbacks in college football. And his talents on the field are gaining him a lot of attention.

But there’s something else that truly makes Jake special — his love for Jesus!

And when Holly Rowe of ESPN heard Jake Fromm talk about his faith, the Georgia Quarterback left the sports reporter in tears!

For the New Year, let’s all be a shining light in this world like @FrommJake Honestly brought me to tears today with his positive, lovely spirit. Many blessings to this young man. @GeorgiaFootball should be so proud to have him leading this team. pic.twitter.com/GOGB8E5anR

— Holly Rowe (@sportsiren) December 31, 2019

College Football Player’s Impressive Faith

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Wyoming wanted to make the most of its bowl game after being passed over in the postseason last year. Giving a freshman quarterback his first career start didn’t seem like the best approach to accomplishing that goal.

Levi Williams handled it just fine and the Cowboys are riding off from the 2019 season with a bowl victory.

Williams accounted for four scores, Xazavian Valladay ran for 204 yards and scored two touchdowns, and Wyoming rolled over Georgia State 38-17 in the Arizona Bowl on Saturday.

“He was composed, made a lot of big plays,” Wyoming coach Craig Bohl said. “He had a couple things we wish he could have had back, but for a freshman, for any quarterback, he played with a lot of poise and composure.”

The Cowboys won six games to become bowl eligible in 2018, yet found themselves at home watching TV after they weren’t among the 78 teams to get bowl invites.

Once at the 2019 Arizona Bowl, the Cowboys turned to Williams over Tyler Vander Waal, who entered the transfer portal but remained with the team for bowl practices. Williams did not shy away from the spotlight, hurting the Panthers with his arm and legs.

He threw for 234 yards and three touchdowns, with 53 yards and a score on the ground for the Cowboys (8-5), who racked up 524 yards to end the season on a high note.