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I will miss our Friday series until next fall, but at least college football keeps us busy with a midseason break. And we have a big game this weekend…
Conduct-Navy View
New location for ‘America’s Game’
Of the Army-Navy will hit the competition at the end of the week. The teams will meet at Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots, for their 124th all-time meeting at 3 pm (ET) on Saturday. ESPN’s “College GameDay” will be on site and Patriots coach Bill Belichick to be a visitor.
The historic game “America’s Game” is almost always played on a neutral site, but it has never traveled to New England. (Philadelphia has hosted 90 times as the center.) So, what prompted the new location?
- The Naval Academy and Army West Point announced a “five-year tour” in 2022 that will bring the game to Foxborough this year, followed by Washington, DC (2024), Baltimore (2025) and East Rutherford (2026) before returning to Philly (2027).
- But playing the game in Boston is not a new idea. Patriots manager Robert Kraft doubled down before hosting the game’s highlight reel, for CBS.
- Now, the time has come, and it coincides perfectly with the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party and the 225th anniversary of the maiden voyage of the USS Constitution.
Tickets have been sold out for months at the 65,878 capacity stadium. Both teams are 5-6 and will not be going to a bowl.
“The demand for tickets for this game is more than any AFC Championship Game, more than Taylor Swift, more than anything we’ve seen,” said the president of Kraft Group, Jonathan Kraft, in a statement. the Boston Globe.
Army is a 2.5-point favorite in what is expected to be a low-key game. The Black Knights will receive the Commander’s Cup with the win. A win by the Midshipmen would create a three-way tie between the two programs and Air Force. In that case, the 8-4 Falcons will remain the trophy winners.
In addition, this weekend provides the Heisman Trophy ceremony (8 p.m. Saturday on ESPN) and other big matchups in the FCS quarterfinals:
- No. 8 Villanova vs. No. 1 South Dakota State
- No. 4 Idaho vs. No. 5 UAlbany
- No. 3 South Dakota vs. North Dakota State
- No. 2 Montana vs. No. 7 Furman
Final Five Stars Dismissed
Colorado to eliminate special programs
Instead of Ohio State, Alabama, Tennessee and Oregon, the last undecided five-star prospect in the 2024 class is headed to Boulder. Jordan Seaton, a tackle from IMG (Fla.) Academy, stunned the scouting world when he announced his commitment to Colorado yesterday up Fox Sports’ “Undisputed.”
Yes, Deion Sanders did it again (remember the Travis Hunter flip?) and hit a point that Coach Prime called a big need. And QB Shedeur Sanders should be happy.
“Somewhere, Shedeur’s doing it,” Skip Bayless said in response.
Seaton is the first top-100 prospect in Colorado’s 2024 class. The Buckeyes appeared to be in prime position for the top 2024 tackle (according to the 247Sports Composite), but Seaton’s commitment elsewhere sent Ryan Day back and company at the drawing board for a blue-eyed scarecrow. With the early sign-up period recently (beginning December 20), Colorado’s class has 10 commitments and ranks 52nd in the country.
The top five is the Class of 2024 ranked team zero Georgia, Ohio State, State of Florida, Alabama and Miami.
Kansas gets the OC rep
Looks like we got to the carousel coach yesterday! Since then…
- James Madison hire Holy Cross HC Bob Chesney to fill his space. The 46-year-old Chesney has coached at Holy Cross since 2018 and compiled an impressive 44-21 record while leading the Crusaders to the fourth round of the FCS playoffs.
- Duke hire Penn State defensive coordinator Manny Diaz to be his head teacher. Diaz was the head coach at Miami for three seasons and posted a 21-15 record. Penn State reporter Audrey Snyder has a lot going for the Nittany Lions from here.
The movement is also progressing on the coordinate system. Kansas advance payment Baylor OC Jeff Grimes to fill his space. Grimes will replace Andy Kotelnicki, who left for the same role at Penn State.
Daily Board Portal
How much does it cost to get on the boat?
Of course, it’s not just about recruiting to build a list. Here’s another look at the translation portal news from the last 24 hours. (And keep up with the news here.)
New titles to watch:
- Florida RB Trevor Etienne: Fellow former Clemson RB Travis Etienne led the Gators with eight rushing TDs this season.
- Houston WR Matthew Golden: The second-highest rated recruit in the Cougars’ 2022 class and the fifth-highest rated player for the program so far. In November, former head coach Dana Holgorsen said Golden had been offered “six-figures” by SEC schools to transfer. The next day, Golden posted on social media he is “1000% committed” to UH and that “hard times don’t mean you jump up, especially for a few bucks.” What about more than few?
- Alabama WR Ja’Corey Brooks: Brooks fell out of the running this season, so his departure won’t immediately hurt the Tide’s College Football Playoff prep. But he is the eighth receiver signed with Bama between 2020-2022 to leave the program.
Other news:
- QB Cameron Ward is waiting until after he graduates from Washington State this weekend to take any official visits. Schools are pushing to get him on campus State of Florida, Miami, Nebraska, USC, Washington and Wisconsin, c The GameMax Olson.