BREAKING: Pac-12 postpones football season

Just a little over an hour after the Big Ten announced they will be postponing their football season, the Pac-12 will follow and will hope to play in the spring.

Pac-12 follows the Big Ten. They are postponing the 2020 college football season with hopes of playing in the spring.

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) August 11, 2020

This was expected out of the Pac-12 but now we are seeing the FBS slowing going one-by-one. Pac-12 joins the Big Ten, Mountain West Conference and the Mid-American Conference on postponing college football.

The ACC, SEC, and Big 12 remain as the power five conferences, but the Big 12 is expected to meet today. The group of five left are the C-USA, AAC and Sun Belt.

BREAKING: Big Ten postpones fall football season

One of the most predominant conferences in the NCAA has officially canceled the fall football season and will attempt to play in the spring.

Sources: Big Ten is announcing that the fall is cancelled. League will attempt to play in the spring.

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) August 11, 2020

The Big Ten joins the Mountain West Conference and the Mid-American Conference as the only conferences in the FBS to postpone college football. Umass, UConn, and Old Dominion are also individual schools that have postponed.

Big Ten coaches — including Ohio State’s Ryan Day, Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh, Penn State’s James Franklin, and Nebraska’s Scott Frost — publicly showed they wanted to play a 2020 fall season.

Players in the Big Ten were uncertain as Justin Fields and others posted #WeWantToPlay, but others were skeptical about playing and were weighing the cons over the pros.

Now all eyes are on the rest of the power five conferences as the PAC-12 looks to be in favor of postponing the season, but the ACC, Big 12, and the SEC are preparing to play on the gridiron.

The MAC postpones, so what does it mean for the rest of college football

Huge news came out of the Mid-American Conference on Saturday as they will be canceling the fall season and move to the spring. The MAC is the first D-1 FBS conference to postpone its season as other conferences have scheduled to push back the season and play conference games.

We have seen across all levels the postponement of fall athletics in the FCS, D-2, D-3, NAIA, and the NJCAA. UConn became the first FBS school to cancel their football season on Wednesday.

Like UConn, the MAC stated that the “health and safety of its student-athletes, coaches, and communities” was their highest priority. If the MAC didn’t cancel Northern Illinois president Lisa Freeman was going to pull her school out of fall athletics. With the MAC not being able to play non-conference games, financially that cost the conference $10.5 million.

The current membership consists of Akron, Ball State, Bowling Green State, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Miami (Ohio), Northern Illinois, Ohio, Toledo, and Western Michigan.

pic.twitter.com/GJZqGpQBMr

— #MACtion (@MACSports) August 8, 2020

With UConn being the first FBS school and the MAC being the first conference to postpone, there’s sure to be others. The other group of five conferences could follow with Conference USA, Mountain West, Sun Belt, and the AAC.

C-USA approved a 2020 schedule that includes eight conference games and up to four non-conference games. The MWC set a ten-game plan and up to two non-conference games, but the players have formed a unity and have said they, “do not feel comfortable playing teams from other states.”

In the Sun Belt and AAC, they will play eight conference games and will allow four non-conference games.

The non-conference games will most likely not hold up and the group of five will be forced to play conference only, which could lead to the same issue as the MAC with not making it work financially.

The power five conferences can afford to play, but the issue comes down to safety. The Pac-12 and Big Ten have seen players unite as they demand a better “comprehensive plan to ensure the safety and well-being of players.”

Jason Scheer of 247 Sports reported that the Pac-12 officials are considering canceling the fall season. Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports reported that the Big Ten presidents are meeting today.

Source: Big Ten presidents are meeting today. All options are on the table. There's some presidential momentum for canceling the fall football season. It's unknown if there's enough support to make that decision today.

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) August 8, 2020

We have already seen athletes return to campus for workouts and practices, but some schools are ready for the return of their students in either in-person or online classes. It remains to be seen when a final decision will be made for these conferences, but one thing is for certain, the chatter in the FBS has increased in the past few hours.

NCAA Football 2019 Predictions

Conference Champions

	Greg W.	Jeff H.	Dom A.	Chris M.	Ethan W.
AAC	Cincy	UCF	UCF	Memphis	UCF
ACC	Clemson	Clemson	Clemson	Clemson	Clemson
Big 12	Oklahoma	Oklahoma	Oklahoma	Iowa St	Oklahoma
Big Ten	Michigan	Michigan	Michigan	PSU	OSU
C-USA	FAU	UAB	UAB	Marshall	FAU
MAC	Toledo	Ohio	Ohio	Toledo	NIU
MWC	Boise St.	Fresno St.	Boise St.	Hawaii	Boise St
Pac-12	Oregon	Utah	Oregon	Utah	Oregon
SEC	Georgia	Alabama	Alabama	Georgia	Georgia
Sun Belt	Troy	App. State	App. State	Troy	App. State

College Football Playoffs

	Greg W.	Jeff H.	Dom A.	Chris M.	Ethan W.
1.	Clemson	Alabama	Clemson	Clemson	Clemson
2.	Georgia	Clemson	Alabama	Georgia	Georgia
3.	Oklahoma	Oklahoma	Michigan	LSU	Ohio St
4.	Alabama	Michigan	Oklahoma	Utah	Alabama

College Football Playoffs Championship

	Greg W.	Jeff H.	Dom. A	Chris M.	Ethan W.
W	Clemson	Alabama	Clemson	Georgia	Clemson
L	Georgia	Clemson	Michigan	Clemson	Georgia

Heisman Winner

Greg W.	Jeff H.	Dom A.	Chris M.	Ethan W.
Trevor Lawrence	Trevor Lawrence	Jalen Hurts	D’Andre Swift	Jake Fromm

Notre Dame 2019 Season Preview

Key Returns: Ian Book, Jafar Armstrong, Alohi Gilman, Cole Kmet and Julian Okwara.

Key Departures: Julian Love, Brandon Wimbush, Dexter Williams, Alize Mack, Jerry Tillery, Te’Von Coney and Drue Tranquil

Week 1	Sept. 2nd 8:00 PM ET	@ Louisville (ESPN)
Week 2	Sept. 14th 2:30 PM ET	vs. New Mexico (NBC)
Week 3	Sept 21st TBD	@ Georgia
Week 4	Sept. 28th 3:30 PM ET	vs. Virginia (NBC)
Week 5	Oct. 5th 3:30 PM ET	vs. Bowling Green (NBC)
Week 6	Oct. 12th 7:30 PM ET	vs. USC (NBC)
Week 7	Bye Week
Week 8	Oct. 26th TBD	@ Michigan
Week 9	Nov. 2nd 2:30 PM ET	vs. Virginia Tech (NBC)
Week 10	Nov. 9th TBD	@ Duke
Week 11	Nov. 16th 2:30 PM ET	vs. Navy (NBC)
Week 12	Nov. 23rd 2:30 PM ET	vs. Boston College (NBC)
Week 13	Nov. 30th TBD	@ Stanford

Coming off a 12-1 campaign in 2018, the Irish look to find their way back to the college football playoff this season as Head Coach, Brian Kelly enters his tenth season leading the blue and gold. A 12-0 regular season led to an embarrassing 30-3 loss to Clemson, who went on to win the National Championship, in the Cotton Bowl. Led by Junior Quarterback, Ian Book, the Irish defeated big-name teams such as Michigan, Stanford, Virginia Tech, Northwestern and Syracuse en route to their 12-0 regular season.

Book is back for his senior season after throwing 19 touchdowns last season after being named the starter in week four at Wake Forest, replacing Brandon Wimbush. They lose some big names on the offensive side of the ball as Dexter Williams, Alize Mack, and Miles Boykin all went on to the NFL. The depth in the offense is something that will keep the Irish offense in good shape this year as Jafar Armstrong steps into the running back role, Cole Kmet will be the number one tight end and former walk-on Chris Finke will play a huge role in the slot. Look for the Irish to use the athleticism of Ian Book and the front five led by senior, Trevor Ruhland, to keep this Irish team in playoff contention.

The Irish lost a few big names on defense this past season as Drue Tranquil, Jerry Tillery, Julian Love and Te’Von Coney all left for the NFL. The defense played a huge part in wins over ranked opponents last season holding number twelve Syracuse to only three points. A few big names will return to the field this season as seniors Julian Okwara, Khalid Kareem and Daelin Hayes will lead the defense along with a dangerous set of safeties in Alohi Gilman and Jalen Elliott. Shaun Crawford returns to the nickel spot after his third season-ending injury. Asmar Bilal will lead the young group of linebackers and will add some experience to the group.

A huge impact on this Irish team is the loss of both their special teams starters. Kicker, Justin Yoon and punter, Tyler Newsome also went to the NFL. The Irish will have junior, Jonathan Doerer replaces Yoon at the kicker spot, while freshman Jay Bramblett is the likely candidate to start at punter.

The schedule is just as challenging as last year. The Irish hit the road in week one to visit Louisville for a primetime, Labor Day matchup. They also match up against Heisman Trophy candidate Jake Fromm and the Georgia Bulldogs in Athens for a primetime game. Georgia came to South Bend two years ago and beat the Irish. The Big House will welcome the Irish back for the first time since 2013 in a matchup with the Michigan Wolverines. They will also travel to Stanford to close out the season. Other notable matchups this season include Virginia Tech, USC, and Virginia, all at Notre Dame Stadium.

The Irish have a shot to make it back to the college football playoff despite the blowout loss last season. If this team can overcome the departures on the defensive side of the ball and the offense can consistently put up points, this team can make another run. The Georgia matchup is early enough that if the Irish lose, they can make up ground in the second half by beating teams like Michigan and Stanford, both are road games mind you. Brian Kelly should have a few more years of job security but this season could change that. If they face a down year, I think Kelly’s name will be on the hot seat. If they can manage an 11-1 regular season and at least a New Year’s six bowl, I think he will be around for a few years.

Florida State 2019 Season Preview

Key returns: Cam Akers, James Blackman, Marvin Wilson, Stanford Samuels III, Levonta Taylor, Hamsah Nasirildeen, Tamorrion Terry, Keith Gavin, Decalon Brooks

Key Arrivals: Akeem Dent, Dontae Lucas, Brendan Grant, Travis Jay

The 2018 football season will be one the Seminoles program and fanbase will not soon forget. Florida State finished with a disastrous 5-7 record and missed a bowl game for the first time in 37 years, marking a low point that FSU was not accustomed to being in.

First-year head coach Willie Taggart certainly took his lumps with a team that struggled to make a bowl game in 2017, but there were problems inherited that needed to be corrected. As 2017 ended and recruiting started for the Seminoles, they lost two commits in quarterback Sam Howell and safety Nick Cross as they flipped from Tallahassee to NC State (Howell) and Maryland (Cross). The Seminoles still managed to secure a top 20 recruiting class in 2018 despite not securing a quarterback commit. Transfer Alex Hornibrook from Wisconsin helped alleviate concerns and will look to start a new chapter in his collegiate career.

At the end of the 2018 season, changes were made to the offensive coordinator position as Walt Bell departed for the head coaching position at the University of Massachusetts. The new OC is now Kendall Briles. Also, quarterback Deondre Francois was dismissed from the team due to off the field issues. Briles comes in with a familiar style of offense that Taggart likes. Taggart wants to run the ball and will be tasked with maximizing output of the offense with some young pieces that gained valuable playing time last season in recievers Tamorion Terry and Keith Gavin, who will look to stand out in their Sophomore campaigns. Running back Cam Akers will also look to regain his 1,000-yard form from 2017 behind an offensive line that returns three of five starters that will certainly be looking for redemption after their 2018 effort.

Last year defensively, FSU finished 80th in total yards allowed and 119th against the pass, but this year the Seminoles look to change that as the unit returns all but eight starters from 2018. Anchored by the linebackers, the unit will also look to regain their form as a top unit and top destination in the NCAA. Incoming freshmen Akeem Dent, Brendan Grant, and Travis Jay look to contribute on defense right away. The defense will need to do better after giving up 378 points in 2018. Freshman Jaleel McRae will also look to contribute early and often for the Seminoles.

The Seminoles will look to claim the spot behind Clemson in the ACC. Non-Conference games against Boise State and the Florida Gators pose challenges but so does conference battles with the Miami Hurricanes, Virginia Cavaliers and the defending champions, ClemsonTigers. The 2019 campaign will be a make or break year for the Noles, they could rebound with eight or more wins or they could have another struggling season. If the Noles struggles continue, there’s going to be a lot of negative noise around Coach Taggart.