Latest news with #SECChampionshipGame
USA Today
3 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
USA TODAY Sports analyst's 'crazy' prediction for which team will win 2025 SEC title
The consensus among the various sportswriters and media members who cover the Southeastern Conference is that the two frontrunners to meet in the 2025 SEC Championship Game are the Texas Longhorns and Georgia Bulldogs. In the preseason SEC football media poll following SEC media days in Atlanta, Texas received 96 votes to win the conference championship in 2025, followed by Georgia with 44 votes. The Alabama Crimson Tide placed a distant third with 29 votes. But this is still the offseason and thus a time when media and non-media alike can make some outside-the-box predictions heading into a new year. With regard to the former, one longtime college football writer has a "crazy" prediction for who will win the SEC in 2025. Veteran columnist Matt Hayes of USA TODAY Sports believes the Oklahoma Sooners will take home the conference crown on Dec. 6 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Hayes told the hosts of "That SEC Podcast" recently: "I know many people here told me that I'm crazy, but I said I think Oklahoma is going to win the SEC. I think (John) Mateer is going to play really well, and that defense will be as good as any defense in the league. They're going to shock some people this year." Sound like a stretch? Oklahoma went 6-6 during the regular season in their first year in the SEC. The Sooners memorably stunned Alabama in a 24-3 upset in Norman but finished just 2-6 in conference play. They fell to Navy in a bowl game, and head coach Brent Venables enters 2025 on the hot seat. Oklahoma brought Mateer in from Washington State via the transfer portal along with his offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Ben Arbuckle. Entering his junior season, Mateer is coming off a banner year in Pullman after throwing for 3,139 yards and 29 touchdowns to seven interceptions. He also rushed for 826 yards and 15 touchdowns on 178 carries (4.6 AVG). The Sooners were picked to finish in the middle of the pack in the preseason SEC media poll. That doesn't matter to Hayes, who added: "I think Mateer is a lot better than people think he is. He's a very good player, number one. Number two, I think he is going to have that type of impact (where) it's not just on the field, it's also in the locker room. I think you're going to see that, I really do. I may be way out there, and you guys in three months may say, 'Remember when you said Oklahoma was going to win the SEC and they finished such and such?' Yeah, I think they're going to win it." It's been a while since the SEC had a truly unexpected conference champion. The last team to come out of nowhere and win the league title was Gus Malzahn's first Auburn team in 2013. The Tigers were picked to finish 10th in the preseason, but they made it all the way to the national championship game off the backs of Alabama's agony in that year's Iron Bowl. The Crimson Tide will host Oklahoma on Nov. 15 at Bryant-Denny Stadium, a week after Alabama's annual showdown with LSU. Time will tell if Hayes' pick has any merit or if it's just another in a long line of wild offseason predictions that pop up every year. Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama Crimson Tide news, notes and opinions.
Miami Herald
22-07-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Quarterback Carson Beck is ‘full go' as Miami Hurricanes prepare for pivotal season
Shortly after Carson Beck made his intentions known in December that he was transferring from Georgia to Miami, offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa sent his new quarterback a text. 'I texted him that I'm very, very grateful to be able to work with him,' Mauigoa said Tuesday on the Joe Rose Show from Charlotte as part of the 2025 ACC Football Kickoff, 'and I'm not gonna let anybody touch him.' Beck and the Hurricanes certainly hope that statement holds true. When the season begins on Aug. 31 with a marquee home matchup against Notre Dame, Beck will make his long-awaited Hurricanes debut. He was limited in spring workouts while recovering from surgery to repair a torn UCL in his right elbow sustained during the SEC Championship Game with Georgia. But now that he's 100 percent — coach Mario Cristobal on Tuesday said Beck has 'been full go and completely cleared and has participated fully' beginning about two weeks after the team wrapped up spring ball — Beck now has the opportunity to show what he can provide to the Hurricanes. That starts Aug. 31 when the team begins fall practices. 'I'm really excited,' Beck said Tuesday on the Joe Rose Show, adding that he has felt 100 percent 'for a while now.' 'Obviously, the work that we've been able to put in over the summer since I've been able to start throwing again has been really good. I think the thing that I'm most excited about is the mindset and mentality of each one of these guys. ... Their mentality that they've come in with and their ability to learn and adapt very fast and on the fly is very impressive and I'm very excited to continue to work with them as the season goes on and as we go into fall camp, I think it'll be a really pivotal moment for us as we start to head into our first game.' Miami will be leaning on Beck to keep the team in the College Football Playoff conversation. UM came close last year, starting the season 9-0 before dropping two of their final three regular-season games — at Georgia Tech and at Syracuse — to finish on the outside looking in of both the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship Game and the 12-team playoff field and ultimately going 10-3 after a loss to Iowa State in the Pop-Tarts Bowl. They excelled on offense last year with Cam Ward leading the offense on his way to winning the Heisman Trophy and eventually being selected No. 1 overall by the Tennessee Titans in the NFL Draft. And now, they're hoping Beck can provide a quality encore act. 'Carson Beck has done an outstanding job since the moment he arrived at Miami,' Cristobal said, describing Beck as 'Extremely intelligent, [a] tremendous competitor [with a] super high football IQ, accurate arm, strong legs [and is a] strong runner.' 'Great human being, man,' Cristobal added, 'and we feel like we're getting the best version of Carson Beck.' The best version of Carson Beck is arguably what he was in 2023 at Georgia. That year, he completed 72 percent of his passes for 3,941 yards and 24 touchdowns against six interceptions and it had him in the conversation to be a first-round pick heading into 2024. He took a step back in 2024. In 13 games, he completed 65 percent of his passes for 3,485 yards and 28 touchdowns but also threw 12 interceptions — tied for the most among quarterbacks at Power 4 schools this season — before sustaining his elbow injury in the second half of the SEC Championship Game. Beck knows there's outside noise about what he might be able to do for the Hurricanes. While he acknowledged 'everybody's entitled to an opinion,' Beck isn't focusing on that. 'At the end of the day all I really can do is just go in work every single day, try to get better with not only myself, but with my teammates,' Beck said. 'Start building those relationships and continue to try to lead this team as a new player. But as we go into fall. I'm really excited to just get in there with the guys start competing and then ultimately have a great season.' Added Cristobal: 'Here's a guy that's really motivated, that's won a ton of games and let's call it what it is: Last year at this time, Carson Beck was a projected No. 1 quarterback in the draft, and Cam Ward was the fifth round projection. A lot of things could happen, and they only happen if you focus on doing the things you need to do to be successful and impacting those around you. Carson is 100 percent focused on making Miami better.' While Beck provides stability at quarterback, the Hurricanes still have to replace a lot of talent from its offense that led the country last season in scoring (43.9 points per game), yards per game (537.2), yards per play (7.57) and third-down success rate (56.25 percent). Gone are their top five pass-catchers from last season in wide receivers Xavier Restrepo, Jacolby George, Isaiah Horton and Sam Brown along with tight end Elijah Arroyo. Those five accounted for 3,594 of Miami's 4,527 receiving yards last season — 79.4 percent — and 33 of 41 touchdown catches. Replacing them are a slew of younger players looking to take a leap (namely returning receivers Joshisa Trader, Ny Carr and Ray Ray Joseph, plus freshmen Malachi Toney and Joshua Moore along with tight end Elija Lofton) and incoming transfers (notably CJ Daniels, Tony Johnson and Keelan Marion). So far in player-led workouts, Beck likes what he sees. 'There's so much talent with the coaches and the players just all around the board,' Beck said. 'From what I've been able to pick up, these dudes just go to work, and it's been very exciting to be accepted into the culture in Miami. And not only that, but really build relationships and get around these guys more and more this offseason. The coaches are gone in July most of the time and we have a lot of player-led practices and things of that sort. So being able to just spend more time around the guys and then ultimately build those relationships is something that I'm really excited about, but there's talent all across the board that I'm really excited to play with.'
Miami Herald
21-07-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Cristobal, Beck and Miami Hurricanes heading to ACC Football Kickoff. How to watch
Miami Hurricanes football season is almost here. The Hurricanes kick off their season in just more than a month on Aug. 31 against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at 7:30 p.m. from Hard Rock Stadium. Before that, and before the team starts practicing again next week, the annual media tour is about to begin. The first stop for the Hurricanes: the 2025 ACC Football Kickoff, which runs Tuesday through Thursday in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hurricanes are the first team to talk, with their half hour session scheduled for 11 a.m. Tuesday. Coach Mario Cristobal and four players — quarterback Carson Beck, offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa, linebacker Wesley Bissainthe and defensive lineman Akheem Mesidor — are slated to talk at the event. Miami's session, just like all 17 teams, will be available to live stream on ACC Network Extra. ACC Network will also have live coverage with additional interviews beyond the formal press conferences throughout the three-day event. The Hurricanes went 10-3 last season, finishing third in the ACC and just missing both the conference title game and the 12-team College Football Playoff. Cristobal is entering his fourth season at the helm of his alma mater. Beck, who transferred to Miami this offseason from Georgia, will be one of the major storylines for the Hurricanes this season. He is replacing Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 overall NFL draft pick Cam Ward, who rewrote Miami's record book in his lone season with the Hurricanes, and did not throw during spring practices while recovering from elbow surgery to repair a torn UCL sustained during the SEC Championship Game. The full day-by-day schedule breakdown, with hyperlinks to watch each, is below: TUESDAY 9 a.m.-10 a.m.: ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips 11 a.m.-11:30 a.m.: Miami Hurricanes Noon-12:30 p.m.: SMU Mustangs 1 p.m.-1:30 p.m.: Stanford Cardinal 2 p.m.-2:30 p.m.: California Golden Bears 3 p.m.-3:30 p.m.: Virginia Cavaliers WEDNESDAY 10 a.m.-10:30 a.m.: Florida State Seminoles 11 a.m.-11:30 a.m.: Louisville Cardinals Noon-12:30 p.m.: Syracuse Orange 1 p.m.-1:30 p.m.: Pitt Panthers 2 p.m.-2:30 p.m.: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 3 p.m.-3:30 p.m.: Wake Forest Demon Deacons THURSDAY 10 a.m.-10:30 a.m.: Boston College Eagles 11 a.m.-11:30 a.m.: Virginia Tech Hokies Noon-12:30 p.m.: Clemson Tigers 1 p.m.-1:30 p.m.: Duke Blue Devils 2 p.m.-2:30 p.m.: North Carolina Tar Heels 3 p.m.-3:30 p.m.: N.C. State Wolfpack
Fox Sports
18-07-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Texas Picked to Win 2025 SEC Championship With Arch Manning at QB
Texas, with Heisman Trophy candidate Arch Manning set to take over as starting quarterback, is the preseason pick to win the SEC championship. The Longhorns received 96 of the 204 votes cast from media members covering the SEC media days this week to be crowned SEC champion on Dec. 6 in Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Georgia, with 44 votes, received the second-most votes. If that scenario plays out, it would mean a rematch of the 2024 SEC Championship Game, which Georgia won in an overtime thriller. The SEC title game pits the two teams with the best regular-season conference record against one another. Alabama was third with 29 votes, while LSU got 20. South Carolina was next with five, while Oklahoma received three and Vanderbilt and Florida each got two votes. Tennessee, Ole Miss and Auburn each received one vote. Since 1992, only 10 times has the predicted champion in the preseason poll gone on to win the SEC championship. The 2024 SEC title game averaged 16.6 million viewers, the fourth-largest audience on record for the game. The OT win for Georgia, which peaked with 19.7 million viewers, delivered the largest audience of the college football season. Reporting by The Associated Press. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account , and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily! FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience College Football Texas Longhorns recommended Item 1 of 3 Get more from the College Football Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more in this topic
USA Today
18-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
SEC Media poll picks Texas Football to win conference
The assembled media in Atlanta for SEC Media Days has picked Texas to win the conference in 2025. The Longhorns had more than double the votes of No. 2 Georgia in the poll. UT got 96 first place votes to the Bulldogs 44. Participants at SEC media days voted the Longhorns to win the SEC in their second year in the league, which coincides with the first year for Arch Manning as the starting quarterback. It's not a surprise the two opponents in last year's SEC Conference Title game are picked as the top two teams in the conference again. Last year, Texas had the best regular season record, but where beaten by UGA in the title game in Atlanta. The prediction isn't exactly a good omen for Texas. Only 10 times since 1992 has the predicted champion at SEC Media Days gone on to win the SEC Championship Game.
