Alabama Ledger www.AlabamaLedger.com
The Sports Ledger www.TheSportsLedger.com
PAGE 9 January 2024
Clemson Wins Gator Bowl
College Bowl Game Results Myrtle Beach Bowl: Ohio 41 - Georgia Southern 21 Cricket Celebration Bowl: Florida A&M 30 - Howard 26 New Orleans Bowl: Jax State 34 - Louisiana 31 (OT) Cure Bowl: Appalachian State 13 - Miami (Ohio) 9 New Mexico Bowl: Fresno State 37 - New Mexico State 10 LA Bowl: UCLA 35 - Boise State 22 Independence Bowl: Texas Tech 34 - California 14 Toastery Bowl: WKU 38 - Old Dominion 35 (OT) Frisco Bowl: UTSA 35 - Marshall 17 Boca Raton Bowl: South Florida 45 - Syracuse 0 Gasparilla Bowl: Georgia Tech 30 - UCF 17 Birmingham Bowl: Duke 17 - Troy 10 Camellia Bowl: Northern Illinois 21 - Arkansas State 19 Armed Forces Bowl: Air Force 31 - James Madison 21 Idaho Potato Bowl: Georgia State 45 - Utah State 22 Ventures Bowl: South Alabama 59 - Eastern Michigan 10 Las Vegas Bowl: Northwestern 14 - Utah 7 Hawaii Bowl: Coastal Carolina 24 - San Jose State 14 Quick Lane Bowl: Minnesota 30 - Bowling Green 24 First Responder Bowl: Texas State 45 - Rice 21 Guaranteed Rate Bowl: Kansas 49 - UNLV 36 Military Bowl: Virginia Tech 41 - Tulane 20 Duke's Mayo Bowl: West Virginia 30 - North Carolina 10 Holiday Bowl: USC 42 - Louisville 28 TaxAct Texas Bowl: Oklahoma State 31 - Texas A&M 23 Fenway Bowl: Boston College 23 - SMU 14 Pinstripe Bowl: Rutgers 31 - Miami 24 Pop-Tarts Bowl: Kansas State 28 - NC State 19 Valero Alamo Bowl: Arizona 38- Oklahoma 24 TaxSlayer Gator Bowl: Clemson 38 - Kentucky 35
By Myra W. Pierce The Sports Ledger The Sunshine State was home to the 79th Annual TaxSlayer Gator Bowl, as the City of Jacksonville, Florida welcomed the Kentucky Wildcats and the Clemson Tigers. Both programs were chomping at the bits early and action began during pregame warm ups and never let up. Coaches and players had a “discussion” during the warm-ups on Friday, January 29, 2023. The on-field disagreement ended without conflict, but the following football game was a continual fight with excessive penalties and interceptions. However, in the end it was Clemson (9-4) who finished the “conversation” as the Tigers pulled ahead late for a 35-30 victory over Kentucky (7-6). Clemson Quarterback Cade Klubnik passed for 264 yards to help the Tigers claim the Gator Bowl victory. Teammate Phil Mafah rushed for 71 yards and four touchdowns, and he was named the 2024 MVP. Devin Leary paced Kentucky’s offense with 306 yards passing, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. Re'Mahn Davis led the Wildcats with 63 yards rushing and a touchdown. Barion Brown rushed for 26 yards and a touchdown. He had 100 receiving yards and a touchdown catch in the loss.
Sun Bowl: Notre Dame 40- Oregon State 8 Liberty Bowl: Memphis 36 - Iowa State 26 Cotton Bowl: Missouri 14 - Ohio State 3 Peach Bowl: Ole Miss 38 - Penn State 25 Music City Bowl: Maryland 31 - Auburn 13 Orange Bowl: Georgia 63 - Florida State 3 Arizona Bowl: Wyoming 16 - Toledo 15 ReliaQuest Bowl: LSU 35 - Wisconsin 31 Citrus Bowl: Tennessee 35 - Iowa 0 Fiesta Bowl: Oregon 45 - Liberty 6
Sideline Sports Rose Bowl: Michigan 27 - Alabama 20 (OT) All-State Sugar Bowl: Washington 37 - Texas 31 CFP National Championship: Michigan 34 - Washington 13 2024 AHSAA KICKOFF CLASSIC - The 19th annual AHSAA Kickoff Classic is set to get underway on Thursday, August 22 at Montgomery’s Cramton Bowl at 7 p.m. Reeltown, the 2023 Class 2A state runner-up, and Class 3A T.R. Miller are set to face off in the season opening match-up. Vestavia Hills and Carver-Montgomery will play at 7 p.m., on Friday, August 23 in the second game of the annual classic. Both games will be at 7 p.m. and will be televised over the AHSAA TV Network. USA WINS GOLD MEDAL - The U.S. Under-18 Women’s National Hockey Team defeated Czechia, 5-1, in the gold-medal game of the 2024 IIHF Under-18 Women’s World Championship at Bossard Arena. It marks the ninth gold medal for the United States in the tournament all time. The United States finished the tournament with a 6-0-0-0 record to earn its first tournament gold medal since 2020. MAYO TO REPLACE BELICHICK - Former Tennessee standout Jerod Mayo, who left his mark in Knoxville as one of the greatest linebackers in program history, has been tabbed as the 15th head coach of the New England Patriots. Mayo succeeds legendary coach Bill Belichick, who he worked alongside the past five seasons and played for from 2008-15. At age 37, Mayo becomes the youngest head coach in the NFL and the first Black head coach in New England Patriots history. In 24 seasons with New England, Belichick delivered six Super Bowl titles, nine conference championships, 17 division crowns (with 2002 and 2008 lost on tiebreakers), including 11 consecutive division titles and 30 playoff victories. COUNTY CHAMPS - Rainbow Middle School recently defeated Sardis in the 7th grade boys Etowah County Championship to cap off a perfect 16-0 season. The tournament MVP was Luke Clark. The 8th grade boys also won the Etowah County title with a 55-50 victory over Glencoe. Anthony DeVine was the 8th grade boys MVP. Rainbow Middle school's 8th grade girls team placed third in the county tournament. JSU FOOTBALL TO PLAY UAB - Jax State's move to the Football Bowl Subdivision continues to pay dividends on the Gamecocks schedule after a home-and- home series with UAB. The Gamecocks and Blazers will play in the Blazers' Progressive Stadium on September 11, 2027 before playing at Jax State's Burgess-Snow Field one year later on September 2, 2028. FOOTBALL NUTRITION COACH - Florida Head Football Coach Billy Napier has named Jake Sankal as the Gators' new director of football nutrition and assistant strength & conditioning coach. Sankal arrives in Gainesville after spending eighth season in the NFL with the Washington Commanders. Read the full story online at www.thesportsledger.com AU OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR - Derrick Nix has been named offensive coordinator and running backs coach at Auburn. A native of Attalla, Nix has spent the previous 16 years at Ole Miss, 12 as running backs coach and the last four as the Rebels’ wide receivers coach. For the last two seasons, the veteran coach was assistant head coach. Kent Austin, who served as a special assistant to the head coach/quality control for the past year at Auburn, has been named the Tigers quarterbacks coach.
Photo By Brandon K. Pierce, The Sports Ledger
Clemson's Phil Mafah (#7) rushed for four touchdowns to help the Tigers earn a 35-30 victory over Kentucky in the 2023 TaxSlayer Gator Bowl. For his efforts, Mafah was named the MVP. Mafah Named Gator Bowl MVP
WILLIAMS LEAVES AUBURN - Carnell Williams has decided to leave Auburn. “After taking time to pray and reflect, I have made the decision to resign from my position with Auburn football to pursue other opportunities. I love Auburn, the players and AU family with all my heart, but this decision is what is best for me, my wife and sons." BEAR BRYANT COACH OF YEAR - Florida State Head Football Coach Mike Norvell has been named the winner of the 2023 Paul “Bear” Bryant Coach of the Year Award. Norvell is the first Florida State head coach to win the award. It has also been reported that Norvell has agreed on an eight-year contract extension with FSU, which according to Yahoo Sports is valued at more than $10 million a year. ALABAMA BOUND - The Alabama women’s basketball program has signed Eris Lester. The versatile 5-11 guard from Jacksonville, FL will join the Crimson Tide in the fall of 2024. MOST WATCHED BOWL GAME - The University of Tennessee's dominant 35-0 shutout victory over Big Ten West champion No. 17 Iowa in the 2024 Citrus Bowl drew 6.8 million viewers on ABC on New Year's Day. The Volunteers' first bowl shutout since a 3-0 1957 Gator Bowl win against Texas A&M was the most watched bowl game outside of the New Year's Six by 2.2 million viewers. It also was the most watched Citrus Bowl since the 2020 game featuring Alabama and Michigan (14 million). WASHINGTON COACH - The University of Washington quickly replaced former head football coach Kalen DeBoer after his departure for the coaching job at the University of Alabama. The Huskies announced that Jedd Fisch is the program's new football coach. SOLD OUT - The University of Tennessee men's home basketball game on February 28 against Auburn is sold out. This makes six confirmed 2023-34 sellouts for the Volunteers. The others sellout games this season include: Illinois (Dec. 9), Ole Miss (Jan. 6), Alabama (Jan. 20), Texas A&M (Feb. 24) and Kentucky (March 9). 1000 POINTS - The Alabama women’s basketball team connected on a season-high 11 three-point field goals to defeat SEC rival Georgia, 81-63, on Thursday, January 11, 2024. Aaliyah Nye joined the 1,000 career-point club after scoring 15 points during the win. It was the 15th win of the season for the Alabama women's program. AUBURN FOOTBALL HIRE - Charles Kelly, a veteran defensive coach and former Auburn football player, has been named co-defensive coordinator at his alma mater. A native of Ozark, Kelly played at Auburn from 1986-89 under legendary coach Pat Dye and returned to the Plains in 1993 as a graduate assistant. Kelly most recently served as defensive coordinator at Colorado. Read the full story online at www.thesportsledger.com SCOTTSBORO FOOTBALL COACH - Tyler Vann has been named the head football at Scottsboro High School. Vann spent the past three seasons at Sylvania where he complied at overall record 28-10. He guided the 2023 Rams (10-3) to the third round of the state playoffs and Sylvania was ranked in the Top 10 the entire season.
VOLS SOFTBALL RANKED #2 - The Tennessee softball program is ranked No. 2 in Softball America's 2024 preseason poll. It is the Lady Vols' highest preseason ranking since the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) tabbed the program at No. 1 in 2014. The Lady Vols will return 17 players from its 2023 squad. Last year the program reached the Women's College World Series and won the SEC regular season and SEC Tournament titles. Tennessee will head to Texas for the 2024 season-opener at UT-Arlington. First pitch is set for noon CT on Feb. 8. 2024 FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME - The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame has announced the 2024 College Football Hall of Fame Class. The players selected include: • Justin Blackmon – WR, Oklahoma State (2009-11) • Paul Cameron – TB, UCLA (1951-53) • Tim Couch – QB, Kentucky (1996-98) • Warrick Dunn – RB, Florida State (1993-96) • Armanti Edwards – QB, Appalachian State (2006-09) • Deon Figures – CB, Colorado (1988, 1990-92) • Larry Fitzgerald – WR, Pittsburgh (2002-03) • Toby Gerhart – RB, Stanford (2006-09) • Dan Hampton – DT, Arkansas (1975-78) • Steve Hutchinson – OG, Michigan (1997-2000) • Antonio Langham – CB, Alabama (1990-93) • Randy Moss – WR, Marshall (1996-97) • Julius Peppers – DE, North Carolina (1999-2001) • Paul Posluszny – LB, Penn State (2003-06) • Dewey Selmon – NG, Oklahoma (1972-75) • Alex Smith – QB, Utah (2002-04) • Kevin Smith – CB, Texas A&M (1988-91) • Chris Ward – OT, Ohio State (1974-77) • Danny Woodhead – RB, Chadron State (2004-07) The coaches for the Hall of Fame include: • Mark Dantonio – 132-74-0 (64.1%): Cincinnati (2004- 06), Michigan State (2007-19) • Danny Hale – 213-69-1 (75.4%): West Chester [PA] (1984-88), Bloomsburg [PA] (1993-2012) • Frank Solich – 173-101-0: Nebraska (1998-2003), Ohio (2005-2020)
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