Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
If you haven’t heard, folksy lightning rod and all-around Boomer-opinion-haver Dabo Swinney submitted his coaches poll ballot with Ohio State ranked 11th. Not 3rd, nor 8th, nor even 10th. But an obvious poke-in-the-eye 11th. Ohio State, by Mr. William Christopher Swinney’s reckoning, was not even among the 10 best teams in the nation. To hear him tell it, Ohio State couldn’t be one of the best teams in the country because the B1G played a shorter, 9-game schedule and the Buckeyes had 3 games canceled due to COVID-19. If that logic sounds suspect to you, congratulations on your obviously functioning cerebrum. One can only wonder if Dabo also believes he is faster than Usain Bolt because he runs more miles in a week.
victory over the Auburn Tigers in the 2021 Citrus Bowl on Friday.
Head coach Pat Fitzgerald s team was one of the most pleasant surprises in 2020. They won their first five games of the season and played a competitive game against Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship two weeks ago.
The Wildcats victory over Auburn marks their fourth straight bowl victory. It s also their second consecutive win over an SEC opponent in a postseason game, after previously beating Kentucky in the 2017 Music City Bowl.
Auburn came into the game with Kevin Steele serving as interim head coach. Gus Malzahn s eight-year run with the program ended when he was fired on Dec. 13. The Tigers ended this season with three losses in their last four games, with all three defeats coming against ranked opponents.
No. 15 Northwestern (6-2, No. 14 CFP) has had no such instability issues, with its veteran-laden roster and coach Pat Fitzgerald, who led the Wildcats to the Big 10 Conference championship game for a second time in three seasons.
However, that latest title game appearance - a 22-10 loss to Ohio State in which Trey Sermon carved up the Wildcats’ vaunted defense for 331 rushing yards - didn’t go so well. Northwestern, which rallied in each of its first three victories of the season, is seeking another bounce-back performance to end the season on a high note.
“The Big 10 championship game we hope is an anomaly because we had some guys not execute the fundamentals and techniques that we believe in here,” said Fitzgerald, who has dedicated the Citrus Bowl to his defensive coordinator, 73-year-old Mike Hankwitz, who is set to retire after 51 seasons of college coaching. “Really, I’m not going to sugarcoat it - I was incredibly disappointed in our performance in the front seve
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The Frank & Barbara Broyles Foundation announces Steve Sarkisian, Offensive Coordinator/Quarterback coach at Alabama, as the winner of the 25th annual Broyles Award. Coach Sarkisian was selected from a group of five finalists by a selection committee of distinguished former head coaches, broadcasters, and a committee representing the FWAA.
Other 2020 Broyles Award finalists included BYU Offensive Coordinator Jeff Grimes, Cincinnati Defensive Coordinator and Linebackers Coach Marcus Freeman, Indiana Defensive Coordinator and Linebackers Coach Kane Wommack and Northwestern Defensive Coordinator Mike Hankwitz.
The Broyles Award honors college football’s top assistant coach. The award was established in 1996 to recognize legendary head football coach Frank Broyles. Coach Broyles had a track record of producing some of the most successful assistant coaches in college football history.