With the National Championship meaning the end of College Football for a while and the NFL Playoffs on the horizon, football is close to wrapping up. However, that doesn’t mean that some crazy things haven’t happened, and just these past couple of weeks so many weird and amazing things have happened. So, I will describe some of the biggest headlines from the previous few weeks in football.

 Antonio Brown Drama

 On January 2nd, 2022, the defending Super Bowl Champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers were down 24-10 in the 3rd Quarter to the currently 4-12 New York Jets in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Tom Brady was eventually able to led Tampa Bay to a comeback and win 28-24. However, all the headlines from this game come from one former WR of the Buccaneers, Antonio Brown. During the 3rd Quarter, apparently something frustrated WR Antonio Brown so much that he stripped off his jersey, gloves, pads, and even T-shirt, proceeded to throw his shirt and gloves into the stands, ran to the end zone, and finally left through the tunnels to the locker room. Following the Buccaneers victory, head coach Bruce Arians told reporters that Antonio Brown is no longer a part of the Buccaneers. He also wished Brown the best of luck and hopes he can find help. The following day on January 3rd, 2022, Antonio Brown was seen in the stands at the Nets game where the Memphis Grizzlies beat them 118-104 at Barclays to extend the Nets losing streak to 3 games. On Wednesday, Antonio Brown opened up and he said that the Buccaneers and head coach Bruce Arians were forcing him to go back into the game when he was telling them that he couldn’t go back in because of his ankle. The next day, Antonio Brown his officially released from Tampa Bay. Bruce Arians later opened up that Brown wasn’t going back into the game because he wasn’t getting the targets that he wanted and that they tested his ankle for the game and he was cleared to play. Now, Antonio Brown is trying with his agent to get the 2 million dollars on his contract guaranteed, but the Buccaneers declined the request. New requests for mental health have also emerged because of this situation. Overall, this event is pretty embarrassing and I hope that Antonio Brown and the Buccaneers team can move past this, even though this isn’t the first drama that has stemmed from Brown.

College Football Playoffs: The Blowouts Continue

 On December 31st, 2021, New Years Eve, the CFP games between the #4 Cincinnati Bearcats vs the #1 Alabama Crimson Tide and the #3 Georgia Bulldogs vs the #2 Michigan Wolverines occurred. Coming in, many people were super excited for these matchups, as Cincinnati and Michigan were playing in their first playoffs games. However, these games were pretty much nothing new, as the heavily favored Alabama rolled past the Cincinnati Cinderella story 27-6 behind a 204 yard rushing day by RB Brian Robinson and great defense. This game was interesting, as the Bearcats were able to stick around with great defense and holding Bama QB Bryce Young steady, but their offense could not get going and Cincinnati ended up not scoring an offensive touchdown. Following the victory for Alabama in the Cotton Bowl to clinch a spot in the title game, Georgia faced Michigan in the Orange Bowl, which coming in was a pretty even game, though the Bulldogs were favored. This game was nothing short of a complete blowout with the better team in Georgia coming out on top. Behind a great performance by Bulldogs QB Stetson Bennett, who went 20-30 for 313 yards and 3 touchdowns and fantastic defense that didn’t allow the Wolverines to score a touchdown until the very end of the 4th Quarter, Georgia downed Michigan 34-11 to set up a rematch against Alabama in the National Championship Game. The entire game, the Wolverines were behind and without the ability to run the ball along with the Bulldogs defense getting pressure on Michigan QB Cade McNamara all night long. Michigan was unable to do anything but keep fighting and trying to score with backup QB J.J. McCarthy, which they were eventually able to accomplish. Unfortunately, even with a couple of new teams making the playoffs, the CFP continues to be Alabama and who else can contend with them. Fortunately, I believe that the National Championship showdown between Georgia and Alabama could bring the fun back to the College Football Playoffs, even if these teams are not a new matchup in the title game.

National Championship Preview

 Once the Capital One Orange Bowl concluded, the rematch between the #1 Alabama Crimson Tide and #3 Georgia Bulldogs was set. This matchup already occurred in the SEC Championship Game, where the #3 Crimson Tide dominated at the time #1 and undefeated Georgia 41-24. Alabama won this game because of a fantastic performance from QB Bryce Young, who went 26-44 for 421 yards and 3 touchdowns. Also, great games from wide receivers Jameson Williams and John Metchie assisted in the win. However, Metchie suffered an ACL injury in the SEC Championship and didn’t play against Cincinnati in the Cotton Bowl. He also won’t play in the National Championship Game. Finally, a good defensive game from the Tide defense led to the win. Now, currently Georgia is slightly favored versus Alabama in this game, but this one could be a nail biter. Georgia is strong on defense, where they have great players such as Jordan Davis, Devonte Wyatt, Adam Anderson, and Nakobe Dean. They also have a very good running game with James Cook and Zamir White along with a fantastic receiving threat in TE Brock Bowers. Their weaker positions might come at QB, but Stetson Bennett has proved that he is reliable enough to lead this Bulldogs squad and for proof, look no further than the Michigan game. Alabama is super deadly on offense, which is led by Heisman QB Bryce Young, RB Brian Robinson, WR Jameson Williams, and a decent offensive line anchored by Evan Neal. They also have a pretty good defense with players such as Will Anderson, Brian Branch, Jordan Battle, Henry To’oto’o, and Jalyn Armour-Davis. However, this Crimson Tide defense isn’t the greatest and at times has allowed close games against other teams. In conclusion, let’s all hope and pray that this game is close and doesn’t end up being another blowout like previous matchups in the College Football Playoffs and be ready for January 10th at 8:00 P.M. ET.

Notable Bowl Games of 2021

 The bowl season this year was full of some blowouts, great games, and surprises. Some of the games I was able to catch this year were the Quick Lane Bowl, the Birmingham Bowl, the Cheez-It Bowl, the Alamo Bowl, the Music City Bowl, the Fiesta Bowl, the Rose Bowl, and the Sugar Bowl.

• The Quick Lane Bowl was actually a game that I went to in-person and watched the Western Michigan Broncos dominate the shorthanded Nevada Wolfpack 52-24. The Broncos were led by two great performances from QB Kaleb Eleby, who went 8-14 for 162 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception along with RB Sean Tyler, who had 146 yards on the ground. The Wolfpack in this game were without potential NFL first round QB Carson Strong, so they started backup QB Nate Cox, who had 121 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception.
• In the Birmingham Bowl, the Houston Cougars won a close game against the Auburn Tigers 17-13 and finished one of their best seasons in program history at 12-2. Cougars QB Clayton Tune led the way for Houston with 283 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception. Also, WR Nathaniel Dell had an astounding day with 10 receptions and 150 yards. For Auburn, QB TJ Finley went 19-37 for 227 yards and 1 touchdown in place of previous QB Bo Nix, who transferred to Oregon earlier in December. Along with Finely, RB Tank Bigsby had a good day with 16 carries and 5 receptions for a total of 164 yards. Some late game turnovers by Houston almost led to an Auburn comeback victory, but Houston was able to hold on and win.
• In the Cheez-It Bowl, a good matchup occurred between two teams that at the beginning of the season were thought to be contending for the playoffs in the Clemson Tigers and Iowa State Cyclones. This game started out as a battle of field goals in the 1st half, but turnovers from Iowa State opened the scoring for Clemson. However, the Cyclones were able to mount a comeback and had a chance to tie up the game, but QB Brock Purdy in the 4th Quarter on the last drive of the game for Iowa State on 4th down ran the ball, got past the 1st down marker for the first down, then had the ball punched out for a fumble, and finally recovered the football, but the ball went backwards to the other side of the 1st down, leading to a turnover on downs. This was a disappointing ending for QB Brock Purdy, who was in his last year at Iowa State. Clemson was led by QB D.J. Uiagalelei, who had 187 yards and 1 interception. The Cyclones were led by QB Brock Purdy, who went 23-39 for 204 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception.
• The Alamo Bowl had a great matchup in San Antonio between the Oregon Ducks and Oklahoma Sooners. In this game, the offenses showed up, but a consistent game by the Sooners and a tale of two halves from Oregon led to an Oklahoma 47-32 victory. Because of previous Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley leaving for USC, former head coach Bob Stoops coached the Sooners in this bowl game, before new head coach Brent Venables will start next season. The Sooners were led by freshman QB Caleb Williams, who went 21-27 for 242 yards and 3 touchdowns. Also, RB Kennedy Brooks had a fantastic game on the ground with 142 yards and 3 touchdowns. For the Ducks, they also had an interim head coach in Bryan McClendon after former head coach Mario Cristobal left for Miami. At QB, Oregon had Anthony Brown who went 27-40 for 306 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 1 interception. Finally, the Ducks had two good weapons in RB Travis Dye and WR Dont’e Thornton, who had 153 yards rushing for 1 touchdown and 4 receptions for 90 yards and 1 touchdown.
• Possibly one of the best bowl games of the season was the Music City Bowl matchup between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Purdue Boilermakers. This was another offensive showdown with both teams [Purdue especially,] missing some players. This game ended up going into overtime, and a controversial call on 4th and Goal for the Volunteers that ended in Purdue’s favor led to a 39 yard game winning field goal by the Boilermakers kicker Mitchell Fineran. Tennessee was led by QB Hendon Hooker, who went 26-41 for 378 yards and 5 touchdowns! The Volunteers actually had a good run game from Jabari Small, who had 180 yards for 1 touchdown and a super reliable receiver in Cedric Tillman, who had 7 receptions for 150 yards and 3 touchdowns. The Boilermakers were led by breakout walk-on QB Aidan O’Connell, who went 26-47 for 534 yards, 5 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions! Along with O’Connell, beaten up WR Broc Thompson had a great day with 7 receptions for 217 yards and 2 touchdowns.
• With the New Years 6 Bowl games up and running, the first one on New Years Day was the Fiesta Bowl between Oklahoma State and Notre Dame. The Cowboys had a breakout season, but a loss in the Big 12 Championship Game might have cost them a playoff spot, while a horrible start to the season and early loss to Cincinnati kept the Fighting Irish out of contention for the CFP. An early first half lead by Notre Dame had this game looking like another blowout, but a program historic 21 point comeback by the Oklahoma State Cowboys led to their 37-35 win. The Pokes are led by QB Spencer Sanders, who went 34-51 for 371 yards and 4 touchdowns. He also had 17 carries for 125 yards rushing. Cowboys wide receivers Brennan Presley and Tay Martin also showed up for this game with 10 receptions each for 137 yards and 104 yards respectively. The Fighting Irish had a new head coach in Marcus Freeman, who is now the coach of the future after previous head coach Brian Kelly left for the same position at LSU. Fighting Irish QB Jack Coan had a breakout performance in the first half, but a disappointing finish in the  second half. He went 38-68 for 509 yards, 5 touchdowns, and 1 interception. Notre Dame had a disappointing game rushing the ball, but a pretty good game through the air with WR Lorenzo Styles leading the way with 136 yards and 1 touchdown.
• Next up, in the Rose Bowl, a very interesting matchup was set between the Pac-12 Champion Utah Utes and the Ohio State Buckeyes, who lost out on a chance to make the playoffs after a crushing defeat to the Michigan Wolverines. The game ended up being another offensive battle, as Ohio State was without key defensive players like Haskell Garrett and their two top wide receivers in Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson. The game was also the highlight of College Gameday. During the game, Utah got off t0 a fast start, but then Ohio State heated up in the second quarter. After a wild second quarter, Utah only scored 3 points the rest of the way and QB Cameron Rising got knocked out in the 4th Quarter due to an injury. This allowed the Buckeyes to drive down for an eventual game winning 19 yard field goal from their kicker Noah Ruggles in a 48-45 victory. The Buckeyes in this matchup were led by outstanding QB C.J. Stroud, who went 37-46 for 573 yards, 6 TOUCHDOWNS and 1 interception! They also had an astounding performance by WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who set bowl game records with 15 receptions for 347 yards and 3 touchdowns. Along with Smith-Njigba, WR Marvin Harrison had a breakout game in his first game in the spotlight with 6 receptions for 71 yards and 3 crucial touchdowns. For the Utes, QB Cameron Rising led the way with 214 yards and 2 touchdowns, along with a couple good receiving games from TE Brant Kuithe, who had 6 receptions for 77 yards and WR Britain Covey, who had 3 receptions for 34 yards, 1 touchdown and a kickoff return for a TD.
• Finally, in the Sugar Bowl, a pretty unexpected defensive slugfest occurred between the Big 12 Champion Baylor Bears and Ole Miss Rebels. At first, this game wasn’t expected to be super defensive because the Rebels had potential NFL first rounder QB Matt Coral playing in this game instead of opting out to train for the draft. However, during the second quarter Matt Coral was sacked by Baylor defender Cole Maxwell and when he got up, he couldn’t put pressure on his right foot. Coral would not return the rest of the game, but he got X-rays and they came up negative, which means there is a pretty good chance Matt Coral can recover from the injury. As a result of this, backup QB Luke Altmyer had to step in. On one of his first drives, Altmyer threw an interception to Bears CB Al Walcott, who returned the pass all the way into the other end zone for a Baylor Pick 6. Ole Miss tried to make a comeback, but eventually, another interception by Baylor and the offense starting to heat up and score led the Bears to a 21-7 victory. QB Gerry Bohanon was at the helm for Baylor in his first game since the injury in the regular season, and he went 7-17 for 40 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception. Also, Baylor had a great day on the ground behind RB Abram Smith, who had 25 carries for 172 yards. The Rebels were led by previously mentioned backup QB Luke Altmyer after the Corral injury, and he went 15-28 for 174 yards, 1 touchdown, and 2 interceptions. On the ground, RB Jerrion Ealy had a decent performance with 12 carries for 65 yards and through the air, wide receivers Dontario Drummond, Braylon Sanders, and Jonathan Mingo, had 9 receptions for 104 yards, 1 reception for 37 yards plus a TD, and 2 receptions for 33 yards respectively.

On one final note, some other notable bowl games that I didn’t catch were Fresno State 31 UTEP 24 in the New Mexico Bowl, UAB 31 BYU 28 in the Independence Bowl, San Diego State 38 UTSA 24 in the Frisco Bowl, Army 24 Missouri 22 in the Armed Forces Bowl, Michigan State 31 Pittsburgh 21 in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Wisconsin 20 Arizona State 13 in the Las Vegas Bowl, Arkansas 24 Penn State 10 in the Outback Bowl, and Iowa 17 Kentucky 20 in the Citrus Bowl.