By Marc Lawrence — Back in May, Oregon State’s Dr. Doug Auckerman, the Senior Associate Athletic Director for Sports Medicine, felt good about the prospects of opening the 2020 college football season on time. Then in May, states began to slowly open their economies, and universities announced on-campus classes in the fall. June gave way to more good news. College campuses welcomed back their athletes for voluntary training, and NCAA leaders created a new six-week preseason practice plan. With it, the optimism of an on-time kickoff was in the making. However, in the heart of the coronavirus pandemic shutdown, the economy closed and sports stalled, a depressive time with scant optimism now results. “Now,” says Aukerman, “we’re definitely heading the wrong way.” Many college athletic leaders are having serious doubts on an on-time start to the 2020 college football season, or if a fall season is even possible at all. Contingency plans, dismissed weeks ago, are back in the proverbial picture, such as delaying the season deeper into the fall or moving it into the spring. “Until two weeks ago, everybody felt pretty good about starting on time on Sept. 5 and Aug. 29,” says West Virginia athletic director Shane Lyons, the chair of an important law-making NCAA body, the Football Oversight Committee. “The last two weeks have really put a wet blanket on that, and we’re saying, ‘Maybe that’s not going to happen.'” So what is it guys? Are we going to have a season or not? And if not, when? We’re going to need answers sooner than later. For more on this subject click here.
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Quarterback J. T. Daniels has received a waiver to play immediately for Georgia after transferring from USC in May. The former 5-star recruit starred for Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California and has three years of eligibility left after suffering a knee injury in USC’s 2019 season opener. Daniels started for USC as a true freshman in 2018, passing for 2,672 yards with 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Kedon Slovis replaced Daniels and had a record-setting 2019 season at quarterback. Daniels entered the NCAA’s transfer portal in April. He is expected to compete with Jamie Newman, a graduate transfer from Wake Forest, for Georgia’s starting job. Daniels is another coup for Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart.
Grinding Out The Profits
2020 PLAYBOOK Football Preview Guide magazine reports: As Thursday would have it, the Indianapolis Colts are 10-2 ATS away on Thursday nights as well as 8-1 ATS versus division rivals on Thursdays. This season they travel to Tennessee for a Thursday night fray knowing the Titans are just 3-6 ATS in division duels on Thursday nights, and 1-3 ATS the last four games as a host in this series. You know what to do.
