AAC Football

Cincinnati cornerback Coby Bryant has won the Jim Thorpe Award, which the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame presents to the nation's top collegiate defensive back.

The winner was announced at The Home Depot College Football Awards on Thursday.

Oregon safety Verone McKinley III and Baylor safety Jalen Pitre were also finalists for the award.

The award has been given out since 1986, and previous winners include football luminaries such as Deion Sanders, Charles Woodson and Patrick Peterson.  

The last five winners of the award have all ended up being selected in the first or second round of the NFL draft. Las Vegas Raiders safety Tre'von Moehrig won the trophy in 2020 when he suited up for TCU.

Here's a brief look at each finalist's resumes, starting with the winner.

     

Cincinnati CB Coby Bryant

The undefeated Bearcats earned their first-ever College Football Playoff berth in part because of players like Bryant, who helps form a rock-solid defense that has helped propel the team to great heights.

He had 40 tackles (32 solo), two interceptions and 11 passes defended for the undefeated Bearcats. He's a shutdown corner whose work has been recognized nationwide. Of note, Pro Football Focus thinks highly of the fifth-year senior's efforts:

Highest-graded CBs in College Football 🔒 pic.twitter.com/TFm6uGdFwe

— PFF College (@PFF_College) November 24, 2021

Bryant's resume includes many highlights, but his 74-yard pick six in a 56-21 win over UCF serves as one of his best:

PICK-SIX 👀

Coby Bryant finds the end zone after a 74-yard return. pic.twitter.com/GEIUixCRe5

— ESPN (@espn) October 16, 2021

His best game was at No. 6 Notre Dame, when Bryant had seven tackles and three passes defended in a 24-13 win.

Cincinnati's defense was exceptional that day, as it has been all season, with the Bearcats allowing the fourth-fewest points in Division I FCS (16.1 PPG). 

     

Baylor S Jalen Pitre

Pitre will forever be a Waco legend. He was the only member of the 2017 Bears class who stayed with the program after head coach Art Briles was fired, per John Werner of the Waco Tribune-Herald.

In 2021, he had 70 tackles (54 solo), 2.5 sacks, two interceptions, seven passes defended and three forced fumbles. The fifth-year senior helped Baylor earn a No. 7 College Football Playoff ranking, a Big 12 Championship and an 11-2 record.

Pitre's best game, which occurred during a 38-24 win over BYU, ended with him earning the Senior Bowl's Defensive Player of the Week honors:

.@JalenPitre1 is our Defensive Player of the Week for the @BUFootball win over BYU, 38-24. Pitre had 10 total tackles, 9 solo, 2.5 TFLs, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery, and a QBH. #SicEm #TheDraftStartsInMOBILE pic.twitter.com/jzzMDPBWxh

— Reese's Senior Bowl (@seniorbowl) October 18, 2021

He routinely made game-changing plays, such as this interception versus West Virginia in a 45-20 win:

PICKED OFF 🤚

Jalen Pitre comes up with his second interception of the season for @BUFootball pic.twitter.com/pAICHf7yT4

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 9, 2021

Baylor responded to that pick by going 48 yards in five plays for a touchdown and 20-7 lead.

Pitre added seven more tackles (two for a loss) and two pass breakups in the Bears' 21-16 Big 12 Championship Game win versus Oklahoma State.

    

Oregon S Verone McKinley III

You can't find many defensive backs more productive than McKinley, who is equally adept at delivering big hits as he is at making huge interceptions and pass breakups.

Oregon was in the College Football Playoff picture midseason in part because of a strong running game and a playmaking defense featuring a superstar on each level (edge-rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux, linebacker Noah Sewell and McKinley on the back line).

In conjunction, those three did excellent work for the Ducks, which won 10 games and finished as the Pac-12 runner-up.

As far as McKinley went, the third-year sophomore starred with 71 tackles and six interceptions.

His best game came in Oregon's 42-35 win at Ohio State on Sept. 11, when he had six tackles, two passes defended, one forced fumble and one huge interception to kill off a late OSU drive with the Buckeyes down seven with under three minutes remaining:

"And that may do it!"

Oregon's Verone McKinley III with a huge INT late in the fourth quarter vs. Ohio State 😱

(via @CFBONFOX) pic.twitter.com/dMFBkRdaoM

— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) September 11, 2021

That ended up being one of the most impressive wins of the season from any team. McKinley played a big role in that effort, which is part of the reason why he was acknowledged as one of college football's top three defensive backs.

Former UCF running back Otis Anderson Jr. was killed in a shooting Monday night in Jacksonville, Florida.

He was 23 years old.

"Our deepest condolences go out to everyone who loved Otis," UCF's announcement read. "He was taken too soon and will truly be missed."

We have now confirmed and are devastated to hear of the passing of Otis Anderson Jr. He was revered by his teammates, our fans, and everyone within Knight Nation.

Our deepest condolences go out to everyone who loved Otis. He was taken too soon and will truly be missed. pic.twitter.com/b99DfoDytl

— UCF Football (@UCF_Football) November 30, 2021

Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel reported police documents confirmed Anderson died Monday after the shooting.

Casey Feindt of First Coast News in Jacksonville reported his father, Otis Lee Anderson, was charged with one count of first-degree murder and one count of first-degree attempted murder and is being held without bond after he was booked into the Duval County jail.

Anderson Jr. played collegiately at UCF from 2017 through 2020 and was part of the team that went a perfect 13-0 during the 2017 campaign. The Knights used him as a running back, pass-catcher and punt returner, and he finished his collegiate career with 27 total touchdowns, one of which came on a punt return.

He signed with the Los Angeles Rams as an undrafted rookie but was waived in September.

Some of his former Rams teammates, including Jalen Ramsey and Sebastian Joseph-Day, offered their support on Twitter:

Rest in Heaven Otis 🙏🏾
We gotta do better on this earth smh. Big prayers up 🙏🏾

— Jalen Ramsey (@jalenramsey) November 30, 2021

Rest In Peace O 🙏🕊.

— Sebastian Joseph-Day (@SJD_51) November 30, 2021

Rams director of football affairs Jacques McClendon also shared a message on Twitter that read, "We lost an incredible human in Otis Anderson. Never had a bad day and always brought contagious energy! Life is precious, so make the days count and don't just count the days."          

Army Cadets accidentally kidnapped the wrong goat during a secret raid of a Maryland farm in search of Navy's mascot, Bill No. 37, over the weekend.

Dave Philipps of the New York Times reported Tuesday that the long tradition of trying to steal the opponent's mascot has continued despite pleas from military officials to stop the practice, which typically happens during the lead-up to the annual Army-Navy football game.

This year's clash between the Black Knights and the Midshipmen is scheduled for Dec. 11, and Army tried to strike first with its "spirit mission" in search for Bill No. 37.

Instead, the cadets returned to West Point—the United States Military Academy—with Bill No. 34, a retired mascot who's 14 years old and deals with arthritis, according to a joint statement from Army and Navy provided to the New York Times.

A military employee told Philipps the goat was returned to the farm Monday and that a veterinarian said the animal was in "good health" following a checkup.

Lt. Gen. Darryl Williams and Vice Adm. Sean Buck, the superintendents of the academies, confirmed in the joint statement the situation is under investigation, saying they are "disappointed by the trust that was broken recently between our brothers and sisters in arms" and the Cadets' actions don't "reflect either academy's core values of dignity and respect."

They also reiterated the stealing of animal mascots is "off limits."

Army (7-3) will likely be the heavy favorite over Navy (2-8) when the teams meet to close out the regular season next month at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

Jim L. Mora has officially been named the next head football coach at the University of Connecticut following the departure of Randy Edsall in September.

Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports was the first to report Mora was the target of UConn's coaching search.

Mora would take over a program that has struggled mightily in recent years. The Huskies are just 1-8 this season and are on track to win three or fewer games for the fifth consecutive season.

Mora, 59, last coached at UCLA in 2017 before going on to serve as a color analyst for ESPN's college football coverage in 2019 and 2020.

After multiple stints as an assistant coach in the NFL, Mora was hired as head coach of the Atlanta Falcons in 2004. He led Atlanta to an 11-5 record, NFC South title and NFC Championship berth in his first season, but he was fired after going 8-8 and 7-9 in his next two seasons.

Mora was then hired as the Seahawks' head coach in 2009, but he lasted just one season after going 5-11. Overall, Mora went 31-33 as an NFL head coach and 1-1 in the playoffs.

Eleven months after his firing in Seattle, Mora was hired as the head coach at UCLA in 2012. During his six-year stint with the Bruins, Mora went 46-30 with four bowl appearances and three seasons with nine or more wins.

UCLA went 4-8 and 5-6 in his final two seasons at the helm, but parting ways with him has not led to better days for the Bruins, as they went just 3-9 in 2018 and 4-8 in 2019 and 3-4 last season.

Mora consistently had solid offenses at UCLA, especially from 2012-14 when the Bruins ranked 36th or better nationally in scoring each season.

He did an especially good job of developing quarterback Brett Hundley at UCLA, as Hundley threw for 75 touchdowns and rushed for 30 more in his three seasons under center before getting selected in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL draft by the Green Bay Packers.

Mora has a defensive background, though, as he was a defensive backs coach and defensive coordinator in the NFL, so he was among the most well-rounded coaches available.

While it can be argued that his head coaching stints have ended in disappointment thus far, he has a history of success, taking the Falcons within one win of the Super Bowl and helping the Bruins contend in the Pac-12.

The bar for improvement at UConn has been set low since the Huskies have a total of 10 wins over their past five seasons.

UConn has just one bowl appearance since 2010 as well, and the Huskies have not had a winning season since the 2010 campaign either.

The Huskies went to four straight bowl games from 2007-10 under Edsall, and if Mora can get them anywhere near that level again, his hiring will be considered a massive success.

The Cincinnati Bearcats are right in the middle of the College Football Playoff race at No. 6 after the release of the initial rankings on Tuesday, but some were surprised to see them below No. 2 Alabama, No. 4 Oregon and No. 5 Ohio State.

Those three teams all have a loss while the undefeated Bearcats remain undefeated, but CFP chairman Gary Barta told reporters the selection committee still respects the American Athletic Conference team.

"The committee has great respect for Cincinnati," he said. "The win at Notre Dame is really impressive. When you look at their schedule after that, who else did they beat? That was the question."

While the Bearcats are on the outside looking in when it comes to the top four, Tuesday's release was also just the first set of rankings. 

They still have a golden opportunity to become the first Group of Five team to make the CFP, and the win at Notre Dame that Barta mentioned is a primary reason why. Cincinnati was in full control for much of that contest and survived a late challenge from the Fighting Irish, who checked in at No. 10 following wins over Virginia Tech, USC and North Carolina.

If Notre Dame continues to win, that victory will only look better in retrospect for Luke Fickell's squad.

The Bearcats would be better positioned, though, if Indiana lived up to expectations. The Hoosiers lost just one regular season game in 2020 to Ohio State and had high expectations coming into the 2021 campaign but are just 2-6 at this point.

Cincinnati's win over Indiana is not carrying nearly as much weight as was expected and is surely one reason why its strength of schedule is ranked 100th by ESPN.

There is still a pathway for the Bearcats to reach the CFP considering No. 1 Georgia could play No. 2 Alabama in the SEC title game, No. 5 Ohio State still plays No. 3 Michigan State and No. 7 Michigan, and No. 4 Oregon has potentially challenging road games against Washington and Utah remaining on the schedule.

That means a number of potential losses remain for the top contenders, and the Bearcats could move up if they keep winning.

They are also ahead of undefeated Oklahoma and Wake Forest, which might ultimately be more important than whether they are behind teams that still have to play each other.            

The NCAA announced Friday that USF will be on three years probation and fined $10,000 for failing to monitor the football program under Charlie Strong, per Brett McMurphy of the Action Network. 

Strong, who is now an assistant for the Jacksonville Jaguars, will also face a one-game suspension if he returns to college football. 

The university was reported to have seven then-noncoaching football staff participate in on- and off-field instruction during practices over a period of three years. By doing so, USF was beyond the allowed number of countable coaches. 

"In one case, a then-noncoaching football staff member provided skills instruction to student-athletes and led film assessments and instruction," a press release stated. 

The NCAA also said the USF compliance department learned of the football violations and educated the football staff, including Strong, on the matter, but nothing changed.

The USF football program continued to allow the seven noncoaching football staff to instruct. They even had equipment managers use headsets to "alert noncoaching staff members when compliance staff were attending football practices, so the additional violations of countable coaches rules were not discovered."

The women's basketball program also exceeded the allowable number of coaches and is accused of exceeding the allowed number of hours per week for athletic activities. 

Here are all of the penalties the school is facing:

• Three years probation
• A $10,000 fine and 0.5 percent of both the football and women's basketball program's budgets
• Initial football scholarships for 2022-2023 will be reduced by two
• A one-game suspension for Strong if he should return to coaching at the collegiate level
• A one-year "show-cause" for the women's basketball coach that includes a 15-hour suspension from regular-season practices

Strong coached the football program from 2017 to '19, going 21-16 in that span. The Bulls' best season under Strong came in his first year as head coach when they finished 10-2 and won the Birmingham Bowl. 

Jeff Scott has been USF's head coach since 2020. He previously served as Clemson's co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach from 2015 to '19.  

The No. 7 Cincinnati Bearcats jumped out to a 17-0 halftime lead before defeating the No. 9 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 24-13 on Saturday.

After the game, Bearcats head coach Luke Fickell noted how important the road victory was to his team's College Football Playoff hopes, per ESPN's Adam Rittenberg.

We've been pretty successful in the last few years, but we have not beat a top-10 program or a top-five program. For us to do that today on the road is a big step for us. It'll bring some other things that we've got to be able to handle, some maybe notoriety of some things that our kids will be able to handle. But everything that's been thrown at them so far, they've done a really, really good job of [handling], and I would expect nothing less.

As Rittenberg noted, Fickell was alluding to more talk about the Bearcats' postseason resume, adding that was for "[the media] to go ahead and get the ball going."

Cincinnati appears set for a top-six ranking at worst in the next Associated Press poll. The No. 3 Oregon Ducks lost 31-24 in overtime to unranked Stanford, and the Bearcats seem destined to overtake them at the very least.

Of course, the official College Football Playoff rankings are what matter the most. The first set is slated for release on Tuesday, Nov. 2.

A win on the road over Notre Dame should be a big positive on Cincinnati's resume if they're in the playoff discussion in December.

On one hand, the Bearcats could very well win out. Cincinnati doesn't have a Top 25 team remaining on its schedule as the Bearcats gear up for eight American Athletic Conference games. A home showdown with the 5-0 SMU Mustangs on Nov. 20 stands as the toughest remaining test on paper.

On the flip side, the CFP committee could look at the team's weaker strength of schedule and use it as a mark against them when choosing the four eventual playoff teams.

Regardless, the Bearcats came to play Saturday and look fantastic doing so against a Top 10 team. That should certainly leave an imprint in the committee's minds as the season moves along.

UCF announced Saturday that quarterback Dillon Gabriel will be out indefinitely after he suffered a fractured left clavicle late in Friday night's road loss to Louisville.

Gabriel posted a statement Saturday on Instagram:

BREAKING: #UCF QB Dillon Gabriel writes on Instagram he fractured his clavicle. pic.twitter.com/7zNN4ZQYIT

— Jason Beede (@therealBeede) September 18, 2021

The Hawai'i native put together a terrific 2020 season for the Knights. He ranked fourth in the Football Bowl Subdivision in passing touchdowns (32) and fifth in passing yards (3,570) while leading the team to a 6-4 record and an appearance in the Boca Raton Bowl, in which it lost to BYU.

Gabriel has accounted for 79 touchdowns (70 passing, eight rushing and one receiving) across 26 games in two-plus seasons. He's tallied just 14 interceptions over that span.

The Knights were off to a 2-0 start with wins over Boise State and Bethune-Cookman before their 42-35 loss to Louisville. Jaylin Alderman returned an interception 66 yards for a touchdown with 13 seconds left to give the Cardinals the win.

Gabriel was injured on a Hail Mary attempt after UCF got the ball back.

"He's a great competitor, great player and competed to the last play," Knights head coach Gus Malzahn told reporters after the game.

Mikey Keene, who threw a touchdown pass in seven attempts in relief of Gabriel during a blowout of Bethune-Cookman, should get the first crack to fill the massive void. Quadry Jones is another option for Malzahn.

UCF has a bye next week before it returns to action Oct. 2 for a road game against Navy.

UConn head football coach Randy Edsall is stepping down effective immediately as the team's head coach. 

UConn AD David Benedict: “Upon further reflection by both Randy and I, and after having the opportunity to visit with Randy today, we are both in agreement that it is in the best interest of our student-athletes to have a new voice leading UConn football.”

— Matt Fortuna (@Matt_Fortuna) September 6, 2021

Edsall had previously announced on Sunday that the 2021 season would be his final one with the program after 17 years in Storrs.

https://twitter.com/RandyEdsall/status/1434593661342322689

But UConn opened the season with a 45-0 loss at Fresno State and is 0-2 overall following Saturday's 38-28 defeat to Holy Cross.  

Edsall, 63, spent the first 11 years (1980-90) of his coaching career holding various roles at Syracuse before stints as a defensive backs coach at Boston College (1991-93) and the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars (1994-97). In 1998, he served as Georgia Tech's defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach.  

He became UConn's head coach in 1999, when the school was still in the FCS (it joined the FBS in 2002), spending 12 years with the program and leading the Huskies to five bowl games, including a berth in the Fiesta Bowl in the 2010 season. 

Statement from UConn AD Dave Benedict on Randy Edsall announcing his retirement at the end of the season. pic.twitter.com/ECgnA09tHu

— Shawn McFarland (@McFarland_Shawn) September 5, 2021

But he left the school in 2011 to become the head coach at Maryland, where he spent five seasons, leading the Terrapins to a 22-34 record and two bowl appearances. He was fired midseason in October 2015. 

UConn rehired him in 2017, though the school has struggled in his second tenure, going 6-32. UConn has an 80-102 mark overall with Edsall at the helm. 

His departure was looming, given the team's blowout loss versus Fresno State and a shocking 38-28 upset at the hands of Holy Cross, an FCS school, on Saturday. 

"I'm disappointed, because I thought we would be able to do a little bit more than what we're doing," Edsall told reporters after the loss. "It's up to me to figure it out and get ourselves to play better. But the one thing I know is you've got to be able to run the ball and create new lines of scrimmage and to stop the run, you've got to do those things, too."

Instead, UConn will turn to defensive coordinator Lou Spanos as it tries to turn its season around. 

Heisman Trophy hopeful Spencer Rattler threw for over 300 yards Saturday to help No. 2 Oklahoma escape with a season-opening 40-35 victory over Tulane at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman.

The Sooners, who are aiming to win the program's first national championship since 2000, were supposed to start the campaign with a road game against the Green Wave, but the contest was moved to OU's campus because of Hurricane Ida's impact on New Orleans.

https://twitter.com/OU_Athletics/status/1433909589032849408

It's the fifth straight year Oklahoma has opened its season with a win.

---

Key Game Stats

QB Spencer Rattler (OU): 30-of-39 for 304 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT; rushing TD

QB Michael Pratt (TU): 27-of-44 for 296 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT; rushing TD

RB Kennedy Brooks (OU): 14 carries for 87 yards, 1 TD

RB Cameron Carroll (TU): 50 total yards, 2 TD

WR Jaetavian Toles (TU): 57 total yards, 1 TD

WR Marvin Mims (OU): 5 catches for 117 yards

WR Mario Williams (OU): 6 catchers for 37 yards, 1 TD

---

Rattler, OU Face Plenty of Room for Improvement After Narrow Win

Oklahoma overcame a sluggish start—Tulane led 14-7 late in the first quarter, and the game remained tied until five minutes into the second period—to pick up the victory and avoid putting itself in a must-win situation for the remainder of the regular season, and that's all that truly matters in Week 1.

That said, it was far from the most efficient performance for Lincoln Riley's group in a game that still hung in the balance late in the fourth quarter.

Rattler was playing pitch-and-catch with his receivers against an overmatched Tulane secondary for much of the game, but in situations where he was forced to throw in to coverage he sailed several throws over the heads of his targets. His first interception came on an attempt into triple coverage down the field.

SPENCER RATTLER PICKED OFF 😳 @BR_CFB

(via @CBSSports)pic.twitter.com/IKoOK485zR

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 4, 2021

Oklahoma also failed to take advantage of back-to-back fumbles by Green Wave quarterback Michael Pratt in the second quarter. It set the Sooners up with dream field position in opposing territory both times, including once at the Tulane 11, but they only came away with a pair of field goals. They must convert those chances against better teams.

The OU defense really toughened up after the first quarter, but even it has some teaching points after allowing touchdown drives of 55 and 75 yards the first two times Tulane had the ball. It also appeared to tire in the second half to leave the door open for a comeback.

That's not to say there weren't plenty of positives for the Sooners in the win.

Mario Williams gets his first touchdown as a Sooner. OU is now up 34-14 with 3:01 left until halftime. pic.twitter.com/JZtZjcIEm7

— Justin Martinez (@JTheSportsDude) September 4, 2021

Rattler was terrific when given time to stand tall in the pocket to deliver strikes, including a 50-yard connection with Marvin Mims that was initially called a touchdown before being reversed on review because the sophomore receiver stepped out of bounds at the two.

Running back Kennedy Brooks looked fresh and primed for a big year after opting out of the 2020 campaign. He helped seal the win in the final two minutes after a Tulane rally.

The defensive front seven was able to wear down the Tulane offensive line to create constant pressure and set the stage for OU's 23-0 second quarter.

Kicker Gabe Brkic was also among the standouts with four field goals, highlighted by three from beyond 50 yards.

Gabe Brkic just became the first player in #Sooners history to convert three field goal attempts of 50+ yards in a single game.

— Parker Thune (@ParkerThune) September 4, 2021

Oklahoma has championship-level expectations, however, and it takes nearly flawless football come playoff time in order to reach that potential. Few programs know that better than OU, which has reached the CFP three times in the past four years but failed to advance beyond the semifinals.

Saturday's win was a first step in the 12-week regular-season journey for the Sooners. They got the win, but there's plenty of work to do and errors to iron out in the months ahead as they pursue the title.

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What's Next?

Oklahoma is back in action next Saturday when it hosts FCS opponent Western Carolina. It marks the second of four straight home games to open the season for the Sooners.

The Green Wave were also scheduled to play at home next Saturday against Morgan State. That game has been changed to a neutral-site contest at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama.