College

People, we are less than two weeks away from real football. In 12 days, games will be on television, and don’t want to eat chicken salad at the hotel.

Watch

Harsher level of criticism | W. Kamau Bell on mental health in sports

01:00

Now playing

Pay me or trade me! | Nate Burleson on NFL wide receivers

Yesterday 12:25PM

01:52

Now playing

Deshaun Watson’s Punishment | Fans Weigh In

Friday 1:42PM

After all of the conference shifting , NIL whining, and coach bickering , America gets a small taste of football on Aug. 27. Just a few passed apps, before the smorgasbord arrives on Labor Day weekend.

With the bands tuning up and the stadiums stocking supplies, it’s time to engage in a tradition that still has yet to be extinguished from college football: speculation. It’s time for Redditors released .

The top of the poll doesn’t look much different than it does most years. Alabama will begin the season in first place for the seventh time since Nick Saban took over the program in 2007. The rest of the top five looks familiar, but the order is intriguing. Also, it appears that Brian Kelly will be starting from the bottom, because LSU is currently unranked.

There are some other intriguing decisions that voters made, especially regarding Clemson, Georgia, and USC.

G/O Media may get a commission

CBD gel and more

Elixinol

CBD for active lifestyles In both topical and capsule form, Elixinol CBD line is THC-free CBD that helps your muscles recover.

Buy at Elixinol

Use the promo code INVENTORY25

Advertisement

No love for the champs

Georgia put on a dominating performance from pillar to post to win its first national championship since 1980. They laid waste to their schedule last season, not allowing a team to score more than 17 points against them until the SEC Championship Game. A game that Alabama had to win to make the College Football Playoffs, and was nothing but an exercise in conference pride for Georgia. The Bulldogs lost, but avenged it in the National Championship game with a 33-18 victory.

After all that, Georgia begins the season ranked third. Only 10 starters are returning for 2022 — none from that demolition crew of a defensive line — which reasonably played a part in ranking both Alabama and Ohio State ahead of Georgia. However, while Georgia has some inexperience what the program is not lacking is talent. Their 2020 recruiting class was ranked the best in America by both 24/7 Sports and Rivals. Jalen Carter was a five-star recruit in that class, and expect him to pick up where Jordan Davis left off. Georgia appears ready on paper to plug talent in where it left for the NFL, let’s see if it works out on the field.

Clemson No. 4, interesting

Dabo Swinney’s crew suffered quite a

Uiagalelei’s rough year hasn’t publicly shaken Swinney’s faith in the No. 1 overall ranked pro-style quarterback coming out of high school in 2020. It hasn’t shaken the voters’ confidence either, because they ranked Clemson No. 4. Maybe they’re expecting Uiagalelei to play much better in 2022, or they believe that the Tigers’ defensive front can make up for whatever he lacks. It could be the best in the country, returning its entire defensive line and some reserves. Georgia showed last season what a dominant defensive line can do for a program that doesn’t have a spectacular quarterback.

Still, at least Stetson Bennett IV could run a functional offense. Last season, Uiagalelei completed 55.6 percent of his passes for only nine touchdowns. In Clemson’s bowl win against Iowa State,

Caleb Williams and Lincoln Riley must be the best Febreze ever

In 2021, USC had its worst season in 30 years. Not since Charles Barkley wore a Philadelphia 76ers jersey had the Trojans put up such a poor performance. They were 4-8, 3-6 in conference play.

The Clay Helton era was brought to an abrupt end last season, as he was fired two games into the season, with a 1-1 record. Clearly, it didn’t help matters but it did leave the door open for one of the best recruiters of football talent from the state of California to surprisingly slide into the job last November: Lincoln Riley. His name is always floated around when NFL coaching positions open, but this time he left Norman to coach at a program that hasn’t found its footing since it was punished for the Reggie Bush scandal.

Even a coach as successful as Riley would appear to be in for a long haul with a program that failed to secure a top-60 recruiting class in 2020. To attempt to remedy that he brought reinforcements with him, namely Caleb Williams. As a true freshman,

Two girls who put their school into lockdown last month after calling in a threat have been suspended.

Marlborough Girls’ College board chairperson Brian Roughan said a suspension hearing, which involved exploring several options, including exclusion, was held on August 4.

Roughan said expulsion was not an option due to age of the students, both under 16 years old.

However, the board was still working through the full “disciplinary process” following the hearing, which could see the girls return from suspension with conditions or have their suspensions extended.

READ MORE: Woman likely drowned after taking hallucinogenic drugs, coroner finds Power pole goes through car windscreen near Blenheim Teenager floored by response to social media post asking for job

Meanwhile, police this week confirmed the girls had been referred to Youth Aid, normally a way of dealing with young people outside the judicial system.

The girls’ college was locked down on July 28 after the school received a threat made by phone. Stuff understands the phone call was made to a student at the school.

It came a day after someone scrawled another threat on a bathroom wall. The school had still not confirmed if the two threats were made by the same students.

The college was locked down for two hours after the phone call as armed police swept through the grounds. Neighbouring schools locked down as a precaution and police closed roads in the area.

Children inside texted their parents while hiding under tables. Some classrooms turned off lights, pulled curtains and pushed desks against the door.

Parents rushed to the school after they were informed of the lockdown, and waited nervously at the police cordon. One parent tried to get through the cordon but was turned away.

Some parents criticised the school on social media for letting children attend classes on the Thursday, after the threat on the bathroom wall the day before.

The Ministry of Education, however, said it supported how the school handled both incidents.

“Given the school acted on advice from police, we have no reason to review or investigate,” ministry Te Tai Runga (south) hautū (leader) Nancy Bell said late last month.

Roughan said the school had many suspension hearings, and they were dealt with on a “case by case basis”.

Exclusion required the student to be enrolled at another school, but Roughan said the fact that Blenheim didn’t have another high school option “doesn’t really come into our thinking”.

“Because of confidentiality we can’t discuss it further than that,” he said.