Here are my predictions:  Alabama will beat Missouri; Florida St. will beat Georgia Tech; Oregon will beat Arizona and Wisconsin will beat Ohio State.
What all this means is that he position are Alabama No.1; Oregon No.2; Florida State No.3; and Texas Christian University No.4.
I cannot leave an article discussing college football with without mentioning Auburn University. They are a great team. There’s a strong possibility that Auburn should have four or five individuals ready to be drafted by the NFL in 2015.
How in the world they lost four games in beyond my comprehension. I agree with the firing of the Auburn defensive coordinator. Will Muschamp, the University of Florida coach who was fired, is the one they need to go after to take his place.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The teams are set and the rematch ready as Alcorn State University and Southern University prepare to meet in the 2014 Toyota Southwestern Athletic Conference football championship game in Houston, Texas on Saturday, Dec. 6.  It is the 16th year of the SWAC championship and second year it will take place in NRG Stadium.

The game will be broadcast live on ESPNU beginning at 3 p.m. CST.

Matchup History
Alcorn State has won six of the last 10 matchups between the two teams, including a 56-16 rout of Southern earlier this year at home.  Prior to this season, the games have been incredibly close with Alcorn winning four of the last five by less than a touchdown.  Southern’s last win over the Braves was at home in 2011 when they took it 30-14.

Alcorn State (9-3, 7-2 SWAC)
This year marks the first time eastern division champion Alcorn State has appeared in the title game since the divisional era began in 1999.  It has been 20 years since the Braves split the SWAC title with Grambling and 22 since they earned it outright.  Alcorn defeated Alabama A&M (Nov. 8) to secure its berth.

They have been ranked as high as No. 24 in the NCAA FCS Coaches Top 25 poll and are currently still receiving votes.  Alcorn has been led by veteran John Gibbs, Jr.  The 6-6, 220 quarterback is top 10 in the league for passing average per game and passing efficiency.  He has over 2,200 yards and 18 touchdowns, averaging 186.4 yards per game.  Gibbs also leads the team in rushing with 874 yards and 11 touchdowns.

His primary targets this season have been Jordan Payne and Charles Hughes.  Both have averaged over 30 yards per game.  Payne has a team-high 450 receiving yards and four touchdowns on 24 catches.

The Braves ground game has been spread between three backs.  Anthony Williams, Darryan Ragsdale, and Arron Baker each have over 660 rushing yards this season.  Both Williams and Baker have appeared in all 12 games.  Ragsdale averaged over 80 yards per game before being sidelined by injury.

Devon Francois and Damon Watkins lead the team in tackles.  Francois has a team-high 79 tackles, 53 solo, while Watkins earned 73 of his own, 40 solo.  The duo also combine for 11 tackles for a loss of 25 yards, two sacks, seven interceptions with returns of 138 yards, 15 pass breakups, four quarterback hurries, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery.

Southern University (9-3, 8-1 SWAC)
Southern is making its fifth championship game appearance in program history.  The Jaguars have taken three out of the four title games they’ve appeared in, winning the inaugural championship in 1999, then the 2003 title and the championship last year.  As a program, Southern has earned 19 SWAC Championships since 1937.  They defeated Grambling State in the 41st Annual Bayou Classic (Nov. 29) to win the western division title and this year’s berth.

The Jaguars, who are riding a seven game win streak, have been led by true freshman quarterback Austin Howard.  He has over 2,100 passing yards and 17 touchdowns in his inaugural season, averaging 181.8 passing yards per game.  And while their passing game has been effective, it is their balanced offense with the run game from Lenard Tillery that has led to their success.

Tillery is the first Jaguar to log a 1,000 yard rushing season in over four years.  He finished the regular season with over 1,100 yards and nine touchdowns.  Another Jaguar to watch will be Willie Quinn.  The wide-out leads the team in both receiving yards (833) and punt return yards (203).  He has earned Southern’s lone punt return touchdown and has been Howard’s primary target, catching a team-high 56 passes.

Redshirt junior Demetrius Carter has led the defense this season. The linebacker leads the team with 94 total tackles, 48 solo, three pass breakups and two quarterback hurries.  Brian McCain has been the most effective at breaking into the backfield. He has a team-high 10.5 tackles for a loss, including 6.5 sacks for a loss of 39 yards.  The former fullback also has a pass breakup, a forced fumble, and five quarterback hurries.

SANTA MONICA – What better way to kick off consumer days of the 2014 LA Auto Show than with an intimate afternoon of indulgence? The Lincoln Motor Company, in partnership with Automotive Rhythms, did just that on Saturday afternoon at the Viceroy Hotel.
The “Afternoon of Indulgence: Lincoln Lifestyle,” hosted by Model and Reality Star Nicole Murphy, provided consumers and industry tastemakers the opportunity to experience the Lincoln lifestyle as the 2014 LA Auto Show kicks off.
Attendees were able to check out the latest lineup of Lincoln vehicles, including the all-new 2015 Lincoln MKC. In addition, Lincoln engaged the senses with delectable food and wine tastings, a stylish fashion show and live painting by Artist Demont Pinder. R&B singer Raheem DeVaughn captivated the crowd when he took the stage to perform two sets during the event.
Actress Elise Neal and Singer Raheem DeVaughn were among the celebrities that walked the red carpet for the luxury afternoon event.

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Malcolm Cyrus has been named a finalist for the Walter Payton Award by The Sports Network.  There are 25 finalists from across the nation for the award which honors the outstanding player in the Football Championship Series (FCS).
“How awesome this is for Malcolm, and our football program,” Head Coach Reggie Barlow said.  “To be a finalist for the highest award in FCS football is great.  Malcolm has been a joy to coach.  He is a great teammate and as much attention as he has gotten all year, he knows and has said that his OL and members of the team has allowed him to experience this success.  I am very proud of him.”
The Payton Award is in its’ 28th season and the finalists cover all 13 FCS conferences from across the country.  Cyrus is the lone finalist from a team in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).
As a senior the Autaugaville native had one of the best seasons in the history of ASU football.  He finished the year rushing for 1,662 yards, the second most single-season rushing yards at ASU.  On top of that he added another 380 yards receiving and 34 yards returning kicks.  He scored 12 rushing touchdowns and added another receiving.  He finished the season with 2,076 all-purpose yards.
Cyrus was ranked nationally in several categories; He was fifth in rushing yards per game (138.5), ninth in rushing yards per carry (6.2), t-30th in rushing touchdowns (12), third in rushing yards (1,662) and fourth in all-purpose yards per game (173.0).
The voting reflects only the regular season statistics.  A national panel of sports information and media relation directors, broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries select the Payton Award.  The winner will be announced Dec. 15 at The Sports Network FCS Awards Banquet and Presentation.

PARADISE ISLAND, THE BAHAMAS  – For 38 minutes, UAB was the equal of No. 18 Florida. It was those final two minutes that proved to be the Blazers’ undoing.
Florida scored the final 11 points of the game to finally break away from a determined UAB squad and emerge with a 56-47 victory in the second round of the Battle 4 Atlantis. The Blazers (2-4) either led or were tied with Florida (3-2) in the game for 25 minutes.
“It’s a loss that hurts a lot,” UAB coach Jerod Haase said. “I think our guys gave a tremendous effort. Our big thing that we talked about from the end of last night’s game to today was to play as hard as you possibly can, and I think the guys did that.”
As for the Gators, it appeared they might have still had some lingering effects from their intense overtime loss to Georgetown in the opening round.
“One of the things you wanted to see after an emotional loss was whether we could play better today,” Florida coach Bill Donavan said. “I thought we improved in some areas. At times we’re getting bogged down offensively, but at times we’re getting pretty good looks at the basket.”
The Gators continued to struggle shooting the ball, making only 34 percent of their shots from the field (18-of-53) and 56.5 percent from the free-throw line (13-of-23). Through five games this season, Florida has yet to top the 70-point mark.
“We had missed layups and missed free throws,” Donavan said. “We have to understand how to manufacture points. Sometimes we sabotage ourselves with turnovers and those kinds of things.
“We had 13 assists. I’d like to see a little bit more, but it’s hard to get a high number of assists when you shoot 34 percent. The floor movement and spacing were better. We just have to learn how to make the game easier for each other.”
Florida made only two baskets in the first 10 minutes of the game, allowing UAB (2-4) to jump out to a 12-5 lead. The Gators eventually got their offense on track and went on a 9-2 run to tie the game at 14 with five minutes left in the half.
It looked like the Gators might run away with it after they scored nine consecutive points on the way to a 27-22 halftime lead. But UAB made two 3-pointers in a 30-second span early in the second half and pulled into a 30-30 tie.
That set up a close contest the rest of the way. In fact, for nearly the entire final 13 minutes of the game, neither team led by more than two points.
Florida finally managed to take control by scoring the final 11 points of the game, going 7-of-8 from the foul line during that stretch.
“We put ourselves in a position to win,” Haase said. “I think our guys gave everything they had. Certainly you have to give a lot of credit to Florida for making plays and making their free-throws and doing the things it took to win the game.
Michael Frazier led Florida with 14 points and eight rebounds. Robert Brown had 12 points and six boards for UAB.

MONTGOMERY – The Alabama State University Board of Trustees voted not to renew the contract of Reggie Barlow as head football coach.
Barlow compiled a 49-42 record in eight seasons as head coach, leading the Hornets to the 2010 SWAC Eastern Division title. The Hornets posted a 7-5 record in 2014.
“We thank Coach Barlow for his contributions to Alabama State University, as a student-athlete, assistant coach, and head coach,” Alabama State University President Dr. Gwendolyn Boyd said.
A nationwide search will begin immediately. Antonio Bradford has been named interim head coach.

PARADISE ISLAND, THE BAHAMAS  – Top – 25 teams lost to unranked opponents in each of the first two games at Battle 4 Atlantis. The Wisconsin Badgers made sure the third time would be no charm.
Second-ranked Wisconsin built a 10-point lead less than 10 minutes into the game and maintained a double-digit advantage the rest of the way in defeating UAB 72-43.
Wisconsin senior forward Frank Kaminsky said the Badgers were well aware of the two upsets that had taken place during the afternoon session of the opening round.
“You always take note when you see the quote-unquote underdog win a game,” said Kaminsky, who had 16 points, eight rebounds and three blocks. “But any team in this tournament can beat anyone. So we take no one for granted. We prepare the same way for everybody we play.
“Our team understands that this is a business trip. As fun as Atlantis is with all the water slides and stuff, we know how to take care of business in these situations. We’re here to play basketball. Everyone was just focused on what we needed to do to win.”
The game was close for about five minutes, before the Badgers (5-0) went on a 14-2 run to take a 22-8 lead. That was followed moments later by a 13-2 Wisconsin run that made the score 35-13.
Other than Robert Brown, the Blazers (2-3) were unable to get anything going offensively in the first half. Brown had 11 of UAB’s first 13 points, and it took a successful half-court heave at the buzzer by Nick Norton for the Blazers to be within 20 of Wisconsin at halftime (37-17).
UAB briefly closed the gap to 43-28 early in the second half, but the Badgers responded by scoring 13 consecutive points to put the game away. With six minutes left, Wisconsin had double-up the Blazers 60-30.
“We were thoroughly dominated by a very good basketball team,” UAB coach Jerod Haase said. “Both mentally and physically, we had a lot of breakdowns and (Wisconsin) was very good start to finish.
“Defensively, we weren’t able to execute the things we wanted to do from our scouting report. Offensively, I thought we were very passive.”
The Blazers have six freshmen and four sophomores on their roster. And while Haase said he was “not going to give my guys the crutch of being young,” Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said he thought that was a factor in the lopsided nature of the game. The Badgers forced 19 UAB turnovers and scored 28 points off those mistakes.
“We took advantage of their youth,” Ryan said. “There are some growing pains that Jerod will go through with that team. But he has a nice core there to work with. They’ll get better.”

The 2015 softball schedule has been officially released and the new season will begin under first-year coach Chris Steiner-Wilcoxson when Alabama State will take part in the Troy Tournament in Troy, Ala. beginning on February 6 with the season opener against the University of Buffalo at 12 p.m.
The schedule is diversified with games slated against teams as far north as Buffalo and as far west as Southeastern Missouri.  The Lady Hornets will also play a nonconference schedule that includes games against Valparaiso of the Horizon League, Mercer of the Southern Conference and Middle Tennessee State of Conference USA.
“In order to be the best, you have to play the best,” said Steiner-Wilcoxson. “We want to build some confidence and get them some experience.  We’re stepping into some fierce competition from the beginning so we’re challenging the girls so we can build a respectful program.”
The Lady Hornets will be in tournament mode from the start and will also travel to the University of Louisiana-Monroe to play Southeastern Missouri, Louisiana-Monroe, and Troy for five games Feb. 13-15.
“We definitely want to get out and play teams from different regions of the country,” said Steiner-Wilcoxson. “We want to get as much game experience for the kids.”
The team has scheduled 42 games for the 2015 slate.
Alabama State will return back to the state to play four games against Valparaiso and Houston Baptist in Birmingham for the Samford Tournament Feb. 20-22.  It will continue with a trip to Deland, Fla. for the Stetson Tournament from Feb. 27-March 1.
And, then the Lady Hornets will be back to Birmingham for the Tiny Laster Invitational to meet Savannah State, Morgan State, Coppin State and Tennessee State March 6-8.
Northern Kentucky State will visit Montgomery on March 14-15 for the home openers at the Barbara Williams Softball Complex.  The Lady Hornets will then travel to Macon, Ga. to play at Mercer on March 17 before heading to Longview, Texas to play in the SWAC Roundup March 19-22.
On March 31, nonconference opponent Samford will come to Montgomery to play the Lady Hornets and the next day Alabama State will follow with a trip to South Alabama.
The conference schedule begins April 3-4 at Jackson State sandwiched in between playing nonconference opponent Jacksonville State on April 7.  The SWAC schedule continues for games at Mississippi Valley State April 10-11, home dates with Alabama A&M April 17-18 and Alcorn State April 24-25 and then concludes the regular season with a nonconference game against Middle Tennessee State on April 27.
The SWAC Tournament begins on May 5 and runs through May 10.

MONTGOMERY, Ala.- Alabama State University men’s basketball coach Lewis Jackson has signed four players during the men’s basketball early signing period.
ASU has signed four more big men. Martavius Robinson is a 6’10” center from Lewis & Clark College in St. Louis. The 275-pound center is originally from Waterloo, Ala., and will bring another solid presence in the paint for ASU.
Another 6’10” signee is Glenn Hollaway. He is a forward center combo player and will transfer to ASU from Atlanta Metro College. He will be a sophomore with the Hornets having three years of eligibility left. He is another Georgia talent that has found his way to ASU. His hometown is Douglasville, Ga.
Branden Johnson is the lone high school signee. He is a 6’8”, 220 pound forward from Garfield Heights in Ohio. He is a big body that can get up and down the court.
The final signee is another transfer Lavontae Waldon. He is 6’6” and weighs 210. He hails from the talent-rich area of Memphis, Tenn. and played junior college basketball at Southwest Tennessee Community College in Memphis.
We felt like we wanted to go out and find some more athletic big men and we were able to accomplish that,” Head Coach Lewis Jackson said. “We feel good about our guard play, even though we always have an eye out for another accomplished guard, but we want to continue to add some big men.”
“ I have always been a coach that wants to play inside-out and I think these four players will help us continue with that style of play. We are excited they have decided to continue their academic and athletic careers at ASU.”