The World of Sports

New on Sports Illustrated: Georgia Tech looks for more nighttime magic vs. Duke

<a href="https://www.si.com/college/college-football/game/2228970">
Georgia Tech will try to extend its streak of success in home games played at night when the Yellow Jackets host Duke on Saturday at Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta.
Georgia Tech (2-5, 2-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) has won four straight night games at home, including a 46-27 victory over Louisville on Oct. 9. The Yellow Jackets have won seven consecutive Saturday night home games, a streak that dates back to 2011.
But Duke (2-6, 1-6) has won the last three meetings in the series, including 41-23 last year in Durham, NC. The Blue Devils trail the all-time series 51-35-1, but have won five of the last six.
It has been a while since either team was on the field. Duke last played on Nov. 7 and dropped a 56-24 decision to rival North Carolina. The Blue Devils trailed 28-0 to start the game and 42-10 at halftime. Georgia Tech hasn't played since Oct. 31, a 31-13 loss to Notre Dame.
The Yellow Jackets had games against Pittsburgh and Miami (Fla.) postponed and rescheduled because of COVID-19. Duke had a game with Wake Forest canceled for the same reason.
"They've had a month off. I don't know how much they've adjusted or changed," Duke coach David Cutcliffe said. "It feels more like a bowl game (as far as timing). You hope you take care of the ball and play well early. It will have more that feeling than anything else."
Georgia Tech coach Geoff Collins, who played more than a dozen true freshmen against Notre Dame, said, "Our guys are working hard. It's a crazy situation. We're just trying to keep having fun and getting better every single day."
Georgia Tech's offense is led by freshman quarterback Jeff Sims, who has thrown for 1,346 yards and eight touchdowns while rushing for 277 yards and four scores. Despite his inconsistencies, Sims has shown enough potential that James Graham, who started nine games last season, announced he was entering the transfer portal.
The Yellow Jackets have depth at running back in freshman Jahmyr Gibbs (369 yards rushing, 20 catches for 255 yards), Dontae Smith (193 yards) and Jamious Griffin (161 yards). Jordan Mason, last year's leading rusher, is finally healthy from an injury that has limited him to three games and 27 carries.
Georgia Tech's top defenders are linebackers Quez Jackson (57 tackles, 4 1/2 tackles for loss) and David Curry (53 tackles, 5 1/2 tackles for loss). But the Yellow Jackets have struggled to get to the opposing quarterback and have only 13 sacks.
Duke's offense is led by junior quarterback Chase Brice, a transfer from Clemson. Brice, who grew up in the Northeast Atlanta suburbs, has thrown for 1,722 yards and seven touchdowns. He threw for 155 yards against the Tar Heels, but was sacked three times.
The Blue Devils have a solid one-two punch at running back with Deon Jackson (580 yards, four TDs) and Mataeo Durant (592 yards, six TDs). The top pass-catchers are tight end Noah Gray (26 catches, 9.5 yard average), along with receivers Jake Bobo (23 catches, 11.9 yards) and Jalon Calhoun (25 catches, 10.3 yards).
The Duke defense is anchored by ends Chris Rumph II (7 1/2 sacks, 10 tackles for loss) and Victor Dimukeje (7 1/2 sacks, 8 1/2 tackles for loss). They are the school's first teammates to post 7 1/2 sacks together in the same single season.
--Field Level Media
</a>

New on Sports Illustrated: Georgia Tech looks for more nighttime magic vs. Duke

Georgia Tech will try to extend its streak of success in home games played at night when the Yellow Jackets host Duke on Saturday at Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta. Georgia Tech (2-5, 2-4 Atlantic Coa…

30 Nov 2020

New on Sports Illustrated: TCU taking nothing for granted vs. Kansas

<a href="https://www.si.com/college/college-football/game/2228763">
Fielding a team that looks vastly different because of injuries, TCU head coach Gary Patterson knows not to take an opponent lightly.
In fact, Patterson doesn't want anyone in his program to even consider the ease with which the Horned Frogs (3-4, 3-4 Big 12) are expected to beat winless Kansas (0-7, 0-6) on Saturday at Lawrence, Kan.
"We've only won three ballgames, so no one is going to get overlooked," Patterson said. "Right now, we're just worried about us, not Kansas."
No fewer than 20 TCU players have been lost for the season because of injuries, Patterson said, off a squad that includes just nine scholarship seniors. Those setbacks have only compounded the health issues created by COVID-19 and any players who have had to be scratched because of illnesses.
A two-week layoff since a 24-6 loss at West Virginia did not exactly brighten Patterson's outlook.
"You are what you are at this point," said Patterson, who stands 175-74 entering his 250th game as TCU's head coach. He has won 200 games with the Frogs when counting his time as defensive coordinator.
Only Kansas (15.1) ranks worse in scoring offense than TCU (24.0) among Big 12 teams. The Frogs' strength has been their ground game, which averages 177.3 yards and is triggered by quarterback Max Duggan, who has accounted for more rushing touchdowns (six) than passing (five).
Defensive end Khari Coleman leads all FBS freshmen with 9.5 tackles for loss, helping the TCU defense ratchet up its QB pressure with 12 sacks in the last three games.
Wide receiver Derius Davis returns after missing the West Virginia game. His 21.8-yard punt return average ranks second nationally and could challenge a Kansas punt coverage unit that allowed two touchdowns in one game earlier this season.
COVID-19 test results diminished depth along the defensive line and prompted the Jayhawks to postpone their game last week against Texas. Kansas has not played since a 62-9 loss at Oklahoma on Nov. 7, when the offensive line struggled mightily, allowing nine sacks.
Freshman quarterback Jalon Daniels left with an ankle injury late in that game but should be available against TCU.
"He practiced all last week. He'll practice this week," said Kansas coach Les Miles. "We'd expect him to be certainly a player."
Daniels averages 110.2 yards passing and has not yet thrown for a touchdown. He supplanted two veteran quarterbacks, senior Thomas MacVittie and junior Miles Kendrick, who each drew starts this season before Miles opted to see Daniels develop.
The shabby performance of the offensive line in the OU debacle led to the off-week dismissal of position coach Luke Meadows and the promotion of John Morookian. Kansas, which has been outscored by 33.3 points on average, is attempting to avoid the third winless season in its history and its second in six years.
Attendance on Saturday will be limited to participants' family members and essential personnel after Kansas extended its recent no-fans policy to Dec. 5.
--Field Level Media
</a>

New on Sports Illustrated: TCU taking nothing for granted vs. Kansas

Fielding a team that looks vastly different because of injuries, TCU head coach Gary Patterson knows not to take an opponent lightly. In fact, Patterson doesn't want anyone in his program to even con…

30 Nov 2020

New on Sports Illustrated: No. 24 Tulsa looking for more ways to win vs. Houston

<a href="https://www.si.com/college/college-football/game/2231453">
No matter how improbable, No. 24 Tulsa seems capable of penning a weekly, winning script.
The Golden Hurricane (5-1, 5-0 American), who will face the Houston Cougars (3-3, 3-2 American) on Saturday at TDECU Stadium, posted their fourth comeback victory of the season last week, rallying for a wild 30-24 double-overtime victory over Tulane that featured third-string quarterback Davis Brin engineering a 30-point outburst over the fourth quarter and two overtimes and standout linebacker Zaven Collins returning an interception 96 yards to seal the win.
Tulsa rallied from a 21-point deficit to stun SMU the previous week. Pulling off another miraculous comeback after starting quarterback Zach Smith and his backup Seth Boomer were sidelined due to injury represented something beyond an occasional lucky bounce.
"We're a little bit older team right now and we've got some guys that have really stepped up and are making plays," Tulsa coach Philip Montgomery said. "That's really the biggest difference. Whether that's a first-down play, a fourth-down play, a play down in the red zone -- it's just guys continuing to make those efforts and then come up on the right side of it.
"I just think there's a different level of confidence with this team and a desire to go ahead and get that done, and that's in all three phases: defensively, offensively and special teams. I think some of it is maturity, some of it is confidence and just guys putting themselves in a position to go make those plays and making it happen."
Smith is day to day as Tulsa prepares to face the Cougars. Still, what is certain is the Hurricane have been buoyed by past success and are armed with the knowledge that superior performances are a viable goal.
"We've still got a lot of good football left in us," Montgomery said. "I don't think we've played our best football yet, but we're finding ways to win and that's the most important thing at this stage."
COVID-19 protocols prevented the Cougars from playing SMU as scheduled last weekend, resulting in the fourth postponement of the season for Houston, which lost non-conference games against Rice, Baylor and North Texas in September to pandemic-related complications.
The Cougars had their contest against SMU rescheduled for Dec. 5.
"We're used to it. It ain't nothing new," Houston coach Dana Holgorsen said. "We're not going through anything that nobody else isn't going through as well. At this point, it's second nature. It's the third time that we've paused in the sixth game. We're doing fine.
"I think they look at what's going on around the country and say, 'Well, we're not alone when it comes to this.' There were 20 games (postponed or canceled) last week and I think 15 games the previous week."
The Cougars experienced roster attrition the previous week against USF but managed those losses ably. But when the number of available players diminished last week in advance of the SMU game, particularly at linebacker, Houston was left with no option other than a postponement.
That uncertainty bled into preparations for Tulsa. Holgorsen entered the week with game plans devised for the Golden Hurricane, SMU and Memphis, whom the Cougars are scheduled to play Dec. 12. But if he isn't granted clearance to conduct the requisite practices in advance of the meeting with Tulsa, Holgorsen is unsure how that game would unfold as scheduled.
"We got the game plan ready, but if you don't ever practice I don't know how you can line up to play," Holgorsen said.
--Field Level Media
</a>

New on Sports Illustrated: No. 24 Tulsa looking for more ways to win vs. Houston

No matter how improbable, No. 24 Tulsa seems capable of penning a weekly, winning script. The Golden Hurricane (5-1, 5-0 American), who will face the Houston Cougars (3-3, 3-2 American) on Saturday a…

30 Nov 2020

New on Sports Illustrated: Week 13 Waiver Wire: Fantasy Football Pickups

<a href="https://www.si.com/fantasy/2020/11/30/week-13-waiver-wire">
It's the final week of the fantasy football regular season. This week's list of players could help fantasy teams punch their ticket to the postseason.
<h3>Fantasy Football Pickups: Week 13</h3>
Welcome to Week 13, the final week of the fantasy football regular season. The waiver wire is still crucial to fantasy football success, especially in the postseason. Each season a player emerges in Weeks 13 or 14 that helps catapult a team to the fantasy championship.
Below are a list of players who are available in at least 50% of public leagues and suggestions for all types of league formats: two-quarterback, PPR, or deep leagues. 
Let’s get to it:
<h3>Quarterbacks</h3>
Kirk Cousins, Minnesota Vikings: Even without superstar wide receiver Adam Thielen in action, Kirk Cousins had no problem carving up Carolina. Cousins threw for 307 yards and three touchdowns in Week 12, his third three-TD game in his last four and his second consecutive week with over 300 yards. The Vikings have an easy matchup against the Jaguars in Week 13.
Ryan Fitzpatrick, Miami Dolphins: With rookie Tau Tagovailoa ruled inactive due to a thumb injury, Fitzpatrick threw for 257 yards and two touchdowns. Miami’s passer should have a smooth outing in Week 13 when they take on the Bengals. If you play in a two quarterback league or perhaps have Tom Brady on a bye, Fitzpatrick offers good streaming value assuming Tua is inactive.
Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles: Granted this article is published on Sunday night and the Eagles aren’t playing until Monday night, but we are keeping an eye on Carson Wentz. Word out of Philadelphia is that if Wentz plays poorly, he could be pulled and replaced with Hurts. Coach Doug Pederson already confirmed their rookie quarterback will see more game action than usual.
Other QBs to consider: Colt McCoy, New York Giants
<h3>Running Backs</h3>
Cam Akers, Los Angeles Rams: The Rams have used a three-man rotation at running back the last few weeks but in Week 12, Akers was the only Rams rusher to gain more than 20 yards. The Rams rookie gained 84 yards on just nine attempts, including a 61-yard romp. After not scoring for the first 10 weeks, Akers scored in Week 12, his second consecutive game with a touchdown.
<div>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"></blockquote>
</div>
</a>
<script async="async" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
James White, New England Patriots: Shockingly available in the majority of leagues, White is starting to come on strong the last two weeks now that Rex Burkhead is done for the season. White caught six passes for 64 yards in Week 11 and scored two touchdowns in Week 13. If you play in a PPR league, White should be a strong consideration.
Devontae Booker, Las Vegas Raiders: Keeping an eye on Josh Jacobs, who injured his ankle late in the game. If Jacobs can’t play in Week 13, Booker could be this week’s top pickup as the Raiders play the defenseless Jets on Sunday.
Frank Gore, New York Jets: The ageless wonder was the only bright spot on the Jets offense in Week 13. Gore rushed for 74 yards and caught three passes. It’s not a spectacular game by any means, but it is serviceable for running back-needy fantasy teams in a deep league. Keep in mind fellow Jets running back LaMichael Perine is dealing with a high ankle sprain, which bodes well for Gore’s high volume usage.
Ito Smith, Atlanta Falcons: With Todd Gurley ruled out with a knee injury, Smith filled in nicely for the veteran back. Smith split time in the Atlanta’s backfield with Brian Hill and while both saw about the same amount of rushing attempts, Smith was the one who found the end zone. He finished with a team-high 65 yards and also caught four passes.
<div>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><a href="https://twitter.com/AtlantaFalcons/status/1333156751152214022"></a></blockquote>
<script async="async" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
Kerryon Johnson, Detroit Lions: Johnson has been the forgotten playmaker in the Lions backfield with rookie D’Andre Swift and Adrian Peterson seeing most of the work. But with Swift injured on Thanksgiving, Johnson totaled 98 yards with four catches and 11 rushing attempts. Johnson and the Lions take on the Panthers and Texans in the next two weeks, both of which have inferior rushing defenses.
Other RBs to consider: Brian Hill-Atlanta Falcons, DeAndre Washington-Miami Dolphins
<h3>Wide Receivers</h3>
T.Y. Hilton, Indianapolis Colts: Entering Week 12, Hilton had just one double-digit fantasy point performance and that was way back in Week 5. But Hilton had his best game of the year against the Titans on Sunday. He scored his first touchdown of the year and led the Colts with 81 yards. Indianapolis receivers have three great matchups the next three games as they take on the Texans twice and the Raiders.
<div>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><a href="https://twitter.com/Colts/status/1333157789397635084"></a></blockquote>
<script async="async" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
Hunter Renfrow, Las Vegas Raiders: While the Raiders had one of their worst collective offensive outings of the year in Week 13, Renfrow managed to have his second-best performance of the season. He led Las Vegas with seven catches and 73 yards. No other Raiders playmaker—nope, not even Darren Waller—had more than five catches.
Collin Johnson, Jacksonville Jaguars: With D.J. Chark and Chris Conley ruled inactive, the Jaguars rookie stepped up from a statistical standpoint. Johnson saw eight targets, which he turned into four catches for 96 yards and a touchdown.
Olabisi Johnson, Minnesota Vikings: With Adam Thielen out of the lineup, the Vikings second-year receiver tied for team-high seven catches and led the Vikings with 74 yards. Thielen reportedly had a false positive COVID test and is expected to return in Week 13 but given the Vikings' upcoming schedule, Johnson could be an option for fantasy teams in deep leagues.
Other WRs to consider: Gabriel Davis-Buffalo Bills, Breshad Perriman-New York Jets, Demarcus Robinson-Kansas City Chiefs
<h3>Tight Ends</h3>
Drew Sample, Cincinnati Bengals: With Brandon Allen under center, Sample had a team-high five catches and picked up 40 yards. Considering A.J. Green did not record a catch and Tyler Boyd had just 15 yards, it’s pretty clear Allen will use Sample as his security check-down as pressing the ball downfield doesn’t really fall into Allen’s repertoire.
Dalton Schultz, Dallas Cowboys: If playing in a PPR league, Schultz offers decent value. He’s caught four or more passes in four straight games and hasn’t registered fewer than 22 yards since Week 6. It may not seem like much, but Schultz is TE7 over the last month of the season.
Other TEs to consider: Logan Thomas-Washington Football Team, Trey Burton-Indianapolis Colts

New on Sports Illustrated: Week 13 Waiver Wire: Fantasy Football Pickups

It's the final week of the fantasy football regular season. This week's list of players could help fantasy teams punch their ticket to the postseason. Fantasy Football Pickups: Week 13 Welcome to Wee…

30 Nov 2020

New on Sports Illustrated: Forde-Yard Dash: Change Abound As College Football Lurches Into December

<a href="https://www.si.com/college/2020/11/30/college-football-coaching-changes-player-opt-outs-december">
The calender says it's quitting time in college football.
Forty names, games, teams and minutiae making news in college football, where the Syracuse quarterback is at least has Tom Brady for company in losing track of what down it is on a last-ditch drive:
<h3>FIRST QUARTER: CALENDAR SAYS IT’S QUITTIN’ TIME</h3>
We are lurching into what could well be the worst December in the history of the sport, and not just because games are being postponed, rescheduled and canceled in bulk. This sloppy stagger toward an extended finish line is colliding with an increasing number of people who will not stick around that long to participate.
Just because the powers that be stretched the regular season through Dec. 12 (and now, in some instances, through Dec. 19) doesn’t mean players or schools will abide by it when planning for the future. There will be opt-outs, especially in a pandemic. And there will be coaching changes, despite the pandemic. Because it’s that time of year.
We saw that Sunday, when at least three high-level players checked out of worsening situations and one school fired its coach. The opt-outs (1): LSU receiver Terrace Marshall Jr., Texas offensive tackle Samuel Cosmi and Florida State defensive back Asante Samuel Jr.
This normally would be the end of the regular season for teams not playing for a conference championship. The NFL Scouting Combine is still out there in early 2021, even though dates have not been firmed up, and there would be less time than ever to heal up from the season and prepare for that. Nobody should blame any player for deciding now is the time to move on, especially for seasons that are in the tank or heading that way.
</a><a href="https://www.si.com/college/lsu/football/terrace-marshall-forgoing-rest-of-2020-season">Marshall’s decision comes after the Tigers dropped to 3-4</a> with a loss to Texas A&M. Marshall’s parting performance for LSU was a splashy one for NFL scouts: 10 catches for 134 yards and a touchdown. But with the quarterback situation increasingly in flux—junior Myles Brennan is injured, freshman T.J. Finley was benched and berated by Ed Orgeron Saturday night, fellow freshman Max Johnson mopped up—Marshall might figure it is only downhill from here. Especially with Alabama and Florida looming.
Another potential first-round pick, Cosmi opted out after the 4-3 Longhorns’ loss to Iowa State all but eliminated them from the Big 12 championship game chase. Cosmi, considered one of the top tackle prospects in the draft, doesn’t need to put anything on tape against Kansas State, Kansas or in a bowl game to boost his stock.
And Samuel is getting out of the burning building that is Florida State, where the Seminoles are 2-6 and have had successive games canceled on game day due to someone’s COVID-19 issues. Samuel may not be a first-round pick but should be a second-day selection. Slogging through the misery that is the rest of this transition season to Mike Norvell in Tallahassee? Hard pass for Samuel.
Then there are the decisions being made at the coach level. <a href="https://www.si.com/college/2020/11/29/vanderbilt-derek-mason-head-coach-fired">Vanderbilt made one Sunday by firing</a> Derek Mason (2), a day after his program produced its only positive news of the season <a href="https://www.si.com/college/2020/11/28/sarah-fuller-vanderbilt-kicker-history">with the pioneering appearance of kicker Sarah Fuller</a>. While the timing seems odd—if not downright cold—the calendar is in play here as well.
<figure><img height="349" src="https://www.si.com/.image/c_fit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_620/MTc3MTcyNjMyMjMwMTc2NTA1/derek-mason.jpg" width="620" /></figure>
The early signing period starts Dec. 16th, which is before a lot of teams have finished playing. Waiting to make a coaching change until Dec. 20th, or even the 13th, would lead to a lot of lying to recruits about what coaching staff they would be signing with. Removing Mason now—he should have been fired last year, but that was on the watch of disastrous Vandy athletic director Malcolm Turner—gives the school more runway to have a new coach in place by mid-December. Or at least have a search well underway.
Who should the Commodores hire? That’s the hard part. It’s obviously a difficult job. For whatever reason, Vandy has not been able to develop a Stanford/Northwestern/Notre Dame niche as a program that can attract elite athletes who are also elite students. Part of that may be playing in the brutal Southeastern Conference; part of it may be a reluctance to do recruiting business the way it often has been done in the league. But being able to sell the value of a Vandy degree and a great city like Nashville should have some appeal to a recruiting demographic that could breed success.
Some names:
Clark Lea (3). The Notre Dame defensive coordinator is a star in the making who also happens to be a Vandy grad. He’d know what he’s getting into. The only problem: he checks every box Mason did when he was hired, a rising defensive coordinator who worked at an academic/athletic model school (Stanford, in Mason’s case). Very rarely do schools hire a coach who fits the mold of the guy they just fired.
Tony Elliott (4). The Clemson offensive coordinator is another star in the making who can sell some offensive sizzle and championship pedigree, not to mention Southern recruiting knowledge. Would he leave the Clemson cocoon for a job that has eaten more than a few coaches alive over the years? (Elliott can check in with Tigers offensive line coach Robbie Caldwell to see what he’d be getting into; Caldwell was Vandy’s offensive line coach from 2002-09 and interim head coach in 2010. He remains an obscure SEC icon for his one and only SEC media days appearance, in 2010, when he told stories about being in charge of insemination at a turkey farm as a teenager.)
Herb Hand (5). The Texas co-offensive coordinator was part of James Franklin’s staff at Vandy, and also worked with him at Penn State. He worked in the SEC at Auburn as well. His candidacy would be helped if Texas were in a better place as a program.
A hotshot from the Carolinas (6). The candidates there: Jamey Chadwell of Coastal Carolina and Will Healy of Charlotte. Both have head-coaching experience, which Mason lacked and the above candidates lack. Chadwell is authoring a dream season at Coastal, currently 9-0, while Healy is a familiar name in the area from his turnaround at Austin Peay and is 9-9 in his second season at Charlotte. Neither have a minute of coaching experience at a Power 5 program.
A service academy option guy (7). Jeff Monken at Army, Ken Niumatalolo at Navy or Troy Calhoun at Air Force. Vandy went the option route in the 1990s and had success with it during the Gerry DiNardo Era. (DiNardo still has the highest winning percentage for coaches who were at Vandy for 40 or more games since the early 1950s.) But this is a tough league to counterprogram given the athletes on defense—and, increasingly, the passing prowess of the SEC. Hard to win shootouts running fullback dives off tackle.
<h3>SARAH FULLER IS NOT FINISHED</h3>
A few more Dash thoughts on Vanderbilt’s barrier-breaking kicker, who has captured the attention of both casual fans and insecure, cave-dwelling men.
<figure><img height="465" src="https://www.si.com/.image/c_fit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_620/MTc3MTQ1NDIzMzQzOTIwODg5/sarah-fuller-pregame.jpg" width="620" /></figure>
Fuller said in a Sunday zoom call that she plans to continue with the football team (8) this season, hoping to improve her skills in a craft she’s just started to learn. Whether the Vandy soccer goalkeeper is the starting placekicker or not remains to be seen, depending on the availability of kickers who were sidelined due to COVID issues Saturday against Missouri <a href="https://www.si.com/college/2020/11/28/sarah-fuller-vanderbilt-kicker-history">when she broke the Power 5 football gender barrier.</a> “I’m sticking around until someone tells me to go,” she said. If anyone at Vandy tells her to go, shame on them.
Fuller’s impromptu halftime pep talk to her new teammates (“We need to be cheering each other on”) showed great self-confidence, but it also revealed two truths about college sports:
<ul>
<li>Athletes in sparsely attended Olympic sports are accustomed to being their own cheerleaders (9), instead of counting on tens of thousands of fans to do the work.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>An athlete from a winning culture (Vandy won the SEC soccer title this fall) often can recognize signs of a losing culture, and one of those is a lack of passion. The ‘Dores football team was undoubtedly beaten down by this point of the season, and one manifestation was a quiet sideline. If anything specific to the Missouri game cost Mason his job, it was a completely listless effort against a less-than-overwhelming opponent. If Fuller walked in and held up a mirror to some of her teammates, good for her.</li>
</ul>
Lastly: if you’re one of the many people (overwhelmingly male) who was bothered by a woman kicking a football (10), ask yourself why. There were a great many rationalizations for this discomfort offered on social media, but none of them made much sense. Was her kickoff a lousy kick? No. It was a directional pooch kick, as instructed, after being coached on the intricacies of kickoffs for less than a week. Was she in harm’s way on a return? Fuller is listed at 6-foot-2 and solidly built, and collisions are part of a goal keeper’s existence. If it had come to that, she might not have made a tackle but certainly would have survived. Could she make a field goal of any distance? We don’t know. She said her range limit was probably 38 yards, and while that isn’t going to win many starting jobs in Division I football it sure isn’t terrible for an emergency kicker who didn’t put on a helmet until Monday.
If you cannot celebrate a story of a smart, confident, upbeat woman taking on a unique challenge and breaking a gender barrier in a sport that is a male playground, that’s a you problem. Not a Vanderbilt problem or a Sarah Fuller problem. She has a bright future ahead, while a lot of her critics will still be stuck in a dwindling past.

New on Sports Illustrated: Forde-Yard Dash: Change Abound As College Football Lurches Into December

The calender says it's quitting time in college football. Forty names, games, teams and minutiae making news in college football, where the Syracuse quarterback is at least has Tom Brady for company …

30 Nov 2020