Georgia
CFP national title game: Georgia, TCU and a battle of offenses
After two intently contested and extremely entertaining School Soccer Playoff nationwide semifinal showdowns Saturday, the title conflict is about: defending champion and undefeated Georgia in opposition to this season’s Cinderella program from TCU.
As each groups get set to descend upon Los Angeles later this week for the Jan. 9 recreation at SoFi Stadium, right here is an early take a look at the matchup between the No. 1 Bulldogs (14-0) and No. 3 Horned Frogs (13-1).
Matchup to Watch
TCU WR Quentin Johnston and QB Max Duggan vs. Georgia’s secondary.
Johnston didn’t appear to battle in opposition to Michigan’s stout defensive secondary, catching six passes for 163 yards and a landing within the Fiesta Bowl. The efficiency continued a sensational season for Johnston, the junior from Temple, Texas, who has caught 65 passes for greater than 1,100 yards and 7 touchdowns. Duggan and his go-to goal have confirmed that, irrespective of the model and expertise throughout the road of scrimmage, they will ball.
They now face a Georgia secondary that’s coming off its worst two outings of the season—permitting 502 yards passing in opposition to LSU within the SEC championship recreation and one other 348 yards in opposition to Ohio State within the Peach Bowl. The opposing quarterbacks in these video games accomplished a mixed 54 of 86 passes (63%), threw two interceptions and 7 touchdowns in opposition to Kirby Good’s group. The Georgia coach is aware of that pattern must cease in opposition to TCU.—Ross Dellenger
X-Issue
Tight ends aren’t usually X-Components in video games, however that would be the case heading into the championship recreation.
Darnell Washington, Georgia’s 6’7’’, 270-pound Goliath of a person, left Saturday’s semifinal within the first quarter with a left ankle damage and didn’t return. He was seen limping into the locker room with the assistance of two workers members. Good instructed reporters afterward that he was uncertain of the damage, which some have alleged to be an ankle sprain.
“We’ll have to guage and see,” Good stated. “The excellent news is he’s bought greater than a standard week [in between games]. I do know he’ll do every thing he can to get again. He’s headed out west towards the place he’s from [he was born in Las Vegas]. It will likely be necessary to him to attempt to get again.”
Washington is a drive as a blocking tight finish, in addition to a pass-catcher. He’s bought 25 receptions for 403 yards this season. Washington mixed with No. 1 tight finish Brock Bowers offers Georgia one of many fiercest 1-2 combos in school soccer. Georgia’s important benefit in opposition to TCU is on the strains of scrimmage. Washington is a giant piece of that. If he isn’t capable of go in opposition to TCU, it is going to negatively have an effect on Georgia’s energy operating recreation and red-zone passing.—R.D.
What Georgia Must Do to Win
The Bulldogs had been unsparing within the self-criticism of their efficiency in opposition to Ohio State. Their protection was shredded for a lot of the sport, quarterback Stetson Bennett IV stated he performed “about half-hour of unhealthy soccer,” and Georgia missed two subject objectives. So this isn’t a crew that may come floating into the title recreation on a cloud of self-satisfaction and overlook TCU. The Bulldogs noticed their playoff lives move in entrance of their eyes in a 42-41 victory and acknowledge their fragility, even with a 14-0 document.
“If we would like any probability of profitable a nationwide title, we now have to play so much higher,” Good stated within the wee hours of Sunday morning.
When it comes to specifics, Georgia should do a greater job plastering receivers and dashing the passer. Ohio State’s wideouts had their method with Georgia’s secondary and quarterback C.J. Stroud had an excessive amount of time to learn protection and room to scramble. TCU’s Duggan is a greater runner than Stroud, so Georgia shall be challenged with maintaining him contained.
Offensively, Georgia will most likely attempt to attain a greater run-pass stability than it had in opposition to Ohio State. The Bulldogs solely ran the ball 26 instances, their lowest quantity because the season-opener in opposition to Oregon, and coordinator Todd Monken’s offense makes use of loads of play-action within the passing recreation. With much less of a operating menace, there may be much less to idiot defenders.
However Georgia can throw and run, and the depth of its receiving corps was on show on an enormous night time within the Peach Bowl. With Adonai Mitchell at full power and Arian Smith flashing his sprinter velocity, Bennett has a deep array of choices to distribute the ball. As Michigan and others have proven, there are many performs to make in opposition to the TCU protection.
Backside line: Georgia’s A-game is sweet sufficient to beat TCU, and maybe handily. If the Bulldogs clear up some errors and play nearer to their season-long customary, they are going to be repeat nationwide champions.—Pat Forde
What TCU Must Do to Win
One factor Georgia has been inclined to in final 12 months’s SEC championship recreation loss and Saturday’s shut shave within the Peach Bowl: going in opposition to a very elite extensive receiver. The Horned Frogs have that in Quentin Johnston, and they don’t seem to be afraid to make use of him both. Offensive coordinator Garrett Riley is nice at discovering artistic methods to get Johnston the ball, together with the display pass-type performs that broke for a landing in opposition to Michigan on Saturday. It can probably take a game-breaking efficiency from Johnston to do the trick.
But when the title recreation turns into a monitor meet, taking part in a one-dimensional recreation in opposition to Georgia shall be robust. Which implies TCU may even want extra manufacturing out of its operating recreation, whichever operating again performs (Kendre Miller or Emari Demercado). That’s a lot simpler stated than achieved in opposition to a entrance anchored by Georgia defensive deal with Jalen Carter.
The Horned Frogs’ protection was salty in opposition to Michigan’s run recreation and nonetheless gave up over 40 factors, though it performed extremely complementary soccer with two pick-sixes of its personal. The protection might have to carry up with out getting presents prefer it did from Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy, however how holds up is unclear as a result of it’s tough to know what model of the Georgia offense we’re going to see. If the Bulldogs have Washington, TCU might want to bow up in opposition to the run prefer it did in opposition to the Wolverines. If Washington is out, Georgia has the wideout tandem in Mitchell and Smith to play extra extensive open than one would count on.—Richard Johnson
Georgia
Trump immunity ruling could shatter Georgia RICO case – Washington Examiner
The Supreme Court‘s ruling this week that presidents have some immunity from criminal prosecution came in response to arguments Donald Trump made about his case in Washington, D.C., but the decision could also dramatically affect the former president’s case in Georgia.
The high court ruled that a lower court judge will have to sift through Trump’s federal election interference indictment to determine which acts are official and private. Judge Tanya Chutkan will then have to decide which of Trump’s official acts are absolutely immune from prosecution and which are only presumptively immune. A judge in Georgia may eventually have to do the same.
It is unclear how this tedious process, which legal experts say could evolve into a mini-trial of its own over the next few months, will affect Trump’s four charges in Washington, but the Supreme Court provided guidelines that suggest special counsel Jack Smith’s case will be significantly weaker once immunized acts are excised from it.
Of Trump’s four criminal cases, the one in Georgia is the most similar to the one in Washington. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis alleged Trump and 18 co-defendants violated the state’s racketeering laws by attempting to overturn the 2020 election illegally in a battleground state that Trump narrowly lost.
Willis’s sweeping indictment featured dozens of acts that, when looked at as a whole, result in an alleged violation of Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. The acts included Trump having phone calls or meetings with state lawmakers, posting false statements on his X account about the election while he was still president, and communicating with officials in his Department of Justice.
The Supreme Court outlined in its guidance that a president’s communication with the DOJ is a core function of the office and must always be immune from prosecution. Other acts, such as a president’s communication with state officials or his public statements, could be immune from prosecution, but a lower court judge must decide that under the Supreme Court’s new framework.
As with Smith’s charges, the Supreme Court’s ruling threatens to imperil Willis’s indictment depending on what the judge in Georgia determines are official acts.
Unlike in Washington, where prosecutors and Chutkan can quickly forge ahead to address immunity in the case, the Georgia case has another layer of problems.
Judge Scott McAfee, the Fulton County Superior Court judge presiding over Trump’s case, ruled earlier this year that Willis was not disqualified from the case after Trump and his co-defendants argued a relationship she had with a prosecutor created an irreversible conflict of interest.
Trump appealed McAfee’s decision, and now the Georgia Court of Appeals has taken the judge’s decision under review.
Trump also requested several months ago that his case in Georgia be dismissed because of presidential immunity, and McAfee said he would wait until the Supreme Court issued its decision before he addressed Trump’s request.
Allegra Lawrence-Hardy, a Georgia-based lawyer who specializes in elections, noted that the Georgia appellate court likely will not address Trump’s appeal about disqualification until the first quarter of 2025, meaning McAfee currently does not have jurisdiction over the case to make decisions about immunity.
“It is very unlikely that the trial court will even have jurisdiction to rule on this motion or to have its own mini-trial prior to the election,” Lawrence-Hardy said Monday on a call with reporters.
She observed, however, that Trump’s immunity argument to the Supreme Court “very closely tracks the briefing in this case,” suggesting the case will undergo the same mini-trial exercise as the one that is anticipated in Washington.
It is also unclear how the Supreme Court’s ruling will affect Trump’s co-defendants. It could have zero impact on some, but others, such as former DOJ official Jeffrey Clark and former chief of staff Mark Meadows, may see some relief because their actions involving Trump could be protected by presidential immunity now.
Anthony Michael Kreis, a Georgia State University law professor, said in a post on X that it is unlikely that Clark would be able to face charges in the same case as Trump because evidence against Clark that involves Trump is now protected by immunity and cannot be included in Trump’s case.
Kreis said the court’s decision complicates trying Meadows but does not rule it out.
“As a consequence, it’s rather unlikely that Jeff Clark will ever be tried alongside Donald Trump at the same time,” Kreis wrote. “The Meadows issue will be considerably more complex.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The cases in Washington and in Georgia appear poised to stretch for several months or longer, but if Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, were to win the election, he could attempt to use his pardon power to toss his federal case out.
While the Georgia case is stalled indefinitely and may be drastically diminished once immunity questions are sorted out, Trump would be unable to pardon himself there.
Georgia
Nick Ammirati leaving Kentucky for Georgia; Nolan McCarthy enters transfer portal
Just a couple of weeks after the Kentucky Wildcats’ miraculous baseball season ended in their first-ever College World Series berth, assistant coach Nick Ammirati is leaving to join the Georgia Bulldogs, the school announced Tuesday.
Ammirati came to Lexington in 2021 after leaving Southern Mississippi, and his contract expired last night at midnight. Instead of a renegotiation, he leaves for Georgia to join former Wildcat coach Will Coggin, who was an assistant under Nick Mingione from 2020-2023.
Ammirati’s departure will sting a tad bit for Kentucky, as he was the lead recruiter for tons of players, both incoming freshmen and guys coming in through the transfer portal. The program is in a much better spot now than when Ammirati first got here, so finding a replacement shouldn’t be as challenging as one would initially think.
Mingione moved Ammirati to the dugout more than two years ago, when Ammirati originally coached third base, to be with the players in the dugout, leaving Coach Mingione to coach third base. Mingione made the switch and he credits that move being a pivotal point in turning the program around.
We could be seeing our first repercussion of this loss, as standout outfielder Nolan McCarthy has entered the transfer portal, according to Derek Terry.
It’s my understanding that McCarthy had a close relationship with Nick Ammirati, who left Kentucky for Georgia yesterday. Safe to say the Bulldogs are a team to watch in that recruitment.
— Derek Terry (@DerekSTerry) July 2, 2024
This past season McCarthy was Kentucky’s full-time starting centerfielder while batting .288 with eight home runs and 41 RBI. He was set to be a redshirt senior for the 2025 season.
McCarthy will forever live in Kentucky history after his memorable play vs. Oregon State that sent the Bat Cats to the College World Series. In Game 2 of the Lexington Super Regional against the Beavers, McCarthy scored from second base on a dropped third strike to give the Cats a 3-2 lead, which would prove to be the final score.
Exceptional baserunning by Nolan McCarthy who scores all the way from 2nd on this wild pitch to give Kentucky a 3-2 lead! How are you not covering the plate?! Pitcher was walking the entire time. Unbelievable. pic.twitter.com/dpudHSAuTY
— Peter Flaherty III (@PeterGFlaherty) June 10, 2024
Follow our Twitter and Facebook pages for more UK news and views. Go Cats!
Georgia
Georgia Democrats weary after Monday's landmark Supreme Court ruling, presidents are now protected from prosecution for official acts
July 2, 2024
On this week’s live Political Breakfast, host Lisa Rayam, Democratic strategist Tharon Johnson and Republican strategist Brian Robinson process a landmark Supreme Court ruling that grants former presidents broad immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts.
How will this trickle down to affect Donald Trump’s current indictment and the election interference case here in Georgia?
It’s a legal victory for Trump, who touted the 6-3 ruling as a “big win for our Constitution and for democracy.”
Democrats condemned it and president Joe Biden warned that the ruling meant there were “virtually no limits on what the president can do” if Trump wins the 2024 presidential election.
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