As former Texas Longhorns running back Bijan Robinson put together an outstanding second season with the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons, his bank account unfortunately took quite the hit.

Early in the fourth quarter of Atlanta’s regular-season finale against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, Robinson lowered his head and trucked Carolina defensive back Jordan Fuller. Unfortunately, that move wound up costing him, as the NFL fined him $22,511 for unnecessary roughness (use of the helmet) on Saturday afternoon, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

Robinson, the No. 8 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, finished the regular season with 1,456 rushing yards (4.79 yards per carry) and 14 rushing touchdowns. He ranked third in rushing yards only behind Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry, both of whom had simply immaculate seasons, and tied for fourth in rushing touchdowns.

Add in 431 yards and one touchdown as a receiver, and he established himself as a cornerstone piece for the Falcons.

Alas, Robinson’s outstanding season wasn’t enough to will Atlanta to the playoffs. The Falcons fell short in a crushing 30-24 overtime loss to the Washington Commanders in Week 17.

The Falcons then entered the final week of the regular season needing a win and a Tampa Bay Buccaneers loss to win the NFC South and make the playoffs, and neither happened. The Bucs came back to beat the New Orleans Saints 27-19, and just minutes later, the Falcons fell to the Panthers 44-38 in overtime.

Robinson and the Falcons now look to 2025, hoping to finally break their seven-year playoff drought at last.

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The Texas Longhorns once again fell agonizingly close to making their first appearance in the national championship in over a decade. It was the last time for many of those players on the field, who suffered another heartbreak, to put on the burnt orange and white.

One of those potential players is starting left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. Who, spoke about his immediate future following the loss to the Buckeyes.

“I have not made a decision, no,” Banks said of his impending NFL Draft.

While this answer may leave a sliver of hope for Longhorn fans that Banks could return for a senior season on the 40 Acres. It does still seem highly unlikely. Since arriving in Austin as a five-star recruit by way of Humble, Texas, and subsequently earning his spot as the starter, the expectation was that Banks wouldn’t be in Austin for long.

And after starting in 43 games as the Longhorns’ left tackle that doesn’t look likely to change. Banks has been a consensus first-round pick in this year’s draft class. Many of the mock drafts even predict him to be the first offensive tackle off the board.

Losing a 40-plus game starting left tackle will always hurt. But luckily for the Longhorns, they seem to already have his successor set in Trevor Goosby. The redshirt freshman has already logged two career starts this season, as he played in the absence of Kelvin Banks in the SEC Championship loss to Georgia, before starting in place of right tackle Cam Williams versus Arizona State.

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Texas A&M will be without its leading scorer for this weekend’s top-10 matchup against Alabama. The Aggies listed senior point guard Wade Taylor IV as out in its SEC-mandated availability report on Friday night.

Meanwhile, Alabama will be without backup guard Houston Mallette, who was listed as out for the matchup against Texas A&M. Earlier on Friday, Alabama head coach Nate Oats said Mallette is having his knees evaluated as the team decides whether or not to sit him for the rest of the season and apply for a medical redshirt.

Taylor leads Texas A&M in both scoring (15.7 points per game) and assists (4.8 per game. The 6-foot, 180-pound senior has scored in double digits in all of his 13 games this season. During Texas A&M’s 100-75 loss at Alabama last year, the Tide held Taylor to 10 points and five rebounds on 4 of 15 shooting, including 2 of 5 from beyond the arc.

According to a report from KWKT FOX 44, Taylor experienced knee tightness during Texas A&M’s 80-60 win over Texas on Jan. 4. The guard left for the locker room during the second half against the Longhorns but was able to return to action, finishing with 13 points on 25 minutes. Taylor did not play during the Aggies’ 80-78 win over Oklahoma on Wednesday. He was replaced by senior Manny Obaseki in the starting lineup.

With Taylor out, Texas A&M leaned on senior guard Zhuric Phelps, who scored a career-high 34 points against Oklahoma, making 11 of 25 shots from the floor, including 6 of 10 from beyond the arc.

Alabama (13-2, 2-0 in the SEC) is set to tip off against Texas A&M (13-2, 2-0) on Saturday at 7 p.m. CT inside Reed Arena in College Station, Texas. The game will be televised on ESPN.