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Premier League Rainbow Laces campaign explained: What is it and what has sparked controversy?

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Premier League Rainbow Laces campaign explained: What is it and what has sparked controversy?

The Premier League’s Rainbow Laces campaign, an annual show of support for the LGBTQ+ community, has been overshadowed this week.

Ipswich Town captain Sam Morsy twice refused to wear the accompanying rainbow armband in games, citing his religious beliefs, while Crystal Palace skipper Marc Guehi chose to write two pro-Christian messages on the armbands he’s worn in their past two matches.

The Athletic also reported on Wednesday morning that Manchester United abandoned plans to wear rainbow-themed Adidas warm-up jackets ahead of Sunday’s 4-0 win over Everton after defender Noussair Mazraoui refused to join the initiative. The Morocco international, like Morsy, pointed to his Muslim faith as the reason for his reluctance.

A well-intended campaign from the Premier League has found itself at the heart of a wider, divisive debate but one that is not unique to English football. 

The Athletic analyses the origins of rainbow laces and whether the initiative can retain a place in the game’s calendar. 

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What is the Rainbow Laces campaign and why was it introduced?

The campaign dates back to 2013 when Stonewall, the LGBTQ+ charity, initially teamed up with UK bookmaker Paddy Power to send rainbow-coloured laces to all professional footballers across England and Scotland.

Players were encouraged to show their support for LGBTQ+ communities by wearing them and its success led to the Premier League formally partnering with Stonewall in an attempt to improve inclusivity across the top level of English football. A report released by Stonewall last month showed that one in four LGBTQ+ people still did not feel welcome at live sporting events.

It has become customary for the Premier League to allot two matchweeks to the Rainbow Laces campaign every season, presenting all 20 clubs with the opportunity to mark the event with a home fixture. The Premier League distributes rainbow-branded corner flags, ball plinths, handshake boards and substitution boards to its clubs, as well as the laces and captain’s armbands.


A rainbow-coloured substitution board is one of the other ways the Premier League marks the campaign (Michael Regan/Getty Images)

The wider period, this season running between November 29 and December 5, also sees clubs encouraged to highlight the work they do to “embed equality, diversity and inclusion”.

That typically includes content with managers, players and supporters to celebrate LGBTQ+ communities. One example this year was Southampton and England goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale speaking out on the challenges faced by his brother, Oliver, who is openly gay.

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Why has it proved a talking point this year?

Morsy’s decision not to wear a rainbow armband for Ipswich’s 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest on Saturday made him the only one of 20 captains in the Premier League not to do so. A club statement, released on Monday, confirmed the “religious beliefs” of Morsy, a Muslim, had been behind the step, with Ipswich saying they would “respect” the midfielder’s actions.

Also on Saturday, Guehi, a devout Christian, wore the rainbow armband in the 1-1 draw with Newcastle United after having written ”I (heart) Jesus” across it. Doing so contravened the Football Association’s rules banning any religious messaging being carried on playing kits.

By chance, Morsy and Guehi were on opposing teams on Tuesday night as Palace won 1-0 away to Ipswich. Morsy again chose not to wear the rainbow armband, while Guehi had changed the written message on his to “Jesus (heart) you”.


Marc Guehi and Sam Morsy both made their own statements around the Rainbow Laces campaign (Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

Speaking to Sky Sports on Wednesday, Guehi explained his thinking behind writing the messages.

“I think the message was pretty clear, to be honest,” he said. “It’s a message of love and truth as well and a message of inclusivity, so it speaks for itself.”

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On Wednesday, The Athletic revealed United’s plan to wear rainbow-themed warm-up jackets ahead of Sunday’s game with Everton was scrapped due to Mazraoui, who is Muslim, refusing to take part.

Is this the first time it has provoked controversy?

This is the second year that a Premier League side’s captain has opted against wearing the rainbow armband, after Sheffield United’s Anel Ahmedhodzic, the Bosnia and Herzegovina international defender, did so last December.

Ahmedhodzic, a Muslim, wore the standard Premier League armband for a 2-0 defeat at home to Liverpool, in what was his first game as the team’s captain. Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder told reporters after the game that he had been unaware of Ahmedhodzic’s decision, and when asked by Swedish outlet SVT Sport why he had chosen not to have a rainbow armband, the defender answered, “Guess.”

Are players allowed to not wear a rainbow armband or laces?

Neither the laces nor the armband are considered compulsory but there has been an unwritten expectation that all players help promote the campaign. No Premier League captain, until Ahmedhodzic did so, had shown any resistance to the pro-LGBTQ+ messaging.

What are the rules around footballers promoting political symbols or messages on their kits?

Doing that, in short, is prohibited by the FA, who have specific kit requirements for players at all levels of English football. “Equipment must not have any political, religious or personal slogans, statements or images,” it outlines under Law 4.

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The theory is that football, and a player’s kit, should not be used for the promotion of any beliefs, ensuring religion and politics are kept at a distance.

Those lines, though, can be blurred.

The annual poppy appeal, raising money for veterans of Britain’s armed forces, sees clubs carry the charity’s logo on their kits but James McClean, now of Wrexham in League One, has long considered it a political symbol and refused to commemorate the occasion, owing to his roots as a Catholic growing up in Northern Ireland.


McClean stands away from his Wrexham team-mates during the Remembrance Day minute’s silence in November (Gary Oakley/PA Images via Getty Images)

“The poppy represents, for me, an entire different meaning to what it does for others,” McClean posted on Instagram in November. “Am I offended by someone wearing a poppy? No, absolutely not, what does offend me though, is having the poppy… forced upon me.”

The same stance was adopted by Nemanja Matic as a Manchester United player, because of Britain’s historic involvement in a military campaign in his homeland of Serbia.

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It’s not just players either. Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was fined £20,000 by the FA in 2018 for wearing a yellow ribbon — a symbol of solidarity with members of the independence movement in the Spanish region of Catalonia, where Guardiola is from, who had been arrested by Spain’s authorities — during an FA Cup tie against Wigan Athletic.

What has been the response of the football governing bodies and LGBTQ rights groups?

The FA has been in contact with Palace since Guehi wore his modified rainbow armband to remind them of the kit regulations, but no formal action will follow. Palace manager Oliver Glasner told reporters on Tuesday night he had spoken with Guehi ahead of the Ipswich game. “He’s no child. He’s an adult and he has an opinion,” said Glasner. “We respect that, and accept every opinion.”

Though the FA and Premier League are yet to make any formal comments on Morsy refusing to wear a rainbow armband or Guehi’s messaging, Stonewall released their own statement this week. “It has been incredible to see so many football teams at all levels support our Rainbow Laces campaign to make sport safer and more inclusive for all. When clubs like Ipswich Town FC show their support, it helps people feel safe and welcome both on and off the pitch,” a spokesperson said. “It is up to individuals to choose if and how they show their support for LGBTQ+ inclusion in sport.”

go-deeper

GO DEEPER

‘We deserve our rights’: How LGBTQ+ fans feel about Rainbow Laces controversy

Is the campaign likely to keep going?

There is no indication the actions of Morsy and Guehi, or the events at Manchester United, will lead to any changes in the Premier League’s allyship with Stonewall. It has been a long-running partnership designed to welcome LGBTQ+ communities and heighten inclusivity and the resistance to the campaign has been nominal.

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Ahead of this year’s event, the league’s chief executive Richard Masters suggested it remained a long-term commitment.

“There has been considerable progress to make football a more inclusive environment for the LGBTQ+ community since the Rainbow Laces campaign launched a decade ago,” Masters said. “We are determined to maintain this momentum to make sure football is welcoming for everyone and send a clear message that discrimination of any kind will not be tolerated.”


Tottenham Hotspur Stadium lit up in rainbow colours in support of the initiative (Getty Images)

Are there equivalent campaigns in other sports?

The Rainbow Laces campaign is not confined to football in England, with Stonewall saying “over a million” people have participated since its launch 11 years ago, including elite athletes from the worlds of rugby union, rugby league and cricket.

Other countries have adopted similar initiatives and, like the Premier League, run into problems.

Clubs from French football’s top divisions wear shirts carrying rainbow colours once a season to promote LGBTQ+ causes, leading some players to make themselves unavailable for that round of games.

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Midfielder Idrissa Gueye, now in the Premier League with Everton, was twice left out of Paris Saint-Germain squads after refusing to wear the modified shirt. Mauricio Pochettino, the club’s manager at the time, said in 2022 that Gueye had missed one particular match for “personal reasons” and there was support from Cheikhou Kouyate of Palace and Watford’s Ismaila Sarr (now a Palace player himself) on social media. All three play at international level for Senegal, where homosexuality is illegal.

Toulouse and Morocco forward Zakaria Aboukhlal also decided not to appear for his French club in 2023 when rainbow kits marked the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia. Monaco and Mali midfielder Mohamed Camara was handed a four-match ban at the end of last season after covering up an anti-homophobia message on his shirt during a match in Ligue 1, the top division of club football in France. Amelie Oudea-Castera, the country’s sports minister, called Camara’s actions “unacceptable behaviour.”

The rainbow colours also created an issue in the NHL, North America’s top ice hockey league, last year. The NHL reversed a ban on players wrapping multi-coloured ‘Pride’ tape around their hockey sticks in support of LGBTQ+ communities.

(Top photo: Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images)

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Baggy nets and blue undershirts: 6 more things I miss from the NHL’s ancient days

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Baggy nets and blue undershirts: 6 more things I miss from the NHL’s ancient days

Exactly one year ago today, I wrote a column about being old, and the subtle things I miss about what hockey used to be. No big issues, to be clear – we’re talking stuff like how the water bottles used to pop off the nets, and how linesmen used to have to climb the glass to avoid the puck. If I’m being honest, I figured it would be a bit of a throwaway, the kind of midseason filler that’s fun for a day and then fades quickly. Instead, it became one of my more popular columns of the season, and I decided to make it a regular feature.

Then I forgot. Because I am old.

But if there’s anything us old fogies do better than the occasional memory lapse, it’s celebrating the random anniversary of things that weren’t all that important to begin with. So today, one year later, I’m bringing the gimmick back, with a half dozen new items. Well, old ones. You’ll figure it out.

But first, just like last time, a disclaimer: This is all in good fun, and very much not meant to be some whiny screed about how much better things used to be, and how Gary Bettman has ruined everything by dragging the game into the 20th century. If you have strong feelings about that stuff, please take them elsewhere, because I am decrepit and fragile.

Let’s get old.

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I miss when the nets were loose and baggy

How it used to be: A player would carry the puck through the neutral zone, with nobody in his way because the trap hadn’t been invented yet. Then he’d skate to the top of the circle and wind up for a slap shot because gap control hadn’t been invented yet. Then he’d rip a howitzer past a terrified tiny man because goaltending hadn’t been invented yet.

And then the puck would stay in the net. Somewhere.

You see, kids, back in the old days the nets were loose and baggy. That made sense to us because their job was to stop the puck when a goal had been scored. So even if you lost track of the puck, which you definitely did thanks to the 14-inch standard-definition TV the whole family was crowded around, you’d see a big bulge in the back of the net and know that goal had been scored.

Why it changed: Presumably because the linesmen complained about having to go elbow-deep in fishing twine to retrieve a puck while everyone else waited for the game to start. And sure, I get that. But at some point, net-tightening technology got out of control, to the point where the things barely seem to have any give at all anymore.

Why I miss it: First of all, because I’m tired of being confused about whether a goal was even scored because the puck goes into the net at 95 mph and comes out at roughly 96, eventually embedding itself in the boards at the opposite end of the rink.

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But there was also just something cool about the visual. In last year’s comment section, reader Tom L. once described it as “Like catching a comet in a butterfly net,” at which point he was immediately perma-banned for writing something better than I ever could.

I miss when a team’s three best forwards were on the top line

How it used to be: There was a time when a team’s first line was made up of its best center and its two best wingers. The second line was the next best center and next two best wingers. And not only did this not seem weird, we couldn’t even imagine a different way of doing it.

For the record, this wasn’t a hard and fast rule across the entire league, and you’d occasionally get guys playing higher up the lineup than you’d expect. (This was especially true when somebody like Dave Semenko would get to ride shotgun for Wayne Gretzky, just in case anyone needed to be taken for a canoe ride.) But occasional exceptions aside, it was pretty much the default setting.

That started to shift around the time the cap came in, as teams moved toward spreading their best players across three or even four lines. Often, that meant the top center would have one top winger who’d regularly play with him, and then a rotating cast of depth guys who’d fill out the third spot. Sometimes it clicked, and you’d even occasionally discovered a star-in-the-making like Zach Hyman this way. But loading up the team’s three best forwards on one line for an entire game? These days, it’s rare.

Why it changed: My guess is that two main factors came into play, both of which made balanced lineups more important. The first was the cap, and the parity it forced on the league. It’s one thing to put your three best forwards on the top line, and something else entirely when those are your only three good forwards. We also saw the game evolve to a much higher tempo than we saw back in the olden days, where players took longer shifts and rarely went full speed. With everyone mashing the turbo button at all times these days, you can’t play that top line for 25 or 30 minutes like you could before, so spreading out the offense becomes a priority.

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Why I miss it: Because it was just cool to see all that talent on the ice at once, especially when teams matched top lines and there were six all-stars facing off against each other. And it was fun when your team acquired a star player and you’d start mentally shifting the lines around in your head, rather than finding out he’d been slotted in for third-line duty because the top line with the 12-goals-a-year plugger has too much chemistry to disrupt.

I miss when all the players wore the same light blue undershirts for some reason

How it used to be: I don’t know why or when it started, but when I was growing up, every NHL player wore the same light blue undershirt. (OK, yes, except for Rob Ray.)

If you looked closely, you could see them peaking out from beneath the jersey pretty much all the time. But you really got a good look under two sets of circumstances: Any time a player was interviewed in the dressing room, or whenever a guy got into a fight and had his jersey pulled off.

A significantly rarer third option that nonetheless helps illustrate our point: When players were forced to take part in intermission comedy sketches.

Why it changed: I have no idea, although I’m going to assume that somebody invented a better moisture-absorbing material that was lighter and/or more comfortable, and the modern generation adopted that because they are soft.

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Relatedly, I have no idea when this changed. I know those shirts were everywhere in like 1993, and they’re not around now, but you could tell me that they disappeared gradually or in some specific year in between there and I would have no choice but to believe you.

Why I miss it: I have no idea. My brain may be broken.

I miss when referees would announce the result of goal review with a dramatic point

How it used to be: A goal would be scored, or maybe it wouldn’t, and nobody would be quite sure. So we’d go to replay review, which always worked great and everybody loved, to try to figure it out. That meant the referee would have to skate over to the penalty box area, where they’d try to hand him a beige phone with a comically long extension chord through a little hole in the glass, which was always peak comedy. He’d listen, somebody somewhere would watch a replay, and we’d all wait as the suspense mounted.

And then, the decision would arrive – at which point the ref would nod solemnly, return the phone, and then take a few confident strides toward center ice before either pointing to the faceoff dot (for a goal) or waving his arms (for no goal). It was emphatic, decisive, and the only way that made sense.

Why it changed: Because the NHL realized that the NFL had its officials actually announce their calls into microphones and thought, “Hey, I bet our guys could do that too.” Spoiler alert: No they could not.

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Why I miss it: First are foremost, because today’s NHL microphones seldom work. And on the rare occasions that they do, every referee who isn’t Wes McCauley clearly hates having to do the announcement and rush through the entire thing like a scared third-grader getting his public speaking presentation out of the way. Half the time the crowd is just confused about what the ref is even trying to tell us, especially since a lot of these guys don’t know how to just get to the point and say goal or no goal. It’s a mess.

But even beyond that, the point-or-wave dynamic was just better. It was more dramatic. What’s that old saying when it comes to screenwriting, show don’t tell? The NHL was better when they’d show us with an emphatic motion instead of telling us with rambling expository dialog.

One bit of good news: Unlike just about all of the other items I complain about in this column, where there’s no reasonable path back to how it used to be, we could fix this one at any time. Just call up the referees union and tell them the broken mics are history, and we’re back to pointing. I’m pretty sure they’d be thrilled. All we’d need to do is provide a little bit of training to remind them how it’s done. Maybe Auston Matthews could volunteer.

I miss when cool moments were punctuated with flashbulbs going off

How it used to be: Some key moment would come along, especially around the net, and the darkened arena would explode with camera flashbulbs.

It was like a mini-fireworks show, one that you came to associate with “something very important just happened.”

Why it changed: I don’t know enough about photography to say for sure, but I’d assume that better camera technology is to blame here, as well as better lightning in arenas.

Why I miss it: Because flashbulbs automatically increase the drama of a given sports moment by roughly 300 percent.

This isn’t an NHL-specific issue, by the way. Other sports have also lost their bulbs, with nighttime baseball and football being especially affected. If you’re feeling generous with your definitions, it’s possible that no “sport” has suffered more here than pro wrestling. But hockey had its moment too, and I miss them. Photography was just better back then. With one notable exception.

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I kind of miss when random fans would jump on the ice to celebrate with the players

How it used to be: You’d be sitting at home, watching your team win the Stanley Cup. The final buzzer would count down, and the bench would empty in an explosion of joy and relief, as the superstar forward and stud defenseman raced down the ice pile onto the starting goalie. And then you’d look up and Gord from accounting would be there too.

Why it changed: Because it was one of the stupidest things ever, and I can’t believe there was a time when we let this happen in pretty much every sport.

Why I miss it: I know I shouldn’t because it was dumb and also legitimately dangerous. It was also unfailingly hilarious, and it only gets funnier with time, since you get to enjoy those wonderful ’70s and ’80s fashions.

The whole thing is fascinating to me as an introvert who doesn’t enjoy making eye contact with my own children. I can’t get inside the head of somebody who sees their team celebrating a huge win and thinks, “You know what I bet would make this even better? Me. Hold my popcorn, I’ll be back in a bit…”

Today, anyone who tries to jump on the ice at the final horn would be immediately tackled, arrested, and barred from the arena for life. And for the record, I have no issue with that, other than we should do it to the glass-bangers too. But there was a weird time when we all just accepted it, and I kind of miss it.

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(Top photo of Wayne Gretzky with the Stanley Cup: David E. Klutho /Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)

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Boise State wins Mountain West championship as first expanded CFP bracket begins to take shape

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Boise State wins Mountain West championship as first expanded CFP bracket begins to take shape

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Boise State is headed to the College Football Playoff. 

The Broncos captured the Mountain West Conference title Friday night and earned their spot in the sport’s first 12-team playoff with a 21-7 victory over UNLV in the Mountain West championship game. 

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Star running back Ashton Jeanty ran for 209 yards and a touchdown in his sixth 200-plus-yard game this season.

With 2,497 rushing yards for the season, Jeanty is now fourth on the FBS all-time single-season rushing list behind only Barry Sanders (2,628 yards in 1988), Melvin Gordon (2,587 in 2014) and UCF’s Kevin Smith (2,567 in 2007). Jeanty also finishes the regular season with 29 rushing touchdowns.

Running back Ashton Jeanty of the Boise State Broncos busts through a whole in the line during the first half of the Mountain West Championship against the UNLV Rebels at Albertsons Stadium on December 06, 2024 in Boise, Idaho. (Loren Orr/Getty Images)

Jeanty gave Boise State a tone-setting play with a 75-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, his 12th carry of 50 or more yards this season. 

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Boise State will hang on to or improve on its No. 10 ranking in the final College Football Playoff rankings that come out Sunday. That would almost certainly make the Broncos no worse than the fourth-best conference titlist and in line for a first-round bye.

The Big 12 title game on Saturday pits No. 15 Arizona State against No. 16 Iowa State.

The winner is in the playoff. But the only realistic route left for either team to earn a bye (and the extra $4 million that comes with it) would be to combine that win — preferably a convincing one — with a loss by the Atlantic Coast Conference leader, No. 8 SMU, which plays No. 17 Clemson.

IOWA STATE, SMU ADS HAVE WAR OF WORDS AFTER LATEST CFP RANKINGS: ‘STAY OFF MY LAWN!’

Offensive lineman Mathyus Su'a of the UNLV Rebels and outside linebacker Jayden Virgin-Morgan #5 of the Boise State Broncos battle along the line of scrimmage during the first half of the Mountain West Championship at Albertsons Stadium on December 06, 2024 in Boise, Idaho.

Offensive lineman Mathyus Su’a of the UNLV Rebels and outside linebacker Jayden Virgin-Morgan #5 of the Boise State Broncos battle along the line of scrimmage during the first half of the Mountain West Championship at Albertsons Stadium on December 06, 2024 in Boise, Idaho. (Loren Orr/Getty Images)

The Big 12 commissioner and Iowa State’s athletic director are among those already crying foul. By the time the title games are over and the brackets are revealed, they won’t be the only ones.

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Now the country will turn its attention to the other conference championship games as the first playoff picture of the expanded playoff era will shake out. 

Oregon, top-ranked and the only undefeated team in the country, is in, too. But Saturday’s game against No. 3 Penn State is for the Big Ten title and a first-round bye.

If Penn State prevails, then there’s an argument that the Nittany Lions could end up with that top seed.

In the SEC, it’s No. 2 Texas vs. No. 5 Georgia. Sadly, Bevo will not be in the building. The winner gets a bye and a championship. The loser should still be in, but if that loser is Georgia, the Dawgs could be on the road for the first round.

Depending on how the brackets shape up, these teams could face each other three times this season.

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Barring something completely unexpected, it will take either a loss by SMU, a change of heart from the selection committee or both to knock Alabama out of the bracket. If the Tide make it, the Southeastern Conference will have four teams in the playoff.

Since the selection committee placed the Crimson Tide at No. 11 last week, one spot ahead of Miami, it looks very much like the Tide will stay ahead of the Hurricanes of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The way last week’s ranking shook out, that meant Alabama was in and Miami was out.

Ashton Jeanty #2 of the Boise State Broncos fires up the crowd prior to the start of the Mountain West Championship between the Boise State Broncos and the UNLV Rebels at Albertsons Stadium on December 06, 2024 in Boise, Idaho. 

Ashton Jeanty #2 of the Boise State Broncos fires up the crowd prior to the start of the Mountain West Championship between the Boise State Broncos and the UNLV Rebels at Albertsons Stadium on December 06, 2024 in Boise, Idaho.  (Loren Orr/Getty Images)

A handful of teams aren’t playing this weekend and don’t have much to worry about. No. 4 Notre Dame should get a home game. 

No. 9 Indiana, one of four Big Ten teams projected to make the playoff, will probably be on the road.

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In between, there is the matter of No. 6 Ohio State and No. 7 Tennessee. Last week’s projected bracket paired the 10-2 teams in a first-round game to be played at the Horseshoe in Columbus, Ohio.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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Oxnard Pacifica advances to Division 2-AA state bowl game with defeat of Narbonne

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Oxnard Pacifica advances to Division 2-AA state bowl game with defeat of Narbonne

Coaches always stress the importance of special teams, and Oxnard Pacifica’s Mike Moon had a huge grin after three blocked punts played a vital role in his team’s 37-20 victory over Narbonne on Friday night in the CIF Southern California Regional Division 2-AA bowl game in Oxnard.

The Tritons (11-4) advance to the state bowl game next Friday at 4 p.m. against Sacramento Grant at Saddleback College.

“Our special teams early in the year, especially against Inglewood, was atrocious and there’s no reason for it because we practice it so much,” Moon said. “We watched film of Narbonne and thought we could take advantage of that.”

Anthony Macias knifed through the line to block a punt at the goal line, and Max Magana recovered the ball in the end zone to give Pacifica a 14-6 lead late in the first quarter. On its next possession, Narbonne was forced to punt from its own 25-yard line and this time Deon Hasley got the block. Magana pounced on the loose ball at the 22 and, four plays later, Isaac Magana kicked a 32-yard field goal to put the home team ahead 17-6.

“Coach Moon takes pride in special teams, and so when I saw them on the floor, I had to pick them up,” said Max Magana, a nickel back who also had five pass breakups on defense. “I like when I’m tested in the secondary. Now we have to keep our foot on the pedal and make sure that we win next week.”

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Narbonne pulled to within 17-14 on Jamari Todd’s five-yard touchdown run and Jaden O’Neal’s conversion run, but Pacifica marched 66 yards in 12 plays and Isaac Magana booted his second field goal — a 23-yarder — as time expired and the Tritons took a 20-14 lead into halftime.

Narbonne quarterback Jaden O’Neal is sacked in the first half of the Division 2-AA regional bowl game Friday in Oxnard.

(Steve Galluzzo /For The Times)

Narbonne pulled even on Mark Iheanachor’s seven-yard touchdown run on its first drive of the third quarter, but the extra-point kick was deflected by Macias and fluttered wide left. On its ensuing possession, Pacifica retook the lead on Dominic Duran’s seven-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Dillon. After both teams turned the ball over on downs, the Gauchos were forced to punt again from their 28. Juju Hernandez blocked it, and Budder Aina scooped up the prize and returned it 13 yards for a touchdown to make it 34-20.

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After recovering a fumble on a pooch kick, Pacifica tacked on a 21-yard field goal by Isaac Magana — his third of the night — to make it a 17-point margin with 4:06 left.

One week after throwing for 396 yards and six touchdowns while running for another score in the City Section Open Division final versus San Pedro, Oklahoma-bound junior O’Neal was pressured all night and completed 14 of 32 passes for 199 yards. His longest throw was a 65-yard touchdown to Tre’Shaun Jackson in the first quarter. Senior receiver Michael Ashford had five catches for 53 yards for Narbonne.

“We wanted to pressure him with our four-man front and put them into guaranteed pass situations,” Moon said. “This team is battle-tested and we’ve won eight in a row. Our schedule has 100% contributed to us being where we are.”

Oxnard Pacifica's Alijah Royster celebrates after scoring a touchdown against Narbonne.

Oxnard Pacifica’s Alijah Royster celebrates after scoring a touchdown against Narbonne on Friday night.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

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Savion Taylor, who entered the game with 92 receptions for 1,255 yards and 14 touchdowns, added to his gaudy total with eight grabs for 63 yards, and Alijah Royster had five catches for 95 yards, including a 48-yard reception for the game’s first touchdown. Isaiah Phelps rushed for 73 yards in 22 carries, and Duran completed 18 of 33 passes for 212 yards.

The Tritons are one win away from a second state bowl championship, having won the 2-A title in 2019 to complete a 15-1 season two weeks after claiming the Southern Section Division 6 crown under Moon. That season Pacifica beat another City Section team, Birmingham, in the regional bowl.

This might well be Moon’s most talented team. The Tritons (11-4) avenged a Marmonte League setback to St. Bonaventure to capture the Southern Section Division 4 title last week. Their other three losses are to schools in higher divisions.

The Gauchos (7-7) ended the season 1-3 on the field against Southern Section opponents, losing to Los Alamitos, Culver City and Pacifica while beating L.A. Cathedral — a result that was changed to a forfeit defeat after an investigation determined Narbonne used ineligible players. The Gauchos are banned from the playoffs next year. Asked if he’ll finish his prep career at Narbonne, O’Neal said he did not know.

“I’m not sure — I’ll speak with our coaching staff in the exit meetings,” O’Neal said. “The odds were stacked against us but we proved people wrong. We felt confident coming out of the half but ultimately they out-disciplined us. We’re more athletic, but the little things added up and we couldn’t overcome our mistakes.”

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It remains to be seen how many players will return.

“Jaden is a gamer and did everything we expected of him,” said Gauchos coach Malcolm Manuel, who thanked his players for their commitment. “I’ve had Mark Iheanachor for four years, he gave it everything he had and I’m excited to follow his career at SMU.”

As for next fall, Manuel is confident the returning players will buy in.

“They’ll for sure compete,” he said. “We have a lot of freshmen and sophomores. Playing a 10-game season — which we didn’t get to do this year — is the motivation. We’ll get back to the drawing board.”

Narbonne had 24 players transfer into the program since spring ball, prompting all four league opponents to forfeit their games against the Gauchos and allege rule violations. Seven players were declared ineligible for the postseason.

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