Key West-born Mekhi Sargent is on the move again. The running back, who played college football at Iowa after setting all-time records at Key West High School, received a lump of coal on Christmas Day, when the Los Angeles Rams dropped him. The Jacksonville Jaguars signed him a few days later. The Rams had signed Sargent on Nov. 6 and assigned him to the practice squad. He played in just one game with the Rams, against Jacksonville, on Dec. 8, when he carried the ball twice, gaining 5 yards.
The Jaguars had Sargent listed as inactive as of Sunday, Jan. 2.
Undrafted after a stellar career at Iowa, he was picked up by the Tennessee Titans during the spring, played a few games and was dropped on Nov. 2. For the Titans, he gained 4 yards in two carries.
AN ESPN HALFTIME ANALYST, Trevor Matich, was praising college football coaches who support their players’ decision to skip bowl games in order to go pro. Writer Mike Florio took the same stance on NBC.
I disagree.
If the players are getting a free education, they can fulfill their obligation to attend college and play for the school’s football team. Matich said the bowl games are mere exhibitions. But tell that to Gator fans, whose Florida team lost to University of Central Florida in the Gasparilla Bowl. Tell it to any rabid fans of winning or losing bowl teams.
But don’t tell it to Mississippi, which lost its star quarterback Matt Corral to a first-quarter leg injury on Saturday and subsequently lost to Baylor, 21-7, in the Sugar Bowl.
Corral is projected to be a first-round selection in the NFL draft.
People like Matich and Florio justify their approval of skipping bowl games by pointing to potential injuries that could put players’ NFL draft — and paycheck — possibilities in jeopardy.
Coaches who move on between the end of the regular season and the bowl season are another problem to which I don’t have an immediate solution. But I will. I’m still pondering the situation.
I HAVE WATCHED PARTS of many postseason games. Unless you have a rooting interest, I’d say the best game was the Music City Bowl in which Purdue won in overtime, 48-45, with a field goal over Tennessee.
But, if you have a rooting interest, as I do with Ohio State, then the Buckeyes coming back from a third-quarter, 14-point deficit, to beat Utah, also 48-45, and by a late field goal in the Rose Bowl, stands out.
SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE FANS had reason to celebrate as Alabama defeated Cincinnati and Georgia triumphed over Michigan in the national championship semifinals. Neither game was close. The winners play Monday, Jan. 10, for the national collegiate title. I think Alabama will win that game, duplicating the SEC title contest. But I won’t be surprised if the Bulldogs pull off an upset.
From what I’ve seen in the postseason, no team, no league comes close to the SEC finalists. I can’t disagree with Michigan and Cincinnati also making the final four. Although they were whipped in those games, no one else had impressed me enough to take their spots.
I have to admit that Oklahoma State rallying from a 21-point deficit to beat Notre Dame, 37-35, in the Fiesta Bowl, and Arkansas handling Penn State, 24-10, in the Outback Bowl, surprised me.
I’m still disappointed that Miami had to pull out of the Sun Bowl because of the virus. Luckily, the bowl found Central Michigan, which not only filled in, but defeated Washington State.
BACK TO THE PROS… As a result of their Sunday loss to Tennessee, the Miami Dolphins have no chance at making the playoffs. Too bad. Until Sunday, the Dolphins had been exceptional during their seven-game win streak. They’re now 8-8 and face New England for the last game of their season.
