Alabama’s Malachi Moore will miss bowl vs. Michigan; Wake Forest tabs Jake Dickert

Alabama's Malachi Moore will miss bowl vs. Michigan; Wake Forest tabs Jake Dickert

Associated Press
 |  Associated Press

Tuscaloosa, Ala. – Alabama All-America safety Malachi Moore will miss the 11th-ranked Crimson Tide’s bowl game against Michigan with an injury that had plagued him much of the season.

Coach Kalen DeBoer said Moore was scheduled to have surgery on Wednesday and would miss the ReliaQuest Bowl on Dec. 31 in Tampa, Florida. DeBoer didn’t disclose the nature of the injury.

“He’s been going through an injury pretty much a lot of the season, and it just got to the point where he wasn’t going to be able to play,” DeBoer told reporters after Wednesday’s practice. “He wanted to do everything he could to get out there. He was trying to wait it out so he could see if it would be something he possibly could be able to participate in.”

Moore, a fifth-year senior, was a second-team Associated Press All-American after making 70 tackles with two interceptions and a team-leading eight pass breakups. Moore also had three tackles for loss, one sack, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.

DeBoer said Alabama will “mix and match” young players at the safety spot alongside Bray Hubbard, mentioning Zavier Mincey.

Wake Forest hires Dickert

Wake Forest moved quickly in reaching across the country to find its next football coach.

The school hired Washington State’s Jake Dickert on Wednesday, two days after Dave Clawson resigned unexpectedly following 11 seasons that included regular bowl bids and an Atlantic Coast Conference division title.

Dickert, 41, had been the defensive coordinator when he took over during the 2021 season as the Cougars’ interim coach after Washington State fired Nick Rolovich for refusing a state mandate that all employees get vaccinated against COVID-19. Dickert led the team to a 3-3 finish to earn the permanent job, then went 20-17 in the three seasons since.

Washington State has spent nine weeks in the AP Top 25 poll over the past two seasons, peaking at No. 13 during a five-week run amid a 4-0 start in 2023 and reaching No. 19 in early November of this season.

Washington State went 8-4 this year, the first since the Pac-12 fell apart, with the majority of its schools scattering to the ACC, Big 12 and Big Ten. Now Dickert is back in a power conference again, nine days before his Cougars are set to play No. 22 Syracuse in the Holiday Bowl (Dec. 27).

Salter to Colorado, Mateer to Oklahoma

The Colorado Buffaloes have landed ex-Liberty quarterback Kaidon Salter out of the transfer portal to possibly replace Shedeur Sanders next season.

Salter figures to compete with five-star high school recruit Julian “JuJu” Lewis for the starting job. Lewis is expected to join the 20th-ranked Buffaloes (9-3) in the spring semester.

A dual threat, Salter is coming off a regular season for the Flames in which he ran for 579 yards and seven TDs while throwing for 1,886 yards and 15 touchdowns. His total yards per game (224.09 yards) was fourth-most in Conference USA.

Former Washington State quarterback John Mateer announced he is heading to Oklahoma.

The move comes two weeks after Oklahoma announced it hired ex-Washington State offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle for the same position with the Sooners.

He passed for 3,139 yards and 29 touchdowns with seven interceptions and ran for 826 yards and 15 scores for the Cougars this season. The Cougars went 8-4 and averaged 36.8 points.

Mateer is in line to replace Jackson Arnold, who has transferred to Auburn.

Ivy League in FCS playoffs

The Ivy League will compete in the FCS playoffs beginning next season, the conference announced on Wednesday, ending a century-long postseason ban originally aimed at allowing the athletes to focus on their schoolwork.

“It’s a monumental day in the Ivy League and a special day to be an Ivy League student-athlete,” said Yale receiver Mason Shipp, who was the chair of the conference’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee that pushed for the change after a year-long study. “For the future generations that are fortunate enough to represent the Ivy League in the FCS playoffs, go win us some hardware!”

The 2024 Ivy League season ended with Columbia, Dartmouth and Harvard earning a share of the championship; it was Colombia’s first conference title since 1961. The league will spend the offseason coming up with a tiebreaker to determine how its automatic qualifier for the FCS playoffs will be awarded.

“Thank you to the Presidents for giving the student-athletes an opportunity to compete for a national championship,” Harvard coach Andrew Aurich said. “Ivy League football is the most competitive it’s ever been and I’m excited for us to make some noise in the playoffs for years to come.”

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Publish date : 2024-12-18 07:59:00

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