Golson to miss Peach Bowl; FSU career ends
Spartans’ Cook: Rest helped arm
Everett Golson’s college career has ended a lot differently than most expected.
Florida State announced after Saturday’s practice that Golson did not make the trip for the Peach Bowl because of personal reasons. The ninthranked Seminoles (10-2) had their first practice in Atlanta in preparation for the Dec. 31 game against No. 14 Houston (12-1).
Golson also missed last week’s practices on campus as the Seminoles (10-2) returned to the field after finals. Coach Jimbo Fisher said at the time it was because of the death of Golson’s grandmother.
Saturday’s announcement caps a second straight season in which Golson struggled down the stretch and lost his starting quarterback job.
Golson finishes this season completing 67.1 percent of his passes (147 of 219) for 1,778 yards with 11 touchdowns and three interceptions in nine games. He leaves college with a 24-7 career record as a starter (17-6 Notre Dame, 7-1 Florida State).
MICHIGAN STATE: One day after arriving with the No. 3 Spartans in Dallas and a few hours before their first Texas practice, quarterback Connor Cook said three weeks of rest since the Big Ten title game win over Iowa “did everything” to help his sprained right shoulder improve.
“A lot of rest. That’s the main thing,” Cook, who sprained the shoulder in a Nov. 14 win over Maryland, said Saturday. “When you have an injury and stuff, yeah, you can rehab it. You can ice it or whatever, but rest is key. I was able to do that. Didn’t really throw a whole lot.”
MSU coach Mark Dantonio also gave reporters a rosy report on Cook, five days before the Spartans (12-1) take on No. 2 Alabama (12-1) in Thursday’s Cotton Bowl semifinal at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
ALABAMA: The Crimson Tide (12-1) got into Dallas Saturday morning. The Tide left behind the severe weather that brought flooding and tornadoes in its home state to find some more ominous weather brewing in North Texas. The entire area was on a tornado watch for most of the afternoon and into the evening. Tornado and flashflood warnings dotted the counties around Dallas.
A few Crimson Tide players who went home for Christmas were delayed getting back to Tuscaloosa, but all the players expected to be on Alabama’s team plane made it.
“Certainly was a difficult circumstance last night, but we didn’t have any issues at least with the group that came with us, which was probably 90 percent of the guys,” Tide coach Nick Saban said.
ORANGE BOWL: Clemson coach Dabo Swinney remembers his players being “blown away” by their images wrapped around buses when they arrived in South Florida for the Orange Bowl four years ago.
They saw those same buses waiting on the tarmac for them again when they landed in Fort Lauderdale late Saturday afternoon — more than four hours after their opponent, Oklahoma, arrived in Miami. But this time there was no awe for the Tigers, the nation’s top-ranked team.
Making its third Orange Bowl appearance in five years, the lone unbeaten FBS team will face fourth-seeded Oklahoma in a College Football Playoff semifinal at Sun Life Stadium on Dec. 31.
“The guys were excited (flying here) because they know we’re in the final four,” Swinney said. “We started the year with hopes to achieve this. So to get on the plane today, to know that it’s finally here … and to actually get here, you feel like time is ticking quickly.”