Trump plans to attend national title game
Lawmakers being asked to crown UCF champion
President Donald Trump is reportedly making plans to attend the college football national championship game between Georgia and Alabama on Monday night in Atlanta.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Wednesday that local law enforcement personnel are working with the Secret Service to prepare for Trump’s arrival at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. First lady Melania Trump also is expected to attend. A White House official did not contest the report, although the plans are not final.
On Tuesday, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders opened the daily briefing by offering Trump’s congratulations to the two teams for their semifinal victories. Both schools, she noted, are “in the heart of Trump country.”
The president won Alabama by 30 points and Georgia by five over Democrat Hillary Clinton. But Trump suffered an embarrassing political defeat last month when Republican Roy Moore, whom the president had endorsed, lost to Democrat Doug Jones in the U.S. Senate race in Alabama.
ALABAMA: Starting linebacker Anfernee Jennings says he will miss the national championship game against Georgia with a left knee injury sustained in the semifinals.
UCLA: Quarterback Josh Rosen is skipping his senior season to enter the NFL draft.
ARIZONA: Former Wildcats offensive lineman Warner Smith has died after a more than three-year battle with Lou Gehrig’s disease. He was 44.
Smith was a four-year starter and senior team captain for Arizona and a two-time All-Pac-10 honoree as a guard.
UCF: Florida lawmakers are being asked to take action the College Football Playoff Committee won’t: Declare UCF national champions.
Kevin Cate, a Democratic consultant and Auburn graduate, tweeted this week that lawmakers should consider a resolution declaring UCF national champions after it knocked off Auburn 34-27 in the Peach Bowl on New Year’s Day.
“They’re undefeated and they beat a team that beat both of the teams in the national championship game in my Auburn Tigers,” Cate said Wednesday. “It may be symbolic in nature, but the players, coaches and school deserve it … I think anyone who was watching that Auburn game — even you’re an Auburn fan like me — if you didn’t get the chills watching that, I can’t help you.”