Tampa Bay Times from St. Petersburg, Florida • C3

Tampa Bay Times Thursday, September 3, 2020 3C No, the opening weekend of college football have the normal buzz. But if you look hard enough (or are desperate enough), there are plenty of interesting players, wrinkles and stories to a weekend headlined by BYU at Navy? Three reasons to care about Central Arkansas at Alabama-Birmingham the first game featuring a Division I-A opponent this season. Considering the way the sport was teetering three weeks ago (when the Big Ten and Pac-12 bailed), this kickoff is worth celebrating and savoring. The Blazers also will be in the first game of the fall at Miami next Thursday. UAB has played in back-to-back Conference USA title games, and the Hurricanes have lost two in a row to C-USA teams.

This is a chance to get an early scouting report on a potentially tricky matchup to start Manny second season at the U. Jordan Smith is a name you should know and might recognize. Smith was one of nine Gators involved in the credit card fraud scandal in 2017. He left Florida, had a brief stop at Butler (Kan.) Community College and enters the game as one of his top edge rushers for UAB. COLLEGE FOOTBALL tampabay.com/sports for more college sports GAMEDAY GUIDE Times staff writer Matt Baker shares his thoughts from around the college football landscape.

Local of the week Southern Miss offensive lineman Bryce Foxworth (Boca Ciega High) The 6-foot-3, 307-pound senior is expect- ed to make his 14th career start tonight when his Con- ference USA- contending Golden Eagles open against visiting South Alabama. Look for him to try to pave the way for what should be the best rushing attack in several years. Five story lines to watch How does Memphis fare without Mike Norvell? Norvell led the Tigers to their best season (12 wins, trip to Cotton Bowl) before leaving in December to take over Florida State. First-year coach Ryan Silverfield inherited a talented ros- ter that took a recent hit when electric running back Kenneth Gainwell opted out. Arkansas State in prime time Saturday will be the first glimpse of whether Tigers look ready to defend their AAC title.

Can SMU build on its 10-win season? The Mustangs are coming off their first season with double-digit victories since their glory days of the Quarterback Shane Buechele returns, but his offensive coordinator (Rhett Lashlee) is now calling plays at Miami. Instead, Buechele will be led by former Appalachian State assistant Garrett Riley, younger brother of Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley. Expect them to explode on lowly Texas State. Which service academy starts off best? Even if the rest of the season falls apart, Army and Navy will find a way to play in December. This weekend is the first taste of both teams.

Army, trying to rebound after a disappointing 5-8 season, opens Saturday against Middle Tennessee State, while Navy gets BYU on Monday night. next at quarterback for North Texas? Mason Fine earned a trip to last East-West Shrine Game at Tropicana Field by throwing for 12,505 career yards, most ever for the Mean Green and 28th-best in I-A history. North Texas announced his successor; redshirt sophomores Austin Aune and Jason Bean were listed as co-starters against Hous- ton Baptist. this coronavirus-related weirdness? Although the absences were never fully explained, Austin Peay was without its top three long snappers in opener against Central Arkansas. The No.

4 option sailed one snap and grounded another, contributing to a 24-17 loss. If the long snap- pers were out because of a positive test or quarantine, a sign of things to come. see whether outbreaks decimate any position group this weekend and what that means for the on-field product and final score. Contact Matt Baker at Follow College football on TV TONIGHT Central Arkansas at UAB, 8, ESPN3 South Alabama at Southern Miss, 9, CBSSN SATURDAY Eastern Kentucky at Marshall, 1, ESPN Middle Tennessee a Army, 1:30, CBSSN SMU at Texas State, 4:30, ESPN Houston Baptist at North Texas, 7:30, ESPN3 Arkansas State at Memphis, 8, ESPN Stephen F. Austin at UTEP, 9, ESPN3 NFL BY JOEY KNIGHT AND MATT BAKER Times Staff Writers USF will receive no financial guarantee for its two football games at Notre Dame, including this Sept.

19 matchup in South Bend, according to the three-game contract. The three-game contract was provided Wednesday to the Tampa Bay Times upon a public records request. No dates have been set for the two subsequent games, including one in Tampa. The contract also indicates if the Sept. 19 game played, the remaining two games will not be scheduled.

The absence of a financial guar- antee stands in glaring contrast to most contests involving Power Five and Group of Five teams, which often represent a financial boon for the smaller schools. USF, for instance, will receive a guaranteed $750,000 for its two upcoming trips to Gaines- ville to face Florida, and it was set to make $1.9 million for its Sept. 5 trip to Texas, which was called off when the coronavirus pandemic forced the alteration of schedules nationally. But USF and Notre Dame approached this three-game deal as more of a conventional home-and-home arrangement, with the 2019 contest repre- senting a bonus for both teams in need of a game to fill their respective schedules. Moreover, both schools will keep the ticket revenue for their respective home games, which should hugely benefit the Bulls, who potentially could sell out Raymond James Stadium when the Fighting Irish visit.

No a announced that attendance for its home games will be lim- ited to no more than 20 percent of its capacity, which equates to no more than 15,525 fans. USF has the option of pur- chasing 300 tickets for the game, according to the contract. The contract also indicates if the Sept. 19 game occurs, both schools have until Aug. 1, 2021, to agree on dates for the final two games of the series.

The cancellation provisions also are sprawling, with or listed as allowable grounds for a game in the series to be called off. Additionally, either team may cancel if required by its confer- ence to play more regular-season league games than normal. As part of its affiliation with the ACC, Notre Dame must play 10 ACC opponents this season and five in normal years. If either team cancels for a rea- son other than those outlined as allowable, the school in breach of the agreement must pay $500,000 if it cancels 18 months or more before the sched- uled date or pay $1 million if it cancels less than 18 months before the game. An Malik Davis sighting for Gators As No.

8 Florida tries to redis- cover its rushing attack without Perine (now a rookie with the Jets), it might get a boost from a welcome addition to the roster: the old Malik Davis. Davis, to me, looked like the Malik Davis I saw before I got coach Dan Mullen said recently. That Malik Davis looked a lot like the one that rushed for a Hillsborough County-record 7,025 yards in his career at Jesuit High. As a freshman in 2017, Davis was second-leading rusher. Despite appearing in only seven games, his 526 yards were the fourth most by a Gators true freshman behind Ear- nest Graham, Jeff Demps and DeShawn Wynn and he ran for at least 90 yards five times.

But his career got off track midway through the year when he had a season-ending knee injury against Georgia. Davis said he felt back to normal before his sophomore season until a broken left foot knocked him out in September. He played in 12 games last sea- son but the same. He was buried on the depth chart and rushed for only 86 yards on 34 carries. So which Davis will take the field at Mississippi on Sept.

26, the one who averaged 6.7 yards per rush as a true freshman or the one who has averaged 3.1 yards per carry since? Mullen sounds optimistic that the old Davis is back. Early in preseason camp, the coach praised receiv- ing abilities out of the backfield. important, considering Perine was third on the team with 40 catches last year. Then after last scrim- mage, Davis was the first player Mullen highlighted in his recap. seen that (out of Davis) in a couple Mul- len said.

really back to where he wants to likely starting QB opts out Jamie Newman, a Wake For- est graduate transfer who was projected to be the starting quar- terback for No. 4 Georgia, is opt- ing out of the season three weeks before the opener. Newman transferred after four years at Wake Forest, lead- ing the Demon Deacons to an 8-5 record last season. He was MVP of the 2018 Pinstripe Bowl as a redshirt sophomore. He said he now will prepare for the 2021 NFL draft, leaving Georgia with a huge hole to fill weeks before the opener.

The Bulldogs open Sept. 26 at Arkansas and had yet to announce a starter. In a social media post announc- ing his decision after news of the move broke, Newman wrote: much prayer and discus- sion with my family I would like to announce that due to the uncer- tainties of this year amid a global pandemic I will officially opt out of this football season to prepare for the upcoming 2021 NFL Newman announced his deci- sion to attend Georgia in Jan- uary. He took snaps with the first-team offense in the scrimmage Saturday. He was fol- lowed by sophomore J.T.

Dan- iels, a transfer from USC. Red- shirt freshman Mathis and freshman Carson Beck also got snaps with the No. 1 offense. Junior Stetson Bennett did not. Perhaps coincidentally, for- mer Georgia quarterback Justin Fields, who played last season at Ohio State, was reportedly at the scrimmage Saturday.

The Big Ten has announced that it will not play football in the fall. Fields played one season at Georgia, playing behind Jake Fromm, who was drafted by the Bills this year. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Contact Joey Knight at Follow USF gets no financial guarantees for Notre Dame trips Associated Press (2019) Southern Miss offensive lineman Bryce Foxworth, left, battles Alabama defensive lineman Raekwon Davis during a game last season in Tuscaloosa. Associated Press (2019) UAB linebacker Jordan Smith pressures Appalachian State quarterback Zac Thomas during the first half of the New Orleans Bowl last season.

Smith began his college career at Florida but left after his involvement in a credit card scandal in 2017. Times news services NEW ORLEANS Saints running back Alvin Kamara returned to practice Wednesday after declining to take the field in recent days because of his appar- ent dissatisfaction with progress on a contract extension. was good having him back out coach Sean Payton said. thought he had a good practice today, and a big part of what we Kamara, due to become a restricted free agent after the sea- son, reported to training camp on time and said initially he was not concerned with his contract status and was focused more on his health and the season. He practiced without issue for much of the first couple of weeks before missing practices Aug.

23 and 24 because of what Payton described as a stomach virus. Kamara returned to practice for two days in the middle of last week but then missed four con- secutive practices before return- ing Wednesday. The Saints have said Kamara was at the facility every day to get tested for the coronavirus and comply with the protocols. actively negotiat- ing a contract with he and his agent, and keep you posted if any Pay- ton said, declining to specify if Kamara was fined for the four recent practices he missed. Pay- ton remained optimistic Kamara miss any regular-season action because of his contract status.

The Saints open Sept. 13 at home against the Bucs. Kamara, a third-round draft choice out of Tennessee in 2017, is slated to make about $2.1 mil- lion in what is the final season of his first contract. He gained 1,330 yards from scrimmage last season and five touchdowns rushing and one receiving despite missing two games with ankle and knee inju- ries that continued to bother him much of the season. CORONAVIRUS UPDATE: The league announced four new con- firmed positive tests among play- ers and six among other person- nel from 58,621 tests adminis- tered to a total of 8,739 players and team personnel Aug.

21-29. VIKINGS QB TRIES TO CLAR- IFY VIRUS COMMENTS: Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins attempted to clarify comments he made in a podcast interview in July in which he said, among other things, that he is not per- sonally concerned by the coro- navirus pandemic and I die, I In the interview on the 10 Questions with Kyle Brandt pod- cast, released Wednesday, Cous- ins said he was unconcerned about catching the virus; if he does get it, if I die, I die. I kind of have peace about but he wants to other by wearing a face covering. Cousins said Wednesday he as clear as I would have liked to have He said that what he wanted to say then and now is though the virus not give me a great amount of per- sonal fear, still great rea- son for me to engage in wearing a mask and social distancing and washing my hands as frequently as I can and following protocols that have been set in place obvi- ously to be respectful and con- siderate of other people, which is very Cousins said his stance on the virus stems from his faith. trust the Lord to han- dle he said.

BENGALS EXTEND RB MIXON: Running back Joe Mixon signed a four-year, $48 million contract extension through the 2024 sea- son, a vote of confidence for a player who has rehabilitated his image and evolved into one of the top backs. they definitely value me in a way a lot of people probably Mixon said, referring to the front office. just wanted to show my love to here and finish my career The Bengals drafted Mixon in the 2017 second round out of Oklahoma, where he was suspended for punching a woman in the face. The Bengals drew backlash with the choice, prompting owner Mike Brown to acknowledge they were a on Mixon because of his tal- ent. Mixon has avoided trouble while in the NFL.

He was enter- ing the final year of his contract. CHARGERS: Safety Derwin James will miss the season after having surgery to repair a menis- cus tear in his right knee, the team said. James, an All-Pro selection as a rookie in 2018, was hurt during a scrimmage Sun- day. It is the second time in five seasons James has had a sea- son end due to a knee injury. He tore the meniscus in his left knee as a sophomore at Florida State in 2016 in the second game and missed the rest of the year.

WASHINGTON: Dwayne Haskins will be the starting quarterback for Week 1 against the Eagles, coach Ron Rivera said. Haskins, a 2019 first-round draft pick, got the nod over Kyle Allen, whom Rivera knows from his time with Carolina, and Alex Smith, less than two years removed from breaking his right leg. Kamara back at practice after apparent contract protest.