Clan-Members » We expect the same thing

ATLANTA -- The Southeastern Conference cleared the way Friday for former Alabama defensive back Maurice Smith to transfer as a graduate student to Georgia.The SEC granted two exceptions to conference bylaws as requested by Georgia on behalf of Smith. Smith wont have to sit out a year and will be eligible this season. He also was given an exception to the SEC rule which says transfers have at least two years of eligibility remaining.The ruling Friday by SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey comes after Alabama granted Smiths release. Smith can follow former Alabama assistants Kirby Smart and Mel Tucker to Georgia. Smart is Georgias new coach and Tucker is the defensive coordinator.Sankey said Smith earned the exceptions by graduating from Alabama in three years.The standard for granting waivers has been clear and compelling evidence that there is reason for allowing an exception to SEC rules, Sankey said in a statement. I found, among other contributing factors, that a student-athlete who graduates in three years and exhibits a strong commitment to his or her academic future provides compelling motivation to help them achieve their goals on and off the field.Sankey also said Smith has clearly and passionately stated his desire for a graduate degree in Public Health.Smith will be allowed to receive financial aid from Georgia immediately.Georgia coach Kirby Smart thanked Sankey for granting the waiver which will allow Maurice Smith to pursue his dreams at the University of Georgia as a graduate transfer.This has been a difficult situation to navigate and we are grateful to all who have been involved in bringing it to a resolution, Smart said in a statement released by Georgia on Friday night. Now that it is behind us, we are all anxious to move forward.Smith has the option to complete his final year of eligibility in 2016 or 2017. He is expected to play this year and must complete nine hours this semester to be eligible for postseason play.Alabama coach Nick Saban initially blocked Smiths request to transfer within the conference.After Wednesdays practice, Saban said Alabama had done everything it could to allow the conference to make the decision about whatever they decide is in the best interest of the conference and the SEC rules relative to Maurice Smith.Smith was a first-team nickel back for Alabama during spring practice. He had 15 tackles while playing every game in 2015.It was not immediately known when Smith might join Georgias team.---AP college football website: http://collegefootball.ap.org Adidas Ultra Boost 3.0 Suomi .J. -- Seven games into a disappointing season, New York Giants defensive catalyst Jason Pierre-Paul is getting the feeling hes back. Adidas Superstar Kengät Netistä .ca NHL Power Rankings for the second straight week, ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Colorado Avalanche. http://www.yeezysuomi.com/ . How great will be revealed in the next couple of days at the board of governors meeting in Pebble Beach, Calif. Stan Smith Tarjous . The Americans, skipped by John Shuster, seized the advantage in the eighth end by scoring five points for a 7-3 lead. The Czechs pulled two back in the ninth, but Shusters team of third Jeff Isaacson, second Jared Zezel and lead John Landsteiner ended with another point to secure the last Olympic berth on offer. Adidas Superstar Kengät Ale . The players spoke Jan. 13 during a Major League Baseball Players Association conference call after Rodriguez sued the union and Major League Baseball to overturn an arbitrators decision suspending him for the 2014 season and post-season. COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Bowling Green will be a four-touchdown underdog coming into Ohio Stadium on Saturday, but new Falcons coach Mike Jinks said he welcomes the chance to shock the world.If Jinks squad can knock off the mighty Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium, it would be a monumental inaugural win for him as a college coach. A Texas Tech assistant for three seasons after a long career in Texas high school football, the 44-year-old Jinks took the helm at Bowling Green this season after Dino Babers was hired away by Syracuse.Returning fewer than half the starters from a team that went 10-4 and won the Mid-American Conference crown last year, the Falcons have their work cut out for them. They have new starters at quarterback and tailback, a rebuilt defensive line and must compensate for the loss of two of the three best receivers from last year.Anything can happen, right?Ive been an underdog my whole life, Jinks said. I kind of excel in those situations.So does Bowling Green, it seems. The Falcons shocked two Big 10 teams last season on the road, Maryland and Purdue, and stayed competitive against Tennessee in the season opener. In 2014, they beat Indiana 45-42 at home.These are the games we ought to want to be in, Jinks said. These are the opportunities that dont come too often. There are 128 FBS schools in the country, and were playing at probably one of the top five venues of all time. Not everybody gets those chances throughout a college career, so its a trend that we hope to continue in years to come.Bowling Green will take home a guaranteed payout of $975,000 for the trip to Ohio Stadium.Some other things to know as the Falcons try to pull off the upset in Columbus:QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS, QUESTIONSThere may be as many questions about No. 6 ranked Ohio State as Bowling Green this season. The Buckeyes have the least experienced team in the nation, losing 16 starters from last year. They have new starters at tailback and wide receiver, and throughout the defense.I know what were walking into, but you dont know what this 16 Ohio State team going to be, and you dont know what this 16 Bowling Green team is going to be, Jinks said. Thhats the exciting part of it.ddddddddddddDONT DISCOUNT THE UNDERDOGSOhio State players say theyve learned not to look past any team. The Buckeyes needed a pick-six from linebacker Darron Lee to bail out its struggling offense and squeak by MAC power Northern Illinois 20-13 in what was intended to be a tune-up game early last season.Scrappy. Very, very scrappy, offensive guard Billy Price said of BG. NIU was a very good opponent. We expect the same thing. We cannot take an opponent lightly no matter what conference, whatever team it is. Were going in there respecting them just as much as we did Alabama or just as much as Oregon.Said linebacker Chris Worley: A team like Bowling Green, you can never overlook them. Theyre going to come here ready to play, and we know that. The team that plays the hardest will win.SHADES OF 2014?Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said this years teams reminds him of the 2014 team in terms of starting so many talented but still untested players. That team ended up winning the national championship.(Its) very similar, he said. And Im real excited about them. Im trying to hold down the excitement because I really am. I cant wait to watch them to play. This has been a good camp. Good people to work with.The biggest unknown, he said, is how the young players will react to being in the stadium with 100,000 of their closest, noisiest friends.BARRETT READY TO ROLLMeyer said quarterback J.T. Barrett, who entered a training camp for the first time as the undisputed starting quarterback, is playing as well as he ever has.Hes on top of his game, Im proud to say, Meyer said. Hes a very good player, a very good leader. Hes driving the car and hes never had that this time of year. The first time he got a start, he certainly wasnt driving the car. He was in the front seat somewhere, but he wasnt driving it. Now its his, and hes really doing a nice job.---Follow Mitch Stacy at http://twitter.com/mitchstacyFor some of his other recent stories: http://bigstory.ap.org/content/mitch-stacy ' ' '