Oregon-Lanning Football

Georgia defensive coordinator Dan Lanning continued to work for the Bulldogs, who are preparing to play in the College Football Playoff semifinals, while also preparing for his new job as coach of the Oregon Ducks. Joshua L. Jones/Athens Banner-Herald via the Associated Press

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Georgia defensive coordinator Dan Lanning is leading a double life.

Early in the day, he is still locked into his current job, helping the third-ranked Bulldogs prepare for a College Football Playoff semifinal against No. 2 Michigan in the Orange Bowl on Friday.

As the days wind down on the East Coast, Lanning can turn his attention to Oregon and his new gig. The 35-year-old was hired to be the Ducks’ new head coach two weeks ago.

“West Coast being three hours behind us has given us the opportunity to be able to really focus on Georgia early on during the day, and then later on at night be able to get a lot of things accomplished with our team there in Oregon and our staff, we’re piecing that together,” Lanning said.

Georgia Coach Kirby Smart has already announced the plan to replace Lanning, with special teams coordinator Will Muschamp, the former South Carolina and Florida head coach, moving into a co-defensive coordinator role with inside linebackers coach Glenn Schumann.

For now, though, Lanning said he will continue to call defensive plays for the Orange Bowl.

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“We’ll operate very similar to what we’ve operated all season. I’ll still be making the calls, but every single one of our defensive coaches have been extremely involved throughout the week, throughout our preparation, and this is a team effort,” Lanning said. “It’s been a team effort all season and that doesn’t change for this one game.”

MICHIGAN: Running back Blake Corum said his sore right ankle is feeling the best it has in more than a month.

“I feel like my ankle is finally back,” Corum said during an Orange Bowl video call with reporters. “I feel like I have my cutting ability, my speed and my top-end speed, my burst. I feel like I have all that back.”

Corum was Michigan’s leading rusher when he was injured against Indiana on Nov. 6. He did not play in the next two games before being used in a limited but effective role against Ohio State and Iowa in the Big Ten title game.

The 5-foot-8, 200-pound sophomore had 11 carries for 161 yards and a touchdown versus the Buckeyes and Hawkeyes. Michigan leaned more on its power back, Hassan Haskins, over the last month of the season.

“Just having great depth has allowed us to be in this position. Other than the few weeks where we had to put a lot on Hassan’s plate, we’ve been able to have great depth and have different guys step up, whether it’s Blake, whether it’s Donovan (Edwards), and so we’re excited to finally get a chance to see a full-speed Blake Corum,” Michigan offensive coordinator Josh Gattis said.

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Corum has run for 939 yards and 6.7 yards per carry.

For Georgia, safety Chris Smith said the knee injury he suffered in practice late in the season and played through against Alabama in the Southeastern Conference championship game is improving.

“I’ve been working with the training staff a lot to be able to get back going on the field and stuff like that. I definitely had a great opportunity to be able to play in the last game, and I’m doing everything I can to play in this game,” Smith said.

Smith moved from safety to STAR, a linebacker/defensive back hybrid, against Tennessee and really took to the position. The injury forced Smith back into a safety role with William Poole starting at STAR against Alabama. The Bulldogs’ pass defense was a mess against the Tide, allowing 421 yards passing.

The hope is having Smith back at STAR will help Georgia plug the holes.

THE FOUR PLAYOFF teams were scheduled to have at least parts of their Monday practices open to media, but only Cincinnati’s workout at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, was open.
Alabama in Arlington along with Georgia and Michigan in South Florida decided to close their practices, citing COVID-19 concerns. All four teams closed Tuesday’s practices.

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OHIO STATE: Wide receiver Garrett Wilson is skipping the Rose Bowl to enter the NFL draft.

Wilson made the announcement in a statement on Twitter at the same time the Buckeyes were at Disneyland to celebrate their New Year’s Day game against Pac-12 champion Utah.

Wilson, a 6-foot, 192-pound junior, is regarded as a potential first-round selection. He had 70 receptions for 1,058 yards and 12 touchdowns, ranking second on the team in each category for the potent Buckeyes passing attack. He caught 23 touchdowns in his three seasons at Ohio State.

ARIZONA BOWL: The Arizona Bowl was canceled after Boise State pulled out and shut down all team activities due to COVID-19 issues within the program.

The Broncos were scheduled to play Central Michigan at Arizona Stadium on Friday but instead joined numerous college programs that have been hit with coronavirus issues coming out of the Christmas break.

“We feel for the young men in our program who were very much looking forward to closing out their season, and for some, their football careers,” Boise State Athletic Director Jeramiah Dickey said in a statement. “I would personally like to thank Kym Adair and her team at the Arizona Bowl for putting together a first-class student-athlete and fan experience that we are extremely disappointed to miss.”

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Barstool Sports, the sponsor of the Arizona Bowl, tweeted that it made the “difficult decision” to cancel the game, which would have been streamed on its multiple platforms.

Central Michigan will instead play Washington State in the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas, replacing Miami in a game that’ll be broadcast on CBS..

QUICK LANE BOWL: Kaleb Eleby threw two touchdowns and ran for another and Western Michigan recorded its second bowl victory in program history, rolling past Nevada 52-24 at Detroit.

Sean Tyler rushed for 146 yards on 14 carries and returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown for Western Michigan (8-5). Jaxson Kincaide, a Nevada transfer, rushed for 105 yards on 17 carries and scored two touchdowns.

The Broncos’ only other bowl victory came in the 2015 Bahamas Bowl against Middle Tennessee. Compared with that one, the Quick Lane Bowl was practically a home game for them.

Nate Cox passed for 121 yards and a touchdown and Devonte Lee rushed for 85 yards and a touchdown for Nevada (8-5).


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