NCAA Football News and Notes for December 31st

After wetting your appetite with other bowl games throughout the last couple of weeks, the College Football Playoffs are finally upon us. The last day of 2021 will be full of exciting games as Alabama, Michigan, Georgia, and Cincinnati battle to be able to stake the claim of National Champions.
While much of the attention is focused on these games, there is plenty of other news around college football as well. Let’s take a look at some of the biggest stories from around the nation this week.
Will Daxton Hill Play?
For Michigan to take down the No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs, they are going to need every tool they can get. One tool in question comes in the form of defensive back Daxton Hill.
Entering Thursday, Hill had not joined the rest of his team in Miami; however, there were reports that Hill arrived and was likely to play Friday. Still, head coach Jim Harbaugh was non-committal in a conference call Thursday and called Hill questionable.
It is unclear why Hill has been absent from his team other than Harbaugh indicating that he is “…working through something right now.”
This season, Hill has 65 tackles, 0.5 sacks, one fumble recovery, and two interceptions. As an entire unit, Michigan ranks third in scoring defense, allowing just 16.1 points per game to opponents.
Despite being the higher seed, the Wolverines are the underdogs in this game. They are +220 to win against the Bulldogs, and the spread features Michigan +7.5 (-115). The Wolverines have the third-best odds of winning the National Championship at +600.
Hawaii Dealing With High Number Of Transfers
The transfer portal has given a whole new opportunity to players who view their colleges as either not the right fit or are blocked by others in front of them. One side effect, though, is the strain it can put on programs.
One program that has seen a large contingency of players leave is Hawaii. Since the end of the season, the Rainbow Warriors have seen 14 players enter the transfer portal.
Head coach Todd Graham has dealt with issues stemming from a report from SFGate that alleged issues in the program, including verbal abuse of players, and these transfers might be a direct reflection of that.
To add insult to injury, Graham’s own son, Michael Graham, was the most recent player to enter the portal.
While Graham only played in parts of eight games, the program has felt an even greater impact as starting quarterback Chevan Cordeiro, and leading rusher Dae Dae Hunter are both set to leave the program.
Cordeiro threw for 2,793 yards, 17 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions this season. Hunter rushed 101 times for 651 yards and three touchdowns.
The Rainbow Warriors finished just 6-7 overall and 3-5 in the Mountain West Conference. They were supposed to play in the Hawaii Bowl, but they were forced to withdraw as they dealt with COVID issues.
Buckeyes Seeing Massive Opt-Outs Ahead Of Draft
It seems like every year that teams playing in bowl games, but not the College Football Playoffs, see players opt-out so they can focus on the upcoming NFL draft. For the Ohio State Buckeyes, they are definitely not immune to this.
This week, it was announced that wide receivers Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson, as well as a few others, would not be playing in the Rose Bowl against Utah.
In losing Wilson and Olave, quarterback C.J. Stroud loses two of his top three receivers. Wilson had 70 receptions for 1,058 yards and 12 touchdowns. Olave had 65 receptions for 936 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Ohio State is still the favorite in their game with Utah on Saturday, but it is close. The Buckeyes are -184 to win, while the Utes’ moneyline sits at +148. The spread features Utah +4.5 (-114).