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By Joe Spears | @joe_spears7 Sports Capital Journalism Program ATLANTA — Riley Ridley sat in his locker in quiet disbelief. The sophomore receiver had just played the best game of his young career at the University of Georgia. Coming into the College Football Playoff National Championship, Ridley had eight receptions for 136 yards this season, …

By Jon Sauber and Joe Spears | @JonSauber @joe_spears7 ATLANTA – The fourth championship game of the College Football Playoff era will be the first to feature teams from the same conference. When the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Georgia Bulldogs meet in Mercedes-Benz Stadium Monday night, in the middle of Southeastern Conference territory, a …

By Joe Spears | @joe_spears7 Sports Capital Journalism Program ATLANTA – As Terrell Lewis walked off the field at Mercedes-Benz Stadium favoring his right arm, it appeared clear to the followers of Alabama’s Crimson Tide that they had just lost their promising sophomore linebacker for a significant amount of time. Lewis came into the 2017 …

Editor’s note: Sports Capital Journalism Program student Joe Spears, writing for Newsday, sets the stage for the College Football Playoff National Championship that will become a long-awaited celebration for the Georgia Bulldogs or a coronation for the Nick Saban era at the University of Alabama. https://www.newsday.com/sports/college/college-football/alabama-georgia-cfp-kirby-smart-nick-saban-1.15974581?utm_content=buffer145e8&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer    

Editor’s note: Sports Capital Journalism Program graduate assistant Jon Sauber, writing for Newsday, described how Georgia senior running backs Nick Chubb and Sony Michel became the most prolific duo in NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision history as they led the Bulldogs to a Rose Bowl victory and a spot in the College Football Playoff National Championship …

By Jon Sauber | @JonSauber Sports Capital Journalism Program ATLANTA — Thanks to a title game featuring two Southeastern Conference teams, Alabama and Georgia, speculation about an expansion beyond a four-team field has dominated discussion about the College Football Playoff. That speculation was put to rest on Friday by Bill Hancock, its director. “[The current …

By Sarah Bahr | @smbahr14 Sports Capital Journalism Program PASADENA, Calif. — Georgia linebacker Lorenzo Carter couldn’t stop smiling. “It all happened so fast,” he said of the first blocked field goal of his career, the moment that soon led to a historic victory. Carter stood in the hallway outside the Georgia locker room at …

By Alaa Abdeldaiem | @Abdeldaiem_Alaa PASADENA, Calif. –– The second he heard the sound, he knew. The second he saw it––the ball flying sideways, flat, short and too far to the right––it took no time at all for Oklahoma’s Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Baker Mayfield to realize the reality that was settling in. The game had …

By Sarah Bahr | @smbahr14 Sports Capital Journalism Program LOS ANGELES — What’s the first item on a 242-pound man’s to-do list when he’s dropped in the middle of an 8-year-old girl’s princess-packed paradise? Georgia linebacker Lorenzo Carter had Mickey on his mind. “The first thing I had to do was get my ears,” Carter …

By Alaa Abdeldaiem | @Abdeldaiem_Alaa Sports Capital Journalism Program LOS ANGELES –– For a few seconds during his career debut as his team’s head coach, Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley simply stood on the sidelines, waiting for the game to continue after the University of Texas at El Paso was called for a holding on third down …