Arkansas

Carnahan Chronicles Radio: Sam Gardner of FOX Sports talks 1985 Villanova championship team

Three of the four NCAA Tournament games played in Jacksonville in the Round of 64 were decided by three points or less, highlighted by a memorable upset of No. 3 Baylor by No. 14 Georgia State.

Arkansas, North Carolina and Xavier also advanced and Sam Gardner of FOX Sports was there to see it all play out.

Gardner joined the show Saturday to talk about the start of the tourney. He also shared details about recent interviews he conducted with players and coaches from the 1985 Villanova men’s basketball championship team for an anniversary story that was published earlier this week.

Read about the improbable journey for that Villanova squad at FOXSports.com and keep up with Gardner on Twitter for more out of Jacksonville.

New film analyzes origins of “Dixie” and its relationship with the South

The history of the song “Dixie” is the subject of an Intersection Films production bearing the same name by Ryan Kelley and Trent Reeves.

It’s a documentation of the origins of the song, its relation to the South, and the people who’ve preserved it in some form or fashion throughout each passing generation.

It’s also a look into how “Dixie” became a rallying cry for those opposed to the desegregating times of the late 1950s and 1960s and the connection it began to have with that of the Confederate flag.

Was “Dixie” in fact written by Dan Emmett of Mount Vernon, Ohio, who went on to pioneer the blackface minstrel shows of the mid-1800s? Or was it a nearby family of former slaves – Ben and Lou Snowden – who taught him the tune that he would eventually make famous?

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Carnahan Chronicles College Football Rankings (Week 13)

Not much has changed from a week ago in the Carnahan Chronicles College Football Rankings. FSU is still the only unbeaten from a power conference at this point in the season. The other unbeaten team barely hung on to win Saturday as Conference USA’s Marshall improved to 11-0 with a 23-18 win over UAB. Maybe one day we’ll see a team such as this get a shot at making the playoffs. Colorado State (10-1) of the Mountain West is the last remaining team left with one loss not listed below after winning 58-20 over New Mexico behind running back Dee Hart, an Alabama transfer. Would be interested in seeing Hart get a chance to run against Bama at the end of the season.

Here’s the rankings for this week:

#1 (1) Florida State (11-0) – Won 20-17 vs Boston College
#2 (2) Alabama (10-1) – Won 48-14 vs Western Carolina
#3 (3) Oregon (10-1) – Won 44-10 vs Colorado
#4 (4) Baylor (9-1) – Won 49-28 vs Oklahoma State
#5 (5) Ohio State (10-1) – Won 42-27 vs Indiana
#6 (6) TCU (9-1) – Did not play
#7 (7) Mississippi State (10-1) – Won 51-0 vs Vanderbilt
#8 (10) UCLA (9-2) – Won 38-20 vs No. 19 USC
#9 (–) Georgia (9-2) – Won 55-9 vs Charleston Southern
#10 (9) Wisconsin (9-2) – Won 26-24 at Iowa

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Carnahan Chronicles College Football Rankings (Week 12)

Just one college football team remains unbeaten from a power conference at this point in the season as the defending national champion Florida State Seminoles strengthened their hold on a postseason bid Saturday night. The other three spots are up for grabs between six teams with only one loss. Aside from FSU, Marshall (10-0) of Conference USA is the lone remaining unbeaten while the only other team with one loss not listed below is Colorado State (9-1) of the Mountain West.

This week’s Carnahan Chronicles College Football Rankings:

#1 (1) Florida State (10-0) – Won 30-26 at Miami
#2 (4) Alabama (9-1) – Won 25-20 vs No. 1 Mississippi State
#3 (3) Oregon (9-1) – Did not play
#4 (5) Baylor (8-1) – Did not play
#5 (8) Ohio State (9-1) – Won 31-24 at No. 25 Minnesota
#6 (6) TCU (9-1) – Won 34-30 at Kansas
#7 (2) Mississippi State (9-1) – Lost 25-20 at No. 5 Alabama
#8 (–) Mississippi (8-2) – Did not play
#9 (–) Wisconsin (8-2) – Won 59-24 vs No. 16 Nebraska
#10 (10) UCLA (8-2) – Did not play

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Carnahan Chronicles College Football Rankings (Week 10)

The top four teams this week in the College Football Playoff, in order, are Mississippi State, Florida State, Auburn and Oregon, just as the top four teams in this week’s version of the Carnahan Chronicles College Football Rankings.

#1 (1) Florida State (8-0) – Won 42-31 at Louisville
#2 (2) Mississippi State (8-0) – Won 17-10 vs Arkansas
#3 (4) Auburn (7-1) – Won 35-31 at No. 4 Mississippi
#4 (3) Oregon (8-1) – Won 45-16 vs Stanford
#5 (6) Alabama (7-1) – Did not play
#6 (8) TCU (7-1) – Won 31-30 at No. 20 West Virginia
#7 (7) Notre Dame (7-1) – Won 49-39 at Navy
#8 (9) Michigan State (7-1) – Did not play
#9 (10) Kansas State (7-1) – Won 48-14 vs Oklahoma State
#10 (–) Baylor (7-1) – Won 60-14 vs Kansas

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Carnahan Chronicles College Football Rankings (Week 7)

Teams are starting to win the sort of games that will separate them from the rest of the pack when it comes time to deciding which programs will make up the college football playoff. Although the Associated Press has a new No. 1 this week, the Carnahan Chronicles College Football Rankings have gone unchanged at the top spot.

#1 (1) Florida State (6-0) – Won 38-20 at Syracuse
#2 (3) Mississippi State (6-0) – Won 38-23 vs No. 2 Auburn
#3 (4) Mississippi (6-0) – Won 35-20 at No. 14 Texas A&M
#4 (–) Baylor (6-0) – Won 61-58 vs No. 9 TCU
#5 (6) Notre Dame (6-0) – Won 50-43 vs North Carolina
#6 (8) Oregon (5-1) – Won 42-30 at No. 18 UCLA
#7 (2) Auburn (5-1) – Lost 38-23 at No. 3 Mississippi State
#8 (5) TCU (4-1) – Lost 61-58 at No. 5 Baylor
#9 (10) Michigan State (5-1) – Won 45-31 at Purdue
#10 (9) Alabama (5-1) – Won 14-13 at Arkansas

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Carnahan Chronicles College Football Rankings (Week 5)

Teams atop the Carnahan Chronicles College Football Rankings caused fans to question their toughness this past week as they kept matchups interesting for far too long. There’s just one new addition this time around to the Top 10 and a little movement based on bye weeks. Consider this a Top 10 dedicated to momentum each week based off level of upsets and voting by the Associated Press:

#1 (1) Florida State (4-0) – Won 56-41 at NC State
#2 (2) Auburn (4-0) – Won 45-17 at Louisiana Tech
#3 (4) Oregon (4-0) – Did not play
#4 (3) Texas A&M (5-0) – Won 35-28 (OT) vs Arkansas
#5 (6) Oklahoma (4-0) – Did not play
#6 (7) Alabama (4-0) – Did not play
#7 (–) UCLA (4-0) – Won 62-27 at No. 15 Arizona State
#8 (7) Mississippi State (4-0) – Did not play
#9 (10) Michigan State (3-1) – Won 56-14 vs Wyoming
#10 (9) East Carolina (3-1) – Did not play

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Carnahan Chronicles College Football Rankings (Week 1)

Since Week 2 of the college football season is rapidly approaching, we’ll keep this short and sweet. After one week of action here’s the debut of the Carnahan Chronicles College Football Rankings:

1) Florida State (defending champs won 37-31 vs Oklahoma State)
2) Auburn (last year’s runner-up won 45-21 vs Arkansas)
3) Texas A&M (won 52-28 on road at No. 9 South Carolina)
4) Georgia (won 45-21 vs No. 16 Clemson)
5) LSU (won 28-24 vs No. 14 Wisconsin)
6) Oklahoma (won 48-16 vs Louisiana Tech)
7) Oregon (won 62-13 vs South Dakota)
8) Michigan State (won 45-7 vs Jacksonville State)
9) Alabama (won 33-23 vs West Virginia)
10) Ohio State (won 34-17 vs Navy)

NOTES: Because FSU & Auburn played for the title last season, they start atop these rankings. Texas A&M, Georgia & LSU won Top 25 matchups against teams in the Associated Press poll and because of that move into the Top 5 right off the bat. The benefit of the doubt was given to Oklahoma, Alabama & Ohio State due to their respective rankings in the AP poll this week, as was the case with Oregon & Michigan State, the winner of which will likely move up following Week 2. Ohio State is the only other team on this list playing a decent opponent this weekend (Virginia Tech). Also, expect the winner of Stanford & USC to climb into the Top 10 next week.