College Football
Knights Playoff Crusade
By: Mike Anthony
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
For any P5 school, an undefeated record followed up by a 12-1 showing would be cause for fans and national pundits alike to wonder if a dynasty is on the horizon.
But for a G5 school, even those incredible showings lead to questions about how far it might fall off in the next season.
Such is the plight of Central Florida in 2019.
To be sure, there are plenty of question marks for the Golden Knights as they enter the new season.
Chief among those is the absence of quarterback McKenzie Milton, whose second consecutive Heisman-level season was cut short the day after Thanksgiving last fall due to a devastating knee injury that will keep him out for all of this fall and still has his playing career very much in doubt of ever continuing.
There is also the loss of more than half of the defensive starters from last year’s squad. The Knights were good – but not great – throughout 2018 and will have to find plenty of answers this time around.
If UCF can continue to jump out ahead of opponents, the defensive rebuild will be helped greatly by an experienced secondary that will make life tough on trailing teams trying to rally through the air late in games.
Brandon Moor and Nevelle Clarke return at both corners and Richie Grant is back at safety, giving the Knights a stellar secondary.
But despite the continued absence of Milton, it’s the UCF offense that will once again make the Knights a favorite to win the AAC and continue to loom in the national polls.
Former Notre Dame starter Brandon Wimbush will step into the void behind center and – while not the passer that Milton was – can do plenty of damage on the ground.
Wimbush will be surrounded by the Knights’ top two rushers from last season in Greg McCrae and Adrian Killins, as well as receiver Gabriel Davis and his seven touchdown catches from 2018.
Even more important to the Knights’ continued offensive firestorm, UCF figures to feature, arguably, the best offensive line in the conference. Three All-AAC honorees return to the Knights’ front and can be depended on to keep the chains and the scoreboard moving as Wimbush assumes leadership of the offense.
While the Knights are once again supremely talented, a tough schedule lies ahead and will make their continued presence in the national polls a challenge.
Central Florida has a road date against a pesky Florida Atlantic squad in its second week before hosting Stanford and then traveling to Pittsburgh.
Two weeks later, the Knights travel to fellow AAC front-runner Cincinnati for a nationally televised Friday night showdown.
If UCF can survive all of that, it has a great chance of once again having a great argument for earning better rankings and more consideration for the national championship playoff.
If it doesn’t, the Knights will be the latest G5 team to become the (undeserved) butt of jokes coming from the P5 while suffering a quick fall from grace as pollsters aren’t much for giving the Cinderellas of the college football world the benefit of a doubt.
Gators and Hurricanes
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
After all of the talking, all the predicting and all of the back and forth from both fan bases on Social Media, it’s finally here: The Miami Hurricanes and The Florida Gators kick off this Saturday.
The eyes of the College Football world will be watching Gators vs Canes when they face off at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, FL on August 24th. Let’s breakdown the kick off to the 150th season of College Football.
MIAMI OFFENSE vs. FLORIDA DEFENSE
Miami just announced that they are starting redshirt Freshman Jarren Williams.
Every football fan knows the best way to take pressure off a young quarterback is run the football. Establishing the run game early is vital for the Hurricanes success in this contest.
The Hurricanes rushing attack begins with junior Deejay Dallas. Dallas had an outstanding sophomore season, compiling a team best 1,260 all-purpose yards.
Promising sophomore Cam’Ron Harris is expected to back up Dallas. However, I believe the battle will be between the Hurricanes offensive line and the Gators front seven, and whether or not Miami can run the ball.
Miami is starting a true Freshman Zion Nelson at left tackle, and redshirt Freshman John Campbell at right tackle.
Florida lost Jachai Polite, but the defensive line is 9 deep with seasoned SEC players. Todd Grantham (D-coordinator) will disguise his schemes to confuse the young QB and tackles.
The question is, can Dan Enos (Miami O-coordinator) take advantage of Grantham’s aggressive style?
Miami has explosive receivers in Jeff Thomas, Mike Harley, and Buffalo transfer KJ Osborn. They will match up against two top corners in CJ Henderson and Marco Wilson.
One advantage for Miami in this matchup is Tight End; Breven Jordan and Will Mallory against Florida’s Linebackers David Reese and Amari Burney. Florida has always had problems with Tight Ends.
FLORIDA OFFENSE vs. MIAMI DEFENSE
This is the match up I’m looking forward to watching: Head Coach vs. Head Coach.
Miami’s front seven is probably the greatest strength for Manny Diaz and his team. The Hurricanes return their starting Linebackers Shaquille Quarterman, Michael Pinckney and Zach McClould.
On the defensives line for Miami, Junior defensive ends Jonathan Garvin and Trevon Hill are looking to take full advantage of Florida’s new starters at both tackles.
If Miami has a weakness, it is in their secondary; where the Canes have to replace 3 starters from last season.
Florida’s offense will ride or die in this game behind Feleipe Franks.
Florida is loaded with skilled players like Lamical Perine, Van Jefferson, Kadarius Toney (Tag Positions) and many more. The question is can Florida’s inexperienced offense line hold up against Miami’s front seven.
Florida’s offensive line coach, Dan Hevesy will earn his paycheck in this contest.
Florida has four new starters on the offensive line; Stone Forsythe (LT), Brett Heggie (LG), Chris Bleich (RG) and Jean Delance (RT) (Delance sustained an injury in camp and is questionable for Saturday’s game). Depth is an issue; Florida doesn’t have a true utility lineman among the reserves.
COACHES
I’ll keep this one short and sweet. This is the first game for Manny Diaz as a head coach with an entirely new offensive staff.
PREDICTION
This game gives me deja vu of Florida opener in 2017 versus Michigan.
Florida starting a redshirt freshman quarterback against a tough veteran defense.
I believe Florida’s defense controls the game long enough for Florida’s offensive line to wear out Miami’s front seven.
Feleipe Franks has a big game with his arm and legs throwing for 2 scores and running for another. Florida 31 Miami 17.
Prowling Panthers
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Georgia State started their football program in 2010. They have not been around long so they have a built-in excuse to not be successful.
That is until we compare them to another local program like Kennesaw State that just started playing football in 2015. The Owls are one of the best teams in the country at the FCS level.
The Panthers had an awful 2018 season, finishing 2-10. One of the wins was against KSU, 24-20. When an FBS team barely beats an FCS opponent, you know it’s going to be a long season.
Head coach Shawn Elliott is entering his third season in Atlanta. He did well in his first season and led GSU to their first bowl win in school history.
The offense is led by senior quarterback Dan Ellington. Last season he passed for 2,119, 12 touchdowns and 5 picks. He completed 60% of his passes. He was also the leading rusher with 625 yards and 5 TD’s on the ground.
I think he can have a good 2019 season and the offense should be the strength of the team. They return their top three rushers, all but one receiver and five offensive linemen with starting experience.
The defense was awful last season and injuries played a factor. Three returning players in the secondary missed a combined 13 games. That led to freshmen having to play and they were torched.
The Panthers finished 126th in total defense, out of 130 FBS teams. They gave up 490 yards per game and 37 points per game.
Georgia State signed the No. 3 recruiting class in the Sun Belt in 2018 and the fifth in 2019. There should be players on the roster ready to step up this season.
8/31 at Tennessee: This will be a blowout loss. The Vols are an SEC team with superior talent at every position so this is expected.
9/7 Furman: This is an FCS team so GA State is favored. The Paladins are a good team, finishing 6-2 in conference play in 2018. I expect this to be a close game but the Panthers win.
9/14 at Western Michigan: The Broncos won the 2018 game 34-15. I expect a similar result and WMU wins by 20 points.
9/21 at Texas State: The Bobcats also finished Sun Belt conference play 1-7, last place in their division. This will be an easy win for the Panthers.
10/5 Arkansas State: After a bye week GSU returns home. The Red Wolves are a good team. They will win this game by double digits.
10/12 at Coastal Carolina: Coastal Carolina just moved up to the FBS level in 2017. They won last season’s game 37-34. Georgia State should get revenge this season.
10/19 Army: The Black Knights run the triple option and are hard to stop. They should rush for 400 yards and a win.
10/26 Troy: Troy was 7-1 in conference play last year and they are one of the best teams in the division. I expect them to win big.
9/9 at ULM: The Panthers thrashed Louisiana-Monroe 46-14 in 2018. They finished 6-6 so this was a big upset. GA State should beat them again.
9/16 Appalachian State: App State is the class of the conference. They will win big.
9/23 South Alabama: The Jaguars only won two conference games a season ago. They will lose this game also.
9/30 at Georgia Southern: The season ends with a rivalry game. The Eagles are very good so they will win.
I expect Georgia State to improve and win 5 games in 2019.
Storm Brewing In Miami?
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
If you had asked me three years ago to place a significant amount of money on which coach- Kirby Smart at Georgia or Mark Richt at Miami- would be the first to leave, I would have doubled down on Smart, no questions asked.
The storyline surrounding Richt was just too good; a well-respected coach returning to his alma mater in hopes of returning them back to national prominence. Oh well, sometimes the story has a Cormac McCarthy ending rather than a Disney one.
So, out goes Richt and in comes Diaz, freshly removed from a two and a half week “vacation” we’ll call it, as Temple’s Head Coach.
It’s always difficult to gauge how much of an impact a first-year coach, let alone first-time head coach will make, but the Miami native and former Broyle Award winner (college football’s top assistant) is as highly regarded as they come; very Kirby Smart-esque, if you will.
Being a defensive coordinator at heart- tell me if you’ve heard this before- it’s no surprise that one of Diaz’s most important decisions was who he brought in to be offensive coordinator. Diaz’s choice of Dan Enos as OC says two things:
- Diaz has someone on that side of the ball he can trust to execute his vision. Enos has been around for a while and has enough experience as a coordinator that Diaz should know exactly who he’s getting.
- Enos’ reputation has really been built off his success with quarterbacks, including Tua Tagovailoa this past season. This is vital considering what I’m about to bring up next.
Outside of the uncertainty Diaz brings as a coach the big question in Coral Gables, “Who will be the Hurricanes starting quarterback?” was answered in a very unexpected way.
Originally, the QB battle was thought to be a two man race between N’Kosi Perry, who started the back half of last season for Miami and Ohio State transfer Tate Martell, who is shaping up to be the greatest college quarterback never to play.
Instead, the job went to redshirt freshman Jarren Williams; someone both Diaz and Enos feel has the biggest upside of the three.
Normally when you have a new coach, offensive coordinator, and starting quarterback you try to temper expectations a bit. While that’s probably not a bad idea for the ‘Canes, their schedule is actually as favorable as they could ask for.
Outside of their season opener against Florida, their two opponents that should be the most difficult, Virginia and Virginia Tech, will both be played at home, in Hard Rock Stadium.
If Miami is able to at least split those two games, the rest of their ACC schedule sets up nicely for them to make a run at the Coastal Division title. The only other real stumbling block could be Florida State, but they have even more question marks than Miami.
With Diaz at the helm and the number of defensive starters Miami has returning, fans should feel pretty comfortable with that side of the ball.
If Enos and Williams can get the offensive side on track, a 9-3 season isn’t beyond the realm of possibility.
There’s a new regime, along with a renewed sense of hope in Miami, a sentiment they’ve gone through more often than not lately. It feels like this could be the start of something special for the Hurricanes and their fans, but I’ll stay away from any predictions; they normally don’t turn out quite like I expect.
Bulls On Parade?
By: TJ Hartnett
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The 2018 University of South Florida season was essentially the college football equivalent of “don’t judge a book by its cover.”
The Bulls dominated in the first half of the year to the tune of a 7-0 start in which everything seemed to be going right; followed by a swift and painful collapse where everything went wrong as they lost every single one of their last 6 games.
Injuries certainly played a part in the ill fortunes of USF. Starting quarterback Blake Barnett and key linebacker Nico Sawtelle were both bitten by the bug last year.
Barnett’s health in particular is key to the Bulls maintaining a high level of play through the entire season. His passing game in the first half, 8 touchdowns, 3 interceptions, 64% completion rate, was basically the opposite of his passing game in the second half.
His numbers for the second half were 8 interceptions, 4 touchdowns, 56% completion rate. We can pretty much interpret that as meaning that with Barnett, so goes USF.
If he can stay healthy in 2019 and stay consistent, he’s got plenty of help on offense. Jordan Cronkrite and Johnny Ford return to run the ball, and Randall St. Felix, Eddie McDoom, and Mitchell Wilcox all serve as excellent targets.
All these pieces will be serving under Valdosta State’s former head coach Kerwin Bell, who moves up from Division II to work as offensive coordinator under head coach Charlie Strong.
On the other side of the gridiron, Sawtelle is just as key to the defense as Bartlett is to the offense. However, to be fair, the defense was giving up 30+ points in their victories prior to Sawtelle’s injury and the subsequent losing streak; at the end of the year they were giving up more than 400 yards and 32 points per game.
Sacks and interceptions are two areas in which USF desperately needs to improve. The division has too much talent at quarterback for the Bulls to hover around “average.”
There’s a lack of physicality that Sawtelle needs to demonstrate for his squad and they need to follow that example.
Let’s take a look at USF’s schedule:
Week 1: vs. Wisconsin (Aug. 30)
Week 2: at Georgia Tech (Sept. 7)
Week 3: vs. South Carolina State (Sept. 14)
Week 4: BYE
Week 5: vs. SMU (Sept. 28)
Week 6: at UConn (Oct. 5)
Week 7: vs. BYU (Oct. 12)
Week 8: at Navy (Oct. 19)
Week 9: at East Carolina (Oct. 26)
Week 10: BYE
Week 11: vs. Temple (Nov. 7)
Week 12: vs. Cincinnati (Nov. 16)
Week 13: vs. Memphis (Nov. 23)
Week 14: at UCF (Nov. 29)
There are a couple of interesting stops on the way to winter for South Florida, starting off the season against the Wisconsin Badgers will be a test for the defense right out of the gate in Week 1.
Georgia Tech is in the midst of rebuilding their program, but they’ll still be looking to compete under new head coach Geoff Collins.
Cincinnati is one of the teams they beat during the win streak but gave up the 30 points doing it. The signs of the upcoming losing streak were starting to show. This season they play them in Week 12, so the stakes may be even higher.
And of course, the rivalry game against UCF.
This is a make-or-break season for Charlie Strong. All eyes were on the Bulls in 2018, in both a positive and a negative way.
They need to come out strong (again) but stay strong in order to prove that those 7 wins weren’t a fluke. The offense, health dependent, will be able to get the job done; the defense will be in the hot seat all season long.
Gator Bait
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Dan Mullen has led the Florida football program back into the spotlight.
Mullen coached UF to a 10-3 record in 2018 and a drilling of Michigan in a bowl game. The Gators have 8 starters returning on defense led by C. J. Henderson, who is the best defensive back in college football. This defense can get after the QB.
The Gators are loaded at WR maybe only second to Alabama in the SEC. Depth is a huge concern on the offensive line where UF cannot afford any injuries.
QB Feleipe Franks is the straw that will stir the Gators drink on offense in 2019. Could Franks end up being the best dual threat QB in the SEC this fall, or will he struggle in the big games like he has against UGA over the past two seasons?
Florida schedule and my predictions:
Aug. 24 vs. Miami: The U isn’t ready for UF this season.
This game is being played in Orlando and Gator Nation will take the place over. When you see how many Gator fans arrive in Orlando, you’ll understand why UCF is hiding from the Gators.
Miami looks to be starting a freshman at QB and C. J. Henderson and company will be salivating at the thought of that.
Miami gets pretty much dominated in this one and the Gators roll to a 34-13 whipping of the Canes.
Sept. 7 vs. UT Martin: UT Martin wilts quickly in the Florida heat. UF rolls 55-10
Sept. 14 at Kentucky: An angry bunch of Gators take a business trip to Lexington and get revenge on a Kentucky team that ended the streak last year in Gainesville.
UF starts another long winning streak against Kentucky and wins this contest 34-17. Gators go to 3-0 on the season and move into the top 6 teams in the country.
Sept. 21 vs. Tennessee: Tennessee gets drilled in Gainesville. The Vols won’t be able to block that Gator defensive front and fall by three TD’s. Let’s say 34-10. The Swamp is never too kind to Tennessee. Gators go to 4-0.
Sept. 28 vs. Towson: Who the hell scheduled this game? Florida 62-3. Gators roll to 5-0.
Oct. 5 vs. Auburn: Are the Gators ready for the spotlight yet? LSU looming and with an Auburn team fighting to keep Gus employed.
The history books show that Auburn has had some success in the Swamp even during the Spurrier years. This one will be a tough contest and Florida wins with a late field goal. 27-24 to go to 6-0 on the season.
Oct. 12 at LSU: The entire nation will be tuned into this one as two top five teams meet in Death Valley. LSU will be a 10-12 win team in 2019. I think the Cajuns eat Gator tail before, during, and after this contest. Florida falls in a tough environment 28-21 to fall to 6-1 on the season.
Oct. 19 at South Carolina: Will there be an LSU hangover? There will be for a half and then some way the Gators rise from the ashes and make a fourth quarter comeback and beat Carolina in Columbia 28-24 t go to 7-1 and set up the game of their season.
Nov. 2 vs. Georgia: The Cocktail Party in Jacksonville is always a great setting for rivals that absolutely hate each other.
Florida has pointed to this game all talking season. Brenton Cox entered the transfer portal and landed at UF after leaving UGA about two weeks ago.
The Gators are raving about the things Cox is doing in practice elevating him to rock star status in Gainesville. In their excitement they are overlooking the fact that Cox fell to third string at his position on the depth chart in Athens before he jumped into the portal.
Florida falls to a UGA team that is more talented and has a better game manager at QB 38-24. Gators fall to 7-2 on the season.
Nov. 9 vs. Vanderbilt: Vandy gets drilled 41-17 in Gainesville. Gators go to 8-2.
Nov. 16 at Missouri: A month ago I picked Mizzou in this game. The closer the season gets I know Mizzou can’t out athlete Florida.
Florida finds a way to win this game the secure a spot in a NY6 Bowl. Florida goes to 9-2 with a 35-30 win.
Nov. 30 vs. Florida State: The Willie T era comes to an end for FSU in The Swamp. Florida gets to 10 wins with a statement 45-17 win over FSU to go to 10-2 on the season.
Florida is back to being Florida again.
Eagles To Soar In 2019?
By: Mike Anthony
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Georgia Southern offered one of the best turnaround stories in recent history last season as the Eagles rebounded from a program-worst 2-10 mark in 2017 to go 10-3 last fall, capped by a walk-off victory in the Camellia Bowl.
It was one thing to regain success. Now it’s time to see if the Eagles can retain success.
One thing they certainly have retained is plenty of talent. That begins with quarterback Shai Werts, who returns for his third season as Georgia Southern’s starter in its unique option attack.
Werts made national headlines to begin August when he was arrested for possession of cocaine, but the charges were quickly dropped and Werts – as well as the rest of his team – is eager to focus only on football moving forward.
Werts lost a pair of running backs to graduation, but new projected starters Logan Wright and Matt LaRoache saw plenty of quality action last season.
Also returning is junior Wesley Kennedy III. Kennedy has been a playmaking threat since his true freshman season and will be the most versatile weapon at Werts’ disposal as he can run, catch and block from the backfield or lined up out wide.
Perhaps the most important bit of continuity for the offense comes in the press box. Offensive coordinator Bob DeBesse returns for his second year in Statesboro, making this the first season since 2015 where the Eagle offense retains a play-caller from one season to the next.
DeBesse has shown the ability to build an intricate and effective playbook at his previous stops, so with plenty of returning talent and another year’s worth of familiarity with the offense, there are high hopes that the Eagle offense will go from being merely good last season to dynamic and explosive in 2019.
The offense usually grabs all the headlines in Statesboro, but this fall could feature one of the better Georgia Southern defenses in program history.
The Eagles lost key players at every level to graduation, but – much like with their running back situation – there seems to be no shortage of players filling up the depth chart that have plenty of game experience already on their resumes.
Raymond Johnson III and Ty Phillips adjusted nicely to the switch to a 3-4 front last year and will line up at end and nose tackle, respectively, again this year.
Rashad Byrd came on strong in one of the pivotal middle linebacker spots last season and will now be joined by Furman transfer Reynard Ellis, who frequently looked like the best linebacker on the roster while participating on last year’s scout team.
Georgia Southern is replacing a pair of safeties, but there is again plenty of experience to draw from as Kenderick Duncan and Darrell Baker Jr. have both started games and will be joined by two-season Savannah State starter Donald Rutledge who joined the Eagles as a grad transfer.
The corners will be patrolled by the best 1-2 punch in the Sun Belt – and maybe in the country – as seniors Monquavian Brinson and Kindle Vildor have spent the preseason racking up honors. Both are seen as potential NFL draft targets.
A brutal schedule features road trips to LSU, Minnesota, Appalachian State and Troy, but there is no doubting that the Eagles have the talent and coaching infrastructure in place to prove that 2018 was no fluke.
While the Eagles are predicted to finish third in the Sun Belt East behind Appalachian and Troy – the same result as last season – both of those rivals are dealing with overhauled coaching staffs and the Eagles will be waiting in the wings to seize any chance to get back to the top of the standings.
Growing Gator
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
One college football coach who can mold quarterbacks is Dan Mullen.
At Utah, he created a first overall pick as the quarterback coach. During his time at Florida as the offensive coordinator, he developed two National Championship leaders & one of the two won a Heisman Trophy.
As head coach at Mississippi State, he coached a future NFL Rookie of the Year and a Heisman contender. Mullen has coached big names like Alex Smith, Chris Leak, Tim Tebow, and Dak Prescott. Is Feleipe Franks the next big name?
In 2017 Feleipe Franks was absolutely horrible. In 2018 quarterback whisperer coach Dan Mullen started working his magic with Franks.
Franks played in all 13 games in 2018, he completed 58% of his passes for 2457 yards, 24 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. He also rushed for 350 yards and 7 touchdowns.
Franks was less effective in every area when the Florida Gators lost in 2018, and he struggled throwing the ball downfield. Franks completed 24% of his passes 10-19 yards and 15.4% of his passes 20 plus yards.
That’s the bad, here’s the good. In Franks last three games against FBS opponents (South Carolina, Florida State, & Michigan), Franks completed 62% of his throws for 5 touchdowns and ZERO interceptions. He also rushed for 156 yards and 3 touchdowns.
With the Gators first game less than 14 days away, Florida fans want to know which Feleipe Franks is going to show up this season.
The schedule sets up such that Franks will get some early tests in the first month, with Miami, Kentucky and Tennessee. Florida fans will know which Franks showed up by the end of September.
Franks was a media darling in Hoover, Alabama at the SEC media day. He showed a combination of maturation, realization, and standardization. Franks is finally seeing his performance reach the level of his work ethic.
Running back Lamical Perine said,” He’s probably one of the hardest workers on the team. When we have stadium runs, he’s the first one to finish. He’s strong in the weight room. He does a lot of talking. That’s good. That’s usual for a competitive player like him.” If you have ever been in a locker room, you know the importance of your teammates believing in you.
The questions on most Gator fans minds is: can Franks improve those last three games and can he maintain that level of performance in 2019? I think YES!
Dan Mullen’s play calling and Florida’s ability to run the football are two reasons Franks will keep improving. Add to that mix the wide receiver position, there is a lot of talent on the roster, arguably the best in about a decade.
In less than a year Dan Mullen has turned Florida Football’s offense into a productive group. Mullen certainly opened up the playbook’s variation last year. No one can call Mullen’s play calling predictable.
Flashback to November 10, 2018, Franks hushes Gators Fans during comeback win. This was the day that Franks sent a message to a home crowd that booed him earlier. Trailing 31-14 late in the 3rd quarter, Franks became a willing runner, diving across the goal line on fourth down inside the one-yard line to put the Gators ahead for good.
I think this example best describes Felipe Franks as a Florida Gator, a quarterback strong enough to mend a rough start into a smooth finish, and with Mullen’s help, Franks is on his way to being another star QB Mullen can add to his resumé.
Rolling Tide
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Alabama has been the gold standard in college football for almost a century. The Crimson Tide won their first national championship in 1925 and they have more than any other program (17). They also have the best coach in the sport, Nick Saban.
Since showing up in Tuscaloosa, back in 2007 he transformed them into the best program of the past decade. They are the bullies of the SEC and outside of their own fan base most fans have grown tired of them.
They had another undefeated season and made it to the national championship game again. They play Clemson almost every year in the CFP but this time the result was shocking. They were blown out 44-16. This was the worst loss of Saban’s career since he’s been at Alabama.
Bama is led by Heisman finalist Tua Tagovailoa. He started the season off great but he started getting injured late. His play slipped, possibly because of this or maybe defenses started to adjust to him. He passed for 3,966 yards, 43 touchdowns and 6 interceptions.
They normally are loaded at running back but they have a big hole to fill this season. They lost senior Damien Harris and junior Josh Jacobs. Jacobs was drafted in the first round, the 24th overall pick.
The Tide reload every season and they have the top ranked running back in last year’s recruiting class, Trey Sanders. The five-star back suffered a serious foot injury last week and he’s out indefinitely.
The schedule works in their favor. The season starts on the last day of August, a neutral site game against Duke. The game is in Atlanta and this will be an easy blow out win.
This is the first home game against New Mexico State. The Aggies are completely overmatched. The Crimson Tide should score no less than 50 points in this win.
Alabama travels to Columbia, South Carolina. The Gamecocks are an average team so this will be another easy game.
They return home to face Southern Miss. Bama should score 40-plus points and the starters should be able to sit on the bench in the second half.
Ole Miss comes to Tuscaloosa. The Rebels are on probation for three years. They recruited well under Hugh Freeze but that has come to an end.
The talented players from those teams transferred last year. They are a shell of themselves and don’t stand a chance.
Alabama is taking a trip to College Station. Texas A&M has not beaten the Tide since they first joined the SEC in 2012. This is a very one-sided series and that won’t change. This is a very tough environment to play in though.
Tennessee has the worst luck in the SEC. They are the team in the East that has to play Alabama every year. They’ll get demolished yet again.
Arkansas is a bottom dweller in the West. Bama will beat them by at least three touchdowns.
This is the toughest game of the year, home against LSU. Last season The Tigers lost 29-0. I think they put up a better fight but still lose by double digits.
Mississippi State has developed into a solid program over the last decade. They do not have the talent to beat the Tide though.
This is the tune up before the season finale versus FCS Western Carolina. This is another blowout victory.
The season ends at Auburn. The Tigers have so many question marks that I don’t see them being able to compete.
I expect them to finish the regular season undefeated and get back to the CFP.
War Chant
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
1976. Jimmy Carter was elected President, the first Rocky movie was released, and Apple Computer Company was officially formed.
It was also the last time the Florida State Seminoles football program experienced a losing season, until this past year.
Florida State’s decline wasn’t an obvious inevitability, staring you right in the face, but it’s not like there weren’t signs.
Entering last season, the Seminoles’ previous three seasons had all been worse, in one form or another, that one before.
It all culminated in a 2017 season that saw a program, only a few years removed from a national title, forced to play a make-up game against an inferior opponent just to make it to .500, while also losing their head coach to another program; neither of which Florida State was used to.
Obviously last year wasn’t any better, not only from a record standpoint (5-7), but from a competitive one, as well. Their average margin of victory in their five wins was 10.8 points; normally not something to scoff at until you realize none of those victories were against a team that finished the season in the Top 25.
Plus, their average margin of defeat in those seven losses, two of which were to their in-state rivals, was 24.14 points.
At this point I’m sure you’re thinking “I get it, last season was disaster. But, what about this year?” So, what about this season? Well, on paper, it certainly looks like there should be significant improvement.
With Deondre Francois gone, the QB job is James Blackman’s to lose. Considering the lack of support he received from the offensive line last year, Blackman did well in a role he was somewhat thrusted in to.
There is plenty of talent in the backfield and at the wideout position, the main question on the offensive side of the ball is the offensive line.
Can the line run block well enough to get Cam Akers a few lanes to run through and can they be just competent enough pass blocking to allow Blackman to utilize those weapons on the outside.
Regardless of your opinion on Willie Taggart bringing in Kendal Briles to run his offense, there should be a vast improvement.
On the defensive side it’s more a good news, bad news situation. The good news is they bring 8 starters from last year’s team. The bad news is the defense thought they were playing in the Big 12 conference, or at least they allowed the opposing offense to score like they were.
Does experience help if it wasn’t very good to begin with? With the potential Florida State has on the offensive side of the ball the defense doesn’t have to be reminiscent of years past, but they do have to at least be middle of the road.
The bottom line for the Florida State faithful is that after two of the worst seasons they’ve gone through in roughly 40 years they should start to see the roller coaster begin its ascent back up the tracks.
Their schedule still has a few too many question marks to expect them to win more than seven or eight games, but fans should see the foundation being laid. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind another 42-year streak.
