Captain Of The Bucs
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The McIntosh County Academy Buccaneers are a trendy pick to win the Single A Division II GHSA State Title. That is in no small part due to Bucs standout, Neo West.
West starts on defense at safety and also starts at QB for Bradley Warren’s Bucs.
Neo West is a local homegrown talent, born and raised in McIntosh County…living in Townsend.
The season started with plans to move West out of the QB role and into the running back position. Coach Bradley Warren instead elected to keep West as their biggest threat on offense at QB.
Neo West is a weapon, a dual threat QB that has a high football IQ. West is just plain smarter than most he plays against. “When I play QB I try to make the smartest play possible and control the offense.”
West went on to say, “I am most comfortable in a Wing-T offense. I like sharing the ball and making big plays happen.” He has made his fair share of big plays, playing both ways since he was a freshman and was a starter at safety and QB as a sophomore.
When asked about what he has learned from his head coach, Bradley Warren, I got this profound answer; “Coach Warren has taught me a lot but one of the biggest things is that I need to be the one to step up. On the football field I need to be the one to step and make a big play when my team needs it. And in life I need to be the one step up and do what needs to be done.”
Neo West has high aspirations on the football field as his goal for this season is to make All-State at safety. Eventually Neo wants to move onto college and major in business. West hopes that college football will be part of that equation.
To this point West has received some interest from Florida A&M, Florida Atlantic, and Middle Tennessee State. Most likely as the season wears on more interest will follow.
West also is only a Junior, so he has a whole other year to play for the Bucs after this season.
Neo started playing football at 7 years old. He played both RB and QB on offense and played safety on defense.
I asked Neo what drives him…”My mom is the biggest influence in my life. She has had such a huge positive impact on who I am. She always told me that just because I might be smaller than some other people playing football that none of them could match the size of my heart and to play with heart.” West’s measurables are 5’11 150 pounds. He is tough, hard nosed kid that plays bigger than he is.
Neo is also close with his sister, Judea West. “She is 22 and in college at Middle Macon. We actually call each other twins because we are so much alike. We are always there for each other.”
Neo West is a phenomenal young man that has big things ahead of him.
Brock Bowers is a Unicorn
By: Joe Delaney
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Brock Bowers is a GOAT.
Yeah everyone knows what a GOAT is. Most people say Tom Brady is the GOAT of Pro Football. Pretty hard to argue with that. There is always spirited conversation between this guy and that guy being the best and that’s what makes it fun.
My GOAT is Ali. In his prime he was simply above everybody and the great thing was HE TOLD YOU SO! “I’m the greatest!” “I’m so petty and you ugly Joe Frazier.”
It was wonderful and the man backed up everything he said. In a time of great division in our country, Muhammed Ali said “I aint got no fight with no Viet Cong.” It cost him several years of his prime to do what he thought was right. He didn’t just say it, he lived it. Yeah, he was my GOAT. Pretty rarified air up that high on the mountaintop.
GOATs also generally have certain standards that they have to live up to. That means championships and carrying teams on their backs when needed. That makes me think of 2 GOATS, Michael Jordan in basketball and Herschel in college football.
Michael won championship after championship and sometimes carried the team when he had to. He also made clutch shots when needed. Ask Craig Ehlo and the 1989 Cleveland Cavaliers.
Herschel on the other hand had a much shorter career but burst on the scene like an Atomic Bomb. Whether it was stomping on Bill Bate’s chest in the opening game of the 1980 season or routinely running away from 180-190 lb DBs.
Herschel made the 1980 Georgia Bulldogs. They absolutely don’t win the national championship without him. “MY GOD A FRESHMAN” were the words of the GOAT of all college football announcers, Larry Munson.
So how in the heck could we think some tight end of all people could be a GOAT? Because he is. Brock Bowers is simply the best tight end to ever play college football.
Sure, there is a crowded room with the likes of Tony Gonzalez, Kyle Pitts, Keith Jackson, and others. But Brock just has something different. He has been tabbed as “generational” by pundits and he is one of the reasons the Dawgs are back-to-back National Champions and going for “3 in 23”.
Has he had to carry a team, no. Would the team win without him, probably. But the guy comes to work every day, does his job, and outworks everyone. Kirby calls him a “machine.”
Bowers is out of Napa, California. His game highlights tape included videos of him running up and down the California hills. The Georgia staff was impressed. They offered, and Brock thought he’d look great in Red and Black. The rest is history.
The 6’4” 240lb tight end made a mark the first week he was on campus. Especially when he began running away from DBs in practice on one of the best defenses ever in college football.
By the season opener it was apparent that he was special. That chiseled frame moved along at a 4.5 40 clip. He was one of the fastest dawgs right out of the gate.
Brock’s 2021 season was amazing. He racked up 56 receptions for 882 yards for a 15.8 avg. and 13 TDs.
Add to that, 4 carries for 56 yards and another touchdown.
In 2022, he was just as good if not better. As a focal point of the offense, he was often double teamed and bracketed by DBs and LBs.
It didn’t matter. Sixty-three catches for 942 yards. A 15.0 avg and 7 TDS. Nine carries for 109 yards and 3 TDS. And let’s not forget that the man blocks like a maniac. He won the John Mackey award as the best TE in the nation along with first team everything! The pro scouts are drooling.
Barring injury, 2023 will be a repeat and then most likely it’s on to the NFL where many have him listed as the number two overall player in college football behind only last year’s Heisman winner Caleb Williams.
Enjoy this year Georgia fans and make sure you appreciate what you have in number 19. Throw in his ‘team first’ attitude and first guy in and last guy out of the football facility at Georgia and it’s easy to spell his name. Brock Bowers is the GOAT.
GO DAWGS!
Calm The Fluff Down!
By: Jeff Doke
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
I’m not the most prolific of Tweeters.
In fact, after 14 years on TwitterX, I have less than 300 followers. I’m okay with that. In fact, on January 14, 2022 I did something that limited my already miniscule reach. I threatened to unfollow all political accounts.
https://x.com/jwdoke/status/1482069924856184841?s=20
You see, back in the heady days following Georgia’s first Natty, TwitterX was a Red and Black wonderland. Video clips of the season, highlights of the game, montages of the celebration that followed. It almost made up for the 41 years of frustration that Dawgnation had endured (except for the Spurrier years. I’ll never be over that).
So, I *sort of* did what I threatened; I made a separate account for political musings, and left my main account to revel in all things Dawg (and to a lesser extent until the second half of last season, all things DUUUVAL). And lo, it was a glorious Twitter feed for the better part of two years.
The first championship season was followed by a second and topped off with a 65-7 massacre – the biggest bowl win in college football history.
To borrow a phrase from another program that won’t be needing it for a while, it’s great to be a Georgia Bulldawg.
But then the 2023 season started, and someone that hadn’t been around in a while showed up at the tailgate – Negative Nancy.
I don’t have to tell you that the back-to-back defending champs have suffered slow starts in their first few matchups. It’s well documented, no more vociferously so than Dawg fans themselves. You would think that we hadn’t won a game, that the sky was falling, or worse – it was the Jim Donnan years again.
Of course, the brunt of the armchair quarterbacking is heaped upon Kirby’s long time friend and teammate, returning OC Mike Bobo.
If I had a nickel for every time I’ve read the words “fire Bobo” in the last month, I’d be able to buy season tickets. Everyone and their brother is suddenly a world class evaluator of college talent and is ready to give Bobo the heave-ho.
Two words to that; Just Stop.
Maybe it’s because the season ended last year on a blow out, maybe it’s because we’ve lifted Stetson Bennett into the highest levels of DGD status (rightfully so, but that’s not the point right now). Or maybe – just maybe – it’s because Dawg people have really short memories.
Todd Monken’s offense last year, though prolific, wasn’t always firing on all cylinders.
The “closer than it should have been” Kent State game and the “almost a road loss to a team that shouldn’t even be in the SEC” Missouri game come to mind.
Need I also remind you of the high octane offensive juggernaut that brought us the 16-6 victory over Kentucky?
In short, when it worked it worked, but it wasn’t always a blow out.
Coach Smart had to point out a few weeks ago that the offensive system this year is the same as last year. Bobo hasn’t reinvented anything.
The numbers back this up. Run plays vs. pass plays, play action, play action on 1st Down, throws of 20+ yards, Almost every offensive metric is within a few percentage points from last year to this. Seriously, it’s the same dang offense, people!
Granted, there have always occasionally been serious head scratchers of calls from Coach Bobo- that disastrous pass play on 1st & goal from the 5 comes to mind – but all in all, Mike Bobo was not the reason why the Coach Mark Richt era didn’t break the championship drought.
His offense, more seasons than not, produced 40+ points per game averages, but were paired up with lackluster if not disastrous defensive squads.
Bottom line, Kirby trusts him, ergo I trust him. Same thing with the Stet/JT controversy from two years ago. My response is the same; Let Kirby cook.
And as far as the slow starts this year, there’s a viral GIF of Kirby out there where he’s telling a player to “calm the fluff down” or something like that. I’m not good at lip reading. Go look that up next time we have to punt in the first half.
Now can we please talk about something else? As long as it’s not Coach Prime, that is…
No ‘I’ In Team
By: Colin Lacy
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
What’s the Difference between a “Program” and a “Team”?
No matter what level sports, or what sport for that matter, the term “good program” gets thrown around as much as NIL.
The problem with this is just because a team is winning or performing well, doesn’t mean that it’s a good program.
Everybody knows what a good team looks like. Impressive stats, good players, and a lot of wins. But what does a good program look like? Is there a standard? Does it have something to do with Nick Saban’s “process”?
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that you stop hearing the term “program” past the college level. Nobody would say that the Atlanta Falcons are a good “program”. Good Team? So far. Good Organization? Yes. Good Franchise? Yes….most would say yes. It’s mainly college and high school sports entities that people talk about being a “program”.
To me, in order to be labeled as a “good program” it’s about development. Developing young men and women into great athletes, yes, but also developing the whole person.
Since sports fans are looking at how many NFL players that college programs produce, or how many recruiting “stars” come out of a high school program, it gets lost that MAYBE 5% of the teams will be making that jump to the next level. What happens to the other 95%?
That’s where a “good program” comes into play. There are so many programs and resources that are at the hands of the student-athletes now to prepare them for when that inevitable final pitch, last basket, or career ending snap is taken.
Most (not all) college athletic departments have put in incentives in place to prepare student-athletes after sports. One example of these is right here in our own back yard.
Georgia Southern Director of Athletics Jared Benko has put a great emphasis on the APEX program. This is an outreach program that follows a curriculum through the career of the student-athlete that covers everything from financial literacy, teaching about taxes, job interview skills, and much more.
The student-athletes are also involved in community outreach, and sessions of needed skills that nobody thinks about like an emergency car care session to show athletes basic car maintenance, and emergency roadside tips.
This trickles down to the high school level too. Everybody wants to look at schools with a brand-new turf field, or a massive videoboard as good programs, and while that’s great, no discounting it at all, if you’re not invested in the people of your program, you’re just a good team…. if that.
Many times, at the high school level, some of these assets to the student athlete are open to all the students at the school and are spearheaded by coaches.
Take Southeast Bulloch for example. The last few years, Coaches Brent Osborne and Randy Lee have been building up the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) program at SEB that was dormant for over 20 years. Now up to about 65 members (many of them student-athletes for the Jackets), the FBLA hosts events for resume building, job interview skills, and other real-world experiences and skills that prepare the members and student-athletes in ways that many at other programs won’t have.
Don’t get me wrong, the “fancy” facilities don’t mean that a program is focusing more on the looks than the substance.
In addition to Randy Lee being RBs coach and Special teams coordinator for SEB Football, and Brent Osborne stepping away from on-field football coaching and moving to the broadcast booth this year, both Lee and Osborne are the Girls and Boys golf coaches for the Jackets and raised money to buy a state-of-the-art golf simulator for SEB golfers. Both can be done and are done well many places throughout the state.
So, what the heck does all this mean? It is just me going off on a soap box again? (maybe…) Just think next time you or you hear someone say, “man that’s a really good program”. Just think. Is it really a good program? Or is it just a good team?
Teachers Of Men
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
I have lived in Glynn County my entire life.
I have a passion for football; that maybe my parents, wife, and close friends understand.
I was blessed as a youth to play high school football for a man that I idolize; recent Glynn County Sports Hall of Fame inductee John Willis.
Other than my father who turned 80 years old this week I consider John Willis the greatest influence in my life. The life lessons I learned playing for him prepared me for life. In my mind the things I learned from John Willis are bigger than football he helped develop me into a man.
As I look at the state of high school football in our community today, we are blessed to have three outstanding football coaches charged with developing men in our community.
Brandon Derrick/Frederica Academy: You talk about a coach who can take a little and turn it into a lot, then look no further than Derrick who has consistently developed winning teams at Frederica Academy.
With a State Championship in GISA and numerous region titles, Derrick takes teams that have low numbers and competes with schools with twice the number of players.
A trademark of Derrick football teams is tenacity. The Knights play with a mettle, spirit, and resolution that many of their opponents do not possess and late in ball games that shines through at clutch time.
The values that Derrick teaches will carry with these kids for the rest of their lives. Name me a more tenacious football team than the Frederica Knights? You have Brandon Derrick to thank for that.
Rocky Hidalgo/Glynn Academy: Coach Rock has been at Glynn Academy since 2014 and the fortunes of the program turned immediately.
By the end of the 2015 season Hidalgo had Glynn playing for a State Championship. A trademark of Hidalgo teams is that they are fundamentally sound, which speaks to discipline.
Discipline is a character trait this is seriously lacking among our youth today. Hidalgo teams are prepared down to every little detail.
All Glynn Academy teams I have witnessed are sound in all three phases of offense, defense, and special teams. If a game is tight then it is hard to bet against a Rocky Hidalgo team down the stretch.
Discipline is a trademark of Glynn Academy football and that is because of Rocky Hidalgo.
Garrett Grady/Brunswick High: You talk about a young dynamic coach who knows how to motivate his kids, look no further than Grady.
Grady is a grinder who has a work ethic that is second to none.
Since Grady was named the BHS coach in 2022, he has had the magic touch with the program. Community service, player exposure, everything Grady does he does at 100%.
The key character value I see at BHS currently under Grady is commitment. Grady is committed to these kids at BHS and the kids see that and are totally committed to him.
I’m a Pirate until I die, and Grady is the perfect man to head the BHS football program for years to come. There is a commitment to be great a BHS currently because of Garrett Grady.
Tenacity, discipline, and commitment. Strong core values. Values that are taught to young men on the football fields of Glynn County.
If you don’t think we are blessed on the head coaching front for high school football in Glynn County, then you are not paying attention.
Come out and enjoy a high school football game in Glynn County soon where you will see a collection of head football coaches that I would not want to trade for anyone.
Core values are being taught and all you must do is pay attention. For $10 you can see the hope of our future locally on Friday Nights. That is not a huge investment.
QB-0
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
There were moments during the Alabama-USF game when Nick Saban was in pure anguish. The sideline faces of Saban have always been a trip, even when his team is playing brilliantly but this was different.
These faces, or blank stares, were coming from a man who seemed numb. It felt like he was nonverbally asking the question: “How did The University of Alabama get here?” How?
How did Alabama — the most consecutively talented team in modern college football — get to a place where they don’t have a quarterback?
That’s a complicated question to answer. It’s not like Alabama didn’t create options through recruiting and the transfer portal. The Tide came into the season with five quarterbacks on the roster, each ranked among the top 160 as a recruit.
Among them Jalen Milroe, Tyler Buchner, Ty Simpson, Eli Holstein and Dylan Lonergan, someone would figure it out, right?
They are all from different places, having varying experience levels and with different styles of play. Everybody continued to just assume the great Saban would find one of them to lead this ultra-talented team back to the College Football Playoff. What evidence in the past has proven this assumption wrong?
It turns out, in the 2023 season- Alabama has a problem not even Saban can solve, even if he’s the greatest coach in college football history.
Sometimes coaches, even the great ones, hit a lull and that can lead to some uncomfortable moments on gameday. This isn’t to say Saban lost his touch or no longer knows the quarterback recruitment landscape. This could be a result of constant assistant turnover on his staff.
Whatever the root may be, the issue has become increasingly clear: there’s a disconnect between the players they are recruiting and the output delivered on the field. This seems to be an evaluation and developmental issue, which could mean bad years ahead for the longtime greats.
What production has Alabama put on the field recently. I’m not sure anyone could watch that and say something isn’t wrong. And it’s not a numbers issue. The Tide successfully signed a QB in a recruitment class and had players transfer in.
These aren’t the normal transition pains a program experiences when it transitions from a Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback to someone new. This is what it looks like to go from elite to bad.
We’re talking about the same coach and program that put a true freshman into the national championship game at halftime and let him fling it. It didn’t take Tua Tagovailoa long to show everyone he was a star.
What’s truly bizarre is why Milroe didn’t play at all in the USF game. Through all the agony coming through on the television, you’d think the Crimson Tide would have turned to the most experienced quarterback on the roster who surely could have made plays with his legs to win the game. Instead, it seemed like a prolonged experiment from Saban to see whether someone anyone could quarterback this team.
Talent, legendary coaching, incredible fans, intimidating stadium, the lore of being one of the best programs in college football history…None of it matters if you don’t have someone special taking the snaps.
Look at the entire SEC — the conference seems down because the quarterback play has been down. Look at all of the non conference games the SEC has lost this season.
In almost every single one, the team that beat the SEC squad had an advantage at quarterback.
Even the greatest coach of all time can’t solve the issue of not having a top-level quarterback, whether he is to blame or not.
It’s Good!
By: Joe Delaney
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
It just a PAT right? Point after touchdown……easy peasy.
The team scores and the kicker comes in and tacks on another point.
Tuck Tucker, the kicker for the Glynn Academy Red Terrors, has hit 10 of them so far in this short season.
I was lucky enough to coach Tuck when he was 11 and 12 years old. I coach the kickers and QBs and he was our kicker on the 2019 State Championship Glynn County Broncos U-12 rec department team.
Head down, drive through Tuck! You lift your head, your running another lap! I don’t know if he was extremely coachable or hated running laps. Probably a little of both! Just a great kid with a great attitude.
Fast forward to today and while Tuck is kicking for the Red Terrors, he’s stepped into something much bigger. He has become a part of the Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation. The Foundation is dedicated to researching and finding cures and assisting children with pediatric cancers.
Alexandra “Alex” Scott was born in 1996, the second of 4 children in the Scott family. At the age of 1 she was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a deadly type of childhood cancer.
At the age of 4 Alex asked her parents if she could open a lemonade stand to help with the fight against the disease. Out of this wooden Lemonade stand, selling cups of lemonade with the proceeds going to Cancer research, grew the Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation that has raised millions of dollars for pediatric cancer research.
The Foundations motto is “Fighting childhood cancer, one cup at a time.” The mission statement is “Our mission is to change the lives of children with cancer through funding impactful research, raising awareness, supporting families, and empowering everyone to help cure childhood cancer.”
You can donate by going to the Foundation site online or at the lemonade stand at the Red Terrors home games.
And while you’re on the website, look for Tucks page.
Just type in Tuck Tucker on the ALSF search bar. His page is KICK! Cancer with Tuck Tucker.
It reads the following, “Im holding a fundraiser to help Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation move one step closer to finding a cure for all children with cancer. Ill be dedicating my season to kids with cancer by turning my stats into life-saving research dollars”.
“Please make a donation of any amount toward my fundraising goal. The money you donate will pay for research to find better treatments and cures for childhood cancer. You can help kids and their families by providing desperately needed hope!”
The Foundation has funded more than ONE THOUSAND Medical Research Grants since 2005.
According to Dr. David Poplack, “The ALSF grant program is helping researchers throughout the country move closer to the day when a cure is a reality…”
The ALSF is the only childhood cancer research organization that has been given the National Cancer Institute peer-reviewed funder designation for rigorous selection of research grants. That’s how donations are helping.
I’d love to say that Alex Scott is alive and well and working with the Foundation. She would be 27 years old now. Sadly, that’s not the case.
Pediatric cancer is a killer and it took Alex’s life in 2004 at the age of 8. Before she died, Alex had raised over a million dollars for cancer research and inspired all around her. And it all started with a front yard lemonade stand and a girl who cared. So does Tuck. Give if you can.
As I was talking to Tuck, our conversation naturally went to kicking and I asked the junior kicker about the season.
He said he had made 10 out of 12 PATS with one of those being a block.
Well, what about the first one that you missed I asked? He said he saw the rush and clanked it off the crossbar. I said yep, you raised your head……..I didn’t make him run a lap.
Power Surge
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
I don’t know the journey the 2023 Braves will lead, but I now know the magnitude of their journey to this present moment.
They haven’t merely wrapped up the National League East. Their lineup is doing things baseball fans haven’t seen done in 50 years, 90 years, 100 years … or ever, for that matter, and that’s only now dawning on them.
There’s something funny about making history, you see. You don’t always recognize it when you’re in the middle of it, living and watching it, day in and day out.
There’s no perfect stat. There’s no perfect metric that reveals, unequivocally, the identity of the The Greatest Offense of All Time. So, if you’re even in the argument, alongside those ’27 Yankees, there’s no need to quibble about where to place the decimal points. We’re witnessing greatness, period.
Here’s an incredible difference between these Braves and those Yankees. Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig were twice as good at creating runs as the average hitter of that era, but they were part of a top-heavy lineup that didn’t have the depth of this Braves lineup, believe it or not the Braves are deeper and a higher utility team.
It doesn’t get much more old-school than home runs and stolen bases. And the triple digits in those categories are a reminder that the Braves can beat you one way on night one and a whole different way on night 2.
That 2019 Twins team that set the home run record the Braves are chasing, for most homers in a season (307). That team stole 28 bases all season. Ronald Acuna almost had that many himself by Memorial Day.
Even if they take their foot off the gas in the next few days, the Braves are almost a lock to lead the majors in homers by 50. No team has even done that in 55 years.
Only two teams in history that stole 100 bases even reached 250 homers the same season: the 2019 Brewers (250) and last year’s Yankees (254).
Hard to argue that this team isn’t special! The only two previous teams in history to bop 300 homers, the 2019 Twins and 2019 Yankees. They stole 83 bases combined. Acuña is on pace to steal 73 this year all by himself.
The Braves could have nine players with at least 20 homers! No team has ever done that.
The Braves could also have five players with at least 30 homers! Only the 2019 Twins have done that. And they just became the first team ever to have four men hit 35 or more.
They could lead the sport in slugging by 40 points! (They were at 43 through Sunday.) The only teams since 1900 to do that are the ’27 Yankees and 1953 Boys of Summer Dodgers.
I could spit out many more magic numbers for these Braves. But I’ve made my point. I never saw Ruth and Gehrig in 1927, but I’m watching Acuña and Olson here in 2023.
Now, there’s one more thing that needs to happen, one more thing they need to accomplish to make this season truly special, and historic.
The Braves just have to finish it. If October goes like the first six months of this season, they’ll be swirling around all these numbers for the rest of their lives.
If the Braves fail to win The World Series, they are just numbers that will be semi-forgotten.
Just Pretending?
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
We have only played a few games in the 2023 college football season but I’m still left with questions.
Who are the real national title contenders? Let’s take a look at the top four teams and see what’s going on.
#1 Georgia: The Bulldogs have won two consecutive national championships and were undefeated last season. They have been ranked as the top team this year despite losing several key players from those teams.
Quarterback Stetson Bennett graduated and he’s on the LA Rams roster. The players drafted in the first round were defensive tackle Jalen Carter, tackle Broderick Jones and linebacker Nolan Smith.
Junior Carson Beck is the new QB this season and we have not learned much from the first three games. They opened SEC play against South Carolina at home. They went into halftime trailing the Gamecocks 14-3. The ‘other USC’ lost their season opener to North Carolina so they are not an elite team.
The Bulldogs shut them out in the second half and won, 24-14. The next game is against UAB so that will be an easy win. I want to see how they play against better competition but they do not play a ranked opponent until October 28, which is No. 25 Florida.
#2 Michigan: The Wolverines had an undefeated regular season in 2022 and went to the College Football Playoff. Michigan has played East Carolina, UNLV and Bowling Green so these are basically glorified preseason games.
Quarterback J.J. McCarthy is the returning starter so they do have continuity at the most important position on the field. The next games are against bad teams, Rutgers and Nebraska. They don’t face a ranked team until No. 7 Penn State on November 11.
#3 Texas: The Longhorns made a big jump in the polls after they beat No. 3 Alabama 34-24 on the road.
Now we should put an asterisk next to this because it does not hold the same weight as it would have over the last decade. The Crimson Tide are struggling at quarterback and Jalen Milroe was benched after that game. Alabama struggled at USF, so I think the quality of this win will be diminished as the season progresses.
Quarterback Quinn Ewers cut the mullet in the offseason and put himself in the Heisman Trophy race after the Bama game.
Texas responded by sleepwalking the first three quarters at home against Wyoming. They started the fourth quarter tied at 10. They ended up winning 31-10.
They only have one more ranked team on the remaining schedule and that’s No. 16 Oklahoma. I think they might be the hardest team to evaluate because the Big 12 has expanded and they don’t have many good teams to play.
#4 Florida State: Going into last week I thought this was the best team in the nation. They started the season with a blowout win over No. 5 LSU, 45-24. The Tigers have played well after that so it’s a good win.
Senior quarterback Jordan Travis is a returning starter and he might be a first-round pick in the 2024 draft. He’s thrown 8 touchdowns with only 1 interception, so he takes care of the football.
The Seminoles struggled and barely beat Boston College, 31-29. The next opponent is Clemson but they have lost seven straight meetings.
FSU does have three more ranked opponents on their schedule; No. 18 Duke, No. 20 Miami and No. 25 Florida.
I’m looking forward to November so we can truly see who the real contenders are.
Tiers
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
After a couple of weeks into the 2023 season. There are signs that the SEC may be down in football in 2023. There will be plenty of time to reverse that perception, but as of today here are my SEC Tier rankings so far for 2023.
TIER ONE:
1 – Georgia: Georgia is the gold standard in the SEC currently. Two cupcakes disposed of so far with SEC opener this week against South Carolina. If UGA drops a couple of games will the SEC even be represented in the College Football Playoff this season?
2 – LSU: The loss to FSU was awful, but who else goes into this spot right now? LSU is talented and should regroup in time for the Alabama game to be for the SEC West title.
Can Brian Kelly get it done in Baton Rouge? LSU’s history says yes, but Brian Kelly’s history says no. We’ll see soon.
3 – Alabama: Physically whipped on the fronts by Texas who may end up being great, but warning signs are there if you are an Alabama fan.
Don’t close the door on Nick Saban. This is still a very talented and proud football program which makes them dangerous for the rest of this season.
TIER TWO:
4 — Texas A&M: The loss to Miami puts Jimbo on the hot seat. No reason this talented roster should stink the way they do.
A&M has a $77 million dollar quandary on their hands. If Jimbo is fired, they must pay that huge buy-out. Alabama comes to College Station this fall.
5 – Tennessee: Is Joe Milton really that guy? A struggle with Austin Peay raised questions about the Vols as they head to Gainesville, which has been a house of horrors for Tennessee for a long time. Vols have lost 9 straight there and have not won there since 2003.
6- Ole Miss: Big Road win at Tulane, and Alabama coming up soon will tell us all we need to know about Ole Miss.
Ole Miss has an experienced OL and a solid run game with Lane calling the plays. Division play is ending after 2023 in the SEC. Ole Miss has never represented the West in Atlanta for the SEC title game. Now or never Rebs.
TIER THREE:
7 – Missouri: I like this defense. A team you don’t want to sleep on.
8 – Arkansas: Are you buying the Razorback hype? I’m not this team is about to get exposed in SEC play.
9 – Auburn: This is the lowest you’ll see this team in the power rankings right now. Moving forward Hugh Freeze will have Auburn in the elite status in 2024 and beyond.
10 – Kentucky: N.C. State transfer Devin Leary is all the hype at quarterback. They are effective at what they do, which is to bore the hell out of you.
TIER FOUR:
11 – South Carolina: Expectations exceed talent and depth. 9 sacks surrendered against UNC is a huge warning sign going into SEC play.
12 – Mississippi State: This team has a lot of unknowns, which is why they land here in their traditional spot in rankings like these. Historic bottom feeder.
13 – Florida: Gators have a schedule that can get a coach fired. Florida has fired a lot of coaches lately.
Billy Napier can recruit Florida out of this, but he needs time.
Statement game against Tennessee this weekend. The Utah game was bad. This team looks talented on defense.
14 – Vanderbilt: Vandy’s destiny is here. It is their birthright. Hopefully one day they can climb out of here.
