Champions
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
As a south Florida breeze blew through the night, Miami native Fernando Mendoza and the Indiana Hoosiers ascended to the throne of college football — and entered the all-time lore of American sports.
Mendoza’s twisting, turning, bouncing-off-defenders touchdown in the fourth quarter will be replayed forever. This Indiana team broke all the molds, shed all their historical baggage and won the national championship.
Your 2025 Indiana Hoosiers. 16-0. National champions.The dream season is real.
Indiana. National champions. Of football.
The unflappable coach Curt Cignetti led a perennial bottom dweller to the College Football Playoff in 2024, boldly stated over the summer that wasn’t enough — hammering the phrase “No self-imposed limitations” — then marched his troops to a storybook season in his second year in Bloomington.
The Hoosiers are the first team in the history of any major-college sport to have the most all-time losses in a sport then go on to win a national championship.
“I don’t think there’s anything that compares to this, even if they don’t win Monday night,” longtime broadcaster Sean McDonough said during Friday’s CFP media day.
But they did win. The Hoosiers aren’t a plucky upstart or an underdog darling or any other warm and fuzzy placeholder.
The Indiana Hoosiers are the national champions of college football.
And they did so by marching through some of the biggest names in the sport.
Indiana finished the regular season unbeaten, then started their postseason march by handling No. 1 Ohio State 13-10 in the Big Ten title game. The Buckeyes, averaging 33.4 points per game, scored only one touchdown after an Indiana turnover deep in IU territory.
The Hoosiers postseason run is a noteworthy one: They crushed Alabama 38-3 in the Rose Bowl, then blew Oregon’s doors off 56-22 in a CFP semifinal at the Peach Bowl in Atlanta.
When forced to play the Hurricanes on their home field for the national title, Indiana handled Miami 27-21.
Surviving multiple cheap shots from Miami that even rules analysts said should have been targeting, Mendoza pinballed himself into the end zone with 9:18 left in the game to give the Hoosiers a 24-14 lead.
It wasn’t any touchdown run. It was fourth-and-4 from the Miami 12, national championship on the line. Cignetti called timeout after third down, went for it on fourth down.
Mendoza bounced off at least six defenders before launching himself upward and sideways into the end zone. As he scored, television cameras shifted to his mother, who is in a wheelchair due to M.S., and Elsa’s reaction was one of joy, shock and near tears as she was hugged by family members.
Legendary play call. Legendary play. Legendary reaction.
Jamari Sharpe sealed the outcome when the Hurricanes had a chance to steal it away. Sharpe slipped inside a route by Keelan Marion and picked off Carson Beck on a first-and-10 from the Indiana 41, and. Sharpe made the smart play from Sharpe was— a poetic ending for a Curt Cignetti’s -coached team — taking a knee with 0:44 on the clock.
An excessive celebration flag was thrown on Indiana after Sharpe’s interception, but after years, decades, even generations of frustration, the world can throw an excessive celebration flag on Hoosier Nation and no one will care.
The Hoosiers have six wins over top-10 teams: No. 1 Ohio State (neutral site), No. 3 Oregon (on the road), No. 5 Oregon (neutral site), No. 9 Alabama (neutral site), No. 9 Illinois (home), No. 10 Miami (the Canes’ home stadium in the national title game).
In those six wins over top-10 teams, IU has won by a combined score of 227-86
As Mendoza stood on the field waiting to do the ESPN postgame interview, red and white confetti falling on his head, his gaze drifted upward and he seemed to mouth “Thank you” to no one in particular.
And this comes with tremendous synergy: 50 years ago, Bob Knight’s 1976 basketball team went 32-0 to win the national title. So Indiana has an unbeaten football national championship and an unbeaten basketball national championship.
The Indiana Hoosiers, national champions of college football.
The Wrong Guy
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
I’m from Atlanta so I might be too close to this situation.
I’ve always been a Falcons fan and I’ve always felt they would not win a Super Bowl in my lifetime. Their doing a great job proving me right, in my humble opinion.
As you know, Atlanta fired the Head Coach and General Manager after the season ended. That was a great move, if they hire the right people to replace them.
They finished 8-9 and missed the playoffs for the eighth consecutive year. Then, they hired Matt Ryan as the team’s first-ever President of Football. He’s now the leader for hiring the new GM and Head Coach.
As you probably already know, Atlanta hired Kevin Stefanski as the new head coach.
Stefanski, 43, was the head coach of the Cleveland Browns from 2020-25, leading them to the playoffs after the ’20 and ’23 seasons.
He was named coach of the year in each of those playoff seasons. He previously served as the offensive coordinator for 14 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, where he worked with Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins in 2018-19.
I have to point out that the Browns finished 5-12 this past season and 3-14 in 2024.
In his six years in Cleveland, he had winning seasons twice. His overall record was 45-56. I’m not a huge fan of hiring coaches that were unsuccessful in their previous position.
I’m not sure why Atlanta rushed to hire Stefanski. Buffalo just fired Sean McDermott after they lost in the divisional round of the playoffs.
The Bills were 12-5 this season and 13-4 in 2024. In McDermott’s nine seasons in Buffalo, they went to the playoffs eight times. They won their division five consecutive times and his record is 98-50. I believe he would have been a much better hire.
“We’re thrilled to land a lead-by-example leader in Kevin Stefanski who brings a clear vision for his staff, our team and a closely aligned focus on building this team on fundamentals, toughness and active collaboration with every area of the football operation,” Matt Ryan, Falcons president of football, said in a team statement.
“Coach Stefanski is a team-first leader who puts a premium on accountability for everyone and a player-driven culture. His experience in Cleveland and Minnesota has given him a great understanding of the importance of working in sync with scouting, personnel and the rest of the football staff to maximize talent across the roster and in doing everything possible to put our players in the best position to succeed.”
“Kevin’s style of leadership, combined with the staff and infrastructure in place here in Atlanta, gives us confidence in our shared vision for the team and we are excited to have him as the leader of our football team.”
Ryan has to make this sound like he did a great job by hiring him. I grade this coaching hire as an F. I’ll revisit this in a couple of years and I can admit if I’m wrong.
One obvious weakness Atlanta has is quarterback. Starter Michael Penix Jr. tore his ACL in Week 11. I believe he will miss all of next season. This is his third ACL tear because he suffered the same injury in 2018 and 2020 when he was at Indiana.
He was inconsistent before the injury and now we do not know if he will be the same player when he returns.
The other option is Kirk Cousins and he will turn 38 before the season. He also has not played well since coming to Atlanta. Atlanta still has to hire a general manager.
Crownless SEC
By: Michael Spiers
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
For those of us who grew up believing the SEC was not just a conference but a force of nature, the last couple of seasons have felt… unsettling.
Not catastrophic. Not embarrassing. But different.
And when you love the SEC the way some of us love it, when you’ve measured fall Saturdays by kickoff times in Athens and lived and died with the Georgia Bulldogs, “different” can feel like an existential threat.
Let’s start with the uncomfortable evidence.
Two straight national champions from the Big Ten, and possibly a third after next Monday. And now, two straight title games without an SEC logo anywhere near the field.
Alabama got pushed around by Indiana in a way that would have been unthinkable a decade ago.
Bowl season numbers that don’t lie, even if we try to explain them away. Middle-of-the-pack SEC teams losing to middle-of-the-pack Big Ten and ACC teams.
That mystique Curt Cignetti dismissed before his team throttled Alabama? It wasn’t disrespect. It was reality.
And yet, if you’re asking whether the SEC is still the king of college football, the honest answer depends on how you define “king.”
If king means untouchable, inevitable, and hoisting the trophy every January like it’s preordained, then no. That era is over. Probably forever. The sport has changed too much for that kind of monopoly to exist again.
NIL, the transfer portal, revenue sharing, and an expanded playoff have done what no conference alignment or coaching carousel ever could. They’ve redistributed power.
The SEC once thrived on accumulation. Georgia, Alabama, LSU, Florida. They stacked recruiting classes so deep that second strings looked like NFL practice squads.
Kirby Smart’s two-deep defenses during Georgia’s championship run were absurd. Alabama once had four future first-round receivers on the same roster. That’s not happening again.
The four-star kid who used to wait his turn now leaves. The backup guard wants to start. The third receiver wants targets and NIL money. Depth evaporates.
That doesn’t mean the SEC is weaker. It means everyone else is stronger.
And this is where the conversation often loses nuance. The SEC hasn’t fallen. The sport has flattened.
When Illinois flips a running back from Alabama, when Indiana doesn’t flinch at the sight of crimson helmets, when Oregon, Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State can all realistically believe they belong, that’s not an indictment of the SEC. It’s a reflection of a new ecosystem.
From a Georgia fan’s perspective, this is both frustrating and fascinating.
Frustrating because dominance was comforting. You knew that if the Bulldogs didn’t win it all, someone from “our side” probably would. Fascinating because now, winning actually means something again.
The margin for error is gone. The invincibility is gone. And the sport feels alive in a way it hadn’t for years.
The SEC is still loaded. The league still produces NFL talent at an absurd rate. It still commands the biggest TV audiences, the loudest stadiums, and the deepest emotional investment. Walk into a bar in Athens, Tuscaloosa, Baton Rouge, or Knoxville on a fall Saturday and tell me this league has lost its soul. It hasn’t.
What it has lost is its insulation.
Georgia still recruits at an elite level. Alabama still signs blue chips. Texas has arrived with resources to match anyone. LSU reloads every year. Ole Miss can still win it all. But none of them can hoard talent anymore. None of them can sleepwalk through November. None of them can assume January belongs to them.
And maybe that’s the real test of kingship.
Because the SEC isn’t being dethroned by one rival or one conference. It’s being challenged by parity. By accessibility. By a sport that no longer allows any region to lock the door behind it.
As someone who bleeds red and black, who still believes Georgia under Kirby Smart is capable of winning it all in any given year, I don’t see this as the end of SEC supremacy. I see it as the end of SEC entitlement.
The crown isn’t gone. It’s just heavier now.
And the truth is, if the SEC really is what we’ve always claimed it to be, then it will adapt.
It will evolve. It will win again. Just not automatically. Not easily. Not without earning it.
Which might be the most SEC thing of all.
Falcons Changing Flight Path
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The NFL regular season has ended and as expected, several coaches were fired.
The Atlanta Falcons fired General Manager Terry Fontenot and head coach Raheem Morris. I love that move because I think the GM should be removed with the head coach when a team wants to move in a different direction.
Atlanta made an interesting move after this by hiring Matt Ryan as their president of football. He’s a former great player for the Falcons and he currently is an analyst on CBS. He gets to keep that job by the way while working in Atlanta’s front office.
Some of the other names that were interviewed for the position were Ian Cunningham, Chicago Bears assistant General Manager, Mike Disner, Detroit Lions Chief Operating Officer and Josh Williams, San Francisco 49ers Director of Scouting and Football Operations. The other guys seem to fit this role a bit better, if we’re being honest.
Ryan’s role as the president of football in Atlanta isn’t simply an advisory role. He’ll have a “strong voice” in the franchise’s decision making, similar to how former quarterback John Elway ran the Broncos as the executive vice president of football operations and general manager from 2011 to ‘21 before stepping into an advisory role in ‘22.
I liked Ryan as a player but I’m not thrilled with him having this title because he does not have experience beyond playing football.
“Arthur gave me the chance of a lifetime almost 20 years ago, and he’s done it again today,” Ryan said. While I appreciate the time I had with the Colts and with CBS, I’ve always been a Falcon. It feels great to be home. I could not be more excited, grateful, or humbled by this new opportunity. I began my career with a singular goal: to do right by the Blank family, the Falcons organization, the city of Atlanta, and especially our fans. My commitment to the success of this franchise has not changed. I’m beyond ready to help write a new chapter of excellence.”
Atlanta has not made the playoffs in eight seasons. They have a lot of talent on the roster but they need to hire the right duo as GM and Head Coach.
So far, four coaches have been interviewed for the Head Coach position. They are Seahawks Offensive Coordinator Klint Kubiak, Dolphins Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver, Seahawks Defensive Coordinator Aden Durde and ex-Browns Coach Kevin Stefanski were interviewed by the team.
Former Dolphins Head Coach Mike McDaniel will interview for the position. I know Atlanta also wants to interview John Harbaugh.
For the GM position, Atlanta has contacted Ian Cunningham. He’s Chicago’s assistant GM.
Atlanta looks like a decent position because they have some good players. The biggest question with the roster is quarterback though.
Starter Michael Penix Jr. suffered a partially torn ACL in Week 11 against Carolina. He suffered two torn ACL’s when he played at Indiana.
He was in his second season but he did not play well consistently before the injury. The other option at QB is Kirk Cousins.
Cousins signed a four-year, $180 million contract with Atlanta in March of 2024. He has been a disappointment thus far and he’s 37.
I’m hopeful Atlanta hires people that can make them a contender again.
Doubt If You Dare
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The final offensive play Miami ran to earn a spot in the national championship had not been called by Shannon Dawson in a game this season.
Considering Miami’s offensive coordinator called a season-high 88 plays in final four 31-27 win against Ole Miss in the Fiesta Bowl — and more than 1,000 throughout the season — it’s noteworthy Dawson still had something the Rebels hadn’t seen yet.
It probably helps explain why Ole Miss left the entire left side of the field open for quarterback Carson Beck to tuck the ball and waltz his way into the end zone with 18 seconds left.
“We’ve been repping it probably for the last three games in that situation — for about a 4- or 5-yard-line play,” Dawson said. “We had a little condensed set (three receivers to the left) and were throwing an option route to Malachi (Toney). They covered it well and Carson just made a play, which was awesome. Sometimes we talk about at quarterback, if you exhaust your reads, go make a damn play. That’s what he did.”
Dawson’s play calling and Beck’s decision-making haven’t always produced pleasing results for the Hurricanes. There were probably some who questioned why Dawson called a pass play 3 yards from the end zone with 24 seconds left and a timeout still in Mario Cristobal’s pocket.
Miami had pounded the ball down the Rebels’ throats all night, and an Ole Miss sack or interception would be disastrous. Yet Miami’s coordinator and head coach were on the same page. It was time to put the game in Beck’s hands.
“I was gonna throw it there, and if I didn’t get it, I was gonna run it on third down,” Dawson said. “And then we would see, right?”
Dawson never had to figure out what to call on third down. Instead of forcing the ball to Toney in tight coverage and putting the ball in harm’s way, Beck made the right decision.
He’s done that a lot over the course of Miami’s seven-game win streak. While Beck is not putting up flashy numbers and continues to struggle connecting with receivers downfield (he was 1 of 7 on throws of 15-plus yards in the Fiesta Bowl), the Georgia transfer play is not hurting his team.
That’s as big a reason as any why Miami is advancing.
Beck’s teammates came to him after his midseason struggles and told him to let his mistakes go. They urged him to play free and reassured him they had his back.
When it was his turn to lead Miami down the field for the winning drive in the Fiesta Bowl, Beck said he told his teammates he had their back, regardless of the outcome.
“He’s a perfect example of a guy who just feels supported,” Cristobal said. “He’s hungry, he’s driven, he’s a great human being and all he wants to do is want to see his teammates have success. And that’s what we witnessed tonight.”
What did Beck’s teammates see late in the game from the Fiesta Bowl’s offensive MVP? Determination.
“All he said was, ‘Let’s go score,’” said CJ Daniels, who caught an 8-yard pass from Beck on third-and-6 with 1:25 to go to keep Miami’s final drive alive.
“The first thing he told me when he got here was if you wanna go win the natty, you’ve got to believe. Everybody knows he’s been through a lot. The whole world criticizes him. I just know I wouldn’t want to play with any other quarterback.”
Beck threw his second interception since the SMU loss — a span of 195 passes — on a batted ball on his final pass of the third quarter. He closed by completing eight of his last 13 passes in the fourth quarter for 93 yards and two touchdowns.
Keelan Marion, who led the Hurricanes with seven catches for 114 yards (including a 52-yarder for a touchdown on a busted coverage), said he went to Beck on the final drive and told him to get him the ball because he was confident he could beat whoever was covering him. Beck trusted him. Marion caught three passes on the drive, including the last two for first downs.
“Everybody doubted that guy,” Marion said, “and he’s been proving them wrong game by game.”
Is Beck capable of leading Miami to one more win on the Hurricanes’ home field against Indiana?
He’s 37-5 as a starting quarterback. It would be foolish to doubt him now.
Wayne County Yellow Jackets Hire New King Bee
By: Colin Lacy
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Wayne County has found a new leader in Jesup. The Wayne County Board of Education unanimously approved Superintendent Toni Williams’ nomination of Scott Roberts as the new head football coach for the Yellow Jackets.
Roberts comes to Jesup after a 1-9 season that saw the departure of former head coach John Mohring after a 0-5 start.
Athletic Director and Head Baseball Coach Justin McDonald took over as interim head coach. In his first game as interim head coach, McDonald led the Yellow Jackets to their first win since 2023 on the field.
John Mohring, who just accepted the defensive coordinator position at Parkview High School earlier this week, technically resigned mid-September after a 0-5 start.
In the 15 games under Mohring between 2024 and the beginning of 2025, Wayne County was winless on the field.
One caveat to that was the 2024 matchup with Appling County. Appling defeated Wayne on the field, but Appling County was forced to vacate wins for the 2024 season due to GHSA violations in regard to recruiting and an ineligible transfer player.
Scott Roberts comes to Jesup after 11 seasons in two stints (including the last 9 years) leading the Swainsboro Tigers program.
Roberts amassed an overall record of 92-43 in his 11 seasons in Swainsboro including a 75-36 record since taking over the Tigers most recently in 2017.
Roberts had made the Tigers and the GHSA State playoffs synonymous with a playoff appearance in every season since he took over Swainsboro in 2017.
The playoff streak includes 3 region titles along with 2 state championship game appearances in back-to-back years of 2022 and 2023 as well as a semi-final game showing in 2021.
Prior to taking over for the Tigers, Roberts spent the 2013-2016 seasons at Bainbridge High School as the offensive coordinator for the Bearcats.
While in Southwest Georgia, Roberts helped the Bearcats to three consecutive playoff appearances including a semifinal match-up in 2015.
He has spent virtually his entire coaching career in South Georgia with stops on staff at Fitzgerald, Cairo, Colquitt, Tift County and Washington County.
After many years of success for Wayne County that came to a rather abrupt end when Jaybo Shaw left after the 2023 season, Justin McDonald did an admiral job getting the first win in almost 2 years, as well as trying to keep the team together and reset the program for the future.
There is plenty of optimism on the field entering the “Roberts Era” and feels like a critical time for the Yellow Jacket program.
While there are many more wins expected, the crucial part of this hire seems to be off the field with the relationships around the program.
Wayne County is an exceptionally invested community that rallies around the Yellow Jackets, and while there were some questions around that piece of the equation with Roberts in Swainsboro, it will be arguably the most important piece to embrace the community to be able to find success again in Jesup.
Wayne County is a program that has the support to be successful on the field, and quite frankly, the Yellow Jackets are a program that makes the South Georgia area better when they are at their best.
Scott Roberts has won everywhere he’s been and looks to continue that in Jesup!
Camden’s Homerun Hire
By: Michael Spiers
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
After a month of unexpected change and uncertainty, Camden County believes it has found stability and direction in its football program with the hiring of Tucker Pruitt as the Wildcats’ new head coach.
Pruitt, one of the most successful coaches in South Georgia over the past decade, arrives in Kingsland following time as head coach at Appling County High School.
His hiring comes just weeks after Camden County was forced back into the coaching market following the sudden resignation of Jon Lindsey, who stepped down due to personal, unforeseen reasons shortly after being introduced as the program’s head coach.
Now, the Wildcats turn to a coach with a résumé defined by consistency, championships, and long-term program building.
Pruitt brings an 82–27 career record, including 60 wins since 2020, a total tied for the most among South Georgia coaches during that span.
He spent eight seasons at Fitzgerald High School, where he transformed an already proud program into a perennial state title contender.
Under his leadership, Fitzgerald reached five consecutive GHSA Class 2A semifinals, won the 2021 state championship, and finished as state runner-up in both 2020 and 2022.
The title was Fitzgerald’s first since 1948, cementing Pruitt’s reputation as a coach capable of pushing programs to historic heights.
Before taking over at Fitzgerald, Pruitt served as offensive coordinator at Valdosta and Lowndes, two of Georgia’s most storied programs, and also coached under his father, longtime head coach Robby Pruitt, at Coffee.
That background has shaped Pruitt into a coach known for offensive flexibility, attention to detail, and a deep understanding of how to sustain success over time.
Pruitt spent the 2025 season at Appling County, stepping into a difficult situation after the program was forced to forfeit 10 wins due to a GHSA ruling involving an ineligible player.
Despite the challenge, Appling County responded by finishing strong, clinching a region championship and reestablishing competitive footing.
Pruitt used the season to install new schemes, revamp strength and conditioning, and build a culture centered on accountability and toughness.
That experience may prove valuable at Camden County, which has now seen multiple head coaching changes in recent years. The Wildcats have remained competitive, but continuity at the top has been elusive.
Pruitt’s hiring signals an effort by the school system to stabilize the program with a coach who has demonstrated the ability to build and sustain winning cultures.
Like Lindsey before him, Pruitt is stepping into a community where football carries enormous expectations.
Unlike recent hires, however, Pruitt arrives with a lengthy track record as a head coach who has navigated adversity, rebuilt rosters, and maintained success across multiple seasons.
At Appling County, Pruitt often spoke about failure as a teaching tool and growth as a process. His teams were known for adjusting, improving, and peaking late in the season.
That philosophy aligns with a Camden County program that expects physical football, discipline, and steady development rather than quick fixes.
Camden County officials have not yet announced a formal introductory event, but players, parents, and fans will soon get their first opportunity to hear directly from a coach tasked with guiding the next chapter of Wildcat football.
After a whirlwind stretch that included optimism, surprise, and renewed uncertainty, Camden County believes Tucker Pruitt represents a clear step forward. His arrival brings experience, credibility, and a history of winning to a program searching for long-term stability and a return to championship contention.
For the Wildcats, the reset button has been pressed once more. This time, the hope is that it leads to something lasting.
Not Done Yet
By: Michael Spiers
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Jacksonville Jaguars are back in the playoffs, but this time it feels different.
This is not a young team simply happy to be here or wide-eyed by the moment. This is a group that has been tested, hardened, and sharpened by pressure long before the postseason officially arrived.
For the past two months, the Jaguars have essentially been playing playoff football.
Eight consecutive victories were required to claim the AFC South, and the Jaguars delivered every single time. With Houston breathing down their necks and winning nine straight games of their own, Jacksonville had no margin for error.
That stretch matters. It changes how a team views the stakes. It builds habits that carry into January. The messaging inside the building reflects that mindset.
The division title was celebrated, but not lingered on. The shirts may have read ‘Been There, Won That’, but the words players keep repeating are ‘Not Done Yet’.
That has not just been talk for the cameras. It shows up in how they prepare and how they play.
Trevor Lawrence is the clearest example. He enters the postseason playing some of the best football of his career, having thrown for 38 total touchdowns while leading an offense that has averaged nearly 33 points per game over the last ten weeks.
More importantly, he looks comfortable controlling games. He’s not chasing highlights. He is making correct decisions and punishing defenses when they overcommit.
The defense has quietly become just as important to Jacksonville’s identity.
Over the last six games, the Jaguars are allowing barely more than two touchdowns per game while generating turnovers at a playoff level.
Foye Oluokun is everywhere. Josh Hines-Allen continues to disrupt quarterbacks. Antonio Johnson has turned mistakes into points. That balance is what separates dangerous teams from real contenders.
The wild card matchup with Buffalo will be a legitimate test. The Bills are experienced, battle tested and led by the reigning league MVP in Josh Allen. They run the ball as well as any team in the NFL and have spent years navigating January football.
But this version of Jacksonville is not intimidated by résumés. The Jaguars will go into the contest on Sunday boasting the league’s number one run defense, and as the team ranked second in the NFL in defensive takeaways.
The Jags have beaten elite teams during this run, including the AFC’s number one seeded Denver Broncos. Just three weeks ago the Jags traveled to the Mile High City and ended the Broncos 11-game win streak with a convincing 31-20 victory.
The Jags will take on the Bills this Sunday at home, where franchise history shows they thrive in postseason environments. EverBank Stadium matters.
Jacksonville is four and one all-time in home playoff games, and anyone who remembers the Chargers comeback in 2022 knows how quickly that building can tilt a contest.
For an opposing offense, that noise is not just uncomfortable. It is disruptive.
So, can the Jaguars make the Super Bowl? I think the answer is yes, but with context.
The numbers say the odds sit around seven percent. That may not sound overwhelming, but it places Jacksonville squarely in the league’s list of contenders, ahead of teams with bigger markets and louder narratives.
It also reflects how difficult the path is in the AFC, where every round feels like a heavyweight bout.
What gives Jacksonville a real chance is not odds or simulations. It is timing.
They are healthy. They are confident. They are playing their best football at exactly the right moment. They are also mentally prepared for the grind, having already lived in must win mode for weeks.
This is not a team hoping for magic. It is a team expecting results. That expectation changes everything.
I think the Jaguars will defeat Buffalo, and once that happens, belief will shift quickly from possibility to probability.
The reward for winning on Wild Card Weekend? Another trip to the Mile-High City to take on those same Denver Broncos.
One win leads to another, and in January momentum often matters as much as matchups. Jacksonville has both.
They are hungry. They are grounded. And they aren’t done yet.
New Captain For Brunswick Pirates
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Brunswick High Pirates have reportedly found a new Head Football Coach.
The Pirates have reportedly hired former Cook County Head Football Coach Byron Slack.
Slack led the Hornets to a 5-6 record last season and playoff appearance. Cook County went down in the first round of the 2A GHSA playoffs to North Murray 22-14 last season.
Slack went 4-7 with Cook in 2024, bowing out in the first round Burke County in the first round of the playoffs 27-21.
However, Cook made a deep playoff run and lost to Rockmart 34-24. The Hornets went 11-4 in the 2023 campaign.
In fairness to Slack, his football teams have been devasted by injuries the last two seasons.
Slack will be charged with taking over a Brunswick High Pirates program that made national news in the 2025 playoffs due to a sideline clearing brawl during the second round of the GHSA playoffs against the Gainesville Red Elephants.
He will also step into a program that has enjoyed a lot of success over the last decade under former coaches Sean Pender and Garrett Grady.
One of the things Slack will be tasked with as the new Pirates Head Coach is getting the Pirates out of the 2nd round of the playoffs and potentially make some deeper playoff runs.
The Pirates have not advanced out of the second round in the GHSA playoffs since 1999 when the Pirates lost in the state title game to the Lowndes County Vikings.
The Pirates former coach, Garrett Grady, resigned before the Christmas break and took a job on staff with the Coffee County Trojans.
Slack was 28-21 over his four seasons with Cook High School.
Slack has spent time on coaching staffs at Colquitt, Lowndes and Camden. He also spent one season as the head coach at Hillgrove High School before coming to Cook. Slack spent 13 seasons as an assistant on the Camden County Wildcats staff.
The Glynn County School Board will officially vote on a hire on Thursday evening according to Glynn County Athletic Director, Steve Waters.
Georgia Bulldogs Philosophy Change?
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Georgia fell in heartbreaking fashion to Ole Miss.
I’ll break down the moments that decided this game and acknowledge a couple winners and losers.
FOUR MOMENTS THAT DECIDED THE GAME:
Ole Miss kicker Lucas Carneiro 55-yard and 56-yard field goals early: So many times in key Georgia games, we’ve seen an opposing kicker turtle in the big moment.
Carneiro couldn’t have been more different. His first field goal of the night? Sugar Bowl record.
His second field goal of the night? Broke his Sugar Bowl record in 10 minutes.
Those two long-distance field goals early in the game were big from a future confidence standpoint for the key game-winner, but it also wound up having major scoreboard implications at multiple points through the game.
Those two early moments would be great foreshadowing for the final moments of the game that follow.
Trinidad Chambliss’ circus act on third-and-7 to start the fourth quarter: Early in the fourth quarter, Georgia led by five facing a key third-down, which had been shortened by a previous play from Chambliss where he flicked an improvised pass to avoid lost yardage.
The next play was even more miraculous. With Quintavius Johnson and Daylen Everette both free and chasing, Chambliss looked like he might be destined for a long, long negative play.
Instead, he pulled off a moment that will go down in Ole Miss and CFP history forever, escaping both, finding Kewan Lacy who made it just past the line-to-gain to extend the drive.
It put CJ Allen and KJ Bolden out of the game briefly, too. A few plays later, after another explosive, Kewan Lacy marched in for a go-ahead score for Ole Miss.
Georgia’s failed fourth-down conversion: Kirby Smart labeled it a misfire in his postgame press conference, and that’s liable to happen when you have a backup center in a high-leverage decision-making fourth down.
Immediately after Ole Miss’ go-ahead touchdown, the Bulldogs went four plays for negative-2 yards, ending in a Gunner Stockton fumble.
The fourth-down failure? Georgia ran the punt team off, replaced it with the offense, and according to Smart, didn’t intend on snapping it.
Malachi Toliver read that the Ole Miss defender jumped, so he snapped it when others weren’t expecting him too. The play was dead on arrival, and the Rebels took a 10-point lead a few moments later.
Georgia’s third-down incompletion on final possession: Georgia tied the game, but at what cost? Georgia’s third-down play before Peyton Woodring’s game-tying field goal had major clock implications.
Georgia elected to dropback with Stockton who targeted Oscar Delp in the back of the end zone, despite running past the back line. It stopped the clock just a hair under a minute.
Hindsight is 20-20, but a run there and settling for a field goal would’ve resulted in a tie game with around than 20 seconds on the clock, something that likely would’ve caused Ole Miss coaches to kneel and play for overtime. Sometimes it’s the little things.
Winners and Losers:
Loser: The ultimate storyline–It felt like it had been written in the stars: Carson Beck vs. Georgia.
The Bulldogs just needed to hold up their end of the bargain, and they didn’t.
Georgia had too many opportunities to spoil away what would’ve gone down as one of the most climatic weeks of off-the-field chatter that there’s ever been. Beck earned his way there, something Georgia was unable to do.
Winner: Fans begging for Kirby Smart self-reflecting on philosophical changes-Every team left in the College Football Playoff has a transfer-portal quarterback running the show.
At least two of the teams remaining — Ole Miss and Indiana — would identify as programs who built their modern-day prominence in college football via a tactical use of the transfer portal.
In multiple cases, there are some aggressive spenders when it comes to certain status of recruitments.
You can fairly ask: What approach is the right approach in today’s day and age? There’s likely not a definitively correct answer to that.
But what will come of this is that Kirby Smart will be given no choice but to evaluate all available strategies to see if something needs to change to modernize Georgia’s approach.
That’s not to say anything specifically will change, but it’s the type of loss that — at the very least — makes you think.
Loser: Smart’s game-management approval rating-It stinks that’s the case because there were certain moments — like the fake punt — that could’ve added to the legacy of Kirby Smart’s crucial-moment decisions in College Football Playoff games.
Instead, most focus will lean on the third- and fourth-down calls that made Georgia’s challenge of overcoming their failures virtually impossible.
There will be questions about play-calling, or personnel decisions. It wasn’t Smart’s sharpest performance, and he was the first to admit it on Thursday night.
Final Thoughts-There will be a lot of debate in the Georgia world over the next year because of what unfolded in this game.
We’ll get into that over the weeks and months to come. There will be questions about coaches. There will be questions about roster-building plans. There will be questions about decision-making. This isn’t the space where we’re trying to tell fans to not feel or react to those types of things.
A three-year College Football playoff win drought — this isn’t a national championship drought we’re talking about here — is enough to warrant those questions.
But it’s to put that on the back burner for a second to accept something that’s sometime hard to swallow.
Trinidad Chambliss was the best football player in New Orleans on Thursday. He came up in every big moment he was asked to. He threw for 362 yards, and he made it look run-of-the-mill — because it is.
He made the difference-making highlight-reel plays. Chambliss was the best quarterback Georgia faced all year, both times.
There were no answers from the defense. This was a guy playing Division-II ball at Ferris State a year ago, and now he can flip Sugar Bowls on their head.
I know it’s trendy to criticize your own team’s shortcoming when they’re not good enough. Smart is going to do that himself, rest assured.
But this Chambliss historic performance against Georgia deserves the most serious tip-of-the-cap. He was as sensational as any player has been against Georgia in the Kirby Smart era.
It also shows that you need to play at an elite level or better to beat this Georgia program, and that’s exactly what Chambliss did.
