Bishop Media Sports Network
Jason Bishop Show w Kipp Branch November 16
The Inflated SEC
By: Mike Anthony
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
On Tuesday night, the latest installment of the College Football Playoff rankings were released.
There weren’t too many surprises. LSU topped the chart after an historic win over Alabama. Ohio State continues to churn along and the defending champions from Clemson won’t drop out of a coveted top-4 so long as they remain undefeated.
The only small surprise was that Alabama fell all the way out of the top-4, coming in at No. 5 while Georgia claimed the final spot – for now – in the ultimate playoff.
There is still a month to play in the regular season and history suggests that a big shakeup or two are still in store, but the latest rankings continued a long-running trend.
For more than a decade it has been pretty much impossible for Southeastern Conference teams to not make up a large portion of any poll.
To be fair, there is no reason to be surprised by seeing SEC teams ranked near the top. The conference won seven consecutive national championships from 2006-12 and has won two more since then. A team from the SEC was also the runner-up in three other title games since 2012.
It’s inarguable that the SEC routinely produces some of the best teams each year. But a quick look at how the rankings – both the playoff rankings and the Associated Press poll – play out each week shows why the league is all but guaranteed to get a crack at the title, even in down years.
The fact that the thousands of bowl game fans doing the ‘S-E-C’ chant don’t want to admit is that, for all the greatness of the top few teams each season, the bottom of the league features bad teams the likes of which can be found in any other conference. But the real issue with the SEC and the rankings comes from the 4-5 teams in the middle of the conference standings.
Year in and year out, ranked SEC teams that suffer tough losses never seem to suffer the same sort of hit in the polls as similar middling teams from other leagues.
As an example, from the most recent playoff rankings, Florida and Auburn are the two highest ranked two-loss teams and both come in ahead of undefeated P5 school Baylor, as well as five other teams with just one loss.
The constant argument is that the SEC is just so much better that its teams play exponentially tougher schedules and deserve the benefit of a doubt.
That’s simply not true in practice. Alabama has yet to beat a ranked team this season and only has one left on its schedule.
Auburn has only beaten one ranked team this season in Oregon. Florida’s only win over a ranked team came when it beat Auburn.
That’s the vicious circle which continues to play out in the SEC’s favor. Anytime a favorite wins, like it should against a league doormat, it gets extra credit for winning an SEC game.
When a favorite loses, the blow in the rankings is softened for the same reason. And anytime an otherwise unimpressive SEC team jumps up to beat a league rival, the voters overreact and race to throw that team right into a top-20 spot.
And that’s how the league continues to take up nearly a third of each new poll despite not being nearly the dominant force it was a decade ago.
The top few teams in the SEC are great and have a legitimate shot at a national championship each season. But all of their lesser friends need to stop sucking up all the air in the rankings that could be used on better teams from other conferences.
Improving The Gator Bite
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
I have spent a lot less time writing about recruiting during the college football season. The season is short and I want to enjoy every Saturday while I have it.
After watching the Georgia-Florida game, I definitely see a talent difference between the two SEC programs.
Georgia has been recruiting at an elite level since Kirby Smart arrived in Athens. Florida’s recruiting classes under Mullen have been good, but not elite. If Mullen wants to compete with Georgia on the field, he must first start winning some battles off the field.
Georgia has four commits from the state of Florida, all five are top 50 players in Florida.
They are four-star QB Carson Beck out of Jacksonville, four-star DT Jalen Carter out of Apopka, four-star OL Joshua Braun out of Live Oak and four-star WR Marcus Rosemy. I do not count 4-star DT Warren Brinson from IMG Academy because he is from Savannah.
Three of the four commits live less than a two hour drive from Gainesville. Coach Mullen must do a better job keeping the in-state talent in state (this goes for Miami, FSU and UCF).
Georgia is currently ranked fifth nationally and third in the SEC with 16 commits. Florida is currently ranked 11th nationally and sixth in the SEC with 19 commits.
Mullen’s current staff does not have an Alpha on the recruiting trail. Mullen must add one or more to his staff and increase staff in the recruiting department.
Florida currently has 19 commits and can take as many as 30 this cycle. I believe the Gators will take right around 27 this cycle.
The Gators’ strong season and HBO special exposure is having a positive impact on recruiting. Also, Willie Taggart’s firing will provide positive ramifications due to lack of competition.
Florida recruiting class has one quarterback, three receivers, four offensive linemen, one tight end, four defensive linemen, one linebacker and five defensive backs. Florida appears to be done adding to this class.
The Gators need to address depth on the offensive line and defensive line. This class should have five or six players in the trenches.
Here are some of the top targets still in the noncommitted group.
St. Thomas Aquinas offensive tackle Marcus Dumervil is the Gators main target. Dumervil is a four star and this is going to be a Florida-LSU battle.
Miami Columbus wide receiver Xzavier Henderson is the top wide receiver on the board. Henderson has offers from Georgia, Clemson, Alabama, ect. This is a three-way battle between Clemson, Georgia and Florida.
Deerfield Beach running back Jaylan Knighton has turned his interest towards the Gators after decommitting from FSU.
This 2020 class is in the same shape as the 2019 class. If fans are relying on on-field performance to provide a significant bump in this class, the loss to Georgia certainly doesn’t help.
The early signing period is December 18th. National Signing Day always brings a few surprises, and this year will be no exception.
Who is flipping and who is delaying their signing until February? Can the Gators close the talent gap with Georgia and the other elite programs?
Pick A Number
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
We are coming off the biggest weekend of the college football season. There were two games featuring unbeaten, highly ranked teams. No. 2 LSU beat No. 3 Alabama 46 – 41. No. 17 Minnesota defeated No. 4 Penn State 31 – 26.
The AP and Coaches Poll rankings for the week were revealed. Alabama only dropped one spot, which has upset fans of other one-loss teams. Let’s look at my top four teams.
#1 LSU: The Tigers have the best resume in the nation. They have beaten four ranked teams; all of them were ranked in the top 10 at the time. This is the first LSU team I can remember with a potent offense.
They are ranked fourth nationally in total offense despite playing one less game than two of the teams ranked ahead of them.
Quarterback, Joe Burrow is the frontrunner to win the Heisman Trophy. Burrow has passed for 3,198 yards, 33 touchdowns and only 4 interceptions.
He also completes 80% of his passes. They also have a great running game led by Clyde Edwards-Helaire. He has 11 TD’s, averages 5.8 yards per carry and he’s on pace to eclipse one thousand yards.
The surprising weakness is defense. The Tigers rank 33rd nationally in total defense, allowing 340 YPG.
#2 Ohio State: The Buckeyes are the most balanced team in the nation. The defense is #1 in total defense, only giving up 215 YPG.
The offense is fifth in total offense with 536 YPG. Quarterback, Justin Fields is also a Heisman contender. He’s the best dual threat QB in college. He’s passed for 1,859 yards, 27 TD’s and only one interception. On the ground, he has 347 yards and 10 touchdowns.
J.K. Dobbins is one of the best backs in the game. Dobbins has already gained 1,200 yards, 11 TD’s and averages 7.2 YPC.
Star defensive end and possible No. 1 pick in the upcoming draft, Chase Young may miss significant time with a suspension. He did not play the last game due to a possible NCAA violation from 2018.
#3 Clemson: The Tigers are the defending national champions but they struggled early in the season. They narrowly beat unranked North Carolina 21 – 20 the last week of September.
Quarterback Trevor Lawrence looked great in the national championship game but he has not performed up to expectations thus far.
Lawrence has thrown 23 touchdowns and 8 picks. Running back Travis Etienne has been dominant with 1,214 yards, 13 TD’s and 8.9 YPC. Despite the problems, they rank second in total offense at the FBS level. They also rank fourth in total defense.
So far, they faced one ranked opponent and have one more on the schedule, No. 19 Wake Forest.
#4 Oregon: The Ducks began the season with a 27 – 21 loss to No. 16 Auburn. Since then they won 8 consecutive games.
They’re led by QB Justin Herbert, who will be a top five pick in the 2020 draft. He has thrown for 2,329 yards, 24 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.
Oregon should play No. 8 Utah in the Pac 12 championship game and that will be a good win.
The first team on the outside looking in is Georgia. The Bulldogs lost at home to unranked South Carolina.
The only ranked team left on the schedule is No. 11 Auburn. If they win the rest of their games including the SEC Championship, they have to be in the playoffs.
Alabama still has an outside shot of making it if some upsets happen and they win out.
Jason Bishop Show w Kipp Branch November 9
On My Mind
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
There are a lot of things going on in the world of southern sports currently. Here are some random thoughts:
- On 4th and a foot you run the football, Dan Mullen. To win in the SEC you have to be able to run the damn football. At Mississippi State you can get away with that, but at Florida you can’t. Lose again to UGA next year and see how hot your seat gets.
- Wristband Gate at UF caused them to use two early timeouts in the World Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. Again, you can get by with that in the Egg Bowl, but not against Daddy Kirby.
- The Atlanta Falcons are a huge dumpster fire. Time to clean house and start over. Nick Saban has a home in Georgia. Home Depot will make tons of money during the Christmas season. Breakout the check book Falcons.
- The Atlanta Braves decline the 2020 option on Julio Teheran’s contract. That took about three years too long.
- Cam Newton has major health issues and is out for the season, but the Panthers are 5-3 and in playoff contention. Can someone in Charlotte pick up the phone to the Chicago Bears and say are on the line looking for a QB?
- The Brunswick High Pirates are back in the playoffs in 2019. Note to region 2-AAAAAA if you didn’t beat the Pirates in 2019 you won’t again until 2023 at the earliest, and if you did you better enjoy it.
- Richmond Hill got bumped to 7A in the latest reclassification by the Georgia High School Association through 2022. How quickly will RH file the isolation paperwork to the GHSA to stay in 6A?
- FSU is looking for a new football coach. We never got the time to know you Willie. Who wants to come in and continue cleaning up the mess Jimbo left?
- Auburn is looking at another banner year under Gus. Bus number 8-4 is running out of gas finally on the Plains.
- Tua’s ankle, Tua’s ankle, Tua’s ankle, Tua’s ankle, Tua’s ankle. You get my drift.
- The first QB selected in the 2020 NFL Draft is Joe Burrow.
- The best college football team in the State of Georgia is the Valdosta State Blazers. They just keep winning and winning.
- The Atlanta Hawks are an NBA Draft Lottery team once again.
- Anthony Edwards will lead the UGA Men’s Basketball team to a bid in the NCAA Tourney.
- Randon Jernigan will bat over .300 and make All-SEC in 2020 for the Diamond Dawgs. Why? Because his Aunt Sandra told me so. That’s good enough for me.
- The Frederica Knights beat Bulloch Academy on Senior Night Friday under the oaks on St. Simons, and win two GISA Playoff games.
- Kawhi Leonard is the best NBA player on the planet at this moment in time. Those who don’t agree I have three words for you MAKE THE PLAYOFFS!
- Lawrence Cager is still wide open against DBU.
- Lowndes County is the best high school football team in Georgia.
- McIntosh County Academy hats off to you and the improvement you have shown in 2019. Look out for the Bucs moving forward.
- Note to the College Football Playoff Committee, you have undefeated Baylor ranked behind one loss Oklahoma, who lost to Kansas State by 7. Baylor beat Kansas State by 19 points. Dollar Store spring water is just as good as Dasani. Clemson ranked 5th? Get better committee. Baylor is not UCF they play in a real conference.
- The ACC in football is Clemson and the dependents.
- Glynn County Stadium needs an elevator going to the Press Box.
- Camden County officials need to be placed on top of every press box they visit to taste that medicine they dish out.
- The Washington Nationals won the World Series and can’t even win the NL East. Ouch!
New Coach Chant
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Florida State University fired head football coach Willie Taggart following the Seminoles 27-10 loss to Miami.
The buyout for Coach Taggart is more than 17 million dollars. Florida State will end up paying more than 20 million to buy out the whole staff at the end of the year. This will mark one of the biggest buyouts in college football history.
Florida State looks to hire their next head football coach. Here are my thoughts on 7 coaches who could land the job in Tallahassee.
Bob Stoops is a bit of a surprise. After 18 years coaching at Oklahoma, Stoops is currently the coach and GM of the Dallas XFL franchise. Stoops is a perfect person to bridge the gap for 3-5 years. He is a proven winner and there is no buyout.
Matt Campbell is the current head coach at Iowa State. Campbell was named the Big 12 Coach of the Year twice (2017 & 2018). Campbell has a very large buyout. He has been successful at two stops Toledo and Iowa State. Cambell record is 59-37.
Mark Stoops is the current head coach at Kentucky. Stoops is in his seventh season with the Wildcats and served as Defensive Coordinator at Florida State from 2010-2012. Stoops record at Kentucky is 40-34.
P.J. Fleck is a popular choice on everyone’s list of candidates. Fleck known for his “Row the Boat” quote. Fleck is a proven program builder in the Midwest.
He spent four years at Western Michigan with a record of 30-22. Currently, he is coaching Minnesota to an 8-0 record and in three seasons at the Gophers helm he is 50-35.
Fleck just signed a seven-year extension with Minnesota. So, you can take his name off the board.
Mike Norvell is the current coach at Memphis. This 38-year-old is a hot name anytime there is an opening. Norvell is 34-15 in his fourth year on the job. He is also rumored to be the leading candidate if or when the Arkansas job comes open.
Mike Leach, the Washington State head coach and offensive wizard is a fan favorite. He’s weird, but he wins football games. Leach, a former Valdosta State assistant, almost took the Tennessee job in 2017.
Josh Heupel is the current head coach at the University of Central Florida. In two seasons at UCF, Heupel has a record of 19-3. Heupel already has recruiting ties in the State of Florida and he is an offensive guru.
Here are a few other names you may hear: Tom Allen-Indiana, Scott Satterfield-Louisville, Jeff Scott-Co-offensive Coordinator Clemson, Brent Venables-Defensive Coordinator Clemson, Sony Dykes-SMU and Urban Meyer-Former Florida and Ohio State head coach.
This is a big-time job! Florida State has some obstacles to overcome in hiring their next football coach.
Florida State has an interim Athletic Director and a lame duck President. Both are in their last year of their respective contracts.
Firing a head coach before his two years are up means you have some problems that may have deterred some coaches.
Florida State is a program built to win a national title. Florida is a talent rich state in recruiting, FSU plays in the ACC, and the logo still has clout.
This is an important hire for the Seminoles. If you get the hire right, everything else will fall into place. If you get it wrong it set your program back ten years (just ask the Florida Gators).
The random internet rumor generator will have a different FSU coach hired every day until one is found.
The firing of Willie Taggart had to be made. The Seminoles have shown no improvement in two years, and even worse, have regressed this season.
Defensive Line Coach Odell Haggins will serve as interim head coach the remainder of the season. In Tallahassee there is already a garnet billboard with a big gold “ODELL” written on it. It appears the locals are happy.
FSU President announced today that he wants a coached hired by the end of the month.
Coaching search rumors are entertainment like no other.
Who is next at FSU?
Awesome ACC
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The college basketball season begins this week.
Last season was very exciting because we expected Duke to win it all. Instead, Virginia bounced back from an epic collapse from the previous year and won their first national championship. Let’s take a look at the ranked ACC teams.
#4 Duke: The Blue Devils had one of the best recruiting classes of all-time last year led by Zion Williamson. Duke started the season ranked No. 1 and maintained that ranking for most of the year. They lost by one point in the Elite Eight to Michigan State.
The 2019 recruiting class features five recruits and the class is ranked third nationally.
Three of them are five-star players; center Vernon Carey, small forward Wendell Moore and power forward Matthew Hurt. The other two are both four-star recruits; shooting guards Cassius Stanley and Rejean Ellis.
They bring five top 40 prospects to Durham and point guard Tre Jones is returning for his sophomore season.
Duke opens the season against No. 3 Kansas at Madison Square Garden.
#5 Louisville: The Cardinals start the season with a conference game at Miami.
The football team is also playing the Hurricanes this week.
Junior forward Jordan Nwora was voted preseason ACC Player of the Year. He averaged 17 points and 8 rebounds per game last season.
Freshman guard Samuel Williamson is a four-star recruit and he should make an immediate contribution. I expect him to be second on the team in scoring. Senior forward Dwayne Sutton is also a key contributor.
This is the first time in the post Rick Pitino era that Louisville is a serious contender.
#9 North Carolina: The Tar Heels always expect to compete for a national title. The thing that surprises me is they don’t get the elite recruits that you would expect for a program of their caliber.
Their 2019 recruiting class was ranked ninth. That’s behind inferior programs like Memphis, Oregon, USC and Florida.
The recruiting class consists of four players and two of them are five-star recruits. Point guard Cole Anthony and center Armando Bacot are joining an experienced UNC team.
Last season ended in disappointment with a Sweet Sixteen blowout loss to Auburn.
They also begin the season with a conference opponent, Notre Dame. The first ranked team on the schedule is in game 6 versus No. 18 Ohio State. The second game after that is at No. 8 Gonzaga.
# 11 Virginia: Virginia has finished outside the nation’s top 10 once in the last six basketball seasons, and its 89-19 ACC record during that span is historically dominant.
The Cavaliers are replacing four starters, including their top three scorers.
“We know it’s going to be a big challenge,” senior forward Braxton Key said. “We know the X is going to be on our back every game, but we’re excited for it.”
The season opens against a tough Syracuse team.
Virginia is the ACC’s 15th men’s basketball national champion. It’s traditionally the best conference and I think that will be the case this year. I believe the team that wins the national championship this year will be from the ACC.
Taggart Time Over
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
So, who had a year and a half in the “Taggart’s Time in Tallahassee” office pool? I had three years, so once again, I lose.
If you’re wondering why Taggart’s tenure at Florida State ended as soon as it did, there’s a picture making its rounds on the internet that sums it up pretty nicely.
The photo is one of a Miami Hurricanes player about to score a touchdown with a pair of Seminole defenders trailing on the play, both of whom seem either more interested in yelling at each other, or are in the midst of an intense game of “1,2,3 Don’t Blink”, than trying to make a play.
The picture really does encapsulate just about everything you need to know about what has taken place since Taggart’s arrival. Losing to an in-state rival? Check. Losing to a less than mediocre football team? Check. A complete lack of discipline? Check.
And if you’re curious as to how desperately they wanted Taggart out, Florida State was able to raise the more than $17 million dollars needed to buy him out, mostly from donors and alumni, quicker than Don Draper’s marriage vows when a beautiful woman walks by. (Sorry, I’m binge watching Mad Men at the moment.)
While the immediacy of Taggart’s dismissal may have come as a bit of surprise, I don’t think the ultimate outcome is. I don’t recall too many people feeling confident in the hire when it happened as much as taking a wait and see approach; not exactly what you would expect from a program like Florida State.
In fact, Taggart’s hire kind of reminds me of Cardale Jones and Mitch Turbisky. What I mean by that is scouts and analysts were fawning over how Jones should’ve entered the NFL draft after he led Ohio State to a national title, although he had played in only a handful of games. Instead, he returned to the Buckeyes the following year and people realized they were a little overzealous about his abilities after seeing a larger sample size.
And Trubisky was the first quarterback drafted in his draft after starting for only a year, even though there were more accomplished quarterbacks available. Now, it seems pretty obvious that he may only be the fourth best quarterback in that draft class.
In Taggart’s case, he did well at South Florida, but only spent one mediocre season at Oregon, so there wasn’t really much of a coaching history to justify the hiring at a school at Florida State, outside of just thinking he might be successful.
As to where Florida State goes from here, I have no idea. I vaguely remember them having difficulty before finally bringing in Taggart- something that certainly could explain his hiring- and I doubt his firing will make things more enticing than they were a year and a half ago; the product on the field certainly isn’t.
However, they are still Florida State and due to the timing of Taggart’s termination they will have ample time to hone in on one or two coaching candidates, making sure they are the right fit, before announcing a hire.
Right now, that Miami photo is only indicative of the Taggart years. If the Seminoles happen to miss on this upcoming hire, that picture could represent their program as a whole. And it may take less than three years for them to get there.
Brunswick High Pirates Coach’s Show w Sean Pender October 31