Bishop Media Sports Network
SEC Rankings
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Week one is in the books in the SEC. Here are my power rankings after the first week of play:
1.LSU: The Tigers rolled Georgia Southern and looked fabulous doing so. Joe Burrow looked like a Heisman front-runner in the new spread offense. The Tigers looked the best of any SEC team in week one and start out at the top of the power rankings.
2.Georgia: The Dawgs rushed for 325 yards against Vanderbilt and looked pretty good doing it. The negative nellies will say they only beat Vanderbilt by 24 points. Georgia did not need the passing game in this contest. Since when is a 24 point road SEC win not considered a great accomplishment? This is a complete football team.
3.Alabama: The Tide struggled for a quarter against Duke then poured it on the Blue Devils. Alabama is a hunted team by everyone and will get their best shot every Saturday. Is this defense with the injuries up to Alabama standards?
4.Texas A&M: Kellen Mond lit up Texas State and many are saying this team might give the rock patters in Clemson trouble this weekend. Will this team play good enough defense to be elite?
5.Auburn: Bo Nix is the new hero on The Plains. Auburn came back from the dead against Oregon in typical Auburn fashion. Is there a luckier team in the history of SEC than Auburn? This defense is pretty good.
6.Florida: The Gators beat Miami who looked like hot garbage. That Gator defensive line is legit. Feleipe Franks needs to focus on being a quality QB and stop making Tim Tebow like speeches. Can this team run the ball against a quality SEC defense?
7.Mississippi State: MSU played a decent Louisiana team and hung on against the Ragin Cajuns. I wasn’t really impressed by MSU, but they got the W. This team will finish 5th at best in the SEC West.
8.Kentucky: The SEC East outside of Georgia and possibly Florida looks like a raging dumpster fire. UK struggled with Toledo most of the contest. The Cats have major work to do.
9.Missouri: How do you lose to Wyoming? Better yet how did they convince Mizzou to make that trip to Laramie? Missouri is a notorious slow starter and it showed again last Saturday.
10.Ole Miss: Memphis is not a bad team, but you expect an SEC team to go beat them. The offense needs work, but a good effort by the defense to only give up 15 points.
11.Vanderbilt: Vandy lost at home to UGA 30-6, but looked ok on defense in the second half. Vandy looks like the best team in Tennessee once again. That’s not saying a whole lot however.
12.South Carolina: The Gamecocks blew a 20-9 lead to a North Carolina team they should have beat. South Carolina had more talent than UNC, but could not get out of their own way down the stretch. I expected more out of this team last weekend. Will Muschamp is a good football coach that just seems to have the worst luck.
13.Arkansas: Yeah, the Hogs won against Portland State 20-13, but Arkansas 10 years ago beats PSU by 35 points. This team has a long way to go. Chad Morris will turn this thing around, IF he is given time.
14.Tennessee: You have got to be kidding me Tennessee. You lose at home to Georgia freaking State and get manhandled on the line of scrimmage in doing so. We heard all off-season about how things were changing in Knoxville. This team just flat out gave up in the fourth quarter of that contest. Kids are leaving the program in droves. Tennessee may be down for a good long time. BYU is coming to town this weekend. Rocky Top looks like Rocky Flop right now. Will 60K show up at Neyland Stadium this weekend?
LSU travels to Texas and Texas A&M travels to Clemson in huge games this weekend. Both SEC teams can make a huge statement, but will they? I think LSU does and A&M folds like a cheap camping chair.
The Florida Heat
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
With fans on social media torching coach Willie Taggart in the aftermath of Saturday’s season opening loss to Boise State, Seminole fans are wondering what it will take for the FSU administration to Fire coach Willie Taggart.
Florida State played in 36 consecutive bowl games from 1982-2017. Before last year’s 5-7 season Florida State opened the 2019 season by blowing an18 point lead at half and getting beat down by a less talented Boise State.
This game, like the whole state of Florida, was impacted by Hurricane Dorian. The game was originally scheduled for Saturday night in Jacksonville, but the venue and time changed.
It looked like Florida State was benefiting from a noon start at Doak Campbell Stadium. The Seminoles jumped out to a halftime lead 31-19 thanks to explosive plays from James Blackman and Cam Akers. Florida State fans were gloating about offensive coordinator Kendal Briles had succeeded and raised the bar for the Seminole offense.
Someone forgot to tell FSU they had to play four quarters on Saturday.
Florida State’s collapse was a complete (lack of) team effort.
Boise State’s ability to run the football wore down the Seminole Defense, and the offensive side of the ball.
The Seminoles stopped hitting those explosive plays shown in the first half. Boise State ran 108 plays and controlled the clock with 40:03 minutes of possession.
I could breakdown more stats on how Florida State choked on Saturday, but the bottom line is Boise State’s coaches out coached Willie Taggart and FSU’s staff.
Social Media went crazy after the epic melt down by the Seminoles. One Florida State fan posted a poll suggesting replacing Willie Taggart with Urban Meyer. TALK ABOUT POLL RESULTS!!
“We laid an egg in the second half,” Taggart said. This is Taggart’s second straight home opener loss and Florida State’s third.
Florida State is a premier college football program. Rivals recruiting ranks over the past five years had the Seminole recruiting class at number three.
The Seminoles won a National Title in 2013 and were in the playoffs in 2014. Many Florida State fans still want to blame Jimbo Fisher on the lack of talent, but the Seminoles don’t have a problem with talent
Some media outlets say Willie Taggart is on the “hot seat.” I do not believe this to be entirely true.
Willie Taggart’s buyout after this year is $17 million, not including assistant coaches.
Florida State Athletics has lost $3 million last year and had to get $6 million from boosters to balance the budget.
Florida State fans, Willie Taggart is not going anywhere!
Taggart amazes me with his ability to rise up and convince Athletic Director’s to pay him insane money with a record (52-57).
Also, Taggart just hired Kendal Briles as offensive coordinator in December. Briles served on his father’s staff at Baylor and received and NCAA sanctions for recruiting violations. He was also named in a Title IX lawsuit filed against Baylor.
Florida State fans are fed up with Willie Taggart and it’s hard to blame them when you consider how last year went and how awful the collapse was in the second half Saturday against a non-power five opponent.
Considering the talent on the Florida State roster, Willie Taggart is in over his head.
Unless a Big Booster comes up with a pile of cash, Willie Taggart will be coaching Florida State this season and next, so buckle up Nole fans it’s going to be a bumpy ride.
Program Killer
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
We’re all ecstatic that college football season is back.
We normally reflect on past greats and talk about their amazing performances. I think of guys that won national championships or Heisman’s like Tim Tebow, Tommie Frazier, Matt Leinart, Vince Young and Ken Dorsey.
There is another side to this, people that were highly recruited but never lived up to the hype in college. We can even go far enough to say they set their program back for several years with their poor play.
The top name that comes to mind is Chris Rix.
He was in the inaugural Elite 11 QB Camp. He led the California team to victory over Florida in the CaliForida Bowl 1 at the Rose Bowl and was one of the top quarterback prospects in the nation.
Rix arrived in Tallahassee in the Fall of 2000 and was red shirted. He got to watch Chris Wienke’s senior season, a Heisman-winning campaign that ended with a loss to Oklahoma in the national championship game.
Florida State was an amazing program during this time. The Seminoles finished the season ranked in the top five for 14 consecutive years at the end of 2000.
They won the ACC Championship 9 times, one for every year they were in the conference. They won two national championships during this time. They also played in the first three BCS national championship games from 1998-2000.
It’s safe to say expectations were high going in to the 2001 season. Rix was the only four-year starting QB Bobby Bowden ever had but that was not the plan.
Florida State typically had quarterbacks play backup for two years then play for two years, normally taking a redshirt to make that happen.
That was how it worked for Peter Tom Willis (started 1988-89), Casey Weldon (90-91), Charlie Ward (92-93), Danny Kanell (94-95), and Thad Busby (96-97). Redshirt junior Jared Jones would have been the starter but he got in off the field trouble.
Mark Richt gave him the option to sit another year and lose that year of eligibility or leave the team. Jones bolted to play minor league baseball.
Rix was forced to start and coincidentally the program took a nosedive. We can say that FSU dynasty ended September 22. 2001 against North Carolina.
Going in to that game they never lost to UNC and had only lost two conference games since joining the ACC in 1991. The year before they beat the Tar Heels 63-14.
The 0-3 Heels destroyed No. 6 FSU, 41-9. Rix threw an interception and lost 2 fumbles. Miami snapped a 54-game home winning streak in a blowout, 49-27. Rix lost 2 fumbles and threw 4 picks against the Hurricanes.
The ‘Noles lost to NC State at home which was the first home conference loss, snapping the 39-game streak.
Rix was still named ACC Rookie of the Year in 2001. His best statistical season was in 2003 and he passed for 3,107 yards with 23 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.
He was a turnover machine that seemed to really crumble in big games. He finished with a 25-11 record as a starter. He’s also the only QB to lose to the same team 5 times in his career (Miami).
He missed the 2003 Sugar Bowl because he overslept and missed an exam, which caused him to get suspended from the game.
On a positive note he ranks second in school history in passes attempted, completed, and touchdowns thrown.
The team was actually worse from 2005-2009 after he left. In retrospect maybe he was a good player in a bad situation?
Panthers Moving Mountains
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
In 2007 Appalachian State began their season by defeating Michigan in one of the biggest upsets in college football history and capped it off by winning a third straight 1-AA (FCS) Championship.
The success of that season helped finalize the program’s decision to move from the FCS to the FBS, a move that has catapulted the Mountaineers to become one of the best mid-major football programs in college football; winners of four straight bowl games, three consecutive Sun Belt titles, and one of the best overall records since 2014.
Most of what has transpired since their win in Ann Arbor probably would have taken place had they lost that game, but it’s still the first thing that pops into the minds of most football fans when you mention Appalachian State.
I say all this show the positive effects an upset win like Appalachian has, something Georgia State hopes to familiarize themselves with after their 38-30 win over Tennessee.
The similarities between the Mountaineers and Panthers begins and ends with their upset wins, so it is unlikely to see Georgia State make the same kind of strides their conference peers have made.
However, that’s not to say this win won’t have a major impact on the program’s possible success five or six years from now.
A lot will depend on how the rest of Georgia State’s season goes. Their football program has struggled mightily since forming in 2010 and took a big step backwards last year after appearing in their second bowl game the season before that.
The Panthers are sure to see a boost in their recruiting based upon the Tennessee win alone, but if they’re able to ride that momentum to another bowl game, it’ll just make their program that much more enticing.
There is a plethora of homegrown talent in the state of Georgia, as well as its neighboring states, that are overlooked by the bigger schools in the area.
When competing with other schools in the Sun Belt for those players, having a win over a team like Tennessee on your resume can sometimes be the difference maker.
Add to that the ability to prove yourself to be a program that participates in bowl games, which translates to exposure on a national level for recruits, and younger the kind of success Appalachian State has been able to enjoy.
It’s not something that will happen overnight, but you’ll be able to see the impact over the next year or two in the level of talent Georgia State is able to recruit. Having a successful season this year will just help expedite the process.
Unfortunately, they play in the same division as Appalachian, Georgia Southern, and Troy, so it will certainly be an uphill climb. Plus, even though it’s a problem any mid-major program would like to have, Georgia State isn’t going to sneak up on anyone, now.
It’s funny, oftentimes when an upset occurs, we tend to look at the more prestigious team and try to figure out what went wrong and what it means for their future; just think of how many Tennessee and Jeremy Pruitt stories you’ve read since the game.
Rarely do we look at the winning team and see what type of impact it has on their program. Appalachian State made the most of their opportunity twelve years ago; will Georgia State take advantage of theirs?
Braves Spare Parts
By: TJ Hartnett
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Washington Nationals have been hotter than hell the past couple of weeks, scoring big win after big win; including a three-game sweep of the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley. For most ballclubs, a hot streak like the one the Nats are on right now would be a highlight of the season – a cause for joy; but for Washington, it must be very frustrating.
Since winning 13 their past 16 games, the Nationals have gained essentially no ground whatsoever in the National League East. That’s because the Atlanta Braves have matched their hot streak blow for blow.
Atlanta has been winning a lot lately, including huge series wins against the hard-hitting Minnesota Twins and a landmark statement series victory against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the best team in the National League and the squad that wholly outmatched them in the playoffs last October.
The fascinating thing about the Braves’ current run of wins is the players they’ve been winning with.
Atlanta has actually been bitten by the injury bug in a really big way of late. Lineup stalwarts Nick Markakis and Dansby Swanson went down in July, followed shortly by Ender Inciarte, Austin Riley (who had been Ender’s replacement the first time he hit the IL), and Brian McCann in the weeks following.
These successive injuries called into question the Braves’ depth.
General Manager Alex Anthopoulos also seemed to think that Atlanta had a depth problem. Since July 31st is now the only trade deadline during the season (meaning no waiver wire acquisitions during August) he went to the scrapyard to look for spare parts. What he found there did more than plug holes in the lineup: they made it sing.
Adeiny Hechavarria was dropped by the New York Mets, so Anthopoulos picked him up to fill in for Dansby (since Johan Camargo was having a horrendous 2019 showing).
The Queens castoff hit nearly .400 in his first week and provided an incredible bat flip for Braves country after a 2-run bomb his first weekend with the team.
But it seemed like all of the Braves pickups provided game-influencing dramatics after joining the team. Outfielder Billy Hamilton provided huge hits after being plucked off the discard pile from Kansas City, and Rafael Ortega, who has bounced around from team to team and from minors to majors for the past decade, made an immediate impact as well.
Once McCann went down, the Braves acted quickly to pick up Francisco Cervelli, the longtime Pittsburgh Pirate, who was on the brink of retirement earlier in the season.
The veteran has been a Brave less than a few weeks and has already made a huge difference to the win/loss record.
Swanson has returned, relegating Hechavarria to the bench. Likely similar fates await the rest of the newest Braves but their impact when they were needed the most cannot be understated.
Most teams, when faced with both mass injuries and a second-place team that won’t lose, would crumble; the Braves have managed to thrive.
Best of all, many of these weapons have their use beyond filling in for injured players in the short-term. Think about Billy Hamilton pinch-running late in a tight playoff game; shades of David Roberts (whose Dodgers might be on the receiving end of some Hamilton fireworks)?
Regardless of what happens going forward, these “scrap heap” players have secured their legacy in the annals of Atlanta Braves lore.
When the Bravos finish the year on top of the NL East, a major part of their story will be the potential August slump that never happened thanks to these ballplayers.
Jason Bishop Show with Kipp Branch August 31
Glynn Academy Red Terrors Coach’s Show w Rocky Hidalgo August 29
Frederica Academy Knights Coach’s Show w Brandon Derrick August 28
New Tricks Against Bama?
By: Mike Anthony
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Could UGA be shut out of playoff again?
Without a doubt, the University of Georgia is in its golden age. The Bulldogs, seem to have found a generational coach in Kirby Smart, have been dominating the recruiting wars and enter 2019 as – once again – a serious contender for a national championship.
…So when is that oft-presumed second national title of the modern area finally going to arrive in Athens? Because unless the Bulldogs can solve their Alabama problem, this year isn’t going to be it.
Georgia was a powerhouse in 2018. The Bulldogs ran roughshod over everyone in their path during the regular season last fall – save for a hiccup at LSU – and looked to be objectively better than even Alabama in the SEC championship game before the wheels fell off and the Tide rolled to a thrilling comeback victory.
That seemed to be insult added to injury as just 11 months before the Bulldogs had dominated Alabama for one half of the national championship game and was just one defensive stand away from an overtime victory before seeing everything go up in smoke in the form of Tua Tagovailoa hitting DeVonta Smith for a title-winning touchdown.
Last season’s conference title game loss served as a flashpoint for the playoff selection committee to pass along a judgement that – for as much as the SEC values itself – no team is guaranteed a spot in the playoff without a conference championship to its name.
With the ACC (read: Clemson) owning two of the last three national championships and the SEC trending more towards a league that is both top and bottom-heavy, containing few solid and consistent programs in between, there just isn’t a good reason to think that the SEC should have the chance to place two teams in this year’s playoff.
And that’s where the spotlight shines brightest on Georgia.
The Bulldogs don’t play Alabama in the regular season, making it very likely that they’ll be favored in all 12 regular season games.
And unless UGA can beat hyped-up preseason teams like Notre Dame, Texas A&M and Florida while all of those schools have otherwise-great seasons and retain their initial rankings, the Bulldogs will likely run into the same hurdle as before.
If UGA wins the SEC East, it’s most likely that Alabama will be waiting in the conference championship game.
And if Georgia falls to the Crimson Tide for a third consecutive season, even an otherwise great showing in 2019 probably won’t be enough of an argument for UGA to be included in the four-team national championship playoff.
It’s a tough situation for the Bulldogs, but it’s also as simple a proposition as any team could hope for.
Find a way to win the SEC and they’re guaranteed a chance to build on the last two great seasons and possibly attain that elusive national title. At the same time, just about any loss is bound to be the sore spot in yet another great season that doesn’t quite live up to what could have been.
No one doubts that Georgia is one of the best teams in all of college football. But until the Bulldogs can prove otherwise, ‘one of the best’ is all they’ll be.
Brunswick High Pirates Coach’s Show w Sean Pender August 28
