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Expectations For Tua and Atlanta Falcons
By: Michael Spiers
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
There probably aren’t many quarterbacks in the NFL entering the 2026 season with more to prove than Tua Tagovailoa.
And there may not be a better place for him to try to prove it than Atlanta.
Tagovailoa’s time in Miami ended with plenty of questions about whether he could still be the quarterback who once looked like one of the NFL’s rising stars. Now, at 28 years old, he’s getting something of a fresh start with the Falcons. But let’s not confuse a fresh start with a pressure-free one.
If anything, the pressure may be greater than ever.
Atlanta brought Tagovailoa in this offseason while Michael Penix Jr. continues working his way back from the ACL injury that ended his 2025 season. That has opened the door for Tua to potentially begin the season as Atlanta’s starter.
His first preseason appearance certainly didn’t quiet any concerns. Tua completed just three of five passes for 22 yards in Atlanta’s 27-7 loss to Denver. The Falcons managed only one first down during his two possessions, and a fumbled snap didn’t help matters.
Am I ready to panic over two preseason possessions?
Absolutely not. If preseason football told us everything we needed to know, there would be a lot of August Hall of Famers who somehow disappeared by October.
But Tua isn’t in a position where he can afford many bad performances, either.
This is a quarterback who needs to remind people why Miami once believed enough in him to build its offense around him. He needs to stay healthy, take care of the football and consistently get the ball into the hands of Atlanta’s playmakers.
And there are plenty of them.
Bijan Robinson is one of the most dangerous running backs in football. Drake London has developed into a legitimate No. 1 receiver, and Kyle Pitts gives Atlanta another potentially dangerous weapon at tight end. This offense shouldn’t need Tua to play Superman every Sunday.
That’s why I think the definition of a successful season for Tagovailoa is pretty simple.
He needs to get the Atlanta Falcons into the playoffs.
He doesn’t need to throw for 5,000 yards. He doesn’t need to be an MVP candidate. He doesn’t even necessarily need to make the Pro Bowl.
He needs to win. Atlanta hasn’t made the postseason since the 2017 season. We’ve watched this franchise spend year after year hovering around mediocrity. They have usually been good enough to remain interesting and not quite good enough to matter in January.
At some point, that has to change.
If Tua starts most of the season, stays healthy, limits turnovers and helps Atlanta win nine or 10 games and reach the playoffs, I’d call his season a success.
Win the NFC South? Even better. Win a playoff game? Now we’re talking about one of the better comeback stories of the NFL season.
But another seven or eight-win Falcons season with Tua putting up decent statistics while Atlanta watches the playoffs from home wouldn’t do much for me. We’ve seen enough “almost” in Atlanta.
The good news is Tua doesn’t have to carry this team by himself. Atlanta needs the quarterback who can distribute the football, make quick decisions, protect the ball and allow Robinson, London, Pitts and the rest of the offense to do the damage.
There’s also another element hanging over all of this. Penix is still there.
The Falcons drafted Penix in the first round because they believed he could become their quarterback of the future. Once he’s completely healthy, every bad performance from Tua will inevitably bring questions about whether it’s time to make a change.
That’s life as an NFL quarterback. Tua is getting another opportunity to prove he can lead an NFL team. The Falcons are getting another opportunity to finally escape the middle of the pack.
For both of them, simply being competitive isn’t enough anymore.
It’s time to win.
Texas A&M Aggies 2026 Preview
By: Colin Lacy
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
There has been so much excitement in College Station the past few years, only to see it get squashed at the end of the season for the Texas A&M Aggies.
At the end of the 2025 season, despite being the #7 seed in the College Football Playoff, the Aggies were one game away from playing in the SEC Championship game and likely a top 4 seed in the College Football Playoff with a bye that coincides.
Mike Elko enters his third season as head coach in the lone star state and continues to elevate the Texas A&M program each year.
Marcel Reed returns for another year leading the Aggies at quarterback and has been one of the most dynamic quarterbacks in the SEC at times. Reed opens 2026 as one of eight returning FBS QBs nationally to amass 5,000+ career passing yards and 1,000+ rushing yards.
The Nashville native saw action in 3 games in 2023 before taking over in 2024 as the starting quarterback. Injuries sidelined Reed for a few games but came back strong in 2025.
The additional benefit that Texas A&M sees is so many familiar faces, especially in the skill position rooms. Receivers, particularly with All-SEC wide-out Mario Craver along with Terry Bussey, Ashton Bethel-Roman all return to be impactful pieces of the Aggie Offense.
The lone transfer into the receivers is Isaiah Horton who comes to the 12th Man from Miami making 11 starts for the Hurricanes last season.
While the skill positions are locked in with a similar cast, the trenches have been re-done. The offensive line is expected to have at least three transfers on the front.
Trovon Baugh sits at 6-4, 335 and is expected to start at right guard after spending the last 3 years at South Carolina.
The two ends of the line are high impact transfers, both standing at 6-7. Wilkin Formby transfers in from Alabama after 14 starts for the Tide last season at right tackle, and on the left side is expected to be Tyree Adams, the LSU transfer at 6-7, 310 pounds.
The biggest emphasis this offseason for TAMU has been toughness. Mike Elko has ramped up the camps to bring an added intensity to the lead-up to the season because that has been the achilles heel of the Aggies in the past few years at times.
The defense is the main side that has been tasked with cranking up the intensity. Second year Defensive Coordinator Lyle Hemphill brings in a couple of key transfers that are expected to have an immediate impact of bringing the defense to the level that is expected under Mike Elko.
Up front, CJ Mimms comes in after stops at East Carolina and North Carolina with over 30 starts between the two under his belt.
In the secondary, Rickey Gibson stays in the SEC coming over from Tennessee and linebacker Ray Coney steps up after being a first team all AAC selection last year at Tulsa.
Between the emphasis on intensity coupled with the scheming of the defensive mind of Mike Elko, it could be a match made in heaven for the 12th man this year.
Elko is someone that just fits the culture (a very unique culture at that) of College Station. He’s embraced it, he’s lived it as a defensive coordinator before going to Duke as a head coach, and now enters year 3 of his head coaching tenure at Texas A&M.
They have taken leaps every year in the past and this is a team from the SEC that I think gets over the hump and into the national spotlight deep into the College Football Playoffs.
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Georgia State Panthers 2026 Preview
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The 2026 college football season will start in less than a month. We will take a look at Georgia State University to see what we should expect from the Panthers.
GSU was founded in 1913 and it is also the largest in-person institution of higher education by enrollment based in Georgia, with a student enrollment of 53,144 across all of their campuses.
The football program was founded in 2010 and they are in the Sun Belt Conference. Former Georgia running backs coach Dell McGee was hired as its fourth head coach for the football program in February 2024.
In 2024, they were 3-9 and 1-7 in conference play. One of those wins was against Vanderbilt, 36-32. It was Georgia State’s first time hosting an SEC opponent, and their first victory against an SEC team since beating Tennessee in 2019.
Last season, the Panthers were 1-11 and 0-8 in the Sun Belt. The lone win was against FCS Murray State, who was also 1-11. Only two of their losses were by single digits. They were one of the worst FBS teams in the nation in 2025.
UMass was 0-12 so that’s the one program they were better than. Charlotte and Oklahoma State were also 1-11.
The team recently started preseason camp. The first day of practice was closed to the public but we were told it went well.
“Guys had great energy, great enthusiasm,” said coach McGee, who is starting his third season. “We’ve still got a long way to go but definitely encouraged by how we started today. The kids were very dialed in in their meetings and they carried those meetings onto the field.”
They brought in 34 players via the transfer portal and signed 16 freshmen.
Offensive coordinator Hue Jackson returns and the Panthers have a new look on defense, where Cam Clark and John Haneline take over as co-coordinators.
They have several players that are coming from major programs. Some of the incoming players are: DL Kelze Howard (Oregon State), LB Jaydon Hood (Michigan), S Keenan Nelson Jr. (Ohio State), OT Jordan Brown (Arizona), IOL Kelton Smith Jr. (Georgia), WR Isiah Stone (LSU), IOL Deylin Hasert (Iowa State), IOL Marcus Mascoll (Florida), IOL Gage Stanaland (Oklahoma State) and RB Keith Adams Jr. (Clemson).
Fifth year senior QB Cameran Brown is the best returning player on the team. He played at Texas Tech in 2024 and appeared in eight games.
Last season he passed for 1,296 yards, 13 touchdowns and 1 interception. He also rushed for 284 yards and 4 TDs. He missed two of the final three games last fall. Brown was named to the Pro Football Network Preseason All-Sun Belt Third Team.
OL Deandre Duffus is on the PFN First Team Preseason All-Sun Belt Team and RB Savion Hart is on the Second Team.
Here is the schedule:
9/4 vs North Carolina A&T
9/12 @ Kennesaw State
9/19 @ UCF
9/26 vs Northern Illinois
10/3 vs Old Dominion (Homecoming)
10/17 @ James Madison
10/24 @ Arkansas State
10/31 vs Coastal Carolina
11/7 @ Appalachian State
11/14 vs Georgia Southern (Rivalry)
11/21 @ Marshall
11/28 vs Louisiana
I think they’ll start the year with a win over North Carolina A&T because that’s an FCS opponent.
Conference play begins Week 5 against ODU. Only three SBC opponents had losing conference records last season; which were App State, Marshall and Louisiana.
On paper I think they have a chance to win 3-4 games. If that happens, they will be looking for a new coach.
Brunswick High Pirates Coach’s Show with Byron Slack August 17 2026
Florida State Seminoles 2026 Preview
By: Garrison Ryfun
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
After a disastrous 2-10 season in 2024 and a disappointing 5-7 finish in 2025, Florida State enters 2026 still looking for signs that the program is moving back in the right direction.
Following the 2024 season, Mike Norvell made sweeping changes to his coaching staff. He brought in Gus Malzahn as offensive coordinator and handed over play-calling duties, while hiring Tony White away from Nebraska to take over the defense.
Those changes helped FSU improve last season, but not enough to get the Seminoles back to a bowl game.
Now, Mike Norvell enters his seventh season at Florida State firmly on the hot seat, and without the offensive coordinator who gave the Seminoles the 6th-best offense based on yards per game in 2025.
Malzahn retired in February after just one season in Tallahassee, with wide receivers coach and co-offensive coordinator Tim Harris Jr. promoted to offensive coordinator. Norvell, however, will take back over the play-calling duties in 2026 after giving them up to Malzahn last season.
At starting quarterback, Auburn transfer Ashton Daniels is expected to take over after spending his first three seasons at Stanford before playing in four games for the Tigers last year.
Daniels brings plenty of experience to the position and is also a threat with his legs, but he’ll need to take better care of the football this year as he has nearly a 1:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio over his college career.
Daniels will have a pretty decent receiving core to throw to with returning starters Duce Robinson, Micahi Danzy, and Jayvan Boggs.
Robinson returns after catching 56 passes for 1,081 yards and 6 touchdowns last season, becoming FSU’s first 1,000-yard receiver since 2019.
Micahi Danzy, the FSU track star, also gives FSU another explosive option, racking up 787 total yards and 6 touchdowns last year as a starter.
An emerging name to look out for in this group, though, is Jasen Lopez, a slot receiver who has turned a lot of heads in fall camp this year.
The Seminoles should have several options in the backfield as well. Sophomore Ousmane Kromah showed flashes as a freshman, averaging 5.7 yards per carry, RS-Junior Sam Singleton who broke out last year averaging 7.1 yards per carry, and Texas transfer Quintrevion Wisner gives FSU another talented option in the backfield.
The offensive line will be worth watching after some offseason turnover, but there should still be enough talent for FSU to once again have one of the better offenses in the ACC.
On defense, the Seminoles showed plenty of improvement in year one under White. FSU finished second in the ACC in pass defense and inside the top five in the conference in total defense and sacks per game.
One of the biggest names to watch on that side of the ball will be Mandrell Desir. Desir earned Freshman All-American honors after recording 7.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks last season, and his twin brother Darryll gives the Seminoles another young piece along the defensive front.
The schedule should be manageable for the talent level Florida State brings in:
August 29th – vs New Mexico State
September 7th – vs SMU (ACC)
September 19th – @ Alabama
September 26th – vs Central Arkansas
October 3rd – vs Virginia (ACC)
October 9th – @ Louisville (ACC)
October 17th – @ Miami (ACC)
October 31st – vs Clemson (ACC)
November 7th – @ Boston College (ACC)
November 13th – @ Pittsburgh (ACC)
November 21st – vs NC State (ACC)
November 27th – vs Florida
FSU plays SMU and Alabama in its second and third games of the season, two teams which should give us a good look at how this team will fare this year.
There is enough talent on this roster for Florida State to get back to a bowl game and make some noise in the ACC in 2026.
At this point, though, simply showing improvement will not be enough. That improvement has to start showing up in the win column for Mike Norvell.
Auburn Tigers 2026 Preview
By: Joe Delaney
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
In the last 5 years the Auburn Tigers football team has been a model of consistency.
Unfortunately, that consistency has been seven losses each year. An overall record of 27-35 led to another coaching change after the 2025 season.
In comes Alex Golesh, fresh off a 9-3 season at the University of South Florida. While not a marquee hire according to some, Golesh may be just what the Tigers need.
Golesh is an offensive guru and brought much of his USF Bulls team with him. He is considered an up and comer in the coaching ranks.
It didn’t hurt that he brought one of the best transfer QB’s in the country with him to the Plains. Byrum Brown is a consensus top 10 transfer in the 2026 cycle. He also has all that time in Coach Golesh’s offense. The 6’3” 230 lb Brown is a beast.
The key is can he take success at the USF level and translate it to Auburn and the SEC? I think he can. So do the Auburn Tigers. Brown threw for over 3000 yards and rushed for over 1000. Throw in 42 total touchdowns and things are looking up on the Plains.
Over a dozen of the Bulls followed Golesh and Brown to Auburn. These Tigers will have a definite Bullish flavor to them!
Throw in the returning Tigers and some more transfers and this team looks ready to improve on last years win total.
Back to carry some of the load in the backfield will be Jeremiah Cobb. He is an ALL-SEC type of Back and rushed for just under a thousand yards in 2025. There is quality and depth behind him.
The wideouts will be by committee. Look for Keshaun Singleton, Chas Nimrod, and tight end Jake Jounson to tote the load along with others.
Of concern is the offensive line. Transfers Cole Best, Stanton Ramil, and Joseph Simmons will be counted on. If the line can get settled and become solid then this could be a dangerous bunch of Birds. If they struggle then the team will also.
Defensively the Tigers are led by Xavier Atkins who led a stout Auburn defense in both tackles and sacks. He is an ALL-SEC type linebacker.
Add in Elijah Melendez, Demarcus Riddick, and Bryce Deas and the backers should be very good.
Up front Dallas Walker IV, Cody Sigler, Da’Shawn Womack and Jared Smith should be solid. It should be a tough SEC front seven.
In the back, Kaleb Harris returns at safety and is a playmaker. He is joined by Sylvester Smith-Reed, AnQuon Fegans, Rayshawn Pleasant and others.
If this group can play up to the 2025 numbers on total defense then Auburn could be a very solid team.
Add in the returning kicker in Alex McPherson and punter Hudson Kaak and the special teams should be exceptional.
Look for the Tigers to be improved in 2026. How much will be dependent on the offense and keeping Byrum Brown upright and healthy.
The schedule is brutal as usual. At Tennessee, Georgia, Ole Miss, and Alabama. Throw in Florida and LSU at home and there is little room for error.
There are only a couple of gimmies on the schedule. But if things fall into place with the offense, look for the Tigers to stay on that number seven again this year. But in wins instead of losses.
2026 Auburn Tigers Schedule
Sept. 5 vrs Baylor (Atlanta)
Sept. 12 SOUTHERN MISS
Sept. 19 FLORIDA
Sept. 26 VANDERBILT
Oct. 3 at Tennessee
Oct. 17 at Geoergia
Oct. 24 LSU
Oct. 31 at Ole Miss
Nov. 7 ARKANSAS
Nov. 14 at Mississippi State
Nov. 21 SAMFORD
Nov. 28 at Alabama
WAR EAGLE!
Jason Bishop Show August 14 2026
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