Charlie Moon
In Or Out?
By: Charlie Moon
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Misinformation, lies, rumors, conspiracy; goodness knows we’ve heard those words all too often the last decade or so, especially the last few weeks.
People try to figure out if what they’re seeing or reading is really true or not. In the end, let’s be honest, most people end up gravitating to the words, opinions and stories that only tell them what they want to hear anyway. They stake their public stances that come from the person, leader or coach that they already claim.
It doesn’t matter if their coveted leader says, “Cats are now the ones really in control of interest rates” or ”I heard that people in California are now going to have to all raise their own cows, because all dairy and beef products have suddenly become nuclear-reactive to the interior steel of grocery store trucks.”
Ahhhhh, and you thought I was talking about politics? The truth of the matter is, the same can be said for sports journalists and prognosticators. Anyone who props up their team is a genius and those that dare negate them are just morons.
Well, some of you will think I’m an idiot after reading this today. Here’s my stake on what the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff will look like.
Coming into this season I thought, like many, this would be the most intriguing college football season ever.
We got expanded conferences. Now, we have The Red River Rivalry showcasing the SEC? We got old school Rose Bowl matchups all season like the Penn St – USC game.
Look, I get it. NIL and the transfer portal have forever changed the game. And like I thought, it looks like the portal is doing more damage than anything.
Here’s a reminder of what the field of 12 will consist of.
The obvious is this, a combination of five conference champs and seven at-larges get in.
Here’s where the misnomer comes in. Most folks think the highest ranked non-Power 4 conference champ is in. That’s not quite true, although it may work out that way.
Actually, the champs of the 5 highest ranked conferences are in. The next 7 highest-ranked teams get at-large bids.
Let’s go.
The easiest thing is, the Power 4 conferences will assuredly be the SEC, Big Ten, ACC and Big 12, in no particular order.
Let’s start there, the current top 5 conferences.
SEC Champ will be UGA. Okay, okay. Some like to call me a homer, but sorry. When I’m at the tailgate, I speak my heart for sure. But when I’m on the job, it’s about business.
Texas will lose to UGA next week and on the road at either Texas A&M or Arkansas.
UGA runs the rest of their slate, while Bama loses at LSU.
That leaves the sneaky Bayou Bengals running my slate clean. UGA beats LSU in the conference championship.
Big Ten Champ will be Ohio St. Yes, they lost to Oregon but will take down the Ducks in a Big Ten conference title rematch game.
The ACC will be Miami once they beat Clemson in the ACC title game. In this season’s College Football Preview, I predicted the Canes to be a dark-horse playoff team, so I’m sticking with them.
The Big 12 will perch the Iowa State Cyclones under the sneakiest, best Head Coach in college football, Matt Campbell.
Next up is a tough one. I think Boise St is definitely the best team outside these top 4 conferences but remember the guideline – “top 5 conferences.”
There is no “top ranked team outside the Power 4” like most think. That said, part of the conference rankings are quantified by the human playoff committee.
I think Conference USA easily tops the Mountain West with Army, Navy and Tulane besting the Mountain West’s top 3 of Boise, San Jose and UNLV.
In the end, I think the committee will hoist Boise, as they rank the Mountain West over the AAC.
Last, we got the next highest-ranked teams. Simple, here’s who I see as the at-larges: Texas, Alabama, Oregon, Indiana, Tennessee, Penn St, LSU.
Happy hunting everyone.
Trouble In Athens?
By: Charlie Moon
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
My friends in South Carolina are going to be mighty shocked when I say this.
The Dawgs have problems.
Growing up in South Carolina a Dawg fan and being in sports journalism for 2.5 decades, I hear it when I say something about the Dawgs they don’t agree with.
Last year, I said the Dawgs were one of the best four and should have been in the playoff – regardless of the SEC Title loss to Bama. Dawg fan or not, it was what it was. The committee’s goal was to get the best four. The Dawgs belonged – period. Point blank. So many became “Over-reaction guy.”
“How could the Dawgs be in? They just lost to someone outside the top 4.
Or the…. “We don’t want to see Bama and the Dawgs rematch.”
The bottom line was, the Dawgs AND Bama were 2 of the best 4 – if not the best 2. And don’t call me crazy because Bama lost to Michigan. Going into the playoffs, how many of you had Bama beating Michigan?
Once the playoffs were done, experts came out of the woodwork. It was what it was.
But after last Saturday’s field goal fest in Lexington, I’m wondering if the Dawgs will have to be a benefactor of the new 12-team playoff format. I know some of my good ole friends will balk at this, too, but let’s be real.
In the 2- and 4-team format of the last 30 years, there should have been many more SEC squads in, even if it meant as many as 3 of the 4 were SEC squads.
I try not to be hyperbole and/or “overreaction guy.” Y’all know. It’s like “over-reaction guy’s” brother or ”backwards hat guy.” You know that one guy that yells at every play, but probably couldn’t even tell you one offensive line starter. Or they always boo at every flag – even before the ref makes the call.
Well, “over-reaction” guy has it easy this week, saying things like: “Man, the Dawgs stink” or “I told y’all about Carson Beck!”
Then, there’s the elephant in the room. “I told y’all Mike Bobo ain’t no offensive coordinator.” Ahhhh boy, Dawg Nation has argued that since Bobo’s first OC stint between the hedges, 2007-2014.
Deep dive time. Chew on these factoids. In the Dawgs’ 8 quarters against Power 5 teams (Clemson, Kentucky), they’ve tallied just 5 TDs.
In fact, four of the 5 came only in the 2nd half against Clemson alone. It took an entire 3 quarters and 3:00 for UGA to get in the endzone against the Cats.
Maybe the Cats had more brawn than our experts believed, or maybe there’s something amiss in Athens.
Yes, UGA lost guys like McConkey and Bowers from last year, but the cupboard in Athens is supposed to be filled to the brim.
Trevor Etienne ran it for 79 yards on 19 carries. Of those 19 carries, 12, count them, 12 were against 7 men in the box playing the run.
A 6-man line can’t account for 7. Well, sometimes they can. But you can’t expect them to do it all night wrong.
What’s the point here? Either one of two things are happening here.
#1 The OC is not getting the offense into the best fits, which is the job of a coordinator.
#2 The QB is not recognizing and audibling at the line.
Look, no OC is going to have the perfect call and no QB is going to always notice. But to have it happen 12 out of your top RB’s carries, is unacceptable.
Yes, there are times when an OC mandates the call stick and doesn’t give the QB an option to change the call at the line. And of course, there’s this, this is the first year of the helmet earphones allowed for one player. They have the option to communicate with Beck at the line.
And who knows, maybe I’m overreacting. This was not the biggest issue Saturday night, but it was the most glaring to me.
Sure, there could be issues that the UGA coaching staff are not going to discuss with the press. Maybe the receiver core wasn’t ready for the bigtime. Maybe there’s an undisclosed nagging injury to Beck.
Whatever it is I’ll only say this.
If the Dawgs don’t figure this out by September 28, Bama is going Roll our Tide right out the Dawg Pen and they won’t even have to pull an “Al from Dadeville.” Because the whole country will see it.
The Hard Truth
By: Charlie Moon
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
I still remember the day my father saying, “Son, always tell the truth.” I was a young boy. I barely remember it, but what I do have is a vision of us riding in the car, and him saying that.
Who knows? I probably told some white lies about eating the last piece of left-over pizza, when it was earmarked for mom.
What does that have to do with the Dawgs?
Former Dawg Brock Vandagriff now quarterbacks at Kentucky. Vandagriff was out of Athens, GA’s Prince Avenue Christian in 2020 as one of the nation’s top QB recruits, he was expected to run the QB room within a couple years.
Because of some dude named “The Mailman,” and the emergence of Carson Beck, that never happened.
He’s telling a truth this season. But what truth?
It tells a hard truth of how Kirby Smart and the Dawgs take a lot of pride in its’ roster and how Kirby is simply not afraid of watching players walk out the door to the NCAA transfer portal.
Back to Vandagriff. Kirby Smart tells hard truths and he had to tell one to his former QB Vandagriff. In December of last year, Smart had his annual meetings with players to tell them where they stood for the upcoming offseason. It’s something many coaches do a version of, but often can’t tell the hard truths.
In this meeting, Kirby told Vandagriff that Carson Beck was the clear #1. In the new age of the transfer portal, this has been difficult for many coaches.
Why? Well, what do ya do? You get honest with a kid that adds depth to your team and they bolt. You lie and you become the coach with the reputation of telling players what they want to hear.
So, what did Vandagriff do? Just 5 minutes after meeting with Smart, he walked back into Smart’s office and told him he was entering the transfer portal.
This was tough for Vandagriff, and Smart as well. No one knows exactly what Smart said to Vandagriff, but judging by what Vandagriff’s dad said in a September 8 Courier Journal (Lexington, KY) column, it was a respectfully mutual conversation between Brock and Kirby.
“Kirby called me and said, ‘I don’t know if I’ve ever coached a finer kid in my life than your son.'”
Greg Vandagriff knows the deal, having been a High School Head Coach in Georgia for 28 years. He’s 97-12 at Prince Avenue with back-to-back state titles.
Let’s be real. There are many coaches that tell players what they want to hear, to keep them from the portal. Smart has never even been rumored to do that.
Even when Dylan Raiola, the 2024 #1 rated QB prospect, decided to transfer to Nebraska, Kirby did absolutely nothing to entice him to stay. He wished Raiola well.
The Song For Tennessee?
By: Charlie Moon
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
One graveyard for another.
What, no “Rocky Top” quip to intro the Vols?
From the 1950s – 1990s, Neyland Stadium housed University of Tennessee’s School of Anthropology, the FBI’s leading forensic researcher of bones. They were removed in the 1990s, but the research facility remains.
And…it sat on top of over 1,000 dead bodies! “Who knew?”
In 2002-2004, the Vols won 9 games or more. Then came graveyard #2. From 2004-2020, the Vols haven’t had three consecutive 9-win seasons…until now.
Vols’ HC Josh Heupel (2022-present), has won at least 9 or more, in all 3 seasons.
Even with QBs like Peyton Manning and Tee Martin, Tennessee has prided itself on clock-controlling, run-oriented offenses. That identity has remained, although the game has changed over the last 30 years.
“Rocky Top” was written in 1967 by Gatlinburg’s Felice and Boudleaux Bryant. They told the story of Tennesseans wanting their old lives back, where moonshine stills and rum-runners ruled the day.
“….Good ole Rocky Top” was gonna have to change its tune.
Heupel gassed up the Vols offense. In 2021 and 2022, the Vols’ scoring offense finished #7 and #1 respectively, while finishing top 3 in offensive plays/game all 3 years.
I could say something like… “This year’s team has many new faces…” but that’s just the way it is in the transfer portal era.
QB Nico Lamaleava, excels with his arm and his legs. In his only 2023 start, he threw for 3 TDs and ran for 2 in the Vols’ 35-0 Citrus Bowl rout over historically defensively stout Iowa. Not saying he’s Jalin Daniels status, but picture the style.
The WR core boasts a formidable 3-man core. Last year’s top WR Squirrel White brings back his 2023 803 yards and 67 catches. Add 2023 USC transfer Bru McCoy, injured after only 5 games last year and new Tulane transfer Chris Brazzell. Sophomore Ethan Davis and Notre Dame transfer Holden Staes add depth.
Leading 2023 RB Jalen Wright is in the NFL but returning #2 man Dylan Simpson returns his team-leading 7 TDs.
The offensive line could be one of the SEC’s top 2 or 3. Replacing outgoing Kentucky transfer Gerald Mincey is incoming LSU transfer Lance Heard, who many NFL scouts label “special upside.” The interior could be one of the nation’s best in Cooper Mays and Javontez Spraggins.
For all the offensive talk, it’s the defense that could lead these Vols to a playoff spot. It’s difficult to grade them based off scoring and yardage, because of how fast the offense runs.
Having said that, they finished 2023 #8 in sacks and #4 in TFL. DE James Pearce, Jr returns after a top 15 NFL Draft grade. The tackles are led by Omari Thomas, Bryson Eason and Omarr Norman-Lott.
2022 BYU transfer LB Keenan Pili sat out most of 2023, after a whopping 190 tackles in 2022.
2023 leading tackler Elijah Herring transferred to Memphis. Arion Carter and Kalib Perry will replace 2nd leading tackler and current NFLer Aaron Beasley.
The secondary returns none, but transfer portal to the rescue. Oregon State’s Jermod McCoy and MTSU’s Jakobe Thomas are respective 2023 all-conference players.
The Bottom Line…I really think Tennessee will be one of those fringe teams that will be lobbying their expanded playoff qualifications.
As far as SEC schedules go, they catch several breaks. Two games will probably be losses, @ UGA and Oklahoma.
Believe it or not, Sept. 7 in Charlotte, against NC State is their biggest game. If they win, there’s a path. If not, that path is pummeled. Most believe there will be 3 SEC teams, but I believe there will be a push for four.
“Good ole Rocky Top,” or not….we’ll soon find out whether Vol Nation is singing it full of that happy rum, or buried under Neyland after way too much sipping.
Build The Hill
By: Charlie Moon
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
So, what does the Richmond Hill football team have in common with Ray’s Boom Boom Room? Yeah, I get it. You’re wondering what drug flew into my coffee this morning, but just stick with me.
If you don’t know about Ray’s Boom Boom Room, it comes from the classic comedy, “LIFE.” Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence and several others are in prison for life during the Civil Rights era.
Murphy’s character Ray, describes a fictitious place called Ray’s Boom Boom Room. It’s a Harlem jazz dinner club that has it all. Serving such a harsh sentence, The Boom Boom Room takes them to a dreamy place, which has it all and that’s what the 2024 Richmond Hill football team has.
Having been the Cats’ play-by-play voice for six years and knowing the program from Head Coach Matt Lezotte’s tenure, I believe this is the best team the Cats will field.
Even better than the 2019 squad that was one play away from making it to a state title game? YES!
Now, will that equate to a similar run at a state title? Who knows?
A couple major differences abound. Then, there were 7 GHSA classifications. The Cats were in 6A and a much different region than the current. Now, GHSA only has 6 classifications (not including A-Div 1).
Plus, there’s the elephant in the room, a region that I believe is the top-ranked public school region in the entire country. Region 6-AAAAAA includes Colquitt County, Valdosta, Camden County, Lowndes, Richmond Hill and Tift County. Tell me another region that has 36 state titles and 7 national titles; can’t find one.
Lezotte says, “The level of talent we play week in and week out is second to none. I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen this, but Lezotte says, “Depending on the personnel we’re running, we’ve got 26 returning starters.”
Of those, the number that are receiving serious college interest is in the double digits.
So…back to The Boom Boom Room.
The offensive line are the servers, the guys roaming around serving food and drinks and usually not getting the big-time praise. They make the party go! Thomas “Zimbo” Zimbolatti and Cameron Jackson headline a group that boasts over 100 career starts.
Asked how this line compares to 2019, Lezotte says, “We’re deeper – 8 guys that play on Friday nights.”
The skill players (RBs/WRs) are the live band. They’re the ones everybody is watching with names in lights.
RBs are led by 2023 800-yd rusher Josh Troupe and 4-year starter, DB Caleb Easterling, who had 27 carries in 2023. But look for young and talented Amire Miller and DJ Porter to get significant carries. Sophomore Porter may be the youngest, but he may have the biggest upside.
Wideouts are led by 2-way star Brandon McDonald, one of the most heavily recruited defensive players in the area. All 18 2023 catches came in the last half of last season. But I call him SLASH, because he plays both ways.
The defense is akin to The Boom Boom Room security, always keeping everyone in check and going after the bad guys.
The LB core could also be one of the best in the Region. Gabe Bauman (114), Lee Johnson (74) and Aiden Grant (59) were the 2023 top 3 tacklers.
In his 2nd year as starting QB, Kirk Scott is the “Ray” of The Boom Boom Room. Ray is the orchestrator of everything in the room. He’s got to be cerebral, direct traffic, and deliver on all the stars. Scott returns from 899 yards, and 8 TDs in 2023.
Make no mistake, this is the deepest and best roster that the Cats have probably boasted in the school’s history.
As they always say in their parts, “Build the Hill.”
GHSA NIL
By: Charlie Moon
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Special thanks to GHSA Executive Director Dr. Robin Hines for taking time from a busy week to discuss the GHSA NIL with me.
Recently, there were well-designed black boxes with a stern warning floating all over social media. GHSA Executive Director Dr. Robin Hines put out this message over the emergence of NIL “Clubs,” and how they were a clear violation.
Hines told me, “Charlie they’re basically jacked up Gofundme pages.”
The skinny? An adult starts a page and entices high school athletes to be a part of their Gofundme group. The athletes are paid a percentage…More on that later.
Do you remember when a couple of our national leaders tried to convince us there were Jewish space lasers? And many Americans actually believed that?
Now we’ve got GHSA and NIL …. where schools can pay 14- to 18-year-old highschool athletes.
Again, don’t believe it just because it’s on the Internet. Read it. Study it. Use your head.
“One conversation at a time, Charlie.” That’s what Dr. Hines told me this week, about an hour before he boarded his return flight home from Boston and a national convention of state high school league officials.
“Charlie,” said Dr. Hines. “When we first put this out, I had athletic directors calling and asking me how they were gonna pay their players. I had to reassure them of the basics of this thing and that there was absolutely no allowance for schools paying players.”
Knowing most wouldn’t understand the difference between the NCAA and GHSA versions of NIL, there was and still is, a huge hill to climb. No, not the kind of disproving the Jewish laser theory. If someone has to convince you of that, that’s a “you” problem.
Hines says, “Charlie, one conversation at a time. No matter how we rolled it out, folks were gonna think it was the college version. We’re clear. The GHSA NIL only allows for a kid to profit off of their own name, image and likeness. But it does not allow for that to be tied in any way, to a school or a team.”
So, what does that mean? If a business wants to compensate a player for promoting their business, that promotion cannot include anything tied to the player’s school. They can’t wear a jersey. They can’t say their school’s name. The school or team logo cannot appear.
And what does that look like? Dr. Hines told me. “Charlie, there’s a local breakfast place in Barnesville, GA that honors one athlete each week or month with a free meal. But if they take pictures or post it on social media, they can’t say anything about the school or the sport.”
What about these NIL Clubs? Hines says they’ve been popping up nationwide and it was a major point of discussion in Boston. They first began in New Jersey and recently, a few popped up in Georgia.
Hines says, “They were reported to us. Schools were contacted. They contacted the kids and the pages were immediately taken down. Some of the parents didn’t even know their kids were on these pages.”
Yes, you heard that right – adults secretly signing up high school athletes, without parental permission. It’s certainly not illegal per se. But all of it is definitely a GHSA rules violation.
It began with AAU basketball 40 years ago. Fast forward to now, where we’ve got everything from 7-8 year olds playing for weekend rings in all sports, to adults trying to skirt a rule for their Gofundme pages. The line between youth playing for the love of the game has been skewed.
Needless to say, Hines and GHSA stood their ground on drawing that line. They will not allow adults to cash-grab their to NIL Clubs, all in the hopes of a few extra dollars.
Of note: Schools must report any NIL deal. As of this week, there are only 47, less than .004% of all GHSA athletes.
Out Of No Where
By: Charlie Moon
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Oh come on, we all saw this coming, right?
Raise your hand if you knew the following: Prior to the 2024 Atlanta Braves campaign, a guy with one of the most unassuming names – Lopez – would not only lead the Braves in ERA, but as of June 26, all of Major League Baseball. Oh, come on, stop that!
I mean, Lopez? In the English language world of last names, you got names like Smith and Johnson. But in Hispanic culture, you have names like Fernandez and… Lopez. Who would have thought a guy that was destined for a velled middle relief spot in the Braves bullpen would sit atop MLB?
When you think of momentous trades and/or roster additions in Atlanta Braves and MLB history during my lifetime, a couple come to mind.
Probably the most recognizable and arguably, the most influential trade in Braves history, was for the man affectionately known around Braves Country as “Smoltzie.”
It was August 1987 and the Braves were still in their lovable losers days, while Detroit was in a heated AL-East race with the Blue Jays.
The Tigers needed one more starting piece to their rotation and they got it. The Braves sent veteran Doyle Alexander to the Tigers. Alexander went on to garner 10 wins in that short August – October span. The Tigers won the AL East by two games over the Blue Jays and lost in the ALCS to the Twins in five games.
And the Braves got an unknown kid named John Smoltz, who wasn’t even in the majors. He was in his rookie season, with the Tigers’ minor league affiliate, Lakeland, (FL) team.
Who knew then, that Smoltz would become one of the most renowned pitchers in Atlanta Braves history?
Who can forget the July 20, 1993 Fulton County Stadium fire in the press box prior to the game against the Cardinals?
The Braves were 8 games back of the San Francisco Giants. I guess it was a presage to McGriff’s own fire at the plate. He belted a tying home run in the 6th, enroute to an 8-5 win over St. Louis.
Call it six degrees of separation, but later I’ll tell you the Cardinals tie to Lopez’s big splash. McGriff went on to aid Atlanta in an epic 8-game division winning comeback in the second half of the season.
And that trade? The Braves sent OFs Melvin Nieves and Vince Moore and RHP Donnie Elliott to the San Diego Padres for McGriff. I’d say the Braves got the best of that one.
And now, Reynaldo Lopez? In most trade reports, you’ll see something like, “On November 20, 2023, the Braves added another reliever…..”
That’s right. Lopez has spent nearly all of his 9-year career in the bullpen. He went a combined 17-25 in 2018 and 2019 as a starter for the Chicago White Sox, but that’s pretty much it for the big, strong right-hander out of the Dominican Republic.
The rest of his nine years have almost all been in the pen.
That is – until now. Chris Sale and Max Fried have been phenomenal, combining to go 17-5. Sale has even been a pleasant surprise, since coming over from the Red Sox. That was a huge get for Atlanta itself.
But it’s been Lopez, from nowhere, that has stolen the show, from a numbers standpoint. Remember that tie-in with McGriff and the Cardinals?
Well, in Wednesday’s 6-2 win over the Cardinals, Lopez went 5 innings and earned the win. But, it also put him over the required 75 innings to be on the MLB Leaderboard in ERA, at 1.70.
Look, between Braves GMs Schuerholz and current Alex Anthopoulos, they have been a lot of great trades and signings. But in the end, it may be one that came while we were all eating left-over turkey sandwiches during November’s hot stove league, that just might take the cake.
Texas Grit
By: Charlie Moon
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
If 2023 was any indication, the Texans might be ready for a big step forward in 2024.
After a 10-7 regular season and a 34-10 1st round road playoff loss at Baltimore in 2023-2024, the Texans look to make a step this season under 2nd year head coach DeMeco Ryans.
And for all the talk about the phenomenal rookie season for CJ Stroud, it just might be the defense that becomes this season’s difference.
For one, Ryans was one of the best defensive players of his time, so he knows defense.
Time for a deep dive…
Answer this question. If you see your team set a franchise record in sacks, and improve its run defense from one season to the next from 32nd all the way to 6th… would you make not one, not two, but three changes to its defensive line? It just doesn’t happen.
That should give you an idea of what Demeco Ryans sees in his defense, and where he thinks they can go.
Out on the defensive line is Jonathan Greenard, Maliek Collins, and Sheldon Rankins. In comes a definite off-season homerun in 2023 All-pro Danielle Hunter. He was 3rd in the league with 16.5 sacks, bested only by the likes of T.J. Watt and Myles Garrett.
Now throw in a couple guys who had great 2023 campaigns and you have a defensive front that could dominate, come 2024. 33-year-old Deneco Autry had one of his best seasons with 11.5 sacks.
And another guy along that defensive line Ryans wouldn’t let go for even a Jeff Bezos payday, Will Anderson, Jr. Anderson looks to build off his 2023 campaign that saw him voted as the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. Out of Alabama, he will definitely be a great bookend to a guy like Danielle Hunter.
Ultimately, Ryans and his staff think last year’s 20.8 per game and 13th-ranked defense, is something they can build on, and become one of the league’s top 5 defensive units.
On the flip side, the offense scored 22.8 points per game and ranked 13th in the NFL. But it never really felt like a middle of the road offensive unit.
Deep dive #2….
CJ Stroud’s rookie campaign was one to remember. In 15 starts, he put up 4,108 passing yards (8th in the league) 23 TDs (13th) and just 5 INTs (tied 7th).
Stroud had the 3rd highest QB Rating for any rookie in the history of the NFL. Let’s face it. That’s phenomenal. But need we not forget, Stroud was just a rookie.
The offensive line is a good one – all intact from 2023. But It’s the playmakers that Houston lacked last year that would have made Stroud even more dangerous. They added two guys – one on the outside and at RB.
Steffon Diggs has been one of the most consistent and dangerous wideouts of the last 9 years. He spent the first 5 at Minnesota and yes, that was Diggs on the other end of “The Minnesota Miracle” in that miracle final play and pass from Case Keenum of the 2018 playoff win against the Saints.
He spent the last 4 years on the other end of Buffalo Bills gun slinger Josh Allen.
The Texans also added Joe Mixon, another veteran. Mixon spent all seven years at Cincinnati, including four 1,000-yard seasons.
By all accounts, most projections have this year’s schedule tougher than last year’s. But what DeMeco Ryans has instilled is something the Texans haven’t had in a while – grit. And when you add pure grit to a group of Texas men in oil country, things usually turn out okay.
Omaha!
By: Charlie Moon
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Well, well, well….Ya know all those heated arguments with your buddies about the SEC vs. ACC?
And we all know, depending on which sport you’re talking about, usually there’s a dominant conference. But just like the parent that will rationalize their kid cheating on a test and somehow blame the teacher, conference fans will swear up and down their conference is the best.
‘My team beat this team and they lost to them and they beat that other team… blah, blah, blah.”
Go ahead. Laugh. You know that’s you!
Even plausible arguments like bowl games, rivalry games and RPI, can be a bit tedious and all have reasons why they might not be the best way to gauge conference supremacy. But make no mistake, for the next week or so, Omaha will be the setting for probably the closest thing we’ll ever get to a proper gauge.
For the first time in the history of the NCAA College World Series, all eight teams are from two conferences and you guessed it. That would be the ACC and SEC.
Here’s my CWS outlook.
Best Offense – UVA Cavaliers-While the #1 Vols have hit the most HRs per game (2.6), it’s Virginia with the upper hand. The Cavs make their 3rd trip in 4 years to Omaha, but they bring a much more potent line-up.
They lead the country in scoring with 9.4 runs per game, but are #17 in HRs. What does that tell you? They string a lot of hits together. They lead the country with 121 occurrences of over 2 consecutive hits.
This bodes well for Charles Schwab Park, a bigger park than the college band boxes. It happens every year. The power teams struggle because of relying on the long ball. A final nugget – only one starter batting under .300 – Harrison Didiwick at .297.
Best Pitching – UNC Tarheels-Although Tennessee enters with the best team ERA (3.83), I’m rolling with the Heels. They’re team ERA (4.22) is #15, but is misleading because their home field, Boshamer Stadium, is one of the smallest stadiums in the country.
They also boast arguably the best bullpen in the country. The bullpens can simply maketeam becauseollege baseball team because starters only go 4-6 innings.
Best Player – Jack Caglianone-You’d have to be either brain dead or living under a rock, not to agree with this one. Why? The man plays both ways – Ohtani, Jr. .411, 33 HRs, 68 RBIs at the plate. 5-2, 4.11 ERA on the bump.
Just as important, Caglianone is clutch in their biggest games on the mound and was a big part of their runner-up finish last year.
Darkhorse – NC State-Yeah, I know. Why not Florida? Barely .500 on the season and just upset the Oklahoma St Regional and the #6 Clemson, all on the road. The Wolfpack boasts the #1 bullpen (Baseball America) in America.
And they’ve been the hottest offensive team in the land over the last 6 games. It’s that bullpen that’s been their mainstay and will keep them in any game.
My Winner – Kentucky Wildcats-I see the Heels out of Bracket 1 and the Kentucky Wildcats out of Bracket 2 facing off for the national title.
None of the above included talk of Kentucky, so why the Cats? Remember what I said about Charles Schwab Park? The power of teams like Tennessee, Texas A&M, and others gets neutralized in this park.
Similar to Wrigley Field, though, the wind can really be a factor. Remember the Oregon State Beavers, that just “small-balled” their way to titles in 2006, 2007 and 2018? This is that Kentucky team.
The End of The Road
By: Charlie Moon
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Drinking my coffee, visiting family in Birmingham, AL, one song seems fit: “….I’ve been through the desert on a horse with no name… uh uh huh, ahh ahhhh…”
I’m confident that in 1972, when Dewey Bunnell, of the band America, penned the group’s 1-hit wonder, he had no idea some overweight bald dude was going to tie his lyrics to Birmingham Southern College baseball in 2024.
I first heard of this story a couple weeks ago while heading home from work and thought of that song immediately.
Birmingham Southern College played Salve Regina University (Newport, RI) (Friday, May 31), on the very last day Birmingham Southern College was known as an active institution of higher learning. That’s right. The Panthers of Birmingham Southern competed for a national title, when the name on their jersey is a thing of the past.
Hence…. “Goin through the desert on a horse”.
Bunnell once said he wrote the song as a metaphor of being free, independent of societal constraints.
One thing is for sure. The Panthers are free. On March 27, head coach Jan Weisberg met with the team in their clubhouse after an 8-5 road win at LaGrange, GA.
Team leader Drake Laroche (son of former Atlanta Brave Adam Laroche) said, “We had no idea what coach wanted to say. It was a big win for us. After a rough stretch, we lost our way. But something clicked that night. The chemistry finally brewed. We thought coach wanted to ignite that flame a little.”
Sadly, no. Coach Weisberg informed the team that Birmingham Southern College, a state-chartered Methodist school since its founding in 1856, was closing its doors.
Laroche says there were a few tears at first, but then they just sat around for about 2 hours, with questions…and answers.
“We didn’t know at first, if we were gonna be able to finish the season. If not, could we enter the transfer portal? Did we have to go home? Were we still gonna get meals on the road?”
Weisberg calmed everyone’s fears.
Laroche said: “Oh, it popped off. We got jacked up….like something out of a movie. We knew there was just one thing left to do – win a natty.”
There have been hundreds of times an NCAA school has finished their season, knowing their program had been shut down as of that season’s completion. Birmingham’s own UAB, after all, shut down its program just before the Blazers played in a 2014 bowl game. Of course, the Blazers wouldn’t go away.
And so have the Panthers. After beating the nation’s #2 Denison University, in the Regionals, they began the Division 3 College World Series.
And they’ll did it in style!
The team began a GoFundMe. Until their wins against Denison, it only had about $10,000. Suddenly, it ballooned to over $200,000.
The team was able to fly a private charter to Eastlake, OH. They’re stayed in a 5-star hotel and had all their meals catered.
Birmingham Southern alumni from all over the world flocked to Eastlake. It turned into a Panther Party at the Division III World Series.
That song we began our coffee cup talk with? It closes with: “After nine days, I Iet the horse run free, cause the desert had turned to sea.” The idea being…everybody can run free now.
Well, one thing is for sure, the Panthers all run free. I imagine one major difference. They won’t be constrained by a single thing.
Birmingham Southern’s run ended in the round of 8 double elimination. The Panthers lost to Wisconsin-Whitewater 11-10 to end their magical run.
“When the game got tight, I wasn’t worried about winning or losing,” he said. “I wanted one more night to be able to hang out with everyone. I think the ride we had the last three weeks is better than winning a national championship.”
