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.