Author: baronmedianetwork

Who is the best team in the BIG 10?

By: Jones DesChamps

In a group of teams that finds itself immersed in chaos nearly every college football season, this season is nothing out of the ordinary for the BIG 10 conference.  Although this conference is filled with as much anarchy as ever, this season could be even more abnormal than usual. Nearly every season the debate ensues over “The Game”, which includes the star-studded match up between Michigan and Ohio State, but this season may shake out a little differently. Will one of these teams continue to rise to the top of the Big 10, or will one of the other newcomers take over this prestigious conference. 

To begin, it’s only right to talk about the tremendous success of the Buckeyes in the playoff era. These teams, led by Urban Meyer and Ryan Day, have produced nothing but wins. These Buckeyes, who have won the BIG 10 East 8 out of the last 9 seasons, certainly have to be the front-runner to win the conference. With a top 10 win against Notre Dame on the road this season, this explosive team looks to continue their success this season. Yes, this team’s rich history hints towards a conference championship this season, but the question at quarterback may be detrimental to this team’s final destination. 

Michigan, on the other hand, is the highest ranked team in the BIG 10. No, this team does not have an impressive win this season, but this Jim Harbaugh led team is experienced on both sides of the ball. JJ McCarthy, the Wolverine’s quarterback, is on pace to be a top quarterback in the country this season. Michigan has not lived up to the preseason hype given to them nearly every year throughout this decade, but last season’s Michigan team won the conference and produced their first playoff berth. The Wolverines lack of a true challenge this year may bite them in the rear when they are forced to play ranked teams later this year.  I believe this team is hungry to win, but may not have what it takes to take home a trophy. 

The last contender in the BIG 10, and maybe even the most talented team in this league is Penn State. Without sugar coating it, Penn State is the best team in their competitive conference. With an important game this weekend at the “Horseshoe”, this James Franklin led team looks to further their dominance this season. Drew Allar, one of the nation’s best quarterbacks, looks to guide the Nittany Lions out of Columbus with another W. The team in navy and white is highlighted by their stellar defense, as well. This well-rounded team will not only beat the top dogs in their league this season, but will reach the top of the mountain in the college football season, producing their first playoff berth. 

Why did Miami run the ball with 34 seconds left in the game when the opposing team had no timeouts?

By: Clark Kinney

If you haven’t already heard, Miami lost to Georgia Tech this past Saturday. It was an awful loss though, not because they played particularly bad, but rather because of an awful coaching decision made by the Miami staff that ultimately cost them the win. The undefeated Miami Hurricanes were winning and looking to improve to 5-0 on the season up 20-17 with 34 seconds left in the game, only needing to take a knee. However, the coaches decided to run the ball and the running back fumbled, giving Georgia Tech the ball with 26 seconds left and no timeouts. Four quick plays later, Georgia Tech scored and won the game. 

Miami had opted not to kneel the ball in every one of their first four games this year and they had won all four, but those games were not one score games like the Georgia Tech game. Miami’s head coach is Mario Cristobal, and he takes full ownership in the play call and loss. Perhaps the craziest part about all of this is that the exact same thing had happened to Coach Cristobal before. Coach Cristobal was the head coach at Oregon in 2018 when they were winning by 3 against Stanford with the ball, chose not to kneel to secure the win, ran a play, fumbled, Stanford tied the game, and then Oregon lost in overtime.

Why would you not just take a knee and secure the win? I simply do not know. Did they not have Victory Formation in the playbook? I don’t know either. What I do know is that Georgia Tech is not very good, and Miami will likely now not have a chance in making the College Football Playoff. On ESPN’s “First Take” earlier I heard one of the people say not only will they not have a chance to make the College Football Playoff, but that play call also cost the school millions of dollars because of the money that comes from winning and being a College Football Playoff contender.

 If I were Miami’s athletic director, I was seriously consider firing Coach Cristobal. I would, at least have him on a short leash and tell him if you lose 2-3 more you are done. He should be undefeated right know, and that is the only reason I would most likely not fire him immediately.

In Search of the Next Best Book

by Adam Pelletier and Addison Thornton

Stephen King’s “Billy Summers” is a personal favorite of mine. This book is full of suspenseful, thrilling, and graphic scenes, and is very entertaining to read. It goes through many different emotions and King somehow still fits plenty of humor throughout the entire book as well. 

This book describes the life of a man named Billy Summers, who works as a hired assassin/killer, and is on his last job before he plans to retire. The job seemed awfully shady to him, but he decided to accept it anyways. The job, of course, does not go exactly as planned, leading to Billy’s mission getting more and more complicated. 

“Billy Summers” is one of King’s more recent novels, being released in 2021, and is personally one of his best novels that I have read. It was very easy for me to get into this book, as it’s more appealing to me than others. I would heavily recommend this book to anyone who is interested in crime, thrillers, suspense, or all of them combined.

Other books I would recommend by Stephen King:

  • The Institute
  • Joyland
  • Later
  • The Colorado Kid
    • The Langoliers
    • Thinner

Daughter of Sparta is an incredible novel by Claire Heywood. The novel is full of turmoil, war, love, and sorrow. The story switches point of views from the two daughters of Tyndareus, Helen and Clytemnestra. The famous tale of the Trojan War reimagined through the eyes of the two most important women of the war. 

The story begins with the sisters as kids and goes through their lives as princesses in ancient Greece. Eventually they are married off to King Agamemnon, ruler of Mycenae, and King Menelaus, ruler of Sparta. The marriages soon go sour, which leads Helen to make a world changing decision. 

Daughters of Sparta is a beautiful retelling of this timeless tale and takes a more feminist side of the story. The novel will definitely cause tears and a range of emotion, so fair warning to those who don’t want to read an emotional novel. I would highly recommend this novel to fans of mythological fiction and war.

Other books about or involving the Trojan War: 

  • A Thousand Ships- Natalie Haynes
  • Clytemnestra- Costanza Casati
  • The Song of Achilles- Madeline Miller
  • The Silence of the Girls- Pat Barker
  • Elektra- Jennifer Saint

For more book reviews, visit their website link below

https://addisonthornton.wixsite.com/digital-media-book-b

How good is DJ Uiagalelei?

by Clark Kinney

First of all, I am a Clemson fan and I may be a little bias. DJ Uiagalelei was the number one pro-style quarterback in his class coming out of high school, topping C.J. Stroud at number two who ended up being the number two overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. He should be good right?

In his freshman year at Clemson he did not see much time on the field because we (Clemson) had Trevor Lawrence as a starter; however, when we traveled to Notre Dame for a huge matchup, Trevor Lawrence had Covid and could not play so Dabo gave DJ the start. The tigers lost this game in double overtime but DJ played well with 2 TDs and 439 yards passing. That was pretty much the extent of what we saw from DJ that year.

The next season rolled around and the next great Clemson starting quarterback was ready to go. Dabo was comparing him to Cam Newton with his running capabilities but even a better passer. We fell to Georgia first game of the year 10-3 and DJ had no touchdowns and a pick-six. The rest of the year was mediocre for the Tigers and especially for DJ but I still thought he would eventually be good. 

He started again the next year for Clemson in front of five-star Cade Klubnik but again just was not great but showed signs of being decent. I still thought he had some skill. My thoughts on his skill all changed when I went to the South Carolina vs. Clemson game last year. I had watched him play before in person but not as close as I did then because of where I was seated. I was right behind the Clemson bench where I could easily see all of our quarterbacks warming up. I am not kidding when I say this…he could not throw a spiral. It wasn’t just warmups either, it was the whole game. He would drop back to throw it to a receiver and just throw a duck like it was awful. Also, I am no expert but you would think since he was big he would run hard but no. He would try to juke out linebackers and then get tackled from behind . by a defensive linemen because he is slow and not quick at all. Dude you are not Johnny Manziel. You are 6’4’’ 250+ lbs., just use your size, lower your shoulder, and run them over. 

So, “How good is DJ Uiagalelei?” Not good. He cannot consistently throw a spiral or even use his size to his advantage. If he learns how to do those two things at Oregon State, he probably will be good but I don’t see that happening.