Tag: Football

CJ Stroud v The Ravens

by: Ben Reynolds

CJ Stroud historic rookie season began with being selected #2 overall in the latest NFL draft. He immediately made a splash in the league by leading the Texans to a 10-7 season after they finished 3-13 just one season ago. However, standing in his way to further go this playoff run is the second ranked defense in the NFL, the Baltimore Ravens. This stellar defense was the first team in NFL history to lead the league in PPG allowed (16.5/game), total sacks (60), and takeaways (31) at the end of the regular season. Along with this trifling defense, the Ravens also have the MVP front runner in Lamar Jackson. Lamar Jackson is a pure game changer who has the ability to take over any game at any given time. His speed and athleticism mixed with his ability to read defense will pose a very difficult challenge to the Texans defense. Not only will CJ Stroud have to score against one of the top defenses but the Texans defense will have to try and contain the most electric player in the NFL. Although, last week CJ Stroud and the Texans took on the Browns who had the #1 ranked defense in the league. Not only did the Texans win but they erupted in an impressive 45-14 win. This proved that the Texans can score on the best defenses in the league which gives them a very good chance in this upcoming game. ESPN has only given the Texans a 16.5% chance of winning this game, but anything can happen in the NFL and this matchup serves as a must watch game for the upcoming weekend. A high scoring shootout is to be expected as the MVP front runner takes on the Rookie of the Year front runner this Saturday at 4:30 PM.  

Why the Packers are going to win the Super Bowl.

By Connor Hanson

When I look at the packers I see a really young team that has completely filled out the shoes that they are expected to. They had no expectations at the beginning of the year due to an injury filled wide receiver room while still being really young, and an unproven quarterback that had a rough first couple starts in the absence of Aaron Rodgers. 

Last weekend the Packers played the Dallas Cowboys, which were the favorites to win the game on every website that does odds. And why wouldn’t they be, they had to play against the most lousy run defenses I’ve ever had the chore of watching, while combining with a quarterback with no playoff experience. Despite all this the Packers shocked the world and pummeled the Cowboys in an avalanche of scoring due to effortless throws by Jordan love.

This weekend the Packers matchup with one of the most explosive offenses of all time in the San Francisco 49ers. Offense is going to have to win the Packers this game, because the 49ers are going to put up points either way, we are just going to have to score more.

Is it Finally Baltimore’s Year?

By: Dylan Jones

Baltimore Ravens WATCH: QB Lamar Jackson Trains With WRs Odell Beckham Jr., Zay Flowers - Sports Illustrated Baltimore Ravens News, Analysis and More

As the road to the Super Bowl is on the horizon, the Baltimore Ravens have looked to be a clear favorite. Lamar Jackson has been playing great football and is projected to win the Most Valuable Player. This year is also brings the most weapons that Jackson has had around him during his time in Baltimore. Some of these weapons include veteran receiver Odell Beckham Jr, 1st round draft pick Zay Flowers, third year receiver coming back from injury Rashod Bateman, tight end Mark Andrews and rookie running back Keaton Mitchell.  The defensive line has been playing the best it has played in a very long time. I think this is due to the offseason signing of Jadeveon Clowney. Clowney was the first overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft so the potential was there it was just a matter of getting him to produce. Many labeled him as a bust, but this year he is helping out this defense to take the next step.

The Ravens were great in the regular season, but now it’s win or go home. The Ravens are dealing with a lot of major injuries like tight end Mark Andrews, star safety Kyle Hamilton, and rookie running Keaton Mitchell so that already starts them behind the 8-ball because they won’t be 100%. Now Lamar Jackson has had some phenomenal regular seasons like when he won the MVP in 2019, but once again that is the regular season. Throughout his career, he has not played his best football during the playoffs. It is also very hard to count out Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. They have had their struggles, but Mahomes is still an elite quarterback and performs well in the playoffs. I am not saying the Ravens can not get it done, but they are definitely not my pick to win Super Bowl 58. 

Why was FSU Snubbed out of a Playoff Spot?

By: Jones DesChamps

In the midst of chaos during this college football season, the College Football Playoff Committee has caused uproar amongst loyal fans. As the final season of the four team playoff concludes, the committee has made its most controversial decision yet. By leaving an undefeated, power 5 conference champion out of the playoff picture, the committee has decided to exclude a flawless team from being crowned as one of the most deserving teams in the country. Although this point has been proven by the professional analysts as a proper decision, it is beyond evident that Florida State was cheated out of a chance at a national championship. 

To begin, throughout the history of the college football playoff, no undefeated power 5 conference champion has ever been left out. Not only that, but it is the committee’s job to put in the MOST DESERVING TEAMS, not the best four teams. If it’s their job to put in the most deserving teams, then how is a team that hasn’t lost a game left out of the playoffs. Not only that, Florida State has neutral or away wins against Clemson, Louisville, and LSU, all three of which are ranked wins. If you believe that it is the committee’s job to put the BEST four teams in the playoffs, then history does not side with your answer. In 2015, the committee allowed Michigan State into the playoffs, a team who was clearly not one of the best four teams in the country but made it in because they deserved it. The same thing has happened with Cincinnati, Notre Dame, and TCU throughout history, by allowing bad, yet deserving teams into the playoffs. So, it’s evident that the committee does not care about who’s better, but they care about who’s the most deserving. 

Secondly, a large reason that Florida State was eliminated from playoff contention was because of the season-ending injury that their star quarterback, Jordan Travis, suffered three weeks ago. Not only is it ridiculous to discipline a team for winning all of their games but punishing a team because of a player’s injury is unreasonable, too. It is completely outrageous to exclude an undefeated conference champion, who has won their last two games with a backup quarterback, from the playoffs. That quarterback, who apparently isn’t good enough, has gotten the job done. How is it appropriate to penalize a perfect team with over eighty scholarship players because of a wrong step taken by one of those players? Correct, it’s not appropriate. Yes, if injuries would have taken over a team, that’s one thing, but one player doesn’t lead a team to zero losses. Clearly, this team was cheated out of a chance to bring home a trophy. 

So, as it’s blatantly obvious, the College Football Playoff Committee failed in doing their job and has robbed a deserving team of a chance at history. 

Does Alabama have a real chance to beat Georgia in the SEC championship this week?

by: Clark Kinney

It seems year in and year out Alabama always seems to wiggle themselves into the playoff picture no matter the team they have and this year is no different. Despite some early quarterback questions and a loss to Texas in the second game of their season, Bama is coming hot into the SEC championship vs. Georgia. Georgia is the back to back national champions and are undefeated so far this season but some believe they are not as good as they have been. This is looking like it could be a very good matchup. 

Jalen Milroe, the Alabama quarterback, has been looking very good in his past few games. Some people have questioned his pocket presence and arm talent, but he has shined throwing and running as of late. Milroe can flatout fly and has been running all over SEC defenses week in and week out. Alabama complements an extremely athletic quarterback with a crazy receiving core featuring Ja’Corey Brooks, Jermaine Burton, and Kobe Prentice to name a few. Bama also has a very good defense and have held opponents to just about 313 yards of offense per game which is very good considering their tough SEC schedule filled with high powered offenses. 

On the other hand, the Georgia Bulldogs are just flat out good. As mentioned before, Georgia is unbeaten so far this season and have only lost one game in the past 3 years. However, Georgia lost almost all of their starting defensive players to the draft along with their starting quarterback, Stetson Bennet IV. Despite the losses, the Dawgs have looked good and have had some key wins over solid opponents including a 30-21 victory over 9th ranked Missouri, a 38-10 victory over Tennessee, and a crushing 52-17 victory over 11th ranked Mississippi. Their offense is good with Alabama transfer Carson Beck at quarterback and almost a guaranteed future first round pick Brock Bowers at tight end. Along with everything else, their defense is good too allowing an average of just 294 yards of offense per game which tops Alabama’s defense. 

Even though Georgia is very, very good and have been for a while now, I just think it is so hard to bet against Alabama even though they are likely the underdogs. Also, Alabama’s coach Nick Saban is one of the greatest college football coaches of all time. Georgia’s coach Kirby Smart is a former assistant coach of Saban and Saban has a whopping 28-3 record against his former assistants. So, do I think Alabama has a real chance to beat Georgia in the SEC championship this week? Yes, and I think they will beat them. 

Texas A&M kicks off 2023 Coaching Carousel.

by: Jones DesChamps

To the surprise of absolutely nobody, another college football coach is out of a job. Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M’s head ball coach, has been let go.. Although his buyout is over 77 million dollars, Texas A&M buried their wallet and decided to let their fraudulent coach walk. Jimbo, who has recruited at the highest level, has not produced the lopsided records that his university was hoping for. Due to his underwhelming performances, Texas A&M decided to explore their other options. However the question still remains; who does this prestigious university look to hire next? 

The first realistic candidate for this high-paying job would be Dan Lanning. Simply put, Texas A&M is a better coaching job than Oregon is. Yes, Lanning has over-achieved at Oregon, but his efforts would be more fruitful at the higher level of SEC football. The timing would be difficult in the landing of this highly valuable coach, but if time is money then A&M has plenty of time to offer. Lanning is only in his second year at Oregon, but his success should grant him an offer at this job. 

Secondly, sticking to their guns, Texas A&M should look after a veteran coach. That coach could be Mike Elko. Clearly, football is not the top priority at Duke University. Elko, if he were offered, would certainly jump on the bandwagon to take over the job with the Aggies. Elko, who has little to no recruiting impact, could completely change this irrelevant reputation if put in the right situation. Not to mention, the Blue Devil’s head coach made his claim to fame as the defensive coordinator at A&M. His history with this university may prove vital in landing this job. 

Lastly, but certainly not least, would be the most interesting candidate, Lane Kiffin. No one controls Coach Kiffin. Every offseason, Kiffin is rumored to leave his position at Ole Miss and nowhere would be a better fit than Texas A&M. A&M is just a higher paying, more prestigious job than he has. His success as a Rebel has earned himself respect and recognition as one of the most explosive and high powered coaches in the country, and that’s exactly what the Aggies need. Kiffin would be the perfect coach to break through the barriers using A&M’s resources, so if the Aggies send an offer his way, do not be surprised to see this off-the-wall coach accept this offer. 

Obviously, there are plenty of worthy candidates for this job, but who will the Aggies offer? Will it be one of these possible options, or will the Aggies find someone different? Only time will tell.

Should South Carolina really have celebrated their nail biting win over Jacksonville State?

By Clark Kinney

Last Saturday, the Gamecocks of South Carolina payed the Gamecocks of Jacksonville State a reported $1.3 million to come play them at Williams Brice Stadium. Now, normally when big SEC schools pay much smaller D1 schools to play them, they usually smoke them and send the home with a check, but Saturday was not the case.

It was a very close game and was tied 28-28 after 3 quarters. With around 2-3 minutes left in the game, Jacksonville State only down by 3 and was threatening to score. However, a bad decision from the Jax State quarterback led to a pick-six and sealed the win for South Carolina, 38-28.

In the press conference after the game, South Carolina head coach said, “we are going to celebrate the heck out of this game.” This statement by Beamer did not seem to excite many fans. The fans believe South Carolina did not play very well at all and could have lost the game to Jacksonville State who they believe South Carolina should have smoked. I do see where these fans are coming from but they just need to realize that South Carolina is simply not very good at football this year. I think Beamer did a good job on implying that no matter the opponent, we fought and found a way to win and that should be celebrated because celebrations do not happen that often this year and that is just the way it is and we are trying to do better. I also like the positivity from Beamer and I’m sure the players do too because I have played for positive and negative coaches and I always like the positive ones more and so do their players.

Don’t be a Tyler. 

by Jones DesChamps

For all who are unaware, there are some college football coaches around the country who answer phone calls from callers on various different radio stations. Dabo Swinney, the head ball coach for the Clemson Tigers, is one of those coaches. On Monday night, Coach Swinney hopped onto Clemson’s flagship radio station, “105.5 the Roar”, to answer any questions sent in by callers. After answering the light-hearted questions of many questions, Dabo received a unique call from an angry caller. 

This mysterious man was named Tyler, who states that he is from Spartanburg, SC. To say the least, he did not filter his concerns to his “favorite” team’s coach. During his four minute rant on the phone to Coach Swinney, Tyler asked many controversial questions and raised many eyebrows when talking over the coaching decisions that Mr. Swinney has made. During his harangue, he brought up the inappropriate subjects of why Coach Swinney was being paid 11.5 million dollars to have a 4-4 record, why he was too stubborn to change his coaching philosophy, and why his school’s relevancy has fallen off so drastically. This bandwagon fan claims to have followed the Tigers for years and wonders why Dabo has run his own team into the mud over the last 3 or 4 years. 

Dabo, who is a proven winner and joyful leader, responded in a way that is unusual for this mild-tempered coach. Mr. Swinney responded to Tyler in a firm tone throughout his extended answer. During his response, Coach Swinney pointed out the fact that his teams have achieved 12 straight 10 win seasons which only 3 other teams have surpassed in the last century and a half. Also, he pointed out that he built his program up from ground zero and led them to 2 national championships in the last 7 years, which Clemson had not done in the history of its existence. He wrapped his speech up by stating that he loves his university, but he hates the fact that the “expectations are above the appreciation” for what he has done for his school. This response not only silenced the caller but caused him to hang up the phone. By defending his own and his players, Dabo Swinney has caused much uproar among major news companies and social media pages. 

This begs the question: Were Coach Swinney’s remarks appropriate and correct? The simple answer is yes. As any good coach would do, he jumped to the defense of his personal strategy and his players. Would Kirby Smart, Nick Saban, or Deion Sanders respond the same way? Yes, so why is Dabo receiving so much criticism for his remarks?