Rantings of an old Sports Writer

The decision from the Playoff Committee has come down and it's widely known what Alabama's fate is: No playoffs. Instead, the Crimson Tide is heading to a bowl game. Specifically, the Outback Bowl - long considered the bowl for the 3rd or 4th place SEC team. 'Bama hasn't finished as lower than 2nd in the SEC standings since 2010: When a 9-3 Crimson Tide squad, nursing a massive national championship headache after Coach Nick Saban's first national title with the program, beat Michigan State. Effectively, it served as a springboard for two subsequent national championships in what would kick off a decade of dominance in Tuscaloosa. Besides the similar records between 2010 and 2024 going into the bowl, there are very few similarities...

Rivalry week in college football has always brought the expectation of epic clashes, each worthy of plays that can be etched into a program's, or even the entire sports history. We know them all for good or for bad - The Kick, the Kick 6, "The Band is on the field!" and "Wide Right I and II" are just a few instances where moments in a rivalry game become immortalized, thanks to all the strong emotions present while playing your arch nemesis. It's not unusual in such games, with emotions running high, that hostility and intensity meet together at key moments - resulting in a dangerous mix that often leads to trouble...and occasionally brawls. Don't get me wrong - fighting in football has been around since the game was first played...

Leaving Central Florida on Saturday morning after a wonderful week of Walt Disney World would normally cause me to drag my feet in just about every way possible. But the return trip home had a silver lining that provided some excitement: SEC Football would be on in some form or another throughout the trip and thanks to mobile WiFi, I wouldn't be left out in the cold. Little did I know that by the end of the day, another SEC shakeup would take place in what was thought to be a pretty routine day. Ole Miss, fresh off a bye week and still reveling after handling Georgia in Oxford, came into the day with aspirations of an SEC Championship and playoff spot. They just needed to take care of an underachieving Gator Team and throw their...

There's no column this week as the family and I are in the Land of the Mouse trying to track down individuals like this. The one on the far left is by far the shadiest one of the group. But before I leave for more shenanigans with my three beauties (no, Donald is NOT one of them), here's a little riddle for you: What's very large, round, orange and smells like rotten cheese? Neyland Stadium. And its inhabitants. Have a great week everybody and don't forget to support your local athletes completing at high school and small colleges.

Ah, the shake-up of another week in the SEC as the regular season of 2024 begins its final and most crucial point. Week 11's biggest impacts were felt in Oxford, Baton Rouge and Austin, where outcomes resonated loudly within the conference and across the nation. We'll take a look at these contests in this week's rants, along with who I see as the primary contenders to represent the SEC in the playoffs. Nationally, I'm not going point to anything other than Miami's loss to Georgia Tech - though it looks like Ohio State and Indiana look to be quite the pivotal matchup on Nov. 23. Georgia falls to Ole Miss...hard I walked around all week long thinking Ole Miss had themselves a good opportunity at Vaught-Hemingway to pull off the...

Saturday was not a good day for Texas A&M fans. The Aggies, swaggering into their match-up with a struggling South Carolina program with an undefeated SEC record and fresh off a great win over LSU, were sent home thoroughly spanked thanks to a 24-point loss in Williams-Brice. Where does that leave us? With five teams with one loss in the SEC. Week 11 is sure to not only bring us plenty of great football to watch, it's sure to clear up this mess at the top of the SEC standings. I'm not going to mess with the national scene this week - although if you didn't see it, hunt down a clip of Penn State's James Franklin standing-down a heckler following the loss to Ohio State. Let's take a look at the Top 5 in the SEC, how they did in Week...

Across the nation, Week 9 saw plenty of games that exposed more pretenders and solidified teams worthy of their rankings. Nationally, Oregon looked good in their first win as the top-ranked team, Navy got dropped from the ranks of the unbeaten, Ohio State survived a scare from Nebraska and Miami flattened FSU in what was once a premier game. Back in the SEC, there was a lot to talk about. Texas found out Vandy is scary this year, Texas A&M remained undefeated in conference play with a win over LSU and Oklahoma's first year in the club continues to be miserable after another loss, this time to Ole Miss. The two ancient enemies, Alabama and Auburn both picked up much-needed and revitalizing wins. Bama found one of its strengths going...

Another week of college football, another week of mayhem among the Top 25....is it really? If there's one thing the 2024 college football season has shown us from its mid-way point, it's that no one is safe. Sure, we've heard it for years, anyone can beat anyone right? This is different. The new college football is beginning to take shape and it's similar to the NFL in some ways. Game prep and motivation are becoming more valuable than the opposing coach's playbook. Every week, fundamentals, creativity and good instincts are worth more than 5-star ratings. Don't believe me? Let's take a look at the College Football Top 25. No, I'm not referring to the top of the poll - not too many unusual names there....until you get to No. 10...

While Week 7 of the college football season wasn't the trip through the madhouse that The Fifth was, 2024 is still making many of us shake our heads and wonder what in the world is going on. Nationally, Ohio State fell to Oregon and is out of the ranks of the unbeaten. Meanwhile, Army and Navy are undefeated and the NIL is finally going to get a shake-up after so much mismanagement. Here's the rundown rants of Week 7's SEC games: Alabama/South Carolina: Another messy game for 'Bama over an opponent they should have blown out of the water. This time, unlike against Vandy last week, ended with a 'Bama victory...which will be met with "a win is a win regardless." Actually, no, as the root problems still remain: this team has not played...

October 5, 2024 will be classically known forever in college football history as a symbol of the meltdown. Four Top 10 teams: Alabama, Tennessee, Missouri and Michigan began Saturday against opponents who, by general consensus, were to be completely overwhelmed. All four suffered humiliating defeats. Within all four of those contests existed the presence of two players: whose affect is becoming more apparent each week. Both play on any team, and can play any position. They can influence not just other players, but coaching staffs as well. So great is their growing influence that they hang around with a team before, during and after a game....and even affect players in their sleep and in off-the-field activities. These two team...