Bulldogs4

Yawn to recruiting as you are correct. The chances of a player remaining with one school for four or five years is about the same as Trump & Harris eating lunch together.

105 is ridiculous. They should be going the other direction. 65 is about all they need. I agree that CFB is going down the toilet. The product on the field is going to get steadily worse every year going forward.

14 teams does not make much sense though as then you would have only two teams with a bye. 16 would make more sense. That way the top eight would get to host a playoff game. Of course if they do that then the regular season would need to be culled to 10 or 11 games.

Under the lights, I thought it looked really good. I am a natural grass aficionado but I understand the economics of having the turf surface for high schools. Our colors are Royal Blue and White so why not do something outside the box.

Good question. It may have been a cost issue of having a different color turf but I do not really know. The cost was just under 370K so it was not cheap by any means. I agree with Sharper that the blue is not as loud as Boise. I am an old guy who loves tradition but in this case I really like the color. It is fresh and new and definitely something different. They have also raised the level of the playing surface to even with the track. And that will be much safer for the players as well. The old field used to be about three feet below the track and there was not much room between the sideline and the track. It made for potentially dangerous situations for the players going out of bounds running at full speed. I am glad that has been rectified as well.

When I first heard about it, I was skeptical. But the other evening I dove down 32nd Street and looked in from the North End of the Stadium. I think it looks cool. Very sleek. But the main thing is the turf should be comfortable and safe for the players. The new video/score board looks great as well. They have a new weight room too. I think the next upgrade will be for the press box. It is good to see the old lady get some upgrades after 87+ years. Cheyenne has done a great job as AD at Meridian High in addition to being to be a really good guy as well.

Well one thing is that Shapen has played well on the big stage. He definitely has talent. 83 nailed the key that we need him to stay healthy. Costello/Stephens were both in over their heads. Costello had the one big game against LSU but even then there were warning signs with the 4 INT’s. I remember Stevens throwing lollipops in the Superdome against ULL thinking this ain’t gonna fly against SEC defenses. So I don’t that is a good comparison at this juncture. But we will see.

Things should heat (no pun intended) up this week with the SEC media days. Still have mixed feelings about TX/OK. They are here and part of the conference but it still feels odd. I do think a nine game schedule should be adopted. I know that makes for a 5/4 split on H/A games but it evens out over two years. The 3/6 format would seem to be the ideal schedule model. I would like to see State have Ole Miss/KY as permanent opponents and then the other could be Bama/Aub/A&M/LSU though I am not sure how the dominoes would fall there. As mentioned, barring injury or something unexpected happening, Ole Miss should challenge for the playoff and possibly a SEC championship this year. State will be a mixed bag. Lotta of new faces across the board. The big key is winning the 4 NC games. Then hopefully stealing a couple of conference wins. Mainly just having a pulse on offense and being competitive will be a “win.”

I agree overall the stadium in Hattiesburg is better and it is generally easy to get there. Oxford is so far N it makes it tough. Starkvegas is not quite as bad but those stadiums are not just suited well for HS games. But I suspect that there will be some kind of N/S rotation going forward. It could look like this: 2024-State 2025-Hattiesburg 2026-Hattiesburg 2027-Oxford 2028-Hattiesburg 2029-Hattiesburg That way you are throwing a bone to the N. The kids would occasionally get to play in a SEC venue. We will see what happens. I do think they need to set the venues well in advance and that would make planning much better for all .

Definitely agree that this is the future although obviously you still have to recruit high school players. Not just Kiffin but all coaches are going to face the problem of chemistry with having so much turnover with your team. OL is probably the most critical part of your team and guys being on the same page there only happens with experience. That is only one reason that I believe the quality of the product on the field is going to only get worse in the years ahead. Mistakes, blown assignments etc. on both sides of the LOS are going to increase exponentially if the current system of the Wild Wild West continues. Football was a sport that inherently has always about developing players into being a good/great team. That is now gone forever.

Kiffin has proven to be astute at utilizing the transfer portal to his maximum advantage. And until it backfires on him, he will probably continue to succeed. Putting together teams one year at a time is very difficult but he has been able to overcome that so far. 2024 might be a watershed type year. Meaning that the strategy pays 100% dividends and Ole Miss goes to the playoff and has a great year. The margin for error is so small that a couple of hiccups or untimely injuries or just plain bad luck could derail the season. The other thing is Ole Miss going to get everyone’s best shot this year. The question will be can they win some games not playing their best against other teams best effort. That will probably tell the tale on this season.

While it is nice to look at 2009 I don’t really see 2024 as a parallel. The dynamics of CFB are much different today. I think Ole Miss will legitimately meet expectations this year or at least will be close as opposed to 2009. State is in an interesting situation. Contrary to what most people thought, in 2009 Coach Croom left the cupboard full (QB excepted) and Mullen walked into a good situation talent wise. His inexperience probably cost State a couple of games that year. I do think Lebby will have a competitive team and if the defense has a pulse and our special teams are solid, we might surprise a few teams. The Egg Bowl was at State that year and it will be in Oxford this year. I do agree Will Hall has to win this year or USM will be making a change.

Interesting move on his part. Timing is about as bad as it gets. But in the current state of college sports there is unrestricted movement each year for players and coaches. So in that respect no one should be surprised that he jumped ship. At what point do fans and alumni stop giving money to the athletic departments? I can see it happening sooner rather than later. If there is no loyalty from players and coaches why should the fans have any loyalty? There are plenty of other entertainment options for people in the current day.

Don’t see either V or S going to Texas. But it will be interesting to see who they do hire. They certainly don’t want to fall in the trap of firing a good coach only to replace him with someone worse. Some schools have made an art out of that in the recent years.

Too little too late for Aggie. Tennessee limped to the finish line.

Egg Bowl is in Oxford so the championship games should be in Starkvegas in 2024. A rotation below would be ideal: 2024-Starkvegas 2025-Oxford 2026-Hattiesburg 2027-Oxford 2028-Starkvegas 2029-Hattiesburg That way over a six year period each college stadium would host the games two times.

Quote ”Also, lol at Arkansas for still not having one.” Arkansas and Florida State are both teams that will eventually win the CWS. If you keep playing around the top of the ledger, it is eventually going to happen.

A&M and Tennessee in the finals. With each having a two day break, the pitching staffs should be in good shape for both squads. There will be a new champion this year. Go Aggies!!! I would be safe to say everyone outside Knoxville & Austin will be in A&M’s corner. Hopefully it will be an exciting two or three games.

NCSTATE, UVA and UNC are homeward bound. Florida State is the last great hope for the ACC. At this point Tennessee has to be favorite. But anybody but them will be fine with me. Even Gag, Florida whom I dislike too would be preferable over 10RC. A&M or KY would be good with me. KY in particular but they have a big hill to climb now.

NC State beats UGA. So it is the ACC versus SEC (sorta). Three and one each side of the bracket. Most likely it will be an ACC-SEC finale. But it is wide open. Though as much as I dislike them, Tennessee has to be considered the favorite. We will see how it goes starting Friday.

If it comes to pass, that would be head scratcher. He will be turning 67 in August. He certainly did a great job at ND & LSU but how long will he realistically be able to coach there? USCe won back to back to CWS not too many years ago. Don’t see them getting to Omaha anytime soon if this does in fact happen.

Kentucky is the sentimental favorite but it’s very difficult to win the CWS in your first attempt. Anybody but Tennessee will be fine with me. Florida State would be another deserving team after all the years of not winning it.

Yep. Either 5 SEC and 3 ACC or 4 and 4 pending outcome tomorrow.

Evansville for the win even with the HP umpire trying to gift wrap a comeback for 10-R-C in the ninth inning. Another win tomorrow would be so appropriate though I am sure the powers that be will do their best to prevent it.

In the new realm of unlimited transfers and NIL it is crap shoot at best. You are correct that being able to fit the pieces is like putting together the pieces of a chess board. Gotta be able to get the correct pieces.