Dawg83

I like State’s starting 11 on defense a lot. A couple of depth concerns at LB and in the secondary, but if the key guys stay healthy I think it has a chance to be one of the best defenses in the league. Zach Arnett is a star, and hanging onto him for one more year is possibly going to end up being worth another win or two this season. That guy will either be a coordinator at a major program or a head coach in the next year or two. Leach has quietly figured out some of his defensive woes late in his career. His last defense at Wazzu was bad, but otherwise he’s had some of the best defenses of his career in the last 4-5 years. Not that he has a ton to do with things defensively, but he’s made some very good hires in Grinch at WSU and Arnett at State in recent years.

Indications are he’s not going back to Vandy. But strange deal regardless.

There are quite a few verses in the Bible that warn about “sexual immorality” or “fornication”, as they are translated into English, and the definition of those translated terms typically includes any and all sex outside of marriage. I’m assuming the verse you are referencing is Hebrews 13:4, which I feel like also addresses this. The verse mentions “the adulterer and all the sexually immoral”, which to me clearly indicates that adultery is not the only form of impure relations. Unfortunately I feel that this is an area that either doesn’t get talked about enough or doesn’t get talked about well in many churches. We focus a lot of attention on trying to preach abstinence to teenagers, but many times we just focus on potential worldly consequences and don’t do a great job of explaining how The Bible addresses it, and you never really hear it discussed when talking about grown adults.

Ironically Leach did have a decent defense last year, but he also had maybe the worst offense of his career. Expect them to be better offensively this year, we will see how much better though. He won at Texas Tech without any real defense to speak of, but his best teams at Wazzu were actually pretty good on defense. He kind of struck gold with the Alex Grinch hire and I think he had a realization of how big of a difference a competent defense made when paired with his offense, and as a result they averaged over 9 wins a year from 2015-2018. No coincidence that they took a big step back on defense in 2019 and fell to 6-7. Generally speaking, he should be able to attract competent defensive talent to State. This is still Mike Leach we are talking about, so everybody knows what his emphasis will be in recruiting. But he’s got more to work with on defense at State than he had at other stops. And while I don’t think Arnett stays at State much longer (surprised he is back for this year, honestly), he’s a very good DC whose system seems to be effective. I expected State to be TERRIBLE on defense last year, and in spite of having almost zero proven depth entering the year and then getting hit hard by injuries and COVID, they had a very respectable showing for the most part. Depth is still an issue at certain spots but I think the front line group can be quite good.

This appears to be well on its way to happening, and A&M sure is throwing a little hissy fit about it.

I’m going to sell. They do have a tough schedule, have to play at Penn State on top of what they have in the league, but I think they find a way to get to 7-5 or 8-4. I really liked the Harsin hire and think he will do well there. Buy/Sell: Arkansas loses to State and Ole Miss after beating both last year.

Seems to be some smoke that some major reshuffling could be on the way. Thoughts?

Sell. Have a weird feeling about that NC State game for some reason. But I think State beats LSU or Auburn and it ends up evening out. Buy/Sell: Georgia makes the Playoff.

Sell, think he will have a productive year but 750 yards is a lot and I don’t see him being as heavily targeted as Moore was. Buy/Sell: Alabama loses a game in the regular season.

Just under two months until the start of football season, but media days are next week and training camp will start soon after. To pass the time I figured we would bring back Buy/Sell like we’ve done in years past. Most of you probably remember how it works, but if not, it’s simple. I’ll start us off with a Buy/Sell statement, you answer and explain why, then pose your own Buy/Sell statement. Can be anything you want it to be related to the upcoming season. Here we go… Buy/Sell: Will Rogers starts every game at QB for State.

All of the guys that got drafted from State will be gone. Only three signees drafted and I am almost certain all three will go pro. The SEC is going to be a bit of a strange league next year. Several teams return a ton of offense (Arkansas, LSU, Ole Miss, Vandy) but simultaneously lose a ton of their pitching from this year. State’s situation is a little more balanced, TA and Rowdey will be tough to replace and Dubrule is out of eligibility, but everyone else is back. Bednar and MacLeod are gone but every other key contributor on the mound is back, including the best returning pitcher in the league in Landon Sims.

The draft seemed to go well for both State and Ole Miss. State should get James and Hancock back plus Harding if he doesn’t sign a FA deal. Had four signees expected to be drafted early and they’ll get one of them to campus in Andrew Walling, Hard throwing JUCO lefty that was formerly at Oregon State and is likely a weekend starter next year. Ole Miss will get Elko and Graham back, that’s going to be a very formidable offensive team next year. There are some BIG shoes to fill on the mound so I’m curious how that goes. Both should be preseason Top 5-10 teams, State may actually be No. 1 in some polls given that they return a lot from a championship team.

Vandy had one of the stranger CWS runs I can ever remember. Just did not show up at all offensively for the whole tournament and somehow found themselves up 1-0 in the championship series. And then State just destroyed them the next two games. Rocker and Leiter carried that team as far as they possibly could have. Frankly those two guys just didn’t get enough help from the rest of their team. State’s management of their pitching in the regular season became a big point of separation in Omaha. How else do you explain Will Bednar being elite on three days rest and Kumar Rocker falling apart on four days rest? One pitching staff was managed very conservatively until June, the other staff had their aces throwing over 100 pitches in February and March.

What a night. So happy for the longtime MSU fans that have endured so much over the years. This was a very good team all year that, while not perfect and while they had some notable bumps in the road, they were always better than they got credit for. And the ceiling was always very very high, just needed to be peaking at the right time. They did just that and had to go through a gauntlet from the Super Regionals on to get the long awaited title. Legendary performance by Will Bednar. And so many others had great tournaments too. Chris Lemonis has proved himself to be among the elite coaches in college baseball.

Tonight went as well as it possibly could have for State. Win the game and not use Sims at all? You take that every day. I expect Sims and Bednar to account for the majority of the game tomorrow, but you very well may need at least one other guy to bridge the gap. You know you have a big challenge with Rocker, lay off the slider. Easier said than done but it’s the key to getting to him. Should be an incredible atmosphere, I’ve been in Omaha the last two days and scrambling to find tickets now.

I think today is kind of a push but if it goes to Game 3 it’s hard to say it wouldn’t be advantage Vandy with Rocker throwing. You’re talking about one of the best postseason pitchers in college baseball history. Only thing that might change that is if State was somehow able to win today without extending Sims, that seems fairly unlikely though. You’d also have to hope that Rocker is a little off on shortened rest, and it would be his third start in a week and a half so it’s not out of the question. Gotta win tonight first.

It was always going to be a major challenge to beat a fresh Leiter without Bednar available. You can make a very valid argument I think that it’s better to lose the way State did than lose a close 3-2 game where you burn through some major bullpen bullets. Clearly you would’ve preferred a win but in baseball I think a blowout loss can be better than a close loss many times. Helps you preserve some key pitchers. On a similar note, I’m not really sure why Vandy extended Maldonado like they did with a big lead. Throwing your best bullpen arm 46 pitches in Game 1 when you had a big lead was a really odd decision to me.

For Game 1, your only chance to beat Leiter was for MacLeod to be good. Instead he probably had the worst start of his career. I hate that a good pitcher like MacLeod is going to end his college career on such a sour note, because when he was on he could be REALLY good. But he had a fairly inconsistent year and then his last three starts went very very poorly. It’s a shame that this will probably be what people remember him for, he had a way better career than the last few weeks would suggest. So yeah clearly State is in a tough spot right now. I have no idea on what Harding and Bednar’s availability is and not the nearest clue who gets the start tomorrow. The way I see it, three things have to go State’s way for them to come back and win these next two games. 1. Bullpen has to be elite. Tonight was actually very good after the first inning. Vandy has not been great offensively. Must keep the ball in the strike zone and force them to beat you, can’t give up all the freebies like tonight. I’m almost certain you’ll see Sims at some point tomorrow, perhaps in an extended role. Other guys have to step up too, can’t expect Sims to go win two games in two days for you all by himself. 2. State has to hit Vandy well tomorrow. I’m not expecting Rocker to start until Wednesday if needed. You have to get runs tomorrow against Little or Reilly. State has struggled at the plate in Omaha, tomorrow needs to be a good day offensively. 3. If you get to Wednesday and are facing Rocker, you just have to hope and pray he’s a little off on short rest. I hate to say it but you’re probably not beating that guy with a championship on the line... IF HE IS AT FULL STRENGTH. If he’s a lesser version of himself then you might have a chance. But obviously that’s a huge if. State has to make it to Rocker before they do anything else.

I’m assuming MacLeod/Leiter is your Game 1 matchup. Who knows after that. If Vandy loses the first game I could see them throwing Rocker in Game 2, if they win the first Game I bet they hold him for a potential Game 3. Excited to get to go in person this time. The Dogs obviously have a big challenge here but I definitely would not rule this bunch out. The bullpen talent is enough to give them every chance to win two more games.

The Vandy/NC State thing is infuriating to me. I am gutted for NC State’s team. They can buy a ticket to watch the games unmasked but can’t play in the games. Beyond stupid. And of course Vandy is the one who benefits from this. State and Texas get to burn through whatever pitching they have left tonight while Vandy gets to sit on their butts and rest and they did absolutely nothing to earn it. Congrats to whoever wins tonight, your reward is a fresh Jack Leiter on Monday.

Some are already questioning the decision to not go to Sims in a tie game in the 9th. I think I can make sense of it either way. Stinnett isn’t a scrub but he’s also not your best guy. Pretty clear State really didn’t want to use Sims unless they had a lead. This staff pushed a lot of buttons with the bullpen that worked on Tuesday, and many of those same buttons didn’t/haven’t worked tonight. It just is what it is. Looking likely that State will have to play one more time and use Bednar. You wish you could’ve won Game 1 and saved him for the title series but you gotta get there first.

Game is on now, but NC State will be without several key players. I guess that’s better than nothing, I was worried for a minute they would make those kids forfeit which would’ve been total BS.

Major developing story in Omaha, Vandy/NC State game being delayed due to COVID issues with NC State. Un. Real.

Texas beat Virginia late last night. Close game for 8.5 innings and then UVA’s bullpen fell apart for the second game in a row. So you have your final four. NC State/Vandy and MSU/Texas to determine who plays for a national title. More rain in the forecast today, I think there’s a chance they get the first game in but MSU/Texas may get bumped until tomorrow. Would really appreciate the Dogs winning in one game, we have determined that we will be making the drive to Omaha if State is playing for a national title and I would like as much heads up as possible, LOL. I guess beggars can’t be choosers. Two chances to win one game against a team you are 2-0 against. It’s not a given but you feel like you have a good chance here.

He was already in the game as a pinch runner/defensive sub and his place in the order just so happened to circle back around. He actually scored what ended up being the winning run on the Dubrule single in the 8th.