OK, individuals. You’re all bored with the off-field stuff. Let’s speak about some faculty soccer. Let’s speak about pure, aggressive soccer, and for not less than one story, depart apart all the opposite …
Ah, simply kidding. We are able to’t escape it. You all requested questions this week about income sharing, groups eliminating spring video games, whether or not Greg Sankey is evil and the endless saga of the nine-game SEC schedule. These queries might be answered.
However first, is anyone up for an precise soccer query?
(Submitted questions have been calmly edited for size and readability.)
Can you are expecting the following SEC soccer group to make the Faculty Soccer Playoff for the primary time, like Tennessee did this previous yr? — Jorge A.
The mandatory caveat right here is that if the CFP have been nonetheless solely 4 groups, Tennessee wouldn’t have made it final yr — and Texas may not have both — however there are actually six SEC groups which have made what we confer with because the Playoff: Alabama (eight instances), Georgia (4), Oklahoma (4, all whereas within the Large 12), Texas (twice, as soon as whereas within the Large 12), LSU (as soon as) and Tennessee.
Essentially the most notable absences are Auburn and Florida, which have mixed for 3 nationwide championships and 6 SEC championships this century. Nonetheless, within the CFP period, Auburn hasn’t been very shut. If there had been a 12-team subject in the course of the four-team period, the Tigers would have made it solely as soon as in 2017 after they have been seventh within the closing CFP rankings. In the meantime, Florida would have made it yearly from 2018 to 2020, displaying that between Playoff enlargement and collectives considerably mitigating in-person recruiting, Dan Mullen acquired the Florida job a bit too early. However we digress.
Shane Beamer has a 29-22 report in 4 seasons as South Carolina’s coach. (Jeff Blake / USA At present Community by way of Imagn Photos)
Different packages in all probability would have made an expanded subject, going strictly by the ultimate rankings: Mississippi State and Ole Miss would each have been within the 2014 subject, and Ole Miss would have made it 4 different instances (2015, ’21, ’22, ’23). Texas A&M (2020) and Missouri (2023) would have been comfortably in these years.
However you didn’t ask for a historical past lesson. You requested for a prediction, and I’ll decide the group not talked about to date however which nonetheless qualifies as the obvious reply.
South Carolina checks three essential containers: an excellent returning quarterback (LaNorris Sellers), what needs to be protection (headlined by Dylan Stewart) and good teaching (Shane Beamer has three profitable seasons in 4 years after taking up a group coming off two dropping seasons). The schedule is tough, however there’s a path to a different 9-3 report or maybe higher with video games towards Clemson, Alabama, Oklahoma, Vanderbilt, Kentucky at dwelling and journeys to LSU, Alabama, Texas A&M and Missouri.
Am I able to predict the Gamecocks to the Playoff? Not but. However apart from Texas, I’m not able to predict that about anyone. All people has flaws — together with the Longhorns — and this convention seemingly will beat up on itself once more. It has gone from a few elite groups to much more parity, with the sphere being evened by title, photos and likeness and the switch portal.
Meaning Auburn and Florida can’t be dominated out. The Tigers have protection and play Alabama and Georgia at dwelling. The Gators have a a lot more durable schedule however are coming off an 8-5 season and have a possible difference-maker quarterback (DJ Lagway). There’s additionally Ole Miss, which lots of people anticipate to take a step again subsequent season however nonetheless has loads of expertise and nonetheless has Lane Kiffin. Would anyone be shocked if Missouri or Texas A&M made a run?
And don’t neglect that South Carolina was picked to complete thirteenth earlier than final season and nearly made it to the CFP. The convention is perhaps large open subsequent yr. The one groups you’ll be able to low cost as Playoff contenders are Mississippi State, Kentucky and (in all probability) Arkansas and Vanderbilt. Even then, with Diego Pavia, who is aware of?
Is a spring sport for the event of the group, or is it for the followers? Does canceling spring video games profit participant improvement or scale back damage danger greater than it detracts from fan enjoyment and enthusiasm? — Gene S.
The spring sport itself isn’t an enormous supply of participant improvement. It’s one of many 15 days groups have allotted for spring apply. The NCAA allots groups three scrimmages, with one among them being the spring sport. It’s guess that Texas, Nebraska and others “canceling” their spring sport are nonetheless holding that scrimmage, simply away from public eyes, the acknowledged motive being to stop different groups from scouting their gamers for switch portal causes, i.e., tampering.
Perhaps that’s the case. However there’s one other concept I’ve heard: It’s to stop their gamers from really realizing the place they stand. The spring sport is an opportunity for the followers and the general public at giant to see the state of their group on the finish of spring apply, together with who’s the place on the depth chart.
Most groups put the first-team offense and protection on opposing groups. Typically groups combine it up, however both manner, there are starters on both group, and gamers wish to be rewarded as starters for the very public, very over-analyzed spring sport. And if gamers don’t like their taking part in time within the spring sport, they might take it as an indication that they need to switch.
By eliminating that public spring sport, a coach may unfold out the begins and snaps throughout these three non-public scrimmages. There isn’t that one massive spring sport that tells everybody the place they stand, or so goes the speculation.
Both manner, there are various different coaches who nonetheless like seeing how their youthful gamers carry out in entrance of a crowd and take into account {that a} good trade-off for no matter danger exists. There’s additionally a perception that the gamers realizing there’s that massive, public displaying on the finish of spring apply affords not less than a unconscious motivation that’s value it.
When the SEC lastly goes to a nine-game format, which groups will determine to take soccer income and make investments it closely in different sports activities? For instance, Vanderbilt accepts its soccer destiny and throws additional tens of millions into baseball, basketball and softball, and so forth., as a substitute of chasing the established powers. — Brett S.
The reply is perhaps all of them and that it’s going to occur even with out the ninth sport. It’s taking place due to the anticipated Home settlement.
Georgia’s athletic director Josh Brooks mentioned final week that as a result of the settlement permits colleges to depend new scholarships towards income sharing, his college was planning on including “greater than 100” scholarships in non-football sports activities and indicated that many different SEC colleges could be doing the identical factor. This was every week after SEC ADs met in New Orleans, so there was definitely some sharing of knowledge. We haven’t heard but whether or not that includes any football-like, self-imposed scholarship restrict for the opposite sports activities, however it’s not exhausting to determine which sports activities stand to learn.
GO DEEPER
Greg Sankey favors 9-game SEC schedule however is worried about CFP bids
Baseball and softball are two massive sports activities within the SEC, and people two are seeing big will increase from what the scholarship restrict was to what the roster limits will now be: Baseball goes from 11.7 to 34 and softball from 12 to 25. Ladies’s gymnastics, one other sport many SEC colleges care about, goes from 12 to twenty. Ladies’s soccer goes from 14 to twenty-eight and males’s soccer from 9.8 to twenty-eight. Volleyball goes from 12 to 18 for the ladies and from 4.5 to 18 for the lads. (However few SEC colleges have males’s soccer or males’s volleyball.) Males’s and girls’s monitor and subject groups are seeing massive will increase, too.
After all, how lengthy this lasts stays to be seen. It’s not clear if the settlement permits colleges to maintain counting the brand new scholarships yearly, or whether or not it’s not thought-about new within the second yr. And on the again finish of the roster, some groups are already having to inform athletes there isn’t a spot for them subsequent yr. However on the entrance finish, you’re going to see a variety of colleges pour new scholarships into sports activities they care about.
GO DEEPER
How a lot will Georgia, SEC colleges pay soccer gamers in income sharing?
Is there a extra pathetic particular person in faculty sports activities than Sankey? He has no respect for the integrity of competitors, at all times attempting to sport the system when his convention already has each conceivable benefit. — Phil T.
Inform us how you are feeling (my guess is you’re not an SEC fan).
Look, there’s rather a lot I may write about Sankey and what I consider him, however I’ll save most of it for a later story. However two issues:
• Sankey has achieved very nicely for his particular job — commissioner of the SEC, not some other convention or commissioner of school sports activities — and the SEC pays his wage. Sankey hasn’t been excellent, with room to criticize the tv deal and never hammering by way of the nine-game schedule. However there’s a motive Sankey, developing on a decade within the job, is the one energy convention commissioner to outlive the tumult of the previous few years. There’s a motive the presidents and ADs hold him round.
• As for school soccer as an entire, Sankey did one altruistic factor, serving to create the 12-team CFP mannequin, though his convention was doing fairly nicely within the four-team period. Sankey realized it might be higher for the sport nationally and that it might earn more money. Sankey hoped the enlargement would occur in 2023. However then the Alliance — upset concerning the SEC including Oklahoma and Texas and never being a part of the enlargement and tv discussions — stalled issues. Sankey has by no means gotten over it and reminds individuals virtually each likelihood he will get. And his perspective since then has primarily been: I attempted to be good, now you’re by yourself.
This isn’t all to excuse however to elucidate. Once more, a deeper dive into Sankey is value doing quickly.
With the approaching of the nine-game convention schedule, what might be Georgia’s everlasting and rotating opponents? — Brad T.
First off, it’s not coming but. I might guess on it taking place, however I’ve thought that earlier than, together with a few years in the past when these seemed like they’d be the three everlasting opponents for every group:
Alabama: Auburn, LSU, Tennessee
Arkansas: Missouri, Texas, Ole Miss
Auburn: Alabama, Georgia, Vanderbilt
Florida: Georgia, Oklahoma, South Carolina
Georgia: Auburn, Florida, Kentucky
Kentucky: Georgia, Mississippi State, South Carolina
LSU: Alabama, Ole Miss, Texas A&M
Mississippi State: Kentucky, Ole Miss, Texas A&M
Missouri: Arkansas, Oklahoma, Vanderbilt
Oklahoma: Florida, Missouri, Texas
Ole Miss: Arkansas, LSU, Mississippi State
South Carolina: Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee
Tennessee: Alabama, South Carolina, Vanderbilt
Texas: Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas A&M
Texas A&M: LSU, Mississippi State, Texas
Vanderbilt: Auburn, Missouri, Tennessee
Now you’ll discover that inside the eight-game schedule the previous two years, many of those have been included. (By my depend, 20 of the 24 proposed annual video games. Florida-Oklahoma was an exception, together with South Carolina’s video games towards Florida and Tennessee and Kentucky towards Mississippi State.)
The SEC decided the three opponents primarily based on conventional rivalries after which a system of the 10-year information for every group, in an try to equal issues out. Contemplating two years have handed, the system could possibly be tweaked.
It could possibly be revisited each 4 years, so maybe, don’t name them everlasting opponents — we’re literalists right here, in spite of everything — however annual opponents. Anyway, for the reason that schedule could be on a four-year rotation, the convention may revisit the three annual opponents. Nonetheless, the normal rivalries wouldn’t be revisited except the colleges wished it: Texas-Texas A&M, Alabama-Tennessee, Georgia-Auburn. These are video games tv desires, so for as soon as you’ll be able to thank tv for doing one thing good.
(Prime photograph of LaNorris Sellers: Jacob Kupferman / Getty Photos)
