MemphisTiger50

You said exactly what I was going to say. This could be the first time a university is excited to see one of these cases come through

They ran him off. No way they go after him. He was supposed to be the successor to Stoops but they didn't want him. Doubt his last 4 years have changed their minds in Oklahoma

Don't think he is going anywhere but I have heard so many coaches claim "it's their dream job" and leave. It means nothing 99% of the time.

That show was nothing without Dan Lebatard. It was like Andy Richter hosting for Conan. These people are only popular to themselves in their fellow sjws. I didn't always agree with Dan and his politics but the man was pretty funny and had a good show. I could.care less about this guy and Katie Nolan. They cared more about politics than sports. Glad they are gone. I don't watch ESPN that much except for live TV but occasionally I'll put it on. If they get rid of a few more people like this then maybe I'll watch a little more. As someone at ESPN said, it's not that I have a problem with their politics, I have a problem with they're only being one side presented. There was no debate it was just a bunch of people agreeing with each other. Will Cain was the only person on air who would disagree, and it was a stretch to call him a moderate. It is no fun watching MSESPN.

Last year there were articles on here talking about an historic Georgia defense early on. It didn't end so well for them. This year seems better and more deserving of the accolades. But I'm still going to wait and judge until I see them against an elite offense. They could be the real deal but I'm not going to anoint them anything yet.

I do agree on how recruiting rankings aren't the end all. I have seen 2 or 3 players consider an Sec school and maybe an AAC school, and they are 4 stars at that point. Memphis had two players who were 4 stars during recruitment and when they signed the headline was "3 star player signs.." which leads to a lot of people they're asking when did they become a three-star. I watch a lot of videos on top 10 players of a class, and it's interesting how many are straight up busts. Some are really good some have decent careers, but there are many who just didn't do anything. Recruiting talented players is essential in the SEC, but the recruitment rankings are sometimes a little wonky.

A win is a win. You guys still sound like you are just mad Memphis won. When all you have left is to make fun of the crime rate, you are reaching. It's hard to fathom, but they are the best football team in the state and probably better than about a third of the SEC.

Call them tiger high if you want but they're still the best team in the state of Tennessee.

Guess y'all are mad that Memphis has beaten both Ole Miss and Mississippi State the last 3 years? You can't talk about the team so go down lower and talk about the fans is all you have left. I would rather win the games than win the battle of having better fans.

By the way use voice text while driving so pardon the grammar

A couple of counterpoints to all the naysayers. Even if they down the punt like everyone thinks it should be, Memphis still has the ball and has the lead very late in the game. According to the metrics they would have been favored to win the game at that point by a decent margin. For all the older Mississippi State fans, let's go back in time to I think it was 1996. Memphis was down by a few points less than a touchdown when they sacked the quarterback caused the fumble picked it up and ran for a touchdown. There was no instant replay at the time and the official said the quarterback was down. He clearly was not down on replay, but the bad call most likely cost Memphis the game. I know it was a long time ago but all I heard from Mississippi State fans was, that's part of the game or you can't let one play determine the game. The standard stuff you say when you get a call your way. Whether the punch should have been called down or not is subjective, but there have been calls that have gone for Mississippi State through the years, and the usual response is, oh well, you shouldn't put the game in the hands of officials, you should win the game out right. I guess it was too much to expect to see that same attitude when the calls didn't go their way. I know a lot of State fans and that call was horrendous back in 96 (pretty sure that the year).. didn't see the outrage that I see now. Just saying. Sometimes you get calls and sometimes you don't, but even if they down the fun in no way cuz it guarantee a Mississippi State win. Nor does it really even come close to guaranteeing one. Two or three first downs by Memphis and the game would have been over

10 yards a carry is crazy. Memphis has a back named Henderson who is on the Rams now. He averaged around 10 yards a carry for the season. I think he ended up just short of it. I think the key for Miss St is to stop the run

Regardless of a teams final ranking, you still get credit for what the team was ranked when you played them. UCLA was ranked and undefeated at the time, having beat Texas A&M the week before. Yes they imploded later, but it still counts as a win over a ranked team. Many teams get better as the year goes on and some get worse. 2019 ole miss was still a game most on here thought ole miss would win. 2014 ole miss I believe they were ranked 13th when Memphis beat them. In my lifetime as a fan, Memphis has beaten Ole Miss, Miss state, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, Missouri, Vandy, Louisville, USC,and UCLA among others. Any game that is within a 3-4 point spread is gonna be close. I really don't know who is going to win. I have questions about the defense of Memphis and the fact that they are starting a true Freshman. They were supposed to have a 4 star stud from Arizona but he is hurt. I don't even think the QB was in the spring game. He had been good so far, but an SEC defense is a whole different story. Giving up 50 to Arkansas state is bad, but as the previous guy said, Memphis gets up for these games. Each game is it's own, it's hard to use the transitive property to judge but it's about all we have this early. I can see Mississippi State winning, and I can see Memphis winning. Memphis as a home dog has been gold the last few years. It will be an interesting game for sure.

Being from Memphis, this is their Super Bowl this year. It reminds me of when. Ole Miss came in and was highly ranked. That was a bigger setting but this one is big. Remember when UCLA came in ranked with Josh Rosen and lost at Memphis? It's about on that level of excitement. Their stud QB who transferred from Arizona is out and they are starting a true Freshman, which is always a wildcard. He has done great so far but he is a freshman. This kid wasn't even at the spring game I don't think. Despite the liberty bowl being old, it's been a fortress for Memphis, and have won 15 or 16 now (I think) in a row there, with multiple wins versus ranked opponents. This is no gimmie. The QB play for Memphis will be key, and a defense that was supposed to be better got torched last week, so idk. This could go either way

I still think Stallings should have gone for 2 and just didn't do the math.

Not sure how Memphis got left out of the expansion..they have more wins than any other AAC team The last 7 years, have the most conf championship appearances, have been to 7 straight bowl games, and also have had the #1 recruiting class in basketball two of the last 4 years, along with Fed Ex and was voted best game day by ESPN two years ago.

Agreed on Rice being a dumpster fire. The only question to me is which conference joins the other. They may have to compromise and just form a new conference with those teams and use a new name

The AAC is a borderline power conference as it is. I know no one on hear ever likes to say things like that, we are only supposed to slam others. But if that happens, I can't see it being much less than the PAC 12 or ACC the way they have been recently. While UNC finally has looked good, it's been only Clemson for a while.

Sounds like ESPN did it but really doesn't give a crap and is calling the bluff to prove it. Knowing the Big 12s commissioners history, I doubt he would say anything without having some proof. My guess is ESPN is guilty as hell, but is saying so what.

No you are on to something. If your goal is to make the playoffs, it's your only hope in the near future. Arkansas and Tennessee could join the AAC or Mountain West and win more games. I don't think either of those teams would win the AAC conference currently, but it's a bold strategy. Financially it doesn't make sense, but for the single goal of making the playoffs, it's not a bad idea. The AAC champ would make the playoffs in the new system almost every year. Memphis basketball did that to CUSA in the 2000's and turned that success into being one of the best teams in the nation for a 4 year stretch while winning a record amount of conference games in a row. While basketball is different than football, it's still a model to look at.

Funny that an SEC person would write an article about worrying about conference realignment. The SEC literally has nothing to worry about, aside from going too far and destroying the sport. No team in yh sec worries about which conference they may end up in. No SEC team worries their conference may not even exist soon. No fan base is scared about the future. Try being a fan of Baylor or an AAC team and then you can talk about worrying. SEC fans have it easy with this. Not sure what there is to worry about, except maybe switching divisions.

Wonder who the other 4 teams are. It is impressive regardless of conference

Which AAC program makes the most sense for P5? Memphis, Cincinnati, Houston, UCF.. depends on the year. None have distinguished these that much from the other. UCF had a chance to but fell back the last two years. Memphis made the Cotton bowl two years ago, Cincy won the league last year. None have taken command of the conference for more than a year or two. Makes it harder to pick which ones may get invited. They all are similar.

I really enjoyed the Mississippi state team two years ago, the one that best Florida State with Elijah M's walk off HR, and had no coach for awhile Let's not forget they had to play Vandy in the greatest super regional I have ever seen, with Mississippi State winning that one in 3 epic games.

The author keeps saying it's anti SEC people who use the we were not motivated line, but to be honest I hear SEC teams use it all the time. The only way to make that narrative disappear is for SEC fans to quit using it as an excuse.

In theory you have a good point, but the reality is we have had plenty of time for this to happen, and the only thing that has happened is that Clemson, Bama, Ohio St and Oklahoma have actually tightened their grip on the top spots. Also.look.at who is against expansion and who is for it. When you loom back at the message boards on here, most Alabama fans were against expansion to 12. The 4 teams I mentioned aren't in favor of it. There is a reason why they would rather keep the current system. I see the point you were trying to make, but it's one of those things that only works in theory. We would get 3 of those 4 teams every year if we did nothing. Expansion is the only way to save the sport

I think he was not saying where the games were played wasn't a big deal, just that the people who want to get to 12 are willing to give that to campus games if it means getting to 12. Schools who simply want more of a shot will initially just be happy to get in and will play anywhere. It won't be till later when they realized how much the home games will mean and then will try and change it. For now, you think UCF would care if they had to play at Georgia if they could get in? They just want in. After two years of getting destroyed at someone else's home stadium, they may then start saying let's play neutral site games. But for now, they just want in and will accept any terms to get in.

Here is where I disagree. I agree that Notre Dame didn't belong, but it's proof we need more teams not less. Notre Dame did deserve it based on resume. The problem is we all knew they were not number 4, but it's hard to argue with their record. Would Alabama have rather played Notre Dame or Florida or Oklahoma? The number 8 team is just as good and in some years better than the 4th ranked team. Teams are getting in that aren't as good as teams ranked below them, based on bias or resume. I guarantee Alabama would rather have played the 4th ranked teams vs the 7th or 8th ranked team last year if you asked them. We need the expansion for many reasons for the good of the game, and this is but one reason we need to expand.

These were two pretty close games, both well pitched by both teams, unlike most super regional games. Nice job to Vandy for beating a much tougher opponent than most people probably realize.

I never said the AAC teams were better. The OP said the SEC had a better % than anyone so I simply was pointing out the AAC had a 100% advance rate. I don't think either of their teams will win it all, but east Carolina has a a good shot at making it to the CWS I believe. I will be pulling for Ole Miss and Miss St to make it.