The Jersey Benchwarmer's Guide to Sports

It’s time. I have previewed the ACC, the Big Ten, the Big 12 and now it’s time for the last Power Four conference. The Southeastern Conference has been notorious for dominating the sport of college football for years. From a massive contract with ESPN to producing top-end talent year after year, people hate this conference for a reason.  This offseason has only strengthened peoples’ displeasure and hatred for this conference. A large majority of the hatred this year stems from how the conference wants to expand and change the College Football Playoff format. You have Big Ten homers shouting at them, you have SEC fans clapping back, and then other fanbases are tired of this discussion.  You have people calling their commissioner Greg Sankey worse things than some foreign dictators and the hate goes on and on. We hadn’t even reached the on-field side of things because everything off the field has erupted into an awful and ugly argument. The SEC is even getting their own Netflix ...

You know how Sabrina Carpenter starts her song “Manchild” with the words “oh boy,” that’s how I’m feeling about the Big 12. What was once declared “America’s conference” by college football expert Josh Pate is truthfully the most confusing conference to predict.  Arizona State, who was projected to finish last in the Big 12 preseason media poll, won the conference in 2024 and went to the College Football Playoff. As a result, the conference dumped their preseason poll this year. Look, argue all you want and make your own poll if you want but it was kind of the right decision.  This conference is so unpredictable that everyone pretty much agrees that any team can win it. So, let’s deep dive into this wacky, insane, perplexing conference we all love.   Are the Sun Devils Here to Stay?: There are a few teams in college sports that I genuinely root for. Obviously Seton Hall, Michigan State, Washington, Montana, Boston College and Arizona State. I dreamt of attending the ...

Monday has arrived and it’s time to take a look at another conference in the amazing world of college football. This week, it’s arguably my favorite conference in the sport and that conference is the Big Ten. Ideally it would be the BIG EAST, but they haven’t sponsored football in years. Anyway, last year was another successful season for the conference. From Oregon being ranked number one in the country for a few weeks to Ohio State winning the national championship, 2024 was great for the conference. Just don’t mention the thousands of articles published this offseason about the conference and the College Football Playoff, it’s very messy.  Looking at this year, there are a lot of juicy headlines for certain teams. Will Michigan State return to their successful ways, will Washington be a team to look out for this season? Was that sentence just for me to talk about two of my favorite teams in the sport? I will not answer that last question above but here are some notable stories t...

It is now July which means one thing, the college football season is almost here. Last summer while I worked at WSOU, I wrote weekly articles previewing each Power Four conference. From the biggest stories to the biggest names, it was a way to get people excited for what I believe is the best sport in the world.  Of course, the past few months (and honestly years) have been chaotic in college athletics, especially in football. I used to list all the players I had to know and I tried to predict each FBS team's record for a given season. But with conference realignment and the transfer portal  exploding right in my face, I had to stop after 2023.  By doing these more manageable articles, it allows me to focus more on the bigger stories in a conference. Which is why today, I will be focusing on the ACC. Here are some stories that should surely interest you. A Brand New Quarterback Enters Coral Gables: After a fantastic season under center, former Miami (FL) quarterback Cam W...