Lon's 2022 Pre-Pre-Season College Football Rankings

 Ah yes, the Georgia Bulldogs sit atop the throne of college football, finally defeating the evil empire, the Alabama Crimson Tide - just as I predicted in my earlier article. I hope you also took the Dawgs (-2.5) and made a fortune. My wife, Betty, and I have just finished funding our trip to Hot Springs, Arkansas for April 1-3 to enjoy the Arkansas Derby and several hours at the bathhouses. Not to mention several meals at McClard’s and Rolando’s. Due to my winnings from Monday night, we're staying in a parlor suite at the Arlington.

Now that the college football season has ended and we've turned our attention (temporarily) to college basketball, I wanted to type up a piece for you to read at your leisure over the coming weeks and months. It's taken me a few days to synthesize data from all over the interwebs and also put out phone calls to a number of my former colleagues in the media ranks. I have compiled my pre-pre-season college football rankings, which will serve as the basis for my pre-season rankings later this summer.

1. Oklahoma
2. Georgia
3. Alabama
4. Ohio State
5. Texas A&M
6. Notre Dame
7. Baylor
8. Michigan State
9. Utah
10. Michigan
11. Arkansas
12. Ole Miss
13. Miami (FL)
14. Kentucky
15. Wisconsin
16. Iowa
17. Pittsburgh
18. Wake Forest
19. Oregon
20. Texas Tech
21. Cincinnati
22. Minnesota
23. NC State
24. Purdue
25. Oklahoma State

I'd like to take a moment to explain a handful of my rankings. Some might not make sense to you, the reader, but it's plain as day to me why I have them the way I have them on this ranking.

1) Oklahoma - With the departure of Lincoln Riley and hiring of Brent Venables, this is by and large the greatest "addition by subtraction" in the history of collegiate athletics. The Sooners have rid them selves of a “man” who apparently could not even bench press the 45lb bar, for someone who was a forced to be reckoned with when he played college football at Kansas State. My best analogy is this - rather than having the kids move up from the kiddie table to the adult table at Thanksgiving, we just threw the kiddie table outside. One of my all-time favorites, Jerry Schmidt, is back as strength & conditioning coach, and will turn these boys into men. No doubt the Sooners earn #8 next season.

5) Texas A&M - I placed them here because, well, $30,000,000 can buy you a recruiting class, but it still can't buy a title and it certainly can't get rid of the aggy. I fully expect Texas A&M to have a great season but come up short. But of course, the Aggies will have an excuse as to why that happened and then tell us all how next year (2023) will be the year. They are about as bad as Chicago Cubs fans - but at least the Cubs don’t believe they’re an additional branch of the U.S. military.

20) Texas Tech - I may not be able to refer to them as Taco Tech for much longer. They got one heck of a coach in Joey McGuire. It appears as though the Red Raiders are starting to take the sport of football seriously, as they move on from the dink and dunk air raid offenses that have been so prominent for the past decade.

25) Oklahoma State - I'd have them as a pre-pre-season Top 10 team, but they still have Spencer Sanders as their quarterback. His return is one of the greatest "subtraction by addition" examples in college sports. In the Big 12 championship game, it was a tale of two Spencers. He was horrendous and made more turnovers than a baker, but then had flashes of mediocrity. He simply can’t get out of his own way - meaning - he should volunteer to ride the line for the betterment of the team. I fully expect the Pokes to lose 2-3 games at minimum.

Name, Image and Likeness

 There's all sorts of chatter out there nowadays about name, image and likeness, or N.I.L. It's the new thing all these young student-athletes crave, and it's really changing the landscape of collegiate athletics in a very short time frame. With the recent alteration to NCAA rules, as you may know, student-athletes may use their name, image and likeness to be financially compensated. This is in stark contrast to the days of old where boosters might provide a car, a free meal, or hundred dollar handshakes to your favorite players.

I'd like to spend some time breaking down each component of name, image and likeness, and what I perceive for each one moving forward, We'll start here with the name. Everyone has a name. My name is Lon. Lon Moore. Personally, I like my name, but my wife, Betty, tells me that my name is rather plain and somewhat dated. Not too many young pups running around out there with the name Lon. I, for one, believe that gives my name much more value - only other Lon that comes to mind for me is Lon Kruger and he's since retired from coaching basketball. So, the first component of NIL, name, you need a unique name. I can't see a guy named Dave really "cashing in" with a rather generic and all-too-common name.

Image is the second one. If I'm being honest, my image has seen better days. As a man in his early 70s, I'm certainly on the back-nine of life. I've got thinning hair, it's now white (used to be golden) and I've put on a few pounds since Betty and I first got married 42 years ago. In order to rake in the dough, you need to have a good image. For college athletes, this is probably fairly simple, save for some offensive lineman and nose guards - sorry big fellas.

Likeness is the last piece of the NIL. People have to like you if you're going to be handsomely paid by a business or organization. No one is going to hire the world's biggest jerk to be the face of its product. People have got to like you. As Betty tells me, I'm much too grumpy these days, so my likeness is certainly in the tank.

Before I sign off, let's review our notes for success with NIL. You need a good/unique name, you need a positive/healthy image, and you need to be liked. If you've got those three, there should be a plethora of companies and products lining up for you to endorse and promote.

College Football Playoff Title Game Prediction - SEC Comes Out On Top (Again)

 The conclusion to the 2021-22 college football season is nigh upon us. As I write, we are merely days away from watching the University of Georgia Bulldogs take on the University of Alabama Crimson tide in a football game that will determine this year's national champion.

Many would argue that this matchup is only a repeat of a duel from 5 weeks ago. I would beg to differ. There are many differences in this game than the one that took place on Saturday, December 4, 2021. For one, this game is in January 2022. It will also be held in Lucas Oil Stadium, which is located in Indianapolis, Indiana. Two very stark differences than the game held in Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.

That game was also not for the national championship - it was to determine the Southeastern Conference (SEC) champion. Many prognosticators, like myself, would contend that the University of Georgia football squad had already earned a position in the College Football Playoff prior to that game. Such was the case when they received the #3 seed following their loss. One has to questions the difference in motivation for the Alabama team and the Georgia team. Had Alabama lost, their season would have ended, with the exception of a likely "New Years Six" bowl game appearance.

Here is my prediction for the much anticipated College Football Playoff title game:

The Bulldogs from Athens, Georgia will win the toss and elect to defer to the second half. The Crimson Tide from Tuscaloosa will receive the opening kickoff and proceed to earn 3 first downs before electing to kick a field goal from the Georgia 33 yard line. The Bulldogs will then march down the field on a 9-play 75-yard drive, concluding with a 13-yard touchdown pass to tight end Brock Bowers. On the ensuing kickoff, Alabama will drive down the field on a 6-play 72-yard drive, resulting in a 17-yard touchdown pass to Jameson Williams. From there, the Bulldogs will make the terrible decision of not fair-catching the kickoff and will have bad field position from their own 17 yard line. Following a 7-play 58-yard drive, Georgia will be held to 42-yard field goal. This will conclude the first quarter, with the score tied at 10-10.

The Crimson Tide will receive the kickoff to open the second quarter and will let it go for a touchback. Bryce Young will make the unfortunate decision of forcing a pass on a 3rd & 6 from his own 29 yard line, resulting in a Georgia interception. After a handful of plays, running back Zamir White will run it in from the Alabama 8 yard line for a touchdown. This will result in the Bulldogs taking a 17-10 lead at the 12:27 mark of the 2nd quarter. The Crimson Tide will let the upcoming kickoff go for a touchback and proceed to move forward for a 7-play drive that results in a 43-yard field goal, making it a 17-13 ball game. This will be the score at halftime, as both teams will be forced to punt before the end of the quarter.

Georgia will open the second half with an 8-play drive that nets them a 38-yard field goal, to increase the lead to 20-13. Bryce Young will respond on the following possession by leading the Crimson Tide on a 5-play 75-yard drive that results in a 32 yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Slade Bolden. At this point the game will be tied 20-20 with 9:47 left in the 3rd quarter. On the ensuing possession, Stetson Bennett, IV will scramble on a 3rd & 7 from his own 39 yard line, with Will Anderson rushing from behind to force a fumble, of which, is recovered by the Crimson Tide on the Georgia 43. The Bulldog defense will then hold the Crimson Tide to a 4th & 1 from the Georgia 34 that gives Coach Nick Saban much pause, as he ponders whether or not to go for it. In a stroke of conservativism, Coach Saban elects to kick a 51-yard field goal, which is successful, giving the Crimson Tide a 23-20 lead. The Bulldogs will receive the ensuring kickoff and make the horrendous decision of returning it, resulting a starting their drive from their own 18 yard line. Georgia will convert a 3rd & 3 for a fresh set of downs as times runs out for the end of the 3rd quarter.

We begin the 4th quarter with Georgia on its own 30 yard line, 1st & 10, and trailing the Crimson Tide by 3 points. The Bulldogs go on to grind out an 82-yard drive that results in another touchdown to tight end Brock Bowers - this one for 11 yards - to take a 27-23 lead. There is now 11:21 remaining in the ballgame. Alabama lets the kickoff go and the offense trots out for the series. Bryce Young leads a masterful 9-play 75-yard drive and Brian Robinson, Jr. punches it in from the 3 yard line to put Alabama ahead 30-27. There is now 6:51 remaining in the game, and Georgia has the ball at their 25 yard line to start the drive. The Bulldogs rely heavily on James Cook for this drive, as he picks up 2 first downs. With 2:09 remaining, and the clock running, the Dawgs have a 3rd and 2 from the Alabama 9 yard line. Stetson Bennett, IV performs a perfect play-fake to James Cook and bootlegs to his right, diving for the pylon on the far side of the field. After further review, officials confirm that he did in fact cross the goal line with the ball in his possession. This results in a 34-30 Georgia lead with 2:02 left in the game.

It all comes down to this moment - the Heisman Trophy winner, Bryce Young - with a 2 minute drill to give the Crimson Tide another title. Or can the Bulldogs muster up enough strength to earn their first national title in 41 years? Young begins efficiently moving the Crimson Tide down the field, making great use of out-routes and preserving time and their lone timeout. On 2nd & 10 from the Georgia 48 yard line, Bryce Young takes an unfortunate sack by Nakobe Dean. We are down to 0:38 left and Coach Saban elects to take his final timeout. The Bulldogs are now on their own 47, facing a 3rd & 15. Young drops back to pass and hits Jameson Williams for a 12 yard gain, as he's able to get out of bounds. This is it - 4th & 3 from the 41 with 0:33 left in the game. On a quick slant route intended for tight end Cameron Latu, linebacker Nolan Smith will knock the pass away, resulting in a turnover on downs. Georgia will take possession of the ball with 0:29 remaining and no timeouts for the Crimson Tide. Stetson Bennett, IV will line the Bulldogs up in the victory formation, take the snap, and take a knee to run-out the clock. The Georgia Bulldogs are your 2021 national champions.

Georgia 34, Alabama 30