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Reed to get the call (probably)
This probably isn’t going to come as much of a surprise, but odds are Marcel Reed gets the start tomorrow in Columbia. Both he and Conner Weigman got snaps with the first team in practice this week, but Reed got more of them. Coach Mike Elko has remained typically tight-lipped about it, but I’m expecting Reed to start tomorrow. I also wouldn’t be surprised if Weigman played at some point, but this looks like Reed’s offense for the time being — and, honestly, probably for the rest of the year unless he craters.
Bisontis may be out a while
After Chase Bisontis was injured against Mississippi State, he came back out with a boot around his left ankle and foot. But he didn’t have crutches, which I figured was a good sign. But then, last week, we started hearing that the injury could be a lot worse than I originally guessed and, lo and behold, he was using a push scooter (you know the type) to get around last weekend, so there was no pressure on his injured leg. Even though Elko says they’ll re-assess his status after the bye week, I’m not feeling confident at all that he’ll return during the regular season.
USC defense picking on cripples?
Don’t get me wrong. South Carolina’s defense is very, very good. But it may not be the devastator people are making it out to be, and here’s why.
The two good offenses USC has faced are LSU and Ole Miss. Both teams moved the ball pretty easily. Alabama’s offense is…ok. Their other opponents flat out suck offensively.
Here’s how they all rank on the national scene:
Old Dominion (SC won 23-19): 92nd in total offense, 84th in scoring offense, 38th in rushing offense, 115th in passing offense
Kentucky (SC won 31-6): 119th in total offense, 121st in scoring offense, 85th in rushing offense, 124th in passing offense
LSU (LSU won 36-33): 24th in total offense, 34th in scoring offense, 111th in rushing offense, 6th in passing offense
Akron (SC won 50-7): 121st in total offense, 126th in scoring offense, 128th in rushing offense, 78th in passing offense
Ole Miss (Ole Miss won 27-3): 2nd in total offense, 13th in scoring offense, 40th in rushing offense, 4th in passing offense
Alabama (Alabama won 27-25): 38th in total offense, 18th in scoring offense, 49th in rushing offense, 44th in passing offense
OU (SC won 35-9): 128th in total offense, 113th in scoring offense, 110th in rushing offense, 116th in scoring offense
If your offense is bad, South Carolina beats you like a drum. If it’s good to really good, they lose.
So far.
In comparison, here’s the offensive stats for A&M’s opponents:
Notre Dame (L, 23-13): 55th in total offense, 20th in scoring offense, 13th in rushing offense, 104th in passing offense
McNeese (W, 52-10): 47th in total offense, 75th in scoring offense, 49th in rushing offense, 51st in passing offense in FCS
Bowling Green (W, 26-20): 84th in total offense, 74th in scoring offense, 80th in rushing offense, 64th in passing offense
Florida (W, 33-20): 49th in total offense, 46th in scoring offense, 77th in rushing offense, 34th in passing offense
Arkansas (W, 21-17): 7th in total offense, 31st in scoring offense, 27th in rushing offense, 23rd in passing offense
Missouri (W, 41-10): 64th in total offense, 68th in scoring offense, 54th in rushing offense, 67th in passing offense
Mississippi State (W, 34-23): 70th in total offense, 74th in scoring offense, 94th in rushing offense, 42nd in passing offense
LSU (W, 38-23): 24th in total offense, 34th in scoring offense, 111th in rushing offense, 6th in passing offense
2025 recruits still on the board
The Aggies aren’t targeting any new 2025 players, and with reason: you’re um, kind of running out of time for that. But they are looking to close strong, with early signing day one month away — remember, it got moved up to Dec. 4-6 this year (I forgot myself).
So here are the players they’re in on: WR CJ Wiley, DE Javion Hilson, OL Lamont Rogers and DE Tobi Haastrup. They could be a factor with WR Jerome Myles, but that may well depend on how USC closes out. They won last night against Rutgers 42-20 to get their record to 4-4 and they play at Washington, host Nebraska, go across town to UCLA and finish with Notre Dame. They will be lucky to go 6-6.
Anyway, Wiley was at the LSU game and has been looking seriously at A&M. The visit to College Station precipitated his de-commitment from FSU, and the Aggies and Georgia have really been the two teams most closely linked to him. I wish I could give an edge to someone, and if I did, it would probably be to A&M, but proximity has to be a factor for someone from Alpharetta.
Hilson, another FSU de-commit, came to A&M to check out the LSU game and left totally blown away. The Aggies came from way back in the pack to the front, and it seems like it’s now an A&M-Texas battle for a 5-star from (checks notes) Cocoa, Fla. Just as you’d expect, right?
Rogers hasn’t flipped from Missouri yet and I’m not quite as chipper on this one as I was a couple weeks back. But he could also be waiting until closer to signing day. There’s still plenty of optimism on the A&M side of things, and if you look at quality of play, A&M holds a big edge overall and on the offensive line.
Haastrup’s recruitment has been rapid, and he’s looking at a lot of places in a hurry. He’s taking officials to FSU and Illinois and has already visited Missouri and Vanderbilt. But he’s been to A&M and LSU as well, and those two teams stand out so far. He’s announcing Dec. 2, so I would bet dollars to doughnuts Sean Spencer visits Mayde Creek next week during the bye.
Likely hoops starting lineup
They start Monday night at UCF.
C: Pharrel Payne
PF: Solomon Washington
SF: Manny Obaseki
SG: Zhuric Phelps
PG: Wade Taylor IV
Phone: 281-971-3362
Email: paul@westhoustonsf.com
Reed to get the call (probably)
This probably isn’t going to come as much of a surprise, but odds are Marcel Reed gets the start tomorrow in Columbia. Both he and Conner Weigman got snaps with the first team in practice this week, but Reed got more of them. Coach Mike Elko has remained typically tight-lipped about it, but I’m expecting Reed to start tomorrow. I also wouldn’t be surprised if Weigman played at some point, but this looks like Reed’s offense for the time being — and, honestly, probably for the rest of the year unless he craters.
Bisontis may be out a while
After Chase Bisontis was injured against Mississippi State, he came back out with a boot around his left ankle and foot. But he didn’t have crutches, which I figured was a good sign. But then, last week, we started hearing that the injury could be a lot worse than I originally guessed and, lo and behold, he was using a push scooter (you know the type) to get around last weekend, so there was no pressure on his injured leg. Even though Elko says they’ll re-assess his status after the bye week, I’m not feeling confident at all that he’ll return during the regular season.
USC defense picking on cripples?
Don’t get me wrong. South Carolina’s defense is very, very good. But it may not be the devastator people are making it out to be, and here’s why.
The two good offenses USC has faced are LSU and Ole Miss. Both teams moved the ball pretty easily. Alabama’s offense is…ok. Their other opponents flat out suck offensively.
Here’s how they all rank on the national scene:
Old Dominion (SC won 23-19): 92nd in total offense, 84th in scoring offense, 38th in rushing offense, 115th in passing offense
Kentucky (SC won 31-6): 119th in total offense, 121st in scoring offense, 85th in rushing offense, 124th in passing offense
LSU (LSU won 36-33): 24th in total offense, 34th in scoring offense, 111th in rushing offense, 6th in passing offense
Akron (SC won 50-7): 121st in total offense, 126th in scoring offense, 128th in rushing offense, 78th in passing offense
Ole Miss (Ole Miss won 27-3): 2nd in total offense, 13th in scoring offense, 40th in rushing offense, 4th in passing offense
Alabama (Alabama won 27-25): 38th in total offense, 18th in scoring offense, 49th in rushing offense, 44th in passing offense
OU (SC won 35-9): 128th in total offense, 113th in scoring offense, 110th in rushing offense, 116th in scoring offense
If your offense is bad, South Carolina beats you like a drum. If it’s good to really good, they lose.
So far.
In comparison, here’s the offensive stats for A&M’s opponents:
Notre Dame (L, 23-13): 55th in total offense, 20th in scoring offense, 13th in rushing offense, 104th in passing offense
McNeese (W, 52-10): 47th in total offense, 75th in scoring offense, 49th in rushing offense, 51st in passing offense in FCS
Bowling Green (W, 26-20): 84th in total offense, 74th in scoring offense, 80th in rushing offense, 64th in passing offense
Florida (W, 33-20): 49th in total offense, 46th in scoring offense, 77th in rushing offense, 34th in passing offense
Arkansas (W, 21-17): 7th in total offense, 31st in scoring offense, 27th in rushing offense, 23rd in passing offense
Missouri (W, 41-10): 64th in total offense, 68th in scoring offense, 54th in rushing offense, 67th in passing offense
Mississippi State (W, 34-23): 70th in total offense, 74th in scoring offense, 94th in rushing offense, 42nd in passing offense
LSU (W, 38-23): 24th in total offense, 34th in scoring offense, 111th in rushing offense, 6th in passing offense
2025 recruits still on the board
The Aggies aren’t targeting any new 2025 players, and with reason: you’re um, kind of running out of time for that. But they are looking to close strong, with early signing day one month away — remember, it got moved up to Dec. 4-6 this year (I forgot myself).
So here are the players they’re in on: WR CJ Wiley, DE Javion Hilson, OL Lamont Rogers and DE Tobi Haastrup. They could be a factor with WR Jerome Myles, but that may well depend on how USC closes out. They won last night against Rutgers 42-20 to get their record to 4-4 and they play at Washington, host Nebraska, go across town to UCLA and finish with Notre Dame. They will be lucky to go 6-6.
Anyway, Wiley was at the LSU game and has been looking seriously at A&M. The visit to College Station precipitated his de-commitment from FSU, and the Aggies and Georgia have really been the two teams most closely linked to him. I wish I could give an edge to someone, and if I did, it would probably be to A&M, but proximity has to be a factor for someone from Alpharetta.
Hilson, another FSU de-commit, came to A&M to check out the LSU game and left totally blown away. The Aggies came from way back in the pack to the front, and it seems like it’s now an A&M-Texas battle for a 5-star from (checks notes) Cocoa, Fla. Just as you’d expect, right?
Rogers hasn’t flipped from Missouri yet and I’m not quite as chipper on this one as I was a couple weeks back. But he could also be waiting until closer to signing day. There’s still plenty of optimism on the A&M side of things, and if you look at quality of play, A&M holds a big edge overall and on the offensive line.
Haastrup’s recruitment has been rapid, and he’s looking at a lot of places in a hurry. He’s taking officials to FSU and Illinois and has already visited Missouri and Vanderbilt. But he’s been to A&M and LSU as well, and those two teams stand out so far. He’s announcing Dec. 2, so I would bet dollars to doughnuts Sean Spencer visits Mayde Creek next week during the bye.
Likely hoops starting lineup
They start Monday night at UCF.
C: Pharrel Payne
PF: Solomon Washington
SF: Manny Obaseki
SG: Zhuric Phelps
PG: Wade Taylor IV
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