Quote from: major_hog_fan on Yesterday at 11:53:06 pmThought he was talking about Tygart's spot actually.  Tygart gave up six runs today, probably not all his fault but still.  Could see next weekend the starting rotation change to Smith ( Friday ), Molina ( Saturday ), and Wood ( Sunday )

QuoteNASCAR Cup Series continues on Sunday, May 5 at 2 p.m. CT on FS1 and FOX Deportes with the AdventHealth 400 race this Sunday in Kansas.

The current leader in the NASCAR Cup Series standings is Kyle Larson, who finished in second place at Dover.

The top 10 racers in the standings all have more than 300 points in the NASCAR Cup Series, and half of those racers have at least one first place finish. So, the upcoming race this weekend should be competitive and lead to some movement in the standings.

Quote from: donnie on Today at 08:52:06 amDoesn't Trilly have a verified and unverified section on his discord? Wonder which one this Thiero business was under...

Do love this though. No one can ever admit they just ran with an incorrect rumor and they didn't do much at all to see for themselves if it was anything more than a rumor.

QuoteMany things can determine a ceiling. Strength of schedule — at least how it's perceived in the preseason — is part of that. Returning production is big, as is the continuity with the coaching staff. If it's just about 1 thing, you're probably not looking at the full picture when it comes to determining a program's ceiling.

...

Arkansas — 7-5 ceiling
It all comes down to the Taylen Green-Bobby Petrino marriage being a happy one. So far, so good. Pre-spring, this was a 6-6 ceiling. Post-spring, I'm talking myself into a much-improved offensive line with a more hands-on Sam Pittman, along with some defensive scheme continuity being important. As bad as last year was, 5 of those losses were by 1 score. Arkansas won't sniff 7-5 without an A&M win in Arlington and at least 1 home upset, but I won't rule that out for a team that only suffered 2 blowout losses in each of the last 2 seasons.

QuoteI believe 8 SEC teams have Playoff upside in 2024.

Many things can determine a ceiling. Strength of schedule — at least how it's perceived in the preseason —

Alabama — 11-1 ceiling
The over/under on Alabama's regular season wins at 9.5 (via DraftKings) because as respected as Kalen DeBoer is, it's still a new coaching staff with a challenging schedule to navigate. But no returning player finished higher in the 2023 Heisman Trophy voting than Milroe

Arkansas — 7-5 ceiling
It all comes down to the Taylen Green-Bobby Petrino marriage being a happy one. So far, so good. Pre-spring, this was a 6-6 ceiling. Post-spring, I'm talking myself into a much-improved offensive line with a more hands-on Sam Pittman, along with some defensive scheme continuity being important. As bad as last year was, 5 of those losses were by 1 score.

Auburn — 8-4 ceiling
A pair of new coordinators and a not-new quarterback is why the Tigers don't have 9-3 upside.

Florida — 7-5 ceiling
I almost went with 8-4, but I can't because a team with 3 consecutive losing seasons doesn't have an 8-4 ceiling with a schedule that brutal.

Georgia — 12-0 ceiling
It's a team with 2 losses (and 2 titles) in the last 3 seasons, both of which were to Alabama in the SEC Championship.

Kentucky — 8-4 ceiling
Two things can be true at the same time. One is that Mark Stoops has undoubtedly elevated the floor of UK in a significant way. The other is that 2 wins vs. SEC teams who finished with a winning conference record in the Stoops era means the ceiling is still limited.

LSU — 10-2 ceiling
I was tempted to go with 11-1, but that spring game didn't make me feel great about the notion that defense improvement is imminent under the well-paid new DC Blake Baker.

State — 6-6 ceiling
It's a Year 0 for Jeff Lebby. Period. Having 41 players enter the portal since the end of the 2022 season is significant, especially when the Bulldogs don't recruit at a top-10 level

Mizzou — 10-2 ceiling
What a time to be alive. Mizzou's offensive ceiling is top 10 nationally. That's how impressed I was with Kirby Moore as the OC

Oklahoma — 9-3 ceiling
If not for Florida, we'd all be talking about Oklahoma's schedule. It's a nightmare. You've got 6 teams who won at least 9 games last year, 4 of which were in a New Year's 6/Playoff game in 2023. That's tough

Ole Miss — 11-1 ceiling
Entering 2023, Lane Kiffin was searching for his first win against a Power 5 team who won at least 9 regular season games since 2012. Then he beat LSU and Penn State en route to the program's first 11-win season, thus, dunking on my stat. So yes, an 11-1 ceiling exists for a team that dominated the transfer portal with Princely Umanmielen, Walter Nolen, Chris Paul Jr., Juice Kiffin and Logan Diggs

South Carolina — 7-5 ceiling
It's a schedule with 6 matchups against teams who won at least 9 games in 2023. That's not including a matchup at Kentucky, or a matchup vs. an A&M team that South Carolina has 1 win against since they became annual rivals.

Tennessee — 10-2 ceiling
The Vols might have the best returning defensive player in the country in James Pearce Jr.

Texas — 12-0 ceiling
I never thought I'd be the guy saying Texas could realistically have an undefeated regular season

A&M — 8-4 ceiling
The Aggies have 2 things working in their favor. One is that all of their biggest games (Notre Dame, Mizzou, LSU and Texas) are at home and nobody that they play away from home had a winning record in 2023. A&M also ranks No. 1 in the SEC in percentage of returning production with a team that updated at the head coaching spot.

Vanderbilt — 4-8 ceiling
Entering 2024, Vandy is:

A) Seeking to end a 10-game losing streak vs. Core 4 opponents
B) Replacing both coordinators
C) Dealing with 25 players lost via the transfer portal
D) Stay within single digits vs. SEC competition for the first time since Nov. 19, 2022 vs. Florida
E) All the above

Quote"It's set up to continue on through the summer and into fall camp. I was pleased today with the fact that we didn't turn the ball over; that's something we've harped on all spring," said Lea. "I think it was on the ground once and the offense was able to recover it. All three guys have flashed obviously I felt like Blaze (Berlowitz) had some throws today that were impressive. But yeah, we're gonna introduce some new people in that competition heading into the summer. We'll open it back up in the fall.

"One thing that I want to have happened there early is to lock in on some guys that we're going to give the lion share of the reps. Because ultimately, we're not going to be able to have five people compete for one job. We have to set it up so that you're looking at three; three becomes two. And then, ultimately, by the time we're playing, two becomes one."

Berlowitz looks to have the inside track for the Commodores' starting quarterback position. However, it does not appear that he has done enough to solidify himself as the season-opener starter. As of now, Lea still has his options open.

Lea adds WR Dariyan Wiley
Lea recently added to the Commodores' offense with another off-season acquisition. Former UMass and ULM wide receiver Dariyan Wiley committed to Vanderbilt just before the summer.