THE SEC REPORT
The SEC Report: LSU emerged victorious; Georgia and Florida are lurking
Nov 13, 2019, 5:41 am
Born with a comic book in one hand and a remote control in the other, Cory DLG is the talent of Conroe's very own Nerd Thug Radio and Sports. Check out the podcast replay of the FM radio show at www.nerdthugradio.com!
LAST WEEKEND
Obviously the biggest story out of the SEC last weekend is the outcome of the LSU vs Alabama game. LSU winning in such decisive fashion is not only impressive for Joe Burrows but for LSU as a whole. It's important for Burrows because it does help elevate his Heisman hopes and increases his profile nationally and all while Tua was opposite him, which is even better. LSU now sits No. 1 in the country and after their wins Georgia and Florida are hoping for a little more chaos.
THREE STARS OF LAST WEEKEND
Joe Burrows, quarterback of LSU, threw for 393 yards and 3 touchdowns. This is the exact game he needed to play and the exact stage it had to happen on to give him his Heisman moment and now this kid is cruising as the front runner on the highest ranked team in the country.
Tua Tagovailoa, quarterback of Alabama, who in a big game in a big moment, stepped up and had a hell of a game coming off an injury where people were wondering about him and his ability. He answered all of those questions and yes it's a losing effort but honestly its 400 yards and 4 touchdowns, most NFL quarterbacks would kill to lose that bad.
Rakeem Boyd, running back of Arkansas, whose season is over essentially, especially after dropping a terrible game against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (yikes) but Rakeem had himself a monster of a day putting on 185 yards and two touchdowns. It's important to recognize who is still trying to win when things go bad.
THINGS TO WATCH FOR
Honestly there are lots of games to watch this weekend. Texas A&M hosts South Carolina, Alabama travels to Mississippi State to try and regain some control over their season. Georgia travels to Auburn, Florida is at Missouri and LSU travels to Ole Miss. While there isn't a bigger game than last week's headliner there are tons of solid games and with LSU beating Alabama last week, it feels like lots of things are up for grabs and all the weekend's games contribute to the story in some ways.
THREE PLAYERS TO WATCH
D'Andre Swift, runningback of Georgia, Alabama losing doesn't happen often and it feels like an opportunity for Georgia to maybe gain ground and score a big win but all of that starts with Swift doing better than he did last week.
Kyle Trask, quarterback of Florida, somehow Florida's season isn't over and they are a top ten team playing a game of national relevance. Trask has work to do.
Bo Nix, quarterback of Auburn, the season hasn't gone as planned for these guys but Nix might still have some magic in him yet and this is Auburn's last big chance to move up and score love nationally.
Feel free to check out my brand-new comic book Another Day at the Office or buy a shirt from Side Hustle Ts where some proceeds help people struggling with cancer or listen to Nerd Thug Radio. Thoughts, complaints, events and comments can be sent to corydlg@gmail.com.
Most Popular
SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome
Listen Live
Texans HC DeMeco Ryans reveals what he values most at scouting combine
Feb 28, 2025, 3:51 pm
Now that spring training is officially underway, we're able to make some observations about how the Astros 2025 roster is taking shape.
Houston's starting rotation is basically set, but we got to see Hayden Wesneski make his first start in an Astro uniform. Wesneski pitched two innings against the Mets on Tuesday, allowing one run with three strikeouts.
He's working on a curveball that's a new pitch for his repertoire, and he saw some success with it. Hopefully, adding this pitch will help keep batters off balance (especially left-handed hitters) and help elevate his game. Which is nothing new for the Astros, who have a history of helping pitchers get to the next level.
Forrest Whitley also looked good, pitching a clean inning and finishing off his final hitter with a 97 mph fastball. Whitley finally realizing his potential in the big leagues could be a huge deal for the Astros, as they're looking to lighten the workload for Bryan Abreu and Josh Hader this season.
Hader in particular could benefit from this adjustment, as he was much worse when pitching in non-save situations last season. An easy fix with Hader could be trying to limit his workload to mostly save situations. That way, you get the most out of him and achieve the goal of him pitching less innings this year.
The Houston Chronicle's Matt Kawahara wrote about Hader's struggles pitching when games were tied or Houston was trailing.
“Hader converted 34 of 38 save chances but faced more batters in non-save situations (142) than in save situations (136), a sharp pivot from his previous few seasons. Opponents slugged .271 against him in save situations and .411 in non-save situations, while his ERA was more than two runs higher (4.98) in the latter.”
And while it's easy to say “suck it up, you're getting paid a fortune to pitch,” if he's not having success in those situations, and you're looking to back off his workload, this seems like an obvious way to pivot. He's under contract for another four seasons, so the Astros are right to want to be careful with him.
Astros plate discipline
Manager Joe Espada has made it very clear that he would like his offense to see more pitches this season. And we're seeing a stark difference in the approaches from the newly acquired players (Isaac Paredes, Christian Walker) and Houston's returning hitters.
Keep in mind, Paredes was first in pitches per plate appearance last season, and Walker was 10th.
So it shouldn't come as a surprise that Paredes and Walker both worked a full count in their first at-bats on Tuesday, while Mauricio Dubon, Yainer Diaz, and Chas McCormick swung at every pitch in their first at-bats.
Hopefully the new blood in the clubhouse will rub off on the rest of the Astros lineup, which is full of free swingers, especially with Alex Bregman now playing for Boston.
Which is why we're so excited about Cam Smith's early results. While we're super pumped about his two home runs on Tuesday, we're equally impressed that he walked in his first two at-bats this spring. If anyone would naturally be jumping out of their shoes to make a strong first impression, you would think it's the guy that was traded for Kyle Tucker. But Smith was patient, and he was rewarded for it.
What is Dana Brown saying privately?
Just last offseason, Brown was talking about extending Tucker and Bregman while also signing Hader to a shocking 5-year, $95 million deal. Plus, the team signed Jose Altuve to a whopping $150 million extension. Fast-forward one year and Tucker has been traded, Bregman left in free agency, and Ryan Pressly was dealt in a salary dump. Safe to say, his vision for the ball club has changed drastically in one season. Welcome to baseball economics under Jim Crane!
We're just scratching the surface on everything covered in the video above. Be sure to hit play to watch the full conversation!
The countdown to Opening Day is on. Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
*Looking to get the word out about your business, products, or services? Consider advertising on SportsMap! It's a great way to get in front of Houston sports fans. Click the link below for more information!