by Carter Brantley

While Charleston managed to keep things close throughout the game, the USF Bulls took care of business against the Cougars, sneaking away with a closer-than-expected 81-75 victory.

The name of the game in the 1st half was crashing the boards, as USF held a whopping 16-5 advantage in offensive rebounds.

USF also got their usual scorching start from the sharpshooter Joseph Pinion, as he hit 4 straight 3s to begin his night, ending with 15 points in the 1st half on 5-9 shooting from the field.

The bench also contributed mightily, with freshman forward Tristan Beckford contributing 12 points during the period, doing most of his work on the interior but sprinkling in a 3 for good measure.

Beckford and big man Izaiyah Nelson contributed 6 boards each to start the game, with Nelson and fellow forward Daimion Collins combining to play some staunch defense on the interior despite facing a pair of 7 footers from the Cougars.

Charleston only managed 14 points in the paint during the 1st half.

Their usually stellar defense flexed its might in forcing turnovers, with the Cougars committing 7 turnovers over the 1st half and some change.

While they went off and on from their usual full-court-press methods, they went on that run in the 1st half playing their defense straight up, an interesting shift in methodology that seemed to have some success.

The 2nd half was a close contest, with Charleston tying it up at one point with about 14 and a half minutes left in the game and managing to make it quite a good fight off the strength of guard Connor Hickman, who made headlines as he took his fight to retain college eligibility to court over the offseason after playing at Bradley.

Charleston managed to make it tight more or less the whole way through, as the Bulls could never quite put the Cougars away for good, but a late surge with a little under 3 minutes to go put USF ahead for good.

The new football coach Brian Hartline also made an appearance at the beginning of the game, addressing the crowd and giving the usual pep talk that new coaches produce in front of home crowds.

It was well received, as many anticipate the new coach continuing to build on the success that new Auburn coach Alex Golesh established for the program.

The Bulls’ victory over the Cougars took their record to 6-4 for the season, with an undefeated mark at home.

USF’s next matchup is against the 12th-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide next Wednesday at 8 pm, as they travel to Tuscaloosa to face one of their toughest opponents of the season.

Around the conference, the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes have gotten off to a heck of a start in non-conference play, as their 8-1 record entering Wednesday night was the best in the American.

It is going to be difficult to put the Super Bowl on a streaming service.

There was a report from Front Office Sports that “Amazon has its sights set on its next big venture into NFL media rights: the Super Bowl.” Right now, it is highly unlikely that Congress would look kindly at Amazon Prime streaming the Super Bowl leaving over-the-air TV but the landscape of TV is changing rapidly and in the 2030s attitudes might change. There are not a lot of free TV option left but the NFL produces big ratings for over-the-air TV networks. The last TV drama involving Congress and the NFL took place almost 17 years ago.

On December 29^th, 2008, a New England Patriots-New York Giants contest in East Rutherford, New Jersey became a political football as the game was scheduled to be carried by the NFL Network as an exclusive cablecast. The problem? New England was undefeated and possibly heading to become the NFL’s first undefeated team since 1972 when Miami accomplished the feat. At that time, the channel reached only 43 million cable and satellite homes out of a possible 95 million homes. Massachusetts Senator John Kerry suggested the game be moved to NBC as a Sunday night presentation. But the NFL wanted to keep the game on the NFL Network. Kerry, along with Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter and Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, wrote a letter to the commissioner of the NFL, Roger Goodell, threatening to reconsider the limited antitrust exemption that the NFL enjoyed thanks to the 1961 Sports Broadcast Act. Following that pressure, the game was shown on CBS and NBC as well as on the NFL Network. Recently, National Basketball Association Commissioner Adam Silver acknowledged that his league by going to Peacock and Amazon Prime is cutting off some fans. Amazon landing the Super Bowl could be problematic.

Evan Weiner’s books are available at iTunes – https://books.apple.com/us/author/evan-weiner/id595575191

Evan can be reached at evan_weiner@hotmail.com

The College Football Playoff bracket is set. So, I am going to run through the entirety of the College Football playoffs with some brief notes on my predictions.

SPORTS TALK GEORGIA

SPORTS TALK FLORIDA

Round 1

#9 Alabama @ #8 Oklahoma

Date/Time: Friday, December 19th at 8 pm

Where to Watch: ABC/ESPN

Quick Note: This is the first of 2 rematches in the first round of the College Football Playoff. A lot has been mentioned about how Alabama was going to get guys back from injury in the playoffs. That is also true for Oklahoma heading into the tournament. I think that Oklahoma has a real chance to return to a former version of itself that we saw early in the season. I’m looking at you, John Mateer.

Prediction: Oklahoma

# 10 Miami @ #7 Texas A&M

Date/Time: Saturday, December 20th at 12 pm

Where to Watch: ABC/ESPN

Quick Note: How good is Texas A&M really? When you look at their body of work overall, it is a reasonable question to ask. They are a team that has not played their best football of late, while Miami looks to have gotten things back on track after their loss to SMU. This game will be decided by their offenses. Marcel Reed has not played up to his standard as of late, and Beck has been in spots similar to this before.

Prediction: Miami

#11 Tulane @ #6 Ole Miss

Date/Time: Saturday, December 20th at 3:30 pm

Where to Watch: TNT/TruTV/HBO Max

Quick Note: The second of two rematches in the first round of the College Football Playoff. Unlike Alabama and Oklahoma, this one wasn’t close. Ole Miss won by 35 points earlier this season in Oxford; expect more of the same even without Lane Kiffin.

Prediction: Ole Miss

#12 James Madison @ #5 Oregon

Date/Time: Saturday, December 20th at 7:30 pm

Where to Watch: TNT/TruTV/HBO Max

Quick Note: 2,800 miles. That is how far James Madison will have to travel to play Oregon. We saw how travel can affect some of these BIG 10 teams when they head out West. I think whatever chance James Madison may have had goes out the window when you factor in travel.

Prediction: Oregon

Round 2: Bowl Sites

#10 Miami vs. #2 Ohio State – Goodyear Cotton Bowl

Date/Time: New Year’s Eve at 7:30 pm

Where to Watch: ESPN

Quick Note: I am of the belief that there are roughly 5-6 teams that can win the National Title. Miami is not one of them, and Ohio State is. Last year, every team that had a first-round bye lost, and you can chalk that up to seeding. Ohio State will buck that trend at the first opportunity this year.

Prediction: Ohio State

#5 Oregon vs #4 Texas Tech – Capital One Orange Bowl

Date/Time: New Year’s Day at 12 pm

Where to Watch: ESPN

Quick Note: I think that Oregon is probably a more well-rounded team than Texas Tech is, but I don’t think either one of Oregon’s units is as good as Texas Tech’s defense. It is also important to note that both of Oregon’s Coordinators took Head jobs elsewhere and will have some of their attention diverted away from the Ducks.

Prediction: Texas Tech

#8 Oklahoma vs. #1 Indiana – The Rose Bowl

Date/Time: New Year’s Day at 4 pm

Where to Watch: ESPN

Quick Note: Oklahoma fans might have some nightmares entering this building. The last time they reached the Rose Bowl, Baker Mayfield and the Sooners got walked off by a 25-yard Sony Michel rushing touchdown. But as we have seen in a lot of matchups this year, demons can be conquered, and I think Oklahoma delivers the upset of the College Football Playoff behind the hopefully now healthy hand of John Mateer.

Prediction: Oklahoma

#6 Ole Miss vs. #3 Georgia – Allstate Sugar Bowl

Date/Time: New Year’s Day at 8 pm

Where to Watch: ESPN

Quick Note: This would mark rematch #3 of the College Football Playoffs. Ole Miss fans, prior to the Lane Kiffin saga, really wallowed in how they let the game in Athens get away. It would be a Cinderella story if Ole Miss were to win it all after their coach left them. This is football, not a fairytale, and Georgia has gotten better and better week by week. The Dawgs will right some wrongs stemming from last year’s matchup in the Sugar Bowl that they lost to Notre Dame.

Prediction: Georgia

Semi-Finals

#3 Georgia vs. #2 Ohio State – VRBO Fiesta Bowl

Date/Time: January 8th, 2026, at 7:30 pm

Where to Watch: ESPN

Quick Note: Would this game haunt Ryan Day and Ohio State? Ryan Day, for as good a coach as he is and has been, can get in his own way sometimes. Would this be one of those games where Day commits himself to the wrong game plan, kind of like Michigan last year, or would he work around that loss in 2022? I think Ohio State is better than Georgia, but I think Kirby is better than Day. We’ve seen what a coaching advantage can do to Ohio State already this year in Indianapolis.

Prediction: Georgia

#8 Oklahoma vs. #4 Texas Tech – Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl

Date/Time: January 9th, 2026, at 7:30 pm

Where to Watch: ESPN

Quick Note: Last time Oklahoma was in this game, they got run out of the building by 2019 LSU. Understandable given the fact it was 2019 LSU. My entire prediction for Oklahoma has been based on a theory I have regarding the health and play of John Mateer. If I’m wrong, we probably never get close to this point, but if I’m right, the Sooners will reach heights Lincoln Riley only ever dreamed of.

Prediction: Oklahoma

National Championship

#8 Oklahoma vs #3 Georgia

Date/Time: January 19th, 2026, at 7:30 pm

Where to Watch: ESPN

Quick Note: It has been a very loud talking point that the SEC has not been present in the last 2 National Championships. Boy, would this turn that on its head quickly. Georgia is the team that I am closest to and know the most about in reference to all of these other teams. I have seen them get better and better in this back half of the season, especially on defense. When Georgia has a roster where their top-end talent has panned out the way it has this year. I will be the last person to pick against Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs. Mateer Magic ends in Miami Gardens. Dawgs on Top.

Prediction: Georgia