Between SEC Media Days and the 153^rd Open Championship, it’s been a week. I will have previews for the SEC teams coming up in the upcoming weeks, starting next Monday with the Alabama Crimson Tide and next Wednesday with the Auburn Tigers. From there I’ll pivot to Georgia, Texas, LSU, Ole Miss, Florida, Tennessee, etc… What I’ll tell you from this week is that it’s the year of the Quarterback in the SEC. This conference is loaded at the position. From the highly touted Arch Manning at Texas, to the highly anticipated second act of Garrett Nussmeier at LSU, the great sophomore DJ Lagway of Florida, LaNorris Sellers of South Carolina, Diego Pavia of Vanderbilt, to the Washington State transfer John Mateer at Oklahoma. Mateer threw 29 TDs against 7 ints last season and is expected to do big things in Norman. Brent Venables sure thinks so. Austin Simmons, a redshirt sophomore lefty at Ole Miss, takes over from Jaxson Dart, who was drafted by the New York Giants as the 25th pick in the first round and looks potentially great in the NFL. Simmons came in for Dart in the Georgia game last season in Oxford and looked phenomenal as Ole Miss knocked off the Dawgs that day. Dart came back in, but Simmons was a dominant player when he was in the game. Gunner Stockton at Georgia tries to lead his team to another SEC championship and beyond as Carson Beck transferred to Miami (FL). Marcel Reed is an exciting playmaker at Texas A&M. Blake Shapen only played four games at Mississippi State in 2024, but threw 8 TDs against only one int. His coach, Jeff Lebby, is ecstatic about him and I believe Lebby. Lebby sounds like he knows what he’s talking about. Taylen Green at Arkansas is another dynamic playmaker. Then you have Oklahoma transfer Jackson Arnold at Auburn, whom Hugh is quite high on. He is a five star and looked great running the ball against Alabama at Norman in 2024. Haven’t seen his passing prowess enough, so he’s to be determined in that crucially important category. Ty Simpson looks, as of now, like he’ll be the guy in Tuscaloosa. Another guy who was a five star and has the tools to be successful. Ty’s just untested right now. This conference is going to be electric in 2025 with these spectacular quarterbacks, playmakers throughout the league, big, physical linemen on both sides of the ball, hard-nosed linebackers, and highly athletic corners and safeties. Will be another epic year in this conference. Could be better than ever. Just really impressed with the coaches and players I’ve seen and heard from. I thought Kalen was super today in Atlanta. Covered everything. Just such a positive guy. The addition of Ryan Grubb as offensive coordinator is huge for Coach DeBoar and Ty. The two other quarterbacks, Washington transfer Austin Mack, in his second season in T-town, and 5 star freshman Keelon Russell, are highly talented players. The quarterback room is solid. It’s just a matter of whether Ty or whichever other guy can step in and be ready against Florida State on Saturday, August 30^th @ Tallahassee at 2:30 P.M. CT on ABC. Can’t wait. Texas opens up @Ohio State on Saturday, 8/30, at 11 A.M. CT on FOX. LSU plays @ Clemson Saturday Night, Aug. 30^th at Clemson’s Death Valley at 6:30 CT on ABC. Does it get any better than that? 

As for the Auburn Tigers, they play @Baylor Friday, Aug. 29^th at 7 P.M. CT on FOX. Hugh brought in some stellar new players, and an awesome transfer class. Arnold will have terrific skilled players around him. The O Line has been augmented with size and power. The defense is still a bit of a question mark. Don’t get me wrong, there is talent on that side of the ball. Defensive end Keldric Faulk is a Sherman Tank. He’s a force on the edge. Just some new players. DJ Durkin is a very good defensive coordinator, so the Tigers should be able to play some pretty decent D. 

The thing about this conference is there are so many great teams this year, maybe more than ever, that some really good  teams are going to take three or more losses. The league is just that stout this year. I like the fact that Greg Sankey has pushed hard for strength of schedule being a major metric for the Playoff. It HAS to matter. This conference can get 6 or 7 teams in the Playoff, even more, if the committee really does its job and watches the quality of these teams. The conference will probably get 4, maybe 5, but is capable of 8 or 9 in reality. Ohio State is good, and Clemson is good. I guess Oregon, but they looked terrible in the Rose Bowl last season getting demolished by the Buckeyes, which was the dominant team in December and January. So, Oregon is usually a sham. But you’ve got Texas, Georgia, Alabama, LSU, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Florida. Oklahoma’s going to be a good team. Vanderbilt is going to have a good team. Missouri will be good. Mississippi State will be much improved. Arkansas and Kentucky will be tough places to win. It’s just an embarrassment of riches in the SEC. Embarrassing to the rest of the country that is. Can’t wait for it to start in late August. Will keep you posted in the meantime with previews of the conference teams in the upcoming weeks.

The 153^rd Open Championship

This year’s championship is being played at Royal Portrush in Portrush, Northern Ireland. It hosted the Open in 2019 and Irishman Shane Lowry won it. Xander Schauffele is the defending Open champion having won last season at Royal Troon.

It’s quite a spectacle. Will the great Scottie Scheffler, who had some controversial comments about winning golf tournaments yesterday in his press conference, bag another major. Rory will tee it up an hour north of where he grew up in Hollywood, Northern Ireland and try to add on to the amazing season he’s amassed. Can Schauffele find his form again? He looks to be making progress. He finished tied for 8th at the Genesis Scottish Open last week. Jon Rahm looks to be trending well. Bryson DeChambeau doesn’t have a stellar record at the Open, but he’s always a factor. Can a veteran like Adam Scott of Justin Rose win a Claret Jug later in their respective and decorated careers. Can a young guy like Ludvig Aberg emerge victorious. He looks to have the game. What about Vik Hovland, Bob McIntyre, or even another veteran like Keegan Bradley. 

The course is 7.381 yards and a par 71. There are 59 bunkers and they are penalizing. While Portrush is on the Northern Atlantic, there are only two holes where water comes into play. The signature hole is No.16, a 236 yard Par 3 called, infamously for many of the players, “Calamity Corner.” The best landing area is on the left side. On the right side it drops fifty feet down a cliff. There is a little safety on the right, but not much. Johnson “Wags” Wagner of Golf Channel tried to demonstrate chipping from the right side and airmailed his chip over the green and into the stands. It was pretty classic. He didn’t hit anybody, fortunately, but it just showed how extremely difficult this hole is.  

The weather will be a major factor as you would expect in Northern Ireland. A lot of rain, a lot of wind, crosswinds making club selection tough. Just a major test of golf. 

TV (All times Central)

Thursday-Friday: 12:30- 3 A.M, Peacock; 3 A.M.-2:30 P.M. USA, NBC Sports App.

Saturday: 4-6 A.M. USA, NBC Sports App; 6 A.M.- 2 P.M. NBC, Peacock, NBC Sports App.

Sunday: 3-6 A.M, USA, NBC Sports App; 6 A.M.- 1 P.M. NBC, Peacock, NBC Sports App.

Winner

This major is always unpredictable. You’d think Scheffler or Rory, or maybe Rahm or DeChambeau, but I’m going to take a veteran, the 44 year old born in Johannesburg, South Africa who has resided in London for a while now. He finished second to Xander last year at Royal Troon in the 152nd Open, went to a playoff with Rory at Augusta National this year, and shot 63 in the final round of the Genesis Scottish Open last week to finish sixth. Give me the vet. I’ll take:

Justin Rose