Brian Hoffman
Why didn’t the NCAA come up with this sooner?
After watching the CFP quarterfinal football games last week I can’t say enough about how much more I enjoy this than the old system. The NCAA went to a four team tournament for the 2023-24 season and then expanded to a 12 team tournament last year, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching this season’s quarterfinal games over the New Year’s Holiday.
Everything is decided on the field, and that’s a good thing. We had four “bowl” games that really meant something to the players and fans. It wasn’t long ago that players on good teams were opting out of those bowl games to make sure they didn’t get hurt before the NFL draft and the games were played in half empty stadiums. That’s not happening in the CFP tournament, and the games are better for it.
This is a crazy season. Alabama, Georgia and Ohio State, who combined for 10 national championships in the past 15 years, all lost in the quarterfinal round. I’ll bet the bookies cleaned up when you compare the lines to the results.
For example, when was the last time you wouldn’t take Alabama getting seven in a football game with Indiana? How about Georgia on the money line to beat Ole Miss? Losers, losers.
Here’s a good one that I’m sure some fans are still shaking their heads over. You know how some folks do a 100-block grid with numbers for each team? If your numbers match the final score you can win a nice sum, depending on how much it costs to get in the pool.
Well, how about if you were sitting on a block that had Georgia-4 and Ole Miss-7. When the Rebels kicked a field goal with six seconds to go and it’s Ole Miss 37, Georgia 34 you had to feel like you were going to win.
Then Ole Miss kicks off and Georgia tries one of those lateral deals, and the first toss misses the intended recipient and rolls out of bounds, nipping the goal line pylon in the process! The side official signals “safety” and that’s a punch to the gut for the guy who had 7 and 4. Now the guy who has Ole Miss 9 and Georgia 4 is set to win, but the game is ruled to still have one second left.
Now, in case you didn’t see it, Georgia has to kick-off due to the safety and the Bulldogs recover an onside kick! Everyone now thinks the game is over, but it’s ruled the clock should not start if the kicking team recovers and, after much discussion, they have to push the victory stand back off the field for one more play with a second still on the clock. At this point Georgia tries another of those lateral plays that turned out to be unsuccessful, but if they had somehow scored that would have been the craziest finish I’d seen since the band came on the field in that California-Stanford game in 1982.
So, Ole Miss advances to play Indiana and Oregon, who dominated Texas Tech, will take on Miami in the semifinals on Thursday and Friday of this week. With all the crazy stuff the NCAA is doing these days with NIL money and transfer portals, this is one thing they got right.
Fall standings for National Guard Cup are in
The VHSL has announced the 2025-26 National Guard Cup fall standings presented by the Virginia Army National Guard for year-long athletic and academic activities success. Auburn, Poquoson, Western Albemarle, Hanover, Midlothian, and West Springfield sit atop the Cup standings following the fall sports season.
First awarded in 1990, the Cup represents 37 seasons of excellence. Six Cups are awarded for academic activities and athletics in each of the VHSL’s six enrollment classifications. A point system determines the winners based on overall performance in VHSL state championship competitions. In athletics, first place earns 50 points, second place earns 45 points, third place earns 40 points, fourth place earns 35 points, fifth place earns 30 points, sixth place earns 25 points, seventh place earns 20 points, and eighth place earns 15 points.
Leaders after the fall season are as follows:
Class 1 Auburn –172.5 pts. (Girls Cross Country 45; Boys Cross Country 40; Golf 50; Volleyball 37.5)
Class 2 Poquoson –170 pts. (Girls Cross Country 25; Cheer 40; Volleyball 22.5; Field Hockey 45)
Class 3 Western Albemarle –172.5 pts. (Girls Cross Country 35; Boys Cross Country 50; Golf 50; Field Hockey 37.5)
Class 4 Hanover – 170 pts. (Girls Cross Country 45; Boys Cross Country 40; Golf 35; Boys Volleyball 50
Class 5 Midlothian –182.5 pts. (Girls Cross Country 45; Boys Cross Country 40; Golf 37.5; Girls Volleyball 37.5; Boys Volleyball 22.5)
Class 6 West Springfield –240 pts. (Girls Cross Country 45; Boys Cross Country 30; Cheer 40; Girls Volleyball 50; Volleyball Boys 37.5; Football 37.5
Dawgs Bremner gets 200th win as coach
The Rail Yard Dawgs grinded their way to a massive road victory last Friday night, as Roanoke prevailed with a 4-2 road win over the first-place Pensacola Ice Flyers at the Pensacola Bay Center. With the win Roanoke head coach Dan Bremner became just the eighth coach in SPHL history to record 200 wins.
Noah Finstrom and Travis Broughman each had one goal and one assist, Chris Mott and Matt O’Dea added goals, Joe Widmar had two assists, while rookie Gabe Rosek stopped 33-of-35 shots in his SPHL debut for the Dawgs in notching his first career win in the league.
Season ticket packages and group tickets are on sale by contacting the Rail Yard Dawgs’ front office. Single game tickets for the season are on sale now online and at Berglund Center box office.
