Moving on from Being a Sports Writer

Go. Niners.

Starting Monday, I will no longer be writing about Ohio State for my job for the first time since 2018. I am moving into a Communications Coordinator position at UNC Charlotte that has nothing to do with sports. I’m very excited.

It will be different than what I have known for four years, certainly, but I think it’ll be a good different. Ethan Strauss had a terrific post about the topic of the enjoyment (or lack thereof) that comes from being a sports writer, and I pretty much agree with everything he had to say there.

Sports writing had some incredible highs – I got to go to the damn Rose Bowl – but it is a grind that is suited for a select few, and, at least for now, I don’t think that select few includes me.

Strauss says it perfectly and you should read that if you are interested, but I want it to be clear to anyone who has not been a sports writer: It is fucking hard, man. Yes, you get to go to games and write about them for your job. But it is a gig that has very few pauses and is often more rewarding for the fastest, not the best, and that dynamic is extremely difficult to balance.

But to anyone who read a story I wrote, or to any player, coach or SID (sports information director) I worked with throughout my four years, thank you. A specific shoutout must go to Gary Petit, who helped me with access for the Ohio State women’s basketball team up until this past July. I don’t know if I am making these Monday posts for the newsletter without everything Gary helped me with on my time on the beat, so thank you for that.

Covering the OSU women’s basketball team will be what I miss most, but I am excited for what lies ahead. For the first time since the 2017 football season, I will have weekends off in the fall. I get to be done with work when I leave at 5 p.m. It’s the little things that get me excited, along with everything I have already enjoyed about Charlotte’s university.

And of course, I have this newsletter to fall back on whenever I miss writing about sports. It has been a blast putting together Hoopla for you all to this point, and I don’t plan on that stopping any time soon.

So again, thank you to anyone who has read me at The Lantern, at Buckeye Sports Bulletin, hell, maybe even at the now dead 1870 Magazine. Or, of course, in this here newsletter. It has meant the world.

Go Niners.

Let’s Get Funky in the Top 25

It was another week of chaos in college football, and that means it’s time for some major shake-ups in my Top 25.

Fox Sports’ R.J. Young got cooked up for his Top 25. But let me tell you folks, mine doesn’t look all that different.

1.) Georgia (+1)

2.) Alabama (-1)

3.) Cincinnati (-)

4.) Iowa (+1)

5.) Penn State (+3)

6.) Coastal Carolina (+3)

7.) Michigan (+5)

8.) BYU (+8)

9.) Oregon (-5)

10.) Ohio State (+4)

11.) Oklahoma (+2)

12.) Michigan State (+8)

13.) Wake Forest (+4)

14.) Kentucky (NEW)

15.) Oklahoma State (+6)

16.) Arkansas (-10)

17.) Notre Dame (-7)

18.) Ole Miss (-11)

19.) SMU (+5)

20.) Texas (NEW)

21.) San Diego State (+2)

22.) UTSA (+3)

23.) Arizona State (NEW)

24.) NC State (NEW)

25.) Wyoming (NEW)

• Yes, I have moved Georgia to No. 1. Alabama absolutely 100 percent did not lose this ranking: the Crimson Tide did basically everything right in mauling Ole Miss. I just think the Bulldogs have won it for now. Georgia’s defense, at this point in time, is the best defense I have ever personally watched in college football, and I think that defense would destroy anyone until proven otherwise.

• Cincinnati has been No. 3 in my poll for three weeks, so the Bearcats crunching Notre Dame was no surprise in my eyes. This team rocks and 100 percent deserves a playoff spot if it takes care of business the rest of the season.

• I think Penn State is probably better than Iowa and like the Nittany Lions to win this weekend, but the Hawkeyes keep destroying teams that I think might beat them, so they have earned the No. 4 spot for now.

• Get with Coastal Carolina or get lost. This is one of the most efficient offenses in the country and it deserves recognition. Yes, the competition is weak. No, I don’t care all that much.

• Michigan continues to impress and I am just waiting for that to crumble, but my biggest flaw has been that BYU has been slept on in this Top 25 for far too long. This team owns, and will also have a CFP case if it wins out.

• Oregon lost a heartbreaker and stays above Ohio State almost strictly because of head-to-head. The Buckeyes looked great last weekend and move ahead of Oklahoma despite having a loss because the Sooners look like shit.

• Teams Nos. 11-15 are the “Power Five undefeated teams that I am not all that sold on section.” They have earned their place, but I don’t see them lasting all that longer.

• Oh Arkansas, oh Ole Miss, how could you abandon me like this. For the Hogs’ credit, I think Georgia would do that to anyone. The Rebels also stunk, but felt like they should have made it more of a contest against the slightly more vulnerable Crimson Tide. Shame.

• SMU is good and could make a jump up these rankings by the time its Nov. 20 matchup with Cincy comes around. I’m already excited.

• Texas isn’t great but it has looked better than Oklahoma. Give me the Longhorns this weekend.

• The last team I want to talk about here is Wyoming. Wyoming has looked pretty bad. Wyoming is also 4-0. Wyoming is one of 17 undefeated FBS teams. Wyoming did not get a single AP vote. Look, I don’t care what my eyes see on the field. Wyoming is undefeated at this point in the season, and that gets you in my Top 25.

Important editor's note:

I swapped out Auburn for Wyoming in my top 25 but apparently copy and pasted the wrong list in the emailed version.

Wyoming is 25, not Auburn, because we respect the Cowboys around here

If you are interested in me talking about random topics like this, or on my more focused posts with Big Ten women’s basketball, you can subscribe with the button above or share with the button below. Thanks!