"I feel like I'm the best, but you're not going to get me to say that" - Jerry Rice

Twitter: @jacobthemanley

Hometown: Tupelo, MS

Favorite Sports Media Journalist: Bruce Feldman

Favorite Athlete: Pete Rose

Favorite Team: Cincinnati Bengals

If you could cover any sporting event in the world, what would it be: The College Football National Title 

Best tradition at your college: Definitely the Cowbells 

The restaurant you most frequent in your college town: Staggerin Sports Bar and Grille

Best class you’ve ever taken: Communication Management in Sports

Friday Fire: 6/15

We Might Actually Burn the Place Down this Week Well well well, we have another week in the books people, and you know what that means. I don’t know about everyone else, but my weekend is about to consist of college baseball and some cold brews. We have a pretty loaded group of events to […]

Friday Fire 7/6

As we approach the weekend, I can only hope that everyone here has recovered from their Fourth of July escapades. Just because Independence Day has passed doesn’t mean we can’t still celebrate our freedom all weekend. Many of you are probably in agony (and debt) over bad world cup picks, but don’t be afraid to […]

Student Union CFB Preview: Virginia

Year two was a bit of a shock for Bronco Mendenhall and the Cavaliers. Year three might bring them back down to earth. When Bronco Mendenhall took over the Virginia program following the 2015 season, everyone knew they were in for a rebuild. This showed in his first season, as the team limped to a […]

Student Union CFB Preview: Wake Forest

The Demon Deacons try to keep their offensive momentum going. Prior to 2017, Wake Forest was mostly known for a weak offense and a relatively stout defense. Last season, the defense fell off a bit, but the offense absolutely exploded, finishing ranked 21st in the nation, culminating in a bowl victory over Texas A&M. Losing […]

Student Union CFB Preview: Indiana

The first year of the Tom Allen era went largely as expected: a stingy defense and a drop-off in offense. Time to see if Allen can carve out a place in the rough Big Ten East. When Tom Allen took over the Hoosiers following Kevin Wilson’s “resignation”, Indiana knew they were in good hands. Allen, […]

Student Union CFB Preview: Iowa

Are we going to have another typical Iowa season, or is there room for something greater? We typically know what to expect from Kirk Ferentz teams: Strong O-line, strong running game, and good tight ends. In 2017, this flipped on its head a bit. Sure, the O-line and tight ends were business as usual, but […]

Student Union CFB Preview: Big Ten Awards

This season, the Big Ten is in a state of flux. The East is going to be ridiculous, as always, but the West is on the rise. Wisconsin and Iowa should both be strong teams from there, and it would not be surprising to see Northwestern make a run as well. Big Ten Offensive Player […]

Urban Meyer Releases Statement, Says A Whole Lot of Nothing

pic.twitter.com/wrlRi9jtZz — Urban Meyer (@OSUCoachMeyer) August 3, 2018 Oh no. Yeah…. Who proofread this for Urban? There is a lot to unpack in this statement, and honestly, I am not sure how much of it will help him. We all knew a statement was coming. But this, this is not ideal for Urbs. I did […]

UPDATE: Call the Fight, McMurphy Has Won

Zach Smith told @1057TheZone he never abused Courtney. Here is text message b/w Zach & Courtney when he admits & apologizes for strangling his wife on Punta Cana trip in March 2015 & again in April pic.twitter.com/GjcjWh6mFT — Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) August 3, 2018 If you come at the king, you better not miss. Urban […]

Student Union CFB Preview: Baylor

Hey, Baylor might be okay after all. The first year of the Matt Rhule Baylor era went…. really bad. This is no fault of Rhule’s as the attrition the program went through following the departure of Art Briles left him with a barebones roster. Following a 1-11 season, Rhule and the Bears really have no […]

Student Union CFB Preview: Kansas State

Is this the final ride for the Purple Wizard? Who the hell knows, honestly. Bill Snyder cannot die. Going into age 78, he still coaches the Wildcats. The most celebrated (and successful) coach in K-State’s history seems to not be slowing down. Sure, there is the whole thing about holding the school hostage so his […]

The NCAA Finally Does Something Right; Changes CBB Rules

WELL GOOD MORNING NCAA! I personally have railed against the NCAA for a very, very long time, but I will give credit where credit is due. This is a very progressive move by them, and *should* help weed out some of the issues that arose following the FBI Probe. There are a few points to […]

Student Union CFB Preview: Oklahoma State

Mike Gundy is replacing two of the biggest stars in school history, yet he seems to have the answers to everything. Zac Robinson, Brandon Weeden, and Mason Rudolph. Hell, even J.W. Walsh wasn’t horrible.  Mike Gundy always seems to have a star QB to run his offense. This year, however, that seems to be in […]

Student Union CFB Preview: Utah

Kyle Whittingham has been one of the country’s most consistent coaches during his tenure at Utah. However, many are questioning when the division title is going to come. In 14 seasons as the head man of the Utes, Whittingham has done a whole lot. In addition to a 111-56 record and 11-1 bowl record, he […]

Student Union CFB Preview: Tennessee

No longer the champions of life, Tennessee is now lead by a new man. Jeremy Pruitt is yet another Saban assistant to get a head job; it’s time to see which category he is in. The Butch Jones era at UT will be known for the what-ifs. After a great start in 2016, the team […]

Student Union CFB Preview: Ole Miss

This Ole Miss offense is going to be FUN. The defense has some questions, but expect the Rebels to pull an upset or two in the SEC West. Matt Luke did not have an enviable job in 2017.  Promoted to head coach around a month before the season began, Luke was forced to be the […]

Breaking: Urban Meyer Suspended Three Games

So it took the Ohio State Trustees ALL DAY to come to a decision that we all knew they were going to eventually wind up at. At this point everyone knew he was going to face a suspension of some kind. Of course, they could not just suspend him for Oregon State and Rutgers, they […]

Student Union CFB Preview: Florida

Another year, another new head coach for the Gators. This one, however, has a much more proven track record. Is Dan Mullen finally the guy? Last season, the bottom fell out for the Gators and alleged shark lover Jim McElwain. Deciding (finally) to move away from the Saban coaching tree, Florida tabbed Dan Mullen as […]

Student Union CFB Preview: Mississippi State

Best Mississippi State team ever? If Joe Moorhead has anything to say about it, yes When Dan Mullen left for Florida, there was a small amount of panic among the MSU fanbase. This was arguably the best coach in Mississippi State history, and he was gone. However, the Joe Moorhead move has been under rated […]

Student Union CFB Preview: Alabama

We all know how this goes: Bama is going to be good. Now they might have an extremely good QB, so we are all going to die. So… the Tide are probably going to go to the playoff again. They have been every year of its existence and not even missing the conference championship game […]

Let’s check in on Ohio State.

Has the situation gotten all that better? Unless you have been living under a rock, everyone should know about the mess that was Ohio State’s offseason. I think I have published five or six articles about the entire thing. Following Urban’s suspension being handed down, I felt like the meat of the story was done, […]

WE ALMOST HAD A COACH BRAWL

We were so close to a death match. Today’s Florida-Vanderbilt already wasn’t going how most of us expected, being that Vandy was out to a 21-10 lead towards the end of the first half. Then, the wheels fell completely off. After a targeting call against Florida on a punt return, the trio of Dan Mullen, […]

Maryland football report deems culture not toxic, but basically toxic

What the hell Maryland? After eight weeks, there is finally an update on the Maryland football investigation.  According to the Washington Post, the report found that “…the Maryland football team did not have a ‘toxic culture’, but it did have a culture where problems festered because too many players feared speaking out,”. ….Is that not […]

Maryland Board of Regents does dumb thing.

Obviously, we have learned nothing from this. According to Rick Maese, sports writer for the Washington Post, DJ Durkin seems to be a lot safer than we all originally thought. On top of this, AD Damon Evans is also expected to be recommended to keep his job, and one would imagine University president Wallace Loh […]

The First CFP Poll is Out… Things Happened.

Oh UCF Fans are Going to be Upset. With the release of the first edition of the College Football Playoff, teams know where they stand going into the tail end of the season. Some fans have to be very excited while others, others are very sad. In light of the rankings coming out, I took […]

UPDATE: Maryland Finally Does Something Right, Fires DJ Durkin.

Better late than never. Actual minutes after posting my previous article on Maryland deciding to keep head coach DJ Durkin despite the death of Jordan McNair, Durkin was let go. It seems that both the public and player-outcry was too much for the university to handle. As of Wednesday afternoon, Durkin had been relieved of […]

McMurphy goes after Urban Meyer again… It might have been a bad idea.

In another addition to the ever-spanning saga of Ohio State-Urban Meyer-Zach Smith-Brett McMurphy, another shot has been fired. Earlier this week, we saw Zach Smith’s return to twitter, attacking Tom Herman and McMurphy. Today, McMurphy posted a new set of findings in an article at his new platform, Stadium. This new article, which details an […]

Texas Tech hires Matt Wells

Tech got themselves a good one. Just days after firing Kliff Kingsbury, Texas Tech has decided on their next head coach. After initial reports suggested that Mike Leach and Dana Holgorsen, the Red Raiders have decided on Matt Wells. Wells, a G5 darling, has led the Aggies to one of the best seasons in school […]

Kelly Bryant to Missouri

Well, the Tigers don’t have to worry about life after Drew Lock. Just like that, we have the first of the grad-QB transfer dominoes to fall. Former Clemson QB Kelly Bryant has announced his destination as the Missouri Tigers. Bryant, who started all of last year and the beginning of this season, elected to transfer […]

The Alabama Head Coach Clinic Continues

Saban pumps out head coaches like Phillip Rivers does kids. Another year, another Alabama coordinator becoming a Head Coach. Who is it this time? OC Mike Locksley, who has been tabbed for the Maryland job. Locksley, who replaced Brian Daboll after year, who replaced Steve Sarkisian after a game, is in his first year as […]

2018 New Orleans Bowl Preview

New Orleans Bowl (New Orleans, Louisiana) Appalachian State (10-2) vs. Middle Tennessee State (8-5) How They Got Here: Appalachian State One of the darlings of the G5, the Mountaineers won the conference title relatively easily, showing they were one of the best G5 schools in the country and punching their ticket to the New Orleans […]

Tyree Jackson to Transfer: Some landing spots

When it comes to the offseason QB transfer pool, Justin Fields is obviously the biggest and most sought after name. The issue with Fields however, is that he might not be immediately eligible to play next year. Enter Tyree Jackson. The 6’7 Grad-transfer from Buffalo might soon be the hottest name available for programs in […]

2018 Arizona Bowl Preview

Nova Home Loans Arizona Bowl (Tucson, Arizona) Arkansas State (8-4) vs. Nevada (7-5) How They Got Here: Arkansas State Aside from Alabama and App. State, Arkansas State’s other losses were both close games. The Red Wolves, led by senior QB Justice Hansen, finished the regular season on a tear. Over the final month of the […]

2019 Citrus Bowl Preview

Citrus Bowl (Orlando, Florida) Penn State (9-3) vs Kentucky (9-3) How They Got Here: Penn State If anything, Penn State maintained a level of consistency this year. They lost to two good teams (and Michigan State). They didn’t show a horrific drop off following the loss of Joe Moorhead and Barkley. The defense was solid […]

2019 Outback Bowl Preview

Outback Bowl (Tampa, Florida) Iowa (8-4) vs. Mississippi State (8-4) How They Got Here: Iowa The Hawkeyes had a typical Kirk Ferentz season. Run the ball. Punt a lot. Beat Iowa State. This was all business as usual. QB Nathan Stanley continued to develop, and put up solid numbers. Despite the worry of inexperience at […]

Oklahoma Gets *Another* Transfer QB.

They own the market at this point. One of the last, and biggest, dominoes in the QB transfer pool has fallen. Today, Jalen Hurts announced his decision to spend his final year of eligibility with the Oklahoma Sooners. For Lincoln Riley and the Sooners, this is a huge get. With the departure of Kyler Murray, the options under center were talented, […]

The NCAA lied… Again

Their investigators actually suck. Note: This is based of a report from the LA Times. In 2010, former USC running back coach Todd McNair sued the NCAA on the grounds of defamation. McNair was been implicated in the Reggie Bush payments, and the NCAA handed down a one year show cause ban for the coach. Following the end […]

Jim Leavitt (oddly) out at Oregon

Well, this is going to get more interesting.  After only two years as the defensive coordinator, Jim Leavitt has been relieved of his duties in Eugene. Leavitt, who served as DC under both Willie Taggert and Mario Cristobal, had been both the HC at USF and DC at Colorado. At USF, Leavitt worked to transition the program to the FBS level. This […]

Jason Brown Out at Independence

And he did not go quietly into the night. In a move that likely surprises no one, Jason Brown, star of season 3 of Netflix’s Last Chance U, has resigned from his position as coach. The move comes after much scrutiny facing the coach, both from the series and recent actions. Earlier this week, Brown […]

New Mexico State…. YOU BLEW IT

You came so close to giving us our first upset of the day. Thus far, on the first day of March Madness, we have not been gifted that many upsets. Minnesota doesn’t really count, and Yale put up a fight, but New Mexico State vs. Auburn seemed like the best bet. The Aggies were considered […]

2019 CFB Preview: Virginia Cavaliers

*This is part of a series of previews for Student Union Sports, for teams other than the Cavaliers, see here. In his third year at the helm of the Cavaliers, Head Coach Bronco Mendenhall nearly led to the program to a breakout season. Had it not been for two heartbreaking overtime losses to end the […]

2019 CFB Preview: Baylor Bears

*This is part of a series of previews for Student Union Sports, for teams other than Baylor, see here. When he took the Baylor job, Matt Rhule knew two things: It was a rebuild, and the school would be patient. That being said, not many predicted that Baylor would go 7-6 in just the second […]

Oh, Urban Meyer Messages are Wild

And Zach Smith is here! Earlier today, Ohio State released 2,000 pages worth of documents pertaining to last year’s investigation of both Urban Meyer and Zach Smith. Most of us likely thought this sage was over, but once again, we are going to be disappointed. Firstly, the majority of the messages are from Urban Meyer, […]

2019 CFB Preview Arizona State Sun Devils

*This is part of a series of previews for Student Union Sports, for teams other than Arizona State, see here. So, year one for Herm Edwards and Arizona State was a pleasant surprise. Many thought that they would tank, badly, but 7-6 is not a bad start for Herm. Unfortunately for the Sun Devils, they […]

The NCAA Did…. Something

The NCAA inches slowly towards paying student-athletes NCAA press release located here:http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/media-center/news/board-governors-starts-process-enhance-name-image-and-likeness-opportunities Today was a monumental day for NCAA, student-athletes, and fans of the old EA Sports NCAA Football video game series. While this should be considered a major win for the “pay the players” crowd, this was just a step in the right direction. […]

Chris Petersen Steps Down at Washington

Well, no one expected that. University of Washington official statement: https://gohuskies.com/news/2019/12/2/football-petersen-to-step-down-lake-named-new-huskies-head-coach.aspx Just one day after Black Sunday, we have been dealt the most shocking coaching change of the cycle. Was it a firing? No, Chris Petersen has stepped down as head coach of the Washington Huskies. In addition, defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake will take over […]

2019 Peach Bowl: LSU Tigers vs. Oklahoma Sooners

This game features two transfer QB’s, two Heisman finalists, one Heisman winner, and arguably the best WR in the nation, and it is somehow the less interesting of the two playoff semifinals. Most expect this game to be fairly one-sided in favor of LSU, but with Clyde Edwards-Helaire hobbled, the Sooners are looking to shock […]

2019 Music City Bowl: Louisville vs. Mississippi State

Here we have a classic bowl season matchup: One team that is shocked to be here, and another that may be disappointed in their season. Having just played two seasons ago in a bowl game, the matchup is fresh in the minds of fans, especially Cardinals fans, as Lamar Jackson’s final college game was a […]

Mississippi State Fires Joe Moorhead: What’s Next?

Perhaps the most shocking move during the coaching cycle, and definitely the latest. After only two years as head coach of the Mississippi State Bulldogs, Joe Moorhead is out in Starkville. Posting a 14-12 record, Moorhead has been under fire for much of the past season, from fans especially. Moorhead had been saved from firing […]

Cincinnati Bengals 2020 Preview

A New Era Begins for the Cincinnati Bengals. 2019 Record: 2-14 Saying year one under Zac Taylor was a disaster for the Cincinnati Bengals would be an understatement. Star WR A.J. Green suffered an injury on the very first day of training camp and was eventually shut down midway through the season. Prior to this, […]