There is joy, to a point, in not caring who wins. That doesn’t meant the teevee doesn’t get yelled out on a given afternoon, but the ability to watch a game, understand what happened, determine the “why” a final score happened, the calls that the numbed-mind folks (stands, keyboards, and microphones) will mistakenly bellyache about makes for a chilled day.

By Michael A. Lough
The Sports Report
centralgasports@gmail.com

If folks can get over anything, they’d have realized there wasn’t much of a gap between Georgia and Alabama. Seriously. Alabama didn’t turn into West Alabama when the old coach left. And the loss to Florida State is a marketable loss.

Georgia hasn’t really looked as good as the hyperbolizers in Athens with keyboards (across the nation, it’s quite the scam) led everybody to believe. Again. Shocking, what with the 72 four- and five-star recruits every year (let’s not go down that road of absurdity).

Talk all you want about the fourth down or the field goal or the whatever. A dropped pass (though the refs missed an ineligible receiver on that play) and missed blocks and tackles galore are among the normal reasons team lose games.

Not because of a playcall, or an outsider exaggerating – like clockwork – how often a play is called. Sure, there’s predictability in every game by every team, because coaches aren’t among the most open-minded species on the planet, not by a long shot.

But every win and loss comes down to making fundamental plays. Let’s pause in hopes – feeble hopes –that it sinks in, but that’s the reality. When Georgia loses, it’s because of basic plays they didn’t make, basic assignments they bungled, things players did that they weren’t coached to do.

CENTRAL GEORGIA’S BEST HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL COVERAGE

🏈 Roundup: West Laurens’ Cummings was going, going, going, gone; Warner Robins, Stratford stunned, OT thriller for Upson-Lee, East Laurens upsets ACE; who scored 50?
🏈 Scouting Reports: This week’s GHSA and GIAA games
🏈 Maxwell Predictions
🏈 Who’s going to win this week’s games
🏈 Central Georgia state composite rankings
🏈 Central Georgia rankings
🏈 Monday Morning Quarterback: The Falcons, well, see … nope, no idea; Loughdmouthings galore (Tech unis, SEC schedule, UAB twit, repping Dodge County, more))e
🏈 Macon Touchdown Club players of the week

Last week
🏈 Roundup: Veterans, Northside battle Warner Robins, Peach County; heartbreaker for Upson-Lee, Northeast aces ACE again; John Milledge-Brentwood thriller, Mount de Sales’ first W, Stratford rolls
🏈 Scouting Reports: This week’s GHSA and GIAA games
🏈 Maxwell Predictions
🏈 Who’s going to win this week’s games
🏈 Central Georgia state composite rankings
🏈 Central Georgia rankings
🏈 Monday Morning Quarterback: Notes, reviews, Loughdmouthings
🏈 Macon Touchdown Club players of the week

Two weeks ago
🏈 Roundup: Rebound wins for Jones County, Dodge County, FPD; romps for Houston County, West Laurens, Brentwood; Dublin finally awakens, first Ws for GMC Prep, Gatewood
🏈 Scouting Reports: This week’s GHSA and GIAA games
🏈 Maxwell Predictions
🏈 Who’s going to win this week’s games
🏈 Central Georgia state composite rankings
🏈 Central Georgia rankings
🏈 Monday Morning Quarterback: Notes, reviews, Loughdmouthings
🏈 Macon Touchdown Club players of the week

It’s a level playing field, and that will only increase, so, get used to it.

Georgia Tech is blessed, but the Yellow Jackets are sort of earning those blessings. It’s old-school stuff, they’re not trying to be more than they are, they don’t compound a mistake with a mistake.

But they’re playing with some fire. How good Tech is, we still don’t really know, because that Clemson win has dropped, and it turns out, the Jackets barely beat a mediocre-until-further-notice ACC team. Ditto Wake.

Colorado remains the most overrated program - thanks to the teevee hacks and butt-kissers in the “media” to an atrocious level – so, Tech is solid but doesn’t have a really good win.

That opens the door for Virginia Tech, Duke, Syracuse, N.C. State, and Pitt. I’m not sure who, but really, only one of those teams – barring an injury flurry – will be the team to slip up with the upset. But the Jackets could also grind their way to a perfect ACC season and be 11-0 heading to the Benz.

Speaking of the Benz, there’s the ride at Six Flags known as the Falcons.

As good as they looked most of the day, they only won by seven against an undermanned team despite some heavy stat advantages.

Atlanta has to finish better, and deliver the body blows that allow for some pulling away. We can’t trust them to knock anybody out, but they have to be stronger in the second half and not let teams hang around.

They looked like the 12-5 roster I’ve talked about, and the coach was up to an 8-9 level. As you should with every ride at an amusement park, buckle up.

Cummings = wow, times 50

Apparently, Ty Cummings and his offensive line wanted to set some records and get it out of the way early.

Cummings didn’t need much to break the school record of durable Darius Bradford. Basically, he needed what was an average touchdown run Friday night in the scorefest with Baldwin.

Granted, Baldwin defenders will watch the tape and wonder what happened, because as great as the numbers were, somebody can’t get 615 yards without a fair amount of defensive inefficiency, between missed reads and missed tackles.

It’s not like West Laurens is throwing out a complicated offense (and, yes, the Raiders will need to complicate that offense up to keep winning when jacket weather arrives).

Monday Morning Quarterback, 2025

🏈 Aug. 18: Teams in transition deserve patience from the peanut gallery; Surprises; Loughdmouthings
🏈 Aug. 25: Southwest and Northeast lost their cool, and then people done lost their minds; Surprises, Loughdmouthings
🏈 Sept. 1: Saturdays will never be the same without Lee Corso; Loughdmouthings galore
🏈 Sept 8: Atlanta again puts the F in … Falconing, but there’s progress even in that; Surprises; Loughdmouthings galore
🏈 Sept. 15: A good Saturday on campus for Peach State teams; Stat stuff, surprises; Loughdmouthings galore
🏈Sept 22: Monday Morning Quarterback: The Falcons, um, well, see, you can, …nope, no idea; Surprises; Loughdmouthings galore (Tech unis, SEC schedule, UAB twit, repping Dodge County, more)

But goodness, what a glorious night to be an offensive lineman. Get in a 3-points stance, jump up and block somebody for a second, then stop and look at the back of Cummings’ jersey.

Can an offensive lineman be almost well-rested after a running back gets 615 yards? Yes, and it happened Friday night. When an offensive line is clicking, any and every offense is a joy to watch.

Surprises

Predicted Northeast to beat Dublin. It was coming. Did not see Dublin being handled up front, and being unable to manage more than one gain of more than 20 yards.

Usually, every Dublin back gets at least one 20-yarder a game.

Northeast turned in – sorry, but it’s the truth – the most fundamental and disciplined game by a Bibb County public school team in a long time. To do that to a general wing-T is one thing. To do that to a Dublin wing-T?

Wow.

Sure didn’t see John Milledge hazing Stratford like that, just like I wouldn’t have seen the Eagles doing that. We can seriously think about the Trojans getting back on a championship track.

Nobody saw Warner Robins losing handily to a team without a win.

Was not prepared for 125 points to be scored by anybody – never am prepared for that – yet there they were, West Laurens and Baldwin playing a video game.

Didn’t see Rutland playing its worst game of the year and taking a step backward like that against Jackson in what I thought was a winnable game. The Hurricanes are better than 44-0 to Jackson, and have five chances left to show as much, although the win chances are tough.

Sure didn’t see East Laurens on top of ACE for almost a whole game. Thought Macon County was back in form only for the Bulldogs to get shut out.

Loughdmouthings

Mercer is a team worth visiting.

There’s some old school, no doubt, but Mike Jacobs and his staff, they ain’t scared. They’ll try stuff. Nothing almost fireable, but they have a box, and they’ll think outside of it.

Football is football and humans are humans, but don’t be surprised if they run the table the rest of the way until visiting Auburn. Thus, get ready for at least one home playoff game.

That it’d be nice if people went to. …

Reminder to all Friday night screamers who thrive on missing plays and wondering what happened, especially with penalties: The guy in the white hat? He’ll tell you what the penalty is. Instead of blathering speculative nonsense about stuff you have little to no knowledge of – by choice – just wait.

Wouldn’t hurt to spend 5 minutes a week to read some of the rules that confuse you every single week. …

Dear Class A/Division II teams Hawkinsville, GMC Prep, Hancock Central, Twiggs County, Wilkinson County, Crawford County, Macon County, Taylor County, and Class A colleagues throughout the state (as well as some counties:

Can somebody, anybody, at your schools for the LOVE OF GOD engage in some level of 2025 communications and of caring about your constituents and post some game-night scores, and post a final score on MaxPreps before lunch the next friggin’ day? And let us know when the schedule changes?

It’s atrocious that the people in charge care so little about their stockholders that somebody, anybody, can’t be in charge of telling people what happened.

Every friggin’ week. Folks get paid plenty of money, so a total of 15 minutes on a Friday night isn’t too much to ask. The kids – and their parents - deserve for people to know what happened. …

Dear football gods: Change the rule on offsetting penalties. A 5-yarder and 15-yarder aren’t the same, so why do they cancel? …

A depressing thought: Northeast will have more wins, perhaps in the regular season, than the other five Bibb County public schools. The Raiders will certainly have more by the end of the season (because they are really looking good, perhaps … nope, won’t say it yet).

The Raiders are looking at 8-2 at the worst. Right now: Southwest 2-4 (projecting 3-7, possible 4-6); Westside 1-5 (projecting 2-8);

Howard 1-5 (projecting 2-8, possible 3-9); Rutland 0-6 (projecting 2-8); Central 0-6 (projecting 1-9)

Projections put the other five at 10-50, so upon mathematical review, no, but those projections are with a little optimism.

As per the latest GHSA postseason rankings, Northeast is the only playoff team among the six, and it’s not close with the other five. …

Congratulations to those teams on Friday who won despite opening up the playbook to the opponent by posting season stats on MaxPreps and/or Hudl, and who share game info on game night with The Sports Report, and/or anybody else.

How y’all do despite giving away the farm is impressive. (Searching for sarcasm font). …

From former Macon Telegrapher David Hale of ESPN.com in his weekly “Best of” (a good read every time out):

“Wake let the lead slip away in part due to a controversial missed call in the final two minutes of regulation, and in part because of what Yellow Jackets coach Brent Key called a halftime ‘hard reset,’ which presumably means they unplugged Haynes King and then plugged him back in again.”