LSU

Orlando Sentinel prep editor talks rise of Montverde Academy basketball & No. 1 Olympia baseball

Buddy Collings of the Orlando Sentinel joined me Saturday to talk about the emergence of Montverde Academy as a national high school basketball powerhouse and the odds of Orlando’s Olympia High School, the No. 1 baseball team in the nation, at winning the state title this year.

Montverde Academy, led by LSU commit Ben Simmons, won its third national title in a row on Saturday. Collings also talked about how Simmons, named national player of the year by numerous organizations, lost out on the Mr. Basketball award in Florida to fellow LSU commit Antonio Blakeney of Orlando’s Oak Ridge High School.

( – Click here to listen to Buddy Collings of Orlando Sentinel on Carnahan Chronicles – )

Duke legend Christian Laettner featured in new ESPN 30 for 30 film

Like most people with any amount of good taste in the early 1990s I grew up rooting against Christian Laettner and those Duke Blue Devil basketball teams. Yet for some reason my interest was peaked when anticipating the new 30 for 30 installment I Hate Christian Laettner.

Maybe it was the 90210 sideburns and haircut he sported that turned me off. Or maybe it was all that winning that Duke did. Whatever it was, the road down memory lane Sunday was a reminder of all the animosity we once shared for a player and program that appeared in four-straight Final Fours and won two national titles.

It’s not one of the better 30 for 30’s, considering the subject matter and that it’s narrated by Rob Lowe, but it’s a worthy look at what made one of the greatest college basketball players so polarizing among fans.

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Carnahan Chronicles College Football Rankings (Week 12)

Just one college football team remains unbeaten from a power conference at this point in the season as the defending national champion Florida State Seminoles strengthened their hold on a postseason bid Saturday night. The other three spots are up for grabs between six teams with only one loss. Aside from FSU, Marshall (10-0) of Conference USA is the lone remaining unbeaten while the only other team with one loss not listed below is Colorado State (9-1) of the Mountain West.

This week’s Carnahan Chronicles College Football Rankings:

#1 (1) Florida State (10-0) – Won 30-26 at Miami
#2 (4) Alabama (9-1) – Won 25-20 vs No. 1 Mississippi State
#3 (3) Oregon (9-1) – Did not play
#4 (5) Baylor (8-1) – Did not play
#5 (8) Ohio State (9-1) – Won 31-24 at No. 25 Minnesota
#6 (6) TCU (9-1) – Won 34-30 at Kansas
#7 (2) Mississippi State (9-1) – Lost 25-20 at No. 5 Alabama
#8 (–) Mississippi (8-2) – Did not play
#9 (–) Wisconsin (8-2) – Won 59-24 vs No. 16 Nebraska
#10 (10) UCLA (8-2) – Did not play

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Carnahan Chronicles College Football Rankings (Week 11)

Did you see the College Football Playoff rankings that were released Tuesday? Looks like there’ll be plenty to complain about by the time this whole thing concludes at the end of the regular season. Quick question: Will Nebraska (8-1) or Duke (8-1) ever crack the Top 10? They’ll likely need to win their conferences for that to happen. Here’s the updated Carnahan Chronicles College Football Rankings…

#1 (1) Florida State (9-0) – Won 34-20 vs Virginia
#2 (2) Mississippi State (9-0) – Won 45-16 vs Tennessee-Martin
#3 (4) Oregon (9-1) – Won 51-27 at No. 17 Utah
#4 (5) Alabama (8-1) – Won 20-13 at No. 16 LSU
#5 (10) Baylor (8-1) – Won 48-14 at No. 15 Oklahoma
#6 (6) TCU (8-1) – Won 41-20 vs No. 7 Kansas State
#7 (–) Arizona State (8-1) – Won 55-31 vs No. 10 Notre Dame
#8 (–) Ohio State (8-1) – Won 49-37 at No. 8 Michigan State
#9 (3) Auburn (7-2) – Lost 41-38 vs Texas A&M
#10 (–) UCLA (8-2) – Won 44-30 at Washington

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Carnahan Chronicles College Football Rankings (Week 10)

The top four teams this week in the College Football Playoff, in order, are Mississippi State, Florida State, Auburn and Oregon, just as the top four teams in this week’s version of the Carnahan Chronicles College Football Rankings.

#1 (1) Florida State (8-0) – Won 42-31 at Louisville
#2 (2) Mississippi State (8-0) – Won 17-10 vs Arkansas
#3 (4) Auburn (7-1) – Won 35-31 at No. 4 Mississippi
#4 (3) Oregon (8-1) – Won 45-16 vs Stanford
#5 (6) Alabama (7-1) – Did not play
#6 (8) TCU (7-1) – Won 31-30 at No. 20 West Virginia
#7 (7) Notre Dame (7-1) – Won 49-39 at Navy
#8 (9) Michigan State (7-1) – Did not play
#9 (10) Kansas State (7-1) – Won 48-14 vs Oklahoma State
#10 (–) Baylor (7-1) – Won 60-14 vs Kansas

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Carnahan Chronicles College Football Rankings (Week 9)

The first version of the official College Football Playoff rankings rolled out Tuesday. There will be plenty of changes to that list throughout the remainder of the season and it’ll be fun to see how the committee weighs each team as it decides upon the four programs most deserving of playing for a national title. This week the top four teams according to the College Football Playoff consist of Mississippi State, Florida State, Auburn and Mississippi – in that order. Here’s how the Carnahan Chronicles College Football Rankings shape up this week:

#1 (1) Florida State (7-0) – Did not play
#2 (2) Mississippi State (7-0) – Won 45-31 at Kentucky
#3 (4) Oregon (7-1) – Won 59-41 at California
#4 (6) Auburn (6-1) – Won 42-35 vs South Carolina
#5 (3) Mississippi (7-1) – Lost 10-7 at No. 24 LSU
#6 (7) Alabama (7-1) – Won 34-20 at Tennessee
#7 (5) Notre Dame (6-1) – Did not play
#8 (9) TCU (6-1) – Won 82-27 vs Texas Tech
#9 (8) Michigan State (7-1) – Won 35-11 vs Michigan
#10 (10) Kansas State (6-1) – Won 23-0 vs Texas

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Carnahan Chronicles College Football Rankings (Week 8)

There’s still plenty to be decided as we get closer to figuring out which four teams will be the last program’s standing to take part in the new college football playoff. Although nine of the 10 teams listed below are the same names tabbed in the top spots of the Associated Press Top 25, these rankings vary quite a bit. Here’s this week’s Carnahan Chronicles College Football Rankings:

#1 (1) Florida State (7-0) – Won 31-27 vs No. 5 Notre Dame
#2 (2) Mississippi State (6-0) – Did not play
#3 (3) Mississippi (7-0) – Won 34-3 vs Tennessee
#4 (6) Oregon (6-1) – Won 45-20 vs Washington
#5 (5) Notre Dame (6-1) – Lost 31-27 at No. 2 Florida State
#6 (7) Auburn (5-1) – Did not play
#7 (10) Alabama (6-1) – Won 59-0 vs No. 21 Texas A&M
#8 (9) Michigan State (6-1) – Won 56-17 at Indiana
#9 (8) TCU (5-1) – Won 42-9 vs No. 15 Oklahoma State
#10 (–) Kansas State (5-1) – Won 31-30 at No. 11 Oklahoma

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Carnahan Chronicles College Football Rankings (Week 6)

Go ahead, try to wrap your head around what took place last Saturday in the wild world of college football. A total of eight teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 suffered losses while three others suffered setbacks in Top 25 matchups. Needless to say, the Carnahan Chronicles College Football Rankings tumbled in spectacular fashion. But we’re back to pick up the pieces and add some new names and faces, of which many will surely fall in the coming weeks. Consider this a Top 10 dedicated to momentum each week based off level of upsets and voting by the AP:

#1 (1) Florida State (5-0) – Won 43-3 vs Wake Forest
#2 (2) Auburn (5-0) – Won 41-7 vs No. 15 LSU
#3 (8) Mississippi State (5-0) – Won 48-31 vs No. 6 Texas A&M
#4 (–) Mississippi (5-0) – Won 23-17 vs No. 3 Alabama
#5 (–) TCU (4-0) – Won 37-33 vs No. 4 Oklahoma
#6 (–) Notre Dame (5-0) – Won 17-14 vs No. 14 Stanford
#7 (–) Arizona (5-0) – Won 31-24 at No. 2 Oregon
#8 (3) Oregon (4-1) – Lost 31-24 vs Arizona
#9 (6) Alabama (4-1) – Lost 23-17 at No. 11 Mississippi
#10 (9) Michigan State (4-1) – Won 27-22 vs No. 19 Nebraska

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Carnahan Chronicles College Football Rankings (Week 5)

Teams atop the Carnahan Chronicles College Football Rankings caused fans to question their toughness this past week as they kept matchups interesting for far too long. There’s just one new addition this time around to the Top 10 and a little movement based on bye weeks. Consider this a Top 10 dedicated to momentum each week based off level of upsets and voting by the Associated Press:

#1 (1) Florida State (4-0) – Won 56-41 at NC State
#2 (2) Auburn (4-0) – Won 45-17 at Louisiana Tech
#3 (4) Oregon (4-0) – Did not play
#4 (3) Texas A&M (5-0) – Won 35-28 (OT) vs Arkansas
#5 (6) Oklahoma (4-0) – Did not play
#6 (7) Alabama (4-0) – Did not play
#7 (–) UCLA (4-0) – Won 62-27 at No. 15 Arizona State
#8 (7) Mississippi State (4-0) – Did not play
#9 (10) Michigan State (3-1) – Won 56-14 vs Wyoming
#10 (9) East Carolina (3-1) – Did not play

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Carnahan Chronicles College Football Rankings (Week 4)

Not a lot of movement in the Carnahan Chronicles College Football Rankings as just one team from last week fell short in Week 4. Consider this a Top 10 dedicated to momentum each week based off level of upsets and voting by the Associated Press:

#1 (1) Florida State (3-0) – Won 23-17 (OT) vs No. 22 Clemson
#2 (2) Auburn (3-0) – Won 20-14 at No. 20 Kansas State
#3 (3) Texas A&M (4-0) – Won 58-6 at SMU
#4 (4) Oregon (4-0) – Won 38-31 at Washington State
#5 (6) Oklahoma (4-0) – Won 45-33 at West Virginia
#6 (7) Alabama (4-0) – Won 42-21 vs Florida
#7 (–) Mississippi State (4-0) – Won 34-29 at No. 8 LSU
#8 (8) South Carolina (3-1) – Won 48-34 at Vanderbilt
#9 (9) East Carolina (3-1) – Won 70-41 vs North Carolina
#10 (–) Michigan State (2-1) – Won 73-14 vs Eastern Michigan

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Carnahan Chronicles College Football Rankings (Week 3)

Upsets! That’s what Week 3 of the college football season served up for fans this past Saturday. And they were the type of upsets that brought major changes to the Carnahan Chronicles College Football Rankings. Consider this a Top 10 dedicated to momentum each week based off level of upsets and voting by the Associated Press:

#1 (1) Florida State (2-0) – Did not play
#2 (2) Auburn (2-0) – Did not play
#3 (4) Texas A&M (3-0) – Won 38-10 vs Rice
#4 (3) Oregon (3-0) – Won 48-14 vs Wyoming
#5 (7) LSU (3-0) – Won 31-0 vs La.-Monroe
#6 (9) Oklahoma (3-0) – Won 34-10 vs Tennessee
#7 (10) Alabama (3-0) – Won 52-12 vs Southern Miss
#8 (–) South Carolina (2-1) – Won 38-35 vs No. 6 Georgia
#9 (–) East Carolina (2-1) – Won 28-21 at No. 17 Virginia Tech
#10 (–) Boston College (2-1) – Won 37-31 vs No. 9 USC

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CARNAHAN CHRONICLES COLLEGE FOOTBALL RANKINGS (WEEK 2)

Two weeks into the season, below is the new installment of the Carnahan Chronicles College Football Rankings. Two teams dropped out after suffering losses:

#1 (1) Florida State (2-0) – Defending champs won 37-12 vs Citadel
#2 (2) Auburn (2-0) – Last year’s runner-up won 59-13 vs San Jose State
#3 (7) Oregon (2-0) – Won 46-27 vs No. 7 Michigan State
#4 (3) Texas A&M (2-0) – Won 73-3 vs Lamar
#5 (–) Virginia Tech (2-0) – Won 35-21 at No. 8 Ohio State
#6 (–) USC (2-0) – Won 13-10 at No. 13 Stanford
#7 (5) LSU (2-0) – Won 56-0 vs Sam Houston State
#8 (4) Georgia (1-0) – Did not play
#9 (6) Oklahoma (2-0) – Won 52-7 at Tulsa
#10 (9) Alabama (2-0) – Won 41-0 vs Florida Atlantic

Dropped out – #8 Michigan State (46-27 loss at Oregon), #10 Ohio State (35-21 loss vs Virginia Tech)

NOTES: Because FSU & Auburn played for the title last season, they remain atop these rankings… Texas A&M, Georgia & LSU won Top 25 matchups in Week 1 against teams in the Associated Press poll, but A&M drops from 3 to 4, Georgia drops from 4 to 8 and LSU drops from 5 to 7… Oklahoma (from 6 to 9) and Alabama (9 to 10) also drop after Oregon’s win over No. 7 Michigan State moves the Ducks up from 7 to 3… The moves make way for Virginia Tech (35-21 win at No. 8 Ohio State) and USC (13-10 win at No. 13 Stanford) to claim spots in the Top 10… The biggest matchup this weekend involving teams in the AP Top 25 is No. 6 Georgia (2-2) at No. 24 South Carolina.

Carnahan Chronicles College Football Rankings (Week 1)

Since Week 2 of the college football season is rapidly approaching, we’ll keep this short and sweet. After one week of action here’s the debut of the Carnahan Chronicles College Football Rankings:

1) Florida State (defending champs won 37-31 vs Oklahoma State)
2) Auburn (last year’s runner-up won 45-21 vs Arkansas)
3) Texas A&M (won 52-28 on road at No. 9 South Carolina)
4) Georgia (won 45-21 vs No. 16 Clemson)
5) LSU (won 28-24 vs No. 14 Wisconsin)
6) Oklahoma (won 48-16 vs Louisiana Tech)
7) Oregon (won 62-13 vs South Dakota)
8) Michigan State (won 45-7 vs Jacksonville State)
9) Alabama (won 33-23 vs West Virginia)
10) Ohio State (won 34-17 vs Navy)

NOTES: Because FSU & Auburn played for the title last season, they start atop these rankings. Texas A&M, Georgia & LSU won Top 25 matchups against teams in the Associated Press poll and because of that move into the Top 5 right off the bat. The benefit of the doubt was given to Oklahoma, Alabama & Ohio State due to their respective rankings in the AP poll this week, as was the case with Oregon & Michigan State, the winner of which will likely move up following Week 2. Ohio State is the only other team on this list playing a decent opponent this weekend (Virginia Tech). Also, expect the winner of Stanford & USC to climb into the Top 10 next week.

State of Florida Produces 9 Former Prep Players In NFL Draft

That brief moment of excitement I feel each year when preparing to watch the NFL Draft doesn’t linger for too long. I’m usually ready to channel surf or dip in and out of the room by the eighth pick. But this year I realized it’s all in the way you approach it.

I spent much of the draft last night in a recliner with a laptop, smartphone and remote control nearby. First thing I realized was that ESPN has been ruining this event for me for years. It wasn’t until I committed to the NFL Network’s broadcast that I no longer had the urge to throw my television through a wall due to the rabid jaw-flapping.

Then I got caught up in the information overload world of Twitter and Facebook, reading and responding to online posts about fan’s draft triumphs and despair, with plenty of doses of humor thrown in at each other’s expense.

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