Mississippi Today

Coaches’ preseason Top 25 poll is out, which means, well, nothing at all

Published

2 years ago

August 8, 2023

USA Today released its Coaches preseason college football poll, which has the Internet and the sports talk shows buzzing. And that’s OK, as long as you realize that the preseason poll and the one that will come out after the bowls and playoffs in January will bear little, if any, resemblance.

And I know what some of you are thinking: Who better to rank the teams in the preseason than the coaches themselves?

Answer: Just about anybody.

The coaches are biased in favor of their own teams, their own conferences and their own sections of the country. They see less football around the country than practically anyone because they are so wrapped up in their own teams in their own leagues. Not that they actually make the selections themselves, at least not many of them do. Most delegate the poll picking to someone in their sports information offices or someone on their operations staff. How do I know this? Because coaches often have told me just that.

As for the accuracy of the preseason coaches poll, let’s take a quick look at last year’s. Here’s what you need to know about that….

Alabama was picked to win the national championship, garnering 55 of a possible 66 ballots for the No. 1 team in the country. But Bama lost twice in the regular season, both times to teams (Tennessee and LSU) that were unranked in the preseason poll. Georgia, which got six first place votes in the preseason poll, won 15 straight games and the national championship.

And that’s only the beginning of just how inaccurate the 2022 preseason coaches poll was.

You want to localize it? OK, let’s do that. Glance at this year’s poll and you will find that Ole Miss is ranked No. 22. Hotty Toddy, you say. We’ll see. This time last year the Rebels were ranked No. 24 in the preseason, and you know what happened. The Rebels lost five of their last six games and finished the season unranked. Meanwhile, Mississippi State, which was unranked to begin the season, defeated Ole Miss the Egg Bowl, won four of its last five games and finished No. 19.

Mississippi was not alone. It was like that in a lot of places where the preseason coaches poll was concerned. We can go on and on. In fact, let’s do.

Seventeen of the teams picked to finish in the Top 25 last year did not.

Five of the teams picked to finish in the Top 10 did not.

Texas A&M, picked to finish No. 7, finished with a losing record. The Aggies were not alone.

Oklahoma, picked to finish No. 9, finished instead with a losing record. Meanwhile, Tulane, which did not receive a single Top 25 vote, defeated Southern Cal in the Cotton Bowl and finished No. 9.

Baylor last year was picked to finish No. 10 in the nation. The Bears instead finished with a losing record. So who actually did finish No. 10? Florida State, which was was unranked to begin the season, did.

Oklahoma State was picked to finish No. 11 in the country but finished with a losing record in its own conference. The Cowboys not only lost to Oklahoma and West Virginia, two teams with losing records, they also lost to Kansas State 48-0.

It gets worse.

LSU, unranked to begin the season, won 10 games, defeated four ranked teams (including Ole Miss by four touchdowns) and finished No. 15.

Miami, picked to finish No. 17, finished with a losing record and did not even qualify to play in a bowl game.

Troy, unranked to begin the 2022 season, won 12 games and finished No. 20. There’s more, lots more, but you get the idea.

The truth is, preseason polls have never been particularly accurate. But these days – with the wholesale roster changes due to the transfer portal – it truly is a fool’s errand. The preseason polls are fun to talk about, and that’s all that’s useful about them.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Mississippi Today

UMMC holds free cancer screenings

Published

1 day ago

April 30, 2025

Staff Editor

mississippitoday.org – @EricJShelton – 2025-04-30 12:00:00

by Eric J. Shelton, Mississippi Today
April 30, 2025

Resident physician Claire Babin, right, performs an oral cancer screening on Ella Holmes during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Physicians prepare for oral, head and neck cancer screenings during a free screening event at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Resident physician Brooks Lampkin, center, screens Diane Carter for oral cancer as medical students Mason Nodurft, left, and Eva Kiparizoska observe during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Educational giveaways advocating against smoking are available during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Sharon Terry, senior tobacco treatment specialist, waits for patients during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Skylar Robinson, medical office assistant, left, and Kiandria Bruce, registered nurse, review materials at the patient sign-in table during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Head and neck cancer literature is available during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Dr. Alex Brooks and registered nurse Angela Noble talk during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Nina Brown, clinical manager, helps Ned Bostic with paperwork during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Resident physician Brooks Lampkin performs an oral cancer screening on Ned Bostic at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Ned Bostic receives a neck cancer screening during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Resident physician Brooks Lampkin, center, and medical student Hanna Watson examine Ned Bostic during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.

The University of Mississippi Medical Center’s Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery hosted a free oral, head, and neck cancer screening Wednesday at the Jackson Medical Mall as part of Oral, Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Week.

The event featured quick, noninvasive screenings aimed at catching cancer early — when treatment is most effective. Onyx Care provided free HPV vaccinations, while the ACT Center for Tobacco Treatment, Education, and Research offered resources on smoking cessation and free services.

“These screenings take about 10 minutes and can save lives,” said Dr. Gina Jefferson, head and neck surgical oncologist at UMMC. “The earlier a cancer is diagnosed, the better chance we have of curing it.”

Tobacco and alcohol use remain major risk factors for these cancers. However, physicians say an increasing number of cases are linked to HPV, especially among younger adults with no history of smoking or drinking. Dentists are often the first to spot early signs, which can include persistent sores, lumps in the neck, or difficulty swallowing.

Oral, head and neck cancers are among the most common globally. When found early, survival rates can exceed 80 percent.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The post UMMC holds free cancer screenings appeared first on mississippitoday.org

Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Centrist

This article presents factual information about a free cancer screening event without showing a clear ideological stance. It primarily focuses on the health benefits of early cancer detection and the availability of free resources, such as HPV vaccinations and smoking cessation support. The language used is neutral and the content is centered around public health education rather than promoting a political viewpoint. The inclusion of factual statistics, such as survival rates and risk factors, adds to its informative and objective tone. There are no signs of bias or advocacy for a particular political agenda, making this a centrist piece.

Crooked Letter Sports Podcast

Podcast: What next for Mississippi State baseball?

Published

1 day ago

April 30, 2025

Staff Editor

mississippitoday.org – @rick_cleveland – 2025-04-30 10:46:00

by Rick Cleveland and Tyler Cleveland, Mississippi Today
April 30, 2025

Mississippi State didn’t even wait until the end of the season to fire Chris Lemonis, who brought the national championship to Starkville not quite four years ago. Where do the Bulldogs go from here. Robbie Faulk who covers the Bulldogs more closely than anyone else joins the podcast to discuss the situation.

Stream all episodes here.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The post Podcast: What next for Mississippi State baseball? appeared first on mississippitoday.org

Mississippi Today

Mobile sports betting users: We want to hear from you

Published

1 day ago

April 30, 2025

Staff Editor

mississippitoday.org – @MSTODAYnews – 2025-04-30 10:21:00

by Mississippi Today, Mississippi Today
April 30, 2025

Mississippi Today is looking to speak with current and former mobile sports betting users. We’d like to speak with people who spend considerable amounts of time and money betting on sports through online gambling sites.

We’re interested in hearing the experience of people who have suffered from gambling addiction or problems, or friends and family members of people who have. We also would like to talk with people who believe legalizing mobile sports betting would benefit Mississippi and its residents.

We want to hear from you. Please take the survey below or contact Political Reporter Michael Goldberg by email at mgoldberg@mississippitoday.org

TAKE THE SURVEY:

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This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The post Mobile sports betting users: We want to hear from you appeared first on mississippitoday.org

Political Bias Rating: Centrist

This article from Mississippi Today appears to present a neutral stance, focusing on gathering input from various groups of mobile sports betting users, including those who may have experienced addiction issues. The content does not advocate for or against the legalization of mobile sports betting but instead seeks to gather diverse perspectives, including those of individuals who may support or oppose it. The language used is objective and does not suggest a particular ideological perspective, allowing for a balanced exploration of the issue at hand.