futurecoach

Same here. Which if it came down to it, and the top DL are gone and Downs is the best one left. I think knowing his health possible issues, I would try to trade back at that point. If not able to trade back, then I think you take your change and hope it works out.

I think some of you all are overselling some of the at large teams they would be going against to get in at that point. Just using Joe Lunardi's latest bracketology. Here is who he has as the last 8 in, and the first 8 out. Last 8 in: (In order) SMU TCU UCLA Texas AM Santa Clara Ohio State New Mexico Indiana First 8 out: (In order) Auburn San Diego State VCU Virginia Tech USC California West Virginia Cincinnati He has TCU being in and TCU is a team who has one Quad 3 loss and a Quad 4 loss. He has Santa Clara being in and they have a bad Quad 4 loss. New Mexico is in currently and they have a Quad 3 loss. Auburn has a Quad 3 loss San Diego State has a Quad 3 loss Virginia Tech a Quad 3 loss USC a Quad 3 loss California a Quad 3 loss West Virginia a Quad 3 loss Cincinnati a Quad 4 loss Miami may not have had any top wins, but they also have not faltered against any bad teams either. Which all the team they would be competing for an at Large spot with had loss a type of game that Miami has beaten all year. So if Miami finally does suffer a Quad 3 loss in the conference tournament, after being undefeated all year. I just don't see them dropping them out for one of these other teams. So as to me when trying to choose one of those last few at large teams, and would be similar to each other in NET rankings. You give the team that went undefeated all year long in the regular season, and didn't have any slip ups against those Quad 3 or Quad 4 teams in the regular season like the teams they are competing against for the last at large spots.

There are some reports out there that during test Caleb Downs was found to have a partially torn meniscus, and a degenerative ACL issue. Which to me if he is there and no other top DL is available, then you take him still. With that said, if he is there and one of the top DL is available, then it makes the choice even easier and you go with the DL. Which I would have gone with a DL over him even before hearing this.

It was pretty well known way before the combine that Bain had short arms. So I doubt it hurts his draft stock to much, with that said I do hope teams decide to pass on him and he falls to the Bengals.

Is there anyone on here who saw the Cooper/Ryle game and this one? Was there something defensively that Ryle did in that game, that Highlands was able to replicate and do too? As maybe Ryle found something to slow down Coopers offense, and Highlands was able to do the same thing.

No doubt, he is great. That is why I’m not worried about the Cooper Boys team at all, he will get that program going again. As this year was just a big talent drop no matter who coached the boys. This girls game result is very surprising. Especially since they just beat Highlands by 20 a month ago.

Definitely very surprising with how the season ended over these last two games.

This was one of the better all around games by the Cats in the Pope era. It was fun to watch. Let’s build off of it and keep it going!

If that is how the board falls. I would want Peter Woods then.

What are the days and times of the games?

This score is shocking! One of the big reasons IMO for why Cooper won the region these last few years, is because of their defense. If their offense had an off day, their defense was always still great. This year, they haven’t been bad but the defense may not be playing as well as previous years. With that said, I still believe Cooper has a very good chance to win the region. Which quite honestly a beat down like this may be what they needed heading into the region, and get them focused to go win it again.

Agreed! Them hitting on almost all their free agents in 2021 paved the way to that Super Bowl. They need to be able to do that again.

I think Walton wins this one. They revenged an earlier loss to Grant tonight, and I think they will do the same against SK. Should be another great game!

Until the Steelers actually get the QB situation figured out. They will continue to not be a team that is a threat to win it all. Good enough to where they don't blow it up, but never good enough to win it all. Essentially the worst spot to be in as a pro team, which is where the Bengals hung out a lot during the Dalton years.

The main time the Bengals actually draft well is when they have top 10 type picks, so trading back isn't a great move for them. As they almost need to get those can't miss type guys to hit on draft picks. The only way they should trade back, is if the 9 picks in front of them literally take almost every top defensive guy. In that case, then yeah might as well trade back if they can. The key though is for them to do what they did in 2021 and actually try to fill a lot of those needs in Free Agency. This way they don't have to use the draft to fill needs, and focus on getting best player available.

If they go into the MAC tournament undefeated, even if they lose they are in. With where their NET ranking is currently, they won't be left out for slipping up one time in the conference tournament. Which to answer your question in another post, yes that would mean they would take two teams from the MAC and another teams bubble would be popped then.

Oweh has missed a lot recently on layups, but until this recent stretch he had always been really good at finishing layups, especially tough ones. The guy never seemed to be able to make a layup, which stopped him from being really good was Ashton Hagans, because he could get to the rim but never finished and quite honestly wasn't even close to making it most of the time lol.

While there are a lot areas that didn’t improve like a lot of people thought once Calipari left. Which I admit I’m not very positive on if Pope can be the guy we need to win at the level that is expected. One area that I do believe Pope has been very good at, and is a clear upgrade from Calipari is out of bounds plays. Pope has been great out of timeouts with out of bounds plays. The play he drew up tonight may have won them the game. South Carolina cut it to 2 with a minute and a half left and had the momentum. Pope drew up a great play after a timeout to get an easy two and sparked the 13 to 5 run to end the game. Nicely done coach Pope!

While I like Downs and think he will be a great player. If the Bengals have a chance to get a stud pass rusher, that is more valuable than Downs IMO. All these good defenses have good defensive lines. Much like how the Ravens have one of the best safeties in the NFL in Hamilton. Their defense wasn't good this past year, because of not having a good defensive line that could rush the passer. For me if they could get any of the top 3 pass rushers, I would take them over Downs. I would even strongly consider Woods, because I think he is going to be a stud DT in this league, and finding a good DT is hard to find. However, at that point Downs is more of a can't miss than Woods, so you have to take Downs.

With where their NET ranking is. If they only lose one game, they will be in. Honestly I think they would slip in even if they lose 2.

The focus for the Walton-Verona Bearcats heading into the 2026 season is simple: start faster and finish stronger. Through two seasons under Coach Gary Pence, the results have been steady but not yet a major jump in the win column. The Bearcats have gone 5-6 and 5-7, compared to 4-6 the season prior to his arrival. While the overall record hasn’t dramatically improved, the postseason trajectory has. Walton-Verona missed the playoffs the year before Pence took over, made the playoffs in Year One, and then won a playoff game last season before falling to Beechwood in the second round. A clear trend under Pence has been slow starts. The Bearcats opened 1-5 in both seasons before rallying late. Injuries played a role, but every program deals with adversity, so they must do a better job overcoming that. In 2025, Walton-Verona held halftime leads in three losses but couldn’t close. If this team wants to take the next step, finishing games will be critical. Personnel-wise, the Bearcats lose five starters on offense: QB Avery Howe, WR Brayden Donato, WR Michael Oldfield, OL Shawn Sinkhorn, and Bryce Swanson. Defensively, only two starters depart (Donato and Sinkhorn), meaning the strength of this team should be on that side of the ball. Key returning players include Seniors. AJ Yutze, Cooper Burch, Samuel Koester, Juniors Andrew Lynn, Lucas Engel, and Sophomore Wesly Simpson. With experience and depth returning defensively, Walton-Verona has the pieces to be solid. The biggest question mark will be at quarterback. The competition is expected to come down to junior Andrew Lynn and sophomore Braxton Parr. How quickly that position settles could determine the ceiling of this team. Year Three is often when programs begin to show clear identity and growth under a new coach. If Walton-Verona can avoid another slow start and learn to close out tight games, this could be the season they push forward and reestablish themselves as a consistent contender as they were in the 2010's under coach Barth. 2026 Schedule Scrimmage #1 – at Dayton (vs. Dayton and Lynn Camp) Scrimmage #2 – at Pendleton County Week 1 – at Bishop Brossart Week 2 – Bye Week 3 – Ludlow Week 4 – at Boone County Week 5 – at Harrison County Week 6 – Bracken County Week 7 – at Beechwood Week 8 – Gallatin County Week 9 – at Owen County Week 10 – St. Henry Week 11 – at Grant County

If they do away with districts, then I think this would be the correct way to go. However, even if they don't do away with districts and keep the normal seeding for the first two rounds. Then I would like to see them use Maxpreps, or Calpreps to seed the teams from the third round on.

Agreed. I don't see anyway of them being able to avoid 6 team districts in any class besides for 1A and 6A.

Would have to feel bad for Scott and Boone County in this scenario. As they finally got out of being a 6 team district in this current alignment, which now allows one of them to make the playoffs based on who wins their game against each other. However, with it most likely moving back to 6 teams with CovCath moving up. That means the chances of them making the playoffs again go down drastically.

I agree.