College Football Kicks Off as Four Best Months Begin

Nightcaps is your daily fix for the biggest sports, news, and culture stories you likely missed while pretending to work at your desk. It lives Monday through Friday on OutKick.com. Final day of August, folks. This is it. At 12:01 a.m., we officially begin the Ber months otherwise known as the greatest stretch on the sports calendar. Forget sports... it's the greatest stretch on the calendar, period. September. October. November. December. Four of the best months of the year stare us right in our fat faces. How lucky are we? We got our college football appetizer on Saturday, and it starts in full this week. We get NFL next Wednesday. We have a three-day weekend coming up. Fantasy football drafts are in full swing. The WNBA is taking the next three weeks off. Again, who has it better than us? Labor Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas. Unreal stretch coming up. Strap in and hold on tight. We're in for a wild little ride. Welcome to a Monday Nightcaps, the one where a Texas high school football team learns the hard way not to disrespect the great state of Florida. This was never, ever going to end well. What else? I've got Lindsey Vonn smashing tennis balls and dominating in a green dress, my Red Sox got embarrassed over the weekend, and let's talk about that USC crowd from Saturday afternoon. It was pathetic, and for those screaming about it being a blowout Week 0 game, I've got some highlights out of South Dakota to show you. Give me a break. Grab you something tall and strong, but please don't make it a hurricane because we're entering peak time down here, and settle in for a final-Monday-of-August Cap! This was a poor pregame decision obviously, as the end of August and beginning of the Ber months hit just a bit different down here in Florida. Case in point: We're currently spending the week monitoring Dolly, which is, unfortunately, the next named storm on the list. Looks like we're just gonna get some possible rain remnants from her later this week, which is fine. Not the best, given it's rained all summer where I am, but better than the alternative. But it is a reminder that this is the time of year where the H-words really get active. This is a hold-your-breath month for Floridians. Let's keep our heads down and eyes on the prize, folks. Let's GRIND. OK, let's get this class going by staying this great state and checking out last Friday's big national game between DeSoto in Texas and St. Thomas Aquinas down in Fort Lauderdale. Give me a break, USC. Hilarious. St. Thomas, by the way, has won seven straight state championships. They've been a Florida powerhouse since I was in school, and that was a long time ago. USC FOOTBALL RIPPED FOR PATHETIC CROWD AT HOME OPENER: ABSOLUTELY EMBARRASSING. There's always been this debate surrounding high school football... which state produces the best talent? It's either Florida, Georgia, Texas or California. Those are the Big Four. I'd throw in Tennessee as well. Obviously, I'm biased. Duh. I live and breathe Florida. We have the greatest governor in the world, had no clue COVID was happening, and have so much leftover money in the budget we're about to nix property taxes kind of. I played high school football down here. I covered it for years. I don't think it's particularly close. Don't poke the bear like that, DeSoto! Dumb decision. They went down 38-0 in the first half and the second half took 15 minutes because there was a running clock. You know where it doesn't mean more... or, frankly, anything? Southern California. Jackrabbits, Lindsey & the Sox. Goodness gracious. I know it was San Jose State, but come on. That's just pathetic. It was so bad, by the way, that USC felt the need to issue a STATEMENT on the attendance via USA Today saying we understand the factors that impacted Saturday's attendance.

We hold high expectations and boast a premier home schedule this season," one voice stated. "We know the competitive advantage an electric Coliseum atmosphere can provide our program." They thanked fans who showed up Saturday and expressed hope for increased attendance later in the year. But let's look at the reality of that heat. It was 92 degrees outside. Give me a break on excuses like that.

Don't tell me San Jose State caused the low turnout. That argument is weak. Guess who South Dakota State faced on Saturday? The Stetson Hatters. Some call them the worst team in all of college football. I spent many years in DeLand, so I know this for a fact. The Jackrabbits were ranked nationally in FCS and sat as a 49.5 point favorite. That win felt like an easy one to me back then. They still won by a score of 70-7.

Look at the crowd picture from that Saturday night game and tell me something is fair. Spare me, USC. Don't bullsh*t a bullsh*tter.

Let's turn this Monday class into a big Monday night quickly. My Red Sox got embarrassed in New York over the weekend. They lost a winnable series 3-1 because they basically punted in two of the games. It was a disgrace, and the bellyaching from Red Sox Twitter today has been even worse. Everyone is complaining about that no-catch call from yesterday afternoon which turned a 0-0 game on its head.

I thought it was a catch in real time. I also thought it was a catch after the replay. But officials ruled it a no-catch on the field and never overturned that decision, especially at Yankee Stadium. The whining afterwards was a sight to behold even for someone who is a Red Sox fan. It got so bad the radio team started telling our crappy pitchers to start hitting their crappy players.

Seriously? Good God. It's so pathetic. I like Will Middlebrooks but I don't particularly love Will Flemming either. Hearing this stuff was just insane. Hey fellas, it is a Red Sox versus Yankees game. This was the biggest match of the year. Quit whining about the stupid catch and stop complaining that Jazz stole third base. Maybe start talking about how the Red Sox were a complete no-show all weekend long.

You are either the hunter or the hunted, and the Red Sox laid three eggs in the biggest series of the year before whining for five innings yesterday. Grow up and start worrying more about not sucking in Yankee Stadium. You're gonna be back there again in a month if you do not fix this. Figure it out.

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Phew, I needed to get that off my chest. Appreciate everyone allowing me to do so. Let's cool down with Lindsey Vonn on the way out. And of course, let's have a big week ahead. Was it really a catch? Email me at [email protected].