Whew, What a Blowout! Georgia 65 – TCU 7. – Libertate Virtute (Virtue + Liberty)

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As of now, the South is the king of football, with competition from the upper Midwest. It’s much more than the SEC. It’s regional dominance. There are places where physical, masculine virtues still prevail. Football thrives in a culture that has a place for such attributes.

I invite others to do a detailed analysis of the region’s productivity of top-tier football talent throughout the NCAA top 20. I’ll admit that it’s more than the South, though. California still gives the country some of the most highly recruited players in the country: C.J. Stroud (The Ohio State), Bryce Young (Alabama), Brock Bowers (Georgia), to name a few. Up and down the west coast, schools constantly dip into the state’s talent pool. Where would Oregon be without California talent?

But the state is shedding population (114,000 last year and almost 118,000 for 2021) and its reigning culture isn’t conducive to the exaltation of virility. The state is too busy becoming the Mecca of transgenderism, which says a lot about where that social eco-system is heading. Persistent pockets of male virtue exist, but the trend is increasingly inhospitable.

Texas, like the rest of the South, produces much talent that is diluted among many schools in the region. So does Florida. The performance of those states’ schools says little because of the chronic raiding.

In addition, the powerhouse schools of the South have a tendency to dominate because they are assisted by coaches who have the magic elixir to draw in much of the region’s pool of talent: Dabo Sweeney (Clemson), Nick Saban (Alabama), Kirby Smart (Georgia) for instance. There will always be exceptions, but they confirm what Cicero of ancient Rome said in Latin, exceptio probat regulam in casibus non exceptis, which means the exception confirms the rule in cases not excepted. In my mind, the generality of the South’s preeminence rings true.

As for the Midwest, they compete with the South. The Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State compete with the best of the South. Based on what I saw in this year’s playoff games, the real national championship game was between The Ohio State and Georgia. This region’s dominance, like the South, draws on the same residue of cultural male virtue.

This shift of football power may partially explain USC and UCLA’s move to the Big Ten in 2025. Some say that it’s all about the money. Yes, it is, and money follows success. It’s striking to realize that these big schools have to turn to red America to maintain competitiveness.

Some of my dear friends and family in California may find this assessment jarring, but it’s my judgment of the state of play circa 2023. I could be wrong, and the situation could change. There’s nothing more permanent than flux in human affairs.

RogerG

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