‘Nightcaps’ is a daily column that catches you up on the biggest sports, news and culture stories you may have missed while pretending to do work at your desk. It runs Monday-Friday on OutKick.com.
Don’t look now, but we’re embarking on the final full week of September. I know. Doesn’t seem possible, but here we are.
It’s why we have to cherish every single one of these fall weekends, folks. They take so long to get here, and then you look up and we’re already into Week 4 of the college football season.
Blink, and we’ll be ringing doorbells for candy. Blink again, and we’ll be carving turkeys.
SYDNEY THOMAS MOCKS LANE KIFFIN AFTER LOSS WITH BRUTAL HALLOWEEN COSTUME IDEA, LSU FANS FIGHT & NATE’S SHORTS
Don’t let a single day go to waste. We’re in the best time of year.
Welcome to a Monday Nightcaps — the one where Nancy Mace sends her haters a stern message after they got all riled up over her attending Saturday’s South Carolina game.
“Go Cocks!”
What else? I’ve got Caleb Williams memes flooding the internet after yesterday’s wild injury (and reaction), Tom Brady ruffled some feathers with his language on yesterday’s broadcast (silly), and I think college football really separated itself from the NFL this weekend.
I assume it’ll swing back and forth throughout the season, but it was pretty stark yesterday. I’ll explain.
OK, grab you whatever it was Patrick Mahomes was slugging back before last night’s OT win, and settle in for a Monday ‘Cap!
Nancy Mace will NOT stand for the badmouthing
No, it wasn’t anything nefarious. That little cocktail would be pickle juice — a staple for any athlete. My wife loves pickle juice. I despise it.
I love pickles. Can’t stand pickle juice. People just drink that stuff out of the jar. It’s unfathomable to me.
But, to each their own. We don’t judge here. (We do).
Anyway, let’s get this class going. It’s a Monday, and the official last day of summer given the fall equinox begins tomorrow. We’re back in the 80s pretty consistently here in Florida, so it’s almost sweater weather!
First up today? Nancy Mace triggering the left with her SEC video over the weekend, and then sending the haters a strongly worded message after the dust settled:
Caleb Williams is back from the dead!
“I’ve had some time to reflect on my attendance at a college football game last night and then had the nerve to tweet about it,” Mace says, referring to the internet melting down her “Go Cocks!” caption.
“So this post goes out to all the liberals, libtards, socialists, leftists, and trolls that don’t think women should attend football games or cheer for their team with their college football chant. I want you to know that I’ve unpacked your lived experiences and I’ve centered your truth and your feelings. Your feelings are valid. But despite all of that, I’m unburdened by what has been.
“And so I’m going to attend — I’ve decided I’m going to attend the next football game and enjoy the hell out of it.”
SEC TEAMS WENT 16-0 IN WEEK 1, IS THE CONFERENCE BACK ON TOP OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL WORLD?
It just means more in the SEC, baby! Get ’em, Nancy. Don’t let the haters win this round. “Go Cocks!” has been South Carolina’s calling card forever now. You can’t drive down the street in Columbia without seeing it.
The Gamecocks lost to Miss. State, 41-34, for what it’s worth. Good game, though. Mississippi State QB Kamario Taylor may be the best quarterback in college football. He feels like someone who won’t be a Bulldog next season, sadly.
Next? Speaking of players who can sling the rock, Caleb Williams is all over the internet today. He went down with what appeared to be a season-ending injury late in Sunday’s game against Minnesota, and it basically took the jaws of life to get him off the field and into the locker room.
Turns out, he just pulled a hammy.
Naturally, his reaction to the injury is getting ruthlessly mocked:
Tom Brady & college football vs. the NFL
Amazing.
Look, I’m not here to tell you a hamstring strain doesn’t hurt. It does. We also don’t yet know how severe it is. It’s never great when muscles get yanked off the bone.
But … I legitimately thought Caleb Williams suffered a career-ending injury with his reaction. I’ve never seen a player yell or scream like that. Watching them try to walk him off the field was wild. I thought there was a real chance they were gonna have to call in the stretcher.
I figured we’d seen the last of him until next September …
And then it came out last night that it was a hamstring injury. Not ACL. Not achilles. No broken bones. Hamstring.
He’s not even being ruled out for next WEEK, according to Tom Pelissero! Amazing.
I like Caleb Williams, by the way. I think he’s a superstar quarterback. Unfortunately, that meme will now be used for the rest of eternity.
As is life on the internet. It’s a tough world out there.
OK, let’s rapid-fire this Monday class into a big Monday night. Speaking of the internet jumping all over someone …
Are people really mad at Tom Brady for saying “piss missile” on live TV? Is that not allowed? Am I got crazy? I’ve seen people whining on social media today because Brady cussed and said “piss” during the broadcast.
Give me a break. Everyone was mad at Tom two years ago because he was too robotic and reserved in the booth. Now we’re mad at him for this? And no, I’m not just saying this because Brady is a Fox teammate. I’m saying it because it’s NUTS how mad we get at the silliest things nowadays.
That ball from Dak WAS a piss missile! Get over it.
Finally, on the way out, I do have a question I’d like to leave for the class …
I saw that post this morning and it really spoke to me.
NFL vs. College football … who ya got? After this weekend, I think it’s pretty clear college football is just better at the moment. And I’m a HUGE NFL guy. It’s always been my No. 1 sport. Probably still is …
But the gap is getting pretty small. I don’t know how you can watch Ole Miss-LSU Saturday night, and then go into yesterday’s 1 p.m. slate of games, and not feel a difference.
College football Saturdays are just so much better. Perhaps it’s because of the day itself, which is fair. We all prefer Saturdays over Sundays. Can’t fault the NFL for that.
But beyond that, the atmosphere is just better. The pregame shows. The hype. The crowds. The storylines. Most of all, college football almost always delivers.
LSU-Ole Miss delivered Saturday night. Even with all the hype, the game somehow still delivered.
Maybe this is simply recency bias on my part given yesterday’s NFL slate was pretty awful. But I do think the difference was night and day this weekend.
Something to monitor.
OK, that’s it for today. Happy last day of summer to all who celebrate.
Let’s have a big week.
NFL or college? Email me at [email protected].
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