Michael Aguilar was at the Tally Classic playing with LSU, and he sent me an email recapping things. Here’s some of what he had to say:
On the bracket, since it’s not up on Score Reporter…
Semis play-ins: USC vs. Vermont and FSU vs. Bama
Semis: LSU vs. USC and UCF vs. FSU
Finals: LSU vs. UCF (12-8/9)
On Tally Classic winners Central Florida…
UCF is quite impressive. Word on the street is that they returned 12-14 starters from last season and picked up some solid freshman (such as a player from the NE who has been playing for 8 years, has third lowest UPA ID on the team and is only 18). They definitely have a system that everyone is buying into and numbers to back that system up. They were doing what it sounds like Colorado is doing this season, two full lines that rotate in and out regardless of O or D point. One is definitely shaded towards offense and one towards defense. They’re super athletic as a team and were clearly the best overall team at the tourney.
Andrew Roca is coaching them up, while I don’t know what he brings to the table knowledge-wise, I know he helps with their fire and organization so that should carry them.
On the Finals…
That being said, finals was still tighter than what the final score (12-8?) shows. LSU had upwards of 6 possessions inside of 20 yards with the opportunity to get the first upwind break and continually threw the disc away.I give a lot of credit to UCF’s system for producing a more reliable offense on both sides of the disc.
On the Bama Section…
The Bama section may be bringing more competition to the table than we give them credit for. Alabama only brought 11 and still performed well. LSU was capped at 12 players and went to finals without really being challenged all tournament. Auburn’s results from CowBell should be discounted as they had an ENTIRELY different team at this tournament than that one. They were much improved.
On the Southeast as a whole, which I suggested seems to be undergoing an overall improvement and growth…
I’m not sure about the scene being rejuvenated. We’ll see if any of these teams can play well out of region. Some of these teams will be at Mardi Gras and, with the decline in competition, will have the opportunity to play power pools against some good out of region competition. I know LSU will be at Centex but I’m not sure about UCF.
As far as teams from this tournament competing for a Nationals bid… I’m not sure. At this point, Georgia Tech doesn’t seem as strong as we thought they would be so I imagine that a UCF/LSU could compete with the third spot or possibly even take Georgia down. From what I’ve seen so far, I don’t imagine any of these teams beating Florida, the gap is too huge.
On South Carolina, where Aguilar attended undergrad…
I’ll toot the alma mater’s horn and say that AC teams should still watch out for USC even though they lost two of their top five for the season (one to injury and one to financial issues). Carolina was a matter of plays away from unseating UCF in pool play and LSU in semifinals.
Wrapping up…
Long story short I don’t think that this tournament tells us a whole bunch. Other than the fact that FSU is not what we (they) thought they were and UCF is the top dog that’s not a top dog in the Region.
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