• Georgia football doesn’t present as having much weakness, but Bulldogs’ schedule is loaded with Texas, Alabama, Ole Miss and Tennessee.
• Ohio State boasts an impressive roster, but Buckeyes will transition to new starting quarterback Will Howard.
• Will Georgia even win the SEC? Texas’ arrival makes the conference even tougher.

Either Georgia or Ohio State will be preseason No. 1. But just how heavily are those teams favored to win the national championship?

The SEC will be even more of a juggernaut than usual, following the arrival of Texas and Oklahoma. Georgia’s schedule will include games against Clemson, Texas, Alabama, Ole Miss and Tennessee. That’s a rugged road before the playoff arrives. Ohio State is loaded but will transition to a new starting quarterback.

On this edition of “SEC Football Unfiltered,” a podcast from the USA TODAY Network, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams consider this question: If you were predicting the national champion and could either take Georgia and Ohio State or the field, which would you choose?

It’s a tough question, because Georgia and Ohio State are deserving frontrunners, but navigating a 12-team playoff presents more potential pitfalls.

TOPPMEYER: Why 12-team College Football Playoff is blessing, curse for Tennessee, Florida, LSU

ADAMS: Looking for a college football dark horse? I’ve got one.

Here’s the analysis:

Toppmeyer: I’d take Georgia and Ohio State. Although I think as many as about 30 teams could be considered preseason playoff hopefuls, I only consider six to be serious national championship contenders: Georgia, Ohio State, Texas, Oregon, Ole Miss and Alabama. My top three champion picks would be Georgia, Texas and Ohio State. So, if you’re giving me two of those three, I’m taking that duo over the field. Georgia lacks an obvious weakness. Ohio State will have a new quarterback, but starter Will Howard previously played well for Kansas State. If the Buckeyes are hitting their stride behind Howard come postseason, they’re plenty loaded elsewhere. I’d feel more confident in this pick if I could have Georgia and Texas rather than Georgia and Ohio State, but as long as I’m getting Georgia and another top-tier team, I’m taking that over the field.

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Adams: Give me the field. Georgia is really good, and quarterback Carson Beck will be a Heisman Trophy contender. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Bulldogs won a national championship. But, I don’t think this is Kirby Smart’s best squad, and there are other teams I like from the SEC, too, like Ole Miss and Texas. Ohio State doesn’t sweeten the pot enough. I don’t trust Ryan Day to navigate a 12-team playoff, and I’m made more skeptical of the Buckeyes because of the quarterback transition.

Later in the episode

– A look at John Calipari’s quest to build an NCAA Tournament roster in Year 1 at Arkansas. Calipari is considering an unusual strategy as he approaches this season.

Where to listen to SEC Football Unfiltered

Apple

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Google

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s SEC Columnist. John Adams is the senior sports columnist for the Knoxville News Sentinel. Subscribe to the SEC Football Unfiltered podcast, and check out the SEC Unfiltered newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox.

ALTOONA, Wis. (WEAU) – Altoona woman claims to be a victim in a theft by deception case

More than 300 people across 25 states and even Australia, gave irreplaceable mementos to a woman in Georgia and never got them back and one woman in Altoona claims to be a victim.

Kearston Thibedeau said that she bought a custom ring made of her breastmilk from a business called Romeo and Juliette Keepsakes. The owner of the business was arrested. Police are recommending charges of theft by deception.

“It’s tough because you don’t know who to trust,” said Thibedeau.

Georgia investigators are recommending charges against 32-year-old Destiny Magoon for theft by deception.

The sheriff’s office in Georgia says Magoon operated a telemarketing business that offered to create mementos for people.

They say customers mailed items to her such as breastmilk, hair, and ashes…but never received the finished product.

“My daughter was born in July of ‘21 and I joined a Facebook group for moms who had babies the same month that I did. And somebody had posted something in there about breast milk jewelry. And I was very interested,” said Thibedeau.

She says her breastmilk was special to her because of how it bonded her to her child.

“It was something I had my heart set on. My daughter beastfed for two full years and it was where she wouldn’t take a bottle at daycare, so it was just something that I had to work extra hard at.”

She said she ordered the ring in December of 2022 and she still didn’t receive it by May of this year.

“I knew she was busy and I knew she was getting more orders,” she said. “But then later last year is kind of when it started to get weird, she started posting things about her business having issues. I reached out to her and never heard anything. I emailed a couple different emails and then they started coming back as undeliverable. So then a lady from Facebook messaged me and asked if I had ever received my ring and I told her no.”

The woman told her to join a Facebook group where hundreds of other woman went through the same ordeal. Now Thibedeau looks to move forward even though she has lost her trust.

“I thought it was the last of my breast milk and I ended up finding another bag in the freezer kind of tucked away back. So if I wanted to order another one from somebody else, I could. I just don’t know if I trust anybody else to take the last of my breast milk and maybe transform it into something special.”

Washington County deputies are working hard to sort through the hundreds of irreplaceable items that the victims sent to the business and they said it could be weeks before items are returned.

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Georgia Tech Women’s Basketball Coach Nell Fortner has been hard at work on the recruiting trail and it showed when ESPN updated their top 25 recruiting class rankings.

In the updated rankings today, ESPN rated the Yellow Jackets class as the 12th best in the country and the third best in the ACC, ranking behind only Louisville (6th overall) and Duke (7th overall). Georgia Tech has some headliners in this class, including Danielle Carnegie, who is a top 30 player in the country according to ESPN.

Here is what analyst Shane Liflin had to say about the Yellow Jackets class:

Highest-ranked commit: G Danielle Carnegie (No. 29)

“Coach Nell Fortner brings in a trio of complementary perimeter players to add to the roster next year.

Carnegie is a scoring guard who can score in a variety of ways. She is crafty off the bounce and can create her own shot in small space. She is a creative finisher at the rim as well.

No. 49 Chazadi Wright is a small, but feisty point guard. She pressures the ball well defensively and reads the floor well. She has proven over the summer to be a player who will take and make big shots.

No. 82 Tianna Thompson is a skilled guard who excels in catch and shoot situations and improved her ability to create her own shot.”

After missing the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons, Georgia Tech could be in for a resurgence starting next season. Landing Carnegie was a huge deal for Fortner and the program and this class could have them contending for ACC Championships and NCAA Tournament bids in the near future.