Coaches in Costumes (2006 Halloween Edition)

Excellent work by the men over at the M Zone today on several college coaches and their expected costume.

Tuesday Columns Round-Up

Hopefully, Time Warner has its act together and I can get through this post without them dropping the ball. Tuesday morning sports radio and all the college football buzz appears to be on the Michigan-Ohio State game and it's still 18 days away. The game has huge implications but with all the build-up it is receiving and will continue to receive (and rightfully so), I am predicting a lopsided affair (but no prediction on the winner!). Well, I thought I had learned my lesson 8 years ago about gaming on Monday Night Football, but apparently I had a brain lapse, so I am a bit lighter today. Anyhow, on to some interesting reads for all my loyal readers.

First off, I might have found the first columnist in the country who actually supports or makes a case for Shrek (Ed Orgeron). In Sunday's Memphis Commercial Appeal, Geoff Calkins writes Coach O might get last laugh. In my opinion, I just don't think Coach O is head coaching material. I think Calkins has some valid points with Mike Shula and to a lesser extent with Les Miles. Shula had a big year last year, but his record is still awful against Bama's big three rivals. It's hard to knock Les - he only has 4 losses over his 2-year tenure and the 3 of the 4 losses were to Top 10 teams.

Paul Finebaum in today's Mobile Register writes that the changing of the guard is complete. Paul is dead on with his piece about Auburn becoming the "new Alabama" in the state of Alabama. Auburn fans today complain about 6 point wins on the road in the SEC while Alabama fans hold their breath in games against Duke and FIU. Auburn is clearly the dominant program in the state and will still be so regardless of the outcome of this year's Iron Bowl.

Kevin Scarbinsky in Monday's Birmingham News wrote a great piece comparing the 2004 Auburn Tigers to the 2006 Auburn Tigers. He is right on in that both teams are very special in their own way. As is the case with college football and players coming and going, teams usually take on different identities.

Pat Forde with ESPN.com writes a great piece on Sylvester Croom and the Mississippi State football program. While I think Sylvester is a great man and is running a well-disciplined and tight ship at State, I have my doubts that he can win as a head coach. The talent-level at State just has not improved over his tenure and he seems so loyal that he is too stubborn to make any changes to his coaching staff. Although State and Croom want to look beyond the race card, things will be might interesting in Starkville if and when Croom is fired.

You have to love it when a coach gets a great hit on a player. Perhaps the biggest hit in the UT-UGA game from a few weeks back belonged to UT's associate strength and conditioning coach, Roderick Moore. John Adams with the Knoxville News Sentinel writes about the hit in Sunday's paper plus the video of the hit is included.

Pat Dooley in Monday's Gainesville Sun writes about Florida's offensive woes. It appears that both Florida and Auburn are experiencing the same situation - fans aren't happy although both teams are in the hunt not only for the SEC title, but also the BCS title because neither team is winning with enough "style points." (and yes, I hate the term "style points")

Terry Wood with the Northwest Arkansas Times writes in today's edition about the big opportunities awaiting the Razorbacks. These next two weeks are huge for the Razorbacks and if they can win both games, they are all but a lock for the SEC Championship Game. Auburn fans will be watching the Arkansas - Carolina game more closely than Auburn's game with Arkansas State this weekend.

Until next time, don't refer to anything as "gay."

Monday Morning Lookback

Crazy to think that there is only about a month left to the regular season....

• Auburn squeaked out another win this past weekend over Ole Miss. Statistics wise Auburn crushed Ole Miss, but costly mistakes on offense, penalties, and a few defensive lapses kept the score much closer than it should have been.
• Tommy Tuberville deserves more credit for being an excellent on the field coach. His decision to go for a 4th down conversion with about 2 minutes left in the game was the exact right decision, yet I feel many coaches would have gone on and taken the 3 points.
• The World's Largest Cocktail Party (or Outdoor Party as the school's presidents like to call it) was a snoozer. UGA's offense is painful to watch and Florida's offense struggles to hang onto a lead. Yea, the score made for an exciting game, but the action on the field was anything but exciting.
• Keeping to the last sentence, I'm beginning to believe that the action on the field in a majority of SEC games is anything but exciting. The league is clearly a defensive league with few teams capable of blowing out teams.
• Back to UGA-Florida, it was great finally seeing Tim Tebow getting clocked. Give a team a few weeks to prepare for Florida's offense (i.e. SEC Championship or bowl game) and I think Florida is very beatable.
• Vanderbilt crushed Duke - Duke truly must be awful. Vandy needs to win 2 out of its last 3 to be bowl eligible. It's not going to happen with Florida, Kentucky, and Tennessee as its remaining opponents.
• When did Mississippi State become a passing team? The Bulldogs threw for almost 400 yards against the fading Kentucky Wildcats and only rushed for 24 yards. Although the Bullies lost, it was good to see their offense show life.
• Kentucky only needs 2 more wins to become bowl eligible. It could happen with clearly winnable games against Vanderbilt and LA-Monroe plus a toss-up with UGA. They will clearly be the underdog in Knoxville against the Vols.
• Arkansas continues to pile it on opponents. Mitch Mustain struggled mightily, but their ground attack is sick. Both Felix Jones and Darren McFadden rush for over 120 yards.
• Arkansas is clearly a one dimensional team, but since week 1, nobody has been able to slow down its rushing attack. I really think that they will loose at least 2 SEC games because they are too one dimensional.
• If not for some poor decisions by Syvelle Newton and a few lucky bounces, the Vols would have lost to South Carolina in Columbia. Though he made a few poor decisions, Syvelle Newton is extremely fun to watch.
• Tennessee's receiving corp is incredible and I'm convinced a major reason that Eric Ainge is having such a big year.
• Is there any doubt that the Buckeyes are head over heels better than anyone in the college football landscape?
• War Damn Oregon State Beavers! It's amazing that when a team has a 23 point 3rd quarter lead that the game still feels well within reach. Had many teams in the country been in USC's shoes that game would have been a sleeper in the 4th quarter.
• My first time to really watch Texas this year, kudos to Colt McCoy. To be a redshirt freshman, that kid is extremely tough and will be a force to be reckoned with for many years.
• Texas Tech's offense appears similar to Florida's in that neither is very good at hanging onto a lead.
• Has Texas A&M put together the quietest 8-1 season or have I missed something? Their stretch run is mighty tough with Oklahoma and Nebraska at home before heading to Austin to meet the Longhorns.
• Another week gone and both Miami and Florida State drop games. Miami is now 2-2 in the ACC and Florida State is 2-4. With games against Wake and Florida left, FSU could finish the year at 6-6.
• Chuck Amato and the Wolfpack must win back-to-back games against GA Tech and Clemson for his return to Raleigh next year.
  

Kudos to DJ Gallo

So a member of the media finally gets it. In DJ Gallo's special column on ESPN's page 2, he does a remarkable job of analyzing Charlie Weis's weekly press conference. As I watched highlights of this press conference on Tuesday evening, similar thoughts were going through my mind. DJ Gallo could not have done a finer job of putting Charlie Weis and Notre Dame in its place. I wish more media members would drop some nads and speak the truth like DJ. Kudos DJ, the sportspickle.com will now receive traffic from me and hopefully my readers.

Shula = Conservative

Sorry, it's been a while since last post. I have been swamped and blogger has been crapping out all day, so tonight I offer you multiple readings that discuss Mike Shula's conservative coaching. I'm still waiting on loyal reader J. Gomes to provide his guest column that he promised. As mentioned in previous posts, I think it is extremely evident that Mike Shula is a bit too conservative as a coach and now it appears that a majority of the media agrees. Enjoy your fill of columns on college football's version of George W. Bush:

Kevin Scarbinsky, columnist for the Birmingham News, is spending the week focused on Mike Shula and his conservative nature. On Sunday, he writes that it's time for Shula to change from his conservative play calling because it is not winning Bama too many games. To close, he states that "close is getting old," yet as an Auburn fan I must disagree - I am loving Shula as long as he keeps playing to be close rather than playing to win.

Scarbinksy's Monday piece examines Shula's record versus Alabama's biggest opponents and where he continues to fail.

Scarbinsky writes another piece with a focus on Ed Orgeron. Given the fire that Shula is feeling in the state of Alabama this week, the jist of his column is that firing a coach is easy, the hard part is hiring the right coach.

Ray Melick, another columnist with the Birmingham News, wonders if Shula "has been watching the evolution of offensive football over the last decade." Classic line.

John Pruett, columnist with the Huntsville Times, writes that keeping it close fails to pay off yet again for Shula. Still more to come.....

Tommy Hicks with the Mobile Press-Register writes that Alabama's biggest problem is it hasn't been able to close games that matter.

Paul Finebaum with the Mobile Press-Register chimes in that Mike Shula "seemingly tries hitting his head against the same wall every Saturday when it comes to offensive philosophy."

Looking back to an article from Pro Football Weekly, Bama fans and others were warned about Mike Shula. Apparently, his conservative play calling is nothing new.

Alabama homer writer, Cecil Hurt with the Tuscaloosa News, even gets some shots in on Shula.

When a homer is getting on to you, you know things are really heating up. I know Shula appears safe with his long-term deal and buy-out clause, but I really think that if he comes up short to Auburn and it is ugly like last year, he will not survive. I will stop at these articles, because I think by now you can see a theme with Alabama sportswriters.

Finally, per loyal reader J. Gomes's request, I bring you a video of C.J. Spiller's 50 yard touchdown on a screen pass where he made two GA Tech defenders look like JV players for the Marist War Eagles (forward to the 40th second):

1st ACC Coach Goes Down

No surprise here, but it's official - John Bunting has been fired at North Carolina. He will finish at the remainder of the season. The bigger question now is not who will replace Bunting, but rather which ACC coach will be the next to go?

Monday Morning Look Back

I have to admit that I only watched limited pieces of the Alabama - Tennessee game (I know, I'm supposed to be focused on the SEC). Friends out here had a gathering for the UCLA-Notre Dame game that I decided to hit up this weekend, so I spent a bulk of my Saturday watching that game and a fair amount of the Cal-Washington game. People on the Left Coast just don't get football, but both games were quite exciting. On to my thoughts.

• Auburn's score versus Tulane was very deceiving. The Auburn D gave up close to 400 yards to the Green Wave offense. Outside of the 2nd half in the Florida game, the Auburn D has been terrible in its last 4 games. If the D continues to play as it is, Auburn will not be a one loss team at season's end.
• Georgia gets a "W," but things still look mighty ugly in Athens. UGA was able to survive after committing 5 turnovers. From a post several weeks back - "Anyone see the 5 turnover stat in the LSU-Florida game? Amazing, teams that turn the ball over 5 or more times are something like 0 - 58 over the last 10 years." - even more amazing that UGA survived.
• When are folks going to realize that Arkansas is for real in the SEC? Felix Jones and Darren McFadden are explosive.
• Mitch Mustain continues to improve each week. It's looking more and more like the Hogs are capable of making it to Atlanta.
• As soon as I give Brent Schaeffer some kudos on here, he turns around a plays like I expect him to play. Ole Miss struggles mightily to compete week-end and week-out in the SEC.
• That being said, I think BenJarvus Green-Ellis could have a huge day against Auburn next Saturday.
• South Carolina continues to play well after a slow start to the season. Converting 8 of 11 3rd downs is quite impressive, no matter who you are playing.
• So you have the ball 4th and goal inside the 1 just before the half, what do you do? 9 out of 10 coaches go for the TD, the one coach, Mike Shula opts for the field goal. He just might be the most conservative coach in America although Karl Dorrell might challenge him for the title.
• Eric Ainge struggled on Saturday, but Tennessee still notched the W in a huge rivalry game. In my opinion, just another sign that Tennessee is a very good football team.
• LSU continued their pounding on the little sisters of the poor, yet the score wasn't impressive as it has been for the Tigers in previous weeks.
• I'm beginning to think that USC might just have the nation's toughest schedule: Arkansas, Nebraska, Oregon, Cal, Notre Dame, and UCLA. Remember that they have already throttled Arkansas and Nebraska. They just might be the real deal.
• Anybody shocked that Notre Dame came back and beat UCLA? This game set up perfectly to be another storybook ending for the Irish.
• The UCLA defense basically laid down on the Irish's last drive.
• Anyone noticing Texas A&M and Dennis Franchione? The coach was on the hot seat, and now the Aggies are sitting at 7-1, with their one loss coming basically on a fluke to Texas Tech.
• Speaking of hot seats, I'm going to go ahead and risk my credibility, but it appears official that Coker and Amato are cooked.
• I've touched on the state of Florida football in prior weeks, but it is just down right awful these days. FSU is sitting in last place of their division after loosing to BC and Miami wins a nailbitter with Duke. Urban Meyer should be licking his chops with the recuiting years he should be putting together in the years to come.
• Another great Hail Mary this week - this time brought to you by the Washington Huskies. Unfortunately, I can't find the actual footage on You Tube. Please pass along if you come across it.
  

Why The SEC Is Better Than The Big 10

I hate to knock the Big 10 this year as they have what appears to be the top 2 teams in the nation. However, college football is more than a game, it's an experience and I am convinced that no where can you get a finer college football experience than in SEC country.

To prove my point, a loyal reader from Virginia (amazingly, a large contingent of my readers hail from that state, yet I know absolutely no one that lives there) passed along a video of a Penn State tailgate. Actually, it is just one part of a multi-set of videos shot at a tailgate prior to their game with Michigan. I now understand why the Michigan administration doesn't want to play night games.

Actually, to throw a little abuse to the SEC, check out another Bama wedding that is making local and national news stations. The video located within the page IS A MUST! And people in the south wonder why it gets a bad, redneck rap - just leave it to the Bamer nation.

Wednesday Night Football

So I ventured to a local watering hole to watch the NLCS game while the better half had a "girls' night" at our place. It's all part of the whole give and take of marriage. The wife can have Wednesday night to host the girls and catch up on all her tivoed episodes of Gilmore Girls and Laguna Beach. Thursday night has become sacred for college football and Saturday, obviously has always been sacred. Throw in Sunday night and Monday night NFL, so the wife only has a few chances to catch "her" shows.

Anyhow, I digress from college football. So, I'm at Barney's Beanery catching the Cardinals-Mets game, but end up watching the Louisiana Lafayette-Florida Atlantic football game. I absolutely am addicted to college football, but I might rather watch an episode of Dancing With The Stars than have to watch another Sun Belt battle. Although Howard Schnellenberger looks impressive in his tie and blazer, FAU's football is laughable. Check out all their great traditions. I am shocked that the program can maintain DI status after seeing the size of their stadium. Honestly, it looks like their stadium seats more in the endzones than between the goal lines. It actually resembles a high school stadium, and low and behold, I find that Lockhart Stadium is actually a soccer/high school football stadium. Unfortunately, according to Wikipedia, the stadium is about to be razed.

The NCAA Football Rules Committee

I came across a great piece on Tommy Tuberville from Mike Tankersly with the Montgomery Advertiser. It is amazing the amount of media coverage Tuberville can pull when he discusses the BCS and a play-off or when he rips ESPN. Perhaps, other coaches will eventually join in and voice their displeasure over the system and maybe, just maybe someday we will get to witness a D-I play-off. If not, I'll admit that I am all for scrapping the BCS and reverting back to the old system of conference tie-ins. Yea, we might not end up with a 1-2 match-up, but there will be no controversy in who plays who, only who should potentially be #1 and don't we usually have that controversy all season long?

Knowing that Tommy Tuberville is on the NCAA's rule committee, I decided to take a look at the make-up of the committee. I was shocked when I discovered that each division has three representatives. Even more interesting, of the three members for I-A and I-AA, there is only one football coach represented from each division. So, it appears to me that the rules committee that governs the rules for D-1A football is made up of only one 1A head coach and 6 athletic directors. The remaining members are lower division football coaches. Not knowing procedurally how they work (and I don't really have the time to research it), I'm curious as to how much weight Tuberville actually pulls. My guess from the D-1A & AA standpoint, is that it is very administrative driven.

Some Columns For Your Tuesday Afternoon Reading

Kevin Scarbinsky discusses the Auburn - Florida game in Sunday's Birmingham News. Tommy Tuberville's record against Top 10 teams is sick, 8 out of the last 9 I believe. It's easy now to say that Auburn would win the game, but as we all know, hindsight is 20-20. I do think it's rather interesting in that practically nobody is giving the Piggies from Arkansas a shot at reaching Atlanta. Something tells me that if the Auburn offense doesn't start producing some TDs, they will suffer another SEC defeat, giving the Piggies even more breathing room.

Paul Finebaum takes a look at Mike Shula's contract and his support from the administration and reaches the conclusion that Bama fans are stuck with Shula for a while. As an Auburn fan, as well as for other SEC schools' fans, that is music to my ears. Interestingly, Finebaum also discusses the Mobile Register's pre-season predictions. Apparently, Randy Kennedy, the paper's sports editor, is in fact the only writer possibly in the country who is giving the Piggies the benefit of the doubt.

Scott Rabalais does an excellent job of summarizing LSU's season to date. If LSU could only bank all those points it has scored on the Little Sisters of the Poor and use them on a Top 10 team, then maybe they would be a little better off than 5-2 right now.

Outside the SEC, Edwin Pope with the Miami Herald offers his perspective on the brawl in the "OB" as Lamar Thomas likes to call it. On Sunday, Mr. Pope had this to say about the brawl. While on the subject of the Miami fight, I found a picture of this fan being hauled out of the "OB" to epitomize most Miami fans (would be perfect if he had a little bdy gold around his neck).

Michael Lough of the Macon Telegraph looks back on the weekend with an emphasis on the Vanderbilt-UGA game. I find the difference between Tommy Tuberville and Mark Richt to be striking in defeat. Tuberville clearly placed the blame on Auburn's loss to Arkansas on his shoulders and the rest of the coaching staff. According to Richt, the plays he and the staff are calling are excellent, but the players aren't executing them. Richt needs to take a page from Tuberville and show a little humility.

Pat Dooley offers his perspective in Sunday's Gainesville Sun on the Florida - Auburn game. Actually, the best piece I found on the game. He gets a jab in at Auburn about the artificially pumped in music that, even as an Auburn fan, I agree with him 100%.

Stepping outside the SEC, John Shinn with the Norman Transcript briefly looks at Adrian Peterson's legacy at OU.

Vernon's Latest Hit (Cowbells Ain't Ringin Anymore)

The man, the myth, and the legend, Chris Vernon is out with a new song, and he is sticking to the state of Mississippi for his inspiration. On another post, he mentions that the Gameday Final Crew on ESPN mentioned the Coach O song - well, the CBS crew on Saturday clearly referenced his song, but showed Chris no love. Look out Colin Cowherd, Verno is on your heels. Enjoy him while you can Memphis, he will not be there much longer. Keep his phone lines blazing.....

Monday Morning (or Afternoon) Lookback

A little happier this week as I take a look back at the college weekend that was.

• Florida's gimmicky offense will be the team's downfall in the SEC. They have as much or more talent than anyone in the conference, but their offensive system is not going to cut it in the SEC.
• Auburn's ranking is still inflated. They failed to score an offensive touchdown against Florida, leaving the offense with a whopping 2 touchdowns in three games against LSU, Arkansas, and Florida.
• I would like to know what Tommy Tuberville actually said to his team at halftime. His comment to Quinton Riggins, Auburn's sideline reporter, before the 2nd half kickoff was excellent. When Q asked about the defense, Tuberville explicitly said that it was the most pathetic defense he had seen at Auburn.
• Do people actually think Chris Leak was throwing the football? I might wear orange and blue shaded glasses, but I just don't see the argument against Leak's 4th quarter fumble.
• Kudos to Brent Schaeffer. I have been beating up on the poor kid along with a lot of other media members and he played his best game of the year against Alabama in Tuscaloosa, although Ole Miss still came up on the losing end.
• I think it's very fair to say that Bama clearly plays to the level of its opponent.
• What was ugly in Athens two weeks ago, just got a lot uglier this past weekend. UGA is reeling, but the Bulldogs of Mississippi State should be the medicine the 'Dawgs need.
• Vanderbilt finally pulled one out after being so close in its other 3 SEC games which they lost by a combined 12 points. Kudos to Bobby Johnson who is doing great things in Nashville.
  
• A big step for Mississippi State. Yea, Jacksonville State is a I-AA team, but in the past, State has faltered to I-AA opponents.
• I'm beginning to question the ability of LSU's coaching staff. They are clearly loaded with talent destroying every team they clearly overmatch. Yet in their two big games, they have a goose egg in their win column.
• I'm also beginning to buy into the fact that the SEC might have its share of good times, but they are lacking a great team. Actually, I think there might only be two great teams this year and they both reside in the Big 10. I just get the sense that there is a ton of parity in college football these days.
• Why all the fuss about the Miami - FIU debacle? Does anyone really expect anything different from Miami?
• Speaking of Miami, watch this clip and listen to Miami commentator and former player, Lamar Thomas. Again, do you really expect anything different from Miami?


Listen to Lamar Thomas' insight beginning around the 1:40 mark until the end. The "OB."


• Congrats to Dennis Franchione and the A&M Aggies for knocking Missouri off the unbeaten train. Dennis has the Aggies at 6-1 and could very easily be 7-0 (I'm sure if he asked Stoops, they are 7-0).
• Are we supposed to feel sympathetic for Adrian Peterson and his father? I have a hard time feeling sorry for his old man - all he did was pay the consequences for being a big time drug dealer.
• I do feel bad for how AP's college career more than likely came to and end. I haven't heard any comments from "Baghdad Bob" Stoops, but I'm sure AP is unblemished just like OU's record.
• I doubt anyone saw the finish to the Memphis - Arkansas State. One hell of a Hail Mary for your viewing pleasure.


Where's Waldo?? This guy won't be leaving Jonesboro anytime soon.

High School Coach Exhibits Low Class

Having spent a portion of my life in south Alabama near the Georgia border, I became somewhat interested in Georgia high school football. While not as big as an event as it is in Texas, high school football is big in Georgia, especially south Georgia. I became intrigued with one particular private school in Atlanta because they always seemed to be highly ranked in the state, could hang with teams that clearly had more talent, but always came up short in the play-offs, usually the semi-finals. It's difficult not to respect a team that can rely on coaching and discipline to compete with the big boys, though this school has produced its fair share of DI athletes. Marist in Atlanta is to Georgia high school football as Air Force used to be to college football. They can always play with the big boys, yet never really win anything.

The Marist program has been built by coach Alan Chadwick. Unfortunately, Coach Chadwick has tarnished not only his reputation, but also the school's reputation with his actions on the field in a game earlier this year. After his team lost a game back in September, Chadwick raced across the field and slapped a game official. I understand emotions run high in football, but running down an official and then making contact with him, be it a slap or a pat is ridiculous. Bob Stoops whined about an awful call, but he refrained from hitting anyone. Joe Pa has even chased down officials, but again he kept his hands off the individual. Chadwick was hit with a one game suspension, but he could stand to take some more time and perhaps better prepare his team for battle, because we all know poor officiating whether on the high school, college, or pro level is just part of the game.

Can You Imagine An 11 Game SEC Schedule?

In today's Birmingham News, Charles Goldberg reports that Tommy Tuberville suggested that the SEC should consider going to an 11 game conference schedule. When the SEC expanded to 12 teams and two divisions, Auburn had to drop its annual contest with Florida. The 1985 Florida Auburn game was my first experience in Jordan-Hare Stadium, and I would go on to witness every Florida game in that stadium through the 1991 year. Actually, this will be the first Florida-Auburn game in Auburn that I will not be in attendance for since the two teams battled in 1983. It was a shame that we had to drop Florida and I actually remember Pat Dye struggling with determining who our annual Eastern division foe would be. I am glad we choose Georgia over Florida, but the series sure has offered some great games and personal memories for me. I will never forget the 1987 game when Florida brought its heralded freshman running back Emmitt Smith and their Top 10 national ranking to Auburn. The visiting team buses use to drive down Donahue before the Tiger Walk, and I remember Auburn fans literally shaking the buses. Auburn crushed Florida that day and our nation's best defense absolutely stifled Florida and Emmitt Smith.

Anyhow, back to an 11-game conference schedule. As an SEC fan, I would absolutely love to the see the conference go to this format. With out of conference schedules in the league getting weaker and weaker, every game under this format would be very meaningful. However, not quite sure it would help out the SEC's image nationally, and would still take away from those one off solid non-conference games such as Tennessee - Notre Dame, Florida - Florida State, and Alabama - Duke (yea, Right).

What Other Folks Had To Say About This Past Weekend and Beyond

Kevin Scarbisnky of the Birmingham News writes a nice piece on Auburn's debacle against Arkansas. It is rather ironic that the week Tuberville decides to bash the current BCS system, Auburn gets trounced. Randy Kennedy with the Mobile Press-Register offers his 2 cents on the game and how embarrassing the defeat really was for Auburn.

I posted a link several weeks back to a story about the Oscoda High football team from Michigan whose coach canceled the remainder of the team's season. Apparently, the story found its way down to lovely Mobile, AL and Mike Herndon with the Press-Register offers his perspective on the decision.

Nate Allen of the Northwest Arkansas Times (I didn't know anybody could read in Northwest Arkansas), examines the trials and tribulations of Razorback coach Houston Nutt following the Hogs big win at Auburn.

Scott Rabalais of the Baton Rouge Advocate takes a look at LSU's chances of still winning the West - by the tone of the article, the players still seem optimistic.

Pat Dooley of the Gainesville Sun writes about Tim Tebow's two amazing plays that helped lead the Gators to a 23 - 10 victory over LSU.

Apparently, things are mighty slow on the political front in Georgia. Georgia governor Sonny Perdue was so outraged with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Sunday Sports Headline, "Dogs Get Put In Their Place" that he took the time to write a letter to the editor.

Monday Morning Lookback

Not a pleasant weekend if you wear the orange and blue, of the Auburn type that is....I must admit that my football viewing this past weekend was basically limited to the big 3 SEC games. Other thoughts and takeaways are from talking with other people or reading others' thoughts.

• I stated last week that Auburn is not a national championship caliber team....after this weekend; it appears that Auburn is not a SEC championship caliber team.
• Auburn has absolutely no downfield offensive threat...still curious if the reason is because of the poor play of the offensive line or if Auburn is lacking a big play skill guy. I think both reasons play into the equation.
• Size versus speed....Auburn's fast, but small, D got physically abused by Wisconsin in the Capital One Bowl and again by a very physical Arkansas offense.
  
• I was absolutely wrong in predicting that Houston Nutt would be fired at seasons' end. It's miraculous how the Arkansas faithful has warmed up to him. Isn't amazing what winning will do for you? Ask Tommy Tuberville post 2003 jetgate.
• I still think Arkansas looses at least 2 SEC games and potentially 3. With a true freshman running the show, Arkansas will have struggles.
• Still can't figure out why Auburn didn't put 8 guys in the box and force Mustain to throw?
• Darren McFadden proved on the playing football that he is the SEC's best running back.
• Could it be that the preseason top 2 teams in the SEC West are grossly overrated?
• To repeat what I have been saying for 4 weeks, the duo of Chris Leak and Tim Tebow is awesome.
• LSU, simply put, has absolutely no running game which is killing its offense.
• Anyone see the 5 turnover stat in the LSU-Florida game? Amazing, teams that turn the ball over 5 or more times are something like 0 - 58 over the last 10 years.
  
• How about the turnaround for Eric Ainge? It's safe to say that David Cutcliffe returning to Knoxville was huge for Fat Phil's future.
  
• Georgia's return game on special teams was sick Saturday night. The rest of the team, not so pretty.
• Apparently, UGA's defense was a wee-bit overrated coming into the Tennessee game.
• UGA was in a similar position as Auburn - have struggled recently and it was just a matter of time before the wheels came off.
• Just exactly how did Ole Miss pull off a W versus Vanderbilt? Thanks to 5 Vanderbilt turnovers, Ole Miss managed to win with only 7 1st downs and 179 yards of offense.
• Brent Schaeffer continues to blow....3 of 8 for 31 yards and 2 interceptions.
• It's amazing what Steve Spurrier is doing with the South Carolina offense and Syvelle Newton.
• Bama remains a big mystery....apparently; they enjoy playing to the level of their competition. However, having been in the game in the 4th quarter with both Arkansas and Florida, maybe they are better than they are getting credit for.
• West Virginia thanks for playing an SEC team and showing the country what a team you have. I feel no pity that you got jumped by Florida in the AP and Coaches Poll.
• How about the Sun Belt battle between North Texas and Florida International? The teams played 7 overtimes, kicking only 5 field goals between the two in 7 overtimes. I'd rather watch quite possibly the worst sports television show ever made, Friday Night Lights, over and over again (to borrow the phrase from Nelly and Tim McGraw).
• Great job of clock management by the Huskies of Washington. Yea, they got screwed by loosing a few seconds on the clock after the 1st down, but with all the confusion had at least a minute to line up with a called play before the referee started the clock.
• Speaking of the poor job of stopping the clock by the officials, Ty Willingham should play the "race card."
  
• USC is in a similar position as UGA and Auburn, except they have yet to loose. Based on the last few weeks, a loss seems to be eminent for the Trojans.
• In case you haven't heard, Oklahoma is still undefeated according to Bob Stoops. Had the officials not cost them the game against Oregon, Oklahoma would have played with more intensity against Texas and won that game as well.
• Finally, I think the Michigan - Ohio State game is going to be something special this year. I'm totally buying into the Michigan hype and I think Ohio State has more than proved their worth on the field. I really believe that we will see two undefeated teams playing at the end of November.
  

A Few Chuck Amato Animated Cartoons

So, I'm spending a fair amount of time outside of my comfort zone of the SEC. But, I thought these pieces were too good to pass up....

Last week, I posted a link to a cartoon from The News & Observer out of Raleigh about John Bunting and Miami. Last night, I came across a couple of classic Chuck Amato animations. Apparently, Grey Blackwell puts these cartoons out fairly regularly. First, we have It's Hard Out Here For A Coach from the beginning of the season and more recently, Grey brings to us Chuck Dynamite. Personally, I think the latter cartoon is much better.

Thursday Night Recap

Well, it looks like Bobby Bowden allowed his understudy to whip up on his Seminoles once again, potentially saving Chuck Amato's job. I think most college fans knew that both FSU and Miami were down after the first few weeks of the season, but these two programs are more than down. They are not good by any measure. I understand FSU pulled their season together late last year, but Papa Bowden just seems lost and confused to me out on the field. What a night for Wolfpack QB Daniel Evans (he just turned 21, yet he barely looks 15) who once got settled in during the 2nd quarter looked mighty sharp. I did get rather sick hearing about his old man, Johnny, and watching his old man every time Daniel did something good. Apparently, he is the extinguisher that Chuck needed to put out the flames under his seat. Freshman receiver Geron James played like a complete stud. During the broadcast, Herbstreit and Fowler talked about the strength of NC State's two running backs, Andre Brown and Tony Baker, and how they are the strongest players pound-for-pound on the team. Anyone have a clue what Amato bench presses with that swollen chest of his? I do miss the Oakleys look though.


Switching to a game that I'm guessing not many folks reading this site watched - the Utah - TCU game. The only reason I flipped it on was to find out what the VS. Network is and then I realized it's the new version of OLN. I can't get into Mountain West games, but I must say that the two television announcers were quite good which is very refreshing given the crap that we have to listen to most of the time via ESPN and ABC. The announcers made the game that I could care less about, fun and enjoyable to watch. I still can't find out who the announcers were though.

Tuberville Speaks Out In Favor Of Playoff System...Again

Tommy Tuberville is back with a vengeance expressing his desire for college football to incorporate a playoff system. While he speaks about the SEC having a tough shot getting a team to the BCS Title Game without a playoff, you have to think he is really concerned with his Auburn Tigers and not necessarily other SEC teams. With a lot of football left to be played this year, Tuberville needs to worry about his team before stressing out about being left out of the mix. However, Jerry Palm, who runs a BCS simulation, said on a Birmingham radio station yesterday that if a team from the Big 10 and Pac 10 finish undefeated, they would finish ahead of Auburn. I'm not going to hash out pros/cons for a playoff because it has been done a hundred times, but the notion of a playoff making the season too long is ridiculous. Possibly, more ridiculous, is the timing of the BCS Title Game - January 8th. Let's make the season longer by adding a bogus 12th game and playing for the Natie on the 8th - just don't understand the logic. But when you are dealing with dollar figures as large as the ones involved, I guess you can throw logic out the door.

A Few Columns for Your Tuesday Afternoon/Evening Reading

Well, the site crapped out on me earlier and I lost everything that I was working on. So, you all are getting a condensed version:

Paul Finebaum with the Mobile Register writes a hilarious article about Mike Shula's postgame comments following the Florida game and other issues surrounding Alabama football. Perhaps the funniest quote is about Ole Miss - "a team so inept offensively it would have trouble scoring on New Year's Eve on Bourbon Street." His prediction of Jimmy Johns' punishment for his best impersonation of Zinedine Zidane is priceless as well.

After South Carolina's loss to Auburn on Thursday night, the Gamecock fans gave their team a warm ovation. This did not sit well with the 'Ol Ball Coach as Steve Spurrier asked the Gamecock fans "Please don't clap when we come close. I think it sends the wrong message. Our guys thought we'd done something pretty good, when in essence we didn't do anything but let a game get away that we were in a position to win." Ray Melick of the Birmingham News uses this quote to examine how 6 teams, and potentially 7 if you include Arkansas, in the SEC will not take anything but victories - close doesn't cut it. However, I'm beginning to feel that Mike Shula and the Bama nation are becoming quite good at accepting moral victories.

Mike Huguenin puts this past weekend's events into a short and sweet column. I guess I'm showing him some love since we have a very similar view on the Buckeyes.

Tony Barnhart with the Atlanta Journal Constitution offers his handicap of the national title race.

Sticking with the AJC, Mark Bradley examines Georgia's offensive woes and predicts an 8-4 record for the Bulldogs if the offense doesn't get into gear. In a related note, the AJC is reporting that Joe Tereshinski will start versus Tennessee on Saturday night.

Scott Rabalais with the Baton Rouge Advocate wonders if LSU's poundings of the blind little sisters really help the team? He also looks into Les Miles' desire for LSU to run the football. Just a word of advice Lester - don't try to pound the ball against Florida like you did at Auburn. Let JaMarcus' arm and your huge receivers carry your team the rest of the way.

Finally, as a side note, if any of these sites require you to register to view the stories (yes, it greatly pisses me off too), check out bugmenot.com. This site provides you with login names and passwords for a ton of newspaper sites so you can avoid registering. Apparently, registering pisses of more folks than just you or I.

Ray Charles Sighting

A friend of mine in Baton Rouge finally got his pictures from the Auburn - LSU game onto his computer. He sent me this picture of Ray Charles. I didn't realize he was at the game....
On a completely unrelated note, why hasn't anyone packaged candy corn with peanuts? It's the best combination of foods that you would never expect and potentially the next best thing about Fall outside of college football.

Black Monday

It's a potentially sad day for those that enjoy gaming through offshore sports books and betting houses. In a news story released this morning, on Wednesday, President Bush is expected to sign a bill to prevent Internet gambling. This new bill makes it illegal for financial institutions and credit card companies to process payments to settle internet bets. From what I have gathered by reading excerpts of the bill and what experts had to say about the bill, this is not the end-all, be-all to internet gambling for this year, but it does create some difficult obstacles. First, financial institutions have 9 months to comply with the new regulations. So some financial institutions might comply right away and others might take their time to comply. Second, receiving payouts should not be an issue. The offshore gaming sites (poker and sports included) are for the most part reputable companies. They are not going to run and pocket your money and I do not think that cutting checks from their financial institutions actually breaks any laws. If I had an account with an offshore book, I wouldn't worry about immediately withdrawing my money. Finally, this law has the potential to spring up new "illegal" sports books all over the U.S. These books present much larger problems than the offshore books and are often where young college age gamblers run into trouble because betting with these "local" books often does not require any capital to be paid up front. It's much easier to get yourself into a hole when nothing has actually left your pocket.

Monday Morning Look Back

Well, a weekend that didn't look too entertaining at the start ended up producing some excellent games. On to the recap....

• I'll continue to stick by my guns on JaMarcus Russell. He is the best quarterback in the SEC. His numbers this weekend, granted the Tigers played the Bullies, were sick. 18-20, 330 Yards, 3 TDs.
• LSU might very well be the nation's best team.
• What a difference a coordinator can make. Last year's much maligned Eric Ainge is playing like an All-SEC caliber quarterback under David Cutcliffe.
• Another close 4th quarter game, and another loss for Alabama and Mike Shula. It's hard for me to believe he is worth the $1.8 million he is pulling down.
• How about the Kentucky Wildcats? 5 games into the season and they are over the .500 mark.
• Can anyone remember a time when Vanderbilt beat a team by 29? On the same note, how can Temple be as bad as they are? I'd like to watch a game just to witness their futility.
• UGA is in serious trouble if it doesn't find its offensive groove. The defense is stout, but with UT coming to Athens this weekend and consecutive road games at Florida, Kentucky, and Auburn looming, the 'Dawgs will not survive playing like they have been.
• Brent Schaeffer continued to be an Achilles heel for the Ole Miss Rebels, though he came up big with a 4th quarter TD pass.
  
• The Florida offense is awesome to watch. Chris Leak is very good and Tim Tebow will flourish under Urban Meyer's offensive system.
  
• Tim Tebow is very fun to watch and I can't recall a player that plays with so much excitement and enthusiasm.
• I feel bad for Dennis Franchione. With his seat a bit warm, his A&M team lost a heartbreaker to Tech. By the way, does anyone else dislike Mike Leach and Texas Tech? He just totally rubs me the wrong way.
• Will Larry Coker even make it through this season? I'm confident he is gone by season's end, but had the 'Canes lost to Houston, he might be packing right now.
• After the 1st month of football, it appears to me that Ohio State is clearly the best team in the country and head over heels better than anyone else with the lone exception being LSU.
• Michigan has a solid football team, yet I just get a feeling that this team will blow a game under Lloyd Carr's watchful eye.
• Unfortunately, college football fans will not know how good West Virginia is because they play absolutely nobody outside of Louisville.
• John L Smith????
• Here's to hoping Florida puts the retro unis back where they belong....the closet.