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.