SEC Fanatic

It's Been Awhile

2006-12-05T12:39:00.000-08:00

Actually, over a week. I have been extremely bogged down between school, work, and the job search. Heck, I just turned down the Alabama coaching job. So over the course of 8 days, to say a lot has changed in the college football landscape would be a mild understatement. The one thing that hasn't changed though is Bama is still without a coach, although sources are saying that it's only a matter of 24 hours or so until Rich Rodriguez signs his soul away to the Tide.

Can I now jump on the UCLA bandwagon since I attend the school? A rather shocking day in Los Angeles on Saturday. UCLA did not even play its "A" game and yet they still beat USC. I think it became quite obvious on Saturday that John David Booty is an average to good quarterback, but nowhere close to Palmer or Leinart's league. The UCLA D did a great job of applying pressure on the Trojan QB, completely taking away any big play threat that the Trojans might have had. I was shocked to see how gracious Pete Carroll was in defeat during his post game interview. I was waiting to hear some bs remarks out of his mouth like what he was spouting off after their Rose Bowl defeat last year.

I'm still amazed that Florida finished the year at 12-1. The team never looked too good in getting to that record (although I thought they looked great on Saturday), yet found ways to win with an absolutely brutal schedule. They clearly deserve a shot at Ohio State for the national title. I read a quote from Michigan's Lloyd Carr about how the national title game should be determined on the playing field. Well boo hoo, Lloyd, I have news for you, it was determined on the playing field when you lost to Ohio State. The fact of the matter is Michigan played in a weak conference and only beat 2 teams of note. No one is sure how good those 2 teams (Wisconsin and Notre Dame) are either. Florida won its conference which has 4 teams in the top 12 (and they went 2-1 against those teams) as well as beat more respectable out of conference opponents. You look at the body of work that the SEC has over the year versus what the Big 10 has done and to me it seems that Florida is the clear cut choice to play in Tempe. While Lloyd Carr has done some whining, I don't think anyone can top the whining that has been done by Kirk Herbstreit. His love obsession with the Big 10 is extremely non-professional. He even went on to say that he thinks Florida can beat Ohio State, yet Michigan deserves to play in the game. I must admit that I have become rather turned off by the ESPN so-called college football "gurus." While I only caught Gameday a few times this year, it is safe to say that I am done with the show.

A lot of talk has been made about Jim Grobe for coach of the year and rightfully so. But has anyone done a better job than Bob Stoops. This guy lost his quarterback a week before the season, the looses perhaps the nation's top running back (clearly the nation's most proven running back) midway through the season only to finish the year 11-2 and Big 12 champs. I'm still a little put out by his crying after the Oregon game, but Coach Stoops did one hell of a job this year and clearly earned his top college coaching salary.

Quickly glancing over the bowl match-up, I am extremely excited about the Notre Dame-LSU Sugar Bowl match-up. I am hoping that LSU puts a similar whipping on the Irish that it did against the Hurricanes in last year's Peach Bowl. I think it very possible as do the odds makers in Vegas making LSU an early 9 point favorite.

Plenty more to write, but so few hours these days. Plenty more to come during the week - i.e. no more 8 day lay-offs for a little while.

Monday Morning Look Back

2006-11-26T21:04:00.000-08:00

So we are down to the final week of the regular season. My oh my, did this season ever fly by. On to my recap of the past week and weekend in college football:

LSU notched its 2nd consecutive huge SEC road win. Definitely not the dominating performance that we had seen in the past from the Bengal Tigers.
I actually hated to see the Razorbacks loose - I think they were the SEC's only hope to have a team play for the national title. Casey Dick was absolutely horrible and I don't understand why Nutt didn't insert Mitch Mustain at some point.
Even in the loss, Darren McFadden and Felix Jones were both electrifying. The Wildcat formation is extremely fun to watch.
I'm still dumbfounded as to why the Hogs on 4th down and short twice attempted to throw the football. I just don't think the LSU D stops McFadden on a 4th and short situation.
Florida and Florida State was an extremely boring game to watch. I'm amazed at how awful FSU's offense has become.
After watching the Florida State game and reflecting on Tim Tebow's year, I'm not convinced that he is going to be a superstar that I initially though he could be.
I find it amazing that Florida finished the year 11-1 with the amazingly tough schedule it played.
Apparently, the Egg Bowl was a barn burner, but I don't think anyone outside of the 50,000+ in attendance got to see this one. In all honesty, I don't think too many folks were very concerned with the game.
Kentucky gave Tennessee one hell of a game. Outside of Arkansas, Kentucky just might have been the SEC's biggest surprise.
If it is not Kentucky, then surely Georgia was the SEC's second biggest surprise as the Bulldogs struggled much more than people expected this year.
Credit to Mark Richt and the Bulldogs though for righting the ship and defeating their two biggest rivals in their last two games.
Reggie Ball has to be the most overrated quarterback to make it through the college ranks in a long time. I find it hard to believe that he managed to start for 4 years at Georgia Tech. He owes Calvin Johnson immensely.
Huge win for Steve Spurrier and the Gamecocks as they knocked off in-sate rival Clemson. If SEC only gets one team in the BCS (I know, it's not likely to happen), then Bama just might not go bowling this year.
Syvelle Newton at South Carolina must be one hell of an athlete. He starts the year at wide receiver, then plays quarterback for 4 games, only to move back to wide receiver and also receive a fair amount of action as a defensive back. He is the epitome of a utility player on the football field.
Remember how high Clemson was riding after they knocked off Georgia Tech on ESPN with the Gameday crew in attendance? My how their season took a dive for the worst.
Congrats to Wake Forest for closing another chapter on the feel good story for the year. They clearly have a shoot to defeat GA Tech in the ACC Championship game.
Anyone else see the BYU - Utah game on CSTV? Had to be the most exciting game of the day with BYU scoring a touchdown with no time left.
I'm curious if the Mormons are excited about BYU's bowl trip to Las Vegas. I just don't see the Mormons having a good time in Sin City.
I have to agree with the match-up in the BCS Title game if USC beats UCLA this upcoming weekend. In my humble opinion, USC clearly is deserving of the #2 spot.
I think that the fact Notre Dame will more than likely play in a BCS bowl is a disgrace to college football. They beat one ranked team this year (if Tech looses to Wake, make it zero ranked teams) and got completely hammered against two of the top three in the country. Notre Dame's body of work is the least impressive of any of the one or two loss teams outside of West Virginia, Louisville, and Rutgers.
Let the coaching carousel begin - UNC has already fired and hired a new head man. These schools are now officially in the mix for a new head man - Michigan State, Miami, Iowa Sate, Arizona State, and North Carolina State. Possibilities to join in the mix include Alabama, Florida State, and as a longshot - UCLA. Top candidates for these jobs this year will be Greg Schiano (Rutgers HC), Bobby Petrino (Louisville HC), Rich Rodriguez (West Virginia HC), Jim Grobe (Wake Forest HC), Brian Kelley (Central Michigan HC), Mike D'Anotnio (Cinci HC), Jimbo Fisher (LSU OC), Bo Pelini (LSU DC), Randy Shannon (Miami DC).

Alabama and Nick Saban

2006-11-22T15:43:00.000-08:00

In today's Birmingham News, Kevin Scarbinsky writes that folks associated with the Alabama program contacted Nick Saban about his interest in the job. I believe that Kevin is a highly credible source and fully believe that Saban was approached or his agent, Jimmy Sexton, actually contacted Alabama. Acting as a fiduciary as his agent, Mr. Sexton would be crazy to not see what opportunities were available for his clients or entertain individuals seeking the services of his clients that include Saban, Tommy Tuberville, Jimbo Fisher, and Bill Parcells among others. Kevin goes on to write that if Shula is the coach of Alabama next year, then it can be inferred that Saban was not interested in the job. Interestingly, he wraps up his column wondering if Shula survives will he be able to produce the magical year that Tuberville did following the Jetgate scandal.

Sorry that I don't have more to offer today. The bride and I are cooking Thanksgiving dinner for 14 tomorrow and have been in the kitchen all day. I had to call my mother and thanks her for all the Thanksgiving meals she prepared - I have learned today and will continue to learn tomorrow that it is a bear of a task and she pulled it off all by her self.

In case I don't post tomorrow, Happy Thanksgiving to all my readers. I'm definitely not going to retire off this little endeavor, so it is your comments and eyes that keep me pounding away on this blog and I am grateful to all.

The Alabama Creed

2006-11-21T15:43:00.000-08:00

Kudos to the unknown author (if anyone knows the author, please let me know so they can get the credit that they deserve) for this gem.....

The Alabama Creed

"We believe that this is a delusional world and that we can talk only about what Bear did. Therefore, we believe in the past, the distant past. We believe in education, and though we did not technically attend the University of Alabama, we know a guy that did. We believe in honesty and truthfulness, because when the punishment for marijuana possession is ice cream, there is really no need to lie. We believe in a sound mind, in a sound body and a spirit that is not afraid. Well, maybe a little afraid of the thumb. We believe in obedience to law, except for the ones concerning money laundering, because they hinder recruiting. We believe in the human touch, even if we have to pay for it at seedy Pensacola strip clubs. We believe in our Country, because it is a land of freedom, and where else on Earth could a man wearing a gold chain earn two million dollars a year losing football games? And because Alabama men and women believe in these things, We believe in Alabama (football) and love it, when we are winning. And when we don't, we throw water bottles at opposing players."

Monday Morning (Evening) Look Back

2006-11-20T17:20:00.000-08:00

A great weekend for the heart, but not so hot for the wallet. On to my recap:

War Damn Q. Groves - his 2 sacks and caused fumbles were clearly the difference between an Auburn win and an Auburn loss.
Auburn's offense is downright pathetic this year.
It's truly amazing that this Auburn team finished the year with a 10-2 record.
As an Auburn fan, I hope Shula stays, but is there any question that he is way in over his head?
John Parker Wilson has the potential to be one heck of a quarterback.
Congrats to Houston Nutt and the Piggies for officially wrapping up the West. After their beat down of Auburn on the Plains, very few thought Arkansas would hang on to win the West.
If McFadden doesn't get it down running behind his o-line, apparently he can pull his magic on kick-off returns.
To be a year removed from the high school ranks, Gus Malzahn deserves a ton of praise for his creativity for getting the ball in the hands of his playmakers.
Just an early prediction, but I think Arkansas crushes Florida in the Dome.
What happened to LSU? Obviously, they looked well past Ole Miss to their date with Arkansas this upcoming Friday.
I'm still shocked that the Rebels could hang with LSU. Hopefully, the game bought Coach O a few more years at the helm in Oxford. I must admit that I wouldn't mind having Shula and O around the West for many more years to come.
What a difference Eric Ainge makes in the Tennessee offense. Granted it was Vandy, but they looked very impressive.
Though Chris Nickson had an off day against Tennessee, he just might be the best young quarterback in the SEC. Remember that he has little to no talent around him.
I'll admit that due to the Iron Bowl, I watched a grand total of maybe 10 minutes of the Michigan-Ohio State game. Check out the M Zone if you want to read a lot of good information (obviously Michigan biased) on the game.
People who think the two teams should rematch for the BCS Title are crazy. I guess those people are not in favor of a play-off. If there was ever a play-off scenario for a game, was that game not a semi-final game for the title?
Congrats to Kentucky for notching its 7th win of the season, albeit a nail-bitter to UL-M.
If South Carolina can upset Clemson on Saturday, then there is the possibility that Bama does not go bowling. Go Gamecocks!
How about the weekend for Chuck Amato and Larry Coker? Yikes!

Another pretty good card on tap for this week. Just curious, but do you think ESPN is just a tad disappointed that its big Thanksgiving evening match-up is Boston College at Miami. They use to carry Ole Miss and Mississippi State, but dropped that game several years ago because of its irrelevance in the college football world. I'm afraid that ESPN missed the boat again this year.

Thanks to loyal reader R. Johnson for this updated picture of Bryant Denny Stadium (a.k.a. Jordan-Hare West):

2006 Iron Bowl Week - Friday Edition

2006-11-17T09:50:00.000-08:00

Today I have decided to take a stroll down memory lane and look back at my greatest memories of this storied rivalry.

1985 - My 1st Auburn-Alabama game to attend in person. Truth be told, I remember very little about the back and forth battle of this game, but Van Tiffin's kick seems like it was yesterday.
1986 - I will always remember watching the "Tillman reverse" at my grandmother's house in Anniston on the day after Thanksgiving or that Saturday after Thanksgiving. I ran around like the crazy child I was after that play. While Bo Jackson was my hero growing up, I can look back to that game as the game that truly made me an Auburn person for life.
1993 - The greatest team nobody ever saw. Dad and I were listening to this game on the radio in the den of my parent's house. I remember my father getting up to go to the bathroom when Stan White went down on a 3rd down thinking the Tigers were just going to punt. He came running back into the den as I was jumping up and down screaming as Patrick Nix forever etched his name in the hearts of Auburn fans. Watching the highlights, Tony Richardson, to this day, might have the hardest hit ever recorded in the Iron Bowl after popping James Bostic in the endzone after Bostic sealed the deal with his 70 yard touchdown run late in the 4th quarter. "11-0, 11-0, 11-0" - great call Jim Fyffe.
1994 - Back in Legion Field for only my 2nd Iron Bowl in person. This game would begin a streak of 7 straight for me - I never witnessed Auburn win in Legion Field. I was so tired for this game because I had played in a high school play-off game the night before in Nashville. I made it back to Memphis around 1AM and we got up to leave for the Ham at 5Am. I also remember as we were leaving the stadium some drunk Bama student kept shouting Roll Tide in both my face and my father's. That's as close as I have ever seen my father come to hitting another person after trying to actually reason with guy.
1997 - Thank you, Mike Dubose and Ed Scissum. I was working for the athletic department as a Tiger Host at the time and I will always remember S. Locklar shaking and crying because she was so excited. I have never come across a lady who loves the University more than Sue and I was so excited to get to watch the finish of that game with her.
1999 - My last game as a student and Auburn, and unfortunately, Bama ended up cruising to a 4th quarter victory over Auburn behind the wheels of Shaun Alexander. It was Bama's 1st win ever at Auburn and my last game sitting in the student section.

While the 21st Century has also already left its fair share of memories in my mind, I'll save those for another time and place. Give'em hell tomorrow Tigers.

Passing Of A Legend

2006-11-17T09:32:00.000-08:00

My thoughts and sympathies go out to the Schembechler family. Before I write about my greatest Iron Bowl memories, I found it fitting to honor Bo. For whatever reason, my fondest memories as a kid growing up in Memphis during the 80's and developing my passion for college football revolve around watching Coach Schembechler and his Wolverines on ABC, Keith Jackson calling games, and the USC-UCLA game on ABC. It's truly bizarre to me that I can remember these activities so vividly. Outside of Auburn, here's a heartfelt thanks to Bo Schembechler for perhaps cementing my passion for college football.

2006 Iron Bowl Week - Thursday Edition

2006-11-16T16:34:00.000-08:00

A busier day than I initially realized that I would have. All I have to bring you today is another piece on the lack of national attention this year's Iron Bowl is drawing. I can't believe I am hearing more about Cal-USC than the Iron Bowl, but I guess that's the trade-off for sandy beaches and sunny, 70 degree days in November. Anyhow, Troy Johnson with the Ledger-Enquirer out of Columbus, GA writes "this one doesn't have the sizzle" in today's edition. As I have written about this topic for several days, I have come to kind of appreciate the fact that this game isn't drawing the national attention. Those they have not experienced this game just don't get it, so alums and fans of both institutions should just revel in the fact that they truly get to be a a part of something so special that so many folks across the country take for granted or as I said, just don't get it. So War Eagle and Roll Tide, let's tee it up in under 48 hours.

On a side note, does anyone now what happened to the Pickens County Herald? That paper's sports editor, Kevin Strickland, wrote an awesome column entitled "From the Sidelines." I no longer can find a link to the paper's website though. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

2006 Iron Bowl Week - Wednesday Edition

2006-11-15T16:11:00.000-08:00

Mike Szvetitz with the Opelika - Auburn News captures the essence of the Auburn - Alabama rivalry in the paper's Wednesday edition - Iron Bowl always "biggest" game. It would be very interesting to look at the television ratings between the Ohio State - Michigan game and the Iron Bowl and see the difference between the state of Alabama ratings versus the rest of the nation. I imagine that I will be one of possibly 10 people in the LA area tuned into the Iron Bowl this week.

In today's Birmingham News, Kevin Scarbinsky writes about where Alabama players are finding motivation for this year's Iron Bowl - pictures of Tommy Tuberville holding up four fingers. Not that players from either side need much motivation to get up for this game, Le'Ron McClain offers Auburn players a little motivation by stating, "I guarantee it's not going to be five (wins in a row)."

I thought a few quotes from Alabama players in Tim Gayle's article in today's Montgomery Advertiser were quite entertaining. First, Kyle Tatum calls out Auburn fans that wear "fear the thumb" shirts as classless. Ken Darby is quoted saying "Every year, we always come close to beating them." Not sure if I have been watching the same games that Darby has played in over the past three years, but Auburn has basically spanked Bama every game over the past three years. Finally, our buddy Le'Ron McClain emerges in this article as well to spit out perhaps his most profound words yet, "I feel like we're better than every team we've lost to, but our record doesn't show it."

More stories to follow as the week unfolds along with my own "personal" greatest memories from the Iron Bowl.

2006 Iron Bowl Week - Tuesday Edition

2006-11-14T13:36:00.000-08:00

So, I'm going to focus only on the Auburn-Alabama game this week, although it is far from the most important game on the national scene. To the folks associated with the two schools, there is no game of greater importance that will be played this weekend, or, as a matter of fact, any other weekend.

To my readers that are interested in the Michigan - Ohio State game (and I can't blame you), check out the guys at the M Zone who are focusing their week on the game. They do a great job covering the Michigan football program and already have some good stuff up for this week's game.

Paul Finebaum hit the nail on the head in his column this past Saturday. Paul discusses that the Iron Bowl is irrelevant nationally. While Paul is dead on with his analysis, I think that is what makes this game so special. While others around the country are taking in the UM-OSU game, the state of Alabama will come to a halt as Auburn and Alabama collide. The game is more about state and local pride to folks in Alabama than what others on a national scale think. It's great to have the national eyes watching your game, but is the importance of the game really diminished by not meaning much on a national scale. I think not, because this game is all about state pride.

Just one other piece for today.....Kevin Scarbinsky in yesterday's Birmingham News wrote that Tuberville owes his popularity to beating Bama. I have no doubt that Tommy Tuberville is widely popular with the Auburn fan base not only for his stellar record against Alabama, but also because he is able to get under the skin of the opposing fans. Looking back at the widely popular coaches in the series, Bear was loved clearly because of his amazing record while at Alabama, but referring to Auburn as "that cow college" only endeared him even more in the hearts of Alabama fans. Pat Dye will always be remembered not for winning 4 SEC titles during his tenure, but putting Auburn on equal ground with Alabama and bringing the Iron Bowl to Auburn's campus. Tommy's record is impressive, but Auburn fans got so much pleasure watching Tommy T running around Pat Dye field holding four fingers in the air. Even Coach Fran knew how to win the Bama fans over as he always referred to Auburn as "that school down the road." With all the "fear the thumb" talk coming from the Auburn fans, this year's game is hugely important to show that once and for all, Auburn is no longer on equal ground with Alabama, but that Tuberville has clearly moved the Tigers beyond the Tide's shadow and is now casting their own shadow on the Tide.

Monday Morning Look Back

2006-11-13T15:27:00.000-08:00

So, it has been a while since I last posted. Since last Wednesday afternoon, I have traveled to New Jersey and back (unfortunately, not for the Louisville - Rutgers game), logged a long run on Saturday morning (currently I'm training for the Austin Marathon), watched my Tigers get humiliated, only to end the weekend with an awful stomach virus. Anyhow, on to my thoughts....

I knew Auburn had some issues, but I never would have expected the ass pounding that the Tigers received from UGA.
Has a quarterback ever had a worse SEC game than Brandon Cox strung together against UGA? Brandon Cox made Brent Schaeffer look like Heisman material.
I'm dumbfounded as to what's wrong with Auburn's offense - Is it the o-line? They struggle mightily to pass block. Is it the quarterback? Defenses just don't respect the Auburn passing game. Cox also looks very gimpy. Is it the receivers? Auburn has a non-existent downfield passing attack. Is it the running game? Auburn has too much talent for the running game to be problematic. Clearly, I think it's a mixture of the o-line, quarterback, and receiver play, just not sure as to which is the biggest Achilles hill.
While Auburn's offense was horrendous, the defense wasn't any better. I understand that the offense did not leave the defense in the best of situations, but they still should not have been torched like they were.
Enough bashing of Auburn, UGA played an excellent game. Matthew Stafford finally stepped up and showed what kind of qb he is capable of being. Kregg Lumpkin found UGA's running game which had been struggling as well over the past month.
What's with Tommy Tuberville's Auburn teams struggling to win 10 games? 9 wins is his teams' magic number.
So do I look like an idiot with my preseason prediction on Arkansas's season?
Arkansas just might be the nation's best team right now. I know they would love a chance for redemption with the USC Trojans.
Arkansas will be a preseason top 5 team entering next year with all of their offensive weapons returning.
Darren McFadden is easily the nation's top running back.
Marcus Monk is every bit as good as Mario Manningham and Calvin Johnson.
I'm just not sold on Florida as a top-5 team. I realize that they have an impressive 9-1 record, but they just don't look that good.
South Carolina just doesn't have the talent to beat the big boys.
Nobody is talking about this game, but I can't wait until the LSU-Arkansas game. LSU is clearly one of the nation's best teams and Arkansas is the hottest team in the country right now.
Credit to Mike Shula this week for opening up the Alabama playbook. Although they lost to an extremely good LSU team on the road, I think Bama played its best ball of the year this past Saturday.
Did anyone know that Dwayne Bowe had lasik surgery in the off-season? I'm amazed at how announcers latch onto a topic at the beginning of the year and just never let it go.
Congrats to Kentucky for becoming bowl eligible for the first time since 1999 - the Hal Mumme days.
Amazingly, Vanderbilt blew another 4th quarter lead.
Even more amazing, Texas A&M suffered another 1 point loss.
If Louisville was national title material, then I believe Rutgers should be in line to play the Ohio State - Michigan winner.
Was anyone else pulling for San Jose State to knock off Boise State? I really don't want to see Boise in a BCS game.

Looking ahead, I'm not happy about the Iron Bowl and the Michigan-Ohio State game being on at the same time. It's sad that absolutely nobody outside of the state of Alabama has any interest in the Iron Bowl this year. As an Auburn fan, I'm torn between which game to have on the big screen and which game should be relegated to the 21 incher. Again, sorry for missing a few days and for the late post from today, but I have been feeling like death recently. Look for a heavy emphasis on the Iron Bowl as far as material this week, though nobody on a national scale cares about the game. It's still really important to me and clearly the SEC's biggest game this week.

West Virgina Football & Academics

2006-11-08T14:48:00.000-08:00

I've been meaning to get this post out ever since last Friday....

In light of this summer's allegations by the New York Times that Auburn football players received preferential treatment by the Sociology department through independent study courses, I thought it was fitting that when the school released its final report on independent studies late last week, clearing the athletic department of any wrongdoing, no media outlets covered the story. Auburn and the supposed academic scandal was a hot item just prior to the kick-off of the 2006 college football season. People across the country were laughing at Auburn and its players either with a sociology degree or in the program.

Well, watching the West Virginia - Louisville match-up, I found it rather amusing that a majority of the players' profiles from West Virginia shown during the telecast stated the player's major as Athletic Coaching Education. I totally agree that Sociology is not one of the more challenging majors available to Auburn students, but Athletic Coaching Education, come on. Check out the curriculum required to earn a degree in this major. I'm curious as to why the national media doesn't drop its current love affair with the Big East and take a look at West Virginia's academics. Maybe the school gets a pass from the NCAA with academics since a majority of individuals from the state are unable to read? You think many non-athletes are majoring in Athletic Coaching Education? If anyone wants to look at preferential treatment of athletes and academics, I say look no further than Morgantown.

A Few Good Reads For Your Tuesday Afternoon/Evening

2006-11-07T14:16:00.000-08:00

As a Tuesday tradition, I've included several columns from writers around the south. So take a break from watching election returns, and read a few of these.

With Mississippi State and Sylvester Croom getting the SEC-winless monkey off its back, I figured they would be a good place to start. In Sunday's Jackson Clarion-Ledger, columnist Rick Cleveland writes a wonderful perspective piece on the Bulldogs' win - Call it a miracle, if not for Bulldogs, surely for Croom. Cleveland also wonders whether or not the Bulldogs will be able to build upon this win.

Cecil Hurt, Alabama beat writer for the Tuscaloosa News, writes 2006 season summed up in 60 minutes of disappointment. Cecil is very down on Mike Shula these days and appears quite frustrated in Alabama's lack of improvement throughout the year. He hits the nail on the head when he writes "The solutions, if there are to be any, haven’t changed. It starts with the head coach looking into the mirror, then extending the same scrutiny to every other member of his staff. The problems still seem to be primarily on the offensive side of the ball, which is not to exempt the defense from its fair share of the ample Saturday blame. But (and this is the only statistic I will cite in this column, since it essentially says it all) – Alabama has not scored an offensive touchdown against Mississippi State in over two years, in more than 125 minutes of football."

Sticking with the Turds, Randy Kennedy, columnist for the Mobile Press-Register, writes that the Crimson Tide is among SEC's worst teams. I think Mr. Kennedy is right on with his assessment of the Turds - The difference between Alabama, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt and Kentucky is basically non-existent on any given Saturday. All of those teams are capable of playing an occasional close game against one of the SEC big boys, but they're seldom able to close the deal." He goes on to write that major changes need to occur to Alabama's offensive staff.

Nate Allen, writer for the Northwest Arkansas Times gives his readers a different side of Arkansas's Darren McFadden that many people did not know about. Seems to be a good guy on top of one hell of a running back.

Mark Bradley, Atlanta Journal Constitution columnist, writes about Georgia's fall from grace. As they say, hindsight is 20-20, but Mr. Bradley does a good job of taking a look at the writing on the wall from the previous years to a struggling season this year.

Glenn Guilbeau with Gannett News Services writes about LSU's plane flight home from Knoxville. In my opinion, this article solidifies the fact that Les Miles is a freaking dork and apparently it's rubbing off on his team now. I'm not quite sure why, but I can totally picture Les saying "OK guys, you can wear your sweats home."

Chris Low, a staff writer for The Tennessean, writes about the suspensions of the Tennessee trio involved in a fight at GoodFellas, which according to Coach Fulmer, is now off-limits to his team. I find the suspensions rather amusing in that the only starter out of the three is suspended just for a half while the other two players are suspended for a game and 2 games. Fulmer's strict disciplinarian-self comes out again. Not quite sure who is more lenient, Fulmer or Shula?

Rick Scoppe with The Greenville News writes about Steve Spurrier's frustrations and on his comments about returning to face his former team in The Swamp. I think Spurrier's response about returning to The Swamp is classic. He can be so blunt and come across as such a jerk, so opposing fans can hate him, but if he is your coach, you have to love the man.

Finally, Henry Matuszak with the Commercial Dispatch out of Columbus, MS (Still trying to figure out how I guy with that last name ends up in Columbus), writes that the Rebels set goal to win out this season. I hate to break it to Shrek and the Ole Miss staff, but they should set some more realistic goals.

Monday Morning Look Back

2006-11-05T20:33:00.000-08:00

So, it's rather upsetting to think that the end of the college football season is in sight. It seems like just yesterday that I was rushing home from the office to watch the South Carolina - Mississippi State Thursday night debacle. Anyhow, on to my weekend review:

Auburn's red zone offense continues to suck as bad as a whore having a seizure. The offense puts up over 400 yards of offense again, yet only produces 3 touchdowns.
With the Arkansas State game behind Auburn, it's a great time for Auburn fans with what Pat Dye use to refer to as "Amen Corner" left on the team's plate.
I have finally come to realize that I don't see any way Auburn gets to play in the BCS Title Game - for one, I don't think Auburn even wins the West.
Arkansas's running game is absolutely dominant. Their unbalanced line formation is old-school and Darren McFadden, in my humble opinion, is the nation's best running back.
Even more amazing, Arkansas is 5-0 in the SEC and 8-1 overall, yet they are still struggling to find a quarterback.
If McFadden is injured seriously (reports are a bit sketchy right now) and unable to play against the Vols or LSU Tigers, the Piggies might be in trouble (see the Southern Cal game).
Blake Mitchell's third quarter performance for the Gamecocks was amazing. Steve Spurrier has an unbelievable knack for the quarterback position.
Glad to see JaMarcus finally live up to expectations and win a big game on the road. He single handedly carried the LSU offense on Saturday night.
I'm wondering if the Vols are going to mail in their season after the loss to LSU. For some reason, I see this team laying down now.
Even with the loss, things appear to be back to normal in Knoxville with Arian Foster, Antonio Wardlow, and David Holbert getting arrested early Sunday morning.
It's crazy how Auburn players were supposedly banged up for weeks post LSU game, yet Tennessee players apparently still had a bit of fight left in them.
Remember me discussing Mike Shula's situation several weeks ago? Contrary to his contract and what the Bama administration is saying, I think he is now in serious trouble of not surviving this year. I am predicting that LSU will stomp Alabama as Shula will be solely focused on the Auburn game which has become must-win for him. I'll have plenty of Shula material this upcoming week.
On the flip-side, congrats are in order for Sylvester Croom. I have been riding him fairly hard and have to admit that his team looked much improved this past weekend. I'm pulling for the Bullies to finish the year strong with three straight SEC wins. Arkansas is a big stretch, but Ole Miss is clearly beatable.
Things are downright ugly in Athens, GA. A 6-4 record is tough to bear, but with SEC losses to Vanderbilt and Kentucky, the record just got uglier.
How bad are things in Athens? So bad that the Auburn-UGA game is being broadcast regionally as the JP (I know, it's now the Lincoln Financial, but as far as I am concerned, I will always refer to the 11:30 central game as the "JP Game")Game of the Week with the Daves on the call.
Anyone in their right mind predict Kentucky would be bowling this year. It likely will happen with them needing one win out of their last 3 games that include Vanderbilt, LA-Monroe, and Tennessee.
I'm convinced Vanderbilt is the exact opposite of Notre Dame. Vanderbilt outgained Florida this past weekend, yet came up on the short end of the score. Vanderbilt is notorious for coming up short in games that they have a chance to win, while the Irish seem to pull several games a year out of their ass.
Remember when some folks were mentioning Chris Leak's name with the Heisman? Seems like ages ago as he has struggled the past several weeks.
Since it is looking like both Boise and Louisville will be in a BCS bowl, I'm thinking the two should play again to rematch the Liberty Bowl from '04. Besides, does anyone want to see Louisville in the BCS Title game besides the folks hanging out in the Papa?
So Missouri danced with the big boys in the Top 25 for multiple weeks, but have no quickly assumed their position outside the Top 25.
Likewise, thank you for stopping by Clemson.
Joe Pa is a warrior. The 80 year-old man gets the shits, sprints off the sideline to relieve himself only to return to the sidelines. Now, he gets cracked by a Wisconsin defender, breaks a leg and injures some knee ligaments, yet he pops up and doesn't want to sit down on the bench and he isn't happy about getting carted off the field. Get well soon, Joe Pa.
I said it last week and I will say it again, Colt McCoy is going to be an absolute superstar before his time is up at Texas.
Can Texas A&M play its games any closer? In its 6 conference games this year, A&M is 4-2, winning its 4 games by a combined 20 points and loosing its 2 games by a combined 5 points. I think Franchione has earned himself another year, although he still has yet to beat Oklahoma, Nebraska, or Texas. He still can do something about the last 2 this year.
Nothing new on the Amato or Coker front - thanks for stopping by, gentlemen.
Finally, looking at bowl projections, I have seen some folks have predicted Auburn will meet Georgia Tech in the Orange Bowl. No one can be pulling for that game than Reggie Ball. He has had two career days against Auburn, so I am sure he would love to end his 10-year Tech career playing the team that he terrorizes.

Look for some columns from around the South to be posted by some point tomorrow....

Recap of West Virginia - Louisville

2006-11-03T10:09:00.000-08:00

Last night's game cemented in my mind that an undefeated Big East school is less deserving of the BCS National Title game than a one loss team from the Big 10, SEC, PAC 10, Big 12, or ACC. First, I will give credit to West Virginia's two offensive studs, Pat White and Steve Slaton are exciting players to watch. West Virginia's offense is so gimmicky though. I actually thought I was watching a Pop Warner game for awhile when West Virginia would snap the ball to White in the shotgun and he would just run around left or right end. Though Slaton put up some big time numbers, the fact of the matter was that he put the ball on the turk twice and then attempted to milk an injury. Sorry, that's not Heisman caliber.

Louisville's offense is legit. Bobby Petrino is a hell of an offensive mind. Louisville's defense is nothing to write home about.

The fact of the matter between these two schools is that if they played a Big 10, SEC, etc schedule, I just don't think they could hang week end and week out. Slaton gets banged up and the announcers are declaring it over for West Virginia. Has there been a starting running back in the SEC make it through this year without getting banged up? West Virginia just doesn't have the size, talent, or depth to compete on a national scale every week. Yes, they can play with a Georgia for one game, but they couldn't compete against Georgia, Florida, and Tennessee throughout a season.

Louisville is a bit of a different beast than West Virginia. I really think that their program is on the rise and they have the potential to play with the big boys, but unfortunately have chosen not to. If you look at Louisville's recruiting under Petrino, he has been able to go into states like Alabama and Florida and steal away some top-notch prospects. Couple that with the fact that he basically owns the state of Kentucky which produces its fair share of talent (its not Florida, but the cupboard is far from bare in the state), and Louisville is a program that has the potential to compete on the national stage, even though their stadium is named after a pizza joint.

Finally, I mentioned yesterday that I wish both teams could loose, just as I wish before the Miami and Florida State game every year. I think these two teams just might be becoming the new Florida State and Miami. The game was extremely sloppy with at least 8 fumbles, 4 turnovers, and 7 personal foul penalties. I was actually hoping for a brawl to seal the deal.

On to this weekend:
So a decent, but far from great, card for the weekend. I will be tuning into the Penn State - Wisconsin game bright and early out here on the Left Coast with a Fat Tire and breakfast burrito at Busby's. Then, it's back home to catch the LSU-Tennessee and Arkansas-South Carolina games. It seems that everyone is riding South Carolina this week, but I think that they might be emotionally spent after last week's UT game. While I am obviously hoping for the Carolina win, I think Arkansas takes care of business on the road. Speaking of taking care of business on the road, LSU has yet been able to do so, so I am leaning towards the Vols in that game. On paper, I like LSU given Tennessee's issues in its secondary - JaMarcus should light them up if Jimbo allows him to do so.

Have a happy & safe weekend wherever you may be.....

Thursday Night Football

2006-11-02T14:58:00.000-08:00

Seeing that it's 3 0' clock on the Left Coast, most of my readers probably will not read this post until after tonight's game....oh well. I'm kind of viewing this game in a similar fashion as the Florida State - Miami game, meaning that if there was a way for both teams to loose, that is what I would want to happen. Bobby Petrino is a schmuck of a coach and neither team is deserving of its records (or to state it another way, if every school played West Virginia's schedule, there would currently be at least 25 teams undefeated). Besides the state flower of West Virginia is the satellite dish.

Well apparently, Papa John's Stadium is going to be "blacked out" tonight and the Cardinals are going to be decked out in all black uniforms from helmet to toe. Apparently, they did not receive the memo from Florida State that black unis do not equal a "W." I am curious to see what kind of home field advantage the 'Ville has tonight. Louisville just isn't a college football town, so I'm not quite sure how much of an advantage that gives the team, although the Cards will definitely be better off than if the game was in Morgantown. Anyhow, I am looking forward to the game, but may neither team win.

How about the barn burners ESPN has given us the last two nights? I am a college football junkie, but as I age, I have to admit that watching UAB-SMU and Freson State-Boise State is getting tough. I really feel like ESPN might be doing college football a dis-favor by airing these games. Just think, if you are on the fence about college football and these are the games you get to watch. I just think these games would turn people away from the sport rather than attracting new fans. I shouldn't be complaining though, because come February, I will be cringing for any college football that I can possibly get my hands on.

Going back to Boise State - I know some people are thinking, wait a minute, now they are a top tier team. WRONG, as I have stated before, Boise State is bush league, their field is bush league, and their conference is bush league. Actually, I think the NCAA should mandate to keep I-A status, you must play on a green grass colored surface. I'm still shocked that Mark May and Lou Holtz (I shouldn't be shocked by anything that comes out of these two clowns' mouths) had the gall to state that Ian Johnson should be invited to the Heisman Ceremony. Can you imagine the stats of an Adrian Peterson, Marshawn Lynch, or Darren McFadden if their respective teams played Boise's schedule. If Boise makes it to a BCS game, then I will have major problems with the system (not really fair, because I already do), regardless who plays for the national title.

No Surprise in East Lansing

2006-11-01T14:14:00.000-08:00

Non-SEC related, but John L. Smith is finished in East Lansing. Hopefully, I will get a chance to bring you all a little better material as an unbelievable day on the Left Coast unfolds.

Coaches in Costumes (2006 Halloween Edition)

2006-10-31T14:52:00.000-08:00

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

Tuesday Columns Round-Up

2006-10-31T14:06:00.000-08:00

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

2006-10-30T06:02:00.000-08:00

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

2006-10-26T19:03:00.000-07:00

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

2006-10-25T19:56:00.000-07:00

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

2006-10-23T12:45:00.000-07:00

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

2006-10-22T15:36:00.000-07:00

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

2006-10-20T14:27:00.000-07:00

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

2006-10-18T21:33:00.000-07:00

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

2006-10-18T18:04:00.000-07:00

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

2006-10-17T12:25:00.000-07:00

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)

2006-10-16T15:32:00.000-07:00

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

2006-10-16T13:30:00.000-07:00

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

2006-10-12T08:22:00.000-07:00

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?

2006-10-12T08:03:00.000-07:00

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

2006-10-10T13:53:00.000-07:00

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

2006-10-09T13:07:00.000-07:00

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

2006-10-06T07:40:00.000-07:00

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

2006-10-05T21:28:00.000-07:00

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

2006-10-04T20:07:00.000-07:00

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

2006-10-03T14:35:00.000-07:00

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

2006-10-02T20:25:00.000-07:00

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

2006-10-02T11:30:00.000-07:00

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

2006-10-02T10:58:00.000-07:00

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.

South Carolina - Auburn Recap

2006-09-29T16:17:00.000-07:00

So the Thursday night SEC game between South Carolina and Auburn unfortunately for this Auburn fan turned out to be quite the nail biter. I was obviously hoping for something similar to last year's 49 -7 Auburn victory to take place. However, that would not be the case although after each team's 1st series it looked like we were well on our way to a route. So, I bring you my post game thoughts after a full day of re-orientation to business school.

Auburn is currently not a national title caliber team. Why? Two big reasons in my opinion - the offensive line is not good enough and Auburn is completely lacking in its receiving corps. This football team does not have a downfield passing game at all.
Syvelle Newton had a career game in only his 2nd game starting at quarterback. It will be interesting to see if he can continue to play this well.
How good is Steve Spurrier at finding mismatches? Kenny McKinley came into the game with 9 receptions. He left the field with 8 more receptions, 110 yards, 1 touchdown and made Auburn db Zach Gilbert look silly throughout the game.
Tommy Tuberville is an excellent coach. His onside kick call was masterful and then choosing to go for the 4th down rather than punt was a difference maker in the game.
Has anyone ever seen a team hold the football for an entire quarter? And then South Carolina dominates the possession the final quarter.
Still curious with Will Muschamp's defensive game plan...not quite sure why Auburn didn't blitz more folks and more often.
Will Herring's 1st quarter interception was sick.

Full Day At School

2006-09-29T07:34:00.000-07:00

I have a "re-orientation" day today, so unfortunately will not be posting any substance until late this afternoon. Look for a post on my recap of the South Carolina - Auburn game.

Will Chancellor Khayat follow Michigan High School Example?

2006-09-28T10:57:00.000-07:00

According to a report from ESPN.com, the Oscoda Area High School district has decided to cancel the rest of the football team's games for lack of scoring and winning in its first four games. While the Rebels have notched a win, maybe Chancellor Robert Khayat should follow suit. The Oscoda coach is quoted "when you go to a game on Friday night and see a team physically dominated, those are the indisputable facts." If you replace Friday with Saturday, you basically could make a case the quote was from Shrek after the Wake Forest game.

Kenny Irons Heads Back To Carolina

2006-09-28T09:22:00.000-07:00

Joseph Person with The State writes a nice piece about Kenny Irons' trials and tribulations that led to his transfer to Auburn from South Carolina. The piece features comments from Kenny, his brother and father, as well as then Carolina coach Lou Holtz and current quarterback Syvelle Newton. Lou can drool all he want and claim that Kenny can't cut it in a single back formation, but the fact of the matter is clearly evident to all - Lou absolutely blew it with Kenny.

Pretty Damn Funny Shrek (Coach O) Song

2006-09-28T07:41:00.000-07:00

Chris Vernon, whose site is linked under my Websites Worth A Visit section, has written and sings a great Shrek song. All I can say is thank God I am not an Ole Miss Rebel.

Alligator, Alligator
Crocodile Piss
If Shit Were A School
It Would Be Ole Miss!

All Is Well With The Coach On The Plains

2006-09-26T14:39:00.000-07:00

Cary Estes writes a great piece on Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville for MSNBC.com. It's simply amazing that since the end of the 2003 season, Tuberville has led Auburn to a 28 - 3 record, including a 19-1 SEC mark. I do not understand why this football program is still looked over by the likes of ESPN personalities, Lou Holtz and Mark May. Cowherd is about the only personality at ESPN who gives Auburn its due respect. What will it take for folks to realize that Auburn has become a major player on the national stage?

Moving On To Shrek (Coach Orgeron)

2006-09-26T14:20:00.000-07:00

Several pieces today across the Southeast focus on Ole Miss and Shrek. Things are very bad when a former coach blasts the current head coach as Billy Brewer blasts Shrek in David Paschall's piece for the Chattanooga Times Free Press, Ex-Coach Brewer No Orgeron Fan.

Tony Barnhart examines Five Coaches In Rough Spots in his blog for the Atlanta Journal Constitution, including Shrek in his list.

And finally, in today's Memphis Commercial Appeal, Marlon Morgan writes about Shrek's decision to stick with Brent Schaeffer as the Rebs' starting quarterback and what has been causing their offense to struggle. Interestingly, the article mentions that Schaeffer is only completing 46.5% of his passes and has only thrown 3 touchdowns versus 5 interceptions. These stats do not come at a surprise to me. In his only year at UT, Schaeffer completed a tad below 49% of his passes with only 2 TDs and a pick. Keep in mind, that the talent level at UT is head above heels better than that at Ole Miss. Still, not quite sure what the Rebel fans were expecting with Brent.

This Week's Sports Illustrated Cover Features Alabama

2006-09-26T14:15:00.000-07:00

Funniest Message Board Thread I've Read (Mainly UNC & Miami Related)

2006-09-26T13:42:00.000-07:00

So what started with one North Carolina fan posting on a Hurricane message board that he hopes Miami, as well as the remainder of UNC's opponents, drubs them in hopes of assuring that John Bunting will be fired has led to one of the funnier exchanges that I have come across on a message board. Without stealing all of the contributors' thunder, here is a link to the thread: best message board thread I've read. Basically, fans of the two schools are completely bashing their coaches and wishing the opponent in next Saturday's game all the best and other programs, NC State and FSU included jump into the discussion. For those not wanting to read the full thread (believe me, it's well worth your time), I've included several links and pictures that have found their way into the thread. Chuck Amato and Bobby Bowden even find their way into the thread. I absolutely love this picture of Amato:
Check out this cartoon - John Bunting Beat Miami
On a more serious note, I've included several pieces that look at the state of both the Miami and UNC programs and examine the coaching situations.
Stay Or Go? - The News & Observer
Why Do Tar Heels Struggle? - The Herald-Sun
'Canes Seem Unable This Season - The Atlanta Journal Constitution
OK To Root Against Your Own Team? - ESPN.com Page 2

Some Excellent Bama Material

2006-09-26T13:24:00.000-07:00

Props to Paul Finebaum for putting what are eerily similar to my thoughts about Mike Shula and Alabama football on paper in this morning's Mobile Register. Yes, Tide Nation, you are in big trouble.

Moving away from football, but remaining in T-Town, The Decatur Daily offers a glimpse into what's wrong with the Tide Nation. Check out this Bama Redneck wedding. Again, as mentioned in a post yesterday, the Turds refuse to let loose of the Bahr as evident by the bride's father's outfit at the wedding. Also, notice Carson's lovely crimson wedding dress - she's a a real southern beauty.

Two Different Views on Shula

2006-09-25T14:38:00.000-07:00

I thought Mike Shula totally blew the game on Saturday with some awful play calling. John Parker Wilson was putting up career numbers on the Razorback secondary by throwing the ball down the field. Yet, come 4th quarter, Bama's offense got extremely conservative, even appearing to play for the game winning field goal on the foot of freshman kicker Leigh Tiffin. It's safe to assume that we will not see any Daniel Moore paintings depicting Leigh's kicking performance taking the place of daddy's 52 yard game winner in the '85 Iron Bowl on Tide fans' trailer walls.

Kevin Scarbinsky of the Birmingham News believes that Shula made the right decision by going conservative in the 4th quarter and overtimes. Kevin feels "when you have two teams this close, two teams separated by a foot, you run the ball and center the ball. You make the kick, take the win, and go home." If my memory and thought serves me correctly, Auburn and LSU are mighty close in talent and separated by few feet. While both teams tried to establish the run, I think you will be hard pressed to call Tuberville anything but conservative when he opted to go for a 4th down conversion in the 4th quarter with the ball in Auburn's territory.

Neal McCready with the Mobile Press-Register offers a different view on Shula. He feels, along with me, that Shula's conservative style cost the Tide. I totally agree that Shula blew the game when he basically took John Parker Wilson's arm out of the game. Shula even acknowledged his qb's play after the game stating "In the 2nd half and in the 4th quarter, (Wilson) made some plays that you can win games with." The problem wasn't the quarterback making plays; it was his coach giving him the opportunity to make them. Judging from Bama fans calling in to Rivals Radio this morning, it appears that they also share the same sentiment and are getting very antsy with Shula.

As Auburn approaches "Fear the Thumb" Day, Auburn fans, me included, can only hope that Shula remains at Alabama for years to come. Here's to keepmikeshula.com.

New Goal Post by Tuscaloosa Metalworks

2006-09-25T14:28:00.000-07:00

Thanks go to W. Gurner for forwarding along the advertisement of the "Leigh Tiffin Model". I heard that the Bear even had a hand in the craftsmanship of this model. While we are on the topic of the Bear, be sure to check out this wonderful song (are they kidding?) by Buddy Buie and Ronnie Hammond. You got to tip your hat to those two devoted Tide fans.

Monday Morning Look Back

2006-09-25T08:38:00.000-07:00

Another week in the bag and on a pretty lackluster weekend card, we had some interesting turn of events.....

First, let's examine the "hot seats" that I have discussed the past few weeks. I felt that Houston Nutt was done after this year, yet Arkansas' win against Bama and the fact that he is playing a true freshman at qb might buy him another year. If he can get the Hogs to 4 wins in the conference (which is very doable with Ole Miss and Miss. St. left on the schedule), I think he will survive. All reports in the preseason had Rich Brooks labeled as a lame duck. Well, the Wildcats are playing some decent football and its two losses have been to Top 10 teams. Not quite sure if Rich is ready to pack it up in Kentucky. Chuck Amato, who had flames shooting from his chair, watched his NC State Wolfpack pull off a stunner against 20th ranked BC. While this will temporarily keep the fire from spreading, Chuck will still be packing at years' end. Staying in the state of NC, I think it's all but official that John Bunting will be jobless soon after his Tarheels were taking behind the woodshed by Clemson. And, while the 'Canes were idle this week, all the talk around Miami concerns Larry Coker's job. Based on media reports and my own intuition (take it for what it's worth), he is done unless they run the table. It's crazy to think that there has not been a coaching change in the last 2 years in the ACC, but big changes are coming. Keep in mind that ol' Tommy can't be too far away from walking away from the game as well.
Auburn's offense is sputtering and I think the problem lies with the offensive line. After Kenny Irons rushed for 180+ against Washington State, the 1st team unit has yet to have a back break the century mark (Yes, I know that Ben Tate ran for over 100 yards against Buffalo, but those yards came in the 4th quarter when both teams were playing reserves).
Georgia was exposed by Colorado as having major issues at the quarterback position. Their defense is rock solid though.
Could Mike Shula have called a more awful game in the 4th quarter?
What has happened to Ken Darby? Bama's O-Line is his main issue.
I can only imagine the messages left on Leigh Tiffin's voicemail.
John Parker Wilson is getting better each week, but Bama's talent level is not even close to LSU and Auburn's.
Mitch Mustain was awful against Bama, yet Arkansas found a way to win. Mitch definitely does not look like the high school player of the year, but is playing the part of a weak and confused freshman quarterback.
Florida's offense with both Chris Leak and Tim Tebow running the show is very entertaining to watch.
Tim Tebow looks very impressive....similar to a Matt Jones-type.
It's no secret that I don't like Ole Miss as a school or football team, but they are making it too easy for me to bash them. Their coach and football team are a downright embarrassment to the SEC. Getting shelled by Wake Forest is one thing, but the fact that Wake shelled Ole Miss by only attempting 5 passes is simply terrible.
Glad to see the Bulldogs of MS State pull out a "w" against UAB.
Conference USA is awful this year. State and Ole Miss need to fill their non-conference schedule with C-USA teams because it's looking like that will be their only "w's" this year.
I got my first real chance to watch Michigan on Saturday morning, and I must say that they look awfully good. Mario Manningham is a stud and Mike Hart is not too shabby. Their defense flies around the ball. I'm not ready to concede the Big 10 title to the Buckeyes just yet.
I'm still in a state of disbelief that Michigan State blew the game against Notre Dame. I'm still trying to figure out why Jehuu Caulcrick didn't get a carry after the first play of the 4th quarter. He was shredding ND's defense.

So, it's a short week for my Auburn Tigers with a Thursday night game on ESPN. I'm not a big fan of "my team" playing in the Thursday night game, but Tuberville was quoted as saying that all 12 teams in the SEC owe it to the media to play this game since they have been so good to the SEC. I must admit that I can't quite follow his logic because the ESPN/ABC college football machine is anything but kind to the SEC. Check back shortly for links to columns to get others thoughts on college football. I hope to dig up some good articles on Shula's inept play calling and some perspectives on others' thoughts of Coach O and the state of the Ole Miss program.

Cowherd Beats Me To The Punch on Fantasy Football

2006-09-22T09:55:00.000-07:00

So on The Herd today, Colin discussed his dislike for Fantasy Football. I thought I was the only male left in America that didn't play Fantasy Football. Not only do I not play it, I actually hate what fantasy football has done to the game of football. I get so frustrated with the "fantasy people" that could care less about wins and losses of teams on Sunday, but only care about how their "fantasy players" performed. It's impossible to watch an NFL game without having to deal with the constant scroll of players stats across the bottom of the screen. I would much rather see the scores of the games than players stats, but apparently I'm an exception to the norm. To me, it's a shame that stats appear to be more important to the professional football fan than scores. Just another reason I prefer the college game to the NFL version.

Calvin Johnson & Kirk Herbstreit

2006-09-21T18:21:00.000-07:00

I think Herbstreit's love obsession with Calvin Johnson, Georgia Tech WR, tops that of Verne Lundquist with David Greene and David Pollack. I can only hope that Calvin's TD reception just prior to the half shuts up Herbstreit. I'm guessing that all we will continue to hear about from Herbstreit is the TD catch and why they aren't going to him more in the 2nd half - Pretty terrible commentating to a pretty terrible game.

Random Musings (OU, Tonight's and This Weekend's Games, Patrick Willis)

2006-09-21T14:07:00.000-07:00

I have had little time to read much this week, so I haven't linked anything to my blog - All original this week. I am looking forward to reading some columns and including the links that my loyal readers have come to enjoy.

As mentioned yesterday, I am so sick of Bob Stoops' whining. It is literally on the cover of every sports website, magazine, newspaper and is the focal talking point on very talk show. Get over it, Bob and the Sooner nation. The call, or calls, was terrible, but good teams find a way to win when things don't go their way. The Sooners, in my opinion, did the complete opposite and gave the game away. They gave up over 500 yards of offense to Oregon, 2 touchdowns in less than 30 seconds over the final 2 minutes of the game, and had a game winning field goal attempt blocked to end the game. Humans make mistakes - it's part of life. What you do to overcome those human mistakes proves what you are made of, and OU was exposed by Oregon as an overrated team that will loose more games this year.

For whatever reason, I could care less about tonight's GA Tech - UVA game. I could always place a wager on the game to make it a bit more interesting, but I'm just not in the wagering mode tonight. This crappy game is a great kick-off to a pretty crappy weekend. Penn St. - OSU, Bama - ARK, and ND - MSU are about the only games that I'm looking forward to watching. Wisky- Mich could be a good game to get the day started off. With ABC pulling their regional BS for its night game, I will have to watch the Irish game at a bar, because we will be stuck with USC-Arizona in our region and Time Warner - Santa Monica doesn't offer ESPN Gameplan. So, that means I will be unhappy watching the Irish game with a bunch of fair weather USC assholes at any local watering hole I choose.

I know that I often knock Ole Miss on my blog, but major kudos to Patrick Willis. He is a player and I earlier posted a nice article about him that was printed in the Memphis Commercial Appeal. Well, ESPN The Magazine has a great story on Patrick in its latest issue. It's worth the cover stand price to read if you are not a subscriber. While, I can't pull for Ole Miss, I can't help but pull for Patrick to have a successful career with football and beyond.

Monday Morning Look Back (Just a tad late)

2006-09-20T09:05:00.000-07:00

Sorry that this post is late, but I just caught my breath from the Auburn - LSU game. On that note, I picked a hell of a game to make my trip to Auburn this year. These two teams have built quite the rivalry with some amazingly close games in what has clearly become the most important game in the West. Thanks go to D. Kendrick, A. Lorimer, and the rest of their crew for throwing a one hell of a tailgate. On to my thoughts (and they are random with no links):

Auburn and LSU have the two fastest defenses that I have ever watched in person. LSU's also comes with size.
JaMarcus Russell has an absolute cannon for an arm, but too bad we only got to see him heave the ball once.
Kody Bliss can punt the ever living shit out of a football.
Glenn Dorsey is a man-child. He made a living in Auburn's backfield.
Hello, John Chavis....were you the only person in America that didn't know what was going to happen when Tim Tebow came into the game.
Florida's defense simply crushed Tennessee in a game that Florida dominated much more than the score indicates.
Is Georgia any good? They have yet to play anyone of note, but have absolutely crushed everyone.
Ole Miss is absolutely horrible. The school is looking dumb for canning Cutcliffe and hiring Coach O.
Mississippi State is beyond horrible. Can they cancel the remainder of their football season? Losing to Tulane is a disgrace to the school and the conference. But, hey, at least they found the end zone.
The Egg Bowl very well could live up to its name this year - the loser finishes its SEC season with an egg (0 - 8) for its record.
Yea, Alabama! You beat La-Monroe and Shula suspended "Mari"Juwan Simpson. You guys are back. Shula is turning this storied program into a complete joke.
I'm beginning to question Steve Spurrier's coaching abilities. He won with extremely talented teams at Florida, but has since struggled in the NFL and the jury is still out in South Carolina. Maybe they are already in serious prep mode for Auburn?
Vandy....Bueller.....Bueller.....so close, but they come up just short. Seems familiar.
Arkansas still has a lot of improvement before they are ready to compete in the SEC.
After this past weekend's schedule, how awful does this weekend's schedule look?
Chuck Amato's seat is now flaming.
Remember me saying that Louisville and VA Tech were must win games for Larry Coker? Uh-oh. Contrary to what the administration at Miami is saying, his seat is smoking and will catch flames like Amato's should the Canes loose to VA Tech.
Who will Miami court.... Tommy Tuberville? Butch Davis?
Bob Stoops needs to quit his whining. Had his team kept Oregon from scoring or made its last field goal attempt, the poor officiating would be a non-issue.
Just how did the replay guy in the Oregon - OU game blow that call?
Just what was Army thinking running the ball against A&M with no timeouts and less than 10 seconds left? Dennis Franchione owes Army a thank you because smoke was beginning to rise from his seat.
How about the SEC having 4 teams in the Top 11 in Total Defense? And we play offense too; just ask CAL, Arizona, Washington State, and a host of other teams.
It's highly possible that Miami and Florida State finish outside the Top 25 this year.
Is there a stranger program and coaching situation than at Clemson? These guys win some huge games, loose quite a few games by a few points, their coach gets on the hot seat, and then they go back to winning some huge games. Tommy Bowden is the Steve Lavin of college football.
And last, but far from least, WAR DAMN MICHIGAN WOLVERINES.

On a non-football related note, I saw Little Miss Sunshine with my mother on Monday. I highly recommend the movie - it is freaking hilarious.

Will Be Posting Soon

2006-09-19T12:53:00.000-07:00

It was a huge weekend in the SEC and I have posted nothing. I left the laptop at home for my trip to Auburn and Memphis, so I have not posted anything since the weekend - dad's computer is a piece of work and crapped out on me yesterday when trying to post my recap. I have spent ample time hanging out with my folks, and am very ready to return to sunny Southern Cali and hang with the wife and dog and get back to blogging. I will be posting my recap tomorrow and hopefully a bundle of good information and columns as I plan to blog and kick it with the dog tomorrow. Does school and work really have to get fired up again in a few weeks?

Another Arrest

2006-09-14T05:14:00.000-07:00

Well, Mitch Cozad isn't the only football player to recently be arrested. Maybe Steve Spurrier was pulling a Nostradamus on us earlier in the week when he stated that Carolina's starting line-up was going to be shaken up. On Wednesday, South Carolina quarterback, Blake Mitchell, was arrested after a bar fight and charged with simple assault. By looking at his mug, his victim appears to have gotten a blow in on his left eye as well. The one good thing out of this arrest - at least Mitchell didn't assault one of his own teammates.

Travelling & Football's Tonya Harding

2006-09-13T19:23:00.000-07:00

I have a 7AM flight to Memphis, so blogging will not be taking place tomorrow morning. On Friday, I'm off to Auburn with my old man for our first father - son football trip to Auburn in 13 years. I'll try to post some things tomorrow, because I will definitely not be posting again until Monday at the earliest. No promises for tomorrow.

Just what exactly was Mitch Cozad thinking? In an unbelievable story, Mitch Cozad, the back-up kicker at Northern Colorado, stabbed Rafael Mendoza in the leg, similar to Tonya Harding staging an attack of Nancy Kerrigan. The big difference here is that Mitch himself attempted to pull off the stunt when Tonya hired a hit-man. I can only imagine the team unity for the Northern Colorado Bears. I wonder if the starters on the team are constantly looking over their shoulders these days? Here is what the AD and Head Coach had to say on the situation.

Will Florida's Road Struggles Continue?

2006-09-13T08:15:00.000-07:00

Last year, the Gators struggled mightily on the road under 1st-year coach Urban Meyer. In today's Orlando Sentinel, Dave Curtis examines Florida's road woes of a year ago and what the team is doing in preparations for the Tennessee game in Neyland Stadium this weekend. I'm struggling with handicapping this game. Florida has looked great versus an always stingy Southern Miss and a mid to top tier C-USA team. Tennessee throttled Cal, a team many expected to compete for the National Title and then survived a scare from Air Force this past weekend. Something tells me that Tennessee is better than the score of the Air Force game, but are they good enough to beat Florida?

Things Not Looking Good In Oxford

2006-09-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

Well, well, what do you know? We are only two weeks into the football season and Rebel fans are already talking about "next year." During this offseason, Coach O signed the nation's top JUCO quarterback, Brent Schaeffer and brought in two coaches from Miami, Dan Werner and Art Kehoe after Larry Coker of Miami showed them the door. All was going to be good in Oxford this fall, right? Wrong. The Rebels defense is currently ranked 104 out of 119 teams in yards allowed and the offense is ranked 102 nationally in yards gained, leaving the Rebels with the dubious distinction of being one of only 6 schools in I-A to be ranked 100 or lower in both categories. And it's not like the Rebels have faced two juggernauts early in the season - Memphis and Missouri. Schaeffer has struggled mightily as I expected completing only 44% of his passes, but the defensive struggles under Coach O's watchful eyes are surprising to me. I understand Ole Miss fans believe the guy is recruiting highly talented players into the program, but I just don't think this guy can get the job done. Ole Miss would be smart to cut their ties with Coach O soon, before the Ole Miss program becomes even more of a mockery.

Mississippi State Player - "Then we'll be on a roll"

2006-09-13T07:54:00.000-07:00

Apparently, once Mississippi State finds the end zone, they will "be on a roll," according to freshman quarterback Tray Rutland. State's offense currently ranks dead last in the nation averaging 161 yards a game. R.J. Morgan highlights the youth of the Mississippi State offense in an article in today's Memphis Commercial Appeal along with the fantastic quote from Tray Rutland.

Suspected Felon Eyeing Bama and The Buckeyes

2006-09-12T09:56:00.000-07:00

The folks over at the M Zone offered a post yesterday about the story of Pat Lazear, a high school football standout who is facing armed robbery charges. Wheaton High School is giving him a second chance and he is hoping to land at either Alabama or Ohio State to continue his football days. The guys with the M Zone obviously focus their attention on the Buckeyes, but notice in the Washington Post article that Alabama is high on Pat Lazear's list. If he can get down to Tuscaloosa for a visit, I'm sure that "Mari"Juwan Simpson could be more than happy to be his player host and maybe they could hit up the local ice cream shop instead of a smoothie shop this go-around.

College Football's Biggest Issue - Shorter Games

2006-09-12T09:02:00.000-07:00

After two weeks of action, many people, with Tommy Tuberville appearing to be the lone exception, have voiced and written about their displeasure of the new clock rules. I found an interesting tidbit in an article by Carl Dubois, sportswriter for the Baton Rouge Advocate, on the subject of shorter games. While college games have been too long, it's not because of old clock rules, but rather college football has become big time business for the universities, conferences, and television networks. The amount of commercials during the games is absurd. Let's cut out some commercials rather than plays. The fan is now getting completely screwed by paying higher prices for tickets and television, yet seeing fewer plays.

Anyhow, the most interesting part of the article in my opinion comes when Dubois discusses the amount of live action in a football game. I was shocked to learn that in LSU's game against Arizona on Saturday there was only 13 minutes and 8 seconds of live football action, meaning from the snap of the ball to the end of the play. I never really put much thought into the amount of live action, but to fans who say that football is boring (especially folks from outside the U.S. that love the game of soccer), I can now understand where they are coming from. However, I still think a game that generally ends with a score of 1 - 0 is boring as hell even if the players are involved in "live action" for 90 minutes. Those 90 minutes of live action is pretty damn boring and painful compared to college football's 13 minutes of "live action."

Coaching Friends Collide - LSU vs. Auburn

2006-09-12T08:57:00.000-07:00

In today's Huntsville Times, Phillip Marshall writes a good piece on the friendship between LSU Offensive Coordinator, Jimbo Fisher, and Auburn Defensive Coordinator, Will Muschamp. These guys coached together at both Auburn and LSU and even co-own a beach house. In a game that has seen so much over the years, another twist to what is becoming quite a rivalry only seems logical. I do not know Coach Muschamp, but having been involved with the football program at Auburn while Jimbo was there, I only have nice things to say about Jimbo - he is a heck of a guy and coach.

Post - Weekend Columns

2006-09-11T10:33:00.000-07:00

Not going to include as many this week, just a few that I have come across - feel free to pass along other notable columns:

Tony Barnhart with the Atlanta Journal Constitution writes a column discussing the huge upcoming weekend of college football and a few quick hitters from this past weekend.

According to Michael Ventre with MSNBC, the National Title game is already set. It's truly amazing the "National Respect" that USC and Notre Dame garner from the media. If a team survives undefeated in the SEC, they will be playing for the National Title this year. Period.

Memphis Commercial Appeal columnist, Ron Higgins, writes a nice piece on Sylvester Croom and his struggles at Mississippi State with the added perspective from Tommy Tuberville.

Ray Melick of the Birmingham News writes that Auburn has been focused on the LSU game for many months.

Nate Allen, columnist for The Benton County Daily Record, writes about Arkansas and their upcoming match-up with Vanderbilt. At one time Arkansas looked at this game as an easy "w," but not anymore. Houston Nutt attributes it to Vandy's improvement, but I challenge Nutt to look in the mirror and at his own team.

Pat Dooley of The Gainesville Sun discusses Florida's domination of the C-USA and looks ahead to their upcoming weekend game with Tennessee.

Jim Kleinpeter of the New Orleans Times Picayune compares the start of LSU's 2006 season to that of the 2005 season.

Monday Morning Look Back

2006-09-11T07:29:00.000-07:00

It's crazy to think that 5 years ago today this country was under attack. The coverage of the events 5 years later still fills me with anger. While life is back to normal for a majority of Americans, things are still different today and even affect college football with longer lines entering stadiums thanks to mandatory bag checks (although these bag checks are still useless in my opinion). On to my thoughts from college football this past weekend:

Stop Auburn's running game, and Brandon Cox appears to look capable of beating you.
Auburn needs some receivers other than Courtney Taylor and Rodgerigus Smith to step up.
Auburn's linebackers are awfully small and I think teams will be able to pound the ball between the tackles on Auburn.
Mississippi State's offense is painful on the eyes.
Good thing Alabama opened up with patsies this year - they are struggling and do not look impressive.
Vanderbilt appears to have found its usual groove - play teams tough, but come up short.
South Carolina's offense is just several steps ahead of Mississippi State's offense.
UGA has talent, but is the 3rd best team in the East behind Florida and Tennessee.
Is Joe Tereshinski's sprained ankle bad enough to keep him out of action for 4 to 6 weeks or is this a ploy by Mark Richt to avoid a quarterback controversy. I highly doubt it's a ploy.
Florida again looked solid against lesser competition.
Chris Leak is playing the part of a senior quarterback.
UT, although they were on the brink of defeat to Air Force, are still a solid football team. Air Force was a sandwich game and their offense can create problems as it did.
While UT is one of the top 2 teams in the East (we will learn who the top is this weekend), injuries have handicapped the Vols.
LSU continues to be my favorite in the West. JaMarcus Russell is a stud.
LSU's defense looks lightening fast.
Ole Miss is still a bottom feeder in the SEC. While they showed signs of life against Memphis, they looked terrible on Saturday against better, but nor great competition.
As predicted, Brent Schaeffer is struggling to produce offense.
Arkansas' struggles continue and it all starts with the quarterback play as predicted in the preseason.
Arkansas' rushing game was great against Utah State, but will be shut down by SEC teams that force their quarterbacks to beat them with their arms.
Kentucky notched a win, granted it was against Texas State.
I made an excellent decision Saturday night - the Bonnie Raitt and Keb' Mo' concert was phenomenal, and the Ohio State - Texas game appears to not have lived up to expectations.
I only watched the 1st quarter of the OSU - UT game, but OSU looks very good. Troy Smith looks very impressive.
What's going on at Florida State? - maybe it's finally time for Papa Bowden to walk away.
Notre Dame - Penn State game was not entertaining to watch unless you're a fan of the Irish. I'm still not sold on the Irish.
Chuck Amato will be looking for a new gig when the year is over along with Houston Nutt and Rich Brooks. The folks at the M Zone have started the "Official Chuck Amato Watch."
New year and same story - Clemson suffers an early loss in a game that they clearly should have won. If Tommy Bowden isn't careful, he could be joining the list of coaches above.
How about Iowa's goal line stand? The best goal line stand I have ever witnessed.
Is it Saturday yet? I am making my annual pilgrimage back to Auburn and the schedule this upcoming weekend is sick:

LSU at Auburn
Michigan at Notre Dame
Florida at Tennessee
Nebraska at USC
Clemson at Florida State
Miami at Louisville
Oklahoma at Oregon

Mississippi State D Talking Smack

2006-09-08T13:51:00.000-07:00

Michael Heard is bringing some serious smack before the Auburn - Mississippi State game. Nothing wrong with a little smack talk, but as a 3 touchdown underdog, Heard might do well to pipe it down a bit. Judging from Kenny Irons' trash talk last week, this could be quite entertaining to watch. Personally, I hope Kenny keeps to himself, but I find that highly unlikely when you have fools making statements such as "I'm not trying to be arrogant, but if we play our game, we can smash these boys." Not quite sure what he means by "our game," but based on my definition of MSU's "game," they are in for a very long Saturday. Also, is it possible for Mr. Heard to be arrogant? Here's to looking forward to Heard's "I-told-you-so" speech.

Sacrifice

2006-09-08T10:43:00.000-07:00

Well, we have a little good news/bad news for this Saturday evening. Several months back, I learned that Bonnie Raitt and Keb' Mo' were performing at the Greek Theatre on September 9th. I don't listen to Bonnie too much (though I hear her shows are great), but I am a huge Keb' Mo' fan. Anyhow, a friend of ours works with Capital Records and more directly with Bonnie Raitt. My wife mentioned something about the show to her and low and behold, I just received 4 unbelievable tickets to the sold-out show. I am extremely excited about the show; however, there just happens to be a small little college football game tomorrow night.

Yes, I might be committing college football fanatic suicide, but I am going to the concert. Our friend was too nice to hook us up with tickets that we asked for and Keb' Mo' live will be awesome. I will also not be taking my phone, because I would then be pre-occupied with checking updates every 5 minutes.

Bring StrangeCock Back

2006-09-08T10:11:00.000-07:00

On the eve of the UGA - USC game, I was reminded about one of the more clever South Carolina Websites on the Internet, StrangeCock.com - Gamecock Gazette. We are now going on the 2nd year of no updates to the site and there were only limited editions in '03 and '04. Anyone know the author of the site and his or her whereabouts'?

Last Night's Football Choices

2006-09-08T09:47:00.000-07:00

I must admit - I watched the Steelers-Dolphins game instead of the Boise State-Oregon State game.

I am a huge college football fan, but I am kind of tired of Boise State at this point. They are a solid mid-major program and that is all they are. The "Blue Turf" was interesting at first, but that has now faded and the field is quite terrible. All-in-all, I think Boise State is quite "bush league." They have an impressive home winning streak, yet they beat no one worth a damn in my opinion. Yea, Oregon State is in the PAC-10, but they are a bottom tier team in a bottom tier conference. The Big East with Louisville and West Virginia appears to have more fire power than the PAC-10 this year. Boise State attempted to play a top-tier SEC program and got absolutely trounced. If these guys find their way to a BCS bowl, the BCS will be letting down college football fans in a huge way.

Speaking of last nights' games, did anyone catch the picture of Charlie Batch's mother, Lynn Settles? Here hair is a thing of beauty. This is the best photo that I could find - trust me, it doesn't do her justice.

Former Ole Miss Assistant Arrested Again...This Time for Driving Nude

2006-09-07T10:23:00.000-07:00

Detroit Lions' Defensive Line Coach, Joe Cullen, has made a return to the police blogs. After being canned at Ole Miss for public intox prior to ever coaching a game for the Rebels, Joe moved on to Illinois and is now with the Detroit Lions. According to the Detroit Free Press, Joe Cullen was arrested twice in the last two weeks, charged with DUI and indecent and obscene conduct for driving in the nude. Apparently, Coach Cullen has taken Coach Ed Orgeron's "Wild Boys mantra" to heart.

Early Heisman Hype

2006-09-07T09:43:00.000-07:00

Yes, the season is one game behind us and websites and television shows are already dissecting the Heisman Trophy race. Bill Sanders with the Atlanta Journal Constitution writes on Kenny Irons' merits as a Heisman candidate after week 1.

Kenny had a great game against Washington State - but we all know that defense is not a strong suite of the PAC-10. Actually, is anything a strong suite of the PAC-10 when you look beyond USC? It will be interesting to see how well he does versus a stingy defense in Mississippi State this weekend and then in a national television showdown with LSU in a little over a week. My senses are that if Kenny has big games the next two weekends (especially against LSU with many eyes across the nation watching), he will have a very legitimate shot at a Heisman run and the Heisman hype surrounding him will become more reality than hype.

The Early Rankings

2006-09-07T09:12:00.000-07:00

In today's Birmingham News, Ray Melick writes a nice column on Auburn and being surpassed by USC in the latest AP poll. Auburn was burned by the polls in '04, yet head coach Tommy Tuberville had little to say about USC jumping Auburn. Ray writes that he believes Auburn will hang points on opponents all year to make a statement and avoid the potential of being "on the outside looking in" again. However, Tuberville says that Auburn will just try to win their games.

Post-Weekend Columns

2006-09-05T21:45:00.000-07:00

My attempt to compile columns about SEC teams and the previous weekend:

Alabama:
There Is Life After Croyle, Prothro at Bama - Kevin Scarbinsky
Spiffed-Up Stadium, But Same Old Game - Ray Melick
Shula Writes Tale of Two Disciplines - Ray Melick
Cheers Off, On Field Drown Out One Jeer - Mark McCarter
QB Wilson, Others Step Up for UA - Randy Kennedy
Shula Spits On Tradition At Alabama - Paul Finebaum
Alabama Still Has Plenty Of Unanswered Questions - Cecil Hurt

Arkansas:
Mustain Era Has Arrived - Alex Abrams

Auburn:
Daring Call Keeps Tigers In Control - John Pruett
AU, LSU Ahead In West; Vols May Be Beast In East - John Pruett
Two Weeks Until Judgement Day - Neal McCready
Tigers Already Flashing Elite Pedigree - Mike Szvetitz
Celebration Over Before It Began; Back To Work For AU - Mike Szvetitz

Florida:
UF Opening Night Mostly Thumbs UP - Gene Frenette
Good Start For Gators - Pat Dooley
Don't Read Too Much Into Opener - Pat Dooley
Ol' Ballcoach Still Casts Shadow Over Gainesville - Mike Bianchi

Georgia:
Another QB Quandry For Dogs - Carter Strickland
The Future Is Now For Stafford - Andy Johnston

Kentucky:
If Brooks Can't Get Cats Pumped For Cardinals... - John Clay
Brooks Needs To Win Next 2 Or Ship Sinks - Mark Story
Lopsided Loss Shows Cats Not Competitive Yet - John Clay
Cats Searching For A Lot More Than Their Soul - Eric Crawford

LSU:
Acadiana Players Key For Tigers - Scott Rabalais
Broussard Rebirth Takes Shape - Scott Rabalais

Mississippi State:
Croom's Old Coach Would Have Punted - Rick Cleveland
The Good, Bad, and Ugly - Michael Wallace
Bulldogs Unable to Recover From Loss Of Henig - Danny Smith

Ole Miss:
Werner Earns 1st Game Ball - Rick Cleveland
Offense Good. Defense Bad. - Robbie Neiswanger
Creative Playcalling, Spirited Rivalry...Hey, Let's Do It Again! - Geoff Calkins

South Carolina:
USC's Half-Full Glass Quenches - For Now - Ron Morris
Spurried Deserved UF's Cheers - Ron Morris

Tennessee:
Vols Not Yet Back On 'Top' - John Kaltefleiter
Ainge A New QB Under Cutcliffe - Ron Higgins
Cutcliffe Is The Real Playmaker - Joe Biddle
Don't Get Excited By One Game - David Climer
Fulmer Has Vols Fired Up For Opener - Chris Low

Vanderbilt:
Big House Leaves A Small Impression - David Climer
Nickson Shows Signs Of Future Success - Maurice Patton

Please bring my attention to any notable columnists that are not included on this list at secfanatic at gmail dot com.

Monday (Tuesday) Morning Look Back

2006-09-05T09:04:00.001-07:00

After 46 beers, a few pounds of barbecue, and a whole lot of football viewing, I finally bring to you the Monday Morning Look Back (or Tuesday thanks to Labor Day):

* Is there a better weekend than opening weekend of college football? If so, please fill me in.

* Auburn looked good - I thought the offense struggled to get into a rhythm, but they still managed 40 points and just under 500 yards. The defense played some strange formations (not indicative of what we will see), but held a potent offense to only 14 points and completely shut down the Brink - Hill connection. AU needs receivers to step up.

* Kenny Irons is very good. Brad Lester is good. Carl Stewart has the build of an amazing back, yet I haven't been impressed with him.

* LSU was completely dominant (as they should have been) against overmatched opponent, Louisiana Lafayette. JaMarcus Russell looked very good. AU - LSU in two Saturdays will be huge.

* What has happened to Justin Vincent since he torched OU in the Sugar Bowl?

* UGA is going to need a lot of improvement before they are going to hang with Florida and Tennessee this year.

* Vanderbilt actually showed some team speed on Saturday (if Michigan still has the talent that it should).

* Though they will always struggle in the SEC, I sense Bobby Johnson is building something at Vandy to remove them from its SEC doormat position.

* John Parker Wilson was impressive in his debut at Bama after a rugged start.

* Bama's running game struggled against Hawaii - doesn't appear to be a good sign for the Tide.

* Is Cal the most overrated team in the country this year or is UT back? I think it's a little of both. UT will be in the hunt for the East all year. Florida - UT in two Saturdays is huge.

* After a slow start, Florida and Chris Leak looked very impressive once they got into their groove.

* Rich Brooks will be joining Houston Nutt in the unemployment line at year's end.

* Brent Schaeffer was good in his Ole Miss debut. His stats were not off the chart, but he had a good command of the offense.

* BenJarvus Green-Ellis is a huge step-up for Ole Miss in the running game.

* Dexter McCluster had a great game, but Ole Miss will need more than one receiver to catch a pass if they are going to make any noise in the SEC (which they still are several years away from doing).

* Patrick Willis is very good.

* Joe Lee Dunn is not a good defensive coordinator. His schemes are down right terrible.

* After week 1, my pre-season thoughts on Arkansas and their qb situation are remarkably accurate.

* A high school coach calling offensive plays is going to struggle in the SEC and against the likes of USC.

* Louisville and Virginia Tech are must win games for Larry Coker.

* Florida State and Miami are no longer in the nation's elite.

* Bill Curry is painful to listen to. Since he has a new high school gig, can ESPN not can him?

* I don't really dig Mike Patrick. I didn't like him in the NFL booth and the same goes for college.

* How about Hampton and Grambling putting together one of the more exciting games on Saturday?

*My Preseason SEC Predictions:
After week 1, I still like my top 3 in the West. I think Auburn will be better than 5-3, but will still finish behind LSU. The Auburn-LSU game is clearly for the right to play in Atlanta. No way State finishes 4-4 in the conference and Ole Miss may notch 3 wins. In the East, I'd have to move Florida and Tennessee ahead of UGA. I'd also swap places with Kentucky and Vanderbilt.

Edgerrin James Interview (Miami - FSU)

2006-09-04T18:55:00.000-07:00

I will have my weekend recap posted tomorrow....

I'd plan to take the long weekend off, but decided to quickly post at half of this game. First off, if it was possible for two teams to loose the same game, the Miami - FSU game would get my vote.

Holly Rowe's interview with Edgerrin James during the 2nd quarter was priceless. When asked if Miami had lost its swagger, Edgerrin answers that Miami just always has to replace great players that move on to the NFL. Edgerrin continued to elaborate stating that everybody knows that guys only come to Miami to play for three years and then move on to the league. I'm sure the private school administration is thrilled with Edgerrin's analysis of the football program. I'm hoping the interview finds its way to You Tube.

Isn't sad that this game isn't a sellout? Hard to put it too high on a rivalry list when you can't even sell out your stadium.

War Damn Eagle

2006-09-01T13:03:00.000-07:00

The following post is courtesy of Washington State fan known as CougVegas on Scout's Washington State's message boards:

Auburn-Wow
Got here yesterday and all I can say is wow. The campus is beautiful and the people are just fantastic. Were on campus the students couldn't have been nicer. Wasn't there 5 minutes when the nicest young women offered me and my buddies a tour of campus. She spent an hour with us telling us about the university. Had someone from the admissions office come out and bring us botteled water when they saw us on the tour. Too many other nice little things to comment on right now.Humid, but not too bad. The women here are just amazing, and there is some good bbq here too. All in all, after day one, this is fantastic.

1st SEC Game of 2006

2006-09-01T11:37:00.000-07:00

The Carolina - State game was not enjoyable to watch - close on the scale of the Memphis - UCLA Elite 8 game. Hands down, the punter/kicker for Carolina, Ryan Succop, stole the show last night with three field goals and an excellent decision to tuck and run the ball for a 1st down, avoiding a blocked punt. State's defense looked good as did Carolina's, but I think both offenses (granted State played without their starting QB in the 2nd Half - but he wasn't all that impressive) had something to do with that. This is Croom's 3rd year at Starkville, and I have yet to notice an improvement with the team since he took over. Things should get interesting in Starkville, if and when the time comes for his head to roll. Based on last night, I'm not to confident in my prediction of State going 4-4 in the conference - it will now require them to pull off at least 1 major upset. Hopefully, that will not come next weekend.

Crazy Happenings at Ole Miss

2006-09-01T11:30:00.000-07:00

The Jerrell Powe saga continues on at Ole Miss. This is a crazy story - A County Chancery Court Jude granted a temporary restraing order that states Powe must be allowed to enroll in school. Last week, the NCAA ruled that Powe was ineligible to receive scholarship aid or play football at Ole Miss this season. The judge granted the restraining order stating that Powe has met the NCAA's minimum requirements for academic eligibility and he should be placed on scholarship and be allowed to practice. I hope it all ends up working out for this young man who has struggled to make it to Ole Miss.

"Milk & Cereal Go Together Like Scarlet & Gray"

2006-08-30T15:55:00.000-07:00

The latest Buckeye merchandise to come out of Columbus is Buckeye Heroes cereal. Apparently, Buckeye fans can already purchase OSU pasta, chips, salsa, and hot dogs among other grocery items. What's next in-line for the Buckeye faithful? Milk - Brutus Buckeye milk, because "milk & cereal go together like scarlet & gray." How long before we see a licensed deals between the Buckeyes and the Goose and Schweppes? I think "vodka & tonic go together like scarlet & gray," might be a bit more appropriate for the Buckeyes (see the last sentence to the above link - I can't believe that made Wikipedia).

Some Bama Humor

2006-08-30T11:57:00.000-07:00

From loyal reader, D. Kendrick:
A man showed up at a Bama game with a little dog with a red collar and a little red sweater with an "A" on the back. The gate guard said "Hey, that's a cute dog, but you have to have a ticket for him too."

The man replied, "Yes, I know. I take him to all the games. When we beat LSU, he will run from the top of the stands to the bottom, skipping every other step. When we beat Florida, he will walk up and down the aisles on his front paws. When we beat Tennessee, he will turn little back flips."

The guard smiled and said "Well, that's really something. What does he do when we beat Auburn?" The man looked down and said, "I don't know, he's only 4 years old."

From loyal reader, J. Simpson:
How do you get an Alabama fan to stop whacking off?

Paint his peter Orange and Blue - He won't beat it for four years!

Feel free to send in your favorites.....

What's Wrong With College Football?

2006-08-30T11:25:00.000-07:00

Fortunately, few things are wrong with college football. However, unfortunately for college football fans, college football is a big-time business which leaves our pockets lighter than a gambler who takes advice from Greg Roberts and creates match-ups as exciting as the finale of "America's Got Talent."

Ticket prices for college games have escalated. Well not so much ticket prices, but the donations required to have the right to purchase tickets (similar to a PSL from an NFL standpoint). More and more colleges are requiring donations each year as the ones who have been playing the donation game continue to raise the minimum donation to have the rights to purchase season tickets.

While ticket prices continue to rise, fans are rewarded via some awful math-ups (I can't believe I'm actually linking a Pete Thamel story after his Auburn sociology story). Since the NCAA has moved to a 12 game D-I schedule, teams now have the opportunity to host 8 home games. Thus, it is rare that two top schools from different conferences will play. Why? Because these games generally entail a home-and-home arrangement, but the schools are not willing to give up the "home game" payday and play a home-and-home. So we are left with the likes of Buffalo vs. Auburn and Wisconsin.

As a passionate college football fan, as well as someone who understands supply and demand, I have no problems paying high prices for football games. I do have problems with paying high prices and having to suffer through some terrible games. My solution - I dropped my season tickets and will attend the games that I want to see, gladly paying the market price for that game.

Rabid Doesn't Begin To Describe Auburn Fans

2006-08-28T15:33:00.000-07:00

As an Auburn fan, Brandon Fincher's piece, "Rabid doesn't begin to describe Auburn fans," brings a smile to my face. To quote Mr. Fincher, "A fair warning to Washington State fans who may think the CougarsÂ upcoming visit to Auburn will be similar to treks over the years to Notre Dame, Ohio State and Tennessee. While certainly humid hotbeds of football-crazed fans, a strong case can be made that the spectacles in those venues are distant runners-up to what goes on in east-central Alabama." Take Fincher's piece for what it's worth, realizing that the column is written by aPACc-10 man - I've been to high school games and games in Oxford, MS that are "more rabid" thanPACc-10 games, SC and Oregon included.

Comparing to another big name program, according to the folks at the M Zone, apparently things don't get too rabid in Ann Arbor either, unless you consider the key jingle rabid. And according to their site, the "key jingle" is a common practice at other college stadiums around the country.

With game week finally here, is there really any better atmosphere from top to bottom of a conference in the nation outside of the SEC?

The Best Pre-Season Predictors

2006-08-28T10:52:00.000-07:00

I turn to another article from the WSJ that takes a look at what publication over the last 5 years has done the best job with its pre-season predictions based on the final rankings. Furthering the notion that Alabama is the nation's best college football state with two great programs and the greatest rivalry in college football, Lindy's, based in Birmingham, tops the WSJ list compiled by Russell Adams.

This year, Lindy's tabs Notre Dame to defeat Ohio State in Tempe.

Now that we have finally made it to the opening week of college football, is it just me or has the first few hours of work on Monday seemed like several days. Thursday evening can't get here fast enough.

Out With The Old, In With The New - Bye, Bye, Terry!

2006-08-25T14:03:00.000-07:00

OLD MURAL OUTSIDE GATE 7 @ JORDAN-HARE

NEW MURAL OUTSIDE GATE 7 @ JORDAN-HARE

Auburn & Expectations

2006-08-25T12:22:00.000-07:00

In the past, Auburn has failed miserably when expectations have been high. Well, expectations are higher than they have ever been this year. Realizing the Tigers have a favorable schedule with its tougher games at home, I am still not sold on this team due to its undersized linebackers, loads of inexperience at both safety positions and wide receiver, and a new defensive scheme. Auburn is strong from a talent level standpoint, yet I still think LSU has a small edge in talent, a better signal caller, and both their offensive and defensive schemes have been in place.

Not wanting to digress further, back to expectations and Auburn. Since Auburn has fared poorly when expectations are high, many AU fans don't like seeing the early season expectations set so high. However, these are the same fans that complained (me included with this complaining group) that Auburn didn't make it to the BCS title game in '04 because they started too low in the first polls. While it's great to be recognized as a top notch program with lofty expectations and strong preseason rankings, it's time for this team to put aside the expectations and turn this notion of a top notch program into a reality.

"Go to Auburn, be Forever Changed"

2006-08-24T12:52:00.000-07:00

The '02 Auburn-Syracuse game was quite possibly the loudest game that I have ever attended thanks in part to an 8:00 start time and a very rowdy crowd. A great column for all Auburn fan's to read prior to the start of the season.

Reprint from the Syracuse Post-Standard dated October 3, 2002:

Go to Auburn, be forever changed
October 03, 2002
BUD POLIQUIN POST-STANDARD COLUMNIST
I have descended into college football's Grand Canyon. I have stood in its Alps. I have gazed at its ocean sunset. I have done all of these things and I've been changed forever. I knew, of course, that we were different up here. I understood that autumn Saturdays in our burg have never been given over to any kind of serious sporting fervor. I've accepted for a good, long while that a fair amount of our citizens regularly choose to pick apples or seal driveways rather than head to the Carrier Dome to watch the Syracuse University Orangemen at play. But, Lord have mercy on our college football souls, I've come to realize we're not merely quirky in these parts. And we're not just overly particular.

No, having attended a game in Auburn, Ala. - which is like going to Mass in Rome - I'm convinced that, by comparison, we're as dead as the flying wedge. "Let me tell you something," said Paul Pasqualoni, the SU coach who can recognize bedlam when he is forced to shout above it. "Being in that stadium with all those people - the noise level, the atmosphere - was exciting. It was a lot of fun. To me, it was just spectacular being there." He was speaking of Jordan-Hare Stadium, where four days earlier his SU club had lost to the Auburn Tigers 37-34 in an environment that was equal parts Woodstock, Mardi Gras, New Year's Eve and Madonna's last wedding.

And the Crimson Tide boys, those rascals from the other side of the state, weren't even in town, to say nothing of the Bulldogs, Gators or Razorbacks. Nah, it was just the Orangemen, a non-league bunch from somewhere up north ... with a losing record yet. But it didn't matter. This, because the cherished Tigers were on the other side, and that was enough for those Alabama locals to respond the way the French did when Patton's army showed up in Paris. "I missed my wife's birthday so I could cheer on my beloved alma mater against Syracuse," Brent Miller wrote in an e-mail addressed to me following the three-overtime affair. "But you know what? I would have been there if our opponent had been the state of New York's worst high school team." "Country, God and college football are usually our top three passions," e-mailed another Auburn guy, Steve Fleming. "But not always in that order." "I grew up in Denver in a family with season tickets to the Broncos games," e-mailed yet another believer, Rick Pavek. "I call Auburn home now and, take my word for this, Broncomania is nothing like Tigermania."

The point is, with the Orangemen returning to the gray Dome that is so often lifeless to play Big East Conference foe Pittsburgh on Saturday, it's clear that somebody's not getting it. Either the Auburn faithful - and people like them in Knoxville and South Bend and Lincoln and Gainesville and Columbus and Austin and elsewhere - are far too crazed or we're way too cool. Listen, down there in eastern Alabama they pass out full-color, high-gloss, 22-by-17-inch, two-sided, fold-out pamphlets titled, "The 2002 Guide To Game Day At Auburn University." And on Page 2 of each can be found the announcement that nobody is allowed to begin tailgating until 4 p.m. icthe day before the game.nm "You can't be anything but envious," said Jake Crouthamel, the Syracuse athletic director who was a wide-eyed witness to all of the SU-Auburn doings. "You can't be anything but envious when you have that kind of support. I mean, there were 84,000 people in the seats. And the RVs and house trailers were lined up five miles outside of town. When you talk about the epitome of what the college football experience is all about ... that's it. Auburn is the epitome. You couldn't possibly be unaware of the spectacle, even if you were trying to be unaware." The orange-clad zealots, who are in their seats fully 30 minutes prior to kickoff, thunder through choreographed cheers. The band, which is saluted upon its arrival by the big house with a standing ovation, blares. The PA system, which continuously blasts the sounds of a growling tiger, pipes in songs by the Dixie Chicks and interviews with the Auburn coaches.

Before the game, there is the great Tiger Walk during which the Auburn players march along Donahue Street through thousands of people, some of whom weep, and into the stadium. After the game, there is the mass papering of famous Toomer's Corner downtown. And between all of that, a golden eagle circles the place before landing on the field to a deafening roar. And us? Um, let's see. We can't fill 49,000 seats. We debate, ad nauseam, standing-vs.-sitting in the Dome. We give our tickets to takers at the door who had to be schooled in the art of courtliness. We regularly vacate the joint long before the final gun. We allow, in a good-idea-gone-bad, a bunch of vulgar louts planted in a thing called "The O-Zone" to chant expressions you'd never say in front of Mom at the dinner table. In other words to compare our college football experience to that of Auburn (and a lot of other places) is to compare a skillet of beans to a plate of Chilean sea bass. And while that might sound harsh, it doesn't make the words any less true. Believe me on this. Please. I have descended into college football's Grand Canyon. I have stood in its Alps. I have gazed at its ocean sunset. I have attended a game at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala. And I've been changed forever.

Bud Poliquin is a columnist for The Post-Standard. His column appears regularly on these pages. Additionally, he can be heard on WHEN-Am (620) Mondays through Thursdays between 5-7 p.m. He can be reached by telephone at 315-470-2213 or via e-mail at bpoliquin@syracuse.com

SEC Predictions

2006-08-24T12:08:00.000-07:00

Things have been crazy at the office this week, so there has been very little time to find any articles with much substance. Needless to say, I am anticipating the start of the college season like a kid two weeks away from Christmas. To make up for my lack of time reading columns and articles, I thought I would post my predictions for the SEC below - not quite sure why I am doing this, could be a recipe for disaster.

While on the not quite sure and recipe for disaster thought, I registered for a 25k race (The BULLDOG Run) in Malibu Canyon this upcoming Saturday. The race includes an elevation gain of 4,000 feet, the temps will more than likely hit triple digits, and the Santa Monica Mountains are ripe with rattle snakes this time of year. I figure if I can survive this race, then I will have more than earned the 14 hours that I will spend on the couch next weekend with a cold beer in one hand at all times and some Memphis 'Que.

WEST:
1.) LSU, 7-1
2.) Auburn, 5-3
3.) Bama, 4-4
4.) State, 4-4
5.) Ark, 2-6
6.) OM, 1-7

EAST:
1.) UGA, 7-1
2.) UT, 7-1
3.) FL, 6-2
4.) USC, 4-4
5.) KY, 2-6
6.) VANDY, 0-8

LSU tops UGA in the Dome.

David Greene Gets Married

2006-08-24T11:14:00.000-07:00

I recently came across some photos of David Greene's wedding this past weekend. I was shocked when I saw that he didn't marry David Pollack with Verne Lundquist as the best man. Has there ever been a larger "man love" triangle that existed with this trio?

Tiger's Mystique...Nothing From Me Today

2006-08-21T14:36:00.000-07:00

A few good pieces today, but, in case you haven't heard of his power, I'm intimidated by Tiger Woods and unable to produce anything of quality today. Actually, I'm swamped in the office, but things will be nice in two weeks when my full time gig is done for the summer and I get back in the b-school swing of things.

In the meantime, I have found a youngster that Tiger might struggle to intimidate (thanks for the heads up on the article goes to dedicated reader, J. Guthrie) . Eat your heart out Danny Almonte.

Which Schools Develop The Most Productive NFL Players?

2006-08-18T08:54:00.000-07:00

Often times, schools are evaluated on the number of NFL products that they produce. Sam Walker with the WSJ has done a nice piece on assessing what school's turn out the most productive NFL players, different from the schools that produce the most. Fortunately, the article is free to all. My theory that West Coast football is an awful product receives some validation with only 6 of the Top 30 schools in terms of producing successful NFL players hailing from the West Coast (Thank goodness for ESPN Gameplan). The list is dominated by the Big 10, SEC and ACC with 17 out of the 30, and throw Notre Dame in with this group, and you are left with the Top 12 schools in terms of producing successful NFL products.

The ranking also considers how teams are perceived via NFL teams in terms of the draft. For instance, North Carolina is highly underrated and Miami is highly overrated, meaning UNC players have a higher success rate than Miami players. This is a bit flawed because of the pure numbers that these teams put in the draft. It's interesting that Auburn ranks very highly (#2) in this category, and also ranks in the top 10 in terms of players getting drafted into the NFL.

Does Anyone want Willie?

2006-08-17T08:39:00.000-07:00

Willie Williams has still yet to find a home. Yost over at the MZone did a great piece on what was thought to be Willie's new home (and yes I was amazed to see the fans in the Orange Bowl), unfortunately the fine folks at Pearl River will not get to watch Willie in their friendly confines. On Wednesday, Pearl River denied Willie admittance to the school. I didn't know people actually did not get accepted to community college - you must really have to suck to get denied. While some big name schools have taken chances with thugs and have yet to learn from mistakes according to Peter Kerasotis, columnist for Florida Today, it's interesting that a community college appears to have figured out where to draw the line.

Arkansas Names "Hard Working Hog" Starting QB

2006-08-17T08:09:00.000-07:00

"I might be 2-5 as a starter, but I'm a Hard Working Hog."

Houston Nutt announced that Robert Johnson will be the starter for the Hogs' opener against USC.

This does not bode well for the Hogs. Plain and simple, Robert Johnson, although he was named the "Hard Working Hog" for the 2004 - 2005 academic year (not making this up, per the Razorback's website) is not an SEC caliber quarterback. Casey Dick did an admirable job last year taking over the reigns from Johnson after he led the Hogs to a 2-5 start. Unfortunately, Casey is banged up, so Johnson gets the nod over Freshman sensation Mitch Mustain.

I'm loving the Trojans at - 8 and am rapidly losing faith in the publicity the Hogs have been receiving. I'm not convinced that the Trojans lost that much and Arkansas is that improved for the Hogs to make up enough ground after a 52 point loss to the Trojans last year and I'm definitely not sold on Robert Johnson running an offense coached by a guy who was calling plays in a high school football jamboree this time last year. I hope Guy is ready for opponents to stack the line of scrimmage and force Robert Johnson to beat them with his arm.

Pack your bags, Houston - I hope you have enjoyed your time in Fayetteville.

Think Two-A-Days Are Tough

2006-08-16T17:30:00.000-07:00

While this story of three Mexican fishermen is unrelated to football, I found it fitting given that most programs are wrapping up two-a-days. Back in my high school football playing days, I dreaded two-a-days and was thrilled when they were over. Two-a-days in the South were not fun - I'm still haunted by the enormous horseflies hovering over the damp grass, the blazing sun, and the humid air that you had to cut through. If the temps were in the mid-80's and the humidity below 60%, we were lucky. Isn't strange that the hottest days of the year always seemed to fall during two-a-days? Anyhow, I digress. I can only imagine how big of a pansy that I sound to these three fishermen.

The Billy Beanes of Recruiting

2006-08-15T17:20:00.000-07:00

I came across an interesting article in today's Atlanta Journal Constitution about three economists that have developed a computer program to predict where the Rivals.com Top 100 players will end up. Having been involved in the recruitment of student-athletes at a younger age, I am not sold on the program, but neither are the three who developed it. Obviously, multiple intangibles that can not be included in a computer program play a role in recruits' decisions as do some of the variables that the three include. For instance, I imagine their program struggles mightily with predicting recruits to sign with Alabama, since it is unable to take into account Bama's going rate for top recruits.

While on the subject of Bama and the going rate for recruits, the Memphis Commercial Appeal recently published a nice article on Albert Means and his new career - probably a $150k pay cut from his days on the Capstone.

Beano Cook Makes BCS Prediction

2006-08-15T09:29:00.000-07:00

"Notre Dame vs. Auburn"

I didn't realize that Beano was still kicking. Not to knock a man, but he looks like death (I actually don't think he appears on TV anymore). Anyhow, in a Sunday night radio conversation, Beano picked Notre Dame to beat Auburn in the BCS Title Game. Coming from Beano, I'm not shocked to see Notre Dame in the mix, but was surprised that he picked Auburn (what about Pittsburgh, Beano?). In my humble opinion, Auburn has a good team, but not great and are being over-hyped. Brandon Cox has yet to prove that he can carry the team on his back when the running game struggles and Auburn has big holes to fill on both sides of the line as well big question marks in the secondary. Throw in the fact that the linebackers are extremely undersized, although quick (remember the quickness didn't help as Wisconsin steamrolled Auburn) and Cox has 1 proven wide-out and you are left with inflated expectations. I sure hope I'm off, but am I ever wrong? See dark moments in football gaming post!

Bo Pelini - Talking Tough at LSU's Media Day

2006-08-15T08:07:00.000-07:00

LSU held its media day on Sunday and apparently Bo Pelini was all jacked up. He even threw out "Tempe" over the course of his interview. Uh-oh. While LSU is very talented, it's an improbable task to beat Auburn, Florida, and Tennessee on the road. I totally understand that Bo is not predicting victories in these games, but mention of the National Title game during media days is bold.

While on LSU, does anyone else think that JaMarcus Russell is going to be really good? Actually, I think he is already a stud, but will be a superstar by the time his tenure at LSU is finished. This guy is totally being overlooked by the media and talk of a quarterback controversy is ridiculous. The guy is an absolute beast under center and has all the tools of an excellent qb. He has improved each year in Jimbo Fisher's system and boasts a 14 -2 record as a starter. If LSU makes it to Tempe, it will be on JaMarcus' back.