SEC Idiots

SEC Football Random Thoughts: Class, Polls, and Lies

2008-11-03T21:33:00.004-06:00

Who Has Class?

Just because the other team doesn't show any class, it does not mean your team does show it.

Sooner or later, fans should give in to the idea that every team and their fans stray from almighty behavior and kick another team when its down.

Last year, Florida fans couldn't use the word “classless” enough after the Georgia end zone celebration.

Maybe Richt wanted his entire team to go out there to dance, and maybe he didn't. But he definitely knew he was taking a risk with the 15-yard penalty.

As it turned out, Georgia was hit with two penalties, kicked off from the 7-yard line, and Florida quickly scored a game-tying touchdown with a short field.

When Urban Meyer called those two timeouts at the end of the game this past weekend, he wasn't taking any risk. He was simply kicking Mark Richt when he was down.

This isn't the first time the pot has called the kettle classless. Last year, Saban called Ole Miss fans classless when they threw whiskey bottles and a high-heeled shoe on the field to protest a interference call at the end of a game.

A few weeks, later, Saban mentioned Pearl Harbor and losing to Louisiana-Monroe in the same thought.

It wasn't too classy of the Ole Miss fans to chant “Houston Nutt! Houston Nutt!” in the closing minutes of the Rebels' victory over Arkansas in Nutt's homecoming visit last weekend.

Arkansas fans can say what they want about the chant, but there's no doubt they will return the favor the first chance they get.

Actually, they did that night. Some Hog fans chanted, “Bobby! Bobby!” as their team mounted a late-game comeback that eventually fell short.

The examples could be endless. At some point, it becomes easier to stop worrying about associating college football with high and mighty behavior, and focus more on the fun of it.

When some coach pulls a stunt that only adds insult to injury against your team, laugh it off. Everyone is familiar with the expression “what goes around comes around.”

It will be that much more fun when your team gets its turn.

Pollsters Fail to Think Through Their Votes

Do these guys not think about why they are voting teams in a certain spot? The glaring mistake of the week is Georgia coming in at #14 in the AP, USA Today, and Harris polls. Really?

Georgia has lost to #1 Alabama and #4 Florida for its two blemishes. A few of the teams ahead of Georgia include Boise State, Utah, TCU, Ohio State, and Missouri. Ohio State and Missouri also have top ten teams to blame for their only two losses, so I could agree to disagree on which of those three is better.

But does anyone voting in any poll – respected or otherwise – believe Boise State, Utah, or TCU would win against Florida? Or Alabama? No pollster would vote Georgia below any of the three BCS-busters if they had two losses as the Bulldogs do, yet they punish Georgia for losing to top-five teams.

Meanwhile, the BCS-busters played schools in New Mexico over the weekend.

More importantly, would any pollster bet on Boise State to beat Georgia on a neutral field? I'd love to take the other side of that one.

Another blunder by a few of the pollsters was to still vote for Tulsa. The Golden Hurricane blew its only shot at a BCS school during the regular season when it lost to Arkansas. The Hogs didn't exactly overpower the Hurricane, but the best case conclusion for Tulsa was that it almost had as much talent as the Razorbacks.

Casey Dick threw for 385 yards on the Hurricane defense after averaging 191 against the SEC and Texas. Tulsa was great at moving the ball between the 20-yard lines but stalled multiple times when it counted.

Arkansas, at 4-5, does not deserve to be getting votes in the top 25. And Tulsa, who is not as good as Arkansas, does not either.

More Change in Fayetteville

Chuck Dicus was fired from his position of the president of the Razorback Foundation last week. Dicus was an All-American split end in the late 60's for the Hogs, and had been the foundation president since 1991.

Supposedly, the board was given the directive to fire him from new athletic director Jeff Long and/or new chancellor Dave Gearhart. The only notable position in Arkansas athletics that hasn't turned over in the past two years is now the baseball coach.

And once again, those in charge in Northwest Arkansas are lying about the event.

Any foundation board member or university trustee asked about the removal of Dicus plays dumb and says the reasons for the firing were not discussed at the foundation board meeting on Saturday just before the Tulsa game.

Those responses are lies.

Even former athletic director Frank Broyles, now a consultant for the foundation, says he has no idea why Dicus was removed.

He's lying too.

There has to be a reasonable explanation for the firing of a long-tenured president of a multi-million dollar organization.

Dicus was popular among the fans, and the foundation didn't exactly suffer for contributions – especially for a relatively poor state. Naturally, fans are interested in the reasons for his ouster.

Nonetheless, the average Hog fan is left in the dark about the change. The cost of two season tickets to Fayetteville and Little Rock games is $630. Add a modest $100 donation per seat, and the price tag leaps to $830 just for tickets to home games.

Those paying $830 for tickets are likely sacrificing just as much or more than those donating at the higher levels.

Whether it was a personality conflict, an unforgivable mistake, or just a firing for no good reason, the supporters of the foundation deserve to know the reason Dicus was let go.

They do not deserve to be lied to.

All this lying is, well... classless.

SEC Football Rambling Recap: Week 6

2008-10-07T21:21:00.004-05:00

Actual GameDay sign: What's Worse: Auburn's Offense or the Economy?

Vanderbilt students looked up GameDay on Wikipedia and had a respectable crowd Saturday morning.

Auburn, Mississippi State, Arkansas, and Tennessee fans are all asking themselves the same question: How is Vanderbilt's backup quarterback better than all quarterbacks on our team?

Auburn still looked like a Spread team without any Spread players in Nashville. Fortunately, they host Arkansas this weekend. The Hogs happen to be the perfect cure for an anemic offense. We'll see how big Tony Franklin's ego really is. He'll either try to prove the Spread will work – eventually – or he'll run the ball straight at the hapless Hog defensive line for an easy five yards a carry.

Arkansas' defense might just be bad enough for the Spread to work.

Actual GameDay sign: Lee Corso Scores More Than Auburn

Does Tony Franklin also coordinate Tennessee's offense? A 13-9 victory over Northern Illinois might qualify for the ugliest game of the season, battling the 3-2 slugfest for the top spot.

There's something missing from this Florida team. They haven't been sharp the past two weeks, and the early kickoff times aren't enough of an excuse. There's a good chance Urban Meyer saved a lot of the game plan for LSU, who visits this week. Expect more scrambling from Tebow, but also expect LSU to hold them to 21 points in a Tiger win.

Actual GameDay sign: You People are Blocking the Library

South Carolina's defense should be enough to keep them close the rest of the way. Just being close will be scary enough for other teams that have to deal with Spurrier's play-calling late in a game. All of a sudden, 4-2 with losses to Vanderbilt and Georgia doesn't seem that bad.

My preseason pick for SEC Coach of the Year isn't looking too good. The improvement in quality of play over last year is obvious in Oxford, but Nutt has also lost three games by 2, 6, and 7 points. The Rebels gave up leads in each game.

Ok, maybe we hyped Alabama a little too much after the beatdown in Athens, but I'd still take them over the Big XII teams in the top five. Their offense doesn't put up Playstation numbers like the Big XII, but the Tide defense will stop teams when it counts. I know, I know, its way too early to talk about that.

Actual GameDay sign: I Got My GED from Auburn

We might be in store for up to three more “Games of the Year,” as dubbed by the media. First, there was USC-Ohio State. This weekend is OU-Texas. The winner of that will likely face an undefeated Missouri team, either in the regular season for Texas or in the Big XII Championship for Oklahoma.

I want LSU and Alabama to both make it unscathed until November 8, but don't expect it. Defense may win championships, but poor quarterback play can lead to upsets. Both are susceptible.

Actual GameDay sign: The SEC Drew Straws, & Its Vandy's Turn to Beat Ohio State in a Bowl Game

SEC Football Rambling Recap: Week 5

2008-10-01T21:47:00.003-05:00

Ah, ten teams in the SEC are longing for the good ole days, when Mike Shula and Ed Orgeron haplessly roamed the sidelines in the West.

We all knew it was coming. We just thought it would take another year or two. Nick Saban is a badass. Even an Auburn fan that believes Tuberville will deliver Seven in November has to admit it. Even if Auburn does get Seven, Saban did what maybe no one else could have done in a year in Tuscaloosa.

If any of the pollsters would take an even money bet on Oklahoma against Alabama, I would be willing to put them in the gambling business.

Georgia has a long way to go to get back to the top 5. Both of their lines were dominated by Alabama. That's not to say it can't be done. Unless you're 2004 Auburn, a single loss to a ranked team won't keep you out of the BCS title game.

I've never been one to give Les Miles the benefit of the doubt as a head coach. I've admittedly been on the other side, but his record is starting to speak for itself. He's now four years in and playing fewer of Saban's recruits. He still has plenty of moments that make fans ask what the hell he was thinking, but so do most other coaches. The botton line is he wins games.

Over the past few years, Auburn has been involved in games that ended 13-9, 10-3, 10-9, 7-3, 9-7, and the now infamous 3-2 game. It seemed those contests became solely about field position at some point during each half, where the offenses turned super-conservative and punts were intriguing plays.

One other thing about those games: Auburn won them all.

Don't be surprised if Auburn has another anti-barn-burner this weekend against Vanderbilt. But who cares what happens? The real news is that ESPN – the main one – will be in Nashville for a Saturday night game in October.

Vanderbilt might end up needing this game to get to a bowl. The 4-0 Commodores have to bank on wins at Mississippi State and against Duke, but six wins probably won't guarantee a bid. The SEC will likely have 10 teams bowl eligible with Mississippi State and Arkansas home for the holidays, so Vanderbilt may need a win against Auburn or Kentucky.

Sylvester Croom and his crew may be poised for a strong second half run. Seven of their final eight games should be winnable, with the contest at Alabama the only one that seems to be hopeless at this point. This team doesn't seem to have what last year's had, though, and I'm not counting on it.

An ending record of 4-8 is the most likely outcome.

Its rude to pile on, and hindsight is 20/20. Still, fans have been calling third and one and fourth and one plays before Florida lined up for a little over two years now. It shouldn't be surprising that a team was finally able to stop it.

Tim Tebow is running less this year to slow the wear and tear on his body. This its taking away his strength as a dual-threat quarterback, and will likely cost the Gators again. Balancing his health and productivity is a double-edged sword, especially if he can't put up the gaudy numbers as a pro-style drop back passer.

Expect to see more scrambling from Tebow.

Uh, Fulmer's gone. Whether or not he should be gone is an article entirely by itself. The bottom line is a BCS title ten years ago won't save him today.

He's gone.

Ole Miss fans say they knew they were getting a good coach. Nutt has already given them a big win over a top-ranked team. In the next few years, the Rebels will be a top-ten team themselves.

Arkansas fans say they spent time in the top 10 with Nutt, just as he won some big games over top-ranked teams. Nutt was fired because they never happened on the same day.

Ole Miss fans knew Arkansas fans were expecting way too much from Nutt. What more could they want than two trips to Atlanta?

Arkansas fans say they don't expect to be in a BCS bowl every year, but do expect one or two when Matt Jones and Darren McFadden grow up in their state.

Ole Miss fans say to just look at how awful the Hogs are this year to see how valuable Nutt was. Hog fans say Bear Bryant couldn't win with this team if he had Steve Spurrier and Tom Landry as assistants, and the next two years should be written off solely because of Nutt.

Ahhhhhh! I can't take this!

Whooooo! This is what being a fan is all about!

Oklahoma Sooners: The Other Ohio State

2008-09-15T21:46:00.007-05:00

It happened again. When Ohio State was thrashed in this year's early season spotlight game against Southern California, the college football world collectively said the same thing: “We knew it.” The Buckeyes dropped out of the top ten in the rankings. The pollsters even voted the Buckeyes below fellow Big Ten school Wisconsin, a team the Buckeyes will likely defeat handily in three weeks.

Now, it will take multiple losses by every SEC and Big XII team, a Conference USA upset of East Carolina, and a meteor to destroy Los Angeles – among other things – for the Buckeyes to have another crack at the national title game. No one wants to see the same team storm through a mediocre conference schedule only to turn the national title game into a laugher.

Because of this, the college football world needs to be proactive in seeking out the other potential frauds that are primed to punch their tickets to Miami.

The place to start the investigation is Norman, Oklahoma.

Just like Ohio State, Oklahoma has played in four BCS bowls in the past five years. Ohio State won its first two, and Oklahoma won zero.

Ohio State's last two seasons, when the Buckeyes dominated their regular season schedule only to suffer embarrassment in the BCS title game, were exactly like Oklahoma's 2003 and 2004 campaigns. In 2003, Oklahoma took its Heisman-winning quarterback into the BCS title game as a 7 point favorite. And exactly as Ohio State was in 2006, the Sooners were clearly outplayed on the national stage.

Heisman winners Jason White and Troy Smith combined for no touchdowns, three picks, and showings poor enough to warrant returning the trophies to the Downtown Athletic Club.

In 2004 and 2007, players from both teams took every opportunity to work in the phrases, “All about the team,” “Only focused on a championship,” and “Earn everyone's respect” during interviews. And once again, both teams were the boys in the Men versus Boys matchups that became the BCS title games.

If going back to 2003 and 2004 is unfair to Oklahoma, then fair enough. All players from the 2004 USC beatdown are gone. Comparing only the past two seasons can get the point across as well.

The 2006 campaign was a relative rebuilding year for Oklahoma (a compliment to the program), yet it still managed to take back its Big XII crown. But no matter how much of a rebuilding year it was, the Sooners never should have lost to their WAC counterparts in the Fiesta Bowl.

And no, despite some great plays, Boise State was not a great football team in 2006. Their players were smaller and no more talented than Oklahoma's. The Broncos flat outplayed them.

Last year, Oklahoma started the year ranked ahead of Ohio State. The only reason Oklahoma didn't get pasted in the BCS title game instead of Ohio State was the Buckeyes played more consistently during the year. Oklahoma slipped twice, against Colorado and Texas Tech, and Ohio State only slipped once.

And even if Sam Bradford wouldn't have been injured against Texas Tech, he could not have stopped the Red Raiders from running off 27 straight first half points.

Even so, after the Sooners manhandled Missouri in the Big XII Championship Game, some media members were calling for them to be granted a spot in the BCS title game. Their matchup with West Virginia was deemed the five-star lock of bowl pools around the nation. Yet, after it was all said and done, the Sooners lost by 20 and looked terrible doing it.

Basically, despite the fact that Ohio State performed more consistently during the regular season and played better competition in its BCS bowl last year, the Buckeyes' reputation took a far worse beating than the Sooners' did.

Admittedly, there's no way to predict how a team will perform in big games from year to year. Its even possible Ohio State could make its way back to the BCS title game this year only to find itself with a favorable matchup for once.

But for those that just knew Ohio State would wet the bed this past weekend – because they've been doing it for so many years – any expectations about the Oklahoma Sooners should be examined further.

Much like last year, Oklahoma started this season by destroying its early season opponents and looking unstoppable on offense. They've jumped to the top spot in the polls for all schools not named USC. In fact, the Sooners seem to be on a collision course with Missouri in the Big XII Championship Game.

The dream matchup of unbeaten Missouri and Oklahoma in early December would undoubtedly be dubbed The Game of the Century by ABC during the week leading up to it. Hopefully, if it comes to this, the game will live up to the hype.

Many are still bitter about the last Game of the Century: 2006 Michigan versus Ohio State.

Rambling Recap: Week 2, Part 2

2008-09-08T19:51:00.004-05:00

There was no doubt Tebow would be the one to break the Miami's winning streak against Florida. He runs, throws, flies, speaks braille. Jesse Palmer should be polishing up his resume for the day Tebow gets cut from an NFL team. In fact, Pretty Boy Tebow may just kick Lee Corso off the GameDay crew and make former golden boy Kirk Herbstreit play the washed up coach on set.

So Palmer has about three years left in Bristol.

In September, the Central Michigan Chippewas are a weak opponent that Georgia should be embarrassed to beat up on. In late November, the Chippewas dominate the MAC Championship Game and are only a year or two away from threatening the BCS.

Kentucky is two gimmies away from being 4-0 for the second straight year. We won't find out how good, or bad, they are until they play in Tuscaloosa in early October. Don't blame them for a weak schedule, either. Louisville and the rest of the East are tough enough.

Last year, the team with an all-fluff schedule was also referred to as Orange Bowl Champions.

Auburn seems to be flying below the radar after two routine wins. Tuberville's teams have lost some head-scratching games in unimpressive fashion the last few years, but he still deserves the title of best big-game coach in the conference. The Tigers' defense is stout once again, and get they LSU and Georgia at home. One win for Tuberville against those two is just not a gutsy prediction.

Don't be surprised if they win both.

With all the big names on the sidelines in the conference, we knew someone would be in trouble by the middle of the year. Spurrier and Fulmer seem to be the leading candidates.

Hard to imagine either of those names being fired, but there may be a retirement in the next year or two. Especially if Georgia and Florida stay on top of the East, which they should.

Auburn travels to StarkVegas this weekend for Mississippi State's second prime time ESPN2 game in three weeks. Sylvester Croom might be a game or two away from hearing whispers about his job security as well.

Rambling Recap: Week 2, Part 1

2008-09-07T22:40:00.006-05:00

Way to go Vandy. Again. Their stadium almost looked like a real college stadium on ESPN, too. Its great for the SEC that Vanderbilt is slowly but surely becoming competitive in its conference games.

A bowl game needs to be the first priority for the 'Dores. Their regular season finale is at Wake Forest, and it may turn out to be the do-or-die game for getting them over the hump.

Wake may have the ACC Championship Game on its mind that weekend. The best team in the ACC needed a controversial call and a last second field goal to hold off Ole Miss, an also-ran in the SEC.

Yeah, sounds about right.

Jevan Snead looks as good as advertised. Ole Miss may not end up being an also-ran by November.

LSU 's game with Troy will be made up November 15, the weekend before the Tigers travel to Oxford. Not the worst thing that could have happened to the schedule, but could contribute to a late-season shake-up in the West.

Houston Nutt's teams have played toe-to-toe with Les Miles' clubs since Miles has been there, even in 2005 when the Hogs went 4-7. Ole Miss didn't do so badly with Orgeron the past two seasons, either.

Hard to blame Alabama for the hangover against Tulane. They have two more weekends of cupcakes before visiting Athens in what is now a showdown game. Not sure if they'll have more trouble with Western Kentucky or Arkansas.

Either the talent level between I-AA Western Illinois, Sunbelt school Louisiana-Monroe, and Arkansas is razor-thin, or Arkansas has been out-coached for three of four quarters each game. For Hog fans' sake, hopefully the the problem is the talent.

That doesn't sound right.

Rambling Recap: Week 2, Part 2

Rambling Recap: Week 1, Part 2

2008-09-03T21:27:00.003-05:00

Alabama scored the biggest win of the opening weekend, and jumped 11 spots in the AP poll to #13. Other than that, what did they get for having the stones to schedule a prime-time early season matchup?

Not a damn thing.

Bama's no closer to a BCS bowl this week than they were last week. They're no closer to a BCS bowl than Auburn or Georgia after scheduling cupcakes. If one of the Mississippi schools catches Bama on the wrong weekend, the Clemson win will be easily forgotten.

At the same time, Clemson is erased from the national title picture. As far as the bowl implications are concerned, Bama is a small winner and Clemson is a huge loser.

After one game, it appears South Carolina scored with the hiring of former Mississippi State defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson. Its hard to top a shutout, no matter how bad NC State was. Expect him to keep Chris Nickson from running anywhere Thursday night. Nickson will be forced to throw for 200 yards to keep Vanderbilt in the game, something he will likely struggle with.

Arkansas – the team that hired Johnson from Mississippi State only to lose him to South Carolina – will end up being the biggest loser in the deal.

Speaking of Fayetteville, good for Houston Nutt. His Rebels handled Memphis easily, which was a needed improvement from the former regime and the close games they've had the past few years. While its fair to say he underachieved some at Arkansas, its also fair to say that he and his family were flat-out put through hell. Arkansas fans may take some time to forgive him for not doing more with Darren McFadden's last year, but here's to hoping the two sides will be happy after going their separate ways.

Jury's still out on Tuberville's switch to the spread. I'm buying the decision.

Tennessee was 7-1 in SEC overtime games, and the the Vols looked like they had never seen overtime in Los Angeles. And what was up with that please-block-this-punt formation? It looked like Fulmer himself could have run through the gaps in that spread line to make the block, scoop, and score.

Pete Fiutak of CollegeFootballNews.com wrote in his Calvacade of Whimsey column that the ESPN-SEC TV deal will lead to SEC teams having “better facilities, better coaches, and better overall programs than anyone else can possibly come up with.” Wouldn't go that far, but nonetheless:

Nice, nice, and very nice.

Rambling Recap: Week 1, Part 1

Rambling Recap: Week 1, Part 1

2008-09-03T21:06:00.005-05:00

Georgia lost its #1 ranking after easily beating Georgia Southern, and lost some ground to now #3 Ohio State. Who gives a sh..., um, cares? Being ranked #1 is fun and all, but it doesn't matter until the end of the season. Further, #2 at the end is just as good as #1. As long as a team is in the top five to start the year, a strong year will take care of itself.

I bet Ohio State fans wish Beanie Wells only had 8 carries like Knowshon did this past weekend.

Congratulations to Vanderbilt. Welcome to the SEC, where most season-opening games are more about tailgating and getting together with old friends and less about worrying if you'll win three games this season. Hopefully they can start playing those games in Nashville rather than in Ohio. Or Ruston, LA.

Turns out SEC Idiots was wrong about LSU dominating App St and getting 4 yards on the ground whenever they wanted. They got a lot more. Between comments here and at Bleacher Report, you would think App St fans would have rather I said I roamed my neighborhood streets beating up little kids than said the FCS Mountaineers didn't stand a chance. Good luck to both defending champs the rest of the way.

I wonder who is more upset – Louisville fans that Kentucky's football program is better than theirs or Kentucky fans that Louisville's basketball program is better than theirs?

After the bloodbath in Gainesville this past weekend, the WAC's top two teams are now 0-5 in laughers in their last few trips to SEC country.

Here is the breakdown by quarter:
SEC teams outscored the WAC 45-6 in the 1st quarter
SEC teams outscored the WAC 70-0 in the 2nd quarter
SEC teams outscored the WAC 80-14 in the 3rd quarter
WAC teams outscored the SEC 44-16 in the 4th quarter.

The games were Hawaii at Florida 2008, Hawaii vs Georgia in the 2008 Sugar Bowl, Hawaii at Alabama 2006 , Boise St at Georgia 2005, and Boise St at Arkansas 2002. Perhaps Mississippi State should schedule one of them rather than going back to Ruston. Or Murfreesboro, TN next year, I understand.

Rambling Recap: Week 1, Part 2

StarkVegas Was Too Quiet This Weekend

2008-09-01T01:45:00.010-05:00

Dear Mississippi State,

Didn't watch the game and don't know what happened. Noticed that Wesley Carrol threw a pick every other time he dropped back, but that's neither here nor there. The most upsetting thing about the La Tech win is that the game was played in Ruston, Louisiana.

Not StarkVegas. Ruston, Louisiana.

You need to remember who you are and where you came from. You're in the SEC. We don't play in places like Ruston, because we don't have to.

We sign billion-dollar television deals. That's billion with a “B.” We could have had our own television network, but the worldwide leader in sports wanted to handle that for us.

If we open the season away from our home stadium, its for good reason. Tennessee is going to Los Angeles, not Ruston. Alabama was paid to treat the future ACC Champion like a stepchild in the Georgia Dome, not Ruston. And that's paid with a “P.”

If you have a bad team, then open the season with a worse team. It is scientifically impossible that your team played worse than Arkansas did, yet they are 1-0 and you are 0-1. They just had a little better handle on their cupcake limit.

If you want to help some smaller school keep its I-A status by boosting its home attendance, call your Hog buddies in Arkansas and seek their advice. They'll be playing an away game against Louisiana-Monroe in Little Rock next week.

You do not belong in Ruston. I don't care if the tickets only cost $12 or they were free. SEC teams don't open seasons at WAC stadiums. They don't play there period.

You need to respect yourself more. After all, you are the rightful co-owner (along with LSU) of the Iron Bowl trophy for the next three months, and you have a good chance to defend your title. You made NCAA-record breaking rusher Kevin Smith look like a high school running back at the Liberty Bowl last year.

What I want you to do is pick yourself up, shake it off, and forget about it. Act like this never happened. Don't mention it again.

Act like an Alabama fan when someone brings up Bear Bryant. Act like Spurrier in a press conference after a win. Act like a Kentucky basketball fan any day of the year.

Act like your batshit crazy ex-baseball coach.

I want to you walk around StarkVegas this week like you have a 16-inch, uh, foot. Because you know what they say about people with big feet.

They don't belong in Ruston.

Calm Down Hog Fans: It Could Be Worse

2008-08-31T19:39:00.005-05:00

It could be much worse. As a matter of fact, I'm not convinced the best team won in Fayetteville the other night.

Razorback fans everywhere started the complaining in the first quarter of the Western Illinois game and haven't stopped since. Instead of complaining, however, we should be thankful.

Just as the Hogs are due for a solid run at the SEC Championship every few years, they are due for a year like this one every few years as well. And the important thing to remember is that Arkansas didn't lose to a I-AA school like it did the last time the talent pool was so depleted.

How can anyone ever forget the loss to Vanderbilt in 2005?

Comparing that colossal embarrassment to the Western Illinois game should give Hogs fans a better perspective and provide encouragement for the future.

This year, just as in 2005, the talent-level of the upperclassmen is scarce.

Its been widely noted that Houston Nutt knew exactly when to get out of Fayetteville. He waited out the tenure of the greatest player ever born in the state of Arkansas, and promptly bolted with everyone's money. Everyone understood he left the cupboard bare.

Turned out we were wrong about that cupboard. He left a piping hot pile of excrement.

During the text message and Springdale mom's club fiasco after 2006, Nutt signed a recruiting class that was poor by Sunbelt Conference standards. Those guys are sophomores now. The best of the previous year's recruiting class transferred elsewhere. The headliners of the 2005 recruiting class left early for the NFL.

In 2005, a disproportionate share of the talent rested in the freshman class as well. Darren McFadden and Felix Jones should be enough explanation for that. Further, the juniors and seniors in 2005 were recruited during the infamous NCAA sanction years. Not that SEC coaches needed much help recruiting against Arkansas, but possible bowl-bans were easy fuel for the fire.

Plenty of other parallels exist between the Vanderbilt and Western Illinois games. In 2005, Arkansas' defense was undersized and the secondary was green. This year, Arkansas' defense is undersized and the secondary is green.

Starting DE Adrian Davis is a linebacker. Starting MLB Jerry Franklin is a safety. Starting OLB Walner Leandre is a safety. Every single backup linebacker is an undersized safety.

And by “green,” I mean terrible.

Against Vanderbilt, Arkansas started strong and finished weak. The Hogs gave up a 19-yard pass on 4th and 10 to allow Vanderbilt to continue its game-winning touchdown drive.

Against Western Carolina, Arkansas started weak and finished strong. Casey Dick converted a late 4th and 10 to setup the Hogs' winning score.

Against Vanderbilt, the two most talented freshmen on the team were inexplicably limited in their roles. McFadden and Jones had one carry each, while De'Arrius Howard had 21 carries and Peyton Hillis had 15.

Against Western Illinois, the most talented freshmen were allowed to actually impact the game. Freshmen Joe Adams and Greg Childs caught both of Arkansas' touchdown passes, and the Hogs' freshmen accounted for almost half the total receiving yards.

Adams, who scored Arkansas' first touchdown, was committed to USC this time last year.

Against Vanderbilt, Arkansas blew an 11-point 4th quarter lead and lost in the final minute. This year, the Hogs overcame a 10-point 4th quarter deficit and won in the final two minutes.

After the Vanderbilt loss, my buddy smashed his neighbor's windows with a golf club. After the Western Illinois game, well, that house has thankfully been torn down since then.

ESPN and the rest of the nation were two minutes away from unleashing the “Karma's a Beast” campaign on Petrino. Instead, the game went unmentioned on SportsCenter and most people outside Arkansas only noticed the closer-than-expected final score. The Hogs now have to figure out how to escape Little Rock with a win against Louisiana-Monroe next week.

After the Vanderbilt loss, Arkansas had to travel to USC the next week.

See, it could be much worse.

Hogs Uniforms Resemble BMX Racing Suits

2008-08-31T16:29:00.010-05:00

One time I’m listening to the radio with my son, driving down the road and he said, ‘I don’t know why [Bob] Huggins ever left Cincinatti.’ I said, ‘Why? What are you talking about?’ He said, ‘You can recruit to Cincinatti in basketball now.’ I said, ‘Why you say that?’ He said, ‘Well, their uniforms.’ I said, ‘What do you mean?’ He said, ‘Their uniforms are tight and that’s why guys go to the school, because of their uniforms.’

So we’re going to try and have uniforms that are tight.

-Bobby Petrino

Even fans younger than 73 think these things are grotesque.

There aren't many times when jerseys should upset college football fans, but this is clearly one of them. If teams want to play dress-up for a big game every now and then, fine. But let's be reasonable.

These things don't belong on football players. They belong on wannabe stoner kids getting sweet air and doing killer tricks over dirt mounds with their bicycles.

The white stripes are supposed to resemble tusks. Nice try. It looks like Tusk threw up on Casey Dick after watching all his passes get dropped.

These things need to be donated to a boys club immediately. This is the SEC. Or the “SEC Conference,” as Petrino calls it. Uniforms in the class of conferences should have some sort of a classic look. They should not look like some off-brand jersey from a Wal-Mart rack defiled with 3-D numbers and zebra stripes.

Ridiculous.

App State is Your Buddy From College

2008-08-29T07:45:00.004-05:00

Everybody has a buddy from college like this.

You know, that guy that took home a different slut every night he went out to the bar. That was just his thing. He liked to bang sluts.

He didn't so much go for the hot girls, or the smart ones, or the cute ones. He just stuck to the sluts.

When you were freshmen, he was one of the seven guys still dancing at four in the morning when there were only two chicks – fat chicks – left left at the fraternity house looking for a place to shack up. He would invariably be one of the two “winners.”

A few years later, he'd be tanked at the bar talking to the decent-looking but really annoying girl. Everyone else in your crew was leaving with their girlfriends, and this guy wouldn't shut up about how would find a different ride. The next morning, you had to go pick him up at sketchy apartment complex. He talked the entire ride home about the random night he had and the crazy old man that almost got in a fight at the bar after you left.

And the slut he banged.

That guy was just like Appalachian State. Everyone likes them. Everyone gets along well with them. Everyone pulls for them.

Still, even though everyone liked him, nobody really trusted your buddy with their girlfriend when they were out of town. Not that they were afraid of him stealing her, but they didn't want to take any chances that night.

North Carolina doesn't want to play those guys and give them a shot for a big time win. Good for them, too. No need in taking unnecessary risks.

Because that one night your buddy found a really hot girl at the bar that was wasted and had just broken up with her boyfriend, everyone was happy he got to bang her too. But nobody expected it and nobody expected it to happen again. But you still gave him a high-five the next week.

As you know, that hot drunk girl was from Michigan.

Sure, it was a nightmare for Michigan fans. But that wasn't the end of it. Turned out that lots of others were affected too. It embarrassed their conference just as much. All their friends looked down on them. Its probably not very good for bigger schools recruiting backups in the vicinity of Boone, NC, either.

It was a fun story at the time but not necessarily good for anyone.

Things on campus just weren't right afterwards. Every bottom-feeder kept going after the girls that were out of their league with no shame. Their confidence levels were unjustifiably sky-high.

Tom Brady should have to worry about Eli stealing that Brazilian chick from him. Brady shouldn't have to worry about Subway Jared constantly hitting on her.

The important thing to remember is your buddy's game was kept in check plenty of times. Most of the time, in fact. He didn't start every night hitting on sluts; he just worked his way down to them. The girls he hit on to start each night all thought he was “creepy” for the most part, or said he just flat out scared them on a bad night.

This time, App State is starting the night at the bar with the lofty aspirations of victimizing another quality target. Hopefully, they'll get shot down.

Surely App State will have to move down the list a time or two before they get any action. After all, the big man on campus knows to not let his girlfriend get more than two feet away from him at any moment.

College football gods willing, App St will go back to banging sluts, and the college football world will return to normal.

SEC Signs ESPN TV Deal... Glorious

2008-08-26T18:40:00.010-05:00

We're rich, bitch!

The league office did something right.

It may never admit when officials screw up. It may not fine teams for losing their bowl games and embarassing the rest of the conference. But it can apparently strike gold with a TV deal.

Here are the details from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The executive summary is that there won't be a TV network devoted solely to the SEC because there won't need to be. ESPN will damn near do that on its own.

Every conference football game will be televised, three times as many basketball games will be shown as are now, and ESPN/ABC take over the basketball tournament semis and championship game. In fact, all SEC championship games will be televised by ESPN networks except for football, which stays with CBS.

With the contract giving the league $150 million per year, each team should take home over $10 million from ESPN alone. That would leave about $30 million for the league office to maintain operations and give a bonus to whoever negotiated this jewel of a deal. Each school received $10.2 million total from the conference last year.

Still, the best part of the deal - any way you slice it - is that Raycom is axed completely. That means we only have one more season of watching games in anti-HD and listening to Grade A morons with mics. ESPN will take over those games in 2009.

Glooooooooorious!

"If We Would Have Only..." Summary

2008-08-24T16:39:00.003-05:00

Each team has now been published. Here's a summary list.

Alabama: 2000 Orange Bowl
Arkansas: 2006 SEC Championship Game
Auburn: 2005 at LSU
Florida: 2001 vs Tennessee
Georgia: 2002 vs Florida
Kentucky: 2007 vs Tennessee
LSU: 2006 at Auburn
Mississippi State: 1998 SEC Championship Game
Ole Miss: 2003 vs LSU
South Carolina: 2005 at Georgia
Tennessee: 2001 SEC Championship Game
Vanderbilt: 2005 vs Middle Tennessee State

The season can't get here soon enough.

Vanderbilt: If we would have only...

2008-08-24T13:29:00.004-05:00

2005 vs Middle Tennessee State

The poor guys just can't get right. Of all the losing seasons, and of all the lost games, the one game that ended up keeping the Commodores out of a coveted bowl game was against Middle Tennessee State in 2005.

Sure, they had their chances in close losses to South Carolina, Florida, and Kentucky later that same year. They only lost by seven, seven, and five points, respectively. However, it is just so disheartening to think about MTSU being the one hurdle Cutler and Company couldn't get past to get to the program's first bowl game since 1982.

After all, Vandy started 2005 4-0 with wins at Wake Forest, at Arkansas, Ole Miss, and Richmond. The game against MTSU was supposed to be win #5, and then they would have six games left to only win one and become bowl-eligible. Didn't think it was possible at the time, but Vandy must have been looking ahead.

Vanderbilt managed only one touchdown the entire game, despite being able to move the ball consistently. In fact, Vanderbilt seemed to beat MTSU everywhere but on the scoreboard. They outgained MTSU 245-147 yards passing, and 102-62 yards rushing. Vanderbilt had 23 first downs to MTSU's four.

Quarterback Jay Cutler's big mistake came early in the 2nd quarter, when he threw a pick deep in his own territory. MTSU needed three plays to get the two yards for a touchdown, but they got them for a 7-3 lead. MTSU then went 85 yards on their next possession to push its lead to 14-3.

Vanderbilt managed a field goal before halftime to cut the lead to 8.

The Commodores owned the second half, but it wasn't enough. Vanderbilt scored on a field goal in the third quarter, and MTSU managed no points and one first down. Cutler connected with Erick Davis early in the 4th quarter for a 16 yard touchdown pass, but the two-point conversion failed. This left Vanderbilt with a 15-14 lead with about 13 minutes remaining.

MTSU's only offensive activity of the second half came a few possessions later, but it came nonetheless. A short field goal by MTSU gave them a 17-15 lead with just about seven minutes to go.

At this point in the season, Vandy was actually experienced in 4th quarter comeback situations. They had overcome late game deficits at both Wake Forest and Arkansas. Not just 4th quarter comebacks, but scoring the go-ahead touchdowns with under two minutes remaining. So it was a little surprising, even to Vandy fans, when Cutler's offense immediately went three and out after getting the ball back.

Their second and last chance to regain the lead came with just under three minutes to go, when Vandy got the ball back at their own 1-yard line. Cutler performed in the clutch just as before, as he went 7 for 8 on the drive plus a stop-the-clock incompletion. He led the offense to the MTSU 19-yard line, and Vandy had a 36-yard field goal to salvage the game and keep their winning streak alive.

It wasn't exactly an App State/Michigan moment, but MTSU blocked the field goal to shock the 'Dores and give Vandy its first loss of the year.

Vanderbilt pulled out one more win in 2005, in the game they undoubtedly wanted to win more than any other on their schedule. They beat Tennessee in Knoxville to finish the year in the closest thing Cutler ever got to a bowl game.

Its just a shame that in the one year Vanderbilt beat the Volunteers, its fans still couldn't claim the smart kids from Nashville were best college football team in the state of Tennessee. That crown would have gone to the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders, a 4-7 Sunbelt Conference team from Murfreesburo.

Tennessee: If we would have only...

2008-08-24T13:24:00.004-05:00

2001 SEC Championship Game

For a few SEC teams, its tough to just single out one game over the last ten years that all the fans would love to have back. For Tennessee, however, its a no-brainer. Or at least it should be.

The Vols need back the 2001 SEC Championship Game, when they lost to underdog LSU.

The Vols had a strong season through early December, as they went to Atlanta in with a 10-1 record. More importantly, they were on pace for a date with Miami in the Rose Bowl for the BCS title game. Nebraska had a late season implosion and Texas lost to Colorado in the Big 12 Championship Game to leave the door open for the SEC to get a shot at the BCS title.

Most fans believed Florida would go through that door, but the Vols upset the Gators in a 9/11 makeup game the week before. Coincidentally, that was the one game Florida needs back.

Its important to think of the LSU of 2001 and not the LSU powerhouse program most think of today. This was just two years after the Tigers went 1-7 in SEC play. Their 5-3 SEC record in 2001 was not overly impressive. A fair comparison for the LSU program going into 2001 is a slightly more talented version of the Mississippi State squad heading into 2008.

This may be exaggerated somewhat, but the point is that the Tigers simply weren't a feared program at the time.

LSU jumped out to an early lead, but this was still no reason for the Vol faithful to panic. They didn't, and clearly looked like the more powerful team as they scored 17 straight points en route to a 17-10 halftime lead.

Not sure what happened in the locker rooms during halftime, but nothing went right for the Vols after they scored those 17 straight. Backup quarterback Matt Mauck – backup freshman quarterback – didn't appear to have much success from a box score point of view; he was only 5 for 15 passing for 67 yards. Still, he did what he had to to pickup key first downs in the second half.

It seemed he scrambled for a first down every time the Tigers needed one. Vols fans were obviously frustrated at the fact that this freshman quarterback Mauck could keep the Vols offense off the field and the defense off balance.

Tennessee threatened a late comeback attempt, but nothing materialized. The Vols had to settle for a field goal with about 10 minutes left in the game to cut LSU's lead to 24-20. The field goal came after the Vols had 1st and goal from the 4-yard line.

After a defensive stand, the Vols got the ball back with a chance to recapture the lead. They didn't have the ball for long, though, as Donte' Stallworth fumbled away a nice gain on a reception to give it back to the Tigers.

LSU scored the final points of the game on a one-yard touchdown run, but only after they held the ball for six minutes. The game was all but over when Tennessee got the ball back with about two minutes left, trailing 31-20. By that time, Tennessee fans knew they had blown their chance at a second BCS title in four years.

Who was this Saban guy, anyway?

Tennessee had to settle for the Citrus Bowl, where they played like the national championship contenders their fans had expected in Atlanta. They destroyed Michigan 45-10 in Orlando. There was a still hollow feeling afterward, as Vols fans were left thinking about the Rose Bowl and what might have been.

Nebraska fell bass-ackwards into the Rose Bowl, where they played like, well, the second-best team in the Big 12 North.

South Carolina: If we would have only...

2008-08-24T13:20:00.004-05:00

2005 at Georgia

The Gamecocks have consistently been on the outside looking in for the Eastern division championship since they joined the SEC in 1992. They've had more overall success than Kentucky and Vanderbilt, but still have the same number of appearances in Atlanta as they do: zero. The fact remains that the Cocks have always been the kid brother to the big three in the East.

There have been times when SC fans thought they were about to get over the hump in the East. They started playing respectful football in 2000, as opposed to whatever it was they were doing the few years before. That year, Holtz and crew were only a win over Florida away from reaching the SEC Championship Game. The problem was they fell in a not-so-close 41-21 outing in Gainesville.

The Cocks started strong again in 2001, as they had a top-ten ranking and a 5-0 record in mid-October. However, they dropped close games at Arkansas and Tennessee before getting blown out at home by Florida. The Cocks would have been left out of Atlanta even if they could have pulled out one of the two games against the Vols or Gators.

In 2005, Steve Spurrier took over a mediocre Gamecock squad and brought high expectations. Even so, the Cocks weren't expected to beat Georgia in Athens the second week of the season. South Carolina lost a close one between the hedges to start SEC play, and it ended up keeping the Cocks out of the SEC Championshp Game. This is the one game they need back since the start of the BCS.

Both teams started slowly that evening, and they entered the 2nd quarter tied at zero. The Bulldogs scored early in the 2nd on a 15-yard touchdown run by D.J. Shockley, but didn't hold the lead for long. Jonathan Joseph returned an interception 42 yards for a touchdown three minutes later. Gamecocks kicker then Josh Brown missed the extra point.

As they would say on Sportscenter, remember that kick.

Brown added a short field goal just before halftime, and the Cocks took a lead over the #9 ranked Bulldogs into the locker room. It could have been bigger than 9-7, however, if a touchdown pass to Sidney Rice hadn't been called back on account of an illegal shift.

Georgia took charge in the second half, as they took a 17-9 lead early in the 4th quarter. The difference in the game turned out to be Georgia's ability to run the ball effectively, while the Gamecocks struggled to find any yards on the ground the entire night.

The Gamecocks weren't without chances, though, and had a shot to tie the game with about seven minutes left in the 4th quarter. Blake Mitchell led a 65-yard drive for a touchdown, but he overthrew Rice on the two-point conversion. This left the score 17-15, which proved to be the final margin.

Georgia bled the clock down to about one minute before Spurrier's offense got the ball again, and the Cocks didn't manage a first down even then.

The two-point loss was tough for Gamecocks fans to swallow at the time, but became even harder by mid-November. South Carolina followed the Georgia game with blowout losses to Alabama and Auburn, but then won their last five SEC contests.

If the Gamecocks would have had a little better fortune in Athens, they would have finished 6-2 and held any tiebreakers over the rest of the East. Actually, they wouldn't have even needed the tiebreaker to get into Atlanta; they would have won the division outright.

Instead, they watched Georgia destroy LSU in Atlanta to finish the season. And just as they have every other year since joining the SEC, they watched from the couch.

We Need This Guy Broadcasting College Football

2008-08-19T22:28:00.008-05:00

So much for washed up players and fired coaches soaking up all the space in college football broadcast booths. Anyone who has caught some Olympics coverage has no doubt seen the guy who would be perfect to give live commentary on Saturdays.

Some guy named Bella that used to coach women’s gymnastics is just who we need to be listening to. The past week or so his comments on gymnastics have made me enjoy watching it. Not sure if there’s more passion or vodka running through his system.

But it clearly has plenty of both.

Unlike everyone else we’ll listen to over the next few months, this Romanian (Yeah, I thought he was a Russian too) with a great TV ‘stache does not understand the term “politically correct.” He fires fiercely from the hip, and is more biased than not. Even better, he reminds you of your dad’s drunk buddy.

This guy belongs in the world of football. It just doesn’t seem right that this lumberjack of a man has worked in gymnastics his entire life. The only reasonable explanation I can come up with is that Lou Holtz struck a career swap deal with the devil himself.

While I haven’t been able to understand most of what this Bella has said, I have been able to pick out a few gems.

On the Chinese women’s gymnastics team winning over the Americans: “It is a shame they are all underage.”

On an American gymnast winning silver instead of gold: “The lack of competence in the judges is obvious.”

Preach it, Bella. No fluff – just straight substance. No disclaimers necessary. No fence-straddling allowed.

He has a free pass to speak freely for a few reasons. First, anything offensive can be blamed on translation. Much of what he says is not comprehensible anyway; he could just act like he never said it. Most importantly, he’s the burly guy that carried off Kerrie Strug when she won that gold medal on one leg.

It would take every announcer in Bristol a full ninety seconds to say what this guy says in five.

Since fans might be skeptical of a gymnastics coach-turned-college football broadcaster, the best way to get him started would be to put him on a broadcast team that could not possibly get any worse. Any broadcast produced by Raycom Sports formerly known as Lincoln Financial Sports formerly known as Jefferson Pilot Sports would be perfect.

Since these Raycom games take place before noon for everyone not on Eastern Time, many fans have a pregame Bloody Mary. Bella will do the same, just without all the mix. Notice how a few phrases would be improved if this guy had the microphone:

Raycom: “This promises to be an exciting matchup between bitter rivals Ole Miss and Mississippi State.”
Bella: “The season will mercifully end for the Rebels this afternoon.”

Raycom: “That was definitely an interesting decision to go for it on fourth down. On one hand, they had a chance to get the yardage and maintain possession. This would allow them to keep the clock moving. On the other hand, they just gave the ball back to State with pretty good field position. I’ll be interested to see what everyone in Oxford thinks about that one tomorrow morning.”
Viewer: “No sh--.”
Bella: “The lack of competence in the coach is obvious. He will be without job tomorrow morning.”

Energy and excitement would never be lacking if we could get Bella in a college football press box. If not him, I’ll have to fight for my plan B announcer who is beyond animated, rarely sober, and barely speaks English.

Have the Saints fired their new defensive line coach yet?

Raw Skill vs. Experience: Position by Position Rankings

2008-08-13T22:36:00.004-05:00

On September 10, 2005, Vanderbilt defeated Arkansas in Fayetteville 28-24. Vanderbilt fans attributed the win to the clutch 4th quarter play of their prized senior quarterback Jay Cutler. Arkansas fans blamed the loss on Houston Nutt and his decision to only give freshmen running backs Darren McFadden and Felix Jones one carry each.

Two years earlier, almost to the day, Nutt himself perhaps benefited from a similar move from Mack Brown. Nutt’s Hogs defeated Texas in Austin, and freshman Vince Young played the same number of snaps as I did.

College coaches struggle with the question of raw talent versus experience every year. Every year, fans accuse coaches of mistakenly choosing the veteran over the blue chip newcomer when creating early year depth charts. Admittedly, most of those “fans” are me.

My attempt to rank positions according to the importance of raw talent versus experience is below. Raw skill is more important for the positions at the top, and experience is more important for those at the bottom. I think these are the rule more often than the exception, although there would be plenty of exceptions.

Wide Receiver – Run fast and jump high. Sure, their route-running and run-blocking will need to be sharpened over the next few years. But these guys have the best chance of coming into a college football program, stretching the defense, and scoring touchdowns early.

All the weight-lifting and sprinting in the world still won’t make someone look like Michael Crabtree. And if you need a good blocking receiver, just put in that fifth-year senior. Crabtree probably needs to rest after his 55-yarder.

Kicker/Punter – Choking doesn’t seem to discriminate between freshman and senior kickers. It seems to me that players just have the “clutch” gene more than it is learned. There are probably as many or more four-year starters at these positions than at any other (no research on that). Tennessee had a Colquitt punting from the Depression through this past spring.

Running Back – Pass protection is the only thing that puts this position below wide receivers. Experience never made anyone a home-run threat.

Defensive Back – The footwork and more difficult defensive packages drop this below the other “skill positions.” Raw speed still dominates, though.

Tight End – This lands right in the middle. The receiving part prefers raw talent and the blocking part favors experience.

Linebacker – The spread is making speed at this spot more and more important. The responsibility for run and pass can still be present on every play, and one of them is usually charged with being the leader of the defense.

Quarterback – If you were to start building an NFL team and could choose Peyton Manning or Vince Young, Manning would be a no-brainer. For a college team, however, I’m not so sure. College quarterbacks who are legitimate running threats are nightmares for defensive coordinators.

Nonetheless, they have to learn the jobs of other positions and lead the huddle. More importantly, they have to understand what the defense is thinking.

Defensive Line – For the last two positions, I guess a few years in the weight room counts as “experience” rather than “talent.” Freshmen have to truly be freak monsters to come in and have an early impact. This position is ahead of the offensive line simply because of the speed factor in pass rushing.

Offensive Line – Talent and experience for one or two members of the line still won’t get the job done. Everyone has to be able to move together for the unit to shine. Teams that improve their records by four or five games over the previous year typically have an offensive line made up of juniors and seniors.

Here’s to the fans that scream for the freshmen to take the field while the coach waits until they’re ready. Let the best players play.

Calm Down Everyone: App State Has No Shot vs LSU

2008-08-11T23:27:00.004-05:00

I get it. They're good.

They have speed. Their coach is a 1-AA superstar. They've only lost three games in the past two years. They beat Michigan, and they're returning key starters. They have plenty of heart.

But LSU isn't opening the season with Ohio St. That might be tough game.

LSU opens with Appalachian State instead, and they're going to beat the hell out of them.

This game is the popular upset pick for opening weekend, and I just don't buy it. Appalachian State isn't going to lose because of the stadium. They aren't going to lose because of the heat and humidity in Death Valley.

They're going to lose because LSU is that much better than Appalachian State.

LSU has a truckload more talent than App State has. They will be able to line up and run right at the Mountaineers for four yards when they need it. The defensive front will stop the run no matter how App State spreads the field, forcing Armanti Edwards to throw to get first downs. If Edwards sits in the pocket for more than a second or two, he'll have two guys on him. If he rolls out the wrong way, he'll have two more guys on him.

When everyone talked about “all the speed” in the SEC after four BCS beatdowns in past two years, they shouldn't have been impressed with speed at the skill positions. Every team has that. Odds are Edwards will be one of the fastest players on the field.

What separates the top teams from the rest are the big men that can move. (Yes, teams outside the SEC have this too.) Its tough to prepare an offensive tackle for a defensive end that will blow by him like Tyson Jackson will. The Tiger defensive tackles will be just as tough, and I would list them here if I could pronounce their names or didn't have to look them up.

It doesn't matter who they are; the point is that LSU has had its pick of freak monsters in recruiting the past few years. Appalachian State has not. While they may not admit it, at least nine of 10 App State players would have chosen LSU over ASU coming out of high school if given the chance. Or any SEC school, for that matter. Or any ACC, Big East, Pac 10... you get the point.

To be more blunt, App State still lost to two games to FCS teams last year. If LSU were opening the season with Mississippi State after MSU lost to Wofford and Georgia Southern the year before, I don't think very many people would be calling the upset.

Further, LSU will be focused on the game. I hate to take away from the Michigan win by saying App State sneaked up on them, but the word is out about the boys from Boone and their offense. Les Miles and his staff will spend a few more hours in the film room than Carr and company did last year. No other time has a FBS vs FCS matchup been hyped by the media like this one has – not just “this much”, but at all.

LSU has plenty of pride riding on the game as well. They're defending national champions, and they don't want to hear anything about how the Mountaineers' talent level is anywhere close to their own. LSU's athletes don't want to be compared to FCS players. They may keep to the diplomatic comments around the media, but the LSU players know they can't allow App State to even make a game out of it.

It was a loss for Oklahoma when Boise St proved to be a respectable opponent, not to mention take an early lead. The announcers for that game talked about two evenly matched teams. LSU needs a Georgia-Hawaii style game for their reputation. Because what happened on the field didn't need any descriptions, the media talked about Hawaii's heart after the Sugar Bowl.

LSU will consider it a loss if Appalachian State is within 14 at halftime. LSU will consider it a loss if App State mounts a comeback in the 4th quarter. And it will definitely be considered a loss if media members write in the paper the next day, “What an exciting game to watch.”

LSU wants to do much more than simply win the game, and they shouldn't have any problems doing it. LSU could have some quarterback “issues” turn into “challenges” in the first half, but it will not keep them from winning the game going away. Expect LSU to take control early, and plan to switch to the Mississippi State-Louisiana Tech game by halftime. And at the end of the game, when waiting for Missouri-Illinois to come on, don't expect the announcers to talk about what an exciting game it was. Expect them to talk about how much heart Appalachian State had.

Ole Miss: If we would have only...

2008-08-07T05:48:00.004-05:00

2003 vs LSU

Ole Miss fans have plenty to be thankful for. They now have a coach that can speak English. The Grove is greatest place in college football. The ladies at Ole Miss are collectively better looking than at any other single school in the SEC.

This means they are also the best looking group of coeds in the nation.

Still, Ole Miss is the only team in the West that has never played in the SEC Championship Game. They also have the misfortune of being the only team in the West to go 7-1 in the SEC and still be left out of Atlanta that year. The “1” on that record was to LSU in 2003, a school many Rebel fans want to beat more than they want to beat they guys from Starkville. That's the one game Ole Miss needs back since the start of the BCS.

Ole Miss started 2003 miserably after having high hopes for Eli's senior season. Losses to Memphis and Texas Tech dropped the Rebels off the radar for pollsters, not to mention the rest of the SEC. Eli's offense could score points, but not as many as the defense was prone to giving up.

Then, the Rebels beat Florida at the Swamp. As with all wins over Florida from 2002 – 2004, there is an obligatory asterisk next to the win because of a man named Zook. Nevertheless, the Rebels changed their luck for the rest of the year on that day. They won a few blowouts, they won a few close ones, and by the middle of November they were 6-0 in the SEC and ranked in the top 15 in the nation. Better yet, they got LSU in Oxford for the right to go to Atlanta.

Ole Miss' defense jumped on LSU early in the game, with a pick six by Travis Johnson. Their defense. This was the same defense that gave up 44 to Memphis, 49 to Texas Tech, and 40 to South Carolina (no, Spurrier wasn't there yet). And just over a minute into the game, they had a 7-0 lead and the loudest crowd ever at Vaught-Hemingway.

The defense somehow kept the Rebels in the game the rest of the way. LSU got a field goal in the 1st quarter, but Ole Miss had a perfect opportunity to add to its lead in the 2nd. Matt Mauck was intercepted again by the Rebs, and Eli started the drive in LSU territory. However, four plays later, Jonathan Nichols missed a 45-yard field goal.

Six plays later, LSU scored on a 9-yard touchdown pass. Finally, just to give up all the momentum before halftime, Ole Miss went three-and-out on its next possession. The Rebels were down by three at half, and knew they had blown chances.

The 3rd quarter typical for a defensive game, and only had two noteworthy plays. Von Hutchins intercepted Mauck for the third time on the day, and Ole Miss was in prime scoring position at the LSU 31. Two plays later, though, Eli gave the ball back. Drives by both teams ended in punts otherwise.

LSU must have been saving something for the end, because they struck on the first play of the 4th quarter. Devery Henderson scored on a 53-yard touchdown pass to give LSU a 17-7 lead. As Eli's offense had been held to under 100 yards up to that point, the game seemed to be getting out of reach.

Instead, the comeback started. Eli converted three separate 3rd downs as he took the Rebels 76 yards in nine plays. The lead was only 17-14. The Ole Miss defense got a three-and-out on the next series, and suddenly the Rebels had possession and eight and a half minutes to score three points. The offense kept moving the ball well, and Jonathan Nichols had a 36-yard field goal attempt to tie the game.

Jonathan Nichols had been reliable every game before this one that year. He was 23 of 24 coming in. He started the year with a 54-yarder to beat Vanderbilt. He went 6-for-6 against Texas Tech and 4-for-4 against Arkansas. Two weeks earlier, he kicked a 42-yarder to tie Auburn in the 4th quarter.

Against LSU, the guy was off. He missed again, pushing the kick wide right, and LSU took over with 4:15 left.

The Rebel defense held, and Eli got the ball back for one last shot. Nothing came of it however, and the game all but ended after three incompletions and Eli tripping on 4th down. Not sure why he wasn't in the shotgun, but also not sure if it would have mattered. Either way, it seemed like a fitting end for a game with so many blown chances. LSU won 17-14.

Also seemingly appropriate: as I write this article, my word processor attempts to autofill “Ole Misfortune” every time I type the phrase “Ole Miss.”

LSU went on to win its second of three SEC Championships this decade, and its first of two BCS titles. Ole Miss went on to, well, hold on to the Grove and those ladies.

Why Athletic Directors Should Schedule All Cupcakes

2008-08-05T07:06:00.005-05:00

As fans, we love to see our teams play a big-time program from another conference. Bragging rights are on the line. We have a great excuse for a new road (or plane) trip. The buildup to the games are much better than those against Western Illinois and The Citadel.

Still, athletic directors and coaches should rethink scheduling them.

After 10 years of its existence, the BCS rankings have not given any meaningful advantage to a team because of its nonconference schedule. The BCS has, however, rewarded teams with weak nonconference schedules and punished teams with tough nonconference schedules. Teams appear to be rewarded for any win, and punished for any loss. Conference games have proven to be much more important in deciding bowl matchups. If I were an athletic director of a team with any sort of hopes for BCS contention, I would schedule a steady diet of cupcakes.

It seems that almost every year, some team takes some media heat for blowing through a nonconference schedule completely comprised of patsies. Last year, it was Kansas. In 2006, it was Rutgers. Wisconsin's toughest 2006 test outside of the Big 10 was Bowling Green. In 2005, Alabama climbed to #4 in the polls when their best nonconference opponent was Southern Miss.

The list could go on and on. But none of these teams were punished for their weak nonconference schedules. In fact, they either were rewarded for them, or were in perfect position to be rewarded for them. What kept these teams out of the BCS title game, or any BCS bowl game, were losses within their conference.

Let's look at two teams from last year as an example. Kansas was #2 in the BCS when it finally lost on Thanksgiving weekend, and would have played Ohio State in the BCS Championship Game had it won out. The validity of that matchup isn't up for debate here; the point is that Kansas would have been rewarded for playing Central Michigan, Southeastern Louisiana, Toledo, and Florida International outside of their Big 12 North schedule. Their schedule didn't keep them out of the BCS title game; Missouri did.

Virginia Tech, on the other hand, traveled to Baton Rouge for an early September matchup. They were destroyed by LSU, and written off by most of the pollsters as national championship contenders. They ended up only losing one more regular season game, a 14-10 loss at Boston College. Virginia Tech got revenge a few weeks later, when they beat BC 30-16 in the ACC Championship Game.

Now, hypothetically, if Virginia Tech had played Southeastern Louisiana instead of LSU, and been 12-1 at the end of the year when top-ranked teams kept losing, would they have been left out? Odds are that Virginia Tech would have been in New Orleans for the BCS title game rather than LSU if not for aggressive scheduling. I don't see how the pollsters would have voted a 2-loss LSU team over a 1-loss ACC Champion, regardless of LSU's conference schedule. One four point loss to BC would have been more impressive than LSU's two 3-OT losses.

At the same time, if Kansas would have played at Baton Rouge in September, they would not have gotten the BCS Orange Bowl they ended up with. (I'll just assume they would have lost. The Jayhawks seemed to improve as the season went along.) A two-loss Kansas would have gone to the Cotton Bowl while Missouri would have traveled to Miami for a BCS berth.

In 2000, Miami was punished for respectable scheduling. The Canes' only loss was at Washington, yet they were left out of the BCS title game in favor of Florida State. This was the same Florida State team the Canes beat during the season. The BCS formula not only chose the head-to-head loser, but gave no reward to the Canes for going out of conference for two tough games, including against #1 (at the time) FSU.

As in many other years, the BCS formula was “tweaked” after the Canes got the short end of the stick. However, until “tweaked” is synonymous with “overhauled” or “replaced with a playoff,” then I don't care what their new formula is. It could still happen again.

Here are some other notable situations over the past 10 years that support scheduling football prostitutes:

Kansas State 1998: Was one overtime in Big 12 Championship Game from the BCS title game despite scheduling Indiana State, Northern Illinois, and Louisiana Monroe.

Virginia Tech 1999: Played in the BCS title game. Their nonconference games were I-AA James Madison, Alabama-Birmingham, (6-6) Clemson, and (7-5) Virginia. Their conference schedule was widely regarded as the weakest of the BCS conferences. They were one of two undefeated teams from BCS conferences, so all but were guaranteed a berth.

Auburn 2004: The only BCS conference team to go undefeated and be left out of the BCS title game. However, their schedule didn't keep them out. Auburn's schedule was ranked #5, while Oklahoma and USC's schedules were ranked #11 and #18, respectively. The schedule was ranked highly in spite of the fact that Auburn played Louisiana Monroe, Louisiana Tech, and The Citadel outside of SEC play. If they had substituted a top-ten team for D-1AA The Citadel, their strength of schedule still would not have been enough to get them in the BCS title game. Oklahoma and USC started #1 and #2, finished #1 and #2, and there wasn't anything Auburn could have done to stop it.

One or two glamorous nonconference games will not be enough to dramatically change a strength of schedule factor for a team, because schedule strength is predominantly influenced by conference games – the same conference games teams will play regardless of any extracurricular scheduling.

In six of the ten BCS years (1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2006, and 2007), a one-loss team has played in the BCS title game. I am certain that if any team in a BCS conference would have stayed undefeated through any schedule during those years, that undefeated team would have played for the BCS title instead. Ohio State and USC are pleasing the college football world this September, but neither team stands to gain nearly as much as it stands to lose. A November conference loss will still bump the winner out of one of the top two BCS spots.

This will hold true because the voters will reward any win and punish any loss. When #1 Missouri lost to Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship Game last year, do you think the pollsters gave one bit of thought to the Tigers' season opening win against eventual Rose Bowl team Illinois? At that time, the voters didn't care about that game any more than they cared about Ohio State's season opener against Youngstown State.

Conference games decide BCS berths. Last year, all the turnover in the top five spots of the polls wasn't from other top-ranked teams; non-ranked teams kept beating the highly-ranked schools. LSU won all their big games – Virginia Tech, Florida, Auburn, Alabama. Non-ranked Kentucky and Arkansas knocked off LSU, and the LSU games were the Cats' and Hogs' national championship games. Conference schedules are, for the most part, brutal already; there's no reason to risk a costly early season loss that could cost a team a BCS berth, not to mention a shot at a national title.

Kudos to the athletic directors and coaches for looking for more and more big nonconference matchups these days. Most seem to be using the 12th regular season game this way. However, they need to make sure they're doing so for the fans, recruiting exposure, money, players' interests or whatever else justifies it.

Because they're definitely not doing it for postseason positioning.

Mississippi State: If we would have only...

2008-08-03T20:46:00.004-05:00

1998 SEC Championship Game

Since the SEC Championship Game was created, the only year Mississippi State has represented the West was in 1998. At the time, it didn’t seem as if getting back to Atlanta in the next few years would be too much to ask. Now, almost 11 years later, most people outside of Knoxville don’t even remember that State fans were allowed to step foot in Atlanta for a football game. The 1998 SEC Championship Game against Tennessee is the one game Bulldog fans need back, since it was their only true chance at winning the league since the start of the BCS.

A close second was the 2000 game against Arkansas, when they blew a 10-point halftime lead and allowed Auburn to claim the Western division title that they were in control of at the time. However, State went on to lose the Egg Bowl the next week, so neither game turned out to cost them a spot in Atlanta.

Tennessee was a huge favorite against State in Atlanta, and the general consensus was State was just lucky to be there. State and Arkansas tied for the Western division title, but State got the nod for Atlanta by virtue of their win on a last second field goal in Starkville. The Bulldogs just happened to host Arkansas the week after Clint Stoerner fumbled the game away in Knoxville. They also had the benefit of playing South Carolina, Kentucky, and Vanderbilt from the East, while Arkansas had to travel to Knoxville for one of its three games against the East.

Still, Bulldog fans made no apologies for showing up in Atlanta. And they shouldn’t have. They didn’t make the SEC schedule, and they went 6-2 in league play. They beat the Hogs head to head, regardless of when the game took place.

In the game itself, a combination of a weak Bulldog offense and tough Vol defense kept State from scoring any points on offense all night. However, that didn’t keep the Bulldogs from holding leads in the 1st, 2nd, and 4th quarters.

State started the scoring with a 70-yard pick-six by Robert Bean in the 1st quarter. Their defense was steady the rest of the way, and the Bulldogs were only down 10-7 at half.

The 3rd quarter was possibly the ugliest single quarter in SEC Championship Game history. There were only 72 yards and four first downs, combined. There were two more punts than first downs. By the end of the 3rd, many Bulldog fans believed this might truly be their night.

After all, the day in college football was shaping up to be a strange one. Tennessee was the third of the three undefeated teams playing that day; before the day started, all three thought they were entitled to one of the two coveted spots in the first BCS Championship Game. Undefeated UCLA fell to Miami in an early game. Then, by halftime, it was announced in the Georgia Dome that Kansas State just lost to Texas A&M in overtime.

The longer the underdog is allowed to hang around, the pressure shifts to the mighty favorite. State was allowed to stay close, and early in the 4th, they advantage when they had the chance to strike. Kevin Prentiss tiptoed down the sideline as he returned a punt 83 yards for a touchdown to give State a 14-10 lead. By then, Bulldog faithful knew it was their night. They were in perfect position to be the third team to take down an unbeaten that day.

The problem was none of this was new for the 1998 Tennessee squad. They started the year with a last second win at Syracuse. They beat Florida in overtime. Coming back from 14-10 with about nine minutes left was nothing compared to the Houdini act they pulled against Clint Stoerner and Arkansas.

And the Vols did just that. Their offense waited until it had to, but it came alive. They scored a touchdown on a 41-yard pass to Peerless Price in less than three minutes. Then, the Vols forced a fumble from State QB Wayne Madkin on the first play of the next drive.

The following play, the Vols scored a touchdown on another Tee Martin pass, this one to Cedrick Wilson. At 24-14 with less than six minutes to go, the game was all but over.

The game ended with the same score, and State was sent home after its only trip to Atlanta. They haven’t sniffed a BCS bowl since then, either. As mentioned earlier, the Bulldogs made a run at the West again in 2000 but faded late. That was their last winning season under Jackie Sherrill, and their last winning season period until Sylvester Croom got them over the hump last year.

LSU: If we would have only...

2008-07-31T21:01:00.005-05:00

2006 at Auburn

LSU fans may not want to admit it, but they should consider themselves fortunate. They have two BCS titles with a combined three losses, while Auburn’s lone campaign for perfection wasn’t enough to even let them play for the title. LSU needed Oklahoma to knock off Missouri and for West Virginia to choke on the last weekend of 2007 so they could fall bassackwards into the BCS title game. That game, coincidentally, was in New Orleans. New Orleans happened to be the site of their first BCS title game as well, and was also the site of their other two BCS non-title bowl games.

On the other hand, the Bengal Tigers were dangerously close to being crowing BCS champs for the 3rd time in five years after they pounded Ohio State this past January. They somehow only managed 3 points in an early September loss to Auburn in 2006, and in hindsight, this cost them a shot at the 2006 national championship.

Auburn survived the 7-3 slugfest, almost inexplicably. They were outgained 311-182, and Brandon Cox only threw for 110 yards, 0 TD, and 1 INT. LSU had five drives inside Auburn territory that were fruitless. Maybe it was all those rushing yards Auburn piled up, as they outgained LSU 72-42 in that category.

There aren’t many big plays to discuss because, well, the score was 7-3. What LSU fans will remember – and still argue about – were the calls. And while it may be a stretch to simply write them off as “bad calls,” it would be equally hard to describe the officiating as consistent.

The biggest one came on their next-to-last drive of the game. With less than three minutes to go in the game, Auburn was flagged for pass interference on a fourth down pass to the goal line. After some discussion, it was waived because Auburn’s Eric Brock deflected the pass before it reached the receiver. This caused LSU’s drive to stall at the Auburn 31. LSU eventually got the ball back, but we all remember the game saving tackle Brock made at the 4 yard line as time expired.

The call itself was fair enough, and could have gone either way. However, a similar pass interference call against LSU stood earlier in the game when LSU actually intercepted the pass before it made it to the Auburn receiver. There was also a questionable no-call on an LSU incomplete pass to the end zone just before halftime. And to top it off, there were two separate catch-then-fumble calls went Auburn’s way.

Whether LSU lost because of the refs or their anemic offense, they lost more than just the game. Losing that game eventually kept them out of the SEC Championship game, where they would have played Florida for the right to destroy Ohio State in the BCS title game. Despite LSU’s October loss at Gainesville, they would have been just as much in the hunt for the BCS #2 spot as one-loss Florida was heading into the game in Atlanta.

And even though the Gators got the best of LSU at the swamp, there was no way they wanted to have to do it again. First, it’s just tough to beat a talented team twice in a row. Second, and more importantly, nobody wants to have to deal with Les Miles twice in year. Chances are whatever crazy move that didn’t work the first time would have worked to perfection the second time around. It’s just a numbers thing. Its not that Miles is a better coach than Urban Meyer. He’s just a loaded gun that seems to be at his best against your team.

As it stood, LSU stayed home when Arkansas played the Gators in Atlanta. LSU also had to watch Florida punish the Buckeyes in Tempe from home. The week before the SEC title game, LSU let Arkansas know who still ruled the West. Their fans chanted “B-C-S, B-C-S” in Little Rock at the end of the game just to remind them. The same LSU fans gave a little “S-E-C, S-E-C” chant for the overrated bunch from Indiana after the Sugar Bowl beatdown a month later. Still, the boasting would have been much sweeter if it were about the national title rather than the Sugar Bowl.

Maybe its fitting Auburn was the team that didn’t let LSU get a crack at another 1-loss national title.

Houston Nutt: Early Favorite for SEC Coach of the Year

2008-07-29T20:26:00.003-05:00

What? In the conference where $2 million per year is for the bottom feeder coaches, Houston Nutt has a great chance to win the SEC Coach of the Year honor for the second time in three years. Ole Miss seems to be a sexy sleeper pick for the upcoming season, and things seem to be lined up for the new Rebel leader to make quite a bit of noise in 2008.

Not as much because he’s the best of the twelve – he’s definitely not – but the voting for Coach of the Year rewards improvement over the prior year more than any thing else. Sly Croom won last year for taking his Bulldogs to the Liberty Bowl after six years in the cellar. Nutt himself won in 2006 for getting the Hogs back to a winning season following 5-6 and 4-7 campaigns the previous two years. And lucky for Nutt, helping Ole Miss improve over last year will be a cakewalk. For Houston Nutt to be better than his predecessor, he only has to talk coherently, be sober, or just act sober.

Sometimes, a change in attitude is the perfect recipe for success at a college football program. Almost every year, it seems a program sets the world on fire with a first-year head coach. Arizona State did it last year, Charlie Weiss and Ty Willingham both did it at that overrated school in Indiana, and Zook did it at Gaines – well, maybe it doesn’t always work. Houston himself was able to start out 8-0 in 1998 at Arkansas, though. And while some fans may not like his rah rah style, it does produce more than its fair share of moments. Whatever style and culture Nutt brings to Oxford, it will certainly get the players attention. The players will likely buy whatever he and his staff are selling. The only culture they’ve known since Supermanning left has been losing.

Another piece in place for him to win in his first year is the players he inherited. His players aren’t just hungry; they have plenty of talent. Both the O-line and D-line have two all-SEC selections. Michael Oher and Greg Hardy are included in those groups, and both might be the best in the SEC at their spots. These groups should improve quite a bit over last year, too. If you ask any Hog fan if they were sad to see Nutt leave, the answers will be mixed at best. But if you ask any Hog fan if they were sad to see offensive line coach Mike Markuson or defensive line coach Tracy Rocker leave, just about all of them would say yes. Both Markuson and Rocker seemed to do more with less every year.

The list above doesn’t even include 21-year old freshman defensive monster tackle Jerrell Powe, who was finally determined to read on a 13th grade level. Other notables include QB Jevan Sneed and freshman RB Enrique Davis, two players yet to see the field in Oxford but who should get all-SEC looks by the end of the year.

Finally, the Ole Miss schedule sets up nicely for a quick start. The first four games are Memphis, at Wake Forest, Samford, and Vandy. The Wake game will be a strong early test for Nutt’s new team, but a win there would set them up for a 4-0 start and a top-25 ranking heading to Gainesville on September 27.

After that, Nutt is going to have to get some upsets to keep the Rebel fans believing he is everything they hoped he would be. To his credit, upsets along the way are probable for any Nutt-coached team. Arkansas had its share of upset wins the past few years, including at #1 LSU, at #2 Auburn, and at #5 Texas. Nutt wasn’t necessarily able to win the biggest games he was involved in, but there was something about his three plays that kept the Hogs in most big games. The Rebels will be ready to enact four years of payback on their entire schedule. Expect them to get at least one win from Florida, Auburn, or LSU, the three toughest games on their slate.
Its unlikely Nutt would be able to stay undefeated through September, but some good showings in losses and a few upset wins along the way would put him at the top of the ballot for the Coach of the Year voting in December.

Kentucky: If we would have only...

2008-07-28T18:03:00.005-05:00

2007 vs. Tennessee

Kentucky has had its moments over the past 10 years. They made a New Year's Day bowl in the 1998 season, had the #1 draft pick four months later, and beat #1 LSU last year. Their forgettable years must have seemed to carry on forever, because they were home for Christmas from 1999 through 2005. Unfortunately for them, their good years haven't been good by the standards of the big three in the Eastern Division, and the Wildcats haven't sniffed the SEC Championship game. Their best SEC record has been 4-4. Its hard to look back with so much regret on games if the only thing lost was the game itself, and no SEC CG or bowl game plans were affected. Partly because of default and partly because Andre Woodson just should have figured a way to pull it out, the game the Wildcats need back more than any other was the last regular season game of 2007. The Cats let Tennessee escape Lexington after 4 OT with their 23rd consecutive win in the series.

It doesn't seem right to say the Cats blew multiple chances to put the game away when they trailed by 17 twice, but its true. They started slowly to say the least, and trailed 24-7 at halftime. In the 3rd, they realized they had Andre Woodson on their team. Woodson had 3 TD passes in the second half and the Cats looked like the much better team. Their first chance to win the game game at the end of regulation, when they drove to the Vols 1-yard line with 30 seconds to go. A TD would have won it, but they had to settle for a FG a few plays later to send it to OT.

The first OT was uneventful, as both teams scored a TD with few problems. To start the second OT, Sam Maxwell intercepted and Eric Ainge pass intended for the end zone. This gave the Cats their second chance to put the game away. They moved the ball well the whole second half and the first OT, and just needed to keep it going to end 23 years of futility. Instead, Rich Brooks took three plays from Mike Shula's “How to lose a game in OT Playbook” and missed a field goal. Actually, it was blocked, but it never should have come to that. Shula's three plays were all runs.

The third OT resulted in touchdowns for both sides. By this point in every overtime game, the game is going to be decided by the two-point conversions or the occasional turnover. Defenses are inevitably too tired to muster any sort of stand. That was the case in the fourth OT as well, as the Cats couldn't take advantage of a 15-yard penalty called on the Vols' Arian Foster to end the third OT. Foster threw the ball in the air in frustration when he was stopped short on the two-point try at the end of the third OT. The call was pretty weak, but typical for SEC crews. Either way, Ainge threw a 40-yard TD on the first play of the fourth OT and the Vols converted the two-point try. Woodson and crew answered the TD, but were stopped in between running and throwing on the two-point attempt. The Vols went to Atlanta the next week, and the Cats went to the Music City Bowl a month later.

The game didn't affect postseason plans much, if at all. But there's no doubt Wildcat fans lost sleep over what should have been in a 4-OT game that was also the last regular season game for the best QB they'll have for years to come. Further, it would have been nice for the Cats to end the longest running losing streak in the nation.

A Kentucky win would have also wrecked the Vols postseason plans and set up the SEC Championship Game as a fight between the two best teams, LSU and Georgia. Hey, maybe this game should have gone under Georgia's article instead...

Georgia: If we would have only...

2008-07-25T06:30:00.005-05:00

2002 vs Florida

I think this is the toughest call of any team. Would the Dawgs rather have back the 2002 game against Florida, the 2007 game against South Carolina, or the 2007 game against Tennessee? If the Dawgs would have pulled out Florida game, they would have finished the 2002 regular season undefeated. There's a good chance they would have been the BCS #2 and taken on Miami in the Fiesta Bowl for the BCS title. On the other hand, if they could have back either the South Carolina or Tennessee game from last year (both inexplicable in hindsight), they would have gotten LSU in Atlanta for the right to dominate Ohio State a month later for the BCS title. I won't even speculate on what the outcome of GA-OSU would have been; that's a no-brainer.

South Carolina and Tennessee caught the Dawgs early in the year before they hit their 2007 stride. Its fair to say neither Cocks nor Vols fans would have wanted a rematch in November. Its also easy to forget that Stafford and Knowshon were only a sophomore and a freshman. In 2002, Florida simply still owned the Cocktail Party, regardless of the fact that Ron Zook was in Gainesville. That game made it 12 of the past 13.

I believe Georgia would have had better luck against Miami in 2002 than against LSU in 2007. The two Georgia teams were similar; the defenses were the stronger units, the D-lines created lots of problems, and the sophomore quarterbacks were solid. There are two primary reasons to believe Georgia would have taken home the 2002 BCS title against Miami. First, Miami let its nearly 3-year winning streak go to its head, and Georgia would have had the same underdog chip on its shoulder that Ohio State had. More importantly, Larry Coker would have been outmatched. Coker just looks like a spookier version of your grandfather's drunk buddy. Whatever X's and O's he could have come up with would have fallen short. The game itself would have turned out to be a lot like the 1998 BCS title game, when Tennessee matched every bit of FSU's raw talent and controlled much of the game.

As for the game that did happen, Georgia fans just had to feel cursed. No third downs were converted the entire game. The lost two fumbles and missed two field goals. DJ Shockley, receiving inexplicable playing time as a freshman turnover machine, threw a pick six that ended up being the difference in the final score. Terrance Edwards dropped a wide open – WIDE OPEN - pass on their last drive. And just to prove they were still owned by the Gators, Georgia resident Ben Troupe caught the winning TD. Aren't there enough athletes in Florida already?

At the time, winning the SEC title and the Sugar Bowl in Richt's second year seemed like a good enough season. Greene and his buddy David Pollack were only sophomores, so fans knew they had two more cracks with these guys. That year was only supposed to be the beginning. But, as things always seem to happen a year or two before they're supposed to, the Dawgs didn't get back to a BCS game until after those two were gone, and fans in Georgia are still waiting on Richt to get them into one of the final two BCS spots.

Why You Can't Blame Bobby Petrino

2008-07-23T07:13:00.003-05:00

More than seven months have passed since Bobby Petrino left the Atlanta Falcons high and dry for the Arkansas Razorbacks, and he is still regarded as the Benedict Arnold of all sports. Petrino left the Falcons with three games left in their shoddy 4-12 season to fill the vacancy in Fayetteville. ESPN and every other media outlet went out of their way to describe all the qualities Petrino didn't have: integrity, loyalty, heart, a soul, etc. On Tuesday, Brent Musburger started his College Football Live interview with Petrino on Tuesday by calling him a “vagabond.” Not that what he did was ideal, but there are two sides to every story. When you look at the whole picture, Petrino didn't do things much differently than what any of us would have done in his situation.

Job Hopping

Petrino has always looked to better himself. He basically traded for a slightly better job every other year since 1984, starting with a grad assistant at some school named Carroll. And yes, even when he stayed more than one year, he looked for other jobs. Keep in mind he was looking to leave Louisville, a basketball school in the stepchild of BCS conferences. Any prestige Louisville might have today is primarily due to its success under him. He interviewed for other jobs after each season with the Cardinals, but they were either for SEC teams or Notre Dame. Let's admit it: Louisville would not be able to pay what these schools could over the long term. All of his moves have been upward, with the exception of his most recent one that cost him about $2 million per year. Supposedly the tradeoff is happiness.

Besides, who doesn't want a better job every year? If the average American knew he had to bounce around from company to company to become the CEO somewhere, he would do it too. Sometimes that's just what it takes to be CEO. And the first CEO job isn't always the most ideal. Someone is not married to a place because they have success there. If that were the case, Spurrier would still be at Duke, Tressel would be a Youngstown State, and Bobby Bowden would be at South Georgia College. Those guys just happened to hit their big job in fewer job hops. Further, coaching searches are two-way streets. Nobody bashed the Atlanta Falcons for stealing Louisville's Orange Bowl-winning coach two years ago.

If his goal all along was to get to a bigger school than one in the Big East, then good for him. The guy is from Montana – Louisville fans couldn't have believed they were his last stop. It seems like Louisville fans are most upset that he would interview for jobs, only to turn right around and hold a press conference to say he wasn't interested in them. Sure, he might have pledged his loyalty to Louisville only to leave a year or two later, but should Louisville fans have wanted him to say anything else? How would telling the truth on that one have affected recruiting?

Atlanta Falcons

Bobby Petrino didn't belong in the NFL. With few exceptions, there are college coaches and there are NFL coaches; hardly any succeed at both levels. Petrino has no flair to his personality and is all business. His style simply did not and would not mix with NFL players. The Falcons' play on the field was miserable, and his players were running their mouths about him before he fled to Fayetteville. Petrino just realized he wasn't cut out for NFL sooner than the ones who went before him (Carroll, Spurrier, Saban, Davis). Now that its time to gear up for the new season, Falcons players and fans should be thankful Petrino did what he did. They aren't going to have to suffer through another woeful season just like last year's, and they won't have to fire Petrino and payoff a severance package.

No Goodbye

The one thing Petrino did that cannot be defended is how he let the Falcons players know he was leaving. There was no meeting, and he didn't have to look anyone in the eye. He didn't even speak. He just put notes in their lockers. That was about like breaking up with your girlfriend through email; some things you just have to man up and do in person. While leaving the note isn't defensible, we have to look at why he did it. Besides the fact that he didn't want to face his players that already didn't like him, the pressure newly hired Arkansas AD Jeff Long must have put on him to get to Fayetteville cannot be underestimated. Long needed him there yesterday.

Odds are Petrino's new boss told him to get on that plane immediately and never look back if he wanted the job. This was Long's first assignment as the successor to Frank Broyles, who had been at Arkansas since the Eisenhower administration. Long wasn't officially supposed to take over the AD duties until December 31, but the coaching search responsibilities fell on his shoulders since it only made sense. Two weeks earlier, Houston Nutt had left his post at Arkansas during a press conference that can only be described as the most offensive dog and pony show in the state's history. It appeared that Chancellor John White was the superidiot that asked Nutt to take a few million dollars with him to Oxford, but it wasn't totally clear. There were likely many more superidiots involved. The only thing that was clear was that everything related to Nutt's departure was jacked up.

To say that Arkansans were upset about the situation is like saying people in Kansas and Missouri are upset about some fire 150 years ago. Some Hog fans had been Nutt haters since his first loss. Others were upset he was allowed to ride out the last season of the greatest football player in Arkansas history, only to underachieve and leave the cupboard bare. BARE. Everyone was mad he was allowed to take a truckload of their money to a rival school. And this is from a fan base that is less than rational to start with. After Hog fans were upset about Nutt's departure, their pride kept taking hits when at least five coaches turned them down for the job. After two weeks of being treated like the fat chick at the bar by the rest of the coaches in college football, Hog fans were restless.

Long couldn't any longer to announce who the new coach would be, or Arkansans would start picketing and holding all-night vigils at his house. There was absolutely no way he could wait three more weeks for the Falcons season to end. And why would the Falcons want that? Their season was shot, and a lame duck head coach wouldn't do them any good for the last three weeks. They ended up winning one of the last three games, better than they performed with Petrino at the helm. Also, for once, the players could all be on the same page: the one that hated Petrino. As mentioned above, Petrino simply left a year before they had to fire him.

To sum it all up, Petrino knew he wanted to go to the SEC, Long told him it had to be now, and he bolted for Arkansas. The sooner the better.

Next Stop

The parting shot everyone has with Petrino and Arkansas fans is always, “Who's he going to coach for next year?” The question is fair enough, and sadly can't be answered definitively. A hunch would give him at least a few years at Fayetteville, but Arkansas fans shouldn't confuse their program with college football's most attractive. He's probably a few years from having the horsepower to win enough at Arkansas to be in high demand again, but even so, there will always be the chance he'll jump ship. Fayetteville surely has potential to be a stepping stone program. If it happens, Arkansas fans should only hope to get what they paid for: enough success for someone else to keep it going. Louisville was better off in 2007 than they were before Petrino arrived, and that's exactly what Hog fans should hope for when it happens.

Let's just hope they seek help negotiating the severance package.

Florida: If we would have only...

2008-07-21T07:18:00.007-05:00

2001 vs. Tennessee

If you've never spent part of your life in Gainesville, I don't know how you could ever feel sorry for the Gators or their fans. Period. They've been consistent winners and have done so with an offense that was fun to watch, unless it was during the Zook years or you were playing against them. Still, the closest I've come to feeling sympathy for Florida fans was right after the 2001 Tennessee game when they blew their shot at the BCS Championship game.

The Gators shot at the national championship fell right into their lap in November 2001. After starting the year as the odds-on favorite to win it, the Gators were stunned by Auburn in late October, when a last second field goal started way right and duck-hooked right through the uprights. They appeared to be out of the national title chase afterward, as Nebraska and Oklahoma were (way overrated and ) ranked ahead of them for the BCS #2. Miami had the #1 slot sealed up. Then, when Nebraska was destroyed by Colorado and Oklahoma was beaten by 3-7 Oklahoma State, Florida controlled its own destiny to get to Pasadena for the BCS Championship game. Their only games left were against Tennessee at the Swamp in a 9/11 makeup game and then in Atlanta against LSU. Spurrier owned Tennessee, and LSU hadn't made any noise in the SEC in quite some time. The Tigers were 1-7 in SEC only two years earlier.

The most disappointing thing about the game itself for Gator fans was that the Fulmer dictated the game play. Florida only had 36 rushing yards to the Vols' 242. Florida got plenty of passing yards, but they came in spurts. Spurrier's offense was scoreless in the first quarter and only got three points in the third.

Gator fans were just flat-out used to winning, especially in Gainesville. Tennessee hadn't won there in 30 years; more importantly, Fulmer's only win against Spurrier was in 1998 when Florida missed a chippie FG in OT. When they started the game down 14-0, Gator fans expected to come back. They did, and took a 20-14 halftime lead. When Tennessee went ahead 27-23, the Vols botched the 2-point attempt. And when the Vols went ahead by 8 in the 4th, Gator fans were still confident they would score win it in OT. Everything went as planned, until Florida had its pass for the game-tying 2-point pass batted down with 1:10 left. The 2-point play appeared to be the same play as the 2-yard pass the Gators just scored on. What? Spurrier thought he was smarter than the guy on the other side? Tennessee held on 34-32, and Gator fans were as shocked as I am every time I open my wife's credit card bill.

Tennessee went on to blow their chance at the BCS title game the next week, losing to LSU and their second-year coach. (Who was this Saban guy anyway?) That must have been pretty tough to watch for the Gator faithful, who saw their team beat LSU 44-15 a few weeks earlier.

I'll have to side with the Gator fans asking “What if...” on whether or not they could have given Miami all they wanted in the BCS title game. I don't think its right to take one glance at the 37-14 whipping Miami eventually gave Nebraska in the title game and just assume the Canes would have easily taken care of the Gators. I also realize a lot of the same Miami players pounded a lot of the same Florida players a year earlier in the Sugar Bowl.

Instead, I think the only question we need to answer to decide if the Gators would've had a fighting chance against the Canes in Pasadena that year is, “Who would you rather have prepare your team for a month: Steve Spurrier or Larry Coker?”

Auburn: If we would have only...

2008-07-19T18:48:00.007-05:00

2005 at LSU

Life's never fair. LSU has two BCS titles with a combined three losses, and Auburn has a perfect season to its credit with no BCS championship appearances. Auburn was spotless in 2004 when it dominated SEC play and won the Sugar Bowl, but there aren't any games to look upon with regret. A win's a win, especially in the SEC.

The 2006 season is clouded with regret, as the Tigers won their big games. They beat LSU and Florida, the SEC's two BCS participants that dominated their bowl games. The problem was that Auburn didn't win the games that were big to Arkansas and Georgia, and were waxed in both of them. Even if the Tigers had only lost on of those, the losses were so lopsided they might have kept them from national championship consideration at the end of the year.

The 2005 season was bookended with ugly nonconference losses, but the Tigers were solid in between. Decent excuses existed for both losses, though. The early loss to Georgia Tech was blamed on Brandon Cox's first start. At the Capital One Bowl, the Tigers didn't have much to play for and Wisconsin was playing for retiring Coach Alvarez. Auburn was still oh-so-close to running the table in SEC play for the second straight year. For this, the one game the Tigers need back is their only SEC loss of 2005, which came at LSU.

The Tigers went to Baton Rouge in mid-October with a decent record and mediocre schedule. Somehow Tuberville gets his team ready for the big ones, and Auburn outplayed LSU the whole game. There were only 17 points scored by each side in regulation, and LSU got 7 on a 1st quarter punt return. Kenny Irons ran for 218 yards, including a Tommie Frazier-like TD run where the entire LSU team grabbed a piece of his jersey. It all was for nothing, though, as they lost 20-17 in OT. I'm not sure what Auburn fans should be more upset over: the missed field goal in the first OT that would have kept the game alive, or John Vaughn's four other missed field goals from regulation. Nonetheless, Auburn still had to watch LSU and play Georgia play in the SEC Championship Game later that year, only three weeks after Auburn had won at Athens.

This wouldn't have put the Tigers in the national title race; Vince Young and Reggie Bush were going to play for that from the start. However, it could have given them a second straight perfect SEC record and BCS bowl. LSU is the only SEC team to have won two straight BCS bowls, and didn't accomplish that until two years later. No SEC team has won the championship game two years in a row since Florida and Tennessee did in the mid/late 90's. I'll also add that it's not fair to simply compare the eventual Capital One Bowl loss to a hypothetical SEC Championship Game or Sugar Bowl. The bigger the stage, the more dangerous Tuberville's teams become. Further, the matchups would have been more favorable. They had already beaten Georgia once, and Auburn's defense should have been the answer to whatever offense West Virginia ran in the Sugar Bowl. As it stands, we'll have to settle for the “kicker missed when he tried to shoot himself after the game” joke that is passed around from team to team whenever kickers get the blame for a loss.

Arkansas: If we would have only...

2008-07-18T06:06:00.012-05:00

2006 SEC Championship Game

Every four years or so, Arkansas makes a good run at the Western division title. Their BCS bowl runs have been more scarce, they have had a couple of serious threats. The Hogs' best shot at both a league championship and a BCS bid was in 2006, and they actually had multiple chances. The obvious opportunity was in Atlanta against Florida, but a win over LSU the previous week would have given the Hogs an at-large BCS bid even with the loss to Florida.

The Hogs' first two tries in Atlanta were miserable failures, losing 64-6 to Florida and Georgia in 1995 and 2002. Still, Hogs fans thought they had a legitimate shot at winning it in 2006. Their only SEC loss was the previous week to LSU, when their championship game ticket had already been punched. And even so, that game was blamed on a special teams breakdown that allowed a 4th quarter kickoff return.

The Hogs came alive after giving up a 17-0 lead, and scored 21 straight by the 3rd quarter. Then, the Hogs abruptly ended their chances of an SEC championship and a BCS bowl on – once again – special teams. Rather than keeping his heels on the 10, Reggie Fish fumbled the punt in the end zone for a Florida TD. The Hogs never recovered, the Gators scored on more big plays, and eventually pounded Ohio State in Tempe. Arkansas went to Orlando for New Years and lost again.

Hogs fans will be talking about the last three games of 2006 until they finally get a win in Atlanta or get to any BCS bowl. They weren't necessarily better than LSU and Florida, but every one in Arkansas felt they lost those games more than LSU and Florida won them. After LSU and Florida won their BCS bowls in blowouts, the “We shoulda been there” cries almost cost SEC Coach of the Year Houston Nutt his job. There must have been something going against the Hogs that year, because they somehow lost the Capital One Bowl to Wisconsin despite giving up -5 rushing yards.

The 2006 SEC Championship game beats out the 1998 Tennessee game when Stoerner fumbled, mainly because the Hogs would have had to play the Vols again in Atlanta. The Hogs had a better shot at beating Florida at 21-17 in the 3rd quarter than they would have had a 0-0 against the revenge-seeking Vols in 1998.

Alabama: If we would have only...

2008-07-16T07:27:00.005-05:00

This series of articles revisits the games over the past 10 years that we should still be thinking about and occasionally still wake us up at night. Looking back, the games that hurt the most are the ones that kept teams from achieving what they never had (SEC Championship for some, BCS bowl for others, etc.), as opposed to the ones where teams gave up the biggest lead or lost to the weakest opponent. The games become even more upsetting after the fact when other teams end up losing games they shouldn’t have and we look at the season as a whole. These are the games that make us utter the most commonly used phrase in college football, “If we would have only…”

No Bowl Game: Vanderbilt
No SEC Championship Game: Kentucky, Ole Miss, South Carolina
Been to Atlanta but never won: Arkansas, Mississippi State
No BCS Bowl Win: Alabama
No BCS National Championship: Auburn, Georgia
No need to feel too badly for you: Florida, LSU, Tennessee

Alabama – 2000 Orange Bowl

The students at Alabama right now may not remember it, but the Tide was a force in the SEC in the 1990’s (and before – I know, I know; Bear Bryant was awesome). Bama is only 15 years removed from their last national championship, but the fans still don’t have a BCS bowl win on their resume. What’s so disappointing about it is they absolutely blew their one chance – in the 2000 Orange Bowl against Michigan. This is the one game they need back, getting the nod over the close November losses to LSU and Auburn in 2005 to stop the undefeated campaign.

Bama started the 1999 year with a September loss to Louisiana Tech, but still managed to get to Atlanta by taking care of business in a fairly week Western division. The most exciting regular season win came at Florida, when Bama won on a botched Gator PAT in overtime. Their only SEC loss was to defending national champ Tennessee. When they played Florida the second time around in Atlanta, they put a 34-7 beatdown on the Gators. By that time, it seemed like everything had fallen into place for the Tide. Shaun Alexander was the best running back in the nation, student body president, and America’s hero among other things. Mike Dubose seemed like he had finally found his rhythm. The defense only allowed 12 points a game over the last 5 games, and Andrew Zow was wasn't losing games as QB.

Winning SEC Championships wasn’t anything new for the Tide; they were the first to do it. At the time, their fans probably thought BCS bowls would be an every year thing. Nonetheless, we stand here 10 years after the start of the BCS bowls and the Tide don’t have a win to their credit. They blew plenty of chances (and two 14 point leads) in the Orange Bowl, but the Wolverines matched up well with Bama. The Tide couldn't stop the Helmets when it counted, and the Tom Brady to David Terrell combo wasn't stopped the whole game. Brady hit the TE for a 25-yard TD on the first play of OT, and it only took Bama two plays to return the favor. Tide kicker Ryan Pflugner pushed the PAT wide right at the end of the first overtime, though, to end the shootout 35-34.

Alabama is one of only 3 teams to lose its BCS bowl in the same year it won the SEC Championship game, and the only team that has won in Atlanta but never won a BCS bowl.

Worst SEC Nonconference Losses Since BCS #4 - #1

2008-07-13T21:04:00.007-05:00

If we’re going to brag about the best, then we also have to look at the games that made us ask WTF happened. These games made us screen the brother-in-law calling to ask, “Hey guy, where’s you guys’ SEC speed, huh guy?” Every now and then, we realize that these other conferences have scholarships and football programs too, even if they will never have the ladies we do. Our coaches need to learn from these mistakes and never force us to go through these moments again. Just as with the “Best” list, no year in and year out rivalries were considered.

(4) January 1, 2008, Michigan 41, Florida 35, Capital One Bowl – This was just the opposite of what happened to Florida the year before. Michigan players had listened to everyone talk about how great the SEC was, how Florida had Superman taking snaps, and how much of a genius Urban Meyer was. To top it off, people kept piling on about how their coach couldn’t win a big game to save his life, and how the senior class had never beaten Ohio St or won a bowl game. The spread was about 10 points, pretty high for a New Year’s Day game.

This was supposed to be the easiest pick for media and fans alike in their bowl pick ‘em pools. Instead, Michigan looked like the bigger and at times faster (what?!) team. They definitely had more to prove. It was high scoring and had plenty of action the whole way, but Michigan got the scores and stops when it counted late. Michigan also got to taunt the Gators with the same question it had with other victims during 2007: “Just how badly would App State have beaten you guys?”

(3) August 30, 2003 USC 23, Auburn 0 – This season-opener was supposed to start a run to the top for Tuberville, as some preseason polls had the Tigers #1 or at least receiving votes. The year before, Auburn came within a TD of the Trojans, and that was in LA. Every SEC idiot thought Auburn could handle those movie star wannabes. It was also a showdown between the two highest preseason ranked teams from their conferences, with both in the top ten.

The Leinart and Bush regime came out of the gates quickly, and shut up Jordan-Haire with a TD in two minutes (Leinart regime would be more accurate – Bush only had five carries for nine yards). Ronnie Brown and Cadillac combined for less than 70 yards, and Jason Campbell was running for his life most of the game. In 2004, when Auburn was legit, they probably could have gotten in the BCS top two if not for the cloud of shame stemming from this loss and the following week’s to Georgia Tech. The game itself might not have kept them out, but USC and OU went wire to wire #1/#2 in 2004. If Auburn hadn’t dropped completely out of the rankings after week two in 2003, it would have positioned itself for a better preseason 2004. It’s sad that a disappointing 2003 and preseason 2004 rankings factored into the 2004 BCS championship, but they did nonetheless.

(2) September 2, 2006 USC 50, Arkansas 14 – Surely the 2005 beatdown was a fluke. USC had the most talented offensive team ever assembled. Arkansas was still adjusting to life after Matt Jones and life under Reggie Herring’s defense. Besides, Arkansas was miserable the year before; it’s only two SEC wins came at the expense of the Mississippi schools. This game was supposed to be Darren McFadden’s national breakout scene and Nutt’s chance to show how much his team had improved in a year. USC was coming in riper for an upset with a whole slew of new starters. After two years of Christmas at home, Nutt needed to go bowling for job security.

The black eye for the SEC wasn’t so much from the 50-14 thrashing, but from the fact that Arkansas damn near ran the table in the conference right after it. Toward the end of the year, when the media asked who the best 1-loss teams were after almighty Ohio St and Michigan, nobody gave Arkansas a glance because of the stigma from the USC game. After the Hogs put a beating on Tennessee in front of the GameDay crew, Herbstreit concluded the SEC had a lot of mediocre teams that just beat up on one another. There were a lot of mitigating factors for the Hogs (DMc had 9 ½ toes, starting QB Robert Johnson was actually 4th team WR, new OC Gus Malzahn), but the bottom line is they picked a bad time to lay an egg in a nonconference game. Or worse, they didn’t have near the athletes Pete Carroll did on the other sideline.

(1) January 2, 2006, West Virginia 38, Georgia 35, Sugar Bowl – This was a shameful end to an overall bad year for the SEC. Six of the SEC teams didn’t even make bowl games. Of the six that did, only three won. And of those three, only one looked good doing it. (Florida beat Iowa by 7, and Alabama beat Texas Tech 13-10. Pop Warner teams can score 30 on Texas Tech’s defense. LSU did destroy Miami.).

This was the no-brainer bowl pick of the year. The nation was talking about stripping the Big East of its automatic BCS berth. West Virginia had an all-freshman backfield. The only team worthwhile the Mountaineers had played all year was Virginia Tech, and the Hokies beat them soundly. The SEC champ should never lose to the Big East champ, especially now that Miami and Virginia Tech are gone. And for heaven’s sake, the game was moved to Atlanta because of hurricane damage.

Georgia spotted them 28 points before waking up early in the second quarter, but West Virginia had enough in the 4th quarter to finish the game. Just when it looked like Georgia would get the ball back with a chance to finish the comeback, West Virginia made the Dawgs look dumb again by converting a fake punt and running out the clock. It’s a good thing they let the SEC keep its automatic BCS berth after that one.

Dishonorable Mention:

East Carolina 21, South Carolina 3, September 25, 1999 – Good thing the ‘Cocks didn’t play any high school teams that year, or they would have lost those too.

Houston 20, LSU 7, November 13, 1999 – Saban the Savior came the next year

UNLV 31, Arkansas 14, 2000 Las Vegas Bowl – Man, the Arkansas players had some good stories from that trip, though.

Minnesota 31, Arkansas 14, 2002 Music City Bowl – SEC West Champs shouldn’t lose to Minnesota in any sport other than ice hockey.

Northern Illinois 19, Alabama 16, September 20, 2003 – Probably should have fired Shula right then, after his fourth game. Other schools were grateful he was allowed to stick it out, though.

Maine 9, Mississippi State 7, September 18, 2004 – Is Maine still a state?

Wyoming 37, Ole Miss 32, September 25, 2004 – Insert your own Brokeback joke.

Ohio 28, Kentucky 16, October 2, 2004 – The Bobcats’ only other 2004 wins were against Virginia Military (0-11), Buffalo (2-9), and Central Florida (0-11).

USC 70, Arkansas 17, September 17, 2005 - Could have been much worse.

Wyoming 24, Ole Miss 14, September 24, 2005 – Insert your own back-to-back Brokeback joke.
Middle Tennessee 17, Vanderbilt 15, October 1, 2005 – This was the same year Vandy won 3 SEC games.

Louisiana-Monroe 21, Alabama 14, November 17, 2007 – Somehow this was still Shula’s fault.

The SEC has performed surprisingly poorly against the Big East. It was tough to find a solid win against the weakest BCS conference, and had to go back to the BCS’s first year to do it. The games against the Pac 10 have also been tough-going, but USC should be put in a league of their own. Further, the SEC hasn’t dominated the Big 10 in bowl games as we would like to believe; we might even have a 10-year losing record (I’ll check on that).

There were some expected no-shows on the main list, as Mississippi State, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, and South Carolina will have to be bigger players in the SEC for the rest of us to be embarrassed when they lose. LSU was the only top-tier team to avoid the list altogether. Obviously some bowl games stung hard, but there were also upsetting games that became even more upsetting as the year went on. Maybe a lesson to be learned is that if your team blows a nonconference game early, you still have a shot at making a run for Atlanta (1999 Alabama, 2003 Ole Miss, 2006 Arkansas).

Matt Jones: "Hit that Line, Hit that Line, Keep on Going..."

2008-07-11T16:34:00.014-05:00

This wasn’t supposed to happen. Someone like Matt Jones shouldn’t be arrested for cutting up cocaine in a car off Dickson Street in Fayetteville. This is the same guy that was showered with “freakish” compliments by every sportswriter covering the 2005 NFL draft. My cousin in Mississippi had Matt Jones on his nine-year old birthday cake a few years ago. Now, after three years of disappointing play in the NFL, he’s only a few weeks away from being cut by the Jags.

Matt should have known that a car just off Dickson Street was a prime place to get spotted by cops. His contract gave him about $5 million guaranteed, so he has plenty of money to get a hotel room for his cocaine.

And since when do NFL players do coke with two old college buddies? This crime would have been much more forgivable if he had been cutting up coke on hot strippers in a penthouse rather than a dirty mirror in a car.

Surely there are plenty of sorority girls in Fayetteville for the summer that have big hair and would have loved to party with Matt Jones. Did you ever see Jared Hicks, former Hogs TE and Matt's Thursday morning jail buddy? He was UGLY.

And while we’re on it, what’s up with cocaine anyway? Matt doesn’t look like a coke head. There’s not nearly enough hair gel on that guy for him to be a coke head.

No, he looks like the prototype stoner. It took him a full minute to walk from the sidelines to the huddle when he was QB at Arkansas. During the 7-OT game against Ole Miss, he FELL ASLEEP when Houston Nutt attempted to draw up new plays in between OT periods.

A stoner image would be much better, too, because nobody cares if someone gets caught with a little weed. Cocaine “has a different sting than marijuana,” Chris Mortensen of ESPN told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. See, nobody cares if you smoke weed every now and then. “I don't think we ever had an off-the-field problem with Matt,” Coach Nutt chimed in after the arrest, confirming weed didn’t even constitute an off-the-field incident to him. Maybe marijuana really is a gateway drug.

Somehow, this is all the fault of Jimmy Johnson and Jerry Jones. Matt Jones must have decided to make Michael Irvin his role model when he was converted to a receiver his rookie season. It made sense, because they’re both big even by WR standards, and Michael Irvin is a Hall of Famer. Everyone knows Michael Irvin loved to snort cocaine when he played in the NFL, although he appropriately did so with strippers.

The two people who could have punished Irvin as a player looked the other way, but not because of the obvious reasons of winning and money. The reason they don’t mind cocaine can be traced back to their college days, when they were on Arkansas’ 1964 national championship football team together. We’ve all seen the old school photo of that team right after they won their bowl game, because it was shown on TV constantly when Jimmy and Jerry were having their feud.

Well, they were no doubt singing the Arkansas fight song during that picture, and the fight song starts with, “Hit that line, Hit that line, Keep on going…”

Worst SEC Nonconference Losses Since BCS #8 - #5

2008-07-11T07:28:00.002-05:00

Worst SEC Nonconference Losses Since BCS #12 - #9

2008-07-09T19:13:00.006-05:00

Best SEC Nonconference Wins Since BCS #4 - #1

2008-07-07T21:40:00.007-05:00

(4) January 4, 2004, LSU 21, Oklahoma 14, 2003 BCS National Championship Game – Oklahoma was anointed the greatest team in fifty years midway through the season. They put 77 points on A&M among their many blowout Big 12 games during 2003. Jason White was the fake Heisman winner, and Bob Stoops was the hottest and highest paid coach in the nation.

It was a shame that Oklahoma was exposed in the Big 12 title game against Kansas State, because beating an undefeated OU team would have been so much more fun. It was still fun to see that LSU’s athletes outmatched OU’s in every which way on the field, despite only winning the game by seven points. It seemed like LSU didn’t try to score until they had to, and then their defense held strong when it had to seal the game. For winning the BCS title, Saban became the highest paid coach in college football displacing Stoops.

(3) January 7, 2008, LSU 38, Ohio State 24, 2007 BCS National Championship Game – Ohio State was ready this time. They were sick of hearing about the SEC’s speed and the weak Big 10 schedule. Hell, we were sick of hearing it too. With that said, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise that OSU jumped out to a quick 10-0 lead. (It was a little surprising that Beanie Wells plowed the LSU defense like that, though.) Still, when the Buckeyes went into halftime, they had the same “Oh $h!+” faces they had at the same time a year earlier.

The great thing about this game compared to the Florida game the year before was that LSU took OSU’s best shot. Ohio State couldn’t have prepared any more, they didn't have the big heads like the previous year, and they cut out most of the mistakes they made the year before. Still, when they finally scored late in the third to stop the 31-point scoring run, the game was already in hand. Ohio State didn’t “suck,” they could have beaten other BCS teams, and they were still a top-tier college football team. They simply did not match up well with the top teams in the SEC. And it was so much fun to watch.

(2) January 4, 1999, Tennessee 23, Florida State 16, 1998 BCS National Championship Game – The Vols claimed the first BCS title in a game with NFL talent at every position. The weak link turned out to be Marcus Outzen, FSU’s backup QB forced into duty earlier in the year. While his scrambles had been enough to pull out a 23-12 victory against Florida a month earlier, when FSU’s defense was dominant against the SEC’s preeminent team in the 1990’s, Outzen’s offense was kept in check most of the night with only 253 total yards. Tee Martin and Peerless Price were the ones who couldn’t be contained, as Price came up just shy of 200 yards receiving. He also hauled in the back-breaking 79-yard 4th quarter TD.

A team that beat all of the league’s top teams en route to an undefeated run in the SEC needed to win its bowl game. After FSU shut down the fun-and-gun to end the regular season, the ‘Noles were a popular underdog pick. The score was close at the end (23-16), and the Vols even needed a call to nullify a late FSU-recovered onside kick, but UT showed more talent and plenty more discipline.

(1) January 8, 2007, Florida 41, Ohio State 14, 2006 BCS National Championship Game – This was the ultimate SEC victory. Ohio State was an overrated, over-hyped team that had already won two “Games of the Century” before Thanksgiving. Troy Smith would have been a backup wide receiver in the SEC that year, but instead became the first Big 10 QB to win the Heisman. Then, to top it off, the Big 10 school proved to everyone quickly how much speed they had when they returned the opening kickoff for a TD.

The problem was that the speed OSU had was the same speed every team has – at the skill positions. Division III (still not used to FCS) teams have that. What OSU players had never seen before that night were those freak monsters on the defensive front with speed. Florida’s D-ends dominated the whole game, and pretty boy Troy Smith didn’t even look average.

The great thing about the 41-14 whipping was that so many other SEC teams honestly thought they should have been the ones doing the whipping that night. LSU had two inexplicable offensive performances (Auburn 7-3 and Florida 21-10) that year, and were stellar the rest of the way. Auburn was the only team to beat Florida in 2006, but laid eggs against Arkansas and Georgia in early morning Jefferson Pilot games. Even Arkansas fans thought they should have been in Tempe that night, as they finished the season with losses blamed solely on special teams to LSU and Florida (Heels on the 10, Fish!). For SEC fans to say their team would have been undefeated if they played OSU’s schedule that year can be debated. But for those who believe their team would have whipped OSU like yard dogs that night: Yes, you’re exactly right.

Honorable mention:

Florida 31, Syracuse 10, 1999 Orange Bowl – SEC at-large over Big East champ

Ole Miss 27, Oklahoma 25, 1999 Independence Bowl – How did OU go from Shreveport loser to BCS Champs in a year?

South Carolina 24, Ohio State 7, 2001 Outback Bowl – Just getting started beating the Buckeyes

Vanderbilt 45, Duke 28, October 28, 2006 – Our brain scientists are better than your brain scientists.

Kentucky 28, Clemson 20, 2006 Music City Bowl – SEC # 8 beat ACC # 4

LSU 41, Notre Dame 14, 2007 Sugar Bowl – Beating the hell out of Notre Dame could never get old.

Mississippi State 10, Central Florida 3, 2007 Liberty Bowl – State showed that Kevin Faulk would have been a good # 3 running back on most SEC teams. He would have been a good #4 on others.

Expectedly, the list was dominated by a few schools. Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, Kentucky, and South Carolina all failed to make the cut. Their biggest wins have come within the conference. While those schools were fairly predictable, it was incredible that zero notable Alabama nonconference wins were found over the past 10 years. To be fair, Mike Shula was 11 teams’ favorite SEC coach for half the period.

SEC in BCS National Championship Games 4-0
SEC Champion in BCS Games since 1998 season 7-3
SEC Champion in BCS Games 2001 season and after 6-1
SEC Teams in BCS Games since 1998 season 11-4
SEC Teams in BCS Games 1999 and 2000 seasons 0-3
SEC Teams in BCS Games 2001 season and after 9-1

Best SEC Nonconference Wins Since BCS #9 - #5

2008-07-03T13:32:00.012-05:00

This article describes games over the past 10 years, since the birth of the BCS, that made the entire SEC look good. After these games, you called your cousin in the loser’s associated region and clearly explained to him that your team deals with that kind of talent week in and week out, and there is no way his team could compete in our league. I tried to focus on the ones that gave the SEC the most bragging rights, not necessarily the best wins for each team. I also liked a few of the games that made other conferences look inferior. Not included in the list are year in and year out rivalry games, because those are not usually associated with conference reputation as much as down-right hatred (No Florida-Florida St, Georgia-Georgia Tech, South Carolina-Clemson, etc.)

(9) January 2, 2002, Florida 56, Maryland 23, Orange Bowl – You ACC guys can take your refrigerator of a coach with all his supposedly great X’s and O’s and get ready for basketball season. Maryland was the feel-good story of 2001, starting 7-0 and finishing the regular season 10-1. Their new coach, who looked to be a few crab cakes away from a heart attack, was every media outlet’s coach of the year. They came in sporting about seven All-ACC selections.

Florida was knocked out of the SEC Championship Game by Tennessee in a December game rescheduled from 9/11, so they got into the Orange Bowl with an at-large bid. There was no comparison between the talent levels of the two teams, and Florida cleaned up 56-23. One interesting side note was that the only ACC team to beat Maryland, Florida State, was also destroyed by Florida a month earlier. The ACC decided to go get more teams to compete with a real football conference after they were manhandled by the SEC that year. Either that or the conference championship game revenue.

(8) January 1, 2000, Arkansas 27, Texas 6, Cotton Bowl – The Longhorns were solid favorites and ranked in the top 15 in the polls. They had also just represented the South division in the Big 12 Championship game, although they were torn apart by Nebraska. The Hogs were clinging to the last two spots in the polls after an inexplicable thrashing by LSU, who was 0-7 in SEC beforehand. Actually, the Hogs looked terrible in every SEC game in 1999 that wasn’t played in Fayetteville or Little Rock. The only road game they won was in Dallas over SMU (What were they doing giving SMU a home game in the first place?).

Not sure if Dallas had anything to do with it, but the Hogs represented the league well there on New Year’s. The first half was uneventful and ended 3-3, but the floodgates opened in the second half. Cedric Cobbs finished the first of his seven bowl games as the MVP, scoring on a 30-yard catch and a 37-yard run. The Hogs dominated upfront all game, and Texas finished with -27 yards rushing. The ‘Horns also had to bring in multiple quarterbacks, because Major Applewhite and Chris Simms were on their backs most of the game.

(7) September 2, 2006, Tennessee 35, California 18 – This game kick-started the year of the SEC in college football. The Vols weren’t necessarily 35-0 better than Cal, but a few good breaks put them in that spot soon after halftime. Eric Ainge and Robert Meacham became darkhorse Heisman candidates, and David Cutcliffe became a genius.

This was a much-needed win for the SEC over the PAC 10. USC had taken two from Auburn in 2002 and 2003, put a 70-17 beatdown on Arkansas the year before, and was only a few hours away from thumping the Hogs again. LSU had scored a few PAC 10 wins the past few years over Arizona schools, but the losses were far from the only ones for the Arizona schools those years. This matchup was viewed as two top-tier teams from each conference, with Cal ranked #9 and Tennessee #23. It was also good for the conference to have Tennessee bounce back from a miserable 2005, when they were one of Vandy’s victims and didn’t get to go bowling (not sure which was worse).

(6) September 13, 2003, Arkansas 38, Texas 28 – For the second time in five years, Arkansas got to forget about its poor record against Texas in its former life, and everyone in the state proudly flashed the upside-down hook-em horns. Texas scored on its first and last possessions of the first half, but it was all Hogs in between. Matt Jones ran and passed as he pleased, and the Hogs were in control the entire game. Jones only made two mistakes all day. The first was a fourth quarter fumble returned for a TD that cut the Hogs’ lead to 7. His second mistake was mis-calling a bootleg to the left in the huddle on third-and-one the following possession. Since it should have been a bootleg right, he just told the tight end at the line of scrimmage that he was going his way. Jones took it 60 yards to the one and Arkansas won 38-28. The Hogs also snapped Texas’ 20-game home winning streak.

For this article, forget the SWC rivalry and all the history. This was a great early-season SEC v. Big 12 matchup that didn’t receive the attention it should have. It was an 11:00am ABC regional game, so a lot of the country didn’t see anything except the 10-point win. What people should have taken from it was that a middle-of-the-pack SEC team was every bit as good as the second-best Big 12 team. Texas finished the year 7-1 in Big 12 play, and was head and shoulders above everyone save Oklahoma. Arkansas went 0 for October and was destroyed in the final game of the season in Baton Rouge, finishing 4-4 in the SEC. And for all the Longhorn fans who might say this wasn’t as big a game for Texas as it was for Arkansas, I’ll cut you some slack for 2003. But in 2004, when Texas won the Rose Bowl and Arkansas stayed home for the holidays, every Texas player stormed the field like they had just won the national championship after squeaking out a 21-19 Matt Jones’ fumble-aided win in Fayetteville. That year, Texas was clearly second-best in the Big 12 again, and Arkansas was closer to bottom of the SEC with its only league wins over Alabama and the Mississippi schools.

(5) January 1, 2002, Tennessee 45, Michigan 10, Citrus Bowl – This was a solid bragging-rights matchup for the SEC and Big 10; it involved the second- or third-best team in the Big 10 versus the second- or third-best team in the SEC. Michigan came in with only two Big 10 losses – OSU and the “Clockgate” game at Michigan State – and another close loss at Washington. Tennessee had just blown a chance at the national title by losing to heavy underdog LSU in Atlanta. It was also a needed game for the SEC’s bowl repute. The conference had lost the past three Citrus Bowls and three BCS bowls in two years.

Tennessee dominated the game from the start and cruised to a 45-10 win. Casey Clausen, playing in one of his seemingly eight seasons, threw for almost 400 yards and 3 TD and ran for two more. Outside of some Ohio State games, this was the best display of an SEC team imposing its style of play on a Big 10 team since the BCS began.

Best SEC Nonconference Wins Since BCS #14 - #10

2008-07-03T13:13:00.010-05:00

This article describes games over the past 10 years, since the birth of the BCS, that made the entire SEC look good. After these games, you called your cousin in the loser’s associated region and clearly explained to them that your team deals with that kind of talent week in and week out, and there is no way his team could compete in our league. I tried to focus on the ones that gave the SEC the most bragging rights, not necessarily the best wins for each team. I also liked a few of the games that made other conferences look inferior. Not included in the list are year in and year out rivalry games, because those are not usually associated with conference reputation as much as down-right hatred (No Florida-Florida St, Georgia-Georgia Tech, South Carolina-Clemson, etc.)

(14) September 7, 2002, Arkansas 41, Boise State 14 – Nobody remembers this game, and frankly, nobody should. At the time, it was a typical opening game stepchild whipping against some team Houston Nutt used to coach for. Anyway, WAC victories don’t need to be a part of crowing moments for Arkansas, let alone the SEC. But this one is a little different, because the Blue Bunnies from Boise ran the table afterward and got as high as #12 in the polls.

Arkansas was bigger, stronger, faster, blah, blah, blah. Matt Jones did whatever he wanted to in his first start as full-time QB, and the Bunnies didn’t get sniff the end zone until it was 34-0 in the 4th quarter and Nutt let the cheerleaders play. When Boise was asked about the black eye on their otherwise perfect schedule at the end of the year, they blamed it on not being ready and described how they were a different team then. Should have mentioned the fact that they only played one fair-to-middling team all year.

(13) September 3, 2005, Georgia 48, Boise St 13 – This was a deceivingly good start to what turned out to be a forgettable year for the SEC. Georgia was believed to be a good - not great - SEC team, and Boise was rumored to be ready for the big boys. Boise was ranked #18 to start the year - only five spots behind Georgia – and they were only 7 point road underdogs. Reality struck quickly for the WAC, though, and the score wasn’t as close as the 48-13 final. America’s future hero Jared Zabransky was picked off on his first pass of the day, and ended the first half with three more. Georgia’s D also took two fumbles from him, both in the first half as well. Meanwhile, DJ Shockley couldn’t do anything wrong; anyone who asked Coach Richt for a favor caught one of the five TD passes he tossed. Before Georgia let off the gas, this game was 38-0 halfway through the third quarter.

This was a beatdown that should have kept the WAC at bay for the next few years. Instead, someone let the Blue Bunnies play with house money the following year (against an overrated Oklahoma team), where they wound up being on the right side of the most entertaining bowl game ever. This game can’t be ranked too highly because Boise lost three more games in 2005 and didn’t finish the year ranked. It’s still placed on the list because it was such a pasting and marks the last time the WAC golden boys will want to play against the monsters any decent SEC team will have on the D-line. Hawaii didn’t learn first-hand soon enough, and scheduled Florida for 2008. After last year’s Sugar Bowl literally became a health risk for any Rainbow QB, do you think any of them are looking forward to this year’s game?

(12) January 1, 2008, Georgia 41, Hawaii 10, Sugar Bowl – It’s ok to admit if you were a little nervous about this one. The Boise Blue Bunnies’ trick plays won over the nation the year before, and Utah looked pretty good when they had their shot at the BCS (albeit against Pitt). Further, just winning wouldn’t have done any good for Georgia or the SEC. The primary question was whether or not Hawaii’s toy offense could compete with the big boys, not necessarily beat them. If the score would have been 35-28 either way, then the WAC would have been a permanent fixture in the BCS. Every sports writer in the nation would have been calling for the small conferences to get more spots in the BCS, even automatic spots (gasp!), and written plenty of articles about how “talent gaps have tightened.”

Thank you, Georgia. Instead, those same writers talked about Hawaii’s determination for making it so far and their courage for not giving up. It’s a shame Georgia fans didn’t get to see how much their team had improved since the Tennessee game, and it’s a shame their players had a tougher scrap with Georgia Tech than their Sugar Bowl opponent. Still, the game should have given fans and writers a better idea of where WAC schools stand in the pecking order, and that an undefeated WAC school would be lucky – lucky – to be 4-4 in the SEC. If only the Dawgs could have gotten a hold of Boise the year before as well…

(11) November 8, 2003, Tennessee 10, Miami 6 – The SEC got the split in the second of a home-and-home series against Miami when the ‘Canes were a top-notch program. Miami was inexplicably kept out of the BCS title game in 2000, destroyed Nebraska in the 2001 title game, and was shafted in the 2002 title game (weakest PI call ever). The only reason this game isn’t ranked any higher is that Virginia Tech had stroked the #2-ranked Canes pretty good in Blacksburg the week before to end their 39-game regular season winning streak. Nonetheless, the Vols got to end the ‘Canes 26-game home winning streak in the Orange Bowl and enjoyed a late-season win over a top-10 team (#6).

The game itself was lackluster at best. The Vols got 10 in the second quarter and held on 10-6 after neither team was able to score in the fourth. The Vols scored on a not-so-Fulmer call with 20 seconds left in the first half, going with the 4th down end around at the goalline.

(10) January 1, 2003, Auburn 13, Penn State 9, Citrus Bowl – Unfortunately, we don’t get many Citrus/Capital One Bowl wins. This one was the second of only two Citrus/Capital One Bowl games the SEC has won in the past 10 years (something must be done about this). Penn State was ranked in the top ten and was only a few breaks away from national championship talk, not to mention a BCS berth. Their only losses came from (at the time) #3 Iowa, #11 Michigan, and #2 Ohio St, with the biggest margin at seven points. Auburn had three SEC losses and another season-opening loss to USC.

The game was every bit as ugly as the 13-9 final score, but Tuberville has a way of winning those. Neither team reached 100 yards passing, but Auburn’s running game was more steady. Ronnie Brown represented the entire Tiger offense with 37 carries and both TD runs. After the game, the media crowned Auburn the nation’s top team heading into the next year. They were right, only one year too soon.