SEC Football Week Nine: The Rundown

This week we saw the SEC East basically wrapped up by the team everyone expected to win it in the first place, an undefeated team that wasn't ready for prime time and another that won its first SEC game.  We also saw every coach on the "hot seat" lose, a new coach achieving a milestone, and the number of unblemished teams in the SEC narrowed to one.  Let's start the Rundown!

1.  Congratulations to Georgia, I guess.

I give credit to Georgia for one thing - when they put some emotional effort into a game, they are a pretty good team.  Fortunately for the Bulldogs, they have been able to phone it in for a good part of the season and still get into position to take the lead in the SEC East away from Florida.  Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, they looked as undisciplined as ever, amassing 14 penalties and three turnovers in a sloppily played 17-9 victory.  But the Gators looked even worse, losing four fumbles, throwing two interceptions and garnering ten penalties of their own.  Didn't anyone on the Florida team read my blog post last week where I said turnovers are bad?  Georgia still has to beat a decent Ole Miss team at home, then will close their SEC schedule against the worst Auburn team in decades, but Florida was the largest hurdle left for the 'Dawgs on the way to Atlanta.

2.  #FailState.

Mississippi State and its fans have embraced Twitter, using the #HailState and #WeBelieve hashtags to send pictures from around the world to encourage each other and their team on to victory.  That's okay as far as it goes, and fans with posters stating "8-0. We Believe" and cowbells getting pictures made at the White House, Times Square, the Eiffel Tower and whatnot are all well and good.  But if you are going to do something like this:

You might want to wait until the game is over, or at least until you have a team that can actually pull it off.

3.  Hugh Freeze may be SEC Coach of the Year.

One week after winning their first conference game in two years, Freeze's Rebels have doubled that total and are one win away from bowl eligibility.  Saturday's 30-27 win over Arkansas, like last week's victory over Auburn, was admittedly far from perfect, and neither opponent is likely to make a bowl game, but Ole Miss already looks like a much better team than they did under the last two years of Houston Nutt's tenure.  It remains to be seen whether Freeze can recruit well enough to move to the next level, but opponents are already having to change their view of the Rebels from an easy out to a dangerous opponent.  That's a big accomplishment, and if Freeze can find one or two more wins and makes a bowl - no easy task - I think he locks up the vote for SEC Coach of the Year.

4. The Good.

(1) Alabama 38, (11) Mississippi State 7

Alabama has made every opponent look vastly inferior this year by following the same formula - offensive balance; stifling defense, especially in the red zone; and forcing and capitalizing on mistakes by their opponents.  AJ McCarron hasn't thrown an interception all year and is only two touchdowns away from tying Greg McElroy's single-season school record.  The Tide's defense held State 100 yards below their season average, forced three turnovers from the nation's leader in turnover margin, and held the SEC's leading rusher, LaDarius Perkins, to just 38 yards on 15 carries.

Ole Miss 30, Arkansas 27

Mississippi quarterback Bo Wallace led the Rebels on an eight play, 61-yard drive to score the game-winning field goal as time expired.  Wallace was responsible for 316 yards of total offense for Ole Miss, completing 29 of 37 passes for 278 yards and rushing for another 38 yards on eleven carries.

Missouri 33, Kentucky 10

While it took three-quarters of the season to do so, Missouri won its first SEC game Saturday behind a strong finish by quarterback James Franklin, who replaced Corbin Berkstresser in the third quarter after he threw two consecutive interceptions.  The Tigers evened their record at 4-4.

Vanderbilt 49, Massachusetts 7

The Commodores scored two touchdowns in the last 55 seconds of the second half, then blew the game open with four touchdowns in the third quarter to put away a winless UMass team that is inaugurating its first season in FBS in grand style.

5.  The Bad.

(13) South Carolina 38, Tennessee 35

South Carolina's Marcus Lattimore, who returned this season from a devastating knee injury in 2011, appeared to severely damage his other knee on a routine tackle in the second quarter of the game.  The love of his teammates and respect of his opponents was abundantly clear as Lattimore was carted off the field.  Season-ending injuries are hard enough.  Having two of them in successive seasons, putting his future on the football field in doubt, is a tough pill to swallow, and it's something that no football fan wants to see.

(20) Texas A&M 63, Auburn 21

I'm running out of adjectives to describe how terrible this Auburn team is.  The Aggies outgained Auburn 671 yards (an all-time record for an Auburn opponent) to 335.  The game was over by the end of the first quarter, and at this point winning next week over 1-7 New Mexico State is going to look like an achievement.

6.  The Ugly.

(10) Georgia 17, (2) Florida 9

This game featured nine turnovers, 24 penalties, and several dustups that looked to be a second or two away from a full-blown fistfight.  The result was an ugly performance from both teams, although Georgia fans are glad to get away from Jacksonville with only their fifth victory over Florida in their last 23 matchups.

7.  Games to Watch in Week Ten.

(1) Alabama at (5) LSU

The Crimson Tide will face their sternest test of the 2012 season so far as they travel to Baton Rouge to face LSU.  The Tigers are still the best team that 'Bama will face in the regular season and, although the Tide used to pay rent on Tiger Stadium (because they owned it, you see), night games there are notoriously hard to win in the Les Miles era.  I give Alabama the edge due to LSU's offensive woes, but I expect another close game.

(16) Texas A&M at (15) Mississippi State

This is a tough game to predict.  I know Texas A&M is a good team and, coming off an easy win over Auburn, is pretty well rested for this game.  I also know that the Aggies might be tempted to look ahead to top-ranked Alabama week after next.  I know the Bulldogs were beat up a little bit against Alabama, and haven't faced as brutal a schedule as the Aggies.  I also know that State is playing at home and they have a lot left to play for in 2012.  I think this is pretty much a tossup, but I lean toward the home-standing Bulldogs in this one.

Ole Miss at (6) Georgia

Georgia should be able to handle Ole Miss, but it will be interesting to see if the Bulldogs have any kind of letdown after the Florida win.  In addition, I want to see what Ole Miss looks like against better competition than their last two SEC opponents.  I expect a Georgia win, but a close game, at least for the first half.

Alabama and the 14 National Championships, Part II

Part I

In the first part of this series, I reviewed Alabama's fourteen claimed national championships, including the season results and how Alabama arrived at that number.  In my opinion, thirteen of those titles are very hard to dispute, although the 1941 championship is pretty dubious.  The College Football Data Warehouse (CFDW) web site, agrees that Alabama has 13 "recognized" national championships, but lists 27 total.  So, if Alabama claims fourteen of those titles, what about the other thirteen?  Are any of those titles "legitimate?"

Everyone knows that the BCS era has eliminated multiple national champions, right?  After cruising through the regular season undefeated in 2011, top-ranked LSU made it to the BCS National Championship Game and met second-ranked Alabama for the title.  Alabama beat LSU 21-0, and everybody agreed that they won the Mythical National Championship (MNC), or did they?

As a matter of fact, many people felt like Oklahoma State, who finished third in the BCS, deserved to play in the title game, since LSU had already defeated 'Bama in the regular season (a 9-6 win in overtime).  Others were less concerned about the fact that the Tigers and the Tide had already played each other, and more about the fact that Alabama had not won its conference title, as LSU and Okie State had.  While Alabama won the championship game, three selectors (1st-N-Goal, CBSSportsLine, and Colley) chose Oklahoma State as the 2011 national champ.  In fact, Congrove and the Seattle Times, chose LSU as the 2011 national champion, basically stating that the bowl game was meaningless!  How's that for irony, given the so-called dispute over Alabama's 1964 and 1973 titles?  So, is Oklahoma State's claim to the 2011 title illegitimate?

In 2004, the Auburn Tigers finished 13-0-0, winning the SEC Championship and the Sugar Bowl over Virginia Tech.  Unfortunately, Auburn had been ranked seventeenth in the AP poll and eighteenth in the Coaches poll, while USC and Oklahoma started the season ranked number 1 and number 2, and never lost.  Auburn was shut out of the title game, which USC won and subsequently vacated.  At the time, Auburn was named as a national champion by two small-time selectors.  Is that claim illegitimate?

In 2003, the regular college football season ended with three teams in title contention - USC (ranked #1 in the AP and Coaches Poll), LSU (ranked #2 in both) and Oklahoma (ranked #3).  Each team had one loss.  The BCS formula selected LSU and Oklahoma to play in the Sugar Bowl for the national title, while USC played fourth-ranked Michigan in the Rose Bowl.  The AP chose USC as national champ, while the Coaches Poll, which is obligated to select the BCS champion, selected LSU.  Are either of their claims illegitimate?

My point is that even in an era where the "top two" teams are matched up in a BCS title game, the definition of which teams are the top two, and even who won the title, are still controversial.  Good cases can be made for several teams every year, and that was even more true in the days before the BCS, when there was no guarantee that the top-ranked teams would (or even could) play each other.  Without a large-scale playoff system, a large part of every MNC is based on a beauty contest - which games were won by how many points, who did you lose to, what conference are you from, etc.  So, it's fair to say that even in the years that there is a consensus about the champion, there is often a case to be made for someone else.  With that being said, let's take a look at the thirteen "lost championships" and see whether any of them make a fair case for the Tide.

• 1936 - Finished 8-0-1 (chosen by four minor selectors, finished 4th in the AP).  The only blemish on the Tide's record was a 0-0 tie with Tennessee.  The AP (and numerous other selectors) chose Minnesota (7-1-0), who had lost in October to Northwestern, as their national champ, while Pittsburgh (8-1-1 with a loss to Duquesne and a tie versus Fordham's "Seven Blocks of Granite") defeated Washington in the Rose Bowl and was named national champion in ten retroactive polls.  Neither Alabama or Minnesota played in a bowl, as the Rose Bowl was the only bowl game played in this era.  I think a decent case could be made for Alabama here, given the final record of each of the teams.

• 1937 - Finished 9-1-0 (chosen by Bryne, finished 4th in the AP).  Alabama finished the regular season undefeated, but lost the Rose Bowl to Cal.  Pittsburgh was selected by the AP and other selectors after a 8-0-1 season (again marred by a 0-0 tie with Fordham), while California (10-0-1 with a tie versus Washington) was selected by the contemporaneous Dunkel system as well as five other retroactive selectors.

• 1945 - Finished 10-0-0 (three selectors, including the National Championship Foundation (NCF), finished 3rd in the AP).  The NCF is a retroactive selector, and while the NCAA doesn't recognize it as a selector for some reason after the AP poll came into being, it does use them as a recognized selector for pre-1936 championships.  Alabama destroyed every team it played in 1945 and won the Rose Bowl 34-14 over USC.  AP selected Heisman Trophy winner Doc Blanchard's Army (9-0-0) Cadets as national champ.  Frankly, this Alabama squad is one of the the teams I wish Wayne Atcheson had selected for the eleventh national title (see Part I) rather than the 1941 team, as I think this team has a much better claim.

• 1950 - Finished 9-2-0 (chosen by Kirlin, finished 16th in the AP, 17th in UPI).  This one is a head-scratcher.  Alabama lost to Vanderbilt and Tennessee on the season and did not go to a bowl.  Oklahoma (10-1) won both the AP and UPI titles (which were selected before the bowl games at this time) but lost to "Bear" Bryant's Kentucky Wildcats in the Sugar Bowl.  Tennessee, which had beaten both Kentucky and Alabama, but had dropped a game to Mississippi State, wrapped up its 11-1 season with a win over Texas in the Cotton Bowl.  Several selectors retroactively awarded the title to Tennessee.

• 1962 - Finished 10-1-0 (chosen by Montgomery, finished 5th in both polls).  Alabama lost to Georgia Tech in the regular season, but blanked Oklahoma 17-0 in the Orange Bowl.  Other claimants for 1962 include USC (11-0, AP and UPI champs) and Ole Miss (10-0, seven minor selectors).

• 1963 - Finished 9-2-0 (chosen by Koger, finished 8th in the AP, 9th in the UPI).  Losing to both Florida and Auburn, this team defeated Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl.  Texas (11-0-0, defeating Navy in the Cotton Bowl) was the consensus champion.

• 1966 - Finished 11-0-0 (chosen by six selectors including NCF, finished 3rd in both polls).  The 1966 season is a notorious one for 'Bama fans.  Alabama had won both the '64 and '65 title, outscored its opponents 301-44 on the 1966 season, and throttled Nebraska 34-7 in the Sugar Bowl.  In the meantime, #1 Notre Dame and #2 Michigan State, who were both 9-0 and faced off in late November, played each other to a 10-10 tie.  Notre Dame head coach Ara Parseghian famously chose not to go for the win late in the game, electing to kick the field goal to tie the game.  Notre Dame at this point in their history refused to go to any bowl game, and Michigan State was denied a bowl game by Big Ten rules, which didn't allow the same team to represent the conference in the Rose Bowl two years in a row and also didn't allow a conference team to go to any other bowl game.  In addition, some feel that voters purposely denied Alabama the opportunity to win its third wire service (i.e. AP or UPI) national championship in a row, a feat that has still never been accomplished to this day, due to the state's dismal civil rights stance at the time, including its refusal to allow African-Americans to participate in football.  Remember that Alabama governor George Wallace's "stand in the schoolhouse door" had taken place barely three years before.  Regardless, this is the season that Alabama fans universally regard as one where the Tide was cheated out of a deserved title.

• 1974 - Finished 11-1-0 (chosen by the Washington Touchdown Club, finished 5th in the AP, 2nd in the UPI).  The Tide completed the 1974 season undefeated, and like the year before, lost to Notre Dame in a bowl game, this time the Orange.  Southern Cal (10-1-1, UPI, NFF, FWAA) lost to Arkansas in the season opener and tied California.  Oklahoma (11-0-0, AP, NCF) ran the table, but was on NCAA probation and did not go to a bowl.

• 1975 - Finished 11-1-0 (chosen by three minor selectors, finished 3rd in both polls).  The Tide lost the season opener to Missouri 20-7, then won out, including a 13-6 victory over Penn State in the Sugar Bowl.  Oklahoma (11-1-0, including a shocking 23-3 loss at home to Kansas but a 28-27 win over Missouri) went into the Orange Bowl with Michigan ranked third in both polls.  The top two teams (Ohio State and Texas A&M) lost their respective bowl games, and Oklahoma finished at #1 in both polls.

• 1977 - Finished 11-1-0 (chosen by two minor selectors, finished 2nd in both polls).  Alabama's one loss on the season was to Nebraska in Lincoln 31-24 in the second game of the year.  The Crimson Tide crushed the Buckeyes of Ohio State 35-6 in the Sugar Bowl.  Notre Dame won both the AP and UPI titles, finishing 11-1 with a four-touchdown victory in the Cotton Bowl over Texas.  Notre Dame's sole loss was a 20-13 decision to Ole Miss, whom Alabama had beaten 34-13 the week before.  Are you getting the picture on why Alabama fans hate Notre Dame?

• 1980 - Finished 10-2-0 (chosen by two minor selectors, finished 6th in both polls).  The Crimson Tide again was a two-time defending champion and ranked number one, but lost a 6-3 game to Mississippi State to break the team's 28-game winning streak.  'Bama lost 7-0 to Notre Dame two weeks later.  Georgia (12-0-0), led by one of the greatest of all time, Herschel Walker, won the consensus national title.

• 1991 - Finished 11-1-0 (chosen by Annual Football Predictions, finished 5th in both polls).  After losing in week two to the Florida Gators in a 35-0 blowout, the Tide started its longest unbeaten streak of all time, finishing 1991 with a victory over Colorado in the Blockbuster Bowl.  Miami (12-0-0, AP) and Washington (12-0-0, UPI) both finished undefeated and split the title.

• 1994 - Finished 12-1-0 (chosen by Annual Football Predictions, finished 5th in AP, 4th in UPI).  The third-ranked and undefeated Tide lost 24-23 to the sixth-ranked Florida Gators, in one of the greatest SEC Championship Games ever played.  Nebraska (13-0-0) was the consensus champion, winning their first of two in a row.

It is puzzling to me why Wayne Atcheson chose the 1941 season for Alabama to claim a title rather than 1945 or 1966.  My guess is that Army in 1945 was recognized as the power of the era.  After all, during World War II, the Army had a number of great athletes at its disposal, and the Cadets were on their best three-year run ever, winning three national titles and two Heisman trophies.  The 1966 title seems like a more logical choice, given the long-time controversy over the Notre Dame-Michigan State game and the fact that neither team went to a bowl, which was becoming more rare for top teams.*  Also, despite the fact that the Associated Press had made a decision in 1965 (after Alabama won the 1964 national title then lost their bowl game) that they would publish their final poll after the bowl games, in 1966 they reversed that decision and chose Notre Dame as the champion at the end of the regular season.  This seems to add credence to the theory that the goal of the AP voters was to punish Alabama for segregation rather than to solely to award the best team (Alabama had begun the 1966 season at #1 in both polls). 

Anyway, there you have it.  Alabama has fourteen claimed national titles, thirteen of which stand on very solid footing.  Additionally, the Crimson Tide could lay claim to up to thirteen other titles, and while a few of these are iffy, a fair case could easily be made for a few of them, particularly 1936, 1945, 1966, and 1977. I feel pretty certain that Alabama isn't going to back off of the 1941 title claim at this point, as it has memorialized that season in statue and stone, as well as numerous T-shirts, flags, bumper stickers, and whatnot.  However, at least when some ignorant Barner makes a comment about "NASHUNAL CHAMPEANS, PAWWWWLLL," you can rest easy knowing that whatever the number may legitimately be, it is way more than Auburn has.  Furthermore, the Tide isn't the only team that claims more titles than are broadly recognized.  I'll leave you with this list of all teams with at least three recognized titles (to include Auburn).

Team           Titles Recognized      Titles Claimed       Total (All Selectors)
Princeton                  26                                 28                                     31
Yale                          18                                 27                                     31
Alabama                  13                                 14                                     27
Notre Dame              13                                 11                                     23
Michigan                   11                                 11                                     21
USC                         10                                 11                                     22
Pittsburgh                   9                                   9                                      16
Harvard                     8                                   8                                       19
Ohio State                 7                                   7                                       20
Oklahoma                  7                                   7                                       23
Minnesota                  6                                   7                                       10
Pennsylvania               6                                  7                                       21
Army                          5                                  3                                       11
Miami                         5                                  5                                       10
Nebraska                   5                                   5                                       14
California                    4                                  5                                       5
Georgia Tech              4                                  4                                       7
Illinois                         4                                  5                                       6
LSU                           4                                  3                                       11
Michigan State            4                                  6                                       8
Penn State                  4                                  2                                       15
Tennessee                   4                                  6                                       14
Texas                          4                                  4                                       13
Auburn                      3                                  3                                        8
Cornell                       3                                  5                                        5
Florida                       3                                  3                                        5
Lafayette                    3                                  3                                        3

Props to Cal and Cornell for straight up, unabashedly claiming all of theirs, deservedly or not.


*(Note: In fact, the Big Ten abolished the rule that kept Michigan State from repeating its trip to the Rose Bowl in 1972 and the rule that prevented them from accepting an invitation from another bowl prior to the 1975 season.  Notre Dame did not accept a bowl invitation from 1924 to 1969.  The Big Ten and Notre Dame had both, in the mid 1920s, made a decision to decline all bowl offers as a protest against the commercialization of college football.  The Big Ten's ban lasted 26 years, Notre Dame's 45.)

Alabama and the 14 National Championships, Part I

There are two popular memes about Alabama football fans that have pervaded over time.  One is that Alabama fans are, by and large, "sidewalk fans," meaning that the majority of them have never gone to school at Alabama.  The other is that Alabama claims a number of illegitimate national championships.

I have never understood the criticism of fans who didn't attend The University of Alabama.  My parents both went to Alabama, as did a number of my aunts, uncles and cousins.  I was an Alabama football fan from an early age, and even if I had gone to college somewhere else, I feel pretty certain that I would have always had a place in my heart for the Capstone.  Besides, have all Notre Dame fans matriculated at South Bend?  Does everyone who cheers for Boise State hail from Idaho?  I suppose that the criticism is really one that is directed at any fan of a successful team - the so-called front-runners who come out of the woodwork when things are going well.  But does 'Bama hold a monopoly on bandwagon fans?  I doubt it.

Now the national championships.  Alabama claims 14.  Every other fan base in the country knows that's way too many, right?  So what are the disputes and why does Alabama claim the ones that they do?  If fourteen isn't the right number, what is?

As we all know, the NCAA does not name a championship team in FBS (formerly Division I-A) football.  The "mythical national championship" or MNC for more than a century was more or less a beauty contest, based on teams that most likely never played each other.  The BCS, for all its flaws, has largely eliminated the era of numerous national champions.  By pairing the (more-or-less) consensus top two teams in the country in a championship game, other teams rarely jump ahead to claim a share of the title.  But, in the days before every team with a record above .500 made it to a bowl game, this was not the case.  Rather than crowning a champion, bowls were regarded by many as postseason exhibition games.  Notre Dame famously refused to accept a bowl invitation for 45 years, from 1924 to 1969.  The Associated Press (AP) and United Press International (UPI) both initially chose national champs before bowl games were even played (Alabama actually contributed to both services changing their systems). 

According to the College Football Data Warehouse (CFDW) web site (www.cfbdatawarehouse.com), Alabama's football team has been named national champion 27 different seasons by one or more services.  CFDW lists thirteen of those titles as "Recognized."  The NCAA web site lists 12 Alabama championships, relying on nine or ten major sources.  The AP, which started naming a champion in 1936, has awarded the Tide eight titles.  The UPI/Coaches Poll, which dates back to 1950, has selected Alabama seven times.  So, which number is correct?  Let's start by examining the titles that Alabama claims, and why they did so.

This article, which initially appeared in the Birmingham News prior to the 2010 BCS National Championship Game between Alabama and Texas, says that the mid-1980s was when Alabama laid claim to, at the time, 11 national championships.  Wayne Atcheson, who served as SID at Alabama from 1983-1987, added five titles to what was then accepted as six titles, at least according to the 1982 Alabama media guide, the last one published under Coach Paul W. "Bear" Bryant. Bryant's teams won each of those six titles, awarded by the AP and UPI, between 1958 and his retirement in 1982.  Our journey begins with these six.

• 1961 - Finished 11-0-0.  Awarded by AP and UPI and National Football Foundation (NFF).  This one is as ironclad as they come.  The Tide won every game, including the 1962 Sugar Bowl against Arkansas, although Ohio State (8-0-1; did not accept a bowl bid) was crowned by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA).  The Tide only allowed 25 total points by its opponents all season.

• 1964 - Finished 10-1-0.  Awarded by AP and UPI.  Alabama lost 21-17 against Texas in the Orange Bowl, although 'Bama fans swear that Joe Namath crossed the goal line to score the go-ahead touchdown.  This game caused the AP to change its policy to award championships after the bowl games were played.  Arkansas (11-0-0, FWAA, defeated Nebraska in the Cotton Bowl) and Notre Dame (9-1-0, awarded by NFF but not claimed by Notre Dame, who lost to USC in final regular season game) are recognized by the NCAA as co-champions.

• 1965 - Finished 9-1-1.  Awarded by AP, FWAA and National Championship Foundation (NCF).  The Tide lost their season opener to Georgia and tied Tennessee 7-7 at midseason, then destroyed Nebraska in the Orange Bowl.  Michigan State (10-1-0) was awarded the title by the UPI, NFF and FWAA (tied with Alabama).  The Spartans lost the Rose Bowl to UCLA.

• 1973 - Finished 11-1. Awarded by UPI.  The Tide lost the Sugar Bowl 24-23 to Notre Dame, in what many hail as the greatest bowl game ever played.  After this game, UPI changed their championship methodology to select after the bowl games were played.  Notre Dame (11-0-0) was crowned by all the other major selectors.

• 1978 - Finished 11-1.  Awarded by AP, FWAA, NFF, NCF.  USC defeated 'Bama 24-14 in the third game of the season, and then lost to Arizona two weeks later.  Alabama won the legendary 1979 Sugar Bowl over then-number one Penn State.  The Trojans finished 12-1 and defeated Michigan in the Rose Bowl.  USC was selected as champ by UPI and NCF (Tied with Alabama).

• 1979 - Finished 12-0.  Consensus champion.  Alabama defeated Lou Holtz's Arkansas team in the Sugar Bowl, but the closest contest was a 25-18 victory over Auburn in the Iron Bowl, which the Tide came from behind in the fourth quarter to win.

Okay, those seem fairly straightforward to me.  While some misguided individuals may argue that the 1965 and 1973 championships are something less than legitimate due to the bowl losses, the wire service titles are recognized by everyone.  Before we get to the five added titles, we might as well get three more out of the way that no one seriously disputes.

• 1992 - Finished 13-0-0. Consensus champion.  'Bama defeated top-ranked Miami in dominating fashion in the Sugar Bowl, breaking a 29-game winning streak by the defending national champs.  The Tide also won the first-ever SEC Championship Game over Florida to make it to the title game.

• 2009 - Finished 14-0-0.  BCS Champion.  Alabama defeated Texas 37-21 after knocking the Longhorns' starting quarterback, Colt McCoy, out of the game early.  The Crimson Tide defeated six ranked teams, including defending national champ and number one Florida, during the season.

• 2011 - Finished 12-1-0.  BCS Champion.  After losing at home in overtime to the number one team in the country, Alabama got a rematch with the LSU Tigers in the title game and blanked them 21-0.

So, now we're at nine national championships, and all of them seem pretty fair to me.  So let's dive into the last five that Alabama claims.  The first question is, why were those titles added in the first place?

According to the previously-mentioned Birmingham News article, Taylor Watson - the curator of the Bryant Museum - said that the 1986 media guide was the first to mention the five additional titles.  What you may not remember about 1986 is that Alabama began a two-season home-and-home series with Notre Dame that year.  The Fighting Irish claim 11 national championships, but that number was ten at the time (the Irish later won the 1988 title).  It's clear in hindsight that Wayne Atcheson went back over the Tide's history to find enough titles to edge out Notre Dame's ten.  Hence, Alabama's number went to eleven national championships.  So, what about those other five?

• 1925 - Finished 10-0-0.  Most disputes about Alabama's national titles start with the fact that the title selectors who are recognized today didn't exist in 1925, so while NCF, Helms, Houlgate and the College Football Researchers Association (CFRA), among others, all awarded the Tide the 1925 title, they did so retroactively.  However, that doesn't mean that the Tide wasn't the best team in the country.  In these early days when the Rose Bowl was the only bowl game in America, Alabama was the first team from the South to be invited to the game.  The Rose Bowl attempted to match the top team in the East and with the top team in the West, and Alabama played the champion of the Pacific Coast Conference (the predecessor to today's Pac-12), Washington.  The Tide won 20-19, and was greeted with congratulatory crowds in every Southern train station on the return trip.  Furthermore, this newspaper article from the next day makes it clear that the game was regarded as the national championship at the time.  The 1925 Dartmouth Indians (8-0-0) were also recognized (retroactively, I might add) as national champions by a couple of selectors, although they are not recognized by the NCAA.

• 1926 - Finished 9-0-1.  Alabama again finished the regular season undefeated and was invited to the Rose Bowl to play Stanford.  The game ended in a 7-7 tie, and as such, Alabama and Stanford shared the 1926 national championship awarded by Helms and NCF, while CFRA awarded the title solely to the Tide.

• 1930 - Finished 10-0-0.  The Tide's third Rose Bowl trip ended in a 24-0 thrashing of Washington State, and the CFRA retroactively awarded them the title.  Notre Dame, which refused the Rose Bowl invitation and finished 10-0-0, also shared the national title, being awarded by the NCF and Helms (also retroactive).

• 1934 - Finished 10-0-0.  Again Alabama traveled to Pasadena to face Stanford and defeated the Cardinal 29-13.  A number of selectors retroactively selected the Tide as national champs, although the three that the NCAA chooses to recognize (NCF, Helms, and CFRA) retroactively selected Big Ten champion Minnesota, who finished 8-0-0 (no bowl game).

• 1941 - Finished 9-2-0.  This is the title that is the hardest to justify.  By this time, the AP had begun selecting national champions, and Alabama finished 20th in the poll.  In addition, the Tide didn't even win the SEC, losing to eventual champion Mississippi State (in their only SEC title to date) as well as Vanderbilt.  While the Tide was selected as a national champion by the Houlgate system, it's hard to see why.

 There you have it.  I believe a strong case can be made for every title that Alabama claims, except for the 1941 championship.  That one is pretty sketchy, and clearly that is where the CFDW gets the thirteen "recognized" titles.  On the other hand, there's nothing to say that a school can't claim a title that someone awards them, no matter how dubious.  So, that's how Alabama got to fourteen.  But what about those other thirteen titles that the CFDW lists, but that Alabama doesn't claim?  Are any of those title claims legitimate?  We'll take a look at the thirteen "lost championships" in Part II.

SEC Football Week Eight: The Rundown

After eight weeks of football, we know a few things.  We know Florida is back, and has a clear path to winning the SEC East.  We know Alabama's defense is very good.  We know that despite quarterback problems, LSU can run the ball and is good enough on defense to beat just about anyone.  And we know that, with all other things being equal, turning the ball over multiple times is virtually guaranteed to lose football games for you.  Let's start the Rundown!

1.  Turnovers are Bad, Part I.

Texas A&M had the perfect setup to win Saturday against LSU: an early game, at home, with LSU looking ahead to a bye week and Alabama and coming off a tough victory over South Carolina.  The Aggies looked unstoppable on the first drive and led 12-0 midway through the second quarter.  Then they decided to be generous and give LSU an interception and a fumble to close out the half, both of which led to touchdowns for the Tigers.  By the end of the game, A&M had turned the ball over five times, and despite out-gaining LSU by nearly 100 yards, having advantages in first downs, penalties and time of possession, and outplaying the Tigers for most of the game, LSU generated enough offense to escape College Station with a 24-19 win.  Turnovers can make good teams look bad.

2.  Turnovers are Bad, Part II.

If you only saw the 44-11 score of the Florida-South Carolina game, you might be tempted to think that the Gators had completely devastated the Gamecock defense, which had looked so good in previous weeks.  In reality, the Gators had a 21-6 lead at halftime despite only gaining 29 yards of total offense.  Carolina's Connor Shaw fumbled at the two yard line on the first play of the game from scrimmage, setting Florida up for their first TD.  Later, Ace Sanders fumbled on a punt return deep in Carolina territory, giving the Gators another opportunity for a quick score.  Finally, on the ensuing kickoff, Damiere Byrd coughed up the return, which was pick up and taken by Florida's Chris Johnson nearly to the goal line.  Neither team gained over 200 yards for the entire game, but the Gamecocks' four turnovers put the game out of reach against the stingy Gator defense.  Championship teams protect the football, which is one of the reasons Florida is likely going to Atlanta and South Carolina is not.

3.  Coaching Hot Seat, Part I.

The last time Auburn started 1-6 was 1952.  Dwight Eisenhower was elected to his first term as president, the U.S. was mired in a war in Korea, Elizabeth II began her 60-year reign as monarch in the United Kingdom, and the first hydrogen bomb was detonated.  Auburn head coach Gene Chizik would not even be born for another nine years.  I have to give Chizik credit.  He has been a once-in-a-lifetime coach at Auburn, bringing them both their first national championship in over 50 years and their worst start in 60.  It remains to be seen whether whoever is in charge at Auburn will allow the goodwill built from the former to outweigh the potentially devastating fallout from the latter, but it's obvious that Auburn's team, coaching staff and program are in complete disarray.  In that 1952 season, Auburn finished winless in the SEC.  After having lost to both Ole Miss and Vanderbilt in consecutive weeks, and with only Texas A&M, Georgia and Alabama remaining, the Tigers look very unlikely to win a conference game, go to a bowl game, or avoid a losing season.  You know what other bad thing for Auburn happened 60 years ago?  Nick Saban was born.

4.  Coaching Hot Seat, Part II.

It wasn't bad enough for Derek Dooley that he was on crutches on the sideline following hip surgery and that Alabama was en route to a 44-13 demolishing of his team.  Peyton Manning, Phil Fulmer and the rest of Tennessee's 1997 SEC Championship team were on hand to be honored at Saturday's game and to serve as a not-so-subtle reminder of how far the Volunteers have fallen.  Tennessee's recent woes aren't quite as historical as Auburn's.  After all, the Vols' 0-4 start in SEC play falls right in line with the last two seasons (0-6 to begin 2011, finished 1-7; 0-5 in 2010, finished 3-5).  The problem is that every one of those seasons came under Dooley, who still hasn't beaten a ranked team in his tenure at Tennessee.  You have to go back to 1910 to find a Tennessee coach with a worse winning percentage than Dooley, who is 14-18 in his three years at UT and 31-38 overall, and he has the worst record by far of anyone who lasted more than two years.  The only reason that Dooley's status is still uncertain is that Tennessee's athletic department is in a hole financially - partially because they are still paying Phil Fulmer not to coach and partially because fans are staying away in droves.  What is clear at this point is that Tennessee is closer to Missouri, Vanderbilt and Kentucky in the East than they are to Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.

5.  The Good.

(2) Florida 44, (7) South Carolina 11

South Carolina's championship hopes came to a ignominious end as the Gators relied on their defense and special teams to propel them to their seventh win.  Florida quarterback Jeff Driskel only had 93 yards passing, but threw for four touchdowns on the day.

(6) LSU 24, (18) Texas A&M 19

Stop me if you've heard this before: High-flying offense and Heisman-candidate quarterback with massive numbers finally plays a team with a decent defense and all-of-sudden the big numbers go away, the superhero is exposed as only human, and the team with the defense walks away with a win.  What happened to Texas A&M's Johnny Manziel is the same old story that seems to surprise people year after year.  Offensive numbers might win Heisman trophies, and I wouldn't be shocked if "Johnny Football" snags one in the coming years, but defense has, and always will, win championships, especially in the SEC.

(1) Alabama 44, Tennessee 13

AJ McCarron showed the Tennessee defense why stacking the line to stop the run is a losing proposition against Alabama this season as he threw for a career-high 306 yards and 4 touchdowns.  McCarron, who has not thrown an interception all season, had an otherworldy 254.1 quarterback rating in the game and the Tide scored 30+ points in its seventh game in a row to start the season, which is a school record.  Add that to the fact that Alabama leads the nation in total defense, scoring defense, run defense and pass efficiency defense, and you have a pretty lethal combination.

(12) Mississippi State 45, Middle Tennessee State 3

I know at least one person who thought this might be a close game (I'm looking at you, Matt), but State cruised to an easy victory on the arm of quarterback Tyler Russell, who threw for three touchdowns.

6.  The Bad.

(11) Georgia 29, Kentucky 24

If South Carolina's blowout of Georgia and subsequent losses didn't tell you enough about the quality of this Bulldogs squad, the fact that they had to come from behind three times against a pitifully bad Kentucky team should.

7.  The Ugly

Vanderbilt 17, Auburn 13

Before the season a lot of people gave Vandy coach James Franklin a chance to be competitive in the SEC East this year.  While the Commodores (3-4) do still have a shot at a bowl game, Franklin did his best to give the game away to a historically terrible Auburn team.  While Auburn had failed to drive the ball in the first quarter, two poor decisions by Franklin to go for it on fourth down in the second quarter led to ten points for the Tigers and kept them in the contest for far longer than their offensive production warranted.  Then, when the game was on the line, Franklin seemed hesitant to give the ball to Zac Stacy, who became the 'Dores all-time leading rusher, until it was almost too late.  Stacy, who had 169 yards on 27 carries and a touchdown on the day, appeared to be agitated as the Commodores kept throwing incomplete passes and not using very much time, then punting the ball back to Auburn, all while nursing a four-point lead.  Franklin finally gave Stacy a chance, and while trying to put the team on his shoulders he ended up fumbling the ball and giving the Tigers one last chance to win.  Against an average team, this would have been a loss.

8.  Games to Watch in Week Nine

(2) Florida vs. (10) Georgia in Jacksonville

CBS and ESPN will do their best to play up this game as a contest for the SEC East title and that the outcome of this game determines who goes to Atlanta.  Don't buy it.  The winner of the East was determined Saturday when Florida (7-0) blew out South Carolina.  Georgia (6-1) is soft, and the soft schedule has only served to make them look like a contender on paper.  I expect a double-digit win for the Gators and a game that is over by halftime. 

(11) Mississippi State at (1) Alabama

I give the Bulldogs (7-0) credit for their undefeated record, but the best team that they have played is probably Tennessee. The next three opponents for MSU are Alabama, Texas A&M, and LSU, so we'll get to see what this team is really made of, and frankly, I expect three losses.  The biggest question for 'Bama (7-0) is whether or not they can focus on State with LSU coming in two weeks.  So far, this team has been the most focused Alabama squad in my memory and has not played down to an opponent yet.

Tennessee at (13) South Carolina

I expect Carolina (6-2) to be down somewhat after having missed out on their goals for the season, and Tennessee (3-4) to be desperate to win.  Really, that's the only way the Vols have a chance.  Looks for the Gamecocks to make it three in a row over Tennessee.

Ole Miss at Arkansas

The Razorbacks (3-4) started the season as badly as any team could, but appeared to recover somewhat with wins over Auburn and Kentucky.  Ole Miss (4-3) has already doubled their win total from last year and gave Alabama arguably their toughest game this season.  While this game isn't for much more than pride, a shot at fourth place in the SEC West, and another step toward bowl eligibility, I think it will be intriguing to see whether Arkansas has truly recovered or whether the Rebels have overtaken them.

SEC Football Week Seven: The Rundown

We're already past the halfway point in the 2012 college football season.  In the Southeastern Conference three undefeated teams remain, while another four have only one loss.  All are still in the championship hunt.  Even Kentucky is still mathematically bowl eligible, at least for one more week.  This is the part of the season where attrition and the schedule separate the contenders from the pretenders.  Let's start the Rundown!

1.  All is Right with the World Again.

November 26, 1964.  On that day, nearly half a century ago, Alabama defeated Auburn 21-14 and drew even with the Tigers in the all-time series with 14 wins and 14 losses.  Since that date, the Crimson Tide has not had a losing record against any team in the Southeastern Conference, that is, until the Missouri Tigers officially joined the SEC on July 1, 2012.  To be sure, Mizzou had only played Alabama three times historically, but they held a 1-2 edge over the Tide going into Saturday's 42-10 win at Faurot Field.  So, mark October 13, 2012 as the date that Alabama righted the ship and re-established itself as the preeminent team in the nation's preeminent conference.

2.  Missed Opportunity.

On the heels of last week's 35-7 blowout of Georgia, South Carolina looked like a world beater.  Unfortunately for the Old Ball Coach, LSU is no Georgia.  The Tigers ran all over the Gamecocks defense, outgained Carolina 406 yards to 211, and scored more points (23) than they have in any other SEC game so far this season.  While Carolina is a good team, and a formidable opponent at home, great teams have to be able to win on the road in the SEC.  Spurrier has still never beaten LSU since taking over at Columbia, SC, and the Gamecocks missed another opportunity to stake its claim as the best team in the conference.  With Florida up next on the schedule, Carolina needs to recover quickly to have a chance to return to Atlanta in December.

3.  Will Auburn Go Winless in the Conference?

No one expected Auburn to be a great team this year, but the schedule looked to be fairly negotiable before the season began.  Now, the Tigers are 1-5 with their one victory coming in overtime against Louisiana-Monroe.  The Tigers didn't look terrible against Ole Miss - the Rebels led 24-20 going into the fourth quarter - before the wheels came off.  Auburn has been outscored 65-3 in the fourth quarter this season, which hints at depth and an inability to finish games.  The Tigers have Vanderbilt in Nashville next week.  While the Commodores won't be an easy out, if Auburn doesn't get a win there they are unlikely to win a game in the SEC and Gene Chizik's job is in serious jeopardy.

4.  SEC West is Not Dead Yet.

The media storyline last week was that, with Florida's win over LSU and South Carolina's dominant performance over Georgia, the SEC East had jumped back ahead of the SEC West, which was basically just Alabama & everyone else.  Granted, Auburn has been abysmal and Arkansas has recovered from freefall by beating the two worst teams in the league.  However, Mississippi State has continued to win, and made a real statement last night against Tennessee.  The Bulldogs are likely to be undefeated when they stroll into Tuscaloosa on October 27th.  Texas A&M has one of the best young quarterbacks in college football, have won every game since a close opening loss to Florida, and just eliminated the last potential BCS-buster on the road in a shootout.  And reports of LSU's demise have been greatly exaggerated.  As long as the Tigers' defense stays healthy, they have a shot in every game they play.  While three teams are still vying for the SEC East title, four teams control their destiny in the West.  Let's wait a few more weeks before we pull the plug.

5.  The Good

(9) LSU 23, (3) South Carolina 21

Freshman tailback Jeremy Hill led the Tigers with 124 yards on 17 carries and two touchdowns, wearing down Carolina's defense and bringing enough offense to give the Tigers a hard-fought win.  Hill's 50-yard TD with 5:03 left in the fourth quarter broke the game open and ran Les Miles' record in night games at Tiger Stadium to 36-1.

(1) Alabama 42, Missouri 10

For the second time this year, Alabama faced a once-formidable offense without its first-team quarterback.  Alabama has outscored those opponents 94-10.  The Tide outgained Mizzou 533 yards to 129 and seemed to be challenged more by a driving rainstorm and a nearly 40-minute lightning delay than by the Tigers.

(4) Florida 31, Vanderbilt 17

This looked to be the prototypical "trap game" for Florida, falling as it did between the LSU victory last week and the pending South Carolina matchup.  The Gators haven't lost to Vandy since 1988, and despite sleepwalking through the first half, quarterback/tailback Jeff Driskel's 177 yards and three touchdowns on the ground ensured that Florida came out on top.

(19) Mississippi State 41, Tennessee 31

The Bulldogs were 5-0 coming into the game with Tennessee, but two of those wins were against the two worst teams in the SEC (Auburn, Kentucky), two were against Sun Belt teams, and one was over an FCS school.  Needless to say, Mississippi State had something to prove against the Volunteers.  Tennessee hadn't beaten a ranked team in the Derek Dooley era, and were still looking for a signature win.  At the end of the day, State is riding its best start since 1999 and Tennessee fell to 3-3 on the season with top-ranked Alabama coming to Knoxville next weekend.

(22) Texas A&M 59, (23) Louisiana Tech 57

The Aggies jumped out to a 34-7 lead, then had to hold on as the Bulldogs, who came into the game undefeated, came roaring back.  Louisiana Tech had an opportunity to tie the game at 46-all in the fourth quarter, but failed on the two-point conversion, which eventually turned out to be the margin of victory for A&M.  Johnny Manziel broke his two-week-old SEC total offense record with 576 total yards (181 rushing, 395 passing) and scored six touchdowns.

6.  The Bad

Arkansas 49, Kentucky 7

How bad is Kentucky?  Against an Arkansas team with wins over Auburn and Jacksonville State, the Wildcats allowed 49 points and 533 yards in a game that was called with 5:08 remaining in the third quarter due to lightning.  At this point, the early win over Kent State appears to have been overachieving.

7.  The Ugly

Ole Miss 41, Auburn 20

The Rebels jumped out to an early 14-0 lead and then gave Auburn arguably its best quarter of football all season, allowing the Tigers to drive to two second-quarter touchdowns and recover an onside kick that led to a field goal and a 17-14 lead.  Hugh Freeze didn't learn from last week's bonehead decision to attempt a fourth-and-one conversion run from the shotgun in Ole Miss territory, and was just as successful this time.  Congratulations to the Rebels for breaking an ugly 16-game SEC losing skid.  While they are much improved over last season, this team will be lucky to win another one this year.

8. Games to Watch in Week Eight

(9) South Carolina at (3) Florida

The road doesn't get any easier for the Gamecocks as they travel to The Swamp to face the Gators.  Florida seems to be improving every week, while Carolina has to win to get to Atlanta without outside help.  The Gators have dropped the last two to Spurrier.  I don't think the Gamecocks will make it three in a row.

(6) LSU at (20) Texas A&M

The SEC's most prolific offense at home against the vaunted LSU defense.  Can "Johnny Football" go off on the Tigers' D?  Can Zach Mettenberger and Jeremy Hill produce enough offense to keep up with A&M?  I think that the early kickoff, the 12th Man, and the letdown after playing both Florida and South Carolina in previous weeks will impede LSU enough to give A&M the upset.

(1) Alabama at Tennessee

On paper, this looks like an easy win, but this storied rivalry has seen a number of upset wins over the years.  The game is in Neyland Stadium and the Volunteers are desperate for a win.  Tyler Bray and his receiving corps, led by Justin Hunter and Cordarelle Patterson, will be the toughest test for Alabama's defense so far this season.  I expect the Tide to pull out a late victory, but as Lee Corso is fond of saying, it will be "closer than the experts think."

SEC Football Week Six: The Rundown

With the bye week for Alabama, I was able to watch at least a little bit of every SEC game as well as parts of other contests.  Even without the Tide playing, it was a strong weekend of college football.  At the end of the day, we are down to four undefeated teams in the Southeastern Conference, and at least two of them are surprise contenders.  Let's start the rundown!

1.  The King is Dead/Long Live the King.

One of the easiest media picks in the offseason was that LSU and Alabama would be back atop the SEC and that LSU would repeat as SEC champion with most of their defense returning and a brand-new (better) quarterback.  Well, (3) LSU's defense is still very good, but the offense is downright lethargic.  The Tigers only converted one third down in Saturday's 14-6 loss to (10) Florida and garnered only 200 yards of offense.  Once the Gators scored their second touchdown, no one except die hard LSU fans thought that the Tigers had any chance of driving the field to win.  Florida didn't necessarily light up the scoreboard, but they have consistently played good defense and adjusted well at halftime against their opponents.  The Gators have established themselves again at the top of the SEC East.  Whether they can beat both South Carolina and Georgia is still a question, but for now the Gators are back on top.

2.  South Carolina is a national championship contender/Georgia - not so much.

Count me as one of those who was never sold on the Georgia Bulldogs.  The other easy media pick was that the Bulldogs had an easy schedule that didn't require them to play Alabama, LSU or Arkansas, just like last year, and that they would return to the SEC Championship Game.  Unfortunately for Mark Richt, you actually have to play the games to win them, and that schedule looks a lot tougher today than it did in July.  Sixth-ranked South Carolina's offense drove the field immediately on the Bulldogs, the crowd was as loud and raucous as you could imagine for a primetime game between two top-ten teams with ESPN GameDay on site, and by the end of the first quarter, the game was over.  The Gamecocks dominated on both sides of the ball, and made (5) Georgia look like an also-ran.

3.  Arkansas stops the bleeding/Auburn opens another vein.

No team in the country had a worse September than the Arkansas Razorbacks.  After winning their first game against FCS opponent Jacksonville State, the 'Backs went on a catastrophic slide, one so bad it's difficult to name the low point.  Many, including me, have accused the team of giving up when the chips were down.  They needed a win against Auburn badly.  Unfortunately for the Tigers, they needed this win too.  September wasn't quite as bad as Arkansas' only in the sense that Auburn fans didn't have high expectations to begin with.  Tiger fans could console themselves in the bye week that they had a chance to win against the second-ranked LSU Tigers and might have looked slightly better on offense.  Also, they had one of the worst defenses in the country coming to their house to improve against.  At the end of the day, the Auburn offense was in shambles, playing three quarterbacks who were sacked eight times and turning the ball over five times.  Arkansas saves the season, at least for this week, with a 24-7 win.

4.  Mississippi State is quietly 5-0 for the first time since 1999.

While the Bulldogs have admittedly played a light schedule, they have done what they needed to do every week and have taken care of business.  With the 27-14 win over Kentucky, Mississippi State stands alone with Alabama atop the SEC West.  I'm not ready to put Bully up there with Alabama, Carolina and Florida, but after next week's match-up with Tennessee I think we'll have a much better idea of how good this team is.  The great thing about college football is that any week you can have a NC State over Florida State, a Vandy over Missouri, or an Iowa State over TCU.  Don't count the Bulldogs out yet.

5.  The Good.

(10) Florida 14, (4) LSU 6

Mike Gillislee carried the rock 34 times against LSU for 146 yards and two touchdowns.  Early yardage was difficult to come by, but LSU's inability to drive the ball consistently eventually wore down the defense.  The team that rushes for the most yardage in this game has won every year since Les Miles took over at LSU.  Florida establishes itself as a strong contender in the East while LSU realistically has to win out to make it back to the SEC Championship Game.

(6) South Carolina 35, (5) Georgia 7

Georgia's star rushing duo of Gurley and Marshall were the story entering the game, but Marcus Lattimore rushed for 104 yards and USC nearly doubled Georgia's offensive output as the Bulldogs were completely dominated from the outset.  South Carolina at Florida on October 20 looks to be epic, but both teams have a few hurdles to top before they get there.

(20) Mississippi State 27, Kentucky 14

State dominates the hapless Wildcats in a game that wasn't as close as the score indicated.  Bulldog quarterback Tyler Russell is improving every week, but the first real test approaches.

Texas A&M 30, Ole Miss 27

Both teams had a chance to win this one, and it was back and forth the whole game.  Ole Miss coach Hugh freeze made a bonehead decision to go for a fourth and one deep in their own territory late in the game and didn't make it, giving A&M an opportunity for the go-ahead score.  The Aggies, after falling to Florida early, are 4-1 and gaining confidence.  Kevin Sumlin has to be an early candidate for SEC Coach of the Year.

6.  The Bad

Arkansas 24, Auburn 7

Yeah, the Razorbacks won, and they needed it.  But let's not kid ourselves.  Both of these teams are hilariously bad.

7. The Ugly

Vanderbilt 19, Missouri 14

Missouri signal caller James Franklin left the game early with a knee injury.  Vandy didn't even get a first down until near halftime.  The Tigers missed a PAT and gave up a safety on a bobbled punt attempt.  Props to the Commodores for the win, but this one was hard to watch.

8.  Games to Watch in Week Seven

South Carolina at LSU

The Gamecocks played their best game of the year (maybe one of their best ever) against Georgia.  Can they avoid the letdown on the road in Baton Rouge?  Will LSU rebound from the tough loss at Florida?  I think USC is a better team, but night games at Tiger Stadium are notoriously tough.  I think it's easier for defenses to recover from the big game, and LSU has shown me nothing good on offense.  I'm picking Cocky to win.

Auburn at Ole Miss

No game for Auburn is a gimme, and Ole Miss is looking better every week.  I think the Rebels will pick up their first SEC win since 2010.

Tennessee at Mississippi State

This is an intriguing game.  Tennessee head coach Derek Dooley cannot lose this game if he wants to stay around another year.  State is probably good enough to pull off the win, but I am leaning toward the Vols due to the desperation factor.

Alabama at Missouri

Alabama's second road test of the season doesn't appear to be much of a challenge, especially since Vanderbilt just won in Columbia.  However, Missouri happens to be the only SEC team against which the Crimson Tide has a losing record (1-2 in three games in the sixties and seventies) and it's important to go ahead and take care of that.  Expect the Tide to roll.

Texas A&M at Louisiana Tech

This game was originally scheduled for the first weekend of the season, but was postponed due to Hurricane Isaac.  In the meantime, La Tech is 5-0 and sporting wins against Conference-USA (Houston, Rice), the B1G (Illinois), the ACC (Virginia) and the Mountain West (UNLV).  The Bulldogs will start getting serious attention if they beat the Aggies.  I suspect the Cinderella season comes to an end at the hands of "Johnny Football."