tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-291183692024-03-07T03:19:21.235-06:00Internet Sports GuyWhere I give my opinions about Alabama football, SEC sports, and other things.karlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608002071907476082noreply@blogger.comBlogger129125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29118369.post-83965815956970251112014-08-07T21:51:00.002-05:002014-08-08T10:53:28.829-05:00Autonomy and What I Think It Means for College FootballThe so-called Power 5 conferences received autonomy today from the NCAA Division I Board of Directors (although it still has to go to a member vote). In effect, this frees the SEC, ACC, Big Ten, Pac-12 and Big 12 to create their own rules within the NCAA structure and most likely prevents the Power 5 from breaking away entirely.<br />
<br />
For folks who don’t follow college football closely, this appears to be a move to allow large college football programs to give some money to players, in the form of stipends, and that is certainly part of what’s going on here. However, the long-term impact to college football is still largely unknown. Let’s take a look at how we got here and what I think the future holds for America’s second largest sport.<br />
<br />
Three major factors brought us here today. The first is television. College football fans my age and older remember the days when ABC carried a game of the week on Saturdays, or maybe two. Now nearly every major college game can be seen on any number of outlets during the season, not only on Saturdays, but Thursdays, Fridays, and Tuesdays as well. It might surprise you to learn that we owe this development not only to the proliferation of cable television, but also to the Supreme Court.<br />
<br />
In 1984, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled, in NCAA vs. Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma, that the NCAA’s limitation of television rights was a restraint of trade – basically a monopoly. The NCAA argued that it was protecting football stadium attendance by limiting the appearance of university teams on television. The Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma and the University of Georgia Athletic Association disagreed, and sued the NCAA. The Court sided with the universities. Stripping the NCAA of its ability to control television rights not only led to the ability of conferences to negotiate their own deals, but also began a proliferation of the product, culminating in increased viewership, a surge in the sport’s popularity, and huge television contracts.<br />
<br />
Secondly, these big money contracts began coming in at the same time that a growing body of research began to reveal to the general public that head injuries were much more common and dangerous than previously believed. Memory problems, degenerative brain diseases, and a number of otherwise unexplained suicides among several high-profile former football players appeared to be tied to repetitive brain injuries sustained during play years, and even decades, prior. The research also showed that small, repeated blows to the head, such as any number of football players would sustain during a game, could have the same long-term effects as repeated severe concussions.<br />
<br />
As it became clear to casual fans of the game that football could be much more detrimental to the athletes who played it than previously believed, the inequities of NCAA regulations became more and more odious. How could it be fair that universities like Texas, Alabama, and Notre Dame were earning tens of millions of dollars in profits, and paying their coaches obscene amounts of money, while NCAA rules prevented the athletes who played the game from controlling their own images or earning any revenue of their own from their play? Wasn’t this another example of the NCAA exerting a restraint of trade?<br />
<br />
Finally, lawsuits like the EA Sports Video Game case and the threat of legislative action by Congress forced major universities to start discussing providing additional value to college athletes beyond that of a sometimes farcical college education. Some schools and conferences began guaranteeing four-year scholarships to the athletes, rather than the typical one-year renewable deal. The major conferences then proposed changing NCAA rules to provide $2000 stipends to college athletes in addition to their scholarships. However, the smaller schools in Division I blocked this proposal.<br />
<br />
All of that brought us to this day. Rather than splitting off completely from the NCAA - which provides some modicum of legitimacy, not to mention tax-exempt status, to its members – the Power 5 worked to separate themselves from the small schools, which claimed not to be able to afford stipends. The arrangement, if approved, would provide a means for major schools to create their own sets of rules, which smaller schools could decide to follow, or not. So, what does this mean for the future of college football?<br />
<br />
<b>1. The end of “BCS-Busters”</b><br />
<br />
Of course, with the advent of the college football playoff, the BCS is dead anyway. However, my point is about the teams that were often labeled BCS-busters – minor conference teams that appeared to have a chance to compete for a national title. Boise State, TCU, Louisville, Cincinnati, West Virginia, Utah, and a handful of other teams have risen to national prominence in the last decade or so, finishing with undefeated regular seasons and facing off against a major conference opponent in a Bowl game. While none of them won a national title, the college football playoff at least gives teams like that a real shot, right?<br />
<br />
Well, it might, if not for autonomy.<br />
<br />
See, the BCS-Buster schools were “busters” precisely because they weren’t part of the six (at that time) major conferences that had formed the BCS. These schools, as members of minor conferences like the Mountain West and the MAC, had to basically finish with perfect seasons and hope that they could qualify for an at-large bid to a BCS bowl. That’s still theoretically possible, but not likely.<br />
To see why, first, look at what happened to those teams.<br />
<ul>
<li><b>Boise State –</b> Tried hard to convince the Pac-12 to invite them. However, relatively poor academics and a tiny television market made that a nonstarter.</li>
<li><b>TCU –</b> Joined the Big 12 after Texas A&M left for the SEC.</li>
<li><b>Louisville – </b>Joined the ACC after Maryland left for the Big Ten.</li>
<li><b>Cincinnati –</b> Relegated to the American conference after the Big East imploded, it has been rumored as a candidate for Big 12 expansion, if the Big 12 actually goes to twelve teams.</li>
<li><b>West Virginia –</b> Invited to the Big 12.</li>
<li><b>Utah –</b> Invited to the Pac-12.</li>
</ul>
So, the lucky ones got swallowed up by major conferences during the realignment of 2010-2013. The Big 6 became the Power 5, and a few more schools got left out of the process. Now, assume that the Power 5 conferences go ahead and vote to offer stipends covering the full cost of tuition to all student-athletes. Right now, a proposed sum of $5000 per athlete is being bandied about. The minor schools have no big television money to keep up with the Power 5 and cover that cost. Keep in mind that only around 25-30 university athletic departments even operate in the black today, and then add another one or two million dollars a year in expenses. Schools like Alabama can absorb that without batting an eye. Schools like Fresno State cannot.<br />
<br />
And if you are a star athlete, the majority of whom are not wealthy by any means, and you could choose between a school that can offer you a scholarship and a school that offers you a scholarship plus five grand a year, what would you do? There was never a level playing field, but the rules were at least the same for everyone in Division I. Now they won’t be, and there’s every reason to think that the minor schools will be less competitive.<br />
<br />
<b>2. UAB will die.</b><br />
<br />
Ok, not really. But teams that are at the fringe of the Football Bowl Subdivision, like UAB, will likely drop out of the FBS, or stop playing football altogether. In recent years, a number of schools, like UAB, Troy, Florida Atlantic, Georgia State, and Texas State, have joined the FBS, latching on to the same division that boasts major traditional powers like Michigan, Notre Dame, Nebraska, and of course, Alabama. The idea is that by competing with the major powers, revenue, attendance, and competitiveness will increase.<br />
<br />
This has largely gone poorly for these teams, who had a hard time competing on the same field with established teams. To compete in FBS requires certain stadium attendance levels that can be difficult for new members to meet. Major college football is expensive too, and without major television revenue, the major conferences are distancing themselves from their smaller brethren. The separation of the Power 5 into, what for all intents and purposes is another division, makes it highly unlikely that many of these fringe programs will be able to justify the continued experiment to trustees and alumni.<br />
<br />
That’s not to say that there won’t be an upset now and then. At least a couple of times a season an FCS school will knock off a major college opponent, but these occasions are memorable precisely because they are rare. FCS schools are less competitive because they are limited to 63 scholarship players per team (as opposed to 85 for FBS schools). What would keep the Power 5 schools from expanding that number for themselves in the future? In the past, the smaller schools prevented that from happening. Now, they could not stop it.<br />
<br />
<b>3. Major college football will become semi-professional.</b><br />
<br />
This is the one I am dreading. No one would argue that NFL football is played at a higher level of talent than college football. After all, only the best college players make it to the pros. However, another difference between college and pro games is discernable to anyone who can hear. Last season people marveled at the crowds at Seattle’s CenturyLink Field, where the Seahawks’ “12th Man” gives them a decided home-field advantage. The reason it was so remarkable is that it is so rare in NFL football. What seems fairly normal to SEC football fans – loud, raucous crowds screaming and cheering for three solid hours – is almost nonexistent in the NFL. Although it isn’t exclusively true, many college football fans spent years attending their alma maters. They have memories and friendships that tie them to the school. They don’t have to worry about their favorite team leaving town, or their favorite player leaving to play for more money somewhere else.<br />
<br />
The fallout of the Northwestern football team’s vote on whether or not to unionize, regardless of what the outcome will finally turn out to be, has altered the landscape of college football. If the National Labor Relations Board upholds an official’s ruling that scholarship football players are employees, then they willnot only have the right to unionize, but may be entitled to workers compensation benefits, unemployment insurance, and some portion of the revenue generated by college sports.<br />
<br />
It would be hard to argue, in light of the potential for catastrophic, life-altering injuries and long-term disabilities from playing football, that these players don’t deserve at least the opportunity to decide to unionize. In their best incarnations, unions protect workers from abuse and exploitation. However, the natural progression of this might mean free agency, contract disputes, and work stoppages. Can you imagine the Alabama-West Virginia game being delayed or cancelled by a players’ strike? Or having a group of non-scholarship walk-ons playing the game while the scholarship players sit out? It has happened before in all the major professional sports, and there’s little reason to believe it couldn’t happen here.<br />
<br />
One might argue that the decision on autonomy is an effort to stave this off, allowing schools to address some player complaints by sharing revenues above and beyond the cost of scholarships. But I’m afraid that the genie is already out of the bottle, and college football will be completely unrecognizable in the next decade or two, assuming it even still exists.karlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608002071907476082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29118369.post-48913761210312458912013-01-30T09:49:00.003-06:002013-01-30T09:59:55.446-06:00Alabama and the 15 National Championships, Part II<a href="http://noneyabusiness.blogspot.com/2013/01/alabama-and-15-national-championships.html" target="_blank">Part I</a><br />
<br />
In
the first part of this series, I reviewed Alabama's fifteen claimed
national championships, including the season results and how Alabama
arrived at that number. In my opinion, fourteen of those titles are
very hard to dispute, although the 1941 championship is pretty dubious.
The <a href="http://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/">College Football Data Warehouse</a>
(CFDW) web site, agrees that Alabama has 14 "recognized" national
championships, but lists 28 total. So, if Alabama claims fifteen of
those titles, what about the other thirteen? Are any of those titles
"legitimate?"<br />
<br />
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?<br />
<br />
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 <i>Seattle Times</i>, 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?<br />
<br />
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?<br />
<br />
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?<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><b>1936 -</b> 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. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>1937 -</b> 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. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>1945 -</b> 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 <a href="http://noneyabusiness.blogspot.com/2012/10/alabama-and-14-national-championships.html">Part I</a>) rather than the 1941 team, as I think this team has a much better claim. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>1950 -</b> 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.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>1962 -</b> 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). </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>1963 - </b>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.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>1966 - </b>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. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>1974 -</b> 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. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>1975 -</b> 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. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>1977 -</b> 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? </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>1980 </b>- 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.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>1991 -</b> 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. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>1994 -</b> 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.</li>
</ul>
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 its segregationist policies (on campus as well as statewide) rather than to
solely to award the best team (Alabama had begun the 1966 season at #1
in both polls). <br />
<br />
Anyway, there you have it. Alabama
has fifteen claimed national titles, fourteen 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.
As a matter of fact, no matter how you look at it, the Crimson Tide has more national championships than any other FBS team.<br />
<br />
<b>Claimed Championships: </b>15 (first); Notre Dame, Michigan and USC all claim 11<br />
<b>Poll Championships: </b>10 (first); Notre Dame has 8<br />
<b>BCS Championships:</b> 3 (first); LSU and Florida both have two<br />
<br />
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).<br />
<br />
<b>Team Titles Recognized Titles Claimed Total (All Selectors)</b><br />
Princeton 26 28 31<br />
Yale 18 27 31<br />
<b>Alabama 14 15 28</b><br />
Notre Dame 13 11 23<br />
Michigan 11 11 21<br />
USC 10 11 22<br />
Pittsburgh 9 9 <b> </b> 16<br />
Harvard 8 8 19<br />
Ohio State 7 7 20<br />
Oklahoma 7 7 23<br />
Minnesota 6 7 10<br />
Pennsylvania 6 7 21<br />
Army 5 3 11<br />
Miami 5 5 10<br />
Nebraska 5 5<b> </b>14<br />
California 4 5 5<br />
Georgia Tech 4 4 7<br />
Illinois 4 5 6<br />
LSU 4 3 11<br />
Michigan State 4 6 8<br />
Penn State 4 2 15<br />
Tennessee 4 6 14 <br />
Texas 4 4 13 <br />
<b>Auburn 3 3 8</b><br />
Cornell 3 5<b> </b> 5<br />
Florida 3 3 5<br />
Lafayette 3 3 3<br />
<br />
Props to Cal and Cornell for straight up, unabashedly claiming all of theirs, deservedly or not.<br />
<br />
<br />
*(<i>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.</i>) karlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608002071907476082noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29118369.post-88424035921403235262013-01-30T09:47:00.002-06:002013-01-30T09:50:59.947-06:00Alabama and the 15 National Championships, Part I <i>Updated and re-posted to reflect Alabama's most recent triumph in Miami. </i><br />
<br />
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 the University of Alabama. The other is that Alabama claims a number of
illegitimate national championships.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
Now the national championships.
Alabama claims 15. 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 fifteen isn't the right number, what is?<br />
<br />
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). <br />
<br />
According to the College Football Data Warehouse (CFDW) web site (<a href="http://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/">www.cfbdatawarehouse.com</a>),
Alabama's football team has been named national champion 28 different
seasons by one or more services. CFDW lists fourteen of those titles as
"Recognized." The NCAA web site lists 13 Alabama championships,
relying on nine or ten major sources. The AP, which started naming a
champion in 1936, has awarded the Tide nine titles. The UPI/Coaches
Poll, which dates back to 1950, has selected Alabama eight times. So,
which number is correct? Let's start by examining the titles that
Alabama claims, and why they did so.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://blog.al.com/solomon/2010/01/got_12.html">This article</a>, which initially appeared in the <i>Birmingham New</i>s
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.<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><b>1961 -</b> 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.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>1964 -</b> 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. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>1965 -</b> 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. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>1973 - </b>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. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>1978 -</b> 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). </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>1979 -</b> 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.</li>
</ul>
<br />
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 four more out of the way
that no one seriously disputes.<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><b>1992 - </b>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. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>2009 -</b> 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. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>2011 -</b> 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. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>2012</b> - Finished 13-1-0. BCS Champion. Alabama lost to Texas A&M, led by Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel the week after a heartstopping victory over LSU in Baton Rouge. The Tide later edged Georgia 32-28 in one of the best SEC Championship Games ever, then rolled Notre Dame 42-14 in the BCS Championship Game.</li>
</ul>
So, now we're at ten national championships, and all of them are fairly undisputed "poll-era" titles. So let's dive into the last five that Alabama
claims. The first question is, why were those titles added in the first
place?<br />
<br />
According to the previously-mentioned <i>Birmingham News</i>
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?<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><b>1925 -</b> 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 <a href="http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q16/skip_wilson/image28.png">newspaper article</a> from the next day makes it clear that the game was regarded as the national championship <i>at the time</i>.
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. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>1926 -</b> 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. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>1930 - </b>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). </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>1934 -</b> 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). </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>1941 -</b> 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.</li>
</ul>
There you have it. I believe a strong case can be made for
every title that Alabama claims, except, perhaps, for the 1941 championship. That
one is pretty sketchy, and clearly that is where the CFDW gets the fourteen "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 fifteen. 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 <a href="http://noneyabusiness.blogspot.com/2013/01/alabama-and-15-national-championships_30.html" target="_blank">Part II</a>.<br />
<br />karlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608002071907476082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29118369.post-42967122053518102952013-01-08T10:02:00.000-06:002013-01-08T16:07:32.752-06:00SEC Football Bowl Week, Part II: The Rundown - Championship EditionClick here for <a href="http://noneyabusiness.blogspot.com/2013/01/sec-football-bowl-week-part-1-rundown.html" target="_blank">Part I</a>. <br />
<br />
So the 2012 football season came to an end as they all do nowadays, with the Southeastern Conference on top of the college football world as champions. For the second year in a row, and the third time in four years, it was Alabama, who completely dominated the top-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish to win its 15th National Championship (or tenth poll championship or third BCS championship, however you want to look at it). Let's start the Rundown!<br />
<br />
<b>(2) Alabama 42, (1) Notre Dame 14</b><br />
<i>BCS National Championship Game, Miami, FL</i><br />
<br />
While the performance by the Tide wasn't perfect throughout the entire game, the first two quarters of play by Alabama were nearly flawless as the team built an insurmountable 28-0 halftime lead. Notre Dame's defensive front seven, purportedly better than any Alabama faced in the SEC this season, were manhandled and road-graded by the Crimson Tide offensive line in a fashion that suggested that the Irish may have been vastly overrated. Notre Dame's Heisman runner-up Manti Te'o, who is, no doubt, a person of high character who continued to perform for his team in the face of personal tragedy this season, nevertheless was completely exposed by the passing of AJ McCarron and the running of Eddie Lacy and T. J. Yeldon. Lacy and Yeldon repeatedly evaded Te'o, when they weren't running through his arm tackles, and McCarron burned Te'o on a touchdown pass to tight end Michael Williams when every Irish defender expected a run. Notre Dame had not allowed a touchdown drive of over eighty yards all season, but the Tide had four in the game, including a back-breaking 97-yard drive following an acrobatic interception by Hasean Clinton-Dix (assist to Demarcus Milliner for the pass break up). Offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier called a masterful game, and the Tide offense executed it well. For all of the credit that Nick Saban and Kirby Smart get for defensive scheme and firepower, this Alabama team won the game with an offensive juggernaut that took on the strength of the Irish squad and rendered it impotent. Looking back, it's fair to say that the Alabama defense underwhelmed against LSU, Georgia, Texas A&M, and even had trouble with Ole Miss (keep in mind Alabama's defense still ended the season as the best in the country), but the Tide won those games, and came within a hair's breadth of beating A&M, due to the best offense Alabama has fielded under Saban. Credit for that falls largely upon Barrett Jones, Chance Warmack, D. J. Fluker, Cyrus Kouandjio, Anthony Steen and Michael Williams, the offensive linemen and tight end who blocked their way to a national title.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>(21) Louisville 33, (3) Florida 23</b><br />
<i>Allstate Sugar Bowl, New Orleans, LA</i><br />
<br />
The most surprising outcome of the bowl season apart from the dismantling of Notre Dame by Alabama was Florida's anemic performance in the Sugar Bowl. While props must be given to Cardinals coach Charlie Strong, whose longtime Florida ties certainly helped serve as motivation for this game, the Gators played like they left their hearts in the French Quarter, or maybe back on the field in Tallahassee, where they whipped Florida State back in November. For this Florida squad to win 11 games was an overachievement, given their level of on-field talent and lack of a quarterback who can actually throw a consistent pass. Watching the game, I was reminded of Alabama's Sugar Bowl performance against Utah following the 2008 season. Florida came up one game short of its 2012 goals, like Alabama in 2008, and didn't appear to want to be in New Orleans, and <a href="http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/blogs/swamp-things/os-uf-university-of-florida-struggling-to-unload-tickets-to-the-2013-sugar-bowl-20121214,0,7379852.post" target="_blank">their fans agreed</a>. Maybe Florida should have done the right thing and declined the BCS invitation so that Georgia could take their place. However, much like Alabama in 2008, I don't think you can read too much into this loss. Coach Will Muschamp's focus in the off-season should be discipline. In the team's two losses, the Gators turned the ball over nine times and had 19 penalties. That's not a formula for success.<br />
<br />
<b>(9) Texas A&M 41, (11) Oklahoma 13</b><br />
<i>AT&T Cotton Bowl, Dallas, TX</i><br />
<br />
Perhaps the only way that this victory could have been more fulfilling for the Aggies, coming as it did against a former Big XII rival in the Jerry Dome in Dallas, is if it had come against Texas rather than Oklahoma. Heisman winner Johnny Manziel had probably his best game of the season, which should be troubling to every other team in the SEC West who will have to face the still-improving young quarterback. Manziel had over 500 yards of offense in the game and set a bowl record for most rushing yards by a quarterback with 229 on 17 carries. It should be clear at this point that there is no such thing as a Heisman jinx when the actual best player in the country wins the Heisman. Fortunately, that player was from College Station rather than South Bend. The Aggies will enter the 2013 season as a title contender. It will be interesting to see how they perform with a target squarely on their backs, but regardless, the team's inaugural season in the SEC has been an unqualified success.<br />
<br />
<b>Ole Miss 38, Pittsburgh 17</b><br />
<i>BBVA Compass Bowl, Birmingham, AL</i><br />
<br />
The Rebels rewarded the nearly 60,000(!) fans who traveled to Legion Field to see them take on the Pittsburgh Panthers with a rout to wrap up a 7-6 season in Hugh Freeze's first year. Ole Miss stepped up markedly from a 2-9 effort in 2011 and showed significant improvement as the season progressed, suggesting that the Rebels hired the right man for their job. The most significant victory is still on the horizon though -- it will come in February if Freeze can land top high school prospect Robert Nkemdiche, whose brother plays for the Rebels, in Oxford on National Signing Day.<br />
<br />
<b>2012 Bowl Summary</b><br />
<br />
The final bowl breakdown by conference looks like this:<br />
<br />
<b>CONFERENCE WINS LOSSES PCT</b> <br />
WAC 2 0 1.000<br />
C-USA 4 1 .800 <br />
SEC 6 3 .667 <br />
Big East 3 2 .600 <br />
ACC 3 2 .600 <br />
Pac-12 4 4 .500 <br />
Sun Belt 2 2 .500 <br />
Big XII 4 5 .444 <br />
Independent 1 2 .333 <br />
MAC 2 4 .333 <br />
Big Ten 2 5 .286 <br />
Mountain West 1 4 .200 <br />
<br />
So, the SEC finished first among the major conferences and third overall (second among conferences that will exist next year). Couple that with the SEC's 7th BCS national championship in a row, and it's easy to see why fans of every other team have "SEC fatigue." That's like saying that the Japanese in World War II had "US Navy fatigue." Getting beaten up and down the field year after year will do that to you. Conference USA had a surprisingly strong performance in bowls that nobody watched. The ACC and Big East did fairly well, with the ACC especially improving over 2011's dismal bowl record. The Big XII finished disappointingly, and the Big Ten was abysmal, falling below even the lowly MAC.<br />
<br />
<b>My Final SEC Power Rankings </b><br />
<br />
1. <b>Alabama</b> (13-1) - Four national titles in three years. The Tide bookended the 2012 season with remarkably similar performances against Michigan and Notre Dame, two of the all-time elite teams in the college football pantheon. This is arguably the best five-year run in Alabama history, if not college football history.<br />
2. <b>Georgia</b> (12-2) - Nick Saban said in his postgame comments that Georgia was five yards from "being here." Whether Saban meant <i>here</i> as in Miami or <i>here</i> as in the postgame victory celebration is debatable, but there's no doubt in my mind that both would have been true. Fortunately, Georgia recovered fully from their loss in Atlanta to defeat Nebraska and set themselves up for a title run in 2013.<br />
3. <b>Texas A&M</b> (11-2) - With Manziel under center and Kevin Sumlin at the helm, this team turned into a juggernaut by season's end. The Aggies are the team to watch in 2013. <br />
4. <b>South Carolina</b> (11-2) - Although South Carolina stumbled late in the season, they recovered nicely with wins over Clemson and Michigan.<br />
5. <b>Florida</b> (11-2) - The loss to Louisville took some of the shine off 2012, but the Gators still look to be ahead of schedule in year two under Muschamp.<br />
6. <b>LSU</b> (10-3) - This might be the most disappointing ten-win season in LSU history.<br />
7. <b>Vanderbilt</b> (9-4) - Yes, Vanderbilt. This has to be the ceiling for the Commodores, right? Right?<br />
8. <b>Ole Miss</b> (7-6) - The Rebels are improving, and should be even better next year.<br />
9. <b>Mississippi State</b> (8-5) - New coaches at Auburn and Arkansas likely mean that the Bulldogs' window is closing in the SEC West.<br />
10. <b>Missouri</b> (5-7) - Injuries hampered the Tigers from the beginning, but the stellar success of fellow newbie A&M has to be somewhat galling.<br />
11. <b>Tennessee</b> (5-7) - New coach Butch Jones has his hands full as he tries to take the Volunteers back to the mountaintop.<br />
12. <b>Arkansas</b> (4-8) - Ditto new Arkansas coach Bret Bielema, who will also have to retool the Razorbacks' offense to fit his system.<br />
13. <b>Auburn</b> (3-9) - Auburn's "new" coach Gus Malzahn will have to deal with a talent deficit and a team that quit on the last coach.<br />
14. <b>Kentucky</b> (2-10) - Pity new Wildcats coach Mark Stoops. On the bright side, there's nowhere to go but up.<br />
<br />
<b>The Final Word</b><br />
<br />
There's been a lot of talk about Nick Saban and Alabama's program and whether the win signals a dynasty. I think that calling what Saban has done at Alabama a dynasty is fine, although he will be the first to tell you that every team has a life and story of its own. That is the way it has always been, of course. What is more interesting to me is the comparison between Saban's achievements at Alabama with those of other coaches through history, and particularly with Alabama legend Paul W. "Bear" Bryant.<br />
<br />
Coach Bryant will always have a place of prominence at Alabama, regardless of what Saban's accomplishments finally turn out to be. Bryant played at Alabama, for a national champion Rose Bowl team no less. He served as head coach for 25 years and won 232 games at Alabama, both records which Saban is unlikely to challenge. Bryant led the Tide during the state's darkest days since the Civil War, when segregation and the Civil Rights struggle were tearing the country apart. He gave Alabamians something to feel positive about, winning six national titles and eventually becoming the nation's all-time winningest college football coach. And Bryant was a larger-than-life figure - a hard-living mountain of a man who wrestled a bear, played against Tennessee with a broken leg, and kicked down a locker room door after returning from the field to find it locked. The Legend of the Bear has all but replaced the man now, and the Legend lives on.<br />
<br />
Saban, on the other hand, is so focused on his process and eliminating every distraction that doesn't contribute to its success, that he can seem to the outsider like something less than human - a college football robot. This isn't entirely true - he loves his wife and his children, he cares about his players' success in life, and he has other interests besides his job, like music by the Eagles and driving his boat. But it is easy to view Saban as a college football machine - recruiting blue chip talent, producing NFL players, and winning BCS championships. It <i>is</i> ironic that during Saban's historic run at Alabama that he has defeated three Bryant bugaboos. In two of the three title games Alabama has won under Saban, he has defeated Texas and Notre Dame, two teams that famously plagued Bryant. He never beat either of them, and in fact missed out on additional titles because of it. Under Saban, Alabama has also had its first Heisman winner, something Bryant never was able to accomplish in Tuscaloosa.* Saban is the only coach besides Pop Warner to have won a national title at two different schools. And, of course, he's the only coach to win more than two titles in the BCS era. Saban has won four national titles, including his 2003 win at LSU, which
ties him with Notre Dame's Frank Leahy and USC's John McKay, and puts
him second behind Bryant's six. Can Saban reach that lofty pinnacle? It's awfully hard to do, but there's no one in the country who has a better chance.<br />
<br />
However, I told my kids last night after the win that they should remember this moment, as Alabama stands inarguably astride the college football world like a Colossus. I came of age toward the end of Coach Bryant's career/life, and much of my teen and adult life has been spent watching the Tide dabble fleetingly with greatness before sinking back into mediocrity. Saban's arrival at Alabama ushered in another of those eras, rare even for the powerhouses of sports, where sustained greatness is achieved. It won't last forever. It can't. But I believe that most Alabama fans who have gone through the long drought between Bryant and Gene Stallings, and the longer drought between Stallings and Saban, realize that elite success is fleeting, and fans should enjoy it to the fullest while they can. <br />
<br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">*Bryant did have a Heisman winner at Texas A&M in 1957 - John David Crow.</span></i>karlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608002071907476082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29118369.post-3330620171743850612013-01-01T18:48:00.001-06:002013-01-01T18:48:11.107-06:00SEC Football Bowl Week, Part 1: The RundownWhile the 2012 college football bowl season began in mid-December, SEC play began just yesterday on New Year's Eve. Five teams have now played their bowl games, and with another four games remaining over the next week it seems a good time to assess the SEC's bowl performances so far. Let's start the Rundown!<br />
<br />
<b>Vanderbilt 38, NC State 24 </b><br />
<i>Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl, Nashville, TN</i><br />
<br />
Vanderbilt's post-season success just keeps coming. First, the Commodores got a significant win in December by hanging on to second-year coach James Franklin, who has led Vandy to its best back-to-back seasons since the 1920s and its first nine-win season since 1915. Franklin seems to be serious about making the Commodores a contender in the SEC East, which seems ludicrous until you see what he has already done. Compare Franklin's body of work to, say, Dan Mullen's at Mississippi State, and it's hard not to like what is happening in Nashville. In the Music City Bowl, the Commodores faced a NC State team with a lame-duck coaching staff and that is rarely a good formula for a bowl victory. While the Wolfpack outgained the Commodores by almost a two-to-one margin (424 yards to 225), five turnovers gave Vanderbilt all the help they needed to pull off the win.<br />
<br />
<b>(14) Clemson 25, (8) LSU 24</b><br />
<i>Chick-Fil-A Bowl, Atlanta, GA</i><br />
<br />
Les Miles has won a national title, two SEC championships and more than 80 percent of his games at LSU, so it would be fair to say that he is a very good coach, perhaps even a great one. Miles, however, has perhaps the worst reputation for game and clock management of anyone in the conference, if not the country, and it is well-deserved. The Fighting Tigers went up 14-7 early in the second quarter of the game and did not relinquish that lead until the last play, but the play calling in the late minutes, and perhaps the entire offensive game plan, seemed designed to keep Clemson in the game. Freshman running back Jeremy Hill had 124 yards and two touchdowns in the game, but only carried the ball 12 times, none of which came in the fourth quarter. The Tigers nursed a 24-22 lead with 2:47 on the game clock, but elected to pass three straight times instead of trying to run out the clock or force Clemson to use its timeouts. Clemson scored on its last three drives of the game including the game-winning field goal as time expired. Zach Mettenberger threw for a mediocre 120 yards and was sacked six times, as LSU's pass protection was abysmal against the lightly-rated Clemson defense (74th nationally in total defense).<br />
<br />
<b>(20) Northwestern 34, Mississippi State 20</b><br />
<i>Taxslayer.com Gator Bowl, Jacksonville, FL</i><br />
<br />
I don't know if it's fair to say that Dan Mullen will be on the hot seat in 2013. After all, Mullen has a 37-26 record at MSU and has taken the Bulldogs to three straight bowl games. Even as the bowl pairings were announced, this game had the look of the best (worst?) opportunity for the SEC to lose a bowl game. But after starting 7-0 in 2012, the Bulldogs lost five of their last six games. Quarterback Tyler Russell, who was incredibly efficient during the regular season, throwing only six interceptions on 366 sttempts, threw four picks against the Wildcats, including one of the worst decisions I have seen this season - an up-for-grabs hurl on third and five in the fourth quarter that basically gave Northwestern their final deciding touchdown. The late-season collapse and Russell's deterioration in the last two games don't really speak well for Mullen's ability to coach his best players up to the next level. Set aside Nick Saban and Les Miles in the SEC West and just compare Mullen to Kevin Sumlin, Bret Bielema, Gus Malzahn, and Hugh Freeze. I think its fair to say that Mullen is, at best, in the middle of that group, and at worst might be the bottom. The inability to overcome a middling Northwestern team doesn't speak well for the Bulldogs' future under Mullen.<br />
<br />
<b>(10) South Carolina 33, (18) Michigan 28</b><br />
<i>Outback Bowl, Tampa, FL</i><br />
<br />
The back and forth finale of the Outback Bowl was perhaps the most compelling football of the 2012 bowl season. The game turned on one particular sequence that was so extraordinary, I called my entire family in to watch the replay. Michigan had clawed its way back into the game after falling behind 21-10, while Carolina had missed two field goals and fumbled the ball to Michigan in between. The Wolverines led 22-21 with 9:58 remaining in the game and faced a fourth and four to go at their own 37 yard line. Faking a punt, Michigan ran the upback Floyd Simmons close to the first down marker, and the officials measured the spot and inexplicably awarded the first down to Michigan even though the ball was clearly short of the first down pole. Steve Spurrier and the rest of the South Carolina bench went nuts on the sideline and Spurrier asked for a review of the spot. However, the called stood, and it appeared that South Carolina might be on the ropes. Then, the very next play, <a href="http://deadspin.com/5972378/jadeveon-clowney-decapitated-vincent-smith-then-palmed-the-football" target="_blank">this happened.</a> Jadaveon Clowney, the Gamecocks' all-American defensive end, shot through the offensive line unblocked and delivered a bone-crushing hit to Vincent Smith, who had not even had time to fully receive the handoff yet. Smith lost both his helmet and the ball, and Clowney recovered the fumble with one hand. It was one of the single best defensive plays I have ever seen. The Gamecocks, in textbook Spurrier fashion, threw for the endzone on the ensuing play, and Connor Shaw hit Ace Sanders for a touchdown. Michigan would score again on its next drive, forcing a heroic effort by both South Carolina quarterbacks on the final drive to score the game-winning TD with 11 seconds remaining, but Clowney's play got the Gamecocks and their fans back into the game when things started to go sideways.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>(7) Georgia 45, (16) Nebraska 31</b><br />
<i>Capital One Bowl, Orlando, FL</i><br />
<br />
Georgia's Aaron Murray threw for five touchdowns and 427 yards, both school bowl records, against the nation's top passing defense to rally the Bulldogs to a victory in the Capital One Bowl. Nebraska's moved the ball well at times against the Bulldogs, amassing 443 yards of offense, but Georgia forced three turnovers and sacked Taylor Martinez five times. After falling behind 31-23 early in the third quarter, the Bulldogs defense didn't allow the Huskers past the Georgia 39, forcing a fumble, two punts, an interception and a turnover on downs on their final five drives. The big question for the Bulldogs in the off-season will turn to Aaron Murray. Murray has passed for 3000+ yards in each of his three seasons at the helm in Athens, something no other SEC quarterback has ever done. His entire offensive line returns in 2013 along with most of his skill position players. Even with a defense that will lose several stars to the NFL, the Bulldogs will be strong contenders to repeat as SEC East champions if Murray returns.<br />
<br />
<b>First Half Bowl Summary</b><br />
<br />
So far, with the Rose Bowl in progress and Orange Bowl on the way, the bowl breakdown by conference looks like this:<br />
<br />
<b>CONFERENCE WINS LOSSES PCT</b> <b>GAMES PENDING</b><br />
WAC 2 0 1.000 None<br />
C-USA 4 1 .800 None<br />
Big East 2 1 .667 Two<br />
ACC 3 2 .600 One<br />
SEC 3 2 .600 Four<br />
Big 12 4 3 .571 Two<br />
Independent 1 1 .500 One<br />
MAC 2 3 .400 Two<br />
Pac-12 2 4 .333 Two<br />
Sun Belt 1 2 .333 One<br />
Big Ten 2 4 .333 One<br />
Mountain West 1 4 .200 None<br />
<br />
So, while the SEC hasn't been as successful as one might hope, it's doing fairly well compared to the major conferences, with an opportunity to turn in a really stellar performance with wins in the last four games. Meanwhile, the Big Ten is having yet another terrible postseason, and the Pac-12 can do no better than .500.<br />
<br />karlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608002071907476082noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29118369.post-30645643937926813402012-12-03T18:09:00.000-06:002012-12-03T18:18:57.243-06:00An Open Letter to Auburn, Tennessee and Arkansas: Hire a Proven Head CoachYou might wonder why I, as a hardcore Alabama football fan, would write a letter giving advice to three of the Tide's rivals. Well, first, I have little expectation that anyone of consequence at these schools will read this, so no real danger there. Secondly though, and this is hard to say, but as much as I love crushing these three programs (average margin of victory by Alabama in 2012 against these three teams was 44 points), the only exciting rivalry Alabama has right now is with LSU, and that's a bit of a shame.<br />
<br />
At one time, Tennessee and Auburn were games that Alabama fans anticipated all year - a measuring stick against which success or failure for a season was judged. Former Tennessee coach General Robert Neyland famously said, "You never know what a football player is made of until he plays Alabama." Among SEC teams, not counting the two new members, Auburn and Tennessee have the closest winning percentage against Alabama. Alabama has beaten Auburn in 55.2% of its matchups, while Tennessee sits at 55.9%. Among the old SEC, only these two teams and Georgia have beaten Alabama more than 40% of the time that they have played. Arkansas, although its history against Alabama has largely taken place since the Razorbacks joined the SEC in 1992, has a respectable 8-13 record against the Tide, which is second place in winning percentage among SEC West opponents (not counting newbie Texas A&M, which is 3-2). Alabama has played Tennessee 94 times, more than any other opponent but Mississippi State. And even though Alabama and Auburn didn't play each other for 40 years, stemming from a minor dispute, the Tide and Tigers have still played 77 times. That's tied for fourth among Alabama opponents. <br />
<br />
My point is that Alabama's success in many ways is bound up with the teams that they call their rivals, and years of terrible or even mediocre play by those rivals serves to tarnish the rivalry. I often cringe when I hear Bama fans say that they want Auburn to win every game except against Alabama. I don't. I (perhaps irrationally) hate Auburn. I hate their colors. I hate their traditions. I think Auburn's trees are stupid, their toilet paper rolling is stupider and their fans are the stupidest of all. But I recognized last week that beating them 49-0, while satisfying, lacked any real punch. Every Auburn fan I know knew that they were going to get killed. Some of them ignored the game completely. As much as I hated losing to them in 2010 by one point against *** Newton, I would have enjoyed winning that one and ruining their dream season a lot more than I did this year's contest. So, that being said, I have some advice for the administrations of Auburn, Tennessee, and Arkansas. Hire a proven head coach.<br />
<br />
As almost any college football fan can tell you, Alabama fans speak with experience on this front. Our greatest coach of all time, the legendary Paul William Bryant, was a Bama alum and championship winner as a player. But Bryant was also an experienced winner when he was hired to helm the Tide in 1958. Bryant won an SEC championship at Kentucky, for Pete's sake, the only outright title the Wildcats have ever won, and turned Texas A&M into a Southwest Conference champion before he came to Alabama to become the Greatest of All Time. After Bryant, Alabama ran through nine different head coaches in 25 years, which incidentally was the same amount of time Bryant coached at Alabama. Do you realize that Nick Saban, the supposed mercenary head coach, has been at Alabama longer than any other head coach since Bryant, save one? Saban is only one year away from equalling Gene Stallings' tenure at Alabama. What did Alabama learn during those (largely) fallow years?<br />
<br />
Among those nine coaches, the people Alabama hired fell into three categories: proven head coach (one with a winning record and championship experience), unproven head coach (one with a losing/mediocre record), and former coordinator (little or no head coaching experience).<br />
<br />
<b>Proven Head Coach - </b><i>Dennis Franchione</i> (138-65-2 at Southwestern/Pittsburgh State/SW Texas State/New Mexico/TCU, nine conference championships); <i>Nick Saban</i> (91-42-1 at Toledo/Michigan State/LSU, three division championships, three conference championships, one national championship; 15-17 at Miami Dolphins)<br />
<br />
<b>Unproven Head Coach - </b><i>Ray Perkins</i> (23-34 at NY Giants); <i>Bill Curry</i> (31-43-4 at Georgia Tech); <i>Gene Stallings</i> (27-45-1 at Texas A&M; 23-34-1 at St. Louis/Phoenix Cardinals); <i>Mike Price</i> (129-122 at Weber State/Washington State)<br />
<br />
<b>Former Coordinator -</b> <i>Mike Dubose</i>, <i>Mike Shula</i>, <i>Joe Kines</i> (interim)<br />
<br />
As you can see from these breakdowns, Alabama only hired two proven head coaches in the years after Bryant retired. Everyone knows about Saban - the <a href="http://noneyabusiness.blogspot.com/2012/12/bama-wins-23rd-sec-title-looks-ahead-to.html" target="_blank">greatest college football coach of this era</a>. He had three conference championships and a national title before he came to Alabama, and he has won two more of each since arriving, with a third national championship potentially looming. Franchione was also a proven commodity, winning nine conference championships before coaching the Tide. Franchione was successful in his two seasons at Alabama, but NCAA probation scared him off to coach elsewhere.<br />
<br />
Among the unproven head coaches, Stallings turned out to be the best of those - winning a national title and 70 games in seven years. Perkins and Curry are generally regarded as failures, although both finished with winning records. Price was an unmitigated disaster who never even coached a game for the Tide, unless you count A-Day. And the coordinators? The kindest way to put it is that they weren't ready for one of the biggest stages in college football.<br />
<br />
So? Why should Auburn, Arkansas and Tennessee learn from Alabama's head coaching misfires? Well, if that isn't enough of an example for you, take a look at the coaches in the SEC.<br />
<br />
First, among the four coaches that were fired at the conclusion of the 2012 season, see if you spot a common pattern:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Gene Chizik (Auburn) - former defensive coordinator, 5-19 as head coach of Iowa State</li>
<li>John L. Smith (Arkansas) - interim, former special teams coach</li>
<li>Joker Phillips (Kentucky) - former offensive coordinator</li>
<li>Derek Dooley (Tennessee) - 17-20 as head coach of Louisiana Tech</li>
</ul>
<br />
Of course, all of these coaches were either unproven head coaches or coordinators. What about the other current coaches in the SEC? Let's start with the teams that are currently ranked in the BCS top ten.<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Nick Saban (Alabama) - proven head coach - (62-13 at Alabama, 2 SEC, 2 NC)</li>
<li>Will Muschamp (Florida) - former defensive coordinator - (18-7 at Florida)</li>
<li>Mark Richt (Georgia) - former offensive coordinator - (117-40 at Georgia, 2 SEC)</li>
<li>Les Miles (LSU) - proven head coach (85-20 at LSU, 2 SEC, 1 NC)*</li>
<li>Kevin Sumlin (Texas A&M) - proven head coach - (10-2 at Texas A&M)</li>
<li>Steve Spurrier (South Carolina) - proven head coach - (65-37 at USC) </li>
</ul>
<br />
Richt and Muschamp are the only coaches here that were not proven commodities when hired. Richt has clearly been successful. It's too early to conclude anything about Muschamp at this point, although he looks better now than he did a year ago. <br />
<br />
As for the rest?<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Hugh Freeze (Ole Miss) - proven head coach - (6-6 at Ole Miss)</li>
<li>Dan Mullen (Miss. State) - former offensive coordinator - (29-21 at MSU)</li>
<li>Gary Pinkel (Missouri) - proven head coach (90-61 at Mizzou)</li>
<li>James Franklin (Vanderbilt) - former offensive coordinator - (14-11 at Vandy) </li>
</ul>
<br />
Freeze and Franklin are too new to really pronounce judgment, but Mullen may have already hit his ceiling. Pinkel has taken Missouri to new heights in the Big XII, although it remains to be seen whether he can win big in the SEC.<br />
<br />
All this data shows us that there is no perfect way to hire a head coach. There have been successful coaches in this league that have come from all different levels. Tomorrow's great head coach might truly be today's offensive coordinator, but with each choice there is a degree of risk. Auburn, Tennessee, and Arkansas are big-name programs in the most difficult conference in college football. The fan interest, media scrutiny and cost of failure are as high in this league as they are anywhere in the country, especially for the top-tier programs. While a perennial bottom-dweller like Kentucky can take a risk on a up-and-coming coordinator like Mark Stoops, two or three years of on-the-job training are not an option for a program that hopes to compete against those six guys in the top ten I mentioned previously. Furthermore, all three programs have wealthy boosters who can help pony up to get a successful coach into the door.<br />
<br />
A head coach with a proven record of success is going to be successful at an SEC school. Most likely, he has been doing more with less somewhere else. Take Urban Meyer for example. A guy who can turn around a losing program at Bowling Green and go 17-6 in two seasons might be pretty good, right? Then he went on to lead Utah to a BCS bowl and an undefeated season. His success at Florida (2 SEC and 2 NC) was fairly easy to predict, and he has already led Ohio State to an 12-0 finish in 2012. While few will attain Meyer's level of success, there are plenty of experienced winners out there that could do even more with the resources of an SEC program.<br />
<br />
While I would never presume to tell the presidents and ADs at these institutions of higher learning how to do their jobs, I would give them this one recommendation: find a head coach with a record of success, even if it's with a lower tier school. Steer clear of an unproven one-hit wonder or worse, a coordinator with no experience as a head coach. <i>Your</i> job may depend on it.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">*<i>Miles is debatable as a proven head coach before LSU, but he had a winning record at Oklahoma State and turned around a losing program, taking them to three straight bowls.</i></span>karlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608002071907476082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29118369.post-60482555551081052922012-12-01T22:03:00.003-06:002012-12-01T22:47:19.295-06:00Bama Wins 23rd SEC Title, Looks Ahead to Notre DameAlabama escaped the Georgia Dome Saturday with a 32-28 win over the Georgia Bulldogs to win the team's 23rd SEC Championship. The Crimson Tide scored the winning touchdown on a 45-yard pass from AJ McCarron to Amari Cooper with 3:15 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs drove to the eight in the final seconds with a chance to win, but a tipped pass was diverted from the intended receiver, instead going to Chris Conley, who came down with the ball at the five yard line as time expired. The second-ranked Crimson Tide will go on to play number-one Notre Dame in the BCS Championship Game in Miami, while Georgia will, unfortunately, be relegated to a second-tier bowl, possibly the Capital One or the Cotton.<br />
<br />
1. Tide Wins by Going Back to Basics.<br />
<br />
The unanimous opinion of Alabama fans following the Texas A&M game was that the Tide largely abandoned the run game in the loss to the Aggies. While that may not have been entirely true, offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier's playcalling in the red zone late against A&M seemed to forego running the ball for the pass. Early success against the Bulldogs rushing the ball, as well as significant pressure from the UGA defense on passing downs, led the Tide to rely heavily on the running game Saturday. Alabama set at least two running records in the game, rushing for 350 yards as a team (most in SECCG history), and having two backs rush for over 100 yards. Eddie Lacy, who won the game's MVP trophy, had 181 yards on 20 carries - an amazing 9.1 yard per carry average. Lacy had two touchdowns, including a 41-yard effort that was a sight to behold. Freshman sensation T. J. Yeldon carried 25 times for 153 yards, and also had a touchdown run. The Tide's success running the ball led to the team's most unbalanced offensive effort of the season - 51 rushing attempts versus only 21 passes. The game-winning pass actually came about as a result of this effort, as Georgia had gone to an eight man front with man-to-man coverage on the outside receivers in an effort to stop the run. McCarron executed a play-action pass to perfection and hit Amari Cooper in stride to take the final lead of the game.<br />
<br />
2. Georgia Proved Ready for the Big Game.<br />
<br />
Much was made in the lead up to this game of the fact that Georgia, under head coach Mark Richt, has had a tendency to underperform in big games. In addition, the knock on Bulldog quarterback Aaron Murray, who recently became the first signal caller in SEC history to throw for 3000+ yards in three straight seasons, has been that he has dominated weaker opponents, but played his worst in big games. I personally felt that, despite the loss, Georgia had its best big-game performance since the 2008 Sugar Bowl win over Hawaii. First, keep in mind that the Bulldogs were one play away from the win in the biggest game of Richt's career. Murray completed 18 of 33 passes for 265 yards - a 55% rate of completion. Murray was able to direct the Bulldogs up and down the field on the nation's top defense, and threw accurately in pressure situations. Murray wasn't error-free, by any means, but he clearly performed well enough to win. Even the alleged poor clock management at the end of the game was arguably better than Alabama's management of the clock at the end of the first half. All in all, Georgia played its heart out and came up short. That should be a welcome sight to Bulldogs fans who had been disappointed with previous efforts in marquee games.<br />
<br />
3. Nick Saban is the Greatest College Football Coach of this Era.<br />
<br />
I made a point in one of last week's pieces that Alabama coach Nick Saban, who has won 67 of his 80 games at Alabama on the field (officially, his record is 62-13, as Alabama had to vacate five wins in 2007), has outperformed Bear Bryant in his career so far at Alabama. Bryant won a record six national championships, coached 13 conference championship teams (plus two others before Alabama), and won a then-record 323 games. None of those marks are within Saban's reach. However, Saban has won 83.8% of his actual games at Alabama, and officially he has won 82.7%. Both marks exceed the 82.4% winning percentage that Bryant had at Alabama. Saban has also now won two national titles,with a third win one game away, and two conference titles - all in six seasons at the helm. He is the only coach in the BCS era to win the national title at two different schools, the only one to win it three times, and the only one to get his teams into the game four times. Unlike Bryant, he has done this in an era with scholarship limitations and NCAA scrutiny at an all-time high. I'm not arguing that Saban is better than Bryant, and it might even be a lively debate whether or not Saban is the second-best coach in Alabama history (although I think he edges out both Frank Thomas and Wallace Wade at this point, and closes the book with a win over Notre Dame). However, he is indisputably the best college football coach in this era. The fact that Alabama's then-record $4 million-a-year contract offer to woo Saban from the Miami Dolphins in 2007 was heavily criticized now seems laughable. Even at nearly six million dollars a year at this point, Saban is worth every penny and then some. Alabama is enjoying another historic high point, and fans should savor every moment.<br />
<br />
4. Notre Dame versus Alabama BCS Will Be Epic<br />
<br />
Let's set aside for a moment the game itself. There will be plenty of time to analyze the personnel, coaches, and position matchups in the weeks leading up to January 7th. I just want to talk about the historic significance of the game. On the one hand, you have top-ranked Notre Dame - currently number 1 in the nation in overall winning percentage and fourth nationally in all-time wins (865-301-41). The Fighting Irish have won 13 recognized national championships (although the program only claims 11) out of 23 total, and have played in 31 bowl games. The Irish have seven Heisman winners and 96 consensus All-Americans, both NCAA records. On the other hand you have Alabama. The Crimson Tide is currently seventh in the nation in overall winning percentage and in all-time wins (826-321-43). Alabama has won 13 recognized national titles (claiming 14) out of 31 total, and have played in 58 bowl games, winning 33, both of which are NCAA records. Bama has one Heisman winner and 47 consensus All-Americans.<br />
<br />
The two teams are arguably the two greatest programs in college football history, with large, loyal fan bases. Notre Dame supposedly has the largest following in the nation, but has been largely absent from the national stage competitively since the late 1990s. Alabama conversely is in the midst of the program's third major "golden age," playing for its third national title in four years, and the Southeastern Conference is having an unprecedented title run. The media and public attention for this game will be astronomical, and ESPN is already rubbing its collective hands together at the projected ratings. The fact that these teams have won the most recognized championships among FBS schools and have some previous championship game history (which frankly is completely in Notre Dame's favor) just makes the pairing more attractive to fans of the two teams. Notre Dame has a 5-1 record against Alabama, and I am really looking forward to an opportunity to even that up a little. Roll Tide!karlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608002071907476082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29118369.post-3392196609193127442012-11-25T19:43:00.000-06:002012-11-26T13:23:24.205-06:00Why Does the SEC Win So Many National Championships?While there have been many SEC Championship Games where the national
championship was on the line as well as the SEC title, dating all the
way back to the first one 20 years ago, for three of the last five years it has served as a national championship semifinal - win and you're in. While credit must be given to former SEC Commissioner Roy
Kramer for adding Arkansas and South Carolina to the conference,
initiating the divisional split, and creating the SEC Championship Game,
one must also remember that the title game itself isn't what has made
the SEC the premier conference in America. In contrast to the SEC Game,
the Big XII Championship Game was viewed by its conference as a failure
during its 15-year run, largely because the Big XII game took as many
national contenders out of the title game as it helped put in.<br />
<br />
The SEC Championship Game winner has gone on to win the national
championship nine times in its 20-year history, while Alabama won an
additional title last year without playing in the game. Looking back on
that 20-year period though, the SEC has won seven of the last nine
national titles, which means that in the previous 13 years, the
conference only won three. Three titles in thirteen years is nothing to
sneeze at - I assure you that any other conference would be ecstatic to
achieve that number at this point. So what accounts for the
unbelievable run over the last nine years? Is there any chance that
things will change?<br />
<br />
While it is inevitable that a team outside the SEC will eventually win
the title again, I think that there are a few factors that will continue
to favor the SEC in the future, and account for the epic run of late.
First, the SEC Championship Game is a factor. In the old SEC system
(before the title game was created), Alabama, Georgia and Florida would
all tie for the 2012 conference championship. Alabama, by virtue of the
highest ranking in the BCS, would likely get a berth in the national
chmapionship game, but it would be a controversial one, since the Tide
did not play either Georgia or Florida in the regular season. The SEC
title game ensures that the best teams in both divisions play each
other, which adds legitimacy to the SEC champion.<br />
<br />
The second factor is the affiliation that the SEC has with CBS and
ESPN. While it has been eclipsed subsequently, the 2008 contract that
the SEC signed with ESPN was the largest conference television deal at
that point, a $2 billion agreement that has allowed every conference
game of any significance at all to appear on television. Other major
conferences have similar arrangements, but only the Big Ten currently
makes more revenue per school (as a result of the Big Ten Network), and a
true SEC Network is in the works. In addition, unlike some
conferences, the SEC shares revenue equally among its members, so that
traditional powers aren't favored financially by the conference office
or the television partners.<br />
<br />
The third factor is coaching. While the conference has always had great
coaches, Alabama's hiring of Nick Saban in 2007 set a new bar for
coaching salaries and expectations. Saban is still the highest-paid
coach in the country, but until a few minutes ago, the conference had
four of the ten most highly-compensated coaches in the nation (Gene
Chizik was just sent out to pasture). With those high salaries come
high expectations. Four SEC teams are looking for coaches today, while
four others have coaches in their first or second year. The tendency
two or three decades ago in the SEC was largely to hire offensive or
defensive coordinators with SEC experience to be head coaches, but head
coaching, championship or recruiting experience has trended upward while
SEC experience has diminished. The need to "hit a home run" with each
coaching hire and the impatience with losing means that only two coaches
(Mark Richt and Gary Pinkel) in the conference have been with their
team more than a decade, and Missouri's only been an SEC team for six
months.<br />
<br />
The fourth factor is talent. Five of the top ten states in overall
number of football recruits are within the SEC footprint (1-Texas,
2-Florida, 4-Georgia, 7-Alabama, and 8-Louisiana), with another four in
the top 20, and that's not to mention other Southern and near-Southern
states like North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland also in the top 20.
Football recruits generally stay close enough to home for their parents
to be able to see them play, and the fact is that, while these numbers
fluctuate somewhat, there are as many Divison I recruits in the 2013
class in the eleven states of the SEC as there are in the other 40
(including D.C.). Growth trends in the South would indicate that those
numbers are only going to become more pronounced.<br />
<br />
Finally, and this is a hard thing to put a finger on, but I'm going to
try, the fifth factor is tradition. Tradition can be defined in a
number of different ways, but specifically, I am referring to a
tradition of winning. It may not surprise you, but over the 14 years of
the BCS, eleven different teams have won a national title. That would
seem to indicate that the championship is relatively democratic.
However, each of those eleven teams is ranked in the top 20 in all-time
winning percentage (the lowest-ranked team, Auburn, is 18th). Even if
you go back to the first year of the SEC title game, the number of
different winners only increases to thirteen, and the two additional
teams are also top 20 powers. In fact, since 1970, only five teams have
won the national title that are <i>not</i> in the top 20 in all-time
winning percentage: Colorado and Georgia Tech in 1990, BYU in 1984,
Clemson in 1981 and Pittsburgh in 1976. All of these teams, by the way,
are in the top 40. That's not going to change this year either, since
Notre Dame, Alabama and Georgia are all in the top 15. Look at the
national title winners since 1992, the first year of the SEC
Championship Game:<br />
<br />
Alabama, Florida, Nebraska - 3 titles<br />
Florida State, LSU, USC - 2 titles<br />
Auburn, Miami, Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas - 1 title<br />
<br />
Now conference affiliations have changed for Nebraska and Miami since
they won titles, but let's look at the number of teams per conference,
using today's affiliations, that have won the national title.<br />
<br />
SEC - Five teams<br />
Big Ten - Three teams<br />
ACC and Big XII - Two teams<br />
Pac-12 - One team<br />
<br />
So, five different SEC teams have won the national title since 1992.
That number is still five if you just count from the beginning of the
BCS era (1998).<br />
<br />
SEC - Five teams<br />
Big XII - Two teams <br />
ACC, Big Ten, Pac-12 - One team<br />
<br />
So what's my point? The Southeastern Conference has six teams in the
top 20 in all-time winning percentage, more than any other conference.
Georgia is the only one of those teams that hasn't won the title in the
last 20 years. The Big Ten is the next closest conference with four,
although two of those were added within the last two decades. No other
conference has more than two. Since we've already established that
traditional powers, by and large, win national championships, it stands
to reason that having more traditional powers means winning more
championships. Why do traditional powers have such an advantage? That
could probably be the basis of a more serious study, but I think
elements like money, facilities, fan support and expectations, name
recognition, media focus, and recruiting all play a part. However,
there can be no argument that the national championship club is an
exclusive one.<br />
<br />
So, while the SEC's winning streak won't last forever, all the factors
I've outlined give the SEC a competitive advantage that the other
conferences on the whole can't duplicate. karlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608002071907476082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29118369.post-7836298685418432282012-11-25T19:42:00.000-06:002012-11-30T15:38:49.143-06:00My Preseason Follow-Up
I predicted the record and finish of each football team in the Southeastern Conference back in the 2012 preseason. Let's see how I did...<br />
<h3>
<b>SEC WEST </b></h3>
<b>ALABAMA</b><br />
<b>Prediction:</b> 14-0, National, SEC, and West Division Champion<br />
<b>Actual:</b> 11-1, SEC West Division Champion, with SEC and National Championship in reach<br />
<b>Grade:</b> A, although that could be an A+ if the Tide wins out<br />
<br />
<i>It didn't take a genius to pick Alabama to attain the SEC title for
2012, and contend for the national title. While the jury is still out
on how close I was to the final result, this looks pretty good so far. </i><br />
<br />
<b>ARKANSAS</b><br />
<b>Prediction:</b> 10-3, 3rd in SEC West<br />
<b>Actual:</b> 4-8, 6th in SEC West<br />
<b>Grade:</b> D <br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Obviously, I missed the boat on Arkansas this year, underestimating
the effect of the loss of Bobby Petrino on the Razorbacks' season. I
take comfort in the fact that I wasn't the only one, and that at least I
didn't call for a conference or national championship.</i><br />
<br />
<b>AUBURN</b><br />
<b>Prediction:</b> 9-4, 4th in SEC West<br />
<b>Actual:</b> 3-9, 7th in SEC West<br />
<b>Grade:</b> F<br />
<br />
<i>The only thing worse than my prediction for the Tigers was their actual season.</i><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>LSU</b><br />
<b>Prediction:</b> 12-1, 2nd in SEC West<br />
<b>Actual:</b> 10-2, Tied-2nd in SEC West<br />
<b>Grade:</b> A<br />
<br />
<i>LSU had another strong season, but fell short to Alabama, as I predicted that they would.</i><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>MISSISSIPPI</b><br />
<b>Prediction:</b> 3-9, 7th in SEC West<br />
<b>Actual:</b> 6-6, 5th in SEC West<br />
<b>Grade:</b> C-<br />
<br />
<i>Ole Miss scratched out a decent first season for new head coach Hugh
Freeze, and made significant strides forward from 2011. This team, with
some talent, will be one to watch over the next few years.</i><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>MISSISSIPPI STATE</b><br />
<b>Prediction:</b> 7-6, 6th in SEC West<br />
<b>Actual:</b> 8-4, 4th in SEC West<br />
<b>Grade:</b> C<br />
<br />
<i>State was able to capitalize on atrocious teams from Auburn and Arkansas.</i><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>TEXAS A&M</b><br />
<b>Prediction:</b> 8-5, 5th in SEC West<br />
<b>Actual:</b> 10-2, Tied-2nd in SEC West<br />
<b>Grade:</b> C<br />
<br />
<i>At midseason, I would've said that my prediction was right on point,
but freshman sensation and potential Heisman-winner Johnny Manziel just
kept getting better and better, and head coach Kevin Sumlin was an even
greater hire than expected.</i><br />
<h3>
<b>SEC EAST </b></h3>
<b>FLORIDA</b><br />
<b>Prediction:</b> 9-4, 3rd in SEC East<br />
<b>Actual:</b> 11-1, Tied-1st in SEC East<br />
<b>Grade:</b> C<br />
<br />
<i>Will Muschamp came within one game of playing for the national title,
defeated four top-12 teams, and will likely be voted SEC Coach of the
Year. He deserves it, after replacing his offensive coordinator and
improving dramatically in year two. </i><br />
<br />
<b>GEORGIA</b><b>Prediction:</b> 11-2, 2nd in SEC East<br />
<b>Actual:</b> 11-1, Tied-1st in SEC East<br />
<b>Grade:</b> B-<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>I always knew Georgia was the easy pick to win the East, so my
prediction for them to finish second hinged on a loss to South Carolina
and another to Florida. The Bulldogs split the difference, and showed
major improvement after falling to the Gamecocks.</i><br />
<br />
<b>KENTUCKY</b><br />
<b>Prediction:</b> 4-8, 7th in SEC East<br />
<b>Actual:</b> 2-10, 7th in SEC East<br />
<b>Grade:</b> A-<br />
<br />
<i>If anything, I gave more credit to Kentucky than they were due in
their out-of-conference schedule. This team has given away all the
ground it gained in the Rick Brooks era.</i><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>MISSOURI</b><br />
<b>Prediction:</b> 8-5, 5th in SEC East<br />
<b>Actual:</b> 5-7, 5th in SEC East<br />
<b>Grade:</b> C+<br />
<br />
<i>I think Missouri could have competed at a higher level, at least well
enough to get to a bowl game, but injuries across the board kept this
team at a season-long disadvantage.</i><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>SOUTH CAROLINA</b><br />
<b>Prediction:</b> 12-2, 1st in SEC East<br />
<b>Actual:</b> 10-2, 3rd in SEC East<br />
<b>Grade:</b> C+<br />
<br />
<i>The Gamecocks looked like the best team in the conference at
midseason, but after a close loss in Baton Rouge, they came apart in
Gainesville.</i><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>TENNESSEE</b><br />
<b>Prediction:</b> 9-4, 4th in SEC East<br />
<b>Actual:</b> 5-7, 6th in SEC East<br />
<b>Grade:</b> D<br />
<br />
<i>Tennessee did not beat one team as an underdog in Derek Dooley's
tenure, while dropping several others that they should have won, which
is why he is no longer roaming the sidelines in Knoxville.</i><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>VANDERBILT</b><br />
<b>Prediction:</b> 7-6, 6th in SEC East<br />
<b>Actual:</b> 8-4, 4th in SEC East<br />
<b>Grade:</b> B-<br />
<br />
<i>While I predicted that Vandy would make it to a bowl for the second
straight year, despite never having achieved that before in its history,
the Commodores have already equaled their best season in three decades
and have a chance at their first nine-win season since 1915. No one was
bold enough to predict that.</i><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>OVERALL GRADE:</b> C+karlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608002071907476082noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29118369.post-38569134923625244012012-11-25T19:40:00.001-06:002012-11-25T19:40:54.737-06:00SEC Championship Game Preview<br />
<i>(3) Georgia vs (2) Alabama</i><br />
<br />
For the second year in a row, the Georgia Bulldogs avoided the top four
teams in the SEC West on its way to winning the SEC East. While the
Bulldogs finished 11-1 in the regular season, it split its only two
games with teams that are still ranked, losing 35-7 to South Carolina
while defeating Florida 17-9. Alabama, on the other hand, avoided the
top four teams in the SEC East on its way to winning the West. Alabama
also finished 11-1 and split its only two games with teams that are
still ranked, losing 29-24 to Texas A&M while defeating LSU 21-17.
The Tide and the Bulldogs did have several common opponents though:<br />
<br />
<b>Alabama vs. Team Georgia vs.</b><br />
40-7 Florida Atlantic (3-8) 56-20<br />
33-14 Ole Miss (6-6) 37-10<br />
42-10 Missouri (5-7) 41-20<br />
44-13 Tennessee (5-7) 51-44<br />
49-0 Auburn (3-9) 38-0<br />
<br />
I don't know if you can tell much except that both teams handled their
common opponents pretty easily. The only real outlier is the
Georgia-Tennessee score, but since that game preceded both Georgia's
defensive regrouping following the South Carolina loss as well as
Tennessee's subsequent meltdown, even that one is easily explained.<br />
<br />
Georgia's main weaknesses overall this year have been mainly on the
defensive side of the ball, although the Bulldogs have one of the best
defenders in the league in Jarvis Jones. Georgia has had a tendency to
turn the ball over and get a lot of penalties, although both of those
issues have been diminished a good bit following the Florida game,
although that could point more to the inferiority of the competition
since then.<br />
<br />
Alabama's main weakness is the defensive secondary and the absense of a
strong pass rusher, although only LSU and Texas A&M were the only
teams that were able to reveal it. Alabama does not give up many
penalties and doesn't turn the ball over much either.<br />
<br />
I think Alabama and Georgia match up well against each other and are
mirror images of each other in a lot of ways. Further, the teams
haven't played each other since the 2008 "Blackout" Game, and only the
coaching staffs and maybe a couple of redshirt seniors here and there
took part in that, so there's not a lot of familiarity between the two
squads. I think that Alabama's opponent that was the most like Georgia
is LSU. Aaron Murray is a better quarterback than Zach Mettenberger,
and Mettenberger had a career day against Alabama. If the Tide doesn't
find a way to get pressure on Murray, he will pick the secondary
apart. Georgia also has a pair of good running backs, similar to LSU,
which will make it harder for the Tide to make them one-dimensional.
Georgia's opponent that was the most like Alabama is probably South
Carolina. Carolina had a decent quarterback in Connor Shaw, but one I
would argue that is not quite as good as AJ McCarron. The actual game
against Carolina doesn't really tell us much, however, since the
Gamecocks were able to break the game open early with three quick
touchdowns, and Georgia was pretty much out of the game by the end of
the first quarter. Marcus Lattimore had over 100 yards against the
Bulldogs, but again, the Gamecocks hardly tried to do anything but sit
on the lead and run out the clock once they were up 21-0.<br />
<br />
All that being said, I believe Alabama has a slightly better team, a
significantly better coach, and more experience in high-pressure,
high-profile games. I expect a close contest, and a relatively
low-scoring one, along the lines of 24-20, with the Tide coming out on
top.
karlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608002071907476082noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29118369.post-37283810459672098182012-11-25T19:23:00.003-06:002012-11-26T09:28:40.808-06:00SEC Football Week Thirteen: The RundownThe last week of the regular season in the Southeastern Conference is colloquially known as "Rivalry Week," but it largely became blowout week, as the favored teams won, handily in most cases, in every matchup. The stage is set for the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta, and the last bowl eligible team from the conference stepped into place as well. We'll end the regular season by looking back at this week's games, as well as my preseason predictions to see who exceeded expectations, who underachieved, and where I was just flat out wrong. Let's start the Rundown!<br />
<br />
1.<b> SEC Dominates the ACC.</b><br />
<br />
Rivalry Week featured four matchups between SEC and ACC teams, and many analysts expected that the ACC could regain some badly needed respect by winning at least two of the marquee games. The fourth-ranked Florida Gators faced off against tenth-ranked Florida State in Tallahassee. Everyone from Jimbo Fisher on down talked about how the BCS computers, which hated the 'Noles, were penalizing FSU unfairly for their one-point loss to N.C. State and the fact that the ACC is weak overall. Well, that talk appeared to be well-founded, as the Seminoles' vaunted defense allowed 37-points to what has been a largely anemic Florida offense. The twelfth-ranked Gamecocks of South Carolina played a close game against (11) Clemson, also on the road, before pulling away with a 27-17 victory, even without their best two offensive players. Georgia, ranked third in the BCS, manhandled their rival Yellow Jackets of Georgia Tech 42-10. And Vanderbilt traveled to Wake Forest and crushed the Demon Deacons 55-21 to win their eighth game of the year. Following news this week that Maryland, a founding member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, is leaving to seek greener pastures in the Big Ten, this weekend's evidence that the gap between the ACC and the nation's premier conference is as wide as ever has to be unwelcome.<br />
<br />
<b>2. Alabama Finally Clinches the SEC West.</b><br />
<br />
Although the final outcome of the Iron Bowl was largely expected, the Tide clinched the SEC West crown and a spot in the championship game in yesterday's win over Auburn. The defending national champions were my preseason favorite to win the West, but the media in Hoover this summer predicted that LSU would repeat as division champs. Congratulations to the Alabama players and coaching staff on a record-setting run. This Alabama senior class has tied the BCS-era record for wins in a four-year span, going 46-5 over the last four seasons. In addition, Alabama has set an SEC record for wins over a five-year span, with 58. In all, on the field, since Alabama hired Nick Saban, the team's record is 65-13, an astonishing 83.33 winning percentage, and the percentage is 89.23 after his first year. When you keep in mind that Paul "Bear" Bryant's winning percentage at Alabama was 82.4% over his career, it becomes clear that this is a golden era in Crimson Tide football history. The Tide will have a chance to win its 23rd SEC championship on Saturday with a potential 15th national championship on the line.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>3. Haters Gonna Hate: The SEC is in the Title Game Again.</b><br />
<br />
While Notre Dame's win over USC last night means that we won't see another all-SEC BCS National Championship Game, the winner of the conference championship game in Atlanta is assured of a berth in the title game in Miami. Even more disconcerting to the rest of the nation is that, if the four-team playoff which will replace the BCS was in place today, there would be a strong case to include at least two SEC teams, and perhaps as many as three by the end of next Saturday. As it currently stands, either Alabama or Georgia will face the Fighting Irish come January with the opportunity to extend the conference's unprecedented championship streak to seven. The national media, or at least ESPN, is likely hoping for an Alabama-Notre Dame faceoff given the ratings bonanza that will likely occur if arguably the two greatest college football programs of all time play for a third time in a bowl with the national title on the line. Georgia, however, has also played Notre Dame once for the national title, and the Bulldogs, unlike the Tide, actually won the game. Either way, I like the chances of either SEC team against the Irish.<br />
<br />
<b>4. Nine SEC Teams are Bowl Bound.</b><br />
<br />
It won't be clear until next Sunday who is going where, but nine SEC teams are bowl eligible at season's end. Due to the berth in the title game, Florida will likely take the SEC champion's spot in the Sugar Bowl, while the Capital One, Cotton, Chick-Fil-A Bowls and Outback Bowls will have to select between four two-loss teams, including the conference runner-up, LSU, Texas A&M, and South Carolina. That could go a number of different ways, depending on who the runner-up turns out to be. The Music City Bowl and the Liberty Bowl will likely choose between Mississippi State and Vanderbilt, both at 8-4, while the BBVA Compass Bowl gets 6-6 Ole Miss. The SEC and Big 12 both lead the nation with nine bowl teams.<br />
<br />
<b>5. The Good</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<i>(4) Florida 37, (10) Florida State 26</i><b></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Florida took on the top-ranked and barely-tested Florida State defense and wore them down, scoring 24 points in the fourth quarter to beat the Seminoles into submission. The Gators also forced five turnovers, four of them from quarterback E. J. Manuel.<br />
<br />
<i>(12) South Carolina 27, (11) Clemson 17</i><br />
<br />
The Gamecocks started Dylan Thompson at quarterback for an injured Connor Shaw, and Thompson threw for over 300 yards and three touchdowns in a career day for the backup. The Carolina defense bottled up all of Clemson's offensive weapons and Steve Spurrier became the winningest coach in South Carolina history, all with a smug look on his face.<br />
<br />
<i>(9) Texas A&M 59, Missouri 29</i><br />
<br />
The matchup between SEC newbies and former Big XII foes was out of reach early as Johnny Manziel made a final statement for the Heisman Trophy. Manziel broke Cam Newton's SEC record for total offense, surpassing 4600 yards for his <i>freshman season</i> in the blowout.<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>(3) Georgia 42, Georgia Tech 10</i><br />
<br />
I think it says something about the offense that the Yellow Jackets run that they led the Bulldogs in yardage, first downs, and time of possession by fairly large margins and yet were down 28-3 at halftime and were completely outclassed. I think that the Paul Johnson triple-option era may be just about over.<br />
<br />
<i>Ole Miss 41, Mississippi State 24</i><br />
<br />
Bo Wallace threw for five touchdowns, three to Donte Moncrief, as the Rebels won their first Egg Bowl since 2008. The Rebels, under new coach Hugh Freeze, have tripled their win total from 2011 and will make it to a bowl for the first time in three years.<br />
<br />
<i>Vanderbilt 55, Wake Forest 21</i><br />
<br />
The Commodores won their sixth straight game for the first time since 1955, hammering the homestanding Demon Deacons behind the running of Zac Stacy. Stacy finished with over 1,000 yards rushing for the second straight season, and became Vandy's first 3,000-yard rusher in school history.<br />
<br />
<b>6. The Bad </b><br />
<br />
<i>(2) Alabama 49, Auburn 0</i><br />
<br />
Auburn failed to show up in Tuscaloosa and Alabama scored 49 points against an array of tackling dummies to wrap up the worst Iron Bowl blowout since the rivalry was renewed in 1948. Alabama scored touchdowns on its first seven possessions before resting the starters for the championship game next weekend.<br />
<br />
<i>Tennessee 37, Kentucky 17</i><br />
<br />
Move along. Nothing to see here.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>7. The Ugly</b><br />
<br />
<i>(7) LSU 20, Arkansas 13</i><br />
<br />
Have you ever had a wrestling match against a little brother or cousin and pretty much held him off while he struggled and fought without expending any effort until you got tired and decided to go ahead and finish him off? That pretty much describes this game. Arkansas outgained LSU by more than 150 yards, but had 12 penalties and turned the ball over twice to bring an ignominious end to the John L. Smith era.<br />
<br />
<b>Check out my <a href="http://noneyabusiness.blogspot.com/2012/11/my-preseason-follow-up.html" target="_blank">Preseason Follow-Up</a> to see how I did predicting the 2012 season.</b><br />
<b>Check out my analysis of <a href="http://noneyabusiness.blogspot.com/2012/11/why-does-sec-win-so-many-national.html" target="_blank">Why the SEC Wins So Many National Titles</a>.</b><br />
<b>And see my <a href="http://noneyabusiness.blogspot.com/2012/11/sec-championship-game-preview.html" target="_blank">Preview of the SEC Championship</a>.</b>karlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608002071907476082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29118369.post-4279948171961327572012-11-18T17:51:00.000-06:002012-11-18T19:43:12.329-06:00SEC Football Week Twelve: The RundownThe biggest games in the Southeastern Conference this week took place outside the conference, in Waco, Texas and Eugene, Oregon. While the chance of a seventh straight national champion from the SEC looked lost just last week, now with just one week of football remaining in the regular season there are two conference teams that seem poised to make their way into the BCS Championship Game (BCSCG) in Miami, and another couple of teams with an outside shot. This week, we're going to examine the path that each of these teams has before them. Let's start The Rundown!<br />
<br />
<b>1. Alabama (10-1, BCS #2)</b><br />
<br />
As the defending national champion and top-ranked team for most of the 2012 season, most of the focus has been on how the losses by both Kansas State and Oregon has given the Tide new life in the national championship race. However, Alabama still has to take care of business against Auburn (3-7) to make it to the SEC championship game, much less the BCS game. The Tide's biggest win this season was the last-second victory over LSU two weeks ago, while their only loss was last week's 29-24 verdict to Texas A&M. Assuming a win over Auburn, 'Bama will face Georgia in the title game in Atlanta. The Bulldogs have looked like a different team since safety Shawn Williams called the defense out for being "soft," and won't be an easy out. If Alabama wins both games, they will be in the BCSCG no matter what else happens.<br />
<br />
<b>2. Georgia (10-1, BCS #3)</b><br />
<br />
Georgia has slowly worked its way into a great position right behind Alabama. In addition, the Bulldogs have the added advantage of having received very little national attention after their mid-season 35-7 loss to South Carolina, so it will be easy for the Georgia team to play the Rodney Dangerfield role. The Bulldogs' biggest win was over Florida, who has a pretty strong resume of its own. Georgia also has a rivalry game this week, against Georgia Tech (6-5), that it must win to stay in the national title hunt. Like the Tide, if the Bulldogs win out over the SEC West champion - either Alabama, LSU, or Texas A&M* - they will play in the BCS title game regardless of what any other team does.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>3. Florida (10-1, BCS #4)</b><br />
<br />
Florida has the strongest resume of any one-loss team, having defeated LSU, Texas A&M, and South Carolina, all in the top 12. However, the Gators have looked pretty mediocre since falling 17-9 to Georgia, although that very possibly could be attributed to a lack of focus after the loss. Florida also has the toughest remaining game, a rivalry showdown against Florida State (10-1) in Tallahassee. If the Gators get past the Seminoles, they will still need help to make it to Miami. A Notre Dame loss to USC next week could pit Florida against either Alabama or Georgia, although a voter backlash against another all-SEC title game could occur. However, that's where Florida's strong resume would help them in the computer rankings. Florida could also ease into the game even if Notre Dame won out, if a) Alabama loses to Auburn, then LSU beats Georgia or if b) Georgia loses to Georgia Tech and then beats Alabama.<br />
<br />
<b>4. LSU (9-2, BCS #7)</b><br />
<br />
This is the chaos scenario. LSU is the highest-ranked team with two losses, but there is still a slim possibility that they could go to Miami. The Tigers' two losses, to Alabama and Florida, were close contests, which has kept them ranked in the bottom half of the top ten. What LSU would need is a major clear-out ahead of them. If Alabama somehow lost to Auburn, that puts LSU in the SEC Championship Game, and likely drops Alabama behind them. If LSU won over the 'Dawgs, that eliminates Georgia. Florida would probably also have to lose to Florida State. Then, for good measure, either Notre Dame would need to fall to USC by a lot, Oregon would have to lose to Oregon State, and/or Kansas State probably needs to lose to Texas. None of those outcomes seem all that unlikely by themselves, but they probably won't ALL happen. The X factor in this scenario is Florida State. Voters would likely put Florida State ahead of Florida in the human polls, but the computers hate FSU. Would a win over Florida boost them enough to overtake LSU? Hard to say, but fun to think about, isn't it?<br />
<br />
<b>5. The Good</b><br />
<br />
<i>(7) LSU 41, Ole Miss 35</i><br />
<br />
While LSU's defense decided to take a week off, the fact is that this once-great rivalry game was entertaining and in doubt until the final seconds. Hugh Freeze has done more with less than anyone else in the conference, and LSU should have charged admission to the post-game Les Miles press conference, because it was quite a show. At the end of the day, Ole Miss's dreams died in Tiger Stadium, and the Bayou Bengals escaped with a hard fought win.<br />
<br />
<i>Vanderbilt 41, Tennessee 18</i><br />
<br />
The Commodores smashed the Vols at home for the first time in three decades, and have reached all kinds of historic highs in coach James Franklin's second year. The real question is whether or not Vandy can hang on to Franklin. I hear that there's a job opening in Knoxville...<br />
<br />
<i>Mississippi State 45, Arkansas 14</i><br />
<br />
Tyler Russell threw four touchdowns as the Bulldogs routed Arkansas, putting a final nail in the coffin of the Razorbacks' bowl hopes. At least they'll be able to focus on the coaching search in Fayetteville.<br />
<br />
<b>6. The Bad</b><br />
<br />
<i>Syracuse 31, Missouri 27</i><br />
<br />
Missouri missed out on their best chance to get bowl eligible in 2012, giving up 21 points in the fourth quarter to a feisty Syracuse squad and their record-setting quarterback Ryan Nassib. The Tigers' quarterback James Franklin had his his best showing of the season, but left the game after a hit that rang his bell. Corbin Berkstresser again filled in for Franklin, and led the team to ten fourth quarter points, but the defense, and particularly the secondary, fell apart late in the game. The loss broke Mizzou's school-record 18-game winning streak versus nonconference opponents.<br />
<br />
<b>7. The Ugly</b><br />
<br />
<i>SEC versus FCS</i><br />
<br />
For whatever reason, every SEC team still chooses to schedule teams from the FCS division of college football - the division known for many years as I-AA. While they still count as wins on the schedule, the best that can be said about playing FCS teams is that it may allow a team to build some experience among the second and third team players. However, generally it provides a lackluster game for the fans, an chance for players to get hurt with absolutely nothing useful on the line, and an opportunity for a cataclysmically embarrassing loss (see, Michigan vs. Appalachian State). So, while Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia Kentucky, South Carolina, and Texas A&M all won fairly handily over their FCS opponents, in reality any game against an FCS school is an ugly one.<br />
<br />
<b>8. Games to Watch in Week Thirteen</b><br />
<br />
<i>Florida (10-1) at Florida State (10-1)</i><br />
<br />
This is an intense rivalry, and arguably the best game on the slate in week 13. Florida State has only lost one game, by one point, to a mediocre NC State squad, but they have been all but eliminated from the national title talk due to weak ACC competition. Florida has exceeded expectations all season, but has looked lethargic since losing Jeff Driskel to an ankle injury.<i> </i>With pride, a BCS bowl, and a very slim shot at the national title on the line, expect both teams to be ready to make a statement. I think the Seminoles have more to prove though, and I expect an FSU win.<i><br /></i><br />
<br />
<i>LSU (9-2) at Arkansas (4-7)</i><br />
<br />
This will probably not be much of a contest, unless the competition is about who has the goofiest coach. It'll be worth seeing just to catch the pre-, mid-, and post-game interviews with Les Miles and John L. Smith. LSU by at least 17.<br />
<br />
<i>South Carolina (9-2) at Clemson (10-1)</i><br />
<br />
If
Florida State has been disrespected for losing one game, the Clemson
Tigers seemed to have fallen in a hole after their early loss to Florida
State. Honestly, I had no idea that they had only lost one game, and I
follow college football pretty closely, in case you hadn't noticed.
There's no love lost between these two schools or their coaches. I
think this is a tossup game, but I'm leaning South Carolina, mainly due
to their defense.<br />
<br />
<i>Auburn (3-7) at Alabama (10-1)</i><br />
<br />
Auburn is a 35-point underdog. Who wouldn't want to see that?<br />
<br />
<i>Georgia Tech (6-5) at Georgia (10-1)</i><br />
<br />
It has been many years since this game has had national championship implications, and while Tech is not a great team, their triple option offense is difficult to prepare for in practice. Still, Georgia has won the last three in a row over the Yellow Jackets, and should handle them easily this time.<br />
<br />
<i>Mississippi State (8-3) at Ole Miss (5-6) </i><br />
<br />
Although the Bulldogs have a better record, the Rebels have played a tougher schedule. State was blown out by Alabama (7-38), Texas A&M (13-38) and LSU (17-37), while Ole Miss played all of those teams better - Alabama (14-33), Texas A&M (27-30), and LSU (35-41). Historically, this is truly one of the few rivalry games where you can "throw out the record books." I have therefore convinced myself that Ole Miss, with a chance at bowl eligibility, has more to play for on Saturday and will emerge with the win.<br />
<br />
<i>Missouri (5-6) at Texas A&M (9-2)</i><br />
<br />
The SEC's new teams meet up in a Big-XII rematch, but these two programs are going in different directions. Johnny Manziel needs a big game to solidify his Heisman candidacy, and having watched the Mizzou secondary, I think he gets it. The Aggies win big. <br />
<br />
<i>Kentucky (2-9) at Tennessee (4-7)</i><br />
<br />
Bad News: Neither of these teams has won a conference game. Good News: Since there are no more ties, one of them has to get a win!<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>*Texas A&M can only go to Atlanta if both Alabama and LSU lose Saturday.</i>karlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608002071907476082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29118369.post-71286245777286327312012-11-11T15:57:00.001-06:002012-11-11T15:57:22.446-06:00SEC Football Week Eleven: The RundownIt took ten weeks for a team to challenge the top-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide, but week eleven brought us one of the biggest upsets of the 2012 college football season and the likely end of the SEC's string of BCS National Championships. We also saw the likely end of two head coaches while an eighth conference team became bowl-eligible. Let's start the rundown.<br />
<br />
<b>1. The End of the Streak?</b><br />
<br />
Texas A&M's 29-24 victory over Alabama in Tuscaloosa Saturday was a huge win for the Aggies, coming as it did in the team's inaugural season in the Southeastern Conference, on the road, against the number one team and premier program in the league. However, the victory likely will bring an end to the SEC's streak of six BCS national championships (Florida in 2006 and 2008, LSU in 2007, Alabama in 2009 and 2011, and Auburn in 2010). Alabama and Georgia are both ranked in the top five win one loss, but the top three teams are all undefeated, and it will take a loss of at least one, but probably two, of those those teams for either of them to make it to Miami. Kansas State will likely be the top-ranked team in the BCS at the end of the day today, with Baylor and (17) Texas remaining on their schedule. Oregon has the toughest path remaining, with (14) Stanford and (11) Oregon State as well as the Pac-12 championship against either (19) USC or (17) UCLA if they win out. Notre Dame faces Wake Forest and (19) USC. Georgia is already a lock for the SEC Championship Game, having finished 7-1 in the SEC. Alabama will have to beat Auburn in two weeks to meet the Bulldogs in Atlanta.<br />
<br />
<b>2. Swan Songs</b><br />
<br />
It's debatable whether Gene Chizik could have saved his job after the loss to Ole Miss, but there was some speculation that the Auburn coach might earn some reprieve if he could pull off miracle upsets of top rivals Georgia and Alabama. Saturday's 38-0 loss to the Bulldogs has almost certainly put an end to all further hope of Chizik salvaging his post. The Tigers are 0-7 in the conference and will be the first team to finish seventh in the SEC West regardless of what happens the rest of the way. The scuttlebutt on Tennessee coach Derek Dooley seemed less certain leading up to the game with Missouri this weekend. Dooley was still in a position to win out, making it to a bowl. With a victory, Dooley could attain eight wins and keep Tennessee out of the unenviable position of paying off three unemployed coaches (Dooley would join former football coach Phil Fulmer and basketball head Bruce Pearl) while trying to lure a new one. Missouri had other plans though, defeating the Volunteers 51-48 in four overtimes. Tennessee is still winless in the conference, and although they still have opportunities ahead against Vanderbilt and Kentucky, it is doubtful that Dooley can save his job with wins against these perennial bottom-dwellers. If they are released, Dooley and Chizik will join Arkansas coach John L. Smith and Kentucky's Joker Phillips, both of whom are already lame ducks, on the unemployment line.<br />
<br />
<b>3. Anchor Down!</b><br />
<br />
Vanderbilt was once a powerful football program, believe it or not, winning thirteen conference championships in the days before the Southeastern Conference was formed from the western half of the old Southern Conference. The Commodores have never won the SEC title though, and as the glory days of the SEC's only private university predate all but the granddaddy of them all, Vandy's bowl record is slim. Vanderbilt has only been to five bowl games in its history, ten fewer than the next two conference teams on the all-time list (in contrast, five SEC teams have been to more than 40 bowls, and Alabama has played in an NCAA-record 58). So, it is no small achievement for the Commodores to make it to a bowl game, and Saturday's 27-26 come-from-behind win over Ole Miss gives Vandy six wins, meeting the threshold for bowl eligibility. In fact, this will be the second bowl season in a row under head coach James Franklin, and the Commodores will finish fourth in the SEC East, behind three top 12 teams. Congratulations to Vanderbilt on what has already been a remarkable season in 2012.<br />
<br />
<b>4. The Good</b><br />
<br />
<i>(5) Georgia 38, Auburn 0</i><br />
<br />
The Bulldogs led by four touchdowns by halftime, kept Auburn off the scoreboard, didn't turn the ball over, and only had three penalties for 15 yards in the ballgame. Aaron Murray threw for three touchdowns, and the two-headed rushing monster "Gurley" ran for over 100 yards each. This was probably Georgia's most complete game all year. Looks like Auburn coach Gene Chizik made the right call burning Jonathan Wallace's redshirt.<br />
<br />
<i>(7) LSU 37, (21) Mississippi State 17</i><br />
<br />
LSU turned in a workmanlike performance to deliver Mississippi State's third loss in as many weeks. The Tigers, who spent most of the early part of the year running the ball to victory, let quarterback Zach Mettenberger throw the ball 30 times for the second week in a row, and Jarvis Landry had a career day, with nine catches for 109 yards and a touchdown.<br />
<br />
<i>(8) South Carolina 38, Arkansas 20</i><br />
<br />
The Gamecocks, playing without Marcus Lattimore for the first game since his leg injury, threw the ball more than 40 times, and Connor Shaw had 272 yards and two touchdowns passing and another score on the ground as South Carolina won its first game over Arkansas since 2008. The Gamecocks won their sixth SEC game for the second straight year, and with their eighth overall win, South Carolina has won at least eight games three years in a row, a first in the program's 110-year history.<br />
<br />
<i>Vanderbilt 27, Ole Miss 26</i><br />
<br />
The Commodores trailed 23-6 early in the third quarter, but Jordan Rodgers threw a 52-yard touchdown pass to start the Vanderbilt rally, and ended with 26-yard touchdown pass in the last minute to seal the victory. In the meantime, Ole Miss's Bo Wallace threw for a measly 403 yards on 31 completions (out of 49 attempts) in the loss. The win marked Vanderbilt's third straight over the Rebels.<br />
<br />
<b>5. The Bad</b><br />
<br />
<i>(15) Texas A&M 29, (1) Alabama 24</i><br />
<br />
While the Aggies' win was certainly cheered around the country, and perhaps around the league, the defeat of the Tide all but eliminated the conference's chance to play in, and win, a seventh consecutive national championship. Texas jumped out to a 20-0 lead in the first quarter and held on as Alabama fought their way back into the game, ultimately falling short on a fourth-and-goal with 1:36 remaining as Deshazor Everett intercepted AJ McCarron's pass. After leading the country in turnover margin through the Mississippi State game, the Tide is -5 in turnovers the last two weeks, including three against the Aggies, all of which came at critical moments in the game.<br />
<br />
<i>Missouri 51, Tennessee 48, 4OT</i><br />
<br />
If you only watched the first half of this game, you would've expected the Volunteers to destroy Missouri. Tennessee outgained the Tigers 383-64 in the first stanza, and had a 21-7 halftime lead. The only points for Missouri came on a kickoff return, and the Tigers struggled to move the football at all. The teams didn't swap uniforms in the locker room, but the second half turnaround for Missouri was almost that profound. Quarterback James Franklin threw four touchdowns, all of which came in the last minute of the half or in overtime. The tying score, a 25-yard pass to Dorial Green-Beckham with 47 seconds left in regulation, was apparently drawn up on Franklin's hand in the huddle, like in a backyard game. Tennessee fans booed the team and coach at the end of regulation, as the Vols let the clock run out with the score tied 28-28 after failing to gain any yardage on their first two plays after the Missouri touchdown. The teams traded touchdowns in the first three overtimes, then Tennessee elected to forego a 35-yard field goal and instead turned the ball over on downs on a failed fourth down pass. Missouri's Andrew Baggett then kicked the 35-yard game winner.<br />
<br />
<b>6. The Ugly</b><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>(6) Florida 27, Louisiana-Lafayette 20</i><br />
<br />
The Gators struggled to put away the Ragin' Cajuns early, and after starting quarterback Jeff Driskel left in the third quarter with an ankle injury, ULL jumped out to a lead following a touchdown on a blocked Florida punt. A fourth-quarter field goal gave Louisiana-Lafayette a 20-13 lead, while backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett was sacked twice and nearly threw an interception in his first four pass attempts. Brissett eventually got it together and threw a game-tying touchdown with 1:42 left in the game, and the contest appeared to be heading to overtime, but Florida's special teams redeemed themselves, blocking a Cajun punt and returning the ball for a touchdown with two seconds left to seal the ugly win.<br />
<br />
<b>7. Games to Watch in Week Eleven</b><br />
<br />
<i>Ole Miss (5-5) at LSU (8-2) </i><br />
<br />
It's the week before rivalry week, and that typically means the worst slate of SEC games since week two. The Tigers have apparently gottten their offense on track while Ole Miss is coming off a devastating last-second loss and still needs another win to be bowl eligible. Look for LSU to control this one from start to finish.<br />
<br />
<i>Arkansas (4-6) at Mississippi State (7-3)</i><br />
<br />
The Bulldogs are in need of a victory of any kind after three straight losses, and Arkansas is a much-less daunting opponent than the last three that Mississippi State has faced. The Razorbacks need wins over both MSU and LSU to get to a bowl, while State needs to win out to keep itself in a decent bowl with six conference teams already ahead of them. I expect this game to be close, but I'm leaning toward the Bulldogs.<br />
<br />
<i>Syracuse (5-5) at Missouri (5-5) </i><br />
<br />
Syracuse and Missouri have only played each other twice, back in the mid-eighties, and while the Orange are not a great team, they are fresh off an upset of previously unbeaten Louisville. Missouri needs a win to become bowl eligible, and are also coming off a big victory over Tennessee. This will be a close one, but I am giving the nod to the Tigers, mainly because I prefer to believe that an SEC team will usually beat one from the Big East.<br />
<br />
<i>Tennessee (4-6) at Vanderbilt (6-4)</i><br />
<br />
I really, really want to pick Vanderbilt to win this game, but I'm not sure that the Commodores match up well against the Volunteers. Tennessee is terrible on defense, but can run up points and yards on just about anyone. Can Vandy control Tennessee's offense enough to stay in the game until the end? On the other hand, Vandy has won four straight games, while the Vols have dropped five of their last six. I'm going with my heart over my head and picking the Commodores to win at home.karlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608002071907476082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29118369.post-67374174310519021512012-11-05T19:09:00.004-06:002012-11-06T09:35:26.740-06:00Election 2012: Alabama AmendmentsLike my football analysis, my positions on these amendments are my opinions, and should be taken as such.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: maroon;"><b>Amendment 1</b> -</span> <i>Proposing
an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, relating to the
Forever Wild Land Trust, to reauthorize the trust for a 20-year period.
(Proposed by Act No. 2011-315)</i><br />
<br />
I am actually sort of torn on this one. The Forever Wild Land Trust sets aside 10% of the interest earned by the Alabama Trust Fund for purchasing land for public hunting and recreational use. The Alabama Trust Fund is money that comes to the state from oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico.<i> </i> The FWLT was created in 1992 and has set aside 227,000 acres for public use so far. The fiscal conservative in me says that setting aside money for 20 years may be foolish and wasteful (one proposal was to shorten this to a five-year renewal, but it failed in the legislature), but I like the idea of using the money for something related to the environment as sort of a trade off for the oil and gas origins of the money. Alfa is against it, and that actually tips me over in favor of it. I am leaning toward YES.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: maroon;"><b>Amendment 2</b></span> - <i>Proposing
an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, as amended, to
allow issuance by the State from time to time of general obligation
bonds under the authority of Section 219.04 and Section 219.041 to the
Constitution of Alabama of 1901, as amended, so long as the aggregate
principal amount of all such general obligation bonds at any time
outstanding is not in excess of $750 million. This amendment would
replace the maximum aggregate principal limitations currently contained
in said Sections 219.04 and 219.041. The proposed amendment would also
allow issuance by the State of general obligation refunding bonds under
the authority of Sections 219.04 and 219.041 to the Constitution of
Alabama of 1901, as amended, subject to certain minimum savings
thresholds and limitations of maximum average maturity. (Proposed by Act
No. 2012-567)</i><br />
<br />
This does two things - allows the state to refinance loans at a lower rate, which makes sense, and allows the state to issue bonds to raise money to lure businesses to Alabama. From a strictly conservative standpoint, I can see both sides of this argument, but if you look at companies, like Mercedes and ThyssenKrupp, who have received incentives to locate in the state, it's hard to argue that that is anything but good for Alabama. I'm voting YES.<i></i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<span style="color: maroon;"><b>Amendment 3</b></span> - <i>Relating
to Baldwin County, proposing an amendment to the Constitution of
Alabama of 1901, to define the Stockton Landmark District within the
county and to prohibit the annexation by local law of any property
within the district into any municipality. (Proposed by Act No.
2011-316)</i><br />
<br />
This prevents a larger city from annexing the community of Stockton without a vote of the people there. This is one of those dumb amendments that has to be voted on statewide even though it only affects one county. However, I think that in principle the residents of a community should have a say in their own annexation. I am voting YES.<i> </i><br />
<i></i><br />
<span style="color: maroon;"><b>Amendment 4</b></span> - <i>Proposing
an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, to repeal portions
of Amendment 111, now appearing as Section 256 of the Official
Recompilation of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, as amended,
relating to separation of schools by race and to repeal Section 259,
Amendment 90, and Amendment 109, relating to the poll tax.(Proposed by
Act No. 2011-353)</i><br />
<br />
The purpose of this amendment is to remove racist language from the Alabama constitution. I have heard several ads about how this amendment is going to remove the right for public schools in Alabama, and while my kids are home-schooled, and that would not affect my children, the prospect that public schools will be eliminated is preposterous. This amendment failed to pass by a 50-49% vote in 2004, I believe, and the national reporting was about how backwards Alabama decided to keep Jim Crow language in the constitution. Let's not do that again, okay guys? Also, AEA is against it, which nearly always puts me on the opposite side. Vote YES.<i></i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>A quick note here: my beef with Alfa and AEA is not their members or even their stances, per se. It is the enormous amount of influence that they and their lobbyists wield in Montgomery. In my opinion, the power that they have in Alabama is unhealthy because there is no balance against it, so I generally vote against them in principle.</i><br />
<i></i><br />
<span style="color: maroon;"><b>Amendment 5</b></span> - <i>Proposing
an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, to provide for the
transfer of the assets and liabilities of the Water Works and Sewer
Board of the City of Prichard to the Board of Water and Sewer
Commissioners of the City of Mobile, presently known as the Mobile Area
Water and Sewer System. (Proposed by Act No. 2011-543)</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
This is a friendly transfer of the water works from Prichard to Mobile. Vote YES.<i><br /></i><br />
<i></i><br />
<span style="color: maroon;"><b>Amendment 6</b></span> - <i>Proposing
an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, to prohibit any
person, employer, or health care provider from being compelled to
participate in any health care system. (Proposed by Act No. 2011-617)</i><br />
<br />
This would theoretically allow Alabama residents to opt out of Obamacare. I'm not sure if it would stand up in court and certainly if Obama is re-elected, it will be challenged if passed. However, I am fundamentally opposed to government-mandated and controlled health care and I will vote YES.<i></i><br />
<i></i><br />
<span style="color: maroon;"><b>Amendment 7</b></span> - <i>Proposing
an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, to amend Amendment
579 to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, now appearing as Section
177 of the Official Recompilation of the Constitution of Alabama of
1901, as amended, to provide that the right of individuals to vote for
public office, public votes on referenda, or votes of employee
representation by secret ballot is fundamental. (Proposed by Act No.
2011-656)</i><br />
<br />
This would require that public elections and private union votes are taken by secret ballot. The AFL-CIO opposes this, for obvious reasons. I'm voting YES.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: maroon;"><b>Amendment 8</b></span> - <i>Proposing
an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, to repeal the
existing provisions for legislative compensation and expenses and
establish the basic compensation of the Legislature at the median
household income in Alabama; to require legislators to submit signed
vouchers for reimbursement for expenses; and to prohibit the Legislature
from increasing the compensation or expenses payable to its members.
(Proposed by Act No. 2012-269)</i><br />
<br />
Basically this repeals a recently-passed pay raise for Alabama legislators and ties their income to the median household income in Alabama, which means that when the citizens are doing well, the legislators will be paid well. This seems like a common sense idea to me, and would incentify legislators to improve the income of Alabama households. I'm voting YES.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: maroon;"><b>Amendment 9</b></span> - <i>Proposing
an amendment to the private corporation provisions of Article 12 of the
Constitution of Alabama of 1901, to become effective January 1, 2014,
to continue the authority of the Legislature to pass general laws
pertaining to corporations and other entities; to continue the authority
of the Legislature to regulate and impose a business privilege tax on
corporations and other entities; and to repeal various provisions
concerning private corporations, railroads, and canals. (Proposed by Act
No. 2012-275)</i><br />
<br />
The Alabama GOP site says this removes outdated language, which seems fine, but that makes me wonder why that's important enough to create an amendment to do. Among other things, it seems to strike a provision explicitly protecting churches and religious organizations from privilege taxes. I am voting NO. <br />
<br />
<span style="color: maroon;"><b>Amendment 10</b></span> - <i>Proposing
an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, effective January
1, 2014, to amend Section 247 relating to the authority of the
Legislature concerning banks and banking, to repeal various other
provisions of Article XIII concerning banks and banking; and to repeal<br />
Amendment 154 to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, now appearing as
Section 255.01 of the Official Recompilation of the Constitution of<br />
Alabama of 1901, as amended, subject to the contingency that a new
Article XII of the state constitution is adopted that repeals existing<br />
Section 232 of the state constitution, and subject to the contingency
that Sections 10A-2-15.01 and 10A-2-15.02, Code of Alabama 1975, are
repealed. (Proposed by Act No. 2012-276)</i><br />
<br />
This also appears to be removing outdated banking language, some of which is invalidated by the current Federal monetary system. Among other things, it strikes language about having a gold standard. Again my question is, "why is this important now?" Some sources I have read say that the intent is to allow state and local investment in public corporations, which is currently prohibited. In any event, it seems sketchy to me. When in doubt, vote NO.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: maroon;"><b>Amendment 11</b></span> - <i>Relating to Lawrence County, proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, to prohibit any municipality located<br />
entirely outside of Lawrence County from imposing any municipal
ordinance or regulation, including, but not limited to, any tax, zoning,<br />
planning, or sanitation regulations, and any inspection service in its
police jurisdiction located in Lawrence County and to provide that a
municipality prohibited from imposing any tax or regulation under this
amendment shall not provide any regulatory function or police or fire
protection services in its police jurisdiction located in Lawrence
County, other than public safety mutual aid. (Proposed by Act No.
2012-308)</i><br />
<br />
This is intended to prevent the city of Decatur from overpowering Lawrence County without a vote of the people. Vote YES. <i></i><br />
<i><br /></i>
There is also a Tuscaloosa County amendment. It is designed to prevent an occupational tax from being implemented by the county government without a vote by the people - see the<i> <a href="http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20121011/NEWS/121019951">Tuscaloosa News article here</a>.</i> I don't have the exact wording, but this is a YES vote for Tuscaloosa County residents.<i></i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><b>If you have information that contradicts my reading of these amendments, and can deliver it in a way that will enlighten and inform without being belligerent, leave me a comment and I will update this post for the benefit of those who asked for it. Thanks.</b></i>karlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608002071907476082noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29118369.post-26817182744627085752012-11-04T12:27:00.000-06:002012-11-04T20:03:32.063-06:00SEC Football Week Ten: The RundownWeek Ten in the Southeastern Conference saw the third Alabama-LSU matchup within the last 12 months, and this one was the best game of the three. A team that was undefeated a week ago is now reeling from two straight blowouts. Three beleaguered teams got much-needed wins, while a fourth received a crushing defeat. And the division leaders can finally see light at the end of the tunnel. Let's start the rundown!<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>1. Alabama faces its toughest test of the year and comes out on top.</b><br />
<br />
While (1) Alabama went into Saturday's game with (5) LSU in Baton Rouge with a clear advantage on paper, the intangibles all favored LSU. First, you had the night game atmosphere of Tiger Stadium, where the Tigers were 36-1 under Les Miles going into the game. You had a team that was embarrassed in the national championship game going into a home game as a 10-point underdog, something that had never happened in Miles' tenure. You had virtually everyone saying that the Tigers' offense was inferior to Alabama's, and you had an Alabama team that had not needed to play four full quarters of football all year. LSU played their best game of the year, outgaining the Tide 435 yards to 331, and Tigers quarterback Zach Mettenberger was consistently accurate. With 1:31 remaining in the game and no timeouts, Alabama trailed LSU 17-14 and needed to go 72 yards to score. AJ McCarron led a masterful 43-second drive culminating in a 28-yard touchdown pass on a screen play to T. J. Yeldon to preserve the national and SEC championship hopes for the Crimson Tide.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>2. Texas A&M hammers another SEC West opponent.</b><br />
<br />
Fresh off a 63-21 shellacking of Auburn on the road last week, (16) Texas A&M traveled to Starkville to face a Mississippi State team whose confidence was shaken after experiencing their first loss of the season in Tuscaloosa last week. Unfortunately for the 15th-ranked Bulldogs, the Aggies picked up right where they left off, jumping out to a 24-0 first half lead, the same margin, incidentally, that Alabama had amassed in the first half the week before. The Bulldogs were unable to get up off the mat, falling 38-13. It is evident that MSU is now paying the dues on its lightweight early schedule, as 7-0 is now 7-2, with a trip to Baton Rouge on the horizon. Johnny Manziel, the SEC's leading rusher and the Aggies' superstar freshman quarterback threw 30 completions on 36 passes for 311 yards and ran for two touchdowns, and A&M is still mathematically in contention for the SEC West in November. That's a remarkable achievement for a first-year team (ask Missouri) and Aggies are loving their new QB, new coach, and new conference.<br />
<br />
<b>3. Everyone who needs a win, step forward. Not so fast, Kentucky.</b><br />
<br />
There are four head coaches in the SEC whose jobs are in serious jeopardy, and while each of them arguably are past the point of no return, each team had an opportunity Saturday to turn their fortunes around, however fleetingly. Auburn doubled its win total for the season with a 42-7 victory over New Mexico State, and had its best offensive performance of the year with a new quarterback under center. Forget that the NMSU Aggies are 1-8 and in last place in the WAC, which won't even exist after this season. Arkansas struggled to put Tulsa away, scoring a late touchdown to eke out a 19-15 win. The Golden Hurricane is a good Conference-USA team, but the Razorbacks face three straight ranked SEC opponents to close the season, so the fans should savor this one. Tennessee scored 55 points at home against Troy. Unfortunately, the Vols gave up 48, and had to score a touchdown with 1:25 left in the fourth to seal the win. While none of these wins will do much to preserve the jobs of Gene Chizik, John L. Smith or Derek Dooley, at least they didn't lose any more ground - like, say, Joker Phillips. Kentucky faced Vanderbilt, which may well have been the toughest opponent of the four, and laid an egg, succumbing to the Commodores by a margin of 40-0.<br />
<br />
<b>4. SEC Championship Game matchup is all but certain.</b><br />
<br />
While neither team will be able to clinch their respective divisions until next week, both Alabama and Georgia jumped arguably their most difficult remaining hurdles on Saturday. The Bulldogs' 37-10 win at home over Ole Miss keeps them a game ahead of Florida with only 2-7 Auburn remaining on their schedule in SEC play. Alabama has both Texas A&M and Auburn left to play in the conference, but the victory over LSU means that 'Bama would have to lose both games to miss out on a trip to Atlanta. The teams were originally supposed to play each other in the regular season this year, but the addition of two teams to the SEC forced major changes to the 2012 schedule. Much was made in the off-season about Georgia avoiding what were perceived to be the major powers in the West for the second year in a row, since the Bulldogs didn't have to play Alabama, LSU or Arkansas. However, the East turned out to be much stronger than anticipated, and while Georgia ran an easier gauntlet than either Florida or South Carolina, the Bulldogs did what they had to do to return to the title game for the second straight year. There has been less talk about Alabama's path to Atlanta, although the Crimson Tide has also been aided by a schedule missing the top three teams in the SEC East. Alabama and Georgia have never played each other in the SEC Championship Game, and the last meeting between the two teams was in the 2008 "Blackout Game," won 41-30 by the Tide. Alabama leads the all-time series 36-25-4.<br />
<br />
<b>5. The Good</b><br />
<br />
<i>(1) Alabama 21, (5) LSU 17</i><br />
<br />
LSU dominated this game statistically. The Tigers had more first downs than Alabama (22-18), didn't turn the ball over ('Bama fumbled twice), and converted 50% of their third downs (10 of 20) while the Tide struggled (1 of 9 for 11%). Mettenberger threw for nearly 300 yards. Jeremy Hill ran for 107 and a touchdown. The Tide hadn't allowed a 100-yard rusher in two years. While Les Miles made a few head-scratching decisions that looked poor in hindsight, he and his team threw everything they had at Alabama, clearly benefiting from an extra week of preparation and a determination to take more risks than in the last meeting in New Orleans. Despite all of that, 'Bama did something that it hadn't had to do all season - something that all championship teams have to do - find a way to win. The defending national champs were outplayed in the entire second half, but with the game on the line the Crimson Tide broke the hearts of the Bayou Bengals and salvaged the season.<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>(16) Texas A&M 38, (15) Mississippi State 13</i><br />
<br />
The Aggies have won all five of their road games this season, and they ran the Bulldogs off the field in impressive fashion. If anything, this game wasn't as close as the score indicates, as A&M outgained the Bulldogs by nearly 400 yards and amassed 21 more first downs. Yikes. Something tells me we have seen the last of those all-white "Snow Bowl" uniforms from Mississippi State. Texas A&M, on the other hand, might want to keep those new black duds handy.<br />
<br />
<i>(6) Georgia 37, Ole Miss 10</i><br />
<br />
Georgia spotted the Rebels the first ten points, obviously suffering a bit of a hangover after last week's big win over Florida, but the Bulldogs scored two second quarter touchdowns on great plays by quarterback Aaron Murray and went on to blank Ole Miss the rest of the way. Georgia outgained the Rebels by 299 yards of offense and Murray threw four touchdowns with no interceptions on the day.<br />
<br />
<i>Vanderbilt 40, Kentucky 0</i><br />
<br />
The Commodores exploded for 20 second-quarter points, scoring touchdowns on four of its five first half drives in the worst defeat of Kentucky by Vandy since 1916. The Commodores are one win away from bowl eligibility with games remaining against Ole Miss, Tennessee and Wake Forest. It is only sporting to pull for the 'Dores to make it to what would be only their six bowl appearance of all time (the next-closest conference teams, MSU and Kentucky, both currently have 15).<br />
<br />
<i>Auburn 42, New Mexico State 7</i><br />
<br />
It would be a mistake to think that a win Saturday changes anything significant on the Plains, but at this point Auburn fans will take any success they can get. The Tigers had two rushers over 100 yards, and Jonathan Wallace was solid in his first start, passing for 164 yards and a touchdown.<br />
<br />
<b>6. The Bad</b><br />
<br />
<i>Tennessee 55, Troy 48</i><br />
<br />
Tennessee's Pyrrhic victory over Troy saw the Trojans amass 721 yards of offense, take the lead three times, and force the Vols to score two touchdowns in the last three minutes to secure the win. Keep in mind Troy lost to lowly Florida Atlantic last week. I'm starting to wonder if Nick Saban actually sent Sal Sunseri to Tennessee as a double agent to destroy the Volunteers' defense. Well played, Coach.<br />
<br />
<b>7. The Ugly </b><br />
<br />
<i>(7) Florida 14, Missouri 7</i><br />
<br />
The Gators took last week's loss to Georgia hard. The out-manned Missouri squad put up a valiant effort in the Swamp, but the disinterested Gators finally managed to salt away the win. Florida needed four interceptions, including one in the end zone with five seconds remaining on the clock, to put away the Tigers and keep themselves alive for a BCS bowl and an outside shot at the SEC title game. <i><br /></i><br />
<br />
<i>Arkansas 19, Tulsa 15</i><br />
<br />
Although Tulsa had only lost one game coming in to Fayetteville, the Golden Hurricane has played a pretty atrocious set of teams. The Razorbacks jumped out to an early 10-0 lead, but sleepwalked through the next two quarters. Midway through the third, Tulsa kicked a field goal to go up 15-13. Arkansas scored soon after to retake a four-point lead, but missed the two-point conversion. Then the Razorbacks missed a field goal and bypassed another attempt for a field goal to go for it on fourth down, which they also failed to convert. Fortunately, Tulsa was unable to capitalize on their fourth quarter opportunities, and Arkansas escaped with an ugly win.<br />
<br />
<b>8. Games to Watch in Week Eleven</b><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Texas A&M (7-2) at Alabama (9-0)</i><br />
<br />
The Aggies face the Crimson Tide for just the fifth time and the first ever in Tuscaloosa. These two programs have a lot of history together, sharing three coaches - Paul W. "Bear" Bryant, Gene Stallings, and Dennis Franchione - although both teams probably want to forget that last one. Still, this A&M squad is focused on the present, not the past, and nothing would cap their inaugural season in the SEC like a win over the top-ranked Crimson Tide. Alabama will be coming off an emotional road win and facing a completely different type of team than LSU. 'Bama's vaunted defense was exposed in Baton Rouge, and they will need to regroup quickly to keep the Tide's title hopes alive. I am leaning toward an Alabama win, but I expect this to be a nailbiter.<br />
<br />
<i>Mississippi State (7-2) at LSU (7-2)</i><br />
<br />
The Bulldogs have been manhandled the last two weeks, and LSU has proven to be on par with the two teams that did the manhandling. I would not expect Mississippi State to have much of a chance, but last night's devastating loss could carry over into next week if the Tigers let it. I expect a sloppy game and an LSU win.<br />
<br />
<i>Georgia (8-1) at Auburn (2-7)</i><br />
<br />
The South's Oldest Rivalry has seen better games. Georgia needs this win to go to Atlanta, while Auburn is only playing for pride and a chance to ruin the Bulldogs' title run. The Tigers won't win, but I think that they will keep it closer than expected.<br />
<br />
<i>South Carolina (7-2) at Arkansas (4-5)</i><br />
<br />
The Gamecocks have had a week to recover from the devastating injury to Marcus Lattimore, and I expect it to bring the team together. Arkansas's chance at a bowl is on the line, but I predicted South Carolina to win this game in the preseason when the Razorbacks were still expected to be a top 10 team, and nothing I've seen this season makes me think that they can pull off the upset.<br />
<br />
<i>Vanderbilt (5-4) at Ole Miss (5-4)</i><br />
<br />
While this is certainly not a marquee game, both teams are looking for bowl eligibility, and this has become a fairly big rivalry for both schools since the 1970s. Vandy has won five of the last seven, but I give the edge to the Rebels.<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Missouri (4-5) at Tennessee (4-5)</i><br />
<br />
Mizzou's first season in the SEC has not turned out like they had hoped. Tennessee's three-year run under Dooley has been its worst in decades. Both teams need this win to keep their slim bowl hopes alive, but frankly, the fact that either of them could go to a bowl is an indictment of the current bowl system. Tennessee doesn't have much defense, but the injury-riddled Tigers won't be able to make them pay for that. I'm picking the Volunteers to win.<br />
<br />
<br />
This is shaping up to be one of the most interesting slate of SEC games this season. Enjoy. karlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608002071907476082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29118369.post-75465947334650020112012-10-28T15:37:00.003-05:002012-10-29T14:23:32.450-05:00SEC Football Week Nine: The RundownThis 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!<br />
<br />
<b>1. Congratulations to Georgia, I guess.</b><br />
<br />
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.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>2. #FailState.</b><br />
<br />
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:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw1pUTr_b_ge_5stPsoZa1-eZMQ1CDHhHkzYIp3pf6Q4l1oxfbctuTSE3w02A_xUTjjqhCkaiB7l_0to-iGzzqBPAwqDbvulscPSTcKrNIsfq7fgds6NMjAX09pk-V2Wnr3NIbDA/s1600/bearshirt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw1pUTr_b_ge_5stPsoZa1-eZMQ1CDHhHkzYIp3pf6Q4l1oxfbctuTSE3w02A_xUTjjqhCkaiB7l_0to-iGzzqBPAwqDbvulscPSTcKrNIsfq7fgds6NMjAX09pk-V2Wnr3NIbDA/s320/bearshirt.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
You might want to wait until the game is over, or at least until you have a team that can actually pull it off.<br />
<br />
3. <b>Hugh Freeze may be SEC Coach of the Year.</b><br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
<b>4. The Good.</b><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>(1) Alabama 38, (11) Mississippi State 7</i><br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
<i>Ole Miss 30, Arkansas 27</i><br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
<i>Missouri 33, Kentucky 10</i><br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
<i>Vanderbilt 49, Massachusetts 7</i><br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
<b>5. The Bad.</b><br />
<br />
<i>(13) South Carolina 38, Tennessee 35</i><br />
<br />
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.<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>(20) Texas A&M 63, Auburn 21</i><br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
<b>6. The Ugly.</b><br />
<br />
<i>(10) Georgia 17, (2) Florida 9</i><br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
<b>7. Games to Watch in Week Ten.</b><br />
<br />
<i>(1) Alabama at (5) LSU</i><br />
<br />
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.<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>(16) Texas A&M at (15) Mississippi State</i><br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
<i>Ole Miss at (6) Georgia</i><br />
<br />
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.karlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608002071907476082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29118369.post-21821615653832398952012-10-26T12:28:00.001-05:002012-10-26T13:12:20.183-05:00Alabama and the 14 National Championships, Part II<a href="http://noneyabusiness.blogspot.com/2012/10/alabama-and-14-national-championships.html">Part I</a><br />
<br />
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 <a href="http://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/">College Football Data Warehouse</a> (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?"<br />
<br />
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?<br />
<br />
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 <i>Seattle Times</i>, 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?<br />
<br />
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?<br />
<br />
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?<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><b>1936 -</b> 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. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>1937 -</b> 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. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>1945 -</b> 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 <a href="http://noneyabusiness.blogspot.com/2012/10/alabama-and-14-national-championships.html">Part I</a>) rather than the 1941 team, as I think this team has a much better claim. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>1950 -</b> 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.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>1962 -</b> 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). </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>1963 - </b>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.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>1966 - </b>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. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>1974 -</b> 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. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>1975 -</b> 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. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>1977 -</b> 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? </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>1980 </b>- 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.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>1991 -</b> 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. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>1994 -</b> 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.</li>
</ul>
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). <br />
<br />
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).<br />
<br />
<b>Team Titles Recognized Titles Claimed Total (All Selectors)</b><br />
Princeton 26 28 31<br />
Yale 18 27 31<br />
<b>Alabama 13 14 27</b><br />
Notre Dame 13 11 23<br />
Michigan 11 11 21<br />
USC 10 11 22<br />
Pittsburgh 9 9 <b> </b> 16<br />
Harvard 8 8 19<br />
Ohio State 7 7 20<br />
Oklahoma 7 7 23<br />
Minnesota 6 7 10<br />
Pennsylvania 6 7 21<br />
Army 5 3 11<br />
Miami 5 5 10<br />
Nebraska 5 5<b> 14</b><br />
California 4 5 5<br />
Georgia Tech 4 4 7<br />
Illinois 4 5 6<br />
LSU 4 3 11<br />
Michigan State 4 6 8<br />
Penn State 4 2 15<br />
Tennessee 4 6 14 <br />
Texas 4 4 13 <br />
<b>Auburn 3 3 8</b><br />
Cornell 3 5<b> </b> 5<br />
Florida 3 3 5<br />
Lafayette 3 3 3<br />
<br />
Props to Cal and Cornell for straight up, unabashedly claiming all of theirs, deservedly or not.<br />
<br />
<br />
*(<i>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.</i>) karlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608002071907476082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29118369.post-84633405187322029242012-10-25T20:56:00.002-05:002012-10-26T12:32:34.499-05:00Alabama and the 14 National Championships, Part IThere 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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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?<br />
<br />
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). <br />
<br />
According to the College Football Data Warehouse (CFDW) web site (<a href="http://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/">www.cfbdatawarehouse.com</a>), 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.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://blog.al.com/solomon/2010/01/got_12.html">This article</a>, which initially appeared in the <i>Birmingham New</i>s 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.<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><b>1961 -</b> 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.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>1964 -</b> 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. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>1965 -</b> 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. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>1973 - </b>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. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>1978 -</b> 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). </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>1979 -</b> 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.</li>
</ul>
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><b>1992 - </b>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. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>2009 -</b> 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. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>2011 -</b> 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.</li>
</ul>
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?<br />
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According to the previously-mentioned <i>Birmingham News</i> 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?<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><b>1925 -</b> 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 <a href="http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q16/skip_wilson/image28.png">newspaper article</a> from the next day makes it clear that the game was regarded as the national championship <i>at the time</i>. 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. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>1926 -</b> 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. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>1930 - </b>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). </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>1934 -</b> 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). </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>1941 -</b> 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.</li>
</ul>
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 <a href="http://noneyabusiness.blogspot.com/2012/10/alabama-and-14-national-championships_26.html">Part II</a>.<br />
<ul>
</ul>
<br />karlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608002071907476082noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29118369.post-2701544753428354272012-10-21T11:31:00.000-05:002012-10-23T14:26:54.425-05:00SEC Football Week Eight: The RundownAfter 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!<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>1. Turnovers are Bad, Part I.</b><br />
<br />
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.<br />
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<b>2. </b><b>Turnovers are Bad, Part II.</b><br />
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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.<br />
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<b>3. Coaching Hot Seat, Part I.</b><br />
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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? <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Saban">Nick Saban was born</a>.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>4. Coaching Hot Seat, Part II.</b><br />
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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.<br />
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<b>5. The Good.</b><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>(2) Florida 44, (7) South Carolina 11</i><br />
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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.<br />
<br />
<i>(6) LSU 24, (18) Texas A&M 19</i><br />
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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.<br />
<br />
<i>(1) Alabama 44, Tennessee 13</i><br />
<br />
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.<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>(12) Mississippi State 45, Middle Tennessee State 3</i><br />
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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.<br />
<br />
<b>6. The Bad.</b><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>(11) Georgia 29, Kentucky 24</i><br />
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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.<br />
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<b>7. The Ugly</b><br />
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<i>Vanderbilt 17, Auburn 13</i><br />
<br />
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.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>8. Games to Watch in Week Nine</b><br />
<br />
<i>(2) Florida vs. (10) Georgia in Jacksonville</i><br />
<br />
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. <br />
<br />
<i>(11) Mississippi State at (1) Alabama</i><br />
<br />
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.<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Tennessee at (13) South Carolina</i><br />
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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.<br />
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<i>Ole Miss at Arkansas</i><br />
<br />
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.karlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608002071907476082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29118369.post-22454015530207343592012-10-14T13:32:00.000-05:002012-10-15T11:06:47.672-05:00SEC Football Week Seven: The RundownWe'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!<br />
<br />
<b>1. All is Right with the World Again.</b><br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
<b>2. Missed Opportunity. </b><br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
<b>3. Will Auburn Go Winless in the Conference?</b><br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
<b>4. SEC West is Not Dead Yet.</b><br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
<b>5. The Good</b><br />
<br />
<i>(9) LSU 23, (3) South Carolina 21</i><br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
<i>(1) Alabama 42, Missouri 10</i><br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
<i>(4) Florida 31, Vanderbilt 17</i><br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
<i>(19) Mississippi State 41, Tennessee 31</i><br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
<i>(22) Texas A&M 59, (23) Louisiana Tech 57</i><br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
<b>6. The Bad</b><br />
<br />
<i>Arkansas 49, Kentucky 7</i><br />
<br />
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 <i><b>third quarter</b></i> due to lightning. At this point, the early win over Kent State appears to have been overachieving.<br />
<br />
<b>7. The Ugly</b><br />
<br />
<i>Ole Miss 41, Auburn 20</i><br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
<b>8. Games to Watch in Week Eight</b><br />
<br />
<i>(9) South Carolina at (3) Florida</i><br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
<i>(6) LSU at (20) Texas A&M</i><br />
<br />
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.<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>(1) Alabama at Tennessee</i><br />
<br />
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."karlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608002071907476082noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29118369.post-39801184327646979772012-10-06T23:37:00.003-05:002012-10-07T09:18:01.938-05:00SEC Football Week Six: The RundownWith 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!<br />
<br />
<b>1. The King is Dead/Long Live the King.</b><br />
<br />
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.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>2. South Carolina is a national championship contender/Georgia - not so much.</b><br />
<br />
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.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>3. Arkansas stops the bleeding/Auburn opens another vein.</b><br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
<b>4. Mississippi State is quietly 5-0 for the first time since 1999.</b><br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
<b>5. The Good.</b><br />
<br />
<i>(10) Florida 14, (4) LSU 6</i><br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
<i>(6) South Carolina 35, (5) Georgia 7</i><br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
<i>(20) Mississippi State 27, Kentucky 14</i><br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
<i>Texas A&M 30, Ole Miss 27</i><br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
<b>6. The Bad</b><br />
<br />
<i>Arkansas 24, Auburn 7</i><br />
<br />
Yeah, the Razorbacks won, and they needed it. But let's not kid ourselves. Both of these teams are hilariously bad.<br />
<br />
<b>7. The Ugly</b><br />
<br />
<i>Vanderbilt 19, Missouri 14</i><br />
<br />
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.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>8. Games to Watch in Week Seven</b><br />
<br />
<i>South Carolina at LSU</i><br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
<i>Auburn at Ole Miss</i><br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
<i>Tennessee at Mississippi State</i><br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
<i>Alabama at Missouri</i><br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
<i>Texas A&M at Louisiana Tech</i><br />
<br />
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."karlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608002071907476082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29118369.post-40372382871927287352012-09-30T13:31:00.001-05:002012-10-06T23:38:11.047-05:00SEC Football Week Five: The RundownI thought this was supposed to be a defensive league. Week Five in the SEC saw lots of yards and points as well as a few lackluster performances from the top teams that let inferior opponents hang around too long. Let's start the rundown.<br />
<br />
<b>1. Georgia defense is whole again, and not so good.</b><br />
<br />
Suspended defensive stars Bacarri Rambo (FS) and Alec Ogletree (LB) finally returned from suspension for the fifth-ranked Bulldogs' 51-44 win over Tennessee. I keep hearing people (like CBS's Gary Danielson) claim that Georgia's defense is as good as Alabama's and LSU's. Those people are wrong. Just because Georgia has a bunch of great-looking athletes who are big and fast doesn't mean that their defense is schematically sound. Tennessee was able to run up the middle on the Bulldogs and consistently had receivers open in the Georgia secondary. If Tyler Bray had been more accurate in a couple of spots (or had his receivers not dropped several passes, including a sure touchdown) we'd be talking about whether or not this was a signature win for Derek Dooley. Could Georgia have been looking ahead to South Carolina? Maybe so, but any defense that gives up 44 points and nearly 500 yards is not good. End of story.<br />
<br />
<b>2. Hugh Freeze is having a positive effect on Ole Miss.</b><br />
<br />
Don't get ahead of me here - Ole Miss is not a good team yet. However, the Rebels have shown dramatic improvement since last season's 2-10 debacle. While top-ranked Alabama had the decidedly superior team in last night's 33-14 victory, Ole Miss were able to drive the ball on Alabama, take a brief lead, and compete for the entire game, something no other team has done this season. Contrast the Rebels to the hapless Arkansas Razorbacks. Who would've thought that by Week Five, Ole Miss would not only have a better record than Arkansas, but has played better. I'll be interested to see how they fare against the same Texas A&M team that just hammered the Hogs.<br />
<br />
<b>3. What is going on with LSU?</b><br />
<br />
The Bayou Bengals performed poorly against Auburn last week, and were frankly lucky to come away with a win. Any Tigers' fans expecting that game to be a wakeup call had to be disappointed with what they saw last night with LSU's 38-22 win over Towson, an FCS school. Towson actually had a second-quarter 9-7 lead before the Tigers pulled away. LSU has dropped in the polls from number two to number four in the last two weeks and going into the showdown in Gainesville this week there are a number of question marks for this team. Can the Zach Mettenberger perform in a hostile environment against a good team defense? Can LSU play with intensity? How good are the Tigers, really? We'll know more in a week.<br />
<br />
<b>4. Another week, another Arkansas low.</b><br />
<br />
In the wake of Texas A&M's blowout of Arkansas, I am looking over the Razorbacks schedule, and there are no gimme wins left. Even Kentucky has put up more fight than Arkansas has in their last few games. If Arkansas doesn't right the ship against Auburn next week, and I highly doubt that they can, I think it's unlikely they can finish above .500.<br />
<br />
<b>5. The Good.</b><br />
<br />
<i>(1) Alabama 33, Ole Miss 14</i><br />
<br />
The Tide closed out the first half of its season with a number of things to work on - inconsistent run blocking, failure to finish drives with touchdowns rather than field goals, and a tendency to let off the gas once the opponent is down. However, Alabama goes into the bye week ranked number one, outscoring opponents 40-7 on average, and with a schedule that looks a lot more manageable than just a couple of weeks ago.<br />
<br />
<i>(6) South Carolina 38, Kentucky 17</i><br />
<br />
The Gamecocks forgot for a half of football that they actually had to beat Kentucky to make next week's game against Georgia really meaningful. Credit the Wildcats for actually coming to play in what has been an abysmal season so far - they led South Carolina 17-7 at the half, before the Gamecocks scored 31 unanswered points to put them away.<br />
<br />
<i>Texas A&M 58, Arkansas 10</i><br />
<br />
The Aggies won their first SEC game and got a little bit of redemption against the Razorbacks for last year's 42-38 come-from-behind victory. Ole Miss may actually provide a better gauge for how good this A&M team can be, as Arkansas is just horrible.<br />
<br />
<i>(5) Georgia 51, Tennessee 44</i><br />
<br />
I struggled over whether this was a good performance or an ugly one, but the Bulldogs are 5-0 and atop the SEC East (along with Florida and South Carolina), so I'll give them the nod due to the strong offensive showing.<br />
<br />
<b>6. The Bad.</b><br />
<br />
All the bad losses this week were to other SEC teams and Auburn didn't play.<br />
<br />
<b>7. The Ugly.</b><br />
<br />
<i>(3) LSU 38, Towson 22</i><br />
<br />
Really? An FCS school two touchdowns behind the third-best team in the country? <br />
<br />
<i>Missouri 21, UCF 16</i><br />
<br />
The Knights actually outgained Mizzou on offense and had 27 first downs to the Tigers' 16, but a punt return for a touchdown provided the difference in the game. Still, a win is a win, and the Tigers needed this road win to build some confidence after getting smashed last week.<br />
<br />
<b>8. Games to Watch in Week Six</b><br />
<br />
<i>(4) LSU at (10) Florida</i><br />
<br />
I've got a sneaking suspicion that Florida might have LSU's number this year. The Gators have the best defense that LSU has seen so far this season, and at home in the Swamp, I predict that Florida will pull off the upset.<b></b><br />
<i><br />(5) Georgia at (6) South Carolina</i>
<br />
<br />
Georgia and South Carolina have looked fantastic in some spots and mediocre in others this season, but they both come in undefeated. Carolina has the better defense, but Georgia's offense is stronger. This is a tossup in my mind, but I'm going with the Gamecocks due to the night atmosphere at Williams-Bryce, and the fact that I chose them to win the East in preseason. <b><br /></b>karlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608002071907476082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29118369.post-61282244563298281532012-09-23T15:00:00.000-05:002012-09-23T15:00:14.546-05:00SEC Football Week Four: The RundownWhew! We're already through one-third of the college football season, and the top half of the SEC is starting to separate itself from the bottom. Week Four saw a team in free fall, a closer contest than expected, and a team that is gaining confidence and leading the division. Let's start the rundown.<br />
<br />
<b>1. Florida is establishing itself as a serious contender in the East.</b><br />
<br />
Florida went on the road and won tough games against Texas A&M and Tennessee in weeks two and three, and it would've been easy to coast into Saturday's game at home against lowly Kentucky with a lackluster performance. Instead the Gators hammered the hapless Wildcats 38-0. The fact that Florida beat Kentucky isn't very surprising - in fact, it was the Gators' 26th consecutive win in the series - but what made Gator fans happy was the balanced attack (203 yards passing, 200 rushing) and the complete domination of the Wildcats on both sides of the ball. Along with South Carolina and Georgia, who both took care of business, the Gators have staked their claim as the class of the East, and it will be interesting to see who rises to the top.<br />
<br />
<b>2. Zach Mettenberger looks like a first-year quarterback.</b><br />
Many college football prognosticators proclaimed that LSU's offensive issues from last year were all resolved now that Mettenberger has taken over the role of signal caller for the Tigers. At least one ESPN pundit put him on his Heisman Watch list before the season even started, although he had only played a few downs in garbage time last season. To be sure, Mettenberger looked good coasting through the early teams on the Tigers' schedule, but Saturday's game against Auburn was a rude awakening. Despite the fact that LSU won 12-10, Mettenberger had two first half fumbles that helped Auburn stay in the game, missed a number of open receivers, and generally looked average against his first SEC defense on the road. Mettenberger finished 15/27 for just 169 yards, and failed repeatedly to drive LSU in the second half when the game was in jeopardy. Auburn's offense was anemic at best, garnering less than 200 yards total, but it almost didn't matter, and an early safety by the defense ended up being the difference. Without some major improvement, LSU will be lucky to make it to November 3rd undefeated.<br />
<br />
<b>3. Arkansas has collapsed.</b><br />
Clearly, the problems with the Razorbacks weren't solved with Tyler Wilson back on the field. While Wilson threw for 419 yards and three touchdowns, he also tossed two interceptions. Arkansas's defense gave up over 500 yards to Rutgers while the 'Backs rushing game garnered only 73. It was clear that the team didn't give up this week: Wilson hit an 80-yard touchdown midway through the fourth quarter and looked to tie it up with a two-point conversion that ultimately failed, but unfortunately, John L. Smith appears to be phoning it in at this point. For a team that entered the season thinking about an SEC title, it looks less and less like Arkansas will even manage to make it to a bowl game.<br />
<br />
<b>4. The Good</b><br />
<br />
<i>(7) South Carolina 31, Missouri 10</i><br />
<br />
South Carolina and Connor Shaw finally looked like the team that closed out 2011 against Nebraska, overpowering Missouri at home. The Tigers have obviously run out of gas in their first two conference games, confirming for many that Mizzou will have difficulty competing with the best in the SEC due to size and talent.<br />
<br />
<i>(1) Alabama 40, Florida Atlantic 7</i><br />
<br />
Some day, a team will challenge Alabama for more than a half of football, but it was not this day.<br />
<br />
<i>(5) Georgia 48, Vanderbilt 3</i><br />
<br />
Complete domination in all phases of the game by the Bulldogs, who seem to have hit their stride. Vanderbilt, on the other hand, has taken a step backward.<br />
<br />
<i>(14) Florida 38, Kentucky 0</i><br />
<br />
Florida is improving every week into a real SEC title game contender. Joker Phillips' run at Kentucky is all but over now, as the Wildcats have only one likely win remaining on the schedule.<br />
<br />
<i>Texas A&M 70, South Carolina State 14</i><br />
<br />
The Aggies, behind five touchdowns by quarterback Johnny Manziel (three passing, two rushing) got on track offensively, and appear to be peaking for next week's showdown with Arkansas.<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Ole Miss 39, Tulane 0</i><br />
<br />
The Rebels exploded for 26 first quarter points to hammer the Tulane Green Wave, recovering quickly from last week's loss to Texas.<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Mississippi State 30, South Alabama 10</i><br />
<br />
The Bulldogs have sleepwalked their way to 4-0, their best start since 1999.<br />
<br />
<b>5. The Bad</b><br />
<br />
Rutgers 35, Arkansas 26<br />
<br />
It just keeps getting worse for the Razorbacks, who are going to struggle to win six games. At this point you hope that the players make it safely through this debacle.<br />
<br />
<b>6. The Ugly</b><br />
<br />
<i>Tennessee 47, Akron 26</i><br />
<br />
This game was tied 23-23 midway through the third quarter before the Volunteers finally pulled away. That might be blamed on a hangover from the Florida loss or on looking ahead to next week's showdown with Georgia, but either way, the Vols are lucky that they were playing the Zips this week.<br />
<br />
7. <b>Games to Watch in Week Five</b><br />
<br />
<i>Tennessee at (5) Georgia</i><br />
<br />
Tennessee begins a slate of four difficult games on the road in Athens. The Vols need to win one of these for Dooley's hot seat to cool down some, but I don't think it will be this one. Look for a convincing win from the 'Dawgs.<br />
<br />
<i>Arkansas at Texas A&M</i><br />
<b><br /></b>
Nothing I have seen from Arkansas this year convinces me that they will win this game. Texas A&M should be the first of the SEC newcomers to win a conference game.<b></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<i>Ole Miss at (1) Alabama</i><br />
<br />
The Rebels have improved since last year's embarrassing 52-7 loss to the Tide . Saturday, we'll see how much.karlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608002071907476082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29118369.post-54017134450477508952012-09-16T16:30:00.003-05:002012-09-16T16:30:23.547-05:00SEC Football Week Three: The RundownWeek three in the SEC saw the beginning of the end for two head coaches in the league, in my opinion, as well as turning up the heat on two other coaches who need to find a way to win quickly. In other SEC towns, quarterback controversies heat up in both Columbia, SC and Columbia, MO, and the top tier of the conference is starting to show a little bit of separation. Let's start the rundown.<br />
<br />
<b>1. Renewed Excitement, Same Old Result</b><br />
Back in July, CBS made what seemed to be a good decision at the time, opting for the Alabama-Arkansas game to kick off the SEC on CBS 2012 season over Florida-Tennessee. By the time Louisiana-Monroe had pulled off the Arkansas upset in overtime last week and ESPN chose Knoxville for their Gameday location, I'm sure the CBS team was kicking themselves. The Gators and the Volunteers both came into the game undefeated, and given Florida's recent offensive woes, it looked like the best opportunity for Tennessee to break their seven-year losing skid at home with a healthy Tyler Bray, Justin Hunter and newcomer Cordarrelle Patterson.<br />
At the end of the day, however, it was Florida standing tall in a 37-20 victory that saw the Gators outscore the Vols 27-6 in the second half. Florida has now won two weeks in a row on the road with come-from-behind heroics and look to be a serious contender for the SEC East title. The Gators have five of their remaining six conference games coming at the Swamp (only Vanderbilt is a road game). Meanwhile, after Akron next week, Tennessee will face four straight ranked opponents, with only one home game (versus #1 Alabama) in that stretch. Derek Dooley's future at Tennessee may be on the line this season, and he still doesn't have a signature win. If he doesn't pull at least one of these off, I'd suggest it's time to start looking for a real estate agent.<br />
<br />
<b>2. Fear the Sun Belt!</b><br />
Before the 2012 season, there had been 94 matchups featuring an SEC team and a Sun Belt Conference opponent. The Sun Belt team had actually won four of those games - a nearly 96% failure rate. Through week three, however, Louisiana-Monroe took both Arkansas and Auburn to overtime, winning against the former and losing to the latter and Western Kentucky edged Kentucky (32-31) in overtime as well. In addition, Mississippi State actually traveled to Troy(!) and struggled to pull out a 30-24 victory. Is the most hated and feared football conference in America in danger of being overtaken by the lowly Sun Belt?<br />
Well, no, but it does speak to the embarrassment of riches that is football talent in the South that the best teams in the Sun Belt can compete with (and sometimes beat) the weaker teams in the SEC. Unfortunately, SEC fanbases don't see it that way, and Western Kentucky's narrow defeat has probably sealed the fate of Kentucky coach Joker Phillips, who is 12-15 since taking over the helm at Lexington. Auburn coach Gene Chizik, on the other hand, staved off any serious discussions about his job for at least one more week. We'll see how they look after LSU next Saturday.<br />
<br />
<b>3. Southern Barbecue</b><br />
Poor, poor Arkansas. The preseason expectations that Hog fans had for their team were probably unrealistic even before Bobby Petrino took his ride into infamy, but my, how the mighty have fallen. While last week's debacle began to reveal the cracks in the facade, Alabama came into Fayetteville and absolutely crushed the Razorbacks. By the end of the game the third, fourth and fifth string players for the Tide were not only scoring almost at will, but were preserving the 52-0 shutout, the worst for Arkansas since the 1960s, and Alabama's biggest SEC shutout since 1948. With John L. Smith's lame duck coaching staff, a quarterback who is calling out his own team in a game in which he didn't take a snap, and a sorely disappointed and disgusted fanbase, things at Arkansas are looking grim. If the Razorbacks don't right the ship next week at home against 3-0 Rutgers, it's going to be a long season.<br />
<br />
<b>4. Quarterback Controversies?</b><br />
It's a old saw that players shouldn't lose a starting position due to injury, and granted, James Franklin (Missouri) and Connor Shaw (South Carolina) won the starting quarterback jobs at their respective schools back in 2011. However, once a starter, especially a QB, gets hurt, he is a target. Shaw was hurt before playing Vanderbilt in week one, and has actually played fewer minutes so far than his backup Dylan Thompson. Franklin's shoulder is hurt, and with South Carolina up next, it isn't clear how badly. Meanwhile, Austyn Carta-Samuels (Vanderbilt) got his first start against Presbyterian in Saturday's blowout and Jordan Rodgers never even took the field. Is Rodgers hurt? Was he benched? Vandy coach James Franklin (no relation to the Mizzou QB) wouldn't say who might start against Georgia next week. With the pressure that today's coaches have to win early and often to keep their jobs, it's no wonder that the security of a starting quarterback position is tenuous.<br />
<br />
<b>5. The Good</b><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>(1) Alabama (won 52-0 at Arkansas)</i><br />
<br />
The Crimson Tide has outscored its opponents 134-14 in the first three weeks of the season, and none of the games have been competitive by halftime. It may be mid-October before this team is really tested.<br />
<br />
<i>(3) LSU (won 63-14 over Idaho at home)</i><br />
<br />
With USC's loss, the Tigers rose to #2 in both polls, but the Tigers haven't really been tested either. Don't expect Auburn to provide one on Saturday.<br />
<br />
<i>(6) Georgia (won 56-20 over Florida Atlantic at home)</i><br />
<br />
The Bulldogs amassed a school-record 713 yards of offense in a game that wasn't as close as the score might indicate. <br />
<br />
<i>(8) South Carolina (won 49-6 over UAB at home)</i><br />
<br />
More significant than the win is that Connor Shaw left the game injured after a savage hit and did not return. Can Thompson lead the Gamecocks to a win over Mizzou Saturday?<br />
<br />
<i>Missouri (won 24-20 over Arizona State at home)</i><br />
<br />
Despite the fact that Missouri gave the Sun Devils ample opportunity to take the game away, the fact is that they won a non-conference game against a team they lost to in 2011, they recovered from last week's loss to Georgia, and they did it with a backup quarterback. Not too shabby.<br />
<br />
<i>Texas A&M (won 48-3 over SMU at home)</i><br />
<br />
The Aggies rolled up over 600 yards of offense in a romp.<br />
<br />
<b>6. The Bad</b><br />
<br />
<i>Kentucky (lost 32-31 to Western Kentucky at home in overtime)</i><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xX0_KCpfDIQ">They supposed to be SEC?</a><br />
<br />
<i>Ole Miss (lost 66-31 to (17) Texas at home)</i><br />
<br />
While the Rebels were clearly over-matched by the Longhorns, this wasn't actually as bad as I expected it to be. At least Ole Miss didn't give up, like some SEC West teams I know...<br />
<br />
<b>7. The Ugly</b><br />
<br />
<i>Auburn (won 31-28 over Louisiana-Monroe at home in overtime)</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Mississippi State (won 30-24 at Troy)</i><br />
<br />
Sure, both Auburn and Mississippi State got wins against their Sun Belt opponents, but is that really something to be proud of? At least Dan Mullen didn't call it a <a href="http://www.kansascity.com/2012/09/15/3817065/auburn-holds-off-dangerous-louisiana.html">great win</a>.<br />
<br />
<b>8. Games to Watch in Week Four</b><br />
<br />
<i>Missouri at (7) South Carolina</i><br />
<br />
Mizzou hits the road in the SEC for the first time. I think South Carolina is a better team, but if Connor Shaw can't play, it may be close. I still favor the Gamecocks.<br />
<br />
<i>(2) LSU at Auburn</i><br />
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Remember when this was a marquee game? Now I just want to see if LSU can break 100.<br />
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<i>Rutgers at Arkansas</i><br />
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The Razorbacks need to win and win convincingly. Not sure if that is going to happen. <br />
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<i>Vanderbilt at (5) Georgia</i><br />
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Yeah, the Week Four slate is pretty bad. <br />
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<br />karlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608002071907476082noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29118369.post-69655780694711131932012-09-09T00:24:00.001-05:002012-09-10T08:55:01.021-05:00SEC Football Week Two: The RundownWeek two of college football 2012 marked a new day for the Southeastern Conference - the first day of competition for new members Texas A&M and Missouri. It also saw the first major upset of the season, the top dogs taking care of business and a couple of programs on the brink of [football] disaster. Let's dig in.<br />
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<b>1. Blame Bobby Petrino.</b><br />
Eighth-ranked Arkansas's overtime loss to Louisiana-Monroe 34-31 shocked the football world on Saturday, but the origins of this devastating failure occurred on Arkansas Highway 16 back in April, where former coach Bobby Petrino wrecked his motorcycle, his career, and this Razorback squad. Granted, quarterback Tyler Wilson left the game in the first half with an "above the shoulder" injury (<strike>a concussion</strike>; <strike>a rumored broken collarbone</strike>; ???) and did not return, but does anyone doubt that the Razorbacks would have won this game had Petrino been roaming the sidelines? Future former head coach John L. Smith signed a reported 10-month contract to lead Arkansas for the 2012 season. Unless the 'Backs reach the SEC Championship and/or the BCS Championship game (an unlikely prospect at this point) the chances of that contract being renewed fall somewhere between slim and none.<br />
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<b>2. Welcome to the SEC.</b><br />
Texas A&M and Missouri were officially welcomed into the SEC with smiles and handshakes back in July, but the hard reality of life in the nation's toughest football conference began to make itself felt today. The home office in Birmingham made certain that both teams received high-profile matchups for their first league games with two of the conference's big six - (24) Florida in the case of the Aggies and (7) Georgia for the Tigers. Both teams had exuberant, sellout crowds that expected their teams to compete and win, and several pundits predicted one or the other to pull the upset. Some even said that if A&M and Missouri both won, it would repudiate the SEC to a certain extent, proving that good football was played in other parts of the country than the Deep South. Whether or not the newcomers to the conference will be competitive in 2012 remains to be seen, but at the end of the day, despite both teams having a lead fairly late into their respective games, the record was 0-2. <br />
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<b>3. Auburn's ship is sinking fast/Mullen gets signature win.</b><br />
Mississippi State had never won a game against another SEC West team, other than Ole Miss, during Dan Mullen's tenure at Starkville, going a combined 0-12 against Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn and LSU before Saturday's 28-10 wipeout of the Tigers. The Bulldogs completely dominated Auburn in every facet of the game, forcing five turnovers and holding the Tigers to just 216 total yards of offense. For at least one week, Bully stands atop the SEC West at 1-0, while Auburn falls to 0-2 overall. With Louisiana-Monroe coming to town next week after their stunning upset of Arkansas, even games that seemed easy wins previously will likely be a challenge given Auburn's anemic offense. The Gene Chizik hotseat watch begins now.<br />
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<b>4. Quarterback controversy in Carolina?</b><br />
A week after South Carolina struggled to a 17-13 win over Vanderbilt and QB Connor Shaw dealt with multiple injuries while throwing for a paltry 67 yards against the Commodores, here comes Dylan Thompson to start for the Gamecocks against East Carolina. Thompson threw for 330 yards and three touchdowns in a 48-10 romp. Clearly if Shaw is unhealthy, Thompson will be able to sub for him, but the real question now is whether or not Thompson should be the starter. <br />
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<b>5. In Other News: The Good</b><br />
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<i>(1) Alabama (35-0 over Western Kentucky at home) </i><br />
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Nick Saban complained this week about how the media didn't treat the Hilltoppers with respect by assuming that the top-ranked Tide would blow them out. Way to make your point, Coach.<i><br /></i><br />
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<i>(3) LSU (41-3 over Washington at home)</i><br />
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The Tigers have scored 41 points in two straight games and are flying under the radar as much as possible for a third-ranked team with two blowouts on their resume.<i><br /></i><br />
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<i>Tennessee (51-13 over Georgia State at home)</i><br />
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Tennessee coasted to an easy victory, led by Tyler Bray's 333 yards passing and two touchdowns in their last tuneup before the Gators come to Knoxville.<br />
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<i>Kentucky (47-14 over Kent State at home)</i><br />
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Savor this one Wildcats fans. Savor it well.<br />
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<i>Ole Miss (28-10 over UTEP at home)</i><br />
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The Rebels have quietly started 2-0 for only the second time in the last ten years. It's all downhill from here.<br />
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<b>6. <b>In Other News: The Bad</b></b><br />
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<i>Vanderbilt (lost 23-13 at Northwestern)</i><br />
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The media and the fanbase love James Franklin and the way he has inspired Vandy to be more competitive, but in the end, the 'Dores still start off 0-2.<br />
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<b>Games to watch in Week Three:</b><br />
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Alabama travels to Arkansas for what promised to be a marquee matchup of top ten teams until the Razorbacks wet the bed against LA-Monroe. Now the storyline will be focused on whether Wilson will be back and whether Arkansas can rebound. I expect 'Bama to cruise to an easy victory.<br />
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The most intriguing contest of the weekend is the game at Knoxville between Florida and Tennessee. What used to be the regular first SEC on CBS game has been relegated to second-tier status, but both teams enter the game undefeated and the game poses the first real test for both teams. I'm picking the Vols to win in a slight upset.<br />
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Texas comes to Oxford to face the Ole Miss Rebels, which I suppose is an important game. Way to step out of the Big 12 to compete against one of the worst teams in the SEC, Texas! Look for the Longhorns to drop the Rebels by double digits.<br />
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<br />karlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608002071907476082noreply@blogger.com0