Ah, 10 teams in the SEC are longing for the good ol' days, when Mike Shula and Ed Orgeron haplessly roamed the sidelines in the West.
We all knew it was coming. We just thought it would take another year or two. Nick Saban is a badass. Sorry, kids; I would use a better word if there was one.
Even an Auburn fan that believes Tuberville will deliver Seven in November has to admit it. Even if Auburn does get Seven, Saban did what maybe no one else could have done in a year in Tuscaloosa.
If any of the pollsters would take an even-money bet on Oklahoma against Alabama, I would be willing to put them in the gambling business.
Georgia has a long way to go to get back to the Top Five. Both of their lines were dominated by Alabama. That's not to say it can't be done. Unless you're 2004 Auburn, a single loss to a ranked team won't keep you out of the BCS title game.
I've never been one to give Les Miles the benefit of the doubt as a head coach. I've admittedly been on the other side, but his record is starting to speak for itself.
He's now four years in and playing fewer of Saban's recruits. He still has plenty of moments that make fans ask what the hell he was thinking, but so do most other coaches. The bottom line is: he wins games.
Over the past few years, Auburn has been involved in games that ended 13-9, 10-3, 10-9, 7-3, 9-7, and the now infamous 3-2 game. It seemed those contests became solely about field position at some point during each half, where the offenses turned super-conservative and punts were intriguing plays.
One other thing about those games: Auburn won them all.
Don't be surprised if Auburn has another anti-barn-burner this weekend against Vanderbilt. But who cares what happens? The real news is that ESPN (the main one) will be in Nashville for a Saturday night game in October.
Vanderbilt might end up needing this game to get to a bowl. The 4-0 Commodores have to bank on wins at Mississippi State and against Duke, but six wins probably won't guarantee a bid. The SEC will likely have 10 teams bowl-eligible, with Mississippi State and Arkansas home for the holidays, so Vanderbilt may need a win against Auburn or Kentucky.
Sylvester Croom and his crew may be poised for a strong second-half run. Seven of their final eight games should be winnable, with the contest at Alabama the only one that seems to be hopeless at this point. This team doesn't seem to have what last year's had, though, and I'm not counting on it.
An ending record of 4-8 is the most likely outcome.
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