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SEC Football Random Thoughts: Class, Polls, and Lies

SEC Idiots .com — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 22:33:00 -0500

Who Has Class?

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

Sooner or later, fans should give into the idea that every team and their fans stray from almighty behavior and kick another team when it’s down.

Last year, Florida fans couldn't use the word “classless” enough after the Georgia end zone celebration. Maybe Richt wanted his entire team to go out there to dance, and maybe he didn't, but he definitely knew he was taking a risk with the 15-yard penalty.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pollsters Fail to Think through Their Votes

Do these guys not think about why they are voting teams in a certain spot? The glaring mistake of the week is Georgia coming in at No. 14 in the AP, USA Today, and Harris polls. Really?

Georgia has lost to No. 1 Alabama and No. 4 Florida for its two blemishes. A few of the teams ahead of Georgia include Boise State, Utah, TCU, Ohio State, and Missouri. Ohio State and Missouri also have top 10 teams to blame for their only two losses, so I could agree to disagree on which of those three is better.

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

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

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

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

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

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

More Change in Fayetteville

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

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

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

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

Those responses are lies.

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

He's lying too.

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

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

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

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

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

They do not deserve to be lied to.

All this lying is, well...classless.

SEC Football Random Thoughts: Class, Polls, and Lies In Fayetteville

SEC Idiots .com — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 14:47:21 -0500

Who Has Class?

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

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

Last year, Florida fans couldn't use the word “classless” enough after the Georgia end zone celebration. Maybe Richt wanted his entire team to go out there to dance, and maybe he didn't. But he definitely knew he was taking a risk with the 15-yard penalty.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pollsters Fail to Think Through Their Votes

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

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

But does anyone voting in any poll, respected or otherwise, believe Boise State, Utah, or TCU would win against Florida? Or Alabama?

No pollster would vote Georgia below any of the three BCS-busters if they had two losses as the Bulldogs do, yet they punish Georgia for losing to top-five teams.

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

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

Another blunder by a few of the pollsters was to still vote for Tulsa. The Golden Hurricane blew its only shot at a BCS school during the regular season when it lost to Arkansas.

The Hogs didn't exactly overpower the Hurricane, but the best case conclusion for Tulsa was that it almost had as much talent as the Razorbacks.

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

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

More Change in Fayetteville

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

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

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

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

Those responses are lies.

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

He's lying too.

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

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

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

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

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

They do not deserve to be lied to.

All this lying is, well...classless.

Also published on SEC Idiots.

SEC Football Rambling Recap: Week Six

SEC Idiots .com — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 22:21:00 -0400

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

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

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

Auburn still looked like a Spread team without any Spread players in Nashville. Fortunately, they host Arkansas this weekend. The Hogs happen to be the perfect cure for an anemic offense.

We'll see how big Tony Franklin's ego really is. He'll either try to prove the Spread will work—eventually—or he'll run the ball straight at the hapless Hog defensive line for an easy five yards a carry.

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

Actual GameDay sign: Lee Corso Scores More Than Auburn

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

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

Actual GameDay sign: You People Are Blocking the Library

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

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

Ok, maybe we hyped Alabama a little too much after the beatdown in Athens, but I'd still take them over the Big 12 teams in the top five. Their offense doesn't put up PlayStation numbers like the Big 12, but the Tide defense will stop teams when it counts. I know, I know, it's way too early to talk about that.

Actual GameDay sign: I Got My GED from Auburn

We might be in store for up to three more “Games of the Year,” as dubbed by the media. First, there was USC-Ohio State. This weekend is OU-Texas. The winner of that will likely face an undefeated Missouri team, either in the regular season for Texas or in the Big 12 Championship for Oklahoma.

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

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

SEC Football Rambling Recap: Week 6

SEC Idiots .com — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 15:37:39 -0400

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

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

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

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

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

Actual GameDay sign: Lee Corso Scores More Than Auburn

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

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

Actual GameDay sign: You People are Blocking the Library.

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

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

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

Actual GameDay sign: I Got My GED from Auburn

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

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

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

SEC Football Rambling Recap Week 5

Oklahoma: The Other Ohio State

SEC Football Rambling Recap: Week 5

SEC Idiots .com — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 16:05:52 -0400

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.

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

Tim Tebow is running less this year to slow the wear and tear on his body. This is taking away his strength as a dual-threat quarterback, and will likely cost the Gators again.

Balancing his health and productivity is a double-edged sword, especially if he can't put up the gaudy numbers as a pro-style drop back passer.

Expect to see more scrambling from Tebow.

Uh, Fulmer's gone. Whether or not he should be gone is an article entirely by itself. The bottom line is a BCS title 10 years ago won't save him today.

He's gone.

Ole Miss fans say they knew they were getting a good coach. Nutt has already given them a big win over a top-ranked team. In the next few years, the Rebels will be a Top 10 team themselves.

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

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

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

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

Ahhhhhh! I can't take this!

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

Oklahoma: The Other Ohio State

SEC Idiots .com — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 16:18:39 -0400

It happened again.

When Ohio State was thrashed in this year's early season spotlight game against Southern California, the college football world collectively said the same thing: “We knew it.”

The Buckeyes dropped out of the top 10 in the rankings. The pollsters even voted the Buckeyes below fellow Big Ten school Wisconsin, a team the Buckeyes will likely defeat handily in three weeks.

Now it will take multiple losses by every SEC and Big 12 team, a Conference USA upset of East Carolina, and a meteor destroying Los Angeles—among other things—for the Buckeyes to have another crack at the national title game.

No one wants to see the same team storm through a mediocre conference schedule only to turn the national title game into a laugher.

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

The place to start the investigation is Norman, Oklahoma.

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

Ohio State's last two seasons, when the Buckeyes dominated their regular season schedule only to suffer embarrassment in the BCS title game, were exactly like Oklahoma's 2003 and 2004 campaigns.

In 2003, Oklahoma was took its Heisman-winning quarterback into the BCS title game as a seven-point favorite. And exactly like Ohio State in 2006, the Sooners were clearly outplayed on the national stage.

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

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

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

The 2006 campaign was a relative rebuilding year for Oklahoma (a compliment to the program), yet it still managed to take back its Big 12 crown. But no matter how much of a rebuilding year it was, the Sooners never should have lost to their WAC counterparts in the Fiesta Bowl.

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

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

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

Even so, after the Sooners manhandled Missouri in the Big 12 Championship Game, some media members were calling for them to be granted a spot in the BCS title game. Their matchup with West Virginia was deemed the five-star lock of bowl pools around the nation.

Yet after it was all said and done, the Sooners lost by 20—and looked terrible doing it.

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

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

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

Much like last year, Oklahoma started this season by destroying its early season opponents and looking unstoppable on offense. They've jumped to the top spot in the polls for all schools not named USC.

In fact, the Sooners seem to be on a collision course with Missouri in the Big 12 Championship Game.

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

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

SEC Football Rambling Recap: Week Two, Part Two

SEC Idiots .com — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 14:30:37 -0400

There was no doubt Tim Tebow would be the one to break the Miami's winning streak against Florida.

He runs, throws, flies, speaks braille. Jesse Palmer should be polishing up his resume for the day Tebow gets cut from an NFL team. In fact, Pretty Boy Tebow may just kick Lee Corso off the GameDay crew and make former golden boy Kirk Herbstreit play the washed up coach on set.

So Palmer has about three years left in Bristol.

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

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

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

Auburn seems to be flying below the radar after two routine wins. Tommy Tuberville's teams have lost some head-scratching games in unimpressive fashion the last few years, but he still deserves the title of best big-game coach in the conference.

The Tigers' defense is stout once again, and get they LSU and Georgia at home. One win for Tuberville against those two is just not a gutsy prediction.

Don't be surprised if they win both.

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

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

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

SEC Football Rambling Recap: Week Two, Part One

SEC Idiots .com — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 00:05:47 -0400

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

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

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

Yeah, sounds about right.

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

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

Houston Nutt's teams have played toe-to-toe with Les Miles' clubs since Miles has been there, even in 2005 when the Hogs went 4-7. Ole Miss hasn't done so badly without Nutt the past two seasons, either.

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

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

That doesn't sound right.

SEC Football Rambling Recap: Week Two, Part Two

SEC Football Rambling Recap: Week One

SEC Idiots .com — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 15:53:37 -0400

Georgia lost its No. 1 ranking after easily beating Georgia Southern and lost some ground to now No. 3 Ohio State. Who cares? Being ranked No. 1 is fun and all, but it doesn't matter until the end of the season.

Further, No. 2 at the end is just as good as No. 1. As long as a team is in the top five to start the year, a strong year will take care of itself.

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

Alabama scored the biggest win of the opening weekend and jumped 11 spots in the AP poll to No. 13. Other than that, what did they get for having the stones to schedule a prime time early season matchup? Not a damn thing.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Speaking of Fayetteville, good for Houston Nutt. His Rebels handled Memphis easily, which was a needed change from the close games they've had the past few years. While it's fair to say he underachieved some at Arkansas, it's also fair to say that he and his family were flat-out put through hell.

Arkansas fans may take some time to forgive him for not doing more with Darren McFadden last year, but here's to hoping the two sides will be happy after going their separate ways.

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

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

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

Here is the breakdown by quarter.

SEC teams outscored the WAC 45-6 in the first quarter

SEC teams outscored the WAC 70-0 in the second quarter

SEC teams outscored the WAC 80-14 in the third quarter

WAC teams outscored the SEC 44-16 in the fourth quarter

The games were Hawaii at Florida 2008, Hawaii vs. Georgia in the 2008 Sugar Bowl, Hawaii at Alabama 2006, Boise St. at Georgia 2005, and Boise St. at Arkansas 2002.

Perhaps Mississippi State should schedule one of them rather than going back to Ruston. Or Murfreesboro, TN next year, I understand.

Pete Fiutak of CollegeFootballNews.com wrote in his "Cavalcade of Whimsey" column that the ESPN-SEC TV deal will lead to SEC teams having “better facilities, better coaches, and better overall programs than anyone else can possibly come up with.”

I wouldn't go that far, but nonetheless: Nice, nice, and very nice.

View full article with links.

Rambling Recap: Week One, Part One

Rambling Recap: Week One, Part Two

Mississippi State Bulldogs Don't Belong In Ruston

SEC Idiots .com — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 20:19:19 -0400

Dear Mississippi State fans,

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

Not StarkVegas. Ruston, Louisiana.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Act like your crazy ex-baseball coach.

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

They don't belong in Ruston.

Arkansas Razorbacks' New Uniforms Resemble BMX Racing Suits

SEC Idiots .com — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 18:45:11 -0400

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

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

-Bobby Petrino

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

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

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

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

Ridiculous.

Calm Down, Hog Fans: It Could Be Worse in Arkansas

SEC Idiots .com — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 14:37:05 -0400

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

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

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

How can anyone ever forget the Vanderbilt loss in 2005?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Starting defensive end Adrian Davis is a linebacker. Starting middle linebacker Jerry Franklin is a safety. Starting offensive linebacker Walner Leandre is a safety. Every single backup linebacker is an undersized safety.

And by “green,” I mean terrible.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

See, it could be much worse.

"If We Would Have Only..." The One Game SEC Teams Want Back

SEC Idiots .com — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 10:37:18 -0400

As high expectations come with the start of a new season, many fans still can't seem to shake the bad memories from the past few years. These memories cause many of our buddies to become eternal pessimists when it comes to their team.

The list below shows games over the past 10 years—since the start of the BCS era— that scarred our minds and occasionally still wake us up at night.

Looking back, the games that hurt the most are the ones that kept teams from achieving what they never had (SEC Championship for some, BCS bowl for others), as opposed to the those when teams gave up the biggest lead, lost to the weak opponent, or lost to the most hated opponent.

The games can become even more upsetting after the fact, when other teams end up losing games they shouldn’t have and the season is viewed as a whole. These are the games that make us utter the phrase most commonly used by college football fans: “If we would have only…”

Alabama: 2000 Orange Bowl

The Tide gave up numerous chances to win their only BCS bowl appearance. A missed extra point in overtime finally did them in. Its also noted there are a few games against the boys on the plains they would like back.

Arkansas: 2006 SEC Championship Game

The Hogs' second half comeback ended quickly with a special teams meltdown. Heels on the 10, Fish!

Auburn: 2005 at LSU

This one was tough to call. It wasn't like they did anything on the field in 2004 to keep them from getting a crack at the BCS title.

Florida: 2001 vs Tennessee

Nebraska gave the Gators a shot at the BCS title, and the Gators immediately gave it to the Vols.

Georgia: 2002 vs Florida

There was only one blemish on their schedule that year, and it came at the hands of the coach 11 teams would love to see back in Gainesville.

Kentucky: 2007 vs Tennessee

Another tough call, because they didn't have one single game that kept them out of Atlanta, this overtime loss was chosen based purely on principal.

LSU: 2006 vs Auburn

This ultimately kept them out of the hunt for the SEC Championship and the BCS title. Its still baffling that they only scored three points.

Mississippi State: 1998 SEC Championship Game

The Bulldogs had a fourth quarter lead over the undefeated Vols at their only date in Atlanta.

Ole Miss: 2003 vs LSU

The Rebels went 7-1 in the SEC that year. Unfortunately for them, so did LSU.

South Carolina: 2005 vs Georgia

Spurrier's first SEC game as a Gamecock ended up keeping them out of Atlanta. A botched extra point and a disallowed touchdown were a big part of the blame.

Tennessee: 2001 SEC Championship Game

The Vols lost to LSU and second-year head coach Nick Saban to keep them out of the Rose Bowl and deny them a chance at their second BCS title in four years.

Vanderbilt: 2005 vs Middle Tennessee State

What? Out of all the games over the last 10 years, MTSU kept them out of a bowl game? Well, they are Vanderbilt...

Links to complete articles are above for those interested. I didn't want to post 12 articles so the comments could all be kept on one page.

Gymnastics Analyst Bela Karolyi: We Need This Guy Broadcasting College Football

SEC Idiots .com — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:00:04 -0400

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

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

But it clearly has plenty of both.

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

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

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

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

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

Preach it, Bela. No fluff—just straight substance. No disclaimers necessary. No fence-straddling allowed.

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

It would take every announcer in Bristol a full 90 seconds to say what this guy says in five.

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

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

Raycom: “This promises to be an exciting matchup between bitter rivals Ole Miss and Mississippi State.”

Bela: “The season will mercifully end for the Rebels this afternoon.”

Raycom: “That was definitely an interesting decision to go for it on fourth down. On one hand, they had a chance to get the yardage and maintain possession. This would allow them to keep the clock moving. On the other hand, they just gave the ball back to State with pretty good field position. I’ll be interested to see what everyone in Oxford thinks about that one tomorrow morning.”

Viewer: “No sh--.”

Bela: “The lack of competence in the coach is obvious. He will be without job tomorrow morning.”

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

Have the Saints fired their new defensive line coach yet?

Raw Skill Vs. Experience: Which Is More Important in College Football?

SEC Idiots .com — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 16:58:49 -0400

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

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

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

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

Wide Receiver

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

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

Kicker/Punter

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

Running Back

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

Defensive Back

The footwork and more difficult defensive packages drop this below the other "skill positions." Raw speed still dominates, though.

Tight End

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

Linebacker

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

Quarterback

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

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

Defensive Line

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

Offensive Line

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

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

Calm Down Everyone: App State Has No Shot Vs. LSU

SEC Idiots .com — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 17:26:22 -0400

I get it. They're good.

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

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

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

This game is the popular upset pick for opening weekend—and I just don't buy it.

Appalachian State isn't going to lose because of the stadium. They aren't going to lose because of the heat and humidity in Death Valley.

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

LSU has a truckload more talent than App State has. They will be able to line up and run right at the Mountaineers for four yards when they need it. The defensive front will stop the run no matter how App State spreads the field, forcing Armanti Edwards to throw to get first downs.

If Edwards sits in the pocket for more than a second or two, he'll have two guys on him. If he rolls out the wrong way, he'll have two more guys on him.

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

What separates the top teams from the rest are the big men that can move. (Yes, teams outside the SEC have this too.) It's tough to prepare an offensive tackle for a defensive end that will blow by him like Tyson Jackson will.

The Tiger defensive tackles will be just as tough, and I would list them here if I could pronounce their names or didn't have to look them up.

It doesn't matter who they are: The point is that LSU has had its pick of freak monsters in recruiting the past few years. Appalachian State has not.

While they may not admit it, at least nine of 10 App State players would have chosen LSU over ASU coming out of high school if given the chance. Or any SEC school, for that matter. Or any ACC, Big East, Pac-10...you get the point.

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

Further, LSU will be focused on the game. I hate to take away from the Michigan win by saying App State sneaked up on them, but the word is out about the boys from Boone and their offense.

Les Miles and his staff will spend a few more hours in the film room than Carr and company did last year. No other time has a FBS vs. FCS matchup been hyped by the media like this one has—not just “this much,” but at all.

LSU has plenty of pride riding on the game as well. They're defending national champions, and they don't want to hear anything about how the Mountaineers' talent level is anywhere close to their own.

LSU's athletes don't want to be compared to FCS players. They may keep to the diplomatic comments around the media, but the LSU players know they can't allow App State to even make a game out of it.

It was a loss for Oklahoma when Boise State proved to be a respectable opponent, not to mention take an early lead. The announcers for that game talked about two evenly matched teams.

LSU needs a Georgia-Hawaii style game for their reputation. Because what happened on the field didn't need any descriptions, the media talked about Hawaii's heart after the Sugar Bowl.

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

LSU wants to do much more than simply win the game, and they shouldn't have any problems doing it.

LSU could have some quarterback “issues” turn into “challenges” in the first half, but it will not keep them from winning the game going away. Expect LSU to take control early, and plan to switch to the Mississippi State-Louisiana Tech game by halftime

At the end of the game, while waiting for Missouri-Illinois to come on, don't expect the announcers to talk about what an exciting game it was. Expect them to talk about how much heart Appalachian State had.

Why Athletic Directors Should Schedule All Cupcakes

SEC Idiots .com — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 01:03:09 -0400

As fans, we love to see our teams play a big-time program from another conference.

Bragging rights are on the line. We have a great excuse for a new road (or plane) trip. The buildup to the games is much better than those against Western Illinois and The Citadel.

Still, athletic directors and coaches should rethink scheduling them.

After 10 years of existence, the BCS rankings have not given any meaningful advantage to a team because of its non-conference schedule.

The BCS has, however, rewarded teams with weak non-conference schedules and punished teams with tough non-conference schedules. Teams appear to be rewarded for any win and punished for any loss. Conference games have proven to be much more important in deciding bowl matchups.

If I were an athletic director of a team with any sort of hopes for BCS contention, I would schedule a steady diet of cupcakes.

It seems that almost every year, some team takes some media heat for blowing through a non-conference schedule completely comprised of patsies.

Last year, it was Kansas. In 2006, it was Rutgers. Wisconsin's toughest 2006 test outside of the Big Ten was Bowling Green. In 2005, Alabama climbed to No. 4 in the polls when their best nonconference opponent was Southern Miss. The list could go on and on.

But none of these teams were punished for their weak non-conference schedules. In fact, either they were rewarded for them, or were in perfect position to be rewarded for them.

What kept these teams out of the BCS title game, or any BCS bowl game, were losses within their conference.

Let's look at two teams from last year as an example.

Kansas was No. 2 in the BCS when it finally lost on Thanksgiving weekend and would have played Ohio State in the BCS Championship Game had it won out. The validity of that matchup isn't up for debate here.

The point is that Kansas would have been rewarded for playing Central Michigan, Southeastern Louisiana, Toledo, and Florida International outside of their Big 12 North schedule. Their schedule didn't keep them out of the BCS title game—Missouri did.

Virginia Tech, on the other hand, traveled to Baton Rouge for an early September matchup. They were destroyed by LSU and written off by most of the pollsters as national championship contenders.

They ended up only losing one more regular season game, a 14-10 loss at Boston College. Virginia Tech got revenge a few weeks later when they beat BC 30-16 in the ACC Championship Game.

Now hypothetically, if Virginia Tech had played Southeastern Louisiana instead of LSU and been 12-1 at the end of the year when top-ranked teams kept losing, would they have been left out? Odds are that Virginia Tech would have been in New Orleans for the BCS title game rather than LSU, if not for aggressive scheduling.

I don't see how the pollsters would have voted a two-loss LSU team over a one-loss ACC Champion, regardless of LSU's conference schedule. One four-point loss to BC would have been more impressive than LSU's two triple-OT losses.

At the same time, if Kansas had played at Baton Rouge in September, they would not have gotten the BCS Orange Bowl they ended up with. (I'll just assume they would have lost. The Jayhawks seemed to improve as the season went along.)

A two-loss Kansas would have gone to the Cotton Bowl, while Missouri would have traveled to Miami for a BCS berth.

In 2000, Miami was punished for respectable scheduling. The Canes' only loss was at Washington, yet they were left out of the BCS title game in favor of Florida State. This was the same Florida State team the Canes beat during the season.

The BCS formula not only chose the head-to-head loser, but gave no reward to the Canes for going out of conference for two tough games, including against No. 1 (at the time) FSU.

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

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

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

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

Auburn 2004: The only BCS conference team to go undefeated and be left out of the BCS title game. However, their schedule didn't keep them out. Auburn's schedule was ranked No. 5, while Oklahoma and USC's schedules were ranked No. 11 and No. 18, respectively.

The schedule was ranked highly in spite of the fact that Auburn played Louisiana Monroe, Louisiana Tech, and The Citadel outside of SEC play. If they had substituted a top-ten team for D I-AA The Citadel, their strength of schedule still would not have been enough to get them in the BCS title game.

Oklahoma and USC started No. 1 and No. 2 and finished No. 1 and No. 2—and there wasn't anything Auburn could have done to stop it.

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

In six of the 10 BCS years (1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2006, and 2007), a one-loss team has played in the BCS title game. I am certain that if any team in a BCS conference had stayed undefeated through any schedule during those years, that undefeated team would have played for the BCS title instead.

Ohio State and USC are pleasing the college football world this September, but neither team stands to gain nearly as much as it stands to lose. A November conference loss will still bump the winner out of one of the top two BCS spots.

This will hold true because the voters will reward any win and punish any loss. When No. 1 Missouri lost to Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship Game last year, do you think the pollsters gave one bit of thought to the Tigers' season-opening win against eventual Rose Bowl team Illinois?

At that time, the voters didn't care about that game any more than they cared about Ohio State's season opener against Youngstown State.

Conference games decide BCS berths. Last year, all the turnover in the top five spots of the polls wasn't from other top-ranked teams—non-ranked teams kept beating the highly-ranked schools.

LSU won all their big games: Virginia Tech, Florida, Auburn, Alabama. Non-ranked Kentucky and Arkansas knocked off LSU, and the LSU games were the Cats' and Hogs' national championship games.

Conference schedules are, for the most part, brutal already. There's no reason to risk a costly early-season loss that could cost a team a BCS berth, not to mention a shot at a national title.

Kudos to the athletic directors and coaches for looking for more and more big nonconference matchups these days. Most seem to be using the 12th regular season game this way.

However, they need to make sure they're doing so for the fans, recruiting exposure, money, players' interests, or whatever else justifies it.

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

secidiots.blogspot.com

Houston Nutt: Early Pick for SEC Coach of the Year

SEC Idiots .com — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:32:28 -0400

What? In the conference where $2 million per year is for the bottom feeder coaches, Houston Nutt has a great chance to win the SEC Coach of the Year honor for the second time in three years.

Ole Miss seems to be a sexy sleeper pick for the upcoming season, and things seem to be lined up for the new Rebel leader to make quite a bit of noise in 2008.

Not as much because he’s the best of the twelve—he’s definitely not—but the voting for Coach of the Year rewards improvement over the prior year more than any thing else. Sly Croom won last year for taking his Bulldogs to the Liberty Bowl after six years in the cellar.

Nutt himself won in 2006 for getting the Hogs back to a winning season following 5-6 and 4-7 campaigns the previous two years. And lucky for Nutt, helping Ole Miss improve over last year will be a cakewalk. For Houston Nutt to be better than his predecessor, he only has to talk coherently, be sober, or just act sober.

Sometimes, a change in attitude is the perfect recipe for success at a college football program. Almost every year, it seems a program sets the world on fire with a first-year head coach. Arizona State did it last year, Charlie Weiss and Ty Willingham both did it at that overrated school in Indiana, and Zook did it at Gaines—well, maybe it doesn’t always work.

Houston himself was able to start out 8-0 in 1998 at Arkansas, though. And while some fans may not like his rah rah style, it does produce more than its fair share of moments. Whatever style and culture Nutt brings to Oxford, it will certainly get the players attention.

The players will likely buy whatever he and his staff are selling. The only culture they’ve known since Supermanning left has been losing.

Another piece in place for him to win in his first year is the players he inherited. His players aren’t just hungry; they have plenty of talent. Both the O-line and D-line have two all-SEC selections. Michael Oher and Greg Hardy are included in those groups, and both might be the best in the SEC at their spots.

These groups should improve quite a bit over last year, too. If you ask any Hog fan if they were sad to see Nutt leave, the answers will be mixed at best. But if you ask any Hog fan if they were sad to see offensive line coach Mike Markuson or defensive line coach Tracy Rocker leave, just about all of them would say yes. Both Markuson and Rocker seemed to do more with less every year.

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

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

After that, Nutt is going to have to get some upsets to keep the Rebel fans believing he is everything they hoped he would be. To his credit, upsets along the way are probable for any Nutt-coached team. Arkansas had its share of upset wins the past few years, including at No. 1 LSU, at No. 2 Auburn, and at No. 5 Texas.

Nutt wasn’t necessarily able to win the biggest games he was involved in, but there was something about his three plays that kept the Hogs in most big games. The Rebels will be ready to enact four years of payback on their entire schedule. Expect them to get at least one win from Florida, Auburn, or LSU, the three toughest games on their slate.

Its unlikely Nutt would be able to stay undefeated through September, but some good showings in losses and a few upset wins along the way would put him at the top of the ballot for the Coach of the Year voting in December.

Bobby Petrino: Why You Can't Blame Him

SEC Idiots .com — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 01:22:01 -0400

More than seven months have passed since Bobby Petrino left the Atlanta Falcons high and dry for the Arkansas Razorbacks, and he is still regarded as the Benedict Arnold of all sports.

Petrino left the Falcons with three games left in their shoddy 4-12 season to fill the vacancy in Fayetteville. ESPN and every other media outlet went out of their way to describe all the qualities Petrino didn't have: integrity, loyalty, heart, a soul, etc.

On Tuesday, Brent Musburger started his College Football Live interview with Petrino on Tuesday by calling him a “vagabond.” Not that what he did was ideal, but there are two sides to every story. When you look at the whole picture, Petrino didn't do things much differently than what any of us would have done in his situation.

Job Hopping

Petrino has always looked to better himself. He basically traded for a slightly better job every other year since 1984, starting with a grad assistant at some school named Carroll. And yes, even when he stayed more than one year, he looked for other jobs.

Keep in mind he was looking to leave Louisville, a basketball school in the stepchild of BCS conferences. Any prestige Louisville might have today is primarily due to its success under him.

He interviewed for other jobs after each season with the Cardinals, but they were either for SEC teams or Notre Dame. Let's admit it: Louisville would not be able to pay what these schools could over the long term.

All of his moves have been upward, with the exception of his most recent one that cost him about $2 million per year. Supposedly the tradeoff is happiness.

Besides, who doesn't want a better job every year?

If the average American knew he had to bounce around from company to company to become the CEO somewhere, he would do it too. Sometimes that's just what it takes to be CEO. And the first CEO job isn't always the most ideal.

Someone is not married to a place because they have success there. If that were the case, Spurrier would still be at Duke, Tressel would be a Youngstown State, and Bobby Bowden would be at South Georgia College. Those guys just happened to hit their big job in fewer job hops.

Further, coaching searches are two-way streets. Nobody bashed the Atlanta Falcons for stealing Louisville's Orange Bowl-winning coach two years ago.

If his goal all along was to get to a bigger school than one in the Big East, then good for him. The guy is from Montana—Louisville fans couldn't have believed they were his last stop.

It seems like Louisville fans are most upset that he would interview for jobs, only to turn right around and hold a press conference to say he wasn't interested in them.

Sure, he might have pledged his loyalty to Louisville only to leave a year or two later, but should Louisville fans have wanted him to say anything else? How would telling the truth on that one have affected recruiting?

Atlanta Falcons

Bobby Petrino didn't belong in the NFL. With few exceptions, there are college coaches and there are NFL coaches; hardly any succeed at both levels. Petrino has no flair to his personality and is all business.

His style simply did not and would not mix with NFL players. The Falcons' play on the field was miserable, and his players were running their mouths about him before he fled to Fayetteville.

Petrino just realized he wasn't cut out for NFL sooner than the ones who went before him (Carroll, Spurrier, Saban, Davis). Now that it's time to gear up for the new season, Falcons players and fans should be thankful Petrino did what he did.

They aren't going to have to suffer through another woeful season just like last year's, and they won't have to fire Petrino and payoff a severance package.

No Goodbye

The one thing Petrino did that cannot be defended is how he let the Falcons players know he was leaving. There was no meeting, and he didn't have to look anyone in the eye. He didn't even speak. He just put notes in their lockers.

That was about like breaking up with your girlfriend through email; some things you just have to man up and do in person. While leaving the note isn't defensible, we have to look at why he did it.

Besides the fact that he didn't want to face his players that already didn't like him, the pressure newly hired Arkansas AD Jeff Long must have put on him to get to Fayetteville cannot be underestimated. Long needed him there yesterday.

Odds are Petrino's new boss told him to get on that plane immediately and never look back if he wanted the job. This was Long's first assignment as the successor to Frank Broyles, who had been at Arkansas since the Eisenhower administration.

Long wasn't officially supposed to take over the AD duties until December 31, but the coaching search responsibilities fell on his shoulders since it only made sense.

Two weeks earlier, Houston Nutt had left his post at Arkansas during a press conference that can only be described as the most offensive dog and pony show in the state's history.

It appeared that Chancellor John White was the superidiot that asked Nutt to take a few million dollars with him to Oxford, but it wasn't totally clear. There were likely many more superidiots involved. The only thing that was clear was that everything related to Nutt's departure was fu jacked up.

To say that Arkansans were upset about the situation is like saying people in Kansas and Missouri are upset about some fire 150 years ago. Some Hog fans had been Nutt haters since his first loss.

Others were upset he was allowed to ride out the last season of the greatest football player in Arkansas history, only to underachieve and leave the cupboard bare. BARE.

Everyone was mad he was allowed to take a truckload of their money to a rival school. And this is from a fan base that is less than rational to start with. After Hog fans were upset about Nutt's departure, their pride kept taking hits when at least five coaches turned them down for the job.

After two weeks of being treated like the fat chick at the bar by the rest of the coaches in college football, Hog fans were restless.

Long couldn't wait any longer to announce who the new coach would be, or Arkansans would start picketing and holding all-night vigils at his house.

There was absolutely no way he could wait three more weeks for the Falcons season to end. And why would the Falcons want that? Their season was shot, and a lame duck head coach wouldn't do them any good for the last three weeks.

They ended up winning one of the last three games, better than they performed with Petrino at the helm. Also, for once, the players could all be on the same page: the one that hated Petrino. As mentioned above, Petrino simply left a year before they had to fire him.

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

Next Stop

The parting shot everyone has with Petrino and Arkansas fans is always, “Who's he going to coach for next year?” The question is fair enough, and sadly can't be answered definitively.

A hunch would give him at least a few years at Fayetteville, but Arkansas fans shouldn't confuse their program with college football's most attractive. He's probably a few years from having the horsepower to win enough at Arkansas to be in high demand again, but even so, there will always be the chance he'll jump ship.

Fayetteville surely has potential to be a stepping stone program. If it happens, Arkansas fans should only hope to get what they paid for: enough success for someone else to keep it going.

Louisville was better off in 2007 than they were before Petrino arrived, and that's exactly what Hog fans should hope for when it happens.

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

secidiots.blogspot.com

Matt Jones: "Hit That Line, Hit That Line, Keep on Going..." (Humor)

SEC Idiots .com — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 07:24:20 -0400

This wasn’t supposed to happen.

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

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

And since when do NFL players do coke with two old college buddies? This crime would have been much more forgivable if he had been cutting up coke on hot strippers in a penthouse rather than a dirty mirror in a car. Surely there are plenty of sorority girls in Fayetteville for the summer that have big hair and would have loved to party with Matt Jones. Did you ever see Jared Hicks, former Hogs TE and Matt's Thursday morning jail buddy? He was UGLY.

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

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

A stoner image would be much better, too, because nobody cares if someone gets caught with a little weed. Cocaine “has a different sting than marijuana,” Chris Mortensen of ESPN told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. See, nobody cares if you smoke weed every now and then.

“I don't think we ever had an off-the-field problem with Matt,” Coach Nutt chimed in after the arrest, confirming weed didn’t even constitute an off-the-field incident to him. Maybe marijuana really is a gateway drug.

Somehow, this is all the fault of Jimmy Johnson and Jerry Jones.

Matt Jones must have decided to make Michael Irvin his role model when he was converted to a receiver his rookie season. It made sense, because they’re both big even by WR standards, and Michael Irvin is a Hall of Famer.

Everyone knows Michael Irvin loved to snort cocaine when he played in the NFL, although he appropriately did so with strippers. The two people who could have punished Irvin as a player looked the other way, but not because of the obvious reasons of winning and money. The reason they don’t mind cocaine can be traced back to their college days, when they were on Arkansas’ 1964 national championship football team together.

We’ve all seen the old school photo of that team right after they won their bowl game, because it was shown on TV constantly when Jimmy and Jerry were having their feud. Well, they were no doubt singing the Arkansas fight song during that picture, and the fight song starts with, “Hit that line, Hit that line, Keep on going…”