Bleacher Report - Articles by Roy LaFaver

Is Coach Joe Tiller Right About Modern Day Players?

Roy LaFaver — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:50:08 -0400

Joe Tiller, head football coach at Purdue University, is retiring. On ESPN during the broadcast of the Purdue-Penn State game, he was quoted as saying the retirement was precipitated by frustration with today’s college players.

Tiller said—and I paraphrase—that college players no longer perform consistently from one game to the next. They “take a day off” occasionally, so a coach cannot be sure what he will get from all 22 players on a given Saturday. He supports his contention by pointing at all the wild upsets over the past few years.

If you disagree with his assertion, then you are left to explain inexplicable upsets, like those suffered by USC, OSU, LSU, Oklahoma, and a host of other overwhelming favorites in recent campaigns.

The common term to explain them has been delivered weekly on ESPN: parity.

Me, I don’t buy the parity thing. How can parity explain that USC loss to Stanford in 2007 and then their subsequent blowout of Illinois in the Rose Bowl? How about LSU’s loss to Arkansas, followed by a SEC championship and the blowout of Ohio State?

There is an 800-pound gorilla in the corner that was not there in times past. The gorilla comes in the form of ridiculous NFL money, and I don’t think you can minimize its effect.

Many players on each of the top teams were bound for the NFL when they signed out of high school. The only question is when to come out for the draft.

Sometimes you will see players who could go to the NFL early opt to remain for more college ball. The reason might be simply love of the game, but more often they stay to elevate their stock and draft position, which translates to more money.

A young man 19 or 20 years old can’t help but have thoughts of an NFL future, especially if he comes from an impoverished background—and many players do.

College coaches, if they are worth their salt, will consider a young man’s future in the NFL when they make decisions on injuries or how to employ a player in game situations. They do it because the money is so great that just the signing bonus can set up a young man for life if he receives sound financial advice and follows that advice.

Think about the mental condition for a player who knows the coming NFL draft might be financially comparable to winning the lottery, and consider the stress involved.

That player might become overwhelmed at times: completely understandable. That player might even be too distracted to pay attention to game preparation: also understandable. And that player might go into a game with his head totally into the coming spring.

Now consider some of these teams might have as many as 15 such players on their rosters, and consider what might happen if eight or 10 of them suffer from this “distraction” malady on the same day.

There is an additional possibility in the mix for players today. They get to watch ESPN at any time they are conscious. They get to hear they are the greatest in history so often, so they might forget that the 300-pound player across the line from them isn’t exactly chopped liver.

That opponent was recruited because he showed ability in high school, and while he might not be a top caliber player, he still weighs 300 pounds, and he still possesses skills.

I don’t believe Tiller would subscribe to any of my suppositions. I think he simply means the level of dedication is no longer there for many players. Young people are different, just as we were different from the generation before us.

Self-gratification has gone to a whole new level, even for we who are older. Alcohol and drug consumption have possibly increased, but the primary hurdle is simply that we want more, more of anything and everything.

What you might think of as just a DMB song was really a well thought-out commentary:

“The hunger keeps on growing
I eat too much
I drink too much
I want too much
Too much”

The next time you see a team go into a game as an overwhelming favorite, only to sleepwalk throughout the proceedings, remember what Joe Tiller said. You might agree.

Oh, and by the way: I wanted Tiller to remain at Wyoming, so maybe I’m just as greedy as anybody else. But boy, were those some great Cowboy teams.

Fractured Football Weekend, Or How I Learned To Love Bits and Pieces

Roy LaFaver — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 04:29:42 -0400

I felt going into Saturday I would miss out completely on college football. In retrospect, perhaps I did.

Not so fast, my friend—(don’t you hate it when he says that?). I watched portions of maybe seven games, and I learned something about teams with which I am not familiar.

I knew going in I had to replace two data drives in a server, and it would be a chore, seeing as how the old drives were Ultra160 scsi, and the new drives were Ultra320 scsi.

But Seagate said, “Don’t worry. Just set the jumpers and you will be good. Oh, and the settings will be apparent.”

Then the predictable happened. The new drives had NO jumpers. I plowed ahead anyway. The big backup had been started the night before and was almost finished. I stuck the new drives in the backup server, started the formats and headed home, certain everything would be fine.

Michigan State – Iowa was just getting started. On the first play I learned the Spartans were primarily defenseless. Iowa runs play-fake to the right—all three linebackers bite—even the linebacker on the offensive left, who if he would have stayed at home would have been there to hug the back who caught the little dump pass.

Not to worry; he would just run down the back. Nope. Wayyyy too slow.

Flip to Penn State - Purdue. Penn State plays a zone designed to stop the run. Couldn’t figure out why. Purdue is not a running team. Purdue runs. Nothing.

Back to MSU. The Spartans get a miraculous turnover in the red zone. They did this twice early in the game, and that was the reason they won. They seem to have a good offense, very diversified.

The running back is very good, but I thought their strength was the receivers, the O-line and the quarterback. They have no kicker. Some guy came out of the stands, I guess, and commenced to miss everything he put his foot on.

But the Spartans prevailed. Iowa appeared to be the better team overall, but they could not overcome those two missed opportunities.

Back to Purdue. Oh, my. Purdue is just as defenseless as MSU. More so. But Penn State seems a bit anemic, so the Boilermakers remained in the game until there wasn’t enough time left to score two touchdowns.

Wait, in an extra two hours they could not have scored two touchdowns. It wasn’t like they couldn’t move the ball. They just couldn’t move it far enough.

Checked out Arkansas – Florida. Arkansas was actually playing some pretty good football early on. I as very proud of them, but I had to get back to the office.

New drives formatted fine. Began restore to the new big boys, and back to my TV I go.

Hey, Notre Dame – Stanford is on. I picked Stanford, of course, and the way they started I felt like a bloody genius. Who cares? What else is on.

Auburn – Vanderbilt. Is it just me, or is the Auburn offense as confused as I think they are? Good start anyway. I text my son that poor old Vandy is gonna get killed.

Wrong.

Someone convinced Tuberville he had a Heisman quarterback and three receivers that run a 4.2 forty. Wrong. Vandy is a tough team against a hapless offense. And the backup QB for the Dores is better than the starter.

Bad news for Auburn. LSU’s strength of schedule takes a major hit. Oh well.

Hey, USC will make me smart again. USC – Oregon. Oh no. Oregon moves as if the Trojans left their first team defense at home. 7 – 0, then 10 – 3. But there was something about the way the Trojans moved down the field for that three pointer. I call my son and tell him Oregon will not be able to hang with these boys. The Trojans are going to light them up. “I don’t knowww,” he says. “Trust me,” I say.

Yes! I’m a bloody genius again.

After finishing off the installation of the new dives successfully, there is time for scores and highlights. Devastation for a lot of teams, if the score is all you see. But that stuff just muddies the water.

The best way to do it is catch bits and pieces of a bunch of games and make snap judgments that will lose you a ton of money if you are a betting man. Fortunate for me I’m not, so I can make all the silly assumptions I care to make.

May your favorite go undefeated and win the BCS championship 10 years in a row.

Time for bed. The Saints don’t play until Monday. Sunday will be a drag. Maybe I will put away the hurricane plywood.

Why Ohio State Will Beat Wisconsin

Roy LaFaver — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 06:44:10 -0400

While everybody seems to be on the Wisconsin bandwagon for this game, I’m going the other way.

Now of course, I have to imagine y'all exclaiming in unison, “WHY?”

Oh, you want to know, do you? Ah, then allow me to explain.

Right here in this sentence I could flood you with superlatives about their do-everything, can’t-miss, all-world quarterback, but that isn’t it.

Beanie Wells? What about him? That ain’t it either. They do have massive beef up front on both sides, and they probably have the best linebacker in the upcoming draft, but that stuff don’t sway me none.

So what is this secret weapon? Well, first I have to preempt the howling that is sure to erupt in Gainesville, Baton Rouge, Knoxville, Athens, and all points north, east, west and south. Y'all hold it down out there.

The Ohio State Buckeyes might be blessed with the best fans in the NATION.

Yep, I said it: the best fans in the nation. And if you will just hold your water, I’m gonna tell you why.

First, they travel as well as any I have ever seen, and they will bring numbers to Madison. Not just that, the players will probably be able to hear those who couldn’t make the trip.

Second, they were wiped out by Florida in the biggest game of the year 2006. Did their fans disappear? No way, jack. They were up bright and early on every forum concerning football, and along with a defense of their team, most were classy to a fault.

Third, ditto above (insert LSU and 2007).

Fourth, USC all but destroyed them this year, but their fans are still around. They are still proud of their team, and overwhelmingly they remain classy.

I gotta add some extra tidbits, just in case you are not convinced. I’ve even seen their fans wearing those Tressel sweaters in the stands.

Now, people, THAT is a FAN. How many of you out there would put on one of those things and wear it in public?

Those three instances I mentioned were humongous hits, and you have to add in Illinois beating them in the Shoe last year. I don’t know if I could have ever emerged from under the table after that first body slam in 2006, little on following those other beatings.

And if I had, I damn sure would not have emerged with more than a thimble-full of class, leastwise not enough to be considered more than a horse’s ass at the Walmart checkout line.

I don’t know if any other fans have ever had such high expectations dashed so many times and still put on the team colors. Most fans I know would have in their repertoires a list of derisive jokes about their team if that had happened to them, but not OSU fans.

They still believe. And if they believe, I believe. When I die, if ever I do, I want to come back as anything but a Buckeyes fan because if I did, I would embarrass the rest of them.

Ohio State 26 – Wisconsin 13.

Double em’ up, boys.

New LSU Campaign: Free Mike the Tiger for Nick Saban's Visit

Roy LaFaver — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 00:22:05 -0400

On this day I am proposing a new campaign with a specific time and a specific place for my proposed action.

WHAT: I propose we free Mike the Tiger, having withheld food the previous week.

WHEN: November 8, 2008 at 2:00 PM

WHERE: Visitor's Locker Room, Death Valley

MIKE’S FIRST SNACK: Nick Saban

Now don’t you laugh. Don’t you dare laugh. This is serious business.

If I can get this idea onto the streets of Baton Rouge, it will get more signatures than a proposal for a free crab boil, courtesy of the Huey P. Long Foundation (if there is such a thing).

Nick’s bodyguards—and I suspect he will double up for that trip—would not stick around long when Mike lets out that ferocious roar. Old Nick would have to fend for himself thusly: “Mike! Mike! Don’t you remember me? We were buds back in 2003.” Mike roars even more loudly. For sure, he remembers.

“Mike, I got on my best duds here. I could never get the blood out.” A cat’s grin from Mike halts that approach. “What if I leave now and promise never to come back?” Mike walks to the door and swats it with a huge paw, sending it flying. Nick hurries to the concession area in search of a men's room.

You cannot imagine how deep the feelings run for Nick Saban in Baton Rouge, and I’m not talking about the good kind. If you had polled LSU fans before the Georgia/Alabama game, the Dawgs would have been the favorite of 99.9 percent of the poll-ees, and I wouldn’t want to be in that .1 percent if my name got out.

Given the same circumstances, would I take the money and run? Probably.

But LSU fans don’t ask themselves that question unless they have room for a lie at their next little conference with the priest. All they know is they gave him everything he asked for, he said that he would love them forever, and then he left them.

I’m not so sure LSU didn’t come out better on the deal. Win, lose, or draw, they now have the most entertaining team in the land (East of LA).

The Tigers have always been popular all over the South, primarily because WWL, which broadcasts Tiger games, was one of the few super radio stations in the country.

I remember my younger days in Memphis on Saturday nights. The Ole Miss, Arkansas, Memphis State, and Tennessee games were long over, and now it was time for LSU. We all listened. Southern Louisiana was a mythical land to us, with visions of dew dripping from Spanish moss and tigers roaring in the deep, dark swamps.

Hey, we were young. Why not tigers in Louisiana?

These days you see the Mardi Gras Gold (and you thought they were yellow) helmets everywhere on the tube (LCD now), and a penchant for white jerseys that is so cool the Saints finally picked up on it (sidebar: I saw a headline this morning—BUSH PUSHES BAILOUT—and I wondered why Reggie Bush would want to bail out).

Defense is basically a flying sport in Tiger Stadium, and who would not want to watch? ESPN has fallen in love with the Tigers. USC wants to play them so bad it hurts, and so does everybody else. But these boys are reserved for the SEC.

Florida, come get you some—Alabama, your number is coming up—Georgia, you haven’t seen the worst yet—Spurrier, in your face—Ole Miss, you should have saved some of what you spent on Florida—Fulmer, as bad as it is, it could have been so much worse if LSU was on your plate this year—Auburn and Miss State, well, better luck next year.

So LSU fans, lighten up! Forget about Nick Saban! The man went out and made a ton of money. More power to him.

We got us a Les Miles, and if Saban had stayed we would still have that dapper stuffed shirt instead of a guy who will bring us smiles, surprises, and some fantastic football—win, lose, or draw.

College Football Makes Fools of Us All, Pollsters Included

Roy LaFaver — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 02:13:51 -0400

I’ve been reading articles and comments on B/R this morning, and a question popped into mind. Do the pollsters read this stuff? Do the pollsters listen to the pundits on ESPN? In other words, do they drink the same Kool-Aid the rest of us are swilling? And who the heck are they, anyway?

You know, sometimes I realize I am full of it. I go along thinking the people voting in these polls are something greater than they actually are. I marvel at the way they can evaluate all the talent and all the coaches to come up with those marvelous preseason polls.

Think about it: All those hours of poring over high school game film, all those hours of evaluating the effect of teams losing players to the NFL, the thought process of determining how the freshman talent will mesh with the players that remain on all the squads in bigtime football. It must be a heavy burden.

One wonders when a pollster would find time to handle a day job, unless perhaps they are paid a huge sum of pesos just to vote. And when do they sleep? There’s a lot to consider, unless...

Suppose those people are just like us. Suppose they, too, have a favorite team and a favorite conference. Suppose they let ESPN determine who is numero uno, then they proceed to fill in the other slots from the same base of ignorance under which the rest of us labor.

To do the job right after the season begins, one would have to pore through game film from the moment games end one week until they begin again the next week. Really, how strong is a particular linebacker? Run all the game film watching only that player, then run the film 10 more times for the other players, and that’s just the defense.

See how well a particular linebacker uses his down linemen to avoid blocks. See if he bites on ball fakes too easily. Does he drop back in pass coverage better than the other three or four hundred linebackers playing each week? Does he move down the line quickly enough on sweeps?

It cannot be done. So I am left to assume they truly are just like the rest of us. They watch games through the same sort of tinted glasses the rest of us are wearing.

Some are overly dependent on “common opponent” implications, an area we all know means absolutely zero, nada, zilch—nothing. Some are overly impressed by a team running over an opponent that might simply be having a bad day, or had received a dose of faulty coaching the past week.

USC is a prime example. After two games (two games?) superlatives were flowing from ESPN “experts.” Articles and comments were flying, and I heard and read more than once that this was the greatest defense in the history of the game.

Do they realize how long this game has been around? Could the pollsters and pundits have been so wrong? Or could it be that Pete Carroll simply came up with the wrong game plan, made a mistake, and s*** the bed?

The hyperbole is self-fueling. Why do sharks seem to go mad and race with jaws agape to bite off a chunk of anything in the water? Pollsters and fans are pretty much like sharks during football season. Perhaps we just need something to happen that will make this day more significant than yesterday, and perhaps that is the reason we proclaim the emergence of the greatest team in history...every bloody year.

Hey, before you get all wrapped up thinking about all the profound questions I have so eloquently posed, stop! Have some barbecue. Have a beverage. Get ready for some great football action, because hundreds of No. 1 teams will be playing today, and you will get to see a good number of them, unless you are so rabid you absolutely must be present at a stadium to see the “game of the ages,” in which case you might only see two teams today.

It’s just football. And I’m pretty sure all of you will agree the LSU Tigers play it better than any other team in the country.

Oregon State-USC: Beavers Expose Trojan Defense Up the Middle

Roy LaFaver — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 00:47:50 -0400

Early in the USC-Ohio State game, the Buckeyes took it to the Trojans up the middle successfully for two trips into the red zone. The frustration of not getting the ball into the end zone, coupled with two USC touchdowns, caused the Buckeye coaching staff to forget what they did well, and the rout was on.

However, the Oregon State coaching staff must have gone to school on the tape of that game. With a good effort from the offensive line, and a running back who ran like they had coated him with grease and fed him jumping beans for a week, Oregon State went up the middle again, and again, and again.

Only a few times in the third quarter did the Beavers decide they could run wide and throw screens against a defense that was clearly much too fast to allow that kind of action. So it was back to the well for Oregon State, and amazingly they came up with more water.

The defining moment of the game took place in the second quarter, with Oregon State driving for what would be their third touchdown of the game. Jacquizz Rodgers ran up the middle for five or six yards on first down.

USC had employed an eight-man box liberally throughout the game, but on the next play the Trojans brought up both safeties to make it a nine-man front.

Does the Oregon State coaching staff seize up and scream for a timeout? No. Rodgers again took it up the middle for six yards and a first down. I was astonished.

That one play spoke volumes about the USC defensive front, and you have to know every Pac-10 coach took notes.

Now, we cannot be naïve enough to think every USC opponent this year will have a running back like “The Quiz,” and not many offensive lines in the Pac-10 will turn in the effort we saw from Oregon State’s front wall.

The Trojans have a great pass rush, and they gobble up anything wide. But it is clear that the USC defensive front is built for speed, not for an “up the gut” frontal assault.

We have to give the Oregon State coaching staff credit for recognizing that speed. Once USC’s linebackers were totally committed to the run, Oregon State was successful dumping passes over the middle and on little crossing routes into areas vacated by those backers. It was a beautiful game plan.

This game also featured one of the dumbest questions at one of the dumbest times by a reporter. Going to the locker room at the half with a great deal on his mind, Pete Carroll was asked, "Coach, why can’t your defense tackle Rodgers?"

If I had been there, I would have been tempted to slap the lady who asked the question. Wrong time, wrong place, wrong question.

Please, ESPN, show a little class. Your reporters seemed almost gleeful, and you’ve been in the business long enough to know this stuff can happen to any team. It isn’t something a reporter should appear to gloat about.

However, Beaver fans, gloat all you want.

Polls, Polls, Polls: Go Figure

Roy LaFaver — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 09:36:58 -0400

Can somebody tell me how LSU can scare the devil out of me and still move up in the polls? Their young safeties are not quite ready for prime time just yet, and Jarrett Lee threw the worst interception in the history of football.

Perhaps the pollsters believe safeties aren't important, but LSU sent two to the pros this spring, and replacing them is a tall order. Yes, Virginia, safeties are that important.

On the bright side, those young guys replacing the Sunday players are going to get better—a lot better—and they will have to if LSU wants to beat the likes of Florida, Alabama, and Georgia two out of three (which is what they have to do).

ESPN says the quarterback situation is set at LSU. I thought it was set with Andrew Hatch, and I'm still not so sure he isn't the guy. But Lee does have an arm, and it was attached to his brain for most of the second half. So we will see.

But if LSU was impressive enough to overhaul Missouri, why was Auburn drop-kicked back to the 15 spot? The conversation has to be, "They were beaten by our new number five pick with 1:03 left in the game. So how can we drop them?"

Of course, I guess we all knew one of those two teams had to drop in the polls, but wasn't it a great game? Could you ask for more as a football fan? We all know that Georgia or Alabama will drop this week as well.

I hate to watch this tumbling act every year when the conference begins to eat its own, but it is inevitable.

So take heart, Mizzou! The SEC will take care of itself for you, and Oklahoma is still just a distant smoke from a passing ship on the horizon.

A Sad Day for the SEC: Three Programs That Need to Stop the Bleeding

Roy LaFaver — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 05:08:34 -0400

Three SEC programs are bleeding badly, and the emergency medical kit is missing.

Let’s begin with Mississippi State. A multitude of Auburn turnovers helped the Bulldogs to their best game of the year. The satisfaction was completely erased by Georgia Tech, an ACC team. Following their best season in years, State appears to have recaptured doormat status.

Arkansas has always been competitive with only an occasional drubbing to dash the enthusiasm of the Hog faithful. But Houston Nutt is gone, pushed out by an administration that didn’t feel being competitive and winning a rare trip to Atlanta was enough. So they went out and got themselves a Bobby Petrino.

Even if Petrino can breathe life into the Arkansas offense, the powers in Fayetteville should know offense is not enough in the SEC. In fact, if a team must have one or the other, it had better be defense.

It is sad to see the Razorbacks in this situation, and now they must go to Texas and face another top 10 team, an old nemesis. I really wish they had some hope of walking off the field with their heads up, but I don’t see how.

Tennessee is perhaps the greatest disappointment of them all. It’s not as if they don’t have the players, but one thing is sure: It will now be much more difficult to sign top talent.

Fulmer followed up the worst season in years for the Vols with a trip to the SEC championship game, but it appears he might have the Orange at a deeper point than they reached in 2006. This is inexcusable.

Most fans in the SEC ask more than anything that they have a competitive team. At least let them have, “If so and so had made that play we might have won,” or even, “The refs stole the game from us.” The whipping they got at UCLA and the one by Florida, right beside the Tennessee River no less, left nothing for UT fans.

I doubt Smokey will be able to eat this week because that proud hound now comes off as just another mutt.

Will Fulmer find magic again as he did in 2007, or will Vol fans continue to see their cherished Orange humiliated for the rest of this season? One can only hope that Tennessee either finds great assistant coaches to right this ship—or perhaps it’s the head guy who needs to find a new address.

There is an upside to this musing. Ole Miss looked really good in a close loss to Vandy, and Vandy looked good in a narrow win over Ole Miss. Neither of those teams looks to be automatic wins for anybody. Houston Nutt is doing just what he did at Arkansas, which might not be enough to become perennial champions, but Ole Miss will be competitive.

We still have big games to anticipate (Georgia-Alabama, Georgia-Florida, LSU-Florida, Georgia-Auburn, LSU-Georgia, Alabama-Auburn, Alabama-LSU to name a few), but I hate for any of those teams to have what amounts to a bye week at Knoxville, Starkville, and Fayetteville.

Somebody please get some bandages.

Can Tony Stewart Win The Chase?

Roy LaFaver — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 10:23:41 -0400

Tony likes the bottom. Tony has always liked the bottom. Races were always determined by the car that can stay low all the way around the track. But NASCAR has changed all that. Ladies, and gentlemen, please bow your heads. The COT has killed racing.

Tony Stewart and Greg Z are known for getting the setup right for riding the bottom line, and in doing so they were always a force to be reckoned with. But now they have to adjust, and they haven’t done that as well as I know they would like.

The COT does not turn well, so now it is all about going high and powering out of the turn. Of course, this emphasizes engine torque, and the Toyotas have more of that than the others. But I just don’t think the 20 team has adapted well to the concept. Certainly the 18 team has, but I chalk that up to being a new unit with no past to get in the way. Old habits die hard with a racer like TS, and I see he is still trying to go low.

To be honest, I have stopped watching because of this awful car, but I checked out the New Hampshire race for a few minutes Sunday (glad to see Kurt Busch is competitive again).

Tony is a great driver, and I think he will be competitive in the Chase, but I don’t see him winning races, and that may keep him from winning the championship. All the chasers will probably have at least one bad day, and those wins help buffer them for that hit in the points.

The situation is ironic because Tony has a big cushion in power, and you would think he could blow away the field. But he hasn’t won a race all year. Why? You fans who watch NASCAR races might have a different answer, and you might be right: bad luck, bad karma. But I think it’s the fact Tony can’t pass on the bottom the way he always has, and that, my friends, is a dilemma for the 20 team.

Why Don't Coaches at New Schools Adapt to Existing Players?

Roy LaFaver — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 00:57:45 -0400

The West Virginia-Colorado game and the situation at Michigan point out something about college coaches that I think is worth a closer look.

Some coaches seem to need a team that fits their particular style and ideas about the game, and Michigan is a good example. I don’t believe anyone could say the cupboard was bare when Coach RR arrived. Certainly West Virginia also has some quality players.

It appears to me that the Michigan players are low on confidence for whatever reason. And how can any team expect to win games consistently with fewer than 50 yards passing, as in the WV-CU matchup?

Bill Stewart seems to have decided he will put every game on Pat White’s legs, and he’s just watching from the sideline to see how it turns out.

I think if those two coaches would adapt to the players they have, both could have decent seasons—but I don’t see it happening. White is cruising for an injury, and the Michigan players don’t show any sign of waking from what might be a nightmare season.

When a school must replace a coach, what do they look for? I was afraid Les Miles would take LSU back to mid-pack SEC status when he came. I didn’t see him mastering the defense Saban had built, but beyond that, I felt recruiting would surely suffer.

Neither of those scenarios played out as I expected. The defense continued to fly to the ball, and LSU is loaded with very good young players. Based on results, I have to think Michigan would be pretty strong this year if Miles had taken the job. However, you know what they say about opinions.

Nick Saban has succeeded everywhere except the NFL. We all know his formula to create a great team, but only after he has a few of his own recruits does he really shine. Still, he has been able to do well with the players he inherits—not championship level, but respectable.

Now Alabama is beginning to resemble LSU on defense. They are playing with speed and passion, and it will take a very disciplined offense to handle them.

So I have a challenge for you readers who probably are much more tuned in to the intricacies of the game than I. Name a few coaches who could walk into any situation and succeed, as Miles and Saban have. (I should note that Miles didn’t inherit a loaded team at Oklahoma State, yet he left a respectable team when he came to LSU.)

Big Ten Bashers and the Big Game

Roy LaFaver — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 00:56:52 -0400

You are probably looking at this story with expectations of an attack on Big Ten bashers. You won’t find it here because I’m one of them. What you will find is a hidden reason why many older fans love to see Big Ten teams humiliated.

Young people don’t remember the days when the Big Ten Conference conspired with the Rose Bowl to lock up millions of dollars and football championships for the Big Ten and Pac 8 while locking out the rest of the country. The rust belt was not the rust belt then, and TV ratings were pretty much determined by the Midwest, Northeast, and Pacific coast areas.

So who at the networks cared whether a Texas, Alabama, or some other Podunk team was relegated to a quarter of the dollars and a tenth of the respect given often inferior teams? The refrain in the board room at NBC was, “I got my money!” They could host “The grandaddy of them all” every year and rake it in, right along with the Big Ten.

Now it is 2008, and those days are gone, but they are not forgotten, at least by some of us (didn’t you just love it when the Rose Bowl and Big Ten were forced into open competition, primarily for the MONEY?).

So when the SEC locks up millions in TV contracts and people in the Midwest, New York, and LA cry foul, I say let them cry. The SEC did it the right way. It reformatted its program and created a highly competitive atmosphere for every team in the conference, and every athletic department in the conference has been on board from day one.

Those days of Alabama and the other seven are gone. The days of Tennessee and Georgia Tech running the show are gone. A once pitiful program in Florida is long forgotten history. LSU is more than the two or three seasons of the Chinese Bandits; it is a two-time BCS Champion and a force to be reckoned with every year.

Auburn is no longer a piñata for Bear Bryant. Arkansas woke up after decades and came to where it belonged in the first place. South Carolina is no longer regretting its exit from the ACC and the hard times that came with it. Even Vanderbilt, a once perennial doormat, puts a competitive team on the field, and every coach prepares for them just as if they were playing Georgia.

The Big Ten once locked up their money in closed door meetings with network execs, Rose Bowl officials, and an equally greedy Pac 8. The SEC did it on the field. And now many other conferences have followed suit with two-division/championship-game formats. Notably, the Greedy Two are the only majors (and I use that term loosely) who have yet to adopt this competitive idea.

So this weekend could be a win-win for those of us who remember. If OSU blows out USC, yippee! If USC blows out OSU, yippee! Unless by some miracle this is a close game, I can’t lose. How about you?

LSU Has Only One Question, and The Answer Is . . .

Roy LaFaver — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 07:47:41 -0400

LSU has only one real question, and I believe the answer is Andrew Hatch. The Tigers have always been at their best with brains at the steering wheel, and this guy is from . . . what’s that you say? . . . Harvard!! Land sakes alive!

If this guy could get into Harvard, I have to believe he can keep up with the play clock, and no doubt he can dump the ball rather than eat it. Coach! Let this boy drive!

If you follow SEC football just a little you might remember our “all-world” quarterback blowing a sure field goal at Auburn just before halftime in 2006. He tried to get something out of a play that clearly was not there, and Auburn (like Homie the Clown) don’t play that. They nailed him and the clock ran down. Game!

I don’t care that the QB can throw the ball 80 yards or even 60 yards. I want to know the condition of his gray matter, and I want to know if he can make a sideline throw. Are all the lights on? Is somebody home? Can he read defenses? Can he play-fake? Those are my questions.

Ah, Harvard, that bastion of culture and intelligence, that place where even the ivy are smart, that place where the 2008 SEC MVP once roamed the halls, soaking in smarts.

Hatch is going to surprise even his coaches with his command of the offense, and LSU is going to kick mud holes in opponents, then stomp them dry. I believe in Harvard! I believe in Hatch.

But just in case I’m wrong, have those other two guys ready, Coach.

Poll Angst: Why SEC Fans Should Be Nervous

Roy LaFaver — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 04:01:00 -0400

With football season upon us, sphincter muscles of SEC fans everywhere are tightly constricted. There is much to fear.

The road to the BCS Championship game is a nearly impossible trek for upper tier teams like Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Auburn, and LSU. For Ole Miss, Arkansas, South Carolina, Alabama, and Kentucky, it’s a question of forcing an entry to that upper tier. For Vandy and Mississippi State, it’s a question of getting quality wins against the others, a question of respect.

A SEC fan looks at the landscape outside the conference, and he or she knows several teams have been given a straight shot at THE game by pollsters who doggedly insist from day one that Ohio State and Oklahoma should be in the championship game, no matter how many times they are “shocked” by the outcome when such teams encounter the true meat eaters of the SEC or USC (a team some consider the SEC, FAR West division).

They snicker when they place four SEC teams in the preseason top 10 because they know these teams will probably lose two games and fall out of the picture.

True, these pollsters can ride out most of the season smugly as they are proved “right” week after week, their top picks rolling up victories while BCS aspirations of SEC teams are shattered in the merciless and cannibalistic environment that is Southeastern Conference football.

Then there are the non-conference games where some SEC teams seem to go limp, as if it were a week off. The result can be UL-Monroe humbling Alabama, making a conference win against the Tide almost worthless in the eyes of pollsters everywhere. Non-conference losses by SEC teams have ill effects on all the others, so we are left to root for a hated conference enemy so often we feel like cheap floozies.

Yes, it's tough to be a fan of LSU or one of the others, but the pollsters are watching as nervously as SEC fans, praying their pretty favorites don't have to meet a nasty bunch from this take-no-prisoners conference at the BCS title game.

The fear is there from the first non-conference game forward. Will LSU play down to the talent of Appalachian State, and oh my god, isn’t that Auburn in the near distance, licking their chops over a shot at the champions, and Great Scot, isn’t that Florida and Georgia lined up behind them, drool dripping from their face guards?

Will Central Michigan stun Georgia, as the Bulldogs look forward ominously to LSU, Florida, Auburn, Tennessee, and South Carolina? Is Tennessee with all its young talent really preparing for UCLA as it should, or is hatred of Florida emblazoned on Phil Fulmer’s eyeballs, clouding his preparatory vision?

And for the pollsters, there is always the fear that the SEC champion will muscle its way into the title game.

So strap yourselves in, boys and girls of the Southeastern Conference. Get out your grills. Eat, drink, and be merry in the parking lot, prepare to be thrilled or killed in the stadium, and pray Ohio State is the only foreign team left standing in the way of the SEC Champion at the end of this season because simply put, if two of those pretenders get through the season reasonably well, it will be Auburn 2004 all over again.