Bleacher Report - Articles by Damon Wildman

So How Did This "Conference Pride" Thing Ever Get Started?

Damon Wildman — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 15:42:39 -0500

With the BCS National Championship game quickly descending upon us, the debate as to who or which conference is the best will either be answered after the game or will set off even more disagreement.

I tell you, I can not remember a year that the question as to which conference is best or worse has been more hotly debated, talked about, and had as many conferences still in the discussions.

Is it the SEC, who is going for their third National Championship, or is it the Big 12 with their slew of top-ranked teams? How about the Pac-10, who went 5-0 in their bowl games? And let's not forget the upstart MWC, with the only unbeaten team in the nation.

From Brent Mussberger proclaiming the Pac-10 the winners, to ESPN's majority sports idiots proclaiming the Big 12 superior, to CBS' love fest with the SEC and all the stats and arguments on this site, as well as the whole World Wide Web, it's enough to make me wonder.

When, or how, did all this madness get started?!

It's just plumb silly! Is there any end to all the madness?

The better question, which I have read asked on here by others is, "if it's not your team who wins, then who cares?"

I honestly do not know the answer.

My team, Alabama, was embarrassed by a MWC team and I guess my vote goes to Utah.

Oh Wait! This is about who the best conference is and how it got to be such a hot topic, not who the best team is. Sorry!

What got me to thinking though—which can be dangerous, you know—is when did this entire conference pride thing get started?

I have been keeping up with 'Bama football since the late 60's—the earliest I can remember—and we never, ever thought about how the conference was doing or did. I don't recall it ever being a subject when a discussion come up about 'Bama, or any other college football team for that matter.

The last time a conference won three straight National Championships was back when the SEC won three-in-a-row with 'Bama winning in '78, '79, and Georgia winning it in '80.

But I don't ever recall crowing about the SEC winning three-in-a-row!

Yeah, I bragged about 'Bama winning two-in-a-row, but the only thing I remember about Georgia winning in '80 was them beating Notre Dame.

And yes, I pulled for Georgia to beat Notre Dame. Find a 'Bama fan who didn't and I will show you someone who has a severe case of hatred for Georgia! But no one I remember crowed about the SEC winning three-in-a-row!

There were a lot more independent schools back then, just as Notre Dame is now, but that was never a problem that I can recall.

There was always the conference champion bowl tie-ins with the Big 10 and Pac-10 (or was it Pac-8 back then, my memory is fading), to the Rose Bowl. The SEC Champion later in the 70's got tied in with the Sugar Bowl, as did the Big 8 with the Orange Bowl and the SWC to the Cotton Bowl.

But other than that, and the fact whoever got Notre Dame had an instant classic, no one cared about where the rest of the conference's teams ended up, or how they performed in their bowl match ups.

I sure never cheered for Auburn or Tennessee in a bowl even though they're both SEC teams!

So, when did this phenomenon get started?

March Madness!

You can thank college basketball for all this debate!

Conference pride, and the chants "SEC! SEC! SEC!" or "ACC! ACC! ACC!" or for whatever conference you pull for, got started when the selection committee started having to choose 64 teams to play in their tournament.

The money involved, and the number of teams getting in from year to year started all these "our conference is blah blah blah! We should get in this many" arguments.

It's ironic to me that a tournament for basketball, (which most of us fans have been clamoring for since before I can recall for college football), has had its effect on college football of all things!

But there you have it folks!

The conference pride for basketball, as it has over the years gained popularity, (and all the politicking going on to get as many teams in) has leaked its influence into the Bell Cow sport for most Universities in the NCAA, college football.

So why hasn't the tournament that college basketball enjoys leaked over to college basketball?

Maybe it will one day! We can only wait and wonder!

Alabama's Loss to Utah Not on Account of Disrespect and Lack of Preparation!

Damon Wildman — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 16:37:40 -0500

When is everyone going to quit blaming Bama's loss to Utah on not respecting Utah and not being prepared to play?

I think our guys were as prepared to play as they could have been. Maybe some of the guys on the team were shocked at how good Utah really was, especially after Utah's fast start and after all that they had heard about Utah, but I think they were ready to play.

Losing Andre Smith from the offensive line was devastating to the offense's performance, and then to have another lineman go down early during the game with an injury certainly hurt Bama's chances to be successful on offense. But Utah has a real good defense, certainly SEC caliber, and it wasn't going to be an easy task even if all things had gone perfectly for Bama.

Utah plays the spread like Florida, but they play a more passing scheme spread than Florida's and one that Bama's defense didn't match up well with in hindsight. The best chance Bama had at beating Utah would have been to have success offensively, which they didn't.

I don't think Bama's players and certainly not the coaches disrespected Utah. I think they were shocked at how good Utah played to start out, and it took them by surprise, but I don't think Bama ever disrespected Utah.

I know what some of the players said in the postmortem, but I doubt they really disrespected Utah. I think a lot of what they said was just making excuses for the shock they were in for being beaten as they were. Remember, these players are basically kids in grown bodies.

Yes, teams have off nights, and Bama sure didn't look ON! But you would think that they would be ready to play a game in such an environment after such a long layoff and after having suffered a defeat in their last outing. I mean, football is a game, and what kid doesn't like to play games? They were ready to play, I promise you!

Maybe they were a little rusty, I don't know—but anything other than saying that they got beat by a better team is just making excuses and in my mind demeans Utah's win more than anything that was said before the game was played.

They fought hard in the game though and did all they could to come back, but it just wasn't good enough to make it happen with that big a hole that they were in. Bama was out of their element when they had to play catch up from that far down, and I knew it was probably game over at the end of the first quarter for that reason. But they never quit!

I have read and heard Saban's comments before and after the game, and frankly, if you want to you can take them just about any way you want. But I doubt coach Saban would ever disrespect another team, even one that Bama is clearly better than, on purpose. And Bama clearly is not better than Utah! Maybe had they played earlier in the season they could have beaten Utah, especially with their offensive line intact, but not with their best team unit depleted as it was in the Sugar Bowl.

I don't think anything said prior to the game by coach Saban or the media had any effect on the game either. I really think Utah would have been highly motivated to play Bama regardless of what was said one way or the other. This was their chance to prove to the world how good they really are.

I suppose it's a shock that the second-best team in the SEC could be beaten by an undefeated MWC champion, especially with all the SEC hype that's been going on lately, but it shouldn't be. Bama, for Christ sakes, lost to UL-Monroe just over a year ago. Bama is one season removed from a 7-6 season counting the bowl win against Colorado.

Yes, 16 true freshmen came into the program in the fall that weren't there during the 7-6 season, but the real reason behind the remarkable turnaround was just having a coaching staff for a second year in a row making the right decisions and the players dedicating themselves, as well as just plain dumb luck. Who could have foreseen what looked from the beginning to be a formidable schedule turn out to be so weak?

Playing a ninth-ranked preseason Clemson on a neutral field, a preseason favorite to win the national championship Georgia on their home field, the defending national champions LSU on their home field, the defending East champion of the SEC Tennessee on their own field, and finishing with a top 10 preseason ranked Auburn, who had won six straight against Bama, who would have thought that that schedule would turn out to be so weak?

When Bama started knocking those teams off one after another and other teams across the country started losing, which Bama had no control over, they quickly vaulted up the rankings in the polls and finally to No. 1 for five weeks before they lost a thriller to Florida in the SEC championship game.

Bama, to us Bama fans, looked to be all the way back, even though there were signs that the process was still in the works to get to that point we so thought we were already at. Coach Saban cautioned us fans that there was little depth on the team and that an injury or a suspension could make for trouble down the road. The world and us Bama fans especially were so caught up in our success that we couldn't fathom the thought that we still had a ways to go.

Coach Saban in his post-Sugar bowl comments mentioned that Bama is in a building process and still has a ways to go with recruiting better talent and building experienced depth. That is as true a statement as he has uttered since he has been at Bama.

While Bama experienced a big turnaround in the win-loss department this season, Bama is not to the point that Florida, USC, Oklahoma, Texas, or even an Ohio State is. Like it or not, Bama is at least two, maybe three more top recruiting classes away from being where those programs are presently. But it is a great start!

The truth of it is, and as hard as it is to admit it, Bama had a lot of good fortune go their way to win 12 games this season. Is that anything to be ashamed of? Just ask LSU if they are ashamed of their good fortune in winning the National championship last season.

No, there is nothing to be ashamed of winning the SEC West and 12 games this year. Maybe us fans should be ashamed of some of the crowing and gloating we are guilty of this season. But dang it! After what we have been through the past decade or so, can you really blame us?

My hat is off to Utah! The only undefeated Division I FBS team in the nation. They should win the national championship in the AP poll or at least someone's poll—well, they already have. Mine!

I am a Utah fan and believer now. Not because they beat my beloved Bama team, but because they have shown another chink in the BCS armor. Anything that exposes and hurts the BCS is great in my opinion.

Could Utah have survived the same SEC schedule Bama did this season unscathed? I have my doubts, but there is no denying Utah was the best team Friday night. And honestly, there is really no reason to think that they couldn't have.

BYU won a national championship with probably a lesser team than Utah has many years ago, especially with the résumé they had compared to Utah this year. So why can't Utah win one this season? The AP could give Utah the championship, and I hope they do. I'm not holding my breath though.

As for Bama...well, in reality us Bama fans had to know it was too good to be true for Bama to be back to championship form this soon. Bama is on their way though, and Bama will build from this loss.

Folks...Bama lost to two top five and possibly to the two top teams in the nation! Not bad for a team that has gone through all the turmoil Bama has the past decade or so!

Pay no attention to our jealous rivals! Bama can and will get better! Kinda scary for a team just fresh off a 12-game win record!

Is it too early to start looking ahead to next season?

Bama should improve from this past season next season, but it may not necessarily show up in the win-loss record. A lot depends on how our QB situation and how our O-line develops. We all saw how bad the line can be against Utah.

The thing is we should have players who have another year of development under their belts that should be more talented than what we have leaving if you believe the recruiting services.

Experience will be little at the QB position, but you never know what a year can do for a young player with talent like Star Jackson is supposed to posses.

For you naysayers, look no further than this year's Heisman winner Sam Bradford. Look what he did at Oklahoma last year as a redshirt freshman. Not saying we will get the same results, but you can only hope. If next year's starter can do half as good as he did starting for the first time, we should be OK.

And the recruiting rankings so far for this season bode well for another top recruiting class—something that the Floridas, USCs, Oklahomas, and Texases of the world have been enjoying for some time now.

God I miss Bama football already!

ROLL TIDE!

Don't Be Surprised if the SEC Comes Out On Top in the Bowl Season Once Again!

Damon Wildman — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 08:00:49 -0500

Defense Wins Championships!

I grew up hearing those three words. And as far as I can recall, whether it be the sport of football, pro or college, basketball, baseball, or what have you, that has been the winning team's most notable attribute.

I seriously can not recall a championship team that ever had a bad or even mediocre defense.

I remember my beloved Tide winning the '92 national championship with an average offense. I seem to recall a pro team or two doing the same with an average offense.

Tampa Bay, a few years ago, comes to mind going to the Super Bowl with an average offense. I am sure there are others in other sports, too.

But winning a championship with a bad defense? Never!

Now, on to this season's bowl games!

There has been plenty of discussion on here and elsewhere about the SEC having great defenses, which the statistics seem to bear out, but also having bad offenses.

There has been plenty of discussion on here and elsewhere about the Big 12 having great offenses, which the statistics seem to bear out, but also having bad defenses.

With the Oklahoma-Florida matchup being the BCS NC game this year, it has been a hotly debated subject as to the differences between the two conferences and offense versus defense.

But there is other bowl games besides this game and they will also play a big part in answering the debate as to who and what wins championships and to who is the best conference.

Being an SEC homer, I admit I don't know a whole lot about most of the SEC's opponents in the bowls, with exception of some of the Big 12 teams. Mainly because of the Big 12's games this season that caught every ones attention nationally as their outcomes impacted the whole college football scene.

With that said, I will go down the list of the SEC bowl games and do my best to analyze what I think will happen starting with the first SEC team to play in a bowl game, Vanderbilt, Dec. 31 in Nashville in the Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl against Boston College.

Don't know a lot about Boston College other than they lost in the ACC championship game to Va. Tech. But that says plenty!

Boston College, I imagine, would love to be anywhere but Nashville this year and that could be a key. Vanderbilt, for all intents and purposes, is playing at home, being that they are located in Nashville.

Vanderbilt is playing in their first bowl game in forever and should be motivated for that fact if nothing else. Vanderbilt got to the bowl with their defense and nothing much more. But even with a great defense, you have to have some resemblance of an offense, if for no other reason than to give your defense a break.

How will Vandy's players and coaches react to a bowl game? I have no idea. With that fact alone I have to go with Boston College on this one. Vandy I think will play with a lot of enthusiasm and heart and I think will keep it respectable but my best guess is....B.C. 24 - Vandy 10

LSU is next on the list in the Chick-fil-A Bowl Dec. 31, in Atlanta, against Georgia Tech.

Everything here points to a big Georgia Tech win. The game's being played in Georgia Tech's home town. Georgia Tech blew Miss. St. out and beat Georgia in a shootout, both SEC teams.

LSU after winning the big prize last season was just plain disappointing following it up with a 7-5 season this year.

Call me crazy but I just have a gut feeling that Les Miles hasn't forgotten how he got LSU ready for a bowl game and pulls the upset here. Why LSU's defense has been so sporadic this year is a surprise but I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't have at least something to do with a certain QB's play to some extent.

LSU's performance against 'Bama showed to me that if given the right motivation that they have the talent to compete. I am going with the upset here... LSU 31 - Georgia Tech 28

Next up is South Carolina in the Outback Bowl, Jan. 1 in Tampa Florida versus Iowa.

Don't know much about Iowa other than their upset of previously unbeaten Penn St.

But I do know South Carolina can play defense and that they have one great motivator in Coach Spurrier.

The Big 10/11 has been known for a big win in the bowls against an SEC opponent every year, and this will probably be it.

But if the Ole Ball Coach can get a QB to have a big game then it won't be. My bet is on the Ole Ball Coach... South Carolina 35 - Iowa 31

Next on the list is Georgia against another Big 10 team Michigan State in the Capital One Bowl Jan. 1 in Orlando, FL.

Georgia underachieved by everyone's standard this year. Overrated? Well, yes, as it turned out. But not Matthew Stafford or Knowshon Moreno. If they have a big game, lookout Michigan State!

Could this be their swan song at Georgia? Or more importantly, will it have any effect on the outcome of this game?

My guess is no. Georgia wins, but it will be close and then the hand wringing in Athens will begin. Georgia 30 - Michigan State 24

That's halfway through, and I have the SEC at three wins and one loss. Now for the second half, if you haven't already lost your appetite, lol!

Kentucky versus East Carolina in the AutoZone Liberty bowl, Jan. 2 in Memphis, TN.

Kentucky is the worst team from the SEC to make the bowl games with a 2-6 SEC record. Even Vandy was 4-4 in the SEC.

Kentucky played 'Bama tough, especially on defense, but that was early in the season when they had yet to lose a game and were a healthy team. After that game, they went downhill fast and if not for beating a sorry Miss St. team 14-13 would not have been bowl eligible.

Easy pic for me, but watch it be my worst, lol! East Carolina 28 - Kentucky 17

Ole Miss versus Texas Tech in the AT&T Cotton bowl in Dallas, TX is the most intriguing game to me besides the 'Bama/Utah game and of course it is a Big 12/SEC matchup.;)

Ole Miss came on like gang busters at the end of the season winning five straight after the close loss to 'Bama and blowing out the last three teams they played bad, LSU included, in Baton Rouge.

Texas Tech didn't exactly close out the season with a bang. In fact, they looked rather human.

The game is in Texas though, and that could be a factor. But I do recall 'Bama in '05 going into Dallas and shutting down a great Tech offense to the tune of 10 points with a great defense. Could we see a repeat?

Don't think Ole Miss' defense is as stout as Bama's was that year, but they do seem to have a better offense than 'Bama did that year to complement their Defense.

It could be all that Christmas food I ate yesterday causing my gut to feel this way, but right now I am predicting Ole Miss in the upset to a tune of 45 - 35 over Texas Tech.

The big one for me of course is the Allstate Sugar Bowl, Alabama versus Utah in New Orleans Jan. 2.

'Bama came oh so close, one quarter, to playing for all the marbles. As disappointing as it is not to make it there after such an awesome run this season, it has just been a miraculous season and turnaround for us 'Bama fans.

We, for the most part, were hoping for a nine or 10-win season, including the bowl game. If you had of told us we would be in the Sugar bowl at season's, end we would have not believed you.

Now on to the game.

Didn't see Utah play all season. If I had only known.

What we do know is that Utah is Urban Meyer's old stomping grounds and he was real successful there before coming to Florida and ruining our dreams this year. He also left one of his disciple's to carry on for him after he left.

Frankly, Utah does not have the talent that most SEC teams have and probably never will. But they have heart and they have determination. Will that be enough? Depends on 'Bama.

I have a hard time believing 'Bama will not be prepared and ready to play this game even with their disappointment from the SEC championship game. Coach Nick Saban's main theme for this season has been to "Finish!"

That theme and 'Bama's players hard work this season brought them a 12-0 final regular season record. It took a great team and a super human effort by one player to finally give this team their first defeat.

And that team is playing in Miami on Jan. 8.

'Bama wins against a most worthy opponent in Utah 32 - 17

Finally, to the game everyone is sitting on pins and needles trying to make themselves believe that they will prevail and overcome all obstacles with relative ease to win. At least if you are a Gator or Sooner fan, and to some degree, an SEC or Big 12 fan.

I have seen some of the wildest and most outrageous predictions for this game by both sides that I can ever remember for a championship game. You would think both teams were playing Ohio State!

In a way, I am glad 'Bama is not involved in this game. Oklahoma would put 120 points on us, lol!!!

The Big 12 has not seen a defense like an SEC defense!

The SEC has not seen an offense like a Big 12 offense!

The Big 12's Offense is great because their defenses sucks!

The SEC's defense is great because their offenses suck!

And my God at the statistics to prove both's points! It has had to have taken thousands of hours of people's time to have dug up all the comparison's that I have read and heard.

All it has shown is the magnitude of this game and the tremendous pride from both side's with their unyielding arguments. This game may very well be bigger than the Super Bowl! I know it is in the South and Southwest!

And the thing of it is, it is only going to build as the day gets closer! Could this game get any bigger?

Well, next year it could if Notre Dame's big win over Hawaii is just a prelude to next season's Fighting Irish rise and if 'Bama's rise was just the beginning of greatness to come. A 'Bama versus Notre Dame BCS NC game next season would be something of legendary proportions...Dang I am getting ahead of myself! LOL!

My article started out stating that don't be surprised if the SEC comes out on top of the bowl games this year and that defense win championships!

Being that both Florida and Oklahoma look invincible on paper and there are so many opinions to make any sense heads or tales from I am going to go with the team that by all intents and purposes should have the better defense to win the game.

That looks to be Florida. Florida 38 - Oklahoma 35

That leaves the score at 6-2 for the SEC in this year's bowls! Just don't take my predictions to heart! I am a SEC homer as I said. If you disagree, then you are probably one of the majority!

Now on to dreaming of that 'Bama-Notre Dame BCS NC game!!

Bowl Matchups: BCS vs. the Old Way

Damon Wildman — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 17:42:55 -0500

MNC (Mythical National Championship). BCS (Bowl Championship Series).

These are acronyms we all are accustomed to seeing when it comes to the sport of college football. Now we have the Division 1 FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) acronym to confuse things even more. This Division 1 FBS is explained in full here.

The next acronym that comes to my mind is FUBAR!

What? The BCS National Championship Game attempts to crown a single national champion? The Associated Press crowns their own champion via polling? What's new, pussycat? Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!

Are we living in the Twilight Zone or what? Everything is different, but the same!

The MNC is just as mythical as it always was. Nothing is settled on the field but in opinions and polls. Sure, we have a No. 1 playing a No. 2, but that all depends on who gets the votes and the luck of a human-run computer.

It got me thinking, though. What if we were back in the day before computers and the BSC? Back when, shockingly, humans voted for the national champion.

For as many years as I can remember, the AP poll was considered by most the main determiner of the MNC-deserving team. There was the UPI and many other polls, but if you didn't win the AP vote, you were just an impostor posing as the MNC.

For my comparison between today and yesteryear, I took the final regular season AP poll to determine the bowl matchups. I then used this information to speculate who might be awarded the MNC this year to decide whether or not we would have been better off if things had stayed the same.

Here is the last regular season top 15 AP poll before the conference championship games that some conferences play:

1. Alabama

2. Florida

3. Texas

4. Oklahoma

5. USC

6. Penn State

7. Utah

8. Texas Tech

9. Boise State

10. Ohio State

11. TCU

12. Ball State

13. Cincinnati

14. Oklahoma State

15. Georgia Tech

Back in the day, conference champions were exclusively contracted to certain bowls. The Pac 10 and Big 10 to the Rose Bowl. SEC to the Sugar Bowl. Big 8 to the Orange Bowl. Southwest conference to the Cotton Bowl. The Fiesta—well, it originally pitted Arizona State against an at large rival in late December.

But for argument's sake I will put the Big 12 in the Fiesta and the ACC in the Orange Bowl now that FSU and Miami are a part of the ACC.

The Big East? Forget them unless you want to put them into the Orlando Bowl.

The Rose Bowl would be the same—USC vs. Penn State

The Sugar Bowl would be Alabama vs. (at large).

The Fiesta would be whichever team they chose between Texas, Oklahoma, and Texas Tech vs. (at large).

The Orange would be (at large) vs. (at large).

Face it, an ACC team with three losses would have never been invited to the Orange Bowl back then. The only team that could possibly be invited to one of the big four bowls with three losses would be Notre Dame—period.

We know the Rose Bowl matchup.

The Sugar would most likely be Texas vs. Bama if the Fiesta took Oklahoma or flipped them otherwise.

The Fiesta would most likely take Florida, a matchup we have in the BCS championship game with Oklahoma.

The Orange Bowl could shape up being Texas Tech vs. Ohio State.

The Cotton Bowl would do well with a TCU vs. Utah or Boise State matchup.

All very intriguing matchups in my opinion.

The MNC would ultimately come down to whether or not Bama beat Texas. If Bama did, it would be Bama at 13-0. Or it would come down to Texas vs. the Oklahoma/Florida winner amongst the voters.

That is just between the top four-ranked end of regular season teams! Would USC or Penn State complain if they were voted the MNC in, say, the coaches' poll? I think not!

Tell me that what we have now is better than that scenario!

We love controversy—admit it! If not, why do we tolerate the BCS?

Coach's Buyouts...We Should All Be So Lucky!

Damon Wildman — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 03:48:23 -0500

Man Oh Man!! Those poor coaches!!

Get fired and be awarded two or three years' salary for it! For doing a bad job!!!

Can you see the average working Joe lazing around on the job, half-ass working, doing a bad job, getting let go by the boss man, and receiving two years' salary for his trouble?!

We should all be so lucky!

Can you imagine Joe applying for a factory job and the employer telling him, "Well I think we will take a chance on hiring you, and for good measure, if you don't work out, we will pay you two years' salary." "But...if you decide to leave for a better or higher paying job you will have to pay us your two-year salary for leaving."

It just doesn't happen for us average Joe's and Mary's of the world. You screw up too much, your butt is sent packing! Walked out the door and getting the back pay that they were withholding on you come next payday on Friday.

If you are lucky, you can get unemployment from the state while you look for another job. Just don't take too long or that measly check will dry up.

These buyouts are stupid. There is no such thing as job security in the real world, and in reality, there isn't in college football, nor should there be. If you don't do the job you are being hired to do, then your employer has every right to fire your ass!

On the same note, if you happen to be offered a more lucrative job or a job that has more prestige, then you should have the right to pursue it without being penalized.

I like the way the University of Alabama and coach Nick Saban did his contract. Which I think that had to do more with coach Saban than the University, being that they paid coach Shula a severance buyout when they fired him. Coach Saban has no buyout clause in his contract. Nor should there be one!

If coach Saban fails to do his job then the University should have every right to let him go without paying him a cent beyond the time that he had already put in. If coach Saban is not happy at Bama, then he should have the right to look for employment elsewhere if he so chooses, without having to pay basically what he had already put time in back.

I think these buyouts show insecurity on both parts, the coaches and the employers.

How many of you think if not for Charlie Weis's monster buyout, however much it is, he would be in the unemployment line with Tubs and Fulmer?

I think these buyouts promote laziness also. I think that's what happened to Tuberville.

He, instead of like Coach Saban getting down and dirty teaching the kids on the field working his butt off, got to the point of delegating the dirty work to assistant coaches while he sat back and reaped the rewards and accolades, doing nothing much but supervising.

Most everyone knows of that lazy employee who kisses the boss' butt when he's around and takes the credit and promotions while he meanwhile puts the real work off on to somebody else. Someone who works hard to make the employer money but never gets anything other than their paycheck come Friday.

After a while, that hard working employee starts to resent that fact and starts letting their productivity slide. Then it becomes the blame game as to why the company's profits are down from previous times. Then come the layoffs and the company's failure.

Tubby got lazy!! And I think it would be fair to say Fulmer did too!!

Saban on the other hand is out there working his butt off 24-7 to do his job and do it well. He leads his fellow assistant coaches by example. He is getting his hands dirty in all aspects of his job description and is earning his money. He has become an asset to his employer.

Saban ain't out duck hunting while his assistants are out trying to persuade recruits to come to their school!

There is no amount of a buyout clause that could make up for his contributions to the Bama program. Urban Meyer is the same also!

As is in the real world every other company out there that is struggling is looking at the companies that are thriving. They want to emulate the successful company's success and what better way to do that than to hire away the successful company's employee.

Hence the high salary of a Saban or Meyer! They are worth every penny they make. They make their own job security, not negotiate for it with a buyout.

In reality, a buyout guarantees no one a victory. Except for lazy coaches. All the way to the bank!

I wish I was lucky enough to have been a coach with one of those high buyouts. I probably would suck as a coach myself! I already suck as an average Joe!! Just I don't have a buyout!!!

Thank Goodness for the SEC Championship Game!

Damon Wildman — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 07:31:24 -0500

What if the SEC didn't have a championship game, and we ('Bama) are really overrated as most everyone in the country believes? Being ranked No. 1 undefeated at 12-0 Bama would already be in the BCS championship game most likely.

Can you say Ohio State?

The embarrassment of being smoked in the national championship game would be unbearable for me and most 'Bama fans. 'Bama would be the laughing stock of the country. Not that we haven't been there lately, "been there done that", but it would be on a lot bigger national stage instead of say in the papers on Sunday, scrolling across the bottom of the TV on ESPN or in front of a pay per view audience as was our loss to UL Monroe last year.

Thank God for the SEC championship game!!!

If 'Bama is as over rated as most media pundits believe, then far be it better to find out a month before being exposed in the BCS championship game and also to one of our own in the same conference!

An SEC team beating us bad as some predict will happen against Florida would be much easier to digest than from some team out west. The SEC would look bad which would make it even harder to live with from our own for the next year to come. You never want to make your family look bad but especially after gloating over how bad the Big 10 and other conferences compare to the mighty SEC.

The SEC championship game against Florida, if we were to win it though, would go a long way towards solidifying our deserving being in the championship game. Winning the SEC championship game against Florida, while not guaranteeing a BCS championship win, would go a long way towards our credibility as to why we should be in the BCS national championship game to begin with.

I know there is something to be said about winning the SEC, regardless of the outcome in the BCS championship game, which would be sweet enough for some, but not for me. Winning in essence a playoff game in the SEC championship game to get to the BCS championship would feel deserving of Bama's spot.

Unlike Ohio State the past two seasons, who were voted and computerized into the BCS championship game, it would feel like Bama earned the right to be there by winning the SEC championship game.

Will it happen? Probably not. But if not then you won't see 'Bama embarrassing themselves and the SEC against another conference foe. We will leave that up to Florida if they should win. Or I should say to Oklahoma! Let them stink up the BCS championship game for the Big 12! ;)

But if 'Bama is good enough to beat Florida, then that should shut up any overrated talk from the media. Would it happen? Probably not.