Sunday Hangover: Georgia

SEC Champions.

Unfortunately, I don't think that'll matter to the playoff committee because Washington, Michigan, and Florida State are all undefeated and Texas beat Alabama in the regular season. 

Regardless, I enjoy booting Georgia out of the national championship hunt, and Alabama is the champion of the SEC. 

After Georgia's initial drive, I was concerned because they marched right down the field. Then the defense got it together. 

The pass to Jam Miller for a touchdown was beautiful. 

Roydell Williams did well as the lead back with McClellan out with a foot injury. 

We probably won't win the mythical national championship, but the coaching job by the staff this season is admirable. 

Alabama is likely to have four guys go in the first round of the NFL Draft - Latham, Turner, Arnold, and McKinstry - but I expect the Tide to be part the expanded, 12-team playoff next season if all goes well. Milroe is going to grow even better I suspect, and the OC will develop game plans to take advantage of his talent. 

Roll Tide.

Since Alabama is not in the national playoff hunt, I'll start growing my beard of mourning. 

Addendum: My son informed me this morning that Alabama made the playoffs and will face Michigan in the Rose Bowl. 

I'm very surprised, but I look forward to the twelve-team playoff starting next season. 

Sunday Hangover: Georgia - SEC Championship

That's why they play the games. 

Going into last night's SEC Championship Game, I would have given Alabama a 10-20% chance of beating Georgia. 

SEC Champs.

Bryce Young put in a Heisman-winning performance against the best defense in college football. He had 26 receptions on 44 attempts for a whopping 421 yards and three passing touchdowns. He also had a touchdown on the ground. 

Comparing the Tide's offensive line play last night to the turd-like performance they had against Auburn is telling. For the most part, the revised O line kept Young clean, and on occasion Young used his legs to beat the Bulldogs. 

Jameson Williams went off again, but it sounds like the Tide will lose Metchie for the rest of the season, which is a major blow. 

The Crimson Tide will face off against Cincinnati on New Year's Eve Day.

Musing of the Moment: SEC Expansion?

Yesterday less than an hour before Texas A&M Coach Jimbo Fisher gave his opening statement at SEC Media Days, news broke that allegedly the University of Texas and the University of Oklahoma had contacted the SEC about joining the conference. 

A&M obviously wants to remain the only Texas school in the SEC, which its athletic director clearly stated when interviewed by Paul Finebaum. 

However, going by the bylaws of the conference, there need to be 11 of the 14 schools who vote yes to new members. I think that's quite possible. 

I don't see the SEC turning this down because it would make them an even stronger conference, one that would rake in lots more cash and basically rule the college football world in a sport trending toward a 12-team playoff. 

Going to 16 teams might help with scheduling because one could eliminate the East-West conferences and use four-team mini conferences that would let teams play each more often that they normally don't get to. 

If you break it down by regions, here's a rough grouping of these mini conferences to my mind.

A) Texas, Oklahoma, A&M, and LSU

B) Alabama, Auburn, Ole Miss, and State

C) Arkansas, Mizzou, Kentucky, and Vanderbilt

D) Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee

With these groupings, the natural old East-West every year rivalry games could be kept. Alabama would always play Tennessee, and Auburn would always play Georgia, for two prime examples. 

Sunday Hangover: Florida

 SEC Champs. 

The defensive performance form the Crimson Tide was not what I would have hoped for. They just gave up so many explosive plays, especially in the second half. The pass defense was lacking. But the Tide did well against the run though Florida has not traditionally been a running-oriented offense. 

Harris put on an absolute show - 5 TDs: 3 receiving, 2 running. 

Smitty had another great performance - 15 receptions for 184 yards and two touchdowns. 

Next up is a match against the Fighting Irish. Let's hope the Tide is ready for a running QB. I suspect they'll learn from what Clemson did to them in the ACC Championship. 

But Notre Dame has the advantage in that few, if any, people will pick the Irish to defeat Alabama. They'll be motivated by how they are the underdogs. 

Musings of the Moment: College Football This Saturday

Don't look now, but Mississippi State's Costello just threw another touchdown against LSU. 

Ole Miss got waxed by Florida. The Rebels will have a tough offense, but the only times Ole Miss is formidable is when they have a defense to be reckoned with. It's small sample size theatre, but that game can't provide much confidence in the Ole Miss defense. Kyle Trask lit up that defense like a Xmas tree. 

The light blue jerseys and helmets for Ole Miss are not are handsome as the dark blue jerseys and helmets they've used. 

With the K State-Oklahoma and Texas-Texas Tech games in mind, defense is optional in the Big 12. 

If there is a truism in the college football it is that Big 12 teams have sucky defenses. 

Kentucky totally messed up a chance to beat Auburn. I was counting on you Wildcats. So disappointing. The refs also screwed them on that play on the goalline. 

And btw, Gus Malzahn looked like a doofus in that outfit inspired by Pat Dye. 

I was surprised to find out that Army was ranked, and then they lost to Cincinnati, a team that is also ranked. 

The U is back. They stomped a mudhole in FSU's ass. I think Miami might have a good chance at beating Clemson this season. 

Florida State was stupid in pissing off Jimbo Fisher, which made him take a job at A&M. 

Pitt's concrete grey uniforms and helmets are interesting. 

I'm hoping that Iowa State wins the Big 12. I'm a closet Cyclones fan from way back. 

Sunday Hangover: Florida--SEC Championship

Besides the return for a touchdown and the long pass play late in the fourth quarter, Alabama dominated this game. 

Two stats show that clearly:

• First downs: Florida, 7; Alabama, 25
• Time of Possession: Florida, 16:31; Alabama, 43:29

I've watched some games when time of possession was clearly in Alabama's favor, but this SEC Championship was an extreme case. 

It was good to see Kenyan Drake back in action, so I'm hopeful he'll be fully ready to go against Michigan State in the playoffs. 

The past couple of games I've gotten frustrated with the offensive playing because I'm tired of bubble screens and the prevalence of short passes, I'd like to see Henry run outside the tackles more often, O.J. Howard needs to be targeted more often, and I wanted to see more downfield passing to open up the running game even more. 

Complaints, complaints, complaints...

The good news is that Alabama won its 25th SEC Championship. Roll Tide Roll. 

New SEC Coaches

Besides maybe a preview of interesting bowl games this season, I won't be writing about football until January 8, so I thought I'd share my so-called thoughts on the recent head coach hires in the SEC, the best football conference in all of the land.

Mark Stoops, University of Kentucky
Hopes are high in Lexington, and I see this as a good hire. The guy knows defense, which tends to be a perennial issue with the Wildcats on the gridiron. He will not have the talent he had the luxury of having at Florida State, so it may take some time to get the program back to being bowl eligible like it was under Rich Brooks. Stoops' goal of winning the SEC (see link) is what any new coach is going to say, but the stark reality is that the only fellow to lead Kentucky to win the SEC conference was Coach Paul Bryant before he went to Texas A&M. Good luck with that. 

Bret Bielema, University of Arkansas
This hire came as a surprise to a number of folks because Bielema already had a good job at a solid university and great place to live (Madison is wonderful). But this former assistant under Hayden Fry at Iowa and a guy many people thought would stay at Wisconsin heads to Fayetteville. The Razorbacks have talent and a solid recruiting base in the South and Texas, so it'll be interesting how well this team does next year. Wisconsin teams are typically noted for their smashmouth running attacks and strong defenses. However, there could be a substantial adjustment period because they'll be transitioning from Petrino's pass-happy/"oley bullshit" defensive teams to something altogether different. 

Gus Malzahn, Auburn University
There were all kinds of coaching rumors about this job after Chizik got the pink slip. Malzahn was the engineer of their offense when they had Cam Newton, and he did a good job as a head coach at Arkansas State, a program that seems to have becoming a training ground for big-time jobs. The cloud over this hire is the NCAA has been asking questions down on the plains, so it remains to be seen what kind of allotment of scholarships this head coach will get to play with. I think Auburn will skate, but we'll see. However, it's not like Auburn has a weak base of talent to build a strong team. They recruit well. However, after they rode the comet that was Cam Newton, the last two seasons exposed what Iowa State fans already knew about Gene Chizik. 

With both Bielema and Malzahn though, they have to compete in the best college football division in the country, the SEC West. Now with Ole Miss on the rise under the leadership of Hugh Freeze (Watch for them next season) and A&M doing well under Kevin Sumlin, the West is going to be even more difficult.

The Bleacher Report has an article up comparing Bielema and Malzahn that's worth a read.  

Coach-to-be-Named-Later, University of Tennessee
This one is taking longer than I expected. First, it was delusions of luring Gruden away from his lucrative and easy job with MNF. Then it was someone else, maybe Chris Peterson or Gary Patterson? Some P dude I think. Or maybe that was the Arkansas hiring cycle -- I don't remember. Then it was Mike Gundy from Oklahoma State, who decided to stay at his alma mater and do the breaststroke in a swimming pool of cash proffered by crazy-rich T. Boone Pickens. Then it was Charlie Strong (probably the best hire out of the whole bunch), but now he's decided to stay at Louisville. And now the rumors are that Butch Davis, Larry Fedora, and Al Golden are possibilities. 

Random Notes from a Crank

I judge books by their covers. Literally. We all do it. If a book has an interesting cover, we're enticed. Admit it. So let's stop using that damn cliche.

I recently read one of the best arguments against the "whole-language approach" to reading and "the adoption of an unhealthy compromise called 'mixed' or 'balanced reading' instruction" (221). It's Chapter 5--Learning to Read" in Reading in the Brain: The Science and Evolution of a Human Invention by Stanislas Dehaene. If you have young children or care about the literacy of young children, I highly recommend the chapter, if not the whole book.

This weekend, we got to watching the Back to the Future trilogy. As movie trilogies go, it's not a very good one. But my daughter found it funny and hopeful that in Part 2, which is set in 2015, the Cubs win the World Series.

One of the few reality TV shows that I watch is Food Network Star. I'm rooting for Team Alton, particularly Justin and Emily, to beat Teams Bobby and Giada. If there's someone from a different team I'd like to see win, it's Malcolm from Team Bobby. The dark part of this whole televised exercise in stress is that from what I recall of past "stars" who won the competition, besides the ubiquitous Guy Fieri, their shows don't seem to have the highest profile slots. Then again, I didn't watch the last two seasons because I got bored with the program.

With all this talk about finally implementing a playoff system for college football, I propose a system not discussed yet. It's not the current BCS system. It's not a final four of best four teams based on BCS standings and/or a selection committee. It's not a plus one system. It's not a system that rewards teams that won their conference while showing off a record sporting two or three losses. I propose the top four teams  in the SEC play the best four teams outside the SEC in a eight-round, seeded playoff.

Schlabach's Revision of the Pre-Season Top 25

Today ESPN writer Mark Schlabach updated his "Way-Too-Early Preseason Top 25."

Here are my initial thoughts in response to his rankings:

• LSU and USC being 1 and 2 respectively are good bets. Both are stacked with talent and have favorable schedules. 
• I wonder if this will finally be the season that Georgia goes to the BCS Championship game. Like LSU and Alabama over the past five years, Richt has recruited really well, outstanding in fact. But they never seem to capitalize on their opportunities.
• West Virginia in the Big 12, huh? They make sense as a fit for that offense-first, defense-challenged conference. I don't think they finish that high though.
• I think the Spartans win the Big 10.
• The Gators might be a top ten team at the end of the season. Their new offensive coordinator knows his stuff.

If you have thoughts on Schlabach's rankings, feel free to provide them in the comments section. 

SEC Rumors

I don't know if this is an April Fools report, but there are rumors that the SEC Commish is reaching out to Duke and UNC-Chapel Hill to see if they're interested in joining the Southeastern conference.

If those schools join, the SEC would be a sixteen team conference.

Mizzou to the SEC?

I came across an article today on Mizzou's Rivals site.

In "If Mizzou Moves, All Signs Point South," Gabe DeArmond provides an article that will probably light up the message boards. He intimates that if Mizzou moves, it sounds like the SEC would prefer to add them as the league's 14th member after Texas A&M.

He concludes the article with this paragraph: "As has been the case throughout the realignment situation, there are many moving parts. No deal is done until it is officially done. But all indications are that if Missouri chooses to leave the Big 12, or if there is no Big 12 to leave, the SEC is the likely landing spot for the Tigers."

Football Obsessions

I don't know what exactly got into Quinn recently, but the kid's obsessed with either watching football or throwing a football around the backyard.

We've been passing the football around the yard for quite some time--in fact, all summer--but his interest probably amped up when he discovered our old Playstation circa 1999 and the two college football games we have. We've played against each other from time to time over the last two weeks, with him not really understanding what he's doing and me selecting plays for him that will work since all he likes to do is push the X button. So mostly all he does is pass on offense, and the passes usually go to the tight end.

And now he's so interested in football that he's got me watching NFL pre-season games. We watched part of a replay of the Jets-Bengals exhibition game this evening on the NFL Network. I'm not all that crazy about the NFL since college football is far superior, but I'm willing to suffer through some games for the kid.

But all this has made me think about when I was younger. I was also obsessed with football. As a result, books about the history of the NFL, its players, and the league's teams along with comic books were my gateway reading genres.

As always, I'm looking forward to the college football season, and it's only about a week and a half until Week 1. But now I'm interested how Quinn will take to football Saturdays, a tradition at the Nasty household. Hannah has always tolerated the watching of multiple games throughout the day with the Alabama game having utmost importance, but Quinn might appreciate the craziness more than she does.

There's a smattering of games to look forward to in Week 1. Alabama plays Kent State as a lead-in to their away game at Penn State in Week 2. However, here's an interesting trio of games in the first week:

• BYU at Ole Miss
• Boise State vs. Georgia in Atlanta
• Oregon vs. LSU in Dallas

As for the SEC, it'll be brutal once again within the conference. Before Knile Davis broke his ankle, I was leaning toward thinking that Arkansas wins the West with their excellent receiving corps and an improved defense, but now I don't know. They're still going to be tough as hell without Davis, so I think they win the West since I'm leery of picking the Tide and I fret about having a new quarterback (or two) commanding the offense.

I also think LSU has a solid shot of winning the West, but with possibly impending legal troubles ahead for their starting quarterback, who could get charged with second degree assault, it's hard to tell what's going to happen down there in Red Stick. Not a distraction you want before your first game versus Oregon.

And Mississippi State is going to be tough also.

As for the East, it's a three-team race: South Carolina, Georgia, or Florida. If I had to place a bet in Vegas about who wins the East, I'd go with UGA because of their navigable schedule and lucrative odds since most people think the Gamecocks will win the East.

Realignment Talk Again

Although I've looked through my Lindy's pre-season college football annual from time to time since I received it a few weeks ago, I haven't written much about college football recently. You can expect that to change since it's partway through July, and August is when my mind really turns toward college football season.

But today I came across two articles I thought I'd pass along.

Last summer there was a lot of excitement because of Nebraska and Colorado leaving the Big 12-2 Conference, but I haven't seen much about other realignment schemes happening until today.

Both articles come from sites associated with Texas A&M, the university the SEC, by various accounts, courted last summer.

The first article by Billy Liucci, "Will A&M Trigger the Next Realignment Explosion?", relates the politics of the Texas Ten Conference and provides speculation that the SEC will go after both A&M and Oklahoma.

But according to a more detailed and nuanced article, "The Winds of Change Blowing Again?", it sounds like the Aggies are taking a long-term perspective on the situation, especially considering the details the author, David Sandhop, goes into about the needed renovations to their stadium. Sandhop also reveals that apparently Clemson is ready to jump to the SEC, which makes sense to me.

Musings on Sports-Related Matters

I don't really care much about the NBA. I haven't watched a game in years. Heck, I only watched a few college basketball games last year (the Tide basketball team obviously didn't have a good year), but I am intrigued by where this LeBron James fellow might end up, if only out of curiosity.

Since I listen to Mike and Mike in the morning as I drop off the kids and go to work and I also watch Sportscenter from time to time, I'm well aware that ESPN is covering his comings and goings like Fox News covers Sarah Palin.

It sounds like Mr. James will choose one of these three teams: the Knicks, Bulls, or Cavs. I know the Cavs were good because of LeBron carrying them, I know the Bulls are a good team now, and I know the Knicks stink although they did just sign a significant big man. If LeBron is a dude who wants to make his mark, why not in the Big Apple? Reviving the Knicks would be comparable to how Jordan pulled the Bulls out of Suckydom.

As for college football, recently both the Texas Tech and Illinois head football coaches publicly stated that the SEC is the best conference in the land. Well, DUH, Captains of the Obvious. Tell us something we don't already know.

What I find intriguing is that Tommy Tubberville got in some hot water for talking about how the "Big 12" (hereafter called the "Texas Ten" on this blog) still has problems because of unequal revenue sharing. The former Auburn coach and Destroyer of Mike Shula compared how the SEC shares the wealth evenly to how some schools in the Texas Ten get more money than others. The Texas Ten Commish reprimanded Tubberville, and the conference put out some touchy-feely statement about how everything is great with the conference. What a bunch of hokum.

For a coach who works at an institution of higher learning, where there's supposed to be a free exchange of ideas and viewpoints, Tubberville's situation reminds me of a lyric from the old rapper Ice-T that goes something like this: "Freedom of Speech, just watch what you say."

Conference Shakedowns

As I wrote about in mid-December (click HERE for that post), there's talk out there about the Big 10[11] expanding, and that speculation is being discussed here in Big 10 country. As I dropped off the kids this morning, two pundits on 670 The Score out of Chicago were talking about expansion possibilities.

Apparently, a Kansas City radio station reported (maybe yesterday) that the Big 10 offered membership to Notre Dame (they still can't let it go, can they?), Rutgers, Nebraska, and Mizzou.

To me at least, Nebraska and Mizzou make sense geographically, but the Big 12 has to angry as hell. Throwing in the Kansas schools would make some sense here if you consider geography. Rutgers makes little sense to me, especially since Pitt would be a better fit.

The guys on The Score also floated a rumor about SEC expansion by saying that "reportedly" the SEC is interested in adding Florida State, Miami, Clemson, and Georgia Tech to make the conference a sixteen-school league.

While I'm fine with the SEC as it is, those four schools are attractive because all of them would have natural rivals within the conference: Clemson and South Carolina; Georgia Tech and Georgia; and Florida State, Miami, and Florida.

Whatever may eventually happen, the people within the higher echelons of the Big 12 and ACC have to be some grumpy and paranoid folks right now.

Sunday Hangover: Florida--SEC Championship

What an outstanding performance yesterday. The Tide won its 22nd SEC Championship.

The Tide flat out out-muscled the Gators. While Alabama didn't get many sacks of Tebow and he had a couple of long runs, the defense, besides giving up a drive for a touchdown in the second quarter, limited the big plays of Florida and executed a solid game plan on pass rush. Whether you can sack Tebow or not, you don't go past him, and you simply try to keep him in the pocket since he's at his most dangerous outside of the pocket.

And McElroy simply outperformed Tebow, the chosen one of the media. McElroy played well with strong and accurate passes while the OLine did a great job for him and the Tide's trio of runners--Ingram, Richardson, and Upchurch (pictured above).

Ingram is back in the spotlight for the Heisman, and I hope he wins it. I, like some media types, think Suh from Nebraska deserves an invitation to the Downtown Athletic Club too. But Ingram amassed 189 yards of stats while Alabama had 490 yards of total offense against the defense that is statistically the best defense in college football.

After reading post-game comments from players, they felt that they just wore out the Gators' defense. And their D did look tired and beaten down, especially since the time of possession difference was 39:37 (Tide) to 20:23 (Gators).

Alabama played well in all phases of the game.

Roll Tide.

And So It Begins...

The B(C)S Championship game just happened yesterday, and Tony Barnhart already has a pre-season top 25 out. Click HERE to read his top 25.

I think Ole Miss is the front runner in the SEC West. Alabama has too many crucial positions to shore up (left tackle, center, quarterback, and safety where Rashad Johnson pretty much ran the defense) to take another shot at the National Championship. But I hope to be proven wrong.

And now today it's clear that starting running back, Glen Coffee, is going pro. 

Tuberville to State?

As is reported HERE, there are rumors that Mississippi State is interested in hiring Tommy Tuberville.

I find that very interesting since Tubs left Ole Miss after denying that he met with Auburn officials at an Atlanta hotel a decade ago. The fan base of the Rebels still haven't forgiven for jumping to Auburn, so it would make sense if "Wingnut" (called that because of his large ears) heads to Starkville. Tuberville going to the in-state rival of Ole Miss would make the Ole Miss fans hate him even more, which is hard to do. 

And State hiring Tuberville would be a good hire for them. As much as I hate to admit it, he's a very good coach.

SEC Transfers

As is the nature of the FCS (Football Championship Subdivision, it's no longer called I-AA college football), who transfers to your school from a DI power can make an immediate impact since DI players transferring to FCS schools don't have to sit out a year.

As can be read HERE, The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC), which EIU is in, has three different transfers who are predicted to carry their teams to good seasons. Head coaches and sports information directors have done their pre-season "order of finish" poll for the OVC this year, and here are top four: 

1) Jacksonville State, 2) Eastern Kentucky, 3) Eastern Illinois, and 4) Tennessee State.

Jax State now has the former LSU QB phenom Ryan Perrilloux, Tenn State has South Carolina transfer Antonio Heffner at QB, and EIU has Chevon Walker, a RB who transferred from Florida after selling bowl game tickets or something like that.

EIU, however, probably has the best all-around talent on both sides of the ball in the league. 

It should be an interesting fall in the OVC. 

Predictions: Final SEC Standings

As promised in the previous post, I'm providing my predictions for the final SEC football standings for this season.

SEC EAST

1. Georgia, 2. Tennessee, 3. Florida, 4. South Carolina, 5. Kentucky, 6. Vandy

Most of the media has an embarrassing man-crush on both Coach Urban Crier and Tim T-Bone, but Tebow's antics are going to catch up with him sometime. It's a matter of time before he gets sidelined from a concussion or a shoulder separation. Florida needs to replace a lot of defense too, but they'll have plenty of weapons.

I think Tennessee will be a lot better than people think, but UGA should navigate the East as champion and finish with one or two losses overall. The Evil Genius in Columbia has some talent to develop on the o-line, so I see the Gamecocks a year away from being a serious contender again. They could upset some people though, so it's spoiler mode once again. 

Both Kentucky and Vandy are in serious rebuilding mode.

SEC WEST

1. Auburn, 2. LSU, 3. Alabama, 4. Ole Miss, 5. Arkansas, 6. Mississippi State

Both LSU and Auburn have similar profiles: great defenses, solid o-lines, strong running backs, and questions at the QB position. Les "The Mad Hatter" Miles' penchant for questionable but gutsy decisions will come home to roost this year, so I expect the Bayou Bengals to lose some close games even though they might have the most talent in college football. Auburn will have a stout defense, and their spread offense will work well. They also have a favorable schedule, so that helps too.

And now Alabama gets its own paragraphs, of course.

As much as I'd loved to predict that Alabama will win the West, I doubt it will happen. I think the offense will be quite good, and John Parker Wilson must improve his accuracy and decision-making to get us to contend. The offense is now using its third different offensive coordinator in three years, so there will be some growing pains. But I gather that McElwain's offensive schemes will open up a more diversified passing and running attack (short to mid-range passing, screens, etc.). I welcome that.

The huge question mark for the Crimson Tide is the defense, the side of the ball that Coach Saban prides himself on. The down linemen will be serviceable, but the linebacking corps invites serious concern. Ezekial Knight will probably not be cleared medically because of heart murmurs. Jimmy Johns recently got kicked off the team. And Prince Hall has been in Saban's doghouse since he took over in Tuscaloosa. Three incoming freshmen (Harris, Hightower, and Upshaw) will probably log serious playing time this year, with one of two maybe being starters, which is usually an indication that a team is in store for a tough year. 

Saban has cleaned out the driftwood in the program over the past year--getting rid of people who don't want to work or don't want to participate in what he calls "the process." They've been processed off the team, and that has created depth issues.

Ole Miss was smart as heck in hiring Nutt, and I look forward to watching the Rebels beat the Hogs in Fayette Nam on Oct. 25. The Rebels will have a good offense, but that defense could be worse than Alabama's.

Both Arkansas and State are in rebuilding modes with the Razorbacks significantly changing their offensive philosophy, and the Bulldogs lost a number of good players, changed defensive coordinators, and still don't have much of an offense.