Week 9 Results

I went 3-3 this week. That brings my overall record to 51-18.

The East went 0-1 against the west making them 8-7 for the season. The West is catching up! With only three more East vs. West games left, can the West come out on top?

East

UGA 42 - FLA 30
Like I've said before, if Tebow gets injured, Florida is in trouble. I'm not sure if the week off had any affect on UGA's play, but they definitely looked like a different team on Saturday.

UT 27 - USC 24
USC's offense looked like it was actually coached by the OBC racking up 501 yards on offense. Four turnovers will do you in every time.

Vandy 24 - Miami(OH) 13
It looks like Vanderbilt is following other SEC teams by using a two-QB system. Will it be as predictable as Auburn's? Nickson ran the ball 11 times, and didn't throw it once. It looks like the answer is yes.

West

AU 17 - OM 3
Tuberville coaches some of the most boring football in the SEC at times. Even so, a win is a win, and 420 yards on offense isn't too shabby either.

Ark 58 - FIU 10
Is Arkansas looking to join the Sun Belt? This is their third opponent from that conference. Jones outgained McFadden in this one. I think he's emerging as the better back between the two. Time will tell.

MSU 31 - UK 14
Any Auburn fan will tell you what five turnovers against MSU will get you. Kentucky, we feel your pain! Woodson is now removed from the top spot of my Heisman list.

Ole Miss Pregame

I have one question this week.

1. Can Auburn stop Hardy and Perry from getting to Cox?

If Auburn can do this, I think they will be fine on offense. I'm not too worried about Auburn's defense.

SEC Picks - Week 9

East

Florida Vs. Georgia - Georgia hasn't looked too hot their last two games. They've had an extra week to prepare for this one, but I don't think it will be enough to stop Tebow.
UF 38 - UGA 21

Kentucky vs. MSU - Kentucky should be able to bounce back after being knocked back down to earth last week. Woodson will put up some big numbers against MSU's defense.
UK 42 - MSU 17

South Carolina at Tennesses - This one will be interesting. Both teams are coming off of losses. USC's good defense matches up well with UT's good offense, and UT's crappy defense matches up with USC's crappy offense. Tennessee is missing something this year, and I'm not sure what that is. The Old Ball Coach should prevail in this one.
USC 21 - UT 14

Vanderbilt vs. Miami (OH) - Vandy would probably do well in the MAC. They're coming off a big win, which could potentially bite them this week if their heads are too inflated. They pretty much have to win this game if they're planning on bowling this year. Their next four games are going to be a lot tougher.
Vandy 28 - Miami (OH) 13

West

LSU - Off

Bama - Off

Auburn vs. Ole Miss - Ole Miss has given several good teams a run for their money this year. They're bound to upset at least one team this year. Looking at their remaining schedule, this is the most likely week. Unless Auburn reverts to their first three games playing style, they should win.
AU 28 - OM 23

Arkansas vs. FIU - FIU has the 102nd ranked rushing defense in the nation. With that, they are ranked dead last in scoring offense. I think it's safe to say that Arkansas has the weakest out of conference schedule in the SEC
Ark 55 - FIU 3

The Tubs Don't Lie

When asked whether he he was going to leave Ole Miss Tuberville responded by saying, "They'll have to carry me out of here in a pine box." Contrary to popular belief, this was not a lie.

Tuberville waves goodbye to Mississippi.

People argue that the "Tub-Boat", built by Tuberville and his wisecracking father-in-law, isn't actually constructed of pine. What those people fail to recognize is that "pine box" is a synonym of casket.

People also argue that no one actually carried him out of there. This is just simple symbolism, people. "They" refers to the ponies under the hood.

So there you go. Tuberville didn't come out and say, "I'll leave Oxford in a casket hot rod," but he certainly didn't lie. Maybe he should have dumbed down his wording for the anti-Auburn crowd, but like Pat Dye says, "Hindsight is 20/20."

Tuberville, Cutcliffe, Orgeron

I was a Sophomore at Auburn when Tuberville made the move from Ole Miss. At the time, I thought it was a poor choice hiring a coach that was barely over .500 at a school in the same conference. It was odd that Auburn would hire a coach who was 0-4 against the Tigers.

I remember how pissed off Ole Miss fans were after Tuberville left them for Auburn. They resented him for stabbing them in the back, and they resented Auburn for stealing their coach. Signs bashing Tuberville were seen all over Oxford his first trip back. Ole Miss fans booed during Auburn's alma mater.

Ten years after Tuberville's first year at Ole Miss, Orgeron coached his first game as a Rebel. I decided to compare what he's done so far to what Tuberville did his first two and a half years, well, because I was bored.

Both men took over a team that was 4-7 the previous year. The team Tuberville inherited was on probation and compiled a 2-6 SEC record. The team Orgeron inherited went 3-5 in SEC play under Cutcliff the year before his hiring. Even though Tuberville took over a team that was on probation, I think it's safe to say that both coaches took over comparable situations.

In his first two years and eight games into his third year, Tuberville went 16-14 overall and 8-14 in SEC play. So far, Orgeron is 9-22 overall and 3-18 in SEC play. It looks like Tuberville did a better job than Orgeron. You know who else did a better job than Orgeron? David Cutcliffe.
Cutcliffe was 21-11 overall and 11-10 in SEC play during the same time period of his career at Ole Miss...even better than Tuberville.

Of course, these kinds of comparisons are completely useless. Tuberville is an excelent recruiter and left Cutcliffe with some ponies in the stable. One of the alleged reasons Cutcliffe was let go was because he didn't meet recruiting expectations, so you could argue that Orgeron inherited a team that lacks a lot of talent.

So what's going to happen to Ole Miss? I don't follow recruiting that much, so I'm not sure where they're going in that respect. Will Orgeron get to hang around long enough to coach his own team? Only time will tell on that one. After all, Tuberville didn't turn out to be a poor choice after all.

Tuberville demonstrates the proper response to a BS call.

Well, what can I say? I'm not too bummed about this loss because I think Auburn played very well. It would have been nice to have a "w", but sometimes it's not in the cards. Like Will Collier, you won't hear me claiming any sort of "moral victory." A loss is a loss.

There is a lot of talk about Tuberville's decision to squib kick late in the fourth quarter. Both coaches made questionable calls in this game. Miles's decision to throw the ball worked. Tuberville's decision to squib kick did not. That doesn't make Tuberville any less of a coach.

What's up with SEC refs this year? They are absolutely horrible. Are they making up their own rules? In the Florida/LSU game, they called back a kick return from a replay that was definitely disputable. In the Florida/Auburn game, they called a penalty that was eliminated in 2003. Who can forget the replay call in the Ole Miss/Bama game (aside from Bama fans)? In the LSU/Auburn game, they nullified a penalty from a replay, and gave LSU a first down with a horrible spot.

Bad calls or not, LSU won the game by pulling it together in the second half. I will not take anything away from their play. They truly deserved the win.

Vols Fan 3 - Bama Game Thoughts

Saban denotes Bama's win streak against UT. Says
one fan, "It's only classless when Tuberville does it."

Let's see how my Pregame Questions were answered in this one.

1. Can Tennessee's defense stop...anything? Apparently not. SJPW looks great when he isn't pressured, and has all the time in the world to make a decision.
   
2. Will Ainge be able to complete a long pass without it being called back because of a bogus call? Yes, but Bama did manage to get two bogus calls. The first one should have been an interception. In fact, the flag was thrown after the ball fell into UT's hands. The next play, Keith Brown pushes off a DB (no call) to catch a touchdown pass. The second one should have resulted in a fourth down. No, they called defensive holding on UT, and Bama got the first down. This resulted in a 20 yard field goal attempt instead of a 40 yard attempt.
   
3. Will Tennessee allow Javier Arenas to have big returns? Javier Arenas returned a kickoff for 62 yards. So no.

Bottom line, Bama tore UT a new one. However, Sylvester Croom is definitely on to something. Officials can definitely give a team unfair advantages. But Bryant Denny Restaurant gives a new meaning to "home field advantage." Whether it's turning sprinklers on to stop their opponent's drive, or making the play clock nonfunctional during their opponent's drive, they're going to have a home field advantage like no other.

After this loss, I think Fulmer's "hot terlet" just got a little hotter. I hate it for the guy because he's done so much for UT. Aside from five years spent at Wichita State and one year at Vandy, Fulmer has been involved with the UT football program since 1969. Results are everything, though. I'm sure he will be allowed to resign sooner than later.

This concludes my week as a Vols fan.

Week 8 Results

I went 4-2 this week. That brings my overall record to 48-15.

This week, the East went 0-1 against the West, and are 8-6 for the season.

East

FLA 45 - UK 37
This wasn't quite the blowout that I predicted, but I don't think Florida ever lost control of the game. Woodson earned even more of my respect during Kentucky's last drive. Even with eight seconds left, it was obvious that he knew, not thought, that Kentucky still had a chance to win.

Vandy 17 - USC 6
It appears that this was the game originally scheduled for Lincoln Financial. They should have stayed with this game. Vandy finally went with Adams at quarterback for the entire game. His numbers don't appear to be that great, but considering the defense he was facing, it looks like he did quite well.

West

LSU 30 - AU 24
Both teams played well. This was a great game from start to finish.

UA 41 - UT 17
Tennessee just flat out gave up late in the third quarter. SJPW looked great against UT's non-defense. The score should have been 17-14 at the half, but the outcome more than likely would have been the same. I'm not as impressed as others seem to be that Bama suspended players before the game. They did what they had to do.

Ark 44 - OM 8
McFadden and Jones looked like the two-headed monster again.

WVU 38 - MSU 13
I'm happy to see an SEC team play a game like this, even if they do get blown out. The SEC will continue to get snubbed by much of the national media until every team schedules out of conference games like this every year.

LSU Pregame

In only have one question before this game.

1. Can Auburn play a perfect game?

I hate to be doom and gloom, but this is probably the only way they'll be able to pull this one off.

Vols Fan 2 - Bama Pregame

It's almost noon and I haven't started watching the game yet. I'll start it after I post this. As a Vol fan this week, I'm going to ask some pregame questions for their game.

1. Can Tennessee's defense stop...anything?
   
2. Will Ainge be able to complete a long pass without it being called back because of a bogus call?
   
3. Will Tennessee allow Javier Arenas to have big returns?

I think those are fair questions. Number two is definitely a legitimate question. Bama's opponents have had long passes called back in at least half of their games. Last week's just took the cake.

Auburn vs. "Heed"

"That boy's head is like Sputnik; spherical but quite pointy at parts. Now that was offsides, wasn't it? He'll be crying himself to sleep tonight, on his huge pillow."

Let's hope that Miles will be crying himself to sleep tomorrow night on his huge pillow after losing. It'll take a near flawless game on Auburn's part to pull this one out. LSU is the real deal.

Offense - I'm excited that Auburn will be opening up their offense tomorrow night against LSU. Not that I don't enjoy a good low-scoring slugfest, because I do. I just think they'll need to in order to win.

LSU has the number one scoring and rushing defense in the SEC. LSU also leads the SEC in sacks, which could mean big trouble for Cox.

Auburn has played only two teams that can compare with LSU's sacking ability, KSU and USF. As of yesterday morning, both of these teams were averaging more sacks per game than LSU. They also forced Cox into making bad decisions. KSU had 5 sacks and 8 quarterback hurries, and USF has 2 sacks and 13 quarterback hurries against Auburn. You can bet that Les Miles and defensive coordinator, Bo Pelini, are going to try to exploit this.

Auburn hasn't had much success on the ground against powerful rushing defenses this year. This can partially be attributed to Brad Lester's absense. The impact he has made since his return is definitely evident, but I'm still not certain his presense will make much difference against LSU's stifling D. After all, they're only allowing 68 yards per game on the ground.

It would be nice if Borges pulled a Muschamp and completely obliterate the force he's facing this week. I would like to see more passing, but Auburn's going to have to establish the run early in the game before doing so. Either way, they're going to have contain Ken Dorsey and know where Craig Steltz is at all times.

Defense - LSU has the number two rushing offense and the number eight passing in the SEC. This balances out making them fourth in the SEC in total offense.

After last week, I have no worries that Auburn can stop the run, but what about the pass? Auburn has given up some big plays this year through the air. It seems that Wilhite is good for at least one boner play a game. The linebackers pass coverage leaves a lot to be desired as well.

It looks like Aairon Savage might get to play, which is good. Quentin Groves is back, and will be able to put pressure on the QB. Even with their return, I'm still not convinced that Auburn can consistently stop the pass.

Luckily, LSU's offensive weakness is their passing game. Matt Flynn hasn't been impressive at all this season. I have to agree with Richard Pittman at Geaux Tuscaloosa when he says, "As for Perrilloux, it is clear that he is the more talented QB between he and Flynn." Don't tell Miles this. I'd much rather see Flynn lining up behind center tomorrow than Perrilloux.

SEC Picks - Week 8

East

Florida at Kentucky - I'm calling a Florida blowout here. They've had two weeks to get over their loss to LSU and prepare for Kentucky. Kentucky is coming off of a three overtime win against LSU. You don't play LSU for four quarters and not come away banged up and worn out. Add three overtimes to that, and you know Kentucky had to of been hurting the first part of this week. With the death of Michael Guilford, this game will be emotional for the Gators.
UF 34 - UK 21

Vandy at USC - The Ole Ball Coach is 14-0 against Vanderbilt. Tomorrow, he will be 15-0. Vandy's offense can't seem to find its groove this year. USC has a powerful defense that should be able to shut the 'dores down. Vanderbilt should be able to put more than six points on the board if they start Adams instead of Nickson. They haven't done that yet this year, which is a complete shock to everyone. Bobby Johnson will probably stick with Nickson for at least one quarter.
USC 28 - Vandy 6

UGA - Off

West

Auburn at LSU - LSU and Auburn have the top two scoring and rushing defenses in the SEC. LSU's offense is averaging over 100 yards more per game than Auburn's. The posibility that this one could get a way from Auburn is there, but Miles will probably looking for a conservative win after last week's loss. ---edit: Auburn has the number three rushing defense in the SEC.
LSU 14 - AU 10

Tennessee at Alabama - This game should be the oposite of the AU/LSU game. Tennessee has a great offense, and a horrible defense. Alabama has a decent offense and defense. I have to give Tennessee the edge here factoring in the Fulmer Equation. There's nothing he likes better than beating the Tide.
UT 35 - UA 31

MSU at West Virginia - West Virginia has the sixth ranked scoring offense in the nation, averaging 42.8 points per game. Mississippi State is, well, Mississippi State. It's good to see an SEC team playing a tough out of conference game.
WVU 48 - MSU 21

Arkansas at Ole Miss - The two dumbest coaches in the SEC, perhaps the entire Division 1, will meet in Oxford this weekend. This is like two schoolyard bullies meeting after school to fight. Only their friends (fans) care who wins. Everyone else just wants to see the train wreck (final score). It's always tough for a team to bounce back after getting completely robbed like Ole miss did last week. The Arkansas offense will bounce back and put some points on the board.
Ark 34 - OM 14

Vols Fan - One Week Only

"I'll get you my fatty. . .and your little hound too!"

I have an unspoken pact with one of my best friends where I become a Tennessee fan one week out of the year, possibly two. I'm talking about the third week in October and if the Vols and Tide win their division, the SEC Championship game. Of course, this doesn't involve me being "just happy" if Bama loses. I have to become an actual Tennessee fan. With that, my attitude has to change for the worse. I have to trash talk and all of that fun stuff. So yeah, go Vols!!!

Everyone knows that the Philsbury Doughboy owns the crapstain. After all, he's amassed an 11-3* record against the turd. He also went 2-1 against the Buhr while playing offensive guard for the Vols. However, he's only 1-2 against the Wicked Witch of the SEC West.

A bammer would say that Fulmer's losing record to the Wicked Witch gives them an advantage, but to the trained eye of a Tennessee fan, they're nothing but a redneck idiot. That lying SOB has never played the Southern Sumo under these conditions.

Saban at Bama is no match for Fulmer.

That's right. Fulmer will extend his total domination over the turd Saturday morning, and the cups will come flying to the field at Bryant Denny Restaurant.

*Was 10-3-1, but the crimson cheat forfeited 1993 giving UT the win.

Actions Speak Louder Than Words - Part 2

Remember when FSU coaches hid their signal caller from the Bama sideline? Aside from a few bloggers, not that many people talked about it. At the time, I found this very odd because it was one of the most bazaar things I'd ever seen at any level of football. I never even heard Finebaum mention it, which is surprising considering Gary Danielson's comment.

It turns out that not that many people saw this part of the game. Perhaps fans changed the channel after the first half snooze-fest. Or perhaps people just didn't care about it. Whatever the case may be, here's the video.

Is that Verne Lundquist, or Ed McMahon doing the play-by-play? "Yes!"

* Update — According to scalpem.com, using a towel/blanket is now a part of FSU's signaling. Thank you NoleCC for the update!

The SEC on TV

This weekend, the Bama/Tennessee game will be aired on Lincoln Financial, and I can't remember the last time that this game wasn't covered by CBS. TideDruid isn't too happy about this, and rightfully so. He expresses his frustration here:

"What amazes me about this AM kick-off is the fact that for the first time in a while, both teams are having pretty decent seasons. The same could not be said these last 2 seasons (2005 UT and 2006 Bama were both mediocre teams, although they ended up on CBS). Now we have to deal with the army of Daves as LF Sports comes to town *grumbles due to hatred of watching LF Sports games*"

So why not this year? The answer lies in the other SEC games.

Last year, the Bama/UT game was easily the top choice. Both Auburn and LSU were playing out of conference patsies, USC had Vanderbilt (SEC patsy), and Arkansas and Georgia were playing the Mississippi schools.

This year, there are two in-conference games where both teams are ranked: Florida/Kentucky, and Auburn/LSU. The Florida game will be covered by CBS, and the Auburn game will be covered by ESPN. But why will the Bama game be on LF instead of ESPN2?

I searched for an explanation of how the television contracts work. The official SEC site gives a list of networks contracted to televise SEC sporting events.

"The SEC has television contracts with CBS Sports (national), ESPN (national cable), FSN South/FSN Southwest/SUN Sports (regional cable) and Lincoln Financial Sports (regional syndication)."

I then found this article that does a good job explaining the selection process.

Basically, big wigs from ESPN and CBS get together every winter and rank what they feel as being the ten biggest SEC games in the upcoming year. CBS gets seven of these games, while ESPN gets three (4th, 7th, and 10th ranked games).

After that, CBS gets priority for all SEC home games. ESPN gets second choice, LF gets third, then ESPN2.

There are also certain stipulations each network must follow. CBS can carry only two SEC home games against non-conference teams, which could be one of the reasons why the UA/FSU game was at a neutral site. A team can only be covered four times throughout the regular season by CBS. Lincoln Financial must cover every SEC team at least once.

The line-ups can still change week by week, which is why a full schedule is never released. CBS can change their game, as long as its not one of the three ESPN's preseason choices. I imagine this is what happened this weekend.

One of the three games ESPN chose to cover this year is the Auburn/LSU game. Up until last week, ESPN listed the Bama/Tennessee game as being covered by CBS. This leads me to believe that it was one of CBS's preseason choices. After Kentucky upset LSU last week, CBS decided to cover their game instead. It's either cover a rivalry game that doesn't have hold much importance on a national level, or a game against two ranked teams with Heisman hopefuls.

Apparently, this doesn't happen often, but it does happen. CBS dropped the Iron Bowl in 2003 to cover Ole Miss and LSU. The winner of that game would decide who was going to Atlanta. Eli Manning was in the race for the Heisman, so there was national interest there as well.

So the original schedule was more than likely UA/UT on CBS, AU/LSU on ESPN, UF/UK on LF (probably), and ESPN2 may or may not carry an SEC game. The current schedule is UF/UK on CBS, AU/LSU on ESPN, UA/UT on LF, and no SEC game on ESPN2.

I have to agree with TideDruid's amazement. I never thought I'd see the day when the Bama/Tennessee game gets bumped by Kentucky.

Auburn vs. Arkansas - Brief Thoughts

There really isn't much I can say about this game. The white jersey streak continues. I have no complaints about how my pregame questions were answered. Like nearly everyone else, I didn't think anyone would find a way to contain the two-headed monster this year. Not only did the Auburn defense contain them, they shut them down.

How do you stop Felix Jones? You hit him...hard.

Meet Tray Blackmon...

Week 7 Results

I went 5-1 this week. That brings my overall record to 44 - 13.

This week, the East went 2-0 against the West, and are 8-5 for the season.

East

USC 21 - UNC 15
They almost blew it in the second half, but still came away with the win.

UT 33 - MSU 21
The scores were a little higher than I predicted in this one. I forgot Tennesse has a good offense, and no defense.

UGA 20 - Vandy 17
I've said it 100 times over. Richt teams are inconsistant.

West

UK 43 - LSU 37
I was way off on this one. Woodson is back to being my favorite for the Heisman after this one.

Auburn 9 - Arkansas 7
"White jerseys?" Blackledge mentioned this several times during the game. More about this one later.

Bama 27 - OM 24
Thanks to a group of officials that wanted to call it a day indisputable evidence on a replay, I was right on this one.

Auburn Rushing Defense vs. Arkansas Rushing Offense

Well, I've opted to take a less serious look at the Arkansas game this week in lieu of talking about the impressive stats put up by the two-headed monster. In all honesty, I've tried not to think about their ability. I never thought I'd see the day where an Arkansas player scared me as much as Matt Jones. Now, they have two that fit this bill. With that, it's time to take a good look at Arkansas rushing offense, and Auburn's rushing defense with a little help from Scott at The Hog Source.

Scott first talks about Auburn's rushing defense here by saying,"Auburn cant stop the run." I commented that Auburn is 3rd in the SEC in rushing defense only allowing 116 YPG on the ground. I think Scott got his wires crossed because he then responded to my comment by stating that Auburn gave up 300+ rushing yards against South Florida. Actually, Auburn gave up 319 total yards (135 rushing). No biggy, I make mistakes like that all of the time.

Now, let's look at this homerific comparison between Auburn and Arkansas. On Arkansas' rushing offense:

"Our 2 best rushers are at a combined 1410 rushing yards. An average of 338.4 yards per game, and 7.4 yards per carry.
…Advantage Arkansas. This was a no brainer from the begining, we have the 2 running backs in the country."

You'll get no argument from me here. These guys are the real deal! Scott then downplays Auburn's wins:

"They have win’s over New Mexico State, Vanderbilt, Kansas State, and Florida (overrated?). Their 3 game winning streak that they are bragging about so much. New Mexico State, Florida, and Vanderbilt. Wooo. That would be like us bragging about our 2 game winning streak over North Texas and Tenessee Chattanooga."

First of all...no one's bragging. Auburn fans are excited to see their team actually playing football now, but bragging? Nah. Second, Vanderbilt and New Mexico State are really no big deal, but Florida at "The Swamp"? Yes, that's very impressive. Third, Auburn has beat four BCS schools, and lost to two. That's not very impressive, but it's still better than Arkansas' 0-2 record against BCS schools. A three game win streak involving two BCS teams, one which was ranked in the top five, is a lot more impressive than winning two games in a row (three is a streak) against a team that's now 0-5, and a team that's 1-4 in 1aa play.

My initial response to Scott included the following,

"If you’re going to downplay Auburn’s losses because of their competition, then you should also mention that Kentucky, Troy, and North Texas are 91st, 117th, and 118th in the nation in rush defense. Not to mention that UTC is 1aa."

Hey, tit for tat. His response:

"Kentucky was a loss. Troy and North Texas werent. The fact is, we contributed to them being ranked so low in rush defense. No team that we face, win or loss, ranked or unranked, have been able to stop our run. We have been posting 300-400+ yards rushing on every team we play."

I'm not sure why the mention of losing to UK, and beating Troy and North Texas. I agree 100% that no one has been able to stop the McFadden/Jones combination, but Scott's next sentence got me thinking. How much has Arkansas'rushing offense skewed their opponents' rushing defense stats? Also, can Auburn stop the run or have they played piss-poor rushing teams? I used cfbstats.com to see.

First, let's take a look at how Arkansas' opponents have performed against the run this year.

	Rank	TD	YPG	Total
Troy	117	14	350	1470
Bama	45	5	301	812
Kentucky	91	7	338	1102
N. Texas	118	20	446	1276
UTC	1AA	-	219	-

Now, let's take away the Arkansas games and see where the teams would rank.

	Rank	TD	YPG	Total
Troy	119	11	280	1120
Bama	24	3	102	511
Kentucky	60	6	153	764
N. Texas	106	15	208	830
UTC	1AA	-	209	-

Arkansas only made a real contribution to Alabama's and Kentucky's rushing defense rankings. Troy actually drops to last place without the Arkansas game. Bama's rush defense is solid. There are no arguments there. But one needs to take into consideration that the only other rushing team Kentucky has played this year was Kent State, and they gained 324 yards on the cats (UK's achilles?). Also, UTC has done the best in stopping the hogs' run, and that's with McFadden and Jones playing into the fourth quarter. It's also worth mentioning that Georgia Southern rushed for 324 yards against UTC.

Let's now take a look at how Auburn's opponents have performed on the ground this year.

	Rank	TD	YPG	Total
Kansas St	99	10	110	549
USF	37	13	181	905
MSU	51	11	161	966
NMST	85	3	122	612
Florida	21	17	203	1217
Vandy	69	6	142	708

Now, let's take away the Auburn games and see where the teams would rank.

	Rank	TD	YPG	Total
Kansas St	77	10	131	522
USF	29	11	193	770
MSU	56	10	158	790
NMST	84	2	123	492
Florida	16	16	221	1106
Vandy	68	5	144	575

Other than against Mississippi State, Auburn's rushing defense has performed better against these teams than other opponents. The most significant appears to be Kansas State, but the most impressive is Florida. Auburn held them to only 111 yards rushing. LSU, who has the number four rushing defense in the nation, only held them to 156 yards. So Scott's impression that "Auburn can't stop the run" is false. Now, will they be able to stop the run against Arkansas? No, but neither could Bama or Kentucky.

Let's now look at Auburn's rushing defense compared to the average Arkansas opponent's (minus Arkansas games, excluding UTC). Let's also look at a comparison between Arkansas' and the average Auburn opponent's (minus the Auburn games) rushing offense.

AU Rushing Defense
	Rank	YPG
Opp Avg	77	186
Auburn	33	116
Delta	44	70

Ark Rushing Offense
	Rank	YPG
Opp Avg	55	161
Arkansas	2	338
Delta	53	-177

Auburn definitely hasn't seen a rushing attack like the one Arkansas has. However, Arkansas has seen a rushing defense comparable to Auburn's. And that defense is Alabama's. Arkansas rushed for 301 against them. Seeing how Auburn could be without four of their defensive starters, I don't see how they're going to stop the Arkansas run.

Arkansas Pregame

I only have two questions for tomorrow's game, but they're big ones!

1. Will Auburn's defense be able to contain the two-headed monster that is the Arkansas backfield?

McFadden and Jones perform for the home crowd before kickoff.

2. Which Cox will show up? The one that threw six picks and fumbled once the first three games, or the one that actually looks like a fifth year senior?

SEC Picks - Week 7

East

Florida - Off

South Carolina at North Carolina - Spurrier went 3-0 against the heels while at Duke. Not too much has changed with UNC's football program. The OBC now has SEC talent. This one could get ugly.
USC 28 - UNC 10

MSU at Tennessee - This will be the Great Pumpkin's first opportunity to get "Croomed". This is also the first time in several years that UT doesn't have an off week before the Bama game. Trap game? Nah, but it'll be closer than people think.
UT 24 - MSU 14

UGA at Vanderbilt - UGA is 0-2 in SEC East play. This is a must-win game for them. They'll get it done.
UGA 28 - Vandy 10

West

LSU at Kentucky - Sidelines shows Andre Woodson's pass efficiency game by game. His second to lowest rating was 66.71 against LSU last year. LSU's defense is better this year. Ouch.
LSU 28 - UK 17

Auburn at Arkansas - White jerseys? Fly in the ointment? This one is really hard to call.
Auburn 27 - Arkansas 20

Alabama at Ole Miss - Ole Miss won't be able to get it done this weekend, but they'll keep it close.
Bama 21 - OM 17

Road Game Streak? Even Better!

After I posted yesterday, I started to think about Auburn's loss to LSU in 2004. That's seven SEC road games in a row that Auburn has won. That's pretty impressive, but I'm not sure people are picking up on the real story here.

There's a slight difference for SEC teams when playing road games at LSU thanks to Gerry Dinardo. He successfully lobbied to have a 1982 rule that prohibited home teams from wearing white jerseys overturned. So LSU, like they did before 1982, wears white jerseys for their home games. Except now, they only wear them when playing SEC opponents.

What does this have to do with Auburn? It's pretty obvious, but let's take a look at their losses over the past few years anyway.

2007

vs. MSU

vs. USF

2006

vs. UGA

vs. Arkansas

2005

vs. Wisconsin (Capital One Bowl)

at LSU

vs. Georgia Tech

2004
Undefeated!

2003

at UGA

And there you have it. Auburn has't lost a game wearing white jerseys since November 15, 2003.

Auburn will be wearing white this weekend in Arkansas. The week after that, they'll be wearing their blue home jerseys at LSU. I'm not trying to jump ahead here. Arkansas will prove to be a very difficult game, but wouldn't it be cool if Auburn pulled a 1996 Vanderbilt against LSU? You know, just to stick it to them.

It's actually too late for Auburn to decline LSU's request to wear white jerseys at home. The NCAA rule book states,

Players of opposing teams shall wear jerseys of contrasting colors, and the visiting team shall wear white jerseys. White jerseys may be worn by the home team when the teams have agreed before the season.

What if the streak continues, and Auburn drops a few while wearing blue? What will become of the beloved blue jerseys?

Woah, slow down there, Antoine Carter! Let's not jump the gun on this one.

If Houston Nutt has anything to say about it, the streak will end this weekend. It'll take a lot more than my wacky "White Jersey Theory" to win that game.

Arkansas, a Pain in the A**...

Nutt to Tuberville: "Gotcha!"

Auburn (4-2) at Arkansas (3-2)

The Auburn/Arkansas game always seems to be downplayed a bit. I'm not sure why. It's one of those games that you can never predict.

Tuberville has gone into this game with a better record than Nutt six out of eight meetings, but he's only 4-4 against him (3-3 when having a better season). This of course is leaving out the only time these two coaches met while Tuberville was still at Ole Miss, which ended in a 34-0 win for Arkansas.

Nutt seems to do a better job of pissing in Auburn's cereal than any other coach. When he beats Tuberville, he really beats him. Arkansas has won by an average margin of 22 points in Nutt's 4 wins against Tuberville at Auburn. Take into consideration that for three of those seasons, Auburn went into that game 6-1, 4-1, and 5-0 while Arkansas was 3-3, 2-2, and 3-1. Auburn was actually the underdog for Tuberville's other loss against Nutt.

Everyone knows that Tuberville is good for laying at least one egg a season. In all honesty, most coaches are. At any rate, games against Arkansas make up a decent percentage of Tuberville's eggs. It's definitely clear why Auburn fans get a little nervous every year when the Arkansas game rolls around.

But there is some good news. Auburn has won their last two trips to Fayetteville. In fact, Auburn has done quite well on the road the past few seasons. RazorBloggers Network points this out, “…amazingly, the Tigers are 12-1 in their last 13 SEC road games since 2004.” The one loss was that wacky voodoo overtime game in Death Valley.

So where does the advantage lie this Saturday? Tuberville's propensity to lay an egg against Arkansas, or his ability to have Auburn well prepared for away games? I'm guessing neither. These are just coincidences derived from useless stats.

Here are a few more useless Tuberville (at Auburn) versus Nutt stats that you might find interesting:

• Auburn has gone into the Arkansas game following a win seven out of eight times, losing the only time it followed a loss.
  
• Arkansas has lost six out of eight games the week after playing Auburn, losing all four when Auburn won.
  
• Auburn went on to win the SEC West two out of the four times they beat Arkansas, winning the SEC championship game once.
  
• Arkansas went on to win the SEC West two out of the four times they beat Auburn.
  
• The team that has scored over 20 points has won the game seven out of eight times. The only exception to this was the 10-3 Auburn win in 2003.
  
• Both teams are 2-2 at home. For you math wizards, that means they're both 2-2 away as well.

Vanderbilt Game Notes and Thoughts

Tuberville gets his 100th SEC win by totally domniating Vanderbilt. Auburn is starting to play like...Auburn.

Good

• Brad Lester is back!
  
• Cox was 14 for 17.
  
• Auburn converted 6 out of 11 third downs.
  
• Take away 1 Vanderbilt drive, helped by 2 bogus penalties, and Auburn would have had a shutout.
  
• Rodgeriqus Smith is stepping up as Auburn's much-needed playmaker at receiver.
  
• Dunn only had one reception, but broke like, 20 tackles to turn it into a 33 yard gain.
  
• Byrum booted one out of the back of the endzone.
  
• Tyronne Green was named "SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week" for his performance against Vandy.
  

Bad

• Jason Bosley sprained his knee. He could be out next week against Arkansas.
  
• Cox's lone interception was pretty boneheaded.
  
• Burns only threw the ball once.
• Auburn returned two kickoffs, and were called for a 10 yard penalty on both of them.
  

How were my pregame questions answered?

1. Will Auburn be awake for this one? Yes! Auburn looked wide awake for this one. Not only that, but Tuberville had the focused look on his face that he usually reserves for top 10 opponents.

2. Will Quinton Grove’s absence make a big difference? No. Neither was the absence of Aairon Savage, Tray Blackmon, or Merrill Johnson. I can't help but wonder how they would have looked at full strength. Either way, the future looks bright.

3. Will Cox throw the ball away (Vandy has 10 picks this season)? Yes. Cox had one pick. Aside from that, he played pretty well.

4. Will Borges show more creativity in his play calling? The beer was flowing and the grill was glowing so I can't really answer this. Did he really need to be more creative in this game? Probably not.

Broadcast Sidenote

I'm glad that LF shows games, but the production needs to improve beyond camcorder status. Also, can we do without American Karaoke loser, Chris "Nickleback-like-crappy-vocals" Daughtry every few minutes? Granted, it's better than the Brooks and Dunn, "AAAAooooooooo, let's play some footbaw", but so is slamming my testicles repetitively in a car door. Coincidentally, that's better than having to listen to Daugherty as well.

Week 6 Results

I went 6-2 for week 6. That brings my overall record to 39-12.

This week, the East went 0-2 against the West.

East

USC 38 - UK 23
Discussed here.

UT 35 - UGA 14
Slow start. Check. Coach on the hot terlet. Check. Beat a favored, highly ranked team on national TV. Check. Is Fulmer a more rotund, in your face version of Tuberville?

West

LSU 28 - UF 24
Great teams find a way to win. LSU is a great team.

AU 35 - VU 7
Domination. More on this one later.

UA 30 - UH 24
Most of the fans didn't see Houston's last drive that almost put the game into overtime. Apparently, Bama's intensity left with the fans.

Ark 35 - UTC 15
Was Arkansas looking ahead to next week?

MSU 30 - UAB 13
Auburn fans were sweating well into the fourth quarter during this game. MSU continues its domination over Conferense USA teams with this win.

OM 24 - LT 0
Ole Miss is an enigma. There, I said it.

Vanderbilt Pregame

The big questions of the day are:

1. Will Auburn be awake for this one?


2. Will Quinton Grove’s absence make a big difference?


3. Will Cox throw the ball away (Vandy has 10 picks this season)?


4. Will Borges show more creativity in his play calling?

I’d love for number 1 and number 2 to be “Yes”. If Auburn is awake, everything should fall into place. If they aren't, I'd like to know what's going on the night before home games.

SEC Picks - Week 6 (cont'd)

My prediction for the UK/USC game was a bit off. Those pesky turnovers will get you! The fact that Woodson was able to throw for 227 yards against a defense that was only allowing 107 yards per game passing is very impressive.

Here’s the rest of the SEC.

East

UGA at UT - Tennessee has had two weeks to prepare for this game. For the past few years, they’ve had an open week before they played Bama. It never looks like they gain much of an advantage in doing so. Stafford should have a field day with UT’s defense.
UGA 28 - UT 10

West

Florida at LSU - Ole Miss and Auburn showed Florida’s vulnerabilities. I don’t think Tebow will be able to gain much on the ground against LSU’s stifling defense. I expect this to be a low scoring affair.
LSU 17 - UF 7

Houston at Bama - I’m not sure why all of the local heads are playing Houston up. Sure, they’ve been able to score on the teams they’ve played. That’s really not saying much. Bama should win this one.
Bama 35 - Houston 24

Vandy at Auburn - This one is an early home game against a lesser opponent after a big win for the tigers. And the Auburn family thinks in unison, “Oh, crap.” If Auburn plays like it did last week, this should be no contest. But like I said, early home game etc… Vanderbilt’s veteran defense could cause problems for Cox. This one will be ugly, but I think Auburn will win.
Auburn 21 - Vanderbilt 10

UAB at MSU – This one will be boring.
MSU 33 - UAB 10

Chattanooga at Arkansas - Just for grins, Nutt should leave their starting offense on the field the whole game and see how many yards Jones and McFadden can rack up.
Arkansas 70 - Chattanooga 0

La. Tech at Ole Miss – Only one thing is guaranteed in this game. One team will walk away with their second win for the season. La. Tech gave Hawaii and Fresno State headaches earlier this year, but was crushed by Cal. Ole Miss gave Florida a rough time, and that’s about it. Never the less, Ole Miss should win this one in the air.
OM 32 - La. Tech 24

SEC Picks - Week 6

I don’t like change. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to fully adjust to all of these weeknight games. It just throws my brain all out of whack. However, I’m very excited about the game tonight between Kentucky and South Carolina. Kickoff is in a few hours, so I guess I better get my pick in now.

This one is fairly difficult to pick, but I’m going to have to give the advantage to Kentucky. And my reasoning? They can run the ball.

South Carolina has the number 1 pass defense in the nation only allowing 106.4 yards per game. They have only allowed two passing touchdowns while collecting six interceptions. Advantage, Cocks? Not necessarily.

Kentucky’s pass defense is ranked 26th in the nation only allowing 181.6 yards per game. They have allowed five passing touchdowns while collecting nine interceptions. That should raise some eyebrows because South Carolina has thrown eight picks so far this year (compared to only two thrown by Kentucky).

Both South Carolina’s and Kentucky’s rushing defense are nearly identical statistically. Kentucky has allowed only 10 more yards this season on 15 less carries than South Carolina.

What makes that interesting is that South Carolina hasn’t been able to run the ball that well this year. They’re only averaging 4 yards per carry and 159.6 yards per game. Kentucky is averaging 5.76 yards per carry and 203.2 yards per game. With that, they have 14 rushing touchdowns to South Carolina’s 8.

Useless statistics aside, Kentucky has more to prove than South Carolina. They also have a true leader in Woodson. Despite USC’s powerful passing defense, I’m looking for him to have a good game. If he does, he should be on the top of everyone’s Heisman list.

UK 28 - USC 17

I should have my other picks posted tomorrow.

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

First, there was Stoops alluding to the notion that Saban had people spying on OU's practices before the Sugar Bowl. Then there was that pesky "bought audio tapes" situation at Miami before upsetting highly favored New England 21-0. Next, Bill Belichick, who helped groom Saban, was busted videotaping opponents' sidelines in order to learn their signals. After that, Mark Richt, who has one former Saban staffer underneath him, closed UGA practices for the first time in seven years the week they were to play Bama. Finally, FSU, who has two former Saban staffers employed, used a wall of players and a blanket held by freshman Jacob Stanley to hide their signal caller from the Bama coaches.

I wonder how the conversation between Coach Bowden and Stanley went...

Bowden: Simmons, git over here!

Stanley: Yes, sir. But it’s Stanley.

Bowden: Okay, Simmons. That sombitch Curry stole my job at Bama, now he’s stealin’ my signals!

Stanley: Uhhh, Coach. It’s Sab-

Bowden: Look, Simmons. You’re from Jacksonville, right?

Stanley: Yes, sir. But my name is Stan-

Bowden: I want to use you in front of your home crowd, Simmons.

Stanley: That’s great, Coach! You won’t regret it. But my name is Stanley.

Bowden: I don’t want that sombitch Curry seeing our play callin’ signals, so your gonna hold this blanket up so he can’t. Understand, Simmons?.

Stanley: That’s…yes, sir. I’m Stan-

Bowden: Good. We’re gonna show that Curry what for.

Stanley: Yes, sir. But it’s Saban…not Cur-

Bowden: Your name’s Saban? Hell, son. Why didn’t you tell me? I’ve been callin’ you Simmons this whole time!


Not to have someone outdo him in accusations that Bama cheats, Fulmer is already busy having a blanket constructed to hide him when UT plays the Tide.


No need to worry, Tide fans. Saban is always one step ahead. He has constructed a bulletproof plan to infiltrate enemy lines undercover.

*The links in this entry have been corrected.

It's Like Clockwork

Paul Finebaum is about as predictable as Al Borges's play calling this year. When Auburn does poorly, their trusties are looking to give Tuberville the boot. When Auburn is doing well, Tuberville is looking to take another coaching job.

After losing to USF and MSU, Finebaum repeatedly called Tuberville a bad coach. He constantly talked about the droves of Auburn fans that wanted him fired, though I never heard any of these fans. After the MSU loss, Finebaum wrote this in his column:

Tuberville has the security of a $6 million price tag on his head. However, if things don't change quickly, will it be enough to keep him in the good graces of the Auburn family?

That week, he told the guys on the Opening Drive that he didn't think Tuberville was going anywhere. The question was asked whether or not Finebaum thought Tuberville might leave on his own. His answer was no, because Tuberville and his family are happy in Auburn and he just had a large house built down there.

Let's fast forward two weeks. Auburn just upset the number three team in the nation. Finebaum has now changed his tune. Tuberville, the horrible coach that he is, is now on everyone's wish list. Finebaum blabs,

Tuberville would emerge at or near the top of anyone's list of top contenders for the job. He might also be hotly pursed by Arkansas after the expected removal of Houston Nutt.

Not bad for a horrible coach that none of the Auburn fans or trustees want, right?

Finebaum adds,

Tubs knows the terrain in Aggieland, having spent a brief period of time out there as R.C. Slocum's defensive coordinator.

I guess coaching at a school for one year means he's going to take the job and run. I probably shouldn't mention that Tuberville didn't even consider leaving Auburn for Miami like Finebaum was trying to push last year. I shouldn't mention that Tuberville coached there for eight years either.

And what about the fact that Tuberville and his family are happy in Auburn, and just moved into a 9,000-square foot house? Well, Paul's changed his opinion on that as well.

So, would Tuberville take the money and run? Are you kidding me? Tuberville may have stopped the hemorrhaging with the Florida upset but he's not stupid.

No, he's not stupid. But Finebaum's predictable routine is.

Florida Game Notes and Thoughts...

What a game! Auburn looked like a completely different team. I'm happy to say that both of my pregame questions were answered "yes". Auburn stopped Florida on their opening drive, and Auburn converted 6 out of 14 for 42.8%. That's still not great, but it's better than 33.3% they had coming into the game.

Borges's third down play calling was about the same as it has been. However, Stewart had his first attempt and conversion on the ground this year. Also, Auburn did throw the ball on a third and three, and ran a draw play on a third and eleven. The pass worked, but the draw didn't. There is a definite pattern in Auburn's first and second down, which I mention in the following game notes:

Good

• Florida didn’t score on the opening drive!
• I like the play calling on Auburn’s first drive. The offense is playing with intensity.
• Auburn’s defense is swarming tonight.
• Billings just caught one across the middle and was crushed. I don’t see how he held onto that ball. (The emphasis here is that he held onto the ball.)
• Other than the late hit, Savage is having a great game. He just made another stop on third down.
• Cox is looking good. It helps when his receivers actually catch the ball!
• Wow, Billings was wide open on that play. It looks like Borges has been working on some zone-buster plays.
• Fannin is running like a madman on this drive.
• Ziemba is looking impressive. He just helped Fannin gain an extra 4 or 5 yards by pushing him from behind.
• Thompson has been in the backfield a good bit tonight. He hasn’t been able to connect back there yet, but he’s definitely breathing down Tebow’s neck.
• Horrible call on the punt. Tuberville is livid, and gets flagged too. I think his reaction will light a fire under his defense. (It's good to see him so emotional.)
• Wow, Byrum doing the gator chop after making that. He earned it!

Bad

• Kickoff coverage needs some work.
• UF has a late hit, and Bosley can’t keep his cool. You can’t blame him, but even so…that’s a 15 yard gift that he just handed back to UF.
• Cox just scrambled. Borges could backpedal faster than that.
• It’s obvious. Auburn’s going to run on this first down. They do, and Tate is dropped for a loss.
• Cox has another ball batted down, and throws into coverage the next play. This doesn’t look like the same team that was out there during the first half. Just as I typed that, Cox was sacked.
• Borges needs to mix things up when Burns is in the game. It’s pretty obvious that he’s going to run the ball, and it’s pretty obvious that the defense knows this.
• Bad call by Mushcamp going after Tebow. Bad coverage by Etheridge.
• 2nd and 1, and it couldn’t be more obvious what Florida’s going to do. Tebow still makes 12 or so yards.
• Will it hurt Borges to throw the ball on first down? I’m starting to see a pattern here. Auburn runs on first down. If they gain anything, they run on second down. If they don’t, they pass it the second down.

Here are a few things that I find interesting:

• Florida came into the game averaging over 500 YPG on offense. Auburn held them to 312.
• The last team to shut out Florida in the first half was South Carolina...in 1992.
• The last five times Auburn has beaten Florida (including Saturday), the gators were ranked in the top four.
  

Overall, I'm very happy with how Auburn played. I'd like to know what they're doing different for away games. I know they stay in a hotel, and all of that. Teams used to do that for home games as well, but I'm not sure if they still do. If not, maybe that might help things for Auburn at home.