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.