The Heisman -- Anybody's guess

The Big Lead says that they have no idea who will win the Heisman, but three SEC players, André Woodson, Tim Tebow and Darren McFadden are mentioned as possibles. They also think ESPN is lobbying hard for Hawai'i's Colt Brennan.

Heisman Pundit seems loathe to mention André Woodson as a contender, but we think he is at this point. Trouble is, nobody is really convinced that the Wildcats can go far enough to get Woodson selected.

Stay tuned.

Continuing the Week 5 review -- The East

So let's see where we are: The Gators are mid pack in the East, along with Georgia and South Carolina. Vanderbilt is 1-1, and Tennessee is bringing up the rear. If this seems like some alternate dimension to you, don't feel alone. A lot of us are facing a strange alignment in the SEC East, and for all I know it could get stranger still.

So now, let's take a look at how each Eastern division team looks now, and speculate a bit on their prospects.

Kentucky Wildcats
Ok, so this is a weird place for the Cats to be, leading in the East. But a lot will be determined on Thursday as the Cats go down to Columbia to face the Ol' Ball Coach, who is undefeated against Kentucky. The winner of this game will begin to look like a slight favorite to take the East. Interestingly enough, USC's much-vaunted defense finds itself only 3rd best in the East behind Vanderbilt and Georgia, but USC's pass defense is #1 in the country. Kentucky's scoring offense is #12 in the country. Could it be the case of the "immovable object/unstoppable force?" Could it be time for another UK negative streak to end?

South Carolina
USC held on to beat a determined Mississippi State team Saturday. They now gear up for the Wildcats in an Eastern division showdown. As I said before, Spurrier is undefeated all time against the Cats, but he has never faced a Kentucky team with this kind of offensive firepower before. Will it be enough to break the streak? Scott hood at Gamecock Central looks at 5 things USC fans learned from the game.

Georgia
Georgia handled the visiting Ole Miss Rebels without incident, but now they get to face one of the teams that beat them between the hedges last year. Tennessee has had a week off to lick its wounds and prepare to welcome the Dawgs. This game could rescue UT from the cellar and make it a factor again in the East, or elevate the Dawgs into a tie for first or second, depending on the outcome of the USC-Kentucky game. For now, the Dawgs are sitting pretty in the East.

Florida
We've already looked at the Florida-Auburn game. It's pretty clear to me that the Gators have serious issues at linebacker and lack anything resembling offensive balance. Saturday they head to LSU to face the #1 ranked Bayou Bengals, and if Florida plays no better than they did against Auburn, the outcome could get real ugly and place the Gators at .500 in the conference with a road trip to Lexington looming. This is a real tough stretch for Florida, and they need to go 1-1 to keep any hope of an SEC championship alive. Mlmintampa of Alligator Army channels George C. Scott as Patton to inspire the Gator faithful.

Vanderbilt
As expected, Vanderbilt handled a weak Eastern Michigan team to improve its overall record to 3-1, with the help of 6 Eagles turnovers. But the Commodores are showing an unfortunate propensity to throw interceptions, and Nickson had 4 picked himself, and Save the Shield finds himself squarely in the "alarmed-but-hopeful" camp when it comes to Nickson. Vandy finds itself heading down to visit the fired-up Plainsmen of Auburn on Saturday, fresh off their last second defeat of the Gators in the Swamp.

Tennessee
Well, the Vols improved by attrition last week, and now find themselves ready to welcome Mark Richt and the Georgia Bulldogs to Knoxville. The Dawgs are coming off a big win, but the Vols still have plenty of questions to ask the Dawgs, and CornFromAJar of Rocky Top Talk reminisces about some of them from 1994. Right now, the Dawgs would seem to have the answers, but ...

Week 5: A review of the carnage -- Alabama, Auburn and Florida

Wow. What a weekend. It has been a long, long time since college football underwent such an enormous sea change in one 48 hour period, yet here we now sit with the following improbables: USF beats West Virgina at home. Auburn defeats Florida in the Swamp. Oklahoma goes down to Colorado. Kansas State puts a butt whoopin' on Texas. Carnage, calamity, shock and awe.

But we'll stick with the big games in the SEC, and the biggest upset this week was Auburn over Florida. Let the team's bloggers and fans tell us what happened:

On a night when the rapidly aging Lou Holtz said he had a better chance of winning a U.S. Senate race in Florida than Auburn did of defeating the Gators, the Tigers delivered every county in the state for the former Notre Dame coach. -- Jay Coulter, Track Em Tigers

I'm not sure I'd totally agree with Jay that no Auburn win has ever felt better than Saturday night's signature on our Title of Ownership of the Florida Gators--those wins over the Tide in '93 and 2005, in particular, were 100 percent pure Colombian bliss--but hoo boy, after the first 13 1/2 quarters of this season, this one ain't that far behind. -- Jerry Hinnen, The Joe Cribbs Car Wash

Somehow, some way, you have our number. Even in a year in which you field one of your weaker teams, you still find a way to beat us. Your senior quarterback, who played so poorly in his first few games that the Auburn coaching staff burned a freshman’s redshirt, looked like an All-American against our defense. And our offense, supposedly ready to ring up 500 yards and 50 points against the New England Patriots, couldn’t get out of its own way for a half of football, then squandered multiple opportunities to eak out a win in the 4th quarter. -- GatorPilot, Orange and Blue Hue

Myth: Urban Meyer is truly concerned about the number of carries Tim Tebow gets and will rely on running backs to spread the load around.

Evidence:

Florida Rushing
Tebow: 19 carries
Harvin: 4 carries
Moore: 3 carries
Fayson: 2 carries

-- Year 2

But Florida losing to Auburn wasn't the only bad news for SEC teams. How about Alabama going down to Florida, and coming back with their Tide between their legs:

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed. The offense seems to have overdosed on NyQuil. -- AL C. Hemist, Eight in the Box

Will people blame the coaching for this loss? Well, I’d say yes and no. Most people will probably blame John Parker Wilson before the coaching, although that will be #2 on the hit list. Personally, the only coaching I can blame is the offensive play calling. Major Applewhite is an up and coming coach, but he certainly has a lot of ground to make up if he wants to make it in the SEC. I think with time he will. -- The Tide Druid

I'm disappointed Alabama did not beat Florida State, and pretty much ambivalent about the Auburn vs. Florida result, except that it does make the UK vs. Florida game look like it could be worth a lot more and a lot more difficult for the Gators than I ever would have believed.

Of course, there is the Florida-LSU game next week. Personally, I think that game will be better than many believe. LSU's defense is probably not going to have much more luck against Tebow than anyone else has, but I seriously fear for Tebow's health -- he is going to get hurt playing like he does, and if Florida doesn't find some other offensive options, they are asking for big trouble.

But more thoughts on all this tomorrow.

Game Day!

The SEC has lots of big games today. South Carolina hosting Mississippi State for homecoming is a big opportunity for MSU at 3-1 to show they are legit, and a bit of a trap game for South Carolina coming between an expected loss to LSU and a dangerous game against Kentucky next week.

Auburn could change their fortunes for the better by springing a surprise on the Gators at the Swamp today. I don't think it likely given the way the Plainsmen have played so far, but a victory against Florida would suddenly vault Auburn back into the conversation in the SEC East, and the favorite, Florida, would wind up in a dogfight. Any hopes of Tim Tebow's Heisman candidacy are riding on this game as well.

Alabama and FSU at Jacksonville is a statement game for the SEC. We need this one badly to show the country who the premiere conference in America is, and a loss to the Seminoles would definitely vault the Pac 10 even higher in the esteem of most pundits. Defend our honor, Tide!

Ole Miss at Georgia doesn't look that interesting at first blush, but after the way the Rebels got after the Gators last week, the Dawgs have to beware. Georgia has beaten Ole Miss seven times in a row, and the Rebels are just about due to spring an upset on the Dawgs. I doubt if it will occur between the hedges today, but the red and black need to beware.

Kentucky could go to 5-0 (!) by handling FAU at home today, and Vanderbilt has a must-win against Eastern Michigan if their pre-season hopes of playing in a bowl for the first time since 1982's Hall of Fame Classic are to remain alive. LSU and Arkansas should be overwhelming favorites against Tulane and North Texas respectively.

A beautiful fall day around most of the South, and some great football on tap. Enjoy!

What SEC bloggers are saying: Week 5 preview -- UPDATED

This is a compendium of the SEC bloggers who have provided a week 5 game preview in the last day or so.

• FSU vs. Alabama Preview - The Capstone Report.
• Arkansas vs. North Texas - The Hog Blogger.
• Auburn side of Auburn at Florida - The Joe Cribbs Car Wash.
• Florida side of Auburn at Florida - Year 2.
• Tulane at LSU - Geaux Tuscaloosa.
• Ole Miss side of Ole Miss at Georgia - World Class Glass.
• Florida Atlantic at Kentucky - A Sea of Blue.
• Georgia side of Ole Miss at Georgia - Georgia Sports Blog.
• South Carolina side of Mississippi State vs. South Carolina - Leftover Hot Dog

You will note that four are missing. UT is idle this week, and for the others, I will provide a link to them when/if their respective bloggers complete them.

Around the SEC Blogs: Thursday AM edition

As I prepare for what promises to be another glorious day of backbreaking drudgery, I think I'll take a few seconds to look at some of the good stuff around the SEC blogs this morning. I'll start with some of the blogs who thoughtfully linked us in the last day or so:

Diezba at Star & Stripe apparently misread the SEC Power Poll ballot of Garnet and Black Attack as the actual compiled vote of the SEC bloggers submitting ballots, and visited a little scorn on them in an earlier post. He has since recognized his confusion, and is pleased to see Vanderbilt isn't in the pollster's basement after all:

Well, to be perfectly honest, we were quite upset that it was the conference vote-tally that put us there. One of our eagle-eyed regulars spotted the error on our part (i.e., that it was the South Carolina people, not the Conference in aggregate, who ranked us 11th), and so we humbly retract our general derision of the Conference as a whole; instead, we redirect it solely at the Carolina blogs ('cause they were the culprits who put us in at 11th).

Henry Gomez at Saurian Sagacity looks somewhat askance at Heisman Pundit's most recent straw poll regarding Tim Tebow:

The Heisman Pundit sends a mixed message in this post where he omits Tebow on the list of six players he characterizes as having "the best chance at actually winning" but then making Tebow the number 2 vote-getter if the vote were held today.

Here at Best of the SEC Blogs, notable Kentucky fans that we are, we feel Henry's pain. HP also tends to think that André Woodson isn't really in the race, yet notes he winds up 5th in the balloting this week.

However, we tend to agree with HP. The Heisman is a very political award, and history demonstrates nothing if not that the committee is hostile to the idea of awarding it to underclassmen. Despite HP's assertion that it doesn't seem to be a huge concern, it is our opinion that this is so only so long as the Gators do not lose. As soon as they do, Tebow's fortunes are likely to take a much more significant turn for the worse than might otherwise be the case.

Even though we would like to believe that Kentucky's Woodson belongs in the discussion, the odds against a UK season better than 8-4 are overwhelming. Kentucky is a powerful offensive team, but isn't without exploitable weaknesses there, and with the Galactus of LSU's defense looming down the schedule, and Florida also there, a loss seems inevitable. If Kentucky were to go 10-2, I think Woodson would have about a 25% shot. Less than that, and he is merely invited.

What I just said about Woodson goes double for Tebow, primarily because of his underclassman status and the fact that he is 70% of Florida's offense right now. Even though Henry argues persuasively that he shouldn't fall under the "Andre Ware rule", it will be an argument that is harder and harder to make if the offense doesn't become more balanced at UF.

Erik at DeepSouthSports decides he has just about had enough of Ohio State fans. This post is great because it has lots of words not in the English language, i.e. "douchebaggery", "turdulent", and even the dreaded "jort" makes an appearance. What's more? There's video!

Senator Blutarsky at Get The Picture sees Georgia's next game against Ole Miss as a classic "trap" game. I think he might be right.

Joel at Rocky Top Talk directs us to this post at AOL Fanhouse, judging the temperatures of various SEC coach's derrières. The usual suspects are on the spit, including Fulmer and Nutt, but the author also makes note of Ed Orgeron, Sylvester Croom and Tommy Tuberville. Our take -- Fulmer, followed by Nutt and Tuberville. If Tuberville loses to Saban, we could see Plainsmen with pitchforks.

Finally, Richard Pitman of Geaux Tuscaloosa takes a long look at college football polls, and concludes they suck worse than black holes:

So, you have a situation where teams are initially ranked based on factors that have little to do with actual football ability, yet those initial rankings won't change in the face of additional evidence unless a team either loses or looks really really bad. Looking merely bad, like Auburn did after during its Week 1 win against Kansas State, won't make you move down. Looking really good won't make you move up unless a team ahead of you does something to look really bad.

It's an indefensible system. And yet, talking heads defend it all the time. Well, maybe they don't "defend" it exactly, but they often spout the indefensible assumptions as if they are gospel. You'll frequently hear something said like, "I'll vote them #1 until someone beats them," or "USC proved it was #1 last night by beating up on Nebraska." In a sport where not all teams play each other and rankings are determined by vote, voters are expected to exercise discretion and use judgment, but they don't. They pretty much just apply a generally agreed-upon set of rules that don't make a whole lot of sense when you really think about them.

While I truly feel Richard's pain, and we all claim not to pay attention to polls, the truth is that polls are like a train wreck happening right in front of you. No matter how gruesome it gets, you can't ignore it.

That's all for now, folks.

Week 4 Round-up

Today, we'll be tripping around the SEC blogosphere looking at random bits and points of interest. Well, I'm sure they will be interesting to somebody.

Anyway, here we go:

The Heisman Pundit says there are only six people left who can "actually win the Heisman". Note to Kentucky fans -- André Woodson is not among them.

College Football Resource has its weekly pundit roundup out today, not to be missed.

Barkley vs. Bavetta talks what we know about the SEC after Week 4. Here's a sample:

Tennessee
What we know: Fulmer has been accused of being a bad coach despite his Championship run in '98 which is the only national championship since the days of the General.
What we don't know: How the fans can be so upset at losing to two fantastic teams in Cal and Florida
What we don't want to know: Fat Phil fired. He is SO easy to make fun of.

WarBlogle looks at Week 4 in review, and has little to say about teams other than Auburn other than a heart-felt "Thank you, Georgia".

Outside the Sidelines at Roll 'Bama Roll gives us his thoughts about the SEC after week 4.

The Prine Report reviews it's week four picks, and notes that Kentucky and Auburn have been responsible for a lot of their errors:

Wow, so far this year we have predicted 30 of 35 games correctly. Of the five incorrect predictions, overestimating AU and underestimating Kentucky account for four.

The Joker Report also has a week 4 roundup, including the best and worst (read: Louisville) of not just the SEC, but the rest of college football.

I have a few observations post Week 4 myself:

• Can Tim Tebow continue to provide 70% of Florida's total offense? Hello, could this be a problem if he's injured?
• How long before the Wildcats don't get all the way back?
• Can Auburn score more than 25 points against an SEC team?
• Is Mississippi State a sleeper, or just asleep?
• Tennessee's defense is ranked below Louisville's. Can Fulmer's nightmare get any worse?
• Alabama's defense is 67th at home, 4th on the road.
• South Carolina and Auburn's offenses are 79th and 90th respectively. If these two play, it will be to a scoreless tie. They may set the record for overtimes.
• Don't laugh, Commodores -- your offense is worse than South Carolina's, and only somewhat better than Auburn's.
• Mississippi State's offense is the worst in the SEC (102nd) by a large margin, yet they are 3-1.
• Georgia's offense ranks behind Ole Miss.
• Offense in the SEC sucks period, outside of Kentucky, Florida, LSU and Alabama.
• LSU's defense is that tree that reaches in and eats the kid in the movie Poltergeist. Scary ....