NIck Saban as the Jabberwock

The big news of today seems to be the firestorm Nick Saban caused by his comments using catastrophic historical events to compare to Alabama's loss to the University of Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday. Personally, I think it is a firestorm of hogwash.

For one thing, people have often used historical events as a metaphor for catastrophe. We have seen bad losses referred to as "Pearl Harbor" games, "holocaust" is commonly used to describe debacles. But for some reason, when 9-11 gets brought into the equation, people feel the need to stand up and shout, "Wait a minute -- this is over the top!"

One fine day, we Americans are going to have to lose our hypersensitivity to metaphors that include 9-11. It is an unfortunate form of political correctness that we really must get past. We have gotten past Pearl Harbor. We have gotten past the Holocaust. These were all terrible events, but the communicate something visceral and important, and when people use them metaphorically, it is a reflection of seriousness and determination. When we think of terrible events, we often think of what was lost exclusively, and forget the braveness, effort and sacrifice it took to recover. The recovery, to me, means far more than the catastrophic event that precipitated it. That is the real metaphor Saban intended to use.

Saban's metaphor may have been too much for some, but I understood what he was saying, and leaving hypersensitivity aside, his point was apt. Catastrophic losses (and make no mistake, this was catastrophic for Alabama and the rest of the SEC) at this late juncture in the season when teams are supposed to be at their best, require more to recover from than dropping a game to Mississippi or Florida State, as any disastrous circumstance requires more to recover from than a simple setback. Many people may think, "But it's just a game!" Yes, but it isn't to Saban -- it is the method by which he earns his living and feeds his family. It isn't just a game to many Alabama fans, either -- it is one of their passions.

Lest you think I am biased, I don't care one iota about Saban -- I am a UK fan, and Alabama is just another foe to be beaten when I am wearing the Blue and White. But when I have my SEC hat on, Saban is in charge of an important part of SEC tradition, one of the crown jewel football programs in the conference. When Alabama is embarrassed, the whole league suffers. If Saban can't handle that charge, I will happily take as much umbrage with his performance as any but the most partisan 'Bama fans would.

Some of the real over-the-top stuff that I see in the media today include this from Kevin Scarbinsky (Hat tip: From the Bleachers):

That's right. The head football coach at Alabama included the lost lives in New York, Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania and Hawaii with the lost games against Mississippi State and Louisiana-Monroe in his very serious discussion of "catastrophic events."

What historical tragedy will he reference Saturday when Alabama loses a sixth straight game to Auburn? The Holocaust?

This is platitudinous hyperbole. Saban referred to 9-11 in a highly modal context, but sportswriters seem to feel perfectly justified in ignoring that fact to bash him. Besides, people refer to the Holocaust all the time for descriptive emphasis. Maybe he just forgot.

Huntsville-Times columnist Mark McCarter gives us yet another example (again, hat tip to From the Bleachers ):

Saban arrived with a rich reputation for his insensitivity. Usually it's directed toward media or minions.

On Monday, that insensitivity stretched well beyond the protected confines of his kingdom when he concocted such an insulting, ill-advised analogy. An experienced, expensive coach has to do better.

Maybe Saban was just too wrapped up in emotion and hyperbole. Maybe, like some fourth-and-two play, he didn't give it enough thought. Maybe it was dramatic effect. Maybe it was self-preservation, a bold statement to a fan base where some are already second-guessing the investment.

Whatever the reason, to borrow from his war-time comparisons, Nick Saban bombed.

Once again, where is the context the media has so demanded from bloggers and others using their comments to make examples of their remarks? It is absent.

"Sensitivity" is a word we often use when we don't really mean it -- instead, it is designed to prepare others for a visceral, emotional reaction. Nothing produces anger in the politically correct like the charge of "insensitivity," and the media employ that word like a rhetorical vorpal blade against any who dare invoke its sacred cows -- "Snicker-snack, you evil Saban, we'll take your head!"

GhostofNeyland at Third Saturday in Blogtober disagrees with me, and thinks Saban was off base:

Look, before I start, in no way do I think that Saban was comparing Alabama losing to Louisiana-Monroe with the terrorist attacks on 9/11 or Pearl Harbor. (I think this is the link where you can go down to the Saban teleconference and listen for yourself). That’s not what I’m trying to imply. And I promise you I would have written the same blog about this had coach Phillip Fulmer made the references that Saban did.
...
But to even invoke events such as those which not only shaped our history as a great nation but also were horrific tragedies that cost our families thousands of precious lives, is uncalled for in my opinion. Saban should not have mentioned those events during any type of football press conference. He’s let some of the psychotic Alabama fans (that’s not the vast majority of you guys, thank God) get to him, apparently.

I understand where he was coming from, but history is history. Saban making metaphorical references to history is not disrespectful to anyone, especially in the manner in which it was done. We do not honor the dead by placing historical events off limits for any type metaphor, however remotely dissociated from the loss of life.

The real problem, as we have seen, was his inclusion of 9-11. I believe that a Pearl Harbor metaphor by itself wouldn't have drawn a single remark, or the Holocaust if it were fitting (which it isn't) except for the predictable irrational charge of anti-semitism inevitably leveled when anyone uses "holocaust" in a "non approved" manner. What about Sherman's rampage through Georgia where many more people (including civilians) were killed? Nobody minds using those, and they shaped our history just as surely as 9-11. No, those events aren't as fresh in our minds, but I get the impression this outrage over Saban's metaphors are less heartfelt and more calculated than their purveyors would like to admit.

Brian Cook at Fanhouse also thinks Saban was wrong:

This is not quite a direct comparison -- Nick Saban, despite what LSU fans might tell you, is not history's greatest monster -- but it is high up on the list of embarrassing things coaches have said over the past 10 to 15 years. Even leaving aside the "America, eff yeah!" aspect of things, losing to ULM is just losing to ULM and not, say, a nation-altering surprise attack by foreigners, no matter how many kids on the ULM team speak Cajun. Trust me: I'm a Michigan fan. You get over it.

Well, he is right about one thing -- you get over it. The problem isn't that -- it is the almost pathological aversion we have to mentioning 9-11 in any kind of allegory or metaphor, and the virtual 100% certainty that anyone even approximately doing so will be "snicker-snacked" by the media as well as some bloggers. I don't believe either those unfortunate victims or the brave police and firefighters who died in that catastrophe would want their memory being placed above that of others who have perished over the course of history in disasters or war which are commonly used for hyperbole, allegory and metaphor. No right-thinking person would.

Let history be history. Let us learn from it, and move forward.

The Tide are 0 for Louisiana

By losing to Louisiana-Monroe last night, the Crimson Tide has turned what could have been an acceptable rebuilding season into a debacle. Tide fans, God bless them, are notoriously unforgiving of such losses, the biggest reason being that they occur so rarely throughout Alabama history. This was one of the worst losses in Crimson Tide history, arguably much worse than the UCF loss homecoming day in 2000. This one stings.

Eight in the Box says that the team with the most heart won this game:

The 2007 Tide football team has a lot of talkers, and not many doers. Last week much was made of the Tide's post game locker and all of the bluster by the team over the poor performance against Mississippi State. That was wasted energy.

Wasted, indeed. It isn't as if this team was coming off a win -- in fact, now they have dropped three in a row, and in the SEC, that is a serious slump, especially with perhaps the most bitter rivalry game in America coming up next week.

Memphis Tider is embarrassed:

I could take losses to SEC competition.

Even Mississippi State on the road.

I could handle non-conference neutral site losses to BCS teams like Florida State.

But a 21-14 loss to Louisiana-Monroe on Senior Day is unacceptable.

Ouch. Kentucky fans know well how that feels after their basketball team dropped a game to "Gardner-who?". I feel your pain, and I wish I didn't.

The Tide Druid has an apology post. He apologizes to his readers, Mississippi state, Auburn, the SEC ... pretty much everyone that counts. And of course, just to make me feel as bad as he does, he invokes "Gardner-who?":

How should one put this into perspective? It’s the Gardner-Webb loss of the football season for Alabama, if not worse. Good night, and Roll Tide.

Thanks for that unpleasant memory, TD. But truth be told, if Alabama finds some way to beat Auburn, this game won't hurt quite as bad. Of course, if it doesn't, the recriminations in Tuscaloosa will be a distraction for a long while to come.

Outside the Sidelines at Roll 'Bama Roll tries to make sense of it all, and puts it in historical context:

Bottom line: This loss is as bad as it seems, and probably worse. It could be the worst single loss for Alabama since the arrival of Bear Bryant.

That is about the worst indictment of this fiasco that could be applied. Alabama has had some relatively poor teams over the last decade, but this loss is one of those inexplicable things that hurts not only the 'Bama faithful, but the image of the entire SEC.

Now SEC fans must must listen to insufferable Pac-10 and Big East proponents (Appy State helpfully insulated us from insults from the Big 10) about how one of the SEC's flagship programs couldn't beat 3-6 (now 4-6) Louisiana-Monroe from the mighty Sun Belt conference on senior day in Tuscaloosa. It's one thing if Mississippi State gets crushed by West Virgina in Morgantown, but this loss will drag down the entire conference. OTS continues with the upside:

In his first season at LSU, Saban experienced a similar loss when his Bayou Bengals fell to lowly Alabama-Birmingham when they were coming off a painful conference loss on the road to Auburn. In many ways, that loss very much resembles today when his Crimson Tide fell to lowly Louisiana-Monroe when they were coming off a painful conference loss on the road to Mississippi State. In the grand scheme of things, the loss to UAB didn't slow down LSU one bit, and no one should expect the loss to ULM to slow down Alabama.

Probably true. But despite LSU's comparably recent ascension to SEC prominence, Alabama has a long and storied history of football success. In a 12 game season, a loss like this is impossible to recover from, perception-wise. Until Saban proves otherwise, this is still the Alabama team of Mike Shula, is it not?. The change to Saban so far has not produced the kind of improvement even the most glass-half-full Alabama fan would have hoped for -- it's not as if we are early in the season here. I hate to say that, but this Alabama team is 6-5 and hasn't beaten a single team they weren't supposed to beat, and lost to *ahem* Louisiana Monroe and has won exactly two road games in the SEC, both against the weakest teams in their respective divisions.

Shining the harsh light of reality on the Tide gives me no joy, and I actually hope Saban restores this great program to it's historical splendor. Seeing Alabama play this poorly at home on senior day is simply ... well ... it just ain't right. That is something you expect from Vanderbilt, the Mississippi's or Kentucky. Not Alabama.

Friday SEC blog piñata

Well, here we are again -- another Friday. Soon my wife will be home, and I'll be mixing the martini an cosmopolitan. Ahhh, sweet -- the Friday Night Cocktail!

But before that, I have a hodgepodge of goodies to bring you -- a Friday grab-bag if you will. A sports blog piñata.

First of all, a reader made me aware of this blog at The Legend of Cecilio Guante, which basically explains what we all know to be true -- the SEC is the best football conference in the land. Here is the money graf:

I hear a lot of hype about Ohio State/Michigan this week. Now you know what every game feels like in the SEC. Let me run down a list of SEC teams that have spent some time in the Top 25 this year; LSU, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Auburn, South Carolina and Arkansas. That'd be 9 out of our 12 teams. Only one SEC team is below .500. Maybe they should call us the All-star Team Conference. And by the way, has Les Miles officially changed his name to Titanium Stones yet?

The author goes on to talk about the women, the angst, the glory of the SEC. Great read. Don't miss it.

Florida fans are getting silly over the Georgia-Kentucky game. Saurian Sagacity starts us off:

First of all let me say it was nothing personal in beating you on October 20th, purely business. I’m sure you understand. I hope you will also understand if we ask a favor of you. As far as favors go, it is one that is mutually beneficial, so we are certain you won’t mind.

Please beat Georgia.

Heh. You'd think these guys had something on the line, here, like maybe a trip to Atlanta, wouldn't you? Mlmintampa of Alligator Army also has a missive, and he offers ... things ... in return!

If it makes you feel better, by beating Georgia and Tennessee, you will keep out teams that lost by at least 21 points this season. (UGA at UT; UT at Bama and UF.) You're doing a public service! But, what else is in it for you? After discussions with our close personal friends in the UF Athletic Association, we have devised a very appealing prize package should you win out and Florida wins the SEC East.

1. We will not finish ahead of you in basketball this season.

2. Free Gatorade for a year.

3. A lovely fruit basket from the orange groves on the UF campus.

Tempting. Does this count as a bribe? All this Gator love is making me feel all funny inside. Even Orange and Blue Hue gets in on the act:

Hey, Kentucky… we love y’all.

Y’hear?

All we need for you to do is to win your next two games. You do that, we go to Atlanta to (hopefully) ruin LSU’s national title hopes.

I mean, we're talkin' some serious reptilian amoré here.

Let's see -- what else do we have? Roll 'Bama Roll thinks that clarity has finally arrived in the race for the national championship. The Big 12 champion is apparently effectively guaranteed a spot in the national championship game, according to his reasoning (which looks sound to me). The big question, at this point, seems to be "who else will be in there?"

Clarity of a sort, I suppose.

A lot is on the line for Tennessee against Vanderbilt, also. Who Ya With thinks that this week could be the difference in the season for the 'Dores:

The commodores travel to the Evil Empire this weekend to take on the Great Pumpkin (Fat Phil) and the Vols. If the defense can show up like they did in Columbia, and Spuds can play the QB position as well as he did last week against UK, this game could be won. There is nothing I would love more than to see 105,000 disappointed Vols fans walking out of that stadium. How much money would Fulmer have to donate to UT to feel comfortable then?

Oh, the 'Dores and the Vols do indeed despise each other. They love to see the other cry.

Meanwhile, Jon at Fulmer's Belly decides to try a little poor-mouthing to get the Vols a win:

First off, we lost to a freaking Cal team at a game that I personally attended. A Cal team that has lost 20 games since beating the hapless Vols and their non-existant defense and special teams play. DeSean Jackson looked like a damn Heisman candidate after te UT game, and has been pretty craptacular afterwards. What does that say about our team? It says we suck. Hard.

Heh. For a team that has a chance to win the East, and the only team that doesn't need help, that is some poor-mouthing indeed. Joel at Rocky Top Talk is wondering WTF:

So what's the deal? Why can't we be negative when our team really needs us? Here's the thing: they're pretty good and getting better. The future looks bright indeed, and the Vols, even this season, are perfectly positioned to win out and represent the East in the SEC Championship. There, they'll be pitted against LSU, and the media will give them no chance against the Tigers, which is, of course, right where we want to be. Forget the pessimism. I love this team.

So we have a little plus and a little minus. It's been that kind of season for the Vols.

We may not know who will go to Atlanta from the East this weekend, but we will have a somewhat better idea of who is not going, guaranteed. The Gators need a Kentucky win or they stay home. Georgia, the converse. And Tennessee? Well, they just need to win two games back to back and they can book their flights.

Fun times.

Dawgs and Cats, and Croom calls the Hogs!

Today was the beginning of the fall signing period for basketball. There were a few interesting things happening.

First of all, Scotty Hopson, one of the best players in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and a very highly touted recruit who has verbally committed to Mississippi State University, did not sign his LOI today. Kyle Veazey of the Clarion-Ledger got in touch with Hopson about it.

What makes this somewhat interesting is that Chris Singleton, who was being heavily recruited by Kentucky and Florida State, chose the graveyard of high school talent over the Wildcats. Suddenly, a scholarship is open at Kentucky. What does this all mean? Nothing, probably, but you never know.

In other bad news for Kentucky, Jodie Meeks, expected to be a leading contributor this year, is out 4-6 weeks with a stress fracture to his groin area. Is it just me, or do the words "fracture" and "groin area" put together like that cause you to cringe a bit? Yikes.

But of course, we are still in the throes of football season, so I think I'll return to that for now.

Kentucky and Georgia got a big game a-happenin' down in Athens this weekend. Kyle King of Dawg Sports is a bit nervous about it, too:

5) UGA 41, UK 31.This game really, really worries me. I just don't think we match up well against their offense. I think our best bet is to establish the run early and keep Woodson and his receivers from establishing a rhythm. If we can get a decent lead, then Knowshon and Thomas can step in to eat up clock. But unlike Auburn's plodding attack, this Kentucky team can put 21 on the board in a hurry. It will be a barn burner. I think the last thing we want is a shootout. As potent as our offense has been of late, there's no reason to go blow for blow with a team who's standard attack is to throw as many punches as possible.

The big thing with Kentucky is not letting them get you in a shootout. If you do that, your chances go down. Kentucky hasn't stopped anyone on defense this year, not even Vanderbilt and South Carolina. But if you let the Cats get in a rhythm, they can put up so many points so fast that only Florida can outscore them. The Dawgs definitely can't. But as Kyle points out, the antidote to André Woodson is to live in the Kentucky backfield, and that is most certainly possible for Georgia.

Dawgs of the World Unite dispatches a submarine on a northern run to espy the goings on in Lexington, but runs into trouble:

Unfortunately, due to a lack of submarine-navigable waters in the area around Lexington, we had to divert the recon team to a mission on behalf of DOTWU's closest blog ally. The crew is currently probing the Gulf and Atlantic Coasts, seeking a potential embarkment point for the DFF IV Maritime Alcohol Consumption Expeditionary Force (DFFIVMACEF). So, this week's report will be based on information pilfered from the internets and our own wild conjecture.

In Kentucky, John Clay reports that Mark Richt wants a "redout", and reports on other strangeness in the activities of the Georgia coach lately. Mark is beginning to scare me. I think he is going all Spurrier on us, and I don't like it. Not one bit.

Not much more coming out the UK folks about the game with Georgia yet. Too much roundball news over there.

Mississippi State could pick up their seventh win this year at Arkansas on Saturday. The question is, which Arkansas team will show up? The one that ran roughshod over the Gamecocks, or the one that was dismissed rudely by Tennessee last weekend? Terry Wood of WholeHogSports is wondering as well:

Throughout the season, Arkansas has had one of the most productive offenses in the Southeastern Conference thanks to the Razorbacks' rushing attack.

But twice in the last month, the Hogs have been held to a near standstill by Auburn and Tennessee.

Meanwhile, Gregg Ellis says that for Croom, it's all about respect:

Sylvester Croom just wants respect. Period. And right now, he doesn't feel his team is getting its due.

To begin with, he was irritated the oddsmakers listed Alabama as the favorite this past weekend, even though MSU defeated the Tide last year in Tuscaloosa and was coming off an impressive win at Kentucky two weeks ago.

Croom is definitely getting the job done this year, much like Kentucky did last year. If he gets to 7 or 8 games, MSU could get a very nice bowl indeed, especially having beaten as many ranked teams as they have.

Operator? Could you help me make this call ... ?

I have noticed a lot of anger lately over officiating, and now we are hearing gripes from nearly every major conference.

References (in no particular order):

1. Fanhouse -- Memo to the ACC commissioner.
2. Fanhouse -- Down with Geriatric Replay Officials [Isn't this age discrimination? -- ed.]
3. CSTV -- ACC keeps High-Tech Eye on Official's Performance
4. Sunday Morning Quarterback -- They All Fall Down ... Until the Two-Minute Drill
5. Lexington Herald-Leader -- Seven is So Much Better Than Six
6. Fanhouse -- Mike Leach is Not Afraid of Fines
7. Kermit the Blog -- If Only I Knew Your Name, Mr. Line Judge
8. Fanhouse -- Pac 10 Officials Outdo Themselves
9. Sunday Morning Quarterback -- Ask Mike Leach
10. CSTV -- Red Raiders Coach Leach Stands Behind Comments On Officiating
11. ESPN -- Tranghese punishes ref who made call; won't elaborate on penalty
12. Fanhouse -- YouTubesDay: Pac Ten Referee Incompetence
13. Fanhouse -- YouTubesDay: Refs Muff Huskies-Beavers

Seems like some people are not real happy about the officiating these days, and I have seen enough questionable calls this year to make me wonder what we have to do to get it right. More and more calls are either falling under the rubric of "unreviewable", or just plain, unalterable incompetence, that fans must be wondering where it all ends.

For me, I think everything aught to be subject to challenge. If there is a play where the call is blown, there has to be some way to salvage the situation. The same rules would apply, but all the things that are "off limits" should be challengable except non-called penalties. How many hits out of bounds have we seen this year, for instance, when the replay showed clearly that the player was not out of bounds? How many roughing the passer calls have we seen where it wasn't just marginal, but obviously wrong? How many interference calls have we seen where it wasn't Those are major penalties, yet they can't be reviewed by rule. And what about the "oops-I-didn't-mean-it" fair catch against Louisville? Is it not ridiculous that was unreviewable?

Any personal foul penalty aught to be subject to review, but only on challenge. Unlike the current system where the challenge only costs a time-out if the ruling on the field is not reversed, challenging a penalty aught to cost a timeout no matter what the outcome. That way, the trade-off will sometimes lead coaches to accept the judgment of the officials.

Some way must be found to eliminate the impact these badly missed calls have on the game, at least as much as possible. It is an epidemic, and the conferences are not doing enough to ensure they don't happen.

The Crooming of Alabama, or, Is Mark Richt the new Evil Genius?

Alright, so what the hell?

First of all, what the hell is with Alabama? You bring in a coach. You pay him 4 million dollars a year. You watch as he gets Croomed.

Alabama fans must feel like this is something they could have had for far less than about $100,000 per game/hour. Hell, I'll bet Orgeron would have done it for less than half that! Just kidding, 'Bama fans, I know this loss sucks for you. Look at it this way -- it sucks far less than the suckage you could experience two weeks from now in the Iron Bowl.

Speaking of the Iron Bowl, what the hell is this CBS decision to air the Tennessee-Kentucky game instead? I'm a Kentucky fan, and I can't even believe that one. For my money, Auburn-Alabama is rivaled only by Army-Navy, and the football is always better in the former than the latter. There is so much bad blood and loathing between Auburn and Alabama, it simply dwarfs almost every other rivalry I can think of. Not that I don't want to see UT-UK on national TV, hell, we'll take all the help we can get with recruiting. But that decision is a head-scratcher to me.

I promised to update everyone on the South Carolina blogger's reax to the monkey-slapping they received at the hands of Mighty T and his Reptilian Rowdies, so here goes:

Garnet and Black Attack has a list of five reasons why Florida dominated this game. The big ones, to my mind, are number one and two. Tim Terrific and South Carolina (non) defense that sucks like a Dyson.

Chuck at The Cool Chicken searches for ... something.

This past weekend, Urban Meyer won a decisive victory over a South Carolina team that has been a skid. It was obvious early on that South Carolina did not have the defensive answer for Urban’s trickery this year. Then near the end of the game, unsatisfied with just winning, Urban Meyer may have done something to help the South Carolina team.

With a minute and a half remaining, a 13 point lead and the ability to run out the clock, Urban sent his star heisman caliber quarter back out on to the field and took a shot at the end zone. The pass connected and the Florida Gators notched their score up to 51 points.

There is not doubt in my mind and I am sure there is no doubt in Spurrier’s that Meyer was not taking a shot at South Carolina. That last touchdown was meant for Spurrier.

I can't say he's wrong, and Ryan Ferguson did note that Meyer had the starters in there late in the game, particularly Tebow. Perhaps Meyer was trying to shove it up Spurrier's nether regions and break it off. Or perhaps, to demonstrate to Florida fans that the legend that is the Visor was as much due to the program as it was the coach.

Either way, Spurrier cannot be even a little amused at suffering this kind of abuse at the hands of Florida. I can hear him breathing through his mask all the way from Columbia to Louisville. I'll bet he has used the dark side of the force on a few of his players by now. Fat lot of good it has done him lately, though. Maybe he can recruit Jabba the Hut to play defensive line line.

Georgia put a spank on the boys from the Plains this weekend down Athens way, and the Tigers are not happy. Track 'em Tigers says the Tigers were unprepared:

Emotionless. Unprepared. There are many words to describe Auburn’s thumping by Georgia on Saturday. In the end, it was just plain embarrassing.

The Tiger’s 45-20 loss at Sanford Stadium will go down as one of the poorest efforts in Auburn football history. Not since losing by 24 points to Alabama at home in 2001 has a Tommy Tuberville coached team looked so woefully unprepared to play a big game.

Hmm. That A & M job is probably looking a lot better to Tubby right about now. Jerry Hinnen is scratching his head, claws extended:

What ... the hell?

I don't even know how I'm supposed to react to a loss like that. Auburn claws back from 17-3 down, we're up 20-17 and have the Dawgs in second-and-long deep in their own territory, and in what seems like the blink of an eye it's yet another outright embarrassment to add to Tubby's annually-increasing stockpile of them.

It all happened so fast, even after sleeping on it, I'm left to wonder what the appropriate response is.

Heh. Georgia fans are understandably feeling their oats. Kyle King of Dawg Sports says that Good triumphed over Evil:

It isn't just that the team is playing well; it's that Georgia football has become fun. I don't know that I've ever been in Sanford Stadium for a game that was as enjoyable as yesterday's. The fans were in the stands early, dressed for the occasion, and offering their full-throated support from beginning to end. The players fed off of the crowd, played their hearts out, and had a fine time doing it.

So they are feeling the love down in Athens, and nothin' says lovin' like a big football victory over a bitter rival. Quoth Paul Westerdawg:

After the Florida game, Orson Swindle told me that Georgia brought Evil Richt to the Cocktail Party. Well, it looks like Kathryn sent Evil Richt to his second game of the season. (Image: DawgPost.com)

Evil Richt knows how to party. Evil Richt would drink you under a table. Evil Richt shot a man in Reno just to watch him die. Evil Richt stares down officials and eats them for breakfast. Evil Richt fell into a burning ring of fire and laughed about it. Evil Richt once spent a night in the Starkville City jail for picking flowers. Evil Richt wears black.

And then, from Hey Jenny Slater, we have a skit that is just way to long to excerpt meaningfully starring Evil Richt. Read the whole thing.

But wait a minute ... I thought Evil was ... and Georgia was, er ... Oh, I'm so confused. Well, Georgia won, good or evil. For Tuberville, it's back to the drawing board. If Auburn loses the Iron Bowl, Tubby might start looking West ... a lot.

Florida makes the Evil Genius look average

A look around the SEC confirms a number of things that many SEC fans had long suspected:

1. LSU is the best team in the league;
   
2. Arkansas is indeed not a good football team;
3. Neither is South Carolina;
4. Georgia is looking like a good football team;
5. Florida is looking better all the time.

The jury is still out on Auburn, Alabama, Kentucky and Mississippi State. MSU has three very impressive SEC victories, one at home and two away, and with Arkansas and Ole Miss remaining on their schedule, have a real chance at winning eight games this year. Of course, Arkansas has been tougher after getting smoked, so who knows what will happen next week. And despite the fact that Arkansas isn't a very good team, Darren McFadden and Felix Jones are very good, and on a given day can dominate anyone.

I was surprised at the beat-down the Gators delivered to the Ol' Ball Coach this weekend. The Razorbacks exposed the run defense of USCe last weekend, but the Gamecocks got creamed in their own house. Neither team, seems to me, can make any case at all for their defense -- South Carolina isn't exactly an offensive powerhouse, and still managed to throw up 31 semi-meaningless points on the Gators. Still, Tim Tebow has yet to be stopped by any SEC defense except Auburn [UPDATE: An astute reader pointed out that Georgia also stopped Tebow, and I carelessly omitted mentioning them. Sorry, Dawgs].

At this point, there is so little blog reaction in from the Gamecocks that I'll defer looking at this game in depth until they have had a while to ponder this latest debacle. Obviously, the Gates are happy, but Ryan Ferguson was wondering over at Fanhouse if leaving Tebow in to run up the score was actually smart. Good question.

Mlmintampa writing for Alligator Army had no such reservations:

As much as I want to protect Tim Tebow, um, how do I say this...NO MERCY URBAN! RUN UP THE SCORE!!!!!!!!!!!!11111111111111111111!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That was nice wasn't it? If Lou Murphy had caught the other pass in the end zone, it could have been a lot worse. Lucky for Spurrier that Percy is at home sick. We could have hung 70 on him.

I think that pretty well sums up the Gator's feelings about the Visor. Ryan Ferguson has yet another post on the subject, quoting a Gamecock fan thus:

If history teaches anything, it really does not matter who coaches here, it has not improved by any discernable measure when you look at the "average" win loss ratios of the last 10-15 years or heck even more. Sure there have been ups and downs, but we always return to mediocre. So, SOS may as well stay. He can either tarnish his legacy like Holtz, or he can do something about. Heaven only knows which it will be. (sic)

Spurrier has recruited good talent to South Carolina, but so far, he hasn't been able to get the team to the point it can consistently compete with the best of the SEC. The SEC is quite unforgiving to program-building, and once you get down to a certain level, it is very hard to raise the bar in this conference. Just ask Kentucky, the Mississippi's, and Vanderbilt. Yes, all have had some success, but when was the last time any of those teams won the SEC, or even a division? Hint: It was Kentucky in 1976, the Bicentennial year -- they shared the SEC title with Georgia. Before that, you have to go to the Ole Miss teams of the 1960's.

The SEC is a very, very unforgiving league.

New Orleans Love says that Spurrier was "inconsolable" after this huge defeat. Senator Blutarsky at Get the Picture says it was karma, and karma is "a beyotch". The Visor no doubt agrees.