The Iron Bowl in the rear-view mirror

The Iron Bowl. The biggest rivalry game in the SEC, in my opinion, and for pure bitterness and hatred, probably the biggest in the entire country.

Unfortunately, I didn't see any of the game whatsoever. Kentucky had a basketball game Saturday night, and well, loyalties are loyalties. But this Iron Bowl was significant not only for the usual bitter rivalry, but also for the fact that this was Nick Saban's very first Iron Bowl. I wonder how he likes it now?

Eight in the Box says he has heard this song before:

Congratulations to the Tigers for playing a solid game and turning the screw just that much tighter into the brain of the Alabama fan base. Alabama has had a decent opportunity the last two years to end the streak, but in both games have been unable to generate enough offense against an aggressive Tiger defense to pull out a win. So how will the Tide end the current slide against the Tigers? It will take some hard work on the recruiting trail, the weight room, the film room, and a whole lot of aggression. The Iron Bowl shifts to Tuscaloosa next year where the Tigers are undefeated against the Tide.

Classy, first-rate blogging, that. Here in Kentucky, we know a thing or two about being on the wrong end of streaks, so know where it is he is coming from.

The Tide Druid thinks mistakes by the Tide were the difference in this one:

So basically, here is what I think of this game if you want to skip all of what I said above: Auburn didn’t win because of fancy play calling, superstar athletes, or extra prep time. Auburn won because they didn’t make as many mistakes, which is what it takes to win big time games like this one. I don’t view this as an excuse, I view this as a major part of every single game out there: if you make the fewest mistakes, chances are good for a victory. It’s called leadership and discipline. Congrats Tigers, we’ll see ya on the recruiting trail.

Recruiting is a common thread in these two posts, and that has been an area where Saban as excelled lately. But it takes more than talent, it takes a common will and sacrifice, and I think Alabama was lacking a bit of both this year.

Memphis Tider looks forward to next year:

I expect the senior class for next season to be better. I expect this team to gel more because of the senior leadership. I don't forsee any discipline issues like we had this season. I don't forsee stupidity from the "leaders" of the team. I think it took an ending to the season, like the one we just endured, to get these guys to pull together. The off-season conditioning program will be ridiculous. The players will be stronger and better because of it.

Hope springs eternal in the breast of the Alabama fan.

What do the Plainsmen think? Understandably, they are much more satisfied with the outcome of the season, and are reveling in just a bit of schadenfreude. Jay Coulter at Track 'em Tigers writes:

It never gets old. After all these years, beating Alabama just seems to get better and better. You could see it on the face of Tommy Tuberville. You could see it in the smiles of the fans at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Is six the sweetest?

In a lot of ways it is.

Jerry Hinnen at The Joe Cribbs Car Wash thinks some lionization is in order:

Honestly? After the debacle against Georgia two weeks ago, I wasn't expecting it to feel this good.

But oh, for now, all is forgiven. Give Tubby whatever he needs and a pony. Ready the bronze for the Cox bust and the marble for the pedestal and square off the necessary area in Foy. Someone send Lester and Tate each one of those baskets of sausage and cheese, like, the hugest ones in the world.

Happy, happy.

Well, I have to say that Auburn was pretty well set up for this game, new coach at Alabama, playing at home. That doesn't make a rivalry win like this any less sweet, and I have a feeling the pressure on Saban to get this monkey off Alabama's back will be ratcheted up significantly in the post season. Yeah, he gets pretty much of a pass this year, but next year is another matter.

Week 13, and what a week it was!

The regular season is over. Bowl season will officially begin in a week, and the Heisman will be awarded soon. That is what remains of the football season 2007.

We will look at the rest of the football universe later this week, but first, I think it's better if we examine what happened this weekend. There is a lot to cover.

First, the SEC East championship was settled when Kentucky was defeated by the Tennessee Volunteers. This was an incredible, 5 hour, 4-overtime game, and was every bit as suspenseful and meaningful as the 3 OT thriller Kentucky had against LSU earlier this year. Make no mistake, Kentucky wanted to end Tennessee's 22 (now 23) year domination of the series, but alas, it was not to be.

Tennessee had a great game plan for this game, and seemed to be rolling to an easy victory after the fist half. But as has been the modus operandi for Kentucky all year, they came out and dominated the second half. Kentucky even had a chance to win the game outright, but Woodson missed a wide-open Keenan Burton in the end zone. I think Woodson just got rattled by the short time he had to make that decision, and he had to throw on the move, which has never been his strength.

Both teams played great football, each team dominating a half and neither team dominating the overtime. Kentucky lost when Woodson failed to make it into the end zone for the two-point conversion in the fourth overtime. It was simply a marvelous SEC game, and as disappointed as the UK fan in me is in the loss, the SEC fan in me loved the fact that both teams left it all on the field. Congratulations to the Vols for getting to Atlanta, and to the Cats for their second 7-win season in a row.

Messenger from Wildcats Thunder wants to talk about the state of Kentucky football, not the loss to UT:

I truly appreciate what Rich Brooks has done for UK's football program. When Brooks took the job in December, 2002, Barnhart couldn't give it away. At least five other candidates turned it down before Brooks said yes. Brooks' first three seasons in Lexington were miserable, and I know that directly from people inside UK's Athletics Department. Brooks persevered and took UK to bowls in 2006 and 2007. If he wants to keep coaching, he will have my support and, I hope, everyone else's.

But this kind of a season can suck some of the positive momentum out of a program, and out of a veteran coach. Closing with four losses in the last five games will, unfortunately, have a certain amount of negative impact on UK's recruiting class. Losing the seniors will present a huge challenge to UK's coaching staff in 2008. If this challenges excites and reinvigorates Brooks, then obviously he has earned, and deserves, his opportunity to overcome it.

I don't necessarily agree with his second paragraph. Yes, going 1-4 to finish out the season isn't ideal, but two of those games were very winnable, one lost only by the narrowest of margins in 4 overtimes. I think UK has made its case that it is a program that is moving up. Whether or not they can sustain that momentum remains to be seen, but the Wildcats have sufficient talent coming back next year to likely preclude a slippage back into the dark dungeons of the SEC basement. The Cats may not make the bowls next year, but they could just as easily do so -- I consider it a 50/50 proposition. It will be a bit more of a crap shoot than this year, but Brooks continues to improve Kentucky's depth, and that is what cost them most of their losses this season.

Joel at Rock Top Talk says this was a case of two even teams doing battle to the end:

The outcome was: indeed, like Everest, K2, and Mars, all wrapped up into one, just not for the Kentucky fans. Putting enough discernible distance between the Vols and the 'Cats for society to permit one of them to claim they were better on this day was a feat requiring enormous effort and dedication. Consequences? The SEC Championship. We're going to Atlanta despite the Cal, Florida, and Alabama debacles. We're spending the week plotting revenge on the LSU Tigers for 2001, when they trampled the rose clinched between Casey Clausen's teeth.

Indeed. It was a great battle, and I think the better team won this one. UT's depth wore us down, and they looked fresher on defense in overtime.

Jon at Fulmer's Belly is incoherent:

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!eleventy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Heh. I think he's happy.

But how about Georgia fans? Well they were too busy exulting over the Dawg-pounding of the Yellowjackets to worry about the goings-on in Lexington. Oh, I'm sure they looked in on it, but they had other fish insects to fry. Paul Westerdawg saw it thus:

Tech lost because they couldn't handle the moment.
Tech lost because Gailey hasn't recruited or developed a QB in six seasons.
Tech lost because Tenuta is grossly overrated and takes too many chances.
Tech lost because their WRs have hands of stone.
Tech lost because UGA has more talent, depth and better coaching across the board.

They did not lose because of officiating or luck.

Senator Blutarsky says that the statistics tell the tale, and the result is what matters:

The box score doesn’t lie on this one. Georgia racked up 432 yards of offense - 214 passing, 218 rushing - on what had been the #7 school in the country in total defense. The only thing Tech’s defense did well was to hold the Dawg offense to a poor 4 of 13 performance on third downs.

Seven in a row.

Georgia winds up the season ranked 4th in the AP, which could guarantee them an at-large berth if the BCS works out the same way. Paul Westerdawg does the math for those of you who don't have the time or inclination. Congrats to the Georgia Bulldogs on a great season.

More on the weekend and what it all means later.

Who's your daddy now?

The strangeness of this season just will not let go. Just when you thought you knew how it would all turn out, wham!

The LSU loss has serious repercussions for the SEC. Gone are any realistic hopes for a representative from the SEC in the BCS championship game with LSU's loss to Arkansas last night. With Mississippi State's win, the SEC now has at least 10 bowl-eligible teams and possibly 11 if Vanderbilt somehow manages one more win. With LSU now out of the BCS championship, that means only 8 SEC teams are sure to get a bowl bid out of the ten eligible. But with Georgia looking pretty certain to wind up with an at-large bid in a BCS bowl, there should be nine SEC teams fairly certain of a bowl bid.

South Carolina or Alabama are looking like the odd team out at the moment, but that could shift strongly toward the Gamecocks if the Tide gets it done in the Iron Bowl today. If both USC and Alabama win, I say 'Bama gets the nod. If both teams lose, I would like to say USC gets the bid, but truth be told, Alabama is a much bigger draw, and when $$ are at stake, you have to like the Tide's chances in that scenario. Also hurting USC's chances would be a 5-game losing streak. If the Tide loses and USC wins, the Gamecocks should go bowling with 'Bama sweating it out.

So what does LSU's loss to Arkansas do to the SEC other than change the bowl picture a bit? On the one hand, it adds to the perception that the SEC is just too strong a conference for its own good, and argues much more strongly for a playoff system if you are an SEC fan. If you are a Big 10, Big East, ACC or Pac-10 fan, you are happy with the status quo. From their perspective, its fun to watch the SEC eat its own, and you know you don't have to worry about schedule strength -- in the six BCS conferences, that is only going to be an issue if a team has a loss. An undefeated team an any of the six BCS conferences will almost always get to the championship, regardless of their strength of schedule.

So this year, after the latest LSU loss, we are left to wonder if the SEC is really all that strong, or if LSU is just not the team that they were cracked up to be. Strong arguments can be made both ways -- LSU has looked vulnerable on more than one occasion this year, and has played much worse in the second half of the season than early on. One could argue that LSU is just not worthy of a BCS championship berth, and absent a playoff system of some kind, we will never really know. But whatever the situation, LSU will not be the national champion this year.

Not much reax from the bayou bloggers so far, but Geaux Tuscaloosa has a post up, and he agrees with me that LSU has been regressing:

Yes, that was a very disappointing loss, but honestly, have we looked like the best team in the country lately? Not really. We just kept winning. No matter what happened, we just kept winning. Yesterday, we weren't able to do it.

Ryan Ferguson of Fanhouse thinks Les Miles' luck just ran out:

I've contended at times this year that Les Miles has been lucky rather than good, or more specifically, his talent has carried him when his coaching acumen has not.

Today, he finally ran out of extra chances. LSU fans will now likely send Miles to Michigan with their compliments.

The old saying is, "I'd rather be lucky than good." I can't really decide how much of Miles' success this year has been luck vs. good coaching, but it will be very interesting to see what happens in the aftermath of this loss. With Lloyd Carr being run out of Ann Arbor retiring after this year, Miles will almost certainly be Michigan's first choice.

David Ching at the Georgia Bulldog Blog comes up with a scenario where the Dawgs wind up in the title game with Ohio State:

Updating a post earlier in the week, Georgia now needs the following to happen to play Ohio State in the national championship game:
1) Georgia to beat Georgia Tech
2) Oklahoma to beat the Missouri/Kansas winner in next weekend's Big 12 championship game
3) UConn or Pitt to beat West Virginia
4) It wouldn't hurt for Kentucky to beat Tennessee, enabling Georgia to play LSU in the SEC championship game; Virginia to beat Virginia Tech on Saturday; UCLA to beat USC next weekend. These things might not be absolutely necessary, but would greatly strengthen Georgia's case should items 1-3 take place.

As wild as this season has been, I wouldn't be at all surprised if something like this happened. I really don't think the stars are aligned for an SEC team in the BCS championship, though.

From an Arkansas standpoint, it's hard to argue that McFadden didn't just make a statement for his Heisman candidacy. Heisman pundit notes the results of Friday, and tries to sort through the madness:

Is that the kind of game McFadden needed to get back in the Heisman race? Yes, but it is most likely too little, too late. If anything, his performance will shake up the final order of the vote and will probably knock Dennis Dixon out of the top three. But I don't think it is enough to win. Hence, it's possible that McFadden may become the first two-time runner-up since Charlie Justice of North Carolina in 1949.

Heh. Well, the one thing helping McFadden over Tebow is his upperclassman status. Arkansas has somehow magically pulled eight wins out of the hat with this upset, and despite HP's doubts that this is enough, I am not so sanguine. McFadden may well have done all that is required -- after all, Tebow wasn't enough to get the Gators a win in Baton Rouge, and McFadden got that job done.

Stephen at Razorback Expats had difficulty watching the game:

* Being a true Arkansan, I watched the fourth quarter and the overtimes with an almost overwhelming sense of dread. I could hardly look at the television screen. I just knew we were going to get our hearts broken - the only question was how. My pessimism faded somewhat when Felix Jones scored the two-point conversion in the third overtime; at that moment, I began to wonder if the football gods were on our side.

CallTheHogs.com says that both Miles and Nutt could be elsewhere after this season

Nutt, who will have his team in a bowl game, may not be back with the Hogs next season after growing unrest in Fayetteville, Ark. Arkansas officials have yet to confirm that, however, and firing Nutt may be a less popular move now.

Miles job is not in jeopardy, but there's been talk he could be moving after this season, too. Miles, who played at Michigan and was an assistant coach there, is widely considered a top candidate to replace Lloyd Carr as the Wolverines' head man.

One thing is certain -- Houston Nutt's tenure at Arkansas, whether it ends this year or not, has been a roller coaster ride for Razorback fans.

In the final analysis, it looks to me that, barring a miracle, the SEC is out of contention for the BCS championship. In the end, the SEC's top teams were either too weak or too numerous, depending on who you talk to, to get there.

Some Friday SEC Action

Some hot and heavy action in the SEC for a Friday. We have one really important game today for the SEC (Arkansas at LSU) and one game that is really important for the two teams involved (Mississippi at Mississippi State, otherwise known as the Egg Bowl).

Well, the Egg Bowl is over and done, and MSU wins 17-14. Jeremy at Mississippi State Sports reports:

After trailing the rebels for most of the game, the Bulldogs tied the game on a punt return for a touchdown by Derek Pegues. Adam Carlson put the Dogs on top with a 48-yard field goal with 12 seconds left to play.

MSU is now 7-5, and has some really interesting bowl possibilities. MSU hasn't been to a bowl since 2000, so this has got to feel really, really good to Bulldog fans. Congratulations to MSU and to Coach Croom on a fine year. MSU is a team on the rise in the SEC.

Parish Alford, writing for Ole Miss, had this cryptic post:

I hope everyone saw it. You wouldn’t believe it otherwise. Read it tomorrow in the Daily Journal.

I will. Apparently, MSU came back from a 14-0 deficit after 3 quarters with scores including a 75 yard punt return and ended with a 48-yard career field goal for the MSU kicker. Croom was apparently running around the stadium with the MSU flag. Big day for the Dawgs.

As I write this, LSU is in serious jeopardy against Arkansas. Arkansas has just scored the go-ahead touchdown, 28-21, and now the Tigers have all of 5 minutes left to save their shot at the BCS title game. It doesn't look good for the Tigers. Fanhouse has the tale at the moment, and LSU needs another miracle comeback to save its championship hopes.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to all who read this blog, or just happen across this post.

Enjoy stuffing yourselves, or the stuffing itself, or something. I know I am looking forward to a day of rest, because there are some big games coming up this week both in football and basketball.

I just saw South Carolina beat Penn State, and I am looking forward to more SEC basketball this weekend. Not only that, but we have Tennessee at Kentucky, the Egg Bowl, and the Iron Bowl this weekend. That's a feast for any sports fan.

I'll be back tomorrow, but today, I am taking a break. Enjoy your holiday!

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.