Worst of the SEC Blogs for Thursday

As you know, I rarely write Kentucky-related posts on here. I am a UK fan, but I do try to cover the SEC fairly honestly. I admit my bias, and unlike many in the mainstream media, I don't pretend to be able to put it aside and be completely dispassionate. Instead, I just try to stay away from the school for which I have a partisan affiliation. But sometimes it is impossible, and this is such a time.

I am very rarely surprised to read anything in the blogsophere. Sometimes you have people lose it. Sometimes, people just spew stream of consciousness crap. But this one really floored me. It starts with an article by Lexington Herald-Leader sportswriter John Clay about a Kentucky fan who goes to school at Vandy, and was sitting in the front row of the student section. His name is Eric Delong, and he was focused on a number of times by the ESPN cameras as he was the only guy in blue sitting in the front part of the Vandy student section. Clay writes this about his plight:

DeLong had arrived three hours early for his front-row seat, stood outside Memorial Gym for 90 minutes before the doors finally opened before tipoff, then sprinted to that prime position near mid-court where he was quickly enveloped by Commodore supporters.

"One of my friends -- well, he's not really a friend, just someone I play basketball with -- tried to physically remove me from my seat," said DeLong. "I didn't like that very much."

Then, somehow, his cell phone number was distributed and, as Vandy started using the Cats as a speed bag, DeLong received upwards of 65 text messages.

"My mom's not going to like that," he said. "The bill goes to her."

OK, I admit I think the fans were classless, but they are kids, so we have to give them a bit of a break here. They should certainly not have run up the charges on his phone by texting him, but I have seen and even participated in worse pranks in college, so I think his mom is just going to have to suck it up and tell her son to be more judicious about who he gives his cell number to. All that is fine, and I think we can say it pretty much falls under the rubric of, "the college experience." What floored me was the response from the blog, "Who ya With." To begin:

I hate this kid and I have never met him. This Douche is all that is wrong with Vandy athletics wrapped up in a gay little blue package. His name is Eric Delong and he was the faggot who wore his Kentucky shirt in the front row of the Vandy student section on Wednesday.

Well, let's see, where to begin? How is this a problem for Vandy athletics? Would you have them enforce a dress code on students, and require that they bow down and cheer for the university they matriculate to whether or not it is their favorite team on the floor? Not only that, isn't the fact that he was being abused by Vandy fans sufficient punishment without having aspersions cast on his sexuality by a Vanderbilt blogger? To continue:

I remember watching the game and thinking, "Oh well he is a Freshman who grew up in KY and still has allegiances." I as many others understand that it may take a little time to become a full blown Dores fan, but this queer is a fucking Junior. By that time your allegiance should be to the University you attend, not some team you grew up cheering for. I demand that this person transfer from the university or at least be shamed by the others living in Southerland House to do so. He does have a Facebook page and WYW would turn their heads to any public shamming you deem necessary.

Remember, this guy is a JUNIOR, and there is no place for him at the University we love.

I have no words for this drivel that I can print. I went to Western Kentucky, but nobody ever suggested I should be thrown out of school because I wore Kentucky clothing. Not only that, half of the student body were Kentucky fans. Comes now Mr. Jesus Quintana with the recommendation that Delong should leave because after three years at Vanderbilt, he is still a Kentucky fan. Then again, maybe it's all just a poor attempt at sarcasm and old farts like me just can't see it. It's possible (hey WYW, I'm offering you a way out here!).

I wonder if Mr. Quintana is so quick to change all his allegiances? He certainly seems to demand that others be. And to think, all this time I thought college campuses were all about free thinking, tolerance and rejection of the doctrinaire. Who knew?

Kentucky gets "Commodored," and the posts of the day

So I suppose you are expecting me to dodge the whole Kentucky-Vanderbilt debacle. Nah. As much as I hate to talk about it, it is what it is. Heaven knows what happened to Kentucky, but one thing is for sure -- Vanderbilt was excellent. Sennsm at Vanderbilt Tailgate was a bit surprised:

Ok. WTF happened last night? I dont think anybody saw that coming in a million years. I hope we can play with that intensity for the rest of the year. UK couldnt do anything right.

Yeah, that's pretty much right. Geaux Tuscaloosa goes into a bit more detail:

It was ugly. I turned it off and went to bed with just under 10:00 left in the game, after Vandy took out all of its starters. Vandy was winning by about 40 at the time. The game ended 93-52. I'm here to tell you it could have been worse. Kentucky had 11 points at halftime, and was losing by 30. The opening minutes of the second half were no better, as Vandy quickly built its lead to 40, and just cruised that point on.

Ugly is right.

Moving on (can you tell I don't want to think about that anymore?) to the best blog posts of the day, the winner today is Jeffrey Macloud at LSU "Tigerbait". Jeffrey looks at the strength of the SEC using the AP poll. He does a nice job of analysis and references his sources. Here is a taste:

In an effort to binge post, here's another longish entry. This was motivated by a comment made by one of my compatriots on TigerForums. Paraphrasing, he said that he thought the SEC was the strongest it had ever been.

This sounded right to me, but I wondered. So I looked into it. Here's what I found.

Go check it out.

The runner(s) up come from Fanhouse, in a tit-for-tat between Brian Cook and Pete Holiday. First, Brian Cook:

If you wandered over to the various recruiting sites on signing day you probably noticed big banners proclaiming Alabama's return to power via the nation's top recruiting class. This is due in large part to the enormous number of recruits that put pen to letter of intent for Nick Saban: 32, a full seven more than the NCAA's yearly limit of 25. Only Miami managed to stretch the boundaries of the rule further, signing 33.

Brian's point is that the "oversigning" of recruits is essentially unethical, and how the NCAA needs to do something about this abuse.

Of course, Pete Holiday is an Alabama fan and had his own response to Brian's accusations. According to Holiday, and contrary to the impression left by Cook, Saban isn't the only and arguably not the worst "violator" of this policy. In fact, Pete cites Brian's own favorite team's coach, Rich Rodriguez:

It's also not unique to the 2008 recruiting year. Clearly Brian didn't like having his team's coach called out, and he went to bat for Coach Rodriguez, defending him against the "snake oil" comment made by Purdue's Joe Tiller. Now he's saying that over-signing is what a real snake oil salesman would do, so let's take a look at Coach Rodriguez's recruiting numbers at WVU. In the six seasons from 2002-2007, Rodriguez signed fewer than 25 only twice (2004 and 2006), and on two occasions signed 33 (2002 and 2005). He signed 25 and 28 in 2003 and 2007 respectively. So, in 6 years of recruiting, Rodriguez sold snake oil (to use Cook's metaphor) half of the time.

Ouch. I think this round goes to Holiday.

Have you missed me?

Have you missed me? Yes, I have been absent from the blogging world for a while now. That's life, and I'm living it.

But I'm back, and its time for more trips around the world of SEC blogs. So here we go:

Phillip Fulmer's recent crack-down on murder, mayhem, rape, pillage and general lawlessness by Tennessee football players in and around the Knoxville area is getting lots of attention. He's decided to take the Coach Herman Boone approach:

"We will be perfect in every aspect of the game. You drop a pass, you run a mile. You miss a blocking assignment, you run a mile. You fumble the football, and i will break my foot off in your John Brown hind parts and then you will run a mile. Perfection. Let's go to work."

Get arrested? Run a mile -- at 6:00 am. Nice work, coach. Fanhouse says that Fulmer has vowed to lose the Fulmer Cup at long last. This has to be good news for Vol fans, especially the victims of the rampage in Knoxville. I hear property values in the Knoxville area are already moving up.

But lest you think we're done with Fulmer and Tennessee, I would be remiss if I failed to point you to this humorous little romp by Lawvol at Gate 21, who says that Tennessee has added a new "Techniques Coordinator" to motivate the soon-to-be law-abiding volunteers:

“My job here at Tennessee will be to turn the Vols into some cold-blooded, hard-hittin’, bad asses. My mantra is simple: Mess with me, and I’ll kill your ass.” said Winnfield while brandishing a 9mm pistol.

Heh. Maybe the Vols should just "lawyer up" now.

The Ol' Ball Coach is having lots of fun and games over at South Carolina. He hires a defensive coordinator, who then leaves to go back to the Falcons from whence he came. Garnet and Black Attack has makes fun of the details:

Falcons owner Arthur Blank said he had no hesitancy about taking two DCs from Spurrier on the same day after his experiences with Michael Vick, Petrino and Bill Parcells.

"If you can't beat the back-stabbing slimeballs, join them," said Blank, shrugging.

Hee-Haw.

In basketball news, the unranked (I'm getting really tired of typing that) Kentucky Wildcats sent the newly #3 ranked Tennessee Volunteers home with a knot on their collective heads Tuesday, and Vol fans are handling the loss with remarkable aplomb. Lawvol at Gate 21 has thoughts:

It sucks to lose to Kentucky, especially when you had the ability to beat them, but sometimes the game just doesn’t go the way you want it to. That’s what playing in the SEC — whether it be in basketball, football, or any other sport — is all about … Every game matters, and every team can beat you.

Very true. Tennessee played hard, Kentucky just played harder and the home crowd helped a lot. Third Saturday in Blogtober says that Rupp Arena is still Rupp Arena, no matter how bad the Cats are:

The Vols got handed their second loss of the season last night at Rupp Arena. Kentucky played a good hard fought game, and capitalized on an off night for the Vols to pull the upset. That may be the one thing that amazes me the most about this loss, we didn’t have one player have a good game, and we still nearly pulled it out at the end. Its kind of hard for me to get mad at a loss like this, because at least now we have improved to the point that it is possible to be upset by Kentucky at their place.

Indeed.

Jumping in while the water is warm

The big news around the football world, of course, is Florida State's mass suspensions due to academic improprieties. Because Florida state is playing Kentucky in the Music City Bowl, I'll have to write this piece from a bit of a Kentucky-centric perspective.

First of all, Kentucky has known many years of football futility and many years of basketball success. Today, the fortunes of the two sports at Kentucky seem oddly reversed, as Kentucky struggles to integrate a new coach into their basketball program, and the football program prepares for the culmination of two of its most successful years in memory. It is a strange juxtaposition, but good fodder for commentary.

Comes now Florida State with some 36 players suspended for the Music City Bowl, some of them several games into next season as well. The reasons for these suspensions include the academic cheating scandal, violations of team rules, injuries or "other reasons," leaving the Seminoles with a total of only 43 scholarship players available for the game. The list includes a total of 13 players who had started games at one point or another in the season for Florida State, and the lines seem to be the biggest sufferers of attrition.

As most watchers of football know, the lines are often the difference between bad teams and good teams. Lots of bad teams have good skill players, but without the lines, they are very limited in how far they can go in any given season. Florida State's biggest and perhaps only advantage over Kentucky has taken a thunderous hit, and it is unclear if the remains will be enough to make FSU competitive for the game.

From a Kentucky standpoint, this is a disappointment. UK fans always wanted to face Florida State at it's best, mainly because an opportunity to play and perhaps even defeat one of the great college football programs in the nation is good for our program. Unfortunately, the Music City Bowl will now be all about the FSU suspensions, and Kentucky must face the fact that they will be playing in a no-win situation. If the Wildcats win, it will be because of the the suspensions. If they somehow lose, it will be proof that Kentucky football is still the same as it always was, and can't even beat a team that has 25% of its best players missing. That will be the story line, true or not.

But the reality is, Kentucky has always been a destiny-blasted football program. How can we truly complain if that gets thrown in our face yet again just when things start to look up? As a Kentucky fan, I don't blame Florida State -- if it hadn't been them, it would have been someone else. The one positive in all of this is that Kentucky, who has a long record of compliance issues with the NCAA, actually winds up looking like good guys for once. At least, that is the silver lining I have found. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

Besides, why should Kentucky fans blame Florida State when there are so many Florida fans to do it for us? I must have truly must have lived a sheltered life for the last 20 years, because I had no idea of the visceral hatred the Gators have for the Seminoles. I knew they were rivals, but I had no idea it was almost as bitter as Alabama and Auburn. I suppose the fact that they play in different conferences mutes the rivalry a bit, like Kentucky vs. Louisville or Indiana in basketball. The rivalries that get lauded as the "best" always seem to be in the same conference.

But back to the Gator schadenfreude at the expense of the Seminoles. Mlmintampa, writing for Alligator Army, gives us perhaps the archetype of the disgust Florida fans feel for FSU:

When we first wrote about the FSU cheating scandal in September, it was limited to 23 athletes in several sports. But, St. Nick has given us an early Christmas present.

As many as 20 Florida State football players will be suspended from playing against Kentucky in the Dec. 31 Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl, as well as the first three games of the 2008 season, for their roles in an alleged cheating scandal involving an Internet-based course, a source with knowledge of the situation said Tuesday morning.

Excuse me for a moment.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111111111111!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!

Wait, Mlm -- now tell us how you really feel. But I gather that this is just typical of the kind of joy that Gator fans have felt at the troubles of their rival. Orange and Blue Hue also engages in a bit of schadenfreude. But all that taken together doesn't match this post from Chris at The Gator Blog:

I hate Florida State. So much that I can barely get through writing out the school's name. I would rather see the entire school disband and Tallahassee be swallowed by a sink hole, if it weren't for the fake that I wouldn't get the satisfaction of beating them once a year.

I hate Chris Rix, Geno Hayes, Sebastian Janikowski, Thad Busby, Mickey Andrews, Jack Childress, PK Sam, Lorenzo Booker, DeCody Fagg, Peter Warrick, "The Choke at Doak," jump passes, flare passes to the RB, Samari Rolle, Chief Osceola, his dumb flaming spear, the FSU flag boy, Chris Weinke, Leon Washington, "the echo of the whistle," Darnell Docket, Greg Carr, and especially you, Bobby Bowden.

I hate that they changed their foundation date so they can "beat out" us. I hate that they count 31-31 a win, I hate that they altered the record books to count a 21-19 "win," I hate the Swindle in the Swamp, I hate that they give free rides to Seminole Indians to prevent being sued. I hate the Warchant, I hate the website Warchant, I hate everyone who posts there, I hate Dot, and all their delusionole (ha!) fans. I hate that they talk "band smack."

I hate that they make me root for Miami once a year, and that they made me root for Tennessee and Georgia. I hate that Tallahassee is the capitol of this state. I hate that FSU is so crappy that we get downgraded to noon ESPN2 games (like last year).

You know Navy's losing streak to Notre Dame? I want that against Florida State...only 40 years from now, I want to still be beating them.

Now that, my friends, is an impressive rant against a team. That is loathing of a character I can barely comprehend, and I can comprehend quite a bit. That is visceral, it is active and it has the vitality of hot battery acid.

AEM at SEConds to Victory has another impressive rant against FSU. Now, I don't know his partisan affiliation, but he berates the Seminoles for moral turpitude:

I have just one little thing to say: Are we kidding? When is it going to be enough and when is someone that can do something about it, such as the NCAA, going to show us that the people making a paycheck for doing nothing are actually making a paycheck because they are doing something? Don’t get me wrong, I blame a lot of people for this mess. The kids that need to understand the true meaning of “student athlete”, the school for not having the guts to send these kids packing and setting an example once and for all, and of course the NCAA for not delivering a harsher punishment to the players, while having no problem that the tutors have been sent away.

He makes a strong point. It is a bit short of compassion, but I can't say that he doesn't have it right -- spare the rod, spoil the child and all that. NCAA institutions are utterly guilty of self-interest in their lopsided application of the rules, and the NCAA itself is a willing accomplice. At the end of the day, the pursuit of lucre will always triumph over moral integrity, even in the hallowed halls of the academic institutions and the Association itself. This may seem a cynical view, but given the discordant history of responses by both the schools and the NCAA itself, it's hard to ascribe any real moral authority to those worthies.

Finally, Ian Cohen at Fanhouse wins the "Best FSU Lede" contest with Did You Get Suspended by Florida State?:

Seriously, check your voicemail: Florida State's gone on a suspension spree two weeks out from their Music City Bowl tilt with Kentucky, with as many as 20 Seminoles missing out on Nashville in December and possibly the first three games of next year. This all stems from an alleged online cheating scandal that's already claimed the jobs of two academic assistants (they were only trying to assist!). I mean, all things considered with online classes, I'm amazed this doesn't happen more often.

Ah, well. At Kentucky, we have to take life as it comes. We are still looking forward to playing Bowden & Co., and hopefully beating our second ACC team in a row at the Music City Bowl. It will be a less than perfect ending for Kentucky's seniors, win or lose, but it is surely better than sitting home and watching others play football during the holidays.

Since You've Been Gone ...

Remember that old song from the 1970's by Ritchie Blackmore and Rainbow? Great tune, and it's applicable to yours truly -- I have been gone all month, practically.

But now I'm back, and I'm fixing to be blogging again. Ain't life grand?

First of all, what about all this Saban to WVU crap? Seriously, I think the whole country goes a little psycho during coaching searches, and it really shows.

For example Ryan Ferguson at Fanhouse warned us all that coaches can desert your program, anytime, anywhere. He's right. If the conditions are right, almost any coach will change, and a few of them will leave notes in your locker room.

But really, Saban to WVU? Nah. I don't care how many emails get sent hither and thither. That would make Tubby Smith leaving for the frozen wastes of Minnesota look like a lateral move. The Mountaineers have a nice program, but they are no Alabama. I don't think Alabama fans are too concerned about this rumor.

Then we have this piece by Fanhouse essentially suggesting that Ohio State should beat LSU because of one statistic. According to a poster over at the Miami Hurricane's Rivals site:

The Buckeyes own the advantage in the most vital stat, Yards Per Pass Attempt Differential. They are +3.1 to +1.7 for LSU, a decisive edge.

The leader in that stat invariably wins the title game, including so-called upsets by Florida and Texas the past two years.

Heh. Kentucky owned that stat all year against everybody it played, and they still finished 7-5. Maybe that stat doesn't tell the whole story after all.

Jai Eugene at Loser With Socks says that Spurrier's hiring of former Georgia Bulldog and Atlanta Falcons linebacker coach Brian VanGorder means one thing -- the end of the line for VanGorder. Funny.

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.

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.

This post is about as much fun as crawling naked over broken glass

Well, I've been out for a few days on a project, and therefore, I have not blogged. I work, therefore I don't blog ... ?

Before I go all Decartesque on a bunch of people wanting to read about sports stuff, I think I'll stop right there.

Of course, the big news of this week was the beat-down Gardner-Webb laid on my Kentucky Wildcats. Now, when I started this blog, I promised it wouldn't be UK-centric, and I think I have lived up to that standard reasonably well. But this is big news, and believe me, I don't enjoy blogging about a mid-major with an enrollment of maybe 5000 students driving their rag-tag bus 6 hours northwest to Rupp Arena, and stomping the snot out of one of the most storied basketball programs in history. Every word I type here feels like I am punching the keyboard with severe arthritis in my fingers. It hurts that much.

I cannot tell you how ... chagrined I was watching this game. It told a story of a coach so committed to his system, he wasn't willing to change it when faced with the ultimate counter and absolute disaster. The Princeton (or Pete Caril) offense is what Gardner-Webb used to embarrass Kentucky. Any coach (or competent observer) will tell you that a pressure man-to-man defense is the single most vulnerable defense to the Caril offense. The most basic (but probably most important) reason is, offensive players know where they are going, and defenders don't. Gillispie was unwilling to change the defense, and G-W continued to be successful against the Cats.

Midway through the second half, when the game was really in jeopardy, Gillispie finally went to a conventional man-to-man, instructing the team to stay in between the man they were guarding and the basket. Kentucky went on a run, but by that point, G-W believed they could win the game, and began making big shots. A fatigued Wildcat team began missing assignments and the rest, as they say, is history.

For my part, I am as unhappy as you would expect facing a constant drumbeat of schadenfreude from teams that Kentucky has defeated year in and year out, or just general UK haters, of which there are many. Maybe not as many as Duke, but more than enough to make for a long, tiresome week of snarky comments and insults. Frankly, I don't have anything too negative to say about that -- we made our bed, and now we have to sleep in it, even if it is full of fleas.

So, let's see what the non-Kentucky SEC blogs are saying about this affair:

Charles Rich, writing for Fanhouse, thinks that Gillispie has a lot of work to do:

The Runnin' Bulldogs led the entire game. They outshot, outrebounded and outplayed the Wildcats. Gillispie's disapproval of the team's defensive effort in the exhibitions and first game appears quite warranted. Gardner-Webb was able to run backdoor cuts almost at will for easy layups and higher percentage shots. This was not a case of a team that got incredibly hot from behind the 3-point line. Gardner-Webb shot over 56% on 2-point shots.

What can I say? The guy is right, right, right and, oh yeah, right.

Eight in the Box (not exactly a basketball kind of blog) wonders, "Who is Gardner-Webb?" Heh. I wish I knew. What I do know is that they can play a little ball over there.

SEC Hoops is like me ... What the ...?:

Are you kidding me?!? In what was college basketball’s biggest upset in some time, Gardner-Webb absolutely dominated #15 Kentucky on their own floor tonight with a 84-68 win. Kentucky allowed GW to shoot 53.1% from the floor while managing only a 35.5% effort of their own, and was outrebounded 36-28. GW jumped out to a 14-0 lead early, and never trailed.

Yeah, no shit, Sherlock. But he clearly didn't see the game. Ramel Bradley impressed nobody. He didn't get credit for half the turnovers he actually made. Must be some kind of New York City bias in the official scoring.

The Hog Blogger has an interesting take:

Perhaps this is karma for essentially costing Stan Heath his job? It’s possible.

Eh? Oh, I get it -- Gillispie turned down Arkansas, and ... Ok, whatever. Maybe he's right. God knows, I am searching here.

Then, I have to put up with this crap from Orange and Blue Hue:

Ummmm . . . mandate may be a stong term . . . how about rephrasing this as ” . . . was hired as the 21st coach in Kentucky History with an optimistic request to restore basketball’s winningest program to previous heights.” instead??? While the football program is ascending to heights heretofore unseen in the school’s history, the basketball programs precipitous descent doesn’t look quite complete. Apparently the empty seats in Rupp arena were not just due to student apathy but perhaps instead of the foresight of fans not yet blinded by years of delusion. They just wanted to spare themselves the sight of such embarrassment and hoping to return later in the season when the team starts playing better.

Oh, kiss my entire ass, Keltic Gator. Just keep in mind, when we whack your butts twice this year, you are going to hear "Can't even beat a team that Gardner-Webb defeated." Karma, KG ... karma.

That's enough. I really don't want to read anymore. Yeah, I am embarrassed, just like the rest of the Big Blue Nation, and I'll have to put up with crap on this one for two more weeks at least.

Nobody ever said being a fan was always fun ...

Mississippi State and Georgia have a big weekend

What a weekend. I am out doing stuff for one weekend and come back to find -- more upsets, more weirdness more ... well, just more.

First of all, home stuff. My UK Wildcats got drubbed by a Mississippi State team that is beginning to show signs of relevance in the SEC East. That makes two (2!) ranked teams that have been Croomed this year in the SEC, Auburn and UK. I'm thinking the Bulldogs are doing something right, and it's beginning to show. Yes, Kentucky had numerous offensive skill players out and had to run most of the second half with a fifth-string halfback, but part of being a good football team is finding ways to win when you have injuries.

MSU proved that while UK may (I say may -- I have a few more doubts now) be a good football team, they sure can suck in a given game. But lest we be guilty of the false assertion that MSU was handed the game by UK, let me point out that the Bulldogs played outstanding, smash-mouth football and beat the Wildcats in every way possible. It was a big win for the Dawgs, who now are only one game away from bowl eligibility, and a big loss for the Cats, who have justifiably dropped precipitously in the polls and limp into their bye week loosing 3 of their last 4.

The Wildcat Fan Report wonders what happened to the Cats:

The Kentucky offense, on the other hand, seemed like they were just meeting one another for the first time. Woodson threw several passes behind receivers and apparently thought Derrick Locke could catch a ball with his ankles as that’s where he threw at least three screen passes. And Joker Phillips astute play calling was on display late in the game on 3rd-and-2 in two down territory when he lined Woodson up in the shotgun and called a draw to Moncel Allen that went nowhere and then put Woodson back in the shotgun on 4th-and-2 only to see a collision between Woodson and Allen result in a turnover on downs. Why are you running a draw and trying to fool the defense when you have two downs to get two yards? Line up and go off tackle twice!

I also felt like I was watching a team from the twilight zone, somehow stuck in a 1992 time-warp and through the magic of a space-time discontinuity, manifesting itself in the bodies of current UK players. Well, who said the Universe makes sense?

Georgia had no such issues with Florida in the Cocktail Party, though. I had a feeling the Dawgs were due, and they punched the Gator's ticket to 3 SEC losses yesterday. Welcome to the world of getting smacked in the puss by a bye-week team, Gators. You did it to Kentucky, now Georgia showed you how it feels to be on the wrong end.

GatorPilot at Orange and Blue Hue is suffering from some vapors -- of the equine excrement variety:

Congrats to Georgia, the better team on this night. May God have mercy on the souls of Gator Nation. This is the kind of loss that makes a Gator fan’s heart explode.

Tonight I dream dark, cloudy, troubled dreams… and I’ll wake up screaming on 3rd and short every time.

Which is horseshit.

I know just how he feels, but probably don't feel it as sharply. At Kentucky, we have just figured out that losing a game is actually a bad thing, not something that should be expected. It will take a lot more success for our hearts to start exploding, I'm afraid.

What is interesting is that both Kentucky and Florida seemed to lose the game almost the same way -- an unsatisfactory defensive effort compounded by futility on the offensive end. Sacks of your previously-Heisman-contending quarterback, fumbles, interceptions, oh, my!

Mergz at Saurian Sagacity had this to say:

We were out coached, outplayed, and just plain beaten, which is made all the more the shame by the fact the ticky-tacky antics of the Georgia coaches should have allowed us to beat them silly. The same group of players that stamped on Vandy’s logo thought is somehow advisable (assumedly with the nod of the coaches) to all run on the field after the first TD. There is an old saying about “acting like you have been there before” when you score a TD. Instead, the entire Georgia team acted as if it was the first TD they hade ever seen. If the Gators did that, I would be embarrassed beyond belief.

Well, I sense frustration with the Dawgs' antics. Since I didn't see the game, I'm going to look to some Bulldog blogs for an explanation (an doubtless, a defense). David Ching of the Georgia Bulldog Blog had this contemporaneous post expressing incredulity:

Rushing the field after that touchdown is either the smartest thing Mark Richt has ever allowed or the dumbest. We're going to find out shortly.

Given the implied criterion of outcome here, I'd say David's a firm vote for "smartest", as his follow up post suggests. Over at Dawg Sports, a diarist named randomterrace addresses this article by Terence Moore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution blasting the Bulldogs for conduct unbecoming a football team. Dawg Sports makes several points athwart those of Moore, but concludes thus:

Mr. Moore - your column was stupid. You are a fool. But it's hard for me to stay mad at you, because I know you didn't mean it. I suggest your editors shove your computer off your desk, get in your ear about lazy, self-serving contrarian columns, and demand something more from you, something the AJC can be proud of. In short, they should follow the estimable example of Mark Richt.

Undoubtedly, this was a stunt designed to inspire the Dawgs who have played anything but inspiring football this season. But the apparent domino effect on Georgia was that it had multiple personal fouls called for everything from facemasking to unsportsmanlike celebration.

Kevin Brown of the Bleacher Report condemns Richt for allowing the celebration, suggesting that it could have provoked a bench-clearing brawl, while Mike Bianchi, a notorious Gator homer writing for the Orlando Sentinel, applauds the move as "brilliant."

In the final analysis, it probably wasn't Richt's finest moment, nor the Bulldogs when it comes to sportsmanship. This is a symptom that we are seeing more and more often -- the idea that winning is more important than what happens along the way. But Urban Meyer has no cause for outrage. That last-second time out against Auburn in their home loss earlier in the year is an example of how a coach can do something totally unsportsmanlike and get applauded for it. I think, in the end, it was karma from that action that got repaid in kind on Saturday.

Yeah, Georgia was wrong. But Florida deserved it, Urban Meyer in particular. So if you want to take some high ground, Gators, try earning it with your actions. That way, condemning others who act classlessly will ring a bit less hollow.

Better late than never

OOPS! Wednesday I said I would look at two teams today, and two teams tomorrow, meaning Thursday -- and yet, I didn't post on Thursday, or Friday for that matter. Oh, well, life happens.

So now, we shall proceed to look at the two SEC games I didn't look at Wednesday, and without further ado ...

Mississippi State at Kentucky

This game is important for Kentucky. They are still in the SEC East race, but there is no way they can get to Catlanta without help. But more important even than that is the perception shared by many in the SEC that Kentucky cannot sustain their level of play, and is due to return to form and drop games they should win.

Kentucky Sports Radio takes a look at the UK-MSU game, and raises the specter of Happy Gilmore:

After a hard-fought, human-growth-hormone induced loss, it will be nice for the Cats to get back to their winning ways by going all Bob Barker on the Bulldogs (Does he mean Bob Barker as in when Bob Barker fought Happy Gilmore, or is that an allusion to neutering your dog? Both, kids.) The thought here is that Kentucky wins in such convincing fashion that College Gameday will actually be on the Vanderbilt campus in a couple of weeks to again witness the majesty that is UK Football.

Heh. Well, whatever, but if the Gameday boys show up in Nashville, be looking for the 5th Horseman to ride into town as well.

Greg Ellis from Inside Mississippi State was flying to Lexington for the game, but wound up in Louisville:

I was supposed to land in Lexington. Funny thing, though. I didn’t. Instead, I landed in Louisville. Thanks, Northwest, for overbooking. Wouldn’t have been so bad had my hotel not been in Lexington, along with the rental car. Oh well, that’s baseball. But, I finally made it. That’s all that counts. Just three hours late.

Man, what a drag. Enjoy the game, Greg.

Ole Miss at Auburn

The Tigers are coming off a disappointing loss at LSU in a game they arguably should have won. Ole Miss comes off a brutal beating at the hands of the Arkansas Razorbacks. Ryan at The Auburner hasn't quite moved on from LSU:

The general reaction on the plains has been mostly depression mixed with anger… if that’s even possible. The emotional cycle that has been going on this week goes like so:

1) Remembrance: The worst part of the cycle. Just when you think you have forgotten about the weekend and had moved on with your life only to relive the moment that Les Miles escaped death… again. This phase is often brought about by something that slightly resembles the… ‘Incident.’ For instance, I was driving up Donahue and noticed a sign for “Gourmet Tiger”… WRITTEN IN PURPLE! After that blow to my mood, I had trouble driving faster than 5 miles per hour.

2) Anger: Comes about 45 seconds after the first phase. It’s hard to beat ourselves up for losing on a roll of the dice. This stage consists mostly of questioning the referee’s sexual orientation and Les Miles’ alliance with Satan.

3) Arrest: Vandalism, assault, tax fraud, you name it. You can’t be held responsible for your actions as a result of phase 2. Les Miles took unnecessary gambles and it worked out great for him, why not me?

4) Bail: This is where you find out who your true friends are.

5) Trying to forget: It’s hard, but at some point you gotta move on… or just try to think of something else. Hakuna Matata anyone?

6) Remembrance: Rinse and repeat.

The Plainsmen are playing some of the best football in the league right now, and have redeemed their earlier loss to the MSU Bulldogs. But they have to beat Ole Miss to retain even an outside shot at the West, and even then, they will need help from LSU.

WorldClassGlass thinks the Rebels will have difficulty defeating the Plainsmen in Jordan-Hare, and isn't looking forward to the game:

We all know the Rebels story and it has been a bad season for them. They have been competitive in their two biggest games at home, but are coming off a week in which they played their worst football in the Coach O era.

While I think the Rebels will not play as bad as they did last week, I think they will have a lot of trouble hanging with the Tigers. This is a very big game for the future of the season for the Tigers. With an early evening kickoff(UMAA does not know what that is), the atmosphere at Jordan Hare should be rocking and the fans should be pumped up.

All that being said, I think the Tigers will beat the Rebels by about two or three touchdowns. It will be interesting to see if Seth Adams will return to play similar to earlier this season or if he will continue his interception filled play as the past several games.

I always enjoy the trip to Auburn and look forward to another trip, however I am not looking forward to the game.

As a Kentucky fan, I know exactly what this feels like. Up until the last couple of years, any fine Kentucky blogger could have written sentiments exactly like this one. Rebuilding is difficult, even near-impossible in the SEC when you are are mired in the lower tier. Every year brings more of the same frustration.

Ole Miss, at one time, was a dominant power in the SEC. Will we ever see a return of those halcyon days?

Week 8 -- Some thoughts and some fun

Well, well, some very interesting things going on in the SEC today, some of it just frankly freaking amazing.

It seems that in spite of the absolute pasting they took at the hands of the Crimson Tide this weekend, the Chattanooga Times Free Press thinks that the Vols still have a shot at the SEC title game:

Five of the SEC East's six teams have two league losses. The Vols (4-3, 2-2 SEC) have played two of them, going 1-1, and they will play the other three.

Four of Tennessee's last five regular season games are at home, starting Saturday night with South Carolina -- another two-SEC loss team.

"Like Coach (Phillip) Fulmer told us, the season's not over. Not one bit," UT middle linebacker Jerod Mayo said.

But have the Vols shown anything to make anyone this that optimism is realistic?

Uh, let me answer that for you -- not really, at least, not given the schizophrenic nature of the game they have been playing in place of actual football. Unsurprisingly, Rocky Top Talk agrees:

Despite gross coaching incompetence in all major games but one, UT still has an outside chance at contending for the SEC East. But someone (ahem, Georgia) would have to beat Florida, and UT would have to beat South Carolina, Arkansas, Kentucky and Vandy. I'm tempted to say Florida can punch their card to rematch LSU in the SEC title game, but things have been strange this year. I'm done with predictions.

Well, I can't blame him for that. This SEC season has been full of bizarre twists and turns, and there is no real reason to think that the thing will turn back to normalcy anytime soon. Nobody really would have expected Alabama to obliterate Tennessee like they did, but then again, almost nobody expected LSU to have a loss to Kentucky.

Now, here is an interesting tidbit -- Les Miles says he is going to "review the block on Dorsey". What the hell is there to "review?" All you have to do is look at the thing once.

For any of you that didn't see the game, the Auburn right guard made an egregious chop-block on Dorsey's right knee while he was engaged with another player. How the officials could have missed that call is beyond me, but it was really blatant. Fortunately, Dorsey seems to be OK, but that is the kind of thing that should get players thrown out of the game and suspended for long periods of time.

The thing looked very deliberate to me, as the right guard was going right for Dorsey's knee, which collapsed at an odd and scary angle. How he escaped serious injury is simply beyond my comprehension. Predictably, there is some displeasure among LSU bloggers. Here's what Richard Pittman of Geaux Tuscaloosa had to say:

My third thought is that there is no way in hell the hit on Dorsey was legal. I understand that the Auburn boards are aflutter with activity justifying and/or rationalizing the hit, but there's no way. It wasn't in any respect a legal hit. I'll give the player the benefit of the doubt that he was not out to injure Dorsey, particularly if he comes out and says it publicly.

Obviously, there are some who just a little bit more incensed, but I think Pittman gets it right. Senator Blutarsky at the Georgia Blog Get the picture thinks this was the cheap shot of the year in the SEC.

Auburn, on the other hand, feels there was a bit too much home cooking down on the bayou:

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

That spot was pitiful, no question.

So Kentucky beats the Tigers after a tough game and a long week. Then, dinged up Kentucky gets beat by Florida after a bye week, resulting in a tough game and a dinged up Florida team. Now, Florida faces a Georgia team coming off a layoff this weekend. Anyone sense a pattern here?

Georgia must be chomping at the bit to get to the Gators, especially on a "neutral" field in Jacksonville. This game could truly be a season changer, put Georgia back into the SEC East hunt and deal a fatal blow to their hated rivals from Gainesville. But David Ching is wary about Tebow's injury, and Paul Westerdawg says Tebow is the reincarnation of Biff Tannen. Twin sons of different mothers, indeed.

Catching up from way behind

Yeah, yeah, I know. I haven't blogged in two days. Well, I have an excuse -- I was behind really bad at work on Friday, and on Saturday, I was ...um, watching football games. I just didn't have the energy to blog last night after the LSU game. So sue me.

Anyway, there is sure plenty to talk about today. What a killer game between LSU and Auburn last night! It looked for all the world like Auburn was going to pull another upset like they did in The Swamp, and it was a very near thing.

But what I really want to know is, what kind of psychotic call was that last play from scrimmage? I mean, Les Miles came away looking like ... well, Orson Swindle says it better than me:

Holly: Tell us about that last call, Coach.

Les: (Pauses, looks blankly at her.) Which call?

Holly: (Dumbfounded.) The touchdown call to win the game. Tell us a little about that.

Les: Oh, that call. Sure. It’s because, where other men have brains, I just have more balls. Just a skull full of testes–that’s what you’ll see if you take an MRI of my head, actually. It’s like looking at an x-ray of a beanbag in profile when you look at my head. I jostle when I walk. Why? It’s the balls jangling and boinging around in my head. Don’t ask me if it’s awesome. There’s no brains up there, only balls. And balls always have the same answer to that question: it’s awesome having a brain full of balls like Les Miles does. It sounds awesome when I say that, actually. Balls. BALLS BALLS BALLS BALLS BALLS. That’s it in short, Balls.

That was just sick, insane, cluelessness, or the case of a coach having way more balls than brains. I'll leave it to you to decide which. Anyway, if that particular ball had been tipped or bobbled around before being incomplete, the clock would have expired. Les Miles would suddenly find himself with a first-person understanding of how Steve Kragthorpe feels. If he is just looking to pave his way to the Michigan job, this sort of thing could eventually get it done.

Just plain wow.

At least some Auburn fans see this as more of a victory than a loss:

Auburn will likely not play for an SEC Championship this season or figure into the SEC West race. LSU now must lose two more games for Auburn to sneak in.

But I don’t care. And I hope you don’t care. This Auburn team is special. It’s been like watching a child grow up. We should all be proud of this Auburn team.

Great game by both Tigers. I had a feeling LSU was going to pull this game out, and they did, but Auburn was truly impressive in defeat. Given the way Alabama performed against Tennessee, I believe this year's Iron Bowl is going to be one hell of a game.

Speaking of UT at Alabama, that was the other side of the coin from Auburn/LSU - an ugly blowout, the second one the Vols have suffered this year. Losing huge to the powerful Gators in The Swamp is one thing, but being handed your buttocks by a rather pedestrian Alabama team is ... well, different. Pat Forde writing for ESPN has an interesting take:

Throw in Alabama mugging Tennessee after suspending five players, and you have the Karl Marx dream standings in the Eastern Division. Everyone is equal, or nearly so.

Wow, Pat, that's some serious geopolitical allegory to hang on a football game, dude. UT Vols Football says Phillip Fulmer finds himself in a familiar place. All I can say is that DJ Hall and John Parker Wilson looked like Steve Young and Jerry Rice respectively against the Vol defense. That can't make Big Orange fans happy and Third Saturday in Blogtober confirms this perception.

From a Bama perspective, the fan blogs are decidedly more upbeat, perhaps even ... dare I say it ... giddy ?

It was an amazing game. Not only did Alabama beat the Vols, we CRUSHED the Vols. I’ve seen plenty of smack talk coming from the orange nation, so this victory is all the more sweeter. Plus, we have a bye week, so we can gloat for an entire week and not have to worry about LSU. Nick Saban improves to 3-1 against Phil Fulmer, starting a new daddy trend.

Ouch. But that's not all. Memphis Tider can't help but jump up and down in pleasure, and just a wee bit of schadenfreude. The Capstone Report is rather more circumspect, and highlights a different theme:

In what might have been the best executed and conceived Alabama game plan since the 1999 SEC Championship Game, Alabama mauled Tennessee 41-17; Nick Saban made a definitive statement that he understands the importance of winning over rivals.

But the bigger statement than even the game, was Alabama’s willingness to suspend players before a big game for potential violations. It was the failure to act swiftly that began Alabama’s decades of misery. Not this time. The administration and coaches made clear they want to win the right way.

I hate to burst anyone's bubble, but the last chapter is yet to be written on the book issue. I think Saban clearly did the right thing suspending his players given what we know, and that is a very good sign. But there may be more to this than meets the eye, and the Alabama program, who can ill afford another group of NCAA sanctions, cannot be feeling too good about this. Mike Silve, you may have to wait awhile to have a sanction-free SEC.

South Carolina found itself on the wrong end of a fired-up Vanderbilt team yesterday, and South Carolina fans are understandably upset. Some of them are placing the blame on Spurrier's decision to give Blake Mitchell a chance to recapture the quarterback spot:

I said it on the radio and I will say it again, Spurrier should have never put Mitchell in this game. Stick with your QB and move forward. Smelley should have played every snap this game. Mitchell is our albatross.

This is the first time in three years that I have questioned Steve Spurrier and I stick beside it. Spurrier should have never put Mitchell in the game. Ever.

Flounder at Leftover Hot Dog thinks this is arguably the worst loss in Spurrier's tenure at USC. I'm not sure who is to blame, but you have to believe this QB situation is a distraction to the team. I have never liked the idea of changing quarterbacks midstream unless there is clear and convincing evidence the one you have isn't going to be able to get the job done.

Vanderbilt bloggers are understandably pleased with sending The Visor home with mud in his eye. But as of this writing, there has been little Vanderbilt blogging to talk about. Well, it is only Sunday, and I think we can infer from the result that Commie fans are smiling.

Finally, the big game of the weekend, Florida at Kentucky. As a Kentucky fan, I do have a dog in this fight, and I think it was a case where the Wildcats simply didn't execute well enough to win. It was a well-played game by both sides, but Tim Tebow, the obvious result of some sort of illegal eugenics experiment, was just way too much for the Wildcats:

Also very difficult to watch was Kentucky's relative inability to stop Tim Tebow at much of anything. For the past two seasons, teams with running quarterbacks have caused Kentucky fits and tim Tebow may be the best we have seen in some time. Time after time when Kentucky needed a third down stop, Tebow would either scramble for a first down or make a perfect pass in order to move the chains. Had Kentucky been more efficient in the first half, its inability to get the big stop in the first half wouldnt have been so crucial and Tebow and company may have felt their own pressure to come up with a big score. But the hole dug in the first half could not be overcome and Tebow was pretty sensational throughout the game.

Tebow was indeed special, and deserves his plaudits. The Gators are beating their chests a bit over at Saurian Sagacity and Orange and Blue Hue. I suppose they have earned it, in that they won the game. Still, it strikes me as odd that both these bloggers spend a bit more time defending their own comments and assuring anyone within blogshot of their superiority. Well, this is the SEC, not finishing school.

Still, perhaps Gator fans should try not to break their arms patting themselves on the back, there is still a lot of football to be played, and a rested and healed-up Georgia will be waiting for the dinged up Gators in Jacksonville. Can you say, "Sauce for the goose ...?"

This and that, and a look at this weekend

Well, Best of the SEC Blogs received a big link the other day from Ryan Ferguson from AOL Fanhouse. Ryan is also a co-blogger at the Florida blog Orange and Blue Hue, so we want to thank him for the link, and for reading Best of the SEC Blogs.

I do want to point out a couple of things, though. First of all, Ryan is right that I am annoyed to find Ohio State atop the rankings, given their schedule so far this year. And Ryan's co-blogger, Keltic Gator at Orange and Blue Hue delivers a scathing assessment of their ascendancy today.

With all that said, I do want to agree with Ryan that the final chapter in the BCS is far from being written, and Ohio State itself is guilty of nothing more than beating everyone who has come before them so far. OSU can't help it if sclerotic BCS voters care more about a school's pedigree than their body of work. It is also true that OSU's toughest games lie before them. All in all, the reality is that there is no reason for panic -- yet. But this, I cannot agree with:

This is the system college presidents we've adopted and this is the product we get. Accept it.

Never. Never will I accept this farce. It needs to be changed, and accepting it is acquiescing to a fraud, and every thinking fan of college football knows it. Once again I return to Mergz at Saurian Sagacity, and his outstanding series dealing with this issue. Until we get some form of playoff, even a limited one, there will be no legitimacy to the "national championship". It will remain little more than a beauty contest where football tradition and pre-season standing count for as much as prowess on the field. Anyone associated with athletic endeavor should be outraged at this arrangement.

But moving right along, it's past time for me to start looking at some of the big games this week.

And what's the biggest game in the SEC this week? It says here that it's Florida vs. Kentucky. Did I read that right? Kentucky, the basketball school? Up is down. Left is right. Florida and UK are weirdly switching roles lately, with Billy D. winning NCAA basketball championships and Kentucky contending for the SEC football crown. They say that if you live long enough, you'll see everything.

So what are the SEC bloggers saying about this matchup? Ole Miss blogger Parish Alford favors the Wildcats:

Since the SEC split into divisions in 1992, the East has been ruled by Florida, Tennessee or Georgia.

Kentucky and South Carolina have never been closer than they are this season. Maybe this is one of those lightning in a bottle times for the Cats.

Kentucky 36, Florida 31

Kyle King at Dawg Sports, who picked Kentucky to beat LSU (maybe the only person I know of to do so), thinks the Wildcat's luck has run out:

L.S.U. came back in gutsy fashion to win a thriller over Florida, confirming the Bayou Bengals' status as the nation's consensus No. 1 team . . . and setting the Tigers up for a letdown in Lexington against a well-rested and underappreciated Kentucky team that, unlike Louisiana State, hadn't spent the last week hearing how great it was. Unfortunately for the Wildcats, that same formula works against them this weekend: Kentucky is the squad that will be physically drained and emotionally spent after a triple-overtime victory over the top team in the land and the Gators are the ones coming into the game with fresh legs and in a bad mood. Live by the letdown, die by the letdown: Florida will keep its shot at a second straight S.E.C. East title alive by beating Kentucky in the Commonwealth.

But Florida at Kentucky is not the only big game going on this time of year -- it is also the weekend for the annual renewal of the Third Saturday in October. Jon at Fulmer's Belly thinks that the Vols will be sending the Tide back to Tuscaloosa with their tail between their legs:

Who will win? Well, depends on whose blog you read. I’ve read through a few Bama blogs, and surprisingly, they chose Bama to pull off the upset, whilst this humble blog you’re reading now, would like to go ahead and call out a blowout by the Vols. Maybe the final margin will be closer, but it won’t be a game. Why? Because the belly decrees it so. Now get back to work.

Nico writing for Roll Bama Roll ranks the hate of the top five Alabama rivals. Tennessee comes in at #4:

4. Tennessee: I'm pretty shocked that Tennessee has managed to slip to #4 this season, but there they are. It's probably less a function of them slipping as much as it is other schools giving us more reason to hate. Don't be alarmed folks, this situation is purely temporary.

This is one of those games that just can't be picked based on any particular characteristic of either team. With both teams having a "down" year by their own definition, yet both still apparently controlling their own destiny in their respective divisions of the SEC, this game is sure to be among the most hotly contested of the year.

That's all I have time for now. I'll be looking at some more games later.

Some quick SEC previews from around the blogosphere

Today, we'll be letting some of the SEC's best bloggers tell us what they expect this Saturday.

Georgia at Vanderbilt

Hunker Down Dawg Blawg, Georgia:

We need this game in a bad way. We have to right the ship and get out of Nashville with a win. At this point, after what I saw last week, I don’t even care about style points or anything like that. While a stylish blowout win a la Ole Miss two weeks ago (my how two weeks can certainly change one’s perception of this team) would certainly make me feel better about things, at this point, I just think we all need a win. We can’t let that complete meltdown last week result in the spiral out of control we saw last year.

Nashville Ballerz, Vanderbilt:

Here’s the truth: Vanderbilt is good enough to play in a bowl game this season but not good enough to overcome shoddy quarterback play. Whether it’s Nickson or Adams at the controls Saturday, one needs to get the VU offense moving again and keep this season on track while there’s still time.

LSU at Kentucky

A Sea of Blue, Kentucky:

Our offensive line will face a challenge of Davidian proportions. If they can find some formula to protect Woodson and create holes for our backs to hit through LSU's mighty defensive front, great things can happen for UK. LSU can't win a shootout with anybody, but normally, they don't have to face one.

LSUPhootball, LSU:

Monica Says: In order for Kentucky to win this game, LSU has to tackle the same way they did against Florida during the 1st half, Jarmon and Woodyard need to stop LSU’s rushing attack, and Woodson needs to be mistake-free, which isn’t that much of a stretch considering he’s thrown 18 TD’s and 2 interceptions. Coach Rich Brooks also needs to mix up the play calling and utilize Little and not rely on Woodson as much as he has this year.

Tennessee at Mississippi State

Rocky Top Talk, Tennessee:

Vols to the Wall asks the question on every Vol fan's mind: Can Tennessee run the table? College Football News apparently thinks we can at least get to the SEC Championship game because they have us slated for the Capital One Bowl (as the SEC No. 2) against Wisky. And yeah, Mississippi may be Josh McNeil's home, but Dave Hooker states the obvious anyway: There's nothing sexy about Mississippi State, but cautions us to not take the Bulldogs too lightly. Indeed, Mississippi State's defensive front presents some problems. And finally, on the Vols' front, Ghost of Neyland is headed out for vacation, but he's left a poem in his wake.

Kyle Veazey, MSU:

In today's Clarion-Ledger, the main Mississippi State story is on the offensive line. It has played well thus far, sure, but J.B. Grimes thinks it can play much, much better. The notebook is led with some of the MSU staff affiliations to UT — Pat Washington, Woody McCorvey, Brad Pendergrass.

Alabama at Mississippi

Roll Bama Roll, Alabama:

Nico:
I feel strongly that we'll win, but that it won't be an easy layup by any stretch of the imagination. We just aren't a team that's capable of blowing mediocre teams out of the water yet, and until we're there, I'll be nervous. This one will probably be down to the wire as usual.

World Class Glass, Ole Miss:

So this game is a toss up for me. I feel like it can go one way or the other. I think the Rebels will come into the game fired up like they have the past several home SEC games and will be in this game for a couple of quarters. On the other side Alabama will probably be more focused for this game than any other one this season. If the Rebels are going to beat Saban while he is at Alabama, they better do it now before he begins to recruit his players.

Auburn at Arkansas

Track Em Tigers, Auburn:

You can bet Darren McFadden and Felix Jones will get their yards. The key for the Auburn defense will be stopping the big play. Last year, McFadden reeled off a 63 yard run that broke Auburn’s back. In all, Arkansas had six runs that accounted for 144 yards of rushing. Things will have to be different this year for Auburn to have a chance.

The Hog Source, Arkansas:

I reluctantly admit it. This game carries our season in it’s hands. It just seems like if we fail as this one task, the significance of all that follows dwindles to dust.