Friday is for fun

OK, it's Friday. Time to find the fun stuff to get us ready for the weekend.

Says here were gonna start with Ryan Ferguson of Fanhouse, who blogs about a little Hawai'i dissin' coming from the Aloha state:

Here's one for the "Oh no he DIH-UNT" file. Former Hawai'i Warrior Lene Amosa says Hawai'i just didn't bring it in their game against Georgia.

As a former player, I'm tired of hearing fans and the media say that we were overmatched by bigger, faster, stronger players.

Georgia players are no different than us; the problem was they came to play and we didn't.

Oh, I get it -- the game's over, so now you talk smack. I hate to beat on the Rainbows, but please, God, don't let them play in a BCS bowl ever again. I'm with Ryan on this one. Somebody could get hurt, and unless Hawai'i starts feeding their boys an awful lot of poi, it won't be the Georgia boys.

Jai Eugene at Loser with Socks hasn't held back ... well, ever, and today is no exception. Florida fans will want to check out the Herbanator:

Hell, if Herban Meyer was a tool, he would be a toilet brush. All good Gators know that he will clean up these recruiting violations and make them go away like a large shit that leaves a skidmark in a newer low eco-friendy toilets. He is like the best tool ever!

Heh. Toilet brush. Don't you know that those plastic handles with the disinfectant-impregnated single-use sponges has replaced those? And man, they are cool, and they make a really good plunger substitute when ... Ah, never mind, TMFI.

Moving right along, we find that The Bulldawg Blawg is having more fun with Brian VanGorder. And I'll bet he got a raise, too. Finally, Third Saturday in Blogtober brings us this gem. Here's a taste:

The SLA (Sign Language Associates), along with other sign language groups, have filed suit against the NCAA, Rivals.com, Scout.com, ESPN, and other companies dealing with college football recruiting for trademark infringement. It appears that National Signing Day is already a holiday that is observed by many deaf people and their families on September 29th. And they don’t want to share it.

I love it when a blogger throws political correctness to the winds and just says "Damn the torpedoes! Let's mock the hearing impaired!" No doubt, more suits will be forthcoming.

Happy Friday!

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.

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.

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

Alright, so what the hell?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What ... the hell?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Florida makes the Evil Genius look average

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

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

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

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

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

Mlmintampa writing for Alligator Army had no such reservations:

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

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

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

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

The SEC is a very, very unforgiving league.

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

Holy Gamecock, Batman! We just ran over a Visor!

Of course, by Batman, I refer to Darren McFadden, the Heisman favorite at the beginning of the year who ran into some kind of roadblock along the way called 0-3 in the SEC. Felix Jones plays the part of Robin, his trusty sidekick.

I suppose we all knew it would happen, but Darth Visor and his Cocktroopers were on the receiving end of the archetype, the very definition of "running roughshod" over a defense.

South Carolina has been exposed against the run several times this year, giving up 290 yards to LSU over the ground, and 150+ and 170+ to Kentucky and Tennessee. But surrendering 541 rushing yards to a team is, quite simply, gobsmacking. Batman and Robin ran amok to the tune of 323 and 163 yards respectively. Felix Jones had a mind-blowing 13+ yard average on 12 attempts!

As you can imagine, the South Carolina bloggers are ... less than pleased, especially since this loss is their third in a row. But I have to admit, I was well and truly shocked when I read this post from Garnet and Black Attack:

It won't be easy for me to write what I'm about to write.

But the time has come.

I have rarely, if ever, used this space (or Cock & Fire) to call for someone's dismissal. I pride myself on that. For the most part, I don't find it particularly constructive, and I think it can divide fan bases if it's done too often.

But I can't stay quiet any longer.

The continued employment of the South Carolina defensive staff needs to be seriously re-evaluated.

Coming from Brandon, this constitutes an out-and-out mutiny. Notice that he is not directing his ire at the legendary OBC, but at the defensive staff (and rightfully so, in my view). When a team is running wild like that, you might be better off to take your chances with single coverage and hope Casey Dick throws some bad balls, which he is certainly wont to do. G&BA notes some other occasions when the current regime's run defense has ... ahem ... sucked out loud.

Flounder at Leftover Hot Dog is also aghast, and laments the inevitable, unwelcome shuffle to the land of the unranked:

Geez.....Going into the game USC knew they had to stop McFadden and the run....well I guess that memo was not given to the team b/c Arkansas ran the ball with ease. So say hello 3 game losing streak and goodbye Top 25.

The best laid plans of mice and visors often go awry. The Cool Chicken compares Lou Holtz and Spurrier in their third year, and the OBC doesn't come out sitting pretty. He wonders if USC is on the right track, and for my money, I don't blame him. Back to the drawing board.

From the Arkansas side, Razorback Expats is at a loss for superlatives. The Hawg Blawg is equally amazed, pointing out that both McFadden and Jones have now crossed the 1000 yard mark for the year - with three games left. The Hog Blogger is also left searching for adjectives:

What’s there to even say about that? Unreal? Other-worldly? In a video game? Any doubt that Darren McFadden wasn’t by far the best player in college football is most certainly removed now, and all of a sudden, he’s right back in the thick of the Heisman race.

As Tom Cruise said in Minority Report "There is ... no question." That's right, HB. No question at all.

Week 10: Big Games

The way I see it, there are three big games this week that could have a serious impact on how the SEC turns out: Vanderbilt at Florida, South Carolina at Arkansas, and of course, LSU at Alabama. Now, let's have a look at how the SEC bloggers see these games.

The Vanderbilt Tailgate has hope for the visit to the Swamp, and lists five things that Vandy has to do to be successful. According to my records, Vanderbilt has not won a game against Florida at Florida since before Kennedy was president.

Vanderbilt Sports Line and Saurian Sagacity are doing the blogswap thing. From Saurian Sagacity's post at VSL:

Vandy is a team the Gators should beat. But one thing is for sure, if Vandy wins on Saturday they will have proven that they do indeed belong in the league and that the South Carolina game wasn’t a fluke. I hate to see it, but we are starting to see some parity in the SEC, with teams like Mississippi State and Vandy that can no longer be taken for granted. Vandy, is trying to prove that it belongs with the adults and I for one am hoping the Gators can send the Commodores back to kids table.

It truly is frightening (and a revelation to the Great Powers of the SEC) that this league is more competitive this year than perhaps any time it its history. We are used to seeing Florida, Georgia, Auburn, Alabama, LSU and Tennessee run roughshod over the lower half of the league except every three or four years when one of the lower half rises up to smite the mighty. Will this be that kind of year, or is this a trend for the future?

For their part, VSL puts this post on the Saurian Sagacity blog. VSL predicts that the game will come down to special teams and turnovers:

Like last year, I predict this game will come down to two factors: special teams and turnovers. Vandy special teams have improved significantly over last year, but the kickoff and punt defenses still rank at the bottom of Division 1-A. That doesn't bode well with Brandon James taking back punts for Florida. Both teams have quality kick returners and I think DJ Moore is due to take one to the house.

If this prediction turns out to be true, the Gators will be in trouble, because it will likely mean that the Commodores have a shot at them. I'm not ready to believe in that, especially in the Swamp, but the Gators have lost one game there this year to a good defensive club.

Garnet and Black Attack has a blogswap with Razorback Expats, an Arkansas blog. Instead of swapping posts, this is just a Q&A session from both sides. I found this an interesting question from G&BA, and answer:

What are your feelings about Arkansas being in the SEC?

Actually, they're kind of mixed. I'm sure the accounting books would emphatically validate the move to the SEC. Still, there's something about being in the conference that leaves me a little cold. We've been in the SEC for 15 years, and you can't really point to any program as Arkansas' true rival. I miss how fired up I used to get for games against Texas and Texas A&M. Part of me thinks the Razorbacks would be a better fit in the Big 12, where several of their former SWC foes now reside. But that's emotion talking. Whether that would be as good financially for Arkansas, I have not the slightest idea.

It's kind of funny that Arkansas has no football rival in this league, or hasn't been able to generate one. I would've thought that LSU or Tennessee would have been a natural rivalry, but both those schools have long-established football rivalries within this league, and as we know, rivalries take many years to develop and some event has to occur to create some genuine enmity between fan bases. As far as I know, that hasn't happened with Arkansas yet.

But remember, Arkansas does have a basketball rival in the SEC -- Kentucky. That one has not been too bitter lately, as Kentucky has owned the basketball Hogs for several years. But with former UK player John Pelphrey now at the helm of the Razorbacks, we could see the old days of the early 1990's renewed.

For their part, Razorback Expats had this question, with the answer from Garnet and Black Attack:

9. You’re made czar of college football for one day: Do you put South Carolina in the SEC or the ACC?

I was born and raised in Alabama and started off as an Auburn fan. It wasn’t until I moved to South Carolina and then went to college there that I became a Gamecock — so I’ve only been familiar with the team as part of the SEC, and always loved it being that way. If it were my choice, my team would remain in the best conference in the country.

There were some fans, back when the ACC was expanding, who wanted to return. So some older fans would probably make a different choice than I would.

Its interesting that both of these schools were imports into the SEC from other conferences, and many people still remember those days, although frankly, I had mostly forgotten them. Neither South Carolina nor Arkansas have any natural football rival in the conference, nor have they been able to really develop one since expansion. You would think that Spurrier's presence would have fostered a USC-Florida rivalry, but I guess until USC starts beating Florida with a bit more regularity, that won't have a chance to grow, either.

I'll look at the LSU at Alabama game in a separate post.

The Dwed Piwate Spuwier is coming for you soul!

Steve Spurrier. The Evil Genius. The Visor, the Ol' Ball Coach. The guy that has more nicknames than Apollo Creed.

I've got one more for him -- Ol' Rockhead.

Today, Spurrier decides he's gonna one-up Mark Richt over the celebration after Georgia's first touchdown this Saturday at the Cocktail Party. Obviously a poster child for "I'm talking and I can't shut up," Ol' Rockhead decided he had to get his licks in on this Richt debacle:

"I think if (Florida coach) Urban Meyer had known they were going to do it, send out one of his third team guys and get in a wrestling match with the guys, get a fight started, so all those guys on the field leave the bench in a fight," Spurrier suggested.

"I think that's what we'd do. If the other team ever does that, get one of your down the line guys that's not going to play to get out there and start wrestling with the guys. Now you've got a fight and they're all out the next week."

What a great idea -- jump right down there in the muck with Richt by sending in thugs to hurt their team. Man, what a sense of fair play Ol' Rockhead has. He missed his true calling, but then again, they don't need Ball Coaches in MMA.

Well. I think Franz Beard should write another letter to Mike Silve and demand some action against the Ol' Ball Sack Coach -- hell, the guy is basically advocating the very response Franz feared -- in fact, he's saying he would incite the violence himself.

Sounds to me like Spurrier needs to apologize for something. Hey, Alligator Army has some ideas. Let's let Spurrier apologize for the New Coke, God I hated that crap. Or maybe he can apologize for Ed Orgeron's English -- somebody needs to. Every time I look at Orgeron, I think of Farmer Fran in The Waterboy.

[UPDATE] Welcome all Get the Picture readers, and thanks to the good Senator for the linkage.

Week 9 -- Fewer games, higher stakes [UPDATED 10/25 0900]

This week is the first week so far this year where we have had two teams with byes in the SEC, and as it turns out, we also have two teams with games against theoretically inferior out-of-conference opponents -- Vandy faces Miami (OH) and Arkansas hosts Florida International, while LSU and Alabama have the weekend off.

That pretty much leaves me only four games to talk about -- two today and two tomorrow.

Georgia at Florida [Jacksonville]

This game has become known as the "Worlds Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party" (someone probably knows why, but I really don't), but the bitter rivalry between these two teams makes it an exciting game. The fact that the loser of this game becomes a likely non-player for the Eastern division championship makes it a huge in terms of conference standing, as well.

NOTE: Paul Westerdawg of Georgia Sports Blog has thoughtfully explained the "WLOCP" moniker to me in a comment below. Here it is so you don't have to hunt:

If you ever come to the Cocktail Party, you will understand how it got its name. Particularly, if you come with people who know how to handle the entire 4 days of the thing.

As Lewis Grizzard once said, another name for it would be the "Annual Celebration of the Repeal of Prohibition".

It's 84k people split equally. Most of whom have been drinking for 3 straight days. Hell, UGA schedules its Fall Break so the students can get down there in a safe and orderly fashion...to drink more.

If you've seen the absurdity of it, you'd understand the name.

Mergz at Saurian Sagacity has the statistics on how the teams have fared historically. Paul Westerdawg of Georgia Sports Blog has relatively low expectations for the contest:

I'm generally a sunshine pumper or at worse a realist. I rarely go into my dark cave of pessimism. But let's look at facts. In 2007, we have struggled with teams that have equal or lesser talent. The Gators are most certainly more talented than the Bulldogs, and you'll have to make one helluva argument that they aren't better coached right now.

Seems a lot of the Georgia bloggers are pessimistic about this game. Doubledawgs at Third Saturday in Blogtober is picking Florida in an ugly blowout. Senator Blutarsky of Get the Picture, however, is keeping the faith, sort of:

The Tennessee game was simply inexplicable. The tough thing right now is that no realistic observer of the Georgia program can say it won’t happen again. That being said, I wouldn’t put it past the coaches and players to put together their most complete effort in a conference game since Auburn last year, either - and, to be fair, under MR, there always seems to be one game every year like that when it all comes together. But I’m not gonna deny that I feel a little shaky about Saturday’s game.

Mlmintampa writing for Alligator Army worries that since Urban Meyer has let the world know about Tim Tebow's injured shoulder, the Dawgs will try to pick on that weakness in an effort to get him out of the game:

Meyer never should have admitted that Tebow has a sore right shoulder. If he had said "upper body injury" like a hockey coach, we wouldn't have to be concerned about things like this;

[Florida center Drew] Miller said there's no question opposing teams have been trying to knock Tebow out of the game, and he's been the subject of cheap shots all season.
"Oh, definitely," Miller said. "In piles, people are grabbing . . . it's just the way it is. They are trying to get any edge that they can have.
"You can't blame them, a guy like that who makes so many plays for us, they're going to do anything they can to get him off the field."

I expect the Dawgs will have a mental target drawn on Tebow's right shoulder, at least in the back of their minds. They know how effective Tebow is, and they also know that Florida without Tebow probably can't beat them.

I have said (and continue to say) that as long as Tebow represents 70% of the offense, the Gators are vulnerable. Unlike Kentucky, they can't just go to the ground game if their starting QB gets hurt -- Tebow is their ground game and their passing game. It is a very strange situation for the normally multi-dimensional Gators, and fraught with peril if Tebow gets hurt any more than a bruise or two.

South Carolina at Tennessee

Wow, what a weird game this is. Normally, we'd be talking about how big the margin is likely to be for the Vols, but not this year. Unfortunately, even with Tennessee's woeful showing against the better teams they have played this year, the Vols still have a chance to win the East. But as in the Florida-Georgia game above, the loser likely becomes lost in the crowd.

Chuck at The Cool Chicken thinks it's a coin toss between the two teams, but picks the Gamecocks to win a fairly close game. Scott Hood writing for Gamecock Central says that this game is "a test of leadership and character":

This week leading up to the Tennessee game in Knoxville is a stern test of the character and senior leadership of the Gamecocks. As Spurrier said at his weekly press conference on Tuesday, USC doesn’t have any players who scream and yell a whole lot. Cory Boyd may come the closest to filling that role.

A team’s psyche is a fragile thing, as USC fans have painfully discovered in the past. A series of unfortunate events can send team morale plummeting.

Garnet and Black Attack takes a look at some of the games both teams have played so far. He says the combination of the Gamecock's futility throwing the ball and the utter failure of the UT defense to stop anyone gives the game an interesting dynamic:

The formula established so far is relatively simple: To beat Tennessee, you need merely to outscore them.

The Gators rolled up 554 yards against Tennessee. California put up 471. On average, the Vols allow 249.0 yards through the air and 157.7 on the ground. The Gamecocks could have some succeess if they focus on getting yards out of Cory Boyd and Mike Davis, as Spurrier has suggested they will.

But the passing game will have to do much better than it did against Vanderbilt.

The closest passing offense of any Vol opponent, statistically, to South Carolina's is Arkansas State, which ranks 60th in the country with 227 ypg. The Gamecocks are 62nd with 225.5 ypg. That's right, South Carolina's passing offense is stastically worse than Arkansas State.

Bottom line -- Can the Gamecocks outscore the Vols with their relatively low-scoring offense? I don't know, but I suspect if Spurrier keeps playing this crazy Chinese fire drill with his quarterbacks, the answer may well be no. This illustrates once again the importance of having a balanced attack -- you never know where opponents will offer you opportunities to score. If UT manages to take away the run from USC, how will the Gamecocks get it in the end zone? Maybe the OBC can put on a helmet and show them how an SEC quarterback is supposed to do it. Barring that, I don't have a clue.

Then we have Tennessee fans, and a more grumpy group can hardly be found anywhere except College Station, Texas. Maybe Fulmer and Franchione should just swap jobs for the rest of the year and see how that works out. Lexvol at Vol Nation is ready to heave coach F under the nearest Greyhound:

The blog today is not some fabricated hack piece written to create a debate. To use stronger terms, this is no longer opinion. This is not a shot at CPF’s weight, or off the field issues. This is not intended to denigrate the body of work that he has amassed at the helm of the UT program. This is stone cold fact in classic Guitar Shots fashion. Phil Fulmer has lost this football team. Either we do not have the talent, or these players have no faith in the current system. The more probable answer is that we are witnessing a combination of both. Look no further than the Hardesty situation to prove this point. This football team needs leadership on the sidelines, and on the field. Until changes are made, the Volnation should realize that 1998 was as good as it gets.

I remember a time when the Volunteer fans used to actually talk about football before a big game. My, how times have changed.

Meyton Panning, a diarist at Rocky Top Talk, takes the opposite tack:

Give Coach time folks. He's proven he can do it. Or do we want to turn the Tennessee Coaching Job into the orange version of the pressure cooker hot seat of schools like Notre Dame or Alabama? Do you want to see Tennessee go through four or five coaches like ND and Bama did? We, the fans, are going to make the Tennessee job look way too daunting and miserably tough for a young hot shot coach to take as he looks to get into a big time program. Why do you think Urban Meyer passed up on his dream job at Notre Dame? Maybe it was because he took an objective look at how demanding and ruthless the ND job is and decided that he would rather seek greener pastures.

Unfortunately, the Alabama drubbing has thrown the Tennessee bloggers into a state of despair, and interest in the South Carolina game among the Vol faithful seems to have given way to ambivalence.

I have witnessed a similar situation at Kentucky during the latter days of Tubby Smith (basketball, I know, but ... Hello! Kentucky fan!). That worked out OK for everybody in the end, but not until a gigantic schism developed in the fanbase which degenerated into hundreds of thousands of vitriolic comments and blog posts, and that rift has yet to fully heal. The Alabama, Florida and Notre Dame quick-fire jobs are not really comparable -- none of those coaches had been their a long time like Fulmer has, and none of them had brought a national championship to their team. Fulmer's situation is frighteningly similar to Tubby Smith's, despite the fact that they coach different sports.

I sincerely hope our neighbors to the South do better than Kentucky did.

South Carolina and the Commodores (Sounds like a singing group!)

Today, I want to get to a game from Week 8 that I have neglected so far, but that is quite significant -- Vanderbilt at South Carolina.

After a couple of days, the blogs on both sides have had a chance to react. First of all, we have Sennsm at The Vanderbilt Tailgate:

DEFENSE. Man that was a great defensive effort. Although I didn't see it I did listen to all of it. Everytime I thought the Gamecocks were going to make a run at us, the defense stood strong. We all know in the past that the defense probably would have wilted. The big stat was that the Gamecocks were 1-12 on third down conversions.

So what happened here is the Commodores beat the Gamecocks at their own game, in their own house. Folks, that just can't be good. I didn't see any of the game, but I do know that the Commodores were #22 in total defense in the nation going into the game, and USC was #35. So you have to think that based on that, the two teams were pretty much true to form -- except when it comes to the final score.

Star & Stripe calls it the most important game since 1937:

On October 23, 1937, the Vanderbilt Commodores hosted the Louisiana State Tigers at Dudley Field in Nashville.

Earlier that year, Leon Trotsky and his associates were executed for trying to assassinate Stalin.

FDR was president of the United States, and he was flexing his muscles in the Supreme Court court-packing scheme.

Daffy Duck premiered for the first time.

The Golden Gate Bridge opened to traffic.

Amelia Earhart disappeared in her bid to become the first woman to fly around the world.

J.R.R. Tolkien's book The Hobbit was published.

And then, on the third Saturday of October that year, the Men of West End wearing Black-and-Gold defeated the sixth-best team in the country, by one point: 7-6.

It was the highest-ranked football team that Vanderbilt had ever beaten since the days that rankings had begun to be given.

And it would be the highest-ranked team Vanderbilt had ever beaten for a long, long time. Then, seventy years later, almost to the day, the Commodores finally, finally did it again.

I'm not quite sure whether to be impressed or depressed by that. I thought Kentucky had it rough, but man, that's just a long, unbroken line of futility right there. Nothing but props to the Commodores, though, they did in this case what Kentucky could not -- come into Spurrier's stadium and hand him a big, fat "L".

But there is still more great Vandy reax to this upset. Matt Wilson at Nashville Ballerz says the time for VU jokes has come to an end -- Vanderbilt is officially ahead of Tennessee in the BCS standings. Man, I thought Fulmer's seat was hot before, but when the Vol faithful here this news ... well, I just don't know what they'll say, but I doubt the Vol fans will be jumping for joy, especially since Vandy just beat Tennessee a couple of years back. I'm thinking the annual grudge match is going to be good, and if Vandy wins again, Flumer is going to find out what it's like to be Zookered.

So how are the Gamecock fans feeling now that they've had a few days of humiliation assimilation? Garnet and Black Attack lists 5 reasons why the result went against Carolina, and I found this one to be the most ironic:

3. The quarterback play was ... ahem ... uneven. Sure, you could look at one half of the line on the Gamecocks' signal-callers and say, eh, not awful. They went 23-of-43 for 256 yards. But the other half of the line is terrible: No TDs, 3 INTs. What do you make of that?

It's truly incredible that a Spurrier-coached team should be so futile at the quarterback spot. It's also questionable coaching by the OBC to keep trying out candidates for the starting spot 8 weeks into the season. The Cool Chicken says something similar:

The loss yesterday to Vanderbilt however, falls squarely on the offensive genius’ shoulders. For the first time, Coach Spurrier did not put us in a position to win the game. For the first time, Coach Spurrier made a decision before the game began that doomed our chances of competing. That decision was to rotate quarterbacks.

I hate to break it to you, CC, but it's gonna get worse before it gets better:

New starter?Meanwhile, Tommy Beecher could compete for the starting job against the Vols. SAVIOR OF THE PROGRAM Stephen Garcia? Not so much.

The Gamecocks might add a third quarterback to the mix. Redshirt sophomore Tommy Beecher, who has not played since the S.C. State game on Sept. 15, could see action because of his mobility. ...

Heh. This looks to me like the Steve Spurrier version of a Chinese fire drill. Gamecock fans are so confusticated and bebothered by this whole debacle that some of them think it might be time to chuck a few boos down from the stands:

I agree that fans should not boo their own team especially when they struggle and especially when it is more the coaches fault. I don't think fans should boo opposing teams either as they enter the stadium. But what was on display this past weekend was, how should we say, "not so good" and a boo was deserved (let the record show however I was not one of those that did boo yet feel the performance by USC deserved it).

Ouch. I don't think we fans should ever boo our teams, ever. Boo the opponent if you must, but support your team. That's my opinion anyway. But I do understand the frustration.

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 ...?"

Halfway through the season, where do we find ourselves?

We've reached the halfway point in the 2007 SEC season, so it's time to review where we are, and what lies ahead.

Surprisingly good

Three SEC teams have been surprisingly good so far:

• Kentucky
• South Carolina
• Mississippi State

Kentucky was expected to have a good season by Kentucky standards, but few expected them to have only one loss after six games. A doormat since the mid-1960's, Kentucky is usually lucky to have two or three wins at this point.

Mississippi State was expected to have a weak team this year. But at 4-2 with a victory over perennial SEC contender Auburn who owns the East's West's only victory over Florida, MSU is looking at a reasonable chance to reach bowl eligibility. They are even picking up AP top 25 votes.

South Carolina was expected to be a mid-pack performer this year, but suddenly finds itself in the lead in the SEC East with 4 conference games under its belt and only one loss to #1 ranked LSU. Spurrier's declaration that his team could contend for the East this year is looking very prescient at the moment. Spurrier is doing so well, USC even changed its admissions policy to make it easier to admit poor students as football players.

Surprisingly poor

Three SEC teams have been surprisingly bad so far:

• Tennessee
• Georgia
• Arkansas
• Vanderbilt

Tennessee was expected to contend for the East, and although they theoretically still can, they have not lived up to pre-season expectations. This team was expected to be very good, and while they may have turned it around, still have a lot to prove, and I think it might take more than 15 minutes.

Georgia started the season strong, but two losses in conference have put it in a tough position. Losing to South Carolina between the hedges and getting crushed by an underperforming Tennessee team do not bode well for the Dawgs chances in the East. Every remaining game for the Bulldogs is losable.

Arkansas, with Heisman favorite Darren McFadden, was expected to push LSU in the West. That hasn't happened, and the Razorbacks current 0-2 mark must have the Fayetteville Faithful concerned about a possible November end to their season. Hog fans are not happy, but as long as they have McFadden, anything is possible

Vanderbilt was supposed to threaten some of the big boys this year with their many returning players and all-SEC receiver Earl Bennett. So far, though, they have failed their only real test in dramatic fashion, being overwhelmed by Auburn, and looking less than stellar against cupcake Eastern Michigan. The loss to Auburn was so utterly devastating that not even a 3-2 record gives the Commodore faithful much to cheer about, and they seem to be doubting if Vandy is good enough to compete in the league this year. They need a win over underachieving Georgia this Saturday to return to relevance.

Best of the SEC: Thursday and Friday all wrapped into one.

I just had too much going on this week to get to the blog yesterday, so naturally, I suck. But when it comes to making $$ or blogging, well, it's not that tough a choice. But here we go for "Make up" Friday.

Seems there was a pretty big game last night in Columbia, and my Kentucky Wildcats got beat by the South Carolina Gamecocks. Yeah, the Cats turned the ball over, but that's part of football. Let's see what the blogs have to say about it:

Memphis Tider thinks order has been restored to the universe:

Ahhh yes. Kentucky is, and always will be, Kentucky. Look for them to just get absolutely lit up at home next week by LSU, who dismantled South Carolina, who dismantled Kentucky.

Andre Woodson definitely looked human. Say bye-bye to the Heisman, sir.

I personally think he's just happy the Tide won't be playing the Wildcats this year.

Garnet and Black Attack explains the game, and gives five good reasons why the Gamecocks whipped the Wildcats -- Norwood, turnovers, and more. Go read it for the rest.

Matt Jones at Kentucky Sports Radio says this was a golden opportunity missed:
Sometimes big events end not with a bang, but a whimper. Last night's UK-South Carolina game got the masses hyped and ready for a big event that would be an exciting step in the continued upward mobility of Kentucky football. Instead, we were treated to a poor performance that left most wondering what might have been.

Mergz at Saurian Sagacity looks at the stats, and sees that Kentucky played a very competitive game, beating out South Carolina in many statistical areas. But not the one that counts, which is the score at the end of the game.

Thats enough about last night. Now, what about the big games this week? Diezba at Star and Stipe wonders if the media thinks there is an upset brewing in the Vanderbilt-Auburn game:

It's interesting to read through the coverage of the Auburn-Vanderbilt game today.

Everyone keeps saying, "Auburn had better be careful, or those pesky Commodores may try to pull an upset -- but don't worry, the Tigers will win."

I think this could definitely be called "damnation by faint praise".

Jerry Hinnen at The Joe Cribbs Car Wash thinks he knows what Auburn wants:

If you believe the rumors and rumblings, one plan calls to hire celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse to remake the Foy Student Union cafeteria into 'Emeril's BAM!-eteria.' Auburn wants students and staff will be able to watch Lagasse personally cook up all their favorite dishes, from pizza to country-fried steak to pizza, in a giant glass kitchen in the center of the complex.

Who knew they were into haute cuisine on the Plains?

Mlmintampa at Alligator Army says it's up to Urban Meyer to defeat the LSU Tigers:

This is the team we have and that isn't going to change. That's why the coaches are so important. Maybe since I'm only a year out of school, I have more sympathy for a college athlete than their coach. But last I checked, none of the players are getting $3.25 million a year. So those coaches have to put the players in a position to win. And so far in road games, they haven't done that.

Meanwhile, Henry Gomez at Saurian Sagacity claims that the Worldwide Leader is treading in Bill Clinton territory when it talks about the Gators beating a #1 ranked team. When Bill Clinton makes an appearance in a blog post, you know some parsing of words is going on.

Purple Reign of And The Valley Shook gives us some various takes from around the Internet on the Florida at LSU game. Meanwhile, LaLover at New Orleans Love thinks he knows 5 ways the Tigers can stop Tim Tebow. What's his advice? Well, you'll have to read the post to see them all, but one of them is "Blitz often". Surprised?

Wednesday: Best of the SEC blogs part I

So let's see. We have #8 Kentucky vs. #11 South Carolina on Thursday, we have #1 LSU vs. #9 Florida on Saturday in Death Valley, we have #12 Georgia at Tennessee, and Vandy at Auburn. These are the big games this week. The rest of the conference is out of the conference against unranked teams.

I'll handle the first two now, and the last two later.

Chuck at TheCoolChicken says that he is very impressed with Kentucky and doesn't take this game lightly, but still cannot believe that UK vs. USC is a big game. It's understandable given Kentucky's *ahem* rather pedestrian history in the SEC. TCC picks the Gamecocks in a close one.

Shawn Bridwell at Kentucky Sports Radio takes an in-depth look at the Gamecock's defense, and notes that a rugged defense like USC has shown is not something the Ol' Ball Coach has been noted for in the past. He think's UK will win because of their balance. I think he might be right.

LaLover at New Orleans Love looks at why the Gators lost to Auburn last Saturday, and he thinks it was Flordia OC Dan Mullen's stomach, namely an appendectomy he had just prior to Saturday's game. LaLover notes that Mullen is a tough guy, but I have to agree, this is way above and beyond the call -- of sanity, that is.

Mergz at Saurian Sagacity says he was to blame for the Florida loss to the Tigers, and asks the Gator Nation for forgiveness.

Continuing the Week 5 review -- The East

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Big games around the SEC this weekend

Well, Saturday is tomorrow, and there are a number of particularly meaningful games on tap:

1. Georgia at Alabama - Mark Richt and company really need this game. Not only is Alabama a rival, they were expected to be in a rebuilding stage this year, while Georgia was supposed to be making a triumphant return from last year's irrelevance. This game means way more to Richt than Saban.
   
2. Arkansas State at Tennessee - Phil Fulmer's seat will approach the heat level of a fusion reaction if he loses this game. Unfortunately, Arkansas State is no cupcake.
3. South Carolina at LSU - Nobody expects the OBC to go into Death Valley and come out victorious. The biggest question I have is can the Gamecocks cross the goal line?
4. Kentucky at Arkansas - Kentucky created a national stir by beating top ten Louisville. If they beat Arkansas, SEC East opponents will be in the uncharacteristic position of actually having to worry about the Wildcats. All the remaining big boys in the SEC have to come to Kentucky this year, with the exception of South Carolina.
5. New Mexico State at Auburn - Tubberville is in one hell of spot right now. Unfortunately, the Aggies look better on paper than the Tigers, and former Kentucky coach Hal Mumme is at the reigns for NM State. We know Mumme's teams can score, and we also know that so far, Auburn can't.

What the SEC blogs are saying:

Georgia at Alabama

Georgia:

• Senator Blutarsky, Get The Picture: Paranoia in Dawgland?
• Doug, Hey Jenny Slater: Going inside the minds of Sabanists at Roll 'Bama Roll

Alabama:

• Capstone Report: Rethinking 'Bama's chances against the Dawgs. The word "cowardly" gets used.
• AL C. Hemist, Eight in the Box: Vanderbilt had confidence. Arkansas had contempt. Georgia has a conspiracy.

Arkansas State at Tennessee

Tennessee:

• Jai Eugene, Loser with Socks: Fulmer, you in big trouble now, boy.
• Doug Coffin, The Power T: Warning, warning Phil Fulmer. Ass heat in the red zone.

South Carolina at LSU

South Carolina:

• Chuck, TheCoolChicken: "South Carolina will upset LSU this weekend. Yep. You read that right."
• Cocknfire, Garnet & Black Attack: Wisdom from the other side.

LSU:

• Richard Pittman, Geaux Tuscaloosa: What to expect from LSU and South Carolina.
• Purple Reign, And The Valley Shook: "The statistical numbers for LSU's defense are staggering."

Kentucky at Arkansas

Kentucky:

• Mosley, Kentucky Sports Radio: Know your enemy
• Chris Diggs, C-J Wildcat Fan Blog: "Could this be similar to the seven-overtime shootout from 2003 that ended in a 70-63 Arkansas win? Prediction coming tomorrow."

Arkansas:

• RazorbackExpats: Five reasons to hate Kentucky
• TipsterHog, the RazorBloggers: Various Hog bloggers predict the outcome of the game.

New Mexico State at Auburn

Auburn:

• Jerry Hinnen, Joe Cribbs Car Wash: Wish list for Auburn vs. New Mexico State.
• Ryan, The Auburner: "I have a fever… and the prescription is LESS cowbell."

Best of the SEC Monday: The Georgia-South Carolina game

I'm back and ready to blog again. A lot has happened over the weekend in the SEC football world, and today I'll be taking a look at the biggest games of this weekend around the conference, and see what conclusions can and have been drawn.

South Carolina at Georgia

Well, the 'Ol Ball Coach predicted that his South Carolina team would contend for the SEC championship this year, and you have to believe that defeating Georgia between the hedges is a major step in that direction. Matthew Stafford went in one game from being lauded as the class quarterback of the SEC to a 19/44 showing with 1 INT. But Blake Mitchell ruled the day for the Gamecocks by completing 65% of his passes, most of them short and safe, and despite only 3 forays into the red zone, managed 16 points. Georgia's offense was even more futile, managing to achieve the red zone only twice. The combined third-down efficiency of both teams was only 10%.

Cocknfire at Garnet and Black Attack looks at 5 reasons explaining what this game means from a Gamecock perspective. Noteworthy is that the Gamecocks have converted every red zone opportunity this year, and grades out the effort perhaps lower than you might expect. He also asks for forbearance from Gamecock fans. Flounder at Leftover Hot Dog also grades the team in critical areas, and says it sends the league a message that the Gamecocks are ready to contend for the East. Hard to argue against that, at this point.

The Georgia blogs are, understandably, less pleased with the outcome. Tommy at Apropos de Nada says loosing to South Carolina is a "very ugly catharsis for Georgia fans." There was apparently a little home-team booing going on also, and Tommy is rightfully chagrined at those participating. Kyle King of Dawg Sports gives credit where credit is due, particularly to the South Carolina defensive front. Like the sportsman he is, Kyle refuses to dive into recriminations and waxes philosphical:

While there certainly is plenty of room for constructive criticism of Georgia's performance, this game is more about giving credit than assigning blame. We should congratulate South Carolina on its victory in a well-coached, well-played game of football that the Gamecocks deserved to win . . . then the Bulldogs should turn their attention to getting back on track against Western Carolina in preparation for their September 22 showdown with the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa.

David Ching at the Georgia Bulldog Blog examines Mark Richt's press conference Q&A. Paul Westerdawg at the Georgia Sports Blog looks at the team's shortcomings in detail, and can't bring himself to be angry with a defense that surrenders only 16 points. But the offense is another matter. Senator Blutarsky runs down a number of Georgia shortcomings, and predicts the outlook for the rest of the season bleak, at least as far as winning the East is concerned.

Doug at Hey Jenny Slater says that this game was a "Get-Laid Loss" for Georgia fans. Interesting take. Ludakit at The Dawg-gone Blog blames the offense, the defense, the fans and says Georgia played "without any heart or aggression."

Later, we'll be looking at Auburn, LSU and how the SEC fared overall.

A little more hindsight, and a little more foresight

Today we'll be continuing to look back at some of last weeks games, then begin looking forward to Saturday.

Ryan at The Auburner looks back at the Kansas State game. He's a little disappointed in Brandon Cox and the O-line, but otherwise gives the team a thumbs up.

The Tide Druid takes a look ahead to the Vanderbilt game, and takes a detailed look at what the Vandy offense did against Richmond, hoping to derive some insight from the statistics. Todd at Roll 'Bama Roll also analyzes the 'Dores offense. Bobby O'Shea at Vanderbilt Sports Line has part of the Vandy side of the story, and Diezba at Star & Stripe has the rest.

Mlmintampa writing for Aligator Army, the new SB Nation Florida blog, takes a look at the Troy Trojans. Meanwhile, The Hog Blogger, who's team just defeated the Trojans, says that Marcus Harrison is back, while casting a baleful glance Houston Nutt's way.

Senator Blutarsky at Get The Picture finally gets around to watching Georgia-OK State, and concludes that the Dawgs were just plain workmanlike in their victory over the Cowboys. Meanwhile, Kyle King of Dawg Sports looks at several SEC upcoming games, and has some interesting observations. For the record, Kyle hates Auburn, and I think he manages to get that into every post he makes. But he still picks them to beat USF this Saturday.

Seth at the Hotty Toddy Blog has a Q& A with Every True Son, a fan blog of their next opponent, Missouri. He also wonders if Missouri is taking Ole Miss seriously.

Travis at Hail Dear 'Ole State wonders "After four years why the hell are we still running plays that don't work?" Good question, that. Kyle Veazey looks at Tulane running back Matt Forté.

Cocknfire at Garnet and Black Attack can't get enough of the Michigan debacle. But he still manages to note Darth Vizor has made a few changes in response to Saturday's close call. Flounder at Leftover Hot Dog blogs Blake.

The weekend in review

Today, we'll be looking at last weeks games in the rear-view mirror, and taking a bit of a look ahead to next week's games.

First up, Vanderbilt. Earl Bennett set a Vanderbilt school record receiving this weekend against the Richmond Spiders -- or did he? Seems there is some confusion about that, and Mark at Star & Stripe tries to clear it up.

The University of Kentucky Wildcats, another traditional SEC football cellar-dweller, had a big win over FCS Eastern Kentucky University. Despite the weak opponent, Messenger at Wildcats Thunder says so far, so good, and sees improvement in both the UK running game and its defense. The Wildcat Blog compares his predictions on the game outcome to reality, and nominates some players for special recognition. Rob Gidel at Kentucky Sports Radio agrees with TWCB that the defense was much improved, and explains why the offensive line has changed very much for the better.

The South Carolina Gamecocks didn't exactly impress anyone with their efforts this weekend, but Scott Hood at Gamecock Central says it just don't mean a thing if you ain't got that swing for an opener. Meanwhile, cocknfire at Garnet and Black Attack has the results of the SEC Power Poll. There are no real surprises, but I feel like Florida lost some ground to Georgia overall. Tennessee took a big hit, but not as big as most might think.

Will Collier at From the Bleachers was seriously impressed with Kansas State, and not so much with Auburn's offense. Track Em Tigers gives us an Auburn injury report, and also tells us that Auburn's win over K-State paid off on the recruiting trail.

LSUPhootball gives us a run down of the good, the bad, and the ugly of LSU's game against Mississippi State, and he doesn't mention Henig's day in "the ugly", although it surely was the uglies thing most of us have seen in a while. Finally, Richard Pittman at Geaux Tuscaloosa looks at next week's games. He says that Alabama at Vanderbilt, to him, is "the most anticipated game of the early schedule." How long has it been since "anticipated" and "Vanderbilt" have been used in the football context?