Just back from Gainesville, What a weekend. Swamp was loudest I think ever! That number one defense sure took care of us, huh PSU and Thomas!

GO GATORS!

Hey I got half of my post right...

I just thought about what would happen if in the remaining season:

LSU beats Tennessee, Arkansas, and remaining teams...
Arkansas loses to Tennessee, Arkansas, but beats remaining teams...
Auburn loses to Florida, but beats remaining teams...


This would set up a 3 way tie for the SEC West. According to the SEC website, the first tiebreaker is:

2. Combined head-to-head record among the tied teams.

(#2 because #1 refers to when one team is removed from the tiebrakers)

Current Standings:

Arkansas: +17
LSU: -4
Auburn +4-17 = -13

Erik Ainge is a stud so far this season, leading the SEC in passing and in total offense.

What can I say? The LSU defense sure didn't play like a #1 defense this week. Did they? But in their defense, I have to say this: the LSU head coach, Les Miles, is a friggin idiot. LSU's defense didn't get that #1 ranking by playing a passive 3-3-5 nickel defense. What's worse, Les had the LBs running, not toward the QB and the LOS, but backwards into senseless zone coverages. Why Miles had the LSU defense playing like this is a mystery to me and every LSU fan in Louisiana. The LSU defense used to get after the QB with blitz after blitz, but this week, for some unknown reason, chose to sit back in zone coverage and allow Leak to get comfy and pick them apart all day. Nick Saban would be laughing his ass off if he saw what Miles did to the LSU defense this week.

I don't think Florida won the game because of Urban's spread option attack, or because of Tebow, or anything else the Florida offense did. The game was lost becaue of LSU mistakes (who fumbles the ball on the 1 yard line?), drop balls fielding punts and kick-offs, and an inexcusably poor defensive game plan).

But enough sour grapes. Congratulations to the Gators. They kicked our butts. But the problem with the SEC and the National Title Hunt is a continuing bad movie. One team gets the upper hand and another knocks them from the perch. That's why so few SEC teams are favorites to win a national title. Auburn beat LSU but was so beat up on defense, they didn't have enough perosnnel to play with Arkansas. Auburn will be proper pissed this week, and it wouldn't be surprised if they beat Florida, and removed them from the national title hunt as well. Because in the SEC, where 75% of the home games are won by the home team, without regard to ranking, reputation, or team talent, that's how the game is played.

StPtGator: Good luck, buddy, in the BSC title hunt. I pull for all the SEC teams, even the ones that kick our butts. But honestly, even though I was unimpressed at first, Tennessee is playing better ball than anybody in the SEC right now.

Well thanks for the good luck wish. I'll take all the good karma I can get. At the beginning of the season I thought getting through this 4 game stretch even with 2 wins and 2 losses would be good. I think if we play like we did last week we can take Auburn. But that is either the joy or sorrow of the SEC. We all bring our game hard against each other every week. I won't call any other teams out by name. But I think going undefeated in a conference where you only have 1 or 2 games against a caliber team would feel empty. Personally I'm still just hoping for a trip to the SEC championship............ Tenn playing better then anyone? I think UGA win was good but they just fell apart....... And luckily can't really argue 21-20 win against them at home!

Vandy 24
Georgia 22

FINAL



Told ya Georgia was overrated...

I've been saying that since before the Colorado game and I think that today will show that Florida is also overrated

but for Vandy, shoulda, coulda, woulda finally happened

It's about time Vandy got a little respect after beating Tennessee last year. Do you think Vandy will be ranked in the top 25 now? Maybe it is time for Armageddon when Vandy gets ranked?

nope

they're only 3-4

I watched the Florida/Auburn game tonight. Sorry your team lost, since I think Florida is a better team than Auburn. But give Tuberville his due. He and that Auburn defense threw caution to the wind in the second half and went hard after Chris Leak, forcing him into several poor throws and bad decisions. I don't mean to insult your QB, but Chris has a reputation around the SEC. The key to beating Florida is an open secret: pressure Chris Leak, hit him hard and often, and he will throw the ball out of bounds, fall to the ground, or throw interceptions. I'm just stating facts; this is the common wisdom about this kid. This is also the reason why so many NFL Pro Scouts are so unimpressed with him. Florida has a dillemma. Play Tebow, who is fearless, but has no SEC experience, or play Leak, who is an intelligent SEC veteran, but is timid, contact-shy, and lacks intensity. On another topic, I love Urban Meyer's spread option offense. The possibilities are limitless. Cutcliff is a genuis but Meyer's offense is more interesting to watch.

About Vandy: Despite their record, Vandy is a very dangerous team. Cincinnatti has a mediocre record too, but is also a very dangerous team. Sometimes, records are misleading.

true, they had Arkansas and Alabama on the ropes ... they could easily be 5-2 or even 6-1, but they need to learn to get the job done

Vandy doesn't have the same talent as the rest of the SEC teams

but having said that, a good coach can still win

Well if you think Vandy had Alabama and Arkansas on the ropes, they owned Ole Miss for three quarters and pissed that game away too. You're right, they can't finish. I don't think any SEC team will be in the BCS championship this year. Even if Auburn wins out, it will still need LSU, Arkansas, and Florida to also win out. But that can't happen because LSU and Arkansas will meet on Thanksgiving, and Auburn will likely have to play Florida again in the SEC title game. And if they lose to Florida, their BCS Championship, dream, slim as is, will disappear altogether, along with every other SEC team. NCAA conference football is basically regional. So, football fans in other parts of the Country just don't realize the manical pleasure one SEC team takes in beating another. SEC teams seem to care less about winning a BCS Championship or Bowl Games than they do about beating each other. Weird, but true.

Blue, how are your Blue Raiders doing this year? Sorry the Bills lost to Detroit today, buddy.

Theodoresdaddy: I could argue that Vandy has better talent than the Georgia Bulldogs, especially at the QB position.

I underestimated Steve Spurrier. That old dude still has it. South Carolina had an easy win at Vanderbilt today. If anybody wants to watch a very interesting game, watch the upcoming Tennessee vs South Carolina game. South Carolina's coach, Steve Spurrier, out-coaches Tennessee's Phillip Fulmer in his sleep. Fulmer's record against Spurrier is very bad. So, I wouldn't be surprised if Tennessee loses at South Carolina next week. The Vols had luck on their side today when they edged Alabama (who wins with great defense and a pre-historic and ultra-conservative offense), and, the Vols also have a couple of very tough games coming; South Carolina on the road next week, and LSU at home the week after. So, we'll find out just how good the Vols are over he next few weeks. Ainge will also need to play much better than he did today. The Vols will not get away with four interceptions against either South Carolina or LSU.

it's interesting to hear that someone thinks that Vandy has better talent than another SEC team

evaluating talent is subjective

using Steve Slaton; would he have flourished under another coach or system as well as he's done at WVU?

just because someone rushes or passes or blocks or whatever well under one coach or system doesn't mean that he would do as well under another and just because someone doesn't flourish under one coach or system doesn't mean that he wouldn't do well under another

Thomas agree with you in your earlier post re: Fla-Aub. One of the comments I hate to hear is when losing teams say "they lost it themselves, or we gave it to them" I heard alot of that from LSU fans this year. I won't say it about my team either. While I still think we have a better team. The 2nd half was all Auburn. Seniors ( Wilbur our kicker and Leak) can't make the bad mistakes they made. I won't even whine about the controversial pass/fumble because it was a really stupid call. Tebow has been getting us short yardage in those situations all year. This is the first I've seen what in my opinion was questionable play calling..... It was a hard loss but would love play well win out and meet Auburn again in SEC championship game. It's been my goal all along to make and hopefully win that game. Too soon to be talking National Championship......

Anyone else here headed to Jacksonville this week? I'll be up Friday night staying at the Hyatt hanging out at the Landing..... It gets crazy there night before the game. The Outsports Tour guy should definitely consider heading down this weekend. No matter how the teams are ranked it's always a good game and even better party! They don't call it The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party for nothing!

Gator: I don't think the "fumble" called against Leak in the UF/Auburn game was a bad call. I KNOW it was a bad call. That was a forward pass if ever there was one. There is no 'tuck" rule or "open-hand" rule in college football (like the NFL). Once the QB's arm starts forward with the ball securely in hand, its a forward pass. The result of that forward motion is either a completed pass, an intereception, or an incomplete pass, but it can't be called a fumble; not once the arm has started forward. The refs got that wrong, an your team got screwed. Having said that, I can't say that this alone cost the Gators the game. I can say that Chris Leak played very poorly in the second half. But I like the hell out of Meyer's spread option offense (especially when Tebow's in the game), so I refuse to criticize him or it. I love watching him work.

Theodoresdaddy: No argument here. Could Slanton play as well at Florida? USC? Michigan? Hell, Yes! But he'd be most productive at Florida I think, because Florida and WVU both like to run the ball out of their spread offense; even though Leak passes the ball way more than White does; and even though UF incorporates the "option" aspect while WVU does not do that as much. Still, both teams utilize the spread offense. Also, what White does at WVU is really not very different from what Tebow does at Florida. But to get back to your question: Could Slanton be a productive RB at LSU? Hell, No. Les Miles wouldn't have a clue what to do with him. Dude came in an idiot (way too timid on defense and offense; it was particularly distrubing for LSU fans to watch our Linebackers back-peddling away from the line of scrimage to drop into zone coverage; that's not how LSU plays defense; we "get after" the QB), but we are trying to convince him that aggression on offense and defense is what wins SEC championships. He has yet to learn this though.

Here puppy, puppy, puppy.... love them Dawgs, they know how to rollover on command... the last Saturday in October... Say, Its Great to Be a FLORIDA GATOR!!!!

Florida won, but didn't look good doing it. Auburn won, but didn't look good either. Tennessee looked very good. It's not often Spurrier gets out-coached, but on offense, I think Cutcliff got the better of him this weekend. Florida will, I think, play in the SEC championship game, against Auburn. Why do I think that? Because both Tennessee and Arkansas, the only two teams that could prevent a Florida/Auburn rematch, have to play LSU. Despite their two losses, LSU is loaded with talent, and is a dangerous team. I expect them to beat Tennessee next week, and, I expect them to beat Arkansas on Thanksgiving. If LSU wins both these games, that should end all talk of Tennessee and/or Arkansas in either the SEC or BCS championship game (not that either had a realistic chance at a BCS championship anyway, since neither belongs; especially Arkansas, who actually needed USC to remain unbeaten to have any chance). If Florida does end up in the SEC championship game against Auburn, the Gators will win; if Leak gets any kind of protection, and keeps his head about him. But that won't be enough to get them into a BCS championship game. They need WVU to lose to make that happen.

I've watched both Louisville and WVU play twice now, and I'm convinced that WVU is the better team. The only obstacle for WVU; the only thing keeping their game with Louisville from being a blowout in their favor is Petrino. Dude is a friggin football genuis, and will throw everything but the kitchen sink at WVU. I guarantee he will stack the line and force White and WVU to beat them through the air. That's what any good football coach playing a run-oriented offensive machine like WVU would do. WVU must show that they are a balanced team on offense. To this point, no team has shut down their potent running game, so they haven't had to pass the ball in tight situations. The Louisville/WVU game will be a classic matchup of different styles. WVU is an overhand right. Louisville is a staccato left jab. We'll have to see who's left standing when this fight ends. I'm already boned. I can't wait to see this game.

Thomas agree my gators did not look great. you know when sometimes a win feels like a loss. That's the feeling I had leaving the stadium. But after a few drinks you remember it's still a W. 7-1 controlling our destiny in the East. I can't complain. Still not even thinking about National Championship. Just hoping to win out and face Auburn in Atlanta.. Sweet Revenge!

Forgive me for saying this, since I'm a diehard SEC fan, but both Georgia and Alabama are offensively-challenged....and exceedingly boring to watch. But both teams excel on defense, so they can actually make an offensive-minded team like Florida look bad. I stopped watching Alabama on offense years ago. When they have the ball, I channel surf. I feel the same way about the 2006 Georgia offense. I know they are not going to score, so why waste my time watching? Florida, Auburn, LSU, and Tennessee, on the other hand, make the game exciting. According to the computer geeks, if WVU loses to Louisville, and Florida wins out, they will be in the BCS championship game against the Michigan/Ohio State winner, provided the winner of that game wins out. But you know me well enough by now to know that I don't bite my tongue. Florida, as is, won't beat OSU or Michigan.

Breaking news out of the SEC:

SEC puts limits on rooster crowing at South Carolina
Associated Press

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- The rooster won't crow as much at South Carolina's Williams-Brice Stadium.

The Southeastern Conference has told the Gamecocks they can only play a rooster crow during timeouts, after a score, before the game, during halftime and when the game ends.

South Carolina had been playing the rooster crow before critical third downs and other times to pump up the crowd.

The SEC told the Gamecocks they were breaking conference regulations about when artificial noise could be played.

"We are certainly disappointed that we have to limit the Gamecock crow, as we know its a crowd favorite, but obviously we will comply with the Southeastern Conference rules and regulations," said Jeff Crane, the university's athletics marketing director.

I think the South Carolina fans should be more worried about Arkansas' giant offensive line and running game than the rooster. But I actually like all that stuff; pig calls, cow bells, etc. It's fun.

Just gotta love how the SEC beats each other up each year..... Anyone think Georgia would hand Auburn a loss? Ugh..... Unless we dramatically get all our engines burning at the same time not looking forward to Arkansas in SEC championship game.
That said. As much as I wanted a blow out, the USC game yesterday was great. I almost passed out from yelling so much...... Another win... sloppy but a win.... Couldn't have handled Spurrier beating us at home......

For Arkansas to not get there, they would have to lose to MSU and lose to LSU by at least 11 points.

I was shocked by the South Carolina-Florida game as well. I thought Florida would win, but I didn't expect them to get out-played. But they were. In a perfect world, Carolina should have won that game. Florida's escape, and their inability to impress the computer geeks, is the reason they got leap-frogged by USC. But I agree that many fans outside the SEC just don't understand how difficult it is to win games in the SEC. Plus, I think many football fans are tired of hearing that the SEC is the best football conference in the nation. Arkansas will beat Mississippi State, but MSU will stay with them for a half or so, and LSU's potent air attack will give that Arkansas secondary fits. But here's the kicker, Florida can, and should, beat Arkansas in the SEC title game. All this means that there will be only one SEC team in a BCS bowl (Sugar Bowl), and that's really not fair. I have been talking up an SEC withdrawal from the BCS for some time, since the BCS computers de-value the conference, and make it hard for SEC teams to position themselves for a national championship run. But I know the BCS monetary reward is so great, there's no chance of that happening.

The computer rankings are just plain silly. Half of them have Rutgers at #2, and the other half has them at #3. I don't think many college football coaches and/or fans believe that Rutgers is a better team than Ohio State, Michigan, and USC. I'm not disparaging Rugers; they did nothing wrong in all this. But something has to be done about those computer geeks. The computer geeks, more than anything else, is the reason I want the SEC out of the BCS.

The computers are based on record and schedules. Ohio State has not played a very good schedule. Its not like Rutgers has either but the computers are one element of the BCS. They are given weight just like the human polls are and we all know the human polls have bias. Nothing wrong with the computer it just doesnt agree with your opinions. Im not saying they are better but how do you know that Michigan is better than Rutgers. Until the teams play all someone can do is use their biases to figure out who they think should win.

The SEC has done the most crowing and Im not sure why. After watching Florida struggle for their life against USC and Vandy I am convinced that they are overrated. I do agree that probably the SEC is the best conference because they have 5 very very good teams. However there is no standout and the bottom of the league is atrocious.

Part of this is the insistence that they use only W-L record and drop the points differential-driven rankings. Massey compiles all the various rating systems and Rutgers is averaging 4th when you see them all, falling as low as 10th on some.

But it seems to me SEC fans expect to always be rated the #1 conference without having to prove it against quality non-conference opponents. Ten years ago, the conference topped the computer rankings almost every year, but these days their out-of-conference schedules are littered with I-AA, Conference USA and Sunbelt teams and their computer ranking suffers because of it. I believe the only ranked non-conference win for the SEC is over Cal, and that lost a bit of its luster when Cal went down to Arizona. Zona also beat #23 BYU, so it has as many wins over ranked non-conference foes as the SEC. So the SEC really hasn't proved much more than the Big East has, so it's not necessarily unjustified to place them ahead of SEC teams with 1 loss. I'll grant I left them at #7 behind Florida and Arkansas because I'm a Rutgers grad and a pessimist, but if you want to move them up higher, it's not that unrealistic.

There's no need to defend what we feel. Most team loyalties are regional. Bt, yeah, I do think the SEC is the best conference in America, but probably not this year. Although I hate to admit it, Auburn was clearly over-rated early on, and it's obvious that teams with big tough running backs and a physical offensive line can run on that under-sized, built-for-speed, defense. Florida is a good team, but Chris Leak can lose interest, and poise, real fast when hit early. They would be a legitmate top five team if Leak had Tebow's size and heart. The most scary team in the SEC is LSU, but they are self-destructive, error prone, and Miles does not maximize its talent on either side of the ball. Georgia and Alabama are down. Tennessee is a good , but not great, team. Arkansas is one dimensional, and because of that, can be stopped by good defense; e.g., LSU. Most years, the SEC has multiple legitmate good teams (Florida, LSU, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, and Auburn), with an occassional good season from Arkansas and Ole Miss. That's why most football analysts consider the SEC the best conference.

I think the human pollsters would have voted Louisville or WVU into that #3 spot if circumstances warranted that, but these pollsters will not allow Rutgers to play for a national championship this year, even if they go undefeated. They simply haven't been "good" long enough to warrant such accolades. The human polls work a lot like the Academy Awards. A good track record and reputation mean everything, so actors get rewarded for what they do only if they can duplicate the previous years results. WVU and Louisville have done that in football....paid their dues....so deserved a shot at glory this year. Rutgers' journey has just begun, so they will need another year or two of good results before human pollsters reward them with a ranking high enough to play for a national championship. This, I think, is the reason Rutgers is ranked almost twice as high by the computers than they are by human polls. Computers don't mind the new kid on the block...human pollsters are more cautious and tend to adopt a wait and see attitude before rewarding them with its highest ranking. Boise State is in the same boat.

Looks luike LSU is about to pull off an OT escape, after missing the GW XP in regulation.

Is pretty boy Mike Shula out after this season?

There have been so many conflicting reports out of Tuscaloosa about Mike Shula. Acccording to reports, he was supposed to be fired this weekend, with either Miami Dolphins head coach, Nick Saban, or WVU's disgruntled coach, Rodriguez, as his replacement. Saban's agent has reportedly been in contact with Alabama reps about taking the job. And Rodrigez is reportedly pissed that WVU won't pay him money commensurate with his accomplishments. One of the sports shows in Baton Rouge read a quote from Rodriguez in which he stated that he would welcome a coaching job in the SEC. So, as of now, Rodriguez is the leading candidate for the Alabama job....if Mike Shula is fired. The biggest problem facing Alabama is that they just upped Shula's salary and it would cost them about $4M to buy him out. That's a lot of money, so if the financial conservatives win out, Shula might stay on another year. But if the boosters and fans win out, Shula will get fired and Rodriguez or Saban will get hired. In my opinion, both would be an upgrade over the offensively-challenged Shula, especially the defensive-minded Nick Saban.

Congratulations to the LSU Tigers for their victory over Arkansas. If things play out the way I hope, they could end up in the Rose Bowl. I love SEC-Pac 10 matchups. Those games are usually fun to watch. I never cared much for Big 10 or Big 12-SEC matchups. The styles are too similar.

Also, on behalf of all LSU fans, I want to thank McFadden for taking himself out of the game on the last series. Otherwise, LSU might have lost, since they couldn't stop him the whole game. As soon as I saw that he wasn't in the game with two minutes remaining, I knew LSU would win. There was no way Arkansas was going to score a touchdown passing the ball, especially without McFadden in the game and considering the fact that they under-utilized and ignored Marcus Monk much of the game. The two minute passing drill is something the Hogs probably don't practice much, and it showed. The Hogs need to find themselves a decent quarterback, cause Casey Dick is not it.

Darren McFadden may be the next LT in one respect .... he's 6-for-6 passing this year with 3 TD's

Gracious that Chris Leak is one gorgeous boy. Beautiful, CLEAR skin, unlike that QB from UCLA, perfect complexion. I've noticed him before but today was the first Florida game I actually watched start to finish in forever. That is one fine QB.

Now, now, mdterp. Not everyone is so blessed in the looks department as, say, Tim Tebow, whose Florida Gators took care of Arkansas tonight. Here's hoping that he could end up in the national championship game!

Florida, as is, is not a good match up for OSU. The defenses are similar, but OSU has the better offense. If UF could somehow merge Tebow's heart with Leak's brain and experience, they would have the perfect college Quarterback. Under ordinary circumstances, I would say that Florida's best weapon against OSU is Urban Meyer, but in this case, Tressel and Meyer are about even, and OSU has a singularly perfect college QB in Troy Smith, so I have to to give th edge to OSU. Of course, I'll be pulling for the SEC and the rooting hard for the University of Florida.

Hey, mdterp01. Glad you like the Gator quarterback. But, I think the coach is easy on the eyes too. It is truly ironic that Urban Meyer was an OSU fan while growing up. Meyer's first coaching position was a two-year stint as a graduate assistant at Ohio State.