My handwriting in font form

So I was pointed to a link by Viva El Birdos user spants in which you can create a font from your own handwriting. It takes a little bit of work, but I thought it turned out pretty good. Here's what mine looks like.



For those of you familiar with my handwriting, what's the verdict?

2009 SEC predictions

OK, so I started doing this a few weeks ago with the hopes of producing scores and recaps of every SEC game this season. I got through Alabama, Arkansas and Auburn before I got lazy and let other things get in the way of finishing it. I know I wouldn't get nine of these done in the next four days (before the South Carolina vs. North Carolina State game on Thursday night), so here are all of the SEC games, with scores (no recaps). SEC standings and bowl predictions after the scores. Any criticism or praise is more than welcome in the comments section.

Alabama Crimson Tide (10-2, 7-1)

vs Virginia Tech L 13-24 (0-1, 0-0)
FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL W 37-6  (1-1, 0-0)
NORTH TEXAS  W 41-3  (2-1, 0-0)
ARKANSAS  W 21-17 (3-1, 1-0)
at Kentucky  W 30-10 (4-1, 2-0)
at Mississippi  W 22-13 (5-1, 3-0)
SOUTH CAROLINA  W 26-8  (6-1, 4-0)
TENNESSEE  W 28-7  (7-1, 5-0)
LOUISIANA STATE  L 13-20 (7-2, 5-1)
at Mississippi State W 20-3  (8-2, 6-1)
CHATTANOOGA  W 45-0  (9-2, 6-1)
at Auburn  W 20-12 (10-2, 7-1)



Arkansas Razorbacks (9-3, 5-3)

MISSOURI STATE  W 45-7  (1-0, 0-0)
GEORGIA   W 20-16 (2-0, 1-0)
at Alabama  L 17-21 (2-1, 1-1)
vs Texas A&M  W 27-10 (3-1, 1-1)
AUBURN   W 33-20 (4-1, 2-1)
at Florida  L 23-48 (4-2, 2-2)
at Mississippi  W 26-18 (5-2, 3-2)
EASTERN MICHIGAN W 49-0  (6-2, 3-2)
at South Carolina W 27-14 (7-2, 4-2)
TROY   W 31-17 (8-2, 4-2)
MISSISSIPPI STATE W 34-9  (9-2, 5-2)
at Louisiana State L 22-26 (9-3, 5-3)



Auburn Tigers (6-6, 3-5)

LOUISIANA TECH  W 24-20 (1-0, 0-0)
MISSISSIPPI STATE W 20-10 (2-0, 1-0)
WEST VIRGINIA  L 13-31 (2-1, 1-0)
BALL STATE  W 28-10 (3-1, 1-0)
at Tennessee  L 24-27 (3-2, 1-1)
at Arkansas  L 20-33 (3-3, 1-2)
KENTUCKY  W 35-17 (4-3, 2-2)
at Louisiana State L 10-24 (4-4, 2-3)
MISSISSIPPI  W 17-15 (5-4, 3-3)
FURMAN   W 41-7  (6-4, 3-3)
at Georgia  L 20-24 (6-5, 3-4)
ALABAMA   L 12-20 (6-6, 3-5)



Florida Gators (12-0, 8-0)

CHARLESTON SOUTHERN W 59-10 (1-0, 0-0)
TROY   W 48-21 (2-0, 0-0)
TENNESSEE  W 55-6  (3-0, 1-0)
at Kentucky  W 37-12 (4-0, 2-0)
at Louisiana State W 27-18 (5-0, 3-0)
ARKANSAS  W 48-23 (6-0, 4-0)
at Mississippi State W 39-10 (7-0, 5-0)
vs Georgia  W 40-19 (8-0, 6-0)
VANDERBILT  W 44-7  (9-0, 7-0)
at South Carolina W 38-14 (10-0, 8-0)
FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL W 51-3  (11-0, 8-0)
FLORIDA STATE  W 33-17 (12-0, 8-0)



Georgia Bulldogs (8-4, 5-3)

at Oklahoma State L 17-31 (0-1, 0-0)
SOUTH CAROLINA  W 20-13 (1-1, 1-0)
at Arkansas  L 16-20 (1-2, 1-1)
ARIZONA STATE  W 28-10 (2-2, 1-1)
LOUISIANA STATE  L 13-24 (2-3, 1-2)
at Tennessee  W 25-23 (3-3, 2-2)
at Vanderbilt  W 34-14 (4-3, 3-2)
vs Florida  L 19-40 (4-4, 3-3)
TENNESSEE TECH  W 38-3  (5-4, 3-3)
AUBURN   W 24-20 (6-4, 4-3)
KENTUCKY  W 30-16 (7-4, 5-3)
at Georgia Tech  W 22-13 (8-4, 5-3)



Kentucky Wildcats (6-6, 2-6)

vs Miami (OH)  W 28-13 (1-0, 0-0)
LOUISVILLE  W 23-9  (2-0, 0-0)
FLORIDA   L 12-37 (2-1, 0-1)
ALABAMA   L 10-30 (2-2, 0-2)
at South Carolina L 13-23 (2-3, 0-3)
at Auburn  L 17-35 (2-4, 0-4)
LOUISIANA-MONROE W 37-14 (3-4, 0-4)
MISSISSIPPI STATE W 29-21 (4-4, 1-4)
EASTERN KENTUCKY W 50-7  (5-4, 1-4)
at Vanderbilt  W 20-14 (6-4, 2-4)
at Georgia  L 16-30 (6-5, 2-5)
TENNESSEE  L 20-26 (6-6, 2-6)



Louisiana State Tigers (11-1, 7-1)

at Washington  W 38-6  (1-0, 0-0)
VANDERBILT  W 34-7  (2-0, 1-0)
LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE W 47-7  (3-0, 1-0)
at Mississippi State W 31-10 (4-0, 2-0)
at Georgia  W 24-13 (5-0, 3-0)
FLORIDA   L 18-27 (5-1, 3-1)
AUBURN   W 24-10 (6-1, 4-1)
TULANE   W 31-3  (7-1, 4-1)
at Alabama  W 20-13 (8-1, 5-1)
LOUISIANA TECH  W 35-10 (9-1, 5-1)
at Mississippi  W 17-10 (10-1, 6-1)
ARKANSAS  W 26-22 (11-1, 7-1)



Mississippi Rebels (8-4, 4-4)

at Memphis  W 36-10 (1-0, 0-0)
SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA W 40-7  (2-0, 0-0)
at South Carolina W 21-18 (3-0, 1-0)
at Vanderbilt  W 24-13 (4-0, 2-0)
ALABAMA   L 13-22 (4-1, 2-1)
ALABAMA-BIRMINGHAM W 41-7  (5-1, 2-1)
ARKANSAS  L 18-26 (5-2, 2-2)
at Auburn  L 15-17 (5-3, 2-3)
NORTHERN ARIZONA W 59-0  (6-3, 2-3)
TENNESSEE  W 28-13 (7-3, 3-3)
LOUISIANA STATE  L 10-17 (7-4, 3-4)
at Mississippi State W 25-10 (8-4, 4-4)



Mississippi State Bulldogs (3-9, 0-8)

JACKSON STATE  W 42-7  (1-0, 0-0)
at Auburn  L 10-20 (1-1, 0-1)
at Vanderbilt  L 20-21 (1-2, 0-2)
LOUISIANA STATE  L 10-31 (1-3, 0-3)
GEORGIA TECH  L 13-28 (1-4, 0-3)
HOUSTON   W 24-21 (2-4, 0-3)
at Middle Tennessee W 28-26 (3-4, 0-3)
FLORIDA   L 10-39 (3-5, 0-4)
at Kentucky  L 21-29 (3-6, 0-5)
ALABAMA   L 3-20 (3-7, 0-6)
at Arkansas  L 9-34  (3-8, 0-7)
MISSISSIPPI  L 10-25 (3-9, 0-8)



South Carolina Gamecocks (4-8, 2-6)

at North Carolina State L 20-31 (0-1, 0-0)
at Georgia  L 13-20 (0-2, 0-1)
FLORIDA ATLANTIC W 38-7  (1-2, 0-1)
MISSISSIPPI  L 18-21 (1-3, 0-2)
SOUTH CAROLINA STATE W 41-3  (2-3, 0-2)
KENTUCKY  W 23-13 (3-3, 1-2)
at Alabama  L 8-26  (3-4, 1-3)
VANDERBILT  W 24-14 (4-4, 2-3)
at Tennessee  L 20-23 (4-5, 2-4)
at Arkansas  L 14-27 (4-6, 2-5)
FLORIDA   L 14-38 (4-7, 2-6)
CLEMSON   L 17-24 (4-8, 2-6)



Tennessee Volunteers (8-4, 4-4)

WESTERN KENTUCKY W 37-7 (1-0, 0-0)
UCLA   W 27-21 (2-0, 0-0)
at Florida  L 6-55 (2-1, 0-1)
OHIO   W 35-13 (3-1, 0-1)
AUBURN   W 27-24 (4-1, 1-1)
GEORGIA   L 23-25 (4-2, 1-2)
at Alabama  L 7-28 (4-3, 1-3)
SOUTH CAROLINA  W 23-20 (5-3, 2-3)
MEMPHIS   W 30-18 (6-3, 2-3)
at Mississippi  L 13-28 (6-4, 2-4)
VANDERBILT  W 27-16 (7-4, 3-4)
at Kentucky  W 26-20 (8-4, 4-4)



Vanderbilt Commodores (4-8, 1-7)

WESTERN CAROLINA W 38-10 (1-0, 0-0)
at Louisiana State L 7-34 (1-1, 0-1)
MISSISSIPPI STATE W 21-20 (2-1, 1-1)
at Rice   W 28-23 (3-1, 1-1)
MISSISSIPPI  L 13-24 (3-2, 1-2)
at Army   W 32-10 (4-2, 1-2)
GEORGIA   L 14-34 (4-3, 1-3)
at South Carolina L 14-24 (4-4, 1-4)
GEORGIA TECH  L 10-31 (4-5, 1-4)
at Florida  L 7-44 (4-6, 1-5)
KENTUCKY  L 14-20 (4-7, 1-6)
at Tennessee  L 16-27 (4-8, 1-7)



Eastern Division
Florida   8-0
Georgia   5-3
Tennesssee  4-4
South Carolina  2-6
Kentucky  2-6
Vanderbilt  1-7

Western Division

Louisiana State  7-1
Alabama   7-1
Arkansas  5-3
Mississippi  4-4
Auburn   3-5
Mississippi State 0-8



Bowl Games:
Florida  BCS National Championship
Alabama  Sugar Bowl
LSU  Capitol One Bowl
Arkansas Cotton Bowl
Georgia  Outback Bowl
Mississippi Chick-fil-A Bowl
Tennessee Liberty Bowl
Auburn  Music City Bowl
Kentucky Independence Bowl

**EDIT: Hmm, format fail. Oh well, should be readable enough.**

Go Memphis!

(HT: EDSBS)

Top 25 Songs of the Aughts

Before I begin, I want to make sure everyone knows this idea is shamelessly stolen from friend of the Neighborhood jrs at A Lifetime of Defeats. Here's a link to his top 100 songs of this decade. In that post he links to Pitchfork's top 500 songs of the decade. Since I'm not nearly the musical connoisseur jrs is, my list is only 25% the length of his, and since neither of us are being paid for our musical opinions, our lists are 5% and 20% the length of theirs. So, without further ado...

25. "Gold Digger" - Kanye West ft. Jamie Foxx
24. "A-Punk" - Vampire Weekend
23. "Doesn't Remind Me" - Audioslave
22. "I'm Shipping Up to Boston" - Dropkick Murphy's
21. "B.O.B." - Outkast
20. "New Slang" - The Shins
19. "Stan" - Eminem ft. Dido
18. "Crazy" - Gnarls Barkley
17. "Jesus Walks" - Kanye West
16. "Punkrocker" - Teddybears STHLM ft. Iggy Pop
15. "One More Time" - Daft Punk
14. "Rehab" - Amy Winehouse
13. "Don't Panic" - Coldplay
12. "Don't Stop the Music" - Rihanna
11. "Flashing Lights" - Kanye West ft. Dwele
10. "Mr. Brightside" - The Killers
9. "King Without a Crown" - Matisyahu
8. "Digital Love" - Daft Punk
7. "LoveStoned/I Think She Knows (Interlude)" - Justin Timberlake
6. "The Real Slim Shady" - Eminem
5. "Hurt" - Johnny Cash
4. "Stronger" - Kanye West
3. "Feel Good Inc." - Gorillaz ft. De La Soul
2. "Knights of Cydonia" - Muse
1. "Hey Ya!" - Outkast

Yes, I think four of the best songs of the past decade were by Kanye West. Sue me.

Making lists...Love/Hate

When I moved into my apartment here in Athens and ordered my cable, I decided to get the sports package. At the time it came with a few Fox (FSN) sports channels and ESPNU. Since then, it's expanded to include CBS College (CBSC) Network and MLB Network, two networks that I have found to be awesome. Recently, CBSC has been feeding the hunger for football that is so prevalent when there are less than two weeks until the first game by showing replays of classic SEC games that were originally televised on CBS. Several of the FSN channels have shown various random games from many years ago, and even ESPNU has recently gotten in on the act. Needless to say, I've been taking advantage of the programming and watching as much college football as my schedule will allow. A few games I've seen in the past week or so include 2002 Mississippi-Florida, 2005 Tennessee-Florida, and most recently (an hour or so ago) 2008 Auburn-LSU. I only got in on the 2008 Tiger Bowl at the start of the 2nd half, so I got to watch the worst part. I forgot that ESPN showed several crowd shots of the LSU section in Jordan-Hare, and I had also forgotten how obnoxious LSU fans are. So basically, this entire paragraph has been a prelude to me making a list of my least favorite college football teams. It's been awhile since I've posted a new Top 5, so here goes...Mr. Dizzle's official top 5 least favorite college football teams:

5. Louisiana State: Many Auburn fans (self included) would contend that LSU has overtaken Georgia for #2 on Auburn's rivals list. The Tiger Bowl has been one of the closest yearly rivalries in college football over the past decade, and the winner of the game has represented the SEC West in the SEC Championship Game six out of the last nine years. The fact that LSU has stolen two gut-wrenching victories from my Tigers in the past two seasons makes the hatred even greater. Add in the fact that LSU fans are generally the worst and totally smell like corn dogs, and you have what makes LSU my fifth most hated team.

4. Florida State: If you had asked me to rank my least favorite teams about eight years ago, FSU would have ranked even higher. I always hated FSU because they played in a patsy league, won 10 or 11 games, made it to a high-profile bowl, then choked it away. The fact that the Seminoles have faded away has lessened my hatred for them a little bit, but I still root against them in almost any circumstance.

3. Ohio State: Consider them the FSU of the late-aughts. After winning* the BCS National Title in 2002 over Miami (asterisk for bogus pass interference call in OT), Ohio State has basically owned the Big 10 and choked in bowl games. They have played in and lost three straight BCS games (including two ass-whoopings by SEC teams). They have no problem beating up on the weak sauce that is the Big 10, but cannot compete with the better teams from other major conferences. Even after they've been destroyed in big games year after year, it seems like they're a top 5 team preseason every year. The love ESPN has for the Bucks makes them simply unbearable.

2. Oklahoma: Consider them Ohio State South. They won an ugly BCS National Championship game against Florida State in 2000 and have generally been the class of the Big 12 since. However, like their Buckeye counterparts, they continually choke in the big game. They aren't known as Choklahoma for nothing! The Sooners have played in five BCS games in the last six years and lost all five! And yet, like clockwork, they are a preseason top 5 team year after year after year. What separates the Sooners from the Buckeyes in my heart, though, is the OU team from 2004. To set the scene (Auburn fans may want to just go ahead and skip down to #1) Oklahoma was one of four undefeated teams at the end of the 2004 season, along with USC, Auburn and Utah. The year before had seen the greatest BCS controversy to that point: USC was ranked #1 in the polls but were left out of the BCS national championship game by the computers, which opted for LSU and OU instead. LSU beat the Sooners soundly (if not by a great margin) and USC stomped Michigan to leave the country with a split national championship. After getting jobbed in 2003, USC was a lock to make the title game; the real debate came down to OU vs. Auburn. OU was ranked #2 to start the season, and Auburn was ranked #15. Despite beating four top 10 teams in the season, Auburn could not push past the Sooners in the polls or computers. Oklahoma did not face nearly as difficult of a schedule as the Tigers. They promptly were humiliated by the Trojans in the Orange Bowl while Auburn had to "settle" for a Sugar Bowl victory over Virginia Tech. Oklahoma continues to get rated highly preseason despite getting stomped in bowl games year after year by their real competition. This enormous paragraph should describe just how much I hate this team. They would be a runaway #1 if it weren't for...

1. Alabama: Who else would it be? As someone who graduated from Auburn and lived in Alabama from age 5 to 23, there is no other team to hate. I would root for the Chicago Cubs over Alabama (and trust me, that's saying something). I'm not going to spend a bunch of sentences explaining this, as it should be pretty obvious. How about some pictures?





Now, for a very special bonus list, here's how I rank the SEC teams from most loved to most hated. I decided to do this since only two SEC teams made the above list, and you may be curious how Georgia didn't make the list. (Going there for graduate school may have softened me on the Dawgs)

1. Auburn
2. Tennessee (grew up rooting for them, still have a soft spot...despite Lane Kiffin)
3. Vanderbilt
4. Kentucky
5. South Carolina
6. Mississippi State
7. Arkansas
8. Mississippi
9. Florida
10. Georgia
11. Louisiana State
12. Alabama

I don't think I'm going to get through the last nine SEC teams as far as game-by-game breakdowns go, so I'll probably just consolidate it into a giant post with every SEC game predicted by score. Have a nice week!

SEC College Rankings

The U.S. News and World Report 2010 college rankings have come out. Auburn came in tied for 88th in the country overall, and tied for 39th in national public universities. How did we fare against our conference brethren? Check the results, with overall rank and score in parentheses:

1. Vanderbilt University (17, 80)
2. University of Florida (47, 57)
3. University of Georgia (58, 51)
4. Auburn University (88, 42)
5. University of Alabama (96, 41)
6. University of Tennessee (106, 39)
7. University of South Carolina (110, 38)
8. Louisiana State University (128, 33)
8. University of Arkansas (128, 33)
8. University of Kentucky (128, 33)

Ole Miss and Miss State not ranked

#4 in the conference is pretty good, and anytime we can rate ahead of Alabama in anything, that's definitely good. How did the athletics-first SEC fare against the academics-first ACC? Here's their rankings:

1. Duke University (10, 90)
2. University of Virginia (24, 73)
3. University of North Carolina (28, 70)
3. Wake Forest University (28, 70)
5. Boston College (34, 63)
6. Georgia Tech (35, 62)
7. University of Miami (50, 55)
8. University of Maryland (53, 53)
9. Clemson University (61, 50)
10. Virginia Tech (71, 46)
11. N.C. State University (88, 42)
12. Florida State University (102, 40)

In other words, the worst ACC school would place sixth in the SEC in academics. Auburn would be tied for 11th with NCSU. Florida, the SEC's 2nd highest-rated school would be 7th in the ACC. The only thing I can say about these results is....

NERDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hwat

Why is Ben Tate on the front page of ESPN.com?



I'll read the article and maybe get back to you

Oh Raiders

Growing up, I considered myself a Raiders fan. No reason really, I just didn't have a natural team to root for. The Titans were still in Houston and the Falcons were a giant bag of suck. I kind of just picked the Raiders, and for awhile it was fun. The Raiders were mostly a good team from 1991 (the first year I actively followed sports) to 2002 (when they went to the Super Bowl). Since then, the Raiders franchise has been the laughingstock of the league. They've made bonehead move after bonehead move, and Al Davis clearly has no idea how to run an NFL team in this day and age. I've heard he's said he'll retire as soon as the Raiders win another Super Bowl, but somehow I think he'll die first. Anyways, the most recent example of the Raiders' embarrassment involves Head Coach Tom Cable punching an assistant in the jaw. Stay classy, Raiders.

GO FALCONS!

Chris Todd named Auburn's 2009 starting QB

As reported by Jay G. Tate, Gene Chizik told the team that Chris Todd will be Auburn's starting quarterback for the season-opening Louisiana Tech game. Some money quotes:

"Kodi felt like he could help this team somewhere on offense. We can use him in the Wildcat. We can put him over there at wide receiver. He's very athletic and we're going to give him every opportunity to help this team." - Gene Chizik

Burns stood up at a players-only meeting and asked the team to rally behind Todd. "He said he had my back. It took a lot for him to go up there and say that," Todd said.

Glad to hear Kodi's taking this well (at least on the outside). I hope the team heeds his advice and rallies behind Todd. We won't do squat this season if the players aren't all fully behind Todd.

You stay classy Cubs fans

**EDIT: The youtube link has been removed. There are still some videos up online, but I'm not going to keep posting them after MLB removes the old ones. Here's a page with several animated gifs about the incident.**

**EDIT #2: You stay classy, Mexico**.

2009 SEC Season Precictions: Arkansas Razorbacks

For the next installment of this series, I'm going to the so-called Natural State. 2009 will be the second installment of Petrino ball at Arky. How will it work out?

Arkansas Razorbacks (9-3, 5-3)

The 2008 version of the Arkansas Razorbacks were an intriguing team. They started off the season by almost losing to Western Illinois and Louisiana-Monroe, then were bludgeoned by three top ten teams. The Hogs looked like an awful team for the most part. Then, a funny thing happened; they went to Jordan-Hare and knocked off preseason SEC West favorite Auburn and started turning their season around. They finished 5-7 (2-6), but were probably the most improved team in the league in 2008. I fully expect that momentum to carry over into 2009, especially with transfer QB Ryan Mallett taking the reins of Bobby (spit) Petrino's offense.

Sure wins: Missouri State, vs. Texas A&M, Eastern Michigan, Troy, Mississippi State
Sure losses: @Florida
Toss-ups: Georgia, @Alabama, Auburn, @Mississippi, South Carolina, @Louisiana State

Game-by-game:

Arkansas 45 Missouri State 7: Arkansas shouldn't have as much trouble with its FCS opener in 2009 as it did in 2008. The Hogs roll over the first MSU and start 1-0 (0-0).

Arkansas 20 Georgia 16: Georgia could be a very good team in 2009. They could also be very mediocre. I've already said that I thought Arkansas will be a very good team in 2009, and because this game is in Fayetteville, I'll give the nod to the Hogs. They move to 2-0 (1-0).

Alabama 21 Arkansas 17: See my previous entry on Alabama's season to see a description of this game. Arkansas drops to 2-1 (1-1).

Arkansas 27 Texas A&M 10: This game will be played in Jerry Jones' behemoth of a new stadium in Arlington, in a sort of throwback to the old SWC days. Mike Sherman has the Aggie program in disarray. A&M shouldn't give Arkansas any trouble, even in their home state. The Hogs roll to 3-1 (1-1).

Arkansas 33 Auburn 20: See my previous entry on Auburn's season to see a description of this game. The Razorbacks improve to 4-1 (2-1).

Florida 48 Arkansas 23: The Gators are the most consensus SEC/national champion in a long time. Tebow and company should have no problem getting back to the SEC championship game and the BCS national championship game. Arkansas won't pose much of a threat, and Arkansas won't be able to stop Urban Meyer's offense. The Hogs drop to 4-2 (2-2).

Arkansas 26 Mississippi 18: The overrated Rebels will drop this game to Houston Nutt's old employer in Oxford. Arkansas turns in a dominant performance and wins a game that's not as close as the score indicates, rising to 5-2 (3-2).

Arkansas 49 Eastern Michigan 0: The Eagles are a FBS team, but they aren't a good FBS team. Arkansas rolls over another weak opponent, becoming bowl eligible at 6-2 (3-2).

Arkansas 27 South Carolina 14: The Gamecocks travel a long ways to Fayetteville (Google maps says 914 miles) and come away empty handed. Arkansas should have no trouble with Spurrier's 'Cocks. The Razorbacks solidify themselves as 2009's Ole Miss by improving to 7-2 (4-2).

Arkansas 31 Troy 17: The Trojans are a decent team, even for a Sun Belt team. In recent seasons they have upset Missouri and Oklahoma State at home, and come close to beating LSU in Death Valley. Arkansas better not take Troy lightly, and won't. They earn a solid 14-point victory, moving to 8-2 (4-2).

Arkansas 34 Mississippi State 9: This game will be another in a long season of growing pains for Dan Mullen at State. Arkansas should have no trouble with the Bulldogs in Fayetteville, and will get their ninth win of the season in impressive fashion. Arkansas improves to 9-2 (5-2).

Louisiana State 26 Arkansas 22: This game will determine whether Alabama or LSU represents the SEC West in the SEC championship game. The Hogs stunned the Purple Tigers in Fayetteville last year thanks to some late Casey Dick heroics, but expect the Bengals' defense to be much improved with John Chavis as defensive coordinator. Arkansas won't give in without a fight, but LSU will come away with a hard-fought win. Arkansas finishes at 9-3 (5-3).

Arkansas will be 2009's version of 2008 Ole Miss. A Cotton Bowl berth should be an accomplishable (is that a word?) goal for this team, and an SEC West Title isn't outside of the realm of possibility either.

Plan your first Saturday in September

Inside USC with Scott Wolf, as linked by EDSBS has given the full run-down of all games that will be on TV on opening day for college football, 2009. What will yours truly be doing that day? My tentative football watching schedule:

10:00-12:00 College Gameday
12:00-12:21 Navy @ Ohio State
12:21-15:21 Western Kentucky @ Tennessee
15:21-15:30 Restroom break
15:30-18:30 Georgia @ Oklahoma State
18:30-19:00 Middle Tennessee State @ Clemson (or maybe dinner break)
19:00-22:00 Louisiana Tech @ AUBURN!!
22:00-23:00 Alabama vs. Virginia Tech
23:00-01:30 Louisiana State @ Washington

Four weeks from today is the first Thursday night game. Can you feel it?!

2009 SEC Predictions: Alabama Crimson Tide

For the second installation in my season predictions for the SEC, I'm traveling up U.S. 280 and down I-59/20 to Tuscaloosa, to preview the defending SEC West champions. The Tide had a magical season in 2008, reaching the #1 ranking before bowing out to Florida and Utah in the SEC Championship Game and Sugar Bowl, respectively. 2009 would figure to be a reloading year for the Tide, but Saban has them in "We don't rebuild, we reload" mode in only his third year. So what does 2009 hold for the Elephants? Let's see...

Alabama Crimson Tide 10-2 (7-1)

The Tide loses a three-year starter at the most important position in quarterback John Parker Wilson. He may have completely sucked for the first two years he was a starter in Tuscaloosa, but he was rock solid for the Tide last season. Behind a veteran line he led Alabama to its first SEC Championship game in nine years. But he (and stalwart LT Andre Smith) are gone, and Alabama will be replacing two key members of its offense. They figure to take a step back as a new quarterback learns the system and SEC defenses adjust to Jim McElwain's offensive system. Let's get on to the schedule:

Sure wins: Florida International, North Texas, @Kentucky, @Mississippi State, Chattanooga
Sure losses: none
Toss-ups: Virginia Tech, Arkansas, @Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, Louisiana State, @Auburn

Game-by-game:

Virginia Tech 24 Alabama 13: For the second consecutive season Alabama will travel to Atlanta to face an ACC foe in a neutral site game in Tha Dome. I don't think Alabama will fare quite as well as they did in their 2008 opener against Clemson. Virginia Tech will be a very good team in 2009 and will be ready for the Tide. Alabama will keep it close for three quarters, but the game will end similarly to Alabama's last trip to Atlanta. They start the season at 0-1 (0-0).

Alabama 37 Florida International 6: Not much to say about this game. Alabama overpowers FIU in a laugher. Maybe a brawl will break out and a dude on crutches will fight some Tide players. The Tide bounces back to 1-1 (0-0).

Alabama 41 North Texas 3: Seriously, can you think of a lamer first two home games than FIU and North Texas? This is worse than Auburn's first two of Louisiana-Monroe and Southern Miss from a year ago. Alabama wins another laugher, this time over the Mean Green, going away, improving 'Bama to 2-1 (0-0).

Alabama 21 Arkansas 17: Last season, Alabama pick-sixed Arkansas to death in Fayetteville, rolling to a huge road SEC win. However, they certainly will not be playing the same Razorback team in 2009. Bobby Petrino figures to have his Hogs ready to contend for the SEC West title. The Hogs play Alabama close in Tuscaloosa, before finally falling by four, as Alabama wins its first SEC contest, improving to 3-1 (1-0).

Alabama 30 Kentucky 10: This is a litle bit of a trap game for Alabama, between a home tilt against the Razorbacks and a road trip to the Grove. Fortunately for them, Kentucky will experience some growing pains in 2009 after successfuly 2007 and 2008 campaigns. Alabama should roll over the Wildcats in Lexington. The Tide moves to 4-1 (2-0).

Alabama 22 Mississippi 13: Ole Miss may be the trendy pick to win the SEC West in 2009, but I'm not buying it. I see Alabama rolling into Oxford and coming out with a solid, if unspectacular, victory over Houston Nutt's Rebels. This victory will thrust the Tide into the forefront of SEC West championship talks at 5-1 (3-0).

Alabama 26 South Carolina 8: This is the closest game of Alabama's "toss-ups" I came to putting in the "sure wins" category. **EDIT: Please forgive the horrid grammar of the previous sentence. I hope it makes sense to you.** People may think that the Gamecocks have underachieved under Steve Spurrier, but it has actually been (the other) USC's best four-year run. That tells you more about the Gamecock program than Steve Spurrier. Anyway, Alabama should come out with a reasonably easy victory in Tuscaloosa against the Cocks (tee hee). With the win, Alabama moves to 6-1 (4-0).

Alabama 28 Tennessee 7: Since Nick Saban took over in Tuscaloosa, Alabama has owned the two games against the Volunteers. Of course, UT has a new coach in Lane Kiffin, and the previous two victories were against Phil Fulmer, but the Vols should experience growing pains in 2009 and the game will be played in Tuscaloosa. Look for Alabama to roll over Tennessee once again in 2009. This will be the Tide's seventh consecutive victory after the season-opening loss to the Hokies, pushing their record to 7-1 (5-0).

Louisiana State 20 Alabama 13: In my opinion this game will determine the SEC West champion. That it's being played in Baton Rouge and the fact that the Purple Tigers will have a (slightly) more experienced quarterback make me think that they will come away victorious. Either way, Nick Saban's return to the Bayou will be a hard-fought, close affair, and I see Alabama dropping to 7-2 (5-1).

Alabama 20 Mississippi State 3: After an emotionally draining loss in Louisiana, Alabama returns home to face the Bulldogs from Starkville. Though Alabama should cruise to victory, I forsee this being closer than it could be because Alabama will be deflated after a close loss. Alabama sleepwalks through a 17-point victory, improving to 8-2 (6-1).

Alabama 45 Chattanooga 0: Nothing to say. Alabama beats the Mocs handily in preparation for the Iron Bowl. They now sit at 9-2 (6-1).

Alabama 20 Auburn 12: See my previous entry on Auburn's season to see a description of this game. Alabama finishes the season at 10-2 (7-1).

Honestly, I wanted to give the Tide a worse record than that. It may be the Auburn fan in me showing, but I couldn't find any other losses on the schedule. Yeah, they may lose to Ole Miss, or Tennessee, or even Auburn, but I just don't see it. Saban has Alabama in position to be an SEC contender for years to come, whether Auburn (or any other SEC team) fans like it or not.