Not alot to say here. I've had a pretty busy week. Here's my stuff.
1. Alabama
2. Florida
3. Texas
4. Cincinnati
5. Boise State
6. Houston
7. Virginia Tech
8. Louisiana State
9. Miami
10. Kansas
11. Texas Christian
12. Southern California
13. Oregon
14. Oklahoma
15. Iowa
16. Georgia Tech
17. Ohio State
18. West Virginia
19. Missouri
20. Auburn
21. Oklahoma State
22. Nebraska
23. Penn State
24. South Florida
25. UCLA
SEC Power Poll
1. Alabama
2. Florida
3. Louisiana State
4. Auburn
5. South Carolina
6. Georgia
7. Mississippi State
8. Mississippi
9. Tennessee
10. Kentucky
11. Arkansas
12. Vanderbilt
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Thursday, September 24, 2009
...and 19
If you're an Auburn fan reading this blog, I'd like to indulge you today. If you're not, you can probably skip this post, because it's not going to be interesting to you. Take a moment and think back on the moment you found out Auburn had hired Gene Chizik to replace Tommy Tuberville as head coach. Think about where you were, and what your initial reaction was. I can still remember thinking it was all a hoax; a mean prank played by some Alabama fan media type. Once several of the major media outlets started reporting the news as fact, however, most of Auburn nation went into meltdown mode.
While you probably weren't quite as vocal or as angry as this fellow, you probably were extremely disappointed by this hire at the time. I know personally I thought that Auburn would be entering a sort of dark ages that would take years to recover from. I've heard about the Barfield days, but wasn't alive at that point. I thought Auburn would be an awful program fighting it out for the cellar of the SEC West year-in and year-out, and this was a quite depressing prospect.
Then, something funny happened. Chizik hired the man who coordinated the nation's number one offense for the past two years.
He hired Curtis Luper and Trooper Taylor, two of the nation's finest recruiters, away from Oklahoma State. He hired former Auburn player and Outland Award winner Tracy Rocker away from Ole Miss. Things started looking better for the program, but the one overlying phrase that kept being thrown about was "5-19."
Gene Chizik went 5-19 at Iowa State, therefore, he couldn't possibly be a good head coach. Football is the one major American sport where coaching matters the most. Look at what's going on in major league baseball right now. Jim Tracy, largely thought of as a poor manager because of his stints in Los Angeles and Pittsburgh, has turned the Rockies around from 18-28 when he was hired, to an 86-66 record as of the time of this writing; the club has a record of 68-38 with him at the helm this season. If you put me in charge of the most talented teams in the four major professional sports leagues in America, I'd imagine the baseball team would perform the best and the football team would perform the worst. Why? Because baseball is a team sport filled with individual performances, while football is a team sport that completely relies on the team. That's why hiring someone with a 5-19 record was viewed as such a blunder.
However, everything Chizik has done at Auburn so far has worked. He brought in a top 20 recruiting class after giving the field several months' head start. He (and his staff) continue to impress recruits nationally. While Lane Kiffin grabbed all the headlines up in Knoxville for running his mouth and committing secondary violations, Chizik quietly went about his business and got work done.
Probably the thing that has most endeared Chizik to the Auburn faithful thus far is his desire to completely embrace the Auburn essence. He "believes in work, hard work," and he distills the notion in his team that they "can only count on what they earn." In many of his interviews, he has referred to his players as "Auburn men." He understands Auburn. He embraces Auburn. He loves Auburn.
And that is why Gene Chizik, despite all of the naysayers (self included) in the immediate aftermath of his hire, has turned out to be the right man at the right time for the job. He's made shrewd hires, he's put a major emphasis on recruiting not just locally, but also nationally, he's embraced the university and community, while getting them excited about their football team again after the boredom found at the end of the Tuberville era, and put in hours upon hours of hard work while letting his actions and his team speak for themselves. So here's to you coach, and here's to your team keeping the "and 19" at the end of your record there as long as possible. War Eagle.
While you probably weren't quite as vocal or as angry as this fellow, you probably were extremely disappointed by this hire at the time. I know personally I thought that Auburn would be entering a sort of dark ages that would take years to recover from. I've heard about the Barfield days, but wasn't alive at that point. I thought Auburn would be an awful program fighting it out for the cellar of the SEC West year-in and year-out, and this was a quite depressing prospect.
Then, something funny happened. Chizik hired the man who coordinated the nation's number one offense for the past two years.
He hired Curtis Luper and Trooper Taylor, two of the nation's finest recruiters, away from Oklahoma State. He hired former Auburn player and Outland Award winner Tracy Rocker away from Ole Miss. Things started looking better for the program, but the one overlying phrase that kept being thrown about was "5-19."
Gene Chizik went 5-19 at Iowa State, therefore, he couldn't possibly be a good head coach. Football is the one major American sport where coaching matters the most. Look at what's going on in major league baseball right now. Jim Tracy, largely thought of as a poor manager because of his stints in Los Angeles and Pittsburgh, has turned the Rockies around from 18-28 when he was hired, to an 86-66 record as of the time of this writing; the club has a record of 68-38 with him at the helm this season. If you put me in charge of the most talented teams in the four major professional sports leagues in America, I'd imagine the baseball team would perform the best and the football team would perform the worst. Why? Because baseball is a team sport filled with individual performances, while football is a team sport that completely relies on the team. That's why hiring someone with a 5-19 record was viewed as such a blunder.
However, everything Chizik has done at Auburn so far has worked. He brought in a top 20 recruiting class after giving the field several months' head start. He (and his staff) continue to impress recruits nationally. While Lane Kiffin grabbed all the headlines up in Knoxville for running his mouth and committing secondary violations, Chizik quietly went about his business and got work done.
Probably the thing that has most endeared Chizik to the Auburn faithful thus far is his desire to completely embrace the Auburn essence. He "believes in work, hard work," and he distills the notion in his team that they "can only count on what they earn." In many of his interviews, he has referred to his players as "Auburn men." He understands Auburn. He embraces Auburn. He loves Auburn.
And that is why Gene Chizik, despite all of the naysayers (self included) in the immediate aftermath of his hire, has turned out to be the right man at the right time for the job. He's made shrewd hires, he's put a major emphasis on recruiting not just locally, but also nationally, he's embraced the university and community, while getting them excited about their football team again after the boredom found at the end of the Tuberville era, and put in hours upon hours of hard work while letting his actions and his team speak for themselves. So here's to you coach, and here's to your team keeping the "and 19" at the end of your record there as long as possible. War Eagle.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Week 4 SEC Predictions
Here are my score predictions for this weekend's game. Two upsets on the board. Comments and critiques welcome as usual.
Mississippi 24
South Carolina 27
Louisiana State 33
Mississippi State 25
Arkansas 17
Alabama 31
Florida 40
Kentucky 14
Ball State 13
Auburn 52
Arizona State 27
Georgia 20
Ohio 7
Tennessee 28
Vanderbilt 26
Rice 17
Mississippi 24
South Carolina 27
Louisiana State 33
Mississippi State 25
Arkansas 17
Alabama 31
Florida 40
Kentucky 14
Ball State 13
Auburn 52
Arizona State 27
Georgia 20
Ohio 7
Tennessee 28
Vanderbilt 26
Rice 17
Monday, September 21, 2009
Week 3 Top 25 and SEC Power Rankings
Before you read my top 25, allow me to explain a few things:
2. Alabama
3. Miami
4. California
5. Texas
6. Cincinnati
7. Penn State
8. Boise State
9. Houston
10. Louisiana State
11. Mississippi
12. Oklahoma
13. Southern California
14. Virginia Tech
15. Kansas
16. North Carolina
17. Texas Christian
18. Ohio State
19. Brigham Young
20. West Virginia
21. Missouri
22. Auburn
23. Oklahoma State
24. Georgia Tech
25. Nebraska
SEC Power Poll
1. Florida
2. Alabama
3. Louisiana State
4. Mississippi
5. Auburn
6. Georgia
7. South Carolina
8. Arkansas
9. Tennessee
10. Kentucky
11. Mississippi State
12. Vanderbilt
Major post on Gene Chizik coming later this week, get excited!!!
- That's right, I have a team that I didn't rank last week who lost by 11 points to a team that was ranked last week ahead of the team they lost to. I truly believe that the winner of the Auburn-West Virginia game wasn't the better team; just the team that got the most breaks and capitalized on mistakes. The only team in the country that can stop West Virginia is West Virginia (Okay, and maybe Florida, Alabama and Miami). Auburn doesn't move up because I'm still not convinced we're better than anybody in slots 1-21.
- I'm sold on Miami. Their offense looks legit, and they have enough talent on defense to get it done this season. I am expecting them to go undefeated and play for the national championship game (as long as they can get past Virginia Tech and Oklahoma the next two weekends, which I think they will).
- LSU finally starts playing like the team I expected them to be this season, and thus moves ahead of undead Ole Miss in the top 25 and the SEC Power Ranking. Arkansas drops significantly for letting Georgia's offense go 11-on-7 (this may not actually be true; I just assume it is since I didn't get to watch the game).
- Washington and Michigan still aren't ranked because all they have to hang their hats on are home upsets over overrated teams. I'll rank Washington before Michigan as it stands right now, and Notre Dame will have to win out for them to sniff my top 25.
- I'm not putting Georgia back into my top 25 until Kyle from Dawg Sports gets over his Auburn hatred and puts the Tigers into his top 25 (or when I feel that Auburn doesn't deserve to be in the top 25). What's that worth? Probably nothing, but it seems like something I should point out (and maybe it will somehow get my blog some more traffic!)
2. Alabama
3. Miami
4. California
5. Texas
6. Cincinnati
7. Penn State
8. Boise State
9. Houston
10. Louisiana State
11. Mississippi
12. Oklahoma
13. Southern California
14. Virginia Tech
15. Kansas
16. North Carolina
17. Texas Christian
18. Ohio State
19. Brigham Young
20. West Virginia
21. Missouri
22. Auburn
23. Oklahoma State
24. Georgia Tech
25. Nebraska
SEC Power Poll
1. Florida
2. Alabama
3. Louisiana State
4. Mississippi
5. Auburn
6. Georgia
7. South Carolina
8. Arkansas
9. Tennessee
10. Kentucky
11. Mississippi State
12. Vanderbilt
Major post on Gene Chizik coming later this week, get excited!!!
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Week 3 SEC Predictions
The third weekend of the college football season sees some of the more intriguing SEC games of the season: Disappointing Georgia travels almost halfway across the country to face improved Arkansas; Lane Kiffin gets his payback for running his mouth at Florida all off-season; Auburn tries to get revenge on West Virginia for the 2008 Morgantown beatdown, while silencing critics of their early-season success. Personally, I'm very nervous about the West Virginia game. Before the season, I had this pegged as an almost sure loss, but now I'm leaning toward Auburn winning and I break into a cold sweat just thinking about the game. We really need to win this game. If you're going to be in Auburn on Saturday, get there early, stay late, and BE LOUD!
As for my weekend score predictions...
West Virginia 29
Auburn 34
Louisville 19
Kentucky 27
North Texas 13
Alabama 34
Tennessee 9
Florida 45
Louisiana-Lafayette 10
Louisiana State 31
Mississippi State 20
Vanderbilt 24
Florida Atlantic 7
South Carolina 38
Southeast Louisiana 10
Mississippi 52
Georgia 13
Arkansas 24
As for my weekend score predictions...
West Virginia 29
Auburn 34
Louisville 19
Kentucky 27
North Texas 13
Alabama 34
Tennessee 9
Florida 45
Louisiana-Lafayette 10
Louisiana State 31
Mississippi State 20
Vanderbilt 24
Florida Atlantic 7
South Carolina 38
Southeast Louisiana 10
Mississippi 52
Georgia 13
Arkansas 24
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
My very first animated gif
So I spent the last hour or so trying to make an animated gif out of Jon Gruden saying "ridonkulous" on that Monday Night Football commercial with Adrian Peterson. I think I've got it. Check it.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Week 2 Top 25 and SEC Power Rankings
Once again, for my five readers' entertainment, my view of the country in ranking form, with SEC rankings as well.
1. Florida
2. Alabama
3. Southern California
4. Texas
5. California
6. Brigham Young
7. Miami
8. Penn State
9. Cincinnati
10. Boise State
11. Houston
12. Mississippi
13. Georgia Tech
14. Kansas
15. Louisiana State
16. Ohio State
17. Oklahoma
18. Virginia Tech
19. Nebraska
20. Arkansas
21. Utah
22. Auburn
23. Missouri
24. Oregon State
25. Texas Tech
Bullish on: Alabama, BYU, Miami, Cincinnati, Houston, Auburn
Bearish on: Notre Dame, North Carolina, Georgia, South Carolina, Oklahoma State
SEC Power Rankings
1. Florida
2. Alabama
3. Mississippi
4. Louisiana State
5. Arkansas
6. Auburn
7. Georgia
8. Kentucky
9. South Carolina
10. Tennessee
11. Vanderbilt
12. Mississippi State
1. Florida
2. Alabama
3. Southern California
4. Texas
5. California
6. Brigham Young
7. Miami
8. Penn State
9. Cincinnati
10. Boise State
11. Houston
12. Mississippi
13. Georgia Tech
14. Kansas
15. Louisiana State
16. Ohio State
17. Oklahoma
18. Virginia Tech
19. Nebraska
20. Arkansas
21. Utah
22. Auburn
23. Missouri
24. Oregon State
25. Texas Tech
Bullish on: Alabama, BYU, Miami, Cincinnati, Houston, Auburn
Bearish on: Notre Dame, North Carolina, Georgia, South Carolina, Oklahoma State
SEC Power Rankings
1. Florida
2. Alabama
3. Mississippi
4. Louisiana State
5. Arkansas
6. Auburn
7. Georgia
8. Kentucky
9. South Carolina
10. Tennessee
11. Vanderbilt
12. Mississippi State
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Week 2 SEC Predictions
On the weekend where we get the rematch of last year's pillow fight of the year (2008 AU-MSU), we may be treated to 2009's pillow fight of the year (UGA-SC). I'm not going to predict 5 total points in that game, but given their first week performances, I'm not taking the over, that's for sure. I wouldn't put any money on these picks; I'm already in last place in my Yahoo! Pick'Em league.
Mississippi State 20
Auburn 31
Troy 20
Florida 58
UCLA 17
Tennessee 26
South Carolina 6
Georgia 10
Vanderbilt 13
Louisiana State 28
Florida International 7
Alabama 45
Mississippi State 20
Auburn 31
Troy 20
Florida 58
UCLA 17
Tennessee 26
South Carolina 6
Georgia 10
Vanderbilt 13
Louisiana State 28
Florida International 7
Alabama 45
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Week 1 Top 25 and SEC Power Poll
One blogger's (likely horrible) opinion of how the nation and the SEC shake out. Comments and criticisms welcome as always.
Top 25
1. Florida
2. Alabama
3. Texas
4. Oklahoma State
5. Southern California
6. Brigham Young
7. California
8. Miami
9. Penn State
10. Boise State
11. Mississippi
12. Louisiana State
13. Ohio State
14. Georgia Tech
15. Virginia Tech
16. Kansas
17. Oklahoma
18. Cincinnati
19. North Carolina
20. Nebraska
21. Missouri
22. Arkansas
23. Utah
24. Oregon State
25. Georgia
SEC Power Poll
1. Florida
2. Alabama
3. Mississippi
4. Louisiana State
5. Arkansas
6. Georgia
7. Auburn
8. Tennessee
9. Kentucky
10. South Carolina
11. Vanderbilt
12. Mississippi State
Top 25
1. Florida
2. Alabama
3. Texas
4. Oklahoma State
5. Southern California
6. Brigham Young
7. California
8. Miami
9. Penn State
10. Boise State
11. Mississippi
12. Louisiana State
13. Ohio State
14. Georgia Tech
15. Virginia Tech
16. Kansas
17. Oklahoma
18. Cincinnati
19. North Carolina
20. Nebraska
21. Missouri
22. Arkansas
23. Utah
24. Oregon State
25. Georgia
SEC Power Poll
1. Florida
2. Alabama
3. Mississippi
4. Louisiana State
5. Arkansas
6. Georgia
7. Auburn
8. Tennessee
9. Kentucky
10. South Carolina
11. Vanderbilt
12. Mississippi State
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
My whirlwind, spontaneous, 24-hour trip to Auburn and back
The first weekend of college football is a bit like a child's Christmas to me. When you're six months away, you know you can't wait for it, but you don't think about it non-stop. However, once you get up to about 3-4 weeks before the first kickoff, time seems to slow down. Weeks feel like months. Days feel like weeks. The anticipation is almost unbearable. Once the time finally gets here, the feeling is unmistakable: relentless joy. As I get older and Christmas doesn't feel like it quite used to, college football season gets more and more enjoyable for me. All of that is to say that this past weekend was about as good as it gets for me, even in spite of the sloppy, boring games we kicked off the season with on Thursday night.
Anyways, my plan all along was to do nothing on Saturday but lay on my couch and watch football until my eyes exploded; any game from Navy-Ohio State to Alabama-Virginia Tech. The thought of traveling down to Auburn for the Tigers' opening game against Louisiana Tech had never really gained any steam in my head; that is, until I received a phone call at around 2 PM from one of my old frat brothers who was in Auburn. He said he had a ticket for me if I wanted it, and I could have a place to stay Saturday night. Although at first I tried to talk my way out of it, I started to think about the logistics of such a trip: Athens-to-Auburn is a 3 hour trip, I'd get into town two hours before kickoff; The game would be over at 9 PM or so, and I could meet up with some old buddies and hit the bar scene; I could wake up at a decent hour on Sunday and head back to Athens. So I packed up a backpack with a change of clothes, took a shower, and sped my way down I-85 to the Loveliest Village.
As expected, I got into town about ten minutes before 4 PM CDT, and immediately parked behind a long line of cars on Wire Road near Shug Jordan across the street from the Hardee's and started walking. I got my ticket in hand about 5:15, chugged a few beers, sipped on some champagne straight from the bottle, and headed to Jordan-Hare. Once I started seeing all the burnt orange and navy blue clogging up the intersection of Donahue and Roosevelt, I knew I had made the best decision of the day.
After fighting for 12 seats in the student section, we ended up pretty much 10-15 rows directly under the right edge of the jumbotron. There was still an hour or so before kickoff, but we passed the time by eating on some $4 (!) hot dogs and generally catching up. Once warm-ups were over, it was time for the eagle flight.
From our vantage point, it appeared as though Tiger (I think that was the one that flew) left the stadium, only to fly back in and go right through the field goals on the way to its target. That's usually the cue for the marching band to start its festivities, and the stadium was rocking. When the band started up "War Eagle" on its way away from our section, I'm not going to lie, I got a little choked up; this was my Christmas, the moment I look forward to the most every single year, regardless of whether Auburn is predicted to win the West or finish fifth in it.
We watched the game, which was thoroughly enjoyable (a more in-depth post is coming), and headed out. I met up with a couple of my other friends, and we pregamed a little bit before a late night of shot bussing at the War Eagle Supper Club, went to bed, woke up around 11, drove back to Athens, and arrived home around 3 PM.
It was a whirlwind trip, and the game was as enjoyable as any since the Chick-fil-A Bowl win over Clemson on New Year's Eve, 2007. I don't know if I will make it back to Auburn for any home games this season, but I do know I'll be going to Knoxville for our game with the Volunteers, and of course I will be in Sanford Stadium for the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry. No matter what this season holds, I'll always have a Labor Day weekend quick trip to my alma mater, in my favorite place to be on a Saturday night. War Eagle.
Anyways, my plan all along was to do nothing on Saturday but lay on my couch and watch football until my eyes exploded; any game from Navy-Ohio State to Alabama-Virginia Tech. The thought of traveling down to Auburn for the Tigers' opening game against Louisiana Tech had never really gained any steam in my head; that is, until I received a phone call at around 2 PM from one of my old frat brothers who was in Auburn. He said he had a ticket for me if I wanted it, and I could have a place to stay Saturday night. Although at first I tried to talk my way out of it, I started to think about the logistics of such a trip: Athens-to-Auburn is a 3 hour trip, I'd get into town two hours before kickoff; The game would be over at 9 PM or so, and I could meet up with some old buddies and hit the bar scene; I could wake up at a decent hour on Sunday and head back to Athens. So I packed up a backpack with a change of clothes, took a shower, and sped my way down I-85 to the Loveliest Village.
As expected, I got into town about ten minutes before 4 PM CDT, and immediately parked behind a long line of cars on Wire Road near Shug Jordan across the street from the Hardee's and started walking. I got my ticket in hand about 5:15, chugged a few beers, sipped on some champagne straight from the bottle, and headed to Jordan-Hare. Once I started seeing all the burnt orange and navy blue clogging up the intersection of Donahue and Roosevelt, I knew I had made the best decision of the day.
After fighting for 12 seats in the student section, we ended up pretty much 10-15 rows directly under the right edge of the jumbotron. There was still an hour or so before kickoff, but we passed the time by eating on some $4 (!) hot dogs and generally catching up. Once warm-ups were over, it was time for the eagle flight.
From our vantage point, it appeared as though Tiger (I think that was the one that flew) left the stadium, only to fly back in and go right through the field goals on the way to its target. That's usually the cue for the marching band to start its festivities, and the stadium was rocking. When the band started up "War Eagle" on its way away from our section, I'm not going to lie, I got a little choked up; this was my Christmas, the moment I look forward to the most every single year, regardless of whether Auburn is predicted to win the West or finish fifth in it.
We watched the game, which was thoroughly enjoyable (a more in-depth post is coming), and headed out. I met up with a couple of my other friends, and we pregamed a little bit before a late night of shot bussing at the War Eagle Supper Club, went to bed, woke up around 11, drove back to Athens, and arrived home around 3 PM.
It was a whirlwind trip, and the game was as enjoyable as any since the Chick-fil-A Bowl win over Clemson on New Year's Eve, 2007. I don't know if I will make it back to Auburn for any home games this season, but I do know I'll be going to Knoxville for our game with the Volunteers, and of course I will be in Sanford Stadium for the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry. No matter what this season holds, I'll always have a Labor Day weekend quick trip to my alma mater, in my favorite place to be on a Saturday night. War Eagle.
Friday, September 4, 2009
J.D. goes to bed out of boredom from 19-8 game, misses dude getting jacked in face
About midway through the fourth quarter of last night's Oregon-Boise State game suckfest, I decided I'd watched enough crappy football for the opening Thursday night in college football. Disappointed, I turned off the television and went to sleep, only to find out this morning that I missed LeGarrette Blount (the guy who was talking mad trash to BSU before the game) lose his mind and punch a BSU player, shove around one of his teammates, and need to be restrained from entering the stands. That doesn't mean I wasn't able to watch it on video:
Dude got jacked. Of course, the expected happened, and sports media everywhere rushed to condemn such a cowardly act. I'm not going to say that Blount should have punched Hout, or that he shouldn't be reprimanded; what I will say is that the media tries way too hard to feign disgust and disbelief that a player in such a violent and emotional sport would do such a thing. I feel the same way when ESPN/FOX/ABC/etc. personalities get on their high horse about excessive celebrations in the NFL or any other league. Let Joe Horn plant a cell phone near a goal post and pretend to call someone on it after a touchdown; don't be shocked when a football player reacts negatively to some trash talk after the complete decimation of his team.
To be honest, I giggle a little bit every time I see Hout's face directly after the punch, because...
Dude got jacked. Of course, the expected happened, and sports media everywhere rushed to condemn such a cowardly act. I'm not going to say that Blount should have punched Hout, or that he shouldn't be reprimanded; what I will say is that the media tries way too hard to feign disgust and disbelief that a player in such a violent and emotional sport would do such a thing. I feel the same way when ESPN/FOX/ABC/etc. personalities get on their high horse about excessive celebrations in the NFL or any other league. Let Joe Horn plant a cell phone near a goal post and pretend to call someone on it after a touchdown; don't be shocked when a football player reacts negatively to some trash talk after the complete decimation of his team.
To be honest, I giggle a little bit every time I see Hout's face directly after the punch, because...
Thursday, September 3, 2009
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