SEC Power Poll and Picks

Sorry for the lack of content this week. Been a busy one. Here's the poll and picks:

SEC Power Poll

1. Alabama
2. Florida
3. Louisiana State
4. Mississippi
5. Arkansas
6. Georgia
7. Tennessee
8. Auburn
9. South Carolina
10. Mississippi State
11. Kentucky
12. Vanderbilt



Picks:

Mississippi State 23
Arkansas 40

Chattanooga 0
Alabama 35

Florida International 7
Florida 48

Louisiana State 19
Mississippi 17

Vanderbilt 6
Tennessee 24

Kentucky 20
Georgia 31

Weekend predictions

Well, I was going to write up a brief Auburn-Georgia history of all of the coaches of one team that played or coached at the other, but it appears several other websites have beat me to that punch. I also had an extended telephone conversation back home and began cleaning and doing laundry for my 348 visitors this weekend. Anyways, here's some predictions:

Tennessee 17
Mississippi 20

Kentucky 34
Vanderbilt 14

Florida 33
South Carolina 10

Auburn 27
Georgia 20

Louisiana Tech 13
Louisiana State 41

Alabama 26
Mississippi State 8

Troy 27
Arkansas 45

It's Auburn-Georgia week! Wednesday

1996 was Jim Donnan's first season in Athens, and the Bulldogs limped into the Auburn game with a 3-5 (2-4) record. He was still dealing with the mess that Ray Goff left behind, but would improve the program to at least decent status over the next few years. Auburn, meanwhile, was beginning to feel the slide in the Terry Bowden regime that came with lackluster recruiting, but they came into the game at 7-2 (4-2) and fighting for the team's first SEC Western Division title. The '96 game was similar to the '99 game in that it marked the up-and-coming coach with the worse team (record-wise) picking off the older coach whose program was on the downside. Unfortunately for Auburn fans, it was the Tigers on the short end of the stick.

This was a memorable game in the series for two main reasons. First, one of the most iconic pictures in college football history was taken at this game when Georgia's mascot, Uga V, lunged at Auburn wide receiver Robert Baker after he reeled in a touchdown pass. If you've never seen this picture, you've probably never watched Auburn or Georgia or college football period:



You know what would be even better? If we had a live tiger on the sidelines and it lunged at A.J. Green after a touchdown on Saturday! (I'd rather Green not score, but this would be some consolation) Baker's touchdown helped Auburn to a 28-7 halftime lead, and they seemingly had the game in hand. Of course, followers of this rivalry know that Georgia would come back in the second half to tie the game at 28 on the last play of regulation (marking the second consecutive trip the Bulldogs made to Auburn that ended tied after regulation), and thus the second thing that made this game so memorable occurred: Auburn and Georgia were involved in the SEC's first overtime game. Not only that, but at four overtimes it was the longest college football game in history until an Ole Miss-Arkansas tilt a few years later. This game also single-handedly caused the NCAA to change its overtime procedure to force teams to go for two after touchdowns starting in the third overtime. It truly was a historical game!

I still remember watching the game in a Knoxville hotel room (remember, this was during the time in my life when I went to many UT games and mostly rooted for the Vols) with two of my Auburn friends from school. When Dameyune Craig was stopped short on a 4th down in the 4th overtime, my friend Brian ran out of the room, screaming "Oh God, we're going to the weed eater bowl!" I'll never forget that moment, even if I didn't have a dog (pun intended) in the fight. Hopefully Saturday night's game turns out a little bit better for the Auburn faithful.

Not sure what I'll write about tomorrow, but check back and check it out! WAR EAGLE.

It's Auburn-Georgia week! Tuesday

In 1999, first-year Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville started his career on the Plains with a 3-0 record after victories over Appalachian State, Idaho, and Louisiana State. However, an injury to starter Ben Leard caused the Tigers to lose their next five games in a row before a homecoming victory over Central Florida left them at 4-5 (1-5) going into the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry. Georgia's fourth-year head man, Jim Donnan, had his Bulldogs at 6-2 (4-2) with losses to UGA's main SEC East rivals, Florida and Tennessee (this would be a theme in his time in Athens). Even though Leard's injury hurt Auburn in the middle portion of its schedule, he would suit up for the game against the Dawgs.

I don't know all the details about this game, but I have to imagine that even though the home team hadn't won in the series since a 37-27 Georgia win in Athens in 1991, the Bulldogs would be the favorite in this game, and probably by a pretty decent margin. In many respects, the 1999 game was similar to the 2009 matchup. Georgia's program was beginning to feel the heat from its fans over its inability to beat Tennessee and Florida, and the general downward trend the program was on; Auburn, behind a first-year head coach, was trending upwards (even despite taking some in-season lumps) after the disastrous end to the previous regime. We can only hope Saturday night's game turns out as well as the 1999 version.

Auburn jumped out to a 31-0 lead at halftime before cruising to a 38-21 victory between the hedges. Leard set the Auburn single-game passing yardage mark with 416, and Auburn picked up some much-needed momentum heading into the Iron Bowl. They would finish the season at 5-6, but finished the following regular season at 9-2 and in the SEC Championship Game before ultimately finishing 9-4 with a Citrus Bowl loss to Michigan. Georgia, on the other hand, would finish the season at 8-4 after a win over Mississippi, a loss to Georgia Tech, and an Outback Bowl win over Purdue. Donnan would be fired after posting another 8-4 season in 2000 with losses to rivals South Carolina, Florida, Auburn, and Georgia Tech.

Check back tomorrow (especially if you're a Georgia fan) as I chronicle the 1996 game! WAR EAGLE.

It's Auburn-Georgia week! Monday

The Auburn-Georgia rivalry is a special one for fans of both teams, for many reasons: the two schools have shared a number of coaches and athletic directors, Auburn gets many of its students and athletes from the state of Georgia, the teams have met every fall since 1898 with the exception of one year when the country was in a war, etc. The rivalry is a special one for me personally for a couple of reasons: a good portion of my family is from Georgia and as such are die-hard Bulldog fans, and I have attended both institutions. I got my bachelor's from Auburn in 2007 and will be getting my master's from Georgia in six months. I still root hard for Auburn in every single game (if you've ever read anything on this blog ever you should know that), but the intense hatred I used to hold for UGA has subsided to just a general dislike since I started here. In the past two years since I've lived in Athens, for example, LSU has passed Georgia on my "most hated" list.

The game is extra special for me this year, as it represents my alma mater coming to visit me, rather than the other way around, as it usually is. I get to spend some time with some old friends from Auburn, as well as see all of my current friends at Georgia. I am borrowing a friend's student ticket to the game, so my orange and blue-clad self will be in the belly of the beast, but I trust that the folks I attend the game with will help keep me out of too much trouble.

Anyways, what I'd like to do once per day this week is take a look at some great moments and memorable games from this rivalry. I'll spare you a sappy introduction the rest of the week and cut right to the chase. Today, I'm profiling the 2005 Auburn-Georgia clash in Athens, which is the last Auburn victory in the series.

***

I have already said that this game is my second-favorite Auburn game to attend (only behind 2006 Florida). It was a back-and-forth affair that wasn't decided until John Vaughn booted a 20-yard field goal with six seconds left. I may even say that this game was the most well-played game by both teams I've ever seen. There was a little bit of everything: offense, defense, special teams. All in all, it was a special night for an Auburn fan to be in Sanford Stadium. Here's the obligatory video:



If you're a betting man (or woman), it may be safe to bet that the 61 total points mark in the 2005 game will be eclipsed in the 2009 edition. Both teams have featured suspect defenses this season, and both have performed at least decently on offense.

I'll be back tomorrow with another moment (that has yet to be decided) from this series, and hopefully give a little more in-depth detail on it (more detail on the '05 game can be found at the post I linked to a few paragraphs up). Until then, WAR EAGLE.

SEC Power Poll

As far as the Auburn-Furman game is concerned, only the first half really matters as far as Auburn's performance goes. We had over 400 yards of offense and 42 points, and held the Paladins to 60 yards and three points. It doesn't matter that we gave up 28 points in the second half to them, because most of the people who played on defense in the second half wouldn't even start for my hometown Alabama A&M Bulldogs. That's about all the pixels I'm going to use talking about that game.

This week, I'm going to have daily posts with great moments from Auburn-Georgia to get everyone in the mood for the first leg of Amen Corner. I hope this feature will be a good one, but I make no promises. I'm excited and apprehensive about the game; on the surface, I think we should win, but at the same time, it seems like every single year Georgia has a major flaw that they fix just in time for the Auburn game. That said, I fully expect the Bulldogs to never turn the ball over against us. More on that game in the upcoming week, here's the power poll:

1. Florida
2. Alabama
3. Tennessee (playing better than LSU right now)
4. Louisiana State
5. Arkansas
6. Auburn
7. Mississippi State
8. South Carolina
9. Georgia
10. Mississippi
11. Kentucky
12. Vanderbilt

Week 10 SEC Picks

Pretty easy week for picks this week, only two games that may go either way. Auburn gets its second string a ton of work and rests its starters for Amen Corner. LSU comes close, but a controversial call keeps Alabama undefeated. Arkansas puts the final nail in Spurrier's career at South Carolina (he'll step down after this season).

South Carolina 22
Arkansas 31

Tennessee Tech 14
Georgia 49

Eastern Kentucky 6
Kentucky 65

Furman 7
Auburn 45

Louisiana State 10
Alabama 13

Memphis 3
Tennessee 20

Vanderbilt 10
Florida 33

Northern Arizona 13
Mississippi 59

SEC Power Poll

I had Auburn ranked last in last week's Power Poll, and they followed that up with a complete team victory over ranked Ole Miss. Obviously they'll jump up in this week's edition, but how high? How much do I dock Ole Miss for a less-than-stellar effort at Auburn? How much do I jump Tennessee for their convincing win over South Carolina? How much do I dock them for those uniforms? Well, check it out:

1. Florida
2. Alabama
3. Louisiana State
4. Arkansas
5. Auburn
6. Tennessee
7. South Carolina
8. Mississippi State
9. Mississippi
10. Georgia
11. Kentucky
12. Vanderbilt

How on earth did we lose to Kentucky?

SEC Power Poll and Picks

I'm late with my polls this week, and don't feel like putting together a top 25. Sue me. Here they are:

1. Florida
2. Alabama
3. Louisiana State
4. Mississippi
5. Arkansas
6. South Carolina
7. Tennessee
8. Georgia
9. Mississippi State
10. Kentucky
11. Vanderbilt
12. Auburn

Pickz

Mississippi 27
Auburn 13

Georgia 10
Florida 28

Eastern Michigan 7
Arkansas 55

Mississippi State 26
Kentucky 17

Georgia Tech 31
Vanderbilt 7

South Carolina 23
Tennessee 16

Tulane 15
Louisiana State 33

Week 8 SEC Predictions

Is Arkansas winning at Ole Miss an upset? If so, that's the only one I'm picking. If Vandy had any semblance of an offense, I'd pick them for the upset because this is the type of game Bobby Johnson has won at Vandy. Instead, I'll just say South Carolina wins sluggishly as they begin their yearly season-ending slide.

Arkansas 34
Mississippi 20

Tennessee 10
Alabama 27

Louisiana-Monroe 17
Kentucky 31

Vanderbilt 6
South Carolina 17

Auburn 20
Louisiana State 24

Florida 45
Mississippi State 17

Week 8 Top 25 and SEC Power Poll

Here they are. You'll notice the nosedive Auburn took out of my top 25 and out of the top half of the Power Poll. Losing to Kentucky will do that to you. After giving it some thought, though, I'm not quite as upset with the loss as I was immediately after Chris Todd's 4th-and-11 pass fell to the turf. This is a rebuilding season; we started 5-0 and everything was awesome, but we just need to get back in the mind frame that we're building for the future. Alabama lost to Louisiana-Monroe in Nick Saban's first season in Tuscaloosa. The next season they ascended to #1 in November. I'm not saying to expect Auburn to get so good so fast, but the difference between 2009's and 2010's teams should be huge. We just have to stick it out for the team this season.

Top 25

1. Alabama
2. Texas
3. Florida
4. Cincinnati
5. Boise State
6. Miami
7. Southern California
8. Texas Christian
9. Iowa
10. Oregon
11. West Virginia
12. Virginia Tech
13. Louisiana State
14. Georgia Tech
15. Houston
16. Penn State
17. Kansas
18. Brigham Young
19. Oklahoma State
20. Utah
21. Pittsburgh
22. South Carolina
23. Texas Tech
24. Arizona
25. Idaho



SEC Power Poll

1. Alabama
2. Florida
3. Louisiana State
4. South Carolina
5. Arkansas
6. Kentucky
7. Tennessee
8. Mississippi
9. Auburn
10. Georgia
11. Mississippi State
12. Vanderbilt

Week 7 SEC Predictions

Here they are. Planning on writing up a recap of the Cardinals' sweep by Los Angeles and Tigers' destruction at the hands of Arkansas tomorrow. No promises, though. Here's some picks:

Georgia 24
Vanderbilt 13

Mississippi State 36
Middle Tennessee State 24

Arkansas 20
Florida 41

Alabama-Birmingham 19
Mississippi 35

Kentucky 27
Auburn 38

South Carolina 9
Alabama 27

Week 7 Top 25 and SEC Power Poll

Sorry for the lack of content lately. I've been busy drowning my sorrows over the Cardinals being swept out of the NLDS and Auburn getting beat down by Arkansas (more on that in an upcoming post). Here's my rankings:



Top 25

1. Alabama
2. Florida
3. Texas
4. Cincinnati
5. Boise State
6. Virginia Tech
7. Miami
8. Southern California
9. Texas Christian
10. Kansas
11. Iowa
12. Nebraska
13. Oregon
14. West Virginia
15. Louisiana State
16. Ohio State
17. Georgia Tech
18. Houston
19. Penn State
20. South Florida
21. Brigham Young
22. Auburn
23. South Carolina
24. Oklahoma State
25. Utah



SEC Power Poll

1. Alabama
2. Florida
3. Louisiana State
4. South Carolina
5. Arkansas
6. Auburn
7. Tennessee
8. Kentucky
9. Mississippi
10. Georgia
11. Mississippi State
12. Vanderbilt

Week 6 SEC Score Predictions

Currently watching the Cardinals in game 2 against the Dodgers. Gotta hold on to this one. Here's my weekend picks.

Auburn 37
Arkansas 34

Vanderbilt 24
Army 10

Georgia 23
Tennessee 10

Houston 41
Mississippi State 27

Kentucky 20
South Carolina 23

Alabama 28
Mississippi 17

Florida 21
Louisiana State 20

Week 5 Top 25 and SEC Power Rankings

1. Alabama
2. Florida
3. Texas
4. Cincinnati
5. Boise State
6. Virginia Tech
7. Miami
8. Louisiana State
9. Southern California
10. Kansas
11. Texas Christian
12. Oregon
13. Iowa
14. West Virginia
15. Georgia Tech
16. Ohio State
17. Auburn
18. Missouri
19. Houston
20. Nebraska
21. Brigham Young
22. Penn State
23. Wisconsin
24. South Florida
25. South Carolina



SEC Power rankings

1. Alabama
2. Florida
3. Louisiana State
4. Auburn
5. South Carolina
6. Georgia
7. Mississippi
8. Mississippi State
9. Kentucky
10. Arkansas
11. Tennessee
12. Vanderbilt

Week 5 SEC Score Predictions

Here they are. Nothing to say, really. Hopefully will have better stuff next week.

Alabama 37
Kentucky 6

Louisiana State 27
Georgia 24

Mississippi 33
Vanderbilt 17

South Carolina State 3
South Carolina 45

Texas A&M 27
Arkansas 31

Georgia Tech 25
Mississippi State 17

Auburn 31
Tennessee 22

Week 4 Top 25 and SEC Power Rankings

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

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

Week 3 Top 25 and SEC Power Rankings

Before you read my top 25, allow me to explain a few things:

• 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!)
  

1. Florida
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!!!

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