Good...Bad

Good…The Contenders – Oklahoma, Missouri, Texas, Alabama, Penn State, UConn, Northwestern, LSU, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, South Florida, Ball State, BYU, Utah, Vanderbilt, Tulsa and Boise State.

Bad…Poser Material – USC, Florida, Colorado, Minnesota, Weak Forest, Nebraska, Georgia, Wisconsin, and TCU

Good…LSU is now 8-3 versus Top 10 teams under Les Miles. The Tigers have now won six in a row versus the Top 10.

Bad…Coaches in for a Long Season – (1) Sylvester Croom at MSU is now 1-4 and looking at the possibility of a three or four win season. (2) Greg Robinson at Syracuse will probably get the boot at the end of the season. (3) Mike Sherman at A&M will be lucky to win five games. (4) Spur Dog at South Carolina may want to hang up his visor by the time the season ends. (5) Fat Phil Fulmer is 14-14 in his last 28 SEC games. And this decade, the Vols are just 1-8 at home against Top 10 teams and 17-24 against all nationally ranked teams.

Good…JoePa has taken the lead in all time wins with 377.

Bad…Bobby Bowden’s star is quickly fading. The only question is how low will the Noles sink.

Good…You heard it here before the season started, the Mighty Spartans would contend in the Big 11. Javon Ringer is a STUD.

Bad…Big reality check for Notre Dame. The Domers schedule is putrid so six wins is not unrealistic. (Strength of schedule currently ranks 71st)

Good…The Shield is in its final season and it fantastic as ever.

Bad…The Wire (from HBO) ended after five seasons. One of the best cop shows EVER.

Good…Upset City. Makes Saturdays fun because you NEVER know what is going to happen.

Bad…Mentally weak teams…I’m talking to you USC. Winning championships begins with mental toughness and focus. Something the Trojans have lacked against less talented teams the past few years.

First Quarter Grades

First quarter grades are out and a few students have moved to the head of the class leaving others hoping we grade on a curve.

SEC West

Alabama

Grade (A+) – After crushing Georgia in Athens there is no doubt that Bama has moved to the head of the class.

Arkansas

Grade (D) – Two last minute wins over bad teams and two absolute beat downs at the hands of Bama and Texas.

Auburn

Grade (B+) – Auburn’s defense is fantastic, but the offense has a way to go.

LSU

Grade (A) – The only reason not an A+ is the QB position and secondary are works in progress.

MSU

Grade (D) - The Bulldogs have been TERRIBLE this season. 1-4 and not much hope for many more wins.

Ole Miss

Grade (C+) – This may be a little harsh as the Rebels failed a big test at home versus Vanderbilt but came back the next week and won in the Swamp. Go figure.


SEC East

Florida

Grade (B) – Dominant on both sides of the ball until Saturday. This team has a way to go to win the SEC East.

Georgia

Grade (B-) – Bulldogs were down 31-0 at half at home. Elite teams don’t let that happen.

Tennessee

Grade (D) – Lost to a terrible UCLA team and looked helpless and sloppy against the Gators and Tigers.

Kentucky

Grade (A-) – Hard to argue with being 4-0.

South Carolina

Grade (C) – Looked respectable against Georgia, but unimpressive otherwise.

Vanderbilt

Grade (A-) – Probably to best Vandy team in 25 years. Dores ranked last in SEC in total offense and total defense but first in the nation in turnover margin.

A Star is Born

Wow! Of all the comebacks we’ve seen from the Tigers over the years, this one seemed the most unlikely.

At the end of the first half I had uncharacteristically given up hope. LSU had a grand total of 16 yards passing and Lee looked completely overwhelmed. The pick six he threw had me jumping out of my chair despite my limited mobility. The offensive play calling had me baffled. LSU had 13 first down plays in the half and ran 13 times. Trindon Holliday fumbled two punts and ended up getting pulled. On the positive side, the defense looked great and the punting game was solid.

Ah…but what a second half. Hatch gets knocked out and all the sudden A STAR IS BORN. Lee was brilliant in the second half. He was 11 for 17, 183 yards and 2 TD’s in the final 23 minutes of the game. Amazing. I’ll admit, at half time I was saying all sorts of nasty things about Lee and was convinced he shouldn’t see the field again. But Lee showed real maturity and grit. He should start next week. He has shown he can play in one of the toughest environments in the country and thrive. He has earned his right to start.

As sketchy as the play calling was in the first half, the second half was fantastic. The onside kick, the half back pass and the clincher, the short pass to LaFell for the go ahead touchdown were brilliant. As always, Miles is playing to win, and fans cannot ask for any more.

I think LSU has also found an identity on offense. The Tigers are a power running team that can pass the ball effectively enough to avoid being one dimensional. LSU’s defense is as strong as anyone in the country and special teams are really rounding into form. The defensive line is extremely deep and that freshness shows in the fourth quarter. The overall speed in the defense is amazing as well. After Saturday’s performance, LSU must be considered a legitimate National Title contender.

House of Horrors (Redux)

Since the inception of divisional play, LSU is 2-6 when playing at Auburn. The Tigers have dropped the last 4 dating back to 2000. In those four games, the Tigers are averaging 9 points a contest. Most of the losses have been of the gut wrenching type.

1992: LSU rallies from a deep deficit on the arm of Jamie Howard to take a 28-27 lead. Curley plays prevent defense and Auburn moves down the field and kicks a game winning FG. Au 30 – LSU 28

1994: The Interception Game. Jamie Howard throws 3 pick-6’s as LSU blows a game they dominated all afternoon. AU 30 – LSU 26

2000: Rudy Johnson pounds on LSU. AU 34 – LSU 17

2002: Auburn dominates LSU as Marcus Randall struggles. AU 31 – LSU 7

2004: Classic game decided by a missed XP and a bogus penalty on LSU. Auburn converted on a 4th and long on the game winning drive. Then missed the XP after tying the score at 9-9. But a flag was thrown on LSU for landing on another player and Auburn was allowed to re-kick. I have NEVER seen that penalty called in 25 years of watching football. AU 10 – LSU 9

2006: Another classic marred by the officials. Down 7-3, LSU throws deep on 4th and long. Early Doucet is mugged around the goal line and the ball is tipped away. The ref closest to the play throws a flag but is overruled in an absolutely TERRIBLE call. AU 7 – LSU 3.

At the beginning of the season, I picked Auburn to win the SEC West on the strength of this particular game being played in Jordan-Hare Stadium. As mentioned above, LSU has struggled mightily at Auburn with the only wins in ’96 (A Barn Burner – literally- the barn next to the stadium burned down as huge clouds of smoked billowed up throughout most of the game) and ’98 (Bowden was fired a few games later as Auburn finished 3-8 that season).

Auburn’s offense is putrid, but LSU’s QB’s are a giant question mark. Jordan-Hare can get just as loud as Tiger Stadium and I guarantee the place will be crazy all night.Miles has said that both Hatch and Lee will play. He’s looked erratic while playing in the friendly and calm confines of Tiger Stadium against seriously outmatched opponents. In Marcus Randall’s first road start in ’02 (at Auburn) he threw four picks.I don’t think you will see as many mistakes from Hatch and Lee, but the difference in these games has been razor thin. The last four games have been decided by a total of 14 points.

LSU’s running game and special teams will be the key. If Charles Scott and company can pound the ball and Holliday can come up with one great return, LSU can get their first road win in this series in 10 years.

I hope I am wrong, but I think Auburn will do just enough to squeak by LSU 13-12.

Random Musings

*Part of the problem with the 24/7 sports news cycle is the constant overreaction to whatever is happening right now. For instance, Tom Brady goes out and the Patriots season is OVER. They have no hope and there really is no need to play the rest of the season. We’ve seen this in college football in multiple forms. The biggest one so far is:

“THE ACC IS TERRIBLE. THERE IS NO HOPE FOR THE CONFERENCE. THEY MIGHT AS WELL STOP PLAYING FOOTBALL ALL TOGETHER.”

This “irrefutable” fact was clear after only two weeks.

Oh but wait. Maybe the talking heads got it wrong. Just this weekend, Maryland hammered Cal, UNC destroyed Rutgers and even lowly Duke beat Navy. Everyone, especially the media, needs to cool out and let the season progress just a little before making blanket generalizations.

*Having said that, is there any doubt that USC will win its seventh consecutive Pac-10 title? The rest of the league with the exception of USC, Oregon and Oregon State went out this week and laid an egg. Cal lost at Maryland, Wazzu lost at Baylor, Arizona lost at New Mexico, Stanford lost at TCU, Arizona State lost at home to UNLV, and Washington was bombed out at home by Oklahoma. Did I mention that UCLA lost 59-0 to BYU? All the talk about a resurgent Pac-10 may be a little premature.

*What can you make of Auburn’s thrilling 3-2 win over Mississippi State? I think it is fair to say that both offenses are putrid. If LSU can get to 17 points they can win. The problem is the Tigers have scored a grand total of 19 points in their last three trips to the Plains.

*I think the Big 11 is wide open this season. Ohio State is the most talented team, but without Beanie Wells the Suckeyes are missing a key cog to Tressel Ball, i.e., a strong ground game, solid defense and special teams. Penn State has crushed three outmatched teams so far, Wisconsin passed a major road test winning at Fresno State, Northwestern is 3-0 (seriously!) and the Mighty Spartans are looking good. Plus OSU lost to Illinois last season.

*Mizzu and Oklahoma are cruising toward a titanic showdown in the Big 12 Championship. I know there are a ton of games to play, but both of these schools look overwhelming on offense. The Big 12 and SEC will be a lot of fun to watch this season.

*Don’t look now, but Butch Davis has UNC on the right track. It will only be a matter of time before the Tar Heels become a dominant force in the ACC.

*Vandy baby!! 3-0 with a legitimate shot to make a bowl this season.

*All the Notre Dame loonies will put way too much stock in the Domers 2-0 start. If not for SIX Michigan turnovers, the game would probably have been much different. Reality check this weekend, if ND beats the Spartans in East Lansing, I will publicly flog myself for being such a hater.

*Based strictly on winning percentages, Georgia’s schedule is ranked 2nd toughest in the country. LSU logs in at 37th.

Week 2 with no LSU

With LSU off I got to see a lot of football this Saturday. A few observations:

· Notre Dame is only marginally better than last season. Good thing the schedule is so weak. Six wins would be an accomplishment.

· Ole Miss looked very good at Wake Forest. They will be tough all season. Having said that, I was glad they got beat late. My loyalty to the SEC only goes so far.

· The unsportsmanlike penalty after Washington scored with :02 seconds left in the game may be the WORST call I have ever seen. I’m not exaggerating about this. Washington’s QB Jake Locker had just scored on a QB draw and threw the ball up over his shoulder. Penalty. The XP was essentially a 34 yard FG which BYU blocked.

· BYU, Utah, East Carolina and possibly Fresno State may make the BCS Buster race the most competitive since the inception of the BCS 10 years ago.

· Ohio State was TOTALLY looking ahead to USC next week. The Suckeyes will bring a much stronger effort next week. Just watch.

· Tyrone Willingham and Greg Robinson will be fired this season. Bank on it.

· Look at Vandy. Great win at home versus South Carolina. If the Dores can go 4-6 the rest of the season they will make a bowl game.

· Hmmm….Bama had a total of 38 yards of offense in the first half against Tulane. 172 yards for the entire game. Let’s hold off on the SEC Title talk.

· Georgia better get ready for that trip to the desert in a few weeks. Arizona State is going to give the Dawgs a real challenge.

· Michigan State looks strong. I know Spartan Brian isn’t drinking the Kool-Aid yet. But he will be by the end of the season.

I'll have my thoughts on LSU later this week. See you then.

-Prowler

Ugly Loses from Week 1

There were a few UGLY loses last weekend that will make some coaching seats even hotter.

· Pitt losing at home to Bowling Green. Are you kidding me? This was a team that was going to contend for the Big East title?
· Texas A&M loses at home to Arkansas State. Oh my. Notice the trend? Two former NFL coaches lay eggs in the season opener. I’m not sure which loss is worse.
· Washington gets beat by 34 at Oregon. It looks like Willingham is done.
· Mississippi State loses in Ruston to Louisiana Tech. So much for the Bulldogs turning the corner.
· Virginia Tech goes down to East Carolina by five, ironically enough after giving up a blocked punt late in the fourth quarter.