10 days of hell. A media circus. Questions arising over a star player's eligibility. Questions arising over the future of our coach and athletic director. Allegations. Insinuations. Sources. Confirmations. Denials.
Yet, out of all of the chaos came two statements that so far seem to be the only two statements that are holding firm:
"I did nothing wrong" - Cam Newton
"Cam Newton is eligible to play football at Auburn. Period." - Gene Chizik
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
- You held a man down on his own turf and tried to gouge his eyeball out. You were making no attempt to be discreet, and you had no regard for the NCAA rulebook. Everyone, including the camera man, watched you attempt to injure a player that had just been blocked into the leg of your quarterback. It was one of the dirtiest plays I have ever seen in college football. You, #61, are The Bad.
- You stood up for your teammate when the Georgia bench cleared. Who the hell knew what was about to happen? It's not like Richt has any kind of disciplinary control over his team. Those idiots couldn't figure out that a football game is an aggressive, physical, and violent sport. Quarterbacks get hit. Quarterbacks get hurt. The way #61 responded to adversity was pathetic. All of them deserved to be punched in the face, but you, Michael Goggans, were the only one that was ready to do whatever it takes to defend your teammate. I may not condone fighting or punching in a football game; however, I understand that after this past week of hell and the pathetic actions by the Georgia Thugdogs, you lost your cool. Because you were willing to stand up for a family member, you are The Good.
- You took it to the next play. The fight had been broken up. The coaches had reprimanded those involved. One player had been ejected. One Nick Fairley had once again put on his championship belt. However, you, for no good reason, took it too far. While I understand the frustration levels after this past week and while I understand that Chizik really should have pulled the starters off the field, you, Mike Blanc, are The Ugly.
Auburn...
- An incredible win for a resilient team. What more could we ask for? The NCAA allegations aren't going away. We insist Cam Newton is eligible and that all of these allegations are garbage. What better way to prove that we really don't care that much about the media BS than to go out and win the SEC West against a fairly decent Georgia team?
- Since AJ Green returned, Georgia has scored 40 or more points against every opponent except Florida whom they scored 31 against. Their offensive line was stout in the run game and their running backs are both productive enough to cause problems. Aaron Murray has been red hot lately and AJ Green is a future pro bowler in the NFL. My point - I am PROUD of our defense for doing just enough to help our offense pull ahead.
- Our defense is never going to show up this season. We just have to rely on a big play or two to get our offense back on the field. It will most likely be the same kind of game next week and in the SECCG.
- With that said, Cameron Newton is the Heisman Trophy winner. If he's not, then nobody deserves to get it. LaMichael James stunk it up against Cal. Kellen Moore only has a little over 2000 yards passing and he inflated his stats against a weak opponent a few weeks ago. He had over 500 yards passing with a big lead and was still throwing the ball downfield. Who else is there that deserves it? No one but Cam Newton.
- Mike Blanc should be suspended for the entire Bama game. Throwing a punch towards players intent on injuring one of your own is one thing. Keeping the fights going the next play? That's another thing.
- I also was really disappointed in Nick Fairley's late hit. I understand that during football games, the strategy may be to rough up the opposing QB. Sometimes, a late hit might happen because you were just a half second too late. I watched my Saints do that to Brett Favre in the NFC championship game last year. Yes, it IS dirty play, but it's legal and it works. And quite frankly, I don't care. However, when Fairley used the top of his head to spear Murray in the back 2 seconds after he threw the ball, I thought it warranted an ejection or at least being told to sit out a few plays. That was truly unnecessary.
Georgia...
- Goodbye Mark Richt. At least, I hope so. I'm tired of watching you on the sidelines and constantly being reminded how much of a fraud you are. The team and fans will take on the personality of the head coach. Here's my experience with Georgia:
2004 - We're walking to the stadium. My friend has on a silly hat that looks like a tiger. We were sophomores and trying to just have fun. These two Georgia fans in a pick up truck drove up to us, spit on him, and called him a fag. They then sped off and did a u-turn in the middle of the road, came back and hit us with a large cup of beer.
2006 - At Tiger Walk, we were starting to get the recruits lined up inside the ropes. These few Georgia fans were cat calling one of the Tigerettes. Eventually, one of our guys said something to the fans. The Georgia fan ran up and grabbed the girl's ass and they ran off.
2007 - Where should I begin? My friend and wife were spanked while walking towards the stadium. I got kicked in the back when I was using the urinal at halftime. And their friggin' stadium served friggin' bagel bites. Also, soldier boy was real classy.
2010 - #61 tries to gouge out Nick Fairley's eye.
- Not to mention all of the arrests, the whole team celebration against Florida, and anything other misconduct that's happened over the years.
- Good riddance.
Alabama/MSU...
- I didn't watch one second of your game. Who cares? I mean, it's not like the game mattered for anything.
South Carolina...
- And then there were two. Which USCe team is going to show up in Atlanta? The team that looked like a bottom tier Sun Belt team that played Arkansas? Or the team that man-handled a stout Florida defense?
- Lattimore is a beast, and it's been really exciting to watch him. It will be even more exciting to compare him and Dyer again. Both are red hot right now, and both are perfect fits for their offensive systems.
- Can South Carolina put together a game plan to stop Cam Newton? More on this later.
Florida...
- P-a-t-h-e-t-i-c. This was one of those tell-tale signs that something is not right in Gator country.
- Was Tim Tebow the coach? Did he coach up the receivers and teach them how to catch the ball? Was he able to lift Florida to victories by running for 2-3 yards on 3rd and short?
- The PTT (post Tim Tebow) syndrome is irrelevant at this point. This was the biggest game of Florida's season, and they were blown out. Their last huge game? Alabama. What happened? They were blown out.
- Either Urban Meyer's disease is really bothering him and he should retire, or he's lost a handle on his players.
Oregon...
- The good thing is that you showed you can win in close games. That was a very tough game and your star player (injured or not) couldn't get things going. You over came all of the issues and still won.
- The bad thing is that Cal showed that if you can shed blocks and make tackles, Oregon will be stopped.
- Too bad our D can't do either of those things.
Texas...
- Another coach that probably needs to retire.
- I don't think this is a rebuilding issue. I don't think these are growing pains. This is Texas. You have 4 and 5 star talent all over the field. You have a consistent machine that is successful every year.
- You might not go bowling.
Final Thought...
- This is a tumultuous season. The dirty cards are being played. The dirty truths are being revealed.
- What sickens me the most is that college football can be so heavily affected by third parties getting involved in money deals.
- What if Cam Newton really wanted to go to Miss State? What if after finding out about Cecil and Kenny and Bill Bell striking a deal, he had to go somewhere else? He may be happy at Auburn, but he may have really wanted to go play for Mullen. So how do we handle that situation? By potentially punishing Cam Newton anyway?
- What about the other dirty part of the game? The coach's salaries and job searches. Soon we'll start hearing the stories of coaches trying to get more money. Do you really think Saban's name won't come up for the Dallas job? His agent is Jimmy Sexton for Christ's sake. You know his name is about to show up.
- What about Chizik and Malzahn? You really think we as Auburn fans are safe from hearing contract talks? I guarantee the week of the Iron Bowl/week of the SECCG, we'll hear that Malzahn is all but gone from Auburn. We'll also probably hear rumors on Finebaum that Malzahn hates Auburn and can't wait to leave.
- Then we'll hear more rumors and allegations all across college football.
- It's a dirty game. A very dirty game.
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