From 9am until 11am, I prepared food for people to eat while watching football all day. From 11am until 2:45pm, I watched an incredible football game between Auburn and Miss State. From 3:30pm until 7pm, I watched a barn burner between South Carolina and Georgia. From 7:30pm until 10pm, I watched Notre Dame and Michigan and then took a break from it to watch a thrilling finish in the Utah-USC game. Then from 10:30pm until 11pm, I watched Michigan and Notre Dame make the first night game in the Big House seem like the most exciting game in Michigan's history.
What. A. Day. Of. Football.
Auburn...
- Chizik said it best at the end of the game when he said, "This team knows how to fight." In 2009, we were fairly competitive with most teams we played, but when it came to completing the game, we faltered and let it slip away. Last season, we never truly felt threatened to lose any games because we had a legendary quarterback and a numerous veterans all over the field.
But this year? We expected 2009. We expected veterans gone. We expected Cam Newton to be far away making millions. We expected Nick Fairley to be a memory.
And we expected wrong.
We analyzed wrong.
2010 may have had some great players, but the number one quality that made them successful was their desire to fight. In 2011, we still have that desire to fight.
And all the credit goes to Gene Chizik.
- Besides a focal player on offense last season, exactly how is this team much different than last year's team? There's some difference; don't get me wrong. But we're winning games that come down to the wire even against inferior opponents. (See Kentucky and Miss St last year). Our offensive line is still paving our running game down the field. Correct me if I'm wrong, but hasn't Miss St been touted as having one of the best d-lines in the country? Minus one player shouldn't turn them into a patsy if that's true. Our defense is still being gashed but making up for it by making big plays when they count most.
And we're improved on special teams as Tre Mason is emerging as one of the most dangerous return men in the SEC.
Last week made me think we had lost everything. In game with similar heart attack moments, this week made me think we haven't missed a beat since last year.
- Buy or sell on my opinions:
1. Young SEC players who haven't been through enough strength and conditioning should be in position 75% of the time but miss tackles 25% of the time.
2. If an offense is being consistently successful with one play, a defense should adjust how they attack it in order to at least create confusing for that offense.
3. Making rationalizations and excuses for a coordinator three years straight means the more embarrassing problem may actually be the person making the rationalizations and excuses.
- It's an easy concept. Attack the inside shoulder of the quarterback, make him pitch it to the running back, and have a safety come crashing onto the play to take him out. If the safety comes crashing, sure you're opening up the down field pass, but Relf was horribly inaccurate all game long. Not to mention, when playing SEC football, you're going to have to trust your corners to play man some of the time.
Another strategy would be to have the defensive end or outside linebacker attack the outside shoulder of the quarterback to make him turn it up field. While this may have given Relf the opportunity to get 3-4 yards, at least we're turning the ball towards our defenders who aren't exactly fast enough to reach the speedy running back who is sprinting downfield because no one is there to touch him.
While easy conceptually, defending the option is difficult to accomplish because it takes extremely disciplined football players. I'm not sure we had the concept correct until McNeal came crashing down on the backer late in the game, and honestly, I think he took that upon himself to make that play.
- We have some great playmakers on offense. Despite the pick 6, Trotter had a good day. He has a good arm for the SEC, and I think after a few more games, we'll be touting him as one of the better quarterbacks in the SEC.
Miss St...
- Not impressed. Sure, the gameplan was decent and the players made a lot of plays, but I thought some maturity issues were prevalent in the coaching staff.
- The headsets didn't work? Or was it that we were bugging them to intercept playcalls? Or did all of them work except the pair that one guy had?
- How about shaking hands after the game? Is it true that Mullen just walked off? Why would he do that?
- Why did Mullen come sprinting down the field to call a timeout? He got in that ref's face like he was about to start a fight. If you knew you needed a timeout, why weren't your players screaming for it as soon as the play was dead?
- The way Mullen acted caused a lot of confusion for me. If that's consistent, I wouldn't be surprised if the players often felt confused as well.
- Oh well to any criticism though. Finebaum loves the guy, so I'm sure we won't hear one word about it on our local radio show Monday.
Alabama...
- Methodical. Precise. Dominant. Strategic. Same things I said last year.
- I don't like to go the "Penn St is that bad" route because I don't believe they are. But the last two seasons, it's seemed like the players give up. Like they don't really think they can win. Like they're scared or intimidated. I wonder what could remedy that problem for the players....
"Huh? Oh. Yeah. This is a big game for us, and uh, uh, if I could suit up, I'd show you how to play quarterback. What? Huh? No. Well, yeah, I'll be in the pressbox watching, I mean, uh, coaching without my glasses because I'm nearsighted. Tradition is so important to college football. They've got Bear Bryant coaching them over there and uh, what? Huh? He's dead. Oh. That's right he died last year right after he retired. Death kinda scares me, but I'm all right you know, I'm all right. So going out there tomorrow night, morning, or whenever, we're going to play tough and smart and try to do our best against such a big time traditional opponent. Treat them nicely like they treated us. And let's go beat Alabama!"
- Last year, after the Penn St game, I believe I said, "Alabama's defense is one of the best I've seen. Trent Richardson is a beast, and the rest of the offense just needs to ride his back into the days of glory. Saban really is the best coach in football."
- Yeah...I said the exact same thing last year.
South Carolina-Georgia....
- What more can I say about this game that people didn't see? It had everything. Fake punts for touchdowns. Pick sixes. Big returns. Huge runs by young running backs. Big time throws. Mistakes. Big hits. Great catches. Gutsy calls. Heart. Desire. Celebrations and crying.
- South Carolina reminds me of Auburn right now. Some great talent that's still trying to come together. Jadeveon Clowney is already a dominating player in the SEC, and he's only two games old as a college athlete. Lattimore could go to the NFL right now, and Alshon Jeffery will be making millions this time next year.
Georgia....
- But the fun ends there for this team. 0-2. Very behind in the SEC East now that they've lost to South Carolina. Carolina made a lot of mistakes. Garcia had a horrible game besides a few big throws to Jeffery. And honestly, I never felt like Georgia was going to win.
- I wonder if the fans feel the same way. Do they think they're going to win or lose? That's Richt's biggest issue. His fanbase and supporters think they're going to lose.
- When that happened to a coach at Auburn...when the fans just thought we'd lose...he was fired.
- Goodbye Mark Richt. It was sort of nice knowing you.
The Refs in the Utah-USC game...
- Almost hosed. Not sure if anyone else saw it, but with just a few minutes left, Utah had a 4th and long they had to convert. Their quarterback rolled out and hit a receiver in double coverage. He was hit as he caught it and slammed two yards backwards. The ref spotted the ball where they slammed him down and not where he caught it.
- I was pissed as I'm sure you were if you were watching. Utah was out of timeouts, and most of the time, the spot of the ball is a really difficult challenge to win. The booth upstairs, however, knew what was best for the game. They took it upon themselves to review the play, and Utah was given the first down.
- If the refs hadn't done the right thing, there'd be a huge discussion about controversy in college football right now. The new kid has a chance to upset the traditional top dog in the Pac 12, and the refs steal it. Thankfully, the refs got it right, and we were left with what was quite possibly one of the best college football Saturdays I've ever witnessed.
Michigan...
- Have more night games. The atmosphere was electric. The crowd was loud. ESPN and ABC were there. The game was thrilling. I know college football is all about money, and I know you made money with that game last night. Have more of them.
- It was good seeing Borges do big things in college football again. I know he got a bit of criticism his last days at Auburn, but he was a really nice guy who cared for his players.
Notre Dame...
- Are you there yet? Have you accepted it? You're a middle tier football team. You're not going through a phase. You're not an inch away. You're not about to make a comeback. You're just a middle tier football team that nobody really cares about.
- Even the tradition has died. When I was kid, I was brainwashed by NBC, ESPN, and Rudy into thinking that Notre Dame was the mecca of tradition in college football. Now I just think you have ugly colors, a dark stadium, and overinflated egos. Brian Kelly is the perfect representative for your university. He's a blowhard, foul mouthed asshole who thinks everything should go his way. When criticized for his behavior, it's quickly pointed out how much success he had in the past.
Final Thought...
This is to all the "hataz."
Lee Corso - "17-14. Miss State." I forgive you because you had a stroke. And I'm sorry I yelped when you made the Heisman pose while picking Michigan to win. I thought you were having another one.
Herbstreit - "It won't be that close. Miss State." You were lucky last year to pick Auburn to win the SEC. You weren't lucky this year to say Auburn is finished.
Jim Dunnaway - "I'll bet everything that Auburn won't blow out Miss State. They don't have much of a chance of winning let alone blowing them out." You almost had to give away everything.
The Bammers on my Facebook - "Barn will lose big (numerous variations of this prediction)." You keep on thinking that this is the year it falls apart for Chizik and Auburn. You were lucky to get that 36-0 victory. It's the only decisive Iron Bowl victory you've had since 2001.
Finebaum - "A derp e derp e derp." Fuck you.
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