Week 5 Top five Poll

SEC Tailgate Top Five
1. LSU(2) 4-0 3600
1. USC(2) 3-0 3600
3. Oklahoma 4-0 2400
4. Florida 4-0 1400

5. West VA 4-0 600

Poll Details

Other Polls:

AP Top 25
1. USC (43) 3-0 1,601
2. LSU (22) 4-0 1,580
3. Oklahoma 4-0 1,456
4. Florida 4-0 1,417
5. West Virginia 4-0 1,388

USA Today Poll
1. USC (44) 3-0 1,481
2. LSU (8) 4-0 1,438
3. Florida (4) 4-0 1,347
4. Oklahoma (4) 4-0 1,336
5. West Virginia 4-0 1,260

Auburn vs. Florida Preview

Final Review of UGA Vs. Alabama

Quote of the week from Deep South Sports Blog:

Overheard in the North endzone of Bryant-Denny after Georgia's Brandon Coutu missed the tie-breaking field goal at the end of regulation:

"It's like the breath of The Bear blew down from Heaven to push it wide!"

UGA defeated Alabama by the score of 26-23. To put the final touches on the game, here is what our experts had to say back in August about the outcome of the game.

UGA will win
-The Godfather

This match up is way too early in the season. UGA will have to have their game face on in Tuscaloosa. Too early to call.
-Dublin Down

Too bad ties aren’t possible. I’m personally hoping for an earthquake or tornado. But if there is not a natural disaster I think Alabama will win because their pitiful defense is better than UGA’s pitiful offense.
-Ernest Faulkner

UGA by a touchdown in close game
-Z-Money

Mike Gundy Lectures the Oklahoma Media

Reminds me of General Patton!

ESPN: Expect to be attacked on the road

"In the SEC, you'd better keep your helmet on after a big win on the road--and if your uniform ends up smelling like liquor, hey, it should wash out."-Pat Forde, ESPN.com

From ESPN.com:

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- When it was over, 89 plastic stadium cups lay upon the grass in the southeast corner of Bryant-Denny Stadium. A few dozen crimson-and-white pompoms, too. And two airplane bottles of booze -- one Jim Beam, one Seagram's.

That's the debris hurled down from the Alabama student section upon the celebrating pile of Georgia Bulldogs late Saturday night after the visitors had the unmitigated gall to beat the Crimson Tide 26-23 in overtime.

It was an atrocious display of fan petulance, but not an unprecedented one. I've seen firsthand a smaller-scale bombardment between the hedges from Georgia fans after a bitter loss to Auburn in 2005.

In the SEC, you'd better keep your helmet on after a big win on the road -- and if your uniform ends up smelling like liquor, hey, it should wash out.

SEC Game of the Week: AU Vs. FL

It is hard to believe how times have changed from last year. FL Vs. AU was one of the top games of 2006 and Auburn was responsible for handing the Gators their only loss. However, this season these two teams are headed in different directions. FL has picked up where the left off last year and Auburn has been fighting to complete passes and keep the chains moving.

Auburn's offense has still not come together which spells trouble in the Swamp on Saturday night. I will keep this short and sweet, Auburn only has one hope of winning this game. The defense must force four or five turnovers and the Auburn offense must have none. Plus, Auburn must be able to run the ball.

In sum, Auburn must be able to not turn the ball over and run the ball. The Tigers have not proven they can do either this season. Brandon Cox normally plays good in big games, but he can't do it alone. It will be interesting to see how three true freshman do starting on the offensive line. While the freshman on the offensive line will help the offensive move the ball, I don't think they can be expected to play great against a tough defense that will confuse them.

Auburn-10 Gators-31
SEC Game of the Week Record: 1-0

ESPN: just as bad as ever

I'll never forget this as long as I live. The game is as good as ever, Alabama is up by three in OT and UGA is about to get the ball. Then all of a sudden, Mike Patrick utters one of the most unforgettable lines in SEC history.

LIVE FROM T-TOWN

***LIVE***Look in the comments for updates all day long as Z-Money brings you live coverage from T-Town***LIVE***

Final Score:

UGA-26 Bammer-23!

DING DONG THE WITCH IS DEAD!!!!!!

SEC Game of the Week: UGA Vs. Bama

SEC Game of the Week

Georgia Vs. Alabama

In my opinion, this is not only the best game of the week but also the most intriguing match up. The state of Alabama has been reeking of the smell of moth balls this week as Tide faithful have gone to the closets in order to squeeze into their 1992 national championship t-shirts after defeating Arkansas. The Tide look ready to claim their 135th national championship if they can defeat the Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday night.

On the other hand, Georgia is still reeling a little since their loss to South Carolina. However, don’t be surprised if UGA comes out fresh and ready to win. Georgia is in a position where they must win the remainder of their games if they are to have a shot at going to Atlanta and coach Richt has been a great road game coach through the years.

Last week Alabama gave up over three hundred yards on the ground to Arkansas. It isn’t a mystery that Arkansas has a great backfield, but there is no excuse for giving up so many yards to such a one dimensional team. UGA has a chance to take advantage of the Alabama defense because the Dawgs have the ability to run a balanced attack. Additionally, the UGA defense is much tougher than Arkansas and will give the Tide fits all night long.

I look for UGA to play shut down defense and hold the Tide offense in check. UGA should be able to wear down the Tide defense and pull away late in the game. Yes, I’m going against the powers that be at ESPN and predict a Dawg victory in T-Town and no I’m not drinking the Bamer Kool-Aid being served in the ESPN studios. If you are hanging out in Vegas this weekend the line on the game is Alabama -3. It would be wise to pick the Dawgs and then collect your money before you go home. Oh, one more thing, you will not see this written often by this author...GO DAWGS!!

UGA 28 Alabama 21

Georgia vs. Alabama Preview

I love the fact Spencer picks Arkansas to win the UGA/Bama game in this preview.

Nick Saban "Im not going to be the Alabama coach."

Bungle in the Jungle

SEC Tailgate has added a new feature to the blog called "Bungle in the Jungle" which will be devoted to think pieces covering Auburn's 2007 football season. You will not find mindless criticisms of players or coaches nor will you find support for a firethecoaches.com website.

The first two stories are from other sites, but you can expect some original material soon. You can find this new section on the right side of the blog.

My favorite line comes from Joe Cribbs Car Wash:

"If you were not a student and booed Brandon Cox at the game Saturday, I would like to kindly ask you to donate all of your Auburn gear to the Salvation Army, burn your tickets, and never set foot inside Jordan-Hare Stadium again. To have Cox--a guy who for all his struggles has shown time and again he'd give up a kidney to help this program and has been responsible for win after win after win the past two seasons, whether you'd like to pretend said wins fell from the sky or not--booed that loudly in our stadium sickens, disgusts, and above all shames me as an Auburn fan."

Photo: AL.com

Thursday News 09/20/07

Who Wears the Pants in Gainsville?

If you want to play for the Florida Gators you must first talk with the first lady of the football program. That’s right, “no player is allowed to commit to the Gators before first meeting Gators coach Urban Meyer's wife, Shelley.”

ESPN Favors Bamer to Roll Past UGA?

ESPN has already jumped on the Alabama bandwagon. According to Ivan Maisel's current bowl projections, he predicts Alabama will play in the Cotton Bowl and Georgia will play in the Chick-fil-A peach bowl. In other words, Alabama is the third best team in the conference while UGA is the fifth best team. Then Alabama defensive end Gilberry told reporters he "needed to find out Stafford's address to know where to send flowers after Saturday's game" as a sympathy gift. Finally, to add insult to injury ESPN-Scout predicted the final score to be 27 to 21 in Alabama's favor. Maybe the ESPN crew will be wearing Alabama hats during gameday on Saturday. Why does the media act like UGA is rolling into the Swamp to play the 1996 Florida team? The MGM Grand in Las Vegas has Alabama favored by 3 points, which is not a lot for an undefeated hyped up SEC team playing at home. SEC Tailgate will have a breakdown of this game on Friday.

Week 4 SEC Tailgate Top Five Shocker!

The week four poll is full of surprises. For the first time ever USC is no longer the number one rated team. Plus, the Gators catch Oklahoma and a new team makes their first appearance in the top five.

SEC Tailgate Top Five

1. LSU(3) 3-0 3800

2. USC(1) 2-0 3400

3. Oklahoma 3-0 2000

3. Florida 3-0 2000

5. Penn State 3-0 400

Poll Details

Other Polls:

AP Top 25
1. USC (46) 2-0 1,605
2. LSU (19) 3-0 1,577
3. Florida 3-0 1,437
4. Oklahoma 3-0 1,434
5. West Virginia 3-0 1,388

USA Today Poll
1. USC (44) 2-0 1,478
2. LSU (8) 3-0 1,438
3. Florida (7) 3-0 1,368
4. Oklahoma (1) 3-0 1,308
5. West Virginia 3-0 1,244

Tuesday News and notes

Mark Richt Closes UGA Practice for the First Time Ever!

According to the AJC.com:

Alabama coach Nick Saban used to work for Bill Belichick, the sneakiest spy in sports since Moe Berg.

Not only that, last year while coaching the NFL's Miami Dolphins, Saban's team was accused of stealing signals — against the New England Patriots, no less.

They are taking precautions around Georgia. The Bulldogs, on a totally unrelated note (wink, wink), have closed practice all week for the first time in the Mark Richt era.

Coach Orgeron a Jackleg?

According to deepsouthsports.net this letter appeared in the Oxford Eagle.

This summer, our family was at a little league baseball game at Batesville, and Coach Orgeron was there. Many children stood in line to get an autograph from this arrogant man. Unfortunately, my five year old was one of many who waited.

He waited until the game was over, so as not to bother him while the game was going on. He stood there waiting with his Florida Gator team hat (the five year old that is). When his turn came, he was very rudely turned away by Orgeron. He told my son he was not going to sign his hat because it was a Florida hat.

My five year old had no idea why he was denied by this person, who must have been a great man because everyone was standing in line to get his signature. The look on my child's face when he turned around to walk away, hanging his head, would have made any real man sad.

My heart hurt so bad for my little man. My mother always told me, "Give a man a little power and his true character will appear". Coach Orgeron's true character was seen that day, to be sure. Coach Orgeron is the little man, and that day my son walked away the bigger one.

A mother whose heart hurt that day,

Sally Summerman

Photo Credit: Lamar Echols

Week 3 SEC Tailgate Top Five...USC Still Number 1

SEC Tailgate Top Five

1. USC(3) 1-0 3800
2. LSU(1) 2-0 3400
3. Oklahoma 2-0 2000
4. Florida 2-0 800
5. West Virgina 2-0 600

Poll Details

Other polls:

AP Top 25
1. USC (40) 1-0 1,594
2. LSU (25) 2-0 1,582
3. Oklahoma 2-0 1,418
4. West Virginia 2-0 1,408
5. Florida 2-0 1,370

USA Today Poll
1. USC (42) 1-0 1,476
2. LSU (11) 2-0 1,437
3. Florida (7) 2-0 1,353
4. West Virginia 2-0 1,269
5. Oklahoma 2-0 1,264

Photo: Reuben Canales/WireImage.com

A look back at week 2

By: The Godfather

After much thought, a look back on week two of the college football season.

1. Football is not all that important: This week marks the sixth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on our country. It also marked the week the U.S. commander in Iraq gave the nation an update of the situation on the ground. I was ashamed and embarrassed at the questions and comments directed toward our General who has dedicated his life to his country. Furthermore, we continue to see an increasing focus on the 2008 Presidential election that will be very important to American history. With so many important things going on in our country it is very difficult for me to focus on sports.

More importantly, all of these events help to remind me football is not all that important in the big scheme of things. If people would put half as much energy into supporting our troops or being involved in government as they did with football we would live in a better country.

2. Auburn’s Offense is terrible: I can’t believe that a team like Auburn can be so bad on offense. Auburn recruits well and even has Mr. Alabama football playing QB who also happens to be a fifth year senior. I’m not exactly sure what is missing, but I hope a solution is found sooner rather than later. It is one thing to lose a football game, but it is something different to look the way Auburn has the first two weeks on the offensive side of the ball.

3. Rutgers is a joke: I know Rutgers is coming off a successful football season, but they are still a joke. I knew something was up when I was watching a reply of the Louisville game from last year when I noticed the student section chanting “we will, we will, rock you” late in the second half. Apparently they don’t have much tradition and this is the best they can come up with. When I played freshman football I thought the chant was lame and now it is the official chant of Rutgers football. However, I must admit this chant is better than what was coming out of the Rutgers student section last week. Once they were comfortably ahead of Navy they started chanting “F--- you, Navy. F--- you, Navy” and they were even taunting some of the Navy players.

The losers who were saying such things are ignorant to say the least. These guys out there playing for Navy have much bigger lives than college football. Most of them will end up serving five year stints in the military supporting a nation who is fighting a global war on terrorism. They are heros! Most of the assholes making these chants can only dream of being admitted to a school like the Naval Academy, much less dedicating their lives to a cause greater than themselves. I personally will pull against Rutgers in every game they play no matter who they are playing for the rest of the season and maybe even longer.

Thoughts from Week 2

By Ernest Faulkner


Three Thoughts from Week 2

1. Auburn and UGA, back to the drawing board.

It was a sad weekend for at least these two SEC powers and it is tough to where to begin to fix them. So we will start with the easier one to fix, Georgia. Fret not Dog fans, this was bound to happen sooner than later. You can’t go through season after season in the same conference as Steve Spurrier and not expect to lose one to him. I don’t care if he is at South Carolina, Vanderbilt or if the SEC brings back Georgia Tech or Suwannee, if you play him every year, he is going to get some time. That being said, the most troubling thing from UGA this weekend was its offensive decisions. When you have to call four trick plays in a game to try to get up on a team that scored 16 points the entire game, you aren’t going to win. South Carolina had a formidable defense that knew where to attack and confuse the young offensive line, quarterback Matthew Stafford and, more importantly, offensive coordinator Mike Bobo. Georgia has a tune-up game with Western Carolina to regain its confidence before the big showdown in T-town with Alabama in two weeks. One can only hope that Bobo and the Dogs will have a way to handle the Tide’s young defense.

With Auburn, oh where to begin. Coaches are talking about reshuffling the receivers to allow more reps for Chris Slaughter, Montez Billings and Tim Hawthorne. That move plus a stronger role in the running game from Mario Fannin should help Auburn, but most of Saturday’s problems lay under center. Brandon Cox has experience, has won tight games and should be the most reliable impact player on the Tigers’ roster. For whatever reason, but my pick is the 36 times Cox was sacked last season, the quarterback is apt to making mistakes and bad reads. With a total of five turnovers, two fumbles by redshirt freshman Fannin and three total by Cox, Auburn shouldn’t have even made it to overtime. South Florida did notch another big win in its program’s young history, but with four missed field goals of its own, the Bulls were lucky to get this one. Auburn has Mississippi State to retune on this week and Cox could make a comeback, but every team on the Tigers’ schedule now has two games to study on how to rattle the quarterback. Brandon Cox is one of the most capable quarterbacks in the SEC and is dangerous when he is on his game, however that is not now. It maybe wise to let Neil Caudle or Kodi Burns see the field some this week, just in case they may need to see it later this season.

2. Notre Dame and Michigan, who really cares?
As an answer to the afore mentioned question, two alumni organizations, northern sportswriters and maybe Ohio State. Otherwise, this is just a rebound game for two disillusioned teams. Notre Dame has to find a new leader for an offense which was the Fighting Irish’s only identity for the past two seasons. The Irish were famously bad on defense as in evidenced in match-ups with USC last season and LSU in the Sugar Bowl. What helped Norte Dame when was quarterback Brady Quinn, decent receivers and running back Darius Walker. With all of that gone, it is not unreasonable to expect the Irish to falter this year. Plus, as I have heard mentioned by other writers, what would be the 2005 class of recruits for Notre Dame— which would be juniors or redshirt sophomores at this point— had to wait until February for head coach Charlie Weis to get on campus after winning the Super Bowl with the New England Patriots. What month is Signing Day? You guessed it. That means there is a huge talent gap for Notre Dame this season and it will take at least a year to work out.

Michigan is suffering from no real defense, as discussed in the past, and an offense that only survived because of its defensive comrades. Quarterback Chad Henne will be out for the Notre Dame game, further causing Vegas oddsmakers want to pull their hair out over this match-up, but it really doesn’t matter in this pillow fight. Some years, the gameplan just doesn’t work and for Michigan this is the year. Why do I feel both teams season highlights will come from this game?

3. Georgia Tech, whoop-dee frickin’-do
So you beat a Norte Dame team with no defense and no quarterback. Then you managed to hang 69 on a FCS team, formerly called Division I-AA. These are not the signs of a marquee season, but for the Jackets, it might as well be Mardi Gras. Georgia Tech may actually have a stable offense this season, with a solid running back in Tashard Choice, a capable quarterback in Taylor Bennett and finally a cohesive offensive gameplan, but there is nothing to be impressed about yet. The Jackets actually have a test in visiting Boston College this week and if they can manage a win, it bodes well for Tech’s season. However, these aren’t the cripples you have kicking around for the past two weeks. Boston College beat defending ACC champ Wake Forest by 10 and then rocked NC State. This maybe the Jackets only real test this side of Virginia Tech, and the Hokies aren’t that good. The ACC is weak enough that Tech will probably return to Jacksonville and win the conference this time, but it is a team that will continue to be unchallenged really until the bowl game, that is unless the Eagles put up a fight this week.

Ernest Faulkner is a professional writer who is known as being the first sports writer to be an "auteur." Mr. Faulkner operates in secrecy among the shadows of the journalism business hoping to avoid their lunacy. During his time in "the biz" he has worked for some of the top publications in the world. You can contact him at ernest@sectailgate.org

Five Thoughts from the Weekend

By Ernest Faulkner

Don’t believe the hype!
Michigan’s rise to No. 5 in the nation was shown Saturday to be nothing more than a media feeding frenzy, showing its deference to the Big Ten. A loss to Appalachian State was a shocker, but if you look closely, the warning signs for the Wolverines’ downfall were there all along. Michigan’s ranking was based on two things: 1, Its 11-2 record last season and 2. Returning starters Chad Henne, Mike Hart and Mario Manningham.

Here is where there are flaws: Michigan’s success last season was built on its defense, not its offense. The Wolverines held opponents to an average of 12.09 points a game going into the match-up with Ohio State in 2006. The best offenses Michigan faced in that stretch were Notre Dame and Wisconsin in consecutive weeks. The Irish managed 21 points, while the Badgers only scored 13. Michigan itself averaged 29.2 points a game last season, but the average is inflated by blowouts against teams with poor defenses like Notre Dame, Central Michigan, Michigan State, Ball State and Indiana. Those are the only teams the Wolverines scored 30 points or more against prior to the 42-39 loss to Ohio State. The losses on Lamar Woodley and Alan Branch were greater than imagined and three skill players do not a national title team make. The Wolverines may have a shot at the Big Ten, but the thoughts of a national title or Lloyd Carr remaining another season are gone with the wind.

Tennessee has growing up to do
A new group of receivers, a quarterback with a broken pinkie and a new secondary may have been a little too much uncertainty to pit up against a top 15 team with a grudge. The Vols offense still looks underpowered and a defense that gives up 45 points after having months to prepare is no where close to competing in the SEC or anywhere else. Make no mistake, California was preparing for this game since September 2006, but if you are supposed to contend of the SEC East. You have to put up a better defensive performance than that. Tennessee has bounced back before after a glaring blowout and after the impending shelling Southern Miss will face this weekend in Knoxville, the Vols travel to Gainesville for Florida on Sept. 15. That will be the measuring stick to apply to Tennessee.

Louisville’s performance was more impressive than Oklahoma
While both teams hung over 70 points on their opening weekend opponents, Louisville remains more impressive in my mind. Yes, the Cardinals brought back Brian Brohm and most of their playmakers from last season and they were only playing Murray State, but to have a new head coach in Steve Kragthorpe, a new philosophy and still manage 73 points shows Louisville hasn’t lost a step since the departure of Bobby Petrino. However, after only one easy game, Louisville will still travel to West Virginia, South Florida and host Rutgers in its last three weeks, so there are many mountains left to climb.

At this point, Bob Stoops is as entrenched at Oklahoma as it gets. He has a pipeline of talent running to Norman and it really doesn’t matter if they have new quarterbacks or running backs. The Sooners have nothing to prove against North Texas except that Bobby still likes to hang 79 points in there to ensure he can get a bump in the polls. Hang 79 on Miami this week, and then I will be impressed.

The top 10 is filled with pretenders
Of the AP’s current top 10 teams, only Wisconsin and California defeated reasonable opponents last weekend. LSU gets a free ride for opening with conference foe Mississippi State and no one in the top 10 would take on USC early, but this is another example of why polls this early are nothing but hype. West Virginia’s schedule sets up easy with Marshall, Maryland and East Carolina before a real test with South Florida on Sept. 28. Florida hasn’t proven anything by beating Western Kentucky and has Troy this week. The first big test is against a questionable Tennessee team next week and after railing Ole Miss on Sept. 22, they get Auburn at home— who has plenty of questions to answer. Wisconsin’s schedule looks easier all the time as the Big Ten appears to be weak this season. Oklahoma will be tested by Miami, who it is not as impressive anymore and Texas has a major test in TCU. When did you think you would ever say that? Louisville should coast past Kentucky and not be tested until N.C. State on Sept. 29. Virginia Tech has much more to prove than LSU this weekend and California is on easy street until Sept. 29 at Oregon.

It is tough to rank a top 10 this early in the season, which is why it shouldn’t happen until October, when you have to actually prove something.

Auburn and Georgia still have a lot to prove
These teams are on the opposite ends of the momentum spectrum, but they both have a lot left to show. Georgia moved up to 11 this week after beating Oklahoma State 35-10. The Dogs should probably be higher then that considering the teams above them, but they aren’t because while the Cowboys are a major conference opponent, they aren’t that good. This is a team that went 7-6 last season and made it a winner against a transitioning Alabama. They used to be known as the team where only a running back was good in the Les Miles days and now only has a receiver. Last time I checked, Georgia at its worst could still top teams with only one decent receiver. Stafford performed well and looked like a college starter, but he wasn’t really tested. This week hosting South Carolina should show how much Stafford has progressed.

Auburn has a tested quarterback in Brandon Cox, but doesn’t have much else to show. Kansas State might be a hair above Ok. State simply because they have won the Big 12 before, but they are by no means a power right now and they gave Auburn fits. The South Florida game this week looks scarier all the time and if Auburn’s offensive line woes, or offensive woes period, don’t straighten out a lot this week, it will be a long season.

Ernest Faulkner is a professional writer who is known as being the first sports writer to be an "auteur." Mr. Faulkner operates in secrecy among the shadows of the journalism business hoping to avoid their lunacy. During his time in "the biz" he has worked for some of the top publications in the world. You can contact him at ernest@sectailgate.org.

Week 2 SEC Tailgate Top Five Poll

SEC Tailgate Top Five:

1. USC(3) 1-0: 3,800
2. LSU(1) 1-0: 3,400
3. Oklahoma: 1-0: 1,800
4. Louisville: 1-0 1,000
5. Wisconsin: 1-0 800

Poll Details

WHO IS THE MOST OVERRATED IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL? CLICK HERE.

Other Polls:

AP Top 25
1. USC (59) 1-0 1,619
2. LSU (5) 1-0 1,542
3. West Virginia (1) 1-0 1,449
4. Florida 1-0 1,346
5. Oklahoma 1-0 1,275
5. Wisconsin 1-0 1,275

USA Today Poll
1. USC (49) 1-0 1,486
2. LSU (4) 1-0 1,417
3. Florida (7) 1-0 1,341
4. West Virginia 1-0 1,275
5. Wisconsin 1-0 1,183

Week 1 College Pick'em Top Five Standings...Moving Day

It was moving day in college pick'em as the season finally got started. After all the off season trash talk this is who made the top five. Doba turned in a very impressive perfect first week.

1. Doba Doba Greatest Hits , W. Grant: 55 points
2. I am McLOVIN , L. Echols: 54 points
3. yomamaluvsme , c. zorn: 52 points
4. beaturaskes , A. Gibbs: 50 points
4.Escaping Desert Yetis , D. Cordell: 50 points
4. Black Mamba , T. Bride: 50 points

Week One Truths from Lamar’s Preseason Predictions

Tennessee: "The Vols lost several key members of their secondary…Does this team have a solid defense? SPLIT DECISION. I believe the defense will get better as time goes by, but the defensive weakness will be tested in the first game of the season against Cal. If Tennessee can execute a decent pass rush and player good pass coverage in the secondary in the first game they will have answered all my doubts about their football team. If not, they may be in trouble."
"If the Vols can show improvement on the defensive side of the ball and pick up where they left off on offense they should win the eastern division. However, they are not a dominate football team and could easily lose to both UGA and USC which would cost them a trip to the dome."

Auburn: "The offensive line may struggle early, but they still shouldn’t be as bad as last season. By the time the first big game roles around (FL Sept. 29) this team should be ready to rock and roll."

LSU: "The offense is the reason why I’m not totality sold on this team. I’m sure they will hang 50 plus on Mississippi State in week one, but I’m not sold on their week in and week out capabilities."

Miss. State: "There is no doubt Miss. State will once again have the worst offense in the SEC."

Random Thoughts About Week 1

1. Thank GOD the Preseason is over! College football is completely different then any other sport. There are no preseason games and there are no playoffs. Each team must go out and play twelve games as though each is a playoff game. To me there is nothing worse than the preseason when everyone is giving out nothing but opinions, I’m glad the playing football part is actual here.

2. Michigan ohhh Michigan: According to ESPN, when Michigan lost to Appalachian State this weekend it became the biggest upset in college football history. I’m very happy to report that the contributors of this blog were not fooled by the preseason hype given to Michigan. In fact, you can see that not one of our voters placed Michigan on their top five ballot. What could us regular guys have seen about this team that the people who work for ESPN and Sports Illustrated couldn’t? Maybe Michigan really wasn’t the fifth best team in the country from the start and it really wasn’t that big of an upset after all. Maybe teams should not be ranked based on the name of their University and should be judged by what kind of football team they have. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Michigan jump up to third in the AP poll and Notre Dame leap into the top ten after their first week performances.

3. Texas is not really number FOUR! Texas barely got by Arkansas State by a final score of 21-13. I'll be curious to see how the voters will respond to such a lousy performance.

4. Just put the damn ball in the end zone! Auburn struggled mightily on offense Saturday night against Kansas State, but Auburn’s defense was good enough to keep them in the game long enough to win. Time will tell whether Kansas State’s defense is as great as Auburn made them look, but there are still serious questions about the Tigers offense. I ran across another blogger who shares the same concerns as I do, so I thought I let him give you the run down of what happened this past weekend in Auburn.

From the Bleachers Blog:

As I feared, the Auburn offense hasn't progressed much since the Cotton Bowl. As in most of 2006, the offensive line wasn't able to open holes for the running backs with eight or nine defenders in the tackle box, and the the receivers couldn't break out of man coverage fast enough to bail out a constantly under assault Brandon Cox. Cox, who once again had to man up and take a severe beating, didn't help himself any by often holding the ball too long and throwing two terrible interceptions.

It's well worth giving credit to Al Borges for changing his attack for the game-winning drive, and to Cox and his teammates for executing that drive so well, but c'mon, guys, why did you wait 56 minutes to change things up? It was painfully obvious by the second quarter that Auburn just wasn't getting anything going on offense. The game plan was as vanilla as Dairy Queen and as predictable as an old soap opera. As I've said many times in the past, when I can predict the next play, there's a problem.

What's worse, some of Borges' decisions just didn't make any sense. I love Carl Stewart. He's the best pure fullback Auburn has had since Fred Beasley, but he's, er, a fullback. For all his many gifts, Stewart just doesn't have the speed to carry the ball on a toss sweep. Put him out there to kill a linebacker or cornerback and break loose a ball carrier, but don't ask him to turn the corner. That's a waste of your resources.