You are currently browsing the tag archive for the ‘LSU Football’ tag.
This weeks questions come to us from the good folks (that’s just good Southern manners for Ed Orgeron, Bat Shit, Crazy people) at Tower of Bammer. You can find a round up of the roundtable this and every week right here.
1. While the actual players and coaches deserve some of the credit for last season’s success, it was our collective superstitions and dark rituals that brought home the championship. What was your superstitious contribution?
I am such a total believer in Saban and the philosophy that he preaches that for possibly the first time ever I didn’t keep a ritual. Except for drinking. I drank before every game and during most of them. God forbid what would happen to the team if I didn’t drink.
2. Put on your Finebaum hat, dip your arrows in vile poison, and tell us which SEC coach is gonna be the first to get canned/and or bolt for greener pastures… like golf courses.
This is going to be the easy answer, but Spurrier’s days are numbered. Unless he has a huge year I believe he’ll hang it up. Richt is on a short leash. Miles’ leash is even shorter; I believe this is it for him in Baton Rouge. Nutt’s got a couple more in Oxford before they run him out. Mullin is due for a good year in my opinion and he’ll bolt for greener pastures (figuratively not literally; if there is anything they do good in Starkville it’s green pastures).
3. We would love for this to go on forever, but let’s face it, we have to lose a game at some point, right? What team on next years schedule (pronounced shed-jewel) should cause the most concern?
This is one of those time-stamp questions. Pre-season the pundits will say Penn State and Florida. I’m a little worried about an improved Arkansas in Fayetteville. That game comes at the end of two straight weeks on the road and the week before the super-hyped game against Florida. If Alabama beats Penn State, and they should, then the entire Sports/Industrial Complex will be looking forward to October 2. Arkansas, on the other hand, will be looking forward to Alabama, who embarrassed them like no one did, last year. On paper Alabama controls the clock by pounding the ball against an inferior defense and utilizes a superior defense against a gimmick (read: non-traditional offense) and runs the quarterback all over the field and gets ready for the more important showdown. No problem right? That was the exact plan for Auburn last year. That’s what has me worried The contests with Tennessee, LSU and Auburn always scare me. UT will generally be awful, but Dooley will probably win a game he shouldn’t and they always get up for Alabama. LSU probably scares me the least and Auburn should be improved but it’s in Tuscaloosa and the winner might just punch its ticket to Atlanta. I’m going to keep my eye on State too but it’s just too early to say on that one.
4. Joe Paterno has already screeched “You can’t count on freshmen. Do you want to go down to Tuscaloosa with freshmen!?” but Penn State fans are buzzing about how true frosh Paul Jones looked in their spring game. Is JoePa playing it smart, clinging to an outdated case of freshmanastartaphobia, or just planning on starting a sacrificial lamb QB so Marcel Dareus doesn’t eat his good ones?
All you have to do is go back to the National Championship game to see what a Saban defense can do to an inexperienced QB so he might opt for experience, no matter how little it is. But to be honest with you, I’m not sure that Paterno is even aware that the war is over – and I’m refereeing to WWI here – so you can’t be too sure of what he says anyway.
5. Everyone I know has a crazy story about dealing with an out of control swamp-thing rival from Red Stick, whats the craziest thing you’ve ever seen an LSU fan do? (Just to make things interesting, lets disqualify Shaquille O’Neal’s performance as a genie in Shazam)
I’ve had some truly great experiences in Baton Rouge and here with LSU fans. It wasn’t anything where I felt threatened or was just in shock. Probably the worst thing was in 2000 when the kid jumped out of the student section in Tiger Stadium, ran the length of the field and mooned the Alabama fans in the visitor section. It was right at the start of the 4th quarter and then Saban directed his Tigahs to a comeback and their first victory over the Tide in Death Valley since 1969. Or possibly when I sat in the student section there in 2004 and the girls were asking me, “what the fuck are you doing here?” That was pretty intense.
(Ed. Note: the following is what I wrote for our tailgate blog. It has been modified slightly to remove names and content specific to that blog)
On April 4, 1865, Gen. John T. Croxton and his cavalry brigade of the Union’s Army of the Cumberland, raided, seized, and burned Tuscaloosa and the campus of the University of Alabama. There are only a few buildings, including the President’s Mansion, that still stand from this horrific event. Just five days before Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House and within the last months of active fighting in the War Between the States, the full effect of the horrors of that war were felt in Tuscaloosa.
What, you ask, does this have to do with a football game? Two things, if you want to know the truth: First, there has not been an event in Tuscaloosa in the span of 144 years since that tragic affair bigger than what will happen this weekend and second, we will have more than old men and boys to defend against the invaders this time.
The game this weekend is the culmination of thirteen years of misery and the slow return to glory. This is the type of game that everyone dreams of.
So here we are, our team has sat atop the polls all season, the respect that has been denied for so long has finally returned, and we have returned to our rightful place among the nation’s elite. The talk of conference and national championships is now more than just talk. It is all right here in front of us, ripe for the picking. But at least for now, all that lies in front of us is LSU.
The glorious warrior-poets of the Crimson Tide will battle the fighting Tigahs of LSU this weekend in Bryant-Denny Stadium at 2:30 in a game broadcast nationally by CBS. On the line is not only our pride, the pride of our coach, and our #3 national ranking, but a guaranteed birth in the SEC Championship game, a chance to take our unblemished record into the final three weeks of the season, and a continued march toward a 13th national championship.
I’m certain there are other games on television but honestly, I just don’t care. There is only one game this weekend.
Alright folks, you know what you have to do. This is the perfect storm of football and tailgating. Great weather (clear with highs in the low 70’s), lots of great food and fun, and the biggest football game in the country between two great teams. This, my friends, is what it’s all about. By the time this game ends under the lights of Bryant-Denny, the emphatic statement that we are back will have been made.
I’ll see you on the Quad! Roll Tide Roll!
I’ll close with this (just in case you weren’t fired up already)
They say this is the loudest Bryant-Denny has ever been. Let’s prove them wrong.
I rarely agree with Scarbinsky. I beleive him to be a failed Dennis Miller wannabe and sensationalistic blowhard. But I will give him props when he deserves them.
He’s a little more bullish on the prospects of the football team that Alabama will field in ’09 than some of the “experts” are.
Basically, three pundits have proclaimed the Tide a top six team that will be in the mix for the national title again.
In this instance, I thinks he’s got it right.
I’ll go ahead and go on the record now and say that Alabama should begin the season around 15. You don’t immediately contend with 2/5 of an experienced offensive line (including replacements at center and left tackle) or a wide-eyed quarterback.
The possibiltity is there to see addition by subtraction at the signal caller position but the line will take a few games to get it together either way. You don’t go on a strong campaign without good line play. You just don’t.
The only saving grace could be the schedule. Auburn and Ole Miss will be the toughest road games, not the mention the season opener againast a Virginia Tech team that improved most of the last half of the season. The Tide does get a rebuilding Tennessee, an improved Arkansas, and an always dangerous LSU at home. Exchaning Georgia for South Carolina helps as well.
My belief is that the offense is purring by the end of the season and the defense has become other worldly. This makes me think that as play begins in 2010 that Alabama will be loaded at most every position and a top three pre-season ranking will be warranted.
I don’t think that the parallels are exactly the same but, for the most part, the third year of a new coach, following a great second year, is usually down. LSU just completed the worst season since Saban’s third year. The fourth year is statiscally a good year though. Just look at Saban, Meyer, or Les Miles for further proof.
(ht: Bama Sports Report)
Let the good times ROLL! I’m within fifteen minutes of heading out the door on my way to Baton Rouge. If you’ve never been, go. I love game at Bryant-Denny and tailgating on the Quad but there is nothing in this world like a football Saturday in Baton Rouge.
The bonus is that I’m so excited about the trip that I have forgotten to be nervous about the game tomorrow. I’m sure that will come back with a vengeance.
Gerry Dorsey has an especially great feature with his Love Thine Enemy serial this week.
New site, A Drug Called Tradition, has a great piece on Alabama’s football fortunes in relation to elections.
Ya’ll have a great weekend and whether you are in Death Valley or in front of a television, yell loudly.
Louisiana native and Alabama fan Gerry Dorsey, who edits the a standard weekly read, Love Thine Enemy, on his great site, Uncle Rico’s Time Machine, has chosen this week to host.
The questions and my answers:
1. what are your feelings on alabama’s current position in the polls? are they overrated? underrated? just right?
At some point Saturday night it became apparent that Alabama, by means of attrition, would ascend to the number one spot. While this is the constant goal of the vast majority of the Alabama faithful, my first reaction was, “No, not yet!”
I have always felt that a team that is ranked number one has a much larger target on their back and get the best effort of every team they play and that those teams at the pinnacle are more susceptible to hubris than other teams. Then again, this current Alabama team seems to be healthy, improving, and saving their best efforts for the biggest games. This team, I hope, is too workmanlike in their approach to get caught up in the rankings.
Because of his job – which is in no way affiliated with the University or Athletic Department – my father sees Javier Arenas, as well as several other players, on a weekly basis and gets the chance to chat them up. He has been a fan of Arenas since he got to campus and always speaks highly of him in that, “he’s a good kid, you can just tell – very polite, yes sir all the time,” kind of way. Anyway, Dad ssaw Javier on Monday and tells him, ” I would congratulate you on being number one but I now your coach doesn’t like that. Javi’s response, “Thanks, but we don’t even focus on stuff like that, we’re focused on LSU.”
There. You heard it here first.
To conclude, I’m tickled pick, or crimson as it were, with the current rank. It is a very rare thing and this team, at least for right now, deserves to be number one. Now they just have to hold onto it…
2. what aspect of the game did alabama control that shocked you the most? what aspect of the game was alabama dominated in that shocked you the most?
I am continually amazed, although I shouldn’t be considering Saban’s past, with the improved play of the defense. This is becoing a salty defense.
On the other hand, I continue to be concerned with pass protection. How does this team give up exactly zero sacks against Tennessee and then give up four to Arkansas State?
3. name your player of the game on offense. also name one on defense.
Mark Ingram on offense and Rashad Johnson on defense
4. as we found out yesterday, with november comes the coaching carousel. what are your thoughts on phat phil and his legacy? which realistic candidate, if any, scares the crap out of you?
I’ll paraphrase Paul Bryant here; watching the press conference on Monday, I started to feel sorry for Fulmer. But not too sorry. That fat son-of-a-krispy kreme doughnut, has dealt me a lot of misery. At some point Fulmer decided that it would be better for him to worry about getting Alabama in trouble than to focus on his own team and their ability to win. He was successful in the short term, because he was able to hang on to victories over his lifelong nemesis, but in that process he started forgetting how to coach. To be honest with you his demise has been fun to watch.
He put his mark on the rivalry and it is arguably the most controversial and ugly part of this long-standing traditional game. He made it not about the players or the contest itself. I hate Tennessee, but I have a feeling that as his imprint on that storied program becomes less and less apparent that the hatred will lessen and be replaced with the respect that the team and fans deserve.
I wish him well, only because I try not to harbor ill will toward anyone, but he has reaped what he sowed and you should never feel sorry when that happens.
I’m not too worried about a replacement… unless it is Nick Saban.
5. with all the hype of fowler, corso, and herbie in town, the #1 ranking, the unbridled (and unnecessary) hatred for saban (and most anything crimson tide for that matter) from the tigah faithful, just how ripe for for the upset is bama this weekend?? how do you expect the squad to react?
This team has showed the ability all season to rise to the occasion. They have been in at least two other match-ups this year where the eyes of the nation were turned to them. They have faced hostile crowds. They are well coached and should be prepared.
LSU is not the team they were a year ago. Their defense is somewhat soft and while they are still somewhat explosive on offense they are not as balanced as they have been in the past. They are very inexperienced at quarterback. What they are though is still a very physical team. They will bring the fight on every snap and as evidenced by the Georgia game, they never give up. They are very capable of beating Alabama. The fans will be as loud as they ever have and if the team stays in the game they will be there in the fourth quarter, when it gets dark, to cheer them on.
Alabama needs to take the crowd out of it early. They need to build, and maintain, a big lead so that the stands are devoid of purple and gold fans by the fourth quarter. They should be able to do that.
Am I nervous or worried. Hells yes. And that will only grow as kickoff approaches.
The LSU Tigahs play host to the number one ranked Alabama Crimson Tide at 2:30 (central) this coming Saturday. CBS will air the game.
Having completed week seven, we are at the halfway of the 2008 football season. Sad isn’t it. Of course if you’re an Alabama fan, up to this point, you really can ask for nothing more. Here is quick look at where conference teams are, where we thought they would be and what’s coming in the future:
LSU
The Tigers sit at second in the West behind Alabama with a 4-1 record (2-1 conference). They are coming off their worst loss in the the Miles tenure (and possibly since a loss to Florida in 1996) with the 51-21 humiliation at the hands of the Gators.
The Bayou Bengals were picked to win the West and play in Atlanta by some because of their strengths on the line-of-scrimmage and their depth. They also began the season in the Top 10. Week Seven saw all of that change.
After Florida hung more than half-a-hundred on them things are looking a little shaky in Baton Rouge this week. While stock in their vaunted defense took a tumble this weekend this is still a relatively good team- certainly better than the score in Gainesville showed. This team could very well get their act together and earn the rematch with Florida in Atlanta. Up next is South Carolina and then the Bulldogs. LSU needs to win those two games and use the next game, against Tulane, to tune things up for the showdown in Baton Rouge on November 8th when Saban’s new team, Alabama, comes to town.
Currently LSU is up and down when it comes to stats. Their offense looks relatively good as they are fourth (in the conference) in Scoring Offense (32.6 ppg), second in Total Offense (406 ypg), third in Rushing Offense (181.2 ypg), and fourth in Passing Offense (108.2 ypg). The defense however, is where things don’t look as good. This is mind-boggleing as the defensive line is full and deep with talent and LSU has hung their identity over the last seven years, in which time they have won two national championships, on a strong defense. Currently LSU is tenth in Scoring Defense (22.4 ppg), ninth in Total Defense (303.6 ypg), sixth in Rushing Defense (108.2 ypg) and ninth in Passing Defense (195.4 ypg). All very not-LSU-like numbers. The only promising defensive stat is that they are 1st in Opponent First Downs. Maybe this is because opponents score on them without the benefit of first downs.
A few other stats of note: the Tigahs are tenth in sacks (9) but they have protected their quarterback (2 sacks) fairly well. They are first in allowing fourth down conversions, which you would think would be a no-brainer due to the strength of their line but they are last (12th) in Red Zone Defense, with opponents scoring fourteen times out of fifteen attempts. Another telling stat about is their turnover margin, which is minus-four.
What does it all mean? LSU appears to have a good offense and a relatively poor defense. Granted, the Florida loss skews the stats a little but overall their defense has not been playing at the level that we have been used to. They opened the season with FCS-division opponent Appalachian State with showed a modicum of credibility but their other non-conference foes have been lackluster at best. Auburn was their biggest win to date, but that has lost its shine. Mississippi State moving the ball on them should have been the first sign of disaster and the Florida debacle should have everyone in Baton Rouge scratching their heads. I knew things were getting bad when I didn’t get a text from my hospitable but obnoxious LSU friend, who informs me how lucky Alabama is when they win, how bad they are when they lose, but never utters a peep when the Tighas struggle.
The bottom line is that LSU has the potential to still be dangerous, but they have more questions than answers at this point.
While I believe that the axiom about college football that “every game means something” is not only true, and is also one of the main reasons that it is the greatest sport on the planet, it is true that you really have to get to a certain point of the season for that high-stakes drama to really get you involved. That’s why that even though my beloved Tide is off this week, I’ll still be glued to the television all day tomorrow.
Below is the cheat sheet I’ve made for myself for a day in the recliner with the remote in one hand and a beverage in the other. Chores you (and my spouse) ask? That’s what the other three seasons are for – this is football season.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t bring this to your attention first; If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to be in one of those “House Divided” marriages that are all too common in our part of the world and unfortunately advertised with one of the worst license plate designs ever, then check out Holly and Doug’s dramatic masterpiece on the relationship between a Vawl and a Dawg. Part one is at Holly’s place and parts two and three are at Doug’s.
The object was to get this post up yesterday and start off by recommending that you watch Clemson at Wake Forest last night. I was hoping for a Clemson victory to give the Tide a little more street cred but that didn’t work out so well. This was a total show of offensive ineptitude that came close to giving the epic in Starkville, between State and Auburn, a run for its money. Clemson’s offensive line is terrible. Just terrible. You could have an all-universe backfield (and they are not far form it) but without a line there are no holes to run in or time to target receivers. I’m thinking Bowden is on his way out.
Moving on to Saturday:
Mimosa and Bloody Mary Games
The day starts off with a doozy in the Red River Shootout. This is the first time in a few years that this game has had this much importance (11:00 cdt, ABC), but it is not a stretch to say that the winner of this game will have made it through the first stop on the way to Miami.
Thirty minutes later you can flip during commericals to ESPN for Colrado at Kansas – the Jayhawks are unbeaten- or to Raycom for South Carolina at Kentucky. I’d like to see the Wildcats win and make Alabama look a little better.
Be checking the bottom line scores for Nebraska at Texas Tech. The Red Raiders should win this easily against the inept Husker defense but I’m of the camp that believes beating two FCS division teams earns you absolutely nothing. If the Leach led bunch wins this going away I’ll consider them a little more for the Mumme Poll.
Wings and Beer Time
The 2:30 time-frame games offer many good contests. The SEC fans will tune in to CBS for Tennessee at Georgia to see if Fulmer is indeed on his way out or if Richt’s team can continue the momentum they were gaining in the second half of the Blackout Beatdown. The Vols could be mathematically eliminated from the Eastern Division race or the Dawgs National Championship dreams might be snuffed out for this year.
ABC has several regional games at the same time and all have good story lines. Arizona State at USC offers a glimpse at the Trojans climb out of the cellar efforts while over on the East Coast and mid-West everyone will be wondering if North Carolina is for real or if Notre Dame will prove everyone but Lou Holtz correct by losing. Ohio State is still seeking redemption and Purdue comes into the Horseshoe to see what that feels like (hopes of redemption not visiting the Horseshoe).
The Deuce has Michigan State at Northwestern. Northwestern is also undefeated at this point but a resurgent Michigan State team will be their first real test. That’s on at 2:30 as well.
Check the bottom line for: Vanderbilt at Mississippi State
Cocktail Hour (or I switch to bourbon)
Other than Texas/Oklahoma, the marque game of the day and a contest that certainly holds more regional interest is LSU at Florida. This is somewhat cliche but true nonetheless, the winner of this game the last two years has gone on to win not only the conference but also the national championship. A loss for the Gators would but them behind the eight ball in their quest to get to Atlanta after they slipped up against Ole Miss. A loss by the Tigers would not be quite as damning as it appears the only other contender for the West is our own Alabama team, whom they still must play, but with Georgia still on the schedule it would take away any room for error. This game could go either way and the winner would still control their own destiny. That game is the second of the rare CBS double-header and comes on at 7:00.
Over on ESPN 2, Oklahoma State takes their perfect record into Missouri to take on the high-flying Chase Daniel led offense of the Tigers. Somebody has to lose this one and it makes the second contest of the day of ranked, undefeated teams.
ESPN has Penn State at Wisconsin and while this could be an upset for the Badgers that would require that they end a possible three-game losing streak. Confidence is not high.
Other games you can’t watch, unless of course you have Gameplan, are Arkansas at Auburn – story lines galore the least of which would be Auburn’s total elimination from the division race – and New Mexico at BYU – no offense to my NM homies but despite the upset of Arizona, the Lobos suck. Keeping with the UNM/BYU storyline that highlights undefeated, untested teams that face competition they should beat but just might get upset by, you have Ball State at Western Kentucky and Boise State at Southern Miss.
In conclusion, tomorrow is a great day to watch football. Conference play is well under way with a few big rivalries taking place, but beyond that there are a few unbeatens that will not finish the day that way and a few more big upset chances. As we do every week of the season we will finish the day with a few answers and a lot more questions. But perhaps the best thing about tomorrow is that Alabama will start and finish the day 6-0.
In a well deserved acknowledgment, the SEC named Alabama’s senior quarterback, John Parker Wilson, the conference Offensive Player of the Week.
Wilson looked like a true leader on Saturday night.
On another note, it’s hard to watch or listen to a media outlet in this state this morning and not hear about the Tide. It’s even harder to peruse the internets and not see Alabama as a major topic on conversation today. I’ve heard or read national championship more time than I can count this morning and the phrase, “undefeated LSU and Alabama meeting in November is huge” has been uttered more time than a few.
Let’s do a good job and keep this in perspective. There are seven more gamers to be played
starting with an undefeated Kentucky team this weekend. Kentucky is unranked and has a chip on their shoulder because they are not getting any respect.
Ole Miss, who Alabama faces in a little less than three weeks, just defeated Florida, at home.
Tennessee, who seems to be headed toward oblivion, will not roll over and die when Alabama comes into town at the end of the month. In fact, nothing would make Fulmer happier than to upset Alabama as it might save his job and will certainly be a point of pride.
Arkansas State would love nothing more than to upset Alabama on homecoming and will put forth their best effort.
I don’t believe that I need to say anything about LSU.
State has a two game winning streak against Alabama and always, always plays out of their minds against the Tide.
And Auburn. If you don’t think that Tuberville can whip those guys into a frenzy to play Alabama then you haven’t been watching football.
There is a long, long way to go. Just as the team needs to focus on the the next game, so do we. It’s nice to dream and speculate and it’s wonderful to celebrate, God knows we’ve needed that win to charge us up. But let’s keep focus.
There is nothing at this point but a good Kentucky team that can beat Alabama unless the Tide gives their best effort. Let’s be ready to fill Bryant-Denny on Saturday and cheer as if that is the only game left to play, because in truth, if we (every last one of us) don’t, it just might be.
Roll Tide! Beat the Wildcats!
There is nothing better than spending a day on the Quad and topping it off with a game in Bryant-Denny Stadium, especially if it is a big game against one of Alabama’s chief rivals. To me it is one of the greatest things in life. I unabashedly love Alabama Football and attending games is, to me, the best way to experience all the good things it has to offer. The travel that away games offer and the opportunities to experience how football is “done” in other places always make road trips worthwhile.
It safe to say that I love going to football games. However, every once in a while the stars and planets align and the networks get out of their own way long enough to provide one on the biggest joys that I know: Spending All Day In Front Of A Television Watching College Football. And I mean all day.
Tomorrow just happens to be one of those days and I’m more than a little excited about it. At the worst there will be two hours in the morning, before Big and Rich offer up the awful refrains about them coming to our Sitay, that do not contain some football, but other than that there will be high quality football that involves massive rooting interest the rest of the day. Tomorrow it will be good to be alive (unless Alabama starts the day by throwing one away).
Let’s take a quick look:
9:00 am: College Gameday (brought to you by the home depot) (ESPN) -coming atcha live from the proud home of the booger eater nation. The over/under for signs about Alabama, despite the fact that they aren’t playing in the highlighted game, opens at 6. Just what will our orange and blue clad brethren do to make us cringe at the thought of us sharing a state with them- don’t worry they won’t disappoint.
11:30 am: Alabama at Arkansas (Jefferson Pilot) – despite the fact that we got Daved, after three straight weeks of night games, I’m pretty pumped about having this game kickoff first. First, it’s an excuse to drink before noon (as if I needed one). And B, I don’t have to worry about how the team is going to perform while watching other teams that our team will eventually play. This is so much more preferable than these other games being time killers while anticipating the main event. Plus, the Tide should roll. Let’s face it, no one outside of Fayettenam is picking the Hogs. Not that Alabama can sleepwalk through this one but they should win the game.
2:30: Florida at Tennessee (CBS) – for the first time this yea I get to listen to Uncle Verne bungle his way through names that my pre-schooler has no problem whatsoever with. Plus, the shine is off the Clawfense and the bloodlust in me that longs to see the injured Volunteers gutted and left on the field to die a slow death that ends in the firing of the most loathsome figure in the SEC allows me to do something I rarely do; cheer for the Gators. The Vawls aren’t going to be undefeated when they meet Alabama in about five weeks, so I’d rather they be defeated over and over and over again (wouldn’t you love to see a soulless Vol squad Croomed prior to playing Alabama?) Go Gators!
There is a good possibility that I’ll have to switch from beer at around this point. It’s still little warm for bourbon but I might just get crazy.
6:45 LSU at Auburn (ESPN) – after a few minutes to reload (or pee) the prime-time showdown of the Tigers, one Bayou and one Eagles, takes place on the Plains. Which reminds me, what kind of idiot named the area around Auburn the Plains? It was obviously someone who had never really seen plains. I mean, I’ve been across West Texas and Oklahoma. Those are plains – Auburn just has pastures. Let’s try this, The Lovliest Village in the Pastures. There, that’s more like it. I digress, I’ve already sent an email to my lone Cajun friend and instructed him to have his team beat the hell out of Auburn. I realize that if Alabama ends the streak this year – and I believe that they will – that it would be sweeter if Auburn were undefeated and it kept them from Atlanta, but let’s be honest here. Auburn is not going to go undefeated. Not with the offense playing the way they are playing. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not getting on the bandwagon here and saying that they are horrible because I don’t believe they are. It’s just that snitching-ass Tony Franklin’s offense has not taken hold. They have played consistently poorly over the first three games. And yes, State’s defense is good, but they aren’t LSU good. I’m not sold on LSU’s offense yet either but they have more pieces of the puzzle than Auburn does and their defense is equally or practically as good.
I believe that LSU will win, but an Auburn victory would not be surprising either. I just know that I’ll be pulling for LSU or at least against Auburn. I just can’t see it any other way. Alabama has to play both of them eventually and they both can’t win and in my den no one will see me bowing to the TV during Chinese Bandits, so I’m pulling for the Tigers that have no confusion that they are Tigers here.
7:00: Georgia at Arizona State (ABC) – this could be one of those games that surprises you but you have to think that the Dawgs will represent the conference well and bring home a W. At either rate I’ll watch this one on commercial breaks and that will be about all I’ll see of it – with the slug fest that AU-LSU will no doubt be this game will probably end prior to the one in Auburn despite the 15 minute head-start.
Sometime around 10:00 I’ll stagger to bed, or I might just pass out in my recliner. Either way, two things are certain about Saturday night. We will know much more about the conference and I will have spent one hell of a day doing something I love.
Picture Me Rollin 