SEC Blogs.net

I'm back and ready to blog again. A lot has happened over the weekend in the SEC football world, and today I'll be taking a look at the biggest games of this weekend around the conference, and see what conclusions can and have been drawn.

South Carolina at Georgia

Well, the 'Ol Ball Coach predicted that his South Carolina team would contend for the SEC championship this year, and you have to believe that defeating Georgia between the hedges is a major step in that direction. Matthew Stafford went in one game from being lauded as the class quarterback of the SEC to a 19/44 showing with 1 INT. But Blake Mitchell ruled the day for the Gamecocks by completing 65% of his passes, most of them short and safe, and despite only 3 forays into the red zone, managed 16 points. Georgia's offense was even more futile, managing to achieve the red zone only twice. The combined third-down efficiency of both teams was only 10%.

Cocknfire at Garnet and Black Attack looks at 5 reasons explaining what this game means from a Gamecock perspective. Noteworthy is that the Gamecocks have converted every red zone opportunity this year, and grades out the effort perhaps lower than you might expect. He also asks for forbearance from Gamecock fans. Flounder at Leftover Hot Dog also grades the team in critical areas, and says it sends the league a message that the Gamecocks are ready to contend for the East. Hard to argue against that, at this point.

The Georgia blogs are, understandably, less pleased with the outcome. Tommy at Apropos de Nada says loosing to South Carolina is a "very ugly catharsis for Georgia fans." There was apparently a little home-team booing going on also, and Tommy is rightfully chagrined at those participating. Kyle King of Dawg Sports gives credit where credit is due, particularly to the South Carolina defensive front. Like the sportsman he is, Kyle refuses to dive into recriminations and waxes philosphical:

While there certainly is plenty of room for constructive criticism of Georgia's performance, this game is more about giving credit than assigning blame. We should congratulate South Carolina on its victory in a well-coached, well-played game of football that the Gamecocks deserved to win . . . then the Bulldogs should turn their attention to getting back on track against Western Carolina in preparation for their September 22 showdown with the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa.

David Ching at the Georgia Bulldog Blog examines Mark Richt's press conference Q&A. Paul Westerdawg at the Georgia Sports Blog looks at the team's shortcomings in detail, and can't bring himself to be angry with a defense that surrenders only 16 points. But the offense is another matter. Senator Blutarsky runs down a number of Georgia shortcomings, and predicts the outlook for the rest of the season bleak, at least as far as winning the East is concerned.

Doug at Hey Jenny Slater says that this game was a "Get-Laid Loss" for Georgia fans. Interesting take. Ludakit at The Dawg-gone Blog blames the offense, the defense, the fans and says Georgia played "without any heart or aggression."

Later, we'll be looking at Auburn, LSU and how the SEC fared overall.

Tags: Georgia, South Carolina, SEC // Comments Off

If some of you are thinking that maybe I have parted with this vale of tears (or possibly, just decided to give up blogging), don't worry. I have real life obligations that require me to be absent from the blog until Sunday night or Monday morning.

I apologize for the necessity, but that is just life for you.

Hope to see you all Sunday or Monday. There will be lots of things to talk about after today.

Good luck to all SEC teams today. Enjoy.

Tags: SEC // Comments Off

Today we'll be continuing to look back at some of last weeks games, then begin looking forward to Saturday.

Ryan at The Auburner looks back at the Kansas State game. He's a little disappointed in Brandon Cox and the O-line, but otherwise gives the team a thumbs up.

The Tide Druid takes a look ahead to the Vanderbilt game, and takes a detailed look at what the Vandy offense did against Richmond, hoping to derive some insight from the statistics. Todd at Roll 'Bama Roll also analyzes the 'Dores offense. Bobby O'Shea at Vanderbilt Sports Line has part of the Vandy side of the story, and Diezba at Star & Stripe has the rest.

Mlmintampa writing for Aligator Army, the new SB Nation Florida blog, takes a look at the Troy Trojans. Meanwhile, The Hog Blogger, who's team just defeated the Trojans, says that Marcus Harrison is back, while casting a baleful glance Houston Nutt's way.

Senator Blutarsky at Get The Picture finally gets around to watching Georgia-OK State, and concludes that the Dawgs were just plain workmanlike in their victory over the Cowboys. Meanwhile, Kyle King of Dawg Sports looks at several SEC upcoming games, and has some interesting observations. For the record, Kyle hates Auburn, and I think he manages to get that into every post he makes. But he still picks them to beat USF this Saturday.

Seth at the Hotty Toddy Blog has a Q& A with Every True Son, a fan blog of their next opponent, Missouri. He also wonders if Missouri is taking Ole Miss seriously.

Travis at Hail Dear 'Ole State wonders "After four years why the hell are we still running plays that don't work?" Good question, that. Kyle Veazey looks at Tulane running back Matt Forté.

Cocknfire at Garnet and Black Attack can't get enough of the Michigan debacle. But he still manages to note Darth Vizor has made a few changes in response to Saturday's close call. Flounder at Leftover Hot Dog blogs Blake.

Tags: Alabama, Auburn, Ole Miss, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Vanderbilt, SEC // Comments Off

Today, we'll be looking at last weeks games in the rear-view mirror, and taking a bit of a look ahead to next week's games.

First up, Vanderbilt. Earl Bennett set a Vanderbilt school record receiving this weekend against the Richmond Spiders -- or did he? Seems there is some confusion about that, and Mark at Star & Stripe tries to clear it up.

The University of Kentucky Wildcats, another traditional SEC football cellar-dweller, had a big win over FCS Eastern Kentucky University. Despite the weak opponent, Messenger at Wildcats Thunder says so far, so good, and sees improvement in both the UK running game and its defense. The Wildcat Blog compares his predictions on the game outcome to reality, and nominates some players for special recognition. Rob Gidel at Kentucky Sports Radio agrees with TWCB that the defense was much improved, and explains why the offensive line has changed very much for the better.

The South Carolina Gamecocks didn't exactly impress anyone with their efforts this weekend, but Scott Hood at Gamecock Central says it just don't mean a thing if you ain't got that swing for an opener. Meanwhile, cocknfire at Garnet and Black Attack has the results of the SEC Power Poll. There are no real surprises, but I feel like Florida lost some ground to Georgia overall. Tennessee took a big hit, but not as big as most might think.

Will Collier at From the Bleachers was seriously impressed with Kansas State, and not so much with Auburn's offense. Track Em Tigers gives us an Auburn injury report, and also tells us that Auburn's win over K-State paid off on the recruiting trail.

LSUPhootball gives us a run down of the good, the bad, and the ugly of LSU's game against Mississippi State, and he doesn't mention Henig's day in "the ugly", although it surely was the uglies thing most of us have seen in a while. Finally, Richard Pittman at Geaux Tuscaloosa looks at next week's games. He says that Alabama at Vanderbilt, to him, is "the most anticipated game of the early schedule." How long has it been since "anticipated" and "Vanderbilt" have been used in the football context?

Tags: Auburn, LSU, South Carolina, Vanderbilt, Kentucky, SEC // Comments Off

As you might expect, after Cal handed Tennessee a defeat in Berkley, the national media is laughing up their sleeves at Les Miles' earlier comments about the relative strength of the Pac 10 and SEC. That should surprise no one, least of all Les Miles. But let's face it, SEC fans -- the SEC took this one in the shorts, and the Left Coast is gloating like crazy.

Scott Olster of the San Francisco Chronicle says "Soft is the new hard." Phallic, that, but even he admits that most of the "hardness" was on the Tennessee side:

Although I have to say that the hardest hit of the game was Tennessee defensive end Antonio Reynolds drilling tailback Jahvid Best on a 2-yard run. Reynolds spun the propeller on Best's freshman beanie.

But it wasn't toughness that won the game for Cal, it was superior team speed, which seems extremely incongruous when talking about Tennessee. The Vols have historically been known as one of the fastest teams in the fastest league on the planet. But that perception may be just that, as we saw on Saturday.

The Washington Post also gets into the act, pointing out not only Tennessee's loss to Cal, but Auburn's game with Kansas State:

In its 45-31 loss to California in Berkeley, Tennessee gave up more points than in any game since 1995. Across the country, Auburn needed two touchdowns in the final two minutes to seal a come-from-behind, 23-13, victory against Kansas State, a middle-of-the-pack Big 12 team.

Fair enough, I suppose, but a win is a win. It wasn't as if Cal dominated Tennessee -- they didn't. Compared to last year's thumping in Knoxville, Cal basically escaped with a victory. Bragging about it may be understandable, but Pac 10 fans should realize that UT hasn't been a top 3 team in the SEC for a while now, and has yet to show they are back to that level.

Jon Wilner at the San Francisco Chronicle says this win was bigger for Pac 10 commissioner Tom Hansen than for Cal's coach Jeff Tedford:

This was a big win for the Bears, don’t get me wrong. Beating Tennessee convincingly (45-31) opened up a slew of postseason doors for the Bears. It makes every game — not just league games — meaningful. And it gives the players a huge confidence injection.

But it was an even bigger win for Hansen and the Pac-10 because it will bolster the league’s reputation, silence its critics (for the time being) and substantiate the Pac-10’s marquee program, USC.

For the time being, there can be no argument that the Pac 10 has delivered a little comeuppance to the SEC and, in particular, to Les Miles. But even if Cal turns out to be a real challenger to USC, does that mean their league is every bit as good, top to bottom, as the SEC? I don't think so, but then again, I am an avowed SEC homer, so we'll have to leave that conclusion for later in the season. At this point, Cal has put the Pac 10 back in the conversation, at least.

Finally, and perhaps most ignominiously, we get to have a lecture by Dennis Dodd of CBS in a piece entitled "Cal squashes SEC arrogance with mauling of Tennessee". While I do take issue with Dodd's characterization of the game as a "mauling," one cannot take issue with this:

Tennessee still has back breakers, but Cal has a few too many ankle breakers. While the Vols can still bust heads, the Bears were busting long gains.

That's quite right, I'm afraid. Cal's speed killed UT's chances, and speed is what the SEC is supposed to be famous for. Cal did nothing if not show the country that speed isn't just found in the South.

So, now for some SEC blogger reax. Big Orange Michael takes his frustrations out on Brent Musburger, and his repeated references to Les Miles. Jon at Fulmer's Belly bemoans the Vol loss, but sees it as a breakdown in defense due to overpursuit by the linebackers, poor special teams play and a few other things.

Loser with Socks has two posts worth reading, the most recent one being by AngreEer bemoaning the state of Pac 10 officiating, and it comes with video. Jai Eugene theorizes about a national media conspiracy to discredit the Vols, with his tongue so far in his cheek it may require surgery to remove it.

Of course, Sunday Morning Quarterback has comments on the Tennessee/Cal game. He asks some questions which will have to be answered soon by the Volunteers if they are to recover from this loss:

- How will the very young secondary hold up against a legitimate passing attack? Nate Longshore completed 19 of 28 for 241 yards and four touchdowns, zero interceptions, averaging a little over twelve and a half yards per completion.

- How will the running game produce after two years of stagnation? On this front, some success: Montario Hardesty found the going tough in the first half, but long lost Arian Foster, last year's would-be star turned also-ran, busted off 89 yards on just 13 carries, including and impressive, perfectly-blocked 42-yarder inside the Cal five moments after the Bears went up 17 to start the third quarter. Foster looked fast and strong and like the potential star he was set up to be last year. The offensive line opened holes for him and only allowed just the one sack, killer that it was.

- Was the dramatic regression in pass rush and run-stopping ability in last year's front seven a blip or a new trend? Tennessee sacks: zero. Cal rushing yards: 230. Cal yards per carry: 6.2. Justin Forsett (156 yards) and Jahvid Best (11.5 yards per on four carries) made the primetime showcase their own coming out party.

So the Vols have questions, issues, and problems, and a week before a solid Southern Miss team comes to town.

Tags: Tennessee, SEC // Comments Off

It is finally the first Saturday of football season, and all eyes are on college football. Today, we'll be looking for the best of the game day posts.

• Memphis Tider is excited. He mentioned there is already talk of some warmth on Phillip Fulmer's backside.
  
  
• Todd at Roll 'Bama Roll gives us his picks, and who he is watching. Doesn't think Florida looks especially impressive, and neither do I, particularly on defense where they are rebuilding.
  
  
• Kyle King at Dawg Sports has a Game Day checklist.
  
  
• Parrish Alford has lots and lots of Ole Miss game day updates at his blog.
  
  
• Flounder at Leftover Hot Dog has a game day post.
  
  
• Rocky Top Talk has lots of game day stuff, and a really, really early open thread.
  
  
• Save the Shield has a Vandy Game Day post, full of predictions, cupcakery ... lots of fun.
  

Tags: Alabama, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina, Vanderbilt, SEC // Comments Off

Well, the first game of the season has come and gone in the SEC.

First stop -- Mississippi State:

• "On the bloody morning after ..."
  
  
• " ... One tin soldier rides away."
  
  
• ESPNU can't find Starkville with both hands.
  
  
• Derek Pegues just had a case of the cramps. Good news for MSU fans.
  
  
• MSdawg has questions, questions, questions ...
  

From LSU:

• "A win is a win, but as I commented in the game thread, Henig was our MVP." I guess every silver lining must have a cloud somewhere. It sucks to be the MVP of the opposition, though.
  
  
• Richard Pittman at Geaux Tuscaloosa thinks the LSU offense needs some serious work.
  
  
• If LSU returned interceptions for 122 yards and MSU passed for 136 yards, does that mean their net yardage is 14 yards passing? (Just kidding, guys).

From others who had a comment:

• Mergz at Saurian Sagacity has comments about MSU, LSU and a note to Louisville.
  
  
• Scott at The Hog Source also has thoughts.
  
  
• Patrick Donahue at Loser with Socks has doubts about LSU, doubts about MSU, and ... well, just doubts.
  
  
• MaconDawg at Dawgsports: "Michael Henig staying upright long enough to throw 6 interceptions may actually be progress over last season." Well, progress of a sort, I suppose. You also have to love his take on the Louisville game: "So that's what bringing a knife to a gunfight looks like ..." Yeah, I reckon that's right.
  
  
• Senator Blutarsky at Get The Picture has a more sober review.
  
  
• The Tide Druid grades both teams. Alchemist at Eight in the Box adds his perceptions.

UPDATE: Gregg Ellis says that Croom has reinstated Josh Riddell, formerly suspended QB today. I'll bet after last night's 6 interception performance by Henig, this will cause a few eyebrows to elevate. But I'm sure that didn't have anything to do with it ... ;-)

Tags: Alabama, Arkansas, LSU, Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, SEC // Comments Off

Today is game day for Mississippi State and LSU, and the kickoff for the 2007 football season. Today, we'll be looking at the teams who have the biggest games this week: MSU, Auburn, Tennessee, Georgia, and LSU.

Kyle Veazey is excited about the new Wendy's in Starkville, but less than thrilled about the Dawgs vs. the Tigers. Jeremy at Mississippi State Sports Blog is more more upbeat, and has links to MSU's game notes for both State and LSU. Travis at Hail Dear 'Ole State scoffs at MSU coach Sylvester Croom's rationalization for dressing out the Dawgs in white uniforms.

On the LSU side, Richard Pittman at Geaux Tuscaloosa describes his game routine. Tigersmack does the Garfield/Les Miles cartoon thing.

Will Collier at From The Bleachers looks forward at Auburn's team, the schedule, and Kansas State. Auburn91 at Track Em Tigers takes a long look at K-State from soup to nuts, and pronounces Saturday's game as likely to be a "low-scoring slugfest."

Jon at Fulmer's Belly is concerned about Erik Ainge's broken pinkie finger. He notes the Florida game falls square in the middle of Ainge's recovery schedule. I think he'd better worry about Cal. Jai Eugene at Loser with Socks does enough tongue-in-cheek worrying for both of them, though. Meanwhile, Joel at Rocky Top Talk has a more serious look at the game, with some help from the Cal blog, The Band is Out on the Field. And Doug Coffin at The Power T measures the heat of Phil Fulmer's seat, and does it in style.

Finally, we look at what will be happening between the hedges in Athens on Saturday. Macondawg at Dawg Sports suggests a special cocktail to commemorate the occasion. Ludakit at the Dawg-gone Blog is more circumspect, and takes a look at the things the Dawgs need to do to win. David Ching at the Georgia Bulldog Blog examines a spreadsheet sent to him by an OSU fan, and analyzes the analysis.

Good luck to all the SEC schools in their first test. May you be injury free and play your best.

Tags: Auburn, LSU, Tennessee, Georgia, SEC // Comments Off

What a blogswarm over the Jerrell Powe situation. It seems that yesterday the NCAA ruled that Powe was ineligible to play football until 2008, but in spite of that fact, he could still attend school at Ole Miss, keep his athletic scholarship and attend classes.

Erik at Deepsouthsports calls the NCAA ruling "bat-shit crazy", and at first glance, I am inclined to agree with him. Either Powe is eligible for an athletic grant-in-aid, or he isn't, and if he is eligible for an athletic scholarship, why in the name of all that is holy can he not play football?

DSS quotes Powe's lawyer as claiming that the NCAA just established a new category of qualifier. He calls it the Jerrell Powe category, but I call it some kind of crazy Solomonic solution that calls the integrity of the NCAA itself into serious question. How can a person qualify for a scholarship, yet be forbidden to play? The very concept itself is illogical, unreasonable, and, well, bat-shit crazy.

Of course, now Powe's lawyers are talking about filing for relief under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and given that the NCAA has contradicted nearly every rule it has and quite possibly the very justification for its existence, it's hard to imagine that the Powe won't prevail either on appeal or in a lawsuit.

Anyway, there is lots of other blog reaction, both positive and negative. Seth at the Hotty Toddy Blog has a quizzical reaction, and defers to Sunday Morning Quarterback, who had this to say:

Such pure humanitarianism is only possible motivating factor for the university, which has obviously admitted a student whose qualifications - the ones entirely invalidated by the NCAA - are woefully inadequate; according to the Association, Powe's coursework verges on non-existent, but he apparently will remain at Ole Miss until he finds a way onto the field, come hell or high water, or, I dunno, bad knees. This is the kind of academic environment Steve Spurrier can appreciate.

SMQ is right -- what motivation can Ole Miss possibly have to give Powe a scholarship of any kind? Based on this NCAA ruling, the very word "scholarship" is an oxymoron if Powe's scholastic work was worthless. To paraphrase Mr. Spock from Star Trek The Original Series, "There is no fact, no extrapolation of fact, or theory ..." which makes sense out of this mess. It is lacking any semblance of reason.

Powe would best be served if he would just give up and spend two years in JUCO, but I suspect that isn't what will happen. By not following anything like their own rules, the NCAA has opened themselves up to a "whadthefxup?" by any number of judges under any number of grounds.

True to form, Loser With Socks' Jai Eugene skewers Powe, Ole Miss, Deepsouthsports, and nearly everybody but the NCAA. Well, I got to give it to him, he makes some resounding arguments against Powe's matriculation to Ole Miss. Looks like to me, though, that even with his 15(!) on the ACT (don't start with the 'cultural bias' crap, I don't want to hear it), he is smarter than the buffoons at the NCAA who handed down this gem of a ruling. Bat-shit crazy, indeed.

Tags: Ole Miss, SEC // Comments Off

OK, today we are still in the game week mode as we move quickly toward the first football of the SEC 2007 season. As you know, we don't have a lot of big games coming up this week, but there are at least 3 or 4 games that have a little bit of mystery to them.

But we'll get to that. First, let's have a look at the injury and suspension reports from blogs around the league:

Alabama:

1. WR Keith Brown and MLB Prince Hall suspended 1 game (Via BamaPride)
   
2. Brian Motley, broken ankle (Via The Capstone Report and Eight in the Box)
   

Arkansas:

1. DE Marcus Harrison arrested, suspended indefinitely (Via the Hawg Blawg)

Georgia:

1. Safety Antavious Coates, career ended, torn ACL (4th time) (Via Georgia Bulldog Blog)
   

Auburn:

1. Tailback Brad Lester, day to day due to academics (Via Track Em Tigers)

South Carolina:

1. Emanuel Cook, suspended over the weekend on a weapons charge, has been reinstated at USC. But the bad news for Cook doesn't end there. Check out the details at Leftover Hot Dog.

For other injury/suspension news, check here.

Tags: Alabama, Auburn, Arkansas, Georgia, SEC // Comments Off