62 replies to this topic

[JMDurron]

A benefit of their schedule since the South Carolina game mid-September, a row of cupcakes and SEC-in-name-only (at least this year) teams. They certainly could beat Auburn and my Jackets, but I also wouldn't be surprised to see them lose one or both. Lots of talent, but I don't think they're very well coached.

Edit: the 5 SEC teams they've beat this year are a combined 5-24 in conference play

Georgia in a nutshell over the past decade, IMO. People are starting to notice a bit more with 1) time, and 2) Clemson not outdoing them on that front for a change. The fact that Georgia has feasted upon relatively weak competition is my main source of hope with regards to Auburn going into Athens and having a shot of pulling it out. Auburn has beaten every middling SEC team they have played so far this season (South Carolina, Florida), while being crushed by the really good teams that they have played, and I'm hoping that Georgia is a middling unit that is hiding it well right now.

[Chemistry Schmemistry]

LSU #1 (duh) in the BCS that came out tonight.

Alabama #3, behind Oklahoma St.

Oklahoma St. still has to play Oklahoma. They lose that (a distinct possibility), Alabama will almost certainly - given the strength of the SEC over the Pac 12 - hold onto a top-2 spot in the BCS standings (gotta beat Auburn, of course). That would leave a possibly unbeaten Stanford at #3.

The interesting thing is LSU. They are at Arkansas the last game of the year, and then likely play Georgia in the SEC championship game. Neither of those will be easy, but I expect them to do it.

In other words, I see an LSU-Alabama rematch, which will pretty much piss off the entire non-Alabama country, because an undefeated Stanford with the best player in college football will be frozen out of the championship game. (and never mind an unbeaten Boise State)

While it's entirely possible LSU and Alabama will be 1/2 in the polls at the end of November, the voters still have power over the computers and will make adjustments to avoid an in-conference rematch. They did so the last time 1/2 played during the regular season and it was a close game (and some were not shy about explaining why afterward).

There's no way in the world an undefeated Stanford or Oklahoma State doesn't jump to #2. And a one-loss Oklahoma or Oregon, both having impressive schedules down the stretch, would jump, too. Oregon being a tougher case because it already lost to LSU on a somewhat neutral field. If Penn State wins out (very unlikely), it's going to be in the picture, though getting dominated at home by Alabama would make that a difficult sell. The wild card is if there isn't another good one-loss major candidate and Boise State is sitting there at 12-0. I think we'll see voter suicides.

[JMDurron]

The fact that Georgia has feasted upon relatively weak competition is my main source of hope with regards to Auburn going into Athens and having a shot of pulling it out. Auburn has beaten every middling SEC team they have played so far this season (South Carolina, Florida), while being crushed by the really good teams that they have played, and I'm hoping that Georgia is a middling unit that is hiding it well right now.

Or not. Georgia looked pretty good out there, and for the 4th time this season, Auburn's defense effectively quit on the road after a few things went against them (awful spot after what should have been a 3-and-out to start the game), and they never recovered. Hopefully experience and maturity will help mitigate that in the future, because this team plays like a tough, well-coached team at home, and like a bunch of incompetents against tough teams on the road. It seems like a mental toughness issue, once something goes wrong, everything snowballs.

Jekyll and Hyde was what I expected from this year's Auburn team, but yesterday's game was still quite a disappointment. I had Georgia circled as the difference between 7 and 8 wins, and now it's looking like 7, due to a combination of Georgia's defense being better and Auburn's defense playing worse than I had expected.

[absintheofmalaise]

I was really surprised at how UGA just dominated Auburn in that game. I know UGA has gotten better, but I was not expecting anything close to what I saw in that game.

[gmogmo]

a one-loss Oklahoma or Oregon, both having impressive schedules down the stretch, would jump, too. Oregon being a tougher case because it already lost to LSU on a somewhat neutral field.

Assuming LSU wins out and OU beats OSU, I don't see how a one loss Oklahoma team jumps Bama to play for the national title....same conference or not, if you have to rank the 3 unbeaten teams losses, OU's is the worst (at home to 5-5 team), then Oregon (LSU pretty much crushed them, late TD made the game look closer than it was), then Bama (FG loss in OT at home in a game they missed 4 FG's). It's near impossible not to give the benefit of the doubt to the SEC either, say what you will, but the title of this thread says it all.

Edited by gmogmo, 13 November 2011 - 11:27 AM.

[JMDurron]

if you have to rank the 3 unbeaten teams losses

Um.

That said, never underestimate the ability of the voters to put Oklahoma in a title game in which they might have no business playing.

[Royal Reader]

Meh, Oklahoma deserves a shot at LSU over Bama, who already had one.

[RedOctober3829]

Legendary Georgia broadcaster Larry Munson has died. He was 89 years old.

AJC

[SouthernBoSox]

Arkansas TE Garrett Uekman passed away yesterday morning. Only 19 years old.

We still don't know what the causes are, but they are not thought to be drug related. I never met him but everything I'm told was he was a great kid who bled Razorback red. He worked as hard as someone could work to get a scholarship offer.

Obviously the team and coaches are devastated.

Edited by SouthernBoSox, 21 November 2011 - 01:15 PM.

[JMDurron]

Not to be crass and shift immediately to the on-field implications (he said while crassly shifting to on-field implications), but after a member of the Oklahoma State athletic department was killed last week, there might or might not have been some community impact felt on the field in the following Friday night game.

Arkansas has no margin for error against LSU, so if this really does shell shock the team, coaches, and community, as is certainly possible and understandable, then things may get very ugly this weekend.

[SouthernBoSox]

Yea, no doubt JMD. Or they could rally and play out of their minds.

It could go either way, but you would expect to see some type of affect. We will see Friday.

I do put alot of trust in CBP here though.

Austin Tate will wear #88 to honor Garrett.

[Infield Infidel]

This is an incredibly long article of Vanderbilt's week leading up to the Tennessee.

http://www.sbnation....-james-franklin

James Franklin is awesome

[JMDurron]

Auburn RB Michael Dyer is suspended for the Chick-Fil-A Bowl against Virginia, and possibly beyond.

Auburn Tigers running back Michael Dyer will miss the 2011 Chick-fil-A Bowl against the Virginia Cavaliers, AU confirmed over the weekend. He's suspended indefinitely for violating undisclosed team rules, which means he could be suspended for YEARS, but probably just this one game.

However, Auburn blog Track Em Tigers cites rumors that Dyer could be an ex-Plainsman in coming months.

Rumors abound as to what the "undisclosed team rules" are, with no confirmation as of yet. The popular theories are that Dyer shares Honey Badger's affinity for synthetic turf, and/or that he has been blowing off classes. Earlier violations of team rules might or might not have been related to his oddly low number of carries in some of Auburn's key games earlier in the season, but most everything beyond "he's suspended" is purely speculative at this point.