SB Nation - Sam Bradford

SEC 2000-10: The Best Player -- Tim Tebow

Year2 — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 17:00:18 -0000

by Mark Humphrey - AP

Tim Tebow hugging then offensive coordinator Dan Mullen after the BCS Championship NCAA college football game against Oklahoma in Miami.

View full size photo »

Thanks to a lot of reasons—big time recruiters inhabiting the coaching ranks, the general population shift southward, a disproportionately large number of storied programs, etc.—the SEC has seen a lot of fantastic players at every position over the last decade. One stands out from all the rest though: Tim Tebow.

It's difficult to say whether then-UF co-defensive coordinator Greg Mattison was correct in saying during the recruiting process that Florida's program would be set back 10 years if it didn't sign Tebow. It certainly would have made things a lot different had he chosen to go to his runner up school, Alabama. Mike Shula might still be in Tuscaloosa, Nick Saban would be at some other place, and Florida would have gone into 2006 spring practice with Chris Leak as the only scholarship quarterback. It's one of the conference's greatest what ifs.

However, he did end up in Gainesville and things would not be the same. Florida definitely does not win the 2006 national championship without him as DeShawn Wynn and Kestahn Moore were not picking up all those crucial third downs that season. He became the first sophomore ever to win the Heisman Trophy in his 2007 campaign, paving the way for Sam Bradford and Mark Ingram to win it the following two years. He led the 2008 Florida squad to one of the best seasons ever in the SEC, as no team has won as many in-conference games by 28+ points (seven) or by 30+ points (six) as that one did. In 2009, it didn't end the way it was expected but he still helped get Florida to its second ever 12-0 start and pushed the school's record winning streak to 22 in a row.

That 2007 Heisman winning season was easily his best individually. He passed for 3,286 yards at a 66.9% completion rate, both career highs. He accounted for three or more touchdowns in 12 of the team's 13 games, including a ridiculous seven against South Carolina. He about single-handedly won that year's Ole Miss and Kentucky games. He became the first player ever to score 20 passing and 20 rushing touchdowns in a season. He had 51 touchdowns by the time Heisman ballots were in...

...and he tacked on four more in the Capital One Bowl to push his season total to 55. If Florida had a reasonable semblance of a defense, the Gators would have been in the thick of the national title race.

TUESDAY: What a Decade It's Been; Mike Price's Trip to Pensacola

WEDNESDAY: The Zook Experiment; Georgia Hires Mark Richt

THURSDAY: The Best Game; Auburn's Rise and Fall; Rivalry of the Decade

FRIDAY: The Worst Game; The Rise of the Nicktator; The Promise

TODAY: Exit Phil Fulmer

In 2008 his yardage and scoring totals came down a bit, but the team success was up. It took a couple of games to get going, but once all the pieces were in place around Tebow (and after a loss and The Promise refocused things), the scoring began to increase at a frightening pace. The regular season was capped off by Tebow's signature game, the SEC Championship Game against Alabama. He three three touchdown passes, all on third down and two of which were in the fourth quarter. It was a tour de force and the sort of game where you could tell that he would not let his team lose.

Tebow returned in 2009 to win another championship, but ghastly levels of attrition at wide receiver, a new offensive coordinator, problems with blitz protection, and an inexplicable defensive collapse at the worst possible time kept it from being the season to remember that everyone figured it would be. Urban Meyer put nearly all the load on him in the SEC title game rematch with Alabama, as 45 of the Gators' 49 plays were either passes or Tebow rushes. He came through to the tune of nearly seven yards per play on Bama's great defense and five trips inside the Tide 30 on nine possessions. Without any defensive support whatsoever, it was like 2007 all over again. There's only so much one man, even Tim Tebow, can do by himself.

Even so, he's the only quarterback to play in three SEC Championship Games and two national title games this decade. He brought back the jump pass, invented the one-man play action, and added "Tebow smash" to our lexicon.

He was 11-1 as a starter against Florida's big three rivals and 15-1 overall against them (not to mention 3-1 against LSU). He delivered Mark Richt and Steve Spurrier their worst losses as head coaches, Rich Brooks' second worst loss as a head coach, Les Miles' worst loss at LSU, and Bobby Bowden's worst loss to Florida since 1983. He's been the face of college football for two seasons. And as much as Tebow fatigue wore on people around the conference and nation, he still received the highest of compliments from about all rival fans: they have warned for almost two years now that they'd get Florida just as soon as Tebow leaves. Once he's gone, they say, watch out.

That is why Tim Tebow is the SEC player of the decade.

Poll: The Heisman Trophy and the Most Outstanding Player in College Football

dvieira — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 14:00:21 -0000

More photos » by John Raoux - AP

12 days ago: Heisman Trophy finalists from left, Stanford running back Toby Gerhart, Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, Alabama running back Mark Ingram, Texas quarterback Colt McCoy and Nebraska defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh gather for a photo at the Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards in Lake Buena Vista , Fla., Thursday, Dec. 10, 2009. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Browse more photos »

Going into the season, most pundits thought that Colt McCoy, Sam Bradford or Tim Tebow would run away with the Heisman Trophy this year. McCoy and Tebow will be making the trip to New York but they have a few unexpected names joining them. Many awards represent the "best" player in a particular category but the Heisman Trophy is different. College Football's most publicized award seeks to reward the "most outstanding player in collegiate football". It may not the be the best quarterback or the player who has the most potential at the next level. Given those conditions, we give you today's poll.

Poll

Who is the Most Outstanding Player in College Football for 2009?

Toby Gerhart

151 votes

Tim Tebow

4 votes

Mark Ingram

15 votes

Colt McCoy

10 votes

Ndamukong Suh

132 votes

Other (explain in comments)

11 votes

323 votes | Poll has closed

Friday Cartoons Talk Colt McCoy, Big 12 Championship And Heisman Moments

ccmachine — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 01:30:14 -0000

Brett Greenwood Cruelly Denied Heisman Invite Yet Again

Oops Pow Surprise — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 19:00:22 -0000

by Dave Weaver - AP

3 months ago: Arkansas State quarterback Corey Leonard, left, is sacked by Nebraska's Ndamukong Suh in the second half of their NCAA college football game in Lincoln, Neb., Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009. Nebraska beat Arkansas State 38-9.(AP Photo/Dave Weaver)

View full size photo »

Okay, we shouldn't be taking shots at Brett Greenwood; Brett The Net was hardly a weak link in the Iowa defense this season. Old jokes die hard, I supposed. Anyhoo.

Heisman candidates were announced late Monday. They went with five nominees this year, and we could really see all five make a run at the trophy.

They are, in alphabetical order, Toby Gerhart, Mark Ingram, Colt McCoy, Ndamukong Suh, and Tim Tebow.

While noting the unusual fact that a freaking defensive tackle made the final five (full disclosure: if I had a vote, I'd pick Suh without reservation), Barking Carnival made this astute observation:

Interesting that 3 out of the 4 offensive candidates play on teams that owe most of their success this year to their defense.

We would slightly amend the BC statement to say "owe most of their team success," but the point's well-made as it stands. And look, while Mark Ingram was utterly phenomenal this season regardless of his defense, and while Florida and Texas owe an awful lot of the credit for their seasons' success to leaders like McCoy and Tebow, the fact remains that this was really a lousy season for the expected powers-that-should-have-been in college football. Sam Bradford imperiled his pro career by returning to Oklahoma, Tim Tebow took a massive step back in draftability, and Colt McCoy wouldn't be a front-runner for the Heisman if he'd won it last season; his stats have regressed from that ridiculous 2008 campaign.

We expect McCoy to win, even as he's not our choice (again, it's Suh, who's like the buttchild of Lee Roy Selmon, Warren Sapp, and Captain America). College football is still a heavily PR/media narrative-dominated sport, and there are a massive number of voters (especially east of the Missouri) who are going to look at Gerhart and Suh and instinctively dismiss them for reasons that are entirely independent of their play on the field. That's just the way of things in a popularity contest among 55-year-old men in the newspaper sports bubble.

So here's my ballot and expected finish:

MEIN

Suh
Ingram
Gerhart

ZEITGEIST

McCoy
Ingram
Tebow

Shame, really. You put 2009 McCoy or Ingram on, say, Nebraska, and I'm not sure how much better they play. You put Suh on a top 5 team, and he sets a new record for most Heisman votes received by a defensive player. He was utterly unreal, and Nebraska's inability to close out close games (VT, ISU, Texas: 3 losses, 4 points) is a truly unfair reason to penalize Suh and deny him the trophy.

Ndamukong Suh at Colt McCoy - Game Thread

John Morgan — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 01:03:21 -0000

More photos » by Harry Cabluck - AP

"What a bunch of sucks."

Browse more photos »

When Colt McCoy doesn't step into his throws, he lacks the arm strength to pull off Matt Ryan heroics. Ohio State achieved gut pressure and McCoy threw a fade away pick to Anderson Russell to end the half. That turned third and two on the Buckeye 15 into Buckeye ball; and three easy into zero. McCoy couldn't dodge the interior pressure and stumbled back before hucking it errant.

He has a compact snapping motion that allows him to step into a collapsing pocket and read and deliver. It generates good zip underneath and on mid- and middle-deep routes. Don't buy halfsmart criticisms of his arm strength. McCoy twice zipped the famous fifteen yard out against Ohio and with ease. He has good touch and accuracy on his deep passes, but less accuracy underneath than his career 70.6 completion percentage would suggest. Throwing short, he snaps his arm over his ear, and when he misses, it's high and low. He got ragged efforting a throw deep and just as his elbow flew out, so did the pass right and out of bounds.

That happens. McCoy is not an epic deep passer, but it's within his arsenal. He is the center and source of the Longhorn offense. Texas grinds it out with a multiple back rushing attack. It attacks through McCoy.

Colt is not tall or prototypical, and his rushing will need to become mobility and smart-scrambling in the pros, but he looks legitimate to me. He makes quick reads, quick decisions, senses pressure and is brave under fire. Whether you want McCoy or Sam Bradford or Jimmy Clausen or Sean Canfield or Other or Matt Hasselbeck, the more talented quarterbacks in the 2010 draft, the more valuable Seattle's three top-fifty picks. I think McCoy is a great fit for what Greg Knapp wants to do. My jaded, wounded Seahawks heart is even a little abuzz about the kid.

See what you think.

He who has the most picks wins

VanRam — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 22:17:37 -0000

More photos » by Paul Sakuma - AP

More juniors entering the 2010 draft like Jake Locker could make it rich and deep with talent.

Browse more photos »

Here's a random draft thought for you as you wind down your afternoon. Besides, if you're watching the St. Louis Rams it's officially time to start thinking about the draft.

Anyway, last Friday ESPN's Mike Sando talked QBs in the 2010 draft class with Steve Muench of Scouts Inc. The big names were all there, but the most interesting tidbit was this:

They are talking about redoing the early picks and the pay grade. I think you will see a lot of kids come out. This will be a heavy junior class this year.

Not the first time we've heard this mentioned (they were talking specifically about Washington QB Jake Locker and whether or not he would enter the draft when this came up). If that is the case and juniors flood the draft ranks, it sets up a very special draft this year, one deep with talent.

The notion of the Rams trading down keeps coming up in the comments and elsewhere around the net, but reading this again made me think that trading down from a top three pick, already a difficult proposition, would be especially tough in a deep draft class.

Teams usually want to get to those picks because there's a special, one-of-a-kind talent available. It doesn't look that's the case this year. I think that might change, maybe, if Sam Bradford's shoulder looks good because if that issue is settled he has the potential to be a nice franchise cornerstone. But that's a big if.

A rich and meaty draft means that you could get just as good a player in picks 5-10 as the top three, and a better spot to trade to down...because a deep draft also means that he who has the most picks wins. If that's not incentive to win a couple more games, I don't know what is.

I'm sure we'll talk draft tonight on Turf Show Radio...

Mizzou Links, 12-1-09

Bill C. — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 11:43:54 -0000

I work for a school that has one of the best journalism schools in the country, and I understand that there's a time and place where anonymous, unnamed sources can be used correctly and effectively, but is there any way we can set up a system where you're not allowed to use unnamed sources until you've earned it? Or better yet, is there any way we can set up a black list where, if you use unnamed sources to report rumor as fact, and it turns out there are no facts involved whatsoever, you earn a permanent spot on the list, and your reporting is never taken seriously again? This crap is ruining both political and sports reporting, and it's got to stop if it's not going to be used correctly.

I am, of course, speaking of the Scout.com report of Bob Stoops agreeing to contract principles with Notre Dame despite boatloads of evidence to the contrary. Irisheyes' Jeff Baumhower reported this yesterday, and it spread like wildfire across the Internet yesterday even though there was no confirmation of any sort of agreement. When it turned out his reporting was false, he apparently quietly changed the article to a "list of possible candidates" sort. I realize there's a rush to break stories, and that being able to say you broke a story is apparently more important than actually reporting facts, but again, I want a blacklist.

(And while we're at it, can we stop the "gotcha" crap? When Stoops says "I'm coaching at OU next year, and I can't be in two places at once," an acceptable response isn't to ask "Why didn't you just say no?" and report that he stopped short of an outright denial. He didn't. That was a denial. And besides, coaches will ALWAYS deny deny deny, whether or not something is actually going on, and there is no news here.)

But I digress.

Mizzou Football Links

The Trib: Tigers roll into postseason
PowerMizzou: Coaches, Prospects Hit Recruiting Trails
The Trib: Best-laid plans, even if they are sketchy, don't go astray
KC Star (Campus Corner): Border War Wrap: Hey Biletnikoff Committee
Mizzourah: Post-game Thoughts: The End of the Mangino-Reesing Era
Atomic Teeth: Mizzou/KU Post Mortem: The Sweetest Victory of All
Dr. Saturday: Todd Reesing goes out the hard way with fading Jayhawks

Big 12 Links

Post-Dispatch: Mangino awaits Kansas' decision
KC Star: KU assistants talk to recruits but don't have much information for them
The Tribune: Last harumph for the big man?
Lawrence Journal-World: If this is the end, how will Mangino be remembered?
Lawrence Journal-World: Uncertainty surrounds Kansas football
KC Star (Upon Further Review): With Mangino ... look not at the nature of the complaints, but that they exist at all
Joe Posnanski: You say Mangini, I say Mangino

I find myself going back and forth on all these arguments, just as I go back and forth on Mark Mangino. On the one hand, I admire him a great deal. He came from nothing, worked his way up the hard way, reached the top of his profession against the craziest odds. And along the way he coached up a lot of players — players who still swear by him.

On the other hand, I don’t really know what happened behind closed doors. And there are a lot of people — not necessarily soft people either — who say Mangino bullied them. And I don’t like bullies.
...
On the other hand, is a coach yelling obscenities at a player really so bad? I mean we’re asking these players to put their bodies at risk for a scholarship and our entertainment. We know they might break bones and tear muscles — is a coach yelling really going to scar them? I was talking today to an old college football offensive lineman who said that his intense coach screamed the most vile things at him … and also taught him more about life than just about anyone.

On the other hand, as a college football coach you cannot yell at a kid that he’s in danger of becoming an alcoholic like his father.
The Ralphie Report: Dan Hawkins Interviewed by AM1510 - Klatt and Kreckman Show
Burnt Orange Nation: Anatomy of Momentum: Replying Against A&M
Dallas Morning News: If steady wins the race, look out for Brown and Texas
Daily Oklahoman: Cowboys appear bound for Cotton vs. Ole Miss
Omaha World-Herald (Lee Barfknecht): A promising season broken with injuries

I’m not one to look for excuses, but you can’t ignore the common denominator — injuries — that sullied a potentially super season.

...

Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford, the reigning Heisman winner, played in 1¾ games before a throwing shoulder separation ended his year.

...

At Oklahoma State, defending Big 12 rushing champion Kendall Hunter hurt his ankle in the second game and never came close to full speed again. He went from 1,555 yards and 16 touchdowns last season to 288 yards and one TD.

...

Baylor’s hopes for ending a 15-year bowl drought vanished when quarterback Robert Griffin, one of the nation’s most electrifying players, went down with a torn ACL in the third game.

...

Missouri started 4-0, then saw Nebraska defensive superman Ndamukong Suh whip quarterback Blaine Gabbert to the ground like a rag doll.

It’s no coincidence that while Gabbert played on the high-ankle sprain inflicted by Suh, the Tigers lost four of five games and looked bad doing it.

Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing, as suspected, played much of the Big 12 season injured (groin). His coach, Mark Mangino, left Reesing open for criticism by not acknowledging the injury until two days ago — a brutal injustice.

BASKETBALL

The Trib: MU adjusts to reality as the hunted
The Trib (Steve Walentik): Some things I think ... after getting back from SPI

Neither team played a packed-in defense, as I've seen some people say. Richmond, in particular, was guarding the Tigers out beyond the 3-point line and gave them very few open looks. The ones it got, MU simply failed to knocked down, shooting 2 of 11 from 3-point range, including 0-for-3 efforts from Zaire Taylor and Kim English. We don't know if the Tigers are closer to the shooting team they were in South Padre Island or the one that made 31 of 60 3-pointers in back-to-back wins against Texas-Pan American and Chattanooga.

But more glaring was how much Missouri struggled to get open looks. Senior guard J.T. Tiller and English finally started taking the ball to the basket and trying to get fouled, but the ball never moved as crisply as the Tigers almost always seemed to last season. I have to think the biggest reason is Missouri doesn't have forwards as skilled and talented as DeMarre Carroll and Leo Lyons. They both could generate their own shots and were feared enough to force double-teams. They also had exceptional hands, which helped make them good passers and, just as important, allowed them to save a lot of less than perfect throws.

Jersey Contest: Week 13 - Blogger Picks

ntrebon — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 21:02:45 -0000

If you haven't made your picks, you can do so here. The deadline is tonight at 11.59 PM PT.

Here are your weekly game picks from the ATQ bloggers. Hopefully, Jeremy will get a chance to add his before the deadline [whew - almost blew it, jc]. Mine are submitted without comment this week.

	Clemson at South Carolina	Utah at BYU	Tennessee at Kentucky	Oklahoma State at Oklahoma	Arkansas at LSU (-6)
Jared	Clemson	BYU	Kentucky	Oklahoma State	Arkansas
Nick	South Carolina	BYU	Tennessee	Oklahoma	Arkansas
Dave	Clemson	BYU	Kentucky	Oklahoma State	LSU
Dominic	Clemson	BYU	Tennessee	Oklahoma State	Arkansas
Jeremy	Clemson	BYU	Kentucky	Oklahoma State	LSU
Paul	South Carolina	BYU	Kentucky	Oklahoma	LSU

Clemson at South Carolina:

Jared: Tommy Bowden is no longer coaching Clemson, and they're headed to the ACC Championship game. Coincidence? I think not. Pick: Clemson

Dave: Clemson has won six in a row. South Carolina has lost three straight. This late in the season, I'm going to ride the momentum and go with the Tigers. Pick: Clemson

Dominic: These are two teams going in opposite directions. Clemson has won 6 in a row and South Carolina has lost 4 of it's last 5. Outside of the Florida game, the Gamecocks have been getting blown out. I'm going to take the Tigers in this rivalry game. Pick: Clemson

Paul: Although Clemson has won 10 of the last 12 against their in-state rival, a date with Georgia Tech in the ACC championship game on Dec. 5 will have the Tigers looking ahead. Plus, the Gamecocks are coming off a bye week and desperately need a win to halt a losing streak to end the year for the third straight season. Pick: South Carolina

Jeremy: We're used to seeing Clemson under perform, but this season it's South Carolina that's the train wreck. We don't hear a lot about running back C.J. Spiller here on the left coast. I expect he'll keep the chains moving for Clemson. Pick: Clemson

Utah at BYU:

Jared: BYU is at home, and at least according to Football Outsiders, are slightly better. Pick: BYU

Dave: Both of these teams have played two tough teams. Both of these teams have lost both of those games. These are two mediocre football teams. To me, the difference is that BYU has the best rush defense in the Pac-10, whereas Utah is a primarily rushing offense. BYU is much more explosive offensively, and they will get an early lead that Utah struggle to recover from. Pick: BYU

Dominic: Utah has been playing better but I think BYU has too much firepower for the Utes to keep this one close. Couple that with BYU playing at home and that should be just enough to give the Cougars the advantage. Pick: BYU

Paul: With TCU in the driver's seat of the Mountain West, it's the battle for second place between these two rivals. Both teams have put together solid seasons, with one in-conference loss to TCU each, and one out-of-conference loss. Frankly, it's a toss-up, but I like BYU at home. Pick: BYU

Jeremy: Gotta lean towards the home team here, as much as I'll be rooting for Utah. Pick: BYU

Tennessee at Kentucky:

Jared: After my article on home field advantage, I figure I'm gonna have to take at least one. Plus, gotta go with Rich Brooks. Pick: Kentucky

Dave: Oh, Snoconegod, what are you going to do when the Ducks roll into Rocky Top next season? Neither of these teams are very good, being middling teams in a down conference, so I'll go with Kentucky at home. This game isn't interesting enough to research more than that. Pick: Kentucky

Dominic: It pains me to go against Rich Brooks but I think Tennessee is a pretty good team, despite what their record indicates. If not for a couple of different bounces of the ball, people might be talking about the Volunteers as a contender in the SEC. Pick: Tennessee

Paul: Kentucky hasn't beaten Tennessee since 1984. In fact, not a single player on Kentucky's roster WAS ALIVE the last time the Wildcats beat the Vols. What does that mean? Absolutely nothing. But Tennessee hasn't won on the road this year, and it's not going to happen in Lexington. Pick: Kentucky

Jeremy: Mediocre SEC Team #1 versus Mediocre SEC Team #2. Please, Rich, get it done. Just for me. And Jared, Dave and Paul. Pick: Kentucky.

Oklahoma State at Oklahoma:

Jared: Ugh. OSU has a messed up QB situation, but Oklahoma is falling apart. Pick: Oklahoma State

Dave: Oklahoma has a ton more talent than the Pokes. That said, Oklahoma mailed it in this season long ago. Their performances against Texas Tech and Nebraska have been a total embarrassment. And you know I'm loving it. Meanwhile, Oklahoma State is playing for a possible BCS berth. One team wants to be here. One team wants to go home. Pick: Oklahoma State

Dominic: How does this sound? 6-6 Oklahoma Sooners. That's what going to happen after this weekend. The Cowboys have put the Dez Bryant fiasco behind them and are playing very good football. Without Bradford, the Sooners are a completely different team. Stone Cold Lock it! Pick: Oklahoma State

Paul: Oklahoma's 5-1 at home this year, and that one loss was to BYU when Sam Bradford went down in the first half and the Sooners' offense came to a screeching halt. They also haven't lost to their in-state rival since 2002. Pick: Oklahoma

Jeremy: Gasp! Has Oklahoma quit on Stoops? They've had tough breaks no doubt, but with the kind of talent they have at OU (OregonLive non-Duck fans, did you see what I did there? OU, yes THAT is the acronym used to identify the University of Oklahoma. They can't use UO, because that is ours. That, or they can't spell. Take your pick.) it shouldn't have gone THIS bad. I think Juju is going to pile it on the Sooners, just for fun. I can't believe that Dom used "Stone Cold Lock". Pick: Oklahoma State

Arkansas at LSU (-6):

Jared: I just don't think that LSU is really very good. Is Arkansas good? Who knows, but with Ryan Mallet at QB, they always have a shot to win. And with the spread, that may be enough. Pick: Arkansas

Dave: Two more mediocre teams from a down SEC. Give me the home team again, LSU with the points. Pick: LSU

Dominic: LSU doesn't score a lot of points and when they lose, they lose close. I think Arkansas has a number of ways to hurt the Tigers and the Razorbacks should cover this one. I just don't think LSU can keep the mental mistakes from affecting their production and who knows what kind of mental shape they are in after a close loss last week. Pick: Arkansas

Paul: If it were going to come down to the final seconds, there's no question in my mind I'd taking Arkansas, as clearly Les Miles is incapable of managing the clock and making sound in-game decisions under pressure. Fortunately for the Tiger faithful, it won't. Pick: LSU

Jeremy: Mediocre SEC Team #3 versus Mediocre SEC Team #4. Les Miles has serious egg on his face and needs his players to put that memory behind them. Arkansas is not terrible and Mallet has the talent to hang some points on the Bayou Bengals. In the end, I think LSU's defense will hang in there. Pick: LSU

Saturday Lessons: November 21

Year2 — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:47:48 -0000

It's hard to argue against a late-season pseudo bye week.

I am philosophically against teams playing patsies this late in the season, but it's understandable why teams do it. Florida and Alabama got functional equivalents of bye weeks against FIU and Chattanooga, getting to rest the starters for a good bit and getting a breather after a long season. They also got an extra week to prepare for their in-state rivals before taking off for Atlanta to face each other. If I was a coach, I'd love it. As a fan who was deprived of good football on TV, I didn't love it. But, fans don't run the joint; we only pay for it.

Ole Miss replaces LSU as the No. 3 in the conference.

The Rebels survived LSU's comeback attempt (or benefited from Tigers' coaches trying to lose at the end; take your pick) and now stand as the third best team in the league. Sure LSU beat Auburn, and the Tigers from the Plains in turn beat Ole Miss. However, LSU has lost to the three best teams on its schedule and escaped against Mississippi State and Georgia. That about evens out Ole Miss' close loss to South Carolina, and the Rebels have the head-to-head edge. It's messy, but I think the guys from Oxford come out ahead.

The SEC is definitely down.

Two teams are undefeated in conference play, and the worst Alabama can do is 7-1. That's dominance, and it's a nice sign for the top of the league. What's not a good sign is that we're upset wins by Miss State and Arkansas over Ole Miss and LSU away from having no one else finish better than 4-4. Yeah, we've got 10 teams that are bowl eligible, but we got it largely in the same way the ACC gets nine or so every year: weak out of conference opponents and chaos that spreads the wins around within the conference.

The dearth of good teams out there means that most other conferences are like that too. The two juggernauts at the top help keep the SEC in the discussion for toughest conference, but the best out of conference win anyone has is Alabama's win over Virginia Tech and Bama's already one of the juggernauts. A South Carolina win over Clemson would help, but that only asserts the SEC as being better than the ACC, and that's never been in doubt. A lot have been assuming the Pac-10 as the best, but the best wins anyone has besides USC's victory over Ohio State out of conference are wins over teams like Central Michigan, Utah, and Minnesota. Hardly inspiring stuff.

Oklahoma is definitely down too.

It's one thing for OU to lose games to good teams with Sam Bradford out. That much is forgivable. However, Bob Stoops almost always shuts down Texas Tech because he used to employ Mike Leach and knows how the Cap'n thinks. Well, it didn't quite work this year with the Red Raiders smoking the Sooners 41-13. Bradford doesn't play defense, and that's a mighty bad loss.

Georgia probably had its back breaker.

After mumblings about whether Willie Martinez saved his job in UGA's win over Auburn, I think we can safely put them to bed. Kentucky didn't rack up a ton of yards, but the Wildcats had three sustained touchdown drives and the Bulldog defense couldn't force field goals when put in bad spots. And that offense... I know it's tough without A.J. Green, but committing four turnovers when you lose by seven is inexcusable. Once you start losing to Kentucky when up 20-6 at the half, the status quo can't remain.

We've been here with UGA though. In 2006, the Bulldogs went 4-4 in conference including a loss to Kentucky. However, that was with a promising freshman quarterback and against a far better Wildcats team. Georgia's 2006 non-conference schedule also supplemented its I-AA team with UAB, a sucky Colorado team, and a Chan Gailey-led Georgia Tech squad. They got to 9-4 that year. Things change when you supplement the I-AA team with a top ten Georgia Tech team under Paul Johnson and a top 15 Oklahoma State team. They're staring down the barrel of 6-6 now.

LSU might not have, but it could be close.

I can't honestly say that I follow the internals of the LSU fanbase on places like TigerDroppings.com and all, but I don't think Les Miles is quite in the same predicament that Richt is in over at Georgia. Richt is losing games handily from Sunday through Friday right now before his staff has the chance to make bad in-game decisions; Miles' teams haven't been blown off the field quite in the same way. Sure he lost the game with poor clock management, but every coach does every so often and Miles' team is still doing no worse than the Outback Bowl this year.

I guess the difference is that Richt is falling down from a peak he set, whereas Miles took over at the peak from someone else. That's a substantive disparity in the two men's positions. Safe for a year or not, ol' Les certainly doesn't look worth the clause in his contract that makes him the highest paid guy in the SEC. Barring a stunning turnaround, the only way this ends nicely is if Miles goes off to Michigan next season if UM fires Rich Rodriguez.

Arkansas makes the scoreboards sing.

The Razorbacks went for 40+ points for the seventh time this season, going 6-1 in those games. They're streaking to the end of the season after putting MIssissippi State away for good in the second half of Saturday's game. It's also true that the best wins Arkansas possesses are over teams that currently reside in fifth place of the East and West divisions, respectively. Still, they look like they have a good chance at beating LSU next weekend, and that would put them at a solid 4-4 in the SEC.

We'll see on that, but eight wins and a Cotton Bowl bid (UF and Bama to BCS, Ole Miss to Cap One, tiebreaker over LSU puts them in Dallas) would be significant progress over last year. It also sets them up nicely for next year if Ryan Mallett stays (and he should; he still needs some refining) and someone figures out the defensive problems.

Tennessee at least didn't lose to Vanderbilt.

The Vols of mid-October would have put 50 on the Commodores I think, but these are now the Vols of mid-November and they're not quite as good. Such is the life of a team in Year One of a coaching regime, especially when your roster is wracked by injuries and disciplinary casualties. You have highs. You have lows. You better hope you don't lose to the Vandys of the world, which Tennessee did not.

It's back to bowl territory for them, but they need to beat Kentucky week to finish in the top three of the East. Tennessee needing to beat Kentucky to avoid the bottom half of the division? Welcome to life in a down year of the SEC.

Five Keys To Beating Texas Tech

ccmachine — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 05:32:40 -0000

More photos » by Sue Ogrocki - AP

Browse more photos »

Last season the OU/Texas Tech game was crucial towards determining the Big 12 conference champion. Had the Red Raiders been able to pull the upset in Norman then it would have been them putting a spanking on Missouri instead of Oklahoma. Instead the Sooners used the 65-21 thumping of Tech as a springboard into the conference championship and on to the BCS title game.

The game plan for beating Texas Tech hasn't changed from last season but the location of the game has and that may prove to be the biggest factor. The Sooners are averaging 49.8 points at Memorial Stadium but just 16.8 away from home. Even worse the Sooners are 1-4 this season away from Norman. Some of that has to do with opponents (OU has played 3 ranked opponents away from home) and yet even more with their ability to just function properly away from home. The Sooners proved last season that the game plan for beating Tech isn't complicated and hey, if Texas A&M can do it then the Sooners should be able to follow these five simple steps.

5. Force Turnovers - Last year Tech gave up two fumbles and had a pick which greatly hampered their offensive effort. This year Taylor Potts has thrown 10 interceptions and Steven Sheffield 4. Oklahoma has to get as many scoring opportunities as possible against the Red Raiders and conversely take as many as they possibly can away from them.

4. Pressure The Quarterback - Oklahoma registered four quarterback sacks in last years contest. This year OU's defensive front is better and Tech's offensive line is much worse. Texas Tech has given up 27 quarterback sacks so far this season so there's no reason to believe that Oklahoma can't get the pressure on. With Texas Tech's spread attack they are going to have receivers running everywhere making it extremely difficult to keep everyone accounted for all the time. The best thing to do is make the quarterback run for his life and put him on his back as much as possible. It's hard to find the open receiver when you're laid out on your back.

3. Avoid The Jitters - The Jekyll and Hyde routine is getting old and frankly its time that this team grow out of it. Tech is a hostile environment which means that the crowd will be rowdy, the team will be jacked and mistakes will only feed the frenzy. Know the snap count, beat your man and dominate.

2. Protect The Quarterback - Basically take everything from point two and apply it here with a focus on the Sooners. Sam Bradford is gone because they couldn't protect him and the depth chart at the quarterback position isn't that deep. Oklahoma has given up 9 sacks this season and it should go without saying that the offense runs a lot smoother when Landry is upright.

1. Run The Football - This offense isn't anywhere near as explosive as the one that ran Texas Tech out of the stadium last year so the last thing we want to see is a shootout. Oklahoma needs to control the tempo and the time of possession. They need to keep the Red Raiders offense off the field and to do that they must run the football.

It will be a bit of a challenge for the Sooners because running the ball hasn't really been Oklahoma's bread and butter this season. However, DeMarco Murray is averaging 4.5 yards per carry and Chris Brown 4.4 and they'll be going up against a Tech defense that ranks 8^th against the rush so were not necessarily talking about mission impossible here.