SB Nation - Oklahoma St. Cowboys

Independence Bowl Preview: How the Georgia Bulldogs and the Texas A&M Aggies Each Fared Against the Arkansas Razorbacks

T Kyle King — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 03:22:59 -0000

In the days leading up to the anticlimactic (yet deeply satisfying) SEC championship game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Florida Gators, Team Speed Kills did an outstanding job of comparing the two combatants by calling attention to the seven opponents common to them both. On a much less impressive level, and to a much more limited extent, I would like to subject the Independence Bowl contestants, the Georgia Bulldogs and the Texas A&M Aggies, to a similar analysis.

Georgia’s and Texas A&M’s schedules featured only a pair of shared teams, the first of which we will look at this evening. Here is how the Bulldogs and the Aggies stacked up against the Arkansas Razorbacks:

Category	Georgia	Texas A&M
Game Number	3	4
Score	W 52-41	L 47-19
Passing Yards	375	345
Rushing Yards	155	113
Total Yards	530	458
Passing Yds. All.	408	271
Rushing Yds. All.	77	163
Total Defense	485	434
Third Downs	38.5% (5 of 13)	38.9% (7 of 18)
Third Down Defense	21.4% (3 of 14)	41.7% (5 of 12)
Turnover Margin	-2	+1

I think I’ll start by going out on a limb here and declaring that the gridiron battle in Shreveport will not be a defensive struggle. Both the Bulldogs and the Aggies gave up a boatload of yards and more than 40 points to a Razorback offense currently ranked first in the SEC in scoring offense (37.3 points per game) and second in the league in total offense (439.3 yards per game).

Measured against Arkansas’s season-long figures, Georgia had more or less an average day against the Razorbacks in points permitted and Texas A&M had almost exactly an average day against the Hogs in yards allowed, but those numbers were padded by Arkansas’s dates with Division I-AA Missouri State, Eastern Michigan, and Troy. Those three opponents between them conceded 167 of the 448 points the Razorbacks have tallied this season. Against BCS conference opponents other than Georgia and Texas A&M, Arkansas averaged 27.6 points per outing, and only one team from an automatically qualifying league other than the Bulldogs and the Aggies gave up more than 20 points to the Hogs prior to November 7. Arkansas has a good offense, but that reality should not be allowed to mask the fact that neither Georgia nor Texas A&M sports a good defense. (That may be why Georgia’s entire defensive staff was fired and Texas A&M fans are debating whether to replace the Aggies’ defensive coordinator.)

That said, the two Independence Bowl invitees exhibited different strengths (or, perhaps more accurately, different weaknesses) against the Razorbacks. The Aggies surrendered more than twice as many rushing yards to the Hogs as the ‘Dawgs allowed, yet the Red and Black gave up more than a football field’s worth of yardage more than Texas A&M did through the air. To some extent, this is due to the different types of games the two teams played against Arkansas---Georgia engaged in a shootout with the Hogs while the Aggies had to play catch-up after trailing by 20 points at the break---but those statistics are not misleading: Ryan Mallett dropped back to pass five times on the Razorbacks’ first three drives against Texas A&M, and the results were three incompletions and two sacks.

On the opposite side of the ball, both Independence Bowl signal callers aired it out against Arkansas. The Aggies’ Jerrod Johnson connected with eight different receivers while going 30 of 58 for 345 yards and two touchdowns while the much more efficient Joe Cox (how often do you hear that phrase?) completed 18 of his 26 attempts for 375 yards and five TDs.

Georgia and Texas A&M succeeded in converting third downs at virtually identical rates against an Arkansas outfit ranked in the middle of the SEC in third-down conversions allowed (36.0%), but the Bulldogs’ third-down defense was markedly better against a Razorback unit that moves the chains 36.2 per cent of the time in such situations.

The red flags for the Red and Black are to be found on the lines labeled "passing yards allowed" and "total defense," although those numbers deserve a closer look. After taking a ten-point first-quarter lead, the Aggies gave up eight scores on a dozen Arkansas possessions, with six of those marches ending in touchdowns. The Hogs’ first three series of the contest ended in punts, after which the SEC West squad went on drives of 77, 38, 26, 73, 70, 63, and 73 yards, with an 85-yard Jerry Franklin fumble return for a touchdown thrown in for good measure. Only a second-quarter interception, a three-and-out to start the second half, a fourth-quarter fumble, and a kneeldown in the closing seconds prevented Arkansas from putting up points each time the Hogs touched the ball after their initial jitters.

The Bulldogs’ game against the Razorbacks in Fayetteville followed a very different pattern from that seen in the Aggies’ neutral site outing against Arkansas at Arlington seven days later. Instead of leaping out to an early lead, the ‘Dawgs were down 21-10 at the end of the opening period. Georgia mounted nine scoring drives, six of which covered at least 57 yards, and what happened to Mallett late in the game was even more bewildering.

The Razorback quarterback was on fire to start the second half against the Red and Black. Mallett completed eight of his first nine attempts and three of those passes went for 30 yards or more. Inside the five-minute mark in the third quarter, though, he was shut down, connecting on three of his last fourteen aerials for 36 yards. During that span, Mallett took a sack but did not guide a touchdown drive.

If the Bulldogs’ and the Aggies’ respective performances against the Hogs are any indication, there ought to be yards gained and points galore in Shreveport. Texas A&M probably is better against the pass and Georgia probably is better against the run, but neither plays much defense. The Big 12 South club has a greater propensity for takeaways yet the SEC East squad has a superior penchant for comebacks.

Of course, we are talking about a pretty small data set here, so we are not yet in a position to draw any ironclad conclusions. For that, we will need to turn to the other common opponent both Independence Bowl contestants share, the Oklahoma St. Cowboys.

Go ‘Dawgs!

Rebel Roundup - 12/21/05

The Ghost of Jay Cutler — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 14:36:05 -0000

More photos » by Rogelio V. Solis - AP

Andy "Hitman" Kennedy has our roundball Rebels rolling. Up next, a very talented West Virginia squad.

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SNOWPOCALYPSE over, bloggeurs alive
Where have I been? Buried under two feet of snow. And by "buried" I mean sledding, building snowmen, having snowball fights, and getting drunk at Town Hall, the only bar within a mile of me which remained open through DC's heaviest December snowstorm in a century. What? Are the former activities such which a guy in his mid-20's should refrain from? Hell no they aren't! You're just jealous so get over it.

Juco? He's probably doing boring married guy stuff.

Ivory? Probably in the woods hidden far away from internet access.

One Man to Beat? With Juco.

WW? Drunk and pissed off at somebody.

Regardless, I'm back. I'll blog all day for the most part because, being as how half of my coworkers still have no means with which to commute, I don't have to go into work today. So, for me, I've got Red Cup Rebellion, AVATAR, and XBox Live to occupy my time.

Red-hot Rebels have fun in laugher | clarionledger.com | The Clarion-Ledger
Brandt say

It was an afternoon of very little drama at Tad Smith Coliseum, with the biggest cheer coming when walk-on Logan Nutt, the nephew of football coach Houston Nutt, splashed home a 3-pointer.

I think that has less to do with Houston Nutt than it does with our fans loving white, private-schooled kids playing guard. Yeah, I said it. No, I ain't takin' it back. You know it's true. When the announcers say "Terrico White (a legitimate NBA prospect who, on any given night, can drop a points orgy on your bitch basketball team) for threeeeeeeeee," the old dudes in sweater vests along the court all sorta look at each other and uneasily clap with a "oh yes, good show young Terrico, yes yes." When Logan Nutt or Will Bogan (the latter actually being a scholarship carrying guard, mind you) and their melanin deficiencies simply trot out onto the court, the same guys are hootin' and hollerin'.

I'll give them a break; perhaps it's the symbolism. If AK is putting those guys in, the game is obviously well-in hand. I'll pull my barbs back, sirs in sweater vests. For now.

Ole Miss Routs Centenary | Sports Network dot com
The Rebels defeated an inferior opponent by 44 points. The question is, if the Rebels defeat Centenary by 44 points, yet nobody is around to see it, does it have an impact on our RPI?

Four questions about OSU football | NewsOK dot com
Pertinent questions such as "Is Donald Booker going to play in the Cotton Bowl?" and "what can the Pokes offense expect from the Ole Miss defense?" are answered here. The only problem is that they apparently gotten one of their own to answer these questions; why no Brandt, Yancy, or REBMIK?

Ole Miss Favored Over OSU In Cotton Bowl | USA Players dot com
We're favored in the eyes of the odds-makers. The gentlemen at the Cup, whose aversions towards gambling are footed more in the "we're bad at it and routinely lose money" camp than the "you're going to Hell, gambler" camp, would recommend leaving the sports betting out of this year's Cotton Bowl. Two things, "We are Ole Miss" and I would hate for Jevan Snead to actually cause you to lose any more money than you already have. Having that been said, we're gonna win. Screw 'em.

NCAA DIV I POLL - Current - Collegiate Baseball Newspaper
Mike Bianco's Rebels come in at number 22 in this far-too-early NCAA baseball poll. Texas is number one, LSU two, Florida nine, Arkansas 23, South Carolina 28, Georgia 31 (yeah, the poll goes to 40), and Vandy 32 while State, Alabama, Auburn, Kentucky, and Tennessee are all receiving votes. Yes, the ENTIRE SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE is receiving votes in this poll.

Miss. colleges look to nonresident students | The Clarion-Ledger
Much to the chagrin of we "native" Mississippians, this is happening and it doesn't look like it's going to stop anytime soon (One Man To Beat, we love you, chill out with your weak Georgian sensibilities). From the article:

If I had a restaurant with empty tables, I wouldn't be turning people away," Mississippi University for Women President Claudia Limbert said. "An empty seat brings in zero dollars.

You know what else brings in zero dollars, MUW President Claudia Limbert? Your university, that's what. Let's be frank, while the state's generously low tuition standards and weakening economy have a lot to do with our colleges and universities being strapped for cash, most of our issues center on the fact that a small state with a poor per capita GDP is propping up eight universities and a couple dozen community colleges or so. Keep Ole Miss, State, Southern Miss, Jackson State, and a few of the community colleges. Problem solved, right? /soapbox /Iswearwe'llgetbacktosports

Nintendo Wii Fit doesn’t help families get fit | Health News
Ole Miss research, bitches: where medical weed gets refined and the Wii gets debunked. Suck it, Federal Government/Nintendo.

VICTORY for the Cowboys

The Road — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 01:50:38 -0000

More photos » by Matt York - AP

2 days ago: Wyoming wide receiver Greg Bolling (84) celebrates his touchdown reception against Fresno State during the first half of the New Mexico Bowl NCAA college football game Saturday, Dec. 19, 2009, in Albuquerque, N.M. (AP Photo/Matt York)

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Full recap later tonight. Cowboys pull out a thriller in Albuquerque with a 35-28 2OT victory over Fresno State.

We Apologize for Deceiving you, Sports Illustrated.

The Ghost of Jay Cutler — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 19:13:18 -0000

More photos » by Rogelio V. Solis - AP

Crooks, swindlers, brapscallions, hoodwinkers, bamboozlers.

Browse more photos »

Stewart Mandel, a mainstream media stalwart who I generally respect, recently released his annual rankings of this season's 34 bowl games(wow, 34?) in terms of intrigue and watchability. Actually, to cite Mandel verbatim, the rankings are based...

only marginally on the teams' actual merits. They also take into consideration star quality, fan appeal, evenness of matchup, aesthetic appeal of the two teams' colors and whether or not any NCIS reruns will be airing at the same time.

So those criteria, per Stewart Mandel's own observations and personal inclinations, leave the Cotton Bowl as the 14th most interesting bowl. Sayeth the Mandel,

14) Cotton (Jan. 1): Oklahoma State (9-3) vs. Ole Miss (8-4). Would it be too harsh to dub this the Preseason Fraud Bowl? Rebels quarterback Jevan Snead looks to recapture the magic of his breakout performance here a year ago.

Too harsh, you ask? Not at all. Rife with double standard and blame deflection, though? Yep.

A fraud, when speaking of a person, can either be "a person who is not what he or she pretends to be," "one that is not what it seems or is represented to be," or "one who defrauds," per Merriam-Webster. It can also be the "act of deceiving or misrepresenting."

So, Stewart, what exactly did you mean when you thought it clever to call the Oklahoma State versus Ole Miss matchup the "Preseason Fraud Bowl?" Were you suggesting that their Cowboys and our Rebels were not what we "pretend(ed) to be?" I suppose that's correct to an extent. Plenty of Rebel fans, and I'm assuming Cowboy fans as well, had ideas of conference championship game appearances and BCS bowl berths dancing about their heads during the preseason. Yeah, plenty of us thought of our teams as being something that we clearly weren't, so point taken.

Are we "ones that were not what we seemed or were represented to be?" Well, yes. We were represented to be top-10 teams, remember? Do you? Surely you must remember Ole Miss and Oklahoma State being represented as top-10 teams, Stewart Mandel of Sports fucking Illustrated? So yeah, we were frauds then, but not by any fault of our own.

And what about that final definition of a "fraud" that I listed? The one that says a "fraud" is "one who defrauds" and that their actions of "deceiving and misrepresenting" classify as the act of "fraud." Is that us? Well no, Stewart, that'd be the fucking magazine you write for, fraud.

For any member of the mainstream sports media to call Ole Miss and Oklahoma State "frauds" is one of the biggest piece of sports media hypocrisies I have observed in quite a while.

And it's not just Stewart Mandel. I know I'm way overreacting here and I know I'm singling him out (Both of which are unfair... Sorry, Stu.), but such talk has been a part of everything as widely circulated as SI and ESPN, down to local newspapers, and all of the way down to online forums and opposing blogs.

Really, ever since Ole Miss lost to South Carolina on that Thursday night in early October--a game which many of us weren't too confident about in the first place--the "Ole Miss is a fraud" bandwagon has been going strong. That I'm honestly okay with. I am not, however, okay with the fact that the very same people fueling and piloting the "Ole Miss is a fraud" bandwagon are the exact same people who did the same for the "Ole Miss is gonna crash the BCS" bandwagon.

So, the media hypes us to be something we're not. They convince most of us Rebel fans and nearly all casual observers of college ball that this year would be "it." Yet we're the frauds, as if Houston Nutt, Jevan Snead, and Red Cup Rebellion have votes in the preseason AP poll and loads of ESPN air time.

Why isn't a 7-5 Oklahoma team, one which was number three in Sports Illustrated's top-20, a fraud? Or an 8-4 USC team which, not only started out at number four in your polls, but also doesn't have the convenient "our starting quarterback's shoulder exploded" excuse to fall back on, a la Oklahoma? Or how about a 9-3 Virginia Tech team which started out at number five and finished as debatably the 3rd best team in their own conference? Ooh, and then there's North Carolina (9-3), Georgia (7-5), and Florida State (6-6) who all started in SI's top-20, only to fall out of everybody's stop-25 altogether; why aren't they getting the "zomg u were OvErRaTeD" treatment as well?

This kind of thing happens every single year in college football. Some teams surprise, others disappoint. It's nothing new. To single out this year's Cotton Bowl between once top-10 teams as some sort of "fraud" bowl is cheap and shortsighted. Yes, this bowl embodies the phenomenon of deflated preseason hopes perhaps better than any bowl in recent memory, but that sure as hell isn't our fault.

-With Apologies to Stewart Mandel... sorta.

Ranking The 2009-2010 Bowls: Part 2

Mark Kieffer — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 13:31:13 -0000

In Part 1 of the series, I listed the bowls that I would not be mad at missing. With this Part 2, I'm continuing the countdown. This set of games are those that I would like to see, but I'm not going to make any kind of sacrifices to watch these games.

During the holidays, especially when traveling to a bowl game myself, you're sometimes going to miss some. Click on the jump, to see the 12 bowls that I have in my middle tier of games!

#20: Outback Bowl (Northwestern vs. Auburn), 1/1/2010, 10am CST, ESPN

After a night of partying in Tempe on New Years, there's no way in hell I'm going to get myself up early to watch this. I'm not really one of those ISU fans obsessed with Chizik anyways. This game could have easily gone in my Part 1 post. Honestly, I think Auburn rolls in this one anyways, but you never know.

#19: Texas Bowl (Navy vs. Missouri), 12/31/2009, 2:30pm CST, ESPN

There's no way I'm seeing this game, (although I would've liked to) so it ranks this low. I'll be at Sundevil Stadium when this is getting underway, but I'll be scoreboard checking during the game. Not a bad matchup at all, and could be an entertaining game. Navy has that triple option, while Missouri has a good passing game behind Danario Alexander.

#18: Emerald Bowl (Boston College vs. USC), 12/26/2009, 7pm CST, ESPN

This should be an evenly matched game for the most part. USC has had a down year by their standards, but I think this year was pretty good for Boston College. I'm not really a fan of either team, which is why it ranks relatively low on my list.

#17: Liberty Bowl (Arkansas vs. East Carolina), 1/2/2010, 4:30pm CST, ESPN

You have a pretty good offense in Arkansas against an East Carolina team that won the CUSA, and has been on a roll down the stretch.

#16: Independence Bowl (Texas A&M vs. Georgia), 12/28/2009, 4pm CST, ESPN

Georgia has the better defense, and better overall team, while A&M has the better offense. You can't ignore Georgia's win over Georgia Tech; that was impressive. I think this has the makings of a good game, and it might suprise some people.

#15: Champs Sports Bowl (Miami vs. Wisconsin), 12/29/2009, 7pm CST, ESPN

I like watching Miami. Been a fan of them since I've been following College Football. Growing up in Minnesota, I've seen a lot of Wisconsin as well. A game between two programs I'm familiar with. Miami likes to pass it, and is a very athletic team. Wisconsin, plays your typical Big 10 style of game: running the ball and trying to play defense.

#14: Chick-Fil-A Bowl (VA Tech vs. Tennessee), 12/31/2009, 6:30pm CST, ESPN

Lane Kiffin is just a drama-machine. Seems like controversy follows him around, and that alone may be worth watching. It will also be interesting to see how VA Tech plays, when they've been eying a BCS Bowl game all year, and feel a little snubbed. Tennesee has played close to teams all year, with a pretty solid defense. This could end up being similar to the Nebraska vs. VA Tech game earlier in the year.

#13: Capital One Bowl (Penn State vs. LSU), 1/1/2010, Noon CST, ABC

If you like watching a good defensive game, this one is for you. Both teams have issues scoring at times, but have no issues stopping the opposing offense.

#12: Cotton Bowl (Oklahoma State vs. Ole Miss), 1/2/2010, 1pm CST, Fox

This is the battle between two disappointing teams. Both were ranked high at the beginning of the year, and neither really did much of anything notable on the national scale. I'm still confused as to how Oklahoma State just laid an egg against Oklahoma, along with how Ole Miss was supposed to have this Heisman contender in Snead. I don't really think either fanbase is that excited about the game either. With how inconsistent these teams have been all year, I don't think anyone knows what to expect in this one, and maybe for that, it's worth tuning into for a little bit.

#11: Holiday Bowl (Arizona vs. Nebraska), 12/30/2009, 7pm CST, ESPN

These teams are pretty even on paper. I can't see scores outside of the teens in this one. Heck, this game could be 10-9 or something like that. It's really too bad for Husker fans that their offense was so bad this year, as it's really brought this team down. I have also come around to being a big fan of Suh, and it's extremley fun to watch him dominate the line of scrimmage all game long. Even if he doesn't get the tackle or sack, Suh has an impact on the play.

#10: Poinsettia Bowl (Utah vs. Cal), 12/23/2009, 7pm CST, ESPN

Jahvid Best is back for the Golden Bears, and he's a lot of fun to watch. Really good to see that he's going to be able to continue playing, after that scary concussion he suffered not too long ago. Honestly, when I saw that play, I thought his playing days in the future could be in jeopardy. This game is likely going to come down to the wire, as they are dead even on paper.

In Part 3, I'm going to countdown the bowls that are must-see for me. By process of elimination, you can figure out which bowls they are, but you will have to see on Thursday as to what the order is.

----

Part 1

3rd Annual Rock M Nation Bowl Pick 'Em Contest

The Beef — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 04:00:18 -0000

UPDATE: BUMPED BACK TO THE TOP OF THE PAGE. PICKS ARE DUE AT NOON TOMORROW.

That's right loyal readers...the Bowl Pick 'Em Contest is back for its third season.

It is simple to participate. Simply reply to this thread with your picks. You will need to pick both against the spread, as well as the over/under, so you will have two picks per game. The spreads are LOCKED, so a movement in the line will not be taken into account. The spreads are courtesy of bookmaker.com because...well...that's the one I could find (and unless otherwise noted) They also represent where the lines were when they opened, which was a week ago (had to wait for Army/Navy to be played to determine Eagle Bowl and Texas Bowl line)

Our winner from last year is FSUncensored, who went 39-27 to win by three games over The Cool Alonzo and myself. All time, MU 1839 (our first winner) holds the best two-year record at 18 games over .500 (74-56). Of the "couples" category, The Beef and Tailgate Queen came out 3 game ahead of Bill C and Bill C's wife last year, tying their annual battle at 1-1. Overall, the contest generated a won-loss record of 1066-1244 for a not so good percentage of .461. Over the two years, we currently sit at 1711-1879 for a winning percentage of .477. Yes...I've kept track.

Picks are due by noon on Saturday, December 19th (since the first games are later that evening). Picks are lined up after the jump.

As for prizes...1st prize will get you the Rock M Nation T-shirt of your choice, unless RPT (who somehow is the keeper of the purse strings around here) decides we want to pony up some additional swag.

Anyway, we had a good time with this last year with 35 participants (up from 20 the first year) and somehow I am thinking we are going to have a FEW more than that :-) Come one, come all (and that certainly includes non-Rock M regulars...anyone from SB Nation is welcome to participate)...make me work hard at this. If you were here last season and have changed names, just let me know and I will do my best to give you your two or three-season score when all is said and done as well. I will also be adding a couple set of special picks. We will have the "coin-flip" picks, where each pick will be decided by heads or tails. I will also compile the "Consensus" picks, which will be the most popular pick on each game, to see how RMN did as a community (in the majority at least).

New Mexico

Fresno State -10 1/2 vs. Wyoming

Over/Under - 55 1/2

St. Petersburg

Rutgers -2 vs. UCF

Over/Under - 44 1/2

New Orleans

Sothern Miss -3 1/2 vs. Mid Tenn St.

Over/Under - 59

Las Vegas

Oregon State - 1 1/2 vs. BYU

Over/Under - 60 1/2

Poinsetta

Cal -3 vs. Utah

Over/Under - 53 1/2

Hawaii

Nevada -14 vs. SMU

Over/Under - 73 1/2

Little Caesers

Ohio -2 vs. Marshall

Over/Under - 50

Meineke

Pitt -3 vs. UNC

Over/Under - 44 1/2

Emerald

USC -9 vs. BC

Over/Under - 45 1/2

Music City

Clemson -7 vs. Kentucky

Over/Under - 52 1/2

Independence

Georgia -7 vs. Texas A&M

Over/Under - 64

Eagle Bank (LSVC odds)

UCLA -4 vs. Temple

Over/Under - 46 1/2

Champs Sports

Miami (FL) -3 vs. Wisconsin

Over/Under - 56

Humanitarian

Bowling Green PK vs. Idaho

Over/Under - 68 1/2

Holiday

Arizona -1 vs. Nebraska

Over/Under - 41

Armed Forces

Houston -5 vs. Air Force

Over/Under - 61

Sun

Oklahoma -9 1/2 vs. Stanford

Over/Under - 56 1/2

Texas (LVSC odds)

Mizzou -6 vs. Navy

Over/Under - 54

Insight

Minnesota -3 vs. Iowa State

Over/Under - 48

Chick-Fil-A

Va Tech -4 1/2 vs. Tenn

Over/Under - 50 1/2

Outback

Auburn -8 vs. Northwestern

Over/Under - 54 1/2

Gator

West Virginia -2 1/2 vs. Florida St.

Over/Under - 60 1/2

Capital One

Penn State -3 vs. LSU

Over/Under - 44

Rose

Oregon -3 1/2 vs. Ohio State

Over/Under - 51 1/2

Sugar

Florida -10 vs. Cincy

Over/Under - 55 1/2

International

South Fla. -6 1/2 vs. No. Illinois

Over/Under - 50

PapaJohns

South Carolina -4 1/2 vs. UCONN

Over/Under - 53

Cotton

Ole Miss -3 vs. Okie State

Over/Under -  50 1/2

Liberty

Arkansas -7 1/2 vs. East Carolina

Over/Under - 63 1/2

Alamo

Texas Tech -7 vs. Michigan St.

Over/Under - 60 1/2

Fiesta

TCU -7 vs. Boise St

Over/Under - 54

Orange

Ga Tech -4 vs. Iowa

Over/Under - 51

GMAC

Central Mich -4 vs. Troy

Over/Under - 64

BCS Champ

Alabama -5 1/2 vs. Texas

Over/Under - 45

Rebel Roundup - 12/11/09 - A Fisking!

The Ghost of Jay Cutler — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 15:51:50 -0000

Gundy and Nutt got their crazy together! How presh!

Stadium a Factor in Ticket Sales | Tulsa World dot com
I agree with this article. Half of my motivation to go to this Cotton Bowl is to actually see our Rebels play in a traditional New Years Day bowl; but the other half of my motivation certainly to see said bowl in Jerryworld. World's largest Hi-Def screen, y'all!

More Names Surface at KU | KSALLink dot com
The most prominent of those names? Why, none other than Jimmy Sexton's Tommy Tuberville!

In football coaching circles, Nutt is a wanted man | The Vicksburg Post
I think a light fisking of Steve Wilson is in order here. Steve, here's what I got for you:

For all of the Ole Miss fans frightened by the rumors of Houston Nutt departing for Kansas, worry not.

You published this yesterday, a good while after the Nutt to Kansas rumors were "officially" dispelled, and still feel the need to tell people to "worry not." You're like me when I pick up on a television show. "Hey guys, this 'The League' is pretty funny, right?!" "Yeah, ummm, we've all been saying that for a while now.. Did you just now start watching it." "Ummmm..."

Did Nutt even consider the Kansas job? Doubtful.

Other than Nutt's open admission to having some interest in the position, you're spot on.

Kansas is the classic example of a basketball school that also happens to have a football program. Duke, North Carolina, UCLA, Indiana and Kentucky are also great examples of this phenomenon.

A "phenomenon?" Sure, Merriam-Webster says the word can simply mean "an observable fact or event," but you were most likely using it in the "exceptional, unusual, or abnormal person, thing, or occurrence" sense. I posit this because you described Kansas as a "basketball school that also happens to have a football program." Also happens to have a football program!? Really!? Can schools in major D1 conferences--schools like North Carolina, UCLA, and Kentucky--really just so happen to have football programs?

If an entity "just so happens to have" something, that would suggest it to be unexpected. "Excuse me sir, but does your restaurant serve camel?" "Well, it just so happens that we do!" Don't denigrate other schools' football programs simply because they play second fiddle to powerhouse basketball programs in the minds of fans. That doesn't make their programs undesirable anomalies.

Hoops rules the roost at these places, getting the lion’s share of attention and money. Bill Self is just two years removed from a national championship at Kansas.

And Mark Mangino is two years removed from an Orange Bowl victory.

One only has to look into the past to see what happens to a great football coach at a basketball school.

Back in the late 1940s, Paul Bryant was the football coach at Kentucky and was doing well, having led the school to its only SEC football championship and several bowl berths. Despite that success, Adolph Rupp, the legendary basketball coach who won four NCAA championships and 27 SEC titles, was the big man on campus in Lexington. After successful seasons by both programs, the two were given gifts. According to legend, Rupp received a Cadillac, Bryant got a cigarette lighter. Bryant left Lexington in 1954 to coach Texas A&M.

Sure, Bryant didn't like being second fiddle to Rupp, but he also didn't like the fact that Kentucky wasn't willing to integrate its football team. The same happened to him at A&M and, initially, at Alabama. To reduce Bear Bryant's decision to leave Kentucky to a cutesy anecdote about how Adolph Rupp got a fresh new whip while Bryant got a zippo really does reduce the significance and impact Bryant had on football.

The other problem with Nutt heading to Lawrence is recruiting. At Ole Miss, Nutt can cast a wide net over the state of Mississippi and go into Tennessee, Alabama and Florida to get recruits. Per capita, our state produces some of the best football players around.

Kansas? Not so much. Just a glance at Mangino’s last roster showed that the majority of his talent was from Texas. The Jayhawks were successful under Mangino, but they had to do it on a roster built from the scraps passed on by Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and Texas A&M.

Agreed.

At Ole Miss, the Rebels have excellent facilities and have an excellent "brand name" when it comes to recruiting.

The Jayhawks? Again, not so much. When it comes to facilities, the football program plays second fiddle to basketball. Mention Kansas to anyone and basketball is the first thing that comes to mind.

This is a two-parter. Yes, our IPF is fantastic, but Kansas is doing an great job of amping up their facilities (at least, this is according to our amigos at Rock Chalk Talk). And anyway, you didn't so much support your claim here. You say "Kansas doesn't have excellent football facilities" and then back that up by re-hashing the "football is second fiddle to basketball" argument you had made previously. That is illogical. The argument does not support the claim. Just because a sport is a secondary or even tertiary priority amongst university administrators and fans alike doesn't automatically disqualify said sports program from having excellent facilities at their disposal.

And our "excellent" brand name is about as excellent as Kansas' with regards to conference standing. The weight the "Ole Miss Rebel Football" brand carries nation-wide is, at best, seventh in the conference behind Alabama, Florida, LSU, Tennessee, Georgia, and Auburn. That really is debatable though when considering Arkansas, South Carolina, and even Kentucky.

Now if Notre Dame had gotten Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops, that would have been a different situation. Nutt played quarterback at Oklahoma State and would have been a natural fit in Norman with his personality, coaching acumen and recruiting abilities.

Conjecture regarding a situation which we all know to now be impossible? Awesome.

The Sooners would likely have gone after Nutt. Would he have accepted? Who knows?

"It would likely have happened, but who knows right guys?! Am I right or what?!" A perfect weasel tactic, sir. Say something outlandish and impossible to prove, but say it with limited certainty (would likely have) before dismissing it altogether as just a cutesy thought or observation (who knows?).

Nutt has done a great job bringing Ole Miss back to relevance after the aimless years of Ed Orgeron. Back-to-back Cotton Bowl berths show that progress is being made in Oxford. Nutt is 17-8 in two seasons at Ole Miss and has led Ole Miss (8-4) to consecutive eight-win seasons for the first time since 1989-90.

But as a result of that success, Nutt will continue to be a name mentioned in every high-profile coaching search.

That, and Jimmy Sexton.

Yeah, I'm being mean. But it's not a terriblepiece, just a bit flawed in its structure, logic, and rhetorical tactics. Hey, what else are we bloggers for aside from player hatin' mainstream sports media, right?

Insight Bowl: A Quick History

jerdogg1 — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 15:16:57 -0000

They say that those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it. So what exactly does that say about the Minnesota Gophers football squad returning to the Insight Bowl for the third time in four years?

We'll get to that another time. As for today, what is the history of this bowl?

The Insight Bowl is the third incarnation of the name of the bowl that started out as the Copper Bowl in 1989, then changed to the Insight.com Bowl in 1996 when Insight Enterprises took over the naming rights. The game has been called the Insight Bowl since 2002.

The Big Ten got involved with the Insight Bowl in 2006 when the game began to feature a match-up between our beloved conference and a Big 12 school. That, of course, was the year Texas Tech staged the biggest comeback in Division I bowl history, coming back from a 38-7 deficit mid-way through the 3rd quarter. That utter collapse also proved to be the final straw in Glen Mason's undoing as head of the Gophers.

In the three year history of the Big Ten v Big 12 match-up in the Insight Bowl, the Big Ten is 0-3, with Minnesota accounting for two of those losses (2006 v Texas Tech, 2008 v Kansas). The other was an Indiana loss in 2007 to Oklahoma State.

The reality of the situation is that, outside of the first two and a half quarters of the 2006 Minnesota v Texas Tech Insight Bowl, the Big Ten has not been competitive in this game.

Gopher fans and Big Ten fans alike can agree on one thing, that needs to change this year.

Red Cup Rebellion - 12/9/09

The Ghost of Jay Cutler — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 15:13:10 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

Thanks, NCAA!

Browse more photos »

So Nice of Y'all to Drop By!
Thanks to the Houston Nutt to Kansas rumor being the hottest one yet of the yearly coaching carosel, we've had just all sorts of visitors visit our little internet nook! If you're new, be sure to read the disclaimer on the left and please pick up your litter on the way out.

Ravens Coach Shows Movie About Michael Oher To Inspire Michael Oher | The Onion
The Onion, America's finest news source, reports that:

In an attempt to energize starting left tackle Michael Oher for last Sunday's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh screened a copy of the inspirational sports movie The Blind Side.

I really shouldn't have linked this; If you don't already read the Onion then you're not using the internet properly, and we'd rather not have you hogging bandwidth around here.

OSU Ticket Allotment Sold | Tulsa World
Well, the Cowboys will be there. Will the Rebel fan base pull a bunch of typical "woe is me, we are Ole Miss" bullshit (yeah, I'm being a bit of a hypocrite; get over it), and decide against attending the first ever Cotton Bowl in Jerryworld, or will we too represent ourselves well by filling up our allotment?

Home and Away in SEC Bowls | ESPN dot com
We're home which means we can wear our red or blue jerseys. I'm guessing Nutt will leave that choice up to the seniors who will most likely choose red. RED ALERT! RED/BLUE IN YOU! REBEL XPRESSSS!

Strong to Louisville all but done | ESPN dot com
There will be a press conference this morning announcing Florida Defensive Coordinator Charlie Strong as the new head coach of the Louisville Cardinals. This is obviously a good move for a program which wants to be atop the Big East once again.

NCAA Scrutiny Seen on Tennessee | The New York Times
And the biggest SEC story of the day comes with the announced investigation of Tennessee's 'crootin practices.

A significant part of the investigation is focused on the use of recruiting hostesses who have become folk heroes on Tennessee Internet message boards for their ability to help lure top recruits ... Marcus Lattimore, a running back who made an unofficial visit to Tennessee but said he would not enroll there, said multiple Tennessee hostesses attended a game at James F. Byrnes High School in Duncan, S.C., in September. He said they brought signs, including one that read, "Come to Tennessee." ... "You don't want to go to a college where they ain't pretty," Lattimore said.

For the record, every SEC school does this to an extent. There are large breasted, flirty girls who escort the players around campus during their official visits at every SEC school. They also party with these players and do whatever they can to show them a good time--if you catch my drift. This, in and of itself, isn't really the problem. The NCAA is investigating Tennessee because it seems that these girls are visiting these guys at their high schools. That's a bit much, but it's likely effective. GOTTACATCHEMALL OR-GE-RON!
(HT: A reader we'll call "DJ")

Week Fourteen BlogPoll Ballot Draft

T Kyle King — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 03:52:12 -0000

The time has come to cast my final regular-season BlogPoll ballot---or, at least, I think it has; I’m assuming we’re not submitting new top 25s after next weekend’s Army-Navy game---and here is what I came up with after starting with a blank piece of paper:

Rank	Team	Delta

1	Alabama
2	Cincinnati	2
3	Texas
4	Boise State	1
5	TCU	1
6	Florida	4
7	Oregon
8	Ohio State
9	Georgia Tech	1
10	Iowa	1
11	West Virginia	9
12	LSU	1
13	Arizona
14	Oregon State	2
15	Southern Cal
16	Virginia Tech	5
17	Stanford
18	Miami (Florida)	4
19	Pittsburgh	7
20	California	1
21	Oklahoma State	2
22	Brigham Young	1
23	Nebraska	1
24	Penn State	7
25	Wisconsin	1
Last week's ballot

Dropped Out: Houston (#18), Central Michigan (#25).

The Alabama Crimson Tide (13-0) are No. 1. Duh! Of the dozen Division I-A opponents beaten by Nick Saban’s squad, nine finished with winning records, including the sixth-ranked Florida Gators, the twelfth-ranked LSU Tigers, and the 16th-ranked Virginia Tech Hokies. The Tide’s only close calls came in rivalry games against teams who will be playing on New Year’s Eve or later.

In spite of their close call against the Pittsburgh Panthers in a game played in the snow featuring two botched extra point attempts, the Cincinnati Bearcats (12-0) captured the No. 2 spot on my ballot by virtue of seven regular-season wins over teams that finished above .500, among them the 11th-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers, the 14th-ranked Oregon St. Beavers, and 19th-ranked Pitt. Also, Cincy gets credit for having a logo reminiscent of Chick-fil-A's.

While I understand and respect C&F’s argument, I awarded the No. 3 ranking to the Texas Longhorns (13-0) because Mack Brown’s outfit went undefeated against a slate that included no Division I-AA schedule fodder and only four teams that posted losing ledgers. Wins over the No. 21 Oklahoma St. Cowboys and the No. 23 Nebraska Cornhuskers provided heft to the Big 12 standard-bearer’s resume.

I ranked the Boise St. Broncos (13-0) ahead of the TCU Horned Frogs (12-0) for a variety of reasons. Both took advantage of a Division I-AA victim and each faced five Division I-A teams with winning records, but Boise State has an additional win and Texas Christian has two close shaves (at Air Force and at Clemson) as opposed to the Broncos’ one (at Tulsa). Boise State’s second- and third-best wins (over Nevada and Fresno State) are comparable to the Frogs’ (over Utah and Clemson), but the Broncos’ marquee victory over the seven-ranked Oregon Ducks far outshines TCU’s best pelt, that of the 22nd-ranked BYU Cougars.

The Sunshine State Saurians (12-1) slipped to sixth after their less than competitive neutral site outing against ‘Bama, as befits the nation’s lone once-beaten team, and Oregon (10-2) led the parade of two-loss teams because the Ducks fell to two quality teams on the road and made up for those setbacks with wins over three teams ranked in my top 20 (Arizona, Oregon State, and Cal).

The Ohio St. Buckeyes (10-2) earned a No. 8 ranking on the strength of wins over the tenth-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes, the 24th-ranked Penn St. Nittany Lions, and the 25th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers. The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (11-2) rode their ~~fourth-place finish in the SEC East~~ ACC championship to the No. 9 ranking, although the Ramblin’ Wreck’s loss to the Georgia Bulldogs at home serves as a drag on a resume that includes five close calls in the Golden Tornado’s ten Division I-A wins. Only two of the Engineers’ victims finished with fewer than five losses, but one of those triumphs came over No. 16 VPI.

Iowa (10-2) carded quality victories over a trio of top 25 teams (Arizona, Penn State, and Wisconsin, all by double-digit margins) to overcome respectable losses to Ohio State and Northwestern, both of whom will be playing on New Year’s Day. (For whatever it might be worth, I would point out that the five BCS bowls pit No. 9 v. No. 10, No. 7 v. No. 8, No. 4 v. No. 5, No. 2 v. No. 6, and No. 1 v. No. 3 on my ballot. This ought to be a pretty good bowl season.)

West Virginia narrowly edged out Louisiana State in my estimation. Both teams boasted similar resumes: both finished 9-3; both won three games by a touchdown or less; both lost one game by a touchdown or less. However, as ashamed as I am to admit it, the Mountain Men’s win over Pitt counts for more this season than the Bayou Bengals’ win over Georgia. I know, it hurts me to admit that, too; visions of Tony Dorsett and Dan Marino will haunt my dreams tonight.

A glut of 8-4 clubs out of the Pac-10 proved difficult to untangle, but I declared the Arizona Wildcats first among equals by awarding Mike Stoops’s troops the No. 13 ranking. Three of Arizona’s four losses came on the road, two of them were nailbiters, and only one of them was the handiwork of a team with fewer than eight wins. The Wildcats carded victories over No. 14 Oregon State, the 15th-ranked USC Trojans, and the 17th-ranked Stanford Cardinal, with Central Michigan thrown in for good measure.

The Beavers landed right behind Arizona, partly because of wins over Cal and Stanford but mostly because of a quartet of quality losses. Oregon State’s four setbacks all came against opponents sporting eight or more wins, and, of the four, only the one against the No. 2 team in the country wasn’t a close call.

I will grant that it appears somewhat strange that I placed Stanford at No. 17, two spots behind Southern California (a club the Cardinal beat handily in Los Angeles) and three spots ahead of the California Golden Bears (a squad that defeated Jim Harbaugh’s outfit at the Farm), but Stanford had no legitimate third-best victory after the Cardinal’s wins over Oregon and USC to overcome the trio of triumphs notched by the Men of Troy over Ohio State, Oregon State, and Cal. Likewise, the Bears of Berkeley had trouble overcoming the fact that all four of their losses came by margins of 17 points or more. Oddly enough, Southern California, Stanford, and California each lost to a 5-7 team on the road, but the Trojans’ loss to the Washington Huskies and the Cardinal’s loss to the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at least had the virtue of being close.

Sandwiched amid those West Coast outfits were No. 16 Virginia Tech (9-3), which beat top 25 teams Miami and Nebraska while sustaining three respectable defeats (including two to top ten squads); the 18th-ranked Miami Hurricanes (9-3), who are able to boast of a marquee win over Georgia Tech; and 19th-ranked Pittsburgh (9-3), which sneaked ahead of California by virtue of a more forgivable set of losses. The Panthers’ three setbacks all came by close margins, with two of those coming in down-to-the-wire clashes with top eleven opponents Cincinnati and West Virginia. Pitt’s loss to N.C. State was comparable to Cal’s loss to Washington---both came on the road against 5-7 squads---but the Wolfpack won by seven and the Huskies won by 32.

The inclusion of Oklahoma State (9-3) attested to the fact that next year’s BlogPoll should rank only 20 teams instead of 25---which the Associated Press poll did prior to 1989, by the way---but somebody had to be No. 21, so the Pokes were as qualified as anyone. Why was Les Miles’s old team ranked nine spots behind Les Miles’s current team when both have identical records and both count a win over the ‘Dawgs among their most impressive conquests? Simple: LSU lost to three teams with a combined 33-5 record by a combined 62-41 margin, while OSU lost to three teams with a combined 30-8 record by a combined 113-49 margin.

BYU (10-2) had absolutely no business being ranked after getting positively smoked by TCU and the hapless Florida St. Seminoles, but Brigham Young beat the Oklahoma Sooners and the Utah Utes, which counts for something. Nebraska (9-4) did little to impress me in the win column---the ‘Huskers beat only two teams with winning records---but, since all of the Big Red Machine’s losses were to teams that finished .500 or better and three of those were by razor-thin margins, I gave Bo Pelini’s team the benefit of the doubt.

The fact that Penn State (10-2) and Wisconsin (9-3) made the grade proves that I was scraping the bottom of the barrel; both the Nittany Lions and the Badgers lost convincingly to the Big Ten’s two top ten teams and neither beat more than two Division I-A teams that finished above .500, but the dearth of quality squads at the bottom of my ballot allowed a PSU team whose best win was against Temple and a Wiscy unit whose best win was against Fresno State to sneak undeservedly into the top 25.

Consideration was also given to the Boston College Eagles and the Mississippi Rebels. I’d like to tell you that I took a look at the Central Michigan Chippewas, East Carolina Pirates, Houston Cougars, Missouri Tigers, Navy Midshipmen, North Carolina Tar Heels, Northwestern Wildcats, Rutgers Scarlet Knights, and Texas Tech Red Raiders, but, if I said so, I’d be lying.

I watched the Oregon-Oregon State game on Thursday, the Central Michigan-Ohio (Ohio) game on Friday, and a Saturday slate consisting primarily of the Cincinnati-Pittsburgh, Alabama-Florida, and Clemson-Georgia Tech games, with bits of the Nebraska-Texas and Hawaii-Wisconsin tilts sprinkled in for variety.

As always, I actively solicit your input with respect to what is, after all, a draft ballot. Feel free to register your disagreement or lobby for or against particular teams in the comments below.

Go ‘Dawgs!