SB Nation User Blog: Jay Coulter

UPDATED: Is the SEC Corrupt?

Jay Coulter — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:08:05 -0000

Visit an LSU message board today and you can feel the anger engulf you the second you enter. Leave it to SEC Commissioner Mike Slive and his staff to cast a cloud over what's arguably the best season for the conference in 30 years. Instead of celebrating a massive new television contract and two conference members at the top of the polls, officials are having to fight off allegations of corruption.

In what's been a string of bad calls by SEC officiating crews this season, Slive finds himself again fighting back accusations that league officials are trying to protect Florida and Alabama as they march ever closer to a showdown in the SEC Championship Game.

The latest controversy came in the fourth quarter of Saturday's marquee matchup between Alabama and LSU. With 5:54 to play in the game, an LSU defender stepped in front of Alabama wideout Julio Jones and made what appeared to be an interception. It would have given the Tigers the ball at their 37 with a chance to win the game, trailing by only six points.

Instead, despite numerous replay angles that clearly show the interception was in-bounds, officials upstairs ruled the defender did not have one foot inbounds. The call changed the complexion of the game and denied LSU a chance to win.

Today, the fallout has already started. College football writer Matt Hayes of The Sporting News had this to say in his column this morning:

Mike Slive may fine me for this, but here goes. How can it come to this? How can college football's best conference -- the best players, the best coaches, the best of everything -- continue to be subjected to brutally poor officiating?

Alabama beat LSU 24-15 in the best game of the season to date, and all we'll remember is a blown call from a replay official late in the fourth quarter that changed everything. Instead of celebrating a big win for No. 3 Alabama and looking forward to the SEC championship game against No.1 Florida next month, we're left with this:

"Speculation," said LSU coach Les Miles, "is rampant."

Hayes didn't stop there. He went on to say:

Since Miles won't say anything, I will. This is beyond bad officiating. It's so undeniably awful, I'm beginning to believe conspiracy nuts who claim the SEC is protecting its heavyweight teams (Florida and Alabama) since, you know, every poor call in the last month has involved, uh, Florida and Alabama.

The fact I write for Track'em Tigers will immediately discount me in the eyes of the Alabama nation. But this is not about Alabama. It's about a perception among fans - now nationally - that league officials are less than honest. That's a problem for everyone.

I believe it's a mistake to take anything away from Alabama. Had the interception stood, LSU would still have had to march more than 60 yards for the win. Against that Alabama defense, the odds would have been long. If I were a betting man, my money would have remained on Alabama.

LSU fans are wrong to say it cost them the game. It cost them a chance at the win. Nothing more. Unfortunately, that's enough to cast a cloud over the two best teams in the conference this season, Alabama and Florida. And because of that, these two schools are as much victims as the ones who were wronged by bad calls.

It's time for Slive to make a major overhaul of the conference's officiating process. It's a group of officials that unfortunately is not near as talented and disciplined as the teams they are trying to help.

All eyes are on you Mr. Slive.

It's Time For The Best Rivalry In Sports

Jay Coulter — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:53:43 -0000

More photos » by Butch Dill - AP

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I've said it before, and I'll say it again...

The Auburn - Georgia rivalry is the best and most unique in all of college football. Forget the Iron Bowl - it has gotten way too mean and personal. Watching the Iron Bowl is like passing a kidney stone. It only feels good at the end - and that's assuming you win.

As we ramp up for the South's Oldest Rivalry, never has a 7-3 record felt so good. Last week I commented in a thread that Amen Corner (games with Georgia and Alabama) make bad seasons good and good ones great. This year may be the exception. Considering the circumstances, this season has been pretty darn good already, regardless of what happens in the final month.

I'll stop short of saying winning the last two games of the year is gravy - we know better. However, regardless of what happens from here on out, this Auburn season has been special. I'll gladly spend late December in Shreveport with a huge smile on my face.

What a difference a year makes.

One year ago, Tommy Tuberville was circling the drain, though no one really believed it. Auburn limped into the Georgia game after losing four of its last five and stood at 5-5 overall. It was the worst of times for the Auburn faithful.

The job Gene Chizik has done since his arrival makes those events seem like years ago. Even Saturday's win over Furman had a feel of bigness to it - not because of what happened on the field, but what took place on Friday.

The commitment of Little Rock, Arkansas running back Michael Dyer may be the biggest in school history. The top rated back in the country according to ESPN, Dyer could have literally attended any school in the country. He chose Auburn and that says a lot.

He may become the next Bo Jackson or Alan Evans. It doesn't matter. That's not what's important here. What matters is that this staff can sell the Auburn program to the best in the nation and win. The Dyer commitment will likely have a domino effect that will bring in more four and five star recruits in the coming weeks. Again, what a difference a year makes.

Now we turn our attention to Georgia. Who would have guessed back in the summer that more heat would be on the seat of Georgia's Mark Richt than on Auburn's Chizik? A wounded program is a dangerous one. Ask Georgia. They nearly lost to Tuberville's Tigers last year despite being better in every department. Saturday should be another classic.

While this year's edition will not have national or conference ramifications, the stakes are in some ways much higher. Chizik is looking for an eighth win in a year when six would have been cause for celebration. He's laying a foundation where year one results mean everything to the future of a program. And ultimately, as with all Auburn coaches, Chizik will be judged by his record against Georgia and Alabama.

Richt is feeling heat for the first time in his career. Georgia Athletic Director Damon Evans has not been overly supportive in his public statements about Richt this season. While his job is not in jeopardy, he knows staff changes will have to come at year's end. A win over Auburn and Georgia Tech can do wonders in cooling a warm backside.

Auburn vs. Georgia is special. It's family. The two schools have more inbreeding than the local dog pound. The connections between the two programs are fascinating and so intertwined that at times it's downright weird.

Even this blog owes something to Georgia. When we started Track'em Tigers three seasons ago, the first SB Nation blogger to welcome us was T Kyle King over at Dawg Sports.com. We literally had no traffic for days and then he welcomes us to SB Nation on his site and we have a rash of well wishes from Georgia fans. It was pretty cool. I just can't picture that happening anywhere else.

King loves to write that he hates Auburn, but I know better. His actions speak louder than his words. As we build up to the game this week, be sure to stop by his site to get a Georgia prospective. And as always, we'll be with you throughout the week. War Eagle!

Auburn Goes For Homecoming Record

Jay Coulter — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:59:09 -0000

More photos » by Butch Dill - AP

Auburn defensive back Demond Washington will try his hand at safety this weekend against Furman.

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As Acid Reign aptly pointed out yesterday, it's Homecoming weekend around the SEC. That's code word for terrible games. You know it's bad when ESPN's best choice for a conference game is Florida vs. Vanderbilt. Take the Alabama vs. LSU contest out of the equation and the SEC pretty much goes underground for the weekend.

While Saturday will likely be a snoozer for Auburn fans, it's a welcome break for the team. Of course, we thought that last season when UT Martin played Auburn deep into the third quarter. That's unlikely to happen this year. "In terms of getting other guys on the field, we have to go in and try to win the game," says Auburn coach Gene Chizik. "And after that, we will see about other guys playing, but we have to go in and win this game." That's an understatement.

What do we know about Furman? Basically nothing. Personally, I had an old boss that graduated from Furman and he was an awesome guy. I still see him around town. In fact, when my son was born, he gave him a life size stuffed Tiger that remains on display in his bedroom. On the flip side, I also had a roommate from Furman when I was a congressional intern in Washington D.C. and he was one weird dude. So who knows what we'll see walking around campus Saturday morning. It's not a school for dummies.

Here are a few quick facts about the homecoming game:

The Tigers and Paladins have met three times, the last being in 1956. And yes, Auburn has won all three. A win Saturday would break Auburn's consecutive homecoming game winning streak with 17 victories. That's hardly impressive considering they play teams like, well, Furman.
Furman's last victory over an SEC school came against Vanderbilt in 1963. If they played today, Furman would be a four point favorite on a neutral field.
Can you recall a player making bigger strides from one year to the next than running back Ben Tate. If it's possible to get faster after three years of punishing hits from SEC defenders, then Tate has done it. I swear it seems he's a step faster this season. He currently leads the SEC in rushing with 1,067 yards.
Those of you who were fans of MTV's Two-A-Days reality show about the players at Hoover High School will remember Furman defender Max Learner. Personally, I've never heard of him. And I feel better for it.

Raise your hand if you are loving the dilemma that SEC Commissioner Mike Slive is in over comments made by his favorite coach, Florida's Urban Meyer. You'll remember last week that Slive got fed up with league coaches criticizing the inept officiating in the SEC - most notably Tennessee's Lane Kiffin. Slive threw down the gauntlet and decided to play big dog.

Here's what he said last Friday:

"On rare occasions over the last seven years there were several private reprimands (of SEC coaches) and that took care of the matter. On occasion there were public reprimands and that took care of it. It became clear to me after last week that I was no longer interested in reprimands, and the conference athletic directors and university presidents unanimously agreed. "For the foreseeable future there will be no reprimands. We will go right to suspensions and fines."

Fast forward a few days later and it's Slive's chosen one, Meyer, testing the resolve of the SEC commissioner. During his weekly conference call Meyer openly criticized officials for not throwing a flag on Georgia defenders who were going after quarterback Tim Tebow last Saturday.

As we go to press with this story there's not been a peep out of Slive. While he almost certainly will be forced into levying some token fine on Meyer, his waiting several days has shown him to be weak and indecisive. Give him credit for negotiating a mega television contract. Just don't ask him to show any backbone. Of course, Auburn fans already know this after his lack of willingness to go to bat for the Tigers during the undefeated 2004 season. And don't forget he was the head of the NCAA Basketball Tournament Selection Committee last season when Auburn was snubbed.

From Auburn Sports Information... The Auburn football homecoming game on Nov. 7 against Furman at Jordan-Hare Stadium will kick off at 12:30 p.m. CT and be offered on pay-per-view.Pay-per-view will be available in the state of Alabama to cable subscribers and small dish owners who subscribe to DirecTV or Dish Network and in the state of South Carolina to DirecTV or Dish Network subscribers.Individual tickets to the Furman game are currently available and can be purchased at www.autigertickets.com or call 1-800-AUB-1957.

War Eagle Everybody! I hope you have a great weekend. Don't forget, next week the real season begins!

New Look To Track'em Tigers

Jay Coulter — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 03:18:37 -0000

As you have noticed, Track'em Tigers has a new look today. It's a system wide font change to all SB Nation blogs. Some of you have said you love it, others hate it. I admit, it's going to take time to adjust. I do like the font better and it does seem a lot more polished on the whole. Like anything new, it's going to take some getting used to, but in the long run it should be good for everyone. I don't say it enough, but thanks for making Track'em Tigers part of your day. War Eagle!

Jay

Saturday Savants - November 2, 2009

Jay Coulter — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:56:36 -0000

Teak and JB relish in the surprising victory the Tigers had on Saturday over the Ole Miss Rebels. They look at what went right, and speculate on the success continuing the rest of the season. They then take their weekly stroll around the SEC.

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Saturday's Win Is Another Step In The Right Direction

Jay Coulter — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 22:45:39 -0000

More photos » by Butch Dill - AP

Auburn linebacker Craig Stevens (46) puts a hit on Mississippi wide receiver Dexter McCluster during Auburn's 33-20 win over the Rebels Saturday afternoon.

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Former Auburn coach Pat Dye likes to say that one of his favorite teams was his first one, the 1981 Auburn Tigers. Unless you are old enough to remember them, chances are you know little about this team that appears as nothing more than a slight mention in the Auburn Media Guide.

They only managed a 5-6 record, but they were gritty and always came to fight. There wasn't a lot of talent, but there was a lot of heart. Dye likes to say that team laid the foundation for the future of Auburn football. Fast forward 28 years and we're seeing similar qualities in the 2009 edition of Auburn football.

Saturday's win was not a work of art. But considering the rainy and overcast conditions combined with the expectations of another lopsided SEC loss, Saturday looked and felt like a masterpiece. You can't help but feel this team is laying its own foundation for another great Auburn run.

What can we make of this Auburn team? Does it even matter? Football is fun again in East Alabama. Confidence has been restored after another October to forget. Quarterback Chris Todd has found his arm again and defensive end Antonio Coleman looks more like Quentin Groves every day. Ben Tate is letting Alabama's Mark Ingram grab the spotlight while he grabs the yards. How long will it last? Who knows?

Don't try to rationalize it. Don't look for explanations. Just enjoy it for now. Gene Chizik's bunch may score 70 points against the Paladins of Furman next Saturday. Or they may struggle deep into the third quarter. They may go to Athens in two weeks and treat Georgia like they are back in Jacksonville wearing those ugly Halloween uniforms. Or they may not show up at all.

Take this season for what it is. Chizik is laying the foundation. There will be good days and bad. Let's choose to look at the cup as half full. Auburn is going bowling again. The season will not end on the Friday after Thanksgiving. More important than the bowl bid is the additional month of practice time they'll get in December. It's all about laying the foundation. Looking at it in that light, you can't put a measure on how big Auburn's victory was Saturday over Ole Miss.

The neck injury suffered by Auburn defensive back Zac Etheridge against Ole Miss Saturday afternoon was one of the scariest I've ever witnessed. As you've undoubtedly heard by now, he's out for the rest of the season. The good news is that Etheridge is expected to make a full recovery.

If there was anything good that came out of the play, it was the sportsmanship displayed by Ole Miss player Rodney Scott. If you watched the game, you'll remember Scott lying under Etheridge following the play, somehow sensing that Etheridge was seriously hurt. Scott did not move a muscle the entire time medical personnel attended to the injured defensive back.

I've seen a lot of good and bad sportsmanship in my day; but this act was by far the best I've ever seen. We can all learn a lesson from Scott. Here's Auburn coach Gene Chizik commenting on the action...

"It was one of the most amazing things I've seen," Chizik said. "... I have to give that young man a lot of credit. I don't know how he knew, but he knew he couldn't move. He sat as still as the night, lying right underneath him. It was one of the most phenomenal things I've witnessed in doing this."

"I didn't want to dress like this for Halloween."

I know Thanksgiving is still a month away and it's a little early to start talking about what we're thankful for, but thank goodness Auburn resisted the temptation to alter their uniforms for Halloween. The "special edition" Georgia and Tennessee uniforms were a disaster.

Rumors were circulating all week on Auburn message boards that school officials were considering allowing the team to wear blue pants against Ole Miss. Can you imagine? Actually I can. I saw the results in Jacksonville and Knoxville. I give the edge to Georgia for pure ugliness. The black helmets with red face masks may go down as the worst look in the history of the SEC. I'm sure even Oregon was jealous.

Outside of Saturday's huge SEC Western Division matchup between Alabama and LSU, the remaining conference games this week are duds. South Carolina plays at Arkansas; Eastern Kentucky visits Kentucky; Tennessee Tech travels to Georgia; Memphis takes on Tennessee; Northern Arizona visits Ole Miss; and Vanderbilt plays at Florida.

Maybe someone can explain to me why Auburn officials chose to kickoff this weekend's homecoming game with Furman at 12:30 p.m. CT. With the game available only on pay-per-view, you would figure school officials could start the game at any time. For fans driving from Birmingham, Huntsville and Mobile, it means another early wake up call. Late afternoon seems like a better fit for fans and local businesses.

Good Ole Fashion Hate...

Jay Coulter — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 23:13:17 -0000

This video of Florida's Brandon Spikes "sticking it in the eye" of a Georgia running back is getting a lot of play around the internet tonight. I'll let you draw your own conclusions...

Kudos to Rodney Scott

Jay Coulter — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 01:10:51 -0000

I wanted to drop a note to you all from the guys at Track'em Tigers.com. You may have heard by now that our defensive back Zac Etheridge is lost for the season following that scary neck injury he suffered Saturday. The sportsmanship shown by Rodney Scott is the best I've seen in my 40 years of life. You all should be super proud to call him a Rebel. How Scott sensed that Etheridge was hurt and unable to move is unbelievable.

Watching him not move a muscle under Etheridge while medical personnel worked for an extended period of time still gives me goose bumps thinking about it. We can all learn a lesson from Rodney Scott. What a tremendous person. Here's what Auburn coach Gene Chizik said about him this afternoon...

"It was one of the most amazing things I've seen," Chizik said. "... I have to give that young man a lot of credit. I don't know how he knew, but he knew he couldn't move. He sat as still as the night, lying right underneath him. It was one of the most phenomenal things I've witnessed in doing this."

Saturday Savants - October 31, 2009

Jay Coulter — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 12:05:25 -0000

Teak continued his hot streak going 4-1 last week (23-14-1 62%) bringing his 4 week total to 15-4-1 75%. JB struggled with Ball St. and finished the week 2-3 (17-21-1 44%). This week the guys tackle: Ole Miss @ AU; Texas @ OK st.; USC @ Oregon; UGA @ UF; SC @ UT; Miss St. @ Kentucky.

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Do You Know The Definition Of Potential?

Jay Coulter — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:20:18 -0000

More photos » by Bill Haber - AP

Sometimes you just feel like a nut.

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Random thoughts heading into tomorrow's game with the Ole Miss Rebels...

If you had hopes of catching a break this weekend with good weather at Jordan-Hare Stadium, think again. In what's undoubtedly been the worse season for weather in recent Auburn football history, Saturday's forecast again calls for showers at kickoff. According to the Weather Channel, there's a 50 percent chance of rain throughout the day on Saturday with a high of 64 degrees. My guess is tickets will be plentiful.

One of the biggest disappointments of the season has been the lack of development at the wide receiver position. Despite taking on rock star status during Auburn's early season run, receivers coach Trooper Taylor has struggled to find that elusive third wide receiver.

There were a flood of stories back in August about the talent of Auburn's young receivers and the impact they would make this season. So far, they've been a huge disappointment. Taylor went on the offensive this week, making a bold prediction about highly recruited, but poorly performing Louisiana native DeAngelo Benton. "I promise you he will light the record books up -- you can write that down -- before he gets out of here," Taylor said. "He has that type of ability."

Taylor's quote got me laughing about a story a friend of mine once told about his days playing at Alabama under Ray Perkins in the 1980's. Following a loss on Saturday, the Alabama players were on one knee at the practice fields later that week with Perkins standing in the middle. He asked the team whether they had read that day's newspaper. One player raised his hand and explained that the article he read said Alabama had great potential.

Coach Perkins asked the team if they knew what potential meant. Several tried at giving an answer. Finally he said, "Boys when somebody says you have potential that means you're not worth a shit right now." I always think about that when I hear quotes like the one above. Funny stuff.

It's funny how columnist and beat writers like to throw around the term, "must win" when talking about an upcoming contest. Hell, I'm sure I've used the term a hundred times. Several writers across the state have called this week's game with Ole Miss a must win for the Auburn program. It begs the question, why?

I agree that Auburn may need seven wins to get a bowl bid considering a six win season means the last meaningful victory came on October 3^rd. But on paper, it seems much more likely that Auburn gets a win in Athens in two weeks than against an Ole Miss squad that may finally be living up to preseason expectations.

Maybe comparing the two opponents is like splitting hairs, but I don't believe tomorrow is a must win. When you are 2-3 in the SEC, the days of must wins are over. The differences in Shreveport and Birmingham are not a whole lot.

I ran across a stat over at al.com that will blow your mind or make you want to blow your head off...

4 (four) - Consecutive games in which Auburn has scored fewer points than it did in its previous game, something that hasn't happened to the Tigers since 1914. After beating Ball State 54-30 on Sept. 26, the Tigers scored 26 points against Tennessee, 23 against Arkansas, 14 against Kentucky and 10 against LSU. After beating Clemson 28-0 on Oct. 17, 1914, Auburn scored 19 points against Mississippi State, 14 against Georgia Tech, six against Vanderbilt and none against Georgia Tech in successive games. The difference between the two scoring slumps: Auburn is 1-3 in the current slide, but was 3-0-1 in the 1914 games.

Here are a few more from al.com that are downright interesting...

57 (Fifty-seven) - Years since Ole Miss scored consecutive victories over Auburn. The Rebels will try again on Saturday in Auburn after beating the Tigers 17-7 in 2008. In 1951, Ole Miss beat Auburn in Mobile, and in 1952, the Rebels beat the Tigers in Memphis.

9 (Nine) - Straight games in which the team with the most rushing attempts has won the annual Auburn-Ole Miss contest.

I hope all of you have a great weekend and an eventful Halloween. Kickoff for the Ole Miss game is set for 11:21 a.m. CT from Pat Dye Field at Jordan-Hare Stadium. The game will be televised across the country on the SEC Network. The Rebels come into the game a four point favorite. If you are headed to Auburn, look for me. I'll be in the Navy Auburn shirt drinking my signature Miller High Life Light. War Eagle!