SB Nation User Blog: T Kyle King

Don't Bet On It!: National Game of Disinterest

T Kyle King — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 02:57:14 -0000

First, there were the national games of interest. Next, we went around the SEC. Now, it is time for us to look at the weekend's least compelling college football contest, to which we here at Dawg Sports refer as the national game of disinterest.

I've spent the last two weeknights watching Mid-American Conference football, so I know whereof I speak when it comes to gridiron showdowns that are lacking in intrigue. I therefore am able to declare with absolute certainty that this week's national game of disinterest is . . .

Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Pittsburgh Panthers

Is this 1977? It's not? Well, then, who cares?

Go 'Dawgs! Auburna delenda est!

Don't Bet On It!: Around the SEC

T Kyle King — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 02:38:53 -0000

I started with the national games of interest this week, so now I need to circle back around to look at the Southeastern Conference slate. My 6-1 ledger in last week’s league picks left me at 57-10 for the fall, but, honestly, I should’ve gone 7-0 against last Saturday’s sorry schedule, so my usual disclaimer still stands: Don’t Bet On It!

Each of the following games will take place on Saturday because this isn’t the Mid-American Conference, dang it:

Kentucky Wildcats at Vanderbilt Commodores: The battle for eleventh place on my SEC Power Poll ballot kicks off in Nashville when the Bluegrass State Felines visit the Music City Sailors. I’m not going to mince words here: Vanderbilt is so bad that the ‘Dores lost by a double-digit margin to Georgia. Clearly, Kentucky will emerge victorious.

Troy Trojans at Arkansas Razorbacks: The Hogs host the Trojans for the third time in the last four years this weekend after having won the 2007 battle 46-26 and lost the 2006 meeting 50-14. Of course, that 2006 game was against the Southern California Trojans, so this represents a bit of a step down in weight class. I like Arkansas to take care of Troy, who is, after all, just one guy.

Louisiana Tech Bulldogs at LSU Tigers: I would make a joke about this being a battle for local bragging rights, but, when you look at the other programs aspiring to be the Bayou Bengals’ Pelican State rival, you realize Louisiana Tech really is the prime contender. With apologies to Derek Dooley, Louisiana Tech ain’t that much of a contender. Louisiana State’s dominance of Bulldog squads this season continues.

Alabama Crimson Tide at Mississippi St. Bulldogs: Both teams wear maroon, once employed Sylvester Croom, and are pleased with where their current head coaches have gotten them, but there the similarities end. Dan Mullen has done a fine job, but he hasn’t done a fine enough job to beat ’Bama. In his defense, though, any Mississippi State coach who had done a good enough job to beat ‘Bama probably was cheating his hindquarters off.

Tennessee Volunteers at Mississippi Rebels: Apparently, a stricter truth-in-advertising statute went into effect in the Magnolia State on November 1. Prior to that point, almost all of the teams Ole Miss faced were, to put it bluntly, lying. The Vanderbilt Commodores are not, in fact, high-ranking naval officers. The Auburn Tigers and Memphis Tigers are really human beings rather than large jungle felines. The Arkansas Razorbacks are people rather than pigs in need of a veterinary spinal dermatologist. Since Halloween, though, the Rebs have played two teams who were honest about their mascots. As I was informed repeatedly, the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks hail from a home town founded by actual lumberjacks. Likewise, it turns out that the Tennessee Volunteers are not paid staff members. Much to my annoyance, the Big Orange will wallop the Rebels on the road.

Florida Gators at South Carolina Gamecocks: Don’t be alarmed, but, when Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer meet at midfield for the postgame handshake, the South Carolina Department of Homeland Security will upgrade the SOB Alert Level to Condition Orange. Actually, I heard that the two coaches had made a private bet on this game. If the Sunshine State Saurians win, Darth Visor will retire from coaching and become a full-time amateur golfer; if the Palmetto State Poultry win, Corch Meyers will take the Notre Dame job. I’m not saying that’s true; I just read it on Bleacher Report. Anyway, I’ll be rooting for South Carolina, but I’m picking Florida.

For my final forecast, I predict that I will be wrong on 50 per cent of the foregoing prognostications. Why am I so willing to bank on my own inaccuracy? Because I know to follow the advice you should have sense enough to take: Don’t Bet On It!

Coming Soon: National Game of Disinterest.

Go ‘Dawgs! Auburna delenda est!

Don't Bet On It!: National Games of Interest

T Kyle King — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 02:41:24 -0000

The comments left after my initial BlogPoll ballot draft made up in quality what they lacked in quantity, so I was persuaded to inch the LSU Tigers ahead of the USC Trojans (hopefully without reigniting any billboard wars over the 2003 national championship!), rank the Auburn Tigers (in spite of the fact that I hate Auburn), and take a chance on the Stanford Cardinal. I will confess to being a bit leery of the folks on the Farm, but I’ll give them a whirl for a week, and, while I’m convinced the Plainsmen are a bit too high, I couldn’t very well elevate them past West Virginia without also letting them leapfrog South Florida. Consequently, the revised final draft of my top 25 looks like so:

Rank	Team	Delta

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

Dropped Out: Rutgers (#20), Notre Dame (#22), California (#24).

I am much obliged to everyone who took the time to offer constructive criticisms.

Now, to the business at hand. It’s Auburn week here at Dawg Sports (and I hate Auburn), so we’re going to mix it up a little, both because that sometimes works when the Plainsmen are on the slate and because, now that I’ve distracted you with the final version of my BlogPoll ballot, you may overlook the fact that I went 0-4 in last week’s non-SEC picks when I turn to this week’s national games of interest. Please bear in mind that I am 24-28 in such outings this season, because that’s really all the reminder you need to remember this rule of thumb: Don’t Bet On It!

Each of the following contests will take place on Saturday, November 14, in the absence of an explicit indication to the contrary:

South Florida Bulls at Rutgers Scarlet Knights (Thurs., Nov. 12): ESPN’s annual Weeknight Round-Robin Pick-a-Champion-Any-Champion Big-East-a-Thon gets underway tomorrow evening when the student-athletes of USF travel from the University of South Florida campus in west central Florida to the home field of the flagship university of the Garden State, where there likely are neither gardens nor lumberjacks. I have seldom gone right reposing even a scintilla of faith in either of these teams, so, since the Bulls are the more highly-positioned of the two contenders, I’m going with the Scarlet Knights instead.

West Virginia Mountaineers at Cincinnati Bearcats (Fri., Nov. 13): Far be it from me to invoke the most annoying anthem in all of intercollegiate athletics---memo to the Tennessee band: learn a second song!---but "Rocky Top" seems strangely appropriate as the background music to this ~~hoedown~~ showdown. The description of mountain life (particularly the Snuffy Smith-style verse about revenuers going up in the hills in search of an illegal distillery and ending up somewhere they’ll never be found) conforms closely to our stereotypes about rural West Virginians, while the Cincinnati mascot appears to have been inspired by the genuinely disturbing lyrics about a romantic interlude with a girl who was "half bear" and "the other half cat." Particularly since most of the Volunteer fans who prefer 9-0 and dignified to 5-4 and loudmouthed wanted Chip Kelly rather than Lane Kiffin, anyway, I think it would be appropriate for the band to play "Rocky Top" after Cincinnati wins.

Utah Utes at TCU Horned Frogs: Anyone who doubts the ability of deserving teams from leagues whose champions do not qualify automatically for major bowl berths to establish themselves as permanent fixtures in the college football firmament need look no farther than Salt Lake City. The Utes, the original "BCS busters," have gone undefeated twice in the last five seasons, so we have become accustomed to the notion that Utah is perennially good. Consequently, when the Utes leap out to an 8-1 start, we hardly bother to ask whether it matters that seven of their eight victims are below .500, including such sad sacks as UNLV (4-6), Louisville (3-6), Colorado State (3-7), Utah State (2-7), San Jose State (1-7), and New Mexico (0-9). Honestly, Utah has done nothing this year except lose a close one to a team that Boise State beat handily. When Texas Christian wins at home because the Horned Frogs are the better team, we’ll see whether the Ute faithful grouse about wanting to break up the Bowl Championship Series after their club was given the benefit of the doubt heading into a clash with a TCU squad that gets only token respect despite having spent 73 of the last 87 seasons playing in a major conference and beaten an ACC division frontrunner earlier this autumn.

Iowa Hawkeyes at Ohio St. Buckeyes: Don’t even ask. No, there’s not one. There’s no pail, cuspidor, hatchet, amphora, carillon, carving, commemoration of the Morrill Act, or other oddity associated with emerging victorious from the field of play in this one, which is strange, since it’s glaringly obvious that Mike Leach should be dressed up in pirate garb, bronzed, fastened to a wooden pedestal, and presented to the winner as the "Eye-Eye Captain." (Hey, it isn’t any dumber than Illy Illibuck.) I’m going to go out on a limb here and pick the home team with a quarterback to beat the visiting team without a quarterback. Much to the chagrin of everyone outside of the greater Columbus area, Ohio State takes another giant step towards clinching another dadgum Big Ten title.

By now, you know better than to put any stock whatsoever in my skills as a prognosticator, but it never hurts to reinforce first principles through repetition, so, please, whatever you do . . . Don’t Bet On It!

Also, today is Veterans Day (or---as my paternal grandfather, a World War I veteran, would have noted---Armistice Day), so be sure to take the time to express your gratitude to any soldiers or sailors you see, and take a moment to send up a prayer for the safety of the brave Americans wearing the uniform of their country, wherever they may be stationed in the world.

Coming Soon: Around the SEC.

Go ‘Dawgs! Auburna delenda est!

This Parody Isn't Perfect . . .

T Kyle King — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 03:21:06 -0000

This Parody Isn't Perfect . . .

. . . because it doesn't mention Homer Rice.

Otherwise, though, it's scarily, hilariously accurate.

(Hat tip: kleph.)

Go 'Dawgs! Auburna delenda est!

SEC Power Poll Ballot: Week Ten

T Kyle King — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:55:13 -0000

I’m still soliciting comments on my BlogPoll ballot draft, but there are deadlines to be observed in the interim, one of which concerns my SEC Power Poll ranking of the twelve teams in the league. The strength of the Southeastern Conference is as follows, in descending order:

1. Alabama Crimson Tide (9-0): Against a significantly better class of competition than that faced by the Sunshine State Saurians on Saturday, ‘Bama trailed 7-3 at the break yet outscored the Bayou Bengals 21-8 in the second half. The Red Elephants do what good teams do to win.

2. Florida Gators (9-0): Urban Meyer’s outfit still has a solid shot at becoming the first Florida club of the modern era to go unbeaten, but these Gators aren’t remotely as fear-inducing as the 1995, 1996, and 2008 Orange and Blue teams that made it to the national championship game. The Gators are good, but they’re less than the sum of their parts. They’ll end the regular season unscathed, but, right now, I wouldn’t pick Florida to beat either Alabama or Texas.

3. LSU Tigers (7-2): Louisiana State showed that the gap separating the top two teams in the SEC from the next ten teams was not quite as large as we thought, but it’s still large enough to be notable. This year, that gets you ranked third in the league. I’m thinking we may want to lay off on the "toughest conference in college football" talk for a little bit.

4. Auburn Tigers (7-3): Yes, the Plainsmen gave up 31 points to Furman, but they scored 63 and 28 of the Paladins’ points came in the second half, after Auburn had built up a 42-3 halftime lead. Something tells me Saturday night’s showdown between the hedges will not feature a scintillating display of rock-ribbed defensive prowess. Oh, goody . . . because high-scoring games against the Tigers in Athens worked out so well for the Bulldogs in 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, and 2005! (I hate Auburn.)

5. Mississippi Rebels (6-3): I can’t fault Ole Miss for scoring 38 points on a Division I-AA opponent at home. I can fault the Rebs for surrendering 14 points in the first half. I’m guessing the Northern Arizona players felt right at home in the Grove, what with all those trees, ‘cause there are a boatload of trees in the Flagstaff area. Just so you’ll know.

6. Tennessee Volunteers (5-4): Monte Kiffin’s defense is good, but Lane Kiffin’s timing is better. There has never been a better year to be a rookie head coach in the Southeastern Conference. When, prior to 2009, could a 2-3 record in SEC play be considered success? Is it fair to say Tommy West has just been Kiffined?

7. Arkansas Razorbacks (5-4): Will the real Hogs please stand? Please? Just when you thought it was safe to write off Arkansas, the Razorbacks wallop South Carolina to prove that all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.

8. South Carolina Gamecocks (6-4): Steve Spurrier may coach another three or four years in Columbia, but the mystique of the Evil Genius is officially a thing of the past. Another promising season is circling the drain for the Palmetto State Poultry, once again diminishing the value of the Bulldogs’ tough tussle with South Carolina. Thanks for nothing, Gamecocks.

9. Georgia Bulldogs (5-4): The Red and Black did what they were supposed to do against a Division I-AA opponent, which is something they haven’t done since facing the Hawaii Warriors in the 2008 Sugar Bowl. (Oh, stop. The Aloha State parvenus deserved that and you know it.)

10. Mississippi St. Bulldogs (4-5): It’s unfortunate that the NCAA requires a team to win six games to qualify for postseason play, because I’d like to see a bowl game pitting Mississippi State against Connecticut to settle the question of which is the best 4-5 team in America.

11. Kentucky Wildcats (5-4): When does the UK formula for reaching a bowl game start to include beating good teams?

12. Vanderbilt Commodores (2-8): The SEC school known for its smarts is 0-6 in league play and continues to be the doormat of the conference. Maybe foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of big minds, too.

If you have any arguments against any of that, well, frankly, it’s too late for me to change it even if you convince me that I’m wrong, but feel free to register your quarrel with my logic in the comments, anyway. It will make you feel better to get it off your chest, even if it has no impact whatsoever, so have at it.

Go ‘Dawgs! Auburna delenda est!

Georgia Bulldogs in Running for Possible Bowl Berth Versus ACC

T Kyle King — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:45:40 -0000

Georgia Bulldogs in Running for Possible Bowl Berth Versus ACC

David Hale links to a few bowl projection postings, which indicate that the Red and Black may be in the running for the Chick-fil-A Bowl (best case scenario) or the Music City Bowl (more likely scenario), either of which would pit the 'Dawgs against an ACC opponent.

In other news, Clemson is doing well, which may give the Tigers' fans reason to panic. I have to say, renewing the rivalry with Clemson in a bowl game would sure take some of the sting out of a disappointing season.

Go 'Dawgs! Auburna delenda est!

Happy Birthday to Damon Evans and Aaron Murray, Two Damn Good 'Dawgs!

T Kyle King — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:06:16 -0000

For me, at least, today is a busy day in what is going to be a busy week, so I can't afford to take Tuesday off, but, if you're a loyal booster of the Georgia Bulldogs and you're in a position to call in sick today, I strongly encourage you to do so, for today is an appropriate occasion for all loyal denizens of Bulldog Nation to take a holiday in celebration. (I really didn't mean to make that rhyme.)

On November 10, 1969, former Bulldog receiver and current Georgia athletic director Damon Evans was born. Anyone wishing to send appropriate "lordy, lordy, Damon's 40" birthday wishes to Evans may e-mail him here. (No, don't write him to tell him to fire Willie Martinez. It's the man's birthday; just write him to say happy birthday.)

On November 10, 1990, redshirt freshman quarterback Aaron Murray was born, as well, so all of us here at Dawg Sports send our best birthday wishes to a couple of damn good 'Dawgs.

Go 'Dawgs! Auburna delenda est!

Week Ten BlogPoll Ballot Draft

T Kyle King — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 02:48:49 -0000

I’m not sure whether to call 2009 "The Year of the Mid-Major" (Boise State and Texas Christian are in the top six; Houston, Utah, Brigham Young, and Central Michigan all are ranked, as well) or "The Year of the Little Brother" (Pittsburgh is ranked higher than Penn State; Georgia Tech is ranked and Georgia isn’t; Oklahoma State is ranked and Oklahoma isn’t; Arizona is ranked and Arizona State isn’t; South Florida is ranked and Florida State isn’t), but, in any case, I sat down with a clean white piece of paper (so ignore the arrows) and, much to my chagrin, came up with this as the draft of my BlogPoll ballot:

Rank	Team	Delta

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

Dropped Out: Notre Dame (#22), California (#24).

I wrestled with placing the Alabama Crimson Tide (9-0) in the No. 1 spot since ‘Bama has beaten a pair of 2-7 teams (Florida International and North Texas) and since three of the Red Elephants’ seven victories over Division I-A opponents with winning records were carded against a trio of 5-4 clubs (Arkansas, Kentucky, and Tennessee). However, the Tide have not tussled with a Division I-AA team and their best wins (over No. 15 LSU, Virginia Tech, and South Carolina) are superior to those of the next two contenders.

The Texas Longhorns (9-0) edged out the Florida Gators (9-0) in a close race for the No. 2 ranking due to a variety of factors. Both have six wins over Division I-A teams with winning records and both earned four of those victories over 5-4 outfits. The Longhorns’ only narrow escape was in a neutral site fight over the Oklahoma Sooners (5-4), which is slightly better than the Gators’ narrow escape in a home win over the Arkansas Razorbacks (5-4). While Florida’s best win (over the No. 15 LSU Tigers) is slightly superior to Texas’s best win (over the No. 16 Oklahoma St. Cowboys), the Longhorns’ second- and third-best victories (over Texas Tech and Oklahoma) outpace the Gators’ second- and third-best victories (over Troy and Tennessee). This was a close call, though.

The Cincinnati Bearcats (9-0) have notched respectable victories over the No. 20 South Florida Bulls and the No. 24 Rutgers Scarlet Knights, as well as over the Oregon St. Beavers, but Cincy’s resume was dragged down by the presence of triumphs over Division I-AA Southeast Missouri State and a quartet of Division I-A teams with losing ledgers, including a pair of 3-6 conference opponents (Louisville and Syracuse) and a 1-9 Miami (Ohio) squad. A narrow win over the Connecticut Huskies (4-5) didn’t hurt the Bearcats because everyone who has beaten UConn has done so by the slimmest of margins.

I went back and forth over whether to rank the Boise St. Broncos (9-0) or the TCU Horned Frogs (9-0) fifth. Ultimately, I went with Boise State, even though six of the Broncos’ wins were over teams below .500 (including one-win Miami (Ohio) and San Jose State clubs and 3-6 Hawaii and Louisiana Tech outfits), because Boise State’s best win (over the eighth-ranked Oregon Ducks) still trumps the Horned Frogs’ best win (over the 23rd-ranked BYU Cougars).

The Iowa Hawkeyes (9-1) checked in as the nation’s highest-ranked once-beaten team on the strength of wins over No. 17 Penn State, No. 18 Arizona, and No. 19 Wisconsin, none of which came by a narrow margin. Despite having two losses, Oregon still nailed down the No. 8 ranking by virtue of victories against the 14th-ranked USC Trojans and the 22nd-ranked Utah Utes, as well as the California Golden Bears. The Ohio St. Buckeyes (8-2) lost to a Southern California team the Ducks defeated and OSU’s loss to the Purdue Boilermakers (4-6) was more embarrassing than Oregon’s loss to the Stanford Cardinal (6-3), but the Buckeyes remained high with wins over Penn State, Wisconsin, and Navy.

The Pittsburgh Panthers (8-1), like both Oregon and Ohio State, boast three wins over Division I-A teams with winning records and four wins over Division I-A teams with losing records. However, unlike the Ducks and the Bucks, Pitt also has a Division I-AA conquest in its resume, and the Panthers’ wins over the Bulls, the Scarlet Knights, and the Midshipmen were not enough to outweigh Pittsburgh’s three wins over 3-6 outfits (Buffalo, Louisville, and Syracuse) and its inexplicable loss to the N.C. State Wolfpack (4-5).

I gave the Houston Cougars (8-1) the nod over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (9-1) for several reasons. Both notched three of their wins over a Division I-AA team and a pair of 4-5 squads, and both won four of their games by a touchdown or less, but five of Georgia Tech’s triumphs came against Division I-A teams with losing records (including 2-8 Vanderbilt) and only three of Houston’s victories were over squads below .500. The Cougars’ four wins over teams with winning marks include wins over Oklahoma State and Texas Tech, while the Golden Tornado’s three wins over teams with winning ledgers were highlighted by narrow escapes over Clemson and Virginia Tech. The fact that Houston beat the only 7-2 team it has faced and Georgia Tech lost to the only 7-2 team it has faced was enough to offset the Cougs’ embarrassing setback to UTEP.

Speaking of that 7-2 team that beat the Engineers, the Miami Hurricanes rode that quality victory to the No. 13 spot in the rankings. The ‘Canes, like the No. 14 Men of Troy, are 7-2 and carded three wins by close margins, and USC’s best win (over Ohio State) is superior to Miami’s best win (over Georgia Tech), but two of the Trojans’ victories came against one-win San Jose State and Washington State squads. Moreover, the Hurricanes’ close loss was to a 6-3 team (Clemson) and Southern California’s close loss was to a 3-6 team (Washington).

The Bayou Bengals failed to keep pace with Miami and USC, despite their identical 7-2 records, because Louisiana State had no quality victory worthy of being set alongside the Hurricanes’ and the Trojans’ aforementioned "best wins." Two of the Fighting Tigers’ three triumphs over teams with winning records were against opponents with 5-4 ledgers (Louisiana-Lafayette and Georgia), but both of LSU’s losses were to 9-0 teams, and, although neither contest was especially close, the Tigers didn’t get blown out in either outing.

Oklahoma State had the same 7-2 record as the Bayou Bengals, but the Pokes trailed Louisiana State for four reasons. First of all, LSU lost to my No. 1 and No. 3 teams, whereas OSU lost to my No. 2 and No. 11 teams, and the Cowboys were less competitive overall in their losses. Secondly, the Tigers have beaten a team with a record better than 5-4 and Oklahoma State hasn’t. Thirdly, the Waddies’ strength of schedule was dragged down by Division I-AA Grambling and winless Rice. Finally, the Georgia Bulldogs were the Cowboys’ best victim but LSU’s second-best victim.

The Penn St. Nittany Lions (8-2) ended up behind Oklahoma State for similar reasons. Joe Paterno’s club lost games that were not close to the teams I have ranked No. 7 and No. 9. Half of Penn State’s eight wins came against Illinois (3-6), Syracuse (also 3-6), Akron (2-7), and Division I-AA Eastern Illinois. The Lions’ best win was over Temple.

While the Arizona Wildcats’ best win (over Central Michigan) was slightly better than Penn State’s, triumphs over one-win Washington State and Division I-AA Northern Arizona (which, by the way, is the site of many, many trees), along with a loss to three-win Washington, mar the Pac-10 squad’s 6-2 ledger. The closest thing the Wisconsin Badgers (7-2) have to a quality victory is over Fresno State and half of Wiscy’s six wins over Division I-A teams were nailbiters. Like Penn State, the Badgers were not competitive in losses to the Hawkeyes and the Buckeyes.

Five of South Florida’s six wins were over four-win Florida State, three-win Syracuse, winless Western Kentucky, Division I-AA Charleston Southern, and Division I-AA Wofford, but the Bulls beat the Mountaineers, so USF is ranked a notch ahead of a West Virginia outfit with no wins better than East Carolina and Marshall (both 5-4). WVU still has a more impressive resume than the Utes, whose 8-1 ledger features four wins over teams with seven or more losses. A close loss to Oregon is the best aspect of Utah’s season.

Nevertheless, the Utes boasted the best resume in the Beehive State by virtue of the fact that BYU’s only victory over a team with a winning ledger was a narrow escape over a 5-4 club with an injured quarterback in the season opener. The two blowout losses in the Cougars’ 7-2 record include a setback suffered at the hands of a 4-5 team.

Rutgers built its 6-2 resume on a pair of wins over Division I-AA opponents and a pair of teams sporting 2-7 records, but the Knights carded a nominal quality loss to Pitt. The Central Michigan Chippewas (7-2) edged out the Temple Owls (7-2) for the No. 25 slot in spite of triumphs over Division I-AA Alcorn State, winless Eastern Michigan, and two-win Akron because the Chippewas beat a .500 Big Ten team and Temple lost to Division I-AA Villanova.

Clearly, there is no defense for the bottom six or seven spots on that ballot, so I am openly soliciting your suggestions for three-loss teams from BCS conferences to plug into my top 25 in place of these middling mid-majors and unaccomplished Big East also-rans. For what it’s worth, I watched most of Bowling Green-Buffalo on Tuesday, East Carolina-Virginia Tech on Thursday, and Boise State-Louisiana Tech on Friday. On Saturday, I attended the Georgia-Tennessee Tech game and watched most of the Clemson-Florida State contest upon my return.

As always, your feedback is not only welcome, it is invited. I’m fully prepared to drop any team from about 19 on down in favor of a suitably accomplished thrice-beaten team. Your suggestions are appreciated.

Go ‘Dawgs! Auburna delenda est!

Postings Like This One Make It Hard to Hate Auburn . . .

T Kyle King — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:39:37 -0000

Postings Like This One Make It Hard to Hate Auburn . . .

. . . but I'll still manage somehow.

I hate Auburn.

Go 'Dawgs! Auburna delenda est!

Georgia Bulldogs 38, Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles 0: Yes, But . . .

T Kyle King — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 21:42:09 -0000

It was a sunny yet crisp day in Athens. The usual homecoming pushover allowed for a 1:00 kickoff and a relaxed atmosphere, which made it a good day for me to take my six-year-old son to the stadium. Having Thomas with me invariably colors my view of any outing for the better, so I probably came away from the experience feeling better than average, but, on the whole, I have to acknowledge in all candor that any extended review of yesterday’s triumph over Tennessee Tech would be much ado about not very much.

The best that can be said---and this is better than we usually are able to say in such circumstances---is that the Georgia Bulldogs performed like they were supposed to perform against a lesser opponent. Rather than letting an inferior visitor hang around for a fair portion of the afternoon, the Red and Black slammed the door at the outset and continued to hold it closed while generating enough offense early to put the team on cruise control in the second half and get some younger players some needed experience. Beyond that, any praises have to be qualified with, "But it was just Tennessee Tech . . ."

From where I sat, the crowd looked more numerous than I expected, although it was as lackluster as I anticipated. This is not necessarily a bad thing; I know I was not on my feet on every down and hollering like usual because I had my son with me. Logan Gray’s interception on an underthrown pass into the end zone caused me some concern (and made me wonder once again why we are so insistent upon protecting Aaron Murray’s redshirt at this stage of the season), but I am more bothered by the fact that the Bulldogs were unable to tally so much as a single takeaway when facing a Division I-AA opponent between the hedges.

Too much is being made of the penalties. Yes, it hurt that a first-quarter holding penalty nullified a Prince Miller punt return for a touchdown, but that was the only flag of the first fifteen minutes. The Georgia possession in question still ended in a touchdown. Likewise, Brandon Wood’s six-yard offsides penalty on third and nine came during a Golden Eagle drive that still ended in a punt, the false start on first and ten in Georgia’s ensuing drive did not prevent the ‘Dawgs from producing points on the series, and the false start on second and one didn’t stop the Red and Black from converting the first down. Those were the only four penalties of the first half. When a 31-0 halftime lead enables you to clear the bench after intermission, second-half penalties are more or less meaningless, and the coaching staff responded to them with an impressive level of severity.

Washaun Ealey is the future at tailback and, as David Hale noted in the postgame observations linked to above, there is a lot of young talent on this team that is going to make some noise in the SEC in the next couple or three years. However, several impediments are preventing those young men from reaching their full potential, and the top two roadblocks standing in their way are these:

Willie Martinez, who proved yesterday only that he would make a darned fine Division I-AA defensive coordinator, as long as he had substantially more talent at his disposal than the opposing coaches.

A ridiculous double standard regarding redshirting. Urban Meyer said a year or so ago that there was no longer such a thing as a redshirt year at Florida. He was right to say so, for two reasons. First of all, recruits are induced to come play for coaches who tell them their youth will not be held against them if they demonstrate sufficient dedication and ability. Secondly, when you’re recruiting at a high enough level, redshirting is counterproductive. Georgia gained nothing by redshirting Knowshon Rockwell Moreno, and Georgia is gaining nothing by redshirting Aaron Murray. That foolhardy decision virtually guarantees that we will be going through the same learning curve next year with Murray that we have had to go through this year with Joe Cox. That is a shame, considering that we all know that next year is A.J. Green’s last year in a Bulldog uniform. 2010 should be a banner year for the Red and Black, but obstinate decisionmaking regarding the Georgia quarterbacks makes it likely that it will not be.

At the end of the day, a 38-0 win over a Division I-AA opponent at homecoming is what it is, which is what it was supposed to be but nothing more than that. I got to spend the afternoon in Athens with my son, but he was a little worn out by the trip and the mild fever he had before we left worsened when we got home. I got to see a cousin I haven’t seen in a while, but that was only because, even though we missed each other inside the stadium, he called me on my cell phone while I was leaving town and told me his truck had been towed and he needed me to circle back and pick him up to take him to the wrecker service where his vehicle had been impounded.

There was a lot that was good that could be said of yesterday afternoon in Athens. Every good thing that could be said of it, however, has to be followed by a "but . . ." of one sort or another. It was that kind of day, I’m afraid.

Go ‘Dawgs! Auburna delenda est!