SB Nation User Blog: WDE

Tuberville Addresses Rumors....

WDE — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 18:48:52 -0000

Given last week's rumors Tuberville flet compelled to speakout prior to today's press conference. He addressed the rumors about his future with regards to resigning due to his health as well as the rumors about his drive and fire to win.

Check out the two links. I am sure there will be more to come later this afternoon.

Woodbery's report

http://blog.al.com/auburnbeat/2008/10/tuberville_im_not_a_quitter.html

The Goldmine's report

http://blog.al.com/goldmine/2008/10/tuberville_disputes_rumors_say.html

Is the SEC that good, that bad, or that deep?

WDE — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 16:48:03 -0000

I know it is nothing more than life in the SEC, another season of upsets, blowouts, and hard-fought games in the trenches. But this season seems to have a different tone to it. Take a quick look:

The West:

-We beat Miss St 3-2, lose to LSU 26-21, beat UT 14-12, lose to Vandy and Arkansas in close games.

-Ole Miss plays close all year, loses to Vandy, beats UF, loses to S Car, and loses a close one to Bama.

-Miss St loses to us 3-2, is able to score 24 on LSU in its loss at Tiger Stadium, beats Vandy then gets routed by UT 34-3.

-Bama blows out Arkansas and UGA but narrowly beats UK and Ole Miss.

-LSU beats us, handles Miss St, gets blown out by Florida and narrowly beats S Car.

-Arkansas gets man handled by Bama and plays UF close until the 4th quarter, beats us then loses to UK after UK comes back by scoring 14 unanswered in the 4th.

The East:

-Florida routs UT, loses a close game to Ole Miss, and was in a close game with Arkansas until the 4th quarter then blows out LSU.

-UGA narrowly beats S Car, gets blown out by Bama, man handles UT and beats Vandy.

-S Car narrowly loses to Vandy and Georgia, beats Ole Miss and UK then narrowly loses to LSU.

-Vandy wins in close games to S Car, Ole Miss & us and leads the SEC east then loses to Miss St and Georgia.

-UK nearly upsets Bama, loses to S Car, then has to come from behind to beat Arkansas.

-UT is blown out by Florida, narrowly loses to us, loses to UGA, then routs Miss St.

And those are only conference games, those don't include (to name a few) UT getting beat by lowly UCLA, La Tech and GA Tech beating Miss St, Arkansas' near losses to Western Illinois and La Monroe or Bama's quarrels with Tulane before beating them a week after man handling Clemson.

After seeing who has beat who and in what fashion it made me start thinking this weekend, is the SEC down this year or that good? And the conclusion I came to is neither and both; huh?. But rather the SEC is now that deep where no one is safe week to week. I know that is college football and reason 12546895632458 (to add to a commentor's list earlier this year) that this sport is arguably the best.

But the fact remains that when the power houses of the last decade are narrowly beating and losing to second tier SEC teams while blowing out fellow powerhouses all while the second tier programs are easily beating each other but are also silent giant killers and easily capable of pulling the upset, that your conference is deep in talent and thus with out argument the toughest in the nation. Regardless of who your team is (for our visitors) we should all be proud to be apart of this great conference because this is the only conference that gives you a full slate of good games every week, where every team had better bring their A game every week. You don't get USC - Wazzu, Illinois - Indiana, or an Iowa St - Baylor (no offense, Mr Chizik) game.

So while in the end it is the SEC and some of the results are year to year always close (LSU-AU, UGA-USC, UF-Ole Miss) there have been others. But again it is the SEC and therefore nothing should come as a surprse. But this year just has a different tone to it.....at least to me.

Damn I love College Football

War Damn Eagle

Firing Tuberville would cause irreparable damage....

WDE — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 17:48:35 -0000

After reading Jay's article last week that Auburn suffered irreparable damage after firing Franklin, his article this week about whether Tuberville's job is on the line, all about Bowden's firing from Clemson and last but not least all the internet rumors, I have spent a lot of time this week thinking about where Tuberville really stands. After thinking about it all week I have come to the conclusion that firing Tuberville would cause irreparable damage.

Some mentioned in comments yesterday that he exhausted capital last winter with the talks about TAMU (which I contend Finebaum started) and Arkansas. I won't even talk about TAMU because again I think Finebaum started those rumors. I do not buy for one second that he was ever in talks with Arkansas. And no; I am not being naïve. Here is why. Why would he want to go to Arkansas? Don't give me the excuse because that is his home state. He has very few ties back to there now. His mom lives in Auburn, he just built a new house in Auburn and his kids are at the age where moving them would be really hard on them. Furthermore he is not even a graduate of Arkansas so you can't use the alma mater claim. And last but not least it wouldn't even be a lateral move, it would be a demotion. The man was hunting with Gran and Nall (if memory serves) as he does every year. As soon as the Arkansas media ran the story and he was made aware of it, when he came out of the woods-which for those of you who hunt half the reason you go hunting is to get away from society, he immediately dismissed the story. He didn't let it linger. Just because someone is in the state doesn't mean they are interviewing for the job. You know he and his family went skiing right before Christmas last year in Colorado with some other coaches' families. Was he interviewing the for Colorado State job? What if their ski trip this year takes them to Washington or New York, is he interviewing for the UW or Syracuse jobs? Having given my reason for not believing that he was ever in talks with Arkansas, I do not believe he exhausted any capital, as referred to yesterday, except for with the amateur (by amateur I mean those who are not paid professional bloggers like Barnhart, Low, Marshall, etc) internet bloggers and fans. His capital is his record and leadership, period the end - not PR for every rumor.

His record speaks volumes across today's CFB. Tuberville's record at Auburn is currently 84-36 and 109-56 in his career. And we all know the state the program was in when he took over. That record could be a lot more impressive because his record since getting a full stable of his recruits in house is 63-21 for 75% in the toughest most elite conference in the nation. Not to mention his record in big games and against top 10 opponents. All that success while never fielding an investigation by the NCAA and very few off the field incidents. Furthermore when he took over at Ole Miss, Ole Miss was on probation, Tubbs was able to win there too!!! As Jay pointed out, while at Auburn he is 7-2 against Alabama, 5-4 against UGA, 4-4 against LSU, 3-1 against Florida and 6-3 in bowls. And that doesn't include the other top 10 ranked teams that he has beat. Firing a coach with those credentials would not result in anything positive. It would be staunchly criticized, ridiculed and scrutinized by every major entity in college football, from the media, to coaches, to players, to recruits. If a school is going to fire a coach with that kind of success for having a sub par year in which he has already tried to fix (whether the timing is right or wrong is irreverent), all to allow the boosters to regain control or because he didn't win enough then no one is going to want to associate their career with Auburn for fear that one sub par year is going to result in a major overhaul. Want proof, as Tony Barnhart stated in his column on Tuesday, look no further than Nebraska and UA. And with regards to the media, as War Damn Zach pointed out in his article yesterday, we have looked dismal at best throughout the year and lost two games to boot before our loss last week. Yet were still in the top 25, being the ONLY two loss ranked team. If that isn't respect from the media I do not know what is!!! But that respect didn't come overnight. It came after 10 years of hard work and SUCCESS by Tuberville!!! It took 10 years to get over the debacle of the Bowden dismissal. And no one would argue that Tuberville trumps Bowden in success. I am telling you folks, firing Tuberville would cause irreparable harm as again college football as a whole would staunchly criticize, ridicule and scrutinize such actions.

Last and not least, believe me when I tell you that if he were to be fired he would be hired that same day or the next at the latest. Don't believe me, just look at Huston Nutt, he left Arkansas and was hired the next day by Ole Miss. And his record at Arkansas was 75-48; what program wouldn't want Tuberville? A school is not going to look at what some fans think of his ability to address every rumor that hits the internet or erroneously picked up by the media only to be squandered as soon as he catches wind of it. One comes immediately to mind, Clemson - and they are on the schedule in 2010 and 2011. Forget about his 66% winning percentage. The fact remains and is WELL known throughout college football the state of the programs when he took over and where he took or has taken them. Clemson and any other school would snatch up Tuberville as fast as they could clear their flight plans with the FAA.

For those who want him gone, I challenge you to name me the replacement who can do better and do better with his own stable of players? He is one of the top 5 coaches in the country!!! Like it or not, you are not going to win 10 or more games every year in this conference. No current SEC coach has nor has any SEC coach done so in their career!!!

Evan Woodberry on Auburn firing Tubbs

WDE — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 13:15:11 -0000

Here is an excellent article by Even Woodberry on the ability of and ramifications of Auburn firing Tuberville. In the article he discusses how Tubbs has won all his previous battles, buyouts, irrational fans (boosters and radio show callers) and while he doesn't explicitly say it, how Tuberville, given his success over the last 4 years is esentially in a win win situation, while Auburn could easily be in a lose lose situation. Sorry to recap the article but I had to get the post to 75 words.

http://blog.al.com/auburnbeat/2008/10/column_history_shows_tubervill.html

Language......Please

WDE — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 14:31:56 -0000

All,

This is a call to everyone to watch the language that you use on this site. I don't care who your team(s) is/are and what blog you are on. This is a family friendly site for people of all ages to read. The "F" bombs, "S" bombs and "GD" bombs need STOP IMMEDIATELY. They are absolutely classless. I know there are comments left on this blog and others that infuriate you as I too am infuriated at some (lately many) of the comments. But that doesn't mean you have to respond with foul language.

Lets all show some class and watch our language. Do you cuss around your kids or other kids? Do you cuss around your elders or grandparents? Do you cuss walking through the concourse to Jordan-Hare?

You get my point!!!

32-17-2-1, 53.1%, 250, 7.8

WDE — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 14:47:46 -0000

Att = 32, Comp = 17, Int = 2, TD = 1

Completion % = 53.1

Passing Yards = 250

Yards/att = 7.8

Year = Juco transfer junior

Opponent = #6 Team in the nation

Att = 28, Comp = 17, Int = 1 TD = 4

Completion % = 60.7

Passing Yards = 172

Yards/att = 6.1

Year = Junior

Opponent = #5 Team in the nation (at the time)

Whose stats are those above??

If you answered Chris Todd and Mark Sanchez respectively you are correct.

My point? There is a lot of talk about Kodi not getting in the game. Relax he is only a sophomore and Chris' numbers are strong when compared to a possible Heisman candidate. I remember a lot gripe back in 2002 when Campbell wasn't starting. Cobb left and we all know how that turned out. Kodi sitting on the bench may not be a bad thing. Like it or not, as there has been, there are going to be a lot growing pains this year. Things will come together but, like the economy, we have to get out of this 'want it now' mindset and let the offense mature. Until then Kodi sitting on the bench soaking it all up rather than being out on the field going through the growing pains and thus possibly hurting his confidence may not be a bad thing. Now I know you can make the argument that sometimes the best approach is to learn from experience. But learning from experience is really learning from your own mistakes not learning from the errors of the whole offense. Kodi IS the QB of the future AND he still has time!!! How many offenses in the top 10 besides LSU have underclassmen QBs in their rotation? Only Oklahoma – and Sam Bradford is a stud!!!

Also, look what a dual QB offense did to LSU in the first half. We had a pick 6. Now I know Lee burned us in the second half and props to him. But it took the offense adjusting its rhythm to make that happen but they were forced to after powers knocked Hatch back to last week. Where in the first half the offense didn’t necessarily have (meaning forced because the Hatch didn’t know his own name) to adjust its rhythm. I really think that would have been us. The offense would have had to change it’s rhythm for Kodi. And that is too much of an immediate change to make on a back and forth basis against a great LSU defense in the middle of close game. So it may be that Kodi is capable rather it will throw off the total offensive rhythm. Not only that but how do you pull a kid who has hung up 250 yards and a 50% completion percentage on arguably the SECs best defense?

I mentioned Sanchez’s stats because he is a possible Heisman candidate and for sure a first round draft pick provided he stays healthy. But he is also a Junior who besides last year when John David Booty was hurt didn’t start and only played sparingly (closing routs). My point, he sat on the bench for two years and soaked it all in. And now he is having a pretty darn good year and is the TRUE leader of the number 1 team in the nation.

In my opinion, Chris is the bridge to get us through the growing pains. I am not saying he is the scape goat, rather the QB who has the experience and knowledge of this system who can hold things together this year until the kinks are worked out. Afterwards, Kodi will come in and excel. And just like in 2004 and Campbell everyone will be gloating over him. But we have to get through this year.

For all you Monday Morning AD/QB/HC/OC Homers...

WDE — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 04:32:53 -0000

For all of you who have already lost hope, please take a look at the following two links. These are links to Troy's total offensive stats by game for 2006 and 2007. When looking at these numbers please take note of these four things.

1-With exception to the game at FIU on 12/2/06, after the 10/28/06 game (week 7 - we are half way there now) against North Texas, Franklin's offense doesn't put less than 300 yards a game. And he had some success before week 7.

2-Total Defense rankings for FSU, GT and Nebraska in 2006. FSU = 18, GT = 27, and Nebraska = 56.

3-The 2007 losses to @ UF and UGA (same places we played) Troy put up 336 yards at UF to our 326 and 488 yards at UGA (the week before we played them) to our 216 yards.

4-The least amount of total yards Troy gained in 2007 was against UF with 336. The same UF as stated above that we put up 326 against.

2006 Season

http://www.cfbstats.com/2006/team/716/total/offense/gamelog.html

2007 Season

http://www.cfbstats.com/2007/team/716/total/offense/gamelog.html

So for those already giving up and throwing in the towel be careful what you may be wanting to throw away!!! And nothing against Troy but obvisouly they dont have the caliber of athletes we have!!!