After setting a blistering pace heading into the final week (60-15, .800 winning percentage), I stumbled through the finish line thanks to two SEC teams stinking it up against ACC teams and LSU blowing a 30-14 against Arkansas.
Last Week: 4-4
Season Record: 64-19 (.771)
Ole Miss 45, Mississippi State 0
Inmates in third world country prisons don't get abused as badly as State did on Friday. I've never seen Ole Miss do anything remotely close to what they did to the Bulldogs. At one point, I actually felt bad for laughing when State would attempt to pass the ball. No quarterback should have to endure the punishment all three of State's were getting. Although, Tyson Lee seemed to get a good laugh when Chris Relf was smashed on his first pass attempt, a right which Lee probably earned since he was nearly killed a few times.
As you know by now, the abuse was so severe that Sylvester Croom was told he would not be coaching at State anymore. I know officially he resigned, but resigning coaches don’t usually get buyouts for themselves and their assistants. And someone as stubborn and arrogant as Sylvester Croom doesn’t just resign unless there’s a really good reason. Like, say a big buyout for himself and guaranteeing money for his assistants, which is a good thing for those often forgotten in coaching changes.
Over the past few days, we’ve been bombarded with statements saying Croom is a man of character and did things “the right way” at State. Now, I’m not going to argue with the character statement. By all accounts from people who know him or have worked with him, he is a good guy. But I’ll take issue with the doing things “the right way” claim.
Does someone really need to be praised for doing what they’re supposed to do? Don’t cheat (or get caught), make sure your players make their grades, keep your players out of jail (it’s been ignored he gave Jackie Sherrill a run for his money in this category), and get your players to play hard. These are pretty much the basic things expected from a college football coach, with winning being the major requirement.
Sylvester Croom tried to do all of these things and was constantly given a media high-five for his attempts. As long as high-fives were being given out for doing what he was hired to do, why not give him some recognition for getting out of bed in the morning, practicing proper hygiene and not murdering people? This whole “right way” thing is completely absurd. Hundreds of other coaches have been doing the exact same thing and never once do we hear he’s doing things “the right way.”
A coach referred to as doing things the right way is like the quarterback that’s called a game manager. It’s a nice way of saying, “This guy is a good guy and tries hard, but he stinks.” Or, more importantly, it’s an excuse given to someone that doesn’t deserve one. Sylvester Croom no doubt was well liked as a person and tried hard as a coach, but he was not a head coach. He had five years to find a quarterback, five years to change his offense, five years to build on offensive line and five years to turn a bad program into a competitive one. He did none of these.
He refused to change when it was clear change was needed, both with certain coaches and his offensive scheme. He never blamed his team’s failures on his offensive scheme, which never worked in five years, but on individual players’ inability to make plays over that span. He claimed they were always in position to make plays, but never did, in effect, throwing them under the bus. In the end, that’s what brought him down. He was waiting on the players to change their performances when it was he who needed to change.
And one final note about Ole Miss in this game, when Peria Jerry finishes the year, gets drafted and moves to the city in which he’ll be playing, I hope he’s open to the idea of us getting an apartment together. My man-crush is reaching the same level it reached with Darren McFadden.
Actually, two more final notes about the Ole Miss game. One, when was the last time Ole Miss went undefeated in November? The ‘60s? This season was like the anti-David Cutcliffe season. Rocky start, strong finish. With Cutcliffe, we shouldn’t have even bothered playing games in November. And to be fair to Cutcliffe, this entire season was like the anti-Ed Orgeron season. Good coaching, winning record. And two, we outscored teams in November 152-20. That’s an average score of 38-5.
Arkansas 31, LSU 30
This co-defensive coordinator business needs to change before LSU goes to their bowl game. Up 30-14 in the third quarter, the defense allows Casey Dick, seriously, Casey Dick, to lead not one, but three scoring drives to win the game. Oh, and they gave up almost 400 yards of total offense.
Les Miles may not be destroying the LSU program, but if he drops another 7-5, 3-5 SEC stinkbomb next year, he’ll be looking for a new job. Luckily for him, Michigan should be canning Rich Rodriguez right about the time he would be getting fired. So he’s got that going for him, which has to be nice.
Georgia Tech 45, Georgia 42
Stafford and Moreno’s stats?
Stafford: 24 of 39, 407 yards, 5 TDs, 1 INT
Moreno: 17 carries for 94 yards 1 TD and 4 receptions for 74 yards
Georgia’s offense is like 2007 Golden State Warriors. All the starters are fantastic for a fantasy team, but the team itself isn’t quite good enough to do any real damage.
Clemson 31, South Carolina 14
I just realized Chris Smelley is only a sophomore. What are the chances he and Spurrier will be together for his senior year? -25%? -75%? -10,000%?
Florida 45, Florida State 15
At some point last football season, I wrote that instead of watching the Saints and Bucs battle to their inevitable 16-9 final twice a season, the NFL should scrap those two games and we should get to watch a staying awake contest between Ed Orgeron (Saints D-line coach) and John Gruden. Watching Orgeron inhale Red Bull, beef jerky and recruiting videos, while seeing Gruden think of ways to come up with longer names for his plays, would be infinitely more compelling than watching the Saints and Bucs play.
Well, I think a similar contest should be in order for Bobby Bowden and Joe Paterno to determine the greatest coach of all-time. Whichever one has the lead in career coaching victories should just retire and let the other one catch him. Then, the guy who ties the record retires, and the two basically try to see who can outlive the other one. That way Penn State and Florida State fans don’t have to watch as a couple of guys in their 90s try to coach major college football. It’s just stupid at this point.
Alabama 36, Auburn 0
Kudos to me for correctly picking Florida (7-1) to win the SEC East. Massive fail to me for picking Auburn (2-6) to win the SEC West.
Tennessee 28, Kentucky 10
Too bad Tennessee waited until games 11 and 12 to find out they actually have a better chance to win when they throw less than 10 passes. Granted, it was against Vanderbilt and Kentucky, but give Phil Fulmer credit for scrapping what wasn’t working and doing what he had to do to win.
Wake Forest 23, Vanderbilt 10
Congratulations to Vanderbilt for tying that Memphis team from last year or year before as the worst bowl eligible team in the history of college football. And another congratulations on finishing strong after the 5-0 start. They should have plenty of momentum headed into bowl season with a 1-6 finish.
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Weekend Picks
The NFL previews in two sentences or less are on the shelf this week due to the holiday week and college games on Friday. They will return next week at the regularly schedule time and date. On to the picks...
Made spanning two nights......
Last week: 3-1
Season: 60-15
LSU at Arkansas
Nothing sends Tiger fans into a state of dementia quite like a home loss to Alabama, an escape at home against Troy and a public beating by Ole Miss at home. Listening to the LSU call-in show on the way out of town last Saturday, you would have thought LSU was on their way to their third straight 6-6 season. Callers were not just questioning the coaching, which is understandable, but they were questioning whether Les Miles was leading their program into the crapper. Seriously. The same guy who won those ungrateful bastards a national championship about 11 months ago.
Now, I'm all for questioning moronic coaching, and certainly Les Miles deserves some of flak he gets, but destroying the LSU program he is not. He's cleaned up in recruiting since he's been there and, oh yeah, won the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP last season. I agree with LSU fans when they say there's plenty of talent on defense and this co-defensive coordinator business is just stupid, but when you're opening the season with a Harvard transfer, yes, a Harvard transfer, and a redshirt freshman as your top two quarterbacks, you're going to have problems on offense. Major problems.
If there's one certainty about the SEC, it's that if you don't have a an experienced, semi-talented quarterback (or say an Eli Manning-like talent that doesn't have to be experienced to be good) your offense isn't going to be so great all the time. Take a look at the teams that stink or at times have struggled in the SEC this year. State, Tennessee, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Arkansas, Auburn, LSU, South Carolina and Ole Miss have all had quarterback issues this season, whether it has been for the entire year or a stretch of games. All of these teams have either a first year starter or someone who isn't very good.
So LSU's problems aren't related to Les Miles doing a hack coaching job. Their biggest problem is inexperience behind the center. Give Jarrett Lee (if he doesn't suffer a mental breakdown) or Jordan Jefferson another year or two and LSU will probably be looking at another trip to Atlanta.
At this point, I think it's impossible for someone to lead the LSU program into the crapper, unless they dust off Gerry DiNardo. They've set up a dominant recruiting base in talent-rich Louisiana and can go into Texas to get even more good players. Talent will never be a problem at LSU. However, I do believe Les Miles is nothing more than a mediocre coach and will eventually leave or be run off (for 8-4 or 9-3 seasons), but his replacement, as long as he's competent, will win right away.
Now that we're 445 words into this post, I suppose I should actually get to this game. I expect Arkansas will rebound from their brutal loss to State and give LSU a game. And, thanks to Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Troy and Ole Miss, Arkansas has a pretty good idea as to how they should attack and defend LSU. The problem for Arkansas is that one of the brothers Dick will be playing quarterback and their defense actually has to play. Both of those are definitely not good times for Arkansas.
I also found out from my trip to Baton Rouge that LSU hates, and I mean hates, going to Little Rock. So that's one more advantage for Arkansas. There's nothing like a playing a team that doesn't want to be there. But, in the end, I believe LSU will come out of this one with a win. They've got more talent and are still playing to go to Dallas or Orlando and, let's face it, Arkansas just lost to State. I see an ugly, gross game in which LSU pulls away late.
Georgia Tech at Georgia
This game will probably mark the last appearances of Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno in Athens, until they're standing on the sideline at a game during their off weeks in the 2009 NFL season. So Georgia fans will get one last great performance out of those two and a mediocre performance from the team as a whole. It's amazing to me that in just about every Georgia game Stafford and Moreno come away with big numbers, but Georgia doesn't dominate. Everywhere else in the sporting world when your stars play well, your team wins big. It's like Georgia is in the bizzaro sporting world. Down is up. Hello means goodbye.
I don't know much about Georgia Tech other than they run an old school option offense. They're also in the ACC, which, this season, means they've beaten teams they shouldn't have and inexplicably lost to teams they shouldn't have. So nothing they do makes sense. We could see the Tech team that destroyed Miami or the team that lost to Virginia at home. The possibilities are endless with this team.
Georgia Tech hasn't seen on offense like the one they'll see on Friday and I don't think Georgia will have a problem moving the ball. However, Georgia's defense can easily be classified as shaky, meaning Tech should have some success as well. Even thought Georgia's defense isn't that great, when an SEC defense faces a one dimensional offense, they'll usually come out on top. I can see a little back and forth in this game, but I'm taking Georgia to put them away late.
*I wrote about the two games above on Wednesday night with full intentions of writing as much for the rest of the games on Thursday. However, Thanksgiving festivities limited me from doing so, but here are the rest of the picks of the week in a much shorter fashion.
South Carolina at Clemson
I would think a 4-4 team in the SEC is better than a 4-4 team in the ACC. And in a semi-related story, the two starting quarterbacks for this game, Chris Smelly and Cullen Harper, have combined for 23 interceptions on the year. You'll get the chance to watch this bloodbath on ESPN2 Saturday night. I'm taking Spurrier in a game that is the complete opposite of compelling and rich.
Florida at Florida State
Florida State has won eight games? Welcome to the 2008 ACC! Florida continues its Michaels and MacElroy "freight train from hell" run.
Auburn at Alabama
I did see that the weather in Tuscaloosa should be a little nasty on Saturday, which could make this game a little closer than expected. But even with bad weather and a few gift turnovers from Alabama, Auburn doesn't have enough of anything. Alabama will get away with hiding John Parker Wilson for one last game.
Kentucky at Tennessee
This game is worse than the time the raccoon got caught in the copier. Kentucky sends Phil Fulmer into unemployment with one last loss.
Vanderbilt at Wake Forest
I would think a 4-4 ACC team is better than a 4-4 SEC team. Especially one that is ranked in the 110s in at least one major offensive category. And one that lost to a Tennessee team that threw 9 passes for 21 yards. I still can't believe Ole Miss lost to this Vanderbilt team.
Mississippi State at Ole Miss
I expect this game to be tight early, but I think Ole Miss is out for blood against State. After last year's meltdown in this game and playing now for a potential trip to the Cotton Bowl, I look for the Rebels to hammer the Bulldogs. State's defense should hold up for a little while, but they'll get no help from their offense and will eventually collapse. No word on whether Houston Nutt plans to grab an Ole Miss flag and run around the field like a high school kid if Ole Miss is to win on Friday.
Made spanning two nights......
Last week: 3-1
Season: 60-15
LSU at Arkansas
Nothing sends Tiger fans into a state of dementia quite like a home loss to Alabama, an escape at home against Troy and a public beating by Ole Miss at home. Listening to the LSU call-in show on the way out of town last Saturday, you would have thought LSU was on their way to their third straight 6-6 season. Callers were not just questioning the coaching, which is understandable, but they were questioning whether Les Miles was leading their program into the crapper. Seriously. The same guy who won those ungrateful bastards a national championship about 11 months ago.
Now, I'm all for questioning moronic coaching, and certainly Les Miles deserves some of flak he gets, but destroying the LSU program he is not. He's cleaned up in recruiting since he's been there and, oh yeah, won the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP last season. I agree with LSU fans when they say there's plenty of talent on defense and this co-defensive coordinator business is just stupid, but when you're opening the season with a Harvard transfer, yes, a Harvard transfer, and a redshirt freshman as your top two quarterbacks, you're going to have problems on offense. Major problems.
If there's one certainty about the SEC, it's that if you don't have a an experienced, semi-talented quarterback (or say an Eli Manning-like talent that doesn't have to be experienced to be good) your offense isn't going to be so great all the time. Take a look at the teams that stink or at times have struggled in the SEC this year. State, Tennessee, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Arkansas, Auburn, LSU, South Carolina and Ole Miss have all had quarterback issues this season, whether it has been for the entire year or a stretch of games. All of these teams have either a first year starter or someone who isn't very good.
So LSU's problems aren't related to Les Miles doing a hack coaching job. Their biggest problem is inexperience behind the center. Give Jarrett Lee (if he doesn't suffer a mental breakdown) or Jordan Jefferson another year or two and LSU will probably be looking at another trip to Atlanta.
At this point, I think it's impossible for someone to lead the LSU program into the crapper, unless they dust off Gerry DiNardo. They've set up a dominant recruiting base in talent-rich Louisiana and can go into Texas to get even more good players. Talent will never be a problem at LSU. However, I do believe Les Miles is nothing more than a mediocre coach and will eventually leave or be run off (for 8-4 or 9-3 seasons), but his replacement, as long as he's competent, will win right away.
Now that we're 445 words into this post, I suppose I should actually get to this game. I expect Arkansas will rebound from their brutal loss to State and give LSU a game. And, thanks to Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Troy and Ole Miss, Arkansas has a pretty good idea as to how they should attack and defend LSU. The problem for Arkansas is that one of the brothers Dick will be playing quarterback and their defense actually has to play. Both of those are definitely not good times for Arkansas.
I also found out from my trip to Baton Rouge that LSU hates, and I mean hates, going to Little Rock. So that's one more advantage for Arkansas. There's nothing like a playing a team that doesn't want to be there. But, in the end, I believe LSU will come out of this one with a win. They've got more talent and are still playing to go to Dallas or Orlando and, let's face it, Arkansas just lost to State. I see an ugly, gross game in which LSU pulls away late.
Georgia Tech at Georgia
This game will probably mark the last appearances of Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno in Athens, until they're standing on the sideline at a game during their off weeks in the 2009 NFL season. So Georgia fans will get one last great performance out of those two and a mediocre performance from the team as a whole. It's amazing to me that in just about every Georgia game Stafford and Moreno come away with big numbers, but Georgia doesn't dominate. Everywhere else in the sporting world when your stars play well, your team wins big. It's like Georgia is in the bizzaro sporting world. Down is up. Hello means goodbye.
I don't know much about Georgia Tech other than they run an old school option offense. They're also in the ACC, which, this season, means they've beaten teams they shouldn't have and inexplicably lost to teams they shouldn't have. So nothing they do makes sense. We could see the Tech team that destroyed Miami or the team that lost to Virginia at home. The possibilities are endless with this team.
Georgia Tech hasn't seen on offense like the one they'll see on Friday and I don't think Georgia will have a problem moving the ball. However, Georgia's defense can easily be classified as shaky, meaning Tech should have some success as well. Even thought Georgia's defense isn't that great, when an SEC defense faces a one dimensional offense, they'll usually come out on top. I can see a little back and forth in this game, but I'm taking Georgia to put them away late.
*I wrote about the two games above on Wednesday night with full intentions of writing as much for the rest of the games on Thursday. However, Thanksgiving festivities limited me from doing so, but here are the rest of the picks of the week in a much shorter fashion.
South Carolina at Clemson
I would think a 4-4 team in the SEC is better than a 4-4 team in the ACC. And in a semi-related story, the two starting quarterbacks for this game, Chris Smelly and Cullen Harper, have combined for 23 interceptions on the year. You'll get the chance to watch this bloodbath on ESPN2 Saturday night. I'm taking Spurrier in a game that is the complete opposite of compelling and rich.
Florida at Florida State
Florida State has won eight games? Welcome to the 2008 ACC! Florida continues its Michaels and MacElroy "freight train from hell" run.
Auburn at Alabama
I did see that the weather in Tuscaloosa should be a little nasty on Saturday, which could make this game a little closer than expected. But even with bad weather and a few gift turnovers from Alabama, Auburn doesn't have enough of anything. Alabama will get away with hiding John Parker Wilson for one last game.
Kentucky at Tennessee
This game is worse than the time the raccoon got caught in the copier. Kentucky sends Phil Fulmer into unemployment with one last loss.
Vanderbilt at Wake Forest
I would think a 4-4 ACC team is better than a 4-4 SEC team. Especially one that is ranked in the 110s in at least one major offensive category. And one that lost to a Tennessee team that threw 9 passes for 21 yards. I still can't believe Ole Miss lost to this Vanderbilt team.
Mississippi State at Ole Miss
I expect this game to be tight early, but I think Ole Miss is out for blood against State. After last year's meltdown in this game and playing now for a potential trip to the Cotton Bowl, I look for the Rebels to hammer the Bulldogs. State's defense should hold up for a little while, but they'll get no help from their offense and will eventually collapse. No word on whether Houston Nutt plans to grab an Ole Miss flag and run around the field like a high school kid if Ole Miss is to win on Friday.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
From the Weekend That Was
First off, if you don’t want to read about Ole Miss’ thrashing of LSU and what it meant to the Ole Miss players and fans, then I suggest you not even read. I didn’t see another game or even the highlights and frankly, I don’t care.
Ole Miss 31, LSU 13
I don’t know if there is a way to accurately describe what it felt like to be crammed in the corner of the south endzone in Tiger Stadium, watching Ole Miss do whatever it wanted to do against LSU and experiencing the celebration that took place after the game. I was there for wins over Florida in Oxford in ‘02 and The Swamp in ‘03. I saw the win over Auburn in the Tuberville revenge game in ’99 and the ’03 game in which I didn’t think I was going to live through the fourth quarter. I was in the stadium when we finally beat Alabama in ‘01 for the first time in what seemed like a million years, and in ’03 when we destroyed them. I was even in Tiger Stadium in ’97, ’99 and ’01 when we won so often there we started paying taxes for ownership.
All of those games were great and are some of my favorite memories, but none of them, none, compare to what happened on Saturday. Yes, it was absolutely tremendous kicking the crap out of a long-time rival, who had won six straight over us, on their home field, and watching their fans start filing out of the stadium in the third quarter. But it was more than that.
For the past four years, Ole Miss fans have endured some of the most miserable football of my lifetime. We watched as the foundation laid in the late ‘90s and early ‘00s for a successful program collapsed into a giant sinkhole caused by a coach who quit recruiting and stubbornly played undeserving juniors and seniors, and another coach who loved Red Bull and recrootin’ but had no idea how to actually coach or run a football program.
We sat through blowouts, watched as the team found new ways to lose close games in the most painful ways possible and witnessed coaching incompetence that could only be described as criminal. It was so awful many fans considered (many actually did) giving up. Why should we waste our time and money on a program that wasn’t going anywhere, and, if anything, was getting worse? It was, in short, the worst of times.
Then, a small glimmer of hope happened. We sent the Shrimp Boat Captain packing and had a proven, competent head coach fall into our lap. This season started out with some stinging losses to Wake Forest and Vanderbilt, but things seemingly started to get better when the team went to Gainesville and beat Florida. When we lost to South Carolina in Oxford the following week, we all thought this was just the same Ole Miss we’ve seen over the past four years. One step forward, ten steps back.
But then the team went to Alabama and showed some heart, coming back from a 24-3 deficit and had a chance to win the game before losing 24-20. Yes, it was a loss, but the team started to believe they could win every time they played. We saw it when they squeaked out a win at Arkansas and carried it over to three straight wins in November. An Ole Miss team, which won zero SEC games last year, won three straight in November. That just doesn’t happen.
With the LSU game next on the schedule, everyone knew how big the game was. It was a chance for the team to prove they had finally turned the corner out of a loser’s mindset into one of a winner. It was a chance to show that they really were a good team. And it was chance to prove they belonged.
For the fans, it meant erasing four years of frustration and doing so at the expense of a hated rival. It meant a close to the past four years and moving forward. And it meant we were finally supporting a real winner.
When the players got off the bus on Saturday, I could tell they were ready for this game. There weren’t any of the dead man walking stares that I’ve seen on countless road trips. Instead, they were enjoying the moment, smiling and encouraging the crowd to yell even louder. While this may have seemed like a simple thing, as an Ole Miss fan, it doesn’t happen often, and it meant this was a team that finally believed in themselves.
As the final minutes of the game ran off the clock, the emotion started to pour out of the Ole Miss section. One Hotty Toddy after another, chants to score again before time ran out and waving goodbye to LSU fans dumb enough to still be in the stadium. And when the game finally ended, the players joined in and pure joy exploded from the Ole Miss crowd and the players on the field. The players high fived people in the front row, grabbed signs out of the crowd to show off and directed the band as they played.
Everything they did sent the crowd into another roar. Even the stupid triangle of the Magnolia Bowl trophy looked great being passed around from player to player. And when I thought it wasn’t possible to yell anymore, the whole Ole Miss section began chanting Houston Nutt’s name, in appreciation for the man who stopped the last four years. The postgame celebration truly was one of those moments that, unless you were there, you’ll never be able to understand how happy everyone was.
Thirty minutes after the game ended and the players and Nutt finally left the field, we started to leave the stadium. People were yelling just to yell and screaming about the Cotton Bowl. For the first time since 2003, Ole Miss fans had reason to be hopeful about their team. What happened on Saturday wasn’t just a win over LSU, it was a team that pulled itself, a program and its fans out of an abyss. And it felt good. Damn good.
Ole Miss 31, LSU 13
I don’t know if there is a way to accurately describe what it felt like to be crammed in the corner of the south endzone in Tiger Stadium, watching Ole Miss do whatever it wanted to do against LSU and experiencing the celebration that took place after the game. I was there for wins over Florida in Oxford in ‘02 and The Swamp in ‘03. I saw the win over Auburn in the Tuberville revenge game in ’99 and the ’03 game in which I didn’t think I was going to live through the fourth quarter. I was in the stadium when we finally beat Alabama in ‘01 for the first time in what seemed like a million years, and in ’03 when we destroyed them. I was even in Tiger Stadium in ’97, ’99 and ’01 when we won so often there we started paying taxes for ownership.
All of those games were great and are some of my favorite memories, but none of them, none, compare to what happened on Saturday. Yes, it was absolutely tremendous kicking the crap out of a long-time rival, who had won six straight over us, on their home field, and watching their fans start filing out of the stadium in the third quarter. But it was more than that.
For the past four years, Ole Miss fans have endured some of the most miserable football of my lifetime. We watched as the foundation laid in the late ‘90s and early ‘00s for a successful program collapsed into a giant sinkhole caused by a coach who quit recruiting and stubbornly played undeserving juniors and seniors, and another coach who loved Red Bull and recrootin’ but had no idea how to actually coach or run a football program.
We sat through blowouts, watched as the team found new ways to lose close games in the most painful ways possible and witnessed coaching incompetence that could only be described as criminal. It was so awful many fans considered (many actually did) giving up. Why should we waste our time and money on a program that wasn’t going anywhere, and, if anything, was getting worse? It was, in short, the worst of times.
Then, a small glimmer of hope happened. We sent the Shrimp Boat Captain packing and had a proven, competent head coach fall into our lap. This season started out with some stinging losses to Wake Forest and Vanderbilt, but things seemingly started to get better when the team went to Gainesville and beat Florida. When we lost to South Carolina in Oxford the following week, we all thought this was just the same Ole Miss we’ve seen over the past four years. One step forward, ten steps back.
But then the team went to Alabama and showed some heart, coming back from a 24-3 deficit and had a chance to win the game before losing 24-20. Yes, it was a loss, but the team started to believe they could win every time they played. We saw it when they squeaked out a win at Arkansas and carried it over to three straight wins in November. An Ole Miss team, which won zero SEC games last year, won three straight in November. That just doesn’t happen.
With the LSU game next on the schedule, everyone knew how big the game was. It was a chance for the team to prove they had finally turned the corner out of a loser’s mindset into one of a winner. It was a chance to show that they really were a good team. And it was chance to prove they belonged.
For the fans, it meant erasing four years of frustration and doing so at the expense of a hated rival. It meant a close to the past four years and moving forward. And it meant we were finally supporting a real winner.
When the players got off the bus on Saturday, I could tell they were ready for this game. There weren’t any of the dead man walking stares that I’ve seen on countless road trips. Instead, they were enjoying the moment, smiling and encouraging the crowd to yell even louder. While this may have seemed like a simple thing, as an Ole Miss fan, it doesn’t happen often, and it meant this was a team that finally believed in themselves.
As the final minutes of the game ran off the clock, the emotion started to pour out of the Ole Miss section. One Hotty Toddy after another, chants to score again before time ran out and waving goodbye to LSU fans dumb enough to still be in the stadium. And when the game finally ended, the players joined in and pure joy exploded from the Ole Miss crowd and the players on the field. The players high fived people in the front row, grabbed signs out of the crowd to show off and directed the band as they played.
Everything they did sent the crowd into another roar. Even the stupid triangle of the Magnolia Bowl trophy looked great being passed around from player to player. And when I thought it wasn’t possible to yell anymore, the whole Ole Miss section began chanting Houston Nutt’s name, in appreciation for the man who stopped the last four years. The postgame celebration truly was one of those moments that, unless you were there, you’ll never be able to understand how happy everyone was.
Thirty minutes after the game ended and the players and Nutt finally left the field, we started to leave the stadium. People were yelling just to yell and screaming about the Cotton Bowl. For the first time since 2003, Ole Miss fans had reason to be hopeful about their team. What happened on Saturday wasn’t just a win over LSU, it was a team that pulled itself, a program and its fans out of an abyss. And it felt good. Damn good.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Weekend Picks
Made while watching Ben Howland butcher another UCLA basketball game. I think it's time to start referring to him as the Mark Richt of college basketball.....
Last week: 5-1
Season: 57-14
Tennessee at Vanderbilt
The leadoff batter in a miserable set of games this weekend. And it just so happens this leadoff batter is Willy Taveras. Actually, that's probably an insult to Willy Taveras. I just spend ten minutes looking up who is considered the worst leadoff batter in the history of baseball and came across a guy named Ivan DeJesus, who played shortstop for the Cubs in 1981. DeJesus started 59 games as the leadoff batter and hit a whopping .173 with an on-base percentage of .272 in the top spot. So there you have it. This game is the Ivan DeJesus of leadoff games. My apologies to Willy Taveras.
As for the teams involved in this epic struggle of the 115th (Tennessee) and 116th (Vanderbilt) ranked offenses, Vanderbilt became the worst bowl eligible team in the history of bowl eligible teams last week with their win over Kentucky and will probably be a little looser in their final two games now that their sphincter muscles have relaxed. I don't think that will necessarily jump start the 116th ranked offense, but it will certainly decrease their chances of blowing a 24-9 fourth quarter lead in this game like they did last year.
Tennessee has to be playing to avoid losing to Vanderbilt in the same season in which they watch Vandy in a bowl game while they sit at home. But given their performance against Wyoming, the Vols may not attempt to try the rest of the season. That is, if they were trying before then. I don't care if Tennessee isn't trying anymore, Vanderbilt is busy thinking about all the gentleman's establishments they'll be visiting in Shreveport, Memphis or, in what would be perfectly fitting for a Vandy team finally bowl eligible, Nashville. I'm taking Tennessee here in a classic 3 1/2 hour JP game where neither team breaks 20.
The Citadel at Florida
Remember the story from the Old Testament where one of the prophets (Elija or Elisha? Can't remember.) decides to show some pagans the power of God against the power of theirs? He has two huge altars built, covers them and everything around them with water, and waits to see whose god can light the altar to burn the sacrificial animals on the respective altars. So the pagans dance around and cut themselves, calling out for fire from their gods to light the altar, and nothing ever happens. Then it's Elija/Elisha/Someone else's turn and he prays to God and a fireball the size of Montana falls out of the sky and completely incinerates everything on both altars and anything remotely close to them.
Well, Florida is that giant fireball that consumes everything. While they are presently not God, they're at least an extension of a finger. And yes, The Citadel is playing the role of the altars on Saturday.
*Note: No doubt I screwed up the significance of that story, but hopefully I got most of the details right.
Arkansas at Mississippi State
How was I unaware that Casey Dick has a younger brother who also plays quarterback at Arkansas? And because he's a redshirt freshman, we're guaranteed the ability to have three more years to make immature jokes involving the family's last name. And even more good news, both might have a chance to play this weekend. Casey may still be suffering from the concussion he got against South Carolina and apparently his brother has been deemed the most competent backup. Now, I don't believe for one second that Casey Dick's brother is the most capable backup, but that this is just Bobby Petrino amusing himself. I'm sure there's an immature joke to be made here, but I'll pass for now.
As for this game, Sylvester Croom has never beaten Arkansas and I don't think that's going to change this year. While the brothers Dick aren't anything worth noting at quarterback, State is bringing nothing to the table at that position. Tyson Lee plays hard and has some mobility, but let's be honest, he stinks. And Wesley Carroll? Surely you jest. In a battle of badly quarterbacked teams, Arkansas will prevail and increase the wailing and gnashing of teeth in Starkville.
Ole Miss at LSU
I'll be braving Somalia West this weekend as I head to Baton Rouge for the game. So if an empty liquor bottle should find the side of my head, this could be my last pick of the week so I'll try to get it right. Oh, I forgot to mention bags full of urine. I don't think one would kill me, but if one hit me I'd certainly vomit everywhere, which could possibly cause me to choke and die.
This game will come down to which quarterback screws up the least. Both defenses are pretty good against the run (Ole Miss is 13th and LSU is 15th in the country) and horrid against the pass (Ole Miss 84th and LSU 63rd), meaning the team that passes well will probably win the game. And the plot thickens there. Jarrett Lee leads the conference in interceptions with 15 and Jevan Snead is close behind with 11, so both quarterbacks are wildly inconsistent in their passing abilities (and both are around 54% in completion percentage). That means both teams need to do the thing they don't really want to do in order to win.
Even though he's improved, I still don't trust Jevan Snead to take care of the ball and not make dumb decisions. But, luckily for Ole Miss fans, Jarrett Lee is in charge of the other team. The longer he plays and the more he's called on to throw, the higher Ole Miss' chances for a win go up. At this point in the season, I think Lee is a bigger liability than Snead so I'm taking the Rebels in a miserably close, emotionally draining win. That's right Jim Jones, pass the lighter, I'm about to freebase some of that Kool-Aid.
Last week: 5-1
Season: 57-14
Tennessee at Vanderbilt
The leadoff batter in a miserable set of games this weekend. And it just so happens this leadoff batter is Willy Taveras. Actually, that's probably an insult to Willy Taveras. I just spend ten minutes looking up who is considered the worst leadoff batter in the history of baseball and came across a guy named Ivan DeJesus, who played shortstop for the Cubs in 1981. DeJesus started 59 games as the leadoff batter and hit a whopping .173 with an on-base percentage of .272 in the top spot. So there you have it. This game is the Ivan DeJesus of leadoff games. My apologies to Willy Taveras.
As for the teams involved in this epic struggle of the 115th (Tennessee) and 116th (Vanderbilt) ranked offenses, Vanderbilt became the worst bowl eligible team in the history of bowl eligible teams last week with their win over Kentucky and will probably be a little looser in their final two games now that their sphincter muscles have relaxed. I don't think that will necessarily jump start the 116th ranked offense, but it will certainly decrease their chances of blowing a 24-9 fourth quarter lead in this game like they did last year.
Tennessee has to be playing to avoid losing to Vanderbilt in the same season in which they watch Vandy in a bowl game while they sit at home. But given their performance against Wyoming, the Vols may not attempt to try the rest of the season. That is, if they were trying before then. I don't care if Tennessee isn't trying anymore, Vanderbilt is busy thinking about all the gentleman's establishments they'll be visiting in Shreveport, Memphis or, in what would be perfectly fitting for a Vandy team finally bowl eligible, Nashville. I'm taking Tennessee here in a classic 3 1/2 hour JP game where neither team breaks 20.
The Citadel at Florida
Remember the story from the Old Testament where one of the prophets (Elija or Elisha? Can't remember.) decides to show some pagans the power of God against the power of theirs? He has two huge altars built, covers them and everything around them with water, and waits to see whose god can light the altar to burn the sacrificial animals on the respective altars. So the pagans dance around and cut themselves, calling out for fire from their gods to light the altar, and nothing ever happens. Then it's Elija/Elisha/Someone else's turn and he prays to God and a fireball the size of Montana falls out of the sky and completely incinerates everything on both altars and anything remotely close to them.
Well, Florida is that giant fireball that consumes everything. While they are presently not God, they're at least an extension of a finger. And yes, The Citadel is playing the role of the altars on Saturday.
*Note: No doubt I screwed up the significance of that story, but hopefully I got most of the details right.
Arkansas at Mississippi State
How was I unaware that Casey Dick has a younger brother who also plays quarterback at Arkansas? And because he's a redshirt freshman, we're guaranteed the ability to have three more years to make immature jokes involving the family's last name. And even more good news, both might have a chance to play this weekend. Casey may still be suffering from the concussion he got against South Carolina and apparently his brother has been deemed the most competent backup. Now, I don't believe for one second that Casey Dick's brother is the most capable backup, but that this is just Bobby Petrino amusing himself. I'm sure there's an immature joke to be made here, but I'll pass for now.
As for this game, Sylvester Croom has never beaten Arkansas and I don't think that's going to change this year. While the brothers Dick aren't anything worth noting at quarterback, State is bringing nothing to the table at that position. Tyson Lee plays hard and has some mobility, but let's be honest, he stinks. And Wesley Carroll? Surely you jest. In a battle of badly quarterbacked teams, Arkansas will prevail and increase the wailing and gnashing of teeth in Starkville.
Ole Miss at LSU
I'll be braving Somalia West this weekend as I head to Baton Rouge for the game. So if an empty liquor bottle should find the side of my head, this could be my last pick of the week so I'll try to get it right. Oh, I forgot to mention bags full of urine. I don't think one would kill me, but if one hit me I'd certainly vomit everywhere, which could possibly cause me to choke and die.
This game will come down to which quarterback screws up the least. Both defenses are pretty good against the run (Ole Miss is 13th and LSU is 15th in the country) and horrid against the pass (Ole Miss 84th and LSU 63rd), meaning the team that passes well will probably win the game. And the plot thickens there. Jarrett Lee leads the conference in interceptions with 15 and Jevan Snead is close behind with 11, so both quarterbacks are wildly inconsistent in their passing abilities (and both are around 54% in completion percentage). That means both teams need to do the thing they don't really want to do in order to win.
Even though he's improved, I still don't trust Jevan Snead to take care of the ball and not make dumb decisions. But, luckily for Ole Miss fans, Jarrett Lee is in charge of the other team. The longer he plays and the more he's called on to throw, the higher Ole Miss' chances for a win go up. At this point in the season, I think Lee is a bigger liability than Snead so I'm taking the Rebels in a miserably close, emotionally draining win. That's right Jim Jones, pass the lighter, I'm about to freebase some of that Kool-Aid.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
New Feature: Every NFL Game Previewed in Two Sentences or Less
In a never-ending effort to bring you quality material (my opinion of quality, not yours), I decided it was time to add a third post each week, and one that wasn't about college football or the latest buffoonery from someone employed by the University of Mississippi Athletic Department. So, as the title of this post reads, I give you a preview of all the NFL games in two sentences or less. This feature will appear each Wednesday night until the end of the NFL season. Also, I'm working on a title for it, but haven't settled on anything yet, so suggestions are welcome.
One other note, look for the review of the weekend post on Sunday nights and the picks of the week on Thursday nights. That's the schedule I'd like to keep, but I do enjoy being lazy. On to the previews....
Cincinnati (1-8-1) at Pittsburgh (7-3)
The Bengals have beaten someone? But kudos to the Bengals for knowing that games could end in a tie.
Tampa Bay (7-3) at Detroit (0-10)
Right now in Detroit, it's 34 degrees with flurries, the Pistons just landed a shoot-first point guard, the Tigers were one of the biggest busts of the 2008 baseball season and now the Lions are six games away from the perfect season. The good news for Detroit is that the snow should be off the ground in late April, early May.
NY Jets (7-3) at Tennessee (10-0)
When Brett Favre was making that Wrangler jeans commercial, how many interceptions did he throw? Also, I can guarantee you he told the director, "If so much as one drop of mud, one drop, gets on me, the next time you'll see me is in a Lee jeans commercial on the TV you're watching while you're supposed to be asking a customer if he'd like to try some shrimp poppers or extreme fajitas."
Buffalo (5-5) at Kansas City (1-9)
Someone actually has to win this game. No, wait, how could I forget about ties!!!
Chicago (5-5) at St. Louis (2-8)
If you would have told me Jim Haslett would be a head coach in the NFL again, I'd have told you, "Yeah, and Kyle Orton will one day not suck." Looks like you got the last laugh.
New England (6-4) at Miami (6-4)
The loser is probably done as far as the playoffs go, and the winner will cling to playoff hopes until the last week of the season only to have them crushed in the most bitter of fashions. First round of the NFL playoffs gambling alert: Chad Pennington on the road.
Minnesota (5-5) at Jacksonville (4-6)
The Vikings can still make the playoffs thanks to their division of mediocrity (everyone but Detroit is 5-5). Jacksonville....well, other than stink, I don't know what they can do.
Philadelphia (5-4-1) at Baltimore (6-4)
My fantasy football and the Eagles' hopes are riding on a guy who gets totally out of breath after one play and stays that way for the rest of the game. And, until last Sunday afternoon, was unaware teams could tie in the NFL.
Houston (3-7) at Cleveland (4-6)
Do you realize when LeBron James leaves Cleveland in a couple of years, this will be Brady Quinn's town? I hope the National Guard is already on standby.
San Francisco (3-7) at Dallas (6-4)
Congratulations to Mike Singletary for keeping his pants up two weeks in-a-row. Life as a grown man can be hard.
Oakland (2-8) at Denver (6-4)
Is every other team in the NFL 6-4 or hovering around .500? This season sucks.
Washington (6-4) at Seattle (2-8)
On cue, another 6-4 team!
NY Giants (9-1) at Arizona (7-3)
A potential second round playoff match-up preview on Sunday. Only this one won't end with the Giants winning by 40 and Kurt Warner throwing four picks before having some bone in his body snapped in half.
Carolina (8-2) at Atlanta (6-4)
I have no evidence to back this claim up, but I'm certain every game in the history of the NFC South has ended with a score of 13-9.
Indianapolis (6-4) at San Diego (4-6)
Just when you think we're getting another 6-4 team, the Chargers pull a fast one and go 4-6. Enjoy another Norv Turner debacle.
Green Bay (5-5) at New Orleans (5-5)
I once went to a Saints game and sat by a drunker-than-drunk man who was dressed as a nun and waved a Saints flag the entire game. My ass the Packers have the best fans in the NFL.
One other note, look for the review of the weekend post on Sunday nights and the picks of the week on Thursday nights. That's the schedule I'd like to keep, but I do enjoy being lazy. On to the previews....
Cincinnati (1-8-1) at Pittsburgh (7-3)
The Bengals have beaten someone? But kudos to the Bengals for knowing that games could end in a tie.
Tampa Bay (7-3) at Detroit (0-10)
Right now in Detroit, it's 34 degrees with flurries, the Pistons just landed a shoot-first point guard, the Tigers were one of the biggest busts of the 2008 baseball season and now the Lions are six games away from the perfect season. The good news for Detroit is that the snow should be off the ground in late April, early May.
NY Jets (7-3) at Tennessee (10-0)
When Brett Favre was making that Wrangler jeans commercial, how many interceptions did he throw? Also, I can guarantee you he told the director, "If so much as one drop of mud, one drop, gets on me, the next time you'll see me is in a Lee jeans commercial on the TV you're watching while you're supposed to be asking a customer if he'd like to try some shrimp poppers or extreme fajitas."
Buffalo (5-5) at Kansas City (1-9)
Someone actually has to win this game. No, wait, how could I forget about ties!!!
Chicago (5-5) at St. Louis (2-8)
If you would have told me Jim Haslett would be a head coach in the NFL again, I'd have told you, "Yeah, and Kyle Orton will one day not suck." Looks like you got the last laugh.
New England (6-4) at Miami (6-4)
The loser is probably done as far as the playoffs go, and the winner will cling to playoff hopes until the last week of the season only to have them crushed in the most bitter of fashions. First round of the NFL playoffs gambling alert: Chad Pennington on the road.
Minnesota (5-5) at Jacksonville (4-6)
The Vikings can still make the playoffs thanks to their division of mediocrity (everyone but Detroit is 5-5). Jacksonville....well, other than stink, I don't know what they can do.
Philadelphia (5-4-1) at Baltimore (6-4)
My fantasy football and the Eagles' hopes are riding on a guy who gets totally out of breath after one play and stays that way for the rest of the game. And, until last Sunday afternoon, was unaware teams could tie in the NFL.
Houston (3-7) at Cleveland (4-6)
Do you realize when LeBron James leaves Cleveland in a couple of years, this will be Brady Quinn's town? I hope the National Guard is already on standby.
San Francisco (3-7) at Dallas (6-4)
Congratulations to Mike Singletary for keeping his pants up two weeks in-a-row. Life as a grown man can be hard.
Oakland (2-8) at Denver (6-4)
Is every other team in the NFL 6-4 or hovering around .500? This season sucks.
Washington (6-4) at Seattle (2-8)
On cue, another 6-4 team!
NY Giants (9-1) at Arizona (7-3)
A potential second round playoff match-up preview on Sunday. Only this one won't end with the Giants winning by 40 and Kurt Warner throwing four picks before having some bone in his body snapped in half.
Carolina (8-2) at Atlanta (6-4)
I have no evidence to back this claim up, but I'm certain every game in the history of the NFC South has ended with a score of 13-9.
Indianapolis (6-4) at San Diego (4-6)
Just when you think we're getting another 6-4 team, the Chargers pull a fast one and go 4-6. Enjoy another Norv Turner debacle.
Green Bay (5-5) at New Orleans (5-5)
I once went to a Saints game and sat by a drunker-than-drunk man who was dressed as a nun and waved a Saints flag the entire game. My ass the Packers have the best fans in the NFL.
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