Iron Bowl (ALA 39-33-1) Alabama 23 @ Auburn 17 – In traditional with Black Friday the main course will be served before all the appetizers today. Auburn will be able to move the ball, but the Tide defense will prove too tough and Mark Ingram too consistent.

Continue Reading “Rivalry Week Divine Predictions. Open Threadage. Updated Jesus Cup Standings.” »

Early this morning, a historic moment occurred on the campus of Ohio State University: The University of Michigan flag was raised outside of both Orton Hall and University Hall.

via Blogging the Buckeyes

If you’ve got a rooting interest in Clean Old Fashioned Hate then head over to From the Rumble Seat for a spirited debate.

This week the fabulous (Tim Gunn voice) Texas Longhorns blog Barking Carnival is hosting the BlogPoll Roundtable. We’re not worthy.

1. Mack Brown has won three out of the last four games in Dallas against OU. Meanwhile, Bob Stoops continues to pile up Big 12 trophies like NCAA inquiries. With the presumption that Mack will hang up his concho belt in the next two years in deference to the undeniable coaching force that is Will Muschamp, how does this year’s Texas/OU game define Mack Brown’s legacy? Texas wins and it’s likely Pasadena bound. A loss would likely cement this depressing statistic: a 7th conference championships for OU vs one in 12 years under Mack Brown, which was delivered by some guy named Vince Young.

If you had asked me this before the 13-0 Vince Young championship season I would have defined Mack Brown’s legacy as whiny underachiever. However, since 2004 he has put Texas’ surplus of talent to work. The Horns are 56-8 (second only to USC 59-6) with a BCS Championship and three wins over Oklahoma. A win against the Sooners this year would most likely yield a second Big 12 Championship and BCS Championship Game appearance. If Texas can accomplish all of that this year then I believe he’ll be remembered as a slow starter that turned Texas back into an elite program. Otherwise he may go down as a one-hit-wonder.

Example One-Hit-Wonder

2. Flipping the lens, does another OU loss — 4/5 to Texas, 0/5 in the last five BCS bowls — permanently establish Big Game Bob as an overrated, overpaid coach disguised as an asshole? At least sweater vest is an all around nice guy. I just feel sorry for Tressel when he comes up short in big games. When Stoops does it I cackle in a spasmatic fit of primeval laughter. So the natives are getting restless in Norman, and by natives I mean the people that stole the land from the natives that actually lived there. Who neeeds to win a big game more: Bob Stoops, Jim Tressel, or Mark Richt?

I disagree on the Sweater Vest. He gets so deep under my skin no ointment or balm can quell how irritated and aggravated I get. No one is that perfect and it’s as if he’s over compensating for something. I’ll digress, the answer to your question is Mark Richt and it’s not even close. Both Stoops and Tressel have get out out jail free cards crystal balls. Furthermore, Oklahoma and Ohio State are the premier teams in their conferences, routinely winning their respective championships and more often than not getting back to the BCS Championship Game. Meanwhile in Athens Richt and Georgia haven’t been to the SEC Championship Game since 2005 and they’ve taken a backseat to rivals Florida and Georgia Tech. After losses to LSU and Tennessee Georgia is hemorrhaging blood and Richt needs that big win Band-Aid.
Continue Reading “Blogpoll RoundTable: Week 6″ »

This is our new Thursday night thread. We hope YOU our readers and friends in the blogosphere pop your heads in and engage in a little conversation.

1. Virginia Tech-Nebraska. The Hokies look to sweep the two-year two-game series with Nebraska. The Huskers are improved, hungry and capable of gorging themselves full of turkey. Thoughts?
2. BYU-Florida State. With a win BYU can tout an impressive out of conference resume that could be enough to send them to the MNC. Florida State is looking to prove they’re the proverbial “back”. Thoughts?
   H/T: Mike Bianchi
3. Texas-Texas Tech. How many points will the ‘Horns win by or are you going “guns up”? Thoughts?
4. Boise State-Fresno State. Any time, anywhere (except on the Smurf Turf). Well Pat Hill you got ‘em at home. Thoughts?
5. Big Ten Redemption. OSU and Toledo tangle in front of a crowd with brown bags over their heads. Sparty travels to South Bend to crash Charlie Weis’ buffet line. Thoughts?
6. Arkansas-Georgia. The only time pigs and dogs get along together is in Vietnamese cuisine. They are both relatively unknown quantities.  But more importantly, were Mark Richt and Christopher Walken separated at birth? Thoughts?
   

Doug Gillett who gangsta leans to the left and is the proprietor of the phenomenal Georgia football, often politically infused, blog Hey Jenny Slater is the host of the preseason BlogPoll roundtable. Please enjoy my humble responses to his wonderful questions.

1. Without naming names, a few teams seem to have popped up frequently on everyone’s “overrated” lists in the preseason, so let’s forget about them for the moment and concentrate on a different group: sleepers. Which currently unheralded team are you currently putting at least a few of your chips behind in the hopes that you’ll be able to say “totally called that” once they’ve accomplished big things by the end of the season?

I’m bullish on USF and you better believe pun in-fuckin’-tended. South Florida has respectable Sunshine State talent, but they’ve underachieved the last couple of years. They followed up their coming out party in 2006 with two more nine win seasons. That sounds great on paper until you’re told in 2007-08 they had a 43% winning percentage over their last seven games. Ewww, that’s overflowing toilet water nasty. Grothe and Selvie are seniors and will lead the Bulls to a 10+ win season and represent the Big East in the BCS.

2. In a similar vein, pick a sleeper player on your team whom nobody’s talking about right now and tell us why we will be talking about them by December.

David Wilson, who you probably don’t know about unless you followed Junior World Championship Football, has, dare I type it, ESS EEE CEE speed.

There are two reasons why YOU will know about him by the end of 2009. He’s going to be put in situations on special teams to make highlight real plays and will get more chances out of the backfield to go to the house since Darren Evans has been lost for the season. Continue Reading “Preseason BlogPoll roundtable: sleepers, statement games, and spending money.” »