Where has this guy been all year?

Sorry for the late post but i had to watch the Lane Kiffin Show twice and a replay of the Tennessee vs Georgia game on Sports South to make sure i wasn't on a bad drug trip. If you missed it, Jonathan Crompton showed up to play on Saturday.

For most of the game, Georgia lined up to play the run. CLK designed some great bootlegs and play action to get JC away from pressure and actually hit receivers in the hands instead of the head. I was concerned that he would clam up and revert to his old ways when he threw an interception that was ran back for a touchdown in the third quarter, but he showed poise and led an answering drive after the INT. Tennessee never looked back after that and went on to rout Georgia.

You have to be happy for JC especially after all of the adversity that he has faced the past two years. I'm optimistic that the light bulb has gone off and he continues to play well, but his performance was against a questionable Georgia pass defense. For now I can only hope and be proud of the SEC offensive player of the week.

Jevan Snead Strikes Back, at Ole Miss fans...

Instead of taking the Alabama loss in stride and trying to quietly improve, Rebel QB Jevan Snead has elected to contribute to The Sporting News Today. I know I probably wouldn't be pleased if an Alabama player did this after a loss, and I can't imagine Coach Saban allowing it.

Tide's Dominant Defense Ensures Victory in Oxford

Thanks to one of the most impressive defensive displays in recent college football memory, the Crimson Tide defeated the Ole Miss Rebels 22-3. In the first quarter, Alabama out gained the Rebels 105 to 5 yards. Ole Miss only had 19 yards of offense in the first half! The fact that Bama was able to run a nickel formation for much of the game and still limit rushing yards is a testament to the recruiting and coaching that comes with a Nick Saban team.

Once a Heisman hopeful, Jevan Snead looked confused, rattled, and desperate as he completed only 11 of 34 passes, with 4 interceptions. He was never sacked, but the Tide D made it a point to hit him every time he dropped back to pass. Most QB's could not take this punishment, and Snead was no different. The turnovers were not even a matter of Snead trying to force throws to make plays. Most of the interceptions were off single coverage, and seemingly short and simple routes. Twice, it appeared that the Tide DB's simply outmanned the Rebel receivers and ripped the football away. Ole Miss Coach Houston Nutt said it best, "This is the fastest defense if you went from 1-11 (players). From corners to safeties to linebackers to defensive linemen, this is the best I've seen." On the ground, the versatile Dexter McCluster was held to just 2.5 ypc, and the Bama D only gave up 70 rushing yards the entire game.

Offensively, the Tide struggled in the red zone, and was held to 5 field goals. McElroy looked a bit like JPW from last season when he continued to lock in on Julio Jones despite double (and sometimes triple) coverage. Mark Ingram has a great day, racking up 173 yards and the only touchdown of the day. True Freshman Trent Richardson averaged 4.4 ypc, and a late fumble.

The Rebel Defense is one of the best in the SEC, and will continue to give their opponents trouble this season. If Alabama continues to play as well defensively as they did against Ole Miss, the sky is the limit for the Tide.

No Excuses

What a great weekend! If you don't think about the game, that is. Alabama, once again, defeated Ole Miss in what was supposed to be a showdown of two of the SEC West's best teams. At least one of them showed up for the game...

But looking deeper, did Alabama beat Ole Miss? Or did Ole Miss beat Ole Miss? I have to be honest, I have rehashed what could have/should have happened so many times that I'm tired of thinking about it.

What is a shame is that Ole Miss' defense was incredible all day long and instead of people talking about their Herculean effort or the fact that they have only given up 5 TD's all season, all that people are talking about is how anemic, scared, or inept the Ole Miss offense is - in particular Jevan Snead.

What was supposed to be a once-in-a-lifetime season for Ole Miss fans has turned into a nightmare. The day after we got back from Oxford, I told Mrs. Power that the Rebels will never play in Atlanta - unless it is in the Peach, er, Chick-fil-A Bowl.

Oh well. On to UAB. Interesting to note the Rebels are 22 point favorites. Also of note on that line is that the Rebels have only scored 22 points or more in 1 of their last 3 games. Maybe Vegas expects the Rebel defense to score a couple of touchdowns.

Congrats to Alabama and on a personal note regarding the Tide's next game, GO GAMECOCKS!

History Lesson

Last Sunday, I was talking to Carter's dad, my father-in-law, and he mentioned that it was the 40th Anniversary of the first ever nationally televised prime time regular season college football game. He and Mrs. Carter went to Legion Field, while the rest of America watched from their living rooms, as Alabama defeated Ole Miss 33-32 in a see-saw game. Back then, even points were cheaper.

Junior Archie Manning was the Rebs' QB and had led Ole Miss to its first win over Bama in 58 years (10-8) the previous year. Future Green Bay Packer Scott Hunter Quarterbacked the Tide, completing 22 of 29 passes for 300 yards, including the game-winning 14-yard TD pass to Meridian, Miss., native George Ranager with 3:42 left in the game. Manning completed 33 of 52 passes for a then school-record 436 yards in the loss. The 33 completions, 436 passing yards and 609 yards of total offense all stood as records against Bama's D until 2001.

South Carolina 28 - Kentucky 26

First thing's first, Randall Cobb can play a big roll for any team in the country. That man almost single handedly brought Kentuck back, against the odds and in spite of all of their injuries to win or tie the game. A pass from Kentucky's backup quarterback aimed for Cobb would have tied it on a late 2 point conversion...would have if Cliff Matthews didn't get in the way.

But how did they get tho that point, you may ask. South Carolina got there by discovering another weapon in Alshon Jeffery, who had 3 touchdown receptions. Jeffery was described by the Ole Ball Coach this way: "those guys from Southern Cal don't come all the way across the country for just any ball player." That is Steve's form of high praise these days. One time Stephen Garcia threw toward Jeffery but put the ball a couple of yards outside of the sideline. When Garcia got back within earshot of Coach, he was told in no uncertain terms to just put the ball up and let the man make a play. Garcia did that...literally...on two of Jeffery's touchdowns later in the game. If the Cocks can keep him working with Tori Gurley and a healthy Wesley Saunders, then Garcia won't actually have to aim a pass for the rest of the season. Garcia, to his credit might have had the play of the game on a gritty scramble for a late first down that iced the game. Also, Chris Culliver had a very nice return game as he became the all time return yardage leader at USC. In my estimation, that record is more due to opportunities than numerous successful days like he had on Saturday.

Tailgating this weekend was different. Most of the food had to do with eggs and sausage. Many of the drinks started with Mi and ended with Mosa. And it was just barely afternoon when we had to pack up and head into Williams Brice. Then to top it all off I saw a whole bunch of Rupp Arena t-shirts. I'm not sure many of these fans knew we were there to play football. I can't say I was too intimidated by the 7 national championships or the fact that Nazr Mohammad used to play for the Wildcats. Maybe if rebounds and a 12 foot jump shot scored points in football, but I knew better than that.

Next up for USC is a date at Alabama. Rest well, Gamecocks.

Trivia Pt. 3: The Wildcat Offense

The Wildcat Offense. It's been around for 70 years or so, but it has just recently been popularized by Gus Malzahn, former Arkansas OC and current Auburn OC. Since these teams met this weekend, it seemed appropriate that the trivia question should be related to this thread that links the two teams. However, I'm going in a little bit different direction:

How many teams in Division I-A or Division I-AA college football can you name that use "Wildcats" as their team nickname? The I-A teams are probably easier to name (there are four of them), but the I-AA teams are definitely a lot more difficult (there are five of them). Answers will be posted to the comments shortly, so no peeking!

Alright, who invited last year's team to play?

Tuberville had the margin of victory correct. Unfortunately, he had the wrong team winning. Arkansas easily handled the former #17 Auburn 44-23 in Fayetteville yesterday. In what looked like a return to last year's form (or lack thereof), Auburn looked like a rusty team that was going to have trouble putting up some points. Maybe it was the playing during the day. Maybe it was the playing in Arkansas. Maybe. I think it was perhaps that Auburn has played enough games this year for teams to figure out how to stop them. In Auburn's lone bright spot, Ben Tate ran for 184 yards on 22 carries. Todd, however, looked like the lost, scared QB at the helm of last year's team, barely cracking 130 yards passing for a team that had averaged double that over the last five games. Arkansas had a game plan and stuck to it, holding Auburn to a measly 3 points and ending their run of scoring in every quarter of the season.

Auburn tried to make the game interesting in the 3rd quarter, scoring 20 points and coming to within 11 of Arkansas. However, the 4th quarter played much like the first half, and Auburn allowed two more scores. Ryan Mallett looked like the hyped QB he was billed as, and Auburn's corners couldn't bat any pass away. Also, Arkansas was able to pick Auburn's weak zone defense apart, hitting receivers that were so open that they were probably actually surprised to turn around and have running room left for more yardage.

Auburn fell out of the new polls today to just outside the top 25 as was expected. They may make it back in if they show they can actually play a non-Mississippi State SEC team well next week against Kentucky. Don't hold your breath just yet, though. At this point I'd just like Auburn to play some defense...is that too much to ask?

John Brantley Wins Heisman / Gameday Open Thread

The Downtown Athletic Club has awarded the 2009 Heisman Trophy to John Brantley. He is heavily hyped yet has accomplished nothing, just like this year's Nobel Peace Prize winner. Despite a deteriorating situation in Afghanistat, Iran on the verge of going nuclear, an unpopular health care plan and an economy so bad the Bama Band has been downgraded to the Five Hunded Thousand Dollar Band, and less than a year in office, Obama was the Norwegian's choice for the Nobel Peace Prize. Whether he's announced as the starter or not, Brantley will receive the Heisman in a pre-game ceremony at midfield at Tiger Stadium. Up next for Brantley? Negotiating the peaceful transfer of power in Tallahassee, receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, and replacing Joe Biden on the ticket in 2012.

In other SEC action, Georgia travels to Tennessee in what was once a relevant matchup. Today, the teams face off with neither ranked for the first time since 1937. Bama travels to Ole Miss and Auburn plays at Arkansas. Add to the Kentucky at South Carolina, Houston traveling to Mississippi State, and Vanderbilt at Army and this is easily the best day for watching SEC football yet this season.

I'll be at Carter Slade's place where, weather permitting, we're smoking 15 pork shoulders, setting up tents and TVs outside, and having all the fun of a tailgate without leaving the 205.

As the day unfolds, leave your reactions in the comments section.

Preview: Gamecocks v. Wildcats of Kentucky

This is a man known in Columbia as "Gamecock Jesus." He is at all football and basketball games if not all other athletic events. We know that Kentucky is adept at stoping Florida Jesus, also known as Tim Tebow. However, it seems like Karma has come back to punnish the Wildcats for such behavior. Word is 3 of their key producers are struggling with injuries. Couple that with a high noon(thirty) matchup in Williams Brice Stadium and you just have to like the Gamecocks' chances here.

Last week for the Cocks was a comfortable margin or victory against S.C. State. However, just looking at the final score wouldn't tell you the whole story. The first half was way too close. Close enough in fact, for one of the S.C. State fans about 20 feet from me to get kicked out for waiving a towel and yelling at the Gamecock fans that "Ya'll Sucks!" He must have said those two words about 25 times in a row before anyone paid him any attention. The attention he got paid, however, was from a police officer, who ushered him out without event. Lesson to be learned?...Don't let S.C. State hang around long enough to give their fans the idea that they can yell "Ya'll Sucks!" over and over.

Against Kentucky, we will open it up a little more. We have a pretty healthy squad. We have a quarterback who is starting to look like he finally gets it. The running backs are young and only getting better. Coach made a change to the running back depth chart that was long overdue. Eric Norwood is the leading tackler-for-loss in school history, and is looking to put some distance between himself and second place.

Hopefully, we won't look ahead to Alabama next week. Hopefully fall break and the 12:30 start won't make the stadium feel dead or tired or un-hype for this game. Perhaps the home field advantage won't be all that powerful this time around. One thing we know for sure though, is that Gamecock Jesus won't take the game off. Go Gamecocks.

The Black and Gold Bowl

There's not much to say about tomorrow's Army-Vandy game, other than it will match two teams that sport black-and-gold uniforms. Army's having another poor season at 2-3, with "wins" over Ball St. and Eastern Michigan and losses to Duke, Iowa St., and Tulane. I put "wins" in quotation marks, since neither Ball St. nor Eastern Michigan have won a game this year (they are a combined 0-9), I'm not sure those should really count. Interestingly, Vanderbilt is also 2-3, with "wins" over Rice and Western Carolina, which are also both win-less (going a combined 0-10 so far this year). At least after this game one team will have beaten another team that has won a game this year. I'll go with Army since they're playing at home and their two "wins" are over better teams (ranked 164 and 156 in Sagarin) than Vandy's "wins" (ranked 143 and 213 in Sagarin).

Preview: Auburn at Arkansas

Auburn takes on Arkansas in what was probably the death knell in Tommy Tuberville's tenure as head football coach last season. At this game in last year's season, I felt that this was the only game Auburn could still win (beside the game against UT-Martin), and Auburn failed to do that, dropping a heart-breaking loss to the Razorbacks 25-22. Both teams failed to live up to the expectations on them, and Arkansas was able to pull out a win, despite finishing the season at 5-7, 2-6 SEC. Auburn, meanwhile, ended the season with an identical record, ultimately resulting in Tuberville's firing (or did he quit? I really don't remember, but Tommy's mommy certainly does).

2009 has brought forth two radically different teams. Arkansas, starring ex-Wolverine Ryan Mallett at QB, has lost some tough games, especially the one against Alabama that some people thought they had a chance to be in. Arkansas was in the game against Georgia but couldn't outlast a resilient Georgia offense. Auburn also has exceeded expectations, matching both their offensive scoring output and wins from last season. Gene Chizik has Auburn firing on all cylinders, and this week's game will be another test where a win could have people talking differently about the Tigers.

Picks - Week 6

CBS has a double-header this weekend. They've got Bama at Ole Miss at 2:30, then UF at LSU at 7:00. Rather than put up competing SEC fare opposite the "Will Tebow play?" drama, the WWL has displaced its usual morning Big Televen and ACC snoozers and put the other SEC matchups on its family of networks in the a.m. I was worried I'd have to listen to Pam Ward's voice Saturday, but then I realized that if she were to be sighted in the greater Fayettenam area around game time, Hognation would do what had to be done.

Fourth Quarter Meltdown

Did anyone watch the fourth quarter Missouri meltdown? Neither did I (caught National Lampoon's European Vacation on the Travel Channel), but looking now, apparently there was some sort of implosion in Columbia last night. Missouri surrendered 27 points to Nebraska in the fourth to lose 27-12. I do like Nebraska's team this year and thought Missouri was overrated, but I was willing to see if they could put it all on the field. Apparently Missouri couldn't handle it, giving up two interceptions that left Nebraska with fields of 20 yards or less (if your service provider has access to ESPN360, watch the game here). I imagine Missouri will fall back out of the top 25 just two weeks after entering (and 1 bye week in between). Look to Nebraska to take the Big 12 North this year now as only Kansas stands in the way.

Excessive Celebraton is in the Eye of the Beholder

But what if the beholder is blind? The excessive celebration penalty against Georgia receiver AJ Green was so wrong, even the head of SEC officiating admits it. Little consolation to the 'Dawgs, who lost to LSU primarily due to their refusal to play offense for the first 55 minutes of the game, but the penalty flag didn't help. Frankly, UGA was lucky to be in a position for a penalty to potentially make a difference in this game, given how thoroughly they were dominated by LSU in the first half yet only down 6-0.

Discussing excessive celebration gives us an excuse to post this video, Stick with it until the end. Apparently Vince Dooley never chaired the Table Tennis Rules Committee, or else this gym would be covered with yellow hankies:

Get Well Soon, Tim Tebow

"If it's [noise] a factor, Tim won't play ...", Urban Meyer said considering the effect on his banged-up quarterback. "If noise is bothering Tim, Tim won't be in the game. That means he's still symptomatic."

Rebels and Tide Clash in Oxford

The tension between Ole Miss and Alabama fans is rising and I'm sure will reach a fevered pitch some time after last call on the Square tomorrow night and before kick-off Saturday at 2:30.

While the Tide hold a dominating record in the series, the Rebels have made most of the recent games very close. Many Ole Miss fans believe there is some sort of curse related to this rivalry since Ole Miss doesn't have nearly as bad a record against any other SEC foe. Most Alabama fans believe that the Rebel program is just inferior to their almighty program and always will be. So where's the truth? As usual, it lies somewhere in the middle.

You see, Alabama has beaten Ole Miss more than 79% of the time. But, look at something in the official record that has eluded me until yesterday. Ole Miss only played Alabama 3 times between 1934 and 1965. That's 3 times in the most successful 31 years of Ole Miss football history. Consider that Ole Miss had a 21 game undefeated streak and a 15 game winning streak during that time frame and had 6 teams with one loss. The Rebels also won 2 national championships and 6 SEC championships during that span. Having suffered through many a Rebel loss to the Tide, I am not naive enough to claim Ole Miss would have a better record against Alabama had they played during the "Glory Years." But, you do have to wonder...

On to Saturday. Coach Nutt and company must have something up their sleeves since he closed practice this week to everyone. With the tragic death of Tony Fein and the huge step Ole Miss can take in its quest for a trip to Atlanta, I expect the Rebels to come out swinging and give Alabama the game of its life. Will it be enough? Well, the defense will have to rattle McElroy and Snead will have to be steady and play nearly flawless ball for the Rebels to win.

I believe this game will turn out to be a classic match-up - regardless of the outcome. But my prediction is that the Rebels trip up the Tide and continue on their march to the SEC Championship game.

HOTTY TODDY!

Ole Miss 27
Alabama 20

Wild, Wild West Battle (Bama vs Ole Miss)

The Tide travels to Oxford, Mississippi, on Saturday to joust with Houston Nutt's Rebels. Ole Miss suffered a disappointing loss to South Carolina several weeks ago, which severely disrupted their media hype. Make no mistake, however, the Rebels will be ready to play on Saturday.

From an athletic viewpoint, the Rebels match up against the Tide extremely well. Although they are missing their All-American Left Tackle Michael Oher from last season, the Rebels still sport a formidable offense. Look for them to use the speedy Dexter McCluster in space or in the Wildcat formation. Jevan Snead hasn't been very consistent this season, but is deadly accurate when he is "on". The Tide secondary will be put to the test if the Rebels' run game sputters.

Alabama has been shifting its 3-4 scheme to make up for the loss of LB Dont'a Hightower from two weeks ago. True Freshman Tana Patrick may fill in on Saturday instead of shifting around the whole LB corps like last week.

Defensively, this will be the most athletic team that the Bama offense has faced this season. Va Tech was probably better coached, but Bama will have a tough time running the ball on this Rebel D-Line. Bama will have to get a good push off the line of scrimmage in order to run up the middle. Look for at least three different RB's to get reps in this game (Ingram, Richardson, and Upchurch). Bama will try to pound on this line and hopefully wear them out by the 4th quarter. Ole Miss will use their crazy DE Greg Hardy to rush QB Greg McElroy and try to disrupt Bama's passing game. To compensate for the increased pressure on Greg McElroy, Bama will try to set up screens to Ingram and Grant, or throw to TE Colin Peek. Alabama will likely run more plays out of the Wildcat this week, as well. If my source is correct, there could be a "surprise" guest taking snaps as well as some major changes in scheme. We'll see how this plays out.

The Rebel secondary is doing better this year than many expected. Safeties Johnny Brown and Kendrick Lewis lead the team in tackles. The Bama wide receivers should at least have a height advantage here, but will have to earn every catch. Many are looking for Julio Jones to have a breakout sophomore game, and this could be it.

Call them "intangibles", but many things go against Alabama in this match up. Historically, Bama has dominated this series. The last time the Tide won in Oxford, it was largely due to a "controversial" call by the officials. Ole Miss fans and players are still bitter about it. Also, Houston Nutt always loses some games that he's not supposed to lose as well as win some games that he's not supposed to win. This is a game that he is supposed to lose.

I would be surprised but not shocked if Alabama lost this game, but for the sake of being a homer I think the Tide rolls 27-17.

Screen Capture

While "watching" games on the computer last weekend, this came across the screen. I thought I'd capture it and post for your amusement. Apparently Cincinnati couldn't cover the spread because Miami was given 5th downs to play with. C'mon, zebras, you're giving the game away!

Still not as bad as last year

image courtesy of Dan proctor - knoxnews.com

In all I have to give the Tennessee defense credit. They held Auburn to their lowest point total of the year and held them to field goals when there were ample opportunities for the game to become a blowout. If there were not as many 3 and outs, the defense would have been more rested and could have been better in the end, but as it is the offense did not execute in the passing game... again.

I am not happy with the offense at all. There still is a disconnect with Crompton and the receivers. Sure throwing a ball and hitting the occasional receiver in the head is bad, but dropping the ball multiple times is equally as bad. Hopefully more chemistry will be built as the the season progresses. One would hope that as badness gets removed ( Brandon Warren was dismissed from the team on Monday for acting like an idiot for most of the season), more consistency will be built.

As awful as the offense may seem. Apparently it isn't as bad as last year. The offense currently ranks 56 in total offense compared to 115 a year ago, and Montario Hardesty himself is rushing for about as many yards this year as last years team total. Here is a great article if you are looking for offensive optimism this year.