Bama Riding High....

For now. No doubt that Alabama has made it farther than anyone ever imagined. After watching Florida, Texas Tech, and a couple of others, Alabama is not the #1 team in the country. I expected them to have another season like last year, but with maybe 8 wins. However, they have survived and managed to win 10 and as a fan, I am now hoping for more. I am pretty sure that it is going to be one of those deals where they begin to get so close that you finally start to believe that maybe there is a chance. That is how it was in 1992.

They squeaked by in every game and managed to go to the National Championship game against a Miami team that had been hammering everyone. Nobody gave Bama a chance in that game, and in the end it was Bama that did the hammering.

I do not think that will be the case this year. I expect to see Florida and Oklahoma/ Texas Tech in the Big Game. Obviously, I would like to be wrong about that, but I must first be realistic.

I will be in T-town Saturday to watch them play Mississippi State. The last Bama game I went to was against this same team and I left disappointed. I hope the outcome is different this time.

Texas Tech 42, Texas 28

Okay...laugh if you want. I am going on record now and saying that Texas Tech will knock off Texas next weekend. I am not too sure about the scores, but I think it will be high scoring since both teams have high performance offenses. I think TT's offense is a little more explosive, so I am predicting them to win by 10-14 points.

I may be wrong on this as I thought Oklahoma State would beat them. Texas certainly knew that the Cowboys were there. I think Texas Tech has an awesome football team and will be surprised if they do not pull off the upset.

I complain every year about the polls and the BCS rankings. This year is more bazaar than ever.

Last week, AP's #1 Oklahoma lost to #5 Texas. Texas moved to the #1 ranking, and rightfully so in my opinion, but where did Oklahoma go? They were handed a #4 ranking in AP poll. The Associated Press is saying that Oklahoma is a better 1-loss team this week than Texas was an undefeated team last week. How?

They are giving absolutely no considerations to Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, and BYU. These guys should be your #4, #5, and #6 teams...if not higher. It wouldn't hurt my feelings if Oklahoma State was ranked over my Alabama team, or if Penn State was.

Let's be fair about it. I am a Bama fan, but I do not think they are ready for the #1 or #2 ranking. So while we are being fair, let's get these media favorites, like USC and Oklahoma (or Ohio State and Georgia, if you look a little lower), out of the way. They cannot play the big games.

Without a doubt, Oklahoma State should be ranked above Oklahoma - in my opinion. Their win over Missouri was as impressive as Texas' win over Oklahoma. The poll system is a ripoff and the most disturbing part is that the fate of the really good teams that break the top 10 late in the season is being determined by the poorly determined pre-season rankings. Let's get the playoff system started and stop screwing these teams over year after year.

Auburn's Coach Tommy Tuberville was criticized alot last week after he fired his offensive coordinator half-way through his first season. He set himself up for the criticizm when he fired the architect of the spread offense, but then said that they were going to stay with the offense. How do you do that? I think this was just example on a long list of the Tub making hasty decisions.

Last year, Nick Saban preached to the Alabama fans that you cannot have high expectations when you do not have the talent. He has preached "the process" and has had success with his recruiting efforts. The longer he is at UA, the deeper the pool of talent will be and results will eventually come.

Tuberville must have a similar process. If he wants to run the spread, he has to recuit talent that is capable of running the spread. Obviously, they do not have the right tools and talent in place at this time, and should not expect immediate results. It seems to me that a more logical approach would have been to maintain an offensive style similar to what they used in past years, and slowly build the spread offense system by practicing it during the week, executing it late in a game where a lead exists, and follow up by continued recruiting. The result cannot be immediate, as Tub must have expected, but will be positive after a couple of recruiting classes. Most of us refer to this process as planning.

I was reading an article today about Tommy Bowden's dismissal and was really disappointed in the lack of respect that some of his players are displaying. One of them, former starting quarterback Cullen Harper, said that Bowden deserved it. Harper still has a chip on his shoulder about being benched, so I didn't really expect him to say anything positive. It was what Harper's dad, Jeff, said that really got my attention:

".....I think anytime a head coach or someone in a leadership position starts to place blame on his coaches and players, it weakens their respect on the team. His past experiences have shown he's done that."

Placing blame on everyone but himself is exactly what Tommy Tuberville has been accused of the whole time he has been at Auburn. His offensive coordinators only average about two years with him, and he has had some good ones. Some that Alabama would have gladly welcomed.

Something is in the air at Auburn. As an Alabama fan, I hope it stays there long enough for Alabama to put an end to this streak.

I was wrong...

In my last post, I said that John Parker Wilson could not win the game against Georgia, but he could certainly lose it. In order to win this game, I felt like JP had to have an exceptional day. After watching him melt under pressure last year, I was concerned about this game. This was the biggest of the season.

I was wrong about my comment. John Parker Wilson helped win this football game with his calm approach to managing the game. He was the leader he is expected to be as quarterback. He made good decisions on when to throw or when to scramble. I do not recall a "forced" pass or a delay of game. (The delay of game that they were charged with was to the kicking team when the kicker forgot to kick.)

After the big win against Clemson, Alabama struggled against Tulane. This is the biggest win of the season thus far and a tough Kentucky team is coming to town. Was this a fluke against Georgia? Do they deserve the #2 ranking? This next game will help answer these questions. The true test is not always the game with all the hype and publicity, but the game that follows the one with the hype and publicity.

Javier Arenas..

This made me laugh out loud I love the way he responds. Bama will have their hands full this weekend playing on the road again. I think they have a chance to win, but they have to play well in the defensive secondary, and John Parker Wilson has to have a good day. He cannot win it for them, but he can certainly lose it.

Check out the video on Javier...

I found this article about the Georgia Bulldogs. It hits the nail on the head, but could also apply to Ohio State and a few others.

The part of the article that really sticks with me is this statement, which is about half way down the first page:

"Be lucky enough to be ranked higher than you deserve in August, and you'll stay higher than you deserve most of the season. Get screwed in the first poll, and you might as well get used to the feeling."

We complain about this every year, but I think these two sentences sum it up very well.