Kevrumbo
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If Tennessee is supposed to be one of the best teams in the Southeastern Conference for 2008, then the whole SEC is overrated!
2008 SEC Football Discussion Thread
- Thread starter mike_s
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Kevua
Registered
I will admit, I am now an Alabama and UCLA fan. Does UCLA play Auburn this year?
irishsquid
Contributor
I believe Tn. was predicted to be third in the SEC East. As hard as Tn. played to lose, UCLA barely sqeaked out of that one. I'm a Tn. fan, but I'll admit they stanked that one up. What really irked me, was; when they showed the new Offensive Co-ordinator in the booth, he had the classic "Deer in the headlights look".
They should of have just kept running at the Bruins, because it was wearing them out in the first half. 
Kevua
Registered
I was actually surprised this morning when I heard on the radio that they lost. I watched the game until there was around 3 min left and Tennessee just scored the Go ahead Touchdown. I didn't think UCLA could pull off a touchdown with that little time left so turned it off and went to sleep.
OP
mike_s
Contributor
2008 NCAA Football Rankings - Week 1 (Aug. 31) (released Sept 2nd due to Holiday and Labor Day games)
1. USC (21) 1-0 1,539
2. Georgia (20) 1-0 1,506 <---- down one from last week, even though they won.
3. Ohio State (15) 1-0 1,497
4. Oklahoma (2) 1-0 1,432
5. Florida (5) 1-0 1,415
6. Missouri (1) 1-0 1,301
7. LSU (1) 1-0 1,207
8. West Virginia 1-0 1,108
9. Auburn 1-0 1,033 < ----- moved up one spot from last week.
10. Texas 1-0 1,028
11. Wisconsin 1-0 849
12. Texas Tech 1-0 842
13. Alabama 1-0 834 <---- moved up from 24 last week after beating Clemson
14. Kansas 1-0 748
15. Arizona State 1-0 672
15. Brigham Young 1-0 672
17. South Florida 1-0 588
18. Oregon 1-0 508
19. Penn State 1-0 467
20. Wake Forest 1-0 414
21. Fresno State 1-0 242
22. Utah 1-0 214
23. UCLA 1-0 151 <----- Unranked last week, joining the top 25 after win over Tenn
24. Illinois 0-1 147
24. South Carolina 1-0 147
Dropped From Rankings
Clemson 9, Virginia Tech 17, Tennessee 18, Pittsburgh 25.
Tennessee fell like a rock after getting beat by UCLA, previously unranked.
Clemson got dropped also after getting beat by Bama in the Georgia Dome.
1. USC (21) 1-0 1,539
2. Georgia (20) 1-0 1,506 <---- down one from last week, even though they won.
3. Ohio State (15) 1-0 1,497
4. Oklahoma (2) 1-0 1,432
5. Florida (5) 1-0 1,415
6. Missouri (1) 1-0 1,301
7. LSU (1) 1-0 1,207
8. West Virginia 1-0 1,108
9. Auburn 1-0 1,033 < ----- moved up one spot from last week.
10. Texas 1-0 1,028
11. Wisconsin 1-0 849
12. Texas Tech 1-0 842
13. Alabama 1-0 834 <---- moved up from 24 last week after beating Clemson
14. Kansas 1-0 748
15. Arizona State 1-0 672
15. Brigham Young 1-0 672
17. South Florida 1-0 588
18. Oregon 1-0 508
19. Penn State 1-0 467
20. Wake Forest 1-0 414
21. Fresno State 1-0 242
22. Utah 1-0 214
23. UCLA 1-0 151 <----- Unranked last week, joining the top 25 after win over Tenn
24. Illinois 0-1 147
24. South Carolina 1-0 147
Dropped From Rankings
Clemson 9, Virginia Tech 17, Tennessee 18, Pittsburgh 25.
Tennessee fell like a rock after getting beat by UCLA, previously unranked.
Clemson got dropped also after getting beat by Bama in the Georgia Dome.
OP
mike_s
Contributor
for all you Bama Nation fans....
Alabama will be on the cover of Sports Illustrated for next weeks issue. (for subscribers, I'd guess you'll get it tomorrow).
Here's the story...
from On an opening weekend that produced a handful of - 09.08.08 - SI Vault
September 08, 2008
Alabama will be on the cover of Sports Illustrated for next weeks issue. (for subscribers, I'd guess you'll get it tomorrow).
Here's the story...
from On an opening weekend that produced a handful of - 09.08.08 - SI Vault
September 08, 2008
The Tide Is Turning
On an opening weekend that produced a handful of surprises, none was bigger than Alabama's dominance of Clemson
HE IS THIS intriguing blend of New Age and Old School. But with kickoff against ninth-ranked Clemson looming last Saturday night in the Georgia Dome, Nick Saban dispensed with the psychobabble and channeled the Bear. "If we're going to win this game," Alabama's glowering second-year coach told his charges, "our defensive line is going to have to whip their offensive line." ¶ Having issued that challenge, the man with the perma-tan watched his D-line, anchored by SUV-sized noseguard Terrence Cody, rise to it. While it was the Tigers who came into this Chick-fil-A College Kickoff with arguably the nation's top tailback tandem in James Davis and C.J. Spiller, 'Bama outrushed Clemson, 239 yards to ... zero.
"Doesn't matter how good they are," noted Crimson Tide linebacker Brandon (Knock You on Yo') Fanney, "if they got no hole to go through." The 34--10 score barely hints at Alabama's soup-to-nuts domination of a squad thought to be the class of the ACC. It is also an indication that Saban has this storied program on track to return to the grandeur that many of its fans still consider their birthright.
Clemson's no-show in the Georgia Dome was the lowlight of a rough weekend for the ACC, whose teams failed to win a single meaningful matchup. Virginia was overwhelmed 52--7 by a USC squad whose offense, directed by first-year starter Mark Sanchez, rolled up 558 total yards. Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer looked on in disbelief as East Carolina used a bit of Beamerballa blocked punt returned 27 yards for a touchdown with 1:52 leftto upset his 17th-ranked Hokies 27--22. Feeling Beamer's pain was Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt, whose Big East team took a No. 25 ranking against Bowling Green and was dealt a buzz-killing 27--17 loss at home (box, page 35).
No upset was more shocking than the Beatdown in A-Town. After a summer of hearing how loaded they were at the skill positions and how superb their chances were of winning their first ACC football title in 17 years, the Tigers were simply outhit and outclassed in every phase of the game. "We got whipped about every way you can get whipped," coach Tommy Bowden acknowledged afterward. "Obviously, we're not the ninth-best team in the country."
FOR THOSE born too late or those who weren't paying attention in the 1960s and '70s, when Bear Bryant--coached 'Bama was collecting SEC and national titles with numbing regularity, this is what Alabama football is supposed to look like:
A physical, swarming defense, which intended to do more than keep Clemson off the scoreboard. "We wanted to get into their heads," said Fanney. "We wanted to intimidate them." Added All-SEC free safety Rashad Johnson, "A lot of what they tried to do, we'd seen on film. If 28 [Spiller] and 1 [Davis] were on the field at the same time, we knew 28 would run a flare and 1 would stay in. We adjusted our pressures accordingly."
An offensive line, led by senior center Antoine Caldwell, blowing huge holes in a front seven composed, apparently, of paper Tigers. "We thought we might have an opportunity to be the more physical team," said Caldwell, laboring to be diplomatic. "They have such great speed on defense that all you can really do is run straight at them."
Two tailbacks, each of whom refused to go down on a single hit. Time will tell whether junior Glen Coffee (90 yards on 17 carries) and freshman Mark Ingram (96 on 17) are that goodthat toughor if Clemson's defenders all had, on the same night, the poorest tackling games of their careers.
What's certain is that the Tide established its identity in Week 1. "Nobody's a star," Coffee said. "Everybody's down and dirty, gritty. We want other teams to fear us."
With the ground game going strong, it wasn't long before third-year quarterback John Parker Wilson began dialing up play-action passes. The bulk of those went to senior tight end Nick Walker, who had a career-high seven receptions for 67 yards, including a 21-yarder on third-and-two that kept a scoring drive alive. Making a great show of blocking down on the defensive tackle, Walker suddenly released from the scrum and in three strides was alone in the middle of the field, where Wilson had no trouble finding him. "They like to bite on that," said a smiling Walker, whose four-yard touchdown catch capped the 14-play drive, which devoured 8:16 and gave 'Bama a 20--3 lead midway through the second quarter.
By bogarting the ball, Alabama kept Clemson's offense off the field for all but 18:47 of the game. The Tigers' five first-half possessions ended fumble, punt, field goal, punt and interception, and generated all of 70 yards on 23 snaps. That pickof quarterback Cullen Harper by cornerback Marquis Johnson at the Alabama 28had the effect of hitting the mute button on the Clemson-orange half of the Georgia Dome.
The neutral-site matchup was the brainchild of Gary Stokan, president of the Chick-fil-A Bowl, a man driven by the fierce, dual urges to jazz up college football's opening weekend and "to expand our bowl brand." He is a relentless flack for that brand. When Spiller took the second-half kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown, Stokan exclaimed, "He must've had Chick-fil-A at halftime!"
Scintillating though it was, Spiller's return, which cut Alabama's lead to 23--10, failed to rattle the Crimson Tide. "Didn't faze us in the least," declared defensive end Brandon Deaderick. "I'm telling you, we're tight. We're a closer team than last year. We trust each other."
YEAR ONE under Saban was turbulent in Tuscaloosa, even by the soap-opera standards of the Alabama program, cursed forever to search for an heir to the Bear. The Tide lost to Louisiana-Monroe in the midst of an 0--4 pratfall to end the regular season. (It took a win over Colorado in the Independence Bowl to finish 7--6.) A pair of assistants bailed for better jobs. And so many Alabama players have been arrested in Saban's short tenure10, at last count, including two charged with felonies who were kicked off the teamthat rival fans have taken to wearing T-shirts bearing the legend PAROLE TIDE.
There was good news interspersed with the bad. By Rivals.com's reckoning, Saban reeled in the nation's top recruiting class, including the No. 1 wideout, 6'4", 210-pound Julio Jones of Foley, Ala. The 19-year-old stunned onlookers in a recent scrimmage when he tracked down a deep ball, broke the cornerback's tackle, then stiff-armed Rashad Johnson to the turf on his way to the end zone. After video of the play appeared on the Web-based TideTV, Saban ordered it taken down. "That's why we close practice," he said, "so the other team can't see us." Too late. The footage was already on YouTube.
With 4:08 left in the third quarter last Saturday, Wilson and Jones hooked up for a four-yard touchdown, unleashing from the 'Bama stands a thunderous "HOOOO-lio!" Best get used to that sound, SEC.
Saban's recruiting prowess is beyond doubt. Keeping his players off police blotters once they get to Tuscaloosa requires some work. After pleading with his guys to exercise better judgment, he took steps to help them do that. Those who spent the summer on campus were enrolled in a dozen mental conditioning classes, designed to improve, in Saban's words, the "self-actualization, self-confidence [and] self-esteem" of his players. Instructors from the Pacific Institute led the players through a series of exercises and affirmations. This sampling appeared recently in The Birmingham News: "Our team is a family. We will look out for each other. We love one another. Anything that attempts to tear us apart only makes us stronger."
While this chanting and forced introspection had many players squirming and uncomfortable at first, "that was the point," says Caldwell. "It's all about leaving your comfort zone. Since January we've put a lot of emphasis on improving the team chemistry." That included the elimination of cliques. "We've been bowling, shooting pool, playing cards, different things just to get everybody feeling comfortable together. We're closer this year than we've ever been."
THAT UNITY will be tested, naturally, over the course of an SEC season. Working hard to throw a wet blanket on the win over Clemson was Saban, who has been known to grumble, after winning his opener, "We can still go 1--11." On Saturday he said, "Nobody can be satisfied with a one-game performance. This will be a challenge for our team, and it will be interesting to see how they respond."
Less inclined to adopt the head man's Eeyore outlook were the 'Bama fans at the Georgia Dome, who stood as one during a late stoppage of play. A cross section of the faithful, seated behind the Tide bench, included a twentysomething guy sporting a houndstooth ball cap, a graying couple who looked to be in their 60s and a man with his young granddaughter in her spangled crimson top. Thrusting miniature pom-poms in the recirculated air, they all lent their voices to an old Alabama standard. Seldom have these lyrics from the Rammer Jammer Cheer rung truer:
On an opening weekend that produced a handful of surprises, none was bigger than Alabama's dominance of Clemson
HE IS THIS intriguing blend of New Age and Old School. But with kickoff against ninth-ranked Clemson looming last Saturday night in the Georgia Dome, Nick Saban dispensed with the psychobabble and channeled the Bear. "If we're going to win this game," Alabama's glowering second-year coach told his charges, "our defensive line is going to have to whip their offensive line." ¶ Having issued that challenge, the man with the perma-tan watched his D-line, anchored by SUV-sized noseguard Terrence Cody, rise to it. While it was the Tigers who came into this Chick-fil-A College Kickoff with arguably the nation's top tailback tandem in James Davis and C.J. Spiller, 'Bama outrushed Clemson, 239 yards to ... zero.
"Doesn't matter how good they are," noted Crimson Tide linebacker Brandon (Knock You on Yo') Fanney, "if they got no hole to go through." The 34--10 score barely hints at Alabama's soup-to-nuts domination of a squad thought to be the class of the ACC. It is also an indication that Saban has this storied program on track to return to the grandeur that many of its fans still consider their birthright.
Clemson's no-show in the Georgia Dome was the lowlight of a rough weekend for the ACC, whose teams failed to win a single meaningful matchup. Virginia was overwhelmed 52--7 by a USC squad whose offense, directed by first-year starter Mark Sanchez, rolled up 558 total yards. Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer looked on in disbelief as East Carolina used a bit of Beamerballa blocked punt returned 27 yards for a touchdown with 1:52 leftto upset his 17th-ranked Hokies 27--22. Feeling Beamer's pain was Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt, whose Big East team took a No. 25 ranking against Bowling Green and was dealt a buzz-killing 27--17 loss at home (box, page 35).
No upset was more shocking than the Beatdown in A-Town. After a summer of hearing how loaded they were at the skill positions and how superb their chances were of winning their first ACC football title in 17 years, the Tigers were simply outhit and outclassed in every phase of the game. "We got whipped about every way you can get whipped," coach Tommy Bowden acknowledged afterward. "Obviously, we're not the ninth-best team in the country."
FOR THOSE born too late or those who weren't paying attention in the 1960s and '70s, when Bear Bryant--coached 'Bama was collecting SEC and national titles with numbing regularity, this is what Alabama football is supposed to look like:
A physical, swarming defense, which intended to do more than keep Clemson off the scoreboard. "We wanted to get into their heads," said Fanney. "We wanted to intimidate them." Added All-SEC free safety Rashad Johnson, "A lot of what they tried to do, we'd seen on film. If 28 [Spiller] and 1 [Davis] were on the field at the same time, we knew 28 would run a flare and 1 would stay in. We adjusted our pressures accordingly."
An offensive line, led by senior center Antoine Caldwell, blowing huge holes in a front seven composed, apparently, of paper Tigers. "We thought we might have an opportunity to be the more physical team," said Caldwell, laboring to be diplomatic. "They have such great speed on defense that all you can really do is run straight at them."
Two tailbacks, each of whom refused to go down on a single hit. Time will tell whether junior Glen Coffee (90 yards on 17 carries) and freshman Mark Ingram (96 on 17) are that goodthat toughor if Clemson's defenders all had, on the same night, the poorest tackling games of their careers.
What's certain is that the Tide established its identity in Week 1. "Nobody's a star," Coffee said. "Everybody's down and dirty, gritty. We want other teams to fear us."
With the ground game going strong, it wasn't long before third-year quarterback John Parker Wilson began dialing up play-action passes. The bulk of those went to senior tight end Nick Walker, who had a career-high seven receptions for 67 yards, including a 21-yarder on third-and-two that kept a scoring drive alive. Making a great show of blocking down on the defensive tackle, Walker suddenly released from the scrum and in three strides was alone in the middle of the field, where Wilson had no trouble finding him. "They like to bite on that," said a smiling Walker, whose four-yard touchdown catch capped the 14-play drive, which devoured 8:16 and gave 'Bama a 20--3 lead midway through the second quarter.
By bogarting the ball, Alabama kept Clemson's offense off the field for all but 18:47 of the game. The Tigers' five first-half possessions ended fumble, punt, field goal, punt and interception, and generated all of 70 yards on 23 snaps. That pickof quarterback Cullen Harper by cornerback Marquis Johnson at the Alabama 28had the effect of hitting the mute button on the Clemson-orange half of the Georgia Dome.
The neutral-site matchup was the brainchild of Gary Stokan, president of the Chick-fil-A Bowl, a man driven by the fierce, dual urges to jazz up college football's opening weekend and "to expand our bowl brand." He is a relentless flack for that brand. When Spiller took the second-half kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown, Stokan exclaimed, "He must've had Chick-fil-A at halftime!"
Scintillating though it was, Spiller's return, which cut Alabama's lead to 23--10, failed to rattle the Crimson Tide. "Didn't faze us in the least," declared defensive end Brandon Deaderick. "I'm telling you, we're tight. We're a closer team than last year. We trust each other."
YEAR ONE under Saban was turbulent in Tuscaloosa, even by the soap-opera standards of the Alabama program, cursed forever to search for an heir to the Bear. The Tide lost to Louisiana-Monroe in the midst of an 0--4 pratfall to end the regular season. (It took a win over Colorado in the Independence Bowl to finish 7--6.) A pair of assistants bailed for better jobs. And so many Alabama players have been arrested in Saban's short tenure10, at last count, including two charged with felonies who were kicked off the teamthat rival fans have taken to wearing T-shirts bearing the legend PAROLE TIDE.
There was good news interspersed with the bad. By Rivals.com's reckoning, Saban reeled in the nation's top recruiting class, including the No. 1 wideout, 6'4", 210-pound Julio Jones of Foley, Ala. The 19-year-old stunned onlookers in a recent scrimmage when he tracked down a deep ball, broke the cornerback's tackle, then stiff-armed Rashad Johnson to the turf on his way to the end zone. After video of the play appeared on the Web-based TideTV, Saban ordered it taken down. "That's why we close practice," he said, "so the other team can't see us." Too late. The footage was already on YouTube.
With 4:08 left in the third quarter last Saturday, Wilson and Jones hooked up for a four-yard touchdown, unleashing from the 'Bama stands a thunderous "HOOOO-lio!" Best get used to that sound, SEC.
Saban's recruiting prowess is beyond doubt. Keeping his players off police blotters once they get to Tuscaloosa requires some work. After pleading with his guys to exercise better judgment, he took steps to help them do that. Those who spent the summer on campus were enrolled in a dozen mental conditioning classes, designed to improve, in Saban's words, the "self-actualization, self-confidence [and] self-esteem" of his players. Instructors from the Pacific Institute led the players through a series of exercises and affirmations. This sampling appeared recently in The Birmingham News: "Our team is a family. We will look out for each other. We love one another. Anything that attempts to tear us apart only makes us stronger."
While this chanting and forced introspection had many players squirming and uncomfortable at first, "that was the point," says Caldwell. "It's all about leaving your comfort zone. Since January we've put a lot of emphasis on improving the team chemistry." That included the elimination of cliques. "We've been bowling, shooting pool, playing cards, different things just to get everybody feeling comfortable together. We're closer this year than we've ever been."
THAT UNITY will be tested, naturally, over the course of an SEC season. Working hard to throw a wet blanket on the win over Clemson was Saban, who has been known to grumble, after winning his opener, "We can still go 1--11." On Saturday he said, "Nobody can be satisfied with a one-game performance. This will be a challenge for our team, and it will be interesting to see how they respond."
Less inclined to adopt the head man's Eeyore outlook were the 'Bama fans at the Georgia Dome, who stood as one during a late stoppage of play. A cross section of the faithful, seated behind the Tide bench, included a twentysomething guy sporting a houndstooth ball cap, a graying couple who looked to be in their 60s and a man with his young granddaughter in her spangled crimson top. Thrusting miniature pom-poms in the recirculated air, they all lent their voices to an old Alabama standard. Seldom have these lyrics from the Rammer Jammer Cheer rung truer:
OP
mike_s
Contributor
what's up with Vandy?
1.) They had a packed stadium for a Thursday night game.... who even knew that had enough fans to come close to packing a stadium, much less them showing up
2.) They just beat South Carolina! ( SC will be falling off the ranking...)
1.) They had a packed stadium for a Thursday night game.... who even knew that had enough fans to come close to packing a stadium, much less them showing up
2.) They just beat South Carolina! ( SC will be falling off the ranking...)
gatorblueyes
Contributor
Silverback784
Registered
YEAH Hows about them DAWGS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THEY ARE LOOKING GREAT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Silverback784
Registered
IrishSquid
Hows about them DAWGS ...... I know the last two teams where weak but you still have to admit Georgia is going to put a whopping on everyone. They are looking so much better than I have seen them in a long time.
Oh BTW sorry I havent answered up on the postings been on the busy side of things. Hoping to go diving next weekend sometime though. Not sure if LLM or philly or exactly where LOL but I am going somewhere LOL.
Hows about them DAWGS ...... I know the last two teams where weak but you still have to admit Georgia is going to put a whopping on everyone. They are looking so much better than I have seen them in a long time.
Oh BTW sorry I havent answered up on the postings been on the busy side of things. Hoping to go diving next weekend sometime though. Not sure if LLM or philly or exactly where LOL but I am going somewhere LOL.
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