Around the Horn

[WoVeU]

A thought I can't get out of my head and might as well exhort as I may not ever get to say this again. Bama, for such a historic team, in the toughest division in college football, with really good margins of victory...why I am still not that impressed? They are a good team, no doubt, but for being in the same division as LSU and Arkansas...the schedule doesn't back up all the clout. Their courtship with the top of the polls this year seems to have come by way of the Bama 23-12-24 Wham attack! That is, Bama-what's in a name, "Chart Topping out of the gate!" 23-12-24: Is the ranking of 3 teams they beat that will not be ranked at season's end; Penn State, Florida, and Auburn. The crown in their schedule is the win over Arkansas! Very good team but they just aren't the LSU in crimson we are being sold in my opinion.

And Arkansas, the WVU of the SEC. So much dynamic and talent but here and there letting a bad turn distract their dynamic, like Bama's trickeration 4th down conversion against them, or that punt return LSU got to draw even. And Bobby Petrino being sold snake oil really hurts! You often here of a passing team having to hand it off enough to keep the defense honest. But it goes beyond that, at a few points in the game you need to run the ball, and at that point you don't want to be calling on cold horses. And the opposite holds true as well. If you have a dynamic pass attack and a vaunted D is allowing you to run the ball...their is a reason! You let them run and get a run rhythm and then you just shut the door, and you lock it by using more effort than you otherwise might to take away the #1 and #2 pass options to stop the barber from stropping his razor! I have to say, it was beautiful strategy! (It happens more than we realize, IMO, but all you hear is, "they just never got going." Never got going almost always has help!

LSU, man what an impressive run! I have to go back to Miami, FSU, and Nebraska teams to conjure up images of such dominance! Wow, thanks a lot, it was fun while it lasted! But Georgia is coming to town...cause Santa ain't dressed yet. And Miles is going to send his lesser talented (and less bright) version of Jacory Harris out there to lead his team to Viktry! But it ain't going to happen Jefferson is past due to play Santa's little helper and dole out gifts to all the good little children. Les should quit partaking of his own snake oil!

[billybud]

I watched the Petrino vids on the net. I am used to more gracious coaches. I don't know if he is a jerk, but he comes off as having those tendencies.

[billybud]

Re LSU...

They looked dominating against Auburn. Alabama has been the only team to really give them a match.

[Vileborg]

LSU has done what only one other team has done. They've won every game. Defense wins championships and LSU has a very good and talented defense. I agree LSU is like an illusion as you can't really get a face on it. The point is that they win and they've won their way right into a national title. While their offense is an evolving mass of changing faces and shifting dynamics their defense is easily the best in the country and their special teams is one of the best. Some people say a defense can't win a game by itself but LSU's has and may well win them the national championship.

[WoVeU]

I watched the Petrino vids on the net. I am used to more gracious coaches. I don't know if he is a jerk, but he comes off as having those tendencies.

Petrino is a guy I respect as a professional and for what he has done. And while I can not be sure of his true and full character, I'd bet a little scratch that he ain't my kind of guy. He can be charismatic and almost charming when he is leading the discussion (I'd think leading anything) and things are going very well. But let things go a little tangent and he loses his composure. The one thing I know is that extremes get to the root of someone's mentality. When the mind gets really going in exuberance, excitement, or anger the mind does not have time to run things through the filters and co-processors we've built for social presentation and expectations. And the levels it seems to take for Petrino to lose his filter just aren't all that extreme. I have a very hard time imagining he is anything less than a royal alpha-55, and someone who's teeth I wouldn't remove, courtesy of the house, if he coached my kid.

[RazorHawk]

I never really have seen Petrino, charismatic or charming and most all times strictly business. You can really see it at halftime with the sideline cuties ask him some sort of stupid question.

The only time I have witnessed another side was his speaking at the candlelight vigil for Garrett Eukman, the Razorback Freshman the died of an unexpected heart attack last week. You could see that he truly cares for his players. Yeah, he will curse them when the screw up and may seldom be a back-patter or rah rah guy.

I think in four short years the job he has accomplished in Fayetteville is about as good as anyone has done. I hope he stays a long time, but even if he moves on, the program will be ahead of where he inherited it.

[donovan]

I watched the Petrino vids on the net. I am used to more gracious coaches. I don't know if he is a jerk, but he comes off as having those tendencies.

I don't know him, I have never met him. On the surface from what is reported on his interpersonal relationship skills, jerk seems appropriate.

[Eric]

A thought I can't get out of my head and might as well exhort as I may not ever get to say this again. Bama, for such a historic team, in the toughest division in college football, with really good margins of victory...why I am still not that impressed?

The answer is that their schedule is getting a free ride. People see, "PENN STATE. AUBURN. FLORIDA. TENNESSEE." Wow, must be a really hard slate, right? Maybe in 2002. None of those teams have played particularly well and I'm not amazed by that group of teams. Obviously they had the close loss to LSU and blew out Arkansas which obviously points to them being a great team. But people see the SEC and give the meat of the conference an automatic pass. People on ESPN are touting Alabama's dominance of "defending national champion" (minus Cam Newton and most defensive starters) as evidence that they are clearly, CLEARLY, better than Oklahoma State. As I see it, Oklahoma State had a gaffe and have looked dominant at times as well and I don't think Alabama is head-and-shoulders better than Oklahoma State. But we'll never find out, sadly.

[billybud]

Alabama's SOS holds up....right now it is at #23 (Sagarin)..

Michigan's SOS is #38 and Wisconsin's #64 in comparison. Houston's is at 111, Boise at 51, Stanford at 35.

Alabama played the #1 and #3 BCS ranked teams in the last rankings....good enough...even without the #19 and 24 they also plyed.

[Eric]

Alabama's SOS holds up....right now it is at #23 (Sagarin)..

Michigan's SOS is #38 and Wisconsin's #64 in comparison. Houston's is at 111, Boise at 51, Stanford at 35.

Alabama played the #1 and #3 BCS ranked teams in the last rankings....good enough...even without the #19 and 24 they also plyed.

I only care about end-of-season rankings. Penn State and Auburn will end the year unranked more than likely. I think Alabama has played a good schedule, I just don't think it's the murderer's row that, say, an LSU would have to go through (Oregon, road game at West Virginia, Alabama on the road, Arkansas, Georgia on a neutral site)

[billybud]

Oh I agree...If LSU beats Georgia..I've already said that they should just be given the trophy...it is almost unfair to make them play again.

[Spence]

Oh I agree...If LSU beats Georgia..I've already said that they should just be given the trophy...it is almost unfair to make them play again.

I said this a couple weeks ago. LSU is the best team in the nation. They aren't a world beater on offense, but when that defense gets rolling they are very, very good.

[billybud]

They will have plowed through the top 25....

[RazorHawk]

LSU I also believe is the best, but they still have to win two more games against some very good competition to win the BCS National Championship.



Post number 3333.

[Derek]

My take: (Bias ahead)

The National Championship will depend on what Georgia team shows up.

If it's the team that beat Kentucky by 9 points.....LSU wins about 54 - 14.

If it's the team that dismantled Auburn and Georgia Tech.....You're gonna need to find a team to replace them in the title game. I expect in that case Boise would jump a few spots and maybe back to #2 after this? Who knows, I know ESPN would love that "fly" that always love to talk about....they p*ss me off.

Hunker down Dawgs!!!