Seriously, Auburn, is THIS Your Splash?

After the "resignation" of Tommy Tuberville, the feeling of many Auburn fans was that the Tigers needed to make a "big splash" hire with their next head coach.

Names such as Turner Gill, Skip Holtz, and Will Muschamp floated around the Plains for days, but there was never any action.

One reaction from The Bunker message board on Auburnsports.com, the Tigers' Rivals' site, was quite upset yesterday morning about the lack of a hire.

"At this point in the coaching party, Auburn is the sloppy girl on the couch drunk dialing all the exes she can find in her cell phone."

Apparently she finally called the guy who wasn't quite over her yet.

On Saturday, the news broke that Gene Chizik, former Auburn defensive coordinator and Iowa State head coach, would be hired by Auburn to take over the football program.

Before we go into the reaction, let's look at the "splash factor" of Chizik compared to the other men mentioned above.

• Will Muschamp: Had he left his post at Texas to return to Auburn, this would have been a good rally for the Tigers. Muschamp's defense was one of the best in the Big XII this season and is still highly thought of in Auburn. He is a Tuberville protege and had some of the nastiest defenses in the SEC during his time. Not to mention he was 2-0 against both Alabama and Florida. Splash factor: Soaking the tanning sorority girls on the side of the pool, but attractive enough that they smile instead of yell.
• Turner Gill: The Buffalo coach took the job in New York as a man who had never heard of the university. Since his arrival, he has doubled the Bulls win total in FBS and won a conference championship. He will be guiding the Bulls to their first attended bowl game in school history and only the second invite in school history. To say he is one of the hottest coaches in college football would be an understatement. Splash factor: Big enough to make your friends jealous.
• Skip Holtz: After being the college football sweetheart of the early season at East Carolina, the Pirates were brought back down to earth. Nonetheless, Holtz's team beat Virginia Tech, the ACC Champ. The Holtz was a hot candidate for Syracuse, but reportedly pulled his name out of contention because Auburn came calling. Splash factor: As wet as you would be by standing in front of his father while he talked.
• Gene Chizik: Chizik has been at Iowa State for the past two seasons, his first head coaching job of his career. He has a Big XII and SEC Championship to his name as a defensive coordinator, but has not had that success as a head coach. After two seasons, Chizik is 5-19 as a head coach and was #3 on the coacheshotseat.com rankings before Auburn snatched him away from Iowa State. Splash factor: A faucet leak in a room of the house no one visits, so it drives up your water bill.

So what has the reaction be so far? Well, it hasn't been too good.

Alabama fans were enjoying the news all day, with the responses coming quick and painful for Auburn fans.

One facebook status read,"2007: 3-9 2008: 2-10 2009: War Damn Eagle!" Another responded to the hire with, "Gene Chizik: Cause five wins in one season are too many."

The Tigers' faithful couldn't look to their own for reassurance that things would be alright in the Loveliest Village, either.

For starters, none of the recruits know a thing about Chizik. Jamie Collins, an Athlete from Mississippi, was told of the hire and responded with, "I don't know him, I've never talked to him-I've never even heard of him."

When Collins learned of Chizik's record at Iowa State, his response wasn not inspiring. "That's not attractive," he said.

Just under an hour ago, Collins decommitted from Auburn. "I'm decommitting from Auburn," said Collins. "I'm going to open things up and see what happens." Collins makes a total of seven decommits for the Auburn recruiting class since it was announced that Tuberville would not return in 2009.

The Auburn family reaction wasn't any better. Al Del Greco was quick and to the point. "No comment."

Cole Cubelic, a former Auburn lineman, was not very impressed with the hire.

"I have a lot of respect for the guy. But you look at his track record as a head coach and you have to scratch your head and wonder what Auburn was doing and why they think it's a good move."

Then, there was this response to Jacobs and Chizik returning to Auburn. Go to about the :35 second mark.

Quite the contrast to Nick Saban's arrival in Tuscaloosa just two short years ago.

And then there was former coach Pat Dye's reaction.

Dye called Chizik "a heck of a football coach, a solid guy. There's not a finer individual, character-wise."

Paul Clark of CycloneReport.com, Iowa State's Rivals' site, who has covered Chizik for the past two years, has a different view of Auburn's new coach.

Finally, now that we know who Auburn's coach his, let's look at the Tigers 2009 Schedule.

The Tigers play Ball State, West Virginia, Furman and Southern Miss out of conference, all at home. The Auburn SEC slate has the Tigers hosting Ole Miss, Alabama, Mississippi State, and Kentucky. They hit the road to take on Arkansas, Tennessee, Georgia, and LSU.

Ok, now lets look at it this way. Auburn just hired Gene Chizik, a 5-19 career coach, to annually play Les Miles, Bobby Petrino, Houston Nutt, Mark Richt, and Nick Saban.

But don't worry, Auburn fans, Steve Spurrier rotates on the schedule in 2010, and then Urban Meyer and the Gators in 2011.

That's right, in 2011, Auburn will face Alabama, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and LSU.

In the two years leading up to that schedule, Auburn can only hope Chizik has them at 5-19, and Jay Jacobs can only hope he has a job then as well.

701 Days. That's All It Took.

Processed (v.)- The act of Nick Saban destroying your coaching career to the point that you are no longer with your team.

As stated in the title, it has only been 701 days since Nick Saban was hired to take over the Alabama Crimson Tide.

That's all it has taken for Saban not only to turn the Tide, but to take back the state, to make his presence known once again in the SEC, and to get Alabama back in the national spotlight.

So how has everyone gotten here over the past 23 months? Here is a quick timeline to refresh your memory.

• Jan. 3rd, 2007: Nick Saban is hired as the 26th head football coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide. In his opening press conference the following day, Saban said, "I know there's tremendous expectations here. I can tell you that, however you feel about it, I have even higher expectations for what we want to accomplish. I want to win every game we play."
• Feb. 7th, 2007: Saban signs a recruiting class that has his partial stamp on it. Kareem Jackson and Rolando McClain are the two stars of the class which is ranked 10th by Rivals.com.
• Apr. 21st, 2007: Over 100,000 people crowded Tuscaloosa to watch Nick Saban's team scrimmage in the annual A-Day Game. Fans were turned away at the gate as the largest crowd to ever watch a spring game assembled at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
• Sept. 1st, 2007: Nick Saban makes his debut as the head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide in a rout of Western Carolina 52-6. The win was Saban's first college win since 2004.
• Sept. 15, 2007: Nick Saban gets his first SEC win at Alabama with a come from behind win against Arkansas 41-38. It was Alabama's first come from behind win in since the Dennis Franchonie era.
• Oct. 20, 2007: The Crimson Tide destroy the Tennessee Volunteers 41-17 in Tuscaloosa to reach 6-2 in Saban's first season. Alabama will enter November tied for first in the SEC West heading into Saban's first game against LSU.
• Nov. 3rd, 2007: LSU comes into Tuscaloosa and comes out with a win 41-34 over Alabama, sending the Crimson Tide into a tailspin to finish their season. Alabama would lose in consecutive weeks to Mississippi State, Louisiana-Monroe, and a sixth straight to Auburn. Alabama finishes the season 6-6, 3-5 in the SEC.
• Dec. 30, 2007: Alabama finishes their season in the Independence Bowl for the second straight season, beating Colorado 30-24. Alabama ends the season 7-6, only the second winning season over the previous five years for the Crimson Tide.
• Jan. 30th, 2008: Jim McElwain is hired by Nick Saban to be Alabama's new offensive coordinator. McElwain leaves Fresno State and simplifies Alabama's offense to avoid confusion for John Parker Wilson and company.
• Feb. 6th, 2008: Alabama puts the finishing touches on the consensus No. 1 recruiting class in the nation. Final 48 hour commitments from Mark Ingram and Julio Jones helped to propel the Tide above Notre Dame, Florida, and Ohio State.
• Apr. 12, 2008: Nick Saban's second A-Day Game doesn't sell out, but 72,000 people still come to watch the Crimson Tide practice. The new offense does just enough to get fans interested as to how this team may play this season.
• June 2008: The new freshman class reports to campus for the first time. Combined with a new senior leadership, the freshmen help the team find a new level to practice at, bringing intense competition to each practice.
• Aug. 30th, 2008: Nick Saban's second team hits the turf in the Georgia Dome against Clemson and blows out the Tigers, 34-10. Alabama jumps into the Top 25 while Clemson never fully recovers from their opening game beat down.
• Sept. 27th, 2008: Alabama takes their show on the road to Athens with an undefeated record for a Top 10 match up. The Crimson Tide runs away in the first half on national television en route to a 41-30 victory over the Bulldogs. Alabama vaults to a number two ranking, the highest since 2005.
• Oct. 13th, 2008: Tommy Bowden resigns at Clemson after a dismal start to what was thought to be an ACC championship season.
• Oct. 25th, 2008: Alabama goes into Neyland Stadium and overpowers the Vols, 29-9, to take the second straight game from Tennessee and Phil Fulmer to reach 8-0, the best start for a Nick Saban team. A week later, Phil Fulmer would resign as head coach, effective at the end of the season.
• Nov. 8th, 2008: Alabama reaches 10-0 after a wild, overtime win in Tiger Stadium against LSU, ending a November losing streak in the SEC dating back to 2005. The win was also the first against the Bayou Bengals since 2002.
• Nov. 29th, 2008: Alabama ends a six year skid against the Auburn Tigers with a 36-0 thrashing, ending Auburn's chances for a bowl. The win cemented Alabama's first undefeated regular season since 1994, the first 12-0 regular season in SEC history, and Nick Saban's first undefeated regular season of his career. The loss, the worst for Auburn since 1962, left doubt about Tommy Tuberville's job security.
• Dec. 3rd, 2008: Tommy Tuberville resigns as head coach of the Auburn Tigers.

Those are the important points which bring us to today's events. It is only a matter of time before we see what this means for both Alabama and Auburn. In the meantime, Alabama has a championship to play for.

The Iron Bowl, A Day Later: The View From Both Sides

After having one day to let the 36-0 beatdown of Auburn settle in, the feeling has not completely gone away.

At the same time, however, it feels as if nothing extreme happened yesterday. It basically feels like things are the way they should be once again.

That is, from the crimson and white side it feels that way. For those fans of the school on the east side of the state, yesterday was not a good day.

Here is a quick run down of how yesterday went down from a vantage point of both schools.

Auburn

The day started with high hopes for many Tiger fans.

Tuberville not only got off the bus holding up seven fingers, he managed to walk all the way into the stadium doing so.

That was about the last bit of joy CTT and company would feel for the day.

After Auburn went through their first fifteen planned plays on offense, the Tigers could hardly manage much else on the day.

On defense, the Tigers allowed over 200 yards on the ground and were on the field for too long thanks to an inept offense.

The lack of production allowed many Auburn fans to leave the stadium early enough to beat the traffic.

The president of Auburn's recruiting organization even left with seven minutes left...in the third quarter!!! Apparently, he wasn't a part of that "we" who believed in Auburn this week.

After the game, though, Antonio Coleman said it best for anyone who ever wondered how deep this rivalry runs.

When Coleman was asked if he had been a part of a worse loss than this one, he replied, "I can't imagine it. Probably a death in the family would be the closest thing to that."

Well, Auburn can quickly get over it, thankfully, because swimming and diving season has begun on the Plains.

However, it's gonna be a long 281 days until football returns to Jordan-Hare Stadium. That's plenty of time for duck hunting in Arkansas.

Alabama

After Auburn's A-Day game on March 29th, one of my friends from Auburn texted me saying that Alabama would demolish the Tigers this season. At that point, I laughed it off and said that we would see.

After sixty minutes of domination by the Tide on Saturday, it seems that he was right.

Alabama fans easily enjoyed every second of the latest Iron Bowl victory, the largest in 46 years and the third largest victory margin for Alabama in the history of the rivalry.

The Crimson Tide faithful were enjoying themselves so much at 29-0 heading to the fourth quarter that students were already starting to "wind it up" for Rammer Jammer.

Fifteen minutes and another touchdown later, About 83, 000 Alabama fans released 2,198 days of frustration on the Tigers.

After the game, Alabama fans, including myself, were relishing in Alabama's first undefeated season since 1994, the first 12-0 regular season in SEC history, and the first Iron Bowl win in six years. Students remained in the stadium for about 20 minutes after the game, taking pictures and celebrating with the players and celebrating with each other.

No, Auburn fans, that's not a gimmick of your classless finger holding, that's representative of where Alabama is in the state and in the nation.

Hate is a Strong Word, but I Really, Really Do Hate Auburn

Sure, it may seem a little harsh, but I had a chance to reflect on this Sunday night when a Mercer coach asked us, "Why do ya'll hate Auburn so much?"

Of course, the overwhelming answer is, "Why DON'T you hate Auburn?" but it also gave me a chance to think of why I do hate that Cow College across the state, and it was quite simple.

First, let's start with the school itself.

I can't make a trip down to Auburn without feeling like I am going to contract Gona-herpa-syphl-AIDS. Nothing about that campus can make you feel comfortable about touching a doorknob down there.

Second, their whole existence revolves around beating Alabama. No matter what sport it is, even their beloved swimming and diving, they could care less about anything but beating Bama.

That overwhelming sentiment is found obviously in their favorite joke that has been handed down by their parents. You've heard it, no doubt. The whole living off a dead Bear joke. They love that.

On top of that, they have a quote above their locker room that reads, "We have an opponent in this state that we work every day, 365 days a year, to dominate." Turns out, that's a Nick Saban quote. It is right next to a poster that has all the Iron Bowl victory scores from the Tuberville era that says, "Remember the Feeling" on it.

All of that just borders on obsession.

Third, I personally can't stand stupid people, and if you have to count down for every single cheer you do, you're stupid.

Enter Auburn, where every cheer starts with, "1,2,3.." and continues with created English words such as "Wegle" and the extremely intimidating phrase of "Kick'em in the butt, Big Blue." Apparently, they are also Michigan fans.

Fourth, the absolute classless nature of Auburn. If you don't know what I'm talking about right now, you must be playing dumb like you were about to start an Auburn cheer.

If you haven't noticed, Auburn fans enjoy their sole purpose in life so much, that they will count wins on their fingers. They enjoy their streak so much, it is their only crutch to stand on when they get in an argument.

But, on top of all that, the sheer use of the gesture is classless.

Don't believe me? Well, take a look around. Do you see teams like Ohio State, Georgia, or Oklahoma holding up their win streak numbers over Michigan, Georgia Tech, or Oklahoma State? No? You want to know why? Cause they have class and expect to win those games.

Anyways, as classless as it may be, it has to come from somewhere, and that somewhere is the top.

That's right, the last reason to hate Auburn is Tommy Tuberville, the epitome of classless. Go ahead and defend him all you want, Auburn fans, but this is the same guy who went "duck hunting" in Arkansas last season when he was obviously trying to get the head job, yet still told you he was an "Auburn man."

This is the same man who said he wouldn't leave Oxford except for in a pine box, then flew in a metal plane to Auburn.

This is the same guy who started the whole "Hold up your fingers, all my followers and simpletons."

But most recently, this is same man who showed the utmost disrespect for his opponent when he said, "We've never lost at Jordan-Hare West, and it ain't gonna start this year...I know they have the Messiah over there, but he might want to take that day off."

Yea, Tommy Tuberville is all class.

So, I know Mercer is well out of town, but there is enough of an explanation right there.

Now, as I said earlier today, I was a day behind on my Auburn "love," so today is a double dose, so here it goes.

Since I was discussing Auburn and their stupidity, here is one of the more classic examples of Auburn stupidity.

Picks, Previews and Prognostications, Week Ten

To start off the day, I think its a must that we all give a birthday shoutout to head coach Nick Saban today. Saban is turning 57 today and has done nothing but turn the Tide in his time in Tuscaloosa. So, Happy Birthday, coach.

Now, it is Friday, so that means its time for picks for the weekend's college football action.

Since I haven't been doing this blog but for just a few days, I'm still gonna jump on the train late to see how I do against the others on the sports staff at the Crimson White. So, for starters, here are the games they picked this week and my predictions for each.

Texas @ Texas Tech

Texas may be the most complete team in the country...if Colt McCoy is on his game. Oklahoma State threw him off a bit last week, but the 'Horns still came away with a win. Texas easily has the better defense in this game, but they would need a repeat performance of their game against Missouri to be able to run with the Red Raiders. Texas may have the better team, but strange things have happened in Lubbock, TX (see 2007 Oklahoma-Texas Tech). Texas Tech 42, Texas 41

Florida vs. Georgia in Jacksonville

The SEC East basically comes down to this game. Its a battle of quarterbacks (Stafford vs. Tebow) through the air and fan favorites (Percy Harvin vs. Knownshon Moreno) on the ground. It has been well documented this week that scars from last season's endzone celebration still exist in Gainesville, but both coaches have remained mum about the incident. Look for something from whoever scores first in this game to set the tone for another wild ride in Jacksonville. Florida 31, Georgia 28

Florida State @ Georgia Tech

The Yellow Jackets have taken to Paul Johnson's Triple Option a lot better than most people could have expected this season and are currently second behind Virginia in the ACC's Coastal Division. The Seminoles are on top of the Atlantic Division right now are are ranked in the top 20. FSU has escaped their past two games, being down by ten points in both of them before storming back for a win. Look for Georgia Tech to be able to squelch any comebacks on the Seminoles and hand Bobby Bowden his first loss to Tech as a head coach at Florida State. Seven times "Not so fast, my friend" on the CW staff. Georgia Tech 24, Florida State 20

Oregon @ Cal

Both of these teams are tied at the top of the Pac-10 standings, along with many others, with one conference loss heading into November. Both teams have been flirting with the Top 25 all season long, and Oregon is currently sitting at number 24. Both teams will also be playing in the rain on Saturday, giving an advantage to the Ducks who possess the fifth best rushing attack in college football. Oregon 28, Cal 21

Northwestern @ Minnesota

Sure, coach Saban is a great pick for Coach of the Year, but the job Tim Brewster has done at Minnesota this season cannot go overlooked. He has taken a Golden Gophers team from 1-11 in 2007 to bowl eligible and in the Big Ten race in 2008. They are currently second in the Big Ten behind Penn State, and they avoid playing JoePa and Co. this season. The Gophers easily continue their remarkable run during their last season in the Metrodome. Minnesota 24, Northwestern 10

Auburn @ Ole Miss

Sure, both of these teams may be 4-4 and 2-3 in the SEC, but they are heading in two separate directions. Ole Miss has two more conference wins this season than they had all of last season already and are excited about a possible bowl opportunity. Auburn is in a tailspin (maybe literally), dropping three of their last four, and their fans are watching the team fall apart at the seams. One thing may work in the Tigers' favor this weekend: Colonel Reb has not seen a victory at home against an SEC opponent in the last year and a half. Hotty Toddy, Gosh Almighty, Auburn's 4-5. Ole Miss 27, Auburn 17

Pittsburgh @ Notre Dame

Pitt is currently sitting pretty in the Big East right now and are finally starting to make progress under Dave Wannestedt. Notre Dame is apparently the Notre Dame of old after beating such powerhouse teams as San Diego State (by 7), Stanford (by 7) and Washington (0-7). Now, I will admit that I am not the biggest Notre Dame fan (not as bad as this guy, but see 1966 to understand), but I still think they might have a chance in this game. Cheer, Cheer for ol' Notre Dame...to lose. Pittsburgh 34, Notre Dame 27

Arkansas State @ Alabama

It's Homecoming at the Capstone, and the Tide are riding high into November like its nothing new. The thing is, it isn't anything new, but the final regluar season records over the past few years would dictate otherwise. However, this is a new team under a new coach with a new attitude. Alabama fans should actually get to enjoy Homecoming without taking some years off of their lives. Alabama 31, Arkansas State 10

Other games of Interest

• South Carolina 14, Tennessee 7
• LSU 31, Tulane 7
• Kentucky 17, Mississippi State 10
• Tulsa 28, Arkansas 17
• Oklahoma 38, Nebraska 21
• USC 88, Washington 7

So, there are my picks for the weekend, but what are the other writers across the country saying for this weekend? Here are some picks from other college football guys across the country

• Bruce Feldman, ESPN.com
• Chris Low, SEC blogger for ESPN.com
• CBS Sportsline staff
• Stewart Mandel, SI.com

So, go crazy in filling your brain with all of these predictions and be careful going out on Halloween/Nick Saban's birthday.

I, for one, will be out and about tonight myself with just one question to ask: Where is Harvey Dent?

Happy Haunting.

SEC Pass or Fail, Week Nine......and links!

As will soon be a staple here on "In the Nic of Time," I take a look back at the week that was in the SEC with a weekly "Pass or Fail" segment.

More or less, its basically just a look at the good and the bad of the past week in the Southeastern Conference. Enjoy!

Head of the Class: Georgia's Darryl Gamble

It's one thing to have your first career interception go all the way back for a touchdown. It's another when you intercept two Pick-six balls in the same game.

Gamble did just that against LSU this past Saturday, taking back Jarrett Lee passes 40 and 53 yards, respectively. The two interceptions for touchdowns went a long way in helping the Bulldogs put 52 points on LSU en route to a huge win in Baton Rouge.

Pass: Florida's Special Teams

The Gators blocked a total of three kicks against the Wildcats of Kentucky Saturday, including Kentucky's first two punt attempts of the afternoon. The third block came on a Kentucky field goal attempt in the second quarter. The Gators used a total of five plays to score three touchdowns off of the blocks produced by their special teams.

Florida jumped out to a 28-0 lead by the end of the first quarter and finished off the Wildcats with a 63-5 woodshed beating.

Fail: Vanderbilt

Normally this would seem like a spot where most Vanderbilt teams would fit, except for this year's team. That seems to have changed.

After charging out to a 5-0 record with wins over a tough Ole Miss team and Auburn, the 'Dores have lost three straight, the last a homecoming loss to Duke. Vanderbilt quarterbacks have thrown seven interceptions all season, all but one of them coming in the past three games. Most people saw this season as the Commodores first chance at a bowl since 1984, but those hopes seem to be dwindling with remaining games against Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee and Wake Forest.

The 'Dores will have a good chance against Kentucky and Tennessee, but it will come down to whether or not they can move the ball on those tough two defenses.

Pass: Alabama's 2nd Half

After three recent second half debacles, Alabama put together their most complete second half to date and won the second half for the first time since Arkansas. Alabama had four drives in the second half. They ended Field Goal, Touchdown, Touchdown, Game.

On Defense, Alabama held Tennessee to 76 total yards in the second half and a touchdown on a drive which was aided by three pass interference calls. Short of the defensive short comings, Alabama played a fantastic second half.

Fail: LSU's Defense

What has happened to the LSU defense that we have seen over the last few years? In their last eight SEC games, dating back to last October 20th against Auburn, the Tigers have allowed an average of 33 points per game in the SEC. Allowing a total of 103 to SEC East leaders Georgia and Florida did not help this cause, but that still puts this highly regarded defense at giving up an average of 28 points per game, and that's still high.

Maybe its the absence of Bo Pelini, or maybe its just the quality of players LSU lost after last season. Whatever it is, the Tigers must fix it soon if they want a chance to be playing on New Year's Day.

Pass: Houston Nutt

The past two seasons, Houston Nutt had to deal with angry fans, questionable hires, and an Athletic Director off of his rocker. Even with all of this around him, Nutt still managed to compile an 18-6 regular season record in 2006-07, but every man has his boiling point, and Nutt met his after the 2007 season.

Nutt made a change to Ole Miss in the off-season and has taken the Rebels to a 4-4 record and 2-3 in the SEC, already surpassing Ed Orgeron's win total in each of his three seasons in Oxford and showing a 200% increase in SEC victories over last season. His last hurdle in year one may be to break the Rebels streak of home SEC losses, and he will have a good chance to do so with Auburn and Mississippi State still to visit Oxford.

Fail: Kentucky's tailspin

Sure, the Wildcats were off to their second straight hot start, getting to 4-0 and beating Louisville for the second straight season. However, it has been all down hill from there.

They have now lost three of their last four games since entering conference season, but those have not been their biggest losses. The injuries of Dicky Lyons, Jr. and Derrick Locke for the season have made the outlook to get to a bowl bleak for the 'Cats. Things may not look good right now, but the Big Blue travel to Starkville this weekend and still have games with Vandy at home and finish in Knoxville and are in need of only one more win to get bowl eligible.

Epic Fail: Auburn's Run Defense

Entering their game against Arkansas, Auburn was a respectable 14th in the nation in run defense. It had been the Tigers saving grace so far this year, and was the only bright spot seemingly left on this team after the firing of Tony Franklin and a loss to Vanderbilt.

Now, after Arkansas' Michael Smith put 176 yards on the Tigers followed by a 207 yard performance by West Virginia's Noel Devine, Auburn now stands at No.51 nationally and 8th in the SEC. The Tigers are now allowing an average of 128 yards on the ground per game in a league where running backs rule the day. The Tigers three remaining SEC games, Ole Miss, Georgia, and Alabama, are against teams that have feature running backs (Enrique Davis, Knowshon Moreno, Glen Coffee) and teams that average over 150 yards on the ground per game.


Now, time for everyone's favorite part of the blog...at least mine anyways...amusing links to other stories.

• With the anticipation of hosting Alabama in next weekend starting to pick up, a local business is already announcing their plans for the weekend on a local billboard in Baton Rouge.
• Speaking of LSU, here is a guy to avoid for those of you making the trek to Tiger country.
• Sure, he may not be the most popular guy in the state, but Paul Finebaum's latest article takes a look at how expectations for this season have gone two different directions for Alabama's top two schools.
• On a more national scale, Ivan Maisel of ESPN.com breaks down this weekend's Texas-Texas Tech match-up and takes a look at Florida State's season to date in his weekly I-Formation.
• Just as he does every week, Stewart Mandel of SI.com answers questions about the college football season. This week, he tackles the question of how Penn State fits into the BCS given any number of scenarios.