"This game will come down to two or three plays..." and It Did

Sitting outside the Georgia Dome at the College Gameday set, those words were uttered by Kirk Herbstreit before he picked the Florida Gators to beat the Alabama Crimson Tide.

As it turns out, he was completely right.

After Florida 31, Alabama 20, fans from both teams are looking at two or three plays that made a difference in the game.

For Florida, those long passes down the sidelines were key for field position and getting points when they needed them the most.

Alabama overcame the fact that they let those plays happen, but too many other plays had a much bigger impact on the Alabama sidelines.

What if Javier Arenas had let that kickoff go out-of-bounds, resulting in an extra 36 yards for the Alabama offense?

What if John Parker Wilson had ran on 1st and Goal instead of throwing an almost intercepted pass?

What if Dont'a Hightower's fingers hadn't gotten caught in a facemask on 3rd and 5 and Alabama still leading?

The fact of the matter is, hindsight is 20/20.

There is nothing that can change the past, nothing that can correct those plays or decisions.

Nothing can fix the fact that Alabama couldn't put together their best game of the season when they needed it most.

Nothing can change Florida 31, Alabama 20.

Nothing, until December 5th, 2009.

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.

Picks, Previews, and Prognostications, Rivalry Week Part I

As the season begins to wind down, the rivalries begin to heat up.

With that said, this week is week one of two continual rivalry weeks to end the college football season, and there are plenty to be played this weekend.

However, for starters, let's see how many rivalries you can correctly name. Thanks to ESPN, this has been made possible for week one and hopefully week two will have a similar poll.

First, though, I need to update my record against the rest of the CW pick'em staff.

Last week, I went 7-1 and would have been perfect had I actually had faith in Vandy. Instead, I tied for the best record of the week last week. After three weeks of picks, I am currently sitting at 20-4. The best CW staffer is 15-9.

Now, back to Rivalry Week Part I, where I will go unopposed considering there was no Gameday published in the Crimson White this week, but the blog needs something on it, so here it goes.

Tennessee @ Vanderbilt

The Commodores are going bowling for the first time since 1982 after las week's road win against Kentucky. Tennessee is coming off of an embarrassing loss to Wyoming for Homecoming and has seemingly given up on their season. Both teams still want to win this game and Tennessee is trying to avoid an eight loss season for the first time in school history. Here's to an orange snowman on Saturday. Vanderbilt 17, Tennessee 9

Florida State @ Maryland

The Terps and the Seminoles will clash in what is an elmination game for Florida State. An FSU loss ends their conference season at 4-4 while Maryland could finish no worse than 5-3. Maryland is undefeated at home this season, but is only 2-16 all-time against the Seminoles. Fear the Turtle, 'cause Saturday in College Park will mark win number three. Maryland 27, Florida State 17

Stanford @ Cal

The battle for the Stanford Axe will commence in Berkley on Saturday between two teams known for the greatest play in college football history. This season, however, the Bears seem to be the better team, but Stanford has shown their mettle are are battling for a bowl position. Cal would love nothing more than to keep their bitter rival from going bowling this season, and the Bears will be up to the task on Saturday. Cal 28, Stanford 17

Pittsburgh @ Cincinnati

The River City Rivalry (est. 2005, for what its worth) may go a long way to deciding the Big East after Cinci's consecutive road wins at West Virginia and Louisville. A Bearcats win would all but lock up the Big East considering Cincinnati's remaining Big East schedule would only comprise of coachless Syracuse. Pittsburgh would have a long way to go if they were to win this game, still having to face West Virginia (who will be out for revenge) and UConn. With a BCS bowl at stake, the Bearcats make the necessary moves at home to all but clinch the Big East. Cincinnati 35, Pittsburgh 27

Michigan @ Ohio State

Yes it's a rivalry, and an intesnse one at that, but who all are we kidding to believe Michigan has a chance this weekend? The Wolverines are in the midst of their worst season in school history and will be on the road at The Horseshoe. This is all after Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez took time out of his week this week to actually respond to the media. They are in your head, Rich, and soon Ohio State will be as well. Ohio State 42, Michigan 10

Michigan State @ Penn State

The battle for The Land Grant Trophy is also a battle for the Big Ten title. The Nittany Lions are thinking roses after putting together another stellar season for coach Joe Paterno, but Jevon Ringer and company stands in their way. Sparty will need an improbable Michigan victory to have a chance to go to Pasadena, but that won't even be a problem after Penn State and the Spread HD seal the Big Ten title. Penn State 24, Michigan State 14

BYU @ Utah

The annual Holy War between the Utes and Cougars may be the most important game in the history of the rivalry this season. Not only is the battle for the Beehive Boot for the Mountain West title, but Utah is playing for a spot in a BCS game. Both teams have battled TCU this season, with the Utes being the only team to come out on top in a wild game two weeks ago. The Utes will once again be at home and will have plenty of time to think about which BCS bowl they would like to participate in. Utah 21, BYU 17

Texas Tech @ Oklahoma

This may be the next best thing to a college football playoff. The Red Raiders and Sooners will clash in what could be the first of two "semifinal" games for the BCS. As I discussed earlier, a Sooners win would shake up the entire Big XII landscape with one week remaining, but if Graham Harrell and company finish the job Saturday, all should remain peaceful in the land of college football and Harrell would all but lock up the Heisman Trophy. So much for wishful thinking in Lubbock as we will watch the BCS implode once again. Oklahoma 38, Texas Tech 35

Other rivalries of note this weekend:
Minnesota 24, Iowa 20-Floyd of Rosedale
Northwestern 21, Illinois 17-Sweet Sioux Tomahawk
Purdue 30, Indiana 14-Old Oaken Bucket
Colorado State 20, Wyoming 10-Bronze Boot
Washington 24, Washington State 23-Apple Cup
Harvard 24, Yale 17-THE Game
LSU 35, Ole Miss 31

Now, as always for the next week, how 'bout some Auburn "love"?

This one pretty much speaks for itself...

Pass or Fail, Week of Nov. 19

With a good portion of the SEC off between last Saturday and this Saturday, the weekly Pass or Fail segment will expand a little this week to not only more major college football, but also a peek into basketball.

Head of the Class: Vanderbilt Commodores

For the first time since 1982, the Vanderbilt Commodores will be visiting the postseason.

With a 31-24 victory at Kentucky, the 'Dores are now 6-4 on the season and 4-3 in the SEC. With a win over Tennessee Saturday, Vanderbilt will have five conference wins for the first time since 1935. Vandy gets Tennessee in Nashville and will be looking at a much better bowl with seven victories on the season.

Pass: Alabama's Javier Arenas

Every week it seems there is an Alabama player in the pass column.

Well, for starters, this is a blog by an Alabama student who gets to watch their games in entirety each week, but Alabama is also undefeated.

This week's honor falls on the SEC Special Teams Player of the Week Javier Arenas who set a school record with 153 punt return yards against Mississippi State. Arenas also set the career school mark for punts returned for touchdowns with his fifth career return against the Bulldogs.

Fail: The Deep South's Oldest Rivarly

Not only did this game kick at 11:30 on regional television, being overlooked for Alabama-Mississippi State, but it wasn't suppose to be that great of a game. It wasn't that great of a game, but for other reasons.

Auburn has struggled all season, sure, but Georgia looked absolutely pathetic after their first field goal attempt was blocked by the Tigers. The game then turned into an absolute battle of ineptitude that the Bulldogs eventually won 17-13. Tuberville could have won the game had he kicked a field goal on previous drives in the fourth quarter, but opted for fourth down offensive attempts which failed.

Pass: Tennessee Basketball

If anyone was wondering who would win the SEC this season, look no further than Knoxville.

The Vols are simply too strong in a conference full of horribly underachieving teams and Florida. The Gators will provide the biggest competition to the Vols, but everything else should be easy sailing this season.

Bruce Pearl not only has some great returning players from last season, they also have Diaper Dandy Scotty Hopson, who will be posterizing an All-SEC player near you in the coming months.

Fail: SEC Basketball

I have been on this topic as late as yesterday, but last night didn't make any matters better.

Between Georgia's dominant one-point win over Eastern Michigan and Kentucky's 28-turnover beauty against North Carolina on national television. These games have UK at 0-2 and Georgia is 1-1 with a points differential on the season of -20.

SEC fans can at least hold on to the last few breaths of football season, and the jump straight into baseball.

Pass: ACC Football

They may not be the best or have any powerhouse team this season, but the ACC has been the most fun conference to watch this year.

Why you may ask?

Parity. Each week, a new team in the ACC joins the Top 25 just to go on the road and lose, fall out of the Top 25, win at home, and start the process over.

Each team has at least two losses right now. The only two teams who have yet to dropped a third game are Miami, who travels to Georgia Tech and North Carolina State to finish the season, and Maryland, who hosts Florida State and visits Boston College.

I'm going to make a quick prediction that each team in the ACC will finish with three losses, but anyone else who wants to take time out of their lives to sort out the tie breakers for these situations, knock yourself out.

Fail: Rich Rodriguez

It is bad enough to be the first man in Michigan history, the winningest program in college football history, to take the team to they historic low of eight losses in one season.

Things don't get better when you take time out of your schedule of coaching said program to respond to media members who are roasting you like chestnuts over an open fire.

Too bad that Rich Rod has already done that this week (Ohio State week for those of you who didn't know since ESPN is shoving that game down our throats for once) by telling media members to "Get a life" after multiple outlets have questioned his first season in Ann Arbor.

Rich, some quick advice, you are no longer the native son, so you might need to grow a spine...and fast.

Epic Fail: The Apple Cup

There are no two teams in FBS college football right now who are worse than Washington and Washington State.

The Huskies are currently 0-10 on the season. Ty Willingham has been fired already and are losing by the average score of 40-14.

The Cougars have benefitted from being able to look across the state and see Washington at 0-10 because WAZU is 1-10 themselves.

The only win for the Cougars came against FCS Portland State, who is currently 3-7 themselves. They have been shut out three out of their past four games and are limping to the finish line against Washington.

In other words, something has to give.

I would look for Washington State to come out on top for two reasons: They have the game at home and, sadly, they at least know how to win.

So, now with that out of the way, it is now time for the customary Auburn "love" that will be gracing this blog over the next week and a half.

For tonight, we are gonna hit the way back machine and go all the way back to...January of 2007. Basically, it was when Tubbs started shaking in his boots and was out to continue the downward spiral that is Auburn Football as we know it today.

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.

Nick Saban gets fired up!!!

If you haven't heard what Nick Saban had to say last night about this week's game against Mississippi State, you may want to take a listen.

Coach Saban got on a roll last night about those who are viewing Mississippi State as a pushover team.

Just a heads up to those of you who may not know:

• We have lost two straight to State.
• We haven't scored an offensive TD against State in 186 minutes of football.
• Our two campuses are the closest of any in the SEC.
• O yea, in case you forgot, their head coach played for The Bear.
• Finally, they have the most annoying cheer in the SEC. (BTW, the correct cheer is "State sucks, State sucks." They will love you for it.)

So, now that you know that, I'll let the man say his peace about this game.

So yea, all you students who don't show up to the game until kickoff or are not planning on coming at all, this is not the State team you are used to from when you were in high school.

This team is a bit better than what you may think, and this game is extremely important for this season.

Who is LSU, Anyways?

Uh, just the defending national champions of college football, that's all.

The Bayou Bengals may have suffered a few humiliating losses this season at the hands of Florida and Georgia, but they still have very good skill players and have a core left from last season who still know a thing or two about winning.

Charles Scott has emerged as the biggest threat on the ground for the Tigers this season for a team that has all of a sudden gone from running back by committee to one solid guy. Scott is averaging 6.7 yards per carry this season with 11 touchdowns and 111 yards per game.

At quarterback, the picture is a little fuzzy. Jarrett Lee and Andrew Hatch have been sharing time all season, but that doesn't throw out the possibility of seeing freshman Jordan Jefferson take the field for the Fighting Tigers. Lee has seen the most action this season, completing 56% of his passes for 1427 yards on the season, but has a horrid touchdown to interceptions ratio at 12:10. He is also averaging one interception for every ten completions.

The true stars of LSU on offense are the wide receivers who can do some damage if Alabama allows Lee and company to get them the ball. LSU is led by Brandon LaFell and Demetrius Byrd at receiver. LaFell has been the go-to guy this season, having a majority of the catches, yards, and touchdowns.

On defense, LSU has lost a lot from last season, but is still very stout on the defensive line.

The defensive line has a two-headed monster in Rahim Alem and Tyson Jackson. Both of these guys will be cause for concern for the Alabama offensive line and may be the best tandem they will face all season. Alem is the team leader in sacks with six and Jackson has four and a half himself. Combined, these two have 15.5 tackles for loss this season.

After the line, the defense gets a little shaky.

The leading tackler on the team, Harry Coleman, only has 47 tackles on the season from the safety position. Perry Riley is the leading tackler among the linebackers with 37 tackles. The secondary has only caused four interceptions all season and has been picked apart by both Matthew Stafford and Tim Tebow. John Parker Wilson could easily do the same if play calling permits.

Overall, the LSU defense has only caused eight turnovers this season, well below the 36 this team caused last season.

Obviously the keys for Alabama will be to keep LSU out of the offensive backfield, prevent turnovers, and create some turnovers of their own.

Now, before I go and get ready for the trip to Baton Rouge and the turning of 21 in New Orleans, I found an interesting set of articles that reflects the two sides of Nick Saban: Alabama and LSU. Hope you enjoy and be on the lookout for picks out the wazoo tomorrow, but since one of the games picked by the CW Sports staff is tonight, here is one to help tide you over until tomorrow.

TCU @ Utah

The Utes are undefeated, the Horned Frogs have one loss, albeit to Oklahoma. For all intensive purposes, this is the Mountain West Championship Game with both teams undefeated in conference, top ten in the BCS, and BYU with already one loss at the hands of TCU earlier this season. Utah gets this game at home, and that will be the factor that gets them over the top and into the BCS.

Utah 27, TCU 24

SEC Pass or Fail, Week Ten...and Links!!!

So, another week, and another installment of SEC Pass or Fail here at ITNOT.

This week in the SEC saw another big match up turn into a big blow out, some stellar defensive efforts, and some just horrid individual and team play. Out of all of that, here is what stood out.

Head of the Class: Alabama's Defense

Sure, Alabama was playing Arkansas State this week, but this was a team who has a win against a BCS team this season and scored 83 points in a game. All Alabama did was shut them out and hold them to 158 total yards.

In their last four games, the Crimson Tide defense has only allowed four offensive touchdowns and has yet to allow a 100-yard rusher so far this season. On top of this, the defense has four touchdowns of their own this season and will face their last tough road challenge of the regular season this weekend against Charles Scott and the LSU Tigers.

Pass: Florida's Tim Tebow

After the Gators lost to Ole Miss at home, many people were wondering what happened to Heisman winner Tim Tebow. Four games later, it's safe to say "Superman" has found his stride once again.

Since the Ole Miss game, Tebow is 52/75 with eight passing touchdowns to just two interceptions. He has also ran for six touchdowns in those games. He has led the Gators to three straight games of 40 points or more for the first time since the Spurrier era, and managed to set the school record for career rushing touchdowns (39), surpassing Emmitt Smith in the process.

Fail: Georgia

The Bulldogs were the pre-season number one team in the country, the national title pick by Lindy's pre-season magazine, and were suppose to have two Heisman candidates in Knowshon Moreno and Matthew Stafford. Instead, the Bulldogs have fallen flat in their two biggest games this season.

Between games against Alabama and Florida, the Bulldogs have given up 90 points to those two teams in two losses. Both losses have managed to propel the opposing team into the national spotlight, while Georgia falls further away from where most people saw them at the beginning of the season. The Bulldogs are now playing for a spot in a New Year's Day Bowl instead of any sort of championship.

Pass: South Carolina's Defense

The Gamecocks started the season at 1-2 and were looking at an entire season like the way last year ended. Instead, the Gamecocks are now bowl eligible and it is due in large part to their defense.

South Carolina is only giving up an average of 15 points per game and have the best, and most underrated, defense in the SEC this season. USC has managed to do this while also having the worst turnover differential in the conference at -7. I thought Lou Holtz was crazy when he called the Gamecocks the best defense in the SEC earlier this season during halftime of a game they would lose, but they have made Lou look like a he knew what he was talking about for once.

Fail: Mississippi State

The Bulldogs had a great season last year and were looking to build on that success this season. Turns out that Mississippi State is Mississippi State once again.

Wesley Carroll was all about winning an SEC championship this season at SEC Media Days, but that focus has now shifted to just winning an SEC game. The Bulldogs have won one conference game all season and have blown chances against Auburn and Kentucky this season. State must win their final three games to even be considered for a bowl, but they must go on the road to Tuscaloosa and Oxford for two of those final three games. The only problem is State is win-less this season on the road.

Pass: Ole Miss

Ole Miss won three SEC games during the three year career of Ed Orgeron and won three games each season under Coach O. The Rebels have three SEC wins this season alone after last weekend's win over Auburn.

The Rebels are one win away from their first bowl since Eli Manning and company took down Oklahoma State 31-28 in the 2003 Cotton Bowl, and they have two very good chances to get that sixth win. The Rebels finish with two of their final three at home against Louisiana-Monroe and then the Egg Bowl against Mississippi State on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Houston Nutt has things going in the right direction in Oxford and has the players to be making some noise soon.

Fail: Three Interception Quarterbacks

Interceptions are never the way to win a football game for your team. Multiple interceptions is just an easy way to spell "loss," and that's exactly what Georgia and Auburn did when their quarterbacks threw three interceptions each.

Kodi Burns and Matthew Stafford managed to complete three passes to teams in the wrong color jersey this past Saturday. Burns' interceptions all came in the second half and directly led to Ole Miss' final touchdown in a 17-7 Rebel victory. Auburn finished the game on Ole Miss' 25-yard line which would have been prime for a game-tying field goal. Stafford's blunders (which also included a fumble) also all came in the second half and led to two Florida touchdowns on the very next play after the interception as the Gators embarrassed the Bulldogs 49-10. It's pretty safe to say that three interceptions are not the way to win a ball game.

Epic Fail: Tennessee

The daisy orange and white have looked horrid this season, and it all came to a culmination after two straight losses to familiar foes.

Tennessee is currently sitting at 3-6 after back-to-back losses to Alabama and Steve Spurrier's South Carolina Gamecocks. The Vols have only managed 15 points in their last two games and had finally had enough to let Phil Fulmer go on Monday. The Vols will have a new general on the sideline next season for the first time in 17 years in hopes that they can once again return to greatness in the SEC. As it stands right now, it might take a lot more than a head coach to fix the mess on Rocky Top.

This week, even though they aren't in the SEC, an extra special Epic Fail goes out to the Michigan Wolverines, who will not be going to a bowl in Rich Rodriguez' first season in Ann Arbor. The losing season snaps a 33-year bowl streak for the Maize and Blue, which was easily the longest in the nation. The pain is only made worse as Ohio State, Michigan State, and Notre Dame are all having successful seasons once again.

So what is up concerning college football today?

• The Forde-Yard Dash on ESPN.com by Pat Forde takes a look at a potential eight team playoff and asks the question of where has George Teague gone.
• Ivan Maisel of ESPN.com looks into the BCS puzzle as well as Miami's second season under Randy Shannon.
• Chris Low of ESPN.com looks inside the SEC for his internal affairs and is sold on Alabama's three headed rushing attack.
• Steward Mandel of SI.com talks about the biggest storyline of this weekend in his weekly mailbag. Of course, its Nick Saban vs. Les Miles.
• Gentry Estes of the Mobile Press-Register takes a look at things Nick Saban has come to realize in his year and a half at Alabama.
• In today's Birmingham News, Ian Rapaport (my favorite blogger to read, btw) tells the story of how John Parker Wilson is among the Alabama elite quarterbacks, but he still needs some signature wins, starting with Saturday at LSU.

That's all for tonight. Tomorrow, we will take a look at LSU and all the threats they posses for this Alabama team.

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.