Monday, October 6, 2008

Random thoughts from SEC action last weekend

Will the real Ole Miss please stand up? – Imagine what it must be like to be an Ole Miss fan this year. In the last three weeks, the Rebels have lost to Vanderbilt at home, beaten Florida at The Swamp, and lost to South Carolina at home. It is an obvious example of growing pains under first-year coach Houston Nutt, but it has to be maddening to the fans.

Twin sons of different mothers? – Is it just me or do Kentucky and Tennessee seem like mirror reflections of each other? Both have good defenses and bad offenses. If you are a Tennessee fan, this realization has to make you sad. Very sad.

Some teams thrive in the spotlight – Vanderbilt has had an amazing season so far, but things got taken up a notch last week. ESPN was on campus, and Auburn was clearly their toughest challenge so far. That said, their inexperience in big-time games really showed in the first quarter. They looked tentative and a step slow while falling behind 13-0. However, after that, they were clearly better than the Tigers in rallying to win 14-13. Auburn is starting to look more like Kentucky and Tennessee than LSU.

Up and then down, up and then down – I know Alabama is undefeated, but there can be no denying they have been erratic at times. After opening the season with a thrashing of Clemson, they struggled to beat Tulane the following week. Likewise, after embarrassing Georgia, they struggled at home against Kentucky. If this trend continues, it could cost them a championship.

It's no fun being young in the SEC – Arkansas is playing 16 freshmen on a regular basis, and they are getting pasted almost every Saturday. Last Saturday, they trailed Florida only 17-7 late in the third quarter, but collapsed late to lose 38-7.

One final note – Any Saturday is a good Saturday when Michigan loses.

1 comment:

Joltin' Django said...

"Arkansas is playing 16 freshmen on a regular basis, and they are getting pasted almost every Saturday."

I'll bet the trainers have earned every penny of their salary patching up players after each game.