The SEC West is gettin’ downright incestuous.

Weird thought of the morning: if in fact these Tuberville to Arkansas rumors turn out to be true, the current group of head coaches in the SEC West will have been head coaches at four other schools in the division, as Tuberville’s pulled the trick at two other stops in the West.

No wonder all these folks hate each other.

Which means that if Les Miles leaves for Michigan next week, LSU only has one choice for his replacement. You guessed it:

Sylvester Croom, living the dream…

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UPDATE: Sunday Morning Quarterback’s take on the coach rumor mongering is great. An Envy & Jealousy moment here:

Ongoing joke of the day on Southern Miss boards: if you can dream it, there’s a South Carolina TV station that can confirm it. Probably an Arkansas TV station, too.

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UPDATE #3: Reporterspeak for “I don’t have a frickin’ clue”: Reliable but conflicting sources…

 

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Oxen gored, Pete Carroll does a 180.

Well, well, well… amazing what a loss to Stanford does to a soul. After playing in all those BCS title games of recent vintage where never was heard a discouraging word, Pete Carroll has suddenly gotten playoff religion:

It looks to me like the BCS system is one that, at the end of the process, designates the team that had the most attractive season based on who they played and what their record is at the end and all of those things that you add up. In my opinion it does not have anything to say about who the best team is at the end of the year, meaning that, who would be the team that would win if you had a playoff, and who’s playing the best football?

I’m not saying that’s us. But there are teams out there – and we’re one of them – that could arguably be able to beat any team in America when the time comes…We’re playing the game to see how far we go and how far we can take it.
[…]
The only way you get it perfect is to play ’em off…

Evidently this just dawned on him one day. I’m sure USC’s having no crack at the BCS title game the last two seasons has had nothing to do with this revelation.

I will say this, though. If you read that first paragraph of his comments carefully, it does frame the BCS/playoff debate nicely. Do we care about what the teams accomplish over the course of an entire season, or do we just care about seeing who gets hot in a playoff? Because those are radically different matters. And that’s really what the debate ought to be about.

So, let’s talk a little SECCG…

Amidst all this BCS talk and coaching comings and goings you could almost overlook the fact that LSU and Tennessee are about to square off to determine the Southeastern Conference championship Sattidy night.

On paper, this one doesn’t look particularly close. The SEC tracks thirty-one different sets of team statistics; LSU leads UT in 20 of them. Even more ominously, in defensive team stats, LSU is ahead of UT in nine out of ten categories (weirdly, LSU is last in the conference in red zone defensive percentage).

Also, take a look at what Matt at Statistically Speaking has to say about Tennessee’s season and its chances tomorrow.

These are the point totals the Vol defense has allowed away from K’Ville this year: 45, 59, 21, 41 and 50. (The 21 was by Mississippi State and its 93rd nationally ranked scoring offense.) That’s more than 43 points per game on the road.

Now LSU has given up its fair share of points over its last seven games, including 43 to Kentucky and 50 to Arkansas in two triple overtime battles (oops! Sorry, Mr. Feinstein…), but in spite of that still finds itself ranked 22nd nationally in scoring defense, at just over 20 points per game.

More on point, LSU has not failed to score less than 28 points in any game it’s played all season.

Add to the mix that both teams are coming off of multiple overtime games from last week and the whole thing screams “SHOOTOUT!”.

So the big question to me is whether Tennessee can keep up with LSU on the scoreboard. Honestly, I’m not sure it can. Though he’s been overshadowed by Tebow and Woodson, Ainge has had a terrific year. He’s really been the glue that’s held UT together to this point, but I don’t think he’ll be able to do it by himself.

I don’t see the Vol defense being able to do enough to let Ainge match what the LSU QBs will do. Word is that Flynn is still a bit gimpy, so I expect we will see a good bit of Perrilloux and I don’t think UT will have a solid answer for him on defense. The Tennessee defense doesn’t do running quarterbacks real well.

The intangibles are strange, of course, with Miles and Pelini considering head coaching positions elsewhere while preparing for this game. In the end, that probably won’t make much of a difference. By the time the game starts, the ACCCG will be close to over, and if Virginia Tech beats Boston College as expected, that will snuff whatever faint hopes the Tigers have of jumping back into the MNC race. LSU under Miles tends to play quite well when the pressure’s off.

What I expect is that LSU wins by ten or so, say 41-31.

What I’d like is another LSU loss in overtime, just so I could hear Les Miles explain what three overtime losses are equal to – you know, like if a tie is like kissing your sister, maybe three OT losses are like kissing your aunt.  The one with the mustache…

I hate it when this happens.

A Terence Moore column that I agree with.

Even worse, Joe Hamilton makes sense.

… What happens with all that money generated by this system?

“Is it one team take all? Do you spread the wealth around? How do you divide it up in your conference or to teams who never have a chance at making the playoffs?” Hamilton said. “There are so many discussion questions that won’t come up in just a general committee meeting. On the outside, this looks like a great idea. But when you sit down and think about it, it might not be able to get any better than this.”

It can’t. The BCS can use some tweaking every year, but that’s about it. And, yes, we know about the loudest of the knee-jerk comments from those wanting a playoff system at the highest level of college football: They’ve had a playoff system at those other levels for decades.

Hamilton laughed, saying, “How many times do you see a Division II or Division III team mentioned on SportsCenter? The revenue is just not the same. The pressure is not the same. The fan-base scrutiny is not the same. You really can’t compare those two things at all.”

Verle Sorgen, tempted.

Mr. “It Wasn’t That Egregious” weighs in on whether he would have overruled the call on the field if The Play had occurred in the era of instant replay.

His conclusion?

“I would be tempted to reverse it,” Sorgen claimed, “then go out and get the motor running in my car.”

The man has a true flair for the train wreck.

I bet this would be fun.

Rick Neuheisel to Georgia Tech.  Really?

Let the insect rationalization commence.

His hiring sure would be a godsend for Dawg bloggers, too.  As Paul Westerdawg notes…

I mean seriously. If you’re going to get mad when we say Tech Lies and Cheats, don’t go out and hire a two or three time NCAA offender. That’s just like shooting fish in a barrel.

That’s the look of a man who had three of his bracket picks make the Final Four…

Drop Kick Me Jesus Through The Goalposts Of Life

Ah, yes – Clemmins football, church and the ACLU.  Now that’s a heady mix.

You get the feeling that no matter how this one turns out, it won’t be good.

It’s not like I split the atom, but…

Get The Picture is one year old today. Woo hoo!

Let’s face it – starting a blog is a semi-masturbatory exercise at best. To find that people develop an interest in what I write has been a constant source of amazement and delight for me.

Each comment here, each link to GTP at other message boards and blogs, shoot, each one of the over 200,000 visits here is appreciated more than you may realize. To everyone in the non-spammer universe who’s made contact with my blog in one form or fashion in the past year, you have my undying gratitude.

What I thought I’d do with the rest of this post is to take a look back at some of the highs and lows from the past year:

• Best player I’ve seen. Darren McFadden, from a talent standpoint. Reggie Ball, from a “thank you for giving me something to write about” standpoint.
• Best one liner. Jim Donnan’s description of last year’s ACC Championship Game – “The World’s Smallest Outdoor Cocktail Party” – is hard to beat.
• Best article on the bowls. This article in The San Diego Union-Tribune about the economics of the bowl games was a must read.
• The smartest thing Mark Richt has said in the last year. He gets it, of course.
• Getting off on the right foot. Coach Searels nailed a 50 yarder at his first press conference. He hasn’t missed since.
• Best press conference prop. This sure beat pulling out baseball caps.
• Damn, son, I don’t think I would have said that. Clifton Geathers may want to rethink his position on the current status of the Georgia and South Carolina programs.
• The dumbest blog post about Georgia football. “Now, I’m not a Georgia fan…”
• The dumbest letter written about Georgia football. Is there any doubt about this one? At first, I was going to say nothing else was even close, but then I realized that wasn’t the case.
• The dumbest media piece about Georgia football. Matt Zemek’s novella about… well, I’m not exactly sure what it was about. But he invoked Gandhi!
• Best quote from a non-football coach. I’m still waiting for the t-shirt.
• Gators, Gators…. Talk about your self-fulfilling prophecies.
• Crappiest punditry. Dennis Dodd gets caught with his pants down.
• Most embarrassing lead to a Terence Moore piece. Evah.
• Marketing concept of the year. I wonder how many ‘Bama fans tried.
• A (photoshopped) picture is worth a thousand words. There’s something about a man in jorts, I suppose.
• Saddest story of 2007. Whenever it happens, he will be missed.
• My favorite prediction of 2007. I told you!
• The dumbest thing Stewart Mandel wrote this year. It was a tough choice, but I’m at peace with my selection.
• Best play call of the year. Gotta love it when announcers lose their shit. Totally.
• Worst play call of the year. Sometimes you can’t tell the players with a scorecard.
• Crankin’ that. Who knew what this would lead to?

I started this blog as the 2006 season was heading to a peak and at the time I couldn’t help but wonder what I’d have to blog about in the dog days of June and July. But that’s the great thing about this shared passion of ours that is college football – there’s always something of interest going on. I hope the next twelve months are as much fun as the last twelve have been.

Again, many thanks to all of you.

Mommy, please make that man stop saying dumb things.

Is there a reality TV show I’m missing these days? Something where a bunch of sports pundits compete to produce the stupidest column, maybe?

Because that’s the only reason I can come up with to explain this steaming pile of refuse that the WaPo’s John Feinstein came up with yesterday. I’m amazed that someone can write something objecting to the now infamous Nick Saban comments about Alabama’s loss to Louisiana-Monroe that I object to.

I found Saban’s remarks obnoxious, mainly because I have a hard time categorizing any football loss as a catastrophe. Major embarrassment, sure… but nobody’s house burned down, nobody lost their life’s savings and nobody’s kid got arrested for murder. For Saban to elevate the loss so is pompous and played to the ego of the ‘Bama fan base. He deserves to be slapped for that.

But even so, we ain’t close to being in the ballpark where Feinstein sits his ass.

… A couple of months ago the right wing media become apoplectic when a liberal organization took out an ad criticizing the leader of the American forces in Iraq. How, they screamed, can you be critical of the man who represents the men and women who are putting themselves in danger every day in Iraq?

Where are those people right now? Why aren’t they screaming about a football coach comparing lost football games to thousands of lost LIVES? Where is the perspective?

An excellent question, John… ohhhh, you meant “those people”, not yourself. Never mind, then.

Here’s his perspective:

… Okay, let’s just say this: NO ONE should be allowed to mention catastrophes in which thousands of people died when talking about football — or any sport. Not ever. And certainly not someone who is working at what is supposed to be an institution of higher learning. What kind of message is he sending to his players? If he makes a comment like this in public, what in the world is he saying to his players behind closed doors?

Feinstein believes that Saban’s words justify, if not actually being fired, at least a serious discussion from the Alabama President’s office about him being fired. This is one man’s PC sensibilities run amok. Jeez, if we’re going to start firing people for making incredibly dumb statements in public, we’ll double the unemployment rate overnight. Even pundits might suffer!

I can’t believe that I just typed several paragraphs defending Nick Saban. Sort of, anyway. Eew.

The best part of Feinstein’s article comes near the end, where he’s moved on to attack the current bowl system – particularly the minor bowls, which by the way, the hosts, the visitors and ESPN are generally pretty happy with. But not our boy John, of course.

What’s rich, though, is after bashing the wingnuts for not losing their minds over Saban’s stupid war analogy, Feinstein goes on to make the same kind of comparison. Check this out:

Doing all this would, unfortunately take some leadership. There’s none in the NCAA where Myles Brand hides under his desk every time talk of a playoff comes up. There’s certainly none among the college presidents. So, this lousy unfair system will continue — sort of like the war in Iraq — with no end in sight.

What’s most frustrating is that everyone always has excuses; everyone has reasons why change won’t work. Nothing is perfect in the world but just because you can’t achieve perfection doesn’t mean you don’t try to get better. The other day during a discussion of the war someone said, “Well, if you started today, it would take a year to get our troops safely home,” as if that was a reason the war can’t end, instead of saying, “let’s start today.”

I ask you all – where’s the outrage?

My head hurts.

(h/t Third Saturday in Blogtober)

“We still got this.”

Here’s a nice field level look at the Tech game, complete with delusional Jacket fans.

The blocking on Thomas Brown’s TD run is simply outstanding.

(h/t Hobnail Boot @DawgRun.com)