Feel the Lowmentum

Evidently Chris Low doesn’t feel like he’s messed with my mind sufficiently… now he’s got someone from Georgia in the mix for SEC offensive player of the year.

Mumme Poll, Week 10

Rank	Team	Votes (Top pick)
1	LSU	105 (99)
2	Oklahoma State	105 (5)
3	Alabama	104 (1)
4	Stanford	103 (0)
4	Arkansas	103 (0)
6	Oregon	102 (0)
7	Boise State	101 (0)
8	Oklahoma	97 (0)
9	Clemson	75 (0)
10	Houston	40 (0)
11	Virginia Tech	38 (0)
12	Georgia	22 (0)
13	Penn State	20 (0)
14	Wisconsin	15 (0)
15	Kansas State	6 (0)
16	Michigan State	4 (0)
17	Texas	3 (0)
18	Arizona State	2 (0)
18	Nebraska	2 (0)
20	Michigan	1 (0)
20	Southern Cal	1 (0)
20	Georgia Tech	1 (0)

COMMENTS

• Well, broadly speaking, there are eight we like, one we’re fond of, two or three we have mixed feelings about and then a few odds and ends.
• Houston in the top ten!
• Is there a poll in which Boise State isn’t sliding?
• Nice to see the one holdout voting ‘Bama first.
• South Carolina didn’t get a single vote this week.  (And Georgia, a school which it beat, received 22 votes.)
• Breakdown by conference:  Big Ten (!) – 5; SEC – 4; Big 12 – 4; Pac-12 – 4; ACC – 3; MWC – 1; CUSA – 1.

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One down, plenty more to go

Here’s the entirety of Joe Paterno’s resignation statement:

“I am absolutely devastated by the developments in this case. I grieve for the children and their families, and I pray for their comfort and relief. I have come to work every day for the last 61 years with one clear goal in mind: To serve the best interests of this university and the young men who have been entrusted to my care. I have the same goal today. That’s why I have decided to announce my retirement effective at the end of this season. At this moment the Board of Trustees should not spend a single minute discussing my status. They have far more important matters to address. I want to make this as easy for them as I possibly can. This is a tragedy. It is one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more. My goals now are to keep my commitments to my players and staff and finish the season with dignity and determination. And then I will spend the rest of my life doing everything I can to help this University.”

Lots of unanswered questions there.  But it’s more than we’ve heard from any of the others involved in this obscenely sordid mess.

What a pathetic way to go out.

A fine appreciation for the rich heritage of South Carolina football

Aaron Murray knew all Georgia’s early 0-2 record did was give the Gamecocks a head start.

“We knew we still had a chance, even when we went 0-2, and people were like, ‘Oh the season’s over with,’ ” sophomore quarterback Aaron Murray said. “South Carolina has never gone a season without losing at least three SEC games. So we’re like, ‘Hey just because we’re one behind them you never know what could happen.’ They could lose one, two, three.”  [Emphasis added.]

What have you done for me lately?

Here’s what Jerry Hinnen, a level-headed, part-time Auburn blogger has to say about Clint Moseley, who will be making his third career start this Saturday:

AUBURN WILL WIN IF: Clint Moseley’s performance against Ole Miss wasn’t a mirage. Against the Rebels the redshirt sophomore hit 12-of-15 for better than 10 yards an attempt, four touchdowns, and no interceptions. It looked like a breakout game for a player still making just his second-ever start, but after watching the Rebels give up 30 points to Kentucky’s dead-offense-walking, it’s fair to ask if Moseley’s numbers weren’t a product of Moseley as much as an Ole Miss defense that’s throwing in the towel. We’ll find out for certain against Georgia: the Dawgs are sixth in the country in opposing QB rating and have held their six SEC opponents to a collective 44 percent completion rate and a 4-to-9 TD-to-INT ratio. If Moseley can hold his own on the road against that kind of secondary, Auburn will have found themselves a quarterback–and the same running game that took adavantage of his precision to roll up 254 yards vs. the Rebels could find space to dominate again.

Now Jerry manages to gloss over Moseley’s performance against a secondary that’s more akin to Georgia’s than Ole Miss’ is – his passer rating in the Auburn-LSU game was a less than stellar 110.90 – but overall, it’s an assessment that’s not crazy, even if it borders on the generous side for someone whose college career lacks the sample size upon which to make confident judgments.

Meanwhile, on the other side, there’s Aaron Murray, with a 2011 resume…

For a more practical view, examine Murray’s season statistics. His 23 passing touchdowns is one shy of last year’s total and has him tied for 11th among FBS quarterbacks with eight of the nine quarterbacks in front of him by five or fewer touchdowns. It’s the best tally in the SEC, and his 228.9 passing yards per game trails only Arkansas’ Tyler Wilson in the conference.

… that doesn’t satisfy a lot of people.  Think I’m kidding?  Ask Orson Charles:

“I feel like it takes a tremendous leader and warrior to bounce back from everybody saying he’s throwing too many picks or that he needs to be benched and all this and all that, just being negative,” Charles said.

Murray, by the way, has managed to throw 8 more touchdowns than Wilson in 61 less attempts, with a far less acclaimed receiving corps, to boot.  Sure, he’s been far from perfect, but he’s been effective over the seven-game win streak.

So, I’m curious here.  This isn’t meant as snark:  those of you who are sincere Murray detractors, would a win Saturday make any difference in your mind about him, or does Georgia need to get Hutson Mason in the mix more no matter what?

Aaron Murray thinks Nick Fairley has a future in massage therapy.

Evidently, that was just a touch-up.

“Actually that one felt good, because I think he readjusted my back,” Murray said. “It was like being at the chiropractor. It kind of felt good. That was probably the most pleasurable one.”

I bet he didn’t say that at the time.

Now that’s an apology.

Isaiah Crowell expresses remorse for the actions that led to his suspension, which is always a good start.

And then he sticks the finish.

“I never liked Auburn. Point blank, I never liked (them),” he said. “I just never liked Auburn, I don’t know why.”

That’s okay, Isaiah.  You’re not required to have a reason.  All is forgiven.

Bonus quote:

… On a different note, Crowell discussed Saturday’s game against Auburn and comments by his former high school teammate, Auburn freshman defensive tackle Gabe Wright.

“I know he’s been talking, telling the media he knows how to stop me or whatever,” Crowell said. “But we’re just going to have to see.”

Asked if Wright will be able to tackle him, Crowell said: “Nah. Never has, never will.”

Saturday is shaping up to be a fun time.