Daily Archives: October 11, 2012

October 11, 2012 · 8:11 PM

“All rules are off the table.”

Good Lord. Talk about your reset (h/t sicemdogs.com).

This season, Alabama has four of its six games against SEC West opponents at home. Texas A&M has just two. This was done (presumably) so that the Aggies would not have Alabama, Arkansas and LSU all coming to College Station in the same year. Templeton confirmed that going forward all teams will have three home division games and three away division games. How to correct the problem?

“There will be more than one repeat game,” said Templeton.

Any repeat games are expected to occur in 2013 and 2014 and will be avoided from that point on…

… Each team will retain one permanent rivalry game against a non-division opponent. South Carolina and Texas A&M will become permanent rivals, allowing Missouri and Arkansas, which share a border, to play annually. However, if all of the current permanent rivalry games simply flip to the opposite venue next season, it is not mathematically possible to establish a rotation where a team can cycle through all of the schools in the opposite division.

“Some interesting games will have to go back to a certain venue [two years in a row],” Templeton said.

To best establish a full rotation, all permanent rivalry games would have to be hosted by SEC West teams one year, and SEC East teams the next. In 2012, three of the five continuing rivalry games are at SEC East venues (Alabama-Tennessee, LSU-Florida, Mississippi State-Kentucky) and two at SEC West venues (Georgia-Auburn, Vanderbilt-Ole Miss). Therefore, the logical solution is for all permanent rivalry games, including South Carolina-Texas A&M and Missouri-Arkansas to be played in SEC West stadiums in 2013, so that three of the five rivalries can stay on their current rotation.

Congrats, SEC. You’ve made “logical solution” into an oxymoron.

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October 11, 2012 · 7:26 AM

Flying on the ground is wrong.

Kenarious Gates is ready to move on.

Gates had the toughest assignment of anybody on the team as he played the entire night head up against the 6-foot-6, 256-pound Clowney. Occasionally Gates would get some help from a chipping running back or fullback. But essentially it was the first-year starting tackle against one of the best pass-rushers in college football all night.

“It was a great experience,” Gates insisted. “He’s a great player. You’re going against one of the best D-ends in the SEC. You’ve to got to give him credit. He’s strong, quick off the line. He opened my eyes to what I need to do to get better and the things I need to work on. We gave each other good competition out there.”

I’m not sure Clowney would agree, but what the hell, Gates is right not to dwell on the experience.

On the other hand, the person who does need to dwell on the experience is the one who thought using a freshman running back to help Gates block Clowney was a workable strategy.