SEC Power Poll, Week Eight

Five teams took the week off — it’s bye week bounce time!  Or not, maybe…

1. Georgia.  I’m still trying to wrap my brain around ‘Bama giving up 88 more points in the same number of conference games than the Dawgs have.
2. Alabama.  I don’t think this year’s version of the Tide is that much less talented than last year’s so much as it’s not as well coached.
3. Texas A&M.  Week by week, the Aggies are getting their collective shit together.
4. Ole Miss.  The Rebs are ranked in the top ten, but is Matt Corral going to survive the regular season?
5. Kentucky.  No bye week bounce for the ‘Cats, I’m afraid.
6. Florida.  Didn’t play, but still moved up into a tie for third place in the division.  Who said Mullen can’t coach?
7. Auburn.  The Tigers host Ole Miss this week (and are favored!), which should make for an interesting meeting.
8. Tennessee.  After taking a 14-7 lead, does being outscored 45-10 the rest of the way count as a moral victory?  Asking for a friend…
9. Arkansas.  Beat up an in state cupcake.
10. LSU.  I don’t want to say the entire team has quit, but there were definitely players Saturday just going through the motions.
11. Mississippi State.  Once again, Vanderbilt is chicken soup for the mediocre offense’s soul.
12. South Carolina.  Absolutely putrid offense.
13. Missouri.  Absolutely putrid defense.
14. Vanderbilt.  If Missouri and South Carolina had a baby, they’d name it Vandy.

Fabris Poll results, Week 8

Easily the most insane weekly finish we’ve ever had, an incredible thirteen people finished this week with a perfect 10-0 mark.

Y’all could have broken a sports book together.  Congrats to DawgGoneDawg — you definitely earned it!

We’ve got a new leader in the seasonal race, jayelbee24, who clings to a narrow one point lead.  There are a total of nine folks within three points of the lead this week.  Tight!

“Nick Saban is frustrated.”

me when my wifi goes down pic.twitter.com/npdMRFFQse

— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) October 24, 2021

Last night, if the announcers using the words “Saban” and “frustrated” in the same sentence had been a drinking game, I would have been shit faced by the middle of the third quarter.

“He brings a lot to the table.”

It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.

At best, Florida coach Dan Mullen is merely experiencing a down year. At worst, his team has plateaued and needs a leadership change.

The reality is probably somewhere in between.

For now, maybe.  Ask me again in another week.

Meanwhile, I think it’s safe to say this take hasn’t aged well.

“Good coaches are valuable,” Stricklin said before the season. “Dan, I think, is one of the top coaches in college football. You look at all the things he brings to the table from an experience standpoint, from an energy standpoint, from an intelligence standpoint, from an organizational standpoint. Then you add on top he might be the very best at coaching and developing the most important position on the field.

I’m starting to wonder if Stricklin’s seat is getting as warm as Mullen’s.

Week 8 Mumme Poll ballot post

Another crazy week in the books, amirite?  Here’s the link to this week’s ballot.  Don’t forget to turn your picks in no later than midnight Monday.

So he’s saying there’s a chance.

David Hale, on everyone’s favorite nose tackle:

Heisman Five

It’s been an awful year for many of the preseason favorites. But it’s becoming a particularly deep bench of guys who have stepped to the forefront this season.

1. Georgia NT Jordan Davis

The Dawgs were off this week, but here’s a little food for thought: Davis has played 155 snaps this season, and just four of them — four! — were explosive plays for the offense. Overall, opponents are averaging just 2.72 yards per play with Davis in the middle of UGA’s defensive line in 2021. He deserves a spot atop Heisman ballots.

It helps that there really isn’t a dominant quarterback this season, and I’m not saying Davis should win, but he sure as hell deserves an invite to New York with the way he’s played so far.

Kenny Pickett, legend

When you’re 24, you can say this:

Give him three Heismans pic.twitter.com/DolR5nqnwa

— Dayne Young (@dayneyoung) October 23, 2021

Beat a Clemson team that beat your ass in the last ACCCG, you’re entitled to a tasty malt beverage to celebrate.

TFW refs gotta ref

I’m not sure I’d say this is the worst unsportsmanlike conduct penalty I’ve ever seen…

Iowa State's touchdown taken off the board after being called for unsportsmanlike conduct on this play pic.twitter.com/Nqs61XqW3g

— Pistols Firing (@pistolsguys) October 23, 2021

… but it’s at least the worst I’ve seen since that call on AJ Green in 2009.

All the game day there is.

No Georgia game today, so we’ll all have to make do with this:

It could be worse, you know, like no college football at all.  Besides, there are some games worth watching there:

• I’ll keep an eye on Oklahoma State and Iowa State to see how well the Cowboys’ defense holds up against a decent, if not elite, offense.
• LSU-Ole Miss?  Sure, I’ll watch that.  It’s got “any given Saturday” written all over it.
• If you’re wondering how much trouble UT’s new offense might give the Dawgs in a few weeks, tonight’s game at Alabama could hold a clue.
• I haven’t had the pleasure of watching Georgia Tech live this season, so I’ll probably check in to see how Coach 404’s squad handles Virginia.

What’s on your list?

Why does the Alliance have its collective panties in a wad about the SEC?

It ain’t about Greg Sankey going behind Bob Bowlsby’s back.  It’s about this ($$):

How do you think realignment will impact the recruiting landscape?

Pac-12 coach: Unfortunately, it just turned the fucking SEC into the Premier League, I think. You can make this Alliance, you can do whatever you want, but if you’re an SEC school — and it doesn’t matter because I was at (a mid-tier SEC program), and I never said (that program’s name), all I said was “SEC, SEC, SEC.” Missouri could be Kansas or Kansas State or Texas Tech right now had they not gotten into the SEC. But they’re in the SEC now, so they’ve got the edge on that. I do think that’s going to make a difference. … It’s going to continue to further the gap.

There isn’t a conference commissioner in the country that wouldn’t have taken a call from Texas and Oklahoma about moving.  Not one.  (And, yeah, there isn’t an administrator at Missouri who hasn’t whispered a quiet thank you to the football gods over their move to SEC land.)

By the way, Vanderbilt is the lowest ranked SEC school in the current 247Sports Composite.  And they’re 38th.