My God A Freshman

The Cover Curse Strikes Again

A little over a year ago I wrote this story about the myth surrounding the Cover Curse that had plagued athletes appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated and the Madden Series of video games. We all know how that worked out for Dawgs in 2008 and already early into the fall of 2009, we have seen the curse rear its ugly head once again, this time taking down both the coverboys from SI and Madden.

Oklahoma State appeared on the cover of the Sports Illustrated College Football Preview Issue as one of four teams that were considered programs on the rise. Another team appearing on the cover was the Oregon Ducks, who promptly dropped their season opener to Boise State. Oklahoma State however, lived up to the hype in their week one matchup with Dawgs. The victory coupled with Oklahoma's loss to BYU landed Oklahoma State back on the cover of SI following the first week of the college football season.

But this past Saturday, Oklahoma State was upset at home by the Houston Cougars. With Oklahoma rolling in week 2 and Sam Bradford making good progress, it looks like the Sooners will be back on top of the football world in Oklahoma pretty soon.

This year's version of Madden NFL had not one but two cover athletes, Larry Fitzgerald of the Arizona Cardinals and Troy Polamalu of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
As defending world champions, the Steelers opened the 2009 NFL season on Thursday. Things were going well for Polamalu against the Tennessee Titans, with a couple of tackles for a loss and an interception. But before the night was over, he would injure his knee and will be out for the next few weeks.

If I am Matt Ryan or AJ Green, I pray that SI and Madden keep them off the covers of their products.

This Man is Coaching Arkansas' Special Teams...

SEC Weekend Games of Interest: 9/19/2009

Welcome back to another week of games and good times. We were 4-1 last week, improving our record to 13-3. Really didn’t see the UCLA win happening, but then again, I really didn’t see Tennessee being that good either. There are 8 SEC games on the schedule this week (excluding UGA) and, due to time constraints, we are really only going to focus on the four squads playing real competition. Here’s what is going on in your neck of the woods:

First, here are the picks for the four Junior Varsity games:

North Texas at Alabama: North Texas hired a High School coach as its head coach three years ago for a reason, Bama dominates 35-7.

Louisiana Lafayette at Louisiana State: Jordan Jefferson may not be the answer yet for the Tigers. However, he should be able to throw a couple of touchdown passes here and LSU wins 45-17.

Florida Atlantic at South Carolina: I can’t joke FAU too much, they have won two consecutive bowl games and have a really old, semi-viable coach in Howard Schnellenberger (Sounds like their opponent, but without the bowl wins). However, South Cacaklacky is expected to win these types of games at home. There is the potential for this to get interesting, but it won’t be and the Gamecocks win 28-14.

Southeast Louisiana at Ole Miss: Really, Ole Miss is playing SE Louisiana, this is a joke. We know nothing about the Rebels at this point other than they are super talented and this game won’t alter that perception. Hopefully Jevan Sneed will play better than he did against the Memphis Tigers; he didn’t look too hot in that one. The University of Mississippi wins 42-3.

And now, for the big boy table:

Louisville at Kentucky: The battle of the Commonwealth resumes for another year and I’m sure the basketball version will be far more entertaining this season than the football game. Someone check the restroom stalls in this one.

Louisville has been falling since Bobby Petrino left three years ago and Steve Kragthorpe has not been the answer for the Cardinals. To make matters worse, Louisville is a young team breaking in a new QB and a completely new defensive front four with the absence of DC Ron English (now the Head Coach at Eastern Michigan).

I continue to be impressed with what Rich Brooks and Joker Phillips have done upgrading Kentucky’s talent and attitude. While their offense left a lot to be desired last year, they have brought back some experience with QB Mike Hartline, RB Derrick Locke and will try as much as they can to get the ball in the hands of sophomore WR/QB Randall Cobb. Even with the offensive questions of 2008, the Wildcats dominated this game 27-2 last season at Papa Johns Field and I don’t expect things to be any better this season for the Cards. UK plays solid football and walks away with a 30-14 victory.

Tennessee at Florida: When Lane Kiffin took the Tennessee job, he pretty much started his career against Florida 0-1. He didn’t make matters any better by insulting Urban Meyer, who has proven to be a great Head Coach and recruiter, especially since he has a few years of it under his belt compared to Lane. There really isn’t much you can say about this game, it shouldn’t be close and it won’t be. Jonathan Crompton still isn’t very good and he’s probably going to look like this in the pocket:

There is just too much continuity and talent for the Gators on both offense and defense for Tennessee to sustain anything in this match up. The most intriguing aspect of this game will be Old Man Kiffin’s game plan against Tim Tebow and the Florida offense. If he can slow Florida, it will give other SEC squads some ideas in future games. However, there is no score prediction in this one, Florida scores until they get bored.

Mississippi State at Vanderbilt: Vandy hung tough last week on the road in Death Valley and should have some energy hosting the Western Division Bulldogs this week. Not to mention, Mississippi State handed the Commodores their first loss of the season in 2008 and Bobby Johnson will want to redeem that loss in front of the home crowd.

You don't just walk into Vanderbilt Stadium and walk out with a win. Scratch that, most teams do.

MSU didn’t have the game they wanted on the Plains last week and were embarrassed by an improving Auburn offense. Let’s be honest, we still have no clue how good Auburn will be on offense and this really makes me question the integrity of the Bulldog defense. They are still having issues with their spread offense and while senior QB Tyson Lee makes the fewest mistakes, sophomore QB Chris Relf gives them the best chance for big plays. Overall, this is a mismatch for a Vanderbilt squad that has learned how to keep games tight and win. The Commodore defense kept LSU in check and should make the offensive plays to control this game, winning 24-13.

West Virginia at the Alabama Polytechnic Institute: Auburn has been impressive in two games this year and this will be their biggest test to date. Both of these squads own wins over competitive non-BCS opponents and WVA’s 35-20 win over East Carolina last week would be a solid win for almost any squad. Jarrett Brown is West Virginia’s new starting QB and while he hasn't been a starting QB in the past, he has played a lot. This guy can play. I remember watching him lead the Mountaineers to a come-from-behind win against Rutgers as a redshirt freshman in 2006. He is a much more proficient passer than Pat White and is bigger with good athleticism.

This should be a fun game and expect some points to be put up in Jordan-Hare Saturday evening. There will be some big runs from both Noel Devine and freshman Tiger speedster Onterio McCalebb. Overall, Auburn should have the bigger, more physical team. If Chris Todd limits his mistakes and Ben Tate gets on track, look for plenty of toilet paper on Toomer’s Corner and a 35-31 Auburn victory.

That does it for this week. BulldawgJosh and I will be in Fayetteville this weekend, but more on that later. Everyone enjoy their respective games this weekend.

Let Us Not Forget

Two years ago, Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino was in his first season as the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons. After Mike Vick went to jail and the team struggled, Petrino quit on his team and took the job at Arkansas. While things seem to have worked out well for the Falcons, let's not forget what a dick move that was. He walked out on his players and the city that supported the team. In the wake of Petrino's dash to Fayetteville, even the stooges at the Worldwide Leader were ripping on Petrino:

While not all Georgia fans are Falcons fans and the teams are completely separate, a win for the Dawgs over the Hogs this Saturday would be a nice kick in the ass from everyone who calls Atlanta home. This guy is known to always be looking for the next job (see Auburn in 2003 for example) and it is just a matter of time before he turns his back on Arkansas.

Arkansas Notes: The Series

Georgia leads the overall series with Arkansas 8-3. The first four meetings came in bowl games with Arkansas as a member of the old Southwestern Conference (SWC). The first was in the 1969 Sugar Bowl where the Hogs defeated the '68 SEC Champion Dawgs 16-2. The next was in the 1976 Cotton Bowl where the '75 SWC Champion Hogs again defeated the Dawgs 31-10. The third matchup came in the 1987 Liberty Bowl where the Dawgs finally beat the Hogs 20-17. Finally, the fourth matchup came in the 1991 Independence Bowl where the Dawgs evened the series, winning 24-15.

The Dawgs are 3-0 all-time in Fayetteville, and 4-0 vs. the Hogs under Mark Richt, including the 2002 SEC Championship Game 30-3.

Last Meeting: 2005 in Athens. 23-20 Dawgs. The biggest news to come out of this game was the injury to D.J. Shockley that kept him out of the Florida game the next week.

In Case You Missed It...

Yesterday, Chris Brown of Smart Football and Yahoo's Dr. Saturday fame posted an excellent write-up on Jim Tressel's lack of creativity vs. USC on Saturday night. Terrell Pryor's lack of use is mind boggling, especially watching the far less athletic Tate Forcier take control at Michigan. Ohio State continues to lose big games because of Tressel ball.

Just like the "Circuit City" trophy, Jim Tressel's business model is outdated...

This year's USC team can be beaten. Jim Tressel still couldn't do it.

Richard Samuel and the Cass High School Pygmy Goat

Over the years, Earl and I have taken a number of trips to high school stadiums to check out future Dawgs in action. We've seen Caleb King run for nearly 280 yards and 4 TDs against Grayson, Washaun Ealey lead ECI past the semifinals in the Dome in 2007, and Christian Robinson man the linebacker position for GAC. But, out of any trip that we have taken over the years, the best experience we have ever had visiting a future Dawg was our fall 2007 trip to Cass High School in Cartersville, GA to see current Georgia running back Richard Samuel.

Cartersville is home to one of the largest Budweiser Breweries in the Southeast.

We arrived at the Cass High School stadium expecting a good game between the Cass Colonels and Calvin Johnson's high school team, the Sandy Creek Patriots. Samuel was being recruited as an athlete because he played both linebacker and halfback for Cass. We didn't have to wait long to see the talent that made him a five star recruit. Earl would describe Cass's first offense play of the game to a friend in an email a few weeks later:

"The best was the first play of the game for Cass, though, when he lined up at FB on an off-tackle play, and absolutely killed the LB. I have never seen a harder hit in a HS game in my life. We were confused when he lined up at FB, but holy hell. It was one of those, "Whoa", moments. I love football.

While Samuel was clearly the best player on the field, Sandy Creek was clearly the more dominant team. With Sandy Creek on the verge of going up 20 - 6, Samuel made what would simply be known as "The Play" amongst recruiting websites. On a short field goal attempt, Samuel jumped over the offensive line, blocked the field goal, and proceeded to go 97 yards the other way for a touchdown. You can check out the play here for yourself.

Samuel was clearly the best player on the field and he had just turned 16.

While the first half ended on an amazing play, the most memorable part of our trip to Cass High School took place during halftime. After Cass kicked the extra point and the teams left for the locker rooms, the Cass announcer came over the speaker.

"Ladies and gentlemen, keep your seats as tonight we announce the winner of our raffle contest. The winner of the raffle will take home the Cass High School Pygmy Goat!!!"

I'm not making this up.

As Earl and I looked at each other in amazement, out onto the field the walked a tiny goat with a little Cass blanket over its back. They were really giving away a goat as a raffle prize. The winner of the goat ended up being the principal at the local middle school. The announcer joked that if he did not claim his prize that night, someone would be over at his house at 6:00 AM the next morning to deliver him his new goat.

After the game, all the talk was about the potential for Samuel at linebacker and the ridiculousness of the Pygmy goat. We were shocked to hear the news that Samuel was being recruited as a halfback as opposed to a linebacker, but after this past weekend, we have seen where his hitting ability can come in handy.

In honor of Richard Samuel touchdown this season, we will now present the Official Richard Samuel Touchdown Goat!

Let's hope we see many more of these at Bubba N' Earl this fall.

Arkansas Notes: Special Teams & Offense

With all of the kickoff return yardage in last Saturday's UGA-South Carolina game, you'd think maybe we'd get a chance to catch our breath this coming Saturday against Arkansas. Not so...

Arkansas kick returner Dennis Johnson returned the opening kickoff of the season for a 91-yard touchdown vs. Missouri State two weeks ago. I'm sure this will lead our coaches to believe the freakin' corner kick is the way to go against the Razorbacks. We all know that the ONE time South Carolina put a nice return on the deep kickoff, the Dawgs went right back to directional kickoffs.

On the flip side, Arkansas is having trouble keeping the kickoff inbounds with kickers Alex Tejada and Cameron Bryan, spotting the ball on the 40-yard line twice for Missouri State, a problem that reared its ugly head for Arkansas last year.

It might turn out to be another interesting night on special teams.

On the Arkansas offensive side of the ball...

Thirteen (13) different Arkansas players caught passes vs. Missouri State for a school record 447 passing yards, with Jarius Wright leading them with 6 catches for 139 yards. Meanwhile, senior receiver London Crawford was injured vs. Missouri State and won't play on Saturday night. But with 13 different players making plays in the passing game, we'll see if Crawford's injury really matters.

And of course there's tight end D.J. Williams, one of the best in the SEC. And after what South Carolina's tight end did to the Dawgs last Saturday, Williams should be licking his chops.

Thank goodness for the return of defensive end Justin Houston. With Houston's knack to rush the passer and Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett's knack for being big, white and slow, the Dawgs could finally have some success getting to the quarterback. And hopefully Cornelius Washington will come along with Houston.

Senior running back Michael Smith is a really good one and a run-stuffing defensive end like Rod Battle will be missed, but both Jeff Owens and Geno Atkins are willing to play a little defensive end and Georgia has been able to stop the run.

Back-to-back Dual 100 Yard Rushers

Just a little trivia out there for all you stat fanatics...can anyone name a rushing duo who ran for over 100 yards each in back-to-back games? I'm curious to know what other duo has done so. Also, this isn't just to tout Auburn's running backs.

Auburn's Ben Tate (Sr.) and Onterio McCalebb (Fr.) have rushed for 117 & 157 yards and 148 & 114 yards respectively in the first two games of the season.