Missouri to the SEC: A Hookup That Never Should Happen

The more Missouri insider information that slowly leaks out about Missouri's desperate courtship for SEC entry (unless the Big 10 calls), the more their statement of "explor[ing] options of conference affiliation" resembles the 1 AM drunken college scramble to find someone, anyone, to go home with other than the Big 12.

Brady Deaton to the SEC: "So, you're telling me there's a chance..."

In an exploratory study leaked from Missouri's governing board analyzing the school's SEC "options," beyond the potential $12 million per year additional funds Mizzou projects in joining the best damn conference in the land, "Missouri would not suffer a dramatic loss in academic prestige with an SEC move."

Are you serious? Was this report written dripping with understatement and irony, in Crayons, or just simply by a bunch of incompetents? As even the most partisan of websites, mizzou2sec.com, outlines in its factual argument, you have to go through 6 schools in the SEC (and only 2 Big 12 members), based on US News & World Report rankings before stumbling upon the Columbia Tigers. Maybe us SEC folks ain't too good at math, but even I end up using two hands to count that one out. Missouri would probably sell themselves to the next conference a-callin' twice as fast if they could even sniff the academic prestige of Auburn.

All I have to say is thank God there are some current SEC schools standing firm against adding another bunch of Tigers (and another Columbia) to the SEC. (And I'll spontaneously combust before someone convinces me that Dr. Michael Adams stands on the 'con' side of this argument).

I don't care how anyone slices and dices a map with lines, there's a cultural, moral and traditions divide that will never be bridged if Missouri joins the SEC. The SEC is kind of a big deal and not used to picking up the conference scraps for a simple short-term fling. It's nothing personal Missouri, really; we just aren't big fans of condescending, underachieving Midwesterners who wear t-shirts to football games.

Don't worry Missouri, don't keep desperately wanting; I'm sure the B1G will be around in a few minutes...

Top 10 Games involving SEC teams in 2011

The complete schedule for all 12 SEC schools for the 2011 football season was released this week. Here is a quick look at the top games this fall (thought this could all change throughout the season).

#10 - Alabama at Auburn - November 26

Auburn is lucky that the Iron Bowl takes place at the end of their schedule. Alabama will be looking to get revenge for the 28-27 loss last season. Auburn lost so much talent from last year's team, but by the end of the 2011 season, the new players should be comfortable and ready to welcome the Tide to the Plains.

#9 - Tennessee at Alabama - October 22

Last time they played in Tuscaloosa, Mount Cody saved the day for the Tide. Can Derek Dooley finally get things turned around in Knoxville?

#8 - BYU st Ole Miss - September 3

I know Ole Miss is horrible, but it will be interesting to see what happens to BYU students who come to the Grove. Does the BYU administration kick them out for just being there?

#7 - Mississippi State at Auburn - September 10

Upstart MSU almost beat eventual national champion Auburn last fall. After a 9-4 season, this game may help dictate the season for the western Bulldogs.

#6 - Georgia vs. Florida - October 29

The Dawgs lost in overtime to a bad Gators team last year. Now that Urban is gone, can Coach Richt turn around Georgia's fortune in the series now that a Georgia grad is on the sideline for the Gators?

#5 - Arkansas at LSU - November 26

I have a feeling the outcome of this game may decide the SEC West Champion. I expect Arkansas' offense to be even better this year with their experience at receiver and a star at running back. Arkansas has stolen victories from LSU of late.

#4 - Alabama at Florida - October 1

The Tide crushed the Gators at home last fall. Will Muschamp have his team ready for this game which begins a tough four game stretch for the Gators that includes Alabama, LSU, Auburn and Georgia?

#3 - Auburn at South Carolina - October 1

Carolina had the Tigers beat in their first meeting last fall but turnovers cost them the game. When the two met again in the Dome, even hail mary passes were being caught for touchdowns. Lattimore and company were able to knock off Bama at home last year, can they beat another defending national champion in Columbia this fall?

#2 Georgia vs. Boise State - September 3

The country will be pulling for Boise to beat the Dawgs. I sure hope we are ready to send them packing just like we did back in 2005. Georgia typically shows up in these situations. I definitely don't want to be the team that let Boise State get the SEC monkey off their back.

#1 - Oregon at LSU - September 3

LSU hosts the defending Pac-10 at Jerry Jones' football palace in Dallas. It should be quite a show!

If You Want the SEC To Expand, Why Not Oklahoma and Oklahoma State?

I'm sick of conference expansion talk, but at least some stuff is finally going down to make it interesting.

Many, like Tony Barnhart, wonder if the SEC should get ahead of the curve and look to expand, while also trying to argue that we need to get the Texas schools brought in if expansion is inevitable.

I don't really think we need to expand yet, but Texas doesn't seem to want to come here (A&M does, but their not controlling the situation).

Given that, why not take Oklahoma and Oklahoma State? While Oklahoma City isn't a huge market for media, Oklahoma is a marketable brand nationwide. And the cowpokes are a nice tag along, and we could get all of T. Boone Pickens money.

Friday Thoughts and a Few Links

Well, it has been quite an interesting week for the Dawg nation and the college football landscape as a whole. From the Mettenberger situation to the NFL draft, there are a lot of interesting stories going on right now. Here are my thoughts as well as some links for your Friday:

- Coach Richt has released the post spring depth chart and the biggest story is Aaron Murray on top of the depth chart at quarterback. This was all a forgone conclusion after the Meetenberger dismissal, but I am glad that Richt stated that Murray would have been #1 even if Mett was still around. Here's the quote from Richt (courtesy of David Hale):
“I’m not out to hurt anybody worse than they might have been hurt to this point, but Aaron would have been the No. 1 quarterback.”

- Check out the full post spring depth chart HERE.

- Christian Robinson at the top of the linebacking depth chart was a surprise. As Earl said to me this morning:

Good to see Robinson listed as a #1 (over Dowtin no less). Seems like he's using his smarts and work ethic to move up the depth charts. Dowtin will see plenty of playing time b/c he's athletically gifted, so I hope Robinson being ahead of him motivates him. But in no way do I expect Robinson to lose his job to Dowtin b/c I don't expect a guy like Robinson to lose his job to anyone once he's secured it.

We have so many LBs. It's great.

- The NFL Draft began last night with a new format of having the first round on Thursday night. As expected, there were no Georgia players taken in round 1.

- Tim Tebow went #25 overall to the Denver Broncos. There has been much debate about how his skills transfer to the NFL. I am not sure what to think at this point, but I certainly do not think he should have gone in round 1. I also can't fathom the idea of Tebow sharing a backfield with Knowshon. It just makes me a little queasy. Here is Smart Football's take on Tebow going to Denver

- Why did the Falcons pass on Dez Bryant?!? I know they needed a linebacker, but when a projected top 10 pick falls that far, I think sometimes you just have to take the best player available. I really wish Derrick Morgan had continued to fall as well. In the end, the Falcons appear to have gotten the player they wanted all along.

- What is it about Florida guys kissing other guys?!? (Even if it is your twin.)

- I received a pretty big response to my SEC expansion post yesterday. It seems most of you think that the SEC would go after other high profile school like Florida State. When I wrote the post, I only considered schools not currently part of a BCS conference and Big East teams (because if the Big 10 pulls anyone from the Big East, it would most likely disband). Here's Michigan blogger MGoBlog's look at what the new Big Ten could look like.

- And lastly, here is an interesting read I found on Sports Illustrated's SI Vault, which allows you to view articles from any previous SI Issue. This is the article that appeared in Sports Illustrated following Georgia's victory over Notre Dame to win the 1980 National Championship.

Have a great weekend and GO DAWGS!!!

SEC Exapnsion? What would a super sized SEC look like?

With all of the Mettenberger junk going on, I think many Georgia fans have failed to pay attention to what may be a game changer in the world of college football - the expansion of the Big 10. The Big Ten may be known for its slow, plodding players and inability to win BCS games, but if the conference expands to 16 schools, it will change college football forever. The next logical step would be the expansion of all of the major BCS conferences to 16 teams, setting up the perfect scenario for a playoff. I won't go any further into the playoff vs. BCS debate, but I have to wonder what an expanded SEC would look like.

If the SEC did expand from 12 to 16 teams, what schools would join the best conference in the land? Here are the schools I see as the most likely candidates (Note: if the Big 10 goes to 16 schools, I am pretty sure that will signal either the end of the current Big East football conference or some major realignment, so Big East schools are included in this list. Also, I assume all current SEC schools are staying and schools from other big conferences, i.e. Clemson, will not be available).

- East Carolina - The two-time defending Conference USA Champions have proven to be a quality program that can hang with some of the best teams in the country. They would provide a new, in-conference rival for South Carolina and also give the SEC a presence in ACC territory (North Carolina).

- South Florida - The Bulls have reached as high as number 2 in the rankings in recent years but have been unable to finish the climb. South Florida would give the SEC its second school in the state of Florida and provide an in-state challenger to the Gators.

- Troy - The Trojans have played a number of SEC schools over the past few seasons and showed the ability to score with the best of them.

- Louisville - Already a big rival with Kentucky, the Cardinals have been a top team in the Big East (until recently). Georgia already has a two game series booked with Louisville in the coming years.

Others considered: Tulane, Central Florida, Memphis, Southern Miss

Here is how I would align the divisions:

East-
Georgia
South Carolina
East Carolina
Tennessee
Florida
Vandy
Kentucky
South Florida

West -
Alabama
Auburn
Arkansas
LSU
Louisville
Troy
Ole Miss
Mississippi State

What would your new SEC look like?

SEC Out of Conference Shceduling 2010: Seven Great Match Ups

The SEC has always done its part to schedule tough out of conference games and 2010 will be another year marked by interesting match ups between schools who do not normally meet in the regular season. Here is a quick look at seven intriguing games to watch out for this fall:

LSU vs. North Carolina - Sept. 4 in Atlanta
Everyone keeps waiting for Butch Davis and the Tar Heels to have that breakout season they have been expecting. A win over LSU to start the season would be a great springboard into the 2010 season.

Penn State at Alabama - Sept.11
Penn State took advantage of sloppy play and conditions to beat LSU in the Capital One Bowl on New Year's Day. I don't think they will find their visit to defending national champion Bama quite as pleasant.



Oregon at Tennessee - Sept. 11
Pac 10 Champion Oregon comes across the country to face Derek Dooley's Vols. The Vols did not fare well against the Pac 10 in recent years, dropping two games to a weak UCLA team.

South Florida at Florida -Sept. 11
South Florida has been a consistent contender in the Big East the last few years, but after firing head coach Jim Levitt they will face a lot of questions. Do they have what it takes to put up a strong fight against the reloading Gators?

Clemson at Auburn - Sept. 14
A rematch of the 2007 Chick-Fil-A Bowl, Auburn hosts "Auburn with a Lake" in this early season game. Will Cameron Newton be ready to handle his first big test on the Plains?

Georgia at Colorado - October 2

The Dawgs should win this game, but it may be a challenge. Colorado almost upset the Dawgs at home in 2006 and Georgia has to travel to Mississippi State the week before.

Arkansas vs. Texas A&M - Oct. 9

Offense should not be a problem in this game as two high scoring teams with talented (and tall) quarterbacks square off. The question is, will there actually be any defense played at all?

SEC Players of the Year

During Saturday's broadcast of the Tennessee-Florida match up the announcers repeatedly made a big deal about the match up between Eric Berry and Tim Tebow. Berry, arguably the best defensive player in college football, and Tebow, a Heisman trophy winner, were named the SEC Defensive and Offensive Players of the Year in 2008, respectively. Verne and Gary, on a number of occasions, mentioned that this was the first time the defending offensive and defensive players of the year in the SEC had met the following season. That is quite an amazing fact, but also consider that in 2003, Georgia had the defending SEC offensive and defensive players of the year on the field for the same team.***

Pollack and Greene

***(Greene was named Offensive Player of the year in 2002 by the SEC coaches. The Associated Press awarded the honor to Artrose Pinner of Kentucky.)

The Countdown 2009: 12 Days to Go

12

Number of Southeastern Conference Championships captured by the Georgia Bulldogs. Georgia won its first SEC title under Mark Richt in 2002.

The Countdown 2009: 23 Days to Go

23

Georgia record for consecutive SEC victories, occuring between 1980 and 1983.

2008 SEC Team MVPs Part 1: The East

(*Note: This article is part 1 of a 2 part series which will highlight the individual team MVPs for each of the schools in the Southeastern Conference.)

Florida – Tim Tebow, Quarterback

Tim Tebow led his Florida Gator squad to their second SEC Championship by playing hard week in and week out. While his numbers may not have been the record breaking numbers he put up during his Heisman season in 2007, he still accounted for 40 touchdowns. Tebow completed nearly 65% of his passes for 28 touchdown passes while only throwing 2 interceptions and also added 564 yards and 12 scores on the ground. While some may argue that Percy Harvin is the best all-around player on the team, Tebow was the reason the Gators were able to knock off Alabama with Harvin out of the line-up.

Tebow’s 2008 Highlights



When Tebow finally decides to leave the Gators, he will be remembered as player who left his heart out on the field. He reminds us of a certain defensive end who played at Georgia from 2001-2004:

Pollack Video



Georgia – Knowshon Moreno, Tailback

While Matthew Stafford, Mohamed Massaquoi and AJ Green all had great seasons for the Dawgs, no one was more important to the Bulldog offense than #24. When Georgia lost to Florida and Alabama, Knowshon was surprisingly absent from the field. He had a number of amazing runs, including a 68-yard touchdown run in UGA's victory over LSU and his first career touchdown reception that finally put the Dawgs in the end zone against Auburn. For the season, Moreno averaged nearly 6 yards per carry totaling 1338 yards and 16 touchdowns on the ground. He also had 27 receptions for 329 yards and a touchdown. In his 2 years in Athens, Knowshon has racked up over 2,600 yards and 30 touchdowns.

Knowshon also made one of the most memorable plays of the 2008 college football season:



The entire Bulldog Nation wishes Knowshon the best if he decides to leave early for the pros.

Kentucky – Trevard Lindley, Cornerback



No team (except for maybe Georgia) was decimated by injury more than the Kentucky Wildcats. Losing their senior leader, Dicky Lyons Jr., and failing to find a quarterback until late in the season left Kentucky to rely heavily on its defense to keep them in games. One player who stepped up on the defensive side of the ball was junior cornerback Trevard Lindley. Lindley had a league leading 11 pass deflections and 4 interceptions. He returned 1 of those interceptions for a touchdown in their narrow loss to South Carolina. His 34 career pass break ups is a school record and he was named as a member of the All-SEC first team.

South Carolina – Eric Norwood, Linebacker

South Carolina was led by a number of veteran leaders who helped make Steve Spurrier’s defense one of the stiffest in the entire SEC. Captain Munnerlyn and Jasper Brinkley both made large contributions, but no one’s effort was more important than those of Eric Norwood. The All-SEC linebacker tallied 66 total tackles (42 solo) and a league leading 9 sacks. Norwood was constantly after the quarterback, sometimes lining up at defensive end and totaled 9 QB hurries on the year. Only a junior, Norwood will be looked upon to lead the Gamecock defense in 2009.

Tennessee – Eric Berry, Safety

A disappointing 5-7 season in Knoxville and the firing of Philip Fulmer overshadowed the amazing year turned in by Creekside High School alum Eric Berry. The sophomore safety turned in an amazing season that earned him SEC Defensive Player of the Year honors. Berry led D-1 with 7 interceptions, amassing 265 yards in returns and 2 touchdowns. He also became a feared hitter across the middle of the field and added 72 tackles (44 solo and 9 for loss), 3 sacks, and 6 deflections to his resume. Berry is a bright point that potential new defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin can build around in 2009.

We all remember these two amazing plays Berry turned in this fall in Athens.


Vanderbilt – DJ Moore, Cornerback/Wide Receiver

DJ Moore was Mr. Everything as the Vanderbilt Commodores became bowl eligible for the first time in 26 years. Never were his talents more on display than in the bowl eligibility clinching victory over Kentucky in November. Moore had 2 interceptions and 2 touchdown catches as Vanderbilt beat the Wildcats in Lexington, 31-24. At his natural position of corner, Moore had 54 total tackles (including a sack) with 6 interceptions and 6 pass deflections. His contributions on offense included 73 yards rushing on 9 carries and 7 receptions for 143 and two scores. Moore also acted as a kickoff and punt returner for the ‘Dores, contributing 651 total yards.

OUT WEST

We've been here since Tuesday...


Losing this...


Then we will be going here on Friday...


Seeing some of this...


Celebrating like this...


And showing the dominance of this...


Here we come, Tempe. GO DAWGS.