Quick Observations from the LSU-Miss State Game

Because I have been at extended tailgates during the first two weeks of the season, I have not had a chance to sit down and watch much college football this season. But tonight I was able to sit on the couch and watch almost all of the Thursday night match up between LSU and Mississippi State. It was a throwback game to earlier days in the SEC when running the ball and defense ruled. Here are my thoughts about the game and the two teams:

LSU

- LSU's defense is ridiculous. Quick to the ball, solid tackling, and they make big plays. Mississippi State was averaging 300 yards a game rushing during the first two weeks. Tonight they barely had 200 yards of total offense.

- #17 for LSU (can't remember his name) was mentioned in the game as early target for MSU to pick on. The guy finished with two interceptions.

- LSU has enough talent on defense that they will never need to score a ton of points to win. That is good, because Jarrett Lee will not be lighting up the scoreboard. He is the very definition of a game manager.

- LSU has some good young receivers and the duo of Ware and Ford in the backfield are very solid.

Mississippi State

- All the injuries on the Mississippi State line are really killing them. They were getting little to no push against the LSU front.

- Relf makes some pretty good moves for such a big guy, but he doesn't sell play action well at all.

- Ballard is a bowling ball, you've got to keep him off his feet.

- Mississippi State's defense looked out of breath in the second half. If you can sustain long drives like LSU did tonight, you can wear them down and then begin hitting long passes.

- Overall, Mississippi State has not progressed much from last year. Don't get me wrong, they are a solid team who hung with the number 3 team in the country. But, they are still too one dimensional offense which makes them vulnerable late in the game (as evidenced by Relf being pulled in favor of Russell). The defense is solid, but they still rely so heavily on the blitz that a decent quarterback should have little trouble tearing them apart. Fortunately for them, Jarrett Lee is not that type of player. When they play Arkansas, expect big numbers from Wilson and his trio of receivers.

It was a really fun game to watch. I love seeing old school SEC games where you think the final score may be 6-3. I feel like the Dawgs will have a tough challenge when MSU comes to Athens in three weeks, but it won't be much different than waht we saw in Starkville last fall.

Another Reason to Hate Soccer: The Vuvuzela

As a Georgia fan, I hate anything remotely related to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. This includes the annoying buzz sound that the Nerds like to make. Does it sound really stupid? YES. But does that make it any less annoying? NO.

So, it was an unfortunate surprise to find out that Georgia Tech fans had infiltrated the World Cup and taught everyone their mating call. Or so I thought. Come to find out, the annoying noise you hear during World Cup games comes from this:

This is a vuvuzela, or more commonly known as a stadium horn. These instruments have been played traditionally at soccer games in South Africa and have been introduced to the world this summer. Like it or hate it, these things will be coming to American sports arenas over the coming months. The Florida Marlins ran a promotion last week giving away modified versions of these things. The noise was so loud (despite a typical small Marlins crowd) that Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez and the umpire had a miscommunication on a double switch. The Marlins ended up losing the game and Gonzalez has now lost his job.

SEC football stadiums are loud. Our fans are passionate about the teams we support and, when combined with a days worth of tailgaiting and drinking, can often make enough noise to register as an earthquake (see LSU at night). Do we need another way to make the crowds louder? No. But apparently, the SEC does not plan to stop fans from bringing these instruments into games. From the SEC's statement:

The vuvuzela, along with any artificial noisemaker, will fall under the revamped guidelines of the Mississippi State cowbell, according to SEC associate commissioner Charles Bloom. Fans are only allowed to use the cowbells (or vuvuzelas) during pregame, between quarters, halftime, timeouts, after scores and during possession changes.

Yeah, we'll see how that flies at LSU. You want to be the person who tries to wrestle a vuvuzela away from a Cajun who has polished off a fifth of Jim beam for playing his noise maker during an Alabama possession? BE MY GUEST.

Once again, soccer is trying to upset the peaceful order of things in sports in this country. Football fans are rowdy because they are passionate and drunk, not because of damn noise makers. Soccer, take your "beautiful game" and annoying noise makers away, and leave football alone!

Welcome to BNE, AUMaverick

As some of you have noticed, there is a new contributor to the BNE staff...me. So, in the spirit of Lewis Grizzard, who loved the State of Georgia, UGA, and SEC football, I'd like to say WAR EAGLE to all you Georgia Dawgs as well as everyone else who follows this blog. I know Lewis wouldn't mind someone from "the other side" contributing to a blog dedicated to UGA and college football; afterall, the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry is between Auburn and UGA. Besides, just like CNN, FOX News and the AJC, every good editorial needs to be fair and balanced.

That being said, I'd also like to say GO DAWGS! No, you didn't read incorrectly, and no I am not a traitor to my school. I happen to love UGA and Auburn equally, except of course for one Saturday out of the year. For those of you who don't know, I was raised all over the world and I happen to call Georgia home. Belive it or not, I even lived in Athens for a short time. I have spent many nights in Athens with my Dawg friends, enjoying all the great scenery and atmosphere that only Athens can offer. My favorite restaurant is in Athens and I even met my wife in Athens one summer long ago. So, while UGA and Auburn have a very deep and bitter rivalry, it is still a friendly rivalry, and, being a great lover of SEC football and all things from the state of Georga, I too can root for UGA...most of the year.


So, from time to time, I will contribute my thoughts and observations on all things SEC football, UGA, and of course, Auburn. I will try to keep my thoughts fair and balanced, giving a voice to the others out there who may not always see the red between the black and white. I also vow, here and now, to hate Alabama and all things crimson and houndstooth. God hates BAMA just as much as he hates giant lizzards and stinging flying bugs. I make no apologies and that is the one thing I will always keep a hatred toward in my heart. However, I will keep my hatred for Bama out of the mix for as much as possible and focus soley on football.


With that, I'd like to close with a quote from Lewis Grizzard and I hope everyone enjoys the upcoming season. Lewis once said, "The game of life is a lot like football. You have to tackle your problems, block your fears, and score your points when you get the opportunity." Go Dawgs and WAR EAGLE!




*With this brief introduction, BNE invites you to become familiar with and ask that you please welcome AUMaverick to the contributing staff. His primary and first responsibility will be to manage this fall's upcoming BNE College Football Pick 'Em Pool, which you will learn more about in the coming days. We wanted to give AUMaverick this opportunity to introduce himself humbly to our faitful reader base in advance of the launch of this season's pool. Be sure to send AUMaverick your love & thoughts via the comments section of this post and by e-mailing him through his profile link. Go Dawgs! BFR & the BNE Staff