Folks, I'm back after a bye week, so let's recap where we stand after week 10 heading into the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry:
Bubba with 277 points and 18-8
Silver Britches with a respectable 260 and a 16-10 record
Fresh Catch Shuffle just 1 point behind and 17-9
AUMav's Picks with 255 points going 18-8
Dawgsman81 with 255 and 18-8 points but just missing on the tie breaker
Overall:
Silver Britches with 2185 points and a 162-67 record taking the lead
AUMav's Picks with 2181 points and a 163-66 record
WarriorDawg making the most of his points going 160-69 but managing 2168 points
allyugadawg keeoing it real for the ladies racking up 2151 points with a 165-64
BLACKOUT going 164-65 with 2132 points
Since most everyone did fairly well this week, BnE's Pick 'Em will recognize the scourge of the sports media world this week as our Bottom Feeder of the Week. As many of you now have heard, there have been several allegations leveled at Cam Newton. Everything from alleged cheating at Florida, to his pay-for-play scandal involving Kenny Rogers at Mississippi State, the sports news media have jumped on this bandwagon faster than a Florida fan lining up for a sale on jean shorts down at the Family Dollar. ESPN, Fox News, Sports Illustrated, etc. all have reported on the sources, speaking anonymously since they do not have permission to speak, and their allegations against Cam. Yet despite all the allegations, Cam remains eligible to play. Let's remember one thing: in this country, a person is innocent until proven guilty.
Now, it can all come back and all the allegations can be true. But the timing, ferocity and intensity at which these allegations keep coming out have lead the fans and sports haters alike to view it all as a bit of a comical spectacle. Not since Bill Clinton have sports fan taken to lampooning the allegations. Seriously, its as if the old Chuck Norris facts have morphed into the never-ending Allegations of Cam Newton. Here are a few of my favorites courtesy of FOP and some of my Auburn friends' posts:
Cam Newton dines and dashes at charity dinner events
Cam Newton was on the infamous grassy knoll in Dallas
Cam Newton gave Jessie Spano those caffeine pills
Cam Newton fired the rocket out of the Pacific. It was headed to your mom's house.
Cam Newton is funneling money to Somali Pirates
Cam Newton did in fact let the dogs out
Cam Newton didn't wash his hands in the bathroom causing the Cholera outbreak in Haiti
My favorite however comes from www.chadgibbs.com . He photo shopped an entire espn.com homepage to show the following:
Anyway, I find all this a tragic comedy. As much as I can laugh at all this, its still sad how the media has jumped on this just weeks after praising the turn around and the athletic ability of this young man. Let's not forget, Cam has done tremendous things at Auburn as a young man in just one year on the Plains. I look forward to seeing him in action again this Saturday in Auburn as he takes on the Dawgs. With Cam at the helm, I have a good feeling I'll be seeing my Tigers in Atlanta.
As for the rest of the weekend's games, let's see what else we have to look forward to...
Miami at Georgia Tech: Miami has proven to be the SUC of the ACC. Actually, the whole ACC has proven to be more neurotic in their play than SUC. Its a crap shoot but take Buzz
Utah at Notre Dame: Utes. Next!
Texas Tech at OU: If you think there might be another upset, think again. OU is at home and plays well in Normam. Take the Sooners over Tubs
OK State at Texas: Goose is dead...You gotta let him go. Seriously, the season is over for Texas and I cant see how the Horns pull it off against the Cowboys. Something is wrong in the state of Texas.
Oregon at Cal: LaMichael James could be in jail in Thailand and Oregon would still have enough speed to run. Don't pass on the Duck!
SUC at the Swamp: This is going to be an interesting match up but I have a feeling fate is still smiling on the Visor of the Old Ball Coach. Look for the defense of SUC to put enough pressure on Demps and Rainey to give Lattimore time to run the ball when the O is on the field. SUC wins a close one to secure a ticket to Atlanta.
A&M at Baylor: Toss a coin, its a game between two Texas teams.
Mississippi State at Bama: Dan Mullen has put together a very good team in Starkville. If you're a betting man, go out on a limb and pick the other Bulldogs
That's it for now. BulldawgJosh, our old friend BFR, and myself will be loading up and heading to Auburn on Saturday. If anyone else is headed down, leave me a message and you're always welcome at the tailgate.
Happy Hate Week everybody, and Happy early Halloween! Week 8 proved to be another pivotal week in college football as well as the 3rdn Annual BNE Pick 'Em. First and foremost, another #1 fell in the form of the Sooners to Big 12 rival Missouri, who beat the Sooners for the first time since 1998. This of course led the way for Oregon to take the #1 spot ahead of Boise, TCU and Auburn. But don't feel bad for me, because where it really counts, the BCS, Auburn is #1!!! Can I get a War Damn Eagle?! Anyone? Anyone...
Well tough, because I'm going to talk about the top game of the week! Face it folks, the fate of the SEC is not in the hands of Urban Meyer, Nick Saban, Steve Spurrier, or Les Miles. Its not really in the hands of Gene Chizik either when all things are considered. Friends, the fate of the conference and a 5th straight shot at a National Title lies in the very large hands of the Heisman front runner, 6'6", 250 lb, Cam Newton. The showdown on the Plains last Saturday was nothing short of a textbook-perfect example of an SEC grudge match with everything at stake. Undefeated LSU came in with their #6 ranked rush defense against Auburn's undefeated and 6th ranked rushing attack. Allowing only 89 yards per game, LSU was the best shot this far of shutting down Cam and the duo of Mike Dyer and Ontario McCalebb. When it was all said and done, Auburn had scorched LSU for over 400 yards of rushing, of which a 70 yard game winning burst came from Ontario McCalebb, and 217 came directly at the hands of Cam Newton. Statement win? Heisman winning performance? You betcha!!
This game marked the 4th game of the season with over 500 yards of offense for the Tigers. In addition, Cam Newton broke the 1963 record at Auburn of quarterback Jimmy Sidle by rushing for over 1000 yards in a season, and surpassed Heisman winner Pat Sullivan for the most touchdowns in a season by an Auburn quarterback. Those two did it in 11 games, Cam has done it only 8. For the season so far, Cam has accumulated 1386 passing yards with 13 touchdowns, 5 interceptions, and a QB rating of 172.1. In addition to those numbers, he has 157 carries for 1077 yards, 14 touchdowns, including one for 71 yards. We still have 4 more games left in the season including this week's match up against Ole Miss which poses a serious threat for a let down considering our secondary and Jeremiah Masoli. If Auburn comes away with another W, I expect it will once more be at the hands of Cam Newton. I hope everyone is watching because The South's Oldest Rivalry is fast approaching.
Who's making the trip to the Loveliest Village on the Plains?
Of course, outside of watching Auburn, I know everyone will be tuned in for the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktai...oh yeah, sorry Michael Adams, "Georgia vs. Florida". Anyway, this battle pits rivals UGA against their southern Guido neighbors, the Florida Gators. I'm not going to go into a lot commentary or analysis since everyone else pretty well covers it here. I'll just reiterate what Streit has said; UGA needs to win to keep their hopes alive at a shot of winning the SEC East and a bowl game. Please Dawgs, please put a whuppin on the Gators and those god-awful Pro Combat uniforms.
Leave the uniform shenanigans to the pros at Oregon, OK?
And now for our weekly Top 5 performers as well as our overall leaders:
BLACKOUT with 249 points and almost perfect at 21-1
FelonWaits amassing 239 points going 18-4
ugafan13 just three points behind and also 18-4
calgee managing 230 points and an 18-4 record
Bubba also just three points behind going 18-4
For our overall leaders, we have a new face at the top of the heap. Could it be...
AUMav's Picks with 1735 points and a 131-50 record. That's right! After woof woof's total collapse and tumble from #1 to #18, not to mention my superior streak of good luck this season...I'M NUMBER 1 BITCHES!!! WAR DAMN EAGLE!! Glory, glory to me!!
Blackout with 1726 points and a 133-48 record
WarriorDawg also with 1726 points but a not too shabby 130-51 record
allyugadawg keepin it real for the ladies with a 132-49 record and 1705 points
Silver Britches staying consistent with 1691 points going 127-54 in picks
Sadly, we have to turn our focus away from my sure-to-be short lived #1 status, and turn to our weekly Bottom Feeder of the Week, sponsored by every Florida fan's favorite, Wrangler Big 5 Pocket Denim Shorts, available at Wal-Mart. The BFotW's special sponsor is in honor of Hate Week and our current BFotW, Shackin at the Whitney. For those of you who don't know, Shackin at the Whitney is none other than our very own BnE contributor, MT. We are ashamed, ASHAMED I SAY! At no point throughout this season has a contributing editor to BnE fallen so low as to have the dishonor of being named our BFotW. Tell me you didn't drink the purple Kool-aid and pick the Huskies over Arizona. Have you learned nothing this season?! This is a disgrace, A DISGRACE! I think in honor of your dishonor of being the first and only BnE contributor to sink to this lowly state of infamy and tainting our ranks with such a foul stench, you must be punished!
He's a witch! Burn him!!
No, no, we're going to need something much worse. In fact, I think we should take advantage of our sponsor, Wrangler Big 5 Pocket Denim Shorts, available at Wal-Mart. Since this is Hate Week, and since this is the time of year every Florida fan dusts off their finest denim clothing items, MT I challenge you to not only wear a pair of Wrangler's finest Denim Shorts this weekend, but to also take a photo of you in said shorts as you watch the beloved Dawgs battle Florida so we can post it here on BnE. Maybe this will teach you, and everyone else appearing in our BFotW, to appreciate making good decisions and using good judgement, because we all know how bad a choice jean shorts can be...
Oh lord, help us all!
Don't forget to get your picks in for this week. WAR DAMN EAGLE. Go Dawgs! HATE FLORIDA!!!
Its been a while, but you're good friend from the west (SEC West that is) is back to say hello. Just in case you didn't know, or you've had you head burried in the sand, which from the looks of it some of you might, Auburn has come along and built the #4 recruiting class in the nation! That's right, two years removed from being 5-7, Auburn has a recruiting class ranked just below the past two national championship holders, and the former national championship contender! Beat that!! WAR EAGLE!!
