Capital One Bowl 2009: The Battle of the Tailbacks

Moreno vs. Ringer: Which player will lead their squad to victory?

Its official. Georgia will head to Orlando to take on Michigan State in the Capital One Bowl. What I am excited about is the match up between two of the best tailbacks in the country. It should be a lot of fun to watch these two play what could be their last collegiate game on January 1st.

GO DAWGS!!!

Caddyshack - To the End of Golfing Season

While Streit, BFR and BulldawgJosh aren't particularly big golfers, both Bubba 'n Earl are, and we both wish we would've gotten the chance to play with Lewis Grizzard himself.

In honor of this week's '80s video, Paul Simon's "You Can Call Me Al", and Chevy Chase's cameo in it, I thought it would be appropriate to post the best clip (in Earl's opinion) from one of the best movies of all-time, 1980's Caddyshack.

So, here's to Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, Ty Webb and Carl Spackler and to the end of the 2008 golfing season.

BNE's Weekend Picks - Championship Week

We posted our picks for the SEC Championship earlier today. Here are our picks for the remaining big games this weekend:

*Note: This is the average of all the scores and picks that the BNE staff has made.

Big XII Championship: Oklahoma 50, Missouri 31

ACC Championship: Boston College 24, Virginia Tech 18

Conference USA Championship: Tulsa 38, East Carolina 29

MAC Championship: Ball State 37, Buffalo 21

For the Pac-10 Championship: USC 58, UCLA 9

Military Classic: Navy 33, Army 17

BNE's SEC Title Game Predictions

Number 1 vs. Number 2, at least the AP Poll says so. You can't get any better than that for the SEC Championship Game. Alabama vs. Florida for the SEC Championship for the first time since 1999. It's the 6th time these two teams have met for the title, the most of any matchup. It's Alabama's 6th trip to the SEC Championship Game (2-3), while it's Florida's 9th trip (6-2), the most of any SEC school.

As much as it pains the BNE crew to pick this SEC Championship Game, we will do it for the good of the blog.

BFR: Florida 37, Alabama 17. Gross, disgusting. I f***ing hate them [Gators].

Streit: Florida 38, Alabama 23. I think it will be a close game until the 2nd half, and Florida will tack on a score or two in the 4th quarter to put it out of reach. If Percy Harvin is limited or doesn't play, Alabama has more of a chance.

Earl: Florida 27, Alabama 23. The Gators win, but don't cover the spread. Alabama has been hearing about how good the Gators are for an entire month now. That's great motivation for Saban and Co. If Florida had a lesser coach, I would take Alabama to the bank. But Urban's excellent too. And Florida's talent puts them over the top as Tebow wills it at the end.

BulldawgJosh: Alabama 34, Florida 28. I hate both of these teams...I-hate-them-so-much...I can't encompass in written words how much I hate both of them, and I have to do it at the same time. These two groups combined means an arrogant and delusional apocalypse is upon us this weekend.

The Tide will not roll over, except to roll over on Teblowme. Rammer Jammer Yellow Bananer.

Bubba: Alabama 28, Florida 27. Logic would say pick Florida because Alabama isn't going to score over 30 points. It is going to take a strong defensive gameplan from Saban and Co. to deny the Gators. Look for Bama to make a couple of strong Red Zone stands and force a turnover or two. Florida may not be ready to take a couple of blows in the face, and the Tide should come out motivated and swinging.

Sarah Jessica Parker Wilson is terrible in the Jon England/Mike Usry mold. Hopefully, JPW can look forward to a career as a landlord as well.

Note: I've picked against Florida twice this season and they've made me look pretty bad by blowing out both Tennessee and LSU.

In Conclusion: Florida 3, Alabama 2 with an average score of
Florida 31, Alabama 25.

Spurrier Beaten Twice

Writer's Note: I would've included the 1993, 1994 and 1996 SEC Championship Games, but it seems that YouTube Florida fans post more victories over Florida State in the 1990s than anything else, and that was a great rivalry back then. Wish the Seminoles could bring it back.

1999 SEC Championship Game: Alabama 34, Florida 7. Alabama claimed its first SEC title since 1992 and defeated the favored Florida Gators for the second time that year, beating them earlier in the Swamp.



Obviously, the signature play of this game was Freddie Milons run at about 0:58 in which he lined up at QB in the shotgun. It was the play that gave Alabama the confidence to win this game. That, and they were playing against The Bachelor Jesse Palmer.

Will Alabama have such a play on Saturday? Or will they ride Glen Coffee and Mark Ingram like Shaun Alexander?

Hey, anybody who beat Steve Spurrier twice in one year is okay by me.

Alabama went on to lose the Orange Bowl to Michigan 35-34 in OT on a missed extra point. And Florida went to lose the Citrus Bowl (Capital One) to Michigan State and Plaxico Burress. Better times for Plaxico indeed.

By the way, Bobby Williams was the interim head coach of that Michigan State team as Nick Saban had already accepted the head coaching position at LSU for the 2000 season.

Looks like it all connects...

Alabama – Florida: The Similarities

As the 2008 SEC Championship Game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and Florida Gators nears, many in the media are quick to point out their clashing styles. Alabama is a strong defensive team with an offense built around its strong rushing attack. Florida is a high powered offense that relies on turnovers and special teams to set up quick scoring strikes. As their differences may be glaring, you may be surprised to see how similar these teams are in the numbers they have put up during the 2008 season.

SEC Statistical Rankings

As expected, Florida and Alabama dominate as the statistical leaders in the SEC. Of the 31 major categories which are tracked on the SEC’s statistics web site, either Florida or Alabama ranks first in 21 of those categories. In the following categories, the teams hold the first and second spot:

Scoring Offense – Florida 1, Alabama 2 (tied with Georgia)
Scoring Defense – Alabama 1, Florida 2
Rushing Offense – Florida 1, Alabama 2
3rd Down Conversion % - Florida 1, Alabama 2
Turnover Margin – Florida 1, Alabama 2
Pass Efficiency Defense – Florida 1, Alabama 2
Opponents’ First Downs – Alabama 1, Florida 2
Fourth Down Conversions – Alabama 1, Florida 2

Other categories where the two teams were also ranked closely to each other were:

Total Defense: Alabama 1, Florida 3
Rushing Defense: Alabama 1, Florida 3
Pass Defense: Florida 3, Alabama 5
Punt Return Average: Florida 2, Alabama 3
Kickoff Coverage: Florida 6, Alabama 7
Sacks Allowed: Florida 3, Alabama 4

Adding Demps to an offense that already had Tebow and Harvin meant a lot of points on the score board for the Gators in 2008.

Common Opponents:

Alabama and Florida shared 6 common opponents during the 2008 season. Here’s a look at each of those games, how each divisional champion fared, and which team’s victory was more impressive.

Georgia
- Alabama : Win, 41-30
- Florida : Win, 49-10

Both of these games were blowouts, with the Alabama and Florida each clearly dominating one half of the respective football game. The Crimson Tide opened a huge 31-0 lead on the Dawgs in the first half and cruised to victory (despite some late garbage time touchdowns for Georgia ). Florida turned a close game at half into a complete destruction and without a late touchdown pass from Joe Cox would have landed an almost 50 point victory.

The Georgia Blackout failed miserably against the Crimson Tide.

Advantage: Push


Ole Miss
- Alabama : Win, 24-20
- Florida : Loss, 31-30

Both teams struggled with Houston Nutt’s surprising Rebels team. Alabama jumped out to a 24-3 lead at half and was able to hold off 17 unanswered points from Ole Miss to win 24-20. Florida struggled to find a rhythm with its offense and a missed extra point ended up being the difference as the Gators fell 31-30.

Ole Miss stopped Tebow on a fourth and 1 and the celebration was on.

Advantage: Alabama


LSU
- Alabama : Win, 27-21(OT)
- Florida : Win, 51-21

Florida destroyed the Tigers, building a huge first half lead and never looking back (and getting some revenge for the loss in Death Valley last year). Nick Saban’s first trip back to the Bayou was ugly, as the emotion was almost enough to push the Tigers to victory. But a costly mistake by Jarrett Lee in OT led to the winning TD for the Tide.

Advantage: Florida

Arkansas
- Alabama : Win 49-14
- Florida : Win, 38-7

Alabama jumped out to a huge 35-7 lead at the half and cruised to a big victory over the Hogs. Florida struggled in the first half, but poured it on in the second half (scoring 21 points in the fourth after some careless Arkansas interceptions).

Advantage: Alabama

Tennessee
- Alabama : Win, 29-9
- Florida : Win, 30-6

Alabama kept the rival Vols from putting points on the board while earning a workman like 29-9 victory on the Third Saturday in October (that was actually the fourth Saturday in October). Florida scored 17 points in the first, but if not for two UT turnovers inside the Gators’ 5, the game might have been a different story.

Advantage: Push


Kentucky
- Alabama : Win, 17-14
- Florida : Win, 63-5

Alabama looked sluggish coming off the big win over Georgia and barely held on to defeat the Wildcats in Tuscaloosa. The Gators used multiple blocked kicks to set up touchdowns in a complete destruction of Kentucky in the Swamp.

Advantage: Florida

Final Tally: Alabama 2, Florida 2, Push 2


Final Thoughts

On paper, these teams look to be very similar. No team holds a distinct advantage either statistically or in common opponent victories. This game will most likely come down to which team forces the other team to make mistakes. I look for a close game at half, but the Gators’ offense to be too strong in the second half.

...but that won't stop the Gators from winning this game.

Prediction: Florida 38, Alabama 23

BulldawgJosh & Bubba's 80's Music Video of the Week

This week's flash to the past is Paul Simon's 1986 hit "You Can Call Me Al":



The song describes a man going through an identity crisis and we can all agree the the UGA defense is going through an identity crisis right now. Chevy Chase is also my favorite movie star of the 1980's and I really wanted to use this music video.

Ears Out

The Birmingham News is reporting that Tommy Tuberville has been ousted at Auburn.

Really? Wow. Just one question: Who is Auburn going to find that's better than Tuberville at Auburn? He fits the Auburn mold. And that's important in college football, especially at a place like Auburn.

This has Bobby Lowder's fingerprints all over it. Of course, everything at Auburn does.

Tuberville made one mistake in hiring Tony Franklin to change the offense. It was a big mistake, but it was just one. He has consistently won at Auburn. He has one undefeated season, one SEC Championship, two SEC Championship Game appearances and about 4-5 SEC West co-championships. His record against Alabama is 7-3 and his record against Georgia is 5-5.

Please tell me a better span in Auburn football other than 1983-1989 under Pat Dye. And don't bring up Shug Jordan because I'll just bring up Bear Bryant.

And that's where it lies. Auburn is reacting to Alabama...again. After 6 years of domination in the series, Auburn lets 1 year of subordinate play affect its view on its head coach. Tell me, what coach in his right mind would want the Auburn job after it has just fired a head coach that went 6-1 against Alabama in the past 7 years? Isn't that the stated goal of the Auburn program? To beat Alabama? Didn't Tuberville do that?

Auburn has just reacted to Nick Saban. Saban is a great coach, no doubt about it. But, Auburn had its man that fit Auburn's mold. Tuberville has been coaching against Saban for a long time. He's beaten him before, and I bet he would've done it again if he had the chance.

Tommy, come on over to our side. It seems like your friend Mark Richt needs a defensive coordinator...and we'll beat Auburn's ass every year.

It seems most Auburn fans would've liked for Tuberville to have stayed on. But the Auburn boosters, and most importantly, Lowder wanted Tuberville gone. Lowder finally got him 5 years after he originally wanted to, and 4 years after an undefeated season.

Boosters are pointing to firing too many coordinators and not recruiting up to par with Alabama and Georgia. Well, isn't that how Auburn's always recruited? Its always had the basic recruiting philosophy of "coaching up" the kids to the tough, physical Auburn way. And its worked for years.

Auburn, may you get what you wish for. An ass kicking by Alabama for years to come.

"Just Too Much Speed"

As we all have disgustingly known for an entire month, Alabama and Florida will play for the SEC Championship on Saturday. As a fan of the SEC, I would like revisit some of the SEC Championship Games that Alabama and Florida played each other in from the 1990s.

The first being the inaugural SEC Championship Game in 1992. It was played at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. You know, the stadium in which Alabama used to play half their home games, and call it neutral when Auburn used to play them there every year. This neutral stadium for the SEC Championship Game had a statue of Bear Bryant just outside the front gates.

It was about as neutral as Jacksonville, Florida. (Now, I know you Georgia fans will jump all over me for that.)

Alabama would defeat Florida 28-21 in 1992 and go on to win the National Championship in the Sugar Bowl (remember when the SEC Champion went to the Sugar Bowl every year...good times) over Miami.

Alabama's 1992 defense was unlike any defense seen in the past 25 years. Dominating DE's Eric Curry and John Copeland took over games. And Antonio Langham was a stud DB as proven at the end of this clip from the 1992 SEC Championship Game.

Ironically, ABC's Bob Griese, at about 1:25, says that Alabama has "just too much speed" for Florida. And that's what analysts are saying in 2008, just vice versa.



Alabama would go on to forfeit all of its games from the 1992 season due to agent involvement with some of its players, particularly Antonio Langham.

Chaos In Tejas

I said in this post last week that Texas' loss to Texas Tech does not have the same weight as Texas beating Oklahoma. If you're not going to include Texas Tech and consider ranking them above both Oklahoma and Texas (and I can't find anyone outside of Mike Leach that would do this), then their defeat of Texas is not as important as Texas beating Oklahoma. While I wrote this post beforehand, it has become a counterpoint to Earl's post here.

This is a raw deal for Texas, but the Longhorns are doing a pretty good job of dealing with this situation. While they are sinking into madness in some instances, I think it is understandable to a point. Texas fans need to remember that the only thing they can do at this point is win their bowl game and then complain and hope the AP listens. As I said with Georgia last year, there's no reason to whine now and then lose your bowl game. Doing so will make you look like you didn't belong in the conversation in the first place (such as Michigan in 2006).

While I do think Texas being left out is ridiculous, I do not blame the BCS. It is not the BCS' job nor its intention to determine the participants in conference championships. This decision was the Big 12's, so they created their own problem. Every conference uses BCS rankings at some point for a tie breaker, and I think it's understandable that conferences would use it in some form in order to not leave this thing up to a coin flip (which I believe was next), or some sort of obstacle course game show tournament.

If this situation does result in a split national title, people are going to completely blame the BCS for it. I think such blame would be misplaced. It's not that you could absolve the BCS completely, but I think there are entities you could blame for having a larger role in creating such an instance.

The first to blame should be the Big 12, for reasons I outlined earlier. The next blame should be placed on irrational voters who placed Oklahoma above Texas. How can I blame voters, but not blame the BCS? Simple, the BCS is reactive to the choices the voters make. If voters in both the Harris Poll (which did rank Texas ahead by a small margin), and the Coaches Poll (who defy logic as often as they can), had largely ranked Texas above Oklahoma, the BCS would have appropriately responded.

Again, I'm getting ahead of myself. Everyone lambasting the BCS for having failed this year reminds me that nothing's actually been decided yet