tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-112507152024-03-26T09:25:04.938-04:00Hey Jenny Slater.Well, I hear something else. It's the Hug Plane, and it's coming in for a landing.Astronaut Mike Dexterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01498197770701096363noreply@blogger.comBlogger1458125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11250715.post-11467669584517096772010-12-02T20:13:00.004-05:002010-12-02T23:08:02.925-05:00Jacked.So I know y'all have been waiting on pins and needles for my 5,000-word dissertation on why Georgia's narrow, hideously sloppy win over Georgia Tech last week symbolizes the beginning of the end of hope for the Georgia program in much the same way that Sonny Corleone's assassination marked the beginning of the end of Michael's soul in the first "Godfather" movie, and I was <i>really</i> (not really) looking forward to getting right on that, but lo and behold, when I came home from lunch on Tuesday I looked to my right and saw a big dust-outlined square where my 42" plasma TV used to be. And there was an empty cubbyhole where my DVD player used to be, and an empty box where the Wii I'd just bought and hadn't even hooked up yet used to be . . . and absolutely nothing where my laptop used to be. Long story short, I got robbed, and it sucks.<br /><br />The real shit of the deal is that just about everything I've ever written was on my laptop, which, barring a miracle, I'm never getting back. (Hope the crackheads enjoy the porn I had saved on there, at least.) But the other stuff can easily be replaced -- and will be, since I had renter's insurance with the full-replacement-cost rider. Right now this is a major pain in the ass, but in the grand scheme of things it's going to prove to be a minor annoyance.<br /><br />All that said, I'm computer-less for the near future, so you're not gonna find a lot on here until that situation is rectified. Holly and I are fixing to do some computer shopping on Sunday -- she's trying to draw me over to the Apple side, and she may just succeed -- so I'm hoping this hiatus won't last too long. But a hiatus it is. Hang tight for a bit, and for God's sake keep y'all shit locked down. And if you come across a Dell Inspiron 6000 with the serial number DZYXS81, kick the guy who sold it to you in the balls, if you wouldn't mind.<br /><br />Thiiiiiiiiinks.Astronaut Mike Dexterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01498197770701096363noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11250715.post-33088634322802963842010-11-29T19:53:00.000-05:002010-11-29T19:53:31.929-05:00Poll dancing, week 13: A fun weekend, and nobody died (despite their best efforts).Well, we did Thanksgiving dinner, we did the Egg Bowl in Oxford, we came, we saw, we drank a lot, we saw some unbelievably gorgeous women . . . and oh, yeah, in the midst of all that we watched a little football. The writeup on the Egg Bowl weekend (and the Georgia game, what little I saw of it) is coming, but in the meantime . . .<br /><br /><i>Games watched:</i> Parts of Texas A&M-Texas, Auburn-Alabama, parts of Oregon-Arizona, the <i>first</i> (and by far less interesting) half of Nevada-Boise State, Mississippi State-Ole Miss, the tail end of Oklahoma-Oklahoma State.<br /><br /> <!-- SB Nation BlogPoll Top 25 Ballot --><div id="blogpoll-rankings-ballot" style="background:#fff; padding: 0; width:340px; margin: 10px auto"> <h2 style="margin:0;padding:0;font-size:10px;line-height:10px;"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/rankings/college-football-blogpoll-top-25"><img alt="SB Nation BlogPoll Top 25 College Football Rankings" height="62" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/blogpoll-top25-ballot.png" style="border:0; display:block" width="340"></a></h2> <div style="border: solid 1px #ddd; border-top-width:0"> <h3 style="text-align:center; margin:0; padding:5px 0; font-family:arial; font-size:14px;"><a href="http://heyjennyslater.blogspot.com" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Hey Jenny Slater</a> Ballot - Week 14</h3> <table class="blogpoll-result" style="border-collapse: collapse;border:solid 1px #ccc;margin:0 5px 5px 5px;font-size: 11px; color: #333;font-family:arial;line-height:16px; width:327px;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2"> <tbody><tr> <th style="background:#ddd; font-weight:bold; text-align:left;padding:2px">Rank</th> <th style="background:#ddd; font-weight:bold; text-align:left;padding:2px">Team</th> <th style="background:#ddd; font-weight:bold; text-align:left;padding:2px">Delta</th> </tr> <tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">1</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/oregon-ducks" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Oregon Ducks</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">2</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/auburn-tigers" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Auburn Tigers</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">3</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/tcu-horned-frogs" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">TCU Horned Frogs</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">4</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/stanford-cardinal" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Stanford Cardinal</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 1</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">5</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/wisconsin-badgers" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Wisconsin Badgers</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 4</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">6</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/arkansas-razorbacks" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Arkansas Razorbacks</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 4</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">7</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/ohio-st-buckeyes" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Ohio St. Buckeyes</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 4</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">8</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/michigan-st-spartans" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Michigan St. Spartans</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 4</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">9</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/boise-st-broncos" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Boise St. Broncos</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_down" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_down.gif"> -5</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">10</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/lsu-tigers" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">LSU Tigers</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_down" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_down.gif"> -4</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">11</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/south-carolina-gamecocks" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">South Carolina Gamecocks</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 2</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">12</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/alabama-crimson-tide" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Alabama Crimson Tide</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_down" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_down.gif"> -5</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">13</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/nevada-wolf-pack" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Nevada Wolf Pack</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 2</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">14</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/virginia-tech-hokies" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Virginia Tech Hokies</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">15</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/texas-a-m-aggies" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Texas A&M Aggies</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 1</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">16</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/oklahoma-sooners" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Oklahoma Sooners</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 2</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">17</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/nebraska-cornhuskers" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Nebraska Cornhuskers</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">18</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/oklahoma-st-cowboys" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Oklahoma St. Cowboys</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_down" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_down.gif"> -10</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">19</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/florida-st-seminoles" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Florida St. Seminoles</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 4</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">20</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/missouri-tigers" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Missouri Tigers</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">21</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/mississippi-st-bulldogs" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Mississippi St. Bulldogs</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 1</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">22</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/maryland-terrapins" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Maryland Terrapins</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">23</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/utah-utes" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Utah Utes</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 1</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">24</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/air-force-falcons" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Air Force Falcons</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 1</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">25</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/northern-illinois-huskies" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Northern Illinois Huskies</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr><td colspan="3" style="line-height:14px; padding:4px"><strong>Dropouts</strong>: Arizona Wildcats, N.C. State Wolfpack</td></tr> </tbody></table> <p style="font-size:12px; margin: 1px 2px 5px 7px;">SB Nation BlogPoll <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/rankings/college-football-blogpoll-top-25" style="color:#C52126; font-weight:bold;">College Football Top 25 Rankings</a> »</p> </div> </div><br /><br /><b>The next five:</b> West Virginia, Arizona, North Carolina State, UCF, San Diego State.<br /><br /><b>· The action in the top 10 is set in motion</b> by Boise State, LSU, and Alabama all suffering losses of fair degrees of stunning-ness over Thanksgiving weekend. None of them got blown out, but by the end of it none of them quite looked like national-championship material, either.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp_Nnzi8yUC02davvTp-QEr-NdkL5ZFcY7lbLgWYAmTbhTORAon0FJ0LYXVevaZcT_7-bpYOHnv-Jmc1cHbtK1jAFDSqEyDsK6aBmuytExpZVGLaeF45Od5T04OfwOap-nX0jt/s1600/sparty.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp_Nnzi8yUC02davvTp-QEr-NdkL5ZFcY7lbLgWYAmTbhTORAon0FJ0LYXVevaZcT_7-bpYOHnv-Jmc1cHbtK1jAFDSqEyDsK6aBmuytExpZVGLaeF45Od5T04OfwOap-nX0jt/s320/sparty.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545136596524826018" /></a><br /><br /><b>· I realize I've got Wisconsin as the top Big Ten team</b> in these rankings, but here's a question: Michigan State beat Wisconsin; Wisconsin beat Ohio State; Ohio State hasn't beaten either of the other two (since they didn't play MSU). So how come Wisconsin is getting all the Rose Bowl love and Sparty has kind of turned into the odd man out in this little three-way?<br /><br /><b>· Probably dinged Oklahoma State too much</b> for coming out on the wrong end of a wild shootout in Stillwater last week, but who do I put them above? Not Oklahoma or Nebraska, obviously.<br /><br /><b>· Arizona and North Carolina State get ushered out,</b> with Maryland and Northern Illinois taking their place, and yes, I've watched NIU play this season. With a mobile QB and an offense that can score bushel baskets of points in the blink of an eye, they're almost like a poor man's Oregon, and they're gonna rip somebody a new one in a bowl game that precisely no one will watch.<br /><br />On to the SEC Power Poll ballot:<br /><br /><b>1. Auburn --</b> Not sure whether to be amazed that they bounced back from a 24-0 deficit or puzzled at how they ended up in said deficit to begin with. All I'll say is this: Oregon doesn't strike me as the kind of team that'll take their foot off the gas the way Alabama seemed to in the second half.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ5-M1Lr6MD0dzX1lNOBkbQGbjQGN-TuQEZO21tCevrn2I-zP4CB9ca_fdEBMQNSqdOx5mlwk13iqt8u1q22dLJKjHb3pOYJWZI-Tq4EOUrQ2wYA2e3VoLVQvA8AhJ7viSwbUe/s1600/mallett.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 166px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ5-M1Lr6MD0dzX1lNOBkbQGbjQGN-TuQEZO21tCevrn2I-zP4CB9ca_fdEBMQNSqdOx5mlwk13iqt8u1q22dLJKjHb3pOYJWZI-Tq4EOUrQ2wYA2e3VoLVQvA8AhJ7viSwbUe/s320/mallett.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545137050664276290" /></a><br /><br /><b>2. Arkansas --</b> All reports seem to indicate that Ryan Mallett will get one more chance to impress the NFL scouts in the Sugar Bowl, and you can't say he hasn't earned it.<br /><br /><b>3. LSU --</b> Fitting that LSU would get effectively knocked out of a BCS bowl by a loss in which they were out-Miles'd. Guess we now know their good luck has a ceiling.<br /><br /><b>4. South Carolina --</b> If they can play ball control offense and get a couple late stops against the Tigers, they've got a chance to win in the Georgia Dome this weekend. But I'm still putting my money on Auburn, and I don't really care what the spread is.<br /><br /><b>5. Alabama --</b> Hard to pinpoint just exactly where they went wrong this year, but the running game sure underwhelmed down the stretch considering that it had a Heisman Trophy winner and a guy everyone said was better than him.<br /><br /><b>6. Mississippi State --</b> The flipside to an eight- (or perhaps nine-) win season in Starkville: Now they have to cross their fingers for the next two months and hope nobody poaches Dan Mullen.<br /><br /><b>7. Florida --</b> I'm loath to call the Urban Meyer dynasty over after one crappy season, but with the Gators having emphatically ceded in-state superiority back to FSU, a Gator Bowl berth on the horizon, and Steve Addazio appearing to be completely secure in Gainesville, you gotta hear the clock ticking.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTo6vQt-6_VTD-r-WaRpzg7nryUJFGX9ZySnLjJRXLqHrqt29mD4U2D-P6CFRPrt6ObYK5-CDvYh8rRAVW3mkqMLN_BZraz-S6ZF0Z4wxEmjaIuQx9-tQ5Sqfio9BynoS-nlW_/s1600/georgia.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 238px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTo6vQt-6_VTD-r-WaRpzg7nryUJFGX9ZySnLjJRXLqHrqt29mD4U2D-P6CFRPrt6ObYK5-CDvYh8rRAVW3mkqMLN_BZraz-S6ZF0Z4wxEmjaIuQx9-tQ5Sqfio9BynoS-nlW_/s320/georgia.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545138559564242562" /></a><br /><br /><b>8. Georgia --</b> If Bulldog Nation went to Sanford Stadium last Saturday night looking for signs that they're still the alpha dog in the state, they got 'em. But if they came looking for signs that 2011 is going to be a big turnaround year, they didn't find many.<br /><br /><b>9. Tennessee --</b> The season played out just exactly like everyone said it would, and now Derek Dooley has a chance to finish with the same record Lane Kiffin did in his lone season in Knoxville. (Kiffin: "All part of my master plan.")<br /><br /><b>10. Kentucky --</b> Earning a fifth straight bowl bid is nice, but other than the upset over South Carolina, there's not a lot you can point to as an indication that Joker Phillips is headed for breakout success in Lexington.<br /><br /><b>11. Ole Miss --</b> I watched the Rebels take a pretty good stab at making a stunning comeback against Missy State the other night in Oxford -- right up until the final drive, when Jeremiah Masoli had to lead the Rebs to the tying touchdown. The final two minutes were like a Benny Hill episode, and I'm now inclined to agree with those who think Houston Nutt is perhaps the most accomplished QB-killer in the country.<br /><br /><b>12. Vanderbilt --</b> Debated whether to put Vandy or Ole Miss in the bottom slot, but <a href="http://blutarsky.wordpress.com/2010/11/29/sec-power-poll-week-13/" target="_new">these stats</a> ended that debate. As much as I like Robbie Caldwell's story, you can't exactly blame the Vandy administration for not having any interest in keeping him on.Astronaut Mike Dexterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01498197770701096363noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11250715.post-8322569186565809962010-11-26T18:18:00.001-05:002010-11-26T18:19:41.134-05:00The Friday Random Ten+5 is back, and it can't dance.I know the Friday Random Ten+5 has been absent for a few weeks, and it's mainly because I just couldn't come up with any good ideas for +5s -- but a conversation I had with Holly the other day gave me one. We'll talk periodically about what we might plan, wedding-wise, if we ever decide to pull the trigger on this thing, and mainly it's just us coming up with outlandish ideas such as a Super Mario Brothers-themed ceremony where she comes down the aisle dressed like Bowser. (Her idea, not mine, which just makes it that much more awesome.) But we were talking about ideas for what song to play at our first dance, and we came up with some doozies. Hence, the Friday Randomness returns with Five Unbelievably Inappropriate Songs To Play As The First Dance At Our Wedding Reception.<br /><br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Wf3jzDb4H7o?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Wf3jzDb4H7o?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br /><b>Wu-Tang Clan, "Shame on a Nigga"</b><br />This is the song that inspired the entire conversation, and we've talked about it enough at this point that the chances we actually do it are probably right around 50-50. Which will make our parents so very proud of us, I'm sure.<br /><br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/A6aRH6chDns?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/A6aRH6chDns?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br /><b>Dead Kennedys, "Too Drunk to Fuck"</b><br />This would be appropriate since it describes quite a few people at the end of a wedding reception anyway. You go there to pick up some bridesmaids, you dance, you drink, and by the end of the evening you're in no position to do anything but puke on your nice clothes and cry in a cab on the way home. Or maybe that's just me.<br /><br /><object width="504" height="306"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/izGwDsrQ1eQ?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/izGwDsrQ1eQ?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="504" height="306"></embed></object><br /><br /><b>Wham!, "Careless Whisper"</b><br />Hits the inappropriateness trifecta: references to infidelity, references to dancing . . . and five minutes' worth of pure, uncut, Colombian '80s cheese. Including '80s saxophone, which could make even "The Star-Spangled Banner" sound goofy.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWTGOPLOWrqet66JTWCSbm4JDDUxifeoL-1H9MT42680ezp-PItTD1QnGloIDiIyVryyd3IvtyHu4AA6kCtuo9AnCzBAcyidqqZIYsyzb4eWkCve79KkMp2iI54wUciELusdy9/s1600/groban.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 263px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWTGOPLOWrqet66JTWCSbm4JDDUxifeoL-1H9MT42680ezp-PItTD1QnGloIDiIyVryyd3IvtyHu4AA6kCtuo9AnCzBAcyidqqZIYsyzb4eWkCve79KkMp2iI54wUciELusdy9/s320/groban.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5543995600355734018" /></a><br /><br /><b>Josh Groban, "You Raise Me Up"</b><br />I'm not including a YouTube here because this song is so godawful I can't even stand to have it on my blog. Yes, it's much worse than "Careless Whisper." Most of Groban's catalogue, if this song is any indication, makes "Careless Whisper" look like "Smells Like Teen Spirit." And to my ears, at least, it's way more offensive than "Too Drunk to Fuck." If we played this as our first dance, we'd have to play "Too Drunk to Fuck" or maybe Cee-Lo's "Fuck You" immediately afterward, just to demonstrate to everyone we didn't really mean it.<br /><br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/aaSKD11ymIU?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/aaSKD11ymIU?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br /><b>Nirvana/Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine, "Rape Me"</b><br />Pretty self-explanatory, no? It's either this or the Beastie Boys' "Girls."<br /><br />And now the Ten, whose appropriateness cannot be verified in advance:<br /><br />1. Pet Shop Boys, "K-Hole"<br />2. Johnny Cash, "Give My Love to Rose"<br />3. Red Hot Chili Peppers, "Scartissue"<br />4. Pet Shop Boys, "Vampires"<br />5. Nanci Griffith, "I Don't Want to Talk About Love"<br />6. Tito Puente, "Mambo Gallego" (remix)<br />7. Fatboy Slim, "Going Out of My Head"<br />8. Underworld, "Ring Road"<br />9. Moby, "Bodyrock"<br />10. U.N.K.L.E., "Logan's Run"<br /><br />Please welcome back the Ten+5 by putting your own Random Tens, and your ideas for utterly horrible wedding-reception numbers, in the comments.Astronaut Mike Dexterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01498197770701096363noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11250715.post-50519018373242789432010-11-25T09:50:00.000-05:002010-11-25T09:50:51.023-05:00Manic-Depressive Preview: Servin' up a little bile and condescension for Thanksgiving.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih4D6V9lgRKi8WIz-nTXvWbRQGnQy7tE0Q1O6vXFyXGk4xrDxytcMheoEGOghltJiQbNgG_Rh97VLILiyTKc-Z8_DQuMBNhEXp88-9Wna9W-D-RLUU76-I4zK24wyH66ZBrgU-/s1600/me_titansaudition.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 175px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih4D6V9lgRKi8WIz-nTXvWbRQGnQy7tE0Q1O6vXFyXGk4xrDxytcMheoEGOghltJiQbNgG_Rh97VLILiyTKc-Z8_DQuMBNhEXp88-9Wna9W-D-RLUU76-I4zK24wyH66ZBrgU-/s200/me_titansaudition.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5543499625295798866" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOAM02s1jA-MDUrJTw3_sh51tDS31WlPr1KeDjS8epMRja4MhLifgCXha0BFIC3otJiAXtpn_AQfQEBQJtJZ8ipkAzkkvamsC4gYyYOt4F8qoohhrCvfytW5nv1TfQJR7xAQV_/s1600/despondent_me.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 122px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOAM02s1jA-MDUrJTw3_sh51tDS31WlPr1KeDjS8epMRja4MhLifgCXha0BFIC3otJiAXtpn_AQfQEBQJtJZ8ipkAzkkvamsC4gYyYOt4F8qoohhrCvfytW5nv1TfQJR7xAQV_/s200/despondent_me.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5543499526218602626" /></a><br /><br /><i>The Manic-Depressive Previewers have had a week off to lick their wounds from the Auburn game -- well, Depressive Doug licked his wounds, Manic Doug got blazing drunk and loudly predicted to anyone who would listen how it's only a matter of time before Cam Newton gets declared ineligible and the NCAA blasts Auburn's football program back into the leather-helmet era. Either way, though, they've had some time off and are now tanned, rested, and ready to go full speed ahead for this weekend's clash of the titans -- or, perhaps more accurately, clash of the Titanics? -- between Georgia and Georgia Tech this weekend.</i><br /><br /><b>Manic Doug:</b> <i>Woohoooo!!!!</i> Time for some Clean Old-Fashioned Hate, bro! Man, this is always my favorite time of the season, 'cause it means I get to whip out my best insults and give those pretentious, pasty-skinned, no-social-life-having dicklicks at Tech the carpet-bombing they deserve.<br /><br /><b>Depressive Doug:</b> Yeah, and it's always my <i>least</i> favorite time of the season, because I have to sit here and cover my head while you jinx the crap out of us with your overconfidence.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> First of all, <i>every</i> time is your least favorite time of the year, from the looks of things. Second of all, how have I "jinxed" us, exactly? Oh, no, we've only won eight out of the last nine times! Clearly I'm the kiss of death!<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> OK, so you got a pass for the Chan Gailey years. Between him and Patrick Nix, even <i>your</i> bad karma couldn't power them to a win. But even <i>you</i> have to admit that it's kind of a new ballgame with Paul Johnson as their head coach.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Did we beat them last year or didn't we? Then clearly it isn't <i>that</i> new a ballgame.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Maybe not, but you can't seriously sit there and call Tech a gimme win anymore. Even last year, they still managed to ring up more than 200 net rushing yards on us, and they came very close to erasing that two-touchdown lead we had at halftime on a number of occasions.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> "Came very close" still adds up to "lost" in my book. I mean, if even Willie Martinez can eventually figure out how to handle Paul Johnson's triple-option, I think Todd Grantham can probably pull it off.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> In a year when we're still trying to master the 3-4 defense in the twelfth game of the season? And still don't have a clue as to how to stop a mobile QB?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3c__YjWz5jt7r6jlVyUkmTsyfvEktvHTEZwkKHgUvU0lb2lpcoPVVTkGXZ-ACFvP7i_c03F0_v8WsoL6s7tcbRUjmlXNbj09gBqQ05Y7a8J9ROpMH8o6VtH3xnfK8iPYWDIa4/s1600/johnson_nesbitt.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 193px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3c__YjWz5jt7r6jlVyUkmTsyfvEktvHTEZwkKHgUvU0lb2lpcoPVVTkGXZ-ACFvP7i_c03F0_v8WsoL6s7tcbRUjmlXNbj09gBqQ05Y7a8J9ROpMH8o6VtH3xnfK8iPYWDIa4/s200/johnson_nesbitt.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5543499244285201026" /></a> <b>MD:</b> OK, sit down a second, 'cause daddy's gonna tell you why this "mobile QB" thing everybody's been worrying about with respect to Georgia Tech is a load of bunk. The mobile quarterbacks we've had problems with this year have all been guys who could <i>throw</i> -- Tyler Hansen, Trey Burton, Cam Newton. But this Tech offense can't throw to save its life. Losing Demaryius Thomas to the NFL draft has completely taken away their only sure-fire deep threat; it's dropped their per-game passing yardage by more than 50 and their team pass efficiency from 12th in the nation to 110th. And that was even <i>before</i> their starting QB went out for the season with a wrist injury. With Josh Nesbitt gone, they're even <i>less</i> inclined to pass, meaning we can devote our full attention to loading up on the line and playing assignments against the triple-option.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Yeah, which worked out just swell two years ago, when their passing game was just as much an afterthought as it is now and they still managed to roll us for 409 yards. While completing one pass the entire afternoon.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Again, though, that was with Nesbitt, not to mention Jonathan Dwyer, who's also gone off to the NFL.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Their leading rusher in that game was actually Roddy Jones, who went off on us for 214.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> And who barely has more than that for the entire 2010 <i>season.</i> I'm telling you, dude, people have started figuring out the Tech offense, just like I said they would. They're going to get some yards this weekend, but not nearly enough to matter.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> You don't think so?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjUddIubmq9wriUo5j3dsV_RZtRb-D4yGqZBUfgGNeWwoRUw2C_TV-Ys22cVmpYeDWzGTlUaanG6We1IjgvuMNIycPYUDRwR5U3YsJXMlxNTZCb6gk-MT_Axto70DMxVopMvgd/s1600/murray.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 157px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjUddIubmq9wriUo5j3dsV_RZtRb-D4yGqZBUfgGNeWwoRUw2C_TV-Ys22cVmpYeDWzGTlUaanG6We1IjgvuMNIycPYUDRwR5U3YsJXMlxNTZCb6gk-MT_Axto70DMxVopMvgd/s200/murray.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5543499091318415250" /></a> <b>MD:</b> No, because a run-dominant, grind-it-out offense isn't gonna be able to keep up on the scoreboard with an offense that has as many weapons as we've got. Remember, Tech's trying to transition to a 3-4 front too, and they haven't mastered it any better than we have. They certainly don't have the personnel to cover A.J. Green, pressure Murray, <i>and</i> stack up against the run consistently.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> A.J. I'll grant you. The other two I wouldn't be quite so sure about -- you know how up-and-down our running game has been, and we haven't been all that consistent in pass protection, either.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> But Tech's pass rush has been practically nonexistent -- they've only got 16 sacks for the entire year. As for their ability to stop the run, you know how one of the biggest complaints about our defense this year is that we still don't have a dominant guy at nose tackle who can draw double-teams and plug up the middle? Tech's guy in the middle is Logan Walls, who's no bigger than any of our guys are. I'm not saying we're gonna out-rush them like we did last year -- though that'd be awesome -- but between Caleb King and Washaun Ealey, I'll bet cash money that at least one of them goes over 100 yards.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Well, I can see you've been cured of your overconfidence regarding Tech. Bra-<i>vo.</i><br /><br /><b>MD:</b> You know, the more I think about this game the more I wonder what in the hell you're so worried about. Their offense is performing at a way lower level than it did in Paul Johnson's first years, and they're missing three of their most important playmakers from those teams. Again, it's not like we're going to completely dominate them in terms of rushing yards, but as long as we nail the fundamentals and wrap them up when we're tackling -- which seems a lot more likely given that <a href="http://dawg-extra.blogspot.com/2010/11/practice-notes-thanksgiving-plan-jersey.html" target="_new">we've been having full-pads, full-contact practices all week</a> -- they're not going to be able to do to us what they did in 2008. And they're certainly not going to be able to match the speed with which we can put points on the board. A.J. is going to have another career day for the NFL scouts, Caleb and Washaun are going to clean up the rest, and we're going to win 42-20.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnufWvJWS5IIWnNyPtZAoLbwcYLXj7qM2qq8Et-LaCSfHBPnvPfKilNN5JyB7ESR59YD_POLF1F_BFQGtHWpn2s6PY9qQCC7KkJs-lqa3VYdIRQIZGjtLQa1gvPThStrgBjzb5/s1600/georgia_tackle.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnufWvJWS5IIWnNyPtZAoLbwcYLXj7qM2qq8Et-LaCSfHBPnvPfKilNN5JyB7ESR59YD_POLF1F_BFQGtHWpn2s6PY9qQCC7KkJs-lqa3VYdIRQIZGjtLQa1gvPThStrgBjzb5/s400/georgia_tackle.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5543496401620864850" /></a><br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Somehow I'm not the least bit surprised that you see a blowout happening this weekend. I, on the other hand, see a shootout. Full-contact practices or no, we're still crossing our fingers and hoping that our D-coordinator, talented though he may be, can hold down a triple-option offensive attack he <i>never</i> had to game-plan against in the NFL. I see the Techies being geeked up at a chance to get revenge for last year's game and win one for their injured QB, and I think they're going to win 34-30.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> You <i>Judas.</i> It's one thing for you to pick a team like Florida or Auburn to win, but Tech is the lowest of the low, the program that combines worthless football team <i>and</i> pissy, annoying fan base like no other program on our schedule. And you're going to pick <i>them</i> to deny us a bowl bid?<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> If you want to talk obnoxious fans, I think you're really splitting hairs if you're trying to draw any distinction between Tech and Florida. But yes, I think we're staying home for bowl season this year.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Unacceptable. I've keyed people's cars for less.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Well, considering that we drive the same car, I hope you'll manage to maintain some semblance of self-control in this case. And considering that our predictions average out to what looks like a pretty convincing 36-27 Georgia win, maybe you can just let this one go.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> <i>Maybe.</i> I can forget. But I can't forgive.<br /><br /><i>(pause)</i><br /><br /><b>DD:</b> So . . . you're eventually going to forget we even had this disagreement, but you're going to hold a grudge against me anyway?<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> I know what I said.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Yeah, and the sad thing is, I wouldn't put something that ridiculous past you, either. How about instead of not making any sense you grace us all with the Associated Hottie so that we can get out of here and crush some turkey.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Not falling for that one, G. You know there aren't any hot girls at Tech. Searching for an Associated Hottie to represent the Jackets would be like trying to find a college graduate at an Insane Clown Posse show.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Perhaps, but I did manage to find this on the Web somewhere.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1FEKs9fZMKlRJZXtNj6HaBEkWxT3BBwRJCiGtmgZeWcWEBHVRSmqu77LVOaNUo8XCrlgyF_Mo2c2Bh5025ZQTzgCqZpuZ-P39well_xn5rWBPixQR3AjLgGbU6zUDJT15HxjS/s1600/gatech.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1FEKs9fZMKlRJZXtNj6HaBEkWxT3BBwRJCiGtmgZeWcWEBHVRSmqu77LVOaNUo8XCrlgyF_Mo2c2Bh5025ZQTzgCqZpuZ-P39well_xn5rWBPixQR3AjLgGbU6zUDJT15HxjS/s320/gatech.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5543492083486588562" /></a><br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Huh. Wow. Who's <i>that?</i><br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Jamie Eason, I think her name is -- a "fitness model" by trade, or some such.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Interesting. You realize, of course, that there's no way in hell she went to Tech.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Oh, of course not. Really the only question is how much they had to pay her to wear that shirt.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> At least four figures would be my guess. Can you imagine what would happen if an actual male Tech student was ever approached by a chick like that?<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Barely, but either way, I'd want to grab some popcorn and watch the show.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Yeah. See, you're getting into this.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Hey, while I may be a voice of doom and misery when it comes to our football team, you will never hear me speak of Tech fans as anything other than annoying, comically maladjusted, disgusting people.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> That's the spirit! And on this day of giving thanks, I think it's appropriate to express our undying gratitude that, whatever happens on the football field, we're not them.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOww0ISXUce3xT-qo378FSIL1ajIDeheRKPrZJtelTX71apyksjuSpKwKzI7CO20IHIkSlWOcfkrHyBL-m92JrV7OJHjYjlLDDZEDs4z8vAfFGAhS2mTLprR48wybRPm-TuOzT/s1600/techfans.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 296px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOww0ISXUce3xT-qo378FSIL1ajIDeheRKPrZJtelTX71apyksjuSpKwKzI7CO20IHIkSlWOcfkrHyBL-m92JrV7OJHjYjlLDDZEDs4z8vAfFGAhS2mTLprR48wybRPm-TuOzT/s320/techfans.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5543495784639008194" /></a><br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Indeed. God bless us, every one.Astronaut Mike Dexterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01498197770701096363noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11250715.post-47913177572900904802010-11-23T18:49:00.000-05:002010-11-23T18:49:13.288-05:00Poll dancing, week 12: A week that went through the motions.Earth-shattering news in college football was few and far between this past weekend, at least in terms of on-the-field action, so I'll warn you that you're not going to see a lot of stunning insight in this week's ballot explanation. Instead, you get this.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpJDbK8TOxrJwJ6UntyOB_5aG9YXfDpov6iUb29R8uk5KVR0wYZc-FdZm9YhDO-BkYZla4USgEMMnOJiwr_20ByoMur3m3xZcyhAlnsNj3h3sOWOtyXlIZXko-OSCOC8Vg4J80/s1600/how_to_douglas.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 243px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpJDbK8TOxrJwJ6UntyOB_5aG9YXfDpov6iUb29R8uk5KVR0wYZc-FdZm9YhDO-BkYZla4USgEMMnOJiwr_20ByoMur3m3xZcyhAlnsNj3h3sOWOtyXlIZXko-OSCOC8Vg4J80/s320/how_to_douglas.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542813517322692034" /></a><br /><br />You're welcome.<br /><br /><i>Games watched:</i> Part of Ohio-Temple, bits of North Carolina State-UNC, the first half of Georgia Tech-Duke, LSU-Ole Miss, Tennessee-Vanderbilt, some of Arkansas-Mississippi State.<br /><br /> <!-- SB Nation BlogPoll Top 25 Ballot --><div id="blogpoll-rankings-ballot" style="background:#fff; padding: 0; width:340px; margin: 10px auto"> <h2 style="margin:0;padding:0;font-size:10px;line-height:10px;"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/rankings/college-football-blogpoll-top-25"><img alt="SB Nation BlogPoll Top 25 College Football Rankings" height="62" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/blogpoll-top25-ballot.png" style="border:0; display:block" width="340"></a></h2> <div style="border: solid 1px #ddd; border-top-width:0"> <h3 style="text-align:center; margin:0; padding:5px 0; font-family:arial; font-size:14px;"><a href="http://heyjennyslater.blogspot.com" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Hey Jenny Slater</a> Ballot - Week 13</h3> <table class="blogpoll-result" style="border-collapse: collapse;border:solid 1px #ccc;margin:0 5px 5px 5px;font-size: 11px; color: #333;font-family:arial;line-height:16px; width:327px;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2"> <tbody><tr> <th style="background:#ddd; font-weight:bold; text-align:left;padding:2px">Rank</th> <th style="background:#ddd; font-weight:bold; text-align:left;padding:2px">Team</th> <th style="background:#ddd; font-weight:bold; text-align:left;padding:2px">Delta</th> </tr> <tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">1</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/oregon-ducks" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Oregon Ducks</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">2</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/auburn-tigers" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Auburn Tigers</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">3</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/tcu-horned-frogs" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">TCU Horned Frogs</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">4</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/boise-st-broncos" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Boise St. Broncos</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">5</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/stanford-cardinal" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Stanford Cardinal</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 3</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">6</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/lsu-tigers" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">LSU Tigers</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_down" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_down.gif"> -1</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">7</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/alabama-crimson-tide" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Alabama Crimson Tide</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 2</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">8</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/oklahoma-st-cowboys" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Oklahoma St. Cowboys</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 4</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">9</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/wisconsin-badgers" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Wisconsin Badgers</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_down" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_down.gif"> -2</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">10</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/arkansas-razorbacks" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Arkansas Razorbacks</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">11</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/ohio-st-buckeyes" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Ohio St. Buckeyes</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">12</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/michigan-st-spartans" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Michigan St. Spartans</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 1</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">13</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/south-carolina-gamecocks" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">South Carolina Gamecocks</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 1</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">14</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/virginia-tech-hokies" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Virginia Tech Hokies</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 2</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">15</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/nevada-wolf-pack" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Nevada Wolf Pack</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">16</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/texas-a-m-aggies" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Texas A&M Aggies</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 3</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">17</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/nebraska-cornhuskers" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Nebraska Cornhuskers</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_down" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_down.gif"> -11</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">18</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/oklahoma-sooners" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Oklahoma Sooners</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 2</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">19</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/arizona-wildcats" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Arizona Wildcats</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 3</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">20</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/missouri-tigers" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Missouri Tigers</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_down" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_down.gif"> -3</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">21</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/n-c-state-wolfpack" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">N.C. State Wolfpack</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 3</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">22</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/mississippi-st-bulldogs" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Mississippi St. Bulldogs</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 1</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">23</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/florida-st-seminoles" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Florida St. Seminoles</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 2</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">24</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/utah-utes" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Utah Utes</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">25</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/air-force-falcons" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Air Force Falcons</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr><td colspan="3" style="line-height:14px; padding:4px"><strong>Dropouts</strong>: Iowa Hawkeyes, USC Trojans</td></tr> </tbody></table> <p style="font-size:12px; margin: 1px 2px 5px 7px;">SB Nation BlogPoll <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/rankings/college-football-blogpoll-top-25" style="color:#C52126; font-weight:bold;">College Football Top 25 Rankings</a> »</p> </div> </div><br /><br /><b>The next five:</b> Iowa, Maryland, Miami, Baylor, Florida.<br /><br /><b>· After a weekend marked by a dearth of consequential games,</b> the major news on the BlogPoll ballot front is sparse indeed. The biggest story would obviously be Nebraska plummeting down into the teens after losing to Texas A&M, and while in retrospect that punishment might be a little harsh -- there was definitely some home cookin' involved in some of those penalties against the 'Huskers -- the refs alone don't account for Nebraska only managing six measly points against a nothing-special A&M defense.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj06ueTM0JTJFMjCXh9ufrU3nP5JFueZ1J_VKV3TDGYzJjQx3WxLX9rH5iiBr9rNQ1h6DtVFE6gGndWP2nmvs1r7bJfLSk3XmlfKgfcEer9C6KVph1IkJAn3O4swUYWme3272Z/s1600/lsu_olemiss.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 226px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj06ueTM0JTJFMjCXh9ufrU3nP5JFueZ1J_VKV3TDGYzJjQx3WxLX9rH5iiBr9rNQ1h6DtVFE6gGndWP2nmvs1r7bJfLSk3XmlfKgfcEer9C6KVph1IkJAn3O4swUYWme3272Z/s320/lsu_olemiss.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542895149479640482" /></a><br /><br /><b>· LSU got docked a spot</b> for getting played much closer than they should have by an awful Ole Miss team -- this is the same Rebel squad that basically did nothing but duck and cover for 60 minutes while Tennessee rained hellfire on them, remember. Stanford seems worthy of taking their place after whaling on Cal a lot worse than Oregon did. I don't know why Wisconsin dropped two spots after a win, but in my defense, the two teams above them, Alabama and Oklahoma State, are playing <i>really</i> well right now.<br /><br /><b>· Had a little trouble around the bottom of the rankings there --</b> in the very first draft of the ballot I did, without looking at the previous week's ballot at all, I had Iowa maintaining their #24 spot despite a loss. Thing is, nearly everyone immediately below them (as you can see from the "next five") lost last week too, and I couldn't elevate a new team into the top 25 after they'd just gotten pounded. So I went casting about for a new #25, and Air Force snagged the brass ring. By all means, let me know if you've got any better ideas.<br /><br />And here's the SEC Power Poll Ballot, which, in keeping with the generally blah action over the weekend, appears to be in the exact same order as last week:<br /><br /><b>1. Auburn --</b> As excited as I am about the Iron Bowl, I'm almost more excited at the prospect of listening to Finebaum the following Monday, regardless of what the outcome of the game is. <br /><br /><b>2. LSU --</b> Giving up 36 points to a baaaad Ole Miss team sure doesn't bode well for this weekend's game against Arkansas, though knowing Les Miles, he might've done it on purpose as a smokescreen.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDkmngKg6G8I4XU9PITSoor-4YDjzHhxe2HmnfQFT_5lLzaX1wYF-a1dh9u3v9-qVQEGY8iQC07Lc7f2lC7qRIrfyPHxfMAd8PwrZ3vYDqhV1Q3bK041Uwcz9dmW4vdorFTJMK/s1600/bama.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 258px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDkmngKg6G8I4XU9PITSoor-4YDjzHhxe2HmnfQFT_5lLzaX1wYF-a1dh9u3v9-qVQEGY8iQC07Lc7f2lC7qRIrfyPHxfMAd8PwrZ3vYDqhV1Q3bK041Uwcz9dmW4vdorFTJMK/s320/bama.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542895711245381890" /></a><br /><br /><b>3. Alabama --</b> I have a feeling there's going to be a lot of "asterisk" talk out of Tuscaloosa if Auburn manages to knock off the Tide.<br /><br /><b>4. Arkansas --</b> I've been hearing that they may have an outside shot at an at-large BCS berth if they can beat LSU, and I'm not sure I buy it, but they'd still be a hell of a lot more deserving than whoever comes out of the Big East cripplefight with the conference crown.<br /><br /><b>5. South Carolina --</b> At the point in the second quarter when the Gamecocks went up over 50 against Troy, Steve Spurrier had to feel like he was back in the Swamp again.<br /><br /><b>6. Mississippi State --</b> The Bizarro Bulldogs have to be kicking themselves over the Arkansas game. A win wouldn't have put them in the BCS, but it still might've made for a nice little bump up in bowl prestige.<br /><br /><b>7. Florida --</b> I can't even remember who they played Saturday, but I'm pretty confident in the belief that it wasn't anyone good.<br /><br /><b>8. Georgia --</b> Three months ago, Dawg fans had a glimmer of hope that the UGA-GT game might put them over the top into a BCS bowl. Now we need a win just to get into <i>any</i> bowl.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Q-TtlxhiPbtZN-96eFvWEu5dVR4Bj7TF5E5m27nprVuQ44ReE31wyAitRWZqsEbn_H4QRrbsKMxZX9X17MLsvhnwyw4U2lcLGKbXI1GZHFVTZDfyrbX-v02PrsHOwyGPsLuP/s1600/tennessee.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 311px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Q-TtlxhiPbtZN-96eFvWEu5dVR4Bj7TF5E5m27nprVuQ44ReE31wyAitRWZqsEbn_H4QRrbsKMxZX9X17MLsvhnwyw4U2lcLGKbXI1GZHFVTZDfyrbX-v02PrsHOwyGPsLuP/s320/tennessee.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542896219257064754" /></a><br /><br /><b>9. Tennessee --</b> No one's going to call the Vandy classic, but I guess I can forgive the Vols a little if they were looking ahead to Kentucky. Though it's still weird to think of the Wildcats as a team you'd look ahead to.<br /><br /><b>10. Kentucky --</b> If the 'Cats can't finally get over the hump against Tennessee this weekend, then we may eventually see Notre Dame-Navy being eclipsed in the record for longest streak of rivalry futility.<br /><br /><b>11. Ole Miss --</b> They jump ahead of Vandy based on a performance at LSU that was far better than anyone could've predicted, but there's still ample opportunity for them to climb back down into the crevasse if they really tank it against Mississippi State this weekend.<br /><br /><b>12. Vanderbilt --</b> Looks like the Commodores are back to a level where putting a brief scare into someone is the best they can hope for.Astronaut Mike Dexterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01498197770701096363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11250715.post-38168544984690707292010-11-15T20:40:00.000-05:002010-11-15T20:40:14.231-05:00Poll dancing, week 11: My pride is listed as "questionable" this week.Sorry, I would've had this post up earlier, but Nick Fairley threw my computer on the ground right after I shut it off Sunday evening, and then Cam Newton threw it out a window. It's been a tough weekend for the ol' Dell.<br /><br /><i>Games watched:</i> Northern Illinois-Toledo, the first half of Boise State-Idaho, parts of Tennessee-Ole Miss, all of Auburn-Georgia, parts of Alabama-Mississippi State.<br /><br /> <!-- SB Nation BlogPoll Top 25 Ballot --><div id="blogpoll-rankings-ballot" style="background:#fff; padding: 0; width:340px; margin: 10px auto"> <h2 style="margin:0;padding:0;font-size:10px;line-height:10px;"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/rankings/college-football-blogpoll-top-25"><img alt="SB Nation BlogPoll Top 25 College Football Rankings" height="62" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/blogpoll-top25-ballot.png" style="border:0; display:block" width="340"></a></h2> <div style="border: solid 1px #ddd; border-top-width:0"> <h3 style="text-align:center; margin:0; padding:5px 0; font-family:arial; font-size:14px;"><a href="http://heyjennyslater.blogspot.com" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Hey Jenny Slater</a> Ballot - Week 12</h3> <table class="blogpoll-result" style="border-collapse: collapse;border:solid 1px #ccc;margin:0 5px 5px 5px;font-size: 11px; color: #333;font-family:arial;line-height:16px; width:327px;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2"> <tbody><tr> <th style="background:#ddd; font-weight:bold; text-align:left;padding:2px">Rank</th> <th style="background:#ddd; font-weight:bold; text-align:left;padding:2px">Team</th> <th style="background:#ddd; font-weight:bold; text-align:left;padding:2px">Delta</th> </tr> <tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">1</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/oregon-ducks" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Oregon Ducks</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">2</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/auburn-tigers" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Auburn Tigers</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">3</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/tcu-horned-frogs" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">TCU Horned Frogs</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">4</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/boise-st-broncos" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Boise St. Broncos</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">5</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/lsu-tigers" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">LSU Tigers</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 1</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">6</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/nebraska-cornhuskers" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Nebraska Cornhuskers</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 1</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">7</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/wisconsin-badgers" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Wisconsin Badgers</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 1</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">8</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/stanford-cardinal" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Stanford Cardinal</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_down" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_down.gif"> -3</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">9</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/alabama-crimson-tide" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Alabama Crimson Tide</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 1</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">10</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/arkansas-razorbacks" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Arkansas Razorbacks</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 1</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">11</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/ohio-st-buckeyes" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Ohio St. Buckeyes</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_down" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_down.gif"> -2</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">12</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/oklahoma-st-cowboys" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Oklahoma St. Cowboys</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">13</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/michigan-st-spartans" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Michigan St. Spartans</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">14</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/south-carolina-gamecocks" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">South Carolina Gamecocks</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 10</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">15</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/nevada-wolf-pack" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Nevada Wolf Pack</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">16</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/virginia-tech-hokies" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Virginia Tech Hokies</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 3</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">17</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/missouri-tigers" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Missouri Tigers</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 6</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">18</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/iowa-hawkeyes" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Iowa Hawkeyes</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_down" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_down.gif"> -2</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">19</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/texas-a-m-aggies" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Texas A&M Aggies</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 3</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">20</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/oklahoma-sooners" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Oklahoma Sooners</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 5</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">21</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/usc-trojans" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">USC Trojans</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">22</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/arizona-wildcats" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Arizona Wildcats</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_down" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_down.gif"> -8</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">23</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/mississippi-st-bulldogs" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Mississippi St. Bulldogs</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_down" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_down.gif"> -3</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">24</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/n-c-state-wolfpack" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">N.C. State Wolfpack</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">25</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/florida-st-seminoles" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Florida St. Seminoles</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr><td colspan="3" style="line-height:14px; padding:4px"><strong>Dropouts</strong>: Florida Gators, Utah Utes, Kansas St. Wildcats</td></tr> </tbody></table> <p style="font-size:12px; margin: 1px 2px 5px 7px;">SB Nation BlogPoll <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/rankings/college-football-blogpoll-top-25" style="color:#C52126; font-weight:bold;">College Football Top 25 Rankings</a> »</p> </div> </div><br /><br /><b>The next five:</b> Miami, Baylor, Penn State, Michigan, Utah.<br /><br /><b>· As I <a href="http://heyjennyslater.blogspot.com/2010/11/you-know-where-you-went-wrong.html" target="_new">hinted at yesterday,</a></b> Oregon retains the top spot despite not having had as impressive a Saturday against a mediocre opponent as Auburn did, and it's because I think the Ducks would have the edge on defense if the two teams played on a neutral field (which they very well might in a couple months). Not that I think the game wouldn't be a shootout just the same, but I see Oregon as being far better equipped to make the decisive stop at a critical juncture in the game than Auburn.<br /><br /><b>· Honestly, not a whole lot of action elsewhere on the ballot this week,</b> though South Carolina does get a big bump for crushing Florida a) in the Swamp and b) at a point in their season where they've typically forgotten how to win in the past. And I count myself among the people who didn't think they'd be able to do it last week, but congrats, Gamecocks, you've made fools of us all. (Except Holly, who had this pegged way back in July.)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheA63EHnRiSpsyhXXiPG_lmDABc69AJsHWeliMJmIJ8PQ4IAvayjoZpbwWnIWftYNUS2nNLk-31aY-5dRGVYuN2qn9_aGx_PBSw7wZuHoySrgun1Ix2gco0m9yFg3qkLaznYCC/s1600/utah.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 198px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheA63EHnRiSpsyhXXiPG_lmDABc69AJsHWeliMJmIJ8PQ4IAvayjoZpbwWnIWftYNUS2nNLk-31aY-5dRGVYuN2qn9_aGx_PBSw7wZuHoySrgun1Ix2gco0m9yFg3qkLaznYCC/s320/utah.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539946286236590098" /></a><br /><br /><b>· Arizona and Utah take the biggest hits this week,</b> and while Arizona's drop might be too steep for a team that managed to hang close with USC, there's no way Utah deserves to still be considered a top 25 team after getting hammered like that at Notre Dame. Unless you think a five-point road win over Air Force is a "signature victory" worth crowing about.<br /><br /><b>· Replacing the Utes, Gators and Wildcats in the balloting:</b> USC, North Carolina State and Florida State. USC has looked a lot better than I thought they would this season (though still not Rose Bowl-caliber), but I wouldn't get too excited if I were one of the other two; they seem to jump into the top 25 every couple weeks just long enough to do something stupid the following weekend and fall right back out again.<br /><br />And the SEC Power Poll ballot:<br /><br /><b>1. Auburn --</b> I've been pretty harsh on Auburn the last couple days, so let me point out something about their team that really impresses me, and something that'd scare the hell out of me if I were Alabama or South Carolina: They deal with adversity better than any team I've seen in a long time. Doesn't matter if they get down by a score or two, they dial up a big play and come storming back. Particularly for a team that was dealing with as much distraction as they were last week, that's pretty formidable.<br /><br /><b>2. LSU --</b> I've seen a few people already penciling the Tigers in for an at-large BCS berth, but I'd imagine Bobby Petrino is gonna have a thing or two to say about that.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPetdgkvAM_dXg075jGaE2cBXJ_X09N5_zWmnBMC3Q76ad8VWtSpIHxO757RFXAdopIfPMDjPTGCkWcee4e-Us8yvQkfoOlLDnmGfeGQbQ0EjB3dOzrcWUc9BZdjroDS2mATgD/s1600/bama.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 273px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPetdgkvAM_dXg075jGaE2cBXJ_X09N5_zWmnBMC3Q76ad8VWtSpIHxO757RFXAdopIfPMDjPTGCkWcee4e-Us8yvQkfoOlLDnmGfeGQbQ0EjB3dOzrcWUc9BZdjroDS2mATgD/s320/bama.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539954993196221362" /></a><br /><br /><b>3. Alabama --</b> Has the Iron Bowl lost a bit of its luster now that Bama is out of the national-title picture? Not when the Tide still has an opportunity to tell the Tigers "We run this state" -- and stomp on the throat of their championship hopes in the process.<br /><br /><b>4. Arkansas --</b> For their sake I hope they're smart enough not to overlook Mississippi State this weekend.<br /><br /><b>5. South Carolina --</b> Florida may be a struggling team this year, but I don't think that should take away from what the Gamecocks accomplished by beating them. The Gators appeared to have their offense back on track, the game was in the Swamp, and it was at a time of year when past Carolina teams have folded like origami swans. But lo and behold, we're having to wrap our brains around the idea of South Carolina in the SEC title game.<br /><br /><b>6. Mississippi State --</b> I think the loss in Tuscaloosa says more about how we were all too quick to forget about Alabama than about State not being as good as they were getting credit for.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw0-jqscLxErNHH5tM0wkvhT10YZR7UhGqpKSh-yhLn_gN0NzXc30GzxX1aHTYlrIQ1vV7u0ZWYm42iXPkEjiJXykqUlTvADE0b6Zc9iVBfSwW0wqz-rySbhpCDSjZ7kd61X5s/s1600/South_Carolina_Florida_Football.sff_53023_game.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw0-jqscLxErNHH5tM0wkvhT10YZR7UhGqpKSh-yhLn_gN0NzXc30GzxX1aHTYlrIQ1vV7u0ZWYm42iXPkEjiJXykqUlTvADE0b6Zc9iVBfSwW0wqz-rySbhpCDSjZ7kd61X5s/s320/South_Carolina_Florida_Football.sff_53023_game.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539955501095104402" /></a><br /><br /><b>7. Florida --</b> I don't know if the Gators could conceivably lose to Appalachian State this weekend, but I do know it'd be hilarious. [/boldprediction]<br /><br /><b>8. Georgia --</b> One of these days they'll figure out how to neutralize a mobile QB, but it looks like that day might not be until next season.<br /><br /><b>9. Tennessee --</b> The Vols scored a <i>total</i> of 48 points in back-to-back-to-back losses to Georgia, Alabama, and South Carolina. Then they turned right around and topped that number in both of their next two games. If that's what you get from switching to Tyler Bray at QB, then it looks like a pretty good switch.<br /><br /><b>10. Kentucky --</b> I'm not telling you anything you don't know, Wildcats, but now's a bad time to be facing Tennessee if you're hoping to break that quarter-century losing streak against them.<br /><br /><b>11. Vanderbilt --</b> In a season where very little in the SEC has looked the way we expected it to, the Commodores have been refreshingly familiar.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi4EPtnwMdl86PFdEvKn2PiCb_09-klbEZaxGSDNhimvwhxjQvYRZAzIMRSJb5B6Hd7w3YlLN6E6v4hMoycnfBNCON8UXTvo5K6ZkS1-zZIy6UuGk8p7X8fJafGoJm3E4CL2n0/s1600/fumble.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi4EPtnwMdl86PFdEvKn2PiCb_09-klbEZaxGSDNhimvwhxjQvYRZAzIMRSJb5B6Hd7w3YlLN6E6v4hMoycnfBNCON8UXTvo5K6ZkS1-zZIy6UuGk8p7X8fJafGoJm3E4CL2n0/s320/fumble.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539956265413852962" /></a><br /><br /><b>12. Ole Miss --</b> As Holly reminded me several times this weekend, Tennessee barely has enough healthy DBs left to put a nickel package on the field -- yet they still bitchmade Jeremiah Masoli like he was a high-schooler. I'd be pretty stunned to see the Rebels win either of their remaining games.Astronaut Mike Dexterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01498197770701096363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11250715.post-18868398692022588042010-11-14T18:21:00.007-05:002010-11-14T20:14:46.897-05:00You know where you went wrong.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO_3aG4bz354M_876AINY7L93SWR8tBcR5q3Ta8g6NYQ-lQYE8dZG9KfWm4T_UhrJjfjNW61wlDyy95se6qUrqUaprIRkiLBKQBW_6HHE0jMJG7_6nmKEdq1rIBQQxrYuw40WH/s1600/murray.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 215px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO_3aG4bz354M_876AINY7L93SWR8tBcR5q3Ta8g6NYQ-lQYE8dZG9KfWm4T_UhrJjfjNW61wlDyy95se6qUrqUaprIRkiLBKQBW_6HHE0jMJG7_6nmKEdq1rIBQQxrYuw40WH/s320/murray.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539573262951964178" /></a><br /><i>Stand tall, soldier.</i><br /><br />You all know me as someone who never likes to appear too confident about the Dawgs before any given game; I get jacked, sometimes bare-assed flag-wavingly so, about wins, but during the course of an average week I'm probably a lot closer to Depressive Doug from the Manic-Depressive Previews than his counterpart. So when I looked Holly square in the eye Saturday morning before we packed up for Auburn and said "We're gonna win," that was a big step for me. Between Georgia historically playing well on Auburn's home field even when the Tigers are astronomically ranked, Auburn's shittastic defense, the Dawgs having shrugged off their early-season losing streak, the potential for distraction on Auburn's side and, fuck it, Auburn just being <i>due</i> for a loss, I really thought we had a chance.<br /><br />And I was right -- for a quarter, at least. No, check that: I was right for a lot longer than that. The commentator on ESPN Radio the next morning said Auburn "dominated" as he was rattling off the weekend's scores, but I didn't see anyone get dominated in Jordan-Hare. "Dominating" teams don't fall behind 21-7 or lead by only four going into the final quarter. The Dawgs hung in there better than you or I or probably most of the people in the stadium thought they would, and I tip my cap to 'em.<br /><br />But as confident as I was (or tried to appear) before the game, I wouldn't be telling the truth if I said that confidence remained consistent for the full 60 minutes. It started waning around the end of the second quarter, at which point Auburn had erased their two-touchdown deficit and appeared to have wrestled momentum back from the Dawgs -- and Georgia, despite about a minute on the clock, one time-out and a clicking passing game, declined any attempt at answering back. (Which reminds me, we did the same thing against Kentucky and ended up going into the locker room with all <i>three</i> time-outs still languishing on the board.) Even as the bands played at halftime, I found myself thinking, "You know, these are just the kinds of circumstances under which we're prone to just completely fucking things up."<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNMLlQ51H5yv-9Ry63R7BO6Xbw8jse2-BUWeoB5xjzHZewGwbk_feYgziImP4-X3n2LRu_nUECRiwgcTYNux-dTu9Q1OqGod4rQ8tGp7w0_Zl1Z6oIQ-E1C4SNaANRhZ7lbv7t/s1600/sad.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 216px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNMLlQ51H5yv-9Ry63R7BO6Xbw8jse2-BUWeoB5xjzHZewGwbk_feYgziImP4-X3n2LRu_nUECRiwgcTYNux-dTu9Q1OqGod4rQ8tGp7w0_Zl1Z6oIQ-E1C4SNaANRhZ7lbv7t/s320/sad.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539573456692229938" /></a><br /><i>"Yup, this is where things start going pear-shaped. Got it."</i><br /><br />And then Auburn hit a beaut of an on-side kick to start the second half, they charged down the field for a TD on the ensuing drive, and my prediction started coming true. Well, not really: We didn't "fuck things up" in a visibly disastrous way, but it became clear that Auburn had found another gear and shrugged off earlier frustrations to hit a level of intensity that just weren't quite able to match.<br /><br />I guess you can't get too mad about that, given that Auburn is the #2 team in the country and armed with the nation's best player, who, for obvious reasons, had to have been playing the second half pissed. But it does get back to a complaint of mine that's been lingering around this team for three years now: We deal with success worse than anyone in the SEC, perhaps the country. For the most part, we deal with <i>adversity</i> just fine -- look at how we bounced back in the second half of the Cocktail Party -- but God forbid we ever build up a big lead against a good team, we'll immediately start hunting for ways to piss it away. Hit a big play for a score, give up a huge return on the ensuing kickoff. Mount a nice drive down the field, drop a crucial third-down pass or just fumble the ball away entirely. So it goes. I'm sure it says something unpleasant about the state of our program that we're <i>this</i> unaccustomed to good things happening, but that's where we're at.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikxnFx1pmEy2TRvtVZC0TJfNi0VX7x8JIZj-BLtdIE5noFNJt6THcrkA7UXzsBstu4KdQaQ6IHsRUdOGHSceCXxSofxgkgZ3hoyuHSgZb-G6v60Nq2yL1Ake3JxhnA8wFnedUn/s1600/fairley.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 262px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikxnFx1pmEy2TRvtVZC0TJfNi0VX7x8JIZj-BLtdIE5noFNJt6THcrkA7UXzsBstu4KdQaQ6IHsRUdOGHSceCXxSofxgkgZ3hoyuHSgZb-G6v60Nq2yL1Ake3JxhnA8wFnedUn/s320/fairley.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539573603313919458" /></a><br /><i>You will be shocked, </i>shocked,<i> to learn that Murray doesn't have the ball in this picture.</i><br /><br />Don't know how much more there is to say about it, other than congrats, Nick Fairley, you did what many thought was impossible and wrested the title of Dirtiest Player in the Country away from your teammate Ryan Pugh. I wonder if I'm the only one who noticed that Auburn's defense only started getting consistent stops when Fairley dropped any pretense of not trying to put Aaron Murray in the hospital? Good luck trying that in Sanford next year, kiddo. And whether it's because of the NCAA or the NFL, I doubt you'll have Cam Newton on hand to cover up for the rest of your defense sucking.<br /><br />Sorry, how unsportsmanlike of me. I shall do the honorable thing and eject myself from this blog.<br /><br />But not before a few passing thoughts:<br /><br /><b>·</b> Both Oregon and Auburn were tested Saturday, and while Auburn shrugged off that test more easily than <a href="http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=303170025" target="_new">the Ducks did,</a> I'm inclined to keep Oregon as the #1 on my initial BlogPoll ballot tomorrow, for one simple reason: If Oregon and Auburn end up in the national title game, I've got a lot more confidence in the Ducks' defense being able to come up with a critical stop against the Tigers than in the Tigers' ability to do so against the Ducks.<br /><br /><b>·</b> Of all the coaches in Division I-A, I never dreamed Bret Bielema would be the one I'd be criticizing for being <a href="http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=303170275" target="_new">too big a pussy to go for 90.</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAAwZYt2gv13qqFhR73pRqFfQWOZuKyJrS56KLAFdM6BrixYsvXyovPheSbGvQ2FJa5uteLCJpMJ-K8lq6nMYloWIG0gWRQnR_yETZTnym9WTqLT43uhHJlXs1EaDHP5YuIlLl/s1600/vatech.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 204px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAAwZYt2gv13qqFhR73pRqFfQWOZuKyJrS56KLAFdM6BrixYsvXyovPheSbGvQ2FJa5uteLCJpMJ-K8lq6nMYloWIG0gWRQnR_yETZTnym9WTqLT43uhHJlXs1EaDHP5YuIlLl/s320/vatech.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539575354553590626" /></a><br /><i>Leaving aside for a moment any jokes about the best team in the ACC being sorta like the prettiest girl in the insane asylum . . .</i><br /><br /><b>·</b> I don't know if y'all have been following Virginia Tech at all or if you gave them up for dead after they lost to James Madison, but they've <a href="http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=303170153" target="_new">now broken off eight wins in a row</a> and appear destined for another ACC title. So is it too early to write off the JMU loss as the product of an embarrassing hangover following a heartbreaker of a loss to Boise State -- the undefeated team that all the TV pundits seem to want in the national-title game?<br /><br /><b>·</b> UAB Blazers Watch: Wow, you talk about not being able to handle success. UAB scored a TD with 9:41 left in the game to go up 42-34 on East Carolina, and here's how the rest of the quarter went: ECU drives down the field to score a TD and come within two; UAB three-and-out; ECU returns the punt to the UAB 11, scores three plays later to go up 48-42; UAB fumbles the ensuing kickoff, ECU scores four plays later to go up by 12. And, of course, UAB throws an interception at the Pirates' 6 on their last-gasp drive. Thus are the Blazers eliminated from bowl consideration. Fun while it lasted, I guess.<br /><br /><b>·</b> Wofford Terriers Watch: As if this weekend wasn't soul-crushing enough, the Terriers got shut out in the first half on the way to a 43-13 demolition by Appalachian State. So even if WU beats Chattanooga in their season finale this weekend, they'll lose the tiebreaker to ASU for the Southern Conference championship.<br /><br />On the other hand, I just realized that Wofford University's initials are WU, as in "-Tang Clan," which is yet more evidence in support of their awesomeness. So they've got that going for them. Which is nice.Astronaut Mike Dexterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01498197770701096363noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11250715.post-17544026672334494942010-11-11T06:46:00.000-05:002010-11-11T06:46:39.481-05:00Manic-Depressive Preview: If you've got any more Prayers on the Plains, now'd be the time to use 'em.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggwJObQZ_hZ66sDnOMCKj-RJVI2RjzySO672TqQKNjq1Ha4WHDbPc6lBIhUOyg0orGDZfxSsHPX8E9T_M4Oyvimj92pP5R-XAOpDCqQ9k6lzniXyF9R5QDyjjAlmNCYWSeneuD/s1600/me_titansaudition.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 175px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggwJObQZ_hZ66sDnOMCKj-RJVI2RjzySO672TqQKNjq1Ha4WHDbPc6lBIhUOyg0orGDZfxSsHPX8E9T_M4Oyvimj92pP5R-XAOpDCqQ9k6lzniXyF9R5QDyjjAlmNCYWSeneuD/s200/me_titansaudition.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538135728257304194" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgyU85uZKPeL6UsxHnJo7mgGMjRH_GNsQ76iIQgGW5Z2Ei3kPxsQ9GVvtPzByo6SzYifp93y9JGbOM5Phho2gQrXMFXxzlWBG0_aUcGk3AvC3S86zziwv7zKWBQoE5_iV5nEmo/s1600/despondent_me.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 122px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgyU85uZKPeL6UsxHnJo7mgGMjRH_GNsQ76iIQgGW5Z2Ei3kPxsQ9GVvtPzByo6SzYifp93y9JGbOM5Phho2gQrXMFXxzlWBG0_aUcGk3AvC3S86zziwv7zKWBQoE5_iV5nEmo/s200/despondent_me.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538135602348350674" /></a><br /><br /><i>So we're nearing the end of a difficult season, and the Dawgs now sit at 5-5, and at a crossroads -- they've got two big rivals left, Auburn and Georgia Tech, and they're gonna have to beat at least one of them to make it to a bowl this year. Will they make it? Manic Doug, who watched every last second of the Dawgs' 55-7 beatdown of Idaho State last week, and Depressive Doug, who used the time to catch up on his flossing, bring you their views and predictions on the first of those two matchups here. You probably will not be surprised to find what their respective positions are.</i><br /><br /><b>Manic Doug:</b> So has Cam Newton been suspended yet?<br /><br /><b>Depressive Doug:</b> Seriously? Is <i>that</i> what you're waiting on? 'Cause if it is, this is gonna be the shortest preview we've ever done.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> <i>No,</i> Eeyore, I'm just trying to feel out every angle I can. Any little competitive edge we can get is gonna help us.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> First of all, I'm sure Mr. Newton is <i>ever</i> so flattered by your characterization of him as a "little" edge, not to mention the Heisman Foundation. Second, am I to infer from this that you're actually worried about the Dawgs' chances with him in the game?<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Well, of <i>course</i> I'm worried, dumbass. I'm an optimist and an aggressive drunk, not a complete idiot. But I'm not about to sit here and say that having to face the best player in the country automatically dooms us to a loss.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Well, no problem there. I'll be happy to do it for you.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> What a shock. OK, then, answer me this: Can you name <i>one guy</i> on Auburn's offense besides Newton?<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Michael Dyer, running back. Darvin Adams, receiver. Mario Fannin, receiver. Lee Ziemba, offensive guard.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Well, <i>that</i> one kind of blew up in my face.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Onterrio McCalebb, running back. Philip Lutzenkirchen, tight end . . . shall I go on?<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Well, congratulations, you read your Phil -- wait, <i>Lutzenkirchen?</i> You made that up. Or else he's a character from a Dr. Seuss book.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6hhyphenhyphenWsqJDiyw0Ot_p2ThaD420e7jMuiVvfQvxFWJ_WF9i2OIOYpBEalgSHecHixoAEAhpggt2QeXvVA5KcP7vH5jsncFXxkE6_HoPUA9zkRo2e-WP8kHfKCjfnmQLlYuCMegN/s1600/lutzenkirchen.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 226px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6hhyphenhyphenWsqJDiyw0Ot_p2ThaD420e7jMuiVvfQvxFWJ_WF9i2OIOYpBEalgSHecHixoAEAhpggt2QeXvVA5KcP7vH5jsncFXxkE6_HoPUA9zkRo2e-WP8kHfKCjfnmQLlYuCMegN/s320/lutzenkirchen.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538134936520133266" /></a><br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Nope, he's quite real, and he's got nine receptions for 81 yards and two TDs this season.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Oh, well! <i>Nine</i> catches for <i>eighty-one</i> whole yards? Screw Cam Newton, it's obvious they don't need him!<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Are you anywhere close to making a point here? 'Cause if not, I'd love to go ahead and put in that DVD of the third season of "Mad Men" we were watching earlier, if it's all the same to you.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> What I'm saying is that while <i>yes,</i> there are other players on Auburn's roster, none of them have come close to making the kind of contribution that Newton has. Even you have to admit it's pretty much a one-man show. If we stop Newton, we've got a chance at winning. It's that simple.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Yeah, and if I was Superman I could reverse the earth's rotation, go back in time and keep A.J. Green from selling that fucking jersey. So what? How do you propose we stop him?<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> We don't have to stop him . . . <i>if he stops himself.</i><br /><br /><i>(long, very weird pause)</i><br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Was there supposed to be some music there? I feel like something was supposed to happen there that didn't happen.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Yeah, I had Dramatic Chipmunk cued up, and then my computer froze on me. Hold on, you take a moment to admire this week's Associated Hottie, model and Auburn polymer engineering major Scarlet South, while I try to make this thing work.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVLbXRYXhwZ5o24u1A_YUn5lZ-h3WHR_Q36eCDUIBdysWlllV3ztwOjIL2YkPXIsRdLegNPDkH1CslPH1VrNd1VThdgYbx4rLFWz891qj_Cj9Kv4KYY2qAYSyS08G8ca8htpS4/s1600/scarlett_south.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 128px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVLbXRYXhwZ5o24u1A_YUn5lZ-h3WHR_Q36eCDUIBdysWlllV3ztwOjIL2YkPXIsRdLegNPDkH1CslPH1VrNd1VThdgYbx4rLFWz891qj_Cj9Kv4KYY2qAYSyS08G8ca8htpS4/s200/scarlett_south.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538110889999174738" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh35r_p24lA9KAjpySxV5J0ojCSM6FblPmRzMxbWYThv-nuZVkAM2LMD4LMA7ZTng7ItaA2JXqInFcm7eo72ti-di62_-gYPQ9bEb6sdx0hoKL_U1QQgJ2LTqeiDX5EdGp7bheN/s1600/scarlett_south2.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 132px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh35r_p24lA9KAjpySxV5J0ojCSM6FblPmRzMxbWYThv-nuZVkAM2LMD4LMA7ZTng7ItaA2JXqInFcm7eo72ti-di62_-gYPQ9bEb6sdx0hoKL_U1QQgJ2LTqeiDX5EdGp7bheN/s200/scarlett_south2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538110772072019218" /></a><br /><br /><b>DD:</b> I'm not sure what I find harder to believe about that statement -- the idea that her real name is "Scarlet South," or the idea that there's a chick who looks like that <i>anywhere</i> who's majoring in polymer engineering.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> You want to go look it up, be my guest. All right, here we go. What was I saying again?<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Something about Cam Newton "stopping himself" that I can only imagine was beyond inane.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Right, right. OK. We won't have to stop Cam Newton . . . <i>if he stops himself.</i><br /><br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/a1Y73sPHKxw?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/a1Y73sPHKxw?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Bra-fucking-vo. You want to explain this line of thinking before I start regretting having asked in the first place?<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> OK, check it: For the last two weeks all we've heard about are scandals about Cam Newton -- why he left Florida, what his grades were like, whether his own dad was shopping him around out of junior college, even what kind of <a href="http://blutarsky.wordpress.com/2010/11/10/cam-newton-driving-mudcats-car/" target="_new">traffic citations he ran up</a> while he was at UF. Last week that didn't matter, because Auburn was only playing Chattanooga, and they were never going to keep him out there for that long anyway. But against Georgia, an <i>actual</i> team, and with this recruiting scandal blowing up bigger and bigger with each passing day, that's got to wear on him a bit, don't you think? Cause a bit of a distraction?<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> OK, you know what? If we were playing stellar defense right now, I <i>might</i> actually be somewhat inclined to agree with you. To a point. But you can't honestly believe that "distraction" alone is going to be able to keep Cam Newton from running wild on us.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Why wouldn't it? Auburn's offense is clearly biased toward the run, and I don't know if you noticed or not, but Georgia's got the #13 run defense in the entire <i>country.</i> And only a tick behind South Carolina in the SEC.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Yeah, fine, but it's one thing to clamp down on the running attack of a team like Idaho State or Vanderbilt. We still can't stop a running QB to save our lives. You saw what Trey Burton did to us a couple weeks ago, right? And even Burton's not anywhere close to the level that Cam Newton's playing at right now.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> But we've got another ace in the hole, which is that Auburn can't pass. Their aerial attack is ranked 73rd in the nation at the moment -- they're just barely getting up over 200 passing yards per game.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> <i>Can't</i> pass, or just doesn't need to? They may be going to the air only sparingly, but Newton is still number two in the country in pass efficiency. He's completing more than two-thirds of his passes and has only thrown five picks all year, compared to 19 interceptions. Hell, he went off for 317 yards passing against Chattanooga just last week.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Pfffft. Chattanooga. You don't think we can clamp down on their receivers a <i>little</i> better than the Mocs did? Is that all the credit you're prepared to give us?<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> All I'm saying is, the dude can pass, whether they actually <i>need</i> him to or not.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Look, is Cam Newton going to roll up some yards? Of course he is. And is Auburn going to score some points? Sure. But I refuse to believe that we can't keep up with them on the scoreboard. Look at the points they've let people roll up -- 27 to South Carolina, 34 to Kentucky, 43 to Arkansas. Hell, they even gave up 24 to Chattanooga, and not all of that in garbage time, either.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> So what you're telling me is that Georgia's going to be able to keep up with the SEC's best offense in both yardage <i>and</i> scoring, huh? Is that what I'm supposed to take away from this?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYqLXPyvgDFkUMncg8HVAAcyh1CAcjSpB20mv_NqTtFWXfLhcYbzVM31iEsBPsKSV3CYQW3N2aMUQzmZpF9gjSh6ecTGX_zTrxAL_CG6sw1Ge47KM8Ix9gH_eUY_4mYYdje6Ti/s1600/murray.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 147px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYqLXPyvgDFkUMncg8HVAAcyh1CAcjSpB20mv_NqTtFWXfLhcYbzVM31iEsBPsKSV3CYQW3N2aMUQzmZpF9gjSh6ecTGX_zTrxAL_CG6sw1Ge47KM8Ix9gH_eUY_4mYYdje6Ti/s200/murray.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538134201623372098" /></a> <b>MD:</b> Why not? Auburn has the second-worst pass defense in the league right now. And you've seen what Aaron Murray can do when the opposing defense has A.J. Green to worry about. Even against Florida, even in a game where he threw three picks, he still managed to go off for three TDs and more than 300 yards. And that was against a <i>good</i> secondary. Auburn's pass defense is going to be ripe for the picking.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Well, if Murray decides to throw three picks again this weekend, we're fucked no matter how vulnerable their secondary supposedly is. But let's say, just for the sake of argument, that they really <i>are</i> going to play that badly against us. What if we can't keep Murray upright enough to take advantage?<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Why wouldn't we? Our pass protection has come around the last few weeks -- only three sacks allowed in the last <i>month.</i><br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Yeah, but none of those teams had a Nick Fairley to throw at us. Fairley is second in the SEC in sacks, right behind Justin Houston, and number one in tackles for loss. You'd better be crossing your fingers for both Aaron Murray <i>and</i> our running game with a guy like that on the other side of the line.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Our running backs are going to be fine. Yeah, Auburn's run-defense stats look good on paper, but it's not like they've had to face that many elite running backs this year.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> I'm touched that you think our running backs qualify as "elite." OK, Pollyanna, hit me with your prediction -- just give me a second to get my popcorn ready, I'm sure it's gonna be a doozy.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Well, again, it could very well be a shootout. But Auburn's gotten caught up in shootouts before -- Kentucky and Arkansas, right off the top of my head -- and we've got a better defense than Kentucky and a more balanced offense than Arkansas. I think we'll keep within striking distance of Auburn for most of the game, make a couple stops on defense when we need to, and then Aaron Murray will lead us down the field for the winning touchdown with less than 90 seconds to play -- sort of a replay of the "Prayer on the Plains" from 2002. Georgia wins, 37-34.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5uFPVXRlIGKznnKz-pjS8hOb4PbDkkVDe3mD0-byXeQa9oTxOFa3sz31iE1IE4KiZK6UOEENdudBL-Brv3avC089IrvF5c5WAy8X2ejfySH18fZThyLcMVV8-sN4ZZFBRMDHo/s1600/newton_rush.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 192px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5uFPVXRlIGKznnKz-pjS8hOb4PbDkkVDe3mD0-byXeQa9oTxOFa3sz31iE1IE4KiZK6UOEENdudBL-Brv3avC089IrvF5c5WAy8X2ejfySH18fZThyLcMVV8-sN4ZZFBRMDHo/s200/newton_rush.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538134542434370258" /></a> <b>DD:</b> That'd make for a great story, and I'd be as thrilled as anyone if it came to pass, but I just don't see it. I think Auburn, like four of the five teams who have beaten us this year, rockets down the field to a touchdown on their very first drive and puts up a multi-score lead on us before we even have a chance to blink. The offense gathers itself, starts getting into a rhythm, but they're playing out of a hole and the pass rush really has an opportunity to key in on Aaron Murray once it becomes clear we've got a big deficit to make up and not a lot of time to do it. Auburn wins big, 42-23.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Wow. I mean, you've predicted losses here before -- lots of 'em -- but <i>three touchdowns?</i> That's depressing even by <i>your</i> standards.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Maybe, but at least it's grounded in something resembling reality. You really think we're going into Auburn and coming out with a win over the number-two team in the nation?<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> You act like we've never done this before. Four years ago, we were coming off that awful 1-4 stretch -- we'd managed to lose to Vanderbilt <i>and Kentucky,</i> lest you forget -- and we took advantage of an Auburn team that was ranked fifth in the nation but playing sloppy. Picked them off four times, won by three TDs. This year they've got the distraction of the Cam Newton situation, they're in danger of looking ahead to a huge Iron Bowl matchup in a couple weeks, we're playing <i>in Auburn,</i> where we've won six outta the last nine . . . and come on, you can't seriously think that a <i>Gene Chizik team</i> is gonna run the table, do you?<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Not really, but at this point it doesn't seem any less probable than a five-loss Georgia team knocking off a top-three Auburn squad led by a Heisman frontrunner.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Man, fuck that. The intangibles all break in our favor. Auburn is the one feeling the pressure, both in terms of the national-title race <i>and</i> whatever the NCAA is looking into regarding Cam Newton. This is <i>our time.</i> This could be our chance . . . <i>to stun the world.</i><br /><br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/a1Y73sPHKxw?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/a1Y73sPHKxw?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br /><i>(Another long and embarrassing pause)</i><br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Yeah, if it's all the same to you, I'm gonna go put in the "Mad Men" DVD now.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Well, our predictions average out to a 38-30 win for Auburn, so congratulations, you've managed to massively skew another one in favor of a Georgia opponent. But it's cool -- I'll be sure to bring you back an awesome souvenir from Auburn after we win. You know, since I'll be going to the game and all.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Fan-flippin'-tastic. As long as you come home under your own power, as opposed to me having to come out to Auburn and bail you out of someplace, your clean criminal record is all the souvenir I need.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Suit yourself. I'll do my best to stay out of trouble. . . . <i>Or will I?</i><br /><br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/a1Y73sPHKxw?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/a1Y73sPHKxw?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>Astronaut Mike Dexterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01498197770701096363noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11250715.post-90290013944363696372010-11-08T18:49:00.008-05:002010-11-08T20:07:14.225-05:00Poll dancing, week 10: No Legos for me, and no soup for you.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJM2eM_Un6zdTx_CK1pmShWxnSL105l24-Bm21l1uLp7BVVVDL8QjMccjeU-y19LjWWVho4Xa9s03fTXzE6QffxouDM4S2sByEKlQ-8MHrC_r_VA7mZxmF0ImUvO8iimc1LwAp/s1600/lego-taj-mahal.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 303px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJM2eM_Un6zdTx_CK1pmShWxnSL105l24-Bm21l1uLp7BVVVDL8QjMccjeU-y19LjWWVho4Xa9s03fTXzE6QffxouDM4S2sByEKlQ-8MHrC_r_VA7mZxmF0ImUvO8iimc1LwAp/s320/lego-taj-mahal.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5537344249133527090" /></a><br /><br />So Sunday Holly and I went up to the Lego store in Lawrenceville, where I was going to pull the trigger -- after probably three years of pining, I was going to sack up and plunk down an obscene sum of money for the Lego Taj Mahal. We get to the counter, dude swipes my card, and . . . rejected. The problem: Wachovia switched over to Wells Fargo this past weekend, and they haven't sent me my new card yet. (Nice of them to cancel my old card on me before I was all squared away, though.)<br /><br />Not everybody can know what that feels like -- you totally think something awesome is right on the verge of happening, but then it totally doesn't -- but I bet Utah, Alabama, and Oklahoma all do. I feel for you guys. But I'm going to make fun of you anyway.<br /><br /><i>Games watched:</i> South Florida-Rutgers, Georgia-Idaho State, parts of LSU-Alabama, Arkansas-South Carolina.<br /><br /> <!-- SB Nation BlogPoll Top 25 Ballot --><div id="blogpoll-rankings-ballot" style="background:#fff; padding: 0; width:340px; margin: 10px auto"> <h2 style="margin:0;padding:0;font-size:10px;line-height:10px;"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/rankings/college-football-blogpoll-top-25"><img alt="SB Nation BlogPoll Top 25 College Football Rankings" height="62" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/blogpoll-top25-ballot.png" style="border:0; display:block" width="340"></a></h2> <div style="border: solid 1px #ddd; border-top-width:0"> <h3 style="text-align:center; margin:0; padding:5px 0; font-family:arial; font-size:14px;"><a href="http://heyjennyslater.blogspot.com" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Hey Jenny Slater</a> Ballot - Week 11</h3> <table class="blogpoll-result" style="border-collapse: collapse;border:solid 1px #ccc;margin:0 5px 5px 5px;font-size: 11px; color: #333;font-family:arial;line-height:16px; width:327px;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2"> <tbody><tr> <th style="background:#ddd; font-weight:bold; text-align:left;padding:2px">Rank</th> <th style="background:#ddd; font-weight:bold; text-align:left;padding:2px">Team</th> <th style="background:#ddd; font-weight:bold; text-align:left;padding:2px">Delta</th> </tr> <tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">1</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/oregon-ducks" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Oregon Ducks</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">2</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/auburn-tigers" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Auburn Tigers</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">3</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/tcu-horned-frogs" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">TCU Horned Frogs</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">4</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/boise-st-broncos" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Boise St. Broncos</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">5</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/stanford-cardinal" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Stanford Cardinal</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 4</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">6</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/lsu-tigers" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">LSU Tigers</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 9</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">7</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/nebraska-cornhuskers" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Nebraska Cornhuskers</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_down" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_down.gif"> -1</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">8</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/wisconsin-badgers" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Wisconsin Badgers</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">9</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/ohio-st-buckeyes" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Ohio St. Buckeyes</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 2</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">10</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/alabama-crimson-tide" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Alabama Crimson Tide</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_down" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_down.gif"> -5</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">11</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/arkansas-razorbacks" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Arkansas Razorbacks</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 3</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">12</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/oklahoma-st-cowboys" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Oklahoma St. Cowboys</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 7</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">13</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/michigan-st-spartans" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Michigan St. Spartans</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 3</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">14</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/arizona-wildcats" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Arizona Wildcats</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_down" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_down.gif"> -7</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">15</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/nevada-wolf-pack" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Nevada Wolf Pack</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 5</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">16</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/iowa-hawkeyes" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Iowa Hawkeyes</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_down" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_down.gif"> -4</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">17</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/florida-gators" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Florida Gators</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 6</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">18</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/utah-utes" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Utah Utes</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_down" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_down.gif"> -8</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">19</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/virginia-tech-hokies" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Virginia Tech Hokies</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 2</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">20</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/mississippi-st-bulldogs" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Mississippi St. Bulldogs</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 2</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">21</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/kansas-st-wildcats" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Kansas St. Wildcats</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">22</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/texas-a-m-aggies" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Texas A&M Aggies</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">23</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/missouri-tigers" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Missouri Tigers</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_down" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_down.gif"> -5</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">24</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/south-carolina-gamecocks" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">South Carolina Gamecocks</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_down" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_down.gif"> -7</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">25</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/oklahoma-sooners" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Oklahoma Sooners</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_down" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_down.gif"> -12</td> </tr><tr><td colspan="3" style="line-height:14px; padding:4px"><strong>Dropouts</strong>: N.C. State Wolfpack, Florida St. Seminoles</td></tr> </tbody></table> <p style="font-size:12px; margin: 1px 2px 5px 7px;">SB Nation BlogPoll <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/rankings/college-football-blogpoll-top-25" style="color:#C52126; font-weight:bold;">College Football Top 25 Rankings</a> »</p> </div> </div><br /><br /><b>The next five:</b> USC, North Carolina, Baylor, Florida State, Miami.<br /><br /><b>· Getting big bumps in the top 10:</b> LSU, of course, for being only the fourth team in the last three seasons to vanquish the Nicktator, and Stanford for pasting a very good Arkansas team. Lemme pause to give Stanford a major plug here -- their sole loss is to an Oregon team everyone pretty much agrees is unstoppable (and in spite of losing 52-31, they still kept the Ducks slightly <i>below</i> their season scoring average). Otherwise, only one team has finished within single digits of the Cardinal on the scoreboard. If that's not a worthy Rose Bowl team, then I don't think there is one this year.<br /><br /><b>· Other big risers: Oklahoma State,</b> first of all, for dismantling a Baylor team that had risen up to the ranks of the pretty darn good; Nevada, for coming within a few broken tackles of putting up a <i>half-mile's worth</i> of offense on Saturday; and Florida, who seems to have figured out their offense, or at least substantial parts of it, over the last few weeks. Yes, they're above Mississippi State (both here and on my SEC Power Poll ballot, of course), because I don't think they're the same team that mustered all of seven points against the Bulldogs in the Swamp a few weeks back.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7rxHTnmGeT3bC1-B7-nCyx4iv73C85ODhaSUrnxWYUOlECShBU6MFuAnfflSl_XPZn_iX96fSVXiTPqCAUEm4LeM0J0spiohQ-qMHJzj38z-T0G8pCQJHioea6FGe7y2lJS09/s1600/oklahoma.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 282px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7rxHTnmGeT3bC1-B7-nCyx4iv73C85ODhaSUrnxWYUOlECShBU6MFuAnfflSl_XPZn_iX96fSVXiTPqCAUEm4LeM0J0spiohQ-qMHJzj38z-T0G8pCQJHioea6FGe7y2lJS09/s320/oklahoma.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5537345942352455506" /></a><br /><br /><b>· I always hesitate to drop a team by as much as I dropped Oklahoma</b> this week, but they've lost two of their last three, with the win being a perfunctory ass-kicking of a Colorado team I think we can all agree is hopeless. Saturday's loss, on the other hand, was to a Texas A&M team that they've beaten by a total margin of 173-52 over the last three years, and their so-called "signature win" against FSU ain't lookin' so impressive these days, either. I expect they'll eventually climb out of fourth place in the Big 12 South, but that's not the kind of sentence you should be writing about a top-25 team.<br /><br /><b>· Utah and Arizona also take it in the shorts</b> for losing by bigger margins even than their biggest detractors would've predicted this past week. Probably should've dinged Mizzou more for losing to a mediocre Texas Tech team, but they still have to be above Oklahoma, for obvious reasons.<br /><br /><b>· Yeah, Iowa drops four slots for having to work entirely too hard</b> to beat Indiana. Starting to think the previous week's shellacking of Michigan State had more to do with State being spent after a hard-fought comeback win than Iowa being particularly elite this year.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQz6DxqyI9nXZyFDS6i-cSwI-uPRuuFg9zVoP8yEUtBeZLBavzVIxcLzcZmThSzirUHQm3y4Dfroh8xUXInN4ZGvfjCJxVUgvMeGhsdC4uz0sM_SWA2nWHUT317IVlZtnWnmHS/s1600/ncsu.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 290px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQz6DxqyI9nXZyFDS6i-cSwI-uPRuuFg9zVoP8yEUtBeZLBavzVIxcLzcZmThSzirUHQm3y4Dfroh8xUXInN4ZGvfjCJxVUgvMeGhsdC4uz0sM_SWA2nWHUT317IVlZtnWnmHS/s320/ncsu.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5537346412998394930" /></a><br /><br /><b>· A pair of ACC sub-entities get flushed from the system,</b> replaced by a pair of middling Big 12 squads who won actual games of consequence. As a league, though, the ACC is still doing way better than the Big East, none of whose teams even sniffed "throwing you in there for reference while I'm putting together the ballot" status.<br /><br />And the SEC Power Poll Ballot:<br /><br /><b>1. Auburn --</b> Boy, Nick Saban's total dominance in the state of Alabama sure doesn't look like it's gonna last nearly as long as we all thought, does it?<br /><br /><b>2. LSU --</b> There comes a point when the line between insanity and shrewd genius becomes so blurred as to be irrelevant, and I think Les Miles crossed it against Alabama. Actually, he probably crossed it weeks ago, but whatever the case, 8-1 is 8-1, and anybody who's pooh-poohing the Tigers' cred for an at-large BCS berth is just doing so to be bitchy at this point.<br /><br /><b>3. Alabama --</b> Remember when we all thought the Heisman voters' biggest dilemma would be <i>which</i> member of the Bama backfield they'd give the trophy to? What the hell happened to that?<br /><br /><b>4. Arkansas --</b> If they're pissed to be basically out of the SEC West race, they're doing an awfully good job of making sure nobody else gets to enjoy themselves, either.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrtfDlRCXlBMMGEBI26rkf0VxvzAlLf7-aZN8h3HkqY6syYMECqxqQcoJmfwowoGsviGYwdxYdlZOhS6sDVzAqHWHKBs2LLIVYwzua3PZRjxrGd7a4Lv8VPthdJTXx_qc3npvN/s1600/florida.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 299px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrtfDlRCXlBMMGEBI26rkf0VxvzAlLf7-aZN8h3HkqY6syYMECqxqQcoJmfwowoGsviGYwdxYdlZOhS6sDVzAqHWHKBs2LLIVYwzua3PZRjxrGd7a4Lv8VPthdJTXx_qc3npvN/s320/florida.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5537346766919317266" /></a><br /><br /><b>5. Florida --</b> Well, I hope everybody had a lot of fun picturing South Carolina in the SEC title game, because it doesn't look like there's going to be a lot of point to that after Saturday.<br /><br /><b>6. Mississippi State --</b> Still very much in the running for a 10-win season, which even the staunchest members of the "Dan Mullen is really gonna get this thing turned around in a hurry" fan club couldn't have predicted.<br /><br /><b>7. South Carolina --</b> Saturday night they looked like a team that could just as easily go 0-3 over the final weeks of the season as 4-0, and that's why they're down in the bottom half of my ballot.<br /><br /><b>8. Georgia --</b> I'd estimate they spent about 20 minutes of last week's game thinking about Idaho State and the other 40 thinking about Auburn.<br /><br /><b>9. Ole Miss --</b> Another team that could just as easily go undefeated as winless over their final three games, though that's more a product of Houston Nutt's weirdness than anything else.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXg6A4L3U0RFEMUw56u3Mdrwg8udnW_gkpHJiCO-TwIbp0bOqwbX1X1rPmAJpId12p9mqsi4DUghJoeoESY-u_YIjmyLtc349eXgYL4kSGVh2OF4GjD38foMyMiGFxBjgs129G/s1600/uk_fumble.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 260px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXg6A4L3U0RFEMUw56u3Mdrwg8udnW_gkpHJiCO-TwIbp0bOqwbX1X1rPmAJpId12p9mqsi4DUghJoeoESY-u_YIjmyLtc349eXgYL4kSGVh2OF4GjD38foMyMiGFxBjgs129G/s320/uk_fumble.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5537350218251814482" /></a><br /><br /><b>10. Kentucky --</b> As powerful as we all believe the SEC to be, does a team that finishes 2-6 in the conference really deserve to go to a bowl game? 'Cause I wouldn't be surprised if that describes the Wildcats at the end of the season.<br /><br /><b>11. Tennessee --</b> The whole "2-6 start with a 4-0 finish" sounded perfectly plausible in the preseason, and even <i>that</i> started looking pretty shaky a few weeks ago -- but now the needle seems to be headed back toward "plausible" again.<br /><br /><b>12. Vanderbilt --</b> You want a stat line that screams "run the triple option already"? 35-of-95, 323 yards, two touchdowns, four picks. That's Vandy's QB stats over the past <i>month.</i>Astronaut Mike Dexterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01498197770701096363noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11250715.post-83598234236920223672010-11-08T07:48:00.000-05:002010-11-08T07:48:25.973-05:00Time to think and time to kill.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGE0n4drAobzxuPwylvak7rOjC_4tw-BXQDiDVK-_2LQ-lxhn58TDlsI2sScPVYgtqrF8cOOBr-TbbJ6nlLwFExHjNMj_9ht7HAFV_lV6sXEY2TYuEVzWThw2tp_9k582qKUm-/s1600/rambo_pick6.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 237px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGE0n4drAobzxuPwylvak7rOjC_4tw-BXQDiDVK-_2LQ-lxhn58TDlsI2sScPVYgtqrF8cOOBr-TbbJ6nlLwFExHjNMj_9ht7HAFV_lV6sXEY2TYuEVzWThw2tp_9k582qKUm-/s320/rambo_pick6.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5537157877700100370" /></a><br /><br />Noticed a whole bunch of kids traipsing around downtown and North Campus yesterday morning as I was heading to the Tent City tailgate, which I suppose tells you everything you need to know about what kind of game this was. Paradoxically, it was the kind of game you'd have to be a real die-hard to give a crap about, yet the real die-hards all dumped their tickets on casual-fan acquaintances who could say, "Hey, great, I can take my kids to a real Georgia gameday and then leave at halftime before they start getting antsy." And leave at halftime they did, for with Georgia carrying a 41-0 lead into the third quarter, the stands already looked as depleted as, well, as I remember Legion Field being for the <i>first</i> quarter of your typical UAB game.<br /><br />Given that Idaho State is not only a I-AA team but a I-AA team of a significantly lower competitiveness level even than <i>most</i> I-AA teams we've scheduled for executions in recent years, there ain't a whole lot worthwhile to take from Saturday, but I'll entertain you with what snippets I can:<br /><br /><b>·</b> I'm not excited that we gave up an easy opportunity for a shutout by losing focus and allowing Idaho State a garbage-time TD in the fourth quarter, but I'll excuse it because a) I don't blame any of our players for looking ahead to Auburn and b) the guy who caught the shutout-negating TD was wide receiver Rodrick Rumble. He may be a player on a bad DI-AA team, but he's definitely got a I-A caliber name.<br /><br /><b>·</b> Nice to see Bruce Figgins out there for the first time in what felt like three years. (Actually, the TD he caught right before halftime <i>was</i> his first in three years, so.) Still, seeing all those names in the box score -- 10 different guys caught passes for us Saturday, including Figgy, Marlon Brown, and Israel Troupe -- kinda made me wonder: Where the hell have those guys been all season? Troupe, in particular, I was really high on in the preseason, yet he's basically disappeared this year. A.J. Green was out for the first <i>month</i> of the season and we didn't try any harder than this to work those guys into the game plan?<br /><br /><b>·</b> I hate calling out individual players for random dumbassery, but for reals, Vance Cuff is making a strong push for the Bryan Evans Dude Seriously What The Fuck Lifetime Achievement Award. Here's a sequence spanning the third and fourth quarters that kind of sums up #25's Georgia career in a nutshell: Three and a half minutes left in the third quarter, Cuff picks off Idaho State's QB and turns it around for Georgia's final score of the day. Eight and a half minutes of game time later, ISU's first drive of the fourth quarter, Cuff gets aced on a 33-yard pass reception that moves the Bengals into Georgia territory for the first time all day, and then on the very next play gets tagged for a PI call that moves ISU down to the Bulldog 25. Couple plays later, Idaho State passes for a touchdown and ends Georgia's shutout.<br /><br />Actually, that's a pretty apt metaphor for Georgia football in general the past two or three seasons -- anything good is followed in relatively short order by something embarrassing. Which means that even if we <i>do</i> somehow pull a miracle next week and hand Auburn their first loss of the season, we'll just go out two weeks later and get blown off our own field by Tech. So it goes.<br /><br /><b>·</b> You could tell Idaho State's offensive coaches were doing everything in their power to make sure their QBs got rid of the ball as soon as possible. The bad news is that plan worked well enough to hold Georgia to only one sack all day long, by Christian Robinson; the good news is that ISU's passers weren't terribly accurate when they were sped up like that, which was reflected in their combined 42.8 QB rating on the afternoon. (Starter Russel Hill, who completed two passes to his team and two to ours, finished with a 1.68.)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih-2TKwz_zOZ7yHqHLfjSDj8JaPuX1dB9uI8Xs5H4yl6mwNuJsWv5w9a2zpOBshZ8UsVUKch9v6X7bnqUU5SGEEN1o7qbSyoybbJd-pMw4aY4ZuqjpyjLtQf-s804NJsgtWb28/s1600/green_rec.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 234px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih-2TKwz_zOZ7yHqHLfjSDj8JaPuX1dB9uI8Xs5H4yl6mwNuJsWv5w9a2zpOBshZ8UsVUKch9v6X7bnqUU5SGEEN1o7qbSyoybbJd-pMw4aY4ZuqjpyjLtQf-s804NJsgtWb28/s320/green_rec.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5537158048318591682" /></a><br /><br /><b>·</b> I can't remember who pointed this out at the tailgate on Saturday -- if it was you, e-mail me and I'll give you full credit -- but in their five wins this season, Georgia's average margin of victory is 35.8 points. Their <i>total</i> margin of defeat in their five losses is 35 points. Now, granted, that stat is skewed somewhat by the fact that our five wins came against some truly horrendous competition -- none of whom is currently blessed with a winning record -- but to be that dominant in wins, and to be close enough even in the losses to average being within a single score every time, just shows to go you how close this team might've been to being something special this year.<br /><br />Elsewhere:<br /><br /><b>·</b> Did it seem like this weekend a) was fairly bereft of truly interesting games and b) kind of felt like the CFB equivalent of Sweeps Week, where all the big contenders (and even quite a few non-contenders) were running up ricockulous scores as if they were trying to impress people? Duke over Virginia, 55-48. Florida and Georgia each hitting the double-nickel against crap opponents. Oklahoma State hitting the double-nickel against a <i>good</i> opponent (Baylor, and when was the last time you were surprised at the Bears getting beaten that badly?). Sixty-four points for Tulsa, 76 for Navy in an opponent's home stadium, <i>forty-seven for TCU</i> in an opponent's home stadium and against a team the pollsters considered top-five at the time. Forty-two points and 737 total yards for Boise State; 63 points and <i>844 total yards</i> for Nevada.<br /><br /><b>·</b> And that's even before we get to <a href="http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=303100130" target="_new">the bizarre Michigan-Illinois game,</a> which qualified as a shootout long before it went to triple OT. Maize & Blue fans, did you ever think you'd be celebrating a return to bowl eligibility directly following a game in which you gave up 65 points to Ron Zook?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY3sOLaenaat2vhkZ2SN_fNBoP8SVzXgxihQmNQaknyymRLw3RMKL5H7osxenlxOjRtUzL8tps5sJCdaFWF53KFaaDxuJQuruXbe68AmUuI-5I55hB0UEV89bliAtyPt0J7ziH/s1600/aagggghhhh.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 305px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY3sOLaenaat2vhkZ2SN_fNBoP8SVzXgxihQmNQaknyymRLw3RMKL5H7osxenlxOjRtUzL8tps5sJCdaFWF53KFaaDxuJQuruXbe68AmUuI-5I55hB0UEV89bliAtyPt0J7ziH/s320/aagggghhhh.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5537158696795626962" /></a><br /><br /><b>·</b> One more dose of humility for Dawg fans in a season that didn't really need another one -- Colorado led a fairly hapless Kansas team 35-10 at halftime and 45-17 in the fourth quarter, <a href="http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=303102305" target="_new">only to give up five TDs in barely 10 minutes of game time</a> in the fourth quarter and lose by a touchdown. But <i>we</i> couldn't muster a fourth-quarter comeback against the Buffs even with A.J. Green on the field. Seriously, God, after all the good works Mark Richt has done in Your name, you'd think You'd treat a brother a little better than that.<br /><br /><b>·</b> UAB Blazers Watch: Speaking of teams that can't ever do something good without immediately following it with a fuckup, the Blazers <a href="http://espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=303100005">lost to Marshall by two TDs at home</a> and now need to run the table against ECU, Memphis and Rice to make it to a bowl. The last two games are eminently winnable, and East Carolina's even winnable if you saw how horrendous their defense was against Navy, but many years of experience tells me UAB's seventh loss is almost assuredly just around the corner. Actually, what'll probably happen is they upset ECU next week and then get punked by Memphis at home the very next Saturday.<br /><br /><b>·</b> Wofford Terriers Watch: Tweren't pretty, but the Terriers knocked off Samford 10-3 last Saturday to run their winning streak to eight games, <i>and</i> -- with Appalachian State having lost to Georgia Southern in OT the same day -- take sole possession of first place in the Southern Conference. Should Wofford win at App State this weekend, they'll clinch the conference title outright, which may be the one positive thing I get to take out of college football this year.<br /><br /><b>·</b> And as long as we're talking Terriers, I should mention one last thing about the Georgia game, or more accurately the tailgate, which is to say that Jenna drank like a champion on Saturday -- she was feeling it a little the next morning, but was back up and at 'em by mid-afternoon, and for that she remains an inspiration to us all.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDWlPyjArJvsj1akTTDxNX-HnPJ18bneMnywR0-5ygkBha1AFJe_tTXjg2o8RKe_KFh0hzEveSN7Z6dNeqVX0-uruv9oltItq1eBHXBc5owg68tSqhnAU9clW4IkAsgkyCvTSy/s1600/jenna_drankin.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDWlPyjArJvsj1akTTDxNX-HnPJ18bneMnywR0-5ygkBha1AFJe_tTXjg2o8RKe_KFh0hzEveSN7Z6dNeqVX0-uruv9oltItq1eBHXBc5owg68tSqhnAU9clW4IkAsgkyCvTSy/s320/jenna_drankin.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5537158934021819986" /></a>Astronaut Mike Dexterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01498197770701096363noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11250715.post-89373964295555432612010-11-03T21:05:00.007-04:002010-11-03T21:54:12.414-04:00Manic-Depressive Preview: Yes, we're doing Idaho State.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAeTG_MQKyUhsfdnSyiPcmrc_ru45PZXpO_7xAbQ93pC42wzlee7sIHFzxP0YpSrq05DOu-08bxYAQA-jXEKJwpae9M0w_dpPs2krpUCgoiCVXBQ3NsCoZy4oCCTtB53lFbe93/s1600/me_titansaudition.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 175px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAeTG_MQKyUhsfdnSyiPcmrc_ru45PZXpO_7xAbQ93pC42wzlee7sIHFzxP0YpSrq05DOu-08bxYAQA-jXEKJwpae9M0w_dpPs2krpUCgoiCVXBQ3NsCoZy4oCCTtB53lFbe93/s200/me_titansaudition.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535506895907880610" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaFuFjZiDW4XpSvYxZ0XYldlw289uoWkvml9DMT6Fik8i32HQrhjMSZ_DymNzTJsw5trVEYOg-M7Doq4jBm5XTQstxg1H4EcD8i1e9ctVz67fk82DRRzmg7PvF3ovCs5yakF1Z/s1600/despondent_me.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 122px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaFuFjZiDW4XpSvYxZ0XYldlw289uoWkvml9DMT6Fik8i32HQrhjMSZ_DymNzTJsw5trVEYOg-M7Doq4jBm5XTQstxg1H4EcD8i1e9ctVz67fk82DRRzmg7PvF3ovCs5yakF1Z/s200/despondent_me.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535506726922116850" /></a><br /><br /><i>After three straight inspiring wins, our previewers resumed having their hearts ripped directly from their chests last week. Each of them took the overtime loss to Florida in different ways -- Depressive Doug fully expected a demoralizing loss, so he just got drunk and went to bed. Manic Doug, however, drove all over the neighborhood playing Kool Keith's "Spankmaster" album at maximum volume and trying to pick up MILFs out trick-or-treating with their kids. (You don't want to know what his costume was.) Neither pursuit proved terribly productive, but they've done their best to shrug off their disappointment and put forth an effort to say something meaningful about this weekend's game against DI-AA Idaho State. Well, one of them did, at least.</i><br /><br /><b>Manic Doug:</b> Dude. Get up, bro. Up and at 'em.<br /><br /><b>Depressive Doug:</b> Why?<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> 'Cause we have to preview Idaho State.<br /><br /><i>(long pause)</i><br /><br /><b>DD:</b> No we don't. <i>(rolls back over)</i><br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Come on, man. If I have to do it, you have to do it.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Why do <i>either</i> of us have to do it? I mean, it's <i>Idaho State.</i> They're a I-AA team, and they're not even a <i>good</i> I-AA team. We'll be lucky if even two-thirds of the people who bought tickets actually use them. Why are <i>you</i> so jazzed about doing this, anyway?<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> I wouldn't say I'm <i>jazzed,</i> exactly, but at the very least, it'll be a nice way of bouncing back from the Cocktail Party and laying a hurtin' on someone. Build back some confidence, like. I'm gonna go tailgate, bring the dog, hang out in Athens for an afternoon . . . I'm even bringing donuts. Oh, and I even found an Associated Hottie -- Stacy Dragila, the first woman to ever win an Olympic gold medal in pole vault, went to Idaho State.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6p-Jw-baeUuHm6Pr0pYHP0bosTq5g29En6VzrTdE_nkVICRmr_moxgRoWmda0cZGJG3MxjSRKR-0aMeLGl3vp8ZMsBKLs_4qh2FzLbJK5l38UgUuznz3z-0OhbCFbYd-xMMIe/s1600/stacy_dragila.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 224px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6p-Jw-baeUuHm6Pr0pYHP0bosTq5g29En6VzrTdE_nkVICRmr_moxgRoWmda0cZGJG3MxjSRKR-0aMeLGl3vp8ZMsBKLs_4qh2FzLbJK5l38UgUuznz3z-0OhbCFbYd-xMMIe/s320/stacy_dragila.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535497967479440658" /></a><br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Well, I'm very proud of you for finding that out, and hope you get to use that little nugget on "Jeopardy!" someday. But I don't care if she won 10 gold medals and cured cancer, it ain't enough to get me excited about this game. We'll probably spend the first quarter licking our wounds, only kick things into gear around halfway through the second quarter, hold an embarrassingly small lead at halftime, and then wear down their depth in the second half to make the final score look somewhat respectable. Whoop-dee-doo. <i>Maybe</i> if we'd beaten Florida I'd be up for this, but . . . seriously, dude, who cares.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Yeah, you know what that sounds like? <a href="http://heyjennyslater.blogspot.com/2010/09/manic-depressive-preview-introducing.html" target="_new">The prediction you gave right before the opener</a> against Louisiana-Lafayette. Which we ended up winning 55-7. See, you're so convinced we're still gonna be bummed about the loss to Florida and come out flat and distracted, but I think just the opposite is true -- they're gonna be looking for some redemption, looking to build some confidence, and they're really gonna lay a hurting on ISU. And they should be able to -- the Bengals have a terrible offense and an even worse defense. I'd put money on a shutout happening, if I had any left.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Yeah, how much did you bet on the Dawgs beating Florida? No, wait -- don't tell me. It'd only make me more depressed. Fine, yes, we are superior to ISU in every phase of the game, we have better athletes, better coaching, blah blah blah, but I still don't see how anyone on our side is gonna get up for this game. And really, a shutout? Florida was completely hopeless on offense for the first two month of the season and we still ended up making them look like they still had Tebow on the roster. We're gonna let them get past us for at least one or two scores.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> We didn't against Tennessee Tech last year, and Idaho State is probably even worse than <i>they</i> are.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Yeah, but they do have the number-two punt returner in DI-AA, Tavoy Moore, and the number-one punter. Don't think we can count on winning the field-position battle this week.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> It won't matter if we win every <i>other</i> battle. Seriously, are you listening to yourself? "Number-two punt returner in DI-AA"? That's like being the second oboist in the Pyongyang Symphony Orchestra.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Fine. Tell me your score prediction, if you're so confident.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Aaron Murray's looking to atone for throwing three picks last week, so he comes out bombing away. A.J. Green goes well over 100 yards and pulls in a couple scores; Washaun and Caleb each get close to 100 yards themselves. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq5YE6rFOwnRkGn9i2Z0F2TbqPoyi-k4zlfjzUYGA2pajDwrim3kaL69zfVVNWjOfaA29VzWyRbKVgwsY2HSyv9aepSsGTSeVHLKT_BVdb4RZtBbBIsqNKenCm_4iqWKOahTya/s1600/justin__houston.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 112px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq5YE6rFOwnRkGn9i2Z0F2TbqPoyi-k4zlfjzUYGA2pajDwrim3kaL69zfVVNWjOfaA29VzWyRbKVgwsY2HSyv9aepSsGTSeVHLKT_BVdb4RZtBbBIsqNKenCm_4iqWKOahTya/s200/justin__houston.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535506093292687218" /></a><br /> And yes, we pitch a shutout, because the Bengals have no running game whatsoever and they're giving up about four and a half sacks per game. Justin Houston is gonna pad the hell out of those sack numbers, and a couple guys on our second or third string probably will be, too. Final score, fifty-nine to nothing.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Well, that sounds lovely. I stand by my original prediction -- we're up maybe, oh, 17-7 at halftime and finally stretch it out to 41-14 by the end of the game.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> You don't think we're gonna beat Idaho State any worse than we beat Tennessee?<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> I hadn't even taken the energy to <i>remember</i> that that's how many we beat Tennessee by, if that clears things up for you.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Well, our predictions add up to a 50-7 win for the Dawgs, which I'd be fine with. Still think we're gonna get the shutout, though.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Well, fine. Think it over there. I'm busy cowering in fear that this is the last win we get this season and we don't end up going to a bowl.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Why does talking to you always make me want to kill myself?<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Uh . . . because my plan is working perfectly?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN5rIFW9odJJ7ndFdwPIAeEPhul2_6CmkW6D5lKXFJRLfiVWgwrQGvoqRGX2LvYvDoM0mDjn9qn_oeWNqypnqYakcT8hMId9OFC91LYufk48hPuF5BDTKVqYLIbX2LTxzagvri/s1600/krispy_kreme.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN5rIFW9odJJ7ndFdwPIAeEPhul2_6CmkW6D5lKXFJRLfiVWgwrQGvoqRGX2LvYvDoM0mDjn9qn_oeWNqypnqYakcT8hMId9OFC91LYufk48hPuF5BDTKVqYLIbX2LTxzagvri/s200/krispy_kreme.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535506515037922386" /></a> <b>MD:</b> Fine, be that way. But when I come home with a belly full of donuts and wonderful memories of a seven-touchdown Georgia ass-thrashing, you're gonna be jealous.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Somehow I think I'll deal with it.Astronaut Mike Dexterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01498197770701096363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11250715.post-62854576314981561442010-11-02T18:54:00.006-04:002010-11-02T19:22:16.705-04:00Poll dancing, week 9: So . . . anyone want some candy?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjirbo_zeLvIzGlcHBCDyMWkHBiCqkrP36oVhDzt_VgjKEDHdzeaVwGgsh0sVwv67F8rVq86CIDOdEmq4h4Q10KR2mGyQnppYpf35Mz2TDOZZaYzerZQ4zSaftCiTqACTjVQTb2/s1600/candy.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjirbo_zeLvIzGlcHBCDyMWkHBiCqkrP36oVhDzt_VgjKEDHdzeaVwGgsh0sVwv67F8rVq86CIDOdEmq4h4Q10KR2mGyQnppYpf35Mz2TDOZZaYzerZQ4zSaftCiTqACTjVQTb2/s320/candy.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535096650636028098" /></a><br /><br />So here's what kind of sums up the weekend: Saturday evening, after Georgia's soul-crushing loss in the Cocktail Party, I head out with Spencer Hall -- who, it should be said, was incredibly gracious and understanding about the loss despite being a Gator fan -- and we go to pick up some booze and other provisions to tuck in for the late shift of games (mainly Oregon-Southern Cal). We're at Kroger, and I think, "Oh, I'm living in a house now, kids will be coming by for trick-or-treating, I should probably buy some candy."<br /><br />So I get $15 worth of candy at Kroger -- the good shit not the bullshit, I'm talking Snickers, 3 Musketeers, stuff that will make kids glad they stopped at my house, since secretly I've been fighting a battle to make people younger than me think I'm cool ever since being a social outcast in junior high -- and I come home Sunday afternoon prepared to feed the costumed masses. Whereupon I find out from my friend Karen over Twitter that the city of Columbus <i>moved</i> trick-or-treating to Saturday night. Apparently they were worried that the <i>actual</i> date of Halloween was a school night, but come on, Halloween falls on a school night all the time and I'm pretty sure this was just code for a bunch of Baptist preachers getting their culottes in a twist over Satan's holiday falling on a Sunday.<br /><br />Whatever. So I ended up with three gigantic bags of candy I took to work with me this morning and now everyone in Marketing is going to gain 10 pounds this week. Man, fuck football <i>and</i> Halloween. It's been that kind of luck lately.<br /><br /><i>Games watched:</i> Boise State-Louisiana Tech, bits of North Carolina State-Florida State and UConn-West Virginia, some of Virginia-Miami, most of South Carolina-Tennessee, all of Florida-Georgia, most of Oregon-USC.<br /><br /> <!-- SB Nation BlogPoll Top 25 Ballot --><div id="blogpoll-rankings-ballot" style="background:#fff; padding: 0; width:340px; margin: 10px auto"> <h2 style="margin:0;padding:0;font-size:10px;line-height:10px;"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/rankings/college-football-blogpoll-top-25"><img alt="SB Nation BlogPoll Top 25 College Football Rankings" height="62" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/blogpoll-top25-ballot.png" style="border:0; display:block" width="340"></a></h2> <div style="border: solid 1px #ddd; border-top-width:0"> <h3 style="text-align:center; margin:0; padding:5px 0; font-family:arial; font-size:14px;"><a href="http://heyjennyslater.blogspot.com" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Hey Jenny Slater</a> Ballot - Week 10</h3> <table class="blogpoll-result" style="border-collapse: collapse;border:solid 1px #ccc;margin:0 5px 5px 5px;font-size: 11px; color: #333;font-family:arial;line-height:16px; width:327px;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2"> <tbody><tr> <th style="background:#ddd; font-weight:bold; text-align:left;padding:2px">Rank</th> <th style="background:#ddd; font-weight:bold; text-align:left;padding:2px">Team</th> <th style="background:#ddd; font-weight:bold; text-align:left;padding:2px">Delta</th> </tr> <tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">1</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/oregon-ducks" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Oregon Ducks</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">2</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/auburn-tigers" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Auburn Tigers</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">3</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/tcu-horned-frogs" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">TCU Horned Frogs</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">4</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/boise-st-broncos" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Boise St. Broncos</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">5</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/alabama-crimson-tide" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Alabama Crimson Tide</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">6</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/nebraska-cornhuskers" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Nebraska Cornhuskers</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">7</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/arizona-wildcats" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Arizona Wildcats</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 2</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">8</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/wisconsin-badgers" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Wisconsin Badgers</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 2</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">9</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/stanford-cardinal" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Stanford Cardinal</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 3</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">10</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/utah-utes" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Utah Utes</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 1</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">11</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/ohio-st-buckeyes" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Ohio St. Buckeyes</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 3</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">12</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/iowa-hawkeyes" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Iowa Hawkeyes</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 6</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">13</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/oklahoma-sooners" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Oklahoma Sooners</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 2</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">14</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/arkansas-razorbacks" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Arkansas Razorbacks</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 3</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">15</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/lsu-tigers" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">LSU Tigers</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_down" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_down.gif"> -2</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">16</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/michigan-st-spartans" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Michigan St. Spartans</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_down" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_down.gif"> -9</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">17</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/south-carolina-gamecocks" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">South Carolina Gamecocks</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 2</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">18</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/missouri-tigers" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Missouri Tigers</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_down" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_down.gif"> -10</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">19</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/oklahoma-st-cowboys" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Oklahoma St. Cowboys</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 1</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">20</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/nevada-wolf-pack" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Nevada Wolf Pack</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 4</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">21</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/virginia-tech-hokies" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Virginia Tech Hokies</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">22</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/mississippi-st-bulldogs" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Mississippi St. Bulldogs</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 3</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">23</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/florida-gators" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Florida Gators</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">24</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/n-c-state-wolfpack" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">N.C. State Wolfpack</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">25</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/florida-st-seminoles" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Florida St. Seminoles</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_down" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_down.gif"> -9</td> </tr><tr><td colspan="3" style="line-height:14px; padding:4px"><strong>Dropouts</strong>: Miami Hurricanes, Michigan Wolverines</td></tr> </tbody></table> <p style="font-size:12px; margin: 1px 2px 5px 7px;">SB Nation BlogPoll <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/rankings/college-football-blogpoll-top-25" style="color:#C52126; font-weight:bold;">College Football Top 25 Rankings</a> »</p> </div> </div><br /><b>The next five:</b> Baylor, Kansas State, USC, Oregon State, Maryland.<br /><br /><b>· No change whatsoever in the top 10</b> until you get around to brutally punishing Michigan State and Mizzou for embarrassing themselves and shaming their top-10 rankings on national TV. Biggest beneficiary of the carnage: Iowa, back on the doorstep of the top 10 after administering several UFIAs to the Spartans, who probably should've seen it coming and at least done a <i>little</i> better job of preparing for it. Down 30-0 at halftime? This is what we call "not knowing how to deal with success."<br /><br /><b>· And honestly, that's about all the news there is to report</b> on the BlogPoll front. Nevada regained some ground after carpet-bombing another opponent with touchdowns, Florida State plummeted after a loss to N.C. State that, in hindsight, was more predictable than a CBS sitcom plot. Almost all the other movement can be traced directly to teams taking advantage of Missouri's/MSU's fall from grace.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOSv2VS7a_K7pvgtfx8COeghU7kZv1KoOvzpOfa_fIrYBBjRh8C-Xz_AuHW9vzGpKbqDhQtKGa3sZtJo2DiYyBadxNThaoVBDyrNtRu_4km8-31J5pJTCulXrgBa_t4n1fsVWM/s1600/harris_injured.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 278px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOSv2VS7a_K7pvgtfx8COeghU7kZv1KoOvzpOfa_fIrYBBjRh8C-Xz_AuHW9vzGpKbqDhQtKGa3sZtJo2DiYyBadxNThaoVBDyrNtRu_4km8-31J5pJTCulXrgBa_t4n1fsVWM/s320/harris_injured.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535095163791629890" /></a><br /><br /><b>· Miami and Michigan are gone entirely</b> after embarrassing losses that nevertheless laid bare weaknesses that have been periodically peeking their heads above the surface for weeks now; they're replaced by Florida, who actually seemed to figure some shit out on offense this past week (against Georgia, <i>of course),</i> and the return of N.C. State, who if recent trends in the ACC are any indication is a mortal lock to get punked at Clemson this weekend.<br /><br />And the SEC Power Poll ballot follows:<br /><br /><b>1. Auburn --</b> C'mon, y'all didn't seriously think Ole Miss was an upset risk for them, did you?<br /><br /><b>2. Alabama --</b> After the off week, we get to find out conclusively whether their offense has worked the kinks out when they travel to Baton Rouge.<br /><br /><b>3. Arkansas --</b> Not that any of them confused Vanderbilt's secondary with an elite unit, but it had to be nice to see Ryan Mallett return to form (409 yards, three TDs, no picks).<br /><br /><b>4. LSU --</b> I know we're two-thirds of the way through the season, but I still wonder just how good LSU's defense really is. None of their first seven opponents could exactly be called high-octane offenses, and opponent #8, Auburn, pretty well shredded them (526 yards, including an amazing 440 rushing) even if it wasn't readily apparent on the scoreboard.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3_4kjNpU7F1BNcv298g5zpUFPd9zzDzVDcDt205_zGoqRl60LwfXI-qDOmEr7wmqgm5zPwSNhy51ZvJBgGAv4fFaacoy9oarCVOXLZ956SzZkqTr4ZFKIdaSOX6eV_8JnkshE/s1600/sc.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 316px; height: 207px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3_4kjNpU7F1BNcv298g5zpUFPd9zzDzVDcDt205_zGoqRl60LwfXI-qDOmEr7wmqgm5zPwSNhy51ZvJBgGAv4fFaacoy9oarCVOXLZ956SzZkqTr4ZFKIdaSOX6eV_8JnkshE/s320/sc.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535096093396689282" /></a><br /><br /><b>5. South Carolina --</b> The Gamecocks are in sole possession of first place in the SEC East, and yet it still seems like they could just as easily go 0-4 as 4-0 over the final month of the regular season.<br /><br /><b>6. Florida --</b> Whether it was Rainey's return, Meyer's vaunted bye-week tinkering or just the fact that they were going up against the Dawgs, the struggling Gator offense came within a stone's throw of setting a new single-game high in yardage for the season.<br /><br /><b>7. Mississippi State --</b> Dan Mullen still doesn't have the offense he'd like to have in Starkville, but defensive coordinator Manny Diaz is doing a damn good job of keeping things under control for the Bizarro Bulldogs until he does.<br /><br /><b>8. Georgia --</b> C'mon, y'all didn't seriously think Georgia was gonna pull off a win over the Gators in <i>this</i> of all seasons, did you? (OK, I did. God help me, but I did.)<br /><br /><b>9. Ole Miss --</b> If nothing else, Houston Nutt's somewhat craven grab for Jeremiah Masoli has started making a lot of sense. Just imagine how bad the Rebels would be right now without him.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi68rh9kM3ubLwqRjH7Cx8lHGHzU1_LG2T0fgyjyE7XGS77CQTa1iq1-PuBjGHITyqPH3nLYON48Iv1ARRv8-HpQiJEwXE8Pd0BVJAtKh5WxmCtZRw9LyIorarWx6IBA0WQd8ad/s1600/msu_ky.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 204px; height: 288px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi68rh9kM3ubLwqRjH7Cx8lHGHzU1_LG2T0fgyjyE7XGS77CQTa1iq1-PuBjGHITyqPH3nLYON48Iv1ARRv8-HpQiJEwXE8Pd0BVJAtKh5WxmCtZRw9LyIorarWx6IBA0WQd8ad/s320/msu_ky.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535096521113424210" /></a><br /><br /><b>10. Kentucky --</b> If Marcus Lattimore doesn't leave the Kentucky-South Carolina game just a few snaps into the second half, the Wildcats are probably riding a six-game skid right about now.<br /><br /><b>11. Vanderbilt --</b> Vandy had 36 total passing yards in the entire game this past weekend. Ryan Mallett threw two separate <i>passes</i> that went longer than that.<br /><br /><b>12. Tennessee --</b> Another not-so-fun fact: In the first halves of its eight games this season, the Vols have outscored their opponents by a total of 93 to 84 -- yet they're 2-6. You tell <i>me</i> what the problem is.Astronaut Mike Dexterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01498197770701096363noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11250715.post-62804400837844196712010-10-31T20:56:00.001-04:002010-11-01T08:06:20.130-04:00I've seen too much for a little while, I want to forget.<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/nED1LulaRwY?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/nED1LulaRwY?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />Well, what can I say about this past weekend except I shouldn't have watched "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" Friday night -- everything I needed to know about what was going to go down the following afternoon was right in there.<br /><br />Except when you get right down to it, the above scene, iconic though it may be, is insufficient -- and entirely too simplistic -- to accurately portray Georgia's misery in this rivalry, particularly when there's a far more apt metaphor in the very same TV special. I mean, yeah, Charlie Brown gets the ball whipped away from him at the last second every single time, which is embarrassing enough, but you'll notice nobody is ever around to watch it; the humiliation is at least a dark secret shared only between him and Lucy. To declare that "Lucy = Florida" also doesn't work -- while Lucy and the Gators are both bitches who wear blue and aren't nearly as hot as they fancy themselves, that statement implies that Georgia's chances for success are entirely in Florida's hands, which, no matter what Bulldog Nation may be thinking in its most desperate moments, isn't true either.<br /><br />No, the better metaphor is "Great Pumpkin = equal footing in the Georgia-Florida rivalry." More obscure, I know, and definitely more abstract, but sometimes to make sense of cosmic absurdity like this you gotta be willing to try and wrap your brain around something challenging. Every year, we think it's coming; every year we think that if we just <i>believe</i> enough, it will reveal itself to us and, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pumpkin#Differences_between_the_Great_Pumpkin_and_Santa_Claus" target="_new"><i>out of moral obligation,</i></a> reward us for our seemingly unending persecution in its name. OK, I just totally fucking freaked myself out by sussing out that the Great Pumpkin is a metaphor for the Second Coming -- seriously, Charles Schultz, way to blow a brother's mind on what is otherwise a day of perfectly festive debauchery -- but all that being said, we believe, it doesn't show, and we get <i>publicly</i> humiliated for our faith all over again.<br /><br />I believed. Oh, boy howdy, did I believe. I believed even after Aaron Murray got picked off on the game's very first play from scrimmage, believed even when Florida's previously moribund offense started gathering steam, believed even when we went into halftime down 21-7. Because <i>look!</i> We roared back after halftime and went on a 17-3 run to tie things up, and then, when Florida scored a relatively rapid-fire TD that put them back on top, we went right back down the field to tie it up again and, just for good measure, held on Florida's final drive of regulation and successfully forced overtime. All the trappings of that rare amazing Georgia victory were there: More than 30 points against a very good Gator defense? Check. Great QB play? After a miserable first half, Aaron Murray settled down in the second, going 13-of-21 for 198 yards, two TDs and no turnovers, looking once again like the stunningly poised player we'd seen over the first eight games. Confident squad? By the time Georgia tied it up with four and a half minutes left in regulation, our guys were jumping all over the place. The defense couldn't wait to get out on the field and make a stop; the offense looked hungry to get out there and take a stab at getting the winning score.<br /><br />But obviously we didn't. Yeah, some of it comes down to inferior play -- the turnoverpalooza in the first half, f'rinstance, without which we might have been <i>up</i> by two scores and simply handing the ball off to Caleb King and Washaun Ealey to see how much clock, and how much of Urban Meyer's soul, they could grind down. Some of it also comes down to inexplicable coaching -- we were lucky enough that the Mikey Henderson "One and Done" play worked the <i>first</i> time three years ago, so did we really think we were gonna outsmart Florida's secondary with it a second time, particularly with a QB who I'm not sure has hit a fade to the end zone all season?<br /><br />Some of it, though, I'm struggling to justify with any word other than "luck." Take these four situations:<div><ol><li>Trey Burton fumbles at the Florida 14 and Georgia picks it up.</li><li>Aaron Murray fires a pass over the middle to 6'4" TE Aron White, and it's a little high but White gets a hand on it.</li><li>John Brantley gets sacked by Darryl Gamble at the Georgia 35 and fumbles, and a Georgia player gets a hand on it.</li><li>Aaron Murray throws another one over the middle to A.J. Green, the best receiver in college football, and A.J. gets a hand on it.</li></ol></div>Two times the ball began the play in Florida's hands, two times it started off in Georgia's; all four times Georgia gets a hand on it at some point; but <i>all four times</i> it belongs to Florida by the time the whistle is blown. Yeah, yeah, I know: Inferior play had a hand in some of this, too, even the blown opportunities with the fumbles -- if we just fucking <i>fall</i> on that first one rather than trying to pick it up and run with it, for example, we start inside the Florida red zone with three near-automatic points and a pretty good chance at seven, and we deny Florida the long TD drive that swing momentum in their favor for pretty much the rest of the first half.<br /><br />Still: <i>Four times</i> we get a hand on the ball and we don't get <i>any</i> of them? Not <i>one?</i> If we can have a game like that less than a year removed from going -16 in turnover margin, fuck a regression to the mean. It wasn't just the turnovers, either. Late fourth quarter, game tied at 31, Florida's gotten another good KO return from Chris Rainey -- and oh, God, don't get me started on <i>his</i> sociopathic ass being suited up and in the game to begin with -- and they've got 2nd-and-9 just a couple yards shy of midfield. Darryl Gamble crushes Brantley eight yards behind the line, resulting in 3rd-and-17 from the 40 (on a day when we're actually covering third downs pretty well, wonder of wonders), which gives us a chance to force a punt and set ourselves up with not-horrible field position and a couple minutes and two time-outs with which to get Blair Walsh in place for the game-winning field goal. Awesome, right? <i>Right?</i><br /><br />Nope -- a false start by Florida, <i>their fifth false start of the day,</i> negates the sack. They get the first down, drive into Georgia territory, pin the Dawgs at their own 6 and it's off to overtime we go. <i>Even when they fuck up, it turns out better for them.</i><br /><br />I realize I'm leaving myself getting open to getting flayed here -- by fans both Florida-identified and non -- with charges of whining. Hey, you're taunting a dude who's lost the ability to feel, so you're the one who's arguably wasting more energy here. And yes, <i>again,</i> I realize that no small amount of what I've described above goes back to Georgia's players not having the focus or fortitude to make the optimal play in a given situation, whatever that happens to be. And not long after I got home from Atlanta this evening, as I gathered my thoughts and tried to figure out what exactly I wanted to say in this space, I'll admit I briefly entertained the thought that the loud, heavily publicized, tension-fraught atmosphere of Jacksonville might have something to do with that lack of focus, which of course led to me wondering if maybe we should move the Cocktail Party out of there after all. (I mean, we've already <i>officially</i> ripped the words "Cocktail" and "Party" out of it to begin with; after that, any talk of tradition, on the parts of the respective university presidents at least, is pretty ridiculous.)<br /><br />But no, I'm not gonna go there. Even if you think the series would be more fun for the students as a home-and-home; even if you can make a case, in spite of Georgia's still-pretty-good road record under Mark Richt, that the Dawgs' greater travel distance is a tangible hindrance to their chances of winning in this rivalry; even if you think that the Dawgs face a "hostile environment" in a stadium <i>that is divided directly down the middle between Dawgs and Gators,</i> it would be wrong to move this game. Why? <b>BECAUSE IT WOULD BE A BITCH MOVE.</b> If we were to go to a home-and-home, then no matter how dominant a run Georgia went on immediately afterward, no matter how supposedly solid our reasoning was for moving the game, we'd be the the school that <i>whined</i> the Cocktail Party out of Jacksonville and one of the sport's last remaining neutral-site rivalries out of existence. I'll be damned if I'm going to have that on my conscience, or the University of Georgia's.<br /><br />Unfortunately, that doesn't get us a millimeter closer to solving the critical question: <i>What do we do?</i> I'm sorry if you came here for answers, because I don't know. What I do know is that I won't be watching the game next year. If I'm in front of a TV, it'll be tuned to something else (maybe I'll put a "Mad Men" DVD on); if I'm in the Jacksonville area, I'll be relaxing on a sunlit beach, stuffing a lime into the neck of a Corona and thanking the good Lord that, independent of any fortune or misfortune being visited upon my football team, I'm gainfully employed, living in what remains the freest country on earth, and blessed with an inordinate number of family and friends who care about me dearly. But I can't put myself through the misery of another one of these -- not for another year or so, anyway. Believe me, I've got nothing but admiration for Linus for going out there year after year in the face of overwhelming odds and public humiliation and laying bare his trusting soul for all the world to see. But I'm not Linus; I don't have a blanket to turn to anymore; and when I dated a girl named Sally in high school, she dumped me for a dude in the band. I've had an inkling for a while now, in other words, that the Great Pumpkin ain't coming for me. So I think I've earned a year off.Astronaut Mike Dexterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01498197770701096363noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11250715.post-21452185373497037722010-10-27T21:41:00.000-04:002010-10-27T21:41:45.517-04:00Manic-Depressive Preview: This might be the weirdest Cocktail Party ever.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKmQEvcZfOIwJAqe1Mze1dYVAWVCqVTA_lnJN0YD6z4DkkwkG8V4wQFfp8z2tLezPcuJeIqyNHw1-6HZgrkqUH1gpBvxtotK7AQBY6qJlcdwdxkNdAlvJnkKFVO4yEfSl74ItS/s1600/me_titansaudition.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 175px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKmQEvcZfOIwJAqe1Mze1dYVAWVCqVTA_lnJN0YD6z4DkkwkG8V4wQFfp8z2tLezPcuJeIqyNHw1-6HZgrkqUH1gpBvxtotK7AQBY6qJlcdwdxkNdAlvJnkKFVO4yEfSl74ItS/s200/me_titansaudition.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532883384316130994" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhirRTnL9K2UfFAnUN2k83YP9ooiEXalm4ZZfNA-JkhS8sJ3_kgPqu-JAQf8ngk_IfLVsYk3ylCDiCbY97mUEzyhS5Dht_Mc2TUARAWtCBmaLDCVa9P4ZdCglHJTBmCdc9pADtD/s1600/despondent_me.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 122px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhirRTnL9K2UfFAnUN2k83YP9ooiEXalm4ZZfNA-JkhS8sJ3_kgPqu-JAQf8ngk_IfLVsYk3ylCDiCbY97mUEzyhS5Dht_Mc2TUARAWtCBmaLDCVa9P4ZdCglHJTBmCdc9pADtD/s200/despondent_me.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532883249364238034" /></a><br /><br /><i>The Dawgs now have three consecutive dominating victories under their belts, and Manic Doug is kind of over the moon about it -- to be exact, he had to be physically restrained from whipping his junk out and pressing it up against the window of the last car he saw with a Gators license-plate frame. You'd think that even Depressive Doug would be heartened by this recent turn of events, but this is Florida we're talking about, so . . . no dice. In this week's Manic-Depressive Preview, we'll find out if Manic's "Woohoo! We don't suck anymore!" can overcome Depressive's relentless focus on 3-17:</i><br /><br /><b>Manic Doug:</b> THREE IN A ROW, BABY! And second place with a bullet in the SEC East! Can you believe it?<br /><br /><b>Depressive Doug:</b> Now that you mention it, no.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Dude, we're about the hottest thing going in the division right now. Meanwhile, the Gators have <i>lost</i> three straight and are basically tripping over their own shadows on offense. We're gonna leave our cleat prints all over their <a href="http://blutarsky.wordpress.com/2010/10/24/this-years-fake-juice/" target="_new">Pro Combat asses</a> and give 'em a taste of their own fuckin' medicine.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Wow. Congratulations.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> On what?<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> On coming out of the coma you've apparently been in for the past 20 years. Does our modern technology confuse and frighten you? It's OK! This thing I'm typing on here is called the In-ter-net, and look, you can use it to get thousands of songs and put them in this tiny little box!<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> You're mocking me, aren't you?<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Brilliant deduction, and yes, I'm mocking the shit out of you. Seriously, have you forgotten <i>everything</i> that's happened over the past two decades in this rivalry? Three-and-seventeen? Do you seriously not get how retarded it is to be taking a win for granted?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg88n7f9frHH45nDFnLHMzqpxqI7UMF4V9WmS55DGR5db2ThWoChFEJayjzTBu54LSQtpk0IPBjDIriNhzOMdPwZh_UvNrfabDNh9_NUG6RxHzUuLHDRfwn-gL1Z6nqIo8tb0fj/s1600/florida_fumble.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 130px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg88n7f9frHH45nDFnLHMzqpxqI7UMF4V9WmS55DGR5db2ThWoChFEJayjzTBu54LSQtpk0IPBjDIriNhzOMdPwZh_UvNrfabDNh9_NUG6RxHzUuLHDRfwn-gL1Z6nqIo8tb0fj/s320/florida_fumble.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532905283049549282" /></a><br /><br /><b>MD:</b> I'm not taking anything for <i>granted,</i> but come on, man -- have you seen Florida this year? These aren't the Gators of the Tim Tebow years. Frankly, I'm not convinced they're even the Gators of the Ron Zook years. They're godawful in <i>literally</i> every phase of the offensive game, and they're meeting up with Georgia <i>right</i> when we seem to be hitting our stride on defense.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> We gave up 31 points to Kentucky last week. That's what you call "hitting our stride"?<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> OK, first of all, a lot of that was bullshit points they scored after we'd already gone up 41-17 in the fourth quarter and took our foot off the gas.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> They were moving the ball pretty well on us even when we supposedly had our foot <i>on</i> the gas, though. Nine-of-fifteen on third downs? Even third-and-long?<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> But see, Florida doesn't have the playmakers to pull that off this year.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Don't have the playmakers? So you've never heard of Jeff Demps? Or Trey Burton, who straight-up murdered Kentucky at the goal line a few weeks ago? Or Chris Rainey?<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> OK, Demps is a gamer, but we've got a guy who scored five TDs against Kentucky, too, and he ended up with a ton more rushing yards than Trey Burton did. And don't even talk to me about Chris Rainey -- he had all of 16 rushing yards this season before he got himself "suspended from team activities." It's gonna take a lot more than Rainey to turn this offense around. What they need is another Tim Tebow, and they don't have one. Turns out Tebow's departure killed this team even more than anyone thought it would, which sucks for the Gators because John Brantley can't do half of what Teebs did, and sucks for everyone else because now we don't get to see pictures of his girlfriend, Erin Drewes, all over the place.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Hmm, I sense an Associated Hottie coming. You do know she wasn't actually his girlfriend, right?<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Yeah, but when she got <i>mistaken</i> as his girlfriend while she was at UF, she did what any hot chick in her position would do -- got body-painted up and appeared in <i>Playboy.</i><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJWelOWx7q6tzqWn-wxRNGqw_kAHjNt7sOhj0L4XY_JYGFVcSiBThGP_8xA5MTivUjIvs6BF0p8XA-qrR8LTatePIfgCyqJRBdzjhX77xDPN4D8sgDJjB3zauUwEVRA6PN4C2Y/s1600/erin_drewes1.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 197px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJWelOWx7q6tzqWn-wxRNGqw_kAHjNt7sOhj0L4XY_JYGFVcSiBThGP_8xA5MTivUjIvs6BF0p8XA-qrR8LTatePIfgCyqJRBdzjhX77xDPN4D8sgDJjB3zauUwEVRA6PN4C2Y/s200/erin_drewes1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532892414632860866" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL_-LcN0jjvD0X7_SpV2snA6B26FBmFmMv6n7iyqustrwbgY_1nKvEh1tQrUhVrbPssfbqI-8R80BiEph8eZ2jhAWPlNF5rMj0UdfJQux9mRrhXkMTeheE80v9-AKrdIa280z3/s1600/erin_drewes2.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 130px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL_-LcN0jjvD0X7_SpV2snA6B26FBmFmMv6n7iyqustrwbgY_1nKvEh1tQrUhVrbPssfbqI-8R80BiEph8eZ2jhAWPlNF5rMj0UdfJQux9mRrhXkMTeheE80v9-AKrdIa280z3/s200/erin_drewes2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532892295166198466" /></a><br /><br /><b>DD:</b> <i>(witheringly)</i> A true virtuoso of the segue, you are.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> You know you're the only person I know who can still be <i>that</i> sarcastic when he's looking at a chick wearing nothing but paint? If you'll allow me to continue, there's a guy the Florida program might be missing even more than Tebow right now, and it's Dan Mullen, their former offensive coordinator. The new guy, Steve Addazio, is trying to run a Tebow-centric offense with only a John Brantley under center, and it's clearly not working; he's pissed off so many people in Gainesville that he's probably one or two botched snaps away from having to hire someone to taste his food for him.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> His offense does look wretched, I'll give you that.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Meanwhile, ours is clicking -- everyone's healthy, the offensive line finally seems to be coming together, and we've now unloaded 40 points on three straight SEC opponents for the first time in Georgia history.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Yeah, but you don't seriously think it's gonna be that easy against the Gators, do you? They've been OK against the run, but straight-up murder against the pass -- 15 interceptions in seven games, top 15 in the nation in terms of both yardage and efficiency allowed. You know as well as I do that the only way Georgia's been able to win this game recently is to score bucketloads of points, and you can't think that's gonna be easy this weekend.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> It won't be <i>easy,</i> but it's not impossible. First of all, none of the teams Florida has beaten gave them an A.J. Green to worry about. A.J.'s gonna stretch the field and open things up for the running game, which gets Caleb King back this week, by the way. Second, Aaron Murray has been a straight-up baller this year -- you ask me, I think he's even <i>more</i> poised than David Greene or Matt Stafford were in their first years. And honestly, I kind of <i>like</i> the fact that he's a freshman -- it's almost like he's coming into this game fresh, not knowing <i>or</i> caring about Georgia's baggage in this rivalry.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Wow. As intangibles go, that's a bit of a stretch even by TV-pundit standards. I'm sure Kirk Herbstreit is very impressed.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Fuck you, dude. You're <i>determined</i> to be depressed and miserable about this game, aren't you? In spite of the fact that Florida's weaker than its been in decades and Georgia's got an awesome opportunity to beat them down?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFp_Omu4xCUnEwcBXgO4CXUOD1T7WAVj5gSxdTV-lIUoVbal0NZFgXO6Fh6e_Agj7TIKAQhE90YAbVh1W4E7trXbDqNhpnEp9MaGhdSCS49pN4X7wJ05iJM1-xNocrWX0T5OBX/s1600/urban-meyer.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 190px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFp_Omu4xCUnEwcBXgO4CXUOD1T7WAVj5gSxdTV-lIUoVbal0NZFgXO6Fh6e_Agj7TIKAQhE90YAbVh1W4E7trXbDqNhpnEp9MaGhdSCS49pN4X7wJ05iJM1-xNocrWX0T5OBX/s320/urban-meyer.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532905931984500626" /></a><b>DD:</b> An awesome opportunity, sure, but let's be real here. Urban Meyer may be a megalomaniacal asshole and perhaps even a sociopath, but the guy's no dummy -- you know he's been spending their bye week coming up with new wrinkles to try and give this offense some kind of spark. And regardless of Addazio's incompetence, he's got the playmakers to pull it off. Given how our offense is struggling to stop the pass and defend third downs, I think he's gonna find a way to break <i>just</i> enough big plays to put some points on the board. And if their defense plays up to its potential and finally makes Aaron Murray look like the freshman he is, then that'll be enough points to win. I'm calling it Florida 27, Georgia 17.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> That <i>sucks,</i> man! You really think they're gonna make it three-and-<i>eighteen?</i> Who wants to <i>live</i> in a world like that?<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> I don't like it any more than you do. But this has been an ugly rivalry for us lately, there's no way around it. I've been burned too many times to believe otherwise.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Don't think like that! Open your heart, man! This rivalry can change! <i>Let the Cocktail Party love you! . . .</i><br /><br /><i>(extremely awkward pause)</i><br /><br /><b>DD:</b> OK, now I'm just embarrassed <i>for</i> you.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Whatever. For those of us who have <i>faith</i> in the mighty Bulldogs, here's how it's gonna go: Florida's offense continues to suck, while A.J. burns the Gator secondary on a couple big plays. That forces Florida to move their defense back and Georgia gets to open up the run and the short passing game, and they hold off a late Gator rally to win, 31-23.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> That's a nice story.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Thanks.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> But tallying up our respective predictions, I see they average out to . . . a 25-24 Florida win.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> You <i>Judas!</i> I can't believe you still managed to screw this one up! I want a do-over on my prediction.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Nope. Too late. You can put up another picture of painted-Gator-fan-chick, though.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> You know what? No. No. You don't deserve it. When Georgia comes home from Jacksonville victorious, you'll get to see my bare ass running up and down the street screaming and waving a Georgia flag, that's all you're gonna get to see.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> If Georgia comes home from Jacksonville victorious? I'll run up and down the street naked <i>with</i> you.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> I'm gonna hold you to that.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Please don't say "hold," but yes, fine. Whatever.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> You got a deal.Astronaut Mike Dexterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01498197770701096363noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11250715.post-58516766204787953482010-10-25T19:53:00.000-04:002010-10-25T19:53:20.526-04:00Consider for a minute who you are, what you'd like to change . . .<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUJpKkvah-42nNTEMyBQKJom4Trp_pBz99hTnAvQySzFR9OIq4kw4nrVSQoGCNMx9wcL9lMpVRDwbvDgRWh4XGW-nfL0-Qon1-d3PU8DFZEXtgBOcTAkxwduXSb-xoObK3huiZ/s1600/highfive.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 237px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUJpKkvah-42nNTEMyBQKJom4Trp_pBz99hTnAvQySzFR9OIq4kw4nrVSQoGCNMx9wcL9lMpVRDwbvDgRWh4XGW-nfL0-Qon1-d3PU8DFZEXtgBOcTAkxwduXSb-xoObK3huiZ/s320/highfive.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532133481585569938" /></a><br /><i>Is it just me or are postgame victory celebrations even more satisfying in other people's stadiums?</i><br /><br />My sister told me a joke one time about the difference between Gentile moms and Jewish moms (and she heard it from a Jewish friend of hers, so no charges of anti-Semitism, please): If a Gentile mom gives her son two neckties for Christmas and sees him wearing one of them, she says, "Oh, you're wearing one of the ties I got you, it looks so nice!" If a Jewish mother buys her son two ties for Hanukkah and sees him wearing one of them, she sighs and says, "What's the matter, you didn't like the other tie?"<br /><br />That joke popped into my head as I was looking back over the stats for the Georgia-Kentucky game this past weekend -- if you looked at the box score and only the box score, you'd think a) the offense didn't accomplish much except for Washaun Ealey and b) the defense got shredded. Both of those statements are true, and yet not. The offense <i>didn't</i> accomplish much other than Ealey's 157 yards and five TDs, but mainly because it didn't have to; Kentucky's cavalcade of turnovers meant our average starting position in the first half was at the Wildcat 40. Which was only fair, given that a turnover-fueled <i>second-</i>half implosion was what basically handed Kentucky the win in Athens last November. Some statistically misleading wins you feel guilty about because you feel like you got lucky and stole something, but if Kentucky doesn't feel guilty about last year's win -- and they don't appear to, not that they should -- then I feel just fine about this one.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKIAaJN7-M2eb2rYMvbDBIGu39mhg-HfBdumK1SS1IifVc5LjXzvs2o_92TFFeLMmoXbG_AMCug0fS27gDq61I6aLdFx12ws7i0bHXVbI0GTM9F7yvRoQ2F3ViFdZjvnR_MNL0/s1600/commings_INT.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 259px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKIAaJN7-M2eb2rYMvbDBIGu39mhg-HfBdumK1SS1IifVc5LjXzvs2o_92TFFeLMmoXbG_AMCug0fS27gDq61I6aLdFx12ws7i0bHXVbI0GTM9F7yvRoQ2F3ViFdZjvnR_MNL0/s320/commings_INT.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532133595802589874" /></a><br /><i>Sanders Commings intercepts a pass intended for Kentucky receiver and MSNBC political gadfly Chris Matthews.</i><br /><br />Because this win didn't come down to luck -- somebody on the other side of the line of scrimmage had to <i>make</i> those turnovers happen, and that's where we get to statement b), the inference that the defense got shredded because they gave up 427 yards and 31 points. Yeah, our third-down defense was kind of atrocious, and I'll admit the thought of breaking a household appliance flashed through my mind as the 'Cats converted four straight third-and-longs on their second drive. While the defense did a lot of bending, though, it didn't do all that much <i>breaking</i> until the fourth quarter, when the game was pretty well in hand. Not that it was especially inspiring to hear players <a href="http://dawg-extra.blogspot.com/2010/10/from-locker-room_24.html" target="_new">admit that they "relaxed" with a big lead in the second half,</a> but when you're 19 years old and you're leading 41-17 in the fourth quarter of a conference game, I guess there's a tendency for those kinds of things to happen.<br /><br />Here's the greater impression I got from Saturday's game: That increased aggressiveness that Todd Grantham promised us all through the off-season is finally starting to make itself apparent. Against Kentucky, we were better than +2 in turnover margin for the first time all season, and for only the third time in the last three years. We only forced 12 turnovers all of last season; just two-thirds of the way through 2010, we've already forced 15, and are sitting at +7 on the year, a blessed number after last year's wretched -16. And the front seven have been playing unbelievably well lately. Akeem Dent is flying to the ball like a guided missile, and Justin Houston . . . I've heard the voices of more than a few rival fans crack a little when they mention his name. (I wish I could describe to you the smile I get on my face when I hear this; you'll just have to watch <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oehGtcW6BU" target="_new">this</a> and let your imagination take it from there.)<br /><br />The yang to the yin, of course, is that with greater aggressiveness comes greater risks, and we saw that Saturday night, as Georgia's relentless blitzing did sort of allow the defensive backfield to turn into a crapshoot. When the pressure worked, our guys paved Kentucky's O-line and made Mike Hartline do something stupid; when it didn't, unreasonably long third downs got converted, and occasionally points were scored. Still, if you'd told me before the game started that the payoff for such pain would be a 41-17 lead that turned the vast majority of the fourth quarter into what the average fan would probably call "garbage time," I'd have taken you up on that offer. If the greater aggressiveness Grantham has already preached to his unit is already paying off this handsomely in more turnovers and sacks, then I'm optimistic about what our D could look like once he's had a chance to refine their technique and minimize some of that risk.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdivNdcys2uTVpzibA2yAtWAIsUoq-DnNxTk5EGyUbm0BogmCmayifgjG2Vsfe2oaObzRq1bIHyN9WuNcvoRbKUC5mFkvXz_T3zAqtYCk5wh39fUCROACYGLP56OM_2HqHfsYO/s1600/washaun_dive.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 258px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdivNdcys2uTVpzibA2yAtWAIsUoq-DnNxTk5EGyUbm0BogmCmayifgjG2Vsfe2oaObzRq1bIHyN9WuNcvoRbKUC5mFkvXz_T3zAqtYCk5wh39fUCROACYGLP56OM_2HqHfsYO/s320/washaun_dive.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532133788627237346" /></a><br /><i>Washaun, the evil brother of Knowshon, hits the mushroom boost and speeds into the end zone.</i><br /><br />So now it's off to Jacksonville, where God only knows what's going to happen. Three weeks ago, though, who on earth would've thought that the Dawgs would march into this game matching, if not exceeding, the Gators' swagger (and impressing the oddsmakers enough to be <i>favored</i> by three points)? I was as miserable as any of y'all were when the clock ticked down to 00:00 in Boulder and we put the last bit of frosting on a 1-4 start, but if Tyler Durden really was right all along about how once you lose everything you're free to do anything, maybe this was what it took to get our swagger back and turn <i>back</i> into the kind of team we'd wanted to be all along . . . in which case it just might've been worth it.<br /><br />But I guess we won't know until Saturday night.<br /><br />Fleeting thoughts:<br /><br /><b>·</b> I never thought I'd be thinking to myself that I'm far more terrified of a Gene Chizik team than an Urban Meyer team, but when you get right down to it, it's not 5-19 Gene I'm afraid of:<br /><br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Siq68WMuUV4?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Siq68WMuUV4?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object><br /><br />There aren't enough jocks in the entire LSU equipment locker to replace all the ones that their players got faked out of on that one run alone. <i>Maybe</i> Auburn gets caught looking ahead to the Iron Bowl in a few weeks and we manage to pull another 2006-style miracle out of our asses, but otherwise I'm thinking we <i>really</i> better beat Florida (and Idaho State, and Tech) if we want to avoid going 6-6 this year.<br /><br /><b>·</b> Here's a couple questions for you, and feel free to answer honestly in the comments, because I have a feeling my answers are probably the same as yours: 1) Three weeks ago, how much money would you have paid to switch places with the Texas Longhorns, and 2) how badly would you want that money back right now?<br /><br /><b>·</b> Here's another one: Over/under on a hypothetical Oregon-Auburn matchup in the national championship game -- how high would it have to be for you to take the under?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPcmrRqOj52SOwESVK_HmFBZtsDFYjLzkwXAILd1aka3WywacNJ3w8hfU2T0XkhzXtPlKmwL-EWv8DEVd3OBnIvfbrsUugX7aEhdmwyBGBU9O0my6VN2Q_WAtFd9yvS-333D47/s1600/mizzou_fans.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 249px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPcmrRqOj52SOwESVK_HmFBZtsDFYjLzkwXAILd1aka3WywacNJ3w8hfU2T0XkhzXtPlKmwL-EWv8DEVd3OBnIvfbrsUugX7aEhdmwyBGBU9O0my6VN2Q_WAtFd9yvS-333D47/s320/mizzou_fans.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532135272612693026" /></a><br /><i>Since I was </i>thisclose<i> to going to Mizzou, I kinda have to feel happy for these guys.</i><br /><br /><b>·</b> If the regular season ended today, the Big 12's final championship game would be Missouri vs. Baylor. I'll give you a few minutes to stop laughing.<br /><br /><b>·</b> UAB Blazers Watch: For the second time in the past month, UAB erased a deficit on the road against an SEC opponent only to <a href="http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=302960344" target="_new">fall in the final seconds.</a> It's looking highly unlikely that they'll make a bowl this year, but they're sure playing their asses off. (And yes, it pains me greatly that the Blazers gave State a tougher challenge than we did.)<br /><br /><b>·</b> Wofford Terriers Watch: <a href="http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=302962210" target="_new">A 28-21 win over Elon</a> keeps the mighty Terriers undefeated in Southern Conference play; they'll face the only other undefeated SoCon team, Appalachian State, on Nov. 13 in a game that will more than likely decide the league championship and an invite to the division playoffs.Astronaut Mike Dexterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01498197770701096363noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11250715.post-51217054909685124502010-10-25T07:10:00.000-04:002010-10-25T07:10:18.179-04:00Poll dancing, week 8: It actually is kind of great to be a Georgia Bulldog at the moment.A third straight SEC win with more than 40 points scored? Yes siree, I'll take that. And who would've thought, a few weeks ago, that Dawg fans would be looking at Texas, Florida, UCLA, West Virginia and numerous others thinking, "Hooooly shit, I'm glad I'm not them"?<br /><br /><i>Games watched:</i> Parts of South Florida-Cincinnati, Michigan State-Northwestern, the latter part of Iowa State-Texas, Auburn-LSU, little bits of Alabama-Tennessee, Georgia-Kentucky.<br /><br /> <!-- SB Nation BlogPoll Top 25 Ballot --><div id="blogpoll-rankings-ballot" style="background:#fff; padding: 0; width:340px; margin: 10px auto"> <h2 style="margin:0;padding:0;font-size:10px;line-height:10px;"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/rankings/college-football-blogpoll-top-25"><img alt="SB Nation BlogPoll Top 25 College Football Rankings" height="62" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/blogpoll-top25-ballot.png" style="border:0; display:block" width="340"></a></h2> <div style="border: solid 1px #ddd; border-top-width:0"> <h3 style="text-align:center; margin:0; padding:5px 0; font-family:arial; font-size:14px;"><a href="http://heyjennyslater.blogspot.com" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Hey Jenny Slater</a> Ballot - Week 9</h3> <table class="blogpoll-result" style="border-collapse: collapse;border:solid 1px #ccc;margin:0 5px 5px 5px;font-size: 11px; color: #333;font-family:arial;line-height:16px; width:327px;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2"> <tbody><tr> <th style="background:#ddd; font-weight:bold; text-align:left;padding:2px">Rank</th> <th style="background:#ddd; font-weight:bold; text-align:left;padding:2px">Team</th> <th style="background:#ddd; font-weight:bold; text-align:left;padding:2px">Delta</th> </tr> <tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">1</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/oregon-ducks" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Oregon Ducks</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">2</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/auburn-tigers" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Auburn Tigers</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 1</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">3</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/tcu-horned-frogs" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">TCU Horned Frogs</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_down" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_down.gif"> -1</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">4</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/boise-st-broncos" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Boise St. Broncos</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">5</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/alabama-crimson-tide" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Alabama Crimson Tide</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 1</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">6</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/nebraska-cornhuskers" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Nebraska Cornhuskers</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 2</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">7</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/michigan-st-spartans" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Michigan St. Spartans</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 2</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">8</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/missouri-tigers" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Missouri Tigers</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 13</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">9</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/arizona-wildcats" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Arizona Wildcats</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 2</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">10</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/wisconsin-badgers" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Wisconsin Badgers</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 5</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">11</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/utah-utes" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Utah Utes</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 2</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">12</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/stanford-cardinal" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Stanford Cardinal</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_down" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_down.gif"> -2</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">13</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/lsu-tigers" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">LSU Tigers</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_down" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_down.gif"> -8</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">14</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/ohio-st-buckeyes" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Ohio St. Buckeyes</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 2</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">15</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/oklahoma-sooners" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Oklahoma Sooners</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_down" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_down.gif"> -8</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">16</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/florida-st-seminoles" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Florida St. Seminoles</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_down" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_down.gif"> -2</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">17</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/arkansas-razorbacks" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Arkansas Razorbacks</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 1</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">18</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/iowa-hawkeyes" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Iowa Hawkeyes</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_down" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_down.gif"> -6</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">19</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/south-carolina-gamecocks" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">South Carolina Gamecocks</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">20</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/oklahoma-st-cowboys" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Oklahoma St. Cowboys</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_down" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_down.gif"> -3</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">21</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/virginia-tech-hokies" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Virginia Tech Hokies</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_down" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_down.gif"> -1</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">22</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/miami-hurricanes" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Miami Hurricanes</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">23</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/michigan-wolverines" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Michigan Wolverines</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">24</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/nevada-wolf-pack" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Nevada Wolf Pack</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">25</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/mississippi-st-bulldogs" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Mississippi St. Bulldogs</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr><td colspan="3" style="line-height:14px; padding:4px"><strong>Dropouts</strong>: Texas Longhorns, West Virginia Mountaineers, Kansas St. Wildcats</td></tr> </tbody></table> <p style="font-size:12px; margin: 1px 2px 5px 7px;">SB Nation BlogPoll <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/rankings/college-football-blogpoll-top-25" style="color:#C52126; font-weight:bold;">College Football Top 25 Rankings</a> »</p> </div> </div><br /><br /><b>The next five:</b> USC, Baylor, West Virginia, Kansas State, Florida.<br /><br /><b>· The biggest changes in the top 10</b> have to do with LSU and Oklahoma tumbling out of the top 10, making way for, among other teams, a Missouri team that everyone's taking notice of all of a sudden. Did you know that if the season ended today, the final Big 12 Championship Game would be Missouri vs. Baylor? I do, and I find it hilarious.<br /><br /><b>· Wisconsin also gets bumped into the top 10</b> thanks to a second straight big win of the magnitude I wasn't sure they were capable of anymore. Is this really the same team that needed a flubbed PAT to beat Arizona State 20-19?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJhgIywZDfeVvZm2Vw2qn0Flz0fsiaxiVVT1fhvRf44yzBV5US1AiLGtvvrKp5u0Bh5NvDc4sWwVO1uC3OAAFuoJc1j3lfL-yy2mAQHTC8XDCG-OWRCURVMVXRz876rbF1xVr6/s1600/iowa.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 190px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJhgIywZDfeVvZm2Vw2qn0Flz0fsiaxiVVT1fhvRf44yzBV5US1AiLGtvvrKp5u0Bh5NvDc4sWwVO1uC3OAAFuoJc1j3lfL-yy2mAQHTC8XDCG-OWRCURVMVXRz876rbF1xVr6/s320/iowa.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5531938028301326354" /></a><br /><br /><b>· Other big droppers: Iowa,</b> for losing to said Wisconsin team, and Oklahoma State, though the Cowboys don't drop much after giving Nebraska everything they could handle. Florida State probably shouldn't drop at all, given that they didn't even play this past week, but someone had to make way for Mizzou and Wisconsin, and I obviously couldn't put FSU above Oklahoma, so there you have it.<br /><br /><b>· Wave buh-bye to Texas, West Virginia, and Kansas State,</b> all of whom lost rather inexplicably on Saturday, but perhaps none more so than the Longhorns. It wasn't just losing to Iowa State at home, it was never really being in that game in the first place. There's absolutely nothing going right with that offense right now, and that's kind of a cardinal sin in the Big 12.<br /><br /><b>· Replacing them: Miami, Michigan, and Mississippi State.</b> Only Miami actually did something noteworthy this past weekend -- Michigan had a bye, and Missy State needed the full 60 minutes to squeak by UAB. But the Bizarro Bulldogs are 6-2 and might win the SEC East right now, and that's worth something.<br /><br />And here's the SEC Power Poll ballot:<br /><br /><b>1. Auburn --</b> If you don't have Cam Newton at the top of your Heisman watch list at this point, you haven't been paying attention.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivU4oXYWfJtDBlpSYQ1ivAdRj7PiBhz-TPj4aWBJVpAtEXbOVDJofMoe6Wj0TeQ4WP77c-nucNmhdnX9eJCG0OqAcGfjLg0YIRCHc_WxqIY7Ae4mVA8VsTaVVHwuiQ62AfFLcJ/s1600/alabama.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 268px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivU4oXYWfJtDBlpSYQ1ivAdRj7PiBhz-TPj4aWBJVpAtEXbOVDJofMoe6Wj0TeQ4WP77c-nucNmhdnX9eJCG0OqAcGfjLg0YIRCHc_WxqIY7Ae4mVA8VsTaVVHwuiQ62AfFLcJ/s320/alabama.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5531938500729528290" /></a><br /><br /><b>2. Alabama --</b> Offense seemed to get back on track last weekend, but it was against a Vols team whose defense has really been fading down the stretch. The Tide still have LSU, Mississippi State and Auburn left to go, and I've got a nagging feeling there's another loss waiting somewhere in that bunch.<br /><br /><b>3. LSU --</b> The Tigers finally ran into a team even Les Miles Mojo couldn't beat, so of course Miles needs to be fired immediately.<br /><br /><b>4. Arkansas --</b> Finally managed to beat Houston Nutt, yet it came despite Ryan Mallett getting outplayed by . . . Jeremiah Masoli? Really?<br /><br /><b>5. South Carolina --</b> Yes, Gamecocks, your win over Alabama was huge, but that doesn't mean you get a two-week hangover.<br /><br /><b>6. Mississippi State --</b> Speaking of hangovers. Then again, with the Bizarro Bulldogs being bowl-eligible for only the second time this decade, I'll forgive them for not dwelling on that too much.<br /><br /><b>7. Florida --</b> Raise your hand if you ever thought people would be saying "I just don't know if Florida's gonna be able to keep up with Georgia on the scoreboard" at this point in the season.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifPklToznN-yPcKBUdxrxZkud4juQ7d0CkTAG65xV-EdyDCKKpmXblz1DAVUZu90FQJ3eirOgscLiLrNqPvQ1otEHOIA-A5Tj8d17fKp9lPf_RFfu8FOAr70u9bSG1nCgg71h6/s1600/uga.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 258px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifPklToznN-yPcKBUdxrxZkud4juQ7d0CkTAG65xV-EdyDCKKpmXblz1DAVUZu90FQJ3eirOgscLiLrNqPvQ1otEHOIA-A5Tj8d17fKp9lPf_RFfu8FOAr70u9bSG1nCgg71h6/s320/uga.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5531939246577915346" /></a><br /><br /><b>8. Georgia --</b> I'd dearly love to put the Dawgs ahead of Florida, but look, I didn't just jump on this bandwagon yesterday. I've been at this long enough to know how the script usually goes when the Cocktail Party comes around.<br /><br /><b>9. Kentucky --</b> It was uncanny how much of a mirror-image Saturday's game was of last year's UGA-Kentucky matchup in Athens. Instead of Georgia giving away the game with turnovers in the second half, Kentucky blew it with turnovers in the first.<br /><br /><b>10. Vanderbilt --</b> Raise your hand if you ever thought the Vandy-South Carolina game would be a battle for first place in the SEC. OK, seriously, put your hands down.<br /><br /><b>11. Ole Miss --</b> Ole Miss rises a spot not because of anything particularly wonderful they did Saturday, but mainly because Tennessee looked <i>that</i> bad.<br /><br /><b>12. Tennessee --</b> Before the season, I thought Tennessee would at least make it to 6-6, even with their depth issues. Now I'm wondering if they'll run out of players before they even get to win number three.Astronaut Mike Dexterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01498197770701096363noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11250715.post-45868906905885473922010-10-21T06:33:00.000-04:002010-10-21T06:33:14.991-04:00Manic-Depressive Preview: Preparing for anarchy in the UK.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVkFqUHamuoexMDAL0wRnNeU_Y0pFGYwJFx79pXLC18xJbPxdWcXPGs4OVIADyz7PyLnT_FkoeRQn7yXA7Ihu1grrc_uCY9RXrZxiYlZ76b6Cy424R8oX4CzmJGVXDBhhGrBlK/s1600/me_titansaudition.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 175px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVkFqUHamuoexMDAL0wRnNeU_Y0pFGYwJFx79pXLC18xJbPxdWcXPGs4OVIADyz7PyLnT_FkoeRQn7yXA7Ihu1grrc_uCY9RXrZxiYlZ76b6Cy424R8oX4CzmJGVXDBhhGrBlK/s200/me_titansaudition.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527694077522631074" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz_LfPrEdWT0DbFQ7BdN721vS4GroLqr0QsBtfP2g0xnpxU-x8rtanR1sSV55M0u9k56zXZPHs6zSe22sWNf3Zh8-xjglg3OndCl_SxcD4AKLYI20K2Z8mtQ-B1sLxusJECRLX/s1600/despondent_me.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 122px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz_LfPrEdWT0DbFQ7BdN721vS4GroLqr0QsBtfP2g0xnpxU-x8rtanR1sSV55M0u9k56zXZPHs6zSe22sWNf3Zh8-xjglg3OndCl_SxcD4AKLYI20K2Z8mtQ-B1sLxusJECRLX/s200/despondent_me.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527693896424422514" /></a><br /><br /><i>Considering how miserably the first month-plus of the season went, it's been a downright giddy household for our Manic-Depressive Previewing duo the past couple weeks. Manic Doug has been calling the Tennessee state capitol every hour on the hour asking when Mark Richt's title deed will be arriving in the mail, while even Depressive Doug managed to say something positive (and unqualified) about the Dawgs the other day. Granted, it was about Uga VIII being a fine and appropriate heir to the mascot bloodline, but still, that was a big step. Now they take on what probably counts as the Dawgs' biggest challenge in a month: a road trip up to Lexington to face a Kentucky Wildcat team that's been quite a bit more dangerous than many people thought they'd be.</i><br /><br /><b>Manic Doug:</b> Eighty-one, eighty-two, eighty-<i>three</i> . . . <i>ergh!</i> Eighty-four!<br /><br /><b>Depressive Doug:</b> You on an exercise kick or something? What's with the push-ups?<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> One push-up for every point we've scored over the past two weeks. And I'll add one for however many we get against the Wildcats this weekend.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> OK, I was watching you the entire time, so I <i>heard</i> you skip from "twenty-seven" to "sixty-eight."<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Whatever. <i>You</i> try doing 84 push-ups right after you've shotgunned three beers in a row.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Thanks, I'll pass. You gonna do a push-up for every point Kentucky scores, too, or are you gonna leave that to the Wildcat cheerleaders?<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Why the hell would I do push-ups for <i>their</i> scores?<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Might be a better workout, the way Kentucky's been playing lately.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Oh, <i>please.</i> We just shut out an SEC opponent and you're gonna give me some woe-is-us speech about how much our defense is going to struggle?<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Our defense is getting <i>better,</i> but come on -- it's easy to show improvement when you're going up against Tennessee and Vanderbilt. You have to admit Kentucky is a completely different ballgame.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> All right, so other than Randall Cobb, who do I have to worry about?<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> What do you mean, "other than Randall Cobb"? That's like saying other than World War II, the '40s were a pretty peaceful decade.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Man, you know I don't understand half the historical references you use.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_u1B26O2IN6n7nBzmNvDAaCMdwUgFezW2qTzQVMEeBDeBv0auRxQGsAzjZtEwgrZMWa9zjTRnJAlncIKLFEkONcCYwIxbmgFpP_hDERdtcB3xPXuJ4NR-sfgBKkbUyFCpGNaC/s1600/hartline.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 146px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_u1B26O2IN6n7nBzmNvDAaCMdwUgFezW2qTzQVMEeBDeBv0auRxQGsAzjZtEwgrZMWa9zjTRnJAlncIKLFEkONcCYwIxbmgFpP_hDERdtcB3xPXuJ4NR-sfgBKkbUyFCpGNaC/s200/hartline.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530443536922106130" /></a> <b>DD:</b> I'd say it's more like two-thirds, but OK, since you asked, who else does Georgia have to worry about? How about Mike Hartline?<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Is that a <i>joke?</i> Mike Hartline, who got yanked for a true freshman midway through last year?<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> . . . And who leads the current number-two passing game in the entire conference, yes, <i>that</i> guy. Laugh at him if you want, but he's got some good receivers and his line protection has been way, way better than anyone predicted. The guy's got some skills.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> OK, but look at the defenses he's been going up against. Ole Miss? <i>Akron?</i><br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Or how about 349 yards and four TDs against South Carolina last week?<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> That was against a Carolina team that was clearly due for a letdown after knocking off the number-one team in the nation the previous week. And let the record show he pretty much <i>had</i> to throw for that many yards because they were down 28-10 at halftime. And had Marcus Lattimore not gone down with an ankle injury on South Carolina's very first series of the second half, they probably would've <i>stayed</i> down by that much.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Just saying, our defense has had it fairly easy the last couple weeks. This weekend is going to be anything but. And I haven't even gotten into the fact that Randall Cobb catches passes <i>and</i> runs out of the backfield <i>and</i> throws passes . . .<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> How long am I gonna have to sit here for this? I'm meeting people later on tonight.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> . . . <i>and</i> returns kickoffs <i>and</i> has a punt return for a TD this season. How are we supposed to defend all that?<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> That's a fascinating question. My guess would be the same way we defended Warren Norman last week, who does all that shit but didn't do <i>anything</i> against the Dawgs.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Warren Norman doesn't throw passes.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Semantics, motherfucker!<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> OK, I'm not convinced you used <i>either</i> of those words accurately.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Whatever, I still stand by my point: Kentucky isn't going to beat us with one guy, particularly since they're probably not gonna have Derrick Locke back for this game. And here's another question: What kind of Dawg fan are you when you'll launch into the praises of <i>Kentucky's</i> offense before you even mention word one about our own?<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> A realistic one?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitOm6_-c-OwcscxEh6C_GPYI0u8Q0EpqUxAF8HQGrmJ8kh3b-Ssd9LdP5IEYNtXXvnhyphenhyphengFQk8G5g-KepYicxAWxJk9U652GpKm3zkkkf4rwqACkoGFSP7zESd0h0gQRCoYw3j-/s1600/murray.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 158px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitOm6_-c-OwcscxEh6C_GPYI0u8Q0EpqUxAF8HQGrmJ8kh3b-Ssd9LdP5IEYNtXXvnhyphenhyphengFQk8G5g-KepYicxAWxJk9U652GpKm3zkkkf4rwqACkoGFSP7zESd0h0gQRCoYw3j-/s200/murray.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530444571615228546" /></a> <b>MD:</b> A <i>shitty</i> one, more like. In the first place: Mike Hartline may be good, but he's not as cool or composed as Aaron Murray, nor has he played the kind of competition Aaron has. For his receiving corps, Hartline has Randall Cobb and a bunch of other guys you probably couldn't pick out of a lineup; Aaron Murray has the best receiver in the country, along with Kris Durham and Tavarres King, both of whom have been playing balls-out the last couple weeks, <i>and</i> a fantastic group of tight ends.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Well, Murray's a baller, I'll grant you that.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> But did you <i>also</i> know that our <i>running</i> game is averaging only eight yards less per game than Kentucky's? They've been trending downward ever since Derrick Locke got hurt, we've been headed in the <i>right</i> direction since Stacy Searels started tinkering with our O-line personnel. You doubted whether Washaun Ealey and Carlton Thomas would be able to carry the load by themselves last week; they combined for 163 yards and three TDs. They're gonna have Shaun Chapas in the game to block for them this weekend, <i>and</i> they're going up against the second-worst run defense in the conference. It was actually the worst before we shredded Vandy last week.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Hey, I'll even grant you that we're going to score a bunch of points. I just think it's going to be incredibly hard to keep up with Kentucky on the scoreboard.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> You want to hear something that'll shock you? Georgia's actually ranked 14th in the nation in total defense right now.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> You made that up.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Nuh-uhh! <a href="http://web1.ncaa.org/football/exec/rankingSummary?org=257&year=2010&week=7" target="_new">Look!</a><br /><br /><i>(pause)</i><br /><br /><b>DD:</b> OK, I'm actually kind of stunned that you knew that.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> When are you going to stop underestimating me, dude?<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Maybe when you stop calling me at work to ask how to use the DVR.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Fuck you, dude, that thing is <i>complicated.</i><br /><br /><b>DD:</b> At any rate, yes, Georgia has been improving a lot more than most people have been giving them credit for, perhaps myself included. But again, a big part of that improvement has been getting to play Tennessee and Vanderbilt in back-to-back weeks. Vandy was the first team in more than a month who we <i>didn't</i> let convert third downs all over us, and I'm sorry to break it to you, but Kentucky has <i>exactly</i> the kind of offense that's capable of doing it again. Unless we can find a way for those young guys in the secondary to cover <i>all</i> those Kentucky receivers out there, Randall Cobb first and foremost among them, it's going to be a long night.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> So you're saying we lose?<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> I'm saying it's a shootout, not a blowout, but yes, we lose. They pick us apart with Randall Cobb on the wheel route for as long as it takes to build up a nice little lead, then they go conservative with Cobb and Donald Russell to ride things home to the finish. Final score, oh, I don't know -- Kentucky 37, Georgia 29.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> As Sir Charles would say, turrble. <i>Turrble.</i> You should be ashamed of yourself.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> That's a pretty safe bet. What do <i>you</i> think is going to happen?<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> It's a close game at first, we let UK put up a couple early scores, but over the course of the game our guys gradually figure out that they should just double-cover the shit out of Randall Cobb and leave the rest to the defensive front. Meanwhile, Kentucky never quite figures out how to both neutralize A.J. Green <i>and</i> stop the running game now that it's gotten back on track. Another banner day for Aaron Murray, another hundred-yard performance from Washaun, Dawgs win, 41-27.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdzxYiBkDkdzw5O0198JzHrQhMW6_AAC3tk-iQ2DRz_Xwaji1Z6n6RQJw837msa6zqDTUyIGSw-R08vL2vxyDFBNOONy4PX0_SkrM8a_sfxKTFYySeON-Jk5JtmmdNV-DkUAPw/s1600/aj_green.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 309px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdzxYiBkDkdzw5O0198JzHrQhMW6_AAC3tk-iQ2DRz_Xwaji1Z6n6RQJw837msa6zqDTUyIGSw-R08vL2vxyDFBNOONy4PX0_SkrM8a_sfxKTFYySeON-Jk5JtmmdNV-DkUAPw/s320/aj_green.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530445261663142898" /></a><br /><br /><b>DD:</b> A two-touchdown victory in enemy territory, huh? Why, because we've been <i>that</i> good on the road this season?<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> No, because Kentucky is coming off a big victory and they're due for the same letdown South Carolina was last week. Plus Cobb has been running his mouth all week about lack of fan support, and it's gotten written up in all the papers. That's one distraction for them, zero for us, unless you think Uga VIII's cuteness is going to distract us on the sidelines.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> No, I think Uga VIII will be the least of our worries this week. Tallying up our score predictions, and it looks like they average out to . . . a 35-32 win for the Dawgs. Quite a squeaker, it looks like -- you'd take a game that close?<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> And be able to ride a four-game winning streak into Jacksonville against Florida, who, might I remind you, apparently can't keep from tripping over its own shadow these days? Hell yes, I'll take it.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Well, good for you. I hope you're right, of course, it's just that looking over the matchups gives me the sneaking suspicion that . . .<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Yeah, blah blah blah, matchups, whatever, just admit that you're a pussy and get over it. Can we get to the Associated Hottie now, or would you like to write a few more love letters to Randall Cobb?<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> I have <i>never</i> written a love letter to Randall Cobb.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Jeez, and you're annoyingly literal to boot. Here's Emily Cox, graduate of the University of Kentucky in 2008 and Miss Kentucky the same year.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMWCAUrC2FhJ3yB2S1hWZmf2Ul5q87RVHsqf1phaHuVtl36tU_1Um1MEDgRUo-mCJuxu1Lf6zR_NKinU5nOo7Xy_XTPxCbpH3oebwSsGGiIoKH61R-wyraDwJxlVgQ-ew6-owR/s1600/emily_cox1.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 142px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMWCAUrC2FhJ3yB2S1hWZmf2Ul5q87RVHsqf1phaHuVtl36tU_1Um1MEDgRUo-mCJuxu1Lf6zR_NKinU5nOo7Xy_XTPxCbpH3oebwSsGGiIoKH61R-wyraDwJxlVgQ-ew6-owR/s200/emily_cox1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530311071076767762" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ-MmlOyUFl8ISFUZzgFihHhfG1lea5_Pxc-2FuCwJj94ct1b0e5HAVg4SXf1yYjMGJ7IzSDiRQ16INQCW4C5jYdVei_JCX4N1UlxJfwBDyfaczO-7mQ2PzatkLMSUSuIz1haE/s1600/emily_cox2.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ-MmlOyUFl8ISFUZzgFihHhfG1lea5_Pxc-2FuCwJj94ct1b0e5HAVg4SXf1yYjMGJ7IzSDiRQ16INQCW4C5jYdVei_JCX4N1UlxJfwBDyfaczO-7mQ2PzatkLMSUSuIz1haE/s200/emily_cox2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530310969259244834" /></a><br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Wow. Hockey, huh?<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Yeah. Even if she's rooting for the wrong team, there's something about a girl in a jersey . . .<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Particularly when she's proving the stereotype that Kentucky fans pretty much care about every sport <i>other</i> than football.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Wow. <i>Wow.</i> I don't know whether to be ashamed of you for so glibly blowing off a girl in a jersey and no pants, or proud that you actually snuck some trash-talk in there. Well done.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> You might as well be the first, because I'm already kicking myself for even <i>that</i> bit of trash talk. I'm sure I've jinxed us already.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Well, while you say a Rosary asking God for forgiveness for that <i>tiny</i> bit of hubris, I'll be composing the posts I'll be plastering all over the Kentucky message boards Sunday morning, busting on them for losing to us in football <i>and</i> for cheating at hoops. Which we're catching up to them in that, too, by the way.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Wow, have you ever met a chicken you <i>wouldn't</i> count before it had hatched?<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Have I ever "met" a chicken? What, like exchanged pleasantries with one?<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Forget it. I already don't like where this is going.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> That makes two of us.Astronaut Mike Dexterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01498197770701096363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11250715.post-21104011280782748762010-10-19T19:13:00.006-04:002010-10-19T19:54:09.443-04:00Poll dancing, week 7: So six terrible football teams walk into the SEC East . . .Florida just scored all of seven points in a loss to Mississippi State, <i>at home.</i> South Carolina, fresh off a victory over the defending national champions, pooped their pants against Kentucky. Georgia just beat someone 43-0 but still doesn't control their destiny in the SEC East, while they team they steamrolled does. <i>We've replaced the 2010 SEC East with the ACC Atlantic Division . . . let's see if these people can tell the difference!</i><br /><br />Compared to the cavalcade of craptacularity the SEC East is experiencing right now, a 65-43 shootout between two West Division teams -- or Ohio State getting all of one week to enjoy being #1 before getting pantsed by Wisconsin -- almost seems perfectly normal. But let's wade through it all anyway.<br /><br /><i>Games watched:</i> Georgia-Vanderbilt, Auburn-Arkansas, the tail end of Kentucky-South Carolina.<br /><br /> <!-- SB Nation BlogPoll Top 25 Ballot --><div id="blogpoll-rankings-ballot" style="background:#fff; padding: 0; width:340px; margin: 10px auto"> <h2 style="margin:0;padding:0;font-size:10px;line-height:10px;"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/rankings/college-football-blogpoll-top-25"><img alt="SB Nation BlogPoll Top 25 College Football Rankings" height="62" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/blogpoll-top25-ballot.png" style="border:0; display:block" width="340"></a></h2> <div style="border: solid 1px #ddd; border-top-width:0"> <h3 style="text-align:center; margin:0; padding:5px 0; font-family:arial; font-size:14px;"><a href="http://heyjennyslater.blogspot.com" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Hey Jenny Slater</a> Ballot - Week 8</h3> <table class="blogpoll-result" style="border-collapse: collapse;border:solid 1px #ccc;margin:0 5px 5px 5px;font-size: 11px; color: #333;font-family:arial;line-height:16px; width:327px;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2"> <tbody><tr> <th style="background:#ddd; font-weight:bold; text-align:left;padding:2px">Rank</th> <th style="background:#ddd; font-weight:bold; text-align:left;padding:2px">Team</th> <th style="background:#ddd; font-weight:bold; text-align:left;padding:2px">Delta</th> </tr> <tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">1</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/oregon-ducks" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Oregon Ducks</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">2</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/tcu-horned-frogs" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">TCU Horned Frogs</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 2</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">3</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/auburn-tigers" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Auburn Tigers</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 3</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">4</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/boise-st-broncos" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Boise St. Broncos</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 1</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">5</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/lsu-tigers" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">LSU Tigers</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 6</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">6</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/alabama-crimson-tide" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Alabama Crimson Tide</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 2</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">7</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/oklahoma-sooners" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Oklahoma Sooners</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 6</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">8</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/nebraska-cornhuskers" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Nebraska Cornhuskers</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_down" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_down.gif"> -5</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">9</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/michigan-st-spartans" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Michigan St. Spartans</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 6</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">10</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/stanford-cardinal" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Stanford Cardinal</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_down" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_down.gif"> -1</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">11</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/arizona-wildcats" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Arizona Wildcats</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 5</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">12</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/iowa-hawkeyes" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Iowa Hawkeyes</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_down" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_down.gif"> -2</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">13</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/utah-utes" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Utah Utes</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_down" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_down.gif"> -1</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">14</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/florida-st-seminoles" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Florida St. Seminoles</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 5</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">15</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/wisconsin-badgers" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Wisconsin Badgers</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 8</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">16</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/ohio-st-buckeyes" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Ohio St. Buckeyes</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_down" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_down.gif"> -14</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">17</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/oklahoma-st-cowboys" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Oklahoma St. Cowboys</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 8</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">18</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/arkansas-razorbacks" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Arkansas Razorbacks</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_down" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_down.gif"> -4</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">19</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/south-carolina-gamecocks" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">South Carolina Gamecocks</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_down" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_down.gif"> -12</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">20</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/virginia-tech-hokies" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Virginia Tech Hokies</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">21</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/missouri-tigers" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Missouri Tigers</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">22</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/texas-longhorns" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Texas Longhorns</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">23</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/west-virginia-mountaineers" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">West Virginia Mountaineers</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">24</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/nevada-wolf-pack" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Nevada Wolf Pack</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_down" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_down.gif"> -7</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">25</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/kansas-st-wildcats" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Kansas St. Wildcats</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr><td colspan="3" style="line-height:14px; padding:4px"><strong>Dropouts</strong>: Florida Gators, Oregon St. Beavers, N.C. State Wolfpack, Miami Hurricanes</td></tr> </tbody></table> <p style="font-size:12px; margin: 1px 2px 5px 7px;">SB Nation BlogPoll <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/rankings/college-football-blogpoll-top-25" style="color:#C52126; font-weight:bold;">College Football Top 25 Rankings</a> »</p> </div> </div><br /><br /><b>The next five:</b> Michigan, USC, Mississippi State, North Carolina, North Carolina State.<br /><br /><b>· The toppling of last week's #2 and #3 teams</b> headlines this week's ballot, with TCU, Auburn, and Boise State all benefiting from the chaos. As for LSU, well . . . I can't believe I'm putting them up there, either, but God seems to really like Les Miles this year, so I guess I should, too.<br /><br /><b>· Ohio State's loss, in particular, presented a difficult issue</b> because while Wisconsin had done very little up to this point to merit inclusion in the top 25 -- if memory serves, their marquee win coming into last week was, what, a white-knuckle escape from Arizona State? -- they stomped tOSU soundly enough that there was really no way to keep the Buckeyes ahead of the Badgers. So Tressel's boys plummet 14 spots, probably an overreaction that will be corrected in short order, but whatever.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirQS94WNnyOJf0GKsaUHyFFaTOF3YnbL1nwM1iO9DFdBs2Wo6UqLOhTydmtfXdAdNsqdo2NfFrie0HBQJUQbfFdFQdL7MjAUVukbXap1DT3wJhqJo37gpWTq6dC3pba2Hv_gMM/s1600/kentucky-usc.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 155px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirQS94WNnyOJf0GKsaUHyFFaTOF3YnbL1nwM1iO9DFdBs2Wo6UqLOhTydmtfXdAdNsqdo2NfFrie0HBQJUQbfFdFQdL7MjAUVukbXap1DT3wJhqJo37gpWTq6dC3pba2Hv_gMM/s320/kentucky-usc.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529907045601207442" /></a><br /><br /><b>· South Carolina also takes a double-digit thud</b> down to #19, and I thought about keeping them ahead of Arkansas, but the Razorbacks' losses have both come against teams I currently have in the top 10, while the Gamecocks have one loss to a current top-10 team and another to . . . well, Kentucky. The fact that the 'Cocks remain the only SEC East team in the rankings kind of tells you what sort of year this has been for the East.<br /><br /><b>· Big risers include Wisconsin (obviously)</b> for beating the Buckeyes, Michigan State for probably not getting enough credit to begin with for starting 7-0, and Oklahoma State for beating . . . Texas Tech? OK, not that big a deal, but they're 6-0 and unloading bushel baskets of points on every single team they play; they haven't even come close to tasting the toughest part of their schedule yet, but for now they get a bump. Arizona, too, gets hiked up despite a fairly so-what victory, but their only loss of the season was by two points to a conference rival, so.<br /><br /><b>· Everybody who got kicked out of the poll this week deserved it</b> for losing, except for Miami -- but if you force seven turnovers and still only beat <i>Duke</i> 28-13, you're really not "applying yourself," as numerous teachers of mine would say.<br /><br /><b>· Their replacements: Missouri,</b> Texas (whom I still feel conflicted about given that awful UCLA loss, but beating Nebraska earns you some benefit of the doubt), a West Virginia team that's the only remotely attractive squad in a plug-ugly Big East, and Kansas State, who probably doesn't have a single name on their roster you'd recognize but is still hanging in there at 5-1. And they've managed to get there despite a schedule that's a cut above Bill Snyder's usual peanut gallery of D-IAAs and schools whose student bodies were all-female up until a few years ago, so there you have it.<br /><br />SEC Power Poll ballot follows:<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/b2WQvtGnBQw?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/b2WQvtGnBQw?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><b>1. Auburn --</b> Watching Gus Malzahn's offense in action is like watching old footage of atmospheric nuclear tests: It's almost kind of beautiful and awesome, as long as it's happening far, far away from you.<br /><br /><b>2. LSU --</b> A month ago, I never dreamed I'd be ranking the Tigers this high. Even this past weekend against freaking McNeese State, they screwed around just long enough to make you wonder what the hell was going on before they finally got into gear.<br /><br /><b>3. Alabama --</b> Still not quite sure what's going on with this offense. Even Paul Finebaum has to be concerned that they didn't even drop as many points on a bad Ole Miss defense as Jacksonville State did.<br /><br /><b>4. Arkansas --</b> Given how bad the Razorback defense looked the past two seasons, it's almost kind of comforting that they managed not to have a complete defensive implosion until week 7.<br /><br /><b>5. South Carolina --</b> Steve Spurrier better hope that the Kentucky game was just a post-upset hangover and not something more. We're all well acquainted with the script this team typically follows in the second half of the season.<br /><br /><b>6. Mississippi State --</b> I got the idea pretty early on in the off-season that State might earn a bowl bid this year. I just didn't think they'd have it practically sewn up by Halloween.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsTSscGfSz_uWQoU4vXLmzrZBYv_Ie2VyJBEdamgSJzH_BE4vNoClqdZod8pksO_pwhyphenhyphenTbhgYb1Agk3a_J0-PdLkiPzagXjjHOYbn0snSpJ3GFwr2f-6Ay_uFC-Ijenu-tS4Gd/s1600/urbz.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 217px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsTSscGfSz_uWQoU4vXLmzrZBYv_Ie2VyJBEdamgSJzH_BE4vNoClqdZod8pksO_pwhyphenhyphenTbhgYb1Agk3a_J0-PdLkiPzagXjjHOYbn0snSpJ3GFwr2f-6Ay_uFC-Ijenu-tS4Gd/s320/urbz.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529907463494167170" /></a><br /><br /><b>7. Florida --</b> Before this season, the Gators had only been held to single digits on the scoreboard six times in the previous 19 years. It's now happened twice in the span of three <i>games.</i><br /><br /><b>8. Kentucky --</b> Kind of had to move them back up after earning a transitive win over Alabama, but their victory celebration is going to be short-lived if that defense doesn't tighten up.<br /><br /><b>9. Georgia --</b> In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king, or can be, even if he lost to Mississippi State and Colorado in back-to-back weeks.<br /><br /><b>10. Tennessee --</b> If the Vols continue their season-long pattern of alternating gutsy performances with games in which they completely fail to show up, they're going to give Alabama a pretty good run on Saturday.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgosYvd6CSIxyRae2ndvL2hlleIA2vddSCaIXiMgUILH_vCmzvKyshCu9rkza-WpWachBAaCY6K8Xxoz4-eqWL41M_UZwIds_xmyF2adLY8wLjM7obbWEMHLczQ9eyF9nmQdMv/s1600/smith_sacked.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 222px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgosYvd6CSIxyRae2ndvL2hlleIA2vddSCaIXiMgUILH_vCmzvKyshCu9rkza-WpWachBAaCY6K8Xxoz4-eqWL41M_UZwIds_xmyF2adLY8wLjM7obbWEMHLczQ9eyF9nmQdMv/s320/smith_sacked.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529908699244648898" /></a><br /><br /><b>11. Vanderbilt --</b> Vanderbilt may be a bottom-tier team in the SEC, but it's still been a while since they got blown out <i>that</i> bad.<br /><br /><b>12. Ole Miss --</b> They got a new mascot and they beat the spread against Alabama. That seems to be about as exciting as it gets in Oxford these days.Astronaut Mike Dexterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01498197770701096363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11250715.post-34787269742965981312010-10-18T10:50:00.000-04:002010-10-18T10:50:23.586-04:00We can't agree about anything, where to go or even where we've been.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_IrhrHZfiUHlhSf4yoSlcDf8b8No7vBRBe9e_CXLnqwo7daibnlVjxyJcmDKxebpFBiOI6SWmQ4JX8dIl63wLm7tV2C-Eyt4S4E9Wvws-B7-p3uytNISPUVkdo3oYaXNHcyFe/s1600/UgaVIII_Russ.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_IrhrHZfiUHlhSf4yoSlcDf8b8No7vBRBe9e_CXLnqwo7daibnlVjxyJcmDKxebpFBiOI6SWmQ4JX8dIl63wLm7tV2C-Eyt4S4E9Wvws-B7-p3uytNISPUVkdo3oYaXNHcyFe/s320/UgaVIII_Russ.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529395268616176818" /></a><br /><i>Uga VIII (left) and Russ sniff one another, and a torch is passed.</i><br /><br />Before we get to the actual bidness here, I want to take a moment to tip my cap to Russ, a DGD who just had the misfortune of coming along at the wrong time. Though Russ presided over that four-game losing streak that even now is a little tough to talk about, he bookended it with the wins over Georgia Tech and Texas A&M last year and this year's four-touchdown <i>Racheblitzkrieg</i> against the Vols, so never let it be said that nothing good happened under his brief interim reign. He passes the collar to Uga VIII with a 4-4 record and, as far as I'm concerned, his big jowly head held high, and he is no less deserving of a dotage of fine meats and cheeses and decadent ice bags than any of the "official" Ugas who came before him.<br /><br />But a new day, and a new bulldog, have dawned, which means it's time to look forward. And looking forward entails making sense of <i>this:</i><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7vm_R5wCgrIRCC_fk-lKf4SUi58GX_5WO7a27fTgxULRjEm2x7KqZrl35GLcXtF-uZWkF4JhYZsTsmVTwrxzstoGHWGzfIxrm9_3f796qWSbTNoDZglrp-n_jRbaN9FSzVuBW/s1600/standings.bmp"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 317px; height: 203px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7vm_R5wCgrIRCC_fk-lKf4SUi58GX_5WO7a27fTgxULRjEm2x7KqZrl35GLcXtF-uZWkF4JhYZsTsmVTwrxzstoGHWGzfIxrm9_3f796qWSbTNoDZglrp-n_jRbaN9FSzVuBW/s320/standings.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529357236864526754" /></a><br /><br />South Carolina, your clubhouse leader, remains in first place (though only with a .500 record) after taking the pipe from a Kentucky team that's still only a half-game out of <i>last</i> place even after the victory. Vanderbilt still controls its own destiny despite taking a 43-point jackhammering from a Georgia team that somehow does <i>not</i> control its own destiny, but that Georgia team, despite having just recently snapped their worst losing streak in 20 years, is still tied with the Florida team that was last year's runaway division champion. And then there's Tennessee at the bottom, still awaiting their first conference win -- but at the rate things are going, can anyone say with any degree of certainty that they won't be right back in the thick of it in just a couple weeks?<br /><br />Just a few weeks ago, Georgia fans -- myself included -- were convinced that our team sucked and the universe was imploding. Now it turns out that it was just the SEC East imploding, and while our team may yet be no better than mediocre, that still might be enough to win the damn thing. In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king, and in the land that's doing a bang-up impression of the ACC at the moment, the one-eyed man who's just pantsed two straight conference opponents by an aggregate score of 84-14 is no less worthy of wearing the crown than anyone else.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4CBKZmVZe4NoIA72dTsvwiGQLArHPLRcQsnn3p76zcRJD8TLxLbKpwhR4btX7xJ4aCSsOkbH6ThJQSdIzEtpFTT9JNBV0TirW4hiKKYCYfq7_xhmrgNps-xh8OGW65EQ97uKK/s1600/carlton.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 274px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4CBKZmVZe4NoIA72dTsvwiGQLArHPLRcQsnn3p76zcRJD8TLxLbKpwhR4btX7xJ4aCSsOkbH6ThJQSdIzEtpFTT9JNBV0TirW4hiKKYCYfq7_xhmrgNps-xh8OGW65EQ97uKK/s320/carlton.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529396064146341074" /></a><br /><i>Why Carlton Thomas isn't celebrating his TDs with the "Carlton dance" from "Fresh Prince of Bel Air," I still can't figure out.</i><br /><br />Mind you, this should not be read as gloating or overconfidence. Should the 2010 SEC season continue in this fashion, then even if Georgia comes out at the end with a not-humiliating record, a lot of people are going to be kicking themselves that we didn't grab winnable games against Arkansas and Colorado and take a lot more advantage of the chaos than we actually did. If the rest of the division is this bad, then it's entirely reasonable to look back and wonder why we didn't do a better job of bringing it under our heel. Whether we finish 8-4 or 5-7, those first five weeks of the season are going to seem like a real missed opportunity.<br /><br />But OK, again, time to look forward, not back. What have we got right now? Well, we've got a young QB who's fifth in the SEC (and 18th nationally) in passing efficiency despite never having thrown a pass in a Georgia uniform prior to September 4. We've got an offensive line that is finally starting to come together and open up some holes for a running game that had been left for dead after Caleb King got suspended. We've got a defense that is -- get ready -- <a href="http://web1.ncaa.org/mfb/natlRank.jsp?year=2010&div=B&rpt=IA_teamtotdef&site=org" target="_new">ranked <i>14th in the nation</i></a> (and third in the conference) in total yards allowed, <i>better</i> than the Florida or South Carolina units that were supposed to be so stocked this year. A few weeks ago, we were at a point when we were starting to wish we could trade places with Mississippi State or Kentucky; Saturday night, I saw a couple Tweets from Florida fans looking longingly at <i>us.</i><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ5bCdmkzkLptRV93_eGMuaIET3Lbg-1v3T6TFHEUWp5JjnF3pQCIWgB3VuPr2G7Er3KJijnRIOG4uxpGzRt5QNXD2oP3PlSrzWd12vyXq5gxDPj_Oe3LmPJ9JDufqcAIvxYQV/s1600/gregor_samsa.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 238px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ5bCdmkzkLptRV93_eGMuaIET3Lbg-1v3T6TFHEUWp5JjnF3pQCIWgB3VuPr2G7Er3KJijnRIOG4uxpGzRt5QNXD2oP3PlSrzWd12vyXq5gxDPj_Oe3LmPJ9JDufqcAIvxYQV/s320/gregor_samsa.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529396866937352754" /></a><br /><i>Welcome to the SEC East, where </i>everybody<i> looks like this.</i><br /><br />I'm still trying to decide whether this season is more like a Kafka story or a "Twilight Zone" episode. Maybe it's both -- sort of an even weirder cross between <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Metamorphosis" target="_new"><i>The Metamorphosis</i></a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Eye_of_the_Beholder" target="_new">"The Eye of the Beholder"</a>: On October 3 we woke up to find that we'd turned into a cockroach -- and two weeks later we ventured outside to find that everyone <i>else</i> had turned into cockroaches, too.<br /><br />Now, after all this we're still only 3-4 and flawed in a lot of areas, perhaps the biggest being our ability to get all our star players on the field at the same fucking time. (After Caleb King's arrest and suspension, I suggested -- only half-jokingly -- that Mark Richt rescind our players' driving privileges across the board, confiscating their licenses and only handing them back when they make big plays, kind of the way they receive dawg-bone stickers for their helmets.) But in the event we ever <i>do</i> get everyone on the field at once, it's starting to look like we may not actually be that bad a team. There's still a lot of football to be played. but at this point I think I'm actually looking forward to watching those games <i>be</i> played and tabling the Mark Richt Hot Seat debate until well into December.<br /><br />Elsewhere in misery:<br /><br /><b>·</b> How delicious is it that less than two weeks after <a href="http://college-football-blog.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/24156338/25061065" target="_new">Steve Spurrier called Les Miles out</a> for succeeding in spite of himself, Spur Dog tries to channel the Lesticles himself in the closing minutes of South Carolina's game against Kentucky -- only turns out <a href="http://blutarsky.wordpress.com/2010/10/17/where-have-all-the-geniuses-gone/" target="_new">Spurrier isn't nearly as good at being Les Miles</a> as Les Miles is. Dude, even <i>I'm</i> smart enough not to call a time-out when the clock's already stopped.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisGsiuHto_OMFfnMe1aTxwObJu39-jIrN_zKDjcRYMQn-_-_outSWHo64QuUXOr9bcBi08k6Y2Py3KBT7ZXlMp7P_0fhqVZa2LRDuL8ro-_v0MkzrExRfkPzTgiv_nMgZ-ua0b/s1600/urbz.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisGsiuHto_OMFfnMe1aTxwObJu39-jIrN_zKDjcRYMQn-_-_outSWHo64QuUXOr9bcBi08k6Y2Py3KBT7ZXlMp7P_0fhqVZa2LRDuL8ro-_v0MkzrExRfkPzTgiv_nMgZ-ua0b/s320/urbz.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529397314291408690" /></a><br /><i>You can lie to your kids, Urb, but you can't lie to God. (From Bubbaprog at <a href="http://30fps.mocksession.com/" target="_new">30fps</a>)</i><br /><br /><b>·</b> As far as Florida is concerned, I know I have no right to bag on someone else for losing to Mississippi State, but at least we did it on the road, and at least we were playing well enough to make State have to work for it. <i>In the Swamp,</i> MSU threw only one pass in the second half, and afterward <a href="http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2010/oct/18/title-still-grabs-sec-east/?sportscollege" target="_new">Dan Mullen was griping</a> about how they should've won by more than they did.<br /><br /><b>·</b> I can't imagine a more terrifying offense to play than Auburn right now. It's almost enough to make me hope for an Auburn-Oregon national title game. What do you think the over-under on that would be? Do you think it'd creep up into triple digits?<br /><br /><b>·</b> Florida and Michigan are out of the top 25; Mississippi State is in. Michigan State is a top-10 team. Oklahoma is third behind Oregon <i>and</i> Boise State in both polls, but #1 in the first edition of the BCS standings. Somehow it's comforting to know that the SEC East's chaos syndrome is spreading nationwide.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHHunk-Pg40vfgIL_z-a5aIZOyqlnxQaFBujKakxYYJ8V6MaVs2bWE9Un6X5Sbdk0JGi2MCeh2ezEbmUIajEVJef7T7p1HIREhAY0yl0byNEy4G3qc8Dyid4Y2SFWT7fCvRCdY/s1600/uab.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 195px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHHunk-Pg40vfgIL_z-a5aIZOyqlnxQaFBujKakxYYJ8V6MaVs2bWE9Un6X5Sbdk0JGi2MCeh2ezEbmUIajEVJef7T7p1HIREhAY0yl0byNEy4G3qc8Dyid4Y2SFWT7fCvRCdY/s320/uab.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529398404422200546" /></a><br /><i>Two </i>more<i> teams you'll never be able to figure out no matter how hard you try.</i><br /><br /><b>·</b> UAB Blazers watch: Directly on the heels of a 42-7 pounding by UCF, the Blazers come home to host a 5-1 UTEP team, and keep that team out of the end zone for four quarters in a 21-6 victory. If people would just leave UAB for dead <i>every</i> week, they'd probably be 5-1 right now themselves.<br /><br /><b>·</b> Wofford Terriers watch: No problem whatsoever for the mighty Terriers this week as they <a href="http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=302892747" target="_new">rolled over Western Carolina 45-14.</a> If you follow <a href="http://twitter.com/espn4d" target="_new">Pat Forde on Twitter,</a> you've probably noticed that he ends all his Boise State-related Tweets with "Bus.", in reference to him proudly getting on the Boise-State-for-national-title bus in the very beginning of the season. As I am now firmly on board whatever mode of public transport the Wofford-Terriers-for-FCS-national-championship movement is using, I'll now be ending my Wofford-related posts with "Train," "Tram," "Shinkansen" or something along those lines. If you have any suggestions as to what I can use, have at it.Astronaut Mike Dexterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01498197770701096363noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11250715.post-70030338859891071692010-10-15T18:15:00.009-04:002010-10-15T19:03:36.558-04:00The Friday Random Ten+5 gets roasted.Don't know if y'all heard, but a very funny individual passed away a couple weeks ago -- Greg Giraldo, a Comedy Central regular and veteran of the stand-up circuit. If you've never seen one of his Comedy Central roast appearances or heard his stand-up album <i>Good Day to Cross a River,</i> check out one or the other (or both); he had the kind of sense of humor that was awfully good at hitting people right where it hurt the most, yet you never got the impression he was only doing it for shock value. Above all, it had to be a good joke, and it usually was.<br /><br />Anyway, his death got me thinking, who would I want laying into <i>me</i> if I was somehow fortunate, rich, or just ridicule-able enough to earn my own roast? Obviously can't have Greg Giraldo at it now, but there are a few other people I think I'd like to have there to give me the skewering I have richly deserved for years now. So this week's +5 is the Five Comedians I'd Invite To Destroy Me At My Celebrity Roast . . . take it away, folks:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKMs4EhU9H2LltN3rZQR5_QlJ_m-YCgbYHhC2xfTGTj-JxmJIQfjwWVn4uAaTtASXmSuu5CMaAxTiOyAcDkQ_uIKlfygLZaXrZ4lXgbvfcIUQqd-Z_b4brtiyc7bwUpZ3cmXtl/s1600/tina_fey.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 242px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKMs4EhU9H2LltN3rZQR5_QlJ_m-YCgbYHhC2xfTGTj-JxmJIQfjwWVn4uAaTtASXmSuu5CMaAxTiOyAcDkQ_uIKlfygLZaXrZ4lXgbvfcIUQqd-Z_b4brtiyc7bwUpZ3cmXtl/s320/tina_fey.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528407712130046978" /></a><br /><br /><b>Tina Fey</b><br />Obvious choice to be the headliner. Which reminds me, I hope every one of y'all caught last night's live episode(s) of "30 Rock"; if you didn't, you can catch every last minute of cameo-filled goodness <a href="http://www.hulu.com/watch/184792/30-rock-live-show-east-coast" target="_new">here.</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJBCn3yTX15xvxdWd8HmmXYw5VT5JfYVwIPKVjJ-4OC_heQgzkm6cg646iRH3vme0gFFlo9ZH9K9ALXFH8YJcEzEzFq58SwGLlAh-nxSAlGjvja4rLxu-NZP1MfR3rKUksjxhm/s1600/patton_oswalt.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJBCn3yTX15xvxdWd8HmmXYw5VT5JfYVwIPKVjJ-4OC_heQgzkm6cg646iRH3vme0gFFlo9ZH9K9ALXFH8YJcEzEzFq58SwGLlAh-nxSAlGjvja4rLxu-NZP1MfR3rKUksjxhm/s320/patton_oswalt.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528403882822536514" /></a><br /><br /><b>Patton Oswalt</b><br />Probably my favorite stand-up comedian in the world right now. And an entirely appropriate choice for someone to roast me, as his existential angst and misery so closely mirror my own. Yet he was the voice of Rémy in "Ratatouille," so I could almost kind of sort of pass it off as family-friendly.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoDBGn_c2iQ4hBDisOg5_9zn-sp0mFjSLIfCzcamoeSgLbSzizIlObL4uyroQoo9h2wIPSMq8gejiWGfwbgO6KCKd_alY4m7aOElP18pLpKmgONLGX_ByGlfMhD8EgG6yAjh0j/s1600/john_oliver.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 278px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoDBGn_c2iQ4hBDisOg5_9zn-sp0mFjSLIfCzcamoeSgLbSzizIlObL4uyroQoo9h2wIPSMq8gejiWGfwbgO6KCKd_alY4m7aOElP18pLpKmgONLGX_ByGlfMhD8EgG6yAjh0j/s320/john_oliver.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528402429196669058" /></a><br /><br /><b>John Oliver</b><br />Graphic insults and dick jokes? Most people would probably find that inappropriate. Graphic insults and dick jokes <i>in a very proper British accent?</i> Would really class up the proceedings, I think.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQCLhyphenhyphenQAY8NiNoNLCk_BVed6_lfVHoc8m4_JjLXOcBMowftspnp3fVRdHc70I-KDcm7DyqgoZvYUCFLmV_JYxt_cCm8ofBKcZwsdb93EelAOB7BOLUzuwyLu6PDPgw3lW6uEsD/s1600/dave_chappelle.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 313px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQCLhyphenhyphenQAY8NiNoNLCk_BVed6_lfVHoc8m4_JjLXOcBMowftspnp3fVRdHc70I-KDcm7DyqgoZvYUCFLmV_JYxt_cCm8ofBKcZwsdb93EelAOB7BOLUzuwyLu6PDPgw3lW6uEsD/s320/dave_chappelle.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528401117993022818" /></a><br /><br /><b>Dave Chappelle</b><br />The great thing about having Dave Chappelle do your roast is that not only would he deliver a hilarious string of insults, he might be able to hook up Wu-Tang or De La for the after-party, or perhaps even the event itself. Greatest Roast Ever? I think so.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6i2qSLB9zKt27zNtK0xaOaVyIODEvzxCFhl6QfLizGGFm0PRQynI3ZdDna_gAXQY_rFhPxmLDPhiIszfgxuZbVAfws5npoptX3iez7RHeeqbP_8uxwRHIjwdtNgBrqsLgHN5u/s1600/dave_attell.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6i2qSLB9zKt27zNtK0xaOaVyIODEvzxCFhl6QfLizGGFm0PRQynI3ZdDna_gAXQY_rFhPxmLDPhiIszfgxuZbVAfws5npoptX3iez7RHeeqbP_8uxwRHIjwdtNgBrqsLgHN5u/s320/dave_attell.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528400185067146658" /></a><br /><br /><b>Dave Attell</b><br />When I told Holly I was putting Dave Attell on my list, she asked me, "Do you really want Dave Attell in the same room with your mom?" My answer: Yes, because that would be <i>hilarious.</i> "So, Mrs. Gillett, masturbation: Let's talk about it." (Holly's reaction: still highly disapproving.)<br /><br />And the Ten:<br /><br />1. Randy Newman, "Louisiana 1927"<br />2. Isaac Hayes, "Chocolate Salty Balls"<br />3. Pet Shop Boys, "Always"<br />4. Röyksopp, "Only This Moment"<br />5. Mose Allison, "I Don't Worry About a Thing"<br />6. David Holmes, "Commercial Break"<br />7. Miley Cyrus, "Party in the U.S.A." <i>(yes, I have this on my iPod, and you know you love it)</i><br />8. Dr. Dooom, "I Run Rap"<br />9. Stereolab, "Brakhage"<br />10. Moby, "Down Slow"<br /><br />Your turn, folks. List your preferred celebrity roasters and/or Random Tens -- with or without Miley -- in the comments.<br /><br />And I'm off to Savannah for a long weekend . . . I should be able to get on here while I'm out of town, but if I don't, well, that means I got into some horrendous trouble with the genteel society of Savannah, most likely alcohol-related, and woke up face-down and hungover in the Garden of Good and Evil. Which reminds me, if y'all have any bar/restaurant recommendations for me, throw those in the comments, too, while you're at it.Astronaut Mike Dexterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01498197770701096363noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11250715.post-4846395964626957262010-10-13T22:08:00.000-04:002010-10-13T22:08:00.444-04:00Manic-Depressive Preview: Winning changes everything (except where otherwise noted).<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVkFqUHamuoexMDAL0wRnNeU_Y0pFGYwJFx79pXLC18xJbPxdWcXPGs4OVIADyz7PyLnT_FkoeRQn7yXA7Ihu1grrc_uCY9RXrZxiYlZ76b6Cy424R8oX4CzmJGVXDBhhGrBlK/s1600/me_titansaudition.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 175px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVkFqUHamuoexMDAL0wRnNeU_Y0pFGYwJFx79pXLC18xJbPxdWcXPGs4OVIADyz7PyLnT_FkoeRQn7yXA7Ihu1grrc_uCY9RXrZxiYlZ76b6Cy424R8oX4CzmJGVXDBhhGrBlK/s200/me_titansaudition.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527694077522631074" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz_LfPrEdWT0DbFQ7BdN721vS4GroLqr0QsBtfP2g0xnpxU-x8rtanR1sSV55M0u9k56zXZPHs6zSe22sWNf3Zh8-xjglg3OndCl_SxcD4AKLYI20K2Z8mtQ-B1sLxusJECRLX/s1600/despondent_me.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 122px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz_LfPrEdWT0DbFQ7BdN721vS4GroLqr0QsBtfP2g0xnpxU-x8rtanR1sSV55M0u9k56zXZPHs6zSe22sWNf3Zh8-xjglg3OndCl_SxcD4AKLYI20K2Z8mtQ-B1sLxusJECRLX/s200/despondent_me.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527693896424422514" /></a><br /><br /><i>Woohoo! Sweet victory! As you might expect, last week's huge win over Tennessee has completely changed our prognosticators' outlook on football and life -- Manic Doug has been drinking since Saturday night, while Depressive Doug is worrying about . . . well, OK, I guess neither one of them have changed in the slightest. But they still took time out of their busy drinking/kvetching schedule(s) to talk about this week's Vanderbilt game. Here we go:</i><br /><br /><b>Manic Doug:</b> WOOOOOOOOOO!!!! <i>YEAAAAHHHHH!!!</i> Forty-one to fourteen! <i>Suck it, Vols!!!!</i><br /><br /><b>Depressive Doug:</b> OK, what <i>possible</i> good does it do for you to be yelling in <i>my</i> face right now? You know I'm not a Tennessee fan.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Yeah, but I know there are some out there, and I want to know how they feel being AARON MURRAY'S BIIIIITCH! <i>WOOOOOOO!!!!!</i><br /><br /><b>DD:</b> See, this is exactly the kind of hubris I try to avoid when I'm talking about my team.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> The kind of <i>fun</i> you try to avoid, you mean. Seriously, we crush Tennessee by four touchdowns and you can't muster even a <i>little</i> trash-talk?<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Ummmm . . . so, uh, hey, Tennessee! Nice to see your offensive line is as weak as your academics! . . .<br /><br /><i>(pause)</i><br /><br /><b>MD:</b> OK, speaking of "weak" . . . but at least you tried.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> And see, even <i>that</i> felt like too much. 'Cause it's not like <i>our</i> offensive line has been great this season, either, and . . .<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> OK, seriously, dude, try quitting while you're behind for once. Unless you've got anything witty cooked up for Vanderbilt.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Aside from the fact that they're called the Commodores because the university founder wanted people to call him "Commodore," even though he'd never served a day in the Navy?<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> OK, well, that's actually a decent start. Run with that. And while you're working on <i>that,</i> I'll introduce this week's Associated Hottie -- news anchor Molly Henneberg, Vanderbilt '95.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6xuyjMxIUeqi1DFHSBh5Dp7OdggJXtWQxU7c3SfXjVcIoGNK8XJrnuwgMx8KRinIVfRLVFi7q7IhwinulLoTjF2cWgBUssq9MKCSrTfZuSE974pxh94PPlG2meEpEW9DnxJIo/s1600/molly_henneberg.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 151px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6xuyjMxIUeqi1DFHSBh5Dp7OdggJXtWQxU7c3SfXjVcIoGNK8XJrnuwgMx8KRinIVfRLVFi7q7IhwinulLoTjF2cWgBUssq9MKCSrTfZuSE974pxh94PPlG2meEpEW9DnxJIo/s200/molly_henneberg.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527697592278742210" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHVe5hrEUx0COb9RXPu7ceFxS18qZGmuTZxzgR1q8exO4yIRkIfEJIE0zqUIvTAyv_JR4A85MjoitWy6WFsg5c0v4s9N0zNsgEYig4hesIDRS2FW9ve06eo0kemBLGslVT4ldt/s1600/molly_henneberg2.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 135px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHVe5hrEUx0COb9RXPu7ceFxS18qZGmuTZxzgR1q8exO4yIRkIfEJIE0zqUIvTAyv_JR4A85MjoitWy6WFsg5c0v4s9N0zNsgEYig4hesIDRS2FW9ve06eo0kemBLGslVT4ldt/s200/molly_henneberg2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527697445774905810" /></a><br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Jeez, what is it with you and Fox News blondes? What about the redhead we used to work with who quit to go to Vandy for grad school?<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Who, Claire? Shit, she <i>was</i> hot. You don't still have her number, do you?<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> You've got plenty of time this week to be a lecherous douchebag. How about you tell me how you think we're going to do against Vanderbilt first.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Oh, <i>that</i> one's easy. Four words: We're. Gonna. Crush. Them. <i>Now</i> can you go look for her number?<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Wait wait wait, dumbass, you really think it's gonna be that easy? You <i>have</i> heard that Vandy's no longer an automatic W, haven't you?<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> What, just because they beat us in 2006? Come on, man. Sure, they play us tougher than they should, but let's get real here -- we crushed them last year when they went 2-10, and they're probably not much better this year. I mean, they've got two wins right now -- a terrible Ole Miss team that lost to a I-AA, and an Eastern Michigan team that should probably <i>be</i> a I-AA. That sound like a juggernaut to you?<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> No, of course not. But neither did Mississippi State or Colorado.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Forget about them. We were a different team when we lost to them. We've got A.J. back, the offensive line is starting to come together . . .<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Why? Because Aaron Murray only got sacked twice against Tennessee?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD3OiVtfFQJwy_1-IuJs0EMPr2q-p4ckoJwZ4BhAB6FtV7uFG30Huk8roJslqe9jgxKgFakby81vIr-wcJ4bTtEnsusx7q2eB_FEamdQS7aW_Vsaa-YhplRwfsPV5HE9qNEDd_/s1600/justin-houston.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD3OiVtfFQJwy_1-IuJs0EMPr2q-p4ckoJwZ4BhAB6FtV7uFG30Huk8roJslqe9jgxKgFakby81vIr-wcJ4bTtEnsusx7q2eB_FEamdQS7aW_Vsaa-YhplRwfsPV5HE9qNEDd_/s200/justin-houston.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527716456442940994" /></a> <b>MD:</b> It's not just the offense: The <i>defense</i> even looked better last week. Justin Houston has gone from a dangerous linebacker to a fucking mutant -- he now has the SEC lead in sacks and he had <i>seven hurries</i> against the Vols. If he keeps that up against Vandy, he's gonna be spending so much time in their backfield he's gonna have to have his mail forwarded. And all that worrying you did about Tauren Poole turned out to be for nothing, because we basically turned him into a non-factor.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> OK, I'll give you that one.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> So does that mean I don't have to hear you talk about how awesome Warren Norman is? Because I <i>know</i> that's what you were going to do next.<br /><br /><i>(pause)</i><br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Wow. That actually <i>is</i> what I was going to do next. That's kind of scary. But OK, Warren Norman: You really think we don't have to worry about him? SEC Freshman of the Year last year? Averaging 6.2 yards per carry?<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Look, he's OK and everything, but if he were really that big a difference-maker, he'd have more than 327 rushing yards after five games.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> It's not just him. How about Zac Stacy, who's averaging nearly <i>seven</i> yards a carry? Or Larry Smith, who probably runs better than he throws? Two-headed running threat, mobile QB . . . who does that remind you of? Colorado, maybe?<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Yeah, but Colorado had all five of last year's O-line starters returning. Vandy only has <i>one.</i> They're starting a redshirt freshman at left tackle, for shit's sake.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Well, all I can say is I hope the Dawgs' defensive front has improved as much as you say they have.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Look, I'm not saying we're going to shut Vandy out or anything, but you can't honestly think they have the horses to keep up with us on the scoreboard. I mean, Aaron Murray has been great all season, and now that he's got A.J. Green to throw to, he's gone from "promising rookie" to "fucking magical."<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> No, I agree, he <i>did</i> look fantastic last week. And it's great that he's finally getting to throw to the TEs and fullbacks. I just don't like the idea of depending on him to win the game all by himself.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> By <i>himself?</i> Where you getting <i>that</i> from?<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> You know that Caleb King has been suspended for the next two games, right? And that Carlton Thomas probably isn't going to play because of his hamstring injury?<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Well, I guess Washaun Ealey's just gonna have to have a balls-out game, then. Which he should. Vandy's run defense is next-to-last in the SEC.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> What I'm worried about is can he even hang on to the <i>ball.</i><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl4VQfGjbY5CBLxqnEs2g_YF4AiwKDee-sZ3dar8TjFUVQLGYhNX1B6nk_EewseYU9lbUrnQj3_EpsARcJbuS7026b_Q1KpiF-6-4qL7GBNhyphenhyphenAOL30DjBjRJer2-RMFJVi2utM/s1600/ealey_fumble.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 210px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl4VQfGjbY5CBLxqnEs2g_YF4AiwKDee-sZ3dar8TjFUVQLGYhNX1B6nk_EewseYU9lbUrnQj3_EpsARcJbuS7026b_Q1KpiF-6-4qL7GBNhyphenhyphenAOL30DjBjRJer2-RMFJVi2utM/s320/ealey_fumble.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527716933178825330" /></a><br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Awww, come on, man, give the kid a <i>little</i> credit. He knows what he's got to work on, and he's due for a big game.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> That's it? He's "due"?<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Even if he has an average game, we'll be fine. We only got average production from the running backs last week and still won going away. We're going to run up a bunch more points on Vandy this week because Aaron Murray is a stud and because the Commodores just don't have enough bodies to double up on A.J. Green <i>and</i> account for all the other receiving threats we can put out there.<br /><br />Meanwhile, on defense, Todd Grantham's going to blitz the ever-living shit out of them, which, given the weaknesses on Vandy's O-line, means we take down their QB at <i>least</i> four times. And if the more physical practices we've been having lately mean that we continue getting better at wrapping guys up and not letting them break free for big runs, Warren Norman isn't going to be a big enough factor to matter, either. Even if we only get a so-so day from Ealey and whoever else we put out there in the running game, I think we win by a score of 34 to 13.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Well, as convincing cases go, that's actually not half bad --<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> And before you whip out some convoluted excuse as to why Vanderbilt is going to pull out some bullshit win, here's something that might sway you: We're going to be anointing a brand-new official Uga VIII right before the game. Here's the bad little dude Russ is gonna be passing the spiked collar to:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyWWDKtWgzbBkw-Eh27e0Beu1uzVk-LTcSd8lRLs75pP0cO4f5qAdfNMxWWZD6uqnuC5Cl1Bc4wX-qJYsfd2bTs768zk5hn-7gBJTBS-fcZJ-HDfitGZq0mfDMxD9Yem0G7C_P/s1600/uga_viii.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyWWDKtWgzbBkw-Eh27e0Beu1uzVk-LTcSd8lRLs75pP0cO4f5qAdfNMxWWZD6uqnuC5Cl1Bc4wX-qJYsfd2bTs768zk5hn-7gBJTBS-fcZJ-HDfitGZq0mfDMxD9Yem0G7C_P/s400/uga_viii.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527712340952289602" /></a><br /><br /><b>DD:</b> OK, that <i>is</i> a fucking adorable little dog.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Right? Now I <i>defy</i> you to sit there and tell me we're going to lose to <i>Vanderbilt</i> on the day that we crown a new Uga.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> All right, I'm not going to tell you that. But I'm not going to tell you it's going to be a pretty game, either. I think our offense is going to stumble without Caleb King on the active roster, and even if Vandy doesn't score a lot, I think they get Warren Norman or Brandon Barden behind us for at least a couple big plays, just enough to keep it close. I think it comes down to us having to hold them off on a last-minute drive to escape with a 24-21 win.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Well, at least you didn't pick the loss. That's progress.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Yeah, well, don't get used to it. You have no idea how hard it is for me to go on record predicting a victory, much less a final score for one. I feel like I'm tempting fate. Like God is gonna smite me, or rather my team, for my hubris.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> No offense, dude, but I find it hard to believe God cares about you <i>that</i> much. Now, if we could get away from the theological discussions for just a sec, I'm tallying up our predictions and it looks like they average out to a 29-17 win for the Dawgs.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Hey, if that's what it comes out to, I'll take it. I just don't wanna get my hopes up just because we waxed Tennessee. That's how bad things happen.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> You know how else bad things happen? You annoying the shit out of me by being a worry-wart, and also not giving me girls' digits when I ask for them.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Why are you depending on <i>me</i> for phone numbers? And why can't you just let me get an ulcer over my football team in peace?<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Fine. You nurse your ulcer, I'll stay busy having, you know, a life. But I reserve the right at all times to scream in your face and act like a fucking loon when we win.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> I know I couldn't stop you if I tried.Astronaut Mike Dexterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01498197770701096363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11250715.post-12529730288632132212010-10-11T19:24:00.000-04:002010-10-11T19:24:28.154-04:00Poll dancing, week 6: Number eight in the SEC Power Poll and #1 in your hearts.Georgia finally put another W on the board -- a <i>conference</i> W at that -- and so for one week I get to count myself among the beautiful people who get to toast their team and regale one another with tales of awesome plays rather than the unwashed masses huddling with crumpled depth charts and/or betting slips, wondering why God craves their unhappiness. All things considered, I prefer the former.<br /><br />By the way, since I know some of you are curious, Holly and I didn't break up. Didn't really come close, actually; she was the perfect lady, gracious in defeat, and I the perfect gentlemen, magnanimous in victory so long as she's out of earshot.<br /><br /><i>Games watched:</i> Parts of UCF-UAB, Nebraska-Kansas State, and Rutgers-UConn; all of Georgia-Tennessee, South Carolina-Alabama, and LSU-Florida.<br /><br /> <!-- SB Nation BlogPoll Top 25 Ballot --><div id="blogpoll-rankings-ballot" style="background:#fff; padding: 0; width:340px; margin: 10px auto"> <h2 style="margin:0;padding:0;font-size:10px;line-height:10px;"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/rankings/college-football-blogpoll-top-25"><img alt="SB Nation BlogPoll Top 25 College Football Rankings" height="62" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/blogpoll-top25-ballot.png" style="border:0; display:block" width="340"></a></h2> <div style="border: solid 1px #ddd; border-top-width:0"> <h3 style="text-align:center; margin:0; padding:5px 0; font-family:arial; font-size:14px;"><a href="http://heyjennyslater.blogspot.com" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Hey Jenny Slater</a> Ballot - Week 7</h3> <table class="blogpoll-result" style="border-collapse: collapse;border:solid 1px #ccc;margin:0 5px 5px 5px;font-size: 11px; color: #333;font-family:arial;line-height:16px; width:327px;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2"> <tbody><tr> <th style="background:#ddd; font-weight:bold; text-align:left;padding:2px">Rank</th> <th style="background:#ddd; font-weight:bold; text-align:left;padding:2px">Team</th> <th style="background:#ddd; font-weight:bold; text-align:left;padding:2px">Delta</th> </tr> <tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">1</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/oregon-ducks" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Oregon Ducks</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 1</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">2</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/ohio-st-buckeyes" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Ohio St. Buckeyes</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 1</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">3</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/nebraska-cornhuskers" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Nebraska Cornhuskers</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 4</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">4</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/tcu-horned-frogs" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">TCU Horned Frogs</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">5</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/boise-st-broncos" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Boise St. Broncos</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 1</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">6</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/auburn-tigers" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Auburn Tigers</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 5</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">7</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/south-carolina-gamecocks" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">South Carolina Gamecocks</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 9</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">8</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/alabama-crimson-tide" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Alabama Crimson Tide</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_down" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_down.gif"> -7</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">9</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/stanford-cardinal" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Stanford Cardinal</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_down" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_down.gif"> -4</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">10</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/iowa-hawkeyes" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Iowa Hawkeyes</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">11</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/lsu-tigers" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">LSU Tigers</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 9</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">12</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/utah-utes" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Utah Utes</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">13</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/oklahoma-sooners" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Oklahoma Sooners</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 1</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">14</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/arkansas-razorbacks" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Arkansas Razorbacks</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_down" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_down.gif"> -1</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">15</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/michigan-st-spartans" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Michigan St. Spartans</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 4</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">16</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/arizona-wildcats" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Arizona Wildcats</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_down" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_down.gif"> -8</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">17</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/nevada-wolf-pack" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Nevada Wolf Pack</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 1</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">18</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/florida-gators" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Florida Gators</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_down" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_down.gif"> -3</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">19</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/florida-st-seminoles" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Florida St. Seminoles</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 4</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">20</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/virginia-tech-hokies" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Virginia Tech Hokies</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_up" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_up.gif"> 1</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">21</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/oregon-st-beavers" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Oregon St. Beavers</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">22</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/n-c-state-wolfpack" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">N.C. State Wolfpack</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">23</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/wisconsin-badgers" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Wisconsin Badgers</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">24</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/miami-hurricanes" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Miami Hurricanes</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><img alt="Arrow_down" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sbnation.com/misc/blogpoll/arrow_down.gif"> -15</td> </tr><tr> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">25</td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/oklahoma-st-cowboys" style="font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none; color:#C52126">Oklahoma St. Cowboys</a></td> <td style="padding:2px; border: solid 1px #ccc">--</td> </tr><tr><td colspan="3" style="line-height:14px; padding:4px"><strong>Dropouts</strong>: Michigan Wolverines, Clemson Tigers, Kansas St. Wildcats, UCLA Bruins</td></tr> </tbody></table> <p style="font-size:12px; margin: 1px 2px 5px 7px;">SB Nation BlogPoll <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/rankings/college-football-blogpoll-top-25" style="color:#C52126; font-weight:bold;">College Football Top 25 Rankings</a> »</p> </div> </div><br /><br /><b>The next five:</b> Michigan, Air Force, West Virginia, Missouri, California.<br /><br /><b>· Why Oregon in the top spot</b> and not Ohio State? Simple: As I pointed out yesterday, Oregon's wins have been bigger and better than OSU's. Also I had them ranked higher than the Buckeyes last week, so.<br /><br /><b>· Past the top five, things get a little shaky;</b> Auburn probably doesn't deserve to be #6, but they beat the team that just knocked off the former #1, and as the more solid of the two remaining SEC unbeatens, they deserve some credit until they get knocked off. South Carolina jumps way up too, of course, since they had Auburn dead to rights until the fourth quarter. I scratched my head when I heard Alabama had been knocked down to #8 in the mainstream polls until I had to do my <i>own</i> rankings, and I obviously couldn't put Bama above the Gamecocks, so there they are. Stanford takes a four-spot tumble partly for needing a last-second field goal to beat USC, and partly as a belated correction for not having dropped them enough after getting blown up in the second half at Oregon. (Still think they're a pretty good team, though.)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4XitaFKdV_apMirxgImqzeYk3Z3ke7hXqgTQjn2r0aT60SCL8mCjw01tvu3zaf2XabThbe0_DuqCe8FDq0AsQcTKvcSIk6wzDkRrkIumlBoFoZeizQD3KbUQwFWFVvByzfE6u/s1600/miami_fsu.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 263px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4XitaFKdV_apMirxgImqzeYk3Z3ke7hXqgTQjn2r0aT60SCL8mCjw01tvu3zaf2XabThbe0_DuqCe8FDq0AsQcTKvcSIk6wzDkRrkIumlBoFoZeizQD3KbUQwFWFVvByzfE6u/s320/miami_fsu.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526929220464056178" /></a><br /><br /><b>· Other big droppers:</b> Miami takes the biggest tumble, because honestly, what's their marquee win right now? Blowing out a team that might only be second- or third-best in the Big East? Florida also drops, as does Arizona for losing at home to Oregon State.<br /><br /><b>· Risers: Michigan State, for one,</b> since if you can hold Michigan to just 17 points -- in the Big House, no less -- you must be a pretty good team (same goes if you're 6-0, of course, which the Spartans currently are). Florida State also jumps up for blowing Miami out on the road. Minor jumps for Virginia Tech, Nevada, and Oklahoma, who leapfrogs Arkansas more because of the Razorbacks' blah win over a defense-free Texas A&M team than anything the Sooners did.<br /><br /><b>· Welcome Oregon State, N.C. State, Wisconsin and Oklahoma State into the top 25,</b> at the expense of Michigan, Clemson, Kansas State and UCLA. Michigan, I think, has the best chance to work its way back into the rankings; Kansas State might, too, since it's not like they're going to have to face any more Nebraskas this season, but I wouldn't bet much on the others. UCLA, in particular, is a complete puzzle, but if you look at the win over Texas as a fluke victory by a team playing absolutely out of its ass, the puzzle becomes a lot less complicated.<br /><br />And the SEC Power Poll ballot:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge5e2RUAneVTnOBBWRA6EXazhaVPsQamrKTFwKQnTW-uV-xitypvBNbDCZGKPrGlzESvbxulu0RSOv7qqeM_BtpdEkkc_QjUgjL_kT1_jPjz0SvupS38AbjIua2bKJ9aMgHPIN/s1600/auburn_uk.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 233px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge5e2RUAneVTnOBBWRA6EXazhaVPsQamrKTFwKQnTW-uV-xitypvBNbDCZGKPrGlzESvbxulu0RSOv7qqeM_BtpdEkkc_QjUgjL_kT1_jPjz0SvupS38AbjIua2bKJ9aMgHPIN/s320/auburn_uk.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526930003012912546" /></a><br /><br /><b>1. Auburn --</b> Debated over whether to put them or South Carolina here, went with the undefeated team. Ted Roof's defense is gonna ruin a game for them one of these days, but until that happens, this is a team nobody should want to play. Cameron Newton all by himself vs. your team's defensive starting 11 might still be a tossup.<br /><br /><b>2. South Carolina --</b> If they can avoid the November self-immolation that has become every bit as much of a Gamecock tradition as entering the stadium to the music from "2001," they're going to be your SEC East champs. Speaking of self-immolation, after reading back over that comment I think I need to find some matches.<br /><br /><b>3. Alabama --</b> That's three games in a row where the Tide's talented, experienced offense has really sputtered, and that was supposed to be the strength of their team this year. They'll bounce back, but they'll only bounce so high if Ingram and Richardson can't regain their status as the focal points of the offense.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyNiXm0aPjBVSXwg7WSe7RCuzmgDXpsZZITMGNjpVQCC_VonfbwiuTP2ZIUk3rikngM0sc6p6vR-QV-tpceguurOqn521DFg1ZcbxiKPL9gRhnRFNQ44-WLwcepqf_KRRM-dSt/s1600/lsu.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyNiXm0aPjBVSXwg7WSe7RCuzmgDXpsZZITMGNjpVQCC_VonfbwiuTP2ZIUk3rikngM0sc6p6vR-QV-tpceguurOqn521DFg1ZcbxiKPL9gRhnRFNQ44-WLwcepqf_KRRM-dSt/s320/lsu.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526930696339203458" /></a><br /><br /><b>4. LSU --</b> I feel kind of funny putting a 6-0 team in the number-four slot, so if you want to make the case they should be higher, have at it. I will admit that the "Les Miles is just lucky" caveat seems to hold less and less relevance as the weeks wear on.<br /><br /><b>5. Arkansas --</b> For a 4-1 team boasting what was supposed to be the league's most exciting offense, the Razorbacks sure haven't been a terribly interesting team to watch lately.<br /><br /><b>6. Florida --</b> Not much new you can say about them, even after the LSU loss. Tim Tebow's departure was a big blow; Dan Mullen's may have proven to be the even bigger one.<br /><br /><b>7. Mississippi State --</b> The season's half over and they're already two-thirds of the way toward bowl eligibility -- and they probably have another upset of a brand-name SEC program lurking in them somewhere.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOkuOKvOrqjbCdQHDAxH8_iHS1H8v_X04RW6vEYRPjC1ljJXa6OhMMgBMkHH1ujIoQ5DLl2ND9tQfx0FF28-8FAmKoFcRi3EtAljE6O6a6bNg_eLmVZ4mAU3OC5Rl3juFkGqCK/s1600/simms_sacked.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 283px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOkuOKvOrqjbCdQHDAxH8_iHS1H8v_X04RW6vEYRPjC1ljJXa6OhMMgBMkHH1ujIoQ5DLl2ND9tQfx0FF28-8FAmKoFcRi3EtAljE6O6a6bNg_eLmVZ4mAU3OC5Rl3juFkGqCK/s320/simms_sacked.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526933254174160098" /></a><br /><br /><b>8. Georgia --</b> Re-learned how to not just win but dominate. The next two games (Vandy and UK) are hardly the layups they once were, but they still offer the Dawgs to ascend to 4-4 and regain a more-or-less even keel by the time the Cocktail Party rolls around to kick off the season's home stretch.<br /><br /><b>9. Ole Miss --</b> Bama fans complained all summer about a schedule that gave so many of their opponents byes before they faced the Tide, but I can think of a worse situation: having to play Nick Saban the week after he's lost to someone.<br /><br /><b>10. Kentucky --</b> I suppose I should give them more credit for taking Auburn right down to the wire, but it's pretty telling how they seem to have hit a brick wall now that they're no longer playing cupcakes.<br /><br /><b>11. Vanderbilt --</b> Had to roll a functional I-AA team to get that second win, but that's still twice as many as I thought they'd get all season.<br /><br /><b>12. Tennessee --</b> The Vols may have lost to Florida and LSU, but they at least played lights-out for the full four quarters. So it was weird to see how quickly they devolved into the Keystone Kops against Georgia. They could pull four more wins out of their remaining schedule, but it's looking less and less likely.Astronaut Mike Dexterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01498197770701096363noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11250715.post-92045102250890099892010-10-11T07:34:00.000-04:002010-10-11T07:34:04.521-04:00It's about getting out of a rut, you need luck . . .<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH0Kb4VlXk5ZnFMaoAZYJ9N46QyxX20FGhXIIcPm2eyEDUv9KRY4TV7iB5rqGxbQUUHlx4xlTwvLG6YJNOkv-JNFNYpdtWj6rIyAsUNBKkhPF0qyKQnOSd4Fxh9BtbdHuAhrVL/s1600/richt.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 245px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH0Kb4VlXk5ZnFMaoAZYJ9N46QyxX20FGhXIIcPm2eyEDUv9KRY4TV7iB5rqGxbQUUHlx4xlTwvLG6YJNOkv-JNFNYpdtWj6rIyAsUNBKkhPF0qyKQnOSd4Fxh9BtbdHuAhrVL/s320/richt.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526747346774411602" /></a><br /><i>This was a good idea. Let's keep doing this.</i><br /><br />Here's what a bizarre alternate-universe funhouse the SEC has turned into this year: Florida can't score, Alabama is powerless to stop a South Carolina QB, and if the regular season ended today, the SEC title game would be South Carolina vs. an LSU team whose fortunes really do seem to be determined by a Buffalo Wild Wings bartender fiddling with a remote control underneath the counter. And my first thoughts about this past weekend's game against the Vols, one of our bitterest conference rivals, are almost exactly what I was thinking in the immediate aftermath of the UL-Lafayette game that opened the year: "Well, we have to put an asterisk by this game because it was an obviously weak opponent, blah blah blah . . . "<br /><br />I feel weird writing those words, partly because I'm close to someone who has a rather deep emotional investment in Tennessee's fortunes, partly because I myself miss the days when UGA-UT was too important to merit a 12:21 kickoff called by the surviving remnants of the late, great Jefferson Pilot empire. But there's no denying that Tennessee is a hobbled team this year, and at no point more so than the Saturday they played us. An offensive line peppered with underclassmen, with the injury situation almost severe enough to render a term like "two-deep" academic. A QB who actually makes Tennessee pine for the good ol' days of Jonathan Crompton. A depleted roster across the board, to the point where they probably could've fit <i>all</i> of their scholarship players on one of those chartered Delta CRJs that flew over the stadium toward the end of the fourth quarter. Beating this team signifies nothing in the long run for the 2010 season, other than I won't have to hear anyone yell "45-19" in my face for the rest of it. We're not going to face too many other teams (if any) whose QBs aren't even facing forward as the ball is snapped past them for 23-yard losses, nor any teams for whom fielding a fair catch is that problematic. (And how awesome does Logan Gray look right now, huh? <i>Huh?)</i><br /><br />All that said, though, a four-touchdown victory over <i>any</i> team, particularly a detested SEC East rival, is a big deal in the immediate term for this Georgia squad. For the previous four weeks, the Dawgs found increasingly infuriating ways to lose games; this time they actually found ways to win. They grabbed turnovers, they converted opportunities in the end zone, they caught even the passes that weren't thrown to A.J. Green. If all that was was a mediocre team beating up on a straight-up lousy one, then there's a definite ceiling to how excited we can afford to be about all this, but if it was a Georgia team rediscovering how to win, then it's something we can run with.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg67xcghHAQ4oilUd9r3VrpH-lb5gGzqpvjPnGCZxoplH8Y7ieljR-hj-Z9ZdGQDEvrlxizQE1oo6Ji3uCJmIPcB9lREccw5jg_o890Kl9TD0TfK4wX76MGC0s3mVrEArWXjnhf/s1600/poole_stopped.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 238px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg67xcghHAQ4oilUd9r3VrpH-lb5gGzqpvjPnGCZxoplH8Y7ieljR-hj-Z9ZdGQDEvrlxizQE1oo6Ji3uCJmIPcB9lREccw5jg_o890Kl9TD0TfK4wX76MGC0s3mVrEArWXjnhf/s320/poole_stopped.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526747636720809394" /></a><br /><i>Remember where you were this day: Georgia defenders actually wrapping up a ball-carrier!</i><br /><br />As impressive as the Aaron-Murray-to-A.J.-Green connection already looks after barely more than a game and a half -- I want people to be talking about these two guys like the Montana-to-Rice of college football by the end of the season, and I think I'm only partially joking about that -- the most impressive performance of the entire afternoon, to me, might have been that of the front seven. Tauren Poole might be the most talented and versatile running back we've faced all season (yes, even more than Marcus Lattimore), and it's not much of an exaggeration to say I was losing sleep over what he might do to our defense. But he was rendered a non-factor very early on in the game, and that was only partly due to the weakness of his offensive line. The other part was due to the fact that we actually <i>wrapped up</i> and tackled him, and I can't help but think that has something to do with the fact that we went full-contact #1s-on-#1s last Monday, something we practically never do on the first day of a practice week. If that's what it takes to get the team amped-up and purge the tendency to arm-tackle, then I know there's a greater chance of injury in that kind of situation, but by all means, please, let's keep doing it. Richt has indicated that we won't be going full-contact again this Monday, but I've heard that there will be more #1s-on-#1s later on in the week, so it's a sign of hope, if nothing else, that the toughness issue has been noticed and is being addressed. This team attacked and wrapped up with a fierceness that I haven't seen in quite a while.<br /><br />Obviously there are still concerns. The offensive line, despite Stacy Searels' tinkering during the week, still can't run-block for shit; Caleb King reeled off some decent runs that managed to keep the chains moving at various points, but when your longest run of the game by an RB is only eight yards, you don't have the right to call anything "fixed" yet. And even though it didn't end up mattering in the long run, it hurt to see our secondary continue to get burned the way they did, particularly on Tennessee's long drives of the second half. The problems that they're having are similar enough to the problems they've been having for years now that I'm inclined to write it off to the lingering effects of Willie Martinez' coaching, but it's sad to think that it's taking this much time to get that stuff coached out of them, or that we may have to wait for a truly lock-down secondary until Scott Lakatos can get a chance to recruit some of his own players.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYFh_A3In8QRYuY6tv5XXUpwFy79Z8EhrFUo_K7iJkzVsPYRqEr_wOaoLCSjWHkPwXF5sE99pDCe4OnLOdIAM_ra_huYfy90vlmMJH8is12jsvjIM-aRxRlBkjqIO2KQvwi8ML/s1600/celebration.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 257px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYFh_A3In8QRYuY6tv5XXUpwFy79Z8EhrFUo_K7iJkzVsPYRqEr_wOaoLCSjWHkPwXF5sE99pDCe4OnLOdIAM_ra_huYfy90vlmMJH8is12jsvjIM-aRxRlBkjqIO2KQvwi8ML/s320/celebration.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526747919245916338" /></a><br /><i>I will never begrudge an opportunity to be happy for these guys.</i><br /><br />But a 27-point win is a 27-point win; I'm grateful for it, grateful to no longer be at the bottom of the SEC East, grateful that I can look at games like Vandy and Kentucky as winnable rather than being stuck mentally calculating the chances we end up going 2-10 this year. That's about as much as we can count on right now, as uninspiring as that sounds. But it's a start. We cross our fingers and say a prayer that the coaches and players alike take the good from this game and vow to keep doing it, and we move along.<br /><br />In other news:<br /><br /><b>·</b> So yes, I'd be striking a more flamboyantly celebratory tone right now if more of our success on Saturday had come from us being <i>that</i> good rather than from Tennessee screwing up, but it's not like Georgia wasn't overdue for a lucky bounce, and hey, <a href="http://www.andthevalleyshook.com/2010/10/9/1741436/first-impressions-lsu-v-florida" target="_new">we can't all be Les Miles.</a> For the entirety of this season, the debate over LSU has been "Is Les Miles that good or is he just lucky," but I think after Saturday night we can officially deem that question academic. I mean, they needed practically every lucky bounce in the book just to make it to 9-4 last season, and that was <i>with</i> the end-of-game clock-management brain farts (hat farts?) against Ole Miss and Penn State; if the concept of "regression to the mean" meant anything to Miles, the Tigers would be 3-3 right now. Hate on them all you want -- and I have -- but you know you'd trade places with them right now in a heartbeat. (Best comment of the day: an assessment over at Senator Blutarsky's joint of Miles as <a href="http://blutarsky.wordpress.com/2010/10/10/watch-for-the-fake/#comment-65999" target="_new">"an escaped mental patient who played a lot of Tecmo Bowl."</a>)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjebVSAIyhPHXXu31_ibnEeERc4cG7NiYUDsvPICIQXKZcj0yN-wNPndn7RkoCCIZ6orUFjnSJi4I8wCGtFk2LH2dc5zlofjRxdRP4zxkM1VfDNSnDCtORma4XQ_SvU7LGqO1S/s1600/garcia.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 231px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjebVSAIyhPHXXu31_ibnEeERc4cG7NiYUDsvPICIQXKZcj0yN-wNPndn7RkoCCIZ6orUFjnSJi4I8wCGtFk2LH2dc5zlofjRxdRP4zxkM1VfDNSnDCtORma4XQ_SvU7LGqO1S/s320/garcia.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526749331626260882" /></a><br /><br /><b>·</b> As for their if-the-season-ended-today opponents in the SECCG, thank you, Sakerlina, for silencing (at least temporarily) the ADD section of the Georgia fan base who insists we should hire Kirby Smart yesterday to be our new head coach. Not that Smart/Saban's defense was the sole reason for <a href="http://www.rollbamaroll.com/2010/10/9/1740939/alabama-v-south-carolina-postgame-thread" target="_new">Alabama's first loss since the '09 Sugar Bowl,</a> but come on, even <i>Georgia's</i> busted-ass secondary didn't let Stephen Garcia hit 17 of 20. All of this is just a way of distracting from the fact that Saban is probably going to whip the shit out of his team this weekend to the point where they don't lose another game all season, but still, I think I'm actually going to look <i>forward</i> to the opportunity to tune into Finebaum on my drive home this afternoon.<br /><br /><b>·</b> Don't look now, but Florida State looks like they're quietly making a bid to reclaim the title of Best Team in Florida. They rolled Miami way worse than Ohio State did -- on the road, no less -- <i>and</i> they've even been playing pretty decently on defense since getting carpet-bombed at Oklahoma a few weeks ago. When I was back in college, Florida-Florida State was a tentpole game on the college football calendar, perhaps even more so than the Iron Bowl or Michigan-OSU; I've been highly skeptical of Jimbo Fisher's chances in Tallahassee, but if he can make that game relevant again, more power to him.<br /><br /><b>·</b> Speaking of Ohio State, what's the rationale for making them the #1 team in the country following Alabama's loss and not, say, Oregon or TCU? Oregon's going to be my top pick when I finish up my <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/rankings/college-football-blogpoll-top-25" target="_new">BlogPoll</a> ballot later on today, given that a) tOSU's win over Miami just lost a lot of prestige and b) Oregon's marquee victory over a very good Stanford team can go toe-to-toe with anyone else's in the country. (On a related and possibly more hilarious note, I think the entire Rose Bowl committee simultaneously crapped their pantaloons Saturday night at the prospect of losing not one but <i>both</i> of their tie-in teams to the national championship game, which alone would make an Ohio State-Oregon rematch worth it.)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjANlyNF-vGKZwLnlVol07XJsUlGFcew8o-wYcb7SOL5Gcm8_-68gGIimzzmayKB-EyhYc5zNU9Zhb94zi0TZmMbdgvDNWmWQKK0K_mO_ojH2VKOs-DdLCyfJLRr_jqf-IhGjQJ/s1600/t-magic.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjANlyNF-vGKZwLnlVol07XJsUlGFcew8o-wYcb7SOL5Gcm8_-68gGIimzzmayKB-EyhYc5zNU9Zhb94zi0TZmMbdgvDNWmWQKK0K_mO_ojH2VKOs-DdLCyfJLRr_jqf-IhGjQJ/s320/t-magic.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526749880767684786" /></a><br /><br /><b>·</b> Or, hey, how about Nebraska for the #1 spot? Second nationally in rushing yards, 106th in passing yards, just finished off <a href="http://www.cornnation.com/2010/10/10/1743019/report-card-nebraska-48-kansas-state-13" target="_new">a five-touchdown napalming of Kansas State</a> -- if they haven't yet turned back into what they were during the Tom Osborne days, they're doing a damn good job of looking like they have. (And just as the Cornhuskers appear poised to lend a little stability and familiarity to the college football landscape as I know it, they're getting ready to jump to the Big Ten. I just can't win sometimes.)<br /><br /><b>·</b> Haven't done the weekly UAB Blazers Watch in a while, partly because I've been too depressed about Georgia's woes to spend much time worrying about other rooting interests, partly because UAB's own woes have been too depressing to talk about. The latest injustice: <a href="http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=302792116" target="_new">a 42-7 loss</a> at the hands of George fucking O'Leary and the UCF Golden Knights. With the Blazers at 1-4 and oh-fer in Conference USA play thus far, it looks like it might be time to pack up my prediction of a 2010 bowl for the Blazers and stash it in the attic for next season.<br /><br /><b>·</b> So leave it to the Wofford Terriers Watch to save the day: Terrier U <a href="http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=302820290" target="_new">beat Georgia Southern at the Eagles' own game</a> on Saturday, rolling up 302 rushing yards behind a triple-option attack on the way to a 33-31 win. That puts them at 2-0 in Southern Conference play and 4-1 overall; next to get wet up is Western Carolina, who just got hammered 38-7 by Samford. You don't want to mess with the realness, WCU.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i.imgur.com/nyDSO.gif"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 375px;" src="http://i.imgur.com/nyDSO.gif" border="0" alt="" /></a>Astronaut Mike Dexterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01498197770701096363noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11250715.post-24290343325242595152010-10-08T07:47:00.000-04:002010-10-08T07:47:17.052-04:00The Friday Random Ten+5 makes a career non-move.So yesterday I spent the whole day working on a Habitat for Humanity house that my company in sponsoring. One of the questions we got asked when applying to volunteer on the house was "Are you afraid of heights," and I answered "no," so I got to work on the roof. And after a day of discovering how hard it is to do anything when you're constantly working at a 30-degree angle, I've figured out why roofing work is so expensive -- so few people are willing to do it that the ones who <i>are</i> can pretty much charge whatever they want. Lucrative work, but not something I will ever, ever do again if I can help it.<br /><br />"I don't want to be a roofer" isn't exactly a controversial statement, though. There are plenty of other, more glamorous or exciting jobs I don't want to do, either, and that's why this week's +5 is Five Things I <i>Don't</i> Want To Be When I Grow Up:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZnQTZG72Z5Am2_RQlDs5IFKk_m2FWaPm3RgXdkG-3bubjbGXD7AqLNq66V9ByKjxyLSVKG740WN9Drq7jB3Lx66Jm8THpPfyS7J0vhQsh_vlXXanVJuTprmk-tN2EhJeMI3qH/s1600/racecar_driver.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 209px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZnQTZG72Z5Am2_RQlDs5IFKk_m2FWaPm3RgXdkG-3bubjbGXD7AqLNq66V9ByKjxyLSVKG740WN9Drq7jB3Lx66Jm8THpPfyS7J0vhQsh_vlXXanVJuTprmk-tN2EhJeMI3qH/s320/racecar_driver.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5525471400770780322" /></a><br /><br /><b>Race car driver</b><br />This might be a surprise, because I like cars, and I also like driving fast. (I've probably racked up at least one speeding ticket in every county and municipality between Columbus and Birmingham.) But I also like air conditioning, and that's something race cars don't have. Driving three hours at 150-something miles an hour without air conditioning? I won't even drive across <i>town</i> if my air conditioning doesn't work, particularly if it's in the middle of a blazing south Georgia summer. So for right now I guess I'll just have to resign myself to the fact that I'm never going to get paid for driving much too fast.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOQY8uspoSK3VundrX6-pKwhqo5ngFeSxGgI8tsCcP9No_32IJpobOEAVnPM98HSpoRt_ZI8RvJqlNuCocQ52jepOkqgchSlux2Po1Z5xlYucayq4vq0Pz_tX2MuAiekqkeWPA/s1600/policeman.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 211px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOQY8uspoSK3VundrX6-pKwhqo5ngFeSxGgI8tsCcP9No_32IJpobOEAVnPM98HSpoRt_ZI8RvJqlNuCocQ52jepOkqgchSlux2Po1Z5xlYucayq4vq0Pz_tX2MuAiekqkeWPA/s320/policeman.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5525471040803359938" /></a><br /><br /><b>Policeman</b><br />This is interesting, now that I think about it, because "policeman" was the first answer I can ever remember giving to the what-do-you-want-to-be-when-you-grow-up question. (I was in some Saturday-morning activity workshop when I was like five years old, and we were supposed to make little puppets of the things we wanted to be when we grew up, and I made a policeman. At that point I don't think I had the werewithal to make a puppet for "international ladyslaying CIA assassin-slash-Lego sculptor.) Anyway, I've gotten into my share of legal issues over the years (see above remark about speeding tickets), but that said, it doesn't take a huge amount of intelligence to keep from running afoul of most of the laws on the books. Like, crystal meth possession. Once you've deduced that "Crystal meth makes all your teeth fall out and speeds up the aging process tenfold and is mostly done by dumb rednecks with absolutely nothing else going on in their lives," congratulations, you're no longer at risk of ever becoming a meth addict. So being a policeman seems like it would involve dealing with a staggering amount of truly moronic people, and I only have so much patience for that. I'd either build a reputation as the biggest cynical asshole cop ever whom nobody wanted to work with, or I'd start tasing people for incorrect grammar or calling me "bro." Neither one seems like a great career move.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6hHtTIXlTBjvKV2ZSZxfBemnduCfd_iQg3oBXhnw8Q94SfjS5m2RZqDyn_SE6SnyGxMLri84IAfcnpfUkoemvcPPQ_pInhhHmhY8ivHGPtdiVaemIiunF1VGj3uBfndMOctzf/s1600/salesman.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 298px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6hHtTIXlTBjvKV2ZSZxfBemnduCfd_iQg3oBXhnw8Q94SfjS5m2RZqDyn_SE6SnyGxMLri84IAfcnpfUkoemvcPPQ_pInhhHmhY8ivHGPtdiVaemIiunF1VGj3uBfndMOctzf/s320/salesman.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5525470857207652082" /></a><br /><br /><b>Salesman</b><br />Cynical asshole though I may be, I mostly try to avoid confrontation if it doesn't come to me first. So I think I'm way too prone to taking "no" for an answer to ever be a successful salesman. "Hey, this life insurance will keep your family financially secure and is really affordable." "No thanks." "Allll righty then." I don't think that's how people make money.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0kxjmBVYAIqsgtkYxfVK7e2QdAoVnyVo1v9iTZXUY5Siyk0VHG9GclDk7oo4kAhAcXg7U1ROvr95dk8bmMX4tTIbs9FtKUUmBZ6ic4I_R41z4ZaGI10AL2POTVMIe9ss27GZ2/s1600/mime.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0kxjmBVYAIqsgtkYxfVK7e2QdAoVnyVo1v9iTZXUY5Siyk0VHG9GclDk7oo4kAhAcXg7U1ROvr95dk8bmMX4tTIbs9FtKUUmBZ6ic4I_R41z4ZaGI10AL2POTVMIe9ss27GZ2/s320/mime.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5525470676901489426" /></a><br /><br /><b>Mime</b><br />I think this one goes without saying.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEWbm6PL0gCT3Pmc5xrGekiU5NU3H_FpI3iqwfSBnc5x0qNv43mCyXfzth3Qli-xngKVTtNhLEw8zlrQvu3RiSpl9868UZp-rxph71KyUFBAtbVuc3rFAXw_yH73zWFHysaNNi/s1600/lawyer.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 280px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEWbm6PL0gCT3Pmc5xrGekiU5NU3H_FpI3iqwfSBnc5x0qNv43mCyXfzth3Qli-xngKVTtNhLEw8zlrQvu3RiSpl9868UZp-rxph71KyUFBAtbVuc3rFAXw_yH73zWFHysaNNi/s320/lawyer.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5525470243007346498" /></a><br /><br /><b>Lawyer</b><br />Here's the thing: I think I'd be an awesome lawyer. I can argue the shit out of stuff, and if it ever looks like the other side is getting the upper hand, I just confuse the issue and annoy the shit out of them until people give me my way just out of frustration. But while I would love to know more about the law, I don't think I'd ever want to, you know, litigate. Basically everyone else in the courtroom is either a criminal, i.e. someone too dumb to not stay on the right side of the law as per above, or a lawyer, i.e. someone who's as big an asshole as I am, or at least trying to be. I think I could take maybe six months of that before I just got completely fatigued by it. And then I'd quit and either write a bunch of novels like John Grisham or become a law professor. Which actually sounds pretty awesome, but I'd really just prefer it if I could jump straight to either one of those outcomes without having to be a lawyer first.<br /><br />Just one of the many ways in which life doesn't work out the way I'd like it to, I suppose. And now the Ten:<br /><br />1. Underworld, "Moon in Water"<br />2. U2, "4th of July"<br />3. Jefferson Airplane, "Volunteers"<br />4. Cut Copy, "Hearts on Fire"<br />5. Kraak and Smaak, "Enzo"<br />6. Mos Def, "Close Edge"<br />7. Genesis, "Invisible Touch"<br />8. U2, "Dirty Day"<br />9. Deeds + Thoughts, "The World's Made Up of This and That" (Fatboy Slim remix)<br />10. Underworld, "Cups"<br /><br />Your turn -- your Random Tens and/or jobs you don't want in the comments.Astronaut Mike Dexterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01498197770701096363noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11250715.post-38946973168703067052010-10-06T22:41:00.000-04:002010-10-06T22:41:04.807-04:00Manic-Depressive Preview: Putting on a brave face is easier when you're drunk.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJPWnEM4WOaeeABtKAczp6gP-HlMvMO26Ifpy8B4l5vqEkbSaXWhTDBXif2beW0T5exdIkIvgYv3jyd6-cY8BmAkBcgZFfsPfDM3txo3lnSKfiEMwBH4bnWqmQer3waetXb5Fy/s1600/me_titansaudition.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 175px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJPWnEM4WOaeeABtKAczp6gP-HlMvMO26Ifpy8B4l5vqEkbSaXWhTDBXif2beW0T5exdIkIvgYv3jyd6-cY8BmAkBcgZFfsPfDM3txo3lnSKfiEMwBH4bnWqmQer3waetXb5Fy/s200/me_titansaudition.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5525108657864441186" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLoePuBowfz8x-uNA3npXk8O4xTkhC5R10JI14tmeCPHYDIWI06p8qIBdHdAZI8duaIMH5rka42gSDcN4rPyhOV7PuBepabgkgVmLTN77ghuRMmW93ehsw1disa_hRJ8lL4fC1/s1600/despondent_me.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 122px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLoePuBowfz8x-uNA3npXk8O4xTkhC5R10JI14tmeCPHYDIWI06p8qIBdHdAZI8duaIMH5rka42gSDcN4rPyhOV7PuBepabgkgVmLTN77ghuRMmW93ehsw1disa_hRJ8lL4fC1/s200/despondent_me.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5525108560195643698" /></a><br /><br /><i>Needless to say, neither Manic Doug nor Depressive Doug were all that happy in the wake of the Dawgs' agonizing loss to Colorado last week, but they each went about it in different ways. Manic Doug went downtown, got lit up at a bar, and made increasingly overt (and surreal) come-ons to girls he really didn't have any shot with; Depressive Doug stayed </i>home<i> and got drunk, and we're not sure what happened after that, but we think it may have involved him trying to contact a bunch of his ex-girlfriends over Facebook so the less said about that, the better. Somehow, Manic managed to coach Depressive back for another one of these little talks, so here they are, hung over and a little bit bruised in the pride department but otherwise not nearly as worse for wear as they probably ought to be.</i><br /><br /><b>Depressive Doug:</b> Dude, don't make me go through another one of these. I'm not sure how much more of this I can take.<br /><br /><b>Manic Doug:</b> Aw, come on, man, you look like someone just ran over your dog or something.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Someone <i>did</i> just run over my Dawgs. Four someones, in fact. And somehow each of them has managed to be less talented than the last, yet they still manage to pull out the victory. What's the point, man? Why do we even <i>exist?</i><br /><br /><b>MD:</b> OK, first of all, I'm way too hung over for you to be springing this existentialist shit on me right now. Second, it's football, which we still like, even when it nearly kills us. Third, our girlfriend is expecting to be up for Georgia-Tennessee Hate Week, and I'm <i>not</i> gonna disappoint a chick.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Wait . . . does she know about us? <i>Both</i> of us?<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Well, she was around for the Georgia-Florida game last year, where I ran screaming around the house and gave the dogs upside-down belly rubs when Georgia kept it close in the very beginning, and then <i>you</i> went upstairs and passed out drunk on our bedroom floor when the game got completely out of hand, so . . . yeah, I'd have to say she's made both our acquaintances.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Oh, God, so does that mean she knows what I did after <i>last</i> week's game?<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Probably, but because it was both pathetic and futile, she a) saw it coming and b) didn't think it was getting worked up about. Now can we please get on with the football talk before I seriously start questioning why I even hang out with you?<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Fine. Go on and give me your ridiculous reasons why you still hold out hope for a win this weekend.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_DJ92kAzjR3YYqPwrRd6171MlcP2anDakpDLUgdHK3qyaIpqxj9-KsEUR_Hhq_YTOQB2L9OOpvvJoFMMJjaroIUZGyWekZbFT3sFQJB9KLCbXiHA6NRekq6DRtOB3ZU8zCqQH/s1600/aj_catch_medium.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_DJ92kAzjR3YYqPwrRd6171MlcP2anDakpDLUgdHK3qyaIpqxj9-KsEUR_Hhq_YTOQB2L9OOpvvJoFMMJjaroIUZGyWekZbFT3sFQJB9KLCbXiHA6NRekq6DRtOB3ZU8zCqQH/s320/aj_catch_medium.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5525128454394792690" /></a><br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Hey, I've got perfectly good reasons, not the least of which is Tennessee sucks. But there's an even better one, and it is that Georgia actually looked pretty good last Saturday while A.J. Green was in the game. Which, of course, he will be on Saturday. You're telling me you don't even find a <i>little</i> joy in that?<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> All I can think about is just how completely dependent the team is on him. What if the Vols find a way to bottle him up? They certainly did last year.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Yeah, but that was a different Tennessee defense. They're not nearly as good this year -- they're actually ninth in the SEC right now in opponent passing yardage and 10th in efficiency, and that's after having faced only one truly elite QB. They let UAB's <i>backup</i> quarterback go off for 373 yards on 'em, and the very next week against LSU, they even let <i>Jarrett Lee</i> have an OK game. I'm sorry, but if you play a game against Jarrett Lee and you don't come away with a single pick-six, I don't know how you can call yourself a defense.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> You really think it's gonna make a difference, though, with all the <a href="http://dawg-extra.blogspot.com/2010/10/o-line-changes-richt-on-coaching-for.html" target="_new">offensive line tinkering</a> we've had to do lately? You can't tell me you're totally confident about that.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Again, it won't matter if A.J. keeps the Vol defense honest and frees up some running room for Caleb King.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Oh, great, another awesome weekend of Guess Which Running Back Is Going To Fumble The Game Away. I <i>love</i> that game. You do know we're back to a negative turnover margin on the season, right? Whereas Tennessee is already +4?<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> All I know is we were a pretty damn good team last week when A.J. Green wasn't cramping up. I'm going to assume that we won't be running into that problem again this Saturday, hence I'm optimistic.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Remind me to tell you what happens when you <i>assume</i> after we get done here. OK, let's say you're right about everything and the offense does start clicking with A.J. firmly in the lineup. What about our defense? After all you've seen over the past few weeks, are you really confident that Tennessee won't be able to keep up with us on the scoreboard?<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Of course.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> And why is that?<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Because Tennessee's offense sucks. After all <i>you've</i> seen over the past few weeks, how have you not picked up on that?<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Two words: Tauren Poole.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuCzwOydoH3iBfcfjVnCplnLtPEGAG7X6X25QfYBtW2cblp6zfAsMr23NBGA5tmNR97aASxH3uWuSnYl7EpomW6yBTsmSuOUe6vuGMPlydgtVnn4f9InKF6o04fXvVo2pFvjK9/s1600/tauren_poole.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 263px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuCzwOydoH3iBfcfjVnCplnLtPEGAG7X6X25QfYBtW2cblp6zfAsMr23NBGA5tmNR97aASxH3uWuSnYl7EpomW6yBTsmSuOUe6vuGMPlydgtVnn4f9InKF6o04fXvVo2pFvjK9/s320/tauren_poole.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5525127016944586354" /></a><br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Is that a band?<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> He's Tennessee's starting running back, and he's pretty damn good. Went over the century mark against Oregon <i>and</i> against LSU last week. Rarely goes down on first contact, also catches passes out of the backfield. After the way that we've been shredded by both itty-bitty running backs <i>and</i> mobile QBs the past couple weeks, I can't believe you're not terrified of this guy.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Baby, Manic don't <i>get</i> terrified, particularly when the other team is starting an infirmary ward on the offensive line. No, make that a children's hospital, because Tennessee was starting three underclassmen on the line, and that was even <i>before</i> guys started getting hurt right and left. Now the depth situation has gotten so bad that Derek Dooley is talking about <a href="http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2010/oct/05/thomas-concern/" target="_new">fielding an offensive line that only has four guys.</a><br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Dude, he's not seriously gonna start a four-man offensive line.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwQUrJAv5W9plPb8T9CHbLtuP2MFWjQuoxBJtcz3CZB3Ylw2FK3Mzycwe1eqKXia-GqCXCtphXZiOS8g8t-bbVIxavlFjf3zBZXVbEFMke9LazrERhGweQuxqXvGiU45JM2Do7/s1600/simms_sacked.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwQUrJAv5W9plPb8T9CHbLtuP2MFWjQuoxBJtcz3CZB3Ylw2FK3Mzycwe1eqKXia-GqCXCtphXZiOS8g8t-bbVIxavlFjf3zBZXVbEFMke9LazrERhGweQuxqXvGiU45JM2Do7/s200/simms_sacked.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5525127748476423026" /></a> <b>MD:</b> Why not? He already tried fielding a defense with thirteen. And they're at a point now where if Dallas Thomas goes down for whatever reason, they're almost certain to replace him with a guy who's never played left tackle before. Tennessee's already fourth from the bottom in the nation in sacks allowed this season, and it looks like it could get even worse.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Look, I know Tennessee's not a good team. But neither was Mississippi State, and neither was Colorado, before they played us. And as much as it hurts to say, <i>we're</i> not a good team right now. On paper, we've got a big talent advantage over nearly every team we play, but they're not being utilized well, they're not playing smart, they almost look like they're waiting for the next disaster to happen rather than believing they can win --<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Wow, that last part actually sounds kind of like <i>you.</i><br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Hey, I'm a reflection of the circumstances around me, all right? As horrific as it is to contemplate the Dawgs being on a five-game losing streak, I'm done believing that our talent advantages are going to carry us through, or that we can't lose to this team or that team or blow X number of games in a row just because we're the Georgia Bulldogs. The stats say we <i>can</i> lose, our record says we <i>have</i> lost, so . . . sorry, I think it's highly likely we get our hearts ripped out again. Tennessee scores a late touchdown, stuffs us on our last-gasp drive -- <i>again</i> -- and wins 26-20.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> It must be so depressing to be you.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Uh . . . have we <i>met?</i><br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Sadly, we have, and if I could un-meet you, I think I'd give it a try. Not that I don't understand your fears here -- even manic dudes get the blues every now and then -- but you've got to take <i>some</i> good from the Colorado game and think that it really has a chance to manifest itself here. A.J. Green has another career day, he opens things up for the rest of the offense, we <i>hold onto the ball</i> in critical situations and win going away, 38-20.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> So our two predictions average out to . . . a 29-23 win for Georgia, which, <i>wow.</i> You really think we're gonna win by <i>eighteen?</i> We'll be lucky to <i>score</i> that many, if the last few weeks are any indication.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Vegas has us favored by two TDs.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Really? OK . . . <i>why?!?</i><br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Beats the crap out of me, man -- I don't know how they calculate that stuff, I just bet on it.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Not this week, I hope.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> No, not this week -- I think one of those chicks I tried to pick up at the bar Saturday night lifted my wallet. Shoulda known that little five-foot-nothing blonde was trouble on heels.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Actually, that reminds me, does our girlfriend know about <i>that?</i><br /><br /><b>MD:</b> No, and she <i>won't,</i> unless she asks me to pay for a bunch of shit this weekend.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Wow. This girl must have the patience of a saint.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Or she's just realized it's futile trying to rehabilitate me, but either way, yes.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> So she's OK with the Associated Hottie, too?<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Yes, especially this week, because I'm picking one that's near and dear to <i>both</i> our hearts: Dolly Parton, who received an honorary degree from UT last year.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9NhHj08uZduKxz7sNBDFcpEalt6N7p8Ee0IExQxxAlDZe0ulDIrNhvRvYJH4zWCMQ2A6YJIeBtE79WcKuo-7MadwZryOrvhNloVmE0oLRzyTB4ZEvsWWZ97sIihe_8Manmxdn/s1600/dolly_parton.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9NhHj08uZduKxz7sNBDFcpEalt6N7p8Ee0IExQxxAlDZe0ulDIrNhvRvYJH4zWCMQ2A6YJIeBtE79WcKuo-7MadwZryOrvhNloVmE0oLRzyTB4ZEvsWWZ97sIihe_8Manmxdn/s200/dolly_parton.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5525125533944047490" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9tOd9vaUwnr6CngQMsu2yqP2SmH-gS_vCKOXHEirp1jC6ONCJTBbMjGRrsXxDx2LgTkY2WwwRG4wYpNywcrxiohDhBg1rA3H2tLWUD6SD2xWZrPpMhT_ELY-pFidqiY6Hp3Go/s1600/dolly_parton2.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 134px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9tOd9vaUwnr6CngQMsu2yqP2SmH-gS_vCKOXHEirp1jC6ONCJTBbMjGRrsXxDx2LgTkY2WwwRG4wYpNywcrxiohDhBg1rA3H2tLWUD6SD2xWZrPpMhT_ELY-pFidqiY6Hp3Go/s200/dolly_parton2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5525125399764940258" /></a><br /><br /><b>MD:</b> I don't care if she's 64 years old, the lady's got some pipes, and she's <i>still</i> fine as fuck.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Interesting. Not that I don't agree, but I wouldn't have ever pegged you for a country fan.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Honestly, most of it I could take or leave, but I know what I like.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> The way you said that makes me think you're talking about something other than music now.<br /><br /><b>MD:</b> Why, I don't know <i>what</i> you could possibly mean.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> All right, fine.<br /><br /><i>(pause)</i><br /><br /><b>MD:</b> I do like boobs, though.<br /><br /><b>DD:</b> Of course you do.Astronaut Mike Dexterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01498197770701096363noreply@blogger.com2