Last Post of 2009 - Outback Edition

First, unfortunately, I have to respond to my last post. I guess the only thing that really needs to be said is NEVER EVER BELIEVE ANYTHING A FLORIDA COACH SAYS AGAIN. First, Billy Donavan pulls this stunt and now Urban Meyer. The whole thing stinks and we are obviously not getting the whole story. I think Tony Barnhart does a great job on covering this and talking about the future on this ridiculous leave-of-absence thing. I fail to understand how some time away is going to heal the things that Meyer is supposedly dealing with enough to coach college football at the highest level. Then just as Barnhart points out, the pressure and scrutiny are just going to increase on Florida and Meyer during this time away.

Back to Auburn, well we are one day away from the big Outback bowl. I am actually pumped up about this game. The only good thing about the bowl system is the occasional really cool match ups you get. Some of the teams that I have enjoyed watching Auburn play over the years are: Boston College, Michigan, USC, Ohio St, Indiana (yes I was there in 1990 to see us play in the last Peach Bowl (I think) at old Fulton County Stadium), Penn St, Clemson, Virginia Tech, Nebraska and now Northwestern. The Northwestern game is interesting because they are a team we have never played before.

I will not waste time analyzing the game as with all bowl games it is basically just an exhibition and it has been over a month since either team has played. The teams are never the same. That is why the conference championship games are the only real postseason games. I finally figured out a few years ago that other than a good feeling bowl games and the way you play in them are totally meaningless. However it is always fun getting to watch your favorite school get to play one more game against somebody they do not usually play.

The best thing for me about this bowl game is IT WILL BE THE LAST TIME I EVER HAVE TO WATCH CHRIS TODD PLAY QUARTERBACK AT AUBURN AGAIN. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Changes Abound

Urban Meyer is leaving Florida for health reasons. Obviously everyone hopes he gets better and agrees that there are plenty of things more important than football. These guys make a lot of money but there is no doubt the job is extremely stressful. I watched Pat Dye's health decline at Auburn. He aged about 50 years in a decade. I have seen many SEC coaches worn down by the job. Not much else to say there so I will focus on the future as it will effect Auburn and the SEC.

Who will Florida replace Meyer with? In my opinion (and I hope I am wrong) there is one and only choice and that is Utah's Kyle Whittingham. The guy has proven to be as good or better than Meyer at Utah. He manhandled Bama last year and had another great season with a freshman QB this year. I watched some of their bowl game the other night and one thought kept coming back... this is a well-coached team. His offensive philosophy mirrors Meyer and fits Florida. He appears to be the whole package and is a proven big-time head coach.

I just do not see another coach that jumps out to me like Whittingham. Again, I hope I am wrong because I think the Florida juggernaut will keep rolling along with him. Meanwhile I am sure the Bama faithful are rejoicing as they think this gives them sole control of the conference. However they are missing the point here. This once again proves that eras of dominance and great coaches do not last long too long. Since the SEC went to divisions we have seen several programs rise and fall and rise again and changes will continue to abound.

The long off season begins...

Well here we are, it is amazing how fast 14 weeks can pass by. The college football season has come and gone. Now we have an entire basketball season and 3/4 of an entire baseball season before college football starts up again. Of course if Bama continues to do as well as they are currently doing that will not be a bad thing anymore. The bad thing is we have not hit bottom yet. After they beat Texas it will be that much worse. I am not sure I will waste time talking much about that game. Long story short, Bama has more good football players and I think they will win the game. Not to mention Texas runs more of a spread passing game thus requiring more timing and precision which will be lost in the MONTH before the game. Again, the only sport in the world that has a month pass before their "championship game" is played.

The subject came up over at War Blog Eagle on who to cheer for in that game. There were some great responses in the comments section. Very good stuff. It restores my faith in Auburn fans. As for me I can only re-post what I wrote: "EVERYWHERE you go there is a bammer with his bammer sweatshirt, cap, car magnets and 4 flags. At work, on your street, wherever you go, you cannot dig a hole deep enough to get away from these people. To top that off I can’t even enjoy my freaking Sunday sports page now since every week it is another momentous event for them. I have NEVER cheered for them and I NEVER will. HOOK’EM HORNS!!!"

You know, the football season at Auburn would not be so bad if there was not Auburn basketball immediately following it. It looks like another great season as Auburn is 5-5 BEFORE Christmas. The best posts I have read so far are at Eyes On Auburn. Auburn is already out of the NCAA tourney before Christmas and another dreary season awaits after Christmas. It sure looks like last year's 10-6 SEC record will be the exception and not the rule when the Lebo era is done. The guess here is that Lebo will get to open the new arena but will not spend much time in it. I simply do not understand why Auburn cannot recruit one consistent shooter. A Ronnie Battle or a Scott Pohlman who can hit some shots when the athletic jump shooters are not hitting would sure help A LOT.

Make no mistake about it. Auburn is arguably the worst basketball program in the SEC since the SEC went to divisions. I did a breakdown a few years ago on each team's conference record since 1992. Auburn came in second to last to South Carolina when I did it. I will try to find that, update it and post it. Back to the present. Obviously Auburn's worst problem is it's atrocious shooting and shot selection. Next I think we miss Vot Barber big-time. I think Korvotney Barber was one of the most underrated players ever to play at Auburn. He was just not a scorer and he played on some really bad teams. However the guy was a great player. He was the Ben Tate for the basketball team the last four years.

I guess the biggest topic at Auburn currently is the upcoming trip to the Outback bowl and recruiting. I was definitely surprised and excited to see us get to the Outback bowl and that we will get to play a team we have never played. However let us be clear, we got lucky. With a 3-5 SEC record we did not earn this bowl trip. I also want to reiterate that the ultimate judge of a college football, basketball and baseball coach is his overall CONFERENCE RECORD. I do not care about the overall record. The conference record shows what kind of coach you have. Case in point would be Cliff Ellis.

On recruiting, things are looking up and I am a little more positive about the class as it appears we are bringing in some linemen. I still think we need more but will wait to see what we end up with. The class appears to be shaping up well but you just have to hope it is not a "Tuberville mirage". Tub's last four classes looked good as well but it was just a mirage as each class crumbled with non-qualifiers and complete busts. The first time you can really grade a recruiting class is the first day of fall practice in my opinion. The only players that should count on a recruiting grade are guys that qualify and are at the first practice. Auburn needs to get as many bodies in the pipeline as possible.

The buzz this week is this super JUCO QB Cam Newton coming in for a visit. The guy appears to be a stud but I am not real excited about bringing in JUCO QBs especially ones that got kicked out of Florida for stealing laptops. A move like this also does not send a positive message to your current quarterbacks who are working their butts off. However as long as the guy does not have a weak arm and does not pick #12 I can probably live with it...

Been out of town

Well it has obviously been a dry week here at STR. I wanted to post something on the big SEC Championship Game that starts in about an hour and half but had to go out of town on business. I had to go to West Point, the United State Military Academy. I am working on a project that required me to go up there. I just got back.

While I was there I got to check out the football facilities and they are first rate. You know that full size indoor practice field that Tub was always wanting? Army has got it. I got to play some catch in there, watch the team practice and meet the head coach plus most of the staff. It was really cool. I am going to be pretty pumped up for the Army vs. Navy game next week. Go Army! Beat Navy!

Now to the matter at hand and that is Bama vs. Florida for the domination of the world... Unfortunately I do not have time to break down the game. I am just that has been done ad nauseum all over. All I can do is give my pick and my abbreviated take on the game.

These are two very good teams and this is argubly the biggest SECCG ever played. However I do think these teams are more like 10-1 teams than the 11-0 juggernauts they are made out to be. Both teams got lucky in some close ones and had the refs bail him them out a few times as well. Nevertheless it should be a great game. You have Tim Tebow in his SEC farewell and a hungry Bama team looking to get over that Florida hump. Bama has met Florida in the SECCG after an undefeated season twice now. They met in 1994 and last year. Both times they lost.

You have to believe Nick $aban has had last years lost burning in his gut each day. I believe he has been thinking about that loss just about every day since it happened. I know he and his staff will have done everything humanly possible to prepare for this game. I would almost say the same about Urban Meyer but it is nearly impossible to stay as hungry as you were before you won the big one. I think Bama is the hungrier team, coaches and players. I think Florida has one of the best players in SEC history in Tim Tebow. I have learned a few times not to best against Tebow.

So there you have it. The unstoppable force (Tebow) vs. the immovable object (Bama's defense). Who will prevail and who will win the other side of the football game, i.e. Bama's offense vs. Florida's defense. This is obviously a tough call but my gut says Bama finally gets over the hump. I will say... BAMA OVER FLORIDA