Week 10 Review: Miles Ahead

Auburn enjoyed a bye week in week 10 of the SEC regular season this year. It is about the only good thing about Auburn's schedule. Of course, I am assuming we are going to keep playing college football. I am not sure since the greatest college football game in the history of the world was played this weekend. I guess my comments on this week will start there...

• First, let me say I steadfastly avoided all the ridiculous hype of this game and I did not watch the actual game except for overtime and then the highlights. I was glad to see how it turned out but also glad I did not waste four hours of my life watching it. Some are calling a "defensive masterpiece" but I think ESPN's Gene Wojciechowski nailed it...

"If that was The Game of the Century, then I want my 100 years back.

Top-ranked LSU's 9-6 overtime win against No. 2 Alabama Saturday evening wasn't the game of the century, decade or season. I'm not even sure it was the game of the day.

So let's get this out of the way right now: These two teams deserve a BCS championship rematch like Kim Kardashian deserves to keep her wedding gifts...

Classics don't have four interceptions, four missed field goals, 13 penalties, one fumble, one botched punt return and zero touchdowns. A punter shouldn't be the best player on the field in a classic.

Bottom line: Only a classic is worthy of a Jan. 9 rematch in New Orleans. And this wasn't one of them."

• Let me repeat the most important part: "Classics don't have four interceptions, four missed field goals, 13 penalties, one fumble, one botched punt return and zero touchdowns. A punter shouldn't be the best player on the field in a classic."

• The Bama reaction after a huge loss is always interesting and this loss was no exception. It appears the majority take is that a rematch is in the bag. Unless Bama somehow gets to and wins the SEC Championship game I find that take ridiculous on many levels.

• My first reaction would be the bullet above. These two teams are very good teams that could win a championship but they are not great teams. These teams have great defenses but have average offenses and in Bama's case poor special teams. A great team is good in all those departments. The point is that the loser of this game, Bama, is not good enough to warrant an invite to the big game considering they would not even win their conference.

• That brings me to my next point, I just do not understand why there is not a rule that you cannot play in the national championship game without winning your own conference (???!!!???). It just seems ludicrous to me in football to not have that rule. It was a sham when Nebraska and Oklahoma did it awhile back and it is now. On that point, I am not sure how you can be real proud of getting to a national championship game in football without even winning your own conference.

• Final point on this subject, Bama had their chance. They had LSU in their house and they did not close the deal. I am still wondering how the greatest coach in the history of the world, in the biggest game in the history of the world had a critical illegal substitution penalty in the biggest overtime in the history of the world?

• On the winning side you have to give credit to Les Miles, the "Mad Hatter" has taken a lot of heat in his time at LSU but he is not winning with $aban's players anymore. These are all his guys. He has also outcoached $aban on the field two years in a row (and is 5-2 against Auburn). His option call on second down in overtime was a brilliant call. If Miles notches his second SEC and national championship this year he will be in some rarified air.

• I am shocked by the complete lack of respect a lot of Bama fans and the media have for their OWN 2009 national championship team. It is very very hard to complete an undefeated season and win the whole thing. The 2006 national champion Florida team did not do it. The 2007 national champion LSU team did not do it. The 2008 national champion Florida team did not do it. Only the 2009 Bama team and the 2010 Auburn team has done it on this current SEC streak. All you hear though is how this year's defense is Bama's best defense ever, this team is so great and the tired comparisons to the 1992 team. Bama does not have a linebacker or defensive player as good as Rolando McClain. They do not have a defensive linemen as good as Terrence Cody or a safety as good as Roman Harper. They do not have a special teams player as good as Javier Arenas. Their offense is nowhere close to the 2009 unit which featured Mark Ingram's Heisman season, Julio Jones and left tackle James Carpenter. All those players are now STARTING on Sundays. This year's Bama team even if they beat LSU is not as good as their 2009 team. Have a little respect for your own history Bama.

• I will reiterate a point I made a few posts ago as well.  For some reason teams with great defenses are always put above teams with great offenses.  After hearing how these two teams are the greatest ever I would like to point out that the 2010 Auburn Tigers beat both of these teams last year and there are not many true freshman impact players on either team. The 2010 Auburn Tigers ran for almost 450 yards on this same LSU defense last year, a defense that last year had one of the best current rookies in the NFL playing for them.  I would still take our team last year over either of these teams.

• Thank goodness the hype is over and it is Georgia week, "The Deep South's Oldest Rivalry". I will put in a little of my own hype here, no rivalry beats Auburn vs. Georgia all things considered.  I do not think any football rivalry anywhere comes close when you look at the records and stats.  It has to be the closest most competitive rivalry in all of sports, here are the stats from the auburntigers.com...

"In the previous 114 meetings between the teams, Auburn leads the series against Georgia with a 54-52-8 record but Georgia has outscored Auburn by 38 points (1,809 to 1,771).  The Auburn-Georgia series is tied with Oregon-Oregon State as the seventh-most played series in the nation (Football Bowl Subdivision).  The two teams did not play in 1943, only because Auburn did not field a team due to World War II. The two teams did not play in 1917 and 1918 because of WWI. With those two exceptions, Auburn and Georgia have played continuously since 1898. The Auburn-Georgia series (114 games) is older than the Georgia-Georgia Tech series (102 games) and the Auburn-Alabama series (75 games). Auburn and Georgia first played in 1892. They first played their intrastate rivals in 1893."

• The history of the series is simply incredible.  There have been so many big close games.  I definitely would like to do a whole post on the great games some time.  Outside the stats, the schools have so many ties.  Georgia's greatest coach Vince Dooley is an Auburn grad.  Pat Dye, arguably Auburn's greatest coach, is a Georgia grad.  Shug Jordan coached at Georgia before becoming head coach at Auburn.  Joel Eaves, Auburn's greatest basketball coach became Georgia's athletic director.  There is just so much history there. 

• The only problem I have with the series is some of the current players and coaches on both sides not respecting that history.  Yes I know about all the personal fouls last year but my problem is the players and the coaches not understanding how great this rivalry is.  For example, the Bama vs. Tennessee rivalry is completely inferior when you look at the history and the stats.  It is a rivalry dominated by one team for long periods of time and features a lot of blow outs.  However the Bama and Tennessee coaches and players really respect the rivalry and really pump it iup.  I would like to see a lot more of that from Auburn and Georgia.  In recent years it appears a lot of fans want to just turn it into another sea of hate like the Bama game.  Come on guys, this game is better than that. 

War Eagle, Burn the Bulldogs...