What a week. I don’t think I could have handled this week on top of the Alabama/A&M game, so good thing it’s next week. There are a lot of things to choose from here for my “Leaders and Lolligaggers”. I have to put myself under the “lolligaggers” for my picks. The South Carolina/Georgia game is understandable, but I also picked:
– Florida, who was embarrassing to watch on offense, as they couldn’t do anything and got beat by Miami.
– Texas, who everyone thought was “back” after Mack Brown said so. So much for that.
– Western Kentucky, who I thought might at least keep it close after the way they beat Kentucky. Tennessee showed they might actually be back though, and proved me wrong. Kudos to Butch Jones and the Vols.
Leaders
Auburn – I am not ready to say Auburn is “back”, but they definitely are on the right track. I wasn’t sold that Auburn was any better after beating Washington State last week, but after Washington State beat USC, that win went up in my book. I had Auburn as a possible upset in the back of my mind this past weekend because Arkansas State is a pretty decent team. Once again, Auburn looked fine in a solid win. Now to head to Baton Rouge, and see what they are really made of.
Tennessee – Same goes with Tennessee that went with Auburn. Everyone had them pegged for a possible upset to Bobby Petrino and Western Kentucky, including me. I don’t think anyone took Tennessee on the line, including every major sports writer in the country. Although they haven’t played anyone really great yet, and are about to get a taste of Oregon this week, I do give Tennessee the same credit Auburn got for looking good so far.
Miami – Miami is a team that I’m almost ready to say is “back”. Florida embarrassed the SEC as yet another SEC team dropped to the ACC. I got to watch a little of the first Miami game against Florida something-or-another University, and despite who they were playing, Miami actually looked pretty good as a team. It came as no surprise that Miami won, and in my defense, although I picked Florida, I did say it would be a tough game. Miami was a much more impressive team than they have been, so kudos to the Hurricanes.
Honorable Mention – Samford for playing a hell of a game against Arkansas.
Lolligaggers
Oh where to begin…
Texas – Everyone was jumping on the Texas bandwagon because Mack Brown assured us all that they were back. They are far from it. Losing to BYU the way they did was worse than what Florida did. I don’t really want to give BYU credit after losing to Virginia, but Texas was supposed to be a team who could challenge for the Big 12 title. With Oklahoma State and TCU, that is not happening. Texas doesn’t even deserve to be ranked after that debacle, and I think Ole Miss can win this weekend against the Longhorns. Mack Brown’s seat is hot, and Nick Saban’s name is ringing throughout the halls in the Texas athletic department.
USC – Lane Kiffin has a lot of work to do if he still wants to be the USC head coach this time next year. Not to take anything away from Mike Leach, he’s a great coach, but USC is just flat out disappointing. What are they doing in Southern California? UCLA now owns that city, and USC is starting to disappear from relevancy. Kiffin better get his act together fast.
Jadeveon Clowney – Remember when we all thought Clowney would win the Heisman Trophy? So much for that, right? Three tackles in each game so far, although he did have a sack against Georgia. Teams are finding ways to go around him, and make him obsolete, and then other times, he’s sitting on the bench. I’ve never really gotten why there is a need to substitute defensive linemen so much on a drive, when offensive linemen are staying in the whole time. If you’re running around the field like a wide receiver or a defensive back/linebacker, I understand. If a fat offensive lineman can stay out a whole drive, then I sure as hell hope that a stud defensive lineman can. I know I always played offense so maybe I don’t “understand”, but if I could stay out there the whole time, then you can too. They reported how tired Clowney was for playing all the defensive plays for the first few series, and all I can think about is how an offensive lineman doesn’t miss a single play the entire game and they are usually the least conditioned people on the field.
Clowney is upset that the team isn’t “using him right”, but there have been many instances where teams have gone right at him, and still beaten him. He is definitely the most over-hyped, overrated player so far this year. That’s not to say he’s a bad player, but the media is living on his one hit against Michigan last year, and it’s making him frustrated that he can’t live up to the hype. I wonder if they shouldn’t move him to linebacker or something where he can be more mobile to make plays. However, that means he has to run more and we don’t want him to pass out now, do we?