With everything that went down this weekend… Where do we start?
Let's start with what I have to believe is the biggest game of the week was. Alabama going down to Ole Miss. When I mentioned Game Day being at Oxford and all the adrenaline, blah blah blah, I thought to myself as I was writing, “damn... when was the last time they were there? It’s been a long time,” but then thought, “Eli Manning played at Ole Miss and even though they were just ‘good/decent’ I’m sure they were there sometime during his tenure.” It wasn’t till later that I learned that was the first time Game Day had ever been to “The Grove”, had no idea. But boy did they deliver. Game started out REAL slow, I was falling asleep in the first half (maybe because I was a little exhausted from the noon games) But then here we go with a minute to go in the second quarter, Bama up 7-3 (what a barn burner) we get the questionable no call “face mask” where Bama picks up the resulting fumble and takes it in for 6 to go up 14-3 for the half. Typically when something like this happens against Bama, the place will go silent and there will be an underlying tone of “oh boy, here we go… It’s over”. But I will say, the crowd didn't go silent, they were actually more into the game. They were pissed (they showed the missed call multiple times at the stadium, and you could hear them just getting angrier and angrier each time they showed it). And to them (and the guys on the field wearing the Ole Miss helmets) there was still a second half to play. And boy did they! They came out Fightin! It was a classic “gritty” performance by the rebels in the second half.
How big was this win? The biggest in the school’s history! You disagree? Ok, you tell me a bigger one. The “preppy’s” took to the field in their popped collared polos and boat shoes after the W to rip down the goal posts. But I guess that wasn't good enough, it appears they stole them. Yes, they stole the goal posts. Check the link from ESPN, I guess they were walking around town with them… What else do you say?
So if someone asks you “How big was that Ole Miss win over Alabama?” You can (and should) answer“It was stolen goal posts big!” Not just “Rush the field” or “Storm the field big!”, or even “torn down post big!” (Or we’ll say “TDP” for short) we’re talking “Stolen post big!”. You see there are levels to these kinds of things… and when you steal the posts that means you've just had the crème de la crème of victory’s. It doesn't get any bigger… Until maybe someone comes up with something new… maybe they take all of the seats in the house with them… I don’t know, but until then, stealing the posts is as big as it comes.
Levels of bigness from low to high (meter applies to the home crowd)
“Fan leave early” – It wasn't much of a game. It was over with at least 10 minutes to go in the game, many times before the start of the 4th quarter and sometimes at the half.
“General Applause” – Typical and common where the favorite wins as expected. Emotions are usually minimal, as the result is usually foreseen by the general masses.
“The Roar” – less common than the general applause, but common enough. Usually resulting with a late game comeback or a big stop by the defense. Different circumstances result in “The Roar”: 2 equal teams, a favorite coming from behind against an underdog that has over performed, or the highest level of the roar the underdog coming from behind against the consensus favorite.
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| via clappstar (Flickr) |
“Tear down the goal posts” – Uncommon, only taking place once or maybe twice a year at most. It’s even less common from teams that have had a history of success. It’s a massive win.
“Stolen goal posts” – Think about it. The win resulted in the goal posts being stolen… Tearing the posts down just wasn't good enough, they needed to be removed from the stadium as well. It doesn't get any bigger.
Ok, Let’s move on…
We don’t even need to leave the state to talk about the next big deal going on. I’ll keep this short, Mississippi State, (yeah I’ll say it) is the best team IN Mississippi. Dak Prescott, is the real deal, and I’m telling ya’ll to tune in. This team reminds me very much of the 2010 Auburn Tigers. Obviously Dak, But tthey've got a RB, Josh Robinson that is like the Michael Dyer of the 2010 Tigers, and with a solid O line, here is their “1 – 2 punch”. When I talked about this game, I thought, “wow Miss St just took down LSU, how are they going to handle success? Are they going to be ready to go against A&M?” and then I thought, “You know, yeah, I think they will, but A&M is seasoned in these kinds of things and I think A&M will get them late in the game”. No Sir, Miss St, was there just handing out the ass whoopins like tootsie rolls at the 4th of July parade… I said it earlier here, but these guys are real.
Which leads me to the next conversation… Every time I look at the SEC west, I can’t stop shaking my head in disbelief. I just said, Miss St is for real, are they undefeated/ national championship real? I can’t see how ANYONE can get out of the SEC west without AT LEAST 1 loss. Really, I don’t see how they can get out without 2 losses.
Here is the SEC West:
Alabama: Damn, that’s Alabama.
Arkansas: Ok, not so intimidating, but still a team that can/will beat you if you bring your B game and aren't ready.
Auburn: Well they won the SEC last year, and the way they’re playing, it wasn’t a fluke. (I will admit, I underestimated this team, I thought they would be/look more “average”, not the case right now)
LSU: It’s LSU, NFL talent EVERY year. When they played Wisconsin earlier this year, Wisc looked like a better football team. But LSU just had the athletes to make plays and win the game. I guess you could say “LSU is ‘down’ this year” but what does that really mean? So what, they’re not “crazy good”? They’re just “good” or “crazy”. The best way to describe LSU is, they’re LSU. (and they could still kick your ass if you treat them like they are having a “down year”)
Mississippi State: Go ahead, try and find some stats out there that say this team isn’t the real deal. These guys used to be the “bye week” for Alabama, LSU and Auburn. Not this year. They can flat out play and beat anyone in the country. <~ That’s a period
Ole Miss: See my comments above, Oxford is on the map. Proof is in the pudding. Here is another team that was considered to be a “bye week”, but not anymore.(Even so, I think they are the second weakest team in the SEC West in front of Arkansas… Yes the team that just beat Bama, That’s how bad ass this division is) – You could say LSU is the second weakest team in the west, fine, are we really going to argue about who is going to finish 4th, 5th and/or 6th in the division?
Texas A&M: Yeah, they got handled today, but do you really think these guys are chumps? You want to go to College Station and play them? (I’ve got them to finish 4th in the conference, but what does that even mean? These guys are still going to take down someone that finishes above them)
Ok, so how you plan on getting out of there undefeated? Yeah, you don’t. Can you get out of there with 1 loss? Damn that’s tough. I don’t really think it’s going out on a limb to say AT LEAST 2 of the best 4 teams in the country are in this division. Yes, AT LEAST… Find some arguments otherwise…
Ok, Now that that’s out of the way, we can move on to some other games and teams that ARE VERY RELEVANT, and NOT to be overlooked ( I just have to talk SEC first, it’s just how I function)
TCU!!! I can’t really comment too much on this game as I was focused on the Ole Miss/Bama game. But I was jacked up when I saw TCU go up 14-0 (knowing TCU is a historically strong defensive team) and then saying “piss” when Oklahoma went up 31-24. (I really just dislike Bob Stoops. To me, he’s like the used car salesman, just makes me feel grimy seeing him. I like many teams every week, one of them is whoever is playing Oklahoma). Anyways, TCU got the W 37-33 (in which I am hearing was another wild finish) and the Big 12 is now officially up for grabs! I love it!
And for any of you who had been in a bubble, Arizona beat the Ducks… In Eugene. I will admit, I didn’t think that was going to happen. I saw matchup, and said, “I think the Cats will fight, but that 21 point spread is probably on target… Too much “OOOO” in the second half… Nope, The Cats took down the #2 team in the country and the Pac 12 is wide open (more on UCLA and USC soon)… seems to be the theme across the country.
Let’s just take a little breather and mention some other games….
Northwestern is undefeated in Big 10 play, and you look at it now and say “You know these guys really have a chance to really make something of this season.” It didn’t look that way 2 weeks ago. But they get a W against a pretty good Penn State team (Penn St. was granted bowl eligibility a few weeks back, so they are playing for keeps) and this week Wisconsin. Great win for Northwestern though, I hope they keep winning (and they get to play a certain team from South Bend, Indiana later this year as well)
I guess we can’t talk about the Big 10 without mentioning the continuation of the Michigan Flop. Ouch. (No more commentary needed)
Speaking of a certain team from South Bend. Notre Dame got their big win over Stanford that basically only ND fans knew about given all the other action going on at the time. Whether you love, hate or are indifferent about the Irish, prep yourself. The media LOVES a “good” Notre Dame team. For the next 2 weeks (they play Florida State in 2 weeks) you’re going to hear and learn a lot more about this team (unless they lose to North Carolina). As for some real commentary on this game, I have mixed feeling. If you watched this game, you probably fell asleep like I did in the first half of the Ole Miss/Bama game. It was Ugly… and it was raining… it looked cold as shit. So there was a part of me that said, “You didn’t get Stanford’s best game.” (I hate it when teams get W’s against another teams B game) But then the other part me jumped up and was adamant “Isn’t this what this shit’s about?!” and then I somehow I became even more inflexible “AND It’s not even real grass anymore! Where’s the Mud?!” The Irish got their Win (no matter how shitty it was) and the Cardinal just couldn’t handle the weather and adversity. Step aside.
Other noteworthy games.
- ASU downs USC. On a good ole fashion hail marry… What’s going on in the Pac 12?
- Sparty got their W, and they are right back in the middle of the “playoff” picture.
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