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PREDICTIONS ARE BACK! Week 3, Auburn Tigers… (UPDATED!!!)
Posted by The Chosen Blogger on Mar 28, 2008
Well…predictions are back people! I apologize for the delay but my job made the research and thought that goes into this endeavor prohibitive. Because of my rather hectic schedule, I will not be able to go into the written detail that went into the previous two entries. Nevertheless, you can trust that I have researched each team and my predictions are still binding…that is you can heckle me endlessly next season if my predictions prove to be bunk.
So here we go with the new format!
Reasons they will be good: Tony Franklin sure looked good with his spread attack against Clemson. Kodi Burns looked more than capable of leading a spread offense through a tough SEC schedule. They have a lot of returning starters on both the offensive and defensive line…which is huge in the SEC. Quentin Groves…Pat Simms….who are they? Marks and Coleman are more than capable of filling those big shoes. The SEC West is going to be down and Auburn should be more than talented enough to win a lot of games this year.
Reasons they will choke: IF Kodi Burns can hold off Chris Todd, DeRon Furr and Neil Caudle (that’s a big if), can the guy navigate a full SEC season……remember……Clemson didn’t have game film of this new spread offense….other teams will be better prepared. Auburn has a history of choking when they have the personnel to have a good season.
The Season:
8/30 - La. Monroe (Auburn, AL) - Auburn 41-10
9/6 - Southern Miss (Auburn, AL) - Auburn 32 - 7
9/13 - Mississippi State (Starkville, MS) - Auburn 24 - 14
9/20 - LSU (Auburn, AL) - Auburn 31-10
9/27 - Tennessee (Auburn, AL) - Auburn 21-14
10/4 - Vanderbilt (Nashvegas, TN) - Auburn 31 - 17
10/11 - Arkansas (Auburn, AL) - Auburn 41 - 17
10/23 - West Virginia (Morgantown, WV) - Auburn 28 - 17
11/1 - Ole Miss (Oxford, MS) - Auburn 24 - 17
11/8 - Tennessee Martin (Auburn, AL) - Auburn 45 - 3
11 / 15 - Georgia (Auburn, AL) - Georgia 31 - 24
11/29 - Alabama (Tuscaloosa, AL) - Alabama 27 - 20
Record: 10-2
Wins: La. Monroe, Southern Miss, Miss. State, LSU, Tennessee, Vandy, Arkansas, West Virginia, Ole Miss, UT Martin
Losses: Georgia, Alabama
Conclusion: Auburn has a strong season which is a result of their returning talent and the relative weakness of the SEC West. They should coast through most of the season, but they will run into a juggernaut on November 15th in Georgia. As for Alabama, the Tide will be finishing strong by the end of the season and Auburn will still be reeling from a thrashing by the Bulldogs (the game will not really be as close as the score suggests) and even with a week off, Alabama will be shouting “fear the finger” after winning a thrilling SEC West championship game.
UPDATE! (3/29/08, 12:38pm) So the ever controversial sports journalist Paul Finebaum has decided to take a page from the Chosn Blogger and predict Auburn’s season. Here is how his prediction stacks up against mine.
Finebaum predicts an 8-4 season with Auburn losing to Georgia, Alabama, West Virginia and LSU. I obviously do not buy into the notion that LSU is going to be any good next year. Furthermore, I strongly believe that West Virginia’s streak is over. Auburn will have a formidable defense returning next year…and that will equate to more than 8 victories.
Ryan Perrilloux Back on the Team at LSU
Posted by The Danza on Mar 27, 2008
Well, a little over a month after Ryan Perrilloux was suspended indefinitely by Coach Les Miles for “unspecified team violations,” he is back from suspension and could be practicing again with the team as early as Monday, according an AP report on Yahoo! Sports. These unspecified team violations were later revealed by his high school coach and family to be missing classes to attend his father’s funeral without telling his coaches and missing a mandatory team meeting for reasons not directly related.
On one hand, Perrilloux has been plagued with problems since last May, when he was cited for trying to gain entry to a riverboat casino in Baton Rouge using his brother’s ID. After being reinstated in August, Perrilloux began to play an important role in LSU’s offense as he gave the defense a different look than Matt Flynn offering a type of “Tebow Package.” However, Perrilloux was suspended from practice for the week before the Alabama game in 2007 for the participation in a nightclub brawl. The latest suspension would have seemingly been a third strike.
On the other hand, one cannot rush to judge the extent of his violations. First of all, if it is true what his family and former coach say about his reasons for missing class, then I will forgive that. True, he should have given the coach’s notice, but when something that tragic happens in your life, you are not likely to be thinking of collegiate athletics as first priority. I do not know the reasons for missing the mandatory team meeting, but that’s an internal matter to deal with at LSU and will only affect the team’s and coaches’ respect for him and Perrilloux’s learning progress. I do not feel that missing a team meeting would be grounds for complete expulsion from the team, even after the rest of Perrilloux’s issues in the past.
In an effort not to be judgmental, I give Perrilloux the benefit of the doubt on this latest suspension, but one has to believe that Miles will be quick to pull the trigger if anything else happens that could affect his team’s cohesiveness. While I don’t blame Miles for his decision in this case, one has to ask this question: if this was T-Bob Hebert, 3rd-string red-shirt freshman center, would he still be on the team?
Top 50 Universities…..In Terms of Hotness
Posted by The Danza on Mar 25, 2008
The Popcrunch Show, a celebrity tabloid, has made it to the top of the Digg Sports Group this week with their list of the Top 50 Universities Ranked by Hotness. Not surprisingly, the SEC had six teams in the top 10 and eight in the top 20. We tend to be the best at most things physically oriented. Mentally, we may be lacking a little as a whole, but damnit, our guys can outrun and tackle your guys harder and our girls can wear bikinis better than your girls can, and that might just be all that matters.
Reggie Bush Hearing Postponed Until May 2
Posted by The Danza on Mar 25, 2008
Well, this is old news, but to quote Family Guy parodying NBC’s summer rerun campaign, “if I haven’t seen it, it’s new to me.” On March 10, the judge in the Reggie Bush case put the lawsuit on hold until May 2. At this point, the judge will hear a motion that will attempt to coerce Bush to testify.
Also according to this piece, the NCAA is believed to be at the end stage of its lengthy investigation into Bush’s wrongdoings while at USC and could be waiting until Bush testifies under oath to complete it. I don’t know about all of you (and by all of you, I mean the 10 people that read this), but I’m getting tired of waiting. Give the Heisman to Vince Young and get it over with.
Sports Illustrated Opens Its “Vault” Containing All Articles Ever Written…..For Free!
Posted by The Danza on Mar 19, 2008
Have you ever wanted to reread that article about Michael Jordan in the April 1990 edition of Sports Illustrated that made you dream of playing in the NBA one day? Well, now you can. Actually, you can even read about “yachts, polo, and safaris” in the August 16, 1954, edition (the very first issue).
This Thursday, Sports Illustrated is opening its archives containing every article ever written by the magazine. This is an extraordinary commitment to the digital age for the sports magazine to make, and I, for one, applaud them for this. The fact that they’re making this service free is icing on the cake. My current subscription to Sports Illustrated costs much more than free, and I look forward to canceling supplementing my paper magazines with retroactive readings online of 42-year old articles about Bart Starr and Super Bowl I.
I know what the first thought that went through your mind was, and I have to admit that it was my first as well. As soon as I saw the headline of the article in the NY Times, I clicked on it and did a quick “Find in this page” search for “swimsuit” to see if they were going to make photos from all of the past swimsuit editions available. While it said that “many images” will be included in the Vault, nowhere in the article did it even mention the word “swimsuit.” Keep your fingers crossed.
Was There Ever Any Question?
Posted by The Chosen Blogger on Mar 16, 2008
5 and 0….
Let’s say that one more time…
5 and 0…
Now, in most sports, 5 and 0 may indicate a good start…but only if your competition didn’t consist of cupcakes and no-names. 5 and 0 is and indication that you have the potential to have a good season…
5 and 0…
Tiger Woods is now 5 and 0 in his last five starts. He has not lost a golf tournament that he has played in…that is almost unheard of in golf where you are not only competing against the best of the best of the best, but against tricked out golf courses that would have the rest of us 15 handicappers struggling to break a Ben Franklin (add to that the fact that Bay Hill’s greens were less than satisfactory…rolling at different speeds due to the dreaded Nematode).
5 and 0…
The guy comes back from a less than mediocre Thursday and Friday…several shots off the lead…and rolls in a 25 foot birdie on 18 that broke severely right to left, an amazingly difficult shot, and it wasn’t even in question. On Saturday he hits a feather soft fade around a tree to within 7 feet of the pin (birdie…was there ever any question?) and follows that on the next hole with a screaming draw to within 4 for a tap in…just enough to put him in a tie for lead after starting the day in the middle of the pack.
Now I ask you…was there ever any question?
Was there ever any question that Woods would win Bay Hill after burying the competition in each tournament he has played in the last seven months?
Was there ever any question that Woods would win Arnold Palmer’s tournament for the fifth time ever?
Was there any question that Woods would collect his 65th victory and tie Ben Hogan in total victories?
Was there ever any question that Tiger would simply find a way, even though he was having a less than stellar week striking the ball?
Is there any question as to whether he is not the greatest golfer of all time…..perhaps even the greatest athlete?
He could conclusively answer both of these questions with his play this year…
And I, for one, hope he answers in the affirmative by winning every damn tournament he enters….
P.S. I know you Auburn fans are anxiously waiting my fearless prediction….sorry about the delay…I have a job and that has precluded me from the careful analysis and thought that goes into my prediction. It is coming soon…so stay tuned.
Eagles-Jaguars Summit League Championship Mascot Fight
Posted by The Danza on Mar 14, 2008
In other news, Oral Roberts won this game, the Summit League Championship, and secures its spot in the NCAA Tournament, but who really cares?
Finally, They’re Going to Let Him Play
Posted by The Danza on Mar 11, 2008
I don’t know about you, but I’ve been waiting for 50 years to see Billy Crystal play baseball for the Yankees. As it turns out, my dreams have come true and Crystal will now suit up and play for the Yankees in this Thursday’s spring training game against the Pirates. Ohhhh, they’re playing the Pirates……now it makes more sense. Who knows? If it turns out well, maybe they’ll save a roster spot for him to takeover the shortstop position, since that guy they got now is statistically the worst in the league. After all, Crystal did “hit .348 and was captain during his senior year at Long Beach High School in New York.”
A Sad Day for Packers Fans, A Mixed Day for Football Fans
Posted by The Danza on Mar 4, 2008
If you haven’t heard yet, Brett Favre retired today. The man that old men and children alike in Wisconsin and all across the U.S. for that matter have idolized for 17 years is no longer going to be throwing the ball on Sundays, whether it be 50-yard bomb or a five-yard underhand toss.
Green Bay fans will be especially devastated, because Favre is leaving after the greatest season in his recent career, if not his entire career. The few seasons before the last when Favre hinted at retirement, Packer fans were a little more accepting of the notion as Favre appeared to have reached his plateau and fallen a couple hundred feet. Favre had earned his legend status though, much like Bobby Bowden and Joe Paterno in college football, and no team official or fan would ever have thought of nudging him out. Read the rest of this entry »
Auburn Prediction Delayed…
Posted by The Chosen Blogger on Mar 3, 2008
I’m on vacation…so all of you out there in bloggerland are just going to have to get over it. (P.S….playing in a golf tourney next weekend too….so expect a two week delay…)