The Sunday Blog comes to you from the road after a late night getting back to our room in Columbus, Ga. Classic story — we bought all of the ingredients for a mean tailgate with plans of getting to Auburn early to avoid gridlock, then left all of the chicken in the refrigerator back at the hotel.
Oh well, that was some sweet chicken at 1 a.m. once we got back.
The bye week comes at a good time for the banged-up Gators and for those of us covering the team. But we will return next week with another Sunday Blog.
THE NOT-READY-FOR-PRIME-TIME
COLLEGE FOOTBALL TOP 25
1. Alabama: When it was 7-0 did you think Ole Miss had a chance? Not so fast.
2. LSU: The Tigers will have an interesting game this week.
3. Oklahoma: Anyone else fired up about Okie-Okie State later this season?
4. Wisconsin: Russell Wilson may end up one of best players not to win the Heisman.
5. Stanford: Andrew Luck turned it on in second half.
6. Oklahoma State: Must be nice to cover a team with a great offense.
7. Clemson: Just when you think Zeppo Swinney’s team is in trouble.
8. Boise State: Ever seen more wide open receivers?
9. Oregon: Impressive post-game showing by Chip Kelly when he told knuckleheads clowning around behind him to “Shut up!”
10. Arkansas: Three SEC teams in the NRFPT top 10.
11. Nebraska: Should ne interesting down the stretch for Huskers.
12. South Carolina: Gamecocks escaped by skin of their beaks.
13. Virginia Tech: Nice comeback for the Hokies after rough start.
14. West Virginia: Mountaineers are the class of the Big East.
15. Michigan State: Very impressive win for Sparty.
16. Kansas State: A team that reflects personality of its coach.
17. Houston: Interesting times for the Cougars right now.
18. Michigan: Tough loss for Brady Hoke’s bunch.
19. Illinois: Who didn’t see that loss coming?
20. Georgia Tech: Just when you bought into the Jackets.
21. Georgia: Still without a quality win but Bulldogs deserve some love.
22. Washington: Steve Sarkisian deserves a lot of credit.
23. Texas A&M: Defense not great but Aggies an score.
24. Auburn: Do Tigers gets steamrolled this week?
25. Arizona State: Devils really play a tough schedule.
THE SEC FOUR-PACK
1. I swear there was a moment in South Carolina’s game against Mississippi State where Steve Spurrier turned around looking for a quarterback to replace Connor Shaw and, of course, Stephen Garcia was not there. I told you that the Gamies had better not get too full of themselves after thumping a lousy Kentucky team. It almost bit them but the ball coach knows how to win close games.
2. Talk about statements on the road, Alabama and LSU showed the separation in this conference again with blowout road wins over inferior teams. And Trent Richardson’s Heisman campaign that started off so slowly is in full sprint. I think he just broke another Ole Miss tackle.
3. Did you see the incident between Vandy head coach James Franklin and Georgia hothead defensive coordinator Todd Grantham at mid-field after the game? Classic stuff. “We just had a tough, emotional game and some things were said that I didn’t think were appropriate,” Franklin said. “I went to find (Georgia head) coach (Mark) Richt and didn’t find him, so I found one of his assistant coaches and it didn’t go well. We’re not going to sit back and take it from anyone.”
4. These are not the best of times in the state of Mississippi. The two SEC schools are a combined 0-7 in conference play. Ole Miss now has to play Arkansas wirth two defensive starters lost in the Alabama game.
