The Sunday Blog had one of those weekends that lived up to the hype. Nashville is my favorite SEC trip every other year and it was spectacular.
It’s not just the Marriott that is basically a part of the north end zone and has the best service of any Marriott I’ve ever experienced. (By the way, hotel room to press box — eight minutes. We had a slow elevator).
It’s not just that downtown Nashville is as good as it gets and it was definitely alive Friday night.
It’s guys like Danny at Mac Authority. I made a rookie mistake and forgot my power chord. They were sold out at the store but Danny charged me up so I could write after the game and deliver the Sunday Blog.
Great weekend.
THE NOT-READY-FOR-PRIME-TIME
COLLEGE FOOTBALL TOP 25
1. Alabama: Neither rain, nor lightning, nor cold of night …
2. Oregon: The Ducks were off this week and still scored points.
3. Notre Dame: Controversial? Sure, but the Irish keep winning.
4. Florida: Gators had their special teams wake up this week.
5. Kansas State: The Wildcats struggled but pulled it out.
6. LSU: Florida’s win over the Tigers looks that much better.
7. Oklahoma: I shouldn’t doubt Big Game Bob in the red River Rivalry.
8. Ohio State: Urban Meyer’s team gave up 49 points and won.
9. Oregon State: All the Beavers do is win.
10. Mississippi State: Bulldogs haven’t beaten anybody but they’ve beaten everybody.
11. South Carolina: That was a frustrated ball coach leaving baton Rouge.
12. Southern Cal: Something not quite right with USC offense.
13. Florida State: Semis steamrolled Boston College. Who doesn’t?
14. Georgia: Off last week, Kentucky this week which is like being off.
15. Clemson: Should be quite a show this week.
16. West Virginia: Did Geno Smith go from frontrunner to darkhorse?
17. Louisville: Charlie Strong’s team turned it on in second half.
18. Rutgers: Nice win over Syracuse for the Knights.
19. Cincinnati: We have a run on Big East teams.
20. Texas A&M: Johnny Football for Heisman?
21. Boise State: Quietly, Broncos keep winning.
22. Ohio: Hey, they’re 7-0.
23. Texas Tech: Tommy Tuberville is the king of the upset.
24. Stanford: Yes, he did appear to score.
25. Louisiana Tech: Amazing late night game deserves a spot in the rankings.
THE SEC FOUR-PACK
1. Is it me or does LSU seem to always have, like, four tailbacks who are all the same? They trot one out and trot another one in and he’s always 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds with speed. Jeremy Hill is the latest Tiger back. He had 71 rushing yards for the season (61 of them against Idaho) before the South Carolina game and went for 124 against the Gamecocks. Les Miles can recruit some big tailbacks.
2. So is the bloom off the rose that was Florida-South Carolina? Nope. It’s may not be as big but it’s still huge. Meanwhile, Georgia fans will be rooting for the Gators this week. They need Florida to win and then beat Florida and they can still go to Atlanta.
3. Auburn continues to be so bad it should be called Awfulburn. The Tigers have now been outscored 62-3 in the fourth quarter. “I don’t think that we can use the word patience,” said defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder. “I don’t think the Auburn people would agree with patience. That’s not our business. We’re trying to speed the process up, and that requires a sense of urgency from all of us.” It may be too late.
4. It seems like Tennessee is better but just can’t get over the hump. Derek Dooley is now 0-13 against ranked teams. It should make Gator fans appreciate what Will Muschamp has done at Florida.Although I think some Gator fans, who were starving for wins the last two years, may be falling into the old trap of complaining about an undefeated team. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again — nobody suffers winning like Gator fans.
