Well folks....I've noticed from the responses (or lack thereof) for my NFL Previews that not really getting any interest in what the heck is happening in the NFL from those of you that are reading the blog. So, what I'm going to do is mostly focus on college football. Also, from the comments of some of the folks reading (that don't neccessarily follow football as close as some of us when it comes to stats, etc.) I'm going to try and keep it as simple and as real as I can so that hopefully the casual fan to the absolute fanatic will enjoy it. I love to hear your comments. If you don't read any other part of this blog, please read the last two paragraphs.
The last couple of weekends have taught us several things within the SEC. South Carolina, Auburn and Arkansas look to be for real, Florida and UGA have some issues, Tennessee and Ole Miss have even more and without being biased, Bama is looking pretty good.
Some folks when they read the above comment will say, "well what about LSU?". Well, what about 'em? After seeing them in the opener against a injury and suspension ridden North Carolina squad and seeing them barely eke out a win...I chalked it up as first game jitters. Then we had the Vandy and Miss. State games, which were both SEC wins, but aren't exactly a good barometer of where your program is on the National level. Then, this past weekend we see them barely get a win against West Virginia who had two blowout wins against Maryland and Coastal Carolina with a close one against Marshall that they won in overtime. After being able to watch Bama and Auburn all four weeks now, Arkansas and LSU each a couple of games I really think that just judging off the way they are playing right now, LSU is the fourth best team in the West. Bama and Auburn have established themselves so far as the front runners for the West and LSU still hasn't played a game that is going to test them. This weekend against Tennessee and next week against Florida should definitely tell us more about them than the Vandy and Miss. State games but the real tests start on October 23rd with Auburn and then November 6th against Bama (after an bye week). Bottom line with the SEC West, I see it as a two horse race with Bama and Burn duking it out in the Iron Bowl for the rights to go to Atlanta (as if the Iron Bowl needs anymore hype, it might be for a shot at the National Championship also).
If we look at the SEC East, it is not the powerhouse of the past. In the first four weeks, we have seen pretty consistant play from only one team in the East and that is South Carolina. The only thing consistant about Florida is that they have been inconsistant. The first three weeks, they struggled at even some of the most fundamental things as completing a snap. This weekend against Kentucky, you saw flashes of what they could be like but they still have yet to put together consistant performances. South Carolina has looked pretty doggone good. They are definitely the best looking South Carolina team that I remember seeing since they entered the SEC. The improved play of senior quarterback Stephen Garcia and the running of freshman running back Marcus Lattimore have been key to the play of the South Carolina offense. This past weekend against Auburn however, the South Carolina defense allowed over 250 yards rushing to Cameron Newton (AUB QB) and Michael Dyer (AUB RB), 280 to be exact, and 341 total rushing yards. Having that been said, the only other team that South Carolina will play that will have that kind of rushing attack will be Bama and with Bama, Ingram and Richardson are usually not on the field at the same time unless in some sort of Wildcat formation. The attack that Auburn can throw at you right now is what makes them so good. The ability to have the likes of Newton and Dyer on the field at the same time, with the threat of either one of them breaking out for a 80+ yard run and at the same time having to worry about the arm of Newton is going to frustrate every SEC opponent (yep, that means Bama too). The SEC East is also a two horse race as I see it and that comes down to the Gators and the Gamecocks and right now, I'm liking the Gamecocks to show up in Atlanta come December but we'll get a good luck at Florida this week against Bama and how they can handle the hostile 100,000 plus hat are going to be there on Saturday. Even with a loss by Florida this weekend, the SEC East is all going to come down to that November 13th matchup with South Carolina in the Swamp and we all know how hard it can be to play down there.
My predictions for this week....
UCONN over Vandy
Miss. State over Alcorn State (barely)
Auburn over LA Monroe
Kentucky over Ole Miss
LSU over Tenn (no way Tenn beats LSU in Baton Rouge)
Georgia shows they could play in the PAC-10 with a win over Colorado (yes, I know CU is still a Big 12 team til next year)
Bama over Florida (home field advantage)
To close this week, I have to say that this weekend was a very special one for my wife Kate and I. Connor, our son, turned 1 on Monday and we had all the party, presents and cake action for him this weekend. Some of you know what we had gone through with Kate's pregnancy and the diagnosis of Down Syndrome and some of the crap that we were told by some pretty idiotic folks holding the title of "MD". Despite what some had warned us would happen, Connor is doing great. If you want to know pure, unaldulterated and unconditional love....get to know someone with Down Syndrome and you'll see it first hand. What else could win the hearts of young teenage boys and enable something like what's shown in this video clip to happen (see it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jb_4f5nXZdA&feature=player_embedded). My hats' off to the coaches and players of both teams for making young Ike Ditzenberger's dream come true. The video is also viewable at the bottom of this page.
We have learned so much about Down Syndrome in the past few years and the more we study, the more we still learn. Kate, Connor and I are walking in the 2010 Atlanta Buddy Walk to show our support for the more than 350,000 individuals with Down syndrome in the United States. We want to do our part to make sure that each individual is given every opportunity to reach their full potential and they can't do it without us in their corner to help provide funds if needed and moreso to provide a voice for them in the education systems, workplaces, etc. Please visit Connor's Corner if you'd like to donate or to just post an encouraging word (http://buddywalk.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=430553&lis=1&kntae430553=A5C74B95201148F08EC4D7795B294CAC&supId=273977974). Connor's Corner can also be accessed by a link on the top right of my Blog page. Thanks.
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