SEC Week 8 Discussion
- Thread starter gps_3
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gps_3
Head of Alabama Department of Decision-Making
Situations of note:
A&M playing 8th straight game to start season and is on the road
Ole Miss sandwich game between road trips to aTm and LSU. Also 3rd straight SEC game with LSU on deck and AU the week after. Tough stretch that's hard to see them getting out of undefeated
UGA 4th straight SEC game, bye next week
SC has AU next week, probably doesn't matter
UF has bye then UGA. Only chance Muschamp has saving his job is beating UGA. And that probably still not enough
LSU has UK sandwiched between UF and Ole Miss
Alabama only home game in October
Ark/UGA is in Little Rock, not Fayettenam
A&M playing 8th straight game to start season and is on the road
Ole Miss sandwich game between road trips to aTm and LSU. Also 3rd straight SEC game with LSU on deck and AU the week after. Tough stretch that's hard to see them getting out of undefeated
UGA 4th straight SEC game, bye next week
SC has AU next week, probably doesn't matter
UF has bye then UGA. Only chance Muschamp has saving his job is beating UGA. And that probably still not enough
LSU has UK sandwiched between UF and Ole Miss
Alabama only home game in October
Ark/UGA is in Little Rock, not Fayettenam
RetroVK
This claim is disputed
What I saw in SEC this week
Arkansas - Say what you want about BB but Arkansas has been a team getting physically dominated the last bunch of years since Houston Nutt left. He has them playing physical football again.
Alabama - Offensive line playing decently but the QB play, skill player play ( notably yeldon never making someone miss and Cooper never getting open ) and play calling is terrible. I think the skill guys are as good as we thought but yet they never seem to make a special play for Alabama and I think that is mostly kiffin. Anyone can call plays with the offensive line that Alabama had last year. This one is not near that level but they are blocking fine,,,,, Kiffincancer hit bama offense?
Dennis Green called me to tell me that TAMU is who we thought they were preseason.... not who we thought they were post-gamecocks.
UGA is the best team in the conference. Shame they gave away that game to South Carolina.
Ole Miss and Miss St both playing good football on both sides of the ball. Ole Miss Defense a bit better than Messy in my estimation but when they play it will be tough to want to back Wallace over the MSU QB who should be a Heisman candidate if he is not.
Not sure how Missouri can be laying at Florida. Another team closer to what we thought they were preseason compared to what they showed early. Luckboxed a win at S Carolina or their season would be dripping with disappointment.
Kentucky playing good football. Bad matchup for them this week but if they are ever gonna do it ....
Auburn - good football team and showed some heart.
Arkansas - Say what you want about BB but Arkansas has been a team getting physically dominated the last bunch of years since Houston Nutt left. He has them playing physical football again.
Alabama - Offensive line playing decently but the QB play, skill player play ( notably yeldon never making someone miss and Cooper never getting open ) and play calling is terrible. I think the skill guys are as good as we thought but yet they never seem to make a special play for Alabama and I think that is mostly kiffin. Anyone can call plays with the offensive line that Alabama had last year. This one is not near that level but they are blocking fine,,,,, Kiffincancer hit bama offense?
Dennis Green called me to tell me that TAMU is who we thought they were preseason.... not who we thought they were post-gamecocks.
UGA is the best team in the conference. Shame they gave away that game to South Carolina.
Ole Miss and Miss St both playing good football on both sides of the ball. Ole Miss Defense a bit better than Messy in my estimation but when they play it will be tough to want to back Wallace over the MSU QB who should be a Heisman candidate if he is not.
Not sure how Missouri can be laying at Florida. Another team closer to what we thought they were preseason compared to what they showed early. Luckboxed a win at S Carolina or their season would be dripping with disappointment.
Kentucky playing good football. Bad matchup for them this week but if they are ever gonna do it ....
Auburn - good football team and showed some heart.
gps_3
Head of Alabama Department of Decision-Making
Couple of thoughts from last week:
Wow. The shift in the balance of power sure was quick. Not that the Mississippi schools will necessarily end up on top, but they sure look good now. Was really surprised at the Ole Miss game. Didn't think they'd have enough in the tank, but they had no issues that I saw in that dept. aTm may not be very good, but that's not the easiest situation for the Rebs and they passed with flying colors. Tough next few weeks though
Miss St is the best team in the SEC right now. Never thought I'd say that. Especially when I say that right on their heels is Ole Miss. Both teams have their faults. sure, but they seem to have less than the other 5 West teams.
Of the top 4 West teams (MSU, OM, AU, Alabama) only Ole Miss seemed to play loose. The Miss St/AU game was sloppy all the way around, but especially AU's offense in the 1H. We've mentioned that something isn't quite right there for some time, and we saw that again on Saturday. They are nowhere near as effective running between the tackles as they were a year ago. And because of it, their perimeter running game is almost non-existent. The play-calling is starting to resemble 2011, Gus' last year as OC there, where he tried to used trick plays instead of power. Seen Saturday with an attempted reverse pass by the TE inside the 10 yard line. Miss St did their best to give the game back to AU with the 4 straight TO's, but credit the defense for averting disaster
Speaking of disaster, Alabama's offense was atrocious. Only thing worse was the special teams. You can blame the conditions, and coming off an emotional loss and then going on the road, but the issues appear to be deeper. Injuries are taking their toll (center out and I'm not convinced that Sims' shoulder is ok) but there's just no excuse for some of the play. Good news is that the defense seems to be rounding into form. Not sure there will be many teams that keep Ark under 100 yards rushing this season. Alabama OL needs to get better in a hurry if we want to entertain any thoughts of meaningful late-season games. Our punter is a beast though, so there's that
Didn't see much of the LSU/UF game, but don't think the game showed much different than what we already thought about both teams
Also impressed with UK. Was a pretty bad spot for them, and they had little issue dispatching an inferior team. Interesting lineup of games coming up for them. Think they give Miss St all they can handle in 2 weeks. Certainly can compete with LSU right now
Nice effort from UGA after losing Gurley. Chubb ain't too shabby, so I think they'll be ok and should easily win the East. Mizzou offense been MIA for a month now, though UGA defense is solid, if not spectacular
Vandy beat Charleston-Southern by 1. Yikes
Wow. The shift in the balance of power sure was quick. Not that the Mississippi schools will necessarily end up on top, but they sure look good now. Was really surprised at the Ole Miss game. Didn't think they'd have enough in the tank, but they had no issues that I saw in that dept. aTm may not be very good, but that's not the easiest situation for the Rebs and they passed with flying colors. Tough next few weeks though
Miss St is the best team in the SEC right now. Never thought I'd say that. Especially when I say that right on their heels is Ole Miss. Both teams have their faults. sure, but they seem to have less than the other 5 West teams.
Of the top 4 West teams (MSU, OM, AU, Alabama) only Ole Miss seemed to play loose. The Miss St/AU game was sloppy all the way around, but especially AU's offense in the 1H. We've mentioned that something isn't quite right there for some time, and we saw that again on Saturday. They are nowhere near as effective running between the tackles as they were a year ago. And because of it, their perimeter running game is almost non-existent. The play-calling is starting to resemble 2011, Gus' last year as OC there, where he tried to used trick plays instead of power. Seen Saturday with an attempted reverse pass by the TE inside the 10 yard line. Miss St did their best to give the game back to AU with the 4 straight TO's, but credit the defense for averting disaster
Speaking of disaster, Alabama's offense was atrocious. Only thing worse was the special teams. You can blame the conditions, and coming off an emotional loss and then going on the road, but the issues appear to be deeper. Injuries are taking their toll (center out and I'm not convinced that Sims' shoulder is ok) but there's just no excuse for some of the play. Good news is that the defense seems to be rounding into form. Not sure there will be many teams that keep Ark under 100 yards rushing this season. Alabama OL needs to get better in a hurry if we want to entertain any thoughts of meaningful late-season games. Our punter is a beast though, so there's that
Didn't see much of the LSU/UF game, but don't think the game showed much different than what we already thought about both teams
Also impressed with UK. Was a pretty bad spot for them, and they had little issue dispatching an inferior team. Interesting lineup of games coming up for them. Think they give Miss St all they can handle in 2 weeks. Certainly can compete with LSU right now
Nice effort from UGA after losing Gurley. Chubb ain't too shabby, so I think they'll be ok and should easily win the East. Mizzou offense been MIA for a month now, though UGA defense is solid, if not spectacular
Vandy beat Charleston-Southern by 1. Yikes
gps_3
Head of Alabama Department of Decision-Making
Agree with all, except that Alabama OL is not blocking fine IMO. Losing the center hurt, but Leon Brown is terrible. The right side of the line gets no push in the run game, yet it seems 90% of the runs go right. The best OL by far is the true freshman LT. Doesn't say much for the OL recruiting and development the last few years. And the playcalling is all over the place, it's no wonder we look uncomfortable. Not sure these are fixable problems within the season. But, survive and advance I guess
Johnnyonthespot
CTG Regular
Pretty epic rant by Saban yesterday calling out the "fans" that want more than a victory. They dont want games to be close. I guess they dump this clown.
Report: Marijuana, cash in dorm room of Alabama TE, Buford standout
Butch Dill
Alabama tight end Kurt Freitag joined the Crimson Tide's class of 2012 after graduating from Buford. He has just one reception - for 11 yards against Georgia State last season.
By Alexis Stevens
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
More than 100 grams of marijuana and $4,600 in cash was found during a search of a University of Alabama football player’s dorm room, according to media reports. But no criminal charges have been filed against sophomore Kurt Freitag, of Buford.
Agents of the West Alabama Narcotics Task Force were tipped off about a pending drug transaction involving Freitag, and investigators witnessed drugs being sold on Oct. 7, AL.com reported, citing court documents filed Monday.
Freitag allegedly gave police permission to search his Bryant Hall dorm room, where agents seized 112 grams of marijuana and the cash, the court documents stated. The court documents do not state whether Freitag was charged in the case.
A spokeswoman for the University of Alabama told AL.com Monday afternoon that UA would look into the incident, but offered nothing further. Spokesmen for the narcotics task force and the Tuscaloosa Police Department declined to comment. Freitag was not in custody Monday night, jail records showed.
Freitag attended Buford High School.
Report: Marijuana, cash in dorm room of Alabama TE, Buford standout
Butch Dill
Alabama tight end Kurt Freitag joined the Crimson Tide's class of 2012 after graduating from Buford. He has just one reception - for 11 yards against Georgia State last season.
By Alexis Stevens
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
More than 100 grams of marijuana and $4,600 in cash was found during a search of a University of Alabama football player’s dorm room, according to media reports. But no criminal charges have been filed against sophomore Kurt Freitag, of Buford.
Agents of the West Alabama Narcotics Task Force were tipped off about a pending drug transaction involving Freitag, and investigators witnessed drugs being sold on Oct. 7, AL.com reported, citing court documents filed Monday.
Freitag allegedly gave police permission to search his Bryant Hall dorm room, where agents seized 112 grams of marijuana and the cash, the court documents stated. The court documents do not state whether Freitag was charged in the case.
A spokeswoman for the University of Alabama told AL.com Monday afternoon that UA would look into the incident, but offered nothing further. Spokesmen for the narcotics task force and the Tuscaloosa Police Department declined to comment. Freitag was not in custody Monday night, jail records showed.
Freitag attended Buford High School.
pressitup
Leader of the Adult Humor Industry
Coach threatening to shake up the line a little. Thank God, we get Malcome back. Probably not enough. But we know he and Kenny will be on the same page.
BY JIMMY BURCH
jburch@star-telegram.com
COLLEGE STATION — After being swept in consecutive weeks by upstart teams from Mississippi, the Texas A&M Aggies are back where they began the season: at No. 21 in The Associated Press’ poll.
The Aggies also are headed back to Alabama, site of their most historic triumph in three seasons as an SEC member. A&M (5-2, 2-2 in SEC) used a 2012 trip to Tuscaloosa, Ala., as a springboard to a Top-5 finish in the polls and a Heisman Trophy for quarterback Johnny Manziel by knocking off the top-ranked Crimson Tide, 29-24.
Without another upset in Saturday’s meeting, you can expect the Aggies to be unranked Sunday. Three-game losing streaks do that to teams, even ones from the rugged SEC West.
That means the Aggies will be battling to retain national relevance in Alabama, the same place where they achieved it as an SEC newcomer in 2012. A&M plans to do so with receiver Malcolme Kennedy, the team’s vocal leader, back in the lineup after missing the past two contests with a shoulder injury.
Kennedy, a fifth-year senior, understands the significance of this contest after watching doubts creep into the heads of teammates following double-digit dustings at the hands of No. 1 Mississippi State (48-31) and No. 3 Ole Miss (35-20) the past two weeks.
“It’s very important,” said Kennedy, who addressed the team before Monday’s practice. “It’s important for players to gain that 100 percent confidence again. I told the younger guys, ‘Just stay positive. We’ve got to face the problems that we have.’ … Remember you’re playing SEC football. The games are going to be tough games.”
Among the Aggies’ issues: a potential personnel shuffle in the offensive line, based on coach Kevin Sumlin’s displeasure with recent struggles in the running game, and a lack of passion from players.
Middle linebacker Jordan Mastrogiovanni, one of 12 players on Sumlin’s accountability council, cited concerns about on-field emotions after watching videotapes of the last two losses. He said council members raised the topic with the entire team.
“We need to be more passionate,” Mastrogiovanni said Tuesday. “The last couple of weeks, there hasn’t been that fire that we had the first few weeks. We need to do a better job of creating our own energy. That’s something we talked about that we need to do.”
Asked why emotions would be lacking against Ole Miss, when A&M set a stadium attendance record of 110,633 at Kyle Field, Mastrogiovanni shrugged.
“If I knew, I’d definitely tell you. It just seemed like we were flat,” Mastrogiovanni said. “I can’t put my finger on why. We were just flat and we’re going to try to bring that passion back.”
That would be the passion that carried A&M to its season-opening victory over then-No. 9 South Carolina, 52-28. The passion begat confidence among members of a freshmen-laden roster, triggering a 5-0 start and a Top-10 perch in the college football polls.
Then came two weeks of Mississippi Mayhem, with the Aggies behind by at least 28 points in the fourth quarters of both contests before mounting garbage-time rallies to close the final deficits. Among some younger players, Kennedy said confidence has been shaken. But Sumlin does not consider it a team-wide epidemic.
“Confidence is something you don’t gather overnight,” Sumlin said. “And I don’t think you lose it overnight. I don’t see that as an issue.”
What concerns Sumlin is a stagnant ground game that averaged only 1.5 yards per carry against Ole Miss. That has triggered talk of a personnel shake-up in the offensive trenches, with Sumlin acknowledging the starters listed on Tuesday’s depth chart (LT Cedric Obuehi, LG Jarvis Harrison, C Mike Matthews, RG Joseph Cheek, RT Germain Ifedi) may not be the first five to take the field in Tuscaloosa.
“Up front against Ole Miss, we got whipped. That usually doesn’t happen to our offensive line,” Sumlin said. “We’ve challenged them this week in practice. They know it. There is no doubt, based on the last two weeks, that we’ve got to coach better and we’ve got to play better. That’s our expectation.”
Ideally, Sumlin seeks the type of inspired road effort against Alabama that his players delivered Aug. 28 at South Carolina. The mind-set, said receiver Ricky Seals-Jones, should be comparable. After being lauded during a 5-0 start, players have begun hearing doubts from fans when circulating in College Station. Seals-Jones considers it motivation.
“Going in against South Carolina, everyone doubted us. And everyone doubts us now,” Seals-Jones said. “We just plan to use it to get better.”
If the Aggies cannot sway the doubters with another high-profile road victory, do not look for A&M to remain a Top 25 team after being part of 35 consecutive polls, dating to Oct. 7, 2012.
Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2014/10/14/6200377/reeling-aggies-seek-relevance.html#storylink=cpy
BY JIMMY BURCH
jburch@star-telegram.com
COLLEGE STATION — After being swept in consecutive weeks by upstart teams from Mississippi, the Texas A&M Aggies are back where they began the season: at No. 21 in The Associated Press’ poll.
The Aggies also are headed back to Alabama, site of their most historic triumph in three seasons as an SEC member. A&M (5-2, 2-2 in SEC) used a 2012 trip to Tuscaloosa, Ala., as a springboard to a Top-5 finish in the polls and a Heisman Trophy for quarterback Johnny Manziel by knocking off the top-ranked Crimson Tide, 29-24.
Without another upset in Saturday’s meeting, you can expect the Aggies to be unranked Sunday. Three-game losing streaks do that to teams, even ones from the rugged SEC West.
That means the Aggies will be battling to retain national relevance in Alabama, the same place where they achieved it as an SEC newcomer in 2012. A&M plans to do so with receiver Malcolme Kennedy, the team’s vocal leader, back in the lineup after missing the past two contests with a shoulder injury.
Kennedy, a fifth-year senior, understands the significance of this contest after watching doubts creep into the heads of teammates following double-digit dustings at the hands of No. 1 Mississippi State (48-31) and No. 3 Ole Miss (35-20) the past two weeks.
“It’s very important,” said Kennedy, who addressed the team before Monday’s practice. “It’s important for players to gain that 100 percent confidence again. I told the younger guys, ‘Just stay positive. We’ve got to face the problems that we have.’ … Remember you’re playing SEC football. The games are going to be tough games.”
Among the Aggies’ issues: a potential personnel shuffle in the offensive line, based on coach Kevin Sumlin’s displeasure with recent struggles in the running game, and a lack of passion from players.
Middle linebacker Jordan Mastrogiovanni, one of 12 players on Sumlin’s accountability council, cited concerns about on-field emotions after watching videotapes of the last two losses. He said council members raised the topic with the entire team.
“We need to be more passionate,” Mastrogiovanni said Tuesday. “The last couple of weeks, there hasn’t been that fire that we had the first few weeks. We need to do a better job of creating our own energy. That’s something we talked about that we need to do.”
Asked why emotions would be lacking against Ole Miss, when A&M set a stadium attendance record of 110,633 at Kyle Field, Mastrogiovanni shrugged.
“If I knew, I’d definitely tell you. It just seemed like we were flat,” Mastrogiovanni said. “I can’t put my finger on why. We were just flat and we’re going to try to bring that passion back.”
That would be the passion that carried A&M to its season-opening victory over then-No. 9 South Carolina, 52-28. The passion begat confidence among members of a freshmen-laden roster, triggering a 5-0 start and a Top-10 perch in the college football polls.
Then came two weeks of Mississippi Mayhem, with the Aggies behind by at least 28 points in the fourth quarters of both contests before mounting garbage-time rallies to close the final deficits. Among some younger players, Kennedy said confidence has been shaken. But Sumlin does not consider it a team-wide epidemic.
“Confidence is something you don’t gather overnight,” Sumlin said. “And I don’t think you lose it overnight. I don’t see that as an issue.”
What concerns Sumlin is a stagnant ground game that averaged only 1.5 yards per carry against Ole Miss. That has triggered talk of a personnel shake-up in the offensive trenches, with Sumlin acknowledging the starters listed on Tuesday’s depth chart (LT Cedric Obuehi, LG Jarvis Harrison, C Mike Matthews, RG Joseph Cheek, RT Germain Ifedi) may not be the first five to take the field in Tuscaloosa.
“Up front against Ole Miss, we got whipped. That usually doesn’t happen to our offensive line,” Sumlin said. “We’ve challenged them this week in practice. They know it. There is no doubt, based on the last two weeks, that we’ve got to coach better and we’ve got to play better. That’s our expectation.”
Ideally, Sumlin seeks the type of inspired road effort against Alabama that his players delivered Aug. 28 at South Carolina. The mind-set, said receiver Ricky Seals-Jones, should be comparable. After being lauded during a 5-0 start, players have begun hearing doubts from fans when circulating in College Station. Seals-Jones considers it motivation.
“Going in against South Carolina, everyone doubted us. And everyone doubts us now,” Seals-Jones said. “We just plan to use it to get better.”
If the Aggies cannot sway the doubters with another high-profile road victory, do not look for A&M to remain a Top 25 team after being part of 35 consecutive polls, dating to Oct. 7, 2012.
Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2014/10/14/6200377/reeling-aggies-seek-relevance.html#storylink=cpy
captjohn67
Pretty much a regular
so the Tenn offense has allowed 23 sacks and 48 tackles for loss (both last in the SEC) and now face the 2nd stingiest scoring defense in the nation (11.8). Did i mention they can't run the ball either (109th ) ??
They better hope the crackhead version of Bo Wallace shows up, or it's going to be a long, long day. I think the Tenn defense is a good unit, i just think they will be on the field too much and eventually wear down. I'll be on on the Ole Miss team total over (31.5 ish). I really have no interest in any of the others. Forgot to mention Bo is 8th in the nation in pass efficiency. Hello. GLTA.
They better hope the crackhead version of Bo Wallace shows up, or it's going to be a long, long day. I think the Tenn defense is a good unit, i just think they will be on the field too much and eventually wear down. I'll be on on the Ole Miss team total over (31.5 ish). I really have no interest in any of the others. Forgot to mention Bo is 8th in the nation in pass efficiency. Hello. GLTA.
Carolina Guy
Pretty much a regular
From a fan perspective I hope Tenn gets run out of the building. Not a fan of Butch Jones at all.
gps_3
Head of Alabama Department of Decision-Making
Good points. UT is also very young on the OL/DL, so some wearing down as the season progresses should also be a factor. A play against Ole Miss is a play banking on some emotional letdown. It's nearly impossible to get up for games week after week, especially in college. Also factoring in is the weight of expectations. Ole Miss has never been a national title contender (or favorite even) in my lifetime. This is new to them and will be interesting to see how they handle it. They know they are the only West team (besides aTm) to not win the division ever. So, a lot of pressure coming in the next few weeks. I don't know that they'll lose, but I could see this game being the "let-down," especially with two division rivals on deck
