Coach Boom Started His Presser This Way Yesterday

((HT: CoachingSearch.com))

Yep, he actually did this...
((HT: Tampa Bay Times))


And, in a lot of ways, he's probably right...

If he wins out, he can be a pain in the Ess-E-Cee East and his (and Jeremy Foley's) job are safe for another week...

While Florida fans are actually going to deal with the confusion of success and, simultaneously, being stuck...

Enjoy...

Early CFB Returns: TCU Survives, Muschamp May As Well...

((HT: ESPN/CBS))

It took a lot of patience by Gary Patterson and TCU to win in a hostile environment- one of the most hostile environments around in Morgantown.

But, if you hang around long enough, what TCU (in their very stylish whites) was able to pull off in a 31-30 win to stay at least #10.

Down 9 points in the fourth, the last-second field goal preserved the win.


The larger story came out of the Cocktail Party in Jacksonville where Florida head coach Will Muschamp may have, in fact, saved his job.

Georgia Defensive Coordinator Jeremy Pruitt fell on the sword postgame as his team gave up over 400 yards rushing on, almost, 60 carries.

The HQ has known Mark Richt to be one of the nicer guys around. He is officially nice enough to have a Georgia alum keep his job.
Here's how Georgia didn't show up for their rivalry game.


The last three games on the Gators schedule are fairly winnable for Muschamp so he and AD Jeremy Foley can, in fact, hang around...

The Dirty Dozen and Bottom of The Barrel: Who's With Me?

No, despite there only being four undefeated teams, it ain't over yet--

We're about to hit the homestretch in the College Football season...otherwise known as November. And there are still plenty of hurdles even the undefeated teams will have to clear. 

We know that the SEC West appears to be the best conference in all the land, but will any of those teams have enough left to beat Georgia in the SEC title game?

Casey

And we know that Notre Dame may or may not have gotten jobbed in Tallahassee, a game we secretly hoped both teams would lose...alas, that was not possible.

But enough of that, there's pickin' to be done....

Last week, so 11-3 ain't bad...right? And we called the West Va. win. That makes us 78-16 on the season. (We don't pick the spread...not that smart)

But anyway...

To quote the late, great Casey Kasem....it's "On with the countdown"....

THE DIRTY DOZEN

1) Florida State 7-0. Yeah SEC fans, I said it. They are still #1. Not necessarily because they are the best team, but they will run the table. No guarantees anyone else in the FBS can do that. And more importantly...

And nobody has been able to do that. This Week: BYE

2) Mississippi State 6-0. The bye last week had to help them because they came off 3 straight tough games. And are now everyone's darlings. But unless they shore up the pass defense (last in FBS), Alabama will beat them in a couple weeks. This Week: vs. Kentucky, Our Pick: Miss St. 38, KY 17

3) Ole Miss 7-0. We're still in shock to Mississippi teams are in the top 3. That may very well be a sign of the apocalypse. Their achilles heel is offense, the O is inconsistent, but a strong D more than makes up for it. The next 2 weeks will determine how big the Egg Bowl will be. This Week: at LSU, Our Pick: Ole Miss 24, LSU 23--close call

4) Alabama 6-1. Today's lesson: Don't make Nick Saban angry. You won't like Saban when he's angry. He and the Tide went all Hulk on Texas A and M and now they get Saban's work partner Coach Kiffykins returning to the scene of one of his crimes. Already it's been fun. This Week: at Tennessee, Our Pick: Bama 45, Tenn. 23

5) Auburn 5-1. Somehow these guys always fly under the radar. Sure, they got beat by Miss. St. but they are dangerous. Very dangerous. We suspect they will have a voice in who goes to the SEC title game and the playoff. This Week: vs. South Carolina, Our Pick: Auburn 41, S.Carolina 27

6) Oregon 6-1. We put the Duckies here only because we think the Pac 12 is better than the little 10. They are likely to be a playoff team, but we don't think they are better than anyone ranked ahead of them. IMO. But I could be wrong. This Week: at Cal, Our Pick: Oregon 51, Cal 31

7) Michigan St. 6-1. Your best of the Little 10. And they are pretty good. But Oregon did beat them. And playing in the 10, they aren't going to be pushed too hard. The only test: 3 weeks from now they play Ohio St. This Week: vs. Michigan, Our Pick: Mich St. 38, Mich 27

8) Georgia 6-1. Another dangerous team with a history of shooting themselves in the foot. If indeed they get Todd Gurley back, they become scary good. The D has improved each week. With Gurley and Chubb, they just play keep away. The only test left--vs. Auburn in November. This Week: BYE

9) Notre Dame 6-1. This is one of their better, tougher teams. They should have beaten FSU, but didn't. But they are Notre Dame, they'll get love. The pass defense needs work, but Everett Golston has been outstanding. And no roadblocks ahead. This Week: BYE

10) TCU 5-1. Outside a Gary Patterson brain fart, they have been the best of the Big 9(12). The D hasn't been great, but QB Trevonne Boykin has been a revelation. And the reason the Horned Frogs are scary good on offense. This Week: vs. Texas Tech, Our Pick: TCU 48, T-Tech 31

11) Kansas State 5-1. If not for a bad Field Goal kicker, they beat Auburn and are undefeated. And yes, Bill Snyder is a wizard of some sorts, he just keeps producing good teams in the middle of the Kansas plains. This Week: vs. Texas, Our Pick: K-State 31, Texas 21

12) Ohio State 5-1. It took the Buckeyes a couple weeks to find their footing, but they have. Outside Mich. St, they are the only other serious threat in the Little 10. JT Barrett has been a revelation, and for the Urbanator, that's all he needs. This Week: at Penn St., Our Pick: tOSU 38, Penn St. 27

THE BOTTOM OF THE BARREL:

Oy, there's only one NO WIN team left here (SMU). What ever are we to do? Too many of our past lists have had multiple no win teams on it. But hey, maybe that just means everyone is getting better.

Or not....

5) Georgia St. 1-6. The Panthers should never have jumped to the FBS as fast as they did. They were not ready. And are now just everyone's cupcake game. They are playing their polar opposite this week, who waited until they were ready to jump. And now are scaring everyone. This Week: vs. Ga.Southern, Our Pick: Ga.Southern 43, Ga.State 21 (was there doubt?)

4) Idaho 1-6. Yay! The Vandals stole a game. Even though it was last week, it's not enough to get them off the Barrel--yet. They still can't stop the run. Though they should be able to manage it this week. This Week: BYE

3) Troy 1-6. There was hope for the retiring Larry Blakeney after a win. Then they play Appalachian State and got annihilated. So, the misery continues. They do have games with Ga.State and Idaho left, so there is hope. This Week: at South Alabama. Our Pick: S.Alabama 31, Troy 27

2) Miami OH 1-7. Oh how some things never change. They too finally won a game, but have done nothing with that momentum. At all. No defense and little offense, means you often will lose. This Week: vs. Kent State, Our Pick: Kent St. 37, Miami OH 36

1) SMU 0-6. Pity the poor Mustangs. They've been shut out twice and hit double figures in points once. That folks, is not good. And things aren't getting any better. This Week: vs. Memphis, Our Pick: Memphis 43, SMU 6

For you SMU fans--

Crazy Finish: Auburn Beats Georgia 75-yard TD

To those who watched, it was one of the craziest ends to a football game they've ever seen.

The Auburn Tigers beat The Georgia Bulldogs Saturday 43-38, in a game that featured 415 yards passing by Georgia and 320-plus by Auburn. It also featured the Dawgs coming back from a 2nd quarter 27-7 deficit, to take a 38-37 lead on Aaron Murray's 5-yard TD run with 1:49 left in the game.

But the hapless Georgia defense couldn't stop Auburn and QB Nick Marshall. Facing a 4th down with 18-yards to go and 25 seconds left in the game, Marshall let it fly. He threw deep down the middle of the field to seemingly covered Wide Receiver Ricardo Louis. Louis was covered by Georgia safties Josh Harvey-Clemons and Trey Matthews. Both Harvey-Clemons and Matthews did what they were supposed to, they kept Louis in front of them. The problem, rather than bat down the pass or catch it, Harvey-Clemons tipped it. And as the two Georgia defenders slowed to make the play, the tip kept the ball moving....right into the waiting hands of Louis, who bobbled it slightly before waltzing into the end zone.

The play you'll see a lot the next couple days (Thanks CBSSports)

 

Here's another angle of Louis' game winning catch.  (Thanks WSFA-TV)


WSFA.com: News Weather and Sports for Montgomery, AL.
To their credit, the Dawgs weren't done. Murray got the ball back and drove his team from the Auburn 25 to the Georgia 20 before running out of time.

The game moved Auburn to 10-1 on the season, 6-1 in the SEC. It also lines up this years Iron Bowl date with Alabama as the biggest game left in the SEC season.

As for Georgia, if it wasn't for bad luck, they wouldn't have any luck. They drop to 6-4, 4-3 in the SEC and likely a minor bowl game.

CBS Sports reporter Tracy Wolfson talked to Marshall and Auburn coach Gus Malzhan after the game.

Braves To The Burbs: Now, We Think We Know The Numbers...Until They Change...

The new Braves project is supposed to cost $672-million, the Braves would foot $372-million of that...

So, it's a 55-45 split...

The lease is set for 30 years with an option for 5 more- that would take things through the 2051 season
From Cobb County's perspective, $14 million would be for transit improvements, $10 million would come from the Cumberland Community Improvement District and $276 million from the Cobb-Marietta Coliseum and Exhibition Hall Authority.

It's the Braves barn to use as they see fit, and they can let folks use it if they give permission...

Here's the breakdown of the agreement between Cobb County and the Braves...

There will be taxes that will be added or restructured to make this go down right (if you're Cobb) in hotels, rental cars (which is interesting since there is no transportation hub to do it, unless you call a "mall" a transportation hub), and business property rates.

But this also may introduce some kind of rail system to alleviate traffic that is already there and will only increase once the project undergoes construction...something the county has steadfastly voted against in the past...

Reps from the Braves met with Georgia Governor Nathan Deal and Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed on the move...
Deal is just calling himself an "interested observer..." and will not earmark or allocate any kind of dollars toward the new stadium...

Here's his recap of the meeting...
((HT: WSB-TV))

CFB Saturday: Wrapping Up SEC Upset Craziness

Anybody still want to argue that the SEC is the best conference in college football?

Saturday's game action proved one thing--They're not.

Pretty much every "name" program in the conference lost. And not for the 1st time this season.

We start in Vanderbilt where the limping Georgia Bulldogs continue their tumble down the polls. And ironically, the Dawgs were up 13 going into the 4th quarter in Nashville.

But that's when the wheels fell off.

A fumbled punt, a botched punt snap and a solid performance by Vandy's backup QB Patton Robbinette was all it took for that lead to evaporate and Vanderbilt to get the their 1st win over a ranked team since the 2008 season, 31-27.

Your highlights from CBS Sports:



The craziness continued just 3 hours East in Knoxville when Tennessee knocked off media darling South Carolina when Michael Palardy drilled a 19-yard field goal at the buzzer giving the Vols a 23-21 win.

The Gamecocks didn't exactly help themselves with 3 turnovers and 9 penalties. This despite a big game by star defensive end Jadeveon Clowney.

But Tennessee stayed close, and a circus catch by freshman WR Marquez North was enough to put Palardy in position to give his team their 1st win over a ranked team since 2009.

Your highlights from our friends at ESPN:



And while that was happening, Missouri took full control of the SEC East by dominating an outmanned Florida team in Columbia, Missouri.

QB Maty Mauk stepped in for the injured James Franklin and threw for 295 yards and a TD, Henry Joseph ran for 136 and a score and the Tigers defense sacked beleaguered Gator QB Tyler Murphy 6 times and was in his face pretty much the entire game.

The 36-17 win will get Missouri a place in the Top 10 and a now 2 game lead over their closest competition in the SEC East.

Your Highlights again from our friends at ESPN:



And finally Auburn continues in run towards regaining relevance by taking down Johnny Football and Texas A&M in College Station early Saturday evening.

Auburn QB Nick Marshall threw for 236 and 2 TD's and ran for 100 yards and two more to lead the Tigers to a crazy 45-41 win.

The Tigers were winless in the SEC in 2012 and arguably one of college football's worst teams. The change this season under new coach Gus Mazlahn is nothing short of miraculous.

No, there wasn't a lot of defense played in this game, Manziel threw for 434 yards and 4 TD's and his WR Mike Evans caught 11 passes for 237 yards and a couple of scores. But when Manziel went down with a shoulder injury, the Aggies defense couldn't stop Auburn. Manziel would return, but had a hard time throwing.

The loss pretty much eliminated the Aggies from SEC West or any national title contention.

Your highlights from CBS Sports (There are a lot of them):