The SEC: King of Kings

Why is the SEC the best football conference in the country? The SEC has won five of the last 12 national Titles. To put this into perspective- no other conference has posted more than three national titles during this run. Perennial big game losers Oklahoma and Ohio State have both lost two national titles in the last 12 years. Why is this important? Simply put, the Big 12 and Big 10 (11 schools in the Big 10) are very top heavy. This basically guarantees their conference winner a berth in the national championship game with little or no interference by teams within their conference.

Ohio State only has to beat Michigan and Oklahoma only has to beat Texas or in reverse order to receive a berth in the national title game. The SEC on the other has more vicious conference play. Every weekend is a war and the battle is not over until after the SEC Championship game winner is crowned. The SEC has four head coaches who have won national championships within the conference. Two of the four are now coaching at different schools (Steve Spurrier, formerly Florida, currently South Carolina, and Nick Saban, formerly LSU, currently, Alabama).

The SEC has nine teams that can claim with straight faces that they will compete to win their respective divisions this season. The Big 12 might be a mile wide in terms of its talent at the top, but it doesn't go very deep. As of two weeks ago, The SEC had five teams in the top ten in national polls. The only reason some have fallen from grace, this early in the year, is the remarkable depth that the SEC displays. Alabama beat number 3 ranked Georgia at home and Florida fell victim to a good Ole Miss team that is two plays away from being undefeated. Conversely, because of the argument I have just stated some may say well the Big 12 has three teams in the top five. The problem with this is the fact that Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas have yet to play any notable games this year. The Big 12 logjam at the top of the polls will end quickly once conference is underway. Could you honestly let yourself believe that Oklahoma and Texas would be half as good if they resided in either division of the SEC?

The SEC East is tough as nails where Florida, Georgia, Kentucky and surprising Vandy are all having good runs. South Carolina and Tennessee have the talent to beat you on any given Saturday as well. This year the power resides in the West though as Alabama, LSU, Auburn, and Ole Miss are contenders for the division's title There are only two teams that are not competitive in the SEC and they are Arkansas, which usually is stiff completion more often than not, and Mississippi State which is having major injury problems.

The resurgence of the Big 12 North only began last year when Kansas and Missouri made large jumps in order to be among the nation's top programs. Nebraska and Colorado are at least a year away. Leaving ISU and KSU terrible at best. The Big 12 South has always been and always will be a two horse race between Oklahoma and Texas. Texas Tech may have a decent team this year, but have yet to play for the conference crown since the Big 12 started in 1996. Furthermore, with their pass defense being ranked near the worst in the country, they will not be a factor in the final standings- as usual. Texas A&M is a sleeping giant, but how long is it going to take for the Aggies to wake up? I guess this has turned into a Big 12 vs. the SEC article and the truth of the matter is that the Big 12 clearly has the second best talent in the country but does not come close to the SEC.

Go back to 1995, to find the last instance an SEC team lost a national championship game when given the opportunity. This leads me to the thought process that if an SEC team is good enough to win their conference and go undefeated they have about a 99% chance of beating whoever their opponent from a weaker conference may be. Auburn was robbed of playing for a national title a few years back even though they did get throught thier schedule undefeated. Need more proof? The SEC won all four of its BCS games the past two years by a combined score of 161-62.

Another way of analyzing this situation is evaluating the respective conferences performances in non-conference battles this year. The Big 12 boasts an overall 38-10 non-conference mark, with the SEC coasting to 27-5. You are only as strong as your weakest link. The SEC proves time and time again that the only thing stopping an SEC team is another SEC opponent.

A coach at the University of Oklahoma who previously coached at Alabama, but will remain unnamed told me once, "down there in the SEC, it's just different, it's on a way bigger scale, the talent, the fans, and the stadiums- the Big 12 just doesn't compare." Um, Need I say more?

Sincerely, COWBOY CLAYBORNE of the Philadelphia Claybornes

Jimmy Awards for the 5th Week of Football

Here are the Jimmy Awards for the 5th week of Football

College JIMMYS

John Parker Wilson Alabama QB

Wilson threw for 205 yards on 13 for 16 attempts with one touchdown and no interceptions as the Tide upset Georgia vaulted themselves to #2 in the polls.
Chase Clement Rice QB/Jarett Dillard Rice WR

The pair became the most productive QB to WR touchdown duo in FBS history breaking the the NCAA mark for combined touchdowns of 39 set by Tim Rattay and Troy Edwards (Louisiana Tech) in 1998 and matched by Colt Brennan and Davone Best (Hawaii) last season. The duo connected 3 times in a 77-20 blowout of North Texas.

Jevan Snead Ole Miss QB

The former Longhorn transfer threw for 185 yards and had a total of 3 tds as the Rebels upset the Tim Tebow and the Florida Gators.

Brandon Graham Michigan DE

Graham reeked havoc on the Badgers with 3 sacks and 2 forced fumbles as the Wolverines upset the 9th ranked Wisconsin Badgers.

Trimane Goddard North Carolina Free Safety

He saved the game for the Tar Heels with 2 interceptins in the final minute and also added 8 tackles as the Heels upset the Canes.

Derrick Williams Penn State WR/KR

Williams recorded 241 all-purpose yards and 3 total touchdowns as the Nittany Lions defeated the Fighting Illini.

Manuel Johnson Oklahoma WR

Johnson set a school record with 206 receiving yards on five receptions in the Sooners' 35-10 win over No. 24 TCU. Johnson recorded touchdown receptions of 79, 55 and 63 yards against the Horned Frogs and averaged 41.2 yards per reception.

Jacquizz Rodgers Oregon State RB

The 5 foot 7 freshman rushed for186 yards and 2 touchdowns as the unranked Beavers upset the #1 ranked Men of Troy.

NFL JIMMYS

Brett Favre Jets QB

Favre set a personal record with 6 touchdown strikes against the Cardinals. He threw 24 for 34 and 289 yards for the win.

Shawn Springs Redskins CB

Springs covered Terrell Owens much of the game and T.O. caught 7 passes for 71 yards and a touchdown. What's not mentioned in the stat line is that the Cowboys threw 17 balls Owens' way and handed off to him 3 times. You can't stop Owens, but you can contain him which is exactly what Springs did as the Skins defeated the Boys 26-24 in Big D.

Derrick Johnson Chiefs OLB

Johnson made six tackles, defensed a pass, made an interception and forced a fumble as the Chiefs won their first game by defeating the Broncos, 33-19.

Larry Johnson Chiefs RB

Johnson asked for the ball and got it as he rushed 28 times for 198 yards and 2 touchdowns in a defeat of the Denver Broncos 33-19.

Santana Moss Redskins WR

Moss laced the Cowboys highly touted secondary for 8 catches and 145 yards as the Skins beat the Boys in Big D 26-24.

NFL Review of Week 4

Like a young child who sees his older brother do something bad which births the phrase "oh, I'm telling". Did T.O. go off on Romo. I mean it sounds like it. He say he didn't get the ball, when stats show 1/3 of the offensive plays were directed towards T.O. Either way the boys lost in Big D to the Skins 26-24. Jason Campbell is proving to be a wise pick by the organization. The Boys got away from their rushing attack only running the ball 11 times while throwing 47 times. The previous three games the Cowboys ran the balls a minimum of 30 times each game, all of which were wins.

Jett Favre and the Bretts had an offensive explosion against the Cardinals in a 56-35 win. Favre threw for 6 tds. Kudos to Mangini for taking the reigns off of Favre and letting Brett do his thing.

The Buffalo Bills are 4-0. I've never been to Hell before, but I'm starting to think its not as bad as everyone makes it seem. The drilled the lowly St. Louis Rams 31-14. Trent Edwards, Marshawn Lynch, and Lee Evans all look great bringing back glimpses of the K-Gun offense of the 90s that took the Bills to four straight Superbowls.

The Tennessee Titans are also 4-0. The defeated the Minnesota Vikings 30-17. The defense is better than the Ravens, and yes I said it. Chris Johnson will be the rookie of the year and a QB controversy will be brewing when VY gets back healthy. All the while, the Titans will over throw the power that be in the AFC South being the Indianapolis Colts. Bold prediction? Nope, just the changing of the guard for this year at least.

What The Hell Happened?

This weekend the little guys fought back in a major way weekend as the top 25 were under siege from unranked teams like Oregon State and Navy. Here is a short rundown of what happened this weekend.

Georgia got mauled at home by Alabama Saturday night. Georgia came out in their awesome black jerseys, but that was the only thing compelling about their performance as the game was over at halftime with Alabama leading 31-0.

USC was also beat up pretty bad by an Oregon State team that looked less than average in its previous games this year. Jacquizz Rogers, freshman tailback, lead the assault on the Men of Troy by helping the Beavers control the clock and win the game 27-21.

East Carolina is still suffering from the hangover after a loss to NC State and let Houston hang 600 yards of total offense on them as the Cougars passed the ball all over the field in their 41-24 victory.

Clemson continued with the Tiger tradition and have gone about ruining a season that began with high hopes. They are failing to realize their potential for the 45th straight year. The Maryland Terps, after trailing for most of the game put together a strong 4th quarter and won the game 20-17.

Florida may be the biggest disappointment of the weekend losing to Ole Miss at home 31-30. The Rebels have a solid leader in Houston Nutt as 6mag has pointed out earlier this season and Coach Nutt got his first marquee win at Ole Miss. Florida should possibly experiment with a more contemporary offence to take advantage of their tremendous wealth of talent on the offensive side of the ball.

Wisconsin blew a 19-0 halftime lead on the road at the Big House falling to Michigan 27-25. Rich Rodriguez similar to Houston Nutt also got his first marquee victory as the first year coach at Michigan. You have to wonder if the Wolverines we saw in the second half of this game is the Michigan team we will see for the rest of the year or simply a 2-quarter flash of brilliance that will keep Michigan fans thirsty for 2009? Only time will tell how Michigan finishes the year.

I rescind my statement about Florida being the biggest losers of this weekends witch-hunt for the top 25. Wake Forest lost to frickin Navy this weekend AT HOME! NAVY people, what the hell is this? NAVY ……….. NAVY! This is terrible and Wake should receive the death penalty for this ridiculous loss to the lowly Midshipmen. Furthermore, how do you win on the road at FSU one week and then lose at home to NAVY the next. These types of game really lead me to believe that the mafia has a hand in rigging games on Saturdays, honestly dammit!

The last time such a shake-up occurred? One year ago, when in the last week of September three of the top-five teams fell and seven ranked teams lost to unranked opponents. 6mag has pointed out the parody in college football in a previous article posted in this blog and the occurrences this weekend only solidify our statements regarding the “closing of the gap” in talent levels between the top tier schools and those not so highly regarded in college football. Scholarship limitations have evened the playing field and teams such as South Florida, Ole Miss, every team in the Mountain West Conference, and, heaven forbid, Navy now can compete for athletes and it is making college football more competitive than it has ever been. 

The final take on this weekends developments is that Alabama has enough talent to contend for a national title even thought it lost to UL-Lafayette just 11 months ago. Oklahoma is at this point the best team in the country and the OU-Texas game this year in Dallas will be one of the biggest games between these two rivals in recent memory. The World’s Biggest Cocktail party game between Georgia and Florida may not be one of the biggest games of the year anymore. Every single team in the pac-10 should be placed in the div.1-aa playoffs at the end of this year.

Peace Claudius Blackimous

P.s. I had truffle pizza this weekend it was awesome!

Upset Alert: ANGRY BEAVERS

Just two weeks removed from getting blasted by Penn State 45-3 Oregon State blindsided the BCS world by shocking the USC Trojans 27-21. The Beavers impressive effort was led by the Rodgers brothers Jacquizz and James who scored all four touchdowns for OSU. This game was not a fluke as Oregon State repeatedly pounded the ball right up the middle of the Trojan defense to keep the chains moving. The Beaver passing attack led by QB Lyle Moevao was good enough to keep USC guessing all night. Jacquizz Rodgers the young freshman from Richmond, Texas rushed for 186 yards on 37 carries and continually made remarkable runs between the tackles.

One thing I thought about during the game is that with the implementation of the new 40 second play clock in college football if a team can run consistently, the game is shortened considerably. This really helped OSU as their potent rushing attack kept the dangerous USC offense off the field for most of the night. OSU held the ball for almost 40 minutes in the victory. Oregon State now has beaten the Trojans two straight times at Reser Stadium and USC is only 2-3 versus teams from Oregon since 2006. The loss for the Men of Troy opens the doors for a number of teams to possibly play for a national title. Georgia, Oklahoma, Missouri, Florida all are happy that USC is, for the most part, out of the picture and that it is now again an open race for the national title. To make matters worse USC was expected to run the table versus a weak Pac-10 conference, but the Beavers have exposed the chinks in the Men of Troy's armor.

Hats off to the Beavers for playing a strong game and reminding us that if it winning and losing were a foregone conclusion we would not line it up and play em’.

Yours Truly,


Southern Style Chicken Sandwich

P.S. minus pickles

Big 12 Wants the Crown

The Big 12 conference is coming for the SEC's crown. The conference's overall record through the first 4 weeks of the season is 33-8. The conference once known for their pound it out style of play boast 4 of the nations to quarterbacks in Sam Bradford of OU, Chase Daniel of Mizzou, Colt McCoy of UT, Todd Reesing of Kansas, Josh Freeman of KSU, Zac Robinson of OSU and Graham Harrell of Texas Tech. These gun slingers are tops in the nation in all passing stats. Also, true freshman, Robert Griffin of Baylor is as exciting as they come in the conference.

The Big 12 now is a mix of the PAC -10 pass happy style and pure SEC speed. If everything pans out it should be quite a showdown between the Mizzou Tigers and Oklahoma Sooners for the Big 12 title. Texas, Texas Tech and Kansas will have something to say about that and rightfully so.

At times, Demarco Muarry of OU looks like Reggie Bush while Jeremy Maclin of MU looks like Ted Ginn Jr, Josh Smith of CU looks like DeSean Jackson and Michael Crabtree of Tech looks like Michael Crabtree. The conference's top playmakers are also the nations most exciting players.

Colorado upset a top ranked West Virginia team on national television. The Sooners are averaging 50+ points per game as are the Missouri Tigers. Kansas, Texas, and Texas Tech all look like good ball clubs as well. Be on the look out for the Colorado Buffaloes to play spoiler this year as well.

The Conference is in good shape and has a great chance of bringing a national championship back to the Big 12.

Peace,

Thomas Black™

T.O. vs Usain Bolt

Terrell Owens deserves his race with Usain Bolt. T.O. is not only fast but he has been calling out Bolt since August. If you watched the "Hard Knocks" special which highlighted the Cowboys training camp. T.O. was calling out Bolt then. His first touchdown of the season, he impersonated Bolt in the starting blocks for his TD celebration. The new and very lame NFL celebration rules got the Cowboys a 15 yard penalty. T.O. is the ultimate team player so far in Dallas and a highly creative guy as well. His next touchdown, as he sprinted across the goaline, he gave a Usain Bolt sprinter's lean. T.O. is subliminally calling out Bolt like The Game does to Jay-Z every six songs.

Usain? Where you at dogg? To add fuel to the fire did you see T.O. this past Sunday versus the Packers. Oh, don't worry, if you haven't I have an NFL network link attached.

Exhibit A - The Packers intercepted a pass in the Cowboys end zone and T.O. began to chase the defender and was blocked to the ground around the five yard line. The defender continued down the field dodging tacklers left and right until he was caught from behind by one Terrell Owens. Yes, T.O. went to the ground got up and Usain Bolt'd ol boy.

Exhibit B - Felix Jones' 60+ yard td run. Once Jones broke free, the safety had an angle on him. Who was down field blocking for him? Mr. Owens of course. What makes is Usain Bolt worthy is that Jones ran past T.O. and T.O. slowed down until he saw the angle the safety had. He then raced past Jones who is no slouch on the speed tip and cut the safety off to allow Jones a hassle free trip to the endzone.

Usain and T.O. I want to see it. Don King, UFC promoters, Deion Sanders, etc someone make it happen please.

Watch T.O. run

http://www.nfl.com/videos?videoId=09000d5d80b029d4


Holla at me,

Rajean Pierre-Louis