Thanks for the grades, Commissioner. We mostly agree, though it is hard to tease much out of a game like this one. We do agree with the special team grades because quality of opponent doesn’t have much to do with whether you make 50+ yard field goals and drop your only punt deep in the opponent’s territory. And we agree with a minus for the defense for not getting off the field on the last FAU drive. Though to be fair, there were at least 5 or 6 guys out there who were attending their high school prom at the end of May. And yes, our defense is a little softer with our third string nose tackle, but overall that was not a bad effort, not bad at all. FAU earned a touchdown, but it was hard earned. What was silly was the way they celebrated about it.
Further proof of the value of the S&H’s comments is that
Alabama went out and dominated a team it should have. Remember, these are supposedly the days of
college football parity. A B+ for 40
points and over 500 yards of offense and a whole quarter led by the apparent
third string quarterback (I know, I know, but he came in third) is a mark that
the Alabama football world is once again “spinning in greased grooves.”
Let’s not make any mistake here, FAU is a really poor
football team. The biggest player on
their defense is about the size of our starting tight end. We have discussions here from time to time
about how hard it is to truly rate the best team in college football without
head to head competition. The other end
of the list is equally challenging to compile, but it is fair to say that if
you were voting for the bottom three teams in the FBS, FAU would have a spot on
the ballot. That said, they played
current top ten Georgia to a tie in the first half just a week ago.
You knew it was coming and we hesitate to disappoint. Folks, you probably couldn’t see it if you
weren’t at the game, but we almost lost Coach Saban Saturday evening. For most of the game he had been fussing at
the officials. By the fourth quarter, he
was using a volume and posture that he would normally reserve for someone who
fair caught a punt at our own one-yard line.
When we were flagged for “sideline violation” giving FAU a first a goal
at the five, our coach very nearly spontaneously combusted right there near the
15 yard line towards the south end zone.
They could have put in some sort of historical marker: “September 22,
2012, on this spot Coach Nick Saban’s head exploded and his body burst into
flames after a brain-dead official called a penalty…”
Admittedly, several coaches from both teams had spent a good
bit of time on the field, occasionally as far out as the numbers. Also, as we understand a rule change going
back three or four years, officials no longer have to give the traditional
“side line warning” before assessing a penalty.
However, we also know from watching what has been described to us as an
“awful lot” of college football (and yes, the Oregon game did go pretty late if
you were watching in a hotel room where someone was trying to sleep) that the
custom has been even since the rule change to provide one warning before
actually assessing a penalty. Not
Saturday evening. Coach Scott Cochran
has responsibility for making sure this rule is not violated. He even takes the liberty of occasionally
grabbing Coach Kirby Smart (a serial violator) by the belt and dragging him
backwards off the field. Heaven knows
what he’ll resort to during the Mississippi game Saturday night – he’s a man
who takes his responsibilities seriously.
My advice is the next time Coach Saban is over at your house to borrow
your hedge clippers or to shoot pool or whatever, that you not mention this to
him -- or if you do, remember the old “stop, drop and roll” rule.
And because you brought it up (otherwise, it’s kind of like
riding a motor scooter -- the sort of thing we’d prefer not to admit we had
been doing) the LSU Auburn game was a game that could turn you into a rugby
fan. Here’s an example, LSU had well
over 300 yards of offense on the game, and scored 10 offensive points. Yes, that is offensive. The 12
-10 final sounds more like a church league softball game. The API fans should get a partial refund on
their ticket fees for sitting through that one. Of course, LSU will get better next week
against Towson State. We think it is in
Maryland.
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