By
Brian Harbach
The SEC Bachstory will be a weekly SEC recap posted every Monday morning breaking down all the big events from the previous weekend. In order to eliminate all confusion, the Bach in Bachstory is pronounced like back (Back to the Future, The Empire Strikes Back, Back in Black), you get the picture.
This week we take a look at the Nick Saban winning in Baton Rouge; two disappointing home losses and the wild finishes in Commonwealth Stadium. As usual the format is the same: please feel free to send me any comments or suggestions. Sorry this is a day late, but here we go…
The Weekend That Was
For weeks the SEC has had big games in name only because the on the field results never lived up to the pre-game hype. LSU/Florida, Georgia/LSU and Georgia/Florida had all the makings of a classic SEC game and turned out to be nothing more than a turnover filled beat down. The Alabama/LSU game decided to buck the trend this past weekend and give fans the game they hoped to see. The game was a classic overtime battle that was filled with big plays, drama and a number of memorable plays that will be talked about for years to come. There were a number of players who stood out, but two stand out to me. We will talk about Rashad Johnson’s play in the BMOC section, but this space is deserved for John Parker Wilson.
JPW didn’t have a winning record in his first two seasons as the starter for the Crimson Tide, but his play this weekend may very well make him a legend before he leaves. Alabama clinched its shot at the SEC Championship this weekend and it has been by running the ball and JPW making the smart decision in games. Yes, he made a boneheaded play after scoring the touchdown in the first quarter. That is not something you expect out of a fifth year senior quarterback, but the emotions for the game were so high you have to cut him some slack. It is always good to see a player break out, especially after struggling for a number of years. JPW was never a bad QB, but he never took the next step. As a senior, he has taken that next step to playing championship football. Just like Jason Campbell, DJ Shockley, Chris Leak and Matt Flynn he will be an embattled senior leading his team to the SEC title game and he very well may be the fifth senior in a row to win the SECCG.
The Weekend That Wasn’t
Two home teams had pretty heartbreaking losses this weekend, LSU is the obvious team, but the other is the Vanderbilt Commodores. Vandy lost its fourth game in a row after being routed by Florida. I didn’t expect Vanderbilt to win that game, but I did expect them to come out and play a little better and play with a little more energy. The most surprising stat for the Commodores was their penalty yards, they committed 9 penalties for 80 yards and while they did limit their turnovers, they continuously killed themselves. Vandy is down to three games, one of which they have to win to get to the postseason. They play at Kentucky and at Wake Forest with the game against Tennessee sandwiched in the middle. LSU on the other hand is already at six wins, but their season has been a pretty big disappointment so far.
LSU has lost three of its four biggest games of the year and while the Florida and Georgia losses hurt, the loss to Alabama is going to sting for a while. Losing to a former coach is never fun, but to lose in such a heartbreaking manner stays with a team. The drama of that game was amazing. Ricky Jean-Francois blocks a last second field goal to put the game into overtime and then Jarrett Lee throws his fourth interception of the game to essentially end it. That loss is squarely on the QB, Les Miles and Gary Crowton did everything they could do to keep LSU in the game, but they could not overcome all the mistakes. Nick Saban’s team is still alive in the BCS and his former team looks like they will be playing in Dallas come January 1st.
The Weekend That…What the Heck
Rotating quarterbacks is not going to work in the SEC. It will never be the smart decision and it will never be something that teams win and a Championship with. Florida in 2006 was not the exception to the rule because that was not a true rotating system. Tebow was brought in to run a specific package, the package was the offense that Meyer wanted to run, but was unable to do with Leak. Tebow was a change of pace or situational player, much like the “Wildcat” or “Wild Hog” offense is used now. What Steve Spurrier did this weekend rotating quarterbacks every play was absolutely insane and he is fortunate it did not backfire.
From watching South Carolina games there is no reason that Stephen Garcia should not be running the offense all the time. Garcia may make a mistake from time to time, but there is not a QB on the Carolina roster that will not make a mistake. Garcia is the QB of the future, keep him in the game, let him learn and he will gain valuable experience for future games. Smelley has not done one thing this year that shows me he should be playing ahead of Garcia or splitting time with him. With the Gators on deck there is no reason not to let him get every snap. Obviously Spurrier has issues with quarterbacks, but he has to leave Garcia in for the rest of the year, let him show us what he’s got.
The Weekend That Will Be
The image ingrained in the minds of South Carolina fans is the big paws of Jarvis Moss as he knocked down a last minute Ryan Succop field goal in the swamp during the 2006 season to keep Florida in the national title picture and defeated Spurrier in his first return to the swamp. Two years later Spurrier returns for his second attempt to upset Florida in his old stomping ground. Last years game was a disaster on every level and pushed Tim Tebow as the Heisman favorite, this year could do the same as the Gators are hot and South Carolina is moving in a better direction. This is hands down the best SEC game of the day.
There are not a lot of other big games on the slate. Auburn gets a visit from Georgia for what will likely be Tommy Tuberville’s last home game as the Auburn coach, Alabama will try to avoid a third straight loss to Mississippi State and there is a must watch game in Lexington with Vandy coming to play Kentucky. Let me just suggest you watch the Vandy/Kentucky game, I am willing to bet it will be the best game of the day.
Big Man on Campus (BMOC)
Rashad Johnson, Alabama DB
How many times has someone watched a football game where the defensive back has the ball hit him in the hands and someone yells, “That is why they are a defensive back instead of a wide receiver?” It is a pretty common statement, but after watching Rashad Johnson pick off three Jarrett Lee passes, including the last one which would have been tough for Julio Jones to catch, I was wondering if that kid should have been playing wide receiver instead of safety. The last pick was the most important because it sealed the Tide victory, but to go along with that interception he had a pick six in the first half. Ball hawking may not be a strong enough word for the aggressive Crimson Tide DB, but he had one heck of a game in the team’s biggest game of the year.
Player Now Doing Charlie Work (PNDCW)
As a note to those who do not know what “Charlie-Work” is, do yourself a favor and start watching It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (the episode called “Dennis and Dee go on Welfare” explains it perfectly).
Jarrett Lee, LSU QB
What happened to the Jarrett Lee in the Auburn game earlier this season, the kid has somehow lost all of his confidence after winning the starting job over Andrew Hatch. He seems unsure of what he is doing and that is obvious with his four picks including the sixth pick-six he has thrown this season. It is hard to say that one player loses a game for a team, there are so many plays inside of game that are important, but Lee killed any chance that LSU had to upset Alabama and that last pick was the clincher. It was tough to watch him struggle and Les Miles did his best to motivate the kid because he is all LSU has.
4 Downs with the SEC
First Down – Really Tennessee, Wyoming?
Phil Fulmer deserved better than what he got from his Volunteer team this weekend in an embarrassing performance against the Wyoming Cowboys. The Wyoming Cowboys that had won exactly one game in the Mountain West Conference. To call this game ugly would be an insult to the word ugly. The teams did not gain 500 yards combined and it wasn’t because these two defenses are two of the best in the country. The quarterback play was absolutely atrocious and once again Tennessee QB’s were unable to complete half of their passes.
Jonathon Crompton and Nick Stephens were a combined 14 of 36 for 99 yards and two picks. It was shocking to see the Vols not play with any sense of pride or urgency for their coach and give him the opportunity to go out with a bowl game and maybe a winning record. Now the Vols are destined for Fulmer’s second losing season in four years and the Vols have two weeks to prepare for a desperate Vanderbilt team hoping to get win number six. Will the players allow Fulmer to go out losing his final five games as the Tennessee coach or will they help him win the games that Tennessee is supposed to win?
Second Down – Games with Kentucky have been fun to watch
Flipping through three SEC games that were on at roughly the same time early Saturday I found myself once again drawn to the game involving Kentucky. If you have not had the fortune to watch the Cardiac Cats play this season I feel bad for you. I would have to say that easily two of the best three games I have watched in 2008 have involved the Wildcats and they are a fun team to watch right now. Kentucky gave Georgia all it could handle in an epic back and forth battle that came down to the final minute of the game.
This 42-38 Georgia victory was so much fun to watch and the fans in the stadium seemed to love every minute of it. It is great to see Randall Cobb as a true freshmen step up and make play after play. It was great to see Kentucky force fumbles and prove they belonged on the field with Georgia every minute of the game. The Wildcats do not have the athletes that UGA has and no one has the quarterback talent of the Bulldogs, but the game plan was nearly perfect minus one mistake by the true freshmen Cobb at the end. Kentucky is going to be a fun team to watch in the next couple years and it doesn’t matter if Rich Brooks or Joker Phillips is running the show.
Third Down – Can Tebow win the Heisman?
There are two reasons why Tim Tebow will not win the Heisman this season. The first reason is because his numbers were so impressive last year that it is tough to compare Tebow then to Tebow now. Florida is such a better team in 2008 than they were in 2007 and it is almost unfair to compare him then and now. The second reason he will not win the Heisman is because he is not the best college quarterback this year.
Usually the Heisman goes to best QB on the best team, it isn’t supposed to, but let’s not pretend that isn’t the truth. John Parker Wilson is not going to win it, but the winner of the Big 12 South is going to have the edge. Any one of Colt McCoy, Sam Bradford or Graham Harrell is going to be ahead of Tebow on the boards simply based on numbers. No matter how much Urban Meyer tries to run up the score or how many points he puts up Saturday against Spurrier, the Big 12 has had the national game almost every week this year on ABC. It is hard to ignore those Big 12 games and those Big 12 QB’s. Tebow has done a better job this year with the Gator team than he did last year and he may get some different hardware at the beginning of January. From what we have seen from Tebow over the past 3 seasons, it isn’t hard to believe he could care less about the Heisman if he gets to hold up a Crystal Football.
Fourth Down – Our Championship Game is Set
No real surprises now that we officially have Alabama and Florida playing in the SEC Championship game for the first time since 1999 when Alabama last won an SEC Championship. This is setting up to be the best match-up in the history of the SEC Championship. It looks like we may end up with a 1 vs. 3 match-up and there is an outside chance that it could be 1 vs. 2. It looks like right now the winner of the SECCG will play in the BCS Championship game, never has a game had these kind of implications. We have had games where the winner might be in the title game, but as it stands right now both teams have a chance at the big game in Miami. Now other conference will have a championship game with those kinds of ramifications. But remember, it is a down year for the SEC ?
Another crazy weekend in the SEC, what did you guys think? E-mail
me Brian Harbach
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Harbach's Top 5 SEC Defensive Players by Position, July 27, 2008
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