Watch Florida-Tennessee LIVE at 3:30 ET
The Florida-Tennessee winner decides home-field advantage in the World Series.
More boys are born in years that Tennessee beats Florida.
North American temperatures are warmer in years that Florida wins.
The dormant cycle of the 17-year cicada is affected by the Gators-Vols winner.
You get the picture. There are so many trends weaved into the Vols-Gators skirmish that hula hoops want to be included. Welcome to the unofficial kickoff to the SEC season. This is where it gets serious. LSU is at Auburn where the first one to double figures wins. Georgia gets on a thing called an a-i-r-p-l-a-n-e and takes its longest regular-season road trip in five decades to Arizona State. Everyone wants to see if Alabama is legit against Arkansas.
This point in September, though, usually means Florida-Tennessee.
For the record, the winner of this game has won the SEC East 10 of the 16 years since divisions were formed. The team that runs best has won 16 out of the last 18. Shall we go on?
All this is important in the SEC because this is the SEC. Tennessee or Florida have played in 13 of the 16 SEC championship games. Urban Meyer has won his first three Tennessee games. The Vols haven't won the SEC since 1998. Let the words fly.
|
|
| Urban Meyer goes for a fourth consecutive win against the Vols. (Getty Images) |
Seared into the synapses of every Vol is last season's 59-20 Spurrieresque pimp slap at The Swamp.
"We saw them give up," Spikes added. "They quit playing."
Phil Fulmer is not amused.
"(That) came from the coaches," he said. "Somewhere that was said and they're just repeating what the coaches said. ... If they don't respect us, why are they practicing?"
If you're asking WWL -- and who isn't? -- this should be all about emotion for Tennessee. The Vols have had that 59 hanging over them for a year. They don't care if Percy Harvin is back 100 percent or Emmanuel Moody is going to get more carries. No Florida coach has ever won in his first two trips to Neyland.
You can't spell upset without UT. WWL spots a teeny weakness in the Florida offensive line and gives this one to the Vols by the space between two Volunteer Navy yachts tied up on the Tennessee River.
The Big Ten mess: WWL was on more radio affiliates this week than Rush Limbaugh. That's what WWL does, speaks of itself in the third person and provides programming for AM hacks everywhere. Every one of the sports talk magpies this week wanted to know why? How?
Why does Ohio State keep losing these big games?
How does the Big Ten keep getting so much love?
|
|
| P.J. Hill's Badgers are the highest-ranked Big Ten team. (US Presswire) |
Until Saturday, WWL was willing to chalk up Ohio State's struggles to fate, matchups and Ted Ginn Jr.'s tender ankle. This week, The List is wondering if there is some genetic disorder that keeps Big Ten teams from playing up.
Purdue had Oregon down by 17 -- at home -- and lost in double overtime.
Michigan looks like my plumber -- very sloppy, very slow and has a heck of a time installing things.
Decide for yourself: The league might be out of the national championship race in Week 4. The preseason favorite, Ohio State, dropped from No. 5 to No. 13. The Bucks plays exactly one more team currently ranked above them (No. 8 Wisconsin).
Bucky's Badgers look good owning the league's only victory over a ranked team, at Fresno State. After that the league's next-best conference win is Penn State beating Oregon State. History tells us that Wisconsin hasn't exactly been a regular inhabitant of the Rose Bowl.
The embarrassment level has been raised to HIGH by the Transportation Safety Administration this week. Ball State (3-0) going to Indiana looks like the MAC punk job of the week. Iowa goes to Pittsburgh. How many of you Hawkeyes are making that trip? Really, there's nothing like Pittsburgh in late September.
Florida Atlantic at Minnesota? We all remember where we were when FAU's Rusty Smith threw five touchdowns against the Gophers last year.
Chest-puffing time here, kids. Let's assume Ohio State beats Troy, Penn State trounces Temple and Purdue clobbers Central Michigan. Maybe.
You know what would make this perfect? Joe Paterno shutting everyone up. If he has any players left, Joe in the Rose Bowl would be a nice story. It would also mean 10 more years of JoePa but that's not our problem. Deal with that Dr. Spanier.
WWL is vaguely impressed by the Nittany Lions' 3-0 start although the competition could be better. That's kind of the theme of the whole conference. It could be better.
"I predicted it on signing day four years ago, that the Big Ten is going to start to go down. They just weren't recruiting as a group," recruiting guru Tom Lemming. "Ohio State has talent. I don't know what it is, really."
Giant killer, at least at Miami: Dennis Erickson's Miami teams stopped three winning streaks of at least 14 games, the last 17 years ago. Arizona State tries to end No. 3 Georgia's 10-game win streak Saturday night.
The previous Erickson upenders:
• Miami 17, Florida State 16, Nov. 16, 1991. FSU had won 16 in a row.
• Miami 31, Florida State 22, Oct. 6, 1990. FSU had won 14 in a row.
• Miami 27, Notre Dame 10, Nov. 25, 1989. ND had won 23 in a row.
By the way, this has to be a breather for the Dawgs doesn't it? They just played what might be the strongest defense in the country in South Carolina.
Good sign for Dawg sniffers: Georgia is No. 2 behind USC in bcsguru.com's unofficial BCS standings.
|
|
| Auburn QB Chris Todd will have to figure out the LSU defense. (US Presswire) |
You remember that one don't you? LSU's Les Miles inexplicably called for a pass into the end zone with the clock running out against Auburn last season. Demetrius Byrd just happened to make the game-winning touchdown catch with one second showing on the clock.
Byrd saw one-on-one coverage, gestured to offensive coordinator Gary Crowton to change the play and got his wish. Like any good corner, Auburn's Jerraud Powers has shaken off getting beaten.
"If we ran the same play, same coverage, eight out of 10 times, he drops that ball," Powers told reporters. "I was in position to make the play. My hand was on the ball. I just couldn't get it out. It was one of those plays."
KISS: Or keep it simple, suckah! Auburn offensive coordinator Tony Franklin plans to go back to basics. From dual quarterbacks to too many turnovers, the Tigers just aren't getting his spread option.
"We had way too much in the playbook," he said. "I need to do a better job of going back to my feel and my instinct."
Hog Heaven: Arkansas is one of two teams not to get a turnover this season (Rutgers is the other). The Hogs had zero in 2006 when it met Alabama. The season's first takeway was part of a thrilling 24-23 win over the Tide. Repeat?
Small steps, piggies, small steps. After No. 9 Alabama, Arkansas' next three games are against No. 7 Texas, No. 4 Florida and No. 10 Auburn.
Splitting up: Jim Tressel is handling this quarterback thing exactly right. He has to stay with his senior Todd Boeckman or else he would lose the locker room.
Boeckman did himself in with a sub-par game against USC. Now comes the news that Terrelle Pryor and Boeckman are going to split snaps against Troy. Watch for Pryor to have a big game against an outmanned opponent. Slowly, inexorably, Pryor becomes the starter and Tressel keeps his locker room together.
|
|
| Christian Ponder predicts victory? (US Presswire) |
"You know, I got to say we're not going to lose this game," Ponder told the Orlando Sentinel. " ... I think it's going to be tough for us to lose this game."
If that comes off as wishy washy, it should. FSU halfway trash talking Wake Forest? For a dynasty that has run off the tracks, Florida State has to start somewhere.
Consider the source: Ponder is making his third career start, first against a major-college program. To put it in Ponder-speak, if he un-loses this game, it would be his first non-loss against an I-A team.
From Hail Mary to Syracuse? Buffalo's Turner Gill continues to preen for officials at Syracuse. Gill is an obvious choice -- not necessarily the choice -- when Syracuse decides to pull the plug on Greg Robinson.
After beating Temple on the last play of the game, the Bulls will take their whipping at Missouri on Saturday but are suddenly a factor in the MAC. The former Nebraska great is 9-17 in his career which makes him a heck of a lot more successful than the outgoing coach.
Dress that line, soldier: It's been two weeks but Army coach Stan Brock's comments after a loss to I-AA New Hampshire aren't sitting well.
"I think there's some guys (who) quit," said Brock, whose team faces Akron this week. "I'm ashamed. I apologize to the United States military, the Corps of Cadets, anybody really who watched that game."
Army is a lot of things, including one of the worst teams in I-A, but to call his players quitters? Brock has to realize his squad is at school for a higher purpose. They wouldn't be at the academy if they were quitters.
Friday walk-through: North Carolina State (hosting East Carolina) has run 208 consecutive offensive plays against I-A competition without scoring. It has been 10 months since Jamelle Eugene's touchdown run against Wake Forest. The streak includes one quarter against Wake followed by games against Maryland, South Carolina and Clemson ...
The state of Oklahoma has three of the top seven scoring teams in the country -- Oklahoma (bye) is fifth at 54.7 points, Oklahoma State (bye) is sixth at 50.7 and Tulsa (vs. New Mexico) is seventh at 50.5 ...
Minnesota is the most efficient squad in the country considering it has scored touchdowns on all 11 trips into the red zone ...
The last time LSU didn't score a touchdown was in a 7-3 loss to Auburn two years ago. Three players from that Tiger offense were drafted in the first round -- quarterback JaMarcus Russell and receivers Dwayne Bowe and Craig Davis ...
Stat of the week: UCLA can chew on this as it gets ready to face Arizona. Last week's 59-0 loss to BYU equaled the combined margin of defeat in Pete Carroll's 14 losses at USC ...
Prediction of the week: Washington won't lose Saturday. It also won't play. What was the old joke? Bye 13, (insert struggling team here) 0 ...
USC and Oklahoma wish everyone luck this weekend as the nation's 1 and 2 enjoy the action from the couch ...
Only 23 days until the first Harris poll.
