Week 9: Here are your winners?

After admiring Matt Ryan from afar all season I got the chance to watch the whole game last night. He has no talent around him whatsoever. He may not have had a great first 56 mintues of the game but he finished with a flourish. If anything it only cemented my opinion that he's the best college quarterback entering the draft.

As far as the picks this week, not a lot that I liked. These are the type of bets/teams that I'd usually put my money behind. But it's been a crazy year and it's time to roll the dice.

Last week: 3-2
Season: 23-17

Clemson -3.5 MARYLAND

I know that Clemson is a more talented team and that 3.5 is not a lot of points to cover. I'm also sticking by my theory that teams are more likely to show up for a road game.

Virginia -4 NC STATE

I mean can you blame me? The Cavs are an unstoppable force this year. Other than that early season blemish at Wyoming, Al Groh has the hoos looking like they could beat the Patriots. Either that or the Wolfpack suck.

Kansas -3 TEXAS A&M

Notice the road favorite theme. I don't like the "they're bound to lose at some point theory". It was correct for the USF/Rutgers game, but I still don't think it's the percentage bet.

Indiana +8.5 WISCONSIN

Woah where did that pick come from? The Hoosiers have looked good at times this year. The Badger offense has been less than stellar. If Wisky wins I bet it's by 7 or less.

MICHIGAN -23 Minnesota

I have to take this game out of principle. The Gophers lost to South Dakota State.



I think Auburn sleeps walks it's way through a win over Ole Miss. Conservative game plan, lackluster fans and players, cool autumn day. I hope they get Kodi Burns some snaps in a traditional offense because he may be the biggest question mark on what should be an absolutely loaded Auburn team next year.

Red Brick Blonde - give it a try

The Atlanta Brewing Company's Red Brick Blonde "won a gold medal for golden or blonde ale at the Great American Beer Festival". Read the article, buy the beer, enjoy life. I enjoy it thoroughly, though I wish more bars had it available.

If you can't find Red Brick Blonde at your local pub or store, go by the brewery and have a try on the cheap. The brewery tours are 6-8pm on Wednesdays and Fridays and 5-7 on Sundays. You can even check out their myspace page to see who the upcoming musical acts are going to be during the brewery tour. It's a well known fact that the brewery tour was partly to credit for the meteoric rise of Connor Rand & the Red Dirt Band. The afternoon brewery tour is also to credit for me forgetting many Friday nights from 2003-2005.

Week 8: Throwing Darts and Winning Money

Seriously, who knows at this point? Well me. barely.

Last Week: 3-2
Season: 20-15

Arkansas -5 OLE MISS

I firmly believe that Auburn has one of the five best defenses in the nation. Ole Miss is not one of the other four. I don't think McFadden and Jones stay caged for two consecutive weeks. Also the way to beat Arkansas is to air it out (unlike Auburn's approach) and the Rebs just don't have that capability.

Tennessee PK @ bama

I'm saying that bama is only allowed to win two games a year on contraversial last second pass interference calls. Any more than that and someone in the SEC officiating office is going to get booted. But other than that, Tennessee is a better team. They've lost two games on the road to Cal and Florida. They have the best matchup in the game with UT's offense vs. the bama defense. I like the Vols.

Michigan -1 PURDUE

The Wolverines have not been dominant since there awful start, but they've been consistant. Having Mike Hart in the backfield makes that possible.

Michigan St @ OHIO STATE over 52.5

I don't see the Spartans holding the Buckeyes to less than 45 or so and I think Mich. St. gets some trash points at the end of the game. This goes back to the old Corso theory. He always wanted to play better teams on the road because they'd put in freshman and walkons at the end of the game. When you play a good team at home they only bring 65 guys with them.

WISCONSIN -23.5 northern illinois

It's time for the badges to get the train back on the tracks against an absolutely dreadful team.


AUBURN VS. LSU

If the front seven can contain LSU's plethora of back from picking up loads of yardage, it'll allow the safeties to hang back and play centerfield. Which is where they'll be needed.

Offensively, Auburn needs to run the ball in between the tackles, be smart with passes and play calling. It's almost a situation where I just want to get the ball in someones hands safely and hope they can make someone miss and turn it into a big play. I don't want to even think about turning the ball over.

Week 7: umm quick hits

Last Week: 2-3
Season: 17-13

MICHIGAN -5.5 Purdue

why not?

Boston College -13.5 NOTRE DAME

Can you say breakout game. It's sad that it still takes a performance over a crappy Notre Dame to announce your presence to America. But this will officially kick off the Matt Ryan for Heisman campaign. It's a shame he let Wes Byrum get a two week head start.

Kentucky/LSU over 54.5

I can't predict if this will be a close game or not. But it's either going to be a close game or a blowout. I think a close game falls in the 35-28 category. I think a blowout has LSU putting up 40 or more with Kentucky getting an early touchdown and then a few late trash points. Either way I see it going over.

Auburn +3 ARKANSAS

I finally have some confidence in the passing attack. Rod Smith has stepped and become slightly above solid again. I think Brandon realizes his job is to not make mistakes, and luckily the Razorback defense sucks. I do think the Auburn offense is going to have to put on a show because I expect the Hogs to put up at least 17. I think the move of Senderrick Marks to DE during the offseason pays of in this game. It'll be important for the linebackers to step up and make sure tackles.

Illinois -5 IOWA

I have to give the Zooks credit. This could be one of the crazy letdown games that surprise teams lose. But I'm going to take my chances against an awful Hawkeye team.

Have fun and enjoy.

Week 6: You're Over Thinking It

Let's just start this out with a bang. Enjoy the Mike Gundy sound board. It's getting to host your own whacky sports talk show. Feel free to heckle my picks with gems like "get your facts straight" "it's garbage" or "3/4ths of this is inaccurate" though to be fair I'd say it's usually more like 7/8ths.



Last Week: 2-3
Season: 15-10

KANSAS STATE -3 Kansas

I'm going to rely on the notion that Kansas hasn't played anyone and they are not actually that good. I'm also disregarding the worry of a letdown since they are playing their instate rival at home. And you know Kansas State has Power Towels now so they can't possibly lose. But honestly, you know for a fact that KSU is talented. Kansas is still an unknown. In case you didn't know, Kansas is undefeated after playing four games against Central Michigan, SE Louisiana, Toledo, and Florida International by an average of 47 ppg. Which is ironic because this is a textbook early 90's Bill Snyder KSU move.

MISSOURI -6 Nebraska

Home game, lot on the line, Nebraska has no defense. Missouri may not cover, but I think there is a 95% chance they are going to win. So I'll roll the dice and bet they cover. If this game was -7 I wouldn't take it. But the Tigers have been good to me this year and I'm gonna keep riding them as long I can.

Georgia -1 TENNESSEE

I don't get this line. I don't think Georgia is a great team by any means but what has Tennessee done this year to deserve to be the favorite. They've shown they have a porous defense against every team they've faced. On the other hand UGA has a road win at bama, a solid defense, and a quarterback and running back corps who you at least believe can make a few plays. Dawgs over Vols.

AUBURN -7.5 Vanderbilt

Here's the thing. Auburn is still not a great team and I understand they have issues. But they solved a lot of problems last week in Gainesville. Cox still threw three passes which Florida defenders dropped. And our injury problems on defense didn't get any better. But Cox also made several plays, the offensive line looked great run blocking, and the defense held florida to just 17 points. So even if the defense comes out a little flat against the Dores (which I expect) the offense still has something to prove. And I couldn't be more excited about Borges finally adding the slant to the offensive arsenal. Add Brad Lester's return to that and we've got a possibly rejuvenated offense that's ready to be Vandy by at least 10 points. Hopefully.

Check out this fantastic highlight video from the fine folks at The Auburner

Give us any chance, we'll take it.
Give us any rule, we'll break it.
We're gonna make our dreams come true.
Doin' it our way.



BYRUM FOR HEISMUM


EDIT: Looks like I wasn't paying attention.

I'm also taking Tulsa -3 at UTEP. Tulsa's only blemish is the Oklahoma game. I've like the UTEP Miners ever since I took them to a national championship in the 3rd of a dynasty in NCAA 2005, but sadly they're just not the pick this week.

And obviously UGA is the favorite, though only by a point. I guess my general question is.. why isn't uga favored by 5 or more.

Conversation with Terry Bowden

On our way home from Gainesville on Sunday we stopped in some random gas station in North Florida. We had flags on the car and I was wearing an orange shirt. I get out of my car and while I'm heading to the pump I hear someone say "that was a pretty good game yesterday". Without looking I respond "sure was" and I look up to see who the guy with the Mercedes is. Well on the other side of the car was Terry Bowden. And here's how the rest of it goes as far as I can remember

TB: I can't remember the last time Auburn played that well in Auburn (I think judging if I recognized him)

Nix: I bet you can! Actually that game reminded me of '94 a little bit

TB: Yeah they were both competitive games. Different styles of play now.

Nix: Yeah it was good one

TB: They're going to have to come up with a name for that game. The Kick? Nah, I guess bama has their "kick" game. I guess the should call this one the Re-Kick!

Nix: Yeah that'd work. (At this point I'm completely flustered. It's a very surreal moment. I can't make eye contact to save my life)

TB: They need to change that time out rule. We can't allow grown men to play head games with 18 year olds on a national stage. That just isn't fair to the kids.

Nix: I actually think it might have helped him. It's like a warm up on the field. But I see what you're saying.

TB: I'm not sure what the change should be, but I don't like how it played out. We were talking about it on the radio. I was calling the game for Westwood One. It was heck of a kick though. I just enjoy watching the Gators lose at home.

Nix: I'm sure

TB: Well it was nice to meet you guys (btw Cousin Kevin was with me pumping the gas like my slave while I talk to the celebs), I'm heading up to Clemson to see if I can help my brother out.


The main thing I took out of the conversation was a question. Do I like Terry Bowden? There are a lot of Auburn fans who hate Terry for their different reasons. Some wanted him fired even sooner, some don't like how he resigned midseason, and I imagine some never like him.

At the time (1998) I was still supporting Terry. But I also didn't follow everything as closely as I do now. I didn't notice the decline in recruiting, I didn't hear the stories about what was going on behind closed doors. I didn't realize the coaches he let get away and how he replaced them. So now, I agree it was time for Terry to go and I'm very happy we were able to replace with Tuberville. But I don't feel any ill will against him. And I don't think I'll ever forget those 93 and 94 seasons and games from 97. But it's still an odd situation. I'd also imagine he's somewhat conflicted about how he feels towards Auburn. It was lot for me to process during a 2 minute conversation and I ultimately decided on not giving him a "War Eagle" as we ended the conversation.

Just a surreal encounter.

Wes Byrum for Heismum!

The Kick



And the shirt



The kid's got a golden foot.

thoughts from Gainesville

- For some reason I didn't see it mentioned anywhere last week and I didn't realize it until about an hour into the drive. But since bama was playing in Jacksonville and Auburn in Gainesville, there were a ton of fans from both schools on the highway. I immediately dubbed it the Iron Bowl on I-75. It was just a whacky occurence. I only wish I'd thought out something to do ahead of time. The best we could come up with was to head down early and hang a picture of a gigantic thumb from an overpass.

- I've often thought that the jean shorts and Florida fans was overrated. And in actuality what you really notice is that no students dress up for the games. Guys where t-shirts and girls wear tank tops. Well I was wrong. There were jorts everywhere. Check out this visual proof. The worst offense I noticed was a girl staying at our hotel who had cutoff jeans to create her own homemade denim capris. It was horrific.

- Apparently our friend Chris says this is a new fad everywhere and I've just missed it b/c I didn't go out as much this summer. But all of the Florida girls at the bar on Friday night were rocking the shorts and high heels look. It's definitely slutty looking. But I wasn't complaining either. Also I saw plenty of those backpack purses. Dancin Denise and Elisa can back this up. Cousin Kevin may be able to offer some pics as well.

- Across from our hotel was a Steak & Shake which is not really out of the norm. However there was also a Guthries that stayed open late night. I've never heard of that. If we would have had one in Auburn I'd be dead with a heart attack by now.

- Pretty dorky moment when I introduced myself to other people on the Auburn Scout message board while waiting for Tiger Walk. Mainly because I was so excited about it.

- I've been to two games in the Swamp and I can't say enough good things about it. The sidelines are more narrow than any other stadium so the first row of seats are really close to the action. Then the rest of the stadium has been pieced together as close to a bowl as possible. I was on the last row of the endzone upperdeck and I wasn't really disappointed with my seats. Plus the Gator faithfull were loud the whole game despite being down by 14 points at times.

- Great game plan. I love that we finally went to using the slant and Brandon and the receivers were able to step up and execute that plan. Can't say enough about three true freshman playing on the offensive line and winning a game like that.

- Seriously, Auburn (if everybody sticks around) will be a force in 2009 and or 2010. From an article on autigers.com "Of Auburn’s 135 points scored this season, 111 have been produced by freshmen or sophomores." That's insane. That's not even counting all of the young talent on the defensive line and secondary.

- I love that Auburn has stopped Meyer's offense with two completely different approaches. Last year we blitzed like mad men in the 2nd half and rattled Leak. This year everybody hung back and played disciplined football. Of course most teams wouldn't be willing to cover Percy Harvin in man to man. Big ups to Pat Lee.

- The one note of caution, unfortunately this win does nothing to address Auburn's recent problems showing up for non-marquee games. Like say playing Vandy at 11:30 this Saturday.

- Tomorrow a recap of my conversation with Terry Bowden at a gas station on Sunday morning.