NAIA National Championship: There's No Place Like Rome

Upon finishing my next-to-last semester of graduate school, I headed home to Rome for a couple weeks of rest and relaxation. However, I write this on the road, right outside of Birmingham, on our family’s trek to Arkansas to visit family.

When I got home on Thursday I obtained tickets to the NAIA National Championship game which is held yearly in the world’s finest little river town of Rome, Georgia. The game pitted two teams that I, nor you, have ever heard of Morningside from Iowa and Marian out of Indianapolis. 

For a town of Rome’s size, about 30.000, to host a national championship of any sorts is a pretty big deal to me; and while there are politics which may soon take the game away from my hometown, it is something my community supports with fervor—maybe not the game itself, as not every Roman has the budget to pay $25 for tickets to ultimately meaningless game. The game generated over $1 million for the Rome economy. 

From steak dinners at local churches for the players and coaches to a multitude of different activities for the visiting fans, cheerleaders, and band members, Rome holds its own—and the Northerners naturally love our Southern hospitality. To finish the week, the game is held at historic Barron Stadium, my high school's stadium.

How many people can say their high school stadium is also the sight of a national championship? Very few. Only four other cities in the entire nation can boast of hosting a football national championship.

Keeping with tradition, my sister and I headed downtown for a cold night of football and in hopes of a good game. We, as we have the last few years, sat with the former mayor of Rome and his family. His two grandsons are boys with endless energy, who my sister half-raised as much as she babysits and hangs out with their family. The boys do not feel pain from falling down on bleachers, remain hungry, and make for great entertainment as if the game was not enough.

The game was enough though. It was an overtime thriller, though the team we were pulling for, Morningside did not win and Marian eventually scored the game-winning touchdown. 

How and why did we choose the Mustangs from Iowa? They were the team assigned the home side of Barron Stadium and ate dinner this week at our church. This is when I would give you my take on the game, but you can read the gamer from the RomeNews-Tribune website.

My sister and I got exactly what we wanted in the form of an overtime national championship game, other than some ice-cold, seemingly unthawable feet. One can only hope the game on January 7 will be as entertaining. Here are a couple of pictures from the night…

The Marian Knights with one of the nation's ugliest championship trophies.

Our Mustang neighbors were much like Mississippi State fans, relentless with the cowbells. 

No Pat Summerall, but it was a nationally televised. 

The old marching grounds and field access after the game. Many a cold night were spent pointing my trumpet's bell to that pressbox. 

Note: This post is a week late going up because, while both grandparents' houses are active on the internet, neither have yet to embrace the wonderful world of wireless.

My Television Debut

There is a lot of news coming out of the college football world, as the BCS rankings become tighter and the No. 1 team in the country goes down. No worries. In a "down" year, the SEC still has six of the top nine spots in the latest BCS rankings with an outside shot of another appearance in the national championship.

Big news out of the Graham Reaves camp this week is that I made my television debut on Thursday morning. WACH, the local FOX affiliate in Columbia, South Carolina needed someone to come on their morning show and preview the Arkansas-South Carolina game this weekend. Yours truly filled that void.

While the game was something no Razorback fan wants to remember, it is one I will never forget because of my contribution to the local game fervor. Below is the video and here is a link to my write-up following my appearance.

Another word of thanks goes to you the readers of this site. Thank you for reading my previous post about why Mark Richt needs to stay the head coach of Georgia. It became the most read piece on this site.

My old man took the link and sent it to  Richt's office and the Athletic Director of UGA. He did get a response from Richt's secretary saying thank you. I like to think he read it, posted it in his office and he brings it up after he leads the Bulldogs to the SEC Championship.

It has been a busy semester between school and writing a couple of things each week this Fall. For those of you who were not aware, I have also been covering local high school football for The Times here in Gainesville. Doing so I have had the chance to get paid to watch football (always a plus), meet some great people within the community and in the local sports media.

Thanks to all of you for your support and words of encouragement over the past two years in my venture into this world of sports journalism.

Accept it UGA Fans. Mark Richt is a Good Coach.

Take your 10-11 win seasons, at least a New Year's Day bowl game (possibly BCS), and legitimate talks about your team making it to the championship game every year. Enjoy them.

As a fan, you never know how quickly success can come crashing down. Ask any Arkansas fan. Ask any Auburn fan. Ask any Miami fan. Ask any Tennessee fan. Ask any Texas fan.  Ask any Notre Dame fan how hard it is to get back to relevancy. Get the picture?

After the Bulldogs, lead by 12-year head coach Mark Richt, beat their archrival and undefeated No. 2 team in the country, Florida, in the team's biggest rivalry game, talk radio and papers in Atlanta radio have spent entirely too much time devoted to whether Richt should be fired or not.

Richt has run a clean and winning program, and what does he get from his "fan"base? No confidence and a place on the proverbial "hot seat" no matter how much success he has. Six reasons why Georgia fans' arguments are wrong and can give it a break.

1. "Richt can't win with blue-chip talent": Mark Richt has consistently brought in top-tier recruiting classes. He is helped by UGA's history and facilities, how former Bulldogs perform in the NFL, and ultimately his geographic location. The state of Georgia is the fourth best state for high school talent in the country, and Richt has had to fend off bordering state schools from intruding on his territory.

By Rivals.com's or Scout.com's standards, Richt almost all he can do as far as keeping his talent in-state and picking occasional five stars from bordering states. Bulldog fans argue that with this talent Richt should be winning title after title, a weak argument at best.

If you use recruiting as the only predictor of success, Florida State, Notre Dame, Clemson, and Virginia Tech should have been winning national titles for years.

2. "He will never win a national title.": I am sorry to break Georgia fans' hearts, but your program is not exactly used to winning championship after championship. The Associated Press has only awarded two national championships to UGA all time (1942, 1980). That's one more than Maryland and the same number as Minnesota. Let that sink in. Side note: Georgia also has two "Alabama" national championships -- the ones your program claims and no one believes.

The entitled thinking that Georgia should win be winning a championship at least every other year is a new concept brought about by Richt's early success, six 10-win seasons in his first eight years.

Richt should have gotten a shot at the BCS in 2007 when they were Bulldogs were "2004 Auburn"-ed and a two-loss LSU team got to the championship game instead. Georgia, led by Richt went to the Sugar Bowl and demolished Hawaii.

Vince with his star, Herschel.

3. "Dooley did it.": The almighty Vince Dooley did bring a national championship to Athens, riding the shoulders of one of college football's all-time greats, known simply as Herschel in these parts.

What is not as fondly remembered of Dooley is the start of his career. In his first 12 years, he had two 10-win seasons and a 4-5 bowl record. He also had three .500 seasons and compiled an 88-41 win-loss record.

Richt is in his 12th year. While he did have one "atrocious" season (6-7), a losing campaign capped by an Independence Bowl loss to UCF, he has two SEC Championships (just like Dooley) and has won 74% of his games with a win-loss record of 113-39 (better than Dooley). Richt is 7-5 in bowl games (better than Dooley).

Dooley's one national championship did not come until his 17th season at the helm of Georgia football. No way Richt can make it without one for another five years with this fan base, even with 10-win seasons.

4."Richt's players don't fear him.": Maybe they do not "fear" him in the same sense players at Alabama do Saban. However, no players love their coach more than the boys in Red and Black.

Just like Les Miles, Bobby Bowden and Pete Carrol, who have had pretty successful runs in college, Richt's players love to play for him. These coaches and others prove that you do not have to instill fear in your players in order for them to win.

5. "Richt has no control over his players":Put any group of 80, 18-23 year-old, young men in an enabling community that lets them get away with most anything because they play football. Now make said community Athens, with its unbelievable downtown atmosphere and tell me there will not be a few kids who get in trouble with the law. Not happening.

Add in UGA's toughest drug policy in the SEC and you have a mixture that looks like Richt has no control.

If a Bulldog violates the teams' drug policy once the player is suspended for 10% of the games, twice equals suspension for 50% of the season, and three times the player is dismissed from the program.

Only one other SEC school (Kentucky) has penalties for failing one drug test -- and you see how that program is doing. At Alabama, Florida and LSU it takes four violations to be dismissed. Gators who fail their drug tests for marajuana three times lose only 20% of their games. This is unfair approach is one Richt can no go backwards on. Instead he has to fight negative recruiting on this matter and push forward.

So it looks as if Georgia players are in trouble much more than other programs because the other programs are able to keep it on the hush longer as to why a player who appears healthy is not playing.

 6. My ultimate trump card, which leaves Georiga fans speechless, "Who are you going to hire that is going to be better?": Of the 124 schools in the FBS, only five (Alabama, LSU, Ohio State, Oregon, and Kansas State) would not consider hiring Richt in place of their current coach not an upgrade. Why? Because he runs a clean program and is seems to always be in the hunt for a national title.

Also Bulldog fans must realize what Nick Saban is doing with "The Process" at Alabama is the only place like it in the county. He is the only person with such coaching talent  and there is not anyone out there close to what he does. 

Saban is Usain Bolt in a 100-meter race and the rest of college football is like Jared Lorenzen trying to catch up. There is only one of him and he is not leaving.

You had a $90 million football surplus last year to use for hires? Great. You are still not luring Saban away from Alabama. Not only that, there is no a coach with Richt's consistency and knack for winning available.

So on the behalf every college football fan, "Georgia fans, give it a break."

The Weekend That Was: "They Are Who We Thought They Were," Fighting Snyders, Willed to Win

We only get 13 Saturdays like this a year -- including your team's bye week and excluding bowl season. This one was one of the more boring ones I can remember. Every team in the top ten won (except for South Carolina who played No. 2 Florida), and there were hardly any nail-biters as they all do so easily. But enjoy them. The number of these precious Saturdays are down to four after this week.

Tough day for Connor Shaw and his Gamecocks

"THEY ARE WHO WE THOUGHT THEY WERE": As the season goes along, this phrase becomes more aprapos by the week. South Carolina made its way into the top 5 a couple of weeks on the road in some of the toughest SEC stadiums, their flaws were unmasked. Did anyone actually believe they were this good?

Their home win over Georgia was one of the most impressive of the year, but USC's inability to find a consistent run --or pass-- game with quarterback Connor Shaw leaves them with two losses in the league and a long-shot to get back to Atlanta. However, UGA, thanks to its weak schedule, has an opportunity to get back to the SEC Championship for the second year in a row with a win over Florida.

Florida, on the other hand, is a little better than we thought they were, as they have manhandled every team since their fighting out a win over Bowling Green in week two of the season. They have no aerial attack to speak of, but if the Gators can put together just a little bit of offense, their defense will do the rest.

Thanks to poor planning the SEC East race will be decided in this Saturday in the World's Largest Cocktail Party.

Sleep-depived Bill Snyder after Saturday's win.

 FIGHTING SNYDERS CONTINUE TO IMPRESS: Bill Snyder is 73 and coaching at Kansas State. He will win the national coach of the year because at the beginning of the season his squad was projected to win 7-8 games. Through seven weeks he is already there and ranked No. 3 in the BCS poll.

Kansas State rolled into Morgantown, West Virginia and layed a smackdown on the Moutnaineers, dominating in every phase of the game. They did everything right except for getting coach Snyder in bed before 9 p.m. Word is he was cranky all day Sunday. This was a team that was owned by Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl last year, but instead of letting their entire program go awry, as the Razorbacks have, they have responded and put together the season many thought the Hogs could have pre-April motorcycle ride.

"Seriously, I owe you for the Heisman."

Also of interest, Kansas State's Arthur Brown became the first player to intercept West Virginia's Geno Smith since December 1, 2010. Brown was also the first player to pick off former Baylor quarterback and Heisman trophy winner, Robert Griffin III.

While their schedule lines up nicely for an undefeated finish, the Wildcats must be careful to not become this years' 2011 Oklahoma State, who lost their next-to-last game at Iowa State and were kept them out of the BCS title game.

A WILL TO WIN: Notre Dame, Oregon State, and Texas Tech are what Skip Bayless would call "Tebowing" their way through this season. They are never overly impressive in their victories (minus TTU over WVU), but they just keep winning.

The Irish and the Beavers used fourth quarter touchdowns to secure wins this week, while the Red Raiders took No. 23 TCU to triple overtime before leaving Fort Worth as winners. At some point for these teams the luck has to run out.

One would think the Irish will have to have more than 17 points to defeat Oklahoma this week, Texas Tech will not be able to keep up with Kansas State's offense and defense, and Oregon State will have to get it together before traveling to Stanford in two weeks. Of course, those sorts of things have been said all season and these teams have delivered in unlikely situations over and over again.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST

-Tennessee linebacker, and one of my favorites in all of college football, scored his sixth rushing touchdown of the year from the Volunteers' "Beast Package." While it was impressive, it is not the sort of performance you  want to see from your offense, seeing that it was the only touchdown on the night and the defense gave up 44 to Alabama.

The Ducks are flying high (too easy).

-Oregon could have literally named the number of points they wanted to score this week versus Arizona State. The Ducks offense has done this all year and luckily -- but unfortunately for fans outside the Pac-12 -- coach Chip Kelly has called off the dogs and not embarrassed too many opponents more than they should have been.

- Arkansas didn't lose this week. Sure, they didn't play but with the way the Hogs have played this year, you never know. They also opened as a 4.5-point favorite for Saturday's game against Ole Miss.

- Are you ready for a  Orange Bowl featuring Louisville and Duke? It is a possibility. What a great way for the BCS to say "goodbye" on its way out.

-Duke is bowl eligible after beating hated rival North Carolina in some pretty heinous jerseys. This came a day after their Midnight Madness for the basketball team. What a weekend for Duke fans.

The Weekend That Was: More SEC Domination in BCS, Heisman Favorites, Samford Homecoming

The season's first BCS rankings came out on Sunday, sending some of those outside of the South into a firestorm. The SEC has the top two teams, Alabama and Florida, and six of the top 12 (Alabama, Florida, LSU, South Carolina, Georgia, and Mississippi State). Haters gonna hate.

There have been other impressive teams around the country and no doubt the bottom of the SEC is much further down than normal. There are five teams which legitimately pose a threat to dethroning the Crimson Tide from its seat as champion. It is much more likely to see a team like South Carolina or LSU (even if their offense has struggled), but it not outside the realm of possibility to see a team like Georgia win out and find themselves in the championship game, as the SEC champion has done for six consecutive seasons.

That said, watching Oregon's offense take on one of the SEC big-boy defenses, like I have said before, sounds like must-see television. Before you cry to me about Auburn-Oregon 2010, this is Ducks coach Chip Kelly' best team yet. Check the stats.

One-loss squads like Oklahoma, with their thrashing of Texas, and Southern Cal are also still alive. The great part is we are only halfway to anointing two teams worthy of playing for the championship, and if you think it will happen one way the system is bound to throw a kink in your thinking.

HEISMAN FAVORITES- I, like 99% of people who give you their Heisman hopefuls, do not have a vote. Regardless, here are my favorites for the award of the "Most Outstanding Player in College Football," not the country's most valuable player:

This Clowney character is one bad dude.

1) Geno Smith (West Virginia)- He had a bad game this week in their first loss, but Smith still has 25 TDs to his no interceptions and 2,271 yards through the air.

2) Jadaveon Clowney (South Carolina)- Like Smith, Clowney lost this week but still has a shot at the national championship game. With 12 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks, he has made opponents look silly.

3) Johnny Manziel (Texas A&M)- The freshman leads the SEC in rushing (626 yards, 10 TD) and is third in passing (1,680 yards, 14 TD), and he still has prime time games on his schedule to display his talents.

4) A.J. McCarron (Alabama)- As long as he continues to not throw picks, manage the Tide to wins, and avoid getting hurt, his chances will increase.

SAMFORD ONE YARD TOO FEW- I was in Birmingham for the weekend to see my Bulldogs play the Moutaineers from Appalachian State. In typical "Samford-plays-in-a-big-game" form, the Bulldogs came up just short. This one was especially painful because it would have been the program's first win over national powerhouse, App State, but it was not meant to be.

Samford quarterback Andy Summerlin needed one
yard for the historic win.

With 2-and-1 on near midfield and less than two minutes left in the game, the Bulldogs only needed one yard in order to secure four more downs to run out the clock. Unable to get the 1 yard, Samford was forced to punt, leading to a Mountaineer drive which ended in a touchdown and win.

Though the game could have ended a little more pleasantly, it was one of the best atmospheres I have ever experienced in Birmingham. The quad was filled with tents, BBQ, and estimates of close to 10,000 people on the country's most beautiful campus.

Friends of mine who were not as fortunate to attend Samford, compared this tailgate to one at Georgia or Georgia Tech, saying it was small and not much to it. For those of us who were some of the first to set up tents on The Quad, it was a sight to see. Outsiders, think about it like this. Less than 5,000 people attend students and there were twice that number on campus on Saturday. If you take UGA's close to 50,000 students and compare it to the 100,000 or so who come to Athens for Saturdays, it puts it a little more into perspective.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST

- Tommy Tuberville loves playing top-5 teams. Throughout his career, Tuberville has found a way to ignite passion within his ball clubs to go out and beat teams ranked in the top 5. He was the mastermind behind West Virginia's beat down this weak, as his Texas Tech squad held the potent Mountaineer offense to 14 points. The win pushed his record to 6-2 as the underdog against top 5 teams.

- I have been an Derek Dooley apologist before, but there is no getting around the fact that he is now 0-20 against ranked opponents. While Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen, on the other hand, is having unprecedented success in Starkville. Both of these coaches will not be at their respective jobs too much longer but for totally different reasons

- Notre Dame escaped on Saturday. They won and you can not take that away from them but the more times you watch Stanford's Stephan Taylor give a second effort and hear no whistle the more convincing the Cardinal's case becomes.

The U.

The Weekend That Was: Where's the Defense?, UGA Wins Again, Texas & Alabama Hype, My Own Solid Weekend

Much has been made of the absurd stats from Saturday's games. The West Virginia-Baylor game is getting all of the publicity, but there were plenty of others that looked more like video games than actual competition. Here are a couple that jump off the box scores.

West Virginia's Geno "Heisman" Smith

 656 -- Yards passing by the Mountaineer's Geno Smith. It ranks fifth all-time for a single-game in Division I. Smith also finished with more touchdowns (8) than incompletions (6) on the day.

581 -- Passing yards from the Bears' Nick Florence in their losing effort to West Virginia, passing Robert Griffin III single-game mark.

557 -- Total yards accumulated by Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel, breaking the old record of 540.

314 -- Receiving yards accumulated by Baylor's Terrance Williams to set the Big 12 record. Mountaineer reciever Stedman Baily had 303 yards and five touchdowns, which would have been the record if not for Williams' performance.

222 -- Rushing yards from Air Force's Cody Getz in a win over Colorado State. He becomes the first Falcon to record four 100-yard games to start the season and the first with two 200-yard games since 2007

133 --Total points recorded in the WVU-Baylor game on 1,507 yards of offense.

4 -- Games in which the teams combined for 1,000+ yards of total offense (Texas-Oklahoma State, Tennessee-Georgia, Baylor-West Virginia, and Miami (Ohio)-Akron).

If the old adage is true that defense wins championships, then many teams are much further away than they want to be from holding the crystal ball in January.

DOGS BETTER VOLS: With the win over Tennessee on Saturday, the Bulldogs were able to prove they can not only finish close games, but that their trip to South Carolina this week becomes the de facto SEC East Division Championship, a prelude to the SEC West Championship on November 3rd.

Sure the Dawgs "escaped" this weekend with the win, but the bigger question is what to make of Tennessee. There is no one part of the game which can definitively be fixed and make this a contending team. In the same light, there is no one thing making them unable to compete. It is a mixture of both and undoubtedly a perplexing situation to be in for Volunteer fans.

As close as you can get for free, close enough to hear the
opening score and get chills.

The offense scored 44 points on the road in a hostile environment. The defense gave up more points, but made critical stops when they needed to. Big plays hurt the Tennessee defense, but their big plays helped the offense. Coach Derek Dooley gave his team a chance to win, but the arm that makes their offense go in Tyler Bray threw three interceptions, not a coaching error. It is not bad enough to start over, but it is hard to justify continuing down the same path.

I had the good fortune to be in Athens on Saturday. After covering a game for The Times on Friday night, I left for the Classic City and met my sister and a few friends downtown, which is worth almost all of the positive adjectives given to it.

Gameday came and we tailgated, as any good SEC fan should do. If you have never experienced an Athens tailgate, you should. There are few places around the country that do it better than the folks in red and black. My sister and her friends made their way into the game, and since I had no interest in paying $150 to see the game, I enjoyed the pregame and first Bulldog scoring drive from a different perspective.

Being the old man I am, I was ready to get out of town and head back to Gainesville to watch the second half and beat the traffic. I was fortunate enough to see some friends to watch the game with, ready for it? With all that Athens' downtown offers, where did we meet to watch the game? 20 miles outside of Athens at a Beef O'Brady's. So when you watch that terrible bowl game this December, you can blame me for supporting the company and keeping the bowl game alive. It was a good time nonetheless.

WHAT ALABAMA COULD BE, NOT YET: I am not buying Alabama like the rest of you. I have no problem admitting the Tide is the best team in the country, but I am not oohing and ahhing like the rest of you over their dominance. Yes, they have won in convincing fashion and their defense looks outstanding, but who have they played?

Michigan's two wins are UMass and a close one at home against Air Force. Ole Miss' only opponent worth mentioning was Texas, a 66-31 loss for the Rebels. By the end of the season they could be as good as last year's team, but not yet. And for the love of the "Bear," can we stop comparing them to an NFL team?

LAST BUT NOT LEAST:

- Arkansas has given up on the season. There is no doubt about that, as it becomes more apparent  every time they take the field. Call me a homer, but take your shots now. This is an anomaly and historically bad. I am realistic and know that Arkansas, no matter how much badly I want it, is probably not going to ever be a perennial football powerhouse, but it is a better team than this. SEC teams who get an extra win because Arkansas is down, enjoy it now.

- There has been a lot written about Florida State and Notre Dame's rise back to the good ole days. What about Texas? Sure, it has only been three years since they were in the national championship, but these last few years have been horrendous on Texas standards. They seem to have figured out the offense and we know with the recruiting classes they sign the talent level is only going up.

PERSONAL NOTE: I do not normally talk about my own experiences from the weekend on these types of columns. However, since my weekend did involve being in Athens for the Tennessee-Georgia game this week I figure I will go ahead and throw this in there. It was a great time all-around. The whole weekend, not just Saturdays, which in the especially fall are usually pretty good.

For those of you around my age, and even moreso those of you in school, unfortunately eating alone is a  more common experience than not, an unfortunate part of this transient period. This weekend was the exception.

Food is an essential part of life, but the socialization of meal times can be of greater importance to me. The one meal I had alone was my Friday night pregame meal before I went and covered a high school game for the The Times, and I did not have a meal with the same group of people twice this weekend. I ate with family, new friends and old friends in places I had never been before.

From downtown Athens, to tailgating, to a Beef O'Brady's in Jefferson, to church and a Sunday School party. It was solid.

Thanks to all who had a part in making this weekend a good one. I am looking forward to some more soon: The ole Silver Anniversary of my life and Samford Homecoming are around the corner.

Bet you can't tell which two came from the same gene pool. Props to you Mama and Daddy.

The Weekend That Was: Irish and Seminoles Back?, Ducks Defense, Bulldogs 'Barking' for Love

Notre Dame's Manti Te'o

There both back. No doubt. Notre Dame and Florida State are back to their old form. Whip out your LA Gear light-up sneakers, Tamagotchis, and favorite boy band CD. It is like we have been sent back to the 90s.

In the words of former Seminole Lee Corso, "Not so fast, my friends."

"Back" for both of these teams does not mean a perfect third of the season, if so both have already come "back" in the last decade. No. "Back" for these programs is an entire perfect season and a championship rings, hats and shirts adorning the players in January.

Notre Dame has played the tougher schedule, with wins over a top 10 team on the road (Michigan State) and a win against  No. 18 Michigan on Saturday. The Irish also has the more difficult schedule remaining, which will keep them from contending for one of the top two spots in the BCSNC. One of their biggest improvements since last season is turnover margin. Redshirt freshman Everett Golson has kept the ball from opposing defenses and the Irish defense is playing stingy. Notre Dame sits at No. 5 in turnover margin at plus-9. Four games into last season the Irish were ranked No. 118.

Florida State looked awfully good on Saturday though defeating No. 10 Clemson 49-37 at home with over 660 yards of total offense. E.J. Manuel is beginning to look like the player everyone thought he could be for the last two years, compiling over 1000 yards of offense, 8 touchdowns, and completing 73 percent of his passes this season. The Seminoles have the easiest schedule on paper of any true title contenders, but they must continue to improve and win games they should unlike they have done recently with such high expectations. Their most challenging game looks to be No. 11 Florida at home on the final week of the season.

DUCKS DEFENSE, RUN GAME IMPRESSIVE: Tell me if this makes any sense: Team A had 25 first downs, Team B had 19. Team A had 495 yards of total offense, Team B had almost 350. Yet, Team A beat Team B 47-0. Team A is Oregon, and Team B is Arizona.

The Wildcats had the ball six times in the Ducks red zone and came away with exactly zero points. With the way Arizona was moving the ball it is quite a testament to Oregon's defense to hold the shutout. In no way I am saying the Ducks' defense belongs in the same conversation as some of the SEC big boys but it is impressive nonetheless.

While it was slowed down a little in this game, even more impressive on the season has been the Oregon rushing attack. Lead by senior Kenjon Barner and the most electric player in college football, De'Anthony Thomas. The two have combined for more than 600 yards rushing and 10 scores through three games. Thomas would be the Heisman favorite if not for having to share the backfield with another potential contender. This means Thomas, who is scoring on every fifth offensive touch, is being underutilized.

I know that we have seen it before and I am not calling for the national championship right now, but it sure would be fun to see them play a top-tier SEC defense.

BULLDOG MAKING STRONG 'BARK' FOR HEISMAN: Speaking of Heisman contenders Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray has to start getting some love. If the Bulldogs are able to continue their winning ways, it can only help him. Against Vanderbilt on Saturday Murray was 18 for 24 for 250 yards, two passing scores and one rushing touchdown. He is on pace for more than 3,500 yards and 33 touchdowns for the regular season.

If gets enough support from the stout UGA defense to remain undefeated and can somehow beat Alabama or LSU in the SEC Championship, look for his name to be called at the Downtown Athletic Club during the second week of December.

Samford's Fabian Truss

BULLDOGS REMAIN UNBEATEN: It may not be hitting the national media, but there is another Bulldog team that is 4-0 and 2-0 in their conference, the Samford Bulldogs.

The Bulldogs scored 15 fourth quarter points for a 25-21 win at Southern Conference foe Western Carolina on Saturday. Running back Fabian Truss ran the ball 23 times for 173 yards and two touchdowns, including the go-ahead score.The win sets up a televised game at Georgia Southern this week (Being televised at this level is still a big deal.) Under the direction of Heisman Trophy winner Pat Sullivan, the program is without a  doubt headed in the right direction, and the Bulldogs are ranked in the coaches poll for the first time since 1995.

I am going to an alumni event in Atlanta on Tuesday and for the first time ever I have a feeling the Bulldogs from Birmingham will be a conversation over dinner. I will proudly take part in the "It's Great, To Be, a Saaaamford Buuulldog!" chant.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST:

We sat so close I could feel the spit coming off of Tech's
defensive coordinator Al Groh's tongue. 

-Oregon State defeated another ranked team to take coach Mike Reily officially off the hot seat: Wisconsin two weeks ago and ULCA this week. To celebrate the win, Reily ordered 200 double-doubles with fries from In-and-Out for his team.

-Georgia Tech lost a strange game to Miami in which the Hurricanes scored 19 points to open the game. The Yellow Jackets followed with 26 straight points in response. Miami scored the final 23 points, including a touchdown in overtime, to win the game.

-Western Kentucky won again, pounding Southern Mississippi 42-17. The Hilltoppers have won 10 of their last 12. Their two losses? LSU and Alabama.

-Missouri hates grown man football, and has begun initial talks of a move back to Big XII.

The Weekend That Was: Barkley Owned, Another Historic Loss, Irish for Real?, My New Favorite Player, SEC Joke Coaches

While it is the surprises, upsets and a sense of loyalty to a team that draws us to college football, there are a few truths that seem inevitable. A few of those came true this weekend: Virginia Tech begins the year in the top 10 and falls to an inferior team, Alabama beats Arkansas, USC starts in the top 5 and is a national championship favorite and falls, and Notre Dame wins three games and moves up the polls quickly. Now that you have the gist of Week Three in football, let's get to the nitty gritty.

Barkley remains defeated versus Stanford

STANFORD OWNS BARKLEY & CO.: At some point, what Stanford did/is doing will no longer be a fluke. Cardinal coach David Shaw has to get credit. He is Andrew Luck-less and is still pulling off 'upsets' of the No. 2 team in the country. I say "'upsets'" because it should no longer come as a surprise when he is able to beat the California team from the south. Maybe, just maybe, Shaw will be able to sustain some of the success his predecessors (Jim Harbaugh and Andrew Luck) began. I am all up for nerds ruling the football world.

Stanford is a rarity in college football. Not only do they all make 34's on their ACTs but they know who they are and what they can and can not do. They know they run the football well with a huge push from the big uglies upfront, which creates an obvious, enormous mismatch for USC, who is setup to beat the likes of Oregon.

Matt Barkley will graduate having never beaten Stanford, which is incredible when you look at the history of these two programs.

ANOTHER HISTORIC LOSS: Remember the questions I brought up last week after Arkansas blew a 28-7 lead to University Louisiana-Monore? There are more this week. Instead of doing listing those, here is some historical perspective of what a team that was beat by ULM in 2007 (Alabama) did on Saturday in Fayetteville.

The Tide shut out the Hogs at home for the first time since 1966, a 44-0 loss to the Baylor, but that was two years post national championship. It was the worst loss for the Razorbacks since a 70-17 show from the USC Trojans. It was an embarrassing day for Arkansas, and while the weather did not help keep fans in their seat, neither did their play on the field.

Injured Razorback quarterback admitted he thought some of his teammates quit, which is a direct reflection of coaching. There's good reason to be worried as Rutgers comes to Arkansas this week.

If anything, this makes The Game of the Century III (Alabama at LSU) all the more anticipated, and as my old man said, no doubt there is a Pop Tart sale in Arkansas.

Johnson has been "The Beast" for a while.

MY FAVORITE PLAYER IS A VOLUNTEER: Is there anything Tennessee sophomore A.J. Johnson can not do? He was named to the All-SEC freshman team a year ago and now is starting to show out on the offensive side too from the Wildcat formation.

Not only does he make grown-man tackles on defense, but the Volunteer captain scored a rushing touchdown against Florida.

He did the same thing in high school, too.

A Gainesville, Georgia native, he dominated this area for four years like few have and remains a local legend. If he continues on his current path, he will soon be a legend in the Knoxville area as well before making his way to the professional ranks.

NOTRE DAME IS FOR REAL (maybe): The Irish get their fair, and maybe more, share of articles and columns written about them, but anytime you go on the road, in a night game, and defeat a top 10 team, you start getting press for all the right reasons.

Coach Brian Kelley, who was brought over from Cincinnati for his offensive prowess, has started building his program from the defensive side of the ball. Now, other than Alabama and LSU, he may have the top defensive front in the country and the best linebacker in Manti Te'o. Kelley will build his offense no doubt, and if both sides of the ball progress like they seem to be doing, the Irish could be trouble in the future.

HOW QUICKLY CAN CHIZIK BE REPLACED: It's really a three-way race between Arkansas' John L. Smith, Auburn's Gene Chizik, and Kentucky's Joker Phillips to see who will be fired first. Two of the three will definitely be told to seek employment elsewhere come season's end, but Chizik has enough equity built up from a national championship two years ago.

After two dismal performances from his quarterback Kiehl Frazier, these games are much more like what we expected from Chizik when he came from Iowa State. This is what a Chizik team minus a $200,000 quarterback looks like.

That's what a Hilltoppers look like after they get their first SEC win.

KENTUCKY'S BIG JOKE(er): Get it? Their coach's name is Joker and that's what he has made the Wildcats in the eyes of football fans. We have all heard Kentucky fans say the only sport they care about is basketball -- and horseracing. However, there are better ways to let everyone know that other than getting beat by Western Kentucky. Heck, they've only been an official FBS program for four years!

Sure you make all SEC fans proud during March and early April, but there is no excuse for this. Bye, bye Joker.

The Weekend That Was: Historic Loss, Old Man Football, Season's New Crush

For those of you who have come to this site the past two weekends looking for picks of the week's biggest college football teams, let me say that I am sorry. I am still doing a similar weekly column::, but it is being published on a different site (ArkansasExpats.com- the Razorback blog for SBNation).

Now that my TWTWB columns are being posted to a different website, and because I feel like to post the same content in two places is writer's taboo, I am going to try and do something a little different.

Here in my "The Weekend That Was" posts, I will attempt to provide some insight and show you some of the things you may have missed on Saturday -- because you had better things to do than sit in front of the television for 12 hours.

HISTORIC LOSS: "Now what? What happens after a loss like that? Who's to blame?" These, along with many others, are questions being raised in the Arkansas, as the state's favorite team fell to the University of Louisiana-Monroe.

After a suspect performance against FBS Jacksonville State the week before, most Hog fans were looking forward to hopefully seeing their once high-flying offense rebound and take care of the Warhawks with ease. Worst case scenario? The Razorbacks leave Little Rock with a win and head into  this week full steam ahead preparing for Alabama. The actual scenario? The Razorbacks leave Little Rock with one of the worst losses in school history, lose four players to injury, show no level of BCS-worthy competence on offense or defense, lose ESPN's College Gameday coming to Fayetteville, and fans missing former coach Bobby Petrino.

Arkansas fans believed Bobby's little brother, Paul, would be able to run the offense maybe not quite at the level as big brother, but at least well enough to make it through the season. This is not the case. In utter disbelief, Hog fans watched as the their team was wary to run with the lead. Arkansas ran the ball only six times after going up 28-7 with 9:42 left in the third. Not smart.

With coach John L. Smith clearly not coming back next season, the pressure falls on the shoulders of Athletic Director Jeff Long. He fired Bobby Petrino and brought back Smith on a 10 month contract. Now he must find a hire which will not only energize the fan base, but one who will not let Arkansas fall back to the eight or nine win seasons rut. Problem is, there are few good coaches out there who are not already at destination jobs.

For my new favorite... keep reading.

Georgia's Christian Robinson and Aaron Murray

OLD MAN FOOTBALL (or at least Jarvis Jones) REIGNS SUPREME : In the midst of all the hype surrounding Missouri's first game in the SEC, Tiger linebacker Sheldon Richardson made comments comparing the Bulldogs style of play to the Big Ten and added that it looked like "old man football." A huge no-no in the SEC.

After being down early, Georgia responded with 32 straight points, while future first-round draft pick Jarvis Jones single-handedly stopped the Missouri offense. I know it is two weeks early, but his play reminds me of the same sorts of ways Tyrann Mathieu used to take over games for LSU last season. Jones has to be on the Heisman watchlist.

The Dawgs aptly welcomed Missouri with a statement win of their own and introduced the Tigers to GROWN man football -- or as we SEC fans call simply call it, your conference schedule.

BIG TEN EMBARRASSES AGAIN: The ultimate brand of "old man football" struck out this weekend, proving it is not a relevant football conference.

Purdue and Penn State lost close games in which they had plenty of opportunities to win to Notre Dame and Virginia, respectively. Nittany Lions kicker Sam Ficken missed and extra point and four field goals on Saturday alone.

Old man commissioner Jim Delany may never let his Big Ten schools travel west of the Mississippi again. Nebraska's defense gave up 653 yards of offense to UCLA in a loss. Wisconsin was physically dominated by Oregon State on both sides of the ball. And Illinois was blown out by Arizona State, which, luckily for the Big 10 was on late.

Michigan struggled to put away Air Force at home, while Ohio State did much of the same with UCF in the Horseshoe.

MY NEW CRUSH(es): Every season I try and find a team beyond the SEC that I can support. Whether it be because of a player, a coach, or usually a scheme, I pick a team that may not be the sexy pick to win the national title but is fun to watch and follow that team all season. Last season was Wisconsin. Since they are clearly not the same this year, I have taken fancy to a new team, West Virginia.

They put points on the board faster than the Mountaineer mascot can reload his musket with weapons like quarterback Geno Smith and all-purpose receiver Tavon Austin. Their coach, Dana Holgerson has proven to be an offensive mastermind. Just ask Clemson.  While a national championship this season is within reach if this team, if they lose or not you will no doubt be entertained watching the Mountaineers.

And for you readers who have made it this far -- or were smart enough to scroll...

My new crush for the soon-to-be open Arkansas head coaching position is Charlie Strong. He is, like Bobby Petrino once was, the head coach at Louisville. The once defensive coordinator of the Urban Meyer run at Florida is a native of Arkansas and understands the entire state's passion for their Hogs.

In other great news my Samford Bulldogs have started the season undefeated, with wins over conference rival Furman and West Alabama. The Dogs have looked strong in tight situations thus far and are serious contenders to capture their first FCS playoff berth since joining the Southern Conference.

Tailgating on the quad was never this good when I was at The U.

Summer Has Come to a Close

If you were up and on the road before gas stations open on the weekdays this summer and happened to be driving down the interstate from Atlanta to northeast Georgia, there is a good chance that blue and silver bullet you saw on the highway was Ole Blue. Those who know me realize that calling my truck a bullet would suggest that my truck and me may travel even somewhat fast. That is a loosely-worded suggestion.

This summer I completed my first of two fieldworks (or an internships for you non-OT people) towards my occupational therapy degree and was lucky enough to be at Peachtree Orthopaedic Physical Therapy (POC) in Dunwoody, an outpatient clinic.

POC is the official orthopeadic company for the Atlanta Braves and Atlanta Hawks, which all is good and fun to say but to those of you about to ask, do you think Braves General Manager Frank Wren would let a student rehab his players? You know better. The Hawks and Braves have their own therapists that go to the players anyway, but it was a tremendous learning experience nonetheless.

My fieldwork educator was Missy Thurlow, a well-respected hand therapist in Georgia and throughout the Southeast. Not only was she able to guide me through the summer and provide instructions from how to fill out charts to dealing with problem patients, but she will hopefully serve as a huge resource as I set out on the hunt for a job this time next year. She deserves all my thanks for taking me under her caring wing for the past three months.

Missy and one of her more famous patients,
 the world's No. 1 golfer Rory McIlroy.

While at POC, I was able to see everything I could have possibly wanted to. I followed a doctor around in the office to see what an initial visit looks like before we OTs will ever see them. I saw multiple days of surgery, which was much more interesting than I could have ever imagined. So much so that I have talked to some of the new first year students about joining in on some of their cadaver labs so I might can perform my own surgeries.

By the end of the summer, I had my own case load and was acting as a full-fledged therapist, except for having to have my documentation co-signed by a licensed occupational therapist. I even  joined a hand therapist professional group, the Georgia Hand and Upper Extremity Special Interest Group. 

I can also say that I have been one of those miserable rush hour commuters in the Atlanta area. Never again. Not saying I would never live there, but I will not commute in-and-out everyday. You know how I know Georgia Tech's Engineering School isn't all it is cracked up to be? Atlanta traffic.

As busy as I was I still had time to go and vacation a couple of weeks, to Passport with the youth from FBC Gainesville, a beach trip with the family, moving across town, and a trip to Arkansas. The summer was busy, but undoubtedly better than school.

Now that I am not waking up before the sun every day and commuting to Atlanta, much of my effort will be focused on school and my thesis. Only one more year -- and passing grades-- remains between me and a Master's of Science in Occupational Therapy from Brenau University.

On top of conducting research and eventually writing a 200-page paper with three of my new best friends, I continue to find things around the Poultry Capital of the Word (Gainesville) to keep me out of too much trouble. As some of you have seen or read, I have joined the staff at ArkansasExpats.com, a website devoted to the Razorbacks, and will produce a weekly column, which will run on Fridays previewing the upcoming weekend.

On Friday nights, you can come watch high school football with me as, different from last year when I was in the newsroom, I will actually go to games, sit in the press box, and write a story for the local newspaper The Times in Gainesville.

Then Sunday mornings will be filled with the inappropriateness of seventh and eighth grade boys in my Sunday School class. Big weekends in store for this fall.

When I was in Arkansas, my grandmother asked, "So your writing a weekly column, covering football, and writing for your own blog, and you're going to be a therapist?" My response, "Yep." It is a way for me to scratch a new found itch that I love, but I know could never make a career out of it.

I also learned that my grandfather was a paperboy when he was young, my old man was a copy editor for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, and now I am just keeping the family tradition going.

With that being said, I have to go to class. It's my last first day of school.

The four of us in Gulf Shores

The Best of London 2012

I believe that everyone has a talent for doing something. Is that vague enough for you?

Each person owns a gift or ability to demonstrate a skill to an extraordinary degree, though maybe not up to Olympic standards. The sad part about this theory is that most people never realize their talent, whether by choice or lack of exposure, so they will never be able to show it off. Still lost?

Could this have been me? We will never know.

For example, and to keep with the Olympic theme, I might be the greatest fencer the world would have ever seen, but I will never be able to show off my sword-fighting skills because where I come from, we stop playing with plastic swords from the dollar store after the age of five. We move on to tee-ball and pee-wee football. Thus my talents for wielding a sword in a fancy USA mask have gone untapped.

Not everyone is deprived of an opportunity to realize their talent. Instead many, by accident or grand design, find their destined activity, but do not possess the drive to continue on with it.

Another example, which also helps exhibit that these skills are not limited to the realm of sports. For the  better part of eight years, I played trumpet. During some parts of high school, I was playing more than five hours a day in several different groups. Not to "toot my own horn'' -- yeah, I just did that -- but I was a decent musician.

Based upon my theory, I had found a skill in which I was better than most at doing. However, I had different interests which I wanted to pursue as a professional, meaning my trumpet playing would have to take a back seat to them.

Had I stuck with playing the trumpet would I be in the Boston Pops? My grandparents might think so, but more than likely not. Those performers, like Olympians, are geniuses at their craft, a level only few attain. Had I stuck with playing trumpet could I have played "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" solo on a Saturday in the fall at UGA in the South corner? I like to think I could have.

All this is a roundabout way of getting to the people who found their niche and thrived to a level few only few will ever reach. In fact, the odds against a newborn child of becoming an Olympic athlete are 2,500 to 1, 5,000 to 1 to medal ,and 10,000 to 1 to become a gold medalist.

The undisputed greatest swimmer ever, Michael Phelps started off slow but finished his alleged final Olympic swim in gold medal fashion.

How many of you actually believe this? I give it two years.

The 27-year-old will become antsy, see all of his peers still fighting to get better, and join them after some time out of the pool. I am putting my money on seeing Phelps in Rio de Janeiro and not as a commentator.

Sure he is cocky, but Bolt has every reason to be. He is a legend.

Usain Bolt joined Michael Phelps in the legendary category at the 2012 Games. While Phelps finished as the Olympics' all-time winningest athlete 22 total medals, Bolt owned the track, winning every race he competed in with ease (100-meter, 200-meter and 4x400-meter).

Bolt left little doubt that he had earned legendary status with his winning margins alone, but he made sure in every post race interview and press conference to tell the world that he indeed is a "legend" because of his performances at the last two Olympic Games. Luckily for us all, Bolt admits he will be back for 2016.

The Americans also had tremendous results on the track, especially the women. However, one of the most compelling stories was in the Men's 4x400-meter relay preliminaries. Not only had Bryshon Nellum come back from not being able to walk after sustaining gunshot wounds two years ago, to running in the Olympics, but there was Manteo Mitchell.

Mitchell finishing his broken 'leg' of the 4x400M relay.

Mitchell broke a bone in his leg during his run and still finished the final 200 meters of his 'leg' -- of course the pun is intended. He told reporters that he knew he could not stop because it would not only be a disappointment to him, but to his entire team and country. USA's 4x400-meter relay team can fly home proudly with silver medals around their necks.

Then of course there are those American teams which proved dominance over the world, causing all of us as Americans to walk a with our chests out a little bit further: Gabby Douglas and the Fab Five, Missy Franklin, the Women's basketball and soccer teams, Serena Williams, Allyson Felix, Sanya Richards-Ross, and David Boudia to name a few.

It is hard to believe that the London Olympic Games are over and we are four years away from another edition of the Summer Games. In the mean time, a 24-year-old male's greatest chance of becoming an Olympic athlete is in Equestrian at 1 in 62.

Anyone have a horse?

Honey Badger Didn't Care, Saban too Tough, Howard Happy, My New Home

Matthieu will have to look elsewhere to play this season.

There has been a celebration in the South. In small towns all over Alabama and Arkansas, chocolate fountains have been working hard, and there is a shortage of all-you-can-eat and cotton candy supplies at Golden Corrals in light of recent news out of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

As we know, Tyrann Mathieu was dismissed from the LSU football team on Friday for an undisclosed violation of team rules, which will help the entire SEC West in their respective journeys to the SEC Championship.

Reports say that the Honey Badger could not stay away from hitting the pipe. His decision have cost selfish player playing time for the Bayou Bengals in the past, leaving coach Les Miles no other choice but to dismiss the Heisman Trophy finalist. Does this sound like someone you would want to hang out with?

On his Twitter feed, the 2011 unanimous All-American wrote, "The realist hearts have been through the most pain!! I'm out!!"

By horrifying the LSU English department, Mattieu showed again that he simply does not get it. He does not understand how actions have consequences and when you break rules -- over and over again -- you will be punished accordingly. He does not demonstrate an understanding that the game is not all about him. Now he will learn this lesson at a FCS program (reportedly McNeese State in Lake Charles, Louisiana).

As a fan of college football, it is sad to see arguably the most exciting player in the game no longer able to compete with the top talent. What is worse is when an individual with his talent, who has the chance to set an example for young people, can not get his act together though given multiple opportunities.

ALABAMA TRANSER TO TRANSFER: After four practices under Nick Saban, cornerback Travell Dixon has completed paperwork to transfer from the Crimson Tide. The junior college transfer was expected to see significant playing time, but reports from Tuscaloosa say that Dixon was experiencing, "a little overload."

Call me crazy, but isn't that what is to be expected when you commit play for Saban? Isn't that what makes playing against the Tide's defense so good and so dang difficult for opponents? Isn't that what makes Alabama players NFL ready as soon as they are drafted?

The good news is Alabama will, like LSU with Mattieu (though his back-up Tharold Simon also missed games last year because of drug related problems), fill in their new loss with another speedy monster on the depth chart.

Howard at his Laker press conference.

HOWARD APPEARS TO BE HAPPY, FINALLY : Dwight Howard was traded from the Orlando Magic to the Los Angeles Lakers this week in a four-team deal. Just go look at Y! Sports site if you want to see all of the players involved. Blogger will not let me have that long of a post.

It only took the Magic two years, a Howard agreement on an extension, and a two better offers turned down. Yes, Orlando got rid of the best defensive player in the game, and they got the fourth best player of all the teams and no one to fill Howard's void. Thirty-year-old Magic general manager Rob Hennigan has plenty of work to do. On the bright side, because of his age he has plenty of time to do it.

Keeping with the franchise tradition of big-time big men, the Lakers again stole the greatest big man in the game from Orlando as they did with Shaquille O'Neal in 1996. Other similarities include their draft position (No. 1 overall) and nickname (Superman). Remember how these two bicker about how different they are? And how Howard said he does not want to follow O'Neal professional career?

Now the Lakers are the team to beat in the Western Conference because they have the most complete starting lineup with room to add a few wiley veterans.

Some things change, but Ole Blue remains the same.

ON A PERSONAL NOTE: I would like to apologize to all three of my readers for not posting more often lately. There have been several events that I would have loved to share my opinion on, but I have been moving into a house from the south Hall County Georgia to the northern parts. The move has cut down on the time I have been able to sit down and write. However, because of the move, I now I have a beautiful new desk, a better view from my desk, and the improvements in overall quality of life that come along with moving from an apartment to a house -- like a quite night's sleep and a new pillowtop mattress, which will change your life. All are welcome.