Vandy can also thank the football gods that Tenn, Auburn, ole Miss and Ky just sucked... Yes.. vandy is better.. but they wont even be bowl eligible this year. I predicted it!!
On Fri, Aug 23, 2013 at 8:33 AM, Shane Ford <[email protected]>wrote: > Five things that have changed dramatically in the SEC****** > By Pat Dooley <http://www.gatorsports.com/personalia/patdooley> > Gainesville SUN Columnist**** > Published: Friday, August 23, 2013 at 6:30 a.m.**** Last Modified: > Thursday, August 22, 2013 at 9:21 p.m.**** > ** ** > No matter how hard you grip it, you can't hold on. A college football > season is a fleeting thing, speeding past you like Usain Bolt on Red Bull. > Every year, we all try to slow down and appreciate it, but it's always gone > too soon.**** > * * > * * > *Enlarge * > *Florida's Teddy Sims sacks LSU quarterback Josh Booty during the Gators' > win in Baton Rouge, La., in 1999. LSU lost at home 29 times between 1990 > and 1999. (File)* > And when the seasons start piling up one after another, stuff happens. > Sometimes, it's subtle. Sometimes, it's a smack in the face.**** > And as we sit here waiting for it to become reality next week, we try to > remind ourselves to stop and smell the drama.**** > Because before you know it, everything has changed. **** > For example, in the SEC, things weren't always this way, the way you know > it now. And it makes me stop and reflect, to look back and ask the age old > question, “Wha' happened?”**** > How did we get here? Sounds like a job for … Dr. Football. **** > You have questions, I have answers and some of them even make sense.**** > *1. How did LSU get so tough at home?***** > Ah, one of my favorite myths of the 1980s and '90s was that Tiger Stadium > was one of the toughest places to play. In truth, it wasn't that difficult > to win there.**** > From 1980-89, LSU lost 19 home games. From 1990-99, the fans who streamed > into Death Valley saw LSU lose 29 times. During those two decades, LSU lost > at least three home games 10 times. **** > And here is where it gets rough for LSU fans — they can thank Nick Saban > for making Baton Rouge a place opposing football teams didn't want to > visit. Saban's teams lost only five home games in five years (overcoming a > 2003 loss to Florida to go on and win a national title).**** > Les Miles has kept it going with only six losses at home in eight seasons. > **** > And do you know why these two coaches have made it so difficult to go to > Tiger Stadium and win a game? They got better players.**** > I asked Phil Fulmer once why The Swamp was such a difficult place to play > and he said, “Because Florida's got very good players.” **** > The bottom line — your stadium is only as effective as the talent you have. > **** > *2. How did Tennessee get so bad?***** > It was only 2007 when the Vols were good enough to win the SEC East and > win 10 games. In the five years since, the Vols are 12-27 in the SEC and > six games under .500 overall.**** > Wha' happened?**** > The obvious answer is coaching. Fulmer's talent level was on the decline > in his last couple of years and the hiring of Lane Kiffin was a colossal > mistake on so many levels. His only recruiting class was ranked in the top > 10, but it was a classic washout with many of the players transferring to > other schools.**** > When Kiffin left the Vols in a lurch, they made another mistake in hiring > Derek Dooley after being turned down by so many coaches. Dooley was one of > the unluckiest coaches I've ever seen and that was demonstrated by his > first season when Tennessee beat LSU and North Carolina, yet somehow lost > to both teams when time was put back on the clocks.**** > Who knows how it might have been different if Tennessee had won those > games, but it's more than just bad luck. With Nick Saban at Alabama and > Steve Spurrier at South Carolina, Tennessee started losing recruits it used > to get. The Vols can't count on their home state for a big chunk of > recruiting the way other SEC schools can. **** > We'll see if coach Butch Jones can turn it around, but it's not going to > happen right away with that talent.**** > *3. How did Alabama become so dominant?***** > It's a pretty simple answer. The perfect storm of Alabama's brand and > Saban's ability to coach has been hard to beat.**** > Don't forget that his first team went 7-6 and lost to Louisiana-Monroe in > his first season. It took Saban a year to get the players to buy in and > implement “the process” for building a team. Since that first year, Alabama > is 61-7.**** > Now, it's a vicious cycle. Alabama wins, puts a bunch of players into the > NFL and recruits want to be part of it. This is not a run that is going to > end soon. Sure, the Tide may lose on occasion, but Saban is the opposite of > Derek Dooley — when he does lose, things seem to work out for Alabama. > Witness the last two seasons when Bama has lost late in the season and > still played for (and won) a national title.**** > *4. How did Auburn get so bad so fast?***** > We've seen in college football how important a quarterback can be to a > season whether it be Tim Tebow or Johnny Manziel. Cam Newton was all that > for Auburn and he had Nick Fairley on the other side of the ball having the > same kind of effect on players who managed to play above their skill levels. > **** > But Auburn only had one year of Newton, offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn > left and the Tigers tried to run a conventional offense without the talent > to overpower people. The result was last year's winless SEC season and the > dismissal of coach Gene Chizik.**** > That was a team that had a lot of quit in them and if you don't have > leadership on the field, it had better come from your coach. It didn't and > Auburn has a lot of catching up to do.**** > *5. How did Vanderbilt get good?***** > A lot of credit needs to go to coach Bobby Johnson, who had the program to > the point where it was competitive. He left behind players who could play > in the SEC and coach James Franklin has given them an edge.**** > The question still remains — can the Commodores maintain the success of > last year when they won nine games? **** > We're about to find out.**** > *Contact Pat Dooley at 352-374-5053 or at [email protected]. And > follow at Twitter.com/Pat_Dooley.***** > ** ** > > -- > -- > GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! > 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions > 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions > 2008 National Football Champions | > Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), > Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "GatorNews" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. > -- -- GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "GatorTalk" group. 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