Championship Game Reviews

Phenomenal games yesterday in the NFL playoffs!  (See that college football, told ya playoffs would work.  Sorry B Saal, you know it will).  Sucks if you are a Ravens or 49ers fan, but as a neutral fan those were awesome well played games.  You couldn't ask for anything better than well-played competitive games that come down to the end.  Well...maybe you could if you were Ravens or Niner fans, but I digress.  Now that we've had 24 hours to digest them, let's go ahead and regurgitate them!!



(The guy in the middle hates playoffs.  Also, read this article, for more Brian Saal information!)

NFC:  I think we all ahd Niners/Giants for the NFC title at the beginning of the year right?  I know I did.  The Niners are great to watch if you are an old-school football fan, like myself.  If you like new fangled fancy pants football, with things like the "forward pass" well then you're probably not a big fan.  They line up, punch you in the mouth and just try and figure out a way to score one more point than you.  The Giants, going against much of their history, try and get up on you early and then rush the shit out of your quarterback.  Well the Niners came this close (hold your fingers together really close) to advancing.  Sure Kyle Williams made two mistakes returning punts, (The first one was ridiculous and a bad mistake, but the second was a little more excusable.) that ended up costing the team the game.  But you know what, you jsut gotta tip your hat to the Giants on this one.



(See, even the guy with no head tipped his hat)

The Giants took everything the 49ers had and survived.  They threw the ball 58 times (58!!) and Eli Manning was crushed on damn near every throw, and he didn't turn the ball over.  Not once.  In lousy conditions, and getting his ass handed too him every play, he did what champions do, raise their level of play.  So it's onward to the Super Bowl (again) for the G-Men.  I know it made Pop Wasko more then excited!  Two last things: 1)  The punter wears his wedding band while playing...awesome haha.  2)  My favorite scene was the punter running in slo-mo unable to get his helmet off, when he mouthed the words "I'm going to the fu$%king Super Bowl!!"



AFC:  Oh boy.  This is a tough one.  I wanted the Ravens to win.  I'm not actually a Ravens fan, but I don't like the Patriots all that much (like everyone else outside of New England) and I wanted to see Super Joe Flacco (said in obnoxious Baltimore accent) get to the Super Bowl.  Plus, who wouldn't want to see murderers who got away with it (allegedly) get another shot at a title??  Ain't that right Ray Lewis??



(Come onnnnn!!  Your honor, I'm wearin a Snuggy!  How could I have done anything??)

All the build up and media talk before the game was that Joe Flacco had to play well.  And preferably lead them back from a defecit late in the game to win.  Well what do you know?  He lead them down the field, and gave them a shot to win.  AND gave them a shot to tie the game.  Which brings me to my next point.  Folks, lay off Billy Cundiff.  Seriously.  No one dislikes kickers and the ENORMOUS impact they can have on games more than me, trust me.  And don't get me wrong, a 32 yard field goal is about as big a "bunny" kick as you can have as an NFL kicker.  No excuses, you gotta hit that.  BUT!  Go back two plays before to Lee Evans, wide receiver (probably former wide receiver now) for the Ravens has a chance to WIN the game.  Joe Flacco could not have run out there and placed the ball in his hands any better than what he threw it.  The defensive back made the comment after the game that Evans did a great job of not indicating the ball was coming.  So he even had the element of surprise on his side.  And he crapped the bed.  In my opinion, he crapped the bed more than Billy Cundiff.  Lee Evans had the chance to win the thing and move his team to the Super Bowl, and it wasn't even difficult.  Cundiff merely would have tied the game.  So if you are looking for someone to rip, don't be lazy and just rip Cundiff cause he missed the kick.  Do a little thinking and rip Lee Evans.

Whose more likely to make the conference-winning touchdown catch?

  OR 

                          (This Lee Evans??)                              (This Lee Evans??)





Musings from My New House!

(Muse-ings...see what I did there??)

Sooooo yeah December 4th was the last time I (or anyone else for that matter) posted anything to the blog.  I'm sorry I dissapointed the thousands, hundreds, 11 or 12 of y'all that make up "Bagmen Nation."  I have only two excuses: 1)  Me and wifey bought the crib...it's the shit.  You should do it too if you get a chance.  2) Pure unadulterated laziness.  With that out of the way, let's dive back in with just a random list of my thoughts.  Mostly about sports, but some other stuff too:

• I'm pretty sure I can be an NFL analyst on ESPN.  I mean not that they need ANOTHER analyst (bringing their total somewhere in the neighborhood of 119) but if they did it seems pretty easy. All one has to do is say any of the following, "(Insert team here) will win the game if they are able to run the football, force some turnovers and play good defense."  90 years of football, this formula has never changed.  Just now you hear it from 119 "experts" on ESPN.
• I like Tim Tebow.  There...I said it.  I like him because he's actually a good guy and he stands for something.  I don't care if he is Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, or some combination of the three.  He doesn't beat me over the head with his religion so what do I care?  He's also not what I like to call a "HypoChrist."  Those are the athletes/people who just drop "God" or "blessed" or "pray" into a conversation (or in athlete's cases, they get the bible verse/rosary bead/praying hands tattoo) and they figure that should cover them while they cheat on their wife or just generally act like a turd.
• I hate the coverage of Tim Tebow.  Look, dude can't throw ok?  EVERYONE can agree on that, EVERYONE can see that. 



(Also add some sort of commentary about Tebow's ability to play QB to myfirst point about ESPN). 

 Do we have to analyze the s word out of his play after every game??  Every week we get an update on his record, "Well he is 8-8 as a starter."  You know who else went 8-8 as a starter for the Broncos?  Orlando Franklin their right tackle.  Why doesn't he get a win-loss record?

• Seriously LSU??  That was your best offensive effort in the title game?  Holy hell that was awful.  Icebox and the gang from Little Giants thought that was a bad game!  (Early Little Giants, that team was rollin by the end of the movie.  Ask Coach O'Shea).  I mean I know y'all have relied on your defense all year, and I know Bama's D is retarded, historically significant good, but jesus tits.  I watch regular season, mid week MAC football from start to finish and I wanted to turn the "Championship" game off.  Gross.
• I love that Newt Gingrich is somehow the most appealing Republican candidate to the conservative Evangelical Christian groups.  The guy has been married three times, and cheated on his first two wives.  (Editor's Note:  Attention third wife, I think we all see how this one will end.  Well, everyone except for you it appears).  Onward Christian Soldier huh???



(Get a load of the @$$ on that one, er, Phillipians 4:13 I mean)

• The Geico commercials with the caveman and Brian Orakpo...you guys gotta go.  For those of you that just read that and said, "Who on Earth is Brian Orakpo??"  I rest my case.  For those of you that say, "Hey the cavemen commercials are funny,"  I agree...if this was 2004.  It's been a nice run, bur I think it's time they hang that one up.
• Modern Family is awesome...funniest show on TV since Seinfeld.
• I love my wife.
• Can we just cancel  that stupid First Take show on ESPN2??  They just have a bunch of people on there saying ridiculous things just for the sake of being controversial, so people will react.
• Hell yeah Gamecocks!!  11 wins!!!  That's the type of season I want to forfeit in four years when they find out we cheated to get Clowney.  (And for those that think we didn't/don't pay to get some recruits, I got beach front property in North Dakota for ya..)
• Twitter is pretty cool.  I mean I hated on it for a long time, a loooooong time, but it's pretty cool.

Ok, I think that should do it.  Thanks for remembering to read us again.  I'll try and take it up a notch and post regularly again.
-Wasko

Final Playoff Preview Before the BcS is Released!



(Never gets old...I'm sorry)

Oh heyyyyy everybody.  I bet you had forgotten about the bagmen huh??  Well I'm back (No Cory Boyd, not like cooked crack) and ready to rant.  So here we go with another installment of our playoff coverage!  As the road to the national championship begins...

First Round Byes:  (1) LSU-SEC Champion, (2) Alabama-SEC At Large, (3) Oklahoma St.-Big 12(ish) Champions, (4) Oregon-Pac 12 Champion
Break Down:  I was tempted to give Stanford the 4 seed and the first round bye because they have been really impressive.  But wait, they got smoked by Oregon...at home, sooooo yeah that knocks them out of contention.  So that basically left Oregon and Wisconsin.  Oregon's two losses (LSU and Southern California) are "better" losses than Wisconsin's two losses (Michigan State and Ohio State).  As a result, Oregon gets the bye.
First Round Matchups: 
(5) Wisconsin-Big Ten(ish) Champion vs (12) Arkansas State-Sun Belt Champion (Non-BcS Conference Champion At-Large #2)

(A pop culture reference!!)

(Ohhhh cause the coach's last name is Freeze...I get it!)

Break Down:  Obviously this is an ass whoopin waiting to happen but, we here at the Bagemen believe everyone deserves a shot.  Arkansas State has had a shockingly good year, going 10-2 and their only losses being to Illinois (which now seems like an awful loss) and Virginia Tech (don't even talk to me right now Hokies). OUR PICK:  Badgers

(6) Stanford-Pac-12 At-Large vs. (11) West Virginia-Big East Champion (Non-BcS Conference Champion At-Large #1)

(Something tells me, this guy might turn out to be pretty good)

(Mr. Sunshine on my GD shoulders himself...)

Break Down:  Stanford has the best player in the country (sorry Trent Richardson, and well, everyone else who plays football) and could have been a top 4 seed if they hadn't derped it up at home against Oregon.  West Virginia is a solid team, nothin spectacular.  I guess we should all just be happy that Louisville didn't get the Big East Championship (the Orange Bowl sends their thanks to Butch Jones and Cincinnati).  OUR PICK:  Stanford

(7) TCU-Mountain West Conference Champion vs (10) Michigan State-Big Ten(ish) At-Large







(Is there a better combo than a university with "Christian" in their name and Prince?)

(Evidently no one told the guy on the left in the gray hoodie they were taking a picture)

Break Down:  I hate to admit it but this Michigan State team is actually pretty good.  Really good defense, Lavion Bell is a damn good RB and Kirk Cousins is an NFL-caliber QB.  TCU seems to have flown under the radar all year, since they lsot a heart breaker to Baylor to open the season (yeah that other loss to SMU is pretty terrible though).  They have proven this program has arrived for good, not just a product of Andy Dalton.  OUR PICK:  Michigan State (first round upset special!!!)

(8) The Other School in South Carolina-ACC Champion vs (9) Boise State-Mountain West At-Large



(Hey Dabo, tell me how my @$$ tastes!)

(Not sure who this "Your Name" kid is, but I'll bet he's gonna be good)

Break Down:  I hate you right now Virginia Tech.  You couldn't even make it competitive???  Now we get to hear how it doesn't matter we beat them by 3 touchdowns cause they're going to the Orange Bowl.  And you know Dabo will mention that, after spending 5 minutes answering a question he "couldn't believe" he was being asked, he will definitely talk about winning the ACC (hooray???).  The good news is Boise State will win this game.  Kellen Moore is 49-3 in his career as a starter and those three losses are by a combined 5 points (facepalm).  OUR PICK: Boise State does what Va Tech couldn't.

Ooooo Just Missed...



Southern Miss:  I know you beat Houston, and you're probably a good team.  Nope, can't lose to UAB (sorry Gamblin' Boss) AND Marshall and still be taken seriously.

Arkansas:  Honestly, could have made it.  Them or Michigan State, really just didn't want to show too much SEC favoritism.

South Carolina:  If Arkansas doesn't qualify, then South Carolina can't.  That plus you can't lose to Auburn...at home.

Georgia:  Same thing as Carolina.  If the Gamecocks don't make it, neither can the Bulldogs

Northern Illinois:  You lost to Kansas...nuff said.

Houston:  You played one quality team all year, and you lost...at home.  Can't lay an egg in the biggest game in program history

Kansas State:  I feel like Bill Snyder does this all with smoke and mirrors, beat up on cream puffs, win a couple conference games and bam! you're in a bowl.

Michigan:  If three Big Ten(ish) teams qualified they would get in.  But they can't get in, before the Spartans.

Week 12 SEC Picks!!!

Normally I would put a picture of something based on the word "pick."  For those of you that truly have not seen  "what I did there" all season, that's what I have been doing.  Honestly if it took you this long to figure that out, you are dumb, you are really, really dumb (skip to the 1:20 mark of the video).  With matchups against teams like The Citadel, Furman, Samford, Georgia Southern, Herp Derp Nation, and Aunt Kathy, ladies and gents I present to you week 12 in the 2011 SEC season, aka "Creampuff Saturday."

(Alright. you HAVE to see what I did here)

The Citadel @ South Carolina:  Boy let's hope the ghost of 1990 (a loss at home to the Bulldogs for the uninformed) or the ghosts of Travis Jervey and/or Nehemiah Broughton aren't running around town for this one.  The Citadel does run the triple option which, as we all saw earlier this year, can cause some problems for our boys on defense.  However, the good news is, The Citadel is not the Naval Academy when it comes to running the option.  This would be a program crushing loss for Carolina, but I don't see it happening.  OUR PICK:  Carolina

        

(Greatest players in Citadel history??  Their parents sure think so!)

Kentucky @ Georgia:  I love Kentucky.  Everything about it.  I love that the Moss wedding is there in April (get your tickets now, they are goin fast!), I love for some reason the state's grass is blue, I love that there were ZERO traffic problems with their inaugural Sprint Cup race (don't pay any attention to the numerous articles and TV talking heads that say otherwise).  Mainly I love the fact that John Calipari in no way at all cheats.  Nope.  I don't care what the previous NCAA investigations (that's two of them in two previous coaching stops) have said.  Nope.  He doesn't cheat.  (If you are wondering why I am so supportive of Kentucky and have not referred to them by their usual nickname, read the writeup for the Auburn/Georgia game from week 11).  OUR PICK:  Georgia...but please Kentucky???  I won't make fun of you until next year if you win this one, I promise!!

Furman @ Florida:  Can the Gators win it to become bowl eligible?  Gosh who would've thought we would be "axing" that question in week 12?  Rrrrrreally could have used that win against Georgia fellas.  Seriously.  That's ok though, I'll move on.  The Gators will win this game.  I want them to win this game, believe it or not, for two reasons; 1)  This guy:

(Former #63 of the Day, Trip Thurman.  Good lookin fella, even with the sideburns)

and 2).  Furman is quarterbacked by a Forcier brother.  If you don't know who that is, just google the Forciers, they're like a whole family of Todd Marinovichs.  And if you don't know who Todd Marinovich is, well then google him after the Forciers.  But I digress....OUR PICK:  Florida, easily

Samford @ Auburn:  Shut up Auburn, I don't have to be nice to you this week...ya jerks.  Couldn't even make it competitive last week huh?  Serves you right you cheatin jerks.  Countdown till you have your national title vacated is back on!!!  OUR PICK:  Auburn

Georgia Southern @ Alabama:  I like three things about Georgia Southern.  1) Their quarterback is named Jaybo Shaw.  His name is Jaybo...awesome. 2).  They run the triple option...awesome. 3) They are the employer of former Panther Athletic Training Intern Great Justin "Matlock" Matlage...awesome.  Sorry Matlock, none of that will be good enough to overcome the Tide.  OUR PICK:  Alabama

Mississippi State @ Arkansas:  In theory this should actually be a high scoring affair.  Neither program likes to play a whole lot of defense, cause ya know, that's not really their "thing."  The good news for Dan Mullen is that the Bulldogs continue their streak of playing teams with unique nicknames, after their plain generic nickname scheduling debacle to open the season.  The bad news for Dan Mullen?  Arkansas seems to score on everyone, and Mississippi State can have off weeks on offense.  OUR PICK:  Arkansas

Uncle Ned @ Tennessee:  Let's go 'Dores!!!!  They can do it this week, the sixth win of the year.  That would make them the first team in college football history to actually be excited for a bid to the BBVA Compass Bowl (shout out to the Gamblin Boss).  And ya know what?  I think they get it done.  That might even make former Vandy great Jay Cutler smile...

...ok maybe not.  OUR PICK:  Uncle Ned gets it done!!

LSU @ Aunt Kathy:  HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA Aunt Kathy lost at home to Louisiana Tech last week hahahahahahahahahahaha.  What's that?  They suspended their starting QB too?  HAHAHAHAHA.  One more week Rebel fans...one more week.  OUR PICK:  Geaux Tigers!

-Major Munnerlyn

Week 11 SEC Picks!!

 

(Pick-et Fence...see what I did there?) 

Florida @ South Carolina:  This game scares me simply because it's Florida, and we're South Carolina.  But you know what?  We're a better football team, forget our histories, we are currently, this year, a better team (sorry Trip).  We should win this game, but I fear we will find a way to not win.  BUT working in the Gamecocks favor is that we lost last week and dropped outside the top 10.  That means people aren't paying attention to us anymore so that means we should play well.  That and I still can't get on board with John Brantley, but he's probably due for a 500 yard, Case Keenum-type game.  The best news though?  Kickoff is scheduled for noon, before the Georgia game so our level of play won't be affected by the outcome of the UGA/Auburn game.  OUR PICK:  Carolina

Kentucky @ Uncle Ned:  You'll notice I didn't call the Wildcats by their common Bagmen nickname.  That's because I respect Kentucky and I respect Joker Phillips, immensely.  I mean Gamblin' Boss weddings and great football, that's what Kentucky does baby!!  In all seriousness I'm trying to respect them because Gamecock fans may need them next week vs Georgia.  God help us if it comes down to that, but in the event that it does I say simply, "C A T S Cats Cats Cats!!!!"  OUR PICK:  Uncle Ned...come on now, I'm respecting Kentucky but I'm not a idiot.

Auburn @ Georgia:  Auburn is a great program, there's no doubt about that.  They've earned all their success in the last two years the good, hard working, HONEST way.  Absolutely nothing sketchy has gone on or contributed to any success they've had.  Gene Chizik was a great hire.  I said it at the time they hired him...just a great hire, a visionary hire!  (In case you are wondering, the same principle from the Kentucky/Uncle Ned game is applying to this game as well...really need Auburn here).  OUR PICK: Georgia...damnit.

Tennessee @ Arkansas:  Arkansas fans are prayin to Mike Huckabee that they don't lose this game.  that way they can continue the charade that they still have a chance to play for the national championship.  Or at least pretend they can beat LSU in two weeks.  Stop Arkansas, just stop.  You're annoying everyone.  No truth to the rumor that Derek Dooley is trying to change the term to "Orange pants-Freshman," to honor his pants...seen below:

                                                         

(Which pair has the three month wait? Hmmmmm???)

The only way I would watch this game is to see if Dooley decides to needlessly burn someone else's redshirt, i meant, burn someone else's orangepants.  OUR PICK:  Arkansas

Western Kentucky @ LSU:  I know Carolina plays The Citadel next week which is even worse than this game but I hate this game cause it's happening this week.  I have nothing else to say about this game.  OUR PICK:  LSU

Louisiana Tech @ Aunt Kathy:  Good news Rebel fans!!  The end has officially commenced.  Houston Nutt is out at the end of the year (and the AD too, but who the hell cares about him), so next year you can be irrelevant under a different coaching staff!!  HOORAY!!!!  Just had to get ride of Coach Cutcliffe didn't you?  Here are some fun facts about Louisiana Tech so you can impress your friends:

1). Terry Bradshaw went there

2). Their Coach's name is Sonny Dykes, his father's name is Spyke Dykes (really) which makes them the best father/son coaching name combo in college football.

3).  Karl Malone went there

That is all, those are the only fun facts about Louisiana Tech.  OUR PICK:  Aunt Kathy...somehow.

Alabama @ Mississippi State:  Dan Mullen is fighting for a bowl game again.  But sadly he is gonna get no help in this game.  Alabama is gonna roll through this team.  The game being in Starkville adds only slight intrigue, but the lack of ability to move the ball on Alabama kiiiiinda negates that intrigue.  Bama is a better team so game over.  Sorry Dan.  OUR PICK:  Tide will roll (damnit I did it again).

-Major Munnerlyn

Mythical Playoff Projections Week 10

(Never gets old!  Well...not for me)



The playoffs are mythical, but the projections are as real as it gets, dog.  If you have read my work on here, or better yet if you have ever talked college football with me (Seriously, who talks anymore??  That's sooooo 1997!) you know my disdain for the BCS and the lack of a playoff.  I gave you the initial playoff setup and projections and promised updates throughout the year.  Well here you is, my latest projections.  Remember, top 4 seeds get first round byes and homefield in the second round, before the national finals and finals are played in current big bowl games (Fiesta, Rose, Orange, Sugar, Poulan Weed Eater, and maybe the Cotton).  Ok, nnnooowww here you is:

1).  LSU (SEC Champ)-  I think they have proven they're the top team in the country.  Sure the final score of the Alabama game was "only" 9-6, but they defense is insane.  As I've said, the offense does just enough.
2).  Oklahoma State (Big 12...ish Champ)-  Can an insanely high powered offense win a championship, while dragging a dead leg of a defense behind them?  Well Mike Gundy, you remember him, and his boys are trying to find out.  A potential semifinal matchup vs the Crimson Tide, would help answer that argument.
3).  Alabama (SEC #2)-  Look, I'm a Gamecock, I make no bones about that, but even if we win the SEC East, we are not the second best team in the conference.  Even if Georgia wins the East (please please please Auburn beat them), THEY are not the second best team in the conference.  Everyone wants a rematch between the Tide and Tigers for the National Title, but this is the only way that could happen.  This team could easily be the #2 seed.
4).  Stanford (Pac-12 Champ)-  This is the closest call I had to make.  Stanford or Boise for that 4th seed?  And this is why people who say the regular season would be rendered meaningless are idiots.  You don't think if that first round bye is on the line teams won't be playing their ass off?  Thought so.  Basically the tiebreaker for this spot was that Stanford has Andrew Luck, he's the best player in college football.  I know that shouldn't matter, especially when Boise has a damn good QB in Kellen Moore, but I had to decide somehow.
5).  Boise State (Mountain West Champs/Non-BCS #1)-  Remember, in my model, two of the 12 playoff spots are reserved for non-BCS league champions.  Frankly Boise would make it in even without that stipulation.  They are one fo the five best teams in America, and could easily be the #4 seed, especially if Stanford slips up the rest of the way.
6).  Oklahoma (Big 12...ish #2)-  It will be interesting to see how the Sooners respond to losing All-American Wideout Ryan Broyles for the season.  Knowing how that offense works, they will recover and continue to put up huge points.  Now perhaps they are a little high considering they lost to Texas Tech...at home, which suddenly seems like an atrocious loss.  But I still think they are one of the 10 best teams in America, and could easily climb higher if they win out and beat Oklahoma State.
7).  The Other School in South Carolina (ACC Champ)-  Ecchhhh.  Really grossed out by this.  But they are good.  The conference is not.  That's not a good recipe for those of us who want to see this team fail.  I'm going to take a bath now.
8).  Penn State (Big Ten...ish Champ)-  I did not see this one coming.  I would have guessed Michigan State, Wisconsin, or hell, even Ohio State before this team.  But hey, here we are.  This is probably the most fluid of all the teams on here due to everything that's going on in State College this week. 
9).  Oregon (Pac-12 #2)-  Maybe it's just me, but I feel like this team just absolutely fell off the map after losing to LSU.  Stanford needs to be careful this week, cause the Ducks are still a good team.  This spot was between Oregon and Va Tech, but I couldn't with a  good conscience, put a second ACC team in the playoffs.
10).  Michigan State (Big Ten...ish #2)-  I think this is a pretty good team.  A loss to Notre Dame kinda sticks out (thank God that the Irish won't be going to the BCS or the "playoffs" this year) as does the pitiful effort in Lincoln, NE.  With allll that said, I think they are better than Ohio State, Wisconsin, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, and Southern Miss.  So they get the #10 seed.
11).  Houston (C-USA Champ/Non-BCS #2)-  This team has the same principle as the Oklahoma State Cowboys.  Unbelievable offense and just horrible defense.  Defense is even worse than Oklahoma State's, but anytime a quarterback can throw 9 touchdowns in a game, the offense must be doin somthin right huh?  The Cougars could easily be the 12 seed, but I don't want the two non-BCS conference schools playing each other in the first round.  So I elevated them...that plus I have no respect for the Big East.
12). Cincinnati (Big East)- I don't think this team should be allowed in. No one from this conference should be allowed it. It's embarassing how unbelievably below average this conference is. But until and unless the "powers that be" realize that they are not worthy of an automatic bid to a major bowl game, I guess I will play along with the charade.

-Major Munnerlyn

Week 10 SEC Picks!!! (But no service academy or Sun Belt...womp womp)

(See what I did there??)

Uncle Ned @ Florida:  I can't believe I am actually going to write this, but the 'Dores might could maybe win this one.  My apologies to former #63 of the Day, Trip Thurman, but the Gators aren't playin well right now.  Combine that with Uncle Ned's boys playin really well actually, and you have the makings for a potential historic upset (or really bad loss, depending on the fan base of which you are a member).  Jordan Rodgers has improved each game he has been a starter, as a result so has the offense.  If Vandy can grab this one, you can basically mark it down for a bowl game for them.  UPSET SPECIAL!!!!!!!  OUR PICK:  Uncle Ned pulls it off!!

New Mexico State @ Georgia:  I can't really make fun of this game because the Gamecocks play a lesser opponent (The Citadel) at an even later date (November 19^th) but I still hate this game.  Georgia will have no trouble with this one, at all.  Even though their top four rushers will be out,  One because of an injury, and three because they failed a drug test...last week...before the Florida game.  Yeah, that Mark Richt is a disciplinarian huh?  OUR PICK:  Georgia

Aunt Kathy @ Herp Derp Nation:  I don't think anyone will be at this game.  Seriously, I'm gonna predict Commonwealth Stadium (that's the home field of Herp Derp Nation for those who didn't know...which was all of you) will not even be as full as last week, when it looked like this:

OUR PICK:  No one.  No one wins if this game is played.

Middle Tennessee St @ Tennessee:  The most heated rivalry in allll of Middle and Eastern Tennessee!  The Blue Raiders will march into Neyland Stadium and try and steal one.  The two headed monster of Matt Simms and Justin Worley (once again awesome move by Derek Dooley burning a redshirt to use a guy for 3.5 quarters...building a program everybody!!) should be enough to beat Rick Stockstill's boys.  After all this is not the strongest MTSU team in history.  Which brings me to this question: Name the greatest team in Blue Raider history.  Any team will be accepted...  OUR PICK:  Tennessee

South Carolina @ Arkansas:  (Insert sweaty armpits for Gamecock fans).  This one scares the s word out of me.  We don't ever play well against Arkansas,  we don't ever play well in Arkansas, and we don't ever play well when we are ranked highly.  So yeah everything lines up for us.  It should actually be a good game though, a very good Carolina defense vs a very good Razorback offense.  It will be exciting at least.  Not sure if people are going to pay attention when the other sides of the ball are playing.  Of course it's all a moot point, cause 45 minutes after kickoff, the LSU/Alabama game comes on.  Well, here's to hoping this games sticks with old school football thoughts; a good defense will beat a good offense.  OUR PICK:  South Carolina

TN-Martin @ Mississippi State:  Same thing applies to this game as applied to the Georgia/New Mexico State game.  Why is this game being played now?  Honestly, this is why we expanded the season to 12 games??  For late season games like this??  Ohhhhh yeah Davis-Wade Stadium is gonna be rockin with this one.  I mean it’s a great environment to begin with, as noted by Mr and Mrs Gamblin’ Boss, and then you add a great opponent like the Skyhawks (alma mater of former Gamecock great Cade Thompson) and man you just have the makings of a Fox Sports-Starkville classic.  Feel good about yourselves on the way to the Poulan Weed Eater Bowl Dan Mullen!  OUR PICK:  Mississippi State

LSU @ Alabama:  Well this is supposed to be the latest and greatest version of the Game of the Century, so the rest of this game summary will be written in caps lock, due to the magnitude of this matchup (insert throat clearing):  OH MY GOD OH MY GOD!!  THIS IS THE GREATEST GAME OF THE CENTURY…FOREVER!  WELL AT LEAST UNTIL THE NEXT GAME OF THE CENTURY!!!  THESE COULD BE TWO OF THE HISTORICALLY GREATEST DEFENSES OF ALL TIME, COUPLED WITH TWO OF THE MOST MIDDLE OF THE ROAD MEDIOCRE OFFENSES.  I’M PRETTY SURE THIS GAME IS GONNA END 10-6, SOME PEOPLE (COLIN COWHERD) THINK BECAUSE THE DEFENSES ARE SO HIGHLY REGARDED THAT THE GAME WILL ACTUALLY BE AN OFFENSIVE SHOOTOUT.  I DISAGREE, THIS ONE WILL FOLLOW THE SCRIPT!!  OUR PICK:  Alabama

And last but not least, I give you David Bennett:

You're damn right we need more dogs, David Bennett. That's why you also need to watch this video:

And folks, if you don't like this video, I don't like you.  Have a great weekend!

-Major Munnerlyn

Week 9 Rewind! (I missed the preview...)

I knkow y'all were heart broken, but sadly I missed a preview of games this weekend.  I have no excuse folks,  I just flat out didn't write one.  I thought I would write one Thursday night, but I chose to rip Frank McCourt instead.  I thought it was appropriate due to his claim that a victim beaten within an inch of his life at his stadium, was at fault.  I figured I'd write one Friday night instead...yeah I jsut got lazy and didn't write one.  With that in mind, I will write a rewind of the SEC weekend!  Here we go...



(This is a real movie, I promise you.  See what I did here?)

Arkansas @ Uncle Ned:  God this was gut wrenching.  Uncle Ned came out (of a silly inflatable tube tunnel thingy) and played inspired.  Aaron's little brother Jordan played very well, running and passing the Commodores to a 28-20 second half lead.  Then...disaster struck.  Running Back Zac Stacy (two first names??) fumbled, untouched at the Arkansas 4 yard line.  Naturally it bounced right to a Razorback linebacker, who ran 96 yards (escorted by two teammates for good measure) for a touchdown.  THEN, Vandy drives 80 somethin yards for a game tying 27 yard field goal with :08 left.  Aaaaaaand the kicker missed it.  (Insert facepalm).  Here's to hopin Vandy can grab two more wins and go to a bowl game.

Georgia @ Florida:  Wow thanks Gators, really could've helped us out by winning this one.  I mean really could've helped us.  But that's fine, ya know what that's fine.  Also while we're at it, can we stop with the charade that this game isn't called the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.  Attention administrators of both schools; jsut because you don't call it the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, doesn't mean people aren't going to drink.  It's the same thing as not calling the Oklahoma/Texas game the "Red River Shootout" anymore.  Yeah cause everyone knows if you call it that, people will jsut start randomly shooting each other.  Anyway back to the Cocktail Party, John Brantley's first game back improved the offense, but it still wasn't enough.  Hey, anyone hear people calling for Richt to be fired?  Haven't heard from those folks in awhile.

Aunt Kathy @ Auburn:  The Rebels hung tough for a half.  And then they remembered, "Oh yeah, we're not that good."  I gotta root for Auburn next week now.  Please, please, please, beat Georgia in "The South's Oldest Rivalry."  I get the distinct feeling, the Gamecocks are gonna need that extra loss to win the division.  (More on that in this week's preview).  Just remember Rebel fans, four more weeks and your season is over.  Well, unless you win out and then can go to a bowl ga...haha nevermind I couldn't finish that sentence.

Mississippi State @ Herp Derp Nation:  I'm gonna be honest, I didn't even know this game was being played.  No idea what to say about it.  The Bulldogs won (against another generic mascot) so I guess that's good for Dan Mullen...not so good for Joker Phillips.  If you know anything about this game, please contact your local ESPN affiliate, otherwise this game will dissapear from the history books for all time.

South Carolina @ Tennessee:  Whew, thank god that one's over.  It's a little concerning that our offense has been pretty bad the last two weeks but hey at least we won.  As expected, Brandon Wilds had a good game, which was encouraging.  Also, I know I couldn't have been the only person to scream some variation of "What the hell are we doin?!?!?!" when we went for it on 4th and 1 down by 3 instead of kicking the field goal...only to then immediately jump up and say "Good Call!!" when Rory Anderson hauled in the go ahead touchdown.  For Tennessee, good call burning the redshirt of your "Quarterback of the Future"  only to pull him from the game the next week.  Seriously, good call Derek Dooley.  You pulled him for Matt Simms, who you clearly think is terrible or you wouldn't have inserted Worley last week.  But I guess we shouldn't expect anything less from a guy who dresses like this:



(Three month waiting list for these pants folks...three months)

I'll be back with a preview this week!  So everyone can rest easy this week (I know everyone's been worried) your favorite SEC/Sun Belt/Service Academy preview will return for week 10!!

-Major Munnerlyn



New Feature: Top 5 List!!

So I've been waiting to do this for awhile here on The Bagmen.  I've had several ideas for these lists, but tonight I saw something on ESPN that was the final impetus for actually doing it.  This will be the first in a series of (semi) weekly Top 5 Lists.  I saw a disturbing item about Dodgers "Owner" Frank McCourt.  I won't tell ya here (mainly cause I want you to scroll down to the bottom of the list) but read all five reasons and you'll know what I'm talkin about.  Without further ado, I present to you (hey that rhymed):

(Come onnnnn, you can trust me!!)

Top 5 Reasons Frank McCourt Is Terrible

5).  Not Having Enough Money:  Look, I'm no financial wizard.  I will freely admit that most of what goes on in the world of finances is above my head.  But it seems that one basic thing must be present in all transactions in a capitalist country; THE PURCHASER MUST HAVE ENOUGH FREAKIN MONEY TO EXECUTE THE TRANSACTION!!!  Baseball, led by the great Commish himself, Bud Selig, decided that this little issue could be overlooked when it came to the sale of the Dodgers.  See, ole Franky and his wife didn't actually have enough capital to back up their purchase.  So they just borrowed more money than they should have and that subsequently led them down the road to where the franchsie is today: an embarassment.

4).  Marriage Infidelity:  Call me old school, but I always thought when one gets married, that's kind of it.  You marry the person for a reason.  Well, Frank and his wife, evidently don't really by into that.  Frank subscried to the "I make more money than you so rules don't apply to me" school of thought.  Frank fired his wife for having an affair with a Dodgers employee.  Gosh the horror, your wife cheats on you with one of your employees!!!  How dare she, she deserved to be fired.  What's that?  Frank cheated on her with a Dodgers employee too??  Oh, well...that's different.  Just trust me, it is.  Totally different...

3).  Leveraging The Team:  Remember reason number 5?  Really, you don't?  Jesus what was that like 8 seconds ago you read that?  Basically the McCourts didn't have enough money.  How does someone get around a lack of money and still live a lavish lifestyle?  EASY!  Just borrow an enormous amount of money from your baseball team duh!!!!  Approximately $180 million was stolen borrowed from the Los Angeles Dodgers.  This was to support like 6 houses, ridiculous vacations, and salaries in the $400,000 range for his two sons.  And that's just to name a few of the over the top personal expenses.

2).  Lack of Pride:  Seriously, you are the owner of the Dodgers for goodness' sakes!  One of the most historic franchises in sports history, not just baseball.  They are the reason for western expansion in Major League Baseball.  And this guy has allwoed them to become an embarassment.  The farm system has been depleted, they are no longer competitive, they gave a boatload of money to an overrated Manny Ramirez, had to borrow money multiple times to make payroll, and have operated the team as if he doesn't care about results.  Which, quite honestly, I don't think he does.

1).  Suing An Assault Victim:  Yep, you read that correctly.  I can kinda forgive all the other nonsense that has gone on under Frank McCourt in seven years of ownership.  Well, at least compared to this one.  This is what I saw on ESPN today.  Frank McCourt has filed a countersuit in response to the suit filed by the family of Bryan Stow.  If you don't know who that is, Bryan Stow is the San Francisco Giants fan who as brutally asaulted following opening day this year.  Stow was beaten so badly, that he has STILL not recovered from his injuries and been released from the hospital.  Folks the assault happened in March...March.  He was literally beaten to within an inch of his life, due to lack of crowd control, police presence and safety/lighting in the parking lot.  To sum it up, the Dodgers did not do enough to prevent situations like this happening.  NOW, McCourt counter sued Bryan Stow alleging that he was partially to blame...for his own beating.  Just let that marinate for a few minutes...

And to think, Bud Selig didn't want Mark Cuban to buy the Dodgers (or the Cubs for that matter) because he thought Cuban would embarass MLB because he is outspoken.  Yeah that seems to have worked out well for everyone huh?

-Major Munnerlyn



 

Week 8 SEC Picks!! (Aaaand Air Force and Louisiana-Delhomme)

(General Pickett.  See what I did there?  Ok it was a stretch I know)

You wanna know why week 8 sucks?  Cause its freakin week 8...grunt!  With that in mind, here we go with the picks:

Jacksonville St @ Herp Derp Nation:  Absolutely no one is paying attention to this game.  I'm pretty sure Mrs. Boss won't even be watching this one...and she's the biggest Herp Derp fan there is.  Ok, she might watch it.  Other than that, I have no interest in writing about this game.  Other than to say, as terrible as the Herp Derps are, surely they can't lose this game.  OUR PICK:  Herp Derp
Also a friendly reminder:

Arkansas @ Aunt Kathy:  Folks, the only good thing about Aunt Kathy's season is that with each week, the season is almost over.  Houston Nutt is that much closer to being fired and they can re-hire David Cutcliffe.  Ok I was kidding about that last part.  Cutcliffe made too much sense there, that's obviously why they got rid of him.  Now ordinarly I don't root for coaches to be fired.  I've seen in person how much it affects the assistanat coaches, supoort staff, and more importantly how it affects their families.  With all that said, he is probably not what they're lookin for.  Arkansas is a far superior team.  OUR PICK:  Arkansas

Auburn @ LSU:  More Tiger on Tiger crime, that's all dis is.  If Auburn wins this game I will stop hatin on them.  Seriously, I will buy into whatever witch doctor, voodoo, soul selling that Gene Chizik and company have undertaken.  I don't see them doin it though.  LSU's defense is better than Auburn's offense, especially an offense under the direction of a first time starting QB...on the road.  I know LSU's best defender is suspended (along with their starting RB and their starting CB) but I think they can overcome that.  The deepest part (that's what she...said...??) of the nation's deepest defense is their secondary.  They should be able to handle the personnel losses.  Now for college football fans everywhere; let's hope LSU gets out of this game scot free so this year's "Game of the Century" vs Alabama.  No one wants either of those teams to be at less than full strength in two weeks.  OUR PICK:  LSU

Army @ Uncle Ned:  This is a tough game for me to pick.  Everyone knows my affinity for the service academies.  But at the same time, who doesn't love the Uncle Ned Commodores going to a bowl game storyline??  This would represent victory number 4 for the 'Dores (hey that rhymed) on their quest to six.  Army doesn't even have the advantage of being the intellectually superior team.  Usually this leads to undisciplined defensive players being shredded by the Black Knight's wishbone offense.  I think Uncle Ned is going to pull this one out, but I wouldn't be surprised if Army wins it.  OUR PICK:  Uncle Ned

Tennessee @ Alabama:  Another of the south's great rivalries.  The annual "Third Saturday in October" game.  There will be plenty more of these to come as long as greedy college presidents and Missouri don't ruin it for everyone.  But that's in the future (just ask Nick Saban, well, on second thought don't ask him.  He got pissed at the press conference this week).  Just like last week, UT would've struggled even with all their offensive personnel on hand.  Aaaaand also just like last week, they will definitely struggle without their two best offensive players.  Alabama is just too good folks.  And just like the LSU/Auburn game; let's all hope that the Tide make it out of this game completely healthy.  OUR PICK:  Alabama

Sun Belt Conference Game of the Week, Presented by the South Florida High School Sports Show:  Louisiana-Delhomme @ Western Kentucky:  Louisiana-Delhomme is the surprise team in the country.  Folks, this was a fairly invisible program until this year.  They hire the Mississippi State Wide Recievers coach as their head guy and BAM, the Cajuns are bowl eligible!  That's how they roll, dog!  They have separated themselves, along with Arkansas St, as the leaders in the Sun Belt.  And they are in the driver's seat for that prestigious New Orleans Bowl bid that everyone is clamoring for.  Can you imagine the Mercedes-Benz Superdome (get used to it, that's the new name...seriously) if the local Ragin' Cajuns are in the game?  Gotta be at least 24,000 people at that game!  Western Kentucky, what can I say?  I mean thanks for giving berth to Herp Derp Nation I guess, right??  OUR PICK:  Louisiana-Delhomme

Service Academy Game of the Week, Presented by Capt. Richard Harr; Air Force @ Boise State:  This is gonna be a pretty good game I think.  Air Force can play some defense when they want to, forget the Notre Dame game, and Boise State can play offense even when they don't want to.  The only thing that makes this game better??  Thinking about it in its proper context; a potential future Big East matchup...seriously.  That was gross just to type that.  Do what's right, stay in the Mountain West!  OUR PICK:  Boise State

-Major Munnerlyn

ACC WEEK 8 (DAMN IT'S WEEK 8 ALREADY) PICKS! HORRIBLE CARNAGE AND TRAINWRECKS INSIDE!

YAYYY! ITS TDIME FO DA A C C PIX OFFTH DA WEEK!! (insert monster noises/grunts/all around sounds of displeasure)

North Carolina @ Clemson
Clemson, S.C.
12:00 PM TV: ESPN  

• First and foremost…this write-up is coming from a Carolina fan on a bye week, whom still has a bad taste in his mouth from the Derp that was the Terps this past Saturday night. You are up 18, at home, to a Clemson team that you can beat. Could you tackle? Maybe double a few WR’s? GOOD GOD. I’m still on the fence about the Tigers, but the more I watch I am starting to think they have plenty of raw talent and catching back up to the Gamecocks talent wise. Boyd seems to be doing better than what was expected at QB, so I can’t say anything other than he’s exceeded expectations. UNC has been an up and down team from what I have gathered. Hell, they couldn’t even beat a Louisville team in Chapel Hill by more than 10. That’s LOUISVILLE. It seems that Clemson is just waiting for someone to beat them, and the Tar Holes have a little bit of confidence. I’m hoping that they can be the team that brings the “Mighty Tiiiiigs” back down to earth because we all know there is only one thing worse than an undefeated Clemson team…and that’s full blown AIDS.  Pick: Clemson (but take UNC and the points)

Wake Forest @ Duke
Durham, N.C.
12:30 PM TV: ACC Network

• DON’T SLEEP ON THE DEAMON DEACONS! Just ask Florida State…who thought it would be easy to stroll into Winston-Salem and take a win. Fortunately for everyone keeping score at home, we won’t have to worry about that as Dook has the honor of taking the bus ride down I-85/40. (See what I did there? KEEPING IT LOCAL PEOPLE!) There is not a single part of this game that says “WATCH ME”, but I’m sure I’ll have to just check in to see who shits the bed first. Pick: Wake

Boston College @ Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, Va.
3:00 PM TV: RSN

• God, please…just make it stop. I can’t justify this Boston College team. Pick: Virginia Tech

NC State @ Virginia
Charlottesville, Va.
3:30 PM TV: ESPNU

• All those who had Virginia beating Georgia Tech last week please step forward. DON’T YOU DARE WALK FORWARD BECAUSE YOU LIE. What a week it was for those in HooTown, USA. There weren’t enough Clorox bleach pens in Charlottesville to get all the red wine stains out of everyone’s clothes after the post-game celebration. WINE AND CHEESE FOR EVERYONE! EVEN YOU TINY TIM! NC State on the other hand has really been kicking themselves in the ass this year…well wait…TOM O’LEARY has been kicking his self in the ass this year. Was it really a good idea to tell Russell Wilson “Hey, either its all football or you are out”? Yea, brilliant there chief. Don’t look for this to be another W for the Wahoos…but at this point, who really cares? Pick: NC State

Maryland @ Florida State
Tallahassee, Fla.
3:30 PM TV: ABC/ESPN2

• All those in favor of just acting like Florida State wasn’t preseason top 10 say AYE. (Resounding cheer from the northern Florida area) I know, you’ve had your injuries…and you played some tough teams…(Clemson…Wake?) but what’s happened is inexcusable. Is it too late to resurrect Bobby Bowden? Maryland…I’m shaking my head at you. What in the hell did you do last week? The ONE chance you had to remain relevant in the ACC was blown. You even brought out some more super cool uniforms! Chevy Chase Field was packed at 48,000 people going crazy! (Insert laugh about stadium size/penis size) At this point, I’d just pack it in and quit your football program and concentrate on getting Gary Williams back because you couldn’t even do the one thing that most teams can handle: WIN after having an 18 point lead in the second half.

Georgia Tech @ Miami

Miami Gardens, Fla.
3:30 PM TV: ESPN

• Did they really think that by adding “Gardens” to Miami Gardens was going to spruce the place up a little? It’s still dumpy Miami and Joe Robbie Stadium if you ask me. The bet within the bet for this game will be total attendance…over/under 32,100. My heart says over, but brain says under. Georgia Teach decided to derp it up last week apparently because they were tired of being undefeated. Who knew that it was such a tough chore? Miami is easy the biggest enigma in the ACC because you never know what team will take the field. From hence forth, Miami will be called The Forrest Gump Box Of Chocolates (or TFGBOC for short) for obvious reasons. All I need is someone to Photoshop Randy Shannon’s face on Sally Field’s body to play the mom, and Nevin Shapiro to play Lt. Dan. Pick: Georgia Tech

This is Why We Make Fun of the Big Ten...ish

(Yep, we completed this many passes last week...and STILL won!!)

Alright I know it was last week but I had to bring this to everyone's attention.  Some of you may wonder why we are such overt SEC snobs.  Why we constantly bang on other conferences and reference their inferiority.  Some people say, "SEC superiority is just media contrived BS.  They're not really that much better than everyone."  Aaaaaaand just when I start to think, 'Well maybe they're right.  Maybe they're not really that much worse than the SEC,' last week comes along and allows me to TOTALLY REDEEM MYSELF!!  Let's set the scene, shall we?? 

THE Ohio State, the conference's premier program, is not really having that good a year.  Pretty inept on offense, not nearly as strong as they usually are on defense, and just overall not the juggernaut they have been recently.  Illinois on the other hand is having one heckuva season.  Undefeated, ranked in the top-15 with an unbelievable offense, and a suffocating defense lead by this guy:

Who is that fella??  That, ladies and gentlemen, is a defensive tackle with one of the nest names in college football; Whitney Mercilus.  Sure his first name is Whitney and that's kinda silly, but his last name is pronouned "merciless."  Awesome, plain and simple.  But I digress.  Back to the game:  The Buckeyes traveled to Champaign to take on the Illini.  The game kicked off, Ohio State completed 1 pass, and three hourse later, got on the bus with a victory.  Let me repeat that, to make it clear.  A team that was under .500, went on the road, completed all of 1 pass attempt, and beat an undefeated Illinois team.  An Illinois team that I had listed as a team that was "So Close" to a fictional playoff berth.  So next time you wonder if we are being too harsh on other conferences, or you think it's really not necessary to be that snobbish towards other conferences, remember this stat line:

Ohio State Passing
	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT
B. Miller	1/4	17	4.3	1	0
Team	1/4	17	4.3	1	0

I rest my case.

-Major Munnerlyn



So it's been awhile...BUT THAT'S OK!

Today is the first time in upwards of a week and a half that I have the time to update the ol’ blog. It’s been a busy few weeks, as we have had shows at my place of employment AS WELL AS a road trip to Starkville, MS. More on that later…

Is it just me or are you pissed that it’s already halfway through football season. I can’t believe that we already have Tennessee playing Alabama…and that Florida has lost three straight. Nothing makes me happier than this time of year! We haven’t run the air in what amounts to be about 2 weeks, and have had the windows open the entire time. I SAY I SAY…IT’S GOOD TO HAVE LAND.

Today marks my first day of moving into my own, brand new office. It’s not too bad, about 8 x 10, had a door and it’s my OWN personal space. Who would complain about that? Now, maybe I can get a few people to come say hello and “spend some time in my office”. MOVIN’ ON UP!

So that whole Starkville trip…

It started with a wakeup call about 5:30 and heading out the door at 6AM. It’s a relatively short 2.5 hour drive over to the promised land of Mississippi, and the Ms. Boss was more excited than I could believe. Once we finally got into town, traffic nonexistent for 3 HOURS PRIOR TO KICKOFF! I couldn’t believe it. The stadium/campus itself wasn’t too terrible. Very open, very green…just what you would expect from an agricultural school. Even the fans were friendly…and even joked about how annoying the “COWBELLS” are. (Again, more on this later). We finally get to park about 1/3 mile from the seats, and would you guess it? 2 MSU fans having a cup of coffee and reading The Wall Street Journal. BIZZARO WORLD. 

After doing due diligence on taking down a bottle of Piggly Wiggly’s finest champagne and OJ, we turned our attention to cold Natty Light around 10AM or so. It felt so right, so early…it was college all over again…with the exception of being in enemy territory. The walk to the stadium was very quiet, very low key. No partiers, no cheering…just waddling to the stadium. Now, I made the comment on the ol Facebook feed that “if you want an ACC experience and don’t want to leave the comfort of your SEC state…Davis-Wade stadium is for you!”. I couldn’t have been more right. This place was a joke. It was so bad, Clemson may (I REPEAT MAY) be better. 10 minutes before kickoff, you got the token, “WHO LET THE DOGS OUT” song. The Bulldogs come out to Will Farrell’s skit “WE NEED MORE COWBELL”. Then, you get techno music from some random European trash spinning in the background. Right before kickoff you get the “MAROON” and “WHITE” cheer, which…I’m all for fan support and cheers but 2 syllables makes it very difficult to keep up with. NEED I NOT FORGET TO MENTION that the East upper was white shirts, lower was maroon. West upper was maroon, lower was white. Carolina can’t even coordinate a shade of garnet…so for this, I give MSU and their fans an A+. They sure as hell can work up them tin cans and telegraph lines to make pretty things happen!

During the game, it was an unexpected back and forth battle. Normally, if this was an SEC stadium, you would have been able to cut the tension with a knife. You’d have fans cheering and going crazy at every opportunity. This wasn’t the case at ol’ Davis-Wade. I kid you not, Connor Shaw was taking snaps on the 25 and I could hear him. Just unreal. Maybe it was the fact that they wanted to play “guess which car wins the race” during timeouts. Or, it could be “pick the Bulldog who has a treat in his mouth”. Or, it could be the great in game advertisements about catfish ponds or Dan Mullen inviting you on down to Richard’s bar after the game. For 3.5 hours, I felt like I was at a hokey, wacky, jump the shark ACC game. It was like football wasn’t the reason why you were there. There was never a sense of urgency or “Get Loud!”. Even with the cowbells, I was expecting a little more intimidating atmosphere. Nothing. Nada. Zip. I guess it’s just how things are down on the farm, and I’m sure that the 11:22 kickoff had something to do with it too. It just didn’t have the feel of big time football. Maybe this is what it would have been like to go to school at UNC or NCSU…or (insert any other ACC school).

Now, on to the most important issue that has been bugging the t-total shit out of me since Saturday. I’m not going to bash Carolina fans..but either we have some of the DUMBEST fans in the world…or simply put 80% of people have little to no concept on how the game of football is played. Let me entertain you with some examples from Saturday:

A – Holding. As a former offensive lineman, holding happens on every play. 9 times out of 10, you don’t get caught. It’s also understood by the majority of people who understand football that it happens too. HOWEVER, many loud, obnoxious middle aged women have no idea what holding is, or how it should be called on the field. Just because an offensive lineman is doing is job and standing up a defensive player, keeping him from getting to the QB is NOT HOLDING. When an offensive lineman has a defensive player turned sideways when their QB takes off to scramble; THAT IS NOT HOLDING. STOP YELLING “HE’S HOLDING REF! HOLDING!” Ugh. Nothing makes me want to bang my head into the concrete faster than this. If you see Offensive linemen grabbing jersey, that’s a hold. If you see an offensive lineman’s hand’s outside of the other team’s shoulders while blocking…it’s usually holding. Remember, there is 2 refs looking at the line for holding, and I’m sorry…sometimes it doesn’t get called. It is subjective, but hopefully this post will educate you enough to not annoy the piss out of everyone at the game around you.

B- Running outside the tackles with a RB build for the inside zone. Now again, this post is not too relevant with Lattimore on the bench, but it could be enough to pull your head out of your ass and say “I can be smart and understand which running backs work…and where”. In this case, middle aged woman was going crazy because “WE CAN’T RUN IT UP THE MIDDLE” and “WE NEED TO RUN IT OUTSIDE NOW WITH LATTIMORE”. There are a few things wrong with this statement. First, if they are stacking the box (the area where the LB and DL play) with 7 or more players, you aren’t going to be able to successfully run it to the outside. Generally, this is accomplished with 4 down lineman, and 3 to 4 LB’s playing behind them securing the corner or dropping back into a read/zone. If you aren’t going to make it up the middle, off to the side is not easy either. Secondly, Lattimore…if you haven’t noticed…is not/was not an outside the tackle running back. Our offense is based off of a little thing called the INSIDE ZONE. We aren’t a team with tons of speed on the outside to run sweeps.  

C – Running the Option inside of the 10 yard line on your game winning drive: This was unacceptable. A grown ass man yelled out no 1^st and Goal from the 8 to “RUN THE OPTION”. Let’s look at the situation. First, we had a freshman at RB. Secondly, why would we pitch the ball and run the risk of a fumble? (See Georgia/Andrew Pinnock) Third, we aren’t even an option team. All of this made zero sense.

D – Taking an intentional safety to win the game: My goodness…you would have thought that we were going to be solving all of the world’s problems during the final 4 seconds. I heard everything from “run around and don’t get tackled” to punting the ball. Yea, let’s punt the ball out of our end zone and run the risk of a block recovered for a TD…or even a kick returned! It was simple…take the safety and end the game. Get out of Starkville with the W. (Editor’s note: I understand those that yelled anything other than SAFTEY likely had Carolina -3.5 or -4…resulting in a loss)

Again, I’m not saying that I am not everything in the game of football…but just please pay attention in the future.

 -Gamblin Boss

Carolina Fans, The Sky is Not Falling...



(Shut up Chicken Little, just shut up!!)

Alright Gamecock fans, I know this has been a pretty crappy two week stretch.  We lost to an Auburn team that, let's be honest, we clearly could have beaten.  We lost our 5th year senior starting QB because he has an alcohol problem.  We had to waste our time with Herp Derp nation.  The Other School in South Carolina continues to be a pretty good team in a conference full of extremely mediocre teams.  And now, we lose our workhorse running back, the pride of our program to a knee injury.  Isn't it typical Gamecock football history though?  To have what could potentially be the best season in team history lined up, and not only is tOSiSC having what could be their greatest season ever, but our season could be potentially undone because our 5th yr QB is a drunk and our stud is injured BLOCKING!!  I mean honestly, at the beginning of the year if someone said, "Hey y'all, your season could potentially be derailed this year."  Wouldn't we all have guessed it would be something out of the ordinary like this?  We have a drunk for a QB and our best player goes down blocking in Starkville, Mississippi.  But you know what, GET OVER IT!!  We are on the cusp of big boy football.  Big boy football means you have depth.  Big boy football means you overcome.  I can understand the trepidation (it means fear or alarm...I had to look it up too) because overcoming odds and playing tough has never been "The Garnet Way."  (Editor's Note:  I hate that campaign slogan USC, come up with somethiin else, seriously).  But that was before we had Jeffery and Lattimore and Clowney.  That is to say; before we had big boy football players.  Lattimore will rehab.  He will work hard.  The running game will rally around Brandon Wilds.  For those who are unaware, this is Brandon Wilds:

He is from Blythewood, South Carolina and evidently was the first player in his high school's history to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season.  I know what you're thinking, this is a guy who was 5th on the depth chart when the season started and was destined for a redshirt.  Well ya know what?  It ain't the start of the season anymore.  He ain't destined for a redshirt anymore.  And, more importantly, he has played well and runs hard.  Would I rather have #21?  Absolutely, my feelings about him have been made clear on this blog.  But you know what, we don't have him.  Next man up.  Rally around this team and we will be fine.  And if you don't believe me, read this article by Chris Low on espn.com.  Maybe he can convince you.

-Major Munnerlyn