Week 2’s Dark Drinks, Dark Horses & Dark Thoughts – What I Learned On And Off The Field

Dark Drinks:

• I’ve got to hand it to myself; Saturday was one of those days where when I woke up…I KNEW IT WAS GOING TO BE A GOOD DAY. Rolling out of bed at 9AM and hitting Waffle House for some hash browns and eggs would provide a solid base for my day of drinking. When we walked in to Casa De Waffle, I was surprised at how awesome this place was. Not only was everyone wearing some form of college affiliated shirt, but the cooks had their own Alabama jersey with their name on the back. You can’t hide class…even off of Highway 280 in Birmingham.
• I’m not going to lie; Saturday was a clinic on how you are to drink as an adult….14 straight hours. 10AM-midnight. Averaging about 2.5 beers an hour. The drink of choice was the one and only Natty Light (which you can get delicious 30 packs of here for $13) with a smattering of Jim Beam Devil’s cut thrown in to ease me through the Carolina/Georgia game. The soon-to-be Mrs. Boss even commented on how great of a shape I was in, considering how the Gamecocks got a W in Athens 3 hours ago at the time. One thing that I can tell you all is to AVOID the Thai Curry wings from buffalo Wild Wings after 11pm. Trust me on this – your stomach and everything else on the south end of your body will thank you. A- for consistent drinking effort throughout the day. Some could call in binge drinking…I call it an all day tailgate.

Dark Horses:

• Gamblin’ Boss’ PICKS: I’m not going to lie, didn’t think I would be doing this well. 6 wins, 3 ties, 2 losses and up a solid number of units on the year. Spread the word to your friends that I apparently seem to know what I am doing. Either that, or start fading me starting this weekend.
• More than 1 TV: My apartment was a mini sports bar on Saturday. From 11AM until 11PM, we had games going on 3 televisions. This is one of those instances where more than 1 thing is a good thing. I could enjoy the ADD Sports bar world, watch what I want, and be in the comfort of my own apartment.
• Central Standard Time: I’m beginning to think that CST is the way to go. For example, the Thursday NFL game got over about 10:45; which was plenty of time to still get a decent night of sleep. Saturday was bonkers with games kicking off at 11:00AM. Gameday was on at 9, with their pregame show on earlier than that. Was it weird seeing games that early on TV? Yes…but it felt oh so right.
• Auburn: OK, I get it. People were all over Mississippi State, and how this was the year they get things done in the SEC West. I will hold judgment until a few more weeks, but when you play in a division that has LSU, Alabama, and Arkansas in it (of whom you have to still play)…it’s mighty important to win the games that you should win. This was one of them. Auburn, could you be a dark horse? Is it possible for the defending national champion to be a dark horse? I don’t know…and I guess the point of what I am trying to get to is that I can’t get a good read on them. They have talent…but again. All they have played are the likes of MSU and Utah State.
• Mark Richt: I’m going to go out on a limb and say that he maintains his job. UGA should have beaten South Carolina this past Saturday. I fully can’t put the blame on coaching because they had some pretty bad luck. Had they not been half a foot offsides, they recover an onsides kick. Had they stopped Melvin Ingram (the one man wrecking crew); they might have had a chance. Murray made some great passes and he’ll be the guy who saves Marky Mark’s job.
• Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers edition: Wow, just wow. The kid puts up 422 in his regular season debut, and tied (get this) the exact same record shared by Matt Stafford as the most yards completed by a Rookie. HE MAKES IT INTERESTING AGAIN TO WATCH PANTHER’S FOOTBALL.  I’m thinking that he will be able to get 5-6 wins for the ‘Kittens this year, but after the first week they are tied for first in the NFC South at 0-1. Keep your head up Cammy Cam.

DARK THOUGHTS:

• NCAA Football > NFL Football: There, I said it. It’s very difficult to argue against this if you are all about close games and competitiveness. The first week of the NFL had some terrible games, including Buffalo/KC and Pitt/Baltimore. BLOWOUTS. Yea, yea…I know they said this morning that last night’s SNF game with Jets/Cowboys was the highest rated SNF game ever…but let’s be real. What else were you going to watch last night? MORE 9/11 DOCUMENTARIES? Last night was the modern day “what happens when the Wizard of Oz is on one of the only three channels.” Football wins over 9/11 any day of the week.

Getting back to my point, ratings could be skewed slightly because hey…there are what, maybe 30 games on TV a weekend? The NFL has only 16, with 15 on Sundays. If you watched NCAA football all day this past Saturday, you had the early kick of Auburn/MSU turn into a last play shootout, the afternoon game of South Carolina/Georgia turn into a slugfest that came down to an onsides kick, and finally you had the night cap of Michigan and Notre Dame. 3 outstanding games that came down to the last minute, second, drive, whatever. Maybe it’s the fact that I’m not surrounded by the trash that is Redskins/Baltimore fans anymore and I can dedicate most of my time to College Football….which leads to better enjoyment overall. I’m not saying that this is 100% always the case, but it is hard to argue that Sunday was better than Saturday.

• How terrible could the ACC be this year? As stated, I don’t watch the ACC’s competitive egg toss on Saturdays that often, but checking out the scores you have to wonder how they get an automatic BCS bid. Va Tech had a close, 1 TD game difference at East Carolina. Boston College got stomped BY CENTRAL FLORIDA. Wofford about beat Clemson….AT CLEMSON. Stanford destroyed DOOK. UNC squeaked a 2 point win out over RUTGERS at HOME.  UVA had to score 11 points in a minute and a half to beat INDIANA. You know it’s bad when you have to look at FSU’s win over D2 Charleston Southern and Georgia Tech’s win over hapless Middle Tennessee State for good signs. Do you think ESPN is loading the gun and getting ready to pull the trigger on themselves?
• Alabama fans: Saturday was a social experiment in a sense for me. I had about 5-6 hardcore ‘Bama fans over to watch the games…and not one time did ANY of them stray their eyes over to the South Carolina/UGA game. Even at halftime they found themselves glued to the commercials. I kid you not. 8 minutes to go, the Tide are up by 3 scores AND THEY ARE STILL WATCHING THIS LIKE IT’S THE FIRST PLAY. I’m not saying all Bama fans are crazy, but dear Lord are they dedicated. The game is over, and you have a HUGE SEC game on, yet you still won’t watch because you want to see another score.
• Zaxby’s Chicken Finger Plate (Large): I made one large glaring error in this weekend’s food choice while drinking. When my friends left, I said “bring me back some wings!”. Little did I know that they were going to Zaxby’s after a last minute change from Buffalo Wild Wings. I lost out on Zax sauce, toast, and delicious French fries.

Auburn and Clemson: A Tale of Two Tigers

Auburn and Clemson. Two storied schools of tradition. Two schools of Agriculture. Two schools with national titles in football….and Two schools with the most redneck, delusional, and unrealistic fan bases in the history of NCAA football who play each other week three of this year’s college football campaign. While I will get into the extreme fan bases later on into the, let’s focus on these two schools up until week 5, and how their meeting in Clemson, SC on Saturday, September 17^th (ABC 12:00PM EST) will impact more than just a single win or loss.

Auburn Tigers

The defending national champions have their work cut out for them this year…most notably due to the loss of Cam Newton and Nick Fairley. Looking at their schedule below, you’ll easily be able to pick out where the tough part of their schedule lies: (my guesses)

9/3 UTAH STATE (W)

9/10 MISSISSIPPI STATE (L)

9/17 at Clemson (W)

9/24 FLORIDA ATLANTIC (W)

10/1 at South Carolina (L)

10/8 at Arkansas (L)

10/15 FLORIDA (L – although this could go either way)

10/22 at LSU (L)

10/29 OLE MISS (W)

11/5 open

11/12 at Georgia (L – although this could go either way)

11/19 SAMFORD (W)

11/26 ALABAMA (L)

Clemson is hands down the most important game on Auburn’s schedule. Many people will argue that MSU the week before could take that spot. However, dropping a game at home against a top 20ish school is not the end of the world. Not to mention, Dan Mullen has a pretty solid chance of contending in several games this year. Personally, the Gamblin Boss sees them going into The Plains and taking one. The major issue lies with dropping this game on the road to a middle of the pack ACC school who is all hyped up on Mountain Dew. It won’t sit well with fans from South Alabama. The biggest problem that everyone at Auburn has to deal with (from the University President to sidewalk casual fan) is PERCEPTION. Auburn must send out an image that “all is well”…not only within their football program, but also to fans of the SEC. Could you imagine the ranting and raving field day piss ant ACC fans will have if Clemson beats Auburn? We ALL know….those of use with legit heads on our shoulders and not Orange blinders on…that Auburn is a shell of its former self. BUT THAT WON’T MATTER! Jim Bob, Cooter, and Clem’s son will all be singing the praises that the “mighty tigers of the ACC were the first ones to take down the TIGERS OF THE PLAINS”. Heck, I can already hear the echoes of [packing tobacco into lip] “WE DID SOMETHING SOUTH CAROLINA COULDN’T DO. [/spit tobacco into can]

Do I honestly feel that Auburn will lose to Clemson? I don’t know. It’s a complete crap shoot.  Clemson is not anything to write home about, but every single person with a tractor and overalls within 30 miles of Death Valley will be there to cheer on the MIGHTY TIGERS. From Auburn’s stand point, I’d have to feel like a prize bull getting ready to enter into the ring with the Matador…and feeling the pre-fight stab weaken their power just as the orange cape is waved in our face.Will you have the energy to take them down?

Clemson Tigers

Clemson. The only school that can justify a coach with the first name of Dabo. The ACC as a whole has only two possible teams to carry their banner into the Orange Bowl this year, so it’s very difficult to think that other teams have a shot to run the table. Clemson just is not that good. Taj Boyd may in fact be the worst quarterback in the state of South Carolina since Dondrial Pinkins trotted out in the #5 for South Carolina.  Now I’m not going to sit here and clog up valuable blog space on how terrible he, or his QB coach is (see Car Care Bowl 2010…or ask the 4,928 fans in attendance) because this is about the schedule and importance of the Auburn game.

9/3 TROY (W)

9/10 WOFFORD (W)

9/17 AUBURN (L)

9/24 FLORIDA STATE (L)

10/1 at Virginia Tech (L)

10/8 at BOSTON COLLEGE (W)

10/15 at Maryland (W)

10/22 NORTH CAROLINA (W)

10/29 at Georgia Tech (L)

11/5 open

11/12 WAKE FOREST (W)

11/19 at NC State (L –but could go either way)

11/26 at South Carolina (L)

Let this entire schedule sink into your brain. Allow the smells of cupcakes enter into your nostrils. CLEMSON HAS NO REASON WHY THEY WIN LESS THAN 6 GAMES. I don’t care how rational you are…or how much you may hate those that ‘pay ten a year”. THE ACC IS AWFUL. Clemson could care less if they drop one to Auburn at home. No problem! Hell, even if they lose against Florida State in the former Bowden Family Toilet Bowl…they still get to play the likes of Maryland, Wake Forest, NC State, Boston College (WHO HAD THEIR TICKETS ON GROUPON LAST WEEK. GROUPON FOR GOD’S SAKE). This doesn’t even count wins against Troy and something called a “Wofford”. Clemson, no one cares what you do with this game. If you win, yes…you’ll be assured 7 or 8 wins. Lose, and so what? You’ll still make it to the Car Care bowl…or better yet, still be in contention to win the ACC with 7 losses.

In summary, Auburn has every ounce of pressure on them to win this game.  Mike Slive cares about this. Paul (or PAWWWL) Finebaum cares about this. The Pope should care about this. They cannot lose this game…under any circumstance. For God, country, and the SEC…the scoreboard must light up like a Christmas tree under the visitor’s side. If it happens, Clemson fans are going to go complete apeshit over a victory, and proclaim that the ACC IS BACK!  The defending national champions have been defeated!

The coming weeks will be very interesting, and I hope that this prediction will still stand:

Auburn 27 Clemson 20

-Gamblin Boss