Morning Musings: The GAME of the week...

[TerryP]

If you will, let's step out of Bama territory for a minute and look around the college landscape, shall we?

Looking back at last weekend there were a number of games that truly held my interest for a number of reasons. Miami vs Florida State; always a good game but one that could only be considered sloppy in the nicest of terms. We've talked about the OU contest also, and how surprising it was to see the Sooners drop their first game of the season. However, that surprise was tempered by a general feeling of good will considering what Gary Patterson has accomplished at TCU. Auburn? I couldn't have cared less. It was interesting to see the Vols allow the UAB Blazers hang with them until the waning seconds of the 2nd half. All in all, it was just a good football weekend.

Should we expect the same this weekend? I firmly believe so!! There are a few games I'll keep an eye on, and one game in particular that has a great story line behind it. But, we'll get to the story line in just a second.

I've made it no secret. I don't care for all things orange. In fact, I find myself wishing that Woody Hayes still walked the sidelines as UT faces Ohio State this weekend. U of Texas is beginning the make or break section of their schedule this weekend. Ohio State, along with UT, has a legitimate shot at the National Title. But, when I look at this game a part of me wishes for a quick "right upper cut" on a certain orange clad individual walking the sidelines. I know, 'tis not the right attitude, but in reality I can seriously see the Buckeyes laying UT out in a defensive slug-fest.

Going a little north of Ohio the "Big House" host Notre Dame. Despite the history we have at Bama with Notre Dame, college football is a better game when the Golden Domers are having success. Charlie Weiss has done a phenomenal job with the Fighting Irish in a relatively short period of time. It just makes me wonder, "Just how bad were the coordinators/coaches on last years Notre Dame staff?"

All the said, the game that holds my interest to the greatest degree has to be South Caronlina visiting Sanford Stadium facing the Georgia Bulldogs.

The bullentin board material is already out there. In the last few weeks we witnessed Lou Holtz forecasting a Gamecock upset this weeknd. It reminds me of Pat Dye's comments in '02 about the Bulldogs not being man enough to defeat Alabama.

However, this contest against the Spurrior led Gamecocks has a bit more history to it...a history dating back to his days as the head coach of Florida.

The only defeat by at least 50 points the Bulldogs have ever received at Sanford Stadium was at the hands of the Gators when Spurrior was the head coach. His Gators were ahead by at least 30 points at the half when Spurrior decided he'd call the Sports Information Department at Georgia just to see if any team had ever defeated Georgia by 50+ points at home. No one had, until that day. In the second half, even though the game was well in hand, Spurrior put Danny Wuerffel, Ike Hilliard and the rest of that starting line up back in the game with the intention of running up the score. They did, and Georgia suffered its worst home defeat in history.

That game, is still something that sits in back of most Georgia fans' minds; not resting easily, mind you. When Spurrior was asked about it this past weekend he replied, "I don't know why they are so upset about it, most of them didn't see it." Another Spurriouresque blurb taking an every so obvertly dig at the amount of Georgia fans who left the stadium in the first half when they were down by over 3 touchdowns.

South Carolina vs Georgia has always been a rivalry. But, this game has a different context to it because Bulldog fans don't just want to win their first SEC contest, don't just want to beat a rival in South Carolina, but would really enjoy putting the same number of points on Spurrior's lead Gamecocks like they did Boise State last weekend.

Uuugaa!!

 

[Andy]

From your comments about UT it seems as if you are referring to Tenn. or are you meaning Texas. But I believe it is Texas that plays Ohio State this week!!! If you are referring to Texas where does that disdain come from? I would pull for Texas over Ohio State in a minute!!!

 

[TerryP]

From your comments about UT it seems as if you are referring to Tenn. or are you meaning Texas. But I believe it is Texas that plays Ohio State this week!!! If you are referring to Texas where does that disdain come from? I would pull for Texas over Ohio State in a minute!!!

That's a good question, and one I'll be glad to answer.

First of all, we are 0-7 against Texas...a good reason for any Bama not to care for the Longhorns.

Secondly, I'm not a Mac Brown fan, at all. There are a number of reasons behind this...but I'll just mention one; no two. On *third* thought, three.

One, I don't like anyting orange.
Two, I don't care for anything with the intials UT.
Three....and I'll ramble on this one for just a moment.

If there is one thing I don't care for about "coach speak" it is when a coach and his team loses a game and then after the game talks about how we did this well, that well, and how we can take all that we did well and improve on it. I know, it's a personal preference with me. Period. After seeing Mac Brown's teams get defeated year in and year out for the last 5 years by teams like OU, the pounding Texas received from Arkansas a few years ago, that's all we heard.

Add to that, I don't care at all for a coach who "cries" to the media about how they aren't getting the respect they deserve and how they should have been awarded a slot in this bowl game, in the BCS, etc. Last year, we saw that with Brown and the BCS selection committee. I don't care how many recruiting national championships the Longhorns have won, I don't care how many recruiting coach of the year awards Brown has won, he still comes across an ill-content.

So, let me ask you. What does he deserve in terms of rankings and respect? Besides OU, he hasn't had that much of a "row to hoe" in route to the 9-10 win seasons he's enjoyed over the past few years. I guess, my biggest gripe (granted, this is my personal opinion) is when you look at what he's accomplished you won't find a single conference championship, a championship of any kind on the guys resume'.

I edited the original post so people wouldnt' think I was talking about UT (as in the Vols). Thanks for pointing that out. However, Brown and his complaints remind me an awful lot of how Fulmer complained about the Vols spending back to back seasons in the Peach Bowl....reminds me how he and his players said they deserved a better bowl both years and in both years they were beaten by mid-tier ACC teams, Maryland and then Clemson.

All that being said...

I've ran into many Texas fans that talk of our Championship in the early 70's....how we were ranked #1 before the bowl game and lost that game. Their reasoning/thought process falls along the lines of "that Championship should have been ours since we won our bowl game." The funny thing about that contention is the year before they were awarded the NC. That year before, they were ranked #1 and then lost their bowl game but claimed the National Title that year. I know, it's sound like logic from the barn...but there is already a barner college in Texas.

Speaking of the barners...their '57 championship (shared with Ohio State ironically) was awarded to them the very same way the BCS game was awarded to Texas last year. The AD at Auburn, went on a media campaign saying, "Look at us and what we deserve...we deserve respect."

Respect isn't earned via a sympathy campaign. There is only one place that respect can and should be earned in college football. The gridiron.

 

[bamaua03]

Curious

If you are referring to Texas where does that disdain come from? I would pull for Texas over Ohio State in a minute!!!

Just wondering why?

Two great Big 10 games this weekend. I am so glad the season has started!

 

[Andy]

I just do not like the Big Ten in general and at least Texas is from the South. It is funny how all the Orange teams are not well liked by most fans except for their own fans ie Auburn, Miami, Tenn., Clemson, etc. etc.

 

[bamabard]

Hey Terry,

A few additional thoughts about orange.

The word itself is in my opinion evil, nothing rhymes with orange. When you make your living as a songwriter, there is nothing more useless than a word that has no rhyme or even near rhyme.

As a color, orange is the child of the unholy union between red and yellow. A master of feng-shui might think yellow is happy and sunny but, here in the South we all know what it means when some one calls you "yeller"...orange is what happens when fierce, energetic red develops a "yeller" streak.

Speaking of feng-shui...those Chinese Masters of light, color and space advise that dark orange can mean deceit and distrust. Who am I to argue with a civilization that's been around for almost 5200 years?

The marketing community has stated that the color orange is best used to advertise toys and junk food. It's just as I suspected...orange is responsible for childhood obesity.

Orange (along with black) is the predominant color of Halloween. Now, I'm not bashing Halloween ('cause, trust me, I love candy) but, look at the origins of that particular celebration...ghosts, ghouls, devils, zombies. All evil. Wearing orange. Let's just say you don't see a lot of orange at church...

Finally, the only good thing about orange is the fruit and we all know that oranges really aren't ORANGE. They sure do taste good though, maybe we should call them somehting else...maybe Golden Fruit?

Rambling On...

the Bard

 

[TerryP]

Hey Terry,

A few additional thoughts about orange.


the Bard

:biggrin: :biggrin:

 

[uafan4life]

I just do not like the Big Ten in general and at least Texas is from the South. It is funny how all the Orange teams are not well liked by most fans except for their own fans ie Auburn, Miami, Tenn., Clemson, etc. etc.

Texas is not the South. My wife is from Texas, and beleive me, Texans are a different breed, they're certainly not Southerners.

 

[Bojo]

Speaking of the barners...their '57 championship (shared with Ohio State ironically) was awarded to them the very same way the BCS game was awarded to Texas last year. The AD at Auburn, went on a media campaign saying, "Look at us and what we deserve...we deserve respect."

Ya'll may have seen this before, but I had not. I went to see my doctor today and they put me in the au room. The examination room that has all kinds of signed au sports memorabilia in it. Crammed in the corner of a drawing board was a bumper sticker that read "AUmost National Champions"

 

[bamatex82]

Texas is not the South. My wife is from Texas, and beleive me, Texans are a different breed, they're certainly not Southerners.

I don't get that one. I live in Texas & my wife is from Texas - they are Southerners. Different, yes, but still Southerners.

 

[The Wood]

As a Texas fan i dont like your tone on the Texas program.
Texas and Tennessee are two completely different teams, just because they have similar colors, Texas is a beautiful burnt orange and Tenn. is puke orange. As for Mack Brown, so what that he wanted his team in the BCS, I would too, they proved they deserved to be in it by beating a good Michigan team while Cal lost to a team Texas stomped. Lay off Mack, he did what he felt he had to do. Most Texas fans I know respect Bama, so why not respect the horns. You may have ran into some bad horn fans in your life, but you find bad fans everywhere. I happen to dislike Sooner fans very much, but most people on this board speak about them as if they were gods. Get over it, OU sucks and would have been ****** had we beat them in Norman and in Tuscaloosa, I promise you. Texas is a good squad, so please lay off them. Theyre the good guys, the kicking A&M's butt all the time and making fun of Fran every chance they get. Never, EVER put Tenn. and Texas in the same category they are two completely differnt teams. Just similar colors and both have UT, so lay off.

And why you seem to think Texas will lose to Ohio St. in a defensive slugfest i dont know. Texas has Chizik as coordinator now and has Vince Young on offense, and he is a difference maker. Dont believe me, then just go watch the Rose Bowl game last year. Ohio St. may have the edge becuase its in Columbus, thats it.

Roll Tide and Hookem' Horns

 

[TerryP]

As a Texas fan i dont like your tone on the Texas program.


Roll Tide and Hookem' Horns

'preciate your input Wood. Hang out, we'd enjoy hearing your take on what's happening in the Big12 as the season goes on.

FWIW, I've only ran into a handful of Texas fans that represented your program in a fashion you probably wouldn't be proud of. However, I have never made "judgements" of a program based on how a particular segment of the fan based carried themselves.

It's simply an opinion, the opinion I have of the current head coach and not the program, that *skews* my opinion of the Longhorns. That is about as simple as I can put it. You have Chizik, granted. But, that means little to me as a point that would change my opinion about Brown. Keep in mind, it's just an opinion based on watching him for over a decade now.

 

[NBF_Bama_Cavalry]

I don't get that one. I live in Texas & my wife is from Texas - they are Southerners. Different, yes, but still Southerners.

I agree with you on that one. I lived (was stationed) in Texas for 5 years and I hated to leave. Ironically, my next duty station was here at Gunter AFB (Montgomery), twenty miles from where I grew up. I never really cared for Texas much until I lived there and I especially disliked U Texas because of the 0-7 record against. My mother despised them because she swore until her dying day that Joe Namath was across that goal line.

I actually began to like UT a little because their rivalry with aTm is almost as intense as Alabama-Auburn. I hated aTm even before franny went there. Still don't like Mack Brown though.

 

[Alanbama27]

Two thoughts on this thread...

First, Terry I agree 110% with what you said! I too think that Mack Brown is the most overrated coach in America! With the exception of beating up on a bunch of patsy teams, he's pretty much lost every meaningful game that he's coached...at two schools nonetheless!

Second, Texas IS NOT SOUTHERN! I lived in Texas for over 11 years and can tell you without question there isn't anything Southern about Texas! Texas is Southwestern and yes there is a HUGE difference! First, they don't have Sweet Tea in Texas and frankly that alone means you're not Southern! Second, they don't say Ya'll in Texas, which as we all know is truly a Southernism at it's best! Third and most importantly, in the South we don't consider ourselves above the United States and in Texas they do! As a matter of fact here is a little tidbit that many of you may not know...The Texas flag is the ONLY flag allowed to fly at the same height as the American flag...why? Because Texas wasn't part of the confederacy or the union, but a world unto itself! There is a bumper sticker that many have in Texas and it reads "The United State of Texas" and they live that way still!

TEXAS IS NOT THE SOUTH! They've never once said "Ya'll come back now, Ya hear!"

 

[Bojo]

They fought for the Conferedate States of America which means they're South.

 

[bayoutider]

First, Terry I agree 110% with what you said! I too think that Mack Brown is the most overrated coach in America! With the exception of beating up on a bunch of patsy teams, he's pretty much lost every meaningful game that he's coached...at two schools nonetheless!

Second, Texas IS NOT SOUTHERN! I lived in Texas for over 11 years and can tell you without question there isn't anything Southern about Texas! Texas is Southwestern and yes there is a HUGE difference! First, they don't have Sweet Tea in Texas and frankly that alone means you're not Southern! Second, they don't say Ya'll in Texas, which as we all know is truly a Southernism at it's best! Third and most importantly, in the South we don't consider ourselves above the United States and in Texas they do! As a matter of fact here is a little tidbit that many of you may not know...The Texas flag is the ONLY flag allowed to fly at the same height as the American flag...why? Because Texas wasn't part of the confederacy or the union, but a world unto itself! There is a bumper sticker that many have in Texas and it reads "The United State of Texas" and they live that way still!

TEXAS IS NOT THE SOUTH! They've never once said "Ya'll come back now, Ya hear!"

I hate to bust your bubble but Texas joined the Confederacy in Janurary of 1861. Texas was a cotton growing slave state. Support was not unanimous among leaders. Gov. Sam Houston chose to resign rather than back the Confederate states. About 90,000 Texans saw military service, and the Texas economy was left in shambles. There was even an Ironclad named CSS Texas. After the end of the Civil War, Texas, after ratifying the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, officially rejoined the Union in March 1870.

The major stumbling block of annexing Texas into the United States, besides war with Mexico, was the fact that Texas was a slave state and potentially would tip the balance between free and slave states due to its huge size. Some southerners were pushing for the ability to divide Texas into multiple states, thereby increasing the number of slave states even more. A compromise was reached in that if Texas was divided, any states north of the Missouri Compromise would be free states.

 

[The Wood]

Let me expalin myself a little. I was once a member on this board a few years ago and then some how i lost the membership, i dont know. I AM a Texas fan and always will be, my dad was a graduate and raised me a Texas and I was born there myself, HOWEVER, I am a student of the University of Alabama. I have always been an Alabama fan. My mom and her side of the family are massive Bama fans and raised me that way too. So I have two #1 teams: Bama and Texas. I love them both equally. I just dont want people on this board thinking im a Texas fan only, I may even be a bigger bama fan, due to growing up only 2 hours outside UA, in Oxford, Al. Just thought i'd clear that up.

Terry P, I apologize for my rant. I was just a little defensive about my team. I read your other post and understand you better now. A lot of texas fans dont like brown either, but besides not being able to beat bigger teams (although Michigan is a start) he has done well at the program. Many see this year as being Mack's and Texas's year to do something special.

I AM A BAMA FAN.

ROLL TIDE AND Hookem' Horns

 

[Chukker Veteran]

You gotta love a poster who works HOWEVER into the deal. That tickled me.

I lean towards Texas over Ohio State for several silly reasons that aren't worth explaining.

Great thread overall, but I most enjoyed the scoop on His Visor making a return to Georgia. I hope they hang a good fifty points on him to welcome him back.

 

[The Wood]

Thank you, HOWEVER, you meant that.

 

[Redwood Forrest]

Hate Texas because we are 0-7 against them? That makes as much sense to me as UCLA hating Bama because they are 0-7 against us. (I dont' really know what the record with UCLA is, just an example)

Texas is one of the programs that reminds me of Bama. They ruled the SWC. That means I respect them. No fan of theirs, but I respect them and don't hate them.

HOWEVER :smile: now that they own fRan ..... I find myself really liking them.

No way could I pull for Ohio State. Hook 'em & Roll 'em