What Are We Listening To Anyway?

One morning, my youngest daughter was outside "helping" me in the garage when she began singing the One Republic song, "Apologize". The tune was very distinct and I immediately, with clarity knew the song she was singing. Then I listened more intently on what she was saying. She sang the chorus, "...it's too late to call the judge... it's too late...". I went to gently correct her by telling her the title of the song and the "call the judge" was actually "apologize", when she firmly disagreed because "that's what I heard them say". I just left it at that. My four year-old had told me what-for about a song that I knew better than she does, but yet I had to succumb to what she "heard them say". It reminds me of the T-Mobile commercial where the husband is singing in the car and his wife here's him verbalize the lyrics, "Pour some shook up Ramen". She obviously knew the real lyrics but had to call the local library for verification. How can some of us get so far off the actual words? Is there something in our head that we are subliminally thinking about and "want" to hear when we get a particular message? I understand a little bit of Spanish and have some Hispanic CD's that I enjoy. It is tough enough to try to understand the words in Spanish songs, let alone try to interpret the meaning of each line. I mean, maybe there are combinations of words put together that means something unrelated to the actual words that only a native Spanish speaker would know. For example, if someone heard the words, "making out" in a song, most Americans would know exactly what it's talking about. In Central America, I know of at least one country who describes "making out" in the literal translation, "sucking the pineapple". Song lyrics can be difficult and the degree of difficulty can change depending on the genre of music and the quality of recording.

So, what is it that we're listening to anyway? When I hear people in the media talking about the "Dumb Ducks" have gotten themselves into some trouble with recruiting and have a paper trail to prove it, do I hear the word "trouble" or the words "paper trail" and come up with my own conclusions to the rest of the story. Something about that article doesn't make sense. If Coach Chip Kelly was doing something wrong and unethical, why would he or any part of the university staff send thank you cards to prove that there was wrongdoing? Nobody in that kind of business is that stupid! What guy sends thank you's anyway? Softy! Even though I tend to lean toward Jason Whitlock's article, "Lyle's tale shows the rat he is", I should be careful not to read too much into it because Willie Lyle will be nothing but a slimy rat. Let me back-track, in case you haven't heard, University of Oregon paid a recruiting service (owned by Willie Lyle) a lump sum of $25,000 for highlight reels and tapes of several high school football players in Texas and vicinity. Recently, it has been discovered that other schools, such as California and LSU, have used Mr. Lyle for high school players' information. Mr. Whitlock describes Lyle as an attention seeker and someone who doesn't care who he hurts on his way to get fame, so Lyle has interviewed with media people and has expressed some damaging information that may ruin the lives of current Oregon football players and their future in football and may jeopardize the employment of the current head coach, just to grab some attention and make some headlines. No matter the true business deal that was made between Lyle and any university, all ties should be cut immediately from the scumbag.

One of the football players in question is 2010's national leading rusher, 2010 Doak Walker Award winner, and third place in the 2010 Heisman balloting, LaMichael James. Based on what LaMichael has accomplished the last couple years at Oregon, I can see how he can be seen as something extraordinary and a skilled athlete; however, coming out of high school with all the allegations of Oregon paying to get James, he was merely a top 3-star running back according to scout.com and a 4-star running back barely in the top 20 according to rivals.com. If Oregon was forking over that kind of dough for a superstar running back, wouldn't they have gone for one of the 5-star recruits like Darrell Scott or Jermie Calhoun? Why settle for a borderline 3/4-star athlete? That would be stupid! It doesn't make sense! How was Chip Kelly or Mike Bellotti to know that LaMichael would be a Heisman trophy candidate? Not likely! Heck! We might as well go back to the days of Jonathan Stewart to investigate why he went to Oregon; or even Haloti Ngata, what drew him to Eugene? Why would Oregon have success with any player? Of course I'm being sinacle, but I'm trying to make a point about what we hear in the media about hundreds of student athletes is often taken litteral and hardly ever questioned. I'm guilty of it as much as the next guy, so this post is more for me than anyone.

Seems that I have already mentioned LaMichael James and his accomplishments and explained his importance to the Oregon football team, I would like to make the bold statement that as good as LaMichael is, he could arguably be the third best running back on the team in the fall. LaMichael and fellow junior, Kenjon Barner fill the top two spots on the current depth chart. However, since James became the starter, Lache Seastruck came in the fall of 2010 and redshirted and DeAnthony Thomas comes to Oregon this year's fall camp. By no means am I trying to belittle the abilities and accomplishments of LaMichael James. On the contrary, I am celebrating his skills and achievements as last year's top rusher in the country and saluting his coaching staff who helped James develop his way to the Heisman race after only two years - being recruited as a "mere" 3-star running back coming out of high school. Now, those same coaches who had such success with the 3-star athlete, will have the "challenge" of coaching, additionally, two 5-star and one 4-star running backs.

Tra Carson is the incoming freshman that was rated a 4-star running back, #22 overall among all RB's in the nation. He will be the only back with his size at Oregon standing at 6'1" and weighing 218 pounds. He runs the 40 a little slower than the rest, clocking it at 4.60 seconds. It will be interesting to see where the coaches fit him in - whether as a 3rd down back or put him in more as a fullback and let him plow holes against linebackers for the smaller, shiftier backs.

The Oregon coaches have to be excited about the ex-USC commit, DeAnthony Thomas. He comes to Eugene as the #1 overall cornerback in the nation. When scout.com first listed him, he was the #1 recruit overall in all positions and was pinned as a running back. So, not only is he a 5-star, #1 overall CB, but initially the 5-star, #1 overall RB. Phil Steele has him as the #2 RB in the nation. Apparently he's suppose to be pretty good. With his skills and athleticism, CB and RB are probably not the only two positions that he could play and start at right away. It will be interesting to see where the coaches end up using him; whatever position, the opposing teams will need to know where he's at on every play - offensively AND defensively.

Another 5-star recruit who has already spent a year on Oregon's campus, Lache Seastruck, could be a household name within the next two years - if not by the end of November. He came out of high school as the #4 overall running back in the nation in 2010 and redshirted right away to give him more time with the football team to continue a Duck rushing attack that has been steady and consistent. The three other RB's that were listed ahead of Seastruck in 2010 were Malcolm Jones, Michael Dyer, and Marcus Lattimore. Lattimore (#1) and Dyer (#2) were off to the Southeastern Conference as starters and setting freshman rushing records at their appointed schools - South Carolina and Auburn, respectively. As for Jones, who knows what UCLA does with its great talent? Obviously UCLA is not getting those players on the field playing in the games. So, if Seastruck is anywhere near the talent of the South Carolina and Auburn recruits, then Oregon has another potent weapon for their offensive arsenal. It's gotta be good to be the quarterback, Darron Thomas!

I love the excitement that LaMichael brings to each offensive play that Oregon hustles to the line of scrimmage for ten seconds after the previous play had been ruled dead. He uses his speed to the outside and makes a move or two and gets past people, or he drives into the middle of the field in a huge scrum of linemen and just when you think the play is over, he pops out the other end and hits turbo to the endzone. His electrifying skills seem to be a glimpse of what the future has in store for the RB position at Oregon. If a borderline 3/4-star player can blossom into a super star at Oregon, think of the potential and possibilities that two 5-star recruits can do to the offense. This is why I think that LaMichael James could be arguably the 3rd best RB on the team in the fall and yet, all the pre-season magazines tell me that he is still the starter. If the 5-stars are as good as advertised, how many snaps will LaMichael lose to underclassmen? I'm drooling just thinking about Saturdays in the fall watching Oregon's offense with one more year of experience under Chip Kelly's blur attack.

Last year we saw LaMichael James with the bulk of the carries with his own showcase of highlight footage. In relief, Kenjon Barner showed very little decline in talent and productivity. When games were really far out of reach for their opponents, another slight drop in talent was brought in with true freshman, Josh Huff. This year, the backfield with James, Barner, and Huff could get really crowded - depending on the side of the ball Oregon puts DeAnthony and whether Tra is redshirted. There will be no surprise what Oregon's intentions will be in the fall. With all that said, because that's what the media wants us to hear about, I firmly believe that Oregon's secret weapon in the fall may come in the form of freshmen wide receivers that bring a lot of speed to the sidelines with 6'1" Devon Blackmon running a 4.43 40; the 6' junior college transfer, Rahsaan Vaughn clocking a 4.37 40; and the speedster, Tacoi Sumler standing at 5'9" and hustling the 40 at 4.33 speed! Oh, to be the offensive coordinator! To put some kind of combination of those guys on the field with some kind of combination of all those running backs on the field - at the same time - would be quite a dream job for somebody.

So, the media wants us to know about LaMichael James and Lache Seastruck and their thousands of dollars that they were given by Willie Lyle via University of Oregon to attend the U of O. It wants us to know that Chip Kelly is about to lose his job by sending thank you cards to a car salesman... oops! I mean, street agent... oops! That was Jason Whitlock's description. I mean, recruiting agent. These are a few things that the media wants the public to hear about in the plastering of sports news regarding the national champ runner-ups. At least the "scandal" occurred after the season and not during, much like that other team that played for the national championship game in January. So, if Scam... oops! Why do my fingers type such mistakes? If Cam Newton can get cleared so quickly and Terrelle Pryor can get eligibility to play in their bowl games for what they may have done (or whatever the media wants us to hear what they've done), then the Willie story should pass through like water over glass. Is what we're hearing, really what is being said? Or is what is being said, what we're really hearing? Do we just come up with our own lyrics to songs because that's what our ears put into our brains? What makes us get it wrong? I guess I thought that Shawn Cassidy was a runner when I heard him sing, "A do run, run, run... a do run, run" when all I needed to do is see the title of the song to know I was wrong. (Google it if you're too young to know who Shawn Cassidy is!) How many years went by thinking I knew that popular song?

In conclusion, I finally sat my daughter down and played the One Republic song for her. I again asked her what they were saying in the chorus. She replied again, "it's too late to call the judge... it's too late...". As the song played, I gently said the words as it was being sung and she realized that it was definitely "apologize". Phew! I got her back on track and now it's on to the next learning moment that daddy can teach his kid. Then she said to me, "They say 'apologize' first and then 'call the judge' second." How many of us are like my four year-old?

Tailgating Is So....

Week 1 in NCAA college football is behind us with so many questions still unanswered regarding the 120 teams in Division 1. Now, if you've read any of my prior posts, you know that I can't always get straight into football talk. Something on my mind lately is how old I'm getting. To some, I'm still a young pup; however, to most, I'll be entering mid-life crisis shortly. The other day, I went to the eye doctor (very young, attractive woman without glasses) and she mentioned something like, "you're getting to the age..." and that's all I heard. It was a blow to the ego (that was never there to begin with) after noticing a cute smirk on her face with hopes of her thinking I looked young for my age. That's okay because I took my astigmatism in my right eye straight to the outdoor gear store to get some shoe strings for my boots that I haven't been able to wear for about a year to prove to myself that a guy "getting to the age" can still be active - even though I don't look it. Well, the young thing that helped me there is lucky to be legal to drink, but was very willing to help me find the proper laces for my boots. She actually suggested to get small, round climbing rope for better strength, better knots, and better price. She was a genius! So, I decided to take advantage of the opportunity and put her to the test on purchasing the proper backpacking pack. Again, she impressed and wasn't too proud to get close enough to measure my back for frame size - even someone "getting to the age" with a astigmatism. I might have to go back in there to show her my new look with her laces to show my appreciation (I'd like to get that pack, too).

Then, a few days ago, I went to the library to see if they had this fairly popular book. I looked for a bit and realized that I didn't know the title nor the name of the author. Instead of leaving immediately, I stayed and looked around thinking that something I saw would jar my memory and remember the name of the book. Well, I'm still puzzled to this day and can't figure out how I'm going to get the name of that blasted book. I wasted an hour, I think. So, I'm getting astigmatisms AND I'm losing my mind. I guess my steel trap mind is no longer letting things back in or something. Am I really getting that old?

This age thing has gotten me thinking of tailgating of all things. Strange, huh? Maybe that's an age thing, too. So, my best friend from high school is having his 40th birthday this fall. Each year he goes to Corvallis to tailgate before the Oregon State game at Reeser Stadium. Fortunately for him, there have been three years straight that the Beavers have had a home game the weekend of his birthday. I have tailgated only a time or two with other non-drinkers, so I don't know what to expect when I get to Corvallis to surprise my buddy at the game around lots of people drinking. Am I too old and boring to feel like I might not enjoy it? I'm sure it all depends on where you are tailgating, so the atmosphere may be more pleasant than imagined. I have all these thoughts of tailgating and what it must be like for someone much younger than myself and how it may be a different experience entirely. I'm sure that tailgating in the Southeast would be spectacular with tons of fans to chat football and the co-eds everywhere, like; LSU, Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, or Ol' Miss. Plus, I would love to experience the game atmosphere at places like those in the Southeast, or storied programs like Michigan, Texas, Ohio State, Miami, Notre Dame, Nebraska, or USC.

So, when I head to Corvallis this fall, I will have to go with an open mind and minimal expectations of "how to" tailgate. I will be positive because there will be the love of the game all around me which will drown any concerns. Maybe I will need to be careful not to get carried away by enjoying myself too much. I suppose that could happen. I mean, it is an OSU game, so any school that is a State University would provide fun for any young guy trying to hang out with some pretty girls. It would be easy to approach a said pretty girl and say, "I need U!" Obviously, there would be a puzzled look on the young girl's face, "You need me?!?" Judging by how she says the word "YOU", the quick fix would be, "Yes! I have the 'O' on my chest, my buddy over there has the 'S' on his, so we're looking for someone to put on the 'U'." Innocent enough, right? Why not? Then if things seem to progress some, you could play a bit and say something like, "Ya know, I think your 'S' is better than my buddy's - he should be the 'U'." I'm sure you would need to be careful saying "S" to keep it "innocent", still. I guess if I were younger, I would want to tailgate every week. Whoever invented it is amazing! The keys seem to be bringing your spirit and don't be a jerk to the fans of the opponent. That's another cool thing about tailgating - mingling with the "enemy". When I went to a Huskies game in Seattle a couple years ago, they were playing Ohio State and the majority of the fans were really great and cordial. I loved that! I don't think anybody should make a butt of themselves at a cool place like a football game.

Pending that I'm not getting too old to tailgate, I am really looking forward to the game in Corvallis (even though Oregon State is not the preferred team to travel to). Time seems to be at a stand-still, but now that the games have actually begun, it will pass a little more rapidly. So, if anyone has any advice for me regarding tailgating or how to act in enemy territories or how to age more gracefully, please, I invite you to respond and I would welcome your advice.

Top Conference: The SEC?

I recall my rugby days at Southern Oregon University (formerly known as Southern Oregon State College, when I attended), when I felt that our little club of about 20 men could take on or compete with anybody. The games we played at home were dominated by us with our massive Samoans in the scrum and our head-strong white guys flanking out as the backs who could run north/south pretty well. My first game, our coaches words echoing in my head "follow the ball", helped me communicate to a co-captain who was ahead of everyone but the three defenders who he was dragging with him to toss the ball to the outside, so when he turned to back his way into the defenders, I was right there for relief and snagging the perfect toss, I ran the remaining 15 yards or so to score my first "try". Yes, I "Zulued" that day. What an awesome feeling! One game, I actually scored twice, the first was on a 70 yard bolt down the sideline - and I was the rookie. We traveled to Eugene, Oregon to play their 'A' squad, for they had three separate squads at the University of Oregon. The 'B' and 'C' squads were equivalent to JV and freshman squads, I suppose. We barely lost to the Ducks by 3 points. We were just a little club, they were a huge program with 3 squads! We nearly took them with a limited traveling team that had to fork over money from their own pockets for the trip. We had the best team around. We beat Bend and OIT, Reed College and many others. As rugby goes, there is always the celebrations afterward that last late into the night that includes both teams. The sportsmanship between the two teams was like it is when I see two men bow at and hug each other after a brutal MMA match. There is respect and love of the sport that binds the two teams or individuals together. I love rugby! The Southern Oregon Fighting Cocks were the toughest team to beat with the reputation to prove it.

My feelings about my old rugby team in the early '90's reminds me of a recent article written in the October 19, 2009, issue of Sports Illustrated, by John Ed Bradley, speaking of his team that he played for in the late '70's and the conference that it participates in now. Mr. Bradley celebrates the recent accomplishments of his alma mater, LSU, and looks back at his playing days with tender fondness. He is definitely proud to be a Bengal Tiger who currently resides in Louisiana to this day. He's still tucked into the heart of the SEC, who Mr. Bradley boldly claims to be the best conference top to bottom with depth all over. That's great and gives me some warm fuzzies and all; however, I don't see any respect of other teams portrayed in this article that would show any sportsmanship and admit to the love of the game; even as the SI cover suggests, "SEC Football: Nobody Does It Better, The Nation's Toughest Conference". So, when my buddy, Shannon, handed me this Tim Tebow clad SI, he knew from his Florida State devotion that this would cause a rise in my Pac-10-minded ideals. He was absolutely correct in his assumptions and caused me to write this blog the very next day.

I think the mentality of the SEC and its players and its fans is all summed up by the words of Roy Kramer, who was the SEC commissioner for 12 years before retiring in 2002, when he was quoted in this article, "... SEC schools have had an 'us against the nation' attitude since 1926". This shows a huge flaw in the SEC who claims to love football more than anything else in life, growing up knowing the head coaches of the universities better than the political leaders of their particular states. They seem to be saying that it is the SEC way or no way at all. The fans and media have a tendency to slip into that skid and can't find their way out of the irrational thinking of pure dominance of the "best" conference in the nation. I think that true fans of the game would show respect toward other programs that may settle in different parts of the country, including teams on the west side of the Mississippi River. Yes, there is life existing and going on in these parts of the woods. To show true sportsmanship you must be able to see the big picture and not have your face in the magnifying lens all year long.

I would agree that there are a lot of athletes that come out of the state of Florida, when Mississippi head coach speaks of the 335 average amount of young men signing on to Division I schools. I also think there are a lot of talented young men coming from the state of Texas, as well. I have heard from one of the coaches at UTEP when he went on the recruiting trail that there was so much talent in particular areas of Texas that it was difficult to focus in on just individual players. He told me that the speed on the East side of the state; however, really had top notch speed in comparison to the West side of the state. With all the talent in Texas, it would seem easy to get a decent team built up, but for teams like UTEP, it is actually very difficult with so many other bigger schools vying for the same kids. Texas is the hot bed of talent snatchers that gets more early commitments than any other program out there. Then you have other schools like Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Houston, Rice, and then UTEP. This doesn't include the talons that swoop in from Oklahoma and Louisiana State. Another state that has a decent talent pool is California. There are only 4 major colleges in the state to choose from with all that talent, so many of them are swept away to distant schools.

A couple years ago, I calculated the amount of all the 3, 4, and 5-star athletes, according to Scouts.com, and put them with their perspective conferences. It showed that the SEC, as a whole, dominates the recruiting of prep super stars every year. The next best conference was around half of the amount of highly touted talent that fed into the SEC. That is incredible! The SEC does an amazing job at recruiting, as a conference whole. With that said, I would like to see the SEC schools prove their talent level with other teams than just their own. How selfish to play 4 games that you know don't have a chance at scoring against your first team defense, let alone winning the game (with few exceptions a year)! I would love to see Houston Nutt do exactly what he was quoted in this article by saying, "I watch the other conferences all the time and I think, Boy, I'd like to play them." Perfect! Schedule a game with Oklahoma or Texas or Texas Tech. Travel up north, for once, and play in the cold against Penn State or Michigan or Ohio State. Visit the Pacific Ocean side of the country, for once, and play Oregon or Oregon State or USC or California or even a Boise State or Utah. I challenge you, Coach Nutt, to make it happen. Show off your coaching skills and trickery skills and huge talent-laden team that draws from the "best" conference in the nation. Prove it to America! Put your money where your mouth is! I guarantee, that if you feel a little frightened of flying such a distance, that ANY Pac-10 team would be delighted to travel to Oxford to play the Rebels there first - even the basement-ridden Washington State - that should be an easy win for you. Wait! Don't let me limit my challenge to Coach Nutt, but to the rest of the coaches in the SEC. I tip my hat to Georgia for taking on a Pac-10 foe. I tip my hat to Tennessee, too. Even though those two games were at home for the SEC, the Pac-10 did come off with one win, and nearly a second. I even tip my hat, slightly, to LSU for actually making the trip to the Pacific Northwest to play the Pac-10 team with the longest losing streak of 14 games. I'm sure that when the game was actually scheduled, Washington was still winning 3-5 games a season, so good job LSU (slight sarcasm there). Les Miles seems to avoid the better teams of the other conferences for some reason. I'm confused how that consistently happens. Weird! With all the talent that LSU and Florida and Alabama and Auburn and Tennessee and Georgia bring in each year, there should be no fear whatsoever playing elite teams of other conferences. Those teams should be so bold to the nation and deliberately play tough games each and every week. Why not? They have the talent. They have the depth. They have the money. They have the stadium capacity. They have everything. Do it! Or are there underlying issues to suggest that maybe the "best" conference is just hype to justify the over-rated rankings each week. Which is it? Don't just make claims without actually backing it up on the field. When the naive tight end for LSU, Richard Dickson, says, "Your USCs, your Ohio States, sure, they're all great teams, but as far as a league, I don't think you can compete with the guys we have to go against each week." Really? Does he know anything about USC? What is said from LSU Belles? "The Pac-10? Isn't that a convenience store out on Highland Road?" When was the last time you, Mr. Dickson, have played "your USCs? Or an actual legitimate team from another conference since your win over Ohio State? Hmm. You may be thinking hard for a long time, buddy. It just doesn't happen. Play USC someday! I know Pete Carroll would love it! USC doesn't back down from heavy competition. Look at their opponents over the last 10 years. Notre Dame every year is a far cry from the annual Tulane hiccup you have each year. LSU doesn't even play the whole conference every year like USC does. Sure, USC gets its conference "bye" week by playing WSU, but LSU gets theirs with Vanderbilt who went to their first bowl game last year since 1982. At least WSU had 3 consecutive 10 win seasons within the last decade or so. When has Vandy ever done that? Or Kentucky? Or Mississippi State? Or Ole Miss? Don't just talk about it! I want to see it on the field! You can make all the claims in the world you want, but until I see you SEC coaches going after the big teams of other conferences and dominating them, I'm not going to be a believer - especially when the Pac-10 has a winning record over the SEC since the year 2000. These games are NOT against the easy shoe-ins for a win against opponents like Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Mississippi State, etc. The most recent wins are against Arkansas, Tennessee, and Auburn. I understand that maybe a hand full of people will actually read this, but I stand by my challenge to all the SEC coaches to step up and show off all their talent pool of young, strong, fast football players. Oregon would be a great team to go up against now with their very average 3-star athletes that have no speed like that of any SEC school, who took it to USC recently (sorry, some more sarcasm - I can't help it).

There is one thing I'm trying to figure out this season. There is this game in Knoxville that was played earlier in the season against UCLA. Well, UCLA started off with a easy opponent in San Diego State and then traveled to Knoxville to beat Tennessee two years straight and then played Kansas State (who is now atop the Big XII North). Since those three (actually two) impressive wins, UCLA has yet to win a Pac-10 game and hasn't even played USC yet. What's that say about the Pac-10? Well, let's look at the other side. Tennessee started off with a scrimmage against Western Kentucky and then lost to UCLA by 4, then a week later, lost by 10 to the #1 team in the nation, Florida. Beat an Ohio team, then lost to Auburn (shouldn't have) by 4. Then the Vols beat up Georgia by a whole bunch and lost by 2 to the #2 team in the nation, Alabama (only because the last minute field goal attempt was blocked by Alabama). Their Halloween showdown proved a dominant performance over the #22 ranked South Carolina. What's that say about the SEC? Let me think aloud for a moment when I say that UCLA was starting a freshman QB for his second game as a starter in Knoxville, who seats over 100,000 people and came off a win over an SEC school that started a veteran senior QB... hmmm... now I'm thinking to myself - maybe you might put the same 2+2 together. The answer I get is maybe John Ed Bradley of the LSU squad of several years ago may be off a bit in his assumption that the SEC is the "nation's toughest conference" by seeing how the season is getting played out. So, the question remains, which conference has more quality teams from top to bottom? Of the six major conferences, there are points to make with each conference; however, the major media will always say that the SEC is the best, but I think the facts and head-to-head statistics should have a lot more to say about it - especially when the SEC has a winning record against all the major conferences since 2000 except for the Pac-10. I feel that this is the most impressive fact that people like, Mr. Bradley will not fess up to and show good sportsmanship to recongnize all the facts before stating how inferior all other conferences are.

So, I enjoyed the article in Sports Illustrated by Mr. Bradley, but I don't think he loves the game outside of Louisiana. True fans follow more than one team or one conference because they respect the other programs and they just love the game. This is what I want to hear from someone devoted to the Southeast.

The Battle Between the SEC and the Pac-10

At the beginning of the 2009 season, the Washington Huskies' football team was riding a 14 game losing streak. They were winless in the 2008 season. Their daunting task was to start the '09 season against an SEC power, LSU Tigers, who won the national title as recently as 2007. Wow! How could a winless Washington team, with a brand new head coach (3rd youngest in major football), compete at all against the #11 team in the nation with so much talent just in the last two years of recruiting that would put the whole Pac-10 conference (with exception to USC) to shame? Robert Smith is quoted by saying, "Washington doesn't have a chance!" With LSU being from the SEC and the conference that is known for its defense and running the ball, there would be no way a no-talent program like Washington, who was compared by Robert Smith to the Detroit Lions in similar lack of talent, to even be in the game at all. LSU would be flying home with their 10th consecutive 'W' against a Pac-10 team by inserting their 3rd-stringers into the game mid-way through the 2nd quarter. It will be that ugly for the Huskies.

Okay, so I like to lay it on a little thick. However, I would like to ask those SEC fans how they explain the lack-luster play of their precious LSU squad. Maybe they can tell me how the greatest defensive conference could give up 478 yards and 36:52 in time of possession. That doesn't sound like a superior team ranked at #11 playing stellar defense against a 14-game losing streaked team with a brand new head coach, coaching his debut game. How can any ESPN writer say that the game ball should go to Jordan Jefferson who passed for only 172 yards and 3 TD's? Jake Locker, who is NOT known for his passing abilities, passed for 321 yards and 2 TD's (plus another TD, only the other team caught it and returned it for a TD). That is an amazing stat, there. Locker "only" rushed for 51 yards on 12 carries. Maybe Washington didn't have the 11 penalties for 83 yards, and didn't give up a pick-six, and didn't let Terrance Toliver catch two TD's for 45 and 39 yards, respectively. Would there have been a different outcome - possibly; but there is no way you can take huge plays away from a game - that's what they are all about.

Les Miles has a great record against Pac-10 schools since his arrival to LSU. He traveled to Arizona State to play the 15th ranked Sun Devils as the #5 team in the nation and beat them 35-31. Seems a little too close, but not as close as the year before when the Nick Saban-led Tigers played a home game as the #4 team in the nation taking on the unranked Oregon State Beavers and "pounding on them" by coming from behind to put it into OT and finally winning it in OT 22-21 because the true freshman kicker, Alexis Serna missed the PAT (and a field goal try a time or two earlier). In 2006, LSU played another home game against an miserable Arizona squad as the #8 team in the nation. I sense that LSU does not like to travel much to the West and they like to pick on the lesser Pac-10 schools. The ranked ASU team in 2005 ended the season 7-5 while LSU ended up 11-2. ASU didn't meet up to the expectations of the AP or Coaches' Polls. Why doesn't LSU schedule a game with USC or Oregon? Those are the two most consistant schools in the conference these days. Why not? Are they afraid of losing? I'm shocked that LSU hasn't tried to get a game with Washington State. LSU gets pretty easy schedules, besides, Les Miles said that the Pac-10 is the "Big Easy" for conference competition anyway. So, you would think that LSU would stop scheduling Louisiana-Lafayette, Appalachian State, Troy, North Texas, Middle Tennessee State, and Arkansas State. Shoot for some Pac-10 blood, Miles! I dare you!

So, in other news, it was great to see UCLA travel to Knoxville and pull out a win over an SEC school. I know SEC fans will say "But, Tennessee is far from the class of the SEC..." as it was, say, when it won the national championship. Duh! However, the SEC fans will turn it around in their favor when talking about the difficulty of conference scheduling and say that a particular team has to play Tennessee - which, in my opinion, is still a tough match-up. It's not like having Vanderbilt on your schedule!