As the controversy raged about the “re-match” between #1 LSU and #2 Alabama, many said that in a close game the Associated Press (AP) voters would still put LSU #1 on their final 2011 ballots. As it turned out, only one voter did that. In the Final Ballot, the AP voters gave 55 votes to Alabama, 1 to LSU and…4 people voted for Oklahoma State. 55 is a nice vote of confidence, I’d say.  Congratulations to the Crimson Tide, to the University and to the fans!

Were you as surprised as I about the 21 to 0 margin of victory for the Crimson Tide? It seems that many were. I won’t bore you with what I’m sure you’ve already heard about the dominance of the Alabama team and, I won’t bore you with stats or give you a commentary on the game. Most of you watched it or read about it.

The ESPN afternoon guys have called it a “terrible game” and bemoaned the lack of touchdowns and dearth of exciting offensive displays. Coach Gundy from Okahoma State (they got 4 AP 1st place votes-remember?) still maintains that if his team had played in the Championship game, it would have made for a much more exciting game. Is that what its about – entertainment?

I am more inclined to believe that it is about finding the best team in the nation.

Its not “made for television drama”; its not scripted nor is it designed for entertainment. It is the bowl game that is supposed to determine the best team in Division 1 Football! The announcers, the interviews with coaches and players, the bands and cheerleaders, the attractions of the host cities and even the advertisers provide the flash and the entertainment. The Game is just that – the Game. If it is evenly matched, we watch a well planned and intriguing contest. If it is not evenly matched, we watch a blow-out, a beating, or as Brent Musburger put it, “a mauling”.
Why didn’t LSU score? I  know why Alabama made 15 of the 21 points they had via Field Goals – it was because LSU’s defense kept them from scoring touchdowns: therefore, I’d assume Alabama’s defense must have done it’s job to prevent LSU from scoring. It was SEC Football; a defensive display of skill and intelligent play, a defensive front and secondary that didn’t allow the QB’s time to throw downfield to an undefended (uncovered) receiver, and a pass rush that kept the QB ever on his toes. Coach Gundy said he’d have had his QB throw it 50 times… I can’t get started on this comment – I’d go on forever!

It was a game between two good teams from the SEC. Alabama finished #1, LSU #2 and Arkansas #5 – isn’t that amazing?!! Three teams from the same conference AND the same Division! I am proud of that. The only way we will ever be able to prove the point is to play the “OK States” of the world and the other doubters that say they could have beaten the Southern teams. This year made a lot of racket go up about the BCS system; change will be coming. We will see it in the not-so-distant future but, we will just keep doing what we do in the South.
We’ll play good solid football and let the chips fall where they may.

By now you no doubt have heard the roar of joy and, dissatisfaction about the National Championship Game scheduled for January 9, 2012. ‘Seems the vote was unanimous for SEC, undefeated, LSU who sits comfortably in the #1 spot in all polls. Not so easily and not so unanimously, we find Alabama precariously sitting at #2 while much of the nation takes um-bridge with the choice.  It is no doubt a very unusual spot to be in and one without much precedent since the inception of the BCS.

Alabama did not win the SEC West, as we’ve mentioned before (they lost to LSU by 3 points in overtime) and therefore did not play in the SEC Championship Game last weekend. The disagreement has been that OK State, who soundly beat their rival OK last weekend, should be in the #2 spot and play LSU for the National Title. We knew from the BCS gurus that it would take an awful big swing to put OK State(lost to unranked Iowa St.) ahead of Bama, but nevertheless, it seemed to come as a shock to the Cowboys and others. Who can blame them?

I am a southerner, but I watch football from September to January each year as it is played across the country. And, I have seen a huge difference in the caliber of “play” across this nation this season and last - there’s no denying it. Traditional power houses like Michigan, Ohio State, Texas, and others have slipped out of the picture. I can totally understand the nation’s reasons for having “SEC fatigue”. The SEC has won the last 5 National Championships and now…, there is no doubt it will become “6″.

You see, I am admitting how very odd it is. But, I do think that Alabama and LSU are the best 2 teams in the nation. I have watched a lot of football (just ask my husband) and read about it and listened to commentary on it. Would it be fun to see OK State play LSU? Yeah, I guess it would. But, I can honestly say that I think LSU would dominate so profoundly that it would not be fun for very long -for anyone but the Bayou Bengals.

I’ve heard a lot of talk about the system being “flawed” and so much speculation about how it could be improved. I say, “of course it is flawed”! Let’s be realistic! “Polls” are involved, humans vote in polls, fans have favorites and coaches vote favoring their teams. What a shock…

I’ve been watching football for a long time (I’m old). I remember when the UPI (no longer exists) and AP polls sometimes came up with 2 different teams for the #1 spot at season’s end. I’ve seen countless losses that could be attributed to an officiating mistake or a inaccurate “call” – now, we have replay to help with that, but it’s still not perfect. Have you ever noticed that in our country’s national elections, the electoral voters don’t always vote the consensus of their constituents? Do you remember that 7th grade student council race at your school where the most popular kid got elected, rather than the most qualified?

We are not likely to wipe out bias and create a perfect system. We cannot do anything about the voters who lack integrity and we cannot control the behavior or misbehavior of others. All we can do is make sure that WE operate with integrity and hope that the men and women who lead our student athletes do the same.

So, it is an SEC rematch. I am not happy that it will be debated and debunked until January 9th. But, I believe that once play begins we will see have little doubt that it was a good choice. If I am wrong, I’ll surely admit it.

I must offer my apologies for the absence of a “Head-Turner” last week. To be perfectly frank, I just couldn’t think of any way to talk about college football without dealing with the Penn State debacle. I didn’t have it “in” me to write even a word on the subject and…, I still don’t.

From the perspective of my rear-view mirror,  this past weekend has left me with little to say except, “Wow!”. Who would have ever seen it coming? #2 Oklahoma State fell to an unranked, 3 touchdown underdog- Iowa State. Baylor beat Oklahoma for the very first time in history. And to top it all off, Oregon fell to USC and Lane Kiffin - who was an irritating joke at Tennessee but appears to be doing something VERY right in California.  All this left folks scratching their heads and wondering what would happen in the BCS rankings. No need to wonder any longer.

The top 3 spots in the BCS are held by SEC West teams! Not only is it unprecedented to see three teams from the same conference in this spot, the “wow factor” is further increased by the fact that all 3 are from the Western Division of the SEC!

Next weekend, all eyes will be on the SEC West as Alabama takes on rival Auburn at Jordan Hare Stadium and #3 Arkansas plays #1 LSU in Baton Rouge. In order for this odd circumstance to remain intact,  LSU and Alabama need to win their respective battles next week. Then,  LSU will go to the SEC Championship game and play Georgia. Although UGA has been playing much, much better since mid-season, there is little doubt in my mind that LSU will be the victor and represent the SEC at the BCS National Championship Game on January 9th. They will be playing…#2 Alabama – who is representing, well…themselves, I guess.

I do hesitate to mention this BUT, if LSU and/or Alabama lose their battle/s next weekend – it will be really difficult to say what will happen. Much of it will become very subjective and lots of folks will find LOTS of ways to disagree. In short, it will be BCS Chaos.

We will hide and watch and maybe pray, just a little bit.

It’s hard to believe that Week #8 is already upon us. I wish it would slow down just a little. The Head Turner this week is more of an opinion question, I guess.

I chose a subject that has bothered me, in varying degrees since last year’s bowl season. The subject involves the discipline or lack thereof, that coaches dish out when players violate team policies or otherwise get into trouble. It begin last year with the Ohio State suspensions, which were delayed until after they played in the Sugar Bowl.  This ended very poorly for the players AND their coach, Jim Tressel.

The beginning of this season was marred by the arrest of LSU’s starting QB and other members of the team. This player’s charges were reduced from a felony, so Coach Miles has him back playing again despite the fact that the 2nd string QB stepped in and has led his team to 7 wins. Be assured that numerous other incidents  have occured across the NCAA landscape this year.

Perhaps you have heard the latest “bad” news hitting the airwaves which unfortunately involves the nation’s #1 team, LSU. Apparently, 3 players are being suspended for the Auburn game this weekend after what is rumored to be a failure to pass drug screens.

Here’s what bothers me: I think coaches are teachers and the young men they lead learn a dangerous lesson if they face no consequences for breaking rules and, in many cases-laws. I know college football is important. I love it. But, I have to respect coaches who have the courage to take a positive stand and put “winning at all costs” aside. Ole Miss, Coach Houston Nutt took key players from the Alabama game last week due to team violations and, I respect that.

So the question this week is this: What is your opinion on situations like we are seeing with the LSU suspensions? Do you think that the soft approach taken with regard to the reinstatement of QB, Jordan Jefferson had anything to do with LSU’s recent players violations? Do you think that they assumed they would be cleared to participate because they are star players?

What do you think? Check with the folks you live, work and watch football with. See what they think, too.

Big Games are coming these weekend. Consequently, at this point in the season I always get confused about which games are the most important. I’ll do a brief rundown of some of the southern teams we are most likely to be interested in. (Apologies if I leave your team off the list).

Let’s see, LSU and Florida are playing, but Florida is not functioning optimally after loosing their QB to injury last week in the Alabama game. This could be a real beatdown for Florida down in Baton Rouge.

Alabama is playing Vandy for Alabama’s Homecoming. I don’t think this will be very interesting.

Auburn and Arkansas are playing in Fayetteville, with the Hogs being favored. I don’t have a clue who’ll win that one because Auburn is prone to surprises, both positive and negative. Arkansas may have key defensive players back from injuries this week, but again…who knows about this one?!

Now, the Tennessee vs Georgia game will have implications for how the SEC East stacks up. What I mean is this: The SEC East, of which UT and UGA are members, has fewer really strong teams this year and the winner of the East could possibly go to the SEC Championship game with 3 losses. On the other hand, the SEC West representative will likely have ZERO losses- that would most likely be LSU or Alabama. So, watch for the outcome of this SEC East game-its big for GA and for UT. You could ask your buddies, “Have you heard that it might be possible for an SEC East team to win their division with 3 losses?”

Nationally, the big game will be the “Red River Rivalry” between #3 Oklahoma and #11 Texas. The name is derived from the Red River that forms part of the boundary between Texas and  Oklahoma. It used to be called the “Red River Shootout”, but they are now more PC.  This game also corresponds with the Texas State Fair which will be discussed on air ad nauseum largely due to the unusual fried food items featured (Fried: salsa, butter, pineapple upside-down cake, bacon and the ol’ standby-peanut butter and jelly-to name a VERY few).

Back to the game.  Oklahoma is favored, but if they were to lose, it would be nice for the SEC and the ACC because Oklahoma was a pre-season #1 and it would likely push them out of the TOP 10. But of course, it’s still early and much could happen (understatement).

Texas has been greatly improved since the beginning of the season and they have an unusual “deja vu” happening on offense. Two younger brothers are filling roles their older siblings held in 2009. Sophomore QB, Case McCoy is the younger brother of the legendary Colt McCoy and, Jaxon Shipley, freshman RB is the brother of Jordan Shipley who was Colt’s sterling receiver in ’09. To sum it up, Case (QB) and Jaxon (RB) are destined to be a talking point during this game.

You should mention this game. Say something like, “What’s your opinion on the outcome of the ‘Red River Rivalry’? It will be cool to see how the ‘new McCoy/Shipley combo’ will shape up during this game, don’t you think?” You could even follow it up with an offer to deep-fry some butter or a Snickers for the tailgate.

Y’all have fun this weekend and may your team win!

When I began writing for Southern Girls College Football Guide, I told a background story about my little hometown in North Alabama and the boys I grew up with. I shared life’s milestones with these boys who played the game on Friday night. We’d been in grammar school carpools together, ridden bikes side by side, attended church, sang in choirs and studied together. We played Sunday afternoon football games in the front yard and quit just in time to make it to evening services. These were the boys I cheered for and whose jersey numbers I still remember. Thanks to them, I love football.

These boys, it turns out went on to do remarkable things. Some stayed at home and raised families in that small town. Others left for greener pastures.  Some played football in college and beyond. I loved them then, and I love them still. They once inspired us all in their dark red jerseys. And now, now that I know some of their “stories”, I am awed by their lives, integrity, accomplishments and their wonderful spirits.

So, I am greatly honored that a few of these “boys” have consented to be interviewed and to discuss their lives with us here. I’ll start you out with a couple and add another as they become available. You can access them via the “Interview” category on the page’s right side.

What a great privilege – to know men of this caliber!