I Hate You, John Crist: Responding to reader comments from Week 9

After too many weeks holed up in the SDS war room, it’s time to hit the road again and get back to the business of covering games on site.

I’m headed to The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party on Saturday in Jacksonville. Sadly, the only beverage in my Solo cup will be water mixed with, well, more water. Not a lot of brown liquor in the press box these days.

Having gone to high school in Jacksonville Beach, I’ve attended the annual Florida-Georgia tilt many times before. The dichotomy between the two fan bases always slays me. When I close my eyes now and think of a Bulldogs fan, I see a pretty girl in a red and black sundress. As for the Gators fan, it’s just some dude in jorts.

After Texas A&M-Alabama, Arkansas-Auburn and Ole Miss-LSU last week, the conversation was all about the West. Perhaps the Cocktail Party finally puts the East on display and reminds SEC sycophants that there are indeed two divisions.

Here are some of my favorite comments from this past week. All you Crimson Tide haters might want to skip down a ways.

This comment was in response to the column I wrote immediately after No. 1 Alabama’s 33-14 win over then-No. 6 Texas A&M this past Saturday.

If you research everything I did last year, you’ll see that I don’t necessarily worship at the feet of coach Nick Saban. Although I was ultimately proven wrong, I consistently said that quarterback Jake Coker would keep Bama from winning it all.

But this season, I simply don’t see a flaw on this team. The offense is more dynamic than ever with Jalen Hurts at the controls, true freshman or not. The defense doesn’t miss any of the defections off last year’s squad — there are some great players gone, too — and continues to eliminate the enemy running game. Special teams are also sound in every phase.

With Saban at the helm and two incredible coordinators in Lane Kiffin and Jeremy Pruitt, this is likely the top coaching staff in America. Somehow, the program refuses to get complacent and only grows hungrier for more success.

It’s not a perfect team, of course. However, the best you can do is nitpick. Saban and Co. are light years ahead of everybody else right now.

Yes, I watched South Carolina quarterback Jake Bentley have a decent statistical performance against an atrocious Massachusetts team at home.

Perry Orth leaves a lot to be desired at the game’s most important position. So does Brandon McIlwain. But facing a Minutemen defense currently ranked 110th in the country out of 128, I’m sure they would have put up quality numbers, too.

Credit: Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports

I definitely saw enough to believe that Bentley (above) is the best pure passer the Gamecocks have right now — that’s sort of like being the valedictorian of summer school, you have to admit — and might develop into a fine player one day. That being said, to anoint him as the future in Columbia after one start against a glorified FCS team is foolish.

I’ll reiterate my point: If Bentley looks awful on Saturday against the Volunteers facing a legitimate SEC defense, even one as banged up as Tennessee’s, what then? Will the UMass win really have taught us anything in the long run?

What’s more likely? Bentley lighting up the Vols or getting the hook in favor of McIlwain? My money is on the latter.

Because there is space to fill between now and Dec. 10, voters don’t want to just hand the Heisman Trophy to Louisville QB Lamar Jackson.

With so few Power 5 candidates stating a convincing case, at least outside of the quarterback position, Alabama defensive end Jonathan Allen is being tried on for size as an outside-the-box contender for the bronze.

Nevertheless, I’m sort of with you that Tennessee DE Derek Barnett is every bit as deserving as Allen — perhaps even more so. Unlike Allen, who’s part of a Crimson Tide defense that’s dominant at every level, Barnett has continued to wreak havoc despite the Volunteers resembling a M*A*S*H unit on his side of the football.

While both have been credited with 6.0 sacks, Barnett has 11.5 total tackles for loss to Allen’s 6.5. Because the Vols are the walking wounded defensively, Barnett has been asked to carry much more of the burden than Allen at Bama.

Regardless, I don’t think either will get anywhere near the Heisman. A pass-rusher would need 20 sacks and 30 TFLs just to go to New York.

John Crist is the senior writer for Saturday Down South, a member of the FWAA and a voter for the Heisman Trophy. Send him an e-mail, like him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter.