Wally Butts In

"If the players don’t see what I see then they are doomed but I highly doubt that they’re not optimistic about this game and their potential." Are you an ophthalmologist, or do you just like making subtle puns? Either way, I think you give yourself too much credit. Maybe UF would hire you. The world is full of mercenaries you know.

Uh, you might want to take another minute to work on that math. If they have 6 rankings per season x 8 seasons = 48 rankings. However, we're only 4 rankings into the 8th season... so for the first time in the 46 playoff rankings, a Group of 5 team is in the top 4.

I consider it "The Onion" of sports journalism.

A Bama fan talking about holding? Nobody holds better than Bama.

...so how seriously will you take his opinion about your coach if they get over the Florida hump first?

You know these sixth graders at the camp I worked at this summer were really nasty on defense every time I came to the plate in kickball... Really, that's just made up, but for some reason it sounds familiar.

...most likely the best run defense they will see all season long... Ok, it's a new year. But let's say we compare the teams on UF's schedule this year by how they did against the run last year. Miami ranked 42nd in the country. LSU ranked 34th, Auburn 32nd, and Georgia 31st. Glad you don't have Alabama (19th), aTm (3rd), or MS State (2nd!) on the schedule this year? My fear for you is that the new line Franks and Perine are working with will help them about as much as Auburn's did a year ago. Care to look at those stats? (They aren't pretty. But check out SEC Shorts making fun of Auburn's "Missing Offensive Line" [Sept. 30, 2018]. It's really hilarious...) If UF is forced to become a one-dimensional offense because they are unable to run behind that line, having Franks as QB would scare me. I wouldn't trust him under pressure. Granted, you have three weeks until Kentucky, and four weeks until Tennessee. I'm sure the game plan until then will be as vanilla as possible, and issues will be addressed. Tonight's game only confirmed the suspicion that I had about how hard it is to compete well when 4 of 5 guys on the O-line are new. Glad y'all eked/reeked out a win (sort of), but it looks like it's gonna be a roller coaster of a season for you guys. Strap in...

^^That is funny!

Spin the facts whichever way you want. Your bias won't allow to you ever think he is more than an average coach. I get it. My bias runs the opposite direction. Kirby is only three years into the HC role, but if/when UGA gets over the hump and wins a national championship, you'll be busy swearing it was a fluke or due to some extraneous circumstances. Enjoy the fact that your coach has had time to cut his teeth and learn the responsibilities of the position at MSU before heading back to Gainesville. Kirby's not perfect, but I'm pretty content in the history of Kirby vs. Mullen.

And you've been gloating with a championship you didn't win on your own.

PCB, my comment to BayouT was indeed sarcasm - which by his response showed he understood the nature of it. My comments on this thread are actually trolling Bama. (Which I hope is done with at least a hint of reasonable argument and subtlety - ok, the last one wasn't that subtle.) All that being done of course without a dog in the fight. Shouldn't I, of all people, be able to speak with some knowledge about the defensive abilities of LSU? If you're purposely being obtuse just to rehash LSU's win over UGA, get a life. If you missed my sarcasm, read my first post again to see how I really feel about LSU's chances in their game this weekend.

Come on BayouT, you know those teams only have such poor pass efficiency defense rankings cause Bama played and smoked them - and LSU's is only so high cause they haven't faced Bama yet. LSU's defense is going down, PAAAWWWWLLLL!

Sooo, just for funsies Matt, you realize point one makes it sound like you write for the Onion? No? (It does - only Alabama fans don't realize it either.) LSU has at least a puncher's chance in this game because they have the depth and speed to handle the blows that Alabama lands (or tries to). Can they avoid shooting themselves in the foot like they did against Florida? I don't know. Can Burrow manage to continue to move the chains against Bama's vaunted defense? I don't know that either, but my suspicion is that Bama's fans are in for a bit of frustration as LSU alternates between pounding the rock and picking on the secondary through the air. Will LSU have enough in the tank to win? Who knows? Sure Tua seems like the better QB than Burrow. He certainly is the flashier product on the field. But he is banged up. Has he recovered, or could LSU push him out of the game? I don't really stop to question those ideas (all possibilities, but absolutely no way to know either - Nicky sure isn't going to tell anything either!), but what makes the difference to me is the defense that he is going against has the playmakers that equalize his (Tua's) talent more than anyone else they play. TL/DR: Avoid the rat poison; LSU's got a chance. Will they win? That's precisely why we watch college football.

Hard to get to a national championship when you can't successfully get past the bluegrass state boys. Seems like those who think they are a move up are actually playing in the same kiddie playground as those non-elite, regional programs. Try not to hit the 420 so hard Gary...

It is possible that it is a shadow rather than a bruise. Look at the shadow where his right arm enters the jersey. The hand and arm are at similar angles, and the shadows are somewhat comparable (even though caused by different objects). Lighting in places like stadiums can cause strange shadows where you might not expect them. I think his helmet is actually the cause.

There's really not much to be clever about. The result did remind me of this time in the '80s when I saw a Yugo run into an 18 wheeler though.

Skip the transitive property argument and just compare the results on the field from when our teams played - or have you blocked those from your memory? Bullpups got rocked!

I agree. Whether during the BCS years of only 2 playing for the title, or now with 4 teams in the playoff, changing the numbers to allow 8 to play for the title doesn't change the problem. I wish they could come up with a system that was flexible. If you need 6 slots, you can expand to it, but if 4 is enough, then it stays 4 (but, boy howdy would #5 howl that 6 slots weren't used that year...). Even with a flexible scenario, which I don't think any college would support, the problem remains the same.

Bama didn't lock up their playoff spot. Everyone else played giveaway, and Bama was in the best position to receive the gift. (Some people played giveaway early in the season, some on Saturday.) If other dominoes hadn't fallen, they wouldn't have made it. I personally hoped the committee had picked USC just to tick off Bama and OSU...