SEC WEEK 4 RECAP

Yeah...this guys the man right now



The Myth, The Man, The Legend...Verne Lundquist












This past Saturday was a great day in the SEC. Since I had a wedding to go to last weekend, this weekend I made sure to clear my schedule. After my BRO William and I had a man date consisting of a morning workout and then breakfast and Game Day at his place, I sat on the couch literally ALL day and watched football. If only the weather was a little colder, it would have been a PERFECT fall Saturday. Let's start with the 3:30 CBS game in which Verne Lundquist preceded to say "oh my goodness" at least fifty times...Verne was loving every minute of Alabama - Arkansas, and so was I!

Alabama 24 Arkansas 20

It was number 1 at number 10, and the Razorback crowd was fired up. It was definitely the biggest game in Fayetteville in the last ten years. All week, Alabama fans kept talking about how this game would not even be close, which annoyed me a little bit because Arkansas is a good team. Some of those Bama fans are getting cocky, but thats OK because you are allowed to be cocky when S "The Coach" is in charge of your program.

Ryan Mallett came out ready to sling the rock and scored in only TWO plays. That ended up being a sign of good things to come for Arkansas in the first half, as Mallett continued to impress the country with his ability to put the ball on the money. Alabama QB Greg McElroy, who is the ultimate winner (Rhodes scholar candidate, National champion, hasn't lost a game since 8th grade) had a really bad first half, throwing two picks and missing a few receivers. You could tell he was upset at himself in the second quarter.

However, Nick Saban, Kirby Saban, and the Alabama defense made some great adjustments in the second half, and finally found ways to put some pressure on Mallett. National Championship teams find a way to win games like these, and Alabama did exactly that. Although the Tide has a young secondary, those young guys grew up in the second half of this game. It was fitting that Bama CB Dre Kirkpatrick, who cost the Tide a touchdown in the first half, sealed the game with his late 4th quarter interception. Alabama's win sets the stage for a rematch of the SEC championship the past TWO years in T-town saturday. You better believe I'll be there.


Auburn 35 South Carolina 27

Once again, Auburn got down early. They were down 20-7 at one point in the second quarter. But once again, Auburn came back. Once again, Fig Newton was legit. I am really impressed with this team. They seem to have a lot of fight in them and they are fun to watch. Two straight weeks, Auburn played two really good teams from the state of South Carolina, and Auburn won both. I still think South Carolina is good and has a chance to win the East, but Spurrier is going to have to figure out what he wants to do.

I like to joke about how he jerks around Garcia, but Saturday night I feel like Spurrier cost the Gamecocks the win. After Garcia had fumbled twice, Spurrier jerked him out in favor of a FRESHMAN in he 4th quarter. And not just in the 4th quarter, in the 4th quarter of an away, night game in the SEC. How is Garcia supposed to have ANY confidence whatsoever when Spurrier continues to jerk him around like this. I thought he had made some pretty good throws. One was a GREAT throw to one of his big receivers in the endzone. But then, when things started to not good as well, Spurrier had seen enough of Garcia, and decided to go with Freshman Connor Shaw down the stretch (who threw 2 picks in the 4th quarter). When Greg McElroy threw two picks in the 2nd quarter Saturday, you didn't see Saban bench him. And Alabama has a pretty good backup quarterback. Over the course of the game, if you play quarterback, you WILL make mistakes. You have the rock in your hands every play. Just like in basketball, the point guard is going to have a few turnovers, its inevitable. Spurrier gets to second guess Garcia's throws, Stephen Garcia does not. Sometimes I think you've got to pat your guy on the back and make a decision to just play it out with him.

Mississippi St. 24 Georgia 12

This game was not as close as the score even says. UGA got beat in every phase of the game by a mediocre as grits team. They once again had key fumbles, key penalties, etc. But even more than that, UGA just DID NOT look inspired to play football. You could just see it. The game was boring. It was awful to watch. Todd Grantham's "relentless pressure" Defense got no pressure on Miss. St.'s mediocre QB. UGA's offense did not score a touchdown until late in the 4th quarter when the game was over. I'm disgusted. I think a lot of people are. Georgia just is not very good. Period.


Florida 48 Kentucky 14

Florida seems like they are finally started to come around. Are they a top 10 team? Maybe. But it doesn't really matter. What matters is, they are undefeated and going to play the #1 team in the nation on Saturday. This is exactly where Florida wanted to be at this point in the year. They have put themselves in a position to beat Alabama and really make some noise around the country. I think its going to be a war on Saturday. Whatever Florida misses in toughness this year (aka Tim Tebow) they make up for in speed. It is going to be very interesting to see John Brantley go against Alabama's D. He is facing a Defense on Saturday that is going to challenge him to make the right throw every single time, and if he doesn't, Alabama will punish him. The pressure is going to be on him Saturday in T-town.

In other games...
Ole Miss held off Fresno St. Congratulations OLE MISS!! You guys got a win. At home too, where things have not gone as planned this year. At least if you go to Ole Miss and the football is having a bad year, you've still got THE GROVE.

LSU held off W. Virginia 20-14 in a night game in Death Valley. They have played better than I expected this year. But its going to get tough for them very fast.

Tennessee held off UAB 32-29 in Double OT at home! Tennessee is just not very good this year, but we all knew that would happen. UGA may have another chance to go against another win less team in the SEC on Saturday Oct. 9th when Derrek Dooley comes home to Athens.

THE URBAN PEACH SEC PLAYER OF THE WEEK - Cameron Newton QB Auburn. Fig was 16-21 for 158 yards and 2 TD with 0 picks. He also rushed 25 times for 176 yards and 3 TDs. He accounted for 5 Auburn touchdowns.! Tim Tebowesque. Fig's the man.

Its supposed to be a beautiful Fall Saturday this weekend. I can't wait for that cooler weather!

-Sports BRO