I’ll start off by mentioning a couple other writings of mine that might provide some interesting backstory. I wrote the first last week about Les Miles’ record at LSU, but it also compares his record to that of other coaches, including Saban’s at LSU and Alabama. Then of course there is my blog about the LSU/Alabama rivalry, dominated for decades by Alabama but controlled by LSU for much of the first decade of the 21st century before becoming competitive again of late.

This is unrelated, but I also wanted to share a couple of links about Marcus Lattimore. Spurrier got a bit of criticism for his sort of backhanded acknowledgement of Dabo Swinney’s kind words about Lattimore. Dabo didn’t go quite as far as “Hog Lady” though. The SEC isn’t just great defenses and running backs, you have to love the fans and personalities as well.

Back to the important goings on, we do have two of the most successful active head coaches with their current programs facing one another, and of course LSU was fortunate to have had them both.
If you’ll look at the stats I gave in the Les Miles blog, I think it’s an even bigger coaching match-up with Urban Meyer at a new school and with Pete Carroll in the NFL. It’s harder to argue there are other guys doing as well or better.

There was a time where the Red River Rivalry had two coaches that were at about the same level Miles and Saban are now, but I think both Texas and Oklahoma have gone a little downhill in recent years. And there was never a point where that game featured two programs with a combined 3 national championship and one runner-up in 5 seasons, with of course one runner-up in that time (LSU last year) as well. (It took 10 seasons for Oklahoma and Texas to accumulate two national championships and three runners-up between them; two national championships and one runner-up took place in the six seasons between 2000 and 2005.)

Of course, when Urban Meyer was still at Florida, his game against the Tigers in 2009 represented 4 combined championships since 2003. So that was bigger at the time, especially being that Saban hadn’t won one at Alabama yet.

Saban and Miles followed similar trajectories on their way to LSU. A little bit of NFL experiences, but they were hired from being the head coaches at second-fiddle state universities. I don’t mean to take anything away from them, but the great programs in Michigan and Oklahoma are not the ones that end in “State”, although Sparty has a little more of a substantial history.

I wanted to talk about Miles vs. Saban head-to-head and mention a few notes about the series overall before assessing this season’s game.

Continue to Full Post, including "Miles vs. Saban" and "Game Notes and Preview"

Konichiwa fellow You Gabbers!...what the hell happened to the first half of college football season?  Half-over already???  You gotta be shittin me! Irish Shu is a bit late with his mid-season review as he made a rare trip to Japan during the last 2 weekends and needed time to settle back in, but now that that’s done I will present my look back at how things have gone thus far for my beloved Fighting Irish of Notre Dame…and I’ll digress here and there as I share a couple pix I took in The land of The Rising Sun along the way, such as this one:  

HIYAAA!!!!

The short version?...Well, they’re undefeated at 7 games with 5 to go.  How can I bitch?  Well, I still can, but I am pleased with the record, at least.  I had predicted they’d be at 2 losses by now but they just keep winning.  Their defense is doing most of the work with as strong a front 7 as any team has and a young, but surprisingly-good secondary…but it is working so far.  The question is: how much longer can they keep this up?  The offense is great at the line, but struggling with consistency behind it.  In 5 of the first 7 games the Irish have scored 20 points or less.  A BCS-or-better win will only be possible if the O makes some bigger jumps in the last 5 games and starts putting-up more points.  They’re working on it, I know.

Looking at it game by game:

NAVY:  Considering that Notre Dame was breaking-in a new quarterback, missing 4 players (including 3 starters) due to suspensions, playing against a triple-option football team that has been tough for them to deal with in recent years, and enduring a long trip to Dublin, Ireland, to open against a pesky Navy team at Aviva Stadium where a different kind of football game is played, this opener could not have gone much better.  The Fighting Irish eased in Everett Golson to his QB role as he went 12 of 18 for 144 yards and a touchdown.  He got help from the big O-line as well as the running back tandem of Theo Riddick and George Atkinson III who combined for over 200 yards and 4 touchdowns as they whipped the undersized Midshipmen 50-10.  The defense, of course, dominated.  They even got a 77-yard fumble recovery for another score from 300-pound Defensive End Stephon Tuitt for good measure.  Good start!

Here’s the Tokyo Dome where I saw my first and only Japanese baseball game:

PURDUE:  A lot of buzz was made about the Boilermakers having the strongest D front 7 in the Big 10 going-in to this one.  It proved true as the Irish struggled to score much, but still won 20-17 in a game that should not have been that close when one considers the statistical domination the Irish had over the Boilers.  So why was it close?  Because it was a sloppy game.  Golson was sacked 5 times, both teams committed 8 penalties and the Irish D allowed Purdue to go 3-3 on 4th down conversions.  The cool thing about this game – besides it being a win – was the Irish revelation of the “relief pitcher” approach.   Subbing late for a banged-up Golson who was having trouble gripping the ball towards game’s end, Tommy Rees stepped-in and drove ND to the game winning field goal with 7 seconds left as the Irish survived Purdue’s own 2-headed QB tandem of Caleb Turbush and Robert Marve.  Marve sustained yet another ACL injury of which he’s had many.

MICHIGAN STATE:  This game was called Notre Dame’s first “real test” on the road against a top-10 opponent that had beaten Boise State in their opener (yes, the Broncos are over rated, but still).  Final score was 20-3 Irish.  I’d say they passed.  The Irish D started to show just how dominating they are as they held Spartan running back Le’Veon Bell to 77 yards…by the way; Bell is one of the best in the Big 10 as he now has 8 touchdowns and nearly 1,000 yards for the season.  Mich. State also had not been held to 3 points since facing Nebraska in the 2003 Alamo Bowl.  Anyway, the story line to this game was that, just a couple days prior, All American Irish linebacker Manti Te’o lost his grandmother to natural causes and his girlfriend to leukemia.  Rather than go home to Hawaii to mourn right away (and I would not have faulted him at all if he had), he stayed with his team, gathered comfort from his teammates, coaches and fans, and played a helluva game as he made 12 tackles (1 for a loss) and broke-up 2 passes in the win…

…More spectacular than the baseball game itself, which was pretty good, was the spectacle that was the Japanese beer girls.  They were constantly running up and down the aisles all game long selling their wares while carrying 10-gallon kegs on their backs and smiling all the way through.  WHAT STAMINA they have!!!  And so pretty to boot!  Here’s one of them:

MICHIGAN:  Defense prevailed again and the Denard Robinson monkey was shaken from the Irish back as ND prevailed 13-6 in a somewhat bizarre game.  Last year, the Irish dominated statistically, but lost.  This year, it was the opposite.  Michigan led in total yards, first downs, rushing yards and time of possession…and also in turnovers 6 to 2 which was the difference.  The Irish D rose to the occasion with relentless pressure on Robinson which resulted in 4 interceptions and a fumble to key the win.  The Irish O was not pretty as Golson was benched after 2 first half interceptions.  The relief pitcher in Rees did just enough to win and protected the football.  The defense did the rest featuring Te’o’s 8 tackles, 2 interceptions and 1 forced fumble.  Since then, Michigan has not lost and has quietly crept back into the top 25….

…Here’s another beer girl…if this one were to have gotten on her knee like this in front of me I’d buy whatever she’s selling:

MIAMI:  The Offense looked like it finally came alive and Golson looked like he finally started to realize his potential in a 41-3 win that might have been closer had the ‘Canes not choked on their first drive.  On the game’s first play, Miami receiver Phillip Dorsett got behind ND’s secondary and was wide-open for a long bomb touchdown…but he dropped it.  Then he dropped a second TD pass later in the same drive and it went downhill for the ‘Canes from there.  Golson and company shredded a weak Miami D with a 17 for 22 passing effort and a dominating running game that saw Wood and Atkinson III have over 100 yards each and 3 touchdowns between them.  Both time of possession and total yards went to Notre Dame by nearly 2 to 1…but those “Shamrock
Series” uniforms still sucked, okay?  Overall, though, this was probably the best-played game the Irish have had thus far.  Another interesting fact: neither team had any turnovers…strange that it
wasn’t a factor…

…This beer girl was actually selling whisky on the rocks…nonetheless a pretty lady:

STANFORD:  It was the toughest opponent the Irish have faced thus far.  It was expected to be a hard-hitting, smash-mouth, toe-to-toe battle to the end and this game, indeed, lived up to that.  With both starting quarterbacks struggling to pass against tough defenses and turning to their running games, it was the Irish who had the better day and prevailed 20 to 13 in overtime.  2 weeks later we are still hearing some grumbles that “Stepfan Taylor was IN!!!” on that last 4th down run…no, he wasn’t.  His forward progress had stopped and the whistle was blown before he stretched over the bodies on the second effort.  The play was reviewed and even the national coordinator of NCAA football officials backed the call as correct after reviewing it himself.  So to those Stanford/anti-Irish fans who are still grumbling about it: let it go and move-on.  It’s over.  It’s not as though N.D. always gets the breaks, either (the “Bush push comes to mind as an example).  It may not have seemed so, but this game really was dominated by the Irish statistically.  They led in total yards, first downs, passing, rushing and time of possession against a Stanford team that has beaten USC and is currently ranked #17.  It was a signature win that made a statement about how good the Irish can be…too bad I didn’t get to see it live.

BYU (a.k.a. Boy You Ugly!):  Many of the so-called experts had this down as a trap game.  Understandable because N.D. was: coming-off a big win over Stanford, had another big game upcoming at Oklahoma they might get caught looking ahead to, and had just finished a break week from classes that might deter their focus.  In addition, Golson was benched with a concussion from the previous week and the less-versatile Rees played at QB instead.  Maybe all of this was true as they did struggle against a BYU team what was solid defensively, but The Irish overcame a deficit for the second week in a row, gutting one of the nations’ best rushing defenses with a 270-yard effort and won 17-14.  Theo Riddick had a career day with his 143-yard effort in a game that was closer than it needed to be.  Afterwards, it was reported that the Irish were rather quiet in the locker room and not in a mood to celebrate the win…I’d take that as a good sign that they know they could have played better in spite of the win.  Let’s hope that today in Norman against the Sooners, they do.

So, now that the first 7 games are in the books we now look ahead to the remaining 5 games.  I am certainly pleased that the Irish have surpassed my prediction that they would be 5-2 at this point (I had Michigan State and Stanford down as losses) and from here I do feel a 10-win season and BCS bowl is the worst case scenario.  I am optimistic that an undefeated season is possible, but to do so the Irish have to win at Oklahoma today and at USC for the season finale…that’s a lot to ask of a team that struggles offensively with a rookie quarterback who has not attained his full potential.  With that defense, though, they CAN do it…the question is: will they?  We shall see.  Strange and wonderful things happen in college football every weekend.

My big concern is with Everett Golson.  He has so much potential he will only realize as he gains more experience.  Right now, though, he tends to have problems with the following fundamentals: panicking too soon in the packet when the pressure starts to get to him and making poor throws; cradling the ball in the wrong arm when re rolls-out on a run – he’s been bitten a couple times carrying the ball in the INSIDE arm when he should switch to the OUTSIDE arm.  Opposing defenses have forced fumbles when he has done that; and Everett, for God’s sake SLIDE DOWN OR GO OUT OF BOUNDS when the defense gets to you on a run!!!  Don’t duck your head and take a hit!  That is how the Stanford player gave you the concussion.  Hopefully he improves with these fundamentals sooner rather than later, but I know we all need to be patient with him.

Manti Te’o – what more can one ask of this man?  That guy is an incredible athlete, has played very inspired football following his personal losses and is a Heisman candidate because of it.  He, Kapron Lewis-Moore , Zeke Motta and others have been the rocks in that incredible defense…but they have a job to finish.

Team health is not bad, either.  The Irish did get snake-bitten early as a couple defensive secondary starters suffered ruptured Achilles tendons and a couple others had concussions they have recovered from, but other than that, overall team health seems good for the final stretch of the season…let’s hope it stays that way.  We’ll see how the rest of the season plays-out.  GO IRISH!!!

I’ll just write a brief intro to bring this current (some of which is a repeat from my blog from earlier this week), and I’ll also provide the updated records instead of what I had on the original blog (replaced by ellipses).

LSU is 17-2-1 against South Carolina all time, which now includes three wins in the Spurrier era. South Carolina won the first game between the two schools in 1930 and didn’t win the second until 1994 (its only win in Baton Rouge), then earning the tie in 1995.

This was the 9th time in the LSU/South Carolina series that the game was decided by 8 points or fewer, so LSU is 6-2-1 in such games against the Gamecocks.

If you’ll look at my LSU/Florida rivalry post, I included a list of the larger point totals in that series. In four of the five instances in which the Gators scored over 40 and two of the three instances in which they scored over 50 against the Tigers, Spurrier was their coach. Obviously this game yesterday was a huge game anyway, but it always adds a little extra to the spirit of LSU fans to have Spurrier there.

Spurrier has now fallen to 11-4 against LSU now that he has lost all three games against the Tigers since beginning in South Carolina. Spurrier is now 67 years old, so there may not be too many more games against LSU, particularly if the league sticks with the 6-1-1 format, which means that every year LSU would only play one of the 6 teams in the East apart from Spurrier’s alma mater, who the Tigers play every year. If they continue on the same rotation, LSU will not play South Carolina again until 2018 and then not again until 2024. I have a feeling he won’t still be coaching at 79, but I guess it’s conceivable.

Continue to full post.

(if you follow that link, it will also take you to the other "rivalry" entries, including LSU/A&M.)

What a week in sports Bowl Games in overtime, The winter classic and Michigan State and Wisconsin basketball. This has been awesome. Oh yeah and there are some playoffs going on in America’s favorite League.

Let’s start with the Winter Classic , It’s has been written over and over that this is the one thing the NHL has gotten right. They also have actually marketed the game well keeping it simple to one time a year. It’s the biggest regular season game of the year. The NHL has kept it special by not oversaturating us with Winter Classic February, Winter Classic playoffs etc.. The Rangers beat Philly in a game with a little of everything including the City of Brotherly Love adding a few flurries to the atmosphere and a penalty shot to boot. I don’t like the shoot out but a penalty shot in a game is awesome! Did anybody here John Tortorella’s tirade? He went off after winning the damn game. I love John he is a throwback coach like  Mike Keenan. Of course Tortorella is Massachusetts guy. Have you notice how it takes Massachusetts guys to run things in New York. Tortorella has the Rangers. Mikey Bloomberg has NYC.

Joe Torre is part of a group looking to buy the embattled Los Angeles Dodgers according to Fox Sports. Torre has stepped down from his job at MLB to pursue this. Part of me says that deal is done even though there are several groups in the running including a group of former Dodgers including Orel Hershier another person is former owner Peter Mcnally and then there is Mark Cuban in the mix as well. I think you can’t go wrong with Joe Torre.

Michigan State well Sparty has been entertaining as hell this week beating Georgia in the Outback Bowl in tripe overtime  33-30, Then beaten Wisconsin on the hardwood on a controversial play in  OT 63-60. The Badgers played for the three point shot perfectly the kid took the shot un fortunately he still had the ball when  the clock on the hoop expired which is the Official clock the Stadium clock had .2 seconds on it when the shot was released. The officials reviewed it 7 times and made a gutsy call not allowing the Hoop.

Then there is the Wolverines they got lucky Tuesday night as well. They scored 10 mysterious points in the last 49 seconds of the first half in the Sugar Bowl to take a 10-6 lead over V-Tech. In the end it took a 3^rd string Kicker to shank one right in OT. Hey I give Frank Beamer credit for sending his first string Kicker Packing after a B and E. His second stringer earned a bus ride home for missing curfew that left the Thrid stringer in OT pressure, The kid was good all night tough way to go down. Beamer did something a lot of schools wouldn’t do sending those kids home, The U wouldn ‘t nor would Thee Ohio State University or a whole bunch of others.

The NFL Playoff Picture is set for this week and I’m really not sure from my Patriot fanboy prespective who I want the Pats playing my gut says I want Cincy and let Pittsburgh play Baltimore and let them beat each other up and than Hopefully the winner comes limping into Gillette Stadium.

The other part of me wants the Steelers and see how the Patriots are tested even an 80-90% Rothlisberger is better than anything they have faced in weeks. They can’t spot teams 17 or 21points in the playoffs and hope to succeed.

I think this is how it plays out . Tim Tebow is simply not good enough to beat the Pittsburgh Steeler defense. Sorry Denver just isn’t that good. The Steelers win. I have no clue what to think about the Houston Texans other than they are very good. I also think the Bengals are ok. I think this will be a battle and I think it maybe a toss up at QB. I have to give the Texans home field. (I love that Stadium it’s my favorite out of the Stadiums I have been to.)  In the NFC  I’m liking the Saints and The Falcons although the Falcons are better at home. I think the Saints could be the team that is peeking at the right time and they may win the whole thing. But we will see what happens.

One final thought This week 12 NFL playoff teams play a grand total of 11 games combined for a championship. Four teams possibly playing 3 games and 8 teams possibly playing 4 games.  In Hockey and Basketball a team may have to play 28 games for a championship over a quarter of their seasons. In baseball may play up to 19 games and with the 1 game wildcard playoff new for 2012 a wildcard team may have to play 20 extra games.

That’s all folks.

All apologies for my absence. I’ve been trying to move and also very busy at work. Nonetheless, November set another record for most views in a month. I expect December and January may not keep up, but I’m optimistic about next year especially. My goal will be to hit 1000 views in a month at some point in the next year. I was going to write about Oklahoma St. versus Bama as #2, but I’ll address that if Oklahoma St. wins. I can’t see any other reasonable argument taking place.

Top 25:
rank / team / prior

1 LSU 1
2 Okie St. 2
3 Alabama 3
4 Houston 4
5 Boise St. 5
6 Stanford 9
7 Va. Tech 6
8 Michigan 8
9 USC 12
10 S Carolina 13

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