A little video goodness from the one and only, often imitated but never replicated, the man, the myth, the legend: LSUFreek. This time, it’s all about the Bowdens.

Video: Bobby Bowden’s Swan Song

HT / via: LSUFreek

I’m just glad it’s not Tennessee this time around…

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Here’s my ballot for this week’s CBS Sports BlogPoll Top 25 hosted by — as you might imagine — CBS Sports.

Week 11

Through 8 November 2009

This past weekend’s slate of college football games were—for the most part—supposed to be dull and boring.  There were very few “key” matchups on the schedule and most thought it might be a snoozer.  Well, that simply did not turn out to be the case.   Thus, there are a number of shake-ups in my BlogPoll Top 25 ballot for this week.  Most of these should be fairly obvious.  Either way, here is is:

My Ballot for the Week

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Alabama	–
2	Texas	–
3	Florida	–
4	TCU	–
5	Cincinnati	3
6	Ohio State	6
7	Georgia Tech	4
8	Pittsburgh	6
9	Southern Cal	4
10	Boise State	–
11	Miami (Florida)	6
12	Utah	6
13	Houston	2
14	LSU	8
15	Iowa	6
16	Penn State	11
17	Oregon	10
18	Oklahoma State	2
19	Arizona	2
20	Wisconsin	3
21	Brigham Young	3
22	South Florida	3
23	Virginia Tech	NR
24	Navy	NR
25	Auburn	NR
Last week’s ballot

Explanations after the jump…

Comments, Explanations, and Excuses

Here are the high-points of the week’s changes:

The Buckeyes Return to the Fray while the Hawkeyes Fly Away:

I have to admit that, despite being married to a graduate of the Ohio State University, I was surprised at how easily the Ohio State Buckeyes (6) dispatched the Penn State Nittany Lions (16) in Happy Valley.  In all honesty, I had Penn State winning that game comfortably.  Obviously, the Buckeyes had a different idea of how things were supposed to go.  As a result, despite their early season failing against the USC Trojans (9) and their mid-season debacle against the Purdue Boilermakers (NR) the Buckeyes now find themselves back solidly in my top ten.  Of course, having four teams ranked above them either lose or barely win didn’t hurt either.

This week, the Buckeyes will face the Iowa Hawkeyes (15) whose luck finally caught up with them, as their undefeated season came crashing to a halt against the Northwestern Wildcats (NR).  I honestly hate it for Kirk Ferentz and the Hawkeyes, but I cannot say that I am surprised.  If they can manage to beat Ohio State in Columbus, then they have a legitimate shot at returning to the top ten, as well as grabbing a Big Ten Championship.  That said, I’m not holding my breath given their near constant inconsistency and the injury sustained by quarterback Ricky Stanzi.  Still, anything is possible.

Anchors Aweigh, my boys, Anchors Aweigh!:

Yes, the Navy Midshipmen (24) managed to beat the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (NR) again, making me wonder if this might just become a regular thing again.  As a result, Charlie Weiss’ Irish were shown the door in my poll for the week while, amazingly, the Midshipmen debuted in my ballot for the first time ever.  I assure you that this ranking is not merely the product of Navy’s win over a mediocre Notre Dame squad, which did play a part.  The real reason for Navy sailing into my ballot, however, is their 7-3 record and their extremely efficient brand of football.  With only the Delaware Blue Hens (NR), Hawaii Warriors (NR), and Army Black Knights (NR) remaining on their schedule, the Midshipmen have a good shot at finishing the season at 10-3 and going to a bowl.

Here’s something even more intriguing.  Since Notre Dame has slipped to 6-3—with the potential of finishing 8-4—it is possible that Navy and not Notre Dame could grab an independent BCS bowl berth.  I have a feeling that the folks in South Bend are probably not really all that happy about this prospect.  Of course they have not been all that happy with much of anything from Charlie Weiss’ teams over the last year or two, so that’s hardly anything new.

Still, nice win by the Middies…

Ducks Don’t Live in Trees:

The Stanford Cardinal (NR) with along with their silly mascot have proven that the Oregon Ducks (17) cannot live in trees and are, in fact, beatable.  How exactly the Ducks looked past the, now, 6-3 Cardinal is a bit unclear, but suffice it to say that they did—especially their defense.  The final tally in the game was 93 points scored by the two teams, unfortunately for the Ducks, the Cardinal had more of those points.  That’s why I have always said that the team with the most points usually wins.

How’s that for a little brilliant insight?

At any rate, Oregon managed to completely shoot themselves in the foot, and likely took themselves out of contention for a BCS berth.  That is, unless Phil Knight manages to buy them one…

Parting Thoughts

Having taken the time to consider my feeble attempt at ranking the powers in college football, feel free to try and convince me that I am wrong — which is part of the way the BlogPoll is supposed to work.   I promise that I will consider all insults comments.

You can view the final results of this week’s poll over at CBS Sports later this week and check out an analysis of how the collective blogging brain-trust arrived at this week’s result.  If you’re craving even more BlogPoll goodness, you can also check out how other bloggers voted and see how your team fared across the Blogosphere.

– So it goes…

Image(s) Courtesy of:     Drivl ||  Statement on Fair Use

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Some of Slive's Henchmen at Work

Well, it looks like there are a few teeth to Mike Slive’s new edict that coaches refrain from criticizing the SEC’s finest.  What’s more, and somewhat to my surprise, it appears that the new policy even applies to Urban Meyer.  The basis for these conclusions?  Mike Slive’s decision to fine Florida Gators coach Urban Meyer $30,000 for criticizing the officiating during the Gators’ game against the Georgia Bulldogs, which was announced via an official release earlier today.

I am sure that Jeremy Foley will be lodging a strongly worded protest shortly, demanding that Lane Kiffin apologize for not being fined before Meyer…

So this raises a question: can you get fined for criticizing the fine you got tacked with for criticizing the officials?  I wonder if we will find out?  That could be highly entertaining.

At any rate, I guess we now know that Mike Slive actually meant what he said when he declared himself the High Inquisitor of the SEC.  Of course, no one expects the Spanish Inquisition…

Video: The Spanish Inquisition

Although I am glad to see that Slive brought Meyer to task, I still find it a bit troublesome that Slive would rather focus on penalizing coaches for criticizing bad officiating rather than spending his time finding and/or training better officials.  I find it odd that Slive and, presumably SEC head of football officiating Rogers Redding, feel a few off-handed comments from a coach about how the officiating in a given game was lousy—especially when the media and commentators absolutely love any opportunity they have to make such criticisms—are a threat to the sanctity of the SEC.

Me thinks he doth protest too much…

It seems to me by making an issue of the whole thing it just makes it that much more visible and gives the media and bloggers like yours truly one more thing to talk about.  Likely as not, no one would be even thinking about Meyer’s comments any longer were it not for Slive’s new policy of coaching Newspeak.  But then again, no ever accused Slive of being all that thoughtful…

…except when it comes to revenue.

– So it goes …

Image(s) Courtesy of:     Family Travel Files ||  Statement on Fair Use

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Lawvol, attempting to overcome obstacles to writing

In case you haven’t noticed, I have been pretty sparse with my posts lately.  Part of that is my fault—solid time management has never been one of my strong suits.  That said, I have been so busy of late, that I have hardly had a chance to breathe, let alone finish the 20+ odd posts that I have started and had to abandon due to the other requirements of life.  I suppose I have tried a little too hard to keep the bar high.

Thus, while I am somewhat reluctant to do this (but ignoring it would be the most foolish sort of ignorance and an out-an-out lie), it is time for me to admit that I simply cannot manage a daily posting schedule.   Therefore, I would like to publicly invite anyone that think they might be interested in writing for the Gate to drop me a line.  I am looking for at least one, but potentially more writers to join on.  I’m looking for someone who is passionate about the Vols and likes to talk about that passion.  Beyond that, I am flexible.

If you think you might be interested, contact me and I’ll be glad to fill you in on all the lurid details…

– So it goes …

Image(s) Courtesy of:     This Writing Life ||  Statement on Fair Use

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Nice piece by Mike Griffith:

Opposing coach breaks down Kiffin offense.

“It’s obvious they know what they’re doing; one play doesn’t work, and bam, the next play comes right in without any hesitation,” the coach said.  “They are all about getting you in match ups with their motions and shifts, it’s that NFL mentality…

HT / via: Ask Griff • GoVolsXtra.com

Good, glad I’m not the only one who thought the coaching staff knew what they are doing…

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Here’s my ballot for this week’s CBS Sports BlogPoll Top 25 hosted by — as you might imagine — CBS Sports.

Week 10

Through 01 November 2009

Well, it appears that silly season has begun as there were multiple losses among the Top 25, some near the top.  As a result, there are a few substantial changes in my BlogPoll Top 25 ballot after the past week in the world of college football.  Most of these should be fairly obvious.  Either way, here it is:

My Ballot for the Week

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Alabama	–
2	Texas	–
3	Florida	–
4	TCU	1
5	Penn State	2
6	LSU	2
7	Oregon	7
8	Cincinnati	1
9	Iowa	3
10	Boise State	–
11	Georgia Tech	2
12	Ohio State	4
13	Southern Cal	9
14	Pittsburgh	1
15	Houston	3
16	Oklahoma	4
17	Miami (Florida)	2
18	Utah	3
19	Notre Dame	4
20	Oklahoma State	9
21	Arizona	3
22	California	NR
23	Wisconsin	NR
24	Brigham Young	NR
25	South Florida	NR
Last week’s ballot

Explanations after the jump…

Comments, Explanations, and Excuses

Here are the high-points of the week’s changes:

Hawkeye Harangue:

Yes, only one week after bumping the Iowa Hawkeyes (6) up to the number 6 spot due to their winning ways, I am knocking them back down to number 9 this week because, after watching them flail about against the Indiana Hoosiers (NR), I simply do not believe that they are as good as most of the other teams in the top 10.  Iowa has been extremely lucky all year long and has had more sickeningly ugly wins than any other team in the top 25.  I personally believe that they will lose—possibly quite badly—to the Ohio State Buckeyes (12) this week in Columbus.  If they win, then I will have to re-assess my thoughts on the Hawkeyes, and perhaps move them back up.  For now, they are staying near the bottom of my top 10.

Fear the Duck:

The Oregon Ducks (7) put on a clinic this weekend against the USC Trojans (13) and absolutely annihilated Pete Carroll’s men of Troy.  It was brutal, and as a result, they have rocketed up seven spots to number 7 in my ballot for the week.  Though the Ducks have an early season loss to the Boise State Broncos (10) they are playing as well as anyone right now, and with only a few lightweights remaining in their schedule, look to be the likely winner of the Pac-10.

If they can keep the ship on course, they will almost surely move up in the coming weeks.  Of course, I ought to mark them down a few notches for having the ugliest uniforms in the country (and a wide assortment of not-so-fashionable combinations) but this isn’t a style contest.  Right now, they look tough.

Slip Slidin’ Away…:

Along with USC, who fell nine spots, a number of teams took a tumble this week including the Oklahoma State Cowboys (20), who were given the backhand by the Texas Longhorns (2).  That one will hurt for quite a while.  Joining them in the slide are the four teams that departed the poll this week: the Ole Miss Rebels (NR), the Virginia Tech Hokies (NR), the South Carolina Gamecocks (NR), and the West Virginia Mountaineers (NR).  All of these teams lost to an unranked opponent and, on the whole, looked bad.

Parting Thoughts

Having taken the time to consider my feeble attempt at ranking the powers in college football, feel free to try and convince me that I am wrong — which is part of the way the BlogPoll is supposed to work.  I promise that I will consider all insults comments.

You can view the final results of this week’s poll over at CBS Sports later this week and check out an analysis of how the collective blogging brain-trust arrived at this week’s result. If you’re craving even more BlogPoll goodness, you can also check out how other bloggers voted and see how your team fared across the Blogosphere.

– So it goes…

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Unlike Stewart Mandel at SI.com, apparently some of the national media agrees with Tennessee fans (and Lil’ Wayne) that Lane Kiffin is doing a pretty good job of righting the ship.

Ten deserving candidates for coach of the year

Every conference needs an Eddie Haskell, right?

HT / via: Fox Sports

Nice to see a little cred for the Blackjack General…

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I am sure that many feel his pain — myself included — but it makes you wonder: why is it again that we love football so much?

Video: Vol Fan Reacts to Blocked Field Goal

** Note: NSFW (language) due to some serious ranting and raving.

HT / via: Vol Nation

At least he’s not too upset over the loss to Alabama…

– So it goes

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