AJC > Sports > Blog > Archives > 2007 > September > 12
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Tuberville second guessing is silly
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Just one man’s opinion:
1. The Tuberville second-guessing is silly: Who has won more close games and games he wasn’t supposed to win than Auburn’s Tommy Tuberville? Fans were second-guessing his decision to run out the clock and go to overtime against South Florida, rather than go for the win with less than a minute left. But football is about playing the percentages. When your offense has turned the ball over five times and your quarterback is not having a good night, the percentages say play for the overtime at home. It didn’t work out because South Florida made the play to win the game. Good for them. But Tuberville played the percentages.
2. Georgia Tech should win the Coastal: Not only have the Jackets looked very impressive in their first two games, but the rest of the ACC’s Coastal Division seems to be in trouble. Virginia Tech switched to a true freshman quarterback after getting blasted (48-7) by LSU. Miami got pummeled (51-13) by Oklahoma. Virginia lost at Wyoming and the Cavs are contemplating QB change. North Carolina lost at East Carolina. Duke has lost 22 straight.
3. College football STILL has the best regular season: If you doubt it, consider this. The season is only two weeks old and already people are painting doomsday scenarios for the BCS. With LSU, Oklahoma and Southern Cal at the top of the polls, the speculation has begun on which team could be the odd man out, like Auburn was in 2004. That’s because in college football every game matters, whether you’re playing Louisiana State or Appalachian State.
4. If Alabama wins, the state will go nuts: Since Nick Saban took the Alabama job fans have been pointing to Saturday’s game with Arkansas as the first real test of his ability to transform the Crimson Tide football program. Just a warning. If Alabama wins Saturday, that place is going to be up for grabs when Georgia goes over there next week. And if Alabama beats Arkansas, they will match up very well with Georgia and Florida State. In fact, if Alabama beats Arkansas, the Tide is capable of beating every team on its schedule except LSU.
5. FIU-Miami should not play: After last year’s ugly brawl, the aftermath of which was mishandled by the Miami administration, a rematch of this game never should have been played. Miami could certainly use an easy win but the risk of another incident is just too great. The good news is that Miami should be a little more disciplined under Randy Shannon.
