Vanderbilt honors recruit Rajaan Bennett
This is more important than anything football.
I've recently wondered if this was the moment that caused Bobby Johnson to think about retiring -- a senseless act of violence taking away a man that Vanderbilt needed far more than he needed Vanderbilt. Not that it makes it any more or less sad. It's fitting that the Commodores found a way to honor him Saturday, but I wish we'd been able to see what he could have done on the field.
Auburn No. 1 in new BCS Standings
Our take from Sunday evening.
Rocky situation on Rocky Top?
And with Tennessee now in the middle of a midseason slump, it's time for a quarterback controversy. Not necessarily with the coaches. No, the quarterbacks are handling the whole creating a controversy thing by themselves.
Not that starter Matt Simms, who isn't happy about sharing time with Tyler Bray, doesn't have a point here.
Alabama had just taken a 10-7 lead in the first minute of the second quarter when Bray debuted on a first-and-10 at his own 24-yard line. The Volunteers were flagged for an illegal formation on the first play -- an incomplete pass -- but the Tide declined the penalty.
UT was flagged again for an illegal formation on the next snap -- Alabama accepted that one -- and the play clock expired before the next snap, moving the Vols back into a second-and-10 from their own 14. They punted two plays later. ...
"It definitely threw me off my rhythm a little bit when I went back out there, just getting the feel for the game again and the pace of the game," Simms said. "But as I continued to play, I got back in a rhythm again."
"Rhythm" being a relative term for Tennessee quarterbacks this year, but it's not hard when the other guy can't get the snap off without losing yardage.
Except for actually getting the play started, Bray is fine
His take:
"What I need to improve is really the administration, getting everyone lined up quick and worrying about the play-clock," Bray said after speaking with the media for the first time all season. "Other than that, I think I’m doing OK."
So, you know, it's not like he's missing the important stuff or anything.
Georgia's secret: Turnovers
Well, that and the fact that the SEC East is the Island of Misfit Toys without the Christmas charm, but we'll focus on turnovers for now.
Those takeaways have led to roughly a third of Georgia’s points during the winning streak, considering how the Bulldogs have outscored their last three opponents -- Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Kentucky -- by a combined 128-45 margin and 38 of their points came off turnovers.
Which is interesting, because Florida both gives and receives a lot of turnovers. So we might be watching something that resembles a ping-pong game more than one in football next week.
And the coaches who have already played both Boise and TCU say ...
Nothing, actually. That includes Wyoming's Dave Christensen.
"I’m not going to answer that one because I have to play them both them next year," he said Sunday with a laugh. "They’re both really, really good."
He could have said, "I'm not going to answer that one because it really has no bearing on how you should vote and you shouldn't vote if you're not intelligent enough to form your own decision," but I guess he was being nicer about it that I would be.