Behind The Scoreboard - Claude Vinson


Thursday, November 3, 2011
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Behind The Scoreboard
By Claude Vinson

Showdown this Saturday

This was week number eight in the NCAA and the teams which have been eyeing bowl bids way back in last season were jockeying hard to put themselves in the position to be considered. And not a few of those teams were in our favorite conference, the SEC. Just about everyone who loves collegiate football has been anxiously awaiting what has become the stellar matchup for the current season. These two teams which have identical records in both the conference and nationally were off this week but had already won their eight games.

The overall sentiment is that these two, regardless of what will happen next weekend, are the favorites to meet in the BCS championship game. The LSU Tigers and the Crimson Tide are 5-0 in the West Division of the SEC. The LSU team is listed first in both the conference and the national standings with the Tide as number two. The picture in the East Division also has a pair of stalwarts albeit of lesser caliber. South Carolina is listed as number one and Georgia at number two. Both have identical conference records (4-1) with the Gamecocks holding the edge overall at 7-1 compared to Georgia’s 6-2. Both were not moved because they downed their respective SEC opponents on Saturday – the Bulldogs over the Gators and the Gamecocks over the Volunteers. This was a landmark win for South Carolina since they had only won one game out of 15 in Knoxville before Saturday’s victory over the struggling Vols.

Going into Saturday, there were still four teams without a conference victory (Ole Miss, Miss State, Kentucky and Tennessee). The Bulldogs dropped off the list with their win over the Wildcats. There is a chance that Miss State could become bowl eligible with two more wins. The Rebels have the Wildcats next; hopefully they can get out of the cellar by plastering Kentucky. However, they might want to take a serious look at the third quarter meltdown which has plagued them this season.

Normally, candidates for the Heisman have their fortunes tied to the rankings and the BCS Standings. There were a couple of changes this weekend when a pair of teams fell from grace. Clemson (#6) was steamrolled by Georgia Tech and now is at number 11. Kansas State slipped to number 17, thanks to that giant slap from Oklahoma (58-17). Clemson had two candidates on the Heisman list, one QB (Tajh Boyd) and a wide receiver. Within the last 10 years three of the winners have come from the SEC. It is probably most certain that the Clemson entries will be dropped.

There are at least two coaches who are probably on cloud nine this weekend – the Golden Eagles’ Larry Fedora because Southern Miss broke into the top 25 at number 25. And, Joe Paterno – the legendary coach of the Nittany Lions registered his 409th victory, a new NCAA record for division one teams.

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