Sure, they gave Auburn a scare.

But note which way they were headed on the final drive of the game. Yep…right into the Endzone of Death. There was simply no way they were getting into that endzone, and history tells us that they would come agonizingly close to scoring.

Sure enough, a certain touchdown pass fell through the hands of tight end Jared Cook.

Via the Vol blog Loser with Socks…

Can’t disagree with many of them. The miserable failure that is the South Carolina “blackout” should be somewhere on there, but you’ve gotta choose five.

We’ll see his #1 choice up close and personal this weekend. Been a while since I’ve been to Oxford, so I’ll have to see how the Grove and everything else has changed. I do have to wonder though…any place where portable generators aren’t welcome is a bit suspect. I couldn’t imagine a tailgate now without a few TVs going.

Clay Travis asks why shakers are so popular at Southern football games even among the manly men who otherwise wouldn’t be caught dead with something so sissified as a thunderstick or some other cheering implement.

The reason is so simple that I’m amazed it escapes Clay. What else are you going to use to mix your drink?

The recipe for the "gameday special" has been passed down from generation to generation. Step one: get a souvenier-sized soda. Drink a little bit to make room. Step two: empty flask or airplane bottles into the cup. Step three – and this is critical – stir. You don’t want all that high-octane stuff floating on top. Enjoy. The typical shaker with its foot-long plastic handle makes the perfect straw to stir this most perfect of drinks.

The next time you see an entire SEC student section using its shakers, just remember that 1) the shakers are probably still damp and 2) those using them are probably in a much more comfortable state than you are.

Yes, EDSBS, we did notice Andre 3000 and his posse providing sideline entertainment during last night’s game. The highlights:

• A member of the posse shouting "CALVIN JONES FOR HEISMAN!!!". All the posse has to know is that this Calvin Whatshisname is ripe for a big representation deal in a few months. He’ll need hangers-on too then.
• Mass confusion over the number 41, derailing the interview. Andre gives a shout out to #41. Erin Andrews, ever on the ball and probably still wondering who "Calvin Jones" is, notes that Calvin Johnson is actually #21. Andre corrects her and say he was giving a shout out to his boy #41 on the sideline (Tech’s Philip Wheeler). Erin pauses to process this sidetrack. Very nice.
• The best – Andre saying that, yes, he is a Tech fan. But he’s also a fan of USC. And Ohio State. And Michigan. (As one of the ESPN guys noted, this might be the first ever recorded case of co-fandom between tOSU and Michigan.) He’s just a fan of the game. Off-camera, he also said he’s a fan of Wisconsin. And sunsets. And the Buffalo Sabres. And the card game Uno. And Marshall. And the Saskatchewan Roughriders. And wide collars. And Pakistani cricket. He’s just a fan, you know.

Wow…for the quality we got last week in college football, we’re treated to some real dogs this week, especially in SEC-land.

Colorado at Georgia: When the showdown between four-legged mascots trumps interest in the showdown on the field, you have the makings of a very one-sided game.

Alabama at Arkansas: Tough pick. Both teams played a common opponent (Vanderbilt) very close. If this were later in the season, I might like Arkansas. Bama’s defense might have the very slim edge here in Mustain’s first really big home start.

Mississippi State at UAB: Gotta go with the Blazers here. UAB frustrated Georgia’s offense for the better part of three quarters. Lord knows what they’ll do to MSU’s pathetic offense.

Penn State at Ohio State: Once Ohio State finishes this beating and gets a bit of revenge for last season, we can finally be done with the "Penn State is back" talk.

Arizona State at California: The Sun Devils have had problems getting their offense going this year, and that’s unfortunate as they’ll need to keep up in this game. Cal’s offense proves to be too much.

Notre Dame at Michigan State: I think we’ve learned by now that Notre Dame only gets upset at home.

South Florida at Kansas: Two mid-level teams fighting for a shred of respect. I went with Kansas at home.

UCLA at Washington: UCLA needs to win this game if they have any plans of being a Pac10 factor this year. A Washington win at home would be huge for Ty. I expect the Bruins to pass the road test.

Wake Forest at Ole Miss: I’ve been burned twice by Ole Miss. So now watch them win.

Wisconsin at Michigan: Letdown? It’s possible, but even then Wisconsin shouldn’t be much of a problem. The post-Alvarez slide begins.

My Sisyphean quest to escape last place in UGASports.com’s media pick ’em starts this week, and what a week. The slate of games is fantastic, and cases could be made for either team to win in a lot of these games. You’d think I would have learned something about picking road teams last week, but here we go again.

Arkansas at Vanderbilt: Vandy is decent and will make a lot of teams look ugly, but Arkansas has more in the tank. If the Hogs do lose, it’s a pretty clear sign that they were outcoached, and it wil be a big nail in Nutt’s coffin.

Ole Miss at Kentucky: Similar to the Arkansas game, Ole Miss isn’t great but should be better than Kentucky. We’ll see how badly the Rebels were shaken by last weekend’s meltdown.

Florida at Tennessee: This doesn’t have so much to do with the Tennessee-Air Force game a week ago as it does with the relative strengths of the teams. Both are strong on defense, but Florida has a more mature and potentially explosive offense. This is a game where scheme might not be overrated. Tennessee doesn’t present many wrinkles for the Florida defense, but this is the third straight unique offense the Vol defense will see. In the first three weeks, they’ll have seen Tedford’s Cal offense (run pretty poorly), the flexbone-style option attack of Air Force, and now the spread option of Florida. Will the Vol defense be ready for anything that comes at them, or will their heads spin? On the other hand, what will Florida use as a running game to prevent open season on Chris Leak? Will the misdirection and running plays to talented speedsters like Harvin be enough? Last year, this was a 16-7 slugfest as the Florida defense asserted itself and Meyer’s offense struggled. I wouldn’t be surprised to see more of the same this year – perhaps a little higher-scoring.

LSU at Auburn: You have to ask yourself how far Auburn’s running game can carry it, especially as Irons begins to show signs of wear and tear in week two. LSU should be very familiar with the defensive style they’ll see from their former DC Will Muschamp. I just think that LSU has more on both sides of the ball, but I know not to underestimate Borges. Auburn has a very good chance to win this game with coaching and the home field, but I still like the all-around strength of LSU.

Michigan at Notre Dame: Finally going with a home team. I don’t think it will be quite the drubbing I saw coming for Penn State last week, but this is the kind of game where a title contender asserts itself at home.

Miami at Louisville: I struggled with this pick longer than any other. I think the obituary is being written a little too soon on Miami, and they have the talent and ability to rise up as they did at Virginia Tech a year ago. But that road win over the Hokies sticks out like a sore thumb next to losses to Georgia Tech, LSU, and FSU in other big games. This is Louisville’s annual bid to be considered in the title discussion. They came up just short a year ago in Miami, but I think they get it done at home this year. Miami won’t make it easy though.

Texas Tech at TCU: Texas Tech survived UTEP last week, and while TCU isn’t bad, the Red Raiders should win again.

Oklahoma at Oregon: Oklahoma will find out just how much Adrian Peterson can do on the road against a Top 15 team. I think Oregon plus the home field should be enough for another close Duck win. If Oklahoma wins, Texas should start sweating a bit.

Michigan State at Pittsburgh: Why not…another road team wins. Pitt isn’t bad though. This could be pretty entertaining and higher-scoring than some other games.

Tulane at Mississippi State: This might be Mississippi State’s best chance for a win, but first things first – they just need to score this season. I think they hold Tulane to a low score and eek out the win.

By now you’ve probably heard that South Carolina starting QB Blake Mitchell was arrested and suspended for a bar fight this week. Standard stuff. Spurrier wasn’t kidding about his “stupid” team. Have you seen the guy Mitchell was trying to hit?

As our friends from ESPN remind us,

It’s not the first time a starting South Carolina quarterback has gotten into trouble. In 1993, Steve Taneyhill was arrested for underage possession of beer at a party the night after the Gamecocks defeated Georgia 23-21 in Athens.

It’s amazing that Anthony Wright is still an upstanding member of society.

Maybe it’s the hair…we all remember Taneyhill’s championship mullet, and Mitchell has a pretty good mop on his head. So we suggest that the longer the hair of the goofy Gamecock quarterback, the more likely they are to do something stupid involving alcohol after the Georgia game.

Glad the UGA quarterback race didn’t take this turn.

The University of Northern Colorado’s reserve punter was arrested Tuesday, accused of stabbing his rival in his kicking leg.

Mitch Cozad, a sophomore from Wheatland, Wyo., allegedly attacked starting punter Rafael Mendoza in a parking lot in Evans on Monday night, Evans police Lt. Gary Kessler said.

Greetings from the cellar. A 6-4 record picking last week’s games straight-up is shameful, but that’s where I sit in the UGASports.com media pick ’em after expecting some road teams to do a little better than they did. I need to pick games next to Lou Holtz instead of these guys so I seem smarter.

First the ones I got wrong in descending order of error:

Ole Miss over Missouri: The Ole Miss offense proved to be not so nearly healthy and balanced as it looked against Memphis. They ran into a buzzsaw in the Missouri defense and emerging Mizzou QB Chase Daniel did the rest. Given the state of the Big 12 North this year, why not Mizzou?

Minnesota over Cal: I thought the Gophers had figured out some things in their opener. They had, but defense apparently wasn’t one of them. I wasn’t so much down on Cal, but I thought a decent Big 10 team could at least hang with Cal on the west coast. Wrong.

Texas over Ohio State: This was a close game most of the way, but Texas couldn’t figure out a way to convert yards into points. Ohio State has a good, solid team on both sides of the ball.

Clemson over BC: Leave it to a missed XP to ruin this pick. Clemson seemed like the better team, but they do miss their injured defenders, and they don’t yet have that swagger and killer instinct to win the games that would justify their ranking. Georgia fans can empathize with letting one get away to Boston College.

OK…with that cathartic penance out of the way, here are the correct picks that I managed to back into in descending order of "duh":

Kentucky over Texas State: The ESPN ticker said this game was delayed. Were they waiting on the ticketholder to show up?

LSU over Arizona: it was never going to be close.

Oregon over Fresno State: I’m not surprised that Fresno gave the Ducks a tough time, but Oregon is experienced enough now as a program to know how to win these games.

Colorado State over Colorado: The most interesting thing related to this 14-10 yawner wasn’t Colorado’s 0-2 start. It’s that 1-AA Montana State beat Colorado only to lose to Division II Chadron State. Transitivity is a bitch, Buffs.

Georgia over South Carolina: Georgia was clearly better, and the only question was whether South Carolina could make it the usual fourth quarter nailbiter. They nearly did, but the Georgia defense rose to the occasion to keep the Gamecocks off of the scoreboard and protect a lead that looked shaky for a while.

Notre Dame over Penn State: If I got one thing right last week, it was that Notre Dame would make Penn State’s 2005 season seem 20 years distant.

Hopefully better voices in the head and better results this week.

Kelly was the only guy who kept me out of last place in last week’s UGASports.com media pick ’em. 7-3 straight-up isn’t terribly good, but at least I’m in good company with ESPN’s Mark Schlabach. Mark Weiszer of the ABH needs to hop a plane to Vegas. This week is the on-the-road edition where I pick six of ten road teams to win.

Georgia at South Carolina: Georgia’s the better team, but South Carolina has plenty of tactics it can use to make this game close.

Ole Miss at Missouri: I think the Rebels will continue to settle in behind the new quarterback, but one of the nice surprises last week was the play of tailback BenJarvus Green-Ellis. Ole Miss will need to play better defense, but they should have enough firepower to hold off a lukewarm Missouri team.

Colorado State at Colorado: Colorado will rally around this game as they try to forget the humiliating loss to Montana State. If they can’t win this rivalry game, stick a fork in their season. They’re still searching for answers on offense, and I think they won’t find them for a while.

Ohio State at Texas: Much is being made of Ohio State’s losses on defense, but I’m not entirely sold on their offense yet. Ginn and Smith are fine talents, but they will need the balance of a running game. My money is on Texas and Gene Chizik whose last loss as a defensive coordinator was in 2003 to Georgia.

Clemson at Boston College: This is the first test of Clemson’s lofty ranking. Lose on the road to BC and stay out of the Top 20 for the next year or two.

Texas State at Kentucky: Many states have "State Universities" with decent sports programs. N.C. State. Ohio State. Mississippi State. Louisiana State. Montana State. Texas is not one of those states.

Arizona at LSU: Arizona isn’t as bad as they used to be, but they’re not as good as LSU.

Minnesota at California: This is the one game where I really go against the grain this week. I believe that Minnesota has every bit the amount of scoring potential that Tennessee did. The real question is Cal’s offense. We know Lynch is legitimate, but can the quarterback duo settle into this new offense? It’s a lot asking the Gophers to go on the road and beat a mad and talented Cal team, but I’m saying they can do it.

Penn State at Notre Dame: Penn State begins to realizes that last season was like the movie Awakenings where catatonic patients left for dead wake up and experience a brief period of vitality before slowly slipping back into their vegetative states.

Oregon at Fresno State: The Ducks looked mighty impressive against Stanford. Fresno becomes an early scratch from the "BCS Buster" list.

Yep. Exactly.

I’m surprised I hadn’t blogged about this before, but I’ve promoted this exact idea articulated so well by HeismanPundit for years on the message boards. You have performance majors in art and music, and physical ("sports") performance should be right up there as well. People often forget that a key part of a classical education used to be physical – the Greeks especially were fascinated with it.

A formal study program would have to be legitimate and not the throwaway Jim Harrick, Jr. courses everyone always imagines when this topic comes up. From theory to sports medicine (or physiology) to sports business, you’d be training a better class of professional athlete and a better class of coach and analyst down the road. How many people enter the NFL without a second’s thought of how to manage the millions of dollars coming their way?

The first school to make this happen would get ridiculed, and they’d have to be watched closely to make sure that the course of study was valid. Done properly, the results would be very interesting, and the pioneers in the field would gain a nice recruiting edge while everyone else caught up.

Look. We get it. No one likes the state of college football scheduling. No one likes defending their team’s practice of playing cupcakes. We’d all love to play Texas one week and then Miami the next (see my promotion / relegation daydream). Great for the fans, etc. etc.

But college football at the highest level is a multi-million dollar industry. No matter how much you stomp your feet and threaten to hold your breath, emotional appeals to shame don’t bring about real changes in that environment. You might get the occasional throwaway “safe” non-conference game, and then it’s right back to the diet of 1-AA teams. No one is going to risk a BCS payout because of – gasp! – shame and scorn in scheduling.

With all that is at stake, you’re going to have to come up with an actual, tangible incentive to reform scheduling. Instead of criticizing teams for “running away from competition and potential losses”, a more rational approach might examine why the current system provides incentives to do just that and disincentives for more aggressive scheduling.

I’ll give a hint. Why was Louisville a darkhorse national contender pick last year? Why is West Virginia a trendy pick this year? It’s not the offensive scheme. The system rewards records first and schedules much, much later. Fix. That. Problem.

I pointed to an interesting piece about recruiting by Prof. Todd Zywicki of George Mason University earlier this year during their run to the Final Four. Now he discusses an article in Sports Illustrated showing what a single trip to the Final Four can mean to a school. For example,

• Student inquiries and tour sizes have tripled.
• In March (2006) the campus bookstore sold more than $800,000 worth of George Mason clothing, compared with $625,000 worth in all of 2004-05.
• George Mason hopes to increase fund-raising for the coming year by 25%, to $25 million.
• The school projects a 2% increase in the number of applicants who say yes to an acceptance letter (and) an uptick of 10 points in the students’ average SAT score.

That’s just the beginnings of the impact of a single Final Four on the University itself. I haven’t even mentioned the effects on the athletics side – recruiting, ticket sales, donations, etc. George Mason’s established academic reputation can’t touch the exposure (estimated at $50+ million worth of PR) of a Final Four run.

At a major flagship state university, we don’t often pause to consider how much the presence of a strong athletics program means to the school. Georgia is Georgia, Alabama is Alabama, and a Southern flagship university is supposed to have a large athletics program and be a household name. A lot of private schools are also established and don’t need the publicity. Yale football was much better in 1929 than it is now, but that probably doesn’t affect the quality of their applicants much. MIT’s target student might not be picking schools based on the BCS standings.

For the right kind of university though, success on the playing field can be a big shot in the arm to the school and the community. Congrats to George Mason for recognizing that and capitalizing on it.

Randy Walker, the relatively young and innovative coach who got Northwestern football back off the mat and brought a new level of consistency and excitement to Evanston, is dead at the age of 52 from an apparent heart attack. Prayers are certainly with the Northwestern family.

Forget onepeats – who was the last team to beat a Gene Chizik defense?

Georgia.

In November, 2003.

That streak might come to an end this year (then again, it has a good chance of standing also). It’s not uncommon for good coordinators to duplicate success from job to job, but it’s amazing to construct two separate defenses of undefeated programs. Of course he had good talent to work with and a strong offense making the difference in a lot of those wins. The guy must be doing something right though.

The Chizik defenses we saw at Auburn weren’t especially overwhelming or physical, but we did see plenty of speed. Linebackers all over the field. Agile defensive tackles. Defensive ends who specialized in the pass rush. Even in Georgia’s solid 2003 win, points were excruciatingly tough to come by, and I didn’t feel good until Odell Thurman’s back-breaking interception. In 2004, Auburn’s defense was overshadowed by the offense, but the defense led the nation in scoring defense and was Top 5 in yardage. I was especially impressed in the 2004 Georgia game how Auburn made plays to stop the few potential game-changing drives that Georgia put together.

Chizik’s Texas defense last year wasn’t quite as good. I didn’t consider them dominant against Ohio State or USC, and they were a bit shaky against the run, but they played well enough during the season to finish as a top 10 unit in scoring and total defense while giving Young and Co. plenty of support.

28 and counting. How long will it last?