Friday, September 25, 2009

Thoughts on Thursday's Result

1. First and most obviously, Ole Miss ever having been in the top 20, much less Number 4, is a huge and well-deserved black eye to the entire poll system. Susceptibility to preseason hype isn't the only flaw in the polls, but it's a honking big one.

2. If you have a credible offense, you have to be salivating at the sight of Georgia on your schedule. Any team that could give up 37 points to South Carolina's pedestrian attack simply does not have a defense.

3. Ole Miss will lose a minimum of four games this year (only their joke of an out of conference schedule, and a re-lousy-ed Vanderbilt keeps the tally from being worse), and will struggle to finish higher than fifth in the West.

4. South Carolina would do well to ignore the media meme about last night being a "signature win." Those were two very mediocre teams doing their best to hand a game over to the other guy. Steve Spurrier's got a lot of work left to do if he plans to make any serious noise this year.

5. I thought I would live out my days without ever seeing a Spurrier team run the option. I still can't quite believe Carolina did just that against the Rebels.

UPDATE: CBS's Gregg Doyel absolutely unloads on the mediot hype that pushed a very mediocre Ole Miss into the top five. A sample:
See, it wasn't just Ole Miss that was exposed Thursday night in a 16-10 loss to South Carolina. Nope. It was also the pollsters and the experts and the NFL scouts. It was the media. It was anyone and everyone who had voted for Ole Miss in the top five or had said Ole Miss junior quarterback Jevan Snead was a Heisman candidate or a first-round pick in the 2009 NFL Draft. It was a lot of people who should know better, and as a public service, I'm about to name some of them. That could be embarrassing to a few of these people and publications, but it will serve a purpose. It will teach a lesson or two.

3 comments:

Jeff said...

We all knew they were overranked. I only wish that we were the team that was going to expose them on Halloween. Granted, that's asking a lot, as Ole Piss has Bama, UAB, and Arkansas before playing us at home.

I think LSU and Georgia are overranked too. But we have some more proving of our own to do. Then again, we aren't ranked yet.

Linus said...

After watching the Auburn game on Saturday, and then the game last night, I would lay good money that Auburn will beat the high and holy hell out of Ole Miss.

I don't know that Auburn's line is as quick as SC's, but they sure looked plenty athletic on Saturday. That last interception on that crap-crap-crappily designed WV screen pass, that was one heck of a play.

Plus, I agree with what Will said a few posts back about Auburn being interesting to watch again. Although, to be fair, part of the excitement is wondering which Chris Todd will make the next throw; the one who rifles touchdown passes to the back right corner of the end zone, or the one who underthrows his guys by 7 yards.

What's weird is that I have never in my life been within 1,500 miles of Alabama (except for a brief layover in Miami 12 years ago); yet, due to being a longtime reader of Will's (as a lurker at another site, and then here) I find myself suddenly rooting for Auburn. Strange.

Will Collier said...

That's one hell of a compliment, Linus. Thanks very much.