What a weekend it was- and while I'm no Danny Sheridan, I'm guaranteeing a few things for this week: Auburn will name a new football coach by Thursday, Johnny Manziel will walk away with the Heisman, Nick Saban will continue to give the ball to Eddie Lacy & TJ Yeldon (duh), and you will not pay much attention (with the exception of the BCS title game) to most of the 35 bowl games that begin on Decmber 15th.
Item #1: Auburn's search committe is now in the process of interviewing candidates- in fact I would not be incorrect to say that Bo, Pat, and friends are in the final days of interviewing candidates. While the huge coaches convention begins tonight in NYC and continues through Wednesday, the next few days will be the perfect time for the parties to settle on a coach and get those contact terms agreed upon- all while sitting in the confines of a luxury New York City hotel room. Names such as Kirby Smart, Gus Malzahn, Charlie Strong and Bobby continue to swirl on Twitter and on the internet. It shouldn't be long now. On a related note, it was interesting to see Trooper Taylor at the McAdory game Friday night- he told Fox6, "Sorry I'm not allowed to talk" (he continues to recruit for AU).
Item #2: There's no doubt that Texas A&M star Johnny Manziel will win the Heisman this Saturday. It will be hard to argue with the pick, as Johnny Football has broken Cam Newton's all-time NCAA season mark for total offense (over 3,000 yards passing and over 1,000 yards rushing). While my Heisman ballot is in, the Heisman Trust folks have been on us voters not to reveal our picks. While I will abide by that request, I can tell you I did not put AJ McCarron in my top three. The kid's had a sensational season, and he could be a Heisman favorite next year, but in my mind, he is just a smidge below what I would call "Heisman Worthy".
Item #3: If I'm Nick Saban, I'm ordering up Russ Nussmeier to hand the ball to Lacy & Yeldon as often as possible. I think you will agree that Saturday night's SEC Championship game was one of the most entertaining games ever. We all knew it was coming: Hand the ball off to the hosses and then, BAM- have McCarron hit 'em with the play action. The Dawgs knew it was coming and they still couldn't stop it. Near the end of the game I stood in the end zone and watched as players from both teams limped off the field, battle-scarred. Jesse Williams was hurting, Eddie Lacy was knocked around and Barrett Jones walked off the field on crutches. But what I witnessed moments after the game was truly impressive: Tide and Bulldog players hugging one another, offering congratulations to one another, knowing that players from both teams gave it their all. Dripping in sweat, mentally spent, I asked Chance Warmack how he felt. Said the Bama lineman, "I'm not sure, but I do know I love this game." Pretty cool.
Item #4: Ready for bowl season? If you are, you will be glad to know the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, the Little Ceasar's Bowl, the Bell Helicopter Bowl, the Beef O'Brady's Bowl, the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl and the Hyundai Bowl are coming to stadium near you. And while I'm not doing backflips over bowl match-ups like FSU vs Northern Illinois in the Orange Bowl, Georgia-Nebraska in the Capital One Bowl, and Florida-Louisville in the Sugar Bowl, there are a few intriguing match-ups out there. I like LSU-Clemson in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl, Michigan-South Carolina in the Outback Bowl and Stanford-Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl. And the BCS title game? Don't think that Bama is going to run all over the nation's 5th-ranked defense. Notre Dame is built alot like the Crimson Tide, so we're looking at what could be a classic.
Thanks for stopping by- I'd love for you to follow me on Twitter@RickKarle. Have a great week and as always, your comments are welcomed.
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