Ole Miss defeats Oklahoma State 21-7 in a very agonizing game to watch.  Both teams seemed to want to lose.  Still, a win is a win!  Hotty Toddy!

While I do support a playoff for division-I college football, I’m probably not alone in thinking that this is none of Congress’s business.

Federal legislation that could lead to a college football playoff tournament will move a step closer to reality on Wednesday in a hearing before a subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection will consider a bill that would allow the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to prohibit any bowl game from calling itself a “national championship” unless the game is “the final game of a single elimination post-season playoff system.” The subcommittee is expected to vote on the proposal on Wednesday after a line-by-line consideration of the bill.

Joe Barton (R-Tex) is leading the charge, and is backed by Bobby Rush (D-Ill).  Hopefully both gentlemen will find themselves out of a job come January 2011.

One would think that Congress should have more important priorities, though I don’t necessarily mind them being momentarily distracted from destroying our country via serious legislation. Sadly, there are actual citizens group promoting this junk.

“We’re pleased that Congressman Barton’s bill is moving forward because it will require the BCS to choose — either make college football’s championship a competitively earned honor or admit that it’s currently the equivalent of being elected homecoming king,” said Matthew Sanderson, a founder of Playoff PAC, a political action committee aimed at electing members of Congress who favor a playoff system.

Seriously?  There are people who came together to form a frakking PAC dedicated to this issue?  How lonely and sad is your life that you actually decide to lobby Congress to create a college football playoff?

It is a joke, to be sure, but it’s also another indication that too many people think it is the federal government’s business to involve itself in every sphere of human life and correct all ills.  We have a long way to go to eradicate this disease of thought.

Every two years, the unwashed LSU faithful crawl out of their brackish swamp and travel to Oxford, MS, bent on defiling our cosmopolitan soil like so many socially-perverse locusts. But we welcome you, that even one of your young might leave with the indelible mark of civility.

As to the game: beware of the man who has singlehandedly redeemed the name “Dexter.” Be sure and wave as he runs past you, because it’s all you can do.

Update: Dexter McCluster also passes.

The Rebels’ offense decided to show up today and roasted themselves some Hawgs, beating Arkansas 30-17.

Living in UT country, I really appreciate this fella’s opinion…even if it’s coming from a Bama man.

LSU-Georgia today in Athens on a perfect pigskin Saturday.  Not often the #4 team in the country goes into a game as the underdog, but LSU has been unconvincing (to put it mildly) in getting to 4-0.  Saying LSU is loaded with talent is like saying Scarlett Johansson is fairly attractive.  Here’s hoping they put it together on the field today.  A.J. Green, meet Patrick Peterson…

Fear the Hat!

This is not the Southern Appeal I knew.  Four weeks into the college football season, and I have seen little smack talk taking place.  You’re leaving it up to the Yankee bastard (as I was affectionately dubbed by a college hall mate who – shockingly – went on to pledge KA) to put up a post.  But I think now is an opportune time considering that the Tide just rolled Arkansas and Charlie Weiss, despite winning another squeaker, is a week closer to getting the axe.  Oh and the Jets and Giants are a combined 6-0, but I guess y’all don’t care much about that.

Ahem. After William and Mary’s stunning, magnificent and triumphant upset of UVA last week in football, we all thought the Cavaliers would get their act together. Right now, we’d just settle for our younger, instate siblings to get out of the proverbial barn without a hitch:

BTW, Everyone knows Thomas Jefferson founded UVA. But do you know why? ‘Cause his kids got cut from William and Mary’s football team! Tribe Pride!!!!

Julio Jones and Mark Ingram have been cleared to play in Sat.’s game against Virginia Tech.  For those of you who don’t follow God’s team, Jones and Ingram went on a fishing trip last Spring with a man (a UGA alum) who Jones had met prior to college.  Because they didn’t pay for the trip and because it was something not available to all of the students at the University of Alabama, the school reported the potential violation.  The NCAA has reinstated the players for Sat.’s game provided they reimburse the gentleman for the costs of the trip.  I am assuming that Colt McCoy (Texas QB) and Jordan Shipley (Texas WR) either paid for their recent fishing trip or they will reimburse ESPN for the costs of their trip before Sat.’s game.  I would be interested if anyone could explain to me why the Texas trip would be different than the trip taken by Ingram and Jones.

Thank you, Senator Hatch, for looking out for us, and advancing our interests in the most important of issues.

The Senate plans to hold a hearing next week looking into antitrust issues surrounding the Bowl Championship Series.

Indeed, it is about time that the federal government get involved in College Football.  For years the Notre Dame football team has had God on its side; it seems only fair that all the other football teams reap the benefit of an equally strong force (so the politicians seem to think): the United States Government.  The playing field shall now be level, so to speak. (more…)

Say what you want about the Mother of God’s favorite football program, but the University of Georgia Athletics Department seems to have their fill of hope and change. About $20 million (with an “M”) worth of spare change at the end of this fiscal year.

That brings many UGA fans hope with an additional $40 million worth of spare change in the form of a surplus slush fund.

With $60 million, UGA can afford to buy more players than Alabama, and at the same time afford to feed Charlie Weis for a year!

Si se puede, Go Dawgs!

Excellent performance from both the offensive and defensive Rebel teams.  Too bad State sent in a bunch fellows in football uniforms instead of actual players; otherwise it we could of had an actual game instead of the full-scale beat-down I witnessed.  Still, an Egg Bowl victory is an Egg Bowl victory.

Hotty Toddy!

Alabama beats LSU 27-21 in a game that probably took five years off my life. At least one good thing happened this week. 10-0 BABY!!!!!!!!!!!

9-0 Baby! Roll Tide!!!!!!

Ole Miss upsets No. 4 Florida! Go Rebels!

West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez has rejected the Alabama football head coaching job.

See how all the Coaches Voted in the USA Today Coaches poll, which is a part of the BCS. (Flash player required, just scroll your mouse over the coach’s name to see how he voted).

Ivan Maisel’s take on the firing of Mike Shula and the state of the ‘Bama nation.

Another SEC regular season is pretty much done (save a couple of non-conference games with Georgia and Florida going against their rivals and the “Egg Bowl” with Ole Miss – MSU) and it seems worthwhile think about the biggest surprises and biggest disappointments of the season.

Clearly, Arkansas is the biggest surprise of the season. At 10-1, headed into the championship game with a pretty good chance at beating Florida, Arkansas has definitely exceeded expectations. Indeed, I thought at the beginning of the season that Huston Nutt would be looking for a new job in December. Darren McFadden is a hoss, as they say – anyone know whether he’s sticking around?

The biggest disappointment? I think that has to go to Georgia. Sure, Alabama’s a candidate, but I think people were just overestimating them at the beginning of the season. They’re just now getting through their scholarship penalties so I wasn’t suprised to watch them not quite get it done. (That said, Shula’s got one more year – he doesn’t deliver a stellar year next year and he’s done, especially, especially if he doesn’t beat Auburn). Georgia – while, again, I think people overestimated them – just hasn’t played consistently all year long. They were great against Western Kentucky, for a half against Tennessee, for another half against Florida, and then really showed up against Auburn. But they can’t defense against the run, their own running game is anemic at best, and Mark Richt seems to be following the Florida State model of play-calling – dull, dull, dull. And no self-respecting team loses to Vanderbilt and Kentucky in the same year. I think they’ll be much better next year – Matthew Stafford is the real deal, but how much better won’t depend on him but on the defense.

As for the SEC championship game? Arkansas 24-10. Too much McFadden…

(Oh, and did you notice that I could write a *whole post* about college football and *not* mention some other team?  It’s true…)

My neighbor flies his USC Trojans flag from his front porch after every victory of their football team.

I guarantee you that I won’t have to look at the darn thing this week now that the Trojans lost to the Beavers of Oregon State.

Thank you, Oregon State.  First the College World Series, now this.

This weekend the College Game Day crew visted Death Valley for the Clemson v. Georgia Tech game.  It was a great day and a terrific atmosphere in the stadium.  I know you Notre Dame fans are proud of your team and tradition, but take a look at this clip of College Game Day from Clemson.  Southern football excitement at its best–nothing tops it!

So Miami U President Donna Sha-la-la thinks that one-game suspensions for brawling is just fine.  What a joke.  What a bunch of losers – I hope they get blown out by Duke.

A friend of mine takes issue with the normal methods of ranking college football teams.  In order to correct what he feels are various injustices and illogicalities, he has taken to “doing it the right way” via a scheme of number crunching that will interest some of you and will sap the will to live of others.

Visit his new weblog here.

For college football fans.  What did I hear Colin Cowherd, he of the “Charlie Weis is the second coming crowd,” say this morning.  “Can’t spell Independence Bowl without ‘ND’.”  Ouch.

The legendary college football coach died Friday in Statesboro, Georgia, age 80.  Russell was Vince Dooley’s defensive coordinator for 17 years at Georgia, then built a Division I-AA national championship program at Georgia Southern during his 8-year career there (1982-89).  Georgia Southern’s write-up of the memorial service is here; UGA’s tribute to him is here.  There were several stories about Russell in the Sunday Journal-Constitution, but registration is required.  If you don’t want to bother with that, the Macon Telegraph has several articles and features you can access directly.

Methinks not. To the extent that I think it’s complete crap that USC jumped them in the USA Today poll…esp. after a bye week.

Me: And, bear in mind, I’m a Notre Dame hater…

I happen to live in Athens, Georgia, which is a charming little city that becomes far more interesting once college football season begins.  We rent a house in the Five Points area which is close to the football action and full of fraternities and sororities. 

I can’t wait until that fall air brings the mercury steadily down, down. 

Can’t wait until the streets of the neighborhood fill with parallel parked cars from out of town. 

Can’t wait for the can’t-think-about-anything-else excitement that overtakes Athens starting every Thursday. 

Can’t wait for the normally brutal local sports talk radio to improve as the broadcasters begin talking about something that actually interests them.

Can’t wait to see my own favorite squad — the Crimson Tide — take the field and continue reversing the nightmare of the third millennium.

So it’s finally August.  The baseball season drones on, the NFL opens its camps, golf tours coolers climes, and, most importantly, SEC football is only 30 days away.

Let’s talk about the SEC East first.  Georgia has really been been in the catbird’s seat over the last few years, as Mark Richt’s new big contract shows.  But with a senior first-year starter QB (Joe Tereshinski) that Richt clearly didn’t trust last year against Florida and lots of holes to fill on the offensive line, it’s hard to see the Bulldogs back in Atlanta.  I would expect a 10-2 season, with losses to Florida and Auburn, though I wouldn’t at all be surprised with 8-4, given that they have to go to South Carolina and Tennessee might be better than most folks (including me) think.

Florida fans no doubt have some heightened expectations.  It’s time for Urban Meyer’s offensive “genius” to show up.  The only question is whether Chris Leak is the guy to make it happen.  I’m a Leak fan – I think he’s a pretty darned good QB and I expect the Gators to compete for the SEC championship, losing probably only to Auburn.

Tennessee.  I’ll admit it, there’s no team I dislike more than UT.  I reveled, reveled, in their misery last season and I wish them all the unhappiness of another unsatisfying one.  And I think they’ll lose to California, Georgia, Bama, and LSU, meaning that the great orange pumpkin will no longer be prowling Neyland’s turf.

Steve Spurrier’s frustration will confirm for all that USC’s natural place in the football universe is one of eternal mediocrity.  Some schools just can’t escape their fates.  They’ll probably beat up on Wofford and Florida Atlantic, but expect a lot of visor-slamming this year.

Vanderbilt and Kentucky.  Well, now that Jay Cutler is in the pros, expect these two to once again provide good boosts to everyone else’s records.  Basketball starts in November, guys…

Funny, funny stuff on Tider Insider — even if you don’t know who Ed Orgeron is, I’d say.  I suggest starting with installment #1, dated 4/12/06, and moving forward. 

Note to Proximo:  You must read # 7.

The legendary Ole Miss football coach died Friday, age 96.  Vaught coached the Rebels from 1947 to 1970, from Charlie Conerly to Archie Manning.  He compiled a 190-61-12 record.  The Commercial Appeal story is here (requires free registration).