Bowed Back Bulldogs<\/strong><\/p>\nIt had been a rough couple of weeks for the Mississippi St. Bulldogs.\u00a0 After splashing into the 2018 season with all the giddiness of a moonshine party,\u00a0 the Bulldogs found a fly in their drink in the form of Kentucky and Florida.\u00a0 Mississippi St. is no punk however,\u00a0 so it only stood to reason that they were going to straighten up their back at some point.\u00a0 Saturday Night vs. visiting Auburn appeared to be the ample time to do so.\u00a0 Lose three SEC games in a row and you can kind of kiss your season good bye and that was what the Bulldogs were facing.\u00a0 This was also what the Auburn Tigers were walking into.\u00a0 So it should come as no surprise to anyone that these dogs were biting.<\/p>\n
Mississippi St. was the wrong opponent for Auburn to face.\u00a0 Heading out on the road to face a desperate opponent who’s prone to being physical has it’s nightmarish qualities.\u00a0 The Bulldogs muffled Auburn’s screams and terrorized them for 60 minutes.\u00a0 Auburn entered this game having trouble moving the ball on the ground.\u00a0 Mississippi St. is not the place you go to fix your running game.\u00a0 Needless to say,\u00a0 the mechanic was not in as Auburn’s 90 yards rushing contributed to their offense only managing three field goals.\u00a0 The Bulldogs countered that with their revved up rushing engine cranking out 349 yards on the ground enroute to the convincing 23-9 victory.<\/p>\n
The 2nd SEC loss undoubtedly puts Auburn out of the SEC West title race and leaves them wondering what they are playing for the rest of the way.\u00a0 The expectation coming in was that Auburn could challenge Alabama for the crown this year.\u00a0 At this point that seemed absurd but it also could leave Auburn with a tattered mindset that Gus Malzahn must carefully manage.<\/p>\n
Altered States<\/strong><\/p>\nI alerted you a couple of weeks ago to a disturbing trend I was observing with Stanford this season.\u00a0 Despite having a Heisman Trophy candidate at running back,\u00a0 the Cardinal could not really block for him.\u00a0 What Stanford appeared to be better at was pass protection and that’s not really Stanford’s game.\u00a0 To their credit,\u00a0 Stanford has thrown the ball better than in year’s past and it has bailed them out,\u00a0 most notably in their game vs. Oregon.\u00a0 Were it not for their late game heroics in Eugene,\u00a0 Stanford would have been swallowing their third straight loss of the season.\u00a0 Instead,\u00a0 they will have to settle for having been blown out in back to back weeks and giving up an average of 36 points per game over the last three. When Stanford can’t run well,\u00a0 they apparently can’t stop people and so Utah took full advantage.<\/p>\n
If Stanford does not find a way back to their bread and butter they will be left eating soup for the rest of the season.\u00a0 Though they are 3-3,\u00a0 Arizona St. is a dangerous opponent up next for Stanford with Washington coming next.\u00a0 David Shaw has never really faced any pressure at the head of Stanford’s program but four or more losses in a season could start things rolling in the wrong direction come 2019.\u00a0 The Pac-12 is in a weakened state with USC down and a number of new hires.\u00a0 This is a situation that Stanford should be taking advantage of but instead,\u00a0 we have this.<\/p>\n
This and That<\/strong><\/p>\nThursday Night,\u00a0 Georgia Tech ran up the rushing yards like a drunk runs up a bar tab vs. Louisville.\u00a0 542 yards on the ground resulted in 542,000 searches for “Bobby Petrino’s buyout” on Google.\u00a0 To save you some time,\u00a0 it’s $14 million.\u00a0 That represents a sum that history would indicate that Louisville would not be willing to part with.\u00a0 So for all of you with the red ass,\u00a0 settle down and support your red birds.<\/p>\n
Quietly and under the cover of Big Ten type gray clouds,\u00a0 Michigan St.’s program is receding like a 45 year old hairline.\u00a0 The Spartans are 3-2 and the list of wins are not impressive.\u00a0 A loss to Northwestern on Saturday might get things stirred up in East Lansing.\u00a0 Should a trigger get squeezed,\u00a0 who might be a candidate for the job?\u00a0 Credit to Ohio St. for locking up OC Ryan Day but Greg Schiano is still is unprotected and East Lansing is far enough a way from Knoxville.<\/p>\n
Speaking of Ohio St.,\u00a0 apparently Urban Meyer had a health issue at the game on Saturday……. I’m just saying.<\/p>\n
Alabama coach Nick Saban chastised the students and fanbase last week for their poor attendance to the big Louisiana Lafayette matchup in Bryant Denny Stadium.\u00a0 This week they poured a 40 ounce on Arkansas by the half (41-14) and cruised to a 65-31 victory.\u00a0 With Missouri coming to Tuscaloosa next week,\u00a0 it might be standing room only in the dorms during game time once again.\u00a0 That Coke can is in trouble at the press conference.<\/p>\n
South Florida running back and former Florida Gator Jordan Cronkite put up some insane rushing numbers on Saturday vs. U.Mass.\u00a0 Cronkite exploded on the scene with 302 yards on just 22 carries vs. the Minutemen.\u00a0 The total equaled exactly the amount of yards he had in two seasons with the Gators before transferring after the 2016 season.\u00a0 He may be one to keep an eye on the rest of the way.<\/p>\n
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