SEC power poll
OK, before we get to the rankings, let’s try to remember what we typed last week after Georgia released the top spot after losing to South Carolina:
“At some point I will remember what I have told myself a half dozen times – pick Alabama as long as Saban is there. Period. Move along.”
Well, that clarity and wisdom lasted a week. And became twisted when Tua Tagovailoa rolled his ankle.
But, as we said on the radio Tuesday on Press Row, this may be the biggest compliment to the talent-gathering skills of Lord Saban.
Is there any other team at any other level that could lose their two most important defensive players before the season starts and now wonder about a Heisman-frontrunner QB and still be No. 1 in the country?
Mama. That’s who.
1. LSU. So, of course, with all that logic and evidence and history, we put LSU numero uno. Well, this LSU offense is different, and it’s not just the stats or the appearance. Last week’s romp at Starkville was a perfect chance to have a trap game and Joe Burrow and that offense just plowed through it. Now they get their most explosive WR back in time for Auburn. Saturday might get out of hand for the visiting Tigers in Baton Rouge because, especially without Boobie Whitlow, can Bo Nix and Co. keep up with Burrow and dem boys?
2. Alabama. No. 1 in the country, No. 2 in the SEC power poll. So it goes. If Tua returns healthy – and not that Tua that was limping around late last year before having his other ankle worked on – Bama is numero uno. If Mack Jones is prominently involved, well, it will be a pick ’em game in T-Town against LSU, and the trip to Auburn later in the year becomes a lot more interesting.
3. Georgia. OK, raise you hand if you had “Jake Fromm, middle-of-the-road SEC QB midway through the season” in your preseason predictions. We’ll wait. Fromm’s struggles behind the best O-Line in the country now bring a very real possibility that he could return for a senior season, no?
4. Florida. If I said Dan Mullen was the best coach in the SEC not named Saban, how hard would you fight me on that? Sure, Kirby is building an unbelievable foundation in Athens, but if the trade proposal of Mullen-for-Kirby was on the table, I bet Florida backs away first.
5. Auburn. Remind me to ask TFP SEC guru David Paschall this on the radio later today, but is this the most top-heavy the SEC has ever been? Yes, the five teams listed here are all in the top 12 or so in the country. But that will change as they start to play each other over the next few weeks. Plus, if Missouri or South Carolina is fighting for sixth, well, there are two great SEC teams (LSU and Bama), a potentially great team that is struggling for some reason or another (Georgia), an overachieving and energized Florida and Auburn, which has an NFL-stocked defense and a very flawed offense (experienced but inconsistent line, a true freshman QB who struggled mightily at The Swamp, and their best RB in street clothes).
Bottom of the barrel
Congrats Vols, you moved out of the lower ring.
12. Mississippi State. If I gave you three full seasons for Joe Moorhead in Starkville, you going over or under that? Yeah, I’m leaning under, too.
13. Vandy. Derek Mason rightly enjoyed his team’s monster upset of Missouri, which should be 7-0 to tell you the truth. Kudos to Coach Mason, who is a joy to talk with and has always had time for those of us in this BIDness in Chattanooga.
14. Arkansas. Wow, the Hogs got worked – again – by Gus Malzahn. (Side note: If Malzahn got to coach against Arkansas once every three weeks, he’d be Knute Rockne. But that’s a rather large team picture, I suppose.) Now comes a trip to Alabama. And to make matters worse for Chad Morris, his previous stop – SMU – is one of the most undersold and best turnaround stories in all of college football.
Edge Nationals
Wow, lots happening in Game 1 of the World Series, right?
There was the juggernaut that was Gerrit Cole, who had not lost a decision since May 22. He got tagged with the loss in the Nats’ 5-4 win Tuesday night.
How staggeringly one-sided had every Cole start been in those five months between losses?
> The Astros had not lost since June when Cole started;
> He had not thrown a pitch while trailing since Sept. 2;
> This was the second.
Now the Astros are staring at a must-win Game 2 – against Stephen Strasburg, mind you – and that’s only the second-most troubling story circling Houston.
The details of the Houston assistant GM who for some unknown reason decide to yell obscenities toward a group of female reporters in support of Astros reliever Roberto Osuna, who had been suspended before coming to Houston for domestic violence allegations, emerge.
It’s a surreal story – that came in real time after what should have been a joyous moment when Jose Altuve hit a walk-off ALCS-clinching homer – that has been only made worse by how Houston has handled it after a Sports Illustrated story called out the Houston executive.
PR statements denying the incident and attempting to discredit the female SI reporter have been refuted and simply denied by other reporters in the locker room.
It’s a strange place when the hottest pitcher on the planet gets roughed-up and puts a championship season on the brink, and it’s not even close to the biggest issue for the organization at the moment.
CHA-Ching
USA Today had its annual coaches’ salaries story this week. It’s always a fascinating look. (And it’s always guaranteed to get a “Remember, there’s not enough money” sarcastic tweet from Jay Bilas.) Here’s one of the stories, with six eye-popping stats from the salary reports.
Here are some of the highlights:
> The average – yes, average – FBS coach’s salary is $2.67 million. (The numbers are for 122 FBS coaches because salaries from private schools, like Vandy, are not required to be provided in freedom of information requests.) That’s up 9 percent from last year.
> Dabo leads the way this year – bonuses and such change the top spot almost every year – $9.32 million. There are 10 guys making more than $6 million.
> Every coach in the SEC is making more than $3 million. The average pay in the SEC? Yeah, that’d be $4.95 million.
> And I loved this one: Saban and Dabo are each making more than the combined salaries of the 12-school MAC coaches, who make about $7.75 million a year.
This and that
– The Clippers were clearly better than the rebuilt Lakers last night. And the biggest difference truly was how much better Doc Rivers was than Frank Vogel. And the Clippers’ bench is significantly better than the Lakers’ and that is without Paul George on the floor. Yes, it’s one game, but I was a little surprised by how much better the Clippers looked in the fourth quarter last night. (Yawn. Those 10:30 p.m. games are going to be hard to consistently watch.)
– Who runs L.A.? After last night’s season-opening win over their crosstown rivals, the Clippers are 26-10 vs. the Lakers in the last 10 years. Chew on that.
– OK, the entrance exam for “Wheel of Fortune” is not exactly compared to a “Jeopardy!” pretest. But wow, last night all three contestants had brain cramps on a rather easy puzzle. Here’s more. Here’s the nut graph of the struggles with Pat and Vanna: “The final puzzle in regulation game play was a phrase, which quickly became “TH_ Q_ _STION R_ _ _INS.” The first contestant guessed “the question rounds” and “the question raising.” The second contestant added an “M” and then guessed “the question reminds.” And finally the third contestant bought an “E” resulting in the puzzle “THE Q _ ESTION REM _ INS.” He didn’t even try to guess before the buzzer sounded. Who knew that questions would remain about “The Question Remains?”
– How about this stat: New England’s defense is so good if the New England offense had not taken a single snap this year, the Pats would be 2-4-1. Also of note, at 7-0, the Pats are three wins away from becoming the first NFL team ever to have 17 consecutive 10-win seasons. Dear Lord.
– So Amazon is rebooting the “Lord of the Rings” for a TV series. Count me intrigued.
– Speaking of Jake Fromm’s struggles, well, Vegas has noticed them, too. This from longtime buddy and professional handicapper Brian Edwards (great Twitter follow at @vegasbedwards): “Georgia was -7 at #Auburn last week in Westgate’s updated Games of the year. This week? UGA -1.5 on The Plains. UGA was -35.5 vs. Ga. Tech last week; now it’s -28 on The Flats. Finally, UGA -17.5 vs. Tex A&M last week, & that’s down to UGA -13.5.” Wow.
Today’s questions
Which way Wednesday will start this way:
Which game show would you most want to be on?
Which SEC team wins the conference?
On this day in 1941, “Dumbo” was released.
On this day in 1993, Joe Carter hit his walk-off, series-clinching homer to lead Toronto over Philadelphia.
Johnny Carson would have been 94 today. Emilia Clarke is 33 today.
Pele is 79. Rushmore of most famous worldwide living sports stars. Go.