| 07 November 2009
We recently had the opportunity to interview Scout's College Football News SEC columnist, Barrett Sallee. If you aren't reading CFN on a daily basis, you have no idea what you are missing.
Florida (before the Cocktail Party game against Georgia) has looked one dimensional on offense ... do you believe their offense is turning the corner or did UF's offense look good against a poor UGA defense?
I don't think it's either. Florida has been struggling due in large part to the departure of Louis Murphy and Percy Harvin. While Tim Tebow makes that offense tick, Harvin and Murphy were almost as valuable to the Gators. Their absence has left the Gators scrambling a bit, and Saturday against Georgia didn't really do anything to rectify that. I honestly didn't think Florida's offense looked that good on Saturday. Don't get me wrong, they didn't look bad either, but they didn't have to do an awful lot to win that game thanks to Georgia's turnovers and penalties giving them so many golden opportunities. I don't want to seem like I'm dodging the question, but Florida's game against Georgia didn't really sway my opinion of the Florida offense in either direction. With what's remaining on their schedule, that question may not be answered until they play in the Georgia Dome in early December.
Florida has clinched the East, Alabama can clinch the West with a win against LSU. Could either of these teams suffer a let down and lose their perfect season before the SEC Championship Game?
Yes. Alabama could lose to LSU next week and not even make the SEC Championship Game. Everyone seems to be etching a Florida vs. Bama rematch in the Championship Game in stone, but LSU still controls their SEC destiny as well. With McElroy struggling and LSU getting hot at the right time, not only could the Crimson Tide suffer a let down, but that let down may cost them a trip to Atlanta all together.
Both teams also have big rivalry games left, with Alabama going to Auburn and Florida hosting Florida State. It's fair to say that those should be wins for the Tide and Gators respectively, but in games like that, a win is far from a sure thing.
What has been the biggest surprise (that you see) from the SEC this season?
It's been the job that Gene Chizik has done at Auburn. That hire was greeted with laughter when it became public in December of 2008. There were people that, with good reason, thought that Auburn may win only three or four games all season. With their win on Saturday, they became bowl eligible before the calender turned to November. With virtually the same players as last season, the Tigers went from woefully bad on offense, to one of the better offenses in the SEC. That's quite a feat considering how bad Auburn was last year. Their defense has been a bit of a disaster for the first part of the year, but they appear to be turning that around, slowly but surely. With what Gus Malzahn is able to produce on the offensive side of the ball, an adequate defense is all that the Tigers need to be successful.
Other than Georgia not playing to preseason expectations, what is the second largest disappointment that you see in the SEC this season?
It's been Ole Miss for sure. Some, including myself, picked them to win the SEC West. Wow, that was stupid. Jevan Snead has been average on his best days and horrendous on his worst, Dexter McCluster was non-existent for the first half of the season and the defense was routinely put in no-win situations. In my ranking of the SEC head coaches that I wrote in May, I put Houston Nutt in that #3 slot. That will not be the case this off-season. Nutt's teams always seem to play well when they are the underdogs. But, at some point, you have to be able to handle the big time. Ole Miss definitely wasn't capable of doing that this year, and problem falls directly on coaching.
Tim Tebow has not put up the numbers this season that he did as a Sophomore (the year he won the Heisman) ... in your opinion, could Mark Ingram receive more votes than Tebow?
Not only do I think it's possible that Ingram could receive more votes, I think he and Colt McCoy both will. Tebow has had a good year this year, but it's by no means significantly better or worse than a bunch of the other Hesiman candidates. You can make a case for Ingram, Colt McCoy, Jimmy Clausen and even Case Keenum in front of Tebow. Of course, this is a fluid situation that changes on a weekly basis. But, from what I've seen from Tebow this year, he's in the conversation with a lot of other players, but by no means is leading the race.
The trophy appeared to be hard-wired for McCoy at the beginning of the season, considering he was the only one of the Big 3 without the hardware coming into this season. I think that, when all is said and done, that McCoy will leave New York with a new statue in a close vote over Ingram, Tebow and Clausen; since Texas appears to be getting cranking at the exact right time. For Tebow to win it, he will have to put up 2007-type numbers starting immediately.
Lane Kiffin has stated he wants to bring the spot light back to the University of Tennessee. In our opinion, that spot light has turned into a nuclear glow ... in your opinion, are his actions bringing a black eye to the entire conference?
No, not to the conference. I think everyone realizes that Kiffin speaks for Kiffin, not the SEC. I don't like how he carries himself and how he represents Tennessee, but the Tennessee fan base seems to like it, and that's really all that matters. Initially, it seems that he didn't realize what kind of reaction his brazen comments would get from the rest of the SEC. But once he got going, that became his niche, so he kind of just ran with it. He thinks highly of himself and his team, and chooses to express that every chance he gets. And you know what, maybe that works for the Vols. Ever since halftime of the game vs. Auburn, the Vols have looked like a competitive team again. That's a big step for that program, after suffering through the disaster of the 2008 season.
I think that the dreadful officiating calls and, in particular, the two visible one's that marred the LSU vs. Georgia and Arkansas vs. Florida games, have brought much more of a black eye to the SEC than Lane Kiffin's antics. While Kiffin's mouth have caused public reprimand and message board and talk radio fodder, the officiating blunders have people questioning the integrity of the game. That's not good for the SEC.
Do you see any SEC football coaches potentially on the hot seat between now and the end of the season?
No, not this season. However, this season for Mark Richt looks a lot like 2007 for former Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville. Richt is going to be forced to fire defensive coordinator Willie Martinez at the end of the season. If that move doesn't work, 2010 could get interesting in Athens. But, as far as this season goes, I don't see anyone in any imminent trouble.
Florida and Alabama face off in the SECCG undefeated .... the game is close, say a 2 point win ... should these two teams face each other in the BCS title game?
Absolutely not, no way, no how, under any BCS circumstances. The SEC Championship is considered one of the most prestigious conference titles in all of sports. It would be completely unfair to the winner of the SEC to have to beat a team twice to win the National Championship, while the team they beat in Atlanta only has to beat them once to hoist the crystal football. It would completely diminish the prestige of winning the SEC Championship. I would rather have Iowa, Cincinnati, Boise State or a one-loss team from any other conference playing in the National Championship Game against the SEC Champion. A rematch would basically make the SEC Championship Game a scrimmage for the real thing in Pasadena. That would be a crying shame.
Where can our readers find your articles online?
You can check me out on www.collegefootballnews.com. Typically, my "Three & Out" columns and our SEC Blogger Reviews and Picks appear in the "BCS Blog" section, which is updated daily. Also, if you're so inclined, you can also follow me on Twitter (yes, I'm part of the problem) at www.twitter.com/BSallee_CFN.
