I Smell Corn Dogs

Cajuns are sensitive about smelling like corn dogs, so pick that scab at every opportunity Saturday. Aiiieeeeee!

Birth of the meme.

Last Time

Not a cloud in the Louisiana sky and 52 points.



Quinton

Review of Athens from a Sun Devil

I'm in transit so I'll just paste the link. Good review of the
experience in Athens.

http://phoenix.fanster.com/sundevils/2009/09/28/thank-you-athens

Chick-Fil-A at your tailgate (reminder)

Once again, you're encouraged to pick up some Chick-fil-A for your time in Athens this weekend. LSU fans know their cajun food, but there's nothing like some good Georgia chicken to compliment your tailgate.

You can order trays of nuggets, strips, sandwiches, wraps, brownies, etc. from Chick-fil-A at Beechwood in Athens, and they'll have it ready for you on game day.

Your contact is Chris at cfabeechwood@gmail.com to place an order or get some general info.

God bless the chicken sandwich.

PWD

Full Disclosure: This is a compensated endorsement, but I'm practically a Chick-Fil-A evangelist so it's still from the heart.

V for Vendetta

Did Willie Martinez kick sand on Mark Bradley at the beach? Or steal his lunch money in high school? Or his girlfriend? That would explain Bradley's second column in less than a week putting a cudgel to Willie Martinez.

The gist of the column is that when Les Miles determined his defense was substandard, he upgraded his defensive coordinator(s) by hiring John Chavis. And Mark Richt did nothing (save to promote Janceck to co-cordinator).

Who has two thumbs and gets no pressure...from his boss?

Let me be clear: I am not making the argument that Willie Martinez is as good as or better than John Chavis. Chavis's body of work is demonstrably better. But based solely on this season's statistics, I am puzzled by how Bradley supports his thesis. The numbers are postively underwhelming for both teams.

LSU ranks 49th nationally in total defense and 23rd in scoring defense; Georgia ranks 67th and 95th. The key difference: The Tigers are tied for fifth in turnover margin, having intercepted seven passes and recovered three fumbles; Georgia is 115th, having intercepted one pass and recovered two fumbles. (Neither team has done much sacking: Each has five in four games.

Four games into the season, LSU ranks 49th in defense and UGA ranks 67th. LSU barely cracks the top 50 against such august competition as Washington, Vanderbilt, La-Lafayette, and Little Miss State. So why is Chavis the answer?

But the belief in this space is that Chavis will instill the ethic of tenacity a big-time program must have. The belief is also that Martinez’s defense is based on the backpedal. Granted, Georgia held Arizona State to 204 yards and one offensive touchdown, but ASU might finish fifth (or worse) in the SEC East. There’s a higher standard in this conference, and Chavis has proved he can meet it.

I'll spot Bradley this: LSU's defense may not be very good right now, but it's not crazy to think Chavis will whip them into shape. Willie is what he is. But for now the jury is out until Chavis puts some statistical distance between his unit and CWM's unit.

Bradley hit the nail on the head when he identifies this key difference: LSU turns the ball over much less than Georgia. I suspect the winner on Saturday will not be the team that plays better defense; it will be the team with the fewest turnovers. If we spot the Tigers 2 TDs off turnovers like we did for the Sun Devils, we lose. Likewise, if Daryl Gamble (or anyone) can reprise last year's double-pick-six performance, Dawgs win another over LSU.

SEC Power Poll Ballot

1. Alabama - I had them No. 1 last week and see no reason to change.  Everything they do is competent.  Nothing spectacular, just solid, consistent football.
   
2. Florida - That off week will help, huh?  UF blew the Wildcats off the field in the first half until they slowed and Tebow got hurt.    
3. LSU -  Slots three through five are interchangeable.  LSU continues to look sluggish.  At some point I'll have to admit that it is simply a defining characteristic of the team, not just their play. 
   
4. Georgia - Other than the turnover problems the Dawgs have had, UGA and LSU are playing a mirror image of themselves this weekend.  Neither team runs the ball, rushes the passer, or defends particularly well. 
   
5. Auburn - Another blowout win over a patsy, but at least it was convincing.  Two things that I'd never thought I'd see in a sentence together:  "Chris Todd" and "5 TDs".
   
6. South Carolina - Garcia and the Cocks keyed the hell out of Ole Miss's shiny #4 ranking in front of a national audience.
7. Ole Miss - The Rebs were overrated and now all the experts admit it.  Frankly, they had as good a case as anyone else for the top 5.  Nutt is a far more compelling personality when he is the crazed underdog than the frontrunner.  A high ranking just doesn't fit the guy's personality.
   
8. Arkansas -So that's what an SEC defense is supposed to look like.  Saban blitzed Mallett like he was Poland and the result was surrender.  Also, Hogs, learn to tackle.  That Trent Richardson TD run was embarrassing.
   
9. Mississippi State -You can't get closer to a big win that State did Saturday.  If the ball were pitched on 4th down, Mullen would have a signature win in his first year.  Instead, he has sadness.
   
10. Tennessee -The woe is back in Knoxville.  We should have known that the Vols would be lethargic after last weekend's big moral victory against the Gators.
    
11. Kentucky - Hey, the 'Cats looked decent in the second half after Tebow got knocked out.
    
12. Vanderbilt - Our nerds are better than your nerds, Conference USA!
    

Quinton

New Gator Slogan for the LSU Game

"Win one for the Snipper."

Behold. The best line in the history of the internets. Ht - Dawgspeare.

See Also:
-- Orson's take on things in 1 image - EDSBS