BLOGPOLL, PART ?: JOEY ASKS THE QUESTIONS
Joey, posting in his dual life on the internets on Schembechler Hall, revives the BlogPoll roundtable with this installment of searing, begging for topical ointment-urgent questions:
1. It’s early, but thus far, which offseason change or changes in college football are you most excited about?
Oh, without a doubt Myles Brand’s brilliant squad-size adjustment, since without it the University of Alabama would have been subject to academic violations this year, and thus could, without future improvement, have played a brewing revenge game against the Florida Gators in the Swamp this year that would have been wiped from the books when the penalties really started piling up on ‘em. We, as Gator fans, would reaaaaaallly like that one to leave a big smoking cattle brand in the record books, since it would not only avenge the 31-3 “re-education” in Tuscaloosa last year, but the three in a row they’ve taken from us dating all the way back to the Dubose Secretary era.
Here’s hoping he spanked her while wearing a Houndstooth hat.
Oh, you mean actual changes that mean something? Well, we can’t talk about anything connected to the NCAA, of course. Two things.
a. First, the overwhelming sense that the bowl system as we know it may finally have been written off by the parties of interest in college football. Not sure if this has any real empirical support here, but the television contracts and sponsorship moves seem to be building toward an eventual push toward a scaled-back playoff. Just a vibe thing; then again, we’ve been convinced since 2002 that Florida State’s Waterloo was just around the bend, and just like zombies, we’ve realized that in order for that to happen, the head must die first. And he’s still sort of there.
b. The continued blossoming of interconference scheduling. Like the retired comic book dork we are, we rejoice when the Ant-Men of the world (er, Vanderbilt) get to face off against the Hulks of the college football world (in this example, Michigan.) Tennessee/Cal, Colorado/Georgia, another blowouter in the Arkansas/USC series, and the most brutal of all intersectional games, Texas/OSU-when interconference games happen, there’s always some level of quirk raising them a few hairs above the average game. But when they happen in numbers, you start talking a base of comparison between regions, which fuels the message boards that fuel the blogs that…we’ve all agreed, indeed do something, though opinions vary on exactly what that something is. In netspeak, it’s more exotic content, and that’s never a bad thing for the college football fan.
2) With spring practice underway, what are the three concerns about your team that are causing you the most anxiety? (USC fans can’t just list the departures of Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart, and LenDale White.)
The three things that make us clutch out plush Danny Wuerffel doll in the middle of the night are:
a. O-line. Zone blocking sticks, or it doesn’t. Either way it’s the linchpin for the Meyer offense, which puts so many receivers in play across the field that quick reads and protection dictate everything. The line got younger, but it may have gotten better with a year to pick up the schemes and get the persistently winded line into better shape. With the protection covered, there’s the issue of…
b. The wife-ahhhing dude making the reads, Chris Leak. Leak’s storyline this year comes in one of three flavors. He could have the Powlus: highly touted recruit who never makes good on his promise thanks to institutional upheaval and general overspeculation on their talents. Leak may also have the Brodie: a highly touted prospect who makes good in an improbable senior run, overcoming the plague, a swarm of locusts, and whatever other demonic obstacles ESPN wants to put in a soft-focus collage about his perserverence. Or finally, Leak has the Carson Palmer vibe where he takes an unanticipated leap to freakdom, throws a decent Wonderlic score’s worth of touchdowns, and stiff-arms a stunned defender to the ground on an option.
That’s the prime rib scenario, but given what we saw last year, we’re expecting sausage.
Meyer, seen here telling Leak that if he slides again, he will rip a baby koala to pieces on the sideline.
c. The secondary, which should be getting fat checks from Jay Cutler for boosting his draft status into the upper reaches of the first round for allowing him to incinerate them last year in the Swamp. Seeing Kyle Jackson at safety has been like watching old footage of Pedro Guerrero playing first base: occasionally a comedy, sometimes a tragedy, but always an adventure. Dee Webb Avery Atkins has some fuzzy charisma about him, but besides Reggie “KBD” Nelson, there’s little to keep us from freebasing Tums in the offseason just thinking about them lining up against South Carolina and a very observant and pass-wacky opposing coach in November.
3) Care to take a stab at a preseason top five?
What the fuck-sure. Here’s who everyone else will put in their top five, saving our own stunning top five for later when we’re really, really starved for content.
1. Ohio State. The win over Notre Dame, Ginn, the emerging Troy Smith Heisman storyline…if this were a stock, it would be Krispy Kreme 2002 at this point. Buckeyes fans hope against hope that the glazed curse doesn’t follow them…Speaking of glazed…
2. Notre Dame. Why work, when you could just plug the two Fiesta Bowl participants into the first two slots? It’ll sell like Diet Crack in the press and give writers loads of “wake up the echoes” stories to mine until they lose to Michigan State, Michigan, etc…again. Rewake those echoes when they take one loss into a matchup with USC in LA and win.
3. Michigan. Evidence? Nope. Just putting them in their traditional slot, seemingly reserved for the by-definition-underacheiving Wolverines.
4. Texas. It’s good to be king, if only for the preseason. Defend positioning with “he may be a freshman qb, but (insert Texas qb here) is a VY clone.”
5. West Virginia. Another hottness pick that will go down in flames the first time the ‘Eers meet a team that can stop the run. They play in the Big East. Which means this won’t happen.
You know who does play in the Big East? The Wannstache, whose visage will close this roundtable in honor of an extremely spotty Mustache Wednesday posting:
Overjoyed to see Pat White running ramshod over his defense. Happy Mustache Wednesday, motherfuckers!
1
This dual life is killing me. Between these sites and work and Ghostface, I don’t have time for reading. I’ve been a stranger in these parts lately. Nice to be back.
That Michigan pick is spot-on. Any higher and it would be absurd since this team went 7-5 last year. Any lower and it would indicate that people were catching on to the fact that Lloyd Carr sucks, and I don’t know if we, humanity, are there yet as a group. But 3 looks good. This way, after the losses at Notre Dame, at Ohio State, and at Penn State (to say nothing of games like at Minnesota), we can all look back and have the usual laugh as we reflect on another lost season.
Comment by Joey — March 29, 2025 @ 5:53 pm
2
RE: 2c. Qoute: “Seeing Kyle Jackson at safety has been like watching old footage of Pedro Guerrero playing first base: occasionally a comedy, sometimes a tragedy, but always an adventure. Dee Webb has some fuzzy charisma about him, but besides Reggie “KBD” Nelson, there’s little to keep us from freebasing Tums in the offseason just thinking about them lining up against South Carolina and a very observant and pass-wacky opposing coach in November.”
Ummmmm……Maybe I’ve been freebasing Tums, but I thought Dee Webb was gone to the NFL. Or am I reading this wrong?
Moreover, whenever the secondary was toasted last year, the D-line failed to get a decent rush on the opposing QB. Jackson does make me nervous, but I expect the entire secondary to be much improved this year. (And I’m glad Webb is gone. He couldn’t cover anything without Saran Wrap.)
Comment by darthgatorone — March 29, 2025 @ 5:56 pm
3
Apologies-you are correct. We were thinking of Avery Atkins.
Comment by Orson Swindle — March 29, 2025 @ 6:01 pm
4
charlie weis will never lose to lllloyd carr. he beat him in the coaches death match, he would school him in a hot dog eating contest and he sure as shit is a better football coach. i just hope we can beat michigan state, though i believe jeff smoker is back for his rusty medieras-like 8th year.
Comment by tjf — March 29, 2025 @ 7:04 pm
5
Kudos for coining the phrase “rusty medieras-like.”
Comment by Orson Swindle — March 29, 2025 @ 7:09 pm
6
Elephants have long memories — remember that the woodshedding of ‘99 in Atlanta and ‘05 in Tuscaloosa were both an effort to get back at the Gators after the ‘91 debacle in the Swamp. Though, UF might have a shot this year. Florida students only need to go get JPW wasted before the game. And, trust me, it’s impossible to deliver a ball on target when your receiver looks like totally blurred.
Comment by Newspaper Hack — March 29, 2025 @ 7:51 pm
7
Even though I’m sure no one has ever confused Maggie Gyllenhaal with ANYONE considered even slightly attractive, she would still be preferable to the secretary DuBose was nailing.
Comment by Todd — March 29, 2025 @ 8:32 pm
8
FOR SHAME todd. maggie is awesome, except in that shitty julia roberts vehicle that dressed itself up as a feminist movie. whatever the fuck that was called. something like, “when bad movies happen to good people names maggie.”
Comment by adam — March 30, 2025 @ 1:13 am
9
It just went from what are you concerned about with your team to Bama bashing.Which usually shows there is some deep rooted insecurity on your behalf.
Other than the fact Dubose was no head coach, he was like the Bill clinton of coaches.He had no idea what he was doing but was not going let that stop him from getting laid.
Comment by CHARLIE MURPHEY — March 30, 2025 @ 8:23 am
10
More like Dubose-bashing, Charlie. And yes, we want revenge-you would, too, if you’d lost three in a row.
Comment by Orson Swindle — March 30, 2025 @ 8:55 am
11
Orson - The past three are part of our revenging for most of the 90s.
Comment by Todd — March 30, 2025 @ 10:47 am
12
That is so true,other than 92 I can’t think of a single game we won?
Comment by CHARLIE MURPHEY — March 30, 2025 @ 12:44 pm
13
Bama fans are well versed in being owned by a conference foe for three games in a row. My bad. Make that four in a row. Coming to Bryant-Dinty Moore this fall to pay rent and taxes on J-H annex.
Comment by TinyTerryTaterTot — March 30, 2025 @ 5:11 pm
14
Meant to say collect rent and pay taxes. Nevermind. I don’t know any Tide fans that can read anyway.
Comment by TinyTerryTaterTot — March 30, 2025 @ 5:14 pm
15
that’s all right, we don’t know any auburn fans that make sense.
Comment by Todd — March 30, 2025 @ 6:10 pm