Southern Showdowns....

A big weekend in the SEC is quickly approaching with no fewer than three games that will dramatically affect the standings as well as the postseason plans of a number of different teams throughout the conference. The matchup that most intrigues me is obviously the annual SEC East tussle between the Florida Gators and the South Cackalacka Gamecocks. This is a battle that is usually one of the more lighthearted affairs of the SEC season. Despite being division foes and playing each other every year, this rivalry has always been missing a lot of the traditional animosity that is a hallmark of intra-divisional matchups in the SEC. This was always due in part to South Carolina being an extremely inconsistent, often downtrodden football program. It seemed as if the arrival of Lou Holtz in the late 90’s would add some juice to this rivalry but after the ill-fated attempt to “blackout” the Gators in 2001 (Gators won 63-10 in Columbia) this rivalry once again regressed back into just another late season game among many other more notable November matchups on the college football landscape.

However, this year is already shaping up to be as spirited a game as anyone can remember between these two long time rivals. This is due, in no small part, to the new head coach in Columbia, none other than Steve Spurrier. Spurrier is still a god to many Florida fans even as he directs a new program within the same division as his alma mater. Honestly, why shouldn’t Florida fans have these types of feeling for him? This is a man who not only won the Heisman at Florida but also managed to resurrect a severely tarnished program when he took over in the early 90’s. The fact that Spurrier then went on a run of success not seen in the SEC since the likes of Bear Bryant should not discounted either. Without Spurrier, the University of Florida is still just another school in the SEC instead of the nationally recognized powerhouse that it’s become over the last fifteen years.

As it stands now, Spurrier has South Carolina out to an improbable 6-3 record (including a win over Tennessee) despite an off-season that saw him kick a number of key players off of an already talent thin roster. Down in Gainesville, Urban Meyer has fought through a slew of injuries and some shaky play on offense and now has his Gators sitting at 7-2 with a chance to win the SEC East this Saturday. It’s tough to imagine a more compelling scenario for Saturday’s game. Spurrier has the chance to knock off a second top tier SEC team that just happens to be his alma mater, while Meyer has a shot to take Florida to it’s first SEC title game since Spurrier was coaching in Gainesville. Provided that he can muster a win in what will assuredly be an absolutely electric Bryce-Williams Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Of course, a good deal of the country will not be able to see this game as it has not been picked up by either CBS or ESPN due to two other SEC showdowns on Saturday. Alabama is set to put their undefeated record to the test as they take on LSU in Tuscaloosa on Saturday. If this game was being played in Baton Rouge then I’d go with LSU here. Even on the road, I’m tempted to take an LSU squad that has been improving all year long. However, LSU typically makes more mistakes on a Saturday afternoon than Verne Lundquist. There’s no questioning the talent on this team, what is in question is their ability to avoid killer penalties and turnovers. Alabama has been living a charmed life so far this year and I just can’t see the dream dying in Tuscaloosa on Saturday.

Finally, Saturday night on ESPN Georgia and Auburn get together to renew the South’s Oldest Rivalry. These two teams have been playing each other since the beginning of time, or at least since Beano Cook was in high school. Besides the obvious rivalry angle at play here, Georgia could clinch the SEC East with a victory over Auburn. Conversely, if Georgia were to lose and Florida knocked off USC then the Plainsmen/Tigers/War Eagles would have denied DJ Shockley his place in Georgia history while also helping Florida back atop the SEC East. I haven’t watched a lot of Auburn this year but I do know that they have a very good defense and a solid running game. They also happen to have a very bad kicker (as evidenced by his FIVE missed field goals against LSU). Georgia, on the other hand, will be buoyed by the return of DJ Shockley as well as a generously lathered up home crowd who will be fired up from about noon on. I’d like to say that I’m seeing an Auburn upset in the future but I’ve been bitten by this scenario before and am going to wait before I start making any reservations for Atlanta. In any event, Saturday promises to be a day long on storylines, individual matchups and (hopefully) drama that fans in the South should remember for years to come.

A couple of other items:

-Florida’s injury situation has gotten god damned ridiculous. It started with Andre Caldwell and Ray McDonald going down in the Tennessee game. Since then, Florida has had injuries to each of their remaining top three wide receivers as well as injuries to starters at tailback DeShawn Wynn (shoulder), DT Marcus Thomas (knee), Corner Vernell Brown (broken leg), Safety Jarvis Herring (thigh) and LB Earl Everett (knee). The most concerning of these injuries is undoubtedly the broken leg suffered by Vernell Brown against Vandy. Despite his size (and a large group doubters, yours truly included) Brown has been the Gators’ most consistent cover man in a secondary that has fallen short of it’s lofty preseason expectations. After he left Saturday’s game with Vandy, his replacement, converted wideout Reggie Lewis, was picked on relentlessly resulting in two pass interference penalties and a number of completions. The matchup with Spurrier’s passing attack was a major concern before Brown’s injury. Without Brown, I would expect to see the Gators play far more zone than at any time yet this year.

-Florida caught a real break with the schedule for Saturday. In just about every other possible scenario this game would be at least a 3:30 game on CBS, if not a Saturday night ESPN game. Yet, because of the other two marquee SEC matchups of the day, Florida and South Carolina’s game is being shown locally on JP Sports at noon. It’s tough to over state how much this benefits the Gators. The extra 3-8 hours of tailgating would serve to add quite a bit of liquid enthusiasm to the South Carolina faithful and therefore make the atmosphere in Columbia even more intimidating than it’s already going to be on Saturday. As it stands now, it should be near halftime before the rednecks in South Carolina get their collective faces out of their grits.

- Spurrier will run at least two trick plays against Florida, one of which will be a halfback pass back to the QB. These types of plays have always been a staple of Spurrier’s arsenal during big games going back to his earliest days at Florida (probably at Duke too, but I’m not going to pretend like I watched him coach in the ACC). Spurrier knows that he doesn’t have the overall talent to matchup with Florida so expect him to rely on his wits in an attempt to level the playing field.

Finally, it is my assertion that Monday Night Football would be imminently more enjoyable if ABC would hire Jason Bateman to reprise his role as the color commentator from "Dodgeball". Who wouldn't enjoy his antics more than listening to John Madden hem, haw, and stammer his way through 45 replays a night?

Why do I bring this up? Because I meant to bring this up during my Tuesday entry and John Madden makes me want to impale myself on a javelin.