Not much to report since all the news is about Alabama heading to the National Championship Game.
It is fitting that seven Bama players are All SEC Members. The only first team Tiger is Antonio Coleman. He earned it playing through injuries all season and still becoming a sack machine. Ben Tate, Ryan Pugh, Walt McFadden, and Lee Ziemba all made second team. I thought that Darren Bates might have a chance for Freshman of the Year, but Warren Norman was fantastic for Vandy.
The SEC is getting love in Vegas. The only two teams that are not favored are Tennessee and LSU. Both are slight dogs. Auburn is an eight point favorite over Northwestern in the Outback Bowl. I would expect that number to lower as the game draws nearer. Northwestern is not a bad team. I watched some of their game against Iowa. They have a pretty potent offense… but the defense is not all that. The total score could be in the 60s.
WEA posted the question about if Auburn Fans would be pulling for Bama. That is a tough question. I am typically for the SEC, no matter what. I am sure that I will be this time as well, but damn it is so hard. It is becoming extra hard this year because I have really seen the "closet" Bama fans come out of the woodwork. I am not a huge Facebooker, but I have an account with a few friends. After the Bama game, every status update was about Alabama. Now I think that is great for them, but where I have to wonder what is up is when most of them say something to the effect of, "…The Auburn Gators," or "… I bet Auburn is crying now…" I don’t get it. Let Auburn be Auburn and Alabama be Alabama. Why do the two have to interact with each other at this point in the season. Bama fans should be happy, as should Auburn fans. We got what we wanted, a New Years Day Bowl. Let just leave it at that.
Speaking of the Outback. I sure hope that the Tigers sell out their allotment of tickets. Auburn lobbied for the invite, and we as fans should really step it up. I wish I could go, but it is not in the cards this season. Tampa is a cool place, if you have not been there before you should check it out. Ebor City is the bar scene down there and it can get crazy (at least a few years back). If you do go, cheer like hell. You can bet that I will be doing it from home.
Finally… while Mark Ingram has been my front runner for the Heisman, I think that the Auburn game hurt his chances. Colt McCoy was my second place, but the Nebraska game hurt him. In my view, Toby Gerhart should win it although he has been out of the spotlight most of the season. He has carried Stanford all season. We shall see how it all pans out.