On a day that started before the local Waffle House thinned out, Auburn got exactly what it wanted from its 52-3 victory over Louisiana-Monroe: lots of rest for its starters. Who cares that half the students didn't bother showing up. After all, The Supper Club had only been closed a few hours. Give them a pass.
On the flip side, give this Auburn team an A+ for effort. After a month of emotionally charged football, a victory in the neighborhood of 30 points would have been acceptable. Instead, Cam Newton and company fired up the buzz saw early and often, giving fans in the stands a chance to relax and bask in the early morning East Alabama sun.
As funny as it sounds, when the book is closed on the 2010 season, Auburn may point to Saturday's win as one of its biggest. With seven weeks to go before the first open date, Auburn coaches got the starters on the bench quickly and a lot of young players grew up in the second half. Pundits can criticize all they want, but scheduling these kinds of games at strategic points in the season can go a long ways determining the success of your season...
How do you explain what's happening at Georgia? Raise your hand if you thought this was the year the Dawgs could break away from the pack and challenge in the SEC East. What kind of odds could you have gotten in August if you'd bet that Colorado would start off 3-1, while Georgia would stumble to 1-4?
All of the sudden, the next two games with Tennessee and Vanderbilt don't look so winnable anymore. Can Mark Richt survive? With Florida, Auburn and Georgia Tech still ahead, I don't like his chances...
Do you think Florida coach Urban Meyer ever allows himself to wonder what his team would be like with Cam Newton? On Saturday, Joe Montana would have struggled guiding this pathetic Florida team. It's amazing that with all that talent, they could look so lost and slow against Alabama. Give Bama credit, they are improving on defense each week. They looked nothing like the unit that played in Fayetteville last Saturday...
Here are my top five for the week: (1) Alabama; (2) Oregon; (3) Ohio State; (4) TCU; (5) Oklahoma...
Back in the days when former Georgia coach Vince Dooley roamed the sidelines, he was considered one of the luckiest coaches in America - see Lindsey Scott! Lindsey Scott! It was fitting that his son would be on the receiving end of one the most bizarre finishes in college football history.
I still haven't sorted it all out in my head, but I do know that when you put 13 players on the field, good things never happen. On the flip side, has there ever been a more maligned coach who's 5-0 than Les Miles. His offense is dreadful, yet they continue to win and will be dangerous when the visit Jordan-Hare on October 23rd...
Maybe I'm in the minority, but I was quite surprised Clemson lost at home to Miami coming off a bye week...
Oregon is playing as good a football as anyone in America including Alabama...
I'll go out on a limb and say that South Carolina will be Alabama's toughest test yet this Saturday in Columbia. An Alabama victory means that only Auburn stands in the way of another run to the BCS Championship...
Don't forget to visit The O'Brien Quarterback Award site and vote for Cam Newton as the nation's top quarterback. The fan vote counts for 5 percent. You can vote once a day after registering. Currently, Newton sits in ninth place with 4 percent of the vote...
Speaking of Newton, despite not having to carry the ball on Saturday, he still ranks first nationally in points per game and second in passing efficiency behind Utah quarterback Terrance Cain. Newton is averaging 20.4 points a game through the air and on the ground. He's 72 passing yards shy of the 1,000 yard mark. After leading the SEC in rushing through last week, Newton dropped to fourth this week after carrying only once for -11 yards against ULM.