Thoughts and Observations from A Football Saturday In The South...

More than anything else, this past weekend brought some clarity to the race for the SEC Championship. After a hard hitting Saturday, we now have an idea of where the SEC race is headed and who's going to contend. Here are some general thoughts from a Saturday of Football...

Auburn linebacker Daren Bates is going to be a two-time, All-SEC player before he leaves Auburn. He may even be an All-American...

Defensive lineman Nick Fairley is the best lineman in America hands down. If he's not consensus All-American then they shouldn't have a team...

For all the Marcus Lattimore buzz the last month, it was great to see Michael Dyer get the best of him on a national stage. Auburn got the right one...

Auburn wide receiver Kodi Burns plays as hard as anyone who's ever worn the orange and blue...

Can someone tell me why the cheerleaders wore uniforms with the number 12 on them? What's the significance of the number?...

At night, on television, Jordan-Hare Stadium is the most gorgeous facility in America. Call me bias - I am...

It was good to see Emory Blake step up and take the reigns as Auburn's number three receiver. His showed everyone Saturday why he was so highly recruited...

I still love watching Steve Spurrier on the sideline. His facial expressions are second to none...

Georgia's Mark Richt is in real trouble. A week ago, I would have said no. Like Tommy Tuberville, when you look at his record, you think there's no way the university will fire him. His program is going south so fast, it may be impossible to survive...

Alabama is still the best team in the SEC, but they are nowhere near as good as they were a year ago. Fortunately for them, neither is the SEC. Their defense will cost them before the year's over...

Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett is good, but far from great. He may be the prototypical NFL quarterback; but right now, he makes way too many mistakes. I'll take Cam Newton...

Tennessee is simply dreadful. The honeymoon for new coach Derek Dooley is over. That's unfortunate because the guy really never had a chance this year. Volunteer fans are notoriously impatient. I wonder if he'll be given time to turn the program around. My guess is no...

Quietly, LSU has improved over last season. Saturday's win over West Virginia wasn't pretty, but coach Les Miles has them significantly improved over 2009. Auburn will have their hands full when they come calling October 23^rd...

Florida looks like they are getting their act together finally. Quarterback John Brantley looked much more comfortable in Saturday's win over Kentucky. Look for Florida to give Alabama a run this weekend...

How did Texas lose to UCLA?...

For all the Brian Kelly hype, Notre Dame looks exactly like they have for the past decade...

When you get a chance, check out Stanford's Owen Marecic. He's the most compelling story in college football in a decade. Marecic starts at fullback and linebacker for the Cardinals. In a span of 13 seconds Saturday against Notre Dame, he scored from the fullback position and then intercepted a pass and ran it in for a touchdown. Unbelievable...

A few years ago, I had a chance to walk the blue turf of Boise State. I love their story and believe they are a top 10 football program. But there's no way they run the table in the SEC or any BCS conference. But hey, give them props; their crowd for ESPN College GameDay took the interactive show to another level...

Finally, has anyone else noticed ESPN's new Thursday night sideline reporter, Jenn Brown? If I'm Erin Andrews, I'm very afraid. It looks like we have a contender.