Gators, Crimson Tide Ready to Roll

Florida and Alabama will battle for the SEC Championship on Saturday afternoon at Atlanta's Georgia Dome with the winner earning a trip to the BCS Championship Game. Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban will need his defense--led by safety Rashad Johnson and defensive tackle Terrance Cody--to not allow the Gators to score early and often. For Alabama to have a chance against the high-octane Gators, the Tide must stay within seven points to efficiently utilize its power running game led by Glenn Coffee. If Tim Tebow and the freshman backs get Florida out to an early lead, it will be interesting to see if John Parker Wilson will be forced to make plays in the passing game. But does Florida have a chance to score big points without Percy Harvin? Will he be able to play with his bum ankle? We shall soon find out...

For all of the bad press he received as head coach of the Cincinnati Begals, I think it's time that Dick LeBeau gets a steady stream of praise showered on him for designing a pretty incredible--and still underrated--Pittsburgh Steelers defense. The master of the 3-4 zone blitz scheme, LeBeau manages to get his unit to play not only with intensity every week but with a central focus, as well. The Cowboys-Steelers game on Sunday should be fun to watch. Can Tony Romo get off quick passes against the Steelers' blitz scheme? Is Marion Barber going to be available?

Another Saturday, Another SEC Showdown

The Alabama Crimson Tide roll into Athens on Saturday night in what shapes up to be another "proving ground" game for Nick Saban's squad. There is no question that 'Bama's first-team can play with probably any team in the country for four quarters. The question for the Tide has been its depth, which is unquestionably necessary in the brutal SEC. Because the team has been able to rout most of its opponents, the second- and third-teamers have been able to get playing time, making the true and redshirt freshmen a little less green. I still think that this is a young team and that next season will be their breakout campaign, but a win against Georgia on Saturday night should validate their high ranking and the frenzy occuring right now in Tuscaloosa. The defense and special teams have been outstanding, and the offense has been solid enough behind John Parker Wilson to put the Tide in position to continue to win over skeptics.


Bobby Johnson's Vanderbilt squad is 4-0 for the second time in four seasons after beating Mississippi on the road. I am definitely looking forward to that Vandy-Wake Forest game at the end of the season. As usual, fifth-year starting quarterback plus solid coach and recruiter will always make up for the loss of several starters on both sides of the ball.


I'm really surprised Todd Boeckman only had one snap behind center in Ohio State's win over Troy on Saturday. Terrelle Pryor is clearly the future at OSU snd is having a nice start to his college career, but this is, after all, Jim Tressel we're talking about here. The Buckeyes still have a very difficult Big Ten schedule to maneuver around, so I wouldn't be surprised to see Boeckman still see significant action.


Nice job by Frank Beamer of getting his Virginia Tech team back on track after the opening loss to East Carolina, as the Hokies have netted back-to-back wins over Georgia Tech and North Carolina. Tyrod Taylor gets tested this Saturday, though, as he leads the Hokies into Lincoln to take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers. The Virginia Tech defense might have had more to do with their recent victories than Taylor himself, but not redshirting Taylor was definitely the right move.