ANOTHER WEEK, ANOTHER OT GAME
Monday 10/21/02
First it was Auburn/Syracuse that went to 3 OTs, then it was Arkansas/Tennessee that went to 6 OTs and this weekend Auburn and Florida also went to OT to settle the issue. Auburn missed a chance to win the game with seconds left in regulation when last year’s All-SEC kicker Damon Duval had an extra-point length field goal perfectly positioned in the middle of the field blocked by Florida. Florida then won in the first OT on a 3rd and long strike from Rex Grossman to Tyler Jacobs. This game lived up to it’s billing of two desperate teams giving it their all to get back. Florida came out strong using an extremely effective short passing game to take a 14-0 lead. Things only got worse for Auburn on the next possession as Carnell Williams, maybe the best RB in the conference, broke his leg. However instead of folding up the tent Auburn finally showed some heart and took the ball down the field and scored. Backup RB Ronnie Brown stepped in and very ably filled in for the injured Williams. Brown finished with 163 yards. Auburn dodged a bullet right before the half as a failed fake punt gave Florida first and goal. Luckily for coach Tuberville Florida only got a field goal. However that doesn’t excuse the absolute 100% bonehead, completely idiotic call. There is like a minute left in the half and you give the other team first and goal??? Good grief. Florida added two field goals in the 3rd quarter to make it 23-7. Auburn finally inserted QB Jason Campbell who made some key passes and then led by Brown tied the game with 2 TDs and 2 two-point conversions. Auburn then drove down and with less than a minute left looked to have the game won but had the kick blocked…
Damon Duval, a pre-season All-SEC selection at kicker and punter, has been a dismal failure this year getting 3 kicks blocked (2 game-winners) and missing several others. Whether to bench the 5th year senior will be a tough decision for Tuberville. However as it always is, it is not all the kicker’s fault. Auburn’s defense once again let Florida hold the ball for over 22 minutes in the first half and a crucial fumble hurt the Tigers as well. As for the coaches I think Tuberville may have gotten more out of losing than Ron Zook did in winning. Florida looked good to start but then sort of stalled and then let Auburn score 16 points in the 4th quarter and almost win the game. Florida pulled it out but I really don’t think it helped him too much. The bubble has truly burst. Florida is just another team now. “The Swamp” is just another stadium now. They will still recruit well and have some good teams but they are no longer the almost all-powerful force they were when Steve Spurrier roamed the sidelines. This year may show how good a coach Spurrier was than any year he was actually there…
Down in south Louisiana a huge second half helped LSU take out the Gamecocks. South Carolina held the lead throughout the first half but like most of their games this season LSU broke through in the second half. The Tigers scored 25 points in the third quarter. The LSU defense looks to be by far the best in the conference. They are one tough unit. Veteran CB Demetrius Hookfin had 2 INTs and LSU held South Carolina under 300 yards total offense. With Bama ineligible and Auburn, Arkansas and Ole Miss all losing, there doesn’t seem to be anybody even stepping up to challenge LSU at the moment. However LSU still has to play every single one of those teams and the surprising Kentucky Wildcats. They start at Auburn next week. Speaking of Kentucky they finally got the big win that has eluded them the last few weeks as they took out Arkansas in Arkansas. Arkansas rolled up big yards for the second straight week but turnovers and special team breakdowns cost them the game. Elsewhere Georgia blew out Vandy, Bama crushed Ole Miss and Miss St pulled out a close one against Memphis.
Well it is around the halfway point for most teams on their conference schedule and at this point it looks like there is a good chance we will see LSU and Georgia in Atlanta. However we still have a lot of games to play but again nobody really seems to be stepping up to challenge these guys. In the West Arkansas now has 3 losses and it just doesn’t seem like LSU is going to drop 3 conference games at this point. Auburn already has 2 losses and will probably have to go undefeated the rest of the way or just lose one more and neither scenario seems likely. Ole Miss looks to have the best shot but went extremely quietly to Bama. In the East, everyone but Vandy has 2 losses in the conference. The only ones that don’t have a loss to Georgia already are Kentucky and Florida. So if Florida could run the table and beat Georgia with Georgia dropping another one along the way then the Gators could go to Atlanta. Probably not going to happen but you never know…