ANOTHER SEASON ENDS
Monday 12/02/02
The season ended about as it should for this year with Arkansas clinching the West on a miracle play. And what a play it was. Arkansas down six points, inside their own 20, with no timeouts left and only 34 seconds left in the game goes over 80 yards on 2 passes for the winning TD. Unbelievable but I guess it was about par for the course this year. Now it is down to Arkansas vs. Georgia for the 2002 SEC title.
What a season, both participants got to the championship game on miracle end-of-game plays. Who would have picked a Georgia/Arkansas matchup in Atlanta? My best guess to start the year was another Tennessee/LSU matchup. It just seemed destined that Georgia and Arkansas make it as you look back on the season. However Florida, Auburn and LSU can all claim to be just one play away from being in Atlanta.
This week the hat goes off to Arkansas and Houston Nutt. They are not the most gifted team, they lost their defensive coordinator to Florida, they have had player after player arrested, the NCAA has sent a preliminary letter… What else can happen over there? That Houston Nutt was able to rally this team and even have them in a position to get lucky is an incredible accomplishment. The Razorbacks were money down the stretch. Nutt’s greatest achievement this season might have been getting his troops back up after a 6 OT heartbreaker to Tennessee and mauling Auburn in Auburn. Mark Richt has done a great job this year but Houston Nutt is my SEC coach of the year.
Elsewhere Georgia got primed for next week’s title game by absolutely destroying Georgia Tech 51-7. Till this game I had thought Chan Gailey had done a pretty good job at Tech but I don’t think I have ever seen a team lay down for their arch rival quite like Tech did on Saturday. Youch. I guess fireronzook.com is back on center stage after Florida laid another big fat egg in Tallahassee. Bobby Bowden completely outcoached his hapless counterpart. I don’t think I have ever seen a team quite like Florida this year. A team that won all their SEC East games yet lost to Ole Miss and other than the first half against Auburn never really looked that good all year. Now there is all this talk about Rex Grossman going pro? I guess he might get drafted but I personally don’t think he will ever amount to anything in the NFL. You also have to wonder about Zook’s recruiting with so much uncertainty still surrounding him.
The season mercifully ended for Miss St and Jackie Sherill. It looks like Sherill will come back but might be forced to sacrifice some assistants. Sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn’t but in this case you really have to wonder if Sherill at his age can bring the Bulldogs back. Personally I think Sherill has had his run and it is time to move on. State owes a great debt of gratitude to him but everything ends. To use a great movie quote: “almost everything ends badly, otherwise it wouldn’t end…”. On the other sideline David Cutcliffe bought himself a little breathing room but as soon as Eli Manning leaves, I don’t think Cutcliffe will be far behind. I also don’t think Manning is anywhere near ready for the NFL. I would expect him to be back for his senior year.
On a positive note, kudos to Phil Fulmer for once again rallying the troops and taking care of business against South Carolina and Kentucky. Once again rather than letting anyone else get in on UT’s down year Fulmer got the Vols through with 8 solid wins and another good bowl game. The guy is still probably the best in the conference all things considered. The Vols should be primed for another title run next year. As for Kentucky, it was a pretty good year that could have been better and now they have to go through the effects of the NCAA probation. Tough times look to be ahead for the Wildcats. Guy Morriss got his contract extension, the question now is can he still have any success without all these senior playmakers and with the NCAA restrictions?
Speaking of coaches navigating their teams through the dark waters of NCAA probation, what will happen with Bama coach Dennis Franchione? I have been of the opinion that he would not leave Bama. However with the firing of RC Slocum and the smoke getting thicker and thicker in Texas and Alabama there sure seems to be a fire going somewhere. Even if Franchione stays there is no doubt that he seriously checked into Texas A&M. I guess the positive note is that if he turns A&M down he is probably committing for the long haul at Bama. We will probably know very soon…