The Third

It is mostly a forgone conclusion that Coach O will not be the head coach of the Tigers after then end of this year. I would even think he probably will not make it to the end of this year. Complaining or trashing Coach O is a waste of time. It solves nothing. A lot of names have been thrown around but I have not seen Gary Patterson's name. So what is the Tiger Rant wanna be AD's thought on that potential hire?

If you are easily distracted by squirrels or have not taken your daily dose of Ritalin or Adderall you might want to pass on this one.

It seems there is no shortage of proposals for the SEC to revise its schedule.

One, the Big 12 will dissolve in the imminent future. I give it six month or less before the wheels finally completely fall off.
Two, there will be a separate classification of college football teams consisting of 64 teams with likely four separate conferences.
Three, The Universities of Texas and Oklahoma will be competing in the SEC much sooner than later.
Four, there will be a continued significant realignment and affiliation of “big time” college football teams that will not be connected to the NCAA. The real driving force is the major networks and the behemoth contracts they will be giving to a very select group of conferences.
Five, “Independent” teams thinking they will remain in the elite category of college football, will eventually be boxed out of the ability to schedule enough quality games to justify their individual television rights packages, and they will either capitulate and join a conference or they will languish in obscurity. It is their choice but college football is no longer going to make many accommodations for them.
I know that goes somewhat against tradition which is an essential component of college football.
Six,”Major” Bowl games that are actually historic tourism and “Chamber of Commerce” events will be a thing of the past. There may be a “Granddaddy of Them All” but it will be scheduled to accommodate and fit a much larger college football playoff tournament scenario. There may still be “bowl” games that will allow teams that were not selected in the college football playoffs to perform. Those games may include other college teams that are not in the elite "Power" conferences. These games will never be the tail wagging the dog, rather they will return to what they originally were intended to be. Conference affiliation with bowls will gradually be a thing of the past. Gone will be ridiculous games between opponents with five an six losses each.

Here is my proposal for the adjustment to the SEC schedule for the foreseeable future. Currently SEC members play seven annual conference games against the same opponents and there are six other teams that are rotated in the schedule every five to six years. My proposal changes all of that. I am confident if anyone disagrees, they are simply looking out for their own backside or they are as delusional as a Baylor fan thinking somehow, they will ever be a member of a “Power Conference again.
1. Keep divisions with the dividing line being in effect, the state line between the States of Alabama and Mississippi. If a university is West of that line, they are in the West Division and if they are East, they are in the East Division. That is about as simple as you can get and even a Texas Aggie might comprehend it. The teams with the best record in each division will play in an annual Conference Championship game that will be rotated between Atlanta, New Orleans, Nashville, Dallas, Jacksonville and Houston and played in stadiums NFL teams currently play. No more annual home cooking at the same field.

2. Each of the 16 teams in the conference will have three “annual” opponents on a home and home or neutral site basis, based on traditional rivalries (games) and proximity to each other. Traditional rivalry games shall be deemed as any series that has at least 85 previous contests. They will have six “biennial” opponents on home and home cycles. Over the course of only two years, each team in the league will have played every other team in the league at least once. Over any four-year cycle, every team will have visited every other team’s home stadium (except neutral site games) at least twice. Every single “traditional game” such as The Iron Bowl, Egg Bowl, Magnolia Bowl, Southwest Rivalry, Red River Rivalry; Lone Star Rivalry, Peace Pipe Rivalry, Worlds Largest Cocktail Rivalry, and The Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry would be played every year. That is what fuels the fire of intense rivalries. If you take a look at the near decade membership of Texas A&M, you will see that they have only played the University of Georgia one time (2019) and Georgia is not scheduled to play at Kyle Field until 2024. My proposal is not perfect but having two eight member divisions where it follows the model currently used, all teams in one division will see the other division a lot less. Think about it, The SEC West has consistently been the stronger of the two division for this entire century The SEC West has won 17 out of 20 conference championships. My proposal is far more balanced. The only reason why LSU plays Florida every year or that Texas A&M plays South Carolina every year is so Alabama can play Tennessee and Auburn can play Georgia annually. It is made up and unbalanced.

3. This new alignment means there will now be nine conference games each year. There will remain three dates open for Out of Conference games. Each team in the conference must schedule at least one OOC game against a team from another Power Conference. Scheduling against an independent team would be allowable but will not satisfy this requirement. Conference teams may no longer schedule games against any team that is not classified as Division I. There is no exception to this rule. This would eliminate the cup cake games some of the SEC powerhouse teams seem to always schedule. Of the states represented by conference members only Louisiana, Arkansas and Missouri do not have other Power Conference universities from other conferences. Sadly that is likely not to change. I would hope to see Louisville, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Clemson, and Oklahoma State continue to be scheduled annually. Those games are also rivalry games and that is a driving source of television revenue.

4. The Conference champion will automatically be invited to the College Football Playoffs. Other conference members may also be invited to the College Football Playoffs however none of them can ever be seeded higher than the conference champion in said playoffs. I would think each team has the goal of winning the National Championship however The Conference Crown should be every bit as important. That goal is another thing that makes college football what it is. In life we go to work an church and the local tavern and we are surrounded by others who are fiercely as loyal to their schools too. College football is where we can find a place brag or promise “Just wait till next year.”
Below is my proposal for each team’s annual foes. I suppose it could be tweaked but when you take a second look, it is actually pretty fair. You will note the top eight listed are probably the most difficult and you will also note that the top eight (as listed) are the top eight teams (based on overall record) in the conference based on the past thirty years:

Auburn ( Alabama, Georgia, Florida)
Texas A&M (LSU, Oklahoma, Texas)
LSU (Alabama, Ole Miss, Texas A&M)
Florida (Georgia, Auburn, Kentucky)
Georgia (Auburn, Florida, South Carolina)
Alabama (Auburn, LSU, Tennessee)
Texas (Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas A&M)
Oklahoma (Missouri, Texas, Texas A&M)
Tennessee (Alabama, Kentucky, Vanderbilt)
Missouri (Arkansas, Kentucky, Oklahoma)
Arkansas (Missouri, Ole Miss, Texas)
Kentucky (Florida, Tennessee, Missouri)
Mississippi (Arkansas, LSU, Mississippi State)
Mississippi State (Ole Miss, South Carolina, Vanderbilt)
South Carolina (Georgia, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt)
Vanderbilt (Mississippi State, South Carolina, Tennessee)

Hopefully you might actuall feel my proposal is the only logical answer.

One game at a time, but damn... the "fight" is in these Tigers

This past Friday night I ventured to a local Wine Bar to say hello to the singer who would be performing later that evening. While there, I struck up a conversation with a nice fellow (I think was named Brad).

I was wearing a faded gold (yellow) LSU ball cap I purchased in Metairie back in 1986-7 and a tee shirt I purchased last week in Baton Rouge, with the word “Geaux” on it. Not once did I raise my voice although his voice was pretty booming. He was not trying to be boisterous or intimidating. His voice naturally just boomed.

We had a good conversation. His voice kept getting louder and louder while I remained calm. I suggested that we step outside to continue our conversation. Neither of us wanted to be a distraction. He informed me that he and his wife had recently moved to the area (Central Texas) from Georgia, however he was a lifelong Ohio State Buckeye Fan. We both bantered back and forth and to be honest I was really impressed with his passion. As much as I might be accused of being a LSU “Homer” I am first and foremost a fan of college sport and I admire and respect all those who are as passionate for “their team” even if such passion is misguided.

I enjoyed our conversation and to be honest Brad made a few good points that caused me to ponder. I did not buy into his argument that Ohio State should be ranked number one by their number of Top 25 wins and I am sure he was not buying my argument either. Then out of the blue, he stated that the quarterback for THE Ohio State University was the leading candidate for this year’s Heisman Award. He stated he had inside information that supported his statement. He then bragged that he had already purchased a ticket to the National Championship Game in New Orleans and had paid $ 5,000.00 for it. He said true fans would have done the same and he asked if I have already purchased my tickets to the game.

That is when I imagined him wearing either Aggie Red or Faded Orange (which is what most locals sport) and I realized he was "talking out the side of his neck" and was simply a fool. I had wasted a good twenty minutes bantering with him and I nearly forgot to say hi to my friend. The wine was good though I honestly was wanting a spirited conversation and all Brad wanted to do was to out yell me.

I am not convinced OSU will defeat Clemson, but if they do, I sincerely pray the Tigers will be waiting in Louisiana where will not only "out yell" the Bucks, we will out play them as well.

I just want the Tigers to win the Natty. I do not care what path they take. I do not care if they are number 1, 2,3 or 4 in the CFP, but, wouldn’t it be cool if after they did, they could say they defeated six of the teams listed in the season’s final AP Poll Top Ten (Auburn, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Clemson & Ohio State); broken a bunch of SEC and NCAA offensive records; went 15-0; had a Coach of the Year; had an assistant Coach of The Year; with players who collected tons of post season accolades and awards including the Heisman.

Then only Norte Dame, Texas, Alabama, USC, Miami, and Nebraska could still claim they had the best team ever. (sarcasm intended).

“Just win Baby !”
Geaux Tigers !

I see 175 NFl players from Texas and 59 from La. That is nearly three times as many. Yes Texas is a much more populated state but as I said there is in fact, a lot more talent in Texas. And yes I am a Tiger.

I live in what is called "Central Texas". We are 30 miles South of Baylor, 60 miles North of UT and 70 miles West of Texas A&M. Needless to say, when I wear my “Tiger Swag” I usually get some nasty comments. Trust me I can take ‘em and I can dish ‘em out. I am a proud Native Born Texas (Harrison County) and I am a proud alumni of LSU ( class of 1974).
Here is some advice from this Texas Tiger. For Gawd’s sake stop talking about who we are going to play in the CFP. We have a game against a well coached and decent SEC opponent this coming Saturday and they are expecting to win. Then, we have a date with the SEC East Champion playing in their own backyard. Stop concerning yourself if we are Number 1 or Number 2. That decision will be made by others. This forum has absolutely no control or influence over that. Do not be lulled to think even with a loss in the SEC Championship game we would still make the CFP. There is no way a one loss Conference Champion Oklahoma with Jalen Hurts would be left out. Alabama has the media pushing hard for them and there is a good chance they would go instead of us. Plus, a one loss Conference Champion Utah might make it to appease the West Coast people. Its politics so get used to it. A loss to Texas A&M could be catastrophic.
Most of my local Aggie friends are still talking smack but it is pretty watered down. Most concede they will lose this coming Saturday. They really have played a very difficult schedule and although they have lost four games, they showed up and they played. I admire that they were bold enough to schedule something teams like Alabama or Clemson would not. I could never be accused of being a Jimbo fan but I will admit, he can coach ‘em up. I do think as good as he may be, he is still over paid. While many are concerning themselves with Alabama and Auburn in the SEC West, those wearing “Aggie Red” are slowly building a very good football team. They are recruiting “lights out”, and even though Louisiana is fertile recruiting ground, it ain’t “jack” compared to the talent Texas has playing on Friday nights. Texas A&M recruits better in Texas than anyone else. It is not a matter of if for the Aggies, it is a matter of when.
If we lose Saturday, it would be a monumental. Once again we would “make their season” and It would make our entire season appear “pedestrian” at best. Stop thinking we need to take revenge on those Jack Holes. We just need to win. They are beneath us, so I see no reason to stoop to their level. Trust me nothing would make me smile more than a total humiliation of the Aggies. But most of all I want to see a perfect regular season. That has happened only our times in LSU’s storied 126 year history. Yes, I want to see us maul the Dawgs and I want to see us win the National Championship. But lets win this game Saturday first.
The Aggies pride themselves on their traditions. It is who they are. One of their favorite sayings is “The Aggies Never Lose a Game. Time just runs out” I say Their time has run out.
For the first time since 1988, I will be attending the game in Baton Rouge this coming Saturday. I am beyond stoked about it. I am hoping to hit up a few cool tail gates and find something good to eat and maybe find an adult beverage in my hand. I will be the overweight balding guy with a white beard and LSU swag on. Oh I might be a little intoxicated too.

I live in Central Texas. I am surrounded by nothing but Longhorn and Aggie Fans. On top of that, we now have delusional Baylor Fans to contend with. For the first time in over thirty years I will be attending a game at The Cathedral of College Football next week. Perhaps I will able to wear my Tiger swag and not catch flack from the Aggies,and Horns. By the way I am not only a fan, I am alumni so is my grandmother, father, a few uncles and several cousins. I will be bringing my adult daughter to the game and I will take her by a tree in the Memorial Grove and show her my Great Uncle's name at it's base.

I will be driving in to town for the Texas A&M game. We will be arriving late afternoon on the day before. I have tickets but no parking passes. I realize there are lots for first come first serve. I do want to spend some time on campus strolling down memory lane but I am not sure I want to spend 10 to 12 hours prior to the game. So my question is ...could I park my car in a lot the night before and catch Uber to my hotel. Then catch a ride to the campus the next day and of course drive my car out after the game?

After a 31 year absence I will be attending the game on Nov 30. Like Dad with me 60 years ago, I am bringing my daughter. I was 8 and she is 43. We are coming from the Dallas area and Central Texas. We will arrive Friday evening early. Where is place we could hit up Friday night? We plan to just take it all in Saturday. Suggestions for cool tailgates would be appreciated.