Bernie's NCAA Football fan blog

For college football fans, the ultimate experience for each of us is a national championship for our team. To see players wearing the colors you cheer for every Saturday hold up ADT's crystallized football is the reason we get up early each Saturday to head to the tailgate. It is the reason we sit in a stadium filled with thousands of others like us, acting like raving lunatics.

Every victory over an arch rival gets us excited for the fruits to our team's labor. Each win puts us a little closer to that moment our coach brushes away the confetti from his hair and, wearing a shirt very similar to the one we are wearing (minus the gatorade stain), addresses the national audience. 

And each loss makes us rant about having to wait another year.

Continue reading "Stafford and Moreno Leave Athens: Georgia Fans Savor Memories, Not Trophies"

Spartan Mothers and Their High Expectations

As Greek young men prepared for their first battle, their nurturing mommies were rumored to have given them an ultimatum that challenged their manhood and undoubtedly made the little hairs stand up against their tunics.

"With it or on it." 

The ancient muthas referred to the soldier's shield. To return with it equated to a victorious warrior; to return on it meant they had perished, but in honor.

....and we would complain when our mothers would insist we finish our grits.

But to return without their shield meant they had performed what would later become known as "pulling a Petrino"; they had seen the field of battle and decided to drop their weapons and scurry home...to mommy. Or in Petrino's case, the warm, loving arms of a late night Woo

Continue reading "Bernie's Dawg Blawg - Spartan Mothers and Their High Expectations"

In news that has thrilled college football fans all around the southeast, Auburn is set to introduce Gene Chizik as the new head coach of their tackle football team tomorrow. Ironically, most of the inspired populace reside outside of Opelika.

Coach Chizik won a beauty contest that was made infamous more for who didn't enter than who was being interviewed. Sexy names such as Spurrier and Muschamp spurned opportunities to take over for Coach Tubs, perhaps fearing that their ears would not match up against the beleaguered Tuberville.

Other attractive candidates such as Gill and Hoke just didn't have the star power or pizazz the Auburn brass were looking for.

Coach Chizik...here's your headset.

Undeterred, Auburn officials scoured the NCAA landscape for signal callers with a fraction of the resume of the man who had resigned...himself to being fired. Chizik checked out in every category officials were looking for: a heartbeat, willing to coach against Nick Saban each year, and answer their phone.

Continue reading "Chizik off the Chizzang"

And the Heisman goes to...............Jay Jacobs.Can you imagine a funnier holiday movie than the one showing right now on the plains in Auburn? I've always considered A Christmas Story the greatest Christmas movie ever. Nothing gets me in the spirit like the scene with the Chinese waiters singing to the Parker family, "Deck the haws wit bows of horry, ra ra ra ra ra, ra ra ra ra." (image IMDb)Seriously, Tebow, McCoy or Bradford may walk away tomorrow with the hardware, but I challenge anyone to find a person more valuable to their program's decline than Mr. Jacobs. The SEC is supposed to be the most professional of the major conferences, and yet Auburn's AD is getting outplayed by Syracuse's Daryl Gross.

Continue reading "Bernie's Dawg Blawg: Another Festivus Miracle"

As Bulldog fans finalize their Christmas lists and UGA students complete their fall semester coursework, QB Matt Stafford and TB Knowshon Moreno prepare for a final exam of a different variety; one that will impact both players and fans alike.

It has but one simple question: Will #7 and #24 pass on their remaining eligibility to cash in on a chance to be among the top picks in April’s NFL draft? Georgia fans stand ready to grade the two stars, but the reality is that this is one test they cannot fail.

Stafford’s transcript:

• Experts feel he could use another season, but is widely regarded as having the arm that is more than NFL ready

• 38 games played, 33 started (26-7 record as a starter, 29-9 overall)

• 21 games with over 200 yards, 3 with over 300 and 1 over 400

Continue reading "Final Exams: Will Stafford and Moreno .....PASS?"

Stop. Listen closely.......You can actually hear Tommy Tuberville grinning as he sits on a lake somewhere outside of Opelika. Once he reels the bait in, there's a pause....recast......plop! And then another grin.

We never really bought the whole "Tuberville resigned" story to begin with. After huddling together for three days only to emerge with the "we can't believe Tommy quit; we asked him three times to stay; and then we gave him over $5 million for his services" story, it was apparent that a coach four years removed from a perfect season and an SEC championship had been dismissed. But it was also apparent that Tuberville had scored big in the divorce proceedings.

This week Tommy's mom hasn't necessarily cleared the air, but she's definitely shaking up that can of Lysol with her finger on the trigger. The Auburn brass has stood by their story; evidently AD Jacobs hasn't finished reading his "Public Relations Spin for Dummies" book. To everyone outside of the Auburn campus it is clear that there is a nasty bruise developing on the Athletic Department's eye. Perhaps instead of spraying the Lysol, Tommy's momma just threw the can at the face of Bobby Lowder's play toy.

Continue reading "Auburn: Fishing Around for the Truth"

Wilson is a star.....but Tebow is a legend.

Turns out the only thing that kept Alabama from yet another SEC championship was a decision a teenager made some 3 years ago. The Crimson Tide stood toe to toe with the best team in the country and absorbed blow after blow with counter-punch after counter-punch. It was a game you could sense was being taped for replay as an instant classic. The drama was thick. The star players lined each sideline hoping to build upon already impressive resumes that would rest comfortably in the hands of most NFL GMs.

And as the third quarter came to a close, I felt pretty good about my Friday prediction of an Alabama victory and an MVP nod towards their star tailback. Tebow had touched the ball less often than a Gatorade cup since halftime and Coffee was well on his way to MVP type numbers.

Continue reading "Bernie's Dawg Blawg - SEC ReCapped"

It was bound to happen....

As coaches' salaries in the SEC have escalated, evidently the expectations are following suit. Two coaching legends and one 2007 SEC Coach of the Year have been fired, resigned or forced out (whatever you choose to believe) as this season has come to a close. The latest, Tuberville "shocked" his AD Jay Jacobs by stepping down for the good of his family and the good of the War Eagle. Shocked you say...?? We're not stoopid Auburn. Ol' Big Ears was fired, you know....in the 21st century meaning of the word fired. It sounds like the talks with Jacobs broke down when Tuberville asked the AD if he was his coach. When the response was a less than emphatic "You are for now", well.........Coach Tubs said he would play the Lowder Lottery, evidently to the tune of $5.1 million (although Auburn says the Tuberville check will come directly from university funds....wink, wink).

Continue reading "Phillip, Tommy and Sly.....OH MY!!"

Despite many prognosticators enamorization with all things Gator, Saban will indeed bring his Crimson Tide into the Georgia Dome Saturday afternoon.

I'm not quite ready to predict the winner...but I will give a lean...

The last five teams to beat Florida, all did the same thing. They lined up and punched 'em in the mouth. Dating all the way back to the end of September 2007 when the Gators lost to Auburn 20-17, the teams to succeed in outscoring Tebow and co. have just plain outplayed them. Auburn, the following week at LSU, Georgia in Jacksonville, Michigan in the Capital One Bowl and Ole Miss this season all controlled the ball, the line of scrimmage and the scoreboard. 

Is there anyone out there that actually believes that the Tide can't manage to do that? I think they can. In fact, the only reason I'm not picking Bama now is that four of those past five losses were to last year's Gator team. This year the Gatorell us are much better than last year.

Continue reading "Breaking News - Alabama will show up and play in SEC Championship"

Coach of the Year candidate Mike Smith continues to transform the image of the Atlanta Falcons. A franchise once mired in (at best) mediocrity used to wilt under pressure and succumb to other teams fighting for their playoff lives. Now the Falcons take care of business in workmanlike fashion at home and on the road. Mora's team would have flown out west to San Diego and found a way to lose to a team that is in shambles. Smith has instilled a pride in the locker room that will not allow the defense to falter and the offense to fumble away chances at football in January.

On Sunday the birds will venture into the Super Dome with a chance to make another statement. While Tampa Bay and Carolina are looking over their shoulders at the team gnawing at their heels, the Falcons will apply pressure by punching the clock and punching out another division foe. In their game back in Atlanta early last month, the Falcons were tougher and meaner than the Saints. The final score says the Saints lost by two TDs, but the game was not that close. What was regarded as a laughable squad on defense prior to the season absolutely stifled Brees from the opening snap. The worse news for Brees and company is that this defense of dirty birds is only getting better.

Continue reading "Falcons Strengthen Their Playoff Resume with Lunch-pail Philosophy"