Funerals, Blackouts and Beaver Traps....OH SNAP!!

The best news I had all week was that my wife was able to fill up the Tank today, and it was right around the corner from our house. By the time she finished filling up, the line was all the way to Cumming. Having to rely on a gas 'n sip along 316 Saturday for enough gas to get us to the tailgate is as frightening as taking a team of super talented, over-hyped, ego maniacal football players into Corvallis for an ORANGE OUT!!

Every crimson pachyderm fan south of the Mason Dixon line is mocking the decision to blackoutSanford stadium Saturday night against the back drop of Gameday, ESPN and any other AP newswriter that lives within a 9 hour plane ride. If you haven't had the privilege of watching the Tide strength and conditioning coach, Scott Cochran blowing a gasket - knock yourself out! (If you're not into watching football players stretch, the "comment" is a little over a minute into the video) As for me, I didn't realize high falootin' technology like video cameras............YouTube.......... cleated shoes………had spread to Tuscaloosa.

I think the blackouts are getting way too much attention. If you really think about it, the true purpose is two fold: 1) to give the seniors a chance to have an impact on one of their final games 'tween the hedges, and 2) to energize the fan base. The color of the uniform really should have no impact on the game itself, at least after toe meets leather. But if Saban and Co. need to use it as a way of saying we're disrespecting them....more power to them.

Speaking of power, let's take a few lines to discuss the size of their big heftys. Terrence Cody drops a US gymnast in weight and still tips the scale at nearly 4 bills. We'll throw our true freshman Ben Jones, who played so well in the desert, against this behemoth and give him some support for sure. But the more bodies you commit to this monster, the more their linebackers run free. Then there is their O-line, led by Andre Smith. They like to come right atcha! Nothing really fancy, just "here's what we're gonna do, try and stop us." And no one has been able to stop them yet.

In contrast to the big uglies, skill positions and depth clearly go to theDawgs. Moreno, Stafford and Green have good depth behind them that Coffee, Wilson and Jones don’t. So I give us the edge in those areas....but will it be enough to overcome the possibility of getting beat in the trenches? Hopefully Searels, Fabris and Gardner have our big boys ready to play.......otherwise we could miss out on a chance to jump back up to #1 because.......... Oregon State set a Beaver Trap for the trojans of southern cali!!!

Turns out the Pac 10 is still the Pac ONE, we just had the wrong team in that ONE slot. Jacquizz Rodgers was moving faster than the cold beer at The Library last Saturday. Meanwhile the SoCal D-linemen were able to get off of the turf just in time to see the trail of dust. I won't pretend to have stayed up and watched the whole thing last night; I did make it into the 3rd quarter. But I did check the score first thing this morning at 5:13am. I quickly put a call into the one OSU contact BDB has this side of the Mississippi. A former bruiser for the Beavers, all he could mumble was, "Welcome......(burp!!)... to.....(inaudible) Corvallis........(series of expletives)!" The only thing longer than the plane ride back to LA will be the weekend of self-indulgence in Oregon. We can debate whether this eliminates the mighty second best team in the Pac 10 for many hours. But it seems a little premature......

You came here for one reason and that is to get my prediction. For some reason you now trust my humble opinion to supplement your gambling addiction....or maybe you just revel in my somewhat random ramblings. Whatever the reason for your visit..........I like the Dawgs to win, but don't expect to exit Sanford early, cuz this one goes down to the wire. I think the Tide exposes the youth of our Offensive Line Pups, but they band together to help Stafford and Co. take the win. By Monday the Coaches and Media around the country will be so impressed the Dawgs will be ranked as high as 5th...........

Dawgs 28
Sabanites 24

Be safe!

Bernie