CNNSI article

[quietfan 233]

Some nice things to say about Auburn and the SEC:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/writ...view/index.html

The Weekend Review

Debate over toughest conference -- SEC or ACC -- has turned into a joke

Stewart Mandel

The debate stoked by Southern football fans all summer long seems fairly hilarious now. The question -- you remember it -- was, which will be the better conference, the SEC or the new ACC?

Laugh all you want, but some people took it pretty seriously. One major publication, in its season-preview issue, went so far as to rate the Miami/Virginia Tech-injected ACC as the top conference in the country. After all, it's hard to beat a league that boasts two of the most dominant programs of the past couple of decades (Miami and Florida State).

Well, let's take a look at what we've learned about the new ACC these first few weeks. Miami is indeed dominant, particularly on defense, but remains an enigma due to its quarterback. Ditto Florida State. And Virginia could well be an elite team, but hasn't played anyone yet. After that, the conference takes a pretty sizeable step down.

Now, what did we learn about the SEC on Saturday? That there are four potential top-10 teams, Auburn, LSU, Florida and Tennessee, separated by the hair of a missed extra point here, an ill-timed personal foul there. And, oh yeah, Georgia is ranked higher than any of them.

Two fantastic games at Jordan-Hare and Neyland Stadiums showcased a highly competitive league that's going to be a whole lot of fun to watch play out. Would you believe that in just two weeks, Auburn visits Tennessee and Georgia hosts LSU? And that the week after that, the Vols meet Georgia while Florida hosts LSU? How are they going to top the two thrillers that stole the show Saturday?

The first one, LSU-Auburn, played out just as I thought it might, with Auburn's new-and-improved offense battling tooth and nail with LSU's outstanding defense. Not many defenses are going to be able to hold the combination of Carnell Williams and Ronnie Brown, nevertheless an inspired Jason Campbell, to three points through 59 minutes, but that's how good Nick Saban's defense is. Unfortunately, the Bayou Bengals' offense is a bit too young right now -- not just at quarterback but also receiver and a couple of offensive line spots -- to be as complete a team as last year's championship version. They should get better as the year goes along.

Youth, however, doesn't seem to be a hindrance for the Vols, who -- time to swallow some pride -- I was way, way, waaaay wrong about. You would have figured Tennessee's offense, mediocre to begin with the past couple of seasons, would struggle mightily with two freshman QBs at the helm. On the contrary, Phillip Fulmer seems to have more confidence in his offense than he has in years, as evidenced against Florida when he went for it on fourth and 6 from his own 47, down 28-21 with 5:22 remaining. Erik Ainge proceeded to complete a 32-yard pass on the play to Tony Brown, one of several receivers who seem to have improved by leaps and bounds since last season.

If Tennessee has an Achilles' heel, it's their rebuilt secondary, which Florida QB Chris Leak shredded in his finest performance to date. In fact, both the Vols and Gators are a few steps behind Auburn and LSU on the defensive side of the ball. However, they have the potential to be much more explosive on offense, particularly Florida, which has a lethal combination with Leak, who has to be considered one of the top QBs in the country at this point, and running backs Ciatrick Fason and DeShawn Wynn. Leak's receivers are still letting him down at times, but they should be OK. The wild card in all this is Georgia. The belief is the Dawgs -- who so far seem intent on replicating Ohio State's win-ugly ways -- haven't shown all their cards yet, but the squad that labored to beat Marshall 13-3 Saturday would have had a hard time beating either Auburn or LSU. That said, we'll find out soon enough about Georgia -- and LSU, and Tennessee, and ...

...

Team of the week:

Auburn: In his press conference following Saturday's 10-9 win over LSU, Tommy Tuberville looked like the weight of the world had been lifted off his shoulders. To say the man has been put through the wringer over the past year is an understatement. In November, his bosses secretly flew to Louisville to interview a potential replacement, and while they, not Tuberville, would wind up stepping down, the noose around his neck was hardly loosened. Asked about Tuberville's job security last week, new school president Ed Richardson told an interviewer, "'Secure' is premature." Saturday's game will get the critics off Tuberville's back -- at least until the first time he messes up -- but it shows just how tenuous a line some coaches walk. His "breakthrough" was basically defined by a missed LSU extra point and a cryptic penalty. But did Auburn play any or better or worse than, say, it did in the Georgia game two years ago, when the Dawgs won on a miraculous fourth-and-16 conversion, or the Ole Miss game last year, when receiver Ben Obomanu dropped a potential game-winning touchdown? "Finally," Campbell said, "Auburn gets a break."