SEC Championship Game

[weagl1 1,784]

Got some tickets from a good friend at UT. Sat in the end zone with them. My observations:

The Dome is not a bad place to watch a game. Still rather be in JH.

The UT folks were great. Very gracious to us yet very supportive of their team. I miss the rivalry that we had with them when I was in school. Wow, what some beautiful women! Plenty of those on the AU side too! We are all very lucky to live in the south!

Auburn had a great chance to put the game away in the first half but the dropped snap on the punt and the interception in the end zone kept it closer than it should have been. The fumble at the start of the second half opened to door for them to get some momentum.

Riggs is great back. Don't know if he is a senior but if not the rest of the conference better watch out next year. He made some great runs on our defense in the second half. He gave them a chance to win.

Each time that Auburn was challenged they rose to the occassion. That is what champions are made of. Couldn't be prouder of Jason Campbell. He has made the difference all season and he was the difference last night. Really great to see him have such a great senior season. UT camped out on our running game as several other teams have done this year. They made Jason beat them and he did it again and again.

Thinking back on what happened, if the dropped snap hadn't occurred and we had kicked the field goal at the end of the half instead of throwing the interception it would have been 24-0. That probably would have been about right for a score given the one-sided game in the first half. If we hadn't had the fumble to start the second half that gave the another score then game would have probably ended about 41-14 or 41-21. They had a lot of penalties the probably cost them some points so it might have even been 41-28 if you take away their penalties. Both teams played their hearts out even thought there were a lot of mistakes on both sides of the ball.

Now, if AU hadn't had the miscues and had won big would that have made a difference in the grand scheme of things? Hell no. The computers and the pollsters were going to give the Orange Bowl to USC and Oklahoma anyway. The talk this morning just would have been about how UT struggled againist UK and Vandy and how they weren't any good anyway. I watched the highlights this morning and there was no mention of how USC struggled againist UCLA, all of the talk was about Reggie Bush deserving the Heisman. For whatever reason, call it bias based on pre-season expectations or whatever, as long as USC and Oklahoma won yesterday it didn't make a whole lot of difference what Auburn did.

Where does this leave us? I have heard it said that life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it. So now, how does the Auburn family react to getting screwed out of a chance at the National Championship? I for one am going to enjoy the SEC CHAMPIONSHIP! It has been a long time coming and if we dwell on what might have been we detract from what has been accomplished. Our coaches, players and the whole Auburn family have a right to enjoy this moment. This senior class took us from the bottom of the pile to the top of the mountain with their effort and leadership! Several of them could have jumped to the NFL last year but they stuck with us when the chips were down. So thanks Jason, Carnell, Ronnie, Carlos, Junior, and the rest of you guys! We are proud to call you Auburn men! Our coaching staff took all of the criticism from last year and never let it get them down, they just worked harder to make us better! Thanks Hugh, Gene, Al and the rest of you guys! And our head coach, most of all, showed the leadership and character that should make us proud to call him an Auburn man! Thanks to all of you guys for a season to remember! To hell with the BCS, YOU ARE OUR CHAMPIONS! Now, more than ever, ITS GREAT TO BE AN AUBURN TIGER!!!!!!

[tiger88 934]

It was a GREAT victory!!!

It may not have been good enough to media people who are always looking for a chance to snub the SEC, well, SCREW EM!

The 2004 Auburn Tigers are the BEST team in the country! 4 wins over 9 win teams. 3 wins over top 10 teams!