Good article here AU/GA

[TigerOne 1,288]

fun reading

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sport...es/13133633.htm

Georgia pulling for Spurrier? Auburn rooting for Bama? You bet

PAUL NEWBERRY

Associated Press

ATHENS, Ga. - It's a time of year when some strange alliances form in college football.

Georgia pulling for longtime nemesis Steve Spurrier?

Auburn rooting for hated rival Alabama?

You bet.

If Spurrier's South Carolina Gamecocks can knock off Florida on Saturday, No. 9 Georgia would be in position to clinch a spot in the Southeastern Conference championship game with a win over Auburn that night.

Meanwhile, the 17th-ranked Tigers need to beat the Bulldogs and hope No. 4 Alabama remains unbeaten with a win over No. 5 LSU in Saturday's other crucial game. That scenario would eliminate LSU and set up a head-to-head showdown between Auburn and the Crimson Tide for the SEC West.

"It's all pretty interesting," Georgia coach Mark Richt said. "Well, I've got no problem cheering for Spurrier unless I'm playing him. And Auburn is going to rooting for Alabama? I'm sure that's for one day only. I doubt they'll be wearing red underneath their uniforms."

Auburn defensive tackle T.J. Jackson said he's not concerned about what happens in the LSU-Alabama game.

"The primary thing for us is to try to beat Georgia. That's the biggest thing," he said. "If we don't do that, that other game doesn't even matter."

Of course, Richt knows that it will be impossible for either team to ignore what's going on in Columbia and Tuscaloosa. Those games will be finished by the time Georgia and Auburn kick off between the hedges.

"Saturday is going to be interesting with South Carolina-Florida and LSU-Alabama playing early in the day," Richt said. "Whether anyone wants to admit it or not, I'm sure each team's players will be paying attention to what happens in those games."

Especially Auburn.

LSU would seize control of the SEC West with a win over the Crimson Tide, needing only to win its final two games against Mississippi (3-5) and Arkansas (2-6) to claim a spot in the Dec. 3 championship game in Atlanta.

Even if Auburn (7-2, 5-1 SEC) also wins out, it wouldn't matter because LSU holds the tiebreaker advantage with a 20-17 overtime victory in Baton Rouge last month.

Georgia (7-1, 5-1) still controls its own fate, despite a 14-10 loss to Florida in its last game. The Bulldogs would win the SEC East with wins over Auburn and lowly Kentucky (2-6) next week, no matter what the Gators do the rest of the way.

With that in mind, Georgia running back Thomas Brown still can't bring himself to root for Spurrier's team - even though the ol' ball coach is no longer at Florida, where he rubbed plenty of salts in the Bulldogs' wounds while beating them 11 times in 12 years.

"It's kind of tough," Brown said, unable to choose between Spurrier and the Gators. "I really can't pull for either one of them."

Georgia did beat Spurrier and the Gamecocks 17-15 early in the season, a win that was expected at the time but has grown in importance. South Carolina is now one of the SEC's hottest teams, winning four straight conference games to match its longest streak since joining the conference in 1992.

"It's funny," Georgia quarterback D.J. Shockley said. "When we played South Carolina, all the talk was how much we hated Spurrier. Now, it's all turned around. People around here want to love Steve Spurrier so he can get the upset. Times change, I guess."

Georgia's chances should be greatly enhanced by the return of Shockley, who didn't play against Florida because of a knee injury. The Bulldogs were off last week, giving him extra time to recover, and the SEC's top-rated passer will start against Auburn.

Shockley's trademark running ability might be hampered by the brace he'll have to wear on his left leg, but even at less than 100 percent he should be an improvement over backup quarterback Joe Tereshinski.

After Shockley was injured against Arkansas, the Bulldogs managed only 44 yards in the second half and barely held on for a 23-20 victory. With Tereshinski making his first career start, Georgia generated just 286 yards against the Gators and scored its lone touchdown with a trick play in a 14-10 loss.

The Bulldogs averaged 454 yards in their first six games with Shockley at quarterback.

"D.J. was about as comfortable as I've seen him in the first quarter of that Arkansas game," Richt said. "Hopefully, he can get right back in the groove."

[BigSammyK 171]

I know they'll probably announce the scores of the earlier games at Samford Stadium, but I really wish the players could somehow be kept from knowing who won the Bama/LSU game. As much as it shouldn't matter, I think knowing what happened could be a huge moral killer for one team or the other. Say Bama loses, that could kinda kill the energy in our guys.

[HomanAU 0]

I know they'll probably announce the scores of the earlier games at Samford Stadium, but I really wish the players could somehow be kept from knowing who won the Bama/LSU game. As much as it shouldn't matter, I think knowing what happened could be a huge moral killer for one team or the other. Say Bama loses, that could kinda kill the energy in our guys.

I'd hope it doesn't come down to that and I doubt it will. Both of these teams have a lot more pride than that. Both teams will come out firing no matter what the circumstances.

[RadioWryn 0]

Remember, A Bama loss doesn't kill Auburn.

LSU still has to beat Arkansas, a team with a great rushing offense, and LSU's rush defense hasn't been exceptional. This year may be very reminiscent of the way 1997 ended.