This Just Sums It All Up

It's Officially a Dumpster Fire.

The great University of Tennessee's coaching search has now turned into an embarrassment for the fans and players. Turned down by Strong, Gundy, and Gruden, it is officially a dumpster fire. The Vol message boards and radio show callers are calling for AD Hart's head. Last night the hashtag #turneddowntennessee was trending worldwide on Twitter. UT is being left behind again, just like the Dooley hire. The University of Tennessee has rich tradition, excellent facilities, a huge stadium, and passionate fans. The only thing that can be happening is the administration is botching it, and that's sad. UT is going down the toilet, a once great program on the verge of being destroyed by people with absolutely no ties to UT. It's now time to salvage the situation and go get someone quick. Another gamble hire, just like Dooley was, but this hire could be the end of big time football at UT. UT is the laughingstock of the nation, and deserves it. This administration has problems, some fans have unrealistic expectations, but if UT can't hire a coach from a lesser school in a lesser conference, that's terrible. It's time for the AD to get someone in here, and can't afford to be hung up on getting perfection. UT has to put this fire out now, Petrino is available, Butch Davis is available, Jim Tressel is available, all winners who can be hired. UT has to get back to winning, this list is the easiest way. They might not be the most popular hires, but can UT afford to be picky at this point? No they cannot.

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Offers Reportedly Made

I'm not gonna go deep into this because it hasn't been confirmed, but it is being reported that Charlie Strong of Louisville and Mike Gundy of Oklahoma State have been offered the job as the University of Tennessee head coach. In my opinion, AD Hart's guy is Gundy and Strong is the safety net. I am satisfied that Strong is the guy at this point, Gundy just wants a raise. Vol message boards are going stupid about this whole thing, mostly because its about 99.999999% chance that the coaches name won't be Gruden. It's pathetic and embarrassing for fans who are actually living in the real world. UT fans have to get behind their guy and support him!

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Bret Bielema to Arkansas

It appears the Arkansas Razorbacks have hired Wisconsin Badger coach Bret Bielema. It's quite shocking actually, this is the same coach who was quoted as saying he would never come to the SEC. Not to mention the totally different styles of play he has compared to Razorback former coach John L. Smith. Bielema is a run first, big lineman, pound the rock kind of coach, Arkansas has come to be known for their high flying pass game.
A few things about him:

• 68-24 overall record
• Kansas State-Co-Defensive Coordinator from 2002-03
• Defensive Coordinator-University of Wisconsin–Madison in 2004
• Replaced Barry Alvarez at Wisconsin in 2005
• Has been to a bowl game every year since he took over at Wisconsin
• Scheduled to play in the Rose Bowl this season

It appears to be a good hire on paper, but his name came way out of left field. This is just one of the many coaches rumored to be hired by Arkansas, this does appear to be confirmed though. In the SEC, Tennessee has still not named a coach but the list has been thinned down to Charlie Strong and Mike Gundy. The Auburn Tigers are still looking also, although they are rumored to be close to hiring Gus Malzahn, head coach of Arkansas State.

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Charlie Strong

Louisville's head coach Charlie Strong is one of the final candidates for Tennessee's open head coaching position. He is a defensive minded coach with experience in the SEC. Charlie Strong was born in Batesville, Arkansas. After lettering for four years (1980–1983) at the University of Central Arkansas, Strong joined the Gators coaching staff as a graduate assistant in 1984. He later served as a graduate assistant at Texas A&M in 1985. His first full-time coaching job was at Southern Illinois in 1986, where he coached wide receivers. He later assumed defensive coaching duties at Florida, Ole Miss, and Notre Dame. He also received a master's degree and education specialist degree from the University of Florida. He is a member of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity.
In 1999, Strong joined the South Carolina Gamecocks as defensive coordinator, becoming the first African American coordinator in Southeastern Conference (SEC) history. His stifling defenses and charismatic personality created buzz that he would be possibly the first black head coach in the SEC, but job offers were slim. Sylvester Croom eventually broke the color barrier in the SEC coaching ranks.
Strong was hired as defensive coordinator for the Florida Gators before the 2003 season. Florida head coach Ron Zook was fired midway through the Gators' 2004 season, but continued to coach until the bowl game; Strong served as interim coach of the Gators for one game, the December 2004 Peach Bowl. Florida lost the game, 27–10, to the Miami Hurricanes. Florida credits the regular season to Zook and the Peach Bowl to Strong. When Urban Meyer was hired as Florida's head coach, Strong was the only assistant coach retained from Zook's staff.
In a January 2009 interview with the Orlando Sentinel, Strong expressed his belief that race played a large part in the reason that he hadn't been offered a head coaching job at that point. Strong, whose wife is white, especially cited prospective employers' discomfort with his interracial relationship.
He became the 21st head football coach at the University of Louisville on December 9, 2009^[2]. In a telephone interview that day with ESPN.com columnist Pat Forde, former Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy, himself African American, said of Strong, "When they see what he can do, you're probably going to have a lot of people disappointed they didn't hire him sooner."
I'm not necessarily sold on this guy yet, he's only been a head coach for 3 years in a weak conference. He's also choked a couple of games away against inferior opponents this year. The UT fan base is sold on him already, most everyone wants him to be UT's next coach. I could support him, but he is coming into a bad situation for a new coach. UT isn't Louisville and things are 100 times more difficult in the SEC. He does have the Cardinals playing in a good bowl against his former Florida Gators team, and he has built Louisville into somewhat of a contender. For UT his experience and inability to put inferior teams away should be an issue, on the other hand he has a great defensive mind, something UT has lacked in the last half decade.

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Mike Gundy

It appears Mike Gundy has interviewed with Tennessee. I admit I'm not as familiar with him as I should be. He is the current coach of the Oklahoma State Cowboys and has a 66-35 overall record. He isn't very media friendly, most notably his "I'm a man, come at me, I'm 40". This doesn't bother me at all, most the inside reporters here in Knoxville deserve it. He done very well in 2011 finishing 12-1, this year he is currently 7-5 and has an upcoming Heart of Dallas bowl game against Purdue.

This is Wikipedia's 2011 season entry:

2011 season

The Cowboys entered 2011 with their highest expectations since the 1980s. They opened the season ninth in both major polls. Gundy's Cowboys didn't disappoint, starting the season 10–0, the best start in school history. Gundy has had a hand in four of Oklahoma State's five 10-win seasons (two as quarterback, two as head coach). With a 52–45 win over Kansas State, the Cowboys rose to second in the AP Poll and Bowl Championship Series (BCS) rankings, the highest national rankings in school history. On November 18th, Oklahoma State lost to Iowa State in double overtime 37–31, all but dashing their national title hopes, but remained in the BCS hunt with a series of upsets in the following weeks, along with a convincing 44–10 victory over the Oklahoma Sooners on December 3, snapping an eight-game losing streak in the Bedlam rivalry. It was also Gundy's first win over Oklahoma as a player or a coach at Oklahoma State; he'd gone 0–4 while the Cowboys' quarterback.
On December 4, it was announced that Oklahoma State had earned a spot in the 2012 Fiesta Bowl, being barely eclipsed out of the BCS National Championship game by second-place Alabama by the smallest margin between #2 and #3 in BCS history. Many AP voters hinted that if the Cowboys were to beat Stanford as they did the Sooners, and Alabama upset SEC West rival LSU in the BCS Championship Game, the Cowboys could earn a split title with an AP Poll #1 ranking (this is opposed to the USA Today & Harris Coaches polls which are contractually bound to vote the winner of the BCS title game #1).
The #3 Cowboys beat the #4 Stanford Cardinal 41–38 in the Fiesta Bowl, marking Oklahoma State's first BCS bowl win, and first outright Big 12 Conference title in the same season, though it was not enough to convince voters to give OSU a split title.

I could get behind him I suppose, but I don't think he will actually come. I would dare to say he is just lobbying for a raise, and that's OK, I don't blame him. He's not known for having a good defense, which is what we need the most. Apparently, he has had some issues with the AD, which could sway his interest. I have respect for him, I think he's a great coach, I'm just not so sure he's the right fit at UT.

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SEC Championship Game Preview

From teamspeedkills.com

Making the right comparison, the three key players, and why UGA won't score more than 24 points.

Alabama is understandably the favorite in the 2012 SEC Championship Game, so many previews I've seen have been focused on how Georgia can pull in elements of Texas A&M's offensive game plan. It's only natural, given that the Aggies are the only team to have defeated the Crimson Tide this year while also putting up the most points Bama has given up on the season.
While I get where that approach is coming from, it's not the best thing UGA could be doing with its time. Georgia's best chance is to dance with the one who brung it. Aaron Murray does have some wheels, but he's not Johnny Manziel. With Michael Bennett and Marlon Brown out for the season, it wouldn't be wise for the Bulldogs to suddenly start lining up in four- and five-wide sets nearly every play. We won't be seeing Mike Bobo bust out the diamond formation either. Georgia is a pro-style team, with lots of running out of the I-formation and most formations having at least one tight end on the line.
And while Texas A&M scored the most points on Bama, LSU is the one that gained the most yards. LSU was also the only SEC team to hold the Tide under 400 total yards at 331 on the game, while Bama outgained the Aggies in their contest. The Tigers had Alabama beat until A.J. McCarron led a furious two-minute drill in which the Bayou Bengals' defense inexplicably fell apart. Had LSU cashed in on some opportunities better earlier in the game, we'd be previewing a rematch of last year's SEC Championship Game right now.
Replicating LSU's success will heavily rely on Murray and Todd Gurley. Murray will have to be sharp like his former teammate Zach Mettenberger was, as the latter picked Bama apart with a controlled passing game. Gurley, who has been more consistent than his backfield mate Keith Marshall, will need to do a good Jeremy Hill impression to keep the chains moving. LSU had a time of possession lead of 19:30 over Alabama, a big factor in how the Tigers controlled the game. A team like Oregon doesn't care about time of possession, but teams like Alabama, LSU, and Georgia certainly do.
I ran a score projection for this game using my usual method (which excludes I-AA action). It came out with a 30-20 Alabama win with the Tide outgaining Georgia 390-311. That outcome would make a ton of sense, and I'll stick with it for my pick. It's true that UGA has a fantastic offense, but relative to opponents' season averages in total yardage, the LSU game is the only bad game Bama's defense had. Every other opponent got held to more than 100 yards under their typical rate. Every team also scored at least 12.5 points under their season averages for points scored. Using the latter heuristic and UGA's 37.36 points per game rate, UGA's maximum point total is right at about 24.
I don't know if 24 points is enough for Georgia to beat Alabama. While it's true that the Bulldogs' defense has finished strong, it's also true that Ole Miss, Auburn, and Georgia Tech don't make up a murderer's row. They're going to need Jarvis Jones to take over the game like he did against Missouri and especially Florida, but Alabama won't be doing stupid things like running sweeps to his side or having a quarterback-turned-tight end try to block him. He's the best singular defensive talent in this game, a dominant force the likes of which Alabama doesn't have. Bama's tackles are big, but they might not be fast enough to contain him.
I certainly do give Georgia a chance to win this game. It would make for a fantastic story about persistence for Mark Richt and mean that Nick Saban would, believe it or not, have only one conference championship in his first half dozen years in Tuscaloosa. It's not what I'm picking, but it could happen.
Alabama (-7.5) over Georgia 30-20

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