As we head into the off week, I for one am extremely pleased with where Alabama is. I’ve already commented on the overwhelming confidence Las Vegas has in our destiny for this season, but here are some more interesting numbers for you this morning:

Points are ultimately what matter. The following are the leading scoring offenses and defenses in the SEC at this point in the season, with the standings of where the teams rank nationally in those categories also listed.

Offense
Auburn 11th
Kentucky 23rd
Alabama 28th
Arkansas 33rd
Georgia 39th
Ole Miss 40th
Mississippi State 57th
Florida 62nd
LSU 73rd
Tennessee 94th
Vanderbilt 105th

Defense
Alabama 3rd
LSU 10th
Mississippi State 14th
Florida 26th
Georgia 30th
Arkansas 51st
Auburn 53rd
Vanderbilt 64th
Tennessee 83rd
Kentucky 98th
Ole Miss 101st

Notes:
*The one stat that may be misleading is Georgia’s offense; ever since the return of AJ Green the Bulldog offense has found new life.

*Is there a worse QB combination in all of college football than Jarrett Lee/Jordan Jefferson? Only Tennessee and Vandy have worse offenses than LSU. Really makes that “defensive stand” in Jordan-Hare last Saturday that more impressive, doesn’t it?

A Pleasant Rocky Top
People, the Volunteers are beat down almost beyond recognition. I made the trip up to Rocky Top, wearing something Crimson the entire time. From Thursday till Sunday, not a soul said a word to me. In fact, I didn’t hear one UcheaT fan talking smack the entire weekend. Even the fans sitting around us were almost apologetic at how bad they were. Before the game, solemn looks were all I saw from Vols of all ages.

I did overhear one UcheaT fan at breakfast Saturday ranting about how much she hated Bama, and that she loathed the “We beat the hell out of you song they play at the end.” She was in her 60’s and looked like she had been born with a cigarette in her mouth. I just smiled at here from the next table, and over my cup of coffee I kindly offered that she just might want to leave in the middle of the fourth quarter.

Still, I assured them all that Derrick Dooley is the answer longterm, but the looks I got in return were empty and deflated. I think they thought I was trying to be funny, but I wasn’t. It seems the Kiffin hangover is still lingering. When a program buys in to a trendy hire and the gimmicks that come with it, and subsequently when the air leaves the balloon, it seems the recovery time is brutal.

There is a difference between hard work to get you to the top and trendy moves. It’s true in business, relationships, sports and literally every area of life. Hard work always prevails.

Bama has worked hard to be where they are. Everything else is a house of cards, ready to fall. And looking around the SEC, the cards are propped up quite nicely.

Toughest Places to Play?
Though in recent years kids and business interests have taken me away from the ultimate college video game, NCAA 2011, each year EA Sports adjusts the difficulty levels associated with the hardest places to play in college football.

The distinctions aren’t a shot in the dark by any means, as the company seems to think of everything each year to make it as realistic as possible.

Making the list for this year’s game:

#2. Florida – The Swamp
#3. LSU – Tiger Stadium
#4. Alabama – Bryant-Denny Stadium
#7. Tennessee – Neyland Stadium
#12. Auburn – Jordan-Hare Stadium
#13. Georgia – Sanford Stadium
#24. Arkansas – Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium

Just missing was South Carolina. Funny, didn’t see Commonwealth Stadium, Scott Field or Vaught Hemingway Stadium on the list. It’s rumored that for 2012’s version of the game curious phantom touchdowns will be awarded to the home team in JH.

What do you do with an off week?
According to Kirby Smart, for the players, you heal and get back to fundamentals. For the staff its an opportunity to spend time looking down the schedule and scheme for who’s coming up. Alabama head coach Nick Saban echoed the same sentiments in an interview following the game.

Alabama is banged up but didn’t look it in Knoxville, finishing strong heading into the break. It was a rivalry game, and though the Vols aren’t what they once were, UcheaT did take the team Abarn is pumping their chest about beating (at home) down to the final play in Baton Rouge.

Looking down the line at our final five games before Glendale, is there a better coaching staff in all the land you’d rather have planning for you this morning?

(Follow me on Twitter at ITK4BAMA for capstonereport.com news, commentary and smack.)

9 thoughts on “Interesting news, notes for the off week”

  1. There is absolutely nothing impressive or imposing about Southern Carolina’s stadium in Columbia.

    The only praise I’ll give is the student section is sort of off by itself – they own an entire end zone – and it was filled to the max from start to finish. Not only that, were definitely into the game and enthusiastic. (Who wouldn’t have been, the way we played?)

    But it by no means overpowers the rest of the stadium, which didn’t get loud at all until the 4th quarter when they knew Bama had no chance to come back.

  3. I for one am happy to where we are. True the South Carolina loss was a disaster, not just for the standings, but the team as a whole. I just think they ‘woke’ up after that. Complacency leads to accidents/mistakes in real life and in football.

    We are hitting harder, our secondary is FINALLY putting up numbers (career high’s BTW) and the offense SEEMS to be clicking. Our BYE week (although I always don’t agree with it in the first of the season) seems to come at good time this year. A win in death valley is a must and well, you know what happens after that. It’s pretty simple — we control our own destiny. Never mind the BCS rankings on week 8. They matter at the end of November.

    I suppose the coaching staff will have a serious look at what’s to come ahead. DJ Fluker will get much needed time and Julio Jones will get his hand back to 100% (yeah, he’s been having career high’s not 100%) — obviously Coach Smart has this defense ready to GO now. Coach Mac obviously made SOMETHING click. Nobody knows the deal more than the football player himself. Even McElroy has stated we are at the best he’s seen. For a team who almost beat LSU, which held Aubarn down in the fourth quarter, we laid it down in Rocky Flop. It will be hard to sit back this Saturday knowing there is no Alabama football, but good things are to come. 🙂

  4. After hearing Dooley use the German Army analogy to justify how far in the Toilet the Rocky Flops are – it is obvious that Barbara is now feeding the S*it he is uttering.
    He is the Rocky Flop Shula. This is good for the Nation. Keep them down . It’s going to be Years.
    What do you have to say now Indy Vol ? Seems to me that your panties are full of poop.

  5. I’ve been attending the UT v. Alabama game for at least 15 years and mostly in Knoxville. I’ve never had a problem with fans until this year. Just because I was wearing an Alabama shirt, I was cursed out twice and one very intoxicated kid wanted to fight me. I heard F…Bama more times than I can count and each time I just told them “Keep it classy UT”! I was not fun going to that game which is unfortunate for such a big historic rivalry in the SEC.

  6. Slama, that’s strange. I had a completely different experience, but then I was sitting with UT alumni and families, not students. There are a faction of student fans everywhere that ruin it for everybody, I suppose.

  7. ITK, I attended the game and had a similiar experience to yours. I hung out for 4 hours at Calhouns on the River, surrounded by tons of UT fans, and not a bad word was spoken. I actually had a few pleasant conversations with some of the orange-clad fans, they’re understandably depressed about the state of their program. On top of that, their one salvation, basketball, is now in big trouble. The fews fans I spoke with want Bruce Pearl retained, but agree that he’ll probably be gone soon.

  8. ITK,

    Your reference to “UcheaT” is comical akin to the pot calling the kettle black. Please tell me WHO is on the NCAA’s habitual offender list. It sure as SHIT is not Tennessee; it would be the dirty cheating TURD from Bammer.

    The reason this rivalry has taken a nasty turn over the past several years is the fact that you and every other TURD Moron blamed the Vols for your probation. It would make about as much sense for me to say that the TN program is under NCAA investigation now due to Bammer; it just doesn’t make sense. So before your spout off about the degredation of this rivalry, look around and in the mirror; Bammer fans ruined this series with their hostility because their school got caught cheating and they needed to blame someone.

    GO TO HELL; BAMMER!

  9. Indiana Vol – Not going to argue with you or spout off with any ignorant name calling BUT I will explain why most of us “Bammer TURDS”, as you so intelligently called us, do not care for Tennessee OR Phil Fulmer. Most of us have seen the evidence that points to your former head coach.

    Exhibit A: Fulmer’s conversations with an NCAA investigator came to light in NCAA documents made public as part of a $60 million lawsuit against the NCAA filed by former Alabama assistants Ronnie Cottrell and Ivy Williams. The documents say that Fulmer acted as a confidential informant to the NCAA and passed on purported violations in the recruitment of defensive tackle Albert Means.
    **taken from
    http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/073004/col_16233183.shtml

    It’s ok. I will give you a a day or so to read the article then you can come back here and apologize. Thanks and ROLL TIDE. 😉

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