“I think if there’s a team in the West to look out for it’s the Auburn Tigers.  Gene Chizik, I think, got his team a taste of success last year, and I think they’re eager to come back and play hard this year.”

-Kirk Herbstreit

These words were spoken on a college football special recently, with little more than what you just read offered by the analyst to support the theory.

As Alabama enters 2010 as the preseason #1, Herbstreit is one of the few voices out there playing the part of naysayer.

But what a voice he has; Kirk Herbstreit is arguably the most recognized and listened to analyst in all the land.  When he isn’t picking Ohio State to play USC for the national title, which is never, he has absolute credibility.

What is baffling about his comments is the “taste of success” notion.

So 3-5 in the conference in 2009 was “a taste of success?”   Heck, then Mississippi State, Arkansas, Kentucky and South Carolina all must be freaking chomping at the bit.  They all finished 3-5 too.  At 4-4, Ole Miss, Tennessee and Georgia apparently should dang well be thinking Tempe.

Please, somebody.  Anybody.  Show me what abarn has done…something tangible, not on paper or in theory…to deserve the expectations placed upon them.

We’ve often compared last year’s Ole Miss with this year’s abarn, but now just days away from kick-off, I think the tiggers have edged the ’09 Rebels.

Herbstreit’s reasoning for Bama’s absence in the SEC title game?

“Nick Saban lost thirteen 3-year defensive players, most off to the NFL. Even though you bring in a lot of 5-star recruits, and there’s still some good personnel, a lot of it’s new to ’em…”

Isn’t abarn’s starting QB new?  Isn’t the Dyer kid fresh out of high school?  Aren’t they paper thin all over the field and will rely on new faces?

Wait, Fig Newton played JUCO community college football last season.

To illustrate the difficulty on that level, I offer this:  the University of South Alabama played JUCO level football last season as well.  For the first time.  In their history.  And went undefeated.  Anybody still care to draw the line to abarn’s Dell delinquent as the reason to make reservations in the ATL?

The fact is, Herbstreit’s comments questioning the ability of Alabama to get back to Atlanta could not be more perfect in the hands and to the ears of Nick Saban.

Take it from me, people, the man loves this stuff.  No, he won’t use media speculation about his team like a Houston Nutt would, dangling it in front of them like a carrot in front of a mule.

He’ll use it like a sand spur.  Irritating and uncomfortable,  leading to one resolve…to do things better than anyone else to remove any doubt that they are the best.

But in truth, this team needs little more than Saban himself to remind them how good they’re not, and how hard they have to work to get back to what the 2009 squad accomplished.

The Herbstreit theory is for their families and friends to remind them about.

In fact, Herbstreit’s moronic comments are just want the doctor ordered for Saban’s 2010 version of Alabama football.  And when he was in Cali shooting the ESPN commercial with Mack Brown, wouldn’t surprise me at all if he gave Kirk a little motivation to say it.

51 thoughts on “Herbstreit’s stupidity just what the doctor ordered”

  1. agreed – even some bama fans are drinking this stupidity………au lost 5 of 6 real games and the defense was horrible and worse in the spring…i predict 3-9 for au – can’t see au beating anybody starting with msu on the road

  2. I admit my jaw dropped when I heard those words come out of Kirk’s mouth. But that quickly turned into a big grin when I realized how Saban would use this to our advantage. I think Kirk did us a huge favor! He probably knows it, too. In the meantime, he scores points with the aubies. It’s kind of a win-win for him since he’s in the business of generating ratings.

  3. Midwestbamafan(or anyone else with a pulse that’s a bammer) – “I agree ITK. Everything you said is right.”

    ITK – “Incredible observation, mwbf. You are an absolute genius.”

    We are all dumber for having read the last exchange between ITK and mwbf. May God have mercy on our souls.

  4. One day ITK, you might be able to look in the mirror and ask yourself why you have the uncontrollable obsession to immediately initiate a personal smear campaign against any journalist, commentator, or pundit who commits the unpardonable sin of saying something positive about Auburn. The funny thing is that you truly don’t seem to realize how pathetic you look while doing it. (oh, but brandii and mwbf approve so it must be ok, right??) You just tried to smear Kirk Herbstreit, who is by far the most respected college football pundit in the country. Do you not realize how stupid that makes you look? (and here’s where you insert feigned laughter and/or shock in response, all the while ignoring that every CFB fan in the country glues themselves to his predictions every weekend while watching Gameday. Gee whose opinion should we listen to more, an anonymous bama homer or Kirk Herbstreit?????? Such a tough call………)

  5. Julio, you take up permanent residence on a rival’s message board (most likely one of many) and yet worry about how I look…

    Biblically speaking, you’ve got something in your eye there, and it ain’t a speck.

    As I mentioned, Herbstreit is well recognized, but find me another credible pundit who puts abarn in the championship game, and I don’t mean a writer from Opelika.

    It’s one thing to predict a strong season for the tiggers, which I still contend they won’t have. More on that in a few days.

    But to put them winning the SEC West ahead of the defending national champion, let alone Arkansas and LSU is just laughable. Gilligan wasn’t as alone on his island.

    So yes, allow me to jump on the bandwagon and laugh at the prediction. If it comes true, Herbie’s a genius.

    But WHEN it doesn’t, he’ll double-back as he always does and recant, likely from the Game Day set in Atlanta with Alabama and Florida fans in the background.

  6. Herbie made those comments because he likes Auburn and Gene Chizik….He liked Tommy T. as well. Its his “Commentary” and he is entitled to his opinion just like Shane the dooshbag from Centerpoint who used to have a column on this very friggin blog, in wich he picked Alabama to win the BCS year in or year out, no matter how badly yall sucked……..And in those Dubose / Fran / Shula years, yall sucked Muuuuuuuuuuuuuucucccchhhhhh worse than Auburn has even sniffed…..You and your retard fanbase didnt have a hard time rallying behind that inbred , did you ? So why the outrage when it comes to Herbies prgnostication ?

    Because it is Auburn.

    The double standard is sick….

    And for the record, if we represent the west , I will be suprised. Not blown away, but suprised. Clearly Bama is the team to beat.

  7. Let it be known (and can be proven) that I was openly critical of Shane when he was here.
    I thought he was a detriment.

    And there’s nothing wrong with anyone liking anybody. But expect a reaction when the prediction that follows is baseless.

  8. “julio Says:
    August 30th, 2010 at 8:45 pm
    Midwestbamafan(or anyone else with a pulse that’s a bammer) – “I agree ITK. Everything you said is right.”

    ITK – “Incredible observation, mwbf. You are an absolute genius.”

    We are all dumber for having read the last exchange between ITK and mwbf. May God have mercy on our souls”

    Hey if you don’t like it, maybe you should get off a website made specifically for Bammer fans. Ever thought of that dumbass?

  9. ITK, let me first say that I agree that the smart money should be on Bama to return to ATL. As to your analogy on Herbstreit’s AU breakdown, you’re flawed on a number of points.

    “Isn’t abarn’s starting QB new? Isn’t the Dyer kid fresh out of high school? Aren’t they paper thin all over the field and will rely on new faces?”

    Newton might be new, but Todd was far from a seasoned veteran. He started as a noodle armed qb for 3 games under Tony Franklin in 08 before getting benched, and then didn’t even participate in 09 Spring drills due to surgery. He then had 4 weeks in August to pick up Malzahn’s system. Todd then won the job, but I think we can all agree that the kid was no better than an average athlete on his best days. Despite all that, Malzahn still got the kid to set AU single season passing records. You don’t think it’s rational to anticipate that Malzahn will get as good or better production from an athlete like Newton than he did from Todd??

    As to Dyer, he’s not starting. He’s not even second string right now. Those spots go to Fannnin and McCaleb. I would anticipate that Dyer would make large contributions, just like you rationally predicted the same thing about Richardson before last season started. AU is not depending on him, though.

    Thin and depending on fresh faces?? Not this year, at least not for the starters. Last year AU was without veterans McNeil, Savage, and Etheridge in the secondary, and was forced to play scrubs in a lot of those posts. The linebackers never even came out of the game. The offense is deep and full of returning starters.

  10. aww, someone didnt pick bama to win and youre upset…bama can be (and will be) beat this year…at least twice. Youll still go to a nice bowl though so fret not.

  11. One more quick thought: Kind of strange that Kirk votes Alabama #1 in the country to begin the year if he doesn’t think we’ll even make it out of the division.

  12. Julia is worried. What if all the Auburn hype is not true? The Aubrun fans are already foaming at the mouth, demanding that something be done to stop the Bama machine. I have already been told by an Aubrun fan this season that Chizik is going to be the next Saban-like coach. How many really believe this? And what has Chizik even done in his past to make this kind of judgement? Being a defensive coordinator is one thing, being a head coach is another. 3-5 in the SEC is not a drastic turn around. He has Auburn as a middle of the pack team. He resembles Shula more than Saban in my opinion. I don’t think Alabama or Auburn is a place to be to learn how to be a head coach.

  13. Mark, (in post #14), not that I think you’ll read this; I’m sure you’ve moved on to porn by now…

    But a loss or two this season is possible, and likely. But one thing that won’t happen is us going 8-5 and throwing ourselves a parade to celebrate.

    Of course, when you’ve never accomplished anything in your school’s history, any baby step forward is cause to celebrate, isn’t it??

  14. This prediction coming from the same guy who said Bama’s emotion wouldn’t be enough to overcome Florida in the SEC Champ. Game, he will eat this plate of crow as well.

  15. brandii, you and the bammers love to crow about 3-5 because it sounds so much better than 8-5, doesn’t it? Strange, but I’ve never heard anyone refer to a team’s conference record rather than its overall record until now. If you’ll be truthful, you’ll acknowledge that you’ve never done it before either.

    Chizik took a shattered team that went 5-7 in 2008 and improved it to 8-5. This year’s team will have more depth, more talent, and a more favorable schedule. You truly don’t understand how people could rationally predict a good season for AU??

  16. No, it’s not good. But it was certainly an improvement from 5-7 a year earlier. It also beats going 7-6 and losing to a Sunbelt team.

  17. No, Julia, 3-5 or 8-5 whatever you want you can’t make that look good. It is not acceptable at Bama, but you sound pretty satisfied with it at Auburn. But when we are talking about how a 3-5 Auburn team is picked ahead of Bama (8-0), it is laughable. You guys are grasping at any positive press you can get, but the season is here now. All that talk doesn’t mean anything now. I think it is wishful thinking coming from Aubrun, ya’ll are still a full 2 years behind Bama right now.

  18. ” Not acceptable at Bama” ????????

    The 7-6 remark and losing to a sunbelt team was a direct reference to Saban’s 07 year Einstien…….

    Quick, make a snippy comeback. But you cant erase history.

  19. Good thing for you we haven’t done much since that Sunbelt game.

    Oh wait, yes we have.

    So do you watch replays of that game in a dim lit room, the door locked and nobody around but you and your lotion? Don’t answer, we already know.

    Clean yourself up and deal with the fact that those days are long gone, and 8-5 is PLENTY good enough in Lee County.

    We win championships.

  20. “So do you watch replays of that game in a dim lit room, the door locked and nobody around but you and your lotion?”

    ITK, what the $#@! kind of weirdo, sicko stuff are you into?? (that’s a rhetorical question — please don’t answer.)

  21. ITK, come on man…..You are starting to sound like E.G. or 77……If you start in with the sperm talk, Im gonna line up some counseling for you.

    My comment was in response to Brandi’s off the wall post that somehow iferred that Bama has never had bad season.

    Something interesting to bring up……Blake Burgess is listed as the #2 Center behind Pugh on the depth chart……HTis has to mean that all goggle wearing Bammmers will now boycott the Rick and Bubba show, does it not ?

  22. AUVERRATED IS AUWFUL 3-5 in the sec because it is solid comparison…apples to apples …lost 5 of 6 last real games – the team is auverrated. 3-9 overall..0-8 is the bank it prediction for the auverrated tiggers

  23. HAMMAH RAMBLE INCOHERENTLY AND NOT MAKE ANY SENSE…HAMMAH PLAIN STUPID…HAMMAH PATHETIC BAMMER HOMER

  24. BP, it wasn’t acceptable. Really, why are you here again? That 7-6 record wasn’t acceptable to Saban either you freakin dooshbag. This isn’t Auburn we are talking about.

  25. It wasn’t acceptable ? What did you do ? Tell Coach Saban that he had to request romatches with all the teams in 07 ? Yes, Brandi, you “accepted” it…..You had no choice…It is what your team did on the feild, and you can’t deny it. No, you were not satisfied with it, as Auburn is not satisfied with a 5-7 record, hence Tommy Tubbervilles departure…Nor, are we satisfied with an 8-5 record…but as far as “accepting” those two less than stellar seasons, yes, I “accepted” them. Why ? Because that is what friggin happened….I don’t stick my head in the sand and pretend that those years did not happen, like you do….What about the last 10 years ? Did you “accept” those ? What about Fran ? What about Price ? What about friggin MIKE FRIGGIN SHULA ??????? Did you not “accept” those years….What about 3-8 with Dubose ? Yes, your team has turned it…Why ? Because you fell backassward into the best coaching hire since Paul Bryant…Your A.D. was trying to hire Steve Spurrier and Rich Rodriques for cryin out loud man…Did you not “accept” 6 in a row ? What about your boosters buying recruits, did you “accept” that ?

    No, Brandi, you are the dooshbag with your holier than thou attitude, instead of being grateful that you are fortunate enough to be where you are right now, instead of where you were for the last ten plus years.

  26. Hey BP, it is what it is. And no, 8-5 is not acceptable. Why did Shula get fired again? That is why Bama went through coach after coach more than anything else. Saban is not an 8-5 coach, but Chizik may very well be. He hasn’t proved he was more than that in his first three years of coaching. And I am grateful for getting Saban. And if you don’t like the attitude, then get over it. Look at how you and your Auburn brethren were acting up until Saban spanked that ass 36-0. Even took a field goal away from you to boot. Ha!

    But glad to see your envy is still alive and well there Ballplay. Now suck it up, quit acting like a girl, and get ready for that beatdown again. You know it’s coming.

  27. BP, give us a break. Tuberville wasn’t fired for his 5-7 mark in 2008. He is the 3rd winningest head coach in your stupid history. He was fired out of fear, period.

    Brando, asking BP to stop acting like a girl is like asking Obama to stop lying.

  28. Ummm. You are wrong ITK, and you know it. Tubbs was canned because of lingering angst from jetgate that ended up biting him in the butt when he thought they would not can him. Did Bamas succes have somethiing to do with it ? Maybe, but not as much as the lingering bad attitudes between him and the suits.

    Shula was canned after waaayyyy tooo loooong. And if you have half a brain , you could see it.

    I for one think this this year and next are Chiziks litmus test. He better improve this year over last, and again next year. If he doesnt , I dont see the AU suits letting him stay for 4-5 years like Bama did with Shula.

  29. That’s right BP. One more loss to Bama and we will see that jet getting fired up (again). Maybe ole yeller feller can call up Houston Nutt again…

    And after the way you guys celebrated the moral victory last year, the only litmus test Auburn has is the Iron Bowl and you know it.

  30. BP, as badly as I think you want to, there is no comparison to Mike Shula’s tenure and any Auburn coach in history.

    Shula was hired as an interim, period, at a time when, according to Jimmy Sexton’s interview in Gamechanger (I KNOW you’ve seen it by now), NO ONE wanted the Bama job. He was literally all we could get in a horrible period clouded by probation, scandals and other off-the-field issues. Shula was given the benefit of a doubt after 2005’s success, but when 2006 turned into more of the same, it was time to pull the plug on the experiment.

    I agree with you on Chizik, but if you are as objective as you sound, even you have to admit the sunshine pumping of this unproven regime is disturbing. I just listened to an interview of Stan White on the radio, and according to king whiner every player on the Auburn team is amazing and could be playing in the NFL TODAY.

    Bama just won the National Championship and the approach from T-town is cautious, guarded optimism, and that was before our Heisman winner would be out for this game.

    There’s danger in inflation, and if what I believe to be true comes to pass, Chiznik’s tenure could come to a crash ending, devastating your program more than what happened on the field in 2008.

  31. Your base needs to make its mind up and quit blowing with the wind and crawdaddin’ when things dont work out the way they predict. When Shula was hired , I openly said he was not the guy for the job. Every bammer I knew like to have stabbed me with a rusty icepick. Had the regime pulled out the checkbook in about 2001, you cant tell me you couldnt have hired a better coach. After all, it is ALA FREEKIN BAMA ( insert redneck song here) isnt it ?

    If Bama is as “premier” a job as saaaayyyy, USC, then why couldnt they lure the marquis coach they wanted. Either they are not “marquis” or they didnt open the wallet. We know the answer , they didnt open their wallet. 4 mill would have had Stoops, Caroll , and Brown at the doorstep if the U gave them the same amount of power Saban got. And your right, AU may or may not have made the same mistake, time will tell. But it wont take as much time as it did Alabama.

    I dont necessaril agree with Stan White, and frankly have not heard one thing he has said. Auburn will improve this year. How much remains to be seen.

  32. See ITK, here’s the thing you don’t realize. Neither Chizik or Saban are inflating the expectations of their teams. The fans, the media, and the pundits are doing that. When you hear AU fans or pundits inflate expectations for AU’s season, you some how transfer that to Chizik and Auburn. Don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the fans and pundits have slightly inflated the expectations for Bama’s season as well (you know, pre-season #1 ranking and all). But you (correctly) don’t pass that off to Saban.

  33. Thank you Drs. BP and Julia. You seem to have the Bama situation down to a science. But you didn’t acknowledge the question. If Auburns expectations are overinflated, (and it always the media and fans, the coaches hardly ever over inflate the expectations) and Auburn fails to live up to them, will the fans grow restless and be ready for another change? And, what usually happens when Auburn gets really good pre-season hype? You guys know the answer. Explain.

  34. If you’ll go back and read some of Frank Chiznik’s comments about Fig Newton, not even you can agree with what you just said, Julio.

  35. “But you didn’t acknowledge the question. If Auburns expectations are overinflated, (and it always the media and fans, the coaches hardly ever over inflate the expectations) and Auburn fails to live up to them, will the fans grow restless and be ready for another change?”

    BPI’s post 5 rows above: “I for one think this this year and next are Chiziks litmus test. He better improve this year over last, and again next year. If he doesnt , I dont see the AU suits letting him stay for 4-5 years like Bama did with Shula.” What part of that did you not understand, brandii?

  36. The “overinflation” you refer to boils down to what ? Kirk Herbstreat predicting us to win the west , but not the SEC ? One talking head out of hundreds, and that is the one analyst that YOU choose to listen to, not the one that 90 % of the Auburn fans I know choose to listen to…I can see Auburn going anywhere from 8-4 ( worst case) to 10-2 (best case) this year. An 804 year would concern myself and most Auburn fans I know. Why ? It is not an improvement. Our defense was a sive last year. Heck , Northwesterns Kifka threw for 400 or 500 yards….Anything that remotely resembles that should result in Ted Roofs job. There is no excuse for that in any universe.

    Should we be better ? Absolutely. More talent, more depth, and another year to learn the system will help. So, a step back would not be tolerated.

    Chizik still has a LOT to prove. But, can you honostly say he hasnt got the program going in the right direction, as for now ?

  37. Oh, you mean the part where Chizik compared Newton’s physical attributes to Vince Young and Daunte Culpepper because he’s large, strong armed, and mobile (like they are) and you tried to convince everyone that Chizik instead said that Newton was just as good as those guys all the while ignoring that Chizik specifically said that we won’t know a thing about Newton until he actually plays??

  38. Kirk Herbsteit must wear an AU thong under his OSU footed pajamas.

    And BPI, you might be a douchebag if you’re too stupid to spell the word correctly.

  39. It rolls off the tounque better with 2 o’s. Spelling it the other way makes me feel like I am from France, wich I hate.

  40. It’s “tongue” and “which”. I’m going to make you a better speller, BP, if it’s the last thing I do.

  41. I’ve had five French / Louisiana women. There’s nothing to hate about them unless you despise toned legs and hours of intercourse. As usual, I fail to see your point Ball Fondler.

  42. My ol’ penis is a rock solid 9 inches. I finger women I don’t even know and have nailed a few hundred this year alone. No one gets more pussy than me!

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