Saturdays in Athens
GEORGE SOMERVILLE – THE TOUCHDOWN SEC CORRESPONDENT
Saturday 17th September 2022
If we thought that week one did not disappoint SEC fans, it transpires that it was only the warm up act for week 2! Who was to know that a Group of 5 team would saunter into SEC land and come away victorious – not me and certainly not Jimbo Fisher!
The chances of this week’s headline coming from Appalachian State’s game against Texas A&M rather than Alabama’s visit to Texas, well that was slim. But guess what!
Welcome y’all to our weekly round up of life in the Southeastern Conference. Here are this weeks headlines….
Mountaineers reach the summit!
college station, tx
Appalachian State’s 17-14 victory over Texas A&M was as shocking as it was unexpected. Not 3 months ago everyone was talking about the strength of the Aggies roster for the season ahead.
With a 31-0 win over Sam Houston in the Aggies season opener, expectations were high in College Station to welcome one of the Sun Belt’s best teams. But still, this is a Texas A&M team which is expected to challenge Alabama for the SEC West title. And if they were to take that next step could they defeat Georgia for the SEC Championship? As it turns out this was a case of running before TAMU could walk.
Let’s not be disingenuous to App State who thoroughly deserved their win. However the Aggies offense was largely missing for all four quarters and this week it was their five star freshman quarterback who paid the price for a dismal start to the Aggies season.
Give the importance of this weekend’s match up against the Miami Hurricanes, multiple sources report that Aggies Head Coach Jimbo Fisher will start Max Johnson at quarterback in place of Haynes King.
Johnson transferred out of LSU and landed in College Station earlier this year. So far Johnson has has had limited game time, with only 4 plays in the Aggies first two games. But it would appear that Jimbo needs a change under center. Before there is a change at head coach…
#GigEm
Penn(y) for Harsin's Thoughts
Auburn, AL.
This weekend Auburn welcome Penn State to Jordan Hare in the the second of the home and away series scheduled with the Nittany Lions.
Last year, in his first season at Auburn, Head Coach Bryan Harsin took his Tigers to Happy Valley and came away with a 28-20 loss. A game the Tigers still think they should have won.
Nevertheless Auburn Bryan Harsin remains under pressure. A lacklustre 24-16 over San Jose State did nothing to calm nerves in Auburn. But yet, looking back at the weekend’s slate of games, a win is a win. Just ask Texas A&M, Nebraska or Notre Dame who all lost to Group of Five teams. Losses which sent shockwaves throughout college football.
So in reality the Auburn Tigers are 2-0 and fans should be happy. But it’s Auburn so they aren’t.
Auburn go into this game as the underdogs, despite the game being played at the notoriously difficult and rowdy Jordan Hare stadium. Penn State head coach James Franklin had earlier in the week confirmed that his team had been practising with a silent count given the reputation of Auburn’s noisy fans. So too practising indoors with the heat cranked up to replicate the humid atmosphere of playing football in Alabama in September. So the Nittany Lions seem well prepared!
Not so fast my friends. Per The Athletic it transpires that there is some “construction work” being carried out on the tarmac at Montgomery Airport this week meaning Penn State can’t land into Alabama on the timetable they normally operate to for road games.
Shenanigans? Likely not. But Bryan Harsin would bite your hand off for a win on Saturday.
#WarDamnEagle
Josh Heupel gets paid
Knoxville, tn
First it was Kirby Smart, then Nick Saban got a hefty raise. Now Tennessee has confirmed that Head Coach Josh Heupel is getting a contract extension that will keep him in Knoxville until 2028 for an annual salary of $5m.
Given the Volunteers record with head coaches in recent years – Heupel is the 4th Head coach in seven seasons – 2028 looks a little optimistic. But the truth is that the signs are there that Josh Heupel might just be the guy to put the pep back into Vols fans steps.
Tennessee remain the “sexy pick” for pundits this year, and to be fair, with their no huddle, quick offense they are a very attractive team to watch. With Hendon Hooker at QB Tennessee has the real thing, and his partnership with wide receiver Cedric Tillman is as exciting to watch as any QB/WR duo in football. So Vols fans have much to cheer these days.
Heupel has turned a down in the dirt 3-7 team under Jeremy Pruitt to a 7-6 program under his stewardship, with the promise of better things to come.
This season Tennessee sit 2-0 after defeating the much fancied Pitt in overtime last weekend. The Vols are currently ranked #15 in the AP poll.
But I will add this one note of caution. The price to pay for the terrible tenure of Jeremy Pruitt is the record setting levels of NCAA violations that Pruitt and his staff have been found guilty of.
Sanctions are undoubtedly heading in the Vols direction and will have a serious impact on recruiting for Heupel going forward – just ask Ole Miss and USC how badly NCAA sanctions hit them. Meaning tieing Heupel down to an extended contract now is a sensible thing to do.
#RockyTop
I'm Smiling from ear to ear
This was such a great answer to the Twitter trolls 😅 #WPS
— Courtney Mims (@MimsCourtney) September 13, 2022
Sam Pittman talking about being ranked in the top ten this week: pic.twitter.com/dRJUVECdvE
fayetteville, AR
Congratulations Sam Pittman! What that guy is doing at Arkansas is nothing short of exceptional.
And this week the AP pollsters agreed with Arkansas, moving into the AP poll at #10 after defeating South Carolina by 44-30.
Pittman was delighted.
“we’re proud of it – sure we’re proud of it. It’s hard to be in the top 10 and we have done it two years in a row”
Said Pittman during a mid week press conference,
“whenever it came out I was smiling from ear to ear…..but what that means today is that we are #10 and I tweeted it out and I’m proud of it”
And let’s just be clear how big a job Pittman is doing. In the past two seasons, his first two at Arkansas, the Razorbacks have had the most difficult schedules in FBS. Pittman has guided an Arkansas football team that couldn’t buy a win in the Chad Morris era to being a top #10 team two years in a year.
Take a bow Sam, take a bow.
#WPS
saban rants... again
There's truly nothing like a good Nick Saban rant 😂
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) September 15, 2022
🎥: @RyanCFowler pic.twitter.com/3hz2IjbaBA
Tuscaloosa, AL
Finally, would it really be a Saturday In Athens without a Nick Saban rant? Well Coach did not disappoint, with a rant aimed at a reporter who asked about the varying quality of opposition that Alabama plays. I think this is what Nick Saban calls “rat poison”.
I’ll let the clip do the talking’….aight?!
#RollTide
GEORGE SOMERVILLE
COLLEGE FOOTBALL WRITER
A GLASWEGIAN LIVING IN LONDON, GEORGE IS A COLLEGE FOOTBALL FAN WHO FOLLOWS THE ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE. HE PROVIDES CFB CONTENT FOR THE TOUCHDOWN AND IS ONE THIRD OF THE COLLEGE CHAPS PODCAST.