The First Look – Oregon Ducks

It sure is good to get back to talking about football. I've had about all the a capella music videos that I can take.

Oregon's an Odd Bird
by JackTheRabbit

If you told me after the Clemson game that Auburn would be playing for the national championship at the end of the season, I don't believe there are many people (except the 'Blogler) that would have believed you. I know I wouldn't have; however, here we are. 13-0 and SEC Champions playing for the national title. I must say that this is something I've spent my entire life waiting for. Also, I'm not feeling too bad about our matchup in the title game.

When it comes to competition, Oregon is a different bird (pun intended). Undersized and speedy is the first thing that comes to mind when I think of the Ducks. Darron Thomas and LaMichael James (who reminds me more and more of #23 of AU) both have the legs to burn defenses, but Thomas isn't afraid to air out the ball. There has also been more attention put on the Oregon defense that ranks 12th nationally in points against (18 point average per game).

What I find most interesting is that Oregon's 12th ranked defense in points against has yielded 6 games in which their opponent has scored 20+ points, which have come from stout offensive juggernauts like Oregon State, Arizona, Washington Sta...wait, what? Okay, so this extremely "underrated" defense has given up at least 20 points to the 53rd, 82nd, and 106th scoring offenses in the country. Tell me Cam and Co. aren't licking their chops right now, and I'll call you a liar.

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The First Look (again) – South Carolina Gamecocks

You ask Jack for a preview of a championship game and he turns it on. Best to date.

South Carolina Part II
by JackTheRabbit

First off, I'd like to say how happy I am that I'm writing my 13th (14th if you count the award-winning sCAMdal edition) preview for WarBlogle, especially since there's still one more preview left. That can mean only one thing. We're in HOT-lanta!!!

There's an entire season riding on this game for the Tigers. Comeback after comeback, including one of the greatest Iron Bowls I've ever seen, has culminated into a SEC Championship game that can take Auburn somewhere it has never been in the BCS era or since 1957: playing for a national title.

As we've discussed in the past, South Carolina can be really good (see Bama game) and really bad (see Arkansas). Maybe the best way to predict South Carolina's play would be to treat them as stock in the market. Usually there are trends that develop which bring a stocks value up and then back down. The value will never continue to go down or up. Averages kick in sooner or later. This can be true for all CFB teams, but where some teams fluctuate over long periods of time, South Carolina seems to change game-by-game.

No doubt the Gamecocks started 2010 strong with a win against UGA then had a slight dip losing to Auburn, but had a strong rebound with a victory over Alabama. No doubt, despite that slight dip, the Gamecocks were at their strongest after Alabama.

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The First Look – Alabama Crimson Tide

Jack is back this week to talk about the Iron Bowl. Sorry no earth-shattering rumors this week.

Iron Will
by JackTheRabbit

Auburn plays Alabama this Friday. Don't tell the national media. They've already decided Auburn is 11-1.

I know football is about stats, yards, etc, but I'm a firm believer that when it comes to certain games it's all about will. It's all about how bad your team wants it. That's why I don't feel as nervous about this Iron Bowl as previous ones. Not because I think we have a stout team that can certainly handle Alabama's defense, but because this team has shown us that they will not be denied.

If you want a more objective breakdown of the Iron Bowl then you should read my preview from last year. Same team, and the same game plan will help Auburn win. Bama has a stout defense, and their offense is consistent, but takes time to score. Put up big numbers and let their time-crunching offense be their own worst enemy.

If Auburn can do what they did last year, except not take their foot off the gas and continue scoring, then Auburn should win this game. Imagine if Auburn put up 40 points last year, there's no way Alabama wins on a final minute drive.

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The First Look – UT-Chattanooga Mocs

All I'll say is that I sure hope the team comes to the game with a little more effort than this preview brings. I understand that this isn't an SEC opponent, but dang Jack...

Get in, Get out
by JackTheRabbit

There's not much to say about this match-up. It's a game against a FCS team that Auburn should win. I believe that this homecoming game is a much needed opportunity for our starters to get in, get out, and rest up for amen corner.

What I think will be interesting about this game is what the coaches will let the starters do. We'll know Saturday if Gene and Gus really want Cam to win the Heisman. This game against the Mocs should be a good chance for Cam to pad some rushing, passing, and TD stats in the first half.

I'm sure they won't want him to injure himself in anyway, but expect them to give him the chance to rush and pass for a couple TDs each. After that I'd expect every running back to get significant touches.

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The First Look – Ole Miss Rebels

Spoiler alert: It's not a tumah...uh trap. By the way, I totally endorse this preview, or whatever you want to call it, whether Jack tells me to deal with it or not.

It's A Trap!
by JackTheRabbit

There's something on my mind, so for this week I'm going to depart from my typical previews and climb on top of my soapbox for a bit. Deal with it, Mr. Blogle.

Everyone in the college football news circuit keeps talking about trap games, especially since #1 has gone down the past three weeks. (Insert College Football Analyst's Name Here) keeps warning about Auburn's trip to Oxford this weekend. The Rebels are poised to upset the Tigers in their first visit away from the Plains in over two weeks.

This game isn't a trap. A trap is something you don't see coming. A trap is something that's meant to catch an unsuspecting victim off guard. There's no way Auburn is caught off guard by this game. Everyone has warned them of this game, and if the Tigers lose this game then it wasn't a trap. It will have been something this team saw coming and didn't prevent. Like camping on the railroad tracks, it would be just a negligent oversight.

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