You could use that headline over and over again.   

[Rule 9-1-3]

I'm not watching the game, but here are the targeting rules:

Rule 9-1-3: Targeting and initiating contact with the crown of the helmet. No player shall target and initiate contact against an opponent with the crown (top) of his helmet. When in question, it is a foul.

Rule 9-1-4: Targeting and initiating contact to head or neck area of a defenseless player. No player shall target and initiate contact to the head or neck area of a defenseless opponent with the helmet, forearm, fist, elbow or shoulder. When in question, it is a foul.

If the contact was with the hands, unless they were making a fist, it might be a penalty, but probably should not be targeting. 

He clearly did not initiate contact with his helmet.  He hit him first with his hands in the chest area, then his head kind of snaps up and hits the helmet incidentally.  Which is what four of four talking heads said at halftime.   

Now, I will grant you, I can see where it could be called targeting, but he clearly does not lead with his helmet.

Regardless it was a stupid move by Ray anyway.  He could probably not have avoided contact, but he could have tried a lot harder at least, and perhaps if he had they would give him the benefit of the doubt.  Heck, it was a TD anyway.

But funny how no one wants to talk about the fumble. Or should I say "non-fumble"...the game was really close at that point, and had bammer not scored Mizzou would have been right in it.  Would have been a huge momentum shift.

In all my years of watching football, I have never seen a fumble invalidated by "forward progress"....BEFORE the whistle is sounded.  It was a horrible non-call, period, dot.  What is telling is that the head of SEC officiating IMMEDIATELY weighed in on it to Vern and Gary in the booth.  That I think is probably the most telling part of any of this.   

Plus the no look pass we tried to make and it was a turn over.

Donnie said this about that pass after the game....“When Armani threw that no-look pass out of bounds, I had a flash that I was gonna go to jail for a second."

Well whatever his issues with the NCAA, that right there is funny. 

I'm LOL'ing so hard at this thread. Just so I'm sure I'm correct: If you don't believe that there was a grand conspiracy to not allow Missouri to win -- a conspiracy that involved the SEC front office, the officials on the field, the replay officials upstairs, and they are all going to keep quiet and not spill their guts about said conspiracy -- if you don't believe all that, then YOU are the naive one? That's like the 9/11 truthers claiming the rest of us are the ones who are nuts. 

I didn't even see the fumble in question. I had turned the game off by that point because Alabama had it well in hand (which begs the question: how would a single play at that point in the game make a difference in the outcome?) but it's possible that the officials just screwed up without trying to throw the game to Alabama, right? I mean, we can agree on that -- it's at least possible -- can't we? And the Mizzou player deserved to be ejected. Even if it wasn't targeting by rule he deserved to be ejected. If more players were ejected/suspended for BS hits like that one, we would see less of them.

Bandit, I can appreciate your passion but sometimes you let your hatred for Alabama cloud any sense of reality. Earlier this week you said that Missouri had a chance because Lane Kiffin is a one-trick pony. Well, that one-trick pony put up 42 on one of the SEC's best defenses today. It amazes me that there are still people who refuse to accept that Kiffin is an excellent offensive coach. I can't stand the smarmy jackass and I want him to lose every time he takes the field, but there's no denying that he was a great hire for Saban...and the proof is in the pudding, as Alabama will return to the national championship this year.

I didn't even bother to read this...it's too long.

What I see at quick glance....

"blahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblah"

 

And note to both you and Vinnie...read the top line.  This was a post to NUT.  You would think someone who actually works in the media would have better reading comprehension skills. 

As for the pick play, it happens all the time and is never called. But against ND, Jimbo Fisher complained to the ACC refs and got his way the second time.  Hey, coach pressuring the refs works some times, which is why they do it.   

Lol, yes this game is so obviously rigged.   

Slive must've been in the bathroom on that pick play Mizzou just ran for a td that didn't get flagged.  Same play that DID get a flag earlier this year that took away ND's win over FSU.

But yeah, it's all a setup though.   

Did you see the replay of the fumble?  Tell me it wasn't a fumble.

What about the BS targeting call on the SEC's sack leader?  All the talking heads at half time said it clearly was not targeting...the player led with his hands.  It was a late hit and PF, but not targeting. 

If you don't believe that with the millions at stake Slive will do everything in his power to ensure that bammer wins, you are incredibly naive.

But...you were also certain Gruden was coming to UT, so....

What droid app do you recommend to emulate an IPOD? Or Itunes, I suppose.

Wow...UM athletics at a low ebb.  Unfortunately, our programs seem to have been mysteriously linked the last 20 years.  Both won MNCs in the late 90s and had moments of glory in bball (moreso UM than us) and everything seems to be going wrong for both now.

Here's hoping we break that connection in the near future...unless they win another MNC.   

Mizzou just got absolutely jobbed out of a fumble.

Yeah, they were full of explanations but none of them added up.  Supposedly it was "forward progress", but the ball clearly came out before the whistle, forward progress or no.  If the ball comes out before the whistle, it's progress, period.

Slive has amply demonstrated over the years that he only cares about money and not the integrity of the game.  Just one more piece of evidence.

I'll give him credit though...providing the head of SEC officiating to be on call to CBS to justify the bullshizzle was a stroke of genius.   

  It's much tougher to win there now than it was then, given that Phil Knight's dirty billions are now flowing into the coffers of their in-state archrival.

yup.

I know we all want to play a "name" opponent like ND or Texas, but a bowl win and a winning record would be huge for this program's momentum and recruiting.  With that in mind, maybe we would be better off playing someone more beatable like NC State or Iowa.  Because let's face it- with our injury situation, we would be BIG underdogs against most of the better teams we see in our bowl projections.

I agree.  The most often cited opponent in the Liberty Bowl is West Virginia. I would rather not play them.   They are sort of middle of the pack on name recognition but are actually quite good.  Frankly I think they are better than Notre Dame or a couple of the other "name" teams that have been mentioned.  That would be the worst of both worlds...losing to a team with "sort of" name recognition.  Bring on NC State, I say!

I mean heck...if FREAKING DOOLEY could beat them.   

Speaking of ACC teams...one prediction is Duke in the Belk Bowl. That would be even worse!  I think we would have a good chance of losing, and they have, if anything, negative name recognition.

of the most likely destinations.  Independence Bowl has a couple mentions and Birmingham one.  I have a hunch it's the Liberty Bowl, which would suit me since my family is likely meeting at my brother's house in Memphis after Christmas anyway.

My SIL can be a beyotch sometimes, so that might be a good way to avoid spending too much time with family during the holidays.   

Ordered a 100 each Outback and Citrus Bowl tickets - figured I could get rich if we went to one of those ...

Can you cancel that order?  Cause that seems unlikely....

Question: Has there ever been a coach who didn't win his introductory presser? Derek Dooley had the best introductory press conference of any Tennessee coach I can remember.

FWIW: I think Florida made an excellent hire. But it IS humorous that they were throwing around the biggest names in the business and making statements as though those coaches would be nuts not to be interested in UF...and suddenly a relatively little-known guy from Colorado State is the guy they all wanted.

True that Derek "knocked em out" at the presser.  Another similarity...both men are considered proteges of Nick Satan.  I just hope the parallels continue from there.   

Unfortunately, unlike Dooley McElliwain had winning records at CSU...but we will see.  This ain't the Big West, or whatever shizzle conference CSU is in. 

Yeah prior to Riley arriving at Oregon State in 1997, they had  not won more than 4 games in a season since 1971.  

So that is Vandy-like.  Interestingly he was there and then left and got replaced by Dennis Erickson for a few years.  I do think his record from 2003-2009 is pretty impressive, considering that it's Oregon State.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_State_Beavers_football

I think he can do just as well at Nebraska as Pellini, while not being an ahole.  But we will see. I'm not sure he can do better though.

[at Oregon State]

He's no up and comer. Bad hire for Nebraska

Well I think some people on here were speculating when we hired Butch.   

If you look up his record, he had a really nice run from 2005-2009, where he averaged 9 wins a season at Oregon State.

He had a couple off years in 2010-11, but was back at 9-4 in 2012, when we hired Butch.  At that point, he was looking good. Kind of like in absolute terms Franklin's record at Vandy was above average, but for Vandy it was fantastic.  Oregon State historically is not quite as bad as Vandy, but they have historically been at the bottom of the Pac 8/10/12.  A better comparison might be Kentucky.

The last two years have been very mediocre at Oregon State...a combined 12-13.  So if one factors that in, it does make less sense.  I think prior to the last two years it might have seemed less strange. His name WAS coming up routinely for openings...including ours...two years ago. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Riley

I think Michigan is a notch ahead of us in terms of national prestige. Top 3 all time, perhaps, while we are more like top 10. But it's harder to recruit to, since nobody wants to spend winters in Michigan.

I don't know what you mean by "Top 3".  They are 1st in number of victories and second only to Notre Dame in win percentage, so clearly they are elite in that area.

However, they have won two widely recognized national championships and so have we.  They probably have more conference championships, but we are second in the SEC and that is pretty darn good.

I use all four of those criteria when judging a program.  I mark UM down due to the lack of championships.  If you have more wins than any other D1 program, there should be more championships to go with it, IMO. 

Overall, I would rate them about 6-7 and UT 10-11, so I do agree with you.  But I call that a notch better...not an overwhelming lead IMO.

For the record my top 10 is:

1 Notre Dame
2 Bammer (with reluctance  )
3 Southern Cal
4 OU
5 Nebraska
6 OSU
7 Michigan
8 Texas
9 Penn State
10 Vols

But that's based on, in rough order of importance, national championships (widely recognized only), win percentage, total wins, conference championships, bowls.

It's also based on the entire history of college football.  Were I to limit it to the last 50 years, Miami and FSU would obviously be in there.  As it is, they are just outside the top 10 even having only been good for 30 years or so.

If the Tide plays as poorly most of the game as they have at times, the Tigers will win. Bama has been inconsistent this season, and Mizzou will be sky high for them. Very impressed with their coaching staff. Their defense has forced many turnovers this season, and Bama hasn't.  Anything can happen.

BG

As I post elsewhere kiffin is a one trick pony who over relies I'm on one star wr. If mizzou can figure a way to stop cooper like arkansas did they can keep it close. One thing is sure is that they are probably the second best d bammer has faced this year after Ole miss.

And we know how that one ended...

Well Butch is from Michigan, so it's natural they might consider him, I suppose.

Michigan doesn't have much more tradition than us, other than a better win percentage.  We are pretty much even in national championships, and for a while we had a bigger stadium also. 

I have seen opinions in the past that Riley is an up and comer, so I am not that surprised.  He didn't have the greatest record at OSU, but it was a winning record, and...it was OSU.  Not that long ago OSU was a vandy-like team.  I think he will do well at Nebraska.  Not sure he will do well enough to satisfy that fanbase though...but likely he won't be a giant ass like Pelini was either.

I wonder what happens if Florida backs out of the game they are paying $2 million for?  They lose their deposit?  They screw CSU and dare them to sue?  Something tells me that game will never be played.  But if they have an agreement to pay a certain percentage even if not played, then CSU will still get something.

The Auburn writer on their 247 site says Auburn does want him, and is told Muschamp would be receptive. I don't if that's true but that's his opinion. Yes, I heard some Auburn fans say there is ill feelings toward Muschamp by a big AU booster, but also don't know if that's valid.

BG

Hm, I misread volsboy and thought he was already there.  It would seem a natural fit, but USCe still seems more likely to me. Muschamp may not want to go to the same school twice. 

He may "pull a Cutcliffe" and go back for a couple years then take a job at a smaller school.

I'm betting the source is an agent. There's a slew of coaches more proven than Jones. I like where recruiting, special teams, and defense are, but the offense is iffy, and the jury is out on whether he can outcoach anyone.

On a related note, I'm not a fan of giving him a raise - at all. 

Has that even been discussed?  I would not even giving a raise to a coach that went 6-6.  Let him get us to the SECC next year, and give him a huge raise.

I am pretty sure he gets a bonus for going to a bowl, which is about right for this season.  IMO.

I think this is a very good point, and I've often wondered why so many athletics programs still exist when they lose money every year. I wonder if there's an effect on enrollment that the school considers. Athletics are a big part of student life, and without them a smaller state school might see a decline in enrollment. I wonder if keeping the programs is actually less costly than cutting them.

There is definitely an effect on enrollment at bammer.  Bammer is up to 34K and climbing...in fact I think it might be 36K this fall.  Only 22% of the students are in state.  When I asked a bammer alumnus, he said he supposed that out of state students are attracted by the success of the football program.

That is not something that I even considered when going to college, but if you just want to go and party and have a good time, I guess it's a factor.  It sure as heck doesn't help academics, at least not directly.  Although I have heard that name recognition matters when getting a job.  Bammer is already pretty well known nationally though....I seriously doubt employers hire because your alma mater won the MNC.  Well, at least not OUTSIDE of bammer....

Not surprising.  I am wondering if he can bottle lightning twice...he had really talented DEs before that might have just made him look good.

He did well enough at Texas until the very end.  We will see how he does.

I don't think whatever terms he was or wasn't on with the school matter at this point.  Malzahn wasn't really on good terms with the school when he left either.  Its a bidness, you know?

And once again, your opinion remind me of a certain other fan base.