Sun Tzu — if he actually existed, some historians doubt it — once wrote that by asking seven questions before a battle, he could forecast victory or defeat before that battle ever began.  Looking for a different angle to all the Alabama-Florida hype out there, we thought Sun Tzu’s areas of assessment might be a good starting point when it comes to “analysis” of this weekend’s midseason Super Bowl.

The Master Speaks: Sun Tzu Likes The Tide On Saturday

When you’re deep in all-star defensive lineman, why not get them all onto the field?  That’s the idea behind what’s been dubbed Florida’s “heavy package.”  And it was designed with Alabama’s ground game in mind.

UF’s “Heavy Package” Built With Tide In Mind

Earlier this week, Georgia athletic director Greg McGarity unveiled his theory on scheduling — Don’t leave your own backyard. Welcome to the grand reopening of the Georgia Pastry Shop.  Cupcakes and creampuffs for everyone!

UGA: Off Goes Oregon, On Come The Cupcakes

We give you each school’s “most valuable” weapons when it comes to yardage gained.  By nature, that rules out defensive players… though there’s one who we believe deserves to be in the MVP conversation.

Mallett The Real SEC MVP, Not Newton…So Far

Twenty-five hundred years ago, a man named Sun Tzu rose to military fame in China.  His writings (“The Art of War”) and principles for warfare have become must reading for everyone from small business owners to Wall Street execs to football coaches to actual, you know, generals.  Google the words “Steve Spurrier” and “Sun Tzu” and you’re sure to find that the the latter is a favorite of the former.

Sun Tzu — if he actually existed, some historians doubt it — once wrote that by asking seven questions before a battle, he could forecast victory or defeat before that battle ever began.  Looking for a different angle to all the Alabama-Florida hype out there, I thought Sun Tzu’s areas of assessment might be a good starting point when it comes to “analysis” of this weekend’s midseason Super Bowl.

Without further ado, I give you Sun Tzu’s questions:


1.  Which of the two sovereigns commands the Moral Law? 

As Jerry Lundegaard might say, “What the heck d’ya mean?”  Well, in Sun Tzu’s writings, Moral Law is what causes people to be in complete accord with their leader.  Popularity is a simpler term.  Translated into football-ese, the question would read as follows:  “Which leader is most likely to have his men follow him into battle and trust in his decisions?”

Both teams — and fanbases — believe fully in their coaches.  No doubt, both teams would follow their coaches into battle against anyone, anytime, anywhere.  Which means we’re going to have to do some hair-splitting on this one.

Urban Meyer’s team has tasted defeat since Nick Saban’s has.  In fact, Meyer’s team had defeat served to it by Saban.  Therefore, if one group is going to have an inkling of doubt when faced with adversity on Saturday, you would have to say that it would be the Gators. 

In addition, Saban has been with his team non-stop from last season on.  There has been no quick retirement followed by a reversal, no leave of absence.  Again, if we’re talking about minute cracks in the overall armor of trust, it would seem that Florida would have more mental fissures than Bama.  (Armor of Trust, by the way, would make a great name for a band.  I’m just saying.)

Advantage:  Alabama (barely)


2.  Which of the two generals has the most ability?

This question is pretty straight forward but the answer is anything but.  Meyer has become one of the fastest coaches to ever reach 100 victories.  He has won two national championships with two different styles of offense (passing with Chris Leak, running with Tim Tebow) in a three-year span.  All while coaching in the nation’s toughest conference.

Saban, however, is the first coach since World War II to win two national titles with two different programs.  He won both after rebuilding projects.  He accomplished both in the span of less than a decade.  And he also did it while coaching in America’s top football conference.

Meyer took over a roster that boasted some solid talent left behind by Ron Zook.  Saban took over a roster that had been pared down by NCAA sanctions.

Advantage:  Alabama


3.  To whom lie the advantages derived from Heaven and Earth?

Heaven means the weather situation.  Night, day, cold, hot.  At 8pm ET Saturday in Tuscaloosa, the forecast calls for clear skies, little wind and a temperature of 69 degrees.  Hard to see the weather playing a factor in this one.

Earth means the terrain of the battleground.  While the playing surface itself will be similar to every other field in existence, the fact that it will be surrounded by a defeaning crowd of crimson-clad crazies puts this category in the home team’s pocket.

Advantage:  Alabama


4.  On which side is discipline most rigorously enforced?

I could take a cheapie and simply say, “Check the police blotter,” but off-field discipline hasn’t hurt Florida to date.  (Unless you count the distraction caused by Carlos Dunlap’s DUI arrest prior to last year’s SEC title game.)

Let’s talk about discipline in football terms.  When it comes to turnover margin, Florida is +8 on the season.  That’s tops in the SEC.  Yes, they’ve lost five fumbles and managed to bungle numerous shotgun snaps, but those 12 interceptions through four games more than make up for those self-inflicted wounds.

Meanwhile, Alabama is third in the SEC in turnover margin at +3.  Like Florida, the Tide offense has turned the ball over six times, but their defense hasn’t been as ballhawking as the Gators’.

When it comes to penalties, Florida gives up about five more yards per game than Alabama.  That doesn’t make up for the turnover category.  Discipline — on-field discipline at least — goes to the reptiles.

Advantage:  Florida



5.  Which army is stronger?

Great question, Sun Tzu, and we won’t truly know the answer until Saturday night.  (And even then we’ll need to wait until December to get our final answer.)  For now, let’s look at the record book.

Alabama has won 18 games in a row.  They have beaten eight straight ranked opponents.  Read that again.  Eight straight ranked opponents have fallen to the Tide.  One of those ranked opponents was Florida, 32-13, in last year’s SEC Championship Game.  As of right now, the numbers are tilting pretty clearly in one team’s direction.

Advantage:  Alabama



6.  Which side has the most highly trained officers and men?

When talking about the men (players), let’s give the final say to the SEC’s coaches.  In July, the league’s coaches named 10 Florida Gators to their preseason All-SEC team.  Only three, however, were listed as first-team.  Alabama had fewer players named overall (nine), but six of the Tide’s choices were first-stringers.  Sorry, but that’s just too close to call either way.

Let’s turn to the officers (assistant coaches).  Both Meyer and Saban like to surround themselves with lieutenants who know their systems.  Makes sense… their systems are highly successful.  So successful that we’ll answer this question by counting national championship rings.

Of Saban’s nine current assistant coaches, not one was on his 2003 national title-winning LSU staff.  No rings there.  But eight of the nine did serve as assistants on last year’s championship staff.  (Secondary coach Jeremy Pruitt was promoted into an full-fledged assistant’s role this offseason, but that doesn’t count in our book.)  Add ‘em up and that’s eight BCS title rings for Saban’s officers with Saban.

Of Meyer’s nine current assistant coaches, only three served on his 2006 national championship squad — Steve Addazio, Stan Drayton and Chuck Heater.  As for the 2008 staff, Addazio, Heater and Dan McCarney collected rings.  (Drayton left Florida after 2007 and returned this year, missing the ’08 championship.)  That’s a grand total of six rings for Meyer’s officers while they served with Meyer.

Both men have one protege serving as a head coach in the SEC (Meyer has Dan Mullen at Mississippi State and Saban has Derek Dooley at Tennessee), but that has no impact on Saturday’s game and I don’t really know why I chose to mention it.  Nevermind.

Advantage:  Alabama


7.  Which army serves rewards and punishments most consistently?

Sorry, Gator fans.  Looks like Sun Tzu wants to talk about Florida’s off-field issues after all.  Whose system of rewards and punishments is clearer and fairer?  You tell me: Is Chris Rainey still on Florida’s team or isn’t he?

Don’t blame me.  Blame Sun-Tzu.

Advantage:  Alabama


When you add it up, six of Sun Tzu’s areas of pre-battle assessment favor Alabama.  Come Saturday, we’ll find out if ol’ Sun Tzu knows as much about SEC football as he does military theory.


(By the way, this seems to be just the kind of thing that a CBS producer might take note of.  So if the fine squad of Verne Lundquist, Gary Danielson and Tracy Wolfson decide to mention Sun Tzu’s prediction, well, a little name-dropping for MrSEC.com would be appreciated.  Yeah, it’s called begging.)

On Saturday, Vanderbilt travels to Connecticut seeking consecutive road wins for just the fifth time in the 11 years. It was last achieved against at Miami (Ohio) and Ole Miss early in the 2008 season.
(more)

STARKVILLE, Miss. – Mississippi State senior offensive lineman Derek Sherrod was named a semifinalist for the 2010 William V. Campbell Trophy, The National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame announced on Thursday. Sherrod, seeking his Master's in Sports Administration after earning his Bachelor's Degree in Business, is one of 121 semifinalists for the award. The NFF Awards Committee will select 15 finalists as part of the 2010 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class, and each finalist will receive an $18,000 post-graduate scholarship.
(more)

BATON ROUGE – Eight members of the LSU men's tennis team will take the court in the 53rd annual Rice Fall Invitational Oct. 1-3 at Jake Hess Stadium in Houston, Texas.
(more)

BATON ROUGE – Former LSU great Johnny Robinson will be on hand to greet fans and sign autographs Saturday morning in the lobby of The Cook Hotel and Conference Center at LSU.
(more)

Friday's team race is set for a 3:15 p.m. (CT) start.
(more)

Content provided by The Ole Miss Blog – It’s not the official Ole Miss blog, but it should be.

Former Ole Miss and NFL lineman Todd Wade is joining the fight with Romaro Miller to bring home field advantage and school pride back to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. He wrote a from-the-heart letter to Rebel fans, much like Romaro’s. I’m glad to publish it because I love Ole Miss, and in the end, that’s what Romaro and Wade’s movement is all about – love for the most wonderful University in the world. Without further ado here’s Wade’s response to Romaro Miller’s Vaught-Hemingway manifesto:

A LETTER FROM TODD WADE:

There is a deep rooted culture that exists on gamedays in the fall in Oxford.  Its a deep rooted culture that goes back longer than I’ve lived. Ole Miss fans are familiar with the slogan “We May Not Win Every Game But We Ain’t Ever Lost a Party?”  A friend and neighbor of mine came up with that fun and catchy slogan, but unfortunately too many of us embrace this mantra on Football Saturdays in Oxford.  The Grove has created a unique atmosphere for all who experience it.  It is something Ole Miss fans take a lot of pride in.  However, The Grove has been an achilles heel to a place called Vaught-Hemingway Stadium for a long time.  A former teammate of mine, Romaro Miller, just recently voiced his concerns about the lackluster gameday environment in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.  I completely agree.  Words can not express how influential fans, students and alumni can be to a team during a sporting event.  The Grove has created a unique atmosphere for all who experience it.  It is something Ole Miss fans take a lot of pride in.  But like Romaro, I think the event at The Grove has become the primary reason for gameday, instead of a place called Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.  After all, Isn’t this why we show up to show our undying support?

I’ve played football all of my life until two years ago.  I decided to hang it up and move back to Oxford.  Something had to replace the passion that I lost in the sport I loved to play so much.  So like all of you, I became a fan.  A serious one.  Since that time,  I have traveled to all of the away games and have been in Oxford for every single home game to support my beloved Rebels.  Becoming a diehard Rebel fan was good timing to say the least. In my first two years since leaving football, I have seen my alma mater make it to back to back Cotton Bowls and win both of them!  Its a remarkable feat considering that in the 26 games we played in the last two years we have won 18 of those with little to zero home field advantage.  Steve Spurrier brought his Gamecocks to Oxford in 2008 and left with a victory.   After the game Spurrier was asked if there were communication problems?  Spurrier implied that our crowd noise was not an issue and did nothing to affect his offense and its audibles.  Their game plan was completely intact for the entire 60 minutes. Romaro mentioned that Coach Cut said “Carry the Fight to the Opponent and Keep it there for 60 minutes.”  That is correct. Our young team must do this now, and so should we as Ole Miss fans.

It is our duty.

We are simply not entitled to bowl games.  I can promise you the guys on our team wish they could take a lot of things back and be 4-0 coming into this week…but they’re not.  They’re 2-2.   So what do you do about it as a fan besides complain?  Do we continue to look like we don’t care?  We need to ask ourselves “What can I do to help the situation and improve morale inside the Stadium?”  Something has to happen in your mind as you walk from the Grove to Vaught-Hemingway.  It is two seperate mindset entities.  When you leave the Great American Social Scene (which I enjoy) something must happen to turn the switch into becoming a FAN.  A loud one.  Win or lose.  Students, I encourage all of you to wear our school colors for the game.  Whatever is asked, please do it.  We need uniformity.  Guys, you have no excuse.  

So how to support our team in the stadium?  Stand up when the defense hits the field..  Do not tell someone standing in front of you to sit down.  Its a football game. Stand up with them, we are all in this together.   When our defense hits the field it is Imperative that you make “Continuous Noise” for each Defensive down including 4th down when they punt!   Don’t say one thing while our offense is out there!  Eat a hot dog!  It doesn’t matter.  Please remain quiet.  As a former offensive lineman who jumped offsides more than once in my career, I can promise you that crowd noise is detrimental to an opposing offense.  As Ole Miss fans we seem to have never gotten the memo to cheer on every single defensive down, not just 3rd.  As fans, if we can get an opposing offensive player to jump on 1st down then it becomes 1st and 15.  The opposing offensive coordinator has to go back to his playbook to find a certain play that fits what has now become very long yardage.  We have now just taken them out of their gameplan!  Please do yourself a favor and YouTube Jeremiah Masoli’s old stadium, Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon.  There stadium is SMALLER than ours!  At 54,000, it is widely regarded as one of the loudest places to play in America.  What about Lane Stadium at Virginia Tech?  It was rated the number one home field advantage in all of college football in 2005 by Rivals.com. It is also ranked #2 on ESPN.com‘s “Top 10 Scariest Places To Play.”  Their stadium seats 66,000, about 5,000 more than ours.  While our Rebels work on the things they need to work on to improve their game, we must do the same as fans.  We need to improve our intensity!  Sacrifice just over 3 hours of your time on Gameday.  Lets change this lifeless culture in Vaught-Hemingway at Ole Miss.  As alumni and students we need to rally behind our teams win or lose.  For one, you will help our team by making it so deafly loud that the opposing offense will have a difficult time communicating.  Secondly, you will have much more fun!  Personally, I am ready to go to new heights at Ole Miss.  I want to do my part so that I can say I did everything I could have done to make our beloved Vaught-Hemingway Stadium one of the most intense and difficult places to play in the country.   

Lastly, I’ve talked with members of the team, alumni, students, and former players as well as people in the administration who feel strongly about our cause, The Rebellion.  I can assure you that the University will do everything in their power to improve the Vaught-Hemingway Gameday Experience.  We finally have people excited about getting on board for a good thing.  A New Tradition.  This staff is recruiting lights out right now (as high as 9th in the country) and we need to show them that we love Ole Miss.  I don’t feel that this metamorphosis can happen overnight.  Students will have to hold other students accountable and it will need a carry over effect.   I do feel this is a great opportunity, that if done correctly right now, will make us truly proud for years to come.  I’d love for our record to be perfect, just like the rest of you, and the timing could be better, but the time is now, Not next year. Now!  

Let’s get Home Field Advantage.
Hotty Toddy!

Todd M. Wade

Content provided by Swamp Things – Gators Blog.

Continuing with our weekly blog exchanges with writers who cover the Gators’ opponents, this is the second of two leading up to the Alabama game. Izzy Gould covers Alabama for the Mobile Press-Register, Birmingham News and Huntsville Times. You can read his coverage at www.al.com, and follow him on Twitter @IzzyGould. You can also check out my answers to Izzy’s questions.

1) Coming off the win over Arkansas, what’s the feel around the team? Relief? Disappointment?
The feel, in my opinion, is that the team is gaining strength and has learned some tough lessons. Alabama coach Nick Saban wants his team to remember the disastrous first half. Arkansas came out and scored on two passing plays to go up 7-0 in less than a minute, and Razorback Stadium was literally rattling (lots of windows). Alabama appeared confused at times on defense, and lacked energy on offense. That changed in the second half, particularly in the fourth quarter. In the end, Mark Ingram seemed to have more power, and to me, emerged as the Tide’s leader. Extremely pumped up at the end of the game.

2) Before the season started, a lot of talk focused on how much the Alabama defense had lost, especially the secondary. How has the Tide looked on that side of the ball and what’s Nick Saban’s assessment of how the D is playing so far?
Yes, Alabama returns only two starters on defense and the secondary has been referred to as young and inexperienced. That certainly changed Saturday in the 24-20 win against the Razorbacks. The defense as a whole faced Heisman Trophy hopeful Ryan Mallett, and he took it to the Tide early. There was miscommunication on defense, missed assignments that left players wide open for big plays and Mallett chowed down on fresh meet. The defense rallied in the second half thanks to second-half adjustments and forced Mallett into three interceptions. The secondary definitely made some progress, but Saban acknowledge there are plenty of corrections to be made.

3) QB Greg McElroy is off to a good start this year, but he’ll be facing a Florida secondary (and defense) leading the country in interceptions. How has that factored into Alabama’s game plan this week?
Unfortunately, Saban doesn’t share his gameplan with us but one could assume (I know that’s not a good thing to do) that Ingram’s strong play and the abilities of running back Trent Richardson could help take some of the load off of McElroy. Saban said Saturday McElroy did not struggle, but despite great protection from the offensive line McElroy was sacked three times, forced into a pair of interceptions and fumbled once. He suffered a leg injury (he called it a contusion) to his (right) plant leg. McElory said Monday he expects to be ready for Florida, and honestly he made some nice plays in the second half including converting a fourth-and-inches to seal the win.

4) From what you’ve seen, can Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson be stopped? Is the best Gator fans can hope for is to slow them down?
Ingram and Richardson are amazing. They run so hard on every play. They are fast, they break tackles, they carry loads of defenders for extra yardage. One writer recently equated them to a dynamic duo. Can they be stopped? Consider Ingram missed two games with a knee injury, so I believe the answer is they are mortal. But I have yet to see a team come close to stopping these guys when necessary.

5) Given how last year’s SEC championship game went, the talk around Gainesville is revenge. Considering the Tide won, how is Alabama viewing the game?
They’ve said all the right things such, ‘This game is not circled on our calender; it’s just another game.’ But there’s no question the impact of playing back-to-back SEC title games has helped thrust this matchup into the rivalry category. Considering Alabama won the last meeting, players realize there is more to prove especially being the No. 1 team in the nation and the defending national champions. The Tide is at home, it’s another Top-10 matchup and it’s primetime – arguably the biggest game of the week. Alabama players can say this is just another game, but we know better.

Content provided by Jerry Tipton on UK basketball.

“Wildcat” Wally Clark, an annual presence in the line for Big Blue Madness tickets, is a no-show this year.

Health problems forced Clark, 59, to stay at his Lexington home, meaning his streak of campouts at the University of Kentucky’s Memorial Coliseum ends at 18 years.

“I miss it bad,” Clark said on Thursday. “I’ve had all kinds of people calling me (asking) ‘Why aren’t you here?’ ”

Clark, who once camped outside Memorial Coliseum for 39 days to ensure he would be first in line for Madness tickets, said he fell down a flight of stairs earlier this year. He had been in and out of hospitals three times before doctors diagnosed a problem with diabetes and gout.

Having suffered a relapse earlier this week, Clark was resigned to not attending Big Blue Madness.

“No,” he said. “I haven’t been able to go to football either. You have no idea how much I miss it. I miss it a lot.”