Atlanta-Green Bay Playoff History

January 20, 2017 By Leave a Comment

When the Atlanta Falcons and the Green Bay Packers meet on Sunday this will be their fourth match up in the playoffs.  This will be the first time meeting in the National Football Conference (NFC) Championship game.  Let’s take a look at the prior three contests, and at the end, you will see a link to the “Fly High” Falcons fight song.  Yes, the Falcons actually have a fight song.

The Falcons and the Packers first met in frigid Lambeau Field in Green Bay during the Wildcard round on December 31, 1995.  Green Bay entered the contest with an 11-5 record and as a 9.5 point favorite.  Atlanta’s record was 9-7.  With a temperature of 30 degrees and a wind chill factor of 25 degrees, Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre threw three touchdown passes, running back Edgar Bennett ran for an eight yard touchdown and Antonio Freeman returned a punt 76 yards for a score.  Atlanta quarterback Jeff George threw two touchdown passes, including a 65 yarder to Eric Metcalf, but also two costly interceptions as the Packers dispatched the Falcons, 37-20.

Atlanta and Green Bay met once again in Lambeau at night on January 4, 2003 in another Wild Card round meeting.  Green Bay came into the game as a 6.5 point favorite, and the temperature at kickoff was a balmy 31 degrees.   The Packers finished 12-4 during the 2002 season while the Falcons stood at 9-6-1.  Atlanta quarterback Michael Vick started his first playoff game and what an impression he made.  Vick threw for 117 yards and rushed for another 64 yards.  He threw one touchdown pass to Shawn Jefferson and committed no turnovers.  Atlanta also scored on a T. J. Duckett six yard run, Artie Ulmer’s one-yard return of a blocked punt, and a 23 yard Jay Feely field goal.  The Packers committed five costly turnovers, including three by Favre, in Atlanta’s 27-7 victory.  This marked the first time Green Bay lost a playoff game at Lambeau Field.

The most recent contest took place in the Georgia Dome on January 15, 2011 in the Divisional round.  Atlanta entered the game as the number 1 seed in the NFC playoffs with a 13-3 record during the 2010 season and as a 1.5 point favorite.  Green Bay made the playoffs as a wildcard entry with a 10-6 record during the regular season.  The story in this game was Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers.  Rodgers completed 31 of 36 pass attempts for 336 yards and three touchdowns.  He also ran for a score.  The game was basically over at halftime as Green Bay scored 28 second quarter points, including a Tramon Williams 70 yard interception return off of an ill-timed pass from Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan on the last play of the quarter.  Ryan committed three turnovers in the game as Green Bay routed Atlanta 48-21 on their way to an NFL title.

The Packers have a 2-1 record against the Falcons in the playoffs, 1-1 in Lambeau Field and 1-0 in the Georgia Dome.  Aaron Rodgers and Matt Ryan will square off again Sunday afternoon for the right to represent the NFC in Super Bowl LI in Houston.  This game will mark the last one for the Falcons in the Dome before they move into the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the 2017 season.  Las Vegas oddsmakers currently list Atlanta as a 5 point favorite with an over/under of 60 points.  So expect a lot of scoring in this game.  It’s time to Rise Up Atlanta!  Go Falcons!

 

As promised, here is a link to the Falcons’ fight song.

http://www.falconsroost.com/flyhighfalcons.mp3

 

 

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The Atlanta Falcons: Super Bowl Champions?

January 13, 2017 By 2 Comments

I call myself a fan of the Atlanta Falcons and have been such for just over 40 years.   Which is pretty good since the franchise is in their 51st season.  Oh sure, I could have picked the New England Patriots (but they actually sucked pre-Belichick and pre-Brady) or the Green Bay Packers or the Pittsburgh Steelers or the Dallas Cowboys, but that would have been too easy.  I figured I live in Atlanta so why not pull for the home team. Now, over those 40+ years I have witnessed much failure and little success.  A quick tale of the tape shows that the Falcons have won six Division titles, one National Football Conference (NFC) championship (1998) and no National Football League (NFL)–Super Bowl–championships.  I would also be remiss if I did not add that the organization has had one player inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a Falcon—Claude Humphrey in 2014.

Satrurday, the Falcons will play the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC divisional playoffs.  The Dirty Birds finished 11-5, won their division, and garnered the number two seed in the NFC playoffs.  Vegas oddsmakers have established the Falcons as a 5 point favorite in the Georgia Dome on Saturday.  However, the Falcons lost to this same Seattle team earlier in the year, albeit after a bit of controversy. Still, Atlanta seems to have a good chance to win the game and a fair chance to bring home the city’s first NFL title.  After all, they have one of the most prolific offenses in the history of the NFL.  Yet, I am uneasy.  I am skeptical of their chances against Seattle. I am somehow expecting the Falcons to pull out defeat from the jaws of victory.  As any long-time Falcons supporter (yes, more than a few of us exist) will tell you—we have witnessed too many Falcon playoff horror stories.

As a backdrop, please know that Atlanta is 7-12 all time in playoff games.  Though, it seems much worse than that.  I attended the first game after the 1978 season.  Yes, it took the Falcons twelve years to make their first playoff appearance.  That should have tipped me off right there, but I was young and stupid (now, I am much older and a little less stupid, mainly because my lovely wife has enlightened me a bit).  Anyway, Atlanta won 14-13 when the Philadelphia punter, subbing for the injured placekicker, missed a 34-yard field goal with 17 seconds to go in the game.  My thoughts simply were that we were lucky to win the game and had no inkling that the Falcons would break our hearts over and over again.  We lost the next week in Dallas to the Cowboys, 27-20, after leading 20-13 at halftime.  However, I wasn’t jaded yet.

That feeling began to form after the 1980 season.  Atlanta posted a 12-4 record and won its first division title.  The Birds hosted Dallas in the divisional playoffs with visions of a Super Bowl title firmly implanted in my brain.  With Atlanta leading 24-10 going into the third quarter, I was feeling pretty good.  However, we gave up three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, including the game winner with 47 seconds to go.   That game initiated an oft-repeated mixture of feelings: frustration, anger and despair.

After the 1982 strike-shortened season when it seemed the whole league made the playoffs, my Falcons decided to flush the season with a 30-24 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.  At that point, I could have cared less because the strike had left me a little embittered with professional football.

I should have cared more because the Falcons would not make the playoffs again until 1991.  For years, I forgot Atlanta actually had an NFL team, and frankly, I think many Americans believed the same.  But lo and behold a brash fellow by the name of Deion Sanders, Prime Time, entered the Atlanta sports scene and helped lead both the Falcons and the Braves back to the playoffs.  If I had a boy at this time I would have named him either Deion or Prime Time, but I didn’t, so let’s move on.  The Falcons actually won a playoff game in 1991 by defeating the hapless New Orleans Saints, 27-20.  However, the Birds were face-planted the next week in D.C. by the Redskins 24-7.  All in all, I felt pretty good to be a Falcons fan and Deion helped the Braves go to the World Series.  Maybe I’ll name my next dog Prime Time.

While the Braves were becoming the Team of the ‘90s, the Falcons just struggled.   Deion left for greener pastures, and who could blame him?  The Falcons made the playoffs again in 1995 but decided to freeze up in Green Bay as the Packers blasted the Birds, 37-20.   Just as I was pushing the Falcons deeper into the abyss of my mind, Fate laid her hands on the Dirty Birds in 1998.  After eking out a 20-18 home playoff victory over the San Francisco 49’ers, Atlanta somehow defeated the heavily favored Minnesota Vikings up there.   Normally dependable placekicker Gary Anderson missed a chip shot field goal that allowed the Falcons to tie the game on a Chris Chandler to Terance Mathis touchdown reception with 57 seconds to go in regulation.  Morten Andersen nailed a 38 yard field goal in overtime to secure Atlanta’s first Super Bowl berth.  I took special delight in the fact that Atlanta defeated Minnesota in that disgrace of a building, the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome.  The 1991 Braves lost four times in that god forsaken place to the Twins during the World Series.  Karma, man!

Just as I was feeling some love for the Dirty Birds and believing they might actually win a championship, Fate kicked us in the posterior this time.  You see, we had an All-Pro safety by the name of Eugene Robinson.  The day before the Super Bowl, Robinson received an award given annually to a player who best exemplifies outstanding character and leadership.  Late that evening, Robinson celebrated by soliciting an undercover police officer posing as a prostitute.  As you can imagine that did not go well for ole Eugene or the Falcons.  After getting out of jail in the early morning of Super Bowl day, Eugene lined up in his safety position and John Elway and the rest of the Denver Broncos beat him like a rented mule.    A mantra of mine sprung forth as a result of this defeat:  Same Ole Falcons! Yep, just when you start to believe, they do something that will make you puke.

And so we move on to the Michael Vick era.  Atlanta finally made it back to the playoffs in Vick’s second season with Atlanta.  Stunningly, he led the Birds to a victory over Green Bay in Lambeau Field after the 2002 season.  Up until that time, Green Bay had never lost a playoff game there.  Of course, just as I was revving up the Falcons love meter, Atlanta and Vick spit the bit the next week in frigid Philly.  Still, I had thoughts that the Falcons were about to embark on a new era–a time of consistent playoff appearances and a much-coveted Super Bowl title or two or three.

Vick breaks his leg before the 2003 season but returns to form in 2004 to lead the Falcons back to the playoffs.  After routing the St. Louis Rams at home, Vick returned to Waterloo the next week and the Falcons were again caged in Philly.  Yet, I still had hope that the Falcons were close to going on a long championship run.  Those hopes were dashed when the Falcons could not make it back to the playoffs the next two years and Vick checked in to Leavenworth after a conviction on dog fighting charges in 2007.  At that point, I washed my hands of those filthy Falcons.

Enter Matt Ryan.  Ryan performed admirably as a rookie in 2008 and the Falcons made it back to the playoffs only to see Ryan throw two costly interceptions in a loss to the Arizona Cardinals.  I became hopeful again.  Ryan was just a rookie, so better times were ahead, or so I thought.  What I didn’t know at the time was that Ryan would have trouble winning in the playoffs and would commit horrific turnovers that would lead to those losses.

The Falcons missed the playoffs the next year.  Yep, same ole Falcons.  And guess what, the hapless Saints won the freaking Super Bowl.  Are you kidding me?

However, Ryan and the Birds soared to a 13-3 record in 2010 and secured the number one seed for the playoffs.  Oh happy, happy, joy, joy!  Surely, this will be the year.  Nope.  Ryan throws two interceptions and loses a fumble.  The Packers boat race the Falcons, 48-21, in Atlanta.  Honk if you didn’t score for the Packers in that game!  Same ole, stupid Falcons!

We made it back to the playoffs the next season.  Ryan commits no turnovers!  We score two points.  We lose to the New York Giants.  Same ole Falcons.

Then, the 2012 season unfolds. The Falcons go 13-3 and secure the number one seed again.  We open with Seattle and jump out to a 20-0 halftime lead.  Game over, right?  Wrong!  The Falcons offense went comatose and Seattle scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to take a 28-27 lead with 31 seconds left.  Another Falcons choke?  Not this time. Matty Ice led the team down the field, kicker Matt Bryant booted a 49-yard field goal with eight seconds to go and the Falcons held on.  Again, with the thoughts of a championship fresh in my mind, Atlanta proceeded to waste another healthy halftime lead in the NFC championship game.  They got the ball down to the San Francisco 10 yard line late in the game but gave it back to the 49’ers on downs.  The Falcons fought hard but lost 28-24.  Maybe this was the sign of good things to come.

Nope.  The Falcons fell apart over the next two seasons and the organization fired its all-time winningest coach, Mike Smith.  Same ole Falcons.  Just shoot me!

Enter Dan Quinn.  Arthur Blank hired Quinn as his new head coach after the 2014 season.  Quinn came from the ultra-successful Seattle organization. While the 2015 season was a bust, the 2016 season saw the Falcons finish with the aforementioned 11-5 record against one of the toughest schedules in the league.

So now it’s time to see if the Falcons have changed. Will they finally win that elusive championship?  Or will they revert back to those same ole Falcons.  First up–Seattle.  After that, who knows?  If we can’t beat Seattle, it’s a moot point.

I am cautiously optimistic about the Seattle game.  I honestly believe Atlanta has the better team, but I believed that before Dallas beat us in 1980, Green Bay killed us in 2010 and San Francisco beat us in 2012.  I have seen too many collapses over the years and can’t get this image of Ryan committing costly turnovers out of my head. I want so badly to believe, but the Falcons have never won a championship in 51 years.  Like a lot of Atlanta fans, I am hoping for the best but expecting the worst.  Please don’t be these same ole Falcons.  Please. Please.

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National Championship Tale of the Tape

January 9, 2017 By Leave a Comment

The 2016 season’s College Football Playoff national championship game will be a repeat of the 2015 game:  the University of Alabama (Southeastern Conference champion) versus Clemson University (Atlantic Coast Conference champion).  Each team has a rich history.  The following contains some facts about each school: first football season, overall record, national championships (Awarded by the Associated Press and/or the designated coaches’ poll at the time. Claimed titles while on probation do not count.), conference titles, consensus All-Americans (players voted first team, second team, or third team by the Associated Press, American Football Coaches Association, Football Writers Association of America, the Sporting News and the Walter Camp Football Foundation), players and coaches in the College Football Hall of Fame, and Heisman Trophy winners.

 

  1. Alabama Crimson Tide

 

First Season:                                                    1892

Overall Record:                                               872-309-41

National Championships:                             16

Conference Titles:                                           30

Consensus All-Americans:                             61

College Hall of Famers:                                  24

Heisman Trophy Winners:                            2

 

  1. Clemson Tigers

First Season:                                                    1896

Overall Record:                                               715-456-45

National Championships:                              1

Conference Titles:                                           22

Consensus All-Americans:                             27

College Hall of Famers:                                   6

Heisman Trophy Winners:                             0

 

 

Last year’s game between the schools saw a lot of offense and great plays throughout the game:  Alabama prevailed 45-40.  This year, both teams boast mobile quarterbacks and great defenses.  The odds makers have made the Crimson Tide a 6.5 point favorite, and the game should be an old fashioned donnybrook.  Make no mistake about it—blood, sweat, and tears will accompany this game.  Fierce battles will take place in the trenches. Spectacular plays will be made on both sides of the ball.  The coaches will be on edge and quick to anger.  The tension will mount with each play as the game progresses.  Only one team will walk away victorious.  Will it be the Crimson Tide or the Tigers?  Whoa Nellie! Let’s bring it on!

 

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Peach Bowl History

December 29, 2016 By Leave a Comment
Courtesy UserB

Courtesy UserB

Atlanta’s Peach Bowl showcased its first game in 1968 and is the fifth oldest college bowl game behind the Rose Bowl (1902), the Orange Bowl (1935), the Sugar Bowl (1935), and the Cotton Bowl (1937).  The Peach Bowl joined the College Football Playoff (CFP) system in 2014 and is one of only six Bowl games that are eligible to host a national semi-final game or the national championship game.  The Peach Bowl is hosting this year the semi-final game between Alabama and Washington. When it’s not hosting the semi-finals or the championship, the Peach Bowl will host two of the highest ranked teams not in one of the four semi-final slots.  The bowl has come a long way since its meager beginnings.

The Peach Bowl originated as a fund-raiser for the Lions Clubs of Georgia but in its early years struggled with attendance, revenue, and bad weather.  The first three games (1968-1970) took place at Georgia Tech’s Grant Field and moved to Fulton County Stadium for the 1971-1992 games.  Since 1993 the Georgia Dome has been home to the Peach Bowl.  The game will move into the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium after the 2017 college football season when the Peach Bowl will host the CFP national championship game.

In a December 14, 2015 article by Corey Clark in the Tallahassee Democrat, Clark spoke with Peach Bowl President and CEO Gary Stokan.  Stokan stated that the bowl game’s Executive Director Dick Bestwick approached the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce after the 1985 game.  Bestwick told officials there that if Atlanta’s business leaders did not support the game through ticket purchases and sponsorships, the bowl would not survive.

With only 18 bowl games in existence at that time, the loss of the Peach Bowl would be a loss to the economic viability and reputation of the city, according to Stokan.  Ron Allen, head of the chamber and CEO of Delta Airlines agreed to support the Peach Bowl and gave a check to Bestwick for $100,000 to put the game on a sound financial foundation.  However, the weather still caused problems for the game until it moved into the Georgia Dome.

After the move to the Georgia Dome, Stokan and Peach Bowl officials brokered an agreement between the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) to play one another in the game and attendance improved.  Beginning with the 1997 game, Chick-fil-A, Inc. became the major sponsor and the bowl game became known as the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.  With the help of Chick-fil-A’s marketing expertise, the game became a sell out every year from 1997-2013.  From 2006-2013, the game shortened its name to the Chick-fil-A Bowl.

However, as part of the agreement with the CFP system, the game reverted back to its original Peach Bowl moniker.  CFP Executive Director Bill Hancock noted that the other bowls in the system—Rose, Cotton, Sugar, Orange, and Fiesta—all carried singular names without a corporate sponsor in the title and therefore, wanted all bowl names to be parallel.  In order to be compliant with the CFP mandate, the Atlanta game changed its name.

From a fund raiser for the Lions Clubs of Georgia to the College Football Playoff system, the Peach Bowl has indeed come a very long way.  Much credit must go to Gary Stokan and his staff and to Chick-fil-A, Inc.

Below are the Peach Bowl records for the current SEC and ACC schools:

SEC                                                                             ACC

Alabama                      0-0                                           Boston College             0-0

Arkansas                     0-0                                           Clemson                         3-5

Auburn                        4-1                                            Duke                               0-1

Florida                         0-2                                           Florida State                 2-2

Georgia                       3-2                                            Georgia Tech                 0-4

Kentucky                    1-1                                             Miami                             2-1

LSU                             5-1                                             North Carolina             2-3

Mississippi                 1-1                                            NC State                        4-3

Miss. State                  1-2                                            Pittsburgh                     0-0

Missouri                      0-0                                           Syracuse                        1-0

South Carolina            0-2                                          Virginia                         2-2

Tennessee                    1-4                                           Virginia Tech                2-2

Texas A&M                  1-0                                           Wake Forest                 0-0

Vanderbilt                   0-0-1

 

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The Story of LSU’s Mike I

December 15, 2016 By 1 Comment

               Courtesy of Mark Pellegrini

The Louisiana State University (LSU) Tigers have had a live tiger as a mascot since 1936. However, LSU was not the first school to own a large feline as a mascot. Columbia University acquired a real lion in the 1920s to serve as its mascot and Princeton University followed suit with a tiger in the early 1930s. Interestingly, the Columbia lion appears as the roaring lion on the beginning of MGM films. LSU and the University of Memphis are the only schools currently with a live tiger as a mascot. Mike I, the first LSU tiger, came about because of a suggestion from one of the school’s athletic trainers, Mike Chambers.

Chambers made the suggestion publicly and the student body united in its efforts to obtain a real tiger. Chambers found that three tiger cubs had been born in 1935 at the Little Rock Zoo in Arkansas. Once this news reached campus, first-year law student Eddie Laborde led the charge to bring one of the young tigers to the school.

Laborde organized a fundraiser and asked each student to contribute a quarter towards the costs necessary to acquire the tiger. Within an hour, the students had raised about $750. Laborde with the help of football player Ken Kavanaugh made the arrangements for the purchase of the young tiger and its transportation to the LSU campus.

In October, 1936, the student body declared the day of the tiger’s arrival to Baton Rouge a holiday (the actual day could not be verified, but it was October 21 or 23), and the cadet corps turned away professors and students with books trying to enter the campus gates early that morning. The six-foot tiger arrived by train to throngs of adoring students and Chambers immediately placed him in a wheeled cage. Chambers had actual experience handling animals with Ringling Brothers circus and knew how to handle the tiger. Because of Chamber’s circus experience and his popularity with the students, the tiger became evermore known as “Mike.”

With Mike I in his cage, handlers led him in front of a parade down Third Street the wrong way–celebrating up this street the wrong way is how joyous events at the school are commemorated. While Mike rested in his cage at some undocumented place on campus, the students celebrated into the night with dances and bonfires. Several days later, Laborde and others took Mike to Shreveport for the annual game with the University of Arkansas. Along the way, they stopped at various schools to show off Mike and to collect donations for the 19 pounds of meat he ate every day. Mike proved to be a lucky charm as the football Tigers beat Arkansas, 19-7.

One the way back to Baton Rouge, Mike and his handlers took a ferry boat across the Mississippi River and ran into Louisiana Governor Richard W. Leche. Leche asked the handlers where they were going to put the big cat and who was going to care for him. Laborde and an unofficial human mascot named Eddie (a.k.a., Porter Bryant) stated they would care for the cat and were hoping to board him at the zoo in Baton Rouge. Leche decided that while the tiger would be in good hands, he needed an appropriate cage. With the help of President Franklin Roosevelt and a Works Progress Administration grant, a cage worthy of a tiger was built. The cage was officially dedicated on April 13, 1937, and was adjoined to a 12-by-15 foot stone building. In all, Mike had about 600 square feet of living quarters. The stone portion of the cage is part of the current tiger home. As one would imagine, Mike’s abode is a major attraction for campus visitors.

While Mike I became an LSU icon, Laborde’s law school days came to an abrupt end. After a two-week absence from school because of his involvement with Mike I, Laborde was called into the law dean’s office. The dean told Laborde that he had missed too many classes, would be unable to make up the work, and was thereby expelled from the law school. Apparently, school spirit did not carry much weight at the law school!

Mike I passed away on June 28, 1956 of an acute kidney infection. The LSU faithful had him stuffed, and he is now on exhibit on campus in Foster Hall. Within months, Mike II took the helm as the school’s live mascot.  The tradition lives on today.  However, Mike VI passed away in October, 2016 and the university is currently searching for his replacement, Mike VII.

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Why Didn’t the Atlanta Braves Win More World Series Titles in the 1990s?

December 10, 2016 By 7 Comments

Former Braves general manager John Schuerholz on Sunday was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.  He joins former Braves manager Bobby Cox and pitchers Tom Glavine, John Smoltz and Greg Maddux.  Chipper Jones will most likely join them in 2018.  The common thread here is that all six participated in the Braves’ amazing run during the 1990s.  So the Braves now have from that era their general manager, manager, and three starting pitchers in the Hall, with their third baseman soon to follow.  The Braves, in the 1990s, won eight consecutive division titles, five national league pennants but only one World Series.  How is this possible? Let’s look at some theories behind the Braves’ failure to bring home more titles.

Leo Mazzone blames the lack of World Series titles on the extra round of playoffs added in 1995.  In his book Tales from the Braves Mound (Sports Publishing LLC, 2003, p. 74), Mazzone makes his case:

“The only time I felt anxiety is in that first round of the best-of-five.  In a

seven-game series, we’ve always felt that the depth of our starting rotation

and the depth of our pitching staff and the depth of our ball club could beat

anybody.  You go best-of-five and you lose one, there’s a sense of urgency.

You’re scrambling already.  One pitcher gets hot, one bad hop, one crazy thing

happens and before you know it, you’re scrambling.  That’s the only reason why

the Atlanta Braves have won only one World Series.  I guarantee we would have

won more World Series if we were winning our division, then going straight to

the NLCS.”

 

I respect Mazzone’s argument but that does not explain World Series losses to the Minnesota Twins in 1991 and the Toronto Blue Jays in 1992.  Remember the best-of-five first round playoffs did not begin until 1995.  However, maybe they would not have lost to the Florida Marlins in 1997 and the San Diego Padres in 1998 and would have gone on to win the World Series in those years.

John Smoltz is his book John Smoltz Starting and Closing (William Morrow, 2012, p. 220-229) offers several theories on why the Braves did not win more titles.  First, he claims that power pitching wins in the playoffs.  While finesse pitchers Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine were great pitchers, they pitched to contact.  They wanted hitters to hit the ball to their infielders and outfielders.  Smoltz states that this philosophy works well over the course of a 162-game regular season, but facing good hitters in the playoffs translates to more hits and more runs.  On the other hand, a power pitcher such as Smoltz can generate more strike outs thereby keeping more hitters off of the base paths and less runs from scoring.  There may be some truth in this theory.  Maddux had an 11-13 postseason record with a 2.81 ERA with the Braves and allowed an alarming 18 earned runs in 27 starts. Glavine had a 12-15 postseason record with the Braves while compiling an ERA of 3.44.  Smoltz’s postseason record with the Braves was 15-4 with an ERA of about 2.70.

The Braves played a total of 29 games in their five World Series in the 1990s.  Seventeen of those games were decided by one run and the Braves lost 12 out of 17.  All the losses to Toronto in the 1992 Series were by one run.  Fewer base runners would have meant fewer runs and maybe more wins for the Braves.  Another power pitcher may have helped.

Smoltz also points to the lack of timely hitting by the Braves in these losses and the preponderance of timely hitting from their opponents.  He argues that sound pitching and timely hitting win titles.  Hard to argue with that logic.  Oh what a timely hit in Game 7 against Minnesota would have meant to the outcome of that game and the Series.  Interestingly, Marquis Grissom had a reputation for timely hits throughout his career and he was arguably the catalyst behind the 1995 title against the Cleveland Indians.  He also hit .444 against the New York Yankees in the 1996 Series, but weird things happened in that Series (See below).

Smoltz offers one more reason for the lack of titles in Atlanta.  He argues that the Braves experienced some bad luck that decided several games and eventually cost Atlanta an extra title or two.  For example, if Lonnie Smith picks up the ball while running the bases in Game 7 against Minnesota, or at least watched his third base coach, he would not have slowed down and would have scored easily.  Maybe if the Braves had the extra home game instead of Minnesota, Atlanta wins the 1991 World Series.  Remember, the home team did not lose in 1991.  Also, if umpire Time Welke does not interfere with Jermaine Dye’s attempt to catch a very catchable foul ball during the sixth inning of that fateful Game 4 of the 1996 Series, then Derek Jeter would have been out.  Instead he singles on a later pitch and begins a three-run rally to cut Atlanta’s lead to 6-3.  The next inning, usually dependable Rafael Belliard boots a sure double-play grounder and only gets one out.  So instead of one on and two outs, there were two on and one out when Jim Leyritz launches his home run to tie the game.  The Braves would lose that game in extra innings and eventually the Series.  Again, Smoltz may have an argument here.

I have a little different take on why the Braves could not produce more titles and it revolves around John Schuerholz.  I concur with Smoltz that the Braves could have used another power pitcher and more contact hitters.  During the 1990s run the Braves were built on the long ball.  Fred McGriff, Ryan Klesko, David Justice and Javy Lopez were power hitters.  All played major roles in Atlanta’s ability to get to the World Series, but other than the 1995 Series, these players did little with their bats in other Series.  However, Mark Lemke, a contact hitter, did his part to win the 1991 Series when he batted .417 and hit .273 against Cleveland in 1995.  Unfortunately, he didn’t hit well against Toronto in 1992 and the Yankees in 1996.  Marquis Grissom, another contact hitter, batted .360 against Cleveland and .444 against the Yankees, then Schuerholz traded him to Cleveland. Grissom would lead the Indians to the 1997 World Series where he would extend his hitting streak in World Series games to 15.  The Braves did receive Kenny Lofton as part of that trade, but Lofton played one year with Atlanta before returning to Cleveland as a free agent. Another contact hitter or two may have changed the outcomes of some of the games against elite opponents in the World Series, where hits are generally at a premium because of the strong pitchers associated with each club.  Grissom brought the added dimension of speed, which enables clubs to manufacture runs more easily.  Just look at what Kenny Lofton did to the Braves in 1995 and may have done with Atlanta Braves if the Braves had elected to re-sign him after the 1997 season.

So had the Braves acquired another power pitcher or two or another contact hitter or two or someone besides Grissom who could manufacture a run with his bat and legs, would that have possibly allowed the Braves to win more of those one-run games and change the total of their World Series titles?  Maybe, but we will never know because the man responsible for acquiring such pieces, John Schuerholz, did not do so.  I am not laying the lack of more titles completely at his feet because I don’t know what he was or was not told to do by upper management.  However, Ted Turner owned the Braves for most of this run and I have to believe if Schuerholz requested that the Braves add one or more aforementioned pieces Turner would have agreed to do so. I don’t believe money really was an issue back then.

You can make your own judgments.  Maybe the Braves needed another power pitcher, or contact hitter, or base stealer.  Maybe they were just unlucky.  Or maybe, some other factor(s) played a role in the lack of titles that have not come to mind.  I really don’t know, but I give much of the blame to John Schuerholz, the man just elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame.  One thing I am sure of—the Atlanta Braves should have more than one World Series title.

 

 

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SEC Title Game History: Alabama vs. Florida

December 2, 2016 By Leave a Comment

 

 

sec_new_logo1216The Southeastern Conference (SEC) championship game has occurred every year since 1992. The game matches the East Division winner against the West Division winner, and the victor of this game earns the title of SEC champion for that year. The game has been an economic success for the conference and a television ratings bonanza. Birmingham hosted the game for the first two years and Atlanta has had it ever since, with the current contract running through 2026. The most frequent match up in the game has been the University of Alabama and the University of Florida. The Tide and the Gators have met eight times and will meet for number nine on Saturday. These contests have seen some of the league’s all-time great coaches and players pitted against one another when the stakes were the highest. The following is a brief look at each of the eight games.

The inaugural game in 1992 in Birmingham pitted two future College Football Hall of Fame coaches against the other, Alabama’s Gene Stallings and Florida’s Steve Spurrier. The Gators took an early lead on running back Errict Rhett’s five-yard reception, but the Tide stormed back with 21 unanswered points behind two Derric Lassic runs and a 30-yard Jay Barker to Curtis Brown touchdown pass. The Gators tied the game midway through the fourth quarter on another Errict Rhett touchdown, but Bama defensive back Antonio Langham intercepted a Shane Matthews pass and returned it 27 yards for the winning score in the 28-21 Tide victory. Alabama completed an undefeated season with a resounding 34-13 Sugar Bowl victory over number one-ranked Miami, thereby capturing the national championship.

Alabama and Florida met again in the 1993 SEC title tilt. The Gators gained a measure of revenge with a 28-13 victory. The Gators held a tight 14-13 lead in the third quarter before quarterback Terry Dean hit receiver Jack Jackson for a 43-yard touchdown pass and an eight point lead. The Florida defense throttled the Tide the rest of the way and the Gators tallied one more touchdown for the final score. Florida would then win its first ever Sugar Bowl by destroying West Virginia, 41-7.

Atlanta became the permanent home of the championship game beginning in 1994, but the same two participants hooked up for the third year in a row. Alabama trailed 17-10 at halftime before erupting for two field goals and a Dwayne Rudd 23-yard interception return for a touchdown that gave the Tide a 23-17 lead with just under nine minutes to play. Florida quarterback Danny Wuerffel then led the Gators on an 80-yard, 10-play drive culminating with a two-yard Wuerffel to Chris Doering touchdown. The ensuing extra point gave Florida the lead with 5:29 to go in the game. The defense took over from there as the Gators hung on for the 24-23 victory.

The two schools would not meet again in the championship game until 1996, which witnessed the Gators winning a shootout, 45-30, on the way to their first national title. Danny Wuerffel threw for over 400 yards and six touchdowns against an Alabama defense that came into the game ranked sixth in the country in total defense. Wide receiver Reidel Anthony caught 11 of Wuerffel’s passes for 171 yards and three touchdowns. Florida’s victory propelled them to a rematch with arch rival Florida State in the Sugar Bowl for the national title. The Seminoles handed the Gators their only loss of the season, 24-21, but Florida responded with a 52-20 drubbing in the rematch. Wuerffel also won the Heisman trophy that year.

Three years later in 1999, the Tide and Gators met again. While Spurrier remained as Florida’s coach, Mike DuBose was in his third year as the Tide’s leader. Alabama led Florida 15-7 early in the fourth quarter when the Tide erupted for 19 unanswered points. Freddie Milons scored on a 77-yard run and 18 seconds later, Reggie Grimes tallied a 38-yard touchdown after intercepting Jesse Palmer. Alabama added another touchdown later for the final score of 34-7. The Tide defense was the story. Alabama held Florida to 114 total yards, the fewest ever for a Spurrier-coached Florida team. The Tide picked off the Gators four times and did not allow them to convert a third down. Both teams would go on to lose their Bowl games that year.

It would be nine years later until the schools met again. This time, two future Hall of Fame coached squared off, Florida’s Urban Meyer and Alabama’s Nick Saban. The 2008 game marked the first time in SEC history that the number 1 and number 2 ranked teams in the nation (Alabama, 1 and Florida, 2) squared off. With Alabama leading 20-17 in the fourth quarter, Florida scored two touchdowns for a 31-20 victory. The clinching score came on a five-yard touchdown pass from Tim Tebow to Riley Cooper with 2:50 to go in the game. Heisman Trophy winner Tebow would lead Florida to the national championship with a victory over Oklahoma, 24-14, in the Orange Bowl and a 13-1 final record.

The two teams met once more in the 2009 SEC championship but this time Saban and the Tide prevailed 32-13 over Meyer and the Gators. Again the teams came into the game ranked number one and number two in the country (Florida, 1 and Alabama, 2), and this time both teams were undefeated, an SEC Championship game first. Led by quarterback Greg McElroy, running back Mark Ingram, and receiver Julio Jones, the Tide compiled 490 yards of offense against a Florida defense that was giving up only 230 yards per game. Alabama finished the season undefeated and won the national championship with a 37-21 win over Texas in the Rose Bowl.

Last year the Tide and Gators met for the eighth time in the championship game.  Saban led his Number 2-ranked Tide against first-year Gator coach and former Saban assistant Jim McElwain.   The teams played a sluggish first half with Alabama taking a 12-7 lead, but in the second half the Tide exploded for two touchdowns and a field goal to ice the game, 29-15.  Derrick Henry broke Herschel Walker’s SEC record for rushing yards in a season with 189 yards for the game and 1,986 for the season.  The Tide then won the second College Football Playoff series with a thrashing of Michigan State in the semi-finals and a thrilling win over Clemson in the title game.

Saban and McElwain meet again on Saturday in what seems to be the schools’ annual play date.  Prognosticators give the Gators very little chance in the game as the undefeated Tide enters Number 1 in the polls and over a three-touchdown favorite.    Stranger things have happened, but the Tide have the look of a fierce pack of pachyderms set on eating Gator meat and anything else that gets in their way.  The SEC championship game is always a donnybrook with some of the most passionate fans in all of sports.  Cheers to the Tide, the Gators, and the great game of college football!

 

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A Look at the Ryder Cup

October 2, 2016 By Leave a Comment
Courtesy of Dan Perry

Courtesy of Dan Perry

Samuel Ryder made his money selling seeds in packets in the late 1800s and early 1900s.  By 1908 Ryder began to experience health problems and at the behest of a local church minister started to play golf for exercise. He joined the Verulam Golf Club in St. Alban’s near London and quickly fell in love with the game.  Ryder hired Abe Mitchell, a professional golfer, to coach him.  Over a decade later, in 1921, a group of 12 American golfers came to the Gleneagles Golf Club in Scotland hoping to showcase their skills in order to compete in the British Open a couple of weeks later.  Ten Americans actually competed against a team of 10 British golfers, including Mitchell, on June 6.  The two sides competed in foursomes in the morning and singles in the afternoon.  The British team scored a resounding 9-3-3 victory.

The Walker Cup, a match play event featuring amateur American golfers against amateur British golfers, began the next year.  Ryder believed a similar event should take place between professionals and offered to present a special trophy to the winning side.  In 1926, another group of American golfers agreed to compete against a group of British golfers at the Wentworth Club in England as a tune up for the British Open. Again 10 golfers competed on each side.  The event consisted of five foursomes on the first day and ten singles on the second day.  As in 1921, the British scored a lopsided victory, this time by a score of 13-1-1. Mitchell again played for the British.  Some historians believe this outing was meant to be the first Ryder cup match and that Ryder would present a trophy to the winning team.  However, according to Golf Illustrated, it was unclear how many Americans would be able to compete in the contest because of a national strike in Britain, so Ryder decided to present a trophy the following year.

The first official Ryder Cup match took place at the Worcester Country Club in Worcester, Massachusetts from June 3-4.  A formalized Deed of Trust detailed the rules of the match well before the contest and the respective PGA organizations selected the teams. Players were not to be paid for their participation in the event. Each team carried nine golfers.  The format consisted of four foursomes playing alternate shot on the first day and eight singles matches the second day.  Led by team captain Walter Hagen, the American team won 9.5-2.5.  According to www.europeantour.com, Ryder paid 250 pounds for the construction of a 19 inch solid gold cup with a golfer on the top resembling his longtime coach, Abe Mitchell.  Even though Ryder could not make the match because of health reasons, the Cup was still presented to the American team.  Officials from both sides agreed that future matches would be held every other year because of the impracticality of trying to host one every year.  So the Ryder Cup was born.

The event would change in player inclusion and format over time.  For the first 22 Ryder Cups, the United States competed against Great Britain (including Ireland).  The United States won 18 of those, Great Britain won three and the 1969 match ended in a draw.  No matches were played in 1939, 1941, 1943 and 1945 because of World War II.  At the suggestion of Jack Nicklaus, the Great Britain team expanded its membership to all of Europe beginning with the 1979 match in an effort to make the matches more competitive.  The suggestion clearly has worked for the European team as they sport a 10-7-1 record since 1979.  The current overall record has the United States with 25 wins, Great Britain/Europe with 13, and two matches that ended in a draw.  The event switched to even years after the 2001 match was cancelled because of the 9/11 tragedy.  The Ryder Cup started anew the following year.

The process for selecting team members has changed over the years.  In the early matches the players were selected by their respective PGA organizations.  Later, team members earned their way onto the team based on performance standards. From 1929 through 1967 each team consisted of 10 players.  Beginning in 1969, each roster increased to 12 players.  From 1989 through 2014, nine team members on both sides earned their membership based on performance standards while the team captains picked three additional players.  For the 2016 Ryder Cup, the European team adhered to the three captain’s picks while the United States team decided to name four captain’s picks to go along with eight players who earned their way onto the team.

The format of the Ryder Cup has also changed over the years. From its inception through 1959, the Ryder Cup took place over two days, four 36-hole foursomes the first day followed by eight 36-hole singles matches the second day.  For the 1961 match, the format changed to four 18-hole foursomes in the morning and afternoon of day one while eight 18-hole singles matches took place in the morning and afternoon on day two.  From 1963 to 1971 the event spread to three days.  The first day witnessed four foursomes in the morning and the afternoon, the second day consisted of four four-balls in the morning and afternoon, and the third day eight singles matches took place in the morning and the afternoon.  The format changed some during the next three matches but remained contested over three days.  Beginning with the first European team in 1979 the format morphed into what it is today.  For the first two days eight foursomes/four-ball matches are played and 12 singles matches are played on day three. A total of 28 matches are played over the three days of competition under the current format.  The winning team must secure 14.5 points.  In the event of a 14-14 tie the defending champion keeps the Cup.  Team members on both sides still receive no pay for Ryder Cup participation.

From the dream of a man enthralled with the game of golf to the passionate event that it is today, the Ryder Cup has indeed evolved into one of the must-see spectacles in the world of sports.  Cheers to the vision of Samuel Ryder!

 

 

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SEC Coach Comparisons: Part 3

September 23, 2016 By Leave a Comment

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Today we will examine Butch Jones of Tennessee, Derek Mason of Vanderbilt, Missouri’s Barry Odom and Texas A&M’s Kevin Sumlin.

 

A. Butch Jones of Tennessee

Jones has performed an admirable job of replenishing the talent at Tennessee. He is entering his fourth season with a record of 21-17 and a win percentage of .553 and no titles to date.  His biggest critics point to his teams’ inability to close out games against quality opponents; for example, Florida in 2014 and 2015 and Oklahoma in 2015.  Still, football pundits believe Tennessee to be the best team in the SEC East in 2016.  If Tennessee does not meet expectations this season Vol Nation may be looking for another coach in 2017.  Here is how Jones compares with some other Tennessee coaches of notoriety after three seasons.

  1. Bob Neyland: He is the gold standard for UT coaches. Hall of Famer Neyland coached at Tennessee from 1926-1934, 1936-1940, and 1946-1952.  He left Knoxville with a record of 173-31-12, a win percentage of .801.  Neyland won eight SEC titles and four national championships.  After three years, Neyland had compiled a record of 25-1-3, a win percentage of .862 and 1 SEC title.
  2. Bowden Wyatt: He coached the Vols from 1955-1962 and compiled an overall win percentage of .622.  The Hall of Fame coach won 1 SEC title, in his second season.  After three years, his record was 24-7-1, a win percentage of .750.
  3. Doug Dickey: Dickey coached the Big Orange from 1964-1969, accruing an overall win percentage of .738.  The Hall of Famer won 2 SEC titles while with the Vols.  After three years, he compiled a win percentage of .625.
  4. Johnny Majors: Majors led UT from 1977-1992. His amassed an overall win percentage of .645 while winning three SEC titles.  After three seasons, the Hall of Fame coach amassed a win percentage of .471.
  5. Phillip Fulmer: This Hall of Fame coach compiled an overall win percentage of .745 from 1992-2008.  He won two SEC titles and one national championship.  Fulmer, after three full years, had a win percentage of .801.

Other than Majors, the other UT coaches above had a better win percentage than Jones after three seasons.  In his defense, the cupboard was pretty bare when he arrived.  However, people on Rocky Top are not very patient when it comes to their football coaches.  If Jones does not lock down a weak SEC East division this season, he may be gone before 2017.

 

 B.  Derek Mason of Vanderbilt

Mason came to Vanderbilt after serving as defensive coordinator on some outstanding Stanford University teams.  He supposedly understood what it took to be successful at a Power Five school with high academic standards.  Mason lost to Temple 37-7 in Nashville in his first game.  Vanderbilt fans had just experienced three straight years of bowl games under James Franklin and believed the program had turned a corner.  Mason finished his first year 3-9, 0-8 in the SEC.  Vanderbilt became Vandy again.  Mason compiled a 4-8 record his second year with two SEC wins.  So after two seasons, the former Stanford assistant is 7-17, a win percentage of .292.  Even by Vandy standards, Mason’s record is putrid.  Believe it or not, Vanderbilt was considered a football power from the program’s infancy into the early 1950s.  Then a losing culture took root from the 1950s to the present mainly because of poor coaching, subpar athletes and an overall lack of caring from the administration.  Certainly, the Commodores enjoyed some very competitive seasons during this time, notably under Steve Sloan in 1974, George MacIntyre in 1982, Bobby Johnson in 2008 and the aforementioned Franklin in 2011-2013. Let’s compare Mason with these former Commodore coaches.

  1. Steve Sloan: He only coached the Commodores for two seasons, 1973-1974. Sloan compiled a .520 win percentage and led Vanderbilt to its second bowl game in the program’s history after the 1974 season.  Like all VU coaches who had any success with the Commodores after the 1950s he left for greener pastures–Texas Tech.
  2. George MacIntyre: He guided the program from 1979-1985 and left with a win percentage of .390. His 1982 team went 8-4 and played in the third bowl game in the program’s history.
  3. Bobby Johnson: He led the Commodores from 2002-2009, had one winning season (2008), and a bowl game win after that season.  Johnson retired suddenly two months before the start of the 2010 campaign with a win percentage of .310.
  4. James Franklin: He arguably has been the best Vanderbilt coach since Red Sanders, who last coached a Vanderbilt team in 1948. From 2011-2013, Franklin compiled .615 win percentage and guided the team to three consecutive bowl games. He left after the 2013 season for Penn State.

Franklin proved to Vanderbilt fans and the administration that the program could be very competitive and go to a bowl game consistently.  In Mason’s short tenure, the program has reverted to it old losing ways. The guess here is that if Mason doesn’t finish with a record close to .500 in 2016, Vanderbilt will have a new coach for the 2017 season.

 

C.  Barry Odom of Missouri

Missouri has not won a conference championship since 1969, the Big Eight Conference, and has no national championships since beginning play in 1890.  Safe to say that Missouri fans do not have delusional expectations for championships that other SEC fan bases have.  Still, Missouri has had some very good teams in its history and has come close to winning more conference titles recently.  The Tigers could not win Big 12 title games in 2007 and 2008 nor win SEC title games in 2013 and 2014. Let’s compare Odom to Missouri coaches who have stayed at the school for at least five years.

  1. Don Faurot: This Hall of Famer coached the Tigers from 1935-1942 and 1946-1956. He left with a win percentage of .558 and three conference titles (Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association, precursor to the Big 8).  He has the most wins, 101, of any Missouri coach and his name adorns the stadium.
  2. Dan Devine: Another Hall of Famer, Devine coached at Missouri from 1958-1970.  He left with a .704 win percentage and two Big Eight Conference titles, including the 1969 title.
  3. Al Onofrio: He coached from 1971-1977 but had a win percentage of only.481.
  4. Warren Powers: He guided the Tigers from 1978-1984 and left with a win percentage of .579.
  5. Bob Stull: He left the Missouri program with a win percentage of .291 after leading Mizzou from 1989-1993.
  6. Larry Smith: Smith’s tenure ran from 1994-2000 and his win percentage was .419.
  7. Gary Pinkel: The second longest tenured coach in Missouri history, 2001-2015, Pinkel retired after last season with a win percentage of .622.

Odom will be given every opportunity to succeed at Missouri and if he can continue to recruit like Pinkel, Odom may have a long career with the Tigers.  If he can manage to break Missouri’s title drought and win an SEC and/or national title, he may never have to buy another meal in Columbia for the rest of his life.  Time will tell.

 

D.  Kevin Sumlin of Texas A & R M:

Sumlin begins his fifth season with a win percentage of .750 but is on the hot seat.  The last two seasons Sumlin’s teams have started 5-0 only to finish 2-5 in 2014 and 3-4 in 2015.  Quarterback controversies ensued both seasons prompting multiple quarterback transfers out of the program.  One of the transfers after last season, Kyler Murray, accused Sumlin of allowing a culture without discipline.  Murray complained that players could do anything as long as they produced on game day and that this culture started when Johnny Manziel was the quarterback.  Such allegations may be the undoing of Sumlin if the Aggies don’t improve their won-lost record immediately.

Sumlin’s win percentage is still very impressive and it rates highly with those of other A & M coaches.  The university boasts six Hall of Fame coaches who spent time running the program.  Let’s look at how Sumlin compares with those coaches.

  1. Dana X. Bible: He coached the Aggies in 1917 and 1919-1928 and compiled a win percentage .765.  Bible won three Southwest Conference (SWC) titles and one national championship.  After four seasons his win percentage was .860.
  2. Madison Bell: He guided A & M from 1929-1933 and amassed a win percentage of .531, .470 after his first four seasons.  Bell won no titles with the Aggies but won four SWC titles and one national championship with Southern Methodist University after his time at Texas A & M.
  3. Homer Norton: He led the Aggies from 1934-1947 and had a .531 win percentage, .470 after four seasons.  Norton won three SWC titles and one national championship in College Station.
  4. Paul “Bear” Bryant: The Bear coached at A&M from 1954-1957, before leaving for Alabama.  While with the Aggies, Bryant tallied a win percentage of .610 and won one SWC title.
  5. Gene Stallings: He coached the Aggies from 1965-1971, won one SWC title and had a pedestrian win percentage .377, .410 after four seasons.  He would later win one SEC title, participate in three other SEC championship games and win a national championship at Alabama.
  6. R. C. Slocum: He led the Aggie program from 1989-2002 and won three SWC titles and one Big 12 title. Slocum compiled a .721 win percentage, .780 after four seasons.

Sumlin has a greater win percentage than four of the aforementioned Hall of Fame coaches after four seasons in College Station.  Most of the Aggie faithful believe it would be even higher if not for the quarterback issues the last two seasons.  Sumlin has proven he can recruit, especially quarterbacks.  However, if the culture that Murray portrayed is true and A & M struggles in the second half of the season again, Sumlin may be looking for another job in 2017.

This concludes the examination of the current SEC coaches.  Some will continue to flourish while others will be looking for work at the end of the season.  In the ultra-competitive SEC, winning is everything.

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SEC Coach Comparisons: Part 2

September 14, 2016 By 1 Comment

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Today we take a look at Kentucky’s Mark Stoops, LSU’s Les Miles, Hugh Freeze of Ole Miss, Dan Mullen of Mississippi State and Will Muschamp of South Carolina.

 

  1. Mark Stoops of Kentucky

Stoops is entering his fourth year as coach of the Wildcats.  His record is 12-24 at this point, a win percentage of .333.  Not only does he have no titles at Kentucky, but none of his teams have been to a bowl game.

Out of 17 coaches that coached at least three years at Kentucky, Stoops has a better win percentage than only one.

Let’s compare Brooks to some of Kentucky’s most successful coaches:

Paul “Bear” Bryant—The Bear coached at UK from 1946-53 and compiled an overall record of 60-23-5.  He won the school’s first SEC title in 1950 and beat Number 1 Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl.  After three years, Bryant had a record of 20-9-2.

Blanton Collier—Collier followed Bryant and coached the Cats from 1954-61.  He compiled a 41-36-3 overall record and was 19-10-1 after his first three years.  Collier won no titles at Kentucky.

Fran Curci—Curci held the reigns at UK from 1973-1981.  His overall record was 47-51-2 with one SEC title.  After three years, Curci had a 13-19-1 ledger.

Jerry Claiborne—This Hall of Fame coach and Kentucky grad amassed an overall record of 41-46-3 from 1982-1989.  He won no titles while at UK and had a record of 15-18-2 after three years in Lexington.

Joker Phillips—The coach Brooks succeeded compiled a record of 13-24 in his three years at UK, 2010-2012.  His win percentage was better than Stoops’ after  three years and Kentucky fired Phillips.

Stoops has done very little to inspire faith from the Big Blue Nation.  If Stoops does not lead UK to a bowl game this season, Kentucky may have a new coach to start the 2017 season.

 

  1. Les Miles of LSU

Miles is on the hot seat and was almost terminated after the last game of the regular season last year.  However, his record is stellar.  Miles has coached at LSU since 2005 and owns a 112-32 record, a win percentage of .778.  He has won two SEC titles and one National Championship.  He also lost in the BCS title game in 2011 to Nick Saban and Alabama.  Miles has the best win percentage of any LSU coach who coached more than two years and has the second most wins behind Charlie McClendon’s 203.  LSU fans are unhappy that he has won no SEC titles since 2011 and hasn’t beaten Saban and Alabama since 2011.  In a-what-have-you-done-lately-SEC, Miles may be terminated if he doesn’t at least get into the College Football Playoffs after this season.  Here is how he compares to some of LSU’s most successful coaches.

Bernie Moore—Hall of Famer Moore coached at LSU from 1935-1947 and compiled an overall record of 83-39-6.  After 11years, Moore’s record was 69-35-4, a .639 win percentage.  He won two SEC titles—1935 and 1936—with the Tigers.

Paul Dietzel—Though he only coached at LSU from 1955-1961, Dietzel won two SEC titles and one national championship.  His win percentage with the Tigers was .630.

Charlie McClendon—Hall of Famer McClendon coached in Baton Rouge from 1962-1979 and amassed a record of 137-59-7.  After 11 years at LSU he had a record of 88-29-5, a win percentage of .721.  He won one SEC title in 1970.

Nick Saban—Future Hall of Famer Saban only coached in Baton Rouge from 2000-2004, but he had a win percentage of .750, including 2 SEC titles, one second place in the SEC and LSU’s second national championship.

Saban set the bar very high at LSU and the Tiger fans want someone who can compete with him on a yearly basis.  Miles’ LSU teams won three out of the first five encounters with Saban’s Crimson Tide but as previously noted, Alabama has won the last 5, including the BCS national championship game in 2012.  A victory for Miles against the Tide in November would most likely propel LSU into the College Football Playoffs.  Another loss to Saban may cost Miles his job.

 

  1. Hugh Freeze of Mississippi

Freeze has tallied a four-year record at Ole Miss of 34-18, a win percentage of .650.  As of yet his teams have won no titles of any kind.  Of the eight Rebel coaches who stayed at the school at least four years, Freeze has a better win percentage than all but two, including Steve Sloan, Billy Brewer, Tommy Tuberville, David Cutcliffe and Houston Nutt.  Let’s compare Freeze with the two most successful coaches in Ole Miss’ history.

Harry Mehre—He left the University of Georgia to coach at Ole Miss.  He guided the Rebels from 1938-1942 and from 1944-1945.  After four years, Mehre’s teams compiled a win percentage of.780 but with no titles of any kind.

Johnny Vaught–He led the Rebels from 1947-1970 and for eight games in 1973.  The Hall of Fame coach is the gold standard at Ole Miss, where he won six SEC titles and three national championships.  His overall win percentage at Ole Miss stands at .720 but after four years it stood at .650, the same as Freeze’s percentage.

Freeze appears to have a bright future at Ole Miss. He will probably never come close to Vaught’s record as long as Saban remains at Alabama but is clearly the best Rebel coach since Vaught.  An impending NCAA investigation into alleged rules violations could have a major impact on the Ole Miss program if the allegations prove true.  How that would affect Freeze’s tenure at the school remains to be seen.

 

  1. Dan Mullen of Mississippi State

Mullen, entering his eighth season in Starkville, has compiled a record of 55-35, a win percentage of .610.  Only three other coaches in Mississippi State’s 121 year history of football have stayed as long as Mullen.  That right there speaks volumes.  As of yet, Mullen has no titles at MSU.

Hall of Fame coach Allyn McKeen coached in Starkville from 1939-1942 and from 1944-1948.  He had a win percentage of .764 and the school’s lone SEC title.

Emory Bellard coached the Bulldogs from 1979-1985.  He compiled a win percentage of .468 with no titles.

Jackie Sherrill held the reigns at MSU from 1991-2003.  After seven seasons, Sherrill had a win percentage of .510.  He won no titles at Mississippi State.

If Mullen decides to remain in Starkville, he may well be the Bulldogs’ all-time winningest coach—he is 19 victories shy of Sherrill. History has shown that winning championships at Mississippi State is a herculean task.  My guess is that Mullen will leave to pursue championships at a school that has a better recruiting base, a larger stadium and a larger football budget than State.

 

  1. Will Muschamp of South Carolina

Muschamp begins his first season as head coach of the Gamecocks.  His only other head coaching experience came at the University of Florida where he recorded a 17-15 record from 2011-2014, after which the Florida administration terminated him.

The South Carolina situation is different from that of Florida.  In the history of the football program that dates back to 1896, South Carolina has won only one title, the Atlantic Coast Conference championship in 1969.  Florida, on the other hand, has won six SEC titles and three national championships since 1991.  Florida expects to win championships on a regular basis.  While South Carolina would love to have such expectations the reality is that the program has no history of such.  So the Gamecock Nation may be a bit more patient with Muschamp as he tries to win titles and establish title expectations from both the administration and the fan base.

Since 1896, South Carolina has had 12 coaches who stayed at the school for at least 5 years.  Only six left with a win percentage of .500 or better.  Sol Metzger coached from 1920-1924 and left with a win percentage of .587.  Billy Laval guided South Carolina from 1928-1934 and left with a win percentage of .590.  It wasn’t until Warren Giese’s tenure of 1956-1960 that the program would see another coach with a win percentage over .500.  Giese left with a .570 win percentage.

Interestingly, Paul Dietzel won South Carolina’s only title in 1969 but left win a win percentage of .443 after  coaching at the school from 1966-1974.  Jim Carlen guided the Gamecocks from 1975-1981 and left with a win percentage of .555. Joe Morrison coached from 1983-1988 and compiled an impressive win percentage of .580 but died of a heart attack while exercising in Columbia.  Even Hall of Fame coach Lou Holtz couldn’t amass a winning overall record during his time at the school from 1999-2004.  His win percentage is .471.  Finally, future Hall of Famer Steve Spurrier found the most success in Columbia with an overall win percentage of .637, but he could not secure an SEC title or national championship for the program from 2005 into the 2015 season.

South Carolina fans are starved for championships and Muschamp will likely be given time to attain one.  We’ll just have to see if Muschamp can make the Gamecock fans crow.

 

Next time we’ll analyze Butch Jones of Tennessee, Derek Mason of Vanderbilt, Missouri’s Barry Odom and Texas A&M’s Kevin Sumlin.

 

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