Although James Franklin will be out for a while, he has led Missouri to the top of the SEC East standings. (Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports)
Based on my Google search, I may be heading to New Hampshire.
They have crow season in New Hampshire. Actually, they have two – one from August through November, then another in the spring. And, even though they say the meat is tough and not too tasty, if you shoot ‘em, you can eat ‘em.
Among several recipes on the site, crow casserole caught my eye. It sounded pretty simple. Onions, a lot of bacon strips, and even more sauerkraut. Apparently, the sauerkraut is really important.
On Sunday, I felt compelled to check this out after watching SEC football on Saturday. Because of a couple of Tiger teams, I need to eat crow for lunch … and dinner.
I admit it. I was wrong. Wrong about LSU (6-1, 3-1) and wrong about Missouri (6-0, 2-0).
Like most in SEC country, I didn’t know enough about Missouri football when the Tigers joined the conference last year. I’ve never been to a game in Columbia, Mo. So, when their first year in the conference wasn’t successful, it didn’t catch me by surprise. Then, I bought into the notion that only Kentucky would be worse than the Tigers in the East. I had the Tigers pegged as the sixth-best team in their division, with no chance for a postseason game. That was a big mistake.
Missouri, the only undefeated team in the East, stormed into Sanford Stadium on Saturday morning and beat seventh-ranked Georgia, 41-26. It wasn’t some fluke or last-minute heroics. The visitors led 28-10 at halftime, survived a third-quarter comeback by the Bulldogs, then dominated the fourth quarter to take the win.
Despite a 5-0 record and moving into the Top 25 after last week’s 23-point win at Vanderbilt, Missouri was still underdog by nine points between the hedges. With the victory, the Tigers became bowl eligible after missing the postseason last year. It was the program’s first road win over a Top 10 team in 32 years.
Victory came at a high cost when veteran quarterback James Franklin suffered a separated shoulder. According to ESPN, and reported by the Kansas City Star, he will likely miss at least six weeks, which could include the entire regular season. His play has been critical for the team’s fast start. Against Georgia, he threw for 170 yards and a touchdown, and ran for another score before the fourth quarter injury. A week earlier against Vanderbilt, he threw for 278 yards and four touchdowns.
Fortunately for Tiger fans, Franklin hasn’t been a one-man team. Tailback tandem Marcus Murphy and Henry Josey combined for 108 yards rushing and two touchdowns in Athens after a combined 138 rushing yards and two scores in Nashville. Receivers L’Damien Washington and Dorial Green-Beckham combined for 11 catches, 150 receiving yards and a touchdown against Georgia. And, the overlooked Tiger defense forced four turnovers, including a fumble returned for a score, and harassed Georgia senior quarterback Aaron Murray, who ended the day with 20 incompletions.
Maty Mauk, a freshman from Ohio, will likely be Franklin’s replacement. We’ll see quickly how significant the loss of Franklin will be. The new signal caller faces Florida, South Carolina and Tennessee the next three Saturdays, all in Columbia. After a game in Lexington, the Tigers close at Oxford against Ole Miss before welcoming Texas A&M to end the regular season. That’s a tall order, especially with a freshman quarterback. Other than Kentucky, there may not be a likely win on the list.
Still, a winning season, a postseason bowl, and regained respect for the Missouri program is a lot more than I expected.
With LSU at No. 8, Lindy’s was the only national publication that ranked those Tigers in the preseason Top 10. But, I didn’t fully buy it.
In print, on radio and in presentations to civic clubs and fan groups, I predicted that LSU could lose some games due to several factors. That could still happen, but so far, so good. LSU’s 17-6 win over No. 17 Florida on Saturday solidified its position as an SEC contender with an outside shot at even higher goals.
It’s easy to explain why I sold the Baton Rouge Tigers short.
First, I didn’t have confidence in Zach Mettenberger. He wasn’t the league’s most consistent quarterback a year ago, and there were lingering doubts from his days as a Georgia Bulldog.
There was no reason for those doubts.
The 6-5 senior has been one of the nation’s top quarterbacks this season, throwing for 1,738 yards and 15 touchdowns with just two interceptions through seven games. Against the Gators, he only threw 17 times, but that accounted for 150 yards (8.9 yards per attempt).
Second, I didn’t think the Tigers could recover from losing so many players early to the NFL Draft. When coupled with the seniors whose eligibility expired, it was hard to see the team not having a letdown. Obviously, I didn’t take into account the consecutive Top 10 recruiting classes signed by Les Miles’ staff and didn’t acknowledge the team’s stockpile of talented depth.
Third, I wasn’t sure that LSU could make it through a difficult schedule. Miles was right when before the season he pointed out his team’s conference schedule difficulty, especially compared to some Western Division challengers. The Tigers have already held off surprising No. 24 Auburn in a 14-point win, kept No. 22 Florida out of the end zone in an 11-point win, and lost to then No. 9 Georgia in Athens, 44-41, before several key Dawgs were lost to season-ending injuries. Three especially dangerous games are still ahead … at Ole Miss (Oct. 19), at Alabama (Nov. 11) and Texas A&M (Nov. 23). But based on how LSU has played so far, none of those should be considered automatic losses, including the game in Tuscaloosa.
With the Georgia loss to Missouri, and key injuries throughout the Eastern Division, it’s hard to project which team is in the driver’s seat there. It still looks like Alabama should represent the Western Division in Atlanta again.
More smoke will clear next Saturday when there are an unusually high number of key conference match-ups – Auburn at Texas A&M, Florida at Missouri, Georgia at Vanderbilt, LSU at Ole Miss, and South Carolina at Tennessee.
In the meantime, I need to check those flights to New Hampshire … and buy a really big can of sauerkraut.
