I am an SEC girl. In general, when UGA isn't in the mix for a BCS Championship or bowl (which unfortunately has been the norm as of late), I then will channel my cheering efforts towards the SEC team that has the best chance. It really hurt when I had to cheer for Florida a couple of years ago, but I know in the end that the dominance of the SEC in bowl games will help my team in the future. The SEC is clearly the most dominant conference in college football. The players are bigger, stronger, and faster. That said, this year is a down year for the SEC. Florida is reeling from the loss of Tebow. Alabama lost half of their defense to the NFL. Georgia- well, Georgia is a mess. Tennessee is really a mess. LSU doesn't really have a quarterback. I have no doubt that things will turn around in the next couple of years. I am even hopeful for Georgia. Aaron Murray is the real deal and has a bright future ahead of him. But this year could be different. No one is dominating. The top SEC schools do not look as scary as they have in the past and this could be the first year in awhile that the crystal football trophy will not be headed down south. A one or two loss SEC team is not getting into the championship game this year. There is still one hope for the SEC faithful- Auburn. Auburn is undefeated in the SEC, which is typically a shoe-in for a berth in the national title game. All they have to do is win two more games and they are in. The SEC Championship game seems like it will be a win for Auburn. South Carolina has improved all year, but Auburn has beat them once and I think that they can do it again. Next week is what Auburn needs to be more concerned about. Alabama despite its two losses, is still Alabama and now they are angry. All of the sudden, Auburn is getting all the love and attention in the state. I don't think that the Crimson Tide like that very much. Alabama's season is essentially over. They have nothing to play for... except to ruin all the hopes of their arch-rival. If I were Auburn, I would be worried. Tuscaloosa is not going to be a friendly place to play and both teams should be reasonably well-rested (Auburn is off, but Alabama is only playing Georgia State) so their is not a real advantage there. This may be more information than most people need or want to know, but it all leads up to the simple fact that if Auburn wants a guaranteed trip to the championship game, then it needs to beat Alabama and to do that it needs to be at full strength.
So why am I telling you all of this? Due to the behavior of some of the Auburn (and yes some of the Georgia players) in the Auburn-Georgia game last weekend, Auburn will already be down two defensive linemen: Michael Goggans and Mike Blanc. Both were ejected from the game last weekend for throwing punches in a fight late in the fourth quarter and therefore automatically cannot play against Alabama. What is shocking to me is that the SEC is not going to punish the real culprit at all. Nick Fairley (defensive lineman for AU) should be sitting on the sideline with his teammates in Tuscaloosa. There have already been grumblings of this player for driving quarterbacks into the ground all season. Last Saturday, the refs lost control of the game, and in my opinion they lost control because they did not penalize Fairley enough. From the beginning of the game, Fairley was after Murray's head. I realize that this is the job of a defensive lineman, but they have to do it within reason. As long as the quarterback has the ball, you can hit him, and hit him hard. But you can't hit him in the head, with the crown of your helmet, in the knees, or pick him up and drive him into the ground. Throughout the game Fairley continued to drive Murray into the ground. Then in maybe the dirtiest play of the year, Fairley not only hit UGA quarterback Aaron Murray well after the ball was thrown ("late hit" does not even describe), but hit him from behind, in the back, with a lowered head so that the crown of the helmet was used. It was ugly. It was lucky that Murray wasn't seriously injured. With only a couple of minutes left in the game, Fairley hit Murray late again this time in the knees and Murray went down. One could argue that he was pushed into Murray, but Fairley's reputation precedes him and frankly, by that point the UGA players had had enough. The offensive line went after Fairley and then all hell broke loose. The fight was caused by the culmination of Fairley's actions throughout the game. Check out the link if you need a nice synopsis of how the game went.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xljcMJxJZg
The refs flagged Fairley for a 15 yard personal foul for the first late hit, but is that enough? The NFL doesn't think so. In the NFL Fairley would have at least received a $50,000 fine if not a suspension. The SEC should be ashamed of itself. It cannot fine players, but it surely can suspend them. And why wouldn't they suspend him? Apparently the line is that because he received a personal foul penalty, that he does not need to be suspended. Get real SEC. No one believes that. It looks questionable to me. I am not a person that usually believes in conspiracy theories, but this does not send a good message. Even if the SEC isn't ignoring this because they want Auburn to win, that is what it is going to look like to its players. Don't worry about playing dirty, if you're good enough and the SEC needs a win, you can get away with it. Do better SEC. I am calling you out and it hurts because I love you. Oh, and you probably just created a fight in the Iron Bowl because while you seem to have overlooked Nick Fairley's behavior, I guarantee you that Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide have not. I'll be watching to see how soon Alabama sends a "message" to Nick Fairley.
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