Up until Saturday many in Lexington were starting to believe that their football program had turned the corner. Coming off of one of the biggest wins in the history of the program over number 1 LSU and then a narrow defeat by the national champion Florida Gators I can see how they could draw that conclusion. Not to mention they had a leading Heisman trophy candidate behind the center. Everything seemed just perfect...until Saturday. The Wildcats were dominated in every aspect of the game from the opening drive to the final second. This "all systems failure" game as coach Brooks called it was a major setback to the program. Not only did the Cats play themselves out of the SEC East race they also lost all hopes that Andre Woodson would win the Heisman trophy. The truth is other than the defeat of LSU which they deserve a lot of credit for they have only beaten a mediocre Arkansas and a mediocre Louisville team. Enough about the Cats until basketball season lets talk about the better team - Miss State.
This was the best win for the Bulldogs in the Sylvester Croom era. Yes the beat Auburn at Auburn early this year but this performance was a total domination. They marched the ball down the throats of the wildcats the first drive of the game and that was a crucial statement that Kentucky wasn't expecting. After all didn't this team get embarrassed last week on the road?After the game coach Croom said "The season is a metamorphosis and you either get better or worse and we are getting better". Croom is doing a great job at Mississippi State and deserves a lot of credit clearly they are getting better. They can potentially finish second in the West and end up playing in a great Bowl game. Well done coach!
As for the Kentucky Wildcats, take your Independence Bowl bid at the end of the year and move on to basketball because your season as you previously envisioned it ended yesterday.
6 comments:
I remember after the first week of the season saying MSU is probably the worst sec team I have ever seen. They have surprised me a lot since then and look to be headed to a bowl game. From top to bottom this is the best I ever remember seeing the sec. Teams seem to be having a lot of trouble protecting home field advantage these days.
MSU now has victories over Kentucky and Auburn. Not bad for Croom and company! It's true: anyone can beat anyone in this crazy league. I agree it's probably MSU's biggest win in a long time. Kind of brutal on Kentucky there, don't you think Toast? Independence bowl? Ouch.
Spamming jacka$$. Got kicked off of the Kentucky Scout board for fly-by posting.
Wow, I don't understand the animosity you have for Kentucky. Did UK, it's teams or fans do something to make you so bitter? Even if they did, why not provide fair coverage and analysis of them anyway, just to show that you're able to deliver good comentary on the entire SEC and not just some of the league and flames for a team or teams that you dislike?
If you're so hateful of Kentucky, maybe you should change your blog from 'SEC Toast' to '11 SEC Teams Toast' or something similar. I mean, honestly, you can't be an SEC blogger if you can't stand all things Kentucky. UK is a founding, charter member of the SEC and has been in the league since it's 1935 inception. If you're an SEC blogger, you should like Vanderbilt as much as LSU, Mississippi as much as Georgia and Kentucky as much as Alabama. Otherwise, when people tune into your blog for coverage, they will be doing so knowing that they're only going to receive a fair analysis of most of the SEC, but not all of it. Is that what you want?
Aside from alienating all Kentucky fans, which you obviously don't mind doing, you're automatically assuring that followers of UK won't read your blog, but you're also assuring that anyone who is just an SEC fan in general, won't want to use you as a source of coverage, because they'll want someone who gives it to them straight and who is fair to all teams, so that they can get an unbiased view and not just a view of the teams you like and a bunch of insults for ones that you don't.
Anyway, enough of that and just a couple of comments regarding your hateful tirade against Kentucky's football team in your latest blog entry. No UK fans are under the mistaken impression that our team is suddenly going to be in contention with the elite teams in our league on a yearly basis. Our goal is to compete in the SEC. That isn't something that is going to be accomplished overnight, but we are making progress toward achieving that goal. Last weekend's loss to a very good Mississippi State team does not do anything to take away from the fact that Kentucky is making progress in improving it's football program.
Contrary to your assertions, Kentucky is not mathematically eliminated from winning the SEC east. If UK wins out it's last 3 conference games, only a Florida loss at South Carolina would stand in Kentucky's way of a trip to Atlanta. I don't pretend that either of those things are likely, but if *I* were an unbiased blogger of the SEC, I would give my readers the truth, which is what I just pointed out, rather than the hateful diatribe that you gave, including your assertion that the Cats are now eliminated.
You also pointed out that Woodson was eliminated from Heisman consideration. I would agree with that assertion, but unlike you, if *I* were an unbiased SEC blogger, I wouldn't take joy in that, because it speaks well of the conference when it's players are being considered for such an award. While I agree that Woodson's performance all but precludes him from even getting an invite to the ceremony, most experts would also tell you that nothing is ever written in stone. By all means though, you obviously feel better when bashing anything blue, so rather than give it to us straight, just continue to do it the way you are.
I'm going to wrap this up, because I'm probably wasting my time trying to ask you to give up your Kentucky hatred, but I'll leave you with just a couple of more quick points. One, while MSU did everything to earn that win, one would be remiss not to point out that a UK team missing several of it's starters (over 25% in fact), including it's #1 rusher and receiver, might have performed better. Nor do you take into account the physically brutal schedule, including UK's back to back games with LSU (3OT) and Florida, leading into this game. Those things did not cause this loss, but one could reasonably expect UK would have performed better otherwise. Honestly, a lot of things can be said for the UK team that got dominated by the Bulldogs in every facet of the game. The thing that CANNOT be said is that this one game, all by itself, completely reverses any legitimacy that the Kentucky football program has earned by the strides that it has made last season and this. Only someone like you would make that sort of blanket statement about two years worth of solid improvement and some MAJOR accomplishments on the field and say that one game means that all of that is bunk. My friend, that is sad on your part, very sad.
Finally, in closing, Kentucky now enters a bye week. Many players are injured and have not been on the field for recent games. UK has a chance to get healthy and to regroup after two very disappointing losses. While this team could certainly lose to Vandy, Georgia and at home to Tennessee, they could also win any or all of those games. Winning even ONE of those would match last year's win total and last year, UK went to the Music City Bowl. How can you insinuate that the best the team can do this year is the Independence Bowl? In fact, not only could they VERY EASILY match last year's results and return to the MCB in Nashville, it isn't outside of the realm of possibility that they could win 2 or 3 of their final 3 games, finishing as high as 1st or second in the east. If that happens, I'm pretty sure they'd go somewhere a little better than the Independence Bowl under those circumstances, too. As I've said throughout this dissertation, don't allow your bias to enter your coverage of the league. Doing so just makes your blog lose any luster it might otherwise have. Not to mention the readers it would lose.
Oh and by the way, if you can't provide fair and unbiased coverage of Kentucky (or any other team, for that matter) in football, don't bother covering them in basketball, either. You shouldn't spew hatred for a school in one sport and then act as if you're going to be fair to them in another sport. While you can (CURRENTLY, maybe not in the future) discount Kentucky in football in the SEC, you would be laughed at if you discounted them in basketball, because UK has contributed more to the SEC's basketball credentials and history than all other conference teams combined. So by all means, if you want to act as if UK doesn't exist or doesn't at least, warrant fair coverage in football, then please don't change your mind and act differently when it comes to basketball. If you want UK out of your coverage of the SEC in football, keep them out of it in basketball, too. Then, when you change your blog from being a blog about the SEC, to being about 11 SEC teams, at least you will be being honest.
SEC Toast - "Every week in the SEC someone gets upset. After all that is what makes it the SEC. You can not let up any week or you will get beat. It is so easy to overlook teams by looking forward to the big game next week or suffer let downs after big games. I think everyone understands that except for football players it seems."
SEC Toast - "As for the Kentucky Wildcats, take your Independence Bowl bid at the end of the year and move on to basketball because your season as you previously envisioned it ended yesterday."
Is it just me or do those two statements not contradict one another? If you question why I and others accuse you of bias and/or hatred toward Kentucky, just read the above two comments, comments that are YOURS. All teams can be good SEC teams and still be upset. That is, all teams EXCEPT for UK. UK can be beaten and they are done. They should "take their Independence Bowl bid and wait for basketball season."
Let me ask you a question. Aside from all of the facts that I pointed out to you in my last post about this set-back not being indicative of UK not having turned the corner, as you stated, how can this loss not be just another upset, that can easily happen in the SEC? What makes it different for UK? Why can Kentucky still be ranked in the nation's top 25 according to the coaches, but not have turned the corner according to you? Why can Kentucky still have a chance of winning 8, 9, 10 or 11 games this year and still not have turned the corner? I point these out just so that I can understand why you say the things you do about UK? If you want to provide a fair blog about the SEC, which includes Kentucky, please explain why your view of UK football is so horrible when FACTS, not to mention the views of other experts and analysts say otherwise? I left these questions out of my original post, so I just thought I'd give you a few more minutes of my time in an attempt to understand your reasoning and your feelings for Kentucky.
I leave you with this note, I didn't call you names or insult you. I spent quite a bit of time pointing out things that are contrary to your opinions and asking you questions. I also pointed out what appears to be hatred and/or bias on your part, against Kentucky. You can obviously delete my comments and questions or you could respond to them.
If you choose to respond though, please do so honestly and thoughtfully, not with insults or dismissive inuendo. If you feel that your awful views toward Kentucky football are more accurate than the facts and the views of other analysts and experts, please explain them. If you have a basis for your negative opinions, maybe they will then make sense. I might be blinded by blue tinted glasses from time to time, but even I can be objective about my teams and not an unrelenting 'fanboy' or whatnot. Tell me why I'm wrong and you're right. Thanks for your time. I look forward to your response(s).
To the author...don't quit your day job. You, Sir, are a total hack.
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