Auburn takes a wrong turn with directionals

[T_Won]

The Fact is that the National Perception of our program have changed.

I don't think so. I think that we just happened to be guilty by association. If Auburn had played Miami, Clemson, and Tech for OOC, they would be talking about how tough their OOC games were.

Here are the final Sagarin ratings of the SEC and Auburn's OOC opponents:

2 Auburn
11 Georgia
15 Tennessee
18 LSU
30 Florida
44 Arkansas
54 South Carolina
59 Alabama
71 Louisiana Tech
82 Mississippi
112 Vanderbilt
114 Mississippi State
123 ULM
125 Kentucky
166 Citadel

[PawDawg]

Thats exactly right TWon. We are guilty by association. Had we gone to a bowl game in '04 they wouldn't have the ammo. Had we had winning records for the past three seasons by not losing to some of the worst teams in the nation, they wouldn't have the ammo. Thee years in a row of .500 or less football tends to get you lumped in with the ULLs and ULMs of the country.

[KayBee]

year in and year out we are a great match for powerhouse BCS programs

great match for them because its an easy win....what was the combined score of of games against LSU and Auburn?....not exactly what I'd call a good matchup....a good matchup has to be competitive and Tech was not competive in either game

I attended both and we sorely outmatched and just plain not prepared for a game like that

and don't give me the Michigan State argument because the had a couple good years under Jeff Smoker....mush like Ole Miss did with Eli manning

[faninmonroe]

and my very next sentence in that paragraph is:


"They usually get a win, we get a paycheck and our RPI and SOS are usually at the top of the non BCS bucket."

[KayBee]

anybody can have a strong schedule but not anybody can win against it

personally for a team like Tech I would much rather us play fewer high end programs for money (we don't use the money anyway) and get more wins which lead to bowl games which lead to better recruiting which lead to more wins which lead to better teasm which then lead to temas that can compete on high er levels which then leads to more bowls, more money and possibly a better conference

[Bill Pup60]

Here was my email to Mr. Hayes:

Mr. Hayes,
Maybe you should get your facts (and geography) right before writing some of your articles. You wrote that Auburn took a wrong turn by playing directional schools and cupcakes during their 2004 campaign. Well, ULM is definitely a directional school and, the Citadel is definitely a cupcake. However, Louisiana Tech is neither a "directional school" or a "cupcake". You mentioned that Fresno was a good match for OOC for Auburn. Well, take a look at where Fresno's losses came from last year. Please get your facts straight before writing garbage like that.

Maybe, former SEC champions like Alabama would want to answer your questions about Louisiana Tech. Look at that series when you get a chance. Maybe, if geography is not your forte', history is..........


Thank you,

Great reply, Champ!!