It came down to Alabama, UGA, and Florida State for the rights to the five star, No. 4 ranked corner in high school, and he surprised many with his pick to play for Bowden and the Seminoles. You can get the full story here.
[AJC]
[Rivals]

I can’t really preface this story with anything. So I’m just going to let you read the insanity below:

Witnesses said a man and his former wife were shot to death over an argument about the Alabama-Louisiana State University football game, though a spokesman for the slain man’s family disputed that Monday.

“Basing it on this ball game is totally false,” said Shannon Odom, the half brother of Dennis James Smith.

Smith, 41, and Donna Kaye Hall Smith, 39, were shot to death about 7 p.m. Saturday in the rural community of Owassa in southern Alabama, the Conecuh County sheriff’s office said. The two divorced about five years ago but had recently gotten back together and were planning to remarry, Odom said.

Michael W. Williams, 28, was charged with two counts of murder in the shooting at his home, where he and others had watched the game. He was being held Monday without bond and a sheriff’s investigator did not know if he had an attorney.

People at Williams’ home said the dispute was over the game, which Alabama won 27-21 in overtime, an investigator said. Witnesses said Williams was an Alabama fan and Dennis Smith rooted for LSU, but Odom disputed that, describing Smith as an “adamant Tide fan.”

I’d paste the whole thing in here, but it’s too long. Long story short, some angry LSU fans got killed by some angry Alabama fan. And it should be noted that the angry LSU fans went at an angry Alabama fan with a pistol, when the angry Alabama fan had a shotgun.

Shotgun or a pistol? If you’re ever wondering which fan base is smarter, look no further than a shotgun vs a pistol.

Then again, killing two people over a game — especially when your team freaking wins! — doesn’t exactly put you at the top of the IQ totem pole.

There’s always the playoff-playoff-playoff talk in college football, and I couldn’t agree more with this idea. I thought Auburn to snubbed years ago when Oklahoma played USC instead, and I can’t say at the end of each year that the team that won it wouldn’t have lost to any other team in the nation (take the NFL, for example, where last year’s Wild Card Giants went on to one of the biggest Super Bowl upsets of all time; no one called them at the beginning, and no one even gave them a shot once they got there).

Anway, I wanted to go to the BCS standings and see what a college playoff would look like at this point. If there was a playoff, the most popular idea I’ve heard is taking the top eight teams. If that was the case, this is the first round matchups we’d be watching.

#8 Utah vs #1 Alabama: This is the one game I don’t salivate over, because we know the outcome of this one. Oklahoma State is a close No. 9, though, and by the end of their regular season they’d surely jump.

#7 USC vs #2 Texas Tech: Are you telling me you wouldn’t want to see this offensive battle? It’d be pretty humorous to see Vegas set the over/under at 90.

#6 Oklahoma vs #3 Penn State: This would be your first round “upset,” if you could call it that. Penn State has played well, but they just don’t have the firepower to stick with Oklahoma.

#5 Florida vs #4 Texas: Are you kidding me? And this is only the first round…

The best thing about this system? No Ohio State, which means the games should at least be competitive.

It’s rare to catch two of the worst coaching jobs ever within two days of one another, but we were given such a priviledge this weekend after watching Tommy Bowden’s useless attempts in beating Alabama, and then getting the pleasure of watching Phillip Fulmer look like a deer in the headlights against UCLA.

My question: Of the coaching jobs, whose was worse? To Bowden’s credit, Alabama is ranked and coached by Saban. They’ve got more talent than UCLA, but Clemson also has more talent than either.

To Fulmer’s credit: Well, I can’t find much. He’s got a new QB, but he chose the QB, and he continued to allow his offensive coordinator to call pass after pass when the pass wasn’t working and the halfbacks were getting six yards every carry.

Any thoughts? My vote is for UT, but I’m a fan, so I may be biased.

Opening weekend of college football is just about done, but the game I’ve really been looking forward to — when my Vols head to California to face UCLA — will close the weekend tonight (and Rutgers and Fresno St. are about to go at it right now).

With that said, here’s a few thoughts on what’s transpired thus far.

Jackonsville State 14, Georgia Tech 41: The Jackets were able to run for 385 yards in its first game running the triple option. You don’t watch a D-I school beat Jackonsville State and say a system will work, but if Thursday night was an indication, then the system will work.

UGA 45, Georgia Southern 21: This isn’t the kind of game you want to see from the No. 1 team in the nation. That offensive line of Georgia has got to be a question mark.

Youngstown State 0, Ohio State 43: The biggest thing about this game wasn’t the score but the health of Chris Wells. If he’s out for a duration of time, and from what I saw from USC, you’ve gotta give the Trojans the nod during their showdown in two weeks.

USC 52, Virginia 7: Ouch. The ACC really showed that they’re an inferior conference this weekend.

Chattanooga 2, Oklahoma 57: Sadly, the score wasn’t even this close. It was 50-0 at halftime, and then the reserves came in.

Hawaii 10, Florida 56: They didn’t look as sharp as I expeted, but keep in mind that Percy Harvin is still out, but expected to play next week against Miami.

Illinois 42, Missouri 52: Chase Daniel had 323 yards and 3 touchdowns. As good a start as that was, he was outplayed by Juice Williams, who had over 400 yards throwing and 5 TD’s.

Appalachian State 13, LSU 41: There wasn’t going to be another miracle this year. Not against that defensive size and speed.

Villanova 21, West Virginia 48: They’re one of the teams I’ve said will play in the BCS Title game. It wasn’t the best showing, but a win’s a win.

Alabama 34, Clemson 10: Again: The ACC just didn’t show up. The Clemson game was never close, and Tommy Bowden proves again why you can’t rely on Tommy Bowden. You can’t say Alabama has more talent, but they sure did look like it Saturday night.

Louisiana Monroe 0, Auburn 34: I watched this game, and though the score shows a blowout, this game was a lot closer. Auburn’s offense never did click, and that’s hopefully just some rust in the new spread system they’re implementing.

Northern Arizona 13, Arizona State 30: Does anyone really think Arizona State will beat UGA? I hope they do, but I’m not really buying into it.

Virginia Tech 22, East Carolina 27: Again: Wake up, ACC.

Washington 10, Oregon 44: Say goodbye to Ty Willingham. He’s on thin ice as is, and losing by 34 points in the opener isn’t the way to start the season.

ESPN has a group of “experts” together to make their picks, and they range widely. There’s a common theme of teams in the BCS Title game: Oklahoma, UGA, Florida, USC, Ohio State, Georgia, and one brave soul picking Missouri, but some of the picks seem off. Two people say Ohio State will win it, and if there’s anything history’s taught us about Ohio State being in a national title game, it’s that won’t not just win, but they’ll get absolutely blown out.

To Todd McShay’s credit — he picked THE Ohio State University to win it all — he at least has them victors over Oklahoma, and not a team from the SEC. Other predictions throughout:

-If they’re right, Clemson will dominate the ACC. If I’m right, Clemson will be a dark horse all year long, and maybe the team that busts the BCS (think Auburn a few years back when they went undefeated in the SEC and got shafted). If Clemson beats Alabama, they’ll be a decent sized favorite the rest of the year.

-Recent odds calculated Georgia of having a 6.2 percent chance of reaching the BCS Title game. It seems low until you look at their schedule, and then you have to wonder if Vegas shot a little high. They play at South Carolina, at Arizona State, Tennessee and Alabama in back-to-back-to-back-to-back games. They get a breather with Vandy, and then it’s off to a gauntlet the likes college football has never seen: At LSU, Florida in Jacksonville — and don’t think Mighty Tim Tebow has forgotten last year — Kentucky in Lexington and then Auburn on the road. So, if you think they’ve got a 6.2 percent chance of going undefeated or only losing one, then you’re clearly no mathmetician, and you’re obviously a tad insane.

-Pittsburgh and South Florida are being picked to win the Big East. Have we forgotten about West Virginia? The team that was one game away from playing for the national title? I know South Florida has had WVU’s number over the last couple of years, but if you think they’re going to have an overall better record than WVU, then you’re smoking that same stuff the guys and gals at UGA are.

-Oklahoma seems to be a lock by these guys to win the Big 12. Missouri has a lot of talent returning, and OU is kind of notorious for late season melt downs (of course, that usually happens in a bowl game).

-Where’s some pub on my Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets? No love for my Tennessee Vols? These guys don’t know anything.

Jimmy Johns, a former Alabama running back that had been moved to linebacker this spring, has now been moved off the team due to his recent drug arrest, in which he has been charged with five felony counts of cocaine distribution, and a sixth, additional charge for possession of ecstacy.

“This type of behavior obviously will not be tolerated, and he is no longer a part of our program,” Saban said in a statement.

It’s good to see that Saban is really cleaning up the program he plans on leaving in a year. That said, there’s an asterisk next to this policy: It’s unacceptable if you’re a three star player out of high school. Now if you’ve got five stars to your name? Sell on, sell on.

I’ve seen this floating around some blogs now — Deadspin and With Leather — and though I like Tennessee, I feel inclined to post, anyway. It’s certainly clear from this that the man involved hates Tennessee, and he doesn’t like dogs. It’s also rather apparent that if the rest of Alabama’s population is this clear-speaking, then they’re getting cheated out of their tuition.

Signings have come and gone, except for Terrelle Pryor, who has decided to continue torching the Wolverines and Buckeyes with patience, and there were a few surprises. A Georgia Tight End, whose name I don’t know because he’s going to Georgia and he’s only in high school, screwed the Dogs and went to Clemson instead.

Look: I don’t keep up with college football recruiting much. To me, it’s one of those things that’s a lot of hype and not a lot of substance. So many of these kids come in highly recruited and we never hear from them; others, kids that were three and four stars, blow up in college and end up the best players in the NFL. Regardless, I’m forced to do a job, even if it’s half-ass. Here’s the Top 5 recruiting classes this year, according to ESPN.

1. Miami Hurricanes
2. Clemson Tigers
3. Florida “Urban Meyer Pays Well” Gators
4. Alabama Crimson Tide
5. Georgia “We Would Be Better If It Wasn’t For Clemson” Bulldogs

According to Rivals, here’s how it goes:

1. Alabama
2. Notre Dame
3. Florida
4. Miami
5. Oklahoma

Like I said: I don’t think recruiting means that much. How they play against another level is something Rivals or ESPN can’t tell us. That said, it’s nice to see Miami getting talent again. There was something always fun about watching a team with speed, and then watching Miami. It’s the old saying: “There’s speed, and then there’s Miami speed.” Say hello to seven more 1st Round NFL Draft Picks.

I don’t pretend to know what bowls feature what conferences — outside of the Rose Bowl and the Peach, which are pretty obvious — so I won’t even attempt to claim some of these bowl projections as my bowl projections. These are the predictions that CBS Sportsline has put out, and I find that CBS is often more accurate than ESPN. To read all of their bowl projections, go here; I’m going to just highlight some of the good ones that I noticed.

-Emerald Bowl, Dec. 28: Georgia Tech vs. Cal

• Most across the nation won’t find this to be too spectacular a game to watch, but I’m a Tech fan, so I couldn’t leave it off the list. And if I’m lucky, Chan Gailey won’t be coaching it.

-Independence Bowl, Dec. 30: Colorado vs. Alabama

• If Saban loses this one, shit may officially hit the fan in Tuscaloosa. They were so snotty and snide about hiring Nick Saban, and were sure that he’s the best coach in the entire nation, but after three straight losses, the wheels appear to be falling off.

-Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl, Dec. 31: Auburn vs. Clemson

• This one appears to be set in stone, but it’s not quite official yet. Auburn has a pretty good run defense, but had a hard time containing KnowShaun Moreno, which might make it very difficult on them trying to contain James Davis and CJ Spiller, who, to me, is arguably the fastest player in college football. ACC/SEC games are always fun to watch, though, as VT and UGA proved last year.

-Capital One, Jan. 1: Illinois vs. Florida

• If there’s one team Florida doesn’t want to play, it’s Illionis. It’s not that they can’t beat Illinois — because they most certainly can — it’s that they don’t want to play a team that’s good who’s coached by Ron Zook. FireRonZook.com was a pretty big hit during his days as a Gator, and what more humiliating way to end a season than by losing to the guy that you ran out of town who took over a formerly cruddy program? Oh, and this game may also feature this year’s Heisman winner (Tim Tebow), and next year’s Heisman winner (Juice Williams)

-Outback, Jan 1: Tennessee vs. Wisconsin

• Last year’s game between these two was solid, and based on Tennessee’s inability to stop anybody on the road, you’d have to think it’d be a fun shoot-out to watch this year, as well.

-Rose Bowl, Jan. 1: Ohio State vs. USC

• USC hasn’t really been itself this year, and Ohio State, to me, has been vastly overrated. I guess this will give full closure. I hate the Trojans, but I’ll be rooting for them; Ohio State has been the most overrated team for the last two years.

-Orange Bowl, Jan. 3: VT vs. Georgia

• Last year’s Peach Bowl game was great to watch, and it was spiced up even more back in August when VT accused UGA of spying on them during practice. Georgia has a great running offense, and VT has a great running defense. Read earlier what I said about SEC/ACC games — they’re very fun to watch.

-National Championship Game, Jan. 7: Mizzou vs. West Virginia

• West Virginia was the team I called at the beginning of the year, and throughout the season I’ve thought they were the best team. Their defense isn’t the best thing since sliced bread, but that offense quite possibly is. Mizzou looked great against Kansas, but no one really knew how good or bad Kansas was. We all know how good West Virginia is. It’ll be fun, but Pat White and Steve Slaton will be holding the trophy up later on that night.