BMatt’s Monday musings
AUBURN | I’ve seen some Auburn players and fans express their disappointment over the Tigers’ final No. 12 CFP Ranking and being bypassed for Alabama by the Citrus Bowl.
I don’t have a problem with either, and think Auburn will actually have a better experience at the Outback Bowl.
Looking at the rankings, Auburn is the second-highest three-loss team, behind only No. 8 Wisconsin, which lost to No. 2 Ohio State in the Big Ten championship game. The Tigers are also ahead of a number of two-loss teams including No. 13 Alabama, No. 15 Notre Dame and No. 18 Minnesota, who they will play in Tampa, Fla. I think AU and its tough schedule got plenty of respect from the committee.
As for the Outback, I’ve covered a number of bowls in my time as a beat writer including two trips to the Outback and two trips to the Citrus. From my perspective, there’s no comparison. The Outback knows how to put on a bowl and really goes all out making sure the players, coaches, support staff, fans and even media enjoy their experience. Even with all the advantages of having Disney right there, it’s just seemed like the Citrus does the bare minimum to get by.
I do think, however, that feeling of disrespect that some of the players have expressed on social media can be used in Auburn’s favor. Bowl games aren’t necessarily about the best team, but more about the team that’s the most motivated. Auburn-UCF a couple of years ago is a prime example. I think the Gophers, going up against what they’ll perceive as a powerhouse SEC school, will be highly-motivated to win this game. Auburn, despite what Gus Malzahn and the players say about winning 10 games, etc., probably won’t be quite so fired up.
That’s where that disrespect card can come in handy, and I expect Malzahn and his staff to play it up to the hilt over the next three weeks.
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I hope for the best for Joey Gatewood, who completed his transfer from Auburn last week by stating he plans to enroll at Kentucky. Gatewood conducted himself well on and off the field at Auburn and made the right decision by transferring. He put up a good challenge to Bo Nix for Auburn’s starting quarterback position and certainly showed the potential to be a difference-maker at this level with his dual-threat ability. However, and with all due respect, I think Gatewood is making a mistake by transferring to another Power 5 school right away.
I don’t know when the last time Gatewood was a full-time starting quarterback but I know it’s been a while. He split time with Boise State’s Riley Smith at Bartram Trail High School, redshirted his first season at Auburn and then served as the backup this fall. Barring something unexpected, he’ll have to sit out another season at UK before being eligible to play in 2021. That’s a lot of time not playing, not starting and not gaining experience as a leader of an offense. I think Gatewood would have been much better served transferring to a junior college where he could have played this fall and gained some crucial experience as a starter — good and bad — that would be very beneficial when he’s ready to compete for a starting position at a Power 5 school. Yes, it would be risky because if he struggled a little too much at a JUCO, those Power 5 offers might not come. Then again, a great JUCO season could put him in position to sign with a higher-profile football program than UK. Either way, that year in the arena would likely land Gatewood exactly where he belongs and with a program in immediate need of a starter.
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There’s been a lot of big moves in the SEC/ACC over the past several days including Ole Miss hiring Lane Kiffin away from FAU, Arkansas tabbing Georgia offensive line coach Sam Pittman as the head hawg, Missouri choosing App State’s Eliah Drinkwitz to replace Barry Odom and Florida State hiring Memphis’ Mike Norvell. Drinkwitz and Norvell have both worked under Malzahn, by the way.
So which school won the latest coaching carousel? I don’t think anyone can answer that question with authority right now. I can point to the four teams in the college football playoffs that are being coached by former assistants who were promoted after their head coach was fired or retired. I can also point to some of the recent “big-name” hires that haven’t exactly taken off. Chip Kelly, Scott Frost, Willie Taggart and Chad Morris were a few big names in 2018 and two of those guys have already been fired. Tom Herman supposedly brought Texas back in 2017. How’s that going? I thought Ed Orgeron would be a disaster at LSU. Boy, was I wrong about that one.
The point is, you just never know. Being a head coach for a Power 5 school is extremely difficult and there are so many factors and very fine margins that can have a tremendous affect on a program. Unless there’s a proven guy on the market that’s still motivated and not just looking for a fat paycheck, like a Nick Saban in 2007, school presidents and AD’s are really just rolling the dice and hoping they don’t come up craps.
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In today’s musical journey we go back 52 years to Dec. 7, 1967 and Otis Redding’s recording of Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay, which became the first posthumous single to reach No. 1 on the U.S. charts. The song, which was co-written by Redding and guitarist Steve Cropper, was originally conceived by Redding a few months earlier while sitting on a houseboat in Sausalito, Calif. Redding and Cropper recorded the song at Stax studio in Memphis, Tenn. The whistling at the end of the song was just Redding freewheeling. He planned to return to the studio later and add new lyrics to that portion of the song. It became the sixth-most performed song of the 20th century and is listed No. 28 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Redding is considered one of the greatest soul, and rhythm and blues artists of all time. The Macon, Ga., native quit school at 15 and got his start in the music industry as a part of Little Richard’s backup band. He went on to record six albums, and then five more after his death including Dock of the Bay. His other hits included I’ve Been Loving You Too Long, Respect and Try a Little Tenderness. Redding was killed three days after recording Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay on Dec. 10, 1967 in a plane crash on his way to a concert in Madison, Wisc. He received a number of posthumous honors including two Grammy Awards and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.