Somehow, with all the chaos that ensued the last weekend of regular season play in the SEC, we ended up with an Outback Bowl berth when all hope for a decent bowl bid seemed lost. I left Jordan-Hare Stadium on Friday, Nov. 27, feeling certain of a Chick-fil-A Bowl appearance barring upset city that Saturday.
Then, State beat Ole Miss. South Carolina waxed Clemson. Tennessee upended Kentucky in overtime. The final nail in the proverbial coffin seemed to come from Georgia's unforeseen triumph over ACC Champion Georgia Tech to put the finishing touches on a terrible day of football for AU fans.
Fast forward to today...We have our plans booked for the Outback Bowl, and I'm looking forward to a New Year's celebration in Ray-Jay and sunny Tampa. You know, I've always said Tampa is a big, big Auburn town. It's always been good to the Tigers, and it will be nice to give something back.
As for the Iron Bowl, the better team won (as I have stated happens 9.9 times out of 10 in our rivalry), but the better team on the field did not. We had plenty of chances, but the fact of the matter was there was not a single sustained drive that resulted in points all afternoon. There were plenty of reasons to feel optimistic, but as I wrote for CSM, that was perhaps the most devastated I've felt leaving JHS. Now, those guys are playing in Pasadena and...well, I fully believe our 2004 team would wax this team of their's.
Neither here nor there, I know.
I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas. We have had some family upheaval over the course of the past three weeks, but we are doing what we have to do. Please keep my mom and my grandmother in your prayers as both are straining themselves to their max limits. It won't be an easy road to full recovery for my grandmother, but I am confident she will make it there. I just hope it doesn't take everything out of my mom in the process.
2009 has been a pretty good year, and it went by incredibly fast. There were a lot of high points (Vegas, Jimmy Buffett, Jeanie's graduating college, a couple of fun weddings, an incredible opportunity in the CollegeSportsMatchups.com job), and some low points, but I will always look back on this year fondly. I don't know why, but I feel much more grown up than a year ago. Funny how that happens, huh?
I'm hoping to put up a wish list for 2010 sometime in the next couple of days on the website, but here are some items that I won't be able to put in the column for objectivity reasons:
1.) Lache Seastrunk and/or Marcus Lattimore signing up on Feb. 3 to wear orange and blue on the Plains. (Those who have listened to me throughout the summer and the season know that I fully expect our coaches to pull off all three running backs. It's gonna happen, but if it doesn't and we "only" get two of the three, it's still an amazing haul.)
2.) Hook 'em Horns. (I know some good folks that are enjoying the heck out of this season, and some of those are going to Pasadena. Good for them, they had a hell of a team. However, Hook 'em because I still despise the University of Alabama, always will.)
3.) Keeping all our current commitments and adding the following: Byran Jones, Jeffrey Whittaker, Ryan White, Cory Lemonier, Eric Mack, and one/two of the RBs (most likely Lattimore). If Coach Hal can go ahead and book his hotel for Glendale next year, why can't I feel like all these cats are a realistic possibility for our staff? (You gotta believe, right, Coach?)
4.) Coach Hal has to cancel his Glendale reservation in early September next fall.
5.) Coach Hal has to cancel his Atlanta reservation in mid-October next fall.
6.) Coach Hal transfers both reservations over to my name by Halloween.
7.) Darvin Adams gains All-SEC first-team status after getting robbed this season.
8.) More improvements from our tailgate.
9.) More folks to cook at our tailgate.
10.) We feel very comfortable leaving Ray-Jay Jan. 1 about the performance that afternoon and the future on both offense and defense for Auburn.
11.) I will finally accept the notion that Gene Chizik may not have been as terrible of a hire as I once thought.
12.) Trooper Taylor keeps doing what he does (on and off the field in the living rooms with the recruits).
Merry Christmas again, folks. Happy New Year and War Eagle. Catch ya in 2010.
***NOTE***
Outback Bowl plans are as follows:
Dec. 30: Arrive in Auburn, stay at camper
Dec. 31: Arrive in Gainesville, stay at Hineszy's, dinner at Ballyhoo's
Jan. 1: Leave Gainesville by 6 a.m. EST; arrive at Raymond James by 9 a.m. EST; Outback Bowl; drive back to Gainesville or Auburn
Jan. 2: PapaJohns.com Bowl (tentative)
If you are going to the game and want to meet up in Tampa at some point on game day, please hit me up. (rushicw@gmail.com)
