FanNation - The Republic of Sport

     Heading into yesterday's games, the SEC was a combined 3-0 after wins by Mississippi State, Alabama, Kentucky, and Auburn over Central Florida, Colorado, Florida State, and Clemson respectively.  Coming into the day, I thought we do very well, but we came very close to going under .500.  For the day.

     The first game of the day feature the Tennessee Volunteers and the Wisconsin Badgers.  This game lived up to the hype and was very exciting.  It came down to the end as Wisconsin was driving and Tennessee intercepted a pass.  Tennessee, led by senior quarterback Erik Ainge, who threw for 365 yards lead Tennessee to their first 10-win season since 2004.  The final score was Tennessee 21, Wisconsin 17.

     The second game that the SEC participated in wasn't near as hsppy for me.  The Tigers of Mizzou, led by halfback Tony Temple and Chase Daniel, ran and threw all over Arkansas, who never got out of the gates.  At one point in the game, Arkansas had a chance to turn momentum when a defensive end intercepted a pass.  But during the runback, Daniel popped it out and Mizzou recovered.  The final was Mizzou 38, Arkansas 7.

     The next SEC matchup was a very intriguing game.  The Florida Gators were playing virtually a home game against Rich Rodrgiuez's new team, Michigan.  The Gators played sound and didn't fumble or throw any intereceptions.  But Michigan's gameplan of rushing Heisman winner Tim Tebow worked.  The Wolverines hung in there and at the end of the game, they walked off the field with Lloyd Carr on their shoulders.

     The last game of the first day of 2008 saw the Warriors of Hawai'i walk into the biggest game in school history against SEC powerhouse Georgia.  From the start, the Warriors were in trouble.  Before they could even get a snap off, they were called for two false start penalties.  They ended up punting the ball 1st possesion and Georgia scored on theirs via freshan sensation Knowshon Moreno.  He would later score yet another TD to put the Bulldogs up even more.  It was clear to see that the Hawai'i team just didn't have the speed to keep with the Bulldogs.  This was especially true for the offensive line, who couldn't stop Sugar Bowl MVP Marcus Howard.  Howard, who very humbly received his award, used his speed to get around the edge to record 3 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, and fell on one fumble for a Touchdown.  The final score was Georgia 41, Hawai'i 10. 

Congrats to all SEC teams for getting this far, and keep up the good work.  We are now 6-2 in bowl games this season.  We have one game remaining, and it is between LSU and Ohio State.  Oh yeah, it's for the BCS National Championship.