SDoolittle

LSU was 4-1 vs Bama when Saban was at LSU. All I'm saying is that LSU was much more successful playing against a Mike Shula led Alabama team than they have been against Saban. So if Saban had stayed at LSU, it only stands to reason that LSU would have more championships simply because they would never have to play against him. By the way, I completely understand your hatred towards Saban. If Bob Stoops ditched OU and ended up at Texas, I would feel the same way.

They call it "rubbing" instead of "dipping" in WV. I've traveled all over the world, and I've never heard that until I moved here. Does anyone else call it that?

That's an interesting question, and all we can really do is guess, but one must assume that LSU would win more championships if they were playing for Saban than they have won playing against him.

I haven't used a spincaster in 25 years, but I've heard good things about the Abu Garcia Abumatic.

That was one of the strangest seasons of college football in recent memory. The #2 team lost 7 weeks in a row that year if I recall correctly. I really don't think there was a team in the country that was deserving of the crystal football. Most of the top teams had two losses, and frankly, none of them were very good. Any one of about a half dozen teams could have beaten Ohio State. They should have just cancelled the BCS National Championship game.

I assume that you're talking about Milford. I was stationed at Ft Riley from 1999-2001, and I fished Milford regularly. In fact, the first tournament I ever fished was on Milford. The water was high and muddy from recent storms, and the wind was howling. Only two fish were weighed in that day, but one of them was mine. I took 2nd place with about 3.5 lbs. I've been tournament fishing ever since.

You can't blame a poor bite on the Greenbriar on me because I never fished it. If the fishing on Sutton and Summersville lakes or the London pool of the Kanawha declined, it's probably because I was there. My best day of fishing in WV was on the New River. Two friends and I caught 80 smallmouths on an 8 mile float trip. The fish must not have gotten the word that I was there.

After 17 years and 8 different duty stations, I'm heading to Ft Riley, KS in November for what should be the final stop in my Army career. Not only will this (hopefully) be my last PCS move, but it's only about a 4 hour drive from my home in northeastern Oklahoma. West Virginia has been good to me, but it's time to move on, and I'm pretty excited. Those of you who fish in Kansas may want to start sharpening your pitchforks now. My very presence on the water has been known to shut down a good bite.

Welcome aboard! I'm not from your area, but I've fished a few tournaments on Grayson and Yatesville lakes.

I love your optimism, RW, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

My first thought was "Oh, that little guy? I wouldn't worry about that little guy."

I'm not from Michigan.

X2

I agree with you, Catt. OU was clearly a better team, but they choked and let an inferior LSU team beat them.

Aqua, as much as I hate to admit it, LSU has actually been pretty good about scheduling a few ranked nonconference opponents lately. Over the past few years, they've played TCU, WVU, and Oregon. They also have a home & home vs Oklahoma coming up in a few years. With that said, the team that routinely has one of the toughest nonconference schedules in all of college football is Oklahoma. This year is no different. http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/writer/bruce-feldman/22522143/top-10-toughest-non-conference-schedules-of-2013

Saying that Oklahoma choked in that seven point loss to LSU would imply that OU was the better team in that game. Is that what you're trying to say?

That is a tough schedule, but it's not the same five teams we were talking about.

Nobody, SEC or otherwise, plays all of those teams every year.

Thank you!

The cheapest rod that I use with any regularity is a Kistler Carbon Steel with a Revo S. I probably spent about $200 total for the rod and reel. It's the best spinnerbait combo I've ever fished.

Perhaps "nonsense" was a bit harsh, but honestly, the old "we lose to better teams than you do" argument makes me laugh. Strength of schedule only matters if you're winning, and not every SEC team has a super tough schedule. Look at Alabama this season. They have a whopping two ranked teams on their schedule. Two. Remember when Auburn got left out of the National Championship game after the 2004 season? That was due to their weak strength of schedule, but everyone was crying foul because they were the SEC champs, so they deserved an automatic berth in the National Championship game. By the way, I'm not a WVU fan. I'm stationed in WV, but I'm not a native.

This is just the kind of nonsense that I was talking about. If your seven wins were against the likes of Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, Ole Miss, and a few nonconference powderpuffs, I'm not impressed. Going undefeated in the SEC might be more impressive than going undefeated in some other conferences. Going 7-5 is not.

I have nothing against the SEC as a conference. I have nothing against the individual teams in the SEC. I respect the accomplishments of teams like Alabama, LSU, and Florida. (Notice I didn't mention Auburn?) My problem is the way the bottom half of the SEC somehow looks better because they are in the SEC. A perfect example of this happened when Okie State beat Mississippi State. The commentators couldn't shut up about how this quality win over an SEC opponent would help OSU out in the strength of schedule department of the BCS. Their other two nonconference games are UTSA (Conf-USA) and Lamar (FCS). How in the world does adding a mediocre SEC team give them a strong strength of schedule? Teams like OU, Texas, Baylor, and TCU will be a much tougher test for the Pokes, but somehow they will still get more credit for beating an unranked team from the Southeastern Conference. Conference affiliation will not make a QB throw better. It won't make an LB tackle harder. It won't make a coach call better plays.

Not too bad for public land. How did everyone else do?

The correct number is seven.