Re: Georgia closes practices to prevent Alabama from Spying Did you know their is a TigerForums member whos apartment complex is the only one that can look over the Alabama practice field? (Insert evil laugh) BTW Richt mentioned it is more of a thing about things leaking on the internet.
Re: Georgia closes practices to prevent Alabama from Spying And It all seems so much clearer now. :shock:
Re: Georgia closes practices to prevent Alabama from Spying I think it was initially both. One, coaches are usually very worried about spies, reporters reporting a little too much, etc... Two, because of one the alert went up and why take a chance and lets focus on the task at hand after a poor start to the season. Three, I am sure Richt didnt mind throwing a jab at Saban in light of the NE situation. He knew he could balme it on other reasons later but Saban would still know why he really did it. I think it could hurt UGA more than help for several reasons. Not sticking to the usual format, players minds caught into outside stories about the closed practices, giving some motivation to Saban and Bama, etc...
Re: Georgia closes practices to prevent Alabama from Spying Didn't Stoops suggest that Saban had spied on his during walk throughs for the Sugar Bowl after the '03 season?
2003 LSU/OU NC Game, Saban & Stoops talk about game and Spying Sounds like this reporter called both Stoops and Saban to see if either thought their was spying going on leading up to the 2003 BCSNC game. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/notebook?page=iform074
Stoops implies that LSU cheated to win the NC in 2003 Unbelievable. Never did like Stoops, this just confirms that he is a complete ass. Notice that he doesn't come outright and say that LSU cheated, but the implication is there. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/notebook?page=iform074 Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops made it clear over the phone Monday night that he has no beef with Nick Saban. Stoops said it more than once. But four years after the Sooners lost the BCS championship to Saban's LSU Tigers 21-14 in the Sugar Bowl -- aka LSU's backyard -- Stoops said he "may have made a mistake" by having the Sooners practice in the cavernous Louisiana Superdome in the days leading up to the game. Bob Stoops June Frantz-Hunt/Icon SMI If OU makes it to New Orleans, Bob Stoops won't have the Sooners practice in the Superdome. "In hindsight, I would not have," Stoops said of practicing at the site of the game. "I would have gone to some high school and hopefully have a lot fewer people [around] and [it would] be a lot more flexible with time. … I'm not saying that in any negative way toward Nick. I'm just saying there were too many people to track or keep up with." Saban, reached at his office at Alabama Wednesday morning, cracked, "I don't care where Oklahoma would have practiced in Louisiana. It would have been hard for them. If somebody wanted to do that [spy], it would have gotten done." But, Saban emphasized, it's not something that he has ever wanted to do, for reasons both ethical and practical. "I never did that," he said. "I never do anything to try to skunk the other team. You watch the film of what they do, and 99 percent of what they do against you is what they did against somebody else." Spying is a hot topic in football this week. The NFL's Bill Belichick is a week removed from self-inflicting a black mark on his lily-white sweatshirt. Georgia coach Mark Richt closed practice this week to prepare for Saban's Crimson Tide. That raised an eyebrow in part because a former Saban assistant, Stacy Searels, now works for Richt. The Alabama coach recalled working as an assistant at Ohio State in 1981, when the Buckeyes played Duke. Someone saw the Blue Devils running option in their Friday walkthrough. The Ohio State coaches panicked and went over option defense with their players. Never mind that Duke had Ben Bennett, one of the most prolific passers in NCAA history. "They didn't do anything we hadn't seen on film," Saban said. "I guess my point is, sometimes you get too much info. You get the wrong info." Now, Saban said, if somebody were to come to him with spy matter, "I don't want to know. You mess me up." Stoops' 2003 Sooners were not the first team in college football history to try to win a national championship at a neutral site that was anything but. Nebraska lost many a ring trying to beat Miami or Florida State in the Orange Bowl. Michigan and Ohio State for years took turns humiliating themselves against USC and UCLA in the Rose Bowl. But the more Stoops talked, the more he remembered. The Sugar Bowl gave him his choice of practice fields, he said, and he chose the Superdome. The Sugar Bowl also allowed LSU to practice at the Dome after the Sooners finished. "They were trying to hurry us up so that LSU could get on the field. … I found it strange that a couple of times [the Tigers] were standing in the hallway waiting for us to finish," Stoops said. Stoops didn't recall a play that he believed LSU thwarted with inside information. He did recall that the Sooners played well enough despite early mistakes to have the ball deep in LSU territory with a shot at tying the game in the final minutes. On one play that sticks in his mind, or even his craw, quarterback Jason White overthrew a wide-open Kejuan Jones. "If they looked for it," Stoops said of LSU, "they didn't do a good job. Jason got a little more pressure. He leaned back and just overthrew him. There wasn't a guy within 10 or 15 yards of him. So I don't know." Four years have passed. Saban is at Alabama. Stoops has his best team since, yes, 2003. Oklahoma is ranked fourth. Look who's ranked 1-2: USC and LSU. It's the same three names that endured the controversy at the end of the 2003 season. Wouldn't you know it? LSU and Oklahoma could meet in the Superdome again to play for the BCS championship. If the Sooners get there, Stoops will see to it that they don't set foot on the Dome turf to do anything until they have to.
As soon as I read Maisel's column, I knew Stoops was wrong about getting "hurried off the field" for his practice. A little Morning Advocate search proved me right (see attached). I also sent this email to Maisel...and to my rabid OU fan brother-in-law to boot.
Hmmm, OU did not belong in the 2003 NC game, USC did. LSU cheated and won. Every team we play is not as good as everyone thought they were. Our coach is still winning with Saban's players in year 3. USC has better players then LSU, including two Louisiana boys who are Heisman hopefuls. Spurrier won't even mention Coach Miles name when referring to this weekends game but will mention Saban. Did I miss anything? Respect for LSU, I won't even go there. Sounds like our Tigers will just have to continue to go about their business. I like our chances. :grin:
