NFL Auburn Football

Protecting the Quarterback is one of the most important things for an offense to be successful. The Chargers are tied for first in sacks allowed with 5. Conversely, the Raiders are worst in protecting the quarterback, giving up a ridiculous 24 sacks. This is an interesting statistic because many felt that Chargers made a mistake by passing on the over hyped Tackle Robert Gallery and drafting QB Philip Rivers instead. It's interesting that Gallery has only just begun to start at Left Tackle this preseason. Marcus McNeil, the Chargers second round choice out of Auburn in 2006 has started at Left Tackle since drafted. McNeil has more than outplayed Gallery, and is a possible Pro Bowl candidate, as well as a potential Rookie of the Year. Sports Illustrated named McNeil to their rookie watch. He has rare size and ability, and has shown toughness by playing with two broken hands. His run blocking has also continued to improve – the Chargers are #2 in rushing as well as one of the top offenses in the league, and McNeil is a big reason why (pun intended).

Like the wildfires burning out West, former USC tailback Reggie Bush's troubles continue to spread. Yahoo Sports has uncovered more improper payments to the former Heisman Trophy winner. During an eight month investigation, the site found that the Bush family received more than $100,000 in payments from sports agents.

Back in April, it was revealed that the Bush family received $54,000 in free rent from an agent. Today, those numbers jumped again. This time the web site found that Bush and his family received round-trip airline tickets, free limousine transportation, new suits for his father and brother, money to fix up his car and several other high dollar items.

There's a very real chance that Bush might have to forfeit his Heisman Trophy if these allegations are proved true. More importantly, if the allegations are true and the NCAA finds that USC was aware of these activities (or had lack of institutional control), it could be forced to forfeit its national championship from 2004.

Does that mean that Auburn could be finally crowned national champions? It's certainly possible. It's not unusual for the NCAA to strip teams of their victories and championships.

Would this make up for the way Auburn was shafted in 2004? It would go a long way; but that time has passed and it certainly wouldn't give Auburn people that feeling of a true championship. Still, I'm sure most Tiger fans would take it.

If it were Alabama, they'd already be changing the banners in Bryant-Denny tonight to read 13 National Championships. This will be an interesting story as it plays out. It could become the biggest shakedown in NCAA history.

Link: Football Saturday In The South