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Old 08-02-2007, 02:18 PM   #102
batted balls
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All-American Football League: South Preview

As teams head to training camps, here is a preview of the All-American Football League South. Teams are listed in the order they finished last year.

Florida State came within an eyelash of winning the National Championship. Bobby Bowden and the Seminoles dropped a Rose Bowl heartbreaker 34-33 to Notre Dame. All-Americans Chris Weinke and Marvin "Snoop" Minnis proved to be a lethal pass-and-catch combination. The star-studded Seminoles want more from their running game.

Auburn rose as high as seventh in the polls. The Tiger losses came against Florida State and arch-rival Alabama. Bo Jackson powered his way to a 627-yard, six-touchdown season that saw the running back finish fourth in the Heisman chase.

Alabama wants to build off its season-ending blowout of Auburn. Head coach Paul "Bear" Bryant needs more consistent play out of his quarterbacks. While Shaun Alexander and Tony Nathan both showed flashes at running back, Bryant believes the Crimson Tide fortunes rest on the arm of QB candidates Brodie Croyle, Joe Namath and Kenny Stabler.

Tennessee began the year with a last-second loss at Florida State. The Volunteers righted themselves and rose to 10th in the polls before a failed two-point conversion against Georgia sent Tennessee to mediocrity. Volunteer head coach Gen. Robert Neyland will rely heavily on quarterback Peyton Manning. Newcomer Robert Meacham gives Manning another weapon.

Following a 2-1 start, Georgia lost three of its final four games. The Bulldogs appeared to be a step slow the second half of the season. Tailback Herschel Walker holds the key to Bulldog hopes in '07. Eric Zeier, Quincy Carter and Fran Tarkenton are locked in a battle for the starting quarterback job.

Florida won by the big play and lost by it last fall. The Gators' success may ride on head ball coach Steve Spurrier's decision at quarterback. The question remains if he will go with one signal caller or continue to rotate Kerwin Bell, Rex Grossman, Shane Matthews, Danny Wuerffel or Spurrier himself. Either way, it will be interesting.

LSU, the third of the South teams to finish 3-4, likewise played up-and-down football. The Tigers played their finest game in a romp over Alabama that featured a sterling performance by quarterback Bert Jones and the third TD punt return of the season by All-American Skyler Green. Word out of Baton Rouge is that JaMarcus Russell has emerged as the first-string QB.

Perhaps no one was more surprised by the woes of Miami than head coach Jimmy Johnson. The Hurricanes lost time and again by slim margins and last-minute mistakes en route to an 0-7 regular season. Amid rumors of Johnson's demise, Miami drilled Arizona State in the Toilet Bowl 35-0. With his contract extended, Johnson's first task is straightening out the quarterback quandry of Ken Dorsey, Jim Kelly, Bernie Kosar, Vinnie Testaverde, Gino Torretta and Steve Walsh.
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Last edited by batted balls; 08-03-2007 at 09:54 AM.
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