An old coaching adage holds that teams see the most improvement early in the season, their identities steeled by a few games’ experience.
Others posit that teams reach their peak in midseason or, more ideally for SEC football, in November.
Regardless of when pinnacle performance is achieved, some prominent SEC programs darn well better improve “big time” this Saturday, to quote the artful words of Dick Cheney.
Traditional powerhouse programs that didn’t play anywhere near their potential in week two — the Georgias, Alabamas, and LSUs of the world — can seek guidance from some of history’s most well-respected achievers.
I’ve researched the annals of history to help motivate these teams and identified elite achievers who shaped the course of mankind.
For example, scholars point to Clark Griswold as a model of constant self-improvement. He grew from an immature loser on a quest for fun in the original “Vacation” movie in 1985, to a terrific father who discovered family is everything in 1989’s “Christmas Vacation.”
Darth Vader was on a different quest (to destroy his family) in the first two “Star Wars” films but found the good in himself in 1983’s “Return of the Jedi.” Talk about improvement.
History’s most respected self-improvers extend beyond film into, what else, 1980s music. Rock band Def Leppard enjoyed success in the early ’80s but cemented their status in glam/hair rock lore with their Hysteria album release in 1987, after three hard years of recording.
Individual college football stars with Heisman hopes might take a cue from supergroup The Traveling Wilburys. Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty all had terrific individual careers, but realized they could improve by coming together as a team. I sure wish their 1990 album wasn’t the end of the line for the Wilburys’ collaborative efforts.
In any event, high-profile Southeastern Conference programs can only hope their Week 3 performances improve as much as these famed cinematic and musical icons.
Georgia’s performance was downright embarrassing against Nicholls State in Kirby Smart’s Sanford Stadium debut. Suddenly, Missouri, a game most circled as a “W” for the Dawgs, is a more serious affair.
Conference opener. On the road. At night. Freshman quarterback in the mix. Never easy.
Mizzou put up 647 yards last week, with 477 of those yards through the air, and ran something like 892 plays.
Georgia must improve its O-line push to get Nick Chubb chubbing along and leave Columbia, Mo., with a win.
Saturday’s marquee matchup on CBS with good ol’ Verne Lundquist and Gary Danielson in the booth features No. 1 Alabama at No. 19 Ole Miss, as the Rebels seek to turn back the Tide an unprecedented three years straight.
Alabama was caught looking ahead to Mississippi in its lackluster win over Western Kentucky, a victory that head coach Nick Saban called “disappointing.” If Bama doesn’t improve from its outing against the Hilltoppers, something tells me Saban will be more than “disappointed” and we all better run for cover.
Down in Baton Rouge, LSU looked pedestrian against Jacksonville “You Think It’s In Florida, But It’s In Alabama” State. LSU hosts Mississippi State on Saturday night and the Tigers have a quarterback controversy, which is bad, because that means Les Miles must think.
Les Miles + thinking = not good for the Bayou Bengals.
LSU must improve its anemic offense to avoid a disastrous 0-1 start to conference play, and its hopes rest on a redshirt junior transfer quarterback from Purdue. Good luck!
History shows the path to improvement. Confucius once said to “study the past if you would define the future.”
Underachieving SEC programs should study the likes of history’s great achievers — Clark Griswold, Darth Vader, Def Leppard, and The Traveling Wilburys — if they have any hope of improving their fate.
As for me, I’m on my own quest for improvement. Think I’ll start by popping in “Vacation” on VHS.
Ben Prevost is a contributing columnist for The Times. His column appears on Thursdays during college football season.