Morning Linkage

Carskadon's take -  Post-game write up from  Bob Carskadon, which is always a good place to start.

Mullen's post-game spiel - Click to watch Mullen's conference with media types after the Auburn win. He touches on the pass-run ratio, the team's red-zone defense, and the importance of the win going forward.

Malzahn's post-game sadness - Click to watch Malzahn discuss Auburn's lack of success in the red zone, Sean White's debut, and the progress of Muschamp's defense. Lots of frowns, if you're in to that kind of thing.

She loves me, she loves me not - MSU is back in the polls this week after being left out last week after being included the week before after being left out the week before that.

What's with all the "strain"? - So, is it just me, or is the word "strain" coming out of our coaches' and players' mouths a whole helluva lot this season? It's not that I don't remember this being a word emphasized before; it's that I don't remember them ever even using the word before. But in between making charts about points-per-possessions in odd-numbered drives during October road games and cataloging my Conan-O'Brien-era Simpsons memorabilia, I stumbled upon Diaz' introductory press conference a La. Tech. from last year that may provide the answer. The link takes you to the part in the press conference where he says this in response to a question about his first impression about his new players:

"At any program, when people start talking about the defensive coordinator, the defensive coordinator at most programs is the strength coach.  I like what [Strength] Coach [Kurt] Hester has already installed here in terms of work ethic, ability to strain, ability to strain and those types of things.

Mellow Monday Introspection

Sometimes Monday mornings are best left to things other than clever metaphors and catchphrases. I'm voting for nice doses of Thelonious Monk—who, if you've never watched before, is more than worth your time—and the always charming Billie Holiday (who in this video somehow gathered three of the best sax players ever to randomly play a set with her on network television).