Reminder: I told you so
When I wrote
this article during the summer that Auburn was going to a major bowl game I must have received 10,000 emails,
most saying the same thing–basically asking what happened to my brains.
Within the last two weeks, Auburn University has gone from not being listed in the top 25 to being No. 11 in the VCS polls. They have not won eight games yet, only six, but left on Auburn’s schedule is Florida Atlantic, Arkansas, Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama and my guess would be they have a chance to beat everybody on the list except Alabama. This means if this happens, they would win 11 games. In the event they beat Alabama, which I doubt very seriously, and Alabama loses to LSU, Auburn should be playing for the National Championship.
Last week VCS polls almost got it right. I happen to think that Ohio State should be No. 5 and Baylor or Miami should be No. 4. The most surprising team in the country is Missouri. The most ridiculous ranking is by USA Today where they have Auburn No. 17 and ranked Texas A&M and Louisville over Auburn and Auburn just beat Texas A&M last week.
Alabama has made great progress. Once upon a time I thought they would not three-peat but their chances have improved. I hope they play for the National Championship. I’m hoping they would play Ohio St., Baylor or Miami. They are only two teams that can give them serious problems: Florida State and Auburn.
Who knows what the state of the union is? According to the survey, 54 percent say it’s a bad thing that the GOP controls the House, up 11 points from last December, soon after the 2012 elections when the Republicans kept control of the chamber. Only 38 percent say it’s a good thing the GOP controls the House, a 13-point dive from the end of the year.
This is the first time since the Republicans won back control of the House in the 2010 midterm elections that a majority say their control of the chamber is bad for the country. In other words the approval rating of Congress is lower than a used car salesman. The survey indicates that the approval rating for Congress remains near an all-time low. Only 12 percent of those questioned say they approve of the job Congress is doing, just two points higher than the historic low in CNN polling. And 86 percent give federal lawmakers a thumbs-down, also near the all-time high.
The issue now is the President fixing the Affordable Care Act website, for that is the only thing the Republicans can hang their hat on. The website must be fixed within 60 days or less.
e-mail: jjlewis@birminghamtimes.com
