Scoring expected to be at a premium in SEC West duel
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It will be sunny with the temperature around 74 when Alabama kicks off at 2:30 p.m. CDT today against LSU in a game at Bryant-Denny Stadium that will be televised nationally by CBS.
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1.  You know that line in the trailer for “The Blind Side” where Sandra Bullock’s character says she finds Nick Saban to be handsome?  Saban says that really happened.

2.  Arkansas, Vanderbilt, Georgia and South Carolina are starting more young players than any other teams in the conference.

3.  Tony Barnhart of The AJC has posted his weekend predictions.

4.  Barnhart’s AJC mate Jeff Schultz makes his predictions, too.

5.  There’s nothing normal about Les Miles’ football decisions.

6.  Tommy Hicks of The Mobile Press-Register is the latest writer to tackle Urban Meyer’s initial half-game suspension of Brandon Spikes.

7.  Charles Hollis of The Birmingham News has made his weekend picks.

8.  Ivan Maisel of ESPN.com writes that this year’s Alabama-LSU game has a lot more at stake than just bragging rights.

9.  The name of the game in the SEC?  Defense.

10.  Pat Dooley of The Gainesville Sun makes his predictions for this weekends games AND the SEC’s bowl bids.

11.  Jon Solomon of The Birmingham News has as in-depth one-on-one with excellent CBS analyst Gary Danielson.  (Seriously, name me another announcer who so routinely predicts game action before it occurs.  The guy is good.)

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Just wanted to do a little pimping for Josh Ward and the great work he does over on our Recruiting page.

For those of you who like to keep track of what’s being written about each SEC school’s recruiting, our Recruiting page is the perfect place hang out.

Josh has a number of new stories, bits, blurbs and links up today as a matter of fact.

Check it our right here.

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1.  Kicker Josh Jasper might be called upon quite a bit against Alabama’s stingy defense.

2.  So far, LSU’s special teams units have been up to the challenge.  (Which seems to be out of the norm for SEC teams this year.)

3.  LSU fans will need to keep their eyes on the Tide’s Mark Ingram and Rolando McClain tomorrow.

4.  Brandon LaFell and Terrance Tolliver are easily the conference’s best one-two punch at the receiver position.

5.  Don’t expect the quarterbacks – one who takes too many sacks (Jordan Jefferson) and the other who struggles in the red zone (Greg McElroy — to outshine the defenses tomorrow.

6.  The Tigers’ offense has been improving, but it will get its toughest test from Alabama.

7.  Les Miles wants to see more of tailback/fullback Stevan Ridley in LSU’s attack.

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1.  Tony Barnhart of The AJC wonders what the fallout will be for Brandon Spikes… and for Urban Meyer.  He also says that last week’s suspension/fine plan was put in place to stop coaches from questioning officials’ integrity, not their judgement.

2.  Kevin Scarbinsky of The Birmingham News writes that Mike Slive must suspend Meyer of else undermine his own tough guy policy.

3.  Jeff Schultz of The AJC says that Spikes has more of a conscience than Meyer.

4.  Good luck finding an Alabama-LSU ticket.

5.  Gentry Estes of The Mobile Press-Register writes that schools like Alabama are correct in honoring tradition and not switching to black helmets, jerseys and pants.  (He also includes a MUST SEE Photoshop image of Bama wearing Houndstooth jerseys against Tennessee.)

6.  Pat Dooley of The Gainesville Sun writes that postgame handshakes are getting shorter and colder in the SEC.

7.  Here’s yet another look at this week’s LSU-Bama game.

8.  Ivan Maisel of ESPN.com writes that Rolando McClain’s “football smarts” are “off the charts.”

9.  Jevan Snead might have fallen from the top of the first round to the top of the second round in next year’s NFL draft (if he comes out).

10.  Chris Low of ESPN.com tells you who’s up for the SEC’s Freshman of the Year award…

11.  What to watch for in this weekend’s games…

12.  And who’ll win this weekend’s games.

13.  Ron Higgins of The Memphis Commercial-Appeal brings the high, hard one and dares critical fans to do a better job than the SEC’s officials.  (You should read this one.)

14.  Finally, here’s the weekly look around the conference from Travis Haney of The Charleston Post & Courier.

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1.  Jordan Jefferson says he has to try to be perfect against Alabama’s defense.

2.  Patrick Peterson is looking forward to his one-on-one battle with Julio Jones.

3.  Linebacker Kelvin Sheppard is having a breakout season for the Tigers.

4.  Here’s an odd fact: the road team in the Alabama-LSU series is 27-11-1 since 1970.  That’s hard to believe.

5.  According to this notes column, Les Miles says he’s been playing “Sweet Home Alabama” at practice this week.  He also says that he doesn’t know the lyrics which I find impossible to believe.

6.  Facing Terrence Cody this week, center T-Bob Hebert knows he’ll have to stay low and drive with his feet.

7.  Miles believes his team might actually need to slow down a little bit in practice.

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1.  I’m not a big follower of the college football awards scene, but here are the semifinalist lists for the Bednarik Award, the Maxwell Award, and the Thorpe Award.

2.  Mark Wiedmer of The Chattanooga Times Free Press wonders if Mark Richt will step down soon at Georgia. 

3.  David Ching of The Athens Banner-Herald makes his bowl projections for the SEC.

4.  Auburn’s Zac Etheridge — wearing a bulky neckbrace — had an emotional reunion with his team yesterday.

5.  Jim Kleinpeter of The New Orleans Times-Picayune has posted his weekly SEC power rankings.

6.  Pat Dooley of The Gainesville Sun ranks the SEC, too.

7.  Tony Barnhart of The AJC lists five questions that Richt should ask himself during the offseason.

8.  Mike Griffith of The Knoxville News Sentinel got a coach from one of Tennessee’s future opponents to (anonymously) break down Lane Kiffin’s offense.

9.  Doug Segrest of The Birmingham News looks at which SEC teams have overachieved and underachieved based on their recent recruiting classes. (Take a look at Ole Miss’ recruiting and tell me how they were picked to finish in the Top 10 this year.)

10.  And Jon Solomon — also of The Birmingham News — tells you what to watch for this weekend.

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Notes from Les Miles’ teleconference:

* LSU is “relatively healthy.”  The team has practiced well this week.

* Jordan Jefferson is getting better because he’s getting more and more on-field experience.   He’s taking advantage of coverages better.

* Terrance Tolliver “comes off the practice field spent.”

* Asked if the Nick Saban versus Les Miles talk has died down, Miles said he’s never given any though to that and it’s always about Alabama and LSU to him.

* Alabama is “good, capable and well coached.”  Miles did not get into specifics when asked to explain what he’s concerned about in facing Bama.  He did say it’s hard to find weaknesses on Alabama’s team.

* If LSU plays the way they can play, “we’ll be happy with the outcome.”

* Rolando McClain does a good job of getting his teammates into the right positions.  “A very bright player who understands the intricacies of the game.”

* Miles expects both offenses to “move more slowly than they’d like.”

* Julio Jones is “a tremendous receiver.”  “There’s no difference in the plays that he makes… from a year ago.”  “They use him run and pass.”

* LSU is getting more confident on offense.  “I feel like there’s a commitment to excellence there and a comfort with what’s being called.”  “We’re getting better.”


*

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1.  Nick Saban likes the improvements his Alabama team made during their open week.

2.  LSU’s defense is preparing for a physical Tide offense.

3.  Cornerback Patrick Peterson will be put in charge of slowing down Bama receiver Julio Jones.

4.  The Tigers will also have to stop Heisman candidate Mark Ingram.

5.  Ingram looks to improve over his five carry, six yard performance against LSU last year.

6.  Kelvin Sheppard is the first Tiger linebacker since 2002 to record three consecutive double-digit tackle games.

7.  The Tide feel their offense is ready to get rolling again.

8.  On the other side of the ball, Tiger center T-Bob Hebert will have to deal with massive nose tackle Terrence Cody.
 
9.  Les Miles isn’t playing down the significance of this week’s game.

10.  In basketball news, Trent Johnson has decided to hold closed-door scrimmages against Division I teams (like South Alabama last weekend) rather than open exhibitions against small colleges.

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He has kept a low profile for most of the season, but former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville has now opened up on a number of topics with David Ching of The Athens Banner-Herald.

Some of the highlights:

* Tuberville has watched every Auburn game on TV or delay, but he has turned down offers to attend.  “I don’t want to be a hindrance.  A lot of people will say, ‘Come on, let’s go to a game,’ but I’m of the opinion that you just kinda stay out of the way.  These guys are in a different situation.  Let them take full control — not that I would interfere, but just being around (would) — so I just try to stay away.”

* He thought Auburn had a chance to win eight or nine games when the season started.  “… I still think they have a chance.”

* On Gene Chizik’s first season: “It’s been good.  Anytime you have a transition — you put in a new offense and defense and they got off to a great start — but every year, no matter whether you’re a new staff or an old staff, there’s a lull that your players hit for some reason in the SEC.”

* On wanting to coach again: “I’ve totally stayed out of it.  I know there are some people whose seats are getting pretty hot right now.  I’ll just let happen what happens and if it does, it does and if it doesn’t, it doesn’t.”

* On Georgia’s season: “They haven’t made excuses.  Defensively, obviously they haven’t played very well.  But you’ve got to look back and realize that you can’t lose a running back like Knowshon Moreno and control the ball as well as you did the year before, so you put your defense out there that much more.”

* On Mark Richt’s situation: “Mark knows as well as anybody that drastic changes don’t help anything.  Players win games.  They’ve got a lot of young players on this team.  A lot of times you learn more from failure than you do from success — and a lot of the young guys that are playing now are gonna be around a couple more years. … So you’ve got to understand, when you play in this conference, every year is not gonna be perfect.  You’re gonna have years that you’ve got to start new quarterbacks and new running backs, and things aren’t going to work out well.”

* On Tennessee: “… They’re getting better.  New staff, new stuff.  They’ve been able to weather some of the storms.  They’re still not a really good team, but (the night they played Georgia) they were.  They’re gonna have their ups and downs just because it’s a new group.”

* On how UT has handled Jonathan Crompton: “In the Auburn game, they tried to drop back and throw it — and in this league, you don’t have that much time.  The defensive linemen are much better.  So they’ve started using play-action and throwing the ball to one or two receivers and he’s looked like a totally different guy.”

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Pat Forde of ESPN.com his posted his weekly “Forde Yard Dash” college football wrap-up column.

In his latest installment he covers:

* Brandon Spikes’ eye-gouge

* Urban Meyer’s punishment of Spikes

* Georgia’s switch to Grambling-esque black helmets and pants (Forde suggests that the Dawgs have worn their “silver britches” for nearly half a century, but in fact Herschel Walker’s famed debut run over Tennessee’s Bill Bates in 1980 featured the Goalline Stalker in bright red pants.)



* Tennessee’s black jerseys

* The fact that Alabama would never trot out a black jersey

* LSU at Alabama

* Florida at South Carolina (in two weeks)

* The fact that Steve Spurrier and Carolina haven’t scored 40 points in a game for 34 consecutive outings

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Just a few more news items for you at lunchtime today:

1.  Dennis Dodd of CBSSports.com believes Brandon Spikes should have gotten a stiffer punishment.

2.  Mark McCarter of The Huntsville Times believes the SEC should have upped the penalty on Spikes.

3.  Jay Greeson of The Chattanooga Times Free Press makes his SEC bowl predictions.

4.  Pat Dooley of The Gainesville Sun writes that things can’t get much worse for Georgia.

5.  FoxSports.com ranks the nation’s 10 most disappointing teams and Ole Miss ranks #7 while Georgia ranks #6.  Ole Miss was a Top 10 team to start the season and they’re not as disappointing as Georgia?

6.  Don Borst of FoxSports.com writes that Florida and Texas finally looked like national champoinship contenders on Saturday.

7.  Jeff Goodman, also of FoxSports.com, tells you why Kentucky will be in the Elite Eight at year’s end.  (And why they won’t be.)

8.  Ron Higgins of The Memphis Commercial-Appeal looks at the Alabama-LSU game.

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1.  The coaches say Saturday’s game is about LSU versus Alabama, not them.

2.  This writer feels the game won’t be hyped as Coach versus Coach.

3.  But this writer — correctly, in my opinion — says the game still IS about Les Miles versus Nick Saban.  (Miles will not even say Saban’s name, which this writer says, “may show more inferiority than gamesmanship.”)

4.  Regardless of the focus of the hype, the Tigers are ready for a big-game atmosphere in Tuscaloosa.

5.  Ciron Black says he loves “going to Alabama because it is hostile.”

6.  Stevan Ridley hopes he’s played his way into LSU’s tailback rotation.
 

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I’m not a big fan of awards.  There are just flat too many of them if you ask me.

Therefore I’m really not a fan of preseason awards.  It’s not so much an honor as a guess and I don’t know what those guesses are worth.

That said, everyone hands out preseason awards and the SEC is no different.

Below are the SEC coaches’ preseason all-conference teams:


FIRST TEAM

Devan Downey, G, South Carolina
Tasmin Mitchell, F, LSU
AJ Ogilvy, C, Vanderbilt
Patrick Patterson, F, Kentucky
Tyler Smith, G/F, Tennessee
Jarvis Varnado, F, Mississippi State
Michael Washington, F, Arkansas
Terrico White, G, Ole Miss


Yep, nothing like an eight-man team.  Below are the eight players named to the coaches’ second team.


SECOND TEAM

Dominique Archie, F, South Carolina
Wayne Chism, F/C, Tennessee
JaMychal Green, F, Alabama
DeWayne Reed, G, Auburn
Trey Thompkins, F, Georgia
Alex Tyus, F, Florida
John Wall, G, Kentucky
Chris Warren, G, Ole Miss.


It’s interesting that the SEC coaches voted John Wall to their second team all-conference team.  He’s already been named the preseason national player of the year by CBSSports.com.

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1.  Here are the SEC’s Players of the Week for Week Nine.

2.  Chris Low of ESPN thinks Brandon Spikes should have been suspended for a full game and he takes Mike Slive to task for being willing to suspend officials and coaches, but not a player.

3.  Paul Gattis of The Birmingham News offers up his weekly SEC Rewind column and opens it by asking to hear from ANYONE who like Tennessee’s black jerseys on Saturday.  (I’m guessing his mailbox is already full from folks in Knoxville.)

4.  Tony Barnhart of The AJC covers a number of points in his daily blog:

* Florida (or the league) should have suspended Spikes for at least one game.

* Georgia should never, EVER, EVER wear black helmets, black jerseys or black pants again.

* LSU is still in the hunt for the national championship.

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1.  LSU’s linebackers continue to improve and thrive.

2.  Freshman Thomas Parsons made a nice impact at fullback against Tulane.

3.  With Tulane behind them, LSU can finally focus on Alabama and the Game of the Year in the SEC West.

4.  Miles tries not to talk about Nick Saban… possibly because some LSU fans still prefer their past coach to their current one.

5.  This writer believes LSU’s “stock is clearly rising” while “Alabama is backsliding.”

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Every Monday we provide you with a printable rundown of the week’s SEC action, complete with television listings and early odds on each games.

All times are Eastern.

Here are your Week 10 matchups:


SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7TH


South Carolina at Arkansas
12:21pm
ESPN Regional Syndicated Package
Arkansas -6


Tennessee Tech at Georgia
1:00pm
Pay-Per-View
None


Eastern Kentucky at Kentucky
1:00pm
Institutional Point-to-Point
None


Furman at Auburn
1:30pm
Pay-Per-View
None


LSU at Alabama
3:30pm
CBS
Alabama -9


Memphis at Tennessee
7:00pm
ESPNU
Tennessee -25


Vanderbilt at Florida
7:15pm
ESPN or ESPN2
Florida -32.5


Northern Arizona at Ole Miss
7:30pm
CSS
None

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We’re 2/3rds of the way through the 2009 football season and already fans are starting to look ahead to next year and beyond.

Since everyone and their brother does SEC power rankings each week, we’ll nix ours this week and instead grade each program based on its overall health.

We’ll provide a reason for optimism and a reason for concern for each program moving forward. 

Enjoy.  And I look forward to receiving your angry emails.



1.  Alabama

Health Equivalent:  Jack LaLanne (at left)

The likelihood of Nick Saban leaving Tuscaloosa is slim.  He’s tried the NFL and there’s no college job better than Bama.  With Saban (and his coaching ability) on hand and yet another great recruiting class on the way, it appears that Alabama will remain healthy for years.

Reason for Optimism:  If Nick Saban can go 8-0 with a new quarterback and a rebuilt offensive line, what can he do with veterans at those positions?

Reason for Concern:  Saban found it “disconcerting” that folks in the Heart of Dixie are finding fault with his squad.  Bama fans better hope they don’t drive Saban to the golf course prematurely.



2.  Florida

Health Equivalent:  Matthew McConaughey

Florida is buff… and they have no problem showing it off — like the too often shirtless McConaughey.  Based in fertile recruiting ground, as long as UF’s head coach even TRIES to recruit, Florida will have one of the nation’s ten best rosters.  There are that many stars in the Sunshine State.

Reason for Optimism:  Two BCS titles and a possible third on the way, UF is once again going to have a Top 10 recruiting class.

Reason for Concern:  Urban Meyer has shown that he can tweak his offense and win with Chris Leak… and he’ll need to do that again next year when Tim Tebow is playing in the NFL.  Also, Meyer has referred to Steve Spurrier’s old “10 wins isn’t enough” line.  Might UF expectations drive him away?



3.  Tennessee

Health Equivalent: This kid…

Lane Kiffin was considered a joke by most when he was hired.  His mouth has often made matters worse.  But there’s no questioning his coaching staff (see our offensive and defensive efficiency ratings) and his recruiting ability (see our commitment comparison).

Reason for Optimism:  If Kiffin can make Tennessee competitive with using holdovers from a team that got Phillip Fulmer fired, what can he do when he brings in another Top 10 recruiting class or two?

Reason for Concern:  Will the staff — including 69-year-old Monte Kiffin — stay together for another three or four years?  And will Lane Kiffin’s mouth eventually get him into serious hot water off the field?



4.  LSU

Health Equivalent:  The healthy jogger who drops dead from a heart attack.

Everything looks good.  Good record.  Great recruiting.  A national title in the trophy case.  So why do I get the feeling folks in Baton Rouge could turn on Les Miles so quickly?

Reason for Optimism:  John Chavis has fixed LSU’s defensive woes and Gary Crowton has had success with the offense in the past.  The talent-base in Louisiana/Texas is outstanding also.

Reason for Concern:  Nick Saban.  Miles — fair or not — will always be judged against his predecessor.  If the program goes into the slightest decline, folks will be quick to say, “He won his title with Saban’s players.”  Miles should ask Tubby Smith about that.



5.  Georgia

Health Equivalent:  George Burns (when he was alive)

Burns smoked cigar after cigar and yet he lived to be a hundred.  As I listen to folks point out all the horrible woes surrounding the Georgia program, I notice the following: They’re 4-4 after their top two players left for the pros early, they’re on the verge of another Top 10 recruiting class, their offense is the SEC’s best (in efficiency) and this is literally the first bad year for UGA under Mark Richt. 

Reason for Optimism:  A good defensive coordinator should be able to fix what ails the Dawgs.

Reason for Concern:  Richt might not want to make a move on his current defensive coordinator.



6.  Arkansas

Health Equivalent:  The drummer from Def Leppard

Bobby Petrino has the SEC’s worst/smallest recruiting base.  The Hogs are also in a division with Alabama, LSU and Auburn.  Those are some serious obstacles to overcome.  But Rick Allen lost his arm in a car wreck and still came back to do this for the past two decades.

Reason for Optimism:  Petrino is a good coach, he just needs to keep finding better players on defense.

Reason for Concern:  It’ll be hard for a team with a tiny recruiting base to climb too high in the SEC.



7.  Auburn

Reason for Optimism:  Tradition and a solid staff of assistant coaches.

Reason for Concern:  The Tigers are stuck in the same state with an 800-pound gorilla and the jury is still out on Gene Chizik who failed so miserably at Iowa State.



8.  South Carolina

Reason for Optimism:  The Gamecocks are a young team and should improve next year.  Steve Spurrier has also improved USC’s recruiting.

Reason for Concern:  No one has ever had success in Columbia.  I can’t understand why.  They have the talent-base, the fan support, the facilities… just not the history.  And it looks like they’re going to be in that 7-5 range once again this year.



9.  Ole Miss

Reason for Optimism:  I rank the Rebels ahead of Mississippi State based on tradition and the Big Brother factor.  That’s it.

Reason for Concern:  Houston Nutt overachieves when expectations are low, underachieves when they’re high.  I see no reason for that to change in the future.  Ole Miss will have some 8- and 9-wins seasons separated by some 5- and 6-win campaigns.  It is what it is.



10.  Mississippi State

Reason for Optimism:  Dan Mullen has brought energy to Starkville… and he might just be able to recruit on par with Nutt at Ole Miss.

Reason for Concern:  We’re still talking about Mississippi State.  Traditionally, they’re the Worst of the West.  That means there are five programs for Mullen to jump.  Good luck with that.



11.  Kentucky

Reason for Optimism:  Uh… uh… football recruits will enjoy going to UK basketball games more now that John Calipari is in town?

Reason for Concern:  Rich Brooks has made UK more competitive, but they’re just too far down the ladder to make a difference in the SEC.  They also have a poor recruiting base.  And no one knows if Joker Phillips will be able to duplicate Brooks’ “success.”



12.  Vanderbilt

Reason for Optimism:  Vandy has one of their best ever recruiting classes in the works.  And Bobby Johnson — for the most part — has lifted Vandy from laughingstock status…

Reason for Concern:  Except when his team gets hammered with injuries.  Then depth wipes out the traditional Commodore-mat of the SEC.

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There’s been quite a bit of shuffling on our recruiting Big Board since we last checked.  Eight of the league’s teams have seen some amount of movement up the chart.

As usual, we use the rankings provided by Rivals.com.  We give each star in their system an equal point value in our system.  But we count even 0-star athletes as being worth 1 point.  Okay, so we’re softies.

Below are the updated commitment numbers for each team in the SEC, through this morning.

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1.  Florida maintained their top spot in the BCS rankings, Texas leapfrogged idle Alabama for the #2 listing.

2.  The Tide is #3 behind Texas in all of the major polls this week, but if they take care of business, that fact won’t matter come bowl time.

3.  Chris Low of ESPN.com has a list of what we learned this past weekend.

4.  Stewart Mandel of SI.com covers Auburn, Ole Miss, Florida, Alabama, Anthony Dixon’s 252-yard effort versus Kentucky and Lane Kiffin’s “last laugh” in his latest column.

5.  Georgia’s Mark Richt isn’t saying whether or not Joe Cox is about to be benched.

6.  You might have to register to read this one (it’s free), but Matt Hayes of The Sporting News looks at the BCS mess and feels it’s no time for #9 LSU to panic.

7.  Andy Staples of SI.com believes Florida linebacker Brandon Spikes should be suspended for the absolutely scumbag move below.  Eye-gouging?  That’s weak, Mr. Spikes.  Very, very weak.

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When your defense ranks among the best of the SEC, it also ranks among the best in the nation.  And that’s certainly true for the top three defenses in this week’s Pure Efficiency ratings for defense.

To tally this statistic, we take the total number of plays a defense plays in league-games only.  Then we divide that number by the total number of touchdowns a team has allowed.  This tells us how many plays (on average) teams run between touchdowns against the SEC’s defenses in conference play.

This measures a defense’s real stinginess.  It also provides a look at overall team efficiency, as team’s with turnover-prone offenses tend to put their defenses in bad situations.



Pure Efficiency — Defense

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Through nine weeks of the season — though we’re looking only at the results from in-conference games at the behest of some readers –  it’s becoming clear which SEC offenses have what it takes to score.  And which ones don’t.

The SEC’s defenses are clearly dominant this year, which makes those offenses at the top of our efficiency ratings so impressive: they’re putting up good numbers in the face of the nation’s top run-stuffers and ballhawks.

Here’s an example of just how good SEC defenses are.  In five games against conference foes, Vanderbilt has scored just three offensive touchdowns.  On Saturday against 11th ranked Georgia Tech, Vandy tallied — you guessed it — three touchdowns in one game.

The SEC is absolutely brutal when it comes to suffocating defenses.



As always, we figure “Pure Efficiency” for the offense by taking the total offensive snaps run by a unit and dividing that number by the total number of touchdowns recorded by that offense.  That tells you how many plays each offense needs (on average) to score a touchdown in SEC play.

This rank gives a good idea to overall team efficiency as well, because a turnover-creating defense can give an offense short fields with which to work.



Pure Efficiency — Offense

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Tigers roll over Wave in perhaps the final game of historic series
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Ending storied rivalry least of Tigers’ issues
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