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.  Tennessee delivered an improved pass rush against South Carolina.

2.  UT defenders will need to stay focused on Memphis receiver Duke Calhoun, who leads C-USA in receiving yards per game.

3.  Tennessee will have to turn to their third-string middle linebacker this week.

4.  On offense, this writer believes Lane Kiffin has developed the players he inherited and done a good job with play-calling.

5.  Everyone is still talking about Tennessee’s black jerseys.

6.  Former UT coach and athletic director compared Kiffin to Robert Neyland yesterday.  “Bob Neyland was an eccentric on the conservative side.  Lane Kiffin is probably an eccentric on the other end.  In today’s world, to be a little eccentric, there’s nothing wrong with that.”

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Each week on the Tennessee page we post clips from “The Sports Source,” a weekly, year-long series that focuses on University of Tennessee sports.

The panel is made up of eight people including sportswriters, radio personalities, former Vol football players and more.

You can find each segment from this week’s show below.  Due to the length of Segment 2 this week, that clip has been split into two.



SEGMENT ONE –  Topic: Tennessee’s defense in 31-13 win.



SEGMENT TWO (A) –  Topics:  Run vs Pass, Crompton



SEGMENT TWO (B) –  Topics:  Offense, Linebackers, Spurrier vs Kiffin



SEGMENT THREE –  Topic:  Black jerseys



SEGMENT FOUR –  Topic:  Kiffin, Slive, Lil Wayne



SEGMENT FIVE –  Topic:  2010 expectations



SEGMENT SIX –  Topic:  The lines for the final four games



SEGMENT SEVEN –  Topic:  UT will lose to Memphis IF…

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A month ago, Tennessee lost its top middle linebacker, Nick Reveiz, to a knee injury.

Backup Savion Frazier stepped in had performed well in that slot in the past few weeks.  But now he’s gone, too. 

Monte Kiffin will have to go to this third middle linebacker of the season now that Frazier has been lost for the year with an ACL tear in his right knee.

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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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Black jerseys.  Black pants.  Black helmets. 

We had a whole wave of new black fashion in the SEC on Saturday.  And it all started two years ago.

In 2007, Mark Richt broke out black jerseys for a nationally televised game against Auburn.  The Bulldogs took the Tigers behind the woodshed for a 45-20 victory.

Players loved the black duds.  Fans loved the black duds.

So Georgia pulled the jerseys out again for a Sugar Bowl dismantling of Hawaii to close that season.

Ah, but then came Georgia’s 2008 blowout loss to Alabama in a “blackout” game at Sanford Stadium.  Suddenly, the black look wasn’t so popular anymore.  It had become a jinx.

So on Saturday in Jacksonville, Richt went in another direction to inspire his team: black pants and black helmets.  Both looked somewhat cheap, if you asked me.  The Dawgs were throttled.  And now folks across the Peach State (including Tony Barnhart of The AJC) are asking UGA to ditch the black attire altogether.

Win = black is good.

Lose = black is bad.

Up the road from Athens, Tennessee pulled out black jerseys for the first time since the 1920s for their Halloween game with South Carolina.

Athletic director Mike Hamilton had said black jerseys would be a no-no on his watch, but he just couldn’t tell his new coach and two football players “no” when they asked for the duds this week.

Tennessee rolled to victory in their new uniforms, 31-13.

Not surprisingly, Vol fans loved the look by a 10-1 margin according to most media polls, though in my opinion, the jerseys looked like a cross between Vanderbilt practice jerseys and Burt Reynolds’ old Mean Machine unis from “The Longest Yard.”

Win = black is good.

Lose = black is bad.

Now, after Hamilton said on Saturday that the black uniform was a one-time deal (yeah, right), basketball coach Bruce Pearl says he’s eyeballing some black uniforms for his Tennessee basketball team. 

Apparently once you go black, it’s tough to go back.

Could it be that Pearl had asked about black unis in the past only to be rebuffed by Hamilton?  Now, seeing that UT’s new football coach got his way, could Pearl be taking his push for black unis to the media and fans?

It’s possible.

Either way, it’s safe to say that Volunteer fans will like black uniforms… right up until the point their team loses in black uniforms.  Just like Georgia fans.

Tennessee fans have been down this road before, after all.  With orange shoes.

Back in 1986, Tennessee broke out orange shoes for their annual battle with Alabama.  Following a 56-28 home beatdown by the Tide, the shoes were boxed up and shelved.  Four years later they were sent to a group trying to start American-style football in Russia.

While other seems to be embracing the black look, Rich Brooks said before last week’s Kentucky game that his team would NOT come out dressed in black.  According to Brooks — a self-proclaimed traditionalist — black isn’t one of Kentucky’s official colors and therefore would not be featured prominently on a jersey.  (UK did wear some hideous black basketball uniforms last year and look where that got Billy Gillispie.)

Had the Cats worn black on Saturday, their 31-24 loss to MSU would have no doubt resulted in those new black jerseys being trashed or burned.  That’s how it goes with faddish uniforms.  They’re great.  Until you lose in them.

(Now if someone can just talk Brooks out of wearing those full-body blueberry threads that he likes so much.  The all-blue Wildcats look like they need to be rolled to Willy Wonka’s juicing room.)

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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.  This writer believes Lane Kiffin’s turnaround of UT’s football program is ahead of schedule.

2.  Considering where the Vols were a year ago at this time, most fans should be awfully happy.

3.  Tennessee’s 31-13 win over South Carolina Saturday could be a turning point for both teams.

4.  According to this notes column, freshman receiver Nu’Keese Richardson was missing from yesterday’s practice due to “an issue.”

5.  The Vols are perilously thin at linebacker, but Eric Berry isn’t going to be moving into that slot.

6.  Vol fans thrilled with black football jerseys on Saturday are probably going to see black basketball unis, too.

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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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Now that’s a good trick. There were rumors and speculation on the Internet all week that Tennessee would don special Halloween uniforms – specifically uniforms with black jerseys – for Saturday night’s game against South Carolina at Neyland Stadium.
(more)

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — South Carolina mixed up its holidays here Saturday night.

It was Halloween. The Gamecocks thought it was Christmas.
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Five game storylines, five questions with Spencer Lanning and more.

Storylines

New Mouth of the South

For a guy who has managed to offend an entire community in Florida to the SEC’s officials, Tennessee first-year coach Lane Kiffin was surprisingly quiet this week on USC wideout Alshon Jeffery, whom he told would pump gas for the rest of his life if he signed with the Gamecocks. Likewise, Steve Spurrier said nothing about Kiffin. The more relevant matchup will be Spurrier’s ability to find gaps in Monte Kiffin’s Tampa-2 defense.

Has USC caught Tennessee?
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South Carolina offensive tackle Rokevious Watkins has six older half-brothers – and a former high school teammate and friend he considers a brother.
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This letter of reprimand from SEC Commissioner Mike Slive to Tennessee’s Lane Kiffin was obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request by Jimmy Hyams, sports radio host in Knoxville.

Dear Coach Kiffin:

This is with regard to your post-game statements concerning the officiating in the Tennessee at Alabama football game played in Tuscaloosa, Alabama on October 24th, 2009.

The actions and statements constitute public criticism of officials, contrary to the provisions of Bylaw 10.5.4 of the Southeastern Conference Manual, which reads, “coaches, players and support personnel shall refrain from all public criticism of officials.”  It is your responsibility as a coach to comply with the policies of the Southeastern Conference and to know the football playing rules.

As a result of your comments, I’m sending you this letter of reprimand.  This reprimand will be made public.

Since it is clear from your public comments that you believe this letter “mean(s) nothing”, let me be equally as clear to you.  The next time you, or a member of your staff, make public comments of this nature, you will be suspended from all coaching duties for one or more games, and the institution may be subjected to a substantial fine.  I also remind you that this is your second public reprimand in your brief tenure as Tennessee’s Head Football Coach and on both occasions you were wrong about the applicable rules.

Sincerely,

Michael Slive

Mike Slive revealed to the Associated Press today that coaches who speak out against the league’s officials are going to get more than a reprimand when they pop off in the future.

It was just a matter of time before Slive got serious on this front.  When coaches (Lane Kiffin and Bobby Petrino) hint that the league is taking care of some teams at the expense of others, it brings the legitimacy of the league and all of its games into question.

We had a poll on this site for more than four days that showed that a small majority of you fans actually believe that the officials in the SEC are trying to influence the outcome of games… despite a stat analysis that showed there to be little correlation between winning teams and the amount of flags thrown.

So, in an attempt to squash this bug before it grows, Slive has said that coaches who criticize league officials in public will face a fine or a suspension rather than getting a reprimand.

“It became clear to me after last week that I was no longer interested in reprimands, and the conference athletic directors and university presidents unanimously agreed,” Slive said.

Some conspiracy theorists will claim that this shows just how far the league will go to crown Florida and/or Alabama as champion, but that’s nonsense.

The league has handed out reprimands in the past.  They used to work.  But when coaches begin to ignore the reprimands, the league has to move on to a stiffer type of punishment.

And all of the SEC’s ADs and presidents agreed.  Not just the guys at Florida and Alabama, but the ADs and presidents at Arkansas, Mississippi State and Tennessee, too.

A conspiracy?  Please. 

Once again Slive has taken the correct course of action.

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Just a few more stories to munch on this Friday afternoon:

1.  The NCAA has passed some new rules aimed at cleaning up college basketball recruiting.  Good luck with that one.

2.  With Tim Tebow on the verge of breaking Herschel Walker’s SEC rushing touchdown record, here’s a comparison of the two players’ legacies.

3.  Tony Barnhart of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution makes his weekend predictions right here.

4.  The AJC’s Jeff Schultz does the same here.

5.  Ron Morris of The State thanks folks need to take a timeout from ref-bashing in the SEC.

6.  Andrea Adelson of The Orlando Sentinel believes coaches who criticize officials should be punished more severely.

7.  Pat Dooley of The Gainesville Sun makes his predictions… and is hoping the refs make a bad call that costs Tennessee’s Lane Kiffin tomorrow.

8.  SEC coordinator of officials Rogers Redding says, “You can critcize our calls.  You can criticize our judgement.  You can even criticize our intelligence.  But you cannot criticize our integrity.”

9.  Charles Hollis of The Birmingham News makes his weekend picks right here.

10.  A Tennessee spokesman says Lane Kiffin wasn’t referring to a Mike Slive reprimand when he said he’d get a meaningless letter from the league this week.  Everyone outside the Volunteer State responds with a “yeah, right.”

11.  Here’s a by-the-numbers look around the SEC.

12.  Here are the predictions from Geoff Calkins of The Memphis Commercial-Appeal.

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1.  Unheralded defensive mates Dan Williams and Dennis Rogan have been making big plays in big games for UT.

2.  Monte Kiffin has something to say to UT recruits: “I ain’t retiring, okay?”

3.  Lane Kiffin says he can “feel” that Jonathan Crompton has turned a corner.  (This story also focuses on David Reaves, UT’s quarterbacks coach who is persona non grata in the Palmetto State.)

4.  ESPN analyst Todd Blackledge opened up about Crompton and Kiffin yesterday.

5.  In basketball news, the #10 Vols open their season with an exhibition match against North Alabama tonight.

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(Now with proper spelling in the headline!)

Earlier this week — as I do in most weeks — I posted our updated offensive and defensive efficiency ratings for the SEC.

We take the number of plays run by each offense, divide by the number of touchdowns they’ve scored, and arrive at a plays-per-touchdown number that shows the “pure” efficiency of that unit.

For defense, we just reverse the process and divide the total number of snaps played by the number of touchdowns allowed.

After posting the numbers, I got an email from a reader suggesting I use only the numbers from in-conference games.

So that’s what I’ve done.  Now our “Pure Efficiency” ratings are even purer.  If that’s a word.

Below, you’ll find the results.  Prepare to be surprised.



Offensive Pure Efficiency

Defensive Pure Efficiency

Observations:

* Alabama’s offense is getting worse while its defense is getting better.  In their first two conference games, the Tide scored 9 touchdowns (against Arkansas and Kentucky).  Since then they’ve scored just 2 touchdowns in three games (against Ole Miss, South Carolina and Tennessee).  On the flip-side, their defense gave up 3 touchdowns in their first two games, but have allowed just 1 (last week, late to Tennessee) in their last three outings.  Bama’s defense gives up a touchdown just once every 85 plays in league play.  Dominating.

* Arkansas’ defense might be showing some signs of improvement, but the Hogs can’t expect to go bowling if SEC teams continue to score once every 18 plays on them.

* We know that Auburn’s defense — ripped by injuries — isn’t very good.  But their offense still ranks near the top of the SEC… thanks to their Big Bang start.  Their in-league touchdown-production has fallen from 6 to 2 to 3 to 1 to 1.  Keep that up and those efficiency numbers will continue to drop.

* Florida is winning with defense, not offense in SEC play.  The Gators rank just 7th in the league in offensive efficiency.  The loss of Percy Harvin was obviously much bigger than expected.  But defensively, the only squad more fierce is Alabama.  The UF D is as good as advertised.

* Upset Georgia fans have been calling for heads down in Athens.  Willie Martinez… well, I understand that one.  For a team with that many athletes on defense, giving up a touchdown every 22 plays is unacceptable.  But to those folks who’ve suggested that Mike Bobo be tossed, too, you need to get your facts straight.  In the tough-as-nails, defense-first SEC, Bobo’s offense is scoring once every 19 plays.  You can’t beat that efficiency.

* Kentucky’s offense has actually gotten more productive as their passing numbers have dwindled.  I don’t think they can keep that up, but it is interesting that UK scored a total of 3 touchdowns in their first two games (against Alabama and Florida) and then scored 3 touchdowns in EACH of their last two games (against South Carolina and Auburn).

* LSU’s offense has had its struggles, but the Tiger D has gotten better as the season has worn on.  John Chavis’ crew has given up just 4 touchdowns to Georgia, Florida and Auburn combined.  That’s how you win games.

* Dan Mullen has made the Bulldogs competitive and he’s provided hope for the future.  But I don’t know how.  State’s defense lags near the bottom of the conference and Mullen’s spread offense has scored just 6 touchdowns in SEC play.  We’ll see what he can do with a quarterback.  (Cameron Newton, anyone?)

* While the offensive woes at Ole Miss have gotten most of the headlines, the Rebel defense has been a quiet killer.  In fact, it’s the fourth-toughest defense to score against in league games.  If the Rebels continue to turn their offense around, this can still be a very good year in Oxford.

* Steve Spurrier has never been able to duplicate the offensive wizardry from his Florida days.  So it’s a good thing he’s got Ellis Johnson driving the defensive bus.  The Cocks’ D has given up just 1 touchdown in its last 2 games (against Alabama and Vanderbilt) and ranks in the middle of the SEC.

* Tennessee is a surprising 3rd on both lists.  At 3-4, the Vols are playing better than their record indicates and they seem to be improving.  After scoring just 4 touchdowns in the first two games (against Florida and Auburn), UT has tallied 7 in their last two (against Georgia and Alabama).  Defensively, Monte Kiffin’s unit is the third best in the SEC and hasn’t allowed a score in its last two outings.  Lane Kiffin might be the Mouth of the South, but his team — offensively and defensively — is playing pretty good football right now.

* What can you say about Vanderbilt?  They’ve scored just 3 touchdowns in five SEC games this year.  That’s 1 every 110 plays… basically 1 every two games.  Defensively, the offensive woes have taken their toll.  The ‘Dores allowed just 3 touchdowns in their first two contests (against LSU and MSU), but they have been scorched for 9 in their last three (against Ole Miss, Georgia and South Carolina).

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Just a few more nuggets from around the league this afternoon:

1.  John Adams of The Knoxville News Sentinel believes the SEC has a good shot at filling all 10 of its bowl slots.

2.  Ron Higgins of The Memphis Commercial-Appeal goes around the SEC to discuss everything from Florida’s need to improve to Kodi Burns literally getting his teeth knocked out.

3.  This SEC notes column reveals that Lane Kiffin believes quarterback Jonathan Crompton is playing his way up NFL draft boards.  (Crompton has played better in his last two games, but that’s still the craziest thing Kiffin’s ever said.)

4.  Here’s Travis Haney’s always entertaining weekend preview from The Charleston Post & Courier.

5.  Pat Dooley of The Gainesville Sun believes it sometimes looks like the SEC has reverted back to a pre-Steve Spurrier style of football.

6.  Edward Aschoff — also of The Gainesville Sun — looks at the excellent defense being played in the league right now. 

6.  Tim Tebow is at the center of this debate: how much religion is too much religion in college sports?

7.  Tebow has fallen to fifth in the Scripps Howard Heisman poll.  Alabama’s Mark Ingram still leads it.

8.  Paul Gattis of The Huntsville Times has put out his own SEC notebook column.

9.  Chris Low of ESPN.com tells you what to watch for in this weekend’s Halloween games.

10.  Mr. Low has also made his predictions for this weekend’s SEC games.

11.  Just as I wrote last week, Andy Staples of SI.com believes any junior debating whether or not to turn pro early should pay close attention to what’s happened to Sam Bradford and Dez Bryant.

12.  Bruce Feldman of ESPN.com ranks SEC defensive coordinators Charlie Strong and Monte Kiffin among the 10 best assistant coaches in the country.  (This is an “Insider” column and might not be viewable by some of you.)

13.  The preseason AP Poll for basketball lists Kentucky #4, Tennessee #10 and Mississippi State #18.

14.  The preseason USA Today/ESPN Coaches’ Poll ranks Kentucky #5, Tennessee #11 and Mississippi State #19.

15.  All-SEC guard Devan Downey has been missing practice at South Carolina due to flu-like symptoms.

16.  And Tony Barnhart of The AJC has four burning questions for SEC fans (that he explores in depth right here):

* Will Tim Tebow break Herschel Walker’s touchdown record against Georgia?

* What will Lane Kiffin do if he gets a bad call against South Carolina?

* How many times will Dexter McCluster touch the ball against Auburn?

* What’s the over/under on Georgia Tech’s time of possession against Vanderbilt?

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Some fans have a lucky shirt.  Some sit in the same chair during games.  Some eat the same thing each Saturday.

And some feel that they have “a pocket of spiritual energy that they can call upon” and toss at an opposing team in true hex fashion.

Sweet. 

Look, I’ve been known to speak in tongues during Patriots or Celtics games, but after watching this video of an Auburn fan who believes in his own personal voodoo powers, well, I actually feel quite normal, thank you very much.

Enjoy.

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