Tennessee isn’t getting rid of the traditional one-at-a-time approach.
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Rap star Lil Wayne continues to talk up Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin… or Lil Lane as he calls him in his latest UStream video.

Kiffin was mentioned in a new Lil Wayne rap two weeks ago that featured the line, “Smokin’ weed, talking sh*t like Lane Kiffin.”

Kiffin came out afterward and said “We’re Lil Wayne fans” and also joked that the rapper’s comments gave UT’s program “street cred.”  The song has since been played at practice.

Well, apparently, Lil Wayne — who has made appearances on ESPN shows in the past — didn’t get that message.

You can click here to go to a video he’s posted at UStream.tv.  In it, click forward to the 15:00 mark of the clip.

At that point, you’ll see Lil Wayne sparking up a blunt.  (That would be a marijuana cigarette or reefer to you old timers, a joint to my generation.)

Below is a transcription of what he says about Kiffin and Tennessee:



“Shout out, Lane Kiffin… and the whole Tennessee Volunteers team.  I heard they say they only doggin’ the things that I said.  Because I said, ‘Smoke weed, talk sh*t like Lane Kiffin.’  But Lane, what you don’t know is you gonna be sittin’ in some recruit’s living room and his mother’s gonna call him from the back room, and he’s gonna come up front listening to a iPod.  And on his iPod he’s gonna be listenin’ to, ‘Smoke week, talk sh*t like Lane Kiffin,” and you’ll be able to say, ‘Hi, son, I’m Lane Kiffin, I’m who he’s talkin’ about.”  And you just may get a recruit because of that.  Don’t thank me, just apologize for not thanking me.

“Now, the for real though, I rock wit you Lil Lane.  I heard that’s your new name, they call you Lil Lane.  And all dem boys over there at Tennessee, I rock wit y’all.  Y’all stomped, um, I watched y’all stomp South Carolina tonight.  Y’all did y’all thing.  I am a big fan of the Ol’ Ballcoach, but y’all did y’all thing tonight.  And I rocks wit y’all and I love the black and orange jerseys.  You killed ‘em.”



Not sure what to add here.  Perhaps “Congratulations to Steve Spurrier and South Carolina” for also being on Lil Wayne’s list of faves?

It’s surprising that the rapper hadn’t heard about Kiffin’s public comments about the “Smoke weed, talk sh*t like Lane Kiffin” line, but then again, maybe he did.  Judging from the weed he’s smoking, he might’ve just forgotten about it.

There’s no question, though, being repeatedly mentioned by the world’s hottest rap star is boost for Tennessee’s recruiting.  What kind of guys they might land because of this… well, let’s just say the UT athletic department might run out of cups to pee in.

This isn’t a first, of course.  While not mentioned in his raps (to my knowledge), Snoop Dogg has still cozied up to Pete Carroll and Les Miles in the past.

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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.  Tennessee’s players are upset over a joke Memphis coach Tommy West made at their coach’s expense back in August.

2.  In case you’re wondering, here’s the lengthy joke and its rather small payoff.

3.  A Tennessee defense already riddled with injuries could be without the SEC’s reigning Freshman of the Week Janzen Jackson on Saturday.  Lane Kiffin won’t comment, but it looks like Jackson will be suspended from Saturday’s action.

Word from Knoxville is that Jackson skipped a practice to return home during the Vols’ open week and did not inform coaches of his departure. 

If — IF — that’s true and Kiffin chose to sit Jackson for the Memphis game rather than for the Alabama or South Carolina games, one will have to wonder if Urban Meyer will comment.

Perhaps he’ll say something like, “He’ll discipline his team — or not — however he feels.”  Seems like I heard that somewhere this week already.

4.  Matt Reagan has gone from Knoxville native and Vol fan to Memphis’ first-string punter and kicker.

5.  Eric Berry still needs 15 yards to break the NCAA record for interception return yardage in a career.

6.  Dan Williams and Marlon Walls are looking forward to going against their hometown Memphis Tigers.

7.  Tennessee could still land a berth in the Outback or Cotton Bowls… which would be quite a feat for Kiffin and his coaching staff in Year One of their rebuilding job.

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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.  Lane Kiffin isn’t afraid to go for it on fourth down and his offense has been rewarding him.

2.  According to this notes column, senior guard Cory Sullins expects Kiffin “to take (UT) to two SEC championships within the next four years.”

3.  Memphis has a bevy of tall receivers to match up against the Vols’ small defensive backs.

4.  UT’s Dan Williams will be going up against one his best friends and a former teammate in Memphis’ Malcolm Rawls this weekend.

5.  Tennessee showed improvement under the boards and on offense in their exhibition win over LMU last night.

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Urban Meyer vs. the officials.  Lane Kiffin vs. Urban Meyer.  Nick Williams vs. Tim Tebow.  Now Williams vs. Meyer.

Somewhere Mike Slive is sitting in an office shouting “Serenity Now!”



Williams, the Georgia linebacker who slammed into Tebow during Saturday’s game doesn’t feel he did anything wrong.  “Emotions were flying, and I was just trying to make a play.  Tebow is a great player, and it’s obvious you got to get him on the ground or he’s going to spark something.

“I didn’t think anything of it.  I wasn’t trying to hurt him or anything, but was just out there playing.  Emotions got going.  It’s Georgia-Florida, you know.”

Mark Richt came to Meyer’s defense yesterday saying, “I agree with (what Meyer said).  (Williams) could have gotten called for that.”

We would show you the play here… as we did yesterday… but the SEC and XOS Technologies have removed it from YouTube.  To see it, you’ll have to go over the SEC’s official website and search through the entire Florida-Georgia game.

And that makes me want to say, “Serenity Now!”

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Yesterday, Urban Meyer got himself in trouble with his mouth during the SEC teleconference.

Later in the day, Lane Kiffin — who’s already on thin ice with the commissioner — took up the Meyer subject with the Knoxville media.

Asked about Meyer’s criticism, Kiffin said, “Urban Meyer?  Criticized the officials, wow, that will be interesting.  We’ll see.”

Asked if he thought public criticism was supposed to stop, Kiffin said, “You guys got the same memo that I got.”

Kiffin also commented on the Brandon Spikes eye-poke play.  “I did see the rerun.  It was pretty bad but we’ll worry about our team and what we can control.  We’ve got a lot of work to do.  Obviously, he’ll discipline his team — or not — however he feels.”

Amusing?  Yes.

Dumb?  Probably.  Over the summer, Mike Slive warned the league’s coaches about speaking negatively about one another in public.  Since then, Kiffin has received a second reprimand and Slive has put out his suspensions-not-reprimands edict.

So why would Kiffin — with Steve Spurrier-esque comment or not — push his luck on this one?

Observations:

* As I stated earlier, I don’t think Meyer’s comments — which were bracketed by praise for SEC officials — will probably draw a suspension.  But since there are no definite rules on how far is too far, I wouldn’t put money it.  Can coaches comment on specific plays or not?  Are they only barred from suggesting that officials should be reprimanded or might be biased?  Who knows?  The policy isn’t clear.

* Kiffin is already the least popular kid in class.  The commissioner made that clear in his letter of reprimand to UT’s coach.  Not only did he tell him to stop criticizing officials, but he added a special paragraph at the end of the form letter just for Kiffin.  In it he commented that Kiffin has already gotten in trouble twice during his “brief” tenure at UT and that on both occasions he was “wrong about the applicable rules.”

* Therefore, it would probably behoove Kiffin to say “no comment” when asked about Meyer or another coach.  Slive might see negative comments about a rival coach as more serious and damaging to the league than Meyer’s most recent comments.  Again, who knows?

* I do know that in life repeat offenders are treated differently than first-time offenders.  If the star pupil is late for class, he gets one penalty.  If the class clown or bully is late for class, he gets another penalty.  Kiffin needs to hope that this one slides under the radar.  Just to be on the safe side.  As of right now Meyer has zero reprimands, Kiffin has two.

* Kiffin has long said that everything he says is said for a reason.  Tennessee fans — as any other fanbase would — buy completely what their coach says.  I buy the general idea that he did come into the league with the idea of stirring things up.  However, I also believe his reputation from Southern Cal and Oakland (cocky) plays into this as well.  Why make these comments about Meyer when he’s been told not to… because he can’t help it.  It’s him.  It’s not all by design.

* Slive should make a couple of quiet phone calls this week giving Meyer and Kiffin one more warning each.  He should also explain as best he can what is what when it comes to criticizing officials and rival coaches.  Where are the lines drawn?  Only the commissioner knows.  And that’s not good.

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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 Lane Kiffin’s teleconference:

* Memphis has played Tennessee “very tough” in the past.

* Asked about SEC fines and suspensions, Kiffin said, “I’m not gonna comment on that, sorry.”

* To stop Julio Jones, UT had to confuse Alabama’s quarterback and tackle Jones well when he did catch the ball.  “We didn’t get up in his face because we couldn’t afford to.”  Kiffin said his team didn’t have big enough corners to get into Jones at the line of scrimmage.

* Having Monte Kiffin on his staff has been even better than he expected.  He talked about the coaching and recruiting aspect of having him on the staff.  “We’ve even started putting our offensive recruits with him” because high school kids are so blown away by him. 

* There aren’t many father-son moments between the two because it’s all work right now… unless Kiffin’s mother needs more tickets and sends Monte to ask for them.

* Freshman Marlon Walls has played well the last two weeks, but he’s questionable with an ankle injury this week.  Kiffin said he told his coaches to play him and burn his redshirt because he’s so good “he won’t be around for his senior season anyway.”

* Tennessee might have lost a game or two along the way because they’ve tried to play so many young players.

* Herman Lathers and Nigel Mitchell-Thornton will fill in at middle linebacker now that Savion Frazier is hurt.

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1.  Lane Kiffin wasn’t satisfied with Tennessee’s 31-13 win over #22 South Carolina last week.  “I didn’t think we played very well.  I didn’t think that game should have been very close at all.  We expect to win by 19, 20 points when we’re at home and a Top 25 team comes in.”

2.  “I was disappointed in myself, because I didn’t think I called a very good game,” Kiffin said.  “I got conservative and didn’t attack enough, because I was worried about ball security and having turnovers.  I was just a little bit down after the game, because I thought that especially in front of a national audience, we could have performed better and done better things so the game wasn’t even close at all.”

Wonder how Steve Spurrier feels, listening to an opposing coach talk smack about his team.  It ain’t the 1990s anymore.

3.  Memphis’ rush defense is exactly what you’d expect from a 2-6 homecoming foe.

4.  According to this notes column, defensive tackle Dan Williams’ improvement this season can be traced to his weight loss.

5.  The UT-Memphis rivalry has been lopsided, but it has had it’s interesting moments.

6.  This writer feels it’s easy to pull for tailback Montario Hardesty.

7.  In basketball news, Bruce Pearl expects Lincoln Memorial University to provide a good challenge for his Vols in an exhibition game tonight.
 

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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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You can quiet the rumor mill at least for now.  Tennessee’s Lane Kiffin said today “there is no situation” with receiver Nu’Keese Richardson.

The freshman from Florida was absent from UT’s practice on Sunday and that set off a wave of rumors that stretched across the messageboards, thru cyberspace, and all the way to Gainesville.

Earlier today, Edward Aschoff of The Gainesville Sun wondered if Richardson might be considering a transfer from Knoxville to Gainesville.  He suggested Richardson might eventually fill the “Percy position.” 

Richardson, you might remember, was the recruit at the center of Kiffin’s controversial remarks about Urban Meyer “cheating.”  Meyer had called Richardson during a visit to Tennessee’s campus, but that was not a rules violation as Kiffin had suggested.

As for Richardson’s current feelings, Kiffin said, “Nu’Keese was dealing with some issues Sunday, some personal issues.  But Nu’Keese was in yesterday and everything is fine.”

Richardson has seen his playing time decrease as the year has progressed.  He had one touch against South Carolina on Saturday.

“He’s a little bit frustrated, like a lot of freshmen around the country are, especially when you’re potentially a really great player and you’ve had great success in high school.  You come in and things are different in college than high school.  Nu’Keese will continue to develop, we’ll continue to work with him and eventually he’ll be a great player.”

Ironically, the play of Richardson and fellow true freshman Marsalis Teague in the Vols’ season opener led Kiffin to toss a little barb at Georgia for not using freshman wideout Marlon Brown in their opener with Oklahoma State.

Kiffin said in September: “What’s this great player who went to this school doing?  Is he sitting on the bench the whole game not catching one ball?  Or is the in the game being the team’s leading receiver?”

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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.  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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