BATON ROUGE — When Chad Jones returned a punt 93 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter against Mississippi State last week, it immediately took those who saw it down memory lane.
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BATON ROUGE — The LSU women's golf team, off a tournament win and a school record low 36 score, moved up seven spots to No. 4 in the latest Golf World/NGCA Division I Coaches' Poll announced on Wednesday.
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Content provided by Georgia Sports Blog.

Did Willie Martinez kick sand on Mark Bradley at the beach? Or steal his lunch money in high school? Or his girlfriend? That would explain Bradley’s second column in less than a week putting a cudgel to Willie Martinez.

The gist of the column is that when Les Miles determined his defense was substandard, he upgraded his defensive coordinator(s) by hiring John Chavis. And Mark Richt did nothing (save to promote Janceck to co-cordinator).

Who has two thumbs and gets no pressure…from his boss?

Let me be clear: I am not making the argument that Willie Martinez is as good as or better than John Chavis. Chavis’s body of work is demonstrably better. But based solely on this season’s statistics, I am puzzled by how Bradley supports his thesis. The numbers are postively underwhelming for both teams.

LSU ranks 49th nationally in total defense and 23rd in scoring defense; Georgia ranks 67th and 95th. The key difference: The Tigers are tied for fifth in turnover margin, having intercepted seven passes and recovered three fumbles; Georgia is 115th, having intercepted one pass and recovered two fumbles. (Neither team has done much sacking: Each has five in four games.

Four games into the season, LSU ranks 49th in defense and UGA ranks 67th. LSU barely cracks the top 50 against such august competition as Washington, Vanderbilt, La-Lafayette, and Little Miss State. So why is Chavis the answer?

But the belief in this space is that Chavis will instill the ethic of tenacity a big-time program must have. The belief is also that Martinez’s defense is based on the backpedal. Granted, Georgia held Arizona State to 204 yards and one offensive touchdown, but ASU might finish fifth (or worse) in the SEC East. There’s a higher standard in this conference, and Chavis has proved he can meet it.

I’ll spot Bradley this: LSU’s defense may not be very good right now, but it’s not crazy to think Chavis will whip them into shape. Willie is what he is. But for now the jury is out until Chavis puts some statistical distance between his unit and CWM’s unit.

Bradley hit the nail on the head when he identifies this key difference: LSU turns the ball over much less than Georgia. I suspect the winner on Saturday will not be the team that plays better defense; it will be the team with the fewest turnovers. If we spot the Tigers 2 TDs off turnovers like we did for the Sun Devils, we lose. Likewise, if Daryl Gamble (or anyone) can reprise last year’s double-pick-six performance, Dawgs win another over LSU.

Content provided by Swamp Things – Gators Blog.

The timing of Florida's bye week is impeccable for more reasons than Tim Tebow's concussion.

While the flu bug seems to be dissipating — the eight sick starters from last week have shrugged off the flu — at least four new players are sick this week. S Will Hill, CB Markihe Anderson, a scout-team player (coach didn't identify) and freshman DE Kedric Johnson have flu-like symptoms.

Overall, CB Joe Haden Haden said the sickness "swept through us" last week, and most players are getting better after 48 or 72 hours.

"The good thing is we're going to go Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and then Friday, Saturday, Sunday they're off," Meyer said. "And they're back Monday morning read to go, so we're hoping that kind of wipes it out."

These injured Gators could use the bye-week rest…

*WR Deonte Thompson (hamstring) is running routes and feeling better after two missed games. He was dressed out last week and probably could have played but didn't for precautionary measures.

*Twin OLs Mike Pouncey (ankle) and Maurkice Pouncey (shoulder) were limited in Tuesday's practice. OL Marcus Gilbert (shoulder contusion) also was limited. All are fine long term.

*DT Lawrence Marsh (ankle) is five weeks into a six-week rehabilitation process. Urban Meyer said it's imperative to get him back. "We need him badly," Meyer said.

*DT Brandon Antwine (shoulder) will probably be able to play through his injury after wearing a sling on his right side after the Kentucky game.

*LB Brandon Spikes (Achilles tendinitis) should be able to play through the whole season, but his tendinitis is painful, especially on pass rush with all the turning. This week is the perfect chance for The Dreadlocked One to rest up.

Content provided by John Clay’s Sidelines.

(H-L photo/Charles Bertram)

This just in from UK athletic office:

In an effort to manage an unprecedented response and the overwhelming number of campers outside the Memorial Coliseum ticket office, the decision was made to distribute control cards to the first group of campers on Wednesday morning.

We appreciate the cooperation of those that were here early and the passion of our fan base.

The remainder of the control cards will be distributed on Friday at a TIME YET TO BE DETERMINED.

Tents should be broken down at 4:00 a.m. on Saturday morning and campers should line up in numerical order according to their control cards. Big Blue Madness tickets will then be distributed at 6:00 a.m.

Content provided by John Clay’s Sidelines.

On his Twitter page, UK coach Rich Brooks reports he had a skin cancer removed, but will be at practice on Thursday.

Content provided by John Clay’s Sidelines.

Didn’t make it over to practice today, but afterward Rich Brooks talked about the fan reaction to UK’s 41-7 loss to top-ranked Florida on Saturday. Tom Leach has the video below.

Meanwhile, A Sea of Blue addresses the overreaction.

ESPN.com has updated its class rankings for 2010.

Florida remains on top, followed by Texas, Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee to round out the top 5. Notice that four of the top five schools are in the SEC.

Three other SEC schools are listed in ESPN’s top 15:

6. LSU
12. Auburn
13. South Carolina

Tennessee associate athletic trainer Chad Newman reported Wednesday afternoon that basketball player Emmanuel Negedu likely will remain at UT Medical Center for at least one more night as Negedu, his American host family and his doctors work to analyze test results and formulate a plan of action moving forward.
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Senior safety Darian Stewart has been one of the key contributors to the defense for the Gamecocks since he joined the program in the fall of 2006. Stewart has been a leader by example and has been near the top of the list for the Gamecocks in tackles the past two years.
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