SEC West Headlines – 12/31/09
December 31st, 2009 11:14 AM║ Posted By: John Pennington ║ Permalink ║ Tags: Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, LSU, Mississippi State, Ole Miss
1. Alabama tight end Colin Peek has been Mr. Clutch for the Tide this season (as opposed to Mr. Transmission).
2. Nick Saban likes the way his team has been handling business as it prepares for the BCS title game.
3. There aren’t a lot of bowl-related activities for the players who make the national title game.
4. Bama quarterback Greg McElroy is disappointed in the firing of Mike Leach… a man he initially committed to.
5. In basketball news, Alabama wore down Tennessee State 77-65 last night…
6. But they looked sluggish in doing so.
7. Auburn fans will probably hear the name Zeke Markshausen quite a bit tomorrow.
8. AU likes to run and Northwestern likes to pass, but both teams are similar in tempo.
9. Ted Roof has had his defense sticking to the basics this week.
10. The Tigers wrapped up bowl preps with a good practice yesterday.
11. Here’s a breakdown of the Outback Bowl matchup.
12. Arkansas players are trying to forget their last bowl experience — a 38-7 loss to Missouri in the 2008 Cotton Bowl.
13. Defensive coordinator Willy Robinson is worried about big East Carolina receiver Dwayne Harris.
14. Bobby Petrino has treated the Liberty Bowl experience as a business trip, not a reward.
15. ECU’s defensive coordinator doesn’t believe there’s such a thing “as an average SEC team.”
16. In basketball news, Baylor took advantage of its size advantage to pound Arkansas 70-47 last night.
17. Penn State has an experience advantage at quarterback over LSU.
18. Offensive coordinator Gary Crowton says he’s happy to get the help of new passing game coordinator Billy Gonzalez.
19. Crowton is confident in his offense heading into tomorrow’s game.
20. As we wrote yesterday morning, the turf at the Capital One Bowl is a concern. Crowton says, “We’re both going to be slower, which is not a good thing for anybody.”
21. On the hardwood, LSU needs to start playing better basketball on the road.
22. Houston Nutt and Mike Gundy have shared a lot of common ground.
23. As a coach, Nutt just tries to be himself.
24. Oklahoma State All-American left tackle Russell Okun injured his knee in practice this week and his status for Saturday is unknown.
25. Rebel linebacker Patrick Trahan is ready to play on the big stage.
26. After the Cotton Bowl, offensive coordinator will be looking to replace about 2,800 yards of offense on next year’s team.
27. Three Rebels will be headed to the Senior Bowl this year.
28. Mississippi State’s athletic budget has grown from $17 million to about $40 million in the past decade.
29. Rick Stansbury says his team’s effort will have to improve if its to win at San Diego today.
