1.  Onterio McCalebb is listed ahead of Mike Dyer on Auburn’s Week One depth chart.

2.  The Tigers have 27 underclassmen listed in their two-deep.  Yeah, 27.

3.  Gene Chizik is talking up big, bad Utah State.

4.  Nick Saban doesn’t want his dueling quarterbacks to be looking over their shoulders on Saturday.

5.  Bama receiver Duron Carter declared “FINALLY! COMING TO A STADIUM NEAR U” on Twitter following his admittance to school.

6.  The head coach likes the attitude of his new Crimson Tide team.

7.  Arkansas won’t have to rely on as many freshman as it did in 2010.

8.  Overall, there weren’t many surprises on the Hogs’ depth chart.

9.  After a good preseason camp, new quarterback Tyler Wilson’s true test begins on Saturday.

10.  LSU will lean on experienced backups to replace injured O-lineman Josh Dworaczyk.

11.  Backup quarterback Jarrett Lee will once again be pulling the trigger for the Tigers.

12.  That’s a good thing, because this writer doesn’t believe now is the time for Jordan Jefferson to return.

13.  As bad as things have been in Baton Rouge in recent weeks, there are some bright spots.

14.  Ole Miss will be looking for a little better start than last year’s loss to FCS-level Jacksonville State.

15.  Houston Nutt wonders how much can the Rebels get out of defensive end Kentrell Lockett on Saturday.

16.  UM’s coach also believes his squad can improve on last year’s turnover margin.

17.  MSU quarterback Chris Relf appears primed for a breakout season.

18.  But Dan Mullen says his signal-caller has “still got a ways to go.”

19.  Just because D-coordinator Manny Diaz has gone to Texas, don’t expect the Dogs to change their blitz-happy ways.

Two months ago, LSU was widely considered to be a national championship contender.  Today, things are going from bad to worse to even worse on The Bayou.

In addition to NCAA issues, bar brawls, and multiple suspensions for multiple reasons, LSU has now lost senior left guard Josh Dworaczyk to a knee injury.  He will not play against Oregon on Saturday and, according to The Shreveport Times, he could miss “most of the season.”

Les Miles says Dworaczyk will be operated on “in the next 10 days to two weeks or so.”

For LSU fans, it now seems that if it weren’t for bad luck, they’d have no luck at all.





(And, yes, we’ve been waiting to use that clip for three years now.)

After coaching Darius Miller in this summer’s World University Games, Purdue head coach Matt Painter had nothing but praise for the Kentucky guard:


“That (UK) staff has done a great job with him because he’s really made improvements in all areas of his game. … He’s a great teammate and a good person.  I think Kentucky’s got an unbelievable chance to go far this year, if not win it all.  If Darius Millers is one of your guys in the mix, with a lot of young talent, he’s going to do a great job helping to piece things together because he’s that quintessential teammate.”


That right here is pretty much the definition of effusive praise.

Brandon Boykin is within one touchdown of breaking the SEC’s all-time mark for kickoff return TDs by a single player in a career.  Boykin and his Georgia teammates have a game with Boise State on Saturday night in Atlanta.  And Boykin also has a Twitter account.

Guess where this is going.

“Dear Coach petersen, I DARE you to Kick to me…. Sincerely, Me and my #dawgs.”

That’s what Boykin tweeted over the weekend to Broncos coach Chris Petersen.

According to The Athens Banner-Herald, Boykin said he told Mark Richt about his tweet after the fact.  “He was like, ‘OK, well now you’ve got to back it up.’”

Petersen laughed off the tweet when asked about it by the Boise media.  “The kick returner… wants a piece of me and I don’t even play.  Don’t direct that at me.  I don’t kick the ball.  He’s talking to the wrong guy.  I’m shanking it out of bounds.”

Boykin says he meant no disrespect.  But why give the other team any added motivation at all?  What’s the point?  How does that serve the Georgia football team well?

Fellow fuddy-duddy Mark Bradley of The AJC has a view similar to our own:

“If you’re the underdog in Saturday’s game and you’re coming off a 6-7 season, wouldn’t the better Bulldog course be to creep in — sorry to play fast and loose with my animals — on little cat feet?  I doubt Boise is going to be terrified at the though of facing the Tweetster, and if you have to rely on a gimmick for your swagger is it really swagger at all?”

Seeing Bradley blog post, Boyking tweeted a kind response to the sportswriter:

“‘Preciate that, Mr. Bradley.  Enjoyed reading it.”

If Boykin runs back kick for a touchdown he’ll be a hero to thousands of woofing Dawg fans.  But if he should fumble or in some other way bungle a return, whooo boy, his tweet will come back to bite him.

Cuonzo Martin’s job isn’t getting any easier.  Not only will Tennessee’s new basketball coach have to compete with a thin, inexperienced lineup this winter… but the man who left him that lineup will still be in town.

Former Vol coach Bruce Pearl has decided not to take what was reported to be a $500,000 per year offer to coach in the NBA’s D-league.  Instead, he will serve as vice president of marketing with a Knoxville-based grocery company.

“I worked for 33 years — my entire coaching career — to get to a place like Knoxville,” Pearl said in a statement.  “This is where my family lives, this is home.  We have made life-long friends here and we are very blessed to have this opportunity.”

Forbes magazing ranks HT Hackney as the 82nd largest privately held company in the country with annual revenues of about $4 billion.

Pearl, of course, has the right to live anywhere he likes.  But his decision to stay in Knoxville probably won’t help his successor.  Some close to Pearl have suggested that the coach would like to bide his time and possibly return to UT once his show cause penalty ends in three years.

If Martin struggles as expected with the roster Pearl left him, you can be sure some Vol fans will begin to countdown to the moment when Pearl’s penalty ends.  That said, if chancellor Jimmy Cheek remains at Tennessee, it’s hard to imagine Pearl getting another shot with the Vols, regardless of fan sentiment.

Whether he holds out hope of a return or not — and we’re guessing he’d deny that publicly — you can for now say to goodbye to Bruce Pearl the basketball coach… and say hello to Bruce Pearl the grocery supply marketer.

1.  Will Muschamp says there’s still a lot of work to do at Florida this week.

2.  The Gators look to start two true freshmen in the secondary for the first time in school history.

3.  Howard Schnellenberger knows that his Florida Atlantic Owls aren’t likely to get a hoot out of playing in The Swamp.  (Hoot?  Owls?  Get it?)
 
4.  If Georgia tailback Richard Samuel is healthy on Saturday, he’ll split carries with Isaiah Crowell.

5.  Mark Richt won’t say if safety Bacarri Rambo is suspended for the opener or not.

6.  Boise State’s Chris Petersen says he’s put a blowout loss at Georgia in ’05 out of his mind.

7.  A dozen freshman are likely to contribute for Kentucky this season.

8.  There’s not as much hype for a UK-WKU opener as their is a UK-Louisville opener.  Big shock.

9.  UK has stupidly banned its own student newspaper from today’s basketball interview sessions because a college reporter did his job.

10.  Stephen Garcia and Connor Shaw are listed as co-starters on South Carolina’s depth chart.

11.  Akeem Auguste has reinjured his foot… meaning CC Whitlock will start at corner for USC against East Carolina.

12.  Gamecock freshmen are getting a crash course in SEC football.

13.  Tennesssee — including return specialist Devrin Young — is getting healthy at the right time.

14.  UT will have two true freshmen flanking a senior in its linebacking corps this fall.

15.  Vol players are excited that the season is finally upon them.

16.  Vanderbilt quarterback Larry Smith seems to have more confidence this season.

17.  James Franklin has decided not to call plays on offense… for now.

At SEC Media Days, Will Muschamp and Nick Saban were asked about one another and asked about their relationship.  Rumor had it that their mentor-pupil bond had turned frosty.  But both Florida’s new coach and his ex-employer who’s now at Alabama had only positive things to say.

But according to The Palm Beach Post, things didn’t end on a high note for the two coaches.  Saban has a reputation for not being easy on his assistants.  Also, the Tide’s coach decided not to give Muschamp the defensive coordinator’s job while both were with the Miami Dolphins.

The Post picks up the story there with the help of Muschamp’s father:

“One example of the deterioration between the two was Saban reprimanding Muschamp’s mother over the phone during the offseason.

While Will Muschamp and his wife were on vacation in the Bahamas, his parents, Larry and Sally Muschamp, were babysitting their children in Coral Springs when an angry Saban called the house.  He needed a particular document from Muschamp, and ordered Sally to fax it to him.

Not finding a fax machine in her son’s home, Sally drove to an office supply store to send it.  Thirty minutes later, Saban had not received it and called again.  He had given her the wrong number, Sally said.

‘Where’s that fax?’ Saban barked.  ‘Get it to me now.’

Larry, by far the more easygoing of Muschamp’s parents, was irate.

‘That son of a b***h,’ he said.  ‘I’m surprised she didn’t say, ‘When it gets there, put it where the sun don’t shine.’  She didn’t.  But that’s Saban.  he and Will got crosswise in Miami for whatever reason.’”

Here’s guessing Muschamp will soon have a little talk with his parents to explain what is and what isn’t for public consumption.

Either way, Muschamp and “that SOB” Saban will meet up in Gainesville on October 1st.  The postgame handshake may prove to be downright Belichickian.

The lawyer for recently arrested LSU quarterback Jordan Jefferson plans to ask Les Miles today to consider reinstating his senior signal-caller.  Jefferson was put on indefinite suspension by Miles last weekend, soon after being arrested — along with teammate Josh Johns — for his involvement in a bar fight a week earlier.

“It is more than unjust to destroy this young man’s career if it’s all about a bunch of nothing, which is what I think.”  That’s the take of Lewis Unglesby.  Jefferson changed counsel from Nathan Fisher to Unglesby last Friday.  Make of that what you will.

Unfortunately for Unglesby, the Baton Rouge Police Department and the district attorney see the situation as being a bit more than “a bunch of nothing.”  Jefferson is charged with second degree battery which is a felony.  Multiple witnesses have identified him as kicking one of his fellow combatants in the head during the brawl.

“I have no criticism, nor knowledge base, to say what Les Miles is doing is wrong, but I want to make sure he is fully informed that there’s a whole other side to this, and that Jordan is not only presumed innocent, but I’m saying that he is.” 

Oh, well.  If Jefferson’s defense attorney says he’s innocent then he must be innocent.

In reality, there’s no way LSU officials can allow Miles to reinstate Jefferson even if the coach so desires.  The school has already been placed on probation by the NCAA, been questioned in another case about street agent Willie Lyles, lost receiver Russell Shepard to an NCAA rule violation, and dealt with the fallout from the bar brawl all in the past two months.  That’s enough bad pub for two years, much less two months.

To reinstate Jefferson — days before a nationally televised showdown with #3 Oregon — would send a very bad message: “At LSU, we don’t care what goes on off the field so long as you can wing that football on it.”

Is that being unfair to Jefferson?  Not if you consider the fact that the team’s senior quarterback and team leader broke curfew, went to a bar at two in the morning, and somehow managed to get involved in a fight just two weeks before his team’s season opener.  That should be reason enough for him to miss this weekend’s game. 

Even if he’s innocent of the alleged head-kickin’.

“Jordan doesn’t deserve any special treatment from the legal system because he’s LSU’s quarterback,” his lawyer said.  “But he also doesn’t deserve any bad treatment because he’s LSU’s quarterback, and I think that’s what’s happened.”

Maybe.  But Jefferson also doesn’t deserve special treatment from the school he represents.  There aren’t many schools that would start a quarterback who’s facing a felony charge of second degree battery.  LSU can’t afford to be one of the exceptions. 

Or else the school will emerge with a bigger black eye than any of the folks doing the fighting outside of Shady’s Bar two weeks ago.


SIDENOTE — Reports say that Andrew Lowery — the Marine victim to believed to have been kicked in the head — “suffered a facial fracture, a concussion, fractured teeth and facial and body bruises” in the bar fight.  Another victim reporedly “sustained three fractured vertebrae in his lower back, a concussion, fractured teeth and severe cuts and bruises on the face.”

Oh, boy.  It looks like it’s gonna be one of those days.

Yesterday, trusting the Texas-based site Orangebloods.com, we linked to a report from that Rivals site stating that Texas A&M sources had said yesterday that the school would withdraw from the Big 12 today.

Meanwhile, The New York Times reported that A&M had already given a phoned departure notice to Brady Deaton, the chairman of the Big 12 board.  The NYT report claimed that “two college officials with direct knowledge of the decision” had tipped the paper.

A&M has denied that report this morning.

We still await official word from College Station.  Since both Texas A&M and the Big 12 offices are based in the Lone Star State, we’ll continue to give extra credence to Texas-based reports… as we did late last night/early this morning. 

Which is why we’re one of the few sites not having to backtrack this morning.

Orangebloods.com — the Rivals site covering the University of Texas — reported last night that “sources close to Texas A&M” have told the site that the Aggies will officially withdraw from the Big 12 sometime today.

Yesterday, the school received a letter from the Big 12 outlining the league’s withdrawal procedures.  That letter was believed to have included a layout of financial penalties and exit fees.


“The full exit fee penalty would be between $28 million and $31 million, according to Big 12 sources.  But the Big 12 could withhold A&M’s revenue for the 2011-12 academic year, which would total roughly $18 million.”


So says Orangebloods.com.

Whatever the cost, the Aggies seem primed to move.  And seeing as how A&M has admitted to having had conversations with the SEC dating back to July, it would be very surprising if the Aggies at this point hadn’t already received assurances that they’ll be welcomed into Mike Slive’s league with open arms.

However, nine of the SEC’s 12 presidents and chancellors will still have to okay A&M’s application for membership.  If four schools — for whatever reason — decide that they or the league as a whole would be better off without the Aggies in the SEC, A&M could be left in no man’s land.

How could that happen?

For Vanderbilt, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Kentucky, Texas A&M would represent yet another traditionally solid program that would likely rank above them on the SEC’s football food chain. 

For those schools to okay the deal, there would have to be something in it for them.  Like money.  But if A&M joined the SEC by its lonesome in 2012 — and it now looks like that would be the case — what kind of television deals could the SEC cut?  Would a one-team expansion even trigger renegotiations with CBS and ESPN?  And if renegotiations did take place, would A&M allow the SEC to make up enough cash to cover the Aggies’ slice of the pie as well as add some whip cream to the top of the other schools’ slices?  Newspapers from New York to Dallas have recently said the money just isn’t there.  We believe it is or else talks wouldn’t have gotten this far, but ESPN will be the one that decides to either pay big or pay small. 

And what of the schools in the SEC West?  Would they want to play in a 7-team division while East Division schools continued to have a 1-in-6 chance of reaching the SEC Championship Game?

Also, what the heck is going on in the search for School #14?  Numerous anonymous SEC officials have told numerous media outlets — including this one — that if Texas A&M is #13, then #14 must quickly follow.

But look at the current landscape and you’ll find that on the surface there appear to be few good fits for the SEC.

The ACC is sturdy at the moment so it’s a longshot that any of the top academic, basketball-centric schools would leave.  Clemson, Georgia Tech and Florida State are supposedly off the SEC’s list because of their location.  And while Virginia Tech would make a prime target for the SEC, they went through 40 years of political wranglings just to earn an ACC berth.  It’s hard to picture Tech leaving so soon if they believe the ACC to be stable.

On the Big 12 side of things, Missouri would seem to be the best bet to move with A&M, but all has been very quiet in the Show Me State.  Perhaps Mizzou learned from its failed Big Ten flirtations last year that it’s better to conduct business behind closed doors.  Or perhaps school officials would rather hold out for a Big Ten bid somewhere down the line.  Either way, it’s quiet in Columbia and no one else to the west seems interested in moving east.

That leaves the Big East and the choices would be limited from that league, too.  South Florida and Louisville would be nonstarters because of their location.  Cincinnati would bring solid athletics, a good TV market and Ohio recruiting.  But the SEC doesn’t do urban schools and UC is a poor academic draw for the presidents making this decision.  West Virginia would fit the SEC profile — good athletics, crazed fans, strong campus environment — but WVU is located in a small state with small money and a small recruiting base.  Pittsburgh is an excellent school with solid athletics.  The Panthers would also bring good recruiting ground and a hearty television market.  But it’s an urban school and it also seems to be a much better fit with the basketball-first Big East.

No one knows what the landscape will look like next year (or what’s going on behind the scenes this year), but as it stands, the SEC could be looking at a 13-school set-up for a while to come.  Would SEC presidents be alright with that?

We believe A&M to the SEC is probably going to happen.  After all, we’ve been saying since the day the Big 12 was saved last year that the Aggies would definitely land in the SEC at some point.  But until those 12 SEC presidents and chancellors officially cast their votes… this thing is still not a lock.  We’re talking about 12 men who will be looking out for their own school’s best interests.  And, as noted above, there are a lot of variables that might give some of those administrators pause.

Is A&M’s move to the SEC likely?  Yes.  Very likely?  Uh-huh.  Probably a done deal?  Sure.

Would we be willing to bet the house on it?  Not when it comes to the guys in the bow ties who’ll be casting ballots.

Stay tuned.