Ratings were lower in STL then in KC because the Tigers were competing with the Cardinals that night, who are in the middle of a pennant race. The Tigers never compete with the Royals this time of year - for obvious reasons.
SEC WEST
1. Nick Saban and Alabama are getting separation between themselves and other programs.
2. Bama hasn’t trailed in regulation time in eight games and its last three foes each had less than 10 offensive snaps on the Tide’s side of the 50. Wow.
3. Gene Chizik says he’s had “several meetings and several heart-to-hearts about growing up” with struggling Auburn QB Kiehl Frazier.
4. Arkansas John L. Smith says Bama’s offense is not “going to be as hard as preparing for some other people because… they’re not going to fool you with variety.”
5. Hog backup QB Brandon Allen says he grew up a lot in last week’s loss to Louisiana-Monroe.
6. Assuming LSU takes care of business with Idaho, two pretty big records will fall tomorrow in Baton Rouge.
7. Tiger punter Brad Wing says he really wants to win the Ray Guy Award.
8. Byron De’Vinner keeps right on talking, but for Mississippi State “it only matters what he’s told the NCAA.”
9. Why will MSU travel to Troy on Saturday? In the words of Navin R. Johnson, it’s a profit deal.
10. Ex-Bulldog defensive coordinator Manny Diaz will be heading up Texas’ D when the Longhorns visit Ole Miss.
11. Winning has made football fun again in Oxford. (Ya don’t say.)
12. Kevin Sumlin gave Texas A&M tailback Christine Michael just two second-half carries last week “based on health history.”
13. An SMU beatwriter says the Aggies should beat their old rivals “by a couple of touchdowns” tomorrow.
SEC EAST
14. The last time Florida lost to Tennessee, gas cost just $2.10 a gallon.
15. The Gator/Vol rivalry is “gaining traction again.”
16. Instead of 0-2 like last year, Georgia has started this season 2-0, but Mark Richt says the Dawgs have “got to keep fighting for our lives because it’s such a fine line between winning and losing.”
17. Scheduling Florida Atlantic makes fiscal sense for UGA and FAU. (Too bad it’s a “who cares?” game.)
18. Turnover-prone Western Kentucky might be just what Kentucky’s defense needs.
19. Andre Woodson believes Maxwell Smith will “be one of the best quarterbacks ever to come through” UK.
20. Connor Shaw “hasn’t quite been 100%” and now Steve Spurrier says he’ll make a decision about which signal-caller to play tomorrow night.
21. When it comes to linebacker Shaq Wilson, the Gamecocks “feed off his energy.”
22. Juco nose tackle Daniel McCullers says Tennessee is “going to be ready” for Florida power running game.
23. Writer: “With the season-ending loss to Kentucky last November, Rocky Top hit rock bottom. On Saturday, we’ll see just how far the Vols have rebounded.”
24. Vanderbilt’s James Franklin says his team’s got to get back to what it did a year ago — “which is fight… focus on the details… have a chip on our shoulder.”
25. The Commodores passing game has been dodgy in 2012… but the run game’s been “almost non-existent.”
26. Is there any chance Missouri will look past Arizona State to South Carolina?
27. The Tigers’ banged-up O-linemen are dealing with position changes.
28. Interesting note: Last week’s Mizzou-Georgia game did better TV ratings in Atlanta (no shock) and Kansas City than it did in St. Louis. (But it was still the highest-rated ESPN college football game ever in the Gateway City.)
SEC/COLLEGE FOOTBALL
29. Tons of game picks from CBSSports.com’s Bruce Feldman can be found right here.
30. Get ready for legal haggling as the Big East suggests Notre Dame will have to negotiate itself out of the league. (Kinda like half the other teams in the league have done.)
31. Fox’s Erin Andrews wants to know how close Tennessee is to being “back.”
32. How dirty is recruiting in Memphis? Dirty enough that it feels like old times.
