SEC West
1. Tommy Tuberville a possible candidate at Arkansas? “I’d be surprised if Jeff Long doesn’t at least talk to Tommy Tuberville.”
2. Texas A&M’s players got a confidence boost earlier this season watching Florida beat Tennessee. Kevin Sumlin: ”In a weird way it helped our confidence at that point realizing, ‘Hey, you know what that [Florida loss] wasn’t as bad as we thought.”
3, Trademarking “Johnny Football”? Why Manziel jerseys took so long - ”when a college player all of a sudden achieves stardom, it’s not a quick turnaround.”
4. Mississippi State’s defense averaging five tackles for loss per game this season - that’s tied for 13th in the SEC.
5. Dan Mullen on LSU quarterback Zach Mettenberger: “When you take a talented guy and he gets hot, you better watch out.”
6. LSU has won 19 of the last 20 games with Mississippi State – 12 in a row in Baton Rouge.
7. Where could LSU go bowling? Anywhere from California to Florida.
8. Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron on beating LSU: “The win only means so much if you finish out strong.”
9. Blue Horseshoe loves Anacott Steel and the Liberty Bowl loves Ole Miss.
10. Auburn hires a security firm to help enforce curfews.
11. Auburn freshman quarterback Jonathan Wallace will get his second start against the Bulldogs. Gene Chizik: “The speed and intensity with which they blitz and pressure and move around will be completely different than last week.”
SEC East
12. Florida’s defense has intercepted 15 passes this year – only picked off six passes all of last year. Andre Debose, Mack Brown, and Leon Orr all expected to miss this weekend’s game with injuries.
13. After the Gators play Louisiana-Lafayette Saturday, Florida players will gather to watch Auburn-Georgia.
14. Injury updates from South Carolina – Marcus Lattimore won’t need more than one surgery, according to his position coach. Jadeveon Clowney’s bruised foot still an issue – estimates he’s at 85 percent. “I can’t run full speed right now. We’re going to have to figure out what it is after the season.”
15. John Clay: Five myths about the Kentucky coaching search. Possible sticking point for Louisiana Tech coach Sonny Dykes? His offensive coordinator Tony Franklin wrote a book about his time at UK.
16. Mark Richt’s hip problems go back to a swing set 25 years ago.
17. Georgia safety Bacarri Rambo reminds his teammates and coaches of Baltimore Ravens safety Ed Reed.
18. Tennessee defensive coordinator Sal Sunseri: ”I’m not disappointed in the kids; I’m disappointed in myself.”
19. Tennessee offensive coordinator Jim Chaney on Mizzou: ”(Defensive coordinator) Dave Steckel is a heckuva football coach,’‘ Chaney said. “When you have talent and they play hard, good things come your way.”
20. Missouri coach Gary Pinkel on quarterback James Franklin: “He’s been through hell.”
SEC/College News
21. The Texas A&M – Alabama game will feature four of the best offensive tackles in the country.
22. High school quarterback gets ejected for Cam Newton celebration. Newton: ”Taunting is taunting, but at the end of the day, you still have to have fun playing the game,
23. Freshman defensive back at Tennessee State dies after collapsing during practice.
24. Making the case for No. 1 in college football among Alabama, Kansas State, Notre Dame and Oregon. Here’s the Alabama argument.
25. SEC Commissioner Mike Slive on growing the league: ”The answer for me is that I never thought about this fall or that fall. What I think about is the long-term horizon – 10 years from now, 20 years from now.”
SEC Basketball
26. Florida point guard Scott Wilkebin benched for tomorrow night’s game.
27. How John Calipari has turned Kentucky into the preeminent basketball program in the country - it’s all about marketing.
28. Calipari and UK players take part in telethon that leads to roughly half-million dollars raised for victims of Hurricane Sandy.
29. A big reason for confidence in Mizzou basketball this season - the guard combo of Phil Pressey and Mike Dixon. But Dixon is still suspended.
30. Point guard uncertainty at South Carolina.
31. Mississippi State will open at Troy Friday night – where they’ll be opening a new arena. MSU guard Jalen Steele: “I know the crowd is going to be hyped. It’s going to fuel me and my teammates.”
32. UNC Asheville will play Tennessee next week in Puerto Rico. Their coach wants Tennessee to come to Asheville: ”We need for some of those big schools to come in here and cause a little more interest…”
33. Best and worse-case scenarios for this year’s Tennessee team.
