MrSEC

Top MrSEC Clicks For The Week

admin — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 17:02:46 +0000

1. Freeze Takes The High-Road With Mullen

2. Will LSU Have A “Fat Cat” Quarterback In Liggins?

3. Texas A&M Makes Schedule Changes For 2012

4. Clemson A.D. Shoots Down Big 12 Rumors

5. UT’s Rubio No Longer Part Of Football Program

SEC Headlines 2/11/2012

admin — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 15:54:25 +0000

1. Did Nick Saban lobby to get West Virginia into the SEC? Alabama coach is friends with West Virginia senator.

2. Raises all around for Steve Spurrier and his South Carolina staff.

3. Touring Tennessee’s new $45 million football facilities.

4. Former Tennessee wide receivers coach Charlie Baggett will receive a $425,000 buyout.

5. Ranking the new coaching hires: Urban Meyer No.1, Gus Malzahn No. 4., Hugh Freeze No. 10.

6. Former Alabama safety Mark Barron is recovering from a double hernia surgery - will miss NFL Scouting Combine.

7. Georgia at Mississippi State. A win today by Mississippi State will mean nine of 14 Rick Stansbury team’s in Starkville have won 20 games. The return of Marcus Thornton has given the Bulldogs hope.

8. South Carolina at Arkansas. The end of a brutal stretch for the Gamecocks.

9. Tennessee at Florida. Gators haven’t forgotten their second-half performance in Knoxville. Vols 0-7 on the road this year.

10, NCAA athletes should be careful who picks up the tab for their plane tickets.

11, Alabama at LSU. Crimson Tide go for fourth straight win Tony Mitchell remains suspended. Tigers expect full-court pressure.

12. Auburn at Ole Miss. No more Mr. Nice Guy in practice for Auburn’s Tony Barbee. Struggling Rebels have lost three of four.

13. Kentucky at Vanderbilt. Wildcats to rely on defense. Kevin Stallings on Anthony Davis: “I don’t know that I’ve ever seen anybody like him.”

14. John Calipari on UK fans and ESPN’s GameDay at Vandy. “Don’t ruin it.”

15. Jay Bilas: “It’s sort of like an all-day infomercial for the home team.”

16. Gary Parrish: “John Calipari’s team is going to lose Saturday night at Vanderbilt just like I watched Billy Donovan’s second national championship team at Florida once lose at Vanderbilt.”

Extras

17. “40 Minutes of Hell” documentary debuts tonight.

18. Selection Sunday is a month away. Here are eight questions for the committee.

19. Former Arkansas quarterback Mitch Mustain considers a career in professional baseball.

20. Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz: “In the last 13 years, nothing has changed as much as the pace of recruiting.”

Shaq Wiggins Chooses Georgia

Josh Ward — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 00:06:10 +0000

Cornerback Shaq Wiggins from Sandy Creek High School in Tyrone, Ga., has committed to Georgia.

“It felt right,” Wiggins told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It’s the place for me.”

Tennessee, Ole Miss, Michigan, Ohio State and others had offered scholarships to Wiggins.

Wiggins is a candidate to be ranked the top cornerback in the state of Georgia, according to the AJC.

Report: Diggs Will Choose Maryland

Josh Ward — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:36:03 +0000

The soap opera of Stefon Diggs‘ recruitment should be coming to an end this afternoon.

The athlete from Olney, Md., is expected to announce his intention to sign with Maryland, according to a report from the Washington Post. Diggs has also considered Auburn, Florida and Ohio State.

Diggs’ announcement is scheduled to take place at 6 eastern time at Looney’s Pub in College Park, according to 247Sports.

The fact that Diggs will announce his decision in College Park would appear to be a sign that he will choose the in-state Terrapins. But Diggs hinted on twitter Friday morning that he could “shock the world” with his choice.

“Even my own city might be mad at me,” Diggs wrote.

One thing is for sure: A lot of people will be mad at Diggs if he chooses to delay his announcement one more time.

SEC Headlines – 2/10/12 Part Two

John — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:27:55 +0000

1. Selfishness is a good thing for Auburn hoopster Kenny Gabriel.

2. Strong bench play is helping Alabama turn its season around.

3. Micheal Sanchez’s bum shoulder just means more adversity of the Arkansas basketball team.

4. This writer finds it ironic that Jordan Jefferson — a player Les Miles was so loyal to — has decided to speak out about poor coaching in the BCS title game. (Excellent point.)

5. Jefferson, by the way, has pleaded innocent to charges stemming from an infamous preseason bar fight.

6. Dee Bost and Arnett Moultrie led MSU to a 70-60 home win over Ole Miss last night.

7. For the Rebels, the loss was a hit to their slim NCAA Tournament hopes.

8. For the Bulldogs, it was further evidence that State has a world of potential.

UT-Memphis Rivalry Could Come To A Close

John — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:42:45 +0000

Tennessee likes playing Memphis in basketball for recruiting purposes, but they don’t like playing the Tigers in football (there’s more to lose than to gain).

Memphis likes playing Tennessee in football for financial reasons, but they don’t like playing the Vols in basketball (because it gives UT a recruiting foothold in the Bluff City).

With Memphis joining the Big East, the two cross-state schools may finally be axing their relationship. Tiger hoops coach Josh Pastner wants to kill the series and further build a wall around Memphis. He also wants to avoid playing Arkansas in Memphis. Why let nearby schools woo his local talent?

In the past, UT has told the Memphians that if they continue to want to get nice paydays from Vol football games, they would have to keep scheduling the Vols in hoops. For that reason, Memphis AD RC Johnson has always kept both series alive. But Johnson is now stepping down and the Tigers are entering a BCS-level — read: more monied — conference. So he’s tune is changing:

“Particularly now with the Big East, I think that should be a decision now between Josh and the next athletic director. That’s changed a lot now. We used to worry about our (nonconference) schedule for name and RPI. Now, that’s basically been a role reversal. It’s not nearly as significant.

I don’t have any influence on whatever the next athletics director decides he or she wants to do. But from a personal standpoint and as an AD, I always felt it was to our advantage. Every coach I worked with didn’t want to play them, and I understand that. But the in-state thing I always thought was kind of a special thing.”

Pastner’s take is written in stone:

“I do know that the Tennessee series needs to be cut after next year. Whether we’re going into the Big East, Conference USA, any other league, we don’t need to play that series. No disrespect to Cuonzo Martin, because I think he’s a heck of a person and he’s done a great job. This is just strictly about I believe what (former Tigers) Coach (John) Calipari felt about it. There’s no need to play it, and I’ve not wavered on that stance since Day One I got the job.

So next year is the last year of the contract. I expect and hope that we are done with them in terms of playing them in the nonconference, obviously unless the Big East-SEC Challenge forces you to do that. That’d be out of our control.”

Calipari actually suggested the game be played in Nashville each year as part of a “Governor’s Cup” type series. Anything to keep the Vols out of Memphis. Pastner wants the rivalry dead, period.

And if he gets his wish, new Tennessee AD Dave Hart should scratch Memphis from his list of potential non-conference opponents for his football Vols.

VU’s Franklin Backtracks From “Men Of Honor” Comments

John — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:29:02 +0000

After signing day last week, Vanderbilt coach James Franklin told a group of Commodore backers that those players who decommitted from Vandy were “not men of honor” and “not men of integrity.” He did not mention anyone by name, but most assumed that he was referring to defensive end Josh Dawson who decided on the eve of signing day to stay in his home state and attend Georgia rather than VU.

As a result of his words, Franklin took some heat. Now, he’s backtracking a bit… and blaming the media (of course):

“First of all, it really wasn’t written the way it was delivered. I think the biggest thing is when a kid commits to Vanderbilt, I go into great detail and make sure they understand what they’re doing – that they understand ‘commitment’ and ‘what commitment means.’ That I’d say if five other schools come in and offer you, would you change your mind? We make sure everybody is on the same page: the kid, the parents, and the high school coach. We explain it in real detail. I would just rather a kid not commit to us than commit and not be completely sure what he’s going to do. When you lose a kid, it hurts your heart. You feel bad, like all college coaches do, because you feel like your institution is the best possible place for that kid. So when you lose them, it hurts.

I think I probably would’ve worded some things differently [that I said that day]. And I think it would’ve probably been reported a little differently than it was intended. But it is what it is. I have great respect for all the young men that committed to us. I have great respect for some of the men that changed their minds and went in another direction. They thought it was in the best interest for them and their family. But it hurts when you lose a guy when you’ve been recruiting him for a year.”

So Franklin wishes he’d said things differently. And clearly he still thinks those players who decommitted from Vandy don’t understand “what commitment means.”

Then how exactly is any of this the fault of Jeff Lockridge of The Tennessean who initially tweeted the coach’s exact words? Franklin tries to blame the press for not putting his words in context but he admits he chose the words poorly and that the context — turns out — looks pretty dead-on correct.

Michael Carvell of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution asked several coaches about Franklin’s “not men of honor” comments and Vandy’s coach didn’t get a lot of support. Especially from new North Carolina coach Larry Fedora who lost quarterback Patton Robinette to Franklin at the last possible moment (Robinette actually left orientation at UNC to sign with Vandy):

“What does [Franklin] say about the kids that were committed elsewhere and de-committed from their places to go to his place? That’s my comment. What is his comment on those people? He’s got someone in his recruiting class that did that very thing. He’s saying those guys are not men of honor? Basically, he’s saying he has got kids in his own recruiting class that are not men of honor. He said that, and I didn’t.”

We pointed out as much last week when writing of Franklin’s clear double-standard. The AJC asked the coach if he saw his stance as being a double-standard:

“I think you get frustrated, and you get upset because kids commit to you. But you’re exactly right. It was like the year before, when we got in here at the last minute and only had a month left for recruiting, we got kids to de-commit to us. I think that’s a very, very valid point.”

At least he admits that his comments post-signing day were out of line. And in this instance he doesn’t try to blame the evil press for twisting his words.

SEC Headlines – 2/10/12 Part One

John — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:52:30 +0000

1. Billy Donovan wants Florida’s 3-point defense to improve.

2. With a win over Tennessee tomorrow, the Gators will post their 14th consecutive 20-win season.

3. When Kentucky visits Vanderbilt tomorrow, the game will likely hinge on the Anthony Davis-Festus Ezeli matchup.

4. UK officials want fans to stop selling a popular poster of Davis.

5. South Carolina AD Eric Hyman says he can’t imagine the USC-Clemson rivalry coming to an end.

6. Steve Spurrier is expected to get a pay bump to $3.3 million today.

7. New Tennessee O-line coach Sam Pittman likes all the returning starters in his camp.

8. Freshman Jarnell Stokes’ banged-up hand remains a concern for UT hoops.

9. With Kentucky and ESPN “Gameday” coming to town, Vandy basketball is going to get an all-day commercial tomorrow.

Clemson A.D. Shoots Down Big 12 Rumors

John — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:07:53 +0000

Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve received an email or two asking if the SEC would move to 16 schools once Clemson and Florida State joined the Big 12. As if such a move were a done deal.

We laughed off the rumors and went on about our business.

But apparently those rumors spread far enough through the Carolinas to spur TigerNet.com to ask Clemson AD Terry Don Phillips if there was any meat on them bones:

“There is no substance to that. None. The Big 12 has a committee formed — I guess you would call it an expansion committee — to look at the future of the Big 12 conference. I would suspect without knowing that part of the charge of that particular committee would be to look at continual expansion because they are no longer the Big 12. They have lost their championship game and so I would suspect they are looking at it. But in regard to Clemson or Florida State — of course I can’t speak for Florida State but I do have a pretty good feel for that part of the country — but I don’t feel like they have talked with anyone and I can say for sure with Clemson there is no substance to that.”

Asked if anyone from the Big 12 had contacted Clemson officials, Phillips said, “No.”

When Oklahoma AD Joe Costiglione said last month that the Big 12 would look at expanding at some point in the future, it was only a matter of time before far-fetched rumors began to zip through cyberspace. That’s happened. And naturally, those rumors have kicked up questions about the SEC’s plans. But until there is a major change to the college football landscape, we firmly believe that the Southeastern Conference will remain a 14-school league.

Jefferson Didn’t Like LSU Game Plan In BCS Title Game, Either

John — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:29:59 +0000

Add another name to the list. This time, the name of a quarterback who looked incredibly limited during LSU’s loss to Alabama in the BCS Championship Game.

Jordan Jefferson told WCNN-AM in Altanta yesterday that he, too, was unhappy with the Tigers plan of attack in the big game:

“I think we should’ve spread them out a little bit more, put the ball in different passing areas, use our talent on the receiving side,” Jefferson said. “We had that in as far as play-calling, we just didn’t get to it.

We have great guys in those areas and sometimes we just wonder why we don’t use those guys. But we’re not the one calling the plays. We still have to go out and execute what the coaches and coordinators are calling. We can’t complain as players, but sometimes we do question that…

I definitely didn’t expect for it to play (out) like that. Alabama was a little bit more prepared than us. There was a lot of things that we should’ve did different to catch a rhythm on offense. To win a type of game like that, you’ve got to win all three phases – offense, defense and special teams – and we just didn’t get over that hump to winning those phases. We kind of fell short in that game.”

Tiger fans will love the part about Alabama being a little bit more prepared. I’m sure that won’t be used against Les Miles on pro-Tiger messageboards.

While Jefferson shot down “many rumors that are not true,” he did confirm that LSU practiced one plan and then called another on gameday. The ex-Tiger said that his team had studied Utah’s 2007 Sugar Bowl victory over Bama before this year’s BCS title game, but to no avail.

“We were going to spread out our guys to make sure we’d get them the ball. But once we got in the game, it wasn’t how we practiced.”

The biggest question now? When are players and ex-players going to stop talking about what went wrong that night in New Orleans?

UGA’s McGarity Talks SEC Scheduling

admin — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:38:10 +0000

Georgia athletic director Greg McGarity opened up yesterday regarding the SEC’s soon-to-be sorted out football scheduling format. Unfortunately, he offered nothing new.

First, don’t expect the SEC to go to nine games in 2013:

“The general feeling is we want to stay with eight. But we have not sat down as a group of ADs to talk about 2012 and beyond. We just had to get 2012 solved to move forward. So who knows what 2013 through either a two-year or six-year rotation. But that’s what we’re going to meet to (talk about) and dedicate a whole day to (during the SEC’s women’s basketball tournament).”

The fears of a nine-game slate are the same — you can’t schedule as many patsies:

“Nine games, and Georgia Tech, that makes 10 games. If you ever wanted to schedule Clemson or Ohio State, like we have, then that only leaves one guarantee game. That’s a pretty tough schedule. Fans would love it. But I don’t know if your coaches or players (would). That’s strapping it up 11 of 12 weeks there. You have to have some time where some players play who never get a chance to be on the field.”

The ACC has announced that it will go to a nine-game conference slate when Pittsburgh and Syracuse begin league play. The Big Ten and Pac-12 will engage in a yearly conference-versus-conference agreement that will guarantee that both leagues’ teams will face at least nine BCS opponents per year. In addition, the ADs at Iowa and Michigan have already stated that facing nine BCS teams per season won’t lead them to end their annual series with Iowa State and Notre Dame, respectively.

In other words, only the SEC is scared of guaranteeing nine to 10 games per year against BCS competition.

Clearly, the goal of most SEC athletic directors is to keep more teams bowl eligible via laughable non-conference schedules. We find that to be embarrassing and we believe it will eventually bit the league right in the polls. But then again, it’s you the fan who gets to pay 50+ bucks a seat to watch Jackson State come to town… just so you can then travel to Memphis to watch your 6-6 SEC squad play in the Liberty Bowl against a Conference USA team. Fun, no?

Additionally, McGarity makes it clear that some of the league’s oldest, most-stories, most-important rivalries could still go away:

“I think if you ask Alabama and Tennessee, like us and Auburn, we’d like to retain the (permanent cross-divisional) games. But does that work? What do the other 10 schools think? Those four schools like having those games but there’s no other East-West match-up that has that piece of history to it. So I don’t (know) where that fits in.”

A history lesson for Mr. McGarity: Ole Miss and Vanderbilt have played 86 times. That’s one of the 10 most played rivalries in SEC history. If the SEC is about everyone being equal, then that rivalry means something, too.

Also, you can bet Missouri likes keeping its toes dipped in the deep recruiting waters of Texas thanks to its cross-divisional partnership with Texas A&M.

But in the end, Georgia’s AD is right about one thing:

“With 14 teams, not everybody will be happy. Some will have a problem with everything. But we’ll make decisions based on the best situation of the league.”

Well, there’s nothing better for the league than protecting the very thing that made it great — long-time, heated, tradition-rich rivalries.

The best way to do that is to go to a nine-game conference slate or somehow convince the NCAA to dump its requirements for conference championship games.

SEC Headlines – 2/9/12 Part Two

John — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:28:49 +0000

1. Florida will try to bounce back from a clubbing at Kentucky when they host Tennessee this weekend.

2. Georgia put a whoopin’ on Arkansas to climb out of the SEC cellar.

3. This writer believes John Calipari has his best shot at a national title with this year’s Kentucky team.

4. South Carolina has now lost 10 basketball games in a row to Tennessee.

5. The Vol football team will be a lot more multiple on defense next season.

6. Meanwhile, assistant coach Darin Hinshaw wants more production from his receiving corps.

7. After a sluggish first half, Vanderbilt dropped 49 on LSU in final stanza to win 76-61. (Up next: VU hosts top-ranked Kentucky and the Dores have toppled the last four #1 teams to visit the West End.)

AU’s Jacobs Says He Saw 2011 Coming

John — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:49:19 +0000

Would the real Gene Chizik please stand up? Is the guy who won five games in two years at Iowa State? Is he the man who’s led Auburn to two 8-5 campaigns in three years? Or is he multi-millionaire, top o’ the line coach who led the Tigers to their first national crown in decades?

That’s what many Auburn and SEC fans would like to know following last year’s post-Cam Newton season. But Auburn AD Jay Jacobs isn’t reading too much into last season because he says he and Chizik knew early on what was coming:

“2010 was a magical year for us. Back when I interviewed Gene in December ’08, we knew that 2011, as far as the number of players, was going to be challenging. I couldn’t be more proud of how the guys played. There was only one institution that played more freshmen than we did this past season. I’m proud of how hard they worked and how they stayed to the task at hand and continued to build this foundation that’s going to take us back to an SEC championship.”

Sounds good. And we believe it’s too soon for anyone to start writing Chizik off as a one-year wonder. But…

For Jacobs to have known back in 2008 that the roster would be so full of holes in 2011, he would have to have foreseen some real problems coming with Chizik’s first two signing classes. After all, 43% of the players from Auburn’s ’09 and ’10 classes aren’t at Auburn or never arrived.

For that reason — while we say it’s way too soon to panic on the Plains — we also aren’t buying Jacobs’ “we knew it was coming” message.

Texas A&M Makes Schedule Changes For 2012

John — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:10:31 +0000

Texas A&M is trying to hurriedly put together its 2012 non-conference football schedule and three changes were announced yesterday:

1. The Aggies opener on September 1st with McNeese State has been dumped and A&M is paying $200,000 to cancel it.

2. A&M will instead open the season in Shreveport, Louisiana against Louisiana Tech on Thursday, August 30th.

3. South Carolina State will visit Kyle Field on September 22nd.

A&M still has one more non-conference slot to fill for November 17th.

The switch from McNeese State at home to Louisiana Tech at Shreveport insures that the Aggies first-ever SEC contest — against Florida on September 8th — will also be the school’s home opener.

Three SEC Home Teams Win Big (Again)

John — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:29:22 +0000

The SEC’s 2012 tally board now reads: SEC Home Teams 41, SEC Road Teams 13.

Three more home teams won — and won big — last night. That’s a 76% clip for teams in their own arenas. If you’d bet a buddy $10 straight up on the home team to win in every SEC game this year, you’d be plus $280 over your pal right now. If you’d been sharp enough to take Kentucky in their road games — and the Cats are the only team to take on the road — you’d be at plus $330.

Just saying.

Tennessee 69, South Carolina 57

As the Gamecocks continue to sink into the quicksand at the bottom of the SEC standings board (they’re now 1-8 in league play), the Vols appear to have found a new offensive weapon. Long-range shooter Skylar McBee made his first start of the year on Saturday and tallied 10 points. Making his second start last night, he led the Volunteers with 18 on 4-of-7 shooting from the 3-point line. If McBee could average 14 points per game as a starter, even the defense-first Cuonzo Martin would likely take it.

Struggling Carolina was outrebounded 32-25 and couldn’t muster any consistent offense in the paint.

Vanderbilt 76, LSU 61

The Commodores snapped a two-game losing streak behind a 21-point effort from Festus Ezeli in Nashville. John Jenkins added 20. Jeffery Taylor poured in 19 more. But it was Ezeli who helped give Vandy a 38-22 edge down low and that proved to be the difference in the ballgame.

After a solid start in SEC play, the Tigers have now lost four out of five to fall to 3-6 in league play. The temperature of Trent Johnson’s seat is once again starting to warm.

The Commodores will host #1 Kentucky — the SEC only unbeaten road team — Saturday night at Memorial Gym.

Georgia 81, Arkansas 59

The road woes continue for Mike Anderson’s team. Unbeaten at home, the Razorbacks remain winless away from Fayetteville after getting trounced in Athens. For Georgia, it was just the second SEC win of season.

Gerald Robinson scored a career-high 27 and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope contributed 18. The Dawgs had a 15-0 run in the first half and a 12-0 run in the second to put the Hogs away.

UGA also crushed Arkansas on the glass, 44 rebounds to 21.

Slive Tries To Slow The BCS-To-Playoff Speculation

John — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:00:08 +0000

The Big Ten has a four-team plan with the national semifinals being played in on-campus stadiums. Georgia president Michael Adams says an eight-team playoff might be in the offing.

SEC commissioner Mike Slive says… slow down.

Speaking in Nashville yesterday, Slive went in 180 degrees the opposite direction of UGA’s prez when he said:

“Really a lot of this discussion is premature, and I want to respect the process that we’re in… What would (a new system) look like and whether it’s actually going to happen, all of that is premature. I think we need the time to sit down and analyze it. We need time to take ideas back to our respective conferences and… a decision to be made sometime later this year as we being to talk about the… next format.”

As we noted earlier today, we believe there will be resistance to a no-playoff to eight-team-playoff jump. It’s far more likely — at least in our view — that a four-team, seeded Plus One will be the answer.

Consider the Big Ten and Pac-12. The idea to bid out the championship game site each year protects the tradition of the Rose Bowl. It would not be part of a rotation which would cast one or both leagues out once every four years (as is currently the case).

How would those leagues feel about an eight-team playoff that might invite two schools (or maybe even three) from those leagues… thus leaving the Rose Bowl as Pac-12 #2 versus Big Ten #3 or even #4?

The safe money is on a four-game plan. Even though Slive would probably say that we’re jumping the gun by going that far.

On a sidenote, the commissioner confirmed what we’ve been saying for a while: The SEC isn’t looking to go to 16 schools anytime soon.

“We’re at 14,” Slive said. “It’s going to take us time to absorb. I don’t know if you realize how difficult it is to take two institutions and move them into 12 other institutions whether it’s scheduling or the way we’re working together. So we have our hands full for now.”

At least until the landscape changes elsewhere.

MU’s Pinkel Talks Recruiting Hurdles Down South And Respect

John — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:43:40 +0000

Missouri’s Gary Pinkel has taken a moribund football program and make it competitive on the national scene. Competitive in the rankings (the Tigers reached #1 in the nation in 2007) and on the recruiting trail (Mizzou has inroads into Texas and outdueled Arkansas for star receiver prospect Dorial Green-Beckham).

He’s accomplished much, but now Pinkel is determined to break new barriers:

“We’re getting our brand name down in Atlanta. We’re in South Florida, Tampa, Jacksonville, Orlando. But we’re back to like we were when we first went into Texas. You have to sell yourself. They have a great pride in the SEC down there and you’re welcome down there. But it’s just like when we first went into Texas, and the coaches would tell us, ‘Okay, these (five-star) guys are going to Texas, Oklahoma and A&M. You can’t talk to them. But you can look at these guys.’ Well, they don’t do that in Texas anymore. They say, ‘These are our best guys, go recruit them.’ Well, now when we go into SEC territory to recruit, we hear, ‘Well, these guys are going to Alabama or Auburn. But you can talk to these guys.’”

The coach told The St. Louis Dispatch that his program is ready for the challenge of its new home. “That’s all we’ve been talking about to our football team,” Pinkel said. “That’s what it’s all about. Proving ourselves. No one knows us in the SEC. We have to earn their respect, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”

UGA Prez: 4- Or 8-Team Playoff On The Way

John — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:58:49 +0000

University of Georgia president Michael Adams is one of the most vocal university presidents in the country when it comes to academics. You know those guys that everyone goes to for a quote when there’s some debate about whether players are Students or Athletes? Adams is one of those guys. Heck, he’s the president of the Knight Commission, an organization that “has worked to ensure that intercollegiate athletics programs operate within the educational mission of their colleges and universities.

So when Michael Adams says this:

“My best guess is we’re going to end up with either a four- or eight-team playoff by the time we get to ’14,”

We listen.

Now, it’s no surprise that a playoff-scenario is in the works. At this site, we suggested in December that Alabama and LSU — two teams from the same (hated) conference – reaching the BCS title game might be enough to spur the other BCS leagues into action. The day we wrote that, Big 12 interim commissioner Chuck Neinas came out and said a “Plus One” format should be discussed.

It was bad enough that the SEC was winning the national crown every year, but when they were then facing themselves in the title game? Other leagues couldn’t abide with that.

In the past month, many ADs and presidents and commissions have mentioned a four-team, seeded Plus One as the most likely end result of this year’s BCS discussions. Even NCAA president Mark Emmert has said that such a “Football Final Four” seems like a solid idea. And by now you know what kind of money such a plan would generate. What kind of television ratings it would grab. All that’s been written and re-written, postulated and re-postulated ad nauseum.

In the last week, the Big Ten let word leak out that it, too, might be in favor of a Plus One. That was big news in itself as commissioner Jim Delany has long been against any type of playoff. Additionally, the league’s plan tossed out the idea of the two highest-seeded teams hosting the “semifinals” on their own campuses.

Adams has taken all that a step further. He has thrown an eight-team format into the discussion. That’s not new on websites and blogs and messageboards, but it is a first in terms of real discussion.

According to Adams — who was speaking to the University of Georgia Athletic Association board yesterday — the Big Ten and Pac-12 have been the leagues most opposed to a playoff in past years. Mike Slive pushed a Plus One idea several years ago and ACC commish John Swofford has also backed such a plan. When Adams previously suggested an eight-team plan in 2008, it was dead on arrival. But Delany’s change of heart on the subject is a “very significant development,” in Adams’ words.

According to The Athens Banner-Herald, Adams also said:

“The conference commissioners are finally coming together on that point. There’s been great division among the commissioners the last six or eight years. The change in the conference realignments, the fact that most of the media contracts are up in either ’13 or ’14 are creating a situation. If there’s going to be a change, this is probably the natural time to do it…

I don’t say this about very much, but I think we were at the front of the train on that issue. I could see it down the track and I think we will end up with something that I think the fans feel better about. We may never get anything that the fans feel perfectly happy about.

One of my major concerns all along has been that I didn’t think we were paying enough attention to the fans who foot the bills for all this. I think that realization is beginning to come home.”

Back in December of 2008, we at MrSEC.com put together our own “perfect” college football plan. Eight teams. First-round games hosted on campus sites. It’s not far from what’s being discussed by Delany to the north and Adams to the south this week.

You can read the plan in full right here. (And, yes, I’m sure there are some uncorrected typos in that piece somewhere.)

Once we put our playoff system together, we brought in one of the top sports business wheeler-dealers in the country to tear it to shreds. Anyone can come up with a playoff plan. We wanted to come up with a playoff plan that would pass muster with everyone from the TV executives to advertisers t0 university presidents. So we asked Bill Schmidt — the former sports marketing head of Gatorade and someone who’s been called in to broker advertising deals between professional teams and mega-brands — to nitpick our idea.

He did.

The issue of venues became the Snake Canyon we could not jump over. If you play with eight teams (seven games) at bowl sites, no fans are going to travel to three different locations to follow their teams. Plus, moving 85 student-athletes from site to site isn’t near as easy as moving 10-15 student-athletes from site to site during a basketball tournament.

So we suggested the first round be played on campuses. Schools would love a shot at extra gate, parking and concession revenue. But what of the four teams having to travel to on-campus sites? As Schmidt reminded us, schools like to use bowl trips — even crummy ones — as a reward to boosters. In return, they hope to draw more cash out of their biggest backers for future years. Would a booster enjoy a trip to Lubbock, Texas or Boise, Idaho if his school lost? Where’s the day at the beach or in the casino?

Again, read the above piece and you’ll see our arguments for an eight-team playoff and you’ll also see a sports marketing guru’s pooh-poohing of said plan. We’re surprised that things have come as far as they have on the playoff from since that piece was posted in 2008. But who foresaw a season in which the BCS Championship Game would feature two teams from the same conference? And that’s really what’s made everything else suddenly feasible.

In our view, a seeded Plus One system remains the most likely scenario to come of this year’s discussion. For traditionalists, it would be easier to go from zero to four than it would from zero all the way to eight. We also expect that the three games involved will be sold off to the highest bidder. For travel purposes and fan ease, one site might get all three games. For the sake of pulling in more cash, the semifinals might be given to one city while the finals are handed to a even higher bidder.

Whatever the format, the end of the college football season is about to change. If that gives us a truer national champion, restores meaning to New Year’s Day, pushes the smaller bowls back into December, and stops the creep of games into mid-January… then we’re all for it.

SEC Recruiting Headlines – 2/9/12

admin — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:56:21 +0000

1. Rivals has released its initial list of the top 100 prospects for the 2013 class.

2. Here’s a breakdown of the initial group from Rivals.

3. Alabama is making a push for Georgia quarterback commit Brice Ramsey.

4. Sounds like a move by Urban Meyer, who called the upset talk in the Big Ten last week “nonsense.”

5. If you missed it last week, Florida basketball coach Billy Donovan said he doesn’t recruit prospects committed to other schools.

6. Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin believes the Aggies need to focus their recruiting on Texas and Louisiana.

Tyler’s Take: Saban & Cal – Polar Opposites Yet One And The Same

admin — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 21:41:24 +0000

Tyler B.

Which SEC coach does this describe?

Best recruiter and coach in the SEC.
Two-year professional coaching job with mild success.
Returned to college with major success at one school > moved to a better school with even bigger success.
Awakened a sleeping giant of a program and returned it to elite status almost overnight.
Coached multiple programs to a #1 ranking.
First head coaching job around 1989.
Born in WVU-Pennsylvania area.
Played college, but not professional ball.
“Defense first” guy who coaches like he’s possessed.
Coaches the most tradition-rich school in the SEC (top-three in the country).

So, who are we talking about?

Al from Dadeville: “CNS, of course!”

Willy from Waddy: “Cal, of course!”

Herbstreit/Bilas from Bristol: “Nope, it’s both.”

Tyler from Louisville: “Yes, we have two coaches who are the best in their respective profession despite being personality polar opposites. And, yes, I do know that Nick Saban has three national title belts to Cal’s zero.”

For a sample size let’s look at the last three years for both coaches – UK’s obviously still playing – since they are in their prime and ruling their sport.

SABAN: Two national titles… One SEC title… Overall record of 34-4 (89%)… Three top-2 recruiting classes… 19-2 (90%) at home.

CAL: Zero national titles… Two SEC titles… One Elite Eight… One Final Four… Three #1 recruiting classes… Overall record of 88-13 (85%)… 48-0 at home. (UK is by far and away the favorite for Cal to win his first national title.)

SABAN: Dictator… Process… System first, players later… Coach’s program… Don’t speak until spoken to… Coach is always right… Rigid… Static… No PR… Vanilla.

CAL: Liberator… Invisible process… Player’s first, system later… Player’s first program… Speak before spoken to… Coach isn’t always right… Flexible…Fluid… Greatest PR guy ever… Rainbow.

Simply put, this is John Calipari enjoying the moment (first two minutes), and this is Nick Saban (1:47 mark) doing the same.

Just because the personality differences are so opposite, can it prevent the authentic belief that CNS and Cal are truly one and the same?

While Bama fans might hate and openly ignore the comparison, and UK fans marinate in the idea of it, ultimately it’s proof that there’s more than one way to skin any animal on the schedule. *Bama fans, just like Saban, Cal’s name is clean with the NCAA and he simply enjoys recruiting in the shadows of gray; just like another coach I know. And if anything, SEC fans should be cheering for the Cats and Cal so SEC domination will continue right up until spring practice.

Tyler B. works as a communications specialist for a Louisville, Kentucky company. A lifetime SEC fan – long before it became “acceptable” to cheer for every team in the conference – he plans on writing several books about college football that have a fantastic chance of never being written.

See Ya Tomorrow

John — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:11:17 +0000

Each day, we get up and try to bring you all the news from around the league as well as some — when we have time for it — research pieces. Today, we posted the number of players from each state’s Top 20 prospects who signed with a particular school.

The goal was just to see how much talent leaves a state.

We always try to use one baseline so as to prevent arguing. In this case, player ratings, not star rankings, according to Rivals.com.

But more than 100 angry emails later, they’ve been taken down.

Why do you use Rivals, not Scout? Not ESPN? Not 247? (All because those rankings favor the writer’s favorite school.)

Why do you list players by rating and not star ranking… and not by the individual state rankings from various publications? (Mainly because not all sites have the same rankings.)

Why do you list jucos? Why do you list players by their high school and not by their birthplace? Why do you list juco players by their junior colleges and not their high schools?

Why do you hate my school?

Now that’s par for the course and it shows plenty of people are reading. And it’s not like we’re having to mine coal around here. Things are quite cushy, actually.

That’s thanks 100% to you, and it’s appreciated.

But there are days when the battles and insults just get old. And as someone who went through cancer last summer, I can promise you that life is way too short to deal with that much negativity.

So we’ll be back at it with plenty o’ news tomorrow.

UT’s Rubio No Longer Part Of Football Program

admin — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:21:39 +0000

Support staff at SEC football programs rarely make big headlines. Those are left to the men on the actual coaching staffs.

Except in the case of ex-Tennessee employee Steve Rubio. The school announced yesterday that he is no longer employed by the university and no longer holds the title of director of player personnel.

Rubio was a Lane Kiffin hire in Knoxville. He came to Tennessee from Central Florida where he had served as the Golden Knight’s director of player personnel. After his arrival at Tennessee, UCF got spanked by the NCAA and coach George O’Leary — along with the NCAA — laid plenty of the blame at Rubio’s doorstep.

In October of 2009, Rubio — serving as a recruiting intern for the Vols — visited his old Florida high school along with Kiffin while UT’s head coach made a recruiting visit there. That’s a no-no. The NCAA investigated the matter.

Still, Rubio was eventually promoted to the position of director of player personnel and stayed on Tennessee’s staff after Derek Dooley’s arrival. Now gone, the school won’t say if he left on his own or was asked to depart.

Lawmakers Won’t Force Carolina/Clemson To Play

John — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:10:37 +0000

A House subcommittee nixed a South Carolina lawmakers attempt to force South Carolina and Clemson to meet on the football field each season. While the rivalry — which has been played 103 consecutive years — looks safe now, conference expansion and realignment have interrupted other long-standing rivalries (Kansas-Missouri, Texas-Texas A&M, etc).

“This is important to the state,” argued Representative Nathan Ballentine, who sponsored the bill. “It is something the Palmetto State could be proud of, should be proud of.”

But in the end, his bill was crushed by a touchdown, 7-0. “These matters should be handled by the universities and trustees,” Representative Lester Branham said.

If Carolina or Clemson ever attempt to end their football rivalry, expect a number of Palmetto State lawmakers to rush to get involved.

SEC Headlines – 2/8/12 Part Two

John — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:08:33 +0000

1. The Orlando Sentinel says Florida was “completely outclassed” by Kentucky last night.

2. Brian Cox Jr. signed with the Gators because his papa — the ex-NFL’er — and Gator D-coordinator Dan Quinn worked together with the New York Jets.

3. Off-field issues have whittled down Georgia’s secondary depth.

4. This columnist says Anthony Davis’ defense is just the tip of Kentucky’s spear.

5. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist continues to come up big in the Wildcats’ biggest games.

6. South Carolina is 1-7 in the SEC and 0-4 on the road heading to Tennessee tonight.

7. The Vols’ Jeronne Maymon will try to remain consistent, efficient and tough versus the Gamecocks.

8. Vanderbilt will try to snap a two-game losing streak when LSU visits Nashville tonight.

9. No surprise — SEC coaches aren’t thrilled with the NCAA’s new multi-year scholarship option.

AU, Chizik Searching For A New Secondary Coach

John — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:41:28 +0000

Say goodbye to the last assistant coach with Tommy Tuberville ties at Auburn. The school announced yesterday that secondary coach Phillip Lolley would be moving into an administrative role with the program, creating the third coach search Gene Chizik has had to undertake since the end of the regular season.

“We appreciate Coach Lolley and the contribution he has made to the Auburn football program in his various roles over the years,” Chizik said in a press release. “We look forward to him continuing to help with the program’s success in his new capacity.”

Already being mentioned as a potential replacement is one Willie Martinez. Martinez served as secondary coach under new defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder at Georgia before succeeding him in that role in 2005. After being dismissed in Athens, he moved on to Oklahoma for two seasons before being replaced there by Bob Stoops’ brother Mike this offseason.

In addition to Lolley’s successor and VanGorder’s replacement of Ted Roof, Chizik has also hired Scot Loeffler to replace offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn.

UF’s Donovan Likes The Cut Of UK’s Jib

John — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:23:49 +0000

After seeing Kentucky up close and personal in a 78-58 loss last night, Florida’s Billy Donovan has high praise for John Calipari’s team:

“The one thing I like about their team is I love their disposition on the floor. There’s a certain disposition you have to have and I’m not talking about an arrogance or a cockiness, but there’s like a focus level in terms of what really goes into winning at that level. There’s a mentality there.”

Donovan — whose Gators lost to #2 Syracuse earlier this season — also said #1 Kentucky has a bit more talent than the Orange in that they have six future NBA first-round picks on their roster. Still, “it would be a heck of a game,” he said.

Little Rock Might Upgrade War Memorial Stadium To Keep Hog Football

John — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:15:30 +0000

The University of Arkansas is spending $40 million on a brand new football complex in Fayetteville. The school is also planning to expand Razorback Stadium.

People in Little Rock are paying attention.

Afraid they might lose the two games played annually by the Razorbacks at War Memorial Stadium, there’s now discussion to upgrade and expand the 63-year-old venue. The school and the War Memorial Stadium Commission currently have a deal that runs through 2016.

Arkansas is the only school at the FBS level that plays multiple “home” games away from its campus each season. As Bobby Petrino has improved the Razorback program, ticket demands have gone up. And Razorback Stadium can seat about 22,000 more Hog fans than War Memorial Stadium. For that reason, there’s already speculation that the season finale between Arkansas and LSU could be moved to Fayetteville this fall.

Obviously the folks in Little Rock can see the writing on the wall.

Freeze Hoping For “Buy In” From Rebels

John — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:05:20 +0000

Hugh Freeze is hoping to avoid the cold-shoulder from the Ole Miss football team. The new Rebel coach tells The Jackson Clarion-Ledger that he knows he won’t win over everybody, but he hopes to reach the vast majority of players:

“At the end of the day, you hope 80% of your team has chosen to buy in. that’s the buy-in principle. And your 20%, you hope they’re not negative influences. If you can ever get a team that’s about 90% or so to buy in, I think you got a special group. But that’s always a challenge.”

Freeze was a head coach for one season at Arkansas State. He’ll be asking his team to buy-in on faith, not on a long, distinguished resume. His players, therefore, will likely want to see some early positive results before they buy-in completely.

SEC Headlines – 2/8/12 Part One

John — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:55:15 +0000

1. After a flurry of technical fouls, Alabama knocked out Auburn.

2. Anthony Grant probably won’t be happy with some of his players for calling out Auburn fans and players on Twitter after the win.

3. Tony Barbee says his Tiger team got “out-toughed.”

4. Undefeated at home, Arkansas heads to Georgia looking for its first win away from Bud Walton Arena in 348 days.

5. LSU goes on the road to Vanderbilt’s Memorial Gym tonight.

6. MSU fans have chosen their program’s Team of the Century (from State’s first 100 years of basketball… it’d still be a bit soon to for the team of the 2000s.)

7. Ole Miss needs to keep hitting the boards when the Rebels travel to Starkville on Thursday.

8. Terrance Henry says he’s got the back of UM’s Nick Williams, the Reb’s top trash-talker.”

A Road Win! A Road Win! Tide Wins Away From Home, Gators Don’t

John — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:03:39 +0000

Yesterday we told you that in SEC hoops, teams have but a 24% chance of winning on the road. Well after last night, that number has skyrocketed to a 25% chance.

SEC home teams are still 38-13 in league play, but one of last night’s two contests was indeed captured by the visitor. In spite of the turmoil surrounding that squad.

Alabama 68, Auburn 50

One day after the indefinite suspension of Tony Mitchell, the Crimson Tide traveled into the home of its arch-rival and made off with an easier than expected win. The Tigers had been 3-1 at home and Bama would be looking to replace Mitchell’s 13 point- and 7 rebound-average.

JaMychal Green and Trevor Releford combined for 34 points to fill the scoring void. And UA managed to outrebound AU 30-26 on the night, even without Mitchell’s usual contribution.

The win boosts Bama to 16-7 overall and 5-4 in the SEC. They’ve now rebounded from a four-game losing streak with a three-game win streak. The NCAA Tournament is still in sight for Bama. For Auburn? The SEC cellar remains in view as the Tigers tumbled to 3-7 in league play, ahead of only Georgia and South Carolina.

Kentucky 79, Florida 58

The thinking went as follows: If anyone is going to knock off the Wildcats in Lexington, it will be the Gators. But in reality, Billy Donovan’s team was just another speed bump en route to an SEC crown and a probable #1 seed in the NCAA tourney.

When we pointed out yesterday that UK’s average home win was by a score of 83-60, we didn’t anticipate last night’s score being so similar.

For the Cats, overconfidence might be the only concern moving forward. Example: “We have this little swagger. We just want to go out there and play hard and win. We’re capable of winning a national championship if we keep playing how we’re playing.” That’s from Anthony Davis after last night’s whipping of Florida. Davis, of course, is a freshman who happens to have no idea of what it takes to win six games in a row in the NCAA Tournament.

There’s a reason John Calipari changed his talking point from “being physical” to “avoiding overconfidence” this week. The latter seems to be the only thing that can slow down his Wildcats… especially in the regular season.

SEC Recruiting Headlines – 2/8/12

Josh Ward — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:12:18 +0000

1. Dorial Green-Beckham’s life could have been run by the recruiting process. But it wasn’t, writes Mitch Sherman of ESPN.com.

2. Defensive back Jeremy Cutrer is LSU’s fourth commitment for the 2013 class. All four commits are from Louisiana.

3. CBSSports.com helps take a close look at recruiting ranks after the fact.

4. Florida has offered junior safety Keanu Neal from Bushnell, Fla.

5. Georgia has room to add players to its roster and might do that before the fall arrives.

6. Junior quarterback Christian Hackenberg of Fork Union, Va., is getting ready to start taking trips.

Receiver Diggs To Announce On Friday

Josh Ward — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:47:08 +0000

Athlete Stefon Diggs from Our Lady of Good Counsel in Olney, Md., will announce his college decision on Friday night.

Diggs, who’s considered the nation’s third-best athlete by ESPN.com, will make the announcement at 10 eastern time on Comcast SportsNet.

Auburn and Florida are still in the running for Diggs along with California, Maryland and Ohio State.

Diggs took a visit to Maryland last weekend. Two of Diggs’ teammates, running back Wes Brown and lineman Mike Madaras, signed with Maryland on Feb. 1.

HS Coach: Philon Feeling Better About Arkansas Decision

John — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:05:59 +0000

Darius Philon — the conflicted Alabama commitment who chose Arkansas sight unseen when the Tide tried to get him to delay enrolling for a year — is feeling better about his decision to matriculate in Fayetteville.

According to Richard Davenport of WholeHogSports.com, Philon’s defensive coordinator in high school says the player “has been wearing Razorback clothing to school and is all smiles about attending Arkansas.”

The coach also said that Philon had surgery on a torn meniscus before Christmas, but he is “rehabbing well and should be ready to go in the fall.”

Anyone not wishing the best for this kid has a heart of stone.

Freeze Takes The High-Road With Mullen

John — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 17:59:04 +0000

On signing day, Dan Mullen told a Mississippi State video crew that he doesn’t just preach values, he lives it every day in his program. Ole Miss fans — familiar with Mullen’s many shots at the Rebels over the years — took his comments to be a thinly-veiled reference to new UM coach Hugh Freeze, a man who speaks often of his faith.

Asked about Mullen’s remarks by The Jackson Clarion-Ledger, Freeze took the high road… as Houston Nutt often tried to do before him:

“I’m sure that all of us express our faith in different ways. I have said from Day One that I’m far from perfect and do not claim to be and certainly don’t judge others. I have said from Day One also that I have great respect for what he’s done there. I give credit where credit’s due. I look forward to trying to increase our momentum against them, but whether or not he meant that toward me — I don’t know why he would, because I will never. I’m not going to talk about something I don’t know, Number One, and have no reason to think anything about me.

We’re not going to enter into negative recruiting. It’s just not what we’re going to do. … Will we be 100% in that? Probably not as a whole staff, but I don’t think that’s going to be the practice we adhere to…

I look forward to talking with him. I do. I know how we feel about that rivalry and I certainly understand it and I get it. I’ve lived here. But at the end of the day, I don’t know that it has to be a rift between the coaching staff because of it. I’m going to want to beat them as bad as we can and he’d going to want to do the same, but I still think you can have a professional relationship. I hope.

I don’t think he in any way in recruiting tried to do anything that was hurtful towards me personally or say anything about me. And I know I didn’t him.”

Mullen is a needler. He’s got a touch of Spurrier and a dash of Kiffin about him. (Cue the “he’s a sweetheart” emails from MSU fans.)

We’ll see how long it take for MSU’s coach to get under the skin of UM’s new head man.

(Sidenote — Because MSU fans are already yelping we’ve changed the word “faith” above to “values.” Mullen was referring to preaching about values, not preaching about faith. This changes nothing, of course, as Rebel fans still took it as a shot at Freeze who is vocal about his faith, values, beliefs, etc. And UM fans taking Mullen’s comment as an insult was what led the reporter from The JCL to ask Freeze his thoughts on the remark… and that’s what led us to post it here.

Here’s a link to the web clip.)

SEC Headlines – 2/7/12 Part Two

John — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 17:39:47 +0000

1. Varez Ward is becoming a real leader for Auburn’s basketball team.

2. Michigan has sold out its allotment of tickets for this fall’s season-opener against Alabama at Cowboys Stadium.

3. Even without Marshawn Powell, Arkansas is playing itself onto the NCAA tourney bubble.

4. Trent Johnson is trying to prepare his LSU team for a visit from battle-tested Vanderbilt.

5. Forward Shaun Smith could be a big help to Mississippi State in the stretch run.

6. Bo Wallace has an advantage in Ole Miss’ quarterback race.

Tyler’s Take: The Next Wave Of Expansion

admin — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 17:31:36 +0000

Tyler B.

As acting President of College Football here’s what NCAA football will look like in 2017.

FBS Teams: 80

Conferences: Five conferences with 16 teams; each with two divisions of eight.

Since we’re all things SEC, let’s use the SEC and Bama as examples.

SEC South: Alabama, Auburn, Ole Miss, Miss. State

SEC North: Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Virginia Tech

SEC East: Georgia, Florida, Florida State, South Carolina

SEC West: Arkansas, Missouri, Texas A&M, LSU

Schedule: Nine conference games. Bama always plays the three teams in the SEC South division to determine a division champion. Six more SEC games against any of the other 13 SEC teams outside of the SEC South on a two-year home and home rotational basis. One or two of these games can be permanent to preserve rivalries. Of the two remaining regular season games on the schedule, one must be an FCS team to give them a guaranteed payment.

*If two teams in the SEC South end up with a 2-1 record the tiebreaker goes to the team with a better overall SEC record.

SEC Tournament: There will be an SEC Final Four. The South winner plays the North winner in one semifinal, and the West plays the East in the other. The two highest-ranked teams host the semifinal games and the title game remains in Atlanta.

**ALL FIVE CONFERENCES USE THIS FORMAT**

National Champion:

- Winners of the five conferences play in the Final Four tournament.

- Two lowest-ranked conference champions play to get into the NCAA Final Four as the #4 seed.

- Seeds 1-3 get a week of rest while the game for the #4 seed is played.

- In the Final Four #1 plays #4 in their home stadium and #2 plays #3 in their stadium; tickets are distributed evenly.

- The national championship game is played in rotating venues, just like now.

Bowl Games: The number of bowl games is reduced to 15, and there is no longer a bowl/conference affiliation. Teams don’t have to have a certain amount of wins to be eligible and all teams can practice during the “bowl season.”

Are there a few mistakes and omissions? Of course, this is college football after all…

ACC South: Miami, Georgia Tech, Clemson, Virginia

ACC North: Boston College, Pittsburg, Syracuse, Rutgers

ACC East: UCONN, Army, Navy, Maryland

ACC West: North Carolina, N.C. State, Wake Forest, Duke

Big-10 South: Notre Dame, Louisville, Indiana, Purdue

Big-10 North: Penn. State, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio State

Big-10 East: Illinois, Northwestern, Michigan, Michigan State

Big-10 West: Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa, Iowa State

Big 12 South: UTEP, Central Florida, South Florida, Houston

Big North: Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Nebraska

Big 12 East: Cincy, East Carolina, Miami (OH), West Virginia

Big 12 West: Texas, Houston, TCU, Baylor

PAC-10 South: UCLA, USC, Stanford, Cal

PAC-10 North: Washington, Washington State, Oregon, Oregon State

PAC-10 East: Colorado, Utah, BYU, Air Force

PAC-10 West: Arizona, Arizona State, Boise State, Fresno State

Bama Suspends Mitchell For Conduct

John — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 17:24:50 +0000

When Alabama rolls into Auburn Arena tonight they’ll do so without a key contributor. Junior forward Tony Mitchell has been put on indefinite suspension by coach Anthony Grant for “conduct detrimental to the team.”

Grant said his decision was based on “an accumulation” of issues, not just a single incident.

Mitchell averages 13.1 points per game and 7.0 rebounds per game for the Crimson Tide.

“It obviously hurts,” teammate Andrew Steele told TideSports.com. “He’s such a big part of what we try to do. But it’s a coach’s decision and we just have to focus on doing what we have to do to get a win.”

Alabama is currently 15-7 overall and just 4-4 in the SEC. Expected to be an NCAA Tournament team — and still a probable for March Madness — Grant is making quite a statement with his suspension of Mitchell. The Tide’s RPI and tourney resume will surely take a hit if Bama can’t overcome the loss of the talented forward tonight on The Plains.

Kudos to Grant for putting discipline first. If the moves comes back to haunt Alabama, you can be sure his decision will be second-guessed.

Martin’s Discipline Working Off-Court At UT

John — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 17:14:45 +0000

Cuonzo Martin is a disciplinarian. Tennessee’s hottest offensive hand will be yanked to the bench if he’s slothful on the defensive end. Like Norman Dale at Hickory High in “Hoosiers,” Martin put his team through a number of drills in preseason sans basketballs.

After a slow start, the Volunteers have shown enough improvement in 2012 to upset Florida and UConn at Thompson-Boling Arena. Picked or 11th in the SEC, Martin’s Vols are currently eighth in the league standings. While no one in Knoxville is going to be throwing any parties over those types of numbers, but it does appear Martin’s discipline is having a bigger impact away from the court.

According to UT faculty representative Dan Murphy, the basketball team had one of its best academic semesters in “four or five years” last fall.

“I think Cuonzo Martin has really made it clear to the students that you go to class, you do your best. You’re a student-athlete. Being a student is part of what he expects from his athletes — and it shows.”

Martin isn’t being paid to raise GPAs, he’s being paid to win games. But for those who believe discipline — in all areas of life — is key to winning games long-term, Martin’s approach in Knoxville bears watching.

And looking at the numbers provided by The Knoxville News Sentinel in the article above, Derek Dooley might want to have Martin talk to his football team, too.

Vandy Doubles Its Recruiting Budget

John — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:58:26 +0000

Back in December of 2010 when Vanderbilt made the hire of James Franklin official, chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos made the following statement:

“I told James if he needs a rocket to go to the moon to get a player — get the rocket.”

Fourteen months later, it looks like Franklin has talked Vandy officials into getting him the rocket they promised. And private planes. And helicopter rides.

In all, the Commodores claim to have doubled their football recruiting budget in Franklin’s first season.

VU’s de facto AD — vice chancellor of athletics David Williams — recently told Nashville’s The Tennessean that the school put “a lot” more money into the recruiting fund this year:

“I really won’t know the number until we get all the bills. We increased the budget for recruiting by probably 100%. Any time James decides to fly on a private plane or a helicopter — in this case a lot — it has to be approved. I think I got requests almost on a daily basis (the week before signing day). I would expect when the bill is paid, it will be a lot. It will be within the budget, but we’ve increased recruiting a lot.”

Good for Vanderbilt. The school invested in Franklin and Franklin delivered three four-star prospects, a bundle of three-star recruits, and what’s being called VU’s best-ever signing class.

Can Franklin keep the positive momentum rolling after a six-win season that led to a bowl bid? That remains to be seen. But credit him for creating some Commodore moment in the first place. And for convincing Vandy officials to pull out the school’s thick checkbook.

SEC Headlines – 2/7/12 Part One

John — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:28:29 +0000

1. Kentucky figures to be a tough test for Florida tonight.

2. Georgia appears to already be 10 men under the 85-man scholarship limit.

3. John Calipari sends a warning to his team: “It’s an easy transition from swagger to arrogance.”

4. South Carolina’s Darrin Horn was asked to weigh in on tonight’s UK-UF game. (His team lost twice to the Cats by an average of 83-58 and twice to the Gators by an average of 77-66.)

5. Point guard Trae Golden will move back into Tennessee’s starting lineup tomorrow “if he continues to work hard in practice.”

6. Saturday’s Kentucky-Vanderbilt game will match the Commodores’ seniors versus the Wildcats’ freshmen and sophomores.

UF Not Awed By UK’s #1 Ranking

John — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:06:06 +0000

Kentucky is the top-ranked team in the country. They’ve lost just one game all season (by one point at Indiana). They’ve won 15 in a row overall. They’ve won 48 in a row at home.

So?

Florida’s Kenny Boynton says the Gators aren’t awed by the Wildcats success:

“At the end of the day, they’re just another SEC team to us. No different than Tennessee or South Carolina. I think if we go out there and play the way we’ve been playing lately, I think we’ve got a great chance at winning.”

Perhaps. But it’s worth noting Florida lost at Tennessee when they played there.

The Gators shouldn’t be scared of going into Lexington to face Kentucky. Upsets happen and if anyone can steal one at Rupp it’s probably Florida. But UF’s players hopefully have at least some awareness of what the Cats are capable of on their home court.

The average score at Rupp this season: UK 83, Visitors 60.

As far as the matchup is concerned, the Wildcats are #1 in the league in scoring offense in SEC contests (71.9 ppg) and scoring defense (56.4 ppg). The Gators are #4 in both categories (69.7 ppg versus 61.0 ppg).

UK should hold an edge outside the arc (they’re second in 3-point field goal percentage while UF ranks 11th in 3-point field goal percentage defense) and on the glass (the Cats are third in rebounding margin while the Gators are eighth).

Here’s hoping for a fun one tonight at Rupp.

Rivals Names Its Recruiters Of The Year; UF’s Durkin On Top

John — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:37:06 +0000

Each year in the aftermath of signing day, Rivals.com names its top recruiters of the year. America’s top fisher of men this February? Florida linebackers and special teams coach DJ Durkin.

Durkin is starting his third year in Gainesville after being lured from Stanford by Urban Meyer in 2010. He got his first full-time assistant’s job in 2005 under Meyer at Bowling Green. (Here’s guessing Bret Bielema wouldn’t approve of his recruiting tactics.)

“I am very, very fortunate to be recruiting at a place like Florida because I think the place almost sells itself,” Durkin said. “It is a great academic institution and there is obviously great football tradition here. We play in a great football stadium in the best conference in the world. I think the place really sells itself.”

“The place” is also located in one of the most fertile recruiting grounds in America. Durkin didn’t mention that fact, but it certainly helps.

The Gators wound up with a consensus Top 5 class and, amazingly, it could have been even better if several last-minute decisions from prospects had gone UF’s way.

Among Rivals’ Top 25 Recruiters of the Year are seven more SEC coaches:

David Beaty of Texas A&M
Todd Grantham of Georgia
Derek Lewis of Florida
Jeremy Pruitt of Alabama
Kirby Smart of Alabama
Trooper Taylor of Auburn
Lorenzo Ward of South Carolina

Tide, Gators Will Try To Buck A Trend: SEC Road Teams Lose 76% Of The Time

John — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:07:25 +0000

Florida and Alabama, beware. Tonight you take your Super Tuesday acts on the road to Kentucky and Auburn respectively. According to the numbers, the Gators and Tide each have less than a 25% chance of winning.

So far, SEC teams are 37-12 at home this season in conference action. That’s a 76% winning clip. And of the 12 road wins pulled off so far, five have come from unbeaten-in-league-play Kentucky.

Alabama is 1-3 on the road this year with a victory over Georgia. That one road win is a bit less impressive when you consider that the Bulldogs are responsible for three of the league’s 12 home losses this year.

Florida is 2-1 on the road, making them the only SEC squad whose name doesn’t end in “ucky” that’s got a winning road record. Their victories came at South Carolina (who like Georgia are responsible for three of the SEC’s 12 home losses) and at Ole Miss. The win in Oxford is a good one as the Rebels are 3-1 at home in SEC play.

But Tad Smith Coliseum is not Rupp Arena. The Cats have yet to lose at home under John Calipari who is in his third year with UK.

As for Bama, Anthony Grant’s 1-3 road team will face an Auburn squad that’s actually 3-1 at home (the Tigers’ only home loss was to Kentucky).

If you feel the need to place some wagers tonight — and we certainly don’t encourage that type of irresponsible behavior — put your money on the home teams. If you’d done that all year, you’d have won more than three out of every four SEC contests.

Lawmaker Wants USC-Clemson Rivalry To Continue, No Matter What

John — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:38:41 +0000

The Atlantic Coast Conference has announced that it will go to a nine-game conference schedule when Pittsburgh and Syracuse enter the league (which should happen in 2014, if not sooner).

The Southeastern Conference is sticking with an eight-game schedule, but the league is adding two more teams this fall (which will lead coaches to say the SEC is just too tough).

BCS commissioners and ADs are kicking around the idea of raising the bowl eligibility standard from six wins to seven (which will lead all BCS schools to schedule more creampuffs and cupcakes).

Obviously, there are several reasons why the SEC’s South Carolina and the ACC’s Clemson could potentially stop scheduling one another. One Palmetto State lawmaker wants to insure that that doesn’t happen.

State Representative Nathan Ballantine has introduced a proposal that will be considered in the State House this week that would require the Gamecocks and the Tigers to continue their ancient football rivalry every year. (Recently, a Kentucky lawmaker raised awareness for a bill by tossing in a “UK-Louisville must play” clause to his legislation.)

“You saw Texas and Texas A&M,” Ballantine told Columbia’s The State. “That rivalry went by the wayside. Nebraska and Missouri dropped by the wayside (when Nebraska joined the Big Ten). No one wants to see that happen here to our two universities where families enjoy the annual game, and it’s great for our economy.”

School officials on both sides, however, would prefer the South Carolina House of Representatives not dictate their schedules to them.

“Athletic schedules need to be decided by athletic directors and coaches,” a USC spokesman said. Clemson AD Terry Don Phillips added, “Clemson would prefer to not have to legislate this issue as I cannot conceive of a realistic scenario that would prohibit Clemson and South Carolina from continuing our football series.”

Ah, but the legislature has actually stepped in and saved the rivalry in the past. In 1952, Carolina lawmakers forced the schools to meet… keeping alive a streak that’s now stretched to 103 consecutive seasons of USC-Clemson football.

Now usually we want politicians to keep their dirty mitts out of the sports world. In fact, 99.9% of the time we’re for keeping politicians away from spots.

This is the .1%

With Texas cold-shouldering Texas A&M and Kansas turning its nose to Missouri, it’s clear that schools sometimes act out of spite. And if schools can make decisions based on something as childish as spite, you can be certain that something as serious as greed might be a motivator, too. If a rivalry could come between a school and potential bowl money (as well as bowl exposure) even an historic rivalry might get kiboshed.

Pay attention — ’cause we don’t say this often — but bravo to the Carolina legislature for trying to keep this one on the books. Makes you wonder how long it will take politicians in Georgia and Florida to fire up proposals to force UGA-Tech and UF-FSU to play.

Just in case.

SEC Recruiting Headlines – 2/7/12

admin — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:08:38 +0000

1. Get ready for the recruiting circus that is sure to follow 2013 defensive end Robert Nkemdiche from Loganville, Ga.

2. The top-rated unsigned prospect for the 2012 class is getting closer to making a decision.

3. Here are some signing day grades for the 2012 class from CBSSports.com.

4. Alabama signee Dalvin Tomlinson had nothing to do with Darius Philon losing his scholarship at Bama, according to Tomlinson’s coach.

5. Chris Hays of the Orlando Sentinel takes an early look at the 2013 class in Florida.

6. Here’s a look into Kentucky’s efforts to sign its class for 2012.

7. Nkemdiche won’t be the only highly-touted prospect in the state of Georgia for 2013. The group will be large again.

8. South Carolina received a visit from offensive lineman Tyrone Crowder from Rockingham, N.C.

Will LSU Have A “Fat Cat” Quarterback In Liggins?

John — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:48:37 +0000

A decade ago, Kentucky was quarterbacked by just about the biggest man you’ll ever see behind center. Jared Lorenzen was 6-4 and his weight was listed as being anywhere from 285 to 315. From the “Fat Cat” to “Battleship Lorenzen” to “The Pillsbury Throwboy” (a personal favorite), UK’s jumbo-sized QB drew as much attention for his size as he did his record-setting success in the Bluegrass State.

Soon there may be a new quarterback casting a big shadow across the SEC.

LSU signee Jeremy Liggins is listed at 6-3, 270 pounds. But Les Miles says his future field general is a bit heftier than that number now:

“He’s probably closer to 280 than 270 right now. So if a defensive lineman rushing the passer came loose, he might want to bring a friend. He might not get it done by himself.”

Liggins high school coach says “his weight is an issue” but he believes the LSU staff can help with that. Liggins agrees.

“It’s not going to be as bad as people think,” he said of shedding some excess pounds. “I probably have to lose 10 or 15 pounds, but that’s not a problem. I’m talking to a nutritionist who’s telling me how to eat and keep running.” (Having just turned 41, I loathe those young pups who can add and drop weight so easily.)

In case you’re wondering just how big 6-3, 270ish is… Cam Newton has been listed at 6-5, 250. Former LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell was 6-6, 260.

And here’s a look at the aforementioned Lorenzen in action back in 2000:

UF’s Quinn Turns Down NFL’s Bucs

John — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:29:15 +0000

Will Muschamp has been maintain stability in his program this offseason. He got good news on that front today.

The Gainesville Sun reports today that Gator defensive coordinator Dan Quinn has passed on an offer to join Greg Schiano’s new staff with the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He served in the NFL with the 49ers, Dolphins, Jets and Seahawks from 2001 through 2010 before joining Muschamp’s first staff in Gainesville.

The Gators will return 10 starters on defense this fall. Last season they ranked fifth in the SEC in scoring defense, fifth in rushing defense, third in passing defense, and fifth in total defense.

Ex-Carolina Aide Encourages USM Aide To Join Spurrier’s Staff

John — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:16:33 +0000

During the 2011 football season, Steve Spurrier raised eyebrows with occasional digs at his defense. The rumor mill began to spin. Spurrier and Ellis Johnson — Carolina’s de facto defensive coordinator — were no longer seeing eye to eye.

When Johnson left his home state of South Carolina to take over as head coach at Southern Miss, some took it as a sign that there really had been a growing gulf between the Cock’s top two coaches.

But the words of Carolina’s new secondary coach — former USM and Johnson assistant Grady Brown — suggest otherwise:

“(Johnson) was really good about me coming here. He had nothing but good things to say about his time spent here in Columbia. He actually encouraged me to take advantage of this opportunity. He told me about how Coach Spurrier was a great coach to work for and this town is a great town.

He hated to see me go, obviously, but he had nothing but good things to say about South Carolina and really encouraged me to take advantage of this opportunity. I’m definitely happy and pleased with how he handled it. We have a great relationship. He thinks a lot of South Carolina.”

Johnson had decided to hang onto Brown, convincing him to return to Hattiesburg rather than depart for North Carolina with Larry Fedora. Impressive then that he would encourage Brown to follow up on the opportunity presented by Spurrier and the Gamecock program.

Alabama Football: Karma And The Price Of Omelettes

John — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:36:40 +0000

Justin Taylor and Darius Philon. Both were commits to Alabama. Taylor had been committed to the Tide for year. Philon had stopped taking visits after making his pledge to Bama.

And both were told in the final days leading up to signing day that Nick Saban would only take them on if they waited a full year to enroll at Alabama in 2013.

Now you can say the Crimson Tide lived up to the letter of the SEC’s new soft 25-man signing cap law. It did. But that won’t mask the stink of these two players’ situations.

Taylor signed with Kentucky and admitted that he felt he’d been wronged. His high school coach — former NFL running back Stanley Pritchett who’s seen recruiting from every angle — wasn’t happy with Alabama’s actions.

Philon — after a painful to watch signing day press conference — inked with Arkansas. He’s never even been on Arkansas’ campus.

Is Alabama alone in this kind of activity? No. It’s recruiting. It’s a dirty business known for broken promises. Commitments from players and schools are steel strong… right up until a better player or a better school comes along.

But Saban and Alabama certainly get more ink than most when it comes to their methods of roster management. Talk of a signing cap was tied to UA. Chatter about unwarranted medical hardships once swirled around Bama. And now the buzz is focused on Saban for backpedaling from committed prospects like an All-America corner in an SEC title game.

Is it enough to create some bad vibes for the Alabama program? Jeff Sentell of The Birmingham News suggests as much:

“If there’s such a thing as football karma, maybe Taylor uses this diss to spark Kentucky to an Alabama upset? Maybe Philon does the same for Arkansas? What if those losses kept Alabama from both the SEC and BCS title games? That’s one way that troubled look on Philon’s face on signing day could come back to haunt Alabama’s bottom line.”

That’s not likely to happen. Instead, Saban’s juggernaut Tide will continue to roll right along. And top recruits will continue to commit to Alabama believing that what happened to Taylor and Philon could never happen to their superstar selves.

But Tide fans are going to have to learn to live with all this negative talk until Bama changes its ways. That’s got to be maddeningly tiresome. Whether UA fans will admit it or not.

The old saying goes: To make an omelette you have to break a few eggs. Well, there’s a price to pay for the eggs. There’s a cost.

And the cost is headshakes and tsk-tsks from the rest of the sporting world everytime another teenager says he was left at the altar or kicked to the curb by Saban. Nothing’s free. Not even well-made omelettes.

(Story corrected… Justin Taylor — who we’ve referenced several times here — is the Alabama commit who wound up signing with Kentucky. Jason Taylor was a future Hall of Fame defensive end for the Miami Dolphins. And I am the guy who has to have extra proof-reading time for my morning posts.)

SEC Headlines – 2/6/12

John — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:15:31 +0000

It appears most folks took Super Bowl Sunday off as there’s just not much going on around the league today. We’ll jump into a few headlines to kick off the day…

1. There were seven ex-SEC winners in last night’s Super Bowl (and 12 ex-SEC losers). Congrats to Eli Manning and the G-men.

2. Alabama’s football program has an NFL feel that appeals to recruits.

2. Auburn’s 2012 roster will offer talent, more youth.

4. Ole Miss isn’t taking advantage of opportunities to build its NCAA tourney resume.

5. The Rebels face Mississippi State on Thursday and they’d better be wary of hot-shooting Jalen Steele (who’s hitting 40% from three-point range).

6. Florida’s Mike Rosario is making an impact outside of scoring.

7. If Kentucky’s ever going to be tested, it’s going to be this week against Florida and then at Vanderbilt.

8. Cuonzo Martin says Tennessee has “the necessary pieces” to be successful this year (despite a 3-5 SEC record).

UPDATE #1 — These aren’t happening, but someone decided to have a little fun by Nike-ing up the SEC’s football helmets. If you like any of them, I’ll be you’re under the age of 30.

UPDATE #2 — The SEC has named its Player of the Week (Kentucky’s Anthony Davis) and its Freshman of the Week (Florida’s Bradley Beal).

UPDATE #3 — ESPN.com’s Andy Katz ranks the SEC’s hoops teams from 1 through 12… and that would be Kentucky through Carolina.