The Bowl Games

1. If Brian Kelly’s Notre Dame squad looks like an SEC team, it’s no accident.  ”For us to move Notre Dame back into a national prominence, we had to begin with our defense.”

2. Nick Saban on Notre Dame: “Defensively, they probably have the best front seven in the country.”

3. Statistical breakdown of Alabama and Notre Dame - Crimson Tide offense averages almost 12 points more per game.

4. Bruce Feldman: “Bama’s biggest edge over Notre Dame won’t be size or strength, it’ll be experience.”

5. Georgia’s headed to the Capital One Bowl against Nebraska, but the bitterness lingers: Georgia A.D. Greg McGarity: “There’s absolutely no question that we are deserving of a BCS bid, and Florida finished third, and by way of them finishing third in the BCS, that locked out us, without any further discussion.”

6. Only two teams per conference in BCS bowls.  Kirk Herbstreit: “Who came up with this rule?” (BCS cap on conferences will come off when college football goes to the playoff system following the 2014 season.)

7. The Coaches’ Poll factors into the BCS calculations.  Steve Spurrier says he votes differently when his name is on the ballot.  ”If it was anonymous, I would have changed it a little bit, to be honest with you.” James Franklin’s ballot.

8. Texas A&M and Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl – best bowl outside of the BCS games?

9. Seven Heisman winners have played in the Cotton Bowl the year they won the award.  Johnny Manziel could be the eighth. A Heisman straw poll that’s been incredibly accurate says it’s Manziel’s to lose.

10. Florida will face their old defensive coordinator in Louisville coach Charlie Strong.  Will Muschamp: “He’s one of the good guys in this profession.”

11. LSU is back in the Chik-fil-A Bowl, where it played  in 2000, 2005, and 2008. They won all three.

12. Mississippi State will face Northwestern in the Gator Bowl and head coaches Dan Mullen and Pat Fitzgerald have known each other for years.  “Dan’s one of those guys that I’m going to reach out to and do some research and just bounce some ideas off of.”

13. With Ole Miss headed to the Compass Bowl against Pittsburgh, Rebels coach Hugh Freeze conducted his Sunday night teleconference from a recruit’s home.

14. Vanderbilt meets North Carolina State in the Music City Bowl – the two teams haven’t met since 1946.

15. Pat Forde says championship game and Fiesta Bowl are great.  ”But after that?  It’s a joke.”

SEC/College News

16. Expect Hugh Freeze’s contract at Ole Miss to get re-worked.  A.D. Ross Bjork already working on it.

17. Former Kentucky quarterback Tim Couch had a big role in getting Mark Stoops to Kentucky. “I really liked Mark from the get-go, I really did,”

18. AD Mitch Barnhart on Stoops: “He has a plan and his recruiting ties were very, very important.”

19. They’re rearranging the furniture at Auburn.  Photos of Gene Chizik are being removed.

20. Steve Spurrier reportedly getting a contract extension.

21. Alabama center Barrett Jones injured his foot against Georgia – but should be ready for bowl game practice in two weeks. Jones will be in four states in four days for awards banquets.

22. Junior linebacker C.J. Mosley named Alabama’s most valuable player.

23. One writer’s All-SEC ballot.

24. USA Today ranks every FBS team – from 1 to 124, Notre Dame to Southern Mississippi.

25.  Hurry-up offenses and their impact – on the school band.

SEC Basketball

26. Clemson 64 – South Carolina 55.  First home game this year for Bruce Ellington. Three days after being taken off court in stretcher, Brenton Williams led Gamecocks with 16 points.

27. CBS Sports rankings have Florida, Missouri, and Alabama in its top 25 – no Kentucky.

28.  LSU’s Shavon Coleman and Florida’s Michael Frazier II – SEC Players of the Week.

Extras

29. RIP Rick Majerus.  Memorable quotes from one of college basketball’s memorable coaches.  ”Some guys smoke. Some guys drink. Some guys chase women. I’m a big barbecue-sauce guy.”..

30. $50 8-team parlay would have paid $18,500 until a last-minute touchdown by the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday night wrecked the bet.

31. The New Yorker on Paul Finebaum – King Of The South.

Coaching News & Rumors

1. Names linked to Auburn search: Gus Malzahn, Jimbo Fisher, Gary Patterson, Kirby Smart, Chris Peterson.  Introduction of new coach could come early in the week. All of those names except Patterson were on the winning side Saturday.

2. Auburn’s search committee – the four names at Auburn that matter most.

3. Names linked to Arkansas search:  Gary Patterson,  Mike Gundy, Art Briles,  Chris Petersen,  Kirby Smart, Bo Pelini. One week ago today, A.D. Jeff Long said Arkansas would have its new coach in 10-14 days.

4. Names linked to Tennesssee search: Mike Gundy, Charlie Strong, Jimbo Fisher, Al Golden. Search moves to New York City.

5. New Kentucky coach Mark Stoops left the field last night for the final time as Florida State’s defensive coordinator.  “Thank you, coach!”

6. Stoops lands in Lexington today. Deciding on a starting quarterback will be at the top of the agenda.

7. Pat Dooley: “I was a little puzzled by the hiring of Mark Stoops at Kentucky.”

8. North Carolina State has its new coach.  Northern Illinois coach Dave Doeren accepted the position Saturday.

Bowl Projections

9. High level Georgia source: Bulldogs headed to Cotton Bowl or Capital One Bowl.

10. Late word Saturday was that Capital One wanted Texas A&M.  Cotton Bowl to decide between Georgia and LSU. Are Tigers the favorite?

11. This Louisiana writer agrees- Cotton for LSU. This Louisiana writer didn’t get the memo – he says Chik-Fil-A for the Tigers.

12. SI’s Stewart Mandel’s complete bowl projections has Vanderbilt slotted for the Chik-Fil-A Bowl. Jerry Palm has the Commodores in the Gator Bowl.

13. Why Mississippi State could be headed to Music City Bowl.

14. Alabama fans know where they are headed: “I respect the heck out of Notre Dame.”

15. Jeremy Fowler: “These two are meant for each other, and even SEC elitists should acknowledge it.”

SEC/College News

16. The Internet troublemaker known as the ampersand - and why it has Texas A&M officials worried about the Heisman vote.

17. Ole Miss receiver Donte Moncrief and the Internet sensation known as “Feed Moncrief.”

18. One writer’s players of the year and other informal postseason honors for the Florida Gators.

19. Some stadium renovations at Missouri may be completed a year earlier than planned.

20. One man’s AP Top 25 ballot.  Here’s another one.

21. Man falls 4o-feet at ACC Championship game. Transported to hospital with “life-threatening injuries.” 

 SEC Basketball

22. Baylor 64 – Kentucky 55. Baylor snaps UK’s 55-game home winning streak. John Calipari now 54-1 at Rupp.

23. Cincinnati 58 – Alabama 56.  Tide lose game on a buzzer-beater.

24.  Missouri 72 – Applachian State 56. Laurence Bowers matches his career-high with 23 points as Tigers move to 6-1.  An insufficient punishment for coach Frank Haith?

25. Ole Miss 80 – Rutgers 67.  Murphy Holloway and Reggie Buckner post double-doubles as Rebels move to 6-0.

26. Providence 73- Mississippi State 63. State now 0-5 in games away from Humphrey Coliseum.

27. Villanova 62 – Vanderbilt 52. Commodores now 2-4, worst start since the 1988-89 season.

28. Texas A&M 70 – Houston 59. Aggies go to 6-1 behind 26 points from Elston Turner.

29. South Carolina plays Clemson today.  Fifth-year senior LaShay Page is a steady influence for the Gamecocks.

30. LSU is hitting its free-throws when it matters most.

1. Alabama ground-game dominant. Tide set SEC Championship-game record with 350 rushing yards.

2. 270 of those yards came in the second and third quarters.

3. What did Mark Ingram tell Eddie Lacy on the field moments after the game? “He said that’s the best I’ve ever seen you run.”

4. Georgia rally ends at Alabama 5-yard line as time expired.  Why didn’t Bulldogs spike the ball?  Mark Richt: “Well, spiking the ball takes time.” Aaron Murray: “I wasn’t calling the plays.”

5. “Someone asked me just a second ago what I thought the difference was (in the game),” Richt said. “All I could think of was, we just ran out of time.”

6. “Several guys came back to be deemed SEC champions, to play for a national championship,” Georgia senior receiver Tavarres King said. “Those dreams were crushed tonight.”

7. Kevin Scarbinsky: “Nick Saban’s teams have won bigger games…but one of his Alabama teams has never won a bigger game from a bigger hole, against a better foe, on a bigger stage.”

8. Dan Wetzel: “In many ways Saturday could be called Saban’s greatest victory…”

9. Saban on Georgia: “If you got in this game, you should be in a BCS game.”

10. Dennis Dodd on Quintin Dial’s shot to the head of Aaron Murray:  ”Dial may not get the luxury of suiting up for Notre Dame when SEC officials examine the film.

11. Mark Richt’s testy exchange with a media member after the game.

12. Richt post-game news conference video.

With just a few more weeks remaining in the college football season, the bowl picture should be coming into focus.  But there’s still a whole lotta shakin’ that could still go on as we wind up November and move through the conference championship games.

At the moment, eight SEC teams are already bowl eligible: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Texas A&M, and Vanderbilt.

Two more teams are a single win away from bowl eligibility with two games to play: Missouri (games with Syracuse and Texas A&M) and Ole Miss (games with LSU and Mississippi State).

Two other teams have to win their final two games to become bowl eligible: Arkansas (games with Mississippi State and LSU) and Tennessee (games with Vanderbilt and Kentucky).

It’s likely at this point that even if the SEC doesn’t have a team reach the BCS Championship Game it will still place two teams in BCS bowls (one as the league champ in the Sugar Bowl and one other as an at-large team in another BCS game).

Read the rest of this entry »

It’s Thursday and people are starting to get a little froggy about the “Champions” Bowl announcement that the SEC and Big XII had said they’d make this week.  No press releases came on Monday.  No press conferences were called on Tuesday.  No news broke yesterday.

But SEC associate commissioner Mark Womack says a decision between the Cotton Bowl in Arlington and the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans is coming soon:

“We’re not quite there yet.  The goal was to try to get it done this week.  Whether that will be the case or not, we’re still not quite sure on that.”

We were told by someone in the SEC office yesterday afternoon that it’s still hoped a decision will be announced by the end of the week.

According to The Baton Rouge Advocate, the delay seems to revolve around the number of times the “Champions” Bowl will serve as national semifinal game during the 12-year playoff run that will kick off after the 2014 season.  Womack admitted that getting the SEC, Big XII and ESPN on the same page is tricky:

“Getting two different conferences to work things out and having all of our ADs on board is a little more time-consuming…

“We are talking about a long-term, major deal here.  And we need to have everybody on board and in agreement.  But we’re hopeful to have it done soon.”

Better hurry, guys.  In our microwave society, people want their news yesterday.

New Arkansas defensive coordinator Paul Haynes is in an unusual position.  Hired quickly enough after the regular season that he’s already on staff and coaching his new team in their bowl game, the ex-Ohio State assistant says the Hogs’ defensive style in the Cotton Bowl might provide a preview of what he’ll do next season.

Asked if his gameplan for Kansas State will be more of what Arkansas has done in 2011 or what he plans to do going forward, Haynes said:


“I think it’s going to be a little bit of both.  But, again, I think one of the reasons why I’m here is there is a little bit of similarity to what we did at Ohio State and what we do at Arkansas.  It’s going to be a little bit of both.  A little bit of a mixture.  But, to me, football is football.”


Haynes also said yesterday that the “jack” linebacker position used by Willy Robinson the past four seasons will remain a part of the Hogs’ scheme.  “Those type of guys, that position, will stay for sure.”  That position is basically a hybrid safety-linebacker spot.

The Razorbacks will — finally — face KSU in the Cotton Bowl tomorrow night.

So where will your favorite team go bowling?  We at MrSEC have our own thoughts on that matter and you can find them below.

But first, let’s establish a couple of ground rules.  First, we’re going to go with the favorite in tomorrow’s SEC Championship Game.  So all of the predictions below are based on the assumption that LSU will avoid an upset at the hands of Georgia.  Also, we’ll assume that Alabama will not be jumped in the BCS standings by Oklahoma State, Virginia Tech, or anyone else come Sunday afternoon.

Now, on with the predictions…

BCS Championship Game:  #1 LSU vs #2 Alabama

Capital One Bowl:  Arkansas (SEC 2nd) vs Nebraska (Big Ten 2nd)

Outback Bowl:  South Carolina (SEC 3rd/4th) vs Michigan State (Big Ten 3rd)

Cotton Bowl:  Georgia (SEC 3rd/4th) vs Oklahoma (Big 12 2nd)

Chick-fil-A Bowl:  Auburn (SEC 5th) vs Florida State (ACC 2nd)

Gator Bowl:  Florida (SEC 6th) vs Ohio State (Big Ten 5th)

Music City Bowl:  Mississippi State (SEC 7th) vs Wake Forest (ACC 6th)

Liberty Bowl:  Vanderbilt (SEC 8th) vs Cincinnati (UPDATE — through a series of loopholes the Big East can force a team into the Liberty Bowl in place of a C-USA team.)

Comments:

* The SEC will not have a representative in the Sugar Bowl as both LSU and Alabama will land in the BCS title game.

* The SEC does not have enough bowl eligible teams to fill its slot in the BBVA Compass Bowl.

* The toughest call of the above games is the Capital One Bowl.  It’s our belief that the majority of Arkansas fans would prefer the closer trip to Dallas — despite the weather advantages offered by Central Florida.  Also, the Capital One committee might feel that either Georgia (closer) or South Carolina (a program that last played in the Orlando bowl in 1975 and currently has an excited fanbase) will travel better and fill more hotels and restaurants.  In the end, we believe they’ll go with the higher-rated Razorbacks and hope for a good turnout, but we won’t be surprised at all if Carolina or Georgia landing that slot.  In fact, the more we type, the more we’re leaning toward a switch to the Gamecocks…

* The only other game up for real debate is the Music City Bowl which has a choice to make between 6-6 Mississippi State and 6-6 Vanderbilt.  Mississippi State would bring more fans into the Nashville area and fill more hotel rooms than the hometown Commodores.  But it’s also possible some political pressure could come into play which would push the Music City committee to take the re-energized local team.  Ultimately, we think State will get the invite to Nashville with the spin being that Vanderbilt’s players deserve an opportunity to go bowling outside of their own fair city… which means VU will spend New Year’s Eve in Memphis.

1. Alabama wants a rematch with LSU.

2. Gene Wojciechowski: Alabama-LSU “became 99.9 percent official Saturday afternoon at Jordan-Hare Stadium.”

3. Chris DuFresne: “There remains a chance voters will rise up again and prevent LSU-Alabama II.”

4. Looks like the Chik-Fil-A or Gator Bowl for Auburn.

5. South Carolina likely headed to the Outback or Cotton Bowl.

6. Liberty or Music City Bowl likely for Mississippi State. Ditto for Vanderbilt.

7. Bowl projections from the Orlando Sentinel.

8. Kentucky 87 – Portland 63.  Lowest turnover total for the Wildcats since 1993.

9. USC 63  - USC 60.  Gamecocks fall to Southern Cal.

10. Arkansas 86 – Grambling  44. Freshmen score 53 of the Razorbacks total.

Extras

11. Former Les Miles assistant Larry Porter reportedly out at Memphis.  

12. Washington State coach rumored to be out - Mike Leach could be the target.

Houston Nutt is in trouble.  Coaches who follow up a 4-8 season with a 2-6 record to start the next year, find themselves answering questions about their job security.  Ole Miss’ coach was doing just that yesterday.

“I don’t look at it that way, going into the office like, ‘Uh-oh, this could be it.’  I don’t look at it that way,” Nutt said yesterday.  “I’m in charge or responsible for about 120 guys.  I love it here.  But I know this, they pay me to win.  Right now we’re not winning”

“I’ll take every single day and give you everything I have,” Nutt added.  “I’ve done that since the first day I got here, worked from daylight to exhaustion.  Everyday, giving it.  Trying to make a difference in a young person’s life and try to win football games.  We haven’t done that this year.  I don’t like that.  I hate losing.”

So do boosters.  And the must especially hate the Rebels’ 11 consecutive losses to SEC foes… the worst stretch in Ole Miss history.  Nutt blames attrition for his program’s woes.

“A lot of it, when you look back, you look at guys that should be here.  Guys like Clarence Jackson, a Patrick Patterson, Tig Barksdale.  You look at guys that bottom line, for whatever reason, didn’t work out, hurt your numbers.”

In 2009, Nutt signed 37 players (which led the SEC to begin to cut back on oversigning).   Of those 37 signees, only 15 are currently on the team and — according to The Jackson Clarion-Ledger — only seven of them have started multiple games this season.

But isn’t that on Nutt?  He is the one who signed all of those washouts.  Yes, surprises and disappointments occur.  But to lose 22 of 37 signees?  That suggests you’re taking a lot of chances on guys (something Nutt’s predecessor, Ed Orgeron, did as well).

Making matters worse is the Pete Boone situation.  Following a 30-7 loss to Vanderbilt in September, Ole Miss’ AD said the performance was “unacceptable” and he held a special Sunday meeting with Nutt.  Afterwards he said he wanted to see the Rebels play with more “fire.”

Since then, Ole Miss has gone 1-5.

But Boone himself is on the hot seat with many fans.  The group “Forward Rebels” has run a Tea Party-esque grassroots media campaign to cost him his job. 

What do head coaches do when the pressure gets to be too much?  They fire assistant coaches.  So it’s possible that Boone might be thinking that he can dismiss Nutt and when back some fan support — and booster donations — by bringing in a “name” hire (Mike Leach is sitting on the beach waiting for someone to give him a big check and a second chance).

From what we’ve been told, Nutt has made it clear to many that he’s not a fan of Boone’s difficult schedules and lack of support.  Indeed, Boone refused to support his coach yesterday.  “I think that we’re at the point in the season that we just let the season play itself out.  I really don’t want to get into a week-to-week conversation about whether it is going well or not.”

To fire Nutt, Ole Miss would have to pay him a $6 million buyout.  Do the Rebels have that kind of money to throw around right now?  And if so, do they have enough to then go out and get a top-notch replacement for even more cash?

Nutt began his stay in Oxford with back-to-back Cotton Bowl wins.  The past two seasons have been horrible.  But if you look at Nutt’s track record at Arkansas, you’ll see a familiar pattern:


* 9-3 in 1998 and 8-4 in 1999

* a dropoff to 6-6 in 2000 and 7-5 in 2001

* a rise back to 9-5 in 2002 and 9-4 in 2003

* a fall back to 5-6 in 2004 and 4-7 in 2005

* another rise to 10-4 in 2006 and 8-4 in 2007 before moving to Ole Miss


Two years up, two years down.  If history is any indication, the Rebels should be back in the eight- or nine-win range next season.

But will Rebel fans put up with such an up-and-down pattern moving forward?

Can the school afford to pay off Nutt and hire someone better?  Are key boosters willing to chip in to make that happen?

And how does the pressure on Boone affect all of this?  Would a solid coach walk into a situation where his boss might himself be ousted shortly?

There are lot of questions swirling around Oxford right now.  The only answer we have to give is this — Nutt had better be glad he got a nice new contract after his Cotton Bowl appearances.  Because if his buyout weren’t $6 million, his coaching grave would have already been dug.

1.  Nick Saban says “It’s hard to spend the time to evaluate coaching candidates when you’re on the road all week.”  Saban must replace receivers coach and recruiting coordinator Curt Cignetti.

2.  Alabama’s basketball team is looking better everyday…

3.  Thanks in part to Anthony Grant’s decision to stop pressing.

4.  Gene Chizik has won the Bobby Bowden National Collegiate Coach of the Year Award.

5.  Heading into a game at Arkansas tonight, Tony Barbee says his staff is trying to “stay positive and upbeat” despite losing five straight games.

6.  The Hogs will be trying to rebound from a 75-43 blowout loss at Florida on Saturday.  (I wouldn’t expect a real big crowd in Fayetteville tonight.)

7.  The folks at ESPN believe Tyler Wilson will step in nicely as Ryan Mallett’s replacement.

8.  Film study shows that LSU’s offense was dominant in the Cotton Bowl (in case that 41-24 score didn’t tip you off to that fact).

9.  Asked what his team is doing well right now, Trent Johnson said, “Nothing.”

10.  Ole Miss’ win over LSU on Saturday was big for Nick Williams in showing that he can score in the SEC.

11.  Freshman Rebel forward Demarco Cox is still having trouble with the speed of the college game.

12.  Rick Stansbury says he would toy with his lineup if he thought it would help State’s play.

13.  Kevin Stallings — whose Vandy team will travel to Starkville Thursday — says MSU has “had games where they looked absolutely awesome.”