Later today, injured South Carolina running back Marcus Lattimore is expected to announce his intentions of turning pro early.  But already today, another impressive SEC running back has announced that he’ll be leaving for the NFL, too.

Arkansas’ Knile Davis released a statement through the school praising the Razorback program and explaining why he’s leaving it early:

“Over the last few weeks, I’ve been very reflective in weighing my options.  However after careful counsel with my family and support system, I’ve made the decision to forego my final year of eligibility and enter the 2013 NFL Draft.  I sincerely look forward to working toward realizing my ultimate goal of becoming an NFL running back of the highest caliber.”

Fittingly, Davis ended his release with a “P.S. Woo Pig Sooie.”

Davis missed the 2011 season with a severe foot injury.  He dealt with more injuries in 2012 — missing two games — and saw a limited number carries in several others.  Davis’ high-water mark for the season came in the Hogs’ opener against Jacksonville State when he rushed for 70 yards on 18 carries.  For the season he averaged just 3.37 yards per carry and mustered only 377 yards.

Healthy in 2010 (with Bobby Petrino calling plays), Davis rushed 204 times for 1,322 yards and led the SEC with a 6.48 yards-per-carry average.

You can pencil Jeff Driskel into the lineup for Florida this weekend.  The Gators’ starting quarterback will return to action at Florida State on Saturday after an ankle injury cost him last week’s game with Jacksonville State.

According to Will Muschamp:

“Jeff looked very good at practice yesterday and he’ll be ready to go.  Yes, he would (start) at this time.  Obviously we’ve still got a couple of more days of practice, but he looked good enough to me that he’ll be fine. 

(Backup) Jacoby Brissett looked fine, too.  We’ll go from there. Right now, Jeff looks good.”

Florida State ranks #5 nationally in scoring defense, #1 in rushing defense, #5 in passing defense, and #1 overall in total defense.  Florida ranks #118 (out of 124 teams) in passing offense and ranks no higher than 40th nationally in scoring offense, rushing offense and total offense.

The Gators not only need Driskel back in action on Saturday… they’ll need him to be at his very best.

Saturday SEC Football Schedule
Arkansas at Mississippi State. MrSEC Pick:  Mississippi State 31, Arkansas 27
Western Carolina at Alabama. MrSEC Pick:  Alabama 42, Western Carolina 9
Jacksonville State at Florida. MrSEC Pick:  Florida 28, Jacksonville State 10
Wofford at South Carolina. MrSEC Pick:  South Carolina 35, Wofford 14
Alabama A&M at Auburn. MrSEC Pick:  Auburn 35, Alabama A&M 13
Georgia Southern at Georgia MrSEC Pick:  Georgia 42, Georgia Southern 17
Ole Miss at LSU. MrSEC Pick:  LSU 37, Ole Miss 14
Sam Houston State at Texas A&M. MrSEC Pick:  Texas A&M 66, Sam Houston State 7
Tennessee at Vanderbilt. MrSEC Pick:  Vanderbilt 34, Tennessee 31
Syracuse at Missouri. MrSEC Pick:  Missouri 31, Syracuse 30
Samford at Kentucky MrSEC Pick:  Kentucky 27, Samford 17

Here’s your weekly rundown of all the SEC action on tap for Week Eleven of the regular season.  As always, you’ll find everything from TV listings to the betting lines to our own predictions.

Enjoy the games, be safe, and best of luck to your favorite school this weekend.

Sadly, this is an absolute joke of a weekend.  Horrible games abound.  Reminds us of this!  But here goes anyway…

Arkansas at Mississippi State

12:21pm ET on SEC Network

Opening Line:  MSU -6

Current Line:  MSU -6

Storylines:  Arkansas is trying to keep its slim bowl hopes alive.  Mississippi State is trying halt a three-game losing skid.

Keys for Arkansas:  Stop the pass.  The Razorbacks are dead last in the SEC in pass defense and QB Tyler Russell of Mississippi State is likely licking his chops.  (Then again, after three straight losses, there probably shouldn’t be much chop-licking of any kind going on in Starkville these days.)  Arkansas needs to either a) slow down Russell, b) fire up RB Knile Davis to chew clock, or c) do all of the above.

Keys for Mississippi State:  Reignite the run game.  Arkansas’ rush defense is pretty good statistically but that could be because everyone spend their time attacking the Hogs through the air.  The Dogs ground game has ground to a standstill the past three weeks — 47 yards, 98 yards, and 47 yards.  In MSU’s first seven games — against bad opponents — the Bulldogs rushed for no less than 141 yards in any one contest.  Gotta run the thing.

Pick:  Mississippi State 31, Arkansas 27

Read the rest of this entry »

Tennessee reserve defensive back Deion Bonner has been suspended indefinitely for a violation of team rules.
Sources tell MrSEC.com that Tennessee representatives continue to pursue ex-NFL coach Jon Gruden for what will soon be an opening at UT
Texas A&M began a public relations push Thursday to boost the Heisman chances of quarterback Johnny Manziel
Georgia LB Chase Vasser is out for the year with a torn labrum
The head of the Music City Bowl says Vanderbilt is that game’s top choice right now
Vanderbilt RB Zac Stacy returned to practice yesterday after missing most of last weekend’s game with a leg injury
Florida QB Jeff Driskel is definitely out for Saturday’s game with Jacksonville State and QB Jacoby Brissett will start
Auburn QBs Kiehl Frazier and Clint Moseley are almost back to 100% from nagging injuries
NFL draft analyst Mel Kiper calls Tennessee WR Cordarrelle Patterson “a freakish talent”
ESPN has signed a 12-year deal with the SEC and Big XII to air the Sugar Bowl starting in 2014 season
Mississippi State guard Jalen Steele will miss six weeks of action with a broken wrist
Follow the SEC every single day at MrSEC.com and twitter.com/mrsec

Missing Texas A&M WR Thomas Johnson has been found “safe” in his hometown of Dallas after disappearing for 48+ hours
Sources tell MrSEC.com that Tennessee representatives continue to pursue ex-NFL coach Jon Gruden for what will soon be an opening at UT
Georgia LB Chase Vasser is out for the year with a torn labrum
South Carolina DE Jadeveon Clowney missed practice yesterday with a sore foot
The head of the Music City Bowl says Vanderbilt is that game’s top choice right now
Vanderbilt RB Zac Stacy returned to practice yesterday after missing most of last weekend’s game with a leg injury
Florida QB Jeff Driskel is definitely out for Saturday’s game with Jacksonville State and QB Jacoby Brissett will start
Auburn QBs Kiehl Frazier and Clint Moseley are almost back to 100% from nagging injuries
Texas A&M is not running a formal Heisman campaign for QB Johnny Manziel
NFL draft analyst Mel Kiper calls Tennessee WR Cordarrelle Patterson “a freakish talent”
ESPN has signed a 12-year deal with the SEC and Big XII to air the Sugar Bowl starting in 2014 season
Mississippi State guard Jalen Steele will miss six weeks of action with a broken wrist
Follow the SEC every single day at MrSEC.com and twitter.com/mrsec

Alabama’s governor Robert Bentley disagrees with Nick Saban’s play-calling at end of Texas A&M game: ”I would actually have run the ball for four straight times.”
Texas A&M DT Spence Nealy on last weekend’s upset of Alabama: “I still can’t believe we won.”
Vanderbilt AD David Williams says VU is “prepared to do what we need to do” to keep James Franklin as head coach
Auburn defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder on whether he’ll be back next year: “I don’t know that I can say that I’m confident.”
Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze isn’t happy with the way SEC officials spotted the ball during Vanderbilt’s game-winning drive on Saturday
Georgia players aren’t looking forward to back-to-back games with triple-option teams Georgia Southern and Georgia Tech
Florida QB Jacoby Brissett will start against Jacksonville State due to QB Jeff Driskel’s sprained ankle, chance Driskel could also miss season-ending game against Florida State
The Big 12 and Southeastern Conference have agreed to a 12-year deal with ESPN for the rights to the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.
Follow the SEC year-round on MrSEC.com and twitter.com/mrsec

Vanderbilt AD David Williams says VU is “prepared to do what we need to do” to keep James Franklin as head coach
Auburn defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder on whether he’ll be back next year: “I don’t know that I can say that I’m confident.”
Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze isn’t happy with the way SEC officials spotted the ball during Vanderbilt’s game-winning drive on Saturday
Texas A&M DT Spence Nealy on last weekend’s upset of Alabama: “I still can’t believe we won.”
Georgia players aren’t looking forward to back-to-back games with triple-option teams Georgia Southern and Georgia Tech
Florida QB Jacoby Brissett will start against Jacksonville State due to QB Jeff Driskel’s sprained ankle
A newspaper report suggests Kentucky’s football revenue is off by at least $5 million due to poor attendance
Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari caused a stir by saying Duke was “flopping all over the place” in a 75-68 Blue Devil win last night
Mississippi State guard Jalen Steele received 8 stitches in his head and injured his wrist in a fall during last night’s 78-58 win over Florida Atlantic
Follow the SEC year-round on MrSEC.com and twitter.com/mrsec

Auburn coach Gene Chizik says he believes he can still turn things around at Auburn next year if he returns
Tennessee coach Derek Dooley says AD Dave Hart has told him no decision on his future has been made
TCU coach Gary Patterson on rumors tying him to the Arkansas job: “I don’t think there’s anything to that.”
Ex-Ohio State coach Jim Tressel says there’s “no substance” to reports tying him to Kentucky’s job
Florida QB Jeff Driskel is doubtful for Saturday’s game with Jacksonville State due to a sprained ankle
Tennessee LB Curt Maggitt will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL
Six SEC teams are ranked between #4 and #9 in the latest BCS standings: Alabama, Georgia, Florida, LSU, Texas A&M and then South Carolina
Follow the SEC every day at MrSEC.com and twitter.com/mrsec

Call this the “no line” rundown. Fans will be watching these games – Vegas won’t.

Southeastern Louisiana at Missouri

1. After surgery and rehab on his shoulder, Mizzou quarterback James Franklin is anxious to get into the swing of things: “Once I get that first hit, it will put some of that doubt, some of those worries to the side.”

2. Missouri defensive coordinator Dave Steckel: ”They better be focused on Southeastern Louisiana. There’s not a damned thing they can do about it the week after…”

Central Arkansas at Ole Miss

3. Hugh Freeze makes his debut as the 37th football coach in Ole Miss history. ”I learned about the passion of the Ole Miss people when I came to the Grove as a child…”

4. What does Freeze expect of his Rebels team this year? “Your guess is probably as good as mine. I really don’t know. ”

Jackson State at Mississippi State

5. Dan Mullen on his opponent:  ”I know they have an experienced team. They expect to win a championship this year.”

6. Mullen on different looks you might see from this year’s Bulldogs: “You might see more five wide receivers this year.”

Jacksonville State at Arkansas

7. The Razorbacks face a former Arkansas coach – Jack Crowe – and a former Georgia Bulldog running back – Washaun Ealy.

8. This will be John L. Smith’s first game as a head coach since 2006.  ”I”m fired up.”