Ohio State coach Urban Meyer spends his time in Big Ten country now but it doesn’t mean the former Florida coach doesn’t have opinions on SEC Football.  He sat down with CBSSports.com’s Jeremy Fowler this week and had plenty to say about his old team and his old conference, even admitting he would still be at Florida if health issues hadn’t surfaced.

On Alabama’s 2012 team:

“You look at [2012], [Alabama] should have lost three games. Georgia had them beat. LSU, I watched that one, it was over. Obviously they ended up beating them. I thought they’d be really good. I think there are some really good teams in the conference.”

Comparing last year’s 12-0 Ohio State team to his 2008 national champion Florida team:

“I don’t think we’ve reached that status. I could show you some film and we’re certainly not there. We were not good enough [last season] where we had these high expectations. I’m biased, but I think that ’08 team is as good or better than any team to ever play college football.”

With better health, he says he would still be at Florida:

“I realized not too long after [around February 2011]. I called Jeremy [Foley] and said, ‘I made a mistake.’ Once I felt like everything was under control, it was like, ‘Oh my gosh, what did I do?’ I just told Jeremy as a friend in conversation. The talk was more about one day getting back into it. He was very supportive. Then I started at ESPN and had a ball with that, but is that enough? Is that what I was called to do? I planned to take more than a year [off] though.”

Asked if he had any regrets about how his time at Florida ended, Meyer told Fowler, ”I didn’t at first. I thought we did a good job. We did our best. I look back now, the way it ended was certainly a regret. Does that mean it haunts me? Not at all.”

With the SEC spring meetings set for next week in Destin, Florida, a number of football writers from across the country have decided it’s time to weigh in on the league’s scheduling plans.  It’s clear to at least three of them that Les Miles and LSU are correct — it’s time to dump permanent cross-divisional rivals in the Southeastern Conference.

Readers of this site know that we feel the SEC’s history is what makes it special.  And history is the main reason the permanent rivals still exist.  Alabama/Tennessee is traditionally the SEC’s biggest game.  Those two schools have won more league titles than any other.  More than Florida.  More than LSU.  More than Georgia and Auburn.

Auburn/Georgia — the deep South’s oldest rivalry — happens to be the other game the league’s leaders have deemed worthy of protection.  Those leaders have taken a big-picture approach.  The columnists quoted below do not.

Matt Hayes of The Sporting News writes:

“Meanwhile, Alabama has played Florida and Georgia eight times — the lowest of any West Division team.  Alabama’s argument is it plays Tennessee, which started the BCS era with a national title but has recently fallen on hard times.

The reality is Florida and LSU are better equipped than Tennessee — now and for the foreseeable future — to win big in the SEC.  So where does that leave permanent rotations?”

Stewart Mandel of Sports Illustrated goes down the same path:

“Alabama-Tennessee has always been a streaky rivalry, but the utter humiliation the Tide have laid on the Vols in most of the past six season suggests this isn’t much of a rivalry at all.  Since its win streak began in 2007, Alabama has beaten Tennessee by an average of 23.2 points.”

Today, Kevin Scarbinsky of The Birmingham News jumped in:

“With all due respect to UT AD Dave Hart, who’s made it part of his mission to preserve that game on an annual basis, the Tide vs. the Vols is no longer a rivalry.  It’s a guarantee game.

When they play in Knoxville, Tennessee gets a crowd and a bruise, and Alabama gets a win.  When they play in Tuscaloosa, Tennessee gets nothing but a bruise, and Alabama gets another win.

Meanwhile, while Alabama’s using its permanent cross-division game as a breather to prepare for LSU, LSU has to go through Florida before it even gets to Alabama.  Auburn has to prepare for Alabama by climbing into the ring with Georgia.”

So the basic reason for dumping permanent cross-divisonal rivalries like Alabama-Tennessee and Auburn-Georgia is: Tennessee sucks and always will.

This is what happens when we in the media spend too much of our time writing and reading tweets.  We can’t see anything but the now.  Anything past the 140th character qualifies as the distant future.  And history?  Well, Mandel did go back six whole seasons in discussing the Vols and Tide rivalry.

Shortsightedness is not an asset when it comes to running a conference.

And just as Mike Slive and Texas A&M president R. Bowen Loftin referred to Texas A&M’s decision to join the SEC as a “hundred-year decision,” league scheduling should take into account the fact that the teams on top today might not be the ones on top tomorrow.  Scheduling should be based on historical strength, not current power.

By way of an example, let’s imagine the SEC’s stewards were planning to create a new schedule rotation back in 2002.  They would have had a full decade’s worth of records from a 12-team SEC with which to work.  Below are those SEC records from 1992 through 2001:

SEC East 1992-2001

SEC West 1992-2001

Interesting.  One must wonder whether or not Hayes — if he’d looked at those numbers in 2001 — would have dared to write that Tennessee wouldn’t be equipped to deal with Florida and LSU moving forward.  We’ll guess not.

Read the rest of this entry »

SEC Football

1. Georgia tight end Ty Flourney-Smith is transferring.  Played eight games last year without a catch. Could he return to the team?

2. Indoor practice facility not a priority right now at Georgia.  Mark Richt: “Do we have to have it? I don’t think we have to have it, but like I said it would be nice to have it.” UGA athletic board approves $92.3 million budget.

3. Will Georgia have the best offense in the SEC in 2013?  MrSEC has an opinion. What about Florida State/Georgia in 2016 – “long, long shot.”

4. Alabama coach Nick Saban on high school all-star games.  ”We don’t think football’s a dangerous game, so we don’t worry about guys getting injured.”

5. CBS will kickoff its SEC coverage this fall with Alabama at Texas A&M on Saturday afternoon, September 14th. How the SEC bowl schedule shapes up for 2013.

6. LSU closing 2014 season with Texas A&M?

7. South Carolina A.D. Ray Tanner on non-conference scheduling: “I was very much involved in doing the deal with North Carolina for the 2015 opener in Charlotte.”

8. Why South Carolina “has a chance for a special season.”

9. Vanderbilt coach James Franklin with some Twitter advice.

10. The future is now for senior Ole Miss defensive back Brishen Matthews.

11. Andy Staples on SEC scheduling models: ”The SEC has tossed tradition before, and sometimes with happy consequences.”

SEC/College News

12. Former Alabama A.D. Mal Moore posthumously honored as Athletic Director of the Year.

13. Tennessee’s Neyland Stadium listed as one of the nine most unique fields in sports.

14.  Email from University of Tennessee’s vice chancellor for student life - “intolerable situation.”

15. Tim Tebow’s name brought up in connection with the Ed O’Bannon lawsuit against the NCAA.

SEC Basketball

16. LSU guard Corban Collins leaving, looking to play at another school.

17. None of Kentucky’s freshmen will take part in the U19 World Championships this summer (neither will sophomore Willie Cauley-Stein). John Calipari: “Most of it is, they didn’t want to play. I’m not forcing kids to do anything,”

18. Tennessee’s Jarnell Stokes and Florida’s Michael Frazier II get invited to the training camp.  Bill Donovan is the coach of the team.

19. Florida’s Will Yeguette underwent arthroscopic knee surgery Wednesday.

20. Harvard assistant coach Yanni Hufnagel joining the staff at Vanderbilt. Dan Wolken: “Big -time move”

21.  NBA scout on former Missouri guard Phil Pressey. “I like his energy, he’s a good passer, he just has to realize he’s not Nate Robinson.”

22.  Cleveland has the No.1 pick but it doesn’t mean former Kentucky player Nerlens Noel is headed there.

Extras

23. Sometimes it’s better to say nothing at all.  European Tour CEO tries to defend Sergio Garcia:  ”Most of Sergio’s friends are coloured athletes in the United States…”

24. Auburn one of the 15 fastest-growing cities in the U.S.

25. The cheapest 25 pro sports teams to watch in person.

Receiver prospect Cordell Broadus has a snared himself a new scholarship offer to go along with previous offers from California, Duke, Oregon State, Southern Cal, UCLA, Washington and Tennessee.  LSU is the latest school to put an offer on the table.

So why is this story on our homepage and not just on the recruiting page?

Because you might have heard of Broadus’ father — Snoop Lion.  Though you might know him better by his pre-Rastafarian name — Snoop Dogg.  And Snoop Dogg’s ties to LSU and its coach might help the Tigers’ chances in the race for Broadus.

The rap star is a massive sports fan and has backed a number of colleges over the years with Southern Cal’s and LSU’s jerseys being among his favorites to wear in public.  At one time he also had a house in Baton Rouge.  And in 2008, he popped up with Les Miles at a Rotary Club meeting, prompting Miles to say: “I defend his music and am much more a fan of the person.”

Snoop Dogg, er Lion said he showed up at the event (pictured below) “to give my love and support to Coach Miles.”

At the moment, Broadus seems to be more wowed by Southern Cal’s offer, having grown up a Trojan fan.

Still, Miles’ friendship (?) with the junior-to-be’s father can’t hurt LSU’s chances.

After Tyrann Mathieu’s alleged admission that he failed double-digit drug tests for weed while in Baton Rouge, we’ll let you insert your own joke about the Tigers now chasing the son of a tried and true Rastafarian.

In the words of Broadus’ father: bow wow wow yippee yo yippie yay.

1. The nation’s top JUCO prospect has changed his mind.  After committing to LSU, wide receiver D’Haquille Williams has had a change of heart. “I decommited from LSU so I can explore all my options. I plan on doing so during the summer and fall.” Williams had 67 receptions at Mississippi Gulf Coast last year.

2. Les Miles reaction? “If a guy wants to decommit and say ‘I’m interested in looking around,’ this is plenty early. We have a scholarship, we’re looking for very good players, we’ll continue to recruit.”

3. Scott Rabalais: “There is every expectation that Williams will make his football version of an Australian walkabout and eventually sign with LSU.”

4. Here’s how LSU’s 2014 linebacking class is shaping up.

5. Why is Tennessee stockpiling wide receivers in its 2014 class?  Here are some theories.

6. For the second time in a week, Florida lost a member of its 2014 class. Fort Myers Dunbar receiver Ryeshene Bronson was the Gators first commitment for 2014 but now says he wants to visit other schools.  A source says it was a mutual decision. Why the Gators need defense in the 2014 class.

7. Palm Bay (Fla.) Bayside defensive tackle Travonte Valentine  lists Alabama, Tennessee and Miami in his top three. He plans to visit both Alabama and Tennessee this summer. One of the top defensive tackles in the country, he has previously been committed to both Florida and Louisville.

8. Ten players from Alabama made the Rivals250 list.

9. How did Auburn coach Gus Malzahn get Georgia running back Peyton Barbour to sign with the Tigers in February?  By greeting him in the hotel lobby at 3:00 a.m.

10. Dallas, TX offensive lineman Jovan Pruitt says he plans to visit Arkansas on June 1. Pruitt has more than 10 offers, including one from Alabama.

SEC Football

1. Les Miles bid to end permanent opposite-division rivals finds a backer in Matt Hayes: “Auburn, LSU and Florida are impacted most by the SEC’s standing scheduling rule of one permanent opponent from the opposite division.”

2. Seven Auburn signees have arrived on campus and enrolled in school.  Remaining 13 signees expected to enroll over the summer

3. Auburn fullback Jay Prosch is 6-foot, 259 pounds and has 5.9 percent body fat.

4. Prosch makes Bruce Feldman’s annual “Freak List”.  No. 1? South Carolina’s Jadeveon Clowney.

5. Incoming Georgia freshman Shaun McGee on saying no to Nick Saban: “Anything he says to you, you’re kind of in awe because you’re like ‘Man, this is a really powerful guy.’ He was really hard to say ‘no’ to.”

6. Why sophomore kicker Marshall Morgan is one Georgia’s ten most important players this season.

7. What kind of impact can Ole Miss expect from senior offensive tackle Derrick Wilson.

SEC/College News

8. Longtime Vanderbilt booster John Rich dead at the age of 85.

9. Assessment of Tennessee A.D. Dave Hart: So far, so good.

10. Paul Finebaum headed to Charlotte to join ESPN.

11. Appeals court revives lawsuit by former Rutgers football player against video game maker Electronic Arts.

SEC Basketball

12. Vanderbilt A.D. David Williams asked about coach Kevin Stallings reportedly blocking Sheldon Jeter from transferring to Pittsburgh.  ”We, as an administrative body, stay out of the middle of that. I don’t investigate that. I don’t ask about it.”

13. LSU assistant coach Robert Kirby has resigned to take a similar job at Memphis.  Kirby had spent one-year at LSU, bulk of his career at Mississippi State.

Extras

14. “Joebots” trying to drive Bill O’Brien out of Penn State?

15. Memphis the favorite to host conference tournament for new AAC conference.

16. Hotdog, popcorn, or a glass of Merlot? University of Toledo wants to add beer and wine to its concession stand menu.

Offense or defense?

Running or passing?

We wanted to know which statistics provided a more accurate gauge of overall success during the 2012 SEC football season.  When talking about the SEC, defense is usually the first word out of the mouth of any coach, fan or pundit.  Should it be?

From looking at six key (yet simple) statistics, the answer is yes.

Yesterday, we found that passing defense (opponents’ yards-per-pass-attempt) was more closely related to SEC wins and losses than passing offense (yards-per-pass-attempt).

This morning, we found that rushing defense (opponents’ yards-per-carry) was more closely tied to SEC wins and losses than rushing offense (yards-per-carry).

Now, we’ll compare the yards-per-play numbers of each school on offense and on defense (opponents’ yards-per-play).  Which statistic do you think served as a more accurate predictor of gridiron success?

2012 SEC Total Offense / Yards-Per-Play

The top three teams in this category all finished with six of more SEC wins.  Also, the two SEC squads that went winless in 2012 ranked at the bottom of this chart.  Obviously, offensive ability matters.

It just doesn’t matter as much as team’s defensive ability.  Vanderbilt, South Carolina, Florida and LSU all ranked in the bottom half of the SEC in yards-per-play on offense yet those four teams went a combined 24-8 in league play last year.  Meanwhile, Tennessee, MSU, Arkansas and Ole Miss all finished in the top half of the league in this measure while compiling a combined record of 10-22.

If our previous conclusions hold water, teams’ overall defensive rankings (opponents’ yards-per-play) should be the most telling of the six statistics we’ve broken down.

2012 SEC Total Defense / Opponents’ Yards-Per-Play

How’s that for lining up correctly?

The seven SEC squads with winning league marks in 2012 all ranked in the top half of the conference in yards-per-play allowed.  Those teams totaled a combined record of 44-12.  The seven squads with SEC winning percentages of .500 or lower all ranked in the bottom seven of the league in this category.  Those teams finished the year 12-44.

To take things even further, the top four teams in this category (Florida, Alabama, South Carolina and LSU) went 26-6 in the SEC in 2012.  The six teams that ranked in the middle (Vanderbilt, Georgia, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Missouri and MSU) went 27-21 combined.  And the four teams that the bottom of the table?  Kentucky, Arkansas, Auburn and Tennessee finished a combined 3-29 on the season.

We wanted to know if defense really did trump offense in the Southeastern Conference last year.  The numbers say it did.  Whether it’s rushing defense, passing defense, or total defense, SEC wins and losses are still most often determined by strength on defense, not on offense.

SEC Football

1. LSU coach Les Miles will go Destin next week with a message on banning permanent opposite division rivals.  “The most important thing the conference has to do is pick a champion in a fair, straightforward way.”

2. Former Arkansas quarterback Brandon Mitchell will play his final season at North Carolina State. ”Bottom line is I want to win, and I want to win now.”

3. Alabama receiver Danny Woodson, Jr. transferring to South Alabama.  Former four-star recruit was suspended for violation of team rules during the spring.

4. Why is former Oklahoma State quarterback Wes Lunt being restricted from transferring to certain schools, including Tennessee and Vanderbilt? One reason –  ”The belief that at least some coaches at some interested schools improperly contacted Lunt.” MrSEC weighed in on transfer limits Monday.

5. Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel can complete a pass blindfolded.  Here’s the video proof and a picture.

6. Why wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell is one of Georgia’s 10 most important players this year. Ten breakout candidates in the SEC this fall.

7. A look at freshman Evan Engram and the tight end position at Ole Miss.  Rebels don’t return a scholarship player to the roster from the tight end spot.

8. LSU defensive coordinator John Chavis on a defense that lost seven starters. “We’re not afraid to play freshmen. We’ll do everything we can to get our best 11 on the field.”

9. In Auburn’s new defensive alignment, only two linebackers will be on the field.  They will have to cover a lot of ground.

10. Tennessee sports publicist Gus Manning on coach Butch Jones: “I’ve been here for 11 football coaches. Butch Jones is the best public-relations man of all of them.”

11. Remember that Alabama BCS trophy that was accidentally shattered?  Broken trophy fetched $105,000 at an auction.

12. Rimington Trophy watch list includes nine SEC centers.

13. Do you realize college football kicks off in exactly 100 days from now? Here’s an SEC checklist.

14. ESPN’s Ted Miller on why so many predictions about college football this fall will be completely wrong.

SEC/College News

15. Florida wins the SEC All-Sports Trophy for the 23rd time.  

16. Georgia A.D. Greg McGarity has made four head coaching moves in the athletic program since he was hired.  Latest move was firing the baseball coach.

17. Towson A.D. Michael Waddell joining the athletic department at Arkansas.

18. Jon Solomon on the Ed O’Bannon lawsuit: “Collegiate Licensing Company had licensing agreements with more than 80 former college athletes from 1995 to 2010.”

19. Stewart Mandel projects how the bowls will lineup for college football’s major conferences in future years.

20. Mountain West Commissioner doesn’t think college football playoffs will stay at four teams.

21. Dan Mullen and Urban Meyer - Parrotheads?

22. Interview with former Alabama and Texas A&M coach Dennis Franchione: “We had a lot of great memories of Alabama and the fans and that program. I wish it could have been under different circumstances.”

SEC Basketball

23. Former Baylor player Deuce Bello transferring to Missouri.  Will have two years of eligibility after sitting out this next season. Sixth Division I transfer to join MU’s program since Frank Haith arrived two years ago.

24. Staff moves announced Monday at Alabama include Antoine Pettway promoted to assistant coach. Team also getting new strength and conditioning coach.

25. Former Tennessee center Yemi Makanjuola enrolls at UNC Wilmington.

Extras

26. How Pac-12 schools divvied up the cash.

27. Former Memphis forward Tarik Black will play his senior year at Kansas.

28. ESPN reportedly laying off hundreds of people.

29. The 20 types of unhappy sports fans.  I think I’ve done about 14 of these.

Offense or defense?

Running or passing?

We wanted to know which statistics provided a more accurate gauge of overall success during the 2012 SEC football season.  When talking about the SEC, defense is usually the first word out of the mouth of any coach, fan or pundit.  Should it be?

In an effort to find out, we took six key (but simple) statistics from last season and compared them to the win/loss records of each of the 14 SEC schools.  We used only stats from conference games (SEC versus SEC) and we’ve compared only last season’s conference records.  Last year’s SEC title game was not included in our study.

In this piece, we’ll focus on the offensive side of the ball.  Below you will find last year’s SEC teams ranked according to their yards-per-carry average:

2012 SEC Rushing Offense / Yards-Per-Carry

Observations:

*  Four of the top five teams in the yards-per-carry category — Alabama, Texas A&M, Georgia and Florida — finished with six or more SEC wins last season.  But Tennessee ranked fourth in this statistic and still managed just one league win in 2012.

*  Tennessee was hardly the only team that was “out of place” record-wise when it came to this stat.  Arkansas (2-6) and Kentucky (0-8) ran the ball more effectively than LSU (6-2) and South Carolina (6-2).  The Gamecocks also ranked behind Mississippi State (4-4) and Missouri (2-6).  Vanderbilt finished with a winning record in the conference yet the Commodores averaged more yards per carry than only Ole Miss and Auburn.

*  Long-time football fans will tell you that you have to play good defense and run the football to win ballgames in the SEC.  But running the ball effectively — and we’ve seen this hold true in recent seasons — isn’t as important as it used to be.  Yes it’s darn helpful to be able to wear down a defense with a punishing ground game.  It’s a plus to be able to grind out the last few minutes of clock when leading, too.  But there is not longer a clear correlation between yards-per-carry and wins.

*  Some might be wondering if straight rushing yards would be a better indicator of league success and the answer is yes.  In terms of overall rushing yards per game in SEC contests last year, every team with a winning league record (Alabama, Texas A&M, Georgia, Florida, LSU, Vanderbilt and South Carolina) finished in the top eight of the conference in total rushing yards.  Only Tennessee snuck into the top eight with a losing record.  But those seven schools with winning SEC marks also ranked among the top eight in rushing attempts in SEC games.  That was to be expected.  Teams with leads try to milk clock by running the football (as noted above).  So it can be said that winning teams run the ball more often — possibly/probably because they’re playing with late-game leads — but it can’t be said that winning teams the ball more effectively (yards-per-carry average).

*  To see the importance of rushing defense, click here for a breakdown of opponents’ yards-per-carry averages.  We have also broken down some numbers for passing offense and defense from last year’s SEC action.  For those results, click here for yards-per-attempt and click here for opponents’ yards-per-attempt.

Offense or defense?

Running or passing?

We wanted to know which statistics provided a more accurate gauge of overall success during the 2012 SEC football season.  When talking about the SEC, defense is usually the first word out of the mouth of any coach, fan or pundit.  Should it be?

In an effort to find out, we took six key (but simple) statistics from last season and compared them to the win/loss records of each of the 14 SEC schools.  We used only stats from conference games (SEC versus SEC) and we’ve compared only last season’s conference records.  Last year’s SEC title game was not included in our study.

In this piece, we’ll start on the offensive side of the ball.  Below you will find last year’s SEC teams ranked according to their yards-per-pass-attempt average:

2012 SEC Passing Offense / Yards-Per-Pass-Attempt

Observations

*  Five of the top six teams in yards-per-pass won at least five SEC games last season.  The lone exception was Ole Miss.  So why didn’t the Rebels’ win on par with the league’s other high-flying squads?  It might have been Mississippi’s turnover woes.  Hugh Freeze’s squad turned the ball over 29 times last season to rank 13th of out of 14 SEC teams in giveaways (only Arkansas had more with 31).

*  For the most part, the league’s bottom-feeders in 2012 (Arkansas, Tennessee, Auburn, Missouri and Kentucky) all ranked in the bottom half of the league in yards-per-attempt.  There were two exceptions: Florida (7-1) and LSU (6-2).  Of course, they both had pretty stingy defenses… which we’ll cover in another post.

*  The top four squads in this category all return their starting quarterbacks this season: AJ McCarron, Aaron Murray, Bo Wallace and Connor Shaw.

*  So is this a very telling stat when it comes to predicting SEC success?  You’ll see this afternoon and tomorrow that there are other measures that relate much more closely to SEC wins and losses.  For example, check out the breakdown for defensive yards-per-pass-attempt by clicking here.