SEC Football

1. Gator Bowl close to finalizing TV contract with ESPN.  Wants to maintain SEC affiliation as “anchor team” with opponents coming from multiple conferences.

2. Former Ole Miss quarterback Tom Luke joining Hugh Freeze’s staff as director of player development. Mel Kiper on Ole Miss quarterback Bo Wallace: “Wallace can play.”

3. Can Brandon Allen handle the starting quarterback job at Arkansas?  ”Hard to say.”

4. Athlon Sports previews LSU.  How many games will the Tigers win in 2013?

5. When LSU faces TCU, they won’t see Big 12 defense player of the year Devonte Fields – suspended for first two games of the year.

6. And while we’re on LSU, what about Mike the Tiger? ”There are only about 34 universities in the U.S. that have live mascots, and LSU is the only university in the U.S. with a live tiger living on campus.”

7. With Mike Gillislee and his 1,000 yards gone at Florida, it’s running back Matt Jones turn to step for the Gators. Joker Phillips - master of photoshop?

8. Auburn defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson on his cornerbacks: “I think at any position you need a little bit of depth and rotation in this league, so we don’t want two corners. We want four corners…”

9. Former Wyoming punter Tim Gleeson says he plans to enroll at Tennessee. Australian native averaged 43 yards a punt as a freshman in 2012.

10. Former Vols cornerback Daniel Gray headed to Utah State.

11. Inspired by Tennessee recruits, Kentucky recruits launch their own Twitter account.

12. Tony Barnhart:  Five Things We Learned about the SEC this Spring.

SEC Basketball

13. Two Las Vegas sports books have Kentucky as the favorite to win it all next season. UK is 5-1, Florida is 15-1.

14. During yesterday’s news conference, where he discussed “chasing perfection,” Kentucky coach John Calipari also gave his take on all 13 players expected to be on his team next season.

15. LSU guard Malik Morgan has reportedly asked for his release after one season.

16. Former Rutgers point guard Jerome Seagears has officially transferred to Auburn.  He’ll petition the NCAA for immediate eligibility.

17. Former Florida point guard Braxton Ogbueze has transferred to Charlotte.

Extras

18. Why is Notre Dame dropping Michigan from its football schedule? “The math is pretty simple for us.”

19. Andy Staples: “When the wealthiest schools inevitably form their own NCAA division, the schools of the ACC will be part of that group.”

20. Here’s the prelude to a fight involving a Colorado lineman: “According to the report, Lewis, who is 6-foot-6 and 250 pounds, estimated that he had six glasses of wine, 10 beers and six shots.”

21. In just over two weeks, a million hands of legal, online poker have been dealt in the United States.

22. The 19 best sports moments from “The Office.”

SEC Football

1. The Florida-Miami series may not be renewed. Miami A.D. – “There hasn’t been any conversation and there isn’t anything on the schedule for the future.” Georgia and Florida State discuss potential 2016 matchup.

2. Is Florida quarterback Jeff Driskel a top-five SEC quarterback?  MrSEC’s Josh Ward thinks so.

3. Athlon’s preseason rankings have the Gators coming in at No. 13. Florida’s game against Tennessee already sold out.

4. Toughest matchups for LSU this fall? Games at Alabama and Georgia. Suspension at TCU huge break for the Tigers?

5. Best red zone defense last three years?  If you guessed Alabama, you weren’t wrong.

6. Nick Saban gets asked for reaction to Charlie Weis’ comments about the SEC. ”I just think our league is fantastic.”

7. Saban’s daughter, a sorority fight and a lawsuit.

8. Several Auburn freshman, including quarterback Jeremy Johnson,  arrived on campus Tuesday – just ahead of summer classes.

9. Former Georgia linebacker Christian Robinson re-joining program as graduate assistant.

10. At Arkansas, one Mitchell leaves while another emerges (not related to the author nor connected to the Joe Don Baker movie)

11. Do people “love to hate Bret Bielema”?

12. Three reasons why Kentucky shouldn’t drop Louisville in football.

13.  Three of Stewart Mandel’s top five nonconference games for the first month of the 2013 season feature SEC teams.

14. Andy Staples plays the “what-if” game – looks at what could have happened with a four-team playoff in college football the last 10 years.

SEC/College News

15. Jon Solomon: “47 percent of the Division I public universities listed in a recent USA Today Sports revenue database increased coaches and staff pay at a higher rate than their athletic scholarship costs” Breakdown by school.

16. A Florida State recruit now wants to play at Georgia or Miami – but FSU won’t grant a release.

17. Kevin Scarbinsky on troubles at Auburn.  ”It’s been a long, strange year for the Tigers in so many ways.”

18. Kentucky athletes post the highest cumulative GPA during Mitch Barnhart’s time as athletics director.

SEC Basketball

19. Auburn A.D. Jay Jacobs on coach Tony Barbee: “Now he’s got to produce. We’ve got to look for results.”

20. Alabama A.D. Bill Battle on coach Anthony Grant: “I think he’s the right guy for our job.”

21. Andrew Wiggins chooses Kansas - may have not been a fit at Kentucky anyway “The Cats have almost too many good players scheduled to arrive on campus.”

22. Big loss for LSU recruiting.  Assistant coach Robert Kirby reportedly leaving for Memphis. (Before LSU, he was at Georgetown, where he recruited projected top five NBA pick Otto Porter, Jr.)

23. Point guard Kasey Hill compared to John Wall and Rajon Rondo –  expected to make a big impact at Florida.

24. Tennessee players Armani Moore and Josh Richardson headed to the Dominican Republic this summer.

25. Men’s basketball makes the biggest jump  of any program at Georgia according  to the latest NCAA Academic Progress Rate report.

Extras

26. Schools with the highest-paid NBA alums – LSU, Kentucky and Florida make the list.

27. New sport approved at LSU - sand volleyball for women.

28. Original report – Michigan State recruit giving up football to pursue rap career. Revised report – School pulled scholarship after profanity-laced video showed up on YouTube.

29. Hawaii getting the “Rainbow” back.

30. Memphis puts the punter on the cover of the media guide.

31. ESPN reporter Jeannine Edwards and Oklahoma State defensive coordinator Glenn Spencer getting married.

1. South Carolina loses out on highly-rated quarterback Drew Barker - what’s next for the Gamecocks?

2. Kyle Tucker on Barker committing to Kentucky: “A ton of credit goes to offensive coordinator Neal Brown…”

3. John Clay: Of all the positive moves (coach Mark) Stoops has made so far, locking the in-state gates ranks among the most impressive.

4. Defensive end Justin Thornton will announce his decision on Sunday.  Could be Auburn’s fourth player in the 2014 class from the Mobile area.

5. JUCO safety Derrick Moncrief has committed to Auburn.  He also had offers from Kentucky and Oklahoma State. Moncrief’s teammate -  D’haquille Williams – has committed to LSU. He’s the Tiger’s 10th commitment in the class of 2014.

6. Texas A&M has offered Plaquemine (La) defensive end Davon Godchaux. “I know Florida and A&M would be in my top three. USC, Florida State and Ole Miss are schools I like, as well. Everybody wants me to go to Alabama or LSU but I have to make a decision for my own self. I’m really liking Texas A&M right now”

7. Tennessee has a verbal commitment from 2015 offensive line in-state prospect Jack Jones.

1. ACC Schools Were Wise To Stick Together And Not Jump To Big XII

2. SEC Commitment Comparison

3. LSU, Florida…Just Man Up And Stop Whining

4. Breaking Down School-By-School SEC Cash Flow And Subsidies

5. Sooner’s Stoops: What’s The Bottom Of The SEC Done? (Also See Saban Responds and Someone Alert OU’s Stoops)

6. Let The Conspiracy Theories Begin: ESPN, SEC Partnership Raising Eyebrows

7. SEC Recruiting Notebook: Auburn Lands A Big One

As part of a lengthy and amusing look inside the new Browns front office — well, an attempted look inside — Grantland.com’s Chuck Klosterman reveals Cleveland GM Michael Lombardi’s feelings about the Southeastern Conference:

“The SEC is a whole different animal.  If all we did was take guys from Alabama and LSU, we’d be f****** great.”

The Browns took LSU defensive end Barkevious Mingo with the sixth pick in this year’s NFL draft.

Don’t tell Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops that the SEC is special.  When discussing the gap between the Southeastern Conference and his own league, the Big XII, on Monday, the Sooners’ coach had this to say:

“Well, it depends on what gap you’re talking about.  What are the bottom six doing?

… So they’ve had the best team in college football.  They haven’t had the whole conference.  Because, again, half of ‘em haven’t done much at all.  I’m just asking you.  You tell me...

So you’re listening to a lot of propaganda that gets fed out to you.  You’re more than smart enough to figure it out.  Again, you can look at the top two, three, four, five, six teams, and you can look at the bottom six, seven, eight, whatever they are.  How well are they all doing?”

This is the new argument for folks outside the SEC.  “Well, it’s really just a few schools that are good.”  Unfortunately, that’s a hollow argument.  Here’s why:

Has everyone in the SEC won a championship during the BCS era?  No, but five teams have… which is more than double the number of title-winning teams any other league has produced in recent years.  That seems like a rather sizable gap.

Obviously, no league can have 14 schools all win in a given year.  League-mates beat up on one another.  But top to bottom — that’s top to bottom – the SEC dominates everyone else come bowl season, sending more teams to bowls and winning almost 60% of those games.

Traditionally speaking, the bottom programs of the SEC have been Kentucky, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, and Vanderbilt.  Last season, Vandy beat the ACC’s North Carolina State in a bowl game.  The Commodores have won two bowls and been to three since 2008.

Last season, Ole Miss beat the Big East’s Pittsburgh in a bowl game.  The Rebels also won a pair of Cotton Bowls over Big XII teams Texas Tech and Oklahoma State in the 2008 and 2009 seasons.

Last season, Mississippi State fell to Northwestern (Big Ten) in its bowl, but the Bulldogs have won their other two bowls since 2009 beating Michigan (Big Ten) and Wake Forest (ACC).

Kentucky has fallen on hard times in recent years, but the Wildcats have been to five bowls since the 2006 season and won three of them (over Clemson, Florida State and East Carolina).

And speaking of the Wildcats, perhaps Mark Stoops can clue his brother in on the dangers of the SEC when he runs the league’s gauntlet for the first time this fall.  Though Brother Bob should already know all about the SEC.  He’s lost to both LSU and Florida in BCS Championship Games.

The Southeastern Conference is America’s roughest, toughest football league outside the NFL.  Considering just what kind of pipeline the SEC has been for the NFL over the last 20 years, we’ll let you decide just how big the gap is between the two entities.

The conference has climbed to the top of the collegiate football heap by staying true to its traditions — more important to Southerners, it seems, than to anyone else from across the country — and by never backing down from a challenge.

While the Big XII immediately killed off the Oklahoma/Nebraska football rivalry upon formation, the SEC did its best when expanding from 10 to 12 teams and again from 12 to 14 teams to protect its oldest, fiercest rivalries.  That’s the difference between good karma and bad.  The Big XII eventually lost Nebraska to the Big Ten and Oklahoma has had conversations with the Pac-12 and the SEC since 2010 alone.

For those not paying attention, other leagues might occasionally cast an eye toward an SEC school, but the schools in Mike Slive’s league have no interest in taking advantage of the conference’s lack of an exit fee to bolt.  There’s money, tradition, and a good esprit de corps.  Why leave?

In terms of taking on challenges, many have been self-created… and wisely s0.  The belief that the SEC is a war zone filled with America’s top squads has been fostered by conference leaders making things tougher and tougher and tougher on themselves.

When coaches moaned of going from six conference games to seven in a season, the league’s athletic directors ignored them.  When coaches bellyached about going from seven conference games to eight per season, again, the league’s ADs paid them no mind.  And when coaches shrieked in terror at the thought of adding an SEC Championship Game on top of that eight-game league slate, the leaders of the league shrugged and went ahead and booked Legion Field (and eventually the Georgia Dome) for the first weekend in December anyway.

The eight-game schedule and the championship game first came into being in 1992.  In the 21 seasons since, the SEC has won 11 national championships, including in ’92 with an undefeated Alabama team that proved the fraidy cats wrong right off the bat.  In the 21 seasons before going to an eight-game schedule and the championship format, the league had won all of four national titles.  Prior to Bama’s crown in ’92, the last SEC national champ was Georgia way back in 1980.  Things changed when the league expanded, stayed true to its past, and made things more difficult for its teams.

Stated simply: The SEC doesn’t ignore its traditions and history and it consistently sets the bar on mettle-testing.

With that in mind, it’s time for the folks in Baton Rouge and Gainesville to pipe down.  Especially those complainers at LSU.

Today, the SEC’s athletic directors will meet and Tiger AD Joe Alleva will once again claim that LSU faces a disadvantage because his school is forced to play Florida each and every season as its permanent opponent.  That game, of course, has become one of the best on the SEC’s schedule and television execs have paid the league pretty darn well for that schedule over the past five years.

Florida officials aren’t thrilled with the prospect of having to play an East Division schedule and LSU each year, but the volume on Gainesville groaning hasn’t reached LSU proportions yet.  That’s ironic considering Florida has more to complain about.

Let’s look at the records for the Tigers and Gators over the past decade:

Well, whaddya know?  In five of the last 10 seasons, Florida has lost four or more football games.  That’s happened just twice at LSU over the past decade.  While the Gators have gone 98-33 since 2003, the Tigers have gone 107-24.  If anyone’s got room to cry it would appear to be Florida.

When the SEC expanded in 1992 and implemented its eight-game conference schedule, league leaders decided to split things up based on tradition and parity, not geography.  That’s why Vanderbilt is in the East and Auburn in the West despite the fact that Nashville is farther west than the Loveliest Village on the Plains.

Schedule-wise, the conference decided that the six traditional SEC powers should be separated — Alabama, Auburn and LSU on one side… Georgia, Florida and Tennessee on the other.  On the schedule front, the same logic was followed when determining permanent partners.

Read the rest of this entry »

SEC/NCAA News

1. Auburn president Jay Gogue on allegations surrounding the program: ”When you get in and begin to do all your careful reviews and analyze everything said, we didn’t find anything.”

2. Remember those proposed new NCAA rules that would have allowed unlimited communication between coaches and recruits?  They’ve been suspended and academic standards won’t be raised in 2016.

3. Don’t expect the college football playoff committee to have its members anytime soon.  Executive director Bill Hancock: “We want to be deliberate.”

SEC Football

4. Possible motive in the bar fight involving LSU running back Jeremy Hill?  Attorney says Hill was heckled about past legal trouble.  Search continues for second suspect –  not believed to be LSU football player. Update: Second person arrested.

5. LSU-Wisconsin in Houston in 2014?  Not so fast.  ”Nothing has been finalized.”

6. Nick Saban on why he wants the SEC to adopt a nine-game conference schedule: “I personally feel like strength of schedule is going to be a real important thing in the future.”

7. Auburn president Jay Gogue also likes the nine-game idea. “I’d be one of those that would be supportive.”

8. Auburn coach Gus Malzahn has already starting watching game tape on the Tigers first opponent, Washington State.

9. Ole Miss quarterback Bo Wallace has resumed throwing - coming of shoulder surgery in January.

10. Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel picks up his Manning Award trophy. Archie Manning:  ”Thanks a hell of a lot, Johnny.” NFL general manager on Manziel – He’s “more like a Brett Favre.  He’s got some cowboy in him.”

11. Athlon asks the question – will the Missouri Tigers make a bowl game this season?

12. Florida coach Will Muschamp on running back Matt Jones: “He attacked the offseason. He’s up over 230 pounds. He looks great.”

13. Gators linebacker Ronald Powell cleared for a full return in August after undergoing two ACL surgeries on his knee in the past year.

14. What does Tennessee coach Butch Jones look at on a transcript? Tardiness and absences. “That tells me everything I need to know.”

15. Former Tennessee coach Johnny Majors on Jones: “His practices have great tempo, they’re organized to the hilt and there’s nobody standing around.”

SEC Network

16. Analyst on the distribution challenges awaiting the new network:  ”I think it all comes down to how you price it. But I would say it’s going to take them a long time to get off the ground.”

17. Mike Slive on having the network headquartered in North Carolina.   “I’m delighted to have a presence in North Carolina.” Care to elaborate? “No. I don’t need to.”

18. Tony Barnhart: “Slive cemented his legacy as one of the impactful commissioners in the history of college athletics with Thursday’s announcement.”

19. David Climer: “It’s good to be the king.”

20. Kentucky coach John Calipari on the impact the network will have on basketball.  “From teams seven to 14, those teams now have a chance to recruit, because they will get fully exposed.”

SEC Basketball

21. The mother of Alabama basketball player Devonta Pollard charged with kidnapping a six-year old girl.

22. Florida’s non-conference schedule includes Kansas, Memphis and Wisconsin.

23. Missouri will reportedly play in Las Vegas in November. 

24. Ole Miss still looking to fill one scholarship spot.

Extras

25. Columnist: “Big Ten football in its current state is a fraud.”

26. With Notre Dame playing Arizona State at Cowboys Stadium, the Fighting Irish have their eyes on Texas recruits.  Coach Brian Kelly: ”There’s no question that when you talk about playing here at Cowboys Stadium, that gets every recruit’s attention.”

27. Texas coach Mack Brown is handing out rings.

28. World War II veterans of the Normandy Invasion get to meet Kentucky Derby horse Normandy Invasion.

On Saturday morning, LSU running back Jeremy Hill was arrested for simple battery after he and another man struck a 20-year-old victim multiple times — knocking the man unconscious — at a bar just off the Baton Rouge campus.

On Monday, Tiger head football coach Les Miles suspended his team’s leading returning rusher indefinitely.

Yesterday, the Baton Rouge Police Department’s report on the arrest went public.  The report states that a cell phone video shows Hill punch the victim from behind.  The video then shows the other assailant knock the victim unconscious with yet another blow from behind.  At that point, Hill and the other man high-fived in celebration of their knockout.

Today, if video truly exists showing Hill beating another man and celebrating, the player should be removed from the LSU football team.  Permanently.

Readers of this site know that we believe in second chances and due process (in a court of law).  When it comes to typical college mistakes — such as alcohol- and marijuana-related incidents — we also feel a coach and a school have every right to weigh their options and offer paths to redemption if they feel they’re warranted.

But violence?

Uh-uh.  Different beast.

Student-athletes might not yet receive $2,000 stipends for their on-field efforts, but they are given free educations.  Check the price tag on college tuition these days and you’ll see that number’s far north of $2,000.  In exchange for thousands of dollars worth of free schooling, all athletes have to do is represent their university in proper fashion on and off the field or court.

Making headlines by beating someone into unconsciousness doesn’t fit that description.  Celebrating after the fact only makes the foul matter worse.

And according to the police report, that’s exactly what Hill did.  As captured on cell phone video by a witness.

Hill’s attorney told The Baton Rouge Advocate via email: “Obviously, Jeremy was there as the video indicates.  However, there is most likely more to the story than what is contained in a 30-second video.”

Probably so.  But unless the victim assaulted Hill and/or the other unidentified assailant — who could face a felony charge for his involvement — there’s little reason, in our view, for Hill to remain on the LSU football team.

Having said that, we suspect he will indeed return to the team at some point.  First, Hill will have his own version of the incident.  Second, he might cooperate with police (though with the second man still unidentified it doesn’t sound as though Hill has been too cooperative to this point).  Finally, there’s the grey area of who threw the most punches and whose blow actually led to the knockout.

Jeremy Hill — who pled guilty to misdemeanor carnal knowledge in 2012 for engaging in a sex act with a 14-year-old girl in 2010 — is a representative of Louisiana State University.  He receives free room and board from the school and his path to the NFL has been paved in purple and gold.  But if it’s found that he helped beat a man into unconsciousness and then celebrated that act in plain view of witnesses and their cell phone cameras, he hasn’t lived up to his end of the bargain.

Tiger fans might want Hill toting the football for their team this fall, but with two arrests and one violent attack already on his resume, do LSU grads really want Hill representing their alma mater any longer?

Over the weekend, word leaked out of the Wisconsin camp that the Badgers were interested in locking up a neutral site game against LSU.  The neutral site?  The Green Bay Packers’ Lambeau Field… which isn’t exactly neutral.

Earlier this week, LSU AD Joe Alleva admitted that his school is in discussions with Badger brass about the matchup:

“We’re still in the preliminary stages of talking to them.  It’s too early.  There’s too many things to consider.  The biggest thing to consider is the value of playing a game that far away versus the value of playing a game in Tiger Stadium.  That’s what it comes down to.

From a recruiting standpoint it’s a great game to tell kids you are going to play in Lambeau Field.  But Wisconsin is a long way away…

The novelty of playing at Lambeau is great, but there’s a whole lot of things to weigh.  The financial things.  We’ll see.”

Alleva said the schools are actually talking about playing two games against one another — one at Lambeau and one in Houston.