Aside fr0m Texas A&M, the SEC had some bumps, bruises and struggles last night on the hardwood:

1.  Alabama blew a 15-point lead before topping Oregon State 65-62 in New York.

2.  Murray State blitzed Auburn 79-59 in the Charleston Classic yesterday (which won’t do much for AD Jay Jacobs’ popularity on the Plains).

3.  Tennessee went to 2-0 on the season with a 75-68 win over UNC-Asheville in the Puerto Rico Tipoff tourney.

4.  Texas A&M destroyed Prairie View A&M 81-59 in College Station last night.

5.  On the other end of the spectrum, Georgia fell to just 1-2 on the year with a homecourt overtime 62-60 loss to Southern Miss.

There are eight more games on the basketball slate today, running from early in the morning to late at night:

10:30am ET — Tennessee vs Oklahoma State in Puerto Rico

7:00pm ET — Lafayette at Kentucky

7:00pm ET — Morgan State at South Carolina

7:30pm ET — Alabama vs Villanova in New York

7:30pm ET — Auburn at College of Charleston

8:00pm ET — Arkansas-Little Rock at Ole Miss

8:00pm ET — Nicholls State at Missouri

11:00pm ET — Vanderbilt at Oregon

11:00pm ET — Vanderbilt at Oregon (which means the Dores will be playing on this floor)

SEC East

1. Once thought done for the season, Georgia defensive end Abry Jones may play in a bowl game. Linebacker Chase Vasser will have surgery on a torn labrum – he’s out for the year.

2. Jadeveon Clowney held out of practice Wednesday for South Carolina.  Quarterback Connor Shaw did practice and according to his quarterbacks coach, should be ready to go Saturday.

3. How Texas A&M has changed the bowl picture for South Carolina.

4. The president/CEO of the Music City Bowl says Vanderbilt is in the lead.

5. Vanderbilt’s defense has averaged giving up just 78.3 rushing yards last four games. Update on running back Zac Stacy.

6. Tennessee safeties coach Josh Conklin appears to have taken a more active role in the defense. 

7. Tennessee assistant coaches are used to moving – this is John Palermo’s 13th job, 14th stop for Sam Pittman.

8. Worried he might be paralyzed, the four hours at a hospital that changed Missouri tight end Eric Waters’ outlook on life.

9. Missouri’s third-down defense is ranked 9th in the country.

10. With quarterback Jeff Driskel out for Florida, Jacoby Brissett will make his fourth career start Saturday. Will Muschamp on defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd’s adoption: “I never, absolutely, worried about any eligibility issues.”

11. Kentucky center Matt Smith a semi-finalist for the Danny Wuerffel trophy.  Alabama’s Barrett Jones won it last year.

SEC West

12. Putting Mississippi State’s season in perspective  - win out (including  a bowl game) – and this team has a 10-win season.

13. Senior receiver Chad Bumphis prepares for his home finale – leads the Bulldogs in receptions, yards and TD catches.

14. Ole Miss quarterback Bo Wallace on facing LSU and then Mississippi State to end the season: “We can win this game, and we can win the next one.”

15. Hugh Freeze regrets not using running back Randall Mackey more against Vanderbilt: ”We didn’t use him good enough,” he said. “It’s our fault.”

16. Under Les Miles, Tigers perfect when rushing for 100 yards and holding opponent to less than 100.  Ole Miss hasn’t hit the century mark in a month.

17. LSU offense averaging nearly 50 yards more per game than last season. Two freshmen starting on right side of Tigers offensive line - ‘results have been impressive’.

18. Biggest difference in Alabama defense last two weeks? Third down.  LSU and Texas A&M converted 21 of 38 times (55.2%). 

19. Alabama players not big on watching college football games they’re not involved in.

20. Auburn quarterbacks Clint Mosley and Kiehl Frazier are close to 100% after battling nagging injuries.

21. Auburn offensive coordinator Scott Loeffler on the Tigers running game: “It’s been horrific.” Team ranks 12th in the SEC in rushing offense.

22. When it comes to Johnny Manziel and Heisman hype, Texas A&M decides the best campaign is no formal campaign at all.

23. Arkansas coach John L. Smith on cornerback Tevin Mitchell’s Twitter post that he’s running track after the football season is over: “Maybe he’s going to run track. That’s news to me.”

24. One of the creditors in Smith’s bankruptcy case wants the court to put the coach under oath to talk about his finances – including his arrangements with the university.

SEC/College News

25. College football is on rec0rd-setting pace this season – an average of 29.3 points per team/per game this season.

26. The SEC has needed help to reach the BCS title game in past years – and it’s gotten it.

27. Athlon’s SEC storylines for Week 12.

28. ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. says Alabama center Barrett Jones is a potential third or fourth round draft pick.

29. Kiper is high on Tennessee wide receivers Cordarrelle Patterson and Justin Hunter: “Patterson’s a freakish talent. Patterson will probably, I think, go ahead of Hunter after all’s said and done.”

30. Here are five candidates at Florida who could leave early for the NFL draft.

31. ESPN’s The Magazine on the obsessive focus of Les Miles.

32. ESPN’s Outside The Lines on the infamous post-game encounter between an Alabama fan and an LSU fan. 

33. Tennessee’s Neyland Stadium gets reviewed. If you want a tour of Notre Dame Stadium, it will cost you $10.

34. Tony Barnhart on Bill Curry - ”one of the truly good men in college football.”

35. SEC and Big 12 reach a 12-year agreement with ESPN on the rights to the Sugar Bowl.

36. “For all of the hype surrounding Oregon games, Oregon practices might be even better.”

37. Top 10 defunct sports rivalries.

SEC Basketball

38. Despite missing Monday’s practice with migraine headache, Florida forward Erik Murphy goes a perfect 10-for-1o from the field.  Gators beat Wisconsin 74-56.

39. Murphy was on the verge of leaving Florida not that long ago.

40. Mississippi State guard Jalen Steele has a fractured left wrist – out about six weeks.  Forward Colin Borchert suspended.  Bulldogs down to six available scholarship players.

41. Tennessee playing UNC Asheville this afternoon at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off. Jarnell Stokes on Naismith Trophy Watch List.

42. Alabama meets Oregon State tonight in Madison Square Garden.

43. Auburn plays Murray State in the Charleston Classic.

44. Missouri is off to a 2-0 start but led by only a combined 13 points at half against weaker opponents.

Extra

45. Should kids be playing tackle football?

Which players are surprisingly trendy  in college football fantasy?  Here are 5 Week 5 picks we found.

Quarterbacks

1. We found one standout quarterback that more than one fantasy guru is talking about – Fresno State’s Derek Carr who’s up against San Diego State.

Kevin Mount of College Football Geeks: “Look for Carr to find plenty of open throwing lanes and toss two or three touchdown passes against the Aztecs.”

Phil Steele: “Carr and the highly productive FSU offense now face a San Diego St pass defense that has allowed 434 pass yds to FCS foe North Dakota and 290 to San Jose St. Bank on Carr delivering a solid showing here!”

Running Backs

Two backs caught the eyes of multiple gurus – Lyle McCombs of Connecticut vs Buffalo and Mark Weisman of Iowa facing Minnesota.

2. Weisman: Athlon Sports says “fellow running back Damon Bullock will most likely miss this week’s game against the Gophers, so expect the bruising sophomore to carry the ball another 20-25 times,” while College Football Geek adds that “he appears to be the last man standing in the Iowa backfield and will likely see a ton of carries for the foreseeable future.”

3. McCombs: “You can almost bank on McCombs to reach the 100 yard plateau here,” notes Phil Steele and College Football Geek concurs: “A game of 100 yards rushing and a score seem like the floor for McCombs this week.”

Wide Receivers

Two consensus picks here – a player and a team. Texas A&M’s Mike Evans (playing Arkansas) is the player.  Oregon State is the team (facing Arizona)

4. Evans: Kevin Mount says “Evans could easily top the 100-yard mark this week and also find the end zone for the first time in 2012,” while Athlon’s Joe DiSalvo adds “we’re expecting the 6-5 freshman to have one of his biggest games of the season against an Arkansas defense giving up over 312 passing yards per game.”

5. Oregon State receivers Markus Wheaton and Brandin Cooks.  Phil Steele likes Wheaton: “Wheaton is a solid option in both short and long passes as well as a dangerous weapon on the always productive fly sweep.”  College Football Geeks Kevin Mount prefers Cooks: “The Oregon State passing game could really exploit an Arizona defense that comes in ranked 87^th in the country against the pass.” Take your pick.

Of course, if both Oregon State receivers have big games- it makes sense for quarterback Sean Mannion to have one as well.

Finally, a few comments of note on SEC players:

Phil Steele likes Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel noting that the Arkansas pass defense has averaged giving up 312 yards a game.

Athlon likes Georgia running back Todd Gurley facing Tennessee’s defense.

Conversely, Will Harris at ESPN is not optimistic about Tennessee quarterback Tyler Bray going up against the Bulldogs, saying “he needs to sit this week on the road against a very tough Georgia defense…”

Tennessee received a commitment on Tuesday from offensive lineman Dan Skipper from Ralston Valley High School Arvada, Colo.

Tennessee’s conference was a big factor in Skipper’s decision.

“The big part was playing in the SEC,” Skipper told Volquest.com. “The alumni base there is second to none and the overall atmosphere was incredible.”

Skipper picked Tennessee after visiting Alabama, Missouri, Vanderbilt, Boise State, Oregon, Oregon State, Washington and others. He’s the 13th commitment for Tennessee’s class of 2013 and third pledge on the offensive line.

Here’s a quick recap of the SEC basketball action from yesterday:


Duke 77, Tennessee 67

Cuonzo Martin’s Volunteers — picked for 11th place in the SEC — gave Duke all they wanted until late in the game… despite going 0-8 from 3-point range.


Florida 78, Wright State 65

After getting bit tougher battle from Wright State than anticipated — it was a nine-point game with five minutes to play — Billy Donovan said his team is still too “streaky.”


Vanderbilt 64, Oregon State 62

The Commodores captured the championship of the TicketCity Legends Classic in New Jersey thanks to Brad Tinsley’s last-second jumper and Jeffrey Taylor’s defense on Oregon State’s high-scoring Jared Cunningham.


Ole Miss 80, TCU 69

Murphy Holloway — he of the transfers to South Carolina and back — led the Rebels with 20 points in the third-place game of the Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands.


Mississippi State 78, Louisiana-Monroe 63

Freshman guard Rodney Hood continued to make a name for himself by scoring 20 points — he’s scored at least 10 in five of his first six collegiate games — to help lead MSU to an easy win at Humphrey Coliseum.


California 70, Georgia 46

Mark Fox’s young team was dismantled by an older, ranked club that just so happens to employ the same offensive system as Georgia… meaning they knew better than UGA’s players what UGA’s players were trying to do.


Today’s action:

Tennessee vs Memphis at Maui, 2:00pm ET

Mississippi Valley State at South Carolina, 7:00pm ET

Georgia vs Notre Dame at Kansas City, 7:45pm ET

Utah Valley at Arkansas, 8:00pm ET

1.  The run game and attention to details will be key in Florida’s battle with Florida State.

2.  Should Georgia rest Isaiah Crowell against Georgia Tech and save him for the SEC title game?

3.  Joker Phillips won’t talk about his team’s 26-game losing streak to Tennessee… but his players will.

4.  South Carolina is worried about Clemson return man Sammy Watkins.

5.  Tennessee is “in bad shape” at the safety position.

6.  Brad Tinsley’s jumper with 4.5 seconds to go gave Vanderbilt a win over Oregon State and a tournament championship last night.

7.  Alabama’s Trent Richardson needs a big Iron Bowl performance to help his Heisman campaign…

8.  But Auburn is gearing up to slow the Tide’s ground attack.

9.  Arkansas’ defense has improved throughout the season.

10.  LSU’s players aren’t paying attention to all the BCS talk.

11.  Mississippi State is aiming for its first Egg Bowl three-peat in 70 years.

12.  Ole Miss is focused on winning the Golden Egg back and on spoiling MSU’s bowl hopes.

As the NCAA wrapped up its presidential retreat today, two things have become clear:


1) The NCAA wants to simplify its rulebooks.

2) The NCAA feels it needs to deliver harsher punishments for serious rule violations.


Nothing new there.  Mark Emmert has been saying as much for several months.  Oregon State president Ed Ray — who is also the chairman of the NCAA’s executive committee — broke down the chatter at this week’s retreat as follows:


“I think there is a very strong sense among presidents and chancellors that we need to be very clear and very severe where infractions do exist and that we want to send a message about certain behaviors.  There needs to be very serious penalties for very serious violations.”


If you’re an SEC fan, that can’t sound good.  Not with the amount of dirt being flung around the league these days.

Defensive back Quadry Antoine from Belle Chasse (La.) High School has committed to Mississippi State.

Antoine, who is the Bulldogs’ fourth commitment for the 2012 class, chose Mississippi State over offers from Arkansas, Pittsburgh, Oregon State and Memphis.

Antoine will have to choose he can cover in the passing game when he gets to college. Whether he can hit or not appears to have been proven.

Kevin Stallings’ Vanderbilt basketball team has signed up to play in the 2011 Legends Classic at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey this November.  Vandy, Texas, NC State and Oregon State will each host two games in their home arenas and then move on to the semifinals of the “tournament” which will be played in Jersey the weekend before Thanksgiving.

Vandy — as well as the other aforementioned schools — will all move on to Jersey regardless of the outcomes of the two games they’ll play on their home courts… so this isn’t a true tourney in the traditional sense.

Oh, for a publicity shot of Snookie kissing Stallings’ brilliant bald head.

Linebacker Robert Atiga from Snow Community College in Ephraim, Utah, will attend Arkansas this fall.

Atiga chose Arkansas over Oregon State. He also received scholarship offers from Utah, Washington, Boise State and Utah State.