Yesterday the Big Ten officially announced its new divisions, its new division names (thankfully), and its new scheduling plan.  While not perfect — three of the league’s 13 “trophy games” will be lost as annual tilts — Jim Delany’s plan could provide Mike Slive and his conference with one very good idea.

Beginning in 2016, the Big Ten will feature a pair of seven-team divisions under simple East and West banners, just as the SEC currently boasts.  The league will begin playing a nine-game conference schedule as well.  And for those SEC fans who’ve barked about an uneven number of home and road games being the signature feature of a nine-game slate, the Big Ten came up with a pretty straight-forward remedy.  In even-numbered years, teams from the East Division will play five home games and four road games.  In odd-numbered years, all the West Division teams will host five league games and travel to play four.

In other words, no team within a division will hold a home/road advantage over another team in its division.  Ever.

Problem solved.

We believe that a nine-game slate with a 6-1-2 format still is the safest bet for the SEC moving forward.  (Short of that, the league should adopt an eight-game conference schedule without divisions and simply ask the NCAA for a waiver regarding its championship game in Atlanta.)  Currently, no one knows who will be picking the teams for the new College Football Playoff or what criteria they will use to do so.  If schedule strength is as big a component as expected, the question then becomes a matter of personal opinion.  And with just about everyone outside of the SEC footprint completely and totally exhausted by the SEC’s dominance, it’s not hard to imagine Slive’s conference getting the short end of the stick if its teams don’t play each other “enough.”  What “enough” is will depend on those individual voters, of course.

So why not just go ahead and make the move that will someday be required?  Eventually, a nine-game conference schedule will come to pass.  The league will make more money with better inventory on its soon-to-launch network.  Playing another game inside the league will also help negate any possible charges from selection committee members that Big Ten, Pac-12, and Big XII teams play nine conference games while SEC teams play eight and four patsies.  There’s also the added benefit of keeping more SEC rivalries alive.

Some claim that an added SEC game would lead league schools to stop scheduling quality non-conference foes.  Well, if those programs want to be taken seriously, that won’t be the case.  It appears — though we won’t know for sure for a couple more years — that most conferences are planning to have their teams play 10 quality foes per year (nine conference games, one good non-conference game).

But most SEC teams currently play only nine quality games per season (eight league games, one good non-conference foe, and three creampuffs).  The league’s 2013 schedule shows SEC teams squaring off against Georgia State, Chattanooga, Louisiana-Lafayette, Samford, Arkansas State, Western Carolina, Florida Atlantic, Toledo, Georgia Southern, North Texas, Appalachian State, Miami (Ohio), Alabama State, Kent State, Furman, Alcorn State, Troy, Bowling Green, Murray State, Southeast Missouri State, Idaho, Coastal Carolina, Austin Peay, South Alabama, Sam Houston State and UMass.

If you are interested in paying money to see any of those teams play an SEC school then you should look up a famous quote often attributed to PT Barnum.  Keyword: Sucker.

Nine is coming.  Sooner or later.  The new playoff and push toward strength of schedule should allay fears that SEC teams will drop good nonconference foes to make room for the added league game.  And the Big Ten just easily swept aside the overblown argument that some teams would hold an advantage over their division foes when playing five home games in a year.

Next argument?

Tennessee has received a commitment from defensive lineman Joe Sanders from Troup High School in LaGrange, Ga.

Sanders told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution he picked Tennessee over offers from South Florida, Western Kentucky, Central Florida, Eastern Kentucky and South Alabama.

“I committed tonight because I had it made up in my mind that I wanted to go to Tennessee,” Sanders told the AJC on Wednesday. “I liked the atmosphere, the coaches, and how they push you once you’re down there.”

There have been questions about the future of Tennessee coach Derek Dooley, who has a 15-19 record since becoming the Vols’ head coach in 2010. Sanders told the AJC he’s not concerned about Dooley’s job status.

“I’ve heard things but I haven’t really looked into it,” Sanders said. “Coach Dooley hasn’t said anything about that, so it doesn’t mean that much.”

Sanders is the 19th prospect to commit to Tennessee’s class of 2013.

Saturday SEC Football Scores
Ole Miss 39 – Tulane 0
Florida 38- Kentucky 0
South Carolina 31 – Missouri 10
Alabama 40 – Florida Atlantic 7
Rutgers 35 – Arkansas 26
LSU 12 – Auburn 10
Mississippi State 30 – South Alabama 10
Texas A&M 70 – South Carolina State 14
Tennessee 47 – Akron 26
Georgia 48 – Vanderbilt 3

Saturday SEC Football
Ole Miss at Tulane MrSEC’s Pick:  Ole Miss 34, Tulane 17
Kentucky at Florida. MrSEC’s Pick: Florida 38, Kentucky 14
Missouri at South Carolina. MrSEC’s Pick:  South Carolina 27, Missouri 14
Florida Atlantic at Alabama. MrSEC’s Pick:  Alabama 42, Florida Atlantic 6
Rutgers at Arkansas. MrSEC’s Pick:  Arkansas 35, Rutgers 20
LSU at Auburn. MrSEC’s Pick:  LSU 40, Auburn 10
South Alabama at Mississippi State. MrSEC’s Pick:  Mississippi State 42, South Alabama 10
South Carolina State at Texas A&M. MrSEC’s Pick:  Texas A&M 52, South Carolina State 9
Akron at Tennessee. MrSEC’s Pick:  Tennessee 41, Akron 20
Vanderbilt at Georgia. MrSEC’s Pick:  Georgia 31, Vanderbilt 13

Here’s your weekly rundown of all the SEC action coming your way in Week Four 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.

Here goes…

Ole Miss at Tulane

12:00pm ET on FSN

Opening Line:  UM -15

Current Line:  UM -18.5

Storylines:  The Rebels will be trying to bounce back from a thrashing at the hands of Texas last week.  UM’s shorthanded defense gave up 676 yards to the Longhorns.  On offense Bo Wallace finally had a tough day at the office.  But Tulane’s not Texas.  This is, however, the Green Wave’s first game since safety Devon Walker fractured his spine during a game two weeks ago.  Tulane’s emotional state could play a factor in this one.

Keys for Ole Miss:  Hugh Freeze’s team needs to win the turnover battle and with Tulane starting a freshman at quarterback, it can.  A fast start from the Rebel offense could also cause the Green Wave to hang their heads.

Pick:  Ole Miss 34, Tulane 17

Kentucky at Florida

12:21pm ET on SEC Network

Opening Line:  UF – 23.5

Current Line:  UF -23.5

Storylines:  Joker Phillips is struggling to keep his job (unlikely) and will try to do by snapping Florida’s 25-game win streak over the Cats (even more unlikely).  Jeff Driskel put on a “where’d that come from?” performance against Tennessee last week.  As poor as Kentucky’s run defense has been, expect the Gators to run, run and run some more.

Keys for Florida:  Did I mention run, run and run some more?  UK has already allowed nine rushing touchdowns on the year and their opponents have been Louisville, Kent State and Western Kentucky.  The best hope for UF is to build an early lead and pull the starters in order to avoid injuries.

Keys for Kentucky:  The Cats’ best weapon is quarterback Maxwell Smith, but if he has to throw 60 times — as he did in last week’s loss to WKU — the youngsters around him on Randy Sanders’ offense could get him killed.  And if he does manage to stay upright, Smith can’t throw four picks.  To have any chance whatsoever the Wildcats must force turnovers by the bushel.

Pick: Florida 38, Kentucky 14

Missouri at South Carolina

3:30pm ET on CBS

Opening Line:  USC -9

Current Line:  USC -10.5

Storylines:  Welcome to the big time, Mizzou.  This is the first 3:30pm ET game on CBS for one of the SEC’s two new members and it’ll be quite a test for the Tigers.  James Franklin and Connor Shaw are both banged up, though both are expected to start.  If the backups are forced to play, give the advantage to Carolina because Dylan Thompson would have Marcus Lattimore in his backfield… Corbin Berkstresser would not.

Keys for Missouri:  Protect James Franklin.  Jarvis Jones and Georgia’s defense had a field day in the final quarter of their blowout win at Mizzou two weeks ago.  Now a makeshift MU offensive line will have to fend off Jadeveon Clowney and company.  T-R-O-U-B-L-E.

Keys for South Carolina:  Beware of turnovers.  The Tigers are plus-six on the season and only five teams in the SEC have turned the ball over more than Carolina.  Freshman TJ Gurley will take the place of suspended veteran safety DJ Swearinger.  Expect Mizzou to try to take advantage.  The best way for USC to protect its defense from Gary Pinkel’s hurry-up system?  Hand the ball to Lattimore.  A lot.

Pick:  South Carolina 27, Missouri 14

Florida Atlantic at Alabama

4:00pm ET on Pay-per-view

Opening Line:  UA -51

Current Line:  UA -49.5

Storylines:  Another cupcake game in the SEC.  The Tide opened as a 51-point favorite — which Nick Saban can’t like — but an FAU defensive end got lippy and claimed that Bama can be beaten.  Not a wise statement, young man.

Keys for Alabama:  To quote Russell Crowe in “Gladiator,” “At my signal… unleash Hell.”  Bama just needs to make sure everyone stays healthy.

Pick:  Alabama 42, Florida Atlantic 6

Rutgers at Arkansas

7:00pm ET on ESPNU

Opening Line:  Pick

Current Line:  UA -8.5

Storylines:  Razorback fans abandoned ship last week as Alabama slaughtered their team 52-0.  Couple that with an upset loss to Louisiana-Monroe a week earlier and the attendance might be the real storyline in Fayetteville.  Luckily for John L. Smith — the L. stand’s for “Let’s smile!” — Tyler Wilson will be back at quarterback for the Hogs after missing a week-and-a-half with a concussion.

Keys for Arkansas:  Build a wall around Wilson and let no Scarlet Knight come near his noggin.  Just having Wilson back on the field should refuel the Hogs’ once-potent aerial attack.  Running the football would limit the QB’s exposure to hits, too.  Most importantly, however, is fixing all that’s broken on the defensive side of the ball.  Paul Haynes’ new unit hasn’t gotten much help from the offense the last couple of weeks, but no one expected UA to rank 95th in the nation in total defense after three games.

Pick:  Arkansas 35, Rutgers 20

LSU at Auburn

7:00pm ET on ESPN

Opening Line:  LSU -18.5

Current Line:  LSU -20.5

Storylines:  The temperature of Gene Chizik’s seat is one storyline.  An overtime win at home over ULM last week didn’t do much to cool things for the fourth-year coach who’s offense and defense both lack playmakers.  For LSU, going on the road in the SEC will be a good test for the Tiger D and new quarterback Zach Mettenberger.  It’s one thing to crush Washington, Idaho and the like at home.  It’s another to go into Jordan-Hare, regardless of how good or bad Auburn might be.

Keys for Auburn:  Simple.  Chizik’s set of Tigers have to run the football effectively.  They have to run the football to take pressure off of quarterback Kiehl Frazier who Chizik admits isn’t read to carry the team just yet.  And they have to run the football to take time off the clock, limit LSU’s touches, and protect a defense that has a hard time, you know, actually tackling ballcarriers.  And that’s kind of a biggie in football.

Keys for LSU:  For Miles’ set of Tigers, their run game should have little trouble with an Auburn defense that ranks #109 out of 124 schools nationally in rush defense.  Expect John Chavis to dial up some new looks for Frazier as well.  If he thought the Louisiana school from Monroe was tough, wait’ll he sees the bunch from Baton Rouge.  About the only way LSU can lose this one is to turn the ball over.  That means no interceptions at the opponent’s goal line, Mr. Mettenberger.

Pick:  LSU 40, Auburn 10

South Alabama at Mississippi State

7:00pm ET on Pay-per-view

Opening Line:  MSU -32.5

Current Line:  MSU -34.5

Storylines:  More creampuffery.  I think if MSU could have scheduled the University of North Carolina at Winston-Marlboro Scott Stricklin would have done it.  Last week, the Bulldogs apparently missed their wake-up call and sleepwalked through a 30-24 tighter-than-expected win at Troy.  Troy is 4-11 in its last 15 games, by the way.

Keys for Mississippi State:  USA likely won’t provide much of a test, but Dan Mullen’s defense nees to show real improvement over last week’s effort.  The Dogs allowed 572 yards of offense to Troy and the only thing that saved their tails was the gathering in of four more turnovers.  State is plus-11 in turnover margin on the season.  Tyler Russell has yet to throw a pick and if that stats holds true tomorrow, MSU will hit 4-0 and remain ranked in the national polls.

Pick:  Mississippi State 42, South Alabama 10

South Carolina State at Texas A&M

7:00pm ET on FSN

Opening Line:  No Line (FCS Opponent)

Current Line:  No Line (FCS Opponent)

Storylines:  Yawn.  The storyline is that fans of all FBS schools should boycott games against FCS opponents.  Who cares?

Keys for Texas A&M:  Work on the run game.  Johnny Manziel has been a pleasant surprise at quarterback, but it’s time to get Christine Michaels and the rest of the Aggies’ deep running back corps rolling.  When A&M faces more SEC competition, they’ll have to run the football better than they have in the middle-of-the-pack start to the season.  (TAMU ranks eighth in the SEC in rushing offense after two games.)

Pick:  Texas A&M 52, South Carolina State 9

Akron at Tennessee

7:30pm ET on CSS

Opening Line:  UT -35

Current Line:  UT -33

Storylines:  Over/under 70,000 fans in Knoxville?  Vol fans invested a lot of energy and hope in last week’s showdown with Florida only to find themselves emotionally bankrupted by game’s end.  How much support with UT get in a home game against what’s supposed to be a pastry of a foe?  As for the team, at some point Sal Sunseri’s defense will need to start cutting down on the big plays.

Keys for Tennessee:  About that whole “big play” thing… switching to a 3-4 defense usually starts with busts in Year One, improves throughout the season, and then looks good by Year Two.  But the Volunteers have given up 17 plays of 20 or more yards through three games, more than any other team in the SEC.  Akron has a high-flying offense that might break one or two big ones, but UT has to start making gains in the miscommunication/bust area.  Also, Tyler Bray needs to be patient and smart in the pocket and not keep throwing balls from his back foot as he did time and again last weekend.

Pick:  Tennessee 41, Akron 20

Vanderbilt at Georgia

7:45pm ET on ESPN2

Opening Line:  UGA -16

Current Line:  UGA -16

Storylines:  Oh, come on.  This is James Franklin and his mouth going up against Todd Grantham and his antics.  Those two coaches haven’t engendered a lot of good will when it comes to their fellow SEC coaches, but that’s not in their job descriptions, either.  Expect ESPN2 to give you a glimpse or two or 12 at the end of last year’s game.

Keys for Georgia:  We mentioned Tennessee’s need to prevent big plays on defense and the same holds true for UGA.  The Dawgs are the only team in the SEC other than the Vols to have allowed eight plays of 30 or more yards from scrimmage.  Vandy isn’t exactly a quick strike offense, but no one expected Buffalo or FAU to break off some long gains.  They did.  When it comes to winning tomorrow, the Dawgs should if they just take care of the football.  Mark Richt’s team is minus-one in turnover margin on the season and coughing up the football is a sure way to keep Vanderbilt hanging around.

Keys for Vanderbilt:  Last year Franklin said after the Georgia game: “We are not gonna sit back and take stuff from anybody.  Anybody.  No one.  Those days are long gone and they are never coming back.”  But after a pair of close-but-no-cigar losses to South Carolina and Northwestern, Vandy’s coach made a change behind center and promptly crushed Presbyterian.  To insure that “those days” never come back and that folks stop saying “same old Vandy,” Franklin needs for his team to show some real fight at Sanford Stadium.  That will require a ball-control type of offense, no turnovers, and yet another solid outing from his defense (which ranks third in the SEC in total yardage allowed versus FBS opponents).  Unfortunately, Georgia’s offense is tops in the league in total offense against FBS foes.  Vandy needs to prove that a good defense can beat a good offense.

Pick:  Georgia 31, Vanderbilt 13

Ten games this weekend involving SEC teams.  Four conference games – six non-conference.  Here are the early favorites and underdogs.

Ole Miss at Tulane. No line posted.

Kentucky at Florida. The undefeated Gators return home and open as a 23.5-point favorite against a Kentucky team coming off an overtime loss at home to Western Kentucky. The line quickly moved up to 25 points.

Missouri at South Carolina.  The Gamecocks opened as a 9-point favorite in a game that features both starting quarterbacks dealing with injuries. That line has already been pushed to 10 points.

Florida Atlantic at Alabama. Fresh off their 52-0 beatdown on the road against Arkansas, Alabama returns home and opens as a 51-point favorite.

Rutgers at Arkansas.  Some people still have faith in the Razorbacks.  Arkansas opened as a 2-point favorite.

LSU at Auburn.  LSU opens conference play on the road against their SEC West rival.  Les Miles’ team open as a 18.5 point favorite.

South Alabama at Mississippi State. Cracking the Top 25 for the first time this year, the undefeated Bulldogs opened 32.5 favorite at home. It’s already up to 34.5 in many places.

South Carolina State at Texas A&M. No line posted.

Akron at Tennessee. No line posted.

Vanderbilt at Georgia. After Saturday’s game, both teams were talking last year’s game and the spat between Vanderbilt coach James Franklin and Georgia defensive coordinator Todd Grantham.  Judging by the opening line, this shouldn’t be much of a contest.  The Bulldogs open as a 13.5 favorite.

Of the seven games with lines, Arkansas-Rutgers is expected to be closest – Alabama with the biggest blowout.  Of the four conference matchups, Missouri-South Carolina is expected to be the most competitive matchup, Kentucky-Florida the least competitive.

The SEC has announced its television schedule for Saturday the 22nd today.

All times are Eastern.

Ole Miss at Tulane — 12:oopm, FSN

Kentucky at Florida — 12:21pm, SEC Network

Missouri at South Carolina — 3:30pm, CBS

Florida Atlantic at Alabama — 5:00pm, Pay-per-view

LSU at Auburn — 7:00pm, ESPN

Rutgers at Arkansas — 7:00pm, ESPNU

South Carolina State at Texas A&M — 7:00pm, FSN

South Alabama at Mississippi State — 7:00pm, Pay-per-view

Akron at Tennessee — 7:30pm, CSS

Vanderbilt at Georgia — 7:45pm, ESPN2

What’s interesting?  For all the leaked talk that CBS — in its negotiations with the SEC — has claimed Missouri and Texas A&M don’t add much value to the network’s SEC package, they sure are featuring Mizzou early in the season, aren’t they?

Also, just look at all those junk games on the docket.  If I were a fan, I wouldn’t pay $5 to watch Florida Atlantic, South Carolina State, South Alabama or Akron take on an SEC opponent.  The more teams like Louisiana-Monroe take down big teams that have no business scheduling cupcakes, creampuffs and other assorted pastries… the more I laugh.

Sure other leagues’ teams do a lot of this nonsense scheduling as well, but that doesn’t make it right.  How any self-respecting SEC fan can look at all the fluff on league teams’ schedules and not demand a nine-game conference slate is beyond me.

You know how you know you’ve got a week football schedule?  When your school’s athletic director has to constantly defend it.

Mississippi State’s Scott Stricklin has been clear about his desire to avoid a ninth SEC football game because it might hurt the Bulldogs’ chances of becoming bowl eligible.  This year, he’s used his non-conference openings to line up Jackson State, Troy, South Alabama and MTSU.  Several national media outlets have called out that lineup as being one of the biggest laughers in all of college football.

But Stricklin doesn’t sound like a man who wants to make Dan Mullen’s schedule much tougher moving forward:

“We have an incredibly tough conference schedule,” Stricklin said. “Our overall strength of schedule, if you look at the computer rankings, I think is usually pretty high…

We’ve had 16 straight sellouts and we have a waiting list for tickets, so whatever we’re doing right now seems to be working from a fan perspective.  And we’ve been to two straight bowl games, so it’s working from trying to produce a consistent winner perspective.”

Fair enough.  If State fans will pay good money to see the University of North Carolina at Winston-Marlboro come to town, why not keep playing teams of that ilk?

Oh.  That’s right.  The new strength of schedule factor which is to somehow be weighed by a selection panel when it comes to college football’s new playoff and its biggest bowl games.  We used MSU as an example when discussing that issue earlier this week.  Well here’s what Stricklin told The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal about that situation:

“When the day comes when strength of schedule is used to determine – I guess it’s kind of used right now in the BCS formula – when we get to the point where that’s a concern for us, we’re going to make sure we take care of that piece of it.”

Until then, State fans will just have to continue to overpay for four big, delicious cupcakes every fall.

First, Happy Thanksgiving.  Second, here’s your wrap of SEC hoops action from last night:

Tennessee 86, Chaminade 60

After coming up short against #6 Duke and #8 Memphis, the Volunteers went long to knock off Maui Invitational host Chaminade.  UT dropped 15 3-pointers on the Silverswords to move to 3-2 on the season.

Kentucky 88, Radford 40

Kentucky won its 35th straight home game under John Calipari last night, sweeping aside Radford with ease.  Freshman point guard Marquis Teague had his most efficient game of the season with 13 points, five assists and — more importantly — just two turnovers.

Alabama 82, Alabama A&M 45

Like Tennessee and Kentucky, Alabama also feasted on a pre-Thanksgiving turkey.  Five players hit double-figures for the Tide as Bama won its 23rd home game in a row.

South Alabama 79, LSU 75

Trent Johnson’s team dropped to 3-3 on the year with a homecourt, overtime loss last night.  The Tigers have now lost to Coastal Carolina, Northwestern and South Alabama… none of which will help Johnson keep his job at the end of the season.

1. Jon Solomon: “When the NFL Draft rolls around next April, the SEC likely won’t have a quarterback taken in the first round for just the second time in the past 10 years.”

2. It’s time for Alabama fans to root for the underdogs.

Basketball Roundup:

3. Alabama 64 – North Florida 44.  21 in a row at home now for Anthony Grant’s team.

4. South Carolina 75 – Western Carolina 50. Coming off the bench, Brenton Williams gives the Gamecocks a spark.

5. Auburn 84 – McNeese State 62.  Larger margin of victory for Tigers than any win they had against a Division One opponent last season.

6. Georgia 62 – Wofford 49.  Team-high 15 points for freshman Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

7. Florida 99 – Jackson State 59.  Most lopsided season-opening win in Billy Donovan’s Florida career.

8. Tennessee 92 – UNC Greensboro 69.  Career-high 29 points for sophomore guard Trae Golden.

9. Kentucky 108 – Marist 58.  Nine-point halftime lead turns into a second-half blowout.

10. Vanderbilt 78 – Oregon 64.  18-0 run turns the game for the Commodores.

11. Arkansas 83 – South Carolina Upstate 63.  Despite 23 turnovers, The Mike Anderson era at Arkansas starts with a win.

12. Ole Miss 60 – Louisiana-Monroe 38.  Fewest points allowed by the Rebels in the Andy Kennedy era.

13. Mississippi State, 1-1 after losing to Akron this week,  faces South Alabama this afternoon.

14. LSU football game tonight – basketball game today.

Extras:

15. Should the NCAA start stripping away Joe Paterno victories?

16. The mysterious disappearance of Pennsylvania prosecutor Ray Gricar.