Nuttin' But Net: Houston Scores At Ole Miss

  One year after getting chased away from Arkansas, Houston Nutt has already earned a contract extension at Ole Miss. His 8-4 rookie season with the Rebels persuaded the school to lock him up through 2012, the maximum allowed by state law.

   The SEC is an unusual conference in that coaches routinely go from one school to another, sometimes with stops in between. So when jobs open up, rumors swirl about who in the family is getting hired. With Auburn, several SEC coaches have been mentioned, Nutt included. (Also, Bobby Petrino and Steve Spurrier, both unlikely transfers.)

   Mike Leach appears to be staying at Texas Tech, so the Tigers' wish list is being whittled by outside forces.

   Who do you think gets the Auburn gig?

   Of course, Tommy Tuberville is being linked to Mississippi State. Whoever winds up there will bring new coordinators, with both of the Bulldogs' headed for Clemson.

   Should Missy State look at Tuberville? If not, who? 

Rebels Are The Right Team For Cotton Bowl

   Even though Ole Miss roughed up LSU a week ago, you had to wonder if the SEC was sending its most qualified available team to the Cotton Bowl. Even in decline, the Tigers seemed more Dallas-ready than the Rebels.

   Never mind. With Ole Miss mauling Mississippi State on Friday, followed by the Tigers' collapse at Arkansas, it's clear that the Rebels are headed to the proper post-season destination. And LSU should be headed to a bottom-feeder bowl.

   LSU lost its last four league games. The only wins during that stretch were against Tulane and Troy, the latter a comeback from a 31-3 deficit.

   Quarterback problems haunted LSU all season, but this one falls on the defense. The Razorbacks' QB brotherhood of Nathan and Casey Dick rang up 31 points on the Tigers' defense.

   Anybody for Houston Nutt as coach of the year?

   What does that make Les Miles -- bust of the year?

Rebel Swell: Ole Miss Cottons To Big Bowl

The Cotton Bowl is no longer a top-tier postseason game. Still, Ole Miss could not have aspired higher at the dawn of the season.
Now, having stomped on a fallen-and-can't-get-up LSU on Saturday, the Rebels likely will be pickin' Cotton if they handle Mississippi State. Their resume is enhanced by the upset over Florida.
Could you have imagined Ole Miss excelling so quickly under first-year coach Houston Nutt?
Missy State's win over Arkansas reduces the SEC's bowl contenders to nine. Auburn gets the axe if it bows to Alabama.
The Kentucky-Vanderbilt loser will dip to 6-6 but, with bowl berths as plentiful as BCS bashers, probably will squeeze in before the door closes. The Commodores, who took two steps back in a beatdown from Tennessee, would be less than appealing because they would have gone 2-6 after a 4-0 start.
Where do you see your favorite team headed for the holidays?

Take A Breath, SEC Fans -- But Not A Deep One

   It's SEC lite this weekend, with only four games, none of any magnitude. But the three conference matchups carry fetching subplots and all, if the betting public knows its stuff, are anticipated to be close.

   --Vanderbilt, which has beaten Tennessee once in the last quarter-century, ranks as a three-point favorite. In between game-planning, Phil Fulmer has placed calls to colleagues for advice on his next coaching move. Here's some advice: Beat the Commodores and salvage a speck of football dignity from the season.

   Is this Vandy's year to start balancing out this one-sided rivalry?

  --LSU, not long ago in the national title discussion, is a mere three-point fave at home against resurgent Ole Miss. The Tigers' resurrection from near-death against Troy was impressive but it verified that LSU, with spotty QB play and an inconsistent defense, is second tier this year.

   Inconceivable at the start of the season, can the Rebels give LSU a run for the money?

   --Arkansas picked itself up after a dreadful start and is somehow a road favorite in the SEC, if only against Mississippi State (and by one point). Bobby Petrino has steered this young team into position for to contend next year in the SEC West. Well, for third place, maybe.

   Who wins this one?

Take a (Short) Breath This Weekend

   The SEC schedule is absent a blockbuster, can't-miss (unless you have a hot date) game. But one is alluring and three others significant.

   --South Carolina's Steve Spurrier returns to the Swamp with a decent bunch whose sole loss in the last six games was to LSU. He will combat Florida's raucous crowds by alternating quarterbacks, allowing the ol' ball coach to convey the play on the sidelines.

   Some staggering statistics speak to Florida's dominance in its past five outings. Here's one you may not have heard: In the first quarters, it's the Gators 80, opponents zero.

   On the subject of stats, the Gamecocks boast the league's primo defense. For Florida, that will be a red cape being waved in front of a bull.

   Do the 'Cocks have a chance?

   --Surprise: Alabama has been whupped two straight by Miss'ippi State. In their past three encounters, the Crimson Tide is without an offensive touchdown. Bama has locked up the SEC West title, but a defeat would shatter its national title aspirations.

   Is there any way Bama can lose?

   --Georgia can push Auburn to the brink of getting shut out from the bowls. The Tigers would dip to 5-6, with Bama left on the schedule. Now that Phil Fulmer is toast Tommy Tuberville is the only SEC coach whose job hands in jeopardy. 

   Should Tuberville be replaced if the Tigers go 5-7, or even 6-6?

   --The prize to the Kentucky-Vanderbilt winner is bowl eligibility, though the loser will get another chance. Each plays Tennessee later.

   Meantime, the Volunteers are idle -- officially. It only seems that they have been the past several weeks.

   Excited about a no-loss Saturday, Vol fans?

   --    

An Upset Special (Maybe)

   I don't look for an upsetting Saturday in the SEC. But no weekend ever fully plays to form, so let's look for a potential you-gotta-be-kidding-me outcome.

   In four of the five games, the home team is favored by at least a touchdown.

   Ole Miss over Alabama (favored by 12)? Nah. The Crimson Tide healed from a bye week, and the Rebels won't catch anyone by surprise again after ambushing Florida.

   Vanderbilt over Georgia (favored by 10 1/2)? The Commodores might feel insulted at being Georgia's homecoming foe for the 21st time, but that alone won't wake up a dormant offense. 

    Mississippi State over Tennessee (favored by 7 1/2)? Could be. But I sense the Volunteers rallying 'round the round-ish Philip Fulmer and winning one that they should.

   Arkansas over Kentucky (favored by 12 1/2)? Now we're talking. The young Razorbacks grew up at Auburn, and you know how kids can be affected by growth spurts. The Wildcats often fade this time of year when injuries compromise their depth, and they've suffered some biggies of late.

   Which game do you feel an upset coming?

   As for LSU-South Carolina, the visiting Tigers are 2 1/2-point favorites. I see them rebounding from the shameful game at Florida. The Gamecocks, who have won four straight but not in wow fashion.

   How do you call this one?  

3rd Weekend Lesson: Repeat After Me . . .

    LSU's aspirations of repeating as BCS championships were upgraded Saturday despite a desultory 34-24 win over Mississippi State. The Tigers emerged in the latest polls at No. 3 in AP and No. 2 in USA Today's. As I indicated earlier, Alabama has a better body of work, so I would put LSU at No. 3.

   What do you think: second or third for LSU?

   Just as the Tigers are moving up, so is their running back, Charles Scott, in the Heisman Trophy race. Especially with the candidacies of Florida's Tim Tebow and Georgia's Knowshon Moreno set back by their team's losses, Scott supporters can point to four 100-yard-plus rushing games while anchoring an offense with an undeveloped quarterback.

   How great is Scott? Where do you rank him in the Heisman hierarchy?

    

It's Not Them, It's Me

   Phil Fulmer and Sylvester Croom were reading from the same post-game script after their teams were taken to the woodshed Saturday. Both delivered the "blame me and not the players" post-mortem.

   OK, we will, especially Fulmer, the first SEC coach on the job security hot seat after a 30-6 shellacking from Florida. The Vols' offensive is invisible. In a brutally difficult league at a school with lofty expectations, many Tennessee fans have had their fill of Phil.

   What will it take for Fulmer to save his job?

   At Mississippi State, where the bar is lower, Croom is in no jeopardy (yet), but his Bulldogs were pushovers in a 38-7 drilling even though Georgia Tech lost its quarterback to injury in the first series.

   Croom's hiring, after he was passed over at Alabama, was widely hailed as the best thing for MSU. Can he win there consistently? Can anyone?   

SEC QBs: After The Big Two, Then Who?

   For as high and mighty a league as the SEC, its quarterbacks, top to bottom, comprise an unimpressive lot.

   Yeah, you've got Tim Tebow (Florida) and Matthew Stafford (Georgia), a pair of sure-fire pros. But after them . . . 

   WHO DO YA LOVE?: Kentucky and South Carolina have yet to throw their support behind one man. The Wildcats are doubling up with Mike Hartline and Randall Cobb; the Gamecocks have a threesome in Chris Smelley, Tommy Beecher and Stephen Garcia. Auburn chose Chris Todd over just last week, but Todd cannot feel too secure after the Tigers scored but three points.

   AND YOU ARE . . . ?: Andrew Hatch (LSU), Jevan Snead (Ole Miss) and Jonathan Crompton (Tennessee) are first-time starters still feeling their way around. None has yet to show any Tebow-ish or Stafford-ish skills.

   WINNER BY DEFAULT?: Chris Nickson (Vanderbilt) was demoted last season before resurfacing this year. Wesley Carroll (Mississippi State) started all but four games in '07 and leads a tepid MSU offense.

   BEST OF THE REST?: Casey Dick (Arkansas) has rung up decent numbers against two softies but is about to run smack-dab into a four-game stretch of frightening defenses. John Parker Wilson (Alabama) has shows a steady hand at Alabama, but that hand usually gives the ball to running backs.

   Tebow and Stafford and 10 (or more) take-'em-or-leave-'ems. That's how I see it.

   Who would you take, the Gator or the Bulldog. Beyond those two, who'd be your next pick?

   

     

Weird, wild stuff -- In-League Version

Three-two.
What is that? Sets won in a Nadal-Federer championship tennis match? The low-alcohol beer we used to makes runs to Ohio for? The last seconds of a NASA countdown to liftoff?
Nope. A football final, Auburn over Mississippi State. The Tigers' D was awesome, baby. But, come on, two fumbles in the late stages, both of which gave the Bulldogs a chance to win by the bizarr-o score of 5-3? Auburn ducked not just one bullet, but a fusilade.
Tigers coach Tommy Tuberville, as a former defensive coordinator, saw beauty where the rest of us saw ugly. Good D should be applauded, but critical turnovers and an anemic offense by a top 10 team might send Auburn fans to drink. And not 3.2 beer.
What say you, Tiger followers? Any worries?

Why The SEC is the Baddest-Ass League, Part 47

Thanks (or no thanks) to Kentucky, your finger-lickin' good SEC teams are 21-2 in non-league play. The spoilers: Wake Forest on an ultra-late field goal to shatter Ole Miss, Louisiana Tech on a small-school football clinic at Mississippi State.
Other than the Mildcats in Lexington, the SEC fraternity had it easy, though Vanderbilt was level with Rice at halftime before smelling the roses 38-21. LSU drilled North Texas State 41-3, Ole Miss sleep-walked over Samford 34-10 and Alabama gutted Western Kentucky 41-7.
A harsh spotlight was on Tennessee, tripped up in its previous game by UCLA. The Vols cut back on their "crapload of plays" from L.A., says wide recever Gerald Jones, and beat the crap out of UAB 35-3. UT would love a mulligan against the Bruins, which lost to BYU by something llike 123-0 Saturday. Or so it seemed.
Amid the non-league pushers, one figures to push back next week. Arizona State lures Georgia into the desert.
Concerned about the Sun Devils, Dawg fans?

Game of the Week II

Auburn running backs coach Eddie Gran, focusing this week on curtailing fumbles, described a drill thusly: "We knock the dog pee out of each other . . . "
Shouldn't it be Mississippi State -- the Bulldogs -- who are spilling canine urine?
Both teams step up in class in their Starkville showdown after two relatively tissue opponents apiece, though MSU did lose its opener at Louisiana Tech and Auburn was no great shakes against Southern Miss.
Motivation sides with the Tigers, stunned by MSU in Auburn last year. Tommy Tuberville has settled on a quarterback, Chris Todd, who has not exactly earned the gig clear-cut in the new spread offense that has yet to spread its wings.
MSU is no, uh, piss-ant, against Auburn and will hang tough but, well, pee-ter out at the end.