SEC Talk

Yes, the same school that brought you the phrase “Don’t Tase me, bro” at a speech by Sen. John Kerry in 2007, has another incident on it’s blotter.

Janoris Jenkins, 20-year old rising sophomore and starting cornerback on the University of Florida football team, was arrested over the weekend on misdemeanor charges of affray and resisting arrest without violence.

(I love this definition of “affray” from Wordnet: a noisy quarrel)

Fans of SEC football will definitely remember Jenkins from his stellar freshman season. He earned All-SEC freshman honors, and became only the second true freshman in Florida history to start at cornerback in his first game. Jenkins is out of Pahokee (Fla.) High School, where he was a part of three state titles in four years… and don’t forget the BCS title in his first year at UF. Championships follow this guy around.

The police were called to a reported street fight around 2 a.m. Saturday morning, and found Jenkins fighting about five others. When the police ordered everyone to stop, everyone kept fighting. The officer drew his Taser and again ordered the group to stop fighting, at which point everyone did… except Jenkins, who threw a punch at another guy’s head, and the officer hit him with the Taser.

After being hit with one “cycle” from the Taser, Jenkins got up and ran away, despite the police yelling at him to stop. He was later arrested about two blocks away from the scene, and he admitted he had been fighting.

(My favorite part is coming up)

Jenkins said he was fighting because he thought someone was trying to steal his chain.

Now I don’t know whether it was a bike chain, gold chain around his neck, or what. But whatever, it must have been some chain to be willing to get Tased over it!

One other note. If Jenkins was able to take a hit from a Taser, get up and run, what chance do SEC offenses have in running over him?

IN OTHER NEWS:

Four SEC baseball teams will head into the NCAA’s Super Regional action this weekend. LSU, Ole Miss, Florida and Arkansas have all advanced to the next round.

Here are times for this weekend’s action (all times are Eastern):

Series beginning on Friday, June 5 (the three game series will be played Friday, Saturday and Sunday (if needed))

Arkansas (37-22) at Florida State (45-16)
Friday: Noon (ESPN), Saturday: Noon (ESPN2), Sunday (if needed) Noon (ESPN)

Virginia (46-12-1) at Mississippi (43-18)
Friday: 2 p.m. (ESPN2), Saturday: Noon (ESPN2), Sunday (if needed) 3 p.m. (ESPN)

Rice (43-16) at No. 3 LSU (49-16)
Friday: 7 p.m. (ESPN), Saturday: 5 p.m. (ESPN), Sunday (if neede) 7 p.m. (ESPN2)

Series beginning on Saturday, June 6 (the three game series will be played Saturday, Sunday and Monday (if needed))

Southern Miss. (38-24) at No. 8 Florida (42-20)
Saturday: 3 p.m. (ESPNU), Sunday: 7 p.m. (ESPN2), Monday (if needed) 1/7 p.m. (ESPN/ESPN2)

As expected, former Kentucky head men’s basketball coach Billy Gillispie has sued the University for more than $6 million, arguing that while he never signed a contract, there was a “memorandum of understanding” between the coach and the UK Athletic Association, which fired him two years into a seven year contract.

UK released a statement claiming surprise, as they were in the midst of working out a settlement with Gillispie.

Now, I’m not a lawyer, agent or coach, but could someone please explain to me why there was no signed contract in the first place? I mean, “memorandum of understanding” or not, anyone in the coaching business should know the job is shaky enough, especially at a place with through-the-roof standards like UK.

So where was Gillispie’s agent in all of this? Isn’t his job to make sure all the i’s are dotted and the t’s are crossed so that this stuff isn’t even an issue?

And how could UK’s general counsel, way back in 2007, say that all the memorandum had all the “basic terms needed for an employment agreement, and can itself serve as the employment contract for the coach.”?

I don’t know who was fooling who in this scenario, and Gillispie sure deserves some sort of buyout… I mean, c’mon, firing a coach after two years? This was more about personality and opportunity than it was wins and losses.

But, sheesh… get a contract!

I wonder if Kentucky hoops coach John Calipari has been whistling “Everything Old is New Again” around the Commonwealth lately. Because the news from the NCAA regarding his tenure at Memphis must surely be leading him down Memory Lane.

Why? Seems Calipari’s former team, the University of Memphis has been served a “Notice of Allegations” by the NCAA, which prominently mention violations while Calipari was coach. Specifically, the charge reads that a student-athlete committed:

“knowing fraudulence or misconduct in connection with his entrance examination. Specifically, on (date redacted) an unknown individual completed (name redacted)’s SAT, with (name redacted)’s knowledge, which was used to obtain his admission into the institution” for the 2007-08 season.

In other words, (name redacted) had someone take his SAT exam in his place.

(Speculation has run amok that the offending player is Derrick Rose, who played only one season at Memphis.)

Now, if the charges are proved true, Memphis will be forced to forfeit the 38 wins they recorded that season (an NCAA record), and vacate the team’s NCAA Final Four appearance from that season.

Calipari has been down this path before. At UMass, his program was forced to forfeit wins as a result of NCAA violations. And, get this, UMass had to vacate the team’s Final Four appearance!

That’s right, folks. John Calipari is one of a precious few who have managed to take two schools to the NCAA Final Four, but he may become the first coach to have both of his team’s Final Four appearances vacated!

Now, lest you think the Bluegrass State is all tied up in knots over this news, fear not. Every blue-blooded Cats fan has rushed to the defense of Coach Cal. As they point out, he was never tied to the mess at UMass, nor has he been specifically named in the charges at Memphis. But coaches rarely are. They insulate themselves to the degree that they are borderline bullet-proof.

But if it happens on their watch, how can they claim to be that out of touch with the goings on of the program.

I’m not saying Calipari is guilty of anything, or of knowing anything. But at two coaching stops, his programs have been hit with major charges. Now he is in the pressure cooker known as Kentucky basketball. Winning isn’t enough. You have to win big. You have to win titles.

I hope that UK isn’t picking up the remnants of the Calipari years down the road.

Ok, I realize that just the other day I wrote about how things were slowing down in the SEC (Winding Down). After today’s events, I humbly take back that statement. In fact, if today’s news is any indicator, the off-season may be more interesting than anticipated.

Today let’s start with the goings on at the SEC coaches meetings, being held this week in Destin, Fla. Commissioner Mike Slive is none too happy with a few of the coaches. We all knew that Slive was unhappy, and was going to address the situation. But I think we underestimated just how unhappy the big guy was.

“I had all 5-foot-9, 175 pounds of me into every word I said. I can tell you that,” Slive said.

Reports say that Slive made eye contact with everyone in the room, forgoing the podium to walk around and make sure everyone was paying attention. And according to witnesses, Slive got the attention he wanted.

Perhaps the final nail in the coffin came just the day before, when South Carolina’s Steve Spurrier was told by a reporter, jokingly, that Lane Kiffin of Tennessee said he had never gotten an apology from the Old Ball Coach after Spurrier appeared to accuse Kiffin of illegally calling recruits prior to being hired at UT.

According to reports, Spurrier wheeled around and looked at Kiffin, who was waiting for an elevator, and said, “I didn’t accuse you of cheating. What I said was, ‘Was it permissible to call recruits before you were announced head coach and had taken the [recruiting] test?’ Now, you took the test online, and I didn’t even know you could do that. I thought you had to take the test on campus … and then start calling [recruits].”

Kiffin didn’t respond, although witnesses said he was red as a beet. Then the elevator doors opened and Kiffin, Spurrier, Kentucky’s Rich Brooks and Auburn’s Gene Chizik all piled in. As the doors closed, Spurrier again reiterated than he never said that Kiffin cheated.

Now let’s jump back to December. Here are Spurrier’s exact words:

“You’re supposed to have passed the NCAA test and be on board, I think. But maybe he was just calling him as an interested observer. I don’t know. But technically to be able to recruit you’re supposed to pass the NCAA test.

“I know when I was hired, after the press conference I took the test to qualify you to be a recruiter. I hadn’t taken it in three or four years. At that time I could start making calls. I don’t know if he was permitted to make that call or not. You’ll have to ask somebody else.”

Spurrier might not have come right out and screamed “CHEATER” at Kiffin, but I think the inference is pretty plain.

And, isn’t Steve Spurrier the same coach who enjoyed taking shots at other coaches while he was winning all those titles at Florida? Seems like age has thinned the Ole Ball Coach’s skin a bit.

At any rate, Spurrier marked his territory and attempted to reclaim alpha coach status in the SEC by allowing the media to goad him into confronting Kiffin.

The NCAA baseball tournament field was announced Monday, and eight teams from the SEC heard their names called.

Florida, LSU and Ole Miss all received top regional seeds, and will host. Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia and South Carolina earned #2 seeds, while Vanderbilt notched a #3 seed.

LSU earned the #3 seed overall nationally, while Florida is the 8th seed.

The NCAA baseball tournament field is made up of 64 teams. The top seeds are: #1 Texas (41-13-1), #2 Cal State Fullerton (42-14), #3 LSU (46-16), #4 North Carolina (42-16), #5 Arizona St. (44-12), #6 UC Irvine (43-13), #7 Oklahoma (41-18) and #8 Florida (39-20).

Listed below is the list of SEC teams in the tournament, the location of the regional and other teams in that regional:

Alabama (#2 Seed at Clemson Regional)
[#1 Clemson, #3 Oklahoma State, #4 Tennessee Tech]

Arkansas (#2 Seed at Oklahoma Regional)
[#1 Oklahoma, #3 Washington State, #4 Wichita State]

Florida (#1 Seed [No. 8 National Seed] in Gainesville Regional)
[#2 Miami (Fla.), #3 Jacksonville, #4 Bethune-Cookman]

Georgia (#2 Seed at Florida State Regional)
[#1Florida State, #3 Ohio State, #4 Marist]

LSU (#1 Seed [No. 3 National Seed] in Baton Rouge Regional)
[#2 Minnesota, #3 Baylor, #4 Southern University]

Ole Miss (#1 Seed in Oxford Regional)
[#2 Missouri, #3 Western Kentucky, #4 Monmouth]

South Carolina (#2 Seed at East Carolina Regional)
[#1 East Carolina, #3 George Mason, #4 Binghamton]

Vanderbilt (#3 Seed at Louisville Regional)
[#1 Louisville, #2 Middle Tennessee State, #4 Indiana]

Schedule for NCAA Regionals • 5/29-6/1

Friday, May 29
Game 1* No. 2 Seed vs. No. 3 Seed
Game 2* No. 1 Seed vs. No. 4 Seed

Saturday, May 30
Game 3 Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2
Game 4 Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2

Sunday, May 31
Game 5 Winner game 3 vs. Loser Game 4
Game 6 Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5

Monday, June 1
Game 7 Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 6 (If necessary)

I’ve been inundated by many of you asking which coaches are on Twitter, and what their addresses are, so your wish is my command.

First, however, you will need to set up a Twitter account. It’s free, it’s easy. Then you just do a search using Find People to add friends, relatives or NBA stars (Everyone in the NBA has a Twitter page. Everybody. Not sure how they find the time to play.)

Anyway, here are the Twitter acounts for SEC football and basketball coaches. You can add them to your “follow” list on Twitter, and get updates on your cell phone (your carrier’s standard text message fees apply). Or, you can just get the updates when you log into Twitter and save yourself from getting all those texts.

As you see, not all coaches are on Twitter (yet). To the best of my ability, I verified the Twitterer listed is actually the coach, not some imposter. And at South Carolina, Head Coach Steve Spurrier doesn’t twitter… he has turned those duties over to his son, Steve Jr., and I have listed his account.

I’ve also listed the number of “followers” for each coach, which is the number of people signed up to get each and ever tweet a coach puts out. John Calipari of UK outdistances his fellow coaches by a mile, with 93,279 followers. UK football coach Rich Brooks is second overall and leads all football coaches with 7,273 followers.

ALABAMA
Football: NickSabanALA (1,561 followers)
Basketball: Anthony Grant isn’t on Twitter

ARKANSAS
Football: bobbypetrino (358 followers)
Basketball: johnpelphrey (111 followers)

AUBURN
Football: Gene Chizik isn’t on Twitter
Basketball: Jeff Lebo isn’t on Twitter

FLORIDA
Football: CoachUrbanMeyer (3,864 followers)
Basketball: Billy Donovan isn’t on Twitter

GEORGIA
Football: MarkRicht (4,917 followers)
Basketball: Mark Fox isn’t on Twitter

KENTUCKY
Football: UKCoachBrooks (7,273 followers)
Basketball: UKCoachCalipari (93,279 followers)

LSU
Football: LSUCoachMiles (3,971 followers)
Basketball: Trent Johnson isn’t on Twitter

MISSISSIPPI
Football: HoustonNuttOM (155 followers)
Basketball: Andy Kennedy isn’t on Twitter

MISSISSIPPI STATE
Football: CoachDanMullen (1,035 followers)
Basketball: Rick Stansbury isn’t on Twitter

SOUTH CAROLINA
Football: coachspurrier (136 followers) *NOTE: This is not Head Coach Steve Spurrier, but his son Steve, also on the coaching staff at USC.
Basketball: Darrin Horn isn’t on Twitter

TENNESSEE
Football: LaneKiffinUT (6,615 followers)
Basketball: CoachBrucePearl (2,471 followers)

VANDERBILT
Football: Bobby Johnson isn’t on Twitter
Basketball: Kevin Stallings isn’t on Twitter

Things are starting to slow down in SEC-land these days. Spring sports are in their final days, campuses are emptying out, students are heading for the beach, most sports are in the “off” season… meaning they only work out six days a week instead of seven.

Catching up with what’s going on:

BASEBALL:
Second-ranked LSU (46-16) took the SEC baseball crown on Sunday, beating Vandy 6-2. Their reward? Hosting one of the NCAA’s 16 regionals this week. Other SEC schools hosting regionals are Florida and Ole Miss. The only conference hosting more regionals is the ACC, with four.

LSU’s Mikie Mahtook, freshman centerfielder, took MVP honors. Mahtook hit .454 with three rbi’s, two runs and 17 put outs.

The remainder of the NCAA tournament field will be announced Monday.

SOFTBALL:
The top-ranked Florida women’s softball team continues to cruise in the NCAA tournament. The Gators beat Cal in the Gainesville Super-Regional to advance to Oklahoma City, host of the Women’s College World Series. The Gators will take on 9th-seed Arizona on Thursday, May 28.

MEN’S TENNIS:
Tennessee’s 2nd-ranked doubles tennis team of John-Patrick Smith and Davey Sandgren have advanced to Monday’s NCAA title match, after defeating Auburn’s Tim Puetz and Alexey Tsyrenov, 6-4 6-2, in a match marked by a two hour rain delay midway through the contest. Smith and Sandgren will take on Virginia’s Dominic Inglot and Michael Shabaz Monday at 11 a.m. in the title match.

The duo is seeking to become Tennessee’s first national championship doubles team since 1980, when Rodney Harmon and Mel Purcell brought the title back to Knoxville.

Say one thing for Lane Kiffin, the Univ. of Tennessee’s new football coach. He sure has livened things up in Knoxville.

First, he went after the ole’ ball coach Steve Spurrier, then accused Florida’s Urban Meyer of cheating. Then he took things up a notch and insulted an entire town, Pahokee, Fla., resulting in Kiffin and his assistants being banned from recruiting there (they have all since kissed and made up).

And now he has twittered his way into a minor NCAA infraction.

Twitter is a social messaging utility that allows users to “tweet” a sentence or two about what they are doing. Additionally, it allows others to follow each other by subscribing to get updates when they are posted. Twitter has become incredibly popular in the sports world. In fact, Shaq has more than one million followers.

Coaches have latched onto the service as a way to stay in touch with recruits as well as fans. Being the dutiful blogger I am, I have subscribed to every SEC coach that twitters (and that is most of them). Lest you think there is anything exciting being posted, I assure you there isn’t. Lots of weather reports (it’s a gorgeous day here in Oxford/Tuscaloosa/Gainesville/Athens/etc.) and booster club reports (ya’ll come on out!).

Nothing exactly newsworthy coming out of those posts… that is until Lane Kiffin signed on.

As I was in my car the other day, my phone beeped. I checked and had a “tweet” from Kiffin. It said:

“It’s a beautiful day in Knoxville, Tennessee today. I was so exited to hear that J.C. Copeland committed to play for the Vols today!”

My first thought? I’ve just witnessed an NCAA violation.

You see, coaches and representatives of a university cannot comment on an athlete by name until he or she has signed the national letter of intent. Kiffin had a similar run-in last February, when he commented on prospect Bryce Brown on a radio broadcast. He had been reprimanded. So we know that he knows the rule.

Yet here he was again, commenting on a recruit.

AD Mike Hamilton immediately backtracked on behalf of his coach. He released a statement claiming that the post had been “made by a newly hired assistant to Kiffin who didn’t consult UT’s compliance office before making the post.”

Ok, that alone is troubling. What I’m hearing is that a grad assistant in his first day or two on the job was allowed to send a message that went to thousands of fans, media and recruits, in the name of the head coach.

The infraction, which Tennessee self-reported, is secondary, and no punitive action is expected. But it leaves me to wonder: with all that has occurred in Knoxville since Phillip Fulmer was unceremoniously shown the door, what’s next?

One thing is for sure… Life with Lane won’t be boring

Hi folks, welcome to the new SEC Talk Online blog!

The site has been on hiatus for awhile… a long while… but we are back and hope to be better than ever!

I am the new writer here. My name is Linda, and yes, I am a woman. But don’t let my gender scare you off! I have worked in athletics at several major universities, and cut my teeth on SEC football as a child. Just within my own family, we cover more than half of the SEC, which makes for some interesting talk over Thanksgiving turkey.

My husband, God bless him, comes out of the Big 10. To his credit, after only one season, um, I mean year of marriage, he discovered what we here in the south know:

The Southeastern Conference Rules!

So as we get going with this blog, we’ll cover wins and losses of course. We’ll keep up with stats, and who leads what category. But we’ll also stay on top of what’s happening, from coaches who twitter (are you listening, Lane Kiffin?) to recruiting to players off the field.

Leave your comments, tell me what you want to read about, or a topic you want to know more about. We’re here… all SEC, all the time!

Carroll helped MSU to the Liberty Bowl victory.

Well, what I had hoped would come true, came true. The Bulldogs managed to stop the NCAA’s top rusher in UCF running back Kevin Smith, limiting Kevin to just 119 yards on 35 carries. It was a tremendous defensive performance and I want to congratulate the entire Mississippi fanbase on their great win today.

If you think about what Mississippi Bulldogs coach Sylvester Croom was able to do this year. After getting absolutely dominated by LSU in Week 1, and to come back, go 8-5 on year and win a bowl game. What a tremendous job by Croom and the Bulldogs. They built the team on defense because they didn’t have many playmakers on offense, and it was the defense that came up huge today in the win. Sometimes football isn’t pretty, there were few big plays to be had all day today, but the plays that were made were on defense and the Bulldogs came up with a key drive late in the game to cap it off. When the Knights tried to go to the air, the Bulldogs shut that down as well.

So looking forward to next year, the Bulldogs are a really young team, they only had 14 seniors this year. With the incredible success they had this year including the Liberty Bowl win today, Sylvester Croom will have a great chance at bringing in all that great Mississippi football talent. This is a team on the rise, if they get a few more playmakers on offense, watch out for MSU, they will be a college football force in the SEC for sure.

Mississippi St, Liberty Bowl

Moreno looks to roll over Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl.

Hawaii Warriors 12-0 (8-0), 1st Western Athletic
VS
Georgia Bulldogs 10-2 (6-2), 1st Southeastern - East

In a game that resembles the Boise St. vs Oklahoma game last year, the Hawaii Warriors play the role of the underdog undefeated team taking on a Georgia Bulldogs team that feels they should be in the National Championship but must settle with a BCS bowl in the Sugar Bowl. With the game being played in New Orleans on New Year’s Day, all the advantages appear to go to the Bulldogs. Perhaps that’s why the Bulldogs are a 7.5 point favorite over the Warriors.

The tenth ranked Warriors head into the Sugar Bowl just happy to be part of a BCS game. True, they went 12-0 but they didn’t really play anyone. In fact, their only win over a ranked team was over Boise St. who isn’t nearly as good as they were last year. In fact, they’ve struggled to beat some mediocre teams like Washington, Nevada and Louisiana Tech. The Warriors are led by outstanding quarterback Colt Brennan who was a Heisman candidate this year. Brennan has a great arm and has played well all year long.

The fourth ranked Bulldogs aren’t just happy to be at the Sugar Bowl, they want to pound the heck out of Hawaii to show the BCS committee they made a mistake by not choosing Georgia. Heading into bowl season, no team has been playing better than Georgia, winning six straight games over teams like Florida, Auburn and Kentucky. Led by bruising redshirt freshman Knowshon Moreno on the ground and the steady quarterback play of Matthew Stafford.

I like the Bulldogs in this game running away. Hawaii hasn’t played a team like the Bulldogs all year, plus the added travel will be a factor. I expect the Bulldogs to pound the ball with Knowshon who is my MVP of the game. Georgia wins 35-14.

Sugar Bowl, Georgia

Tebow looks for another dominating performance.

Michigan Wolverines 8-4 (6-2), 2nd Big Ten
VS
Florida Gators 9-3 (5-3), 3rd Southeastern - East

Heading into the Capital One Bowl in Orlando, Florida on New Years Day, the Florida Gators appear to have the upper hand all the way. First off is the coaching situation at Michigan, Lloyd Carr will coach his last game for Michigan at the Capital One Bowl after announcing his resignation earlier. Incoming coach Rich Rodriguez will be watching from perhaps a box seat in the stands. Then you have the Heisman winner Tim Tebow leading the Gators against the Michigan team that has had problems with the spread all year. Finally, with the Capital One Bowl being playing in Orlando and just a stones throw away from Gainesville, home of the Gators, you can easily see why the Gators are a 10.5 point favorite over the Wolverines.

So much was expected of Michigan to begin the year. Almost all the pundits had them in a BCS game. All of that changed Sat. Sep 1, the first game of the year when Div 1AA Appalachian State shocked the Wolverines in the Big House no less. The Wolverines struggled against the spread offense and would continue to struggle against Oregon’s spread the next week. Credit to the Wolverines though, they battled through and rattled off 8 straight wins, but perhaps the distractions of the coaching situation got the best of them in the final 2 weeks of conference play losing to Wisconsin then Ohio State. The Wolverines still possess one of the nation’s better offenses in Seniors Chad Henne and Mike Hart.

The Gators were all about outstanding sophomore Tim Tebow this season. The Heisman winner was simply electrifying setting all kinds of SEC records for rushing touchdowns and passing touchdowns. The Gators would be playing in a BCS, perhaps even defending their National Championship if it weren’t for a bad stretch of 1-3. Though all three of those losses were against the SEC’s best in LSU, Georgia and Auburn. The Gators prolific offense under Tebow was a constant threat to score from the first whistle racking up 66 total touchdowns.

Florida’s spread offense will cause all kinds of problems for Michigan. Though Lloyd Carr has had a bunch of time to prepare, he simply doesn’t have the athletes on defense to matchup. This game should be over by half, I’m predicting a 44-21 win for the Gators.

Capital One Bowl, Florida

McFadden tries to go out with a bang.

Missouri Tigers 11-2 (7-1), 1st Big 12 - North Division
VS
Arkansas Razorbacks 8-4 (4-4), 3rd Southeastern - West

The Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas on New Years Day has many interesting storylines heading into the matchup. Perhaps the biggest story surrounding either team involves Bobby Petrino who made a highly controversial move by bolting from the Atlanta Falcons mid-season to take the vacated head coaching job at Arkansas following Houston Nutt’s departure. The most interesting part is that Petrino will not be on the sidelines, defensive coordinator Reggie Herring will be. The other big storyline heading into the matchup is the battle of Heisman candidates, Missouri’s quarterback Chase Daniel and Arkansas’ running back Darren McFadden.

The seventh ranked Missouri Tigers would have been playing for the national championship had they beaten Oklahoma in either of their 2 meetings this season. Perhaps Missouri would be playing for the national championship had the Big 12 not mandated they play the conference championship game that other conferences such as the PAC10 do not have. In any case, the Tigers come into the game as one of the most prolific passing teams in the country. Chase Daniel has been simply sensational finishing with a total of 33 touchdowns in 13 games.

The 25th ranked Arkansas Razorbacks have had an up and down season all year but ended their regular season on a high note by beating then number one ranked LSU in a dramatic 50-48 overtime shootout. Heisman candidate and runner up Darren McFadden was simply unstoppable. After a slow start to the season, McFadden turned up his play in the latter half and by all accounts should be the first overall pick in the NFL’s entry draft next spring. McFadden had some monster games this season, including a 321 yard game in the win over South Carolina and a 206 yard game in that big win over LSU.

What will be the determining factor in this game will be Missouri’s ability to contain Darren McFadden. If Arkansas can pound McFadden for 5 or more yards per carry, Missouri’s high-octane passing attack won’t even have a chance to get on the field. My guess is that Missouri can’t stop McFadden in what will be his last college football game of his career, Razorbacks in a close 41-35 win.

Cotton Bowl, Arkansas

Tuberville leads the Tigers to Atlanta

Clemson Tigers 9-3 (5-3), 2nd Atlantic Coast - Atlantic
VS
Auburn Tigers 8-4 (5-3), 2nd Southeastern - West

The Chick-fil-A Bowl in Atlanta at the Georgia Dome on Dec. 31, New Years Eve, should be a great game. Clemson heads into the game as the fifteenth ranked team in the nation while Auburn is 22nd in the nation. It’s the battle of both Tigers. There has been a lot of recent battles between these two storied college football programs over the past ten years. For Auburn though, they’ve been on the winning side claiming 12 straight over the Tigers of Clemson.

Clemson is building off the momentum of two very strong seasons. And they hope to carry that through to next year as coach Terry Bowden will carry 18 starters from this years team. After a couple of disappointing losses to Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech, the Tigers stormed back winning 5 of 6 to get into the Chick-fil-A bowl. The Tigers relied on a stingy defense to limit their opponents to just 22 touchdowns over the entire season. That defense could be tested New Year’s Eve though, as 2 starters were ruled academically ineligible due to poor academics.

Auburn comes into the game brimming with confidence with their 8-4 record in the tough SEC. Add the fact that Tommy Tuberville is safely a Tiger for the foreseeable future, nothing would be sweeter than a win on New Year’s Eve. After 2 early losses to a decent South Florida team and a surprising Mississippi St. team, the Tigers made good the rest of the way losing only to LSU and Georgia. There was also the close win over Florida in October. Like Clemson, Auburn relied on their defense to win games and will do so again on New Years Eve. In fact, Auburn’s defensive team stats are nearly identical to Clemson with 22 touchdowns allowed and 119 rushing yards allowed.

The game will no doubt be a low scoring defensive battle. Turnovers, special teams will all play a major factor in the game. Clemson is a 2.5 point favorite according to the Vegas line. I actually like Auburn to win, they have that 12 straight winning streak over Clemson and have traditionally played well at the Georgia dome. My pick is Auburn 10-7.

Auburn, Chick-fil-A Bowl

Andre Woodson looks for a repeat Music City Bowl winning performance.

Kentucky Wildcats 7-5 (3-5), 4th Southeastern - East
VS
Florida State Seminoles 7-5 (4-4), 4th Atlantic Coast - Atlantic

The Music City Bowl in Nashville Tennessee on New Year’s Eve is going to a huge wildcard this year. That is because a major academic scandal involving 36 players from the Florida State football team will be ineligible to play. It’s one of the biggest academic scandals of its kind leaving the Seminoles devastated heading into the bowl game.

Though it would appear that Kentucky has the game in the bag going in, the Wildcats have not played their best football in the second half of the season. After winning five straight games to start the season, the Wildcats finished off 2007 with a 2-5 record. Though, many of the losses came against top SEC teams in Florida, Tennessee and Georgia, after their stunning upset of LSU, many expected the Wildcats to be in a BCS bowl game come January. For senior quarterback Andre Woodson, this will be his second appearance at the Music City Bowl, after leading the Wildcats to the victory last year over Clemson. Woodson who was an early Heisman candidate is expected to be first round draft pick in next year’s NFL entry draft.

To say that the Seminoles are in disarray would be huge understatement. Coach Bobby Bowden has just 43 scholarship players traveling to the game. The most devastated part of the lineup will be on the defensive side of the ball. A starting linebacker, cornerback and 3 defensive tackles will not be with the team. With an offense that scored just 24 touchdowns the entire season over 12 games, coach Bowden is hoping that they can buck the trend on gameday.

The line for the game is OTB, or off the board as they say in Vegas. With all the recent turmoil over players suspended and who will be and who won’t be playing, it’s hard to put a line, suffice to say that Kentucky will be a big favorite heading in. The gameplan for the Seminoles pre-suspensions was to slow the air attack of Woodson and Kentucky. Now that most of his best defensive players will not be there, the Seminoles will look to grind out ground yards 3 at a time and try to maintain possession of the ball. If the Wildcats manage to score 3 or more touchdowns, they will win the game running away.

Kentucky, Music City Bowl