SB Nation - Mississippi St. Bulldogs

Bumphis, Banks On Top Ten True Freshman List

jeremyflint — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 16:36:57 -0000

ESPN SEC Blogger Chris Low put out his list of the top 10 true freshmen in the SEC this past year. Chad Bumphis and Jonathan Banks both made the list.

5. Chad Bumphis, WR, Mississippi State: Started in six games and led the Bulldogs in catches (32), receiving yards (375) and receiving touchdowns (4). Also had a rushing touchdown and returned kickoffs and punts.

8. Johnthan Banks, CB, Mississippi State: Started in seven games and tied for second on the team with four interceptions, which led all SEC true freshmen. He intercepted Tim Tebow twice in the Florida game and returned both for touchdowns.

Rumormill: Torbush to Kansas, Hudspeth talking to ULM

jeremyflint — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 23:20:22 -0000

After what most are calling a successful first year at the helm of the Mississippi State football program, Dan Mullen may soon be on the hunt again to replace at least 2 assistant coaches.

Multiple sources (Kansas City Star, Denver Post) are reporting that defensive coordinator Carl Torbush will be announced as the new defensive coordinator at Kansas, coaching under Turner Gill. I am not sure what the connection is here. Gill and Torbush haven't crossed paths anywhere in their coaching careers, other than both being assistants for colleges in Texas. It looks like Gill is trying to build up a veteran staff around him.

Footballscoop.com is reporting rumors that Mark Hudspeth has spoken with the AD at Louisiana-Monroe about their head coaching vacancy. There are also several other names associated with that coaching search.

Mississippi State vs. UCLA Linkage

jeremyflint — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 14:47:55 -0000

More photos » by Chris O'Meara - AP

4 days ago: Mississippi State guard Barry Stewart (22) goes up for a shot over DePaul guard Michael Bizoukas (0) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Thursday, Dec. 10, 2009, in Tampa, Fla. Mississippi State won the game 76-45. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Browse more photos »

The men's basketball team is out in California today and will be facing off against the UCLA Bruins in the Wooden Classic. Tip-off is at 3:30 pm CT and will be televised on Fox Sports. Here are a few links talking about today's matchup.

The L.A. Times previews the game and also talks about the status of Reeves Nelson after his injury (eye) against the Jayhawks last week.

Mississippi State's Jarvis Varnado, a 6-9 forward, leads the nation with 5.3 blocks a game.

But Howland said his team will face other problems when it comes to the Bulldogs' defense.

"They are long and athletic," he said. "They can get out and pressure you, get after you. They get after the ball."

Mississippi State has held opponents to 38.7% shooting this season.

The NEMS Daily Journal gives a little bit of info as well.

Thursday Night Dawg Bites: Charlie Strong Moves On, a Congressman Makes Georgia Proud, and Clay Travis Breaks a Table (Metaphorically)

T Kyle King — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 03:54:39 -0000

You all know where my focus has been this week, but there has been much afoot elsewhere in the blogosphere and I wanted to direct your attention to the best of it in case you might have missed some of the more noteworthy nuggets. For your edification, these are they:

". . . And to the zoo with Georgia Tech?" I hate it that the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets are going to ~~a good~~ any bowl game, but at least they’re facing the Iowa Hawkeyes, which means they’re being subjected to the righteous and hilarious wrath of the guys who started an Iowa weblog because they thought what Orson Swindle’s sense of humor lacked was a sufficient appreciation for the sublimely profane and hysterically absurd. Take it away, Black Heart Gold Pants!

There’s a joke from the movie "Airplane" about how Louisville likes its coffee to be made here, but I’m not going to make it. Stop me if you’ve heard this one, but Charlie Strong is the new head coach of the Louisville Cardinals. Speaking as someone whose alma mater’s offense has spent the last decade or so being stymied by the defenses fielded by Coach Strong at one SEC East rival or another, I can say this day is long overdue, and say so both selfishly and appreciatively. U. of L. got itself a quality head coach, and, while we have to think the Florida Gators (who lost a step after losing their offensive coordinator to the Mississippi St. Bulldogs, and who likely will lose another after losing their defensive coordinator and Tim Tebow in one fell swoop) are due to fall back to the pack a bit in 2010, I don’t like the fact that both we and they are looking to hire defensive coordinators at the same time.

Kid Rock plans to steal this headline for his next album. Speaking of new head coaching hires, the SB Nation headline of the week clearly was the one atop Gobbler Country’s report on the hiring of Mike London by the Virginia Cavaliers. You just don’t get enough Warren Zevon references anymore. By the way, if I ever come up to the plate for an at-bat in Turner Field, I will have them play "Lawyers, Guns, and Money" over the PA system. The foregoing sentence contains the single most useless piece of information I have ever shared with you, and that is saying something.

Where Lane Kiffin blows smoke, there’s fire. Don’t get me wrong; Clay Travis is a friend of mine, at least according to Facebook. However, when he undertook to demonstrate the ephemeral nature of the allegations against the Tennessee Volunteers in a detailed twelve-point exegesis, it seemed to me---and also, apparently, to C&F---that he protested too much. (Also, the headline was a bit sophomoric. If you’re going to go suggestive, why not go with "NCAA Suggests Term ‘Hostesses’ Ends With Six Superfluous Letters"?) Clay is a graduate of Vanderbilt’s law school, so he is familiar with this axiom: "When the law is against you, argue the facts; when the facts are against you, argue the law; when both are against you, pound the table." We are now taking donations to buy Clay Travis a new table, because he just reduced his old one to kindling.

Giving a player I root for an award named for a guy who coached at Auburn, Clemson, and Georgia Tech is like giving David Frum an award bestowed by Iran, Iraq, and North Korea. Who should win the Heisman? The better question is, "Why should you care?" The answer is: "You shouldn’t." This has been a public service announcement.

Here’s a hint: the best candidate was once the victim of an inadvertent ethnic slur from the mouth of Jill Arrington, back in the pre-Erin Andrews days when Jill Arrington was the hottest thing stalking (or being stalked on) a sideline. If you haven’t yet voted for David Pollack as the defensive lineman of the decade, do so right now. If you want to bring along a few recently deceased citizens from Telfair County in alphabetical order, more power to you.

I have a hard time believing Aaron Murray wouldn’t have done at least as well. I was impressed with this at first, but then I realized that there’s nothing worthwhile about being third in any category in which Jonathan Crompton ranks fourth.

As a believer in limited government, I once supported the election of a horse to the legislature, secure in the knowledge that he would vote "nay" on everything. I have abandoned politics (except as it relates to football, of course), so, in the spirit of bipartisanship that can only arise from the ambivalence of a former political science major who now recognizes that there is a reason why the Sugar Bowl happens four times more frequently than the Iowa caucuses, I am pleased to add a second name to the list of Georgia Congressmen whom I endorse. (Oddly enough, this happens at the same time that objective journalists are endorsing my candidacy for the U.S. Senate, an office I am not seeking.) You already knew that Representative Jack Kingston (R.-Ga.) was a great American; now you know that Representative John Barrow (D.-Ga.) is one, too. As their distinguished colleague, Representative Corrine Brown (D.-Fla.), would have put it, Congressmen Barrows and Kingstey are superb to all other legislator.

Why they didn’t wait on the bloggers’ ballots before computing the final BCS standings, I have no idea. The final regular-season BlogPoll has been posted and the Alabama Crimson Tide squeaked by with 77 of 78 first-place votes to become the nation’s new No. 1 team. I received some gentle chiding in the "Wack Ballot Watchdog" rundown and was the runner-up for the designation "Mr. Bold," which went to the one guy who voted for the Texas Longhorns in the top spot.

In closing, I would like to recount a conversation had between two friends of mine as we walked to Sanford Stadium for the 1997 Georgia-Auburn game. It was not the coldest Georgia-Auburn game I have ever attended---1995 still takes the top spot in that competition---but it was plenty cold and one of the fellows had been drinking heavily. The one who had been drinking heavily said he was warmer because he’d been drinking heavily. The one who hadn’t been drinking said, "Actually, alcohol doesn’t make you warmer, it just makes you feel warmer." The one who had been drinking heavily gave the one who hadn’t been drinking a hard time over that statement, and he has continued to do so in the twelve years since, but I believe it applies here as well; viz., this posting may not have made you more well-informed, but it should have made you feel more well-informed. In a season of looking at the glass as half-empty, that ought to suffice.

Go ‘Dawgs!

Final USA Today Poll Sorted by State, Conference, & Results

BirdGT — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 17:00:17 -0000

Fifty nine coaches vote in the Coaches' Poll. Paul Johnson doesn't vote in the poll so we take the poll's result as little to no meaning. However, there are some interesting trends in the USA Today Poll concerning GT's final regular season ranking of #10. I sorted all of the coaches by state, conference, and whether or not they played GT this season.

First and foremost, the best friends and worst enemies of GT are interestingly SEC coaches. Rich Brooks and his Kentucky squad rallied to beat a foundering Georgie squad. Then, he watched Tech struggle defensively against that same preteen offense. Rich Brooks voted us #15, the lowest vote received in the poll. Dan Mullen witnessed the firepower of a fully operational battle station. He, alongside Navy's Ken Niumatalolo, voted Tech at #7. So, using Dan's vote and 6 other opponents of Tech's, we see an average vote of 9.57th place. Non-opponents of Tech averaged 10.50th place. Obviously, we impressed Dan Mullen. Only Coach Cut and CMR voted us lower than 10th (both at 11).

The above table shows conference affiliation, number of voters, number of teams in the conference, number of votes/team (relative conference voting power), and the average vote given to GT. Breaking down the votes, we see Navy and Charlie the Chocolate Factory shooting the independent vote up super high. Naturally, the ACC brethren were second place. Our West Coast buddies that haven't seen a GT game all year have us ranked super low.

The breakdown by state kinda shows a little bit of West Coast negative bias. It doesn't make much since as the last Western teams CPJ faced were Air Force Academy and maybe Stanford. You'd think the West Coast would love shootouts since that's what they live and die for. Generally speaking, there aren't enough points to really draw conclusions. I just like looking at who's voting for who and the politics of the USA Today poll.

Another interesting concept is regional and conference voting power. The most powerful conference-affiliated voters are the MAC and WAC, which I find interesting. Their conference has the most votes/teams, which would mean you'd wanna schedule and beat WAC teams to reinforce your Coaches' Poll standings. Votes/state teams is not nearly as important because generally teams lean towards their own conference not their home state (e.g. CMR keeping UF at #3 despite their crushing loss to UAT).

Georgia Bulldogs to Face Texas A&M Aggies; 'Bama-Texas Set As Expected

T Kyle King — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 01:26:51 -0000

First things first . . . the national championship game has been set, and, as expected, it will pit the Alabama Crimson Tide against the Texas Longhorns. Put another way, it will pit Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart, a member of the University of Georgia graduating class of 1999, against Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp, a member of the University of Georgia graduating class of 1995. Clearly, the lesson of this college football season is that the key to winning a national championship is putting your defense in the hands of someone who graduated from the University of Georgia in the 1990s. (For the record, I received a B.A. from the University of Georgia in 1990 and a J.D. from the University of Georgia in 1997. My resume and references are available upon request.)

As always, there is some controversy regarding the two teams picked to compete for the final No. 1 ranking. Let’s ask Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow what he thinks of the Alabama-Texas matchup. Tim?

Thank you, Tim. For the record, here is a list of the most recent years in which each of the twelve teams in the SEC went undefeated:

Auburn Tigers: 2004
Tennessee Volunteers: 1998
Alabama Crimson Tide: 1992
Georgia Bulldogs: 1980
Arkansas Razorbacks: 1964
Mississippi Rebels: 1962
LSU Tigers: 1958
Vanderbilt Commodores: 1944
Mississippi St. Bulldogs: 1940
Florida Gators: 1911
South Carolina Gamecocks: 1907
Kentucky Wildcats: 1898

I’m just saying.

Closer to home, the news was as expected: Georgia will go to the Independence Bowl to face the Texas A&M Aggies. The game will be played on ESPN2 at 5:00 p.m. on Monday, December 28.

Go ‘Dawgs!

The Obligatory Predictions Competition - Week 14

Law Buckeye — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 19:25:08 -0000

So, it all comes down to this. Seattle Hawkeye leads by a comfortable 12 points. Like Charlie Weis's late game instructions to his defense to let Stanford score the go ahead touchdown so that the Irish could get the ball back with time on the clock, the smart thing to do here is to go for upset points and hope for the impossible. If Pitt upsets Cincinnati, Alabama upsets Florida, Clemson upsets Georgia Tech and Seattle Hawkeye does what I expect him to do, and gets more conservative than Jim Tressel with a two touchdown lead, you just might pull it off.

Then again, perhaps you'd rather stick to your gut, and play for second or third place. After all, if this season continues its annoying upsetless ways, your "balls to the wall" ballot might blow up in your face, dropping you to the second tier of the standings.

On the other hand, what if Seattle Hawkeye anticipates the upset strategy, and hedges his bets by picking an upset or two, and buttoning things up the rest of the way? Then, it would appear, you're better off following Vegas and playing straight probabilities, hoping his upsets don't materialize and you catch a lucky break in the form of a perfect margin of victory.

For that matter, when should you enter your picks? Are you brazen enough to show your cards right away, or rather, will you try to snipe the contest eBay-style, publishing your picks mere minutes before Saturday's 11:00 a.m. (EST) deadline? It's certainly to Seattle Hawkeye's advantage to do so. But, then (of course) there's the risk of an unforeseen complication (internet outage, memory lapse, alarm clock failure etc.) that results in you missing the deadline.

I can think of at least seven people that wouldn't be too broken up if Seattle Hawkeye didn't show up at all this week.

The winner of the regular season Obligatory Predictions Competition will be announced next week.

Choose wisely.

1. No. 5 CINCINNATI at No. 15 PITTSBURGH, 12:00 p.m. EST (12/5), ABC

GRAHAMFILLER10 predicts CINCINNATI by 10

Cinci sports a monster passing game with a defensive unit shaped like a sieve. Pitt has a two headed monster for a run game, with the turnover prone Bill Stull at quarterback. During the Pitt-WVU game, ESPN showed the Stull family standing on their own private porch about 200 yards from the field of play - according to Lisa Salters, the family was sick of the constant barrage of insults directed at Stull from the Pitt faithful. That doesn't sound like home field advantage to me.

LAW BUCKEYE predicts CINCINNATI by 10

On December 1st, 2007 No. 2 West Virginia faced unranked Pittsburgh as 28 point favorites, with a bid to the national championship game on the line. Pat White injured his thumb, the Panthers ran the ball out the back of their own endzone (taking the clock with it), and two weeks later Rich Rodriguez belonged to Michigan. True, even with a victory, Cincinnati wil need some unlikely assistance to climb unto the BCS National Championship Game. But the stakes in this one feel errily similar to that cold December night in Morgantown.

Pittsburgh revealed some schematic chinks in its armor in last's week's loss to West Virginia, particularly quarterback Bill Stull's overall decision making. The Panther's rushing attack, led by Freshman Dion Lewis, finds success early, but the long, laborious marching is overshadowed out by a simple truth: no one has figured out how to slow Cincinnati down on offense.

2. FRESNO STATE vs. ILLINOIS, 12:30 p.m. EST (12/5), Big Ten Network

GRAHAMFILLER10 predicts FRESNO STATE by 7

Balanced Bulldogs versus revitalized Juice Williams in his final game. This game has points written all over it. FSU gets an early lead behind their balanced attack and hangs on.

LAW BUCKEYE predicts ILLINOIS by 10

It took 9 weeks, but the Illini finally found an offense against Cincinnati. Nice going Ron. Keep it up!

2. THE SEC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME, No. 1 FLORIDA vs. No. 2 ALABAMA, 4:00 p.m. EST (12/5), CBS

GRAHAMFILLER 10 predicts FLORIDA by 7

The two best defenses in the country match up while CBS explodes into little bitty pieces out of sheer excitement. Verne Lundquist climaxes 13 times before kickoff before smoking a cigarette and taking a nap through the first half. Tebow leads a FG drive early, using his superpowers to gain the skills of Bo Jackson from Tecmo bowl, Jesus, and Tweeter from Varsity Blues. Alabama comes back quickly with a field goal, their players feeling relaxed from not attending a single class the entire semester. Urban Meyer's ingenious playcalling peaks with a triple reverse touchdown run by Demps, who gets three key blocks from Brandon Spikes, and by blocks I mean he literally kills three Alabama tacklers using broken beer bottles and a whipsaw. Lundquist wakes up again, sees the blood and excitement, climaxes again and falls asleep. Florida leads by 7 with a minute remaining but the game is canceled because, in a shocker, Nick Saban takes the Notre Dame head coaching position, stating that "42 million a year is what it's all about, not championships, or golden buildings."

LAW BUCKEYE predicts ALABAMA by 7

The "re-match" quality of the game of the regular season, does a disservice to the Crimson Tide who are a heck of a lot better now than they were a year ago. Sure, Auburn played them close. How many teams did that to Florida? (Tennessee, LSU, Arkansas, Mississippi State...)

As if suspended DE Carlos Dunlap needed another reason not to drive drink, it's the one he'll learn standing on the sidelines watching Greg McElroy take advantage of the precious extra seconds he gains in the pocket to find Julio Jones on deep routes. Jones, a Freshman force who slipped off the radar for parts of this season, is peaking at just the right time.

But what about Tebow? I think he plays marvelous, but just like his scripted hero "jump pass" that fell incomplete last week in Gainesville, a career full of superlatives falls short just once. Everyone's human, after all.

3. DR. PEPPER BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP GAME, No. 3 TEXAS vs. No. 22 NEBRASKA, 8:00 p.m. EST (12/5), ABC

GRAHAMFILLER10 predicts TEXAS by 17

Nebraska's surprisingly stout defense (4th in the nation in scoring defense) does a great job stopping the run. Texas, with their uber-effective passing offense, will sacrifice the run and settle for 400 yards passing and a trip to the title game.

LAW BUCKEYE predicts TEXAS by 17

Move on folks, nothing to see here. To the extent it's been said at length, I won't make this entire blurb about how the Big Twelve North is a spineless aberration. I will say that we've seen the Longhorns struggle for the last time -- on Thanksgiving night against Texas A&M -- on their way into the clubhouse. Nebraska's interior line might give Colt McCoy a few close shaves, but that won't help the Huskers run or pass against a refreshingly unsinkable Big Twelve Defense.

5. DR. PEPPER ACC FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP, No. 10 GEORGIA TECH vs. CLEMSON, 8:00 p.m. EST (12/5), ESPN

GRAHAMFILLER10 predicts GEORGIA TECH by 10

Vegas has no idea what's going to happen here, as these two teams played basically to a draw way back in September. We know Clemson is streaky, we know CJ Spiller is faster than God...but we don't know if the triple option can be slowed. Last time they played, GT rolled out a bunch of long runs early, Clemson adjusted and began stopping the pitch, GT adjusted to QB keepers on almost every play...And eventually the Jellow Yackets came away with a win. This is the 2nd best game of the weekend, no question.

LAW BUCKEYE predicts GEORGIA TECH by 10

There's a reason why this game is airing at 8:00 p.m. and not 3:30 p.m., and it has nothing to do with prominence. Both teams suffered humilitating losses last week to in-state underlings. Georgia Tech re-establishes its offensive cohesiveness, and sticks with what works: the run.

Alabama & Florida Common Opponents: Mississippi State

Year2 — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 20:30:20 -0000

As a part of SEC Championship Game week, we're taking a look at Alabama's and Florida's common opponents in alphabetical order. Now up: Mississippi State.

	Alabama	Florida
Game Number	10	7
Score	31-3	29-19
Passing Yards	192	127
Rushing Yards	252	249
Total Yards	444	376
Passing All.	99	145
Rushing All.	114	92
Total Defense	213	237
3rd Downs	4-11	2-13
3rd Down Def.	2-13	2-12
Turnover Margin	+3	-1

Alabama approached this game coming off of its hard fought win over LSU. It was on the road in Starkville, where State had taken the last one in 2007. It would not be a repeat of that magical year for the Bulldogs as the Tide rolled to a big win. It took about a quarter to get things going, but once they did, it was not good news for the Magnolia State representatives. Mark Ingram rushed for a buck fifty, Greg McElroy definitively broke out of his October slump, and only a token field goal in the fourth quarter got MSU any points. It was 17-3 at that point, a respectable showing, but two touchdowns in the game's final 10 and a half minutes made it a laugher.

Florida came into Starkville off of its worst showing of the year, its home game against Arkansas. It was a place Florida hadn't won since Ronald Reagan was in the White House, so just coming out with a win and breaking that streak was the most important thing. Florida didn't dominate statistically to quite the degree that Alabama did, but this game was never in much doubt. There was an unusually large amount of non-offensive points scored though. Offensively, the game ended 22-6. Mississippi State returned two Tim Tebow interceptions for touchdowns, one spectacularly for 100 yards and the other on an ill advised pass play from the Gators' own end zone. Florida got a pick six as well, though replay appeared to show a showboating Dustin Doe fumbling the ball before he broke the plain.

This was a big game for Alabama. The Crimson Tide struggled mightily in their previous two games, nearly giving away the contest with Tennessee and trailing LSU for a good portion of that one. McElroy had gone through a nightmarish October, and if Bama didn't have Ingram, it might have sustained a couple of losses. This win needed to be an easy one to restore confidence before the scrimmage against Chattanooga and the always tough Iron Bowl. That's exactly what Alabama got as it was an easy road throughout.

On Florida's side, it was the second most frustrating game after the preceding Arkansas game. It could have been an easy win as Alabama got, but the Gators couldn't stop shooting themselves in the foot. Both of Tebow's pick sixes were in terrible spots, and they were risks Florida didn't even really need to take. It's especially so with the first one; if Florida gets a touchdown there, it's 20-3 at the half and no one has any concerns from the game. Instead, it was just 13-10 and everyone kind of knew it was going to be a four quarter slog.

Calling this one is very easy. Both teams had little problem shutting down Mississippi State's offense. Only one team executed its offense without terrible errors though.

Better performance: Alabama, easily.

See also: Arkansas, FIU, Kentucky, LSU.

SEC Power Poll Week 13

cocknfire — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 14:00:31 -0000

I don't have the graphics software with me, so let's go straight to the rankings.

1 ALABAMA (10), 185.5
2 FLORIDA (7), 182.5
3 LSU, 157
4 OLE MISS, 129
5 TENNESSEE, 110
6 GEORGIA, 108
7 ARKANSAS, 100.5
8 SOUTH CAROLINA 88
9 AUBURN, 87.5
10 KENTUCKY, 53
11 MISSISSIPPI STATE, 39
12 VANDERBILT, 17

*Alabama and Florida first-place vote totals include a ballot that was split.

The final poll between now and after the postseason gives Alabama a slight edge heading into the SEC Championship Game. LSU reclaims third place from Ole Miss while Arkansas drops from 5th to 7th after the defeat to LSU and Kentucky is down from 6th to 10th after a continuing its non-winning streak against Tennessee. Those are the major moves.

Voters?

ALABAMA

The Tide took their rival's best shot but still managed to escape with a win. That's more than many other favorites can say after their rivalry games.--Garnet And Black Attack

A narrow escape from the Plainsmen. Is the bloom off the Alabama rose?--A Sea of Blue

The challenger always has a puncher's chance.--Alligator Army

FLORIDA

I'm sure they looked impressive while gutting the ‘Noles in their spiffy throwback uniforms, but I was too busy throwing up from ESPN's saccharine Tim Tebow adulation to notice.--Dawg Sports

Tebow seems to be back to his old ways...--Leftover Hot Dog

Handled the Seminoles with ease. The Gators may be hitting their stride, and that bodes ill for the Tide.--A Sea of Blue

LSU

I heard that the Bayou Bengals' assistant coaches are going to keep Les Miles's children on the sidelines next season, so that they can incite the kids to misbehave in front of the head coach in crucial clock management situations and thereby persuade the Mad Hatter to call for a time out. Losing to the other powerhouses yet sneaking by the jumble of mediocrity at the gooey center of the SEC landed Louisiana State in the No. 3 spot.--Dawg Sports

Les Miles proves that he has, after all, coached in late game situations before the temporary insanity of last week.--A Sea of Blue

One clock meltdown vs. Ole Miss from 10-2. A handful of plays vs. Miss. St., Georgia, and now the Hogs from 6-6.--War Blog Eagle

OLE MISS

Rebel fans, you're already strapped in to the roller coaster. Might as well enjoy the ride.--Arkansas Expats

Hard to believe they made Chris Relf into an offensive dynamo.--Get the Picture

One loss to MSU doesn't define the Rebs. At 8-4 they're still in the upper echelon of the SEC, despite their disappointing year.--Over the Pylon

TENNESSEE

It's hard to say whether the Vols or Auburn had the better moral victory against Alabama.--Get the Picture

Went up against a hot Kentucky team and made the big stops when they needed them despite being one or two sprained ankles away from grabbing random fans out of the stands to play defense.--Hey Jenny Slater

First five games: 2-3. Last five games: 4-1. Finishing strong is a sign of maturity.--Alligator Army

GEORGIA

The only SEC team outside of Florida and Alabama with a win over a top ten team this year is also the only SEC team to lose to Tennessee by more than 20 points. The Dawgs define middle of the pack.--Get the Picture

Just remember: UT got burned for trying to find a quick fix to a departing coordinator. UGA: Take your time. Keep Willie around a year while you REALLY make sure you get the right guy.--Rocky Top Talk

I'm sorry but the best rushing team in the ACC, Coastal Champs Georgia Tech, barely break 200 yards against the Dawgs. Most teams get that by halftime on a Willie Martinez defense.--Orange and Blue Hue

ARKANSAS

The only team in the conference that failed to win a road game this year.--Get the Picture

Hey Bobby, wanna win some more games? I can't believe you lose so many close games despite having the worst special teams in the league. Do you think that's a coincidence?--Orange and Blue Hue

As much as I hate Petrino, he's done a great job this season with the Razorbacks. Coach of the Year, in my mind.--Over the Pylon

SOUTH CAROLINA

The Gamecocks actually managed to stop the bleeding on their typical late season swoon with a resounding victory over rival Clemson.--Garnet And Black Attack

Next year is your year. I can FEEL it.--Rocky Top Talk

Full marks for beating up on Clemson, but three home wins over Ole Miss, Vandy, and Kentucky by a combined 12 points is the weakest in-conference resume by any team in the league other than Vandy.--War Blog Eagle

AUBURN

Repeat after me: spread offenses struggle more against 3-4s than 4-3s.--Rocky Top Talk

If the Auburn that showed on Saturday had shown up all year, the Tigers would be far better than 7-5.--Over the Pylon

As much as I enjoyed Auburn giving Alabama a heart attack, you knew Bama would win. I half expected Mike Slive to run out on the field and award Bama a fifth down if they didn't score late.--Alligator Army

KENTUCKY

The 'Cats tried hard, but as has usually been the case in their series with the Vols, it wasn't quite enough.--Garnet And Black Attack

Had a chance to break a quarter-century losing streak, but Lucy yanked the football away yet again. And the way Lane Kiffin is running things, the 'Cats may not have another chance for quite a while.--Hey Jenny Slater

Once again, UK finds a way to stay in a game to the very end where they were completely outplayed. Tennessee dominated line play, and wound up with a deserved win.--A Sea of Blue

MISSISSIPPI STATE

Peaked too late. Had a pretty tough non-conference schedule or they would be the 11th bowl eligible team from the SEC.--Hog Database

Getting three conference wins out of this bunch? Wow. You can make a solid argument that Dan Mullen is the SEC Coach of the Year.--Get the Picture

Great-yet another team to worry about in the SEC West. With the Big 12 South's demise, this is the toughest division in the game by a mile and a half.--War Blog Eagle

VANDERBILT

Even when they don't play, the Commodores fall farther behind the rest of the conference. No other SEC team finished within three losses of Vandy.--Get the Picture

Had their best performance of the season this past weekend.--Hey Jenny Slater

Too busy acing finals to care.--Rocky Top Talk

SEC Power Poll, Week Thirteen

mlmintampa — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 10:00:23 -0000

Our SEC Power Poll ballot. Final results at Team Speed Kills on Wednesday.

1. Alabama: The challenger always has a puncher's chance.

2. Florida: It wouldn't be a Gator Game Week without a massive distraction. Goodbye Carlos Dunlap.

3. LSU: Can you be the most exciting team in the SEC and be third best?

4. Ole Miss: 4-4 in the league is pretty disappointing. After the loss to Mississippi State, the song "Mississippi Goddamn" was stuck in my head all night. Hooray for Civil Rights songs!

5. Auburn: As much as I enjoyed Auburn giving Alabama a heart attack, you knew Bama would win. I half expected Mike Slive to run out on the field and award Bama a fifth down if they didn't score late.

6. Arkansas: Five losses, all in conference. Is that improvement?

7. Georgia: With a group of Gators Saturday night, we were all rooting for the Bulldogs. SEC pride baby, especially for a team that had to deal with an ineffective quarterback, poor defense, and a dead puppy.

8. South Carolina: How bad is the ACC that their most exciting player is dominated by a weak SEC team?

9. Tennessee: First five games: 2-3. Last five games: 4-1. Finishing strong is a sign of maturity.

10. Kentucky: If I had to pick one SEC team to lose their bowl game, this would be it.

11. Mississippi State: More cowbell for Dan Mullen.

12. Vanderbilt: Ending the season before Thanksgiving is un-SEC-like.