SEC Power rankings

Here my weekly take on the SEC power rankings.

1. Alabama: Alabama may not be the flashest team in the SEC but once again they have proved they are one of the best teams in the nation.

2. Florida: The SEC championship will prove who is the best in the SEC.

3. Georgia: Still 3rd best in the SEC yes but wouldnt win the ACC title or the PAC 10 title.

4. Old Miss: Have the next SEC quarterback star and can play against anyone.

5. South Carolina: The ol ball coach thought he had a contender but South Carolina has had enough offensive problems to keep them in the middle of the pack.

6. Vanderbilt: Bowl elegable for the first time since 82 and finally living up to their first five games. Should be favoried over Tennessee.

7. LSU: An ugly loss drops them down.

8. Arkansas: Who to rank 9th took some thought but not to much. Better than Auburn, Tennesee and Miss St.

9. Tennessee: Beating Vandy and Kentucky moves the Vols up

10. Kentucky: Banged up and no offensive but the defense even giving up 30+ points in the last few games still makes them better than the bottom of the SEC.

11. Auburn: What can you say

12. Mississippi State: The worst offence in the SEC and a defense thats not living up to what is expected of them.

This weeks Top 25

This weeks top 25 rankings are out and clearly show that the winner of the Florida Alabama SEC championship game will be the team favored to win the national championship. The BCS rankings will be out later and will help solidify which non BCS team or teams will play.

AP Top 25
1. Alabama (62) 12-0 1,620
2. Florida (3) 11-1 1,516
3. Texas 11-1 1,488
4. Oklahoma 11-1 1,480
5. USC 10-1 1,355
6. Penn State 11-1 1,257
7. Utah 12-0 1,216
8. Texas Tech 11-1 1,197
9. Boise State 12-0 1,103
10. Ohio State 10-2 1,069
11. TCU 10-2 885
12. Ball State 12-0 834
13. Cincinnati 10-2 824
14. Oklahoma State 9-3 798
15. Georgia Tech 8-3 708
16. Oregon 9-3 630
17. Georgia 9-3 495
18. Boston College 9-3 482
19. Missouri 9-3 479
20. Brigham Young 10-2 385
21. Michigan State 9-3 312
22. Mississippi 8-4 280
23. Pittsburgh 8-3 241
24. Northwestern 9-3 190
25. Oregon State 8-4 122
Others Receiving Votes
Iowa 66, Virginia Tech 47, Tulsa 13, Florida State 12, California 7, West Virginia 4, Rice 3, Connecticut 3, Nebraska 3, North Carolina 1.
Dropped From Rankings
Florida State 23.
USA Today Poll
1. Alabama (58) 12-0 1,521
2. Oklahoma (2) 11-1 1,397
3. Texas 11-1 1,396
4. Florida (1) 11-1 1,385
5. USC 10-1 1,298
6. Penn State 11-1 1,176
7. Utah 12-0 1,153
8. Texas Tech 11-1 1,116
9. Boise State 12-0 1,044
10. Ohio State 10-2 999
11. TCU 10-2 836
12. Cincinnati 10-2 770
13. Ball State 12-0 765
14. Oregon 9-3 658
15. Oklahoma State 9-3 613
16. Georgia Tech 8-3 590
17. Missouri 9-3 470
18. Brigham Young 10-2 461
19. Georgia 9-3 440
20. Boston College 9-3 435
21. Michigan State 9-3 414
22. Northwestern 9-3 333
23. Pittsburgh 8-3 154
24. Oregon State 8-4 127
25. Mississippi 8-4 126
Others Receiving Votes
Virginia Tech 41, Iowa 31, Tulsa 21, Florida State 15, Nebraska 11, Kansas 10, Connecticut 5, North Carolina 5, Rice 5, California 4.
Dropped From Rankings
Florida State 24, West Virginia 25.

UK Takes the Vegas Invitational

Not much of it was pretty. Not much at all. Meeks, maybe. A nice play here and a nice play there. But over all it was quite the ugly two games. But that doesn’t really matter much today as long as its two wins. Maybe its the best of both worlds. Lots of tape on what UK needs to work on while putting up W’s is any coach’s dream. We also got a very good understanding of where UK is today. They are a little bit better than good but not spectacular teams in K State and WVU. They could be a lot better if they understood how valuable the basketball is. They could be top 25 if they understood that its better to make a safe pass for an assist rather than a difficult one. And I don’t think you can really point to to the point and say that is where the problems lay. Maybe better point play would stem some of the sloppiness, but the carelessness is across the board. It also doesn’t help that 2 Pat is alternating great games with below sub par ones. But clearly, the turnovers are costing UK. The story becomes very clear when you see that in similar minutes, a freshman wing player, Miller, had fewer turnovers that ALL the returning players from last year. Meeks, 5; 2 Pat, 3, Porter, 4. The only returning player with better numbers is Millers counterpart, Harris, who had zero but that was in 15 minutes of play. Still, it is nice to be able to overcome the sloppy play and win. I must give a shout out to Liggins. While he still frustrates me to no end, he did do a lot of good things down the stretch.

So what must UK do, besides taking care of the basketball, to get get better? UK was 1 of 5 on threes in the WVU game. Someone other that Meeks has got to step up and hit some outside shots. UK also needs to find a way to get Stevenson and 2 Pat going. Both have played well in spurts, but neither have provided the type of play that defined them last year. Stevenson seems to get lost when the focus is on 2 Pat and 2 Pat just isn’t moving well game in and game out. Meeks has given UK a steady offensive player and Harrelson is doing the things Stevenson should be doing, like cleaning up the offensive glass and putting himself in position to take a pass. Miller will come around and Harris is improved and looking to do more. All in all, I think this team can be much better than last once they find their stride. But it may be a while before we will know for sure.

UT 28- UK 10

So there you have it. Another year, another UT victory. It is the streak that will not go away. The game this year wasn’t about UK or UT anyway, anyone that watched could see it was the goodbye Phil Fulmer show. It was the story book ending for him and UK was more than happy to play the victory cigar pansy.

I have to say that I have been hard on Fulmer. I probably will continue to be. After all, he has more wins against UK than any single coach. But today I’ll take a moment and commend Fulmer for mostly being about what I think college sports should be about and that is loyalty. Yes he is the biggest tattle tale in all the world while being one of the dirtiest there is. But he is UT. He played there, he assistant coached there and he head coached there. He would still be there if they would have him. I feel strongly that UT is the only high profile place that would have him and he knows it, but that is mildly beside the point today. So I congratulate him on his stay at UT and all those wins over UK. Now don’t let the door hit you in the hum d hum on the way out.

As for UK; That was the most uninspired effort I have seen in a long time all the way around, but especially on offense. It got to a point that everyone in the world knew UK was going to run another draw. Draws are great when the other team isn’t expecting them. I guess the same can be said for any play. All year long the talk has been of the QB position. All year long I have said that is the last position that should have had any talk. The lack of execution at ever position other than QB is the very reason UK had to ditch its pro style offense for.. well… that. While I HATE the triple option, and I despise the full time multi threat QB, there is one thing I HATE and DESPISE more. And that is a team that loses its path and veers in another direction simply because the players fail to execute. Mike Hartline came in and gave UK a boost. When that was Cobb, the “Cobbies” were very quick to say, “see”. So it would be very easy for “Harlinies” to do the same, right? No it would not. Just because he came in and gave UK a spark by providing something UT wasn’t prepared for doesn’t mean it’s time to go back to Hartline. Not for that reason anyway. I think UK should go back to him simply because that is what UK’s offense is supposed to be about. The players, coaches, trainers and water boys ALL need to rededicate themselves to what UK is about. I love Cobb to death but he simply is not a pocket passer. And its been proven over and over and over that one guy can not win a game by himself. The QB needs help and lots of it no matter who it is and the next four weeks would be the perfect time for all to go about doing just that.

As for UT, We’ll get em next year.

Croom resigns at Miss St

From ESPN

JACKSON, Miss. — Sylvester Croom resigned from Mississippi State on Saturday, five years after becoming the Southeastern Conference’s first black head football coach.

Croom announced the decision after meeting with athletic director Greg Byrne. It came less than 24 hours after an embarrassing 45-0 loss to No. 25 Mississippi in the most lopsided Egg Bowl in 37 years.
Croom and Doom

Mississippi State coach Sylvester Croom resigned Saturday, a day after his team lost 45-0 at Ole Miss, the Rebels’ second-biggest win ever in the rivalry. Croom was 21-38 in five seasons and lost eight-plus games in four of his five years. The major problem was offense. It simply never got better under Croom.

Mississippi State Offense
Under Croom, FBS Ranks Total Scoring
2008 105th 113th
2007 113th 96th
2006 103th 97th
2005 113th 113th
2004 107th T-114th

Croom, who took over the team while it was under NCAA sanctions, won 2007 SEC coach of the year honors after leading the Bulldogs to an 8-5 finish and the Liberty Bowl. He signed a contract extension in the offseason that paid him $1.7 million this year.

But he came under immediate pressure from fans after a season-opening loss to Louisiana Tech of the Western Athletic Conference, and the heat only intensified as the offensively inept Bulldogs stumbled to a 4-8 finish.

The coach was 21-38 overall. He did not immediately return a phone message left by The Associated Press.

“Five years ago, Mississippi State gave me the unprecedented opportunity to be a head football coach in the Southeastern Conference and to build a program based upon a strong foundation,” Croom said in a statement.

“We have tried to build a program the right way that can compete for conference championships. I believe the foundation has been set for those goals to be reached under the leadership of someone else, and it was my decision to resign.”

Byrne was scheduled to meet with reporters later Saturday afternoon.

Calls for Croom to make changes to his coaching staff and run-first offensive philosophy dogged the Bulldogs. The team continued to have trouble at quarterback and Croom switched starters midway through the season.

A source familiar with Croom’s situation at Mississippi State told ESPN.com’s Pat Forde that the breaking point was not a refusal on Croom’s part to make staff changes; an important issue was the continuing ineptitude of the Bulldogs’ offense under Croom. In five years, Mississippi State has never ranked in the NCAA top 100 in total offense.

The Bulldogs were 11th in the SEC in scoring offense (16.6 points per game) and 10th in total offense (297.7 yards per game) through 11 games and lost badly at Georgia Tech (38-7) and Tennessee (34-3). Yet some optimism remained that Mississippi State could salvage a bit of pride and its promising recruiting class after a 31-28 win over Arkansas last week and with a good game against the revitalized Rebels.

Croom even got a vote of confidence from incoming Mississippi State president Mark Keenum.

But Mississippi State was outmatched from the start and looked poorly prepared against Ole Miss. The quarterbacks were hit hard on nine of their first 10 pass attempts as the Rebels put together a school-record 11 sacks and set another mark by holding the Bulldogs to minus-51 yards rushing.

Croom seemed stunned after the game.

“They came in here with the idea they were going to beat us bad, and they did from start to finish,” Croom said. “I don’t know why what happened today occurred. I’m sorry to say that it’s an absolute mystery to me.”

Byrne, a new hire who’s been on the job less than a year, wouldn’t comment on the speculation surrounding the football team during the season but said Saturday that a possible resignation was discussed in the morning meeting.

“We discussed the football program and many topics were addressed, including resignation,” Byrne said in a statement. “I want to thank Coach Croom for the leadership he has provided our football program over the last five years.”

While Croom wasn’t able to squeeze many wins out of his tenure, there’s little question he improved a Mississippi State program that was at its lowest ebb. The Bulldogs were hit with major sanctions following rules violations under previous coach Jackie Sherrill and had won just three games a season between 2001-03.

Hired Dec. 1, 2003, the Bear Bryant disciple who had been an all-American center at Alabama and an NFL assistant for 17 seasons inherited a team low on talent. Heavy sanctions and the SEC’s lowest budget made the challenge even steeper.

“We couldn’t even get recruits to visit campus,” Croom said this week while talking about his early recruiting efforts.

But Croom upgraded the talent enough that the Bulldogs were competitive in the nation’s toughest conference and they earned their first winning season since 2000 last year, capping it with a 10-3 win over Central Florida in the Liberty Bowl.

He also was having success off the field, drawing commitments from several top recruits, including a quarterback.

A spokesman said players would not be available Saturday, but some defended Croom following Friday’s loss.

“I think it is unfair,” wide receiver Delmon Robinson said of the criticism. “When it’s man-to-man coverage, it’s the receiver against the [defensive back]. If the receiver doesn’t win, it’s not the coach’s fault that he didn’t win. It’s all about the players. We’ve got to win and we’ve got to go out there and execute coach’s plays.”

It was the second straight season an embarrassing loss in the Egg Bowl led to a coaching change. Coach Ed Orgeron was fired a day after the Rebels collapsed in a 17-14 loss. Ole Miss led 14-0 going into the fourth quarter, but Orgeron went for it on fourth down at midfield. The Bulldogs stopped the play, went on to score and finished with 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter.

Byrne said Croom’s assistants remain under contract and will work until a new coach is hired. He told Forde that Mississippi State’s search for a successor begins immediately and will be national in scope. He declined to discuss any specific potential candidates but said he wanted a “passionate leader who is capable of helping us win in the SEC. We have a lot of talent here in this state, and a very supportive fan base. We can win here.”

Among the coaches Mississippi State might target to replace Croom are Oklahoma defensive coordinator Brent Venables, East Carolina coach Skip Holtz and TCU coach Gary Patterson.

“Looking forward I plan to work closely with athletic director Greg Byrne to move quickly, but with due deliberation, to find a new head football coach with high energy and a commitment to compete for championships and bowl opportunities in the best conference in America,” Keenum said.

There likely will be several candidates for a coveted SEC job, but Mississippi State’s new coach shouldn’t get comfortable. There have been coaching changes at five of six SEC West schools in the past five years, with only Tommy Tuberville at Auburn lasting through that time. And even he’s facing criticism in a losing season.

The Rebels’ new coach, Houston Nutt, had been at Arkansas for 10 years before resigning after last season and moving to Ole Miss. But he believes tenures like that could be a thing of the past because fans and boosters have little patience for losing.

“It’s sad, but it doesn’t surprise me,” Nutt said. “It’s the way of the world in college football right now.”

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3733168

Tennessee picks new coach

By BETH RUCKER, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 1 minute ago

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP)—Tennessee and Lane Kiffin have reached a tentative agreement with the former Oakland Raiders coach to lead the Volunteers, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Friday.

A formal announcement was expected early next week, said the person, who requested anonymity because the deal had not been finalized.

Kiffin, 33, replaces Phillip Fulmer, who was forced out after 17 seasons as Vols coach. Fulmer won a national championship in 1998 but had two losing seasons in the last five years, including a 4-7 mark this year.

Tennessee athletic department spokeswoman Tiffany Carpenter declined to comment on Kiffin because Fulmer had not finished his season. Athletic director Mike Hamilton did not return a phone message seeking comment.

The Vols (3-7, 2-5 Southeastern Conference) host Kentucky (6-5, 2-5) on Saturday night in what has been dubbed “Phillip Fulmer appreciation day.”
The Knoxville News Sentinel first reported the deal.

Kiffin was the youngest coach in the NFL’s modern history when hired to lead the Raiders in January 2007 at age 31.

The son of longtime NFL defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin had a rocky relationship with Oakland owner Al Davis, who fired him Sept. 30 for what he said was insubordination. Kiffin had a 5-15 record with the Raiders.

He’s since filed a grievance with the NFL to claim salary he maintains he’s owed by the team.

Kiffin spent seven seasons as an assistant at Southern California under coach Pete Carroll, including two as recruiting and offensive coordinator.

He was a backup quarterback at Fresno State, where he began his coaching career as a quarterbacks coach. He also spent two seasons as offensive line coach at Colorado State.

Tennessee announced on Nov. 3 that the 58-year-old Fulmer would not be back next season. He has a 151-52 record as coach.

Fulmer signed a new seven-year contract in the summer which was worth $2.4 million this season. He will receive $6 million as a buyout of the contract, payable over a 48-month period.

Terms of Kiffin’s deal were not available.

Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher had not heard the reports Friday. But he called Kiffin an excellent coach who was involved with recruiting while at Southern California and said he got to know Kiffin some during his time coaching Oakland in the NFL.

“He went into a very, very difficult situation there in Oakland. I thought he handled things professionally. He certainly had that team moving in the right direction in the opinion of his peers, including me, and didn’t get a chance to finish it. I think he’ll be a great college coach,” Fisher said.

Ball St?

My daughter returned home for her first college Thanksgiving break. It just so happens that her school played on national TV last night. So of course, I watched and cheered. I have become a sudo Cardinal fan which is something that has always seemed much less likely then needing a heater in hell. Luckily, these Cardinals are of the Ball St. kind. I really do not have a choice in the matter. You see, not only is my daughter a current student; my wife is an alum. So I gladly take to the Cardinals for their sake and have cheered them on many times this season. Now comes the tricky part… Ball State is now 12-0 and is ranked 15 in the BCS standings.

Why is this tricky, you ask? Well, I remember leaving Commonwealth, wife in tow, on a crisp night just after UK had dispatched Western KY. We had already watched a few Ball St games, and the wife had already started to ask the question, “Wonder what would happen if UK played Ball State?” This question came up again as we were finding our way to the car. I had to politely tell her that UK would probably beat Ball St in a similar fashion to Western as UK played in the SEC while Ball St played in the MAC. “What does that matter?” I was asked. I told her the elite leagues were considered elite for a reason, and even though UK wasn’t a top tier team, there was still a considerable difference between them and your standard MAC team.

I was quite proud of my answers. Then last night happened. 12-0 Cardinals, with a few mild wins. The wife wanted to bring on any and all comers. She stopped asking and started stating that she would love a piece of UK. I must say, I am not used to cockiness from my life companion, and I secretly found it quite sexy, which kind of disturbed me.

So this begs the question: There are several non BCS undefeated teams out there. Utah, Boise St, Ball St come to mind. How do those teams really stack up this year? How would UK fare? What would it prove if Boise St ended up in a bowl with Ball St?

I’m scratching my head….

Where Were You in 1984?

I was on a college campus nestled in a small college town somewhere in the far mid west. I was far removed from that which is known as UK football at the time. To be honest, I can not recall knowing UK football existed. The years have past. I returned home a man and went on to pursue my hopes and dreams. I did discover UK football along the way. There has been some consistency through the years. My family, a handful of friends, many icons in the town I love, Teddy Kennedy, and.. That which is known as UT over UK in football.

It isn’t that UT has dominated UK. That would somehow make it seem OK. Or at least that is the justification that is a UK football fan. No, UK has found so many ways to lose close games it is too numerous to count. All one has to do is look at last year’s overtime game for a very clear visual. Every year we (or maybe I should say I?) look past the other monster games on the schedule and move directly to the regular season finale. I look at how UT is projected. I look at where UK is projected. I make an attempt at some sort of logic that suggests, “this is the year”. Every year I see my attempts at logic were nothing more than blue blinded hope.

So what about this year? Yes, I scanned to the end of the regular season. Yes, I looked at the UT/UK status. And yes UT has given me several reasons to assume this will be the year. UT has stunk as bad as any team I have ever seen in orange. Calling them average would be a complement. The UT fans will stay home in large numbers. The UK fans are more than happy to replace them and they will. But the evil that is UT football also has added some reasons to doubt. The large orange that has rolled along the UT sideline pretending to be the head coach is in his last game. There will be pomp. There will be celebration in his honor. There will be lots of, “win one more for the big Orange”.

In the end, it comes down to 1984. Disco was dead, concert rockers were on their way out to old age pastures, and pop was on the rise. Gas was under a buck and that was the last time UK beat UT in football. The numbers simply suggest that the law of averages MUST be in UK’s favor. I’ll wait until after the game to start my, “we’ll get em next year” chants.

Cats take care of Business

Patrick Patterson set a career high with 28 points in leading UK to a 91-57 win over Longwood.

Patterson, seven months removed from surgery to repair a stress fracture in his left ankle, added 12 rebounds and a career-high six assists for Kentucky (2-2), which needed just nine minutes to build a 24-point lead in winning its second straight.

Jodi Meeks had 17 points, Josh Harrelson had 12 and Ramon Harris had 9 points and eight rebounds for the Wildcats, who shot 52 percent from the field and outrebounded the Lancers 50-33.

Top 25

The latest top 25 polls are out.

AP Top 25
1. North Carolina (72) 3-0 1,800
2. Connecticut 4-0 1,694
3. Louisville 2-0 1,646
4. Pittsburgh 4-0 1,423
5. Michigan State 2-0 1,402
6. Texas 2-0 1,355
7. Duke 6-0 1,330
8. Notre Dame 2-0 1,291
9. Gonzaga 2-0 1,222
10. Purdue 4-0 1,161
11. Oklahoma 4-0 1,094
12. Tennessee 3-0 1,005
13. UCLA 3-1 916
14. Arizona State 3-0 767
15. Marquette 3-0 735
16. Xavier 5-0 600
17. Florida 3-0 535
18. Memphis 4-1 500
19. Wake Forest 2-0 414
20. Villanova 3-0 356
21. Georgetown 2-0 349
22. Miami (FL) 2-1 272
22. Kansas 2-0 272
24. Davidson 3-1 238
25. Wisconsin 4-0 214
Others Receiving Votes
Baylor 170, Syracuse 115, Saint Mary’s 111, UNLV 107, Ohio State 52, Clemson 49, Michigan 42, LSU 25, Texas A&M 25, USC 18, Siena 18, Brigham Young 16, Washington State 13, UAB 12, West Virginia 10, Creighton 6, Missouri 6, Rhode Island 5, Seton Hall 2, Georgia Tech 2, Illinois 2, Mercer 1, Oklahoma State 1, Virginia Military 1.

ESPN/USA Today Poll
1. North Carolina (31) 3-0 775
2. Connecticut 4-0 730
3. Louisville 2-0 697
4. Pittsburgh 4-0 635
5. Duke 6-0 625
6. Michigan State 2-0 615
7. Texas 2-0 576
8. Notre Dame 2-0 551
9. Purdue 4-0 516
10. Gonzaga 2-0 481
11. UCLA 3-1 437
12. Tennessee 3-0 434
13. Oklahoma 4-0 415
14. Arizona State 3-0 343
15. Marquette 3-0 284
16. Georgetown 2-0 251
17. Memphis 4-1 246
18. Florida 3-0 238
19. Wisconsin 4-0 171
20. Xavier 5-0 166
21. Miami (FL) 2-1 146
22. Villanova 3-0 143
23. Kansas 2-0 125
24. Wake Forest 2-0 123
25. Davidson 3-1 100
Others Receiving Votes
UNLV 58, Saint Mary’s 43, Ohio State 29, Baylor 27, West Virginia 19, Washington State 15, Syracuse 14, Siena 10, Creighton 8, Texas A&M 7, Brigham Young 6, USC 4, UAB 3, Clemson 3, Michigan 3, Oklahoma State 2, Washington 1.

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