Now for the links ...
- West Virginia has some injury concerns on defense, with defensive tackle Scooter Berry and middle linebacker Reed Williams on the mend, writes Bob Hertzel of the Times West Virginian.
- The Mountaineers are comfortable playing against the speed of the SEC, writes Mike Casazza of the Charleston Daily Mail. That's why they've won five straight games against SEC teams dating back to a Music City Bowl victory against Ole Miss in 2000.
- Lane Kiffin's a man. He's 34. And he supports his quarterback, Jonathan Crompton. But he's not going to go all Mike Gundy on us, writes Dave Hooker of the Knoxville News Sentinel. Seriously. He even said it.
- Tennessee's interim president had some interesting things to say about a conversation he recently had with Kiffin, writes Jay Greeson of the Chattanooga Times Free Press. Can't imagine many UT alums are happy with the president saying UCLA is a better academic institution than the one he currently runs.
- Ole Miss DE Greg Hardy is not expected to play against Southeastern Louisiana this week because of a left ankle injury, writes David Brandt of the Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Miss. Good things the Rebels aren't playing anybody of consequence this week or that defense could be in trouble.
- Georgia Joe Cox has had to deal with the flu and an injured shoulder in his first two weeks as a starting quarterback, not to mention the rumors that he'll be replaced, writes David Hale of the Macon Telegraph. Also check out Hale's chat tomorrow at noon ET/11 a.m. CT if you're interested. It's right before mine.
- Once essentially ignored as a high school recruit, James Carpenter is now the starting left tackle at Alabama, writes Michael Casagrande of the Decatur Daily. Not a bad success story.
- Kevin Scarbinsky of the Birmingham News catches up with former Auburn offensive coordinator Al Borges, whose loving things in his new job at San Diego State. He had kind things to say about the Plains, despite his dismissal.
- Michigan freshman quarterback Tate Forcier is quite the popular guy, at least if his text message total and Facebook friend requests are any indication, writes Angelique S. Chengelis of the Detroit News.
- Suspended Oregon RB LaGarrette Blount played peacemaker in a potential donnybrook at the end of the Ducks' game against Purdue the other night, writes George Schroeder of the Register-Guard.
- Mike Rothstein of Ann Arbor.com says college football needs to nationalize its referees to prevent any complaints about regional bias during games. Not a bad idea.
- And finally, ESPN's Pat Forde is back with this week's Forde Yard Dash and Auburn is listed prominently in his Grudge Games section:
- "West Virginia-Auburn. Offended party: Auburn. It was far from pleasant on the Plains last year when the Tigers played the Mountaineers in Morgantown. At that point Auburn was 4-3 and already had fired offensive coordinator Tony Franklin. But Tommy Tuberville's tenure really hit the rocks when the Tigers blew a 17-3 lead by giving up 31 consecutive points. If they had won that game they would have gone bowling last year at 6-6."
- Forde also pegs Gene Chizik as having earned his comp car this week (actually, he gets access to two comp cars):
- "Gene Chizik, who went 2-10 last year at Iowa State but has already equaled that victory total in two games at Auburn. The Tigers were miserable offensively last year but explosive so far this year under offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, ranking fourth nationally in total offense at 572 yards per game. Malzahn was smart enough to see a talented stable of backs and give them the ball, as Auburn ranks second in rushing offense."
1 comment:
If Florida covers that 38.5 point spread on UT this weekend, ol' Kiffykins will be in hot water. Eric Berry should be able to single-handedly prevent a 5.5 touchdown beatdown though.
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