WESTERN DIVISION
No. 11 Arkansas (8-1, 5-0)This week: vs. Tennessee, 6 p.m. on ESPN2 Out with the young and in with the older is Arkansas coach Houston Nutt’s new quarterback motto at present. Sophomore quarterback Casey Dick will start Saturday against the University of Tennessee. Dick replaced true freshman Mitch Mustain after he threw an interception in the first series Saturday against the University of South Carolina. “When November hit and things started moving a bit faster I just felt it was time for Casey,” Nutt said in a news release. “It’s one word; it’s experience. That’s all it is.” No. 5 Auburn (9-1, 5-1)This week: vs. Georgia, 11:30 a.m. on Lincoln Financial Sports Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville said Wednesday that college football’s first step to wean itself off the Bowl Championship Series should be to form a four-team playoff. “We have a system that is not perfect in the BCS,” Tuberville said. “At least we do have potential to get the two best teams at the end of the year to play each other. It’s better than it was 15, 20 years ago.”
No. 12 LSU (7-2, 3-2)This week: vs. Alabama, 6:45 p.m. on ESPN LSU coach Les Miles had high praise Wednesday for junior wide receiver Early Doucet, who grabbed the game-winning touchdown pass Saturday against Tennessee. “Early is just playing at a high level right now,” Miles said. “We called his number a couple of times more than others. He was playing big in the big games, so we certainly wanted to give him that opportunity.” Doucet had eight receptions for 73 yards against the Vols, including a critical grab on fourth-and-seven to keep the Tigers’ final drive of the game alive.
Alabama (6-4, 2-4)This week: vs. LSU Alabama coach Mike Shula said his team has not been ableto accomplish what LSU did against Tennessee – finish games strong in the fourth quarter. The Crimson Tide have experienced troubles late in the game, most notably in losses to Arkansas, Florida, Tennessee and, most recently, Mississippi State. Going into the fourth quarter of those losses, Alabama was either leading or trailing by just one possession. “We’re disappointed – we’re disappointed in the way we played Saturday, we’re disappointed in our record,” Shula said. “We played some pretty dang good games against some good football teams that have been real close.”
Ole Miss (3-7, 1-5)This week: bye week Ole Miss’ bye week will end a streak of 10-straight weekends of play for the Rebels. Ole Miss coach Ed Orgeron said he will give his players a welcomed weekend off while the coaches hit the recruiting trail. “Our coaches will be on the road this weekend,” Orgeron said. “When we come back, we’re just going to work hard and get ready for our next game.” The Rebels will play on the road against LSU following their open date.
Mississippi State (3-7, 1-5)This week: bye week Mississippi State coach Sylvester Croom said he bagged the program’s biggest win in his three-year tenure Saturday against the University of Alabama. The win had personal implications for Croom, who is an Alabama alumnus and was passed over for the Crimson Tide coaching position three years ago. “Mike [Shula] had his guys ready to play and so did we,” Croom said. “Our guys played every play like the game was on the line, and when the opportunity came to make big plays, we made them.”
EASTERN DIVISION
No. 6 Florida (8-1, 6-1)This week: vs. South Carolina, 2:30 p.m. on CBS The Florida Gators clinched the Eastern Division championship with their victory Saturday against Vanderbilt combined with Tennessee’s loss to LSU. The division title is the Gators’ first since 2000. “It’s hard to earn people’s admiration, but [the seniors] certainly have earned mine,” Meyer said in a news release. “They’ve done something that hasn’t been done since 2000, and I’m indebted to them.” But one senior, defensive tackle Marcus Thomas, was removed from the team, Meyer announced Saturday. Meyer would not speculate on the details of Thomas’ removal, but it is suspected that Thomas failed his third drug test.
No. 13 Tennessee (7-2, 3-2)This week: at Arkansas The Tennessee Volunteers have joined the SEC quarterback-swap club after Saturday’s 28-24 loss to LSU. Red-shirt freshman quarterback Jonathan Crompton took a majority of the snaps in the loss to LSU and threw for 183 yards and two touchdowns. Junior quarterback Erik Ainge sprained his right angle two weeks ago against the University of South Carolina and attempted just six passes against the Tigers. “We have not [decided on a starter],” Fulmer said. “We’re going to try to get through today’s practice and go from there.”
Kentucky (5-4, 3-3)This week: at Vanderbilt, 12:00 p.m. Blue-and-white-clad fans rushed the field Saturday at Commonwealth Stadium after the Wildcats’ 24-20 triumph against Georgia – Kentucky’s first win in nine tries against the Bulldogs. Needing just one more victory to become bowl eligible, Kentucky coach Rich Brooks said he is actually more focused on climbing in the SEC standings. “For us, we would be able to get our fourth SEC win and climb up the SEC standings, which I think would be even better for our program than going to a bowl game,” Brooks said. “For as long as I can remember, Kentucky has either finished fifth or sixth in this division, so it would be huge for our program to get those four conference wins.”
Georgia (6-4, 3-4)This week: at Auburn A disappointing season for the Georgia Bulldogs has bore unprecedented criticism about the program on many online fan message boards. Bulldogs coach Mark Richt said he is aware of the restlessness among fans but does not pay much attention to those comments. “You know all that’s happening,” Richt said. “The bad part of that is that the emotion [fans] have in a positive way can become negative. I know that it’s out there, and I understand their frustration.”
South Carolina (5-4, 3-4)This week: at Florida The “Ol’ Ball Coach” Steve Spurrier will be making his first return to Gainesville, Fla., as a collegiate coach Saturday since leaving the University of Florida in 2002. The return will not be Spurrier’s first this season since he returned to the Swamp earlier in the year to be inducted into the Gators’ “Ring of Honor.” “I’ve been fortunate to go down there a couple of times, so I’ve already experienced the emotional part,” Spurrier said. “We’ve got our team, and they’ve got theirs. And I think once I get that headset on, it won’t matter who we’re playing.”
Vanderbilt (4-6, 1-5)This week: at Kentucky Vanderbilt continued its theme of hanging tough with big-time teams Saturday after a 25-19 loss to the Florida Gators. Commodores coach Bobby Johnson said his team is trying to erase its reputation as the perennial loser in the SEC. “I don’t think our guys have the other teams in awe anymore,” Johnson said. “It used to be that Vanderbilt expected to lose, but that’s not the case anymore. Now our guys are ready to play against those other teams.”
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