Week #8 Re-Cap

Hello SEC Nation. I trust you had a good weekend and enjoyed all the football action. Not too much moving and shaking going on this weekend, that is compared to the roller coaster ride that the last couple of weeks had been. Texas did what so few others have been able to do this year. They protected the №1 ranking. Looks like the SEC will have to wait for another day to take over the top spot in the poll. Ok let’s get to a brief recap of this weekend’s SEC action.

Ole Miss 20 – Alabama 24:
Well what can I say? The Rebels fell a little short of a good comeback in T-town. JPW had his best day in the passing department for the season, racking up 219 yards with a pair of TD’s. The Rebs did continue stingy defense against the rushing game though, allowing only 107 yards, and that is against an Alabama rushing attack featuring Glenn Coffee. Ole Miss Fans can find a small bright light in the play of their defense. They gave up the 24 straight points that proved to be the game winners, but they stiffened and kept their team in a position to win. Ole Miss actually out gained the Tide with 359 total yards to Alabama’s 326. Once again turnovers are the Rebels worst enemy, 3 times UM turned the ball over to UA. If Ole Miss wants to win in this conference, Houston Nutt has to find a way to teach these kids to protect the football. Lose your helmet, lose a shoe, I don’t care, break a bone, but hold on to the football!

Vanderbilt 14 – Georgia 24
Georgia is just not playing the kind of stellar ball that we expected from them this season. Knowshon Moreno rushed for a season high 172 yards but the Bulldogs fail to put the game out of reach. Vanderbilt is a very capable club and you can’t leave them in the ballgame if you want to win. Well obviously I am wrong on that one since UG won the ballgame, but the Georgia fans, players, and coaches have got to be wondering what is happening? Vandy now has lost 2 in a row and must find a way to right the ship that started out so promising. The stats show a one sided contest in Georgia’s favor but the scoreboard fails to reflect what the stat sheet shows. This tells me that Vanderbilt played a bend but not break defense. They allowed a bunch of yards but stiffened when points were at stake.

Arkansas 20 – Kentucky 21
I predicted a Wildcat win but this game proved to be as close I had thought as well. Arkansas led most of the game and had another career best rushing game out of Michael Smith who gained 191 yards. Penalties look to be the big stat in this one. The Hogs were penalized 13 times for 102 yards while Kentucky kept their penalties down to 5 times for 53 yards.

Mississippi State 3 – Tennessee 34
WOW! I could not have been more wrong with my prediction on this game. I really thought after MSU got a big win against a ranked Vandy the week before that they would have confidence to start a run. The Tennessee Vol’s had something to say about that though and they did it with Panache, scoring 21 fourth quarter points to whip the Dawgs 34 to 3. The stats are not huge for either squad but MSU turned the ball over 3 times while UT didn’t have a turnover.

LSU 24 – South Carolina 17
Well all the articles I see on this game show it as being a late rally for LSU that gave the Bayou Bengal’s a victory. I don’t see it that way. The box score shows LSU scoring in all 4 stanzas of the game and South Carolina putting all their points on the board in the 2nd quarter alone. LSU out gained the Gamecocks 363 yards to 254 yards, they converted 42.9% of their 3rd downs and held the ball almost a full 10 minutes longer than South Carolina. The Gamecocks turned the ball over 3 times which is the biggest back breaker in college football but LSU was penalized 45 more yards than was SC. Since I was not able to watch this game I must go by stats alone and from that standpoint the Tigers won the game on paper as well as on the scoreboard.

Well that’s about it SEC fans. I was able to pick 4 out of the 5 SEC games correct this week, I’ll take that percentage. I will be back on Wednesday for my commentary article. I hope to see you there. Until Then…..

Hotty Toddy
Darryle “Speedy” Clark

Friday SEC Pick-em

Well here we go sports fans, another exciting weekend of SEC football. Ill tell you what, since my Ole Miss was off last weekend I am chomping at the bits for the weekend to get here. Unfortunately and fortunately the Rebs are in Tuscaloosa waging battle with the № 2 team in the nation: Alabama. I say unfortunately because I am not so sure the college football gods allow for more than one top 5 upset in a single season, but I say fortunately because that is what college football is all about. You want and pray for these types of opportunities. So without any further adieu, let’s get started with the picks.


Ole Miss versus Alabama: If you are an Ole Miss Rebel player, coach or fan then you can’t ask for any better chance to show you have arrived. This is the kind of opportunity you dream about, and Rebel faithful will be hoping for a repeat performance of their upset of the Florida Gators earlier this season. To do this the offense must take care of the football and take advantage of all scoring opportunities. The defense must get back to being physical. The type of physical that kept them in a game against Vandy and subsequently earned their team a victory at № 4 Florida. This type of intense physicality is hard to maintain week in and week out, thus producing low weeks like the loss to South Carolina at home. Alabama is not immune to these lows either as shown by their lackluster performance at home against Kentucky. To win this game the Rebels will have to start on the very first “FIRST DOWN”, and not stop till the final tick. Ole Miss has beaten the Tide only once in Tuscaloosa, Heck that’s the only victory for the Reb’s inside the state of Alabama. That was the Billy Brewer led squad of 1988. But alas it comes down to my picking the winner. As much as I want for the upset Rebel victory, I just can’t predict it. Alabama will win the game, but look for the Rebels to give them a fight. The last 3 meetings between the schools have been decided by 3 points. I predict another close game but Bama wins.


Vanderbilt versus Georgia: Well Vanderbilt has been handed their first loss of the year! How will they respond? I don’t 100% know the answer to that question, but I do know they sure have a hard opponent to do it against: The University of Georgia. Vanderbilt has swapped starting quarterbacks opting to go with Mackenzi Adams over Chris Nickson. Adams is a capable QB as shown in their victory over Auburn. He didn’t give a superstar performance in that Auburn game but he didn’t make mistakes either. Georgia didn’t just light up the scoreboard against Tennessee last weekend. This was a bit surprising to me, coming off of a bye week following the Alabama loss at home. I really thought they would make Tennessee pay all day long. Instead they earned a victory but just not the kind I was expecting. All in all though I don’t think Georgia will allow another home upset this season. I look for the Bulldogs to win this game.

Arkansas versus Kentucky: Finally, Arkansas gets that victory that all SEC fans have been expecting all year, Or at least this fan expected it. The victory over Auburn….At Auburn last weekend got the Auburn OC fired. This is not an easy pick for me. Kentucky is coming off a loss to South Carolina and they are at home. Arkansas has finally gotten a confidence builder and a solid rushing performance from Michael Smith (176 yards against Auburn D). I am going to pick the Cats in this one, but I'm definitely not 100%.

Mississippi State versus Tennessee: Mississippi State is coming off of their first big win all year with their 17 to 14 victory over Vanderbilt last weekend. The Dawgs are still struggling somewhat on offense but they are still pretty stingy on the defensive side of the ball. What can I say good about Tennessee this season? I honestly don’t know! One has to ponder if Phillip Fulmer might be on his last leg at UT. After 17 seasons at the helm it might be time for a change. I think it would still be considered an upset victory if MSU can go into Neyland Stadium in Knoxville Tennessee and knock off the Vols. This is my upset pick for week 8. Mississippi State wins in a close one,

LSU versus South Carolina: LSU has been smacked in the mouth and South Carolina is on a 4 game winning streak (2 game In Conference win streak). LSU’s defense has shown weakness as Florida lit it up against the Tigers. This is another hard pick for me. LSU is still a very talented team and they will certainly be looking to get back up off the turf. South Carolina has finally gotten their quarterback question answered with Chris Smelley and they are at home in a fan rich environment. I really don’t know which way to go with this one. Wait a minute I can’t do that, I have to make a pick. Sorry Gamecock fans, I have to go with a mad bunch of Tigers on this one.

Well that’s it sports fans. Florida and Auburn are on their bye week. One other game of interest to the SEC nation would be the Missouri versus Texas match up. Missouri is ranked 11th in the nation and is a very capable club. Texas might have more than they want. If Mizou can pull off the upset and Alabama wins, this just might put the Tide in the № 1 position in the polls, although the entire SEC nation knows they should be there already. As much as I love this conference, I hope that I can report an upset from Tuscaloosa on Monday. Until then…..

Hotty Toddy
Darryle “Speedy” Clark

Week #8 Wednesday Commentary

Hello sports fans! Well the old pollsters are at it again. What is it about the SEC that they don’t like, or that they don’t understand? Kentucky played a great defensive game against Alabama and that is what two SEC teams do. Alabama won that game, so I ask you. Shouldn’t Alabama be the № 1 team in the nation? They didn’t lose, and they were № 2, why can’t they just move up? I know they had a bye week and Texas played a great game against the № 1 team in the nation, but Texas was previously № 5! You can’t skip an undefeated № 2 team from the № 5 spot. Well obviously you can but the Mike Slive should be screaming holy murder about it.

This coming weekend my Ole Miss Rebels have to go to Tuscaloosa and play the Tide, This is the only weekend that I am not an Alabama fan. I don’t see any upsets happening but I didn’t see an upset in Gainesville when the Reb’s went down there either. Whether we are playing the № 2 team or the № 1 team is irrelevant if we lose the game, but if the upset does occur, it would be so much better for my Rebels if the polls had done what was right and given Bama their due. The Rebel upset of then № 4 Florida on September 27th would not have carried as much weight if they were ranked № 25, that is just a fact.

I’m telling you sports fans, the SEC, and more directly Alabama, is getting screwed by the sportswriters and coaches in this country. But you know what? We were in this position the last two years and look what the polls looked like at the end of the year. I just thought that when the pre-season poll came out and Georgia was the № 1 team that the South Eastern Conference was finally getting some recognition. Silly Wabbit….It only took till week 2 of the season to bring that to a screeching halt. Just once…..Just once I wish USC, Ohio State, Texas, and oh lets not forget the pride of the NCAA…Notre Dame, had to play an SEC schedule. A true 8 SEC game schedule. You wouldn’t see a № 2 USC skipping over an undefeated Georgia if that was to ever happen.

Come back Friday for My Week #8 picks, Until Then.....

Hotty Toddy

Darryle "Speedy" Clark

Wednesday Opinion

Hello sports fans. Well I apologize for this being done later in the day than usual. I dont have alot to write about this Wednesday but I do want to say congratulations to Bobby Johnson and the Vanderbilt Commodores. You just have to respect any coach that will take over a program like Vanderbilts. I am not trying to offend Vanderbilt in any way, but they are the SEC's only private school. They are very academiccally oriented which in itself is very good, but it is awful hard for a coach to produce a winning program. We all know it is not everyday you find a 330 lb defensive lineman with a 4.o GPA.







I am not saying that any of the other players in our beloved conference are stupid or dumb but we all know that what I am saying is true. Lets face it, Academics has taken the back seat to a successful program at most schools, but it cannot do that at Vanderbilt. A player must be able to make the grade before he can enroll, much less play football. They have always had very talented players, most recently: Denver Broncos quaterback Jay Cutler, but it is very rare that they can put a TEAM of these talented players together. I commend the program and the coaching staff for a great job. It would not hurt my feelings any if they go all the way this year, although to do this they would have to beat Alabama, my second most favorite team. Anway, Kudos to the Dores for a huge win over Auburn and a great season.






I will not be able to write a Friday prediction column, I will be traveling and not able to write. I do hope that all is great in Football land this weekend.








Hotty Toddy


Darryle "Speedy" Clark

Weekend Re-Cap

Well this weekend wasnt as much of a roller coaster ride as last weekend. I am a little disappointed as any of you may guess. Ole Miss loses at home to South Carolina on our Homecoming. It was another day of critical turnovers which SC took advantage of. I have decided to recap the weekend action on Sunday since my wife and I will be going to the Saints game on Monday night. I thought about possibly writing a blog entry for that game. I know this blog is about SEC football but I have never been to a Monday Night Football game and I just thought I might want to share the experience .

The Rebels took the opening drive and marched in for a touchdown. Then the defense held SC to a field goal on their opening drive. The Rebels then score another touchdown putting them up 14-3. Thats when the wheels fell off. A fumble by Jevan Snead leads to a South Carolina touchdown and the downward spiral had begun for the Rebels. I will not take anything away from South Carolina, they played a great game and didnt let their mistakes kill them. They took great advantage of the Rebel mistakes and that is what you are supposed to do. I find it hard to believe after watching them execute that they are only 1-2 in the SEC. With 2 losses I don't forsee them competing for the Eastern champioinship, but they can certainly spoil some hopes of other contenders. With almost all other stats being pretty even the only stat that sticks out are the turnovers. The Rebels turned the ball over 3 times and the Gamecocks ony once. Turnovers have been the Achilles heel of the Ole Miss football team all year. I know that Jevan Snead is only a sophomore but he has had 6 games to learn how to protect the ball. Dexter McCluster fumbled as well on the Gamecock 6 yard line. McCluster is one of the most exciting athletes on the Ole Miss team but his fumbles are always at the most critical of times. He fumbled going in for the go ahead score against Vanderbilt as well. The Gamecocks played a good game and came away with a great victory for their program on the road. Final Score: 31 to 24.

Alabama 17 - Kentucky 14.

The surpise of the weekend for me was the Alabama, Kentucky game. I predicted the correct winner but I sure thought it would be by alot more than 3 points. As the score shows the game was actually played pretty even. Alabama has a slim edge in all statistics the same as on the scoreboard. As stated on Fridays column, Alabama QB: John Parker Wilson is the question mark on the Tide team. But not to worry Bama fans, Every quaterback has bad days and JPW's led to a win anyway despite the flat play. Bama has an off week to correct mistakes and then my Rebels will be coming to town with another upset on their mind. I am sure that coach Saban will have his team ready to play.

Florida 38 - Arkansas 7.

This game was an all around whoopin' as the scoreboard shows. Florida out gained the Razorbacks 514 yds to 361. The rest of the statistics are just that whopsided. Arkansas turned the ball over twice. The lone Florida turnover, a Tim Tebow interception, did not lead to any points as the Florida defense held Arkansas. As predicted Friday, the R-Backs made a pretty good game of it early, but Florida's motivation to right the ship after last weeks upset to Ole Miss proved too much for Arkansas. One other stat that sticks out shows that this had to be one of the most penalized games this year. Both teams were highly penalized, Florida: 12 penalties for 112 yards, Arkansa: 9 penalties for 75 yards. What could this game had been like if the penalites had not been a factor?

Auburn 13 - Vanderbilt 14.

Here is my one chance to gloat on the weekend. I predicted upset on Friday and I was glad to see it come to fruition. Auburn had a good first quarter and jumped out to a 13 point lead. But you have got to give those Commodores credit. They held the #13 team in the nation to no points in the remaining 3 quarters. Auburns offense has been their big question mark all season. The Commodores took advantage of this, scoring one touchdown to end the first half and again with just over 7 minutes left in the third quarter. The PAT after the second touchdown put the Dores up 14 to 13 which would prove to be the final score. The telling mistake in this game for Auburn would be the missed extra point by Auburn kicker, Wes Byrum. Auburn was penalized 11 times for 81 yards and Vandy out gained the Tigers. Vanderbilt had 263 total yards and Auburn had 208 yards. This was the first win for Vanderbilt over Auburn since the 1955 Gator Bowl. The Dores are now 5-0 and well on their way to becoming a driving force in the Eastern Division. Watch out Georgia and Florida, here comes the Commodores.

Tennessee 13 - Northern Illinois 9.

I sure thought that the Volunteers would take care of business better than they did in this game. I called it a cruise control game for UT but it turned out to be a squeaker instead. UT is definately missing David Cutcliffe as offensive coordinator. The stats in this one look pretty even, but NI had more first downs but were penalized 7 times for 90 yards. I dont know what UT is going to do to correct this anemia but they dont get much time to think about it as they travel to Georgia next weekend.

Well that ends weekend #6. Check back on Wednesday for my commentary on the good of the conference. Possibly I will find some good stuff to write about my trip to Monday Night Fooball, that will be wrote on Tuesday.

Hotty Toddy

Darryle "Speedy" Clark

Friday's Picks

Well we didn't win the Pontiac Game Changing Performance Award, but I figured it was worth watching again.



Well sports fans, here it is Friday again and that means another weekend of college football, more especially SEC football. I will be in Oxford again for the Ole Miss Homecoming game against South Carolina. I sure hope we can avoid an emotional letdown after last weeks huge win over #4 Florida as well as the Sports Illustrated Cover Jinx. The upsets have already started as last night the Pittsburgh Panthers upset the South Florida Bulls 26 to 21. Oregon State just about made it two weeks in a row, but Utah edged out a last minute field goal to win 31 to 28. I wonder what the weekend will have in store for us. Lets get started with the previews and predictions.

As Always I will begin with my Ole Miss Rebels. This week the Rebels are back home at Vaught Hemingway Stadium for the 2008 Homecoming Game. Excitement is in the air after the stunning victory on the road last weekend in the Swamp. This weeks opponent: none other than the "Ole Ball Coach" Steve Spurrier and his South Carolina Gamecocks, and boy are they due for a win. Last week the Rebel offense put up 31 points but were benefited by some short field situations. The offense didn't make the amount of mistakes that plagued them the previous weekend versus Vanderbilt. They limited themselves to only one turnover. If Jevan Snead can carry that momentum over into this game the offense should have a few opportunities to make plays despite South Carolina's #1 rating defending the pass (Conference and Nationally). I think if we can hold on to the ball the run game will loosen up that stingy pass defense. South Carolina has had 3 different quarterbacks in its line up so I am anxious to find out how well Houston Nutt could prepare for them. Last weekend the Gamecocks won against UAB, but have struggled to get a win against a conference foe, dropping both their previous contests against Vanderbilt and Georgia. Both Vandy and Georgia are good football teams so I look for South Carolina to be a big test for the Rebs. I may be accused of picking this one with my heart but I am going to go with the Rebels to win their Homecoming game giving the emotional fan base another happy Saturday.

Next up on my SEC calender is Kentucky versus Alabama. Only one word comes to mind when describing the play of Alabama this year: Great. I can even imagine "Tony The Tiger" saying it. They haven't been turning the ball over, one of the leagues lowest penalized teams, and they take advantage of their opponents mistakes. All the things a well coached team should do. The question mark in their line up has always been John Parker Wilson. As an Alabama fan, I am well pleased with his play so far this year, but we have all seen him have moments of greatness before, usually followed by stretches of horrible play. If JPW can keep the mindset that he has so far in the '08 campaign, then I just don't see anyone beating them. This includes Kentucky. UK has been playing well so far this season. They are 4-0 and that is a good spot to be in for sure, but they have yet to face a conference opponent, well they are this weekend. I look for Bama's suffocating defense to get after UK quarterback Mike Hartline, this is his first year to start and it will be interesting to see how he handles the rain of hellfire that is about to descend upon him in Tuscaloosa. I look for Bama to win this one big.

Next on tap is Florida versus Arkansas. Florida is licking their wounds after last weekends home opener loss to Ole Miss. They wont have an easy task in front of them as they will have to go on the road to Fayetteville to take on the struggling Arkansas Razorbacks. I know on paper Florida should destroy the R-Backs, but this is the SEC, and playing on the road in the SEC is no easy thing to do. Still in all, The Gators are mad, they are fired up, and I look for them to protect the football better than they did last weekend. Tim Tebow said in his post game interview that "Good would come out of that loss", and if they protect the ball and give him an inch of running room, we have all seen what he can do. Tebow is well behind his marks for this time last season, but he is still TEBOW. I look for Arkansas to play with reckless abandonment in this one, they will have nothing to lose and should pull out all stops. For this reason I think Arkansas puts up a great fight, especially early on, but my pick for this one is Florida.

Auburn at Vanderbilt, boy does this one have the makings of an SEC slobber knocker! Auburn is playing by far some of the best defense in the nation. This comes as no surprise being that Tommy Blah Blah Blah Tuberville is a defensive guru. On the other sideline, Bobby Johnson has these 2008 Commodores sitting pretty at 4-0, and I have personally seen them play. The adjective that comes to mind is FLAWLESS. They don't make silly mistakes and they protect the football. Auburn is struggling offensively this season, but have put up "W's" by superb defensive play. Look for this one to come down to the wire, but I am going to predict an upset in Music City. Vanderbilt will take this one. Interesting note, Vanderbilt has not won in this contest since the 1955 Gator Bowl. I say they are due.

Finally, Tennessee brings in Northern Illinois. The Vols are begging for a victory and they should get it this weekend. They have not had a good row to hoe so far this season. Their schedule had them pitted against 3 big time college programs in their first 4 games. They are 1-3 for the first time in my recollection with their only victory coming against UAB. I look for the Vols to put it on cruise control in this one and secure them a victory.

The only other game of interest to me this weekend is Oklahoma versus Baylor. Well SEC fans, I wont go into any specifics and details on this one, but If we want an SEC #1, we will have to wait for another weekend. OU takes care of business easily in this one and will maintain their #1 ranking in both polls.

Well that wraps up this weekends previews and picks. I will be headed to Oxford in the morning and hope to see plenty of Rebel fans on the road. As usual I will be back on Monday to admit my mistakes and gloat about my uncanny ability to find the winner. Until then.....

Hotty Toddy

Darryle "Speedy" Clark

Wednesday SEC Commentary

Class

What I would like to write about today is CLASS. While watching an unbelievable game between Ole Miss and Florida this weekend, I had the pleasure of seeing Class epitomized. I don’t think there is anyone in this country who can argue with me when I say that Florida head coach Urban Meyer is a real class act. He certainly was upset at the end of the game, but in his press conference he gave credit to the Ole Miss team for playing hard. He said he didn’t want to take nothing away from the team they were playing. I would expect any other coach in the nation to harp on the turnovers, or the busted coverage’s, but not Meyer. He is truly an ambassador for the SEC and he is only getting started at what he will accomplish at the University of Florida.

A True Fan

Being an Ole Miss fan, I was one of the happiest people in the country when we hired Houston Nutt at the end of the ’07 season. I had witnessed what he had accomplished at Arkansas and I knew he would be able to recruit. Until this weekend though I just figured he was a head coach who would do his best for you because it was his job. For this opinion I owe him an apology. This past weekend I may have imagined it, but I swear I seen tears when he witnessed the team he coached defeat a top 5 opponent. No matter if there were tears or not, anyone could see how happy he was. I got the feeling though that the happiness wasn’t for himself. It was for his kids, the team that he believed in before they believed in themselves. I now know that coach Nutt is an Ole Miss fan, not just the head coach. I am looking forward to the rest of this season.

Once again, CLASS is the word that comes to mind when thinking of coaches like Houston Nutt, and Urban Meyer. I know I may be a little on the bias side when talking about Houston Nutt, but that is why I write this blog. I can be biased and call them like I see them.

This past weekend, the stop of Tim Tebow on 4th and 1 at the end of the game between Florida and Ole Miss is nominated for the Pontiac Game Changing Performance Award. I encourage all Ole Miss Fans to go and vote for this play. Here is the link to go do so:
http://promo.espn.go.com/espn/contests/pontiacgcp/

The nature of being in the SEC is that having to play each other, it is almost impossible to keep so many of our teams in the top 10. With Ole Miss upsetting Florida and Alabama defeating Georgia, that allowed the Tide to catapult into the #2 spot in the AP poll. LSU moved into the #3 spot. In all I think the poll is about as good as we could expect at this point. Alabama received 21 first place votes as well, so somebody is noticing. And if you look at the top 25 as a whole, wow! 6 of our squads are in the poll. No other conference at this moment can boast of 50% representation. I am not sure what is up with the USA Today poll, they have LSU in the #2 position, I can handle that but Alabama is in the #4 position behind a #3 Missouri. I don’t understand how this happens since Alabama received 2 first place votes, LSU received 1 first place vote, but here is what I don’t understand. Missouri didn’t receive any first place votes, yet they are ranked higher than Alabama. Maybe someone else can explain it to me.

Finally, one other high note. The Ole Miss Rebels will grace the cover of Sports Illustrated. This issue features a great picture of DE Greg Hardy going after Tim Tebow of the Gators. The only thing I hope is that the SI jinx doesn't get us. We will need to play with great intensity against the Gamecocks this next weekend. Superstitions are part of any sport. We as sports fans MUST respect them. I just hope we can avoid the SI Jinx.

Come back on Friday as I will run down the weekends match ups in the SEC and give my predictions, maybe every now and then I will put a pick or two out of the conference, if it has direct implications to the SEC.