John Clay's Sidelines

SEC links for Saturday:

• Jon Solomon of the Birmingham News writes that the NCAA has faced a firestorm in the face of Cameron Newton loophole.
• Chizik and Spurrier say they are both happy Newton will play today, writes Jay G. Tate of the Montgomery Advertiser.
• Spurrier’s experience can stop Newton, writes Joe Biddle of the Tennessean.
• Spurrier and Garcia have become a good working pair, writes Ron Morris of The State.
• The old ball coach is ready for today’s title game, writes Charles Bennett of the Anniston Star.
• Defenses will decide the SEC title, writes John Adams of the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
• Georgia basketball holds on to beat UAB, reports Seth Emerson of the Macon Telegraph.

Continue reading ‘SEC: In Newton firestorm, SEC title decided today’

SEC links for Tuesday:

• Alabama fires part-time employee who played “Take the Money and Run” when Cameron Newton came onto field during Iron Bowl, reports Izzy Gould of the Tuscaloosa News.
• Bama tries to do right after songs gone wrong, writes Kevin Scarbinsky of the Birmingham News.
• Jeff Schultz of the AJC has video proof of the Alabama song selections.
• Fans upset that Urban Meyer blew off post-game radio interview following Florida’s loss to Florida State, writes Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel.
• Auburn wants a complete game against South Carolina, reports Charles Bennett of the Anniston Star.
• Mike Strange of the Knoxville News-Sentinel writes that Steve Spurrier and Gene Chizik have made the grade in the SEC.
• Middle Tennessee a trap game for basketball Vols, says Wes Rucker of the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
• Temple coach Al Golden is on Vanderbilt’s radar, reports Jeff Lockridge of the Tennessean.
• Houston Nutt says he has no regrets about bringing in Jeremiah Masoli, reports Kyle Veazey of the Clarion-Ledger.
• No staff changes at Georgia, reports Marc Weiszer of the Athens Banner-Herald.

Gene Chizik and Pat Dye. (AP photo/Jamie Martin)

SEC links for Wednesday:

• Pat Dye defending Cameron Newton is a joke, writes George Diaz of the Orlando Sentinel.
• Jeff Schultz of the AJC thinks that Georgia’s Mark Richt does deserve to be back next season.
• Florida beats Florida Atlantic 79-66 in basketball, reports Kevin Brockway of the Gainesville Sun.
• LSU and Arkansas will match strengths on Saturday, writes Randy Rosetta of The Advocate.
• Gene Chizik’s path is similar to Nick Saban’s path, writes Mike Herndon of the Mobile Press-Register.
• Travis Haney of the Charleston Post and Courier reports that South Carolina claims it is not looking past Clemson.
• One writer judges Auburn with or without the facts, writes Mr. SEC’s John Pennington.
• Jeffery Taylor has added the three-pointer to Vanderbilt’s offense, writes Bryan Mullen of the Tennessean.
• Auburn’s Nick Fairley could be a handful for the Alabama offensive line, writes Chase Goodbread of the Tuscaloosa News.
• Jay G. Tate of the Montgomery Advertiser writes that Auburn’s Cameron Newton still has a smile.

Continue reading ‘SEC: Dye defends Newton as Iron Bowl ramps up’

Big Blue Links for Thursday:

• Gene Chizik doesn’t know yet if his Auburn Tigers are different this year, writes Charles Bennett of the Anniston Star.
• Cameron Newton on pace to join 2,000/1,000 club, writes Chris Low of espn.com.
• Mark Crawford giving Kentucky what it needs, writes Chip Cosby of the Herald-Leader.
• Tailgate Review has a special UK women’s basketball clinic story from last year.
• Auburn’s tailbacks are back in the game, writes Charles Goldberg of the Birmingham News.
• Craig McIntosh is Kentucky’s kicker come lately, reports Brett Dawson of the Courier-Journal.
• Rich Brooks has no regrets about retirement, writes Keith Taylor of the Winchester Sun.
• UK’s offensive line is surpassing expectations, reports B.W. Jones of the Kentucky Kernel.
• Mike Hartline could see a little time at receiver, says Mary Jo Perino of WLEX-TV.
• His mother’s battle lifted Mark Krebs, writes William Croyle of the Kentucky Enquirer.

Some notes from Auburn’s 52-3 win over Louisiana-Monroe last Saturday:

• Quarterback Cameron Newton hooked up on a 94-yard touchdown pass with Emory Blake. It was the longest play from scrimmage in school history.
• After rushing for 75 times in the first four games, Newton did not carry the football on a running play. The quarterback was sacked once for a 12-yard loss. “I guess they’re saving him for us,”  said Kentucky coach Joker Phillips.
• Newton did throw for 245 yards and three touchdowns.
• He also punted once for 22 yards.
• Running back Onterio McCalebb scored on a 50-yard run on the game’s second play.
• Auburn scored on its first five drives.
• Mario Fannin rushed for 89 yards on 10 carries. He had gained just 25 yards on nine carries going into the Monroe game.
• UL-Monroe entered the game with the nation’s 111th-ranked defense.
• Monroe rushed for just 38 yards on 33 carries.
• Gene Chizik’s post-game press conference:

Here’s a video from two years ago when word leaked that Auburn was hiring Gene Chizik as head football coach.

The same Gene Chizik that was 5-19 in two years at Iowa State.

When Auburn athletics director Jay Jacobs arrived at a local airport, he was heckled by fans unhappy with the reports of Chizik’s imminent hire.

Two years later, Auburn is 5-0 and ranked No. 8 in both the AP and USA Today polls.

SEC links for Sunday:

• Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel writes that SEC should drop Vanderbilt for Central Florida.
• Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher rips ex-Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin, reports Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean.
• Joe Biddle of the Tennessean writes about the internet problems at the SEC Media Days.
• South Carolina’s Stephen Garcia is primed for a breakout season, writes Ron Morris of The State.
• Touted quarterback Raymond Cotton has left Ole Miss, reports David Brandt of the Clarion-Ledger.
• Ole Miss thin at quarterback after Cotton’s departure, writes Parrish Alford of the NE Mississippi Daily Journal.
• Mark Fox is taking Georgia basketball up a notch, writes Roger Clarkson of the Athens Banner-Herald.
• LSU excited about returning to the Georgia Dome, reports Scott Hotard of The Advocate.
• Mark McCarter of the Huntsville Times writes that Nick Saban has insulted pimps everywhere.
• Kevin Scarbinsky of the Birmingham News thinks this will be Saban’s most important season.

Continue reading ‘SEC: Should conference give Vanderbilt the boot?’

Derek Dooley at SEC Media Days. (AP photo)

SEC links for Saturday:

• Kenny Kadji asks to be released from his scholarship at Florida, reports Kevin Brockway of the Gainesville Sun.
• Derek Dooley is the anti-Lane Kiffin, writes Chip Cosby of the Herald-Leader.
• Bill Bryant of the Huntsville Times writes that Derek Dooley is looking to take Tennessee in a new direction.
• Tennessee should have kept Phil Fulmer, writes Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel.
• Les Miles disagrees with media assessment of his program, writes Scott Hotard of The Advocate.
• Derek Dooley calmly moving from one fire to another at Tennessee, writes Jeff Schultz of the AJC.
• Gene Chizik hopes Cameron Newton can lead Tigers to success, reports Chase Goodbread of the Tuscaloosa News.
• Houston Nutt wants to prove the prognosticators wrong, writes Rick Cleveland of the Clarion-Ledger.
• Dooley received a warm welcome at the SEC Media Days, writes Kyle Veazey of the Clarion-Ledger.
• Trendy picks must still live up to the hype, says Tommy Hicks of the Mobile Press-Register.

Continue reading ‘SEC: Kadji leaving Florida; Dooley on spot at Media Days’

(AP photo/Butch Dill)

Full-time radio host and part-time author Paul Finebaum of the Mobile Press-Register is out with his annual rankings of the SEC football coaches. In my book, Paul has some hits, but several misses, especially after the top three.

Here are my rankings, with Finebaum’s rankings in parenthesis:

• 1. Nick Saban, Alabama (1): Has passed Florida’s Urban Meyer as the conference and national king. Saban has won two national titles at two different schools. There is not a better coach in the nation at coming up with defensive schemes that stop opposing passing quarterbacks. Look at the passing numbers of Alabama’s opponents last year. They are ridiculous.

• 2. Urban Meyer, Florida (2): The Urbinator came off as a bit wacky during his retired/not retired fiasco last winter. He’s supposedly rested, ready and back to attack the Crimson Tide. He doesn’t have Tim Tebow this time around. It will be interesting to see how the Gators perform.

• 3. Bobby Petrino, Arkansas (3): At first glance, thought Finebaum had the ex-Louisville coach too high. But upon further review, this is probably about right. After going 13-12 his first two seasons in Fayetteville, Petrino should be ready for a breakout campaign.

• 4. Mark Richt, Georgia (5): Richt is supposedly on the hot seat at Georgia after his pre-season No. 1 Bulldogs failed to win the title in 2008, then slipped considerably last year. Still think Richt is a good coach, who has yet to make the leap to greatness. He’s still in rebuilding mode this year.

• 5. Steve Spurrier, South Carolina (4): The shine is off Coach Superior, but I’d still hate to face him in on any given Saturday. The question this year is whether Spurrier can get the most out of quarterback Stephen Garcia and take advantage of Tennessee and Georgia both appearing to be down a bit.

Continue reading ‘My own rankings of SEC football coaches 1-12′

SEC links for Tuesday:

Rick Cleveland of the Clarion-Ledger writes that player defections are troublesome new trend: “In all the stories about all these players, one quote jumped out at me like Michael Jordan soaring up for a jump shot. It was this from Romero Osby, who played behind Kodi Augustus and Ravern Johnson at State. Said Osby: ‘It’s just a lot of stuff that was in the way of me being able to showcase what I really can do. It’s no knock on Ravern or Kodi.’”

Seth Emerson of The State on Murphy Holloway’s transfer: “Murphy Holloway was watching ESPN on Monday when he saw an item on the scroll stating he was transferring from Mississippi to Clemson. That caught the Irmo native by surprise.

Tim Tucker of the AJC reports on Georgia quarterback pleading guilty to sexual battery: “Former University of Georgia quarterback Zach Mettenberger pleaded guilty Monday to two counts of misdemeanor sexual battery stemming from a March 7 incident in a bar in Remerton, Ga., near Valdosta. Mettenberger entered the plea in Lowndes County Superior Court and was sentenced under the Georgia First Offender Act to 12 months probation and 80 hours of community service. He also was fined $2,000 and banished from Valdosta for a year.

Paul Finebaum of the Mobile Press-Register writes that Dan Mullen is the future of college football: “I met him last week in Birmingham while he was schlepping from one end of nowhere to the other, spreading the gospel for Mississippi State. While Auburn coaches were rolling in stretch limousines and luxury buses and Nick Saban was flying in helicopters and lear jets around Dixie, Mullen began the annual “Road Dogs Tour” in a motor home, taking the message to 12 different places.”

Mike Strange of the Knoxville News-Sentinel writes that Bruce Pearl carries Tennessee’s banner high: “Then a football spokesman took the microphone. He praised the direction a new coach would guide the program, but warned there might be rough waters ahead. Finally, the men’s basketball coach took the podium – to a standing ovation.

Continue reading ‘SEC links: Transfers becoming a troubling trend’