NCAA Football FanHouse

When Tennessee-Alabama Became Grandpa's Game

Clay Travis — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:47:00 EST

On Oct. 24, Justin Paschall, a 13-year-old eighth grader at Southside Elementary in Lebanon, Tenn., went to his first Alabama-Tennessee football game. He traveled to Tuscaloosa with his grandfather, Ray Todd, as huge of an Alabama fan as there is in the Southland and two cousins, also Alabama fans. Justin says his first question upon being told that his grandfather had tickets for the game, his first ever Tennessee game, was, "Can I wear my orange jacket?"

Grandpa Ray Todd, Alabama born and bred and now residing in Tennessee, said that he could wear his orange, and on Friday the foursome traveled to Tuscaloosa for the game. Come Saturday, Justin woke up and took wearing orange to a whole new level.

Yep, he wore an orange jacket, but he also painted his face white, and spiked his hair with orange highlights. Grandpa Ray Todd, a 68-year-old 'Bama fan, shook his head and smiled. It was the trip of a lifetime, a ballgame at Bryant-Denny with his three grandsons. Even if, you know, one of them had the bad sense to be a Tennessee fan. Ray Todd smiled throughout the cloudy morning chill, grinned as the clouds broke in the early afternoon and poured forth brilliant sunlight into the stadium. He tried to do everything he could to soak up every moment. That's what happens when your grandsons are pushing you in a wheelchair, you have pancreatic cancer, and doctors have given you one football season left to live.

So it came to pass that the 91st rivalry game between Tennessee and Alabama was an awful lot like many of the 90 that had preceded it, close, bitterly close.

"I cheered loud all game," says Justin, "I wanted Tennessee to win so bad. It was my first game and all, and I didn't want to go all that way and see them lose." Sitting beside his grandfather and his two cousins watching his first Tennessee game in person, Justin pronounced it, "The best day of my life."

As the game progressed, Justin had a lot to cheer for; Tennessee, a 16-point underdog, kept the game close against Alabama all afternoon. By late in the fourth quarter, the Vols had the ball near Alabama's goal line, down 12-3. "I cheered so loud then," says Justin, "everyone around me, all the Alabama people, were looking at me like I was crazy."

Tennessee scored a touchdown to cut the lead to 12-10 and Justin went crazy in the stands. "I thought we were going to win, I really did," he says. As Tennessee lined up to attempt the onside kick, Justin stood and prayed that Tennessee would recover. When the Vols came up with the ball and the official signaled Tennessee's possession, pointing straight toward the opposing goal line, Justin came undone.

"I was screaming for Tennessee as loud as I could." Justin kept on screaming as loud as he could, reaching a crescendo of joy when Jonathan Crompton, Justin's favorite player, hit Luke Stocker for a 23-yard gain to the Alabama 27. Tennessee ran the ball on the next play and called timeout to set up the field goal, a kick that would win the game for the Vols, their first road victory over a No. 1 team in the history of the program.

Then Justin looked down at the man he calls Pops, his grandfather Ray Todd. "Pops was all slumped over and his lips were quivering." Just like that, Justin says, "I couldn't keep rooting for my team anymore." Right then and there Justin said a prayer. "I said, Good Lord, could you please let Alabama win?"

As Tennessee lined up for a field goal aimed at the opposite end zone distant from them, white uprights rising into a blue sky across a distant green field, Justin continued to pray. And when Terrence Cody came through the line and blocked the kick, when the entire Alabama stadium including his grandfather, Ray Todd, exploded in joy, Justin says he couldn't help but feel he'd made the right decision.

Kind of. But there was still one person he had to clear it with, his daddy.

That night when he returned home from, he told his dad, Ron, who drives a food truck for a living and is a huge Vol fan, what he'd done. "I hope you ain't mad at me, Dad," Justin said, "but when I looked over at Pops, I couldn't keep rooting for Tennessee to win. I thought it might be the last game he'd ever see."

"I gave him a hug and told him, I couldn't be mad at him," says Ron, "I told him he'd done the right thing."

And just like that, a new story about the Third Saturday in October, the South's most bitter rivalry, did something unbelievable, it made it impossible for fans of both teams to keep their eyes dry.

Clay Travis is the author of three books. His latest, "On Rocky Top: A Front Row Seat to The End of an Era" chronicles the 2008 Tennessee football season and is on sale now.

When Tennessee-Alabama Became Grandpa's Game originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:47:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Slive & Gold: The Root of SEC's Troubles

Clay Travis — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:10:00 EST

Filed under: Florida, Tennessee, SEC

Last week Mike Slive, the Montgomery Burns of the SEC, threatened Lane Kiffin with a suspension and rewrote the SEC policy when it comes to commenting on officiating. All season, Slive has been besieged by officiating errors, coaches sniping at one another, and the continuing onslaught of media coverage having a brand new television contract and two top-ranked teams has brought.

Now, Slive (pictured right) is backed into a corner. Just a few days after Slive announced his new policy on officiating, Urban Meyer teed off on officiating once more, taking a shot at the non-call on a late hit that Georgia delivered to Florida quarterback Tim Tebow.

"That should have been a penalty, in my opinion," Meyer said, "Obviously, it should have been. You've got to protect quarterbacks. That's the whole purpose. It's right in front of the referee."

And then, not to be outdone, Lane Kiffin took a swipe at Meyer's comments on officiating. "Urban Meyer? Criticized the officials, wow, that will be interesting," Kiffin said, "We'll see." Not content with a sarcastic aside, Kiffin also commented on the Brandon Spikes situation: "Yeah, I saw it on replay, it was pretty bad ... Obviously he'll discipline his team. Or not."

In 2009, the SEC has been the new king of controversy and virtually every action Commissioner Slive has undertaken has, instead of quelling the uproar, actually increased the feeding frenzy. Of course the ultimate irony of all of the attention being focused on the SEC is this, much of it is self-inflicted, brought on by the increased prominence of SEC football on both ESPN and CBS.

Once those companies ponied up billions to televise the athletic events, minor conflicts suddenly turned into nuclear war, the Bay of Pigs meets SEC football.

The SEC is behind the curve on responding to and preventing stories from spinning out of their control. Why? Because they've got a product with national appeal that is still run like a mom-and-pop store.
Don't believe me? I've been writing for over a year about how the increase in television fees was going to lead to stories that would have otherwise been regional in nature, becoming national. And we've already seen that happen this year, it's the primary reason Kiffin became such a lightning rod, because ESPN needed him to sell their product. And it's worked, SEC football ratings are up across the board, highlighted by a 60 percent spike in UT-Florida ratings after the Kiffin-Meyer tiff.

Controversy increases interest. Conflict, even manufactured conflict, sells. In fact, I'd even argue that controversies over bad officiating probably, paradoxically, lead to more viewers for games. Why? People want to see for themselves just how bad the officiating really is. And once the impression that the officiating is bad exists, it becomes the default assumption the next time a questionable judgment is made.

But this increased media attention has also caught the league and Slive flatfooted. I think the SEC, where regional writers still spend the majority of the time covering individual teams, has been surprised by how quickly statements by coaches have become national news. Same with the officiating controversies. In fact, anyone who has been a fan of SEC football for a decade or more, knows that this season's comments and controversies are no more extraordinary than any in the past 20 or 30 years.

Maybe even less so.

There have always been bad calls that have cost teams games, there have always been coaches looking to gig opponents -- it's what made Steve Spurrier a media darling -- and there have always have been extremely competitive games that magnify the importance of officiating calls. What there hasn't been is a national onslaught of attention surrounding these controversies. It used to be that if Spurrier said something bad about Tennessee or Georgia, it led the local paper, maybe the local news, in the offended jurisdiction and after a day it blew over.

News could only trickle down from the top back then, and if it did trickle down it came to an end quickly on a regional basis. Now? Now, news comes from both directions. It can boil up via fan outrage on blogs, message boards and YouTube, where eventually the national media pick up on the controversies and turn them into stories. Meanwhile, the national media can now take a single sentence and turn it into a blizzard of publicity. Those words have always been there, but in the past the money didn't justify the attention.

In the latter days of the 19th century, the term yellow journalism took flight. Ultimately, it led to William Randolph Hearst helping to start the Spanish-American War, "You furnish the pictures, and I'll furnish the war," he's supposed to have remarked.

Now SportsCenter furnishes the sports war.

That's a seismic change in the attention being paid to the league. And one the SEC still hasn't caught up to.

I knew we'd reached the tipping point in breathless SEC coverage when ESPN led a telecast with a story about Kiffin firing the strength coach at Tennessee. Really, the strength coach? A man many hardcore Vol fans couldn't even name is being covered by national news?

And the SEC hasn't helped themselves in surfing the onslaught; Slive's every move has added fuel to the fire rather than quelling the blaze.

Don't believe me, let's take a look at some of the hamhanded decisions made by the league just this year.

First, Slive made a big show of reading coaches the riot act after offseason controversies. The idea was that this public haranguing would kill all negative commentary. You can all see how well that worked. Instead of actually changing anything, the story of the fiery talk led newscasts and reinforced the previous statements made by coaches.

Next, the league attempted to restrict media coverage of athletic events with a new media policy that provoked outrage. The idea behind controlling rights was financial, seizing control of video, images, and content would, the league reasoned, make those products more valuable while also allowing them to control more of the stories that ensued. That's why the league also sought to restrict blogger access, as if any of the bloggers driving news coverage actually needed to be present at events to influence public perception. Nevertheless, the league buckled and rescinded many of the restrictions after complaints from long-time media partners.

Finally, once the season commenced, Slive and crew overreacted to bad officiating on judgment calls by throwing part-time officiating crews under the bus and suspending them. This decision opened the floodgates for coaches to comment on officiating mistakes, something that had previously been swept under the league rug. In rapid succession, Bobby Petrino, Lane Kiffin, and Dan Mullen were reprimanded by letter for publicly ripping officiating. Then, not to be outdone, Slive revised the existing rules for coaches to comment on officiating mid-season and threatened coaches with suspensions or, be still my trembling heart, fines should they fail to follow the newly prescribed rules.

What do all of these issues show? The SEC is behind the curve on responding to and preventing stories from spinning out of their control. Why? Because they've got a product with national appeal that is still run like a mom-and-pop store. After all the time they spent courting television partners, they failed to realize how those partners would cover the product they paid so dearly for. A league where everyone loves one another isn't great television. A league where everyone hates one another?

That's compelling television.

Slive, to his credit, is smart, and has done a great deal to clean up the league's image, but what he hasn't done is anticipate new and old media's ability to create national stories out of sentences that would have been, at best, regional dust-ups just 10 years ago. Partly, that's the result of the explosion of the Internet as a news cycle driver, but, mostly, it's a reflection of a hard and fast rule in today's media: if you pay a lot of money to cover a product, all of a sudden that product becomes more newsworthy than it ever has before.

Enter ESPN.

Enter the controversies.

Enter the belated responses.

And now, after a season of futile and belated responses, Slive doesn't have any options left. Will he become the first commissioner in league history to suspend a coach for commenting on, wait for the outrage, a football game? Can he? Does he have the political power to make that move and be backed by everyone? Especially if the coaches are making comments that most SEC fans agree with?

I don't know.

What I do know is that such a move would be unprecedented and draw more negative attention than anything that it helped to solve. But if Slive doesn't act, hasn't he rendered himself impotent, turned himself into the teacher who threatens real punishment but can never deliver that punishment? The SEC Commissioner with no clothes? Paging Montgomery Burns.

Sooner or later making false threats leads to less power than making no threats at all. But, Slive probably knows that. The question is, do the coaches?

And the bigger and more ominous question for Slive and the league he leads is this: in signing that multi-billion dollar television contract did the SEC ultimately bequeath the power of their product to corporations that have different interests than the league? If they did, and I think that's entirely likely, ultimately no matter what Slive does to penalize coaches, he's never going to regain control of the league narrative again.

That's already been sold.

Slive & Gold: The Root of SEC's Troubles originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:10:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Starting 11: Every Game Counts, Except Some Count More Than Others

Clay Travis — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Boise State, Florida, Oregon, Tennessee

One of the most frustrating cliches trotted out by college football's BCS defenders is this banal line: Every game counts. I hate this three-word cliche with the fury of a thousand blazing suns. I hate the smugness with which it's delivered, I hate the fact that no one points out the obvious -- name a sport where the games don't actually count-- but I hate the fact that it isn't even true the most.

In fact, this phrase is positively Orwellian because it leaves off the final part of the sentence. Every game counts ... except some games count more than others. How else to explain the fact that everyone can brush off Boise State's win over Oregon because it happened the first game of the season?

I understand we're dealing with a broken system, but right now Boise State is continuing to plummet as they win. I wrote about the glass ceiling that Boise had reached a couple of weeks ago, but has it really reached the point where we just ignore the first week of the season?

And if we do ignore the first week of the season, what's the point of having a broken system to determine who the champion is? Because pretty soon, if they keep winning, Oregon is going to pass undefeated Boise in the BCS rankings. Already Iowa, Cincinnati, one-loss USC, and TCU have all passed Boise since the first BCS standings were released three weeks ago. What's Boise done since that first week's release when they stood at No. 4 in the country?

Beaten two teams by a combined score of 99-16.

I'm not arguing that individual results should always govern the rankings between two teams. But I am arguing this, if the regular season means anything at all, you have to rank an undefeated team above any team that they've beaten.

Absolutely, positively, have to do that.

On to the Starting 11.

1. The fact that Tennessee was going to wear black jerseys on Halloween was one of the worst kept secrets in the history of the Internets.

For months, fans, media, and everyone else who cares about what color jerseys a team wears (count myself outside of this group) have gone crazy with speculation. Tennessee's athletic director, head coach, and everyone else associated with the program shot down the possibility that the Vols would wear black for months.

Then they did.

Raising this question, is it really worth lying about the color of a jersey? Why not just say: "We don't comment on jersey colors," months ago and leave it at that?

I know that UT claims the decision wasn't made until the week of the game, and while that might be true in a legal sense, it had been under contemplation for months judging by all the smoke surrounding the issue. I truly don't care what jerseys my team wears, but was the "surprise" really worth it?

I don't think so.

2. By the way, if Oregon hadn't played Boise State in the first game of the season, where are they ranked right now?

Probably fourth, right?

One of the really sad things about the current system is that Boise can't get teams to play them home-and-home for this exact reason, play a patsy at your place and you get a guaranteed win and don't deal with any long-term injury to your reputation. Play a tough team on the road and you sabotage your season if you lose.

Boise gets ripped because they haven't scheduled well enough. Well, isn't a tremendous part of that because they need to play enough home games to make some revenue for their school and because most teams are afraid to play them in Boise?

They're already playing six road games this season. That leaves them with just six home games. Most other major college teams in America are playing 7 homes games, often 8.

This is the system we've created, good teams from major conferences won't play other good teams because they don't need to and then when they won't play a smaller school we criticize the team they won't play for not having a tough enough schedule.

Awesome.

Doesn't anyone see that logical flaw?

3. Isn't it time we penalize college football players for malicious intent rather than malicious success?

Brandon Spikes tried to eye gouge Georgia's Washaun Ealey on Saturday. Urban Meyer, who doles out good ole boy justice with the best of them despite not actually being Southern, suspended Spikes for a half.

Against Vanderbilt.

Florida could probably start me at middle linebacker for a half and still beat Vanderbilt.

That's not even a joke, I really think they could.

But one of the most interesting things about this entire situation is that we're suspending Spikes because he was unsuccessful at what he attempted to do. In other words, Spikes's own incompetence as an eye-gouger actually saved him from a more severe penalty. Shouldn't we penalize a player based on intent rather than the actual result? Especially in sports since part of the reason for the punishment is to dissuade others who see the punishment.

4. Case Keenum, who may win the Heisman by default, threw for 559 yards against Southern Miss on Saturday.

On 54 pass attempts. He wasn't sacked.

Not once.

What's more, Keenum has attempted 398 passes so far this season and has only been sacked 10 times. Counting the sacks Keenum has dropped back to pass 408 times, probably more since he's scrambled for yardage several times, but only 10 times have defenses managed to sack him.

That means almost 98 percent of the time when he drops back to pass, the ball is leaving his hand before a defender gets to him. Can you imagine how debilitating that is to a defensive line? To know that, on average, if you rush the quarterback on 50 consecutive plays you're going to get to him once?

How mentally tiring must that be?

I've read quite a bit of praise for Keenum so far this season, but I haven't read anything about Houston's offensive line and the job they've done allowing Keenum to attempt so many passes. Kudos to them.

5. Iowa's magical season continues and soon they'll be in the clubhouse at 12-0 with two weeks of football remaining.

I haven't seen anyone write about what a tremendous advantage it is for Big Ten schools that they don't play games the final two weeks of the regular season. Iowa is now 9-0. They have two home games against Northwestern and Minnesota sandwiched around a road game at Ohio State. Assuming they win all three, the Hawkeyes get to sit and watch undefeated Texas, Alabama, Cincinnati and Florida deal with the mounting pressures of the season.

For half a month, they do nothing and can only be helped by the games that take place around them.

I know the long layoff has been mentioned before in terms of a Big Ten team's performance in bowl games, and the lack of a championship game is often trotted out as evidence of a hugely uneven playing field, but I haven't seen anything written about the tremendous advantage that comes from sitting out the final two weeks of the season.

It's worth thinking about as the pressure mounts to see who will be playing in the title game.

6. Random observation from the Jacksonville Airport: They have an entrance for a seeing eye dog at the security screening area with a sign above indicating such. It's next to the wheelchair entrance.

Multiple questions: A.) Whom is this sign for? Presumably the blind person can't see it, right? I'm no expert on canines, but I don't think they can recognize the sign either. B.) How many blind people with seeing eye dogs are traveling such that they need their own line? For instance, have you ever seen a blind person with a seeing eye dog at the airport before? C.) Wouldn't anyone with a brain naturally assume that the blind person with a dog doesn't have to walk through the regular line? In other words, who is doubting that they go through the handicapped line? D.) Where do the seeing eye dogs go on flights? Do you check them at the gate like a stroller? Are you automatically in the A boarding group at Southwest? If the dog is on the plane, where does he sit?

Anyway, this is the most unnecessary sign I've sign since the White House prohibited weapons' list featured guns, knives and nunchucks. Because, you know, who hasn't planned a trip to the White House and brought along a set of nunchucks in case of a ninja attack.

7. Why did Wake Forest let their kicker attempt a 60-yard field goal to end the game against Miami?

Setting the scene: Wake is down 28-27, there are four seconds remaining, and the Demon Deacons are at the Hurricanes' 43.

Your kicker, Jimmy Newman, has a career long field goal of 42 yards. (Sam Swank, Wake Forest's longtime strong-legged kicker, graduated after last season.)

What do you do?

Not kick, right?

Seeing as how this is 18 yards further than the kicker's career long.

Well, Wake kicks.

Predictably the kick was is wide right and short by about 15 yards. It lands in the front of the end zone. Does this really make sense? It's kind of embarrassing, actually. Wouldn't you have better odds of a Hail Mary here?

Granted, Wake Forest was playing with its backup quarterback at the time, Ryan McManus, instead of usual starter Riley Skinner, who left the game after taking a knee to his un-helmeted head on a fourth-quarter run. McManus, a senior, had two strikes against him entering the game. 1) He had more tackles in his career (two, on punt coverage in 2007) entering the game than pass completions (one). 2) The highlights of his online bio including calling a "key timeout" against Baylor and that he "loves to play." What exactly gets cut so that these factoids might make the biography? He enjoys both inhaling, exhaling and wearing socks?

At any rate, even with McManus why wouldn't you at least take a chance your quarterback could throw it 43 yards or at least try some sort of hook-and-ladder or series of laterals?

Instead you humiliate your kicker.

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Latest College Football Photos

Penn State football coach Joe Paterno answers a question at his weekly news conference on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2009 in State College, Pa. Penn State host Ohio State in an NCAA college football game on Saturday, Nov. 7. (AP Photo/Pat Little)

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Latest College Football Images

Penn State football coach Joe Paterno answers a question at his weekly news conference on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2009 in State College, Pa. Penn State sports information director Jeff Nelson looks in the background. Penn State host Ohio State in an NCAA college football game on Saturday, Nov. 7. (AP Photo/Pat Little)

Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno answers a question duirng his weekly news conference on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2009 in State College, Pa. Penn State host Ohio State in an NCAA college football game on Saturday, Nov. 7. (AP Photo/Pat Little)

In this photo made Oct. 31, 2009, University of Florida line backer Brandon Spikes reaches inside the helmet of Georgia's Washaun Ealey during an NCAA college football game in Jacksonville, Fla. Florida coach Urban Meyer suspended Spikes for the first half of this week's Vanderbilt game after watching the tape Monday, Nov. 1, of Spikes attempting to gouge the eyes of Georgia's Ealey. (AP Photo/Stephen Morton)

Mississippi coach Houston Nutt pats Rodney Scott on the helmet as he ran off the field after being pinned under injured Auburn player Zac Etheridge for several minutes during an NCAA college football game on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009, in Auburn, Ala. (AP Photo/ Butch Dill)

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Auburn strong safety Zac Etheridge, top center, is injured and lies on top of Mississippi running back Rodney Scott after a play during an NCAA college football game on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009, in Auburn, Ala. (AP Photo/ Butch Dill)

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Oklahoma State head football coach Mike Gundy answers a question during a news conference in Stillwater, Okla., Monday, Nov. 2, 2009. Gundy says he has "complete confidence" in Zac Robinson's abilities and believes the starting quarterback will bounce back after perhaps the worst game of his college career. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

In this Nov. 8, 2008, photo, Alabama coach Nick Saban, left, and LSU coach Les Miles talk after Alabama defeated LSU 27-21 in an NCAA college football game in Baton Rouge, La. No. 3 Alabama faces No. 9 LSU on Saturday, Nov. 7. An Alabama win would give the team the Southeastern Conference West title; if LSU wins, it takes control of the SEC West. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Syracuse quarterback Greg Paulus throws against Cincinnati during the second quarter of an NCAA college football game in Syracuse, N.Y., Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009. (AP Photo/Kevin Rivoli)

Florida linebacker Brandon Spikes, center, celebrates with his teammates after intercepting a pass and scoring a touchdown in the fourth quarter during a NCAA college football game against Georgia, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009 in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Stephen Morton)

8. At least you aren't a Marshall fan.

In case you missed it on Sunday night, which you definitely did, Marshall had a 20-14 lead with under 30 seconds to play.

Understandably, the team took a timeout to set their defense. Then, they didn't cover the wide receiver.

At all.

Out of a timeout.

Touchdown Central Florida, game over 21-20. Here's the video if you don't believe me.

Or don't watch. Since this is what keeps fans up at night. Can you imagine being a Marshall fan and thinking to yourself, "Surely, we're not leaving that guy ... F--- me, why do I root for this team?"

I guarantee you that was the exact thought pattern of 95 percent of Marshall fans watching this game.

9. Michigan, poor Michigan.

Remember all that optimism after Michigan started 4-0?

It's gone.

Illinois, a then-1-6 team, physically dominated the mighty Wolverines on Saturday. How so? With 377 rushing yards. Michigan has now lost four of five and the only win came against Delaware State. 6-6 is looking likely. Assuming, that is, Purdue doesn't roll into Ann Arbor and knock that possibility away.

At least basketball season is 'nigh.

10. Mississippi State's Anthony Dixon ran for 252 yards on 33 carries against Kentucky.

That's the second most yards rushing by a player in an SEC game in a decade.

I was at Sneaker's sports bar in Jacksonville while the game was going on. They put it on a small television over my left shoulder. I was watching Tennessee-South Carolina on one of the huge projection screens on the wall. But as the Kentucky-Mississippi State game progressed, my friend and Kentucky alumnus Tardio just got angrier and angrier. First he cursed. Then he started to slam his hands on the table after big runs.

Eventually he just put his hands over his eyes and sighed.

Is there anything worse than watching your team get run on consistently? It's so emasculating, you can actually feel the testosterone running out of your body with each gallop into the open field. This was made all the worse for Kentucky fans because Dan Mullen wore huge puffy gloves that made it appear he was coaching somewhere in the Arctic. I don't mind coats, but do you really need to coach in gloves? Lane Kiffin did the same thing on Saturday. It's the SEC in late October, at worst, it's around 45 degrees if there's a night game. I think your fingers will survive.

Anyway, getting run on is even worse when it's someone like Anthony Dixon who isn't shifty or particularly fast. He runs standing up, like a horse out for a trot in the Bluegrass. Watching his run is the insult equivalent of a middle-finger being slowly extended in your direction while someone does that goofy cranking motion to make the finger rise.

11. What if there was an eight team playoff based on the BCS standings?

Right now, we'd have an awesome set of teams. You'd have traditional powers like Alabama, Florida and Texas. But then you'd have upstart teams like Iowa, Cincinnati, Boise State, Oregon and TCU. Can you imagine how excited those five fanbases would be?

Can you imagine how excited we'd all be?

I'll tell you exactly what you'd feel like -- a quarterback lining up with less than 30 seconds to play in a game when you suddenly realized no one had covered your receiver.

Starting 11: Every Game Counts, Except Some Count More Than Others originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Layla Kiffin Denies SI Swimsuit Rumor

Clay Travis — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:05:00 EST

Filed under: Tennessee, General CFB Insanity

In the minutes after he was hired at Tennessee, Lane Kiffin's wife, Layla, shot to the forefront of Google search results. At the time she was pregnant with her third child. None of that mattered. Vol fans, and college football fans across the country, were immediately amazed with how far Lane Kiffin had outkicked his coverage. Layla's good looks and Lane's recruiting offered tangible proof, if any was needed, that my theory -- the hotter the wife the better the recruiter -- was gold.

Now, having delivered her third child, rumors swirled Friday morning that Layla would be posing for Sports Illustrated's swimsuit issue. As first reported by the Sports Animal radio station in Knoxville, the rumor swept the Internets and sent pulses racing and subscription rates surging in the Tennessee Valley. Alas, it was not to be. "Absolutely not true," said Tiffany Carpenter, director of UT public relations.

Indeed, Layla has not even been approached by anyone at Sports Illustrated about posing in their swimsuit issue.

If the reaction on Friday is any indication, SI might want to reconsider that position.

Already, pictures of Layla tailgating at the UCLA game have taken the Internet by storm. Not to mention the thousands of people who joined the Facebook group, Our Coach's Wife Is Hotter Than Your Coach's Wife. To say that Layla Kiffin is an Internet phenomenon doesn't do the term justice. Let's just say I don't think she would need to pull a Mrs. Roger Clemens and take HGH before the shoot.

If she did choose to don a swimsuit for the issue, Layla would immediately become Lane Kiffin's most public recruiting tool. Come to Tennessee, you might end up with a woman who looks like this. Even if, you know, Layla is actually a Gator grad and the daughter of a former Gator quarterback.

Lil Wayne better hit the studio, he's got a new track to drop.

In the meantime, keep dreaming Vol fans. And, if the shoot does materialize despite present denials, hope that Terrence Cody doesn't step in front of the camera lens at the last possible moment.

Layla Kiffin Denies SI Swimsuit Rumor originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:05:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lil Wayne Name Drops Lane Kiffin in Latest Rap Song

Clay Travis — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:12:00 EST

Filed under: Tennessee, Media Watch, General CFB Insanity

Lane Kiffin's off-field comments have twice earned him reprimands from the Southeastern Conference this season. But now he's finally getting mad props -- assuming people still give mad props -- thanks to the rapper Lil Wayne. In Lil's newest track, Banned From TV, the Southern rapper includes this line, "Smoke weed, talk s--- like Lane Kiffin." Now Lane Kiffin has acknowledged the endorsement via Twitter, tweeting today, "looking forward to another great practice today and a huge game Saturday ... also a huge shout-out to Lil Wayne for boosting our street cred!"

Yep, two of the South's top gangsters are already in fine form. As for fans? Well, UT fans, are already talking about, wait for it, the recruiting benefits of Lil Wayne's lyrical endorsement. Wrote a reader, Alan, this morning in an e-mail to me, "Should help with recruiting. Especially in South Florida, Louisiana, Atlanta and Memphis."

But why stop with recruiting help? Now that he's been bound and gagged by the SEC, Lane Kiffin should hop on the gangster train and play this for all it's worth.

Lil Wayne's past is dotted with controversy, including being arrested three times for drug-related issues, Wayne now faces sentencing in February on a weapons charge for which he has already plead guilty. He's expected to serve a year in prison. Notwithstanding his criminal history, he's also an acknowledged sports fan, having memorably appeared on ESPN's Around the Horn earlier this year and debated sports journalists on issues of the day. In a sad day for sports journalists everywhere, Wayne triumphed.

Lil Wayne is 27 and Lane Kiffin is just 34. So it's not particularly surprising that the New Orleans native would have picked up on Kiffin's brash manner and incorporated the antics into a song. As for Kiffin, markedly younger than most coaches in the SEC, and about 10,000 percent cooler than the only person near his own age, the top-button buttoning Dan Mullen, he's better able to bridge the generational divide with his players. And while Kiffin has some interesting character traits that don't fit in that well with the rap universe -- he goes for jogs on game day and wears visors for instance -- his affinity for the entertainment side of college football is really second-to-one, Steve Spurrier in the 1990s. Now that he's been threatened with suspension should he make any more improper comments, maybe Kiffin can just rely on third parties to make his case via rap lyrics.

Amazingly, right now, that seems possible.

Clay Travis is the author of three books. His latest, "On Rocky Top: A Front Row Seat to The End of an Era" chronicles the 2008 Tennessee football season and is on sale now.

Lil Wayne Name Drops Lane Kiffin in Latest Rap Song originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:12:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SEC Reprimands Kiffin, Again

Clay Travis — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:24:00 EST

Filed under: Alabama, Tennessee

In the wake of Tennessee's 12-10 loss to Alabama, Lane Kiffin expressed displeasure over the penalty disparity -- Alabama received one penalty for 10 yards while Tennessee received eight for 68 -- the lack of a penalty on Terrance Cody on the game's final play, and even suggested that the referees were the reason he chose to kick the field goal from 44 yards rather than run another play to move closer.

"You run another play and you throw an interception or they throw another flag on us," Kiffin said Sunday. "I wasn't going to let the refs lose the game for us there and some magical flag appear."

The SEC fired back today, reprimanding the Tennessee coach.

In a statement e-mailed to the media, Commissioner Mike Slive spoke out against Kiffin's criticism.

"Coach Kiffin has violated the Southeastern Conference Code of Ethics," Slive said. "SEC Bylaw 10.5.4 clearly states that coaches, players and support personnel shall refrain from all public criticism of officials.

"Coach Kiffin is on notice that for any further violations of SEC policies will subject him to additional penalties including suspension."

In February, Kiffin was reprimanded for faslely accusing Florida coach Urban Meyer of a recruiting violation.

Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen was also reprimanded by the league Monday. Mullen questioned the instant replay official in the Bulldogs' loss to Florida, who failed to overturn a touchdown by Florida linebacker Dustin Doe. Doe returned an intercepted pass to the end zone during the fourth quarter Saturday night, but appeared to drop the ball in celebration before it crossed the goal line.

"I don't even know why we have replay right now in the Southeastern Conference if they're not going to utilize it," Mullen said.

The public criticism of the officiating comes in the wake of notable officiating failures in earlier SEC games that have led to apologies from the league. The SEC admitted error in both the the "excessive celebration" penalty called against Georgia's A.J. Green in the Bulldogs' narrow loss to LSU to the flags from nowhere against Arkansas in its near-upset of Florida. The SEC's public mea culpa as well as suspensions of officials has emboldened coaches to speak out publicly on the issue. After his team's loss to Florida, Bobby Petrino ripped the officiating and received a letter of reprimand as well.

So evidently calling attention to bad calls is the sole province of the league. For now, Kiffin remains on thin ice with the commissioner. Although, to be fair, a second public reprimand is the rough equivalent of a teacher banging his ruler on the desk for the second time. Whether SEC Commissioner Mike Slive would be willing to actually suspend a coach for expressing his opinion on a football matter, remains to be seen.

Regardless, the SEC's letter comes as no surprise to Kiffin.

"I'm sure we'll get one of those letters that really means nothing as Bobby [Petrino] got last week, but Florida and Alabama live on," Kiffin said on Sunday.

Clay Travis is the author of three books. His latest, "On Rocky Top: A Front Row Seat to The End of an Era" chronicles the 2008 Tennessee football season and is on sale now.

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Mississippi State quarterback Chris Relf (14) is stopped by Florida cornerback Joe Haden (5) in the second half of their NCAA college football game in Starkville, Miss., Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009. No. 2 Florida won, 29-19. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

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University of Connecticut teammates Kashif Moore (left) and Kijuan Dadney (right) speak at the funeral service of slain UConn cornerback Jasper Howard at New Birth Baptist Church in Miami, Florida, Monday, October 26, 2009. Howard was fatally stabbed outside a dance on the school's campus. (Lilly Echeverria/Miami Herald/MCT)

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JoAngila Howard, mother, and Henry Williams, step-father, of UConn cornerback Jasper Howard touch the flowers and mausoleum of Howard at the cemetery in Miami, Monday, Oct. 26, 2009. Howard was a UConn football player fatally stabbed to death outside a dance on Connecticut's campus. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)

A horse carriage carrying the casket of UConn cornerback Jasper Howard arrives at the cemetery in Miami, Monday, Oct. 26, 2009. Howard was a UConn football player fatally stabbed to death outside a dance on Connecticut's campus. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)

An unidentified man views the body of Jasper Howard, at his funeral, Monday, Oct. 26, 2009, in Miami. Howard was a UConn football player fatally stabbed to death outside a dance on Connecticut's campus. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)

Daneisha Freeman, UConn cornerback Jasper Howard's girlfriend, watches as the mausoleum is prepared to receive the casket of Jasper Howard at the cemetery in Miami, Monday, Oct. 26, 2009. Howard was fatally stabbed outside a dance on Connecticut's campus. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)

Family members and friends of University of Connecticut cornerback Jasper Howard gathered for his funeral service at New Birth Baptist Church in Miami, Florida, Monday, October 26, 2009. Howard was fatally stabbed outside a dance on the school's campus. (Lilly Echeverria/Miami Herald/MCT)

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Funeral services were held for slain University of Connecticut cornerback Jasper Howard at New Birth Baptist Church in Miami, Florida, Monday, October 26, 2009. Howard was fatally stabbed outside a dance on the school's campus. (Lilly Echeverria/Miami Herald/MCT)

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University of Connecticut players arrive for the funeral services of UConn cornerback Jasper Howard at New Birth Baptist Church in Miami, Florida, Monday, October 26, 2009. Howard was fatally stabbed outside a dance on the school's campus. (Lilly Echeverria/Miami Herald/MCT)

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SEC Reprimands Kiffin, Again originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:24:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Alabama-Tennessee: Quest for Silence

Clay Travis — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Alabama, Tennessee

When you take a road trip as a fan, you dream about moments like these. Four seconds to play, a hated rival on the ropes, your team lined up for a final play with victory or defeat hinging entirely on that one play. After over three hours of even football, it all comes down to this one final snap. And you want one thing more than any other: complete silence to soak through the stadium while your team pours onto the field in celebration, their celebratory shouts no louder than the dribble of a basketball on a court hundreds of yards away, echoing over the stunned home crowd. For a moment you might even contemplate, like I did, simply closing your eyes and allowing the crowd reaction to tell the story of the field goal. But instead, I watched.

Tennessee came achingly close on Saturday to delivering the most agonizing loss to Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium in a couple of decades, maybe ever. But then they ran into a mountain of a man.

1. At nine in the morning, I gather with 20 others in a Birmingham, Alabama parking lot for a trip to Tuscaloosa. There is one other Tennessee fan, Mondelli. We're both wearing orange pants.

Memphis radio host Chris Vernon aka Verno and Lance Taylor of Birmingham's Roundtable Radio are also on the bus/limo. Everyone else is a diehard Bama fan. Although, to be fair, Verno is wearing a Julio Jones jersey and every five minutes will, unprovoked, scream out "Juuuuuulioooooooo," as loud as he can.

In between Julio calls, Verno is apt to say things like this,"Nick Saban is a God." He also tells me that he just came from Chik-Fil-a where an Alabama fan with three children, ages 4, 3, and 1, admonished his two daughters who were walking as they neared the parking lot. "Now take my hand, girls, there's lots of Tennessee fans in town today and those people don't think."

2. The bus/limo seats 13 people. There are 21 of us. And beer and liquor. Lots of beer and liquor. The bus/limo also looks like the inside of a strip club. There are several poles hanging down, constantly moving lasers of different colors, and a sound system that would make a rap star blush. Immediately the music is blaring and the drinking commences.

3. Our trip to Tuscaloosa takes over two hours. Included is a stop at a rest area so the women can go to the bathroom.

Who knew there was a rest area between Birmingham and Tuscaloosa?

I don't have to go to the bathroom at all, but there's no real wait and we're making this stop solely for a trip to the bathroom. I sit debating whether I should go or not, access vs. breaking the seal. Ultimately I opt for a trip to the bathroom.

Bad decision.

As we walk back from the bathroom, a couple from Michigan, inexplicably choosing today of all days to drive somewhere other than to the football game on 459, call out, "Y'all are going to miss the Michigan State-Iowa game tonight."

They're attempting to be funny. Several Alabama fans fail to see the humor.

"They play football outside the South?" one asks.
I finally turn my phone back on and it's flooded with emails and texts. I can't bear to read any of them. I'm not even sure what I can take from any of this. The game is still so close, the feel of the loss so suffocating. At least I get to keep my beard.

4. Back on the bus, one of the women, now standing and dancing to 50 cent's Magic Stick -- the affinity that younger, white SEC fans have for gangsta rap on gameday is drastically underrated, it turns into Compton in Tuscaloosa -- takes a photo of the front of the bus, where I'm sitting alongside the other UT fan.

Five minutes later, she calls out, "Hey, my friend just texted me and asked who the convicts were."

5. That would be us, the UT convicts, riding along, according to many Alabama fans, to our own execution chamber, Bryant-Denny Stadium.

But as I've been writing all week, I'm optimistic that Tennessee will play Alabama close throughout, that it will be a single-digit game.

My predictions are met with cat-calls. "Get your razor ready," says Verno.

6. Honest question, what percentage of Alabama fan's love affair with Julio Jones is related to the alliteration and melodic way that Julio rolls off the tongue if you have a Southern accent? Especially given the fact that he hasn't been that productive?

Hearing someone with a Southern accent pronounce the name Julio Jones makes me cringe at the thought that Ron Franklin and Keith Jackson no longer do SEC games.

How awesome would it be if for the SEC Championship game if the SEC managed to get those two guys in the booth? It's a shame that Julio Jones can't tackle Tim Tebow in that game. I think every Southerner would shed a tear over hearing Jackson or Franklin intone, "Julio Jones brings down Tim Tebow in the open field."

Shakespeare meets pigskin, my friends, Shakespeare meets pigskin.

Anyway, the fascination with his name notwithstanding, so far this season, in seven games, Jones has only 13 catches for 175 yards. That's less production than Tennessee's Gerald Jones has provided in five games.

But, to be fair, Gerald Jones is nowhere near as fun to say as Julio Jones.

7. As we near Tuscaloosa, my bladder suddenly feels like it's going to explode. Like if I don't urinate at this exact second, I'm going to open the door to the bus/limo and pee out the door as we drive through campus. Don't pretend you didn't do this for six years during college, Bama fans.

My bladder has only failed me like this once before, at the 2007 Cocktail Party.

And I know what you're thinking, both times you had way too much to drink before the game. Not true, both times, for whatever reason, I simply had to go to the bathroom a ton. And without warning.

Like immediately.

As we idle in traffic alongside Galette's, I make a bold decision.

"Open the door," I say, bailing out onto the street. Four others follow me in a mad dash for the bathroom, abandoning the bus/limo in the process.

The line is short and by the time we've finished I feel like I just finished a drive with four consecutive fourth down conversions.

8. We tailgate on the 'Bama quad.

For years 'Bama didn't allow the quad to be used for tailgating, and now that they do, it's a pretty amazing setting. You're within a JaMarcus Russell fly pattern pass from the football stadium, pretty much everyone is welcoming, and the trees climb high into the air providing a welcoming canopy of shade in the early season but still allowing room for sunlight in the late fall. It's a near-perfect setting, Tuscaloosa's own Grove.

As I'm walking around taking in the scenery, a man approaches wearing bright crimson pants. Given that I'm wearing orange pants, I feel an acknowledgment of sorts is in order. But before I can speak, he does.

"Clay Travis!"

We shake hands. His name is Chris M. "Don't take this the wrong way, and I'm not gay, but you're better looking in person than you are on the Internet."

The only other person to ever say this is my mom.

9. Early in the late-morning, Vol and Bammers are in joint agreement on one thing -- rooting for the sun to emerge from the clouds. The sunshine is sporadic, when it emerges the weather is perfect, warm but not yet, when it vanishes there's a cold wind and everyone stands with their arms crossed.

As kickoff nears we head for the stadium walking through the quad. Denny Chimes is to our right, the sun, as if on order from God, who is doubtlessly an SEC football fan given his gifts of ample cleavage, tiny waists, and long legs that he has bestowed upon the women of the South, brings on the sunshine.

Suddenly everything is bathed in bright light.

10. Now comes the only negative of the trip, fat sorority girls from Alabama stand alongside the brick walkway taunting Tennessee fans with witty banter as we pass.

"F--- You, Vols," they call. Then they liven up the insults with, "Volun-queers!" chants.

I pause in front of them for a second. "It's not our fault you're fat," I say.

11. Inside the stadium we're sixteen rows up at midfield. Tip of the beaver pelt cap to Lance Taylor for these seats. There are hardly any fans in orange anywhere near us. Now let's get rolling on game observations.

12. The stirrings of discomfort begin early in the stadium when Eric Berry nearly decapitates Greg McElroy on the first series of the game. Bama punts, and Tennessee gets a great punt return and immediately drives to the Bama 35 thanks to a third down conversion from Jonathan Crompton to Denarius Moore.

From here Bama buckles down and forces a punt, but the tone of the game has been set, the Vols haven't come to merely stay alive.

By the time Tennessee stops Alabama on fourth down during the Crimson Tide's second drive, there are genuine murmurs of discomfort in Bryant-Denny.

13. You know how you can tell things are going poorly for the home team?

A guy gets tackled near the sideline and the crowd screams for a late hit personal foul. A guy gets tackled by the shoulder pad and everyone screams for the face mask call.

Put another way, all of last season, the only way Tennessee could gain 15 yards on an offensive play was via personal foul. I found myself actually rooting for face masks and late hits as the ball was snapped.

In case you were wondering, last year aged me 15 years.

14. During a long commercial break, they pipe in Justin Timberlake's Sexy Back. My fellow UT pants-wearing compatriot, Matt, turns to me, "What do you think the Bear would have thought of them playing Sexy Back during timeouts?"

We ask, Chief, a Bama fan sitting next to us who will consume an entire fifth of Bourbon during the game. At one point he shares a drink with me. It's Bourbon on ice. A full cup.

It's what I imagine gasoline tastes like.

He thinks for a moment. "The Bear was a great modernizer," he says. "He would have loved Sexy Back. Plus, he liked asses."

I nod.

"On women, now," he says.

15. On the Vols' second possession, Crompton makes his only bad throw of the game; he airmails a pass that is picked off by 'Bama.

On the radio, I promised to go shirtless if Crompton threw four picks in this game, as Chris Vernon asserted that he would. "That's one," says Vernon.

On the ensuing drive 'Bama puts up a 38-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead.

16. But Tennessee responds and is at the Bama 33 facing a 2nd-and-3 as the first quarter ends. Shortly thereafter Crompton comes up big again, hitting Moore for 19 yards and a first and goal at the Bama 8. From there the Vols gain two yards but settle for a field goal.

We're tied at 3.

17. Bama drives the field, stalls, but bangs through a 50-yarder. During this time my seat compatriot in orange pants, Mondelli, turns to the Bama fans behind us and asks why they cheer every first down by the Crimson Tide so loudly.

"You're Alabama," he says, "you don't need to do that. The only other place I've seen it is West Virginia."

"Ole Miss does it," says the Bama fan.

"So you copied it from Ole Miss?" I ask.

"I don't really like it all," says the Bama fan.

18. Now comes Bama's best drive of the day, McElroy is 4-of-4 passing and Mark Ingram rips off runs of 5, 7, 4, 4, 4, and 8. Many of these runs come from the Wildcat formation. The final of these Ingram rushes gives Bama a 2nd-and-2 from the Vol 4. Not only is Bama just four yards from paydirt, but they can get a first down at the two. Surely they'll run the ball on every play from here.

Not hardly.

Inexplicably, Bama passes on second and third down before settling for the field goal. The last pass draws a chorus of boos from the crowd around me, but from my position it looks like the Tennessee defensive back is playing the fade and beats Jones to the place on the field.

Which makes me wonder, why not run the slant there if you're Jones and you see the the defensive back is playing your route?

19. Anyway, the Bama fans around me are furious that Bama didn't keep running the football.

"What the f--- are we doing?" asks my seatmate as he stares morosely at his bourbon on ice.

20. Speaking of the running backs in this game, don't Mark Ingram, Trent Richardson, and Bryce Brown sound like kicker names instead of running backs? They sound like part of the pledge class for Bama's SAE's. If Montario Hardesty's first name was Shelby, we'd have the most unlikely running back quad in Alabama-Tennessee history.

21. My Vols take the ball with 1:11 remaining and with possession coming to them to begin the second half, and in credit to Lane Kiffin's aggressiveness, attempt to score late in the half. Crompton hits four consecutive passes for 30 yards total before Daniel Lincoln trots on the field to attempt a 47 yarder that would slice the Bama lead to 9-6.

He misses. Short.

I'm not sure I've ever seen a 47-yard field goal come up short in a big college contest. Especially not without major wind issues.

22. At halftime, Bama's Million Dollar Band takes the field.

It's time for a rename. Back in 1922 when the band got their name, a million dollars was a lot of money. Now it's one-quarter of what Alabama pays Nick Saban every year.

Allow me to suggest a rebranding, The Billion Dollar Band.

23. Throughout the third quarter, Tennessee dominates. Bama has just two possessions, both end without a first down and total 16 yards of offense. Meanwhile, Tennessee has two long drives. the first comes to a close after a perfect call on a Javier Arenas blitz sets the Vols up with a 3rd-and-22.

But as the third quarter ends, Tennessee is driving: The final play of the quarter is a 30-yard gain from Crompton to Denarius Moore.

For just a moment silence descends on Bryant-Denny as Tennessee stands at the 'Bama 30 and allows the clock to wind down to end the quarter.

I close my eyes for an instant and savor what I hope is a preview of the end of the game.

24. After another fourth down conversion, the Vols have a first-and-10 at the Alabama 19. Now issues arise, first a false start and then a critical holding penalty that turns a 3rd-and-4 into a 2nd-and-18. Bama's crowd roars, a desperate, from the bit of the belly, this can't be happening to us roar, the animalistic growl of a grizzly bear who has been wounded.

Nothing develops on third down and Tennessee sends out Lincoln to attempt a 43-yarder.

Blocked!

I sink to my seat with my head in my hands. Two missed field goals.

25. On Terrence Cody, is anybody else going to be surprised when, 15 years from now, Sports Illustrated does a, "Where are they now?" story on Cody and he weighs 551 pounds?

Remember the Buster Douglas story they did back then?

And the picture of Douglas standing in his garage with a huge shadow around him?

I'm picturing the same story on Cody. But for now he's a svelte 350 and the center of the Vols' line can't block him.

26. With good field position at its own 38, Bama manages its first first down of the half. From here the drive stalls at the 32, but Leigh Tiffin, Bama's offensive MVP, slips a 49-yard field goal just over the top of the crossbar to give the Tide a 12-3 advantage.

I groan as Bama fans around me cheer.

27. Tennessee goes three and out, punts, and after Mark Ingram almost busts a big play but is caught by the ankles, Bama is forced to punt.

Only, we rough the punter.

I text a Bama friend congrats on the win and stand looking out at the field. All, it would seem that is necessary now is for 'Bama to put the game on ice.

Certainly the Bama keyboardist thinks so, a single verse of "Hey, hey goodbye," blares out over the stadium.

But then, something magical happens for Vol fans -- Eric Berry forces and recovers a fumble from Mark Ingram, the first of Ingram's career at Alabama.

28. Crompton, who I incorrectly called for Lane Kiffin to bench after the Auburn game, jogs back onto the field and performs magically, completing four consecutive passes on the drive, the last of which is an 11-yard touchdown to Gerald Jones. Suddenly it's 12-10 Alabama and Tennessee is lining up for an onside kick.

29. I turn to my Bama seatmate. "I don't remember the last time I saw an onside kick recovered by the kicking team," I say.

"Don't you go there jinxing things," he says.

You guessed it, Tennessee recovers.

30. I climb onto the seat in front of me and scream as loudly as I can. Suddenly my stomach feels like it's full of air. Tension builds. A longed-for victory is so close we can taste it. Many of the UT players are standing on the sideline bench, swinging towels and bounding in unison along the green grass between snaps.

Now Crompton takes the field. Crompton, who last season went from Jesus to the Anti-Christ in a month; Crompton, who received death threats from Vol fans; Crompton, who has kept his mouth shut about his receivers running the wrong routes, who has refused to make excuses about any of the failures surrounding the Vols, has a chance to lead Tennessee to their most improbable victory in program history.

Not since 1985 has Tennessee beaten a No. 1 team. Then Tennessee triumphed over Auburn and Bo Jackson. Never, in the long and storied history of Tennessee football, have the Vols beaten a No. 1 team on the road, and never, ever, have they beaten a No. 1-ranked Alabama team.

Slowly, inexorably, in a way that seems ordained, Crompton leads the Vols down the field. He completes two passes, the first to Gerald Jones for 15 yards. But it's the second completion that appears likely to loom large in Vol-Bama lore for decades. Facing a 2nd-and-15 from his own 50, Crompton hits his streaking tight end, Luke Stocker, with a perfect pass. A pass, catch, and hit so exquisite that for a moment Alabama fans are entirely silent. It's a pass that few quarterbacks in America could make. And it's that reason why, and this is hard to believe, Crompton has been the best quarterback in the SEC over the past three weeks.

I explode with glee, leaping on my seat, hammering my seat-mate, the only sound of joy in an ocean of crimson silence around us. Now, improbably, amazingly, the Vols have a chance to win a game, to score 10 points in less than a minute and a half, to beat a bitter rival on the road, to change the entire trajectory of Crompton's career with one sweet swing of the foot.

31. Staring potential victory in the face, Kiffin, who has already gone for it on fourth down twice in the second half, goes conservative and sends Montario Hardesty on a running play. The clock dwindles now, Crompton stands over center and grounds the football.

Daniel Lincoln, 1-of-3 on the day, jogs onto the field, 44 yards from Vol immortality.

There are only four seconds remaining on the clock.

For a moment I flash back to 1990, the last time Tennessee attempted a winning field goal in the fourth quarter against Alabama. Then, Bama blocked the kick, recovered, and made their own kick for a 9-6 victory. Now, the Vols have a chance to erase that sick feeling, sweep into Tuscaloosa and deliver one of the greatest victories in team history.

Saban takes a timeout.

I sink to my seat, a Vol surrounded by a sea of crimson. Hardly anyone speaks during the timeout.

It may be the fourth Saturday in October, but this epic game, this game so even that only four seconds remain and victory or defeat hangs on a foot, will stand alongside others as among the greatest ever played. Not for the offensive explosions or the big plays that make highlight reels but for the grimy, hard-charging, slamming football that both teams delivered on play-after-play. The kind of Tennessee-Alabama game, that as Bear Bryant said, makes you a man.

If you've ever wondered whether something ugly can be beautiful, this game answered it resoundingly ... yes.

Now, in the fading light of an October afternoon comes the quest for silence. For a moment I close my eyes and picture the scene, the field flooded in celebrating orange players, the angry detritus tumbling to the ground in the stadium, red and white pompons, old drinks, Bama Bangs pushed back on disbelieving foreheads, the sodden underground concrete of home football defeat. The ball is snapped, foot meets ball, and immediately the ball ricochets backward.

It's 1990 all over again.

Only this time with two blocked fourth quarter field goals instead of one.

I stand without moving as the stadium erupts around me. Look for Crompton on the sideline, feel awful for him, worse for him than for anyone in orange. This should have been, this could have been, his ultimate validation for five years of effort, for five years of criticism, his moment in the orange sun.

Alongside me my fellow orange-pant wearing compatriot has but two words, "Well, damn," he says, so softly I can barely hear him over the noise.

We make the long walk back to the tailgate, through throngs of Bama fans celebrating with delirious glee. On up past Denny Chimes, along the brick sidewalk Bama fans greet each other with, "Roll Tide Roll," and exult in the cool night air, an improbable mosh-pit screaming, improbably, "Hotel, Motel, Holiday Inn," as they dance to Pitbull's song.

Change one play, and all around me is silent.

I finally turn my phone back on and it's flooded with emails and texts. I can't bear to read any of them. I'm not even sure what I can take from any of this. The game is still so close, the feel of the loss so suffocating. At least I get to keep my beard.

"Hey," says an elderly Bama fan grabbing me by the shoulder, "you played Tennessee football today. Goddamn Tennessee football," he says.

And maybe that's the real lesson out of all of this. After all the attention and all the words, the slings and arrows of recruiting wars, when you get right down to it, Kiffin coached in his first Alabama-Tennessee game and looked an awful lot like the men who were successful in the Alabama series before him. Men like Phil Fulmer and General Neyland. Ultimately, what's new is old at Tennessee. Kiffin's team wasn't flashy and it didn't always execute perfectly, but it never quit.

And in this series, for both team and fan alike, the only thing that unites fans in orange and crimson is this -- we admire players, coaches, and people who never stop fighting, never stop trying to take that hill, even if, as we saw on Saturday, sometimes a mountain is directly in front of the ball.

In the end, Lane Kiffin's boys didn't quit, and someday soon, that is going to make all the difference.

Clay Travis is the author of three books. His latest, "On Rocky Top: A Front Row Seat to The End of an Era" chronicles the 2008 Tennessee football season and is on sale now.

Alabama-Tennessee: Quest for Silence originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sun, 25 Oct 2009 19:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tidal Save Proves Alabama Still No. 1

Ray Holloman — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 20:41:00 EST

Filed under: Alabama, Tennessee

For Alabama, it came down to a physics problem.

In the last seconds of what suddenly became a white-knuckle 'Third Saturday' tilt, Terrence Cody, the Crimson Tide's city block of a nose tackle, punched through the Tennessee line and came face to foot with Vols' kicker Daniel Lincoln. All that was left to was to see whether something the weight of an upright piano could rise high enough into the air to bring down a 44-yard-field goal try.

So, when the would-be game-winning kick caromed off Cody's armpit, sealing Alabama's 12-10 win, the nose tackle ripped off his helmet with two hands and let loose a massive yelp that must have echoed from Tuscaloosa and Tuscany.

He hadn't just beaten Tennessee. He'd done a number on Isaac Newton too.

"I just knew we had to make a play, I had to make a play," said the 360-pound high flyer. "We couldn't wait on anybody else to make a play ... so I dug down deep and told myself I was about to block it. The ball snapped, I got a good jump... and just stuck my arm up."

And he made Alabama's case as the national championship favorite, even if the Tide's win was as ugly as the offensive line's team photo and twice as tough.

"That's how fragile a season can be," Tide head coach Nick Saban said. "Make one mistake and you have to go overcome it. I hope that there's a lot of lessons for our team to learn from this."

The Tide's win will do nothing for the style points crowd, but that hardly matters. Style points, those arbitrary way-you-won measures doled out by those without a great argument as to why a football team may or may not be good, are for those in the rear view mirror.

And everyone is still looking forward at the Tide.

This was a game Alabama needed to win, not because they were No. 1 for the first time this season or because there's a pack of undefeated teams from lesser conferences nipping at their cleats -- the SEC championship game, after all will serve as a BCS title eliminator -- but because these gritty victories are the stuff that separate national title contenders from pretenders.

In their eighth consecutive game against one of the 10 best defenses, Alabama did what good teams do. They found a way to win.

Of course, if you'd asked Saban in the final five seconds, Alabama might've traded the gut-check victory for a quiet walk into the locker room.

Up until the final four minutes, it had all gone right for Saban's team. The Tide hadn't committed a turnover and clung to a 12-3 lead. But, three minutes and 30 seconds from their eighth win and a much-needed bye week, Alabama running back Mark Ingram lost the first fumble of his career. Two minutes later, Tennessee's Gerald Jones was celebrating the Vols' first touchdown. A successful onside kick gave the Vols the ball at midfield and a GPS guided rope of a pass from Jonathan Crompton to tight end Luke Stocker set up the game-winning field goal attempt.

But when everything went haywire, Alabama found a path to victory.

"I think great teams have great players that can make great plays in critical situations," said Saban, who would know a thing or two about great teams, having won the 2003 BCS title. "We had a couple of defensive linemen that made some huge plays."

It was a win from the history books of another national champion.

Three years ago, during Florida's run to the championship in the 2006 season, the Gators' Jarvis Moss blocked a pair of kicks in the fourth quarter against South Carolina, an extra point and a would-be game-winning field goal off the foot of Ryan Succop as time expired.

Stop us if any of this sounds familiar.

Florida held on for the 17-16 win over South Carolina. They were 9-1 with the victory that day and wouldn't lose again the rest of the year. Urban Meyer would later call it one of the greatest plays in Gator history.

Florida had found a way to win.

For Alabama, it was clear the season had begun to wear down the Tide. For eight straight weeks, the Crimson Tide had played one of the toughest schedules in the country. A week earlier, they held off a physical South Carolina team. Before that, it was Ole Miss. In Week 1, it had been Virginia Tech.

"I felt like our team was really tired this week psychologically, probably more mentally than really physically," Saban said. "We had a lot of guys beat up, a lot of guys missed practice and a lot of guys struggling to do what we need to do."

Now the schedule runs mostly downhill for the Tide, at least as downhill as the SEC gets. After a bye week, Alabama hosts LSU before finishing with dates at Mississippi State and stumbling Auburn, sandwiched around a late-season tune-up against Chattanooga.

Saturday's win did leave some questions unanswered for the Tide -- not the least of which was whether an armpit has ever played such a pivotal role in a national title game. Embattled quarterback Greg McElroy didn't commit a turnover against a stifling Tennessee defense, but still is the team's obvious weak link. The Volunteers out-gained the Alabama and the Tide benefited from a pair of Leigh Tiffin field goals that just scraped by over the cross bar, and one from Lincoln that didn't.

Are the Tide great? No. But this year, that's the wrong question. There are no great teams. The only question that matters is if anyone else is better. After Saturday, the answer is no.

Because in the end, Alabama did exactly what good teams do. They found a way to win, even if it was as unlikely and unsightly as a 360-pound man taking flight.

Tidal Save Proves Alabama Still No. 1 originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 24 Oct 2009 20:41:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SEC Notebook: Polls Not Tide's Concern

Jim Henry — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:15:00 EST

Filed under: Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, SEC

When it comes to debating rankings, Alabama head coach Nick Saban is a fuddy-duddy.

So there's no need to waste your time, even if the Crimson Tide leapfrogged SEC rival Florida into the top spot of this week's Associated Press poll. Of course, Alabama is also ranked second behind the Gators in the initial installment of the weekly BCS poll that will determine national title invites by early December.

Saban doesn't mean to be a killjoy -- or does he? -- but his game-at-a-time mantra is focused on Saturday's showdown against visiting Tennessee.

"If anybody asks me any questions about where we're ranked or what the poll is, what matters?" Saban asked. "Why does it matter? What's changed from this week to this Monday to last Monday? What's changed? We've got another game. This is the most important game of the year."

OK, agreed.

The Crimson Tide (7-0) is determined to finish October with a flourish. Off next Saturday, Alabama closes out a three-game homestand with a visit from LSU on November 7 before it positions itself for the regular-season's final stretch.

Of course, Alabama could have its hands full with the Vols (3-3) if not careful. But if the Crimson Tide is need of a hero, a shining star has risen from the Crimson Tide's backfield, and his name is Mark Ingram.

The sophomore has rushed for 905 yards and eight touchdowns for 129.29 yards per game average to rank fourth nationally and first in the SEC. Ingram's flashy -- he leads the nation with 30 rushes of 10 or more yards and also has chipped in eight receptions for 10 or more yards. And Ingram's tough -- he has gained 580 yards after first contact.

Best yet, Ingram is coming off his best performance of the season, rushing for 246 yards against South Carolina last week.

"He's a great competitor and a driven guy," Saban said.

"He works hard in practice every week. He plays fast all the time. He has a great competitive spirit and certainly will stay focused on the things that are going to help him continue to satisfy his goals."

Don't look for Alabama to change its goals, or its approach, according to the philosophical Saban.

"I'm very hopeful that we can stay on the positive side of it and be positive about our approach to what we are trying to accomplish and what we're trying to do and not get risk-aversive and start playing to keep from getting beat and a lot of negative motivation about what's going to happen if this happens and all that kind of stuff," Saban said.

"Not to avoid but to gain, is the way we'd like to approach it."

FINALLY, A STRONG FINISH?

South Carolina has been down this road before.

The Gamecocks are 5-2 and positioned nicely to make this coach Steve Spurrier's most successful season at South Carolina. The Gamecocks can continue their surge with a home victory over Vanderbilt on Saturday, a win that would give Spurrier 105 conference wins and tie him with Vince Dooley for third-most in SEC history.

Spurrier isn't one to relax, even if Vanderbilt has lost five straight conference games. Let's not forget the Commodores have beaten the Gamecocks the past two years.

"We're not a real dominant team," Spurrier said. "I think we're a real good team. We can play with almost anybody. We have to play a lot harder. We have to play with courage, effort and smarts."

That approach could help the Gamecocks avoid an unsettling trend of poor finishes. They lost their final three games last season, their final five in 2007 and, for the record, are 10-15 from the midway point of October under Spurrier.

"The pressure is on us to play the best we can every week," Spurrier said.

"We don't get too much in what happened last year or the year before. They outplayed us the last two years. They were better than we were. Give them credit. We'll try to play better this year and coach better, and see if we can come out on top against Vanderbilt."

ROAD TRIP

Save the postcards.

Florida hasn't enjoyed its past visits to Starkville, Miss.

The Gators travel to Mississippi State on Saturday seeking their first win at Davis Wade Stadium since 1985. They have dropped their last four games there, losing to the Bulldogs in 1986, 1992, 2000 and 2004. Second-ranked UF entered three of the games ranked, and two of the games are among the 12 conference defeats that Spurrier suffered as Florida's coach.

The showdown is also a reunion for Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen, a former assistant coach under UF's Urban Meyer since their days at Utah. Mullen last served as the Gators' offensive coordinator, helping quarterback Tim Tebow win the Heisman Trophy and UF a pair of national titles.

"We're coming in, planning to win the football game," Mullen said.

"You never go to play a game that you think you can't win. Our guys are focusing on winning the game this Saturday, and focusing on doing the things you have to do to win the football game. There's nothing quite like winning a football game. It isn't anything crazy we need to do to win, we just have to focus on the game plan at hand in order to come out victorious."

OFFENSIVE OUTBURST

LSU and Auburn tangle in a game where both teams need their offense to set the tone.

LSU, which was off last week, is 5-1 overall and 3-1 in the SEC. The Tigers are one of two SEC West teams -- the other is Alabama -- to control its own destiny in the division race.

They will need solid performances from quarterback Jordan Jefferson and running back Charles Scott. Jefferson has been inconsistent as a passer and Scott is in search of a breakout game. LSU figures to rely heavily on the run because Auburn is allowing 181.4 yards per game, 11th in the SEC and 99th nationally.

Auburn, meanwhile, is coming off its worst offensive performance of the season, managing just 315 yards in its 21-14 loss to Kentucky.

Auburn (5-2, 2-2), which opened the season with five consecutive wins, has scored a combined 37 points in its past two games; it scored at least 37 in each of its first four. The passing attack is struggling, too. Quarterback Chris Todd threw 11 touchdown passes in the first four games but just one in the past three.

"You can't pinpoint our struggles on one thing. I don't believe in that," Auburn coach Gene Chizik said.

"There are a lot of things that can go wrong. I still feel that we can fix some of the mistakes and get back on track. There's a lot of issues in there, and we really feel very strongly that we're going to get that rectified. But it has been off the last two weeks."

SEC Notebook: Polls Not Tide's Concern originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:15:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Volunteering My Beard for Tennessee Bet

Clay Travis — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Alabama, Tennessee

Alabama opened as a 16.5 point favorite over Tennessee. So I did what any self-respecting Tennessee fan would do when faced with this obstacle: I wagered my beard that Tennessee will cover that spread with Memphis radio host Chris Vernon, the man behind the cult classic video, Colonel Reb Is Crying. Given that I've been rocking the beard since 2002, I'm very confident in my bet, almost as confident that this will be a single-digit game that isn't decided until the fourth quarter. I'll explain why as I break down the game, but know this, right now Alabama fans are rolling their eyes and banging on their their talking typewriters -- as computers have yet to reach Alabama -- "Your an idiot," they're about to type in their magic invisible letters -- you know it as e-mail -- to me.

That's because Alabama fans are one of the rarest of all fan species, drenched in self-confidence even when their team isn't good, swimming in a sea of crimson arrogance when they are actually good. No matter the situation Alabama fans refuse to believe they will ever lose. Ever. In fact, let's call them what they are: The most confident fanbase on Earth.

Most fanbases greet the No. 1 ranking in the country with trepidation, seeing defeat lurking in unlikely corners. Not Alabama. They expect their team to squash all competition, including, if necessary, such lightweights as NFL champions. In fact, many Crimson Tide fans would argue that you can't be overly confident when you've won 99 consecutive national championships. (I'm citing the always reliable Paul Finebaum for that statistic.) And they have a point there. They have been successful.

But more successful than any fanbase in the history of American sports? I think not. Next week maybe I'll rank the most irrational fan bases out there. Kentucky basketball, the New York Yankees, and Notre Dame football all figure in the equation, but for the present moment none of that matters, Alabama is going to win.

No matter who they are playing.

Roll, Tide, Roll!

And before we get further rolling with the ClayNation game breakdown, let me be clear, I like Alabama fans. Their irrational optimism, the range of fashion choices made by the men, from Little Lord Fauntleroy to 55-year-old men dressed in double camo gear, snuff in the back pocket alongside a Brodie Croyle bobblehead, and an unshaven, bedraggled look l like to call, Tuscaloosa Sunrise.

I love them all. As Tiny Tim would say, God bless them each and every one. On to the breakdown.

1. Which Greg McElroy are we going to get in this game?

The one in the first five games who threw for nine touchdowns, no picks, and completed 68 percent of his passes or the guy from the past two games who has completed just 46 percent of his passes with no touchdowns and two interceptions? In fact, McElroy's play has declined precipitously in every game since the 35-7 win over Arkansas on Sept. 26, when he was nearly perfect.

Is there something that defenses have noticed in preparing for McElroy, like they evidently have with Chris Todd at Auburn, or is this simply a function of McElroy not playing well?

2. At some point, if you're a male Alabama fan with hugely drooping Bama Bangs, shaking a red and white pompom, wearing a bowtie above khaki pants that are too tight, and sunglasses hanging on a cord around your neck, don't you have to look at yourself in the mirror and think, "My God, I am a huge clown. Tuscaloosa is the only place on Earth right now where I could walk into a bar without people believing I was dressed up for Halloween as the biggest tool in America."

3. Which Jonathan Crompton are we going to get?

Soon enough we'll know whether Crompton caught the Willie Martinez Flu -- unlike the regular flu it makes you play 250 percent better than you ever have before -- or whether Lane Kiffin has finally fixed the biggest head case in Tennessee since Elvis post-Priscilla.

Kiffin, come Saturday the most confident man in the state of Alabama who is not an Alabama fan, has gone so far as to suggest that Crompton, Crompton! (uttered by every UT fan in the same tone that Newman! was uttered by Seinfeld) deserves a look as a first-round pick based on the Georgia game.

Seriously.

I'm terrified that the Tennessee Titans are going to end up with Crompton and we'll never be apart.

At long last, Crompton put together a decent game against a decent opponent, but you can still draw a distinct line between Good Crompton and Bad Crompton. Regarding the former, in UT's three wins this season, Crompton has thrown 11 touchdowns and three interceptions. In the three losses? Two touchdowns and six interceptions.

Which one will we get against 'Bama? I have no clue.

Neither does Crompton.

4. Why do fans of both teams insist on wearing camouflage college gear?

Hypothesis: Generally speaking deer do not care who the people trying to kill them root for.

So who is this apparel designed for? People who are trying to disguise who they are rooting for? People who can't stomach the thought of being in the woods and not being able to support the team? Isn't it borderline taunting for Bambi's final image as she gives up the deer ghost to be a power T or a crimson A?

I'm doing a whole column on this at some point. But come Saturday these people will be everywhere.

5. Is Monte Kiffin truly going to dominate pro-style offenses this season or will his defense fade down the stretch?

Against Georgia last week, in his first chance to play a non-spread offense in a month, Monte Kiffin made Georgia look like a junior varsity high school team. They didn't get inside the UT 30 for the entire game. Can he continue that against Alabama? Probably not.

But can he devise a gameplan that limits Julio Jones while still stopping Bama's rushing attack? Certainly.

Will it happen? Tune in.

6. Why won't 'Bama let UT wear orange? Why do people care what color the team wears?

In case you missed it, UT requested to wear their orange jerseys on the road and Alabama rejected the idea.

Let me be clear on this, caring what color uniform your team wears makes you a girl.

Period. (Pun intended.)

There are no exceptions.

Some Tennessee fans have been obsessed with whether or not we're going to wear black jerseys for months. I can't think of anything dumber. Same with an entire stadium doing an (insert color here)-out. If you've ever had a conversation about the color your team is going to wear with a male friend, you need new friends.

7. Which team can get their running attack established?

Mark Ingram has been the warhorse for Alabama. He's currently leading the SEC in rushing yardage. meanwhile Tennessee's Montario Hardesty is in fourth place. Both men are in the top 12 in the country. What's more, both teams boast a standout freshman backup -- Trent Richardson for 'Bama and Bryce Brown for Tennessee.

Given that there are questions at quarterback for both teams, if either squad can establish a consistent running game, look for that team to control the outcome. Given that Tennessee's rush defense is ranked 30th in the country, and Bama is ranked third, odds would favor the Crimson Tide in this battle.

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Notre Dame receiver Robby Paris (82) is injured on a hit by Southern California's Taylor Mays (2) and Kevin Thomas (15) late in the fourth quarter during a college football game, Saturday, October 17, 2009, in South Bend, Indiana. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/MCT)

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Iowa State quarterback Jerome Tiller dives for extra yardage during the fourth quarter of an NCAA college football game against Baylor, Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009, in Ames, Iowa. Iowa State won 24-10.

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Mississippi State running back Anthony Dixon, top, dives into the end zone for a touchdown over Middle Tennessee State defenders, from left, Antwan Davis, Danny Carmichael and Cam Robinson, in the fourth quarter of an NCAA college football game in Murfreesboro, Tenn., Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009. Mississippi State won 27-6.

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Connecticut football coach Randy Edsall, center, leads his players during NCAA college football practice in Storrs, Conn., on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2009. Practice was scheduled as usual despite the on campus slaying of player Jasper Howard over the weekend. (AP Photo/George Ruhe)

Camouflage design football cleats are displayed during a news conference on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2009, in Columbia, S.C. Maryland and South Carolina will wear uniforms with camouflage designs during their NCAA college football games on Saturday, Nov. 14, to honor military veterans and promote the Wounded Warrior Project. (AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastain)

South Carolina's football coach Steve Spurrier holds up a jersey with camouflage designs during a news conference on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2009, in Columbia, S.C. Maryland and South Carolina will wear uniforms with camouflage designs during their NCAA college football games on Saturday, Nov. 14, to honor military veterans and promote the Wounded Warrior Project. (AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastain)

South Carolina's football coach Steve Spurrier, center, flanked by Sgt. Jeremy Hale, left, and Master Sgt. Pete Lara, both from Fort Jackson, as he holds up a jersey with camouflage designs during a news conference on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2009, in Columbia, S.C. Maryland and South Carolina will wear uniforms with camouflage designs during their NCAA college football games on Saturday, Nov. 14, to honor military veterans and promote the Wounded Warrior Project. (AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastain)

A UConn Huskies player pats a teammate on the shoulder as the team is called to "play hard in honor of Jasper" by another team member, at the start of practice on the UConn Storrs, Conn., campus on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2009. Practice was scheduled as usual despite the slaying of Jasper Howard ( 6) over the weekend. (AP Photo/George Ruhe)

8. What's the psychology of Alabama's new No. 1 ranking likely to be?

Alabama has not played against Tennessee as the No. 1 team in the country since, wait for it, 1980.

Were you as shocked by this as I was? And Alabama has played Tennessee as the No. 1 team in the country only twice all-time.

Alabama fans are shocked right now as well because they believe that Alabama has been the default top-ranked team in America for the past 67 years. (The streak was broken when World War II broke out and every Alabama football player was simultaneously named a General.)

In fact, Tennessee will play the No. 1 team in the country twice this season for the first time in the history of Tennessee football. And they've only played the top team in the AP poll 8 times since 1959.

I say all that for this for one reason, playing the top team in the country is a big deal that doesn't happen very often. But I'm not sure Tennessee and Lane Kiffin are going to play like it is a big deal because they've already played Florida on the road. Which is a pretty big benefit because I think it eliminates the jaw-dropping, scared to death factor. Meanwhile, I think Alabama will come out a bit uptight with the new ranking.

I could be wrong, but I think 'Bama will make a few mistakes early that keep this game close for the first two quarters. After that, we'll see. But I believe the psychology of being No. 1 will have an impact.

9. Can Tennessee keep Alabama from scoring on special teams?

The UT staff has to be having legitimate talks right now about kicking the ball straight up into the air to be fielded by the upbacks at the 35 and punting the ball out-of-bounds on every punt.

Why?

Two weeks ago Georgia scored on a touchdown on a kickoff return. The same thing happened against Ohio a month ago. Meanwhile Auburn gouged the Vols all night with big returns. Adding it all up, wait for this, Tennessee is 118 out of 120 teams in kickoff coverage.

Stop laughing Alabama fans, you're 102. And you've also had two kickoffs returned for touchdowns against you.

I have a proposition, could both teams just reach a gentleman's agreement to start each drive on the 30?

10. What of the bye week?

Alabama is coming off consecutive big games, a road contest at Ole Miss that had been hyped for months and a Homecoming tilt against South Carolina. Tennessee, on the other hand, has been resting up and preparing for Alabama.

If Tennessee's coaching staff is as good as advertised, that means there should be some wrinkles that Alabama won't be expecting. So this week represents another great laboratory to analyze Tennessee's first-year staff.

As if that weren't enough, has anyone else noticed how quiet Lane Kiffin has been this week? It's the antithesis of how he prepared for Florida. As if that weren't enough, compared to the verbal grenades that Kiffin has lobbed at Florida, he's been very quiet about the Crimson Tide. By design or not, I think we've set up the potential for a stealth attack.

11. Whither the beard?

Come Saturday by 7 CT, I may very well be intentionally clean-shaven for the first time since 2002. But I don't think I will.

This game is going to be epic, and it's going to be tight until the fourth quarter. I can't wait to see it in person. But regardless, come Saturday, only one thing is certain -- every Alabama fan thinks they're going to win 50-0.

Clay Travis is the author of three books. His latest, "On Rocky Top: A Front Row Seat to The End of an Era" chronicles the 2008 Tennessee football season and is on sale now.

Volunteering My Beard for Tennessee Bet originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 22 Oct 2009 20:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dawgs Won't Tuck Tails After Rocky Loss

Jim Henry — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Georgia, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, SEC

What's next for the reeling Georgia Bulldogs?

Head coach Mark Richt, the dean of SEC coaches, admits the Bulldogs have "a long way to go" to be a good football team. After consecutive losses to LSU and Tennessee, Georgia has this week to find the necessary answers to beat Vanderbilt Saturday. Off Oct. 24 before meeting top-ranked Florida in Jacksonville, Fla., Oct. 31, the Bulldogs actually don't return to Sanford Stadium for 35 days.

Considering the foul mood of fans, that might be a good thing.

"People are upset and that's what you expect," senior quarterback Joe Cox said.

"But we work hard. We don't want to come out on a Saturday, get embarrassed and then say 'Oh, well.' It hurts us worse than anybody, worse than fans, the coaches... we're the ones who play the game. It's not like we go out there and play bad then kind of say 'whatever.' We've been working since January every day to play 12 games.

"It's not a good feeling when you work that hard and it doesn't show but I think everybody is eager to work, I think everybody wants to correct mistakes and continue on with our season and finish up strong. We don't want to lay it down; we haven't done that yet. It would be even worse to get to this point and let it keep sliding."

While Richt doesn't expect to make wholesale lineup changes, he indicated that some tweaks could be made as players competed in practice this week. Fans also have voiced their frustration with defensive coordinator Willie Martinez and offensive coordinator Mike Bobo.

At 3-3 -- its worst six-game mark since 1996 -- Georgia has struggled across the board. The Bulldogs are 100th in the nation in scoring defense (out of 120 FBS teams), 97th in total offense, 116th in penalties and 118th in turnover margin.

Changes? Take your pick.

"We've got to get better at defense, we've got to get better on offense, we've got to get better at coaching," Richt said.

"I guess what I'm saying is that it's a culmination of everyone. I'm not pointing fingers at any one individual; I'm pointing fingers at all of us as a whole, we all must improve; that's what I'm trying to say."

Cox, who threw for 146 yards and two interceptions against the Vols and agrees he deserves his share of the blame for offensive woes, tried to say it, too.

"I think we all need to have a big gut check and find out how we want to finish out the season," Cox said. "You have to find guys that want to play and want to do it the right way."

The 45-19 defeat at Tennessee was certainly the wrong way.

The Bulldogs have surrendered 37 or more points in three of their last six games, while the offense has managed just four touchdowns in its last three games.

Cox says the Bulldogs need to regroup in a hurry. After throwing for 738 yards and eight touchdowns in the first three games of the season, Cox has 617 passing yards and three touchdowns in the last three. Overall, he has completed 104-of-178 passes for 11 touchdowns with eight interceptions.

"We obviously want to win every game," said Cox, who backed up by redshirt sophomore Logan Gray and true freshmen Aaron Murray and Zach Mettenberger.

"We've had a couple wins -- I know Arizona State, as an offense, we felt like we lost that game. The way it felt after the game, we know we didn't play well. I didn't play well. It was the first time I had won a game but felt like I lost the way I played the game.

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Washington's Kavario Middleton catches a pass for a touchdown against Arizona during the fourth quarter of an NCAA college football game in Seattle, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009. Washington won 36-33. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)

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In this Sept. 26, 2009, photo, Michigan cornerback Boubacar Cissoko (33) trails Indiana wide receiver Tandon Doss (2) on a long pass during an NCAA college football game in Ann Arbor, Mich. Michigan has suspended Cissoko indefinitely for violating team rules. Coach Rich Rodriguez made the announcement Saturday night, Oct. 10, after Iowa beat the Wolverines 30-28. (AP Photo/Tony Ding)

Washington's Desmond Trufant returns an intercepting of a pass from Arizona's Nick Foles at the end fourth quarter of an NCAA college football game in Seattle, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009. Earlier in the quarter Washington intercepted another pass returning it for a touchdown to win 36-33 over Arizona. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)

Arizona's Nick Foles, left, talks with teammates before taking to the field for the final series against Washington during the fourth quarter of an NCAA college football game in Seattle, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009. Foles gave up two interceptions near the end of the game one scoring the winning touchdown as Washington wins 36-33. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)

Washington players including Taylor Bean, front, celebrate the 36-33 win over Arizona of an NCAA college football game in Seattle, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)

Washington head coach Steve Sarkisian congratulates quarterback Jake Locker after the 36-33 win over Arizona in an NCAA college football game in Seattle, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)

Washington's Devin Aguilar, right, celebrates with Senio Kelemete, left after Aguilar scored a touchdown against Arizona during the third quarter of an NCAA college football game in Seattle, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009. Washington won 36-33. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)

UNLV quarterback Omar Clayton (2) passes during the first half of their NCAA college football game against BYU at Sam Boyd Stadium, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009 in Las Vegas. BYU defeated UNLV 59-21. (AP Photo/Isaac Brekken)

BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall watches his team during the second half of their NCAA college football game against UNLV at Sam Boyd Stadium, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009 in Las Vegas. BYU defeated UNLV 59-21. (AP Photo/Isaac Brekken)

BYU quarterback Max Hall (15) looks to pass against UNLV during the first half of their NCAA college football game at Sam Boyd Stadium, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009 in Las Vegas. BYU defeated UNLV 59-21. (AP Photo/Isaac Brekken)

"We just have to put everything together and finish the season strong. Obviously we want to win every game -- that's our goal. But right now we are going to focus on Vanderbilt and win this game and go into the off week with a good mindset, give everyone some rest and kind of catch a second wind to finish the last half of the season."

Dawgs Won't Tuck Tails After Rocky Loss originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 12 Oct 2009 20:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kiffin Officially Arrives at Tennessee, Brings Crompton With Him

Clay Travis — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 21:20:00 EST

Filed under: Georgia, Tennessee

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Most SEC coaches who have achieved a measure of dominance in their coaching careers have had a signature victory over one of their rivals in their first season as head coach.

In his first season at Alabama, for example, Nick Saban beat Tennessee 41-17. That followed up Saban's dismantling of Alabama, Tennessee, and Ole Miss in his first season at LSU, when he took the Bayou Bengals from 3-8 to 8-4. Urban Meyer beat all three of Florida's fiercest rivals, Florida State, Georgia, and Tennessee, in his first year in Gainesville. Georgia's Mark Richt beat Tennessee in Knoxville, the famous hobnailed boot game that convinced Bulldog fans that better days were at last ahead. And there was Les Miles at LSU, beating Auburn, Alabama, and Ole Miss in his first season.

On Saturday Lane Kiffin and Tennessee gave Georgia a 45-19 woodshed beating that wasn't as close as the final score indicated. Time will tell whether Kiffin will ever hoist SEC Championship hardware like the other coaches listed above, but for the time being Kiffin got his own signature victory in front of a delirious Vol crowd that wants desperately to believe there are many more victories to come.

Kiffin's victory came in no small part because Jonathan Crompton played the game of his career, leading me to wonder whether I ought to call for Crompton's benching every week. For one week, at least, crow has never tasted better. Coming into Saturday's game, the best performance of Crompton's SEC career came in the final game of the disastrous 2008 season. In that awful, rainy game against Kentucky, Crompton went 6-of-8 for 101 yards. That was the only SEC start he'd ever completed a pass in and won. (In one of the truly odd stats of football, Crompton won the game against Vanderbilt last year despite attempting only one pass, an interception.) Against Georgia Crompton finished 20-of-27 for 310 yards, four touchdowns, and an average of 11.48 yards per completion.

The conclusion? If Crompton could play against a Willie Martinez defense every week, he'd win the Heisman Trophy.

Here are 12 observations from Saturday's game.

1. Mark Richt is Phil Fulmer in 2005

Only Richt has never won a national championship. He has the two SEC titles, the extremely successful start to his career, but he has also has the albatross of losing to a rival that hangs around his neck and infuriates the fan base.

What's more, as I've been saying for over a year, Willie Martinez is Richt's Randy Sanders.

In 2005, Fulmer was forced to replace Randy Sanders at offensive coordinator. He rebounded for two solid years, but eventually slipped when he hired Dave Clawson and suffered another losing season.

Eight years ago, in 2001, Mark Richt jogged onto the field at Neyland Stadium and beat a favored Tennessee team on a last-second touchdown. Georgia fans were ecstatic, convinced they'd found the man who would finally take them to the promised land. Every year since then, Richt has won more than eight games. This year, he's not going to win eight. And in that eight-year stretch, you can etch the coaching trajectory of a meteor coming to earth. Georgia fans are restless, their championship has not yet arrived and probably seems as far away today as it ever has been.

What's more, all four of their big rivals, Florida, Auburn, Georgia Tech, and Tennessee have hired new coaches since 2005, the last year Richt won an SEC title.

After this year, Richt is going to be forced to toss Martinez to the fans to keep his job. Either that or he's going to pursue a job somewhere else. I think Georgia and Richt are a couple headed for a divorce. I don't think anything's fundamentally wrong with either side, but I think it's becoming increasingly clear that they're both tired of one another.

And the end ain't going to be pretty.

2. Georgia's defensive coordinator Martinez is good for what ails your offense

I've been critical of Tennessee's coaching staff, but watching them go against Martinez and Georgia's defense was as big of a mismatch as tossing an SEC player Othello and having him read aloud.

Despite constant movement and changes of formations by Tennessee's offense, Georgia's defense never left its base formation. I didn't watch them constantly, but I don't remember seeing their defense make an audible adjustment all day. Clearly, that's because Martinez doesn't trust his guys to get into a better formation than the one he sends in from the sideline before he even sees the offense line up. Martinez is so gun shy he'd rather get beaten on every single snap than embarrassed on a couple.

How ominous is that if you're a Georgia fan?

Not as ominous as letting this year's Tennessee offense hang 45 on you. Tennessee took its foot off the pedal midway through the fourth or they might have scored more. Putting that into perspective, in 2008, Tennessee scored a total of 47 points against Florida, Auburn, Alabama, and South Carolina. So far this year, they'd scored 35 total points against Florida and Auburn.

The offense put up 45 on Georgia.

Case closed.

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3. Georgia fans will be seeing the naked bootleg in its dreams

I understand that you might fall for the naked bootleg once or twice. But on consecutive plays? Constantly throughout the game? Is Tennessee's rushing attack really so dominant that you've got to bite on this every single time? Crompton didn't have just one open receiver on every play, he often had two or three. What were the defenders doing?

Give Tennessee credit for continually getting Crompton outside the pocket and limiting the field so he could make easier reads. But, man, how can Georgia not defend the same play on consecutive attempts? And how did they look so clueless even after halftime?

They made Crompton look like a cross between Jesus and Joe Montana.

I'm fairly certain he's actually neither.

4. Tennessee's point totals against Georgia in three of the past four years: 51, 35, and 45.

Their margins of victory in those years: 18, 21, and 26.

And this year was the worst beating of all, even worse than 2007 which up to this point had been the best beating Tennessee has put on a rival since Mike Shula was still patrolling the sideline for the Crimson Tide.

5. During halftime, the Georgia band spelled out Georgia. The Dawg fan sitting next to me said, "We all know how to spell Georgia. How about they spell defense instead?"

The mournful tone of his voice was the best part, I recognized it as the same tone Tennessee fans have been using to describe our offense for the past two years.

Until today.

6. With Tennessee's defensive talent, Monte Kiffin is going to dominate pro-style offenses

Lost amid the shuffle of the past several games was the fact that Tennessee played three consecutive spread offenses: Florida, Ohio, and Auburn. You got the sense watching this game that Monte Kiffin was rubbing his hands all week and grinning at his good fortune to draw an offense that he'd been going up against for decades in the NFL.

How dominant was Tennessee defensively? Georgia's only points came on a 52-yard field goal. Otherwise Georgia scored on a kick return, an interception return, and a blocked punt. In fact, Georgia didn't even get inside Tennessee's 30-yard line all game. I don't know that I've ever seen a game where that didn't happen before. Have you?

Lane Kiffin said after the game that Monte used a similar gameplan to neutralize A.J. Green that the Tampa Bay Bucs had successfully used against the Carolina Panthers' Steve Smith.

Is that even fair?

Meanwhile, not to be outdone, Willie Martinez said that his defensive gameplan was the same one that the Marietta Middle School Rebels trotted out to stop the highly talented Jamie Smith of the Duluth Panthers.

7. Did anyone else notice when A.J. Green lined up in the slot and Eric Berry lined up across from him?

I elbowed my friend and said, "That's $40 million in guaranteed money within that tiny circle."

If you're an NFL fan you want both of these guys on your team.

Now.

At least Georgia fans know that Green can't leave after this year. He's a true stud. But how unfair is it that he has to stay in college when he'd be a top 10 pick if he left? Anyway, credit to Georgia on offense and to A.J. Green for being capable of playing every wide receiver position on the field. Georgia lined him up in every wideout position during the game. The Bulldogs didn't have great success with him, but they kept Tennessee from using the same defensive formation to neutralize him throughout.

8. For at least one game, Crompton was special

Give credit where credit is due, this is the kind of game that Tennessee fans have been expecting of Crompton for five years -- ever since he signed as one of the most heralded quarterback recruits in the nation.

Most impressive plays of the entire game? Crompton's return to the field after he threw an interception that sliced Tennessee's lead to 24-19. In past games one bad play led to several. I'd be lying if I said I didn't cringe when Crompton dropped back for his next pass. But Crompton completed his next four on the following drive, including two third down conversions.

Tennessee scored on a 39-yard run from Montario Hardesty, but Crompton bounced back from the interception and put them in position to score the final 21 points of the game after Georgia cut the lead to 24-19.

My only quibble with the quarterbacking today? I thought Kiffin should have brought Crompton in for one of the final series, allowed him to hand off, and then brought him out of the game so he could receive a justified round of applause.

9. The only flaw all day? Tennessee jumped the gun on announcing Eric Berry breaking the NCAA interception return yardage record

Berry actually returned a fumble instead of picking off a pass. As usual it was a breathtaking return that brought the crowd to fits of pandemonium, but it wasn't a new record.

Not yet, anyway.

10. It's a shame Georgia can't use its special teams more frequently

I'm halfway expecting for Martinez to debut the punt coverage defensive formation for Vanderbilt's opening snap next week.

In typical Georgia fashion, they scored on a touchdown and a blocked punt. And they drilled a 52-yarder that would have been good from 60.

Also, Willie Martinez might want to point out that his defense scored more points than Georgia's offense on Saturday.

11. Josh McNeil played center for Tennessee today late in the fourth quarter

If you haven't read this story, read it now. Josh McNeil is a warrior. I don't know if anyone mentioned him being on the field, but it deserves to be noted.

12. Tennessee doused Lane Kiffin in Gatorade.

Papa Smirk looked upset that his team dunked him. I think he expected to win this game and didn't think the dousing was necessary. As he and Richt met at midfield to shake hands, beneath the gray skies of an autumn afternoon, the moment had the feel of two programs passing one another. I'm not sure where Kiffin is headed, but he's got his signature win in 2009. As for Richt, in 2001, he brought a hobnailed boot with him to Neyland Stadium. In 2009, he brought Willie Martinez.

And that made all the difference.

Kiffin Officially Arrives at Tennessee, Brings Crompton With Him originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 10 Oct 2009 21:20:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jonathan Crompton Era Needs to End

Clay Travis — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 13:36:00 EST

Filed under: Auburn, Tennessee

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Saturday night at halftime, Lane Kiffin changed his clothes, ditching a black sweater in favor of an orange pullover. Presumably the wardrobe change was a superstitious response to an awful offensive half, one that saw the Vols with nine yards total passing until the final two-minute drive. If only Kiffin were less stubborn about his signal-caller. News flash, Kiffin could coach on the sideline in a burka or a Japanese sumo outfit and the result on the field would be the same -- Jonathan Crompton is going to lose the game.

Early in the season Kiffin adopted the coaching cliche, "If you've got two quarterbacks, you've got none." I'd like to advance another version of that cliche: "If your one quarterback is Jonathan Crompton, then you still ain't got one either." Right now, Kiffin's refusal to make a change at quarterback is slowly bleeding his head-coaching legitimacy among the fan base. In his first season Kiffin has struck an iceberg, and he's going down on the S.S. Crompton. So is his team. It's time for a change.

Lane Kiffin has been brash, confident, and quotable. What he hasn't been is a winner. Anywhere. In 25 games as a head coach, Kiffin is now 7-18 (5-15 with the NFL's Oakland Raiders and 2-3 with the Vols). With Georgia, Alabama, and South Carolina in the next three games, it's altogether possible that Kiffin and the Vols are going to be sitting at 2-6 by the time November arrives. Another season of 5-7 or worse looms. And here's the kicker, next year Tennessee is going to be worse. In this day and age if your second season isn't a good one, you're not going to truly succeed as a coach. Pete Carroll, Nick Saban, Bob Stoops, Urban Meyer, Mark Richt -- every single one of those coaches had great second seasons. That's when their teams made a seismic jump.

Kiffin's situation is unique because his team, due to the graduating seniors on the offensive line and at tailback, and the presumed early departure of Eric Berry, is going to be worse next year. He needed to win this year, needed to beat inferior teams at home like UCLA and needed to beat teams of similar talent like Auburn. But he hasn't. And in the process Jonathan Crompton has become the albatross dragging down Kiffin, Version 1.0.

"(Kiffin) needed to win this year, needed to beat inferior teams at home like UCLA and needed to beat teams of similar talent like Auburn. But he hasn't. And in the process Jonathan Crompton has become the albatross dragging down Kiffin, Version 1.0." At this point in the season, standing at 2-3, what does Jonathan Crompton, a senior who has managed to win one SEC game in which he completed a pass in his career -- Kentucky last year -- actually give you if he plays great? The chance to finish 6-6? And then be gone from football forever?

Meanwhile, you have a redshirt junior in Nick Stephens standing on the sideline. Worst case scenario, Stephens comes in and only wins two games as your starting quarterback. But at least you give him a chance to prove that he can be your guy for a year in 2010.

My point is, I've finally come around to this argument: Stephens can't be worse. He just can't. And now it's time for a change.

Here are other observations:

1. Gene Chizik and Auburn, particularly Gus Malzahn, have blown Tennessee's highest paid coaching staff in the country out of the water this season in terms of performance.

Kiffin defenders scream, "Talent, talent, talent."

That's all well and good, but does anyone really think Auburn has more talent than Tennessee? Last year's Tennessee-Auburn game ended 14-12 and set back offensive football five decades. Now compare the two teams this year. Which looks different, which looks improved?

That's almost entirely a product of coaching, right?

In fact, this game was almost a perfect laboratory for coaching analysis. Compare the products on the field last night. Kiffin, who was supposedly an offensive guru at USC, has not improved Tennessee's offense. Chizik, under the direction of Gus Malzahn, has completely remade Auburn. They're now 5-0, loving football, and have completely bought in to what the coaching staff is selling.

Meanwhile, Kiffin and Tennessee are regressing offensively and defensively.

You can argue talent differential in games against Florida and Georgia, maybe, but you can't argue talent differential in games like Auburn and UCLA. What you can argue is inferior preparation. Again, I'll say what I did after the UCLA game: if Phillip Fulmer is standing on the sideline and makes every play call that Kiffin did, fans are outraged.

That first half of football was unwatchable.

Kiffin bears the blame.

Taking it further, there were two primary rationales to replace Fulmer: a. the team needed to be coached better and, b. the recruiting had suffered.

So far Kiffin's offense and defense look no different than Fulmer's did. So now the rationale for the coaching change boils down completely to recruiting.

Kiffin is recruiting well, but Tennessee has always recruited well. Fulmer had better players than every other team in the SEC during his tenure (using the NFL Draft as the barometer). What have we seen on the field thus far that offers clear evidence that Tennessee is being coached better?

2. Crompton's receivers didn't help him by making catches, but that's partially because they don't believe in him at quarterback.

Offense is about optimism, the psychology of upcoming success. You can't line up and have any doubts about your ability to make plays. Watch Tennessee's receivers. Do you really think they expect Crompton to put the ball where they can catch it and make a play?

Of course not.

They're so worried about trying to make a spectacular play for the offense, that they can't make a simple play.

Why?

Because they don't trust Crompton to make plays. Even if they're not saying it out loud, their body language tells the story. Watch how long the receivers take to get up after another failed pass attempt. The downcast head. They're beaten before the ball is snapped.

3. It's time to toss practice out the window when it comes to evaluating quarterbacks.

I said it earlier, but it bears repeating, Jonathan Crompton has won a single SEC game when he completes a pass -- Kentucky. (He also "beat" Vanderbilt as the starter last year, but his only pass, the first of the game, was intercepted.) In fact, Kentucky is the only team from a major conference that Crompton has beaten in his career.

My point, there's enough game experience film to evaluate at this point to make a decision on what the game play is going to be like. Using practice as a proxy for games doesn't make sense anymore. For whatever reason, if the coaching staff is to be believed, Crompton's talents don't translate to Saturday.

So be it.

Nick Stephens deserves his shot to see what he does in games. By all accounts, he tends to do better in games than practice. Give him a chance.

4. This team is divided already. Changing quarterbacks won't make it any worse.

For the first time in two years, the defense buckled in a game. It happened at the end of the first half as Auburn was in the process of running up 49 offensive snaps in the first half.

Forty-nine!

Tennessee had to take two timeouts to rest its defense.

Let me repeat that, Tennessee had to take two timeouts to rest the defense.

I can't imagine any more glaring indictment of the offensive performance than this. It's downright shameful how wasted the Tennessee defense is. And if you don't think those guys on defense are looking out at the offense, watching Crompton give up a field goal to the other team by dropping the ball on the center exchange, for example, you're fooling yourself.

This team is already divided along offense and defense lines. And it's only going to get worse as long as Crompton is in there. At least if a change is made, there's a tangible sign that the offense is willing to try anything to get better.

5. Why the lack of offensive ingenuity?

I want one person to explain to me why Nu'Keese Richardson carries the ball for 40 yards on the first play of the game and we never see him again.

Kiffin went to war for Richardson, brought on the wrath of an entire nation, turned Nu'Keese into a modern day Helen of Troy -- with an apostrophe -- and he can't even use him for more than one direct snap after the first one is hugely successful? That makes zero sense.

If your offense is awful, isn't it the coaching staff's responsibility to find ways to get players chances to make plays?

Putting this into context, the majorettes twirled flaming batons at halftime of the game. It was the most explosive offensive performance on the part of anyone from Tennessee.

6. Late in the third quarter, Lane Kiffin went for it on 4th-and-1 at his own 29.

This play speaks volumes -- Kiffin is even more frustrated than the biggest fan. I get that. But it's also making him choose risky options that offer limited payoffs. Down just 16-6, Kiffin put the game on the line with this decision.

What was the payoff for this ill-advised gamble? Tennessee punted three plays later from its 34. Yep, they risked the entire game for five yards of field position.

The risk-reward ratio when it comes to the Tennessee offense is completely broken. And it's leading the coach to make poor decisions that have limited tactical benefit -- what were the odds that Tennessee was going to score a touchdown on that drive with a first down at its own 30? To me that's clear evidence that a change needs to be made at the quarterback position. Even the head coach is pressing in his play calling due to the offensive woes.

7. It's time someone calls Kiffin on playing Crompton to help recruiting, and I'm going to do it.

Kiffin defenders consider his refusal to bench Crompton to be a strength. I think that's misguided. In fact, I actually think it's unfair to Crompton.

Why?

Because part of the reason Kiffin is leaving Crompton in at quarterback to bear the brunt of the criticism is because he wants to bring in at least one and potentially two stud quarterbacks in this year's recruiting class. That might make sense in the long-term, but it makes Kiffin's defense of Crompton ring hollow in the meantime.

It also makes Crompton a de facto shield for Kiffin. Instead of blaming the coaches, fans blame Crompton. I want the Crompton shield removed.

8. Two plays from last night that sum up the Crompton era.

a. Late in the third quarter, Crompton drops back and completes a pass to Gerald Jones, running a drag route across the field with three defenders in close proximity to him.

Hooray, a completed pass.

Only, the wide receiver on that same side of the field, I believe it was Denarius Moore, was left all alone running down the sideline. The receiver waved his arm, leaped, and the entire crowd in my section screamed for Crompton to uncork his massive arm and heave a pass down the field that would potentially unlock the offensive miasma.

But Crompton never saw his open receiver. He was locked on his primary read.

That's despite Tennessee rolling Crompton out to one side or the other throughout the game so he'd only have to survey one-third of the field.

Yep, even when receivers are wide-open in the one-third of the field that Crompton is facing, he doesn't see them.

b. The trip and fall play to begin the second half.

Coming out of the locker room, the Tennessee defense holds the Auburn offense to a three-and-out. Tennessee takes possession coming off a touchdown drive. Crompton takes the snap, steps back, is tripped by his own man, and falls down in the backfield for a loss of four.

This play might not be Crompton's fault, but no one on the offense and no one in the crowd was surprised that it happened to Crompton. I don't bear him any ill-will, I don't think he's a bad guy, I hope he's a success in something other than football, but it's time for his football career at Tennessee to come to a close.

Kiffin has given him five games. Crompton has proven that's he not up to the task.

******

Saturday night as I left the stadium a black man in a suit played a mournful dirge on his saxophone. Standing in Phillip Fulmer Way with an open case in front of him, his music soared into the clear night sky as downcast Vol fans passed him.

One fan, an older man in a Vol parka, reached into his wallet and pulled out a dollar bill. "You're the best player I've seen all night," the man said.

The saxophone player nodded as he continued to play. It was October 3rd and already fall seemed like it stretched forward into eternity.

"That damn Crompton," the man said, shaking his head, "that damn Crompton."

...
Clay Travis is the author of three books. His latest, "On Rocky Top: A Front Row Seat to The End of an Era" chronicles the 2008 Tennessee football season and is on sale now.

Jonathan Crompton Era Needs to End originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sun, 04 Oct 2009 13:36:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Is Kiffin Besting Meyer in Coaches' Spat?

Clay Travis — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Florida, Tennessee

Just when you thought Saturday's Florida-Tennessee game would end the Urban Meyer-Lane Kiffin feud for a few months, the coaches couldn't leave it well-enough alone.

Asked about Tennessee's game plan, Meyer responded: "When I saw them start handing the ball off, you didn't feel like they were going after the win. They wanted to shorten the game. I remember looking out there and there's 10 minutes left in the game and there's no no-huddle, they are down, I think it was 23-6, and [there's no] urgency."

Meyer then said that his team didn't play as well as anticipated because several players had the flu.

Cue Lane Kiffin.

"This offseason the commissioner made a big deal of renewing vows in terms of what we say about other teams and other players," the Tennesee coach said. "Obviously Urban feels he doesn't need to follow that. We won't say anything else."

After saying he would say nothing else, Kiffin couldn't help himself when asked about whether he was concerned about his team catching the flu. "We'll wait and see, and after we're not excited about our performance we'll tell you that everybody was sick."

Somewhere SEC commissioner Mike Slive is treating himself with the vapors. I picture Slive, who looks vaguely like a vampire who has been out in the daylight too long, lying with cold compresses placed on his face and hands while an underling waves an oversized fan, probably a giant peacock feather, as he rests on a settee.

"Are they at it again?" Slive asks tremulously.

"Yes, commissioner, this time it's about the flu."

"Dear Lord, the flu? Has neither man no decency? Fetch me my quill and ink."

Nope, commissioner, no matter what you do, the trash talk is not ending anytime soon. Especially not with ratings up 60% over last year's Florida-Tennessee game on CBS. Conflict sells, baby. Later in his conference call, Meyer went on to suggest that his team wasn't trying to win the game by an impressive margin, and Kiffin said he'd never accuse one team of trying not to to win and that he wished both teams played more than once a year because he'd like another crack at the Gators.

But here's the real surprise that's underlying all of these stories from Saturday. Kiffin had a smarter gameplan than Urban Meyer and I think that surprised Meyer. For all his bluster and big talk, Kiffin's game plan was remarkably conservative -- run the ball on offense and take away Florida's potential for big plays on defense. In so doing, Kiffin limited his team's weaknesses while restricting the other team's strengths. The only real way Tennessee could win this game was by scoring off Gator mistakes. And what's the best way to create mistakes? Make the opposing team run as many plays as possible against the best unit of your team, the Vol defense. If this game was a shoot-out, only one team would have been firing their weapon. And that team wouldn't have been Tennessee.

This brings up an interesting dichotomy, Kiffin's undisciplined off-field comments belie a team that is actually very disciplined and focused on game details. The upshot of Kiffin's gameplan was that Tennessee controlled how Saturday's game was played for the first time in five years.

I think that surprised Meyer. I really do.

And ultimately all the continued media attention has a rattled Meyer embracing a desert island fantasy. Meyer actually said this:

"If there's a way to do this, let's go move the Florida Gators to a deserted island somewhere and let's go play football and not worry about all this nonsense and just go play the game," Meyer said. "I've never seen anything like it this past week. You just try to shelter them and make sure they focus on what's important and not this silly nonsense."

This might be my favorite Meyer quote ever. Let's deconstruct this quote. What Urban wants:

A.) His team on a deserted island somewhere
B.) Where they can play football -- presumably against themselves since the island is deserted
C.) On the island they would not have to "worry about this nonsense," and ...
D.) Could just go play the game. Off the deserted island or on the deserted island?

Fantasy quotes like this confirm that if nothing else, Kiffin is in Meyer's head. How so? You've got a two-time defending national champion coach with the No. 1 team in the country, the best player in the country at quarterback, and he's wishing his team would get less attention.

And who's frustrating him? A guy with a lifetime head coaching record of 6-17.

Seriously, how ridiculous is this?

Somehow Kiffin has hit at Meyer's vulnerability: He doesn't like to be questioned about anything. We've seen this before. Remember when Shane Matthews questioned Meyer's play-calling and Florida threatened to banish him from all things Gator? Now Meyer's just beaten Tennessee by 10 points and Papa Smirk Kiffin has got him all flustered again. You get the feeling that Meyer's just one step away from publicly announcing that he will never mention Kiffin's name again.

But that's in the future; until then, Meyer has to win nine more games and fight the expectation battle with his team. Unless, that is, they head off for the deserted island -- Robinson Crusoe meets Lost in football pads. So I've provided Meyer with a handy list of excuses for each team on the Gator schedule. Fail to perform up to expectations? No worries. Just consult this list for the post-game press conference talking points.

Sept. 26 at Kentucky

"Tim Tebow is afraid of horses because once in the Philippines he saw a horse fall into the ocean after stumbling on loose dirt. I don't know how you could possibly expect a man to play well when he's got such a strong case of equinophobia and there are horses all around us here. All of you disgust me; we don't make a big deal of it, but equinophobia is real, it impacts him. You jerks wouldn't understand that because you all ride side-saddle anyway."

Oct. 10 at LSU

Meyer addressing team's last-second field goal victory. "I want y'all to know what we heard from the CDC before we got here -- that Baton Rouge in general and LSU in particular recently incubated a new virus, herpes that spreads via sneezing. That's why we played underneath the protective canopy on the sideline and why our players wore spacesuits. Everybody knows that it's easier to fumble when you play in a spacesuit. But herpes is for life. And I'll be damned if we're all going back to Gainesville and spreading any more herpes around campus than this team has already spread."

Oct. 17 vs. Arkansas

"People in Arkansas are dirty and they spend a lot of time around swine. That's their prerogative. If you have a Florida degree you don't have to spend time around pigs, that's a benefit. If it was up to me that state would not exist. So we didn't tackle very well because I was concerned about the swine flu spreading. And earlier in the week Brandon Spikes came up to me and said, 'Coach, is it OK if we tackle using our helmets instead of our arms?; And I told him, 'Yes, of course. They're dirty.' So the close game is on me. Also, the fifty points they scored. If you want to be really honest, give forty of them to the pigs."

Oct. 24 at Mississippi State

"I apologize in advance for the fact that my team didn't arrive on time. In fact, we missed the first quarter and fell behind 14-0. Thankfully, fumbled snaps led State to punt four times. We should have arrived on time, but the pilot just kept flying around in a circle trying to find Starkville. Eventually I telephoned Dan Mullen and he set downtown Starkville on fire so we could find the place. That worked OK, except we initially landed at Billy Ray Mullen's brush-fire. Which I apologize for. The brush fire and the town burning sent off similar amounts of smoke."

Oct. 31 vs. Georgia

"First, before any questions, are asked, I'd just like to say, there's no way my team could have been expected to play well today. Not with the slutty Halloween costumes that girls wear. My team was unfocused. Have you ever seen so much bosoms and behind? In my day, there wasn't so much bosoms and behind."

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Louisiana State running back Trindon Holliday (8) is lifted by a teammate after making a touchdown against Louisiana-Lafayette in the first half of an NCAA college football game in Baton Rouge, La., Saturday, Sept. 19, 2009. LSU wide receiver Chris Mitchell (86) joins the celebration. (AP Photo/Bill Haber)

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In this Sept. 19, 2009, photo, Georgia quarterback Joe Cox (14) is greeted by fans after Georgia's 52-41 victory over Arkansas in the NCAA college football game in Fayetteville, Ark. Doing his best to cram a career's worth of statistics into one season, the Georgia's fifth-year senior quarterback is coming off a five-touchdown performance against Arkansas that has seemingly erased all questions about his health and arm strength. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston)

PROVO, UT - SEPTEMBER 19: Darren Edwards #38 of the Florida State Seminoles goes up for the football over the Brigham Young Cougars at La Vell Edwards Stadium on September 19, 2009 in Provo, Utah. (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Darren Edwards

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PROVO, UT - SEPTEMBER 19: Bobby Bowden, Head Coach of the Florida State Seminoles, walks off the field after the win over The Brigham Young Cougars at La Vell Edwards Stadium on September 19, 2009 in Provo, Utah. (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Bobby Bowden

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PROVO, UT - SEPTEMBER 19: Maxx Hall #15 of the Brigham Young Cougars calls out a play against the Florida State Seminoles at La Vell Edwards Stadium on September 19, 2009 in Provo, Utah. (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak via Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Maxx Hall

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PROVO, UT - SEPTEMBER 19: Harvey Unga #45 of the Brigham Young Cougars runs against the Florida State Seminoles at La Vell Edwards Stadium on September 19, 2009 in Provo, Utah. (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Harvey Unga

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PROVO, UT - SEPTEMBER 19: Jarmon Fortson #80 of the Florida State Seminoles gets the touchdown against Andrew Rich #22 and Brian Logan #7 of the Brigham Young Cougars at La Vell Edwards Stadium on September 19, 2009 in Provo, Utah. (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Jarmon Fortson;Andrew Rich;Brian Logan

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PROVO, UT - SEPTEMBER 19: Brigham Young Cougars fans look on as their team loses to the Florida State Seminoles at La Vell Edwards Stadium on September 19, 2009 in Provo, Utah. (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/Getty Images)

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PROVO, UT - SEPTEMBER 19: Christian Ponder #7 of the Florida State Seminoles gives an interview after they defeated the Brigham Young Cougars at La Vell Edwards Stadium on September 19, 2009 in Provo, Utah. (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Christian Ponder

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PROVO, UT - SEPTEMBER 19: Brigham Young Cougars flag bearers run around the field after a touchdown against the Florida State Seminoles at La Vell Edwards Stadium on September 19, 2009 in Provo, Utah. (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/Getty Images)

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PROVO, UT - SEPTEMBER 19: Bryan Kariya #33 of the Brigham Young Cougars steps over Ricky Yates #44 of the Florida State Seminoles at La Vell Edwards Stadium on September 19, 2009 in Provo, Utah. (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Ricky Yates;Bryan Kariya

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Nov. 7 vs. Vanderbilt

"Vanderbilt last beat Florida in 1066. Some of you may remember that's when Guillaume le Conquerant took England for France. You tell me, how you get a team fired up to play when they've won for nine-hundred and forty-three consecutive seasons. Every now and then you're going to have a letdown. It happens."

Nov. 14 at South Carolina

After a loss to Steve Spurrier and South Carolina: "My guys were really upset with Mike Vick's dogfights. And I think it's just, hold on a minute, I'm choking up, really a damn shame that we countenance the Gamecock mascot. That's not just a bird, man, that's an animal. A real, live animal with a beating heart. Do you breathe? I breathe, it breathes, and we let them breed these birds to fight. I think it's a sad, sorry sign of where our society is that you can even ask me about a game when there are animals out there dying every day. Excuse me." Muffled crying sounds. Shelley Meyer escorts him out of the room.

Nov. 21 vs. Florida International

"This one is on me. When the guys saw this game on the schedule, they thought we were going to Cancun for the weekend. I should have picked up on the signs earlier. Jeff Demps bought a pet monkey and Chris Rainey started wearing a coconut bra during practice. Joe Haden said he was saving up money so he could buy off the police if he got arrested. Again, the signs were there, I apologize for missing them. Turns out Florida International is a real place. Who knew?"

Nov. 28 vs. Florida State

"I know we were supposed to win this game by 20 points, but Bobby Bowden is old. I didn't want that on my conscience if he died on the sideline. I just didn't. Every time I look at Bobby Bowden I can only think about two things: national championships and liver spots. And today, by God, I focused on the liver spots. I didn't want him dying out there in the Swamp. I'm not putting that on my conscience. No sir."

Is Kiffin Besting Meyer in Coaches' Spat? originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 22 Sep 2009 19:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Meyer Misses Chance to Dismiss 'Papa Smirk' Kiffin

Clay Travis — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 21:18:00 EST

Filed under: Florida, Tennessee, SEC

Earlier this week, Tim Brando drew a parallel between Lane Kiffin and Sarah Palin. Brando's point was that Kiffin had energized the Tennessee fan base, just as Palin set Republican hearts aflutter, but that it remained to be seen how he'd translate to the nation at large. When the rubber met the road, would Kiffin prove he could withstand the rigors of the SEC? Or would he turn into football's version of Palin, an overhyped west-coaster who couldn't handle the heat of SEC football?

By halftime, Kiffin's Vols had their answer and Tennessee-Florida had its structural metaphor. Urban Meyer is the favored and proven candidate, but Lane Kiffin is the brash-talking insurgent who didn't need to win, he just needed to prove he could compete.
Florida fans came expecting a funeral, a smorgasbord of revenge stuffed into 60 minutes of football. Instead, they stood in the heat and watched a slobber-knocking and plodding affair. Clearly, Florida was the better offense and the better team. Urban Meyer came to a knife fight armed with two handguns and a howitzer cannon, Kiffin arrived with a salad fork and an oyster cracker. He tossed the oyster cracker at a Gator coed with fat arms, and dueled as best he could with his salad fork of a quarterback, Jonathan Crompton.

In the end, we learned 14 important things about both teams.

1. CBS and ESPN need Meyer and Kiffin to hate each other.

And if two mega-corporations need something to happen, and control as much of the sports arena as these two do, they can craft the story lines by taking sentences here and there and turning them into major controversies. CBS played up the angst with alternating shots of Kiffin and Meyer alongside the Green Day soundtrack "Know Your Enemy" as the game began. The montage was designed to ignite Gator bloodlust, and terrify Volunteer fans. If they'd played it on the scoreboard at Ben-Hill Griffin stadium, 15 people in orange would have simultaneously been stabbed to death with shivs embedded inside Little Debbie snackcakes.

2. Tim Tebow and Urban Meyer in suits look like an uncomfortable scene from Entourage: Gainesville.

Can we institute a new sports rule: When you're not wearing your football uniform or coaching on the sideline, there are no slow-motion shots?

It's so uncomfortable.

You could almost hear Meyer whispering, "I know a great Bible study party after this game. Two words: bourbon cake ... and truffles."

In his vest and glasses, Tebow looked like a Depression-era banker. Also, and I know several teams do it, but wearing suits to a college football game is really dumb. What's dumber than wearing the suits? Showing people wearing the suits.

3. Tennessee's offense is awful.

Immediately after the UT game, I put on other games, Washington at USC, and Michigan State at Notre Dame, and watched both teams tossing the football around the field, actually completing passes that travel more than five yards up field. I was positively giddy.

When will those days return?

Tennessee running backs Montario Hardesty and Bryce Brown are warriors out there. So is the entire offensive line. Can you imagine lining up against Florida on play after play when they've stacked the line to stop the run and yet you still have to run the football?

Hardesty ran 20 times for 96 yards. Those 20 rushes would have probably been 150 yards against a regularly aligned defense.

4. Florida lacks playmakers at wideout, and this is going to hurt them down the road.

Florida's leading receiver? Try tight end Aaron Hernandez who had four catches for 26 yards. Most of that yardage, 18 of them, came on a second quarter third and long play when Florida correctly guessed that Tennessee was going to blitz and hit him on the tight end screen for a first down.

Why does that matter? Florida is going to face an awful lot of stacked defenses from here on. Excepting that Tebow pass to Hernandez, Florida's next three longest pass plays were for 14, 10, and 10 yards.

What's even more interesting, Florida didn't even attempt to throw the ball down the field. Now Tennessee has a strong secondary and their gameplan was to make the Gators drive the field on them in small chunks of yardage, but that's got to make Gator fans a bit leery that they weren't able to exploit any mismatches down the field and stretch the defense.

If you're a Gator fan, you'd like to think that was because Florida chose to take what Tennessee gave them. I'm not so sure. I think the reality is that Florida is not very explosive on offense. At least nowhere near as explosive as they were last year with Percy Harvin.

I've said for a while that I think there's a great deal of separation between Florida and the other teams in the SEC. After this game, I take that back. I think Florida is going to have several tough games this season, and I'm not sure they'll finish the SEC gauntlet undefeated.

5. Someone needs to tell CBS studio analyst Tony Barnhart that everyone knows he dyes his hair.

One of my rules in life, if I ever think about dying my hair, I'm relying on a guy friend of mine to say, "Dude, everyone knows you dyed your hair. You like ridiculous."

At SEC Media Days everyone was whispering this about Tony "Chestnut Brown" Barnhart. Just because you're on television doesn't mean you need to dye your hair in a misguided attempt to look younger. Please stop. And when you stop, find your three best male friends and kick all of them in the groin for letting you dye your hair to begin with.

6. Lane Kiffin might be the new Les Miles when it comes to game interviews.

You know how when Les Miles hits the interview, you feel like he could say anything? From commenting on United States policy with Kim Jong-Il in North Korea to why he likes Paul Newman's salad dressing?

Put it this way, when I'm watching an LSU game and it's close to halftime and a team is taking the knee, I don't change the station because I want to hear what Miles might say.

Well, Kiffin might be the new Miles.

He told Tracy Wolfson, "See you later," to end the first interview. Which at first I thought was a reference to winning the game and getting interviewed at the end, but then he vanished at halfime and left Wolfson hanging. While Miles is wacky, Kiffin is so intense you halfway expect him to eat the microphone, spit it out, and flex for the camera. In fact, if this happened, I wouldn't even be surprised.

In the end, Wolfson went to Kiffin three times before she went to Urban Meyer.

Why?

Because they figured he was more likely to say something incendiary ... and they're right.

7. Brandon James is human. And he's going to be feeling that Janzen Jackson hit in the end zone for the rest of his life.

I don't know about the rest of Tennessee fans, but when I saw Brandon James get absolutely destroyed on Tebow's final pass of the half, I replayed the hit 18 times. In super slow-motion. In real speed. I paused the television, I got up and walked around in front of my screen and watched it anew, I was like Jim Garrison with the Zapruder tape in "JFK."

If I could download that hit and watch it every morning when I woke up, it would make my life better. Why?

A.) That Jackson hit saves four points. Because minus that hit, it's a touchdown catch.
B.) Somewhere Jabar Gaffney slammed down his television remote and said, "That's a touchdown, bro."
C.) I consider this somewhat revenge for the three consecutive punt-return touchdowns -- and the near kickoff touchdown to begin the game

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BATON ROUGE, LA - SEPTEMBER 19: Terrance Toliver #80 of the Louisiana State University Tigers is tackled by Dwight Bentley #5 of the University of Louisiana-Lafatette Ragin' Cajuns at Tiger Stadium on September 19, 2009 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Terrance Toliver;Dwight Bentley

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It was sweet redemption.

8. Gary Danielson hates Jonathan Crompton

It's almost uncomfortable to hear Danielson talk about Crompton during CBS's telecasts. There's a thinly veiled disgust, like someone has just placed a rotten fishhead on Danielson's microphone. These guys need to have a sit-down at some point so they can hash out their differences. It's like Crompton bailed town after impregnating Danielson's daughter.

That would also explain Crompton's mustache-beard combo. That's the mustache-beard of a man with children left behind in 14 different trailer parks.

Granted, Crompton's awful, but he's not the worst quarterback in the history of college football. In fact, if you compare his passing stats with Tebow's from this game they were pretty similar. But, man, Danielson kills him every chance he gets.

I hope Crompton has a good game on CBS just to hear what Danielson says.

And by the way, the obsession with whether or not Tim Tebow gets a touchdown pass. Really necessary? I don't think so. That's about the 20th most interesting thing taking place during the game.

9. With the game tied at 3, and three minutes remaining in the first half, I did the math to prove that 20 percent of the game was already over.

I've never done this before during a football game. It's a testament to how nervous I was that the game might get out of hand early. The last time I remember doing this during a sporting event was when I was on an awful little league team and we got a 10-3 lead in the third inning. Games ended in two ways, after six innings or via a two-hour game time limit. I knew our only chance to win was the time running out. I kept asking the coach how much time was left in the game.

He said, "Do you want to win or for the game time to run out?"

"Both," I said.

We lost 15-10. In six innings.

I'm still bitter.

10. When Tim Tebow and Eric Berry collided, every child in Asia was simultaneously circumcised.

Asian newspapers are going to report on this phenomenon tomorrow. But they were all sleeping when it happened so the news will take a little while to filter out.

Thailand's planning a new tourist attraction in the red light district.

The Great Wall of Foreskin.

Too much?

11. Meyer went to the choke-out offense via Tebow.

In a particularly ominous sign for Florida fans, Tim Tebow carried the ball 24 times for 76 yards. In typical Tebow fashion, those yards were not easy. They were punishing, dirty, man yards -- an average of just 3.2 yards a carry.

Why does this matter?

Remember 2007.

By the Georgia game that season, Tebow was hurting from the punishment delivered by SEC defenses. Georgia won in a large part because Meyer wouldn't run the ball with Tebow.

Tebow cannot take 24 hits a game carrying the football in the SEC this season. Not in addition to the hits he takes dropping back to pass. I know Tebow's bigger and stronger than he was as a sophomore, but when he becomes the primary option in the running game, it's an awful sign for the offense.

The rest of the Florida offensive players combined for 20 carries, four less than Tebow.

12. Jonathan Crompton's third-and-six pass was so bad that the officials couldn't even call grounding.

I swear, they were shocked. They hadn't yet "seen the Crompton." After avoiding the rush, Crompton could have attempted to run for the first down, surveyed his receivers, or done something that was an offensive threat. Instead he hummed the ball into the Gator sideline.

It was clearly grounding, but it was such inexplicable grounding the officials didn't make the call.

You could almost hear the officials talking as they huddled.

Official 1: "I've never seen somebody ground it without a defender near them."

Official 2: "There had to have been a Tennessee receiver running a route that took him behind the Florida Gator bench."

Official 1: "You're right," blows whistle, "Fourth down."

13. Meyer to Kiffin at midfield, "You played hard, man."

I don't know this for a fact, but I'm going to hazard a guess, Kiffin and Meyer have spoken privately since the flare-up in the offseason and put the comments behind them. Again, I don't know this for sure, but I'm guessing it's happened.

That's the only way to explain the curious lack of discord between the two of them. I'm including the way Meyer took a knee to end the game. It was a respectful ending to a game that was sold as a blood feud.

I'm not complaining, I just think there's more to this story than we've seen publicly.

14. Wolfson went to Lane Kiffin first after the game. I've never seen a losing coach interviewed first before.

And that's really the story from this game. Meyer had his chance to knock Kiffin into the next century. The two teams will never meet in a more unequal talent position. Meyer beat Fulmer 59-20 and 30-6 the past two seasons. Kiffin kept it within 10 despite clear offensive limitations in his first season.

In the end, Kiffin didn't win, but he went for the jugular on the Vols' final offensive play. Even with Crompton struggling at quarterback, he dialed up the fake slant and deep ball. Florida intercepted the pass, but in the process Kiffin did something more impressive, he proved he wasn't afraid to take a chance and that he could stand on the opposite sideline from Meyer and not get destroyed.

In the process he made Vol fans across the country optimistic that better days are ahead.

In the immediate aftermath of the game, my phone blew up with messages. Every Vol fan who texted me confessed they'd never felt better after a loss. Time will tell whether Kiffin can challenge Meyer for conference superiority, but for one day at least, Kiffin wasn't deterred as he jogged off the field.

"We'll see 'em next year," he smirked.

From the early returns it's safe to say, Kiffin's no Palin. Instead he's something else -- UT's own Papa Smirk.
...
Clay Travis is the author of three books. His latest, "On Rocky Top: A Front Row Seat to The End of an Era chronicles the 2008 Tennessee football season," is on sale now.

Meyer Misses Chance to Dismiss 'Papa Smirk' Kiffin originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 19 Sep 2009 21:18:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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FanHouse Week 3 College Football Chat

Brian Grummell — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 16:10:00 EST

Filed under: Florida, Tennessee

If the craziness of last week was the appetizer, this Saturday is the main course. Friday night saw witness to nearly 1,000 yards of football between Boise State and Fresno State. Saturday offers us a full day of intrigue.

The mid-day slate gives us Tennessee's pending slaughter at the hands of Florida, Michigan State looking for a sixth straight win at Notre Dame Stadium, USC heading to dangerous Washington with second string quarterback Aaron Corp, Nebraska visiting unpredictable Virginia Tech and high-scoring Tulsa visiting Oklahoma. We'll start things around 3 PM Eastern, please join us as we watch and discuss while events unfold. Chat application after the jump.

Week Three FanHouse Saturday College Football Chat

FanHouse Week 3 College Football Chat originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 19 Sep 2009 16:10:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In War of Words, Kiffin Already the Victor

Clay Travis — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Tennessee, SEC

At some point Tuesday, the line for the Tennessee-Florida game passed 30. Think about that for a second. Thirty points!

That is the biggest underdog the Volunteers have been in any game in the modern era. The only teams playing football anywhere in the country that are bigger dogs than Tennessee this weekend are Rice and North Texas. They're playing at Oklahoma State and at Alabama. For Florida fans, the huge line is early payback for Lane Kiffin's brazen talk in the offseason, prelude to the time when he comes to understand what The Swamp is all about.

But for the nation at large, Kiffin's talked this game into his favor. How? Lose and it's expected. Merely cover the spread and he emerges as a victor of sorts, he's avoided the horrid beating so long predicted. When can you last remember that being the case? That Tennessee could lose to Florida, and so long as they do it in a respectable manner, the losing coach wins?

Welcome down the rabbit hole of college football expectations, where perception governs reality. Kiffin is Brer Rabbit and he lives in the briar patch.

Meanwhile, Kiffin's comments have gotten so much attention that it's worth asking if a coach's words have ever moved the line more significantly in college football history. But the truth is this, no matter how much bluster gets published about Florida having a bee in its bonnet and no matter what Lane Kiffin had said in the offseason, Tennessee was going to be a three-touchdown underdog in this game. They just were.

After all, in 2001, Tennessee went into the Swamp as the nation's No. 5 team taking on the No. 2 Gators. Pretty even match-up, right? Nope, the Vols were an 18-point underdog, even on a team with future NFL All-Pros Albert Haynesworth, John Henderson, Donte Stallworth and Jason Witten. With a team Phil Fulmer called the best he ever coached at Tennessee going against a Florida team that probably isn't as good as this year's edition, the Vols were picked to lose by almost three touchdowns.

So even with a team on par with Florida headed into the Swamp, Tennessee can be a heavy underdog. When it's a rebuilding program with a head case at quarterback going up against against a national championship contender with a saint at quarterback, why should there be any surprise the line is as large as it is?

As for the idea that Florida typically treats Tennessee with kid gloves, like a little brother who wanted to wrestle, it's completely wrong. Florida has always tried to choke Tennessee into submission and would've tried again even if the coach was Mother Theresa reincarnate (also known as Mike Shula). I know, I was at the 59-20 game when Meyer scored 21 fourth-quarter points to run up the score in 2007.

Add in the loss to UCLA last weekend and the talent disparity between the teams and 30 points doesn't quite seem that far out of reach, even before Kiffin made his quip about singing Rocky Top all night long in Gainesville.

So when you get right down to it, what's the actual value of Lane Kiffin's talk? The foot-in-the-mouth transgression columnists have equated to calling down the thunder?

Three or four points, a field goal in the spread, hardly the fire-and-brimstone differential everyone is talking about.

But what Kiffin has managed to do is stir up Florida's fan base so much that they're going to be using a cannon to kill a fly. All the Gators need to do to win this game is grab a flyswatter, lean over and smash the Vols. But that isn't good enough anymore, the Gator blood is up, they're demanding complete and total evisceration of all things orange. The same is true across the country, people are tuning in on Saturday because they're expecting to see carnage of a Biblical scale, Meyer turning to the television screen, baring his fangs above his absent chin, and every male child under the age of six dying at once in the state of Tennessee.

Anything less and the expectations don't live up to the hype. All Lane Kiffin has to do is stay within four touchdowns of the Gators and he wins the perception battle. He's Sarah Palin -- a great analogy by Tim Brando -- entering the first Vice-Presidential debate. The bar has been set so low that Kiffin can't help but clear it. Don't believe me? How would you react to a 35-7 loss for the Vols? That's 28 points. Only five times since this series started play in 1916 has one team beaten the other team by that many points.

Yet, this year, that's not enough to make real news, is it?

The main storyline out of the game would be Kiffin surviving to fight another day. And, yet, even with all that said, Tennessee fans are really nervous as the week nears.

Talk to a Tennessee fan about Saturday's game and most acknowledge that they won't be seen publicly while watching it. This isn't a gather 'round and watch the game with your best group of friends while eating nachos and pounding beers kind of game; this is a bar the door, turn off the cell phone, unplug the computer, crank open a bottle of whiskey without showering or shaving, hunker down on the ground in front of the television and beg for good things to happen. It's kind of like being on death row and waiting to see whether your appeal for a stay and DNA testing will be granted. It might end well, but there ain't anything fun about it.

All over the Volunteer state, tumbleweeds are going to be blowing through sports bars. It's the Volpocalypse ... maybe.

So having broken down the expectations game I wouldn't be honest if I didn't bring you the Volunteer state of mind as kickoff nears. Here's nine ways Tennessee fans are preparing for the Florida game.

1. Rooting for odd weather patterns to emerge.

The fact that rain might materialize on Saturday has been the fervent hope of Vol fans. Exactly why is uncertain. It's almost like everyone has already forgotten what EDSBS termed the "Braveheart game" in the rain against Florida State last year. If I'm Florida I like my chances with Tim Tebow on any continent on earth, weather patterns be damned.

Antarctic blizzard?

Tebow's blood doesn't freeze.

Advantage Gators.

2. Trying to make Jonathan Crompton think the actual game is practice.

For whatever reason Crompton is a practice all-star. In an effort to reverse the karma of game collapses, I think Kiffin should put Tennessee's defense in Florida Gator jerseys and uniforms this fall. It doesn't make sense that Crompton can perform against Tennessee's top-ranked defense in practice, but falls apart when lesser defenses take the field.

Incidentally, Kiffin said that Tennessee fans were overcome with hatred for Jonathan Crompton yesterday. I think he misspoke. Tennessee fans don't hate Crompton, we're just resigned to Crompton's failings. There's a big difference. Watching Crompton play quarterback is what I picture sex is like for 60-somethings who have been married four decades: everyone doing the act is pretending someone else is involved.

3. Hoping the Rapture arrives.

Everyone might not ascend to the heavens, but it would be the biggest upset this side of the Miracle on Ice if Tebow didn't move skyward.

Urban Meyer won't even blink. Or levitate. "Get me Brantley," he'll say.

4. Wearing the white UT shirt with the tiny T over the left lapel, then carrying a fanny pack full of whiskey over our left shoulders.

Prediction: There will be more white and blue among the UT faithful at the game than ever has been seen before. Also, people making the long trip to Gainesville are true fans. It's easy to go on the road when you think your team is going to win, much more difficult to go on the road and watch an expected bloodbath.

Right now, Tennessee fans en route to Florida are like Christians volunteering to meet the lions in ancient Rome.

5. Dreaming about UT tackling Brandon James before he reaches the end zone for the first time in James' career.

No one else mentions this, but are you aware that Brandon James is attempting to pull off a punt return for a touchdown in four consecutive years against the same team? He did it in 2006 (It was called back for a phantom penalty), and he did it on the scoreboard in 2007 and 2008.

Let's be clear, this is more impressive than Babe Ruth calling his shot and every bit as astounding as Usain Bolt's speed.

The punt return for a touchdown is one of the rarest of feats on the football field. And James has pulled it off three consecutive years. If he does it for a fourth year in a row no Volunteer fan will be surprised, but James should get all the credit in the world. It's truly unprecedented in today's college football universe.

If he does this, I'm writing an entire column about him next week where I try to place into context how amazing this athletic feat is.

6. Kind of halfway hoping that Lane Kiffin calls Urban Meyer and offers to forfeit to save on the cost of gas.

Even better, what if Kiffin called up and claimed he was nervous about taking his players into a hurricane-prone area? The press conference would be classic.

Reporter: "Coach Kiffin, no one else has a hurricane on the radar. The National Weather Service isn't reporting any danger, where is your information coming from?"

Kiffin: "I trust my meteorologist, you should trust your meteorologist too. If we all trusted meteorologists more, OK, the world would be a better place, OK."

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In this photo taken Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009, Texas safety Earl Thomas is shown during pregame warmups before his team's NCAA college football game in Austin, Texas. The Longhorns are set to host Texas Tech Saturday night, Sept. 19, 2009. (AP Photo/Harry Cabluck)

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In this photo taken on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009, Texas safety Blake Gideon keeps his mouthpiece at the ready as he stands in sidelines during fourth quarter action in an NCAA college football game in Austin, Texas. The Longhorns host Texas Tech Saturday night. In last season's loss to Texas Tech, Gideon dropped a sure interception that likely would have given the Longhorns the victory. (AP Photo/Harry Cabluck)

Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno gestures as he answers a question during his weekly news conference on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2009 in State College, Pa. Penn State plays Temple at home on Saturday. (AP Photo/Pat Little)

Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno answers a question during his weekly news conference on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2009 in State College, Pa. Penn State plays Temple at home on Saturday. (AP Photo/Pat Little)

Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy speaks during a news conference in Stillwater, Okla., Monday, Sept. 14, 2009. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Wisconsin head football coach Bret Bielema screams during the second half of an NCAA football game Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009, in Madison, Wis. It took two overtimes for a flu-ravaged Wisconsin team to defeat Fresno State. As the Badgers look toward Wofford this week, Bielema gives an update on how his team is handling the flu outbreak that affected 40 players last week. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

In this Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009, photo, Northwestern's Stefan Demos celebrates after kicking the game-winning 49-yard field goal against Eastern Michigan in the fourth quarter of an NCAA college football game in Evanston, Ill. Northwestern won 27-24. (AP Photo/David Banks)

In this Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009, photo Penn State linebacker Sean Lee, left, walks away after sacking Syracuse quarterback Greg Paulus, right, during the second half of their NCAA college football game in State College, Pa. Lee was so active against Syracuse, it seemed like the Penn State linebacker spent all day leveling opponents behind the line of scrimmage. Any lingering doubts about the health of his surgically-repaired right knee were erased in a dominating performance against the Orange. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

In this Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009, photo, Penn State linebacker Sean Lee (45) stands with assistant coach Tom Bradley on the sideline during the second half of their college football game against Syracuse in State College, Pa. Lee was so active against Syracuse, it seemed like the Penn State linebacker spent all day leveling opponents behind the line of scrimmage. Any lingering doubts about the health of his surgically-repaired right knee were erased in a dominating performance against the Orange. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Oregon State's Jacquizz Rodgers rushes for a key fourth quarter gain on the wiining drive of the Beavers 23-21 win over UNLV in an NCAA college football game on Saturday Sept. 12, 2009 in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Daniel Gluskoter)

7. Looking at Vol freshman wide receiver Nu'Keese Richardson and thinking, "You were really worth all this?"

So far, here are Nu'Keese Richardson's stats in two games: Three catches for 30 yards, one rush for eight yards. He's also returned four punts for a total of 36 yards.

The UT crowd coos Nuuuuuu, while he prepares to return kicks. This has to be the most over-extensive cheering for one player that I've ever seen, the little league basketball equivalent of naming your white point guard son Allen Iverson (insert your last name) and bouncing up on and down on the sideline screaming, "Hit him with the killer cross, Allen, hit him," while pounding "The Answer" tattoo on your left bicep.

You'll recall that it was Richardson signing with UT and rejecting Florida at the last moment that set Kiffin off on his "Urban Meyer cheated" charade. From there, things escalated to a latter day football version of the Trojan War with Nu'Keese adopting the role of Helen of Troy.

Yep, Nu'Keese is the apostrophe that launched a thousand ships.

8. Suggesting that CBS make a run at the primetime television market in the Phillipines and move kickoff to 3:30 AM ET.

I read the other day where most of the orphans that Tebow circumcised have never seen him play. I thought this was a travesty of epic proportions. The least they should receive for giving up their foreskin is a chance to see Tim Tebow toss around the pigskin.

It's time to make Manila proud. Move the time for the game CBS, move it.

9. Refusing to touch the line even though we're 30 point underdogs.

Generally on a spread this big, with two huge fan bases, the line moves down. instead this line has moved higher since opening at 28.5.

The only thing worse than losing by more than 30, is starting off with 30 points in your pocket, losing by more than 30, and having to explain to your wife how you lost the money.

Time to hunker down boys, a storm is brewing, even if it's only metaphorical.

Clay Travis is the author of three books. His latest, "On Rocky Top: A Front Row Seat to The End of an Era chronicles the 2008 Tennessee football season," is on sale now.

In War of Words, Kiffin Already the Victor originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 17 Sep 2009 10:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SEC Notebook: Joe Cox's Many Maladies

Jim Henry — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, SEC

Week 1 was the flu. Week 2 was shoulder soreness. OK, what's going on in Week 3?

The health of Georgia quarterback Joe Cox has been discussed, dissected and debated so much this young season that he could be a regular on General Hospital. Despite a jammed finger on his left non-throwing hand this week, Cox is in one piece -- and in good spirits. The rumors were so rampant last week that some believed Cox wouldn't start against South Carolina.

"It's definitely been interesting to see how crazy it can get just based off of what somebody says, but it hasn't been something that has been a distraction," said Cox, who injured his finger on an attempted tackle following an interception in the Bulldogs' win over South Carolina last Saturday.

"It's honestly something that we've all kind of laughed about."

While Georgia coach Mark Richt joked that Cox needed to wear an eye patch to meet with the media on Tuesday -- let's start another rumor -- Cox and the Bulldogs have been all business in their preparation for Saturday's SEC game at Arkansas. The Bulldogs have won the last five meetings against the Razorbacks, including all three in Fayetteville, Ark., and are on a five-game road SEC winning streak.

After losing its season-opener to Oklahoma State, Georgia rebounded with a dramatic 41-37 win at home over the Gamecocks. Arkansas was idle last week.

"It's like that old song," Richt said.

"You have to accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, latch on to the affirmative and don't mess with mister in between. That's what we are trying to do. We are trying to really look at the positive things and build off of them, eliminate the negative things and we'll be OK. We'll keep getting better if that happens."

One positive has been Georgia's production in the red zone. The Bulldogs are a perfect 6-for-6 inside their opponent's 20-yard line, scoring four touchdowns (one rushing, three passing) and connecting on a pair of field goals. Another has been the play from junior linebacker Rennie Curran, who leads the SEC with 23 tackles in two games.

And let's not forget Cox, who was slowed by a flu virus in the opening week -- he lost 10 pounds -- and last week Georgia revealed that nerve damage in Cox's right shoulder prevents him from throwing one day each week in practice. While the throwing schedule gives backup Logan Gray valuable time with the first-team offense, Cox finished with a career-high 201 yards passing and two touchdowns in the win over South Carolina.

"Everybody kind of understands that's the way it is," Richt said of Cox's throwing schedule.

"Nobody really gets too bent out of shape. It's always nice to get your second team guy a lot of work. A lot of coaches won't do that, but we've always done a pretty good job of letting our second team and our third team getting a little work, but it's even more so this year because of that situation. It's definitely helping Logan (Gray)."

Bluegrass Fever

Kentucky has held the upper hand in the state, beating rival Louisville the past two years for the Governor's Cup and winning three consecutive bowl games. Kentucky looks to make it three straight over the Cardinals on Saturday.

The Wildcats enter the home game on a streak of 15 consecutive non-conference wins. It's the second-longest non-conference win streak in the nation and the longest for UK since a 17-game non-conference win stretch from 1954-60. Since mid-season 2006, the Wildcats have won 21 of their last 33 games overall.

Kentucky coach Rich Brooks is well aware how a victory over Louisville makes life so much easier.

"Well, you have to live in a vacuum to not hear about it all year long in this state," Brooks said.

"Any football fan, you hear it on the talk radio, you see it on the message boards, just everywhere and you hear it when you're out in public. You get constantly reminded of what side of that equation you're on but like the last two years we've been fortunate enough to win the game - that really doesn't count - what counts is what happens this year. This Saturday is what is really going to count."

A Familiar Face

Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy will face off against his old high school Saturday in North Texas' Tom Dodge, who coached McElroy at Southlake Carroll High just outside Dallas.North Texas starting quarterback Riley Dodge -- the son of coach Tom Dodge and McElroy's backup in high school -- will miss the game with a separated shoulder, however. Dodge was injured in the third quarter of Saturday's double-overtime loss to Ohio.

"That is disappointing," McElroy said.

"Riley has had a little run of bad luck. I wish I could be playing against him, but they've got to do what's best for them and their season. If holding them out against us will allow them to be more successful down the road this year, then I totally understand why they're doing it."

A Popular Dude

Branden Smith, a freshman cornerback at Georgia, played every position while at Washington-Atlanta and committed to Georgia to play cornerback. Smith also ran the fifth-fastest 100 meters (10.64 seconds) in Georgia high school history. Naturally, his speed and athleticism made Smith an easy candidate to see time on offense.

The first time Smith touched the ball against South Carolina, on a kickoff return in the first quarter, Smith fumbled. The second time, he was gone -- untouched for a touchdown on a 61-yard reverse on offense. Smith was stunned to discover he was an instant hero on campus.

"It has been hard walking around campus and people asking for autographs and everything," Smith said. "But right now I am just trying to stay focused on schoolwork. It has been a little weird that no one before asked me for my autographs, but I had a good game Saturday and now they ask me for autographs. It felt a little good."

Quick Impressions

Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen wasn't a happy camper following his team's 49-24 defeat to Auburn. The Bulldogs allowed 598 yards of total offense, including 390 on the ground. Mississippi State travels to Vanderbilt on Saturday.

"Not winning is not acceptable. I don't like using the 'L-word,'" Mullen said. "That is not acceptable for us and, when you don't come out on top, that is extremely disappointing."

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Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy speaks during a news conference in Stillwater, Okla., Monday, Sept. 14, 2009. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

COLUMBUS, OH - SEPTEMBER 12: Running back Stafon Johnson #13 of the USC Trojans celebrates in the end zone with teammate Jarvis Jones #10 after scoring a two yard touchdown in the fourth quarter over the Ohio State Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium on September 12, 2009 in Columbus, Ohio. USC won the game 18-15. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Stafon Johnson; Jarvis Jones

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COLUMBUS, OH - SEPTEMBER 12: Running back Stafon Johnson #13 of the USC Trojans celebrates in the end zone after scoring a two yard touchdown in the fourth quarter over the Ohio State Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium on September 12, 2009 in Columbus, Ohio. USC won the game 18-15. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Stafon Johnson

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Improvement must come quickly. Mississippi State is in the middle of a tough stretch. After Saturday's game in Nashville, the Bulldogs come home to host LSU, Georgia Tech and Houston, which just knocked off Oklahoma State.

"Last week, I was disappointed in our coaching staff as far as not putting our players in better positions to make plays," Mullen said. "There were a couple times we did do a good job and we made some plays and missed some plays, but we still have to be in better position to make plays when it comes to game time. We have a lot of things to still improve on."

Ol' Bully

Steve Spurrier, the Ol' Ball Coach, hasn't been able to elevate South Carolina's program to where he wants it -- yet. The Gamecocks lost an SEC heart-breaker at Georgia last Saturday, and they will be looking to rebound in their home-opener on Saturday against Florida Atlantic.

It shouldn't be a problem.

Spurrier is 36-0 against teams outside the six major BCS conferences. The Owls visited Columbia, S.C., in 2006, losing 45-6. The 39-point margin is the second biggest win for the Gamecocks under Spurrier.

Spurrier, the gracious host, pointed out that the Owls have been to bowl games the past two years, beating Memphis in 2007 and Central Michigan in 2008. But he didn't mention that Florida Atlantic opened its season with a 49-3 loss to Nebraska. And, case if you are wondering, Spurrier wasn't in the mood to talk about the Georgia game either.

"That game is history," he said.

"A lot of guys played well; a lot did not play very well. We're trying to get it behind us, that's all we can do now. We lost as a team. We were a play short. Wherever it was, it didn't work out. We're trying to correct a lot of mistakes we had in that game. We had a lot of mistakes in the first game. I still believe we have a pretty good team here. We're trying to put it all together."

By the Numbers ... Trent Richardson ran for 118 yards and two scores, leading the Crimson Tide to an easy 40-14 win over Florida International last Saturday. McElroy threw for 241 yards and a touchdown on 18-of-24 completions. ...Tim Tebow threw for 237 yards and tied a career high with four touchdown passes against Troy. The Gators also tied a school record with its 12th straight win. ... Georgia's kickoff return team set a record with 252 return yards. Brandon Boykin had four returns for 187 yards and a score. ... LSU outgained Vandy, 326-210, in total offense in its victory ... Anthony Dixon paced Mississippi State with 92 rushing yards and a touchdown on 20 carries, but he wasn't able to keep pace with the Auburn backs in defeat. ... Stephen Garcia went 31-for-53 with 313 yards, two scores and an interception and added 42 yards on 10 carries in South Carolina's defeat against Georgia.. ... Vanderbilt scored on a safety for the first time since 2004 in its game against LSU.

SEC Notebook: Joe Cox's Many Maladies originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Wed, 16 Sep 2009 11:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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For Kiffin, Humble Pie Is Saturday Menu

David Whitley — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 17:12:00 EST

Filed under: Florida, Tennessee

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Congratulations are in order for Lane Kiffin. He's spent the past few months trying to get noticed.

He'll be glad to know the plan worked with Florida .

"Obviously, I'll have Coach Meyer's back," Tim Tebow said Monday.

Coming Saturday, he'll have Coach Kiffin's head and be parading it around Florida Field. If Saint Tebow re-attaches it, the thought may occur to Kiffin that being a blowhard might not be the best way to succeed.

Clay Travis: UCLA Rocky Flop Could Doom Tennessee's Season

He's pretty much insulted everybody who's anybody in the SEC. The jabs directed at Florida have turned this week's game into a must-see rarity.

Non-aligned fans usually want the No. 1 team to lose. On Saturday almost everyone outside Knoxville would like to see Florida beat Tennessee 394-0.Nobody likes arrogance, especially when it comes from someone whose resume could fit on the inside of a matchbook.

It's not so much they want the Gators to win as they want Kiffin to be served a huge steaming slice of humble pie. Nobody likes arrogance, especially when it comes from someone whose resume could fit on the inside of a matchbook.

Kiffin has become the most talked-about coach in the country. But what has he ever really accomplished besides hacking people off?

"It's not that big of a deal," Tebow said. "It's someone talking."

It's a big enough deal that some of Kiffin's more inspirational words have been plastered on the walls around here since spring.

"I'm really looking forward to embracing the great traditions at the University of Tennessee. For instance, the Vol Wal, running through the T, singing Rocky Top all night long after we beat Florida next year. It will be a blast."

At the same time he accused Urban Meyer of cheating by contacting a recruit during a visit to Tennessee. Turns out it wasn't against the rules, but Kiffin was just getting warmed up.

He became Public Enemy No. 1 in the economically-poor but recruit-rich town of Pahokee, Fla. , saying "Nobody's got enough money to even have shoes or a shirt on." He picked fights with Steve Spurrier and Nick Saban.

Luckily for Kiffin, they know it's all been an act.

They do know that, right?

"I don't," Meyer said Monday.

To be accurate, the question was whether he likes it when coaches make themselves the center of attention.

"Why ever take the focus off the football players?" Meyer said.

Kiffin's response would be he had to. Tennessee was drifting into irrelevancy, there aren't enough home-grown prospects in the state and he had to do something to make the Volunteers consequential.

In this day and age, the quickest way is to make a spectacle of yourself. Hey, if it works for Paris Hilton and Kanye West, it'll work for Kanye Kiffin.

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KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 12: Brian Price #92 of the UCLA Bruins sacks Jonathan Crompton #8 of the Tennessee Volunteers on September 12, 2009 at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Bruins beat the Volunteers 19-15. (Photo by Joe Murphy/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Brian Price;Jonathan Crompton

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Purdue head coach Danny Hope, left, confers with referees on a call that kept the Boilermakers from tying the game with just seconds left during the second half of their NCAA college football game against Oregon in Eugene, Ore., Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009. Oregon beat Purdue 38-36.(AP Photo/Don Ryan)

Utah players celebrate a 24-14 win over San Jose State in an NCAA college football game in San Jose, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009.(AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Utah running back Sausan Shakerin (22) breaks through for a long run late in the fourth quarter against San Jose State in an NCAA college football game in San Jose, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009. Utah won 24-14. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Being a media jackal, I like a train wreck even more than the next guy. Give me Spurrier's cockiness over a cliché-spouting droid any day. But at least Spurrier earned the right to be a jackass.

I'm still not sure what Kiffin has ever done, other than coach Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart at USC. He parlayed that into becoming an NFL coach at age 32. The only hitch was he coached the Raiders.

People are granted diplomatic immunity from scrutiny when they coach for Al Davis. But Bill Callahan was a complete bust at Nebraska .

Maybe Crazy Al isn't the only problem in Oakland. Maybe the coaches weren't any good, which would help explain Kiffin's 5-15 record before last season's ultra-ugly divorce.

That didn't smudge Kiffin's star quality. He's young, handsome and has the blonde babe wife. His brashness unquestionably sells with 17-year-old recruits, not to mention old Tennessee fans who were dying for the Vols to matter.

It's funny how Phil Fulmer used to reel in top-10 recruiting classes without acting like the class brat. Now everybody's ga-ga over Kiffin's schtick. But any con man can incite masses and insult people.

I'm not saying Kiffin is a coaching fraud. I would like to have seen him win at least one college game before acting like he's the second coming of Pop Warner.

Respect doesn't come by irritating people, it comes by earning it. Or maybe I'm just thinking old-school and Kiffin's a New Age coach.

To them, the end justifies the means. So congratulations again on your successful act, Coach Kiffin. You wanted Tennessee to matter, and the Vols definitely matters to Florida .

But you won't be belting out Rocky Top come Saturday night. You might be asking if your song-and-dance is worth it.

For Kiffin, Humble Pie Is Saturday Menu originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 14 Sep 2009 17:12:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Crompton's Rocky Flop Could Spell Doom for Tennessee's Season

Clay Travis — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 15:45:00 EST

Filed under: Tennessee, UCLA

As night fell in Knoxville, a father dropped back to pass to his son.

"Go out five yards," he said.

The son, a portly 9 or 10 years old in an orange Eric Berry No. 14 jersey, ran a wobbly five yards and turned to receive his daddy's pass. The football whizzed in his direction, slammed into the pavement three yards short of its target and bounced high into the night air.

"I'm Jonathan Crompton," the dad said. Fellow tailgaters erupted in guffaws as the son tracked down the ball in the fading light.

It's come to this in Knoxville. One week after offering a tantalizing glimpse that something might be different, Crompton turned in the worst full-game performance by a Tennessee quarterback in a quarter century. In the wake of the resulting loss to UCLA, fans sputtered to explain how Crompton could be so bad.

Late that night as I stood at the urinal of a Cumberland Avenue bar, a fellow fan recognized me. "Clay," he said, "Todd Helton could have won us this game. Hell, A.J. Suggs would have beaten them by three touchdowns."

And he's right.

I don't even think we need Todd Helton back in his quarterbacking days at UT. I think if we'd just pulled the 36 year old from his Saturday game against the San Diego Padres, plugged him under center and given him five pass plays to run, Helton could have won the game for the Vols. Certainly he couldn't have done worse than Crompton, who finished 13 of 26 for 93 yards, three interceptions, one interception called back because of penalty, and another interception narrowly avoided after replay review. He also fumbled a quarterback-center exchange that led to UCLA's only touchdown. But supposedly he isn't to blame for that one.

In the end, UCLA won the game 19-15 on Saturday evening, but Jonathan Crompton lost it. He was so awful that his performance transcended the merely bad and ascended to the ranks of the astonishing. How bad did it get? Crompton's three interceptions came on three consecutive series, the final two of the first half and the first series of the second. After the second interception, the crowd booed. On the third? The crowd merely sat in stunned silence. Crompton pulled off a true rarity in the sport, back-to-back interceptions on consecutive pass attempts and three picks in five passes, a 60 percent interception percentage. Think about how hard that is to manage for a fifth-year starting college quarterback.

Then consider that all three interceptions were entirely self-inflicted wounds. On every interception, Crompton had plenty of time and no pressure. For someone who witnessed the game in person, it truly boggles the mind how badly Crompton played.

Especially with all that was at stake. I've been saying for months that the UCLA game was the most important on the schedule because of where it lay. Win and Tennessee can withstand the loss at Florida, return home with three home games in a row, and likely finish the first half of the season, at worst, at 4-2.

Lose and the bad karma of 2008 returns, the infighting between offense and defense reemerges, all of it is there to break the will of a fragile team. And now we're there. Go ahead and write off all possibility of 2009 being a good season.

I'm going to alternate Crompton observations with other things we learned during the course of the UCLA-Tennessee game.

1. UCLA is a much more physical team than last season.

Tennessee ran the ball twice as much as they threw it on Saturday. If they'd stuck to this ratio last season Phil Fulmer might still have a job. Last year, UCLA couldn't stop the run, this year they were much more sound up front. Defensively, UCLA is solid; offensively they're a work in progress.

But Neuheisel has them moving in the right direction.

2. You know what's the most frustrating thing about watching Crompton in person? You can see his mistakes before he can.

Honestly, you can. Why? Because he doesn't ever look off a receiver. He goes to his primary option, stares him down, cocks back his arm, and throws the football really hard. Even if the receiver is blanketed in coverage.

It's like seeing the future. You want to reach out and grab his arm. On the second interception, I was staring down the coverage thinking, he's not throwing that ball there, is he? You felt like everyone in the stadium needed to scream out, "Nooooo!" as Crompton cocks the ball.

What's the other side of the coin? You can also see the open receivers that he doesn't. On the first UT scoring drive, Crompton rolled out right and there was a receiver wide open directly in front of him. Everyone in my section was screaming, "Throw it to him, throw it to him."

Even if he couldn't see the receiver running directly in front of him wide open, Crompton could have kept the ball and run into the end zone. Instead he saw a receiver no one else even saw, a tight end blanketed in coverage in the back of the end zone. Predictably Crompton gunned it to him, Even more predictably the defender had a better shot of intercepting the ball than the tight end did of catching it.

3. How can a school as big as UCLA, set firmly in Southern California with harems of hot women everywhere, not bring a single attractive girl to the game?

For shame, UCLA, for shame.

Instead we learned that Asian men with backpacks travel well.

4. What's the second most frustrating thing about Crompton? He's not a gunslinger who recklessly throws the ball into coverage in an effort to make big plays. He's a gunslinger who drops his gun and blows off his own pinkie.

I think I could live with someone who sees single coverage outside and says, "By God, I'm throwing a 70-yard touchdown."

Even if occasionally those passes get intercepted, at least in that scenerio he's giving his receiver a chance to make a play. On 100 percent of Crompton's bad throws, the receiver has no chance to make a play on the ball.

Witness the first interception. Crompton had Gerald Jones as wide-open as a player can be in the center of the field. If Crompton hits Jones in stride, it's a touchdown. If he underthrows him by 10 yards, the play still gains at least 30 yards. If he overthrows him by five yards, Jones may still be able to get to the ball. My point, there is a massive window to land that pass inside. You or I could have thrown it. Instead Crompton overthrows Jones by about 15 yards. There wasn't even a point in Jones jumping as the pass sailed over his head. UCLA's safety, Rahim Moore snagged the gift interception.

5. Three quarters of the way through the game, my friend Neville turned to me and shakes his head.

Neville, a Florida grad, was wearing a Gator shirt and UT shorts because he fell down a hillside and stained his shorts (sigh, they weren't jorts) so badly on the walk into the stadium that he had to buy new ones.

"There hasn't been one play in this game that was memorable for a good reason."

I think that pretty much sums up this game.

6. Remember how Civil War soldiers described going into the battle as, "seeing the elephant?" The idea was that a battle was such a unique experience it only compared with seeing an elephant, you couldn't describe it to someone who hadn't fought in a battle.

I've got a new phrase for anyone who has to root for Jonathan Crompton, "seeing the Crompton." I'm picturing Lane Kiffin, who chose not to recruit any other quarterback last year because he believed Crompton would work out, coming out of the film room with his eyes wide-open, brushing back his hair from his forehead, and saying, "We need to burn this film now. I can't unsee this."

Yep, he's seen the Crompton alright.

So has every fan. It's the only way to describe the dull gleam, the pinprick of orange light in everyone's eyes after the game. We all looked like we'd just seen Bambi's mother die.

7. Isn't this loss also an indictment of Tennessee's proclamation that we were going to hire the greatest coaching staff on earth?

There were two primary reasons for replacing Fulmer

A.) He isn't recruiting as well as he needs to
B.) His coaching isn't good enough

Kiffin has recruited very well, but that was only the first goal of a new staff; they also had to outcoach the opposing staffs.

Tennessee entered as a double-digit home favorite and has more talent than UCLA. If every other play stays the exact same and Phil Fulmer is on the sideline, fans are outraged. I'll talk more about this below, but even with Crompton being awful, the staff should still have won this game.

8. Rick Neuheisel's third down play call from the end zone, was one of the stupidest and most reckless play calls I've ever seen.

Here's the setup: Tennessee is out of timeouts. You have a redshirt freshman starting his first road game. If you run the football, you might get tackled in th end zone. But that probability is unlikely. Assuming you can get the football outside the end zone with your run play, you run an additional 40 seconds off the play clock before taking an intentional safety on fourth down. If you really don't think you can gain yardage with a run play, run the quarterback sneak. How often has a quarterback sneak play ended in a safety?

If you take that safey on fourth down, Tennessee, who has run the ball on virtually every play in the second half, will have to pass on every play. And that, oh by the way, Crompton has completed just six passes in the entire second half. And he'll have to cover over half the field with no timeouts, score a touchdown, and do all that in a minute or so?

The odds are so stacked in UCLA's favor in this scenario that it's mind-blowing.

There's one way for UCLA to lose this game, turn the ball over. Knowing all of this, you elect to roll out your redshirt freshman quarterback, leave him defenseless in the end zone, and get him sacked for a safety. Oh, and on that play he breaks his jaw and is out for the next four games.

What an idiotic coaching decision.

But the best part? A frenzied Neuheisel sprints down the sideline in front of me and screams at former UCLA players, all in their 40s and wearing shorts and t-shirts, "Did he get out of the end zone?"

Seriously, your head coach is screaming at guys standing on the sidelines to help him with instant replay challenges.

9. Crompton completed just six passes in the second half.

I've been critical of Crompton, but this offensive staff did nothing to help him out. Why not go five wide and let Crompton throw bubble screen passes to playmakers on the outside? If you're not going to trust him to throw the ball down the field, shouldn't you at least let him make easy throws and trust your receivers to gain yards after the catch?

If not, and if you're entirely committed to the run game, why not bring in Eric Berry or Nu'Keese Richardson and let them run the wildcat?

Basically I've heard so much talk about how skilled this coaching staff is supposed to be, and when it really mattered and a game was on the line, I didn't see any schematic adjustments that made me think they were coaching geniuses.

I saw an utterly inept offense that looked just like 2008. Only worse.

10. What's the connection between Crompton and UCLA? Gangster rap.

Last week UT asked a site selling Crompton t-shirts, cityofcrompton.com in the style of the Compton logo, to stop selling the shirts to protect Crompton's eligibily.

Now I'm wondering if Vol fans are going to demand the site go back up in an effort to end Crompton's eligibility.

11. Every time Crompton entered the field in the second half, UCLA's fans cheered loudly.

I've never seen this before.

Ever.

A road crowd cheering the reinsertion of a quarterback because they realize he's their secret weapon.

After the game I talked to several of Crompton's teammates, past and present. I asked them how this could keep happening. All of them were floored, all of them said he's a stud in practice. Then I asked if they could name another player at any position who played that well in practice and that poorly in games.

They couldn't think of a single one.

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12. What was the toughest thing about this game from a UT fan perspective? How into it the crowd was.

It was incredibly loud throughout the fourth quarter, as loud as Neyland has been in years. This wasn't some hopeful, joyous cheering, it was a scream from the pit of your stomach, desperation melded into a blood-curdling noise. A recognition on the part of an awful lot of fans that a loss to UCLA dooms the 2009 season.

This really epitomized itself after Crompton threw an awful interception on fourth-and-14. Luckily UCLA was offsides. As the ball was spotted for 4th and 9 the crowd, in a madcap gambit to alter the karma, begins chanting, "Let's go Crompton."

The entire stadium.

I've never heard anything like it.

It was as if, at long last, we'd all come to the conclusion that Crompton's a insecure head case on the field and that maybe what he needs more than anything is to know that we all love him. So we tried to show him that no one wants him to be a good quarterback more than the 100,000+ fans who have lived through him being a bad quarterback.

Right there on that snap, Crompton had the chance to erase the entire game's frustrations. Convert the first down and lead the Vols down the field and into a new era of offensive competence. Instead, he threw a 12 yard curl in the direction of a receiver running a straight fly pattern.

The ball slammed into the dirt.

By the time it stopped moving, there was no Volunteer player within twenty yards of the final pass of the game.
...
Clay Travis is the author of three books. His latest, "On Rocky Top: A Front Row Seat to The End of an Era chronicles the 2008 Tennessee football season," is on sale now.

Crompton's Rocky Flop Could Spell Doom for Tennessee's Season originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 14 Sep 2009 15:45:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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