NFL coordinator calls Razorback's head coach Bobby Petrino 'a gutless bastard'

Zimmer, currently the defensive coordinator of the Cincinnati Bengals, served as the coordinator on Petrino's Atlanta Falcons coaching staff in 2007. Petrino infamously pulled one of the biggest punk, below-the-belt coaching moves in the history of of the game, leaving the Falcons with three games remaining in the season ,-- with barely a word in parting said to his staff or anyone in the organization, to take the head coaching job at the University of Arkansas.
Zimmer was asked about returning to the city for the first time since Petrino stabbed an entire organization in the back.

Well here is a sampling of Zimmer's quotes, courtesy of the Cincinnati Enquirer:

"I was never even there. As far as I am concerned. I never even was there. When a coach quits in the middle of the year and ruins a bunch of people's families and doesn't' have enough guts to at least finish out the year. I am not a part of that."

"He is a coward. Put that in quotes. He ruined a bunch of people's lives, a bunch of people's families, kids, because he didn't have enough nuts to stay there and finish the job. That's the truth."

"He came in and said he resigned, he would talk to us all at a later date, walked out of the office and no one has ever talked to him since. Not that anybody wanted to.

"He's a gutless b---d. Quote that. I don't give a s--."

When told that we might might not be able to use the B word, Zimmer went one better: "How about this, gutless MF. You can use that."

LSU's Nevis has the numbers that top Suh and Dorsey thru 7 games

LSU defensive tackle Drake Nevis is having one of those year’s most players can only dream about. For starters, he’s one of the standouts on an LSU football team that is 7-0 overall and ranked No. 6 in the BCS Standings. LSU will get a chance to improve its ranking on Saturday when the Tigers head to The Plains to take on fourth-ranked Auburn at 2:30 p.m. on CBS.
Nevis has been one of the big reasons for LSU’s dominance on the defensive side of the ball this year as he’s third on the team with 38 tackles, and ranks second in the SEC in both tackles for losses (11.5) and sacks (5.0). He’s also added an interception, forced two fumbles, recorded a safety and had a quarterback hurry.
Nevis’ numbers are in line through seven games with the two most dominant defensive lineman in college football in recent history; LSU’s Glenn Dorsey in 2007 and Nebraska’s Ndamukong Suh in 2009.
Player Tackles TFL Sacks Other
Nevis (2010) 38 11.5-47 yards 5.0-35 yards 1 int., 2 forced fumbles, 1 safety
Suh (2009) 44 10.0-42 yards 4.0-30 yards
Dorsey (2007) 37 5.5.-35 yards 4.0-32 yards 1 fumble recovery, 2 QB hurries

Wildcat's Hartline finally flourishing at Kentucky

Kentucky quarterback Mike Hartline laid on the ground, the roars of Commonwealth Stadium rattling around his helmet as teammate Randall Cobb celebrated the game-winning touchdown with 75 seconds remaining against South Carolina last Saturday. Then the normally reserved QB did something very un-Hartlinelike: He let loose. For a good 10 seconds the senior pumped his arms and legs in the air, as three seasons of criticism, second-guessing and consternation drifted away. Hartline blushes at the memory. More than one friend has grabbed him in the last few days to show him the video.

"It’s just a momentary thing, sometimes stuff happens you wish you didn’t do," he said with a laugh. "It looks a little childish and everything, in the end I’m happy that it happened."

"I was taking some heat for naming him the quarterback," Phillips said. "It’s gratifying to me, that’s for sure. I’m happy for him though. All the things that he’s been through here, for him to keep working, keep his confidence, and the thing is the team believed in him."

USC Spurrier says Miles to start for Gamecock's RB Lattimore

South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier says backup tailback Kenny Miles will start for the 19th-ranked Gamecocks on Saturday against Vanderbilt in place of injured freshman Marcus Lattimore. Lattimore sprained his left ankle early in the second half of South Carolina's 31-28 loss to Kentucky. The Gamecocks (4-2, 2-2 Southeastern Conference) were ahead 28-10 when Lattimore got hurt. Spurrier said Wednesday that Lattimore had not practiced this week and was doubtful to face the Commodores (2-4, 1-2). "Kenny's a very good back who just hasn't had the opportunity to play much this year. So he's going to start the game and hopefully go a long way," Spurrier said. "If Marcus has a miraculous recovery and says he feels fine, we'll see about getting him in there."

Gator players prepared to fight adversity

In his sixth season at Florida and 10th as a head coach, Meyer walked off Florida Field following the Gators’ 10-7 loss to Mississippi State burdened by a fact he had never experienced: three consecutive losses. Meyer didn’t mince words once he arrived at the podium underneath the south end zone stands at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. “We just have to get better,’’ he said. “We’re not very good.’’ The Gators never quit against the Bulldogs, but they also never led in Mississippi State’s first win in Gainesville in 45 years. In the final seconds, the Gators had a chance to tie and force overtime. However, punter Chas Henry, filling in for regular kicker Caleb Sturgis (back injury) for the third consecutive game, missed a 42-yard field goal attempt with four seconds left. On one sideline, former Florida offensive coordinator Dan Mullen and his players – Mullen is in his second season as Mississippi State’s head coach – celebrated wildly. Across the field, Meyer and the Gators struggled to come to terms with their third consecutive defeat since the calendar flipped to October. Adding to the disbelief, the loss marked the first time the Gators lost on Homecoming since 1988, snapping a 21-game win streak. Florida will also fall out of the polls when they come out Sunday morning, the first time that has happened under Meyer. “My mindset the whole time was that we were going to come back and win,’’ said senior center Mike Pouncey. “Around here at Florida, we’re so used to winning … the only thing we can do right now is go out and practice hard.’’

Trio of Ole Miss Rebels earn midseason All-SEC Honors

Three Ole Miss Rebels were recognized by Phil Steele in his midseason All-SEC team, which was announced Tuesday. Senior linebacker Jonathan Cornell and defensive lineman Jerrell Powe were named to the All-SEC second team, while junior running back Brandon Bolden was honored on the All-SEC third team. Phil Steele’s College Football Preview is one of the nation’s most informative preseason football magazines and releases preseason, midseason and postseason All-America as well as All-Conference teams.

Kentucky's Randall Cobb sorry for blasting fans

Kentucky wide receiver Randall Cobb apologized Tuesday for using Twitter to lash out at fans following an upset of South Carolina last weekend. Cobb sent out a series of tweets following the game in which he chastised fans for coming late, leaving early and being more concerned about the school's basketball team. He said it took him "two or three minutes" after sending the tweets to realize he had spoken irresponsibly. He almost immediately removed the messages. Cobb, who scored the game-winning touchdown with just over a minute to go, says "99.9 percent" of the fans are great and that he made a mistake. "I just took a small chunk and made it something big," Cobb said. "I can't do that. I made a mistake. I'm a man, I admit my mistake, and I want to come out and let everybody know that I'm sorry. I hope the fans can forgive me."

Georgia, SEC Champions... Don't Get Ahead of Yourself, Bulldog Fans

After routing the Vanderbilt Commodores 43-0 on Saturday, and Tennessee the previous weekend, Georgia fans are in joy over something they have yet to experience in this young decade, a winning streak. Three weeks ago, after losing four straight games, the season seemed lost in the minds of many people in the Peach State, and the job status of Mark Richt became a hot topic in the media. Winning the last two games will eliminate some the calls to fire Mark Richt, but the two-game streak has not assured him of job security beyond this year. Many Georgia fans feel that Mark Richt is too nice of a guy to lead the team anymore, and that he has lost control of the program. Georgia has already had 11 players arrested during 2010. That’s enough to for a starting lineup on either side of the ball. Winning the SEC, let alone the SEC East, would assure Mark Richt of his job going in to 2011. However, either achievement seems far-fetched at the moment. Florida’s three-game losing streak has put Georgia back in contention in the SEC East race, but Bulldog fans are getting ahead of themselves right now with SEC Championship speculation.

Arkansas eye doctors offer free Lasik procedure to SEC officials

A pair of questionable calls, one that allowed a Tiger touchdown to stand despite seemingly indisputable evidence that the runner had fumbled before crossing the goal line, the other on an Arkansas fumble that was returned for another TD, left Razorback fans in an uproar following the 65-43 loss. Fans weren't the only ones questioning the calls, however; the Arkansas football program itself petitioned the SEC regarding the very questionable rulings.

Wait, the best is yet to come, then there's the McDonald's Eye Associates.

"The officiating of the game has come under much scrutiny among Arkansas fans because of two controversial calls that went against the Razorbacks. Both plays directly led to Auburn touchdowns.

"Errors and incorrect calls from the game could have possibly been avoided with better vision. McDonald Eye Associates believes that a laser vision correction procedure will result in fewer mistakes in the future."

Yes, you guessed it, the group is offering free Lasik procedures to the officials involved in the calls.

Another tough break for Auburn's Aairon Savage

Auburn will be juggling its defensive backfield in Saturday's game against LSU after losing Aairon Savage to an ankle/leg injury and possibly T'Sharvan Bell to a hamstring injury.

Coach Gene Chizik said Sunday the tough-luck Savage will have surgery Monday.

"He's going to be out for awhile depending on how that goes,'' Chizik said.

Savage missed the 2008 season with a knee injury and missed the 2009 season with an Achilles injury.

"Seeing him last night, talking him today, your heart goes out to him. But he's a tough guy and he'll move past this like other things. Our team is sensitive to that because how much he means to the team,'' Chizik said.

Chizik said Bell is "going to be a day-by-day situation."

"I don't know how fast we'll be able to proceed with his injury. There'll be a lot of rehab before Saturday,'' Chizik said.

Chizik said sometimes-wide receiver Anthony Morgan and true freshman Chris Davis will see more time at cornerback. Walk-on Ikeem Means and Drew Cole will see more time at safety. True freshmen Demetruce McNeal and Ryan Smith will at least receive more practice time.

"We'll have to insert in there and keep working repetition-wise," Chizik said.

USC Gamecocks left wondering: 'What's the problem?'

As badly as Saturday ended here for South Carolina, and, yeah, it was bad, the Gamecocks still woke up Sunday leading the SEC's Eastern Division. Pretty much any other year, a mid-October loss against a division opponent like Kentucky would cripple a team's chances of getting to Atlanta. But 2010, as you've seen already, isn't your typical year in the SEC East.
"It is unusual, but that's where we are right now," said South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier, who had never lost to Kentucky before in his career (17-1). "Somebody's going to represent the East in Atlanta. We don't know who it is yet, but they're not going to take two from the West. "The league should consider it. The West currently has five of its six teams ranked in the AP poll, a switcheroo from the recent norm of the East having the more formidable division. South Carolina holds the East lead at 2-2, just ahead of 2-3 Florida and Georgia. The Gamecocks, who have now lost seven consecutive SEC road games, play at Vanderbilt this week. The Commodores were clobbered, 43-0, by a Georgia team that appears to be coming around. "We're still in the hunt," Spurrier said. "Now, if we fall on our face again, we won't be in the hunt. But the Eastern Division is a little down this year, so we're still in the hunt." A 28-10 halftime lead for the Gamecocks turned, stunningly, into a 31-28 Kentucky win , thanks to a stagnant offense that looked a lot like 2009 and a soft defense that resembled the end of 2007. It was a meltdown that didn't get any easier to explain Sunday afternoon than Saturday night. "Certainly we're down a little bit right now today. We'll be a little bit tomorrow," Spurrier said Sunday. "But it's a long season. It's one game. We're still leading the Eastern Division after four conference games. "It's going to depend on our guys and how badly we want to go play, and do things that winners do. It turned out we didn't do those things yesterday." By Travis Haney

LSU's Offense will be more aggressive vs. Auburn

The Tigers play at No. 5 Auburn Saturday after being grounded last weekend. But the coach said just because sixth-ranked LSU only managed 103 yards passing and no TDs through the air against a team from the Football Championship Subdivision doesn’t mean they won’t be able to throw against Auburn."I see us throw the ball well in practice," Miles said Monday. "It just needs to show up in the game."

LSU (7-0, 4-0 SEC) eventually pulled away for a 32-10 victory over McNeese last Saturday, but the offense seemed to take a step backward. Using a two-quarterback system with Jordan Jefferson and Jarrett Lee for the third straight game, the Tigers had only two touchdowns and led by only six points until Michael Ford’s scoring run late in the third quarter. The fourth and last touchdown didn’t come until LSU was running out the clock in the final 90 seconds. Miles said Jefferson and Lee should have performed better but were hampered in part by a game plan aimed at ball control and emphasizing the run. "We had a want to manage the game and control the game on the ground," Miles said. "I would have liked to have thrown the football better." Now LSU faces its toughest test yet at Auburn (7-0, 4-0), which scored 65 points against Arkansas, averages 40 points a game and has one of college football’s most productive dual-threat quarterbacks in Cameron Newton. Although LSU has been carried primarily by dominant defense, Miles figures his offense needs to be more productive this weekend.

Despite loss to Kentucky, Gamecocks still in SEC East hunt

South Carolina, fresh off a loss to Kentucky, still leads the SEC East at 4-2. In fact, the Gamecocks are the only team in the East with a conference record of .500 (2-2). Compare that to the SEC West, who has three teams in the BCS Top-10.

"Somebody's going to represent the East in Atlanta. We don't know who it is yet, but they're not going to take two from the West," said South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier.

And the Winner is...Number One and the Top 25 BCS ranking College Teams

Oklahoma sits atop the first set of standings. The Sooners (6-0) are ranked fourth in the Harris Poll and third according to the USA Today, but are first in the computer rankings. No. 2 is Oregon, who ranks first in Harris, AP and USA Today polls, but falls to eighth according to the computer rankings. We can only assume the computer (nicknamed HAL) hasn't seen Oregon completely dominate its competition this year. BCS busters Boise State and TCU are No. 3 and No. 5, respectively, and the undefeated Auburn Tigers are No. 4.
LSU, Michigan State, Alabama, Utah and Ohio State, who was upset by then No. 18 Wisconsin last night, round out the BCS Top-10.

BCS RANKINGS
1 Oklahoma 6-0
2 Oregon 6-0
3 Boise State 6-0
4 Auburn 7-0
5 TCU 7-0
6 LSU 7-0
7 Michigan State 7-0
8 Alabama 6-1
9 Utah 6-0
10 Ohio State 6-1
11 Missouri 6-0
12 Stanford 5-1
13 Wisconsin 6-1
14 Oklahoma State 6-0
15 Iowa 5-1
16 Nebraska 5-1
17 Florida State 6-1
18 Arizona 5-1
19 Texas 4-2
20 West Virginia 5-1
21 South Carolina 4-2
22 Kansas State 5-1
23 Arkansas 4-2
24 Mississippi State 5-2
25 Virginia Tech 5-2

Auburn's Newton Named Walter Camp Foundation's National Offensive Player Of The Week

Auburn junior quarterback Cam Newton has been named the National Offensive Player of the Week by the Walter Camp Football Foundation, it was announced Sunday. Newton was honored for his performance in Auburn's 65-43 victory over Arkansas Saturday. Newton rushed for 188 yards and three touchdowns, while completing 10-of-14 passes for 140 yards and another score. Newton scored on touchdown runs of 5, 1 and 3 yards, and threw a 15-yard scoring strike to Emory Blake to give Auburn the lead for good in the fourth quarter. He had four rushes of more than 20 yards during the contest. Newton currently ranks second nationally in passing efficiency (180.53) and 11th in rushing (122.9) and total offense (305.4). He leads the SEC in each of those categories.

QB Heisman hopefuls go down in a heap, while one rises to the top

The hopes of those that were crushed:

-- Mallett suffered a concussion in the second quarter of Arkansas' game with Auburn and did not return. After hanging and even leading the Tigers into the fourth quarter, the Razorbacks ultimately succumbed to The Plains onslaught 65-43 in the highest-scoring regular-season SEC game in history.

-- Robinson had his second-straight subpar statistical game, although this one was due in part to injury. The sophomore was hurt in the third quarter and, while he returned for a bit in that period, was basically out for the remainder of what turned out to be a 38-28 loss.

Now for the Tight End that plays the QB position for Auburn, Cam Newton, cream rises to the top, and that is where he is waiting. All the Florida transfer did in Auburn's win was rush for 188 yards, pass for another 140, and account for four touchdowns. The offensive leader of an unbeaten SEC team? Yeah, here's your Heisman front-runner.

Alabama 23, Ole Miss 10...Yeah, a win is a win

It wasn't awful. It wasn't awesome. Alabama's 23-10 victory over Ole Miss fits somewhere in-between. A team that was coming off its first loss in several seasons just needed a victory. It scored enough points to win. So what if it didn't score style points? The Tide (6-1, 3-1 in the Southeastern Conference) didn't cover the 21-point spread, but that spread should have been more in the 14-point range. The Rebels (3-3, 1-2) are better than the team that lost to Jacksonville State and Vanderbilt early in the season. Greg McElroy completed 17 of 25 passes for 219 yards and two touchdowns. He did not have a pass intercepted. He was sacked four times. Of course, 85 of his yards came on a short pass that Trent Richardson turned into a long dash for a touchdown. A lack of big gains on downfield passes is a concern. This was an average performance by a quarterback who came into the game averaging 216 yards passing per game. He is on track to become the first 3,000-yard passer in Alabama history. Alabama's defense suffocated a good Ole Miss offense for the first 30 minutes. It wasn't as dominating in the second half, but the Tide sure was better than it was the previous week when it allowed five touchdowns in a 35-21 loss at South Carolina.

No. 9 LSU Runs Past McNeese St., 32-10

The Golden Band from Tigerland added the rap hit "All I Do Is Win" to the Tiger Stadium repertoire on Saturday night, which was fitting for the still-undefeated and ninth-ranked LSU football team. Though not an instant classic, the Tigers' improved to 7-0 with a 32-10 victory over McNeese State and setup a Top-10 matchup with the Auburn Tigers next weekend on The Plains (2:30 p.m. CT, CBS). Head coach Les Miles improved to 26-1 in non-conference games at LSU and 42-4 at night -- though this night was a bit longer than Miles hoped. LSU (7-0, 4-0 SEC) overcame two first-half turnovers in its that led the all of the Cowboys' points, while using a conservative offensive attack to grind out a victory over the Football Championship Subdivision school. McNeese State fell to 2-4. LSU runningbacks Stevan Ridley and Michael Ford each scored twice, the first time multiple Tigers have scored multiple touchdowns rushing since 2007 (vs. Tulane). The two-touchdown effort was also the first for both Tigers, as Ford led the way with 86 yards and Ridley added 46 after playing into the third quarter. Spencer Ware and Russell Shepard added 31 and 25 yards, respectively. LSU ran 41 times for 179 yards. Quarterbacks Jarrett Lee and Jordan Jefferson continued to share time, with Lee coming off the bench to complete 9-of-14 passes for 75 yards. Jefferson was 5-of-8 for 28 yards and was sacked twice. LSU attempted only seven passes in the second half. Shepard led the Tigers receivers with career-bests of seven catches for 53 yards. Terrence Toliver added two catches for 27 yards. For McNeese State, starting quarterback Cody Stroud was 15-of-32 passing for 118 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Andre Anderson led the Cowboys on the ground with 79 yards on 23 carries. LSU linebacker Kelvin Sheppard had a game-high 10 tackles and recovered a fumble that he forced. Fellow linebacker Ryan Baker added nine tackles including two sacks.