Wildcat's Brothers Johnson are Game Captains...against Florida

The Brothers Johnson - offensive guard Christian and linebacker Micah are the game captains for the Florida contest, Coach Rich Brooks has announced.
Game captains are normally selected on the basis of performance in the previous game. Christian played extremely well at left guard. The Wildcats allowed no quarterback sacks and piled up 346 yards total offense in UK's 31-27 over in-state rival Louisville. Micah had a game-high 12 tackles, including a tackle for loss.
The Johnsons will join permanent captains Zipp Duncan and Corey Peters at the pregame coin toss. The SEC Rocks!

LSU Preps for MSU...Saturday

LSU goes into Saturday’s game with a 3-0 overall mark and 1-0 league record. The Tigers are coming off a 31-3 win over Louisiana-Lafayette last week in Tiger Stadium. Mississippi State, under 1st-year coach Dan Mullen, is 2-1 overall and 1-1 in conference action after last week’s 15-3 victory over Vanderbilt.
“It appears to me he’s done a great job,” Miles said of Mullen. “You watch them play and they have a really sound attack. They’re playing the right guys and he’s done a great job.”
One of the strengths for the Bulldogs is that of their running game as they are averaging 221.7 yards per game. Senior running back Anthony Dixon leads the Bulldogs with 107.5 yards per game.
“Anthony Dixon is, in my opinion, one of the best running backs in the Southeastern Conference,” Miles said. “He’s a big, physical back. They run him out of the I-back occasionally, but more often than not it’s a one-back attack for him. He looks just as capable as he’s ever looked.”
The Bulldogs also employ a two-quarterback system with Tyson Lee and Chris Relf each getting snaps at the position. Relf has rushed for 178 yards and one score and he’s added another three passing touchdowns. Lee has thrown for 216 yards and one score.
“We know they can both run it and throw it which makes them very dangerous,” Miles said of Lee and Relf.
LSU will counter Mississippi State’s running game with a defense that is allowing 11.7 points and 320 yards per game, including 129.3 rushing. LSU’s defense goes into the game holding opponents without a touchdown for 6 straight quarters. The SEC Rocks!

Rebel Win Streak Ends At South Carolina

No. 4 Ole Miss' 8 game win streak ended Thursday with a 16-10 setback at South Carolina. With a furious fourth quarter, Dexter McCluster rushed for 85 yards in the loss.
IN-GAME UPDATES
South Carolina 16, Ole Miss 10, 4Q, 9:47: Snead, Rebels finally reach the endzone on a 45-yard TD toss to Markeith Summers. It marks Summers' second TD catch of the year.
South Carolina 16, Ole Miss 3, 3Q, 6:57: Carolina converts a Snead fumble after a sack into seven points, as the Gamecocks drive 25 yards on six plays and Garcia hits Patrick DiMarco on a two-yard TD toss.
South Carolina 9, Ole Miss 3, 3Q, 10:01: Once again the Rebel defense steps on goalline and limits the Gamecocks to a field goal, a 30-yarder by Lanning to cap a five-play, 65-yard drive, that was highlighted by a 69-yard pass from Stephen Garcia to Moe Brown.
FIRST HALF NOTES: The last time Ole Miss did not lead at halftime was last year's game at Alabama, when the Rebels trailed 24-3 at the break ... This is also the Rebels' lowest first-half point total since the game ... After going 3-for-3 on fakes last year, Ole Miss is unable to convert its first of 2009, as Derrick Davis' second-quarter run off a faked FG fell a yard shy of the first down ... Marshay Green had a season-long 36-yard punt return, which was a shoe-strong tackle by the punter short of a TD ... Attendance is 74,274 ... Mark Jean-Louis earned his first career snaps at fullback, and on a couple short-yardage plays, he joined six other offensive linemen on the field at the same time with Bobbie Massie as a tackle and John Jerry sliding over to tight end ... Among the true freshmen that have already seen their career action tonight are Tim Simon and Rodney Scott in kickoff coverage (Scott has also carried once), while Tyler Campbell handled the Rebels' first punt of the game ... Derrick Davis earned his first career start at fullback ... Carolina wins the toss and elected to receive.
South Carolina 6, Ole Miss 3, 2Q, 0:00: South Carolina is dominating time of possession 19:15 to 10:45 and takes the lead into halftime after a Lanning 20-yard FG in the final ticks of the first half. It capped a 13-play, 75-yard drive over 5:09.
Ole Miss 3, South Carolina 3, 2Q, 8:52: The Rebel defense stiffens in the red zone and holds the Gamecocks to a Spencer Lanning 26-yard FG. The Carolina Drive went 69 yards in 12 plays in 6:18.
Ole Miss 3, South Carolina 0, 1Q, 0:10: On its second drive of the game, Ole Miss scores the game's first points on a Joshua Shene 42-yard field goal. The 14-play, 49-yard drive included a 59-yard TD run by Brandon Bolden that was called back on a holding penalty. The SEC Rocks!

The defense holds, the stands shake and USC has its biggest win in years...16 - 10

South Carolina’s defense held firm. The stadium shook. Seriously, it shook.
And USC has its biggest win in years.
USC’s defense just stopped Ole Miss on 4th and 19 a couple defenders getting hands on a long pass, which the Ole Miss receiver then got a hand on but also dropped.
USC’s bench went wild. And a grateful fan base at Williams-Brice Stadium is as excited as I’ve ever seen them.
Their team is about to knock off the No. 4 team in the country.
Here’s how it went down on the Rebels’ final drive:
As the drive started, McCluster got 15 yards on first down. (Why exactly did he only got one touch in the first half?)
After USC stuffed McCluster on 2nd down, Ole Miss tried a receiver screen and got the first down.
Then came the two big plays.
Ole Miss tried the double reverse, with McCluster getting the ball. It looked like the call was for a throw, as a receiver went downfield — but a USC defender didn’t buy it and stuck with him.
That forced McCluster to tuck and run, and Darian Stewart leveled him at the 35.
On third down, Matthews came around from behind and decked Snead for a short sack.
Ole Miss called timeout. Wow...The SEC Rocks!

USC takes the lead at half...6 - 3

South Carolina needed to call timeout quicker than it did right there.
Brian Maddox made a nice catch-and-run down to the Ole Miss 3. There looked to be about seven or eight seconds left on the clock when he went down, but timeout wasn’t called until there were four left.
That left USC basically having to take the chip-shot field goal, rather than try a quick shot at the end zone on third down.
Oh well. Spencer Lanning made the kick, and USC takes a 6-3 lead into the half.
By the way, could there be more penalties here?
We discussed the Tori Gurley touchdown that wasn’t. There were several big pass interference penalties on that one. The latter one came on third-and-goal, giving USC the ball at the 2. The previous one was a face-guarding call on a lob pass to Alshon Jeffery. That came on second down.
Meanwhile, do we have a changing of the guard at tailback? Maybe not, because I think Steve Spurrier will be loyal to Brian Maddox. But Kenny Miles was stupendous on that drive.
Miles is gaining yardage even when he should be bottled up.
On third-and-4, Garcia went play-action and hit Patrick DiMarco in the right flat. DiMarco gained 15 yards, making a nice move for the last few yards.
That fullback pass is one of the most reliable plays South Carolina has in its playbook this year. The SEC Rocks!

College Football Week 4 - Ole Miss vs. South Carolina

MISS has won its last eight games SU
MISS has covered its last six games
MISS has covered eight of its last nine road games
MISS has won five of its last six road games SU
MISS has lost 15 of its last 21 road games SU
SC has lost four of its last six games SU
SC has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
SC has won five of its last seven home games SU
SC has played four of its last six home games UNDER the total
MISS has won four of the last five meetings SU
Ole Miss had a game of it for a while with Memphis in the season opener, before pulling away in the fourth quarter. In the days following the game it became known that there was an outbreak of flu among team members. The Mississipi Rebels had a walk-through with Southeastern Missouri last week, but allowed 216 yards through the air.
South Carolina got very little going on offense in their opener, but its defense was double-tough as it beat North Carolina State 7-3. Then it was a wild one against Georgia in a 41-37 loss, and the Gamecocks covered, if just barely, in a 38-16 win over Florida Atlantic last week.
Stephen Garcia is a quarterback who came to south Carolina with a lot of pomp and circumstance, but hasn't been able to keep himself out of trouble off the field. Is he ready to make a move? Well, he has thrown for 535 yards over the last two games, and is spreading it around a little (four different receivers have 80 or more yards). Still, this is not an offense that is going to remind anyone of the Steve Spurrier juggernauts of old.
Jevan Snead came into the season as a guy who many thought could be a darkhorse contender for the Heisman. His stats are not bad (56%, 5 TD's) but there hasn't been the opportunity for a breakout yet. Maybe this is it, or maybe Snead, and the Rebels, are over-hyped. We'd think not, because Snead has much more at his disposal in the way of weaponry, especially with a decent running game headed by Brandon Bolden (eight yards a carry) ready to balance Snead, who can work against youngsters in the SC secondary.
It's very early in the schedule, obviously, but we're not willing at this time to buck a Rebel team that has not yet shown a reason it won't continue the momentum from its 6-0 finish in '08. Ole Miss has covered eight of its last nine on the road, and wants "revenge" from a 31-24 turnover-laden loss they suffered last year as they were still overcoming the shock of beating Florida. Truth be told, since he arrived in Columbia, Spurrier's teams have not been known to pull a lot of upsets. The SEC Rocks!

Gamecocks Take on Ole Miss in Nationally Televised Game

This is the 15th meeting all-time between South Carolina and Mississippi. Ole Miss leads the all-time series, 8-6. The teams have met just five times since South Carolina joined the Southeastern Conference in 1992; Ole Miss is 4-1 in those contests. The Gamecocks held the series edge from 1947-1981, a stretch spanning nine meetings that saw Carolina win five times. This will be the 8th time Ole Miss has visited Williams-Brice Stadium; they are 4-3 all-time in Columbia with the last meeting coming in 2004. Carolina's last win over Mississippi in Columbia came on Oct. 20, 1979, a 21-14 Gamecock victory.
IT'S USUALLY CLOSE
Eleven of the 14 all-time meetings between South Carolina and Ole Miss have been decided by a touchdown or less. All 6 of Carolina's wins in the series have been by seven points or fewer, and five of the Rebels' eight victories have been that close. The last time a Carolina-OIe Miss game was a double-digit affair was the 1999 season when the Rebels won 36-10 in Columbia. Prior to that, it was all the way back in 1972 when the Rebs took a 21-0 win, also at Williams-Brice Stadium. The SEC Rocks!

The No. 4 Rebels look to open conference play with a victory for the first time in six years tonight against the Gamecocks.

Back in July, South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier admitted it was his school that voted for Ole Miss quarterback Jevan Snead on the preseason all-SEC team instead of the popular choice in Florida's Tim Tebow.
While the decision seemed shocking at the time, Snead is proving to be a worthy selection.
Boasting the program's highest ranking in nearly 40 years, Snead and the 4th-ranked Rebels look to continue their strong start and open conference play with a victory for the first time in six years tonight against Spurrier's Gamecocks. Ole Miss (2-0) has a short week to get ready for its SEC opener after defeating Southeastern Louisiana 52-6 on Saturday. The victory came after the team spent its bye week recovering from a case of the swine flu that affected more than a third of the roster.
Although they were at less than full strength, the Rebels amassed 500 yards of offense to win their eighth straight, their longest run since winning 10 in a row in 1971-72.
Snead's play has been instrumental to the school's winning streak.
The junior threw for 209 yards and three touchdowns against the Lions, extending his school record to eight straight games with multiple scoring passes. The prolific passer threw for 16 passes and two interceptions in his final six games of 2008, and evidently won the respect of the South Carolina football program over the summer. The SEC Rocks!

Kentucky thinks Tebow is Big

Ricky Lumpkin just can't get over it. The Wildcats defensive tackle looks at Florida quarterback Tim Tebow and thinks of one thing.
Bigness.
"I don’t think fans understand how big he is," Lumpkins aid. "I didn’t, really. I knew he was big, but when you actually see him and you see the size of his legs and how big he is up top, you’re like, ‘This is a big quarterback.’

"You’re not used to seeing that. Quarterbacks usually are taller. They might have a little tone to them. But I’ve never seen a quarterback’s legs like that. Dude’s huge.
Translation: Nice legs, Tebow. Lumpkin might have a hard time tackling Tebow since he thinks he's so nice. "He’s a good guy. You can’t hate him. You have to like him, as a person and a player. I have the utmost respect for him as a player. You seen the things he does? I have. He does everything. He can run, throw, block, gets in his own players’ face." The SEC Rocks!

SEC commissioner tells both Meyer and Kiffin to zip it

Southeastern Conference commissioner Mike Slive called both coaches this week to address their public bickering and tell them to stop. SEC spokesman Charles Bloom confirmed that to USA TODAY's Kelly Whiteside on Wednesday but did not offer any other details.
This is the 2nd time Slive has had to tell league coaches to end their sniping since Kiffin was hired at Tennessee at the end of last football season. The first came during the spring meetings in the wake of an accusation from Kiffin of a Florida recruiting violation that turned out to be incorrect. Kiffin also took shots at SEC foes Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and LSU. Kiffin said the verbal jabs were part of an overall plan to garner the national attention needed to land a highly regarded recruiting class in a short time. The SEC Rocks!

SEC Betting Power Poll...Gamecocks vs Rebels...Thursday Night

South Carolina Gamecocks (3-0 ATS, 2-1 SU) (LW: 2) Head Coach Steve Spurrier built a reputation on covering even the heftiest of spreads at Florida, but after a 3-0 ATS start this season, the football betting boosters at South Carolina have to be thrilled. The whole nation will be watching their Thursday nighter against Ole Miss.
Up Next: Home vs. Mississippi (+3) The SEC Rocks!

Ole Miss' Bolden Maximizing Opportunities

Brandon Bolden sprinted left, delivered a devastating stiff-arm to a Southeastern Louisiana defender, then tore up the turf as he made a 90-degree turn up the field and sprinted past another.
"You can expect a lot more of that,'' the Ole Miss running back said.
The 4th-ranked Rebels will need as much as they can get out from Bolden as they head into Southeastern Conference play. Their 1st big challenge of the season comes Thursday night against South Carolina and the SEC's No. 2 rushing defense.
The play-by-play in the final statistics doesn't do the moment justice, calling it a 44-yard run. What it really was was the bullish sophomore showing what he is capable of providing for Ole Miss (2-0).
He is 5th in the SEC with an average of 88 yards rushing per game, with only 22 carries, and has gone over 100 yards in 2 of the last 3 games. The top rushers in the conference, Ben Tate of Auburn and Montario Hardesty of Tennessee, average about 20 carries per game.
Bolden has the look of a workhorse, but that's not necessarily in coach Houston Nutt's plan.
"I am not worried about a featured back. I'm worried about winning,'' Nutt said. "That time will come. We're going to play the best guy at the right time.''
Nutt has experience with spreading the carries around between talented backs. He asked Darren McFadden and Felix Jones to share the ball, and even worked fullback Peyton Hillis into the mix when he was at Arkansas. The SEC Rocks!

Gamecocks' Travian Robertson - Mr. Consistency

South Carolina's Travian Robertson is humbly starting his junior year even though he has a lot to be proud of after his first two seasons.
Robertson has played in every game since joining the team as a freshman. Each year he has improved; from seven tackles and four solo stops as a freshman to 17 tackles as a sophomore, including a pair of tackles for a loss. After a productive offseason, Robertson was dubbed the team's Most Improved Defensive Lineman. Now a starter on the defensive line, Robertson expects an even better year as an upperclassman.
"I am trying to step up," said Robertson. We lost one guy over the spring and an opportunity came to me so I knew I had to show Coach Lawing that I can lead by example. I want too make plays on the field and show him I can play the position and that I really have improved." Earning the title of Most Improved Defensive Lineman over the spring has not been Robertson's only recent achievement. He was recently given the title of the strongest pound for pound player on the team, squatting 600 pounds, bench-pressing 420 pounds and power cleaning 350 pounds. Robertson didn't gain this title by just showing up to workouts and practice. According to Strength and Conditioning Coach Craig Fitzgerald, Robertson shows up to practice early and is completely focused and diligent when it comes to getting better.
"Travian mentally plows through the nicks and bruises that come with playing football," said Coach Fitzgerald. The SEC Rocks!

You don't believe Arkansas' Mallett throws have been clocked at 115 mph?

Has a pass by Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett really been clocked at 115 mph? That's a fact you will find in a story in today's edition of The Birmingham News.Some readers understandably are skeptical. The fact came from a story about Mallett by Tom Murphy, one of two Arkansas beat reporters for Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.(Murphy is a former Alabama beat reporter for the Mobile Press-Register.) That story attributes the 115 mph fact to Arkansas tight end D.J. Williams. "Ryan Mallett has the strongest arm in college football," said All-SEC tight end D.J. Williams. "I've caught some balls that I had to take my gloves off because he ripped all the sticky stuff off of them." Williams said the Razorbacks have timed Mallett's throws at 115 mph with a Juggs gun. Wow...The SEC Rocks!

Richt: Fumbles could cost Dawgs' Richard Samuel job, but not yet

Georgia coach Mark Richt expressed concern about tailback Richard Samuel’s 2 fumbles Saturday night against Arkansas, although Richt suggested Samuel probably will keep his starting job for at least another week.
“I’m not too thrilled about it,” Richt said of Samuel’s fumbles. “I don’t know if we are ready to move him from the No. 1 position, but I would say if that kind of thing continued, we’d have to really consider whether or not he should start for us.”
Samuel’s 1st fumble gave Arkansas the ball on the Georgia 30-yard line in the first quarter, leading to a Razorbacks touchdown on the next play. Samuel recovered his 2nd fumble.
The fumbles revived a concern coaches had last year about Samuel’s ball security.
“I just need to focus on holding on to the ball,” Samuel said Tuesday. “It’s real critical.”
Richt said this week’s plan against Arizona State is to play both Samuel, who had an 80-yard touchdown run last week, and Caleb King at tailback. King, who missed the season’s first 2 games with a pulled hamstring, had 60 yards on 11 carries against Arkansas and, Richt noted, protected the ball well.
King said he has “no clue” how much playing time he’ll get this week.
“It’s pretty much a game-time decision when they throw you in or not,” he said. “I trust in the coaches. They’ll make the right decision.” The SEC Rocks!

Razorback DE hit with failure to appear

Arkansas defensive end Damario Ambrose was arrested Tuesday on a misdemeanor charge of failure to appear and was released after paying a $464 bond.
A bench warrant was issued for Ambrose after he failed to appear in Johnson City Court on a speeding ticket he received on Jan. 7, 2009, according to the clerk’s office. The bench warrant was issued in February.
Ambrose was arrested by Fayetteville police at 9:55 a.m. Tuesday and was released at 12:05 p.m. according to the Washington County Sherriff’s Office website.
Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino wasn’t immediately available for comment regarding Ambrose’s arrest, but starting cornerback Ramon Broadway was arrested for failure to appear earlier this season and it didn’t affect his playing status.
Ambrose has a court date of Oct. 5 on his failure to appear charge.

Vols' leading receiver has busted jaw

According to head coach Lane Kiffin, Vols wide receiver Quintin Hancock has a broken jaw and will be out for "awhile".
Hancock suffered the injury in the loss to Florida and has definitely been ruled out of this weekend's game with Ohio University.
Hancock's 11 receptions and 128 yards lead the Volunteers through 3 games. The SEC Rocks!

Miss State Bulldogs McPhee Named SEC Defensive Lineman Of The Week

Junior defensive lineman Pernell McPhee was named Southeastern Conference Defensive Lineman of the Week, the conference office announced Monday. A constant in the offensive backfield, McPhee totaled 3 tackles including a pair of sacks in Mississippi State's 15-3 win at Vanderbilt last weekend. McPhee led a defensive front that allowed only 33 yards rushing on 29 carries. Vanderbilt's longest run from scrimmage was 9 yards. McPhee becomes the 3rd Bulldog defensive lineman to win the weekly award that began in 2004. Willie Evans earned the honor after a win over Tulane in 2005, and Jessie Bowman claimed the award following the Auburn game a year ago. The SEC Rocks!