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SEC Rising
LSU
Thanks to a new-found rushing identity, efficient passing and dominating defense, the Tigers have now beaten two ranked opponents away from Baton Rouge by double digits in each game. That tells you that LSU is indeed for real this year, and no matter how difficult the schedule is down the line, the Tigers can overcome it by physically beating teams into submission. Flashy teams are capable of having off days. Smash mouth running attacks and dominant defenses don’t. Look for LSU to be in the national title discussion throughout November and into December.
Florida defense
Speaking of dominant defenses, the Gators just held Tennessee to negative yards rushing in Florida’s big win over the Vols. With only two returning starters on defense, stopping opposing offenses was in question entering the season, but the Gators truely do reload, not rebuild. The stifling run ‘D’ will be challenged in two weeks by the likes of Trent Richardson and Eddie Lacy when Alabama invades the Swamp. If you like hard-nosed SEC football, this one ought to be a nice desert after LSU dismantles Kentucky for lunch.
James Franklin - Vanderbilt coach
Vanderbilt’s headman just became the first Commodore coach to start his career in Nashville 3-0 since World War II, and he did it with Vanderbilt’s most lopsided victory over an SEC opponent since the ‘Dores beat Mississippi State 49-19 in 1971. As stated in this column last week, things will probably get worse before they get better with Vandy’s brutal upcoming schedule, but you’ve gotta give Franklin all the credit in the world for already exceeding last year’s win total.
SEC Falling
Houston Nutt - Ole Miss coach
Speaking of Vanderbilt’s 30-7 win over Ole Miss, coaches don’t survive 23-point losses to the ‘Dores, and the coach on Ole Miss’ sideline won’t be receiving nearly as much praise as Franklin by season’s end. In fact, he probably won’t have a job - unless if he primitively sees the writing on the wall and jumps ship once again. I’d like to say Saturday was rock bottom for the Ole Miss program, but he amazingly survived a loss to Jacksonville State and a 14-point defeat to Vandy last year.
Kentucky
Boy the bottom of the SEC is ugly this year, and Kentucky figures to sit in the cellar of the East following its first loss to Louisville after four straight wins against their in-state foe. With true freshman Teddy Bridgewater at the helm of the Cardinals, the pendulum could swing for four straight wins for Louisville, but in the short term Kentucky has three ranked teams in the next three weeks, so it’s about to get nasty in Lexington.
Mississippi State
The squad who finished No. 15 in the final AP poll last season and No. 20 to start this season is right back where they were a year ago after three games - 1-2 and unranked. If last season is any indication, the Bulldogs may turn it on and rattle several consecutive victories, starting this Saturday against Louisiana Tech. But even after a pair of tough losses, State fans shouldn’t become impatient about their team’s rise to the top of the SEC, because after all, this is a return match from a 22-14 loss to La Tech in 2008. Remember those days State fans?
NCAA Rising
Case McCoy - Texas QB
The Horns are 3-0 and are halfway to exceeding last season’s win total already, but maybe more promising than that is the fact that Texas may have finally found its quarterback of the future and it’s a familiar name. Case McCoy, younger brother of the winningst quarterback in NCAA history Colt, was very good in his first college start - completing 12-of-15 passes for 168 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. With UCLA in the rear view mirror, Texas can overcome another painful 2010 loss next week when the Horns head to Iowa State, but business picks up in October with the Oklahoma schools on the docket.
Notre Dame
Tough to figure out Notre Dame. They outgain their first two opponents and lose, then Michigan State wins the game on the stat sheet, but the Irish leave with an 18-point beatdown of a victory. Looking at the schedule, October dates with USC and Navy are the most losable games the Irish have until they finish the year with Stanford, so buy into the Irish and expect another late-season charge.
Tulane
Staying close to home, the Green Wave just picked up a dominating win over UAB 49-10 - the same margin of victory Florida had over the Blazers the week before. Not to say Tulane has any kind of chance to make waves in Conference USA this year, but bad teams don’t beat conference opponents by 39 points, and Tulane has been nothing short of bad recently with four conference wins in the past three seasons.
NCAA Falling
Ohio State
After struggling with Toledo two weeks ago, Miami exposed a Terrelle Pryor-less Ohio State offense and held to Buckeyes to 209 total yards including just 35 passing yards. This is the same Miami ‘D’ that surrendered 499 total yards to Gary Crowton’s group in Week One. Not good news for the Buckeyes with some of the tough defenses they are slated to face in Big Ten play.
Oklahoma State defense
Granted the Pokes are 3-0 and are looking like a wrecking ball offensively, but it’s got to be a little concerning have they have surrendered 34 points to UL-Lafayette and 33 points to Tulsa so far this season. Texas A&M’s high-powered offense is up next, and Oklahoma State is going to have to be better defensively in order to escape College Station with a victory. Then again, maybe it won’t matter with an offense that’s averaged 52.3 points per game.
Conference integrity
As we speak, backdoor dealings and conference negotiations are taking place behind closed doors, and even though conference commissioners and university presidents will say it’s to increase exposure for the student athletes, we all know it’s about the money. But in order to gain profitability, colleges are uprooting something that used to be far more important - their traditions. Texas and Texas A&M, who are 106 miles apart and have been in the same conference since 1915, are likely about to part ways in the name of greed into separate conferences with new members ranging from Gainseville, Fla. to Seattle Wash. Even if they continue to play every year, the rest of the former Southwest Conference rivals won’t, and this is just one example of the history and tradition that’s being lost in the Superconference shuffle.
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