ESPN.com presents SEC Chris Low http://espn.go.comnull 60 en-us Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:52:09 webmaster@espn.go.com http://assets.espn.go.com/i/espn/teamlogos/lrg/trans/espn_dotcom_black.gif 110 110
Here's a rundown:

Chuck Bednarik Award (best defensive player)

• Terrence Cody, Alabama
• Brandon Spikes, Florida
• Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska

Maxwell Award (best all-around player)

• Mark Ingram, Alabama
• Colt McCoy, Texas
• Tim Tebow, Florida*

Doak Walker Award (best running back)

• Toby Gerhart, Stanford
• Mark Ingram, Alabama
• C.J. Spiller, Clemson

Jim Thorpe Award (best defensive back)

• Eric Berry, Tennessee
• Joe Haden, Florida
• Earl Thomas, Texas

Davey O’Brien Award (best quarterback)

• Case Keenum, Houston
• Colt McCoy, Texas
• Tim Tebow, Florida

Ray Guy Award (best punter)

• Drew Butler, Georgia
• Zoltan Mesko, Michigan
• Chas Henry, Florida

Lou Groza Award (best kicker)

• Kai Forbath, UCLA
• Leigh Tiffin, Alabama
• Blair Walsh, Georgia

* 2008 award winner]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/sec/post/_/id/6393/sec-finalists-for-national-awards Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:00:40 EDT 6393
Consider this: Not quite two years ago, Georgia lambasted Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl, soaring to second in the final Associated Press Top 25 poll for 2007 and whetting the appetite for what would come next in Bulldog Land.

Sure enough, the Bulldogs started that next season No. 1 in the polls with a roster full of NFL talent.

This was an already elite program in the SEC on the move.

Nobody could have ever guessed in which direction.

Since that Sugar Bowl win, Georgia is just 16-8 and is coming off its first home loss to Kentucky in 32 years.

The Bulldogs (6-5, 4-4 SEC) are in danger of having their first non-winning regular season since 1996, Jim Donnan’s first season in Athens.

In games against their biggest rivals and historically elite teams in this league (Alabama, Florida, Georgia Tech, LSU and Tennessee), they’re just 2-6 the past two seasons.

That record will slip to 2-7 unless they knock off No. 7 Georgia Tech on Saturday in Atlanta.

And in 10 of their last 20 games dating to last season, the Bulldogs have allowed 30 or more points.

“I think all programs go through some cycles, and we’ve been on a pretty good upswing for quite some time,” said Georgia coach Mark Richt, who’s won 10 or more games in six of his eight seasons in Athens. “This year has certainly been a downturn when it comes to record. It is what it is.

“Will we get it back on track and get back to the winning ways we’re used to? I think so. I don’t think there’s any doubt about it.”

Richt has been too good of a coach to think that he can’t get the Bulldogs out of this funk.

But clearly there will have to be changes. Georgia is continuing to recruit at a high level, which is all the more maddening for Bulldogs fans.

The only thing more maddening is how penalty-prone Georgia has been the past two years and how many crippling mistakes the Bulldogs have made to cost them games. They turned the ball over four times in the second half against Kentucky.

The first thing Richt has to do is take a long look at himself to make sure his approach is working. The penalties and turnovers would suggest that something’s just not getting through.

The next move is looking at his staff, and there will almost certainly be some staff changes. Defensive coordinator Willie Martinez has been a target of the fans for the past few years. He and Richt are extremely close, too.

But given Georgia’s struggles on defense, Richt’s going to be hard-pressed to keep Martinez as his defensive coordinator.

The best move Richt could make is figuring out a way to knock off the Yellow Jackets, who rushed for 409 yards in a 45-42 win over the Bulldogs last season.

One win wouldn’t make a season, and it probably wouldn’t be enough to keep Richt’s staff intact.

But it sure would go a long way toward easing some of the pain and helping to fight off some of the negativity heading into the bowl season and the rest of the recruiting period.

As we've seen, it can turn quickly in this league.]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/sec/post/_/id/6389/how-quickly-can-it-turn-ask-georgia Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:33:41 EDT 6389 Aaron Hernandez has been named as one of three finalists for the John Mackey Award, which goes to the top tight end in college football.

The other two finalists are Pittsburgh's Dorin Dickerson and BYU's Dennis Pitta.

Hernandez leads Florida in catches with 46, and he leads all SEC tight ends in receiving yards per game (51.9).]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/sec/post/_/id/6384/hernandez-among-mackey-finalists Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:22:47 EDT 6384

Urban Meyer says he will stay at Florida as long as they will have him.]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/sec/post/_/id/6373/meyer-not-interested-in-notre-dame-job Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:05:06 EDT 6373

One of the roughest weeks in Les Miles' coaching career is coming, writes Randy Rosetta of The Baton Rouge Advocate.

Rich Brooks and the Kentucky football team erase ghosts of seasons past, writes John Clay of The Lexington Herald-Leader.

Alabama's Nick Saban is forced to alter his routine for this week's Iron Bowl matchup with Auburn, which will be played on Friday.

Tennessee provided its own "Rudy" moment in the win over Vanderbilt, writes David Climer of The Tennessean.

Georgia coach Mark Richt is hopeful of getting receiver A.J. Green and safety Bacarri Rambo back for the Georgia Tech game.

Alabama ties flow through the Clemson-South Carolina rivalry, writes Joe Person of The State newspaper.

Several prospects canceled recruiting visits to Ole Miss to avoid the Ku Klux Klan rally last weekend on campus.

Auburn is refreshed after the week off, writes Jay G. Tate of The Montgomery Advertiser.

]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/sec/post/_/id/6366/lunchtime-links-rough-week-for-miles Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:51:58 EDT 6366
After so many highs under Tuberville, the Tigers experienced the lowest of lows in a humiliating 36-0 loss at Alabama -- the most lopsided Iron Bowl in 46 years -- to cap the first losing season on the Plains since Tuberville’s first season in 1999.

Just like that, the Tigers’ six-game winning streak in this bitter rivalry was gone.

And four days later, so was Tuberville.

Where has Auburn’s program gone since that turbulent end to the Tuberville era and an even more turbulent coach search that ultimately produced Gene Chizik?

We should find out a few answers on Friday afternoon when the Tigers get a chance to turn the Crimson Tide’s world upside-down at what’s sure to be an emotional Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Alabama is playing to stay in the national championship race. Auburn is playing to regain a little pride.

The Tigers (7-4, 3-4) have had a week off to get ready for this game. They needed it, too, after playing 11 straight weeks and enduring through a thin roster and a processional of injuries that started back in the offseason.

When you consider the lack of depth on this team and how strapped the Tigers were in certain areas, it’s obvious that Chizik has done a nice job of maximizing what he has.

It’s not surprising that Auburn has lost four of its last five SEC games. That’s what happens when you play so many games in a row in this league and do so shorthanded.

There’s also the issue of defense, which hasn’t been particularly good this season on the Plains, and at times, has been pretty awful.

Auburn heads into the Alabama game last in the SEC in scoring defense and 10^th in total defense. The Tigers have given up 36 touchdowns on defense, which is the most in the league.

If Chizik is going to make it and get Auburn back to elite status in the SEC (the two go hand-in-hand), it’s going to begin and end on defense. He knows that as well as anyone. He’s a defensive guy and saw firsthand what a swarming, fast defense can do in this league when he was heading up Auburn’s stellar defensive unit on the 2004 SEC championship team.

Simply, the Tigers don’t have the talent or the depth on defense to be a championship contender in this league, which is where the coaching staff Chizik hired comes in.

This is an excellent recruiting staff, and the Tigers are already seeing some of the benefits. Several of their commitments will be on campus Friday, including highly rated running back Michael Dyer of Little Rock, Ark. Dyer is the country’s No. 7-rated prospect by ESPN’s Scouts Inc.

Locking up those kind of prospects on the defensive side will be crucial as the Tigers finish up their 2010 class and start working on their 2011 class.

All in all, seven wins isn’t a bad way to start the Chizik era. Eight would be a lot better, especially if the Tigers could knock off the Crimson Tide.

Either way, it’s been a solid debut season for Chizik, who was anything but a popular hire when Jay Jacobs introduced him last December.

His players bought in early to his approach. He’s surrounded himself with a quality staff, and the offense seems to be well on its way under coordinator Gus Malzahn.

But they measure you in the state of Alabama on how you do in the Iron Bowl, a game that divides families and is played 365 days a year … somewhere.

Chizik knows the stakes well and also knows that he needs to be winning his share against the Crimson Tide -- on the field and on the recruiting trail -- sooner rather than later.]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/sec/post/_/id/6362/a-year-later-auburn-looks-to-strike-back Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:22:50 EDT 6362 attempted armed robbery charges against Tennessee safety Janzen Jackson have been dismissed, the next step is when he returns to the field.

Don't be surprised if it's this Saturday against Kentucky.

Jackson, one of the Vols' best defenders, has already missed two games since his arrest on Nov. 12. He also missed the game prior to his arrest (Memphis) for a separate suspension.

The decision on Jackson's playing status this weekend will ultimately be left up to Tennessee athletic director Mike Hamilton, who obviously consults with the university president on these issues.

But there's a big push from the coaching staff to get Jackson back on the field immediately. In fact, there was some hope that the charges were going to be dropped the day before the Ole Miss game on Nov. 14, and the plan then was to play him.

At the end of the day, the district attorney in this case didn't think there was enough evidence to tie Jackson to the attempted robbery. His attorney said Jackson never had any idea an attempted robbery was going to take place and just happened to be in the car when it occurred.

Jackson's two former teammates, Mike Edwards and Nu'Keese Richardson, are still facing charges. They were dismissed from the team last week by Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin.]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/sec/post/_/id/6358/charges-against-vols-jackson-dismissed Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:54:38 EDT 6358
If Alabama wins its next two games -- at Auburn and against Florida in the SEC championship game -- the Crimson Tide will head to Pasadena to play for their first national title in 17 years.

If Florida wins its next two games -- home against Florida State and against Alabama in the SEC championship game -- the Gators will head to Pasadena to play for their third national title in the past four years.

There really isn’t an in-between for the two teams. If either slips up this week, they can forget about the BCS National Championship equation.

If they both win this week, the SEC championship game on Dec. 5 becomes a play-in game for the BCS National Championship Game on Jan. 7

Unlike the past three years, it’s highly unlikely that a one-loss SEC champion would be high enough in the polls to finish in the top two of the final BCS standings -- not with the top six teams in the BCS standings this week all unbeaten.

For a one-loss SEC team to have any chance this year, some combination of two teams at the top of the BCS standings would have to lose. For instance, Texas and TCU, or maybe TCU and Cincinnati.

And then you would get into the Boise State factor and whether an unbeaten Boise State team would pass a one-loss SEC champion.]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/sec/post/_/id/6347/stating-the-secs-case-3 Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:30:43 EDT 6347
Petrino, who interviewed for the job last weekend, issued a statement Monday saying he had withdrawn his name from consideration.

Petrino's statement read: “I am very appreciative of the interest Western Kentucky University has shown in me. However, I have withdrawn my name from consideration, and my focus is on our remaining games starting this Saturday at LSU.”

Update: Sources tell ESPN.com's Joe Schad that Stanford running backs coach Willie Taggart has been hired for the head coaching job at WKU.]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/sec/post/_/id/6355/paul-petrino-withdraws-name Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:22:51 EDT 6355
OFFENSE

Ryan Mallett, QB, Arkansas: Completed 18 of 34 passes for 313 yards with five touchdowns and two interceptions, leading Arkansas to a 42-21 win against Mississippi State. Mallett matched his own school record for touchdown passes in a single game with five. He also set school marks for touchdown passes in a season (28) and touchdowns responsible for in a season (30).

DEFENSE

Sam Maxwell, LB, Kentucky: Collected a career-high 11 tackles, including one for loss, in the Wildcats’ 34-27 win at Georgia. In the final two minutes of the game, Maxwell made two game-saving plays for the Wildcats. With Georgia driving for the potential tying touchdown, he stopped Georgia tailback Caleb King at the 1-yard line. He also intercepted a pass, clinching the win for the Wildcats.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Javier Arenas, CB, Alabama: Set an SEC career record with his seventh punt return for a touchdown in Alabama’s 45-0 win against Chattanooga. His 66-yard return for a touchdown came early in the second quarter and gave the Crimson Tide a 28-0 lead. Arenas has 1,658 career punt return yards, which is second in SEC history.

OFFENSIVE LINEMAN

Reid Neely, G, Ole Miss: Played a key role in Ole Miss gaining 426 total yards against LSU in the Rebels’ 25-23 win. Neely was credited with 14 finishes, four knockdown blocks and two pancakes, grading out at 98 percent in the run game and 94 percent in the pass game.

DEFENSIVE LINEMAN

Wes Brown, T, Tennessee: Accounted for three total tackles, including a sack for minus-9 yards, an interception and a quarterback pressure in Tennessee’s 31-16 win against Vanderbilt. Brown returned the interception 25 yards for a touchdown on the game’s final offensive play.

FRESHMAN

Warren Norman, RB, Vanderbilt: Accumulated 152 all-purpose yards, breaking an SEC freshman all-purpose yardage record in the Commodores' 31-16 loss at Tennessee. Norman finished the season with 1,941 all-purpose yards, breaking a mark set by Georgia’s Herschel Walker in 1980.]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/sec/post/_/id/6349/sec-players-of-the-week-12 Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:42:27 EDT 6349