ESPN College Football

Some Monday SEC linkage for your reading enjoyment:

• 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.

Now that the 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.

The SEC league office has announced its top performers for Week 12:

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.

The order at the top of the SEC power rankings stays the same this week, with Alabama checking in at No. 1 and Florida at No. 2.

After that, it’s a jumbled mess. We could sit here for hours and argue who deserves to be where.

The reality is that there’s not much difference in the No. 3 team and the No. 9 team. In fact, if you'll notice, the No. 9 team beat the No. 3 team on the field earlier this season in Columbia.

Here’s what the pecking order looks like heading into the final weekend of the regular season:

1. Alabama: Nobody expected the Crimson Tide (11-0, 7-0) to break a sweat against Chattanooga, and they didn’t in romping to a 45-0 win. Now it’s on to the Iron Bowl and Auburn. Alabama looks to make it two in a row in this rivalry after snapping a six-game losing streak to the Tigers last season. The Crimson Tide enter the game ranked first nationally in total defense and have given up just three touchdowns in their last six games.

2. Florida: If there’s a defense better in the country than Alabama’s, it might be Florida’s. The Gators (11-0, 8-0) are ranked first nationally in scoring defense after routing Florida International 62-3 last week. They also have to get by a longtime rival, Florida State, to make it to Atlanta unscathed. Playing their fourth game in the last five weeks in the state of Florida, the Gators have never lost to the Seminoles under Urban Meyer.

3. Ole Miss: Here come the streaking Rebels (8-3, 4-3) after back-to-back wins at home over LSU and Tennessee. The latest was a 25-23 thriller over then No. 8 LSU last Saturday, giving Ole Miss at least eight wins in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1989 and 1990. The Rebels can lock up their first trip to play in a Florida bowl in nearly two decades by closing out the regular season with a win over Mississippi State.

4. LSU: This is where it gets impossible to rank the SEC teams this season. The Tigers (8-3, 4-3) have lost two of their last three games, but are still one of the best four or five teams in the league. Their three losses were all close and all decided in the fourth quarter against the three best teams in the league. This can still be a 10-win season for the Tigers if they can take care of business at home this weekend against Arkansas and stay away from another late-game clock management debacle.

5. Arkansas: The Hogs (7-4, 3-4) get a chance to show that they’re for real this Saturday against LSU. They’ve looked the part the last four weeks with four straight wins, and quarterback Ryan Mallett is throwing the ball like a season veteran. The only thing that’s holding this team back right now is a defense that’s been shredded through the air and on the ground. Mississippi State rushed for 231 yards in the second half against the Hogs.

6. Kentucky: The Wildcats (7-4, 3-4) make the biggest jump this week, and why not? They’ve won five of their last six games, including road wins at Georgia and Auburn, and have done so despite a rash of injuries. This has been a team long on resolve and short on excuses this season. It’s already been a solid season in the Bluegrass, but it becomes a memorable season if Kentucky can end a 24-year drought and beat Tennessee at home this Saturday.

7. Tennessee: The Vols (6-5, 3-4) are teetering right now between having a pretty good season and a disappointing season. It all hinges on the game at Kentucky this weekend. The injuries are mounting, but they managed a 31-16 win over Vanderbilt last week. The highlight for Tennessee so far has been playing well in closer than expected losses at Florida and Alabama. The Vols need a quality win on the road to punctuate this season the way they want to.

8. Auburn: The Tigers (7-4, 3-4) were off last week and hold steady at the No. 8 position. Their loss to Georgia two weeks ago looks worse every time the Bulldogs take the field. Auburn has also lost four of its last five SEC games, which explains why the Tigers aren’t ranked a little higher. Of course, they could shoot up into the upper half of the rankings by knocking off Alabama at home on Friday in the Iron Bowl.

9. South Carolina: The Gamecocks (6-5, 3-5) had a week off to get ready for their regular-season finale against Clemson. It’s a chance to stop the bleeding this season and in this series. South Carolina has lost three in a row and is trying to avoid its third straight season-ending collapse. The Gamecocks have also lost 10 of their last 12 meetings with the Tigers, who have turned this rivalry into their own little party.

10. Georgia: When did you ever think you’d see Georgia sliding all the way down to the 10^th spot in this conference? The Bulldogs (6-5, 4-4) self-destructed in the second half against Kentucky, turning the ball over four times and losing 34-27 at home. This is by far the most turbulent storm of Mark Richt’s coaching career at Georgia. The fans want major changes, and they want them now.

11. Mississippi State: The Bulldogs (4-7, 2-5) were eliminated from bowl contention with last week’s 42-21 loss at Arkansas. They can help ease some of the pain by knocking off arch-rival Ole Miss at home this coming weekend in the Egg Bowl. Close losses had tormented Mississippi State for much of this season, but the Bulldogs have lost their last two games by a 73-24 margin.

12. Vanderbilt: It’s all over for Vanderbilt in 2009, and after making so many strides last season with the seven wins and bowl victory, the Commodores (2-10, 0-8) finished winless in the league for the first time since 2002, Bobby Johnson’s first season at Vanderbilt. Injuries and an ineffective offense doomed the Commodores. Only five players started all 12 games.

Barring a bizarre chain of events these last two weeks, the SEC can just about lock in two BCS berths.

The SEC championship game winner between Alabama and Florida is ticketed for the BCS National Championship Game, and the loser will play in the Allstate Sugar Bowl.

Ole Miss has made up the most ground on the bowl front in the past few weeks. The Rebels’ 25-23 win over LSU likely puts them in the Capital One Bowl in Orlando. The Rebels last played in a Florida bowl in 1991 when they lost to Michigan in the Gator Bowl.

Now, if Ole Miss should lose this Saturday to Mississippi State, it may be a more difficult decision for the Capital One, which gets the top choice out of the SEC after the BCS selections are made.

Arkansas is the other hot team in the SEC and has one of the SEC’s hotter players in quarterback Ryan Mallett. The winner of the Arkansas-LSU game this weekend is likely headed to the Cotton Bowl.

Watch Kentucky, too. The Wildcats have a chance to get to 8-4 if they can beat Tennessee, which would almost certainly send the Big Blue to the Outback Bowl.

The Vols could also end up in the Outback Bowl, but could fall to the Autozone Liberty Bowl if they lose to the Wildcats and wind up 6-6.

The bottom line is that nothing that can be written in pen except for Vanderbilt and Mississippi State being eliminated from bowl contention. The other 10 teams are all bowl eligible.

Can you imagine a final weekend of the regular season that included Mississippi State beating Ole Miss, South Carolina beating Clemson, Kentucky beating Tennessee, Georgia beating Georgia Tech and either Alabama or Florida losing?

Stay tuned, because it never ends up like you think it will.

Here’s the way I see the bowl lineup shaking out heading into the final weekend of the regular season:

• BCS National Championship Game: Alabama vs. BCS team
• Allstate Sugar Bowl: Florida vs. BCS team
• Capital One Bowl: Ole Miss vs. Big Ten team
• Outback Bowl: Tennessee vs. Big Ten team
• AT&T Cotton Bowl: LSU vs. Big 12 team
• Chick-fil-A Bowl: Kentucky vs. ACC team
• Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl: Auburn vs. ACC team
• Autozone Liberty Bowl: Arkansas vs. Conference USA team
• Advocare Independence Bowl: South Carolina vs. Big 12 team
• Papajohns.com Bowl: Georgia vs. Big East team

We’re down to this: One more week of football remaining to determine if Alabama and Florida will meet in the SEC championship game as unbeaten teams.

The Crimson Tide and Gators are coming off “scrimmages” and should be rested for their big rivalry games this weekend.

Ole Miss seems to be getting hot at just the right time for the second straight season. They’re just plain hot in Georgia after the Bulldogs’ 34-27 home loss to Kentucky, and who knows what they’re thinking on the Bayou after one of the worst mismanagements of a late-game clock situation by LSU in recent SEC history?

Here’s a look at what we learned in the SEC in Week 12:

1. Running backs galore: It’s been a while since the SEC had this many good running backs putting up these kind of numbers in the same season. Picking the top two for first-team All-SEC honors is going to be a chore. Five guys can stake a claim. Alabama’s Mark Ingram has 1,399 rushing yards, averages 6.8 yards per carry and has 15 touchdowns. Mississippi State’s Anthony Dixon has 1,258 rushing yards, averages 5.5 yards per carry and has 11 touchdowns. Auburn’s Ben Tate has 1,209 rushing yards, averages 5.4 yards per carry and has eight touchdowns. Tennessee’s Montario Hardesty has 1,127 rushing yards, averages 5 yards per carry and has 10 touchdowns. Ole Miss’ Dexter McCluster has 903 rushing yards, averages 6.9 yards per carry and has nine touchdowns. McCluster also has 412 receiving yards. How do you pick just two?

2. It’s a Big Blue world: If Kentucky does this coming Saturday what it’s failed to do every year since 1984 – and that’s beat Tennessee – the SEC Coach of the Year award this season should take its rightful place in Lexington, Ky. The more you watch this team play, the more respect you gain for what Rich Brooks has done. The Wildcats proved yet again in their 34-27 win over Georgia how resourceful they are, how resilient they are and how they simply don’t give up -- sort of like how Brooks never gave up on this program several years ago when everybody else had given up on him. A win over the Vols at home this coming weekend would give the Wildcats their first eight-win regular season since 1984, quite an accomplishment when you consider all the injuries this team has endured this season.

3. Chaotic clock management: You could watch football for a long time (at any level) and not see a worse butchering of an end-of-game situation than what you saw from LSU on Saturday in its 25-23 loss to Ole Miss. And let’s face it: Les Miles has played with fire before in these situations. Remember the touchdown pass to Demetrius Byrd with one second left against Auburn in 2007? He got away with that one, but not this time. There was zero direction on the LSU sideline in that final minute against Ole Miss. Sure, Jordan Jefferson should have never taken that sack on second down, but he never should have been throwing the ball in the first place. Jefferson’s comments afterward were telling. He said confusion reigned and admitted that he “didn’t know what to do.” There were so many mistakes by the LSU offensive staff that the hardest part is trying to figure out where to start. The Tigers wasted 17 seconds before calling a timeout after the third-down play. They inexplicably didn’t try to run the ball after getting to the Ole Miss 32 with 1:04 to play. They didn’t have a plan in place for the final play. And even in the postgame press conference after all the chaos had ended, Miles seemed as lost in trying to explain it all as he did when it was all melting down around him on the sideline. The truth is there isn’t any explaining this one.

4. From bad to worse for Georgia: There was already a black cloud hovering over Georgia’s football program. This season hadn’t been what anybody wanted, but then the Bulldogs went out and lost to Kentucky … at home. Not only did they lose, but they dominated the statistics and still managed to lose. But that’s what happens when you turn the ball over four times in the second half and have 75 penalty yards for the game. The Bulldogs (6-5, 4-4) are staring squarely into the face of their first non-winning regular season since Jim Donnan’s first season in Athens in 1996. The Bulldogs might not be one of the top two most talented teams in the SEC, but they’re certainly one of the top three or four. Talent is not Georgia’s problem. It’s focus. It’s execution. It’s player development and it’s discipline. When you commit as many penalties as the Bulldogs have the past two seasons and turn the ball over as many times as they have this season (26), it’s obvious that there’s a decay in the program somewhere that has to be addressed. Mark Richt has been as classy as they come and as consistent as they come. But if he doesn’t address this decay with more than just cosmetic changes, then it’s going to be addressed for him.

5. Brantley looks the part: It was only for part of the second half and the Gators were up by something like 22 touchdowns, but this just in: Backup quarterback John Brantley can throw it. He’s a better pure passer than Tim Tebow and will add a dimension to the Gators’ passing game next season that they simply don’t have right now. Again, it was mop-up duty, but you talk to enough people in and around the Florida program, and there’s a quiet confidence about some of the things they’re going to be able to do next season with Brantley at the helm. Of course, you give up Tebow’s third-down prowess and his ability to make all the clutch plays with his legs and arm, and you also give up his incredible will to win and the impact that he's had on the rest of his teammates. But Brantley’s polished enough throwing the football that the Gators aren’t going to go quietly into the night next season when Tebow departs. In fact, Brantley might be the third or fourth best quarterback in the SEC right now.

The big boys, Alabama and Florida, breezed through scrimmages, but there was still plenty of drama in the SEC in Week 12, which means there were several deserving recipients of helmet stickers:

Ole Miss running back Dexter McCluster: Had McCluster been this involved in the Ole Miss offense back in September, we might be talking about the Heisman Trophy front-runner right now. He’s run for a touchdown, caught a touchdown and thrown a touchdown this season. He’s 97 yards away from a 1,000-yard rushing season after racking up 148 Saturday against a rugged LSU defense in Ole Miss’ 25-23 win. He’s 88 yards away from a 500-yard receiving season. Here’s one for the SEC historians: When’s the last time a player had 1,000 rushing yards and 500 receiving yards in the same season. Has it ever happened?

Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett: Two of his first 20 passes were interceptions, and Mallett wasn’t as accurate as he had been in his previous three games, but how do you complain with five touchdown passes? The 6-foot-7 sophomore now has 28 touchdown passes on the season, breaking Clint Stoerner’s old record of 26 at Arkansas, and is having one of the best seasons for a first-year quarterback in the SEC in league history. His five touchdown passes went to four different receivers, and he carved Mississippi State apart in a 42-21 victory.

Tennessee defensive tackle Wes Brown: The gritty senior has been the inspirational leader for Tennessee’s defense all season long. He’s fought through aching knees, most of the time unable to practice because of the pain. But Brown has given the Vols everything he has and refused to call it quits. His final play at Neyland Stadium was one he won’t soon forget. He intercepted a Mackenzi Adams pass in the final seconds and dragged a Vanderbilt defender with him for a 25-yard touchdown to cap the Vols’ 31-16 win over the Commodores. “A dream come true,” is the way Brown explained his home finale.

Kentucky linebacker Sam Maxwell: You think Kentucky’s 34-27 win over Georgia meant a little something to Maxwell, a Hartwell, Ga., product? It had been 32 years since the Wildcats had won in Athens, and it’s fitting that a Georgia boy would seal the deal for Kentucky with an interception in the final minutes. Maxwell picked off Joe Cox’s short pass over the middle with 1:45 to play. And before that, he was all over the field for the Wildcats and led them with 11 total tackles.

Alabama cornerback Javier Arenas: For a guy who was supposedly too small to play at this level, Arenas has had one dynamite career. He played his final game at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday in a 45-0 rout of Chattanooga and bid farewell with the seventh punt return for a touchdown in his illustrious career. He took one back 66 yards to set an SEC record and also intercepted a pass in his home finale. Arenas might be known more for his punt return skills, but he’s developed into one of the better all-around cornerbacks in the league with his ability to blitz, play the run and the cover the pass.

The final play of Wes Brown's home career at Tennessee couldn't have been more fitting?

He's a guy who has persevered all season on bad knees, but has refused to come out of the lineup. He'll definitely remember his last play in Neyland Stadium.

Vanderbilt quarterback Mackenzi Adams was being pressured

in the final seconds and threw one up that Brown intercepted. He lumbered in for the touchdown, carrying a Vanderbilt player with him the final 5 yards and lunging into the end zone.

A sea of orange piled on top of Brown to celebrate with him in the checkerboard end zone.

Vanderbilt's Warren Norman broke Herschel Walker's SEC freshman record for all-purpose yardage in a season in the first half of the Commodores' game with Tennessee on Saturday night.

Walker had 1,805 all-purpose yards in 1980 during his freshman season at Georgia, but Norman moved past Walker with his second kickoff return against the Vols.

You can count on one hand how many players in SEC history have finished with 100 or more tackles in both their freshman and sophomore seasons.

It’s exclusive company indeed, and Vanderbilt middle linebacker Chris Marve has joined that club this season. He leads the SEC with 110 tackles heading into Saturday’s game at Tennessee. He had 105 last season as a freshman.

The 6-foot, 228-pound Marve is the first player in the SEC to hit the century mark in tackles in each of his first two seasons since another Vanderbilt player did it in 1998 and 1999 -- Jamie Winborn.

It’s been a long, difficult season for the Commodores, but you’d never know it by the way Marve has played. He’s battled through injuries, never comes off the field on defense and has collected 10 or more tackles six times, including a season-high 18 tackles against Georgia Tech.

In a league full of big-time linebackers, Marve has earned the right to be mentioned with any of them.

The only thing that has exceeded the pride Marve has played with this season is his effort, Vanderbilt coach Bobby Johnson said.

“He just gives great effort,” Johnson said. “That’s probably the biggest ingredient, his effort. He plays extremely hard.”

Marve took some time earlier this week to talk about battling through the frustrations of this season as the Commodores put a wrap on a disappointing 2009 on Saturday at Tennessee.

Injuries have decimated your team this season. How much pain have you had to fight through to finish the season?

Chris Marve: It’s been a tough season for everybody. When you play 12 straight weeks without a bye in the SEC, it’s going to catch up with you. Every week is physical. There are no breaks, but you just have to stay with it, and that’s what I’ve tried to do. You just keep plugging away and take care of yourself the best you can.

Is there any way to know how grueling it is to play 12 straight weeks in this league until you actually have to go through it?

CM: There’s no comparison to having a bye week somewhere in there and having to go 12 straight games. I knew it was going to be tough, and you just have to make yourself stay strong mentally. You better stick together as a team as well, because it wears on you.

Your defense has been able to hang in there most of the season despite the injuries and despite the struggles on offense. How difficult has it been standing your ground defensively this season?

CM: Our coaches, our staff and definitely coach Johnson instill in you from the first time you get here to work hard, always be ready to step up and stick with the plan. We’ve taken some shots on defense, but have continued to perform.

Where does finishing a season with 100 tackles for the second year in a row rank on your list of goals?

CM: It’s fine to have all these tackles, but I’d rather have a lot more wins. Football is a team game. It’s OK to have these stats. But without the wins, it really doesn’t matter.

To have a losing season coming off what you guys accomplished last year with Vanderbilt’s first bowl win in 53 years, how do you think that will impact the team going into this offseason?

CM: I believe guys will come back hungrier and even more ambitious next year. I can promise you that we’re definitely going to hit it hard this offseason -- running, lifting weights, training, everything we have to do to have a successful season next year. We know what it takes.

Do you feel like there’s enough younger talent on offense that they can grow next season and be a lot better on that side of the ball?

CM: We have a lot of young guys on offense, and playing in this league your first year is tough. It’s easy to make mistakes. I believe a year’s experience will help a lot of those guys out.

Because of the way this season has gone, do you think some will point to the team’s success in 2008 and say you guys were just a one-year wonder?

CM: Not at all. I don’t think it was just a one-year thing. Everybody has injuries. That’s what got us this year. With a lot more hard work this offseason, I believe we’ll be right back where we were last year, if not in a better spot.

How sweet would a win over Tennessee be given everything this team has endured this season?

CM: It would be huge. Ending the season on a good note would have a big effect on this program. It would be a tremendous statement. The main thing is that we’re just ready to play ball and prove that we can start a game and finish a game. This is our last chance to do that.