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| Friday, September 29 Vols get healthy dose of Louisiana-Monroe By Brian Bennett Special to ESPN.com | |||||
Call it a case of the Monroe Doctor.
Tennessee's players and coaches were sick to their stomachs after yet another disappointing loss to Florida two weeks ago, a game the Volunteers think they should have won. The team found a quick way to get healthy last week,
feasting on an outmanned and shell-shocked opponent.
Ten touchdowns helped erase any leftover resentment about the Florida loss, as the Vols rolled to an absurdly easy 70-3 victory over Louisiana-Monroe. It was the most points Tennessee had scored since 1929.
Head coach Mike DuBose revealed this week that he offered to resign after his team's 21-0 loss to Southern Miss two weeks ago. Apparently, many Crimson Tide fans wish that offer had been accepted. In a poll taken by The Birmingham News, 75 percent of respondents said DuBose should be fired after Bama's 1-3 start. ... DuBose said he was happy with the way his offense played in Saturday's 28-21 loss to Arkansas. It was the first game that both offensive coordinator Neil Callaway and quarterbacks coach/play-caller Charlie Stubbs shared a booth in the press box. "Probably for the first time this year, I thought the communication process and the reason for doing things, the whole nine yards, was better," DuBose said. ... Tide coaches were furious that Arkansas had 12 players on the field but weren't penalized when the Hogs converted a third-and-11 during the game-winning drive. Arkansas The Razorbacks' victory over Alabama proved very costly. Running back Cedric Cobb, the SEC's fourth-leading rusher and the focal point of the offense, separated his shoulder in the first half and is out for the year. The school plans to apply for a medical redshirt for the sophomore. Back-up tailback Fred Talley, meanwhile, broke his left hand and is out at least three games. Alvin Ray will get the start in the backfield this week against Georgia. ... Reserve receiver George Wilson also went down Saturday, leaving the Hogs without a kick returner, as Wilson, Cobb and Talley had handled those duties. ... Quinton Caver was named SEC defensive player of the week after making 22 tackles against Alabama. He had made just 12 tackles in the previous two games combined. Auburn How good are the surprising Tigers? Tommy Tuberville's team moved up to No.20 in the ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll after improving to 4-0 against Northern Illinois. But though Auburn is just one win away from matching last year's total, don't count Tuberville among the excited onlookers on the Plains. "Our fans are way too far ahead," he said. "We're a little bit better than we were at the beginning of the year. We're still an average football team." ... Jeff Klein has moved up the depth chart to second at quarterback, behind starter Ben Leard. ... Auburn's start can be directly traced to its vastly improved running game. After two seasons of virtually no rushing attack, the Tigers now have the SEC's leading runner in junior college transfer Rudi Johnson, who's averaging 147 yards per game. LSU From golden boy to goat? That could be the fate of quarterback Josh Booty, who may have lost his starting job after an ill-advised improvisation in LSU's 13-10 loss to Alabama Birmingham on Saturday. With 33 seconds left, Booty tried a pass to receiver Jerel Myers, hoping Myers would cut his route short. Instead, UAB grabbed its fourth interception of the night and turned it into the game-winning field goal. Coach Nick Saban said Booty will be evaluated this week in practice, but he is letting all of his backups take snaps. One thing working in Booty's favor might be recurring tendinitis in No. 2 quarterback Rohan Davey's knee .... Center John Compton suffered a concussion Saturday and is uncertain for this week. The Tigers are already without guard Bob Wynne, out the last two games with a neck injury, and tackle Trey Langley, who suffered a season-ending injury against Houston. Mississippi Even with an open date, Rebels' running back Deuce McAllister hasn't fully recovered from a strained right shoulder he suffered two weeks ago. The Heisman Trophy candidate was held out of contact drills early in the week, and coach David Cutcliffe said he won't know until Thursday or Friday if his star will play. "I know I will have to play with some pain," McAllister said. "It'll just be a matter of how much pain I'm willing to endure." McAllister will likely want to do everything possible to suit up against Kentucky, the league's most porous run defense. ... The Grove hasn't been much of an advantage to the Rebels in SEC play. They are just 1-4 at home since Cutcliffe took over, compared to 4-1 on the road. Mississippi State After opening the season with three straight road games, the Bulldogs finally make their home debut Saturday against Florida. The school is expecting a record crowd after an offseason stadium expansion increased Scott Field's capacity to 43,156. ... Thanks to the SEC's rotating inter-division schedules, this will be the first time Florida and Mississippi State have played since 1993. The last time the Gators came to Scott Field, they were whipped 30-6. ... Saturday's matchup will pit the two coaches with the longest tenure at their current schools, Jackie Sherrill at MSU and Steve Spurrier at Florida. Florida Despite his team's easy 59-31 win over Kentucky, Steve Spurrier remains concerned about his team's defense. The Wildcats racked up 504 yards of total offense, most by any opponent in the Spurrier era. Defensive coordinator Jon Hoke has been under fire, but Spurrier said, "It's my defense also." ... The Gators had only one sack against Kentucky, which threw the ball almost 60 times. Freshman end Clint Mitchell had the lone sack and will be rewarded with his first-ever start against Missisippi State. The Gators have only 1 ½ sacks on the season. ... Quarterback Jesse Palmer missed Monday's practice with a hip pointer but should play Saturday. Freshman Brock Berlin has been elevated to backup quarterback over Rex Grossman. Georgia Not even an easy 37-0 victory over New Mexico State could hush critics of coach Jim Donnan, still feeling the heat for his Bulldogs' loss to South Carolina three weeks ago. "We won the game 37-0, had no fumbles and the defense played great," Donnan said. "And still there were people wanting to know why we didn't beat them worse. Let's get on with our lives." ... Running backs Jasper Sanks (ankle) and Mussa Smth (shoulder) did not play Saturday but should be available against Arkansas. ... Talk about offensive balance. Georgia is averaging 167.3 yards per game both in passing and in rushing. Kentucky Hal Mumme says his defense will be going back to basics after yet another dismal performance against Florida. The Wildcats surrendered 59 points and have allowed more than 30 points in three games, missing tackles all over the field. Mumme, who normally concentrates on the offense and lets defensive coordinator Mike Major handle the other side of the ball, has become more involved in the defensive game plan in the past two weeks. He said the Wildcats' schemes may have ben too complex, and that the defense will be simplified to let his players react more than think. ... Former UK football coach Jerry Claiborne suffered a fatal heart attack Sunday night, just six weeks after being inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. South Carolina The rags-to-riches story continues for the Gamecocks, who cracked the Top 25 this week for the first time since 1993 with their win over Mississippi State. Still, coach Lou Holtz continues to talk down his 4-0 team. "If we're No. 23, then there are a lot of bad teams out there," he said. ... USC will take to the road for the first time this season when they travel to Alabama on Saturday. ... Starting quarterback Phil Petty's status remains uncertain for Saturday. Petty sprained an ankle in the fourth quarter and couldn't walk on it the next day. Erik Kimrey, the walk-on sophomore who threw the game-winning touchdown on the first play after Petty's injury, may not get the start in Petty's absence. Freshman Dondrial Pinkins, returning four weeks after a knee injury, has been getting serious looks in practice this week. ... Holtz says he has invited President Clinton to the Gamecocks' Oct. 14 matchup with Arkansas. Vanderbilt Injuries are piling up on the defensive line for coach Woody Widenhofer. Right end Russ Nicoll underwent arthroscopic knee surgery this week, and his backup, Chuck Losey, suffered a broken foot against Duke. The Commodores have allowed just 19 points in two games but will be tested at Auburn this week. ... Receiver Dan Stricker hd 10 catches for 147 yards against Duke. He leads the SEC and is second in the nation with 118.5 yards per game. ... Vandy snapped a six-game losing streak with its win over the Blue Devils. | ALSO SEE ACC notebook Pac-10 notebook Mountain West notebook Big Ten notebook Big East notebook Big West notebook MAC notebook WAC notebook Conference USA notebook Big 12 notebook | ||||
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