Tag: Kirby Smart

How will Dan Mullen’s return to Starville go? Week 5 SEC predictions

There’s nothing more fun than a head coach returning to his former team. Especially when it’s the SEC, where there is probably going to be a little more than polite booing directed at Dan Mullen as he takes his Florida Gators to ClangaVille to face Mississippi State. But other games are also intriguing on the SEC schedule. There’s LSU vs Ole Miss, which seems destined to be close even though Vegas thinking differently, and weirdly, Kentucky vs South Carolina because the Wildcats – right now – are the SEC’s Cinderella story. Then there’s the sorry tale of Tennessee, who have to travel to Georgia. Eesh. Missouri has the week off. So here we go with our SEC predictions: Florida (-7.5)

Read more

Kentucky: The third best team in the SEC? (Week 4 rankings)

A third of the college football season has gone (sniff!), and Alabama is looking absolutely unstoppable. On the other end, Tennessee and Arkansas are competing for the worst teams in the league, although at the most, Tennessee’s looking pretty good for that. Anyway, here’s our thoughts: Alabama (4-0): Unless they screw up mightly, this Alabama team is unstoppable. They are so talented, so well-coached, and so frightening. Their first game against anyone remotely good was close until it….wasn’t. Oh, and Tua should be getting his New York hotel tickets as soon as possible. Georgia (4-0): It wasn’t pretty against Missouri in the least, but the Bulldogs came off victorious. Kirby Smart’s got to make sure this team keeps its focus,

Read more

Kentucky impresses the most in Week 4

Did you hear the one about an unbeaten Kentucky? No, this isn’t a joke. First the Wildcats go to The Swamp and win for the first time in 31 years against the Gators, and then they taken on ranked Mississippi State and beat them too. A lot of people will drone on about Alabama’s impressive victory over Texas A&M, but the simple question is this: When are they NOT impressive? Kentucky: The victory over Mississippi State was fantastic. They ruined Mississippi State’s offensive all night long, and then put the game on Benny Snell’s back, who came away with four touchdowns. Kentucky is good, folks. Alabama: It was close against Texas A&M until the Crimson Tide pressed their foot on

Read more

Which SEC coach is on the hottest seat?

Right, it’s our annual hot seat conversation, in which we rank which SEC coach is on the hot seat at the start of the year. Ed Orgeron (LSU): ‘Coach O’ is beloved by his players, but his 15-6 record in Baton Rouge isn’t great, the Tigers have finished 2nd and then 3rd in the conference. If LSU fails to beat Alabama again (they haven’t beaten the Tide since 2011) there’s another major loss like they did to Troy, and seriously underperform with the talent that they have, then the tongues will be wagging. Having said that, if the Tigers fail to beat Miami on Monday night, then the knives could start getting pulled. Barry Odom (Missouri): Missouri’s defense was so awful

Read more

SEC Media Days: The important parts

We missed the fact that SEC Media Days weren’t in Birmingham, Alabama this year. As much as people love Atlanta (apart from the terrible traffic, an even worse airport and a city climate during summer that you wouldn’t wish on Gary Danielson), it just doesn’t feel like SEC territory. SEC teams – apart from Vanderbilt in Nashville – are in small college towns all over the Southeast. The big cities don’t seem to suit them – unless they are getting paid millions to play season openers, hosting a Championship Game, or winning National Championships. Of course, the SEC regulars were there. Bespeckled SEC homer Paul Finebaum, fresh from a re-up in his contract after his agent started rumors that he was

Read more

Saban and Smart go head-to-head on transfers

Nick Saban and Kirby Smart have gone head-to-head on transfers at the SEC Spring Meetings this week. The Alabama head coach has long been derided for denying players the right to go where they want – particularly inside the SEC. This year he’s getting the heat for not allowing graduate student (and back-up center) Brandon Kennedy the right to transfer to Auburn or Tennessee. This comes a couple of years after the Maurice Smith debacle, where the SEC eventually had to intervene and let the player transfer to Georgia. Smart wants to do quite the opposite – and let players transfer to whatever school they wish. Typically, Saban shrugged his shoulders during a press conference and said that it is not

Read more

Georgia gives Kirby Smart massive new contract extension

Georgia has given Kirby Smart a massive contract extension following the Dawgs’ SEC Championship-winning season (and heartbreaking play-off loss). Smart will earn $49 million over seven years, making him one of the highest-paid coaches in the SEC, as well as the country. “I’d like to first thank President [Jere] Morehead and athletics director Greg McGarity for allowing me to lead this program,” Smart said in a statement. “I’m humbled by the faith they’ve placed in me and won’t ever take that for granted. I’d also like to thank our staff and our entire football family. Without their hard work and dedication we wouldn’t have been able to have the kind of success we’ve had in such a short period of

Read more

Who are the SEC players to watch out for in 2018?

Regardless of what the pro-SEC fans say, a lot of stars left the conference in 2017. Just from the National Championship Game, Minkah Fitzpatrick (Alabama), and Roquan Smith (Georgia) are gone in their junior years, while Nick Chubb and Sony Michel (Georgia) departed after four years. The bigs are gone too, with ‘Big’ Bo Scarborough (Alabama) and Da’Ron Payne (Alabama) departing for NFL riches. But that’s not all. From Auburn Kerryon Johnson and Kam Pettway are off, while at LSU Derrius Guice, Arden Key, Kevin Tolliver and Donte Jackson leave. For Texas A&M, the most exciting player in college football – Christian Kirk – is going to take his returning talents to the pros. But despite the amount of heroes

Read more

UGA’s Eason to transfer to Washington?

Georgia quarterback Jacob Eason is to transfer to Washington, various media sources have reported. Eason, who was the starting quarterback for the Bulldogs on Week 1 before he was injured against Applachian State, never got his role back thanks to the immense play of freshman Jake Fromm. Now that Georgia has signed five-star QB Justin Fields, Eason – himself a five-star QB out of Washington – must have felt that there was no opportunity for him to succeed in the red and black. A move to Washington isn’t a bad one for him, either. He’s from Lake Stevens, WA, which is a short car ride from UW’s campus. In 2016 Eason threw for 2,430 yards and 16 TDs, averaging at

Read more

Refs, Freshmen, and Saban: 20 Goods and bads from the National Championship Game

hat Some people in Tuscaloosa are still up and drunk. Some people in Athens have kicked their wall, door and probably the cat. But whatever you have done, Alabama is the 2018 National Champion. But not everyone on Alabama had a great day, and not everyone on Georgia had a bad one. So here are your good days/bad days from yesterday…. GOOD DAY Tua Tagovailoa: Came on in the second half in the place of an awful Jalen Hurts and immediately put UGA’s defense on its heels with some bullet throws. Threw the game-winning TD that looked identical to the one Todd Blackledge threw against Georgia in the 1982 National Championship Game. Sony Michel: His 98 yards on 14 carries (that’s

Read more
1 … 9 10 11 12 13 … 15