Ranking the SEC’s Top Opening Weekend Games

In celebration of ESPN’s delivery of the College Football’s week-by-week schedule and team schedules (we’re just trying to get our breath back!), we’re going to rank the SEC’s top games for the opening weekend. We don’t know who the new Johnny, Jadeveon, or Tre’s going to be. Or the new AJ, Zach or Aaron is going to be. Or Connor, Odell, Jarvis or Jeremy. We don’t know how Derek is going to set out his D at Vanderbilt, or Jeremy at Georgia. You know, if there’s enough Georgia players not in jail. We don’t know. But this delivery of schedule gives us one thing during the Madness of March: Adrenaline. So, without further ado: 1) Texas A&M at South Carolina

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Nick Saban gives thoughts on ‘Saban Rule’

Below is Q&A done with Alabama Coach Nick Saban by Al.com‘s Brandon Marcello on the controversial ‘Saban Rule’, which would force offenses to wait before snapping the football, therefore slowing down the game. ***FIRST PUBLISHED ON AL.COM*** Q: What are your thoughts on the 10-second rule proposal? Saban: “I really don’t necessarily have an opinion on the 10-second rule. I think there are three issues that need to be researched relative to pace of play, the first being player safety. When you look at plays that are run, and a team averages 88 plays, and we average 65 at Alabama, that’s 20-something plays more a game over a 12-game season, that adds up to four more games a year that guys have

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‘Saban Rule’ to be reconsidered

The controversial ‘Saban Rule’ which would ensure that would delay offenses and effectively blindside the quick snap tactics is to be re-considered, USA Today has reported. The rule, which would ensure that offenses had to give defenses 10 seconds between snaps (apparently because of ‘safety reasons’, according to Alabama Coach Nick Saban), is apparently going to be reconsidered by the NCAA Rule Committee next week….even before it comes before a vote. The reason for the rule in the first place is worries that more players would be injured as offenses speed up and they are unable to take breaks. Saban and Bielema had lobbied for this since June, according to a piece by Saturday Down South at the time. “I

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Ole Miss starters get medical hardship

Two Ole Miss starters have been given a medical hardship, the school has said. Defensive end CJ Johnson and guard Aaron Morris were both injured in September games. Morris – who started every game for the Rebels in 2012 – tore his ACL in the season opener against Vanderbilt…a game which Ole Miss in one of the most exciting finishes of the season (and that’s saying something!). And while we don’t know the specifics of CJ Johnson’s leg injury, we do know that Johnson was one of Ole Miss’ top pass rushers, which probably didn’t help his school’s cause when he left injured in the blow-out loss to Alabama in 2013.

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Practice, Spring Game, Pro Day dates for all SEC schools

  School Practice Begins Spring Game Pro Day Alabama March 15 April 19 March 12 Arkansas March 16 April 26 March 5 Auburn March 18 April 19 March 4 Florida March 19 April 12 March 17 Georgia March 18 April 12 April 16 Kentucky March 28 April 26 March 14 LSU March 7 April 5 April 9 Ole Miss March 5 April 5 March 3 Mississippi State March 18 April 12 March 5 Missouri March 11 April 19 March 6 South Carolina March 4 April 12 April 2 Tennessee March 7 April 12 April 2 Texas A&M February 28 N/A March 5 Vanderbilt March 11 April 12 March 21  

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The Saban Effect: NCAA looking into slowing down offenses

If a rule comes into place in the 2014 season which would allow teams to substitute within the first 10 seconds of the 40-second play clock (therefore reducing the speed at which an offense can operate), we should call it The Saban Rule. Why? Looking ahead to seeing the days in which his man-mountain defenses would be completely exhausted by lighter, faster offenses (see the second half of the Auburn vs Alabama game for details), Coach Saban complained in September: “All you’re trying to do is get lined up [on defense],” he whined to ESPN.com in September, ESPN’s website reported today. “You can’t play specialty third-down stuff. You can’t hardly scheme anything. The most important thing is to get the

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Clowney leads SEC Defensive NFL Combine invitees

Jadeveon Clowney leads the list of SEC defensive linesmen going to the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, starting February 19th. Here’s the list of defensive players: Defensive linemen Ego Ferguson (LSU), Dominique Easley (Florida), Kony Ealy (Mizzou), Ed Stinson (Alabama) and Dee Ford are the five SEC names that jump out at you. Jadeveon Clowney (DE), South Carolina Kony Ealy (DE), Missouri Dominique Easley (DT), Florida Ego Ferguson (DT), LSU Dee Ford (DE), Auburn Anthony Johnson (DT), LSU DaQuan Jones (DT), Penn State Daniel McCullers (DT), Tennessee Jeoffrey Pagan (DE), Alabama Kelcy Quarles (DT), South Carolina Chris Smith (DE), Arkansas Ed Stinson (DE), Alabama Robert Thomas (DT), Arkansas Linebackers For the linebackers, CJ Mosley (Alabama) and Ronald Powell (Florida) both stand

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Manziel, McCarron lead list of offensive invites to NFL Combine

The quarterbacking foursome of the Four Ms lead SEC names invited to the NFL Combine. Texas A&M’s Heisman winner Johnny Manziel, Alabama’s AJ McCarron, Georgia’s Aaron Murray and LSU’s Zach Mettenberger have all been invited to the Combine, which starts on February 19th. Connor Shaw at South Carolina has also been invited. While Manziel, McCarron and Shaw will probably make the trip, it’s not certain if Murray and Mettenberger will have recovered enough from injuries they sustained at the end of the year to partake – which may drop their draft status, despite both players’ electric arms (Mettenberger’s particularly). Auburn’s Tre Mason will be the one to watch from the running backs, while LSU has three running backs invited (Jeremy

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Alabama leads NFL Combine invite list

National Signing Day was Wednesday. And now NFL Combine Invite List Day is Thursday. OK, so we made up the ‘NFL Combine Invite List Day’, but today the NFL really did release breakdown of how many people had been invited to the Combine, which runs from February 19-25 in Indianapolis. The SEC had 71 players invited, smashing the second-placed ACC with 48. The Pac-12 had 45, Big Ten 36, Big 12 had 25. Every team in the SEC had at least one player invited. Eight SEC schools had at least eight. Alabama had 12 players invited, LSU had 11, Florida had 8 and Missouri had 7. Position-wise, SEC had 28 offensive and defensive linesmen invited to the combine, dwarfing B1G’s

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14 Last Minute SEC Head Coach Recruiting Pitches Before National Signing Day

Right, so National Signing Day’s tomorrow, which means that it’s Christmas for anyone who loves seeing if their school’s signing up some good talent. Why haven’t we gone more crazy on the recruiting front? It’s easy. I could get excited about a recruit, only for him to de-commit 400 times before making a decision, so I’d rather wait until National Signing Day. And then go crazy folks. Which I will do. Somewhere in the SEC, our head coaches are calling, texting, FBing and sexting recruits (OK, maybe not the last) in an effort to get them to come and play for their schools. As a unit, it’s worked: 80 commitments will be to SEC schools on Wednesday. But there’s still

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