SEC Presason preview: Can Hugh Freeze turn around Ole Miss?

In the days of Eli Manning it might have been a truism to talk about the Rebels and say: “Ole Miss by damn!”, but last season, there was only one ‘damn’ to describe this team: Damn awful. But can they improve and at least break their SEC losing streak – and give hope to Rebels fans who haven’t had a decent team since 2009? LAST SEASON Ole Miss went 2-10 last year under Houston Nutt, who was summarily given his marching orders a month before the season ended – a move that sparked some outrage. And it was no bad thing. The Rebels didn’t lose many close heartbreakers – they were generally laughers (bar BYU (loss by 1) and Arkansas,

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SEC Prediction: Is Tennessee A Dark Horse for the SEC East this year?

If you haven’t heard, Derek Dooley’s out of his job as head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers. When? About December, 2012. We jest, but you get the point: Mr Dooley’s under huge pressure to get the 2012 right at Neyland Stadium after two years of debacle, and our thought is this: Shouldn’t we be thinking of the Vols as a dark horse for the division, rather than an also ran? LAST SEASON As awful as people who like you to think Tennessee was last year, we’d like to put this out there: The Vols were also hellish unlucky with injuries. They lost their best wide receiver Justin Hunter in their third  game of the season against Florida. Their QB, Tyler

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It’s Official: College Football Has Its Play-Off

After 100 years of controversy, College Football at last has its play-offs, starting in 2015, the NCAA has said. The four-team play-off will start in 2015, and the first ‘Final Four’ will be chosen by Selection Commiteee – and teams will be ranked on Win-Loss record, strength of schedule, head-of-head and then if a team is conference champion, USA Today reporter Nicole Auerbach tweeted. She added that the make-up of the selection committee is still to be decided. Virginia Tech president Charles Steger told a press conference: “I am delighted to report our endorsement of a four-team seeded play-off”, and added that they will be taking fan suggestions for a new replacement name for the BCS, which has caused so

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Recruiting: Georgia grabs one recruit, loses another to USC

Georgia has beaten Georgia Tech to the commitment for 4-star linebacker Naim Mustafaa, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has reported. He told the AJC: “I made my decision about a week ago; I just had to come down to Georgia and tell them face to face. It just came down to where I wanted to be, really. Georgia Tech and Georgia are both great schools. I had to choose one.” Mustafaa is the son of seven-year NFL veteran Reggie Rutland, who played for Georgia Tech. However, Saturday was not all good news for Bulldogs fans. They had battled it out for in-state offensive linesman JP Vonashek with South Carolina, and ultimately lost the battle to their SEC rival. Vonashek told the AJC: “It

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Georgia extends Richt’s contract

The Georgia Bulldogs have extended the contract of their sometime under-fire coach, Mark Richt, the school announced today. The three-year extension will mean that Richt – who still has two years running onto his contract – will stay with the Dawgs until the 2016 season – if he’s not let go (which is always a risk in the SEC). Last year Richt led Georgia from a 0-2 hole to winning the SEC East. They played well in the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta before dropped passes eventually got the better of them and LSU won handily. Chip Towers at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution noted on Twitter that the biggest bit of the story is “is no buyout for him if he

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SEC finalizes 2012 schedule

The SEC released its 2012 schedule. We’ll be going through it at a later date, but right now, read, digest, and imagine. And cancel your Saturday weddings. Aug. 30 South Carolina at Vanderbilt Texas A&M vs. Louisiana Tech (Shreveport, La.) Aug. 31 Tennessee vs. N.C. State (Atlanta, Ga.) Sept. 1 Alabama vs. Michigan (Arlington, Texas) Jacksonville State at Arkansas Bowling Green at Florida Buffalo at Georgia North Texas at LSU Central Arkansas at Ole Miss Jackson State at Mississippi State Southeastern Louisiana at Missouri Auburn vs. Clemson (Atlanta, Ga.) Sept. 2 Kentucky at Louisville Sept. 8 Auburn at Mississippi State Florida at Texas A&M Georgia at Missouri Western Kentucky at Alabama Louisiana-Monroe at Arkansas (Little Rock) Kent State at Kentucky

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Spring Meetings: Schedule news, and the bottom line.

News just in from Friday’s SEC Spring Meetings voting: The 6-1-1 scheduling has – at last and despite Les Miles and Steve Spurrier’s call for something different – passed as expected. The format will mean that the Auburn vs Georgia rivalry will continue, along with Alabama vs Tennessee and (unfortunately for Miles), LSU vs Florida. Arkansas vs Missouri will be a new rivalry, as will Vanderbilt vs Ole Miss, Mississippi State vs Kentucky, and Texas A&M vs South Carolina. Florida AD Jeremy told reporters at the event that the vote was “not unanimous”, which sadly means that they’ll be arguing about the scheduling stuff next year, too. THE BOTTOM LINE: This is a good thing. The SEC NEEDS those traditional rivalries

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Spring Meetings: SEC coaches vote in $300-per-game stipend

The SEC coaches might have just done something that could change the course of college football. This tweet came from Scott Hood at Gamecock Central: Scott Hood ‏@ScottHood63 In case you missed it, Steve Spurrier told me last night the SEC coaches unanimously approved giving FB players $300 per game for expenses. This isn’t just big news. This is massive news. This could mean that players are at least paid for playing – taking back some of the money that schools, clothing companies and other parties (yes, even college football blogs!) so happily take from them year in, year out. Hood played this down slightly, saying it probably wouldn’t get through the Athletic Directors and Presidents: Scott Hood ‏@ScottHood63: The key question, though,

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Recruiting News: DB picks USC

Ali Groves could have gone to Florida. Or to Vanderbilt. Or to Missouri. But instead, the Stephenson High defensive back chose Steve Spurrier and the University of South Carolina for his football career. The biggest issue for him may be a neck fracture, which kept him out for most of the 2011 season. Having said that, he was cleared to play in December – rather like a certain SEC alum we all know – so should be fine come September. Palmetto Sports said that linebacker Brandon Golson of Georgia Military Junior College may also come to Columbia as soon as this week. It must be noted that Groves wasn’t offered by his two homestate universities – UGA or Georgia Tech

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Recruiting news: Star O-Lineman commits to LSU

Star offensive linesman Ethan Pocic is moving out of Big Ten country and into the SEC, he told his Twitter followers today. “Yo just commited to LSU!” said the 6 ft 7, 285 lb giant offensive tackle. This news was well-timed, as it gave a lot of journalists some time off the SEC Spring meetings, which started in Florida on Tuesday. Pocic, a four-star recruit who’s ranked 36th in the country, will bring more solidity to Les Miles’ offensive line, also helping the running game as well as the future of quarterback Zach Mettenberger, who is almost certain to be playing two years behind the Tigers’ line this year (unless he’s flawless and will immediately start in the NFL, which

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