Day After Labor Day Links

* #6

* Johnnie Brown, he of the 15 tackles Saturday, was just one of a handful of Rebels battling the flu

* Here's a breakdown of Sowell and the job he did last Saturday

* Gary Parrish would like to remind everybody what a douche bag he is with this column

* Sure John Feinstein can be whiny and beat a dead horse with the best of them, but this is good stuff. The ACC is an absolutely wretched football conference. It's supporters claim parody, I claim widespread mediocrity. Is it wrong to take pleasure in Duke losing to Richmond?

* In the latest edition of the Forde Yard Dash, Pat Forde takes what I would typically call a at a fellow SEC school. Based on its target though, I just think it's funny...

Mississippi State's Dan Mullen (33). There was an epidemic of penalties and some other sloppiness against an even sloppier opponent, Jackson State. But the Bulldogs also scored more than 40 points for the first time since Sept. 14, 2002. That alone should have sent fans sprinting naked into the streets in Starkville (assuming they have streets in Starkville).

First Year SEC Coaches and Signature Wins

One of the real joys of college football is the unbridled – however unfounded – optimism that typically comes from the hiring of a new head coach, particularly when replacing a coach who was fired – or whatever euphemism is trendy that day. New philosophies and new attitudes abound with the influx of new blood in the coaching ranks.

2009 is a perfect example of this. Take a look at the three new hires entering the SEC, none of which has proven much of anything as a head coach:

• Gene Chizik, Auburn: Chizik went 5-19 at Iowa State, but was DC for some very good Auburn teams earlier in the decade


• Lane Kiffin, Tennessee: Kiffin was fired after a brief, unsuccessful stint (5-15) with the Raiders, but was co-OC for some very good USC Trojan teams earlier in the decade


• Dan Mullen, Mississippi State: No head coaching experience, but was OC for some very good Florida and Utah teams earlier this decade

Of those 3, I can only see how Mississippi State fans could be genuinely excited. While I’m not a Mullen fan by default, his pedigree seems to be the best of the three, though I’m not sure how much he (or anybody) will win in Starkville. Chizik and Kiffin both failed miserably in their previous head coaching stints. In spite of all this, optimism rules in Auburn, Starkville, and Knoxville these days.

An integral part of the frenzy surrounding new coaches is landing that “signature win” in your first season at a school. It seems to happen for an unusually high number of first year coaches in the SEC (but never in 3 years if you’re Ed Orgeron). But what constitutes a signature win? Basically any win that a fan base can latch on to as a glimpse of the future of the program. A win that a coaching staff can point to when recruiting as an example of how their system works against top-tier opponents. A win that makes the program’s future so bright, you gotta wear shades.

Here’s a look at some signature wins by current or recent head coaches:

• Tommy Tuberville’s 1999 Auburn team struggled a bit at 5-6 but did pick up a blowout win in Athens over an 8-4 UGA team


• In 2001, Mark Richt and his UGA Bulldogs knocked off #5 Tennessee


• Ron Zook was the first coach to be Croomed as Sylvester Croom led the MSU Bulldogs to a victory over Zook’s Gators in 2004


• In 2005 Les Miles led his LSU Tigers to a comeback win over then undefeated and #4 Alabama and put a stamp on the season with a 40-3 hammering of Miami in the Peach Bowl


• In 2005, Urban Meyer led the Gators to wins over Florida’s 3 biggest rivals: #4 Tennessee, #4 Georgia, and #21 Florida State, clearly stamping the program as his own


• Steve Spurrier’s 2005 Gamecocks knocked off #23 Tennessee in Knoxville a few weeks before taking down #12 Florida in Columbia


• In 2007, Nick Saban led the Tide to a now vacated victory over #16 Arkansas in his third game as head coach in Tuscaloosa. The Tide built a huge lead, watched it evaporate, but came back in the 4th quarter for a 34-31 victory


• In 2008, Houston Nutt led the Rebels to a 31-30 victory in Gainesville and a 47-34 win in the Cotton Bowl over Texas Tech


• In 2008, Bobby Petrino led the Razorbacks to a big comeback win over LSU in the final game of the regular season last year

So looking at the 2009 schedules for Auburn, Mississippi State, and Tennessee, which first year head coach(es)will land that signature win or wins that puts his stamp on the program? In the SEC, with so many good teams and storied rivals, the trio of new coaches will have multiple opportunities to put their stamp on their new programs.

• Gene Chizik, Auburn: There are 3 teams in the SEC West currently ranked in the Top10 in both polls. Auburn lost to all 3 last year, and dropped a game to Georgia. Were Chizik to coax just one win out of those four games in 2009, the War Eagle Tiger Plainsmen fan base would have something to build on for 2010.


• Dan Mullen, Mississippi State: Another team residing in the powerful SEC West, the Bulldogs are blessed or cursed (depending on how you look at it) with ample opportunities for a signature win. In addition to Ole Miss, LSU, and Alabama, the Bulldogs also welcome Florida and a highly-touted Georgia Tech team to Starkville.


• Lane Kiffin, Tennessee: Kiffin’s shenanigans thus far have put him in a precarious situation: Win the big games and you look like a genius, but lose them big and be blasted for running your mouth. The Vols take on Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and Ole Miss this year. Each will be a prohibitive favorite over the Vols and offer Kiffin and crew the chance for a signature win.

At this point, it’s tough to pinpoint which matchups seem most likely to swing the way of the new coaches. Mississippi State is nearly completely void of experienced SEC-caliber talent and faces one of the toughest schedules in the country. Tennessee and Auburn have a little more talent in place, but, at least in the preseason, have no quarterback to speak of. Both were one win - actually one bad loss – away from bowl eligibility last year and return a chunk of players from last year’s squads.

While it’s safe to assume that Tennessee will not beat Florida in Gainesville this year, every other team on this list has flaws or at least questions that need to be answered. If the Tigers or Vols stumble onto a serviceable passing game and catch one of the other teams napping or struggling to answer some of their own problems, either Kiffin or Chizik could put his stamp on his program.

Dan Mullen still thinks about Ole Miss a lot

This is really just kind of sad. There's actually a clock in the MSU locker room counting down to the Egg Bowl. Why they're so excited about getting the chance to watch the Rebels name their score again, I'll never know.

And isn't this kind of bush league? And borderline obsessive at that? They've got 11 other games before the Egg Bowl. They've even got a chance to be competitive in 3-4 of them. So why are they so focused on Ole Miss? Do you think Houston Nutt and staff have thought about MSU for 2 seconds since last year's 45-0 rout?

They've even go so far as to call Ole Miss "The Team up North" on the Egg Bowl posters in the locker room. See more pictures here if you need a good chuckle.

Anthony Dixon arrested

Anthony Dixon was arrested Saturday night for three of charges including driving under the influence after he allegedly refused to take sobriety tests. While there's no denying that Dixon getting busted for DUI is stupid, it's something that the majority of you reading this probably could have been busted for at some point at your time in (Insert College Town Here). But he's a senior leader on a team in transition and it's just a couple of weeks until practice starts up. Mullen and crew did not need this.

What I'm curious to see is how Mullen handles the situation. His predecessor wowed the media with "Be Good or Be Gone," but under Croom, the Bulldogs had arrest numbers that would make Urban Meyer blush, and not many of them were "gone". Mullen has made no such decree and is a Meyer protege, so it will interesting to see how this works itself out in the coming months. Will it be "handled internally?" Will he be suspended for Jackson State? What about Auburn?

As one of the few SEC-caliber players the Bulldogs have on the offensive side of the ball, I expect the punishment will be light. There's no way he misses Auburn and even missing the 2nd half of the JSU game would be a surprise to me. It's not like he was counterfeiting dollar bills, right?

Dan Mullen thinks about Ole Miss... a lot

Dan Mullen spoke in Jackson for about 10 minutes last night and mentioned Ole Miss seven times, which would be funny if it weren't so sad. It's almost a Finebaumian approach to things - pandering to the lowest commmon denominator of fans and attempting to rile people up with childish name calling. I guess when you're dealing with as moribund a football program as the one in Starkville, your options are limited.

Two other paragraphs jumped out at me:

More than that, he promises an exciting style of offense, the spread, that he hopes will result in many more points scored than in the half-decade tenure of Sylvester Croom, his predecessor.

In approximately 10 minutes of remarks to fans, Mullen never spoke specifically about his 2009 team, members of which joined him in the autograph line earlier.

First off, scoring more points than the Walrus' teams shouldn't be too difficult. In five seasons, the Fraud never produced an offense ranked inside the top 100 in the nation. Even Orgeron managed to do that once in a shorter tenure. That offense is going to be an utter trainwreck this season though. Just think Auburn 2008 with less talent on the field and on the sideline.

Mullen must realize this, hence failing to mention - even once - the Bulldogs team that will take the field in seven weeks.

But hey, Brang 'em and Rang 'em, right?

Tuesday Things

* Chris Low rates Greg Hardy the 9th best player in the SEC. He sums up the essence of Greg Hardy in his first two sentences: “ Let's be honest here. Hardy has at times been a bit of an enigma.” When Hardy is healthy and properly focused and motivated, there are few offensive linemen who can match up with him one on one. He’s too quick and too good a slasher. With Peria Jerry gone, Hardy will be key to drawing double teams to let Patrick Trahan and others make plays in space.

My guess is that Jevan Snead ranks #3 in the conference behind Eric Berry and Tim Tebow. Or at least that’s how I’d rank them. Off the top of my head, in random order, Brandon Spikes, Rolando McClain, AJ Green, and Julio Jones will also be in the top 10. Who am I missing?

* The one thing Dan Mullen really had going for him so far this spring was he seemed to be the only rookie coach in the conference not making a spectacle of himself. Gene Chizik and his limos were all over the media and blogosphere. Lane Kiffin… well, that one speaks for itself. But Mullen seemed to just be going about his business. Until now.

Mullen used his recent stop at the Vestavia Country Club on his Bulldog Club tours to take jabs at Chizik and Kiffin. That’s most likely harmless as neither will be able to extract a painful revenge this season. Auburn and mitippi tate set modern football back 50 years with their heinous 3-2 game last year and Auburn won’t be blowing anyone out this season. And the bulldogs don’t face Tennessee in 2009, so no vengeance there.

Then Mullen decided to take a page out of the official “moou handbook for pandering to fans” and refer to Ole Miss by another name.

Go ahead, ask the New Hampshire native if he's already been introduced to his new school's rivalry with Ole Miss.

"The team up north?" he said. "We call them the team up north. I don't like to cuss by using the word that you just used."

That’s all fine and well. He needs to save up his profanities for when the season starts. This year’s Egg Bowl score may not be much different than the glorious 45-0 trouncing last year. I have a feeling that Mr. Mullen will be making up for lost profanities by the time the 4th quarter runs down to 0:00 this year.

* The All-SEC Baseball teams were announced and a big Dead Guy congratulations go out to first-teamer Jordan Henry and second-teamers Drew Pomeranz and Scott Bittle. Honestly, the Rebels weren’t as well represented as they should’ve been. Leaving Jake Morgan off is ridiculous. His numbers were fantastic – 7 Saves and a 1.29 ERA – but his emergence let us move Bittle to the starting rotation which turned our conference season around. David Brandt views it this way:

But really, as hokey as it may sound, this team hasn't been about individual honors. Almost every Ole Miss play(er) has good stats, but very few of them (except guys like Henry and Bittle) made you look at the numbers and immediately crown them All-SEC.

But hey, at least Alabama landed 5 guys on the first team alone.

* This is from last week, but somehow I missed it: Tommy Tuberville will talk SEC Football on BusterSports.com in 2009. In addition to radio appearances and podcast, he’ll interact directly with SEC fans through chat rooms, message boards, and call in questions.

After being tarred and feathered and run out of Auburn, it will probably be nice to take a year off and merely talk about the conference he coached in for nearly a decade and a half.

* After one of the worst years in recent memory, SEC basketball continues to improve itself for the 2009-10 season. With an influx of new coaches, including John Calipari, the league is set to return to relevance next season and prominence the year after that.

Calipari’s signing of John Wall to Kentucky will land the ‘Cats in the top 10 preseason. As the “basketball face” of the league, UK’s recent struggles under Billy Gilispie marred not only the school’s reputation, but also the conference’s as a whole. While I’m certainly not a Calipari fan, there’s no denying his impact.

At least you're not Bracky Brett

Is there a worse job in the SEC right now than that of Bracky Brett, MSU athletic department compliance director? Apparently Dan Mullen and Rick Stansbury are engaging in some kind of NCAA shenanigans contest. Mullen landed what many thought would be the death blow, bringing The Walking NCAA Violation on campus to help coach players coach the Bulldog coaching staff.

But now, just weeks of sorting through that mess, Rick Stansbury is not to be outdone, landing big-man Renardo Sidney, whose backstory is so shady that even USC head coach Tim Floyd backed off of him after he had committed. And yes, the same Tim Floyd who brought in OJ Mayo through his World Wide Wes connections.

Brett isn't even sure he'll be able to play.

"We realize by simply signing him doesn't mean the process is over. We know there's a lot of questions to be answered. Any issues related to his amateurism or extra benefits will be part of our discussions with all parties in the very near future. By all parties, I mean the prospect, his family, the NCAA, the Southeastern Conference and everyone here at Mississippi State. We're not going to compromise the integrity of our institution. It's going to be an interesting couple of weeks. Or months."

This coming from the school that admitted Dontae' Jones.

You can Never go Home Again, but I Guess you can Shop There

After finally succumbing to the withdrawal pains inflicted by years of not breaking some sort of NCAA rule, the man that they call "Kang" made a trip back to Starkville over the weekend. And though it appeared on multiple occasions that he interacted with players - which everyone knows is a violation of NCAA bylaw 11.7.2, limiting schools to one head coach, nine assistants and two graduate assistants working with players - both he and Mullen swear it didn't happen.

In his usual post-practice meeting with reporters, Mullen smiled and laughed when asked if Sherrill's presence violated the limitations on coaches.

"No, because he was coaching me," Mullen said. "I don't think there's any limitation of coaches that can coach your coaches."

Asked if he was sure that Sherrill did not interact with players, Mullen was emphatic.

"No, I was coaching the players," Mullen said. "He was sitting there telling me what to tell them."

...

Reached on his cell phone later as he was returning to his Germantown, Tenn., home, Sherrill said he "wasn't coaching them. I was trying to coach the coaches how to coach them."

Good to see he's never strayed from the "Deny 'til you die" philosophy that landed multiple schools on NCAA probation under his watch. It also makes me wonder if Mullen is so unqualified for a HC position that he has to solicit the advice from a person who compiled a mediocre 75-75-2 overall record and a 43-59-1 SEC record. As a bonus, every message board certainly has their share of idiots, but some are just more quotable than others:

After all these years of trying to get Sherrill they still have not given up. Who made up this story about Sherrill? They should be added to the lawsuit! JWS has endured enough false accusations. He has never cheated. You can't prove one instance where he ever cheated. JWS and Croom are among the top five most ethical coaches the SEC has seen in the last 20 years. JWS was the most winningest coach for MSU that I can remember.

I'll leave it up to you to form your own opinions about that.