Finally, an SEC win! MSU bucked the conventional ways of winning by alternating quarterbacks between and during possessions, and losing the turnover battle 3-0.

Mississippi State was clearly the more physical team on Saturday night. But knocking Morgan Newton out of the game proved to be the best medicine for Kentucky as it allowed their true freshman quarterback, Maxwell Smith (who is apparently much better), to come in and complete 79% of his passes.

Fletcher Cox continued his dominating streak, and Nickoe Whitley is vying for the title of hardest hitting player in the SEC. Actually, a lot of MSU players gave Kentucky reason to head towards the whirl pool after that game.  Most of Smith’s passes were given to him on underneath routes, so I wouldn’t read much into the yardage given up by the defense.

Both QBs played well, albeit vs. a bad defense.  Vick Ballard got back on track with 90 yards rushing.  Considering the time of possession completely favored UK (37 minutes to 23), the offense played well when they had the ball (only 2 punts all night).

In what was looking like a solid win, it turned into an ugly final score, but it wasn’t indicative of how much better MSU is than UK right now. Chad Bumphis remains a mystery, not catching any balls, but Malcolm Johnson and Murcus Green both had a couple of big grabs. Solid win, still on track for a bowl game.

Setting the example for what the MSU defensive line is going to do to Morgan Newton!

Kentucky is State’s ‘annual rivalry’ from the Eastern Division. UK leads the all-time series 21-17. The series has been very even of late, and featured plenty of close games. Here’s what’s happened in the last 10 matchups:

2010: #23 MSU 24         UK 17 – Win
2009:        MSU 31         UK 24 – Win
2008:        MSU 13         UK 14 – Loss
2007:        MSU 31  #14 UK 14 – Win
2006:        MSU 31         UK 34 – Loss
2005:        MSU 7           UK 13 – Loss
2004:        MSU 22         UK 7 –   Win
2003:        MSU 17         UK 42 – Loss
2002:        MSU 24         UK 45 – Loss
2001:        MSU 17         UK 14 – Win

Total: 5-5    MSU 217     UK 224

The Wildcat’s leading rusher, Josh Clemons (279), is out for the year and tailback Raymond Sanders (115) probably won’t play in this game due to a high ankle sprain.

Both teams have struggled in the red zone. Kentucky is the worst team in the SEC in red zone efficiency, scoring only 72.2% of the time. MSU has only scored 9 touchdowns in 21 opportunities, which is the worst in the SEC. But that’s about it when it comes to being as low as Kentucky statistically. Out of 120 FBS teams, here is how UK ranks:

118th in total offense (259.9 YPG)
117th in first downs (103)
116th in passing offense (117 YPG)
114th in 3rd down conversions (28%)
111th in scoring offense (16.6 PPG)
107th in red zone conversions (72.2%)
106th in rushing defense (205.7 YPG)
104th in turnover margin (-6)

It looks like MSU should run all over them, right? Well, UAB looked about as bad – but swap horrible offense for defense – and State went into the half down 3-0. However, that was with Chris Relf, Russell played up to par. Kentucky looks like they are the worst SEC team in the last 10 years. Against SEC teams, Kentucky is averaging 183 YPG….they are giving up 502. They would struggle in C-USA. State SHOULD win this game to get their first SEC win of the season.

Kentucky is only averaging 61,356 fans per home game…and their stadium seats 67,000, but can hold closer to 70K. Since UK expanded Commonwealth Stadium in 1999, this year is the second lowest in attendance behind 2006 (which did not include the Louisville game – which is always a sellout). Last week’s game with Jacksonville State only drew 54,098, but a lot of them were dressed as empty seats.

3 minutes before last week's kickoff

UK will be wearing black jerseys on Saturday, something the players have been begging for since Rich Brooks was the head coach. Could this spark some excitement among their players and dreary fanbase? It certainly did for Georgia in ’07 when they came out in black uniforms…we’ll see what happens here.

State has had two weeks to prepare for this game. Tyler Russell has had two weeks to prepare as THE quarterback. Time to get things right. MSU 34 UK 9

As we all know, expectations were high going into the season. And they were met in the first game when State whooped Memphis, as expected, 59-14. Then State was a seven point favorite, even though they were on the road against the defending national champions. The game came down to a few inches, but the Dawgs lost…in the process losing offensive lineman James Carmon.

Game 3: LSU. First series: OL Tobias Smith goes down. State plays poorly on offense, but we chalk it up to LSU’s great defense. A lot of people criticized Tyler Russell’s play when he came in for Chris Relf, but as I stated after that game, he was thrown into an almost impossible situation. Looking back, State played LSU better than anyone else has through their first 8 games. Not only were the Dawgs the closest in margin (tied with Oregon at 13 points), but MSU is the only team to hold them to under 35 points (19).

Louisiana Tech was a bad dream that almost became a nightmare. State did not play well, and Chris Relf looked like he had lost his confidence. Still, the Dawgs found a way to win the game. At Georgia was probably the worst game they’ve played all year. The defense played pretty well, but the offense was completely non-existent…and plenty of mistakes were made. The first half against UAB wasn’t much different. Then Tyler Russell stepped in and saved that game from near disaster. Mullen stuck with Russell for the South Carolina game and State played well, probably their most complete game of the year. Even though the offense sputtered at times, considering Russell’s level of experience he performed well.

I was watching ‘Spotlight: Mississippi State’ this past weekend. I had seen it before, it was filmed just before this season. To paraphrase something Mullen said, “We want to go from good to great, we want to take that next level as a program”. We all heard Mullen say that over and over again during the summer. Then he said, “A lot of our players are happy right now because we are good, but that won’t cut it, because we want to be great”. Mullen’s attitude is the right one; if you settle for good, not only will you not attain great, but you will likely lose good. And coming from an undefeated season at Utah, two national titles at Florida, he knows how and what it takes to be great…so 9-4 isn’t where he wants to be. But for Mississippi State players, players who have never even been good (except for a few players who were on an overachieving 7-5 2007 team), 9-4 is a big deal! With all their family and friends congratulating them on the great season they had in 2010, isn’t it only human nature to kick back and enjoy the glow coming off that good season? I’m not saying all the players did this, but I’m sure at least a handful, maybe half did. They heard the coach, but it’s hard to want to go even further when you already feel like you’ve overachieved and accomplished great things (even when others just say it is ‘good’). So maybe that played a little bit of a roll in how the team’s mental and emotional state of mind was coming into the season.

On the field, the biggest thing that has been a detriment to MSU’s success is the injuries on the offensive line. Before the season, Mullen mentioned that we’d be fine as long as there were not injuries up front. He was right. Saulsberry was injured at Auburn (but came back the next game). Carmon was injured at Auburn and missed the LSU game as well. Tobias Smith was injured vs. LSU and is out for the year. So when you combine those injuries with the loss of a first round NFL draft pick (Derek Sherrod, right) and a solid player like J.C. Brignone, it is tough to make up for. Then compound it with Relf’s inability to release the football – at all or accurately – then you have a recipe for a faltering offense.

All of that said, take a minute to examine where State is right now. Putting the first half of the season in the rear view mirror, how do we look? After the past 1 1/2 games you can definitely say the offense has some life with Tyler Russell, and they seem to be moving in the right direction. Sure, they are not the offense we expected in the preseason, but with the difficulties outlined in the previous paragraph we have to move on. The defense is playing very well and starting to come together like last year’s team. MSU may be 3-4, and yes, 0-4 in the SEC…but the season is not over and not all hope is lost.

Here are some quick stats to consume (rankings within the SEC):

Offense
10th in scoring offense (24 PPG)
5th in total offense (376.3 YPG)
5th in rushing (180.1 YPG)
6th in passing (196.1 YPG)
7th in 3rd down conversions (38.7%)
8th in sacks allowed (16)
6th in red zone efficiency (85.7%)
12th in touchdowns per red zone opportunity (42.8%)

Defense
5th in scoring defense (19.3 PPG)
7th in total defense (340.4 YPG)
7th in rushing defense (152 YPG)
7th in pass defense (188.4 YPG)
6th in opponents 3rd down conversions (36%)
T-4th in sacks (14)
5th in red zone defense (76.2%)
1st in allowing touchdowns in red zone defense (47.6%)

Other
12th in time of possession (27:08)
T-th in turnover margin (+5)
12th in kickoff return average yards (16)
T-4th in punt return average yards (9.1)
9th in average punting yards (36.8)
10th in kickoff coverage net average (43.8)
9th in field goals (69.2%)
3rd in average penalty yardage (39.7%)

Those stats show a team that isn’t as bad as the record indicates. Part of that is due to two very close losses. Part of it is due to losing to four Top 25 teams. The defense has certainly been more consistent than the offense, and is only 0.4 PPG from being 3rd in the SEC in scoring defense. Considering State’s next two opponents (Kentucky and UT-Martin), they should be able to make it there.

Where can we go from here? What is the outlook of Mississippi State football? Has this poor start sent us back to square one? I can probably sum all of those up with this answer: Dan Mullen is our coach, and he is the right coach. Even though State is 3-4, we are not bathing in mediocrity like Croom had us doing. You can see improvement, and even though State has lost games..being in them is important, because we will eventually win them. The outlook is good for MSU, and we are moving forward, not backwards.

Ole Miss is moving backwards, they are collapsing, a train wreck. State can use their misfortune to its advantage by capitalizing on the recruiting trails. Quay Evans, a 5-star defensive tackle from Morton, MS is still interested in State. And there are about 6 other 4-5 star players that are interested in State – and Ole Miss among others. Winning the Egg Bowl this year is priority #1.

The future looks bright, especially on defense. 2012′s D should be scary good. This year’s team has a chance to be the best D since the 1999 team statistically speaking. 8 starters will be back next year. Only Sean Furgeson at DE (Trevor Stigers is just as good right now), LB Brandon Wilson, and S Charles Mitchell will depart. Freshman Dee Arrington was a highly touted recruit at safety who should play a significant role next year. There will be no huge question marks going into next season like there was this year at linebacker because each unit is only losing one player.

With Tyler Russell taking over at QB, he will have plenty of experience heading into next year. All the WRs are back, and Joe Morrow – a 6′-4″ 205 lb legitimate threat at wide out – will come in as a redshirt freshman. The O line will once again be the weak spot, as Addison Lawrence, Quentin Saulsberry, and James Carmon will graduate. Plus, Tobias Smith cannot be counted on as he is so injury proned. But with all the early experience this year for some of the youth on the line, hopefully they will come together next year…and one would hope Damien Robinson will eventually come around. Vick Ballard graduates, but MSU reloads with LaDarius Perkins and Nick Griffin.

Total speculation, but with Larry Porter on the hot seat at Memphis, could there be a possibility of him coaching at State next year if he gets fired? He was named National Recruiter of the year in 2007 and 2009 while at LSU. We’ll see what happens, but State is in good hands with Mullen & Co. Chris Wilson has done well filling the shoes of Manny Diaz, and hopefully he will improve even more. And back to my point about the players who were happy being good; if MSU goes 6-6, with increased expectations moving forward…they will want to ratchet it up a notch, and be great. Keep the faith, you can’t get to the mountain top without climbing first. Ole Miss is falling down, hitting its head on jagged rocks on their way down. State is steadily climbing, and we will get there.

The last 15 years for Mississippi State football have included the best of times, and the worst of times. Looking at the statistics from the past 15 football seasons (since 1997), here are some highlights:

Top 5 Individual Passing Seasons:
1. Kevin Fant, 2,151 (2003)
2. Kevin Fant, 1,918 (2002)
3. Wayne Madkin, 1,908 (2000)
4. Wayne Madkin, 1,884 (1999)
5. Chris Relf, 1,789 (2010)

*Chris Relf is on pace for 1,456 in 2011, Tyler Russell is on pace for 949.

Top 5 Individual Rushing Seasons:
1. Anthony Dixon, 1,391 (2009)
2. James Johnson, 1,383 (1998)
3. Jerious Norwood, 1,126 (2005)
4. James Johnson, 1,069 (1997)
5. Anthony Dixon, 1,066 (2007)

*Vick Ballard is on pace for 1,110 in 2011, LaDarius Perkins is on pace for 445.

Top 5 Individual Receiving Seasons:
1. Justin Jenkins, 880 (2003)
2. Tony Burks, 850 (2006)
3. Kelvin Love, 834 (1999)
4. Kevin Printiss, 681 (1998)
5. Justin Jenkins, 661 (2001)

*Arceto Clark is on pace for 466 in 2011, Chad Bumphis is on pace for 427.

Top 5 Overall Passing Seasons:
1. 2,611 in 2002 (Kevin Fant – 1,918, Kyle York – 693)
2. 2,424 in 1999 (Wayne Madkin – 1,884, Matt Wyatt – 530)
2. 2,424 in 2010 (Chris Relf – 1,789, Tyler Russell – 635)
4. 2,364 in 2001 (Kevin Fant – 1,352, Wayne Madkin – 1,012)
5. 2,295 in 2006 (Michael Henig – 1,201, Omarr Conner – 943, Tray Rutland – 151)

*MSU is on pace for 2,549 in 2011.

Top 5 Overall Rushing Seasons:
1. 2,792 in 2010 (Vick Ballard – 968, Chris Relf – 713, LaDarius Perkins – 566, Robert Elliot – 221, etc.)
2. 2,731 in 2009 (Anthony Dixon – 1,391, Chris Relf – 500, Christian Ducre – 263, Robert Elliot – 221, etc.)
3. 2,131 in 2000 (Dicenzo Miller – 1,005, Dontae Walker – 795, etc.)
4. 2,119 in 1998 (James Johnson – 1,383, Dicenzo Miller – 290, etc.)
5. 1,783 in 2007 (Anthony Dixon – 1066, Christian Ducre – 487, etc.)

*MSU is on pace for 2,341 in 2011.

*In a statistical anomaly for MSU, the 10-2 season of 1999 (MSU’s best in this span) featured the least amount of rushing yardage (1,224). The second best season (9-4 in 2010) featured the most rushing yardage (2,792).

Top 5 Best Defensive Seasons in yards per game:

1. 236 in 1999
2. 321 in 2006
3. 324 in 1998
3. 324 in 2002
5. 327 in 2008

*MSU has averaged 343 YPG over this span (333 YPG if you throw out the 473 in 2003).
*MSU is allowing 340 YPG in 2011.

Top 5 Best Defensive Seasons in points per game:
1. 13.0 in 1999
2. 19.6 in 1997
3. 19.7 in 1998
4. 19.8 in 2010
5. 23.2 in 2007

*MSU has averaged 24.4 PPG over this span (23.2 PPG if you throw out the 39.3 in 2003).
*MSU is allowing 19.3 PPG in 2011.

Top Passing Careers:
1. Wayne Madkin, 6,336 (’98-’01) – #1 in MSU history
2. Kevin Fant, 5,631 (’00-’03) – #2 in MSU history

Current Passing Careers:
1. Chris Relf (Sr.), 2,945 – needs to throw for 565 YPG to break MSU record
2. Tyler Russell (So.), 1,149 – needs to throw for 162 YPG to break MSU record (however, he is slightly ahead of where Fant was at this point in his career)

Top Rushing Careers:
1. Anthony Dixon, 3,994 (’06-’09) – #1 in MSU history
2. Jerious Norwood, 3,212 (’02-’05) – #2 in MSU history

Current Rushing Careers:
1. Vick Ballard (Sr.), 1,566 – needs 405 YPG to break MSU record
2. LaDarius Perkins (So.), 806 – needs 100 YPG to break MSU record (however, he is slightly ahead of where Norwood was at this point in his career)

Top Receiving Careers:
1. Justin Jenkins, 1,974 (’00-’03)
2. Terrell Grindle 1,724 (’99-’02)
* MSU’s all-time leading receivers are Mardye McDole, 2,214 (’77-’80) & David Smith, 2,168 (’68-’70).

Current Receiving Careers:
1. Chad Bumphis (Jr.), 1,215 – needs 53 YPG to break MSU record (he is well ahead of Jenkins and Grindle’s pace to this point in his career)
2. Arceto Clark (Jr.), 624 – needs 84 YPG to break MSU record

Perhaps the most likely record to be broken is Walt Harris’ (’92-’95) 16 interceptions during his career at MSU. Johnthan Banks (Jr.) now has 12 INTs (5 this year). He just needs to average .21 INTs per game, or roughly one pick every four games and he will break that record.

I don’t have an official count, but I believe the last time MSU played on the CBS game of the week was when we hosted #15 Auburn in 2000 (we were ranked #20), a game State won 17-10. That was a week after we beat #3 Florida at home, on CBS, 47-35. But since then…nothing. No sniffs from CBS. State hasn’t exactly done much to deserve being on the network, having 8 losing seasons out of 10 since 2000, but it would be nice to finally play a game on there.

Ole Miss played Tennessee on CBS last year. In fact, Ole Miss has played several games on CBS in the last few years (vs. LSU, Alabama, etc.), but MSU hasn’t made their broadcast. It may not seem like a big deal, but it can be with regards to recruiting. That is national television, on a station everyone with a TV set has. And no other SEC game can be up against CBS’ broadcast (unless another SEC team is playing a non-conference road game – which is rare). So all the eyes in SEC country on are that game, and that’s the #1 game of the week, it’s where you want to be.

So far this year the breakdown of teams playing on CBS is like this (# in parenthesis is how many times they’ve played on CBS this season):

Florida (3)
LSU (3)
Alabama (2)
Tennessee (2)
*Auburn (2)
Arkansas (1)
*South Carolina (1)

*The Auburn at South Carolina game wasn’t the marquee (#1) game of the week, but it was on CBS (#2 game)…and was the only SEC game that could be shown at the time since it was on CBS.

This week they will broadcast the world’s largest outdoor cocktail party and give Florida their 4th appearance, and Georgia their first. And then of course the next week they will have the ‘Game of the Century’ between LSU and Alabama.

But, the next week, could there be a chance for State to play on CBS? First, if there’s going to be any chance at all the Dawgs have to beat Kentucky and UT-Martin to go to 5-4. Then Alabama comes to town. Obviously, CBS wants to broadcast the best teams…and Alabama is one of them. LSU is the other, but they are hosting Western Kentucky so that won’t be chosen. Ole Miss vs. LA Tech – no. Vanderbilt vs. Kentucky – no. The other games are Tennessee at Arkansas (they’d choose our game over that most likely), Florida at South Carolina (I would think they’d choose our game over that unless Florida beats Georgia to make this game more meaningful), and Auburn at Georgia (they will likely pick this game over ours).

When will Davis-Wade be viewed from their blimp?

There’s a chance that game could be picked up by CBS, but it’s probably not a good chance. The South Carolina game would have been perfect if State could have beaten Auburn and Georgia. LSU at Tennessee that week was not an appealing game, but two top 15 teams would have been. Perhaps State’s best shot this year would have been at Arkansas. There are not many good games that weekend…mostly SEC teams playing FCS opponents. If MSU was 8-2 or 7-3 going into that game vs. a Top 10 Arkansas it probably would’ve made it. As it stands now CBS probably will not have a game that weekend and hold out for an extra game on Thanksgiving weekend.

Hopefully we’ll get chosen when we play Alabama (and play well too). If we don’t, we’ll just have to wait another year. Maybe one day they’ll pick MSU.

And if it wasn’t enough that CBS doesn’t include us, they go and trade spots with ESPN for the Alabama/LSU game so it can be at 8:00…and MSU will play UT-Martin at 7:30…so now we have to change the channel from our beloved Dawgs if we want to watch the ‘game of the century’.

MSU received commitments from a pair of three-star recruits yesterday.

Adarrius Perkins, a safety from Brooklyn, MS, is 6′-2″, 210 and runs a 4.6 – 40. He is rated as the 12th best player in Mississippi, and he chose State over Ole Miss and Southern Miss.

Jordan Washington is a defensive tackle from Suwanee, GA. He is 6′-2″ and weighs 275. He turned down offers from Kentucky, Ole Miss, and Ohio State.

This was MSU’s first commitments since Lelland Ducksworth on September 7th, and only the second and third since the season began.

There are now 20 commits in the 2012 class (including two Adarrius’). According to Scout.com, this class currently ranks 30th in the country (9th in the SEC).  Rivals.com sees it differently, however, and ranks MSU’s class 12th in the SEC.

A lot of people said last week was mid-season, well I say this week is mid-season. 13 weeks of football plus Championship Saturday makes 14 weeks…we just finished Week 7 so it is mid-season now.

Best Defenses

1a. LSU, (A+) – They are incredible. The defensive line is stacked. They are stacked at linebacker. The secondary is second to none. Tyrann Mathieu and Morris Claiborne make up the best cornerback duo in the country. They have speed everywhere, and I think they have a little more of it than Bama.

1b. Alabama, (A+) – They are incredible as well. Their linebackers and safeties are the best in the country, Upshaw and Barron probably being the best at their position in the country. D Line is good, corners are excellent. I think their coaching is a little better than LSU.

3. Georgia, (A-) – They have a lot of playmakers on defense, and they are evenly scattered throughout, with an underrated D Line. They’ve come a long way from ’09 and even last year.

4. Florida, (B+) – The Gators just have a solid defense. They have been overlooked a little bit due to the offense’s great start, and then sharp decline…but the D has been pretty consistent.

5. South Carolina, (B) – The Gamecocks have the best defensive line in the SEC. The back seven aren’t on the same level although they do have some good players in Shaq Wilson and Stephon Gilmore. They’ve played well enough for USC to contend.

6. Mississippi State (B) – The Dawgs have steadily improved week by week including their best performance last week vs. South Carolina. After a slow start Fletcher Cox is asserting himself as the best player on the team. Cameron Lawrence has been a welcomed surprise at linebacker and Johnthan Banks has stepped up as the best cornerback with 5 INTs.

7. Vanderbilt (B-) – They have played well all year, keeping Vandy in all their games but one, and in that one they held Bama close until the 2nd half. They lead the SEC with 15 interceptions, Casey Heyward with 5 of them.

8. Arkansas (C) – The Hog’s D was touted as Bobby Petrino’s best defense since he’s been at Arkansas. They haven’t really lived up to that billing. They’ve been good enough to win some games but they are going to have to be better to make a run down the stretch.

9. Tennessee (C-) – The Vol’s have some talent here but they are young like the rest of the team and have struggled at times. They play hard, but don’t have much depth right now.

10. Auburn (D+) – The plus is for some improved play of late, but they still aren’t very good.

11. Kentucky (D) – This was supposed to be UK’s strength this season. Danny Travathan is one heck of a player to have to play on such a poor unit.

12. Ole Miss (D-) – The Rebs are allowing almost 450 yards per game and over 6 yards per play.

Best Offenses

1. Arkansas (A) – Tyler Wilson is as good as advertised. If Knile Davis would not have gotten hurt, they would probably get an A+. As solid as they are, Bama’s D got to them. We’ll see how much they improve as we move towards their meeting with LSU at the end of the year.

2. Alabama (A-) – If Bama wins the ‘Game of the Century’, Trent Richardson will likely win the Heisman Trophy. They have the best offensive line in the SEC, and A.J. McCarron has done exactly what they need out of him…and maybe a little more. They are not explosive, but they are rock solid.

3. Georgia (B+) – Aaron Murray will most likely be a Top 10 NFL draft choice in a couple of years, he is a really good quarterback. He still has trouble throwing interceptions, but with the receivers he has, decent O line, and the emergence of Isiah Crowell, they are good…how good would they be if Ealey and King weren’t knuckleheads?

4. South Carolina (B+) – This of course is a grade based on how good they are to this point of the season, we’ll see how losing Marcus Lattimore effects the rest of the season. Trading Garcia for Shaw hasn’t hurt them so far, and they have plenty of explosiveness, however, much of that may be negated if they cannot find a running game in the 2nd half.

5. LSU (B) – The Tigers might be really good, but who would know when you’re watching a Les Miles coached team. They line up and beat you up. They’ve shown some flair with some big plays so far this season, and they may be saving a few wrinkles for the ‘Game of the Century’…which they match Bama pretty well here except a slightly lesser O line and they don’t have a tailback like Richardson.

6. Auburn (C) – Michael Dyer is a stud. McCalleb is fast. Emory Blake is good. But Gus Malzahn is having major problems with his quarterbacks. Frazier isn’t ready, but Trotter and Mosley can’t do the job.

7. Mississippi State (C-) – Things have been really rocky for what was expected to be a really good unit. The O line has been injury-proned and Chris Relf did not live up to expectations. Tyler Russell has played decent over the last game and a half. Vick Ballard is a good running back, but the wide receivers need to step up.

7. Florida (C-) – With John Brantley, UF is much better than this. But since he hasn’t played the last two and a half games, that has to be taken into consideration. Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps look like world-beaters against lesser teams, but are MIA against a good defense.

7. Tennessee (C-) – As it was with Florida, with Bray at UT they are a lot better than this. Add Justin Hunter too and Tennessee would be close to an ‘A’. If Touren Poole would live up to expectations they’d get that ‘A’. But things haven’t really worked out so far and the Vols are struggling.

10. Vanderbilt (D) – Larry Smith has been bad ever since he got to Vandy. Rodgers isn’t that much better, but they seem to find a way to get a big play at times. They are not very good right now, but when a Vandy offense is #10 on this list, that’s a good thing for the ‘Dores.

11. Ole Miss (D-) – They should not be this bad. With one of the most highly-touted offensive lines in the preseason, three serviceable QBs, three talented running backs, and some really good wide receivers you have to wonder how this can happen. But it has, and they can’t do hardly anything on this side of the ball.

12. Kentucky (F) – This is just awful. Isn’t Joker Philips supposed to be an offensive coach? Morgan Newton has regressed, and they have no one to come close to replacing Cobb, Locke, etc.

Best Coaching Jobs

1. Gene Chizik, AUB – He may have won the national championship last year, but he lost an unprecedented amount of players off that team. Still, he’s managed to win close games and forge their way into the Top 20 at 5-2.

2. James Franklin, VU – Vandy is a hard place to coach, but so far he has taken care of business against an FCS school, beaten the defending Big East Champs, clobbered Ole Miss, played tough at South Carolina, tough considering what he was up against at Alabama, and took Georgia to the last play of the game. And Vandy will probably end up in a bowl this year.

3. Les Miles, LSU – In year’s past it seemed like LSU was winning in spite of Miles. But this year it seems like he has elevated their play. LSU lost a bunch of talent off last year’s team, but they have replaced it and played better than most expected. With all the preseason distractions, he held them together and they ripped through the toughest September anyone faced this year.

4. Mark Richt, UGA – Georgia could have easily folded after being 0-2 and everyone calling for Richt’s head. But they have won 5 in a row behind a stout defense and a solid offense. Richt is off the hot seat for now and the Dawgs have a great shot at winning the East.

5. Nick Saban, UA – Saban is the best coach in the SEC, be it recruiting, X’s & O’s, or motivation. He broke everyone’s will they have played this year and will most likely to do the same until November 5th…and they may do it there too. He has Bama running like a well-oiled machine.

6. Steve Spurrier, USC – Much slower than an actual gamecock, Spurrier has brought South Carolina towards the top of the SEC. He’s still a great coach, and despite some poor play from his players, he has still managed to get his team to 6-1 and in the driver’s seat in the East.

7. Bobby Petrino, ARK – No one likes Petrino, but everyone agrees he can coach. After getting wiped clean at Alabama and losing 35-17 at halftime to Texas A&M, he got his team up off the mat and they went on to win that game and beat Auburn handily. They are still alive in the West, even though they need some help, and they are a quality, Top 10 team.

8. Dan Mullen, MSU – Things haven’t worked out the way everyone in Starkville had hoped so far this year, but it hasn’t been because State hasn’t played hard. MSU has been in every game, and has only lost to teams who are currently in the Top 25. Mullen hasn’t been able to get an SEC win yet, but he has developed a team that is very tough to beat.

8. Derek Dooley, UT – The mess he inherited at Tennessee was a tough job, and he’s got good players but no depth. Now injuries have forced the Vols into a tough place and getting to a bowl game will turn into a really good season at this point.

10. Will Muschamp, UF – Muschamp hasn’t done a bad job, but he hasn’t done anything to improve off of last year, and the Gators may be in jeopordy of having a worse record. He doesn’t have the type of players he would like to have, but Florida still has boatloads of talent that he should be able to do something with.

11. Houston Nutt, UM – This have gone from bad to worse this year at Ole Miss. He coached the Fresno State game like it was the Superbowl. Unless a miracle happens, he is going to be fired, and they may not wait until the end of the season.

12. Joker Philips, UK – Kentucky looks like a team that wouldn’t make a bowl in the MAC. They are playing horribly, maybe the worst team in the SEC in at least 10 years. He is only in his second year, so he will probably get to keep his job…but the leash will be short heading into 2012.

Bowl Projections

BCS National Championship Game: Alabama vs. LSU winner

Sugar Bowl: Alabama vs. LSU loser

Capitol One Bowl: Georgia

Cotton Bowl: Arkansas

Outback Bowl: South Carolina

Chick-Fil-A Bowl: Auburn

Gator Bowl: Florida

Music City Bowl: Tennessee

Liberty Bowl: Mississippi State

BBVA Compass Bowl: Vanderbilt

These new uniforms will be worn by Mississippi State for this year’s Egg Bowl. The gold is supposed to signify the importance of the game, ‘The Battle for the Golden Egg’.

Vick Ballard has 598 yards rushing so far this year (85.4 ypg), which is 5th most in the SEC. He is averaging 5.7 yards per carry. He is on pace to gain 1,023 yards through 12 games. LaDarius Perkins has 240 yards, Chris Relf has 230.

Chris Relf is averaging 143 yards per game through the air…that is good for 9th best in the SEC. He has thrown for 4 touchdowns and 5 INTs with a 58.9% completion percentage. Tyler Russell has thrown for 5 TDs and 3 INTs, 52.5% completion percentage and 128.5 ypg.

MSU does not have a receiver in the Top 10 of the SEC in receptions or yards per game. The leading receiver is Arceto Clark with 18 catches for 251 yards. Chad Bumphis, who has led State in receiving the last two years is second with 206 yards and leads with 2 touchdowns.

Ballard is 10th in the SEC in all-purpose yards with 103.9 per game.

Cameron Lawrence is 3rd in the SEC in total tackles with 61 (8.7 per game).  Brandon Wilson is 5th with 58 (8.3 per game), and Charles Mitchell is tied for 9th with 50 (7.1 per game).

Josh Boyd leads the team with 2.5 sacks, which ties him for 12th best in the SEC.  Fletcher Cox leads with 5.5 tackles for loss, 17th best in the SEC.

Johnthan Banks leads the SEC in passes defended with 13 and is tied for the lead in the SEC with 5 interceptions.  Nickoe Whitley has 4 INTs which ties him for 4th place.

Derek DePasquale is 9 for 13 on field goals so far this year. He is tied for 3rd in the SEC in number of FGs made, has the 5th best percentage (69.2), and is one of only four kickers to be 100% on all his PAT attempts (16 for 16).  Brandon Swedenburg is 9th in the SEC in punting, averaging 40.5 yards.