SEC BOWL GAMES
Mike Slive: Educator
Do not take this the wrong way, but Mike Slive made it pretty clear he wanted Mississippi State in the Gator Bowl instead of a team that maybe had two fewer wins (cough cough Tennessee cough cough). But bowl president Rick Catlett made it clear that this was all on the up-and-up.
I promise you there was no twisting of any arms. It was more of an educational process as the three bowls (Outback, Chick-fil-A and Gator) talked through it with the commissioner.
Yes, yes, an educational process. Because the members of the bowl selection committees went into the room with no idea that State had a better record than Tennessee, you know. (Actually, in the case of the Outback Bowl, this is plausible.)
Don't get me wrong; the Western Division Bulldogs deserved to go more than did Tennessee by almost any measure you can use. But to call Slive's call "educational" is a joke.
That conversation should go well
Rich Rodriguez wants to use the same plan of attack he used as head coach at West Virginia for playing Mississippi State -- and the same cowbells.
"We may try to get those cowbells back," Rodriguez said. " ... We’ll hear a lot of cowbells (at the Gator Bowl), so our guys will hear them in practice here the next few weeks."
Anyone familiar with Rodriguez's departure from Morgantown can see how this might be a problem.
Urban Meyer gives Steve Addazio his job again
Steve Addazio is still safe -- for now.
During an Outback Bowl teleconference on Monday morning, Florida coach Urban Meyer reiterated what he said three weeks ago -- that for now, he anticipates Steve Addazio being the Gators' offensive coordinator next season.
"I am expecting that to happen," Meyer said. "I'll have further updates as we get closer to the (Jan. 1.) bowl game."
The "further updates" part of that sentence is the eye-opener. There are a lot of ways to fire an offensive coordinator -- from actually showing him the door to moving him to another position to redefining his role. So keeping Addazio as offensive coordinator might not mean what you think it means.
Also, there's this.
The Gators could go with the three-quarterback rotation they used the last half of the season, or perhaps move away from that and possibly go with one quarterback, or just two.
Or five. Or none at all. In fact, quarterbacks are way overrated. They'll just throw another running back in there and run some old-school offense.
OTHER NEWS
Not a shock, but significant
Surprising almost no one who has followed the story, Zach Mettenberger has announced that he is going to LSU. Jordan Jefferson and Jarrett Lee should be packing for transfers preparing for some more competition. The story does have some vague description of what led to Mettenberger's dismissal from Georgia, for those who are not exactly comfortable reading such things.
Roll Bama Roll calls it 'a gamechanger'
I tend to be a little skeptical of any such statements about a player who has not started in the SEC, but RBR makes a good case for why this is important.
Gene Stallings headed to Hall of Fame
He was one of the great SEC coaches while at Alabama.
When do they play next?
Urban Meyer explains that Auburn isn't actually the No. 2 team on his ballot; you see, they're No. 1B.