THE INFOMERCIAL
SEC Commissioner Slive kicked off the event with a speech that even he admitted was basically just a commercial for the new SEC Network, set to launch on August 14. Slive touted the number of live events the ESPN-partnered venture would carry and offered assurances that talks were still very much active with a couple major providers, namely DIRECTV and Comcast. As a DIRECTV subscriber I for one an keenly interested in how those talks are going. My money is still on DIRECTV picking up the network, but then again I remember not too long ago when DIRECTV temporarily dropped the Weather Channel. How do you drop the Weather Channel? What did old men and people in airports watch during that time? The satellite giant plays hardball, but when it starts losing subscribers to DISH that stance could soften quickly. We'll stay tuned to this one.
Slive also very pointedly said autonomy among the Power Five conferences (Big Ten, Big XII, Pac-12, SEC and ACC) would be strongly considered if steps weren't taken to allow the multi-billion dollar conferences to better care for players financially. Smaller schools in the NCAA have long opposed player stipends because they say can't afford it, which is probably true, but certainly not the case among the power conferences that are bringing in hundreds of millions of dollars each year off television revenue alone. Slive senses the change in sentiment regarding the fairness of not compensating players in some way, and doesn't intend to wait for a federal court to order payments before acting. The smaller conferences better get on board the Slive train or the NCAA could become a thing of the past.
COACH SPEAK 101
Auburn coach Malzahn fell just short of winning the BCS Championship last year, but he won the national championship for talking like a football coach. Check out this two-word answer regarding when he might know how he will discipline quarterback Nick Marshall for his recent marijuana citation:
Q. Obviously you're not ready to say what the consequences are going to be, but a suspension for the Arkansas game, is that possible?
COACH MALZAHN: I'm not to that point yet.
Q. When do you think you'd be at that point?
COACH MALZAHN: We'll see.Two words. Riveting.
MAN DOWN
Noteworthy to Ole Miss fans - Auburn defensive end Carl Lawson might be lost for the season after undergoing ACL surgery in early May. Lawson had two sacks against Ole Miss last year and was a disruptive force throughout the game against the Rebels. Ole Miss hosts Auburn on November 1. Malzahn said Lawson was determined to make it back by the end of the year. A redshirt season would seem likely for Lawson as opposed to burning a year of eligibility just to play in a few games.
THE COOL SEAT
In a 10-minute opening speech wherein Florida coach Will Muschamp stopped to breathe only once while simultaneously managing to name all 85 scholarship players, Muschamp disclosed the recipe for staying off the hot seat - a seat he is firmly on after guiding the Gators to a 4-8 record last season.
The way you combat that is having a winning football team and winning football games, which is what we're going to do.We'll see. Offense and injuries have been problems down in Gainseville, but Jeff Driskel is back to lead the offense and the latest offensive coordinator - Kurt Roper - experienced success at Duke. Muschamp's hopes for more time in Gainesville rest almost exclusively on the shoulders of Driskel and Roper.
Win and stay. At least Muschamp knows the formula.
JAMES FRANKLIN PART II?
New Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason is every bit as brash as his predecessor:
I think our opportunity to compete for an SEC East title is now.Alllllrighty then...
Sounds like Mason is yet another Vanderbilt coach who is crazy enough to think the Commodores can be something other than an SEC East cellar dweller meant to serve as the ideal homecoming opponent in mid-October. Don't know about you, but I miss the Vanderbilt coaches who knew their school's place in the SEC's order of things.
Mason also talked about the game with Ole Miss at LP Field (home of the Tennessee Titans) and said he wasn't worried about losing home field advantage to a large Rebel crowd.
I mean, for me, I know in watching the game, studying the rivalry a little bit, it doesn't matter who's doing what, that game's going to be a game. He's an excellent coach with an excellent team. Taking the game to LP is a way for us to open up our arms to the city of Nashville, actually put it in a venue that allows the city of Nashville to come out in droves.
Ole Miss is going to be well‑represented, but so will we. I've had a chance to talk to our fan base on many occasions. That game is going to be a great game. We want to make it a day to the 'Dores. We'll start it in the morning and end it that night. It's going to be a fun venue. I think that was the idea behind it. We know what the game has actually given us over the last three seasons. You take a look at it, the opportunity to move it downtown, making it an all‑day affair, is what should be done.
It gives us a chance to show the city of Nashville how much we appreciate their support for us and what we do.
A SEASON OF OPPORTUNITY
Following the departures of names like Johnny Manziel, A.J. McCarron, Jadeveon Clowney and others, FoxSports.com's Stewart Mandel sees an SEC void of stars, noting that Bo Wallace will be the only quarterback at media days with a full season of experience as a starter.
Mandel calls it a transition year for the SEC.
While the dearth in big names may be disappointing to a national college football writer like Mandel, the very fact which he bemoans is yet another reason the opportunity exists for Ole Miss to make big waves in the SEC this year. Wallace, Laquon Treadwell and Robert Nkemdiche have the potential to fill the star-power void in a year when the SEC West is more up for grabs than in year's past. They have to earn it on the field of course, and obviously it won't be easy. Alabama, LSU and Auburn usually reload instead of rebuild, but nonetheless, if ever there was a season for Ole Miss to make a move upward in the SEC West this could be the one.
NKEMDICHE LOMBARDI
The names Nkemdiche and Lombardi go together quite naturally, rolling off the tongue like name of a Brooklyn law firm or a delicious main course at a favorite Italian eatery. There's a chance Robert Nkemdiche's name could go with Lombardi permanently after making the watch list for the 2014 Rotary Lombardi Award, announced by the award’s committee Monday.
Nkemdiche has previously been named to watch lists for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Outland Trophy.
Eligibility for the Rotary Lombardi Award is limited to down linemen, end-to-end, either on offense or defense, who set up no farther than 10 yards to the left or right of the ball, or linebackers who set up no farther than five yards deep from the line of scrimmage.
Nkemdiche was a Freshman All-American last year when he posted 34 tackles, 8.0 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks. He ranked second among SEC freshmen with 0.73 TFLs per game and also carried the ball five times on offense, gaining 32 yards. The Loganville, Georgia, native has been tabbed a preseason All-America and All-SEC pick by multiple publications this year.
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VISIT REBBLUE.COM AND GET THE SEASON PREVIEW
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NKEMDICHE LOMBARDI
The names Nkemdiche and Lombardi go together quite naturally, rolling off the tongue like name of a Brooklyn law firm or a delicious main course at a favorite Italian eatery. There's a chance Robert Nkemdiche's name could go with Lombardi permanently after making the watch list for the 2014 Rotary Lombardi Award, announced by the award’s committee Monday.
Nkemdiche has previously been named to watch lists for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Outland Trophy.
Eligibility for the Rotary Lombardi Award is limited to down linemen, end-to-end, either on offense or defense, who set up no farther than 10 yards to the left or right of the ball, or linebackers who set up no farther than five yards deep from the line of scrimmage.
Nkemdiche was a Freshman All-American last year when he posted 34 tackles, 8.0 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks. He ranked second among SEC freshmen with 0.73 TFLs per game and also carried the ball five times on offense, gaining 32 yards. The Loganville, Georgia, native has been tabbed a preseason All-America and All-SEC pick by multiple publications this year.
*************************************
VISIT REBBLUE.COM AND GET THE SEASON PREVIEW
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