I have no way to imagine the emotions these players have. Never in my life have I had to decide whether to sit or play(work) based the possibility of making millions of dollars later. I have, though, had to choose between sitting(hiding) or performing my duty based on the possibility of being injured or killed - especially when re-deployment home was close. I, personally, chose to do my duty to my Country, fellow soldiers, and myself. Is it fair to compare military ideals of Honor, Duty and Commitment to 21 y/o kids playing a game? I think so. Just as I (and a LOT of 20-something kids) raised my right hand and swore an oath to perform my duty, so too did these players sign an LOI and other paperwork vowing quid pro quo - you pay my schooling and I will play this game and represent the school.

I'm not sure who the coach talking about Missouri was, but it must have been Saban because who else is looking at Florida, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, and Arkansas as sure-fire wins? I think Mizzou should count itself lucky to get through that with a 2-2 record. Even if you think they are better than last year, keep in mind that none of the teams that Miz beat last season ended up with a winning record.

I almost literally spit my coffee all over the screen. I find it so funny when these "journalists" make these bold statements. To start with: yes, barring some major catastrophe, Alabama is winning today - comfortably. Saban can mail in the score. The fact that one of his former assistants is now the coach of UT doesn't change that fact. Secondly, Hurts led the Tide to 2 wins over UT...what QB in the SEC hasn't? (I say that in jest, but, sadly, it is almost the truth.) Third: UT finally got rid of Butch. So, if the price of moving on and getting a real coach is a cigar, then I say "puff your heart (lungs) out, Lyle. Don't forget your life trophy and bricks on the way out." I believe the headline will be: "UT fights hard, Alabama pulls away in the fourth to stay undefeated"

yes, I saw it, but that was just a half and the NCCG...many times (like you have) I have seen players have a remarkable play/game/season only to discover it was a "one-hit wonder".

Thanks for the replies. As a lifelong Bamahater, I really didn't want to hear that, but (like looking at a car wreck) I had to know. I have seen some footage of his exploits, but those were highlight reels and I have not seen Bama play so far this year, so I didn't know if the hype were real. The smarta$$ in me wants to be sarcastic and say "wait until next week - we'll (UT) change those stats!", but the reality is that he may not have to come off the bench after the first quarter against us. Either way: GBO!

Not to throw shade, but I haven't seen him in action much so my questions are: is he that good or is the support around him that good? Has he been rushed much (any) this season? Has any team so far put him under pressure for more than an occasional play? Has he had to "thread the needle" or is it a matter of his waiting for his receivers to get free? And my final question: would he have these numbers if he were on any other team? Again, I'm not throwing shade, but I remember last year reading articles like this about Hurts and we all saw how that turned out: the games where pressure was applied the Heisman award nominee didn't handle so well.

His bio says he covers the SEC for SDS, but every article Hooker writes is a UT bash-fest. I could understand his continual writing about UT if Tennessee were his "beat", but since his beat is the SEC perhaps he can join the other staff members in their love for all things Saban. The funny thing here is that Hooker will be the first person on the UT bandwagon once they turn things around. I wish I knew how to copy or maintain access to these smear articles once he becomes UT's Number 1 Fan!

Two words: boat race. MSU is going to run UF out of the stadium. As embarassing as the loss was for UT last week, at least the Vols can point at the fact that they turned the ball over 6 times...I don't think Florida will have that cushion. I beleive that they will be straight-up beaten in every facet of the game. Regardless of what stats you want to trot out, the fact remains that UF has only faced 1 good team this year and the stats from that game aren't as rosy. 3 weeks ago everyone (even this site) was throwing dirt on the Gator's season and then miraculously now they are "good" after putting almost 50 on UT. Disregard the fact that over half those points were scored after starting with a short field, now Florida's offense is "showing signs of life...". Yes, Saturday night will be fun!

I have to agree with GoVolsGo: Florida sucks. over half of the points UF scored last night were handed to you on a silver platter. you are not going to get that from any other team you play this year. As a matter of fact, you may want to settle in for another year like you've had the last couple of seasons. Welcome to the cellar of the SEC East.

Not sold on UF being that high. Not for a "power poll". Color it any way you want, but I'm not sure that if UT hadn't spotted them the ball within 40 yards of their own end zone 3 or four times last night that UF would've won. I know - woulda, coulda, shoulda - but 27 of UF's 47 points came directly from the UT Keystone Kops... The other side of the coin is that I think I would rank UT as a solid 14(Tie) with Arkansas...

Some of the irony coming out of this situation is that the arguments made during the "Schia-NO" campaign by VolNation was that Schiano was "thoroughly" vetted before going to OSU. But if the HC is involved in covering up domestic violence on his staff, what does he care about someone covering up a pedophile? I have a feeling that a lot of dirt is going to shake out of this situation.

Well, if he goes, I guess Schiano can take over... hold on a minute...

As Bratton pointed out in the article, Murray and Pruitt were not at UGA at the same time.

Coach Bryant stated that he learned more from the General than any other coach.

Truth, but relevancy means nothing. What happened last season or the one before plays no games this season. The current players and coaches are what impacts the season. You only have to look as far as your own team to see this. If relevancy had anything to do with the teams, USC would still be the team picked for the homecoming game for most of the SEC. Is UT going to win the SEC or a NC? No. But it won't be because of last year or even the last 10 years. It will be because the cupboard wasn't bare for Pruitt, but the player there haven't received the proper coaching/training required to have an impact on the league.

Excellent points, here, all around. The only thing I would add, or point out, to this conversation is the fact that my belief is that none of the coaches mentioned (to include Smart) will take over Bama. What you are missing is the fact that no sucessful coach is giving up anything to follow in the steps of "the man". That is the quickest way to get your name erased from the history books.

Good luck with that.

Bwahahaha! That's funny! what you (and every other SEC team) did against UT means little to nothing. We made EVERY SECe team look like all-stars! Thanks for playing tho...

Well, at least we now have a timeline. We now know that CKS has about 2-3 years left at UGa.If the Dawgs stumble and fail to produce a NC by 2020, Kirby will be another millionaire sitting on his couch or in a booth on Saturday afternoons.

He was being nice. What is going through everyone's (except for Mizz fans) thoughts is that Mizz only has a QB. No one else. Lock is not enough to carry this team anywhere. If he had a "for sure" - or even a pretty sure - thing at WR that would ease the thoughts of everyone else. So, yeah, a WR does have the season changing ability for them.

I have no problem with the underlying safety rationale for this new rule, but I do not like the unfair advantage given to the return team. At the very least, they should make it that the return team gets the ball at the 15(or 20) if the fair catch is made out of the endzone (in the field of play). If they take a knee inside the end zone, then it stays the same - at the 25. But if a kicker makes the return man come out of the end zone to field the kick and that return man signals for a fair catch then the ball should be placed at the 15/20 or where the fair catch was called(if further up the field). Also - in the spirit of the rule, this fair catch should be called as early as possible and whistles blown immediately. Otherwise, play continues as it has historically. If the purpose for the rule is to limit collisions during runbacks, then the return man should not have the opportunity to survey the field as all this does is continue the action of players crashing into each other - the fair catch should be called ASAP or not at all.

Maybe they should boycott using thier jobs at ESPN. Sit out during all conversations and coverage of NCAA basketball.

He'll be transferring next year. A guy with this much potential won't ride the pine too long. Especially behind Fromm and Eason -2 qbs he is already better than.

Well spoken. To me, GS is like a nuclear power plant - everyone wants "clean" energy, but no one wants a nuke plant in their neighborhood... the media condemned Vol Nation for opposing this guy, but who else is beating down his door with offers?

Let them go. Ain't really fans anyway. Most will come back when UT starts winning. I think it's a great hire.

Ouch...

You just made coffee shoot out of my nose! That (Gruden) is exactly what I figured was coming... LOL!

Seriously? SC getting a lot of love on here. If they had played any other team, not only would they have lost, SDS would've roasted them. UT's ineptness made them look good. Their grade should've been a C at best.

What a ridiculous post. You're willing to accept that 12-0 is a given because AU is the only bump left and Georgia has owned them, but using that logic, shouldn't you be arguing that UGA will lose to UF? They have owned Georgia for a while now...

Not where I thought this article was going. I thought the point to be made was that playing UMass this weekend was a lose-lose for CBJ. If UT wins big, well they are supposed to. If UT squeaks by then all the vitriol about the coaching situation comes out full-bore. God help us if UT loses or needs OT to put them away... Jones may find several moving vans outside his house by the time he gets home.