Week 4 in the SEC (ESPN.com)

Week 4 in the SEC: Here's a quick primer as we enter Week 4 (All times ET):

SATURDAY

Georgia (1-2) at Ole Miss (1-2), 12:30 p.m., SEC Network: Georgia finally got its first win of the season and the Bulldogs looked good doing it. Granted, it was against Coastal Carolina, but Georgia got the kind of win it needed to jump-start a team that started 0-2. As for Ole Miss, the offense has struggled to move the ball, and after five turnovers, the Rebels left Nashville, Tenn., with a 30-7 loss to Vanderbilt. This feels like a must-win for both teams.

No. 14 Arkansas (3-0) at No. 3 Alabama (3-0), 3:30 p.m., CBS: This is arguably the most anticipated SEC matchup of the year so far. Arkansas brings its high-powered offense to Tuscaloosa to face one of the nation's best defenses. If Arkansas wants to really put itself into the same conversation as Alabama and LSU, it needs to win this game.

No. 15 Florida (3-0) at Kentucky (2-1), 7 p.m., ESPN: Florida is coming off a big win against rival Tennessee, and its defense looks like one of the most aggressive around. Outside of Chris Rainey, the offense is still pedestrian, but the Gators always play their best on offense against Kentucky, averaging 486.9 yards a game in the past seven matchups.

Vanderbilt (3-0) at No. 12 South Carolina (3-0), 7 p.m., ESPN 2: A Vanderbilt win would shakeup the entire SEC East. The Commodores are on fire after a blowout win against Ole Miss, while South Carolina struggled to defeat Navy in a game that saw the Gamecocks allow 274 rushing yards. South Carolina can't get away with being sloppy against Vandy on Saturday.

Florida Atlantic (0-2) at Auburn (2-1), 7 p.m., Fox Sports Network: Auburn's defense needs some major work and this is the first step to that. FAU is a very overmatched team, but if the Tigers struggle against the Owls, it could be a long season on the Plains. Those young players need to speed up the growth process.

Louisiana Tech (3-0) at Mississippi State (1-2), 7 p.m., ESPNU: Mississippi State entered the season with a load of hype surrounding it, but has lost two straight. The receiving game has struggled and running the ball against Mississippi State has looked almost easy this season. This is another confidence-boosting game for an SEC team.

No. 2 LSU (3-0) at No. 16 West Virginia (3-0), 8 p.m., ABC: LSU's defense has looked almost unbeatable this year, but the Tigers have yet another tough test early in the season. The Mountaineers are averaging 434.7 yards and 42 points per game, but they haven't faced anything like LSU's defense. It should be a fun one in Morgantown.

SEC players of the week: Week 1

SEC players of the week: Week 1: Here are the SEC players of the week as the league announced Monday:





SEC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK



RB Vick Ballard (Mississippi State) -- Ballard rushed for a career-high 166 yards and three touchdowns on 10 carries in Mississippi State’s 59-14 win at Memphis, making it the fifth time in 13 career games that he has scored three touchdowns.



SEC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK



CB Tyrann Mathieu (LSU) -- Mathieu had a team-high 10 total tackles, forced a fumble, which he returned for a 3-yard touchdown, broke up two passes, and had a tackle for loss in LSU’s 40-27 win against Oregon. He also returned three punts for a total of 26 yards, including a long of 15 yards.



SEC SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK



WR Joe Adams (Arkansas) -- Adams tied an SEC record with two punt returns for touchdowns in Arkansas’ 51-7 win over Missouri State. The last SEC player to accomplish the feat was Kentucky’s Derek Abney against Mississippi State in 2002. Adams scored from 61 yards and 69 yards. Adams also had a school-record 174 yards on six punt returns and also caught an 11-yard pass.



SEC OFFENSIVE LINEMAN OF THE WEEK



OT Rokevious Watkins (South Carolina) -- Watkins made his first-career start at right tackle for the Gamecocks after playing guard in 2010 and helped South Carolina to a 56-37 win against East Carolina. South Carolina's offense generated 351 yards of total offense against ECU. The Gamecocks had just one lost yardage play on 65 plays. Watkins recorded eight knockdowns, four pancakes, allowed no sacks and no quarterback pressures.



SEC Co-DEFENSIVE LINEMEN OF THE WEEK



DT Jaye Howard (Florida) -- Howard had four tackles, 1.5 for losses, and a 12-yard sack in Florida's 41-3 win over Florida Atlantic. The Gators gave up just 30 rushing yards to FAU on 30 attempts.



DT Luke McDermott (Kentucky) -- McDermott had four tackles, including a 5-yard sack in Kentucky’s 14-3 win against Western Kentucky. The Hilltoppers had just 234 total yards in the game.



SEC Co-FRESHMEN OF THE WEEK



LB Trey DePriest (Alabama) -- DePriest led Alabama with 10 total tackles, had 0.5 for loss and a quarterback hurry in the Crimson Tide's 48-7 win over Kent State. The Tide defense held Kent State to 90 total yards, including -9 on the ground.



RB/RS Tre Mason (Auburn) -- Mason had 176 kickoff return yards on four attempts, including a 97-yard touchdown, in Auburn’s 42-38 win over Utah State. His return yardage is tied for third in school history.



OTHER TOP PERFORMERS:



WR/RS Marquis Maze (Alabama) -- Totaled 253 all-purpose yards against Kent State including 118 on eight catches, 96 yards on eight punt returns and 39 yards on a kickoff return.



QB Tyler Wilson (Arkansas) -- In his first career start he completed 18-of-24 passes for 260 yards and two touchdowns against Missouri State.



WR Travante Stallworth (Auburn) -- Had four catches for 93 yards and a touchdown against Utah State.



RB Chris Rainey (Florida) -- Scored three touchdowns, all different ways -- a 14-yard rushing score, a 22-yard blocked punt return for a touchdown and a 14-yard receiving score -- against Florida Atlantic.



TE Orson Charles (Georgia) -- Had six catches for career-high 109 yards and a touchdown against Boise State.



S/LB Winston Guy (Kentucky) -- Had 10 tackles, including 2.5 for losses and two interceptions against Western Kentucky.



DB Charles Sawyer (Ole Miss) -- Returned an interception 96 yards for a touchdown and had seven tackles against BYU.



DB Marvin Bure (Mississippi State) -- Posted five tackles on kickoff coverage as Bulldogs held Memphis to just 17 yards per return on 10 kickoffs.



QB Stephen Garcia (South Carolina) -- Came off the bench against East Carolina and accounted for three touchdowns -- two on the ground (32 yards and 10 yards) and one through the air.



QB Tyler Bray (Tennessee) -- Completed 17-of-24 passes for 293 yards and three touchdowns against Montana.



LB Daryle Vereen (Tennessee) -- Led the Vols with a career-high and team-best six tackles against Montana.



LB Chris Marve (Vanderbilt) -- Led the Commodores with 12 total tackles, including two for losses (-3 yards) against Elon.

SEC Bowl Projections (ESPN.com)

SEC bowl projections

from ESPN.com - SEC Blog by Edward Aschoff:



Ole Miss just can't catch a break in openers.



Last year was the embarrassing, double-overtime loss to Jacksonville State at home and this year the Rebels ran out to a 13-0 lead, only to watch it disappear in Oxford as BYU took advantage of a handful of Ole Miss mistakes to win 14-13.



Will it cost the Rebels a bowl at the end of the season? We'll see.



Then there was Auburn, a team playing with more youth than anyone these days. The Tigers went back-and-fourth with Utah State before a perfectly placed onside kick from kicker Chris Brooks set up Auburn's game-winning touchdown with less than a minute left.



Exciting stuff, really.



Georgia looked lost for most of its game against Boise State -- a game basically played in the Bulldogs' backyard of Atlanta. The second half was dominated by the Broncos, who left with a 35-21 victory, and the last play was very telling of how the second frame went when Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray took a sack as the clock ticked down to three seconds.



But the stars of the league were the LSU Tigers. Facing all of those distractions and missing three key offensive players, the Tigers stayed together and routed No. 3 Oregon 40-27. LSU didn't need much offense -- and didn't get much -- but that fast, fierce defense slowed down the Quack Attack, proving once again that SEC speed is king.



Here are how our bowl projections look after the first week of games:



Allstate BCS National Championship Game, Jan. 9: Alabama



Allstate Sugar Bowl, Jan. 3: LSU



Capital One Bowl: Jan. 2: South Carolina



AT&T Cotton Bowl, Jan. 6: Arkansas



Outback Bowl, Jan. 2: Mississippi State



Gator Bowl, Jan. 2: Florida



Chick-fil-A Bowl, Dec. 31: Tennessee



Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl, Dec. 30: Georgia



AutoZone Liberty Bowl, Dec. 31: Auburn



BBVA Compass Bowl, Jan. 7: Ole Miss

Week 1 in the SEC from ESPN

Week 1 in the SEC: We get some Thursday night football in Week 1. Here's a quick primer, as we kick off the 2011 season in the SEC:



THURSDAY

• No. 20 Mississippi State at Memphis, 8:10 p.m. ET, SportsSouth

The Bulldogs begin their quest to become the first team in school history to win nine or more games in back-to-back seasons.

• Kentucky vs. Western Kentucky (in Nashville, Tenn.), 9:15 p.m. ET, ESPNU

Rick Minter's new high-octane defense, geared toward forcing more turnovers, debuts in the Music City.





SATURDAY

• Utah State at No. 23 Auburn, noon ET, ESPN2

Only six starters from last season's national championship team return for the Tigers, who may play 12 to 15 true freshmen in the opener.

• Kent State at No. 2 Alabama, 12:15 p.m. ET, SEC Network

Neither of Alabama's quarterbacks, AJ McCarron or Phillip Sims, has ever started a college game.

• BYU at Ole Miss, 4:45 p.m. ET, ESPN

Something says the Rebels will be a tad more ready to play than they were in last season's opener against Jacksonville State.

• Montana at Tennessee, 6 p.m. ET, Pay-per-view

The Vols' projected starting lineup for the opener includes 14 freshmen and sophomores.

• East Carolina vs. No. 12 South Carolina (in Charlotte, N.C.), 7 p.m. ET, Fox Sports Net

The Gamecocks plan to play both Stephen Garcia and Connor Shaw at quarterback against the Pirates.

• Missouri State at No. 15 Arkansas, 7 p.m. ET, Pay-per-view

This should be Bobby Petrino's best team and his deepest team in his four seasons at Arkansas.

• Florida Atlantic at No. 22 Florida, 7 p.m. ET, ESPNU

Will Muschamp used to attend Florida games as a kid. On Saturday, he'll be making his head coaching debut as the Head Gator.

• Elon at Vanderbilt, 7:30 p.m. ET, CSS

James Franklin is the Commodores' third head coach in as many years. He takes over a program that has had just one winning season in the past 28 years.

• No. 5 Boise State vs. No. 19 Georgia (in Atlanta), 8 p.m. ET, ESPN

As season openers go, Mark Richt hasn't faced a more important one since arriving in Athens in 2001.

• No. 4 LSU vs. No. 3 Oregon (in Arlington, Texas), 8 p.m. ET, ABC

The Tigers have to be relieved just to get to the opener after going through what they did last week with quarterback Jordan Jefferson's arrest.

SEC power rankings From ESPN

SEC power rankings: We have spent months analyzing players, schemes and coaches, but we are finally here.



In just a couple of days, the 2011 college football season will begin (thank you Mississippi State and Kentucky).



To kick off game week, we at the SEC blog have constructed our own power rankings to lead you into the season. This is an outlook on the season after taking into consideration a number of team items, including talent, experience and injuries.



Each week we'll bring you our thoughts on the state of the SEC's teams and things will no doubt change each week. Play well and your stock goes up. Drift under potential and you'll see yourself fall in our rankings.



Without further ado, here are our first batch of SEC power rankings for the 2011 season:



1. Alabama: The Tide enter the season as one of the most complete teams in the nation. Ten starters are back on defense and it’d be hard to find a better secondary and linebacker unit. It’s Trent Richardson’s time at running back and while Alabama’s quarterback options are young and inexperienced, they are both very talented and ready to lead.



2. LSU: This team could have seriously contended with Alabama for the No. 1 spot if not for the suspensions of senior quarterback Jordan Jefferson and wide receiver Russell Shepard for at least the opener. But the Tigers aren’t sunk. Veteran Jarrett Lee takes over at quarterback and he still has plenty of weapons on offense. Defensively, this group might be the most athletic around and has the ability to carry the Tigers this fall.



3. Arkansas: The season-ending injury to Knile Davis might have initially hindered the Razorbacks’ chances at a title run, but there is still a wealth of talent on offense. Tyler Wilson has four more than capable options at receiver and there is depth at running back. Defensively, this is the best group coach Bobby Petrino has had in Fayetteville.



4. South Carolina: Steve Spurrier claims to have the best team he’s ever had in Columbia and the Gamecocks are the most complete team in the East. With their main playmakers back on offense and the defense loaded with talent, the Gamecocks are primed to make it back-to-back trips to the SEC title game.



5. Georgia: Before attrition and injuries delivered some unwanted hits to the offense this offseason, the Bulldogs were being heralded as a team that could seriously compete for the conference title. There is still firepower on offense, starting with quarterback Aaron Murray, and the defense has a plethora of speed all around, but keeping that offensive line healthy is key.



6. Mississippi State: This set of Bulldogs has been a popular dark horse pick in the West. The offense is loaded and has depth for days at the skill positions. Three starting linebackers have to be replaced, but Mississippi’s State’s secondary is as athletic as any defensive backfield and should regularly frustrate opposing quarterbacks this fall.



7. Florida: The Gators usher in a new coaching staff, but still have a ton of questions on offense. As usual, the defense has loads of speed, especially in the front seven, but the loss of Janoris Jenkins raises concerns about the secondary. But for Florida to succeed, quarterback John Brantley will have to rediscover his confidence.



8. Tennessee: There is no doubt that the Volunteers will be able to score a handful of points this fall, but keeping opponents off the scoreboard could be an issue. Coach Derek Dooley considers this year one for him at Tennessee and he and his team are looking for a fresh start in 2011.



9. Auburn: The defending national champion must replace almost all of a team that went undefeated in 2010. Cam Newton is gone, leaving Mike Dyer and Onterio McCalebb to shoulder most of the offense load. There is talent on the Plains, but only six starters return, meaning there will be plenty of growing pains.



10. Ole Miss: The Rebels are looking for anything better than their 4-8 2010 campaign. Ole Miss is young across the board and is breaking in a quarterback in Barry Brunetti, who has nine career pass attempts. Outside of an experienced backfield and offensive line, the Rebels have questions at pretty much every position.



11. Kentucky: Playmakers that made the Wildcats’ offense go last season are gone, which will make new starting quarterback Morgan Newton’s that much more challenging. The defense struggled mightily last season, but new defensive coordinator Rick Minter has brought in his popular multiple schemes. This team needs to find offense playmakers and team toughness.



12. Vanderbilt: There is more excitement and confidence in Nashville, thanks to new coach James Franklin. The Commodores return more than 20 starters, but those starters went 2-10 last season. Franklin has proved he can recruit and fire up an almost lifeless fan base, but now it’s time to coach – and win.

Peyton Hillis Baked Your Mom Some Cookies

From EA Sports... former Arkansas Razorback and current Madden NFL 12 cover boy Peyton Hillis is serving up some smack talk. Use this video to get into your rival's head, at the Madden Smack Shack:

Arkansas Names 2011 Team Captains

Arkansas names 2011 team captains: "The Razorbacks are ready for some football.

Offseason 7-on-7 workouts are over and the Hogs officially got things started by naming their captains for the upcoming season.

On the eve of fall camp, the team voted on captains, and coach Bobby Petrino released the names of the six captains Thursday -- junior running back Knile Davis, junior quarterback Tyler Wilson, senior wide receiver Jarius Wright, senior defensive end Jake Bequette, senior linebacker Jerry Franklin and senior safety/linebacker Jerico Nelson.

You probably read through that list and didn't stop, but upon further review, when you see 'Tyler Wilson,' your eyebrows have to rise a little.

For starters, if you're an Arkansas fan, it must feel pretty good to know that the players have that much faith and confidence in the first-year starter. Everyone who knows a lick about the SEC has heard -- or seen -- Wilson's breakout performance when he replaced Ryan Mallett against Auburn last season and threw for 332 yards and four touchdowns. But there was still concern if he'd be able to sustain that type of play with all the pressure on him.

According to his teammates, he should.

'The thing about Tyler is he gets better every day,' wide receiver Cobi Hamilton said Wednesday. 'It's real funny to go out there and watch him because he gets better every day. You can tell by the vocal leadership and everything he does by his movements every day. I think he'll be all right and he'll have a great season.

'He's opened up a lot since Ryan left, and everybody sees that and everybody knows that he's going to the be the man this year. We're all behind Tyler, and we have his back.'

The second thing you should take from this is that Petrino's not-so-well-kept secret is probably out -- that Wilson is Arkansas' starting quarterback.

Still, Petrino insists that Wilson is very much battling it out with sophomore Brandon Mitchell, but he sounds so close to handing the offense off to Wilson.

'Tyler has an opportunity to do a very, very good job for us,' Petrino said. 'He's been in the offense for four years now. He's done a good job when he's come in games. We all saw what he did in the Auburn game last year. But also the next week, when we had that marathon game with Ole Miss, the two lightning delays, Tyler came in and finished the game and converted some tough third downs and helped us win the ballgame. Been very impressed with the way he's prepared in the offseason, the leadership role that he's working to take over.'

And Arkansas is looking to take over the SEC. The expectations are high for the Hogs and they expect to garner elite-level respect this season.

'I don't really want to say that anybody fears us, but I do think we are on the level with top-named schools now,' Wright said. 'When people see Arkansas they are going to game plan a lot and very smart against us.'"

Athlon ranks the SEC's top 40 players

Athlon Sports has unveiled its list of the top 40 players in the SEC and there are plenty of Arkansas Razorbacks on it.

#1 on the entire list is South Carolina receiver Alshon Jeffery.

Alabama has the most on the list with eight, but Arkansas is close behind with seven:

9. Knile Davis (RB)
10. Jake Bequette (DE)
14. Jerry Franklin (LB)
17. Greg Childs (WR)
23. Joe Adams (WR)
30. Tyler Wilson (QB)
33. Tramain Thomas (S)

South Carolina does have an impressive three of the top five: Jeffery (No. 1), running back Marcus Lattimore (No. 2) and defensive end Devin Taylor (No. 5).

Woo Pig! We didn't come to paint!

Here's a link to the entire list.

Petrino High On The Hogs

Arkansas Razorback football coach Bobby Petrino talks to Chris Fowler about Arkansas' upcoming season. This will be Petrino's 4th season as head coach of the Hogs, and they're 24-14 under his lead (11-13 in SEC play). They were 10-3 last year (counting the "vacated" OSU game).

Petrino At SEC Media Days

Why are folks so pumped around here for Razorback football? Well, for one, we don't have a lot of teams in this state to cheeer for like some other states. But last year's solid 10-3 team got people even more fired up and this year the Hogs return a high-powered offense that features returning receivers Jarius Wright (42 rec - 788 yards), Greg Childs (46 rec - 659 yards) and Joe Adams (50 rec - 813 yards), and arguably one of the league's most complete running backs in Knile Davis (98.6 yards per game). This badass foursome manufactured 3,582 yards of offense and 30 touchdowns in 2010. Should be fun.

Here's a few good reads:

Arkansas, Miss State coaches speak about SEC West

Column: A preview of the 2011 Southeastern Conference football season

Arkansas QB has luxury of skillful players

Arkansas line concerns don't hold Petrino back

And here's Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino previewing the Razorbacks upcoming season at SEC media days.

Tyler Wilson Is Generation Next

Check out what I got today when I logged on to ESPN.com's college football section:


Sweet! Here's a link to the article "New stars prepared to emerge in 2011" they have posted and the list includes 3 other QBs (Phillip Sims from Alabama, Braxton Miller from Ohio State and Kiehl Frazier from Auburn) as well but all us Arkansas folks really care about is Ryan Mallett's replacement...

Tyler Wilson, QB, Arkansas

Wilson wowed his teammates and coaches when he replaced injured starter Ryan Mallett in last season's 65-43 loss at Auburn. After coming on in the second quarter, Wilson threw for 322 yards and completed 14 straight passes at one point. He's blessed with one of the country's best receiver corps, especially with Greg Childs coming back from a knee injury that caused him to miss the final five games in 2010. Wilson, who completed 66.7 percent of his passes for 453 yards with four touchdowns and three interceptions in six games last season, might be Hogs coach Bobby Petrino's next NFL-bound pupil.

Screw the NFL and their lockout, I can't wait until September 3rd... Razorbacks vs Missouri State!