• Auburn: Outback Bowl
• Central Florida: St. Petersburg Bowl
• Kentucky: Music City Bowl
• Mississippi: Cotton Bowl (against Oklahoma State)
• Navy: Texas Bowl
• Ohio State: Rose Bowl
• Oklahoma State: Cotton Bowl (against Ole Miss)
• Southern Methodist: Hawaii Bowl
• Tennessee: Chick-fil-A Bowl
• Troy: New Orleans Bowl

These bowl announcements are up-to-date as of today (12/2/09), but new bowl teams are being announced every day, and like I said, after Saturday’s games, we’ll know a lot more. Right now, there are still a number of teams who haven’t finished their seasons, and until they do, we won’t know for sure who is eligible and who is ranked where within their conferences. Check back this weekend for a much more comprehensive list of bowls and the teams that will be playing in them!

Post from: EveryJoe

Bowl Season Matchups 2010, An Early Look

One of the most popular fight songs at Mississippi is “From Dixie with Love,” and during part of the tune, fans chant “the South will rise again,” a recent development. In other words, this isn’t a long-standing tradition at the school. Administrators have asked the student body to stop the chant, which some find to be an offensive reference to the intolerance and hatred that was part of southern life for so long.

Image: Newscom

Ole Miss has worked hard to pull away from anything offensive. They first admitted a black student in 1962, but this led to a bloody standoff between supporters and picketers, ensuring that the school would be associated with the “old South” vibe of the 1800s and early 1900s. A few years ago, they decided to get rid of such a heavy use of their mascot, Colonel Rebel, who looked like an old white plantation owner (see right), though I’m told that he still makes appearances. While the school’s mascot is still the “rebel,” even the student government is calling for an end to the chant. In fact, earlier this month the Associated Student Body proposed changing it to “To Hell with LSU.”

I like it.

Post from: EveryJoe

The South will not Rise Again?

Image: sxc.hu

Flu outbreaks, however, can knock down an entire team, and since this strain is so contagious, it is spreading like wildfire across college campuses, where students are always in such close proximity to one another. This isn’t an isolated problem at just a few schools.

My issue is that players are, at times, probably still playing games even though they don’t feel 100%. That leads to outbreaks at other schools, since football is a contact sport. Let’s look at the spread of flu over the past few months:

• Duke: One player was confirmed to have swine flu this August, and dozens of others from the team experienced flu-like symptoms.
• Tulane: A week before their season opener, 27 players had “mild” flu symptoms.
• Washington State: 16 players missed practices right before the season opener, and many also missed the game due to a flu outbreak at the school.
• Georgia: Safety Makiri Pugh tested positive for this strain of the flu and sat out during week one. So far, no other players have reported illness.
• Mississippi: The number of players experiencing symptoms is still growing. We’re sitting at around 30 right now, including quarterback Jevan Snead.
• Wisconsin: So far, at least 10 players have the flu.

None of these school has been as highly affected as Div-II school Stillman, however. They had to cancel their season opener, which couldn’t be rescheduled due to time issues. Ouch.

The problem is that players are worried that missing practices or games is letting the team down. If they are able, they attend, even if they’re still sniffling. Coaches need to be more forceful with players, telling them to stay home and isolate themselves for at least 48 hours before returning to the field. We don’t want to see games get canceled, and we definitely don’t want to see teams lose just because they’re down so many first-string players.

Post from: EveryJoe

Swine Flu: Where Will it Hit Next?

Mississippi 17, Auburn 7

• Mississippi 17, Auburn 7 at Arkansas Razorback Sports

Arkansas 30, #18 Tulsa 23

• Listen Up Playoff Proponents at Picture Me Rollin
• Final Tailgate of the year: Arkansas vs. Tulsa at Question Certain Perfection?
• Tulsa’s Undefeated Hopes Dashed in Arkansas at NCAA Football Fanhouse

Kentucky 14, Mississippi State 13

• UK at Mississippi State at Big Blue Thoughts
• Home Game Review / Replay of my Prediction (Kentucky) at Watch Out! Nails in the Road!
• UK Edges Mississippi State, 14-13 at KY Sports and Scores

#2 Alabama 35, Arkansas State 0

• Alabama – Arkansas State, the full recap at Tide Corner
• Alabama-Arkansas State, the day after… at The Rap Sheet
• Arkansas State From The Couch at Bama Sports Report

#8 Florida 49, #6 Georgia 10

• Thoughts on Georgia/Florida at A Bulldog in Exile
• Perspectives at Battle Hymn Notes
• Georgia Falls To Florida, 49-10 at Georgia Football Headline News

South Carolina 27, Tennessee 6

• FIVE POINTS: South Carolina 27, Tennessee 6 at Garnet and Black Attack
• Tennessee Volunteers 6, South Carolina 27: whatever at Rocky Top Talk
• Vols Lose to South Carolina in 27-6 Beatdown at Cincy Vols

#19 LSU 35, Tulane 10

• LSU trumps Tulane, now shifts to Bama at The Inside Source for LSU Athletics
• LSU-Tulane notes at LSU Tigers Football
• Inside the game: Tulane at LSU football at Go Green Wave

Other conferences: ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Conference USA, Independents, Mid-American, Mountain West, Pac-10, SEC, Sun Belt, WAC

(check back soon if the link isn’t live yet)

Post from: EveryJoe

2008 Week 10: Blogging about the SEC

West Virginia 34, Auburn 17

• AUBURN: the aftermath at The Word
• Final: West Virginia 34, Auburn 17 at War Eagle Extra

#10 Florida 63, Kentucky 5

• Someone Forgot To Tell Kentucky They Had A Game Today at The Nasty Boys Sports Blog
• Expertise on Florida-Kentucky game from Wildcats beat writer at Swamp Things

Duke 10, Vanderbilt 7

• Big Day for Duke Sports at Zach Dotsey
• Duke holds Vanderbilt late 10-7 and go to 4-3 at Duke Sports
• Vanderbilt looks like ‘SOV’ in ugly loss to Duke at Star & Stripe

#7 Georgia 52, #13 LSU 38

• In this cornah: final thoughts on Georgia-LSU at Get The Picture
• Ten things you need to know about Georgia at LSU at A Bulldog in Exile

Mississippi 23, Arkansas 21

• Mississippi 23, Arkansas 21 at Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Mississippi State 31, Middle Tennessee State 22

• Mississippi Proves to Much for MTSU at WAAYTV.com

#2 Alabama 29, Tennessee 9

• 5 Alabama Bloggers on Tennessee week at Vol Nation
• Alabama Wins 29-9 at The Tide Druid
• Alabama defeats Tennessee 29-9! at Pointless Ramblings

Other conferences: ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Conference USA, Independents, Mid-American, Mountain West, Pac-10, SEC, Sun Belt, WAC

(check back soon if the link isn’t live yet)

Post from: EveryJoe

2008 Week 9: Blogging about the SEC

#10 Georgia 24, #22 Vanderbilt 14

• Georgia – Vanderbilt: Game day open thread at Save the Shield!
• Vanderbilt vs. Georgia at On the Jericho Road
• Georgia twenty-something, Vanderbilt fourteen or so at A Free Man

#2 Alabama 24, Mississippi 20

• Alabama Survives Late Rebel Comeback at NCAA Football Fanhouse
• Alabama Survives Mississippi’s Upset Bid at ROCKSLAX

Kentucky 21, Arkansas 20

• Kentucky 21, Arkansas 20 at In the Loupe
• Arkansas loses a heartbreaker to Kentucky, 21-20 at RazorBlog
• UK vs. Arkansas: Five Minutes in Heaven at A Sea of Blue

Tennessee 34, Mississippi State 3

• Post-game awards: Tennessee Volunteers vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs at Rocky Top Talk
• Tennessee beats Mississippi State 34-3 at DJ Football Blitz
• Some Positives in a Season Full of Negatives at Third Saturday in Blogtober

#13 LSU 24, South Carolina 17

• LSU @ South Carolina Thoughts at Cocky Talk
• Official in LSU/South Carolina game at Jumping Offsides
• LSU 24 – South Carolina 17: More Thoughts at And the Valley Shook

Other conferences: ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Conference USA, Independents, Mid-American, Mountain West, Pac-10, SEC, Sun Belt, WAC 

(check back soon if the link isn\\\’t live yet)

Post from: EveryJoe

2008 Week 8: Blogging about the SEC

Many people were calling for a repeat of last year from Tim Tebow. Although there is no doubt that he’s a good quarterback, I doubt he’ll be in Heisman contention again this year. He peaked too early. In today’s game, Mississippi’s Jevan Snead (see left) was by far the best quarterback in the game. He threw for two touchdowns and ran in for another. Here’s a bit of trivia you may not know – Snead was a Florida recruit who changed his mind when he found our that they were also heavily recruiting Tebow.

Don’t get me wrong – this wasn’t a shit show like we saw on Thursday. Ole Miss got on the board early, but we saw Florida come back in the second quarter with 17 unanswered points. Things fell apart a bit in the second half, and although we had a close game in the 4th, the Ole Miss d-line proved to be too much for Tebow and the Gators.

Look, Snead’s numbers weren’t amazing, and both teams had some messy plays. It came down to a final last-minute extra point kick (see right), which was blocked by Kentrell Lockett, the hero of the game. This is the kind of rough-and-tumble football we see in the SEC, and although I’m not a Florida fan, I can’t say that they played like shit today. They played OK. Problem is, in the SEC OK isn’t good enough, even against Mississippi at home.

Pictures via Newscom.

Post from: EveryJoe

Another Mighty Team Falls during Week 5: Ole Miss Holds Off Florida

1. Convince an awesome coach to come coach for their team.
2. Convince their awesome coach not to leave.

I can just hear the talks going on. They all sound like used car salesmen. “You aren’t going to find a better opportunity that this. Teams like this only come around once in a lifetime. COACH NOW! No iterest until January 2010!”

Some teams have already made their hires, so their athletic departments can breathe easy:

Arkansas: Boby Petrino

Baylor: Art Briles

Georgia Tech: Paul Johnson

Mississippi: Houston Nutt

Navy: Ken Niumatalolo

Nebraska: Bo Pelini

Texas A&M: Mike Sherman

Washington State: Paul Wulff

It may be interesting to you to note that just one of these new hires is  a minority. To me, I couldn’t care less. Black, white, yellow, red, purple…it doesn’t matter what color your skin is. All that matters is how well you can coach. The best man should be picked for the job every time, regardless of pressure to choose a minority.

Post from: EveryJoe

New Coaching Hires: Update