Arkansas Sports 360 - ArkansasSports360.com

10/26/2011 at 2:45pm

Jordan Rodgers had a nice debut as a starter for Vanderbilt last week. He accounted for 282 yards of total offense and two touchdowns in a 44-21 victory against Army.

Noting the step up in competition this week, Coach James Franklin still thinks the experience should help Rodgers as he makes his first SEC start against No. 10 Arkansas. It wasn’t an SEC foe, but logging time under center in a victory should help Rodgers’ confidence.

“Obviously as a quarterback, experience counts,” Franklin said. “The more games he’s going to get under his belt is going to help him. Whether Army, you know, gets him prepared for an SEC opponent, I don’t know if it does. I think experience in general does.”

Rodgers, younger brother of Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, came off the bench in each of the Commodores first six games. He took over for Larry Smith against Army and seems to have solidified his spot as a starter.

A strong performance against Georgia helped Rodgers get a shot as the No. 1 quarterback. He averaged 8.0 yards per carry and threw for 47 yards and helped spark a comeback in what was eventually a 33-28 loss.

Vanderbilt figures to take some pressure off Rodgers with its running game. Zac Stacy is averaging 89 yards rushing per game and is coming off a 198-yard performance against Army. 

No Week Off
No. 1 LSU (8-0, 5-0 SEC) and No. 2 Alabama (8-0, 5-0) are off this week. Both programs have a bye week to prepare for facing each other on Nov. 5.

That time off didn’t stop questions from being asked about the matchup, which would give one program an edge on representing the SEC in the BCS national championship game.

Specifically, LSU’s Les Miles and Alabama’s Nick Saban were asked how they were using the bye week to prepare for each other.

Miles’ response:

"We do recruiting, look at our team, insist they get some rehab and rest to regain freshness. We spend a little more time in individual [drills] so we can get better. We self-scout to recognize things we've done and might need to change. We also turn ourselves to our opponent.

“We play against LSU more in this open week than we'll play against Alabama. The preparation is sincere. When we put something in the game plan it's gone through a good review, and we feel we should be able to execute it. We're moving slow in the game plan but we're still working fast and good against good when the first teams move into each other."

And Saban:

“The way we try to manage our bye weeks here regardless of what is happening down the road is to try to improve any individual deficiencies we have in our team, work on those specific areas so we have a chance to get better and improve the team chemistry on every unit and get everybody to play together. That’s certainly what we’re trying to do this week.” 

He Gets It
Will Muschamp played for Georgia. He’s now coaching at Florida.

Even he’s not trying to downplay the rivalry between the Gators (4-3, 2-3) and Bulldogs (5-2, 4-1) who meet Saturday at 2:30 p.m. in Jacksonville.

Muschamp offered typical coach speak when the subject came up, saying “every game is important,” but he quickly followed with an admission of the game’s significance on both sides.

“Certainly I don’t have to stand in the team meeting room and explain how important this rivalry is to the University of Florida,” Muschamp said. “Our players understand what is at stake.”

Speaking Out
“I remember that’s the year I got married. And I’ve been married ever since. So I remember a lot about being married. I don’t remember a lot about that game, though.”
—Alabama Coach Nick Saban when asked about 1971’s Nebraska-Oklahoma game, called by some the “Game of the Century.” No. 1 Nebraska won 35-31. No. 1 LSU and No. 2 Alabama play on Nov. 5.

ArkansasSports360.com Power Poll Week 9

1. Alabama (8-0). Crimson Tide took a half to get inspired against Vols, but what an overwhelming second half.
2. LSU (8-0). Tigers didn't miss a beat with the trio of players out, and now it's on to the showdown Nov. 5.
3. Arkansas (6-1). Hogs may be the weakest team to occupy this slot in a long time. Defense giving up too much rushing yards.
4. Georgia (5-2). Mark Richt's future can be secure for a while with a likely run of wins starting with Florida.
5. Auburn (5-3). LSU's stomping of Chizik's bunch showed they are worlds away from last year's magical run.
6. South Carolina (6-1). Gamecocks still control their destiny, but it's shaky at best, and Knoxville won't be easy.
7. Florida (4-3). There's enough talent for Gators to pull a Cocktail Party upset.
8. Tennessee (3-4). Only good for a half, but the Vols showed some good young talent against 'Bama.
9. Vanderbilt (4-3). Hard-playing Commodores can get James Franklin a signature win at home this week.
10. Mississippi State (3-4). Needs to regain that magic from last season's late run.
11. Ole Miss (2-5). QB Randall Mackey at least gives Rebels a fighting chance with his dual threat.
12. Kentucky (3-4). Jacksonville State proved a nice respite from the weekly beatdowns.

QUICK HITS
Tennessee did not manage a single first down during the second half of its 37-6 loss to Alabama; the Vols were tied at 6 with the Crimson Tide at halftime ... Players honored by the league for games of Oct. 22 were Arkansas RB Dennis Johnson (offense), Alabama LB Dont’a Hightower (defense), LSU P Brad Wing (special teams), Vanderbilt OG Ryan Seymour (offensive lineman), LSU DE Barkevious Mingo (defensive lineman) and Tennessee LB A.J. Johnson (freshman) ... Tennessee’s Tauren Poole, a running back, is this week’s SEC Community Service Team Player of the Week ... This weekend’s Florida-Georgia game will be a matchup of two of the three winningest programs in the SEC since 2002. Georgia is second at 74.4 percent (93-32) and Florida is third at 73.6 percent (92-33) ... This weekend’s South Carolina-Tennessee game is the SEC’s second most competitive series since 2000, with an average scoring margin of 9 points per game ... LSU’s opponents have scored only three points off Tiger turnovers this season, leading the SEC ... Alabama’s defense leads the SEC, holding opponents to three-plays-and-out on 68.7 percent of opponent drives.

THE MATCHUPS
Saturday, Oct. 29 (all times Central)
Arkansas (6-1, 2-1 SEC) at Vanderbilt (4-3, 1-3 SEC). 11:21 a.m., SEC Network/ESPN3.com. Hogs have only lost to Vandy once as an SEC member, but Commodores run game and Arkansas' shaky run defense could be problematic for Razorbacks, unless they plan simply to outscore them.

Florida (4-3, 2-3 SEC) vs. Georgia (5-2, 4-1 SEC). 2:30 p.m. at Jacksonville, Fla., CBS Sports. Mark Richt's rise from the abyss can be abated with a win. Though the rivalry has lost some luster recently, last year's game was an OT win for Florida.

Ole Miss (2-5, 0-4 SEC) at Auburn (5-3, 3-2 SEC). 6 p.m., ESPNU. Auburn leads the all-time series 26-9, which looks like a good pick for Saturday's score.

Mississippi State (3-4, 0-4 SEC) at Kentucky (3-4, 0-3 SEC). 6 p.m., FS South/ESPN3.com. Well, somebody has to win an SEC game sometime.

South Carolina (6-1, 4-1 SEC) at Tennessee (3-4, 0-4 SEC). 6:15 p.m., ESPN or ESPN2/ESPN3.com. Knoxville has always been a tough place for the Gamecocks, and if Tennessee could put together four quarters, it would be again this week.

OPEN: Alabama (8-0, 5-0 SEC); LSU (8-0, 5-0 SEC)

Tagged: Les Miles, Vanderbilt Commodores, South Carolina Gamecocks, Tennessee Volunteers, Kentucky Wildcats, Georgia Bulldogs, Florida Gators, Houston Nutt, Ole Miss Rebels, Mississippi State Bulldogs, LSU Tigers, Auburn Tigers, Alabama Crimson Tide, Southeastern Conference, Nick Saban, Jordan Rodgers