SEC report

LITTLE ROCK — Colorado good fit for Gus?

Colorado hasn’t fired Dan Hawkins as its coach, but it’s going to happen after this season - if not sooner - considering he’s 19-38 in his fifth year on the job.

Hawkins’ status has led the Denver Post to speculate on possible candidates to be the Buffaloes’ next coach and three names have SEC ties - Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, Alabama offensive coordinator Jim McElwain and LSU Coach Les Miles, a former Colorado assistant.

Malzahn, the Fort Smith native and former Arkansas offensive coordinator, might be the hottest assistant coach in the country, considering Auburn’s 9-0 start behind quarterback Cam Newton’s rushing and passing exploits.

But Malzahn told reporters this week he’s focused on his job at Auburn, not on potential head coaching opportunities.

“To be honest, I’m in my own little world,” Malzahn said. “My entire focus is on this team and making it the best it can be. I’m extremely happy.

“I’ve said that time and time again. I love Coach [Gene] Chizik, and I love coaching these kids. And my only focus is trying to win games and trying to win a championship.”

Malzahn added that “somewhere down the line” he’d like to be a head coach, but that he is in no hurry.

“I feel like a lot of people think I am,” he said. “But like I’ve said before, we’ve got a good thing going here and I’d like to see it through.”

Chizik said that “when you hire great assistants, they’re going to be talked about” for other jobs.

“I want the best for our guys,” Chizik said.

“Definitely I’ve got a great staff, and whoever’s name comes up being sought after,we’re certainly going to do everything we can to help them, provided we think it’s the right situation.

We’re always looking out for the best interest of all of our guys.”

Miles dodged the question when asked about the Colorado job at his Monday news conference.

“Somebody needs to write articles,” Miles said. “Somebody needs to mention names. I’ve got little reaction.”

Colorado is moving from the Big 12 to the Pacific-10 Conference next season, which figures to make it easier to recruit in California and increase the team’s talent level.

Candid camera

Coaches make hand signals from the sideline all the time, but usually the gestures are directed toward their own players.

Before Florida kicker Chas Henry attempted a 37-yard field goal in overtime against Georgia last week, video cameras caught Bulldogs’ defensive coordinator Todd Grantham grabbing his throat and yelling for Henry to choke.

Henry didn’t, and kicked the field goal to lift Florida to a 34-31 victory.

Grantham, meeting with reporters this week, said he regretted making the gesture.

“As a competitor, sometimes you get caught up in the heat of the moment,” Grantham said.

“I wish the situation hadn’t happened.

“It was a tough, hard fought game. They won it, and I’m ready to move forward and finish out the year strong.”

Grantham, who said he discussed the incident with Georgia Coach Mark Richt and Athletic Director Greg McGarity, was asked if he felt he owes Henry an apology.

“I’ve kind of basically said what I’m going to say,” Grantham said.

“People do things they probably wish they didn’t do,” Richt said. “I think that was what was being communicated. I don’t think he’s necessarily proud of it.”

The loss dropped Georgia to 4-5, but things could be worse for Grantham.

He came to Georgia this season after being defensive line coach for the Dallas Cowboys, who are 1-6.

Real loss

Mississippi State has won five consecutive games, but the Bulldogs suffered a real loss Tuesday when sophomore defensive lineman Nick Bell, 20, died from cancer after undergoing emergency surgery and falling into a coma.

Adding to the shock of Bell’s death was that he played for the Bulldogs in four games earlier this season before the cancer was discovered and a tumor was removed from his brain. He had been back on campus before starting tofeel ill Sunday, when he was hospitalized in Birmingham, Ala. He had been scheduled to begin chemotherapy treatments this week.

“We try to build [the players] up to be so big, strong, fast, tough and that they can do anything, this warrior that we create or whatever it is,” Mississippi State Coach Dan Mullen said. “And then for them to see how precious life is and how fast things can change in this manner ... that’s something our players are dealing with.”

The Bulldogs, who have an open date Saturday, are continuing to practice this week.

“We’ve tried to keep the team together as much as possible, and they have coaches and other family members to deal with what’s goneon,” Mullen said. “Everybody deals with it differently, and it will take all different time periods for our guys to deal with it. There’s no right or wrong way to feel or act right now.

“That routine of doing things in your life allows you to not sit and get lost in the emotion. It allows you to go out and do things you normally do and feel like a normal person as you try and deal with this grief.”

Mullen and about 50 players visited Bell on Monday night in the hospital, but he wasn’t conscious.

There will be a memorial service for Bell tonight at Mississippi State. His funeral will be Saturday in Birmingham.

Eternally grateful

Auburn safety Zac Etheridge made sure to find Ole Miss running back Rodney Scott for a postgame hug after the Tigers’ 51-31 victory over the Rebels last week.

In the teams’ game last year, Etheridge collided with a teammate trying to tackle Scott and wound up being knocked out and landing on Scott.

Scott sensed Etheridge couldn’t move, so he laid still for about 10 minutes while doctors and trainerscarefully removed Etheridge from the field.

Etheridge was temporarily paralyzed and suffered a season-ending injury with torn neck ligaments. If Scott had pushed Etheridge off of him instead of being still, it might have paralyzed him for life.

Scott’s gesture and sportsmanship began a lasting friendship with Etheridge.

“It is kind of weird,” Etheridge said of the way the friendship started. “But personally I had a need to stay in touch with the guy who basically saved my life.”

Sudden impact

Michael Dyer’s 723 rushing yards this seasonare third alltime among Auburn freshmen, trailing Bo Jackson (829 in 1982) and Travis Tidwell (772 in 1946).

Sincepostseason games now count in season statistics, Dyer, from Little Rock Christian, will likely break Jackson’s record, barring injury.

Rainey back

Florida junior running back Chris Rainey, suspended for the first five games this season for disciplinary reasons, had 241 all-purpose yards against Georgia on rushing attempts,receptions and kickoff returns.

“He’s a playmaker, and it was great to have him back,” offensive coordinator Steve Addazio said after the Gators’ 34-31 overtime victory. “He did a lot of things for us. ... He brought a lot of explosiveness back into our game.”

Rainey was suspended after sending threatening text messages to a former girlfriend. He didn’t speak to the media after the Georgia game, but addressed his teammates and coaches in the locker room.

“He got up there and thanked everybody - the whole administration, [Athletic Director] Jeremy Foley, the president [Bernie Machen],” Florida center Mike Pouncey said. “He thanked God as well for giving him a second chance.

“I cried after the game because I felt every bit of his pain. I know Chris. He’s a great person and has never been in any kind of trouble.

... I know it hurt him hard, and it hurt me, too.”

“Our game plan all week was to get him the ball as much as we can. He makes the whole team more effective. He put us in great field position on special teams. Him on offense, it’s just electrifying.” Afraid of the light?

LSU has won 78 percent of its home night games (218-60-4) since 1960, but only 47 percent of its home day games (22-25-3) over that same span.

That bodes well for Alabama, which plays LSU in a 2:30 p.m. kickoff at Tiger Stadium on Saturday.

This season, the Tigers are 4-0 at home, with their only day game being a 16-14 victory over Tennessee that turned when a penalty against the Volunteers for having 12 men on the field allowed LSU to get one more play and score the winning touchdown.

In Les Miles’ five seasons as LSU’s coach, the Tigers are 28-2 in home night games and 5-4 in home day games.

Fulmer a Gopher?

Phillip Fulmer, who coached Tennessee to a 152-52 record in 1992-2008, is being mentioned as a candidate for the vacant Minnesota job, according to several media reports.

“Minnesota has great potential, and with its new facilities, it’s a place you could recruit to,” Fulmer, 60, told the Knoxville News-Sentinel. “I believe it’s a place where you can compete.”

Two-minute drill

Tennessee true freshman quarterback Tyler Bray will make his first start at Memphis on Saturday. Bray is replacing junior Matt Simms.

Kentucky junior Randall Cobb had a career-high 12 catches for 171 yards against Mississippi State.

Ole Miss wore gray jerseys against Auburn last Saturday to honor the 50th anniversary of the Rebels’ 1960 national championship team. It’s believed to be the first time the football team has worn a jersey that was not red, blue or white.

Florida has intercepted 10 passes in its past three games against Georgia.

By the numbers18-3Florida’s record vs Georgia in the teams’ past 21meetings.

180Rushing yards by Auburn’s Michael Dyer last week against Ole Miss and fellow Little Rock native Houston Nutt.

Game of the week ALABAMA AT LSU 2:30 p.m. Saturday, CBS

The defending national champion Crimson Tide still have hopes of getting back to the BCS title game, but can’t afford another loss. LSU has title hopes, too, but needs to beat Alabama, then have Auburn lose to Georgia and the Tide. A great subplot to this game will be Alabama receiver Julio Jones going against LSU cornerback Patrick Peterson.

Overheard “It just eats your guts out to be at this

point, where we planned on a much

different record at this time. At the

worst, 7-1, 6-2. Or 5-3 at the worst.

But the bottom line is, it hasn’t fallen that way, so what do you do?” - Ole Miss Coach Houston Nutt on his team’s 3-5 record.

“We’re going to go 110 miles per hour like every other game.” - Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn on the Tigers not looking past Chattanooga