LITTLE ROCK — Sal Sunseri and his son, Vinnie, will be on opposite sides of the Alabama-Tennessee game Saturday night at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn.
Sal Sunseri is the Volunteers’ defensive coordinator. Vinnie Sunseri is a sophomore safety for the Crimson Tide.
“A lot of mixed emotions,” Vinnie Sunseri told AL.com about playing his father’s team. “Hard, hard, hard. I’m getting a lot of calls from the family saying good luck to me, but I know they’re just giving the same, exact advice to my dad.”
Sal Sunseri, who was Alabama’s linebackers coach before moving to Tennessee after last season, became emotional talking about his son and the game to reporters this week after practice.
“It’s been very, very hard this whole week for both of us,” Sal Sunseri said. “I didn’t think it would be this hard, but it is very, very tough.
But we’re both going to be professionals about it and do what we have to do and go out there and try and play our best football.”
Father and son talked Sunday night.
“I just told him I love him,” Vinnie Sunseri said.
“We try to stay away from football talk. We just try to talk about how he’s doing, how Mom’s doing, how the family’s doing. It is just tough. I mean, I never thought I’d have to go against my father, and I never realized how tough it’d be until this point right now.”
It helps that Vinnie plays defense, so his father doesn’t have to scheme against him.
“At least this way we’re not going at each other directly,” Vinnie Sunseri said.
Vinnie Sunseri said he doesn’t believe his mother, Roxann, will attend the game because it would be so tough on her emotionally.
Sal Sunseri said he hopes his wife watches the game on television.
“She needs to be home relaxing,” Sal Sunseri said.
“But she’s a strong woman, and she’ll make her own choice.”
Barkley talks
Charles Barkley, the former Auburn and NBA star, appeared on Birmingham radio station WJOX this week and offered his take on the Tigers’ football team, which is off to a 1-5 start and is an eightpoint underdog at Vanderbilt on Saturday.
Here’s a sampling of Barkley’s best lines:
“Never thought you’d hear those words: Can’t wait for Auburn basketball.”
“I canceled my trip to the Iron Bowl. I’m not going down there to see that massacre.”
“I was really disappointed in the Arkansas game. They came out with zero energy against Arkansas.”
“I’m a Nick Saban fan.
That guy’s not going anywhere. We have to look at the big picture. Where are we going from here? Can we compete with him the next few years? That’s the elephant in the room. We’ve got to get a game plan in place, because Nick Saban is a clear and present danger.”
“Trust me, we’re playing the smart kids this week. If you can’t beat the smart kids, you’re in for a long year.”
Barkley said he also believes Bobby Petrino, fired as Arkansas’ coach in April for off-the-field issues, will be coaching next season andlikely will land an SEC job.
“We all got baggage,” Barkley said. “Listen, man, I try not to play the God game. There’s no saints in this business. ... What they do in their private time, that’s on them. ...He’s a very good football coach. He’s going to get a job. I would be totally, totally 100 percent shocked if he’s not coaching, realistically, in the SEC.”
Still a Gator
Steve Spurrier won the 1966 Heisman Trophy as Florida’s quarterback and as the Gators’ coach led them to six SEC championships and the 1996 national title.
But for the eighth consecutive year, the South Carolina coach will find himself coaching againstFlorida when the Gamecocks visit The Swamp on Saturday.
So far Spurrier is 3-4 against his alma mater, including 1-2 at The Swamp, the nickname for Ben Hill Griffin Stadium he coined more than 20 years ago.
“Florida is always going to be my school,” Spurrier told reporters this week. “I love Florida. So we’re Gators, but we’re Gamecocks now. And when my coaching days are over, I’ll be more of a Gator then. But I’m a Gamecock now, and this is our team.”
Spurrier said he always pulls for Florida to finish second in the SEC East behind South Carolina.
Dye sounds off
There is no doubt Pat Dye, the former Auburn coach, is rooting for the Tigers and Coach Gene Chizik, but Chizik probably could do without Dye talking so much about Auburn’s struggles.
Dye, who won 99 games at Auburn and has his name on the field at Jordan-Hare Stadium, speaks regularly on Paul Finebaum’s radio show and said this week he believes the Tigers will go winless in the SEC this season.
That hasn’t happened since 1980, when the Tigers were 0-6 in Doug Barfield’s last season as coach. Dye took over the next season.
“We’ve got problems that are not solvable on offense,” Dye said on Finebaum’s show. “You’ve got to have a quarterback to win in this league. Every team that we’ve played, their quarterback has been betterthan ours.”
Dye said Auburn’s quarterbacks, sophomore Kiehl Frazier (Shiloh Christian) and junior Clint Moseley, are under more pressure than they should be and are not handling the burden well.
“Unless one of them stands up and becomes a man - and I haven’t seen it yet - I don’t think we stand a chance,” Dye said. “Not against a good football team.”
Ole Miss and quarterback Bo Wallace beat Auburn 41-20 last week to end the Rebels’ 16-game SEC losing streak.
“Mississippi did a smart thing when they went and got a junior college quarterback,” Dye said. “He ain’t no great quarterback, but he’s mature. He’s man enough to take the criticism that comes with the position.
“If you can’t take it, it makes a coward out of you.
To me, that’s the problem we’ve got right now.”
Dye said he continues to support Chizik, who was diplomatic when asked about Dye’s comments.
“Coach Dye was a tremendous football coach, and I have a lot of respect for Coach Dye, without question,” Chizik told reporters. “I can’t spend a lot of time and energy in deliberation on what somebody said, whether it was Coach Dye or whether it was an alumni from 1968 that nobody knows who he or she is.
“I don’t have an opinion on that because my day, when I walk through the door, consists of my coaches and my players and the direction we’re headed.”
Remember me?
Tennessee junior defensive end Darrington Sentimore began his college career at Alabama, where he was suspended two years ago as a freshman. He then transferred to Gulf Coast (Fla.) Community College before rejoining the SEC with the Volunteers.
“I ain’t going to lie to you, I want this game more than any other game,” Sentimore told reporters this week about playing Alabama,AL.com reported. “I want to beat Saban.”
Sentimore said he doesn’t dislike Alabama Coach Nick Saban, but he is glad he’s no longer playing for the Tide.
“With some players, he’ll see you in the hallway and he’ll just walk right past you like he doesn’t see you,” Sentimore said. “I don’t like stuff like that.”
Saban said Sentimore, who has three sacks this season, was a good player for the Tide.
“We’re happy he’s doing a good job and having success,” Saban told reporters this week. “I hope he’s doing what he needs to do off the field and in school.”
Tennessee Coach Derek Dooley, a former assistant for Saban at LSU, said he was well aware of Sentimore’s background before signing him.
“He learned a lot of lessons from his time at Alabama, and I think Darrington would be the first to tell you that he made a lot of mistakes that he wishes he didn’t make,” Dooley told reporters. “He probably could have had success there like he is having here if he had made a lot better personal choices.”
Taming Manziel
Texas A&M freshman quarterback Johnny Manziel is averaging 392.7 yards in total offense per game to lead the SEC, but he hasn’t played Alabama or LSU yet.
That will change Saturday when LSU visits Kyle Field.
The Tigers are holding opponents to an average of 219.6 yards in total offense per game.
“I love quarterbacks that try to get out of the pocket because they let their guard down,” LSU defensive endBarkevious Mingo told the Times-Picayune of New Orleans. “They don’t know what’s coming from their other side.”
Apology accepted
Missouri Coach Gary Pinkel said Wednesday during the SEC coaches teleconference that he talked with Alabama Coach Nick Saban - his teammate at Kent State - about a play from last week’s game in which Crimson Tide defensive tackle LaMichael Fanning picked up Tigers tailback Russell Hansbrough and threw him to the turf.
Saban made Fanning write a letter of apology to Pinkel and Hansbrough.
“Nick Saban doesn’t teach anything like that - ever,” Pinkel said. “Thankfully, nobody was hurt. I don’t think there was any malice involved. A player just lost emotional control and made a mistake.
“No one got hurt, and a lesson was learned. I thought Nick handled it appropriately.”
Fanning was called for a personal foul on the play, but he was not ejected.
Saban declined to say if Fanning is being suspended for any portion of Saturday’s game against Tennessee.
“We’re handling his poor judgment internally in terms of what we’re doing, and I think everybody’s very satisfied with what we’re doing,” Saban said. “I don’t think it’s anybody else’s concern.”
Standings
WESTERN DIVISION CONF. ALL
Alabama 3-0 6-0
Mississippi State 3-0 6-0
LSU 2-1 6-1
Texas A&M 2-1 5-1
Arkansas 2-2 3-4
Mississippi 1-2 4-3
uburn 0-4 1-5
EASTERN DIVISION CONF. ALL
Florida 5-0 6-0
South Carolina 4-1 6-1
Georgia 3-1 5-1
Vanderbilt 1-3 2-4
Tennessee 0-3 3-3
Kentucky 0-4 1-6
Missouri 0-4 3-4
SATURDAY’S GAMES All times Central
LSU at Texas A&M, 11 a.m.
Auburn at Vanderbilt, 11:21 a.m.
South Carolina at Florida, 2:30 p.m.
Georgia at Kentucky, 6 p.m.
Middle Tennessee at Mississippi State, 6 p.m.
Alabama at Tennessee, 6 p.m.
SATURDAY, OCT. 27
Kentucky at Missouri, 11 a.m.
Tennessee at South Carolina, 11 a.m.
Mississippi vs. Arkansas at Little Rock, 11:21 a.m.
Florida at Georgia, 2:30 p.m.
Texas A&M at Auburn, 6 p.m.
Massachusetts at Vanderbilt, 6 p.m.
Mississippi State at Alabama, 7:30 p.m.
Sports, Pages 27 on 10/18/2012