SEC report

SEC gets signs from LSU fans

A fan cheers from the crowd during an NCAA college football game between LSU and Mississippi State in Baton Rouge, La., Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018. LSU won 19-3. (AP Photo/Tyler Kaufman)

LSU fans have raised more than $6,000 from a GoFundMe campaign to pay for several billboards around Birmingham, Ala. -- home of the SEC office -- to protest the targeting call that will result in Tigers' star linebacker Devin White missing the first half of the Alabama-LSU game Nov. 3 in Baton Rouge.

The Tigers and Crimson Tide both have an open date Saturday.

The billboards purchased by LSU fans have gold lettering stating "#FreeDevinWhite" against a purple background.

"I love our fans," LSU Coach Ed Orgeron said Wednesday on the SEC coaches' teleconference. "They're very passionate about LSU football. They're going to do the things they want to do.

"Obviously, that's out of my control. My job is to focus on playing very well and beating Alabama."

White was ejected for targeting in the fourth quarter of LSU's 19-3 victory over Mississippi State when he hit Bulldogs quarterback Nick Fitzgerald.

Officials on the field ruled White targeted Fitzgerald's head area, and the call was upheld after a replay review.

The hit didn't appear to be flagrant, but White did make contact with Fitzgerald's face mask.

"I thought that it was very unfair," Orgeron said Wednesday when asked about the call. "It's unfortunate that it happened to Devin. I wish there could be an appeal and we could turn it over. I don't think it was a very vicious hit. I don't think he should be suspended.

"But we've moved on from that. We've got to play a very, very good football team, and that's what we're concentrating on."

Versatile Byers

Akial Byers is listed as a second-team defensive end for Missouri, but Tigers Coach Barry Odom said the sophomore from Fayetteville has played everywhere along the front this season.

Part of the reason Byers has played both end spots as well as tackle and nose guard are out of necessity because of injuries, Odom said, but it's also a credit to his versatility.

"Akial's 275 weight-wise, so a little undersized inside, but he's able to use his quickness and body leverage and hand-placement technique to be able to move around in there and create some pressure situations," Odom said on Wednesday's SEC coaches' teleconference. "Then on the outside, he's athletic enough.

"Really on first and second down he's been maybe our best defensive end at certain times throughout the year."

Byers, who Odom said has been playing about 30 snaps per game, has four tackles on the season, including one for a 3-yard loss against Memphis last week. He also has a fumble recovery.

"His understanding and football IQ has grown so much," Odom said. "He understands what we need out of each position, and he's one of our best guys."

Jones smoked

Butch Jones, who is an analyst at Alabama after being fired as Tennessee's coach, caught some flak for being photographed smoking a victory cigar after the No. 1 Crimson Tide beat the Vols 58-21.

"@CoachButchJones I mean @AlabamaFTBL won against a team YOU put together!" tweeted Albert Haynesworth, a former Tennessee and NFL defensive lineman. "But you're smoking a cigar like you accomplished something?!?! You act like you called the plays or had something to do with the game plan for them."

Tennessee is paying Jones $200,000 per month until February 2021 as part of his contract buyout. His salary at Alabama is $35,000 annually.

"Butch works hard in terms of assisting our coaches and planning and preparation," Alabama Coach Nick Saban told reporters. "He is a very bright guy, and he's done a really good job of that. Basically, what he does is assist [offensive coordinator] Mike [Locksley] as much as possible."

No choke sign

If Florida placekicker Evan McPherson lines up for a field-goal attempt Saturday against Georgia, don't look for Todd Grantham to make a choke sign as he did to Gators kicker Chas Henry before he hit a field goal to give Florida a 34-31 overtime victory against the Bulldogs in 2010.

Back then, Grantham was Georgia's defensive coordinator. Now he has the same job at Florida.

"He's doing a good job this year at Florida," Georgia Coach Kirby Smart said at his weekly news conference. "They're aggressive, doing a good job of causing turnovers, got all kinds of fumble recoveries."

The Gators are 22nd nationally in total defense at 323.2 yards per game, and 23rd in sacks with 21.

Grantham went 3-1 against Florida when he was at Georgia from 2010-13, but the Bulldogs have beaten him twice since then at two different schools.

Georgia beat Louisville 37-14 in the 2014 Belk Bowl when Grantham was Bobby Petrino's defensive coordinator, and Georgia beat Mississippi State 31-3 last season when Grantham was Dan Mullen's defensive coordinator.

When Mullen was hired as Florida's coach after last season, Grantham followed him to Gainesville.

Surgery for Hurts

Alabama backup quarterback Jalen Hurts underwent minor surgery for a high ankle sprain, Tide Coach Nick Saban said Monday when he spoke at the Birmingham Quarterback Club.

"They did a minor procedure to try to help the healing," Saban said, according to AL.com. "I think he will be out for probably this bye week, and he will probably be ready to start working again next week."

Hurts was injured on a 21-yard touchdown run against Tennessee in the third quarter Saturday.

The health status of Hurts gets more attention than most backup quarterbacks because he was 26-2 as a starter the previous two seasons and the player who replaced him --Tua Tagovailoa -- suffered a knee sprain earlier this season.

Rankled

Missouri hopes to end an eight-game losing streak against nationally-ranked opponents when the Tigers play No. 12 Kentucky on Saturday at Faurot Field.

"It would be the next step for us in beating a really quality team," Missouri Coach Barry Odom said at his weekly news conference. "It's a divisional opponent, another reason it's huge for us.

"I'm not going to get really tied into, 'We've got to beat a ranked team. We've got to do this.' The Purdue win, that's looking pretty good now. I want to win because it's the next one.

"If I get tied into the number or non-number next to their name, I'm focused on the wrong things."

Missouri is 0-6 against ranked teams in Odom's three seasons as coach, including 43-29 to No. 2 Georgia and 39-10 to No. 1 Alabama this season.

"It's something we need to do if we want to take this program to the next level," Missouri senior offensive lineman Kevin Pendleton told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "To get some respect in the SEC and get some respect on a national level, we have to win these games. We've been known to let these games go and not show up for them."

The Tigers' last victory against a ranked opponent was in the final game of the 2014 season when they beat No. 25 Minnesota 33-17 in the Citrus Bowl.

Not much room

Ole Miss quarterback Jordan Ta'amu, who tore through the Arkansas Razorbacks for 141 rushing yards on 17 carries, didn't find nearly that much running room against Auburn.

The Tigers held Ta'amu to 43 yards on 19 carries in beating the Rebels 31-16.

"They're big and physical and fast off the line," Ta'amu told reporters after the game. "The [quarterback] draw plays usually work, but they sat in there and defended that well."

SEC TOP TO BOTTOM

Rank;(prev);record;comment

1;(1);Alabama;8-0;Open date to get ready for LSU

2;(2);LSU;7-1;Open date to get ready for Alabama

3;(3);Georgia;6-1;Florida looking tougher than last season

4;(4);Kentucky;6-1;Winning with defense and run game

5;(5)Florida;6-1;Mullen has brought Gators back quickly

6;(6)Texas A&M;5-2;Road trip to Mississippi State

7;(9);Auburn;5-3;Open date after big win at Ole Miss

8;(12)Missouri;4-3;Looking for 1st SEC victory vs. Kentucky

9;(7);Mississippi State;4-3;Passing game has been awful

10;(10);South Carolina;3-3;Needs to beat Tennessee to boost bowl hopes

11;(8);Tennessee;3-4;Looking for another SEC road victory

12;(11);Ole Miss;5-3;Open date to get ready for South Carolina

13;(13);Vanderbilt;3-5;Close losses against ranked teams

14;(14);Arkansas;2-6;Underdog at home to Commodores

Player to watch

Florida sophomore Feleipe Franks is the latest quarterback to thrive under Coach Dan Mullen.

Franks has completed 103 of 182 passes (56.6 percent) for 1,406 yards and 15 touchdowns with 5 interceptions, and he's rushed 55 times for 126 yards and 1 touchdown going into Saturday's game against Georgia.

Franks' struggles last season were evident in the Bulldogs' 42-7 victory over the Gators when he completed 7 of 19 passes for 30 yards with 1 interception.

Game of the week

Florida vs. Georgia 2:30 p.m. Saturday (CBS)

WHERE TIAA Bank Field, Jacksonville, Fla.

RECORDS Florida 6-1, 4-1 SEC. Georgia 6-1, 4-1

RANKINGS Georgia is No. 7 in The Associated Press poll. Florida is ranked No. 9

LINE Georgia by 6½

Florida and Georgia are both ranked in the top 10 going into their matchup for the first time since 2008. The Bulldogs are hoping for a better outcome than they had 10 years ago, when No. 5 Florida beat No. 8 Georgia 49-10.

Other games

Vanderbilt at Arkansas

WHEN 11 a.m.

RECORDS Vanderbilt 3-5, 0-4 SEC; Arkansas 2-6, 0-4

TV SEC Network

LINE Vanderbilt by 1 1/2

No. 9 Florida vs. No. 7 Georgia

WHEN 2:30 p.m.

RECORDS Florida 6-1, 4-1 SEC; Georgia 6-1, 4-1

TV CBS

LINE Georgia by 6 1/2

No. 12 Kentucky at Missouri

WHEN 3 p.m.

RECORD Kentucky 6-1, 4-1 SEC; Missouri 4-3, 0-3

TV SEC Network

LINE Missouri by 7

No. 16 Texas A&M at Mississippi State

WHEN 6 p.m.

RECORDS Texas A&M 5-2, 3-1 SEC; Mississippi State 4-3, 1-3

TV ESPN

LINE Mississippi State by 2 1/2

Tennessee at South Carolina

WHEN 6:30 p.m.

RECORDS Tennessee 3-4, 1-3 SEC; South Carolina 3-3, 2-3

TV SEC Network

LINE South Carolina by 7 1/2

By the numbers

6-0 -- South Carolina Coach Will Muschamp's record vs. Tennessee, including 4-0 at Florida and 2-0 with the Gamecocks

74 -- Yards gained by Kentucky running back Benny Snell in the Wildcats' game-winning 80-yard drive in a 14-7 victory over Vanderbilt

16.6 -- Average points Florida is allowing to rank 15th nationally in scoring defense, up from 69th last season at 27.3

Overheard

"If you look at their sideline and look at our sideline, it don't hardly look the same."

-- Tennessee Coach Jeremy Pruitt after Alabama beat the Vols 58-21

"We all came to the game like, 'Man, our coach is about to get fired and we can't do nothing about it.' "

-- Florida linebacker Rayshad Jackson on rumors the morning of last season's game against Georgia that Jim McElwain would be fired as the Gators' coach, which he was two days later

"He was given the time to do it, and he's done it the way he wanted."

-- Missouri Coach Barry Odom on Kentucky Coach Mark Stoops going into his sixth season and building his program into an SEC East contender.

Sports on 10/25/2018