Time Out
by Dan Rutledge

One down, two to go on the Alabama Crimson Tide’s 2008 “Revenge Tour.” That’s what they’re calling it in Tuscaloosa.

Articles about last season’s late meltdown are posted in the Tide locker room as a reminder - not that any of the Tide players are likely to forget last Novemeber, when Bama saw a promising season ruined by a four-game losing streak that started with Louisiana-Monroe, ended with Auburn, with LSU and Mississippi State sandwiched in between.

Alabama head coach Nick Saban daily, sometimes more than once a day, reminds his charges about the dangers of being overconfident, of underestimating any opponent. Part of the reason Bama is 10-0 today and ranked No. 1 in the nation in all of the polls is that Saban has managed to keep his team hungry, approaching every game with an underdog mindset.

That’s not quite as hard as it would seem. Saban only needs to use history as a reminder.

It’s not only last year’s four-game losing streak that can be pointed at … the Tide’s lack of success against LSU, Mississippi State and Auburn is not a one-year story. Last Saturday, Bama snapped a five-game losing streak to LSU. The next reversal of November fortune will be halting a two-game losing streak to the Bulldogs from Starkville, Miss. And bringing to an end the six-game skid to Auburn will be the final and most rewarding victory on the Revenge Tour.

A prediction here: the Bama win over AU will prompt some “finger T-shirts” from the Tide side. Can anybody guess which finger will be displayed?

Alabama, undefeated (10-0 overall, 6-0 in conference play) and playing at home against a struggling Mississippi State team (3-6, 1-4) should have little trouble in racking up win No. l1 on the year, or so it looks on paper (Line: Alabama by 19_). But as the old saying goes, they don’t play the games on paper, but on a field.

Again, a little examination of history can keep one from being overcome by overconfidence. It’s not just the two-game losing streak that makes the Tide wary of the Bulldogs. It’s the fact that the Crimson Tide hasn’t scored an offensive touchdown since 2004 in the Highway 82 series. Then there’s that thing about just who coaches the Bulldogs - Sylvester Croom, an ex-Alabama star, one of Bear’s Boys. And although he hasn’t had outstanding success in Starkville, his rebuilding job still in progress, Alabama is just 2-2 against State since Croom’s arrival.

The game itself should be decided up front in the trenches, where Bama’s offensive line should be able to pave the way for Glen Coffee and Mark Ingram to roll up some big yardage on the ground. Mississippi State’s pass defense is No. 1 in the league, but it’s run defense is only so-so, ranked 11th in league play.

From here, it looks like the Tide will be able to run the ball and thus control the clock and beat the spread. Look for long drives and the Tide to go back to its early-season ways of coming out hot and putting early points on the board. Once that happens, the suspense will fade as fans’ fears of another 6-3 defeat vanishes. Then Bama will see if it has learned to not let down with that big second half lead.

There are three other conference games on tap on the Week 11 SEC football schedule. South Carolina (7-3, 4-3) at Florida (8-1, 6-1) (Line: Florida by 21) is an interesting one that has one Florida Heisman winning quarterback against another. Tim Tebow will lead the Gators against the Gamecocks, who is coached by the 1966 Heisman winner, Steve Spurrier. Florida is one of the hottest teams on the grid scene right now with impressive victories in its last outings. But can South Carolina’s top-ranked defense slow down the Gator point machine? That’s the question.

Vanderbilt (5-4, 3-3) will be visiting Kentucky (6-4, 2-4) (Line: Kentucky by 4_). Vandy will be trying for the fifth straight week to get that sixth win that will make it bowl eligible. The Commodores haven’t gone bowling since 1982 and have lost their past 17 games that would have given them their sixth win in a season. Another bad omen that seems to suggest the ‘Dores won’t make it this time either - the game is going to be broadcast on ESPN2 and Vandy is 0-7 when on that channel.

The final league game of the week has Georgia (8-2, 5-2) down on The Plains facing the Auburn Tigers (5-5, 2-4) (Line: Georgia by 8_). The War Eagle boys are in the same boat as the Commodores - seeking a sixth win to become bowl eligible and to stave off a losing season. Looks like another tough week for Tommy Tuberville. The Bulldogs have too much talent for the ailing Tigers.

The other two game on tap this week have SEC teams facing lesser foes. Ole Miss (5-4) will be favored to become bowl eligible when it hosts Louisiana-Monroe (3-7) (Line: Ole Miss by 21). And pity the Troy Trojans (6-3), who will be visiting Baton Rouge Saturday to face the LSU Tigers (6-3), still smarting from the overtime loss to Alabama.

WEEKEND TV LINEUP

Saturday’s television lineup follows (all times CST):

11 a.m.
Duke at Clemson (CW), Notre Dame at Navy (CBS), Ohio State at Illinois (ESPN), Northwestern at Michigan (ESPN2), Princeton at Yale (Versus)

11:30 a.m.
Georgia at Auburn (Raycom Sports), Texas at Kansas (FSNS)

Noon
Middle Tennessee at Western Kentucky (CSS)

2 p.m.
North Carolina at Maryland (ABC), South Carolina at Florida (CBS), Minnesota at Wisconsin (ESPN), Wake Forest at N.C. St. (ESPNU)

5:30 p.m.
Missouri at Iowa St. (FSNS)

6 p.m.
Connecticut at Syracuse (ESPNU), Southern Cal at Stanford (FSNS)

6:45 p.m.
Mississippi St. at Alabama (ESPN)

7 p.m.
Vandy at Kentucky (ESPN2), Boston College at FSU (ABC)

9:15 p.m.
UCLA at Washington (FSNS)

Time Out
by Dan Rutledge

Thank Dog for CBS.

That’s what fans of the No. 1 team in the land, the Alabama Crimson Tide, could say this week. Tide head coach Nick Saban might offer up a prayer of thanks as well if his Bama team escapes from Death Valley with a “W” on Saturday.

That’s right, talking about this week’s top game - not only in the Southeast, but in the nation - that has Alabama (9-0, 5-0) visiting No. 15-ranked LSU (6-2, 3-2) in Baton Rouge, La., (Line: Alabama by 3) on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.

This game, like every great game, has so many story lines that it is hard to keep up with them all.

First, that 2:30 starting time is very important. LSU should change its name from the Bayou Tigers to the Vampire Tigers because they play so much better at night. Since 1960, LSU has a home record of 208-59-4 in night games. But when they have to play in the light of day, the Tigers have a losing record, 21-23-3.

So, if you knew this was the case, would you ever play in the daytime? Well, LSU wouldn’t if it had a choice. In fact, every LSU home game is set for a 7 p.m. start. But as a member of the SEC, LSU is required to abide by the terms of the league’s TV contracts. And that’s why Saturday’s game has a 2:30 p.m. start - because CBS says so.

Another story line, of course, is that Saturday will be the first time Saban - who was the LSU coach in a previous coaching incarnation if you don’t remember; had a pretty good run there if I recall, a national title and such - has returned to Baton Rouge as the Tide head man. And although Saban swears up and down that “it’s not personal,” you know that on some level it has to be. Saban doesn’t like to lose, period. But he’d really hate to lose this weekend.

Another factor is that this season, so far, has been the best ever for Saban himself. This is the first time ever that Saban has been 9-0 - in his entire career. An undefeated season, something else he has never experienced, is a possibility and although he will swear on anything you’d like him to swear on that that thought hasn’t crossed his mind - you know it has. This fact only adds fuel to the LSU fans’ fire. They want to embarrass Saban, hurt him like they feel he hurt them. It would be wonderful to spoil Saban’s undefeated run this year.

Alabama will be trying hard to not let déjà vu get in the way. Alabama’s 2005 squad found itself in this very same position — 9-0 and headed into the LSU game on a roll. The Tigers won that one and Bama then dropped its final two games of the season.

The game itself will be a good one, no matter who wins. LSU’s main problem will be at QB, where redshirt freshman Jarrett Lee will be playing. He threw five interceptions in the losses to Georgia and Florida. This makes the Tigers want to run, not throw, for their yardage. But Alabama’s defensive line is among the best in the nation — yes, noseguard Terrance Cody will be back. The Tide has allowed just one rushing TD this season - next best is four. Alabama leads the SEC in rushing defense. It also has not allowed an opponent to have a 100-yard rushing game against it. The game could come down to LSU going as tailback Charles Scott goes. Scott has had six 100-yard rushing games this season. From here, it doesn’t look like it will happen Saturday.

And although Bama leads the SEC in rushing offense, Saturday’s game will be about John Parker Wilson. Wilson, like the entire Bama team, plays up or down to the opponent’s level. And after a so-so outing against lowly Arkansas State last week, Wilson will be ready for an all-star outing in the big game of the year. The main weakness of the otherwise standout LSU defense is its young and still inexperienced defense. Look for Wilson to exploit it and the Tide to clinch the SEC West and be 10-0 after all the dust has settled.

There are three other conference games on tap on the Week 10 SEC football schedule, two Eastern Division matchups and one an East-West affair. None of the three are expected to be nail-biters or to have a big impact on division races.

No. 4-ranked Florida (7-1 overall, 5-1 in SEC play)-Vanderbilt (5-3, 3-2) contest (Line: Florida by 11) could be a factor in the Eastern Division race IF (and that’s a big “if”) the Commodores managed to pull off the upset of the season. But even on a good year - and this is one - Vandy can’t do that. The Commodore defense simply can’t stop the Florida offensive juggernaut and it’s offense can’t match the Gator’s output.

The other Eastern matchup has the No. 14-ranked Georgia Bulldogs visiting the Kentucky Wildcats (Line: Georgia by 10_). Again, this game will have little to no bearing on the Eastern Division race unless the Cats can pull off a big upset. And again, that’s not going to happen.

The East-West matchup - Arkansas (4-5, 1-4) at South Carolina (6-3, 3-3) (Line: S.C. by 11) - is like two trains passing in the night going in different directions. Look for the Gamecock Express to stay on it’s winning-season track, while the Hogs keep on their losing-season heading..

There are two non-conference games this week, both giving the suffering fans of two teams that have fallen on hard times a chance to feel better for a weekend. Auburn and Tennessee will be hosing non-BCS foes for homecoming games. The Tigers and Vols are two of the underachievers of the 2008 football season. Both were expected to have good if not great years, but both come into this week’s matchups sporting losing record.

Auburn (2-4, 4-5) will be entertaining Tennessee-Martin (7-2) (No Line) and the War Eagle fans are hoping the visitors don’t prove to be another Appalachian State. A win would pull AU back to the .500 mark on the year - for a moment, at least. Auburn has to close out its season against Georgia and Alabama. Tennessee is worse off than Auburn in that a win Saturday will not be enough to pull the Vols back to the .500 mark.

Tennessee (3-6) will be hosting Wyoming (3-6) (Line: Tennessee by 26). This one should be a crowd-pleasing blowout for two reasons. First, the Cowboys are having just as tough a season as the Vols and their 3-6 record has been forged against much lesser opponents. Second, after Vol head coach Phil Fulmer announced his resignation (at the end of the season) last week, it is a sure bet the Tennessee players will be giving their all, playing as hard as they can on every play for the rest of the season. In fact, we won’t be surprised if the Vols win out the rest of the way.

An interesting sidenote: Georgia Coach Mark Richt has predicted a close, fan-pleasing affair in the 2008 SEC Championship Game in the Georgia Dome. The way things are progressing, it will take a major upset of some kind to keep Alabama and Florida out of the ‘08 title game. If that happens, Richt sees the matchup as a tossup. And having lost to both teams, his opinion is one to be listened to.

“It would be an interesting matchup,” he said last week. Both teams are very solid in what they do on offense and defense and both teams’ special teams are outstanding. Right now, if you told me I had to pick a winner, I’d probably flip a coin on it.”

WEEKEND TV LINEUP

There are two Friday night offerings on the weekend television lineup this week. The 6:30 p.m. game on ESPNU is an Ivy League thriller pitting Penn and Princeton. Nevada and Fresno State play at 8 p.m. on ESPN2.

Saturday’s television lineup follows (all times CST):

11 a.m.
Georgia Tech at North Carolina (CW), Michigan at Minnesota (ESPN), Ohio State at Northwestern (ESPN2), Syracuse at Rutgers (ESPNU), Samford at Ga. Southern (CSS), Baylor at Texas (FSNS)

11:30 a.m.
Georgia at Kentucky (Raycom Sports)

1:30 p.m.
Iowa State at Colorado (Versus)

2 p.m.
Citadel at Wofford (SportSouth)

2:30 p.m.
Alabama at LSU (CBS), Clemson at FSU (ABC), Western Ky. at Troy (CSS), Penn St. at Iowa (ESPN), Stanford at Oregon (FSNS), Virginia at Wake Forest (ESPNU)

6 p.m.
UTEP at La.-Lafayette (CSS), Kansas at Missouri (FSNS), Coastal Carolina at Gardner-Webb (SportSouth), Cincinnati at West Va. (ESPNU)

7 p.m.
Notre Dame at Boston College (ESPN), Oklahoma St. at Texas Tech (ABC), Florida at Vanderbilt (ESPN2)

Dan Rutledge is a veteran sports writer and editor who recently retired after 25 years with Gulf Coast Newspapers in Baldwin County, Alabama. He writes this advance column on college football exclusively for The Locust Fork News-Journal every Friday during football season.

Time Out
by Dan Rutledge

The main event on Week 9 of the SEC football season is the game once known as The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. This year, the loser will have a heckova hangover.

Every November, the Georgia Bulldogs and the Florida Gators get together on neutral ground in Jacksonville, Fla. The game always has emotion and the result always plays a big part in deciding who represents the East Division in the SEC Championship Game in the Georgia Dome.

This year, with the two schools tied at the top of the East standings (Georgia 4-1 in SEC play, 6-1 overall and Florida 4-1 and 7-1 (Line: Florida by 6), the winner may as well make reservations for Atlanta since the next challenger, now at second place in the East standings, is Vanderbilt and as everyone knows, even after a fast 5-0 start, the Commodores are having a hard time getting that sixth win to be bowl eligible.

The Florida-Georgia game is an interesting matchup pitting two teams with outstanding quarterbacks against one another. The Gators’ Tim Tebow has something Bulldog QB Matt Stafford doesn’t have — a Heisman Trophy. But Stafford has something Tebow doesn’t — a win in the annual Cocktail Classic. Last year Stafford threw three TD passes in leading Georgia to a 42-30 win over Tebow’s Gators. That loss, and this game, means a little extra to Tebow, being from the Jacksonville area himself.

“It means a lot to me,” Tebow was quoted as saying this week, ”growing up as a kid in Jacksonville.”

In addition to the win, how each plays against each other could have something to say about who wins this year’s post-season awards. Both are semifinalists for the Davey O’Brien Award, given each year to the nation’s top QB. And the two junior signal callers are tied for the SEC lead with 12 TD passes each and are the only SEC quarterbacks ranked in the top 40 nationally in passer rating. The similarities continue in that both QBs have lost just five games as starters.

And the two quarterbacks aren’t the only players to watch Saturday in Jacksonville. It should be a real barn burner in that the Gators and Bulldogs may have more true game-breakers than any other two teams in the league — and all will be on the same field at the same time. Percy Harvin, Knowshon Moreno, Chris Rainey, A.J. Green, Jeff Demps, and Brandon James can all break a game open on a single play with their speed.

There are three other conference games on tap this week.

One of them, Tennessee (1-4, 3-5) at South Carolina (2-3, 5-3) (Line: S.C. by 6), would be a big game some seasons, but not this one with both teams out of the running for the East title. It is big for the Vols in that they need a league win to turn around a dismal season. South Carolina would like to become bowl-eligible this early in the year to help them land a good holiday destination.

The second league game is a so-so affair matching Kentucky (1-3, 5-3) from the East and Mississippi State (1-3, 3-5) from the West (Line: Mississippi St. by 3). The Cats started out strong, but have faltered since hitting the conference part of their schedule. Mississippi State started slow, but has shown improvement lately and would like a win to keep that momentum going.

The third SEC matchup is a Western battle that pits two teams, Ole Miss and Auburn (Line: Ole Miss by 6) with matching records (2-3 in league play, 4-4 overall) but different feelings about those marks. Auburn’s Tommy Tuberville is fighting for his future as angry fans mob the call-in shows to complain. Tuberville’s questionable decision to fire offensive coordinator Tony Franklin in midseason has put his team behind the eight-ball, as he himself admitted this week.

“I put the team in a bind in the middle of the season,” Tubs said. “We should be a lot better right now but we’re kind of in the third or fourth game of the season instead of the eighth game in terms of what we’re doing on offense and defense.”

Ole Miss fans, after suffering through three losing seasons under former coach Ed Orgeron, are highly satisfied with the Rebel’s 4-4 mark under Houston Nutt. Look for Ole Miss fans to remain happy, while AU fans get even angrier.

The non-conference games this week have Alabama (8-0) entertaining Arkansas State (4-3) for homecoming (Line: Alabama by 22 _). Kickoff is at 2 p.m. but the game is on pay-per-view only, so crank up the radio wherever you are.

Then there is Tulsa (8-8, ranked No. 19) at Arkansas (3-5) (Line: Tulsa. by 7) and Tulane (2-5) at LSU (5-2) (Line: LSU by 25).

An interesting sidenote: Nick Saban continues to remind older Tide fans of the good ol’ Bear Bryant days. Saban seems to channel Bear almost every week now.

As said before, he doesn’t mumble like the Bear, but the words or thoughts behind those words sure are similar. Bear always used to play up the upcoming opponent, finding some way to complement them and point out how dangerous they were - even if it was Vandy, Southern Miss, or Lousiana Tech coming up. Saban was hard at it this week, promoting Arkansas State QB Corey Leonard as “the best dual threat we’ve seen all season.”

Of course, remembering homecoming last year, Saban has every reason not to let his team get close to complacency or overconfidence — but it won’t happen this time around. The Tide will continue to roll. How much? Well, that’s hard to say. Saban, like Bear, doesn’t believe in “style points” achieved by running up the score on a lesser foe.

WEEKEND TV LINEUP

The Friday night game on the weekend television lineup (7 p.m. ESPN2) pits Wofford and Appalachian State. Saturday’s television lineup follows (all times CST):

11 a.m.
Miami at Virginia (CW), Wisconsin at Michigan St. (ESPN), Northwestern at Minnesota (ESPN2), Air Force at Army (ESPNU), Brown at Penn (Versus)

11:30 a.m.
Kansas St. at Kansas (FSNS), Auburn at Ole Miss (Raycom Sports)

1:30 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Notre Dame (NBC)

2 p.m.
Furman at Sanford (SportSouth), FSU at Georgia Tech (ABC)

2:30 p.m.
Georgia at Florida (CBS), Illinois at Iowa (ESPN), Clemson at Boston College (ESPNU)

5:30 p.m.
Washington at USC (FSNS)

6 p.m.
Louisville at Syracuse (ESPNU), Tennessee at South Carolina (ESPN2)

7 p.m.
Nebraska at Oklahoma (ESPN), Texas at Texas Tech (ABC), UAB at Southern Miss (CSS)

9:15 p.m.
Arizona St. at Oregon St. (FSNS)

Dan Rutledge is a veteran sports writer and editor who recently retired after 25 years with Gulf Coast Newspapers in Baldwin County, Alabama. He writes this advance column on college football exclusively for The Locust Fork News-Journal every Friday during football season.

Time Out
by Dan Rutledge

It’s the Third Saturday in October on the fourth Saturday of October. Or whatever you call it, it is Alabama vs. Tennessee Week in the SEC.

Every October — historically on the third weekend of the month — since 1928 (except in 1943 when World War II got in the way) the Crimson Tide and Volunteers have teed it up, with Bama leading the overall series 45-38-7. Of late, it’s been a back-and-forth affair with the Tide seeking to beat Tennessee in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1991-92.

The game is, of course, big for the Tide because it is undefeated (7-0, 4-0) and just needs to keep winning to stay on course for the SEC Championship Game … and beyond. Tennessee (3-4, 1-3) is in the midst of a down year and a “spoiler” win over Alabama would go a long way toward making the Vols and Phil Fulmer feel better about the 2008 season. (Line: Alabama by 6 _).

Alabama’s John Parker Wilson may have to have another good day if the Tide is to roll as expected. Tennessee’s offense had been inoffensive for the most part this season, but does seem to be improved since Nick Stephens was installed as the starting quarterback.

But look for the Tide to do its usual … score first and often and run up a big enough lead that it can withstand a second-half letdown and survive once again. Even without celebrated nose tackle Terrance Cody in the lineup — the big guy is expected to miss two games with a knee injury — the Bama defense will handle the Vols. Josh Chapman will replace Cody at nose and there will not be much letdown. In fact, Chapman already played a good deal of the time and would have been the starter at the spot this year if Cody had not transferred in from junior college.

Alabama has been criticized for not winning pretty, losing style points by not dominating every game, etc. A win is a win and to keep winning, game in and game out, in the SEC is not easy. The reason the SEC is the best league in the land is that every team, from the bottom up, is capable of winning every week. The parity is amazing. No one is going to dominate every game. In fact, having a habit of letting down in the second half because you have run up too big a lead in the first half is probably a pretty good problem to have.

Every game is a big game. That’s something you hear all the time. It’s part of the official coach-speak lexicon. But late in the season, it becomes literally true, especially if you add in the word “conference” to the opening sentence. It’s getting to be late enough in the 2008 Southeastern Conference football schedule (Week 8) that all conference games are huge, make or break for one or both teams involved.

That’s the case Saturday when four of the six games on tap are league matchups. The SEC has just four teams — the least this season — listed in this week’s national top 25 polls. But all four are in the top half … Alabama leading the way at No. 2, followed by Florida No. 5, Georgia No. 9, and LSU No. 11. All four are involved in three of the four conference tilts.

The three other two-league games this week have Georgia (6-1, 3) at LSU (5-1, 3-1) (Line: LSU by 1_), Kentucky (5-2, 1-2) at Florida (5-1, 3-1) (Line: Florida by 24), and Ole Miss (3-4, 1-3) at Arkansas (3-4-1-3) (Line: Ole Miss by 5_). Wins by Florida and Georgia will keep them tied atop the Eastern Division standings. If one wins and the other loses, the winner will take control of the division. A loss by LSU would be the second in conference play and just about guarantee the appearance of the Crimson Tide in the SEC Championship Game as the West winner.

The Arkansas-Ole Miss affair is more than your usual matchups of 3-4 teams. It has the old coach-returns-to-old-stomping-grounds soap-opera storyline when Huston Nutt returns to Fayetteville at the helm of the Rebels.

The other games this week have Vanderbilt (5-2) hosting Duke (3-3) in the “Smart Kids Bowl” (Line: Vandy by 10) and Mississippi State (2-5) entertaining Sun Belt Conference member Middle Tennessee (2-5) (Line: Mississippi St. by 10).

A quick word about the game that opened up the SEC schedule last (Thursday) night when Auburn blew a 17-3 lead and continued its downward spiral with a 34-17 defeat at the hands of Big East member West Virginia. The second-half meltdown was in front of a national TV audience, the game being broadcast on ESPN. It seems that both of the teams from the state of Alabama — the Crimson Tide and the Tigers — have the same habit: getting ahead in the first half and then suffering a mysterious letdown after intermission. Auburn, like Alabama, has led at halftime in every game this year. But the now 4-4 War Eagles haven’t been as successful as the Tide, at least, in maintaining their first-half advantage throughout the game.

WEEKEND TV LINEUP

The rest of the weekend television lineup continues tonight (7 p.m. ESPN2) with a game that has BCS implications. BCS-buster wannabe Boise State, currently ranked No. 12 nationally, will take on San Jose State. This is one of just two tough games — games in which the Broncos from the Western Athletic Conference could be seriously challenged — left on the Boise State schedule. Saturday’s television lineup follows (all times CST):
11 a.m.
Boston College at North Carolina (CW), Texas Tech at Kansas (ESPN), Illinois at Wisconsin (ESPN2), Minnesota at Purdue (ESPN Classic), Wake Forest at Miami (ESPNU)
11:30 a.m.
Oklahoma at Kansas St. (FSNS), Baylor at Nebraska (Versus), Kentucky at Florida (Raycom Sports)
2 p.m.
Wofford at Elon (SportSouth)
2:30 p.m.
Virginia Tech at FSU (ABC), Georgia at LSU (CBS), James Madison at Villanova (CSS), Michigan St. at Michigan (ESPN2), Virginia at Georgia Tech (ESPNU)
3 p.m.
Dartmouth at Columbia (Versus)
5:30 p.m.
Colorado at Missouri (FSNS)
6 p.m.
Fla. Atlantic at La. Monroe (CSS), Middle Tenn. at Miss. St. (ESPNU)
6:45 p.m.
Alabama at Tennessee (ESPN)
7 p.m.
Notre Dame at Washington (ESPN2), Penn St. at Ohio St. (ABC)
9:15 p.m.
USC at Arizona (ESPN)

Time Out
by Dan Rutledge

It’s down to the nitty-gritty time. There are only five games on the Week 8 Southeastern Conference football lineup and all of them are big ones to the teams involved since, for the first time this season, all of the games are conference matchups.

Which is the BIG one? Good question.

With a log jam at the top of the Eastern Division, the Vanderbilt (5-1 overall, 3-1 in conference play) -Georgia (5-1, 2-1) battle has title implications. Vandy is tied with Florida for the division lead and Georgia wants desperately to get back to what it feels is its rightful spot at the top of the heap (Line: Georgia by 14 _).

But most eyes will be on CBS at 2:30 p.m. when the undefeated and No. 2-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide (6-0, 3-0) hosts the Ole Miss Rebels (3-3, 1-2) in Tuscaloosa (Line: Alabama by 13). There are rumblings that warn of an upset … but don’t pay any attention to them. There will be no upset or near one.

For Bama, it will be a case of head coach Nick Saban’s “process” continuing to unfold. Oh, if the Tide had flattened Kentucky like a steam roller in its last outing two Saturdays ago and hadn’t had a week off in between, it could be close. And there are those that point out that Houston Nutt, who moved over from Arkansas to take the reins at Oxford this season, always gives Alabama trouble. That has been true, but will not be true this time around.

Saban was probably secretly glad his charges didn’t roll unabated two weeks ago. It gave him a perfect excuse to bear down hard and say, “See what happens when you don’t play all-out every play?” And the week off gave the Bama players time to get rid of any overconfidence they may have had before Saban beat on them all week.

To tell the truth, yours truly doesn’t understand why the Tide is only a 13-point favorite at home to a team that on which it holds a 44-9-2 all-time series lead. More than that, Bama has a pretty convincing 22-1 record against the Rebs when the game is played in Tuscaloosa. Now it is true that the last three wins of the series were won by a mere 3 points. But that was due to the three previous editions of the Tide having a problem sustaining a big lead.

That was then. This is now.

This Bama team seems to have developed an immunity to its old habit of falling short of expectations. The 2008 Tide’s success has gone beyond most pundit’s expectations. This column, if you will remember, said in its preseason ramble that Clemson was ripe for an upset and the schedule was such that Bama should come into the Georgia game unbeaten and ready to make a move up in the polls. Saban and all of the Alabama Family should be glad that the voters elevated Texas to No. 1, leaving the Tide at No. 2. Being No. 1 this soon in the season is a trap that is hard to get out of … note the number of teams that have already been No.1 this season, only to immediately lose. (Of course, I don’t know how long the Tide can keep out of the top spot if it keeps winning … and when Missouri upsets the high-in-the-sky Texas Longhorns Saturday, it may be inevitable.)

Alabama’s John Parker Wilson has been having the kind of season he was expected to have when he graduated from Hoover High and headed to Tuscaloosa. Don’t be surprised if he winds up the nation’s top QB before it is all over. The Tide has proved to be a solid and talented team on offense — not surprising considering the experience in the offensive backfield and on the offensive line. What has been surprising is the defense, which has been transformed into one of the best in the nation against the run with the addition of 300-plus-pound noseguard Terrance Cody. Folks have found it tough, impossible, to run up the middle against the Tide. Look for Cody to win some national honors, too.

The other games this week have Arkansas (3-3, 1-2) at Kentucky (4-2, 0-2) (Line: Kentucky by 9), Mississippi State (2-4, 1-2) at still-winless-in-SEC-play Tennessee (2-4, 0-3) (Line: Tennessee by 7 _) and LSU (4-1, 2-1) trying for redemption at still-in-the-Eastern-hunt South Carolina (5-2, 2-2) (Line: LSU by 3).

WEEKEND TV LINEUP
Saturday’s boob tube lineup follows (all times CST):
11 a.m.
Georgia Tech at Clemson (ESPN), Purdue at Northwestern (ESPN2), Connecticut at Rutgers (ESPNU), Wisconsin at Iowa (Big Ten TV)
11:30 a.m.
Vandy at Georgia (Raycom Sports)
2:30 p.m.
USC at Wash. St. (FSNS), Ole Miss at Alabama (CBS), North Carolina at Virginia. (ESPN2), Kansas at Oklahoma (ABC), Miami at Duke (ESPNU)
3:30 p.m.
Michigan at Penn St. (ESPN)
6 p.m.
Arkansas at Kentucky (ESPNU)
7 p.m.
LSU at South Carolina (ESPN), Ohio at Temple (ESPN2), Missouri at Texas (ABC), Illinois at Indiana (Big Ten TV), Virginia Tech at Boston College (ESPN2)