Thursday, October 18, 2012

Morning Six Pack: October 18, 2012

http://lh6.ggpht.com/-bplRHS6qLtE/T_OHqP-CAtI/AAAAAAAADp4/YdD75tuAcHM/image_thumb%25255B2%25255D.png?imgmax=800You can’t drink all day if you don’t start early, so here are six college football stories from around the country.

Tyrann Mathieu Family Seeks Legal Action Against Sports Illustrated

Tyrann Mathieu has had more than forgetting about marijuana and getting his football life back in order to think about.  The former LSU Tigers standout and his parents have got some determined reporters to worry about.

For some SEC teams, coaching seat heating up

The league that has won six consecutive national championships has more coaches on the proverbial "hot seat" than in any recent year, with potential openings at Arkansas, Auburn, Kentucky and Tennessee.

Dartmouth uses water bottle as kicking tee; Yale refuses to lend one

Dartmouth forgets kicking tee for game, so Ivy Leaguers improvise.

Oregon faces first true road game tonight

The back half of Oregon's schedule that features four teams currently in the top 25 should be more to the liking of the BCS computer formulas.

David Paschall: Manziel is boggling the mind

Texas A&M redshirt freshman quarterback Johnny Manziel isn't going to erase the one-year wonderment of former Auburn quarterback Cam Newton, but his numbers have been better.

Quotable:

First of all ... wow. Between Meyer, Strong, Mullen and the fact that 21 starters or major contributors from Florida's 2008 team currently play in the NFL, it's easy to see how the Gators won the national title that year -- while also completely inexplicable how they lost to Houston Nutt. And former Texas defensive coordinator Muschamp's success so far in Gainesville may help explain why Mack Brown finds himself in his current predicament.

As for comparing the four, Meyer is doing exactly what's expected of Ohio State's coach. We didn't necessarily think the Buckeyes would start 7-0, but you know with the right coach they're never going to be down for too long. I'd say much the same thing about Florida, though Muschamp and his staff have unquestionably had a profound impact on that team. In fewer than two years, they've completely reinvented the program and found a way to start 6-0 despite some obvious offensive limitations. If they keep this up, he's a legitimate Coach of the Year candidate. Strong has also done a tremendous job rebuilding Louisville's program from the depths of the Steve Kragthorpe era, and he has the Cardinals squarely in the hunt for a BCS berth. But that's also not unprecedented; Bobby Petrino did the same thing just six years ago.

My answer is Mullen. While acknowledging that Mississippi State hasn't played the strongest competition to this point (its best win was last week's victory over 3-3 Tennessee) and could well get exposed once it faces Alabama and LSU, the fact is that the Bulldogs are 6-0 and no one's surprised is a testament to how dramatically Mullen has changed the culture in Starkville. Two years ago, in Mullen's second season, the Bulldogs won nine games for the first time in 11 years and just the fourth time since World War II. This year, his team seems headed for at least that many victories, particularly with remaining games against Middle Tennessee, Arkansas and Ole Miss.

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