Scout.com: Three & Out: SEC Thoughts, News & Notes 11/22

Three & Out: SEC Thoughts, News & Notes 11/22

LSU head coach Les Miles

By Barrett Sallee

CollegeFootballNews.com
Posted Nov 22, 2009

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CFN SEC Blogger Barrett Sallee shares three thoughts, comments or observations about Week 12 in the SEC.

By: Barrett Sallee

The Week 12 wrap up edition of Three & Out focuses on the horrific time management in Oxford, a resurgence in Lexington and a team out west that is going largely unnoticed.

D'OH!
LSU fans have got to be beside themselves after what they saw transpire at the end of the Tigers 25-23 loss to Ole Miss in Oxford Saturday afternoon. Despite being thoroughly dominated in every aspect of the game, the Tigers found themselves in a position to win late – a common theme of the 2009 LSU season. But the horrific time management of the LSU coaching staff on the final drive is inexcusable, and has many Tiger fans jumping off the Les Miles train.

Quarterback Jordan Jefferson found freshman Ruben Randle in the back of the end zone to get the Tigers to within two of the Rebels with just over a minute to play. That started a frantic LSU sequence that saw wide receiver Brando LaFell recover the onside kick, make a 26-yard reception to get the Tigers within field goal range, and then back out of field goal range at the expense of a sack and an inexplicable screen pass that went nowhere. The Tigers, facing a fourth-and-26 in Ole Miss territory, then let 17 seconds tick off the clock before calling a time out.

Seriously, that's not made up.

Jefferson connected with Terrance Tolliver on the fourth down play, and the clock stopped with one second to play to set the chains. The chain gang seemed more prepared than the Tigers. LSU couldn't get the play off, which apparently was going to be a spike to kill the clock. Unless Jordan Jefferson has Doc Brown's Delorean, even that takes at least one second.

In the post-game press conference, Les Miles denied that he called for a quarterback spike. Although video from WBRZ-TV in Baton Rouge clearly indicates otherwise.

In my ranking of the SEC coaches last May, I received hundreds of e-mails from angry LSU fans appalled that I could rank Les Miles seventh in the SEC.

Maybe it should be lower.

In May, I said that Les Miles 2007 National Championship had more to do with his talented players bailing him out, instead of his coaching ability. Saturday in Oxford was a perfect example of this. Next spring, he will be lower.

C-A-T-S CATS CATS CATS!
It's been a monumental season in Lexington – and no, I'm not talking about the arrival of Kentucky hoops coach John Calipari.

The Wildcats came back to upset the home-standing Georgia Bulldogs, 34-27, Saturday night in Athens, Ga. It marked the first time in 32 years that Kentucky has beaten the Bulldogs in Athens. This comes in the same season that the Wildcats beat Auburn for the first time since 1966.

Randall Cobb had been injured all week, but it didn't matter. Kentucky was starting a true freshman quarterback in a hostile environment, but it didn't matter. They were down two touchdowns in the third quarter, but it didn't matter. This is a Kentucky team on the rise, with a highly underrated head coach, Rich Brooks, leading the way.

Granted, they got a little help from Georgia. Joe Cox had about the worst fourth quarter imaginable. But in years past, Kentucky would still find a way to lose this type of game. They don't do that anymore.

The Wildcats host Tennessee next weekend to close out the regular season. They haven't beaten the Volunteers in the last 24 meetings, the longest active losing streak by one team against another in major college football. The way this season is going, that mark is very much in jeopardy. They've already won three straight bowl games, a first for the Wildcats. A fourth, on New Years Day, is a real possibility.

HOG WILD
Don't look now, but Arkansas is on a roll. The team that was once 3-4 has ripped off four straight, including a 42-21 domination of Mississippi State on Saturday afternoon.

Ryan Mallett threw for 313 yards, five touchdowns, broke Clint Stoerner's single-season Arkansas record for touchdown passes with his 27th...and 28th, and catapulted Arkansas into a much better bowl position.

"It's nice when you kind of walk out of the box going, 'That was a hard day. That was bad,' but you have 42 points," said offensive coordinator Paul Petrino.

Ya think?

Ryan Mallett is draft eligible, and if this continues, that decision is a no-brainer. His stock is justifiably skyrocketing. In the meantime, the golden arm of Ryan Mallett has Arkansas heading into the Battle for the Golden Boot against LSU on an Ole Miss 2008-style roll. A trip to Jerry World to visit #1 Arkansas fan Jerry Jones is looking more and more likely.

Barrett Sallee covers the SEC for www.CollegeFootballNews.com. He can be reached at barrettsallee@gmail.com, or on Twitter at http://twitter.com/BSallee_CFN