Clay Travis Posts

Late in Saturday's game against Vanderbilt, Tennessee's Dennis Rogan appeared to intercept a pass in the end zone. Only a questionable pass interference call was made. Vanderbilt received a first and goal and eventually kicked a field goal on the series. Lane Kiffin commented on the call in his post-game by telling Commissioner Slive he appreciated the call. Not content with that statement, the next morning Kiffin appeared on the Lane Kiffin Show alongside Vol announcer Bob Kesling and this was the transcript of their discussion of that play:


Kesling: This is third and goal.

Kiffin: [Heavy Sigh]

Kesling: The ball looks like it's intercepted.

Kiffin: The ball is intercepted. I thought that was a great call by the ref throwing the pass interference there. I'm sure that we were at fault.

For the second consecutive season under coach Rich Rodriguez, Michigan will not be going to a bowl game.

In two seasons, Rich Rod has racked up a 8-16 overall record, beaten down the Michigan fan base to such a degree that Ohio State scarlet and gray filled up many of the best seats in the Big House this past Saturday, and left my wife, a Michigan alum, refusing to watch their games on television. "I'm already over Rich Rod," she's said on many occasions.

Now as Michigan enters the long, difficult winter of Wolverine discontent, there's a real issue that has to be decided. If you don't think Rich Rod is going to get it done at the school, you need to fire him now, before the next season commences.

Why?

Because you have a legal hook that can significantly lessen the blow of the firing -- you can argue that Rich Rodriguez breached the terms of his contract by violating NCAA rules. Bang. Meet Michigan's own stimulus plan for the athletic department, firing Rich Rod for cause.

You're damn right he did!

You need Les Miles on that wall, you want Les Miles on that wall. And as you can see from the latest damning YouTube video, the Zapruder film of clockgate, not only did Miles signal for the clocking/spike (which today he denied), but he also screamed it as he was running down the sideline and gesturing it with both arms.

Oh, and then for good measure, as the game ended, he turned to the cop charged with protecting him and asked if LSU had any timeouts left.

On Nov.12, three University of Tennessee freshman, Nu'Keese Richardson, Mike Edwards, and Janzen Jackson-- were arrested and charged with attempted armed robbery. Last week, Lane Kiffin dismissed Richardson and Edwards, the two men who approached the vehicle and demanded money, from the football team.

Now, charges against Jackson and the woman driving the 2010 Toyota Prius, Marie Montmarquet, have both had their attempted armed robbery charges dropped.

"The investigation and careful review of all relevant evidence failed to show ... Ms. Montmarquet or Mr. Jackson had prior knowledge that the attempted robbery was going to take place and were unaware something had occurred until after they pulled out of the Pilot store," according to the DA's statement.

"Therefore, there is an insufficient legal basis to continue a prosecution against them.

"Both Ms. Montmarquet and Mr. Jackson cooperated with the Knoxville Police Department from the time they were pulled over and voluntarily responded to police questioning. Their statements assisted the investigation and were consistent with the other evidence developed."

On Saturday, LSU's Jordan Jefferson made the inexplicable decision to spike the football with only one second remaining in the game. Spiking the football ended the game and negated two miraculous Milacles: first, Les Miles' Tigers recovered an onside kick and then they completed a 46-yard Hail Mary. In his postgame news conference Miles claimed that he didn't know who had instructed Jefferson to spike the football. "I do not know who told him to clock [spike] it," Miles said.

Except, you guessed it, Miles himself was displaying his uncanny acumen by calling for the ball to be spiked with one second remaining on the clock. That's something that you can clearly see on this video after the jump. And yet another reason why LSU fans are still staring morosely at the waters on the bayou, shaking their heads, drinking Jax beers, and cursing the day that Les Miles didn't leave for Michigan.

Last week I wrote about the controversy over The South Will Rise Again chant at Ole Miss. In that piece I noted that Ole Miss was the only SEC school that couldn't escape the South's past. Now a new controversy is here, the Klu Klux Klan is protesting for this week's game against LSU. Seriously.

Faulkner memorably said, "The past is never dead. It's not even past."

And when it comes to Ole Miss that's certainly the case.

Uga VII, not surprisingly, the son of Uga VI, succumbed to an unexpected heart illness Thursday. The Bulldog mascot, in just his second year prowling the sideline, was only four years old. Presumably, he is survived by many other dogs given that Georgia uses lineal descendants to anoint the next mascot. The mascot-less Georgia team will play on Saturday against Kentucky without their English bulldog on the sideline. In a show of support, the entire team will lick their balls at halftime.

CBS carries the SEC Game of the Week into living rooms across the nation every weekend. CBS' deal is the only national broadcast of any collegiate conference. (Independent Notre Dame, of course, has an eight-game deal with NBC.) ABC also carries football games on network television. But the ABC games, featuring Big Ten, ACC, Big 12, Pac-10, and Big East teams are carried regionally. That means ABC carries teams split geographically, which would theoretically lead to higher overall ratings. That's been the case every year.

Until now.

For the first time since CBS added the SEC in 1996, the SEC games are outdrawing their regional counterparts on ABC. This season's SEC ratings are up 29 percent over comparable ratings last season. Given that CBS still has Alabama-Auburn and what will probably be the highest rated game of the season prior to the BCS bowls, Florida-Alabama in the SEC championship game, CBS and the SEC are likely to triumph over ABC for the season.

Should the SEC thank Tim Tebow? Maybe so. But even without Tebow, does this represent a fascinating turn in the ratings game? I think so. Read on for seven reasons why this is incredibly significant.

In 1985 Bo Jackson won the Heisman Trophy by rushing for 1,657 yards and 15 touchdowns. Twenty-four years later, no SEC running back has won the award again. Not Emmitt Smith, not Darren McFadden, not Knowshon Moreno, not Jamal Lewis, not Fred Taylor, not Garrison Hearst not Terrell Davis -- okay, he wasn't that good in college. None of them. And it's not like there hasn't been an awful lot of talented player, by my review of first-round draft picks, the SEC has had 15 running backs taken in the first round since Bo Jackson won the Heisman.

For over a generation, Jackson has stood alone. But now, in the absence of any overwhelming favorite, Alabama running back Mark Ingram seems to be atop many Heisman lists. Is it justified? How do his numbers stack up compared to past winners? And what do those past winners at running back -- there have only been seven since Bo Jackson in 1985 -- tell us about the current state of college football. Proceed, fearless reader.

Midway through the Ole Miss-Tennessee game on Saturday, a highlight package of Archie Manning's playing days at Ole Miss came on the jumbotron. Ole Miss fans, up to that point cheering their biggest win of the season, went quiet. The man behind me muttered softy to himself, "Them were the days."

As Archie ran around on the field making play after play, it occurred to me, not for the first time, how amazing it is that he sired not one, but two, Super Bowl winning quarterbacks. By the time the cameras found his youngest son, Eli, in a suite, I was still attempting to contemplate how amazing the fact was. By Sunday, after Peyton Manning led his Colts to 21 points in the final 12 minutes of a victory over the Patriots, there could be no doubt: Archie Manning's sperm is one of the greatest national treasures in our country.

Right up there with Abraham Lincoln, the flag outside Fort McHenry that inspired Francis Scott Key to jot down "The Star Spangled Banner" and Dorothy's ruby red slippers. That's why I'm making a humble suggestion to the Smithsonian Museum of American History, Archie's sperm should be an exhibit. (Lets see you do that, exhibit on late 19th century wheat threshers.) Otherwise, the museum is worth nothing.

On to the Starting 11.