Notes: Kentucky’s ‘Big Dog’ may have some new tricks for the Cats in the Gator Bowl
Random notes:
▪ I don’t expect the Kentucky offense to look a whole lot different with tight ends coach/recruiting coordinator Vince Marrow calling plays in the Gator Bowl on Saturday. It will be fun to see if the “Big Dog” has some new tricks up his sleeve for North Carolina State. It’s one more reason why this is an interesting bowl game.
▪ New UK offensive coordinator Liam Coen may be on campus sooner than we or he expected. The assistant quarterbacks coach of the Rams has to prepare backup quarterback John Wolford, who has never thrown a pass in an NFL regular-season game, for L.A.’s start against the Cardinals on Sunday, after Jared Goff broke his thumb last week. At 9-6, the Rams need a win over Arizona to be certain of an NFC playoff berth.
▪ UK senior wide receiver Josh Ali said Tuesday he would wait until after Saturday’s bowl game to announce whether he will take advantage of the NCAA rule allowing an extra year of eligibility for student-athletes who participated in 2020-21. But the way Ali talked about how it would be fun to learn under Coen, you’d have to think he’s leaning toward a return.
▪ On the great Dontaie Allen debate, I am not one who believes the UK basketball coach has to recruit in-state players just for the sake of having in-state players on the roster. That said, considering UK’s struggle to put the ball in the basket, and Allen’s reputation as a scorer, you have to wonder why the Pendleton County star hasn’t received a chance.
▪ Watching this Kentucky basketball team makes me think of the adage: You don’t have to have the best players, you have to have the right players.
▪ Having won two straight, the Bengals sure aren’t playing like a team that wants to get head coach Zac Taylor fired. A first-round draft pick on a stud offensive lineman, a couple of quality additions on defense, and the return of Joe Burrow, and the Bengals could be vastly improved in 2021.
▪ Richard Pitino may have his best team at Minnesota. The Golden Gophers are currently 9-1, tied for 21st in the AP Top 25 and coming off a convincing 81-56 victory over Michigan State. The 38-year-old Pitino is coming off a 15-16 season. Kudos to Minnesota AD Mark Coyle, former assistant to Mitch Barnhart, for sticking with Pitino.
▪ Checking in on former UK basketball coaches: Rick Pitino is 5-3, including 3-1 in the MAAC, at Iona. Tubby Smith took a 2-5 record at High Point into Wednesday night’s game against USC Upstate. Billy Gillispie is 2-2 at Tarleton State. Because of COVID-19 issues, the Texans haven’t played since Dec. 9.
▪ These self-imposed postseason bans by Auburn and Arizona shouldn’t cut much slack with NCAA Enforcement, which is finally deciding cases stemming from the FBI college basketball corruption investigation of a few years back. That’s especially true since neither Auburn nor Arizona appears to be a national contender this year.
▪ Final tally, the SEC was able to play 69 of its 71 scheduled football games in the year of the pandemic. Georgia-Vanderbilt and Ole Miss-Texas A&M were the only cancellations. Hope you included SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey on your Christmas list.
▪ I’ll be watching the College Football Playoff matchups on Friday, but that doesn’t mean I’m all that excited about it. It’s becoming repetitive with the same teams nearly every season.
▪ That said, give me Alabama over Notre Dame 42-14 and Clemson over Ohio State 28-10. And let’s get on to the championship game.
▪ SEC basketball freshman to watch: LSU guard Cameron Thomas, who scored 32 points in the Tigers’ 77-54 thrashing of Texas A&M on Tuesday night. Thomas is now averaging 24.1 points per game for Will Wade’s club.
▪ Alabama sports anchor Rick Karle was upset that media members were addressing Alabama Coach Nick Saban as “Nick” or “Saban” during a Rose Bowl conference call. Karle said Saban has earned the right to be called “Coach Saban.” By his players, yes. By everyone else, no. As a friend used to remind me, they’re coaches, not heart surgeons.
