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Tennessee QB Jonathan Crompton is playing as well as anyone in the SEC, Kiffin said.
Read more here...
You won't believe what Lane Kiffin said Wednesday.
And you may not believe that the Tennessee coach was factually correct in what he said, too.
Beleaguered senior quarterback Jonathan Crompton has thrown the second-most touchdown passes (14) in the SEC this year.
He's thrown more than the quarterbacks of four of the five SEC teams ranked this week in the AP Top 25 and is tied with No. 24 Ole Miss' quarterback Jevan Snead.
For Crompton, that's more TD passes than Florida's Tim Tebow, Alabama's Greg McElroy, LSU's Jordan Jefferson and South Carolina's Stephen Garcia.
"The last 2 1/2 games, he's playing as well as anybody in the conference," Kiffin said of Garcia.
But because of Crompton's 10 interceptions (second-most in the SEC as well), his passing efficiency is ninth in the league and 63rd nationally. And Tebow, McElroy, Jefferson and Garcia are all ranked ahead of Crompton.
Around the league
Arkansas: The preseason talk about the Razorbacks being a darkhorse in the SEC West has died amid a brutal schedule. The Hogs are 1-4 with two of the losses came on the road to No. 1 Florida and No. 2 Alabama. The other losses came to Georgia and Ole Miss, which have both spent several weeks in the polls. And to better last year's 2-6 SEC mark, the Hogs must beat either No. 9 LSU or No. 21 South Carolina.
Florida: Coach Urban Meyer addressed the team for about 20 minutes following last Saturday's 29-19 win over Mississippi State -- another struggle for the Gators. Meyer said he was concerned about fingerpointing with the defense consistently playing well and the offense consistently bogging down. "I'm just on guard," Meyer said. "I'm very on guard."
Georgia: Coach Mark Richt isn't eager to discuss any lingering ill feelings from last year's 49-10 loss to Florida when Meyer called two timeouts in the final minute to prolong the Bulldogs' agony. "We're focused on just executing this week," Richt said tersely. "... Georgia could be starting its fifth different combination on the offensive line Saturday against top-ranked Florida.
Kentucky: Another week, another injury for the Wildcats. Middle linebacker Micah Johnson, UK's leading tackler, has a strained MCL and may not play Saturday against South Carolina. ... Kentucky is considering wearing black jerseys Saturday to celebrate Halloween.
LSU: Receiver Terrance Toliver, who had nine catches for 86 yards and a touchdown against Auburn last week, had an interesting perspective on his career night. "I feel like we could've been doing this all year," Toliver said. ... The Tigers' offense has struggled for much of the season but put up a season-high 31 points and 376 yards. "Offensively, we're coming," coach Les Miles said.
Ole Miss: Speaking of revived offenses, quarterback Jevan Snead burned Arkansas last week with a career-high 332 passing yards. ... The Rebels employed 320-pound defensive tackle Jerrell Powe as a blocker at fullback on the goal line. The result was a 1-yard TD run by Snead.
Mississippi State: First-year coach Dan Mullen said he looks at the three-year bowl run Kentucky, which the Bulldogs play Saturday, has enjoyed and uses it as a blueprint for his program. MSU has played in three straight bowls just once (1998-2000) and that came during the NCAA violations era of former coach Jackie Sherrill.
South Carolina: Receiver Moe Brown, who sustained a concussion Oct. 17 against Alabama, is expected to be cleared to play Saturday against Tennessee. ... Brown also spoke out this week against Kiffin, who has been accused to telling USC freshman receiver Alshon Jeffery he would be "pumping gas" if he went with the Gamecocks. Kiffin has denied the comment. "I took it kind of personally," Brown told The (Columbia, S.C) State.
Vanderbilt: Freshman running back Warren Norman is sixth in the SEC in rushing and returned a kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown. "(Playing early) was thrust upon him and he answered the call," coach Bobby Johnson said. "Warren's got a knack at making good cuts and slipping the hole."
Read more here...
You won't believe what Lane Kiffin said Wednesday.
And you may not believe that the Tennessee coach was factually correct in what he said, too.
Beleaguered senior quarterback Jonathan Crompton has thrown the second-most touchdown passes (14) in the SEC this year.
He's thrown more than the quarterbacks of four of the five SEC teams ranked this week in the AP Top 25 and is tied with No. 24 Ole Miss' quarterback Jevan Snead.
For Crompton, that's more TD passes than Florida's Tim Tebow, Alabama's Greg McElroy, LSU's Jordan Jefferson and South Carolina's Stephen Garcia.
"The last 2 1/2 games, he's playing as well as anybody in the conference," Kiffin said of Garcia.
But because of Crompton's 10 interceptions (second-most in the SEC as well), his passing efficiency is ninth in the league and 63rd nationally. And Tebow, McElroy, Jefferson and Garcia are all ranked ahead of Crompton.
Around the league
Arkansas: The preseason talk about the Razorbacks being a darkhorse in the SEC West has died amid a brutal schedule. The Hogs are 1-4 with two of the losses came on the road to No. 1 Florida and No. 2 Alabama. The other losses came to Georgia and Ole Miss, which have both spent several weeks in the polls. And to better last year's 2-6 SEC mark, the Hogs must beat either No. 9 LSU or No. 21 South Carolina.
Florida: Coach Urban Meyer addressed the team for about 20 minutes following last Saturday's 29-19 win over Mississippi State -- another struggle for the Gators. Meyer said he was concerned about fingerpointing with the defense consistently playing well and the offense consistently bogging down. "I'm just on guard," Meyer said. "I'm very on guard."
Georgia: Coach Mark Richt isn't eager to discuss any lingering ill feelings from last year's 49-10 loss to Florida when Meyer called two timeouts in the final minute to prolong the Bulldogs' agony. "We're focused on just executing this week," Richt said tersely. "... Georgia could be starting its fifth different combination on the offensive line Saturday against top-ranked Florida.
Kentucky: Another week, another injury for the Wildcats. Middle linebacker Micah Johnson, UK's leading tackler, has a strained MCL and may not play Saturday against South Carolina. ... Kentucky is considering wearing black jerseys Saturday to celebrate Halloween.
LSU: Receiver Terrance Toliver, who had nine catches for 86 yards and a touchdown against Auburn last week, had an interesting perspective on his career night. "I feel like we could've been doing this all year," Toliver said. ... The Tigers' offense has struggled for much of the season but put up a season-high 31 points and 376 yards. "Offensively, we're coming," coach Les Miles said.
Ole Miss: Speaking of revived offenses, quarterback Jevan Snead burned Arkansas last week with a career-high 332 passing yards. ... The Rebels employed 320-pound defensive tackle Jerrell Powe as a blocker at fullback on the goal line. The result was a 1-yard TD run by Snead.
Mississippi State: First-year coach Dan Mullen said he looks at the three-year bowl run Kentucky, which the Bulldogs play Saturday, has enjoyed and uses it as a blueprint for his program. MSU has played in three straight bowls just once (1998-2000) and that came during the NCAA violations era of former coach Jackie Sherrill.
South Carolina: Receiver Moe Brown, who sustained a concussion Oct. 17 against Alabama, is expected to be cleared to play Saturday against Tennessee. ... Brown also spoke out this week against Kiffin, who has been accused to telling USC freshman receiver Alshon Jeffery he would be "pumping gas" if he went with the Gamecocks. Kiffin has denied the comment. "I took it kind of personally," Brown told The (Columbia, S.C) State.
Vanderbilt: Freshman running back Warren Norman is sixth in the SEC in rushing and returned a kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown. "(Playing early) was thrust upon him and he answered the call," coach Bobby Johnson said. "Warren's got a knack at making good cuts and slipping the hole."
