THE BIG STORY

Florida receiver Percy Harvin is trying to fight through a hip pointer to be ready for Saturday’s game against Auburn.

The Gainesville Sun reported that Harvin missed part of Tuesday’s practice. Florida coach Urban Meyer said he expects Harvin to recover in time for Saturday’s game. Harvin first hurt the hip last Saturday at Ole Miss.

“We think we’re going to get him back (today),” Meyer said. “Takes about two or three days, but he’ll be a go on Saturday, for sure. He’s got it where he got hit in the hip in the game. He was out here for three-fourths of (practice) and then they took him in for treatment.”

Harvin, who has been relied on more heavily since senior Andre Caldwell went down with a sprained knee two weeks ago, leads Florida receivers in yards (336) and is tied with Riley Cooper for the lead in touchdowns (three). Harvin is coming off an 11-catch, 121-yard game against the Rebels.

“It’s a concern because he’s missing practice,” Meyer said. “He plays better when he practices. He’s killing himself trying to get back. They had him running, he wasn’t even supposed to run today but he was fighting through it. I’ve coached guys with hip pointers before. He’ll be fine. I just worry about missing practice.”

Meyer said Tuesday that Caldwell likely won’t play against Auburn. Sophomore cornerback Markihe Anderson (knee sprain) also will be out. Freshman starting guard Maurkice Pouncey (ankle) is expected back and kicker Joey Ijjas (quad muscle) should be OK for Saturday.

A look at the league:

ALABAMA

Alabama coach Nick Saban has some advice for his up-and-down quarterback John Parker Wilson.
“Just settle down,” Saban said. “Take what the defense gives. Make good decisions. I think sometimes he puts too much pressure on himself, which can get him out of sync a little bit.” Wilson is taking the blame for last Saturday’s 26-23 overtime loss to Georgia. Wilson was 17-of-35 for 185 yards without a passing touchdown, including several key incomplete throws to halt drive. He failed to produce a touchdown in overtime. He has been roasted by Alabama fans and he said he does hear it. “I think I’m the biggest critic of myself than anybody else will ever be,” Wilson said. “The stuff I hear, I’ve told myself already, so it doesn’t bother me. It really doesn’t.”

ARKANSAS

The Hogs are making some defensive line changes, in the wake of getting steamrolled in the fourth quarter in last Saturday’s 42-29 loss to Kentucky. Senior Marcus Harrison, who struggled against the Wildcats, has been moved from starting defensive end to backup defensive tackle. He’s currently listed as sophomore Malcolm Sheppard’s backup at left tackle. Harrison played defensive tackle before Arkansas’ coaches decided to move the 6-foot-3, 305-pound senior to defensive end during preseason camp. Harrison has only three tackles in three games, and he struggled while making his first start at defensive end against Kentucky. “We just feel like he’s going to give us more production there (at defensive tackle),” Arkansas coach Houston Nutt said. Adrian Davis has replaced Harrison as the starting defensive end opposite Antwain Robinson. Also, Ernest Mitchell has reclaimed his starting defensive tackle job after being suspended for Saturday’s game against Kentucky. He was given a one-game suspension after throwing a helmet in the face of Alabama offensive guard Justin Britt. Meanwhile, Elston Forte has replaced redshirt freshman Ryan Powers as the starting weakside linebacker.

AUBURN

Looks like Auburn may be getting back a running game. Tigers’ running back Tristan Davis was cleared to return to practice by doctors and participated in his first practice in six weeks Tuesday. Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville said there was a slim chance Davis could play against Florida on Saturday night. It’s much more likely Davis will return for the Oct. 6 game against Vanderbilt. Auburn should have plenty of options against Vandy. Running back Brad Lester will also be eligible to play Oct. 6 after serving a six-game suspension over two seasons for an undisclosed academic reason. Tuberville said Davis has to get back into game-ready shape. “He’s not 100 percent because he hasn’t practiced very much,” Tuberville said. “He’s gained a little weight. It looked like he had been off for Christmas dinner for a couple of weeks.”

FLORIDA

When Florida plays, flags fly. The Gators were the most penalized team in the Southeastern Conference last season, and still won a national championship, and they are back at it again. Florida currently ranks third in the nation in penalty yardage, averaging 87.0 yards per game. The Gators were flagged 14 times for 127 yards in their 30-24 win last Saturday against Ole Miss. “We’ve just addressed it over and over again,” Florida coach Urban Meyer said. “We’re not an ignorant team … special teams, we’re not holding, we’re just running numbers. That’s fixable. Cadence issues when you play on the road, (it’s) disappointing, but you’re always going to have about two when you go on the road in loud environments. So you just try to address it.”

GEORGIA

Georgia has allowed the second fewest yards in the SEC (282.5 per game), but has had trouble coming up with big stops late. South Carolina went 40 yards in six plays, milking 3:22 off the game clock before Georgia finally got the ball back with 1:20 remaining at its own 20 and failed to score in a 16-12 loss. Alabama forced overtime after rallying from a 20-10 lead with 10 fourth-quarter points. The Crimson Tide went 88 yards in 10 plays to tie the game on a 6-yard touchdown run from John Parker Wilson with 1:09 remaining. “It might be just an attitude thing,” coach Mark Richt said Tuesday. “I’m going to challenge the defense this week on that very point and really the rest of the season that we’ve got to finish. Most great defense feel like when we need one great stop to win the game, we can get it. That’ll be something we need to continue to push for.”

KENTUCKY

Keep an eye on Kentucky cornerback Trevard Lindley, who seems to be making big plays on a weekly basis. This year, he intercepted Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm on the Cards’ first play from scrimmage. Last week, his 66-yard fumble return TD against Arkansas kept the Wildcats in the game in the first half, and he also ran down speedy tailback Felix Jones and tackled him at the 5-yard line after a 73-yard gain. “I had an angle on him, but I’ve got some speed,” Lindley said. “I’d say I run a 4.4 something.” Kentucky coach Rich Brooks calls Lindley “remarkable.” “He just has a knack of quietly making spectacular plays,” Brooks said. “Most guys that do that usually jump up and down and beat their chests and point at their number or pull their jersey out or something. Trevard just goes back to the sideline just like, ‘There’s another one.’ ”

LSU

LSU kicker Colt David became the first LSU player in more than four decades to score a touchdown and kick the extra point right afterwards. This happened after he ran 15 yards on a fake field goal for a touchdown to give the Tigers a 20-7 lead over South Carolina in the second quarter on Saturday. He then kicked the extra point for a 21-7 lead. The last player to do such a thing was Doug Moreau in a 62-0 win over Tulane in 1965. Moreau, a wide receiver and kicker, first caught a touchdown pass from quarterback Pat Screen and then kicked one of his six extra points in that game. Moreau also described the action on David’s play as he is the analyst for LSU radio broadcasts. . .Wide receiver Early Doucet (groin) was at practice Tuesday, but he only watched. He is doubtful for Saturday’s game. Miles has said the hope is to get him ready for the Oct. 6 game against Florida.

OLE MISS

Receiver Dexter McCluster practiced on Tuesday for the first time since suffering a shoulder injury in late August. The sophomore has been sidelined for four games, but Ole Miss coach Ed Orgeron told the Jackson Clarion Ledger he has been cleared to practice in a yellow, non-contact jersey this week. “We think he’s going to play this Saturday, but we don’t know yet,” Orgeron said. “He was still in the yellow shirt today.” McCluster sustained a week before the season opener at Memphis. It was another setback in his injury-plagued career. He hasn’t played in Ole Miss’ past 10 games since suffering a concussion and shoulder injury on the opening kickoff against Vanderbilt on Oct. 7, 2006. If McCluster does return to action, he would bolster a group that has been the team’s biggest surprise this season. Orgeron said McCluster’s status will be closely monitored this week. “We’re going to see what happens,” Orgeron said. “That’s always a day-by-day deal.”

MISS. STATE

Told Tuesday that South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier was the source of Mississippi State’s vote in the ESPN/USA Today coaches’ poll this week, Sylvester Croom burst into laughter. “I’ll have a little conversation with him in the pregame on Saturday,” the Mississippi State coach said, smiling. OK, so maybe the vote to put State at No. 25 had a little bit to do with the Gamecocks and the Bulldogs playing each other this week. But Spurrier backed up his vote to reporters in Columbia, S.C., Monday night. “They deserve to be in probably as much as anybody,” Spurrier said, according to the Greenville (S.C.) News. “They’ve got a good defense, run the ball well. The way we’ve been trying to stop the run, we could be in trouble if they start rolling up and down the field.”

SOUTH CAROLINA

Saturday will be Steve Spurrier’s 300th game as a coach, counting his stints at South Carolina, Florida, Duke and the USFL’s Tampa Bay Bandits. Spurrier said he wasn’t aware of the milestone until the Carolina sports information office pointed it out. Spurrier’s career record is 207-90-2. The Mississippi State game will be his 30th as South Carolina’s coach, and his next win against an SEC team will be No. 100 in league play. “I’ve been very fortunate and had good health and so forth. Been around a lot of good players,” Spurrier said. “It goes fast, but this is a wonderful opportunity here at South Carolina. I think we’re going to play our best one of these years. I say that about every week. But I believe we’re due to play our best of the year.”

TENNESSEE

New Vols’ placekicker Daniel Lincoln has started the season 8-for-8 in field goals, the best start for a UT kicker in school history. Lincoln leads a parade of perfect kickers across the country with eight field goals, and Arkansas’ Alex Tejada and Ohio’s Michael Braunstein are the only others who have made their first seven this season. He credits Vols’ coach Phillip Fulmer for making it tough last season when he was a redshirt freshman, doing everything possible to break down Lincoln. “Some of it can’t be put into print, most of it can’t,” Lincoln says. “It’s been everything from trying to distract you. Standing behind you talking, yelling at you while you’re doing it. Get hit in the head with things, having to run stadiums if you miss something or you get a kick blocked. Even when you did something right, it wasn’t good enough. It got to me for a while, a really good while. You get down on yourself and you’ve got to come back. And it’s definitely got to come from within you. You’ve got to rely on yourself and come back and be mentally tough. I think that’s the biggest asset for a kicker.”

VANDERBILT

Vanderbilt coach Bobby Johnson hopes last week’s open date healed starting quarterback Chris Nickson heading into Saturday’s nonconference matchup with Eastern Michigan. Nickson had been nursing a thigh and a shoulder injury for the last couple of weeks. “Hopefully (he could) get completely well and not even have to think about injuries any more,” Johnson said. “He wants to practice every day. (Quarterbacks coach Jimmy) Kiser made a very good comment when he said ‘Chris thinks work fixes everything.’ He’s going to go out and if he’s hurt, he wants to work through it and try to get better while he’s healing up.” Despite playing just a half against Alabama, Nickson has completed 60.3 percent (41-of-68) of his passes for 551 yards and four TDs with one interception. Through three games last year, he completed 51.3 percent (38-of 74) of his attempts for 373 yards, two TDs and three interceptions.