THE BIG STORY

Tennessee backup tailback Montario Hardesty rushed for 146 yards against Mississippi State and Georgia, UT’s two games before Saturday’s 41-17 loss to Alabama. Against the Crimson Tide, despite being healthy, he didn’t play a snap.

After the game, he expressed his displeasure to Volquest.com. “”(Expletive) you tell me,” Hardesty (right, playing against Mississippi State) told the website when asked why he did not have a carry against the Crimson Tide.

On Sunday, Hardesty did not show up for the team’s practice Sunday night. UT coach Phillip Fulmer told the Knoxville News-Sentinel he did not know why the sophomore tailback missed UT’s hour-long practice inside the Neyland-Thompson Sports Center.

“You know, I’m not sure what’s going on with Montario,” Fulmer said following practice. “His roommate doesn’t know where he is. We’ll find out and deal with it.”

Hardesty is UT’s second-leading rusher this season with 184 yards and two touchdowns on 41 carries, despite missing two games with an ankle injury. Tennessee rushed only 19 times against Alabama. When asked why Hardesty did not play, Fulmer said Saturday that LaMarcus Coker and Arian Foster were better fits for the three-wide receiver sets UT ran because of its ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. He echoed those comments again Sunday night. UT running backs coach Kurt Roper said Saturday he “didn’t do a good job of getting (Hardesty) in there.”

Fulmer said Sunday that Hardesty’s lack of carries against Alabama was not for disciplinary reasons. Fulmer said he spoke with Hardesty briefly after Saturday’s game, but did not share details of that conversation.

“He wasn’t very happy,” Fulmer said. “But this isn’t the right way to make that presentation. It’s disappointing, yeah. He should be here with his teammates.”

A look at the league:

ALABAMA

On a day where things began wrong, Alabama turned them around in the biggest way possible, dicing up No. 20 Tennessee 41-17 before a sellout crowd 92,138 at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The Crimson Tide didn’t allow a point in the second half to pull away for its most lopsided win in this rivalry in 21 years. And Alabama did it despite pregame suspensions for five players, including offensive line starters Antoine Caldwell and Marlon Davis, for what the school called “impermissible receipt of textbooks.” “It wasn’t a problem out there today,” Tide coach Nick Saban told the media. “We could have gone belly-up today and said, ‘How can we play? We’ve got five guys suspended.’ I’m sure that’s what you all would like for us to do, but I ain’t going to do that.” Saban was in prime form from the start. He called for an onside kick on the game’s opening kickoff, and Demarcus Waldrop recovered for Alabama (6-2, 4-1 SEC), which hardly looked back while dominating Tennessee (4-3, 2-2) in all areas. Offensively, the Tide cruised to 510 yards and record performances for receiver DJ Hall and quarterback John Parker Wilson. Alabama scored 31 of the game’s final 34 points, with the exception being a gifted UT field goal as the first-half clock expired. . .When will those five suspended Alabama football players be allowed to return? Saban said Saturday he doesn’t know, as did certain players and Crimson Tide athletics department officials. “If I knew, I’d tell you,” Saban said. “I don’t think anybody knows.” UA plans to self-report findings to the Southeastern Conference and NCAA of its ongoing in-house investigation into violations regarding “impermissible receipt of textbooks.” Thursday’s discovery of possible improprieties came to light when Antoine Caldwell, Glen Coffee, Marlon Davis, Marquis Johnson and Chris Rogers were suspended the night before Saturday’s game. Alabama’s compliance department already has notified the SEC and NCAA of the investigation. Once the school discovers that an athlete has used scholarship funds to obtain textbooks for classes he is not taking, that athlete would be ineligible per NCAA Bylaw 15. Reinstatement must then go through the SEC and NCAA, which would review the school’s findings and issue a judgment. There is no standard timetable for this process, depending on the length of Alabama’s investigation and the time used by the NCAA. Making matters more complicated, the Tide players are thought to have violations exceeding $100, which means the NCAA may require suspension based the offending dollar amount. Details of the infraction have not been made public, and it remains unclear exactly how the players could illegally obtain the books. Alabama athletes on scholarship must show a picture ID while gathering textbooks pre-selected off class schedules, according to the UA student-athlete handbook.

ARKANSAS

Arkansas quarterback Casey Dick’s two starts at Ole Miss are off the charts: A 68.2 completion percentage and six touchdowns. But the junior couldn’t find any way to describe his Oxford success after the Razorbacks’ 44-8 win at Ole Miss on Saturday. He simply said: “It was fun,” Dick said. The Arkansas quarterback picked up where he left off in his previous stop in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on Saturday, leading the Razorbacks to a much-needed win by completing 11-of-17 passes for 96 yards with a career-high three touchdowns. It nearly duplicated his performance in 2005, when Dick completed 17 of 24 passes for 175 yards with three touchdowns and an interception in Arkansas’ 28-17 win. “I wasn’t really concerned with that,” Dick said. “We played good here last time and wanted to come in and have the same type of game. Just keep some things going. We kept things going and kept the team going, that was the main goal.”

AUBURN

As for LSU’s game-winning drive on Saturday, Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville regretted not making LSU start deeper in its own territory. A squib kickoff after Auburn’s go-ahead touchdown gave LSU the ball near midfield. “We did the same thing we did all day,” he said. “We squibbed it and we just didn’t kick it hard enough or get a very good kick. We weren’t going to kick it to their returner. He’s dang good. We gave them about 10 more yards than we had hoped. We would have liked to have gotten them around the 30 and we got them around the 40. We still felt good about it. We didn’t make the plays.”

FLORIDA

Quarterback Tim Tebow, who suffered a right (non-throwing) shoulder contusion against Kentucky, will be limited in practice while starting free safety Major Wright is “very questionable” with a broken thumb heading into Saturday’s game against Georgia. Meyer said Tebow will not have any contact in practice this week, but will be ready to go by game time.The news is not as encouraging for Wright. Meyer said Wright may have to have surgery on the thumb, which would likely force him to miss Saturday’s game, and possibly more time. Even if Wright doesn’t have surgery, he would still have to wear a protective cast on his hand. “A safety without a hand that can grasp to make a tackle or intercept a pass, that’s awful difficult,” Meyer said. If Wright cannot play, Meyer said senior Kyle Jackson or sophomore Dorian Munroe will replace the hard-hitting true freshman.. . .The biggest worry, however, is Tebow’s health. Meyer may have to consider limiting Tebow’s carries. That would be a substantial adjustment for the Gators considering Tebow has accounted for 73 percent of their offense. Tebow has rushed for 578 yards and 10 touchdowns on 125 carriers (4.6 per carry average). He leads the nation in passing efficiency (177.5), completing 66 percent of his passes for 1,711 yards and 17 touchdowns.

GEORGIA

Georgia took the week off and still moved into a share of first place in the SEC’s Eastern Division.”It’s a wild year, isn’t it?” Georgia coach Mark Richt said Sunday. “It’s just a wild year.” Now, the No. 20 Bulldogs must do some heavy lifting of their own in the coming weeks starting Saturday against No. 9 Florida and banged-up quarterback Tim Tebow if they hope to have a shot at making it to the conference title game in Atlanta on Dec. 1. Georgia is in a three-way tie in the SEC East with Florida and South Carolina with 3-2 conference records, with Kentucky and Tennessee next at 2-2. To capture the East, the Bulldogs need to win their three remaining SEC games, which also include home games against No. 23 Auburn and No. 14 Kentucky, and hope that South Carolina and Tennessee both lose again since those teams have the head-to-head edge in a two-way tie with the Bulldogs. “I’m taking this baby one at a time,” Richt said. “I quit worrying about all that other stuff. Let’s worry about who we’re going to play this week this time around. I’m done looking too far into the future, at least this year.” Georgia (5-2 overall) has beaten Florida (5-2 overall) just twice in the past 17 meetings and hasn’t defeated the Gators and Auburn in the same season since 1982.

KENTUCKY

After getting beat 45-37 by Florida on Saturday, a week after an emotional win over LSU, mentally and physically drained Kentucky needs a week off. But Kentucky coach Rich Brooks has no such luck. His Wildcats will have to dig down deep and suck it up yet it again this week against a Mississippi State team that’s fighting to become bowl-eligible for the first time in the Sylvester Croom era. Then the Cats can get a much-needed week off before traveling to Vanderbilt on Nov. 17. “We need one,” Brooks said when asked about an open date. “We could have used it last week, and we might have been able to use it the week before. But unfortunately you don’t get to use it when you choose. You have to take when it comes on your schedule.” The Wildcats were already nursing several injuries going into the Florida game and have added a couple more to the list. Middle linebacker Micah Johnson will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his knee this week and will be out at least until the Vanderbilt game. Running back Tony Dixon, who has been starting in place of the injured Rafael Little, suffered a sprained ankle and will be re-evaluated later in the week. Brooks also announced that redshirt freshman quarterback Will Fidler will have surgery to correct a torn labrum and will miss the rest of the season. Fidler was UK’s third-string quarterback, behind Andre Woodson and Mike Hartline. The Cats will also most likely be without starters Little (thigh bruise) and Paul Warford (fractured clavicle) against the Bulldogs. And another starter, strongside linebacker Johnny Williams, continues to struggle with plantar fasciitis. The team has also been hit by a flu bug. Right guard Jason Leger battled his way through flulike symptoms in the Florida game, and receiver Dicky Lyons Jr. was also ill after the game.

LSU

LSU quarterback Matt Flynn delivered the greatest performance of his career, completing a career-high 22 passes in a career-high 34 attempts for a career-high 319 yards and a career-high-tying three touchdowns including the game-winning TD throw in Saturday’s 30-24 win over Auburn. Flynn also delivered his first,last-minute, game-winning drive. He took over at the LSU 42 with 3:13 to play and his team down 24-23. The drive covered 58 yards in nine plays and took up 3:12. He rushed twice for 17 yards to start the drive. Then on third and seven with time running out, Flynn threw to the flag in the corner of the north end zone where only receiver Demetrius Byrd could catch it. He caught it with one second left for the victory. Trailing 17-7 at the half, Flynn directed his team to five scoring drives while completing 13 of 22 passes for 222 yards. “Matt Flynn needed this game,” LSU coach Les Miles said in reference to Flynn struggling throughout this season. “There were some things that we changed - his drops and some of those things and how we approached it with the position of Early back in the lineup. Matt Flynn’s back really in rhythm. That was the Matt Flynn who played in the Miami game in his first start (in the Peach Bowl in 2005). He jumps out of there, gets 10 yards, avoids the rush, makes a nice throw, throws the deep ball well. That’s Matt Flynn. And we needed him to get back on track. This was a big game for him. He got on track in a big game against a quality opponent and a come-from-behind victory.”

OLE MISS

Watching fellow Ole Miss quarterback Seth Adams struggle brings backup Brent Schaeffer no joy. He’s been in those shoes before. “You see it, and you know exactly what if feels like,” Schaeffer said. “I’ve been through it.” But after Adams threw his fourth interception during Saturday’s 44-8 loss to Arkansas, Schaeffer was called upon to provide some relief. The senior was 5-for-13 passing for 103 yards and a touchdown in his first action since the Vanderbilt game in September. “I like to think that I can help this team win as a competitive player,” Schaeffer told the Jackson Clarion-Ledger. “I think I bring some things to the table that can help the team just as Seth can.” Adams has started every game this season but has thrown 10 interceptions and just two touchdowns over the past three games. Ole Miss coach Ed Orgeron said Adams’ starting spot wasn’t necessarily in danger, but he wouldn’t rule out a quarterback change. “We’ll see,” Orgeron said. “I would hope not. I would hope that we could get it fixed. But again, Seth’s position is just like anything else. If you don’t perform, I’ll put in the next guy.” Both Orgeron and offensive coordinator Dan Werner said Adams’ interceptions weren’t all his fault. But that doesn’t mean he’s blameless. “I thought he was trying to force the ball in double coverage,” Orgeron said. “I think defenses are learning how to defend him.”

MISS. STATE

Sylvester Croom decried his team’s penalties and criticized its turnovers. But when it came time to assess the blame, he went inward. “And when that stuff happens, you cant blame anybody but me,” Croom told the Jackson Clarion-Ledger after State got blasted at West Virginia, 38-13. “I’ve got to check me out.” Indeed, Croom, the MSU coach, placed the blame on himself one more time in his postgame remarks to the media. Speaking of Patrick White’s 64-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage, Croom said his team was “shell-shocked” afterward. “I didn’t do a good enough job of getting them settled down,” he said. Always candid, Croom didn’t downplay the way his team played, especially after he thought it played its best game of the year in last week’s 33-21 loss to Tennessee. “It wasn’t one of the worst, it was worse than LSU by far,” Croom said. “It’s the things that we did to beat ourselves, that’s what disappoints me.”

SOUTH CAROLINA

Is South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier overthinking his offense? It looks that way following Carolina’s stunning 17-6 loss to Vanderbilt on Saturday. Spurrier is concerned with fixing an offense that is 93rd among 119 Bowl Subdivision teams in total offense (340.5 yards per game). Only six teams in the country have yielded more sacks than USC’s 26. Spurrier second-guessed his decision to alternate quarterbacks Chris Smelley and Blake Mitchell, who combined to throw three interceptions, two inside the Commodores’ 36-yard line. “Anytime it doesn’t work out very well, you always say, ‘Oops, shouldn’t have done that,’ ” said Spurrier, adding that the shuffling did not affect the outcome. The Gamecocks might add a third quarterback to the mix. Redshirt sophomore Tommy Beecher, who has not played since the S.C. State game on Sept. 15, could see action because of his mobility. “Sometimes he can run around a little bit better than the other guys, so that may be something we need to look at. I don’t know,” Spurrier said. “I just know last year it was so helpful when Syvelle (Newton) would go back there and take off running, make 10, 15 yards. We weren’t as concerned about the protection. Really, he played with less protection than what we’re getting now. A mobile quarterback is just so beneficial to teams.” Whichever quarterback emerges will have a chance “to go the distance” at Tennessee, according to Spurrier. Smelley, who is 4-1 as a starter, said it was tough to get in a rhythm against the Commodores.

TENNESSEE

Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer said he was tempted to try to convert a pair of fourth downs against the Crimson Tide in Saturday’s 41-17 loss at Alabama Tennessee punted twice on fourth-and-short, once needing one yard from the Alabama 47 in the second quarter and again needing two yards from its 48 in the third quarter. The score - UT trailed 17-14 and 27-17 at the time of the fourth downs - and field position were more important, however. Fulmer said he was more concerned with field position because UT’s defense struggled to stop Alabama’s offense.

VANDERBILT

But the Vanderbilt sophomore quarterback Mackenzi Adams didn’t appear awed in his first career start, completing seven of his first nine passes and finishing with 207 yards in the Commodores’ 17-6 win Saturday. “I think the biggest thing was (that) he didn’t make any big mistakes for us,” offensive coordinator Ted Cain said of Adams, who for the first time in his career took every offensive snap in the game. “He kept the game manageable. He took what they gave us in the run and the passing game. He was very smart a couple of times, not throwing the ball into coverage. He did a great job seeing things on the field.” Replacing Chris Nickson, who had started Vanderbilt’s past 18 games, Adams eased into his start; the Commodores’ first 11 offensive plays were runs. His first throw, though, was a doozy — a 22-yarder on third-and-8 to George Smith for a touchdown and a 10-0 lead at the 6:43 mark of the first quarter. “For his first start, he was very poised,” Smith said. “He was really calm calling plays, making plays, doing everything that was asked of him. He’s always had those abilities to make plays. Now that it’s his time, he’s taking advantage of it.”