THE BIG STORY

The Northwest Arkansas Times reported Arkansas wide receiver Marcus Monk, who has been trying to return from a second arthroscopic knee surgery in late August, managed to get extensive work during Tuesday’s afternoon practice.

Arkansas offensive coordinator David Lee was impressed with what he saw from Monk as the wide receiver participated in one-on-one drills, individual drills and some team work. It was the most work Monk has been able to go through since injuring his right knee during a preseason practice on August 9.

But the senior’s status for Saturday’s 1 p.m. homecoming game against Florida International remains uncertain.

“He looked good today. He’s not like where he was in two-a-days, but he’s way better than what you (reporters) saw last week,” Lee said. “I don’t know what that means for Saturday yet. I really think it depends on what happens tomorrow morning when he gets up and what that knee looks like.”

Monk has played only one snap this season, in a 9-7 loss to No. 22 Auburn on Oct. 13. He has indicated that he doesn’t want to redshirt this season, which he is still eligible to receive.

Arkansas coach Houston Nutt said Monk appeared to have more confidence in his surgically repaired right leg during Tuesday’s practice. But Nutt should have a better idea today as to whether the senior will be able to play against Florida International.

Over the past few weeks, Monk has felt sore the day after getting extensive work in practice. Lee said it would be a promising sign if Monk’s right knee didn’t swell up following Tuesday’s practice.

“This is the most he’s done (in practice), so we’re excited about that. So we’ll see,” Nutt said. “It’s hard to put a number of plays on all those things that you (reporters) want to ask about. I don’t know that. I just know that he’s far more ready now than he has been, so that’s a good sign.”

A look at the league:

ALABAMA

Not only will the inside track to the Western Division title be decided when the Tide and Tigers tangle in Tuscaloosa on Nov. 3, it will be the first time Alabama coach Nick Saban has faced LSU since he coached there from 2000-04, winning the national title in 2003. The Tigers, featuring many veteran players who Saban recruited, are back in the hunt for another national championship with a No. 3 ranking in the latest Bowl Championship Series poll. “I want to get something straight with everybody out there right now,” Saban said via speaker phone to the Cellular South 1st & 10 Club gathering at Heron Lakes Country Club in Mobile. “This game is about the players. Somebody will probably try to make this game about the coaches, that the coach that is talking to you now used to coach at this certain place, but it’s not about that. None of our players that we have on our team right now played at LSU. They have some wonderful players and we have a lot of respect for them and their program and what they do. It’s our job to get our team the most well-prepared that we possibly can so they have the best opportunity to have success on the field when the game comes in two weeks. That’s going to be our focus and the game is about the players. It’s not really about anything other than that and I hope nobody gets caught up or distracted in that. It’s a tremendous opportunity and a tremendous challenge for us. We’re happy to be in the position that we’re in. We’ll see if we can take advantage of the opportunity.”

ARKANSAS

Sophomore Adrian Davis is listed on the depth chart as a co-starter with Antwain Robinson at defensive end for Saturday’s game against Florida International. Davis grabbed his first career interception in the 44-8 win at Ole Miss last Saturday. “I could’ve had a touchdown,” Davis said. “I didn’t. I wish I could have it back again. I probably should’ve scored.” His play against the Rebels proved to be a big moment in Arkansas’ first Southeastern Conference win. He stepped in front of a screen pass intended for running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis and returned it 24 yards to set up the Razorbacks’ third touchdown. “His interception didn’t surprise me at all because of his ball skills and athleticism,” Hogs’ coach Houston Nutt said. “I think that ought to give him a boost of confidence and I think he’ll get better and better.”

AUBURN

Auburn running back Tristan Davis is no longer wearing a protective boot on his broken foot and could start light jogging as soon as this week. Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville said Davis could return as early as Nov. 3 against Tennessee Tech, although that was a “best-case scenario.” “He’s out of the boot, walking,” Tuberville said. “He’ll start progressing this week. Whether it’s a jog or a run depends on how much he can handle. He will not play this week.” After emerging as one of Auburn’s top backs in August, Davis suffered a broken toe that sidelined him for the first four weeks. He broke a bone in his foot almost as soon as he returned Sept. 29 at Florida. “If he was an offensive lineman, he might have a chance to play this week,” Tuberville said. “But he’s a guy that plays with his feet more than anything else. He has speed and quickness, and he has to use that. We want to make sure he’s ready to go. The best-case scenario our trainers tell us is to be able to go next week. I think we’d be in pretty good shape if he was able to do that.” Davis has not talked to reporters since breaking the bone in his foot, as injured Auburn players are no longer allowed to meet with the media.

FLORIDA

Saturday marks the 75th time the Florida-Georgia game will be held in Jacksonville, but with UF winning 15 of the last 17 against the Bulldogs, it’s easy to think the game has been played only in Gainesville. “It’s different,” Florida coach Urban Meyer said. “I can’t say it’s better (than playing in Gainesville). This is one of my favorite games to coach in. I’ve watched it for many years and it’s awesome. I tell people there are certain things you can’t miss in college football. If you’re a college football fan you need to come watch the Florida-Georgia game.” Meyer is also aware that the game carries great significance outside of the college football world and is alive and well at the pro football level. “It’s a great rivalry and I’m sure there’s many more Gators across the country and also in a lot of NFL locker rooms,” he said. “I hear from them all quite often.”

GEORGIA

Highly-touted freshman running back Caleb King could make his Georgia debut Saturday against No. 9 Florida. King seemed a sure bet to be redshirted after not seeing action in the Bulldogs’ first seven games, but he is on the travel squad and is preparing for the possibility of playing in Jacksonville, Fla. Georgia won’t have senior tailbacks Thomas Brown (collarbone) and Kregg Lumpkin (knee) against the Gators, leaving leading rusher Knowshon Moreno to carry the load. Running backs coach Tony Ball said the fact that King is a freshman won’t have a bearing on whether he plays or not. “We’re trying to win games,” Ball said. “We’ve got five, six, maybe seven games that we need to get ready to play. That’s a whole season for a freshman. We’re looking at it from a status of can he help us win?” Coaches have avoided calling former walk-on Jason Johnson the second-team tailback and coach Mark Richt on Tuesday sounded like King was making the trip as insurance if Moreno got hurt. “Just in case, we’re going to bring Caleb,” Richt said. The 5-foot-11, 212-pounder from Norcross said he’s getting more first and second team reps in practice. “There’s a realistic chance,” King said of the possibility of playing. “If I can help my team just for one game, I don’t think it’s a wasted year.” Ball said coaches would have to feel like King can handle the game plan. “There’s a lot going on and he has not been involved in the protections,” Ball said. “I know it’s tough for him coming in and trying to step in on a week’s notice,” quarterback Matthew Stafford said, “but he’s doing a good job trying to learn some stuff just in case.”

KENTUCKY

It was the one-year anniversary of his infamous pop-off before the Mississippi State game, yet Dicky Lyons Jr. was noticeably absent at the Kentucky Wildcats’ weekly press conference Monday. Officially, Lyons was home recovering from flulike symptoms, but it’s highly unlikely he would have been one of UK’s player representatives anyway. Last season, a 3-4 Kentucky team still smarting from a 49-0 loss at Louisiana State was getting ready for a pivotal road game in Starkville. Lyons was one of the players the UK media-relations staff brought to Wildcat Den to discuss the game, and he delivered some classic bulletin board material. “I don’t think we should lose this game. Coach (Rich) Brooks has been telling us that they’re a good team and saying all the right things, but I really feel like we’re better. I feel like we can get our backups in; I want to play that type of game. I want to do to them what LSU did to us.” Brooks was irate after reading Lyons’ comments, and he made him off-limits to the news media for a short time. But Lyons said there was a method to madness. He backed up his words with what was then a career-high eight receptions for 117 yards, plus a leaping, highlight-reel touchdown catch in the back of the end zone in UK’s 34-31 win. “It was kind of the Muhammad Ali approach to where if you get ‘em mad, they’ll stop thinking and mess up,” Lyons said. “The first play of the game, they were like, ‘Yeah, yeah, we’re going to mess you up. I was like, ‘Bring it on.’ And if they want to be worried about looking for me on every play, let ‘em. I can handle it. I like fights, I like to rumble, and if they wanted to put it on me, so be it.” The incident still doesn’t sit well with Brooks. When asked whether he at least admired Lyons’ courage in going out on a limb like that, Brooks quickly ended the questioning. “No,” he said sharply. “Don’t even go there.”

LSU

LSU coach Les Miles said he talked to Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville and SEC commissioner Mike Slive about the illegal block that knocked LSU All-American defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey out of last Saturday’s game. “(Slive) said that it should have been called and that it was wrong,” Miles said. “I talked to Tommy Tuberville and he assured me that the players that were responsible were sick over it.” Auburn tackle Lee Ziemba blocked Dorsey high while guard Chaz Ramsey hit him low during the play in question. Tuberville said the block was unintentional, but acknowledged that Auburn should have been flagged for a 15-yard penalty. “I reviewed the film and watched the play. Before I wanted to react, I wanted to see if that had happened a lot in the game, and it had not,” Miles said. “It may have been an intentional block by two players, but it was not thought out together and certainly not coached. It is important that everybody understands that kind of thing is immoral. It is something that should not be tolerated. I remember when I was an offensive lineman in the ’70s, it was coached routinely. It was shortly thereafter that that was changed. It has been years since that has had a place in football. I think coach Tuberville sees it that way and it appears the league sees it that way. It appears we are all on the same page.” Dorsey did not practice on Tuesday because of a sprained knee. “But he wanted to,” Miles said.

OLE MISS

After getting steamrolled 44-8 by Arkansas, the only other team in the SEC without a conference win, the Rebels are left with a sobering reality: Maybe this team just isn’t very good. The Rebels are last in the SEC in scoring offense, punting, turnover margin, rushing offense, rushing defense, total defense, punt returns, opponent first downs, red-zone offense, opponent third-down conversions, field goal percentage, time of possession and kickoff coverage. Offense, defense or special teams: No area of the team can rightly say its thriving. Both coordinators, defensive coodinator John Thompson and offensive coordinator Dan Werner, admitted that Ole Miss had to play nearly perfect in order to win an SEC game. Saturday against Arkansas, they weren’t even close. “That’s the thing - some teams can go out, slop around, not play good and still win,” Werner told the Jackson Clarion-Ledger. “We’ve got to come out every Saturday and play our best game.”

MISS. STATE

Of all the many things that run through Sylvester Croom’s mind on the nights before football games, there’s this: Whether to take the redshirt off freshman quarterback Chris Relf. The Mississippi State coach said it’s been a gametime decision recently whether he would play Relf if starter Wes Carroll became injured. “We have to get Relf ready to play,” Croom told the Jackson Clarion-Ledger. “The decision is going to be made at the site of the game. I’m going to have to make a decision whether I pull the trigger or not. It’s something I think about a lot the night before every game and all week long. We get him ready to play because at this point we feel like if Mike’s not ready he gives us the next best chance to win.” Henig, the junior who started the season but broke a bone in his right hand Sept. 15, has not had a speedy recovery. He played Oct. 6 against UAB, but began feeling pain two days later. Henig missed part of Tuesday’s practice while he was undergoing another X-ray on his hand. Croom said that if he did have to play Relf, he would commit to playing him the rest of the season “on rotational basis.” “Basically, it’s going to be a gut check for me,” he said.

SOUTH CAROLINA

One team was recently ranked in the top 10 and features perhaps the most famous coach in college football. The other is the defending SEC West champion and features one of the nation’s most exciting players, Darren McFadden Yet when South Carolina visits Arkansas on Nov. 3, the game will not be televised. None of the SEC’s television partners picked up the game, which on Tuesday was announced as a 2 p.m. start. Pay-per-view was not an option, because SEC rules limit a school to one such telecast during regularly scheduled CBS and Lincoln Financial time slots; South Carolina exercised that option for Saturday’s Vanderbilt game. “We tried everything within our power to make the game available for Gamecock fans, including reaching out to the Arkansas athletics department to change the time,” said Steve Fink, USC’s media relations director. “Unfortunately, changing the time was not an option. “ This will be the first time since the 2004 contest at Kentucky that a USC football game will not been on live television.

TENNESSEE

With leading receiver Lucas Taylor questionable with a toe injury and Josh Briscoe held out of practice again with a concussion, freshman Gerald Jones and receivers like Quintin Hancock and Denarius Moore don’t have the luxury of time. Ready or not, No. 15 South Carolina comes calling Saturday night. “It’s tough when you don’t throw to guys and even more so on their part,” Vols’ quarterback Erik Ainge said . “Like Gerald Jones, especially. Going into the game thinking he’s redshirting and then coming out and playing like he did. I thought he did well. Definitely we’ll get more practice time with Denarius and Gerald and Quintin.” Offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe says it’s up to those with experience to shorten the learning curve. “That’s when me and Erik and everybody who’s experienced has got to help them,” Cutcliffe said. “That’s just what you have to do. Shoot, they’re a game better. I’m really excited about some of the things I saw from them. That’s growth. That’s a positive.”

VANDERBILT

Vanderbilt’s D.J. Moore was named Tuesday as the FWAA/Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week by the Football Writers Association of America. It’s the third honor in as many days since Moore’s two-interception, eight-tackle effort in the Commodores’ win over South Carolina following the national award the sophomore received Sunday from the Walter Camp Football Foundation and the SEC recognition he received Monday. With the FWAA/Nagurski weekly award, Moore will be added to the watch list for the 2007 Bronko Nagurski Trophy, which goes to the best defensive player in college football. . .Miami of Ohio Athletics Director Brad Bates, whose football team plays a Vandy on Saturday, spent 17 years in the Vanderbilt athletics department, beginning as a strength coach in 1985 and working his way up to senior associate AD before leaving to take over at the Ohio school in 2002. Bates was a walk-on defensive back at Michigan, where he played for the late Bo Schembechler — a Miami alumnus and one who has helped the school earn its nickname “Cradle of Coaches”.