THE BIG STORY

Georgia coach Mark Richt offered a written apology to SEC Commissioner Mike Slive on Monday in which he called instructing his team to get an excessive celebration penalty after its first touchdown in Saturday’s 42-30 win over Florida “inappropriate.”

The league won’t fine Georgia or levy any suspension for the incident, SEC associate commissioner Charles Bloom said. Richt and Slive spoke earlier on Monday before Georgia released the letter.

“I understand that the entire team running on the field created the potential for an altercation and that excessive celebration is not in compliance with the Southeastern Conference sportsmanship policies and expected standards,” Richt wrote in the letter.

“My only intention was to create enthusiasm. I apologize that I put everyone in that situation and specifically apologize to you, the Southeastern Conference, and the University of Florida. You can be assured I will not ask our team to do this type of thing again.”

Richt said Sunday that he wasn’t trying to disrespect Florida, but instead was trying to create excitement for a team that lacked emotion at times this year.

“This situation was strictly a decision that was made to sacrifice 15 yards for the emotion that it might take to win a game like that,” Richt said Sunday.

Georgia drew two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties after players rushed from the sidelines. Richt and Georgia athletic director Damon Evans also spoke about the incident Monday. Bloom and Georgia spokesman Claude Felton said they did not know who initiated contact between Richt and Slive. Bloom did not know if anyone from Florida had contacted the SEC office about the incident.

Richt told players they would have to run early in the morning if they didn’t get a penalty, but he wrote to Slive that he envisioned for 11 players, not the entire team, to celebrate.

“The commissioner is appreciative of the letter,” Bloom said. “He accepts the apology and considers the matter closed.”

A look at the league:

ALABAMA

Judging from Monday’s practice, Alabama expects to be without five suspended football players for Saturday’s 4 p.m. visit from third-ranked LSU. Tailback Glen Coffee and defensive backs Marquis Johnson and Chris Rogers wore scout-team jersey numbers Monday, while offensive linemen Antoine Caldwell and Marlon Davis opened practice primarily as defensive dummies, not practicing with either of the first-string units. Coffee wore No. 18 to represent LSU’s Jacob Hester. It was Coffee’s first relegation to scout team duty this season. Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban offered no new information on the suspensions or the University of Alabama’s investigation into possible NCAA violations stemming from the receipt of textbooks for scholarship athletes. “It’s not going to do you much good to ask me about it because I don’t really know anything different about it,” Saban told reporters. . .Alabama linebacker Ezekial Knight, with his sprained right ankle taped heavily, practiced full speed Monday with the Tide’s starters. Knight is expected to be available against LSU. . .Saban first met LSU’s defensive coordinator Bo Pelini in the mid-1980s, when he unsuccessfully tried to recruit Pelini, then a free safety, to Michigan State. Pelini eventually played at Ohio State from 1987-90. “I was at Michigan State at the time as an assistant but had a great relationship with him,” Saban said. “I have known him through the years, and the guy’s done a fantastic job.”

ARKANSAS

Hogs’ coach Houston Nutt acknowledged Monday that the bruised ribs that McFadden suffered in late September might have bothered him more than the Heisman Trophy candidate wanted to admit. McFadden said his ribs are no longer a problem as he prepares to face No. 23 South Carolina on Saturday night. But at one time, the injury hurt so much it was hard to ignore the pain. “Those bruised ribs, it hurts very bad, so it does take a toll on you,” McFadden said Monday afternoon. “(It’s) something you try to keep out of your mind, but the pain is so bad, you can’t just block it all the way out.” McFadden said he injured his ribs Sept. 22 when he took a hit on the first play of the second half of a 42-29 loss to Kentucky. He has continued to play, even though it has been apparent at times that he’s not at full strength. McFadden rushed for only 61 yards on 19 carries in last Saturday’s 58-10 win over Florida International, though he scored a career-high four touchdowns. It was the second time in three weeks that the junior has failed to rush for more than 100 yards in a game. McFadden had a season-low 43 yards rushing in a 9-7 loss to No. 19 Auburn on Oct. 13. “He’s such a tough guy, doesn’t complain very much, always wanting to practice, wanting to be out on the field. So it’s hard sometimes to get a read (on his health),” Nutt said. “But all we can go by is X-rays and the doctors and Darren, and he’s ready to go. So we didn’t give him the ball as much those next few weeks once we knew that he’d been hit a little bit. But hopefully, he’s ready to go now. Hopefully, he’ll be almost 100 percent during the last stretch of the season.”

AUBURN

Auburn receiver Rod Smith was surprised by the highlight of Georgia’s orchestrated on-field celebration after scoring its first touchdown against Florida Saturday. “I don’t think coach Tubs would go for that, but it would be nice,” Smith said. “I didn’t know what was going on. I thought it was about to break out in a fight or something. That was their little thing to show Florida they were coming after them.” Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville carefully avoided criticizing Georgia coach Mark Richt, but he also expressed concern that the display could lead to an on-field fight. “Sometimes, you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do,” Tuberville said. “I’d be afraid to take any 15-yard penalty intentionally, because all the rival games are so hard-fought, every inch is valuable. If there’d been a fight started, it would have been probably pretty tough to imagine what would have happened. You’ve got to be careful in all rivalry games. Everybody’s got to coach their own. It’ll probably spark some controversy.”

FLORIDA

Redshirt junior defensive tackle Javier Estopinan will miss the rest of the season after suffering his third ACL injury in as many years Saturday against Georgia, coach Urban Meyer said. “It is hard to see especially for invested players,” Meyer said. “When you see him grab his knee like that. That kid would not come out of the game. I looked in that kid’s face on the sideline and he’s a smart guy. He’s been through it a couple of times. There is no one better than Javier.” Meyer said he expects Estopinan to come back next season and be a leader on defense. The Gators also suffered another injury on the defensive line Saturday when freshman tackle Terron Sanders injured his ankle. Meyer said Sanders is “out for a while.”Meyer: Players must beat out Moore. Last year, Meyer said he wasn’t going to replace struggling kicker Chris Hetland until someone beat him out in practice. In seems Meyer is taking the same stance with running back Kestahn Moore. “The policy is that you will win the position at practice,” Meyer said. “That position is wide open.” Moore was benched Saturday after he fumbled on Florida’s first offensive series and lost a direct snap that went through his hands. . .Urban Meyer actually forced a smile at his Monday news conference. The smirk was caused by a question regarding Meyer’s wife, Shelley, appearing at Gator Growl Friday. “When I heard that I said, ‘What are you doing?’ ” Urban Meyer said. “She said, ‘The students asked me. What am I going to say, no.’ Yeah, say no. She’s all about the students at this campus.” Tebow said fans can expect a lot of enthusiasm from Shelley Meyer on Friday. He also took the chance to get in a light-hearted shot at his head coach. “I think Coach Meyer definitely married up,” Tebow said.

GEORGIA

Georgia senior Mikey Henderson returned from a hamstring injury to catch a 53-yard touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford against Florida, but hasn’t resumed his punt return duties and isn’t sure why. “No idea,” Henderson said. “I wish you could find that out for me.” Henderson is third in the SEC with a 13.5 yard average per return. Thomas Flowers, who led the SEC in punt returns in 2004 and was second in 2005, is averaging 7.5 yards on two returns after replacing Henderson. Henderson figures he’s being kept from punt returns to lighten the load as he returns from injury. “I feel like I can do it,” Henderson said. “It’s not a disappointment. I’m wondering. Thomas is a great returner and he can do it.”. . .Georgia freshman linebacker Rennie Curran was arrested Monday for allegedly stealing a parking boot that was placed on his scooter on campus on Oct. 9 because he didn’t pay parking tickets. Curran was booked into the Clarke County Jail at 4:32 p.m. and released at 7:07 p.m. on a $1,500 bond. He was charged with “theft by taking.” Coach Mark Richt has said Curran won’t face any loss of playing time for the incident.

KENTUCKY

Andre Woodson was named Monday as a semifinalist for the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award. He is one of 15 semifinalists for an honor sponsored by the Davey O’Brien Foundation of Fort Worth, Texas. The Kentucky quarterback has completed 63.8 percent of his passes for 2,431 yards and 28 TDs, with seven interceptions. He leads Southeastern Conference passers with 270.1 passing yards a game. He set an NCAA record with 325 consecutive passes without an interception. . .UK Coach Rich Brooks, who rebuilt the Oregon football program, will be inducted into the university’s Athletics Hall of Fame on Friday. Brooks took over a struggling program at Oregon in 1977 and built a winner. The Ducks won the 1989 Independence Bowl, their first bowl trip in 26 years. In 1994, Brooks’ final season at Oregon, the Ducks won their first undisputed Pac-10 title in 46 years and made their first Rose Bowl appearance in 37 years. Brooks was the first Oregon coach to take a team to four bowl games and also the first to go to post-season play in back-to-back seasons. He was National Coach of the Year in 1994 and Pac-10 Coach of the Year twice during his term there. The Oregon football stadium’s playing surface was named Brooks Field in 1995.

LSU

LSU defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey practiced for the first time Monday since his right knee was injured by Auburn offensive guard Chaz Ramsey’s illegal chop block on Oct. 27. “I wouldn’t say it was normal,” Dorsey said. “I didn’t do a few drills, but I got some good work done. It feels good. So we’re just taking it day by day. We’ll see.” Dorsey did not practice at all last week. Dorsey hopes to be ready for Saturday’s 4 p.m. CBS game that pits No. 3 LSU (7-1) and No. 17 Alabama (6-2) in Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala., for first place in the Southeastern Conference West. Both teams are 4-1 in the league, and Alabama is coached by former LSU coach Nick Saban. “Not at all, I don’t want to miss this game,” Dorsey said. “Especially this week. There’s a little extra motivation for me to do my rehab strong just to get better because I mean this is a big game and everybody knows why, you know what I’m saying. Just more motivation to get back. For one thing, it has big implications on the West. It’s looking like it’s between us two teams. All our goals that we can achieve are still ahead of us. We’re ready to get on a roll and just finish strong. We had our little break. We got our legs back under us. So we just ready for the long haul — to push it to the limit.” Dorsey hopes to do more at practice each day leading up to Saturday. “Yeah, yeah, I’ll be able to do a little more each day,” he said. “We took it slow today as a precaution, but as the week goes on I’m going to get to do more and more. They’ve got me playing with a brace on. So it’s more of just getting used to playing with with a restriction on my leg. As the days go on, I’ll get more and more work. I’d say I was probably out there for 70 percent of practice.” Asked directly if he would play against Alabama, Dorsey said, “I don’t know. It feels good, though. I don’t really know if it will be ready for Saturday. I’m just taking it day by day. But right now it’s feeling good.” Dorsey, who wears a wristband that says “Saturday Soldier,” said he may continue to wear the knee brace in the game.

OLE MISS

Junior safety Jamarca Sanford had 11 tackles in his return to the field against Auburn. He had missed two games with a neck injury suffered against Louisiana Tech on Oct. 6. Sanford wore a protective collar around his neck in the Auburn game, but said it didn’t bother him. “I feel better than I thought I would,” Sanford told the Jackson Clarion-Ledger. . . Senior quarterback Seth Adams completed just 11 of 24 passes for 89 yards against Auburn, but after looking at tape, offensive coordinator Dan Werner said Adams was simply being smart with his decisions. “He did a good job,” Werner said. “… There was nobody open. If there’s nobody open don’t try to force it - throw it away. I don’t want sacks and I don’t want turnovers.” Werner said backup Brent Schaeffer, who is more of a threat to run than Adams, could still see some playing time over the next three games in the right situation.

MISS. STATE

Mississippi State coach Sylvester Croom was in high demand Monday, shuttling from a morning speaking engagement in Birmingham to an evening one in Memphis. Once arriving in the Bluff City, he was likely to be greeted by the oustretched hand of a smiling Steve Ehrhart, the executive director of Memphis’ AutoZone Liberty Bowl. Earlier Monday, Ehrhart said he looked forward to speaking with Croom - a feeling no doubt enhanced by the Bulldogs being on the verge of bowl eligibility. “They would be a very strong candidate with that sixth win,” Ehrhart told the Jackson Clarion-Ledger. “A lot of folks here would love to have them.” Suddenly, Mississippi State - a team nowhere near bowl games’ radars in the first six years of this decade - is hot. And while Ehrhart’s conversation probably was of little more substance than a handshake, that the bowl blazers and the maroon polos are even talking this time of year is an accomplishment, indeed. Fresh off its 31-14 win at then-No. 14 Kentucky Saturday, Mississippi State is 5-4. The Bulldogs need one more win to become eligible for a bowl berth, and it’s not even Halloween. State’s records entering November since 2001 haven’t been impressive: 1-5, 3-4, 2-6, 3-5, 2-6, 2-7.

SOUTH CAROLINA

South Carolina alive to win the SEC East Division championship, at least mathematically. Unfortunately for the Gamecocks, they have not played like champions for most of this SEC season. No one knows that better than Steve Spurrier. “We’ve got a lot of problems here,” Spurrier said Monday. “We don’t do things that champions do. We’re not even close. We don’t play as mentally sound as people need to play to be even close as champions. Until we do the little things right, we can’t expect to be champions.” . .Spurrier said he did not want to brag after the Tennesse loss about any offensive players other than fifth-year tailback Cory Boyd and receiver Kenny McKinley. Boyd rushed for a career-high 160 yards on 20 carries, while McKinley tied Zola Davis’ school record with 14 receptions for a career-high 151 yards. Boyd, who declined to speak to the media following the loss to Vanderbilt, broke his silence Saturday and tried to assure teammates and fans the Gamecocks are not sunk. “I tried to tell the guys in the locker room our goals are still in front of us,” Boyd said. “The way the SEC thing is going, anybody can beat somebody and we’ll be right back in the race. It’s going to be fun to see how things shape out. We’re not going to put our heads down.”

TENNESSEE

Eric Berry’s interception return against South Carolina has some wondering if the true freshman safety might see action at punt returner or even at quarterback. Vols’ coach Phillip Fulmer has thought about it, but doesn’t want to risk Berry at safety in an already depleted secondary. “He’s playing so much defense, and we’re so thin back there,” Fulmer said. “That’s one of those things - how much do you want to roll the dice? “We’ve talked about him playing at quarterback a little bit because he did in high school. If we were playing 60, 65 plays or 55 like we used to, we might be more willing to do that.”

VANDERBILT

The Commodores travel to 18th-ranked Florida this weekend, followed by a visit from Kentucky — which fell out of the Associated Press Top 25 after losing to Mississippi State — a road trip to No. 24 Tennessee and a visit by No. 21 Wake Forest. “We’ll have to play well to have a chance to win down there,” Johnson said Monday of the upcoming trip to Florida. “We’re looking forward to it.” In Johnson’s last trip to “The Swamp,” the Commodores forced double overtime before falling 49-42. The coach didn’t expect that to be much of a factor in this weekend’s matchup. Vanderbilt is 6-7 in its last 13 road games, including a 17-6 win at then-No. 6 South Carolina two weeks ago. “Going to South Carolina and playing well there helps us more than going down there and playing well two years ago at Florida,” Johnson said. . .Vanderbilt center Hamilton Holliday became the fifth Commodore to earn weekly honors from the Southeastern Conference this season, as the senior received offensive lineman recognition following Saturday’s win. Holliday recorded five “knockdown” blocks and graded out at 93 percent, while helping the offense rush for a season-high 290 yards. Vanderbilt’s previous SEC honorees this season include receiver Earl Bennett (offensive player, Sept. 1), Chris Williams (offensive lineman, Sept. 15), cornerback D.J. Moore (defensive player, Oct. 20) and punter Brett Upson (special teams, Oct. 20).