CummingHome

Welcome to the SEC Coaches Stock Market Report, Week 9. We look at SEC coaches and the impact they have on their teams like a Wall Street analyst watches stocks. We are gauging multiple factors to evaluate their performance. We are not privy to their practices or insider information; therefore we base our opinions on what we see and read about each team. Our goal is to let you know who is up and who is down in the SEC.

This week, SEC winners outpaced losers 6-4.  The weekend had two huge upsets with Georgia and Miss State exceeding expectations.

Just so everybody understands the rules of the game; Our analysis is a big picture evaluation which includes a lot of factors. We are not evaluating how well a coach calls a game, unless he completely blows it with the potential of losing the confidence of his team. In our opinion, the SEC has twelve of the best coaches in the nation.

The confidence factor is our confidence in the program going forward; Five ***** being the highest rating. If you want to play at home, send us your rankings. Until then, enjoy. It is a volatile market. The stars indicate how we are feeling about a particular coach and this year’s team, but what really matters is the rank order of the coaches week to week.

1)      Our SEC Coach of the Week is Mark Richt.  The Bulldogs played like they were hungrier than the Gators and walked away with the win 42-20.  Georgia sacked Tebow six times and the defensive created some big turnovers.  The Bulldogs are turning the series around and have won two out of the last four meetings.  This week Georgia hosts Troy in Athens.  No TV coverage.  We will upgrade Georgia to a 4.0****confidence rating because we believe they can finish strong.

2)      Sylvester Croom has knocked off another big SEC team.  Miss State went down to Lexington, Kentucky and upset the Wildcats 31-14.  Two critical turnovers turned the game to the Bulldogs favor.  Miss State (5-4) is one win away from being bowl bound.  This week is a bye week for the Bulldogs who will prepare for the Crimson Tide.  We will keep Miss State at a 3.5*** confidence rating.

3)      Phillip Fulmer lives another week in Knoxville.  Every game is a high pressure game for the head coach of the Volunteers.  Fulmer beat Steve Spurrier in a game that went to overtime 27-24.  The Vols dominated the first half and then got some good breaks to pull the game out in OT.  This week, Tennessee hosts Louisiana Lafayette in Knoxville.  It is a 4 pm ET game and can be seen on pay per view.  We will keep Tennessee at a 3.5 *** confidence rating.

4)      Tommy Tuberville has secured bowl eligibility for Auburn.  With a 17-3 win over Ole Miss, Auburn moves to 6-3.  This week Auburn hosts Tennessee Tech at Jordan-Hare Stadium.  Game time is 1:30 pm CT and there is no TV coverage.  We will keep Auburn at a 4**** confidence rating.

5)      Houston Nutt continues to do well in his non-conference games.  Last week, Arkansas routed Florida International 58-10.  Casey Dick was injured in the second quarter and we will watch his progress.  This week Arkansas hosts Steve Spurrier and the Gamecocks.  Arkansas is favored and it is an ESPN2 game played at 7 pm CT.  We will keep Arkansas at a 3.5*** confidence rating.

6)      Bobby Johnson is one win away from being bowl eligible.  Last week, Vandy beat Miami (Ohio) 24-13 in Nashville.  This week, the Commodores travel to the Swamp to play a dog-bitten Gator team.  We believe this will be a great game and could possibly be an upset of the week.  We like Vandy and will keep them at a 3.5 *** confidence rating.

7)      Nick Saban is beating all expectations.  Alabama is tied for first in the SEC West and he is getting to play his old team, LSU.  We gave Saban the edge over Les Miles this week because Alabama had no arrests, LSU two.  The LSU game will be in Tuscaloosa and covered by CBS for a 4 pm CT kick-off.  We will keep Bama at a 4**** confidence rating.

8)      Les Miles has his whole season riding on beating Alabama this week.  LSU wins and Les Miles is a hero.  Alabama wins and Saban is proved to be the superior coach until the two meet again.  Miles suspended back-up quarterback Ryan Perrilloux for a bar altercation that involved the Police.  We believe this game is a toss-up and we will be watching it closely.  We will keep LSU at a 4.5**** confidence rating.

9)      Ed Orgeron is thankful for another non-conference game.  Last week, the Rebels were beaten by Auburn 17-3.  Ole Miss is playing with two quarterbacks trying to get a spark going.  No such luck in SEC play.  This week, Ole Miss hosts Northwestern State (3-5) in Oxford.  Game time is set for 1 pm CT and there is no TV coverage.  We will keep Ole Miss at a 2.5** confidence rating.

10)  Steve Spurrier almost pulled off the biggest comeback of the year.  In the end, the Gamecocks left Tennessee with a 27-24 loss in overtime.  The Gamecocks played average in the first half and then dominated the second half.  But when the money was on the line, a fumble recovery didn’t happen and a couple of game winning passes were overthrown. This week, the Gamecocks travel to Arkansas for an ESPN2 game at 7 pm CT.  We will downgrade the Gamecocks to a 3.5*** confidence rating.

11)  Urban Meyer was favored by nine points and had a whole lot of history to give him the psychological advantage.  He did not count on Georgia wanting to win more than his Gators.  This week, Florida hosts a tough Vandy team that is on the upswing.  Game time is set for 12:30 pm ET and will be covered by Lincoln Financial.  We will downgrade Florida to a 4**** confidence rating.

12) Rich Brooks has had a heck of a season so far.  Kentucky has won some games they did not expect to win and lost some they should have won.  Last week, Kentucky was upset at home by Miss State 31-14.  This is one game Kentucky should have won.  Costly turnovers hurt the Wildcats.  This week Kentucky has a bye week.  We will keep Kentucky at a 4**** confidence rating.

Jay Holgate is an analyst with SEC Sports Report.

Read more SEC stories at www.SECSportsReport.com