OTHER PICKSOle Miss 48, Presbyterian 3Clemson 34, Wake Forest 9Duke 23, Syracuse 16Florida State 34, Virginia 23Louisville 31, Boston Coll. 24Oklahoma 35, Baylor 27Wisconsin 28, Purdue 14Notre Dame 27, Arizona St. 22UCLA 26, Washington 20TCU 35, Kansas State 26Arizona 42, Colorado 21Oregon 38, Utah 24West Virginia 34, Texas 27Marshall 41, Southern Miss 10Penn State 24, Indiana 21Colorado St. 41, Hawaii 22Michigan 17, Northwestern 14
By now, every SEC football fan either has seen it or heard about it.
Ole Miss sophomore receiver Laquon Treadwell, the most dynamic offensive player for Hugh Freeze's Rebels, had his final catch during Saturday night's 35-31 loss to Auburn cover 19 yards. It would have been a 20-yard touchdown had Treadwell's left leg not buckled under a tackle by Tigers linebacker Kris Frost, which resulted in a fractured tibia and a dislocated ankle.
The injury was as gruesome as those suffered by former Alabama receiver Tyrone Prothro and former South Carolina tailback Marcus Lattimore, but Treadwell's setback resulted in a fumble that decided the game, and he blamed himself for the loss.
"I went out to the field pretty fast because it looked so bad," Freeze said Wednesday. "One of his first comments to me was, 'Did I get it in the end zone?' At that time I was just telling him I wasn't sure because there was still a minute or so to play in the game. That's kind of how it ended there, and when I got to the hospital Sunday morning, he obviously knew the outcome.
"He said, 'Coach, I can't believe I didn't get it in,' and we shared with him that our love is greater than it could ever be and that we wouldn't even be in the discussion of the magnitude of these games without his play and without his leadership and that you can forget thinking like that. I think he's moving on."
Wednesday's practice marked the first time Treadwell had been back among his teammates.
The Rebels won their first seven games this season before suffering a last-second loss at LSU. They host Presbyterian this week with a chance to go 8-2 for the first time since 2003, when Eli Manning was a senior quarterback.
Pasquali's Pix:
Georgia at Kentucky: The Bulldogs lead this football series 53-12-2 and trail this basketball series 116-26 -- not that either comes as a surprise. Bulldogs 27, Wildcats 13.
Georgia Tech at N.C. State: The Yellow Jackets are No. 24 in this week's College Football Playoff rankings, just four spots behind their state rivals. Yellow Jackets 30, Wolfpack 27.
Wofford at UTC: The Mocs aren't just 5-0 in SoCon play. They're 5-0 by the average score of 43-15. Mocs 38, Terriers 19.
Texas A&M at Auburn: When these teams last played at Jordan-Hare Stadium two seasons ago, the Aggies led 42-7 at halftime. Tigers 37, Aggies 29.
UT-Martin at Mississippi State: CBS must have needed a six-day option to make sure UTM quarterback Dylan Favre doesn't beat the program he signed with. Bulldogs 52, Skyhawks 13.
Florida at Vanderbilt: Jeff Driskel rushed for 177 yards and three touchdowns the last time he played in Nashville. He will watch this game from the sideline as the backup to Treon Harris. Gators 19, Commodores 10.
Alabama at LSU: The Crimson Tide are seeking four in a row over the Tigers, something they last accomplished from 1989 to 1992. Crimson Tide 17, Tigers 13.
Ohio State at Michigan State: A Buckeyes win would eliminate the Spartans from the playoff hunt, but would it make folks forget about OSU's loss to Virginia Tech? Spartans 14, Buckeyes 10.
Last week:
Winners...........................16
Overconfident Bulldogs...9
Pasquali is now 197-53 overall (78.8 percent) this season.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.