5-at-10: SEC asked and answered, NFL power poll, Da'Rick and T or F Tuesday

Gang, remember the Alamo. And the mailbag. Good times.

From the "Talks too much" studios, we are on the eve of October. Giddy-up.

photo SEC Southeastern Conference

SEC Asked and Answered

Man, talk about divisional differences. Not since the SEC has split have we seen such disparity. In fact, if Vegas was forced to set a line for the SEC title game this morning it would be West minus-14.5, and they'd take their chances.

Here's my ranking of the SEC with questions facing them this morning:

1. Alabama (4-0; at Ole Miss, 3 p.m.): Is Blake Sims ready for the road test at No. 11 Ole Miss? There's no reason to think otherwise, considering Sims has superseded everyone's expectations and continues to orchestrate an Alabama offense that is on a record pace. (P.S. Having Amari Cooper to throw to and T.J. Yeldon to give it to certainly help.)

2. Auburn (4-0; vs. LSU, 7 p.m.): Can the Auburn offense find its rhythm? It seems like a strange question for a team that is in the top 20 nationally in points (15th at 42.3 per game) and rushing (18th at 260.5 per game) but the pace and speed and flow that has been Gus Malzahn's hallmark are noticeably absent. And the Tigers must be better than the group that led La. Tech 24-10 after three quarters Saturday. La. State is coming to town this week, and it is markedly better than La. Tech.

3. Ole Miss (4-0; vs. Alabama, 3:30 p.m.): Are Hugh Freeze and the Rebels ready for a shot at the title? The Grove will be nuts and GameDay will be in town for arguably the biggest game in program history. A win over No. 1 Alabama could be a program changer for Ole Miss. Are they ready to put their hand inside the bag and pull out a stone and fling it? Most importantly, Ole Miss needs good Bo Wallace to be ready. Freedom indeed.

4. Texas A&M (5-0; at Mississippi State, noon): Does Texas A&M have an answer for versatile quarterback Dak Prescott? It's hard to believe so, considering the trouble the Aggies had against run-first Arkansas last week. Plus, Prescott will be much more dangerous through the air than Brandon Allen was last week. Prescott vs. Kenny Hill is an awesome quarterback match-up.

5. Mississippi State (4-0; vs. Texas A&M, noon): Are Dan Mullen and the Bulldogs ready for their chance to take a monster leap? Think of the stakes this week in the Magnolia State. The Rebels with a shot at No. 1 Alabama; the Bulldogs with a shot at No. 6 Texas A&M. A couple of wins this weekend and you'd have both Mississippi SEC teams in the top 10 and tickets for the Egg Bowl will be off the charts on Monday on StubHub.

6. LSU (4-1; at Auburn, 7:30 p.m.): Is Brandon Harris the answer? He was awesome in relief against New Mexico State and Mississippi State the last two weeks - going a combined 17-of-23 for 318 and five TDs and running for 55 yards and two scores on seven carries. Still, a true freshman making his first start at Jordan-Hare could be trouble. Here's saying Harris, who picked LSU over Auburn in the recruiting process, is up for the challenge.

7. Arkansas (3-2; off): How many beverages did Bret Bielema kick back after letting Texas A&M off the hook last week? We'd say more than a few, less than a keg. The Razorbacks were ever-so-close to a statement win and let the Aggies off the hook with two long TD passes in the fourth quarter and an OT failure. So it goes, but there's no denying these two facts: Arkansas is extremely improved in Year Two of Bielema; and it still may not be enough to even reach a bowl, considering as of this morning, all eight SEC foes on the Razorbacks' schedule are ranked. Ouch-standing.

8. Georgia (3-1; vs. Vandy, 4 p.m.): Is Hutson Mason going to be able to become a legitimate option? We're still waiting, not unlike Mason, who sat patiently behind record-setting Aaron Murray for four years, to look the part. Right now, dude has been way more Joe Cox than D.J. Shockley.

9. Missouri (4-1; off): Can anyone still explain the loss to Indiana? Maybe the Tigers struggled with the match-up zone and had a hard time getting off picks, but Missouri certainly bounced back in impressive fashion with a road win at South Carolina.

photo South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier.

10. South Carolina (2-2; at Kentucky, 7:30): How long can Steve Spurrier put up with this schizophrenia? Spurrier is no spring chicken - although a lot of folks may think he's something along those lines - and losing and his team playing poorly is hardly the kind of thing that keeps legends around. Plus, remember that he left Florida because even good seasons were deemed failures because of soaring expectations. South Carolina could easily get to, say, nine wins and a good bowl and everyone deem it a monster disappointment.

11. Tennessee (2-2; vs. Florida, noon): Are the Vols ready for the next step? UT is favored over Florida, a team the Vols have not beat since W. was running for re-election. So, regardless of history or moral victories (side question: are there immoral victories?) or competing and coming up short, there is hand grenade or horseshoe moments here. UT has to win on Saturday.

12. Florida (2-1; at Tennessee, noon): Will Will Muschamp - no that's not a nickname like Mike-Mike or Jimmy Two Times - make it through October? Speaking of "have-to win" meet Mr. Muschamp, who has a dysfunctional quarterback, a banged-up defense and the hottest seat in college football. The number we heard before the season was Muschamp needed to get to eight wins

13. Kentucky (3-1; vs. South Carolina, 7:30 p.m.): Does everyone in the SEC East have a shot at the title? No, Vandy has no chance, and we think it would be tough for UK to win the division, too, but there's no doubt the Wildcats are improved. Funny, the two worst teams in the SEC from a year ago - Kentucky and Arkansas - are noticeably better and still may not see much of a bounce in the overall record. The SEC is a wicked-tough place to rebuild, you know?

14. Vandy (1-4; at Georgia, 4 p.m.): Vandy kids are smart, right? See if you can follow this pattern for Georgia, the Commodores opponent Saturday: Blowout win, three-point game, blowout win, three-point game.... What's next? You bet, a blowout win. Sounds right.

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NFL Power Poll

Did we actually have an NFL week with no off-the-field drama? Did we?

photo NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell answers questions during a news conference in Orlando, Fla., in this March 26, 2014, file photo.

Well, pass the butter and slap Roger Goodell's knee. How about that, huh? A September week of actual football. Well, other than the Raiders of course, who have decided to embrace the full-blown definition of insanity and continue the "Make a silly head coaching hire and then fire him less than two years into it."

NIce. Of course if you have seen a picture of Raiders owner Mark Davis - and his uncanny Lloyd from "Dumb and Dumber" haircut - well that explains some of it.

Here's an idea: Let's do a power poll. Deal? Deal.

1. Seattle: The best roster remains the best team. They are built on as an old-school foundation as there is: The Seahawks run the ball (3rd in the league at 148 per game) and stop the run (5th in the league at 72.3 per game). Sometimes it's just that simple.

2. Denver: Still has the best offense in the league led by the league's most influential quarterback. Omaha, Omaha. That said, the Broncos spent a ton of coin upgrading a defense that headed into last Sunday's bye week needing a break like Nell Carter. Denver is allowing more than 390 yards a game. That raises the stakes, right Omaha.

3. Cincinnati: The AFC's most complete roster - and statistically the league's best defense - will be in the mix all year. That said, if we could buy stock in one NFL storyline from this point forward that we're going to see over and over again it would be, "Can Andy Dalton win a postseason game?" It's the Microsoft of NFL themes come the holidays.

4. Arizona: The Cardinals have arguably the league's most complete pass rush, and it will be tested in Denver this week. Arizona has drafted well over the last three-plus years and coach Bruce Arians deserves a ton of credit for leading the organization through the potential distractions that the Jonathan Dwyer charges could have been. Cardinals fever... catch it.

5. Detroit: Want to guess who has the stingiest defense in the NFL when it comes to yards per game? If you went through the old Wizard of Oz options - Lions, Tiger, Bears, oh my - you got it on the first try. Ndamokung Suh, the Lions beastly defensive tackle, is the personification of the NFL. On Sundays, he's magnificent. When we hear about him during the week, there's likely trouble. So far, Suh has been all about football and all about looking like an All-Pro.

And for the powerless poll...

28. Washington: What was that? The football is so bad in the capital right now, here's saying Daniel Snyder might start floating nickname conspiracy theories to get everyone's mind off the debacle that is the team.

29. Tennessee: OK, who else is kicking themselves for not finding the local entertainment broker and putting a college fund on the Colts, at home, against a Titans team with Charlie Whitehurst prominently involved. It's moments like that that can make or break a season for some entertainment brokers. Alas.

30. New Orleans: The team that a lot of folks expected to challenge the Seahawks for the top spot in the NFC is now 1-3 and reeling. Defensively, this group would have a tough time stopping a middle school offense, nevermind and NFL one. Here's a testament of when things go really bad: If you get whipped on and off the field by the carnival show that is the Dallas Cowboys - who do gainfully employee Derek Dooley mind you - well, there you go.

31. Jacksonville: The Jaguars are now starting a rookie quarterback who shows promise, and that tempers the expectations and the ceiling for the moment. But whether Blake Bortles becomes more Bradshaw than Brister is going to be immaterial until Jacksonville does something to help a defense that allows 38.0 points per game. Ouch-standing.

32. Oakland: Hey, Oakland, good luck to the A's in the playoffs - it's the last time they will be in the Coliseum for the foreseeable future.

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And then that happened

Since his days at Calhoun High School in north Georgia, Da'Rick Rogers has always been special.

photo Da'Rick Rogers

He was a special football player. He was a special case in which people made exceptions. He was a special personality that drew people to him with his easy-going style and an extreme confidence bourn from being one of the nation's best high school football players.

He went to Knoxville and delivered special moments on Saturdays. And delivered especially frustrating moments off it - from the brawl at Bar Knoxville to ultimately being kicked off the team.

Still, through it all, he got chance after chance, a common opportunity for the truly gifted among us, regardless of field, but especially true for athletes who can make catches in traffic, baskets in a crowd and fastballs disappear - be them in the mit or over the wall.

So, after a couple of seasons - 14 receptions for 192 yards and two touchdowns in five regular season games and one reception for 46 yards in two postseason games - Rogers was released Monday after getting a DUI this weekend.

It's doubtful he'll get another shot at the NFL, which makes this entire trajectory especially frustrating.

There's nothing more disappointing that wasted potential, and Rogers was one of the five best high school football players we've ever covered.

This and that

- Good night Brady Hoke. In addition to having a September that included a 31-0 loss to Notre Dame and losses to Utah and Minnesota, the Michigan athletic department has apologized for how Hoke and Co. dealt with concussion symptoms of quarterback Shane Morris. Good night Brady, but hey, you likely could get the Raiders job - for the next 20 months anyway.

- MLB postseason starts today. We're kind of pulling for a Royals-Pirates World Series, which would make the folks at Fox heads pop off. In truth, we want the Dodgers to win the whole thing, and that's our pick, beating the Angels in a series only a Holly would love.

- Huge news - the Atlanta Hawks have announced their TV schedule. We need a nap. In other news, Navin R. Johnson has broken the story that the new phone books are here. (And if you are too young to remember phone books, well, turn your music down.)

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Today's questions.

We will have some more during Press Row today as we start our newest show trick - True or False Tuesday.

Here are some starting points:

The Mocs are a playoff team.

The Vols will win Saturday.

And one more, if Peyton Manning had played as badly and yelled at his teammates like Tom Brady last night, everyone would be up in arms about Manning being Manning in a big game. For Brady, it's "he has no one around him" and "he was trying to be a leader."

Go, and feel free to leave your own True or False Tuesday statement and we'll chime in.

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