Believe it or not, there is a mentor-pupil matchup this weekend in Southeastern Conference football that doesn't involve Nick Saban.
When Kentucky and host Texas A&M square off Saturday night in College Station, it will pit Mark Stoops against his former boss, Jimbo Fisher. Stoops served as Florida State's defensive coordinator under Fisher during the 2010-12 seasons before becoming a head coach for the first time when he took over in Lexington. Fisher left the Seminoles for the Aggies last December.
Kentucky is 5-0 this season and No. 13 in this week's Associated Press poll, its highest ranking since 2007.
OTHER PICKS
Ole Miss 32, Louisiana-Monroe 29Notre Dame 27, Virginia Tech 24Stanford 24, Utah 16Marshall 29, MTSU 27Oklahoma 31, Texas 26Colorado 33, Arizona State 24N.C. State 20, Boston College 19Michigan State 27, Northwestern 22West Virginia 44, Kansas 17Michigan 28, Maryland 19Clemson 45, Wake Forest 10Miami 27, Florida State 19Ohio State 56, Indiana 21Central Florida 42, SMU 13Memphis 38, Connecticut 15Washington 35, UCLA 12Wisconsin 31, Nebraska 20
"Mark is a very smart guy," Fisher said Wednesday on the weekly SEC teleconference. "He has taken his time and done it the right way and really made the right moves and got a good staff. They are coaching the heck out of them, that's for sure, and they are doing a great job of developing players."
Stoops was among four new SEC coaches in 2013, joining Bret Bielema of Arkansas, Tennessee's Butch Jones and Auburn's Gus Malzahn. Stoops had the worst debut season of that quartet, going 2-10, and he was the only one who hadn't produced a winning record by the end of his second season.
Or by the end of his third season.
The Wildcats opened their fourth season under Stoops by blowing a 35-10 lead in a 44-35 loss to Southern Miss at home, then traveled to Florida and were thumped 45-7. With Stoops 12-26 overall and 4-21 in SEC games to that point, the Lexington Herald-Leader wrote a story detailing how it would cost Kentucky's athletic department $17.9 million to buy out Stoops and his assistants.
Kentucky is 19-10 since that story was published, upsetting Louisville and Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Lamar Jackson late in that 2016 season and ending 31 years of frustration against Florida last month.
"With all due respect, I never felt like I was in position to be removed from my job," Stoops said. "I say that tongue in cheek because of the local media here, but we've never gone backwards, and if you think you're going to walk into the University of Kentucky and turn this place around overnight, you're doing something wrong and cutting corners somehow.
"I learned from Jimbo at Florida State how to build an SEC team. I remember him talking about the size of people we needed to recruit, and I tried to implement that every day. We're still doing that, and I think it's important to give people time as long as progress is being made."
The progress, of course, stopped rather abruptly for Bielema and Jones, who were both let go last November.
Pasquali's Pix
Georgia Tech at Louisville: You know today's leagues are getting a bit too large when you realize this is the first meeting between these Atlantic Coast Conference programs. Yellow Jackets 24, Cardinals 23.
Alabama at Arkansas: This week, Saban became the first coach in college football history to reference a "trap game" coming off a victory over the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns. Crimson Tide 52, Razorbacks 7.
Missouri at South Carolina: The five most recognized trophies in sports are the Stanley Cup, the Lombardi Trophy, the Claret Jug, the Heisman Trophy and the Mayor's Cup, which has been awarded annually to this game's winner since way, way back in 2012. Gamecocks 23, Tigers 20.
LSU at Florida: These are the SEC's two most opportunistic teams so far this season, with the Gators plus-9 in turnover margin and the Tigers plus-7. Tigers 17, Gators 16.
Wofford at UTC: The Terriers and Mocs have combined to win or at least share five of the past six Southern Conference championships. Terriers 20, Mocs 17.
Kentucky at Texas A&M: It's the "Would Have Been Nice Had Bear Bryant Stayed Bowl." Wildcats 24, Aggies 19.
Vanderbilt at Georgia: Two years ago, the Bulldogs lost at home to Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech. They've won nine straight home games since. Bulldogs 44, Commodores 13.
Auburn at Mississippi State: The Tigers pulled out a 3-2 win a decade ago in Starkville. This could come close to a repeat. Tigers 13, Bulldogs 10.
Last week: Winners - 21; Petrinos - 4
Pasquali is 104-21 overall (83.2 percent) this season.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.