NorthFultonTimes

Welcome to the SEC Coaches Stock Market Report, Week 11. 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 6-5. Miss State and Georgia continue to beat 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 years 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. Beating a ranked opponent in a high pressure environment that is nationally televised is always going to get our attention. Georgia completely dominated Auburn in the second half and won the game in a decisively 45-20. Georgia must win this weekend with Kentucky to stay alive in the SEC East division race. This week, Georgia hosts Kentucky in Athens for a 12:30 pm ET game. The game will be covered by Lincoln Financial. We will keep the Bulldogs at a solid 4**** confidence rating and will be watching for an upgrade if they win big.

2) Sylvester Croom has won another upset game. Miss State upset Alabama 17-12 with the help of two big interceptions by John Parker Wilson. Miss State is now bowl eligible and Sylvester Croom is smiling big. This week, Miss State travels to Little Rock, Arkansas. Game time is set for 1 pm CT and there is no TV coverage. Both Miss State and Arkansas have 6-4 records. We will keep Miss State at a solid 3.5 *** confidence rating and believe they can pull another upset this weekend.

3) Urban Meyer has his team clicking again. Florida put an old fashioned whooping on the Ole Ball Coach in Columbia. The South Carolina offense made huge mistakes early and the defense collapsed again and gave up 51 points. If Georgia and Tennessee lose, Florida is the SEC East Champs. This week, Florida hosts Florida Atlantic (5-4) in Gainesville for a 12:00 pm ET game. TV coverage is pay per view only. We will keep Florida at a 4**** confidence rating.

4) Phillip Fulmer delivers again under high pressure. Every time Phillip Fulmer is under the gun this year, he delivers a win. The Vols whipped Arkansas 34-13 in Knoxville. The Vol defense played especially well. This week, the Vols host Vandy for a 2 pm ET game covered on pay per view. If the Vols win out, they will be the SEC East Champs. We are going to upgrade the Vols this week to a 4**** confidence rating because we believe they play best when backed into a corner.

5) Rich Brooks controls the destiny of the SEC East. As Kentucky beats teams, they get eliminated from the SEC East Title. Unfortunately, Kentucky has already been eliminated. But as we predicted pre-season, Kentucky controls the balance in the SEC East. This week, Kentucky travels to Georgia for a 12:30 pm ET game. Lincoln Financial will provide TV coverage. We will keep Kentucky at a 4**** confidence rating.

6) Les Miles has LSU #1 in the country again. LSU beat La Tech 58-10 and there top three SEC West opponents got beat. It does not get any better than that for LSU. LSU has clinched the SEC West Division. This week, LSU travels to Oxford, Miss to play the Rebels for a 2:30 pm CT game. CBS will be covering this rivalry game. We will keep LSU at a 4.5**** confidence rating.

7) Ed Orgeron had a bye week and it was much needed. The Rebels are 0-6 in SEC play and face the #1 team in the country, the LSU Tigers. Ole Miss took the Tigers into overtime last year and this game traditionally has been a slugfest. The Ole Miss/LSU game is the feature game on CBS for a 2:30 pm CT kick-off. We will keep Ole Miss at a 2.5 ** confidence rating.

8) Bobby Johnson has another close SEC game but no cigar. Vandy played Kentucky to a 27-20 final. Vandy is sitting on a 5-5 record and needs desperately to win one more game to be bowl eligible. This week, Vandy travels to in-state rival Tennessee for a 2 pm ET kick-off. TV coverage is pay per view. We will keep Vandy at a solid 3.5*** confidence rating.

9) Houston Nutt is back on the roller coaster ride. After beating South Carolina soundly, Arkansas marched into Knoxville and got the beat down. The Vols won 34-13. This week, Arkansas host an up and coming Miss State team. Kick-off is scheduled for 1 pm CT and there is no TV coverage. We will keep Arkansas at a 3.5*** confidence rating.

10) Tommy Tuberville is on a roller coaster ride too. Last week, he was up. This week, he is down. Auburn got crushed by arch rival Georgia in Athens 45-20. We thought Auburn was on a roll but instead Auburn got rolled. This week, Auburn has a bye week so they can prepare for the Alabama game. We will keep Auburn at a 4**** confidence rating.

11) Steve Spurrier has lost four games in a row. They said it could not happen. The Florida Gators came in and capitalized on Gamecock mistakes. In the end, USC got trounced again 51-31. This week, the Gamecocks have a bye so they can prepare for their in-state rival. On Thanksgiving weekend, the Gamecocks will host the Clemson Tigers in Columbia. We are downgrading South Carolina to a 3*** confidence rating.

12) Nick Saban took his first upset at Alabama. Two crucial interceptions kept Alabama from winning against SEC West opponent Miss State. We predicted this game as our potential SEC Upset of the Week because we knew Bama was still recovering from the LSU game and Miss State was well rested. This week, Bama hosts Louisiana-monroe in Tuscaloosa and there is no TV coverage. Kick-off is set for 1:30 pm CT. We will keep Alabama at a 4**** confidence rating.

Jay Holgate is an analyst for SEC Sports Report.

Jay Holgate

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