SEC Notebook - College Football News

SEC Notebook
By Calvin Watkins
Posted: 4:30 am PDT 2006-09-10

Mike Cavan, a former Georgia quarterback, and former head coach of several programs, most recently Southern Methodist, was talking about quarterbacks the other day.

Cavan knows a thing or two about quarterback controversies.

And Georgia has one at the wrong time as it opens SEC play against South Carolina on Saturday. WagerWeb.com has Georgia as a 3-point favorite.

Coach Mark Richt started Joe Tereshinski against Western Kentucky last week. But Matthew Stafford, the highly recruited freshman from Dallas played, as did redshirt freshman Joe Cox.

The bottom line is somebody has to play, and Richt said he will play two quarterbacks but hasn't decided on which two.

It could be a game-time decision.

Expect Tereshinski, a senior, to start. He completed 7-of-17 passes for 90 yards with one touchdown and was sacked once against Western Kentucky.

Stafford went 3-for-5 for 40 yards and one touchdown.

Cox threw only three passes, one of which was intercepted.

Cavan said Richt doesn't want to be pressured into starting Stafford, who many think very highly of. Cavan dealt with quarterback issues at SMU, so he talks of experience.
Richt has to look at the big picture here and go with Tereshinski over Stafford. But if things get rough, expect a change, and it probably won't be Cox coming onto the field.

Ace Georgia punt retuner Mikey Henderson missed practice on Thursday with an injury and probably won't play, so freshman defensive back Asher Allen will take his place.

LSU: The best defense in the conference might be at LSU. The Tigers have not allowed a touchdown in the past 10 quarters. That could change against visiting Arizona this week. LSU is a 15-point favorite on WagerWeb.com. The last time the Tigers allowed a touchdown was in last season's SEC title game when former Georgia quarterback D.J. Shockley threw a 7-yard score in the second quarter.

Mississippi State: You just hope things are getting better here and not worse. Mississippi State's 15-0 loss to South Carolina on Aug. 31 marked its first shutout loss in a season opener since 1967. Yes, it was against the Gamecocks, but Mississippi State should score some points. A quarterback change is in the air because sophomore Michael Henig is out six to eight weeks with a broken collarbone. Tray Rutland will make his career start. Rutland's promotion also pushed Omarr Conner to move from receiver to backup quarterback.

Tennessee: Now comes the hard part for Tennessee. After a 35-18 beat down over Cal last week, the Volunteers were moved to No. 11 in the AP poll and 17 in the coaches' poll. Air Force is next. "This team has been responsive and that's a real plus for us," Vols coach Phillip Fulmer said of his squad. "So far, we've met the challenges. Now their test and their challenge is to handle one game of success. We're not judged on one game, we're judged on 12, 13 and 14 games, and we've played only one." The Vols are favored by 19.5 on WagerWeb.com.

Arkansas: Coach Houston Nutt will start freshman Mitch Mustain against Utah State this week at quarterback. "He did good this week," Nutt said of Mustain's reps in practice. "He's very focused, and I feel like he's ready to go." The Razorbacks are 28.5-point favorites on WagerWeb.com.

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