After falling behind early the Tennessee
Volunteers lit up during the second half and pulled off a huge upset in Athens against
conference rival Georgia.
Erik Ainge, already getting plenty of looks by
NFL scouts, had another strong game totaling 268-yards passing while connecting
on a pair of touchdown tosses. Unlikely to enter April's draft, Ainge is
setting himself up to be one of the highest rated passers for the 2008 event.
On the line of scrimmage Arron Sears more then
held his own against Georgia's outstanding pass rushing tandem of Charles Johnson and Quentin Moses. Sears performance yesterday will likely
give him serious first round consideration, something we feel he deserves.
On the flip-side
red flags must start to be raised on Moses. The vaunted pass rusher who
was rated by several scouting services as the top senior prospect in the nation,
recorded just two tackles and assisted on one tackle for loss. Moses has a single sack to his credit this season.
Sidney Rice is another that has question marks
surrounding him. After a slow start to the season Rice really picked it up
during the Gamecocks third and fourth games, albeit against inferior
competition. Rice again was quiet the past two games when he faced SEC
opponents.
The red-shirt sophomore was considered a first round pick entering the
season and has
totaled 26 receptions in six games. Against the four SEC teams
South Carolina has faced off against Rice has accounted for just ten catches.
In the Red River Rivalry the Texas Longhorns
were able to slow down and contain the Oklahoma running attack. Frank Okam
was dominant in the middle of the line, holding the
Sooners and Adrian Peterson to their lowest rushing yardage production of the
season.
USC junior Sam Baker continues to look
dominant at left tackle.
Baker plays with a nasty streak and has really improved his run blocking over
the past year. If Baker enters the draft as expected he will challenge
Joe Thomas of Wisconsin as the first tackle to be selected in round one.
Another Trojan junior is getting a lot of
notice from NFL scouts. Keith Rivers has been explosive at weak-side linebacker,
making plays
sideline-to-sideline. His skills in coverage are outstanding and Rivers is also a
disruptive force on the blitz. Were the draft held today and Rivers
declared eligible for the event, he'd be the first Trojan defender selected.
That may come as a surprise to some as most
rate Lawrence Jackson as the top USC pro-prospect from the defensive side of the
ball, grading him slightly lower then Sam Baker and Dwayne Jarrett.
But the fact is Jackson has been non-existent
this season. He has no sacks to his credit and rarely got a sniff of
Isaiah Stanback on Saturday. Jackson's inactivity has been a topic of
conversation with those around the USC program.
Cornerback Darrelle Revis continues to impress
NFL scouts and is moving into the draft's top twenty selections. Revis was
the best player on the field during Pittsburgh's defeat over conference foe
Syracuse last Saturday. Blanketing Syracuse receivers all day, Revis was also a force in
run defense, cutting off the corners and not being
shy about throwing his body around the field.
In that same game Panther linebacker HB Blades
was also impressive, making several big plays in the middle of the field.
Forceful against the run all day, Blades offers the versatility to be used at
inside/middle linebacker or on the outside.